What is SEO and How Can It Help Your Business?

What is SEO and How Can It Help Your Business? (Photo by Designecologist from Pexels)

If you run a business, you will know that your website is key to driving customers and peaking people’s interests. Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, even more people began shopping online due to quarantine - a user-friendly, well designed online presence for your business has never been more essential than now. Yet building a good website is not enough any more; thanks to the algorithms of search engines like Google, your site might be a great site, but fall to the bottom of the search list.

How do search engine algorithms work?

Search engine algorithms are the result of years of research, coding and data collection. It would take pages and pages to explain the ins and outs of how they function, but here are the basics:

• The more a website is clicked on, the further up the list it goes. Did you ever wonder why, if you search a basic item like a dustpan and brush into Google, the first sites listed are the giant corporations like Amazon? This is because they are the most clicked-on sites, so Google’s algorithm bumps them up the ladder. The algorithm uses the number of clicks and follow-throughs used on a site to determine how important it is, and ranks it accordingly in the list.

• Keywords matter. A search engine algorithm determines what category of search your website should come under by assessing the keywords involved. For example, if you run a blog about floristry, ‘floristry’ is not the only word people will search to find you. It could be ‘flower arranging’ or ‘how to make flowers look pretty in a vase.’ With the right keywords, Google can associate many different searches with your blog, thereby bumping it up the list.

How does SEO come into this?

You might be thinking, how does SEO come into all this? SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation, and is essentially a set of tools and techniques which help Google assign your website to greater importance, and therefore rank it highly on more searches. This means that, if you sell a product which is also sold by thousands of other retailers, your site will be one of the first to be found on Google. It can increase footfall, help spread awareness of your brand and boost profits too.

How does SEO work?

Getting SEO right means including the right keywords; backlinks, which help connect your site with other relevant sites and increase traffic; and, crucially, help footfall to your website without paying advertisers or bankrupting yourself on marketing strategies.

If you aren’t sure how SEO works, it is advisable to contact an SEO Agency who specialise in helping websites achieve more clicks based on search engine results. It could be by featuring blogs on your page which contain keywords and backlinks, or through more advanced SEO tools such as hyperlinks.

Building a website is one task; getting people to click on it is another. Maximise your chances with an SEO strategy and help your business achieve even greater things.

Could You Take Your Interests To The Next Level With A Blog?

A laptop (image via Unsplash)

In life, we all have interests, that much is true. However, we don’t always get to take them that seriously or indulge in them as much as we perhaps might like. And that’s easily done. Because life is busy and we all have commitments that tend to take priority over some of the things that we love. When you love sports or books or baking or art, you may find that you don’t tend to have much time for it compared to when you were younger. Now that you have a job, a social life, a family, and financial commitments too – it can be hard for you to work out exactly how you’re going to enjoy your interests and get everything done that you need to. So you don’t. And you stop. Yet, this can then go on to affect your happiness in life.

So what can you do? Well, the first thing to think about is for you to actually make more time for your interests. Yet, with an already busy calendar, this can seem a little crazy. So the next thing for you to contemplate, is perhaps pursuing your interests as more of a career move. Now, moving into a new career field can seem a little impossible – so this is where blogging comes in. Years ago, people just started blogs for their own interests only – so you also get to tick two boxes off here. But you can also look to make it a full-time money-making job for you too. Let’s take a look at how.

Identify Your Passion

To start with, you need to make sure that you know what your passion is! This sounds a little silly, but it’s easy to think that you’re passionate about something that maybe you just like. Instead, you need to want to take this interest to the next level and really look to make something creative with it.

Find One Hour A Day

Now if you’re worried about finding the time to do this, just commit an hour for yourself. You should be able to get up earlier in the morning to secure that precious hour, or stay up one hour later if you’re a night owl. If you are serious about making this work, then you need to dedicate this time for yourself, so you can actually make it happen!

Choose Your Niche

Now, you need to decide on your niche for your blog. The first exercise should help you here. So decide what of your interests you want to turn into a career, or at least enjoy blogging about. Maybe it’s health and fitness? Maybe it’s a career choice? Maybe it’s a hobby? Pick your niche or general niche, and get ready to begin.

