Thursday, December 10, 2009
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Google Friend Connect Introduces New Ways to Make Friends, Send Newsletters and See More Highly Targeted Ads#comment-172998
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Building blog traffic for newbies
Duncan Riley> was checking out a Bloggers forum which someone is currently bank rolling through Google Adsense at the moment and got sucked into joining and posting the odd thought. One thing that struck me was the lack of knowledge about promoting blogs, so this is what I posted (with a few edits). Let me know what you think.
Blog Promotion for Newbies1: Don’t use blogrolling: it may be easier to use but the javascript stuffs up search engines when they are looking for links and makes the links useless, use WordPress’s managed links feature or similar product, or even hard code it, I did for the 18 months I used MT before changing to WordPress
2. Pinging to weblogs et al is good but trackbacking to sites is better, when of course your post is in relation to that sites topic. Also legitimate commenting directly on other sites helps expose your site to others. But remember, it must be legitimate comment and not spam!
3. Offer to exchange links on your site under your links section, it lets people know that your interested in linking and will build up your site quickly in Technorati and Google.
4. Link to other small sites without exchange, either through side bar or post: linking to big sites is great in showing what your reading but does nothing to build up your readership because they nearly always never return the favour, indeed a number of them will steal your stories or ideas without any attribution at all. Smaller sites on the other hand are often stoked that you’ve linked to them and will return the favour without asking, even if they don’t, you’ve still done a good deed.
5 submit your blog to ALL the search engines, it might take some time but the spiders will start coming if….
6. The most important feature of all: post regularly and post often. It not only brings readers back regularly but it means the spiders from the search engines will return more frequently indexing your entire site, and you’ll start getting hits from the search engines. Some may argue that these aren’t that valuable but I would argue that’s rubbish. It exposes your site to a new audience for free, and even if only a few return you’ve still built up your readership for free. Take the Blog Herald for example, we get 5,000 views per month just from clickthrus in from Google and another 2,500 from other search engines (Google is the only real game in town though). Even if only 1% return to the site later, that’s 75 new regular readers per month or nearly 1000 per year, and what I also find is that this traffic also responds well to advertising on the site if they’ve stumbled in for the wrong reason.
Blog Promotion for Newbies1: Don’t use blogrolling: it may be easier to use but the javascript stuffs up search engines when they are looking for links and makes the links useless, use WordPress’s managed links feature or similar product, or even hard code it, I did for the 18 months I used MT before changing to WordPress
2. Pinging to weblogs et al is good but trackbacking to sites is better, when of course your post is in relation to that sites topic. Also legitimate commenting directly on other sites helps expose your site to others. But remember, it must be legitimate comment and not spam!
3. Offer to exchange links on your site under your links section, it lets people know that your interested in linking and will build up your site quickly in Technorati and Google.
4. Link to other small sites without exchange, either through side bar or post: linking to big sites is great in showing what your reading but does nothing to build up your readership because they nearly always never return the favour, indeed a number of them will steal your stories or ideas without any attribution at all. Smaller sites on the other hand are often stoked that you’ve linked to them and will return the favour without asking, even if they don’t, you’ve still done a good deed.
5 submit your blog to ALL the search engines, it might take some time but the spiders will start coming if….
6. The most important feature of all: post regularly and post often. It not only brings readers back regularly but it means the spiders from the search engines will return more frequently indexing your entire site, and you’ll start getting hits from the search engines. Some may argue that these aren’t that valuable but I would argue that’s rubbish. It exposes your site to a new audience for free, and even if only a few return you’ve still built up your readership for free. Take the Blog Herald for example, we get 5,000 views per month just from clickthrus in from Google and another 2,500 from other search engines (Google is the only real game in town though). Even if only 1% return to the site later, that’s 75 new regular readers per month or nearly 1000 per year, and what I also find is that this traffic also responds well to advertising on the site if they’ve stumbled in for the wrong reason.
Friday, December 4, 2009
5 EFFECTIVE WAYS TO BOOST WEBSITE TRAFFIC
Increase Traffic to your Blog with this MethodThere are so many ways to increase traffic to your blog. And in no order, they’re; Social Networks – StumbleUpon, Reddit,...
