Right now, the All In One SEO (AIOSEO) plugin has been downloaded over 5,000,000 times and is one of the most popular wordpress plugins. Finding an answer on why it is popular can be found by looking at why we blog. For some, we blog to be more accountable, we blog for recognition, we blog for fun, we blog to help others, we blog for money. Ultimately, we blog to be found. One way to be found is to make sure your wordpress site is optimized for search engine readability by using the All In One SEO plugin. During the session we will discuss:

• Should you even install the All In One SEO plugin? Doesn’t WordPress do SEO for me?
• After activating the All In One SEO plugin, what are the initial settings? Home title, Home Description, Different Title Formats, Noindex

AIOSEO is Installed, Now what should you do for each post? what’s the difference between the Page Title and Post Title? Do I worry about Description and Keywords?

• Next Practical Actions, What should I do now?

Thank you, and I hope you enjoyed the talk.

Watch http://simpleweight.com/blog for new updates to my Weight Management website.

Thanks again for having me at fitbloggin.

source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pranavsingh/999580726/

Remember, myths are not true. In no particular order:

1. myth: SEO is a sham
   src: 9 Web Site Optimization (SEO) Myths Debunked
2. myth: Black Hat SEOs are Unethical
   src:  7 SEO Myths Dispelled | Internet Marketing Strategy: Conversation Marketing
3. myth: White Hat SEOs are On The Side of Good
   src: 7 SEO Myths Dispelled | Internet Marketing Strategy: Conversation Marketing
4. myth: SEO requires continual tweaking to keep up with changes in the search engines’ ranking algorithms
   src: 9 Web Site Optimization (SEO) Myths Debunked
   vs.
   myth: “£500 one off SEO fix and your website is good forever” – SEO and search engines move forward all the time, so should you website.
   src: What’s The Biggest SEO Myth? | Shark SEO
   myth: Once Gained, Easily Maintained.
   src:  5 Most Annoying SEO Myths | Blog | Econsultancy
   myth: You Never Need to Redesign Your Site.
   src: Page 3 – SEO Myths
   myth: Google is always changing its search algorithm
   src:  Common SEO Myths – Free SEO Tutorial (Part 5)
   myth: Search engine technology is moving too fast:  I can’t keep up!
   src: Top 10 SEO myths revealed
   myth: Rankings are absolute.
   src: 7 SEO Myths Dispelled | Internet Marketing Strategy: Conversation Marketing
   myth: SEO is a one-time event.
   src: Blogging from the Brave Programmer – 10 SEO Myths to watch out for in 2010
   myth: SEO is a one month process.  Do it and get it done!
   src: Top 25 commonly believed SEO myths
   myth: SEO is a once and done project:  when website is optimized then job is done.
   src: Top 10 SEO myths revealed
   myth: If you did all the ten things for SEO, there is no beating you and you’ll remain on top forever.
   src: Top 25 commonly believed SEO myths
   Scott’s Take:  Yes, you need to keep redesigning your site and keeping it fresh with your users.  However, the fundamentals of Search Engine Optimization has not changed since Google has won the market.  That does not mean it will not change in the future.  In fact, Google now employs Personalized search.  So, the results you see will likely be different than the results I see.
5. myth: You cannot predict the success of SEO
   src: 9 Web Site Optimization (SEO) Myths Debunked
6. myth: SEO is easy to learn.
   src: 9 Web Site Optimization (SEO) Myths Debunked
   vs.
   myth: You need an Expert to help you succeed in SEO.
   src: Free SEO Tutorial (Part 5) – Google, Article, Content, Myths
   myth: SEO is a hand off project.  Let the consultants take care of it.
   src: Top 10 SEO myths revealed
   Scott’s Take:  The advanced topics of SEO may not be easy to learn.  However, the majority (80%) of the websites are fine without the advanced topics.  Consequently, I agree with you don’t need an expert.  You can do it yourself.  However, Just as you can paint your house yourself, sometimes, you just want an expert to do it for you.
7. myth: The goal is to be number one or on page one.
   src: 9 Web Site Optimization (SEO) Myths Debunked
   myth: I should focus on getting great rankings rankings rather than making sure my visitors become customers.
   src:  SEO 101: Myths and Facts about Search Engine Optimization
8. myth: SEO firms that offer guaranteed placement eliminate your risk.
   src: 9 Web Site Optimization (SEO) Myths Debunked
   myth: Search Engine Positions are guaranteed.
   src: Top 25 commonly believed SEO myths
   myth: We guarantee no. 1 on Google.
   src:  Blogging from the Brave Programmer – 10 SEO Myths to watch out for in 2010
9. myth: My competition has taken all the top spots in the search engines.
   src: 9 Web Site Optimization (SEO) Myths Debunked
10. myth: SEO mainly consists of submission to (many) search engines.
    src: 9 Web Site Optimization (SEO) Myths Debunked
11. myth: Unscrupulous competitors cannot directly hurt your site’s position after it has ben SEO’d.
    src: 9 Web Site Optimization (SEO) Myths Debunked
    myth: “Nothing that a competitor can’t do to harm you” – There are people that make a living destroying other peoples websites
