Blog Pictures – Why Images are good for your blog:

As the saying goes a picture can speak a thousand words, having an illustration that is relevant to your content add a level of detail to your content and often influences readers to read your article. Utilizing an image on your blog can also help increase SEO value with the use of Alt attributes. ALT attributes help the visually impaired readers who use screen readers and may provide bonus points with Google.

The best types of images to add to your blog:

• Eye catching photos – Something that relates to your article or can be used as an interpretation of the article’s title.
• Photos with people in them – Displaying a relevant image with people also helps the audience connect with the theme of the article.
• Screen Shots – Screen shots are probably the best way to depict the topic of the article because more than likely it will be a screenshot of the subject that you are talking about. For example if you are writing a tutorial you can provide step by step screen shots. Additionally, if you are talking about a specific software application you can take a screen shot of their company logo or user interface. A good screenshot tool to have is GreenShot.
• Customer Creations – Making a unique and appealing graphic in a program like Photoshop allows you to combine text with an image and will

… Read the rest

Search engines determine the relevance of a website associated with a keyword according to its collection of backlinks and the anchor text used within the backlink. The anchor text of a back link is very important when gathering these links because it denotes the subject of the page and helps target your specific audience. One of the ways to acquire a backlink is guest blogging efforts. As we briefly mentioned in our past blog post, guest blogging is when another website hosts one or your articles or when you showcase an article from another blogger.

Why Guest Blogging:

Guest blogging is a great device to drive in traffic to your website and allows you to network with other bloggers from your industry. Besides driving in new traffic and networking with other bloggers, guest blogging also helps with branding and getting your name or company in the spotlight. Guest blogging is also helpful in building your social media profile and gaining more industry experience.

When to Guest Blog:

How do you know when you are ready for guest blogging? You should wait until you have established a well written blog and have confidence in your blogging abilities. When you guest blog you should do it on a website that is similar to your own and on one that shares a common audience. It is beneficial to guest post… Read the rest

RSS feeds allow users to stay informed by receiving the latest news and website updates. In order to access RSS content, a user must first subscribe to a websites RSS feed. Most websites will have an RSS feed subscription button displayed prominently on their home page or blog. To subscribe, simply click on the RSS icon and select the RSS reader that you wish to use (If using Firefox you can also open the bookmarks menu and click “Subscribe to this page”). After subscribing to a feed, the reader will routinely check for new content. The RSS reader provides an interface where users can view the latest content from their favorite websites, all in one location.

The Benefits of an RSS Feed:

RSS feeds can be beneficial for both web publishers as well as web visitors. The following are some of the benefits for each.

Publishers:

• Improves Search Engine Optimization
• Enables Faster Web Crawling and Indexing
• Publicizes your new content automatically
• Helps Reach New Audiences
• Free Marketing and Easier to market than sending out email campaigns

Visitors:

• Provides the latest content and updates all in one place
• Saves time because the content is delivered to you
• Easy to subscribe and unsubscribe

How to use it to help your Internet Marketing:

One of the benefits of an RSS feed is that it helps with SEO. The following are a few examples for how an RSS feed can be used to assist your Internet Marketing efforts.

• Stay in tune with the latest industry trends by subscribing to competitors and industry experts.

• Subscribe

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Recently we have been discussing backlinks and the benefits that they provide for your website. Backlinks are an essential part of the SEO process because they help your site’s search engine visibility and web rank. A backlink, also known as an inbound link is a link on another website that is directed to one of your web pages.

When search engines like Google determine a website’s relevance for an associated keyword, they consider the quantity and quality of inbound links to that site. Inbound links with content related to your site they are thought to be more relevant and a more valuable SEO factor. In short, websites with the most relevant content to your website will produce the best quality inbound links.

High quality links are obtained through a number of different methods, one of which is leaving comments on other blogs. In addition to looking good in the eyes of the search engines, leaving your website’s URL on industry related blogs is a good way to direct new users to your content. For several reasons however leaving blog comments will not always produce the preferred results. The following are explanations why blog comments don’t always help your search engine optimization efforts as well as some of the things you should look for when pursuing blog comment backlinks.

