| | | Blogs, WordPress and Google
It's no secret that a continually updated website with new content being added regularly stands a good chance of doing well in Google. One of the long standing methods to regularly expand a site's content is through the use of a blog.
 While there are numerous platforms to choose from for managing a blog, few can compare with the immense flexibility offered with WordPress, and at a cost of free, the price can't be beat either.
Google likes fresh new content, and setting up a blog on your site, assuming it is updated often with interesting and relevant material, can be one of the best things you can do to help out your search rankings. The beauty behind WordPress is that there is a wide array of totally free plug-ins you can easily install that will make your blog totally search engine friendly.
The following are some basic guidelines and essential plug-ins you should consider when you install your WordPress blog.
Template Design
The first configuration you need to do is work on customizing the design template to match your existing site. I suggest finding a template that matches as closely as possible to the look you are going for then work on tweaking its graphics, colors, and other particulars till you achieve the desired appearance.
Most of your changes will occur in the header.php, footer.php, index.php, and page.php files in the theme editor, however, the theme you install will dictate which files actually need to be updated. You will also need to make some adjustments to your CSS file. These changes all involve working with code and graphics, and are most likely left to a professional.
Once you have your design set up, the rest of the customization is considerably less technical. The following are suggestions that most people can do themselves and you probably will not need an expert to help you here.
Settings
Permalinks
The next thing you need to do is customize your URL's. You do not want the default post URLs ("pageid=#") as they are simply not search friendly and you want your default names to have some meaning to them. While you can customize your URL's with various plug-ins, you may not always think to do this, so be sure to have a default you can live with.
Under the settings tab in your dashboard, click on permalinks. Here I suggest choosing one of the settings that includes the post name. Including the month and year is totally optional as it will have little to no impact on your search rankings, but you definitely do want to include the post name.
WWW or no WWW
With WordPress, there is no need to worry about the www vs no www redirects. It is handled for you, but you do need to select which variation you want, and it's very simple to do. Under "General Settings" you will see two fields; one for "WordPress address" and the other, "Blog address". Ensure that both these fields include the "www" (or not), whichever you prefer, and that's it. (I always recommend using the "www" version of your URL as most people linking into your site will use it, and this will help keep a consistency among your site.
Required Plug-ins
There is an almost endless supply of free plug-ins out there that you can add to your site ranging from photo galleries and spam protection, to social media integrators for Twitter, Facebook, Digg, and others. While many of these others will benefit your blog and search rankings, the XML Sitemap, and SEO plug-ins are truly essential.
SEO Plug-in
When setting up your new installation, the first plug-in you need to install is one that will allow for totally customized title, meta description tags, and page URL's. There are a number of tools that do this ranging from the widely popular "All in One SEO Pack" to a relative newcomer "HeadSpace2".
While I personally have yet to try HeadSpace2, it is high on my list, as it has been recommended by many industry professionals as the best WordPress SEO plug-in. For any new blog installation I highly recommend this plug-in be installed right away.
XML Sitemap Plug-in
To the best of my knowledge, HeadSpace2 does not have an XML sitemap option, and as such I highly recommend "Google XML Sitemaps". This plug-in will automatically generate XML sitemaps for you on the fly and submit it to Google every time you add, remove, or update a page or post. This helps ensure that Google has the latest information at all times. It's a very simple plug-in to install and configure and once setup, you can forget about it and it will do the job for you.
A well optimized site loaded with relevant content can do very well in Google if setup correctly. The power of WordPress can make this process incredibly easy so all you have to worry about is writing those great articles and selling your customers. The plug-ins and functionality of WordPress are endless and when installed correctly can make the optimization of your blog considerably easier, increasing your chances for top rankings.
by Scott Van Achte, Senior SEO
| | Yahoo Allows Video Embedding in Search Results
Thursday, Yahoo announced a new Search Monkey feature that allows Flash video and documents to be embedded right on the search page. What does this do that's out of the ordinary? It allows searchers to view embedded content without leaving the search results page they found it on.
To illustrate the difference, I'll use an example similar to that in the Yahoo blog. We'll compare the difference between Google and Yahoo.
Performing a Google search for hulu simpsons yields the following result:
Notice there is an image in the ad, but when the video is clicked, it opens to the site page for viewing away from the search results page.
The search in Yahoo for hulu simpsons yields these results:
It looks pretty similar except for there being a different video. When the video image in Yahoo is clicked on however, it opens the video right on that search result page. If the user views the video and decides it wasn't what they were looking for, they can simply continue to scroll down through the remaining search results.
Search Monkey looks to be a very innovative means for site owners and developers to present highly customizable search results to their potential visitors.
by Timothy Rule, PPC Specialist | | Google Tests "internet based" Advertising
On Wednesday, Google announcedthe launch of a limited beta test of a new type of advertising filtering on the Google Content Network. This will allow advertisers to display ads more readily to previous site visitors. It also allows searchers to participate, by allowing them to choose what type of advertising they would like to see and/or what advertising they would like to filter out.
Undoubtedly there will be the usual concerns about Google violating user privacy when doing this.
Google's Shuman Ghosemajumder explains how it works in this video:
It will be interesting to see what percentage of Google users actually make the extra effort to filter out ad display.
by Timothy Rule, PPC Specialist
| | Microsoft AdCenter Analytics Ending
Microsoft's Analytics Beta program is scheduled to close at the end of this year. The decision was announced Thursday in the AdCenter blog. No new testers will be allowed and apparently the program will not go past Beta. As both Google and Yahoo have analytics resources, this puts Microsoft behind in providing metric gathering tools for their client. by Timothy Rule, PPC Specialist
| | The Net Reality
What happened to getting together at the local coffee shop or neighbourhood pub?
I know I may be dating myself immensely with the above question yet when I read "Social networking sites overtake email in popularity" I was a bit nonplussed. My co-workers can attest to my resistance to blogging and are amazed I do not have an account with Twitter or Facebook. My way to communicate with my friends and family is by getting together, talking on the phone, letter writing, IM'ing or e-mail. I feel in some way my privacy is being invaded by letting 'the whole world' know how my weekend went. It is up to me whom I share my personal life with.
In saying this it brings to mind how much, for instance, my nephews and daughter network with their friends and for that matter each other. Often times I see them IM'ing or talking to each other on Facebook rather than getting together to chat even though they may only be a room away from each other.
Truly the stats are amazing as to how much we do depend on social media to connect with one another. For instance, according to the Nielson Report (pdf), online member communities grew by 5.4 per cent between December 2007 and December 2008 with Facebook leading the way. During the year long study, Facebook 'posted the highest growth in the social networking sector, with 20.5 billion minutes spent on the site in 2008, up from 3.1 billion minutes in 2007'.
To concede though, being part of an online member community does have its advantages. A friend of mine who recently became single set up an account on Facebook and someone whom she had dated many years ago got in touch with her and needless to say they are now dating once again. For sure where would we be without the social networking sites?
By Anita Sperrer, Office Manager
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