The purpose of this document is to give <guest post provider (gpp)> guest bloggers simple guidelines for crafting a compelling and engaging blog post, including what to write about, the tone and style of writing to use, and tips for helping guest_post_provider (GPP) foster a community of connected blog followers.

What should you write about?

GPP maintains a regularly updated list of topics it is currently looking to highlight on the blog and also accepts pitches for blog posts on any water-related topic that may be of interest to readers. Blog posts should highlight your experience, views, or unique perspective. They are not news stories. Consider what issues or topics you find compelling or are in your area of expertise. Then send your idea to Caitlin@wateredco.org. Once the focus of your blog post is established between you and GPP, think about what unique viewpoint you bring to the topic that will inform and inspire readers while also being thought- and conversation-provoking. Then write about it! Here are some guidelines:

Our process:
1. Work with a staff member to determine a topic and discuss an angle and content ideas.
2. Send a Word document with your draft text (approximately 500-1,000 words) to your staff contact, who will edit your text and return a redlined version and/or any comments.
3. Send your revised post back to the staff contact for posting. On rare occasions if we aren't able to negotiate edits on a post and it doesn't meet our standards or fall in line with the topic we discussed, we may decide not to publish.
4. Please provide 1-3 photos and/or graphics to include with your post (with captions).
5. Include a short bio (50-75 words) and photo to include at the end of your post.

Content standards and policy

Blogs use less formal language than newspaper articles, technical reports, etc. Don't be afraid to let your personality come through in your writing. This could mean inserting humor, personal anecdotes, and perspectives. However, be conscious that drawing absolute conclusions has the tendency to alienate your audience.
Please also keep in mind that GPP promotes the sharing of diverse perspectives and the analysis of different courses of action for better overall decision making. The goal of the <guest post provider (gpp)> blog is to engage the online community in constructive dialogue that fosters well-rounded understanding of water issues and tradeoffs statewide. It's important to avoid making libelous claims or attacking other organizations or viewpoints.
Additionally, we avoid publishing posts written specifically to promote a product or event without any educational focus. In other words, we're happy to point people toward resources provided they have the opportunity to learn something on the way, but the blog isn't used for pure marketing purposes.

5 Tips for Writing the Perfect Blog Post

1. Keep it short: Blog posts can be anywhere from 500 up to 1,000 words. Also, remember that you have about four seconds to hook an online reader: Readers should be able to grasp from the first two sentences what the rest of the blog will be about.
2. Provide links: Don't be afraid to comment on current news, linking to water stories in the press and large media outlets. And remember to link to other posts within the <guest post provider (gpp)> blog as well. Generally, all posts should contain four or more hyperlinks — one or two that link to content on other websites and one or two that link to content on the <guest post provider (gpp)> blog. GPP staff can help with identifying related <guest post provider (gpp)> posts.
3. Engage your readers: One of the simplest ways to entice readers to interact with you is to ask them a question. Consider starting your post with a question to hook them into reading more. Or end your post with a question to encourage commenting and feedback.
4. Be yourself: Readers are interested in your posts a) because of the information you impart, b) because they want to be entertained, and c) to connect on a personal level. Authenticity is king — if the goal of the blog is to create community, then the blogger needs to interact with the community. Be transparent about who you are and your goals for writing the post. And when readers comment, be sure to comment back. Think of this as an ongoing conversation that you're initiating.
5. Publicize: You're published! Tell your colleagues, friends, customers, local media, Facebook and Twitter followers and anyone else who might be interested about your blog post. There's no better way to engage readers, begin a conversation and make the impact you want than to go out and invite people to read and comment on your article
👉 >> Two Golden Rules Of Guest Post Pitches – Guest Posts are a Strong Backlink Way << 👈

Summary:
Exploring the advantages and disadvantages of hiring an SEO Company versus doing your own In-house Search Engine Optimisation.

Keywords:
SEO Company, Search Engine Optimisation Company, SEO Comparison, Search Engine Optimisation Expert Agency

Article Body:
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is very much a buzz phrase. Often companies looking to learn more about what SEO are baffled at how this new field of marketing can gain them an edge. Well it has been proven time and time again that it definitely can gain an edge over your competition. The problem a business has to assess is whether they should employ a specialist SEO Company or use existing resources within their respective IT Departments or Do It Yourself. This article explores the advantages and disadvantages of each.

