Blog SEO 101
Posted 13th October 2008 at 05:40 PM by Ron Killian
I try helping people, usually on forums, how to SEO their blogs, but few seem to get it or listen, or they seem to blow off what I say.
First off, I am not claiming to be some SEO Guru, I am always learning. Even so I do pretty good, I've had sites getting over 20k uniques a day in a pretty competitive niche.
So for those that want to listen and at least try their hand...
Stop Listening to the BS! Sure you can get ranked on the first page of G pretty easy, in two days or less. The thing is, they DON'T tell you is that it's normal, they also conveniently forget to tell you that it doesn't usually last.
Sorry to burst the bubble, just the facts ma'am.
I see it as G throwing you in for the keyword, and your lucky to get first page, UNTIL they figure out were you really should rank.
I don't mean to be negative, I just hate to see so many people get frustrated when they did what the Guru's tell them and then a couple days later it's gone. I know it happens because I've seen it.
It's going to take time, so get use to it. The higher the competition the longer it might take or the more work needed to get up high.
With that out of the way, let's get into Blog SEO 101...
Unless your shooting for a very narrow niche, you might as well not worry about your index page. Sure you can get ranked on your main page, but it's you post or single pages that will get the SEO long term, so it's best to focus on those.
On your single/post pages, get the title as close to the <body> tag as possible. Make sure to enclose it with <H1> tags.
Lose any un-necessary code on the post pages. Many blog themes have side bars on every page, not good. It adds extra content and code, repeated, that probably is not related to your post.
I normally take out the pre-made sidebar completely and only leave my category list or a couple money links. It can be a balancing act, you'll need to weigh the changes.
Trim up your code. Search Engines are looking for content, not code. View source on you single pages to see how good or bad it is.
One of the biggest code hogs are social bookmarking links, I've uses some that put out more code then I have content.
Valid date your pages, a good share of blog themes do not validate properly. Take care of any code errors.
In your titles and posts, try to work in related keywords. Clusty.com is a good place to find them.
Most of this is common sense, but to many people are looking for the tricks and believing the BS that is shoveled, selling the dream.
Of course, these are just the basics, but if you actually put them in place, it will get you headed in the right direction.
First off, I am not claiming to be some SEO Guru, I am always learning. Even so I do pretty good, I've had sites getting over 20k uniques a day in a pretty competitive niche.
So for those that want to listen and at least try their hand...
Stop Listening to the BS! Sure you can get ranked on the first page of G pretty easy, in two days or less. The thing is, they DON'T tell you is that it's normal, they also conveniently forget to tell you that it doesn't usually last.
Sorry to burst the bubble, just the facts ma'am.
I see it as G throwing you in for the keyword, and your lucky to get first page, UNTIL they figure out were you really should rank.
I don't mean to be negative, I just hate to see so many people get frustrated when they did what the Guru's tell them and then a couple days later it's gone. I know it happens because I've seen it.
It's going to take time, so get use to it. The higher the competition the longer it might take or the more work needed to get up high.
With that out of the way, let's get into Blog SEO 101...
Unless your shooting for a very narrow niche, you might as well not worry about your index page. Sure you can get ranked on your main page, but it's you post or single pages that will get the SEO long term, so it's best to focus on those.
On your single/post pages, get the title as close to the <body> tag as possible. Make sure to enclose it with <H1> tags.
Lose any un-necessary code on the post pages. Many blog themes have side bars on every page, not good. It adds extra content and code, repeated, that probably is not related to your post.
I normally take out the pre-made sidebar completely and only leave my category list or a couple money links. It can be a balancing act, you'll need to weigh the changes.
Trim up your code. Search Engines are looking for content, not code. View source on you single pages to see how good or bad it is.
One of the biggest code hogs are social bookmarking links, I've uses some that put out more code then I have content.
Valid date your pages, a good share of blog themes do not validate properly. Take care of any code errors.
In your titles and posts, try to work in related keywords. Clusty.com is a good place to find them.
Most of this is common sense, but to many people are looking for the tricks and believing the BS that is shoveled, selling the dream.
Of course, these are just the basics, but if you actually put them in place, it will get you headed in the right direction.
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