When you write a blog post, there are a number of things that can be done to make it stand out and catch the attention of your readers. A well written blog post is the first thing on that list almost every time. However, there are a dozen or more other things that can take very little time and multiply not only your exposure but the quality of readership on your blog.

The number one thing on that list is the addition of graphics and photos to each and every post you write. It may seem like a small addition, but without a visual addition, many blogs look stale and overly wordy. The last thing you want is for your visitors to think your blog looks wordy.

1) Break up Your Text

Text may be the crux of any successful blog, but it can quickly become the enemy if it gets out of hand. A well written blog post does not merely combine mountains of text into a coherent narrative. It needs to offer breaks, bullet points, and plenty of white space to keep the reader enticed.

If there is too much text and not enough visual relief, it will seem more like work to read the post and the absolute last thing any blogger ever wants is for a blog reader to approach their blog as though it is work. Readers will eventually stop reading and forget to come back. Be engaging and most of all be simple. Images make this much easier to accomplish.

2) Get More Links

Gaining links to your blog from other websites and blogs is the best way to grow traffic, search rankings, and page rank. In short, if other bloggers like your website, they will tell their readers and you become more popular. While good posts and exclusive information are going to get you the most possible links back to your site, images and graphics can make your site that much more visible to fellow bloggers.

Not only will it stand out when they visit, they will create a map with which another blogger can link back to your site. They can reuse your photos on their site, causing your website to index higher, and associating readers with your site.

3) Engage Your Visitors

Not only do pictures and graphics break up the text on a page, they further engage a reader than text ever can. The old adages about pictures being more valuable than any amount of words holds doubly true for the Internet as your audience has an extremely short attention span. You have about 3 seconds to grab their attention before they click to another website.

If, for some reason, your headline or first paragraph fails to do this, your pictures very well might. Additionally, well created, relevant photos remind your visitors of your posts, and may even be reposted on other websites if they are particularly funny or interesting. People respond to images. Take advantage of that and you can increase your readership.

4) Create a Storyline

One of the more entertaining aspects of using images on your blog is the ability it gives you to create a compelling narrative for your visitors. You can find humorous or poignant images to punctuate specific lines of text on your page and create an immediate link with your visitors to a specific line of thought you might have. You may write multiple posts about the same topic over time.

What better way to remind visitors that they already read a previous installment than using the same image in a humorous way. You engage your reader more in the narrative of your posts and create a closer connection with them. The better a connection you can create between you and your readers, the more likely they are to return again and again.

5) Show Your Creativity

If you are a blogger, you are no doubt a creative soul. Do not let yourself be pigeon holed by the limitations of text. Be as creative as possible with your images. Creating graphics or images for a post can be both fun for you and entertaining for your visitors. Not only that, but the more you show your readers that you are creative and interesting, the more likely they will be to bookmark your blog and come back, hoping to find more of your trademark antics and creativity.

Adding an image to a blog, especially in the age of Blogger simplicity, can be a quick and easy way to greatly increase your visibility to potential readers. Your fellow bloggers will be impressed and express that by linking to you. Your readers will be entertained and continue to return to your site, and your traffic will increase as you grow your visibility in search engines.

For the blogging community, a comment is a badge of sorts. Every comment you receive represents one person that, regardless of whether they agree with your ideas or not, read your post and felt strongly enough to respond to them. Comments can make even the most jaded of bloggers feel fuzzy inside. So, how does a new blogger start turning those dozens of posts into a field of comments and discussion? It can seem hard at first, but there are a few steps you can take right away that will increase your readers’ willingness to speak up.

1) Invite Comments

For whatever reason, if you ask your readers to leave a comment on your post, they will be immediately more willing to do so. This is just a natural response that the human brain tends to have. People are often in a hurry, or have multiple things on their mind. They might fully enjoy your post, but as soon as they are done, click to something else. If you ask them to comment, it serves as a subtle reminder that they should join in the conversation.

2) Open Ended Posts

Even if you are an expert on a topic, don’t try to share every possible detail in one post. Be as open ended as possible and leave a few points for your readers to share. This takes a little bit of the humility mentioned below. If you can keep from throwing every fact you’ve ever read about a specific topic into one post, your readers will not have to think about something to say in response.

