Will, we’ve heard what you say about blogging being a great way to increase your overall search presence, but we’re not sure where to start.  Blogger, WordPress.com and others offer free blogging platforms – is that a good way to get started?

- Mike

This is a great question, Mike.  I get this question in nearly every presentation I do.

In short, my answer is no, don’t use a free blogging service.  The entire reason that I preach blogging as such a great tool for SEO is that it generates content for your website – for your domain.  Ultimately you want to build your domain (website) up as the authority for your industry.

By using a free blogging service, you’re basically giving that content over to another company (another domain).  By blogging with them, you are ultimately ranking their domain for your keyphrases.  You are helping another business get traffic, not your own.

Don’t be confused, WordPress(.org) is a great blogging tool that you can download and install on your domain. That’s the way you should go.

Keep the great content, tips and how-to’s on your site. Grow it big and kick butt.

How to Build Your Personal Brand
This is a topic near to my heart right now. I’ve been fighting an internal battle with myself over branding – trying to decide which way to go, etc.  I’m a big Inc. magazine fan anyway, so this article came at just the right time.

How To Convert Blog Readers To Paying Customers
Dave Navarro takes on the topic of getting your readers to take action in this great article on ProBlogger.  I’ve got a pretty new site that’s hitting some really nice traffic already, and this advice comes at a good time as well.

How a 3 Month Old Website Received 958,373 Visits From Google
Glen over at ViperChill always has very informative posts.  They’re long and detailed, and the guy is banking so I tend to listen to what he’s got to say.  He’s one of the few people that realize that sharing some of the things he does isn’t going to end up killing his revenue – it makes him a subject matter expert.  And that’s what you should be doing as well.  Anyway, check out this great writeup on getting some huge traffic numbers.

Using Content Marketing To Make Sales and Eliminate Puffery
My good friend and content marketing guru Russ Henneberry talks about tooting your own horn too often online.  Instead of just saying you’ve got the best widget, go ahead and add content to your site that proves it.  Good stuff.

Will Twitter’s New URL Shortener Hurt SEOs?
Barry Schwartz covers Twitter’s new URL shortener and how it could possibly affect some of your SEO efforts, particularly if you’re using your own URL shortener as well.

Soon there will be two types of businesses, those online and those out of business.

While I’m not sure if the quote ever really came from him, the premise of the statement is definitely true.  And even years later, only a staggering 40% of small businesses in the US have websites.

Of that 40%, a good chunk of those websites are stale or dead.  They heard that they needed to be online, and rushed to get online, but had no strategy or planning about why they should be online.  They just knew they had to be there.  And after a few years of their website sitting there doing nothing, they’ve most likely abandoned what little hope they had about the Internet, when actually now is when they should be actively pursuing climbing the rankings and dominating the ever-growing online segment of their industry.

Is this you? Have you tried to get online, but haven’t succeeded?  Traffic is minimal or zero, leads never come, and no one even knows about your website?  Are you embarrassed to put the URL on your business cards? Here’s eight reasons why I think you’re in this boat:

1. Your brother’s best friend’s hairdresser’s cousin isn’t a web guru

Sure, hiring him was a great idea at the time. You’ve got little or no money to put into the “internet thing” and he was willing to do it “for the experience” and add it to his portfolio.

Problem is, those animations are just hideous, the technology he used to build the site back in ’99 wasn’t the best then, and it’s useless now.  There are no meta tags, no heading tags, and overall the site just sucks.

Even worse is that “Under Construction” page that never got updated.  What’s the point?

Fix: It’s time to hire a web designer, bite the bullet, and get a real website that engages customers, shows off your products and grows your business.

2. The search engines can’t index (or even find) you

You’re proud of your website.  The very cool Flash intro page really shows off your business in a way that no one else does.  Problem is, the search engines can’t see your website because of all that Flash.  They can’t index it, they have no idea what it says, and they have no idea how to categorize it.  So you’ll never rank on the search engines because they have no idea what you do.

Fix: Dump the Flash intro.  If you’re dead set on having some dumb animation on your page, put it in the header or some other small place.  Don’t make it the entire page.  Put real content with real follow-able links that the search engines can use to learn about you.

3. Your contact info isn’t on EVERY PAGE

This is an easy one.  Your phone number, at a minimum, should be on the top of every page of your website.  A lot of people simply look up your business so that they can call and interact with a real human.  If you make it hard for them to contact you, you might as well put up a sign that says “We don’t really want your business”.

