How to Write Blog Content for SEO Purposes

Here are some tips for writing blog post content with SEO in mind:

1. Keyword Research: Conduct thorough keyword research to identify relevant and high-ranking keywords related to your blog post topic. Use tools like Google Keyword Planner or SEMrush to discover popular search terms and long-tail keywords that can be incorporated into your content.

2. Target a Primary Keyword: Select a primary keyword that best represents the main focus of your blog post. This keyword should be included in your blog post's title, headings, meta description, and throughout the content in a natural and meaningful way.

3. Compelling Title Tag: Craft a compelling and keyword-rich title tag for your blog post. The title tag appears as the clickable headline in search engine results, so make it attention-grabbing and descriptive. Keep it under 60 characters to ensure it doesn't get truncated.

4. Engaging Meta Description: Write an engaging and concise meta description that accurately summarizes the content of your blog post. Although meta descriptions don't directly affect search rankings, they can influence click-through rates by enticing users to click on your link.

5. Quality and Unique Content: Create high-quality, original, and valuable content that provides relevant and insightful information to your readers. Aim for longer-form content (typically 1,500+ words) as search engines often favor comprehensive and in-depth articles.

6. Proper Heading Structure: Use clear and descriptive headings (H1, H2, H3, etc.) to organize your content and make it easy for both readers and search engines to understand the structure of your blog post. Include your primary keyword in at least one heading.

7. Keyword Placement: Strategically place your primary keyword and related keywords throughout your blog post. Incorporate them in the introduction, headings, subheadings, and naturally within the body paragraphs. However, avoid keyword stuffing, as it can harm your SEO efforts.

8. Readability and Formatting: Ensure your blog post is easy to read and scan. Use short paragraphs, bullet points, and subheadings to break up the text. Add emphasis through bold or italicized text when appropriate. Incorporate relevant images and media to enhance visual appeal.

9. Internal and External Linking: Include internal links to other relevant blog posts or pages within your website to improve navigation and encourage readers to explore more of your content. Additionally, include a few well-placed external links to reputable sources that support your content.

10. Image Optimization: Optimize your blog post's images by using descriptive file names and adding alt tags that incorporate relevant keywords. This helps search engines understand the context of your images and improves the accessibility of your content.

11. Mobile-Friendly Design: Ensure your blog post is optimized for mobile devices. With the increasing number of mobile users, having a responsive and mobile-friendly design is crucial for SEO. Use responsive layouts, legible fonts, and ensure buttons and links are easily clickable on mobile screens.

12. Social Sharing Integration: Incorporate social sharing buttons within your blog post to encourage readers to share your content on their social media platforms. Increased social shares can enhance the visibility and reach of your blog post.

Remember, while SEO is important, it's equally essential to prioritize providing valuable and engaging content to your readers. Strive to create a balance between optimizing for search engines and delivering a great user experience.

Tips for Advertising on Craigslist

Craigslist isn't everyone's idea of a great way to sell products or services, but it can still be useful for selling a variety of things. Eg. It is a pretty good way to sell or buy used furniture, bicycles and anything "larger", but if you were selling smaller items you will often be better off using eBay instead. So it really depends upon what you are selling.

However there are some right ways to do it and some wrong ways to go about it.

Here are some tips for advertising things effectively on Craigslist:

1. Clear and Descriptive Title: Craft a concise and descriptive title that accurately represents the item you're selling. Include key details like the brand, model, size, condition, or any unique features to attract potential buyers.

2. Detailed Description: Provide a thorough and detailed description of the item, including its condition, age, specifications, and any relevant information a buyer would want to know. Be honest and transparent about any flaws or imperfections.

3. High-Quality Photos: Include clear and well-lit photos of the item from different angles. Good quality pictures help buyers visualize the item and increase their interest. Capture any notable details or unique selling points.

4. Competitive Pricing: Research similar items on Craigslist to determine a competitive price. Consider the item's condition, age, and market demand. Offering a fair and competitive price will attract potential buyers and increase the likelihood of a successful sale.

5. Proper Categorization: Place your ad in the most appropriate category and subcategory to ensure it reaches the right audience. Utilize the available filters and tags to enhance visibility for potential buyers searching within specific categories.

6. Engaging Ad Content: Write a compelling and engaging ad that highlights the key selling points of the item. Emphasize its benefits, unique features, or any extras that come with it. Use persuasive language to entice potential buyers.

