10 Ways to Make Your Blog Stand Out

By David L Allred

According to the Blog Herald there are currently around 200 million blogs worldwide! That is an extreme amount of blogs. Now, it is said that around 72 million of those blogs are in China. So a good portion aren't even in the English niche. Let's just say another 50 million blogs are also in other languages, so that leaves around 80 million blogs to compete against! Not that every single blog out there is in competition, but it is sure nice, if you are looking to create traffic to your site, to stand out in a sea of blogs. So I have compiled a list of 10 things you can do to make your blog stand out a little more than the next. These tips are not in order of importance!

1. Create a favicon for your blog. In a "Blog List" or a "Bookmark" your blog will stand out with it's own "logo." I don't know about all of you, but the first thing I look at when I go to a website are the pictures. One of the first pictures to be shown is the Favicon. Any logo is better than the blank page that will show or the common blogger icon. This will also show up in bookmarks, RSS feeds, several gadgets and widgets by Blogger, etc.


2. Meta Tags are vital for search engines as well as for browsing tabs. This will let people know what they are looking at. This is the Title of your blog! I am by far an expert in SEO (Search Engine Optimization) but do know a little. If you have a self-hosted Wordpress Blog, you can install widgets that will do all the tagging for you. However, some will recommend that you do this without the widget. So choose for yourself which will work best for your blog. One of the benefits of using a platform like Blogger, is that they are already ranking in the search engines, thus, your blog will also if you allow it to. There is an option in the blogger setup that allows you to choose whether or not you want your blog shown in the search engine listings. I have seen blogs show up in the search engines for my name in a matter of few weeks.


3. Add character to your blog with a personalized background. This is useful with blogs hosted by Blogger, Wordpress.com, or hosted platforms. Since everyone is using the same templates, stick out like a sore thumb by customizing your background with either a picture, or an actual template. Just type 'Blogger Templates' or 'Blogger Backgrounds' in the search bar and explore your options.


4. Add a custom header to your blog. Now, when I say custom, I don't mean just putting a picture of you and yours in there. If that is all you've got, then it is better than nothing. When I mean custom, I mean getting one made with a border, images, your names, the title of your blog, and so on. Make it original. Make it nice and professional. That is one of the first things your readers will look at.


5. Photos speak a million words! In the words of my wife, "When I get to a site, the first thing I do is scroll down the page and look at all the pictures. If I like the pictures, then I'll go back to the top and start reading!" One cool thing you can do is add a slide show to your blog. Blogger has a gadget that can do this for you or you can create your own through Picasa or Flickr and embed it on your blog.


6. Music can spice up your site or bring it down! If you doing a site for business purposes, having music will decline your traffic and kill your content, unless your content is about music. If you have a blog that is for personal use, your friends and family will enjoy some tunes as they check our your stuff. I have embedded music with Playlist.com before but there are many different music players you can use.


7. Have Catchy Post Titles! Make sure your post titles reflect what you have in the content of your post. They must be relevant to each other. The next thing that people look at after the pictures are the post titles. Have the main point of your post in the title and make it exciting, short and to the point! For example: "10 ways to make your blog stand out" works better than "A couple of ways to make your blog stand out."


8. Adding video to your Blog will always spice things up a bit. It seems that people are turning away from reading to just listening and watching. So use that web cam that came with your computer or go get one. Just a few pointers with a video: Make sure you have good lighting, people will be able to hear and understand your message, and make it short. Don't draw out a video, usually 1-2 minutes is plenty long. You might even go as far as using a simple movie maker software such as Windows Movie Maker to edit your video a little. If you do this, make sure to include your name in there and end it with your blogs URL. The last thing your visitors see will stick! You can then upload your video to YouTube, Google Video, or even Blogger and embed that on your blog.


9. Always have interesting, useful, and relevant content. I once heard that you can insult, make fun of, criticize, compliment, or tongue bathe your readers, but by all means, DO NOT BORE THEM! Get a little personal with your readers without giving out your social security number, bank accounts and home address. The more you blog the better your writing skills will get.