I personally won’t click around on a website and strain to find a phone number or address.  If I can’t find it, I’ll hit the BACK button and go to the next result – probably your competitor.

Fix: Put your contact information in a very noticeable place.  Put your phone number at the top of the site, easy to read.  Build a Contact Us page that includes your phone number, address and even a map.  For a bonus, add printable directions or a click-to-call service.

4. Your site isn’t mobile-friendly

Smartphones, Google Maps, and ‘Apps’ aren’t losing popularity.  These things are everywhere, taking over the population.  If someone can’t browse your website in a mobile way, you’re missing a growing segment of searchers.

Fix: Build a mobile version of your website.  This should not be a high priority, particularly if the other things mentioned here apply to you.  Put this on the back burner, but don’t ignore it.

5. Your site isn’t interactive

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again.  Blogging is one of the best things you can do for your online business efforts.  Blogging used to be defined as “a personal journal that you can publish with ease”.  But small businesses have seen the potential of more traffic by adding a blog to their website. Adding a blog to your website will create new content (which the search engines love), show life to a dead site (which the search engines love) and give you the chance to interact with your audience (which the search engines love – as do customers!).

Fix: Add a blog on your domain.  If you aren’t sure how to do that, contact your web guy and get help.  Don’t sign up for one of those free blogging sites, that won’t help your business at all!

6. Oh – My Eyes!

This is related to #1.  It’s time to stop those crazy animations, the wild colors and scrolling marquees.  Those things were cool back in the day but not any more.  Search engines want content thats easy to understand and digest.  Customers want calming colors that persuade them to hang around on your website a while and read what you’ve got to say.

Fix: Calming blues and greens are the way to go.  Bright oranges and reds are considered ‘alert’ colors and encourage the customer to get off the page.

7. You Took Away My Wallet!

There’s not much worse than writing great content, having a good looking site, getting traffic and then not giving them a way to engage you.  A call to action should be mandatory on every page of your website.

Since only a fraction of the visitors to your website actually land on your home page first, it is imperative that all the pages on your site provide value to your visitor and gives them a place to interact with you – whether it’s by signing up for your newsletter, filling out a form to find out more information, or a BUY button.

8. You’re clueless about those that are visiting your site

Ok so you’re doing all seven of the above things correctly.  Good job.  Traffic is flowing, people are visiting your website.  But do you know what’s happening once they get there?  Are you logging into your analytics each week to find new trends?  How are your visitors finding you? What pages are most popular on your website?  Are there pages you can tweak to make them more interactive?

Analytics borders on nerd territory.  Data is what robots want, not humans.  Unfortunately, you’re running a business, and that business relies on data to function.  Are you missing out on potentially untapped market segments?  Are your pages falling short?  If your bounce rate through the roof?  And if so, why?

Fix: Take some time to read up on analytics.  Find out what you should be looking for, create some custom reports and watch for new keywords that could spring your business into uncharted territory online.

Is your website crap?

I spoke on this subject recently at a Chamber of Commerce meeting.  Some people may have been offended by the pull-no-punches approach I took, and others probably “got it”.  Do you “get it” or will you just continue to wonder why your website isn’t getting any traffic?

What was the word that was mentioned more than any other? WordPress.

During my session on Local SEO, one of the business owners raised his hand and said, “All throughout these sessions the number one thing we keep hearing is blog, blog blog. Why is this so important to a small business owner?”

I loved this question.  It’s a question I get in most of my small business sessions, and it’s one that can be easily answered.  There are a lot of reasons to blog, but there is one (in my opinion) that stands out above the others.

Blog for the long tail

In my opinion, the long tail of search is one of the greatest places for most businesses to pull in great leads.  A long tail searcher is already considered a warm lead compared to someone who’s looking for a more generic phrase.  For example, if you fix washers and dryers, which customer would you think is a warmer lead?  One that searches for ‘maytag washer’ or ‘maytag washing machine repair company 63103′?

Assuming you’ve written a blog that covers maytag washers, there’s a higher probability that the second searcher will a) land on your site and b) be a much warmer lead which will probably convert (if your site is well optimized to grab that lead)

Since long tail words are virtually unlimited, the vast variety of them will best be harvested by consistent and diverse content.

