How To Get Dynamic Traffic To Your Blog Pt. 1

This entry is part [part not set] of 3 in the series How To Get Dynamic Traffic To Your Blog

Enjoy this powerful series by Guest Blogger Ron Whitaker

Keyboard

Image courtesy of winnond/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

OK, folks, history lesson time!

Back in the 1800s American humorist Josh Billings made the following famous quote (actually, a little rhyme!): “I hate to be a kicker, I always long for peace,  but the wheel that does the squeaking is the one that gets the grease.

Just FYI, in the 1800s, the word “kicker” meant someone who was a constant complainer.

Now, I’m not saying that all of you are complainers, but if you’re a blogger who is frustrated with a lack of traffic to your blog, you just might be a kicker! (Wow! That was so Jeff Foxworthy!)

OK, so let’s learn how to be the squeaky wheel when it comes to our blogs and getting better traffic.

In this blog post, I’m going to show you the basics of how to improve your ability to get found in the search engines using keywords and phrases.

In Part 2, we’ll discuss “where” to include those keywords.

Then in Part 3 we’ll learn some strategies [guest posting, guest commenting, link building] to get your blog in front of larger audiences.

How I Learned About All This Blogging Stuff

Back in early 2009, when I was a caregiver for my mother, I decided that at some point I wanted to start and run my own website. Now, I had a lot of web design experience, having been a web designer since 1996.

I didn’t know what type of website I was going to launch, or what my service or product would be, but I knew I wanted to start my own website at some point down the road.

Fortunately, I had a good friend, Darrell, who had a lot of experience starting and running websites.

One day, as I was speaking to him about my desire to start my own website, he told me that I would need to do SEO.

What’s SEO, I asked?

Searching Engine Optimization.

What’s that?

He explained that it included certain steps you take so that when someone was searching for a particular keyword or keyphrase, your website would rank highly in search engines, such as Google.

I suddenly realized that I had a lot of studying and learning to do before I even thought of moving forward with my venture!

So, I began studying.

And studying.

And studying…

…my brains out!

As I began studying the topic of SEO, I learned that you need to do something called “keyword research” and then implement those keywords into your content.

That’s the start of how to get traffic to your blog!

But there’s more!

What are keywords and how do I implement them in my blog posts?

Good question!

If you and I were having a conversation, and I was telling you about my trip to Flagstaff (Arizona), I would mention things like Flagstaff, Arizona, Northern Arizona, Northern Arizona University, the Arboretum at Flagstaff, the Museum of Northern Arizona, etc.

You wouldn’t hear me mention terms like Paris, Eiffel Tower, Wall of Berlin, Germany or the Louvre.

Those terms simply have nothing to do with Flagstaff!

So it is with our blog posts.

We need to focus on one (maybe two) ideas in each post.

And those ideas are communicated through words.

And we focus those ideas through what are known as keywords.

That way readers, as well as search engines like Google, know what the blog post’s focus is.

Starting a keyword research campaign

So, how do you get started?

Well, before writing a blog post, or even before launching your website, determine what the focus of the website or blog post will be.

Think about what words or phrases someone would use in a search engine that would lead someone to your site or blog post.

For example, when I started my website, a venue for baby boomers to list and sell “stuff” as they downsize, I considered words and phrases that people would enter into a search engine.

Woman sitting at computer

Image courtesy of stockimages / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Phrases like “baby boomers,” “buy and sell,” and “selling stuff” came to mind.

Just as a tip, come up with longer worded phrases, as opposed to single word keywords.

Why?

As another example, if I have a website that sells t-shirts, trying to get the search engines to rank highly for the word “t-shirt” is going to be difficult.

First, it’s too broad of a term.

Second, it’ll be way too competitive.

Instead, consider a phrase like “red polo t-shirts.”

It’ll be less competitive and probably will be easier to rank in the search engines.

How do I know if anyone’s even searching on that phrase?

That’s where some online tools come in handy.

Once you’ve made a list of all the keyword phrases you can think of, take them to an online keyword research tool.

What’s that?

Keyword research tools show you how many people are searching for that word or phrase in search engines, as well as how competitive that keyword is. By competitive, I mean how many other websites are already using and ranking for that particular keyword.

Google offers a great keyword research tool. And best of all, it’s free!

You can find the Google keyword research tool by clicking this link.

Google Keyword Research Tool

Once you arrive at the keyword research tool page, simply enter your keyword into the “Word or phrase” box.

After you click the Search button, a list appears below, showing keyphrases based on your “seed” keyword.

The Competition column shows how competitive that keyword will be to rank for.

The Global Monthly Searches column shows the amount of searches performed worldwide on that keyword or keyphrase.

Google Keyword Research Tool Results

The Local Monthly Searches column shows the amount of searches performed locally on that keyword or keyphrase. Locally is based on the country you chose in the Advanced Options and Filters section above. The default is United States.

Google’s keyword research tool is a great free tool. There are also keyword research tools that come with a fee.