10. Interact with your readers. Relate, give advice, ask advice, and interact. This will do a number of things for your blog, but the most important, it will bring return visits and loyal readers who feel they have somewhat of an ownership in your blog. That is the best thing that can happen. They in turn will recommend your blog, because they have contributed. Leave comments on other blogs, especially of those who have left comments on yours. Answer emails and comments as often as you can and Do What You Say You Are Going To Do! Meaning, if you say you are going to write a post on a certain subject, do it!

So there you have it. Integrate and follow these tips and you will not only increase your traffic, but you will gain loyalty by having readers who leave your blog fulfilled.

My name is David Allred and I am a successful Home Business Entrepreneur and an avid Blogger. Whether it be through Blogging or a Home Based Business, I teach people how to make money working from home. I encourage you to follow my motto to "Stop Settling and Start Living!" Life is short....Live it to its fullest! The 3 Hour Work Day Blogging is Simple

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The Top 5 Google Gadgets to Add to Your Blogger Blog

By Tracey A Edwards

If you are a fan of Blogger (like I am) then you probably love the introduction of hundreds of new Gadgets that you can add to your blog for more functionality. Gadgets (Google's term for what is more commonly known as widgets) mean that you can add your personality to your blog by showing a list of your favorite movie quotes, or perhaps you could offer your viewers a game of pong? With so many to choose from what are the best Google Gadgets to add to your Blogger Blog?

1. Followers (Find it in Basics) - Followers is kind of like Google's version of Twitter meets RSS. You can follow people and they can follow you or they can subscribe to your blog anonymously. It's one of the easiest way's to get more traffic to your blog (just start following people and they will likely start following you too).

2. HTML/JavaScript (Basics) - Obviously being able to add your own code to your blog page will enhance its functionality exponentially. You can add your own opt-in box to start a mailing list, Add Images and Links very easily to your other pages, and even put in a PayPal button and sell something right from your blog.

3. Countdown (Featured) - Allows you to add a countdown to your blog. You can countdown to your birthday, Christmas, until you launch a new product, anything you like.

4. Feed (Basics) - You can add a feed from your other blogs, your Squidoo lens, or if you are an EzineArticles author you can add a feed from your author page to show your latest articles.

5. AdSense (Basics) - If you want to make some money from your Blog one of the first places to start is by adding AdSense to your page. You will need an account with AdSense first so make sure you write a few posts on your blog before you apply. Then you can just add your AdSense code to the Gadget and can start earning money.

To add Gadgets to your blog just head to your Dashboard and go Layout Page Elements then click on the Add a Gadget link wherever you would like to place it.

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How to Add Google Analytics to Your Blogger Blog

By Tracey A Edwards

Curious to see how many people visit your blog? Or perhaps you want to see where people are arriving from so that you can concentrate your marketing efforts where it is paying off? Google Analytics is a nifty little tool that will show you how people found your blog, where they came from and even how long they stayed around looking at all of your pages. If you are serious about building a profitable blog then you need to start finding out more about your visitors so this article will show you how to add Google Analytics to your Blogger blog.

Obviously you are going to need an account with both Blogger (blogger.com) and Google Analytics (google.com/analytics/) if you haven't already.

Once you have accounts with both the first thing you should do is log into Analytics and click on Add Website Profile. So enter the website address (URL) of your blog here and click Finish. Once you have done that you'll get given some html code that you'll need to put on your blog page so that Google can track your visitors for you. Copy the code by right clicking with your mouse and highlighting all of the code and choosing Copy so that it's ready to place in your blog.

Next log into the dashboard of your Blogger account and find the blog you wish to add the code to. Choose the Layout tab and then Edit HTML. On this page you'll see all the html code that makes up your blog. All you need to do is scroll down to the bottom of the page until you see the tag. When you have found that place your Google Analytics code directly above the end body tag being careful not to touch or overwrite any other code. You can just paste your code by right clicking with the mouse where you want the code to go and choosing Paste.

