Proper Keyword Phrases: The Main Reason You Should be Implementing Them on Your Site

Haven’t started using “proper keyword phrases”—or even general or single keywords? What have you been waiting for? If you’d like to stand a great chance of getting your site included on search engine results, you have to start conducting internet searches, selecting the best or most proper keywords, and implementing them directly in your posts.

Doing this continuously would tremendously help your site compete with and perform better in search queries than many other sites. Search queries are the words that search engine users type and search for on the search boxes of search engines.

Search engine boxes usually receive a ton of queries on a daily basis from users. Not all site owners are aware of this or the fact that search engines exist and can be used to drive traffic to their sites, thereby tremendously boosting sign-ups, business, and sales.

How to Choose Relevant Keywords for SEO or Your Website

The Feeling of Blogging to 1st Position on Google in 28 Countries

How Keyword Optimization Made My Article Attract the Highest Number of Views & Rank Almost 1.0 on Google—6 Screenshots & a Practical Example

How Keyword Optimization Continues to Make My Articles Attract Increasing Numbers of Views from Google—with Screenshots

It’s one thing for search engines to provide search results for what everyone might regard as “keywords”; it’s quite or completely a different thing for search engine engines to provide search results for what everyone might regard as “proper keyword phrases”. There is a significant difference; it’s important to state this to drive home a relevant point.

Definition & benefit(s) of proper keyword phrases

The use of a keyword is a definite must if one wants to conduct a search query on search engines.

The search results for general or single keywords usually link to information that may be too broad or a bit or completely off point.

Therefore, using a proper keyword phrase is a definite must if one wants to get search results that link to information that is spot-on or specific.

In some cases, a single keyword is used in a search query; however, the majority of search queries have three or more words.

Each query that has two or more words is a “proper keyword phrase”. This implies that a proper keyword or keyword phrase consists of two or more words that are typed during a search query.

“Best cryptocurrencies to invest in 2021” is a good example of a proper keyword or keyword phrase. Now, can you spot the difference between “Best cryptocurrencies to invest in March 2021” and “Best cryptocurrencies to invest in 2021”?

The search results for “Best cryptocurrencies to invest in 2021” would certainly reveal more information (which would span over many months) than the search results for “Best cryptocurrencies to invest in March 2021”.

The difference between the two proper keywords provides some understanding of the extent to which proper keyword phrases can go in order to get the best search results which are usually spot-on, detailed, or specific.

Using more proper keywords increases your site’s chances of matching and being included in search query results: implementing an increasing number of proper keywords on your site can raise its chances of ranking higher on search engine page results.

Thus, proper keywords are the best types of keywords to use in your posts during keyword implementation or SEO.

Definition, Importance & Advantages of Using Keyword Search Optimization

How to Make SEO-friendly URLs that can Improve Your Search Engine Ranking & Attract Traffic

The SEO Code of Ethics’ Important Principles You Should Practice

Importance of Seasonal Keywords & Tools for Conducting Research on Seasonal Keyword Trends

It’s important to ensure that the proper keywords you’re implementing during keyword implementation—during writing or prior to publishing—are the same or align with the most popularly searched keywords that users are typing on search engines to get the most relevant search results, and eventually find what they’re looking for.

In this modern internet age, site owners would be doing themselves a great disservice if they fail to utilize the great opportunities that proper keyword phrase implementation can bring right to their site—directly from the search results of the greatest search engines (Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc.).

Deep down, many people desire to implement keywords, and more importantly, proper keyword phrases; however, they never create time to do their homework: they fail to conduct necessary research to find and implement the proper keyword phrases that search engine users may search for in order to find specific information.

Another important point to note is that the “click‐through rate” (which indicates the number of users who click a search result and actually end up going to your site) also increases when more proper keyword phrases (implemented by a writer or publisher) match the search query.

Furthermore, it may be even more important to point out that when proper keyword phrases are properly implemented by a writer or publisher, the “conversion rate” (which is the number of users or visitors who actually purchase something, sign up, or take appropriate on your site) also increases because you have what most users are looking for.

Search engine users are becoming wiser, even the new ones: they know that a single keyword is likely going to attract search results that are linked to information that is too broad, less specific, or doesn’t have what they’re specifically looking for.

For example, let’s consider what the search results for a keyword like “security” would yield. The search engine user who types “security” might not be interested in knowing what the definition of the word (security) is; he or she might just be searching for a security guard, or even a security guard service!

If you do a quick single keyword search (for example, “security”) instead of a proper keyword phrase search (for example, “security guard” or “security guard service”) on search engines, your search results would be less-specific and widely varied, instead of specific or spot-on.

This is the main reason why you have to implement proper keyword phrases—not just single keywords—if you’d like your site to stand a chance of being well-positioned on search engines.

