Bud Wiser

By: Bud Wiser

 

This article is about optimizing Wordpress blogs for search engines. I will share with you the best tips, tricks, hacks, and plugins I use for my wordpress blogs. All of these tips will save you many hours and even days or weeks searching for how to do every thing. All the important stuff is here in one place!

Tips are suggestions, tricks are different ways to do things all ready available, plugins are additional scripts to enhance the capabilities and add new features. Hacks are done by replacing existing codes with new codes to make WP do different things.

Before I begin it’s important for you to consider what name you will call your blog. Be as specific as you can. Remember that we optimize for popular keyword phrases. Don’t worry you can always change the name. I suggest before you begin to seriously promote your blog and start exchanging links, to first take a week to experiment with it, trying out different ideas. If you do not already have a domain name picked out, this is also very important! Again, keep in mind what main keyword phrase you plan on optimizing for. You should also register your domaon for a minimum of 2 years in advance. The reason for this is it is believed that Google will look at this as a long term commitment by you, and therefore treat you better. Also make sure you have the latest version of WP. Check with http://wordpress.org/ if you need to upgrade now! Don’t worry it’s quick and easy! Later I will show you how to back up your database too!

 

Permalinks

The first thing you need to do is change the default setting of WP Permalinks.

Here is how the default urls will look,

 

 

http://www.mywordpressblog.com/blog/index.php?p=3

not very search engine friendly, and it gets worse with more pages, posts, and archives

Better would be this,

 

http://www.mywordpressblog.com/realestate/agents

Not hard to do. Go to your admin page, Options>Permalinks

Here you will edit your permalink structure. The default structure is this,

/archives/%post_id%

WP gives you a couple of alternative structure options,

 

 

Structure: /%year%/%monthnum%/%day%/%postname%/

Result: http://befuddle.info/blog/2005/07/17/sample-post/

Structure: /archives/%post_id%

Result: http://befuddle.info/blog/archives/123

But you can even do better! I use this structure I made up, you can make up your own too!

Structure: /%postname%/

Result: http://www.mywordpressblog.com/blog/realestate

If you installed WP in your main directory it would be,

Result: http://www.mywordpressblog.com/realestate

next you can add a

 

 

Category base which further makes your blog more kw rich! last option is

Category base:

add, agents

 

now the result would be: p://www.mywordpressblog.com/realestate/agents

this last mod is optional. I like to use it.

Once you save your changes you may have to copy and past a code on a test editor, and save it as a .htaccess file and upload it in the directory WP is in. If you do not see a code generated at the bottom of the page, check your server, it was probably already created and uploaded!

This is the bare bones required to optimize your pages for search engines. You can also go further with plugins!

 

Plugins

Plugins greatly enhances WP capabilities! Most plugins are free! Here are a couple you will want to get. Installations is very easy! Most of the plugins can be found at WP!

But the one plugin you should get is not free and can only be had from a ebook called,

Top 10 Tricks To Conquer Your Niche With Wordpress

It only costs $37, so you might want to get it. Most of the information in it is readily available throughout the Web, and common knowledge, however it is valuable for newbies, and I think worth it just for the cool plugin you get with it!

The plugin is called utopia. It produces keyword rich meta tags that can be customized any way you like. Installation is easy but requires a few simple WP hacks. Hacks are simply replacing codes with new codes. The ebook provides easy step by step instructions. Since it is not a open source plugin I can not give it away. This will be the only plugin you will have to pay for. Alternately you can search the WP codex for similar plugins and experiement with them until you find one you like. personally I love utopia!

 

Ok, on to the free plugins!

You need a good stats program for your blog. It’s vital you know how many times each page is getting hit, who your referrals are, and what keywords were used to find you from search engines. By far the best is StatTraq. I’ve tried a dozen different stats plugins, none come as close to this one. A MUST HAVE! Installation is very easy!

Google Sitemap Generator for WordPress

another must have plugin, easy and fast to install and works like a charm! Go get it now!

Image Browser : a easy way to add images to WP! Easy installation! place kw in alt tags of images, makes thumbnails and links them to full size pics. great plugin.

 

Final Tips

Choose keyword rich Categories for WP! Don’t pic lame category names that do nothing to improve your serps. The category names end up on your URLS! Don’t be affraid to use hyphens! Don’t forget to add a description to your categories too! In fact add descriptions to every post, and page! Choose the best kw rich titles for your posts, and make sure you sprinkle those keywords in your post! Any links that leave your blog should have the target_blank code. Post at least a couple of times a day. if you can’t, make several posts in advance and date them in the future as drafts. They will then be posted around the date and time you select, depending on how much or little traffic you get. try to exchange as many links as you can. Exchanging links with other related blogs is easier then you think!

 

 

Happy Blogging!

About the Author

SEO Traffic Rank http://www.seo-traffic-rank.com

T. O’ Donnell

Here are a few programs I can’t do without. They’re free, and make being a webmaster much easier.

CGI-Telnet http://www.rohitab.com/cgiscripts/cgitelnet.html

A cgi script that allows you to run commands on your server, even if your web host won’t give you telnet access. Also good for getting at files generated by other scripts that are owned by user ‘nobody’, instead of your username. Ever tried deleting them? Well, now you can.

