Google knows best, for bloggers

Dunno how long it's been up, but Google recently posted a best-practices guide for bloggers.

The content will seem familiar to those who've checked out the search giant's SEO guidelines. A lot of the information is shot-off-the-shovel basic. Still, the post should help bloggers just starting out. And it never hurts to see if you've covered the bases.

Here are some of the best practices. Google's tips are in boldface; my take follows:

Write well and often: Easier said than done, as readers of this glacial blog can attest. I've experimented with different posting rates on my blogs and can report a strong connection between frequency of site updates and Google traffic. One problem -- if you like to write long and strong, all that hard work gets pushed "below the fold" (down the page) before a lot of readers see it.

Categorize your posts: True, but don't get carried away. Google says it doesn't penalize for duplicate content these days, but avoid having one post appear in more than a couple of categories. I try to use one category per post, with a tag or two.

Create descriptive titles for each of your post. That means headlines, not necessary what appears in the title bar. If you're using WordPress, I recommend the All in One SEO Pack plugin, which allows for separate post titles (headlines) and browser title bar wording. Use targeted keywords in both.

If necessary, limit comment spam. The problem isn't going away. Spammers love bloggers who don't moderate their comments and pings. Be sure to pre-approve them if you're seeing a lot of generic complements such as "Expert, I was just thinking about that the other day ..." I don't approve a comment if it doesn't address the post's content in a way that a generic message couldn't. For WordPress, turn to the Askimet plugin. (Yeah, I'm solidly in the WordPress camp these days.*)

Publish a feed of your content. Absolutely. That's RSS, as in Really Simple Syndication. If you go through the user-friendly Feedburner, you can add email as a delivery option, which appeals to older readers. Feedburner is now owned by Google, so stand by for a transition at some point. Bloggers new to Feedburner should read every setup page carefully. (Learn from my recent mistake -- never lose your password. Those auto-email with password reminders are, in fact, part of a cruel joke and never arrive.)

* I no longer recommend TypePad because of its time-wasting text editor, its SEO-related problems with Google search, and its costs. If you need help with WordPress, I offer a reasonable deal on setup and coaching. Just send me an email.