Insights on implementing proper keyword phrases in your posts

You can even use proper keyword phrases in your sub-headings or the headings for your paragraphs; include them in your Heading tags (HTML tags for paragraph headings), or use them as the individual titles of your web pages (titles tag in respective HTML codes).

It is generally recommended that authors use proper keyword phrases and, maybe, some related variations (of proper keyword phrases) multiple times, but not too much. It should be just enough to leave an impression on the web page without unnecessarily forcing the proper keyword phrases into your content.

Mention each proper keyword phrase a couple of times in your posts during implementation, and ensure that they sound natural—not unnatural, odd, or forced. Furthermore, include detailed descriptive words, and avoid using only general or single keywords.

The disadvantage of using only general or single keywords is that they can increase the competition between your site and too many other sites that target the same keywords.

However, if you use proper keyword phrases—which, naturally are very specific—you stand higher chances of targeting the best traffic because few or fewer search engine users search for proper keyword phrases.

Finding and using proper keyword phrases would ensure that your site attracts mainly or only traffic that has the potential to be converted into sign-ups, customers, and cash, and even reap more benefits.

Note that search engines also look for keywords and proper keyword phrases in the hypertext links (which take users to other web pages when they are clicked) that are used on web pages; therefore, using a proper keyword phrase within a hyperlink can help to rank your site higher for the proper keyword phrase.

We would conclude this post by advising that you shouldn’t stuff your posts with keywords and proper keyword phrases because doing so could hurt your site’s brand, especially when search engines would get the impression that you’re stuffing or over‐using proper keyword phrases—all in the name of “ranking high” on search engines.

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10 Tips for Investing in B2B Marketing During an Economic Recession

You’ve seen the news headlines: job losses, employee lay-off, benefit reduction, decline in consumer spending, reduced consumer access, reduced marketing budgets, reduction in manufacturing activities, and forecasts of more bad economic news to come.

Each headline reflects the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic: devastated businesses, closed borders, and crippled economic growth of some countries that have been affected, not by only the coronavirus pandemic, but also by the current war in Ukraine.

Is investing in B2B still important for the growth of your business during an economic recession that is clothed by such apparent issues? Yes, it is important! But first and foremost, are we in a recession?

What is an economic recession?

Popular definition states that a recession refers to a period of economic recession, usually defined by two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth when adjusted for a country’s real GDP. The NBER committee states that: “A recession is a significant decline in activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months, visible in industrial production, employment, real income, and wholesale-retail trade”.

It won’t be completely wrong to say that the second definition reflects the current state of many economies around the world. So, even if we all don’t agree that we’re in a recession, the signs that it is either here or lurking around are evident and too hard to ignore. These are the most common challenges that have made respondents of companies nervous during a recession:

• drop in demand for products
• increase in pressure on prices
• likelihood of budgets getting slashed or canceled
• uncertainty and volatility in the marketplace
• difficulty in forecasting constantly changing customer needs
• fear of investing resources in acquiring new customers
• difficulty in determining appropriate B2B marketing strategies to employ

Despite the challenges you may face during a recession, it’s important to continue investing in B2B marketing because there are still benefits in recessions which can be exploited to attract more profits, increase market shares, and grow businesses.

10 Tips for investing in B2B marketing without incurring too much risk during an economic recession

Although recessions can adversely affect the potential profits of B2B companies and their long-term survival, it doesn’t mean you have to quit. Not everybody or all companies are evenly affected by recessions.

Some companies use recessions as stepping stones to higher and greater heights: they invest aggressively, expand much more, and gain advantage over their subpar competitors, while many others withdraw and wait for recessions to end.

During economic recessions, consumers still spend their money, although maybe not as intensively as before. A recession is perfect for investing in B2B marketing to bring more attention to your products or services.

Use the following ten tips to invest in B2B marketing strategies wisely without taking too much risk during a recession:

1. Focus first and foremost on retaining and keeping your existing/current customer base (customers and partners) satisfied before worrying about attracting and winning over new ones. Ensure that your marketing strategies target your most valuable and happiest customers.

2. Invest more in B2B lead generation to help potential or new customers find you online: strengthen your email, direct mail, digital marketing, telemarketing, social media advertising, and SEO campaigns to increase your visibility; without them, you’re business would hardly grow and attract new customers.

Eighty percent of marketers claim that email is the best way to access and attract new customers. According to recent McKinsey research on decision makers’ behavior globally across industries since the economic recession began, more than three-quarters of buyers and sellers now prefer remote or digital self-serve and human engagement over face-to-face interactions. This thought steadily intensified even after the COVOD-19 lockdowns ended in some parts of the world.

3. Don’t trim or cancel your marketing budget. While many markets and companies are slowing down operations and cutting costs, think of it as reducing the competition and making it more likely for leads to focus on companies that are ever-present.

