Blogging can be a great way to share your personal thoughts or to build your reputation as a business. There are millions of blogs on the web these days, but that doesn’t mean you won’t be heard. Setting up a blog is easier than ever. There are a number of tools and guides to help you in this process. Once you get going there are a few practices you can use to help readers or clients find your page.
Starting Your Blog
Starting a blog is easy. Getting it in front of your intended audience is the challenging part. If you are unfamiliar with the process then this straightforward guide on how to start a blog can have you up and running in about 30 minutes. If you’re reading this post online then you have the skills and tools you need at your disposal. One of the main tips is to not be intimidated by the technology. WordPress is a widely used platform and odds are that if you run into problems and need help then someone before you has had a similar problem and you will be able to find the solution out there.
Content
Content is king. If you aren’t generating quality content then you may actually do more harm than good. If you’re establishing yourself as an authority in your niche and people see a lot of grammar mistakes or poorly written content then they may not take you seriously. If you’re a writer creating your own blog then you should be able to manage this, but if writing isn’t your forte and you’re starting a blog for a business then you can always outsource this part.
The Evolution of Search Engine Optimization
Getting to the top of the results page for popular search engines has been a priority since they were first developed. In the early days search engines were pretty simple and you could use keywords several times and make it to the top of the list. Developers became aware of tactics like this and realized that it didn’t always make for a good user experience. As search engines became more sophisticated the need for search engine optimization (SEO) in webpages and blogs began to grow as well. These days there are complex algorithms that come into play when it comes to getting to the top of the list of popular search engines like Google or Yahoo. If you want to be found organically then SEO is the way to do it.
These days it’s better to focus on creating quality content that uses your key-terms in a natural way. The popular search engines can recognize practices like key word stuffing and will actually penalize your site for such practices. Google provides a great guide to getting started with SEO.
A Few Key Items for SEO:
- Use unique and accurate page titles
- Improve your site structure
- Generate quality content
- Use key terms but don’t overuse them
- Link to other relevant material
- Check mobile compatibility
As blogging continues to grow we will continue to see changes in how people find and use your services online. Consider that in 1995 less than 1% people had access to the internet, and now many of us carry computing devices in our pockets. This statistic puts how quickly this industry has evolved into perspective and serves as a reminder that in order to thrive we must continue to grow with it.
