By Jennifer Marsh

Jennifer Marsh is a software developer, programmer and technology writer and occasionally blogs for Rackspace Hosting.

With so many blogs hosted on the web, standing out among competitors takes a lot of work and patience. Rising to the top also takes some marketing know-how and a solid understanding of the web. But even a new blog owner can stand out among competitors by taking advantage of great content and a little networking.

Blog Article Titles

With the new Google algorithm changes, keyword stuffed titles and content can actually do more harm than good. To stand out among the other URLs in a Google search result page, create a title that isn’t boring and prosaic. Web marketing is more than SEO. It’s a strategy that entices users to click your link over the thousands of other search results. With snappy titles and great content, the blog stands out in the results and improves reader visibility. Great content gets the blog bookmarked, so the reader keeps coming back for more.

Guest Posting

Guest posting is an excellent way to get visibility as a blog writer. Most blogs offer guest posting from experts in the field. As an expert, the writer can gain visibility from another popular blog in the industry that already has a steady readership. Using the more popular blogs’ traffic, the writer can direct traffic to his own blog.

Collaboration with Other Employees

Social media and marketing are prime marketing avenues for website visibility. After the blog launches, send a group email to employees and ask them to review the blog for feedback. Additionally, ask employees to “Like” or “+1” the blog in their social circles. Employees can also contribute to comments publicly. The interaction with employees can increase visibility with their friends, which can improve visibility with thousands of other potential readers.

Newsletters

If the company is adding a blog to an existing website, newsletters sent to opt-in customers can help debut the blog. Newsletters are a form of marketing that helps gain readers who are already interested in the company products. Newsletters also help inform readers of new products, company changes and any other tidbits of information in the industry.

These tips help boost visibility especially when the blog is new, but in addition to marketing, the content must always have quality and originality to gain recognition and trust with search engines. Avoid spamming, duplicate content and auto-translated information. While good content can help gain visibility, poor, low-quality content can do the exact opposite.