Archive for the ‘Blogging 101 – the basics’ Category

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  upgrade to 2.8.6

  It is that time again. Word Press has come out with a new upgrade. You can upgrade your Word Press automatically by clicking at the top of your screen when you first log in to your blog.

• It is important to make sure you keep up to date on your upgrades to keep your blog from getting hacked.  Many times, these upgrades are done to not only add more functions and features to your blog, but to update potential security issues that have surfaced.

• Always make sure to keep your word press blog updated and current as a first defense to keep from getting hacked.

P.S. Thank you for taking your time to visit and hope you find the information useful. I hope to help you learn everything you want and need to know about blogging. I welcome your questions (site specific is good) and definitely your suggestions. I hope to answer your questions before they come up or when you find that you have one. By clicking on the Orange RSS Feed button on the left side of the screen, you will be automatically updated of new information available without having to "check in" to see what's new. It's the easiest way to keep up to date. Thanks again for stopping in, I value your time!

• To help give some ideas on the structure of a blog, I have a couple to point out that may not look like blogs, even though they are. A blog can be set up to look like a blog or to have the look and feel of a website. These websites are actually blogs, built in Joomla, which you can learn how to use by visiting www.onlinebusinessacademy.net.

• When you register at Online Business Academy, you have access to all of the video tutorials that teach you how to build in Joomla. Though this blog is in Word Press, I really do prefer Joomla as a platform and find I more flexibility with it.

• Another site that was built using Joomla as a platform is “San Ramon Homes”, address http://www.mysanramonhomes.com.  Because PrinterBees really does specialize in working with the real estate community, this is an example of one of the sites we have put up to help one of our “San Ramon Realtor” clients.

• The website/blog for Livermore Martial Arts was also built in Joomla, which again you can learn more about by visiting Online Business Academy.

• Happy Blogging and Web Site building.  It isn’t too difficult to get your own sites up with some great how to blog tutorials like the ones mentioned above or on this blog on “how to blog”.

• If you have a Word Press blog, which is the platform for this particular blog, you may be excluding your blog from the Google Index without even realizing it.  Two of my clients were being excluded and I was left puzzled and questioning what I KNEW to be true.  Goes to show that you learn something new every day…and today I learned something new about Word Press.

• One of my clients has a Word Press blog, which he built himself using the free guide “blogging for buyers“.  He hired me to help him find a domain name and I felt really good about the domain we chose.  Based on all the research I did, it seemed as though the domain name alone would help him to yield good search results once he added some good content to the site.   Not So Much!  (learn more about how to chose a good domain name here.)

• No matter what we did and how I coached him, we couldn’t get Google to index his blog.  We have all of the SEO tools installed, had hand submitted the site to the Google Index and NOTHING! I hope this will all change with what I discovered today.  I wanted to bring it to your attention as well to make sure you have your Word Press blog set up properly to be indexed and crawled by Google, Technorati, etc.

• Follow these steps to make sure you are in good shape:

• On the left side of your Word Press screen, you will see “settings”, click on it.  A list of options will drop down, and one of those options is “privacy”, click on it. This is what you will see:
  

• Make sure that your site is set TO BE CRAWLED, and not set to block the search engines.  I am 100% sure that both of my clients who had their settings set to “block the search engines” did not choose that setting, which leads me to believe that it is the default setting.   I can’t think of any other way that it would have ended up “blocking” the search engines and I am very hopeful that now that it is fixed, Google will begin to crawl the site and we will see some activity.

• There is much more information regarding getting found on Google in the Getting Found On Google Section.  Good luck to you on finding your place in the Google Index.

• I recently came across a situation where one of my clients was told by his business consultant that his  blog was for one purpose only.  To educate people  and share good information.  My client was told that his blog should not be used for “marketing purposes” and I tend to disagree.

• If your blog isn’t to be used for “marketing”, then what is the purpose in having it?  Now don’t get me wrong, educating people and offering your visitors valuable information is crucial to the success of your blog, but factoring self promotion and marketing is also important.  You have to find good balance in your blog to make sure you are educating your readers, after all that is what most people are looking for when they read blogs, they want information and providing valuable information will keep them coming back for more.

• My recommendation to you when creating a blog post is to educate FIRST and market second.  If you approach your posts by marketing first, you will most likely loose the interest of your readers within a few moments.

• The best way to use your blog as a marketing tool is to provide valuable information with hyperlinks directly to your product pages where people can take action with the product or service you are offering.  It serves three purposes:

1. Blogs create fresh content which is what “Googlers” want and what Google wants to provide.
2. Leads potential clients to the place to take action
3. Create links throughout your site or from your blog to your site, which helps with your quest to work with Google.

• To learn everything you need to know about how to blog along with what to blog about read “profitable blogging”

• It’s that time again!  Log in to your Word Press Blog and make sure to upgrade it by clicking on the “upgrade now”.

• It is important to make sure you are always on the latest version of WordPress to make sure your blog does not get hacked by some jerk who has nothing better to do than mess with your blog for no apparent reason.   The one big downside to having a blog vs. a traditional HTML website is that they are much easier to hack because when there is a security issue.  Issues are typically posted on the websites where hackers can easily read how hack your site.

