Transcript I Blog to Differ

I Blog to Differ
Chelle Honiker Yarbrough, CTC
TravelWebMarketing.com
877-442-1975
A Little Web History & Future
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Web 1.0
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Web 1.5
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Websites, Search Engines
Web 2.0
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Compuserve, AOL
Social Networking, Blogs, Microblogging
Beyond?
What is a Blog?
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Duh. Short for Web-Log.
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Diary
Announcement
Insight
Human Connection/Face to Business
Interaction
OPPORTUNITY
How a Blog Can Help Business
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Absolutely the most reliable way to get
your information into the search
engines, period.
Blogs are the key to the home page of
Google and others via RSS
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RSS=Really Simple Syndication
RSS Subscriptions
Adding a Feed to Google
Google’s Home Page
Options for Your Own Blog
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Web Service (Developer Hosted)
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Wordpress.com
Blogger (Google)
Typepad
Moveable Type
Benefits:
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Quicker roll-out of new features, support
My Suggestion:
DIY Wordpress
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Good Web Hosts Offer 1-Click
Installation & Upgrades
Shameless Plug: (gemtravelsites.com)
Hosted together with website or as
separate URL
Point and Click Design & Configuration
Deciding on Designs
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Branding
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Differentiation
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Niche-based blog to market to certain segment
Free Wordpress Design Themes
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Colors, logo & layout same as website
http://wordpress.org/extend/themes/
Premium Wordpress Design Themes
Wordpress Design Customization/Creation
Wordpress Advantages
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Open Source – Free & Innovative
Thousands of Themes
Thousands of Plug-Ins
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Small programs designed to perform
specific task within Wordpress like:
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SEO, Pinging, SiteMapping, Spam Filtering, Post
by Email, Google Analytics, Flickr (Photos)
Integration, Adsense, tags, Bulletin Boards…
Setting It Up Right
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Posts vs. Pages
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Pages are “permanent” – about the author,
contact forms, etc.
Posts are “date sensitive” – offers, new
information and can be dated in past or
future
Decide how often to post.
Don’t be a copycat.
Tag Everything
Content is King – Keywords
are Queen. Smoosh Them.
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Don’t write for search engines – write
for people, but look for opportunities.
Collaborate with everyone in office
Outsource to professional writers
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http://travelwriters.com
http://travelwebmarketing.com
Guest Bloggers
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DSM’s?
Under the Hood
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4SpaInfo.com
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Separately managed
Niche Based
HollandAmerica.net
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Integrated with Site Design
Highly Successful
Q&A
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Chelle Honiker Yarbrough, CTC
TravelWebMarketing.com
GemTravelSites.com
877-442-1975 – Toll-Free
[email protected]
Twitter:chelleyarbrough
Blog: http://mentalgaragesale.com