1. Get a vision. First things first. Who are you? What are YOU all about? What is YOUR message? When others come to you, what do they ask you? Take some time to really think this one out.  Your blog will only be a success when you find YOUR voice. Pull apart and get a vision. Keep your blog simple, clear, uncluttered, and focused. Stick to who you are. Don’t change up every day. Don’t add in content that does not go along with your message. Get a vision for what you are to be all about and be ONLY that.

2. Set it up right. Don’t take short-cuts. If you want to build a successful business, invest in your “home on the web.” This is not an area to skimp by or put off. Grab your own domain and host your site yourself. The reasons are more than I can cover in an entire article, but the biggest reason is that you are building a business. Build your business with a solid foundation. If you are a writer, invest in your own name TODAY as a domain. If you are setting up a site for a particular business venture, grab your domain for it. My favorite hosting service is Mom Webs: http://www.writers-nook.com/MomWebs.html You can grab your domain and set up your hosting account in just a few minutes. Also, ask them to install Wordpress for you. They will even install an adorable theme for you for around $10. If you have a blog that is hosted by a free service, they can even help you to pull your RSS Feed (all of your past posts) into your new site–PRICELESS! They are super! Wordpress is another big MUST that will help you get started on the right track. I love that you can set up your site and add a good theme in just a few steps. Again, set it up right. A good design will take you along the path to success. It will make a huge difference in YOU and your audience. Don’t skimp on this step. Set up your site for success. Invest in a good, solid home on the web.

3. Keep growing and learning. A great site takes time to build. Keep it growing. Commit to add fresh new content to your site every day–articles, audios, videos, tip sheets, downloadables, printables, etc. Keep it growing and expanding. Stay on the cutting edge! The best way to do that is to keep on learning. Right now, I am studying through a new set on blogging. I can’t believe all of the new ideas for plug-ins, social networking options, etc that are new THIS YEAR. I set aside time each day to learn new things either through reading or listening to shows/seminars. Talk about a great way to make my site all it can be. You won’t be there immediately, but you will get there. Commit today to grow and learn. Never stop. Stay creative. Stay on the cutting edge.

4. Make sure that your site reflects YOU. Make sure that your site helps others get to know you and your heartbeat. Include your pictures, your audios, your videos, your writing, and what you love. Let them get to know YOU–your heart, your interests, your knowledge, your life, your expertise. Let your site help to build your brand. Instill in peoploe who you are and what you have to offer. Be the Google-the place people go to search–for your market. Be the place they go when they need help.

5. Don’t be shy about what you have to offer. Now, first, be mindful that some things are annoying–banners/blocks all over the page, apps all over the page, flashing letters, crazy fonts, etc. BUT, some things really work to make your site profitable–

–>  Offer Q/A–have a spot/category just for answering questions. As you answer questions, don’t shy away from linking to resources that you recommend. Hyperlink words or resources to pages with more information. Watch the responses.

–>  Post articles–not only can you link to any recommended resources/products within the article, but you can also have a nice pitch for products in your resource box at the bottom of the article. ALWAYS pitch something–one of your products, your mailing list, your radio show, etc. Give them access to other things that will help them with that topic.

–>  Link to your store–make it easy for people to find what you have to offer. Keep it neat. Keep it simple. Keep it prominent.

6. Bring others in to help you. Feel overwhelmed? Let others help you. There are so many ways that you can get help as you build your site. You can bring in guest bloggers–those who love the same topics and can share their articles, audios, and videos on your site. I have many friends who are always ready to share fun freebies–they help my site to be a great spot on the web, but they also promote what they have going on. It is win-win-win! You can even get the visitors to the site to join in and share great content. I began offering what I call “Mommy Homework” years ago. “Mommy Homework” is a weekly topic of discussion on my blog. Those who participate earn credit toward our products. Of all of the things I read each week, “Mommy Homework” is my most favorite. Imagine how awesome it is for those who visit my site. Before I go on, you can also use affiliate tools/resources on your site. Many affiliate programs offer great articles, audios, and downloads to help you promote their products. If they are complimentary to your site, use them! A good example of resources that are ready-to-go is found in my affiliate program. Join me at: http://www.CindysAffiliates.com.  You don’t have to be a lone-ranger. There are lots of options for content to use on your site.

7. Build a great site. Remember that your site will grow for years to come. Keep building! Keep your content fresh and alive. The best way is to take time in solitude to brainstorm, develop your message, and pour your heart out into your writing, audios, and videos. Take that time! Pour your heart out! Make your site a place of ministry. You won’t be there immediately, but I promise that in 6 months you will look back and be so proud of your hard work.

Happy blogging!

Need more help?

Check out these great shows (and others!!) on blogging that have been featured on my Writer’s Radio Show:

Blogging and Podcasting

Mailbag: Websites, Blogs, and MORE!

Let’s Talk about Blogging

What is a Blog?

A blog is actually an online journal of sorts. With a blog you can upload daily posts about anything that you want. Some people create personal blogs as a way to keep in touch with family members. Pictures, videos and other information are uploaded so your loved ones are current with what is going on with you.

Here we are going to talk about business blogs. This is a blog that you begin to attract traffic in order to sell products or services. To be interesting to others, your blog will need to:

•    Have updated content for visitors
•    Be marketed to draw traffic
•    Register with search engines so it can be found in the rankings

How to Start

If you are new to blogging or web design, there is a great option for you! Mom Webs is offering blog installation and set up services for only $10 when you host your site with them. You will be up and ready-to-go. Best of all, you will be ready for success. You don’t want to host your sites with “free” blogging options out there. You want to get started on the right track.

Before you start posting, decide what will be the theme, or niche of your blog. A jack-of-all-trades type of blog doesn’t do as well as one that is geared towards a certain niche. If you like crafts, that can be your niche. Create posts that talk about how to craft, what to craft, how to make crafting profitable and so on. Once you have decided on a path, it is time to create that great content.

