Making Money From Blog

Increase Your AdSense Revenue Through Keyword Research

2009-07-18T08:26:00.000-07:00

Any webmaster and blogger knows that significant Google AdSense revenue is very important to the life and profitability of blogs and websites. One of the biggest problems faced is lack of traffic, which leads to lack of clicks on Google AdSense banners...which leads to low AdSense income. Keep reading to find out how to prevent this problem.
Specifically, if we ask five "why" questions to determine the root cause of low Google AdSense income, this is what we find:
Why is the income from Google AdSense low?
Answer: It is because of insufficient clicks on Google ads or banners.
2. Why there is an insufficient number of clicks on Google ads or banners?
Answer: It is because of insufficient traffic coming from other domains.
3. Why is there insufficient traffic coming from other domains?
Answer: It is because the website is not marketed well.
4. Why the website is not marketed well?
Answer: It is because the webmaster does not have sufficient knowledge of website marketing techniques.
5. Why there is an insufficient knowledge of website marketing techniques?
Answer: They did not know how to select the keywords to target that they will be promoting in order to increase traffic for the website.
There you go; the root cause lies in keyword research. It is the heart of any search marketing campaign, including pay-per-click, search engine optimization , social bookmarking (which relies on tagging, which is keyword-based), video marketing (i.e. YouTube, which relies heavily on its own search engines to drive traffic), and lastly Google AdSense.
This article recommends a permanent corrective action that will educate webmasters or bloggers in how to select the best keywords to target in their blogs or websites; specifically, the ones that will increase or maximize Google AdSense income.

First: understand where your traffic comes from
By analogy, say you have a store and you need customers. Now to break down the first marketing problem, you need to ask this question: Where do my customers come from?
If you are selling online, a lot of visitors probably visit your website, but do know where they come from? Ever since Google AdSense came on the scene, a web site's success has been directly proportional to its traffic. Take a look at the pie chart below, using actual web marketing data.

Search engines contribute almost 70% of your website traffic! So it makes sense to optimize your web site or blogs to get traffic from search engines. The following are the most popular search engines: Google, Yahoo, MSN and Ask.
Another question might be: From which specific search engines should I try to get traffic? Since we need to maximize traffic, it makes sense to get traffic from all search engines. The biggest search engine traffic contributor is Google, which, according to some actual data, receives around 90% of all search engine traffic.
Also, all search engines are similar, and they all love one thing on your website: Original, Quality and Useful Content. This is discussed below.

Second: understand your content
You cannot research keywords properly if you do not understand your content. To be able to understand your content so that it will be loved by search engines , keep in mind the following tips:
• Do not ever copy content from other sources. This will make your blog or website less trusted in the eyes of search engines. If you really need to copy someone else's content, ask permission from the source and include a link to the original page. This ensures the original page will get more credit than yours.
• Write your own copy and always think of helping visitors with your content. Ask this: "How can this content be helpful to my visitors?" For your home page, include your most important services or topics that you are very interested in writing about -- or, in other words "What is my blog all about?"

For the inner pages, write copy on a continual basis (for example, adding two posts per month maybe). This copy should answer visitors' questions, such as "What other interesting things do you have in your blog?" This is where you blog your favorite and specific sub-topics of the home page main topic.
• Do not spam keywords. This is not the time to select keywords, if you are writing your content, do not ever think of putting in too many occurrences of your keywords just to rank in the search engines. Keyword spamming is a big mistake.
Finally, once you have your own content, it is time to structure it to your website for maximum traffic. Below are the quick suggestions:
Main terms: Home page
Secondary terms: Inner pages or categories
Long tail terms: Inner pages or categories
Your home page content is where you will emphasize your main terms. You should not have more than three main terms for the home page. One is ideal. Analyze your home page content and then do a brainstorming session to list the three most relevant main terms. For example, if you have a website that teaches novel writing, a good main term to target is "how to write a novel" (one is enough)
For other pages, apply the same concept. Do not forget the important rules in SEO: include keywords in title tags and in your content. It is hard to rank if you do not have an exact match for "How to write a novel" in your title and in the content.

