Volumes are written about Search Engine Optimization and how to improve your PageRank. In truth, SEO is a means to an end, getting people to read your site. I thought it worth giving some simple steps to improve PageRanking.
Anyone new to optimization can begin to feel that there is a great chasm of understanding to be gained before beginning web publishing. Posting information to a page that ranks well on search engines and written for ease of use by readers is actually deceptively simple. Going hand-in-hand with my post Search Engine Optimization Do’s and Don’ts, this post will give you a few simple steps to advance your web publishing efforts.
Simple Steps for Writing an Optimized Post
- Develop an idea for a post. While research in the subject is valuable, formulate your own well developed content. This cannot be stated too often. Original content will result in higher PageRank.
- In Google, search blog titles to ensure there are no exact duplicate results.
- Develop a title that succinctly states the point of your post.
- Write a short paragraph summarizing the focus of the post. Proof your post for spelling, grammar and awkward sentence structure.
- Use bulleted lists and state the essential ideas with key terms to be found in Google in the post like "Search Engine Optimization" or "User optimized websites".
- Use subtitles, illustrations and photos to guide the user.
- Use online SEO tools such as: http://tools.seobook.com/ to look-up search terms.
- Daily monitor your web traffic using Google Analytics or stats from sites such as MyBlogLog.
- Write serial or related posts that give users a body of information on a given topic.
- Link both to meaningful related information on other sites and back into your own post.
Writing to an audience with some basic guidelines will promote the development of content that users will appreciate and share with others. While it may seem like SEO boils down to learning the tricks of the trade, writing worthwhile and valuable content will create a lasting impression. When quality content is developed, people link to your site which will do more for PageRanking than any trick in the book. I remember one of the Yahoo reps at a Search Engine conference saying, "Do the right thing and you will rank well."
There are many other steps one can take to promote a site, but starting with solid posts is the cornerstone. These are good practices I take with posts. Any tips or ideas you’ve picked-up that I haven’t mentioned in either post on optimization? What’s working for you?
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In one evening I "developed" an intranet system for my household complete with email, calendar, file sharing, chat, customized views of information, widgets and RSS feeds. If you’ve used gmail before, it’s basically the same concept only they are extending it to allow shared info under your own domain. I also have pointed the domain thoughtsparks.net to this blog which gives me an instant homepage for the domain. Yeah, with work and side pro-bono stuff it may be a while before I actually build-out the cool new site for thoughtsparks.net but for now I’m rolling. It’s a no-cost deal but if you want more than 2 GB space and a few other bells and whistles you’ll have to pay $50 a year. Still not bad for all the capabilities in one centralized deal that is quick to configure.