Hot Topics: WordPress Questions Answered

Today it’s “Ask Tiffany” day and I’ve gone through my Inbox and pulled out a few questions that are frequently asked when it comes to websites.

Being that I’m the WordPress Blog snob, when I say websites, I’m talking about WordPress. I’m also talking about your blog.

1. What is a Blog?

   Blogs started out as online journals. However, they have quickly evolved into a platform to assist in spreading your message. It’s also a place for your clients and customers to get a feel for who you are through your writing.

   I don’t think there’s a business out there that could not benefit from a blog. If you’re not sure what to do with your blog, that’s understandable, but to not have one is a huge mistake.

2. What’s the difference between your website and your blog?

   It’s one in the same when you have a WordPress site. You can choose to have your blog as your homepage or a separate page.

3. How do I get people to my website?

   If you surf the Internet long enough you’ll start believing there’s some type of magical thing that happens once you’ve arrived at #1 on Google. Or that if you put the right amount of select words on your website people will come in droves.

   Wrong!

   The first thing you want to do is start blogging valuable information. Using your blog as a calendar is a poor use of your online real estate. (Your website is your real estate online) Using it as an announcement board is also a bad idea.

   Why would anyone care about your event or announcement if they have no idea who you are? Use your blog as an introduction to who you are not just as a business owner, but a person. It’s your online real estate to share your message.

   Now you’re ready to drive people to your website.

   Keywords are words specific to the topic of your blog post and website. Tags are words specific to your website in general.

   Each time you create a new blog post, you want to select tags and write keywords. Within your WordPress website, you’ll find the tags in the right sidebar from the ‘Edit Post’ page and the keywords are entered below the editor of your blog post.

   The best tip I ever got regarding keywords is to use words that someone doing a random web search would use to find a website like yours. You’d be surprised to learn what keywords your website comes up in when someone randomly searched on Google. The most interesting phrase I’ve seen for my website is “happy business owner”. Not sure how that happened:)

   If you’re new to the Internet or your website has had very low traffic, more than likely people are not searching for you by name. It’s okay to use your name as a keyword, however it should not be the only one. You can Google “keyword tools” to find out what works best for you.

Now it’s your turn. Share what WordPress questions you have in the comments below.