50 Ways To Optimize Your Blog

Written by Jeff Bullas - View Comments
Categories: Blog


I wrote an article earlier this year on “30 Tips To Make Your Companies Blog Rock” and I had quite a few comments by readers and some added more tips on other keys to making a blog successful.50 Ways To Optimize Your Blog

So I have taken their suggestions, added them to the list and provided some more that I have discovered recently.

Blogging is a journey and as technology develops there will be more ways to optimize your blog. You will also find other keys to keep the blog pumping and energised as you mix with other bloggers both online and offline and hear their stories and hints. So here are the original 30 plus 20 more ideas to increase your blogs readership and traffic.

1. Industry News – whats happening this week, this month

2. Industry Trends – where is the industry going, what are the emerging hot segments

3. Customers Pain Points – Write posts that provide solutions for your customers problems

4. Customers successes – Write up a case study about a clients successful project, they will often let you publish their name

5. What not to do – highlighting where something hasn’t worked (the names shall remain anonymous of course)

6. Create a video blog post by interviewing a successful client – this can a powerful providing authentic evidence of authority and credibility for both you and the client

7. Write articles for the different types of customers that are relevant for each of  your vertical markets

8. Brainstorm blog post topics with colleagues and management and create a list for future reference and planning

9. Subscribe to the top industry blogs in your market, both company blogs and personal blogs for ideas

10. Look through your latest news releases for ideas

11. Sign up other staff to write on topics in your industry or market that they are passionate about

12. Develop a series of how to blog posts

13. Turn the “how to” blog posts into short videos

14. When you have a great idea, go straight to your “add new” button and write the headline and save it as a draft or write it down before you forget it.

15. Include a great iconic image at the start of the blog that catches the eye

16. Case Studies are always popular to write about and not just your own

17. Place Powerpoint presentations on your blog by posting  and then embedding links from Slideshare

18.  Run polls and surveys on your blog

19. Create great headlines that catch people attention and makes them want to read the rest of the article

20. Add credbility banners such as how many subscribers, number of hits, blog grade and any awards

21. Provide “share this” buttons to Facebook and Twitter as a minimum

22. Implement “subscribe” buttons via RSS and Email

23. Write in bite size chunks and use bullet points so readers can quickly and easy consumption

24. Break up large blocks of text with iconic and interesting images

25. Take screen shots to place in your post using Software like Snagit to highlight points .. a picture is worth a 1000 words

26. Be yourself even if it is a company blog.. be authentic.

27. Optimize your blog for SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

28. Promote and distribute your posts on to other social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn

29. Make the blog easy to find on your company’s web page with a large bannner or button

30. Finally, have fun, mix up the types of posts and add some humour occasionally

Gini Dietrich from Spinsucks.com contributed to the list with the following eleven additional tips

31. Ask your readers what they want you to write about

32. Let your readers pimp their own blogs in your comments section (we’re going to do this on Thursday of this week)

33. Ask questions

34. Create contests (which goes along with your poll/survey idea)

35. Install the SEO All In One pack on your WordPress blog

36. Use StumbleUpon and AllTop to increase your readership

37. Create content for Associated Content by republishing your blog posts there (it helps with readership and news outlets will republish your content on their sites)

38.Comment on other blogs and news articles to show your thinking/expertise, but also link people back to your blog

39. Make sure, when you use Twitter to promote your blog post, that you’re tweeting about it more than once a day

40. Subscribe to SmartBrief newsletters, RSS feeds, and Google alerts in order to find ideas for new content (that’s how I found this blog!)

41. Post and link your content on the Delicious social bookmarking site. (This will again help spread your content by placing it on a highly trafficked site)

Courtney Wiley of  iNgage Networks also made this suggestion

42. Try your hat at a guest blogger or two, this could add credibility to your site , especially if the person is influential in his or her space.

Dave Heinrich from WebTechUniverse.com also contributed with this tip which is vital and I do this with every image in my posts

43.In the meta tags for your photos, make sure the labels/words are what you want them to be – search engines can’t “read” photos, only the labels/meta tags.

Also here are another seven that I have discovered since writing the original thirty.

44. When people write a comment actually take the time to email them directly and thank them for the comment and if they ask a question, then answer it. You will find that this will create a WOW factor and spread the word about the blog. If you took 10-15 minutes a day to respond to 5 comments via email you would make great impact on over 1,500 people during a year who would each spread the word to potentially 1000′s more. This could be the making of a tribe!

45. Comment appropriately on the top blogs ranked by Google on the major key word or phrase you are trying to optimize for SEO. This will create a a link back to your site and linking is key to increasing your own rankings with search engines

46. Write a blog post listing some important bloggers in your industry (such as the top 5) and point out how they make their blogs successful and you might find they return the love!