5 Ways to Boost Web TrafficWe all love traffic like we love parties. Seeing people come to your site gives you a sense of confidence...
Is your website hitting high marks when it comes to SEO? How are you checking your websites effectiveness? There's an...
We all love traffic like we love parties. Seeing people come to your site gives you a sense of confidence that people are interested in your content. It’s a great boost to anyone’s ego when the traffic comes in droves.
I have been a web developer and web surfer since 1993, and I love web analytics. There are many ways to drive traffic to your site. The most effective ways are sites like StumbleUpon, Digg and Reddit, but there are others ways to bring more visitors to your blog and possibly convert some fans.
Newsletters (Est. 100 to 400 visits per day) – One of the most effective ways to drive traffic is from fans who have opted in to your newsletter. There are many sites that offer this service which allow you to manage users who opt in or opt out. They also provide a nice and easy user interface to write your newsletter. I have over 400 opted in users and I usually get a 20% open rate. That’s 80 visitors of which 10% submit my blogs to social networks. This can increase your traffic by more than 400% depending how interesting your content is. You should only send out your newsletter every two weeks, avoid over communicating or your open rate will decrease.
Forums (Est. 50 – 100 visits per day depending on the popularity) – I have read about how forums can be a great source in driving traffic, but it depends on how popular the forums are and how many users are on at any given time. Most forums allow you to have a signature and this is where you would put a link to your blog. You should only choose a forum that matches your expertise, and become a fan of the forum. Avoid the hit and run concept or you will look like a spammer. You should reply to other posts and build your post count.
Craigslist (Est. 50 – 75 visits per day) – Have a fresh blog to share? Head on over to Craigslist and post your blog that fits a category in the discussion forums. You should add your blog title to the subject line, add two sentences in the message body without giving up too much information and posting your link to read more. If your blogs fit in other categories, than post at least two.
Facebook (Est. 25 – 50 visits per day) – If you are a member of Facebook, you should submit your blogs by using the Facebook widget. There are many widgets for blogs such as Wordpress that include the Facebook widget. If you are active in Facebook and have more than 100 friends like I do, you will get a nice boost in traffic.
Yahoo Answers (Est. 25 – 50 visits per day) – There are many categories in Yahoo Answers that you can choose from. You should choose a category that you usually blog about and use your blog as a reference for an answer. I reply to at least 5 questions per day and have received more than 100 visits in one day.
As you can see by using the 5 ways to bring more visitors to your site, you can potentially receive from 250 to 675 visitors per day. It may seem like a lot of work, but it’s not, once you get started it will only take you 30 minutes per day.
We hope this will be a great resource on driving visitors to your blog.
How to boost website traffic and sales
The first step to boost website traffic and sales is to get listed in the search engines. Unsurprisingly, Google dominates this field, and is likely to yield the largest amount of traffic to your site.
Google accounts for 49% of global search engine usage in April 2006 while Yahoo accounted for 22% and MSN 11%. (source: Nielsen NetRatings)
The good news is that it is still free to submit your site to Google but free submission can be very slow and even when your site is added it is unlikely to get within the top 10 or first page of search results.
Getting listed is only the first hurdle to booste website traffic and sales. Getting high rankings that can deliver relevant, appropriate prospects, which will convert into new clients should be your main website goal.
This is where Google AdWords can help. It's a way to advertise your business on Google, a site that's used over 150 million times a day.
What is Google AdWords
AdWords is a pay-per-click online advertising service that lets advertisers post text ads for their sites targeted for specific keywords. You may have seen some of these ads on the far right side of Google’s search results and also shown in the “Ads by Google” banners seen on sites all over the Internet.
Google AdWords can guarantee you a page one position and put you in front of targeted potential customers. Plus you only pay 'per click' which means you do not pay each time your ad appears on a web page, rather you pay each time a visitor actually clicks through and visits your site. So you are paying for actual real live visitors.
Once Google AdWords puts your website in front of your potential customers it is then up to you to convert them into business with smart copy and an easy to navigate website which prompts for a call to action.
