Since guest blogging is where the market is right now, we figured you might appreciate some help learning which blogs are worth submitting to—after all, there are many “dead” blogs in cyberspace, as well as many that are just too insanely popular for you to even try.

So let’s start with some common knowledge. There is no “one blog” in terms of popularity that is worth submitting to. Major publications that touch upon every aspect of life are often considered news magazines, even if they do sometimes have a blog format. Online publications such as The Huffington Post, TMZ or The Daily Beast, and so on, may occasionally publish outside submissions, but honestly, your best time investment would be spent more upon niche-focused blogs that match your writing content. Of course, this is no easy task considered how many blogs are out there—and popular blogs at that.

Start by studying the blog’s site ranking, and determining the level of competition you’re facing. Some popular blogs receive so many submissions that your chances are significantly reduced just by sheer numbers—unless of course, you have covered a topic that’s very news-friendly, relevant or “viral” enough to merit a posting.

You can also study content analytics to determine what type of topics and outlets might be appropriate for a guest blog. If you want specific blog names rather than taking your search to Google, then you might want to start with some of the most popular niche blogs online, such as Technorati, AllTop or Mashable.

Make sure to keep track of the blog’s theme and writing style. You may be rejected by an editor or blog owner if you are ignorant as to the writing style the blog enjoys; some are funny and snappy, others are more in depth and instructional in tone.

You also have to consider time commitment and whether you and the blog editor are on the same page as regards editing, keyword usage, and even scheduling. For instance, some editors will only want to publish a feature of yours every month; others will have a different time frame. Keeping track of the different guidelines is a great portion of the job.

There is the option of joining a blog network which does sort of take care of scheduling issues for you, but even so, don’t ignore the individual guidelines you receive, as these will determine your “publishability”.

Remember these two rules above all else. Make your pitch personal, whether it’s a story idea or an introduction. (And for the best results make it clear that this is a first option offering, meaning you’re not submitting the same piece to one hundred other blogs) and make sure that you are writing high quality original content that you can’t find anywhere else.

How important is your anchor text? Very important, if you want a high-ranking page in the search engines. Anchor text, or link label, link title or text link, is the visible hypertext you click on within a text to carry you to another page. The words you choose to highlight for your hypertext can determine the ranking you’ll receive in the search engines.

The anchor text is ranked highly by the search engines when the linked text is relevant to the landing page. When creating pages for your web site, anchor text is convenient for directing your viewers to other pages that contain additional information. It also ensures that all your pages are solidly linked so the reader can even find pages that have been buried under the input of fresh content.

Anchor text may also be used for linking to additional sites that compliment your own or that have related information. Linking to other sites helps create a strong network of shared viewers, and brings added recognition to the search engine algorithms. The anchor text can be up to sixty characters in link. It should be key word sensitive for best search results. Building a hyperlink that states “click here” or “more” will not add to your search engine optimization. It should be incorporated into the natural flow of the content.

Before using anchor text, take into consideration your type of website. If it is academic, the anchor text should be sensitive to academic material. If your web site is geared toward tourism, keywords such as “cruises” or “hotel accommodations” would be appropriate. When choosing your keywords, make sure the hyperlink leads directly to the type of information being sought.

Link only to other sites that will enhance, verify or extend the information on your own site. Make sure that it is an active site that routinely changes its content. Check to see if readers have left comments at the site. Reader comments are a good indication of the degree of interest other viewers have in the subject matter.

You may wish to develop an agreement with other sites for link sharing. Contact the site administrator through e-mail and discuss the possibilities of a link exchange and guest blog sharing. If you have a good site, with interesting content and links, the site will probably be agreeable as the shared links and guest blogging will be mutually beneficial.

Don’t go overboard on creating anchor links. Too many links in a single text message might send the reader off into multiple directions without ever finishing the first page. Keep your links controlled and to the point. Don’t let the reader forget why your page was accessed in the first place. Use your links only to provide additional information or to reflect back on the initial subject. Your goal is to optimize your page, but it is also to keep your reader interested.

