You are here: Home / Archives for SEO

Business Blogging Fundamentals – Part 2 – Key Considerations for a Successful Blog

July 14, 2010 By Roohi Moolla 3 Comments
bloggingIn Part 1 of this series, we looked at some of the reasons you should be blogging – and why a blog is an essential component of a website.

Here in Part 2, we look at some of the tools you need to implement in your blog to attract, retain and keep an audience returning to your blog.
There are a lot of issues to consider for your blog, starting with some of the most fundamental questions about your blog’s ranking, posts and readability to more complex questions about metrics, strategy and technical tools to enhance your blog for maximum effectiveness.
Here are the top 6 considerations for a business blog:
  1. Your Blog – Do you have a blog? How does it ranks on Technorati? Do you post regularly? Do you have a blogging strategy? Do you read/comment on other blogs?
  2. On-page SEO – Check metadata, keywords, images, readability
  3. Off-page SEO – Look at domain info, page rank, indexed pages, traffic rank, inbound links, directory listings
  4. Social Mediasphere – Connect with social networking sites including Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook, del.icio.us bookmarks and Digg submissions
  5. Converting Qualified Visitors – Do you have an RSS feed, email signup and conversion forms on your Blog/Website?
  6. Competitive Intelligence – How do you track your rank and compare your score over time and against your competitors?

And here’s a summary of the top 3 Keys to a successful Blog:

  1. Reading – make sure you stay up-to-date with other blogs and information in your industry
    1. Use RSS Reader (www.google.com/reader)
    2. Research blogs
    3. Subscribe to other blogs
    4. Read, read, read…
  2. Writing
    1. Use your own URL (e.g. www.yourblog.com, NOT http://yourblog.wordpress.com )
    2. Allow RSS subscriptions
    3. Allow RSS emails
    4. Integrate automatically with Social Media tools
    5. Allow email subscribers to your blog
    6. Create an editorial calendar – pick a schedule that works for you – daily, weekly, monthly
    7. Consider your content and your target audience and make sure that each fits the other
  3. Commenting
    1. Increase the value of the conversation
    2. Share examples
    3. Add a point
    4. Disagree
    5. Add a resource or useful link
    6. Ask a question
    7. Use your real name

Remember, blogging is about your expertise, your knowledge, your industry, your side of the conversation – and what you bring to the table that’s interesting and of value to your audience.

Filed Under: Blogging, Business, Marketing, Social Media Tagged With: , , ,

Business Blogging Fundamentals – a 4-part Series

July 8, 2010 By Roohi Moolla 4 Comments

Business Blogging Fundamentals – Part 1

This is the first in a 4-part series on Business Blogging. If you haven’t heard yet, blogging is absolutely fundamental to creating a strong online presence, and a key component of your website and social media strategy. This series will explain the essentials of blogging, how to get started and what you should do to have an effective blogging strategy.

Why Blog?

Can you hear me?Social Media is simply a conversation – a way to create a communication between the content provider and the end reader to create a mutually benefit relationship through the exchange of information. Blogging is a tool that provides you with the opportunity to start that conversation with those who are interested in what you have to say. By providing consistent value through high-quality content over time through your blog, you can build an audience and a community around your blog.

Your business blog should reflect your mission, your values, your business personality, your information and your message.

Yellow Flower HoneyBeeBlogging is an important component of your website for a number of reasons:

  1. Blogging is Inbound Marketing – it attracts an audience by being a flower (think of the bees you want to attract with honey) rather than a hammer (think of the nail…)
  2. Blogging is extremely Search Engine-friendly (SEO) – search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo love blogs because they’re dynamic, keyword-rich, content-rich and link-rich
  3. Blogging helps with social networks – blogs can be connected to multiple other social media tools, applications, networks and websites
  4. Blogging helps with social news sites – blogs can be connected, distributed and read through RSS feeders and readers
  5. Blogging is permission-centric – based on the concept that only those who are interested in the content will read your blog, giving you ‘permission’ to have your voice heard

In Part 2 of this series, we’ll take a look at some of the specific blogging tools and features you need to consider that will make your site effective in conveying your message to your audience.

Filed Under: Blogging, Business, Social Media, Technology Tagged With: , , , , ,