Blogging and Tagging Effectively

Reading through the initial posts here on ActiveRain, I learned that:

• Blogging is new
• Tagging is new
  

Okay, okay. It's not that the technologies are really new, but I think it's probably new to many of the bloggers here. And just to be certain that I don't get any rotten tomatoes thrown at me for my first post... I'm not trying to put down anyone, nor am I trying to boast of my "experience." After all, this is my first ActiveRain post!

Here's the deal.

You should have a small clue of the purpose of blogs and tags in order to use them effectively. So here's my contribution to help make ActiveRain a better community.

ActiveRain is an excellent directory that can boost the exposure of you and your websites. One way to improve your exposure here on ActiveRain is to blog. And part of that is tagging appropriately. Yes, there are many ways to gain exposure on ActiveRain, but I'll focus on just blogging and tagging for now.

Blogging effectively

Blogging, generally speaking, is an online journal. Within the real estate world it has been expanded to become everything from online event calendars to market condition updates. A few have started blogs here, but they are not all reaping the full benefits from it. Here are three biggies you should strive for with your blog:

1. Gaining trust and authority
2. Developing an online Community
3. Getting noticed by search engines

Trust and Authority

Real estate blogging is all about establishing trust and authority. By periodically posting authoritative content, you have a greater ability to develop trust with your readers. So when they're ready to buy or sell real estate in your market area, they'll remember you.

You can't build trust by shoving them a whole bunch of info in one sitting. So to those of you who copy and paste a whole slew of posts, slow down! Take a break and let a day go by before you publish your next post. Also, be unique and read up on the negative side-effects of cut-n-pasting.

Online Community

As readers get to know you, you'll find that they are more willing to comment on your posts. And eventually, readers will start to carry on conversations with each other. This can strengthen the value of your blog in a way that will cause people to return and participate often.

Search Engine Optimization

Everyone wants to be noticed by search engines. And it's been proven over and over that blogs get noticed by search engines. However, if you want the biggest bang for your buck, post frequently.

As I mentioned earlier, it's better to space out your posts. So once again, slow down! * Note: This comment is mostly targeted to those that have copy-n-pasted a bunch of articles so that they can fill their blog with content.

Tagging Effectively

Tagging is a way of associating your posts with a specific topic, or tag. This allows your readers to browse through these tags and easily find relevant information. It's also great for search engines that read tags such as Technorati.

So how do you tag effectively?

Easy. Get Relevant.

Don't stuff your post with non-relevant tags. If you're talking about real estate, then tag your post with "real estate." But if your post is about weather, don't tag it with real estate. Remember, you're doing this for your readers.

Blog and Tag It!

So that's it. I hope to see some great, well-tagged, authoritative and unique posts out there!