Blogging is one thing, but do you know the rest of the story?

Blogging has evolved from the on-line scrapbook of yesteryear to a full-optimized and integrated dynamic website. Fortunately, the nature of “blogging” technology means that many of the things that you can do to bring your blog into the next decade are free and require only a little know-how. As the popularity of blogs and social media increases and the costs for entry remain low, it is more important than ever to make sure that your blog stands out in a good way.

Try these four tips to help take your blog to the next level.

1. SEO Optimization
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has to do with optimizing your blog so that search engines can find it when someone looks for keywords related to your blog or your location. Your blog can be optimized through the keywords that you use in the text or by the meta-tags assigned to the page (the “unwritten” keywords for your blog as a whole).

2. Comment Tribes
“Comment tribe” is a word given to the followers of a blog that leave comments. Tribes, as the name suggests, frequently post together on various blogs. Get the word out for your blog by reading and commenting on other blogs. When you read someone’s blog, or a post from a blog, that is similar to yours, include your link with a meaningful comment. You may also attract a “comment tribe” by commenting on news articles.

3. Social Media Integration
Integrating your blog with your Twitter or FaceBook can really make you stand apart. It also is a way to put a face on the blogger (you) and attract new readers. Begin by setting up a Twitter account and a FaceBook page under your blog’s name. Next, integrate elements from your blog into those pages, such as “tweeting” your blog posts, linking to your FaceBook page, or having a feed on your blog that shows wall comments and recent “tweets”. Lastly, participation is key. The more that you actively contribute to social media groups that have the same demographic as your blog, the more people you can attract. Also, don’t forget to include buttons to make it easier for readers to “Tweet” or “Friend” your blog (e.g. Feedly, ShareThis).

4. Social Bookmarking
There is also an avenue for incorporating social bookmarking (i.e. Delicious, StumbleUpon, Digg) into your site. Aside from actually integrating buttons to make it easier for readers to bookmark your site, you will also want to make sure that you have bookmarked your site on your own social-bookmarking accounts. This will make it more likely that others will find it – as always, a crucial element to making a blog a success.

As an added bonus, advertising on blogs will top $746 million by 2012; that is more than twice the figure for 2007, a lucrative industry by any definition and one that really is wide open. By taking your blog to the next level, you can make sure that you are in a position to get a piece of that $746 million dollar pie.