10 Tips to Bang Your Blog

Paul Lalley

Author’s note: A while back the editors at Website Source let me post a blog, and despite their best efforts, they haven’t been able to keep me away. So, here, again, are my modest thoughts, this time on blogs. And please tell the editor that she’ll get back her puppy when this post appears.

Web hosting blog lists tips to maximize the potential of your blog

If you thought your blog was going to pull in thousands of readers, you’re probably disappointed. In fact, you might be downright morose at the poor attendance and lack of give-and-take your blog produces.

When done well, and when blog potential is maximized to the fullest, a blog draws traffic - web hosting blog explains. When not done properly, it’s like a big party that all guests left early. Just a little confetti blowing across the lawn. So here are some tips to get better bang from your blog.

1. Invite guest bloggers. Swap posts.

Contact experts in your commercial sphere and ask them to write 800-word posts for your blog. Offer to reciprocate. Not only do you pick up different writing styles, some fresh opinions and a new POV, you also pick up a link from site to site. It’s a great way to build local connectivity.

2. Use keywords in blog titles and sub-heads.

Excellent idea. However, make sure those same keywords appear in the blog post’s main body at a rate of 2%-3% so spiders get the message right.

3. Use a blog module.

Check out www.wordpress.com. It’s easy to install, easy to use and easy to manage. Yes, maintain an active blog but find automated features and tools that equip you to manage the blog in a few minutes, not a few hours.

4. Add keywords to your topic categories.

Most sites contain content on a variety of topics. Check out the blog you’re reading now. Lots of different categories. Create categories of blog entries that employ your most valuable keywords to get the notice you’re looking for.

5. Change the times of day you post to your blog.

Variety tells a spider and humans that there’s a human behind the curtain – someone who is actually paying attention to blog posts and replies from blog readers. It’ll also help to vary topics and even lengths – anything to make the post read like it was generated by a human, not a text generator.

6. Forget PageRank (PR).

Page rank is determined by number of visitors, number of inbound links, authority content, features and other factors. However, as a means of driving visitor traffic, PR, and for that matter, SEO, have lost much of their clout. Visitors find your site today in any number of ways, not just by organic search results.

7. Read blogs on your topics.

You can’t use the text itself. Copyrighted, you know. But, reading what someone else thinks about this year’s fashions from Paris may spark a response to post on your blog. The best source for blog ideas is other blogs. Just spin it in a different direction.

8. Avoid duplicate content.

Sure, you can post syndicated content on your blog if you want but it won’t do you any good in getting your blog ranked on Google or other search engines. If it isn’t green, it shouldn’t be seen.

9. Take site visitors by the hand and lead them to your blog.

Some site owners under-utilize their blogs by burying them in the site’s backwash. Maintaining a blog takes time, costs money and you want visitors to read your posts and respond. So, put a HUGE blog link on the navigation bar. Most visitors know that’s where the fun is. It’s also a place they can express their own opinions and everybody likes to put forth their opinions.

10 Take part in blog chat.

You’re the blog administrator. The boss of the blog. There’s nothing wrong with popping in now and then to mediate or direct the discussion back to the main thread. Again, this shows that there’s a human behind the blog.

Blogs are a cool way for site owners to maximize their exposure for little or no cash. And, if you follow the rules of the search engines, you just may see your blog show up on Google’s SERPs – on page one!

One final point: keep blogging. Even if you’re tired of it or you don’t see additional revenues for your efforts. The point of a blog is to create site stickiness and a site community. When you see the same posters coming back time after time, you know you’ve got it right.

Now, maximize your potential. Bang your blog and bring it on home.

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