Blog & Ping Traffic

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Question: Does pinging more websites increase your blog traffic?

Not really.A  All pinging does is get other websites, search engines and directories to crawl your blog and add your content to their databases faster.A  But pinging them won’t really put you in the top of their search or directory listings.

Unless ofcourse, you are the first one to break a story.A  If you blog about current affairs, many of these websites and search engines that you ping will show your post at the top when people search for the hot news.

Here is the list of all the websites I ping (posted alphabetically):

A http://1470.net/api/ping
http://api.feedster.com/ping
http://api.moreover.com/RPC2
http://api.moreover.com/ping
http://api.my.yahoo.com/RPC2
http://api.my.yahoo.com/rss/ping
http://bblog.com/ping.php
http://bitacoras.net/ping
http://blog.goo.ne.jp/XMLRPC
http://blogdb.jp/xmlrpc
http://blogmatcher.com/u.php
http://blogsearch.google.com/ping/RPC2
http://bulkfeeds.net/rpc
http://coreblog.org/ping/
http://mod-pubsub.org/kn_apps/blogchatt
http://www.lasermemory.com/lsrpc/
http://ping.amagle.com/
http://ping.bitacoras.com
http://ping.blo.gs/
http://ping.bloggers.jp/rpc/
http://ping.cocolog-nifty.com/xmlrpc
http://ping.blogmura.jp/rpc/
http://ping.exblog.jp/xmlrpc
http://ping.feedburner.com
http://ping.myblog.jp
http://ping.rootblog.com/rpc.php
http://ping.syndic8.com/xmlrpc.php
http://ping.weblogalot.com/rpc.php
http://ping.weblogs.se/
http://pingoat.com/goat/RPC2
http://rcs.datashed.net/RPC2/
http://rpc.blogbuzzmachine.com/RPC2
http://rpc.blogrolling.com/pinger/
http://rpc.icerocket.com:10080/
http://rpc.newsgator.com/
http://rpc.pingomatic.com
http://rpc.technorati.com/rpc/ping
http://rpc.weblogs.com/RPC2
http://topicexchange.com/RPC2
http://trackback.bakeinu.jp/bakeping.php
http://www.a2b.cc/setloc/bp.a2b
http://www.bitacoles.net/ping.php
http://www.blogdigger.com/RPC2
http://www.blogoole.com/ping/
http://www.blogoon.net/ping/
http://www.blogpeople.net/servlet/weblogUpdates
http://www.blogroots.com/tb_populi.blog?id=1
http://www.blogshares.com/rpc.php
http://www.blogsnow.com/ping
http://www.blogstreet.com/xrbin/xmlrpc.cgi
http://www.mod-pubsub.org/kn_apps/blogchatter/ping.php
http://www.newsisfree.com/RPCCloud
http://www.newsisfree.com/xmlrpctest.php
http://www.popdex.com/addsite.php
http://www.snipsnap.org/RPC2
http://www.weblogues.com/RPC/
http://xmlrpc.blogg.de
http://xping.pubsub.com/ping/

If you use WordPress to blog, simply go to Options > Writing under your admin panel and update your ping list with the links above. It doesn’t hurt.A  And if you are amongst the first few blogs that publishes a post about a new or unique phrase, you’ll generate a lot of traffic.

SEO Strategy for Blogs

Disclosure: I’m a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) klutz. I don’t focus on SEO a lot. Neither do I keep up with the current SEO tricks and tactics. But I was going through my website statistics for last week and found that a whole 4.28% of traffic now comes from search engines! So thought, may be you will find what I do for SEO… mildly helpful.

Pie-Graph showing Traffic Sources for BlogClout.com/blog. Image from Google Analytics.

4 SEO Steps I Focus on:

1. Having Good Title Pages
Many blogs have their page Titles in the following format:

[Blog Name] - [Blog Post Title]

Which doesn’t make good sense. For the search engines as well for website visitors. When people bookmark your page, your post title will often be cut off. And people won’t know what they’ve bookmarked after a couple of weeks. Make it easier on people. Always use the following format for all your blog post Title Pages.