In-house & Do It Yourself

Advantages: You have complete control. You can change things instantly. You will learn about the inner working of your website and also learn more about the Internet and how search engines work.
Disadvantages: It is a specialized field and attempting to do it delays the inevitable and allows your competition to gain an edge on you; also you may end up with more problems in the future by getting it wrong. You will need to have an intimate knowledge of your website, how it works, HTML and possibly any scripting languages that the website uses, like PHP. Also, you will need to buy some commercial tools to use, like WordTracker, WebPosition and SEO Elite. WordTracker allows you to effectively research Keywords, WebPosition allows you to track your websites ranking in the search results for given keyword phrases and SEO Elite allows you to track all links to your website. Purchasing these three necessary pieces of software will cost you around USD$900. Also, you will need to have a lot of time to read about SEO, take online courses, like StomperNet, listen to podcasts, like MrSEO podcast and read as much SEO material as you possibly can. For the StomperNet course you are looking at about USD$3000 and miscellaneous of books is likely to run up to another USD$1000. Total for In-house DIY, roughly USD$1500 to USD$4900. Not being experienced enough to know when and what to change. Not knowing how to link build effectively. Not having any time to study and learn enough to make the correct changes and modifications to your website – estimated at about 200 hours of study, learning and analyzing. As SEO takes time to see any results in the search engines it is important to not only learn the required knowledge to implement SEO but also give yourself the time to make tweaks and ongoing analysis. So to setup and configure an average website with 10 static pages it will take you probably 2 days and ongoing link building will be many, many countless days. Also, you need to take your time so that you do not overdo your SEO, spamming and stuffing keywords into pages as this can be as detrimental as not doing anything to the website in the first place.

Hiring an SEO Company

Advantages : You don't have to use internal staff resources or alter the focus of your business. Hiring a specialized online marketing and SEO Company will mean you have instant access to experts in the field who have a wealth of knowledge and resources. An SEO Company will know the lay of the land without you having to learn what they already know to expert levels. The Online Marketing Company will be your best partner in working towards achieving your online Internet marketing objectives.
Disadvantages: Using an Expert SEO Company will cost you money. It is important to realize that even though you have hired a firm to implement your Search Engine Optimisation you will still need to work in consultation with them in order to market your website online correctly – explaining your internet marketing goals, objectives, deadlines and budgets. Do your research, look at the SEO Firm and its portfolio, case studies and history of successes, ensure it is a reputable firm and don’t be scared to ask questions.

What to Look for in an SEO Company

A decent and reliable SEO company will have a good reputation and a strong presence within the Online Marketing and SEO industry. When you start, I suggest searching in Google for “Online Marketing” or “SEO” within your country or region. Look at the potential SEO firm's websites, their portfolios and take some notes. Give them a call and see if you can arrange a meeting at their office and in person to discuss details and gather more information. Discuss your situation and how you can best achieve your goals. Take note of their professional nature, their history, case studies and vision for your online presence and also ensure that you are happy with the professional and personal relationship you have with the company representatives as this will be an ongoing one.
While the advantages and disadvantages of optimizing your own website and employing an SEO Company are diverse I think it important to point out that no matter how good you think you are an SEO firm will always be better at SEO. So if you really want to see results, you have very little time then hiring an SEO company is the only way to go. If you have time and some website expertise then you may be willing to put in the time and try doing it yourself. My only thought on this is that you wouldn’t hire a plumber to fix a problem with your car.
When all is said and done, good Search Engine Optimisation will get your website results. It is important to make sure you are making the right decisions in your online marketing as this may well be the lifeblood of your business and is certainly an effective way to promote your business and generate sales leads.

