We love WordPress. It's blogging software that's simple, easy to use, incredibly powerful, compatible with a huge number of open source templates that will easily give you a great looking blog...and it's FREE!

Making WordPress search-friendly does require a bit of tweaking, but the good news is that most of it is simple to do. And once you've got WordPress set up the right way you've got a lean, mean, search engine-friendly blogging machine that's ready to take on the big dogs.

Today we'll show you how to get a highly optimized blog with just a few hours of set-up time. Of course, then it's up to you to add the killer content that'll blaze your way to the top of the rankings.

To Blog or Not to Blog Not sure you need a blog? Most likely you do, as it will provide your site with an abundance of linking opportunities you wouldn't otherwise have access to. But it takes a commitment to regularly produce compelling content. To decide whether a blog is right for your business, be sure to read Chapter 44 in our Unfair Advantage Book: Blogging Your Way to Top Rankings.

WordPress Installation Basics

First, always download—and be sure to upgrade to—the latest version of WordPress. This is critical for security reasons. You can get the latest version at: http://wordpress.org/download/

Th...