Save the Template and go back into Google Analytics to see if you have installed the code correctly. If you have you'll see the message Receiving Data. If you see Tracking Not Installed then it means that something isn't working correctly. However sometimes it does take a while for the tracking code to be picked up by Google - so wait a few minutes to see if it changes after an hour or so. If it still says Tracking Not Installed head back to your Blogger blog and check if the code was installed correctly and try putting it back in again.

Once it is working properly you'll find that you have so much great information about your blog at your fingertips so you'll be able to go to Google Analytics anytime you'd like to find out more about your visitors.

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Blogger Following - It's Like RSS and Twitter Rolled Into One!

By Tracey A Edwards

The latest gadget from the Blogger crowd is the very cool Blogger Following. It's sort of like having people subscribe to an RSS feed but so much cooler because you can see at a glance exactly who is subscribed to your blog (they include a little picture of your fans if they follow publicly). And those that subscribe will get a nice message on their Blogger Dashboard whenever you update your posts so they'll never miss anything you have to say.

And it's sort of like Twitter too in that you can follow other people and they can follow you back so everyone will always know when you've updated.

Most new templates that you start will have the Following gadget already added but you can easily add it by choosing Add a Gadget from your Blog Layout section.

Ok, so now that you know what it is, how can you use it for maximum advantage?

Obviously it's going to be a great little tool for getting more traffic to your blog because you'll be able to get repeat visitors very easily (they'll see whenever you update anything and come back to check it out). And you will also be able to find other people very easily too.

All you need to do to get more traffic to your blog is find other blogs that have similar content to yours. You can either find them by doing a search on Google or within Blogger itself. Then just follow them. If they don't have the Following gadget then if you have Google Reader just add the blog URL to your Reading List on the Dashboard. Once they see that they have fans they are likely to check you out and start following you back.

You and your visitors get a choice whether to follow publicly or anonymously, however to get the full benefits (and increase your traffic) I recommend that you subscribe publicly because you really do want them to return the favor and become your fan too. The more blogs that you follow the more you'll get seen (people reading other blogs often check out who else is a following that blog) and the more people you get back to your site.

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Writing on Your Blog - It's a Group Effort

By Terri Polk

If you have a business with a website, you most likely either have or are considering starting a blog. It's no wonder: business blogs have become powerful marketing tools that work in conjunction with a website to promote your company, increase visibility and produce sales. Yet some people wait to take the blogging plunge for what they think is good reason. What will they write about? Luckily, it doesn't have to be so complicated.

Many business owners assume that blogs have to be like small works of art, or mini masterpieces filled with sparkling prose and clever articles. Not so. The main goal of the business blog is to create a dialogue between you and your clients (or potential clients). You want real interaction and feedback with your market, and often the more informal the tone of the blog, the better.

Because the very nature of business blogging involves engaging others, it's a good idea to involve others in the process of writing your blog. One way to do this is to put a question up for debate or discussion. What better way to make people feel included than to ask their opinion? Besides generating a buzz, some of the answers you get are bound to spark ideas for future blog posts.

Another way to generate interaction is by inviting customers or prospects to write "guest posts" on your blog. Guest posts help develop loyalty in your customers while introducing a new viewpoint, thereby stimulating conversation on your blog. Interviews are also a great tool for blog entries. Seek out an expert in your field and share their thoughts and ideas.

The benefits of including others in your blogging process are many. Besides helping to provide fresh content, it also makes your blog more interesting and dynamic. But perhaps the biggest fringe benefit of all: those who write on your blog are very likely to link your blog to their network, thereby generating more exposure for you.

NewSunSEO : Internet Marketing NYC http://NewSunSEO.com NewSunSEO develops and utilizes search engine optimization strategies that result in top placements. With extensive knowledge about the underlying structure of search engines, we help your website gain exposure, added traffic and more business. NewSunSEO uses the top current technologies with highly effective, ethical methods that are proven to work continually. Visit our Blog to read, comment, and/or ask questions about Internet Marketing at http://SEO-Blog.NewSunSEO.com Written by Terri Polk at NewSunSEO, Inc.