Why Blog Comments Sometimes Don’t Help:

The impact that blog comments have on SEO depend on both the blog’s restrictions and the type of comment that you post. Some of the reasons why the comments that you leave on blogs might not contribute to your SEO are

• If Your Comment Appears As Spam:

Most blogs require that you use a human name when leaving a comment on their posts. The name you use to post is extremely important, having a too common name or using a company name will often be ignored. Sometimes blogs will even state that you must use a real name in order for your comment to be approved, however some do not and feel that it is an implied rule. Some blogs use anti-spam filters that reject… Read the rest

Although people may be utilizing the resource that is provided an author won’t exactly know if it was useful unless their readers tell them or become active in the discussion or a Tweet.  For bloggers a main goal is to not only to share the information but also to connect with readers by assisting people across the web.  Whether it is sharing recent news, instructions, support, or information they found interesting, bloggers may see an increase in visitors using analytics but won’t really know how the information came across without user feedback.

There are a number of factors that readers often take into account when deciding if they are going to comment on the subject or join the discussion.  Some of these factors include the following:

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There are over thirteen thousand plug-ins available for the WordPress software making it extremely easy to tailor it to your specific uses.  The following are some useful SEO plug-ins that the WordPress open source community has provided.

All-in-one SEO plug-ins such as WordPress SEO and SEO Scribe are designed to perform overall multiple SEO tasks that include optimizing content faster, providing great keywords, maintaining reader engagement, constructing quality links and increasing traffic! Most of the all in one SEO plug-ins operate similarly and perform similar functions.  The following are among the most utilized all-in-one SEO WordPress plug-ins:

• All in one SEO pack
• Platinum SEO pack
• SEO Scribe
• SEO Ultimate
• WordPress SEO

Below is a list of related, individual plug-ins that can be helpful in improving your blog or website’s Search Engine Optimization and enhancing Social Media Marketing:

… Read the rest

Blogging has been around for sometime now but it was only recently that people had noticed the level of importance and beneficial properties that it offers.   Blogs are basically online interactive journals that span any number of topics.   Some blogs are personal, detailing the actions of an individual and some are organization blogs which usually cover topics and events associated with that organization.   Disregarding whether it is used as a personal or professional outlet, a blog is a handy instrument that can be used to gain momentum and popularity over the Internet.   So a Blog can be a channel for you to express your ideas as well as drive up the success of your business!

So what are the Benefits Of Having A Blog?

Web Presence!

1. A blog is an excellent way to reach out to your existing clients and gain more along the way.
2. A quick way to supply news, promotions, ideas, or other information to your audience!
3. Offers an effective way to provide customer service and support to your customers!
4. A blog helps establish you as a professional.
5. Help you build a following and gain respect within your industry and blogging community!
6. Efficiently increases traffic to your site!   Search engines like, actually love blogs and the keywords found in your blog entries attract more customers to your site looking for information about those keywords.
7. Allows for you to obtain rapid feedback from blog participants.
8. Writing a blog also makes your company more approachable! People will have an easier time communicating with you because you are on a more personal level.

Are you convinced that you should have a blog?

These tips might Help with Creating and Managing a Blog.

• Choose a time to

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Getting in touch with your user base is vital to any business looking to prosper. You want to make sure that you are meeting the needs and desires of your users, and that means getting their feedback. Now, there are several ways to get in touch with your users.

As with getting feedback from employees, polls are a valuable tool in gathering data. People are usually pretty open with polls, especially when the results are anonymous. They can feel free to express their opinions, and you should be glad to get them. This information will be valuable in making important choices in the future.

Giveaways are a great way to drive up traffic and boost interest in your site. People love free stuff, and so entering for a chance to win draws people in. You can start small, say with discounts off of work/services provided by your site and go up from there.

Forums are a powerful tool for creating community interaction. Giving people a place to engage in meaningful conversation about a topic that interests them is always a winner. By setting up a place to discuss your product or services with other users, people will be much more likely to get involved.

Example Online Polling Resources:
ITLpoll.com (open source), MicroPoll.com, QuestionPro.com, SurveyMonkey.com, Zoomerang.com

-Josh

Internet Beacon

Hello and welcome to the Internet Beacon! We’re an SEO firm in Maryland.

Getting people to listen to what you have to say can be difficult. After all, there are millions of voices all clamoring for the same thing: attention. We want to be heard and we want people to know about our businesses. Well, a blog is one way to do that. It’s been around for years now and people have come to expect them. However, there is an ocean of blogs out there. Something that’s grown in popularity in the last several years is the podcast. Now, if you don’t know what a podcast is, it’s like an internet radio/tv show that’s broadcast out for anyone who finds it. You can find free hosting and recording tools online, and it really just requires a microphone and a cast. You can even do one on your own!

