SMC Workshop Victoria - Oct 4, 2012

1. Set-up and Maximize your WordPress Blog

2. Chris Whiteley
powered by WordPress, fast food & pop culture.

3. I do what works
for me, you do
what works for
you.
~ Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs

6. // The Setup.
Preparing your WordPress
blog for awesome.

7. Permalinks
A Permalink is the web
address of a page or post.

8. website address permalink

9. Permalinks
By default WordPress uses:
domainname.com/?p=123
We want it to look like:
domainname.com/name-of-post

12. Permalinks
In the custom box it will now say:
/%postname%/
We could also change it to:
/%category%/%postname%/

13. Permalinks
We change the permalinks
for 2 main reasons:
1. It makes the web address for memorable.
2. It provide more information to the search
engines about the page.

14. Trackbacks
A Trackback is a method in which
the website owner is notified when
someone links to their site.

18. WWW vs Non-WWW
http://google.ca
and
http://www.google.ca
are two different domain names.

19. WWW vs Non-WWW
www. is actually a subdomain.
Usually if you type in one or
the other you will still end up
at the same website.

21. WWW vs Non-WWW
Need to pick one and stick with it
Do not split up the link juice.

22. Categories
If you are stuck for category ideas
browse the Magazine section at
Amazon.

24. Categories
Keep the name simple
and descriptive
Keep slug to one or
two words

25. Tags
Where categories are a broad
classification of your posts, tags are
more specific within that category.

26. Tags
If your gardening blog had a category
called "House Plants" you could
have related tags.
● Bonsai
● Orchid
● Cactus
● Bamboo

27. Plugins
Plugins are features you can add
to your site for added functionality
to your WordPress site
● Akismet
● Google Analytics for WordPress
● Yoast SEO
● Sociable
● Search Meter
● Redirection
● Comment Redirection

31. Akismet
Akismet is a spam filtering plugin
that comes preinstalled with WordPress.
You will need an API key to activate
the plugin.

36. Yoast SEO
This plugin provides a number of
SEO benefits such as sitemap
generation and control over post
meta data.

37. Subscribe to Comments Plugin
Adds the option for someone to be
notified of any replies to the comments
made on a particular post

39. Search Meter Plugin
Allows you to track any of the terms
and phrases that have been entered
into the search box on your website.

40. Comment Redirection Plugin
When someone leaves a comment
on a post for the first time, they are
redirected to a new page.

41. Google Analytics for WordPress
This plugin allows you to easily
add Google Analytics to your blog
& track specific statistics & traffic
to your site.

42. Sociable Plugin
Adds a the option for users to
share the post content to their
favourite social networks.

44. Redirection Plugin
Allows you to take specific urls
on your website and redirect them
to another location.
This is important for "Page not found"
errors (will be discussed further later).

45. Google Analytics
An awesome free statistics tracking
program offered by Google.
● Track visits
● Most popular pages
● Geographic location of visitors
● Track site goals

52. Google Webmaster Tools
Monitors the status of your site &
offers suggestions on how to improve
the site.
● Optimize the site configuration
● Monitors the site "health"
● Shows keyword queries & links to your site
● Offers optimization tips for your site

55. // The Post Process
The process that I follow for each post.

56. Write the Post
Write the post as you normally
would. (Include a thought provoking
comment or question at the end).
Publish your post.

57. Find a Target Keyword
Use the Google Keywords Tool
to determine what Google thinks
your post is about.
https://adwords.google.com/KeywordTool

61. Title the Post
Change the post title to an
intriguing title that uses the
chosen keyword phrase.

62. Edit the Permalink
Edit the post permalink
to feature your keyword,
but still be relevant.

64. Post Meta Title & Description
Using the Yoast SEO Plugin,
create the title and description.
Use the keyword phrase near the
beginning of each.

66. Page Analysis
Check the recommendations
on the Page Analysis tab and
adjust as needed.

68. Light is green, the trap is clean
Once all the icons are green.
Hit the update button

69. // Making the Most of the Post
How to recycle what you have
written for maximum effect.

70. Post to Twitter
Compose a Tweet with something
interesting about the post, a
link to the post, and then tag
someone.

72. Post to Twitter
Do not autopost, they look
less genuine and not as creative.

74. Post to Facebook
This is the same as Twitter: Tag
people and do not autopost.

76. Google Blog Search
Use the Google Blog Search
to find posts that are a similar
topic of what you just wrote.
www.google.com/blogsearch

77. Google Blog Search
Once you have found a post,
read it and provide a relevant,
meaningful comment that adds
value or provokes further
conversation.

79. Google Blog Search
The comment will go into
moderation and the author of
the post will see your comment
This could lead to the author to
● visit your blog
● leave a new comment on your post
● share the post to a Twitter, Facebook etc.

80. Create a Video
Sit in front of your webcam
and talk about the post topic,
post to youtube.

81. Reply to All Comments
Respond to all comments left
you on your post.
By doing this you:
● keep the conversation going
● increase your comment count
● make your blog appear more popular

82. // Conquering Writer's Block
give writers block the Crane Kick

83. Google Webmaster Tools
There is a section called "Links
to Your Site." From here you can
see what pages on your site
have the most links.

85. Search Meter Plugin
Shows the results of all the searches
done on your blog, and whether
the search was successful or not.
With this information you can:
● determine what the most popular content is on your site
● learn what topics are missing on your site

87. Yahoo Answers
Use Yahoo Answers to find
ideas of what to write about
within your topic.
● go to http://ca.answers.yahoo.com/
● enter your topic in the search box (how, why)
● read through the questions and answers for inspiration

89. Google Keywords Tool
Do a search on your topic to
find related searches for inspiration.

92. Amazon Table of Contents
Inside each book page is a
preview. Have a look at the
table of contents.

95. //Monthly Maintenance
Your blog is like a Bonsai Tree.

96. Schedule Tweets
Find your most linked
content or your favourite posts
and create scheduled tweets.
Go to Hoosuite
http://hootsuite.com/ to start

99. Webmaster Tools
Review Webmaster Tools to
determine any fixes or
opportunities for your site.
● look at messages
● redirect any missing pages
(using redirection plugin)
● check out who links to your posts and
see if you can replicate for other posts

100. Internal Linking
Read through your published
posts and look for opportunities
to link to other posts with
targeted keywords.

101. Review Google Analytics
Have a look at the stats to see
how people are using your blog.

103. // Final Thoughts
last chance bits of advice

104. Scheduling
Create a schedule and stick
with it. If you can do 1 post
per week, or 1 per once month
just ensure a consistent
schedule.

105. Persistence
Blogging success does not
overnight. It requires patience,
consistency & persistence.

106. Questions?
@chriswhiteley
http://www.facebook.com/bWESTInteractive