How to Make Money While You Blog…

In order to make money with your blog, you need to have people visiting it. That is where marketing comes in. To draw traffic to your site, you have to get the word out about your blog. Tell all of your friends and family members that you are online with your blog for a start.

Also, begin today to include the link to your blog on each and every article that you write. Take the time to write up a bio to include at the end of each article. In that bio, tell a bit about yourself, tell what they can find at your blog, and share the link to the blog so they can find more information on that topic.

What Next???

Any money-making venture will take place once you have built your readership with interesting posts. Then you can put into play a number of profitable additions:

•    Google AdSense
•    Selling Advertising
•    Affiliate Marketing
•    EBook and Special Report Marketing

The simplest one to pursue is Google AdSense. You are using targeted advertisements to create revenue for your blog. You are paid per clicks on the ads.

There are other options where you can get paid when someone makes a sale on that website. That is more likely to happen when you join an affiliate program. Join affiliate program that work well with your website niche.

EBooks are downloadable electronic books that you can create yourself and sell on your website. They can be on a variety of subjects but in order for them to sell, you must be able to offer new information to your customers. Don’t have enough information yet for a whole book? Why not create a mini-ebook or a special report. Set it up the same way as an ebook. Do be sure to clarify exactly what the customer gets–if it is an ebook (number of pages) or a special report.

Blogs can be used to build revenue. Start with your chosen niche and market your blog to find the traffic you need. Then, utilize these ideas to turn a profit.

DATE/TIME:
March 3, 2009 at 1PM CST

Join Us Live Online:

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Call-in Number:
(347) 205-9175

You will want to join us live for this one!

Get ready for a blast!

Get Started (OR RE-Started) Writing On the Right Track!
http://www.Ultimate-Writers-Expo.com/

How you add a button to your sidebar depends in large part on the type of site you have.  For example if you have a WordPress blog then it’s going to be a different process than if you have a HTML site.

Here it is in a nutshell –

First you’ll want to click on the button image and save it on your desktop.  If you’re using Blogger then you’ll have to upload the image into an image host like Photobucket or Flickr.

WordPress Blog
1. From the admin panel choose “write new post.”
2. Upload the picture/button image you’re using
3. Go to “Manage” and then “Uploads” and click on the picture you want.
4. Copy the URL by highlighting the URL and hitting the control button on your keyboard and the letter C.
5. In the same ‘manage’ screen now go to ‘Presentation,’ and then ‘Sidebar Widgets.’
6. Add a text widget and enter your code.  It will look something like this.
7. <a href=”www.insertbuttonlinkURLhere.com”>
<img src=”past your URL here”></a>
8.   Close the text widget and save it.  You’re good to go.

Typepad Blog
1. Login and access your files through your control panel.
2. Choose to upload a new file, find your saved image, and copy the URL.
3. Click the “Typelists” tab.  Note if you do not already have a typelist follow the instructions on Typepad to create one.
4. Click “Add a new item” to your typlist and past the URL you copied in step two.  It should look something like this.
5. <img src=”http://example.typepad.com/image.jpg”>
6. Enter the URL to the website you’d like the image linked to in the “link URL” box
7. Save and you’re good to go.
Blogger Blog
1. Login and click on “Layout”
2. Choose “Template” tab, then “Page Elements”
3. Click on “Add a Page Element”
4. Choose the “HTML/JavaScript” option and click the “Add to Blog” option.
5. Type the link code (found where your image is being hosted) into the “Content” field. Your code will look like this:
<a href=”http://websiteyourimageislinkingto.com”><img src=”http://www.yourimage.jpg”></a>
6. Save and your button should be in the sidebar and linkable to the relevant website.

HTML website code
1. If you’re adding a sidebar button to the HTML code on your website the code will look something like this:
2. <div align=”center”>
<a href=”http://yoursiteURL.com” target=”_blank”><img src=”http://yoursitename/images/banner125×125.jpg” alt=”Imagelocation?”></a>
</div>

Adding a button to your sidebar is typically a pretty straightforward process.  If you have any questions or difficulties, check with your website hosting documentation or blog developer documentation for clarification and FAQs.

Sorry to be SO QUIET. I have been swamped with getting ready for the holidays, then I have taken family time the past two weeks—my soldier is HOME! We look like a family of geeks. We came to Elisabeth’s coffee shop to visit and the WIFI is soooo good that we have to succumb to the temptation to get online for a bit. LOL

I wanted to answer Lisa’s question:

Judy and anyone else that cares to chime in,

Have you found what you need – to learn to make the changes in your WP
template? I may be jumping into this sooner than thought and would
appreciate any help that may be given.

I am doing a bit of remodeling of my website and wanting my blogs to
look like the departments of my site that they are patterned after. I
don’t know yet if I will be hiring someone to design the blog
templates for me, or if I will tackle it myself. (I should hire, I
don’t have time. But I am the only one that sees the picture in my
head. And finding just the right graphics is probably what I need
to do first.

I have skimmed through many pages at WP.org for info on changing and
designing themes, and also came across a software that works with
Dreamweaver to design WP Themes. Since I use Dreamweaver for designing
my site, this may be a good possibility. It is called ThemeDreamer.

Let me know what you’ve found.

For Me and My House,
Lisa @ Me and My House ministries
http://frommeandmyhouse.com
Discipleship for Life!

Articles, blogs and resources for Christian Growth, Biblical Home
Discipleship/Education, Family Living, and Biblical Nutrition.

Lisa, I have two suggestions. First, I want to tell you my experience. I CAN DO web design with Wordpress and CSS, but about 6 months ago I decided to take the counsel of some of my dear friends who were gurus in internet marketing and just outsource somethings. Obviously, I cannot outsource writing—THAT is what I am all about. I feel the same about blogging and many of the other thousand tasks that we do every day in business. Finally, it hit me that I COULD outsource some “jobs” that were just nagging at me. One was my web design templates. I am SO glad that I did.

