XV – Revised

We like this theme’s code because it:

• validates
• has better-than-average code structure
• emphasizes your post titles
• emphasizes your blog name
• emphasizes your blog’s description
• uses unique page titles

Hemingway for Wordpress

We like this theme’s code because it:

• validates
• has better-than-average code structure
• emphasizes your post titles
• uses unique page titles

Hemingway reloaded

We like this theme’s code because it:

• validates
• has better-than-average code structure
• emphasizes your post titles
• uses unique page titles

Rounded Blue V2

We like this theme’s code because it:

• comes very close to validating
• has better-than-average code structure
• emphasizes your post titles
• emphasizes your blog name
• emphasizes your blog’s description
• uses unique page titles

Freshy 1.0

We like this theme’s code because it:

• comes very close to validating
• has better-than-average code structure
• emphasizes your post titles
• emphasizes your blog name
• uses unique page titles

Now, I’m a little biased , but I think one of the best ways to get a great theme with great code is to have it built that way; you get the best of both worlds: a custom theme that represents you perfectly, and great, search-engine-friendly code.

However, I’m also a realist, and know that many bloggers can’t/don’t want to put cash into their blogs, so I wanted to take this opportunity to highlight some beautiful WordPress themes that also feature excellent, search-engine-friendly code. Read on to see the first five selections (in no particular order). (Hold your mouse over a “reason” to see a slightly longer explanation.)

Iceburgg

We like this theme’s code because it:

• validates
• has better-than-average code structure
• emphasizes your post titles
• uses unique page titles

Gridlock 1.4

We like this theme’s code because it:

• comes very close to validating
• has better-than-average code structure
• emphasizes your post titles
• emphasizes your blog name
• uses unique page titles

Fresh (Compact) 1.2

We like this theme’s code because it:

• validates
• has better-than-average code structure
• emphasizes your post titles
• emphasizes your blog name
• uses unique page titles

Time Manager

We like this theme’s code because it:

• comes very close to validating
• has better-than-average code structure
• emphasizes your post titles
• emphasizes your blog name
• uses unique page titles

Fluid Solution

We like this theme’s code because it:

• comes very close to validating
• has better-than-average code structure
• emphasizes your post titles
• emphasizes your blog name
• emphasizes your blog’s description
• uses unique page titles

This will be an ongoing series, so if you want to know about a particular theme, leave a comment and we’ll consider the theme for future evaluation.

The post was specifically about the tool WebCEO, but at the end, Guillaume opened up the discussion with this question:

Anyone have a better/faster system to accomplish most of those tasks / tedious reports?

Even though the post itself didn’t deeply interest me (I’ve played with WebCEO before and already have an opinion), that question did and I clicked through to see the comments. Sure enough, people were weighing in on a wide variety of products and services. One that caught my eye particularly was about a new site called SoloSEO. I’m a big fan of web-based software, so I signed up for their mailing list, and yesterday I received an email saying the system is up and running.

I promptly signed up for a free trial account, and they gave me extra incentive to try it out by bribing me to write a review about it. I’ve tinkered around a bit and generally like what I’m seeing. Here are some observations, both positive and negative.

What can it do for you?

Like all search engine optimization (SEO) tools, the idea here is to get more visitors to your blog by creating a blog that the search engines want to send people to. A good chunk of the strategy here is in choosing keywords that accurately describe your content and using them judiciously (like in your post titles).

To do a good job, it’s important to pick good keywords (ones people are actually looking for!) and then also track how well you’re doing with them—both how often you’re using them and whether you’re part of the results the search engines display for those words. SoloSEO offers a range of tools designed to help you pick good keywords and then track them.

How well does it work?

My impression at this point is that there are a few kinks to work out, but the tool generally works well.

One of the strongest parts of SoloSEO seems to be the tools to help you pick good keywords. They’ve taken some of the best-known tools in the SEO industry and put them together in an easy-to-use page. You can have their tool scan different pages of your site and recommend keywords based on what you’ve already written about (this is great for a blogger who’s written at least a few posts but is just learning about SEO).

All of these tools don’t work together quite as well as I was hoping, though. I decided to run a report to see where this site ranked for the various keywords SoloSEO recommended. However, the report tool asked me to type in a list of up to ten keywords I wanted to check on. I found that pretty odd, considering I’d saved a list of its recommendations; I expected to be able to choose from them rather than type things in.

Interestingly, a lot of the tools are built to use your site’s “Sitemap XML” feature. Most bloggers aren’t taking advantage of this feature yet, but this requirement is good motivation to do something that you should already be doing (if you have a sitemap set up, you’ll show up better in Google and other search engines). The upshot is that, just by getting your blog ready for the SoloSEO tools, you’re actually likely to have better results.

The tool seems to be targeted at people who have a rudimentary understanding of search engine optimization, but are not experts. They have provided some explanatory text, but mostly it seems like the site is designed for exploration—click here, click there, “I wonder what this does?”.

There is a “Learn” button, and I kind of expected that to take me to detailed information and instructions about the page I was viewing, but it actually leads to a list of good resources to learn more about SEO. Helpful, but perhaps a little unintuitive because of its location.

Overall, I think SoloSEO is a good tool for bloggers getting started with search engine optimization, but they have some things to work on. However, they’ve shown (by the fact that they have a blog, and also because they’re looking for honest reviews) that they’re interested in feedback, so I’m very hopeful that they will take advice and suggestions seriously. If they do, they could have a truly fantastic product.

Is it a good value?

Like most of the time that question is brought up, the answer is “it depends.” The introductory cost is currently $29/month. If you’re strictly a hobbyist, or are using a free Blogger or WordPress blog, this is probably not the tool for you (I’d recommend the excellent and free Sitening tools instead). If you’re a hardcore SEO user, you’ll probably find the tool a little too lightweight for your needs.

However, if you’re in SoloSEO’s target market—starting to be interested in search engine optimization, willing to invest a little money into your site/blog because you expect to make money from it—I’d absolutely recommend signing up for the free trial and taking it for a spin. Plan to spend a few hours just testing it out; if you haven’t looked seriously at this kind of thing before, just the trial will definitely be worth your time.

I’m interested to hear from those of you who do try it; what do you think?