47 Interlink to other posts in your blog when writing a post especially those that are relevant and have been successful (this again is great for SEO)

48. Outsource content development for sections of your blog that are appropriate such as ‘resource’ sections.

49. Update an original post that provides more value to your readers (this post is an example)

50. Take readers comments and include and promote them in your blog  (like we have just done)

What makes your blog kick butt ? Look forward to hearing your suggestions and maybe we can get to 100 great ideas over the coming months.



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  • http://bbryon.posterous.com/ bbryon

    Great stuff! I’ve booked marked this page. Good to connect with you too!

  • http://www.ingagenetworks.com/ Courtney Wiley

    Fantab list, Jeff. And thanks so much for adding me at #42. That warmed my heart. :) Keep producing great content, dear friend.

  • http://swanie.net swanie

    whoah … that’s a pretty exhaustive list … when does one get to sleep?

  • http://www.greggmorris.com/curated-stories-june-3-2010 Storytelling Social Media Marketing PR Business & Technology Curated Stories June 3, 2010

    [...] 50 Ways To Optimize Your Blog Published: June 2, 2010 Source: Jeffbullas's Blog I wrote an article earlier this year on “30 Tips To Make Your Companies Blog Rock” and I had quite a few comments by readers and some added more tips on other keys to making a blog successful. So I have tak… [...]

  • http://webmarketersa.wordpress.com/2010/06/04/50-ways-to-optimize-your-blog-via-jeffbullass-blog/ 50 Ways To Optimize Your Blog (via Jeffbullas’s Blog) « Web.Marketer

    [...] 50 Ways To Optimize Your Blog (via Jeffbullas’s Blog) Posted on June 4, 2010 by Brian Currin I wrote an article earlier this year on "30 Tips To Make Your Companies Blog Rock" and I had quite a few comments by readers and some added more tips on other keys to making a blog successful. So I have taken their suggestions, added them to the list and provided some more that I have discovered recently. Blogging is a journey and as technology develops there will be more ways to optimize your blog. You will also find other keys to keep the blog … Read More [...]

  • http://briancurrin.wordpress.com/2010/06/04/50-ways-to-optimize-your-blog-via-jeffbullass-blog/ 50 Ways To Optimize Your Blog (via Jeffbullas’s Blog) « Brian Currin

    [...] PDRTJS_settings_1020078_post_2993 = { "id" : "1020078", "unique_id" : "wp-post-2993", "title" : "50+Ways+To+Optimize+Your+Blog+%28via+Jeffbullas%27s+Blog%29", "item_id" : "_post_2993", "permalink" : "http%3A%2F%2Fbriancurrin.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F06%2F04%2F50-ways-to-optimize-your-blog-via-jeffbullass-blog%2F" } I wrote an article earlier this year on "30 Tips To Make Your Companies Blog Rock" and I had quite a few comments by readers and some added more tips on other keys to making a blog successful. So I have taken their suggestions, added them to the list and provided some more that I have discovered recently. Blogging is a journey and as technology develops there will be more ways to optimize your blog. You will also find other keys to keep the blog … Read More [...]

  • http://drivingonlinesales.com Wynne

    OMG that is a massive list. Creating how-to posts and then converting them into simple Camtasia videos is a great idea. It’s something that I’ve started doing recently since video is such a great way to push page rank and get traffic.

  • http://chimac.net/2010/06/05/50-ways-to-optimize-your-blog-via-jeffbullass-blog/ 50 Ways To Optimize Your Blog (via Jeffbullas’s Blog) « Chicago Mac/PC Support

    [...] I wrote an article earlier this year on "30 Tips To Make Your Companies Blog Rock" and I had quite a few comments by readers and some added more tips on other keys to making a blog successful. So I have taken their suggestions, added them to the list and provided some more that I have discovered recently. Blogging is a journey and as technology develops there will be more ways to optimize your blog. You will also find other keys to keep the blog … Read More [...]

  • http://scorchagency.com/the-blog/mikes-favorite-tweets-and-blog-posts-for-the-week-may-31st-june-4th/ Mike’s Favorite Tweets (and Blog Posts): May 31st – June 4th | Scorch Agency

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    Hey, you have a great blog here! I’m definitely going to bookmark you! Thank you for your info.And this is Social bookmarksite/blog. It pretty much covers ###Social bookmark## related stuff.

  • HO

    40,000 Years Old Blog Discovered In Australia from The Daily Social Media Marketing Campaign News http://bit.ly/dzMYoA

    Blogs are a VERY old idea….

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  • http://humangeographymonster.wordpress.com Robbie McGregor

    Great blog! Although…. that list is endless!

