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updated: November 2020 In this post, let's check whether our blog or website uses SEO practices that Google likes and avoids the ones it hates. Why Google? I am not weighing Google vis-à-vis Yahoo, Bing and other search engines here. But the reality is that at present Google is the industry leader in the search domain and therefore doing something that this giant search engine hates means low reputation and low popularity, even chances of being penalized. Moreover, Google has been more transparent about what it likes and what it hates as compared to others. When search engines [as well as reputed directories] look at content on the web – including text, images, links, comments, archives, tags/ labels, affiliation, advertisements, messages… – they look for relevance and quality in deciding the value of that content. They do not like manipulative tricks – tricks that are employed to fool search engines and directories into seeing a poor web resource as one with high value. Take the...

Updated: November 2020 In this post, I analyze SEO tips that we often read on the web. I have colored good advice in green, bad in red and so-so in orange. After each tip, I've given my views in italics . Give the blog a nice, specific name. Give it a good description.  Sure. Relevant and memorable name along with a description that amplifies its identity are good SEO practices. Have the blog on your own platform, not Wordpress or Blogger.  Not necessarily. If you are a new blogger, you may like to mature your craft on these excellent platforms before going for an independent platform. However, I strongly recommend giving your blog an identity even if you are on free platforms. Blog frequently.  Yes; but a quality post once a week is better than copy-paste content seven days a week. Comment on others’ blogs.  Yes, but only if you feel like. Make your comments thoughtful. Just ‘Liked your post’ or ‘You look lovely’ look like spam. Scratching each o...