How important is XHTML validation? Only one of the top 20 blogs on the Internet validated without errors, with another topping out with a total of 630 validation errors. So is validation important. I think most of these A-list blogger’s would have you believe it isn’t. Check out the list:

Technorati Top 20

The main reason validation is important is that Non-valid pages are relying on error-correction by a browser to display the page correctly, this will vary depending on the browser. I guess I share the sediments of most people on this topic, if the Official Google blog doesn’t validate, why should I care if mine doesn’t. There are many things  that can cause errors, such as scripts, plug-ins and widgets. I feel as a blogger you need to weigh the value that these bring versus the value you loss by not having a valid XHTML page. Other validations issues such as not setting alt text for images are less forgivable and should be followed. What do you think?

Recently I was asked by a reader for some ideas on improving the Technorati rank of a blog. Ultimately it is good content that will increase the Technorati rank of your blog. Technorati rank is based on the amount of links aiming at your blog, particularly from blogs with high authority on Technorati. So if you are writing about content that you readers enjoy, you are going to get more links. Of course exposure is also an issue, if your blog is new, your readership is likely to be much smaller than more established blogs, so with less exposure, even well written interesting content is going to take time to work it’s charm on your rank.

Here are a few tips to get things moving:

Claim your blog

You need to create a Technorati account and claim your blogs. The process of claiming involves filling out a form about your blog. It is important that you put in some effort here, include as many relevant tags as you can think of, and write a good description.

Add a photo/avatar to your profile in Technorati

All the search results on Technorati have a small space for a photo or avatar of the blogger of that article. If you have added a photo to your profile the photo will be displayed in search results on the site. This will make your site stand out and may help get you a few more clicks.

Tag your posts

Make sure you are tagging your posts. In WordPress you can use Simpletags or Ultimate Tag Warrior.

Pinging

Make sure your blog in pinging Technorati. In WordPress you can check what sites your blog in pinging by checking: Options / Writing / Update services. If you have never changed this setting it will probably have Pingomatic listed, which is good. Pingomatic does the job for you, pinging all the important services. If there is nothing in this box you should add this address: http://rpc.pingomatic.com/ . With other blogging platforms you will need to find out how to ping Technorati and other important services automatically. I have experimented using other pinging services as you can add as many as you want. But from what I have found unless your blog is in another language simply using Pingomatic will give you the best results. If you are writing in another language you should also consider using Pinggoat, which pings additional sites.

For further reading on this topic Eric Giguere has listed 10 steps to increase your Technorati ranking.