Search engines are getting smarter every day.   Keywords and meta tags are no longer enough to drive traffic to the website for your small business.  Search engines are looking for real, relevant and timely content.  The best way to do that? Blogging. That’s why we include blogs into every site we design.

You know  you should be blogging regularly but have no idea what to talk about every day. It’s okay, we’ve got you covered. We believe in continuous ongoing education for all of our website design clients, so we’re offering a crash course on blogging strategies for our second seminar in the Press Refresh series. We’ll talk about why you should blog, what you should blog about and how to get the most bang for your buck from the blogging process. Join us for this fun, interactive workshop February 21, 4:00 at the Roundpeg offices, 1003 E. 106th St, Indianapolis.

Press Refresh is a series of classes offered on the third Tuesday of every month. These courses are open to any past Roundpeg web design clients. It’s our way of helping you keep your website relevant and viable as a part of your marketing toolkit.

Effective blogging starts with a strategyand an action plan. If you don’t have a plan in place, you should, and we can help. Join the Roundpeg gang and let’s talk. This is a class web clients won’t want to miss!

For more information on the rest of the Press Refresh series or to register, click here. We hope to see you soon!

Over the years we have written quite a few blog post about blogging.  Here are just a few you might find helpful :

• Blogs build better web sites 
• The 70 / 30  Traffic Rule
• Blogging Made Simple

The Roundpeg blog is four years old. In that time, the blog has evolved and expanded, partially because my writing style has changed (although Allison will argue my use of commas hasn’t) and partially because I have added other voices to the mix.

This was not my first blog. Indy-Biz.com and LorraineBall.com both preceded it. With Indy-Biz for local news and LorraineBall as an outlet for my humor and occasional rant, Business Notes from Roundpeg was a “serious” business blog.  It was filled with checklists and links to informative articles. The tone was formal and the content was solid. Unfortunately, it was a little dry and kind of dull, like reading a textbook.

I started reading lots of blogs on marketing, social media, web and graphic design and  technology. The ones I returned to over and over again blended information and personality. While they often included formulaic  lists (10 ways to do anything) they did it in an engaging way, which held my interest. I started to copy that style as I worked on my voice.

It took me a while to get comfortable letting my personality come through my writing. Once I did, I no longer needed to maintain a separate blog for my rants. If something  is wrong, I share it here, always looking for the lesson to make it relevant to my readers. The posts were easier and more fun to write. And the more of “me” I let come through the blog, the more popular it became.

Adding guest posts and features from the entire Roundpeg crew expands our voice, allowing us to offer something for everyone. It also  means I don’t have to write as often. While I miss the challenge of creating something new every day, it is nice to take a few days on a post if I really want it to be memorable.

The informal voice may not be right for everyone. Lawyers and accountants may struggle more to find the balance.  The key is to find a style which is natural for you.

The Roundpeg crew enjoyed a team building trip to the Super Bowl festivities last Friday. Have you had a chance to check out the fun?

Although it’s easy to get distracted this week we continue to publish at least one blog post daily. If you’ve been visiting Super Bowl Village on a daily basis you may have missed out. Now’s your chance to catch up.

Saturday - Faces of Roundpeg: New Characters – Jenna and Peter
We are a bit more polished, more professional and more grown up thanks to our newest cast members.

Sunday – What’s In a Theme?
Peter explains (to Romeo?) the basics behind WordPress themes.

Monday - Knowing When to Walk Away: Dealing with Anger Online
Always good to think before you respond whether in person or online.

Tuesday – Sometimes What’s Old is New Again
Sharing the love for WordPress plug in Tweet Old Post.

MTFW: Unfunded with Nick Carter
Listen to our talk with Nick Carter about his experiences growing his firm, AddressTwo as an “unfunded” venture.

Wednesday – Your New Truck is a Website
The inspiration for a client’s rebranding came from their original truck sign.

Thursday – Use FAQs as Blog Post Starters
FAQs and answers to questions make great content for blog posts.

Friday – Why Playing Hooky Can Help Your Business

Reflecting on our Adventure in the SuperBowl Village, Allison talks about why these types of outing are good for your business

Stumped for blog content? Think about the questions your customers ask you again and again. These FAQs are a great source of blog content. Typically, companies create a page of FAQs. While this is helpful, you are missing out on the SEO benefit of this content.

