Focus on high-quality content that helps you build an audience while improving your personal online brand.

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1. Put some thought into your blog title. The title of your blog is your reader's first exposure to your piece. Devote some thought to it - you want to draw a reader in. Aim for titles that are brief, direct, and promise to deliver.
2. Write a thought-provoking intro. Your title sparked the reader's interest, but the first few sentences are your chance to hook the reader. One strategy is to use questions relevant to your readership, as in "Have you ever…" or "When's the last time you…"
3. Keep your body succinct and on-topic. Keep text brief and to the point. People are busy and want to access information without the distraction of superfluous words or a lack of organization. Also, pare back sentences and avoid words like "you should" or "consider," as such phrases often dilute your message.
4. Don't blow off the closing. Use your closing to present the larger picture or broach another point worth considering. The closing is the place to address any tangents you didn't cover in the body of your article.
5. Use images wisely. Images are essential components of standout blog posts, and can truly keep readers engaged.
6. Add credible statistics. Cite relevant statistics throughout your post to back up your argument and lend credibility. Make sure the stats come from reliable resources, and always cite or quote them. The last thing you want is to spread misinformation or be accused of plagiarism.

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[H]ere are a few tactics to increase lead production significantly with the same volume of content.

1. Integrate offers as text links right into the copy

2. Add offers to the sidebar
3. Add italicized offers at the bottom
4. Add integrated ad links custom to the content towards the bottom
5. Measure which topics get the most traffic and conversions, and increase your volume of that type of content
6. Repurpose past blog posts into best practice guides
7. Google+ authorship
8. Use InboundWriter or similar to optimize posts as you write them

You know what makes me cringe? Yes, Dance Moms. You know what else? Wordpress blogs that lack some of the easiest things to make them more search engine

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1. Uncheck the uncategorized category

“Uncategorized” is the default category for WordPress blogs, but your posts should never be left uncategorized, looking completely random within your blog. When writing a blog post, always have an idea of your general topic in mind. Consider that broad idea your category. The categories are a great way to help both Google and readers of your blog understand the broad ideas of your blog and help navigate to related themes.

2. Update permalinks to include post titles

Too many times I’ve seen URLs for WordPress blog posts that look like this: http://www.myawesomeblog.com/?p=123 What’s the first thing you notice about this URL, compared to the URL of this very blog post you’re reading right now? Yes, instead of the post title, there’s a simple page number. This doesn’t tell search engines (or people, for that matter) what your post is about. The keywords used in your post title, body of your post, categories and URL are signals to search engines and help them to rank your blog posts. So it behooves you to change your permalinks to include your post titles.

3. Add keyword-focused titles and descriptions

WordPress will use your page or post title as the HTML page title tag, but will not include the meta-description or meta-keywords. To edit your post to include your focus keywords, I recommend using the All in One SEO Pack plugin to tackle this task.

4. Add social sharing buttons

You write great content, right? And you want increased traffic and inbound links, correct? Well, then make sure you have the option for your readers to easily share the blog post to their social networks! There are so many options for social sharing, but make sure you have the Google +1 button, Twitter tweet, Facebook like/share, and LinkedIn share. Depending on your content and audience, the Pin it button and other niche platforms might be relevant.

There are a lot of myths when it comes to blogging. These 7 blogging myths busted will give you tips for how you can build a strong blogging foundation.

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1) Quick Traffic Means Overnight Success

2) You Should Flood Your Profiles With Lots Of Updates & Posts

3) You Should Pay For Fans & Followers

4) You Should Have A Presence On Every Social Networking Platform

5) You Shouldn’t Bother Checking Your Updates For Typing/Grammar Errors

6) You Should Ignore Your Followers’ Opinions

7) And As A Final Note…

Many bloggers think social media isn’t very important, and they avoid it. However, social media is an essential element of online marketing, especially today. As a blogger, having a wide and reputable presence in social media reflects your authority on the particular subject matter you are blogging about.

The year is coming to a close, and if 2012 has taught us anything, it’s that WordPress is still the most widely used free, open source content management system (CMS) out there. Luckily for you, Website Magazine editors recently compiled a list of the 25 best WordPress plugins for websites of all shapes and sizes, just in time for the new year.  Click through to see the list.

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1. Keyword Optimization: By doing keyword research, you can create blog posts that target keywords and appropriate niche keyword phrases—complete with inbound links—that are likely to draw in highly qualified prospects.

2. Attention-Grabbing Titles: You want to choose enticing titles for your blog content. Your titles should look “highly clickable”—advertising must-read content.

3. Eye-Catching Images

4. Vertical Appeal: Create blog posts that uniquely appeal to each of your vertical markets.

5. Content Syndication: Sharing your blog content on syndication sites like Business 2 Community and Social Media Today can help you reach a much larger captive audience.

6. Social Media Sharing

7. Social Bookmarking: Posting your content to popular social bookmarking sites, such as Digg, StumbleUpon and Del.icio.us, can be a great source of traffic, backlinks and increased reach.

8. URL Shortening: Before sharing your latest blog post, consider shortening its URL on websites like TinyURL or Bit.ly.

9. Engaged Tweeting

10. CTAs: Always include a call to action (CTA) in your blog posts.

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