Archive for the ‘Blogger Tools’ Category
by Amanda DiSilvestro on December 6th, 2011
Social media has truly grabbed the attention of anyone hoping to drive traffic to a website in 2011. Everyone knows that social media is a great way to generate publicity for a website, but it is time consuming. Creating engaging content, commenting on articles across the web, tweeting, stumbling, connecting, following, friending, liking, even using VoIP phone systems for those who want to chat—it’s all a lot of work. The question then is this: How can you tell whether or not these efforts are actually making a difference? Looking at the number of followers on Twitter or number of “likes†on Facebook simply won’t do the trick. The quality of these interactions is simply too difficult to gauge. After all, how many times do you really visit the website you’re following on Twitter? How many times have you clicked “like†and then completely forgotten you did that in the first place?
Read More
Categories: Blogger Tools
Tags: blog influencers, Klout, Social Media
by James Dunaway on December 5th, 2011
For anyone just starting out in SEO or even existing SEO professionals, there’s arguably no quicker or easier way to experiment and learn than by running your own blog. In fact, I’m of the opinion that ALL SEO professionals should have their own side projects. If you don’t, you spend your entire full time job just keeping up with competition and never eclipsing them. Running your own site gives you more freedom and exposure to techniques you wouldn’t use on client sites. So don’t wait, it takes just minutes to set up a WordPress site and here are the first plug ins you should add to kick off your SEO campaign: Read More
Categories: Blogger Tools, Blogging Resources, Blogging Tips, Blogging Tools, WordPress Plugins
Tags: blog, plugins, seo, wordpress
by James Dunaway on November 30th, 2011
If you have made the decision as an individual or a small business person to perform the quite arduous task of search engine optimization by yourself, there are definitely some things that you should take into consideration to maximize your efforts. There are some tried-and-true methods of search engine optimization that definitely work, and there are definitely some things that do not work.
We will discuss some of the things that you should definitely avoid when doing search engine optimization on your own. Read More
Categories: Blogger Tools, Blogging Tips, Marketing
Tags: marketing, seo, tips
by James Dunaway on November 3rd, 2011
I don’t know if you ever thought about it but the most potent factor in any business is time.  No matter what your field of endeavor, it takes time to do the tasks associated with making it a success. Since time comes in the same quantity to everyone, how you utilize your time is of the utmost importance in growing a business or building a satisfying life.
In blogging or any other business, productive time equals success whereas wasted time equals lost revenue.  But you must find a balance between doing the work necessary to build a business and still have time to enjoy the fruits of your labor.  If you spend all your time building your business so you will have the resources to enjoy life, what have you accomplished if you don’t have time left to enjoy it? Â
So with that in mind, this article is written to share some tools of the trade which will help you be a more successful blogger by organizing your work time so you achieve more in less time. Read More
Categories: Blogger Tools
Tags: Blogging Tools, blogs, tools
by James Dunaway on October 7th, 2011
Blogging has so many uses in business and social arenas. Businesses use blogging to increase web traffic and awareness about a company, product or service. Others use blogging to keep their friends and family informed about their lives. Blogging on a Blackberry device has never been simpler. New applications have increased the ability to blog. Blackberry SIM cards make it easy to select new plans while keeping applications stored on the Blackberry device. Read More
Categories: Blogger Tools, Blogging Tools
Tags: Blackberry, blogging, how-to, technology, tips
by James Johnson on September 22nd, 2011
WordPress is notoriously bad on server load, even without a ton of plugins and widgets installed users often complain that as the number of posts on their site grow so do the load times needed to access the site. If you insist on running those 10 must have plugins your site uses there is at least a few plugins you can access for free to help reduce WordPress size and speeds.
5. WP-Optimize
WP-Optimize as the name suggests helps users optimize their current wordpress setup. The main component of the program allows users to clear out old post revisions that are no longer needed after a post has been published, remove all auto drafts generated by WordPress and even clean out all comments that have been marked as spam with the single click of a button. The program is also able to clear all unapproved comments. After making changes to the WordPress database the program also offers a quick one click option for optimizing the WordPress database.
