Profit from your blog
Answers to the questions people ask about 'new' media. By Frances Laing, writer, blogger and journalistWhat is the difference between page views and hits?
Happy New Year everyone - hope yours is a good one. I haven’t posted for a while, apologies. Snow fall and all that. New Years’ resolutions include wising up on the detail of web analytics. Here’s a very interesting dialogue on the differences between page views and hits. See this link:
http://www.seo1.net/msg30697.html
Enjoy.
Site Maps
Ok. I’ve signed up to Google Webmaster Tools and submitted some of my URLs. I’ve got some questions about site maps though which I’m hoping to answer by means of the following link.
Google Webmasters
If you write a considerable amount of copy on the web then sooner or later you’re faced with the problem of potential broken links. The methods of checking links I’ve found so far are painfully slow. Google Webmasters is better.
Google Webmasters is a useful tool which enables a webmistress (or master) to check broken links and monitor traffic easily and quickly (I hope). To use it you need to make sure you have a Google Account. The next step is to install a piece of html code onto your blog. To do this follow these instructions which are specially tailored to WordPress blogs. See this link:
(So the first part of this process is not as difficult as it looks). You then need to wait a little while until the next round of ‘indexing’ I believe it is called, and then you need to look at your Google Webmasters account again and begin checking and eliminating those broken links. For further tips on how to complete this process, please check out the Daily SEO blog I’ve just discovered. (This is not the most interesting job on the planet, I admit but it is important as broken links slow down the search engine crawlers). That means if you eliminate broken links you are likely to increase your traffic. A bit like tidying up, I believe. It’s boring but you need to do it every so often for your house to function properly…have fun.
Getting the most from Google
With a ninety per cent share of the market in the U.K. Google’s search policies are increasingly coming under the scrutiny of the media.
This week’s discussion on Radio 4’s “You and Yours” programme features an SEO expert analysing Google’s current policy in some depth.
PicApp changes
Very pleased to see PicApp have changed the way their photographs appear on WordPress blogs – presumably as a result of the feedback they’ve received. Their logo does not now obscure the photograph but is placed neatly to one side in a gallery section. Like this:
PicApp for WordPress
The new PicApp function for WordPress seems to work well. See the photos I’ve used in posts on my newsblog
One of the downsides though, is that you get script and adverts across the bottom of the picture. Can’t have everything, I suppose.
Stock content photography
Content should be king on every blog – but photographs are important. Some of us are cheering that WordPress has introduced a new feature whereby bloggers can access stock photographs for free: it’s called Premium Images. WordPress explains how to do this here.
Photography for Bloggers
Photography is a central issue for bloggers. Blogging is a multi-disciplinary affair. Looking to improve? There are so many resources out there right now it can be confusing. The Web Photo Coach is an excellent place to identify your skills gaps and acquire new ones.
How to write titles that attract readers and search engines
Search Engine Optimisation is a hugely important subject when it comes to making your blog or website popular – and increasing your traffic. It’s a topic I keep coming back to again and again. I’ve tried to provide some graphic examples of what to do (and what not to do) in a recent article called: ‘How to write titles that attract readers and search engines’. To see it click this link.
What is a blog aggregator?
I’m back. Still alive. Still kicking. Writing a whole series of articles about blogs and blog aggregators. What are they? Read the first article in the series called ‘What is a blog aggregator?’ More to follow.
