Installing a Wordpress blog on your own host takes a bit of of technical know-how. That’s why most start out with a Blogger blog. However, the benefits of Wordpress for search engine optimization make it worth the effort. Also, Wordpress is open source which means people are always creating free plugins and innovating. You don’t have to wait for the company to create new features.

You can create a blog instantly at www.wordpress.com but then you’ll have wordpress in your domain name (i.e. newspapergrl.wordpress.com). Wordpress doesn’t allow any advertising and they delete blogs that have ads. I know because my Wordpress blog was deleted and then brought back to life.

I solved a mystery last week when I learned Automattic employee Joseph Scott got my blog back for me (THANK YOU!). Automattic is the company that created Wordpress. You may not be as lucky, so be sure to pay the $7 a month so you can host your own blog. If you have a lot of traffic you’ll pay a lot more but that’s good enough for most bloggers.

How to Install a Wordpress Blog

1. Get a domain name for your blog or install as a subdirectory of your existing site.
2. Go to WordPress.org and download the Wordpress files.
3. Log into your web host, find the cPanel and click on mySQL Databases link or icon. You will need to create a new database (name it what you choose),and then add a new user. You’ll have to choose a username and password too. See the screen shots below (which are from BlueHost)



Here’s a screen shot of adding a new user (these are similar for most web hosts).

4. Change the config file (wp-config-sample.php) and upload it to your server via FTP. You can use pretty much any text editor to change the file. Textpad will work (find in your accessories folder).define('DB_NAME', 'dbname‘); // Put the name of the database in place of the bold text
define(’DB_USER’, ‘dbusername‘); // Put in your MySQL username
define(’DB_PASSWORD’, ‘dbpassword‘); // Insert your password
5. You need to upload the files (your host should have a file upload or FTP - find in the control panel) to where you want to install WordPress. Most people put it in one of two places, either in the root directory, so it is the first thing people see when they come to your site or in a sub-directory, a folder like “blog”.
6. Type in http://www.yourblogURL.com/wp-admin/install.php. Click on “First Steps” and set up your blog title. Get a temporary password.
7. Log into your blog go to http://www.blogURL.com/wp-admin - you can change the password and other detail of your blog under the “Options” tab.

Now, I know you probably have a headache! That’s why I just call Bluehost at around 1am when there is no wait and the customer service folks are more willing to spend the time I need to explain things. I have them walk me through it or I use their quick install. There are drawbacks to the quick install but unless you’re pretty technical you probably won’t notice!

To use the quick Wordpress blog install find the link in the control panel (at the bottom of the long list of links on BlueHost) that says Fantastico De Luxe.

Hope this is helpful. Please comment if there is anything that would make this easier for newbies. Next I’ll post some of my favorite plugins, including a 1-click Wordpress plugin tool that will save you a lot of grief.

This is a guest post by Paul Wilson, my business partner who recently sold his blog to buy a wedding ring. I spent a good year trying to get him to blog and now I miss his posts.

Paul said he’ll start a new blog but in the meantime I’ve asked him to write for mine (and if anyone else wants to do a guest post, please contact me).

I’ll preface this by saying I’m a fan of Shoemoney and I read his blog and have met him in real life twice. I always respect that he’s worked hard and overcome personal issues as they are determined to succeed. (According to him he’s been fired, he used to be fat, etc). Over time he’s built a business, gotten healthier, built a lot of respect, and he’s openly shared a lot of his journey in an authentic way.

Jeremy doesn’t actually say he hates ALL SEOs - he just doesn’t like most of them. I wrote about how Aaron Wall loves SEO a few posts back (he didn’t say how he feels about actual SEO experts).

——- BEGIN POST BY PAUL WILSON ABOUT SHOEMONEY AND SEOs ——–

Jeremy Shoemaker (shoemoney.com) recently did a post on why he hates SEO experts (SEOs = people who are experts in search engine optimization). I know that there has been a lot said on this, but I have to weigh in.

I could not but wonder if Jeremy has lost touch with reality when I read his comment:

“SEO’s are like the 21st century car salesmen. Most are slimy and have no clue what they are talking about. They tell you you just need to put spammy keywords in your title tag, keyword tag, and write a spammy as hell description meta tag.”

Now, I will agree with Jeremy that there are definitely hacks in the SEO industry. However, you are going to find hacks in every industry. There will always be people who don’t know what they are talking about, trying to convince others that they are the “gurus.”

My good friend Jason runs JibberJobber, a legitimate business in the employment industry. Just because I receive tons of spam about slimy business opportunities doesn’t mean what Jason does isn’t viable, if not necessary.

What makes Jeremy’s post even worse, is the influence he wields. By him stating that 95% of SEO experts are “slimy” states that the industry as a whole is worthless (which I believe it wouldn’t take much to get him to admit).

To drive my point home, I recently was twittering Newspapergrl about possibly creating a monthly Utah SEO organization. Here are the responses her and I got on Twitter:

Twitter A: @paulwilson … sounds interesting but I do think that 90% of SEO is snake oil. Maybe i’m misinformed?

Newspapergirl: @Twitter A - misinformed. SEO is messier to track but it’s totally legit. You could benefit - you need to expand the reach on your site.

Twitter B: @PaulWilson There’s no need for monthly SEO meetings. Everything honorable about SEO can be learned fast. Monthly meetings are just slime.

Me: @Twitter B: I seriously disagree. I have been doing SEO since 1999, and I still learn something new with every person that I meet in my industry.

Twitter B: @PaulWilson You have to get past the slime, though. The good people will avoid a monthly SEO meeting, so all you’ll be left with is slime.

Me: @Twitter B: If the meeting is for SEO experts and sponsored by corporations like Franklin Covey, 1-800-Contacts and other corporations. Just like RMAMA. I am pretty sure we would get past the slime.

@NewspaperGrl: I am surprised the overall impression people have of SEO

@NewspaperGrl: I guess that makes it easier to rank higher for us =)

Twitter B: @PaulWilson It is possible to increase your rank honestly. SEO has been synonymous with gaming the system. Don’t brag about it.

Me: @Twitter B: You are welcome to believe what you like.

Me: @Twitter B: I personally believe SEO & SEM is a viable solution.

Twitter B: @PaulWilson Writing good content is the only viable solution. Once you start writing for robots, they’ll be the only ones reading your site.

NewspaperGrl: @Twitter B - don’t you think you can write good content AND add keywords that people are searching for? It’s usually not either/or

If you read Jeremy’s post in its entirety you will see that Twitter B is espousing almost word for word what Jeremy wrote. It worries me to see such a powerful blogger wield his influence so carelessly. For me, I see Jeremy blogging in his ivory tower totally disconnected from the practical concerns of everyday web life.

So, all-mighty Shoemoney what is your advice to the rest of us lowly peons:

“Concentrate on building a quality service. One that people will actually WANT TO BOOKMARK and comeback to…Its like people don’t know you can goto a web site without going to a god-damn Search Engine. When you create a good, useful service/site people will actually want to come to your site without you spamming Google.”

This is not bad advice Jeremy offers, but with so much noise on the web word of mouth generally will carry a website only so far. To believe that SEO shouldn’t be a part of your quiver of arrows is either ignorance, or willful stupidity. Google’s own page on creating useful websites shows that good content should be coupled with keyword research:

“Provide high-quality content on your pages, especially your homepage. This is the single most important thing to do. If your pages contain useful information, their content will attract many visitors and entice webmasters to link to your site. In creating a helpful, information-rich site, write pages that clearly and accurately describe your topic. Think about the words users would type to find your pages and include those words on your site.“

It truly is sad to see those, like Jeremy, live in their lofty ivory towers and scoff at us who make our living doing SEO.

———– END POST BY PAUL WILSON ABOUT SHOEMONEY AND SEOs ————–

I recommend looking at this - straight from Google for a primer on SEO for your web site:
Google’s - Making the Most of Your Content: A Publisher’s Guide to the Web

Done well SEO helps people find what they’re looking for. Most of the SEOs I know provide a huge benefit and 5% are scum.

I applied to be a Google Local Business Rep and forgot about it until tonight when I got an email saying I got accepted. No, I’m not a Google employee (though some day I’d love to be), I’m an independent contractor.

I’m also a huge fan of local businesses. When I totaled my car a few months ago I went with the auto body shop my insurance company listed that sounded like it was a local business. They were and they were superb. They even donate cars to needy families at Christmas.

Google is impressive. They have a training module about it. Here’s the slick part - they pay for fliers and their site connects to FedExKinkos and orders them. Then you go pick them up - which I did this morning.

Here’s how it works: I go to local businesses and take a picture. I enter the businesses information into Google Local. For that I get $2 and if they get a postcard and confirm the listing I make an additional $8.

Since I’m affiliate of OrangeSoda (and you can be too) and they are interested in someone managing their PPC campaigns (easy to start, complex to manage), I can make 5% of their spend for the lifetime of their account. Note that the minimum they can sign up for is $100 a month. I wouldn’t recommend starting that small, but you can. I don’t know anyone else who will take customers with that size of a budget.

Now I have a confession: if I’m bored on a date or I amuse myself by figuring out ways to help them market their business. That includes how to put their business on Google Local (if it qualifies).

I’d do it even if I weren’t paid, but now there’s an incentive. Plus, it makes me go out of my way to patronize local businesses which I want to do anyway. No more Del Taco lunches for me. Instead, it’s another favorite - El Gallo Giro (which is now on State Street in Orem).