Most of the time, when you think of optimizing your blog for search engines, you think of inbound links, writing linkbait material, commenting on other blogs, and submitting your blog to directories such as EatonWeb. But oftentimes, we forget the number one way you can get your blog to rank well in search queries. Simply write relevant headlines. Copyblogger has a few great tips here.

Many times, I find myself tempted to write headlines with a twist, or funny ones that are meant to be an insider joke (meaning only a few people would understand it). If you run a blog intended for such a purpose, then by all means, go for it. For instance, you might run a literary blog, and you are fond of writing poetry. In many cases, the titles of your posts can be simply one word. It can be as far out as just a single exclamation point.

However, when you run your blog with the intent of providing useful information, or as a source for news, reviews and editorials, it makes sense to use relevant headlines. In this case, you need to include relevant keywords in the title itself. Including relevant keywords in the title can both help your blog become more visible in search engines, and it will also make your post more attractive to human readers, such as those coming from feed readers. After all, at first glance, it’s the title of their post that they encounter, and so people will often judge the content based on the headline.

Let me ask you this: when you do a Google search for a certain topic, do you necessarily click on the first result in the list? Or do you click the title that seems most appropriate to your query?

I must admit that in doing reviews for submissions here on EatonWeb, I often scan through post titles, both current and archived, before reading through posts. This lets me get a feel of what a blog is all about, even before I read through entries. It helps me gauge the relevance of a blog at first glance.

Write a better blog. Start with great headlines.

With the new year just around the corner, I thought it might be a good idea to think of some resolutions bloggers should make. These following resolutions are great blogging tips that can take your blog to the next level in 2009.

1. Build more relationships.

Bloggers are often too focused on writing. They forget that blogging is a great social channel. How many other bloggers do you know?

Of course, you can start the process by leaving comments. But you can do much more. Send a blogger a guest post. Introduce yourself to another blogger. Ask for a link. Reply to an interesting message on Twitter. Basically, anything that allows you to interact directly with other bloggers will usually be more effective than simply leaving comments.

And why build relationships? Well, it’s fun. It makes blogging less lonely. And relationships can definitely lead to profitable partnerships.

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In my previous post, I wrote about the importance of blogging with confidence. In this post, we’ll look at 5 practical ways to increase your confidence as you blog.

1. Be prepared.

I listened to an mp3 about how Jerry Seinfeld prepared for his first appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. This was many years ago when Seinfeld was an upcoming comic and The Tonight Show was a very popular show. Seinfeld knew there was a chance he would be nervous during his performance. So, he practiced his short monologue over a hundred times because he knew that proper preparation leads to a confident performance.

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Imagine two different singers auditioning for American Idol. They both have good voices. One is super confident but the other is nervous.

Who do you think will advance to the next round? Who will incur the wrath of Simon Cowell?

In music, confidence is a big thing because a huge part of the performer’s task is to make the audience feel at ease. If you’re nervous, the audience will be nervous for you or worse yet, be hostile towards you.

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The problem with most blogs that want more search engine traffic seems to be their lack of linkworthy content, or linkbait.

You might be blogging consistently, publishing your 3-5 300 word posts week in and week out. However, that in itself will not get you a lot of search traffic.

To get a huge increase in search traffic, you will need links from authority sites. Authority sites include the popular sites in your niche, the well-branded sites, the about.com’s on the net, the blogs that get 10+ comments per post, and the sites with Alexa ratings under 100,000. Also, The EatonWeb Blog Directory lists blogs based on authority.

Google gives a lot of weight to these links because they are harder to build than the average link. These links can’t be bought (usually). Instead, they have to be earned with linkworthy content and diligent marketing.

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