7. Honesty and Clarity: Be honest and transparent in your ad. Clearly state any limitations, wear and tear, or missing parts, if applicable. Providing accurate information builds trust with potential buyers and avoids unnecessary disappointment.

8. Respond Promptly: Monitor your inbox regularly and respond promptly to inquiries from potential buyers. Quick and efficient communication shows your commitment to the sale and helps establish trust.

9. Safety Precautions: Prioritize safety when conducting transactions on Craigslist. Meet potential buyers in public places during daylight hours. If the item is too large to transport, consider arranging the meeting in a neutral location like a coffee shop or community center. Eg. Meeting in the parking lot near a Tim Hortons is a good option, especially since police frequent Tim Hortons. Or another option if you're really paranoid, meet at the parking lot of a police station.
   

10. Removal of Personal Information: Avoid including personal information such as your full name, phone number, or home address in the ad. Craigslist provides secure messaging systems to facilitate communication without compromising privacy.

11. Renewal and Reposting: If your item hasn't sold after some time, consider renewing or reposting the ad. This increases visibility and keeps your listing fresh. However, be mindful of any limitations or guidelines set by Craigslist regarding reposting frequency.

12. Polite and Professional Conduct: Maintain a polite and professional demeanor when communicating with potential buyers. Be responsive, courteous, and respectful, even if the negotiation doesn't lead to a sale. Positive interactions can build a good reputation and encourage word-of-mouth recommendations.

Remember to familiarize yourself with Craigslist's terms of service and guidelines to ensure your ad complies with their policies. With these tips, you'll be well-equipped to create effective and successful Craigslist advertisements.

No adult, no bitcoin, no casinos, no drugs = NO ABCD

Here's some food for thought regarding Sponsored Articles / Sponsored Posts for your websites or blogs:

You should decide what types of disreputable advertising that you are going to disallow. For example:

• No adult
• No bitcoin or fake currencies
• No casinos or gambling
  
• No drugs (both in terms of medications, but the illegal variety too)

At which point you might ask: Why is bitcoin on the list?

It is on the list because it is effectively online gambling. It isn't like you're buying a stock in a company that produces a commodity like a gold mine, silver mine, oil field, or a manufacturer who makes widgets. The cryptocurrency markets are people exchanging fake currencies, not actually buying anything with those currencies, and the computing power to create fake bitcoins / etc comes at the expense of burning coal to make cheap electricity.

Because of these factors, advertising Bitcoin or other fake currencies is a divisive issue, like talking about abortion rights, forcing your religion on others, etc.

So effectively what you want to do is to exercise some "Advertising Censorship" so that you can maintain the reputation of your website, because advertising things like ABCD (adult, bitcoin, casinos, drugs) is going to damage your website's reputation.

Of course, maybe you don't care about your website's reputation so much and just prefer cash... So here's the solution.

Whenever someone asks to advertise something that is in the ABCD category (or something else potentially disreputable) then you need to take that into consideration and charge a different amount.

So for example let's say you have a website with a DA (Domain Authority) of 60.

You should be charging $60 USD per sponsored post on that website. Possibly more if it is a niche topic for something valuable.

But let's pretend that you do allow gambling or bitcoin sponsored posts, then you should jack up the price by 50 to 100%.

So for example you might end up charging $100 USD per gambling post.

The beauty of this is that online gambling companies have lots of money to burn. So they can afford the extra price. Same with any company dealing with Bitcoins or fake currencies. They can afford the higher price.

So whether you choose to take the high road of saying NO to such advertising, or the low road of making a fast buck at the expense of the advertiser's wallet, you should definitely be charging a premium for such advertising or flat out saying NO.

And what to do about those advertisers who get upset at being charged a higher rate?

Just delete their emails. If they don't like it, tough.

And what about adult / drugs?

Because of the way Google works you should avoid doing ANY advertising for drugs or adult topics. Just avoid those topics completely.

Why do Book Ratings, Reviews and Rankings Matter So Much?

In a nutshell, they matter because without them many readers won't take a chance on a book that is unrated, unreviewed and doesn't even have a ranking. Let alone a book by an author they've never heard of.

When you are trying to market a book it is different from marketing various other things on the internet. It is closest, in my opinion, to marketing music... With the big difference that is fairly easy to provide free samples of the music.

Less easy to provide free samples of a book that entices people to go buy it. You can post to various websites, blogs, forums... But there's no guarantee that people will go out and buy it.

The problem is the issue of "personal taste".