[Blog Post Title] - [Blog Name]

I also make sure that the Title of the blog posts have relevant keywords: words that people might search for.

2. Making Sure All the Blog Posts & Pages are Crawled by Search Engines
How will the search engines send you traffic if they haven’t even indexed your blog properly? It is essential to make sure all your blog posts and content is crawled by the search engine bots. So how do you do that?

You create a “sitemap” for your blog - a xml page that has links to all the blog posts and pages on your domain name.

• WordPress users can use this plugin to automate the creation of these sitemaps: Google Sitemap Generator for WordPress
   
• For blogs on other platforms, you could try using this Online XML Sitemap Generato. (Note: I haven’t used this online tool. So am not sure how good it is.)

Another minor thing I do is tend to link to old blog posts from new ones. I’m not sure if this helps search engine rankings (probably letting search engines know that the old posts are still relevant today). But it surely helps in increasing my page views.

3. Focusing on Creating Good “Linkable” Content
The more blogs and websites that link to you, the higher your search engine rankings will be. So focusing on creating excellent content that others would be happy to link to is the key to search engine success.

Before starting to post regularly on this blog, I made a goal.

Create atleast one “super blog post” every 2 weeks.

Note: content does not only mean articles. One of the most linked blog post on my blog is the Buy Me a Beer plugin post.

Here are a few other ideas for creating excellent linkable content.

4. Focusing on the Long Tail of Keywords
Out of the 139 visitors from search engines this blog received last week, the first most popular search term is searched 13 times. But the second most popular search term is searched only 3 times.

Most people found this blog through search engines using keywords and phrases that no one else used.

So how to find the long tail of keywords and phrases?

i. Find out what blog posts are most popular on your blog (Use a web analyzing tool. I rely on Google Analytics.)

ii. Pick up key phrases from that post. Take help from the keyword list that your web analyzing tool provides you with - the terms people have used till now to find your blog.

iii. Write more blog posts on those key phrases.

iv. Use a tool like Good Keywords to find related keywords to your top phrases. And write blog posts using those phrases too.

Alternatively, you can sign up for a service like HitTail and add a code to your blog. And let them find a list of relevant long tail keywords for you automatically.

SEO Things I *don’t* focus on:

• Meta data.
• Asking people to link using specific key words.
• Giving a hoot to page ranks and SEO mumbo-jumbo.
• Creating link farms, asking for reciprocal link exchanges, or paying for links on high page rank websites.

Further Reading:

As I said, I’m a SEO klutz. If you really want to focus on SEO, then you may find these links helpful:

• Google’s Guide to increasing your search engine ranking
   
• SEO Book Blog by Aaron Wall (Aaron has also written a superb book on SEO. You may want to buy that if you are really serious about increasing your blog traffic through search engines.)

Action Summary:
(My SEO Strategy in 2 sentences:)

1. Create good valuable “linkable” content
2. Make it easy for the search engines to find the content

Do you have any easy SEO trick to share? Please add your tip to the comments.

Co-Opetition

Here is an article I wrote for another business oriented website. It is fairly long, but quite interesting. And the lessons are relevant to blogging too…

Co-Opetition = persuading your competition to co-operate with you for mutual benefit.

1.

Michael Winicki is a successful serial entrepreneur. He finds promising products that aren’t selling well, creates a marketing plan for them and sells them for a hefty profit.

As paradoxical as it sounds, one thing Michael learnt over the years is: if the product has no competitor, the product won’t sell well.

If Michael comes across a product that is very innovative, but finds that there is no competition selling something similar, he drops the product in a jiffy. 99 times out of 100, lack of competitors is a sign of a lack of market.

2.

“Nothing stirs the heart more than a healthy dose of competition.”

When Alexander - prince of Macedonia - was young, his father King Philip started looking for the best private tutor who could mold Alexander into a smart adult. Philip found Aristotle.

But Aristotle refused to teach Alexander alone. Refusing a lucrative offer from the king? That had never been done before!