• Make sure you back up your site and upgrade it ASAP!!!

• This is what you will see at the top of your Word Press Dashboard showing you that it is time to upgrade.  Click on Please Update Now

• Once you have click “Re-install Automatically”, you will be taken to this screen to upgrade.  Make sure to back up your blog before you upgrade.  Once you have backed up, click on Upgrade Automatically.

• For those who wish to get started on blogging, whether it be to make money or to keep in touch with family and friends, trying to figure out what to name your blog can be one of your biggest challenges.   I have an easy solution to what many find to be a big “road block” to moving forward.

• If you want people to be able to find your blog via the Internet Search Engines like Google, the fastest and easiest road there is to find a domain name for your blog that matches what people are searching for related to your subject matter.  If you have read earlier posts on how to get found on Google, you understand that the Google algorithms are programmed to help people searching on Google to find the most relevant results. Typically, the most relevant results to any search would be a domain name that matches the search term…right?  If you “Google” nadine blogs, the number one result is currently www.nadineblogs.com, because the domain name matches the search term.

• You may be asking yourself how exactly you figure what people are searching for…and again…pretty easy to figure out…IF you know where to look.

• Google has a “keyword tool” I like to use to help me figure out what to name my websites and blogs, which I STRONGLY encourage you to utilize before you name your blog or register your domain name.  The best way to use this tool is to type in different search terms that match the desired subject of your blog.  You will see a list of results with numbers that indicate the search volume for each term.

• Your best bet is to find a term that has the highest number of search volume and try to buy a domain name to match it.  To give you a good example, I will use one of my most recent clients, “Moore’s Martial Arts” in Livermore, CA.  Moore’s doesn’t currently have a website or domain name for the school located in Livermore, so we are starting from scratch.

• The steps I went through to find the “perfect” domain name are as follows:

• I search using the keyword tool for terms that included Livermore martial arts.  Martial arts being the most generic term I could think of to describe what they do.  Upon doing my research, I found that there are close to 600 searches each month for the term “Livermore Martial Arts“.  When you consider the amount of search volume for that particular keyword, it would make great sense to see if I can obtain the domain name “Livermore Martial Arts”, which is exactly what we did.

• IMPORTANT NOTE: It is important for me to note that just because I have identified a great domain name that matches the search term, it in no way guarantees this website will make it to the front page of the search engines.  What helps get you to the front page of the search engines is good content that is relative to the term you wish to be found for.  It is also VERY important to submit your site to the search engines by submitting your site map.  No site map…no search results.

• Learn more about submitting your site to the search engines on this recent post. Your site will not be indexed until you submit your site map.  Make sure to read this post.

• The word “Blog” comes from the term “Web Blog”.  Web Blogs became a popular and easier way to communicate once the Internet came along than past methods like having a Pen Pal, mailing cards or even writing emails.  With a “blog”, friends and families can communicate with everyone at one time by simply adding a blog post and allowing everyone to have access to it

• When “blogging” first became popular, people used blogs as on-line diaries and journals.  One of the things that made it fun and exciting was giving family and friends the ability to comment on blog posts and interact with one another via their web logs.

• Websites like MySpace, used mostly by teenagers and young adults  really helped blogging  explode in popularity giving users the ability to post something on MySpace page and other users/friends could respond and interact about whatever had been posted.  Posting photos, change themes and customizing MySpace pages to fit personal tastes, the latest trends, or simply rebel against parents made it even more exciting and fun for this generation.

• Blogging became a new way of communicating with friends.  When other social websites like FaceBook and Twitter began to catch on, it closed the generation gap and kids found not only their friends had Facebook and Twitter accounts, they even found their grandparents “twittering” as a way to stay in touch.

• “Twittering” is considered “micro blogging” because you are limited to 140 in each “tweet”.  Read more about Twitter and how to participate in the post “Six Easy Twitter Lingo “Twips”.

• Because blogs offer dynamic content vs. static content with a standard HTML web page.  Search engines like Google have become more fond of blog sites because the content us much more fresh and up to date and therefore end up closer to the top of a search result in many cases.  With all of the talk about Search Engine Marketing and businesses trying to figure out the secret recipe to being indexed on page one of Google, more and more businesses are turning to blogs to create current content, make announcements and keep their clients up to date about their businesses.

• For businesses, a blog could and really should include announcements, market updates along with any and all commentary having to do with the industry the business is serving.  The more relevant and important the information, the more people will frequent the blog.  Businesses who have blogs and depend on their blogs as a communication tool, need to commit to keeping their blogs updated and current.  Businesses who don’t make that commitment and are fortunate enough to make their way up to the front page of Google because of their blogs, will soon find their websites lost in the shuffle without such a commitment.

• With regards to maintaining a company blog, it should fall under the specific job description of someone in the company who should be held accountable to keep it up to date.  In an ideal world, a blog is updated daily, but updating it two to three times per week is totally acceptable as well.

