3 Cutting-Edge Blog Directories With FREE Submission That Can Help Your Blog Travel in SEO Space

A good way to get your  blog out there in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Space is to use blog directories. Blog directories are websites which will categorize your blogs under many different categories. Usually the best blog directories are human edited, meaning that each submitted blog is reviewed by a person , not a robot, who will decide whether our blog belongs in their directory or not.

Now not only will blog directories help get your blog to people who are interested in the topic you write about but they will also provide strong back links and can help your posts get ranked in search engines. Also, note that many people search blog directories to research blogs that are similar to their blogs.

Did I hear someone ask “Whats a backlink?

A backlink is a link that one blog site gets from another blog site or static website.  Backlinks can make a big impact on a website’s ranking in search engine results. This is why they are considered so important  for improving a blogs SEO ranking. Search engines will use their own methods to calculate rankings using multiple factors to display search results.

One of the many methods that can help your rankings is to submit your  blog and article directories. I am only going to focus on three directories I have recently submitted this blog to. In another post I will talk about article directories and perhaps other blog directories..

I am only listing those sites that I recently submitted to in June of this year and have a easy user-friendly portal. So, check them out for yourself. As I continue with my research I may post about others later after I submit my sites.

Ontoplist

The site is easy to navigate. It does not make you feel like it is a “spammy site”I was quite surprised that the site I listed was indexed so quickly. So I am encouraged to submit more sites.

Blogflux

Blogflux lets you know on the first page that they currently feature 157,056 blogs. So you get excited about adding your blogs to the number. They stress the type of blogs they WILL NOT accept. It is an easy submission process.

Blogarama

Is also stupidly easy to navigate. It has been around for a long time so their is a high level of reliability. Their blog directory tab when clicked does not allow you the opportunity to search the categories. But I they make it easy  to contact them. So I will let them know that this boomer is concerned. I am sure it will be corrected.

I used one of my handy forms from the  Blog Management System to record the name of the directory, user name and password plus the specific blog I submitted.

If you have other favorite blog directories please share.

 

 

How to Get Dynamic Traffic to Your Blog-Part 3

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

This is the 3rd post in a series by Guest Blogger Ron Whitaker

Well, friends, we’ve reached the end…the end of my little series, that is.

In Part 1, I discussed the importance of keyword research before writing and publishing a blog post.

In Part 2, I provided some best practices on where to include those keywords in your blog posts.

Now, in Part 3, I’ll provide some tips that I’ve learned over the past few months about how to drive traffic to your website once you’ve completed the above steps.

But first, a question?

Were you popular in high school?

Were you the popular cheerleader or jock who everyone wanted to hang out with? You know, the one who got invited to every party and activity?

If you were, I envy you!

Granted, I had friends, but definitely didn’t fall within the cool crowd.

But that was then…and we’re in a new age: the Internet age! And the good news is, the game’s changed!

Whoo-hoo!

So today, I’m going to show everyone who reads this post how they can be cool and popular online.

Is it easy?

No. It WILL take work, but it’s doable! And the rewards can be fantastic!

What does being popular have to do with driving traffic to my blog?

Good question.

Let’s delve into that topic with another question:

Thinking back to those popular kids in high school, how did you know they were popular?

Maybe they were nice?

Maybe they dressed in the coolest, hippest fashion of the time?

Maybe they knew all the words to the latest popular songs?

What exactly did they do or say that clued you in that they were popular?

Perhaps the famous quote by John Kuebler will provide a hint: Show me your friends and I will show you your future.

The playwright Euripides also provides a clue: Every man is like the company he is wont to keep.

Thinking back to the question above—how did you know they were popular?—the obvious answer to tell that those kids were popular was by the quantity of friends they surrounded themselves with.

So, there it is in a nutshell. They had friends. And lots of them!

But what does that have to do with driving traffic to your website?

How to be popular on the Internet

Well, if you want to get traffic to your website, you’ve got to be popular on the web!

How?