👉 >> Hire a Real SEO Company for Google SE! << 👈

Given the razor-sharp competition in the internet marketing today, it takes the help of an intelligent SEO company <country> to beat the competition and sustain one's <country> website rankings. Search engine optimization specialists can tell you how to improve your ranking in popular search engines which is crucial to boosting the volume of traffic to your website. An SEO marketing company would tell you that it is not enough if you rank higher only in a specific search engine. A comprehensive search engine optimization strategy comprises of techniques that ensure higher ranking in all popular search engines enhancing your chance to augment the volume of your online traffic.
So how to find the right SEO partnership to join the hands with for a holistic search engine optimization? If you are aiming at finding the right SEO services <country> from an experienced SEO company <country> to increase website rankings then there are a number of factors which you have to take into consideration.
We have a team of SEO experts <country> who understand the search engine dynamics inside out. Our SEO <country> Company consists of talented search engine optimization specialists who are immensely experienced to handle SEO campaigns for the most competitive keywords and key phrases in any specialized business domain. Being a leading SEO company <country>, we believe that succeeding in any SEO marketing campaign requires impeccable and in-depth keyword analysis which is the cornerstone of the entire SEO process and one of the most crucial factors in boosting your website rankings. Our search engine optimization specialists analyze keywords and keyword phrases using cutting-edge keyword analysis tools to arrive at the keywords and key phrases that are not only less competitive but also highly searchable on the web.
As a top-notch SEO services <country> provider we are renowned for offering SEO content writing services that will potentially boost your page rank. Our content writers bring their creativity and experience together to write keyword rich content with an amazingly assertive, appealing and marketing punch making the page a must-read for your classified audience. We know that content is the soul of any webpage and play a crucial role in getting you good search engine ranking in all popular search engines such as Google, Yahoo and MSN.
Before you go for a full-fledged SEO campaign, don't underestimate the importance of the right SEO partnership. The right kind of SEO Company <country> can make or break the very purpose of your SEO campaign. If not handled properly or if you choose the wrong SEO partnership, then you will stand to lose money as well as your precious time. On the top of it, you will end up subjecting your website to mal-optimization which again will add to your injury.
We adopt white-hat SEO techniques for better <country> website rankings. With us, you stand to gain standardized, customized and cost-effective SEO packages that meet all your needs. Here is a lowdown on what we offer in our SEO services <country>.
1. We offer a campaign specific module for each of our clients. We allow them the privilege of specifying their own keywords (unless they want us to carryout a comprehensive keyword analysis), their targeted demography and the list of competitors. Our search engine optimization specialists then examine and optimize them which is then sent to our customers for their approval. The final list is drafted after the clients' approval.
2. Our search engine optimizations specialists do a lot for boosting the website ranking of our clients. They follow a strategic on-page optimization process by enhancing the keyword density, keyword positioning, URL structure guidelines, meta-tags content, relevance of visible text and so forth.
3. Link popularity is the most crucial factor of search engine optimization which boosts the popularity of your website. We have a dedicated team of link builders who do the job for strategic link building to improve the popularity of our clients' websites.
4. We carry out the optimization services with an LSI based SEO approach. Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) is the technique that gives you a crucial edge over your competitors for attracting high volume of traffic as well as potential clients. This ensures better results for your clients and higher profits for you.
👉 >> Free Advanced SEO Course versus Paying SEO Course << 👈

Summary:
Unfortunately, there are a lot of fairly misleading articles out there. This article sets the records straight on a few important issues.

Keywords:
seo, search engine, optimisation, optimization, google, rank, article, copywriter, submission

Article Body:
I recently received another ‘please help’ email from a gentleman named Ian who runs an adventure company in Tanzania (http://www.domain_name.tld ). Ian was concerned about the effect of a variety of issues including indexing and link dampening, and was desperate for help. Unfortunately, he had read some fairly misleading articles in the past, so he had a somewhat mixed up understanding of the factors at play. Because I suspect he’s not alone in his concern and confusion, I decided to publish the details of our discussion.
Ian’s email consisted of several questions. I’ve listed each separately below, followed by my response.
Q: When I search for the number of backlinks to my site using “link:www.domain_name.tld”, I see only 23 results. It appears that only 23 of our backlinks have survived Google’s dampening link filter. Is there a time delay before they are credited to a site? “
A: Firstly, I think you may have the dampening link filter a little confused. According to the dampening link filter theory, your links are found and recognized by Google, you just don’t get the full benefit from them until a given period of time has elapsed. The dampening link filter (if it exists) doesn’t stop links from appearing in Google’s results when you search for them. (The only reason your backlinks might not appear in a Google search is if Google hasn’t yet indexed the pages containing the links.) Also, don’t worry too much about things like the dampening link filter. For a start, it’s far from established / accepted fact. Many well regarded SEO experts don’t believe in it at all. Furthermore, even if it does exist, it only affects those businesses with the budget to generate the huge numbers (hundreds or thousands probably) of links reputedly required to trigger it. If your number of backlinks suddenly increases by 20, that’s no problem.
And secondly, don’t believe everything Google tells you. By searching for “link:www.domain_name.tld”, you generally only see a small percentage of actual links to your site. The best way to search for links is to search for just the URL “www.domain_name.tld” , then on the page that displays next, select “Find web pages that contain the term “www.domain_name.tld” “. When you do it this way, you’ll see all the pages that contain your URL. In most cases, the URL will be an active link (or at least it should be, and you should ask them to make it so). When you do this search, you’ll see that your site has about 169 links, not 23.
Q: Another question is about indexed pages (using site:www.domain_name.tld). I understand this is a record of pages that have been changed. I had 32, it went down to 28 and now this morning it is down to 26. Do they only keep the pages for a month or is there more to the indexed pages than I realized?
A: The number of indexed pages is simply the number of pages on your website that Google ‘knows about’. Theoretically, the only time the age of a page comes into play is when the page is too young*, i.e. Google spiders haven’t visited it yet, or Google hasn’t updated its index. As to why the reported number of indexed pages is reducing, I suspect it’s just a temporary shift. The number of results in Google’s searches varies pretty much constantly.
*Actually, technically speaking, it has been suggested that Google is not capable of indexing all 11.5 billion pages currently believed to be online (and the 10 million more that are added every day), and that as it indexes new pages, old pages are pushed out of the index. (This is a very rough description of the theory – if it’s happening at all, it’s likely to be far more complicated than this.) If this is happening, it may explain why the reported number of indexed pages is reducing. Although I think it’s a long shot, a good way to deal with it is to maintain high quality content, to keep increasing it, to keep generating backlinks, and to generate a Google sitemap. To find out more about sitemaps, go to http://www.google.com/webmasters/sitemaps/login.
I know there’s a lot of confusion surrounding these issues, so I hope you’ve found this exchange helpful.
👉 >> Speeding Up Indexing of Thousands of Pages << 👈
Happy indexing!

