Pictures add something to blog posts. They don’t have to be original, expensive, gorgeous or even particularly accurate. Just a hint of a visual representation of the article’s subject engages a reader’s sense of visual aesthetics. It’s one more way to draw her into your article and make it memorable.
I recommend using free photos wherever you can. They may not be unique, but how often do you remember thinking, “Oh, ... READ MORE
| Posted in » Blogging Blog On Holidays And Weekends? Mark raises an interesting question here: should you blog on holidays and weekends? He says yes, partly because most people don’t so you could get more attention than others. That’s a very good point. I also think it boils down to when you’ve found are the best times to post on your site. For several of mine, Monday morning through sometime on Tuesday is when I get ... READ MORE
What is a #1 Google Ranking Worth? Aaron Wall has put together a really lengthy post (too long to be called a post, really) explaining how to figure out what a #1 ranking in Google for a particular search term will actually be worth in dollars and cents. Definitely one to bookmark and come back to a few times, at least.
The Single Most Important Ingredient in Your Internet Marketing Strategy HubSpot discusses why there’s only so much you can outsource if you want SEO and site marketing done right, and then it’s all down to the time you put in. Only you know your site and your visitors. Only you can do the homework to make sure you know them. Only you can set up the site so both visitors and ... READ MORE
Tips for protecting your blog If you’re concerned about protecting a WordPress blog from nasty people, this post has some pretty interesting ideas, like password protecting your admin directory and removing the line that broadcasts which version of WP you’re using.
Matt Jones has a pretty good definition of the mysterious Google Sandbox, or at least what I’ve noticed of it. From my experience Google gives sites a ‘trial run’ where upon first indexing the blog is given unnaturally high rankings for a few weeks and if it doesn’t gain enough links/content during that trial period it is de-indexed (sandboxed). Or if it gains some links/content it is given given lower rankings ... READ MORE
WP e-Commerce, WordPress Plugin The lite version of this plugin allows you to sell products via PayPal only. Whilst it’s called ‘lite’ it’s not that simple as such. You can have your products in categories, there’s a shopping basket and it uses the PayPal IPN for instant notification. I’ve not gone through the whole process but I would assume that if you’re selling a digital product it will also then provide ... READ MORE
This is worth bookmarking: The 500 Dollar Per Month Comment Thread Mark threw open a discussion where people making over $500/month profit on websites could advise people making less than that. If you’re making less, you’re welcome to discuss your strategy and get feedback, or just ask questions. There are a lot of ideas and inspirations in there. There’s one or two bullshit posts where someone says, “Oh, anyone with a sixth ... READ MORE
When Meta Matters – How I Wrecked My Search Listing Courtney Tuttle rewrote his meta descriptions and found out very quickly that didn’t go over well with the SE’s. It’s interesting how this works, because if you leave meta descriptions entirely off a blog, the major SE’s will pull the first few lines of the article, which is usually an awesome description for searchers/potential visitors (especially if you write them with ... READ MORE