At one time, SEO tags, or meta tags, were the primary factor in search engine optimization.  Theoretically, the meta tags are a clear, concise list of the most important themes of your page.  This description tag contributes to the search engine ranking.  Unfortunately, because of abusive practices involving SEO use, a great many changes have occurred in the policies concerning search engine placement.  This does not mean, however that keywords have lost their importance, only that they need to be used more wisely and with greater discretion.

When creating a keyword list, scan your pre-written page or outline for the most important factors.  Make a list of the ten or fifteen most important terms you see that reflect the content of your page.  Narrow the list from the most generalized terms to the most specific ones.  If your article is on scuba diving, “scuba diving” will not place very high on the very competitive search engine indexing.  If it includes a specific location, equipment or the dangers involved, these keywords will help in your optimization.  You have now narrowed your keywords down to scuba diving off the Florida Keys, scuba diving among sharks, or scuba diving using the latest technology.

Your keyword tags should adhere to the following principles: A) your list should not contain more than ten to twenty keywords or keyword phrases.  B) When creating your list, separate the words or phrases by commas C) Do not repeat your words or phrases within the listing D) Put your most important keyword at the top or within the first sentence of your article.

Although SEO tags will have no direct impact on rankings, they do help you as a business.  The primary function of your SEO tags is to give a clear, concise statement of what you are offering.  If your meta tags match the information typed in for a search, it will be picked up quickly and efficiently by the search engines.  For this reason, it’s very important to place the most significant information at the beginning of your description.

Your most important tags are in your title and your header.  In lesser order of importance from first to last, are keywords placed in bold, italicized words or phrases and anchor text.  Another important tag includes the refresh tag, which will load before the main body of the article and can be useful in a slide show presentation, but should never be used on an optimized site, as this could cause problems with the Google search engine.  Google does recognize, however, copyright tags and meta author tags, among others.

Google Penguin’s first strike was many months ago, but that doesn’t mean the time for healing and recovery is upon us. In fact, it’s likely that we’re going to get another peck from Penguin in the near future. Google announced that it made another update to its algorithm on the 5th of October. This is the third major iteration of its kind, and is said to be so big it’s being called Penguin 3.

Google’s Matt Cutts stated that the latest update is, once again, set to fight against spam links and “spam websites.” If you’re dreading another bottom out, take assurance in the statement that suggests Google’s latest update will only affect 0.3% of Google’s searches. It is already in effect as of this writing.

The effects are not going to be as dramatic as the first time around, or when Panda was first released. The first Penguin update affected 3.1% of all searches. Now of course, you have industry experts debating what 0.3% would be to Google users and Google-listed companies. Google claims that 0.3%, as an example, might be a change in a top 10 page. Nevertheless, considering Google’s ubiquity online and on mobile units, even a fraction of a point of change is going to be felt.

What should you do to stay safe of any Google Penguin changes? First thing’s first. Make sure that your SEO campaign is running consistently. Focus on regular content, high quality content, and only minimal keyword density for your targeted phrases. Focus on building higher quality links rather than a higher number of links and pay close attention to each page’s authority. Don’t buy links—earn them.

The priority in the current age is not in buying traffic or links but in content marketing, community building, striking up relationships with bloggers (guest blogging) and other “organic” approaches. However, keep in mind that you have to be flexible. In some cases, you have to be a survivalist. Many webmasters claim that they DO follow organic, ethical SEO strategy…and still get pummeled in the rankings whenever Google Penguin updates strike.

At that point, you have to attribute it to quality of writing, quality of links, targeted keywords and the competition you’re facing (not to mention Google Venice local SEO, which could be throwing off your perceptions). As the competition grows, expect it to be about competitive quality, and not just about adherence to the rules.

Be flexible in your approach and study what works. It’s a science and sometimes a gamble but when it works you definitely feel the benefits. For more information on this subject, contact an experienced SEO firm and ask for a consultation on SEO strategies for the year 2012.

Search engine optimization works best in the strategic placement of keywords. Examples of high-end keyword placement are in the title tag, your title, and in page copy. Since search engines do not see images, caption the images you use, placing a main keyword into the caption.

