New Media Services
Blogging Tips
Guest Posts: Explosive New Method To Gain Traffic And Backlinks
Jan 16th
I don’t know if you’ve heard lately, but the blog-o-sphere is abuzz with alot of talk lately on one surefire method (that practically guarantee’s) you traffic and backlinks.
What is this method, you ask?
Submitting a guest post. Yes! that’s it in a nut shell. It’s simple, free, trusted, quantifiable, manageable and it best of all…it works! It’s not really a novel or new idea, in fact I wrote about the practice of submitting a guest post back in August of 2008, and it holds true till today. Maybe more so! But it’s gained alot of traction as of late. Everyone is talking about it.
Why? Because a link from a similar niche, high PR (anything above PR2 is good) blog site is GOLD. Yes, my friend pure gold. So, treat a guest post opportunity as such. Think about it, for a second? When you submit a guest post, you essentially eat all the ingredients necessary for a smacking good Google meal – relevancy, pagerank, dofollow, naturalness, etc. See? It’s near perfection.
Keep the following rules (I mean guidelines) in mind when submitting a guest post on any blog site:
- find a relevant niche
- the receiving site, should have pagerank (any at all, is good)
- keep the guest post on topic
- ask first
- submit second
- write a killer article and submit only GREAT content
- thank the receiving blog site
- promote the heck out of the guest post
The great thing about guest posting is that you LITERALLY can control what site your “killer article” goes on, because you CHOOSE the blog. Yes! not all blogs will approve or even accept a guest post, but many will.
Ready to try?
Ann Smarty a well known blogger and SEO chick has recently created a fantastic website dedicated to this very topic. It’s free to join and participate. Simply sign-up, then look for guest opps in your specific niche. Remember to recip and also write some, don’t just accept them. This is bad form.
Then there’s Google and Twitter. Each one of these two sites, has great SEARCH features which will facilitate you finding solid opps. You just have to know where and how to search. Below is the where and how.
My Blog Guest.com – a site dedicated to guest post opportunities. Very nice community here as well, since the site also has a forum.
Twitter Search -Perform a simple search for guest post, and watch the madness unfold. In real time, of course. Nice!
Google Alerts – Type in your “niche plus the word guest post” and find blogs that will gladly accept your article.
Guys, don’t underestimate the POWER of this method for traffic and backlinks. There’s a reason all the A list bloggers and net marketers are all touting the benefits of guest posting right now.
It works!
Want more help, guidance and resources on guest posting? Take a look at the guest posting workbook from Chris Garrett. It contains everything you need to get started and more. A comprehensive guide (including a nifty spreadsheet) to keep track of it all, from the king of guest posting himself.
SEO For WordPress Bloggers
Nov 8th
Below are my top five SEO tips for WordPress bloggers.
1. Install an SEO plugin on your blog - such as the powerful All-in-One Seo or the newer more robust Platinum SEO. These two take care of alot of the basic onsite search engine optimization you need on your blog posts and pages. (this mostly applies to WordPress bloggers)
2. Get Backlinks – it doesn’t matter if your blog is a day old or 3 months old, you can never start too early to hunt down for link opportunities. Start with relevant directories.
3. Link To Yourself – Well not exactly. What I mean is make sure you regularly link to other articles, pages and blog posts you’ve written. This creates a spider web effect that search engines know and rely on.
4. Install a Sitemap – Sitemaps are literally maps to the content on your blog, and Google loves them. My favorite way to add a sitemap to my blogs is with the Dagon Design sitemap plugin. Fast, easy and free.
5. Use a Related Posts Plugin – this action produces similar results as installing a sitemap. It lets Google know of the content on your site and how it relates to the overall topic of your blog.
These are basic but powerful ideas, don’t underestimate any of these tips. If you haven’t yet added or practiced these SEO tips, now is a great time.
You’ll rise to the top in no time.
Next Article!
Our next article will touch on the topic of: traffic generation.
Why Namecheap Kicks Ninja Butt
Sep 2nd
Are you in need of a domain registrar? One that is reliable, easy to use and affordable. How about one that has a groovy affiliate program.
Then you will be happy to hear about Namecheap. This is my registrar of choice and has been for about 2 years now. I have all but one domain name registered through Namecheap, so that would be almost 15. Why do I choose Namecheap over others more well known (and marketed) such as craptastic Go Daddy?
Well for one thing they DO NOT bombard me with a bazillion ads and offers when I try to quickly register a domain name. They DO NOT send me a gagoolian emails asking me to sign-up for this whatchamacallit and that whoneedsitcrap.
