Hi everyone,

This is something that I just wrote for my website, but I thought it's something that might come in handy for beginners just getting started (might be too simple for the all seasoned veterans here, ).

This is all about the importance of blogging and how it affects your SEO. It's just to add to all the articles, how-to's and help for people at the forum here.

Have a great day!

Somesh.

HOW TO USE BLOGGING FOR YOUR SEO EFFORTS:

Blogging is really wonderful for SEO (Search Engine Optimization) because:

If you are using a platform like Wordpress, then you are already halfway there to success, since Wordpress is the blogger’s dream platform. It takes away the sweat of having to do all the hard work of coding, etc., (as that is taken care of by the Wordpress plugins) and leaves you with enough room for creativity.

Every time you provide readers on your blog with a quality post, you are inviting the bots (search engine crawlers) to come back and take a look at your site. Search engines love this, and the thing with a blog is – it forces you to produce regular posts, and this compulsion in itself is a blessing in disguise, because the more you post, the more you get visits by the bots.

Now, the important thing to realize is that each time you create a new post, you are essentially creating a new page, and that means the search engines will index it, and therefore you are giving another reason for the search engines to find you.

Here are some questions that people often wonder about:

1. Should you make your blog be a part of your website or should it be a standalone blog?

Answer: It depends. If you are planning on making your blog an independent one, be prepared to promote and get traffic to it. On the other hand, if you have your blog incorporated into your site, the advantage is that you will be forced to add to it regularly, and by so doing, you are creating more original content and you get more visits from the search engines, which is better for you.

2. What about starting with free blogging sites like Blogger or Wordpress.com?

Answer: If you are planning to set up a business, then you should certainly go for a hosted solution (meaning having your blog hosted at your own domain). This is better for search engine rankings. Of course, if you are just getting started, then it’s not a problem to go ahead with Blogger or Wordpress.com. Just something to keep in mind: Blogger allows you to put affiliate links in your blog posts, but Wordpress.com doesn’t really like it, so you're a bit limited. The best way to take advantage of the fantastic features that Wordpress offers is get your own domain and hosting and then install Wordpress through your cpanel. In that case you need to get yourself a domain and a hosting plan.

3. But I don’t really know what to blog about or how to get started!

Answer: Hey! Don’t sell yourself short! You have experiences that you can put down. Everyone has some experience, everyone is good at something, and everyone has interests. Now, if you are blogging for business, go search out and read some of the blogs or articles on your subject and then write about them in your blog. Be sure to add your own perspectives as well – to make it your own creation. You will be building yourself and your blog as a brand pretty soon.

(Tip: If you start sharing about your start-up battles as a newbie with APS or any other business you're in, and then go on to share about your successes, that can personalize it for your blog readers and they will find encouragement and motivation, and soon you will build a following as well).

If you want to use blogging as a utility to boost your SEO:

* Focus on providing quality to your users in all your posts.
* Blog as often as possible.
* The title of your blog should be based on keywords that you want to achieve Search Engine rankings for.
* Make your blog friendly to look at, easy to read. Avoid crowding your page with too many distractions.
* Be patient! Don’t expect all your results in one day! Your success will certainly come – one post at a time!

Remember, the search engines have bots and crawlers, but at the end of the day, you are not writing or blogging for them; you are writing for humans. Focus on them and just keep these tips in mind, and you will do well in your SEO efforts as well.

There are specific plugins for Wordpress that can take care of a lot of your SEO jobs for you. I recommend the All-in-one-SEO pack, or the Platinum SEO pack.

So go have fun blogging your way to SEO peak!

Last edited by Somesh Thakur (2010-01-29 20:42:23)