Search engines do have a preference toward key words that are typed in bold. Use bold within your title, sub-titles and one or two places of your text. Keywords should be scattered throughout your page, but the most important ones should be in the initial paragraphs. Place your main keyword in bold, as close to the beginning of your copy as possible. Use it two or three more times if suitable, but don’t overdo it. The search engines are very sophisticated and have a tendency to ignore keywords if it appears they are being manipulated.

If you choose to place keywords into italics, make sure the use of the italicized words are appropriate for the text. While search engines recognize bold as being a strong statement, italics are used for emphasis. Randomly italicizing keywords will not have an effect unless the phrase makes an emphatic statement. Bold text is given more weight than ordinary text. Italic tags, therefore, send a message that the word or phrase italicized is more important than the rest of the text. Choose your italicized words carefully to reflect the message of your text so they will give a comprehensive, cohesive message to the search engines. By using the italicized words throughout the page, it leaves the impression to the search engines that these words are important.

Underlining is done only for anchor text. Search engines use this text as a means of determining the subject matter of the linked to article. The links will tell the search engine when the text is being used to transfer to the documents of the linked site, which can strengthen the results for your own article. However, caution should be used in establishing too many underlined links, as this method could distract the reader from finishing your article. Underlined text is most effective when you use it to link back to one of your own pages, giving additional information.

Whenever you use bold, italics or underlining, be careful to not overdo it. Keep the flow of your text natural and appealing to the reader. Use bold, italics or underlining only when appropriate. Use your primary keyword in the title, first sentence, or at least one sub-heading. Place your sub-headings in bold. Place a keyword in at least one of your image captions. Remember that the reader wants content, and that the search engines have become very sensitive to the values of good content.

Having your site properly indexed by a search engine seems more difficult with each passing year.  It would seem that search engines are doing everything they can to prevent content from being indexed—and that only huge corporations are benefiting.

The reality though is that these search sites ARE doing everything possible to prosper and increase traffic.  That means it is very necessary to sophisticate the indexing criteria and qualify quality content for their readers.

What are five mistakes you can avoid to prevent being penalized or blacklisted by major search engines?  Let’s review…

1.      Keyword Stuffing

This doesn’t just mean using a set of keywords and phrases too many times; this also means over-using anchor text for subheadings and links too often repeated.  Using the same keywords and phrases in too many articles across the net can also be problematic.  Remember, use keywords sparingly and write for your readers instead.  Make sure your major keywords match those on your meta tags too and update them whenever you publish new articles.

2.      Repeated Webcrawling

This is a habit of most spammers.  It doesn’t matter if you submit them by hand or use an automated program.  Once per site is enough.  If your site’s traffic starts diminishing, only consider resubmitting it weeks or months apart.  So use a program that submits to the major or minor search engines and link directories just once.

3.      Invisible Anything

Invisible text is the worst possible move; spammers use this tactic to “hide keywords” in the background behind texts and frames.  It’s old school SEO trickery and it still continues today.  Hiding links, texts or anything else can get you instantly de-ranked.  The best approach is making it uber-easy for page crawling programs to find everything your readers can see and making all of that visible to your readers.  (i.e. site maps or pings)

4.      Frames and Splash Screens

Frames and splash screens not only impede bot crawlers, but also purveyors of your content.  Most bots will fail to read your content with any frames in the script or splash (also called animated or flash pages).  The bots struggle and fail to read flash and cannot follow links embedded within fancy intro pages.

5.      Bad Link Exchanges

While it may seem great on the surface since linkbacks act as votes for search rank, search engines are being configured more and more to be aware of the quality of where those links are coming from.  While article marketing and guest blogging still work for link building, mindless link exchanges with sites that don’t really match, or spam-commenting, are ridiculously unsafe SEO strategies.

What is the sure-fire way to not get penalized?  Write for your audience and go look for your audience the old-fashioned way with regular relationship building and advertising!

So, by now you’ve heard that guest blogging is the hottest SEO avenue, exceeding article directories and general SEO websites. For good reason, since guest blogging involves writing higher quality content of interest to educated readers. However, the thought of guest blogging may be intimidating to you—especially if you’re used to dealing with the relatively easy submissions process of an article directory.

