When it comes to blogging, successes both big and small are bound to be realized. Whether it is topping the Search Engine Results Pages(Serps) for a keyword you have been working on or making your first dollar online, you are bound to see some success in your blogging soon or later.
How you handle the small successes determines whether you are ready for the big. Just becaues you got your first adsense payment doesn't mean you need to stop working on your blog. Unless you are sort of average (of which most of us are) you need to think about scaling higher height in your desire to be a better blogger.
If you are thinking of blogging as a career, earning a full time income working from home, then you need to think about working on the security of your income. Having to depend on Google as I wrote in another post can be a catastrophe-in-waiting. Think of what could happen if Google removed you from their search results.
If you have succeeded in your Search Engine Optimization, it would be a good idea to look at other marketing strategies that can work for you. Of late there has been intense debate on whether social media is taking over. Although this is still debatable, you can't ignore the social networking sites. They provide a steady source of traffic as well as a media for communicating to your readers. They also help in building a community for your blog.
Your blog might also have succeeded in gaining lots of visitors everyday and even some loyal readers. While this is a big success in itself, you can do better for yourself if you think of ways of getting this people join your mailing list. Like you already know 'the money is in the list'.
Most bloggers get satisfied with the little pennies they get from their blogs. If you get enough to pay your hosting charges, then you think it is enough. For some yes, for others it may be not. If you are blogging as a hobby, a few dollars a month is OK, if to you you are in it to make money blogging, you just have to work harder.
Some wise guy once put it 'the world is filled with so many average people that you only need to add one percent more effort than the next guy to standout.' Just a little effort everyday. That is what you need to do, keep on working your way up the ladder till you reach the top.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Monday, December 6, 2010
Why You Should Never Rely on Google for All Your Traffic
Google is a great search engine. In fact it is the market leader. It has been doing a lot to give its customers better results each and every day. The other search engines have been making inroads of late, like the partnership of Yahoo and Bing. However, such is yet to bear fruit. We can therefore say that there are only two search engines that really matter; Google and Google.
In their trying to keep their customers satisfied, sites especially new ones get affected. You have to know that Google are not thinking of your site, they are thinking about what is good for business.
Take the sandbox for example. New sites that are overzealous about getting better rankings are send to the sandbox almost immediately. Though not a punishment or penalty, it is kind of a probation. Your site will get very poor rankings for keywords you have been trying to target. It may take up to a year to get out of the sandbox.
Google also has a myriad of 'things a webmaster shouldn't do' and which you are supposed to follow to the letter.
It would therefore seem foolish to have to depend on Google for all your traffic. You could wake up one morning to a big disappointment. There are other many ways you can use to to get guaranteed long term constant traffic sources.
Article Marketing for one delivers very good results. I have been using it to promote my sites and the results are nothing short of marvelous. In a short time you can have thousands of links pointing to your site. This means guaranteed traffic.
Video marketing also works just as fine. 'How to' videos or tutorials work best. People just love things that make their lives easier or for that matter blogging. So upload those videos on Youtube and you will see the results.
E books can also generate massive traffic without much effort. Just write good e books and give them free from your blog. They have the ability to go viral just like videos. Since they have links pointing back to your site, they will keep readers coming and coming.
Search engine optimization is surely something every serious blogger takes into account. But you shouldn't focus entirely on it. Think of other ways you can get traffic to your site. Building a blog that depends on Google may not be the best idea ever.
In their trying to keep their customers satisfied, sites especially new ones get affected. You have to know that Google are not thinking of your site, they are thinking about what is good for business.
Take the sandbox for example. New sites that are overzealous about getting better rankings are send to the sandbox almost immediately. Though not a punishment or penalty, it is kind of a probation. Your site will get very poor rankings for keywords you have been trying to target. It may take up to a year to get out of the sandbox.
Google also has a myriad of 'things a webmaster shouldn't do' and which you are supposed to follow to the letter.
It would therefore seem foolish to have to depend on Google for all your traffic. You could wake up one morning to a big disappointment. There are other many ways you can use to to get guaranteed long term constant traffic sources.
