I was so involved in writing up 5 SEO No-No’s on Friday that I completely forgot I was supposed to shoot you guys a blog related comic. (Really sorry folks!) So, to make up for it, I present…

Beware The Dark Side

Cheers!

There are many heated arguments on the internet (via message boards, blogs, social networks, and other community type sites) over which blogging software can provide the best seo optimization features for your own blog.

Well first of all, you have several options. You can use a free hosted service (the most popular being Google’s Blogger), use blogging software you can upload to your own server and domain (the most popular here would be Wordpress, which also offers a free hosted version, but it lacks the customization options you will want), or using a CMS software to manage your post items and other integrated plugins that come with software like Joomla or Drupal.

Google’s Blogger is GREAT for creating and managing many blogs on a smaller scale. If you want to make a bunch of AdSense ready websites swiftly and with ease, I would recommend using this blogging platform. You can manage posts, themes, and advertisements from the Google Dashboard, and the new widgets coming in Blogger Draft look really appealing.

However, if you want to create one to a few really great blogs with decent traffic and authority, you should option for Wordpress. It’s a fine piece of software with many built in features that Blogger does not have. It’s easier to customize themes (in my opinion) and create your own modifications to the software (or use a user created one that already exists and is widely supported) as well as better for handling larger loads of traffic and spam comments. Speaking of comments, I believe Wordpress is better for user participation, when I moved to Wordpress, my comment rate increased five fold … sure the spam comments increased too, but Akismet has literally filtered them all.

I hope this gives you a better perspective on how to choose your seo optimized blogging platform.

Arrivederci!

Many people complain that when they ask for links, or try to share their link on various communities, that they experience little to no success, or even get banned from the venue they are trying to reach.

Well, you have to make sure to follow the rules!

When you’re posting your links on forums, make sure it is allowed by the community to append your link to your signature. Don’t post your link in new threads and replies all throughout the message board, instead, look for an advertising or promotion specific forum where the administrators want these sort of threads to be placed. (e.g. a “post your link” forum, or a “review my site” forum.)

When posting comments to blog, don’t clutter your post with links to your blog, instead focus your energies on contributing something back to the blog (provide information, ask a question, etc.) and leave your link in the URL field. I can pretty much guarantee your comment will be approved and you will gain a relevant backlink.

I hope this has helped you out, following these guidelines has ensured that 99.9% of my comments get approved, and I’ve never been banned from a message board for promoting my website within a reasonable means.

If you run a blog with a technical base, I’d be sure to read this article and cover your bases. : )

I loved the way this post used sarcastic humor to inform people of how NOT to be a blogging newbie.

10 Easy Ways To Make Yourself Look Like A Blogging Newbie

Ever wonder why you seem to not be growing within your niche or constantly having your link requests rejected by the powerhouse blogs and websites?

There’s two reasons.

First, you don’t focus enough on generating new, thought-provoking content for your readers. Authority bloggers usually only mention or link back to websites or articles they find interesting, have a certain ingenuity, or bring something new to the table. If you’re not doing this, and just regurgitating information that is already found on thousands of other blogs, there is going to be no outside interest because it is already involved somewhere else.

Second of all, you haven’t even begin to establish yourself as an authority. You constantly try to get high traffic blogs to link to you, but they notice that you don’t even have the support of your fellow small to medium sized fish. Don’t set unrealistic goals and only ask for links from people like John Chow, Shoemoney, or Darren Rowse … look for websites and blogs that are experiencing the same growth and traffic rates as you. In a likely case, they will also have more feedback for and information to share with you.

It’s just like fishing, you aren’t going to land a three hundred pound tuna your first time, just take your time, enjoy it, and fish.

Someone asked this question on a message board I frequent, and, while this question is asked all the time, day in and day out, I realized that no-one in all the blogs, message boards, and documentation websites I visit has seemed to visit this topic yet.

There is really only one answer.

Ready? I’m going to sound like a broken record.

Constantly update your site with fresh, related content and always be on the lookout to build quality backlinks with other sites in your niche.

Sound familiar?

Also, be sure to stay on top of new search trends and marketing strategies, you must stay informed so you can inform others.

Now you have the knowledge of how to receive 10,000 visitors under your belt, happy?

GoogleSystem has created a really useful widget for Blogspot bloggers, similar to the Wordpress Top Commentators plugin.

Introducing, the Google Blogger (Blogspot) Top Commentators Plugin!

Utilizing Yahoo! Pipes, it sorts the information stored in your comment RSS feed, and parses out the users who have posted the most comments on your blog. There is also options to filter your own name from the list, which you will probably want to do, and you can set the widget to display however many top commentators you want!

I kind of wish I tried it out a little more before I migrated to Wordpress, but it’s still a worthwhile mention, I hope you folks can use it.

1. So I know your mouth works fine, but will you listen to what I have to say?

So many webmasters are puzzled because they can’t attract the same audience someone else can, or they can’t get the same links someone else can, or they can’t solve the same problem someone else can, and are forever baffled. Well, you already have the best examples to gain experience from, SOMEONE ELSE. Make sure to read other blogs in your niche and profit from their knowledge and past experiences.

2. You have something to share, but no one knows you or respects your opinion.

This is because you don’t network with other bloggers and webmasters in your area of expertise. You’re a nobody. If you help people solve their problems, they will look to you in the future for more help. If you initiate a conversation with someone, they will recognize you in the future as well.

3. You don’t actively engage your readers.

Maybe it isn’t your style because you are a journalist or reporter blogger type … but always make sure to respond to comments your readers make, and try to bait them into conversation by asking questions or requesting feedback.

4. You haven’t set a goal for yourself to achieve.

You can’t just say, “I want it to make me rich!” and not expect there to be pit stops on the way. Set monthly quotas for yourself, outline realistic traffic and profit goals and do your best to match or exceed them.

5. I can’t find my way around your website.

An easy to use, uncluttered interface is the way to go. Sometimes a website I’m visiting might have all the information I need, but I can’t get to it or the page is so obscured by funky styling and obnoxious advertisements that I don’t even read a word before I’m looking for that little red x.

I’m curious, did your blog or website fall into any of the five? Did I help you stop choking?

Winning the Web ran a really interesting mini series on their blog recently discussing the various types of bloggers and helping readers identify and associate with the category they fall into. It also explains how to build your blogging “characteristics” to establish yourself in your typeset more aggressively.

• The Expert Blogger (e.g. Aaron Wall of SEO Book)
• The Rambling Blogger (e.g. Maddox)
• The Journalist Blogger (e.g. Danny Sullivan of Search Engine Land)
• The Journeyman Blogger (e.g. TYPELiFE of Internet Marketing Strategy & SEO Techniques (shamless plug))
• The Celebrity Blogger (e.g. Jeremy Schoemaker of Shoemoney)

What sort of blogger are you?

1. You publish posts that are scraped and/or mined another blogger’s RSS feed.

They call these spam blogs, or splogs. I don’t think I’ll ever be visiting you again.

2. You expect people to link back to you, but you don’t link out.

What motivation do people have if you’re not going to show them the same courtesy?

3. You talk the talk, but you don’t walk the walk.

I really hate it when a blogger says one thing and does another. Hypocrisy is a big pet peeve of mine.

4. Your design looks like it’s from 1985.

Get with it, it’s the digital age! Or maybe you should look for some animated spinning green skulls to spice up your website?

5. Your website or widget utilizes the Times New Roman font.

I hate you, I really do. (Sorry, Entrecard!)