According to Michael Gray putting one question on a page or post works much better. He says:

Unless your questions and answers are very short, ideally you want to create a single page optimized for each question, this gives you the ability to create narrowly focused posts around specific keyword phrases that will rank better and drive more traffic.

Some of these posts may be very short or not as popular as other.  That is fine you can create a summary post like we did for Randall Beans, with links to each question.  Another strategy is to create a custom search. This will work if you are using a custom menu which allows you to link the search to the navigation bar.

How to get started? The next time you find yourself answering a question in an email, stop. Is this something other people will find valuable? If so, you have the makings of a blog post.

Dr. Greg of Leo’s Pet Care used this strategy recently. We were talking about treatment alternatives for our office kitty, Maybee. He researched and wrote a post about her condition. I read the article before I went to see him, so I was more prepared for the conversation. And the next time he is asked about this issue, Dr. Greg can simply send the link.

Do you have FAQs?  Do you have the answers written down? If so, you have great content for your next few blog posts.

Roundpeg, an Indianapolis social media firm, helps our clients construct blog calendars, brainstorm content to keep their readers coming back.

We write one or two posts a day for our blog. Some of them attract lots of traffic comments and interaction, others come and go, mostly unnoticed. Why? Sometimes a title is particularly catchy, other times it is the topic itself that generates a response.

But many times, our content is lost in the overwhelming sea of information. There are too many posts by too many interesting writers, too much noise on social channels or we didn’t work hard enough that day to break through.

It is frustrating, because some of my favorite posts are overlooked. That is why I really like Tweet Old Post , a WordPress Plugin. This tool  randomly picks your older post based and shares them on Twitter. Here is what I really like about the tool:

Features:

You can specify the interval. I have it set so the interval between posts is at least 8 hours, but may be as much as 10. So we typically share 2 – 3 old posts each day. Since the time is random, I hit a wide range of followers with the content.

Post Age:

You can specify the age of the post. Since I use this to re-engage people with older content, I have it set for posts older then 90 days.  This takes visitors deeper into our website. Often, they leave comments which refreshes the page for search engines. I also set the time limit for no posts older then two years, because much of that content is no longer relevant.

Categories:

Certain posts about events and time-sensitive comments  can be omitted, so the reader doesn’t feel like they have wasted their time following the link.

We have used this plug in for about six months and have been really pleased with the results. We have seen many of our old posts get a second chance to shine, with comments and retweets. I would strongly recommend installing this WordPress plugin on any blog with more than one year’s worth of content.

Fact: The Internet is filled with jerks. The anonymity and the faceless nature of the Internet seems to unleash something deep inside people. They’ll spew venom and hate about everything from the most trivial (your favorite TV show, for example) to the most important (politics and religion) to the most personal (you, your business, your profession). They’ll post things that are flagrantly untrue, hurtful or just foul and full of profanity and lies. And just as it’s easy for them to pound out a scathing attack on something you hold dear, it’s incredibly tempting to sit down and immediately pound out a devestating counter attack.

Don’t. Stop. Wait.

Why? Because if you let that flaming response fly, you might wind up looking just like the owner of Boner’s Barbeque, who posted a profanity-laced tirade against a customer who left a negative Yelp! review, complete with a photo of the customer in question. The company instantly became an Internet laughing stock, the poster child for how not to deal with customer service issues on social media. But the problem goes far beyond customer service: it goes to the heart of how we see people and interact with them in the digital world. Because we can’t hear their voice or look into their eyes, we suddenly give ourselves license to say and do things we would never, ever do in the physical world. So the next time you’re faced with a blog post or social media comment that makes your blood boil for any reason, follow these simple steps:

1. Remember, it’s just the Internet. I know this runs counter-intuitive to a digital marketing company that makes its living selling people on the importance of the Internet, but at the end of the day, one negative comment isn’t going to sink you. What might, however, is your response. Remember: it’s better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.

2. Weigh the pros and cons of responding. If someone has written a negative review or comment about your business, you need to respond quickly and helpfully, without anger. However, the whole issue gets a lot more complicated when you just read a blog post that pisses you off something fierce and you just HAVE to show the other person how wrong they are.