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Basics of Blogging

By Tellman Knudson

With internet business exploding and entering our daily lives, we hear all sorts of terms flying around. This can be confusing and can cause much confusion to those of us who are not technical wizards. Yet, we still want to know what the basics are and especially how we can get on the band wagon of making money with internet business. Blogging and having a blog is one of the most popular ways to start an internet business and get familiar with the virtual world. So, what exactly is a blog?

The word blog is actually a mashed up word meaning "web log." A log, for example, is a place where a captain of a ship writes down everything that happens. So, a "web log" or BLOG is a log placed on the web talking about things that happen. Another way of thinking of it a blog is it's more or less a journal. It can be a personal journal. If you're an internet business, of course, then it becomes a business tool. It's a place where you either report information about what's going on in a community, or you can review products. You can even put video in your blog; you don't have to write in it. You can have podcasting too. There are all different ways you can use it as a communication tool with your niche audience, and it's a simple way to bond with your audience.

Blogs are a great tool to send traffic to your internet business website, otherwise known as a traffic source. Blogs do many things though. They help you with search engines because the search engines absolutely love blogs. This would allow for your blog to be indexed very quickly and get a lot of traffic from the search engines. Also, you can build a reputation and get an audience going because they like the contents of your blog. If you blog correctly and have an opt-in box on your blog, this will help you to build a list too!

Blogging doesn't accomplish very much unless you do some very specific things. But, if you do these things, you should find that your blog will grow your internet business list and attract search engines results.

To have a successful and purposeful blog, it is important to post a submission every day. Yes, that means the weekend too! This could be a simple text post, video or audio. Search engines like consistency and regularity. Since each written blog post only needs to be 300-400 words, this should not be too hard of a task to accomplish. Write about something you know and are familiar with. Blogs are almost never read in their entirety, so don't boggle yourself down with perfecting each post. Just write something you know about and give information that you anticipate your readers enjoying. It is also really important to have a keyword density of 1.5%-2.5%. That means that your keyword should appear in your blog 1.5%-2.5% of the time, which is generally 3-5 times. You can test a post's keyword density by going to live-keyword-density.com .

If you are unfamiliar with blogging and internet business, it can seem very intimidating. But, don't worry, blogging is simple and is just a place for you to record information, similar to a journal. At the same time, this simple tool can be very powerful in growing your internet business.

Tellman Knudson, CEO of OvercomeEverything, Inc., is a master internet marketer and well-known for his first project, List Building Club. Tellman teaches you everything you need to know about building a successful internet business. Get your trial at: http://listbuildingmonthly.com today!

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Using Blogs to Your Advantage

By K Murphy

Do you have an online business? Are you an affiliate? If you are promoting something, no matter what it is, use the power of blogging. Using blogs to your advantage is one of the fastest and most effective ways to draw attention to whatever it is you're blogging about.

The great thing about blogging is that anyone can do it. All you need is to know how to write and have something to write about. Want to blog about what you have for breakfast everyday? Fine. It may sound unbelievable to you, but no matter what you blog about, somebody will be interested.

I use blogging to promote my online businesses. Once I started though, I started blogging about my personal interests as well. Primarily though, blogging is one of my primary ways of advertising. So, we've talked about how easy it is to blog, but there's another side of the coin. How do you drive traffic to your blog? Who is looking at your blog? Why? People often check out other blogs that match their interest. If you're interested in dog training, you will be far more likely to read a blog about it than bass fishing.

There is an endless supply of avenues you can take to drive traffic to your blog. While most are free, they do take time. Guard your time! Set up a realistic schedule for yourself that you can do everyday. Try not to miss a single day until it becomes habit. They say habits occur in 21 days, but I go by the 30-day rule. For example, I do the same thing, every day. In the morning, I write my blogs. In the afternoon, I market them. Make a list of all of the places you can advertise your blog and add one to the list every day. You'll find more as you work your way through the list.

