Everyone knows that Google is at the top of its game right now. Without a doubt, they provide the most relevant content and generally just nice overall user experience. What is it that Google does that makes them so much better than the other search engines? Google knows the search engine game.
SEO can enable your online business to flourish. The majority of web users open up their browsers and go directory to their favorite search engine to find what they’re looking for. I realize that I’m not the average web surfer, but I have watched my “web ignorant†friends search the web and it’s a totally different experience. This is why SEO and business are important friends, especially if you monetize. Search engines matter to the average user.
Not to mention most of them have no clue that they just clicked on a Google ad let alone have a clue how websites earn their money. I don’t expect them to know this, that’s my job. As an entrepreneur, you’re constantly mulling over new business ideas in your mind, making mental checks to see if the idea is marketable or not. There are plenty of ways to market a new business online. What’s your first thought when it comes to marketing a new business online?
If you’re like most people your first thoughts are of the different techniques including social marketing, web directories, advertising and so on. These are all very important pieces to the puzzle, however the most vital piece of the puzzle you may be missing is a business blog.
The great thing about having a business blog as a marketing tool is that blogs are seen as news sources and news sources can become authority sites. With a business blog you can leverage your position as a news source by discussing topics that are relative to your brand. Keep in mind that in order to truly leverage your business blog you must create quality content that can attract attention. Quality content will always be the key to success when it comes to putting together a great business blog.
There are plenty of “blog only†resources to help you leverage the power of your business blog including blog communities and blog directories. Blogging has become extremely popular with lots of new blogs sprouting up every day. This has created a need for blogging tools that has been met by the market with a vast array of “blog only†tools. These tools, when leveraged correctly, can help your business and your brand stand out. If your competition fails to leverage the power of a business blog then you and your brand are already ahead of the game.
A lot of people want to know the “how and where†when it comes to getting started in business web development. First of all you must have a great passion for entrepreneurship and a healthy knowledge of business. Without a hunger and passion for business and entrepreneurship you have no reason to get started in business web development. If you have never read a book on business or entrepreneurship then you might want to start there instead. Entrepreneurs and business minded people see how much money is made on the web and they immediately get excited about the opportunity to do the same.
While focusing on your current topic is exactly what you should be doing, there’s another important aspect of blogging that you need to take into consideration. Along with your current post you should be thinking about an internal linking strategy.
Although an internal linking strategy may never have crossed your mind it happens to be one of the most important strategies for bloggers and webmasters alike. Your internal linking strategy could be the strategy that makes or breaks you. The search engines can either look at your site as a valuable information source or as an unimportant information source. What it comes down to is; which do you prefer? You want to be seen as a valuable information source, right? Isn’t this why you put so much time and effort into your blog or website?
What happens here is that sites without internal linking may actually be undervalued because they don’t have internal links. If you write a blog on a focused topic and not just ramblings, then this should be no problem at all.
What should you link to?
- Previous blog posts that are relevant to your current blog post
- Your domain name
How should you link to your previous posts?
- Use keywords that appear naturally in your current post and hyperlink them to your previous post.
- If you can’t use the exact keywords you would like because they don’t appear naturally in your current post then you can still use a particular keyword or keyword set by making use of the “alt†attribute; by using the “alt†attribute you can place your keywords there and tell the search engines what the link is about.
Why is this important?
- You are telling the search engines that a particular post you had earlier is relevant to what you are currently talking about.
- You are telling the search engines that your blog or website is important.
If you’re haven’t been thinking about an internal linking strategy then don’t worry, it’s not too late. You can go back through your posts and link to all the relevant posts that you can find. This may take a little time but the results you will see in the search engines can be dramatic.
While search engine traffic may not be the “be all end all†it can have an impact on the amount of users and readers that find your website on the Internet. Users and readers are the “be all end all.†I know that I’ve found plenty of great resources through search engines and without these strategies in place I may have never found some of the sites that I visit on a daily basis.
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