AXS Visitor Tracking System http://www.xav.com/

A very fine hit counter. Fairly simple to set up, if you use footer files on your site. Gives detailed information. Much better than the stats software that came with your web-hosting account.

Swap.pl

A Perl text replacer script. Handy if you’re not familiar with Unix commands. Make sitewide changes in seconds. The original author’s site doesn’t list it any more. Can still be found via a search engine (hint, hint).

FTP Explorer http://www.ftpx.com

The charm of this software is that it looks a lot like the Windows shell, and thus makes FTP’ing a little less intimidating for the novice webmaster.

Putty Telnet/SSH Client http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/

A simple-looking, but sophisticated, freeware telnet and SSH client. Can be run from a floppy disk. Useful for the mobile webmaster.

Email Remover 2.4

Not currently available from the author’s website, but can be found by Googling for a file named ‘eremov24.zip’. This is an email account checker. It can be run from a floppy disk and can check multiple email accounts. Allows you to highlight spam and delete it, and download emails if need be. WARNING: It has a bug. Do not change the order of the emails in the software window before deleting; you’ll end up deleting the wrong ones.

RFTP 32 Version 0.99

Again, not currently available from the author’s website. This is a self-contained FTP client that can be, you guessed it, run from a floppy disk. Search around for a file named ‘rftp.exe’.

If you don’t see a pattern emerging, then let me elucidate: the last three programs can all be run from the same floppy disk. You can leave your laptop at home, and work on your your site from internet cafes.

The only thing left would be a WYSIWYG HTML editor that you can run from a floppy disk; that would be asking for a lot. However, the Mambo content management system http://www.mambo.com comes with one pre-installed. There’s also a WYSIWYG plugin for the blog software WordPress http://wordpress.org/.

Either is a useful addition to any website. You can keep it updated while on the road.

About the Author

T. O’ Donnell ( http://www.tigertom.com ) is an ecommerce consultant and curmudgeon living in London, UK. His latest project is an ebook on conservatories, available at http://www.ttconservatories.co.uk. T. O’ Donnell freeware may be downloaded at http://www.ttfreeware.co.uk.

Mal Keenan

Copyright 2005 Mal Keenan

Google AdSense is undoubtedly the most popular Pay Per Click (PPC) program in the industry today. By enrolling your site under the said program, AdSense will display a series of ads on your pages. You stand to earn every time a visitor of your clicks on these ads.

They don’t have to buy anything, mind you. They just have to click on the ads and nothing more. These ads are by no means random. They are contextually relevant, meaning, they are assigned based on their relevancy to the subject of your site.

Could a blog substitute for regular sites when it comes to making money through AdSense? Yes people, blogs can also be provide an additional income stream through AdSense! In some aspects, a blog is a more efficient tool for this purpose.

There are people online today making six figures per month from Adsense alone. Unbelievable but true!

There are three determinative factors for the success of a site enrolled under the AdSense program.

1. The Cost Per Click (CPC) that is carried by the ads assigned to your site.

2. The number of page impressions, or simply put, the amount of traffic that passes through your site. If you garner a lot of page impressions, you have a better chance of acquiring a lot of clicks.

3. The Click Through Rate (CTR), which is the number of clicks your ads get per the number of visitors that visit your pages. The higher your CTR, the more you stand to earn.

CPCs are a given. If you’re dead set on a subject for your blog, then you will just be attracting a certain group of ads. But if you wish to make a blog for the primary goal of making money online, then you have to choose the right keywords before everything else.

Basically, your blog will be assigned certain ads based on the keywords prevalent in its entries. There are some keywords that will attract ads that pay high, and there are those that will attract ads that pay low. The trick is in finding the high paying keywords around which you will create your blog.

Here are some tips that will help you find those keywords with relative ease:

* Create an account at www.adwords.google.com . Adwords, of course, is the advertising partner of AdSense. When you become a member, you could take a peek at how much the going rates are for certain keywords.

* Visit www.adsensearena.com . This is one of the very few sites that give information about high paying keywords for free. It would rather be kept a secret by those who discovered it, so keep it quiet;-).

The number of your page impressions really depends on the traffic that you can generate for your blog. Blogs would have an easier time with this because, as we’ve previously discussed in past lessons, search engines love them. But of course, this is not set in stone. If your competitors, for example, are also using the blogging strategy, then you’re all in equal footing.

To get the edge, do try David Pankhurst’s special report on How To Conquer Your Niche With Wordpress. David will share some absolutely mind blowing techniques that will tremendously boost your blog’s page rank through a simple manipulation of the Wordpress software. Check out his report at http://www.malkeenan.com/top10tricks.

Increasing your CTR is an entire subfield in itself! There are a plethora of strategies dedicated for this purpose. We have discussed some of these tactics in my newsletter, as well as my own blog at http://www.malkeenan.com/blog . These include the choice of ad design, the placement of the ads, and the colors to be used, among other things. I’m telling you, increasing your CTR has become a science of sorts in recent months!

In the next article, I will discuss some really advanced strategies that will blow you away. About the Author

Get Your Hands on My FREE and Exclusive 7 Day Blogging Report by Sending and Blank Email to mailto:freeblogreport@getresponse.com In this Report I Reveal All The Secrets for Creating and Running A Successful Online Blog, Including Blogging to Niche Markets.