4. Offer customer loyalty programs to increase brand awareness and make your customers more loyal, even after an economic recession.

5. Make frequent assessments of customer satisfaction levels and request testimonials from customers to help validate your business by differentiating your brand from others. Research has found that 30% of potential consumers trust online reviews and purchase products based on reviews.

6. Seek for validation from third–party experts to enhance your new product/service’s reputation and credibility. According to Dr. Eric George, Forbes Council Member and Founder and CEO of ERG Enterprises, B2B companies can thrive during a recession by gaining approval from companies or independent third parties that are trusted in the industry.

7. Reduce your prices to stimulate sales, but reduce them with minimal effect on margins because it’s impossible to be profitable in the medium to long term if prices are slashed without considering profit margins.

8. Your marketing campaigns should emphasize products or services for houses because we tend to stay more at home and surround ourselves with products that can give us reassurance and security at home.

9. Expand into new markets that have at least some potential, then find your customers. Every economic recession presents the opportunity to expand into new markets where your products/services are either unknown or needed.

10. Use data gathering and tracking programs (such as Google Analytics) to help identify the needs of your target market, evaluate consumer trends and the pattern of your sales reports, and employ the best marketing strategies to enhance your brand and sales.

Importance of Seasonal Keywords & Tools for Conducting Research on Seasonal Keyword Trends

Some keywords always remain relevant and popular all year long and will benefit you immensely, year after year, especially if your goal is to create evergreen content; other keywords undergo spikes and rises in popularity during different parts of the year—i.e., they trend seasonally and are thus referred to as “seasonal keywords” because people search for them mostly during certain times of the year.

Holidays are good examples: more people purchase Christmas trees or ornaments in December than any other part of the year; more people look for bathing garments during the months that precede summer, and they look for snowboards during winter; the majority of costume sales occur before Halloween.

Other good examples are the seasons for different sports: many people search for information about the NFL playoffs and the Super Bowl early in the year; many people search for information about the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, semi-finals, and finals in April and May of each year.

Generally, many people search for some keywords and phrases at certain times of the year than they do at other times of the year. So, when looking for keywords for your internet business, always remember that certain keywords are more capable of supporting a brand or niche and result in more sales than other keywords. It’s crucial to consider seasonal traffic when building your website.

Importance of using seasonal keywords

Although seasonal keywords and seasonal keyword trends are highly relevant and popular for short time periods, they can help your business strategy to reach new audiences, boost or attract high seasonal traffic, and receive a lot of revenue from seasonal purchases.

In addition, since it’s not every business that uses seasonal keywords, there tends to be less competition among businesses that use them. Using seasonal keywords can really be worth it, but this depends on both your long-term and short-term goals. Ensure that when using seasonal keywords in the short term, it won’t distract you from achieving your long-term SEO goals.

Important advice to consider before using seasonal keywords

• use Google Insights or other tools to discover the seasonal keyword terms that are highly relevant.
• shortly before the season you are targeting, create and publish original content that shall consist of seasonal keywords: certain keywords and keyword phrases (Christmas tree, jewelry, honeymoon, etc.) should be considered before or during a given holiday (Christmas, Easter, Valentine’s Day). Take note that they will likely spike or rise in popularity around or during holiday periods.
• look for many keywords that can give conversions: if possible, look for hundreds of good seasonal keywords, instead of a few—but this depends on your goals and the size of your site.
• be wary of selecting and using a bunch of irrelevant or low-traffic keywords: get rid of them and focus on the relevant medium- and high-traffic keywords that are capable of converting visitors to customers or making visitors open their wallets.
• don’t discard or neglect your long-term SEO goals when producing seasonal content.

Tools for conducting research on seasonal keywords

When figuring out how often seasonal keywords are being searched for, you can use various tools to monitor them and make your evaluation. Some tools have to be paid for, while others are free. Two examples of free tools include:

1. Free search engine keyword planners (Google, Bing, etc.)

You need a Google AdWords account to gain access to the Keyword Planner keyword research tool which is located at https://adwords.google.com/keywordplanner. You can make use of the end‐of‐the‐year reports of Google Trends www.google.com/trends which provides information on how often a seasonal keyword is used during a given day and when spikes occur.

Bing’s tool page can be accessed at www.bing.com/toolbox/keywords. Even Microsoft has a keyword tool that can be accessed if a user should have an account.

Each individual keyword planner provides additional suggestions based on seed keywords, the level of competitiveness of keywords, and the average number of searches for keywords. Keyword planners go a long way in revealing keyword popularity by mobile devices and the location of search engine visitors or users.

2. Free KSP tool for search engine optimization

Bruce Clay Inc. provides a free keyword tool that can be accessed at https://www.bruceclay.com/blog/free-keyword-research-tool/. You need to simply enter or type seasonal keywords into the “Please Enter Keywords” box and click the “Run KSP” button to get results about keyword counts and demographic information.

