This is a guest post by Becky Canary-King. If you would like to submit a guest article, please check out our guest post guidelines.

There’s really too much to say about the benefit of a good blog for your business. A well done blog can:

• bring in new customers
• establish you as an expert in your field
• open up communication with your clients
• support your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) marketing

Recently I discovered that the blog I write for fun about body image issues has a higher Google page rank than my company’s blog! Of course, we get a fraction of the web views, but without pointed effort, I managed to make my personal blog keyword rich, get lots of backlinks and ranked high in Google’s page rankings. Now that I’m writing for my company’s blog, here are six lessons I’m taking with me:

Picking a Topic

Be specific

Want to be a catch-all related to everything about your industry? Great. But you’re going to have a lot of competition, and major competitors with more resources and established viewers. Instead, focus on what you do best, the niche area that you have a unique perspective. What is the blog that only your company could write?

Establish your credentials

Let your readers know why they would want to hear from you about the topic. Just the fact that you are selling the product or service is not necessarily enough to gain your reader’s trust.

Sharing your education or career path is a quick way to add credibility; but it’s not the only one. I never got a degree in “Body Image Sciences,” but my genuine interest in the topic makes me a credible source to readers.

Collaborating with Other Blogs

Know Your Part on the Blogosphere

Read other blogs on your topic! Getting to know what’s already out there helps you establish where your niche will be. You also get a feel for what readers on the topic are interested in and can borrow some tricks on what works.

Comment and Share

Guest post, link back, comment on other blogs. All these actions convey your interest in the topic and establish your unique point of view.

Blogs can act as a community of learners, experts and interested parties. Join in enthusiastically!

Interacting with Readers

Let your readers know what they can expect

Doing a series is a great way to get readers coming back for more. Or pick a day when you write on a certain topic, or have a certain type of post.

Personally, I do a body positive music post every Friday, featuring a song or two I enjoy. I have been linked back to as a place where you can consistently check out body positive music.

Encourage and Ask for Feedback

Trying to get commenters on your blog can be really frustrating at first — it normally doesn’t happen automatically, but keep at it!

At the end of every post ask questions or encourage them to give you feedback on the topic. Respond to comments right away with a real response, rather than just a thank you. Readers are a great resource for your blog, let them know they are valued.

For more tips on increasing your Google Page Rank, I enjoyed How We Got a Page Rank 5 in Two Months. I also learned a lot from this explanation of how page ranking works.

Now get writing!

Becky Canary-King is an Account Manager and Press Contact at Direct Incorporation, a company focused on providing a more economical and efficient alternative to using a law firm for common legal/entrepreneurial issues. She blogs for Direct Incorporation’s Blog, offering tips for the first 6 months of your small business.

One of the most vital things you need to understand about attracting readers to your blog is that there is a huge difference between blog readers and mere blog visitors.

Blog visitors are those who are drawn to your blog for some reason, but do not stick around. After the initial visit, chances are that they might not return.

Blog readers are those that were drawn to your blog or website, and end up becoming regular visitors. These are people who will return to your blog or site and leave comments or participate in many other ways.

So, how can you convert blog visitors into blog readers, making sure that they return over and over again to interact with your blog? Three ways:

1. Use the comment section of each post to facilitate conversation

You can start by specifically asking your readers for comments. For instance, you could ask them, “What are your thoughts about this topic?”

When your readers know that they can participate and that you are keen on reading their contribution, they will be encouraged to become blog readers and not just blog visitors.

2. Respond to each comment

Probably not every comment given will deserve a response. However, if your readers and visitors have something of value to contribute, and they take time to leave comments in your blog, then you need to take time to reply to those comments, thus showing that you value what your readers have to say.

3. Visit your readers’ own blogs and leave comments on meaningful posts

Your visitors might take this as a gesture which shows that you are interested in interacting with them. Therefore, it might be a motivation to return to your blog. This is an effective way of inviting visitors back to see your new posts.

Converting blog visitors into readers is not difficult. All it takes is maintaining communication and showing them the value of sticking around your blog.

Charles Mburugu often writes about social media and technology. He also blogs about special coupon and discount offers such as weight watchers discounts and ediet coupons. He is currently writing for a coupon blog that offers weight watchers online discount and ediets promo code discounts.