Summary:
Did you recently learn what search engine optimization means? Learn a brief history behind this new industry, including which search engine first implemented what later became known as search engine optimization, and how initial unethical SEO practices forced the search engines to tighten their measures on how their robots rank and index Web sites.

Keywords:
seo, search engine optimization, internet marketing, website promotion, website marketing, search engine marketing, internet advertising

Article Body:
As long as the Internet has been around, it has remained a mystery to the mainstream public how Web sites are listed at the top of search engine results. There are many theories of how search engines and search engine optimization (SEO) initially began.

The 1990s
Alan Emtage, a student at the University of McGill, created the first "search" program in 1990 called Archie (still in use today), to archive Web documents. The following year, Gopher started at the University of Minnesota, and this is when the concept of search engines began. In 1993, Matthew Gray created the World Wide Web Wanderer, the earliest known search engine robot that assists with ranking Web sites. But search engines as we use them today were born in 1994. In that same year, Galaxy, Lycos and Yahoo! were all started, two of which are still widely popular search engines today.
Yahoo! was among the first to implement SEO techniques, even though at the time they were unaware of the potential growth the industry would soon have at the turn of the century. Yahoo! Founders David Filo and Jerry Yang were trying to get their site seen by others on the Internet by giving it more exposure. Some excellent structure and tricky hand-coding, their site became more available for new visitors. They were not questioned about ethical business practices because nobody was sure what was considered ethical or unethical – there were simply no standards in place yet.
As the initial search engines were cataloging the early Internet, many business owners soon learned to appreciate the value of their Web site being listed in the search engines, as they first saw increases in visitors to their Web sites. They began submitting their URLs on a continuous basis, and changed their sites to support the needs of search engine robots. SEO companies started showing up, when they began experimenting with the concept of search engine optimization, with the emphasis initially on the submission process alone. Soon afterwards, the first automatic submission software was released, and it was then the notion of Spam came into existence.

The 2000s
SEO professionals have been seen in a negative light over the last five years, due in part because in early 2001, enthusiastic webmasters quickly realized they could overwhelm search engine result pages by over submitting Web sites. Unfortunately, as the Internet industry developed, search engines quickly became cautious of new SEO companies attempting to generate visitors for their clients at any cost, however unfair or unethical. Tactics such as keyword spamming, doorway pages, cloaking, and hidden white text placed on white backgrounds proved too much for the search engines to tolerate. As a result, the search engines replied with numerous countermeasures, created to filter out any techniques considered spam. That is good news, although it forced ethical SEO companies to start using more subtle techniques to assist their clients Web sites with obtaining rankings in the engines.
The "big 3" search engines, Google, MSN and Yahoo!, have recently come to the realization that SEO as an industry is here to stay, and to maintain effective results, they needed to accept the industry, even embrace it, and engines eventually partnered with successful, ethical SEO companies to establish typical standards for fair and ethical optimization. This is important to help keep information relevant and beneficial to visitors while still being unbiased to people who create the content on their Web sites.
👉 >> SEO Fatigue. Leaving Agency Life to Go Solo<< 👈
The Current State of SEO
Today, there are major differences in how search engines work and how to get ranked in them. With the assistance of proper search engine optimization, Web sites can now have a equal fighting chance of obtaining high rankings. Because SEO is a highly specialized trade that requires both technical skills and business marketing knowledge, it is only through the combination of these two skills that one can properly implement SEO techniques to obtain high search engine rankings. Many SEO specialists have since now realized it is "search engines or bust."