I know my clients must be fed up of hearing this, but I thought that if people understood just a little about how blogs work, it would encourage them to write more regular blog posts.

I took the view that if I just tell my daugther that she is not to do something or that she should do something, the response is often negative.  If I explain to her why it’s in her best interest to do or not to do something, her response is always higher.

So, this is just a quick tip, but I hope you gain some value from it …

This is what happens when you blog:

Once you publish your blog, a ‘ping’ message is sent to the blog update services telling them that your site has been updated.  Search engines like Google as well as RSS specific services like, Technorati, and Feedster periodically asks the Update Services - sometimes referred to as Aggregation Ping Servers - to let them know which sites have been updated.  The search engine spiders can then visit your blog to find out if there is any relevant content and if there is, they will index your site.

But, you don’t have to rely on the Update Services to notify the search engines that you’ve updated your blog, just by adding fresh new content on a regular basis, you will attract the search engine spiders.  Perhaps in a later post I’ll go through the nitty gritty of how this happens.  For now, I want you to think of the pinging services like this …

Whenever you publish your blog post, a bell rings at a “messenger’s” house.  The “messengers” job is simply to tell the regular callers (the search engines) who they should consider visiting on their next round.  And, it could be YOU! :-) 

Now I suppose you want to know how to ensure the Update Services are being pinged from your blog?  Well first of all, ensure the “Allow Pings” is selected in the “discussion” tab on the right of your blog post writing area and then you need to go to “Options” and then “writing” sub tab to ensure you have a list of the most up-to-date ping or update services in that box.  If not, click on one of the links above and find out more about where you can get a list of these.

Hope this quick tip was useful.

Trish Jones, MBA, is an online marketing consultant who has built and managed her own Internet business, since 2004. Trish teaches entrepreneurs, independent professionals and small business owners how to attract more clients and make more money using a simple blog. For more blogging tips, go to www.trishjones.com

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