Third: use Google's AdWords keywords tool
One of the most effective keyword research strategies I discovered is the hitting multiple birds with one stone technique. This can be done by researching just one keyword that could also contain variations of other juicy phrases relating to your content.
Use the Google AdWords keyword tool: https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal
Set it to "All Countries and Territories," type one main term in the box and unchecked "Use synonyms." Also, check " Don't show ideas for new keywords. I only want to see data about the keywords I entered ."
It should look like this screen shot below:

The requirement for this one keyword should be:
• It should have around 8,000 to 10,000 average monthly search volume in Google (set to all countries and territories). This ensures that the main keyword you are targeting has enough traffic for substantial Google AdSense income.
• This should be the best keyword among your selected main terms. Use the formula to calculate difficulty.
In relation to this, I have preferred a tool that will automatically select the best keywords to target for Google Ad sense. To use this tool:
• Download the Excel spreadsheet tool here: http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-nNv5JKEydKKD9OmfLBfY?p=4
• Enter data only in yellow cells. (A maximum of 20 main terms candidates are allowed).
• Gather Google's monthly average search volume for the keyword: https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal
• Gather Google's competing web pages data in http://www.google.com/. Look to the upper right of the search results, and find something like this phrase: Results 1 - 10 of about 1,000,000: This means the number of competing web pages is 1,000,000.
• There is a column in the Excel spreadsheet labeled: "Recommended Keywords in Google AdSense." The results are sorted from the most to least important. It is recommended that you to select only one for your campaign; it will contain other terms also.
Hitting multiple birds with one stone technique. If we target "How to write a novel," we are also targeting the more difficult phrases in the long term such as "write a novel" and "write novel." This means you only need to spot one term that contains more juicy terms for your site in the long run.
Fourth: marketing
You have now selected the best keywords to target for your Google AdSense campaign. Now what? You will have to start marketing your website. To start marketing your website for the best effect, I've provided a quick checklist below:
• Create accurate and descriptive title tags for your home page/blog front page. These should not be a duplicate of other pages. If you are using blogspot/Google blogger templates, I have written an article to help you create a search engine friendly blog.
• Promote your website in Digg, Stumble Upon, Delicious, Technorati, Blog catalog and YouTube (there are other good sites, but these are the recommended ones). These are social book marking sites from which you can attract readers of your blog. It will then earn natural back links that will help search engine rankings.
• If your blog has enough articles and readership (followers), you can start offering partnerships with related communities. Find out what is lacking in their websites and see if your blog can offer a possible solution. Contact them by commenting in their site or using a form, then ask them to review your site; if they find your blog/site useful, they will link to it.
Here are some other important things to note: if anyone would like to link to your site, always have a link code in your blog so that they can copy and paste it directly to their site such as: How to write a novel. Always use the keywords in the anchor text to help Google associate your site with your main targeted term.

Top 10 SEO Questions and their Answers!

2009-07-04T05:57:00.000-07:00

If you are a blogger or having a online business then optimizing your blog with some SEO tips can make you see more better results for your blog. The objective of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is to achieve high natural search engine placement for relevant keywords or keyword phrases.

I will be discussing here some Top 10 questions asked by the people regarding ‘SEO’.

Q1.What is SEO?
=> The word SEO is an acronym for Search Engine Optimization. It is a term used to describe how to design web pages for the highest possible placement in search engine results pages.It is a process that aligns a website’s code and content with strategic keyword phrase targeting, ultimately assisting a search engine algorithm in understanding a website’s keyword focus.

Q2.How important is SEO?
=> It is common knowledge that the search engines of today love content, they cannot get enough new content and keep coming back time and time again, but why? As far as SEO goes, a busy site is a site which is constantly growing and growth means more content. The goal of SEO is to attract more visitors to certain websites.
When you search for any specific keyword like ‘Smart Blogger Templates‘ on Google, for instance, you will surely find a lot of pages of search results. The ones found at the top of the list are the ones that have effectively employed SEO.

Q3.What are Text Links?
=> A text link is a text hyperlink that typically links to another online document, such as a web page, PDF file, video etc. Text links can also point to another location on the same page.
So firstly, text links help search engine spiders find, crawl and index all the webpages in your website. After all, if search engines can’t find your web pages, they won’t show up in the search results.Text links help search engines understand the topic of a link destination.

Q4.What are link farms and link exchanges?
=> A link farm is a system where all the members are linked to each other via a common set of link pages. The result is that all members have a links page with the other members’ web addresses on them. Whereas, Link exchange is the process of exchanging links with other websites of your choice.
Link Farms on a hand have been decided as to be spam by many search engines. Where Link Exchange is a tricky part which is still continuing but not a bad thing. But you should try to Link Exchange with relevant site with quality content similar to your site.

