Top 20 SEO Terms That You Should Know For Blogging

If you have a website or if you want to be a blogger or earn through the Internet then you need to know what SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is. There are a few SEO terms commonly used on the Internet so you need to familiarize yourself with them. Some of you may already know these SEO terms so this post is a refresher but a must read for the beginners.

1. SEM: This term stands for Search Engine Marketing and is vastly used. It is used to market services via search engines. SEM has further classification described below
   
   • SEO: It stands for Search Engine Optimization and it deals with everything related to optimizing a website to make its pages appear in the organic search result.
   • PPC: It stands for Pay Per Click and by this technique, one can purchase clicks from the search engines.
2. Backlink: It is commonly known as inlink and it is a hyperlink on some other website or blog and points back to your website. Inlinks are important for SEO purposes and increase the PageRank of a webpage and affect its position in the search engines.
3. PageRank: It is one of the 300+ factors Google uses to determine the relevance and importance of pages. If a link on page A is pointing to page B then Google will determine the relevance of that link and will consider it as a vote of trust from page A for page B.
4. Title Tag: It is simply the title of the article but it has its own importance. The title should be unique; SEO optimized and should contain the keyword.
5. Link farm. These are used to increase the PageRank through an artificial way. In link farms, every website links to every other website but these techniques are considered “spam” by the search engines now days. You can be penalized if you use these techniques.
6. Meta Tags: Search engines look at the Meta tags to get the understanding of your website and the content available in it. You can place these tags in the HEAD section of the HTML code of your index page. These tags are not visible to the human visitors normally.
7. NoFollow: People seldom pay attention to this factor while commenting on blogs. Nofollow means that the website on which you are commenting does not endorse the link. Google does not count such links and nofollow links do nothing to improve your PageRank. However, you can get some quality traffic by commenting on blogs.
8. Link Sculpting: Webmasters used the nofollow attribute to utilize their PageRank to rank their own pages in the search engines via link sculpting. This technique is no longer useful now as Google handles the nofollow attribute in a different way.
9. Linkbait: It is a piece of information or web content written to attract the backlinks from other sites. It can be a webpage or a blogpost or it can be a picture or a video. A good example of “linkbait” is a top 5 or top 10 list that instantly becomes popular on social media sites.
10. Anchor text: It is a clickable word and highly important for SEO. Google and other search engines associate those keywords to your website and start ranking your pages accordingly.
11. Search Algorithm: Google frequently changes its search algorithm to find and rank the most relevant pages for any search query. There are over 250 factors involved and some of the most important of them are title tag, PageRank, meta tags, and unique content of the website.
12. Keyword Density: It was an important factor and most important for search queries that had low competition. Keyword density is calculated by dividing the total number of keywords with the total number word on the page. Keyword density is not of much importance in new Google algorithms and is not considered an important SEO factor today.
13. Sandbox: Googlebots frequently crawl the web and search for new websites. There is a separate index for newly discovered websites called sandbox. The websites present in the sandbox are not displayed in the search results for normal search queries. Once Google confirms the legitimacy of the website, it removes it from the sandbox and places it into the main index.
14. Keyword Stuffing: It is directly related to the keyword density as people knew that the pages are ranked according the keyword density. They started to trick Google by stuffing their content with keywords. But today, keyword stuffing is considered spam and your website can be penalized if you use this technique.
15. SERP: The term stand for Search Engine Result Page and it refers to the page displayed when you search for a keyword. The traffic sent to your website by the search engines depends on SERPs.
16. Cloaking: This technique is used by a lot of webmasters and it is considered spam. It is used to make the same web page look different in the search engines and rank it high for certain keywords. People then sell irrelevant items and services through those web pages.
17. Web Crawler: It is commonly known as “bot” or “spider,” it is basically a computer program that browses the web pages frequently on behalf of the search engines like Google. These are basically programmed to find the new links, pages and images and initiate the indexation process.
18. Long tail Keyword: These are rarely used keywords and usually a combination of 4 or more words. They are important for SEO too as their competition is relatively low.
19. Robots.txt: It is a simple file present in the root directory of the domain and its function is to tell the robots the structure of the website. You can modify the robots.txt to restrict specific robots and can restrict their access to a certain section, files and folders of your website.
20. Duplicate Content: If the content of a website is not unique and matches with the content of other websites then it is considered duplicate content. There are multiple drawbacks of putting duplicate content on a website and search engines can penalize you for doing this.

