Blog optimization: the technical version.
I landed on another business website recently that need a blog update, bad. I would love to link to their site as an example of what not to do, but that wouldn’t be professional. Instead, I will start at the top and work my way down using that site as an example of what you need to be doing to properly optimize your business blog.
1. Domain. Subdomain, subdomain, subdomain. There really isn’t anything else to say.
2. Branding. Your blog should be a continuous brand experience, and top to bottom should reinforce your company brand. This includes technical elements like color scheme, logo, brand design elements, and consistent typography. But it goes beyond that and into the tone the blog strikes with readers, the type of content, and intended audience.
3. Blog technology. If your site is hosted on blogger, it’s not too late. We can get you help! Placing your blog on a subdomain using a hosted Wordpress or Movable Type implementation is the only way to go. You will find people who are practically religious in their belief about which platform is better for you, but either will serve you well for SEO. Wordpress has a vast volume of cool plugins and themes to help you get started, so I typically recommend you start there.
4. Content. Your blog is a perfect opportunity to add content relevant to your company, thus improving your search engine results. Some of Google’s top experts recommend this as a critical step to improving your SEO. Update regularly and use content relevant to your company.
5. Comments. Approve the good ones, and respond. Opening a dialogue with your blog readers is one of the best ways to get return traffic and keep posts fresh. (It will also keep people engaged in your blog, which is also important.)
6. Frequency! I’ve seen some companies post too infrequently, which defeats the purpose of blog. Post to the blog everyday - find something to talk about.
7. Syndicate. Make it easy for anyone reading one of your articles to post it everywhere. Digg, Del.icio.us, Twitter, Stumbleupon, Yahoo….offer them all. No one can promote your blog if you don’t help them do it.
Review your blog regularly and see if any of these can be improved. You will notice the difference immediately.
