SEO for Beginners Part 2

• Linkworking. Networking can be one of the greatest tools that you can use to build traffic to your site. Within your posts, try linking to other bloggers or websites that are having the same conversation about the topic that you are covering. This is proper blog etiquette and can get others to link back to you. Once readers see links to your pages on other pages, they will most likely travel back to your page. If they like what they see, they may even backlink to your page when they post on other sites. For example, in my Yo Trakz post, I linked back to the interviewee’s blog so that my followers can also check out his page. With the use of this tip, I am going to notify the YoTrakz blogger of my post about him, and hopefully he will link back to me in return.

• Check the stats. Google Analytics and other blog stats managers such as Omniture are a great source for keeping track of who is visiting your blog, how long they are there, where they are coming from, and what posts are they looking at specifically. By visiting the link listed above, any Google user can access analytics simply by clicking the tab on the welcome screen (those who do not have Google accounts will have to sign up). After using analytics I was able to track who my audience is and what content they were most interested in so that I can tailor the information that I put on my page to their interests. This has helped increase my followers, and even now I have a follower named CCCam who manages Mobtown Media Beat which is a blog that covers the same niche audience that I have been trying to target.
  



• Analytics gives you information about how many visits you get to your page, how many page views, what countries your visitors are coming from, how long did they remain on each page, what keywords are landing people on your site, and from what source did they find your page (i.e. direct search, referrals, or search engines). You can use this information to your advantage by implementing certain keywords in your posts, tags, and titles. You could also link to the other sites that viewers are coming from in order to increase your visibility. These tips will help your blog to place better in search engine results.
  

SEO for Beginners Part 1

What is SEO? How do I use it to build traffic on my blog?

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) helps bloggers to increase the traffic that flows into their site and makes the information that they post readily available for web crawlers. When bloggers search for their website in Google they are more likely to find 100 links ranked highest above their own. This would occur because they haven’t made their content “site friendly” to web browsers such as Google or Yahoo. Using SEO to optimize their sites’ rankings in these search engines will help the millions of people who use search engines on a daily basis to find the content that they are searching for on your website.

• Submit your URL to Google and submit your RSS feed as a sitemap. In order to do this step, you will need to start by adding your URL to Google’s list of sites for the first time. However, after you do this you will also need to log into a Google Webmaster account (those with Google accounts can use their already existing accounts to applications such as this) and create a Google sitemap for your website. The way I did this was by submitting my URL to “My Sites” and then embedding the metatag into my HTML info on my Blogger dashboard in order to verify that this was my site.
• Using appropriate keywords. When I first began adding tags to my posts I would frequently write any word that I thought could be associated with my post. However by using Google Adwords , I was able see all of the keywords that are searched the most by Google users on a daily basis. Google Adwords can search the keywords on your page or you can enter a specific topic that you would like to see keywords used for. Afterward, I took the keywords that had the highest rankings and implemented them in my tags, page headers, and titles of posts. I used keywords such as Baltimore City or Michael Phelps which received high rankings on Google. If the content on your site is completely random, I would suggest to include words that are associated with the highest ranked terms in Google. For example, I wrote a post about a festival occuring in Baltimore City, however since it was close to cinco de mayo, I decided to include the words "Cinco de Mayo" as part of my tags and write "Happy Cinco de Mayo!" in my post. To be honest, I believe that SEO is all about the hustle and bustle of getting users to your site! Although the words you choose should apply somewhat closely to your content ;)
• Feeling Lucky? Google Hottrends is another good way to keep up with what hot topics searchers are looking for. This site ranks keywords from most to least searched. It is also wise to embed these words into your posts and tags in order for searchers to be directed to your site. You could also write posts about the news and trends that people are searching for.

Building Traffic

How do I get people to read my blog?

The key to building traffic is to find the right people to follow and have the right people follow you! Here's how:

