But guess what? – Those shiny cool badges that look great on your blog might just be stealing your voice.

Now you’re wondering, what the heck does David know about this?

A lot.

Today, I’m taking a break from dating, parenting, and booty calls to share some fatherly blogging knowledge with you…

First off, know that I have two degrees in computer science, and six software patents – three of them internet related. I’ve lived and worked in Silicon Valley for more than twenty years. I’ve written an HTML browser for TV set-top boxes. I knew the founders of eBay, Netscape, and other startups, and have friends in practically any major tech company you can name. I’ve lunched at the Googleplex. I’m plugged in.

When readers visit your blog, they love seeing the bling. Badges, images, links to other places. It looks like the world approves of all you do. And I’m sure the world does! Because you rock as a blogger. You have a unique voice that deserves to be heard. Everything you write should end up on page one of Google search results.

But under the covers, and probably unbeknownst to you, those blog badges are sucking the life right out of your blog.

When Google visits your page, it’s a computer, not a person, taking a peek. From the computer’s point of view, all those badge links mean that you think OTHER pages are more important than yours. Here’s how it works.

Google sees every link on your page as pointing to something more important than you. If a blog badge points to someone else’s site, Google takes note – it says, great, thanks for letting me know that the other site is more important. I’ll put THEM up on page one of search results, and relegate you to the bottom of the heap.

Worse than that – Google sees that blog badge link on every single post you write! If you write five posts a week, then that’s five votes for the other site being more important than yours. Talk about killing off the energy of your own blog!

What can you do about this? If you never link anywhere, your blog becomes stagnant. Without sharing link love, no one will visit you anymore. You have to link out and trust that others link back. And they will, if you write compelling content. But beware – some of the links you see pointing to you are not seen by Google! It can be tricky. If you have specific questions, ask me.

Quick fix #1: remove the badge. Save the free advertising for friends and groups you care about.

Quick fix #2: leave the blog badge images in place, since they look so pretty, but take away the link. There are two ways to do this. One is take away the anchor <a> tag. Unfortunately, that means your readers can’t follow the link. The other is to add rel=”nofollow” to the anchor tag. That way readers can follow the link, but search engines ignore it. Feel free to ask me for help if you need it.

Bottom line: Only give out links in your actual blog posts. That way, if you write five posts in a week, and link to a site in one of those posts, you only give away that link love once. Your other four posts stay strong. Your voice is heard!

If you link to a blog, and that blog links back to you, that’s a good thing. You are sharing link love, and they are sharing it right back. Doing this in a blog badge isn’t terrible, but doing it in a blog post will keep the most link energy on your own blog. [Ed. Note: the Single Parents Connection badges available for download use nofollow and do not leak energy.]

Here are the nitty gritty details for Quick Fix #1:

If you have a blog badge like this:
<a href=”xxx”> <img src=”yyy” /> </a>

Change it to this:
<img src=”yyy” />

That’s it!

(For the more HTML savvy, use the ‘no follow’ techniques.)

Maybe you’re fine with giving away your Google energy. Some people blog for a social outlet and communal connection, and don’t care to rank high in search results. Nothing wrong with that. But at least now you are aware and can make your own choice about where your blog’s page rank energy goes.

Whether with family and friends or with a wider audience, your voice deserves to be heard.

If you have questions about this and want specific advice about your blog, shoot me off an email. I’ll do my best to answer or refer you to a consultant.

If you liked this post, you might also enjoy:

• Craigslist Dating – Watch Out for Spam
  
• Facebook – Single Parents Connection Group
• How is Facebook Used by Single Parents?
• No More Bottom Dwelling… Dad’s House Bumped to Top of Alltop

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