Like you, I am bombarded with offers for all kinds of article writing, blogging, SEO, marketing, and social bookmarking sites among other things. For someone who is new to the internet, and even for some of us who have used it for years to find just about anything we are looking for, it is easy to get lost in a sea of information. It is also easy to spend a lot of money on the latest information that is "going to change the way you do business and make you a lot of money at the same time."
While those opportunities evidently do exist, I remain very skeptical of all get-rich-quick schemes, even those from people who have been around a while and still promote making $10,000.00 in a day and so on. Many people have done that, but for most of them it took years of putting in their time and trying different things before they reached that level.
Two parts of internet business that I am just now ready to get a handle on are article writing and blogging. Coming in a close third is SEO (search engine optimization). Not that I feel I have a handle on it, but it does not overwhelm me now just to think about it as it did in the past.
As you can tell if you've read my posts, article writing has quickly become a passion for me. I don't write an article a day as some folks do, but I am probably on task to write 3 a week on average. If all goes as planned, that will increase in coming months, and I look forward to the increase. Along with article writing, my blog is starting to get more attention and is becoming a hobby as well as a passion.
The other part of internet business that seems overwheling is SEO. All of us know that it needs to be done, but few of us feel capable of providing the best SEO for our own sites, let alone helping someone else do it.
In this post I am recommending a few of my favorite FREE sources for help with article writing, blogging, and SEO. Of course, I have provided quite a bit of information on article writing in my posts, but my passion for article writing started with a free resource from http://completeminisites.com. Bill Morin offers some ebooks here for sale, but you can get the 3-part course on article writing for free. I started there then ran across Steve at http://www.999articles.com. His series is a bit longer and will come over a period of days unless you pay for the course, but he gives very good information on the various parts of articles and how to write them for maximum impact.
For blogging I recommend starting with Jim DeSantis at Online Tribune Internet Marketing (http://on-line-tribune-internet-marketing.blogspot.com). Jim provides great information in his blogs and is more than willing to share what he knows.
On the SEO front, I recommend Brad Callen at SEO Elite http://www.seoelite.com you can buy the ebook or just take the free course through email. It is not an all-inclusive read, but it will give you some good ideas on what good SEO is and how to tell if it has been done correctly.
A man who has become near and dear to me is Tim at Traffic Slurp UK SEO Services, a UK based SEO firm. Tim published one of my articles and is working on SEO for me. He really knows his stuff. You can get some great "How to" information from Traffic Slurp or you can hire Tim and his staff to spearhead your SEO for higher search engine rankings.
One great tool Tim uses is his Competitor Link Analysis. Read my article on Increasing PageRank and you'll understand why this tool is so valuable. This tool will help you find out what authority sites are linking to your competitors and give you direction for seeking out these sites for yourself. It gives you this information and so much more. If you are interested in getting quality links for your site, this FREE tool is a must.
Copyright © Claudia Pate
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Article Writing , Blogging, and SEO - A Few of My Favorite Sites
Friday, February 16, 2007
How Your Blog Can Help Your Article Marketing Campaign and Vice Versa
It seems many of us have taken to article marketing for an unprecedented increase in traffic to our websites. To this end, we write maybe an article a day or three a week at minimum, post them to our blog (for even more exposure), and submit them to our ever-increasing list of article directories. We feel proud of ourselves for having accomplished this much in so short a time.
Then, one day, out of the clear blue, we read that there may be a problem with our system. Duplicate content - the problem of the search engines not being able to see that every article that bears my name was actually written by me no matter where it was found first, second, or last.
In order to avoid this, the suggestions abound. Maybe we shouldn't post the same article to more than one directory; maybe we can post a version of the same article to different directories, but it must be changed by at least 30% in order not to be banned by the indexers; maybe we can post to our blog first, ping it, wait 24 hours, then post to article directories; maybe none of it matters and we can post anything we want wherever we want.
In forums and blogs throughout the world, there is much discussion about duplicate content. But no one has the answer. Maybe not even Google, the top dog we are trying to impress in the first place. It seems that Yahoo has a handle on this, but Google can't quite get the math right.