Article Marketing for one delivers very good results. I have been using it to promote my sites and the results are nothing short of marvelous. In a short time you can have thousands of links pointing to your site. This means guaranteed traffic.
Video marketing also works just as fine. 'How to' videos or tutorials work best. People just love things that make their lives easier or for that matter blogging. So upload those videos on Youtube and you will see the results.
E books can also generate massive traffic without much effort. Just write good e books and give them free from your blog. They have the ability to go viral just like videos. Since they have links pointing back to your site, they will keep readers coming and coming.
Search engine optimization is surely something every serious blogger takes into account. But you shouldn't focus entirely on it. Think of other ways you can get traffic to your site. Building a blog that depends on Google may not be the best idea ever.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
10 Things That Will Make Your Blog Successful and Popular
Making your blog successful, popular and authoritative can be hard work. Blogging was never easy. Just like your day job it requires effort to see results. With so many blogs out there all competing for recognition, you need to work extra hard to make your blog grow to an authority in its field.
Here are things you could do to achieve this within the least time possible.
Here are things you could do to achieve this within the least time possible.
1. Write Quality Content
Content, content, content. It will forever remain the most important thing in your blogging. You need to write 'killer articles' that keep your readers coming for more. You need to have link baits that will ensure you get lots of backlinks for better search engine rankings. Building authority for your site comes from offering content that your readers can believe in. Content that adds value to their life, or blogging for that matter
2. Market Your Blog
You can write great content but if nobody knows of the existence of your blog all this will be a waste of time. I have been using article marketing to promote this blog as it is very simple and delivers results. Other forms of marketing include social media marketing, search engine marketing and offline promotion of your blog. Make sure you have real visitors coming to your blog, they can easily market the blog for you.
3. Comment on Other Blogs, Reply to Comments on Your Blog
Every blog needs comments. Unless you are starting out and you have closed commenting because you are not getting visitors, you need something to show your visitors that your blog is popular. Humans always want to be associated with success. If your blog looks successful, you are more likely to get loyal readers.
Commenting on other blogs can help you get comments on your blog. I have discovered that whenever I comment on other blogs, the blog owner most of the time comes and leaves a comment on my blog. This only happens if you have left useful comments.
Replying to comments shows that you value your readers and their contribution to your blog. Always make it a habit of replying to all useful comments.
4. Interact With Other Bloggers
Interact with other bloggers in your niche and share your blog and expertise with them. You can do this by actively commenting on their blogs. You can also connect with them via social networking sites like twitter and facebook. Fellow bloggers are more likely to link to your blog. They could even list you in their blogroll. Think of what this means to your blog.
5. Focus on Your Readers, Love Them to Death
It doesn't matter if you have ten loyal readers or a thousand; appreciate the value they add to your blog. They are more valuable than a million out there that don't know of the existence of your blog. Always answer their questions and reply to their comments. These are the people who are more likely to tweet your posts or share them on Facebook. They can be very instrumental in promoting your blog.
6. Give Away Freebies.
People always love them. I am working on a e book that will be available for free very soon. E books can be a great way to promote your blog. Imagine if you give away a free e book to your readers and they share it all over. Just like videos e books can very easily go viral. Since they have links pointing to your blog they can generate lots of free visitors.
7. Subscribers
Make it very easy for people to subscribe to your blog. Either through rss feed or through e mail you need them if your blog is to succeed. Feedburner offer a great service that can help you build a great subscriber base.
8. Be an Expert
Make sure you look big until you are big enough. Show confidence in your writing and never be shy of offering your opinion on controversial topics. Your readers will love you for it. Most people just want to follow and if you give them a reason to, they will follow you.
9. Avoid Showing Your Readers Your Weaknesses.
If you have failed to post in your blog for sometime you don't have to remind your readers. Chances are that they didn't notice. Telling them will only make you look lazy and not focused on your blogging. Instead show your strengths and maximize on them to build a better blog.
10. Don't Give Up That Easily
Blogging takes time to produce results. Patience and persistence is what is responsible for the success of the many bloggers you admire and envy. Work hard on your blog and you will love the results.
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