How To Setup A Genealogy Blog WIth Google Blogger

Kathleen  wants me to point out that since the class that we are teaching is in a computer lab, it will be much more productive (FUN) to make sure everyone has the experience of having at least a test blog and getting to do something with it.

I previously asked you to review the slide show in the "What is the purpose article of a couple of days ago". With that thought in mind let's have you set up a Google account if you don't have one, and even go the extra mile and setup a blog.

For those of you who either just drop in and see this post or those who didn't get the blog done for class, I will be posting on line so you can simulate the class or catch up. Our second lab class, next Friday will be actually expanding on your blog.

Now those of you not sure you want to do this, humor your awesome teachers and try it out. Our first class will probably get you so excited you won't sleep that night. You are supposed to smile now.

This video may be enough. Some of you will have a blog in just minutes. Do what you can.

Before you set it up, go back to why you might do this. In the slide show I end by sharing why I am writing this blog. For those reasons I want the search engines (Google for example) to love my blog. I am hoping to attract family members and people researching my lines to find me and to return often. I am looking for collaborators. One of the best reasons is to make it into a research blog. We will discuss that in depth in a class and a later article.

Research blogs are more facts and straight forward than one trying to attract an audience.

I named my blog and used the space below it as I did, for Google. I am thinking I might have been wiser to use the word Genealogy rather than Family History in my blog name and title as the world uses Genealogy more often. I am getting great search results for family history and fewer good results searching with genealogy in the search. For example: today I am on page 1 for the search Porter family history and am on page 2 for Porter Family Genealogy.

So if you decide to set up a test blog, you will have to give it a name. Google considers what the URL has in it and the name of your blog as a part of it's measuring how it treats you when people search.  Other things count to which we will discuss in a class: the title of your articles, the labels (tags) you give them, and the content matching the title and blog name for example.

It's a test blog right, so pick any name. Just remember if you do something cutesy like Kathleen's Kitchen sink, and you want it to be optimized for the search engines, you will have been a little better off not to have been cute.

OK, whether in our class or just dropping in - go setup your Google account and blog.