It's in the BLOG
If you're looking to grow your business, then a BLOG is a
great tool to add to your tool chest. In this article we
will discuss BLOG basics and how you can use them in your
business.
1. What's a BLOG?
What's a BLOG you ask? Well, let me tell you. According to
Wikipedia.com:
A blog (short for web log) is a user-generated website
where entries are made in journal style and displayed in a
reverse chronological order [newest entries are at the top].
So, its really just an online journal or diary that is
written by anyone who wants to tell the world what's on
their mind. (Side note: When I say "the world" I really
mean it, so be careful what you write.)
Ok, so how can this help you grow your business? Great
question. To understand the answer you have to know just a
bit about how search engines work.
2. BLOGs and Search Engines
Search engines like Google, Yahoo, MSN and all the others
use what they call "spiders." Spiders are software programs
that "crawl" the internet looking for new content, and rank
it based on its contents and its relevance to a certain
topic. This is all done by some very complex math, but the
important thing you need to know is that if you write often
and/or discuss topics that are getting searched online a
lot (i.e. topics in the news), the search engines will
consider your site "relevant" and if you include "key
words" (popular search terms) in your content, that you
know your potential customers are searching for, there is a
much better chance that they will actually be able to find
you.
So to recap, my 3 Principles of BLOGging for Search Engines
are:
1) Write Often
2) Write Relevant
3) Write Using Key Words
3. What makes a good BLOG?
This is a rhetorical question. The only thing that really
matters is the opinion of the audience you are trying to
reach. So here are a few tips that will help you stay on
track.
1. Know who you are writing for a. If your audience is 13
year olds, writing about retiring next year probably isn't
going to get you a lot of return visitors
2. Keep it short and to the point a. 100-300 words is all
most people will have the time to read, so keep your
articles short and to the point. Over time this will build
a great deal of credibility with your readers.
3. Write actionable content a. "How To's" and "Top 10"
lists are great. It gives your readers action steps they
can take to use your content in their everyday lives.
Think about ways to use these to point out how you are
different from your competitors.
4. Don't be afraid to tell some of your secrets. a. People
love to hear about how to make something happen, then they
love to pay someone else to do it. Let's be honest, even
though you just told me how I can edit my html code on my
website to make it stick out like neon lights in a search
engine, that doesn't mean I want to do it myself. Just
give me a way to contact you to hire you. After all, you
just showed me that you are the expert.
5. Allow Comments a. Consider allowing people to post
comments about your BLOG. In fact, you should be the first
one to post a comment after each blog, pose a question or
comment to simply getting a discussion started. If visitors
are interacting and writing comments about your BLOG, they
are actually adding relevant content that the search
engines are going to like.
Well, there you have it, BLOG basics.
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JW Dicks & Nick Nanton, founders of
TheBusinessGrowthLawyers.com, publish the Business Growth
ezine monthly covering topics that every business, start-up
to international powerhouse, needs to know. If you're ready
to take your business to the next level, get more FREE info
.