Not everyone likes reading murder mysteries for example. Not everyone is into fantasy books, and even less people are interested in fantasy murder mysteries like Charles Moffat's "The Coven's Wolves" because it is more of a niche topic.

Plus, even amongst those who do enjoy fantasy murder mysteries, how many people want to read a murder mystery involving wolves and a witches' coven?

 

Now you will note that the book in question currently has 2 ratings, both 5 stars, so evidently people who read it did enjoy it, but it hasn't received a lot of ratings.

And if you go to Amazon and view the book in question there is 1 review, and it is ranking in multiple categories such as:

• Witch & Wizard Mysteries
• Dark Fantasy Horror

But clearly something is missing. So what's wrong with the marketing for this book?

Well, it was released on March 1st 2021, during the pandemic, so that might be a factor. Bad timing.

During the past year and a half it has only received 2 ratings, when really what you want is at least 10 ratings. Ideally 100+ would be even better.

1 review isn't nothing, but again it would be nice if the book had 5 reviews, or better yet 10+. (It is much easier to get a rating than a review.)

And rankings wise what you really want is to be in the top 10 of a category, or the top 100.

Of course, there is a fundamental difference between this book and a book you might find in a standard bookstore:

It is self-published.

It is very difficult for self-published authors to compete with publishing companies when it comes to the issues of book ratings, reviews and rankings. The vast majority of self-published authors don't sell a single copy of their book and then give up on their dream of becoming a successful author.

But not Charles Moffat.

With over 40 published works to his name, the author isn't one of those people who gives up. Just look at the rankings for one of his other books, a coming of age fantasy book: "The Assassin's Trail".

 

Currently the book has 9 ratings, averaging 4.5 stars. Now that's more like it. It is also ranking in "fantasy anthologies" and "coming of age fantasy ebooks".

So not fantastic rankings, but almost.

Proof that while it is difficult to become successful as an indie author, it isn't impossible.

Workplace Emails and Writing Tips

Here are some tips for writing effective and professional workplace emails:

1. Clear and Concise Subject Line: Use a clear and concise subject line that accurately summarizes the purpose or topic of your email. This helps recipients understand the importance and relevance of your message.

2. Greeting: Start your email with a polite and appropriate greeting, such as "Hello [Recipient's Name]," or "Dear [Recipient's Name]," depending on the level of formality and your relationship with the recipient.

3. Professional Tone: Maintain a professional tone throughout your email. Use proper grammar, punctuation, and avoid using slang or abbreviations. Be respectful and avoid overly casual language, even if you have a friendly relationship with the recipient.

4. Clear and Organized Structure: Organize your email with clear paragraphs and headings, if necessary. Use bullet points or numbered lists to highlight important information or action items. This makes your email easier to read and understand.

5. Be Direct and Specific: Clearly state the purpose of your email in the first few sentences. Be direct and specific about what you need or what you're addressing. Avoid unnecessary fluff or vague language.

6. Provide Relevant Context: Provide any necessary background or context to help the recipient understand the reason for your email. Include relevant details, dates, or previous conversations to avoid confusion or misinterpretation.

7. Use Proper Etiquette: Follow proper email etiquette, such as using appropriate salutations and sign-offs, avoiding excessive capitalization (which can be perceived as shouting), and refraining from using all caps or excessive exclamation marks.

8. Proofread and Edit: Take the time to proofread your email for any spelling or grammar errors. Read it carefully to ensure your message is clear and coherent. Consider using tools like spell checkers or grammar checkers to help you identify and correct any mistakes.

9. Be Mindful of Tone and Tone: Emails can sometimes be misinterpreted due to the lack of visual and auditory cues. Be mindful of your tone and ensure your message comes across as intended. Avoid sounding too demanding, confrontational, or passive-aggressive. Use positive and respectful language.

10. Clear Action Items: If your email requires any action from the recipient, clearly state what you expect or request. Use action-oriented language and specify deadlines if applicable. Make it easy for the recipient to understand what is expected of them.

11. Use Professional Sign-Off: End your email with an appropriate and professional closing. Common options include "Best regards," "Sincerely," or "Thank you." Sign your email with your name, job title, and contact information if necessary.

12. Follow-Up and Timely Response: If you require a response or action from the recipient, politely follow up if you haven't received a reply within a reasonable timeframe. Similarly, be prompt in responding to emails you receive to maintain effective communication.

Remember, effective workplace emails are concise, respectful, and focused on clear communication. Tailor your tone and level of formality to the recipient and the context of the email. By following these tips, you can enhance your email communication in the workplace.