Our MyST Blogsite generates highly qualified leads compared to other venues of online lead generation. One of the primary reasons is we have a trust factor, which we built (and continue to build) by providing dependable and accurate information through the blogsite. As a result, actions are more meaningful for business and the customer."
The cleanliness of a company's web site can make or break its blogsite.
Occasionally, we hear from a client that seems to be doing everything right with their blogsite—frequent posts, relevant keywords, on-topic titles, participation in related weblogs, etc.—yet they're frustrated with the visibility they're getting from the search engines. Often, when we look at their primary web site, we find a number of problems that contribute to low search engine rankings. If you're doing things right with your blogsite, search engines are going to associate it with your web site and if the web site is considered unworthy, your blogsite may carry that same baggage.
The following is a list of things to avoid on your primary domain:
Don't register your web site with link farm portals that purport to drive traffic to your site simply by being another point on the web that lists you as relevant. The search engines have long since figured out that those portals contain arbitrary lists of domains that have no relevance to each other. Many engines will actually rank you lower for your participation.
Don't forget to include a link to one or more pertinent locations on your blogsite from your web site.
Don't have a home page that's so fancy with graphics, audio and other features that it takes greater than 25 seconds to load.
Don't let the content on your web site become static, boring or outdated.
Don't include outbound links to sites that are irrelevant to your market or business expertise.
Don't use Flash or JavaScript menus. These systems obscure the text of your menu items which when visible to search engine spiders can help bolster relevancy.
Don't assume that Google or other engines have taken the time to index all of your pages. You can see how well your site is indexed by doing a search of the form site:DomainName.
Don't embed relevant content in image maps, Java programs, flash videos and other mechanisms that web spiders can't decipher.
Don't use frames in your site. A frame is a window that displays content from another domain. Again, frames pose several challenges for web spiders and it's believed that some search engines may even penalize sites that use them.
Don't use dynamic URLs. Each web page should have a persistent, immutable URL. Web spiders can have difficulty indexing dynamic URLs and much prefer static URLs.
I spoke with a group of bloggers in Phoenix recently. What I found is that very few had any business from their blogs despite a lot of effort. I have 5 closings and 7 active buyers directly from [our MyST blogsite] in 2008. I know because I ask. One person told me they have been reading my blog for almost a year before they called me to buy a property."