You’ve done your homework. You’ve found a niche where you believe you can develop an online business.

Ask yourself this question:

Is there room to grow?

Then again, maybe you already have an established web presence, but need to pursue other opportunities that dovetail with your main business. Is there an easy and inexpensive way to develop additional websites?

Subdomains can be the answer in both of these situations.

What’s a Subdomain?

If you’ve ever typed a URL like “dogbones.bobspetfoodstore.com” into your browser, you’ve been to a subdomain. Subdomains are are folders attached to your main domain. But to search engines and the Internet they look like separate, distinct online properties. Subdomains can be valuable because they give you a low cost way to dramatically increase the reach and depth of your website presence.

Let’s return to the two earlier scenarios. If you are about to set up a domain to pursue a new online opportunity, do you have an idea and a domain name that will lend themselves well to taking advantage of subdomains?

Choosing a Domain Name

While you may not be ready to immediately pursue all the sub-domain ideas that will complement your main website, be prepared for when that time comes. Choose a domain name that lends itself well to subdomains. Keep it simple and generic.

Or maybe you think you’ve gone just about as far as you can go with your original e-commerce idea and domain. Brainstorm some related business ideas that would work well as subdomains.

Of course it’s important that the ideas driving the creation of subdomains relate in some way to your main domain. It’s unlikely that anyone would take seriously a site like “weddingrings.bobspetfoodstore.com.” And who knows what a search engine would do with a URL like that?

Talk With Your Website Host

Along with charting out the various subdomains you believe will work for your business, you need to check with your hosting service to see how they handle subdomains. Some services will host sub-domains free, while others will charge a small fee, maybe $10 for each subdomain.

Optimize Subdomains for Search Engines

When you get your subdomains set up, remember that the Internet is going to deal with each one as a separate website. Make sure they are properly submitted to search engines and you’ve done all your SEO work for each subdomain.

Lin Edwards is the chief writer for SmallBusiness-Domain.com, an online resource for web hosting, domain name and e-commerce reviews, tips and advice. Follow Small Business Domain on Twitter.

Sitting in Laura Christianson’s Google workshop at Mount Hermon, my new buddy Carrie and I turned to each other, mouths hanging open. Laura had just introduced us to Google’s Wonder Wheel. Aptly named.

"Social Media Mania" course participants at the Mount Hermon (CA) Christian Writers Conference. Lindsay Franklin is on the far left, in hot pink.

The Wonder Wheel has dual appeal – if you’re a visual learner (like I am), you’ll love this thing.

But even if you’re not, it’s the perfect tool to use when you’re not exactly sure what you need to Google.

Basically, the Wheel gives you a visual representation of your search term. Clustered around the main term are spokes, each containing a more refined (or related) term that will help you narrow your search. These items are grouped by topic, not by popularity like a normal Google search. You get to follow these spokes for as long as you like, then revert back to list form. It’s extremely useful for research.

“Battle Ready Swords”

You’ll see in my screen capture below that I’ve arrived upon the search term “battle ready swords.” (Yes, this is something I’d actually Google while doing book research.)

I started at medieval weapons, then followed a spoke to medieval swords, then onto what you see in the shot.

Genius, right?

And it’s easy as anything to use.

How to Use the Wonder Wheel

Simply go to Google.com, then enter your broad search term. The usual list of results will come up.

Then go to the left-hand column along the side where there are a bunch of Google’s hyperlinks and click on “Wonder Wheel.” (You may find this under “More search options” if you don’t see it right away.) Voila.

When your search is narrow enough and you’re ready to see the sites, you can click on “Show all results,” also on the left, and you’ll go back to listed results but using your more refined search term (or you can use the abbreviated list of results that Google provides to the right of the Wonder Wheel graphic).

I’m just waiting for the rest of the world to discover this nifty tool. Then maybe we’ll turn it into a verb, like we have with Google. “I have a major research paper due tomorrow and I haven’t even started. I’ll be doing some serious Wonder-Wheeling tonight.”

**This post was originally published on Lindsay A. Franklin’s “Truth and Fantasy” blog. Reprinted with permission from the author.

More on the Wonder Wheel:

• Need Ideas for Blog Posts? Try Google’s Wonder Wheel

Lindsay A. Franklin is writing Army of Light, a Young Adult Christian fantasy series. Five books are planned for this collection.