Q5. What is duplicate content?
=> According to Google Here :
“Duplicate content generally refers to substantive blocks of content within or across domains that either completely match other content or are appreciably similar. Mostly, this is not deceptive in origin.”
The result of having duplicate web pages could be that you could get penalized by search engines i.e your pages won’t get listed into the search engines. So avoid almost the same content as others. Try to make your own word.

Q6. How do I find the right keywords?
=> Having the correct keywords for your blog or website is very helpful and it gives awesome results if done properly.To select the right keywords, you must first know what the search phrases are that people use when they are looking for the service or product that you are offering.You could take help of Google’s Keyword tool for it Or you could take help of Google’s New Search-Based Keyword Tool Service.

Q7. How do I optimize my web pages?
=> Having good keyword is the best way of the optimizing your web page also you could take help of the Title and META tags if you wish that search engines store and list them in the search results properly.
There are different theories about how long your Title should be. Since Google only displays the first 66 or so characters (with spaces) so you should try your best to keep it up to that amount. So always try to keep your title to the point with good quality of keyword.
META tags are hidden code read only by search engine spiders. There are actually 2 very important META tags you need to worry about: description and keywords which you could add to your template like this if you are using blogger platform:

Q8. Do I need to submit my site to the search engines?
=> It is not necessary to do so since according to me the search engines spiders are out there everywhere so they can easily submit your pages to the search engines if they want to but still if you still think like it won’t get listed until I submit it then you can try free automatic (not guaranteed) search engine submission sites and tools available on the net.

Q9. What are spiders?
=> A spider is a type of bot which are automatic programs which crawls throughout your blog easily and at a great speed. They help in scanning and indexing your web pages to the search engines.

Q10. How does content help my SEO?
=> Many of you have read or listened somewhere that “Content Is The King” and it’s actually correct also. If your blog have good content then you will have good readership and it could help your blog in giving great exposure also. Also be sure to update your blog with quality content frequently.

Reason Why Blogging is the New Internet Marketing Tools

2006-09-10T01:53:00.000-07:00

Blogging is a concept that started in late 90s. It used to be a way to comment an existing webpage, an opportunity for visitors and readers to react or voice out one’s opinion on the said page. What started as a single-sentence commentary has evolved into pages of personal take on just about anything and everything under the sun. As it continues to move forward, online advertising has tapped into the blog’s potential. Here are 5 reasons why you should use blogging as an Internet marketing tool.

1.Blogging is simple. The simplest way to get your piece on the net is through blogging. No skills are necessary… an average adult can read and type, or at least click a mouse. It’s like having a virtual piece of paper and you just write your ideas, experiences, new products, and hope that the truth behind your articles comes out and entice your reader to also try your product. If you have a PC and an Internet connection (who doesn’t?) then you can blog and advertise.

2. Blogging is authentic. In this day and age where advertising saturate our lives, we question the credibility of promoters’ claims. However, in blogs, real people share their real-life experiences, unscathed by paid advertising. Reading blogs about first-hand product use is like talking to people about their first-hand experience. You definitely want to buy a tried and tested product.

3. Blogging is free. Because blogging is yet to be proven as a mainstream online advertising media, most sites see it as something to augment current marketing tools and thus offer it for free. Any opportunity for free webtime is definitely a bonus especially to businesses that are starting up. Needless to say, paid blog pages can generate more income for your seriously growing business.

4. Blogging builds credibility. As you get more and more into writing your experiences on a particular product or industry, your readers come to realize that they can depend on your posts for their own information needs. As such, you become an expert on it; as a consequence, more readers visit your site and more bloggers link to your blogs. As companies and professional organizations notice the growth of your readership base, they may soon get in touch with you for advertising on your blog page, or make you an affiliate, which pays for every referral generated from your blog site.

5. Blogging builds your market. Unless you are a Hollywood star, chances are, only your Mom reads your posts. Mom has a lot of friends, so she lets her friends know how interesting your blog site is. But you need not depend on Mom to increase your readership base.

Look into the following ways to build your market through blogging: -By using your e-mail. Today, blogging is overcoming the e-mail’s popularity in quickly and effectively reaching and expanding a market. In this age of speed and quick access, logging in and downloading e-mail is simply taking longer than clicking into a blog site. Let them explore your site by using a short e-mail message as teaser to your blog site. If your e-mail is on an entirely different subject, use your e-mail signature to give a link to the site. -By using subscription. An easy way to get your readers e-mail is to give them an opportunity to subscribe to your blogsite. Keep some exclusive information for your subscribers to entice readers to subscribe and give their e-mail address.

