Incorporating blogs into your marketing strategy can provide a host of benefits from both a public relations and a visibility stand point. We’ve previously wrote about how you can manage your corporate blog, but we didn’t go into about how you can optimize your blog from a search engine optimization (SEO) perspective. For those of you who are not familiar with SEO, it is the practice of optimizing your website or blog for maximum search engine visibility on the keywords you hope to appear for. This guest blog post by Nick LeRoy highlights 5 free, WordPress plug-ins that any blog being powered by the WordPress platform should have installed.

WordPress is a free blogging platform that makes it extremely easy to publish and edit websites. No longer is it required to call upon a web developer or programmer to a new web page or edit an existing page.  If you can use Microsoft word then you are ready for blogging success!  However, blogging and blogging with SEO in mind is two completely different subjects.  To help your blog become SEO and social media friendly it’s imperative that you take a look at the following plug-ins.  Not only do I use them on my blogs but I also suggest them to all my clients.  That’s how confident I am in these plug-ins.

1. “All in One SEO Pack”

The All in One SEO Pack plug-in will allow the blog to become search engine friendly.  It will specifically take care of the following issues that the blog will otherwise run into.

• Canonical URLs – this will avoid duplicate content.
• Title tag optimization – have complete control over the titles.
• Description tag optimization – write your own custom Meta descriptions.

2. “Google XML Sitemaps”

The Google XML Sitemap plug-in will auto-generate a Google friendly XML Sitemap.  This will help the search engines index the new blog posts that are published to the blog.  Including an XML sitemap should be a no-brainer and with this easy plug-in it can’t get much easier.

3. “Google Analytics For WordPress”

By default WordPress blogs don’t attach Google Analytics tracking codes to individual blog posts.  The Google Analytics for WordPress plug-in will do is request the unique UA code that is unique to each Google Analytics account and then paste the entire analytics tracking code into each blog post.  This will allow you to see how successful each one of your blog posts are in Google Analytics.

4. “TweetMeme Button”

The TweetMeme Button plug-in allows a Twitter widget to be displayed on each blog post published.  This will give readers the ability to “re-tweet” a link to your blog post to all of their Twitter account followers.  This is a great opportunity for additional blog traffic and an easy way increase your Twitter follower count.

5. “Facebook Like”

This plug-in allows a Facebook widget to be displayed on each blog post published.  This will allow the blog readers to “like” the blog they read and publish a link on their Facebook account stream.  This would show all this particular users Facebook friends that they “liked” this page and gives them an opportunity to visit your blog from the link posted on Facebook.  The extra bonus is that this could help increase the amount of fans to your Facebook page… that is assuming that you have one created.

These are the five SEO plug-ins that every WordPress blog should have installed. If you think we missed one, feel free to leave your suggestions in our comment section, happy blogging!

Nick LeRoy is the SEO at Minnesota Web Design firm DKS Systems.  DKS offers complete custom web applications starting from scratch.  No cookie cutter templates used here, everything is custom made to ensure you get exactly what you want!

If your company has a Facebook page, you may be familiar as to what kind of work it takes to maintain the page on a daily basis. Some tasks include continuous monitoring of comments left by fans, responding accordingly, posting relevant status updates to engage fans, posting photos and videos, linking to blog and/or Twitter, acquiring more fans, holding contests, downloading relevant apps, and I’m sure the list could go on even longer. The point is, having a Facebook page for your small business has become a near necessity for those involved in social media. But what is Facebook doing to help you reach fans?

According to an article on TechCrunch, it appears they’re not helping out too much. The article, titled “EdgeRank: The Secret Sauce That Makes Facebook’s News Feed Tick,” gives an inside look at Facebook’s algorithm, known as EdgeRank. EdgeRank controls which posts users of Facebook see in their News Feeds, as not every post from every friend shows up in your feed, which can be a good thing (hello, information overload!). Depending on various factors, EdgeRank has a secret equation that determines who sees what. Parts of the algorithm are shared in the chart here:

via TechCrunch

As seen in the chart, EdgeRank takes note of interactions between the user and their friend making the post (edge), the level of the post (comment, like, status updates, etc. each have a different rank) and the time factor depending on when the post was created. Basically, if a person is your friend, but you’ve never exchanged an “edge” with them, or clicked through to their profile, it’s likely that you won’t see many, if any, of their status updates, posts, etc.

So, how does this all tie in to Facebook Fan Pages?

TechCrunch says “if you want your posts to show up in News Feed, make sure people will actually want to interact with them.” And just because a person has “liked” your page, that doesn’t mean your update is a shoe-in for their News Feed. Thus, administrators must become even more creative and discover tactics that will land them in front of their fans. (But isn’t that what friending, fanning and liking is for in the first place?!)

To me, it seems as if we’re being fooled by Facebook, but without knowing what our fans see, we’ll never know who passes the EdgeRank test. Take a moment to think about your Facebook account. Is it mainly the same profiles adorning your news feed? Are the same handful of fans consistently commenting on your fan page?

There’s much that could be said about Facebook’s algorithm and the ethics behind it all, but first we’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.  If this is how it truly works, what are some tactics fan page admins can put in to place to enhance interaction?

No-one really likes to think about emergencies or disasters striking, whether at home or in the workplace. However, as the old insurance saying goes, “prepare for the worst and hope for the best.” Many of us do just that when it comes to preparing for home emergencies, such as power outages or other problems. But in our workplace, very few of us are prepared for the unpleasant scenario of a disaster. And that’s just not smart. With a little planning and forethought, we can prepare an emergency supplies kit for our work space that may just get us through an emergency unscathed.

When a natural disaster or other emergency hits, it often gives little warning. I used to work in New York City, and I can recall times when power outages literally shut down the city.

