“The purpose of each sentence in a blog is to get the reader to read the next sentence.”

I’ve spent quite a bit of time analyzing that sentence over the past two days, and I find it quite profound. You see, with so many social media platforms and so many streams of information coming at us every day, it’s easy to forget our what our goals are. Sometimes they can be summed up in a single sentence, and we just need to remember to keep them within sight and to avoid losing our focus.

The above quote was just one of a dozen or more gems delivered by Alex Miranda, who was the presenter at the Westchester WordPress Meetup held Tuesday, August 14 at WatercoolerHub in Tarrytown. Miranda, who is the Editor-in-Chief of the social media press release distribution company PR Underground. He is also an SEO manager at Marknet Group Inc, a web design and online business strategy firm located in Brewster, NY.

Miranda told the full house of more than 30 that if they are not blogging on their website, they are missing out on massive amounts of traffic. He added that even if they ARE blogging, they need to blog for SEO (search engine optimization) in order to get the most out of their efforts. He gave dozens of useful tips designed to maximize the performance of a site in the search engines like Google and Bing, and he provided links to a handful of online resources. You can read more about Alex’s Blogging for SEO presentation on the Westchester WordPress Meetup website.

Beyond all the apps, websites, links and code, however, there is something else that drives traffic, and that is content that is valued by visitors to your site. Miranda understands that concept completely, and weaved examples of compelling content into his entire presentation. Miranda’s quote may oversimplify the challenges faced by those creating a blog, but the message is critical. Compelling headlines cause people to click on articles, and great opening paragraphs get readers to read further into the article.  Effective sites compel visitors to read more, and continue to post valuable content on a frequent and consistent basis.

Miranda practices what he preaches. His presentation kept the audience interested, even captivated from start to finish, and he’s sure to get them coming back for more — on his website, Twitter account or next presentation.

Chris S. Cornell is a leader in the Westchester social media, public relations and marketing community. He manages several online communities, including the Westchester Social Media Facebook page. He also consults, speaks and writes about social media, communications, public relations and marketing. You can follow Chris on Twitter at Cornell140.