    src:  What’s The Biggest SEO Myth? | Shark SEO
12. myth: Meta keywords are still useful (they’re definitely not).  &   If you want a real myth, though, it’s that the meta keywords tag matters. It makes so little difference. Only Yahoo takes any real look at it, and even there, it’s virtually useless.
    src: What’s The Biggest SEO Myth? | Shark SEO
    myth: Just Put Up Meta Tags to Get Your Ranking
    src:  Page 3 – SEO Myths
    myth: Words in your meta keywords tag have to be used on the page.
    src: Top Ten Organic SEO Myths
    myth: Meta description deisplayed on the SERPs is always the few lines of text you supply.
    src: Top 25 commonly believed SEO myths
    myth: Meta tags don’t matter
    src: SEO myths and the power of repetition
    myth: Having Meta tags will my rankings.
    src: SEO 101: Myths and Facts about Search Engine Optimization
    myth: Meta tags are the key to high rankings.
    src: Blogging from the Brave Programmer – 10 SEO Myths to watch out for in 2010
    myth: Jam-packing your meta tags with as many words as possible is going to make you rank higher in search engines.
    src: SEO myths de-bunked: Myth #3 – Jam-packed meta tags – S.Joy Studios
    myth: Keyword and description META tags are the most important part of SEO
    src: Top 10 SEO myths revealed
    myth: Adding keywords to meta tags give you a direct push on the SERPs.
    src: Top 25 commonly believed SEO myths
    myth: Meta Tags have no Impact on Rankings.
    src: SEO Myths: 5 Myths About SEO Busted | WordStream
    Scott’s Take:  Google in their documentation recommends to use meta description.  So, don’t take this to mean don’t use meta tags at all, this is just meta keywords.  Although, I do agree, that there is more to SEO than just meta tags.
13. myth: Keyword Density is a factor in rankings (it’s definitely not.)
    src: What’s The Biggest SEO Myth? | Shark SEO
    src: SEOmoz | YOUmoz – SEO Myths That Persist: Keyword Density
    src: SEO myths de-bunked: Myth #8 – Keyword density
    src: SEOmoz | Rewriting the Beginner’s Guide: Part 4 Continued – Keyword Usage & Targeting
    src: Page 3 – SEO Myths
    src: Common SEO Myths – Free SEO Tutorial (Part 5)
    myth: Once you’ve settled on a keyword, use it throughout the text without variation
    src:  Five Myths About SEO Copywriting Debunked | WordStream
    myth: Following a 4% Keyword density will help in optimizing the content.
    src: Top 25 commonly believed SEO myths
    myth: It’s a good idea to make my keywords invisible, such as having white letters on white background.
    src: SEO 101: Myths and Facts about Search Engine Optimization
    myth: Use as many keywords as you can.  The more the better.
    src:  Blogging from the Brave Programmer – 10 SEO Myths to watch out for in 2010
    myth: Adding more keywords to the page title will always help you in seo.
    src:  Top 25 commonly believed SEO myths
14. myth: Submitting your site to search engines is a critical part of SEO.  It hasn’t been since the 1990′s, but like meta keywords, this one just won’t die.
    src: What’s The Biggest SEO Myth? | Shark SEO
    myth: Sites Must Be Submitted to Engines
    src: 5 Most Annoying SEO Myths | Blog | Econsultancy
    myth: Resubmitting your URL Repeatedly to Search Engines
    src: Page 4 – SEO Myths
    myth: Search engine submission doesn’t work.  (notice someone says the opposite of others.)
    src: SEO myths and the power of repetition
    myth: I have to submit my site to a search engine for it to get listed.
    src: SEO 101: Myths and Facts about Search Engine Optimization
    myth: I have to periodically re-submit my site to the search engines.
    src: SEO 101: Myths and Facts about Search Engine Optimization
    myth: Submit to as many search engines as you can as often as you can.
    src: Blogging from the Brave Programmer – 10 SEO Myths to watch out for in 2010
    myth: Submitting my site to search engines takes forever.
    src: Top 10 SEO myths revealed
    myth: Submitting to search engines is the only way to get indexed.
    src: Top 25 commonly believed SEO myths
    myth: You should submit your URLs to search engines.
    src: Top Ten Organic SEO Myths
    Scott’s Take:  I disagree a little with this.  Submitting Sitemaps and Pinging Services for constantly changing content are still very valuable for Google News and others aggregators and search engines..
15. myth: Click-through rate is a major part of search engine rankings. The engines have said publicly that CTR is a very noisy and un-useful signal, and not something they’d rely on.
    src: What’s The Biggest SEO Myth? | Shark SEO
16. myth: The search engines penalize you if you do active/obvious SEO (they don’t). The engines themselves promote SEO best practices, and Google’s gone as far as to endorse and promote SEO events, a guide and an SEO toolset.
    src: What’s The Biggest SEO Myth? | Shark SEO
    myth: SEO is dangerous and can get my site taken off the search engines.
    src:  Top 10 SEO myths revealed