No wonder. Have you ever looked at the algorithm used to figure PageRank? I used to work as a copy editor for a physics journal and these equations look a lot like the same ones used to work out problems of black holes and nuclear physics. There are so many summations, sigmas, fractions, matrices, and the like that one little sigma in place of an epsilon can cause the entire thing to blow up - and no I don't mean the world. I mean the PageRank algorithm. If this is how the PageRank algorithm is structured, I wonder how the duplicate content algorithm is structured?
With the ongoing marketing of such software as Article Submitter Pro that submits the same article to more than 300 directories, and individual directories making an article available to be used in ezines and blogs throughout the world, the biggest problem with duplicate content seems to be posting the same article on your own blog and in article directories. For some reason, this could be held against you.
In order to get around this problem, it was suggested by a few reliable sources that I post the article to my blog first, ping it, wait 24 hours, then submit to article directories. In the past few days, however, I've come up with perhaps a more conservative approach that has the potential to increase the exposure of both my content and my name, and thus the traffic to my site.
What is this new revelation?
I write freely and in a more "down to earth" manner in my blog then use the same content to write my article and submit it. Because articles are generally written in a more formal tone, though not stuffy, I take the words from my blog that are just written as they come to me and turn them into an article that is a bit more organized and maybe contains quotes and information from research.
In addition to providing the foundation for my article, the style of writing in my blog might appeal to a slightly different audience and be picked up from there rather than from an article directory.
Beyond providing the foundation for an article, my blog gives a reader who clicks on a link in my article resource box more information than they found in the article. Blog posts can generally be as long as you want them to be, without losing your reader's attention. I can include website links and examples that either are not allowed in an article or just take up too much space.
And, on the flip side, if someone bookmarks my blog and finds a link back to my article or searches for my name, I get more exposure and the chance for my article to be picked up by ezines and blogs if they like the article style better.
Even if you aren't concerned about duplicate content between your blog and your articles, it's a win-win situation to write a blog post directed to your particular audience then modify it to appeal to an even wider audience through article directories.
If you just do not have the time to post to a blog and rewrite the post to submit to an article, at the very least post to your blog first, ping your blog, then wait 24 hours before submitting the article to an article directory. This should't cause too much trouble for the sigmas, summations, and epsilons in the algorithm.
Copyright © Claudia Pate
Plug-in Profits, Start Writing Your Internet Success Story Today
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Get Quality Backlinks to Increase PageRank Fast
What is PageRank?
The PageRank of a website in Google indicates the importance of the website in the eyes of Google. This is based on many factors, but should build over time as your site gains notariety, popularity, and traffic.
The Google PageRank, or number value Google places on a website, is largely based on the importance (popularity) of the site based on the PageRank of the sites linking back to it. A large part of your internet marketing campaign must focus on getting backlinks from sites with a PageRank higher than yours.
How do I find a PageRank?
You can find the PageRank of any website by downloading the Google toolbar. Just a little left of the center of the tool bar is an icon labeled "PageRank." When you visit any site, the bar will fill to indicate where that site stands on a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being the highest). You can hold your cursor over the bar without clicking on it to see the number value of the PageRank.
What are backlinks?
Backlinks are links that point back to your site. These can be links you have received from other sites in exchange or reciprocal linking agreements, one-way links placed on another site that leads to your site, or links placed strategically by you in forum posts, blogs, and the resource box of published articles. Backlinks are also achieved when you submit your website to article directories.
When exchanging links, posting in forums, or submitting articles, it is best to use keywords in the text of the link to "anchor" your text. By placing keywords in the text of the link instead of your website name or words such as "Click here," the keyword(s) are anchored to your url.
Example:
Use
Work at home opportunities
Instead of
Common Sense Ebiz
This not only creates a backlink to your site, it links your keywords to your site, thus enticing the spider with an extra morsel (spiders love keywords nearly as much as backlinks).
Do I really need backlinks?
Yes. You really need backlinks.
Backlinks are needed to get the attention of Googlebot as he spiders through the web seeking where to go next. While it is hard to imagine, a spider does not search the web in alphabetical order, scouring all the A's, then the B's, all the way through Z. Instead, spiders start with one site (which one, who knows?), scours the data there then is sent off through the links it finds on that site. If your site is found on that site, you get searched. If not, the spider doesn't even know you exist. If the spider finds you on another site, you get searched again, and the pattern continues until all sites have been searched and re-searched.
