Pro Business Tips

The 5 Rules of Traffic Building Link Exchanges

There's probably no more proven way to generate traffic than via link exchanges. This is where you promote a site with a link in exchange for the same on a partner site. 

There are many places where you can put this link list, such as a Resources or Partners link list.

But before you approach a webmaster or blogger for a link exchange, it's important to keep the following in mind:

1. Avoid using canned emails. Nothing is a bigger turn off to bloggers than an auto-generated email (or one that lacks any personal touches).
2. Know who you are talking to. Just as bad is being pitched to by someone who gets your business or personal details wrong. For example, if someone approached me and said they love Pro Shopping Tips and can't wait to do a link exchange. Get the person’s name, business, and URL right.  
3. Keep it your pitch brief; it shouldn't be longer than 2-3 paragraphs. Make a quick introduction and then get to the point. Make sure you include the URL to where your link list will be. Also, you will really get their attention if you compliment them on something they've they’ve recently written or a new product feature.
4. Highlight the benefits of link exchange - it’ll have more chance of success if there’s something in it for the partner you’re pitching to. Clearly outline what you’re asking for and how it will your prospective partner.
5. Be polite. An obvious point but you'd be surprised how many people actually turn requests into demands.

The Blog Advantage: The 4 Reasons Blogs Are So Popular

What makes blogs so popular with publishers and readers alike?

1. Content - Blogs are updated frequently and the content is usually ordered in reverse chronological format. It makes a static website seem more than just a brochure or catalogue by comparison.
2. Syndication - All blog platforms include a technology called RSS (Really Simple Syndication). Basically I can subscribe to your blog and each time a new article is posted, I am notified. If I no longer want to read the information I just unsubscribe. So distribution and consumption is painless and easy.
3. Conversation - The conversational, intimate tone of blogs encourages community and loyalty. Since blogs are updated by individuals (or a group of individuals), the ‘voice’ of the blog author(s) will often shine through. Adding personality and approachability to your blog encourages two-way communication.
4. Easy publishing - A lot of people find website building and maintenance daunting. That’s why many people don’t have a website or pay a web designer to not only design and build the site but to also update content. The current technology available for content management in blogs removes this hurdle. Now, more than ever, it has become easier to run a site and update content yourself--even if you have no technical knowledge or interest.

Related Posts

• Blogging - Should You Host or Take a Pass?
• Widgets and Plug-ins for Your Blog
• My 9 Favorite Blogs for Making Money Online
• The 4 Most Important Types of Blog Posts
• Blogging and SEO
• Making Money Blogging

The 3 Tactics That Kill Search Engine Optimization

In the previous post, 5 Effective Search Engine Optimization Strategies, I looked at the best SEO tactics. But it's just as important to consider things that can hurt your best efforts to improve your search engine ranking.

1. Consider the trade-off between readability and a post stuffed with keywords that appear like little more than spam and will be penalized by Google as such. 
2. Avoid duplicate content as much as possible. Google can penalize you for writing about basically a rehashed version of a previous post that you wrote or appeared elsewhere. This is because a classic tactic of some spammers is to repackage or steal content from other sites.
3. Don't be verbose in your post. Generally speaking 1000 words is the absolute most you should post and many think that 250-500 words is a better target. Most of my posts are even shorter than that because of that's a core mission of the site.

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

Blogging - Should You Host or Take a Pass?

There are several platform choices but they can principally be divided into hosted and non-hosted solutions. Both have their advantages and disadvantages:

Hosted (Blogger, Typepad, Tumblr)

Good

• Easy to learn, set-up, and maintain
• Cheap (Typepad) or free (Blogger, Tumblr)
• Software is updated automatically so you always have cutting edge technology

Bad

• Not as customizable in terms of design, configuration, plug-ins
• Difficult to port over to a non-hosted platform like Wordpress
• Generic URL at free or lower cost level

Non-Hosted (Wordpress, Movable Type)

Good

• Complete customization
• Large developer community create widgets, add-ons, especially in the case of Wordpress

Bad

• Finding a dependable host can be tricky
• Complicated set-up
• Updates aren't always easy and require some fiddling around

Related Posts

• Widgets and Plug-ins for Your Blog
• My 9 Favorite Blogs for Making Money Online
• The 4 Most Important Types of Blog Posts
• Blogging and SEO
• Making Money Blogging

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.

Widgets and Plug-ins for Your Blog

Widgets and plug-ins are self-contained little applications that add functionality to a Web site or blog. These include interactive polls, search, RSS, and tag clouds. Most of the major blogging platforms offer these for free. For example:

• Wordpress Plugins
• Typepad Widgets
• Blogger Widgets

If you want to see zillions of free widgets that can be used no matter what site software you use, head over to WidgetBox for the largest offering on the Web.

But don't get carried away adding widgets. They can clutter your page and make it slow to load. Also, make sure the widgets are consistent with your topic. It may take some testing and discarding before you find one that works with your niche.

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?

Traffic Building Strategies with RSS

Really Simple Syndication (RSS) is an XML-based format for content distribution. If you click on the orange RSS icon in the "Stay in Touch" section to the far right on this blog, you will an example of it that allows you to subscribe to this blog's content.

The advantage for a subscriber of this type of content is that it saves users from having to come to your site to find a new content. That's because the RSS feed fetches new content automatically and serves as a reminder of the content you are creating. But, if the content is compelling, this should encourage future visits to your site and drive loyal traffic.

Most blog providers like Typepad, Blogger, and Wordpress feature RSS--and therefore the ability to syndicate your content--as standard fare or as a free, easily integrated option. Take advantage of it.

Traffic Building Strategies Using External Commenting

There are many types of traffic building strategies a publisher can pursue to bring users to their site. In this series, I'm going to discuss the most popular ones. Let's starting with commenting on an external site. Make sure to include your name (and/or company name) and a link back to your site in the applicable area of the comments box. Why?

• Readers of that blog might see your comment and be interested in learning more by clicking on the link that leads to your site.
• Search engines will also spider your comment content and your comment will appear in search results, which may garner clicks.
• You will also get some mild SEO benefits since Google's algorithms rewards in-bound, quality links--even if they are your own comments pointing back at your site.