I worked with Kelly from Freshnets. Here is my link to learn more about her services (please do use it if you use this advice. J):

http://www.Writers-Nook.com/FreshNets.html

Kelly did a super job at taking time to really get to know me and my businesses. We had known each other through several business seminars and through online business fellowship before she took on my sites, but she “knocked it out of the ball park” by really getting to KNOW me, my style, my brand, my heartbeats. The first banners she sent my way SO CAPTURED me and the spirit of my “home” on the web. They took everything to another whole level that would never have been possible for me to do without a HUGE learning curve and much time away from the things that ONLY I can do. Take a peek at some of her designs for me:

http://www.CindysDesktop.com
http://www.Talk-a-Latte.com
http://www.MomtoMomRadioShow.com
http://www.CindyRushton.com
http://www.Writers-Nook.com

Also, go to her site and peek at the other sites she has designed:

http://www.Writers-Nook.com/FreshNets.html

I think that you will find that she is well worth hiring. First, the time and energy saved. Secondly, the way she can capture and pull your brand together.

I wanted for all of them to be cohesive, yet individual. She helped me to continue “the look” through all of them without getting redundant. She also helped each site to show its heartbeat and purpose. I loved it!

Lisa, I cannot articulate how much it helped me to turn Kelly loose to do what she does best. Kelly can help you simplify, get on target with your real vision, and step out there into the things that you have been putting off. I think you will find that she will do more for your sites than 20 other businesses. J

Now, saying that…I did say that I have two suggestions.

If you want to try it yourself, I do have one other suggestion. Kelly is teaming up with Lynette Chandler to offer a fabulous FTM that teaches you the ins and outs of blog design. It is intended to help those who want to have a web-design business to get started and learn the secrets behind setting up a professional website. I LOVE IT! Here is my link for it:

http://Writers-Nook.com/BlogEvangelist.html

Not only do you receive lessons on how to build and market your business, but you also get amazing help with Wordpress. I love it! It is not as fast paced as you may need if you are in a hurry setting up your sites with a new fresh template, but the lessons are super! Now, if you are in a hurry, that brings me to another recommendation-oops! That is THREE!

I recommend Lynette’s Blogging Starter Pack. It is absolutely the best resource out there to help you learn how to use Wordpress fast. Here is my link to that:

http://www.Writers-Nook.com/bloggingstarterpack.html

I had NO idea how to do anything in Wordpress before I got her set. In one weekend, I GOT IT! It will really help you understand Wordpress better very fast. Do note: the videos show the older admin panel, but Lynette does a super job of keeping you updated with changes on her members-only blog that you can access for free with your purchase. I think you will be pleased.

So, what do you do if you have no idea where to begin and you are in a hurry????

I would first suggest going ahead and hiring Kelly to help you get going. You will love her. She is just fabulous to work with. If you are in a bind for money or you think you can handle most of it yourself, then go for Blog Evangelist and the Blogging Starter Pack. I think you will love them! They are ALWAYS on my laptop! J

Hope this helps!

Love ya!
Cindy

Get ready for a BIG NEW YEAR with the Writer’s Nook!
http://www.Writers-Nook.com

When you have a popular website, it’s important to protect your traffic and good name.  But if someone registers a domain name that is very similar to yours, he can profit off of the popularity of your site to your detriment.  He could set up a site that looks like yours in an effort to scam visitors who mistakenly end up there.  He could post derogatory statements about your business.  Or he could simply set up a site that is filled with advertising in an effort to make money.

Checking for registration of domains similar to yours can alert you to such activity when it might otherwise go undetected.  If you catch it early, you might even be able to prevent the domain from being used.  Here’s what you need to do:

1. Make a list of common misspellings and typographical errors of your domain name. If you have trouble with the typos, type your domain name over and over quickly and you’ll probably find some that others might make.

2. Do a Whois check on all of these misspellings and typos. (You can find Whois information at http://whois.domaintools.com.)  Also do a check on your domain name with other extensions (.net, .info, .us, and so on).  Make note of any new registrations.

3. Type any newly registered similar domains into your browser’s address bar and see what comes up. Take screenshots of anything interesting you find.

Your recourse will depend on what you find on the site.  If the domain owner has used your trademarked or copyrighted material in any way, you can take legal action.  If he has set up a site intended to scam visitors, you can report his actions to the authorities.

If the domain name itself is not infringing on your trademark for the purpose of financial gain, the courts probably will not force the owner to relinquish it.  Therefore there is little point in filing a lawsuit.  But if your trademark is being exploited by the domain, you can take legal action.  The first step is to send a cease-and-desist letter.  If that does not produce results, a lawsuit may be warranted.

Checking for domain likeness is quick and easy.  By taking the time to do so at least every couple of months, you can protect your brand and your website.

Marketers were quick to catch on to the possibilities presented by YouTube.  They began to create “viral videos”, clips that were intended to draw interest and spark widespread distribution.  YouTube’s embed feature allows anyone to place videos on his blog or website, so by creating funny or informative videos, marketers could spread their message far and wide.

Any online marketer can harness the power of YouTube to promote his products, services and website.  Here are some types of videos that tend to do well:

* Popular commercials - If you have a television commercial that has brought you lots of business, putting it on YouTube can get you more mileage out of it.  And best of all, you don’t have to pay for airtime.

* How-to videos – While some Internet users just want to be entertained, many of them come online looking for information.  How-to videos allow them to see how something is done rather than just reading about it.  Businesses capitalize on this by producing videos about how to do things that relate to their products or services.

* Video from special events - If you’ve held or participated in a conference, seminar or other special event, posting a video of it on YouTube could get you lots of traffic.  So don’t forget to take your video camera along!

* Funny videos - Lots of Internet users visit YouTube when they need a good laugh.  If you can whip up a funny video that features your products or services, there’s a good chance that it could be highly rated and go viral.

