We’ve all heard the experts telling us that blogging is a vital part of any company’s SEO campaign but is it simply a case of quantity of blogs, or is it more about quality? No doubt there is a balance to be struck but according to the search engine giant Google, quality is a high priority.

When asked recently about this very topic Google’s response went along these lines: “Whenever you’re thinking about search engines, it’s much, much, much more important to think about the quality of your content.”

Google even suggests that you do not need to blog every day, maybe just once a week, but that what you blog about should have value and quality. Because: “This strategy is likely to attract a lot more links.”

However, we do still think that “freshness” is important, too. Google’s time filters, and the real-time results, add some benefit to providing fresh content.

So the answer?: Quality and quantity. Isn’t it always?

You can speak to WebCreationUK about blog intergration on your website or any of your other web design needs.

Blogging is on the rise – and many more businesses are recognising the importance of blogging for business purposes. As you’ll have learned through our own blogs, it takes time, energy and creativity to write a successful blog.

A successful blog isn’t just a great chance to build links and include keyword-rich relevant content, it’s also a great way to boost your company’s reputation.

Here is the second in our two-part series on starting a successful blog:

* Get people to subscribe: Make sure your blog has an RSS feed and a “Follow” on Twitter and Facebook option.

* Show-off your blog: Make sure that your blog is very clear and labelled on your website. People will not bother to go in search of your blog so it’s a good idea to have it very clearly labeled so they might just take a look.

* Be a linker: Linking out is a useful tool for your readers. It enhances the value of your site and makes you look like a generous blogger.

* Sign post back to other posts: If you are writing about a topic you’ve blog about before then make sure you link back to this. Readers will then see that you are a busy blogger and that you know your subject.

Happy blogging! And why not talk to WebCreation UK about up-dating the look or style of your blog. Web design is important – just like content.

Blogging is on the rise – and many more businesses are recognising the importance of blogging for business purposes. As you’ll have learned through our own blogs, it takes time, energy and creativity to write a successful blog.

A successful blog isn’t just a great chance to build links and include keyword-rich relevant content, it’s also a great way to boost your company’s reputation.

Here is the first in our two-part series on starting a successful blog. Look out for the second part next week.
Headers: Not only should this engage the reader, but a header should also pay attention to search engines, which pay a lot of attention to header words and titles. Forget cryptic headlines; just go for something simple and explanatory.

Keep blogging: You should be aware that blogging takes time and energy. To be effective, you blog must be updated regularly. Google and other search engines are forever on the look for new content so to stay in the SEO game you need to be writing a lot – and with relevancy.

Think of your audience: Make sure your blogs will appeal to the type of person/customer that you want to engage.

Be kind to the eye: People skim read internet words, and especially blogs, so make sure you keep the look of your blog simple. Use short paragraphs, lots of sub-heads, bullet points etc. Anything that makes the writing easier on the eye.

Go guesting: Guest blogs are blogs that you offer or are invited to write for other blogs. They will include a link back to your website so they offer a great outlet for marketing your website and for backlinks (backlinks are important SEO tools).

Get social: Use Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites to promote your blog. You’ll soon find that people get to know about you.

Happy blogging! And why not talk to WebCreationUK about up-dating the look or style of your blog? Design is important – just like content.

Did you know that images can be a helpful SEO driver? To optimise your images you should think about several key points, such as url structure, and captions.

Here are a few tips for optimising your pictures on your website and blog. If in doubt ask your web designer to ensure these points have been covered.

Keywords: Try to ensure that relevant keywords are used in the file name of your picture.

Alt text: Alt text or tags are another way that search engines work out what your image is showing. So you need to make sure that captions, alt text, file names are as descriptive as possible.

But don’t over stuff: It’s the same for all kinds of SEO. Over-stuffing images with too many keywords is a search engine turn-off.

Images are a vital part of blogs. Research shows that potential readers are attracted to a post by the right blog picture. But unless you’re a keen amateur photographer, or have friends who are, it can be difficult to source all the free, non-copyrighted photos that you’ll need to keep your blog regularly up-dated.

Here are some of the best places to find images:

•    Flickr – Many images are copyrighted but this service also has a useful “creative commons search” for finding free images. The latter offers access to the pictures that can be used for free, although they do need to be credited to the original source.

•    http://sxc.hu/ – Lots of royalty-free stock images.

•    iStockPhoto – Big selection of stock photos that you can buy, although there are deals that can offer a number of pics for a reasonable cost.

Just remember that it’s illegal to use images that are copywrited. If the image isn’t Creative Common licensed or you didn’t buy or create it, then don’t post it.

If you needed another reason to blog for your business, here’s one. You will have noticed that Google has rolled out its redesigned search results page. Like other search engines such as Yahoo, visitors now see a left-hand navigation panel on the hugely popular Google site.

While most of the features on this revamped page are not new, many are now far more prominent. Some of the options are fairly standard, such images, videos, maps, and news. But there is much greater emphasis now being placed on other types of results such as, blogs, updates and discussions.

Google Blog Search has been around for a while but now users will notice it more – and will be much more likely to use it for searching. Instead of having to go to the Google Blog search engine itself or the “click to show options” link from a Google SERP, Blogs is simply a visible option for any given query. That means if people want to see commentary for the subject they searched for, there’s a good chance they’ll go to this set of results. So it’s time all businesses where blogging, isn’t it?