However, learning the business of guest blogging is not as difficult as it might seem. It not only involves writing content for other blogs, but also involves a new submissions process of contacting the blog owner (or appropriate contact) and making an inquiry about submissions. This process is similar to a traditional “query letter” that writers have to create when submitting material to publishers or agents.

Guest blogging does require writing ability (that will appeal to regular readers of a niche and not just general web viewers) as well as the ability to negotiate and befriend blog owners. So it is a somewhat gregarious position, since you will have to connect with many blog site owners in order to publish these stories on a regular basis. Organizing your guest blogging sites according to niche and scheduling regular submissions will be the challenge.

There is a submissions process, which means there may be a chance of receiving a rejection letter. Do not lose heart if this happens. Since we’re discussing guest blogging here and not an agent in a big New York publishing house, you can assume that if your piece is rejected it will be primarily an issue of scheduling conflicts (i.e. too many submissions written on the same topics) or the wrong sort of niche topic. If you are a legitimate writer and can speak English and form a coherent sentence, rest assured you do have a place in guest blogging.

Naturally, not a lot of lawyers, doctors, marketers, company owners or entrepreneurs have the time to invest in guest blogging, which is why they will often outsource these needs to an SEO firm. An SEO firm has a list of guest blogging networks and sites that can help to publish new quality content.

Whether you handle the reins yourself or outsource this job, it is a wise decision to plan for plenty of guest blogging features in the future. Guest blogging is overtaking article marketing and even company-sponsored blogging in search engine results pages. More than ever, readers and search bots are looking for high quality content designed for well-read and discriminating readers. The real money in web marketing is not just in high traffic but in the number of loyal visitors, and the time they spend reading a site.

Yes, it’s all about targeted content. And that’s where guest blogging can really help you.

For years, we always heard that content is king…and that the search engines were insatiable for new information.  It wasn’t too surprising that commercial websites and article directories started to over-produce, because that was what everyone wanted at the time.

However, by now we have reached a point where the Internet is flooded with good to great to “okay” content, and now the search engines have started to be a little more judicious when it comes to highlighting new content in SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages).  Guest blogging is favored over article directory submission, and company blogs and magazine articles are favored over link exchanges and blog commenting.

Once you set up your website, social network pages and other links, it’s time to focus on keeping the search engines’ attention by pinging them regularly with new content to search and index.

The only question now is, how often should you blog or guest blog?  First of all, be sure that you are not over extending yourself by publishing so much content that you start repeating yourself and resemble nothing more than a content mill site.  (Over-optimized sites are now being buried in rankings)  Find your writing style and then publish at a comfortable pace, whether this is once a month or once a week.

What if you are buying SEO content and have the budget to produce as much content as you want?  You have to carefully consider this question, as it’s not merely an issue of SEO but of your targeted base.  Ask yourself this: how often do you want your potential customers to visit your site?  Is once a day too much?  Is once a week or once a month not enough?  Remember that newspapers are released daily, while popular magazines are released at least once a month.

SEO doesn’t have any specific rules about overproducing, though some SEO experts might tell you that they like to “space out” articles when submitting them to directories, just so they can avoid unloading several articles within an hour.  Guest blogging may have some slightly different rules, since there are so many requests being made and readers may appreciate variety in voice and topics, rather than reading dozens of articles by the same company or writer within a week.

The fact of the matter is that if you are serious about online marketing, you have to budget for as much writing as possible, whether you’re buying it outright or are losing time in writing it.  Make the writing count and do it as often as you can comfortably produce.  Make your web blog a mecca of user activity!  An SEO company can definitely help you to make your content count and to keep it coming.

Local SEO and regular SEO practice is more or less the same thing but with one crucial difference. Local SEO manipulates search engine algorithms so that local results appear in search pages well before generalized pages. In theory, local Internet viewers are looking for fast service, nearby locations and quick help. If there’s a business down the street providing the same information as a general SEO page, it would be to everyone’s advantage to give the local company a boost within its own territory.

That’s the idea behind the Google Venice update, as well as further algorithm changes coming in 2012 and 2013. Local SEO is also getting a big boost because of social media sites, geo-blogging (blogging from specific locations on a map) as well as mobile-centric search technology.