She has been married to her high school sweetheart for a little over a decade, and they have three children — two frogs and a little princess. Lindsay homeschools the rascals and considers that her “day job.”

In her “spare time,” she is working toward her Bachelor’s of Theology degree at a local Bible college. She says, “I’m on the twenty-year plan for graduation.”

Lindsay’s blog features Bible tidbits, book, music, and movie reviews of interest to YA readers, and fun fiction stuff on Fridays. You can also find her on Twitter (@LinzyAFranklin) and Facebook.

This is a guest post by Joanne Kraft. If you would like to submit a guest article, please check out our guest post guidelines.

Many moons ago I wrote an author.  Back then I had to scour her book for an address and finally resigned myself to addressing the envelope to her publisher.  I never did hear back from her.

Not that I’m bitter or anything…

A few weeks ago, Paul called me from the road, “Hey cutie, turn on Hugh Hewitt. He’s interviewing a mom-author.”

Wiping my hands on my apron, I turned on the radio program in our kitchen. Within seconds I was listening in, within minutes I was emailing the author. And, within the hour I was chatting with her via email about the learning curve of author-marketing.

How did I find her? I googled her name and book title – up popped her site.

If you’re a  nonfiction writer like me, you need to be within reach of your readers. Could your readers find you if they wanted to?

When you’re building your brand, your domain name is an integral part of your platform. Choose it wisely.

A few tips for domains:

Purchase your name.

Hands down this is the most important domain to own. Even if you’re not published yet, grab it! If you’re already an author, purchase the title of your book and anything else you think a reader may google to find you. There’s nothing wrong with pointing more than one address to your website.

And, there’s nothing wrong with snatching up a domain and doing nothing with it. Domains are like real estate. Give yourself some time to figure out what you want to build on your little piece of world wide web.

Laura Christianson from Blogging Bistro says, “I not only purchased my Blogging Bistro domain name, I purchased a few misspellings of the word ‘bistro’ too. That way, no matter what, I can be found.”

K.I.S.S.  Keep it simple, seriously!

If you write about cooking, don’t have some long obscure address about your cutesy-culinary-ness. People aren’t going to take the time to figure it out. You just aren’t that important (yet).

If you want to see if a domain name or vanity url is available go to NameChk. A writer-friend suggested it to me a few weeks ago. I think I’m in love.

Your name is taken?

Don’t fret. You can use a middle initial, or a pseudonym. You might even try contacting the domain owner and inquiring about purchase. You never know.

Domain police.

I can’t tell you how many times I read an amazing domain name and excitedly head over for a visit, only to be disappointed in my discovery.

In a perfect world I have the authority to seize all fantastic domain names from unworthy owners.

Joanne Kraft has a passion for encouraging moms. A sought-after speaker, Kraft has been published in Today’s Christian Woman, In Touch, ParentLife, Kyria, and P31 Woman Magazine. Her book, Just Too Busy-Taking Your Family on a Radical Sabbatical is due out on June 2011. You can find her at her blogs http://www.JoanneKraft.com and http://www.OneSoBlessed.com, or follow her on Twitter (@JoanneKraft).

*Note: This article was originally published on Joanne’s blog. She gave me permission to reprint it here at Blogging Bistro.

Lisa Shoreland

This is a guest post by Lisa Shoreland. If you would like to submit a guest article, please check out our guest post guidelines.

One of the best general strategies for improving blog readership is to build relationships with readers and get them involved in your blog.

Thinking of the people who stop by your blog as “readers” can hinder your approach to blogging – call them “visitors” instead and consider more than the passive dimension of reading.

While it’s true that some people visit blogs just to read them, the majority of people want some kind of a reciprocal experience – a way to get involved and connect with other people and topics that interest them.

The more you can provide the opportunity for this kind of experience, the more your readership will grow.

Here are four simple but effective ways to achieve this effect.

1.  Guest Posting

Inject fresh content into your blog by inviting other bloggers to write some guest posts for you. If you do the same for them, then you’re doing two positive things for your page: incorporating new writers and content plus putting your name and URL on someone else’s blog.

This attracts new visitors and gives existing readers something different to look at. While it’s important to establish a niche and specific identity for your blog, it’s also necessary to attract and hold visitors’ attention with variety. Guest posting is a great way to do that.