Whatever you do, don't stray from your 30-day timeframe. Decide what your new habit will be, write it down, post it where you can clearly see it, and STICK TO IT! Particularly with the free methods, it may take some time to get the level of traffic and commissions you want. Don't fall into the trap of making money quick. Stick with your system, take action consistently, and you WILL see results.

I have a few resources on blogging that I'm happy to share. To receive the FREE ebook, "Blogging on Steroids," simply send me an email here. Please write "Blogging on Steroids" as the subject line. To receive the FREE ebook, "Blogging Profits," simply send me an email here. Please write "Blogging Profits" as the subject line. If you want both, just ask! Check out my blogs here: http://idreamdou.wordpress.com/

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Increase Traffic to Your Blog - 3 Productive Techniques to Boost Your Blog Visitor Numbers

By Fabian Tan

Writing a blog is no easy task and involves hours and even days of hard work. Once your blog is ready, you expect instant returns for your hard work. Well, these may happen with time but if you really wish to increase traffic to your blog, you need to take the following points into consideration.

1. Use The Service Of Rich Site Summary

Rich site summary is often referred to as really simple syndication. As the name well suggests, the RSS feedback needs to be submitted to various readers through the means of feeds. With time and effort and by allowing your blog for syndication, the hits to your blog would rise. A wide subscriber base would increase traffic to your blog.

2. Use Your Blog On A Regular Basis

There are times when owners tend to ignore their blog. This could be owing to an established subscriber base or a less number of hits. Well, this needs to be stopped if you wish to increase traffic to your blog. You, as the blog owner, need to commit at least fifteen minutes of your day to updating your blog.

3. Make Use Of A Counter Tracker To Increase Traffic To Your Blog

If you wish to increase traffic to your blog, you need to keep an eye on your subscriber base. This can be done through the means of a counter tracker. A counter tracker would update you with the actual number of new customers, the length of pages viewed and the average duration of a subscriber visit.

Fabian Tan is a well-known Internet Marketing expert and the author of the popular 45-page Report: "Murder Your Job: How To Build Cash Sucking Autopilot Businesses In 30 Days Or Less!" Head over to http://www.MurderYourJob.com to get your FREE copy now! Also, quickly download his FREE "Explosive Traffic System" report that shows you how to generate 10,000+ targeted visitors per month at no cost! => http://www.ExplosiveTrafficSystem.com

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Has Blogging Become Another Sales Tool?

By Donald Yates

Blogging For Dollars - The Untold Truth

Almost certainly the first question new Bloggers has is, "what do I Blog about? It's a common dilemma because as popularity increases curiosity also increases. There's a big gap between curiosity and actual application. Blogs are tools for expressional conversation. Even though this could encompass a multitude of subjects people wishing to make money are exploiting as avenues of expression.

Grease The Palm

It seems that in today's Internet world, every which way you turn someone has their hand out asking for money. The Internet is quickly turning into a commercial cesspool. Deception and outright lies are common place as there is no regulation or anyone to answer to. I grieve for a medium that could have been a great information vault, but alas, will never be anything more than another way to scam innocent people. Even Universities require you to be a alumni or payment for information. Many of these higher learning facilities are partially funded by taxpayer money yet are not open to the public.

No more free expression

What happened to expression, friendship and connecting with people of like interest? Personal Bloggers realize the subject of their site is sharing personal experiences, so all information they decide to share is at their own discretion. This provides a common ground for people to meet and share important issues that may effect their life.

Business Bloggers market products

The business Blogger on the other hand, directs their subject toward selling the reader on their product or service. Their information is directed toward drawing the receiptant into a sales situation. Establishing creditability solely for the purpose of selling a product is deception in my opinion. Using Blogs for building confidence is nothing short of deception.

Blogging has become infomercials.

