Pro Business Tips

Building Blog Traffic with Google and Technorati Submissions

Technorati is the leading blog directory, sort of like the Google for blogs. It's very heavily trafficked and is a great resource. Make sure you get an account at Technorati so you can get it indexed in the directory. In Technorati parlance, this is called claiming your blog.

And of course, you want to make sure that Google indexes your blog as well. Google now has a special blog search engine, called Google Blog Search, and you want to go to it to submit your URL.

5 Effective Search Engine Optimization Strategies

You hear and read a lot of different things about what constitutes effective ways to optimize your site for search engines. Here are five proven winners.

1. Effective Titles - For most people using an Internet search engine like Yahoo! or Google, there is very little to go on except for the title, maybe a short excerpt, and your domain name/URL, so make sure you have an effective title that speaks accurately to what your post is about.
2. Granular Posts - Focused, single-issue topics help search engines easily digest what the topic is about and this can help your ranking. The same principle is why niche blogs tend to be more successful in search engine results than general interest ones.
3. Relevant Keywords - It's good to try and place subject-relevant keywords in your title and throughout your post.
4. Internal Linking - There are some SEO benefits (and certainly traffic benefits) to linking to other relevant or related posts within your blog.
5. Inbound Links - SEO can be improved with things, such as inbound links from sites that are:

• Highly ranked
• Relevant to your topic
• Use relevant and searched-for keywords

Related Posts

• Traffic Building Strategies Using External Commenting
• Blogging and SEO
• The 4 Most Important Types of Blog Posts

Marketing with Google AdWords

Google's AdWords is the default paid advertising vehicle of choice for many members of the blogosphere. I've used it pretty effectively on some other products but it takes a lot of practice and trial and error. You can certainly open an account and do some investigation but I don't recommend that you do much more than that because you can get fleeced very quickly, if you aren't sure what you are doing.

But the point to understand is that Google Adwords is part of the core tool-set of traffic building strategies many blogs use. So while we're not going to cover it detail yet, it's something you should consider once you get some traction, traffic, and revenue. 

If you are keen to dabble, I recommend that you head over to the Adwords Beginner's Guide first.

Google's AdWords is the default paid advertising vehicle of choice for many members of the blogosphere. I've used it pretty effectively on some other products but it takes a lot of practice and trial and error. You can certainly open an account and do some investigation but I don't recommend that you do much more than that because you can get fleeced very quickly, if you aren't sure what you are doing.

But the point to understand is that Google Adwords is part of the core tool-set of traffic building strategies many blogs use. So while we're not going to cover it detail yet, it's something you should consider once you get some traction, traffic, and revenue. 

If you are keen to dabble, I recommend that you head over to the Adwords Beginner's Guide first.

My 9 Favorite Blogs for Making Money Online

There's a ton of good, free resources out there to help you make money online. If you are looking to supplement your reading beyond this blog, I recommend the following sites:

• Copyblogger - Features indispensible blog writing and marketing tips.
• Dosh Dosh - Superb internet marketing and money making advice blog.
• Mashable - Social networking and must-read Web trends blog.
• ProBlogger - Best of the best for making money blogging.
• Internet Business Mastery - Outstanding resource for creating and building an online business.
• Get Elastic - Excellent blog for e-commerce entrepreneurs.
• Inside AdSense - Must read for Google Adsense users.
• Silicon Alley Insider - Great site for getting the big picture view on technology and business movers and shakers.
  
• The Blog of Tim Ferriss - The "The 4-Hour Work Week" provides key insights into lifestyle design, which is why we are trying to make money in the first place, right?

What are your favorites?

Direct Income Strategies 1 - Advertising with Google Adsense

Affiliate marketing is a popular Internet-based marketing tactic that's standard practice for monetizing sites. Google AdSense is the one to focus on when you are just starting out. More sites, especially blogs, use Google AdSense to monetize their sites than any other solution. And it can be lucrative. Google Adsense pays monthly or the month after you've made $100.

Jeremy Schoemaker who runs the money making blog, Shoemoney has the proof, on how much you can make using this technique. But before you quit your day, it's important to note that this sort of success is very rare. Nonetheless, if you create an online business or blog that attracts a following, Google Adsense needs to be part of your tool-kit.

Another great resource to learn more about Google AdSense is Google's Inside AdSense blog. In the meantime, take a look at the ads to the right of this post to see an example in action.

For an in-depth look at affiliate marketing, head over to Wikipedia.

Google Analytics

Google Analytics is one of the best-kept secrets that Google has in its product portfolio and it's a great thing to know about if you are serious about making money online.

It's free to sign-up and provides all sorts of useful information about who your users are, where they come from, and how they engage with your blog or website.

And best of all, you just cut-and-paste a small piece of code into your site to make Google Analytics work for you.

 

Blogging and SEO

I previously mentioned that blogs are built for Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Why's that? There are four main reasons:

1. Frequent Updates - Search engines give preference to fresh content.                
2. Linked and Networked - Blogs have more incoming and outgoing links than most Web sites, a key factor in page ranking. Therefore, if you create a great blog that people find useful and relevant, you have a built-in PR staff who will help spread the word about your blog. As the word about blogs continue to spread, more and more people will find this venue an important tool in business.         
3. Built for Indexing - The underlying HTML is cleaner which makes it easy for Google to index.                
4. Archived and organized - Similar to above, the “site map” architecture of blogs makes them easily categorized and organized by search engines.

Making Money Blogging

Blogging can directly and indirectly make money and I will dig into these in more detail in future posts but here are a few benefits:

1. Fame - A successful blog will build your visibility in business or a niche.
2. Contacts - Blogs an excellent networking tool. A popular blog will put you in touch with all sorts of interesting and influential people.
3. Credibility - Over time, you can become an expert on an issue which can lead to a plethora of opportunities from freelance blogging to book deals to consulting engagements.
4. Sales and Marketing - You can turn your blog into a marketing vehicle for your e-commerce store or even directly sell stuff right on your blog.
5. Traffic - Blogs are proven way to generate traffic, which is the holy grail for advertisers. This is how many blog sites are supported. In fact, search engines love blogs. Why? Check back tomorrow.