One of the best ones out there, and the one I use, is called Market Samurai. It’s an excellent tool, relatively inexpensive, that will definitely help you get laser focused with your keyword research.

The owners of Market Samurai also provide excellent training videos as well to help you get started with using their product.

Summary

If you’ve ever wondered how to get traffic to your blog, the foundation lies in the keywords you use.

In this post we learned that keywords are essential to showing viewers the focus of our websites and blog posts.

We learned that to focus a blog post on a particular topic, we need to discover which keywords will be the best, yet not too competitive, to include in a post.

We also learned that there are some excellent tools out there, such as Google’s Keyword Research tool, and Market Samurai, that can make the process of discovering quality keywords easier.

So, where do we go once we’ve discovered a keyword or phrase that we want to use in a blog post?

That’s next week’s topic.

Stay tuned!

Google Goodie #5 -Advertising to Baby Boomers PowerPoint

This entry is part [part not set] of 8 in the series Google Goodies

I just found a really cool PowerPoint on advertising to babyboomers.

HOW DID I FIND IT?

I am so glad you asked. Here is what I did:

  • I went to Google search
  • I keyed in baby boomer:ppt (Note that I could have used pptx if I wanted to search for PowerPoint presentations in Microsoft 2007.)

Here is the formula: Phraseor word I want to see in PowerPoint slides :ppt or pptx

Why is this Google Goodie a Goodie?

Another great question. If I am plainning a presentation I can research the current Powerpoints created on a specific topic area. 

So, give it a try. And you want to see and hear the PowerPoint presentation on Advertising to Baby Boomers.

Google Goodies #4-Patent Search

This entry is part [part not set] of 8 in the series Google Goodies

Do you have an idea you want to patent. Want to know if someone has the same idea and submitted a patent? Ever wondered what patents are out there for blogs?

Ok, if you want to see this Google Goodie just go to Google Patents. Do a search on a term and be very surprised at what you will see. It is a lot!

Go ahead and check it out.

Google Goodies #2

This entry is part [part not set] of 8 in the series Google Goodies

Did you know that if you key in the name of two cities in Google  search you will get airline and other travel  information? Well, all you have to do is key in the name of two cities with or without the comma.

For example, I keyed in Newark, Houston and also Newark Houston.

What does this have to do with blogging? Well, bloggers are great researchers and this is just another tool.

Give it a try

Google Goodies #1

This entry is part [part not set] of 8 in the series Google Goodies

jamaica

Google Goodies is the new adventure series that will be on this site. Why is it a goodie? Because any time a baby boomer like me learns something new, it is a goodie!

So let us start the tour. If you have anything to add PLEASE SHARE IT.

PHONE NUMBER SEARCH AND GOOGLE

Did you know that if you key a phone number into Google search it will provide an address?

Well, give it a try. If you key in your own phone number and you want to take it out of the search results there is an option. But note, that you might want to delete it in the other options provided also.

Google Labs-Do Blog Content Research With Google Trends

Hi, I am in space now at Google Labs. Today I am exploring Google Trends.

I thought that Wikepedia did a great job providing a summary of this application. Call it my Spock consult which says:

Google Trends shows how often a particular search term is entered relative the total search volume across various regions of the world, and in various languages. The horizontal axis of the main graph represents time (starting from some time in 2004), and the vertical is how often a term is searched for relative to the total number of searches, globally.[1] Below the main graph, popularity is broken down by region, city and language. It is possible to refine the main graph by region and time period.

Google Trends also allows the user to compare the volume of searches between two or more terms. An additional feature of Google Trends is in its ability to show news related to the search term overlaid on the chart showing how new events affect search popularity.

How Did I Use It?

I just started a new site called Baby Boomer Pocket Change. I am learning about coin collection and decided to post information as I learn. So I went to Google Trends to see what has been in the news since 2004. Also, to see which state had more searches for the term.

I posted an article, from on of the citations, on the site on determining the value of the coins. I will return to because I find this to be an invaluable resource for marketing and content research. So, I can’t wait to search for other trends. Give it a try. Key in your niche term or interest and see what happens.

If you don’t have a free google account please get one. Then you will have access to the google labs. If anyone needs a video on this or want me to walk you through in give a shout out.

In addition, someone reading this has been there and done that so please share.

Next Stop will save you money this year!

Blog Platforms May Be Different But is The Message The Same?

When was the last time you went to Google’s blogsearch engine and just observe the varied blog platforms? Each one is different and can have more or less functionality. Yet, sometimes that does not seem to matter when you are just gleaning the impact of the message.

I just did a post looking at the 10 blogs by baby boomer women which made you feel good to be a baby boomer woman. While composing the post I realized the different blog platforms. Yet, my focus was on the category I had chosen.

For example, if the site ends in  .blogspot.com then it is a site hosted by Blogger.com. If it is .wordpress.com, it is hosted by WordPress.com.

You can dissect each one for good and bad structure, etc, but the bottom line is always, to me, the MESSAGE.

So, regardless of the platform you have chosen be sure that the message is understood by your audience. Does that make sense?