7 Great Ways To Promote Your New Blog

Although all you need to start a new blog is an idea and an internet connection, if you want your blog to have an audience you have to put in a bit more leg work. Yes, you need to update your blog regularly and have interesting graphics, but without promotion, your blog will remain unnoticed.

Some people are intimidated by the idea of promoting, especially when they are the product that is being promoted. But don’t fret. I’m about to give you seven tips that will help you get the ball rolling.

Study

Make a list of blogs, authors and websites that you love. Then take a good hard look at that list. What makes you so fond of the blogs that you chose? What can you learn from these sites? Things to keep an eye out for are: how often these authors add new content to their blog, and what sites they link to. Learn everything you can from the people you admire and apply what you learn to your own blog.

Make A Video

Videos are becoming intriguer for marking everything from bands to products to magazines. All you need to produce a video is a digital camera (most have video capabilities) and some video editing software (which you can find for free with a simple Google search). Explain who you are, what your blog is about and why they should take a look, then upload your video to sites like YouTube and Tube Mogul.

Guest Post

Writing Guest posts for other blogs is a great way to get your name out there in the blogosphere. While it’s great to aim for the stars, in this case starting small is best. Look for smaller blogs that cover interesting topics and offer to write a guest post. Chances are the blog’s author will welcome the help.

Podcast

Ever thought about producing a podcast? Just like videos, podcasts are inexpensive to produce and can get you new readers by tapping into a market you may have overlooked before. Your podcast should deal with the same subject you cover in your blog, but in a more overall way. After you make your podcast, upload it to the iTunes directory.

Blog Carnivals

A Blog Carnival or Blog Roundup is a kind of “best of” article that pulls information from lots of different blogs together in one post. Look for blogs that are hosting blog carnivals that relate to your blog’s subject and submit your best posts. Can’t find any? Then take matters into your own hands and start your own Blog Carnival and ask your fellow bloggers to submit their work to you.

Social Media Buttons

This is one of my favorite promoting gimmicks. Social media buttons allow the people who do read your blog to share the content to everyone in their social media networks. Make sure to include all the big guns: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn. Social media site are powerful tools when it comes to promoting and should never be overlooked.

Interviews

Approach successful bloggers and experts in the field your blog covers and ask if you can interview them for your blog. Interviews are a great way to learn from bloggers who have been in the game for longer than you have, and pull in new readers by using a marquee name in your posts.

When it comes to promoting your blog, anything goes. Be creative, don’t be afraid, hand out flyers, shout it from the mountain tops.

Blogging Platform For Free Backlinks

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How To Increase Google PageRank Of Your Blogger Blog ?

Now that you know something about what Google PageRank is, here are some tips for you to increase PageRank of your Blogger blog. After reading the article about Google PageRank ,you would have understood that you have to increase the number of quality links to your blog. But at the same time you sholud try avoiding linking to sites that are not related to yours.(e.g your Make Money Online blog linking to any games or any music blog will affect adversely your Google Pagerank.)

So, here are some popular tactics to increase your Google PageRank -

1. Reciprocal Link Exchange:-

It is the most popular tactic used by the webmasters to increase the pagerank of their sites. Here you exchange links with other blogs of related niche i.e. you place link to a blog on your blog and in turn ask that blog-owner to place your link on his site.

It can be of two types -

• Two way link exchange or
• Three way link exchange

In two way link exchange, you link to the same blog where your link is placed. While in three way link exchange, you link to one blog and in turn the owner places your link on some other blog but not on the same blog.

Precautions -

• The most important one - exchange links with related blogs only.
• Avoid excessive link exchange. Google is strictly against excessive reciprocal link exchange.

