If you want to get high Google rankings for a local business, then getting a Google Maps listing can be a big plus. The trick is learning your way around Keyhole Markup Language, or KML. For those unaware, KML is the language used to show points on Google Maps. (Keyhole, incidentally, was the company that originally developed the language.) In “The Definitive Guide on Using KML for SEO,” one blogger takes you through the ins and outs of KML, from the other underlying theory to screen shots showing you exactly how to use it.

As most of you already know, link building is one of the best things you can do to get higher search engine rankings – and more free traffic. And if you have a WordPress blog, check out the Link Builder plugin. Link Builder scours the links you post in your blog, and then notifies the webmaster that you have linked to them. It’s not completely automated, which is probably a good thing, but it’s easy to use. Link Builder gives you an easy way to get more links from quality sites — and that’s always good.If you want to build a longer term relationship with those who visit your site, you might want to try Comment Relish. Comment Relish is a WordPress plug-in that sends a personalized welcome letter to all first-time posters to your site. Comment Relish is a cool way to solidify new relationships with those most likely to become long-term readers. Oh… and it’s free. Bet you didn’t see that one coming.

And once you start reeling in more readers, you want to keep track of them. Wassup is another fantastic (and free) WordPress plug-in that lets you keep track of statistics, visitor information, and much more. For example, you can see which blog posts are the most popular and see what links are referring visitors to your site.

Finally, if you keep working on bringing in more readers, you might just become one of the top blogs around. There are several lists of “best blogs”, but one of our favorites right now is “The Top 142 Social Marketing Blogs,” created by our friends at Friday Traffic Report, “The Top 142″ shows you which blogs you should be reading and why. Be sure to subscribe to the Free Line Report, whether it’s on the list or not.