Category: Blogs

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Is SEO Really Dead? That’s What Webmaster World Says

I read with interest one of the main page articles titled is SEO dead? at Webmaster World. I have long felt that the combination to organic search placement success was a number of many factors and not just links or code optimization. But it is interesting to read the thread of comments with some professional webmasters agreeing that SEO is dead and that social networking has become king.

Here’s my take. The typical SEO program as we used to know it, is not totally dead, but needs a refresh and new life. What we recommend is great keyword research, excellent site architecture, unique and well-written content with good use of important keywords and keywords in the cross linking of pages. We know that this is actually just good design technique, but many web designers simply do not follow these guidelines much to the chagrin of the end user. It takes time and thought to implement these components into a new site design and the consideration of organic placement needs throughout the whole process. But it does not stop there…

No real program for organic site improvement is complete without a blog to continue to build unique and on-topic content. Search engines reward interesting content that is on-topic and builds “Web Authority” over time. We know this and understand this concept. In fact it has worked for many of our customers as an overall approach for improving organic placement. In addition to blogging, we strongly recommend articles and press releases as great ways to build additional quality incoming links.

If you have time to also embrace social networking like Facebook or LinkedIn and even Twitter you can get even more traction with links and traffic activity, but it all starts with the right website and concept to market your products and services on the code side of things.

So is SEO dead? No not really, but maybe it has mutated into something better. Something  that actually works to draw in web readers and engage them in ways that pure SEO did not. Content has always been king on the Web and that hasn’t changed, but where you put your efforts and budget dollars certainly has.

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Everyone Wants a Professional Blogger

Blogging is big business. Website owners are coming around to the fact that they need a professional blog to build traffic and build new content for search engines, but few site owners want to blog themselves.

This is where a professional blogger can really help build your online presence. A professional blogger is more than an employee on staff who likes to write and has time on their hands. A professional blogger is one who writes content for your audience, not drivel of what they ate for lunch or the current office gossip. A professional blogger will try to create a keyword dense title and post that will win placement on search engines, all while weaving a story that draws you in from the beginning to the end of the post.

If you want to see a great example of blogging with a personal spin, here’s a blog we’re doing for a client to the tune of 10 posts per week. Visit www.CremationOptions.com/blog. Although our writers call this type of writing “experiential” and the personal tone is not one we take with all blogs, it totally works on this blog. The stories that our writers share are from real-life, from their own experiences, and each one reads like a well-written short story. We’ve had some great blogging gigs, some that we have really loved to write for, and this one is one of our favorites. Check it out and see what you think? We have four different writers working on this project and each writer has a different voice and style. The combination make for a very interesting read.

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Some People Should Not Be Bloggers

Well, some people should not be bloggers and although painful for some to hear, it is the truth. I work with developing new blog writing talent all the time and know this to be a fact.

In fact, even more than that, not all good writers will be good bloggers. Some of our blog writers are making an excellent living being professional bloggers. We have some writers who are making around $2,000 a month just writing for blogs in addition to having a full time regular job. That being said there are even more web writers and aspiring writers who want to be bloggers and many simply do not have what it takes.

This is what it takes to be a good professional blogger:

  1. Ability to write on nearly any topic.
  2. Ability to write quickly or to set time limits on research and writing time to stay profitable.
  3. Innate creativity and ability to turn a phrase to make a somewhat dull topic interesting and to draw the reader in.
  4. Excellent proofreading skills.
  5. Strong working knowledge of proper grammar.
  6. Knowledge of how to find writing topics using Google News and Google.com.
  7. Versatility in regards to writing tone and style. Some clients need a more chatty type blog post and others need pure informational or reviews.
  8. Desire to improve and work on their writing craft and not sensitive about constructive criticism.
  9. Dependability, posting at noon means just that not 12:10 or 3:00 PM.
  10. Ability to write for many topics within the same day and to become an expert on many topics quickly through a questioning mind.

Many bloggers I have tried or interviewed have one or several of these attributes, but many with a great style can only write with a personal point of view and so can never write informational pieces. Others only want to write on things they already know about, and still others don’t understand dependability or being on time.

It takes a combination of qualities from my list of ten to make the perfect blogger, but if you have them, you may be able to make an excellent income blogging as a job to supplement your regular job just like some of our writers.

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Obama Time for Change

Barack Obama, I’m not sure if he is brining good change or bad, but change is coming.

As you all know Obama is our new president and is sitting waiting to be inaugurated today. This is really cool and all because it’s  happening here right around me in the Washington DC area. The inauguration today is supposed to be the largest gathering ever on the National Mall. I’m not going and I am not trying to get caught up in the traffic or in the subways today.

On the day he was elected I saw giant mobs of people come out of the dorm’s at my college.  It was all in good celebration at first, but then the McCain supporters came out. Then confrontations started, some turned into fights and then the police came. This all surprised me because I felt that this occasion was one to be remembered, not one to fight over. I thought everyone would be happy for change.

I am definitely ready for change and am excited to see what Obama does to bring our country out of this hole, a certain someone has gotten us into. When others heard I was excited for this change they were puzzled, because I was a McCain supporter. I hope for great things now that Obama is our President. Sure I supported McCain because he had more experience but I think Obama will do a fine job.