When the results appear, you can place your mouse over each seasonal keyword or keyword phrase to view demographic information concerning the type of individuals that are searching for seasonal keywords or keyword phrases.

You can run the free KSP tool as many times and with as many keywords as you wish. There is actually no limit, and you can enter 12 seasonal keywords at the same time.

On the other hand, if you wish, you can go for the following paid tools or services—but you would have to pay at least a bit of cash to use them:

3. SEOToolSet

In addition to the free tools offered by Bruce Clay Inc., you can subscribe for paid fully-integrated SEO tools which are far more equipped than the free version or tool. The paid pro version of SEOToolSet is available at a certain price per month and for up to two domains: www.bruceclay.com/seo/tools.htm.

4. Wordtracker (www.wordtracker.com)

Wordtracker is a keyword tracking service that people usually pay for when selecting either the monthly or annual pricing plans. But before paying to use it, you can test the free trial that is on offer.

5. Keyword Discovery (www.keyworddiscovery.com)

Keyword Discovery is a paid keyword tracking tool or service that was created by Trellian and can be subscribed for at a price that is quite higher price than the price for subscribing on Wordtracker.

How to Choose Relevant Keywords for SEO or Your Website

Many folks, especially owners of blogs/sites on wordpress.com, either underestimate the importance of keywords and applying them, or they don’t just know how to use keywords.

In many instances, this is quite unfortunate because the simple act of not using keywords can cut you off from a world of unlimited potential and valuable organic search engine traffic from Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc.

As the spiders of search engines (Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc.) crawl the content of web pages, they look for keywords that closely relate to or match with visitors’ search queries.

Why it’s important to research, choose, and use keywords for SEO or your website

If you have a website that specializes in a niche(s) or subject(s), if you don’t use some particular keywords/related keywords or “pointers” to your content, it would be difficult if not almost impossible to receive traffic or visitors from search engines which are usually drawn to keywords that are typed and searched by visitors!

It’s important to use keywords for your SEO or website because they can actually make a big difference in terms of increasing the potential or chances of attracting higher traffic from search engines, even long after publication.

Using keywords is crucial for a site’s success: people use keywords a lot to make search queries on search engines. Nine out of ten times, people are looking for information on/about their typed keywords. 

First, figure out your website’s theme before choosing keywords

The first thing to do before choosing keywords is figure out your website’s theme. Your theme is the main idea, thing, niche, or vision your site would represent.

Your website’s theme is the central concept of your web content and activities on the Internet. Figuring out a theme may sound simple, but it’s very important to think things through and discover or understand exactly what your site is about.

Assuming you have a site that specializes in the “best cryptocurrencies”, you need to figure out exactly what the “best cryptocurrencies” means or entails.

In addition to the site theme, also evaluate the direction you’d possibly be going with this site in the future. Would you like to continue focussing only on the best oldest cryptocurrencies, or would you like to broaden your scope and include the best new cryptocurrencies too?

It isn’t a bad idea to broaden your scope because doing it could broaden your market or reach and place you on a more profitable and popular level—money and even internet fame!

Decide whether you’ll concentrate on only the best new cryptocurrencies, or both the best new and old cryptocurrencies, or even add the unborn cryptocurrencies that are presently undergoing development.

Write down every imaginable thing you believe your site should represent or be about—and maybe also add what it should NOT represent or be about. So, for instance, if you’re creating a site about the “best cryptocurrencies”, you may like to write down things like:

• We focus on only cryptocurrencies that were created between 2008 and 2016.
• We don’t deal with cryptocurrencies that are pegged to traditional currencies.
• “Focus on” or “deal with” means we sell, buy, or allow trading.
• We allow people to swap cryptocurrencies whenever they deem it necessary.
• Etc.

Second, brainstorm for keywords

After figuring out your theme and clearly understanding what your business is precisely about, you’d be in the best position to set up a strong foundation for brainstorming relevant keywords.

In the absence of the theme, brainstorming keywords is the first and most important action required for choosing productive keywords. While brainstorming keywords, compile a list of all possibilities. Write down every potential and major keyword you think visitors will likely be using on search engines.

Here are some questions you may need to ask yourself:

• If I am a visitor, what word(s) would I type and search for to get information concerning the best cryptocurrencies?
• What do search engine keyword search results say about visitors’ search terms? Which words do regular people use when discussing or referring to the best cryptocurrencies?
• What terms do professionals or experts use when talking about the best old or new cryptocurrencies?

Third, create an outline for your keywords

After brainstorming and creating a large list of keywords that you’d potentially use, your next step would be to draft an outline using those keywords. You can start with the most general or broadest keywords at the top and break down, categorize, or subcategorize more specific subjects or areas as you go deeper.