After the spider has seen your site over and over again, it begins to think, "This site must be important because so many other sites find it important." And this site is even more important if a lot of other "important" (quality) sites find it important.
It's like dating the football captain or the head cheerleader: your popularity goes up because you are with someone else who is more popular than you.
Backlinks also serve to help visitors find you. Links on a web page are like the directory at the mall. "If you didn't find what you were looking for here, maybe you can find what you are looking for'at "Ebiz for the Small Fry'." Click on this link and find out.
Backlinks on forum posts, blogs, and article resource boxes are also left behind to help readers, who don't even know you exist, find their way to your site.
You do need backlinks, but more importantly, you need quality backlinks.
Where do I get quality backlinks?
It is not enough to have a huge number of backlinks; in fact it is frowned upon to have too many. It is best to have a few quality backlinks than a bunch of backlinks that are not seen as "quality" links. So, you ask again, where do I get quality backlinks?
In their PageRank algorithm, Google has not hidden the fact that your mother was right: your reputation is only as good as the people you hang around with. If you strive to get good, quality backlinks, your reputation and presence on the internet will grow and will be felt throughout the world.
Get your free copy of Dotcomology today to find out more about starting your own online business or marketing a brick-and-mortar business online.
Click Here to Discover "Dotcomology" Now!
Monday, February 12, 2007
Article Writing - Where to Submit Your Articles
As promised, the list of directories I submit articles to is below.
There a lot more. You can search for "article directories" to find more. You can search for more targeted article directories by adding your keyword terms to the search. For example, "wedding article directories," "dogs article directories," etc. You will be amazed at the number of directories from which to choose.
If you get tired of submitting articles manually, or you want to submit to many
directories at once, check into automatic submission software such as Article Marketer. Again, you can search for "automatic article submission" and choose one of the products available.
http://ezinearticles.com
http://www.articlemarketer.com
http://www.articlesfactory.com
http://www.goarticles.com
http://www.articledashboard.com
http://www.ideamarketers.com
http://www.articlecity.com
http://getmyarticles.com
http://www.kokkada.com
http://www.amazines.com
http://www.easyarticles.com
http://www.articlesauce.com
http://www.free-articles-zone.com
http://www.sunwestnet.net
All of these directories are free and accept a wide variety of articles.
Take some time to read the editorial guidelines and set up your profile before you begin. After that, you can log in and submit your article.
Let me know if you have questions. Feel free to email me at support@commonsenseebiz.com
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Ready, Set, ... Hold on a Minute!
You have your article written and you broke it into the parts listed in my post "Writing Articles - The Elements of an Article." Congratulations!
Before I can let you submit an article, though, you must consider two very important parts of your article. Do you know what they are? Right. The beginning and the end, but not the introduction and the conclusion, I mean the very beginning and the very end: the title and the resource box.
Write a title that sells
While many people focus on 3 steps or 7 steps or even 100 steps or tips, I want you to
put your keyword(s) at the beginning of the title. Unlike browsing at a bookstore under a category for titles that catch your eye, people looking for an online article will type keywords into a search engine and see what comes up. By putting your keywords at the beginning of the title, you increase the chances of your article being found by the search engines.
For example, instead of writing "Top 10 Ways to Increase Traffic to Your Website," write "Increase Traffic to Your Website - Viral Marketing is the Key." If you can include two related keyword search terms in your title, two things will happen: 1) Your article can be found using either the term "increase traffic to your website" or "viral marketing," two very hot topics these days; and 2) it is more likely that a reader will read the article once it's found because they see two terms they are interested in - increasing traffic and viral marketing.
For a good article on writing titles, see Article Marketing and Copywriting Secret: How To Make Your Article TITLE Sell, by Christopher Knight.
Carefully consider and construct your article resource box
The author resource box is perhaps the most important part of the article as far as your marketing efforts go. Yes, it is important to write an attention-grabbing headline and make sure your content is good, but there are two goals of your resource box that you must know about: 1) it provides a backlink to your website, and 2) it gives readers an opportunity to visit your site, which in turn increases your traffic and eventually your page ranking.
Most of the directories I submit to allow href tags in the resource box, but be sure to check the guidelines of the directory you are submitting to before including the href tags.