17. myth: Participating in PPC campaigns (and spending more) will help you rank better in the engines (it doesn’t). The engines have very real Chinese walls between their business divisions and never let paid campaign spending affect organic rankings directly.
    src: What’s The Biggest SEO Myth? | Shark SEO
    myth: SEO is Influenced by PPC  (not true)
    src:  5 Most Annoying SEO Myths | Blog | Econsultancy
    myth: Buying PPC ads will influence your organic rankings.
    src:  7 SEO Myths Dispelled | Internet Marketing Strategy: Conversation Marketing
    myth: PPC ads will help/hurt rankings.
    src: Top Ten Organic SEO Myths
18. myth: It is all about rankings and traffic, rather than conversions.
    src: What’s The Biggest SEO Myth? | Shark SEO
19. myth: “Link Bait won’t get you penalised” – Maybe not today
    src: What’s The Biggest SEO Myth? | Shark SEO
20. myth: The biggest SEO myth is probably that of “quality content”.
    src:   What’s The Biggest SEO Myth? | Shark SEO
    myth: Instead of focusing on building a quality site with good, useful information, I should try to find some “trick” to make my site rank well.
    src: SEO 101: Myths and Facts about Search Engine Optimization
    myth: SEO is about tricking search engines into ranking my site high.
    src: Top 10 SEO myths revealed
    Scott’s take: The idea behind this myth is that Advertising and other campaigns can push less quality content above higher quality content.  There is no doubt about that.  However, I think this is the outlier case.  More often than not, the higher quality will win.
21. myth: The biggest is the duplicate content penalty. People think that just because you publish the same content as somebody else you are going to get some kind of penalty, not the case at all.
    src:  What’s The Biggest SEO Myth? | Shark SEO
    myth: Multiple Domain names for the same website or content interlinking together
    src:   Multiple domain names
    myth: Multiple Domain Names Pointing to the Same Site Increase Rankings
    src: Page 4 – SEO Myths
    myth: Google penalizes websites with duplicate content.
    src:  Common SEO Myths – Free SEO Tutorial (Part 5)
    Scott’s Take:  Google has stated publicly, that duplicate content will be merged together and you will lose the value of the content.  So, although this myth is strictly true in this example, because the first google will determine which of the duplicate content should rank, it is much better to have unique content.
22. myth: The biggest myth of SEO is that everyone is treated equally by the search engines.
    src: What’s The Biggest SEO Myth? | Shark SEO
    myth: SEO is a level playing field.
    src: 7 SEO Myths Dispelled | Internet Marketing Strategy: Conversation Marketing
23. myth: One myth I frequently see on SEO websites is ALT tag abuse. The ALT element on an image is useful, but only of the image is linked.
    src: What’s The Biggest SEO Myth? | Shark SEO
    Scott’s Take: Google states in their own report card and own guidelines that the ALT attribute is useful, although I agree you don’t want to just stuff it with all keywords.
24. myth: The Most Annoying SEO Myth: Optimisation is Underhand
    src:  5 Most Annoying SEO Myths | Blog | Econsultancy
    Scott’s Take:  SEO is definitely okay.  Even google has a SEO guide.
25. myth: One Tactic, Done Enough, Works
    src:  5 Most Annoying SEO Myths | Blog | Econsultancy
26. myth: Linking is Everything
    src: Page 4 – SEO Myths
    myth: Links are the most important factor
    src:  SEO myths and the power of repetition
    myth: Getting put on someone’s “Links of people who link to me” page is going to make Google happy.
    src: SEO myths de-bunked: Myth #2 – Link Exchanges – S.Joy Studios
    myth: Having tons and tons of links will surely send my rankings straight to the top.
    src: Website SEO: Link-Building Myths and Illuminating Facts (Part 2)
    myth: Links, links, links, and more links.  The more the better.
    src:  Blogging from the Brave Programmer – 10 SEO Myths to watch out for in 2010
27. myth: One Good Link outweighs content.
    src:  SEO myths and the power of repetition
28. myth: Sculpting Your PageRank
    src: SEO myths and the power of repetition
    Scott’s Take:  This is an advanced technique, and Matt Cutts of Google recently stated, if you gobs and gobs of pages, then yes, Sculpting Page Rank will work, but for the majority of people, it does not help and maybe even hurt.
29. myth: You Need Latent Semantic Analysis Optimization
    src: SEO myths and the power of repetition
30. myth: Toolbar PR is tied to crawl rate
    src:  SEO myths and the power of repetition
31. myth: You should use nofollow for any links you sell
    src: SEO myths and the power of repetition
    Scott’s Take:  Note, google recommends this.  Its not required, but I’d agree that if you sell links, you generally want to nofollow them.
32. myth: nofollow tags prevent a page from being index.ed
    src:  SEO myths de-bunked: Myth #7 – No-follow tags – S.Joy Studios
33. myth: Google is the only search engine that matters (because it controls 70/80/90% of search traffic.
    src: SEO myths and the power of repetition
34. myth: Google not only looks at your domains whois info (and past history, etc), but Google looks at other domains that are owned by you to see how trustworthy you and your domains are.