A frequent mistake of YouTube marketers is just uploading their video and hoping for the best.  Here are some simple steps you can take to increase your video’s chances of success.

* Take care to put your video in the right category, and make full use of tags. Add tags that describe your business and products, as well as the video’s subject matter.  This will help users find your video more easily.

* Write a good description that contains keywords that one might use to find your video. Also, be sure to include your site’s URL in the description.

* Be sure to allow embedding, comments and ratings. Allowing others to embed your video will give it more exposure.  Making it possible for them to comment will generate discussion, which is also good for your video’s success.  And allowing ratings could put you higher in YouTube’s search rankings if people like your video.

YouTube is an invaluable marketing tool.  It gives businesses the opportunity to use the popularity of online video to their advantage.  Anyone can create a video with Windows Movie Maker and upload it to YouTube, so why not give it a try if you haven’t already?

One of the best and most popular ways to increase incoming links is to exchange links with other relevant and trustworthy businesses.  Relevancy and trustworthiness are both important not only to maintain and increase your own website credibility but also with search engine rankings.  Links which come from websites which are relevant and trustworthy have more weight than non-relevant links. 

So what is a relevant link?  It’s a link which compliments or supplements your own business.  It doesn’t compete with it. For example if you sell mattresses then a link from a bedding company or a pillow company would be relevant.  A link from a company that makes ice cream isn’t.

So now the big question…how do you exchange links with a relevant site?

The first possibility is to contact the webmaster directly and ask if they will exchange links with you. Make sure to follow through if they do link to you and check occasionally to make sure they’ve followed through with their end of the deal.  It’s unprofessional to remove links after agreeing to however it does happen.

Another way to exchange links is to offer a link to us button on your website. Visitors can click on this button and receive html code for a variety of link types including text and banner.  Make sure webmasters have a way to contact you to let you know they’ve linked to you so you can reciprocate.

If you’re approaching a webmaster to request a link exchange make sure you’ve done your homework and understand not only their website business but also the benefit of linking to you. There needs to be a strong benefit for someone to link to you. Present it so they understand what’s in it for them.   This is accomplished by understanding your target audience and theirs.  Be sure to also provide relevant data including daily website visitors and any visitor demographic information which may be applicable.

When exchanging links it is also important to agree about where a link will be placed. If you link to another website on your home page and they link to you on a page buried deep within their website then the exchange isn’t equal.  That may be an equitable exchange if their deep pages receive as much traffic as your home page.  It’s definitely an issue to address up front.

When handled correctly, link exchanges are a good way to increase your website traffic.  Do your research, approach webmasters with a professional and thorough presentation, and follow through on your end of the agreement.

A dead link, also known as a dangling link and a broken link, is defined as a link which leads to an error page or a web page or server which is unavailable.  While the occasional dead link may not seem like too much of a big deal all it takes is a single dead link to lose a customer.

A website visitor’s attention span is typically limited to about twenty seconds.  If you can’t capture their attention in those first twenty seconds – click, they’re gone.  They’re onto the next website or gasp – your competition.

Now imagine you’ve done your job as a webmaster and captured the attention of a visitor.  They’re reading your content and liking what they see.  A link or button captures their attention, they click it and oops, there’s an error page.  Some patient folks will go back to the page they were on and continue browsing however the majority will simply click away.  You’ve lost them and any potential profits which may have been gleaned from their wallets.

Unfortunately most webmasters are completely unaware that their links are broken – dead.  What is an unaware webmaster to do?

Fortunately when there’s an issue on the internet, there are many people and companies who jump in to help you solve the problem.  Dead links are no exception.

You can, of course, check all your links yourself.  If you have a single page brochure site this is probably the best and most economical decision to make.  You can click on each of your links on a monthly basis simply to make sure they’re still working.  Perhaps you link to an order form, a map or even other websites.  A few clicks and you’ll know whether your links are breathing or have kicked the bucket and need to be fixed.

However many websites have hundreds of pages, each with their own internal links.  One dead link can break a very important chain.  Checking a site like this manually can take way more time than you have.  You could hire an administrative assistant to weed through page after page of links trusting that they’re not going to miss any or you can use one of the many dead link checkers available online.  Most of these tools work by simply typing in your URL and generating a report.  Depending on the size of your website this process can take anywhere from five seconds to five minutes.  The result is a nice list of links to update.

Once you have a list of links to update, the sooner you can fix them the better.  Remember, each dead link may be a lost customer.  While it isn’t necessary to check for dead links weekly or even monthly it pays to schedule a quarterly dead link check into your calendar.  All it takes is a few hot minutes and your website stays fresh and up to day.

Branding is the process of using logos, taglines, and marketing to get your product or service to become a household name.  we all know how branding works even if we don’t know that we do.  But, is branding a plus for your business or a liability?

When you think of certain products, a picture begins to form in your head.  Take, for instance, Nike.  “Just do it” comes to mind.  That is the result of product branding.  Now, if you hear a brand name and it conjures up an image of poor customer service the last time you called, that is also a result of branding but a negative one.

The big corporations are so big because their marketing included making their products a household name.  They found a product or service that everyone could use and made it indispensible through creative advertising and marketing.  Everywhere anyone looked, they saw something that represented the brand so the product was fresh in their mind.

In this world, a new product is developed practically every day.  Inventors and businesspeople are looking for the next big “thing” to hit the market.  All you have to do is look at companies like Nike, Pepsi, Coca-Cola, and Disney to know that if you can sell one product reliably, others will follow.

People are more likely to buy from you if they can associate your product with a positive brand.  When none of the products have a branded reputation, it is a toss up.  Customers could pick you or someone else depending on what kind of mood they are in that day.  That is not the kind of business we want to do.

Branding is a total package for any business and that includes small or home-based businesses.  Giving poor customer service for a product that people will use does not inspire loyalty.  Using a logo that doesn’t really say much about your product won’t steer people to your business, no matter how great a product it might be.  Compatibility and consistency are important when it comes to branding.

