Networking is an essential tool for blog promotion.  It’s how you get ahead in the real world, and it’s how you get ahead in the blogosphere.  Like the real world, there are certain etiquettes – or “netiquettes” that will help you along.

Build Up Content First

Wait until you have a good amount of articles on your blog before you begin networking.  This way, when you do network, people who visit your site will see what you have to offer.  When they see that you have good content, chances are they will be more inclined to link back to you.

Join Appropriate Niches

What is your blog really about?  What is the purpose, goal, or subject?  Find an appropriate niche where you can fit in, where you are likely to find other bloggers and readers who will be interested in the content you have to share.

Post Friendly Comments

One of the best ways for a new blogger to promote their blog is to comment on relevant blogs.  Find blogs that have a similar subject.  Post a few comments about their articles.  See if you can engage the blogger in a discussion.

Make sure your comments pertain to the topic and are relevant.  Do NOT just post a link to your blog.

Link out to other blogs

Include links in your posts to other (relevant) blogs.  These links should be helpful resources to your readers.  This shows that you are concerned about providing useful information to your readers.

Respond to comments and emails

If someone leaves a comment on your blog, try to respond to it as soon as you can.  Likewise if someone emails you.  This will show that you are friendly and that you care about getting back to people.

Be polite!

Don’t demand they link to you.  Instead, take time to build a friendship so they trust you, then see if they will link back.

Being polite goes a long way.  The important thing to remember is that some bloggers may be really busy – perhaps they have a day job, and their blog is not the only thing they do.  Or perhaps they keep in contact with a lot of other bloggers.  Your email could get lost in their inbox.  Or maybe it just takes them a few days to get back to you.  Don’t be pushy – just be patient.  If they don’t respond after a week, try sending another email, but do not sound angry or indignant that they didn’t reply to you.

Kindness begets kindness.  If you show other bloggers that you are nice and that you have good content to offer, they will be more inclined to welcome you into their network.

When a reader visits your site, you want to provide them with an experience that is pleasurable, and thus memorable.  One of the best ways to do this is by creating an easy-to-use navigation bar.

Intuitive navigation and usability are key aspects to provide your reader with a satisfying experience that will keep him or her coming back to your site.

Here are a few things you can do to make navigation easier.

Put a Main Navigation Bar at the top of your blog

This should include a clear link to your home page.  Many bloggers also include a link to an About page and a Disclaimer Policy (if you accept money for ads and/or paid reviews).  You may also include a Contact link.  Perhaps you could also include a “Guest Post Policy” link, if you frequently have people request to do a guest post on your blog.

Use Categories

New readers won’t have read your older posts, yet those posts may be of interest to them.  Help them find these old posts by including a Categories section on the side bar.

This will help users find posts by topic, meaning they can more easily access the subjects they are interested in.

Put your Newsletter and RSS Feed Sign Up at the Top

If you have a newsletter, put the sign up for it near the top of the screen, where it is easy to see.  If you have an RSS Feed, do the same thing.

Some readers will look for either of these things, and by placing it in a visible spot, you’ll help them find it faster.  They might give up if they can’t find it.  And, some visitors might not have thought or known to look for a newsletter sign up, but now that they see it, they will.

Use Related Posts Plug In

Another good idea is to include a ‘related post’ section at the bottom of each post.  If visitors enjoyed reading your post, now they will be able to see related topics that they might also be interested in.

Link to Older Posts in Your Newer Post

Include in-text links to older posts within the body of your newer articles.  Make sure you use specific anchor text.  Don’t just say “read this older post,” say “for more information about making your blog user friendly, read this post about how to organize your blog”.

A positive user experience will increase the chances that readers will return to your blog.  Easy navigation is one simple way you can make your readers happy.

It just occurred to me that I haven’t done a “basics” post about Search Engine Optimization.  This is an important lesson for beginning bloggers, so here it is.

I’m going to break this down really simply because we all have to start somewhere.  You can always skip ahead if you already know something.  This is intended for beginners and SEO “newbies”.

Search Engines  101

Search engines are websites like Yahoo, Bing and Google, and people use them to find websites.  The internet is huge, and it can be difficult for searchers to find what they are looking for.  It can also be difficult for people with websites or blogs to get traffic or visitors.

When you type in your search query on any of these search engines, they will display a list of results, these are called the “natural” or “organic” listings.  They will also display relevant ads on the side.

How it works

Search engines have special bots, called spiders, that are constantly “crawling” the internet.  They follow links and index the pages they find, which they store.

