It shouldn’t be a secret anymore that [tag]blog marketing[/tag] is more powerful than static site marketing.
We have tested both models heavily in 2006 and found that our rankings come far easier with a blog as our content management system as opposed to any other form of web publishing.
Below are some tips to make sure you are taking advantage of all there is to offer in the Web 2.0 world of traffic, links, and easy search engine listings.
1. Tag your posts. If you are using WordPress (and you should be) use a plugin called Ultimate Tag Warrior to tag posts and put together keyword dense archives. You can find this plugin at wp-plugins.net.
2. Syndicate with RSS. Not just the feed that comes with your blog, but with custom feeds that specifically isolate keyword groups you develop content for regularly. The best tool for this is PheedPress, available from Content Desk.
3. Get Involved! Trackbacks and comment links are alive and well, despite reports to the contrary. Bloggers will grant your trackbacks and comments when they are on topic and useful. These are the easiest links available on the web today.
4. Social Bookmarking. Public lists of bookmarks are easy spider food and will get you more traffic the more you use social bookmarking. Your entire site should be bookmarked somewhere, and preferably in all the major bookmarking engines.
5. Get Dugg. Digg.com and other social information networks take “stories” from sites that post them. Then they are ranked by members. You are either in or you’re out. Dugg or buried. A great place for marketing related stories on this type of system is www.marktd.com.
6. Myspace Networking. There are social networks popping up all over the place that are like Myspace. One notable network is called MyWebTop.com and it is specifically for online business owners to network and get valuable links back to their sites.
7. Article Syndication. Not the 2005 version. In 2007, the best results for article syndication will be for people who adhere to the holy grail of content syndication: Topical, Relevant, Well-Written Content!
Most of the above will work for old-style sites, like sites written in static html. But not nearly as well as when you publish on a blog platform.
Blogging doesn’t mean pouring out your feelings anymore. It is serious business and the platform itself can be used for anything where information needs to be updated regularly.
Properly marketing your blog site depends first and foremost on what you have to say. If it is boring, lame, or focused too much on blatant advertising of products and services, you will get slammed with extremely poor results.
The secret is the content. Very good content will dominate a niche. The platform you put it on will dictate how well it dominates. And how regularly you perform the tasks above will dictate how long you dominate.
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Jack Humphrey publishes on the Content Desk Publishing System.