On the downside, if even one customer gives you a bad report, it could label your brand with a negative name.  When using branding the business name, logo, stationery, customer service, marketing tools, and finished product have to coincide with your company’s mission and ideals.  Wanting to be known as the “best organic soap on the market” will go down the tubes if you start using additives when demand gets too high.

Branding can be a business’ best friend if done right.  Customers will sing your praises to others and business will increase.  On the other hand, let a part of the branding strategy get lax and it could spell disaster for the product and your reputation.

Decide today to make branding your friend–set yourself apart!

“Search engine optimization copywriting” or SEO, is a method of writing viewable or easily scanned text on your web page which is very acceptable and readable for the internet user as well as targets certain or exact search terms, having the purpose of ranking high in search engines.

“SEO Copywriting” generally optimizes and enhances other on-page components for search terms being targeted, namely the title, the description and likewise keywords tags, alt text and headings.

Search engines require and look for authentic content pages, rather than additional pages which are designed solely for attaining high rankings; this then, is the concept of “SEO copywriting”.  And for this reason, search engines may not likely consider SEO pages with undesirable copywriting content.

Simply put, your site’s content must follow good marketing standards, having great interaction with your visitors because excellent “SEO copywriting” acknowledges the fact that humans make the purchasing decisions and not “spiders”.

It is recommended that your content comprises of about 250 words that are viewable per page, having a maximum of two targeted keywords or search terms located strategically inside the text as well as in other on-page components.

A good quality and informative copywriting content indeed is the very foundation for a website to be successful. A good content and excellent website setup will direct your visitors to what exactly they desire while collecting or inquiring for information in your website. A well developed and constructed content page really is important for powerful website content and can take a huge bound in your keyword ranking approach.

Always remember that internet surfers do not “read” all the time your content, but rather, their tendency is just to scan through the page, searching for prominent and attractive sentences and words. Meaning that for you to magnetize your visitors, you need to write not only convincing and captivating content, but also scannable.

When a prospect visits your site searching for a service or product, it can be due to fact that they find your information educational and helpful; thus it actually depends on the quality of your content and what type of information that you supply your visitors that determines whether they stay or leave your website. A content rich in keywords will leave an enduring impression for your SEO campaign.

Here are a few guidelines on writing good quality SEO content:

1.  Understand and determine your “key phrases” before you begin writing. Returning and then editing an already existing copy so to reach higher keyword concentration can be a difficult task which often results in fragmented sentences, complicated statements and a copy that is stiff sounding. If you already know the “key phrases”, then you are able to construct a complete and flowing stream of ideas.

2.  Know who your target audiences are. You need to determine your target clients before writing your content, so that you can address them properly. You can not write a good quality, informative and persuading content without knowing your visitors requirements, problems and needs.

Your content should offer a solution to their problems and you need to first identify that problem before you can determine a solution.

3.  Incorporate your “key phrases” in the headlines. Almost all search engines believe that a headline is a significant part of your copy which means that the text that comprises the headlines bears additional effect.

When you make headlines, be certain to construct them so that they also carry the keyword that you have used in your content. Also take note of the “HTML encryption for your title. When you make bold headlines and incorporating them in “<H1>” or “<H2>” tags, they will catch the search engine’s attention.

4.  Scatter or distribute properly your “key phrases” all throughout the body of your article. To do this effectively, focus on just a maximum of three primary keywords and let them naturally flow in your article.

There is what is called a “3 percent guideline” which states that 3 percent of the words in your article must be “keywords”. You should take note however, that this is only a guideline; do not ruin a good article just so to achieve the three percent guideline by insisting on the keywords in sentences where it does not fit just so to achieve the “3 percent guideline.”

Just remember that a literature form of writing is not what is required in SEO copywriting; it just makes a poor web content. SEO copywriting demands that you specifically need to write for the internet, something that is very much different from a literature or storybook style of writing.

There is more to web copywriting than merely writing well. Keep this in mind:  Effective web copywriting and keywords “search engine optimization” mean the same thing.

There are lots of ways to get them there, but the question is – how do you keep them returning? If a reader isn’t impressed by your blog at all, then they’ll leave your blog, never to return again.

With them goes their blog’s traffic that you could’ve benefited from if they’d linked to you. Here are some tips to make your blog appealing enough to keep the traffic there to earn you some money.

Evaluate Your Design!

The most common mistake some bloggers make is in their blog’s design. Blog readers not only look for interesting and informative content – they also want to come to an inviting space to read it.

The blog’s design needs to be inviting to them and comforting. It’s crucial not to have anything that would annoy them to the point of leaving because they can’t stand it. Make sure you’re not annoying them with colored font that’s hard to read or a bunch of graphics that are too distracting.

A few animated graphics are fine, but don’t have flashing ads and glittering graphics detracting from your blog’s message – or your strategically-placed advertisements. It’s fine to use colored font for your posts, but make sure it’s easy to read.

A pale yellow font color against a pure white background may be too difficult for the visitors to read. They shouldn’t clash with the background color either. Clashing colors can give visitors headaches, so they’ll leave your site without bookmarking it for a later visit.
Content! Content! Content!

The other common mistake bloggers tend to make is with their content. Some bloggers don’t update very often. If you only post once a month, your readers will forget you’re there and won’t return to your site. Post to your blog at least three times a week to keep human visitors and search engine spiders coming back.

Some bloggers also make the mistake of only providing text content to their blogs. Text posts are great, but mix it up a little every once in awhile with multi-media formats. Provide some interesting pictures, audio files and videos. Offer a little variety and your visitors will come back to check and see what else you’ve been up to.

Stay Focused!

It’s also important to stick to your blog’s niche topic. If you’re blogging about homeschooling, then stick to that topic. Providing information about a celebrity’s latest excursion will turn off your readers unless it somehow relates to homeschooling.