Just like in high school, you knew the popular kids were popular by the number of friends they had, the same principle applies to the Internet!

Man typing on keyboard

Image courtesy of suphakit73 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Here’s the secret: search engines like Google recognize how “popular” your website is by the number of links from other websites that point to your website.

Show me a website that ranks high for a particular keyword in Google, and I can pretty much guarantee that that site has a fairly high number of links, also known as backlinks, pointing back to it from other websites from around the virtual world.

Great! I wanna be popular on the web and get links pointing back to my website. How do I do it?

There are many ways.

I’m going to focus on two in this post:

  • Guest blog posting
  • Blog commenting

Guest Blog Posting

So, what’s guest blog posting?

Well, it’s what I’m doing here! I don’t own Blogging for Boomers, Rosie does!

Though my website lies elsewhere in the virtual world, Rosie was kind enough to invite me to come on over here and do a series of guest posts.

What does guest blog posting do?

Several things.

Guest posting allows you to build relationships around the web. (Hint: make friends! The more you have, the more popular you become!)

Also, when you guest post on another blog, it allows you to create a link or two back to your own website.

How do you find blogs for guest posting?

As an example, say you have a budding blog centered around the topic of vintage auto restoration.

Head over to Google and perform a search like the following:

Auto restoration “write for us.”

What does this search operator do?

Boomer woman at laptop

Image courtesy of stockimages / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

It returns websites centered around auto restoration and that allow guest bloggers to post on their blogs (hence “write for us”).

Here are some other searches you can use to find blogs that allow guest bloggers on their sites. We’re still using our example of auto restoration as your business. You can replace “auto restoration” with keywords that are related to your own blog.

  • Auto restoration “guest post”
  • Auto restoration “guest blogger”
  • Auto restoration “submit an article”
  • Auto restoration “submit a blog post”

Those ought to get you started!

And here’s a hint, when you provide a blog post for another site, make sure it’s your best stuff! Show the world what you know about your topic! Sock it to ‘em!

You’ll make new friends along the way (becoming popular!), you’ll build credibility with a new audience, and you’ll get a sweet link (or two) back to your own blog.

Blog Commenting

What’s blog commenting?

Actually, I feel another story coming on!

Once upon a time there was a new website owner/blogger who wanted to start making friends around the webosphere.

He started commenting on blogs that were related to his own website, and who had audiences he was trying to reach as well.

One day he left a comment on a blog about blogging for boomers. Someone named Rosie noticed, replied to his comment, and invited him to post a blog series on her website.

The end.

And it all started with commenting on a blog!

Commenting on blogs simply means finding those blogs that are centered around topics similar to yours and then visiting them and posting comments at the end of posts.

It’s that simple, but I have a STRONG word of caution.

The first rule of commenting is when guest commenting make sure you enter “quality” comments.

Do NOT, under any circumstance, simply write “Nice post. Thanks.”

Just don’t go there!

When commenting, make sure your comments are heartfelt and really provide VALUE to the comments section. Provide a comment that offers a new point of view, or affirms through your experiences how you relate to the points that were made by the author.

In other words, provide quality comments.

You never know what might happen. You just may receive an invitation to guest post on that blog.

I did!

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!

Does Google Think Your Blog Posts Are Too Spammy?

How do you know if your blog posts are too spammy? Recent someone sent me an article that addresses this issue.  I think that we must stay current because many things we may have done in the past with keywords may not work well with the Google rules today. Be sure to read the sample article in the post that makes a clear case against putting links in your posts that are not relevant, plus more insights.

Anyway, read this article about the Google Penalty for Over Optimization.

Note: The material in the article after the first two paragraphs is an example of a spammy post. Don’t feel bad if you need to read the article again to dissect it. Ask any questions or make any clarifying comments by clicking on the comment button after the post.

Black Hat, White Hat Which Hat Got JC Penny in Trouble With Google?

I really enjoyed reading this article about Search Engine Optimization strategies that got JC Penny at the top of the Google search for certain keywords. But what happened to make them plunge to a low placement. Was it White or Black Hat techniques?