Just be responsible in using their e-mail address, as the last thing you want is a comment on your blog that you are a spammer. -By understanding your readers. Conduct a simple survey for your readers to understand their profile and advertising preferences. Ask consumers to give you feedback on a post, an ad link, or a trial that you shared. In this way, it is like interviewing your readers without the commitment and intrusion of a face-to-face interview. -By joining a blog network –A network of blogs maybe a collection of blog sites that share the same industry, interest, readership base, payment mode, etc.

Consumers find credibility and convenience in clicking one link to several real bloggers about a single subject. Clearly, more bloggers are better than one. -By using RSS. RSS is the fastest growing technology on the Internet today. As such, having RSS feeds to your blog is definitely another means of generating awareness for your readership base. Having a variety of feeds can add interest to your blog site. Give your business a boost by effectively using blogging as an Internet marketing tool.

The Art of Bloging

2006-08-04T06:19:00.000-07:00

If writing is an art, then, blogging is one way of using words to come up with an art. This is because people who are into blogging are the ones who are artistic on their own sense, carefully choosing words that would best describe their feelings, sentiments, wishes, desires, and everything.

Basically, blogs were first introduced as weblogs that refer to a “server’s log file.” It was created when web logging hit the virtual market. Since its inception in the mid-1990s, web logging gradually saturated the virtual community making the Internet a viable source of greater information.

However, with web logging, you still need a web site and domain names, but with blogging, you do not need anything just an account with blog providers. In most cases, these kinds of blogs are free of charge.

With the onset of blogging in the industry, personal journaling had been a common ground for people who wish to be known all over the world. However, not literally famous as this is not a case on being popular or well-known personality.

Generally, blogs are created for personal use. Like a journal, people can write their daily adventures, sentiments, and whatever ideas they want to express online.

Nevertheless, with the advent of the online businesses, blogs had gradually taken the limelight in providing businesses a chance to boost their productivity online. This is where the business blogs have taken the limelight.

Business blogs are, basically, created to advertise the services or products of a certain web site or online business in order to increase online sales.

Moreover, business blogs are also one way of promoting the company so that the other readers will know that a certain company exists online. With blogs, entrepreneurs are able to establish a name in the virtual market through articles that can be very useful in the reader’s life.

From there, you can make money out of blogs by simply syndicating it to your business’ web site. This can be done through the RSS technology. So, if you are thinking to create a blog, whether for business or for pleasure, you need to know some tips that could help you get through and make your blog one of the interesting blogs online.

Here’s how:

1. Consider your audience

Even if your blog is generally personal, still, it would be better to consider the minds of your readers. You have to think of something that would interest them.

After all, most of the reasons of people who write blogs are not at all confined to their own personal motives. Most of them would love to be “heard” (or read) and would love to be known, in some way or another, even for just a minute. Hence, it is very important to come with a write up that everybody can understand, not necessarily that these people can relate to it but they can understand it.

2. Pictures speaks a thousand words

To make your blogging worth the browsing effort of your readers, it would be extremely nice if you will put some pictures in it. It does not necessarily mean you have to place a picture of yourself. Any photographs will do as long as it does not pose danger or insult to anyone who will be reading your blog.

3. Make constructive and beneficial blogs

Even if you are free to write anything you wan to say to the world, still, it would be better to create some write-ups that would be beneficial to your readers.

After all, its information technology that you have there so better be inclined to provide information rather than sheer quirky entertainment.

4. Avoid making multifaceted and complicated blogs

In order to have an interesting blogs, try not to use some highly technical and highfalutin words. After all, it is not a science discourse or a debate that you are making, so better stick to simple facts and short blogs.

Bear in mind that most people who use the Internet usually do more scanning than scrutinizing each site word for word. Therefore, it would be better to come with blogs that will not bore your readers just because you have these lengthy articles.

5. Make it interactive

As much as possible and if your capacity will allow it, make your blog interactive. Yu can do this by placing some video or audio clips in your blog. You can even place an area for comments or for some feedbacks. In this way, you can get some impressions or reactions of other people.

Who knows, you might even gain some friends just by making them feel at home in your blog site. Indeed, blogs are not created just for the mere fun of it. It also has its own purpose in the world of the Internet. Therefore, for people who wish to harness their craft, as far as writing is concerned, blogs are the best way to do it.

As they say, blogging is the contemporary term of creative and commercial writing.