A keyword outline for the best cryptocurrencies could look like the following list (Notice how the main keywords break down as the niche is delved into much deeper.):

     Best cryptocurrencies

     Best cryptocurrencies to mine

     Best cryptocurrencies to buy

     Best cryptocurrencies to invest

              Best cryptocurrencies to invest in 2021

                      Best cryptocurrencies to invest in March 2021

                      Best cryptocurrencies to invest in July 2021

              Best cryptocurrencies to invest in February 2022

     Best cryptocurrencies for day trading

              Best cryptocurrencies for day trading in 2021

              Best cryptocurrencies for day trading today

     Best cryptocurrencies 2017

     Best cryptocurrencies 2018

     Best cryptocurrencies 2019

     Best cryptocurrencies 2020

              Best cryptocurrencies 2021 under $1

              Best cryptocurrencies 2021 under $50

              Best cryptocurrencies 2021 under $200

              Best cryptocurrencies 2021 under $500

              Best cryptocurrencies 2021 under $1,000

The keyword in the figures below represent the above outline—a breakdown from very broad keywords/terms to more specific keywords/terms:

Figure 1: Breakdown of the keyword (best cryptocurrencies) from a broad term into more specific terms (Source: Ahrefs keyword generator)

Figure 2: Breakdown of the keyword (best cryptocurrencies) into more specific terms (Source: Google search engine)

In regard to the main keyword “best cryptocurrencies”, the keyword in the figures above represents a lot of possibilities: they represent a variety of things that people may be searching for when they’re looking for the best cryptocurrencies.

As much as you can, list as many keywords that relate to your theme and write posts or content with the keywords used appropriately and adequately within them.

The broader the keywords you choose and work with, the better your web pages would stand a chance of getting on and on top of the search results pages of search engines.

Advice: Assess your competition by conducting keyword search on search engines

After creating an outline for your keywords, it’s time to check and evaluate your competition in order to get a feel for your market(s) or niche(s) and know what you’re up against.

One of the easiest ways to know your competition is by visiting search engines, typing your brainstormed keywords, and looking up their individual search results from the first position (on top) downwards towards lesser positions. The top ten results on search engines results pages are worth evaluating for keyword ideas and content quality.

The competition for your brainstormed keywords are those websites that are occupying the top positions on search engines’ results pages. The fact that they’re topping search engines implies that they’re doing something right—creating good content and using keywords appropriately.

After identifying your competition and reading their content which is related to your brainstormed keywords, conduct thorough internet search and create quality content that is at least as good as—if not better than—that of your competition. 

When looking for information to create content, don’t search only blogs; extend your research to Google Scholar and many other publications until you find ideas to create original content that can fulfill the desires of all search queries.

The SEO Code of Ethics’ Important Principles You Should Practice

Each individual, society, or social group has a code of conduct or ethics which they live by. Like most societies, working places, organizations, or social groups, practitioners of the search engine optimization (SEO) part of the Internet also has a code of ethics, known in a number of quarters as “SEO code of ethics”.

Code of ethics is a spoken or unspoken principle of right or wrong, or both (right and wrong) that is practiced by an individual or a group of people; it is also known as a system of rules or principles that govern morality and acceptable forms of conduct—more like a political party or religion.

To some extent, some site owners, bloggers, and SEO practitioners understand what the SEO code of ethics entails; however, not all site owner, bloggers, and SEO practitioners actually practice safe SEO which can be enforced by adhering to the SEO code of ethics.

It’s unfortunate that in an attempt to achieve a goal by any means necessary, some site owners, bloggers, and SEO practitioners use “whatever-it-takes” or unethical approaches that are biased toward surfers, search engines, or even their clients.

Although the whole Internet industry likely doesn’t have an official or somewhat unified SEO code of ethics, the following principles or rules of SEO practice should be strictly adhered to in order to make internet surfers, search engines, and clients feel safe and valued on the Internet:

1. Don’t take other people’s work without their consent and publish or present it as yours.

2. Create clean and understandable content for internet surfers; ensure that any information crawled by search engines must correspond with the visible content of each page.

3. Ensure that your site content is not misleading and offensive and visitors are protected when surfing your site. Any user’s search phrase should be able to match the site content or search result displayed after a query.

4. Be honest with your visitors or client and don’t intentionally use methods, systems, or technologies to trick search engines. Tricking search engines could get your site removed from their indexes and results pages.

5. Be fair and unbiased to all clients and treat them equally.

6. Keep your visitors’ or clients’ information confidential and away from public view, except if your visitors or clients give you permission.

7. Always look for an amicable solution for any disputes that may arise between you and your visitors or between visitors or clients themselves.

8. Don’t deceive people by lying about your skills and making false promises or guarantees to teach or provide so-called “guaranteed methods” that don’t work.