  • http://www.WebTechUniverse.com Steve Austin

    This is one of the good article
    thanks for sharing it

  • http://jeffbullas.com/2010/06/09/how-to-make-your-personal-brand-visible-with-social-media/ How To Make Your Personal Brand Visible With Social Media « Jeffbullas's Blog

    [...] Blog or Website with a domain name that is either your own name or a ‘Brandable’  version [...]

  • http://jeffbullas.com/2010/06/14/starbucks-and-the-4-keys-to-social-media-engagement/ Starbucks And The 4 Keys To Social Media Engagement « Jeffbullas's Blog

    [...] points engage rather that turn away our clients both in the offline world as well as online such as blogs, Facebook, Twitter and email or whatever your sweetspots [...]

  • http://jeffbullas.com/2010/06/17/10-ways-to-find-inspiration-to-develop-content-for-your-blog/ 10 Ways To Find Inspiration To Develop Content For Your Blog « Jeffbullas's Blog

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    [...] Non Profits Can Use Social Media – Facebook Edition"20 Things You Should Share On Social Media 50 Ways To Optimize Your BlogTwitter Reveals 11 New Facts on its Traffic and Usage Check out my Twitter [...]

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  • http://www.crunchvid.com/ Goutham

    It’s a Huge List dude…. Nice work and thanks :)

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  • http://twitter.com/monumerologia/status/18383146055 Maria Orlanda

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  • http://www.sosyalmarka.com Sosyal Medya

    Woohoo! Great list. I’ll use them. Thank you!

  • http://www.jeffbullas.com/2010/07/16/how-to-write-a-mind-blowing-headline-for-twitter/ How To Write A Mind Blowing Headline For Twitter | Jeffbullas's Blog

    [...] 50 Ways To Optimize Your Blog [...]

  • http://www.freado.com Vikram Narayan

    Fantastic list. Here’s 1 more tip:

    Take a selection of your best blog posts and make an ebook out of it. Then distribute the ebook on the Amazon Kindle Store and Apple iBookStore. This will find you new readers for your blog. And you can monetize it in a whole new way by charging a dollar or two for your ebook.

  • http://lasusea.wordpress.com susan

    Great post, though a bit overwhelmed how long the list is and how much i need to do to try and get more traffic, readers to my blog. Don’t know much about SEO or how to get that going for my blog – that’s quite new to me. Anyway, thanks!

  • http://www.franksonnenbergonline Frank Sonnenberg

    Great post Jeff. I’ve read it once . . . and I’ll read it again.

  • Michael

    Company’s**

  • http://www.constructionmarketinguk.co.uk/2010/12/13/the-marketing-assassin-jeff-bullas-and-blogging-2/ The Marketing Assassin, Jeff Bullas and blogging | CONSTRUCTION MARKETING UK BLOG

    [...] I then added to that post with some ideas from readers and more of my own with a post titled “50 Ways To Optimize Your Blog“. This was further enhanced and grew to a blog post “69 Secret Tips To Make Your Blog [...]

  • Lisa

    Great info, but re point 45 remember most sites/blogs will have a nofollow on links in comments section, so won’t help your seo too much, but may still generate traffic from the readers. You may be better trying to do a guest post on these sites, which would include a link back to your site and help position you as a leader in your field.

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    [...] “50 Ways To Optimize Your Blog” via @heidithorne [blackbirdpie [...]

  • Kmadsondesign4u

    Jeff thank you for all the great info. I will be using it on my blog. Thanks for taking the time to share. Kimberly

  • Kmadsondesign4u

    Jeff thank you for all the great info. I will be using it on my blog. Thanks for taking the time to share. Kimberly

  • http://robertagerrick.com/50-ideas-to-help-optimize-your-blog-P3469 50 Ideas To Help Optimize Your Blog | RobertaGerrick.com

    [...] [...]

  • Martha

    Thanks Jeff!  I just wrote up list of 101 Blog Ideas (whew!) and suggest that people cut the list into individual actions and pull one out of a hat when they need inspiration.  Not as overwhelming that way.

  • http://twitter.com/grcanning Glen Canning

    Great stuff Jeff! Thanks!

  • Giftbook4u

    wow! what a great read and thanks for so many tips. Hopefully I can implement quite a few of them so my blogs get more exposure. http://www.giftbook4u.com

  • http://www.jeffbullas.com/2012/01/06/the-14-keys-to-successful-and-influential-global-blogging/ The 14 Keys to Successful Influential Global Blogging | Jeffbullas's Blog

    [...] 50 Ways To Optimize Your Blog [...]

  • http://heathero.com HeatherO

    Great tips! Thanks!

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