Alaska’s Best SEO

For most, the idea of maintaining a website is nerve wracking. I mean, how do you find the time to sit down and make a new web page?

Many people, when asked, still believe that you need special software such as FrontPage (or now called MicroSoft Expression), to make web pages. This limiting philosophy is what tends to keep a site either static or some crazed monstrosity built by a co-worker with limited or no experience.

Enter the “Blog” (short for web log), which allows you to simply type in content to a structured framework, thus eliminating the need for special tools on the individual PC. Blogs simplify the web-publishing process to such a degree that anyone can do it, regardless of experience and because it requires no web design tools it allows for fresh updated content from any PC anywhere! Imagine being on a hotel computer in Paris updating your website immediately instead of having to wait to use the one back home or meeting with your web designer. Also a blog allows multiple people to add content.

Note: There is also a tool called a Content Management System (CMS), which is decidedly different from a blog. Many CMS tools now have either a built in blog or a blog add-on.

So why a blog and why does it enhance SEO?

Simply, it’s a very easy way to add content to your website. The more good relevant content, the better you will be with search engines by upping your keyword density. In fact, thanks to the enhancements in blogging technology, a single individual could easily manage a large web presence. In fact, early adopters of blogs found them to be a useful tool for online communication and a godsend in the ongoing quest for search engine ranking / visibility.

Blogs are a great way to communicate with your target audience and if you’re in sales a very good way to connect with potential customers. In the Real Estate industry, the blog is now becoming a major component of their web presence as it personalizes the Realtor (”Get to know John Smith - click her to read his blog”).

A blog also does not have to be lengthy, each “post” or “article” can be small - snippets of your expertise in your industry or passion for your product. You also do not need to have multiple daily articles, especially if the content is good and relevant. A regular weekly article will be fine. We have one client who starts her week blogging about a topic relating to her latest art project(s). She now sees it as a great way to get her back into focus for her business and based upon the stats on her site, her many fans love to read it! With blogging, you can find yourself in a position where you create consumer interest…thereby allowing you to acquire new business.

Simple, easy to add content, and manageable (editable). Also blogging tools can be attached to existing websites - so most sites shouldn’t require any “major” revisions.

“I just don’t know”

I bet you’ve already come up with several reasons not to blog. Some of the more popular reasons we hear are:

• “I need to remain focused on the business.”
• “There’s no way I can write a blog.”
• “I don’t have time to write anything, let alone a blog!”
• “I’ll run out of topics for the blog.”
• “Till it’s proven blogs help my rankings, I’ll wait.”
• “Blogs are a fad.”

I know that many of you are still not yet convinced that the internet is useful (”all I know is I need a website”). The truth is that the yellow pages are becoming the way of the dodo and the days of the brick & mortar superiority are over. Your competition isn’t just across the street, it’s now at the computer in your potential and existing customer’s homes! With free time becoming a precious commodity, more and more people are using the internet to research a product or service.

With more and more competition on the web the ability to be in the first ten (or eight if you’re in a PPC campaign) is becoming harder. Having the ability to influence your market about your product or service is critical.

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 11th, 2007 at 7:47 am and is filed under SEO Techniques. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.