To make your blog successful in bringing you money, make sure you make the blog appealing to your readers. If your readers keep coming back, your chances of making money from your ads and offers will increase.

Designing a company web site is cheap and effective, not to mention essential because the world wide web is the only medium that offers instantaneous information access to millions of users around the globe.

Any web developer worth his salt should know about search engine optimization or SEO.

This is the key towards building an effective web site that would get a lot of hits and visitors. A web site that nobody visits is useless so the challenge lies in leading Internet users to visit your web site.

Thus, your web site need to be “found” when users type in keywords in search engines such as Google, Yahoo, MSN, Altavista, AOL and others.

Once a keyword relating to the products or services that you offer is keyed into a search engine, a direct link to your web site should emerge on top of the list.

You should employ search engine optimization techniques to lead traffic your way, and get more hits that would later on lead to more profit for your company, which is your goal in the first place.

Here are some tips on how you can make it to the top of the list of search engines, and use your SEO techniques to benefit your web site and your company:

1. If you have an existing web site and domain, just optimize the one that you currently have instead of purchasing a new domain.

It will take some time before your web site will show up in a particular search engine, like Google, so it better to use the one that you currently have instead of switching to a new one. Don’t “re-do” all of your pages. Tune up those that you have.

2. Know who your target audience is and aim for them.

If you are in the manufacturing industry and a user types in your product in a search engine, then you would immediately have your target right in front of you.

As soon as the user hits the “Enter” button or clicks on “Search,” then the person will be lead to your web site.

Make sure that your target market will get ‘hooked’ on your web site. Once the search engines show the link to your web site, their job is done.

What you should do next is to make sure that your visitor will not leave your web site without them trying out your products or services, or at least leaving some pertinent information so that you can contact them in the future for marketing and advertising purposes.

When hitting a particular target market, learn about their interests, location and age to have an idea of what you can offer them in return.

Also, you can somehow link their interests to your products and services.

3. Search for the right keyword.

You should be creative, persistent and flexible when looking for the keyword or keyword phrases to use in optimizing your web site.

Google and Yahoo offer some tools and tips on how you can come up with keywords  that will yield results.

Do not settle for just one keyword. You can also vary the words and phrases that you use for each page on your web site so that you can have more hits.

4. Consider your target market when designing your web site.

The design itself would include the general theme of the web site. You should also pay attention to smaller details such as color and font style and size.

Make sure that the web site is user-friendly and do not forget to insert helpful articles, tips, hints and related links that can be shared to other users.

It is a good thing to have an option to send a link or an article to a friend, which will add more users and increase your client base.

There should also be various ways to browse through your web site, to fit each user.

A person might find it to difficult use the scroll down option so you should also provide hyperlinks which are accessible to them.

5. Concentrate on the web site content.

Regularly update the content of your web site so that old and new users can find something new when browsing through your site.

Make the content brief and precise. Writing a content which has more than 600 words typically will make the users lose interest, since most of them do not actually read but just skim through the text.

Strive to be the best and most comprehensive web site and you will make your mark when it comes to information about the products and services that you offer.

It helps a lot to pay attention to detail, too.

Finally, keeping your web site’s content updated is a must.

Spread the word about your web site and use the basic search engine optimization techniques and you will surely gain positive results once users visit your web site.

An interesting thing about keeping and maintaining a blog (also known as blogging) is that anyone can blog. What will make a blog more successful than most is simply a keen sense of its target readership. Of course, it will not harm the blogger (a person maintaining a blog) to possess a few basic skills navigating the Internet and creating links to other websites and blogs.

Bloggers today are finding that they can not only write and publish their thoughts for free, but also can find themselves getting compensated for writing. This is because one of the techniques in SEO is to create content that is rich in keywords, which is basically what search engines look for in ranking web pages in its SERPs. 

That said, here are some tips to make your next blog an effective SEO tool.

1. Choose a Theme (and Stick to It)

Most blogs never gain a real readership because it simply is a mishmash of a writer’s thoughts, with very little coherent theme to bind the entire blog together. If the blogger does it for the sheer purpose of a journal, there’s really nothing wrong with that.

However, as an SEO, a blog has to have a theme that will tie all the posts (individual articles) together. This is because instead of just looking for keywords, a search engine will also assess whether the page just happens to have a lot of keywords mentioned in the post or whether the entire blog is about the topic it is searching for. The former will rank less than the former in the SERPs. Given this point, it will do you well to pick a theme that you are interest and won’t tire of writing about. 

2. A Place You Can Call Home

Working alongside the idea of a theme, When creating your blog (whether with your own domain name or an a free blog site), give it a URL that has words related to the theme. For example, if you are going to blog about bonsai making, try to use words that are related to that in your blog’s URL (such as www.bonsaienthusiast.com). Name your blog using words that are relevant to your theme as well. Search engines look at these things as well to determine how high your blog could possibly rank. 

If you are blogging on a hosting site, it is possible to have your blog delegated into a proper category. This will help make a search engine easier to find your blog given that the category is strongly related to themes and search keywords.

On a related note, your individual posts should also be titled with words that are closely related to your theme. Again, working on a blog with a bonsai theme, one post could be titled “Miniature Trees: How to Get Started” while another one could be “Selecting the Right Pot for a Bonsai”. This will give your posts a URL that is rich in keywords, which helps in a page’s ranking on SERPS (but you already know that, right?).

3. Link And it Shall Be Linked Unto You

Another thing about blogs that SEO experts are finding to become a great advantage is the fact that blogs make it easy to link to other blogs, which in turn makes it easy for other blogs to link to you. 

This is yet another criterion a search engine uses to rank a particular page in the results pages. The more incoming links it possess about the keyword in search will increase ranking status because the page shows that a lot of people think what you’ve written is a good source of information.