But what I really digg about Namecheap is their super easy-no fuss interface. It’s all laid out real simple and makes for a nice experience, plus they have several cool features built-into their registration process. Whenever you register a domain name, you can set it up so that it AUTOMATICALLY sets up DNS from your server a/k/a webhost. This makes it nice and quick to register and set up a new domain name for that quickie blog you want to create. (and maybe sell)
Here are some more cool features from Namecheap:
- Easy login
- Easy account set-up
- Easy domain search
- Discount on transfers from another registrar (like craptastic Go Daddy or Yahoo)
- A marketplace which allows you to quickly sell and push domain to another NC user
- Twitter integration (not sure I like this but its available)
- Affiliate program – 15% commission on referred customers
- Monthly discount promo codes on new registrations
- Free Who Is Guard (contact info privacy)
- Quick registrations
- Payment via Paypal is accepted
- Live Support
- Forums
- They have a Facebook fan page and Twitter account
- Cheap domains (less than $9 with coupon code)
- All TLD extensions (including the new .ME)
- Free email/URL forwarding
- Easy as pie control panel
If you’re a blogger, internet marketer or site flipper then you know you NEED a domain registrar you can count on and one that is easy, quick and affordable.
Namecheap is my choice.
7 Elements Of A Successful Website
May 11th
1. Name – Every website needs a domain name that’s descriptive and relevant, but what type of name should you pick? There are two rules of thought here. One is to go the brand route and use a name that over time will become relevant. Second is to go the route of a keyword-rich name which will rank well and instantly let your readers, visitors, and the search engines know what you’re about. Which domain name route you opt for is entirely up to you, but deciding upfront which you’ll be taking is what you want to focus on.
2. Structure – You want a site that is search engine friendly and one of the best ways to optimize a site from the get go is to use a blog format, such as WordPress. With WordPress you get search engine friendly URL’s, as you get to choose the URL structure within the back-end area of WP.
The URL (or permalink) of your site should have keywords in it, so when search engines spider it – they know what its about.
3. Purpose – Every website should figure out what is it’s PRIMARY focus – is it to capture leads, direct sales, testimonials, or provide information? Determine this early on as it will help when it comes time to develop a content strategy.
The purpose of your site will also determine its layout and design.
4. Design – The look and feel of your website says alot about you. Do you want a standard generic template or a custom design which highlights your logo and unique brand?
With WordPress you have several choices -
A. Free Theme: A generic template found on the web.
B. Premium Theme (with customizations): A paid for theme you can customize.
C. Custom Theme: A theme created from scratch specific to you.
I recommend B or C. Either will serve the purpose of having a professionally designed blog website that stands out.
Some good premium WordPress themes include: Fresh News Theme, Thesis Theme, and Revolution Church Theme.
5. Layout – Depending on the purpose of your site (see above) you will want to lay out your site accordingly. If the purpose of your site is to gather leads then be sure to highlight your sign up form. If the purpose of your site is to sell directly, be sure to make it easy to place an order. If the purpose of your site is to be an information portal, set it up so that it highlights information right from the onset.
6. Content – Every website should have the following pages:
About Us Page – What are you about? What is your business about? How are you different? Etc.
Contact Us Page – Make it super duper easy for anyone to reach you. Add a contact form and let people know how and when to BEST reach you.
Services Page – What services do you offer? What are your skills? Any credentials? Highlight your unique offerings here.
WordPress makes it easy to add as many pages as you need. Think about your sites purpose and fill accordingly.
As for articles – keeping your blog website fresh with new content will keep the search engines coming back again and again. This is a good thing. Think about what your customers (and prospective customers) are interested in. What do they want to learn? What tips would they find useful? What keeps them entertained? Fill your blog with these useful, informative or entertaining articles. You can add as many articles as you like and style your site in blog format or style it in a more traditional format – but whichever style you choose – you want to make it known you have relevant articles available for your audience. Make sure this is apparent from the first glance.
7. Plan – Every website should have a marketing plan. How will you spread the word – online, offline, social media, advertising, family and friends?
Have a plan and work the plan. Incorporate your website URL in all your communications, from your business cards to customer newsletters, mentioning it in seminars, attaching to email signatures, etc.
Decide early on how you will promote your blog website. Have a plan in place.
These tips are meant for new blog websites, but can be applied to any site. If you run a small business and don’t yet have a website, but have been mulling over the idea – it’s never too late to create an online presence.
Follow the tips above and don’t just create a website, create an online presence that will explode your sales, leads, and income.
RSS Readers: What Tip Can You Add?
What tip do you have for small business owners looking to create their first website?
