A blog is a "journal" that is available on the Web. Done well, it can generate interest in a business (due to increased search engine visibility) and popularize the writer as well. Definitions you need to know: ?Blog. Slang for (weB LOG) on the Web. ?Blogging. The action of updating a blog. ?Blogger. Someone who maintains a blog. ?Blogosphere. The information available in blogs on the Internet ?Log. A record of an undertaking: a computer log; an excursion log. To improve search engine visibility, a blog is best updated regularly, daily if possible but at least 2 to 3 times per week. Software is available at no or low cost for people with little or no technical background to update and maintain the blog. Additions to the blog (called postings) are almost always arranged in date order with the most recent postings at the beginning, which is the most prominent position. Think of a blog as an easily (and we do mean easily) updated personal website, ideally updated daily and expressing the viewpoints of the author. Blogs have become an important tool for Internet marketing strategy and public relations. What is the plus side to starting a blog? You get to tell your side of the story just as you wanted to, no gatekeepers, no editors to convince that your story has merit and should be published. And reporters and editors have cottoned on to the wealth of news being published in the blogosphere. They have started to tune into blogs so they don't get scooped! Many a news story in newspapers or magazines started in a blog. Another very important plus is that search engines (Google, MSN, Yahoo) love blogs. Search engines read text, they are content-hungry. Blogs are mainly made up of words (no fancy graphics here) and have links to other sites. A blog that uses keywords (words that people use to search for goods and services on the web) in the text, along with links is a winning combination. The result should be increased search engine visibility and more traffic to your business, which should make your cash register ring. The bad news is that anyone can start a blog and if they have a bone to pick with you, they can trash your reputation in a heartbeat. A blog is not a corporate brochure. "Corporate speak" will not cut it. A good blog (i.e. one that gets a lot of attention) should be well-written, but in a conversational style. A sense of humor also helps to make it interesting. A blog can level the playing field, opening up opportunities for small companies that they only dreamed about in the past. So ignore blogs at your peril. Smart marketers will incorporate blogs into their Internet marketing strategy and public relations campaigns. Because blogs are more personal than other forms of marketing, they are an integral part of building relationships, which helps you form trust with your prospects and turn them into customers. Not least of all, they will improve your site's search engine visibility.
Optimization of a web site is the process of maximizing the number of qualified visitors arriving at your website. As the bulk of users arrive at a site, through a search engine, the optimization is firstly done to increase the site rankings. Ideally, optimization will get your site to the top 3 positions on page one of the popular search engines (Google, Yahoo and MSN), which is where the bulk of commercial business is garnered. In fact, 80% of all business on the Internet goes to the first three listings on the first page of a search result.
Research shows that searchers (your future customers) regard good placement in the natural search engine visibility results, as opposed to sponsored links (pay-per-click), as an indicator of a company that is tops in their field.
SEO is a three-step process:
1. Keyword research and Internet marketing strategy development, taking into account the offline campaign actions.
2. Upgrade of the site based on the keyword research. This would include rewriting pages, adding new pages and keyword coding. Your site has to appeal to the search engine before anyone can find it. The design, content and programming of your site all influence search engine visibility.
3. Ongoing monthly optimization. Nothing stays the same--especially the Internet.
SEM (Search Engine Marketing) is the campaign to market your company through your web site. Doing effective SEM will greatly enhance search engine visibility and complement SEO. 88% of economically active Americans go online everyday. A recent study showed that 85% of users research products and services on the Internet before they purchase. A well-written and well-designed web site is the foundation of your Internet marketing strategy. No matter how great your product is, if the public can't find you, the sales are lost in the second it takes to click the mouse. On the flip side, an effective web site is the key to quality leads and volume sales.
The tools of Search Engine Marketing can include some or all of these SEM tools:
* Online press releases. Regularly send out optimized press releases on the Net about your company and products. Optimized press releases are an effective Search Engine Marketing tool and get the reporters interested in you. 99% of reporters start their research for a story on the Internet. You can reach your target audience directly through the news sites, like Yahoo News (the biggest audience in the world on the Net) Google News, MSN News and Topix.net.
* Optimized press releases also attract visitors and as a bonus increase the number of links back to your website, which will raise your ranking in the search engines. These optimized press releases can also be put onto your own website to increase the optimized content you have on the site, which in turn will also raise your search engine visibility.
* Online newsletters are an expensive but effective search engine marketing tool. Use a special promotion to get visitors to the site to sign up for the free newsletter. Keep them coming back by creating an interesting newsletter so you can become a source of useful and valid info on your industry or subject. Add the newsletters to your website to increase content.
* Start a blog to raise search engine visibility and create page one search results. Blog readers are computer literate, Internet-savvy early adopters. Blogs get more attention from the search engine and create natural search engine visibility for your company and your products--if done correctly. A blog allows you to:
* Create a 'cloud' of content (an ever increasing amount of text and search engine visibility) about your subject on the Internet. Search engines love text sites!
* Really get into communication with your audiences and targeted publics.
* Attract and service the journalists who cover your industry.
* Syndicate your content via RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds so that you get exposure in other places on the Web. Online syndication has many advantages: It vastly improves your site's visibility; makes your content available in a more convenient manner; feeds your content directly to interested parties; broadens your reach on the Internet and best of all, costs almost nothing to implement. This also increases the number of links to your website. Syndication is a process of providing your content to others, doing updates of information and generally spreading your content from one place to another. Syndication online allows you to share your content with your visitors and other websites.
We implemented SEO and SEM for our firm, which resulted in greatly improved search engine visibility; we even got multiple page one listings on two of our keywords and a booming business. SEO + SEM really does equal page one results!
Both Jaiprakash Sharma & -- -- are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Jaiprakash Sharma has sinced written about articles on various topics from Games, Internet Marketing and Elearning. . Jaiprakash Sharma's top article generates over 14800 views. to your Favourites.
-- -- has sinced written about articles on various topics from . Sally Falkow is President of Expansion Plus, Inc., and author of Website Marketing Strategy Ebook. She is an authority on Internet Marketing and search engine optimization strategies. For more information, visit. -- --'s top article . to your Favourites.