So when writing on your blog, be sure to take the time to read other people’s blogs and other online articles related to your theme. Create links to them so that you point your readers to more information. This will increase the chances of other people creating links that will point to your blog.

4. Keep it Coming

Since blog content is so easy to create, search engines scour blog sites very regularly. That means if you keep on creating new content on a regular basis, search engines will have to keep up with what’s new on your blog.

By regularly creating fresh content on your blog, search engines will tend to look to your blog first before others that are not maintained and renewed as regularly as you do. It helps in the rankings as well, which is the whole point of this article, right?

These tips are just to get started on using a blog for SEO. As you go along, you’ll find more tricks of the trade that will help you push you up the ranks on SERPs. Of course realistically, don’t expect to rank on the top 3 pages on your first try. But give it a few weeks. And for as long as you keep to the tried and true principles, it may not be that far until you’ve captured a good ranking for your blog.

1.    Expertise. Follow your strengths. Sites you set up must be on subject you consider yourself an expert on. Be specific. Be focused. Keep it simple and on that topic.

2.    Plan the site. A good layout for the site can improve usability. But, it does more. It helps your search engine rankings too. Why not take a couple afternoons this week to “spring clean” (yes, I know it is fall) your site. Simplify. Categorize. Prune. DELETE. This will help you more than you can imagine. At the same time, you will have a search engine friendly site.

3.    Research. Don’t see your site where you would like for it to be? Check out the sites that are there. What does the competition have set up? Note what seems to be working for them and and what does not. Why not check on blogs, forums or discussion list to see what your potential customers are buzzing about? If possible try to communicate with users in forums and get feedback on what should or can be improved further.

4.    Decide on important keywords. What DO you want to be known for? Where do you want to be found online? Decide on the most important keywords to use for your sight. Include these keywords in the metatags, copy page, page title, and file names.

5.    Remember that the Search Engines are your friend. Make friends with your search engines and don’t give it a hard time. Being nice and friendly to it will make its job easier to serve your site up to your target audience.

6.    Focus. Focus on the topic at hand and nothing else. The rule is one topic per page.

7.    Join the directories. Want an easy way to sky-rocket to the top of the search engines? Get busy writing. Write and submit your articles online. Article directories are repositories of knowledge done by human hands while search engine are huge databases collected by mostly machine methods. The relevancy of your page when joining the right directory may shoot through the roof. Of course, make sure you know what you are talking about.

8.    Start a linking campaign. A most effective SEO method. This is a must to do. Ask your allies, strategic partners, friends and acquaintances to place your site’s URL link on their sites. With a short description this can draw traffic from other sites and increase exposure. Google especially ranks the importance of its sites by the number of sites linked to it.  One of the best ways to get natural links and grab new readers is by writing articles and giving them to friends for their blog entries (we take them here! HINT!) Write those articles and include a nice, strong byline that links back to your website. Watch for two things–new friends from those websites and higher rankings on the search engines.

9.    Repetition is the key to victory. This is the big secret to success. You can’t get there all in one day. You have to decide now to keep on, keeping on. Get busy impleminting the ideas above. Keep repeating these tips, supporting and increasing what works and killing what does not as fast as possible until the desired result is achieved.

In the world of search engine optimization, content matters a lot. If a site has amateur or worse falsified information, fewer and fewer browsers will want to visit it. They will even spread bad news faster than good news so expect a garbage site to be ignored even in a week’s time.

Hi Cindy

You mention that Elisabeth likes web designing. Did she use Steve’s DVD’s to teach her web design? I would like to learn how to make a website, however I have no idea how. I wanted to find out how comprehensive is Steve’s DVD’s – will I know everything I need to know from just using them.

I would so appreciate your advise of this.

Regards
Susan

Cindy’s Answer:

Hi!

Thanks for your email. I am happy to help.

Yes, Elisabeth has used Steve’s DVD Set. She loved learning from it. We actually learned from them together. It was a fun course. Steve did a fabulous job on that course. It includes SO much! I am amazed at all he covered. It was very good for her.

Of course, Elisabeth was already designing sites before that course. She really has a great gifting with them. Most of what we build together uses Wordpress. It is very, very easy. We found a great course that walks you through each step. Many of the ladies in our classes have used it as well, with very little web experience. They have beautiful sites. We found a great program that they have all used. It is by my friend, Lynette Chandler. It is called the Blogging Starter Set, but don’t let the name fool you. You can use Wordpress to build a traditional looking website or a blog. Plus, the programming is so much better for getting your website to the top of search engines. Here is the link so you can check it out:

http://tinyurl.com/2sthhj

We recommend that you also look into GOT-Hosting. They have Fantastico installed that helps to make setting up and updating Wordpress much easier. You can use it alongside of Lynette’s set and have your site up over the weekend—probably in one evening. Here is a link to get to GOT-Hosting:

http://tinyurl.com/3295aj

I hope that this helps you. If not, just ask and we will help more!

Have a super day!

With much love,
Cindy

Try a Blog!

One option is to begin a blog. A blog is an informal website. You can post articles, tips, journal entries, or anything that you want. I have several reasons that I recommend this to you-

1. You can set it up for quickly and easily.
2. You can post your material yourself without a web designer.
3. You can become more familiar with web design.
4. You have a place to keep your work online!
5. You have a place to send people who are interested in your work.
6. You can write every day or as you can!
7. Oh! You CAN DO IT!

Get Your Own Website!

