SEO: The greatest hits

Out of the south comes Christie Fermicat with the meme of the moment. "SEO" stands for Search Engine Optimization; the idea originated from Revellian.com, a site dedicated to spreading imaginative ways for bloggers to increase traffic.

The meme consists of a chain of bloggers listing three of their favorite posts. Each participating blogger simply adds three favorite posts to the end of the chain, and passes it on. Each time the chain is reposted on another blog, it lets people know about your blog you normally wouldn't reach, and it also helps you build Technorati authority, for those who care about such things.

First, though, some observations about Technorati numbers. Personally, I don't think they mean all that much. Your Technorati Authority number is simply the number of unique blogs that have linked to you in the last six months. So if fifty different blogs link to you in that time frame, you have an authority of 50. But if only one blog links to you 50 times, your Technorati Authority number is one. Mostly what Authority tells you is how much your fellow bloggers like you. It doesn't give you much insight into who's actually reading. I know blogs with far more traffic than mine with lower authority. Also, I have more traffic than some blogs I know of with two and three times the authority.

Blog stats are mostly in the eye of the beholder. Some bloggers are really into comments. Others look at total number of hits and page views. Sitemeter tells me how much time each visitor spends here. What I'm most concerned with when I look at the stats is the total number of hits I get, and more importantly, how much time people spend here once they arrive.

The edginess of a few of my early posts kind of surprised me. I knew I'd softened up a bit over the past year. That's partly because I have other outlets for political ranting, but mostly because in my old age I've come to the belief that if your going to bitch about the nation's political problems, you need to have some feasible solutions handy. I can come up with some solutions, but they just aren't feasible in the current political climate. This post has me thinking that maybe it's time to recapture a little bit of the old edge.

Enough from me. Here's the official instructions for this meme from Revellian.com: (Those participating in the meme are required to copy these instructions.)

"This seo meme was conceived and designed by Bobby at Revellian.com. This is a new fun seo meme ride for us all. This is based on the seo theory that links to posts inside your blog are more important than links to your home page. I have selected three posts I want to promote along with my site’s name. You will do the same thing.

Let’s keep it simple and spread our good work around to both share and build some ratings! Make sure you pick three posts that you feel are your best. You could also select 3 posts you simply want to promote. Your site name is listed with your 3 selected posts beneath.

Once you have your post up: Add the sites and post links of the folks you tagged onto your post. Try to add the site and post links to anyone involved to maximize the effectiveness. Tag a minimum of 5 people.
Try your best not to double tag people so it will spread better! Please actually read the posts from everyone so you can see some really good work from our beloved blogging friends! Make your title a little different from mine to avoid repetitive titles."

Here be the list:

Revellian dot com: SEO Keywords For Beginners, Content: The Kings Illegitimate Stepchild, Tales of Blogger-X Illusion

Mariuca - Wishing On A Falling Star: Love In Disarray, In Love With A Dream, The Good Client

Mariuca's Perfume Gallery: Perfume Shopping Spree, Defining Beauty, In Full Splendour

Speedcat Hollydale Page: Rocket Boy In Hawaii - DC9, Speedcat's Death Ride Into Terror!, The Boy Inside All Men

Terri Terri Quite Contrary: Just How Immature Are We?, Finding A Voice, So Much More To See Than The Game

Mahala: Uncle Huberts Custom Cows, Pray For The Child At Big Lots, The Legend of Saushie's Crotch

Tiff: How Am I Like Ron Weasley, A Social Experiment, Absolutely Boring Entry 101

Cosmic Cat: Just An Ordinary Thursday Night..., Not Gone With The Wind. Just Gone., The "Weekly Thoughtful Reminder" And Other Hazards Of Working

Pole Hill Sanitarium: 756, Stocking Stuffer, Why It Matters

Naturally, the further this project spreads through the blogosphere, the more good it does for all involved. I hereby entrust 24 Crayons, Jeni, Gina, Mixter and Sonia with the further propagation of this meme. Additional tags are out on the loading dock for anyone who wants them. Be sure to leave a comment at Revellian.com when you're done so Bobby can add you to his list. Do as thou wilt.