One of the coolest thing about the WordPress platform is the huge number of plugins available to make your job easier. From spam protection through to SEO (and everything in between) there is bound to be either a free or paid plugin available. In fact, SEO plugins are some of the most popular WordPress plugins out there. If you’ve been using WordPress for a while then you will probably have tried a few different SEO plugins – some are bad, some are good, and some are even better.

In today’s Affilorama blog post I’m going to be giving you a hands on look at one of the newest SEO plugin. 

At-a-glance SEO analysisns available. It’s called ‘Push Button SEO‘, and has been developed by a guy called Brian Johnson. What I’ll be doing in this blog post is showing you some of the different features of Push Button SEO. I’ve installed the plugin on one of my personal WordPress blogs, and deactivated any other SEO plugins I had setup previously.

My favorite feature of Push Button SEO is it’s very simple graphical representation of how well your posts are optimized for on page SEO. You can enter the main keyword you are targeting for your post or page, and then see how well your content has been optimized for that particular keyword. This is very handy, as it means you don’t have to crunch any numbers 

Let’s see an example of this in action. I’ve got a post on my blog that is targeting the keyword “gold investment guidelines”. So what I do is enter this keyword into the “Primary Keyword” field of Push Button SEO, and then I press “analyze”:

As you can see, Push Button SEO then returns a graphical representation of my on-page SEO for this post. I’ve got an orange bar that is half full; this tells me that there’s quite a bit of room for improvement here. But what if I want to get more in-depth information? To get Push Button SEO’s full page report I simply click the “Report” tab.

Even more graphical representations here in the in-depth report, which is once again useful for quickly informing you as to what needs work. I can easily see that my URL is matched properly (this is because my post is /gold-investment-guidelines – an exact match for the keyword “gold investment guidelines”)

My META Title, page headings (h1, h2, h3 tags) and internal linking are all good. My META description and outbound links are letting the page down, according to Push Button SEO. A good META description will encourage visitors to click through to my website from the search engine results, and having outbound links optimized for anchor text gives your page more credibility and weight with Google.

This kind of graphical analysis really does make proper on-page SEO much more simple and accessible. In my humble opinion, a lot of people are put off doing proper SEO because they find it confusing. With this plugin, there really is no excuse.

To view the complete post, clink below:

http://www.affilorama.com/blog/hands-on-with-push-button-seo-for-wordpress 

This post is courtesy of Sam Frost, a staff member and blogger with Affilorama. a well known Affiliate Marketing Training. Software and Support company based in New Zealand.

Thank you Sam for your timely and informative post

I have become a huge fan of WordPress Blog websites. I have one myself.

Jason Saeler of Saeler Enterprises had been trying to convince me for the longest time to convert. Well, I converted and he has made a beleiver out of me. So much so, that I am now creating and hosting wordpress websites as well.

Here are 2 that I have recently finished:

American Standards Renewable Fuels Corp. and SandyRees.com

What are the Benefits of Using WordPress for Websites?

WordPress is an open source content management system which is easy to use and offers many user friendly features. It provides you the most innovative and contemporary publishing platform. The biggest plus point of WordPress is that it focuses on all web principles and usability. No doubt, WordPress has become a popular choice for website development. Discussed below are top 10 benefits of WordPress development.

1.Affordable: One of the biggest benefits of WordPress design is that it is very cost effective. The themes are available at a very affordable price. Compared to other content management systems, it is very cost effective.

2.Better SEO rankings: WordPress helps to optimise your search engine results. It ensures that your website lands on the first page of Google results, which increases the possibility of getting more visitors. The more visitors you get, greater are the chances of getting maximum profit.

3.User friendly: Another benefit of using WordPress is that it provides WordPress designers with convenient and simple applications. This not only makes the designers feel comfortable using it but also makes it user friendly for the users. You do not require any technical skills to use it. If you can send an e-mail or use Microsoft Word, you can very well use WordPress easily.

