SEO for Bloggers

These are notes from the classes I took at SNAP and are obviously the things that stood out to me, things I want to implement, etc – check out their blog for more info on the sessions, better pictures, fun times, etc.

First up, as I mentioned the other day, on the way from the airport to SNAP, we stopped at Cafe Rio – cause we don’t have those out here in the midwest.  It was delicious!

SEO is Search Engine Optimization – – so the class was basically about how to make your blog more noticeable when you search for things using a search site like Google.

The class was taught by Dennis Goedegebuure, who blogs at TheNextCorner.net

Random info – cause that’s how I take notes:
if you have a blog and you didn’t get a chance to attend this class, here ya go – read and enjoy

• Info-rich site — you can’t have a blog about nothing and expect great SEO
• Have a clear hierarchy and text links (like drop-down bars)
• Think about what words people would use to search for your post, and use those in your post (for example, someone might search for “how to make a rag rug” so I should use all those words in Rag Rug Tutorial Post)
• link to yourself within your own content (for example, if I write a post about rolled flower necklaces, I would also link to my rolled flower tutorial)
• DON’T: participate in link schemes, create duplicate content, or use irrelevant keywords
• Connect Google+ to your own website so you can use your google profile picture when your website links pull up in Google
• don’t buy links – don’t sell links
• If you write a guest post for someone else, when you repost it on your blog, change it a little or add a paragraph to the top and bottom so it registers as a different post.
• Use you VERY BEST content when you are Guest Posting
• Start using Google Webmaster Tools!! (and Google Analytics, but I’m already doing that)
• When tweeting, etc, use catchy titles – – use 70 characters
• Structure your pages so they are visually appealing – paragraph headings, etc – images make stories more interesting (see a front-page newspaper for an example)
• Put your keywords in your page title
• Your first paragraph should describe the whole post – a summary paragraph
• Write a follow-up post on all your great posts
• Image Optimization – the file name of your picture should contain key words (example, name it “tote bag tutorial” instead of “img 104”
• Add backposts to FB timelines, use the Google+ buttom, etc