When someone enters a search, the search engine will look through all the sites they have and try to pull up the most relevant websites.

Relevancy is determined by the content on your page.  Search engines can look for relevant keywords, for example.  The importance of a website – which determines how high your website will appear in the organic listings – is based on how many other sites link to your website.

What is SEO?

SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is a way that website owners and bloggers design their blogs to help them list better in the organic listings.

Bloggers and web designers use specific keywords within their page titles, meta descriptions and content to help search engines better understand what their page is about.  This way they can make sure that their page will appear as relevant to search engine users looking for that topic.

Page title – this is what appears in the blue bar at the very top of the screen.

Meta description – this is a short paragraph about your site.  This paragraph will appear in the organic search results to describe what your website is about

Content – the actual writing on your page

For more information about ways you can optimize your site, you can read a previous post about how to use keywords to optimize your site.  Google also has a great SEO Starter guide (NOTE: this is a .PDF file) that can help explain how to use page titles and meta descriptions, as well as other aspects of optimization.

Think of your blog as you would the living room of your house.  It is the first room in your house and the first place guests see when they come into your home.

Whenever a reader clicks a link to your blog, whether they’re coming from Google, another blog, or someplace else, it is like they are visiting your house.  So what are you presenting to them when they first “come in”?

Just as you wouldn’t want to show your guests a messy house, you also don’t want to show your readers a “messy blog”.

What is a “messy blog”? A messy blog would be a blog overloaded with advertisements… instead of having laundry and books strewn about your living room, you have ads strewn about your blog.

That’s not to say you shouldn’t have ads.  On the contrary, ads are a great way for you to make money, and also can be useful resources for your readers, provided they are relevant.  But just as there are places for laundry and places for books in your house, so are there places for ads in your blog.

Here are some elements of your blog you should consider when trying to create a “welcoming” experience for your reader, and keep them coming back to your blog.

Use a Unique, Original Blog Title & Banner

This is like your welcome sign or your doormat.  It’s the first thing your bloggers see and the first impression they have of your blog.  Make it unique, make it “you”.

Blogger has a variety of free templates that are somewhat customizable.  This is fine to start with, but if you can, you should see if you can either search online for more unique layouts or learn how to design the layout yourself.  Even if you customize one of the blogger templates, it will still look similar to other blogs out there.

If you can create your own image and put that at the top, that would do a lot for making your blog feel personalized.  This page has a great tutorial about customizing your blog layout, including a section on how to create a unique banner for the top of your blog.

Organize Your Blog

The second thing a person will notice when they start to scroll down is how your blog is organized.  Where are the blog posts?  How far do they have to scroll down to see them?  What does the side bar say?  Readers might look for a bio, they might look for an “about” paragraph, describing what topics the blog focuses on.

And they will definitely take note of where the ads are.  You will want to have some ads near the top of the page; this is what advertisers pay for.  And that is fine.  But don’t overload the top of the page with ads.  This can make it look cluttered and messy!

Write Catchy Titles

Step three: readers will glance over the titles of your posts to see if anything looks interesting.  They are trying to judge if they want to invest time in reading your posts.

You want these to be interesting and catchy, so they lure the blogger in.  They should be relevant to the post (don’t write something interesting and catchy if it has nothing to do with your post… then readers will not trust your headlines and won’t know if your entry is something they want to read).

Write Effective “Leads”

So your headlines were interesting, and they started to read your post.  The first line of any news article or blog post is called the “lead”.  It is the first sentence, designed not only to capture your attention but also briefly provide some information about “who what where when how”.

Don’t stress out about this too much.  If you are having trouble thinking of a good lead or have writer’s block, then instead you can focus on your article’s “skimmability”…

Make Your Posts “Skimmable”

Sometimes, readers might find your title interesting, but instead of going straight to your lead, they’ll instead skim the post.  If you just have a large chunk of text, this is going to make it difficult for them to gauge what your post is about and how interesting it is.

So throw them a bone.  Use headlines so they have a brief idea of what each paragraph talks about.  Lists are great too.  For more info on how to write a post that is “skimmable”, click here.

These are just a few things you can do.  Ultimately if you put sincere effort into your blog, and find a nice layout that feels like “you”, that fits your personality, then you eventually will find some readers that stick around.

Pay per click or pay per action ads can help you make a lot of money over time.  Unlike banner ads, text links, or paid reviews, where you get paid once, even with just one PPC ad, you can make money continuously over time.

Google Adsense is one of the more popular PPC ads.

What is the difference between PPC and PPA?

Pay Per Click

You post a link on your blog’s main page, usually it is a banner.

