One of the very first things a new member to Active Rain should do is "tune their profile".  In order to wring the most performance out of it, we have to make sure it is optimized... 

Here are a few things we are optimizing for:

• Keyword rich, location and niche specific content (for Search Engine Optimization... SEO)
• Reader friendly layout (pictures... tagged of course, for SEO)
• Rich media presentation (more tagged pictures as well as video... excellent for SEO)
• Testimonials.  Consumers LOVE testimonials... especially video testimonials
• Links to other sites... passing some "link love"

You will notice that a lot of the items we want to include carry SEO benefits.  That is both a by-product and by design. 

Let's start with keywords...

Search engines scan your content for keywords.  That is how they determine what to return on a search.  The closer to the top of the page and the more prominent (as well as right at the end of the page), the more important the search engines figure the words are...  And most of the search engines don't really pay that much attention to page or site meta-tags (these are embedded in the page's code... if you aren't familiar with meta-tags, don't sweat it). 

While we are talking "keyword rich", please keep in mind that DOESN'T mean "keyword stuffed".  One of the biggest mistakes I see people make with websites, blog posts and other content is that they stuff keywords in to a point it is uncomfortable to read.  A negative example:

If you live in Gwinnett County or want to live in Gwinnett County, and are interested in Gwinnett County Real Estate, I am the Gwinnett County Real Estate Expert, helping you buy a Gwinnett County Home and get out of your Gwinnett County Apartment.  Specializing in Gwinnett County First Time Home Buyers, Gwinnett County Sellers and Gwinnett County Investors.  Be sure to check out my Gwinnett County Property Search and give me a call.

Not only is that uncomfortable to read, but the search engines mark it down, too... 

So, be READER friendly, too...

Not only do readers prefer not to read text that is overloaded with keywords, but they also don't like a wall of words.  Pictures and graphics serve as great opportunities to break up the page.  Another way to introduce some white space is through bullet points, section titles and lists.  Mixing up the text with a little color, bold, italics and CAPS can also break up the monotony. 

Adding Rich Media is another great way to break up the page.  Videos, slide shows, powerpoints and other rich media presentations can add a whole new dimension to posts.  Here are a couple of posts that show the options and differences between rich media posts and "plain jane" posts. 

Testimonials... from the mouths of our clients...

Testimonials have always been a powerful tool when shown to consumers.  Not hidden away ("recommendations available upon request"), but placed right out in the open.  And the most powerful testimonials are the ones that show the client explaining WHY they did business with you and why others should consider you as well.  They are easy to deploy... and adding pictures and video is effective icing on the cake.

Don't forget some Link Love...

This is one of the least leveraged aspects of most social networks is out-bound linking of profiles.  Many social networks, including Active Rain, allow search engines to follow out-bound links.  Each of those out-bound links passes a little "Google Juice" to the linked site.  So, linking to your website, search, property websites, etc, allows readers to easily navigate there AND gives them a little more Google authority. 

In the case of Active Rain, every comment carries a "do follow" link back to your profile.  Your profile is also linked to on the latest posts, post pages and even the front page if you are featured. 

Just as with keywords, don't go nuts...  Make the links relevent, and limit them to several of the ones you give the highest priority.  Some good examples would be...

• Your Website
• Your Blog
• Property Websites
• a direct link to Your Search
• specific link to Important Blog Posts
• Your FaceBook Fan Page
• Your Twitter Handle

That doesn't mean you need to have all of them...  but having 6 or 8 or 10 links on a good profile might bring extra traffic to those spots, as well as give them a little more power in the search engines. 

I'm an Active Rain Ambassador...

My goal is to help members get the most from their Active Rain presence.  Not only is this a powerful learning tool (there are some great bloggers here) but it is also a VERY efficient tool to get content in front of consumers.  Many of us forget just how many consumers read Active Rain posts... 2 million non-members read Active Rain hosted posts EVERY MONTH. 

For other posts in this series, look just below the post.  There are a few "tags".  One of them says ambassador series.  Click it and you will get a list of all posts in this series... as well as some previous posts that are applicable.