3) Ask Lots of Questions

The obvious way to get responses is to ask a question. If you ask your readers what they think about a topic, or for specific people to give their opinion on a lifestyle, you will get more responses. For example, if your blog is about TV shows and you ask a question such as “What shows did you enjoy in the past that are similar to The Simpsons”, you will get many more comments than if you said “I enjoy old shows like All in the Family, because it is like The Simpsons”. Engage your readers by addressing them directly.

4) Respond to Existing Comments

If someone comments, respond to it. Even if the comment is short and not particularly deep, a quick response can show that you are always paying attention and willing to engage in conversation with your readers. That commenter is now much more likely to comment again.

5) Setting Rules

Most blogging platforms such as Blogger do not have a built in set of rules for comments. The comments section is left open by default and you can make changes to it if you desire. Try creating a commenting policy and posting it on your page somewhere. This may seem like it would lower comments, but by describing what is allowed, readers with potential comments they might not have been willing to share initially are more likely to comment.

6) Show Some Humility

Don’t try to know everything all the time. Be humble and show that you are aware of your own shortcomings, failings and holes in your knowledge. Don’t be self-defacing, but be willing to say “I don’t really know much about this, but I had a thought”. The best part about blogging is that it gives readers and writers a chance to interact on an equal, real time level. If visitors want to read the opinions of those who feel they are always right, they could buy a book or pick up a newspaper.

7) Controversy

It’s a gamble, and you can go too far, but if you want to breed new comments on your page quickly, pick a controversial topic and make a statement. This does mean you need to become political or religious. You could simply say that you disliked a popular movie. Anytime a blogger disagrees with popular opinion, comments skyrocket. Just be prepared to stand up for your opinion and to do it gracefully.

Graciousness, Admit When You Are Wrong

If you make a mistake and someone writes a comment pointing out that mistake, try to accept their comment and admit your mistake. It is very easy to become defensive and angry on the Internet where you have no personal contact with your readers. However, by showing that you graciously accept someone else’s comments and opinions, you show humility and increase the likeliness of return visitors and readers.

9) Don’t Make it Hard to Comment

Blogger has an option that allows you to require a login for the posting of comments. This is too much work. If you require a login, many people will decide against commenting altogether, especially if they need to sign up for a new account to do so. Instead of requiring login information, you can set your comments for approval before they post. This allows you to sort out comments and delete spam if necessary.

10) Make It Worth Their While

If you offer a reward for a good comment, you not only encourage repeat comments, you encourage better comments. Mark especially good comments with a comment of your own, or reference them in a new post. This draws attention to your readers and shows you are reading what they say.

If you want to grow your readership and comments section, the best thing you can do is to be involved and pay attention to what your readers have to say. Do these things and you will start to see your comment spaces fill up in no time.

New blog writers everywhere are faced with a serious dilemma when they first reach the Internet and must decide which blogging platform is best for their new website. There are actually dozens of options on the market, ranging from the basic blog settings of the social networks to the self-hosted open sources software solutions.

However, for most new bloggers and those who don’t want to pay for their blog, the choice boils down to one of two websites: Blogger and Wordpress. These two services have become synonymous in recent years with the blogging phenomenon, making up a massive percentage of the Internet’s most popular blogs. For that reason, there has been a bit of discussion over which service is better.

Provided here is a solid answer to that question once and for all, 7 reasons why Blogger is in fact better than Wordpress. These comparisons relate to the free accounts available from both Blogger and Wordpress.

1) Integrated Login with Your Google Account

With the ability to easily connect all of your Google accounts, this is a big plus for Blogger. Many of the most useful features for a website are offered by Google, including AdSense, AdWords, and Webmaster tools for Google indexing. Instead of adding code into your templates, something that can quickly become confusing and result in broken websites, Blogger allows you to simply click a button and integrate AdSense or banners into your site.

