Internet Marketing - Matt Bailey [204]
Surprisingly, in surveys, many people say they do not read blogs. Yet when compared to the numbers of blogs that have increased rankings and increased visitors, I tend to think that the majority of Internet users do not see the difference between a website and a blog, because they are very similar and, sometimes, indistinguishable.
This section covers the initial setup, development, technical considerations, and elements of a blog. Because WordPress is the overwhelming blogging platform at this time and one of my favorites, I’ll be showing screenshots of WordPress. However, many of the technical functions are the same in all blog setups.
The initial structure of a blog that make it distinguishable from a traditional website includes the following elements.
Posts
Posts, or articles, are the daily updates made to the site. Posts are the primary way of updating the blog and adding new content. The content entry interface allows even nontechnical website managers and editors to add content easily. Basically, if you are familiar with Microsoft Word, you can navigate your way through adding content to a blog (see Figure 17-3). The icons are very similar to any word processing software, and they allow you to write, edit, format, and manage the content in the post. Additionally, there are functions that allow you to add video, images (and resize), audio, and other media elements.
The page is developed similar to a word processing document and then published when the Publish button is clicked. Of course, pages can still be edited and corrected after the initial publication.
Figure 17-3: The interface for adding content to the blog through WordPress
The latest post is usually at the top of the blog home page. This can be changed, but by default, the most recent post is at the top of the list, and prior posts are listed in order. There are usually about five or ten posts on the main blog page (which is also usually the home page). In addition, the most recent post is located in multiple places on the blog. It is on the home page as the most recent post, it is also added as the most recent post in the assigned category, and the post is published as a stand-alone page.
This is where permalinks come into play. Permalinks (short for “permanent link”) are the final destination of the blog post. As more posts are added, the home page and category pages change to reflect to most recent posts. The permalink is the URL of the stand-alone blog post. Every post has its own URL. This is where the links are directed for those who reference the post. Blogs naturally provide the most exposure to the most recent posts but then also rely on the stand-alone page as the primary destination for link traffic, references, and citations.
Pages
Pages are the most static content on the blog. Pages such as About Us and Contact Us are considered top-level content pages that do not change often but are necessary for providing immediate access to important information.
Creating the About Us and Contact Us pages is the same as creating a post, but they are not published in the same place. The pages are published as a top-level navigation selection, rather than published to the main blog page as the most recent entry (see Figure 17-4).
Figure 17-4: The listing of the pages created on the blog
Categories
Figure 17-5 reflects the two primary navigation lists on the example blog: categories and pages. The pages are listed across the top as top-level navigation elements, and the post categories are listed as the side navigation.
Figure 17-5: Pages are listed along the top, and categories are listed down the side. Posts are organized by category.
When adding a post, the editor is prompted to assign the content of the article to a category. A post can be listed under a single category or multiple categories; it is up to the discretion of the editor or manager. When the post is assigned to a category, then the post will show up not only on the main page of the blog but also on the category pages.
The categories are the primary method