Since most, if not all, of spams have links to other sites, why not remove the ability to leave clickable links in the comments section? Although spammers (and regular people) can still send in comments, they won’t be able to publish active hyperlinks. This can be done by accessing the server and configuring it such that all HTML tags from comment links are automatically stripped.

2. Use anti-spam plugins

If you’re using Wordpress, you can use spam filters like the popular Akismet which learns the more you use it. This ability to learn new spamming techniques via user input has been very effective so far. Another way is to utilize user validation plugins like Captcha to require commenters to prove they are living, breathing human beings, as opposed to spam-generating bots. You will either be presented with scrambled text on an image or an audio recording to listen to. Choose well because some plugins of this type are extremely hard to crack. If valid users fail to leave a comment on their first try, they might just abandon trying all together.

3. Block Googlebot from the comments

Rampant spamming can hurt your site’s SEO, so in the extreme case where you want to make sure this extraneous content won’t be indexed by spiders, use the robots.txt file to block their access to the subdirectory where the comments are stored. An alternate way is to use the meta tag to block certain pages by putting this inside the header:

4. Use nofollow tags

Make sure your comment links are padded with the rel=”nofollow” attribute. This bit of code will prevent the link from becoming a factor in PageRank calculation and your page’s relevance to keyword searches. Some blogging sites and CMS like Wordpress add this attribute to comment links by default.

5. Turn on comment moderation

However, the best way is still to play the vigilant cop in policing your site’s comments. It can be grueling if you get a lot of comments everyday, but it can also be rewarding because you get to interact with authentic visitors. Most blogs come with the option to hold the comments until you personally approve them, instead of automatically displaying these. It’s especially useful to guard against not only spammers but trolls – those who spew unnecessary hate for some unfathomable reason. I guess the Internet must have its downsides, too.

Blurb. Although it seems obvious, many blogs don’t have a mini-profile blurb visible on all pages to introduce the author/site to first-time visitors. Worse, not everyone has an About page that to tell everyone

Template. Most blogging platforms offer ready-made templates for plug-and-play use. It keeps everything simple, but it also makes your blog look ordinary and dull. Chances are, visitors have already seen the same template elsewhere, and when they try to remember your site, it gets lost in the murky waters called “generic design”. Part of personal branding should consist of an eye-pleasing and functional template that goes well with your personality and the blog’s overall theme.

Words. Try to keep away from highfalutin words. It might’ve worked in you college class, but in the blogosphere, it’s much better to use the K.I.S.S. principle. This doesn’t mean you need to dumb down your blog, but rather that you speak the language of your intended audience.

Tone. Your writing should be casual and conversational. Draw your visitors in with entries that speak to them directly. Ask questions when appropriate to solicit comments.

Engage. Every time you get non-spammy visitor comments, answer them as quickly as possible. Other people who see your conversation’s thread will be more likely to say their piece, knowing they’ll get a reply. If they leave a link to their own blog, head on there and leave a comment as well. This will increase their chances of becoming regular visitors.

Any other tips you’d like to share? I’m all ears.

1. Link Bait – The content on your site should be stuff that’s interesting and/or useful, the type that other people would want to link to and share with their friends. There are many ways to do this: having a blog on your site, offering free white papers, gathering breaking news, how-to articles, pictures, videos, statistics, and collections of multiple resources and tools.

2. Others First Policy – A common mistake rookies commit (including myself when I was starting out), is that they submit their own content to social media sites exclusively, right from the start. That’s a no-no. Build your reputation first as a source of great sites within the communities of these sites. Digg or Stumble other people’s content. Only when you get yourself a sizeable following should you start submitting your own.

3. Presentation – Now when you send other people to your site, make sure they’ll like what they see. Great content badly presented will not be terribly effective, negating all your hard work. So, make sure your ads, if any, don’t clutter up your pages. Check for the site design’s compatibility to major browsers and screen sizes. Add life to your pages by including relevant images. To make reading easier for your visitors, break the content down to sections and highlight the titles.

4. Buttons – All the popular social bookmarking sites have their own little buttons you could put at either the top or bottom of your post. If you’re using Wordpress or some other CMS, make them part of your template.

5. Discuss – Social media sites have their own groups and forums. Try to join the discussions on topics related to your site. If there are questions you can answer, by all means offer your take on things. This helps to boost your ranking among the community. In forums that permit it, you can put a link to your site on your signature.

6. Reciprocate – If someone Diggs your article or posts it on a forum, write a thank you note to that person. If he or she has a blog, try to see if you like any of the entries and return the favor. You can also ask if this person wants to exchange links, which is mutually beneficial for climbing the search engine rankings.

Project a positive attitude.
The way you deal with your readers, clients and your peers will be reflected on your blog. When you write about positive things, people will see that you believe in yourself and your abilities. Manifesting positive attitude will inspire and motivate others. In return, you’ll gain their respect.

Be honest.
Never mislead your readers. Be transparent with everything you write. Remember that writing about the truth is the easiest topic to tackle. Trust and respect always go hand in hand. You must gain their trust first before you earn their respect.

Make your readers feel appreciated.
Be courteous when you correspond with your readers. You should make them feel at home while they’re reading your blog. At anytime, you must not ignore their queries or suggestions. When they praise you for something, a simple thank you will mean a lot to them. That gesture will be embedded in their minds and hearts forever.

Give them the royal treatment.
As stated above, never ignore your readers. Listen to what they have to say. Good or bad, their opinions do matter. If they ask for something, do anything in your powers to give it to them. Exemptions to this rule would be the sun, the stars and your job.