How does it work?
The way this unique advertising service works is quite simple: Advertisers will type in keywords that they want their ad to appear on when searched. For example, Jim sells bed and breakfast accommodation in the Yarra Valley. In order for Jim to reach the right audience, he must use specific keywords such as “bed and breakfast, yarra valley accommodation” and words of that nature. Then, whenever regular users like you and me go to search for “yarra valley accommodation” on Google, Jim’s text box ad will magically appear on page 1.
Benefits of Using AdWords
Fast Results - AdWords can deliver quick traffic and fast feedback. You can have your ads up all over the Internet and begin testing products and marketing strategies in minutes.
Target Audience - find people who are searching for the same keywords you specify to advertise your product or service.
Budget Control - you maintain total control over ad budget. There is no monthly minimum spending limit. There is a $5 set up fee and then advertisers can choose how much they will pay per click from five cents to $50(US). Advertisers can set up a daily allowance and when the budget for the day is spent their ad will be removed, so there's no danger of overspending.
Productivity - you can benefit from the reports and statistics that help users determine which ads, keywords, and prices per click are the most productive. This helps advertisers get the best return on investment possible.
I can highly recommend Google AdWords Pay Per Click service to boost website traffic and sales. It is the ideal way to drive targeted traffic towards your website.
Melissa Norfolk is an Internet expert who speaks to business, school and community groups about online marketing, email newsletters, effective use of the Internet, finding what you need online and Internet safety.
Google accounts for 49% of global search engine usage in April 2006 while Yahoo accounted for 22% and MSN 11%. (source: Nielsen NetRatings)
The good news is that it is still free to submit your site to Google but free submission can be very slow and even when your site is added it is unlikely to get within the top 10 or first page of search results.
Getting listed is only the first hurdle to booste website traffic and sales. Getting high rankings that can deliver relevant, appropriate prospects, which will convert into new clients should be your main website goal.
This is where Google AdWords can help. It's a way to advertise your business on Google, a site that's used over 150 million times a day.
What is Google AdWords
AdWords is a pay-per-click online advertising service that lets advertisers post text ads for their sites targeted for specific keywords. You may have seen some of these ads on the far right side of Google’s search results and also shown in the “Ads by Google” banners seen on sites all over the Internet.
Google AdWords can guarantee you a page one position and put you in front of targeted potential customers. Plus you only pay 'per click' which means you do not pay each time your ad appears on a web page, rather you pay each time a visitor actually clicks through and visits your site. So you are paying for actual real live visitors.
Once Google AdWords puts your website in front of your potential customers it is then up to you to convert them into business with smart copy and an easy to navigate website which prompts for a call to action.
How does it work?
The way this unique advertising service works is quite simple: Advertisers will type in keywords that they want their ad to appear on when searched. For example, Jim sells bed and breakfast accommodation in the Yarra Valley. In order for Jim to reach the right audience, he must use specific keywords such as “bed and breakfast, yarra valley accommodation” and words of that nature. Then, whenever regular users like you and me go to search for “yarra valley accommodation” on Google, Jim’s text box ad will magically appear on page 1.
Benefits of Using AdWords
Fast Results - AdWords can deliver quick traffic and fast feedback. You can have your ads up all over the Internet and begin testing products and marketing strategies in minutes.
Target Audience - find people who are searching for the same keywords you specify to advertise your product or service.
Budget Control - you maintain total control over ad budget. There is no monthly minimum spending limit. There is a $5 set up fee and then advertisers can choose how much they will pay per click from five cents to $50(US). Advertisers can set up a daily allowance and when the budget for the day is spent their ad will be removed, so there's no danger of overspending.
Productivity - you can benefit from the reports and statistics that help users determine which ads, keywords, and prices per click are the most productive. This helps advertisers get the best return on investment possible.
I can highly recommend Google AdWords Pay Per Click service to boost website traffic and sales. It is the ideal way to drive targeted traffic towards your website.
Melissa Norfolk is an Internet expert who speaks to business, school and community groups about online marketing, email newsletters, effective use of the Internet, finding what you need online and Internet safety.
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