Blogging and Marketing Resources for the Average Blogger and Business
Archive for January, 2009
Frequent vs. Relevant
Jan 30th
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is “the process of improving the volume and quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via “natural” (“organic” or “algorithmic”) search results” per our friends at Wikipedia. There are countless strategies to structure a site or blog in such a way to maximize traffic. For every one I currently know, I’m sure there’s hundreds I don’t. Let’s start with how often you post to your blog.
Feeding the spiders that crawl the web, indexing content, is what’s driving the suggestions in the “5 Tips” post from the UK. The thought here is that frequent updates will train the spiders to come back more often. The 5 Tips blogger suggests that now that the spiders are trained when visiting, posts don’t have to be as frequent – and the spiders keep returning frequently. I would assume though, that over time, the spiders could be “untrained.”
In this decidely more clinical perspective from a blog called Google SEO, “The Freshness of Web Pages” takes a detailed look at the Google patent for their ranking algorithm. Although this post seems to point more to web pages than blogs specifically, the rationale is sound: if Google ranks “fresher” pages higher, one could assume that it is to provide a richer user experience by serving up more recent information.
Yes, frequency seems to give your blog more search engine juice, but it would be just as important to understand how your subject matter relates to your readers. If you have a fast-paced, news-like theme, you had better be posting daily – AT LEAST! But if your topic is say, more like the Ultimate Blogging Toolkit, I’m not feeling like multiple posts every day is needed, but rather, every 2-3 days. Personally, I like having a bit of time to let new concepts sink in, try new things, and explore on my own.
On my About page, I talk about content being both “sizzle and bacon.” It really boils down to the fact that people who first find your blog because of optimal SEO results due to strategic management of your content won’t come back if there’s poor subject selection, uninspired topics and C- writing.
Dave
Stumble Upon Increased Traffic
Jan 28th
There are many ways to increase Internet traffic to your blog, but let’s walk before we run. With the many, many free resources and strategies available on the web, let’s exhaust them before we spend a dime.
First up: StumbleUpon.
StumbleUpon is a free service that allows members to rate your blog or any web site for that matter. Members of the SU community can issue ratings on the sites they see. Tapping social networking concepts, these ratings form, in aggregate, recommendations.
The brilliance of this site is that when a member registers (remember, it’s free), members provide basics about their likes and interests. Then, when the “Stumble!” button is pressed, sites are presented matching those interests and the ratings the sites hold. Visitors to a stumbled site provide a “thumbs up or thumbs down” rating through the SU toolbar. (Currently, the toolbar is only available for Internet Explorer and Firefox.) It’s like sitting in front of the TV and surfing via the “up channel” button. It’s fun exploration.
There are hundreds of topics from which to choose, so there’s likely a niche for everyone. I searched on “popup cards” since a friend and fellow blogger is a creative genius, and was presented with “How to make a Kirigami hummingbird with papyrus paper,” complete with You Tube video. Fascinating and something I would never have stumbled upon on my own. (Sorry, couldn’t resist.)
As always, I try to provide a simple view of a topic that can be involved as desired. Like chess: easy to learn, but it takes a lifetime to master. Ah, so is blogging. Here’s a post that is a good start to Stumble Upon concepts and even has some dubious techniques that need to be used with caution. Improper use of the system can cause accounts to be suspended.
OK, for all you math majors out there, here’s a look at someone who has taken a run at the math mechanics. This should give you all you need to know about how Stumble Upon does its magic – or at least that blogger’s perspective.
All you have to do to get started is install the Stumble Upon toolbar, create an account and make friends. Of course, there’s more to it, but this gets the ball rolling. But remember, this is only going to work if your content is well written and appealing. Lipstick on a pig is… well… still a pig.
Stumble Upon should be your automatic first stop. How can you lose? It’s free. It’s easy to use. It’s clever. It provides opportunities for increased traffic. I wish I would have thought of it!
Stumble On!
Dave
Free Blogging, or Pay to Play?
Jan 26th
As with any topic that will cross the bow of this boat, there is an enormous quantity of quality arguments on both sides of this issue. I will of course try to break this down in simple terms, but provide additional reading for those who need it.
First, some definitions.
Hosted (free) blogs: A free service provided, allowing users to create their own blog in minutes, contained in the provider’s domain. For example, TheBloggedWord.Blogspot.com is my initial blogging effort, hosted by Google’s Blogger service. Free. Easy to set up. A great place to get started, which I did. When I realized I wanted to formalize by blogging activity, my strategy changed to “self-hosting” and The Ultimate Blogging Toolkit came to be, using WordPress, hosted on BlueHost.com.
