SEO Dance

Moving this week has made me realize that I am a pack rat. Not that I didn’t know this before, but there’s just something about seeing all of your stuff lying out and not fitting into all of your boxes that drives the point home. It’s also made me realize that not only do I need to streamline our stuff but to streamline my websites as well.

I have a habit of beginning an article and never finishing it. I have so many drafts on one blog that WordPress doesn’t list them all on the write page. I need to go through those post and either finish them or do something else with the posts.

Since I have a couple of fairly new blogs, I need to drive traffic to them. That means start commenting on like-minded blogs and participating in forum discussions. I also can’t forget the importance of search engine traffic and must remember that when writing articles. I get a lot of traffic from long tail searches, which are search phrases rather than keywords. I try to watch my phrasing when writing to include at least one phrase that might be used by someone in a search engine.

One thing this move has taught me is the importance of keeping a clean, uncluttered place to live. I plan to take my new found philosophy and also apply it to my websites. Hopefully the results will make the pages better for readers as well as search engines.

search engine results

Maintaining a blog or website creates its own set of challenges. Design, content, regular updates are all subjects that weigh on the mind of website owners. Then to add to the list search engine optimization practices, suddenly this fun adventure can become very stressful.

I love to blog but sometimes the well of ideas is dry. No matter how much I read or think, new subject matter just does not seem to come into my mind. The longer I go without an idea, my stress level rises. I feel more tense, more likely to snap at comments, and just in general an unpleasant person to be around. When I feel this coming on, I try to relieve the stress I feel simply because if I don’t, then I will begin to worry about other things, which will cause more anxiety.

My best plan for dealing with stress at it relates to SEO is to walk away from the computer. I unplug for a few hours. I might watch a little TV or take a walk. Doing something else besides trying to think of ideas is a big help in relieving stress. Most of the times I usually find inspiration when I’m away from the computer. I also try to remind myself that even though daily updates are important especially for blogs that all will not be lost if I miss a day.

Also a good night’s sleep does wonders for the creativity and to clear the mind. Sometimes website SEO can stress me out. It’s at those times that I try to relax and take my mind off of it. Then when I come back to writing it always seems better.

Here is a video on You Tube explaining how to make your WordPress blog better for search engines.

In the news this week, Microsoft unveils a new search engine, Tafiti, which means “do research” in Swahili. The new search engine is geared toward more people doing research than the average web surfer.

Here is a roundup of stories on search engines and what they are doing right and wrong.

This past week the Search Engine Strategies conference was held in San Jose, CA. Here is another roundup of stories of news from SES August 23rd.

There is so much to read and catch up on. This week has been a little hectic around here. Hopefully I can find a break from moving this weekend and get a good handle on the SEO news of the week.

Some of the regular blogs I visit will every once in a while have a guest blogger. I have read how guest blogging can be good for increased exposure to your writing and also help introduce new readers to your blog. This assumes that the guest blogger has a following. When I see a guest post, I usually skip right over it since even if the blogger is blogging on topic, it isn’t the person’s opinion I came to the blog to read. Some guest posts have caught my attention while scrolling past it.

What makes me stop to read a guest blogger’s thoughts? I always read the headline of the blog post. If I’m interested, I will read a few sentences and then make a judgment if I’m reading something of interest. So, here are my suggestions when you are either guest blogging or asking someone to guest blog.

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Link baiting is the practice of garnering links to your site with inticing content that people will want to link to without thinking too much about it. Incoming links are vital for traffic and SEO, so link baiting might sound like a bad practice but is really just incentive to write quality content of interest to your readers.

What makes good link bait material? Look no further than the news. What is going on in the world? What is everyone talking about? Spin a different angle to a story and watch the links rise. To have content related to popular searches but with a different approach than the 20,000 other articles on said content will make your readers take notice. The best way to get this new enlightening angle is through discussion. What are friends saying about the hot topic of the day? You don’t have to look far to get some great insight on the day’s big stories than your circle of friends or network. Sometimes a flippant comment can make a great subject to explore. Keep your ears open for your next great post idea.

Link bait at its core is writing compelling content that automatically moves the reader to share it with others. It might be hard to “break” happening news, but it can be easier than you think to put your own “spin” on it. Just be a good listener, and the ideas will flow.

It seems like an all too common problem these days. Webmasters trying to better their site’s ranking by hiring someone good at SEO only to be out hundreds of dollars with no results to show for their money. Hiring someone to help you with SEO for your website can provide great and satisfying results. It’s just important to make sure to check out the person first.

There are budding SEO organizations like SEOBy.org, which stands for Search Engine Optimization By.., that have been started for those in the business of SEO. Through SEOBy.org you can find members who are in the business of search engine optimization. Also by finding someone through an organization gives a some protection or at least an outlet to complain is no services are delivered.

Asking other webmasters for whom they use will help to narrow down your choices and also give you a list of SEO professionals who have netted results. When hiring an SEO person or firm, do your homework about them. You wouldn’t hire a contractor to work on your home without doing a little background check. Take the same type of care and concern when dealing with your website. It might be a lot of work but it’s better than be taking advantage of, which there are plenty of so-called experts who are just waiting to do so.