4.Quick installation: It is very easy to install WordPress. All you need to do is to just click on the WordPress link to install WordPress on your website. The software will ask you some basic general information, then WordPress will be installed successfully.

5.Enhanced functionality: WordPress allows you to set a specific functionality you want your blog to perform. There are various WordPress Plug-ins that will help you do things you would like to do. There are nearly 8,000 WordPress Plug-ins on the WordPress.org website and thousands more that are not in the WordPress database.

6.Various add ons: It also provides you with various add on features that are available as plug-ins and widgets. Most of the designs and themes are either free or readily available as premium themes. You can even change them as per your own specific requirements.

7.Automatic upgrades: The automatic upgradation is automatically done without requiring any manual process.

8.Better Administration: WordPress can easily survive traffic spikes; it can easily balance the server load and ensures that the website runs smoothly.

9.No Backup required: WordPress keeps backup of your blog (but I would recommend it).

10.No Spams: Pre installed Akismet helps in blocking spam in the background.

To see a list of services that Serenity Virtual Assistants can do for you, please visit my wordpress website!

Having trouble with developing interesting blog content? Does it seem that you are seeing the same old “stuff” about your industry in all of the posts? Sometimes it can be a real challenge finding interesting subject matter. In his most  recent blog , Nick Stamoulis of Brick Marketing offers some topics you business blogging.

Here are a few of his tips:

Company News: It pretty much goes without saying that if you or your company has been mentioned in an article or at an event;  put it in your blog/. Don’t forget to post to your social media sites

Lists: Search engines seem to really like lists. Create some innovative lists that your readers can easily relate to.

Product Reviews: Pick some interesting and/or unique products and write a review about them. Hint: Maybe you can get some input from your social media connections.

Photos: If you’re bogged down grab some photos of friend and colleagues (maybe the FedEx guy) or something humorous or ironic.

How-To-Guides: Share some helpful tips that you have learned and share them. Everybody loves free information.

Industry Rants: Tasteful rants can be the source of many interesting rants. Be professional, but remember ” Hey it’s your blog”. If the subject is something that many others can relate to. you could be surprised with the responses and feedback.

How-To-Guides: Try writing a variety a different posts where you industry can learn and better their jobs or careers. Everyone loves free information.

These are just a few topics for Mike’s article. If you would like to read the entire article, you may find it at Blog Writing Topics to Use.

We are always here at Serenity VA Services to assist with your social media marketing projects and strategy.

Happy Blogging

When to know when blogging is paying off  for your business…that is the $64,000 question.

I recently had a chat with a client with  who stated she wanted to pull the plug on her blogs.

My first thought was WAIT! ARE YOU CRAZY?

No, in fact, she isn’t. She is quite sane. The problem is that, like most of us that are self-employed, it is a matter of time. Or, lack thereof.

We did have a phone conversation and we decided not to pull the plug and start re-posting to her blogs. The problem a lot of us have about blogging is that we feel it has to be a 1000 word article, at least.

My client and mentor, Joan Stewart recently conducted a teleseminar with Patsi Krakoff titled “Blogging for Business is Easier Than You Think”, Time-saving Tips for Smart Business Blogging.

This product is especially perfect for:

• Anyone who hasn’t started blogging yet and doesn’t know how to start
• Bloggers who want to learn how to save time and build in efficiencies
• Bloggers who are having trouble pulling traffic to their blogs
• Anyone who blogs and has trouble finding enough content…you’ll never be lacking for it after this!

So, if you’re thinking you don’t have time to blog or can’t find content. Look around you, it’s everywhere!

Here’s some really bad advice that the so-called PR experts dispense: Your email pitches to journalists and bloggers should be as short as possible. No more than three or four words.

Why is it bad advice? Because it forces people to make their subject lines sound cute rather than informative.

Publicist Michelle Tennant, a master at booking her clients on top-tier TV and radio shows, often uses as many words as necessary in her subject lines so they scream, “Open me!”