Blog for content

Those wacky search engine spiders love content.  They love to come to a website and see more than just pictures.  They want something to digest, something that’s original and industry related.  If you are fattening them up with quality industry-related content, they’re going to like you.  And like leads to rank.  Just like Santa Claus, leave out some good cookies and milk each week.  You’ll see your site grow, you’ll make the spiders happy, and you’ll reap the profits of more traffic.

Blog for activity

There’s nothing worse than a stale website.  If your website isn’t changing, updating or growing, you can forget about any search engine love.  They like to see movement.  Movement means life, and a website that’s ‘alive’ will have a much better chance at ranking.

Blog for community

One of the best things about blogging is the fact that people can interact with your business.  There’s something cool about being able to leave a comment on a post that was written about something I’m looking for.  If you’ve written a post on Why Your Maytag Dryer Isn’t Turning, and that’s just my problem, there’s a darn good chance I’m going to buy from you.  And I’ll probably leave a comment on your post thanking you.

And if that’s not my problem, there’s still a chance that I’ll leave a comment with my problem/symptoms.  You can then answer this, or better yet – write another blog about that problem.

Having your blog open to comments (moderated, of course) will lead to an interactive website.  Your visitors will give you free content in the form of comments, and you’ll be able to better serve your community of followers.  Win-Win.

Does your business blog?

Do you think it’d be a good thing to start? What are your biggest hurdles in getting a blog going?

Pretty cool, huh?

Several things are going on here, which I think you can use for your business.

Niche it, Baby

I’ve never heard of the JQA diaries until today, and most likely neither have you.  Thanks to some graduate student for mentioning that it looked like a Twitter feed, another person for acting on that observation, a Historical Society with a look-forward approach  (and a NY Times writer), now you have.  As of today, this account now has over 6000 followers. This little niche of history buffs is just the audience that the Massachesetts Historical Society wants, and they’ve found a way to “promote their wares” via Twitter.

Lesson: Find a topic that interests people.  Provide updates on a consistent basis, and you’ve got an immediate audience.  People will tell others, and in no time you’ll have a nice following of warm leads.

The Old is New

While reading a 200 year old diary isn’t exactly exciting to everyone, it is to some.  And that “some” is very interested in what is said by the account holder.  Old news is in demand, and over 6000 people are eagerly awaiting the next tweet, whether it’s about rough seas or card playing.

Lesson: Take information in your industry that you think everyone knows, and post about it.  Or blog about it.  You’ll increase your followers, RSS subscriptions, and website traffic because no one else is doing it.

Be Afraid Aware, Very Aware

Every day we are exposed to mundane and boring things in our industry.  We see them all the time, and pay no attention or give no second thought to them.  But smart business owners are taking those simple things and writing about them.  They are showing the behind-the-scenes to their business, or posting updates to their ‘boring’ day and people are interested.

For instance, I have a customer that sells memory foam mattresses.  One day I was at Target returning an item.  In front of me was a lady who was returning one of those mattress-topper memory foam things.  You roll them out on your mattress and they supposedly make it more comfortable to sleep on.  Well, I listened to her go on about how lumpy it made her bed, how it didn’t help her sleep, etc. so I mentioned it to my client.  He wrote up a blog post about these toppers (and their problems), and today it is one of his most popular posts ever.

Lesson: Watch what’s going on around you daily.  What things do you take for granted that your audience might find really useful?  Do you do something to each of your products to make it unique? Do you meet interesting people in your industry that others may find interesting as well?

Integration

The JQA diary posts also integrate with maps, making it even more interesting.  Even though the voyage took place  200 years ago, you can follow along today as if it were happening in real time.  You can see where in the ocean JQA is, and experience just what he was.

Lance Armstrong is a great user of integration, often posting his ‘view from the office’ pictures on TwitPic.  Bicyclers, cancer survivors and just fans love these updates.  They are interesting to his readers, and it helps him increase and identify his brand.

Lesson: Use technology to show what you do and who you are.  Become a real face to an otherwise faceless business identity.

You can learn a lot from a president that sailed the seas 200 years ago.  And you can take those things, along with the actions of some smart people, and apply them to your business.  How are you using similar tactics and posts to increase your business?

“just another wordpress” keyword

Since these bloggers haven’t modified the general description, chances are they aren’t real SEO savvy, and you could probably get in some nice one way links.  Just don’t outright spam them, at least leave a halfway interesting comment…