Not taking advantage of local SEO marketing may be a big mistake, since you would be competing with significantly fewer companies for locally popular keywords. In essence, all you’re doing is writing longtail keyword content with specific direction as to location. Besides writing locally themed content you might also find it advantageous to list your company on popular directories such as Google Places or Yelp.

If you find that your company is not coming up for popular keyword phrases, or even semi-popular phrases, the best thing to do is concentrate more on local keyword searches. In addition to writing longtail keyword friendly pages, it helps tremendously to connect your local company with a local social media page, as well as a reviews page. The reason you want to reach out into all these other areas is so you can build links because search engines consider link count when determining popularity. Along with proper keyword usage and quality content, this determines your overall rankings.

Remember, search sites (particularly the top world site Google) are constantly improving algorithms and making web crawling and indexing more human-like in filtering out poorly written content. Now is the time to up the quality of your pages and give people what they want—specific local content they are looking for, whether it’s reviews, instructions, directions, histories and so on.

Take Google Places for instance, one of the top local tools you have at your helm. This site is not just another directory submission page—it actually works with a number of data providers, including Localeze, Infogroup and others. These providers feed data into the Google Places index. All of this data is counted and helps to determine how often your company is mentioned.

So when writing local content be sure to be consistent, accurate, and aggressive when it comes to scheduling high quality content on a regular basis and link your projects throughout the net, building a network of pages. For more information talk to an SEO provider!

This year’s Google Mayhem event for Internet marketers was affectionately called “Penguin”. And if you have felt the wrath of penguin, it can leave you feeling an icy-chill down your spine. If you were one of the few that got ice-burned by Penguin and saw your rankings plummet, what should you do to fix your site this time around?

For starters, stop thinking “quick cash”. Sites that go up quickly and are aimed at making a few quick dollars via affiliates, product sales, or ads are generally what these updates are aimed at eliminating. Search engines are catering to their readers who want solid information in searches. So the first thing you can do is restart your content from the ground up from the perspective of your reader, not your SEO ranking.

While the definition of spammy sites changes over time and with each new update, penguin is no exception to the general rules of internet conduct. The general guidelines are as follows:

• Hidden content
• Flash pages
• Flash landing pages
• Excessive use of frames
• Purchasing links
• Different content for search engines and readers
• Cloaking and redirects
• Repeated titles
• Repeated content anywhere else on the web
• Keyword stuffing
• Excessive use of keyword anchor text
• Writing for engines and not readers
• Designs for engines and not readers
• Generic designs
• Bad neighborhood links
• Links from sites that have been penalized

So, if your site engages in any of these practices, fix it immediately! That means today. Then begin the process of engaging your audience rather than writing for search engines. So ask yourself:

1. How can I improve the reader’s overall site experience?
2. How can I make my site easy to navigate so that my readers can find any and all pages with no more than two clicks of the mouse?
3. How can I build a better relationship with my audience?
4. How can I build a network of relationships for fresh readers?
5. How can I keep them coming back for more?
6. How can I contribute to my niche market in a meaningful way?
7. How can I improve upon my competitors’ offering?
8. How can I connect in a symbiotic way with complementary businesses?
9. How can I make my site keyword “organic” and improve its readability flow?
10. How can I visually improve the appearance and bot usability of the site?

Once you have answered these questions and carry them out, then move on to a long-term action plan as follows:

1. Use an analytics program to assess traffic, links, rank, keywords, backlinks, outgoing links, and link neighborhoods.
2. Check your webmaster central account to see if you have any notices.
3. Create content guidelines to follow and implement on all old and new content immediately.
4. Create a web-development plan of action to improve your site.
5. Continually track keywords and adjust as necessary.
6. Keep a close eye on all in-coming and outgoing links.
7. Develop a clear, concise, and comprehensive marketing plan that utilizes all healthy forms of networking and advertising.

Even if your site hasn’t been hit by Penguin, or you simply want to ensure it doesn’t on the next wave of updates, immediate and massive action is necessary. Take action on what needs fixing, and then create a solid action plan that addresses any and all issues your site faced or might face. Focus on your readers and relationships, not your rank!