This allows you to use the same login information for all Google services and that sets Blogger a few steps ahead. Wordpress is an open sources solution, meaning that all extra services must be manually integrated into your blog after you have signed up for your account.

2) Backed up by Google

Along the same lines, Blogger has the backing of the largest and most powerful Internet Company in the world. For some this might seem like a negative, but it means the most money and development time can be placed into creating new features for Blogger that Wordpress may need to wait for. Historically, features such as widgets, add-ons, and templates have been enhanced first by Blogger. Wordpress is usually a step or two behind the curve. For the best features as they are developed, Blogger is the winner.

3) Change Visual Appearance and Code of Templates

Blogger’s options for making changes to the visual composition of your blog are numerous and easy to use, something that Wordpress has had problems maintaining in the past. In Blogger, there are a number of pre-built templates as well as thousands more available from any number of websites. Simply copy and paste them into your blog’s template page and you have a new look. Additionally, the style sheets and HTML code for your template (if you are willing to do so) can easily be changed and enhanced to suit your specific needs.

4) Indexing Time

Whether it is because of the link with Google or because of the sheer volume of Blogger blogs, your posts will be indexed in the Search Engines much quicker with Blogger. Usually within a few hours of posting your newest page will appear, allowing you to receive the most traffic as quickly as possible. This is especially important as most blogs strive to talk about the newest and most relevant news as it breaks. If that news does not index for two days, it will already be old when people start to read your posts.

5) Ease of Use

Blogger is truly a plug and play design for a new blog owner. Signing up takes seconds, allowing users to use their Google login and asking only for a few basic pieces of information such as blog title and description. From there, blog posts can be typed up and entered with two or three clicks and are automatically indexed. For newcomers to the blogosphere especially, Blogger is the best choice when it comes to ease of use.

6) Integration of Multiple Accounts

Blogger makes it easy to view all of your blogs via a dashboard feature that links directly to your Google login. When you login, all of your blogs will display, with one-click options to post, edit, or alter posts. The number of blogs and accounts available is nearly endless and makes blogging on multiple topics easier than ever.

7) Massive Blogging Network

Because Blogger is the first stop for many new bloggers, it is also among the largest blogging networks in the world. The millions of blogs already created in Blogger are helpful to the new member as well because of how Google has integrated their search features into the site. Not only can visitors search Blogger blogs via the search bar at the top of the page, they can click “random” or “next blog” to visit a different Blogger blog. This increases your exposure by directly connecting you with existing blogs. And if you decide to hide this feature, you can do that too in Blogger.

Ultimately, Blogger is an ideal solution for anyone who is just starting their first blog. It is also a great platform for those who are serious about blogging, but do not want to hire a technician to set them up and make regular adjustments to their blog. It is easy to use, quick to start, and offers a host of features that the free Wordpress blog and its other competitors do not.

When you start writing your first blog on a site like Blogger or any of the dozen other free blogging platforms available, your first thought will likely be, “How do I get people to notice my blog?” It is a perfectly good question and one that millions of bloggers ask themselves every day. After all, with more than 85 million active blogs online at any given time and more than 100,000 new blogs created every day, how do you stand out as worthy of attention.

There are a number of different ways you can make yourself stand out from the pack. Blogging is a unique form of expression because it allows every individual to approach it from their own angle. Combining quality writing with a handful of technical tasks that will increase your visibility, you can start reaching the millions of daily blog readers that are online every day.

Be Unique

Your angle will undoubtedly be different from almost everyone else’s. Allow that unique perspective to bleed through your writing and your blog can be very successful. Even with half of the computer owning population reading blogs on a daily basis, there is only so much time to spend reading new blogs. For that reason alone, you need to stand out from the other writers in more than one way. If you write about Formula 1 racing and copy the topics from existing, larger blogs, why would anyone want to read your your blog? Think of a new angle and draw in new readers with that perspective.

Consistency

You must write on a consistent basis to attract attention and keep it. It does you no good to attract a dozen new readers with one blog post and then leave them wondering where you went because you fail to write your next post for more than a week. Consistency helps in other ways as well. If you post new content on a daily basis, Google will index your site more often and you will appear higher in search rankings. Blogger lists recent posts in its own search listings which you will then appear at the top of more often. Write more often and you will be seen.