You get paid whenever one of your readers clicks that link.

Pay Per Action

Similar to a Pay Per Click ad, except, you get paid for every “action” a user takes.

An “action” is something that the user does on a website.  Like fill out a form, give an email address, etc.  So for you to get paid, your reader has to first click the link, and then once they are on the advertiser’s page, they need to do something, whether it’s fill out a form, entering their email address, etc.  The advertiser will tell which action specifically your readers will need to take.

So, how do you convince your readers to click these ads?

Put at it the top of the page

Put it on the top of your blog, so your reader does not have to scroll down to see it.  Let it be one of the first things they see when they come on your page.

Make it stand out

Don’t let your ad get swallowed up by others ads, texts and pictures.  Blank space is your friend – use it to “cushion” the ad, to make sure that your readers’ eyes are drawn to it specifically.  If you cluster a whole bunch of other ads near your PPC or PPA ad, then your readers may not notice it at all or may click on different ads.

Write a blurb next to it

If your ad is a picture, put a caption underneath it explaining to your readers why they should check out the website, things you like about the website, and encourage them to sign up.

Write a post about it

When you first put the ad up, write a blog post about it and direct your readers to where the link is on your blog page.  Explain what the company does, why you like it and what benefit your readers can get from signing up.

Work on your readership

Continue to promote your blog so that you have more traffic.  Higher traffic means more readers, which means higher chances that visitors will click your links.  So do what you can to increase your blog’s readership.

Extra Tips:

For PPA ads: When encouraging your bloggers to go to these websites, make sure you know specifically WHICH action your readers need to take for you to make money.  Then you can encourage your readers to take that specific action.

So for example, if your PPA ad pays every time a reader submits their email address for a mailing list, then encourage your readers to sign up for the mailing list.  Tell your readers about the great content their newsletter has and what they will gain from joining the list.  Don’t make anything up, of course.

As you may have read this past week, adding video content to your blog is a great way to attract readers and increase your traffic.  This is our final installment in our four-part series about Using Video in Your Blog.

Missed the first three posts?  Here’s a list of entries associated with this series:

• Introduction to Video Blogging
• Weighing the Pros and Cons of Vlogging
• Vlogging Brainstorm: Ideas for Your Vlog
• SEO Tips for Video Blogging (that’s this post!)

Before you start vlogging, you may be wondering: “How can I optimize my site with video?”

Video lacks text, making it difficult for search engines to understand what it’s about, and therefore making it difficult for you, the blogger, to optimize your site or post.

Here are some ways to optimize a video post:

1. Use relevant keywords in your post title, file name and tags

Use a keyword in the title to give search engines an idea about what the video is about.  Do not stuff your title with keywords, of course.  Make sure your title is informative, but also makes sense to readers.  It also helps to think of something “catchy” and exciting.

Also be sure that your file name for the video has a keyword in it, and tag your entry with relevant keywords.

2. Post a short summary or synopsis along with the video

Don’t just post the video.  Post a few sentences explaining what it’s about.  This not only helps search engines, but, more importantly, helps your readers understand what’s in it.  Make it sound intriguing, so readers will be even more tempted to watch it.

You could also include a transcription of the video to help it get crawled.

3. Post your video on other sites

You post your video to other sites like YouTube or TubeMogul.  Remember to optimize on these sites as well by using keywords in the video name, writing a small paragraph describing the video and using appropriate tags.

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Video blogging can be a great way to spice things up on your blog.  Not only is it a change from writing all the time, but there are also so many different things you can do with video.  Multimedia is huge, and a great way to connect with your readers, so experiment and have fun with it.

For the past week, we’ve been doing a series on Video Blogging or Vlogging.  This is Part 3 in our 4 Part series.

If you missed parts 1 (the Introduction to Vlogging) and 2 (Weighing the Pros and Cons of Vlogging), here’s a list of the entries associated with this series:

• Introduction to Video Blogging
• Weighing the Pros and Cons of Vlogging
• Vlogging Brainstorm: Ideas for Your Vlog (that’s this post)
• How to Monetize Your Blog
• SEO Tips for Video Blogging

Video is an incredibly versatile medium that can really provide you with unique ideas and a very different outlet for your blog and for your readers.  Not only does video provide more variety compared to normal written posts, but there’s also a variety of different ways you can use video.

Check out this list for some video blogging ideas.

Just Talk

Just record yourself talking.  While this is simplest, in many ways it is actually difficult.  If you are just sitting there talking, you’ll need to make sure that what you’re saying is truly engaging to your readers.