By cleaning up comments and revisions and optimizing your database more room is freed up on your WordPress installation, allowing for quicker load times.
Here’s a quick look at WP-Optimize: Read More
Categories: Blogger Tools
Tags: wordpress, WordPress Plugins
by James Dunaway on September 14th, 2011
Usability is one feature of a website that no designer can afford to overlook. Of course, some obvious rules apply such as underlined and highlighted links so they are easy to find and use. Also, using a sitemap for easy navigation and SEO optimization are other tools that help your website be as useable and visitor friendly as possible. It is true that these rules are not necessary for every website. However, understanding these rules so that you can choose the best ones for your website will help lead to more traffic, more return traffic, greater sales and happier visitors from the market you are trying to attract. Read More
Categories: Blog Design, Blogger Tools, Blogging Resources, Blogging Tips
Tags: google, Website, website usability
by James Dunaway on August 19th, 2011
Are you a new blogger looking to find the perfect tools to keep in your blogging toolbox? Or maybe you’re a seasoned blogging professional just looking to see if there’s anything you have missed. If so, then this post is for you.
Evernote
Evernote is basically an online notepad – it allows you to, as you may have guessed make notes. Don’t be fooled into thinking that’s it though – the beauty of Evernote means that you can use it anywhere as everything is synchronised online. Meaning you can make notes on your iPhone, and when you log onto your laptop – they’re right there for you to read or add to. It’s a great tool for idea generation. The fact its ultra compatible with practically any device you can think of means it’s a must have in the toolbox.
Google Keyword Tool and Insights for Search
The google keyword tool Google Keyword Tool and Google insights for search are must have tools for any blogger – they allow you to spot ideas – and make sure you write content that’s going to attract traffic. Have a hunch that searches for “Google Places Optimisation” are on the rise – check it in google insights, then have a look in the keyword tool and see what other related searches are around. Then get writing! Read More
Categories: Blogger Tools
Tags: Blogging Tips, Blogging Tools
by Jonathan Bailey on August 17th, 2011
Bloggers, traditionally, love being on the cutting edge when it comes to the tools they use. Whether it’s blogging platforms, themes, plugins, social networks, or even mobile devices, if it’s more than a few years old, it can feel trite and dated.
But while this desire is understandable, especially considering that much of the Web’s momentum is built upon this constant progress, it can cause bloggers (and others) to abandon perfectly functional technologies that are still more than useful.
A good example of this problem is email.
While some bloggers are battling email overload, others are abandoning email altogether, or at least shifting their focus away from it.
This, however, can be a huge mistake. Though email may be decades old, it remains a driving force very much at the heart of the Internet. Though, for you personally, email’s functionality might have been replaced by other systems, the Internet as a whole has not moved away from it.
Despite the glamor and appeal of social media and the talk of email killers, email is just as strong as ever and, as such, it deserves to be a prominent focus for you and your site. Ignore or devalue email at your own risk. Read More
Categories: Blogger Tools
by Jonathan Bailey on July 13th, 2011
Bloggers love to argue about what is the best blogging platform. Whether they’re backers of WordPress, BlogSpot, Tumblr, Posterous, MovableType or a custom solution, there are very good bloggers who are strong believers in all of the major tools.
The simple truth is that every blogging platform is a perfectly fine way to run your blog. They all succeed in doing the major task of putting your words, images, etc. online. While they have different features, strengths and weaknesses, you can easily run a good blog with just about any platform you choose.
Unfortunately though, blogging platforms tend to become flavors of the week. As one company or platform draws a lot of attention, many bloggers are tempted to try and ride the wave and move their site to new platforms in a bid to stay on the bleeding edge.
However, this can be catastrophic for a site. Because, while your blogging platform doesn’t determine how good your site is, it does impact your site in other ways. As such, changing platforms, especially doing so routinely, can create serious problems that even a good blog will struggle to overcome.
So, before you chase the latest blogging platform fad, you may want to understand the implications of moving your site and why you might want to think twice before jumping ship. Read More
Categories: Blogger Tools
Tags: Blogger, blogging platforms, MovableType, Posterous, Tumblr, typepad, wordpress
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