    src: Few SEO Myths I am Researching – JonWaraas.com
35. myth: Use Subdomains for SEO and for your site structure.
    src: Few SEO Myths I am Researching – JonWaraas.com
36. myth: You need to post new articles to your website regularly
    src: Common SEO Myths – Free SEO Tutorial (Part 5)
    myth: You need to update your site frequently.
    src: Top Ten Organic SEO Myths
    Scott’s Take:  I agree it is not a need.  However, google does sometimes look to see if content is updated.  I agree though, that google likes people who are first with content rather than newer.  So, this one is inconclusive.
37. myth: You need ‘quality’ backlinks to succeed in SEO.
    src: Common SEO Myths – Free SEO Tutorial (Part 5)
    Scott’s Take:  Again, google recommends you build links in its own guide.  So, agree its not a need, but it definitely does help.
38. myth: You need to post ‘quality’ articles on your website.
    src:  Common SEO Myths – Free SEO Tutorial (Part 5)
    Scott’s Take: Google’s own guide recommends to have grammatically correct articles.  The benefit of quality articles is who would people rather read?  a poorly written, hard to understand article vs. an easy to scan easy to understand article?  I think people go with the latter, and then ultimately Google will index that way as well.
39. myth: Search engine traffic is free.
    src:  Common SEO Myths – Free SEO Tutorial (Part 5)
40. myth: Optimize your site for Search Engines, Spiders, and Crawlers.
    src:  Write For People, Not For Spiders
    myth: SEO copywriting sounds forced and Mechanical.
    src: Five Myths About SEO Copywriting Debunked | WordStream
    myth: I should optimize my site for search engines above users.
    src: Top 10 SEO myths revealed
    Scott’s Take:  The myth here is we should write and optimize for our users’ first and search engines second.  Be Natural with your writing.
41. myth: Be brief – online readers have short attention spans.
    src: Five Myths About SEO Copywriting Debunked | WordStream
42. myth: The age of clever headlines is over.
    src: Five Myths About SEO Copywriting Debunked | WordStream
43. myth: When doing a list post, write an introduction.
    src: Five Myths About SEO Copywriting Debunked | WordStream
44. myth: Search engines can now crawl Flash.
    src:  7 SEO Myths Dispelled | Internet Marketing Strategy: Conversation Marketing
    myth: A flash page means bad SEO.
    src: Top 25 commonly believed SEO myths
45. myth: Google now crawls javascript.
    src: 7 SEO Myths Dispelled | Internet Marketing Strategy: Conversation Marketing
46. myth: Trading links with any site which will link to mine is a good idea.
    src:  SEO 101: Myths and Facts about Search Engine Optimization
47. myth: Search engines can’t deal with framed sites, or they penalize framed sites.
    src:   SEO 101: Myths and Facts about Search Engine Optimization
48. myth: Sites that use Javascript get penalized.
    src: SEO 101: Myths and Facts about Search Engine Optimization
49. myth: I should try to rank well for a single-word term instead of the 2- to 3-word phrases that searchers actually use and that I actually have a hope of ranking well for.
    src: SEO 101: Myths and Facts about Search Engine Optimization
50. myth: Most of my traffic should come from one or two search phrases, rather than hundreds, most of which haven’t even occurred to me.
    src: SEO 101: Myths and Facts about Search Engine Optimization
51. myth: All keywords are created equal.
    src: SEO myths de-bunked: Myth #4 – Keyword Equality – S.Joy Studios
52. myth: Any time my rankings go up or down, I should assume that it’s the result of some change I made. Even better, if my rankings drop I should assume that someone at Google manually looked at my site and penalized it.
    src: SEO 101: Myths and Facts about Search Engine Optimization
    myth: Any time my rankings change, or even disappear from the results, I should consider that change permanent.
    src: SEO 101: Myths and Facts about Search Engine Optimization
53. myth: All visitors start at the front page of my site.
    src: SEO 101: Myths and Facts about Search Engine Optimization
54. myth: I should consider another site’s PageRank when deciding whether to link to them or whether to ask for a link.
    src:  SEO 101: Myths and Facts about Search Engine Optimization
    myth: You should only link with sies that have a high PageRank.
    src:  Website SEO: Link-Building Myths and Illuminating Facts (Part 2)
55. myth: The sites with the highest “PageRank” will always rank higher in the SERPs.
    src:  SEO 101: Myths and Facts about Search Engine Optimization
    myth: It’s all about PageRank.
    src: Blogging from the Brave Programmer – 10 SEO Myths to watch out for in 2010
    myth: A higher PageRank means better chance of ranking.
    src: Top 25 commonly believed SEO myths
    myth: Toolbar PageRank is Meaningless.
    src: SEO Myths: 5 Myths About SEO Busted | WordStream
56. myth: Pretty, Keyword-specific URL’s don’t matter.
    src: SEO Myths: 5 Myths About SEO Busted | WordStream
57. myth: Google Favors Old Domains
    src:  SEO Myths: 5 Myths About SEO Busted | WordStream