Before you hit “reply,” stop and think about what leaving that comment will really accomplish. Is it going to reflect well on you? Is there actually any chance that it might persuade someone to change their view? Is it going to help you get new business? If the answer is “no” to all of these questions, ask yourself what you’d really be accomplishing by responding, besides making yourself feel better.

3. Give it a positive spin. If you must respond to a negative blog post, be better than your opposition. That is, don’t respond with a relentlessly negative attack from which no one walks away unscathed. Instead, look at the post for lessons, and respond to them in a positive way.

Recently, an Indianapolis business owner came to me for advice on dealing with a blog post about his industry that made him furious. I encouraged him to take what made him mad about that post and turn it into an educational, positive post for his clients. Transform someone else’s hatred into something useful, and you’ve truly won the day.

Remember: Breathe. Stay cool. Recognize that arguing on the Internet rarely ends well, and you’ll keep your online reputation on course.

Another week where if we waited an hour here in Indianapolis, the weather changed. We’ve had ice, snow and on the rare side for January, thunderstorms.

Our blogs this week seem to have followed the pattern of one of our favorite interview questions…so weather you favor words, pictures or numbers, we’ve covered it in at least one of our blogs during the past week. If you’ve missed one or several, here’s a quick recap:

Saturday – Faces of Roundpeg: The Boy Band
Lorraine’s ode to Taylor & Jay and the way things used to be.

Sunday – Make Pictures Part of Your Web Design Strategy
Pictures are cropping up more often on blog posts, this article explains why.

Monday – Taking Stock of Your Image
In the “old” days, designers cringed at the thought of using stock photos, Jenna explains how to modify those photos to have a bigger impact and save money.

Tuesday - I Don’t Like Football, But I Love the Super Bowl
Most of us don’t realize all that hosting a Super Bowl brings to a local community as part of the Super 46, Lorraine explains what makes the Super Bowl special for the hosting city.

Marketing in Handcuffs with Muhammad Yasin:  More than a Few Words
For this week’s podcast we’ll be joined by Muhammad Yasin, social media strategist for HCCMIS, a travel health insurance company. The topic is learning how you can make regulations work in your favor.

Wednesday - Indianapolis Social Media: Way More than 46
Allison shares her thoughts on how the Super 46 could have been handled more effectively. What are your thoughts?

Thursday - It’s In the Numbers: 4 Strategies for Blog Success
Lorraine explains why paying attention to numbers in blog posts makes a difference.

Friday – You Can’t Save Everyone
This is the marketing version of you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.

If you noticed that the weekly summary was published late this week, that is because the Roundpeg crew took the day off to head downtown to experience the pre Superbowl activities.  If you are in Indy, be sure to check it out before it is gone.

Do you have an idea for a great blog post?   Today I am going to suggest you think about the numbers to help make it successful.

1.   Word Count – Finding a balance is tough. Posts that are too long (1,000 words or more) lose all but the most committed readers before the end.  Posts that are too short (less than 250 words) don’t offer enough content or key word density to attract the attention of the search engines.

So what’s the magic number? I typically shoot for between 300 – 500 words. I don’t let word count drive my post, but a quick look at the number in the lower left hand corner of my screen keeps me on track. Too long, I probably have a second post in the works. Too short, I might need to do a bit  of research on to expand this topic. ( More on this topic from ProBlogger) 

2.   Length of the Title  - Keeping your title under 70 characters has two key benefits. First, it is easier to share the title with a link on Twitter. With a limit of 140 characters, a short title and short link can easily be retweeted without losing content. Also most search engines will crop your title at 70 characters.

3.   Links in Your Post  - Internal links in your posts drive readers to other related content. External links build community by making connections to other relevant sites. But how much is too much? How little is not enough?  While SEO MOz says you can have up to 100 links on a page, this is clearly overkill for the average reader. Scribe SEO encourages you to have at least one relevant link near the top of your post.

So what is the right answer? I typically think one link per hundred words works well. It shows the post is well-connected without being overwhelming. When you add a link, be sure to include a trackback as well.

4.   Numbers in the Title – People like simple answers. The promise that you can solve their problem in just 5 easy steps is too tempting to pass up. Blog posts with numbers in the title get more traffic. Look at top social media information sites like Copyblogger and ProBlogger, and you will see titles that look like this:  5 Suggestions for…, 3 Ways to… , 7 Quick tips… The problem? I don’t often write linear posts. If there are no lists, it is hard to have a numbered title.  I won’t sacrifice a good title just to add a number. I simply use this tactic when it makes sense.