2.  Requesting Feedback

Your visitors have opinions, so why not invite them to share those opinions with you? You can benefit from readers’ suggestions because they can often tell you something about your blog that you were unable to notice yourself.

And once you’ve received feedback, you’ll be better able to give readers what they want. For example, you might post a simple question asking readers if they would like to see a guest post from a specific blogger, then send requests to these bloggers to see if you can exchange guest posts.

This will show visitors that you’re willing to interact with them and take their ideas into consideration – and this makes them much more likely to stay involved and share your blog with others.

3.  Posting Surveys

Another great way to get reader feedback is to post surveys. They don’t even have to be about your blog – they can be about your favorite topics, they can be “get to know you” surveys, or you can use a different idea to incorporate a survey that serves a specific purpose.

Surveys with pre-scripted responses give readers a chance to “compare notes” and see how other visitors’ responses stack up against their own. Here’s an example of a pre-scripted survey:

Open-ended questions provide you with more personalized feedback that you might be able to use in future posts.

A good strategy is to vary pre-scripted surveys with open-ended ones so your visitors can get even more variety out of your blog experience.

4.  Updating & Responding Frequently

When you do receive comments, feedback, completed surveys, or any other form of interaction from your visitors, make sure you acknowledge it and respond as soon as possible. This will let your readers know that you’re dedicated to maintaining relationships with them, which is an important part of interactive blogging.

Lisa Shoreland is a resident blogger at Go College, where she’s been researching kinds of scholarships as well as merit based college scholarship programs. In her spare time, she enjoys creative writing, practicing martial arts, and taking weekend trips.

This is a guest post by Eric Siu. If you would like to submit a guest article, please check out our guest post guidelines.

Blogging can be an excellent opportunity for an individual to become an expert on a topic. Whether you know a wealth of information about woodworking or your favorite hobby is coin collecting, there is likely a blog on your hobby or favorite activity.

While most individuals are not going to become famous blogging overnight, individual bloggers can increase their notoriety and buzz by guest blogging on larger blogs in their niche.

1. Increasing Buzz

Buzz is extremely important on the Internet. Readers want to read blogs that are written by individuals with authority. While a well written blog is important, individuals could care less if you have nothing credible backing up your blog.

Guest blogging on a major blog in your industry can help to increase buzz around your blog. The more visitors a blogger receives, the higher likelihood that they will ask you to continue guest blogging for them in the future.

2. Networking

Networking is extremely important in any line of business. However, networking with other bloggers can open up a wide range of opportunities. Bloggers may be able to share stories or even tips on how to improve their content. Blog owners who network are also able to increase readership on their respective blogs. Some guest bloggers are so excellent at writing content that they may be compensated for their efforts.

3. You Enjoy The Topic

Hopefully the blog that you are guest blogging on is about something you are passionate about. For example, why would you guest blog for a blog on food when your passion is duct tape wallets?

While some topics such as food and fishing may be able to together, a number of topics simply cannot be mixed.

Bloggers need to be aware of what they are writing about so that they do not get boring. Ask someone else to read your blog entry before hitting submit. Content that engages is key. However, bloggers do not want to have an all out war about your topic so be sure to keep the topic within reason.

4. Search Engine Optimization

Some guest bloggers are able to include a link back to their blog in their guest post. This is an excellent way to receive new visitors to the guest blogger’s blog as well as increase the search engine optimization of the guest blogger. Who knows what one link may be able to do!

5. New Visitors

While one link may bring in new visitors, your name is exposed to all of the readers on this new blog. Readers may research your name and visit your blog. Make sure to write powerful content so that readers are enticed to visit your blog!

6. Collaboration Within a Community

Guests bloggers who are able to write powerful content are going to become established members of the community. They will become well-liked and will be invited to a number of opportunities. Networking is important but having a large group of friends can ensure that many doors are opened for a blogger.

7. Different Viewpoints on the Same Topic

Guests posts allow individuals to share different viewpoints on the same topic. For example, one expert may believe that individuals need to exercise more than diet. Another expert may believe the exact opposite.

Being able to bring these views to the table can provoke discussion within the community and offer excellent information to the readers.

Eric Siu is a specialist at Wpromote, a PPC management and search engine optimization company.