My purpose here is to provide real estate agents with a beginner’s guide to the components of a blog. Knowing how blogs are put together helps in understanding how they can be used as part of a social media marketing campaign.
Blogs, at least as we know them today, are produced using some pretty sophisticated software. Essentially blogging software is content management software. It organises pages of content – posts as they’re usually called - in reverse chronological order and makes use of categories and tags to provide ways to group posts about the same topic. Here, then, are the main components of a blog.
Posts
Each entry to a blog is called a post. Each post is a web page on its own and contains a title (important for SEO), text (what you’re reading now), pictures (optional, but again, important for picking up Google juice) and video.
Permalinks
The permalink is the permanent web address of the blog post. It never changes (or shouldn’t). Why? Links and comments are the currency of the blogosphere. If a permalink is changed all inbound links to the old address will return an error if clicked. It’s like changing your telephone number and not telling anyone.
Categories and tags
Not all blogging software provides the use of categories. Most provide a tagging facility. Categories are used to file posts in the same way as you’d file a piece of paper in a filing cabinet. Tags are a way of signalling the general topic of the post. You’ll notice on lots of blogs – this one included – a tag cloud in the sidebar. Tags displayed in large letters indicate lots of posts on the topic. Clicking on a tag will display a page containing link to the posts written on that topic.
Links
Links are the currency of the blogosphere. They point readers to further resources, give substance to posts and add significant value to a blog. Links are found within posts and on link and blog rolls in the sidebar. A blogroll links to other blogs on the same subject.
Comments
Comments transform static web pages into spaces where conversation happens and communities form. They’re the lifeblood of blogging and provide a way for readers to ask questions, make suggestions and add something further.
Trackback links
Trackback links allow a blog to recognise the existence of links to a post from other blogs. These links are usually displayed just above or as part of the comments section of a post. Sounds kind of confusing so here’s an example. Over at Optiniche there’s a beaut tutorial on using trackbacks. Now that I’ve added a link to that post a trackback link will – if it’s approved by the author, Teli Adlam – appear in the comments section; along with 207 other responses.
RSS feed
Most blogs provide a link for readers to subscribe to an RSS feed. RSS feeds allow subscribers to stay up to date quickly and conveniently. Be sure to click on the RSS feed link in the address bar above.
There are other components to a blog, but these will get you started. Happy blogging.
Photo credit: H. Michael Karshis
