Blogging can be one of the most effective ways to get your business to the top of the search engine results for your chosen keywords. Google and other search engines regularly visit blogs and re-index the content found there because they love such applications. Therefore if you regularly blog, your site will get increasingly better results in search engines. As more and more backlinks are built, the traffic to your site will increase.

Shorter than an article with fewer guidelines than a press release, blogs can be quick and easy to produce. However, they must also meet SEO criteria for maximum effectiveness. This means you should focus on keywords, specifically long-tail keywords, when you blog. However, be sure to not stuff keywords into the text. It should have a natural flow so people keep coming back to it, actually want to read it and subscribe to your RSS feed.

Some Tips for Blogging:

• Keep blogs short - under 400 words.

• Use keywords in the title and throughout the blog.

• Add an image for visual interest.

• Schedule the appearance of a new blog about every 3 days or even more often depending on the industry you are in.

• Make blogs relevant to what is happening in the news.

• Don't use a blog to rant about something. Keep it informative.

You can also use offsite blogs to increase traffic to your website by using Web 2.0 and offsite blogs such as:

Squidoo.com

Hubpages.com

Xanga.com

Vox.com

Blogger.com

360.Yahoo.com

Wordpress.com

LiveJournal.com

Zimbio.com

Spaces.Live.com

Create even more backlinks by submitting your offsite blogs to social networking and social news sharing sites.

The Importance of Blog Comments

Your blog is essentially a forum whereby others will have the opportunity to interact with you. Those who make comments are likely to be potential customers or even existing customers. Always respond to valid questions, comments and complaints. How you handle such things will speak volumes to the followers of your blog.

Bear in mind that you can learn a lot from the comments that your blog receives. Your next big product or service is often waiting to be discovered in the feedback of a customer or potential customer. They may share with you what little thing bothers them most or what would be an ideal addition to what you offer. This interaction that allows you to garner knowledge from those who buy from you is one of the most important aspects of a blog. Use it!

You should also take the time to comment on other blogs related to your field and leave your own website address to create more valuable backlinks. Do not make a comment that is little more than an ad for your own business. It will likely not even be approved if you attempt to do so. Make relevant, helpful comments. Leave your website URL in the space provided only.

Blogging does require effort, but it can be the key to getting your business to the top of the search engines.