The resource box should tell about who you are and compel the reader to click through to your website. Most of the time it pays to start out with your name, as in
Mary Smith is a self-made millionaire who helps people get out of debt and live debt-free. Get out of debt and become a millionaire at GetOutofDebtandStayThere.
Read the section How To Make A URL/Website Address "Linkable" in the article concerning HTML skills. My only change would be to insert the keywords as your target instead of re-entering your web address. For example, instead of
Mary Smith is a self-made millionaire who helps people get out of debt and live debt-free. Get out of debt and become a millionaire at
which results in
Mary Smith is a self-made millionaire who helps people get out of debt and live debt-free. Get out of debt and become a millionaire at GetOutofDebtandStayThere.
write:
Mary Smith is a self-made millionaire who helps people get out of debt and live debt-free.
which results in
Mary Smith is a self-made millionaire who helps people get out of debt and live debt-free. Get out of debt and become a millionaire at GetOutofDebtandStayThere.com.
This example puts the link around your keywords, rather than your web address.
Don't be overwhelmed
While even these two parts of the article might seem overwhelming, they don't have to be. Look at other examples of titles and resource boxes to get your footing then start working on them.
You can change your resource box for future articles, and I have changed mine as I learned more and saw how others wrote theirs. You will get better over time at writing and linking.
If you have any questions on how to write the best titles and resource box for your articles, leave a comment and I'll get back to with suggestions.
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Get Started!
Now that you have the basics of article writing, my best advice is to start writing!
Be sure to read my previous posts on the essentials of an article and the basics of html. In a day or two I will give you the list of directories I use for submissions.
For now, choose one of your keywords, experiences, or interests and start writing!
Thursday, February 8, 2007
Article Writing - What Do I Write About?
I guess I got a little ahead of myself, didn't I? I moved on to writer's block when you might still be asking, "What do I write about?"
Here are a few suggestions to get you started.
If you have a website or product:
Choose keywords and use them as springboards. For example, if you have a website that specializes in carpeting, there are many aspects of carpeting your readers will be interested in: texture, style, quality, padding, color, installation, etc. Choose one of these keywords and start a list of keywords within that category. As you write your list of keywords, ideas for articles will form in your mind and you can easily put them into words.
Talk about the benefits of your product or service. While editors of article directories have the right to refuse publication of articles written purely for advertisement, they will likely publish articles that tell about the benefit of carpeting over wood flooring or vinyl. If you stick to the benefits of choosing quality carpeting and then include your web address in the resource box, you will likely have a publishable article.
Talk about the different uses for your product or service. Tell about the various rooms that are most suitable for carpeting or the best carpet to use in a bedroom versus a bathroom. If some rooms aren't suitable for carpet, in your opinion, write an article about that and explain why you have that opinion. Readers are looking for information, good or bad, and will be glad for another viewpoint that maybe they hadn't thought of.
Write about your experience in starting or buying your business. Many, many people are looking for business opportunites and are wondering if they are suited to starting or running their own business. Personal success stories are a great motivator for others to pursue their own dreams of owning or running their own business. Be honest about it. Don't try to make it all sound rosy if it wasn't. Readers are more interested in honesty than in being made to feel good.
If you do not have a website or business:
The world of article writing is open to everyone. If people are curious about it, there is a market for it. Article directories are not just for people who want to write about business or online pursuits.
Here are just a few topics that are available for article submission:
Business
Careers/Employment
Fundraising
Industrial Mechanical
Resumes/Cover Letters
Sales
Top 7 or 10 Tips
SEO
Search Engine Marketing
Debt Relief
Real Estate
Dating
Divorce
Marriage Wedding
Religion
Health and Fitness
Grief
Positive Attitude
Auto Racing
Basketball
Fishing
Travel and Leisure
Crafts Hobbies
Coffee
Arts and Entertainment
Music
Book Reviews
And literally hundreds more.
Start today. Make a list of keywords, write about the benefits and uses of your product, or your experience in building your business. If you don't have a business, write about anything that interests you. If you are interested in it, you can write about it.
Get your free copy of Dotcomology today to find out more about starting your own online business or marketing a brick-and-mortar business online.
Click Here to Discover "Dotcomology" Now!
Monday, February 5, 2007
Article Writing - More Ideas to Break Through Writer's Block
Here are some more ideas to help you break through writer's block.