Picture this scenario: You are at work. Suddenly, an unexpected emergency springs up, whether from extreme weather or even a man made emergency. The result?

• An electric power blackout
• No heating or lighting
• Phone systems disrupted
• Water supply interrupted
• Extreme weather conditions
• Private and public transportation shut down

It can happen. And it can happen while you’re at your place of employment.

It is for just such an emergency – unlikely but far from impossible – that you put together a workplace emergency preparedness kit. Here are suggestions for what to include – your actual kit will vary depending on your needs and your situation:

• Phone number and directions to the closest motel or hotel
• A flashlight and some spare batteries
• Extra cell phone charger
• An always-charged “recharge unit” to power your cell phone
• Emergency phone list of family and friends’ phone numbers
• A battery-powered radio
• Small supply of emergency cash
• Some bottled water
• 24 hours worth of freeze-dried or canned food
• A manual can opener
• A blanket
• A sleeping bag (there may not be a nearby hotel)
• Small toiletries kit
• Any essential medications needed over 24 hour period
• A good book and a deck of cards
• Sweatpants and top for overnight
• Last but not least, your sense of humor

If you put together a kit like this, you should be able to store it all in one of those large plastic containers with a tight lid, that you can purchase at an office supplies store. Stash your kit in the corner of a closet somewhere, and replenish the food once a year.

If disaster does hit while you’re at work, your emergency preparedness kit isn’t going to transform your office into a four-star hotel. But it may just get you through a long, miserable night with a little bit of comfort, security, and safety. In an emergency, that’s all we can ask for.

This is a guest post by Neil Street. He is a freelance writer who has written frequently about small business. His last article looked at the complex world of portfolio risk management systems..

Just about every company uses traditional communication methods like a telephone to facilitate communication with customers and suppliers, but do you realize that by using the Internet you can enhance your business communication? The Internet allows a company to take their communication to the next level, for a surprisingly affordable price. Saving money while obtaining advanced features is a win-win situation for even the smallest of companies.

There are Internet-based communication technologies that give a modern twist to traditional communication methods, and technologies that allow you to communicate in ways once accessible to only the largest of corporations with huge IT budgets. Fortunately, today the Internet allows any sized business to take advantage of the latest communication technologies without having to spend a bundle. Three such technologies are as follows:

1. Virtual Phone Services – A virtual phone service uses the Internet to facilitate voice communication. Also known as VOIP (voice over Internet protocol), a virtual phone service comes in two flavors – the full small business phone system and the add on service – both using your existing high-speed Internet connection.

A full virtual phone system includes everything you need to have a multi-extension office phone system, without needing to pay for traditional copper wire service. You just plug your Internet enabled phone handsets into your existing office Internet network and you get a fully configurable phone system that uses the service provider’s computer servers, eliminating the need for your company to invest in expensive hardware. You have full control over inbound call routing and other advanced features once available to only Fortune 500 companies.

An add on virtual phone solution uses your existing landlines and cell phones, but adds the same advanced features of a full virtual office phone system. You are assigned a toll-free or local phone number that becomes your main business number and you have a virtual auto attendant that routes calls to the appropriate existing phone line. You also have full control over call routing, and can quickly update how calls are routed. This means that you can have inbound calls routed to your cell phone, your home phone, or any working phone line anywhere in the world, thus allowing you to always be available to take calls, no matter where you happen to be.

Most virtual phone services come with a standard feature set, including complete voice mail service for each extension/phone line, call forwarding capability, call logs, and much more.

2. Online Fax Services – Despite the fact that faxing has been around for a long time, many businesses still rely on it as a primary means of communication. For many reasons, there are industries that are unable, or refuse, to use email to replace faxing, which means that there is still a business need to have faxing capability.

By using an affordable online fax service, you can save a great deal of money versus using a traditional fax machine, while having the features a fax machine is typically unable to provide. An online fax service uses your existing computer and Internet connection to send and receive faxes. You don’t need to pay money every month to the phone company for a dedicated fax line, and you can say goodbye to buying toner cartridges for that ugly fax machine you have stashed in the corner.

Online faxing is easy to use. If you can compose an email, or create a word processing document, you can fax online. With the ability to receive inbound faxes in your email inbox, you can literally receive faxes anywhere in the world. It also allows  secure access to an online fax account that lets you compose, view and manage your faxes with ease, making faxing online a simple process.

3. Web Conferencing – Web conferencing, also known as online meetings, enables you to meet over the Internet with customers and coworkers, reducing the need for business travel. Imagine being able to meet online from the comforts of your desk, without having to spend days traveling across the country, or world.

There are web conferencing solutions that range from just being able to talk over the Internet, to solutions where the meeting organizer shares their computer desktop to give a presentation, to a full video conferencing solution where you not only can hear those you are meeting with, but you can also see them. Depending on your business needs, there is a web conferencing solution to let you take your meetings online and significantly reduce overhead.

The Internet allows you to meet with someone at a remote location without ever needing to leave your office, while giving you the level of personal interaction that you desire. An online meeting may never be able to replace all face-to-face meetings, but for many situations, the ability to meet online can save you a great deal of time and money.

Give Internet-Based Communication a Try

Most leading providers of the three Internet-based communication technologies mentioned above allow you to try their services for free, generally for a 30-day period. This allows you to see for yourself how the Internet can help you take your business communication to the next level, without committing to anything until you are convinced of its usefulness.

These online business services can save your company money while giving you access to technology that not that long ago was out of reach for all but the largest corporations. If your company communicates via the telephone, uses a fax machine, or travels to hold business meetings, then you should harness technology to give your business a competitive advantage.

About the Author:

This guest post was written by Business Service Reviews, which is a website that features product and business service reviews that help business owners make use of technology to start and run an efficient operation.