Keep these short, topical and interesting.  People probably do not want to hear about how you went to the mall, bought a coffee, walked around, and bought some clothes.

Create a “How To” Tutorial

Record video of how to do something.  Some examples:  how to knit a sweater, how to apply make up, how to bake a pineapple upside down cake, how to change a tire, how to play a sport, or how to repair the pipes under the sink.  Just make sure that it’s relevant to your readers and easy to follow.

Screencast

Similar to a tutorial, only you record your screen as you are doing something.  This is great for blogs explaining how to do things on the computer, like how to edit photos in PhotoShop, how to play a computer game, or how to use a program like Quicken.

For your average bloggers, just post something short and simple.  However, if you want feel free to record longer, more intensive screencasts and link them on your site for users who want more information.

Take video of an event as it unfolds

You really need to be lucky for this kind of video, and be in the right place at the right time.  But if you keep a camera – or even just a cell phone with a camera – on you at all times, and make sure that it’s easy to access, you might be able to catch something interesting going on.

Interview Someone

Contact someone important to your blog’s niche.  It could be another blogger, or a relevant, well known person.  You can set up an interview to record in person, or you could Skype your interviewee and record the interview that way.

To establish hype for the interview, do a post asking bloggers for questions they would want to have asked.  (This also helps you come up with more questions).

Documentary

A good idea for travel blogs.  When you go on vacation, or even if you are just travelling somewhere near by or going somewhere new, bring a camera and record your adventure.

Be careful when filming other people or other places, some people don’t like to be on camera and some businesses may not want you filming in front of their store.  Be sure to ask and, if you want to get really official, write up a short hand out to give to people so they understand why you are filming them.

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Of course you should always be careful when putting images of yourself on the web.  If you’re really worried, you could still take video without recording yourself.  You could do a travel documentary that only has your voice narrating.  You don’t need to film yourself for a screen cast.

And if you’re new to vlogging, don’t be afraid to try out all these ideas to find out what works best.  You can also ask your bloggers for reviews on how you can improve.  The best way to learn how to do something is to dive in and play around with it.

I had to take a break from my series on Using Video on your Blog because I wanted to write about a new update for Google that may greatly change the way we use search engines.

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Google’s new feature may mean a radical change for bloggers looking to optimize their sites.  Yesterday, Sept 8, 2010, Google unveiled its new searching feature: Google Instant.  This new feature starts searching for relevant results as you type.  How crazy is that?

This is obviously a great feature for users, because it helps them find results more quickly and also helps them refine their search entries.

But what implications does this have for bloggers and site owners optimizing their websites?

Users will be able to refine their search queries more quickly.  A user might not even click through many results at all before refining his search.  As the user begins to type his query, he may get a glance at what results come up, and adapt his query to something more specific based on those search results.

What This Means For SEO

Many bloggers and site owners may be concerned that less users will click their blog.  It’s difficult to really say so early in the game how much of dent – positive or negative – the new search feature will put on your site’s number of visits.

Also we should keep in mind that many people might search from the tool bar plug in, rather than directly from google’s site.

The general idea floating around the internet and especially the SEO community is that Google Instant is revolutionizing the search process.

Some of the buzz out there is saying the new google instant will “kill SEO”, but others predict only small changes.  I think at this point it’s difficult know what’s going to happen.  For now, I think the changes will be small. It will take users awhile to get used to this new feature.  Some people may even be annoyed by it, some people may not want to even look at the results until they’re done typing.  It’s going to take a while for users to adjust to the new way, which is why I think we won’t see big changes in SEO for the next few weeks or months.

In the long run, however, we might see a different story.  As searchers are more used to using Google Instant, their searching strategy will change and, as many others are predicting, we’ll see a big change in how people search.

What You Can Do for Your Site

While we wait, keep a close eye on your site statistics for the next few weeks to see if there are any changes.  See what phrases your visitors are using to find your site.  If you were keeping track of this before, compare the phrases before and after to see if there were any changes.

You may have to modify the keywords you are trying to rank for.

Also play around with the new search yourself.  Think about how you are changing your search queries and how you search for things.  Pretend you are a user that might stumble upon your site.  Type in words you think users would use that may include your site in the results and see what happens.

For now, I wouldn’t worry too much.  Keep doing what you’ve been doing and keep track of your site statistics.  And remember there are many strategies for promoting your blog other than SEO.

This week we’re doing a series on Video Blogging, or Vlogging!  You can read the introduction post for a brief summary about what vlogging is and why it’s great to include on your blog.