2. One-Way BackLinks:-

It is getting backlinks to your blog without linking that blog in turn. But question is 'How to get quality one-way backlinks?'.

The simplest answer is 'Write quality content', and if it's really good other bloggers will link back to your blog getting you one-way backlinks.

The other methods by which you can get quality backlinks are -

I - Top Commentator - Search for blogs with 'Top Commentator' plugin installed(Google for "Top Commentators"). And make some related quality comments on their blog and get placed on thier 'Top Commentator' list.(Usually the links in the "top commentators' list are 'dofollow' in most blogs.)

II - Comment on Dofollow blogs - Recently there has been some revolution in blogging and many bloggers have removed the 'nofollow' attribute from their comments,in order to encourage comments on their blog.Now you get a backlink whenever you comment on such 'dofolow' blogs with your url.
But the tough part is to find the 'dofollow' blogs of related niche.You can Google for terms like "U Comment I Follow',"Dofollow blogs list' etc.

III - Posting on Forums - This one is also very effective.Many forums allow signatures at end of post of user,thus getting you a backlink.But you should take precaution to post on forums related to your niche only,,otherwise it won't help you.

IV - Submitting to Directories - This can get you some backlinks,but it's very time-consuming.Also your links are placed very deep not giving you much benefit. The only directory I would recommend is DMOZ, but it's very difficult to get yourself listed at DMOZ.

V - Submitting to Social Bookmarking Sites - This one I really missed,thanks 'FADI' for reminding me about it.What you can do is add this social bookmarking buttons/script to your blog, then submit your posts to these bookmarking sites yourself or your readers can submit it. This will get your blog some links,but all these links will be placed deep, thus passing very less pagerank to your blog. But I think something is better than nothing and also these social bookmarking sites can get you some visitors as well.

At present I am remembering of these methods only,I'll update this post if I remember any more.

Also if you would like to add any method or suggest any coorection , plz leave a comment and I'll make suitable changes in post.

Google PageRank Explained In A Simple Way

Everybody using internet is aware of the power of Google.Google is everywhere whether its search engine, email, social networking, online marketing, blogging etc. But most important of all these is it's search engine which share approximately 60% of all searches made all over the world.This explains the importance of rank SERP (Search Engine Results Page) fo Google.The higher the ranking on SERP the more free visitors you will get from Google.

While displaying the results for a particular query Google takes into consideration a lot of factors.

Two most impotant factors being (source - Google's Corporate Information) -

• PageRank Technology
• Hypertext-Matching Analysis.

Now here comes the importance of Google PageRank.

What Is Google PageRank?

According to Google - PageRank is Google's view of importance of a webpage. Pagerank is given out of 10. Thus a webpage with a higher pagerank will be more important in view of Google as compared to the one with lower pagerank. Hence, a webpage with a better pagerank will get higher position in the SERP. e.g. A webpage with Google PageRank of 5/10 will be more important and hence placed higher in Google SERP than the webpage with Google PageRank of 3/10.

How Does Google Determines A PageRank For Any Webpage?

According to Google - PageRank is Google's view of importance of a webpage. Pagerank is given out of 10.Thus a webpage with a higher pagerank will be more important in view of Google as compared to the one with lower pagerank. Hence, a webpage with a better pagerank will get higher position in the SERP.e.g. A webpage with Google PageRank of 5/10 will be more important and hence placed higher in Google SERP than the webpage with Google PageRank of 3/10.

How Does Google Determines A PageRank For Any Webpage?

Lets see what Google says -

" PageRank relies on the uniquely democratic nature of the web by using its vast link structure as an indicator of an individual page's value. In essence, Google interprets a link from page A to page B as a vote, by page A, for page B. But, Google looks at more than the sheer volume of votes, or links a page receives; it also analyzes the page that casts the vote. Votes cast by pages that are themselves "important" weigh more heavily and help to make other pages "important". "

So Google takes into account the backlinks each webpage gets from different other webpages. Each backlink a webpage gets is considered as a vote by Google in the favour that webpage. But at the same time Google also analyzes the webpage from which a baclink is given.