Invest In It

This won’t always be the case, but when it comes to making this work out, you need to make sure that you’re in the best possible position. So, ask yourself – do you need to invest a bit more in your niche to feel ready to write about it? Should you take a writing course or train to become a personal trainer or get your master’s in finance? If you feel like you need to brush up on your skills or knowledge in order to showcase yourself as an expert on the matter.

Get Hosting

Now it’s time for you to get everything set up. The start of that is always with hosting. Because in order for you to build a blog, it’s needs to be hosted somewhere. Take a look at the platforms available and choose a provider and plan that suits you.

Choose Your Domain

And now, you need a domain to go along with it. For this, you’re going to want to think strategically about the right name. And it’s hard for you to choose the best domain name – but not impossible. Think of catchy names to go along with your branding or your niche. Maybe even your own name? See what’s available and register the domain.

Get Writing

Then you just need to write. Even if you’re waiting for a design to be made for you, or you’re still making tweaks to a template, you need to make sure that you have some posts ready to go. And not only that – it’s good to get into the habit of writing regularly, so that you can get a content schedule up.

Build Your List

At the same time, you should also be thinking about how you can grow your marketing list. Because when it comes to engaging your audience and being able to grow your presence online, you really do need to have an email database. This is a great way to directly market to your audience. And the sooner you can start the better. So aim to build your list right off the bat, as your first subscribers are often the most loyal.

Market More

The next thing that you need to do is continue to push your marketing. And while you’ll definitely want to be strategic here, you don’t overly need to put too much time and attention into the what and why. Yes, align your tactics with your goals and audience, but then, just make sure that you are pushing on with content and actually getting it out into the world – as this will help you to grow.

Grow As You Go

Finally, you’re then going to want to make sure that you’re able to grow as you’re going along. Don’t overthink it or look too far ahead, just aim to put the work in everyday, to consistently grow what you’ve got, and then aim to monetize are you’re doing so. If you start to use affiliate marketing from the start, or even advertising if that’s what you want, you know that this will work out for you. Because when it’s there from the beginning, you can start to earn a little money, and it will all become easy for you to take your interest to a full-time paying gig!

China Jails Blogger In Online 'Rumour' Crackdown

(Beijing - AFP) A Chinese court has jailed a blogger for three years, state media has reported – the first person to be sentenced in a government-led crackdown on so-called internet rumours.

The Effects of Social Media on Mass Hysteria

When it comes to communication in today's techno-centric society, social media is taking over. Never before has it been easier to relay and receive messages to and from hundreds of people with just a few simple keystrokes. This convenience is arguably changing the way we develop and maintain relationships, which carries both positive and negative connotations. There is much debate over whether social media is bringing people closer together, or alienating people from true intimacy . . . but one thing there is no question over is the fact that social media makes it possible to spread information very rapidly. That's great when the information is constructive, but what of information that is inaccurate, misleading, loaded with emotional weight, or destructive in nature? Obviously, social media can have some major effects on mass hysteria. Read on to learn more about this alarming phenomenon:

G20 Time: The People Vs Recession

The global recession has already plunged over 100 million people back into poverty and unemployment -- but this week, we could turn the tide of economic destruction.

And The Giveaway's Winner is...

Okay, the time has come to reveal who won our giveaway prize...

Yep, a while ago we ran a giveaway event giving a chance to one of our readers to win a 16 x 20 Rolled Canvas kindly given away by UPrinting.com.

And, today is the day when we announce the lucky winner.

Five... Four... Three... Two... One...

The winner is...

V-A! 

Congratulations V-A! I've got your email addy through my IntenseDebate account so I'll pass on the details to UPrinting.com sometimes today.

Also, if you could send us a picture of you next to your prize, that's would be great... You don't have to, but that would help making this contest as friendly as possible (you know, with the personal touch and all that).

Thanks everyone for taking the time to post comments on the Giveaway's page.

Talk soon

Loup Dargent

PS: I'm currently net-less, so I can't be online as much as I would like but I'll be back soon with hopefully more goodies.

Tags : Blogs, Canevas Prints, Giveaway

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• And The Giveaway's Winner is...
• Giveaway Time: Let Me Bribe/Reward You
• 100 Postcards Giveaway from Uprinting
• 18x24 Poster Print Giveaway
• Artist Canvas Prints from Uprinting.com {Giveaway}

Giveaway Time: Let Me Bribe/Reward You

"Turn your most precious moments into masterpieces!
Get that artist’s feel and transform your favorite photos or work into canvas art.
These thick and high-quality canvases are ultra durable and will last a long time."

