Wooing the Search Engines

Blogs are a great way to generate traffic to you site and interest in your business. Search engines love blogs because, if you consistently post, the content is new and fresh. And by taking a few quick extra steps each time you add an entry, chances are good that the search engines will reward your efforts by helping you get noticed by potential customers. There are a few ways to optimize your blog to make it more search-engine friendly:

• Make sure the popular search engines know you exist. Register your blog's URL with Google, Yahoo!, Technorati, and MSN Live and other search engines so they know where to find you.
• Optimize your writing with relevant key words. While you don't want to over use them, you need to include words and phrases that people commonly use to search for your services or business.
• Use images and add labels or titles as you use them. While they can add visual appeal to your blog, they can also be used by the search engines. For example, when people search for an image using Google or Yahoo's Image Search, your image may fit the search criteria and lead them to your blog.
• Tag or label your posts. Most blog providers have spots to add these keywords, and they are just another way to attract search engines.
• Use links in your blog, and use them often. When you link to articles by other bloggers, they notice, which can help you get noticed. They might add a comment to your blog or mention you a future post. Search engines like to see genuine link reciprocity, as it helps demonstrate the popularity of your blog, which can lead to higher rankings.
• Maintain your blogroll. If you read and enjoy other blogs, add them to your blog roll. Again, it's another way to encourage reciprocal links from other bloggers.