58. myth: Links from Article Syndication and Press Release Distribution are Worthless.
    src: SEO Myths: 5 Myths About SEO Busted | WordStream
59. myth: Your site will be banned if you ignore Google’s Guidelines
    src: Top Ten Organic SEO Myths
60. myth: Your site will be banned if you buy links.
    src: Top Ten Organic SEO Myths
    myth: All paid links are evil.
    src: Website SEO: Link-Building Myths and Illuminating Facts (Part 1)
61. myth: H1 (or any header tags) must be used for high rankings.
    src: Top Ten Organic SEO Myths
    myth: Adding H1 tags to keywords directly help in SEO
    src: Top 25 commonly believed SEO myths
    Scott’s Take:  Google does recommend header tags, and think it helps, but of course it is not a requirement.
62. myth: SEO copy must be 250 words in length.
    src: Top Ten Organic SEO Myths
63. myth: You need to optimize for the long tail.
    src:  Top Ten Organic SEO Myths
64. myth: Submitting your links to directories is the best way to improve your ranking.
    src:  Blogging from the Brave Programmer – 10 SEO Myths to watch out for in 2010
    myth: Submitting your site to hundres of general directories will increase your rankings.
    src:  Website SEO: Link-Building Myths and Illuminating Facts (Part 1)
65. myth: Dynamic URLs are bad for the site.
    src:  Blogging from the Brave Programmer – 10 SEO Myths to watch out for in 2010
    myth: Dynamic URLs are bad for the site.
    src:  Top 25 commonly believed SEO myths
66. myth: Nofollow incoming links from other sites are no good.
    src:  Blogging from the Brave Programmer – 10 SEO Myths to watch out for in 2010
67. myth: I’ll see results from SEO quickly.
    src:  Top 10 SEO myths revealed
    Scott’s Take:  quite contrary.  SEO results often focused on the long-term horizon.
68. myth: Visitor numbers to my site is an important element of SEO.
    src: Top 10 SEO myths revealed
69. myth: Internal Links don’t matter.
    src:  SEO myths de-bunked: Myth #6 – Internal links – S.Joy Studios
    myth: The more internal links the better.
    src:  Top 25 commonly believed SEO myths
70. myth: Google Adwords are an easy alternative to search engine optimization. Also, they’re more effective.
    src: SEO Myths De-bunked: Myth #5 – Google Adwords – S.Joy Studios
71. myth: If I click on my own links a bunch of times, Google will be tricked into thinking that my site is awesome.
    src:  SEO myths de-bunked: Myth #1 – Link Clicking – S.Joy Studios
    Scott’s Take:  This is a myth.  However, google does use the bounce rate as a search ranking factor.  So, if you click on your site and stay a while, you can impact your bounce rate a little which in turn can improve your ranking.
72. myth: Leaving your website’s link in blog and forum comments is great for SEO.
    src:  Website SEO: Link-Building Myths and Illuminating Facts (Part 1)
    Scott’s Take:  Most of the links in blog and forum comments are nofollow-ed.  Consequently, google does not give those much pagerank value.  However, if you leave thoughtful comments, you will actually see your traffic increase.  In addition, you will likely see more people linking to you.  However, if you leave bogus comments, people will think you are spam.
73. myth: WordPress, Blogger, Typepad, etc. Themes are/are not optimized for SEO.
    src:  Some thoughts on SEO | WPShout.com
74. myth: You need / don’t need a plugin for SEO.
    src:  http://octavity.com/
    Scott’s notes:  Some themes come already optimized with SEO,  Some themes need the plugin.  Also, too many SEO plugins and are worse than having no SEO in your wordpress at all.
75. myth: Using Robots.txt is the safest way to keep  a page/site from being crawled.
    src:   Top 25 commonly believed SEO myths
    myth: Adding Canonical URL tag to a page will stop the bots from scanning the page.
    src: Top 25 commonly believed SEO myths
    myth: Using a meta nofollow header tag on the page will “block” the search engine from crawling the page.
    src: Top 25 commonly believed SEO myths
    Scott’s Take:  the safest way is just don’t post it on the internet.
76. myth: Adding a plugin like the AllinOneSEO puts your blog into auto SEO mode.
    src: Top 25 commonly believed SEO myths
77. myth: Changing the crawl rate settings in Webmasters tools console will change the Google Crawl rate once and for all.
    src:  Top 25 commonly believed SEO myths
78. myth: Linking to authority websites will help your reputation.
    src: Top 25 commonly believed SEO myths
79. myth: Adding a WordPress (or any) Blog will automatically fix your site’s SEO.
    src:  Top 25 commonly believed SEO myths
80. myth: Sitelinks appear only for websites who have a high PageRank.
    src: Top 25 commonly believed SEO myths
81. myth: A deep directory structure is bad for SEO.
    src:  Top 25 commonly believed SEO myths
    Scott’s Take:  Google does recommend against a deep directory structure unless it is really required by your site.
82. myth: All external links should be nofollowed to protect your pagerank.
    src: Top 25 commonly believed SEO myths
83. myth: Bolding out keywords on the content helps.
    src:  Top 25 commonly believed SEO myths

