Blogging for Better Business: 3 Intensive Tips for Success
I run an social media event called Blogger Monday with Ann Evanston. Blogger Monday was started in 2008, to help bloggers find a community that would comment. Let’s face it, you write a blog, you want comments right? RIGHT!
But wait, blogging for business may actually be less about the comments and more about making sure potential customers find you, correct? That is why I teach this intensive; I wanted people to see there are ways for them to get visibility to their blogs doing some very simple things technically that will make a difference. Here are three fabulous tips from the course to get you started:
1- Link to other blogs. Linking is one of the most simple strategies to increase blog visibility. Be sure to link to blogs:
That inspired you to write your blog (First that is just good social media etiquette!)
Where you did your research- give credit, again just a smart thing do to
That are in your keyword niche and out rank you in search engines
2-Use keyword titles and be sure the permalink is keyword rich:
It’s not just the title; it’s the url (the permalink) that is created from the title that help search engine crawlers find the post and rank it in search engines
It’s best to set the permalink prior to publishing, because if you change it later you break the link anywhere you posted it (404 error)
Remember the first 65 characters are what counts in that permalink!
3-Make sure you have categories that you will write relevant content to regularly:
unless you have a “niche blog” you are best to pick five, maybe seven categories and stick to them
Don’t be clever with your categories; think like your customer
The more you post to a category, the more “street cred” you get with search engines, and the more often you show up in rankings!
These are just a few tips taught in week one of my blogging intensive. What changes do you need to make? If you have done these, are you ready to take your blog to the next level?
Have you signed up for our blogging intensive yet? Let me change how your blog is found. Here is what Susan Berland said:My analytics from Google have been amazing since taking Ann Evanston’s blogging intensive. In the past 30 days, 271 visits, 967 page views, 3.57 pages visited, 2.22% bounce rate, 2.51 min. average time on site and 53.14% new visits. I’m amazed. I knew Ann was good and even I’m amazed at these results! http://susan-berland.com
For more information about the class vist: http://www.warrior-preneur.com/blogging-for-better-business-webinar-intensive-with-ann-evanston/. BLP members get $100 off!
Yelp Reviews & “Filtered Yelp Reviews” Take A Closer Look The Next Time You Base Your Purchase On Yelp
YELP has Filtered Review
Now more than ever businesses are relying more and more on word of mouth referrals and positive business reviews to stay afloat. Many people use a well know business review website that claims to“… connect people with great local businesses.” I am sure that some of you have at one point used Yelp in making a decision on where to shop and what business to use. It can be a very informative place for consumers, but have you ever used this business review site and read only negative reviews opting to take your business somewhere else? Did you know that you may have overlooked a business for its reviews not knowing that Yelp has a “filtered” reviews section?! Yup people! Read on…
I have used Yelp in the past and have based some of my shopping on those reviews. Knowing what I know now, I am not sure that I made the right decisions! I am only here to bring awarness that Yelp has filtered reviews that consumer might not know exist. Something tells me that most of you do not know that Yelp filters reviews and where one business might have 2 visible “negative reviews” they might also have 25 5-star “filtered” (hidden) reviews.
My Findings
I set out last week to search for these types of Yelp business reviews and even took the time to go in to two stores to interview the business owners and/or managers to hear about their experience. My findings (as of 1/10/11)…
Test Location 1- South Bay Gold (Manhattan Beach)
Yelp indicated 2 overall consumer reviews which were broken down as follows:
- 2/2 reviews were rated 1 star
Of course, why use their services right? Their ratings are horrible. After looking further at the “filtered” link in the lower left hand side in an almost invisible font color (!) I found these comments and reviews about South Bay Gold that would sway my choice on whether to use them or not:
There were 20 filtered reviews of which 18/20 were 5-star. In my opinion, these are completley hidden from the on-line audience. That does not seem fair to small businesses – at all!
Test Location 2- Wacky Wok (Westchester/LAX)
Yelp indicated 34 overall consumer reviews which were broken down as follows:
- 23/34 reviews were 3 star or less
Again, not a place that you would initially want to visit based on those numbers. However, when looking at their filtered reviews, you might have a different feeling about dining with them. There were 13 filtered reviews for Wacky Wok of which 10/13 were 5-star ratings.
This just seemed so unethical to me that I took this time to write about this and simply bring awareness to all. I did not get paid for writing this. Please revisit those Yelp reviews you may have read in the past to see what you might have missed.
What is your opinion? Do you think this is fair? Has your business had a problem with this? I am interested in hearing what you have to say.
You can also find some comments my facebook fans had to say about their experiences.
YELP’S EXPLANATION FOR FILTERED REVIEWS
