How to write blog posts that people want to share?

Getting on the first page of search engine results page is the goal of every blogger-right?

Since the might Google has changed its indexing algorithm in a major way, old methods of offline SEO have almost become obsolete.  The new SEO method that is preferred by every blogger is social share which means your blog posts should be shared in all the major social media sites and a few other web 2.0 properties by your blog visitors.

Social sharing

This means your blog post should be publicly shared in as many ways as possible:
* Tweeted by others
* Your tweets should be retweeted by your twitter followers
* People should share it on their Facebook walls

* Google plus of hundreds of people should carry your blog post
* Linken and Pinterest sharing is very valuable

How to get this done?
* Your headline should be attention pulling. There are many ways to write such a headline. Email me for a short list.
*Your first line of your blog post should throw a challenge.
*You can reveal a short answer to the challenge in the next paragraph.
* Tell who the blog post is for. Generally, if your target audience is kids and children, it would attract a wide share.
*If you think something is new to you, assume it will be so for at least 1000 people in the world and write about it.
* Spend time to find an apt image.
* Make your blog mobile phone friendly.

Finally, always reveal your source of information or image.

Why Local SEO is important?

Local Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the only way to flourish for local businesses in any place in the world. Los Angeles is no exception.

Getting your business in the web is absolutely essential and it is all the more important to get found in Google local. I am seeing so many excellent services being offered in Madras but only a few of them have online presence. I am sure the others are losing business.

Those who are wise to advertise their services or products through web site and further optimize it in local search engines have clearly ahead of their competitors. Online reach is very critical for all sizes of business.

Organic SEO

Websites that are introduced to you because you used major search engines like Google or Yahoo! are said to contain organic traffic. The tweaking of your web site as per search and indexing parameters of search engines is called Organic SEO.

Example:

Here is an that appeared in “Times of India” on June 8^th under “Chennai Times”. The discount beauty package is really attractive. It would have made people stand in queue had the Sayana beauty parlor and spa had a mini website or blog to enable people to contact them. 

Alternatively, had Sayana beauty parlor created Google plus page and optimized in Google maps, their online presence would get them noticed by all the residents of Chennai.

If you want to find a beauty parlour in your neighborhood Shenoy Nagar, you would either do a Google or call Just Dial. Hard copy Yellow Pages have become obsolete because it takes considerable time in finding what you want. We all want immediate results and that is why services like just Dial are highly preferred.

Another example:

A friend of mine is teaching advanced accountancy to professional finance executives and M.Com students. He is doing part time teaching only. If only he had a social profile in G+ and optimized it locally, he can quit his regular job

Geo-Targeting (City/State)

Since you are searching for a service in a specific local area, you should ensure that your found in local search engines. This is called GEO targeting and also called local SEO.

Local SEO (location-based search engine optimization) is a highly targeted form of optimization. By inputting the correct information of where your business is located, your website and services will appear in search results conducted by people who are in proximity to you.

Google Places Maps Optimization

Recently Google wrung several changes in its local maps and merged the feature in Google plus pages. As a business owner, you should create a Google + page and activate Google local under ‘More’ tab. 

Fill out the details, mark your location and Google maps, insert a few relevant images and you are done.

Now, it is time to promote your Google local listing in the Internet through social bookmarking sites, by leaving your link in blog comments and so on.

Your name will pop up in searches as well as Google Places. Google Places uses Google Maps to show people where your business is located and even give clear direction to people at a click of a button.

By having accurate and up-to-date information, you can optimize not only who is finding you, but how often, as well.

Visit my Blogging Academy in Google Plus: http://gplus.to/BloggingAcademy

I offer training to aspiring bloggers the art of blogging and helping small business owners to set up their blog or social media profile pages.

How Linkedin increased my blog traffic?

In spite of joining Linkedin.com several years before, I never bothered to explore it. 4 days before was a free day. I plunged into linkedin and came out fully loaded with exciting information.

Linkedin offers extraordinary potential to promote one's online business. If you carefully create your profile, it would attract several clicks.

Browse through hundreds of groups related to your business, join them and establish connection with targeted customers and similar businessmen. Unlike Facebook, majority of the group members are very knowledgeable.  Facebook to me is more for casual socializing whereas Linkedin provides great opportunity for professionals to increase visibility of their online presence.

Promoting your blogs is much easier in linkedin. Search for bloggers in the same niche as yours, connect with them send a message to them, participate in discussions of the groups you have joined with a signature to your blog URL are some of the ways to promote your blogs.

Personally I found replying to discussions in the groups that I have joined and sending private message to group members established me as someone with knowledge in the topic.

Some groups have several thousand members. Imagine the exposure your blogs can get when join such groups.

You can share your blog post URLs to your Linkedin profile and cross post them to the relevant groups you have joined.

Linkedin gets you a lovely profile badge that you can display on your blogs.
Below is my Linkedin profile badge.



Click on itand you will land on my Linkedin profile page that shows links to my website and blogs, groups that I have joined etc.

If you join Linkedin, please add me to your network. It would help strengthen my social signals.

How to test social media signals?

Of late, we keep reading frequently of social media signals, social butterflies etc making us wonder whether we are getting worthy signals to our social media marketing.

I picked up some very interesting infostats about social signals, steps to be taken beforehand and finally measure the results. Naturally, we have to take Google as the weighbridge.

6 sites in name niche were marketed through the following highly popular social media marketing methods:
1. Getting followers to a Google Plus page 
2. Getting G+ votes
3. Getting FaceBook likes
4. Getting retweets
5. Getting Twitter followers

The first method pushed up the site in Google SERPs by 14.63 position! What does this imply?
Obviously, Google values its own social signals.

Read full

 

Google Panda and Penguin (BTW, who gives such names )
 updates have created big ripples in the social marketing ocean.

Every blog post of every respected blog master that I have subscribed to mentions these social media signals, social butterflies etc but they don't really elaborate on what next to do.

 I have read enough of writing unique, keyword rich content for better SE rankings. Is there any worthy ebook or step by step guide on strengthening social media signals?
Any recommendation?
How to test social media signals?
 Thanks in advance.