It can take some time before you get a large amount of views on your blog, but there are ways to increase the chances of internet users finding your site. You can’t just rely on referrals and traffic links – your blog needs to be optimized.
This article looks at some of the easy and basic steps you can take to improve your site’s SEO and visibility.
WordPress is by far the best site to host your blog. Even if you have a blog on your own site, you can still boost your own site with another blog on WordPress. All you need to do is create links to your original site and all your work on your WordPress blog will be working for your main business website. In this way, you are creating crucial inbound links for your website – all on your own.
So the question arises, how do you make your WordPress blog rank higher? Luckily, there are a number of plug-ins and tools you can use to boost your blog.
Here’s a look at some simple techniques related to search engine optimization that will greatly improve your blog visitor numbers.
- Use Your Own Domain Name. Domain names actually can have a lot of influence on the way your blog will come up in a search. Purchasing your own domain name and setting it for your WP blog is very easy. You want to make sure you know how to choose the right name. Do some research before you commit.
- SEO Tools. There is a range of plug-ins to improve your blog’s onsite search engine optimization. Some plug-ins allow you to track the rank of the keywords you are focusing on, while other sites will improve the way your whole blog is viewed by Google.
- Video. Videos on Google’s YouTube are a great way to get rapid results and rank high in searches. By posting your videos on YouTube, and linking your blog as a part of your video description, your chances of ranking higher are greatly increased. Always embed your own YouTube videos on your own blog, and make sure you have plenty of content with crucial keywords for Google around your website.
- Social Media.WP makes it very easy for your blog posting to interact with your social media. Add each of these functions so that you are automatically sharing your posts on your main social media profiles. Adding buttons on each of your blog pages is very simple and will make it very easy for others to share.
- Commenting On Other Blogs. By commenting on other blogs and leaving your link, you are showing interest in other people’s work, and showing a way for them to see yours. You will find that there will be many comments and links on your own site before too long. Be careful you do not start following the practice of many on WordPress, which essentially equates to spam. Spending the time to create quality relationships is essential.
- Keep it Regular. Regular posting and interactivity is essential. A new visitor will view the validity of your site by how regular you post. If you have not posted in a while, users may assume you are not there any more. Current content gives validity to your older content. If you don’t have current content, it is easy for users to assume all of your content is no longer valid.
- Submit to Blog Directories. There is a huge array of blog directories, which allows internet users to see a list of blogs on a particular topic. Constantly keep listing your blog with all and any directories you can find. The more directories you are listed with will mean a higher chance of being found.
Above all, be yourself. Keep your topics fresh. If you are interested in something, your posts will reflect that. Write when something is of interest, and keep those posts for later. Forced writing to keep to a schedule may mean you are not writing good content. Online marketing and SEO is something you build over time. The need for patience and consistency cannot be stressed enough.
Guest article from Sachin.
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Bill and Sachin,
Great article for all of us. I’m doing many of the tips, but didn’t think of the blog directories…I’ll be doing that next. Also, I’ve looked at the WP plugins for SEO, but I’m not sure they’re applicable to my template, or effective. Thanks for the great tips.
Best,
Paul
Hi Paul,
Good to see you drop by.
Best,
Bill
Hello there,
This blog is free hosted by wordpress.com and we do not have FTP access to wordpress.com blogs for secuity reasons as this is s multi-user blogging platform. Consequently installing any individual plugins for SEO purposes or any other purposes is not possible. Plugins are for wordpress.org installs only.
Free listing Blog directories are not what they once were and the value of a reciprocal backlink arrangement between bloggers and blog directories has diminished in Google’s eyes. I don’t advise invesing much time and energy into registering with them for that reason, and also because I’m well aware thet one does not derive much traffic from blog directories at all.
Investing ones time into commenting on other blogs may result in backlinks to your posts or not. I do agree that creating realtionships is what stands all bloggers in good stead.
Best wishes,
Timethief
Thanks Timethief.
Bill
Thanks for the tip Sir Bill. I agreed that paid domains have a huge potential in customizing for a better SEO. Lots of optimization, but for a free blog services like blogger and wordpress.com, the best solution in my opinion is social media.
Hey Vhick,
I think you’re right. Social media links account for about 10% of the hits here, since I set up a Twitter account.
Bill
Hey Bill,
To go along with this, I have been reading that Google and the other major search engines are starting to look at and incorporate social media such as twitter and facebook into their algorithms. So, it is good that you just started a twitter account. I actually made the plunge and just started using mine again too.
Dominic
Hey Dominic,
I’ve definitely noticed an improvement in hits since I broke down and set up a Twitter account. Gotta go with the flow, I’m thinking.
Good to hear from you.
Best,
Bill
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