SEO and Ecommerce 2: Spreading It Around
Blogs vs. Social Networking
In the age of all-encompassing social networks, the lines between these SEO and social media can often be blurry. Indeed, you need a consistent, high-quality social media campaign to maximize your chances of success, but there are some specific blog-related SEO techniques that successful siterunners have used to increase their visibility and credibility within their specific markets.
Guest Blogs
If you have a blog and are contributing to it regularly, then you have already taken a firm step toward establishing yourself as an expert in your field, a voice that consumers can trust. The next step you can take is bringing your message to other venues. Find blogs similar to yours (you probably already read a few). Contact their authors via contact page or email and suggest that they read your blog and see what you are all about. Indicate to the authors that if they like your content, you would be interested in writing a piece for their blogs. Work out a topic and title that suits suits both of you and set a deadline.
Also negotiate for at least one "backlink." Backlinks are the Holy Grail of SEO. Backlinks direct people ("link" them) "back" to your site. Some very gracious authors will be willing to give you two or three links. This is why you'r'e doing this.
Blogroll
Once you've built up a sizable blog for yourself and/or your business and you've started getting some buzz with your guest blog posts, ask those same blog authors that you've been working with to put you on their "blogrolls." Blogrolls are lists, usually hosted in the sidebar of a site, displaying selected blogs that the host site is affiliated with. They are "approved." Every person who logs onto that blog see this list and it is an endorsement by the author saying "If you like my blog, then you'll love these!" Focus on blogs in your market, even if they directly compete.
If you are putting out quality content and can convince the author to give you a link, then you are in the game. If you are going to ask for a spot on someone else's blogroll it's also a good idea to have a blogroll going on your site to reciprocate.