5 SEO Basics for Business Blogs

One of the most important ways a blog can benefit a small business is by improving its search engine rankings. A well-optimized blog can level the playing field on Google, allowing relatively small players to compete successfully against much bigger rivals.

Google and other search engines like blogs: They represent fresh content and authentic communication, which are two things business-oriented searchers frequently look for. Applying basic SEO (search engine optimization) techniques to your blog is a low-cost way of generating leads. It's never cost-effective to blog solely for humans: Make sure you are writing for Google's spiders as well.

5 SEO Basics for Business Blogs

Conduct keyword research to identify a basket of search phrases (keywords) to optimize for. When people are looking for your stuff, what words are they using on Google to find it? Use the Google Adwords Keyword Tool to find popular search phrases.

Optimize every blog post for one or two terms that you have identified as important. Do this by putting the search phrases at the beginning of the post title, and using the term or a close variation a couple of times within the text of the post or in the subheads. Don't overdo it: Google will interpret overuse of keywords as spam.

Make posts at least 300 words. Google generally assumes more content is more relevant content. You can write too few words to get on Google' radar, but probably not too many. Three hundred words is a good minimum target.

Use a SEO-friendly blogging platform. I highly recommend WordPress, especially when used with the All in One SEO Pack plugin. A couple particularly important things you want to make sure of: The URL of your blog posts should default to display the title of your post; the title of your post should default to be the Meta title tag of your post, the Meta title being the most important "behind the curtain" content that Google sees on a Web page. (For more on Meta titles see my recent post on Smashing Magazine, section 3.)

Apply these SEO practices to your blog as a whole: Never assign more than one category to a post; use a Related Post plugin to create a strong internal linking system on the blog; don't display a large number of external links on your sidebar; always publish unique content rather than something you copy-and-paste from another source.

For more on small business blogging, read 2 Keys to Business Blogging Success and 6 Things Every Business Blog Needs to Have.

Brad Shorr has been blogging since 2005. His freelance business, Word Sell, Inc., was among the first to introduce blogging to entrepreneurs and midsized firms. He is currently Director of Content & Social Media for Straight North, a Chicago-based Internet marketing firm. The agency specializes in B2B with clients in industries as diverse as fire retardant clothes and residential glass block. For social media conversation, follow Brad Shorr on Twitter.