Controversial Content

This is a tricky topic, especially for some individuals. However, you can count on getting more readership and being noticed by more online outlets if you are controversial with what you have to say. This does not mean you should be rude or openly hostile. Speak your mind and say what you believe unapologetically but do not be a jerk.

Comment on Other Blogs

Everyone wants to receive comments on their posts. After you complete your first blog post, you will probably sit and stare at the comments section wondering where your first comment is; and when it arrives, you will no doubt visit the website of whoever leaves it. The same is true for your fellow bloggers. They are not your competition so much as your peers. If you read their work, they will read yours. And if they like your content, they will link to it and share it with their readers. It’s an online domino effect, but you have to start the process.

Discuss Topics with Your Readers

Be engaged with your readers and you will keep them coming back for more. If a reader leaves a comment on your page, visit their blog, respond to their comment and try to think of a way to write about their site in one of your own posts. By integrating your readers into your posts, your blog becomes a collaborative effort rather than a singular endeavor. Your readers feel involved and other blog owners take notice.

Integrate New Ideas and Technologies

The more new ideas you can squeeze into your posts, the better. This means that when a new add-on or widget becomes available that suits your site, take advantage of it. Talk about new technologies, email other site owners and use their new additions to the fullest. Blogger and most other services allow you to add on features to your blog quickly and easily. Use this feature and you will start to see increased interaction with your site by your visitors.

Take Advantage of Every Tool at Your Disposal

There are dozens of websites and directories online that list blogs like yours. These websites index topics, tags, and recent posts for searchers and visitors to sort through and can get you a fair share of high volume traffic if you use them properly. Ping your blog to the major blog directories such as Technorati and Pingoat. These services will list your blog in their directories, include your categories and tags for searching and when you sign up for an account, list your profile for readers to see. There are dozens of websites that offer these services.

To be noticed online, you need only expend the extra bit of effort necessary to gain the momentum needed for new readers and blog owner attention to shift to you. Use these methods and you can guarantee a flock of new readers coming your way.

Google Blogger is one of the easiest and most complete blogging solutions currently available on the Internet. Anyone can sign up and start blogging in a manner of minutes with the easy to navigate interface and tools it provides. But, there are a lot of things you probably don’t know about Blogger, hidden within the more advanced features of the site. These clever add-ons make it easier and more fun to post to your blog each day and can give you a slight edge over your fellow bloggers in drawing new traffic.

No Bandwidth or Storage Limits

In a world where storage has become incredibly cheap and video super sites are the norm, it makes sense that Blogger would not instill any limits on your website for storage. In addition though, Blogger makes it so you can receive as much traffic as you are capable of generating. No matter how much content you post and how many visitors you draw, Blogger remains free for the life of your blog and that’s a great deal considering how many features are built in.

Free Captcha Support for Anti-Spam

Spam is a major problem, especially for bloggers. If you talk to anyone who owns a private blog on their own server, or even those individuals with blogs on other services, you will learn that they constantly receive large quantities of spam. Blogger, by default, is built with a spam detection and blocking device that can keep your blog from getting over run by unwanted spam comments.
You can not only turn on the CAPTCHA software that requires a code to be entered whenever someone makes a comment; you can also require logins to Blogger to post comments or put commenting in a separate window so that spammers with automated software are tripped up. All of these options are available from Blogger’s settings pages.

Blog by Email and SMS

By far one of the coolest additions to blogging in recent years, Blogger allows you to post blog messages from a cell phone or email inbox. From the settings menu of Blogger, you can set a specialized email address that will post anything you email to it directly to your blog. This allows you to make blog posts from a smart phone or via a work or school computer on which Blogger might be locked. SMS features allow similar functionality, posting remotely to your blog.

Post in HTML

You can get very creative with your posts if you desire and post directly in HTML. Most people choose to use the built in text editor in Blogger, but what few people realize is that they can change almost any feature on the page by using the HTML editor. This allows you to use different colors, change font sizes, insert tables, or use a template for posts from a third party website. The possibilities are endless.