But Aristotle remained firm: he would teach young Alexander only if Philip would find a few other students the age of Alexander who could study and compete with him. Aristotle knew that without competition, Alexander wouldn’t become all he could be.

Ptolemy and Selecus both studied with Alexander and became his best generals and trusted advisors. And they went on to create the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt and Seleucid dynasty in Asia after Alexander’s untimely death.

Alexander wouldn’t have become Alexander the Great without Ptolemy and Selecus.

3.

“One big hurricane is more noteworthy than a 100 small ones!”

Burger King followed a unique strategy when they started. Their strategy was: open up stores in close proximity to McDonalds. By opening shop close to McDonalds, they could attract people who were already going to a fast food joint to come visit them.

McDonalds were first worried about Burger King cannibalizing their sales. But they soon found that they need not worry at all. Burger King did attract customers who would have otherwise gone to McDonalds. But because Burger King and McDonalds were close together now, the combination attracted way more people to drive over to them!

People in the diamond industry in Antwerpen, London and Bombay have stumbled on this power of market gravity too. They found that by opening offices and shops next to each other, they would be eating up each others sales. But they would also attract more customers by being situated together than they would on their own. And all of their profits would increase together.

4.

“Divided we grow. United we grow more.”

Tony Pereira has a problem. He is the owner of a software publishing company. But his company only produces software for a very small market: the people that use IBM’s OS/2 computer operating system.

Because his target market is small, and his company is tiny too - most stores don’t provide any shelf space to showcase and sell Tony’s products.

What could he do? Tony came up with an idea. He formed the OS/2 Vendor Council.

He got two dozen other developers to come together under the council and jointly persuade retailers to carry OS/2 software.

Each company on its own was considered tiny to pay any attention to. But together, they held a lot of clout.

The two dozen vendors cooperated and created brochures that showcased all of their products. They also launched a joint advertising campaign in national magazines. They persuaded IBM to help fund the advertising.

And persuaded the retailers to carry their products on their shelves - and in return, they would add the retailer’s names to the national ads.

The council also developed a merchandising program to make it easy for the retailers to promote their products in the store - by providing them with flyers and in-store displays.

The joint effort paid off and everyone who joined the council noticed a significant increase in their sales!

5.

Gordon Currie is a web designer. When he first started on his own, he didn’t have very many clients. Nor did he have a lot of money to advertise and attract clients. So he did something un-imaginable. He contacted his competitors!

Gordon searched for other web designing companies and sent them a short email asking them to consider him for overflow work. Many companies did have more work than they could handle and did pass on their work to Gordon too!

6.

“One man’s trash is another’s treasure.”

Another entrepreneur - Richard Gottschneider - co-operated with his competition to grow his business too. Richard ran a real estate consulting firm. He actively sought out joint ventures with his competition.

He would approach a competitor and ask them if they could sell him their old and dead leads. And if they wanted, he would pass on his dead leads to them.Richard also ran a newsletter that talked about his new projects and shared relevant news. Richard initially mailed this newsletter only to his clients. But he soon started mailing it to 50 of his competitors too. The first two mailings he sent out to his competitors resulted in 2 new jobs and several new leads!

Richard soon grew his consultancy to $1.5 million a year - and a bulk of his leads came from his competitors!

Action Summary:

• Don’t be afraid of your competition. Co-operate with them to grow both of your businesses.

• Send them leads that didn’t pan for you, and ask them to send you their leads that didn’t work out for them.

• Band together with your competitors to form a huge cartel that has more power than any one of you alone would have.

Question: How will you use co-opetition to grow your blog traffic?A  Click to post your answer.

Budget Blog Marketing

Question: If all you have is $100 - how would you market your blog?

Step 1: I would do exactly what I already did to promote this blog: get a “goodie” developed that people can link to.A  (I asked my programmer to create the “Buy me a Beer” WordPress plugin.A  It took him less than a day to create the plugin.)

Some Goodie Ideas for You:A 

• A cool plugin.
• A a_?Top 10a_? link-bait article.
• A viral quiz.
• A widget generator.
• An online game.
• A meme.
• A comprehensive report.