Ok, some of you are wondering what the difference is between the two. Well, I will tell you that it has nothing at all to do with race. But everything to do with the stuff you can or or should not do that can get you in trouble with Google.

So, take a few minutes to read this really engaging blog post by the New York Times.

What is a Backlink?

If you do not know what a backlink is you have certainly heard another blogger or Search Engine Optimization (SEO) expert mention it. Here are two good definitions:

In basic link terminology, a backlink is any link received by a web node (web page, directory, website, or top level domain) from another web node [1]. Backlinks are also known as incoming links, inbound links, inlinks, and inward links.  (Wikipedia)

The backlink is essentially the same thing as an inlink. It is a link on someone else’s site that leads to your own, and it’s extremely important to garner a large number of backlinks that are reputably obtained for several reasons. First, in SEO or search engine optimization, part of the algorithm for ranking your page on search engines is determined by the number and quality of backlinks to your site, providing they occur naturally and you have not purchased them. Second, backlinks are how you get known on the Internet. If lots of other sites provide a link to yours, a natural increase in traffic to your web pages occurs. (Wisegeek.com)

Here is a post I read on backlinks today. If you have other references you would like to add please post a comment.

Three ways to generate backlinks for FREE

How Martin Diano Gave Birth To His Blog

The Birth of Dianosphere– A Labor of Love

by Martin Diano

I can recall vividly the birth of my first blog. I decided to spend three months during the summer of 2007 in Greenville NY, where my wife, Annette, and I have a second home so we can be closer to our grandson. Annette, who works as an RN, would commute from Arizona, our primary residence, to New York during the same three month period.

Although I would frequently be visiting with my daughter, Michelle, and our grandson, Alan, I still had lots of idle time on my hands, which I had originally planned to occupy by reading. One evening at dinner, upon mentioning the possibility of boredom setting in because Annette would be away most of the time, my daughter said, “Dad, why don’t you create a blog. That will keep you occupied and you like writing.”
While I was certainly aware of blogs, and subscribed to several, it never occurred to me to publish a blog of my own. I had no clue how to begin. Where to host a blog, the cost involved, the time commitment required. Can I make money blogging? Michelle had a personal blog she began in 2006, where she wrote about motherhood and posted pictures of Alan, so she pointed me in the general direction to start my online journey.

The next morning I sat out in the back yard and mapped out a strategy for what would eventually give birth to Dianosphere.com.

I began my blogging journey by reading just about every book on blogging I could find? over a dozen books in all? and subscribed to numerous A-list bloggers on the topic. At first, it was a daunting task. So much to learn! Gradually, though, I developed a sense of what I had to do and took the plunge.
Two years and 199 posts later, with a few fits and starts, Dianosphere has seen a steady climb in readership. And the experience has been intellectually fulfilling.

I do not consider myself in a position to offer advice about blogging, preferring to leave that to the likes of Rosie Horner, I can say that blogging can be a very satisfying experience. Clicking the ‘Publish’ button on your first blog post for the entire online world to read is an exhilarating and memorable moment.
But I do have advice to offer. I have listed below two issues that you may want to research yourself, or confirm with a blogging consultant. The two issues I learned that are the most perplexing are: 1] the length of a blog post and 2] the frequency of posting. Blogging can be a very time-consuming adventure and these two issues are critical to consider.

With regard to the number of words:

As part of my research, here’s what I discovered some of the experts on blogging have to say about the length of a blog post: over 100 and under 500 words; 200-600 words; one pro blogger recommends 250-1000 words because that’s what SEO experts believe. “…anything longer than 300 words is not a post,” asserts a professional blogging consultant. And, finally, “Shoot for 500 words or less,” touts another expert. The question of the length of a blog post, as you can see, has no right answer.
It is my view that the length of a blog post takes second place to the quality of the content. If content still reigns as King and you have something particularly compelling to say, why should it be limited to an arbitrary number of words to convey your message? As long as there’s a take-a-way for the reader, something that he/she can put to practical use in their business or personal life and you need 595 words, or 870 words or 1275 words or 2,000 words to make your point, then just do it.