Let's examine the following figure for some better understanding -

The above figure A,B,C,D,E and F are different webpages. Here you can see that page C has got a higher pagerank than page E,even though it have fewer links as compared to page E. It's because of the importance of the page from which page C is receiving a link and also the number of outbound links from that page. In the above case as you can see page B has got most importance and is having only one outbound link to page C, so upto 90% of its PageRank is carried to page C. In the essence, a page with higher baklinks from quality pages (those with higher pagerank) will have a better pagerank. Thus, improving your Google PageRank helps you by getting you more visitors through search engines and ultimately can result into a better revenue from your website/blog.

How To Submit Your Blog’s Sitemap To Google

If you are running a blog (be it on any platform), it is of utmost importance to submit you blog’s sitemap to the major search engines especiallygoogle. If you are unaware of the term ‘sitemap’, then sitemap is a list (usually in an xml format) of all the links of your content within your blog. That is, it will include the URLs of your blog pages, blog posts etc.

Advantags Of Submitting Your Blog’s Sitemap To Search Engines.

1. Search engines will more likely to have timely indexing of your blog.

2. All of the URLs on you blog will be accessed by search engines & are more likely to get indexed.

3. Your blog will more frequently be crawled by google & your newly created post will get indexed soon.

4. Your blog will get increase in traffic from search engines as a result of most of your content being indexed.

5. You will get lots of backlinks if you post a breaking news & it get indexed in google timely & on first page.

So, you can see that it is very useful to submit your blog’s sitemap to google. Infact, it is the first step in the process of improving your blog’s SEO.

How To Submit My Blog’s Sitemap To Google ?

It is quite easy to submit your blog’s sitemap to google. This post covers the steps involved in submitting you sitemap to google for both blogs hosted on blogspot as well as self hosted wordpress blogs.

For blogs hosted on blogger.com :

If you are using blogger.com for your blog, then it is quite easy to submit your sitemap. Infact, google will automatically verify you. Just follow the following simple steps :

1. Login to your blogger with your google account.

2. Open Google Webmaster Tools in a new tab or window.

3. You will see that google has a list of blogs that you have on blogger under that account.

4. Check the blogs, you want to add, & click add selected blogs.

5. Now you will see yor blog name listed under ‘Sites’. Click on it. You will be taken to your dashboard for that blog. Here you can see your blog statistics (backlinks, search queries etc). Though it will not appear in the first go as google will take some days in accumulating information of your blog.

6. Click on ‘Site Configuration’ (in the left sidebar) & then ‘sitemaps‘ from the submenu.

7.Click on ‘submit a sitemap‘ button. You will be prompted to fill the complete address to your sitemap.

8. Here we will use your RSS feeds as your sitemap. So, after the site address, (i.e http://yourblogname.blogspot.com/) fill in:

atom.xml?redirect=false&start-index=1&max-results=500

so the whole url becomes http://yourblogname.blogspot.com/atom.xml?redirect=false&start-index=1&max-results=500

9. Now click ‘submit a sitemap‘ button next to the url field.

10. You will now see that your sitemap (feed) listed in the table with the status ‘pending’. After some hours, it will get verified. So you now have your blog’s sitemap submitted to google.

20 Blog Directories Sites To Submit Your Blog - Boost High Traffic

Submitting Blog to blog directories is one of the best way to get one way traffic and that's very very good for your blog's SERP's Ranking I am providing you with some of the finest blog directories...

