All Entries in the "Blog Optimization" Category
Google Blog Search Is Much Improved
Google recently upgraded its blog search features and made them better. You can now search for information and actually see the latest blog posts on a given topic. I typed in “Google Blog Search” and saw a post from 2 minutes ago. It was actually right on target.
The challenge for Google on its blog search feature was to meet its own relevance test as well as deliver the latest results. It hasn’t exactly done a good job of it. But the latest changes to the blog search algorithm makes it a much better product in my opinion. One other feature I like is the Choose Dates feature, which lets you select specific dates for searching for blog posts.
For instance, if I wanted to see what people were saying about blog content in June 2008 then I could specify those dates under the Choose Dates feature. Performing a search and narrowing it down to those specific dates, I see there are just over 14,000 results. I also see that Blog Content Provider is the first service listed for that phrase under Google’s Blog Search.
You can perform a similar search for any niche. What I like about this tool from a blogger’s stand point, or a professional blogging stand point, is that you can use your key phrases to target Google’s search ranking index and have your blog rank reasonably well within minutes for your key search phrase. While not all internet users are savvy enough to utilize Google in this manner, you can get enough decent traffic, especially if you are in the right niche, to make it worth your while. Besides, every little edge you can gain is good.
Why You Want Your Categories To Be Keyword Driven
You know you should have categories in your blog’s sidebar. But did you know those categories should be a list of your important keywords? There are multiple reasons why, but the long and the short of it is that they help you optimize your blog. Every instance of keyword usage on your blog is one step closer to high rankings. Plus, those category names are not just keywords, they are also links, which makes them even more valuable.
Here’s a case study of how a category name can assist you with search engine benefits. Type “blog content ghostwriting” into Google’s search box (without the quotation marks). Now click on the link at the top of the page, just above the search results, that says “Show options”. Select Recent Results and sort by date. Now scroll down to position No. 8 in the results. Here’s what you should see.
At the time of my writing this blog post, this post on quality content was in the position No. 8 position 58 minutes after posting.
Examining the contents of that blog post, there is nothing in that post that discusses blogging or ghostwriting. Those words are not even mentioned in the post anywhere. So how did the post rank on Page 1 of the SERPs for the parameters we gave it? By the blog’s categories.
Take a look at those categories and you’ll see that there is one called “Blog Marketing”, another one called “Content/Website Development” and one titled “Copywriting & Ghostwriting”. All three of the search phrases used are category names on this blog, giving the latest blog post – serendepitously all about content – an added boost.
This is just one example out of millions. Keyword-focused categories are an optimization essential and can often help individual blog posts rank for key terms they might not otherwise rank for.
Is Your Permalink Structure Helping Or Hurting You?
I read a lot of blogs. One of the things that I look at when I evaluate a blog I’ve never read before is the permalink structure. I ask myself, “Why did the blogger do it this way?”
Sometimes I can ascertain a good reason. Other times I am totally clueless. If I’m not sure why the blogger chose the permalink structure they chose it’s usually either because they are so advanced that I am not aware of a particular tactic they are using or the blogger doesn’t have a good understanding of SEO and isn’t using best practices. Permalink structure does matter and if you are starting a new company blog you should seriously consider what your links and URLs will look like.
First, the definition – a permalink is the URL of a particular blog post. It includes the root domain, the folder on which your blog sits, the blog post title, and anything else you add in there to identify it. Usually, bloggers will incorporate category names, dates, and/or numerical sequencing protocol. By and large, these can be helpful or a hindrance depending on how they are incorporated.
I’d stay away from category names. They can pigeonhole your blog posts in ways that will hurt you. For instance, your blog post could end up ranking for your category name and not for anything related to your blog post itself. That would be a bad thing.
Dates can also have a detrimental effect. Human readers may look at dates in your permalink structure and disregard anything that is beyond 6 months or a year. That will hurt your credibility.
A number sequencing system can distinguish your blog posts from each other, which is good, but if you stick with that alone then you get no SEO benefits. Using these principles, I’d say your best bet for a permalink structure on your blog is like this:
root/blog folder name/blog post title/number sequence
If your blog is a standalone blog, exists on its own domain name apart from a website, then the root and blog folder name should be the same. That will make your permalinks shorter, which is good. You can also add plugins that will shorten your permalinks. One good one is SEO Slugs, which strips away small words like ‘a’, ‘the’, and ‘and’, leaving only your important words and keywords.
You want your permalinks to be as short as possible with all of the relevant information included that will give you the best and most optimal search engine ranking advantages. Otherwise, you could be shooting yourself in the foot.
What Of The Domain Name, Anyway?
Should you get a domain name with your keyword in it for your new blog? Search Marketing Standard’s Rebecca Appleton gives some good, and bad, advice about this issue. First, let’s dispel a rumor: All the good domain names aren’t taken.
There I said it. But is it true?
Ms. Appleton says that most of the good domain names with keywords are gone. It depends on what you mean by good domain names.
About once a year Google changes its ranking algorithm to put more weight on keyword-rich domain names. Later in the year the search giant reverses it. So keywords in the domain names do, at least for part of the time, affect your rankings. Even beyond anchor text. But, as she so aptly points out, anchor text can be a bigger benefit to you if you have that keyword in the domain name.
A part of the perception regarding domain names centers around people coveting shorter domain names. Yes, if you’re looking for a one-word domain name with your keyword in it then you’ll likely never see it. If you do, you’ll pay thousands of dollars for it. Likely, hundreds of thousands.
Nevertheless, you can still get a domain name with your keyword in it. You just might have to get creative. There is nothing wrong with coming up with creative variations of keywords that can also be branded. Not every domain name has to be Keyword_______.com where the blank you fill in is a related, but different, word that describes the same thing. Instead, why not fill in the blank with an unrelated keyword that you can use as a branding element. All kinds of examples abound:
- AutomotiveChickenHawks.com
- MattressPerv.com
- FlowerChild.com
- GreaseMonkey.com
- TheClockStruck1.com
- RealEstateHatTricks.com
OK, some of these may be far out, but think branding and marketing. You’ve got your keyword. You know what you want to target. Now come up with your version of the Marlboro Man. If I were Philip Morris, I’d secure TheMarlboroManSmokes.com and I’d brand it to the hilt.
