<p>Could one of these nine tips make a difference in your blog's effectiveness? I've been blogging for years, and I'm <em>still</em> trying to get all of these implemented! Each time I add one, I think "Why didn't I do this before?"</p> <ul> <li><strong>Location</strong>. Is your blog address "myblog.wordpress.com" instead of at "mygreatwebsite/blog"? By putting your blog onsite (which involves implementing a redirect) you make it easy for blog readers to use the nav bar on your site to access the rest of your company's content &mdash; and buy your products or services.</li> <li><strong>Identity</strong>. Do you make it clear who's blogging? Is it the CEO? A team of employees? Especially if your business blog mixes business and personal stories, put the identity of the blogger/bloggers up in the blog's header or in the top of the sidebar. Something like "an inside view of the widget industry from &lt;company name&gt; CEO Joe Jones." Or "Staff here at &lt;company name&gt; share tips, tricks, and industry news." People should be able to see the identity statement (not just the name "Joe Jones") from any page on the blog.</li> <li><strong>Tags</strong>. Put tags and categories to work for you. They help with search engine rankings. Plus, having a list of categories or a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tag_cloud" title="tag cloud definition">"tag cloud"</a> in the sidebar makes it easier for new visitors to get a idea of the topics your blog covers.</li> <li><strong>Keywords</strong>. Whether you hire an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_engine_optimization" title="SEO definition">SEO</a> expert to do a keyword analysis (recommended) or you pretty much "know" the keywords and keyword phrases for your business, keep a list of them to refer to as you write blog posts. Make sure the keywords turn up as tags.</li> <li><strong>Bullets</strong>. Are your blog posts eye-catching? For both SEO purposes and general readability, it helps to have numbers in your headlines and bullets in the text. (That's why I've titled this article "9 Ways to 'Power Up' Your Business Blog.")</li> <li><strong>Images</strong>. A picture is worth...well, you know. Luckily,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.indexstock.com/" title="Index Stock imagery">IndexStock</a> sells professional-quality photos very cheaply &mdash; just $1 for "extra small" (i.e., web-size) images. Putting an image with every third post will liven up your pages visually. (Credit for this tip goes to <a href="http://blog.guykawasaki.com/" title="Guy Kawasaki blog">Guy Kawasaki</a>.)</li> <li><strong>Length</strong>. Don't be afraid of short posts! If they contain a burst of interesting news, with a link, they are useful and appealing. They're easier to write, making it likely you'll post more often. Frequent posting will help raise your search engine rankings.</li> <li><strong>Linking</strong>. Linking helps search engine rankings, particularly when it leads to other blogs that link back to you. Don't know where to start? Write about your business partners, customers, and other local businesses, and link to them.</li> <li><strong>Newsworthiness</strong>. Are you quick to riff on news items that relate to your business? For instance, if you are in the hospitality field, talk about how hotels prepared for the Inaugural events. If you are in PR, evaluate the way that PR firms are representing the auto industry. The news has already primed an audience to be interested in your insider commentary &mdash; be sure to take advantage of it while the story is still hot.</li> </ul> 2009-02-26T18:03:08Z -10.9113 496 3326 true 15 753 9-ways-to-power-up-your-business-blog 8 2009-02-27T16:26:25Z 2009-02-27T16:26:25Z

Step back and take a look at your blog's performance in these nine areas. Improvement in just one of these can boost search engine rankings, drive more customers to your site, and encourage visitors to become subscribers.

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