• The big thing to remember is to provide your readers quality and relevant information.  Filling your blog with a bunch of fluff meant to keep search engines happy will not help your business in the long run.

• Learn more about blogging for money by reading the free e-book, Profitable Blogging.  Profitable blogging includes everything you need to know to help you get started.

• Feel free to ask any questions you have regarding blogging or how to blog either below or on the “ask a question page”.

Happy Blogging! ~ Nadine

I felt I needed to share a recent article I read on Line 25, which is a website about web design. The article listed the 20 most common used plugins for Word Press. It is a good list, many of which are in use in my own blog.

• When it comes to getting found on Google, on of the most important steps that hasn’t yet been covered in the series Getting Found On Google is submitting a site map to Google.

• In order for Google to know your blog is up and ready for business, you must invite the spiders to “crawl on by” by submitting a site map. Your site map tells Google what pages are on your site and gives the spiders a “map” of where to crawl. A site map also helps the spiders crawl your site fast, fast is important!

• I personally use Google XML Sitemap. I found it easy to install and set up, and I like it because it is automated. This handy little “widget” keeps Google updated on new posts, pages, etc. This site was being indexed on Google in just a week after submitting my site map via the plugin Google XML. Though your site may not be “ranking”, you can find out if Google even knows your site/blog exists by typing your blog URL blog address in the Google search bar.

• The Contact Form 7 plugin is also a great tool I have implemented on my own site so I can easily be contacted or asked questions on blogging, search engines, Google, etc. I found it very easy to add in to the site.

• Adding a plugin for people to bookmark your articles on sites like “Delicious”, share them via email or “digg” them on the “Digg” social network is very important. Adding this sort of plugin to your blog site will help spread the word. It is really important to getting found on Google because it creates links in to your site.

• These are just a few on this great list of 20 I have tried myself and encourage you to check out the list. It is a great list and any of these plugin’s can be installed right from the “Add New” menu item under the Appearance section of your side menu. See below for the images to guide you.

Happy Blogging – Nadine Blogs!

Don’t hide content from your visitors

I love visiting the sites of other bloggers who really offer great content and sometimes what I read, really sticks with me in a way that I want to return again and again to re-read it.   I may mention it to other people in conversation, retweet it, or simply want to refer back to it because it was a great lesson!

One of my favorite bloggers, who shall remain nameless, because he really is a GREAT blogger who offers great content.   I visit his blog daily to see what other little tid bits of information he has for me today in the world of blogging.  His tid bits are “gold nuggets” and I so appreciate them.

I recently read a post on his blog about the importance of your headline.  He mentioned in his post that the heading of your post is as important than the blog itself. So important that you should invest as much time in the heading as in the blog post itself.

He also offered GREAT tips on what a good heading includes, buzz words that are important, etc.  I was having a conversation with a friend regarding some issues she was having getting people to open her email blasts and I thought about this post!  This post included just what she needed to improve her open rate!

I have since then, visited this blog no less than 6 times to try and find this “golden post”, but can’t find it because he has no “search box” on his blog that I can find.  He offers related articles, which I was fortunate to read while “hunting” for the one article I really wanted, but after six visits…still can’t find that one post! Gosh Darnit!

Lesson Learned – MAKE SURE YOUR BLOG HAS A SEARCH on it, so people who return and want to find a past article CAN find it.  It is the simple things that we often forget.

Happy blogging.  And…because what this particular blogger talked about, read this article about writing headlines and good “copy”.

There are a few steps that need to happen before you actually begin blogging. They can all be completed within an hour.
The Step are written out and followed by images with instructions.

1. Identify a domain name – make sure to read the post about choosing a domain name. VERY important to have the RIGHT domain name.
2. Now that you own your domain name, you need to point it to a “domain name server” DNS server, so it is available on the internet, so you will need hosting.
   (see a video tutorial of how to register your domain name AND how to point your DNS servers)
3. Set up your hosting account. – Hostgators is by far the easiest and cheap too!   Once you register, you will receive an emiail with your log in address for your CPANEL so that you can log in and begin setting things up.  It will also provide the information regarding your DNS servers.
4. Log in to your CPANEL using the web address provided.
5. Scroll to the bottom of the screen and you will see an icon that says “fantastico”, click it
6. On the right  you will see a list of available services, click the one that says “WordPress” and the available Word Press services will come up on the right.
7. Click  New Installation. Create your user name and password for your blog.  It is a good idea to make your password strong, strong meaning a combination of numbers, letters and characters if possible.  Follow the steps that you are prompted to follow.  Make sure to have your user name and password emailed to you.
8. Log in to your blog using the link that you were advised to make sure and bookmark, which will take you to your blog “dashboard”.
9. Click “Create Post” and start blogging….and KEEP BLOGGING.  I know you probably don’t care for the look of your blog at this point, but don’t worry, we will fix that.  When you first launch your blog, you won’t have many visitors, so trust me, don’t worry about the look….JUST BLOG!
10. Go to the video section of the website to learn how customize by creating your template.

    Follow the step-by-step instruction WITH PICTURES TO GUIDE YOU Here….. Read the rest of this entry »