Thursday, November 25, 2010

Still Need More Hits After Blog Jog Day?

As a follow-up to Blog Jog Day, and to help those who participated by including their Websites, I’ve decided to offer some help to them. Many said they did get fresh visitors and some new followers to their sites, but asked in the same breath, “How can I consistently get more?”

As an author, new visitors to your Blog or Website are crucial to getting noticed as a writer as well as selling your books or services. Getting hits comes from knowing how popular your site is with the search engines and being able to draw visitors through them as well as through your own “side-line” efforts. So how does your site rank?

First, use the Website Grader at http://websitegrader.com/ to see your stats. Simply type in your Website URL and click “Generate Report” (un-check for “Monthly Updates”). This is the best free tool online to find out where your site ranks.

Now you know; so how do you improve these rankings? Start by sending a note to Google and other search engines every time you post something new. Yes, the search engines will automatically look for new posts, but not very often on a less popular site (as most of ours are). So you need to step up and submit your Website yourself (below are the links to do that). Make sure you are submitting the “exact” URL for your new post. Each time you post, Blogger or whoever you use, creates a special link just for that new post. Example:

My URL is http://abookinside.blogspot.com
Bloggers assigned URL for my post on Publishing is http://abookinside.blogspot.com/2010/11/to-be-or-not-to-be-self-published-that.html
See the difference?

Here are the links to submit your new posts:
Google http://www.google.com/addurl/
Yahoo http://search.yahoo.com/info/submit.html
Bing http://www.bing.com/webmaster/SubmitSitePage.aspx

Next, get some inbound links by visiting sites which are similar in content to yours and asking for a link exchange. Scroll down to the bottom of this home page to see all the related links I have swapped with and how I place them on my page. Also, every time you visit another Blog, leave a comment with a link to your site.

Another appealing asset the search engines are happy to see is consistent new useful content on your site. The more good information you post, the more value they see in your site. More value means better placement when a potential customer is searching for your product.

For added hits to your site, I like Entrecard. You put the logo on your site (create one for yourself) and share advertizing spots on other members sites. Yes, over time many become repeated visits and quick click-throughs, but that still looks good to the search engines and you will get fresh visitors through your free ads. Sign up for Entrecard at http://entrecard.com/rr/29732v.

Finally,
Make sure you have a “Share” button on your Website. That way visitors who like your site can share it on other social networking sites such as Facebook or Twitter. Find the Share button at http://free-7.blogspot.com/2009/06/share-button-complete-bookmark-for.html.

I hope this information is helpful to you as we’re all in this together and I would love to see all those in this field become more successful! Notice all these marketing avenues are free?

This site (A Book Inside) has reached a page rank of 5 (that’s really good), but it took 5 years and a lot of work to get here. Even so, my visitor count could be better. I have a lot to learn; but what I do know I have shared with you here. If you know of some great ways to build a following, please share that with all of us in the comment section below.

Even right here and now, you can help my site by clicking the Share button and posting this on your own social networking sites! Thanks for stopping by!

18 comments:

Holli Castillo said...

Carol, Thanks for the wealth of information- it was absolutely amazing being able to get some type of feedback for my site. I am going to post your link on my sites to spread the information. Thanks again, it was one of the most helpful articles on how to get more attention to websites that I have read in a while.

Holli Castillo
Gumbo Justice

Joylene Nowell Butler said...

Super great advice, Carol. Thanks for your generosity. You're making my blogging life a lot easier. Happy Thanksgiving.

Angela said...

Hi Carol,

Thanks for sharing your wealth of knowledge, however I tried submitting my site to google according to the way you showed us in the article and it didn't work. I'm a newbie at this, so could you please explain it to just me? LOL
Thanks!

Carol said...

Hey Angela,
I just re-submitted mine and it worked fine. Are you maybe referring to how to get your post link? If so, after you publish a new post, go to your site in a new window, and then click on the post tile. Now your browser should have the full link URL. Copy and paste this into the Google URL submit box. Good luck!

Cook and Book said...

I didn't know about Entrecard. Thanks for the tip :-)

Android development said...

Thanks! Entercars is what I was looking for!

Vivienne Diane Neal said...

Hi Carol..Thank you for the valuable information expecially the share button which I added to my blog. You are right when you say getting a high page rank can take years. I have been bloggling for four years, and I still know very little. Like you, I believe in sharing what I know with others. Keep up the good work, and again thank you for sharing your knowledge.

Toyin O. said...

Very informative, thanks for sharing.

Angela said...

Thanks, Carol.

Kristi's Book Nook said...

This is really great information. Especially if we are promoting a product or book. Thanks.

Carol said...

Thanks for visiting my blog and all your great "uplifting" comments!

Starry Dawn said...

I LOVE YOUR BLOG!!
THANK YOU FOR POSTING GREAT MESSAGES!!
I INVITE YOU TO TAKE A LOOK AT MY BLOGS, IF YOU WISH TO OR FIND A LITTLE TIME...
GOD BLESS YOU!!
STARRY DAWN.

Gutsy Living said...

This is the best condensed article I've seen. Tried the website grader, scored 91. I am going to work with a website designer to get a hosted WordPress, instead of blogspot. 1).There's an article on why WordPress gives better results. Any thoughts on that?
2). I think my new posts are being submitted automatically to search engines. But how can I check?
3). I did not see entrecard logo on your blog. Did I miss it?
4). Not sure I want to be sucked into paid advertising. Prefer affiliate programs of e-books I value etc.
5). The two links you mention at the bottom. How do you place them? and also what about the enclosed links at the top of your post when you're writing a new post? Should you attach a link back or several linkbacks at the top? I've always been confused about linking, unless it's in the body of my post.
Thanks Carol, this was an excellent post. I'm definitely sharing your advice. Sonia.

Gutsy Living said...

HI Carol,
I found this article on the Hub website you recommended: Top Reasons why Business blogs shouldn't be on blogspot.com. I guess what I meant in my earlier comment is if you want to grwo your blog as your business as an author, then switching to a hosted domain name with Wordpress, might be the way to go. Here's the link:

http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/46/Why-Business-Blogs-Shouldn-t-Be-on-BlogSpot-com.aspx

Richard said...

Great post! And great tips from those commenting above, too! Thanks!

James Moushon said...

eBook Author Blog Notice

I have just added your blog to my blogroll at http://hbspublications.blogspot.com/

Also I have added your blog link to my website under the title "The Blogs I Follow:"
My website address is: http://www.hbspub.com

If you prefer your website link to be added, email me at: jrm@hbspub.com

My blog is eBook Author and self-publishing oriented.

James Moushon

Regina said...

That was a lot of information and I appreciate every letter of it. That was a great post. Thank you for sharing that with us.

Angela said...

Carol, I tried the link you gave for Hub spot and got a lot of information for increasing my blog traffic. Thank you.