As to the frequency of your blog postings:

“If your blog isn’t updated regularly, why should people come back to it,” I read in one book. ”They don’t,” says the author, who suggests updating your blog at least two or three times a week. If you accept at face value the author’s advice, you would have to post to your blog even if you have nothing especially important or valuable to say because, according to the author, if you do not post two or three times a week your readers will not return.
What about the quality of the content, I asked myself? Why would readers return if I am publishing content, just for the sake of frequency, solely to ensure reader retention? If a blogger has nothing compelling to say for a week or two why then post unusable content that may very well have the opposite effect – drive readers away! There is a growing consensus that indicates whether you post once a week or not, the quality of what you have to say will always trump blog post frequency.

There are some terrific books on blogging, too many to suggest in this posting. Go to Amazon.com enter a search query and you’ll see all the bestsellers. Read two or three of these books. Subscribe to several A-list bloggers, like Rosie’s Blogging for Boomers or Chris Brogan’s blog. Many of the A-list bloggers also offer free eBooks and great tips.
Blogging is still in its infancy. Some advice and recommendations for new bloggers should indeed be followed. If you’re reading this blog, then you are well on your way to becoming a better blogger and enjoying the experience that much more.
About Martin Diano
Martin is a retired public relations professional living in Arizona and New York. His blogging experience with Dianosphere led him to create, in 2008, the Baby Boomer [Knowledge Center], a web destination for and about the baby boomer generation.

RSS is Spam Free

RSS is your own channel. It enhances your relationship with  a client. As your stuff gets updated your client;s stuff gets updated instantly!  I am listening to a FREE online tutorial on Podcasts by the great folks at Baby Boomer Audio.

RSS increases your visibility. Here is a great definition of Podcasts by ABC News.

What Is RSS?

Depending on who you ask, RSS stands for either “Rich Site Summary” or “Really Simple Syndication.” But no matter what it’s called, RSS is a new way to publish information online.

At the heart of the technology is special Web coding, called XML, that has been widely developed by the global online community over the past few years.

The XML code for RSS describes a new type of Web information called a “news feed.” Essentially, the feeds can contain a summary and links of the new content on a Web site or anything else a creator desires to share. A company may publish an RSS feed that contains news of its latest products, for example.

Anyone — an online surfer or another Web site — can pick up the RSS codes and with the appropriate Web software display the information automatically.

The concept is similar to how a newswire service operates: Information published by one news organization can be “syndicated” — picked up and displayed — by any other news organization.

So, the instructor during this 90 min call takes you step by step doing and producing a podcast with this easy audio service.  Honestly, the service is called Audio Acrobat but my affiliate to it is  Baby Boomer Audio.

The instructor also mentions that Google is very sensitive to RSS feeds. He also reviews some critical SEO (Search Engine Optimization) points related to RSS feeds.  You know, great stuff on keywords, etc.

Now, I have heard this training before but today I am listening to refresh and motivate me.

Launching New Podcast Series

I am launching a new podcast series called “Baby Boomers Bustin Loose”

So this comprehensive yet simple training session is just what the doctor ordered. I have so many questions

I didn’t have before.

So, if you get a chance go on over and give Baby Boomer Audio a try.

And yes if you click subscribe to the 30 day free trial and like and sign up for the service I get a commission. But I can honestly tell you that even if you only stay on for the trial you will gain such great value PLUS the free training.

Your Blog Is Talking-But What Is It Saying?

Your blog is talking, but what is it saying? I just read an insightful post about how our site communicates to our readers. After reading it I decided to pay closer attention to what my site may be saying. When you  review these simple, yet powerful points you will, like me, pay closer attention to what your site is saying.

This post was written by a popular web designer who has combined some practical SEO tips into his 21 ways your site is talking with your visitors.