Some would say, "Blogging is a marketing and communication tool rather than a sales tool." I say, "hogwash." When the subject is directed toward a product it's no more than an infomercials and infomercials are sales tools. The whole purpose for informing is to soften the prospect for the sale.

Trust me while I have my hand in your pocket.

The mindset of a business Blogger is: "If they trust me, they are more willing to accept my word, as an authority, that a product of mine has value and is worth purchasing." That's right, most Blogging is all about the money.

Blogging propaganda for sales

For the business Blogger, providing product propaganda is fair game, if presented as updates, news, tips or other types of information. There is no expression, no out-poring of the soul, only more sales hype. Like so many other medias the Internet has turned toward how to extract the most dollars from you. That's why social networks, chat rooms and forms came into being. But alas, even they have come under assault from the money grabbers.

Who can you trust?

Who can you trust? In today's world, no-one! Trust is a forgotten concept as is loyalty and reliance. Money has reshaped the thinking mind and produced grabbers, merchants of wares and money lures. Blogging has become just another medium that has fallen to the cunningness of merchants. What was sharing experiences has become fair game for the degradation of scruples.

Blogging, Social networks, chat rooms and forums.

Blogging, Social networking, chat rooms and forums have great potential when kept unpolluted and sincere. People need to exchange ideas and feelings with like people. They need to share experiences and victories as well as sorrows and tragedies with their fellow humans. They need to know that there people who share the same experiences as they do. Even though they may be different in nature, they are the same in purpose. Blogging, social networking and chat rooms are for reaching out to people for solutions to questions unanswered as well as sharing life's knowledge.

Be careful of the wolves.

There is a great need for knowledge on both personal and business levels but the two should be kept separate. Business should be restricted to business as personal should be limited to personal issues. For those who use the Internet to coerce people into buying a product keep the marketing above board and honest. For those who seek answers to personal questions, be on the watch for unscrupulous, hungry wolves in friendships clothing.

Happy Trails

"Former Development coordinator for Imperial Research, author, Spiritual Adviser, Donald Yates is now retired but continues to expand through Self Discovery. Learn how you can also. Go to." http://www.clean4profit.com http://www.clean4profit.com/homebiz.htm

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Problems Related to Blogging and Social Networking!

By Dimple Ple Rehal

With the news full of problems being experienced by social networking sites are we seeing the beginning of the end for Blogs and Social networking. My Space have just closed 29,000 profiles of know child offenders and Face book's owner is in court fighting to stop a rival closing him down.

Can it be that the bubble is about burst and we are all about to see the fallout of closer regulation on line relating to the freedom of content and speech for our online world?

The massive growth of blogging and social networking has been possible due to the ability of users to practice freedom of speech at the speed of typing. For more results visit us at blogers-guide-to-profit.com. In a flash we can update our blogs and profiles online with little or no thought.

I am a blog author and as such I am concerned that there will be a slow creep of official regulations and rules which determine the content and its tone. Bad press is just the catalyst the control freaks need to get their teeth in to the Blogosphere.

It is fair to say that all online authors have a personal and moral responsibility to manage their online actions and content. All too many of us forget that what we say online is open to be read by every one; that's the power we have when using the World Wide Web.

Where will this all end, may be I am getting over excited? Are we going to see another black day when the dot com bubble burst yet again? If this dose happen how many of use will rise from the ashes and face the new world?

The power of the internet is such that even the smallest thing can become a world wide issue in hours. You can also visit at atoz-about-rss.com. In the blink of an eye anything can become a major world wide event; some time I think we forget that.

I am only a small fish in a very big sea but I call upon all the Big Fish out there in the blogosphere to set an example and show the world that we can be trusted to manage our own affairs.

I might just be getting my knickers in a twist about nothing but at least we should take note that if event online are being picked up buy offline news then things may be out of our control. We must be able to show we can keep our house in order.

http://www.blogers-guide-to-profit.com http://www.blog-and-ping.com

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