Well, I thought it out today. I really want to decide what I want to concentrate my efforts of this blog on. I decided the most fun posts I have would have to be the DIY and Tutorial sections of my site. I always find myself putting them off because I want them to be very detailed and organized. The video tutorial I did was actually really fun for me and it only took one take to do. Expect more of them to come (but not all about my bike ;P)
What promted this?
Surprisingly enough it was something as simple as looking at my page stats and coming across a feature from my web host that spilled the beans to me on how to optimize your site for search engines.
Since I cant link to the tutorial itself, I thought I would show you step by step.
Lets start shall we?
First things first. What are you trying to sell? This doesn’t have to be a product, this doesn’t have to be anything really, just find a way to define what your site is all about in 3-4 terms. Make these terms unique. Lets say for example you like to play guitar and your site has video’s. Don’t just use guitar as a keyword, be more specific. Perhaps its a certain style that you favor, so instead of guitar, lets use blues guitar. There you have it, one keyword. The more specific your keywords, the better your chances of being seen are. When you use multiple words your chances increase as well.
Come up with some keywords and list them all. I used a keyword generator to generate the code for me, since I am lazy at most times. Heres the code you will need:
<META NAME=”Keywords” CONTENT=”Paul Cooper, Springfield, KrAzE, home made, illinois, gaming, Hacks, Technology, DIY, Do it yourself”> <META NAME=”Description” CONTENT=”A look at almost anything nerdy and not so nerdy. I write about DIY things, gaming, random rants, money, humor, interesting technology and many many other things. Just check me out already.”>
If your using a normal html page, this goes right below your <head> tag. If you are like most of us using wordpress, this goes in your themes/editor click header.php and paste this right below the
<meta name=”generator” content=”WordPress <?php bloginfo(‘version’); ?>” /> <!– leave this for stats –>.
Press enter a few times to give it some visual space. Be sure to edit the keywords and description above, you don’t want mine. Keywords are separated by commas as above.
Now that you have all this information, websites will be able to find you easier. Sites like google however rarely use these metatags, it actually looks at the information on your page so be sure to mention those terms on your site a few times.
Lastly your going to want to change your title in wordpress to match your search terms. Pick 3-4 of your favorites and put them in your blog title. If you look above I have them listed in my title and this will help your search rank.
Hopefully this all helps you get listed and get exposed. If your looking to do this to primarily drive traffic its not going to happen. In order to get traffic, you need to earn it. Expect to put a 3:1 ratio of work to visitors for the first six months. This is primarily why my site is empty, I haven’t had time to put that work in.
What kind of work?
- Comment on blogs that are just like yours.
- Use trackbacks to those blogs referencing something they said.
- Ask if you can guest post for that blog, or have them guest post for there’s.
- Post in forums with similar topics and have a link to your blog in your signature.
- Tell your friends about your blog and MAKE them tell others.
Get creative, you don’t have to spend that money on advertisement.
Have you seen the wordpress plugin called “All in One SEO Pack”, and it does a lot of what you’re talking about. It has brought a lot of folks to my blog!
I’ve heard of plugin I think I might even have it set installed and not active Mr. Adam Riggins (If that is your real name) I’m gonna have to give it a better look.
I look forward to seeing where you take your blog home skillet, you’re an inspiration to my lazy ass, I need to get myself gathered. I’m kinda with you on the DIY stuff. I got one or two good ones, but I hate all the detail work and I always forget to take photos because I get too carried away by the project.
I’ve also heard that when you post a link to your blog on a similliar blog say about Hydroponic Growing, for instance, to make that link to a post of yours about gardening, Hydroponic Growing, or cows something simillar that way a reader who finds that site because he is searching for the hydroponic growing keywords will spend some time reading your post about it and then maybe stay for all your extra goodies, like how to pass a urine test.
Just a thought.
@Thomas: Refrencing previous articles is a very big plus!
As you can see, I dont do any of that stuff yet.
Wow, this is REALLY helpful, Kraze. Thanks for the information and the tips!
I come here for the pancakes.
More pancakes.
@Dube: You welcome!
@Nick: We only serve waffles here.. or french toast sticks.
I really liked your blog!
@alex farguson: Thanks!