Web Design, SEO, Blog Marketing and
Social Media Marketing for your Business

Blogs will improve search rankings faster than almost any other method. Because of RSS, blogs broadcast new material faster than websites. Blogs are given more importance by the search engines. Links from blogs are given high importance by the search engines. SEO blog writing is a key part of business blog marketing and getting more website traffic.

How you write your blog posting is very important to get the best SEO results. These are the 5 important elements to a good SEO blog posting.

1. Keywords: Create a blogging plan that is highly focused for content and keywords. Choose no more than 5 keyword phrases and it is best if these phrases are selected around a single concept or subject.
2. Blog title: Use one of your phrases within the blog title each day. The search engines give high importance to the words in a blog title. Remember that when you craft a blog title, you want to attract readers and satisfy the search engines.
3. Prominence: Use your targeted keyword phrase at least one time in the first 25 words of your posting. The search engines place a higher value on text used near the beginning of the blog posting. Be careful not to overuse your your keyword phrase. Try not to exceed using it 3 times in the body of the posting.
4. Link text: Use your keyword phrase one time within a hyperlink. Use the exact phrase and link this keyword phrase to the most relevant page on the website you want to boost the rankings for.
5. Posting length: Blog posts should be approximately 250 words. Search engines prefer longer posting, while human readers prefer shorter posting. Blog postings of 200-300 words seem to satisfy both.

Businesses today have both a blog and a website as part of their Internet marketing strategy. The blog and the website have very different purposes. The website is meant to promote and advertise products and services. The blog is meant to connect and build relationships. Business blog marketing should be looked at by any business that needs a strong online presence.

We decided to listen to what other business leaders are saying.

1. Cliff Koraska of Koraska Interactive says: “My client recently installed a corporate blog and it has resulted in better customer interaction. From blog posts, we found that most people were not happy with our shipping policies . We made changes based on responses, and our repeat business is up 13%.”
2. Chuck Goolsbee of digital.forest, Inc. says” We use a blog to communicate with our customers the status of our facility. Scheduled maintenance, expansion, etc. Since we use it to communicate everything from the mundane to the important, it REALLY becomes handy during a serious emergency - since customers have come to expect it as our main communications channel. So rather than call or email us, they look at the blog first.”
3. Matt Wasserman of Batanga says “Periodically take some related blog posts, put them together, and turn them into a full length article. Then put them out on an article site for others to use. This builds your reputation and increases your reach.”
4. John Bredehoft of Motorola says: “When I blog, I approach it as offering contributions to the community, which at times result in some interactivity between myself and my readers.”
5. Matt Pfeffer of newMentor says: “A well-written, knowledgeable weblog can provide a crucial advantage to a business trying to distinguish itself in a competitive online marketplace.”

Your online persona is your complete online presence. It is more than your blog and your website. It is more than your linkedIn profile and your MySpace area. It is the sum total of what everybody says about you online. It is your digital reputation. It is what people find when they Google your name.

Out of business cards? Just “Google me.” This works for people as well as businesses. Potential employers not only search for your name and read your blog to see what you write, but how you think. They also follow Trackbacks to see how you handle comments and disagreements. It is important that you manage your online persona and behave professionally online. What you say and do online stays online.

Common Names: If you have a common name you can add your middle initial. Jim Fisher can become James M. Fisher and now you can be easier to be found. This is a good technique if you want to separate your personal from your professional.

Google Alerts: If you would like to track what others are saying about you, consider using Google Alerts. They are easy to set-up and manage. You will be emailed each time your name is found by Google.

Image: You want to carefully craft your image if you are after a key job. Your image is made up of what you say, what others say about you, even the design you choose for your website and blog. It includes your MySpace postings and your political views. It is a natural outcome of personal branding and does affect how employers make their hiring decision.

Sometimes you can’t let your current employer know you are looking for a new job and you are forced to follow the anonymous resume approach. It is more difficult to obtain an interview without disclosing who you are. That is where the anonymous resume blog comes in.