1. Join the community: You should actively search for and participate in the conversations that are going on in the blogosphere about your topic. According to the Idiot’s Guide to Blogging, you should start out by looking for people in the community who offer fresh news on the subject often, and who are highly visible in the community. Say, for instance, you are using Blogger. If you become a follower of one of the veterans of the topic who already of a huge audience, people may stumble onto your profile and take a look at your blog. But you should also interact with anyone who is apart of the conversation in order to build more traffic. Going after internet gurus such as the Huffington Post may not always benefit you, but looking to engage in many smaller conversations can help.
2. Contribute to the conversation: After you have found the community you connect well with, start to dive into the conversations they are having. Leave comments on other people’s blogs. Include link references in these commentsThis may incite them to track back to your blog and leave a comment. This could also increase your followers and build a professional relationship between you and the community. Viewers will see that you are actively participating in the conversation and may look to your blog as a resource if they see that you are knowledgeable about the subject.
3. Market and Promote: How do people even begin to look at your blog if they don’t know it exists? Trying to master SEO is enough of a challenge to master. However, in the meantime you should use social networks such as Facebook, Myspace, Twitter (and the thousand others that exist) to promote yourself. I find that Tiny URL and Tiny Pic are my best friends in this area. If you update a post and want to put it in your Twitter status, you will notice that it isn’t wise to try to fit the whole URL in there when you only have a few characters to work with. By visiting Tiny URL you can shrink your link down to a size that looks more attractive. Also, you might want to write a brief description about what readers can find on your blog when they click the link. Sometimes just including the link can compel people to want to click on it, but if you mention something like “Interview with Obama”, more then likely people who are interested in this topic (who are the people you want to target anyway) will visit your blog.

Images and Video tips

Image Tips:

• Link to the original website that you obtained the image from. Google Images and Getty Images are good sources for free web images.
• Send an email to the web site host or person you are trying to copy an image from and ask permission.
  

Video Tips:

• Try to keep the camera still. Shaky videos are not attractive. Use a tripod if possible.
• When interviewing someone, don't be afraid to cut it short. Don't do it in a rude way of course, but sometimes interviewees like to ramble. I don't know what kind of memory you will be using, but mines certainly won't hold a 15 minute interview with one subject.
• Don't talk or make noises behind the camera. This is so annoying! I have a bad habit of doing it myself. Be silent and let the interviewee fill in that silence. It's not easy to edit what you say out of a video!
• Watch out for ambient sound such as cars zooming by, people talking, or the wind for example. Of course this will depend on the environment that you are in.
• When you post your video, write a few lines introducing what people will see in the video, then include the clip, and maybe write a few lines after. You want viewers to know what they are watching.
• Don't stack your videos!
  

Stylistic and Grammatical tips and tricks

Now that I know what to write, HOW should I write it?

Okay, so we've covered a lot of the meat and potatoes of blogging, let's move onto the bread and butter:

Blog Content Tips:

• Be an authority of your topic WITH personality.
• Include links: this builds credibility, research, and transparency. Make sure they are well chosen, well placed, and that they pertain to the story. Embed them in your words, similar to what I have done Chris Brogan does here. Instead of writing out a link to be clicked on like this: http://www.chrisbrogan.com/my-best-advice-about-blogging/, I embedded it behind a word (or words) so readers could click on it.
  
• Variety in presentation: visuals, headlines.
• Short and crisp content (average 100-249 or 250-500 words)
• Omit needless words
• Get outside sources (the better your sources, the better your content). Go where they are, email them or call them and introduce the topic (make sure it is relevant to them). Be polite!
• Write leads; pay attention to how you start your post. You must grab the audience's attention right from the beginning!
• Use paragraphs. Vary your prose between short and long sentences.

Minor Grammatical Tips:

• Acronyms: Don't use them, unless the AP Stylebook says so.
• Address: You can't abbreviate every address, but to find out how to use this properly, refer to your style book.
• States: Correct abbreviations are listed in your style book. Don't use zip codes, use AP state codes.
• Numbers 0-9 should be spelled out, 10-1000 should use numerals.
• Ages: should be spelled out when starting a sentence

When all else fails, use your style book!

Start Posting!

What should I post?

Oh the possibilities! Well of course you should post content that applies to your topic. But here are some other tips and tricks about things you should include in your posts:

1. What does your audience want to hear?: Since you have already become part of the conversation about your beat, post some things that you see people discussing, or what your readers may request of you. I received a request from my professor to post graffiti on my blog, so that's what I did. If you keep your readers interested in your content, they will keep coming back for more. You can even ask your audience what they would like to read about. See how they respond.
   
2. Images and Videos: I mentioned this one before, but I would like to stress it's importance again. Visual learners like myself would appreciate if your blog wasn't so text heavy. Internet users usually have a short attention span, so breaking up your text with an image or to that relates to your post would be helpful. Also, I am a big advocate for videos. That's why I started a vlog. A video adds much more impact to the story you are trying to cover.
3. Find inspiration from reading other blogs. Try to build off of the concepts you read and not simply complement them. Create new ideas for your audience.
4. How-to's are always fun to read, and depending on your blog's topic, they can be a great help to your readers.
5. A series of post can bring up follow up points for you and your readers to add to.

For 40 more ways to deliver killer blog content click here!

You'd Better Beat It!

What is beat blogging? How should I cover a beat?

