There are many mysteries surrounding how search engine rankings work and what really boosts your Web site’s visibility when it comes to search engine listings, but most industry experts believe that all search engines love Web sites that are updated often. This is why blogs can be so successful at generating lots of Web traffic.

With the help of some basic settings, free plugins, and useful tips you can increase your ranking in most search engines. Below, in no particular order, you will find helpful information on optimizing your WordPress blog for search engines:

• Permalinks: Every WordPress blog has the ability to display permanent links to each post in a variety of ways. By default WordPress uses web URLs which have question marks and lots of numbers in them, however WordPress offers a few alternative link structures to choose from, or you can even create your own custom link structure to suit your needs.

  The WestHost blog uses the Month and name setting, which will produce links such as http://www.westhost.com/blog/2008/08/post-title-goes-here/. Having a post with a title that matches relevant post content will be a big plus for Search Engine Optimization.

  This setting can be changed in your WordPress admin control panel. Simply click on Settings from the top right and then click on Permalinks from the sub menu that appears below. Once you select what link structure will work best for you, simply click the Save Changes button at the bottom of the page.

• All in One SEO Pack Plugin: This plugin is streamlined for some of the best practices for Wordpress SEO. While it gives you many options the defaults reflect the settings the author recommends using.

  Some features:

  • Automatically optimizes your titles for search engines
  • Generates META tags automatically
  • Avoids the typical duplicate content found on Wordpress blogs
  • You can override any title and set any META description and any META keywords you want.
  • You can fine-tune everything
  • Backward-Compatibility with many other plugins, like Auto Meta, Ultimate Tag Warrior and others.
  • And more!
• Google XML Sitemaps Plugin: This plugin will create a Google sitemaps compliant XML-Sitemap of your WordPress blog. It supports all of the WordPress generated pages as well as custom ones. Every time you edit or create a post, your sitemap is updated and all major search engines that support the sitemap protocol, like Google, ASK.com, MSN Search and YAHOO, are notified about the update.
• Link related posts: This one sounds simple enough, but many people forget to do this. If you are making a post that may have related info in past posts you’ve made, link to them. This isn’t just helpful to search engines, but to your site visitors as well. Many search engines will analyze what content you are linking to, and when it is a relevant post, it will help increase the credibility of your current post. For example, in this article we have discussed using WordPress plugins to help with search engine optimization, and only a few weeks ago we wrote a post on how to install WordPress plugins.

These are just a few ideas to help get started with optimizing your blog for search engines. As you can see, SEO on any Web site is a constant task, but all of these little things can really add up and pay off big when it comes to search engine rankings for your blog content.

Today marks the first day of our Referral Contest, which runs through November 15th. Every time an existing WestHost client refers a friend or colleague to our company, they will receive up to 1 free month of hosting and their name will be entered into a drawing making them eligible to WIN THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN PRIZES! The grand prize is an HP DV2940SE Laptop. For more information about the contest and to see a list of the prizes, be sure visit http://www.westhost.com/referral.html.

We will also be updating our blog regularly throughout the Referral Contest so participants know where they stand in comparison to other participants. So check back often to see how you are doing!

One of the most important but sometimes overlooked features WestHost offers clients is our in-house technical support. At some point everyone is going to have a question along the way or need a little extra help. When they do, they want to know they are going to get the correct answer quickly. We believe that by employing the best, our clients will experience the best. We look not only for technically savvy employees, but equally important is their ability to communicate professionally with our clients. You will find that our technicians are friendly, courteous, and sincerely concerned about the welfare of each person they interact with.

When browsing our Web site you will notice a “REAL SUPPORT” seal promoting the level of service clients can expect to receive at WestHost. It’s not just a gimmick graphic we’ve thrown on our site, we’re serious about providing real support. To quantify that statement, let me share with you some general background of our Technical Support staff. Our technicians are highly educated and trained in the areas of information technology; most have completed college coursework in computer science, information systems, graphic design, as well as other similar disciplines at universities and technology colleges throughout the Western part of the United States. A majority of our technical support staff live in the Logan Utah area, however many of our current staff have traveled to and lived in places around the world. Therefore they have a better understanding of people, attitudes, opinions, places, and cultures. Some of our technicians are currently furthering their education. Some are married and have families. They have hobbies and interests that include sports, music, fishing, camping, skiing, gaming, photography, cars, motorcycles, and of course computers. They enjoy all the latest and greatest technological gadgets and contraptions. They like to go on vacation, and visit diverse places. They are real people with personal and professional goals, desires and feelings. The level and quality of support found at WestHost is unmatched in the Web hosting industry. Real support is what you can expect when hosting at WestHost.

As WestHost has grown over the years we have often looked to our Technical Support Department to find technically qualified and positive individuals to fill other needs throughout the company. Some of our past technicians are now Systems Administrators, Technical Engineers and Web Designers. Some of these people are filling leadership roles throughout the organization. Our screening process in hiring new employees is extremely thorough, and because of that, our clients enjoy the benefits of working with some of the best people out there.

So next time you need to contact WestHost’s technical support, remember that our goal is to provide you with the best possible service available. We care about our clients and want them to know of our commitment to providing them with friendly and quality service each and every time they contact us!