And, guess what? You could be the lucky one who wins a 16 x 20 Rolled Canvas kindly given away by UPrinting.com to one of our readers... Nice of them, isn't it? Plus, the canvas will be delivered free of charge.

How To Enter

To enter this Giveaway all you need to do is visit UPrinting.com and then come back here and leave a comment about your favorite product and tell us what picture you would like to make a canvas print of if you won...

Extra Entries

You can get extra entries by following this blog on:

• Google Friend Connect (2 entries)
• Facebook's NetworkedBlogs (2 entries)
• MyBlogLog (1 entry)
• BlogCatalog (1 entry)

(and by letting us know by leaving a comment here)

Easy, isn't it?

Now, if you subscribe to this blog through email, you also get 2 extra entries and (that's the icing on the cake), if you mention this giveaway on your blog with a link to this post you get 3 extra entries as well as a big thank you from us.

Want more?

You can also get extra entries by following me on

Twitter (1 entry)

YouTube (2 entries)

FriendFeed (2 entries)

BlogEngage (1 entry) 

Amplify (1 entry)

Once that's done, let us know here by leaving a comment and your extra entry/entries will be automatically allocated.

Okay, enough of "me, me, me!"... What about "you, you you!"?

Ah, yes... Even so, with the CommentLuv facility, every post of yours should show a link to your latest blog post,  you can also leave a comment telling us about your blog or/and your latest post and still get an extra entry that way. See, I didn't forget about "you, you, you!".

By the way, if you are running a Giveaway event as well, you are very welcome to leave a comment about it (and earn another entry that way) with link to it and all...

Unfortunately the Giveaway is only opened to our readers who are US residents (that has to do with the free shipping part) and are 18 or above... 

But, we would like those of you who are not US residents to also get something out of this Giveaway event. So you are very welcome to comment about your blogs or/and your latest posts too... Granted, you won't get an entry to the Giveaway, but, at least, you'll get some link love (and, who knows, maybe even a few extra visitors in the process).

Don't Forget

• You can only enter the Giveaway if you've done the first entry (comments have to be a bit more original than "I want to win!" to be considered). 
• The Comments/Entries have to be posted here only to be considered (that's very important to know if you're reading this post on Magnify or Zimbio).
• You will have until Wednesday April 21st at 11:59pm GMT to enter. 
• The winner will be randomly chosen the next day and notified by DM or PM depending on what sites they're following me on. 
• I'll also post the winner on this blog through a new post (link to be provided here as soon as it has been published) and I'll also leave a comment about it on this post. 
• If I don't hear back from the winner within a week, I'll pick another one.

Good luck everyone!

Loup Dargent

Reborn and Rebranded!

'Forward-and-Share' is dead,
long live 'Forward and Share' 2.0!

If you have tried to access one of our posts from the original 'Forward-and-Share' lately, you probably noticed by now that it has somehow disappeared into thin air...

If you have clicked the "Ignore this warning" bit on the big red frame welcoming you when you click on loupdargentonline.blogspot.com, that is...
Yep, that's how I've found out myself that there was something wrong with it.
No email from Blogger.com to tell me about the problem... Nothing.

I was going to try sorting out the alleged malware problem by deleting the post where the problem might have been but, when I logged into my account, I was told that loupdargentonline.blogspot doesn't exist.

Of course, I could register loupdargentonline.blogspot.com if I wished though.

Ah, cool!
Erm, nope...

Apparently, and contrairy to what I was told just before, loupdargentonline.blogspot.com is not available.

The rest is now history...

As I've got most of the old posts backed up anyway, 'Forward and Share' 2.0 won't be empty for too long. So that's not too bad, really.

And, at the end of the day, I see the whole affair as a blessing in disguise as for many months now the original F&S could not be viewed properly by Internet Explorer's users and, let's face it, the good old blog was long overdue for a spring cleaning and some intensive rebranding.



I'll be adding stuff in the sidebar, re-posting some of the old posts, adding new categories and doing anything else that needs to be done on a daily basis as well as posting new material...
So, not only 'Forward and Share' will soon be back on its virtual feet , but it will also look and be much much better and healthier than before.


Talk soon.

Loup Dargent