Number 6 in this series shows you how to create an optimized blog post in WordPress.

This video shows you how to optimize your blog posts so they get the best exposure in search engines. By using key terms wisely, linking your text properly, and including finishing touches like image alt and title tags, you can give your posts the best possible start…

www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQRI-da7Gbc

The following excerpts are from A Survival Guide to Social Media and Web 2.0 Optimization: Strategies, Tactics, and Tools for Succeeding in the Social Web by Deltina Hay

Copyright 2009 by Deltina Hay. All rights reserved.

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The Anatomy Of A WordPress Site
Let’s look at the main elements of a WordPress site. Each of the examples in this chapter has these general areas, just represented a little differently.

The Header
The header area is where the main header image is located, along with the title and tag line of the blog site. It is also where the navigation menu is typically located, if the theme has one.

The header can be as simple as the blog title and description (www.empoweredbywordpress.com), composed of a custom header image (www.puresoapbox.com), or a combination of both (www.plumbsocial.com).

The header is usually the first element you want to customize to suit your own needs. For instance, you could easily replace the entire header with your own image and/or logo of the same dimensions. This is explained in greater detail when we discuss choosing themes and customizing.

Navigation Menu
The navigation menu is usually part of the header of the site, but is optional. A site without main navigation in the header may include the navigation as part of the sidebar elements.

The Main Body Area
This is the area where the actual blog entries reside. WordPress refers to this as the “content area.” You can easily customize the content area by changing how many blog entries display on a page or whether you want to cut the entries short with a “read more” option, and many other ways.

Beginning with version 2.1 of WordPress, you have the option of having either a static home page as your front page (www.daltonpublishing.com), or your blog entries as the front page (www.ricwilliams.com). If you choose a static home page, your blog will become another page that you would add to your navigation menu as opposed to the home page. The content area is usually located in the middle of the site, but could also be off to the side or on the top.

The Sidebars
The columns on either side of the content area (or below in some cases) are called “sidebars.” They hold many of the other elements of your site, such as links, categories, search tools, recent blog entries, archived entries, photos, video streams, RSS feeds, widgets, badges, advertisements, etc. Sidebars are also where you implement many of the plugins you add to the site.

Typically, sidebars are on either side of the content area. Many themes get more creative with their placement. For example, the Empowered By WordPress site has three sidebars: one on the left of the content area and two to the right. The Social Media Power site has one wide sidebar on the top of the left area of the site and two smaller sidebars underneath the wider one. A third option is three sidebars under the content area, like on the Dalton Publishing site.

The Footer
This is the area of the site where credit is given. Do not remove the credit to WordPress or to the theme designer from the footer of a WordPress site. There are a lot of people who have donated their time to this free, open source project, and it is never good form not to give them due credit. You should place your own copyright statement in the footer as well.

Sidebar Widgets
Sidebar widgets are the different elements or modules you can place on your sidebars. You can have as many of these widgets as you like and can arrange them however you choose.

Each widget performs a specific function. For example, on the left sidebar of Les McGehee’s Website, the widgets are:
• “Navigation” which lists all of the pages on the site.
• “About Les” and “Les Recommends” which are lists of external links.
On the right sidebars the widgets are:
• “More Les Events” – a widget from the social calendar Upcoming.org
that lists his upcoming events.
• “More Les News” – a widget from the newsletter generator Constant
Contact that allows users to subscribe to his newsletter.
• “Buy Les’s Book” – a widget that can be used to purchase his book
using his Paypal account.
• “Les on Flickr” – a Flickr widget that displays his photos in a little flash
“badge.”

WordPress comes with a number of standard widgets that perform functions specific to the functionality of your WordPress site, such as listing blog categories, search features, recent posts, tag clouds, etc.

You can create your own custom widgets easily by placing text or HTML/Java code in what is called a “text” widget. This is how you create most of the widgets and badges you accumulate from the Social Web.

Some custom widgets in our examples include:
• The Flickr badge on Les McGehee’s site
• The buy-now buttons for books on Ric Williams’ and Les McGehee’s Websites.
• The widgets for sharing on social bookmarking sites on the Dalton Publishing site.
• The widgets feeding in blog entries from other sites as on the Plumb Social homepage.

Static Pages
Static pages are the pages of a WordPress site that do not contain blog entries. You can link to these pages from the navigation menu. The home pages of the Dalton Publishing site and the Social Media Power site demonstrate static pages. You can have as many pages as you like on your site and it is easy to add and populate them.

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This chapter also includes information about installing WordPress as a CMS, FTP access, the WordPress dashboard, planning your site, plugins, themes, and much more. The resource CD offers further reading, linkable resources, and a fillable PDF form called “Planning Your WordPress Website, with Diagrams” that you can use to map out your site.