Vlogging Basics

• Introduction
• Pros & Cons of Video Blogging (That’s this post)
• Vlogging Brainstorm: Ideas on how to use Vlogging on your site
• SEO Tips for using video on your blog

Some bloggers may be hesitant to include video on their blog.  To be fair, there are a few very legitimate concerns that bloggers have with video.  However, there are also many advantages that video blogging can provide.

Here we’ll go in depth to analyze the pros and cons of video blogging.

Disadvantages of Video Blogging

Some bloggers are hesitant to video blog because…

1. They’re intimidated by the technology

To create a video blog, you need a camera and some kind of editing software.  Some vloggers use their webcam.  Others use an actual camera, but then you need a cable to upload the video to the computer.

Information Week has a very thorough article analyzing different video editing programs.  If you can’t afford these, Microsoft should come with a video editor, Windows Movie Maker.  It’s better than nothing and good for those just learning to vlog.

2. They don’t know how to incorporate it into their blog

Different blogging platforms may have different ways to upload the video.  If you lack experience with computers and the internet, it may seem overwhelming.  However, for Blogger.com, Google has a page describing how to upload video to guide you through the process.

Here is another article about how to create a vlog and upload it to your site.

3. It’s harder to optimize your site with video

Since video doesn’t have a text element that search engines can read, it can be very difficult to optimize a site that’s all video.  Search engines won’t crawl it, even if it is perfect for relevant searches – they simply have no idea that it’s relevant.

Of course there are things you can do to address this.  Make sure you include a relevant keyword in your post title.  You can also add a short paragraph explaining what the video is about.  This not only helps optimize the post, but gives readers an idea of what the video is about.

4. They require more bandwidth

On some sites, video may take longer to load.  If it takes too long, this could defeat the point if including video at all.  Some visitors may grow impatient and leave your site.  Furthermore, since video does attract more videos, on top of the size of the video, you may also have more viewers on your site, which can overwhelm the server.

Advantages of Video Blogging

By adding video to your blog, you can…

1. Stand Out from other bloggers

Despite how popular video sites like YouTube are, many bloggers still don’t use it on their sites.  So using video will help your blog stand out from all the others.  Having something unique to offer is what makes readers come back to your blog.

2. Catch more people’s interest

Videos are easier for visitors and probably take less time, too.  People today will probably be more interested in watching something than in taking the time to read a post.

3. Connect with your readers

It’s nice for your readers to see a face behind all that text.  It makes the whole experience more personal and friendly, and so much of blogging is about networking and building relationships.  Seeing a blogger’s face can aid that networking process.

4. Expand your outreach

You can post your videos on multiple websites in addition to your blog.  Websites like YouTube or TubeMogul will allow you to post video, and you can include a link to your website on the same page.  A lot of people use YouTube already, so it expands your potential audience.  Not only are you making it easier for more people to come across the link to your blog, but you’re appealing to a different type of audience as well.

5. Enjoy more creative flexibility

Video is a versatile form of media.  You can use it to show anything, from a screen cast of your screen to a short skit to a how to – anything you can imagine.  You can take a screen cast of how to use PhotoShop, or you can film yourself teaching your bloggers how to bake a cake.

We’ve been emphasizing the importance of keeping things on your blog fresh: unique content attracts readers and keeps them coming back.

Using video blogging is one great way to mix things up and increase your audience.  Websites like YouTube are a testament of how popular video is, and including it on your blog may help you appeal to a new audience.

Video blogging can open up a whole new set of possibilities, in addition to attracting new readers.  For example, some things are just easier to explain with video, like how to knit a sweater or how to use PhotoShop.  Video is a very versatile medium, and when you use it you have more flexibility with how you portray your thoughts, ideas and content to your readers.

By using both video entries and writing, you are giving your readers options.  Maybe they’re tired and don’t feel like reading.  Instead of leaving your site, though, they can watch something.

The next few posts will be part of a 4-part series about using video on your blog.  It will cover:

1. Introduction to Using Video (that’s this post)
2. Reasons to use Video – weighing the pros and cons
3. Video ideas for your blog
4. SEO Tips for using Video on your blog

In these posts, we’ll explain in further detail about why you should use video on your blog (and why some people choose not to).  We’ll also help you brainstorm for ideas.  Not all kinds of video will work on all kinds of blogs: some subjects lend themselves to video blogging, but for other subjects, you may struggle to think of appropriate video ideas.  Lastly, because video lacks text, it can sometimes be tricky to optimize a site or post with video content, so in our final installment you can find some SEO tips for video blogging.