At the end of the day, none of these other tricks will make a bit of difference if you don’t offer good content. If the article isn’t well-written, thought provoking, funny or smart, no one will share the article anyway. So follow the rules if they make sense, but never let them get in the way of creating a truly great post. I actually wanted to call this post “5 strategies,” but only came up with 4 ideas, and the post was getting long.  What would you add to this list?

Marketing is a numbers game, and one of the most important numbers is the amount of traffic to your website. If you don’t have visitors, then you won’t have prospects. So the question is, how do you increase traffic?

Some companies turn to search engine optimization (SEO) professionals. These very smart, successful companies earn their living managing comprehensive SEO programs for clients. Using a complex process, they create a steady stream of content and links to improve the visibility of their clients sites on key search engines.

But what if you are a small business with little or no budget to pay an outside firm to manage your SEO. Can you still compete for search rankings? Absolutely! While you may not dominate nationally, for every keyword, there are a number of simple tactics you can apply which will significantly improve your rankings.

1. Blog, Blog, Blog – The steady stream of fresh, keyword rich content provides Google and other search engines new reasons to come back and index your site regularly.  It will attract links, and reasons for human visitors to return again and again.
2.  Create titles and tags for humans and search engines
   Short, catchy title tags, which pique the curiosity of the potential reader in the RSS feed or on social media are essential. However, search engines will also look for the title to include key words. I keep a list of key words near my computer, to remind me to include terms like “Indianapolis social media” in each blog post  (OK, so that was shameless). You can also use tools like Scribe,  Overture, WordTracker & KeywordDiscovery to see help you adjust your titles and posts
3. Share the Limelight with Guest Bloggers –  By offering spaces on your  blog for others to share their content, you win in several ways. First, everyone has their own friends, fans and followers. When they write a guest post, they will bring an audience of people who may not be familiar with your site.  Second, the mix of voices and content creates a more interesting experience for visitors.
4. Add Multimedia – Add pictures, video and audio clips to your site. The mix of media will appeal to different audiences. Interesting pictures, charts and graphs will often draw a reader in to a post. If you use images, be sure to take the time to label pictures correctly so they show up in search as well as your text.
5. Use Tags and Categories Wisely –  Consistently using the same tags and keywords to organize content will make it easier for search engines and humans to find what they are looking for. The more often the keywords appear (not all on one page), the more authority you begin to develop around that topic

Battling your way to the top of page one requires consistent effort. You won’t land there with one great post, but you can create a path to your business with a series of good ones.

I don’t have time. I don’t have anything to write about. I’m not a good writer. No one would really read it anyway.

Stop the excuses. Stop the hand wringing. Stop the over-thinking. Your small business  needs to be blogging, and if you’re not, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity to reap benefits from organic search engine optimization, social media and client good will.

You probably know the reasons you should blog, so let’s just hit the Cliff’s Notes version: it fills your site with useful keywords for search engines used in a natural way. It gives you great content to share on social media which helps drive traffic to your site. And it helps establish you as an expert among clients and prospects.

So why aren’t you doing it? It probably falls into one of two categories: you’re lazy or you’re afraid.

If it’s laziness, let me share some statistics that might spur you forward. We recently started ghost blogging for a small business. They’d never posted a blog on their website–ever. Simply by creating a blog post with great organic keywords and sharing it on social media netted them their best single day traffic numbers in the history of the site. We’ve had other clients triple their submission rates on contact us and other submission forms.

If it’s fear–fear of rejection, fear of failure, fear of writing, that’s a harder nut to crack. But please refer back to the title: just blog, dammit. What’s the worst that can happen? If no one reads it, you’re just out a little time (and you need to rethink your strategy). If everyone hates it and attacks you for it, hey, you’re getting attention, creating conversation. There’s value there. If your writing isn’t any good, how will you ever improve it if you don’t just write? If you just need guidance, there are lots of great free resources out there, or you can pay for personalized help to steer you in the right direction.

Whatever your business, it can benefit from blogging. So stop making excuses and blog, dammit.