Be available.
Sometimes, your readers will ask email you about certain concerns or they might ask for your business number. Make yourself available for requests like these. Reply as soon as you can. Your clients will respect you when you’re there when they need you.

Your site is your mirror.
Your web site must look professional and businesslike. Maintain a website that is easy to navigate as well. Your web site will reflect your business’ image. This will be what your readers will see you as.

Remember the Golden Rule.
If you’re respectful towards your fellow bloggers, they’ll treat you with the same respect as well. Respect everyone even your competitors. A healthy competition is better than slugging it out with them.

With this simple guide, hopefully you’ll earn enough respect in the blogosphere. So don’t you just sit there, rock out your blog today.

So how do we go about reviving these old posts? It depends upon how old the information is and how much have changed. Here are a few ways on how you could perk up those old posts of yours:

Be up to date with changes with your search engines. Algorithms. It’s what gives search engines the ability to rank websites. It’s only normal then to be aware of changes that occurs within each search engine. New algorithm? New restrictions? Be aware because what works before may not be working anymore.

Check if you are still hitting your targets. Regardless of what your post is about, you must have had a target search term when you wrote. Search for that term and see if your post still comes up. If not, then it’s time to start polishing that article.

Select new targets. As time moves on, so does the trend in keywords. It is important that you know which terms are hot and which are not. Keyword research is the key here. If you are able to find a new keyword term for your old blog post, the chances of bringing life into it just went a whole lot higher.

Rewrite your old articles. Change is a constant thing, and the same holds true with your articles. What you wrote about last year may have changed after a few months. So review your old articles, find out what has changed and revamp it. If your posts deal with information, find out if they are still updated.

Rewrite it with a different twist. Sometimes, you create an article based on a given perspective. But as you write more and more, you are exposed to more styles ways of writing. So if you want to revitalize and old post, then take one out and fire up your creativity. What you get is a totally repackaged article ready to be served again.

If you find yourself writing on a single topic, compile. If you find yourself dealing with the same topic over and over again, chances are you have created quite a number of articles dealing with the stuff. What you can do to put fire back to your old posts is to create a compilation of sorts. Link your articles together and present them as a compilation on a given topic. In that way, even if the pieces are old posts, as a whole you have created something new.

Everybody has their favorites, even in their blog posts. This is one of the common ways blogs polish their old posts. They create a top 10 or 20 or sometimes even 50 favorite blog posts. The result? 10 or 20 or even 50 of your old blog posts have once again emerged into the spotlight.

And there you have it. Just remember that old blog posts don’t always mean dead posts or expendable posts. Even if they are old, a little bit of polishing, dusting and creativity can get them to shine once more. And when they do, that ranking of yours will shine with them, and your SEO endeavors will not be in vain.

While others, they bait them. Linkbait them, that is.

Don’t be put off by the name. Though it sounds nasty, Linkbaiting is a kind of a misnomer. In a sense, you “bait” people with something that they would want to link to. The result: you get to reel-in more traffic and an increase in popularity. But of course, just like in real fishing, you can’t catch fish with rubber as bait. The bait must be something that the people would want. So what can you use as linkbait?

It’s A Scoop! – No, you don’t need to shout “Extra! Extra! Read All About It!” with this kind of bait. If you have breaking news, share it! Couple it with an in-depth commentary and watch as the school of users flock your site. The tip: pick your own fishing spot. Be the first to cover news on a specific niche and avoid being too broad. It also helps to check if other bloggers have covered the topic in the past.

Hear, Hear! Shame, Shame! – One of the best ways to get attention: be different. When they say ‘yes’ to a topic, say ‘no’ instead. With luck, this can spark a lively debate and those who think so can link to you. Be careful though. Make sure that when you take a side, you defend it with facts; otherwise people will just dump you like the trash you put in your site. The tip: research, research, and more research.

Laughter is Still the Best Medicine – Funny pictures, hilarious posts, tickling stories, these things easily catch juicy links. People love them for that moment of amusement everyone needs. Apart from being great linkbait, this has a lot of potential for social bookmarking sites such as StumbleUpon or Digg.

These are just a few of the many ways to bait links. Once you get the hang of it, get ready for the steady increase in traffic and, hopefully, a great catch of links. Happy Fishing!

RSS feeds and backlinks allow almost anyone to view any promotional articles that you publish on your blog. These articles can be about your latest products, the latest market trends, or awards received by your business. Blogs are very helpful, especially if you want to reach a wide audience that’s targetted enough to send some business leads your way.

Blogs are generally favored by search engines

Search engines love 3 things: organized content, regular updates, and a lot of backlinks. When you have a regularly updated blog, it’s easy to maintain these 3 things that search engines are looking for when it comes to website ranking. Having a good website rank is very important to your business, especially since customers tend to find your site first over your competitors.

Blogs strengthen communication with leads and customers.

Blogs provide customers, suppliers, distributors, and business owners with a way to build a strong community. Business owners are given a chance to connect with a wider audience, and to show their know-how and expertise to their customers. When you successfully build a community using your blog, it’s easier for potential customers to trust you with their purchases. Your blog can communicate to your target market that you are knowledgeable and serious when it comes to your market.

While having a blog for your business provides you with an affordable web presence, the best argument for blogging is that you can easily build trust and confidence among new and returning customers. And as your business blog grows in popularity, your small business will be bigger than ever.