9. Don’t deliberately disregard the laws or rules and contract agreements that bind you and search engines or web directories. Simply put: don’t violate search engine laws which are the law of the Internet land!

Conclusion

The SEO code of ethics, which can be regarded as “the good principles of SEO practice”, is a way of SEO practice that aims to promote peace and erase all forms of evil, spamming, deception, scamming, and cheating on the internet. Learn to abide by SEO code of ethics and always remember that, whatever anyone does to harm surfers or search engines would only last in the short term. It wouldn’t last for long, longer, or indefinitely.

7 Types of Spam that Can Get Your Site Penalized by Search Engines

When the word spam is mentioned, what usually comes to mind are the annoying and poorly worded emails people receive in their respective inboxes on a daily basis. Although it’s true that that is spam, it’s important to point out that there are other types of spam—spam or deceptive tactics that are generated from websites/web content and designed to trick search engines.

The types of spam discussed in this article can be categorized under “search engine spam”. Search engine spam—also known as “spamdexing”—is any tactic, act, or misleading content/web page that is used to deceive a search engine and give it a false understanding or interpretation of its real intention.

Most technologies used to create and design websites can also be used to deceive search engines. Search engine spammers use a number of spam methods and advanced techniques that modern search engines are often able to detect.

Because search engines are very intuitive and can easily detect what constitutes a spam, it’s somewhat risky and unnecessary to make an attempt to trick search engines which, in modern times, are far much more intelligent.

Search engine companies work hard to bring relevant results to internet users, and they discard spam-filled content because it can damage their reputation.

Because any search engine could lose users/patronizers if its results pages generate spammy results, search engines penalize websites that use one or more search engine spam techniques; in extreme cases, search engines completely remove sites from their index (list of websites used to create a search engine results pages).

It’s important for bloggers and site owners to be aware of the type of spam or deceptive tactics that can get their sites penalized by search engines. If you’re a blogger or site owner who isn’t aware of what search engine spam activity is, or you’re aware but still want to deceive search engines in order to achieve higher rankings, then you’d better think twice because the types of spam, discussed a bit further, can get your site penalized and forever removed from the view of internet users.

Google, Bing, and other search engines are always improving and fishing out the different types of search engine spam. The penalties can be harsh if a search engine finds out that you’ve attempted to beat its spam detection capabilities.

Keep in mind the following types of spam and resist any urge to use them (Unfortunately, using them could put your site at risk and get it penalized or dropped from search engines and internet users’ browsers and sights.):

1. Hidden texts/links

One direct way to make a web page spammy is by inserting hidden texts and links in its content which is usually published for users to see and click, albeit for morally wrong or ethically wrong reasons.

Hidden texts can appear in the form of a long list of keywords; along with hidden links, both are placed in web page content, unknowingly to users, to increase traffic and site popularity—but not by merit!

To avoid wrong attention from search engines, ensure that all texts in your content are visible to visitors or internet users. The following are some examples of hidden texts and links:

• Texts (content) and links that are somewhat “placed under web pages, veiled or concealed by a layer, in ways that make them invisible to the naked eye or invisible when content (texts, links) is highlighted.
• White-colored text and links that are placed on a white background, thereby rendering the text invisible to users or visitors, except when the text is highlighted by right‐clicking the mouse and selecting text.
• Visible links that have no anchor, and thus don’t appear clickable to users, even if search engines can follow such links.
• Using cascading style sheets (CSS) to place or position content away from or off the web page’s view. This is a major programming trick that is widely used by spammers.

A site that uses veiled, invisible, or hidden text/links can be easily spotted and banned by search engines, and its content would no longer show up on search engines’ results pages. Therefore, all web content should be visible to users, and no hidden texts/links should be allowed to remain in content.

2. Misleading/deceptive redirections

A misleading or deceptive redirection is a link that redirects a user to a location that is off point or different from what they had initially expected when they were clicking the link for the first time.

Imagine searching for an item whose location (web address) you know very well, but after clicking one of the links on the results page, you are unfortunately redirected or taken to some very questionable location and content, somewhere you never expected—for example, shady sites that often deal with betting/gambling, porn, drugs, or have content that is not related to your search query.

3. Keyword stuffing (stuffing content with keywords)

Keyword stuffing is the act of overusing any keyword in a piece of content, with the intention of getting its web page ranked high due to excess or high keyword use.

Keyword stuffing can occur within a piece of content, and also in the Alt attribute text where repeated typing/entry of a keyword, over and over again, wouldn’t help to increase content/page ranking; also, the content/page would likely be dropped from search engine results pages if keyword stuffing spam is detected.

Other ways keyword stuffing is used, include: hiding keywords text in a content/page; hiding long-tail keywords or large groups of repeated keywords by using HTML instructions that hide blocks of texts from user sight, usually placing them at the bottom, away from the average viewer’s sight.