In a resume blog you are able to tell your story and show what you are capable of even though you haven’t given your name. Blogging will allow you to much more than just another face in the crowd. It is much better to supply no name than use a pseudonym. It is best to provide inquirers your correct full information to maintain a perception of full disclosure as early in the process as possible.

Consider using your first name and not your last name. That is if your job history doesn’t give you away. Otherwise you may need to use the title of the position you are seeking. You may wish to state that you are not using your real name to protect your current employment. This way you are still being honest and forthright.

You will need to judge how much you can disclose. This includes things such as employer name, your title and your duties. Consider substituting what your past employer does instead of their name. If you worked at HP consider using “Computer Printer Manufacturer” instead.

You will want to include as much information as possible with stories about past projects and accomplishments. Disclose your credentials, education, skills and major accomplishments. The goal is to build interest and rapport with potential employers. They can get a good sense of who you are and what you can do for them.

Doug Williams, Author of the new book Biz Blog Marketing, will be conducting a half day workshop on blog marketing in Vancouver, WA.

Business Blog Marketing: This half day workshop will introduce attendees to blogs and how businesses can use blogging to reach new customers, promote products, for branding, improve search rankings and be recognized as an expert. Blogs have become the new source for up to date information.

This is an overview course designed to teach business owners how to market their businesses using blogs. Blogs not only communicate to a different audience than traditional websites, but learn how they can be used as a powerful SEO tool that will promote the primary company website.

Workshop Schedule

Once you have set-up your resume blog you will need to blog with purpose and focus. You will need to commit time and energy into writing content. There is no denying that writing blogs is time consuming, but writing great content will get you noticed.

1. Branding: People want to hire the best they can find. If you are an expert in some area, make it known by talking about relevant developments in your industry.
2. Omit personal info: Leave out personal information unless it is relevant to the job you want. This would include writing about family activities, your kids or your family pets.
3. Quality: It is OK to write in an informal style but people will be gaging your ability to communicate. Remove foul language, misspellings and poor grammar before posting.
4. Content: Be prepared to commit the time to produce great content. This communicates your knowledge, skills, standards and ability to communicate. Post at least one posting each week.
5. Newsworthy: Talk to industry experts and blog about your interviews with them. This will get the attention your industry and is an excellent networking tool.
6. Networking: Tell everyone about your blog. Comment on other blogs with a link back to your blog. Include links to your profile on networking sites such as LinkedIn.com.
7. Availability: Let everyone know you are available for hire by letting it slip as part of your posting. Let it become part of the conversation.
8. SEO Friendly: Make it easy for the search engines to pickup your information. Use keywords that are industry specific. Link out to well known websites, this invites the search engine spiders to your site. Insert links between your postings to produce inbound links.
9. Restraint: Refrain from writing about proprietary information concerning current or former employers. This will make potential employers uneasy about your judgment.
10. Contact: Include your contact information not only in your blog, but your blog URL on your resume and business cards. Include your contact info in all your emails.

Your resume blog is a great way of publishing your work portfolio to the widest group of potential employers. Your resume blog allows you to avoid the crowded job boards and employers can come to you. Web 2.0 technology puts your resume in front of the world and run your personal blog marketing campaign.

The information you present will be scooped up by the search engines and become available for searches. This increases the chance that some potential employer might randomly come across you when they are looking for a new key employee..

So what should you include in your resume blog?

1. Blogging Platform: The hosted solutions are the simplest and easiest to launch. There are free hosted solutions such as blogger.com or Wordpress.com. Typepad is available for a modest subscription price.
2. Design: Choose a design that is unique, clean and professional. The design you choose will give that important first impression. Most of the hosted solutions allow you to customize the top banner.
3. Specialty: If you have a specialty, identify it. Come up with a tagline and include it in the top banner.
4. About Me: This is a compelling yet brief story about you. Include a photo of yourself to help readers connect with you. Tell your story in an informal style so that you can better brand yourself. Include how they can contact you.
5. Resume: Include a printable version of your resume. This could be in a PDF, a word version or an HTML version. Make it easy for your visitor.
6. Testimonials: This allows others to talk about you and is more compelling than you saying these things. Use testimonials in lieu of posting references.
7. Postings: This is the meat of your blog. What to write about? Include stories about your work experience, skills, career stories, education, training, major projects or special accomplishments. Writing these stories out will embed them in your mind and make it easier to recount during an interview.