The trick is to connect your goodie with your blog topic and the audience you intend to attract.

Step 2: I would then contact a few blogs and tell them about my goodie.

Important note: A-list bloggers won’t link to your blog.A  But they will link to your goodie!

Related Answers:

• Read Maki’s 4 budget marketing tips
• 7 experts share their budget website marketing tips

Cool Traffic Idea: Linking Awards

Nate Whitehill linked to the “Easy Trick To Achieve All Your Goals” post from his “Powerful Posts” series.

Its just like the “Link Clout” series (#1, #2) - where Nate shares links to cool articles he has read recently.A  But Nate goes one step ahead.A  He offers an award that people can stick up on their blogs.A  The award links back to his blog.

If you would like to show people your post was selected as a a_?Powerful Post,a_? you can copy the following code and paste it at the bottom of your post:

Isn’t that a great idea?

I’m not sure how many people showcase Nate’s Award on their blogs.A  But if you link to other articles and posts from your blog, creating your award takes hardly any time at all - and could be well worth the effort.

The Catch-22 Award Caveat

• The more famous your blog, the more people will showcase your award from their blogs.
• And the more people that showcase the award, the more famous your blog gets.

But for a blog with low traffic, giving link awards may not be the best idea.A  If no one showcases the award, it brings in no extra traffic.A  And may end up hurting the award’s (and its blog’s) credibility.

“Traffic via Awards” idea not recommended for brand new or low traffic blogs.

(Note: I’ve been following Nate Whitehill’s blog since quite sometime.A  And its very very good.A  You may want to check it out.)

Guest Blogging To Increase Traffic

A new service that can help you increase your blog traffic:

• Go to Guest-Blogger.com
• Find relevant blogs in your own industry or niche
• Send a note to those bloggers with your guest post idea
• Write for those blogs and add a bi-line at the end of your guest post - that links back to your own blog

Guest blogging is one very good idea to increase your own blog traffic.A  If you don’t want to increase the amount of blog posts you have to write, you can do this too:

• Contact the blog owners and pitch your guest post idea to them
• Then ask them if they would like to write a guest post for your blog too
• In essence, swap blog posts - and you won’t have to increase the number of articles you write

Thats a win-win strategy.

Related: Want to Guest Blog for BlogClout.com?A 

7 Golden Rules for “Getting Noticed” Networking

Today, you will read the first guest post of this blog! Its written by none other than super writing coach - Daphne Gray-Grant.

I first met Daphne in an online membership website and was amazed by her networking skills. She manages to persuade several “influential” A-listers to re-publish her articles on their newsletters and blogs consistently. So I asked Daphne if she would like to share her tricks with my readers.

She obliged - and here is her article…

7 Golden Rules for “Getting Noticed” Networking
- by Daphne Gray-Grant

Ita_Ts been said that the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Thata_Ts also a good metaphor for earning referrals and links to your blog or newsletter.
To receive attention, you have to be prepared to make a noise. But herea_Ts the deal. It needs to be a nice, polite noise. This is not the time to act like a carnival barker or a used-car salesperson.

Without resorting to tactics or hype, Ia_Tve had excellent results promoting my weekly newsletter about writing faster, better. Starting from zero, I reached more than two thousand subscribers in just over a year. And along the way, I developed a number of theories about what works.

Here, then, are my seven golden rules for a_?getting noticeda_? networking:

1. Look for newsletter writers or website owners that publish articles in your specialty.
Then (politely) ask if they would be interested in having you write something for them. I am turned down by about 20% of the people I approach. But guess what a_” 80% go for it! This fits with Woody Allena_Ts comment: a_?Eighty percent of success is showing up.a_? If approaching strangers makes you hyperventilate, start by asking people you know already (through an online forum, perhaps) so you can develop some confidence.

2. Provide valuable, informative material with a content-to-sales ratio of 450 to 0.
Eschew the hype. When I write, I never sell anything except my newsletter. (Hardly a sale, because ita_Ts free!) Even then, I only mention it at the end of the article, in italic type, as Ia_Tve done with this article. I try to write content that sells itself by positioning me as an expert in the field of writing, editing and coaching. The articles I produce always provide true value to the people who publish them.