4. Uncorrelated or unrelated keywords

Whenever a keyword is not related to the content (text, video, or image) which it is supposed to logically connect or relate to, the keyword is uncorrelated with or unrelated to the content. Using a keyword that is unrelated to content constitutes spam.

Other practices include: placing unrelated keywords in the meta tags of a content/page, in the metadata of a video, or into the Alt attribute text of an image. Doing any of the following is not only unnecessary, but could get your site pulled off from search engines results pages.

5. Link farms

A link farm is a group of domains or websites that are individually connected by their respective hyperlinks to the other domains or websites in the group.

Because Google encourages the use of links and hyperlinks, and its algorithm uses them to assess how popular websites are on the internet, some people use automated programs and services to create link farms which search engines can detect by identifying particular attributes that link farms use.

Search engines even go as far as filtering link farms from index and search results and removing entire domains/sites in order to prevent them from influencing results pages. Note that not all links or hyperlinks are part of a link farm or spam, especially when individual websites that are selectively connected with other relevant websites are not often regarded as spam.

6. Doorway pages

A doorway page (a.k.a. gateway page, bridge page, jump page, or portal page) is a technique in which several look-alike content/pages are created slightly different from each other, but are generally stuffed with keywords and phrases that tricks users by redirecting content/pages with a fast meta refresh command.

Doorway pages are deceptive tactics that use JavaScript to automatically redirect users to another site or page—the site or page the website wants them to visit—in an attempt to spam search engine index rankings and rank high without earning it.

7. Cloaking

The intention of using cloaking is to trick search engines to display content/a page even when, ordinarily, it wouldn’t display it. Cloaking is a technique used to make the content appearing on a search engine different from the one appearing on the internet user’s browser.

This implies that the search engine and user are not having the same/actual information and both are being deceived by the spammer/website which is presenting both the user’s browser and the search engine with different content for the same web page.

When to Stop an Internet Business Even if You’re Determined Not to Give Up

The internet is filled with many businesses, blog owners, and site proprietors that have varying degrees of success and failure: good, bad, and anything in between.

While many people have had success in their respective internet businesses, it is likely they have also tried some things and failed, maybe even woefully.

Many people had dreams to gain more control over their time and become financially independent; they started out but came to an abrupt halt, not because they wanted to quit, but because staying on course would be futile and self-destructive.

Some people created websites for audiobooks and shut down after eventually believing that there wouldn’t be any profitable way to market their product.

Others created a database of educational materials and dumped their online project because they believed it wouldn’t help any of the countless visitors that tour the internet on a daily basis.

And yet others started other types of internet businesses, but quickly stopped after eventually realizing how much effort and time would be required to get it up and running.

Regardless of what happens after you start an internet business, there will always be two options for you: to continue doing it or quit and focus on other things that have a higher potential to help you achieve your goals.

Quitters can win after quitting and starting all over

There is a popular saying that “winners never quit and quitters never win”. In the internet world, this saying doesn’t really convey or depict many possible or real-life scenarios because the truth of the matter is that in many other instances, winners or “quitters” can win by quitting and starting something different when they realize that what they are doing at the moment is not working.

Sometimes quitters—those who quit and start somewhere else—become winners after leaving what was working years ago but isn’t working today, and starting elsewhere or something different. What was working tremendously well some months or years ago, might work slowly today, or it not even work at all.

But this doesn’t’ mean that in all instances we have to give up. We don’t! However, if a technique was making a highly successful business to be very productive 10 years ago, but doesn’t work today, then it may be unnecessary to continue using it—except if you don’t wish to make money from it.

Also, it is unnecessary to start an online business and stay glued to it when nothing about it—according to your taste or desire—is working. You should have had enough when nothing is working; you need to take a bow, stop or quit, and start somewhere or something else.

Winners often quit in order to free up space and start again before they eventually win. By quitting and starting elsewhere, many “quitters” ended up reversing their situations and becoming winners.

Winners do what they need to do. They know when to start all over instead of continuing on a failed path that’s doomed for permanent failure. Winners understand the value of time and won’t continue investing time and effort on things that don’t attract certain types of valuable tangible or intangible values.

Winners know that though they are determined not to give up, whenever it is necessary, they have to stop engaging in activities that don’t make their internet businesses work; they don’t need to continue failing at something over and over when it’s destined not to bring different or successful results.

Understanding the difference between a brief setback and lasting failure—when not to quit and when to quit

It is easy to understand when to quit if one knows the difference between brief setbacks (challenges), and lasting failure which would be better to quit from and face something else that has higher potential to boost our lives.

Brief setbacks bring out the best in us; they can make us become much better and create meaningful and lasting changes. On the other hand, lasting failure can annihilate us if we continue working over the same stuff without seeing any positive or expected changes.