When I worked in television, we kept an everygreen folder, which basically was a collection of story ideas that weren’t of a timely manner. This way when you were looking for feature stories, you have a source to go to of ideas that would fit in anytime of the year.

When blogging, this is a good idea to keep a list of topics that are evergreen or that you can write about anytime. Some days it might be hard to think up of a subject to write about. Consult your evergreen folder for ideas for a topic.

When making your evergreen folder, jot down a list of keywords for each idea. By thinking ahead of which keyword or long tail keywords you would like to use in your article, this will help your work be more search engine friendly. You might want to run those keywords through Overture.com to check on how many other pages show up with those keywords. If it is a lot then you might consider altering your keywords slightly to have less competition.

Keeping an evergreen folder mixed with keywords for your blog makes good sense. This way you always have content to write about that is already focused for search engines.

Some bloggers will comment on each and every comment left on their blog. While this can be time consuming they feel it is important part of their blogging to engage their reader and to show that comments really matter to them. Comments do show interest by the reader and it’s nice when the author responds to comments. Does commenting on comments really help when it comes to SEO or is it just a nice gesture?

The long term effects on search engine results might be hard to figure out. You might just impress a reader so much that they add you to their blogroll or might link to your article. Commenting on comments should at least keep readers coming back and commenting, which is always good for a blog.

So, as far as traditional SEO practices, commenting on comments might take a while to build links but could. It will not be a quick way to garner links but over time can be a great way to increase traffic and build a strong blogging network of support.

I tend to comment on some comments. Usually if I have something to say, then I comment. Other times, I may have a thought but nothing worth putting down in black and white. A lot of times blogger’s comments to comments are basically just a thank you for your comment. So, the comment can really go unsaid. Still it’s a nice gesture and possibly appreciated by many readers.

Leaving comments to comments might not really help any SEO campaign, but it can be a great way to create a community on your blog that will in turn could mean more traffic and exposure.

Every other day it seems I read a forum post about someone seeing PageRank movement on their blogs and sound the alarm that the PageRank has begun. Apparently the update can take weeks, so even if it has begun, a final tally might take a while. While we wait for the next Google PageRank, there are some things that we can do to keep our mind off of our web page’s PR.

Write an article about PageRank. Write your thoughts about PageRank and what it means to you. Some people don’t think PR is all that important while others believe it is everything when it comes to SEO. Share your opinion with your readers. Those others who are obsess with PR with enjoy reading it if nothing else.

Check out a new Social Network. Are you on Facebook, My Space, or how about a more niche social network like Gamervision? There are plenty of social networks to join and check out. Some are focused on a particular subject while others are more about meeting people. Grow your network today by choosing one and sign up. Explore their website and add a few friends. Social networks really can keep you busy. Not to mention that you will probably at least have one opportunity to list your websites address, which is always good to drive traffic.

Take up a new hobby. Expanding your interests will give you something to delve all your extra time into. So take up knitting, scrapbooking, or collecting. It will get you away from the computer and hopefully your mind off of SEO related topics like PR.

Do something on your SEO to do list. Did you hear about a service or an SEO tip that you’ve been wanting to try? Why put it off? implement it now instead of checking your PR every few hours.

Keeping your mind off of the PageRank update will not only give you peace of mind but possibly a new hobby or better PageRank the next update.

It’s no secret that blogs that are regularly updated garner more traffic than those that lay dormant. When you maintain several blogs, a case of writer’s block can serious make an impact in your overall traffic. Writer’s block is inevitable as some days it just doesn’t seem there is anything to talk about. How to get through the dull periods of blogging with multiple blogs can be extremely challenging. Here is some advice.

Read like-minded blogs. Open your feed reader and devour through some blogs that you haven’t visited in a while especially if they are of the same subject as your blog. This is a good way to get some sort of fresh blog ideas. Sometimes reading on a subject can inspire a blog post from a different angle or perspective on the same subject.

Go Shopping. Getting out and about in your city can help you find interesting and relevant content for your blog no matter what the subject. Visiting stores, looking the merchandise, or just people watching can all give way to inspiration. It can also help to clear your head to be out of the house and away from the computer.

Go for a Walk. Walking is another great way to clear your head. It also works if you’re short on cash and can’t shop unless you are spending money. Load up the MP3 player, lace up your shoes, and hit the trail. I come up with some of my best ideas while walking.

Brainstorm once a week. I like to keep a notebook of ideas that I add to each Sunday. I don’t spend that long writing down ideas. Maybe at most I spend 15 minutes doing this exercise. It helps to give me ideas for the week if I need them.

Clean your living space. Again I think this works for me because I can clear my mind and focus on something that isn’t related to computer work. It’s also nice to work with a clean desk or an uncluttered floor space. It’s like the cleaner my desk is, the less cluttered my mind is. So, if you have housework to do, get some of it accomplished and get it off your mind.