And wow, do journalists ever open them!

During this webinar on “How to Tie Your Pitch to Breaking News and Make the Media Interview YOU,” Michelle dissected three email pitches that scored publicity in major media outlets. All three had the critical elements of an email pitch and made the journalist’s job incredibly easy. You can adopt them for your own use.

News is breaking all around you–and that’s the very best time to pitch. Joan recorded the webinar and you can watch it at your computer, or download it along with the MP3 file, the handouts and Michelle’s sample pitches. Read more about what she taught at http://budurl.com/pitchingthemedia

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Reprinted from “The Publicity Hound’s Tips of the Week,” an ezine featuring tips, tricks and tools for generating free publicity. Subscribe at http://www.publicityhound.com/ and receive by email the handy cheat sheet “89 Reasons to Send a Press Release.”

News is breaking all around you.

When you’re the local angle to a national story, or you can comment on the hot topic of the day, TV producers, daily and weekly newspaper reporters, and bloggers will practically be begging to talk to you.

But too many people who want publicity don’t bother picking up the phone or emailing. They think the media are too busy. Or they don’t know what to say.

What a mistake! This is the very best time to pitch.

What if somebody gave you step-by-step directions on exactly how to piggyback your story idea onto breaking news? Publicist Michelle Tennant, who got one of her clients booked on “Dr. Phil” the very day the client signed the PR contract, will explain the exact details of what she does when she pitches a client during a breaking news event. She’ll even show you the word-for-word email pitches she sent to the media–pitches that resulted in major publicity for her clients.

Michelle will be the special guest during a webinar hosted by Joan Stewart, aka The Publicity Hound, at 3 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, July 21. Michelle will teach you how to use very simple email subject lines, include three important elements in every pitch, and the exact number of times to follow up.

She’ll also tell you about a free media resource website she uses, thus saving her thousands of dollars on media directories.

I currently manage and maintain several business pages for clients on Facebook.

Over the past couple of years they have seen an increase in sales and interest in their services as well.

When using this tool it is important to remember that Facebook is just that, a tool. It is one of many, but I have found it to be extraordinarily useful.

Here are just a few ways in which you can use your business page to promote:

1. Post items to your status updates that pertain to your area of expertise using keywords in the content.

2. Set up Google Alerts to find content to share with your fans. This can be from blogs and other websites.

3. Use the Events function to create events that you are hosting or promoting.

4. If you have a blog, import your blog into your “Notes” on your business page and you will have ready-made content every time you post a new entry to your blog.

5. If you know Facebook Markup Language (Facebook’s version of HTML) or know of someone that does, add your newsletter sign up box to your page. You can even add your products as well. See side bar at http://www.facebook.com/TheMusiciansGuidetoBrides

6. Create a music library of your music and share with your fans.

7. Post your videos to your page. If you are a musician, post your music videos. If you are an artist, post videos of the creation of your art.

8. Post photos and lots of them. They are a great way of showing you at your gigs, book signings or gallery openings.

There are many ways in which to use Facebook to promote. For more ideas on missed opportunities on Facebook, go to Serenity Virtual Assistant Services to receive your free tutorial on how to create a Facebook profile or purchase the CD  or transcript of “11 Ways to Avoid Missed Opportunities on Facebook”.

Every year, Joan Stewart, a.k.a., The Publicity Hound gives out a free ebook. It is from her newsletter “best of”.

This year, its ” The Best of The Publicity Hound’s Tips of the Week-2009“

What is so unique about this gift is that you can re-gift it as many times as you would like. Here are just a few of the ways in which you can either use the ebook

• The lazy way to create fun video–even if you don’t have a technical bone in your body
• How to create your own holiday, or your own day, week or month of the year
• 9 attention-grabbing phrases to use at your blog
• 5 great social media marketing ideas when the idea well is dry
• The Number 1 press release writing mistake that will doom you every time

This is the ebook the just keeps giving and giving.