A Survival Guide to Social Media and Web 2.0 Optimization: Strategies, Tactics, and Tools for Succeeding in the Social Web by Deltina Hay

416 Pages, Indexed, Resource CD with fillable forms.

Buy from Amazon or…

Exclusive offer for Social Media Power readers: $18.00 including shipping:

An optimized foundation is essential to overall success in the Social Web. This series will show you how to achieve it.

Author, publisher, and Web developer Deltina Hay will explain:

• what an RSS feed is, and why you need one
• how to start a blog without breaking your back or the bank
• the basics of social bookmarking and crowd-sourcing
• why you want to share your images and video in media communities
• in which social networking sites you should establish a presence
• how to use a social media newsroom to highlight your presence
• how to optimize your Social Web presence
• how to integrate your entire Social Web presence to save time and money
• why you will need an optimized Social Web presence to survive in the future Internet

Instructor: Deltina Hay

Multi-session Series Class:
Class #1 - Introduction to Social Media & Web 2.0 Tools and Technologies
Class #2 - Building an Optimized Foundation in the Social Web
Class #3 - Integrating Your Social Web Presence

Class Date and Time:
Wednesdays, July 1, 8, 15: 5:00 p.m. EST

Cost: $30, includes audio recording and handouts

Click here for more information.

The following excerpts are from A Survival Guide to Social Media and Web 2.0 Optimization: Strategies, Tactics, and Tools for Succeeding in the Social Web by Deltina Hay

Copyright 2009 by Deltina Hay. All rights reserved.

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Chapter 1: Creating Your Social Media Strategy

There are three general areas to keep in mind when planning a strategy for optimizing your presence in the Social Web: interactivity, sharing, and collaboration. Interactivity can come in the form of writing blog posts, commenting on others’ posts, tweets, or participating in social networking communities. Sharing can be as easy as uploading images and video clips onto media communities. Collaboration can be achieved by contributing to social bookmarking sites or wikis…

…It is easy to get overwhelmed with all of the new social media and Web 2.0 tools and technologies that pop up on the Internet on an almost daily basis. But a carefully planned and executed strategy can alleviate your stress and ensure your successful transition into the new Social Web…

…The one bit of technology essential to your Social Web success is an RSS feed, discussed in more detail in Chapter 3, “RSS Feeds & Blogs,” but, in short, you have two choices:

• Start a blog which has built-in RSS feed technology, or
• Create your own RSS feed using an XML file…

…The next step in a successful strategy is to decide which tools make sense for you or your business to implement…

Here are other general areas to consider:

Social Networking (Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, etc.)
It is a good idea to have a healthy profile on one if not two of these social networking sites.

Micro Blogging (Twitter, Jaiku, etc.)
These sites have become as popular as blogging. We recommend a healthy presence in at least one of them.

Other Social Platforms (Tumblr, Squidoo, etc.)
If you have a lot of content, these platforms are a good addition to your strategic tool kit.

Social Bookmarking and Crowd-Sourcing (StumbleUpon, Digg, etc.)
Building a presence in several of these sites and contributing regularly is highly recommended for any strategy.

Blog Commenting
Becoming part of the conversation is a very important part in any social media strategy. As you are surfing the Web and/or searching for sites and blogs to share on social networking and crowd-sourcing sites, take the time to comment on others’ blog entries.

Media Communities (Flickr, YouTube, etc.)
Sharing your multimedia content is an important part of any strategy, even if you only have a few images.

Social Calendars
Consider these if you host or attend a lot of events.

Podcasting
Podcasts are not difficult to create. They can be particularly effective if you have plenty of instructional material or you conduct interviews.

Vidcasting or Webcasting
These can be powerful viral tools for people or companies who have the resources to create and maintain them.

Widgets and Badges
Placing widgets and badges from other social sites on your Website or blog can help make your site more interactive.

Virtual Worlds
This is one technology that should be given considerable forethought. The learning curve is steep and consultants are expensive. However, for the right product, it could serve as a powerful marketing tool.

Social Media Newsrooms
This tool is ideal for authors, publishers, or other companies who garner a good amount of media coverage or produce regular news releases.

Custom Widgets or Applications
These are your own custom-built widgets or applications that can virally carry your brand into the Social Web.

Hosting your own Blogs, Social Network, Wiki, etc.
These tools are best suited for companies with a large customer base or who have many active advocates for their brand or service…

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This chapter also features 5 real-world social media strategies for you to use as a basis for your own. The resource CD offers further reading, linkable resources, and a fillable PDF form called “Social Web Strategy Worksheet” that you can use to map your strategy.

A Survival Guide to Social Media and Web 2.0 Optimization: Strategies, Tactics, and Tools for Succeeding in the Social Web by Deltina Hay

416 Pages, Indexed, Resource CD with fillable forms.

Buy from Amazon or…

Exclusive offer for Social Media Power readers: $18.00 including shipping: