Are you a blogger, copywriter, journalist… or just someone who enjoys writing online? If so, then content discovery is likely VERY important to you – even if you didn’t realize it already. On Thursday, November 18th, I will be co-hosting a webinar with my good friend Jake Ludington called Chris Pirillo University (CPU): Writing for Google. Between us, Jake and I have more than 25 years of combined online publishing experience. We are prepared to bring you the best tips, tips and secrets we have to help you write for Google.

How will people find what you’re writing? Sure, there’s the social media outlets – but, chances are, Google is the primary gateway to your intended audience. How do you rise above the competition? Forget about buzzwords and busywork – we’ll show you how to do things right the first time so that you don’t have to hire anybody else to help you make things work for yourself in terms of writing for discovery on Google (and other search engines, vicariously).

Prepare yourself to learn:

• How to write titles that rank
• How to do effective keyword research
• How to use keywords without stuffing
• How to make the most of your 300-500 words
• How to link for maximum impact
• How to craft better file names for your pages
• How to integrate rich media with your text

And get your questions answered, like:

• Do “meta tags” matter?
• Are there tools to make writing easier?
• Where do I find great article titles?
• Can images help my articles?
• Should I link outside my blog?

All registrants will receive a copy of the webinar – so even if you can’t interact with us live, you can still learn on your own schedule! You have nothing to lose (especially since you’re likely already writing online and wanting to optimize your time).

Tickets are only $97.00, and they won’t last long. Be sure to sign up before it’s too late.

Chris Pirillo University (CPU): Writing for Google

Add to iTunes | Add to YouTube | Add to Google | RSS Feed

If I were to tag my dogs, I would use words such as: wicket, pixie, dog, puppy, paws, pet, tail, wag, and so on. Tagging things is second nature to me now. But I’ve come to realize that not everyone knows what tags are, or why they should be using them.

To put it simply, tags are keywords that are used to make your post/picture/whatever easier to find. When you look for something via a Google search, you type keywords into the search box. Let’s say you’re looking for the best monitor to buy. You would start by searching something like “monitor review” or similar, right? Those are called keywords! They are what leads you to the results that you see.

If you have a website or blog, you definitely want to use good keywords. How else will people find what you’ve written? Using tags is the easiest way for people to find you! If you write about your dogs and use good dog-related tags, people searching for dogs may just hit on your site!

The reason I started talking about tags is due to an email I received from Olrik! He asked about tags, and how useful they are. He was writing his blog posts through Windows Live Writer. In that program, there’s an option to set up some tags. He’s no professional writer, but he does want to start becoming more professional.

Using the built-in feature allows you to choose from pre-set tags and keywords that will apply to your content. They are live tag selections, which are similar in nature to Google Suggest.

If you’re not already using tags, you should probably start. After all, you are probably not only creating content for yourself, right? You want to be heard – and you shall!

Want to embed this video on your own site, blog, or forum? Use this code or download the video:

<object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Wh04njNoDZI"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Wh04njNoDZI" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><br /><a href="http://chris.pirillo.com/">Chris</a> | <a href="http://live.pirillo.com/">Live Tech Support</a> | <a href="http://media.pirillo.com/">Video Help</a> | <a href="http://feeds.pirillo.com/ChrisPirilloShow">Add to iTunes</a>

What are Tags?

I need to have some WordPress plugins developed, and I’m sure the rest of the world would love ‘em, too…

• Take a look at any given Vox blog – when you hover over any given tag, you can view the results for that tag in specific local indices. I’d like for someone to make a WP plugin that passes the tag to selected local AND external tag engines (Technorati, TagJag, Flickr, etc.).
• I’d also like to see a similar WP plugin for Bookmarking the post in the multitude of social engines (on hover, add to del.icio.us, Digg, Reddit, etc.). I don’t wanna clutter my posts with hundreds of icons, and I believe this is plugin is also within the realm of possibility.
• I need someone to create an expanded version of the Kramer WordPress plugin, so that it might take in link data from other blog search indices – Yahoo!, Ask, Feedster, Windows Live, Google Blogs, etc. Kramer really beefs up the discussion for any given post, but I really wanna kick that into overdrive.
• What about a plugin that takes incoming search terms and auto-tags the post based on those terms (with or without moderation)? So, if a user searches for KeywordXYZ on Google and ultimately visits one of the blog entries, that blog entry will have the KeywordXYZ added to its tag list (via UTW or something).
• I also need a WP tool that recursively goes through my posts which have not already been tagged, then tag the posts with keywords it finds most appropriate (either through the Yahoo! API or internal logic) – almost like how the Related Posts plugin works against the posts database automatically?

And while we’re on the subject of WP, Automattic really needs to rename MUWP to something more human, like “WordPress: Community Edition.” Doesn’t that position it better?

WordPress Plugin Ideas

I’ve had a few people ask me what to tag their posts as for Gnomedex. I say (and have always said) just tag things “Gnomedex” and leave it at that. If you wanna get fancy, you can also do Gnomedex6, Gnomedex06, Gnomedex2006, or SirNotAppearingInThisFilm. For maximum flash efficiency, stick with “Gnomedex” and call it a day. The only other tag we’d like to recommend is “GnomedexDiscussion” – for the times when you’d like to make a comment on something that’s being said at the conference – specifically when we run out of time for a discussion on-site. If you want to watch what’s happening with any of the keywords, you can import any of the following into your news aggregator from TagJag:

• http://tagjag.com/blogs/gnomedex/opml (Recommended)
• http://tagjag.com/all/gnomedex/opml (Large!)
• http://tagjag.com/blogs/gnomedex/rss (Single Feed, Beta)
• http://tagjag.com/all/gnomedex/rss (Single Feed, Beta)

TagJag outputs OPML and RSS without you ever needing to visit the site! Plus, it combines tag search directories (fresh, like Flickr, Technorati, or de.l.ici.ou.s) with traditional search directories (static, like Yahoo!, Ask, or MSN).

Tagging Your Posts for Gnomedex