These are a few of my methods for dealing with writer’s block. Once I have a subject and direction, the words seem to follow. Share your best method for dealing with writer’s block by leaving a comment.

writer’s block

If you maintain multiple blogs, then you know how challenging it can be to not only come up with fresh ideas but also how to promote each blog. There are a number of ways to get the word out about your blog from forums to directories. Making a plan of action for each blog on an individual basis can ensure that the fruits of your labor are indeed productive.

Have niche blogs listed in forum signature.If you plan to use your blog in your signature on the forums you regularly visit, only list those blogs that are related to the topic at hand. Forum viewers will be more interested in visiting a blog that is on the same subject at the forum instead of a whole list of your blogs. Listing just one or two will give you space in your signature to enter that tagline of your blog or a brief description, which should entice forum viewers to visit your website.

Feedburner.com has a blog promotion tool called Headline Animator that drops your RSS feed into a nice little portable text box that you can use in your forum signatures. Now forum visitors can see a rotating headline of your latest posts that will help to generate more interest in your blog and increase traffic.

Answer forum questions and link to more information on your blog. Another effective way to promote your blogs on forums is to answer questions posed on forums. Link in one of your blog posts that explains the answer further into your reply answer. In your forum post, giving an answer and an option to learn more will be more helpful than just a link saying “Hey I answered that on my blog here.” You can give an answer to the question but also provide the link where you go further in detail about an answer. One thing is for certain about popular forums: there will always be newbies who will seem to ask questions that have already been answered. Blogging about commonly asked questions on blog will help increase your chance of having a post that fits a future forum question.

An example of this might be a forum about local attractions. Making a post about the best dining places in your city or the best places to take the kids are good blog posts that are likely to be questions posed by new people to a local forum. Answering such questions will help newbies as well as gain exposure for your website.

Forums are a great spot to meet people and to promote your niche blog that is related to the forum topic.

forums, blog promotion

It’s Saturday, and I really should be cleaning the house. Instead, I keep thinking of all these small tasks that need to be done for my blogs. I know that if I can take a few hours of today that I can get a lot accomplished since Daddy is here to help with the little one. I have several small tasks that I’ve been meaning to do like add StatCounter to all my bogs and to add the Technorati plugin to them as well.

There are a few other tasks I’d like to get started on like making a master list of web directories. Since my time is limited I really want to maximize my efforts, so only those web directories that either a) are niche to my blog or b) have a 5 or above PageRank will I submit to. Hopefully by narrowing down my criteria, I can make a nice, lean list that will work best to drive traffic to my blogs.

Finally I would like to check into further a few websites that I’ve heard about in passing but sound interesting like Faqqly.com that lets you create a profile where people can ask you questions. I have one blog that is all about collectibles that might could benefit from such a service to open up dialog.

So, my relaxing weekend gets a little fuller every minute. I think I will stop adding to my list and just be glad if I can get at least of those tasks started.

When I write about a place or event, I try to make use of two keyword phrases. My theory is that there are two ways that people search for places: by the name and by the name and location. If I include both in my writing, then I can further my chances of showing up in search page results.

I will be attending Dragon Con in September. It’s a gaming convention held each year in Atlanta. In my writings about the event, I will use two ways to refer to Dragon Con. I will either use the phrase “Dragon Con” or “Dragon Con in Atlanta, GA.” The second phrase is more of a long-tail search result but in theory should have less keyword competition than the first one.

I find myself searching for locations with these two methods. If I don’t find on the first page of results what I’m looking for, I search again by adding the location of the event. It helps to focus the result into actual useful information. I’m betting that I’m not the only one who conducts searches with this method, so I’ve begun to add both keyword phrases to my writings when I’m referring to an event or place.

Alternatively I could spell out the state instead of using the postal code but in this day and age of acronyms, I really don’t think the majority of people will be typing in the whole state name. Still it’s an option to spell out the name of the state especially for states like Arizona (AZ), Arkansas(AR), and Alaska(AK) where the abbreviation might be confusing.

It’s just one small practice I’ve adopted to make my writings about events and locations more search friendly.

Video can be a great addition to any blog since it adds something visual as well as entertaining. With so many digital cameras able to record video and editing software readily available, it is easier than ever to make videos for your blog. While videos do offer the reader something different, videos by nature are not SEO-friendly since there is not associated text with them. That doesn’t mean that posts containing videos cannot be optimized for search engines. You can easily add a few elements to your blog post that will make it better for search engines.

Introduce your video to your readers. Write a few sentences setting up the subject of your video. This will do at least two things: clues in the reader to the content of the video and gives text for web crawlers to index the post.

Use tags on your post. Technorati tags are used to describe content so that readers will find it under those tags.

Categorize by the subject matter of the video. Labeling your video correctly will help readers to find it better.

Make a transcript of your video. This way your text will be indexed by the search engines for the post. Plus if someone can’t watch the video then at least they will know what the video is all about. You’ll probably be able to do this either from your “script” for the video pretty easily even if your script is just main points you want to cover in your video.

Adding video to your blog can be fun and challenging. It can benefit your readers as well as help your blog stand out. Putting video on your blog while writing an introduction, using tags, and a transcript will ensure that the post will be search engine friendly.