Scott’s Final Take:

Obviously, not all of these myths should be taken as Gospel.  As with normal fictional stories, there is often a grain a truth that can be found in the myth.

For 80% of the small and medium business websites out there, Search Engine Optimization should be 20% of your web activity.  The rest of your activity should be concentrated on generating the absolute best, unique, and new content for your targeted market niche(s). I know one of the Myths of SEO is about quality.  However, I have found in my experience that most websites are just not producing enough new, unique, fabulous content.  Start there.  As long as you follow the major beginner guidelines for SEO, you will be fine.

What are those guidelines? I’ll leave that for another post.  In the meantime, you can look at these other important references used to verify the myths above.

Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide

Google’s SEO Report Card – Google Webmaster Central

YouTube – GoogleWebmasterHelp’s Channel

SEOmoz | Beginner’s Guide to SEO – Single Page Version

Search Engine Ranking Factors | SEOmoz

First let’s back track and give a little a story.

define:consultant

an expert who gives advice

As a Computer and Business Consultant, that’s my role.  I’m an expert who gives advice. Recently, I’ve been doing more and more consulting around Social Media and Search Engine Optimization. People who are used to traditional marketing must adjust their plans to today’s consumer dominating market.  Here’s an example I like to use:

Imagine you are training for a triathlon.  Your current activity level is getting up out of bed, driving to work, and coming home to go to sleep.  In other words, you don’t exercise.  What would you recommend for this person wanting to train for a triathlon?