Submit your blogs to those directories

1. Best of the Web Blog Search La Crem de la Crem, Best of the Web’s Blog Directory is very selective and only lists aged and valuable blogs. A link from here is majestic and well deserved.
2. EatonWeb Blog Directory is a real jewel with many aged inbound links and a blog rating system. You may have to pay a fee for your blog to be reviewed, but like Yahoo, the review fee is well worth the few dollars.
3. Blog Hub offers a drop down category and member blog list. With its “new blogger” list and hot topics, Blog Hub is a great directory to list your site.
4. Upon visiting Bloggernity, you find a crisp, clean, and easy to navigate site. Scrolling down, you find the new blogs. As there is little advertising on the home page, it is pleasant to the eye of the reader as well.
5. Blogarama has an impressive listing of over 65,000 blogs. The site is well designed and follows the same content categories as many other sites.
6. One of the most selective Blog Directories on the web (and Wordpress powered), Blog Search Engineis owned by Performancing’s parent company and serves search results powered by IceRocket.
7. Blog Catalog features a vast directory of categories, from academic to writing, while offering the ability to search by country, language, or user. It has a no frills design, but offers convenient member access through simple blog registration.
8. Globe of Blogs has too many features to list. In order to be listed on the site, the blog must not be commercial. The site may appear to be busy, but I like the features of being able to search by title, author, or subject. Narrowing the search becomes easier on this blog.
9. The ultimate directory of British blogs connotes all things British. It is not directed by location, but by the culture! It is asked that bloggers be genuinely “britished.” Being listed in this blog reaches readers all the way across the pond!
10. Blog Universe is the perfect place to promote your video or podcast themed blog. Its layout is easy to navigate. Although the content is limited, it is an all around good directory site worthy of submission.
11. Bigger Blogs is a relatively new blog directory with only a few blogs registered. The blog is intertwined with a business directory. The blog section is difficult to find, and it is located through a link on the right side of the business directory page. However, the benefit is that the earlier you are accepted on a blog directory, the more exposure your blog will obtain. In addition, a back link is indeed a back link, so this can help with your search engine placement.
12. Bloggeries has the best categories and subcategories home page on the internet. The layout is clear and concise, and readers are able to find what they are looking for in a snap!
13. Bloggapedia has an interesting and eye catching homepage. Readers are easily connected to the top blogs and newest posts. Innovative categories and a colorful design make this blog directory a hit.
14. Spillbean is a well-designed blog directory site with categories such as health, society, internet, and personal. The site is aesthetically pleasing, but there are not many listings yet.
15. Blogging Fusion is a blog with over sixty categories. These categories include photo blogs and family focused blogs. Blogging Fusion has an good amount of blog listings within the directory, and it also has visitor stats available.
16. Blogflux is not only a tool for bloggers, but a directory that has the listings in alphabetic order. The blog listings are organized and clear. It is definitely an effective blog directory in which to be listed.
17. The blogs on the top listings of Bloglisting are fun, colourful, and catch the attention of the reader. Bloglisting displays the page ranking blogs, which is a helpful tool when determining with whom you want to exchange links.
18. Blogio may be a small blog directory with few listings, but it worthy of a submission. Despite its small size, there are quality blogs and a solid ability to search on this site.
19. Blog Explosion claims to be the largest blog promoter on the internet. They have a vast directory but do not seem to have direct links. However, the listing in the directory can still show up in SERP’s, So keep this in mind.
20. Super Blog Directory is a great site that offers tools to posters that others do not. You can see the latest submitted links and blogs on the site, which is a perk that draws traffic into the directory.

How To Submit Website Or Blog RSS Feeds To Bing

Improve Traffic By Submitting Feeds To Bing Search Engine

My site analytic statistics show i drive 80% blog traffic from Google search engine for my blog. Since Bing is also evolving you can focus on Bing to get some good traffic from Bing. But in Bing my blog appears somewhere.

This could be happening because I never submit my website to Bing search engine. I thought to share with how how to do this.

1. Open the Bing submit page http://www.bing.com/docs/submit.aspx
2. Type in the characters from picture as shown below.

3. There are couple of options that you can use to enter the website URL

To submit your Website Or Blog Feeds: Type in your RSS feed URL. I have created my RSS feed URL using FeedBurner with full content in the RSS feed.

4. Click Submit button.

5. Once you submit you website or blog this will go to Bing queue and after some time Bing will visit to crawl your website or blog.

I hope it will your website or blog will drive some good traffic from Bing in near future.