According to Alana Taylor, Beat blogging

is a beat reporter who uses their blog as a tool to engage their readers, interact with them, use them as sources, crowdsource their ideas and invite them to contribute to the reporting process.

A beat blogger becomes more then a journalist because they are not just reporting news, they are everywhere in a specific community covering the news and having that community actively engage in the news. I decided to become a beat blogger for Baltimore initially, which didn't work out. Baltimore is too big for me to be everwhere and cover every topic, so I knew I had to narrow my focus.
That's when I decided to create V-MORE and cover a beat of arts and culture on the west side and downtown areas of Baltimore city. I became a beat blogger by going out into the community and starting conversations with it's members. My interview with Ronald Day is a good example.

In order to become a beat blogger, you should start with these tips:

• Establish your beat and narrow it down. If you know what your covering specifically, you'll be able to hunt down the sources for it.
• Start conversations with your readers. Go out into the community and be apart of the activity, be up to date with the trends, talk to people BE IN THE KNOW.
  
• Go beyond the outside. Find blogs that are having conversations about your beat and link to them. Leave comments on those blogs. Leave responses to comments that may be posted on your blog. Take tips from those comments. Become a part of the online conversation. This will establish your authority on the topic and increase your visibility.
• Be accessible to your audience. Make sure your email, the links to your pages on social media sites, your professional photos, and basically all of your professional life is easy to find. You want to build relationships with your readers right? This is the way to do it.

For more tips like these click here.

What's In a Name?

What title should I choose for my blog? What should my domain name be?

Your title will be what grabs reader's attention. A good blog should start off with a great title. The title should be clear, target it's readers, be short, and stand out. Two example that Ariana Huffington provided in her book "The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging" are Stuff White People Like and Wonkette.

You'll notice that the two blog names above link to domain names that include the blog name in them. I would suggest using your blog name for your domain name. For example, when I created my first blog "No Sugar No Sweet" I used the domain name nosugarnosweet.blogspot.com. This will make your blog easier for web surfers to find through search engines or direct searches. Another idea would be to come up with a domain name that is close to your blog name. For example, Meep Meep's domain name is doublemeep.com.

If your blog title is Being A College Student, you would't want your domain name to be myblogisthebest.com. How would we ever find that?

Choosing Your Topic

How do I know what topic to write about?

Beginner bloggers will find this question to be the hardest to answer. However, as I gained experience, I found that the answer is quite simple. Blog about what you are interested in! If you are interested in the content you are writing, then delivering that content will become easier to do. You will enjoy hoping on your laptop or going to your school's library to post on your blog (well, maybe not that enthusiastic about the library :/ ).

When we first started throwing around ideas for our blogs in my Writing for New Media class, I was amazed at how people were able to pinpoint their interests and expand upon them in their blogs. This lead to some very successful blogs being created, such as The Columbia Blog Project (this student blogged about their hometown), Meep Meep (a student who blogged about running) and Thrity Shopaholics (a student blogging about how students save money).

How to get the readers reading!

How can I write web content that grabs readers?

1. KS2 – Keep it SHORT stupid! According to the Modern Life word count tally of blogs the average length of a blog is usually between 100-500 words long. The shortest one found was 77 words. Blog readers have a short attention span, thus, it is important to keep your blogs short in order to not lose the audience members’ attention. However, a blog can be written in as many words as needed to get your point across. A good example of this would be the blogs that are on news sites such as the Baltimore Sun, where coverage of a news story could increase the length of the blog.
2. Link it up- Including links in your blog similar to what Frank Rich of the Times does lends credibility to your material and helps the audience find the direct source to information on what you are discussing. Some would argue that including links are an easy way to get readers side tracked and send them away from your site. However it would be helpful to your readers and your blog to make your link as specific as possible and to get creative with it (i.e. linking to a You Tube video to illustrate your point). Besides with all of the great advice I am about to give you in this link of seven secrets to give your blog the edge, you won't have to worry about anyone wandering away for too long!
   
3. Find your voice- According to The Huffington Post Guide to Blogging, “good writing connects to a specific side of yourself that’s stimulated by the thought of reaching other people.” When your voice shines through in your blog, readers are easily able to identify with your perspective and begin to feel more comfortable.
4. Blog often- Be consistent with your blog and make a schedule for when you will blog. When you begin to develop your “tribe”, you will owe it to them to produce more material. Blogging often will also help you become a better blogger and receive feedback.
5. Images- the more the better!
   

Great Blog Examples

Here are some examples of award winning blogs are GREAT, and what makes them GREAT:

The Huffington Post: best political blog because it remains an authority in it's topic, great networking and continues to build a community of followers by having people guest blog for them.