Another option is to get your own website. I cannot recommend highly enough that you invest in your own website. It is one of the most important things that a writer can do. It is like a home on the web for you! Invest in that cyber-real estate today! Here are some pointers that will make your website all it can be¦

==> Invest today at MINIMUM in your own web address ”buy YOUR NAME. If your own name is available, invest in it today even if you are not building the website immediately. For years, I wrestled with a vision for my website. In that time, I did NOTHING! For real! When I decided that I wanted to move forward, I was blessed with some of the best advice ever from a dear friend. I was advised to set up my website with MY NAME as the web address for real: www.CindyRushton.com. I felt SO awkward in doing so. It just seemed a bit self-promoting exactly! If you are a writer, you MUST promote yourself. You have to get beyond the fears and trepidations. Think for a minute. If you wanted to find me on the web, what would you look for? I have now written almost 80 books, would my website be titled under one of them? I produce 6 ezines? Would my website be best set up under one of those? What about my business name? We have three businesses at this time and we are considering expanding into a couple of others? Which one would you look for? Do you even know their names? Yes, the most reasonable name for all I do is MY OWN NAME  http://www.CindyRushton.com. It tells who I am today and tomorrow! And yours will too! Invest in YOUR name as your website!

==> Create a HOME on the Web. Don’t just make it a website with information about products I HATE THOSE! Don’t you? They give NOTHING for the reader to enjoy today or to come back for later. If they do not buy the product at that time, you lose them. Rather, make a website that is a HOME on the web! Make your website a reflection of YOU! Include your articles/poems/tip sheets. Include fresh material through an ezine or a blog. Set up your website with a sampling of who you are and what you love to write on. Then, you will create a successful website that makes your readers want to buy your work as it comes out in print.

==> Set up an Ezine or Blog. Have fresh new material on a regular basis. Reach your readers either through an ezine that is emailed to them each time you send it out, or through a blog that they can visit regularly.

==> Begin to Develop your Mailing List. One last thing! Don’t lose those that come by your website. Be sure to set up a form for capturing their addresses. Make it easy to use. Offer them something for free a subscription to your e-zine a free e-book a free bonus. Just adding a form on your website or blog will capture hundreds of people who are interested in following you through the years. Begin yours TODAY!

A website may seem very intimidating, but you can do it! Find a company with easy templates or find a neat web designer who can help you get started. Set it up to be a reflection of who YOU are. You will find it to be your favorite tool as a writer!

~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Want some MORE help?

Writing to See Writers Reach Their Dreams…
Check out my NEW site just for writers!
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Websites today are VERY easy. There are so many options! You have just GOTTA have a website! If you are “challenged” in the area of computer literacy or even financially, you can still have a website very easily.

Try a Blog!

One option is to begin a Blog. With a blog, you buy your domain name, set up hosting with a service like GOT-Hosting, and set up Wordpress (I recommend Lynette Chandler’s Blogging Starter Pack for step-by-step help).

Just set up your domain, install Wordpress, choose a template, and begin your own Blog. A Blog is an informal website. You can post articles, tips, journal entries, or anything that you want. I have several reasons that I recommend this to you-

1. You can set it up easily.
2. You can post your material yourself without a web designer.
3. You can become more familiar with web design.
4. You have a place to keep your work online!
5. You have a “place” to send people who are interested in your work.
6. You can write every day or as you can!
7. Oh! You CAN DO IT!

Get Your Own Website!

Another option is to get your own website. I cannot recommend highly enough that you invest in your own website. It is one of the most important things that a writer can do. It is like a “home” on the web for you! Invest in that “cyber-real estate” today! Here are some pointers that will make your website all it can be…

o Invest today at MINIMUM in your own web address—buy YOUR NAME. If your own name is available, invest in it today—even if you are not building the website immediately. For years, I wrestled with a vision for my website. In that time, I did NOTHING! For real! When I decided that I wanted to move forward, I was blessed with some of the best advice ever from a dear friend. I was advised to set up my website with MY NAME as the web address—for real: www.CindyRushton.com. I felt SO awkward in doing so. It just seemed a bit self-promoting—exactly! If you are a writer, you MUST promote yourself. You have to get beyond the fears and trepidations. Think for a minute. If you wanted to find me on the web, what would you look for? I have now written almost 80 books, would my website be titled under one of them? I produce 6 ezines? Would my website be best set up under one of those? What about my business name? We have three businesses at this time and we are considering expanding into a couple of others? Which one would you look for? Do you even know their names? Yes, the most reasonable name for all I do is MY OWN NAME— http://www.CindyRushton.com. It tells who I am today…and tomorrow! And…yours will too! Invest in YOUR name as your website! Create a HOME on the Web. Don’t just make it a website with information about products—I HATE THOSE! Don’t you? They give NOTHING for the reader to enjoy today or to come back for later. If they do not buy the product at that time, you lose them. Rather, make a website that is a HOME on the web! Make your website a reflection of YOU! Include your articles/poems/tip sheets. Include fresh material through an Ezine or a Blog. Set up your website with a sampling of who you are and what you love to write on. Then, you will create a successful website that makes your readers want to buy your work as it comes out in print!

o Set up an Ezine or Blog. Have fresh new material on a regular basis. Reach your readers either through an Ezine—that is emailed to them each time you send it out, or through a Blog—that they can visit regularly.

o Begin to Develop your Mailing List. One last thing! Don’t lose those that come by your website. Be sure to set up a form for capturing their addresses. Make it easy to use. Offer them something for free—a subscription to your E-zine…a free E-book…a free bonus. Just adding a form on your website or Blog will capture hundreds of people who are interested in following you through the years. Begin yours TODAY!

A website may seem very intimidating, but you can do it! Find a company like GOT-Hosting with Wordpress Scripts. Take time to learn how to set up your site with Wordpress–I love the video tutorials in Lynette Chandler’s Blogging Starter Pack.. You will get going over the weekend! Not only will it be easy to manage, it will be a true reflection of who YOU are. You will find it to be your favorite tool as a writer!

Need a Website host?

We suggest Green Olive Tree. They are THE BEST! And…a Christian Internet Company to boot! Well, just see their website for their perks…but, we give them our THUMBS up! Sign up here: http://tinyurl.com/3295aj

If you are interested in help beginning a blog/website, my friend Lynette has the best resource available (and offers CONTINUAL help!). Here is her link–Blogging Starter Pack: http://tinyurl.com/2sthhj