• Would you recommend they sign up for a Triathlon tomorrow? -or-
• Would you recommend they train to build the stamina and muscles necessary to complete a triathlon?

Of course, the answer for most people is the second one.  We must crawl before we walk, and we must walk before we run.  Sure, some people say, just jump in the pool and get started. Yet, I have seen people who do that give up very early.  They try to build too many muscles and too many habits at once.

Now, let’s compare that to Blogging and Social Media.  You’ve heard all these great things about twitter, facebook, and blogging, and know you need to get your business or your own personal brand more search engine optimization.  In other words, you want to get more business.  Do you, just start twittering, blogging, and asking everyone to become a fan of yours on facebook?

It seems ludicrous, but that is exactly what some businesses do.  In fact, I have made the mistake myself.  Blogging and Micro-blogging is a muscle.  It takes thought and creativity to generate the content necessary.  If your company culture is not set-up to promote that inner-creativity of content generation, it is going to take time and methodical practice to build those muscles.

The Small Business Blogging Exercise Plan.

To paraphrase Twyla Tharp, Creativity is a habit.  We must take time to build that habit and build the muscle of creativity.  The more we use it the better we get.  It takes time.

So, my suggestion is to pick one thing and do it.  Twitter, Facebook, blogging, email newsletters, or youtube.  It doesn’t matter which one, just take consistent small actions on one of the major social media marketing techniques.

Which one to start?

It is easier to start with twitter or facebook since the quantity of content by their very nature is short and sweet, but you’ll get the greatest Search Engine results from blogging.  Be consistent.  The Same Bat Time, the Same Bat Channel.  In other words, create a plan for yourself. Here is an example workout plan.

• Every Monday brainstorm blog post ideas.
• Every Tuesday write one twitter update.
• Every Wednesday write the draft for your blog post.
• Every Thursday write one facebook update.
• Every Friday revise your draft of your blog post, and include a photo. Schedule your Blog post for the next Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday.
• Every Saturday find one blog post to comment on and leave value.
• Every Sunday record your progress, meditate on your activities, and rest.

The key here is consistent activity.  For someone who is completely new to social media marketing, this plan above would be too intensive.

If you were a complete new person, your plan might be:

• Monday:  Read Twitter Updates
• Tuesday:  Read Facebook updates
• Wednesday:  Read Google News Updates
• Thursday:  Read Google Blog updates
• Friday:  comment on someone’s blog.
• Saturday and Sunday Rest.

I’ve used this parable in the past, Sparse-ness Where are you?, The cobbler’s children go barefoot.  I’m good at what I do. My clients and students say:  I give great advice, I am excellent trainer, and I can create and execute multiple technical plans.  Writing blog posts is still a weak muscle for me.  One that I too must exercise more often.

What’s your Blogging Exercise plan?

Don’t have one?

Contact me and we can create a custom plan for you.

Oh Me, Oh My, Bumps in the road. What do I do?

My recent endeavors, blogging, exercise, writing, and eating habits, have all hit bumps in the road. The key is what do I do when I fall off the horse? What are my options? What can I do? Should I sit here and cry the sky is falling?

My first thought is, as long as I learn something from an experience, then the bump in the road is not a failure. So, What are my options with a bump?

Option 1> Give up! Such an easy path to take.

Sometimes, giving up is the correct way to handle a bump in the road. Yes, when we reach for a far off goal or challenge, there is a time to give up. For example, during High School, I wanted to play basketball in college. However, I was slow, moderately athletic, average height, and very short vertical leap. I shot baskets, did drills on my own, and even took up running to try to improve my basketball chances. This goal is one I should have given up sooner given my personal circumstances. The opportunity cost of time could have been put to better use. Yet, there was value in my the time spent working towards a career in basketball. I realized it wasn’t really a true passion for me. I learned something.

Option 2> Postpone! The procrastinator’s path.

Priorities mean we must make choices of what we do. It is the choices and the resultant actions that make our life. So, if you postpone a task that is a challenge or bump in the road, it is because you are doing so by a choice. You may have decided that some other task takes higher priority and ultimately has your attention. Again, you’ve learned the priority through your actions. It also means you can get back on the path to achieving your lofty goal when the priorities change.

Option 3> Persevere! Where there’s a will there’s a way path.