Blogging can be a powerful networking tool that makes contacts with far reaching people. This can help you in the development of your career. Blogs should be held and used as a tool in the job searcher’s toolbox. Here are some examples of job blogging results.

Hobby becomes a career
Jeremy Ryan, a 21 year old web designer graduated with a liberal arts degree from a small west coast college. Web design had been his hobby for 8 years. Jeremy created a resume blog that focused on his Internet skills and projects that he had worked on. He used his blog to chronicle his job search as well as giving out the latest web tips that he found while surfing the Internet. Within 3 months Jeremy landed his dream job with an advertising firm.

Blog reading recruiters
According to a Wall Street Journal article, Wal-Mart Stores recruiting manager Ryan Loken spends 2 hours per week reading thru blogs locating candidates for management positions. Blogs have helped Ryan fill 125 corporate jobs. Many of the candidates were referred from other bloggers, but some were the blog writers themselves.

Blog for a specific job
Utah blogger Carolynn Duncan had her eye on a position at Provo Labs. Provo Labs is a web 2.0 consulting company. Carolynn created a blog “Why Provo Labs Wants to Hire Carolyn Duncan” at blogspot. Not only did she get the interview, but she landed the job.

Blogging is an effective way of expanding your network and getting in front of people that you couldn’t reach any other way. Blogs allow you to market yourself using many of the blog marketing strategies used by companies.

1. Create a network. Write a blog that deals with your career field. By writing interesting original content, encouraging comments and visiting related blogs and actively commenting, you will quickly develop your network. You will develop stronger relationships by exchanging ideas than you ever could by exchanging business cards.
2. Expand your knowledge. Sometimes this is called the blogging mindset. When you are driven to write 3 (or more) great blog postings each week, you are seeking information, you listen more deeply you become more knowledgeable about your blog subject. You become an expert.
3. Get job offers. Your blog will produce results that will give employers insight into who you are and what you think. If you are applying for a job, most employers today will Google your name to see what comes up. If you have a blog, it’s usually the first thing that comes up.
4. Move up the corporate ladder. Blogging positions you for growth within your current company. You become recognized as an expert, you will have more new ideas and you have shown the initiative and discipline in writing your blog.
5. Do what you love. Turn your hobby or interest into a blog with an eye toward a career change. Use your blogging to expand your knowledge and create a network. Work to become known as an expert and the job offers will follow. Expertise is a natural byproduct of pursuing what you love to do.
6. Create emotional stability. By establishing your own personal brand within your chosen field, you create your own opportunities, your own network and your own stability in your life. You remove that feeling of being totally dependent on your employer.

Recruiters search the web to locate potential hires and uncover candidates for positions they need to fill. Blogging allows you to create demand for you personal brand in the job market. A successful blog can lead to job offers and other opportunities. It is much better to have potential employers pursuing you.

Career Passion
In your ideal job you will get hired and paid to do what you are passionate about. Successful blogging requires this same passion and conviction. Your blog should focus on your chosen career, on topics that you believe in and communicate your passion to your network.

Using a blog to develop your personal brand is important for all types of professional positions. This can include management, marketing, advertising, journalism or any career where written communication skills are valued. This allows employers to see a sample of what you are about. After all, from the employer’s point of view, their ideal candidate is passionate about what they do.

Career Blogging Plan
Creating a plan before you begin blogging allows you to focus on achieving the results that you want. Each posting in your blog should reflect your plan. As you refine what you want to do, don’t be afraid to change your plan.

1. Choose a career. This is based on your interests, gifts, skills and experience. This should be something that will stimulate you for many years.
2. Choose a topic. Choose closely related topics to your chosen career that greatly interest you and will interest potential employers.
3. Become an expert: An interesting thing happens when you focus on a topic. You read everything you can find; you listen and research more deeply. If you weren’t an expert before, you do become an expert. We call this the blogging mindset.
4. Targeting: Target a network of people who value what you do. This should include potential employers. Targeting your blog audience gets much better results.