- Write as though you are writing to your blog
- Keep a noteboodk handy
- Ask questions
- Change topic
Blog posts are often written in a more informal, friendly tone which often makes them easier to write than formal articles written for an audience. After the post is written, use the outline from your post to write an article for submission.
Some of my best, and the most questionable, ideas often surface when I wake up in the middle of the night or when I'm busy doing something else, like driving or cooking. Keep a notebook handy to jot down these ideas as they come to mind.
Recently a man who writes articles asked me what questions I had about writing and submitting articles. Instead of replying directly to my email, he wrote and submitted an article that answered my question. Ask questions of people who need your services. Use their questions as a springboard for writing. Chances are good that if one person had that question, many others will have the same question.
If your main business is decorating but you really want to write about the latest football or basketball game or TV show, do it. Just be aware that the audience you desire for your primary business may or may not read the article. Your goal of driving traffic to your site may not be fulfilled by this "off-topic" article, but write it anyway. The enjoyment you get from writing this article on a current event could spur you to get back on topic and reach your intended audience.
For personal guidance on writing articles, contact me at support@commonsenseebiz.com. I'll be glad to help you with any questions you may have.
Claudia
Start writing your own internet success story with Plug-in Profits, a 3-Step Plan that includes a free website and a 30 Day Guide to Success.
Sign up for my free Common Sense Ebiz newsletter and learn more about home business opportunities at htp://CommonSenseEbiz.com.
Also, see my online store, The Anniversary Shop, for modern and traditional anniversary gifts and gifts for all occasions.
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Thursday, February 1, 2007
Article Writing - Break Through Writer's Block
On this first day of February, with a dusting of snow on the ground, I am reminded that this might be the month that you are stuck indoors and can spend some time writing by the fireplace while the wind howls outside.
If you have not written and submitted one article yet, go back and read through the posts I made in January to find out why it is important to write articles and some of the essentials of how to do it, then come back here to get started.
If you have started writing articles, you might run into what is know as "writer's block."
Writer's block hits almost all writers at some point in their career. You might have flown through the first five or ten or more articles then suddenly run out of things to say. If this has happened to you, follow these tips to get started again.
If you have been sitting at your computer, staring at a blank screen, pulling your hair out to get a new idea to write about, get up and move a little. The mere movement away from your computer to get some blood flowing will help to jumpstart your creative juices. If you haven't come up an idea for writing just by staring at the screen, continued staring will not change anything for you, except to give you a headache.
By reading today's headlines or your favorite blog, your mind will reconnect with words and ideas again. It might take just one sentence or one article for your mind to come up with a new idea. If you don't come up with any new ideas after the first headline or the first blog, try, try again. If still nothing comes to your mind, at least you have kept up with the news and seeds have been planted in your brain that might surface hours or days later.
Read through some of your own articles to find an article that was written from a broad angle and pick it apart to come up with more articles on narrower topics.
In a typical article, as you were taught in school, you probably made three points that supported your main point. You can write an article on one of these three points and support it with three more points that can be used in later articles, then these three points can be used in three more articles and so on. See where I'm going? Until you get down to the article that tells about the components of paint, you can keep writing articles just on sprucing up your walls with paint for days to come.
Start with just a list of words associated with your business or area of interest that you want to write about. If your website is about decorating on a budget, list the rooms in your house or the techniques, such as paint, wallpaper, stenciling, etc., that can be used to spruce up your walls. Start with just words then move up to phrases if those come to mind.
From this list you can choose one of the words or topics and write an article about that or you can choose one area, such as walls, and write a series of articles on the different ways to change the look of a room by changing the walls.
More ideas on writer's block will be presented in future posts. Choose one of these, take a break, read the headlines or a blog, read your previous articles, or make a list of words and expect that writer's block to be gone before you have to add another log to the fire.
If this article was helpful to you or you have another idea to share with others about breaking through writer's block, leave a comment below.
Start writing your own internet success story with Plug-in Profits, a 3-Step Plan that includes a free website and a 30 Day Guide to Success.
Sign up for my free Common Sense Ebiz newsletter and learn more about home business opportunities at www.CommonSenseEbiz.com
Also, see my online store The Anniversary Shop for gifts for wedding anniversaries and every gift giving occasion.