Self-hosted blogs requiring a web hosting service: There are many Content Management Systems (CMS) available, both free and not, that allow the user to load that platform into the disk space rented through a web hosting provider. The domain name you register, at a cost, is completely your own.
There really are only a few questions you need to answer to determine which blogging platform approach is right for you:
- Why am I blogging?
- What are my goals?
- How technical am I?
When searching the web, I found many arguments for each side of the fence, but this article from ProBlogger is probably the best one with pros and cons clearly spelled out in one place. It’s a bit long, but a very good read.
Essentially:
If you are relatively new to blogging, interested in blogging as a hobby or as an enjoyable side activity and don’t want to learn or deal with technical issues, hosted blogging is for you. If you have some experience, are serious about focusing on growing and/or monetizing your blog and have a moderate amount of technical skills, a self-hosted solution is for you.
Yes, I know, this is not black and white. It has many shades of gray. But remember, The Ultimate Blogging Toolkit tries to provide simple perspectives to complex issues. You can make it as complex as you need it to be. Me? I’m a simple guy.
Dave
Choosing a Blogging Platform
Jan 25th
Top 100 Blogging Platforms from Royal.Pingdom.com
First, an orientation. With the many, many blogging platforms that exist, how does one begin to choose the one that’s right for them? If we used The Pareto Principle (the “80/20 Rule”) to sum up platform usage, we could say that 80% of the people use 20% of the blogging platforms. With Blogger and WordPress being the two big kids on the block, I might argue that our principle is more like 95/5. We could argue the actual numbers, but you get the point.
Let’s start with a look at a review from PC World. This is a simple view into an in-depth review of the top five platforms. Again, Blogger and WordPress appear, rated as the top free services, along with three for-fee sites: TypePad, Tripod, and Squarespace.
If you are just starting to blog, or simply want a free and easy-to-manage environment, Blogger or WordPress is the answer. In the next post, I’ll talk more about free, hosted blogging vs. self-hosting your own blog site. There are of course pros and cons to each, depending on your own expectations of what you want to get out of your blogging experience.
Consistent with The Ultimate Blogging Toolkit’s mission to provide differing perspectives, let’s look at a blog called Royal Pingdom. They took a run at understanding which blogging platforms are in use at the Top 100 sites as ranked by Technorati. Again, this may be of interest only to those of you who either have a considerable amount of experience, or like me, expect to have considerable experience in the future. Regardless, it is an interesting perspective.
For those of you with more of a web programming bent, here’s a link to Top 10 Free Blogging Platforms & Features for Web Designers. Several of the usual suspects appear, but as you can see, there are yet more. Again, there really is something for everyone based on the number and varied offerings available. It’s simply a matter of finding what’s right for you.
This has been a lot of words to simply say, “Get Started!” Start simple, evolve, enjoy and excel.
Dave
Let’s Get Started
Jan 24th
As I indicated last time, I have enjoyed this new blogging hobby. While I have learned a considerable amount so far pertaining to blogging, traffic, search engines, and the whole monetization potential blogging holds, I’d be the first to admit that I have exponentially more to learn.
A dear friend suggested that I begin to share what I discover about this new hobby. I was not only honored but thrilled that someone else could actually see what I’ve been struggling to observe. This is not intended to be the arrogant, self-serving drivel that I’ve found on many sites. “Look at me! I make gazillions of dollars every second by blogging!!!”
Sure, it’s all about the dollar. But c’mon. Let’s be civil and let’s be real. The Ultimate Blogging Toolkit, while it sounds like the “ultimate,” my hope is that it will simply become very, very good. It is more about sharing ideas, not about thumping chests. (The reality is that it is simply hard to find a good domain name, but that will be the topic of another post.)
So let’s set the scene:
- I use a regular old IBM-compatible PC (nothing fancy)
- Windows XP Professional
- Comcast high-speed Internet access (works well; very reliable)
- I’ve chosen WordPress as my blogging platform
- I’ve hosted The Ultimate Blogging Toolkit on BlueHost Web Hosting
- That’s it!
You will find that I provide pictures, screen captures, videos and many links, often using Wikipedia for more in-depth information. I won’t reinvent many things, but I will provide commentary and direct readers to others’ quality work for additional perspectives. After all, the purpose is to provide “the ultimate toolkit.”
This will be an interesting exercise. Let’s see if experience in sales, marketing, pricing, distribution, systems and more recently, communications will help jumpstart this project.
Please, tell your friends. Link to The Ultimate Blogging Toolkit, weigh in, and challenge my observations. Respond with questions. This is what will make this effort successful. I will be engaging other blogging “experts” to gain perspectives and seek guest comments. My goal is to balance the perspectives of experts with the reports of rookies. Turning the light bulb on above someone’s head is a thrill for me and I hope to do it often.
Thanks for joining.
Dave
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