If you haven't read Get Your Blog Google-Ranked in 30 Days Or Less, Part
1, you aren't going to want to miss it. You can click here to read it. But, here
are even more useful suggestions to put your blog on steroids without any blog-roid rage. Please read on.
25. Focus on ranking for three key words or phrases to start. The keywords you select should appear in your HTML
title tags and within the site's content when appropriate. However, watch keyword density levels. Anything above
5% starts to sound like gibberish. 2% to 3% keyword density provides more creative latitude for the content developer,
and still lets bots know what the site is about.
24. Only purchase ad links on relevant niche sites. This, by default, limits competitive links and delivers more
qualified (knowledgeable and ready-to-purchase) visitors to your site.
23. Participate in your link community. Forum and blog links are ephemeral, lasting a day or two as web fodder,
so there's always the need for more green. Interact by posting to not only drive traffic with the link, but to
also pick up another link from a credible site. All good.
22. Publish new content on weekdays. Even search engines need a break. Actually, more people are online Monday
through Friday so your latest blog post is still the latest when posted on Monday rather than Sunday. A little
thing, for sure, but little things mean a lot online.
21. Write content for various experience levels. For many spaces DIYs are the largest sector. Some readers are
just starting out. Others have been at it for years and probably know more than you do, so post blogs to appeal
to a broad range of skill sets – from green rookie to wizened old vet.
20. Cite the sources of your content. This adds credibility to your posts. It also provides a trail for a reader
interested in learning more about the topic at hand.
19. Focus on contextual relevancy before quantity of links. Connectivity within a market or topic segment has more
value than SEO anchor text, at least in the short term.
18. Poll your readers. Everybody's got an opinion. Provide a platform to let posters and readers vote on a topic
related to your site. It doesn't do any good if you run a retail outlet and poll visitors on who they'd like to
see in the White House. Stay on topic.
Editor's Note: No SPN Issues Apr. 11th & 14th
Regular issues of the SPN newsletter will begin again on Wednesday, April 16th. In the interim all readers are
invited to visit the SPN website where new article & blog posts are made daily by some of the Web's top writers.
Visit the new and improved SiteProNews today
17. Create surveys. Surveys are more in depth than a poll. One survey you might want to try is one in which buyers
rate the services and products you sell. Great marketing information. Consider placing a satisfaction survey somewhere
on your site.
16. Write about popular brands or celebrities where possible. It doesn't matter if you're blogging short sales
in the market or clothing for the over-sized human, celebrity and name brands get picked up by spiders.
15. Find free stuff to give away. Free still works on the web. There's lots of open source software (OSS), mortgage
calculators, real-time stock feeds and other digital goodies that visitors can download free. Free is nice.
14. Answer questions on Google groups and Yahoo Answers. People write in with all sorts of questions, some sure
to fall within your area of expertise. By signing on as an authority in a field (your arena) you build credibility.
Plus, it's fun helping others from the comfort of your own work station.
13. Add imagery and video content to your posts. A picture is worth a thousand web words. Charts and graphs simplify
complex information and don't take up a lot of room. If you aren't an artist, create a relationship with a freelancer.
Don't use clip art.
12. Use QA sessions in your blog. You're the expert. Also, invite guest bloggers to handle questions beyond your
skill set. Helpful, simple advice keeps visitors coming back and makes you a guru.
11. Syndicate content outside of your blog. Every site owner needs content. Fortunately, there's plenty of it free
for the taking. Sites like www.helium.com, www.ezine.com and www.goarticles.com are content supermarkets. Post
your piece and pick up non-reciprocal, in-bound links for your effort. Content syndication increases link popularity.
10. Direct (future) page rank efforts to well-optimized content on your home site. Don't direct visitors and bots
to the garbage bin of out-dated content stored in the site's archives. Point them to the new news.
9. Update or create a Wikipedia page and link to your site. Another means of establishing yourself as an authority.
Just make sure the Wiki piece is accurate, well written and typo-free.
8. Submit industry or topical news to general news sites. Not just industry related sites. If a small oil and gas
company brings in a gusher, it's of broader interest than to just industry insiders. Also adds credibility and
another link.
7. Deep links or links to sub-pages are vital. There's a tendency to link from a remote site to your home page.
Not necessarily the best strategy. Consider linking to pages deeper in the site – pages related directly to your
blog post. This way, visitors are in your site and less likely to bounce.
6. Respond to comments in your blog. This accomplishes three important objectives: (1) it shows that there's a
human behind the blog; (2) it gives you a chance to show your expertise; and (3) you can lead the thread in a new
direction or keep the discussion going. Oh, it's also the polite thing to do, as well.
5. Cross link your posts. Link amongst your related blog posts using the keywords you're optimizing your blog for
as the anchor text.
4. Get linked alongside related blogs on other sites. You can contact the blog administrator to swap links, you
can become a regular guest blogger if your writing is good enough or your knowledge extensive. Niche sites are
great for building blog links networks.
3. Bait your blog. Post unconventional and controversial articles to create lengthy threads that, in turn, create
site stickiness.
2. Be consistent into month two. Keep the tone, style and topicality of your blog consistent for the first two
months until spiders get it. Then, you can branch out to peripheral topics to expand reader interest.
1. Network offline. Helpful networking tools include www.linkedin.com, www.meetup.com and www.mybloglog.com. These
sites provide real world contacts to simplify and streamline the process of networking. They're also useful in
building beneficial online relationships - not to be overlooked. Also reach out using conferences that are available
in your area and abroad.
The keys to building a successful, well-tended blog run the gamut from good content to good contacts, and from
credibility to controversy. There are lots of ways to expand your blog community and develop quality rankings at
the same time.
Once you've got all of this down your next steps are to begin monetizing your site.
So, blog.
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