Themes and Skins

When you sign up for Blogger, you are asked to select the visual depiction of your blog using a specific template. However, you can change this template any time you want by installing a new one. Located across dozens of websites are templates that allow you to change the color, number of columns, location of posts, and any number of visual features on your blog. Do a quick search on Google for “Blogger Templates” and you will find hundreds waiting to be used.

Google Tool Integration

Google operates countless services for webmasters and that includes some of the most useful ones for bloggers. AdSense integrates directly into Blogger through a simple to select Blogger option in the Template menu. Simply click on “Add new page element” and choose AdSense and you can add your AdSense account to your page.

Other great tools offered by Google include Analytics, which allows you to track the visitors to your website, including where they came from, what keywords they searched for, what pages they viewed, and dozens of other statistic. Webmaster Tools is another essential tool that Google operates that allows you to track how your blog appears in the search engines.

Alongside all of these tools, Google will also automatically ping the major blog services such as Technorati and Ice Rocket with all new posts, allowing you to gain maximum exposure.

Enclosures and Videos

Newly added to Blogger this year is the ability to add podcasts and videos to your page. You can now choose to upload videos and audio snippets directly to Blogger and include them in your posts. The videos will be branded with the Blogger logo and you can bypass use of YouTube altogether. This a great new feature that takes advantage of the unlimited bandwidth and account size that Blogger offers.

Blogger is loaded with great features that make creating your blog quick and easy and Google is adding new features every day. Google is quickly converting a very good blog into a world class blogging platform.

When you first start writing you blog, it will be a work in progress. You may feel that you know your topic right away and that your content will follow a certain theme for months to come, but most people start to change their topics and adjust their perspectives as they receive reader feedback and see what is most effective in drawing in new readers.

After all, your primary goal, no matter what you decide to write about, is to draw in new readers. That is why it is important that you do everything in your power to grow the number of readers you can attract on a daily basis.

Use Humor

Unless the topic you decide to write about relates to third world poverty or AIDs relief, try to spice up your blog posts with a little bit of comedy. If you have read a successful blog, you will see the power that a truly humorous writer has over his or her readers. It can be astounding.

Moreover, even if you write a powerful, rhetorically amazing blog post, it may not entice your readers to pass it on to a friend or leave a comment. They may just quietly agree with you, happy that someone was able to put their own thoughts into words. However, if you do it humorously, they will remember your words and repeat them to a friend. Humor creates repeat visitors and word of mouth conversation, two things any successful blogger wants to have on their side.

Make it Visually Appealing

Many blog writers get so carried away with the text on their site they forget to break it up and add a few images and some lists. White space is an online writer’s best friend. It makes the blog post look less intimidating; it gives a sense of freedom to the reader and with a few pictures involved, can be that much more entertaining. Use images, an eye-friendly color scheme, and try not to over use text in clunky paragraphs.

Focus on a Specific Topic

Many people start their first blog with a single thought in mind and write about anything that pertains to their lives. This online diary format is perfectly well suited for anyone interested in sharing their lives with the world. However, if you want to grow readership and keep that readership, you need to focus on one or two topics.

You need a niche that you can excel in. Writing five articles a week on five different topics will only attract five new visitors looking for different content. Three articles a week from a unique perspective written about a single topic will attract countless readers who will continually return to your site for more articles about the same topic.

Contact Other Writers Within Your Topic

Bloggers have their own community and most writers will help you out in getting started. If you find that you have a particularly entertaining blog that you read often that pertains to your own, contact the owner and ask them how they interact with their readers. Comment on their blog and see what topics they write about. Learn from those that come before you, they have already found success.

Use Reader Feedback to Improve Your Blog

Ask your readers what they think and take their opinions into consideration as much as possible. Read and respond to comments, talk to them through the context of your posts and find out what worked or did not work for a given post. Google Blogger is one of the largest reader communities in the world. Take advantage of those readers and get to know their thoughts.