3. Ask the a_?righta_? people.
I strive to form a_?strategic alliancesa_? with non-competitors in similar lines of work. In my case that means printers, graphic designers, time management experts and copy editors. Thata_Ts because they all have clients who are potentially interested in what I have to say and their customers will appreciate receiving my information (which, in turn, makes them look good.). If youa_Tre a wedding planner, talk to florists. If you produce orthopedic shoes, seek out podiatrists and physiotherapists. Ita_Ts common sense, really.

4. Dona_Tt be a prima donna.
I started my writing life in the newspaper business, so Ia_Tm accustomed to the a_?red pencil.a_? Likewise, you, too, should be prepared to rewrite or have the publisher edit your copy to meet his or her requirements. I have one strategic alliance that asked me to rewrite the same piece about four times. I did it without complaint.

5. Be scrupulously honest and ethical.
I never engage in a_?exchanginga_? promotional mentions just for the publicity. If another party approaches me for a a_?tradea_? Ia_Tm very wary. I need to see for myself that their site, newsletter or blog is something Ia_Tm sincerely prepared to endorse. Ita_Ts never worth compromising your own integrity.

6. Give more than you get.
I have a potential strategic alliance that has not yet come to fruition because a_” my intuition tells me — this person thinks Ia_Tm a competitor. (Instead, I am convinced we have complementary businesses.) I love everything he does and have promoted him relentlessly because I am genuinely impressed by him. He has never reciprocated. And Ia_Tm okay with that.

7. Be patient a_” take the long view.
I have another potential strategic alliance whom Ia_Tve been wooing for more than a year. I havena_Tt figured out the obstacle yet a_” but I just keep (politely) chipping away at him. Ia_Tve phoned him and sent him emails with lots of suggestions for articles. He is invariably responsive but vague. But like the waves that gradually turn rock into sand, Ia_Tm sure I will wear him down. Eventually.
In two words, my approach is polite persistence. If you adopt the same mantra, you, too, will get results.

One-Line Bio: A former daily newspaper editor, Daphne Gray-Grant is writing and editing coach who helps people writer better, faster. Each week she produces a free weekly newsletter that can be read in less than three minutes. Sign up at www.publicationcoach.com

Traffic via Blog Directories

Disclosure: I’ve never tried submitting any of my blogs to blog directories before (because it’s a time consuming task). But that is one of the first thing many bloggers do to improve their search engine rankings and increase their traffic.

If you do try submitting your blog to blog directories, please remember:

• Blog submission won’t lead to a direct increase in traffic from those directory websites
• But if your blog is placed on a good blog directory which has a high page rank, it will help you improve your search engine rankings and lead to some indirect traffic

The problem that many bloggers face is knowing which blog directory is worth submitting your blog to. Most of them are not updated properly. Many of them don’t link to your blog at all. And a few link to you for the first couple of months and then ask you to pay a small fee if you want to remain in their listings.

But Nicolas Jeison has finally solved that problem. He has come up with a blog where all he does is reviews different blog directories. And lets us know which ones are worth submitting to and which ones are a waste of time.

If you are interested in blog directory submissions, check his blog out:

• Blog Directories Reviews

Cool Tool: BlogSigs Signs Every Email With Your Latest Blog Post

I came across this cool software that automatically signs all your outgoing emails with your latest blog post.

The software won’t generate loads of traffic to your website. But its free to use and doesn’t take a lot of resources. You download it, set it up, and you’re good to go.

It works with all the major email softwares and websites:

• Outlook
• Mail.app
• Gmail
• Hotmail
• Yahoo

The only bad thing about the software is its adware. They add the following text to all your outgoing emails too:

–Blogsigs.com, Link your own blog posts.
http://www.blogsigs.com

(You can always delete that though…)

How To Win Attention & Draw Traffic

From the desk of blogger John Wesley: