Get Your Business Blogging
Who We Are
Fred GreenhalghInternet Marketing/Communications [email protected]
Hall Web Serviceswww.hallme.com
• 10+ Years in Business• Over 80 Search Marketing Clients• 98% of Customers "Very Satisfied"
What is a Blog?(Would it be a blog by any other name?)
• Reverse-chronological order• Easy to update• Personality• Focus• Archives
How Businesses Use Blogs:
• Launch New Products
• PR
• Demonstrate Expertise
• Disseminate Information
• Answer Common Questions
Benefits of Blogging
• Establish authority in an industry
• Network with others in your field
• Expand Brand Awareness
• Communicate with sales leads
• Create personality for your business
Other Benefits of Blogs:
• More content for your site
• SEO optimized
• Great source of links
• Indexed quickly by Google
• Google will revisit your sitemore frequently
Getting Started
• Windows or Linux Hosting?
• Which Software?
– Wordpress
– Movable Type
– Typepad
• Create (or choose a theme)
• Integrate Plugins
– SEO plugins
– Multimedia Sharing
– Social Media Sharing
Technical Considerations
Start Blogging!
• Title – Should be quickand catchy
• Content – Concise, clear, lotsof formatting
• Media – Photos help spruce uptext
• Categories/Tags – Aid in organization
• Publish – Just do it!
Essential Aspects to a Post:
What to Write About?• Appeal to a Need
– “Ten Secrets to Saving Money with Accounting Software”
• Debunk
– “5 Myths of Online Recruiting Debunked”
• Resource
– “100 Best Sites for Researching Accounting Software”
• Respond to News
– “What Washington's New Family Leave Act Means to You”
• React to Another Blog Post
Writer's Block?
• Shed Mental Barriers• Take a Walk• Don't Take it Too Seriously• Just Start Writing• Write During an Assigned Time• Browse the Web a Bit
Sometimes it'll be tough,but you just need to write!
• Keep up to date
• Keep on-subject
• Provide value
• Show personality
DO!
Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/seandreilinger/439462046/
• TMI
• Lambast the Competition
• Get (too) Political
• Forget to Update
• Advertise Events that Already Happened
DON'T
Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stephenr/2275553683/
Measuring Success
• Increased Traffic
• Comments left on Blog
• RSS Subscribers
• Inbound links
• More conversation about your brand/company through the blogosphere
Know What You Want,So You Can Know When You Get It
Are you Ready to Blog?
• Ready for the commitment?
• Ready to say something great?
• Ready to lose control?
Re-cap
Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/5-0_og/1304841776/
• Say something worth reading
• Keep at it
• Be honest
• Listen!
www.hallme.com
Learn More!
• SEO Vision Blog - http://www.hallme.com/blog• Webinars – Every Tuesday at 2PM EST
http://www.hallme.com/webinars
• Email Me: [email protected]• Follow us! http://twitter.com/hall_web