Create Themes and Columns

Weekly columns on an ongoing topic can be very popular if well written. Series of articles or blog posts or thematic content can also draw in readers. Some of the most successful blogs on the Internet started with a thematic gimmick such as a list or series of opinions and sprouted outward. Just because you start your blog with a series of articles entitled “101 Things to Read on a Desert Island” does not mean you cannot write about other literature or desert island related topics.

Be Provocative

The more provocative and controversial your content is, the more people will read and comment on it. The unfortunate down side to this advice is that many of your new readers will not return, especially if they are angered by your opinions. However, the readers who agree with you will become vehement defenders of your blog. Try visiting a popular political blog. The devoted readers often defend the writer automatically, reading every post and responding to any negative comments. Be careful with how you approach this method though. You do not want to be rude or angry just for the sake of being rude and angry.

To gain readership for your blog, you need to be unique. You need to stand out and show that your content is unlike anything else on the Internet. If you write with a humorous voice, say something that no one else is saying, and remain loyal to your readership, your blog can become extremely popular.

Simplify Your Job Hunt

Blogging has become a symbol of the new era of user created content, news, and entertainment. However, what you may not realize is that it can also be a source of employment, often times accidentally. There has been a growing trend in recent years of employers taking to the Internet and searching through blogs to find potential new recruits or to research existing applicants.

Edit: There are 118 free Blogger training videos here!  It’s so easy to follow your grandma could do it!

There are a variety of reasons why a blog is the ideal place to learn more about a job candidate, it allows hiring managers to learn details about a candidate that they could never get from an interview or resume for starters. Second, it’s a chance to witness the creative and technical talent a potential employee may have outside of the workplace. For those looking to make the jump from the blogosphere to the working world, there are certain steps you can take to make employers take notice.

Recruiting Information Blogs

Blogging is a two-way street of both writing and reading posts. One of the most interesting additions to the job hunting scene in recent years is the growth of knowledge and advice available from industry insiders for job hunters. As a blogger, you can interact directly with human resource or hiring managers via their own blogs, where they offer in depth advice about how to stand out in the hiring process. By commenting on these blogs and carrying on discussions with men and women who know the industry, you can get a head start.

Describe Work History and Education

As the owner of a blog, you have the right and often the obligation to shift the focus of posts and discussions to yourself. By placing relevant information about your work history and education directly on your blog, you offer a standing resume for potential employers to view alongside your writing. If a potential recruiter is reading your blog and believes you would be a good employee, the inclusion of job related information is a bonus.

Don’t Constantly Apply for a Job

If you write about getting a job consistently, you likely will not be approached with any job offers, nor will your blog generate the kind of attention you want. Employers who find your blog want to see that you are self-sufficient and independently creative. If you consistently talk about your lack of employment, it only appears as though there is a reason you do not yet have a job. This does not mean you should never mention you are currently looking for a job. Add a small blurb in your About Me page that mentions you are currently looking for employment in a specific field. Just don’t over-advertise the fact.

Write Quality Content within Your Field

If you are actively seeking a career in a specific field, make sure you write about that field in some manner or another on a regular basis. You need to show that you can offer unique opinions with an identifiable line of thought on a specific topic to generate interest from a potential employer. This means you need to present new ideas or at least new opinions of existing ideas. Reprinting news articles or reiterating what another blogger has already said will not generate interest in the same manner as an original post.

Write Prolifically

When you write consistently and your name is attached to numerous blog posts and comments, you can be sure that a potential employer will find that content when they search for your name. Almost all potential employers use Google or related search engines to research a candidate before an interview or hire. If you write targeted, intelligent blog posts, you can make sure that you control the information available on the Internet attached to your name.

Writing Carefully

Along the same lines, if your blog postings are rude, controversial, or demeaning to a particular person or group, potential employers are going to see them and it will not look good for you. Remember that the world is your audience and that when you attach your name to something online, anyone can read it. Be prepared to write in a manner that protects your good name and shows potential employees that you have a solid, likable character to match your work skills.