Try, try, try again. When there is a wall thrown in our way, We can find a way onto our path again no matter what. I think of this similar to the scene in Apollo 13 when “Failure is not an option”.

So, you make it a priority and above else, fall off the horse, get back on it.

The key I think is to learn and adapt. Ultimately, doing the same things, or steps, over and over again will not lead to new and better results. We must experiment with our actions in order to find the path over the bump in the road.

My recent personal practical examples:

My goal when I started the month of November was to write everyday. It became a huge challenge when my wife was out of town for business. I was okay with that, but when my toddler daughter came down with a fever inducing miserable virus.

At first, I was giving myself negative self-talk about missing my own short-term goals and deadlines. Yet, I made in my opinion the choise I wanted. I wanted to spend time with my daughter. I wanted to comfort her, wake-up with her in the middle of the night. It was my choice to postpone my goal. After a few days, she’s better, my wife is home, and I have recovered my sleep. I have allowed my priorities to change back, and I am back on the path to achieving my short-term goals.

Could I have written those days while my daughter was sick? Yes, I probably could have. Ultimately, though, I am happy with my choices. Sometimes, we just need to avoid the negative self-talk and learn.

So, I am back to writing. Will I write everyday? I will not say yes until I have changed my actions. I will experiment with new actions to identify what the best route for me to take.

In the meantime, How do you overcome a challenge?

Isn’t the whole Prag Pro Wri Mo, November National Writing Month about writing books?

It sure is, but remember my goal was to write every day of November.  I set my rung on the ladder a little bit lower than writing an entire book.  Although, I still plan on writing a book.  It is just going to take longer than expected.

Writing lessons learned today:  Starting an intensive writing event takes support from all those involved with your time commitments.  In other words, writing must take a priority in your daily schedule.  When children are sick, your wife is out of town, and technology project deadlines are looming, time management becomes a challenge.  I know it sounds like excuses to me too.  So, I did meet my goal.  I wrote.

I saw something great from Merlin Mann today.

Top 1 Habits of Amazing Writers

1. They Write

That is so true. Personally, I think you need to add at least one more habit, and maybe two more habits.  Here’s my list of Amazing Writers’ habits:

1. They Write, They Write, They Write some more.
2. They Read
3. They ruthlessly Edit

When I look back on writing today, What did I learn?

Lesson 1: Focus on the special moments, and you will find them.

Lesson 2: Carving time to write between current obligations is definitely going to be a challenge. I may have to use the same bat time, same bat channel philosophy and let other projects flow in between.  Depends on how big an importances I want to make for this project.

Lesson 3:  It is easier to procrastinate later in the day rather than earlier.

Time to go.  Good Night.

Should you accept is, to write a book in the month of November.

Over at Pragmatic Programmers, they issued a challenge similar to the National Novel Writing Month at NaNoWriMo.org, to write a pragmatic lifestyle or technology related book for the month of November. I have always said I will not only write a book, but I will get published.  In fact, I expect to have multiple books published.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/olivander/

Here’s the fear:  I don’t know if I can write a book in 30 days.  In fact, I have had so much difficulty eating my own dog food with regards to blogging on a consistent basis, that the challenge of writing a book seems daunting.

Ho, Hum, time to get back to life.  No, wait a minute here. That’s what a challenge is for isn’t it?

I mean when some people set out to do an iron-man triathlon or climb Mount Everest, they are not sure if they can achieve the goal. The idea is not necessarily achieving the end goal, but becoming better via the preparation during the journey to the finish line.

So, here’s my personal challenge. Write everyday for the month of November. I don’t care if I write here for my consulting blog, my personal blog, my fitness blog, guest post at other blogs, write in my moleskine inspiration journal, or on the back of a bathroom stall.  The Goal is to write.  Now, there is more to it.  I am pretty good at updating my facebook status or twittering along everyday, but I want more.  So, the goal is not only to write everyday, but to write something substantial everyday.  Okay, so I chickened out.  It’s still a lofty goal.  The way to eat a dinosaur is one bone at a time. What’s next?

What am I going to write about?

Since my goal is not necessarily to write a book.  It’s just to write every day.  I’m going to let the topic float to the top.  Although, I have a couple of themes that I’m choosing for the journey.  Besides, what’s the point in telling you the topic now.  You’ll have to tune in tomorrow.  Same Bat Time, Same Bat Channel to see.  Of course, it’s a long season, 30 days.  Anything can happen.

Happy Halloween.  Scott’s dressing up as an author.

Be careful, this message may self-destruct.