Boing Boing: clear and straight to the point (even when it's posts are a little lengthy), links included throughout

Tech Crunch: consistently updated, rewards readers with news info, keeps up with new trends that people are searching for (very important)

Technorati is like the U.S. census of the blogosphere (which by the way, if I haven't defined before, it the world that blogs live in). Technorati is the leading blog search engine and indexes more than 1.5 million new blog posts in real time. The blogs that I have mentioned above are included in their list of top 100 blogs.

Great blogs...what are their secrets?

What makes a great blog?

1. Lead your tribe: Being a blogger is not only about the writing, it's about the audience that you are writing for. Even if you are a beginner who only has two readers (that would be yourself and your professor in your case), ALWAYS be conscious of who you are writing for. These people will be what my professor would like to call a "niche audience". Seth Godin made a very good point when he pointed out the quality that today's most successful blogs have in common. They did not try to reach everyone with their content; instead blogs such as The Huffington Post focused their content on a group of readers within a specific demographic/psycho graphic. Once I created a community of people and supplied them with content they were interested in on V-MORE, a conversation amongst my readers ignited and I found it easier to create content for my blog.
2. Rob Curley summarized this point the best with the 5 P's. These elements make up the content that most internet users are searching for, and what will most likely drive pageviews for a blog.
   
   • Passions: people searching for their favorite things
     
   • Practical: general information such as cooking recipes or directions.
     
   • Playful: the things we become addicted to: social media sites, gossip sites, and, of course, Youtube
     
   • Personal Communication: keeping in contact with internet and real life buddies
     
   • Porn: well, at least Curley was being realistic!
   I have to admit, I still haven't mastered the art of including content that people like on my blog in order to increase my hits. However if you've mastered this, the rest of the points shown here will be a breeze.
3. Daily Blog Tips is a great site for cracking the code on what makes a great blog
   (and I wish I had discovered it earlier). One of the great tips they give is "simplicity is key". When readers come to your blog they most likely won't scroll to the end of the page to read what you have to say. Therefore, make posts that are short, concise, and straight to the point (unless elaboration is absolutley necessary!)

Want some examples of great blogs? Check out my next post.

Who blogs and why?

1. Big Businesses, Personal Branding, Nonprofits: Blogs can be used by people in these three genres as a social media tool for reaching their audience. According to Chris Brogan’s blog, using a blog for personal branding could be done by an individual purchasing their own domain name and having it hosted by an inexpensive server. Corporations can use blogs to their advantage by not making the blog a tool to be used for selling the product, but rather using it as a communication channel to reach and help their audience. Nonprofits can use blogs to post pictures and storytelling of the services that they have done.
2. Reporting about the reports: Many people blog to update others on the “whats happening’s”. Brian Stelter is a perfect example. He provided an additional source of updates in the news world by consistently blogging with TVNewser.
3. Independent Journalists: Whilst in life threatening territory, Christopher Allbritton used blogging to relay vital information to his audience over the web, so that they could receive coverage of the stories in Iraq that they may not receive on in other mediums. Doing this helped him to raise money to support his idependent journalism, and eliminated the pressures of outside media outlets for him covering his story that may often lead to bias and sensationalism in news stories.
4. Alternative News: Blogs can be used to discover truth behind the sensationalism of media, or to advance the sensationalism. My two favorite examples are theybf.com, which is a blog maintained to give updates on the latest celebrity gossip, and silentwordz.wordpress.com. The people who write these blogs open a communication high way for internet users who want to express their concerns about existing issues.
   And last but CERTAINLY not least...
5. Students! Ordinary people make up the majority of bloggers, including college aged students searching to find an identity, according to Paul Andrews’ column. Blogs are used to communicate with other people and find likeness or discuss difference between one another; they are used to open debate about political, personal, or journalistic issues. Facebook is a common example of a social medium used by students.

So you think you can blog, eh?

You may have answered this question with a quick "yes".

If so, then answer me this:

• Who blogs and why?
• What makes a great blog?
• What is a niche audience?
• What is Google Analytics?

If you were unable to answer ANY of these questions, then this site is for you! Blogging can be one of the most fun and liberating experiences a journalism student will gain in Writing for New Media. However, blogging also presents many challenges- and if you are not fully prepared for the ride that awaits you this semester, you may find it hard to keep up. On this site you will find answers to questions such as the ones listed above, guides on how to maintain a great blog, and tips on how to master all of the technicalities of blogging (which I found to be the hardest part for myself as a beginner!). So pull out your pen and paper (or your blog) and lets get to work!