How To Rank High On Search Engine Results

You blog. You want your blog to rank high on the search engines. The major question is, “How do I get my blog at the top of the search engine results?”. From my experience, getting your blog to the top of search engine results doesn’t happen overnight. This is what I’ve found.

1) Blog about what you are passionate about-don’t follow the crowd, otherwise you’re all competing for the same position.

On my OM blog, I did a post on How to Teach Children Basic Math With Cribbage. Much to my surprise, it comes up on the front page of Google’s search engine. Actually, it’s there twice, once from my post, and secondly, from “Digg”.

2) Use meta tags. I don’t know if they help or not, as when I researched them, I read that not all search engines recognize them, but I think they may give me an advantage.

3) Use keyword density. Do a search for what you’re going to blog about. Look at what results come up. See how they are keyword dense? A lot of people want to use keyword that rank high, but not everyone is searching for the same thing. When I did a search for “teach cribbage”, there were 94,800 results. I ‘m real proud of myself for being on the front page.

4) Have original quality content. Don’t copy what someone else is writing….unless a link to an article on another blog compliments what you have to say. Is what you’re writing about something that can help others? Look at your content from your readers perspective. Is it something you would like to know? Or is it just “fluff”? “Fluff” may get you a higher ranking for a short time, but that too, shall pass.

5) Create a quality site. Have you created a site that’s easy to navigate and invites your readers to come back often in anticipation of what you have to say? Or is it a site that filled with ads and lots of graphics? Again, pretend you are surfing and found this “site”. Would you stay and visit? Or would you click off of it? Analyze it. Ask your friends for their honest opinion about your site. Use what you learn to perfect your site. Do you need to change your theme? Then, do it.

On my OM blog, I created a category which I named Sidebar Shopping Site, for my readers who what to shop. It got most of my ads off of the post pages.

6) Post often. If the bots, spiders and crawlers “see” that you’re updating your site on a regular basis, the chances of getting your posts indexed faster, is greater. Remember…..quality content matters.

7) What’s your motivation for creating a blog? If you’re blogging in hopes of getting rich quick and making a kazillion dollars, and that’s your motivation, you may be left in the “sandbox” for a long time. Or, you’ll run out of patience, and all the time you spent trying to make that kazillion, will be wasted. If, on the other hand, you’re blogging to share what you know with others, in an effort to make their lives a little easier, the chances are, your blog will succeed and stand the test of time.

8.) Lastly, be patient. It’s said, “Rome wasn’t built in a day”, neither is a good blog.

For an example of great blogs, check out my blogroll on my home page. These are sites I love to visit often. These individuals have put a lot of time and effort in creating sites that contain valuable information, are easy to navigate, and are proof that developing a great blog is attainable.