Make Friends in the Industry

When a company hires an individual through their blog, they have one of two choices. They can request the candidate to stop their blogging to keep other companies from attempting to hire the blogger themselves, or they can have them continue blogging to increase company exposure and to recruit other bloggers for future positions. The second scenario can fall right into your hands if you are prepared. Make friends with bloggers who are in the same industry as you. Networking, even through blogging can lead to future job opportunities.

Whether it is your intention to take advantage of the recruiters actively seeking talent through blogs or to use your blog as a extra notch on your resume, your blogging can be a very powerful tool in the often times cutthroat race for an open job position. By showing your natural talent, beyond the fluff that fills a resume, and offering a free glimpse into your personal life, you give recruiters something that few other recruits can. And it gives you a head start toward getting a job.

With that first Blogger blog in place and the prospects of reaching thousands of readers every day with your opinions on any number of topics, it can be disheartening to see the lack of traffic that pours in during the early days or even weeks of starting your blog. The sad truth is that the Internet is a massive, overwhelming sandbox. If you don’t build your network of links, relevant content, and most importantly optimize your blog, you will continue to sink until no one can see you.

Search engine optimization or Search Engine Optimization is one of the largest and most important specialized industries on the Internet for this very reason. Millions of people want and need to make sure they can be found in the search engines and as the number of indexed pages grows exponentially every year, so too do the methods used by those search engines to index your blog. Your Blogger blog is no different than any other website online. It needs to be optimized to hit just the right note with the search engines.

The Blog Title

When you first sign up for your Blogger account, you will be asked to select a Blog Title. Many people choose something unrelated to their topic and wonder why they do not receive immediate traffic. Try to place keywords related to your blog’s topic directly in the URL by naming your blog something relevant. This will help insure that it will be indexed in the right location.

Post Titles

Your post titles are similarly important. The URL is one of the most important aspects of Search Engine Optimization work. When you provide a relevant, keyword related URL, it gains you points in indexing. Blogger automatically names your pages after your Post Titles. For example: if your most recent blog post is titled “Ten Things to Do in July”, your URL will end with “ten-things-to-do-in-july.html”. The keywords in this title are picked up by the search engines and used in ranking your pages. To make sure you get the most out of every post, place your keywords as early as possible in each post title.

The Page Title

The title that appears at the top of your browser window when you visit you blog is a combination of your Blog’s title and the Post title. By default, your blog title is placed first in this location. However, the search engines will index your pages better and more accurately if you can place a specific keyword that relates to each page first.

META Tags

Search engines use META tags within your page to extract information specifically related to your page. These tags are located within the HTML code and are usually at the very top of your page. Generally, Blogger spits out some very basic META tags to the search engines automatically, but you will want them to be more specific to be effective.

There are two types of META tags you will need to work with – the META Description tag and the META Keywords tag. The description tag will actually provide Google with a description for your page that appears in the search engines. Search for “blogger meta tags” in Google and you will find a variety of Blogger add-ons and tools designed to help you create specialized META tags.

Header Tags

A header tag is a simple tag that tells the page that a heading has been placed in the text. This is designated with any of the six tags between <h1> and <h6>. The search engines pick up on these tags and give them more weight when indexing your site. Place relevant keyword subheadings in your page within the <h1> or <h2> tag and that content will be read first by the search engines.

Categories

Blogger has a “label” option that allows you to assign a series of labels to your posts as they are written. Similar to tags or categories in other blogging platforms, these labels allow you to apply a theme to your post and offer a roadmap for search engines when they decide how to display your pages. Always use relevant, keyword rich labels for your posts.

Get Links From Other Web Pages

The more links you can acquire pointing to your blog, the more traffic you can generate in the long run. This works both ways. When you receive a link on another page that has a high search engine ranking in a topic related to yours, your own ranking will increase. Additionally, when you create links to other pages, Google will see that you are referencing established sites with quality content and give you a higher relevance score. This can backfire if you overdo it though. Do not link to too many sites that feature lower search rankings and unrelated content. Google looks down on this.

By following a few easy steps, you can ensure that the search engines more easily and readily see your pages when indexing. Your blog will not only show up at a higher ranking for the keywords you are writing about, it will start showing up in search engines and directories that it never did before.