Podcasts are great for many reasons. First of all, they’re portable. Just about everyone today has some form of digital media player. It could be their phone or a separate device. The fact is tons of people have them. You can take advantage of our mobile society and create content people can take with them on planes, trains, and…yes, automobiles.

Another great things about Podcasts is that they are easy to do. As I mentioned before, all it takes is a computer, microphone, and some free editing software. As a note, if you have a Mac OS computer made after 2007, it includes a program called GarageBand, which has podcasting features built into it.

Lastly, podcasts have a more personal touch than a blog or other medium. People can hear and sometimes see you. That establishes a connection between a real person (you) and the service/product you are selling. They can see your company as more than a soulless PR machine and as a collective of people working together.

Podcasting is a great way to spread your message on the Internet.

-Josh

Internet Beacon

Everybody Likes Free Stuff

This is universally true. Whether it’s pens, hats, or coffee mugs, people love getting things for free. Check your desk, odds are you have a pen from a business you’ve visited recently. Promotions on the Internet are similar. You want to give customers something of yours for free so that they come back for more and, at the same time, tell their friends to visit your site. Twitter is great for this. It requires very little interaction on the part of the user, as they simply follow your company name (i.e. @IBeacon) and receive updates from you. Many businesses have used this to attract traffic. They give away free software, consultations, etc. Find what works for you and give it a shot.

People Want the Inside Scoop

Along the lines of giving away free stuff, many people want to know what is going on before others do. You should reward people for their interest in your company. For example, the website Penny Arcade has a mailing list that only sends out a message occasionally, but they always include coupon codes and links that are not publicly broadcast. This is a great way to treat loyal online customers. Try posting a coupon code with limited use on a company Facebook page and see what happens. Remember to plan for a large amount of people taking advantage of these savings. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

Make Friends and Influence People

For sites like LinkedIn and Facebook, grouping options exist for people and businesses. Use this to your advantage. Become Fans of companies that do similar things to yours. If you sell sporting goods, become fans… Read the rest

Putting Down Roots

A blog is essentially a journal that’s posted online for everyone to see. Blogs are often a part of a community of other bloggers. To this end, informal communities tend to spring up around blogs that associate with a common theme or idea. Use this to your advantage. Leave intelligent comments on blogs with similar topics to your own. However, exercise caution here. You don’t want to go around spamming other people with links to your site. You will quickly become ignored. Rather, simply join into the online conversation. Most sites will offer you a chance to leave a name and website, so use that as your point of contact.

Stick to the Plan

Anyone who has ever worked on a project will tell you that one of the most dangerous things is Scope Creep. Scope creep means that, in addition to the original goal of the project, there are now more things added to the “to do” list. This is a danger to blogs as well. What started as a great way to share your ideas on kangaroo raising has now branched out into stock tips and personal rants. It can happen to anyone, so make sure that you keep your posts on task.

Meeting the Neighbors

Along the lines of getting involved in a community, get to know the people running the other blogs in your area of expertise. Most people relish friendly competition, and this can turn into a pleasant business relationship. For example, there are many SEO Blogs online. Some of the authors of these blogs get together to exchange information, swap stories, etc a few times a year. If other bloggers notice that you are contributing in a recognizable, positive way, you may… Read the rest

A blog is a great way to get your particular message out to people around the world. Whether you are sharing recipes, business strategies, or trading baseball cards, a blog can become a hub of activity. Naturally, there are people drawn to these places to take advantage of the amount of activity. These people are called spammers. You can tell who they are because they don’t usually add to the conversation, but rather promote their own site. Keeping these people off of your blog will go a long way towards building its legitimacy. Here are three ways to do that.

1) CAPTCHA Them.

First, please forgive the play on words. Okay, a CAPTCHA is a tool for many

blogs and other sites which requires the user to enter the text they see in an image that looks slightly garbled of distorted. We’ve all seen them. CAPTCHA is used to prevent automated software from just scanning a website and filling in their information. This is a classic method for spammers. The best part of this is that implementation is free and has very little impact on the end user. It is readily available for WordPress as an add-on called “SI CAPTCHA Anti-Spam 2.2.9”. It’s free so go out and grab it if WordPress is powering your blog.

2) Papers Please

Another way to ensure that the comments left on your blog are legitimate is to require users to register themselves. This is an almost surefire way to make sure that comments left are legitimate. The biggest downside here is that many users may not wish to set up an account just to comment on a blog. Because of this, registration may be a better idea once your… Read the rest