If you’ve tried all you can, but still see hope or shimmers of light at the end of the tunnel, then, don’t quit! It’s advisable to push forward beyond the dip. However, if you cannot see and make success after doing everything possible and necessary, then maybe it’s time to quit and try something different with your available time.

In other words, if you’ve put a lot of effort into your internet business, especially for an extended period of time, but don’t see progress and the potential or possibility for progress, then you may do yourself a lot of good by quitting and trying something different.

Remaining stuck is not the best option. Even though many people know the strengths, weaknesses, and detailed requirements to achieve success in their business, they behave like novices and remain stuck instead of quitting and looking for success elsewhere.  

Advice

The decision to quit your internet business is a serious one. Don’t just give up because you don’t want to do the things you need to do to get your engine rolling. Stay on track and continue doing all that is required of you, but quit when you feel you’ve exhausted all important ideas and there is little or no possibility for your internet business to actually work.

Your Site or Blog Doesn’t Need a Perfect Domain or Sub-domain Name

When developing a domain or sub-domain name for your site, blog, or internet business, you don’t need to stress yourself to get a domain name, a sub-domain name, or any name that has a popular keyword or hasn’t been used in the past. Domain and sub-domain names are just names for identifying your online platform—and nothing more!

Since dot-com (.com) started booming in the early 2000s, many online businesses and entrepreneurs have been going to great extents to acquire perfect domain or sub-domain names; in fact, some businesses and entrepreneurs have paid lots of money to get what they believe are “perfect domain names”.

It’s even on record that there had been at least 25 instances whereby each dot-com domain name was sold for more than one million dollars. A domain name called “VacationRentals.com” was sold for $35 million in 2007, “PrivateJet.com” was sold for $30.1 million in 2012, and other five- and six-figure domain sales have been made in past years.

Having a perfect domain or sub-domain name doesn’t matter as much as the services, products, or information offered

Although online businesses and entrepreneurs have wanted popular and single keyword dot-com domain names—mainly because of their popularity on search engines and dot-com is the most popular top-level domain (TLD) name that businesses use and people search for—internet users and online customers are getting used to the reality that a domain or sub-domain name just doesn’t matter.

The most important thing that matters is whether valuable services, products, or information are offered under a domain or sub-domain name, regardless of whether it bears TLDs such as dot-ly (.ly), dot-tv (.tv), dot-co (.co), dot-technology (.technology), dot-academy (.academy), dot-trade (.trade), dot-foundation (.foundation), etc.

At the end of the day, it’s the quality of services, products, or information offered that makes a domain or sub-domain name “perfect” and attractive to a vast majority of people. Having a “perfect domain name” in the present day won’t do anything outstanding for your business, especially if it has nothing valuable to offer visitors.

So, even if you have enough money to buy a perfect domain name, it would be more profitable to use that money to develop or grow your business, instead of squandering it on getting a perfect domain name.

Regardless of your domain or sub-domain name, provide quality services or information and solve people’s problems

The key to having a “perfect domain or sub-domain name” is to provide great services, products, information, or solutions to people’s problems. Internet surfers or customers will happily visit and even go ahead to pay money for services, products, or information that solves their problems or challenges.

As an online entrepreneur, if your online platform identifies pressing problems and provides quality services or information that addresses issues, its domain or sub-domain name won’t matter to customers who will definitely regard the domain or sub-domain name as nothing but “perfect” because of their experience.

Passive Income: Why it Matters; the Possibilities & Concerns Surrounding it

Passive income is income you can earn while being passive and doing significantly less work or no work at all after you start earning; it can lead to financial freedom and make anyone become a boss and master of their own destiny. Passive income is earned in a different way from active income.

To earn active income, you have to engage in work, usually for a fixed number of hours per day, week, or month—or as the case may be—and you have to get to work on time and complete a number of hours of work related to your job description.

On the other hand, to earn passive income, you have to do a certain amount of work to set up a passive income system or stream, or implement an idea; but over a period of time, the amount of work would likely continue reducing, or it may not even be required once the stream or system is up and running.

Passive Income Streams: 10 Important Things You Need to Know

Imagine using your time and effort to write a book, and hire an editor to edit the book and someone to design the cover before you put it on Amazon and start earning money, regardless of what you are doing on any given day; or, imagine setting up and selling affiliate products every day on a blog or website. These are just two out of several ways you can use to earn passive income.

Why passive income matters

Majority of people don’t earn huge amounts of money: the average person is not a high income or salary earner. Most people are limited by their experience, level of education, and the number of hours they can work, physically, and concentrate, mentally, on a given job or task that can earn them money.

Passive income matters because earning it can save you much effort and time on an ongoing basis, and make it possible for you to concentrate on family and friends or other opportunities you may be interested in.

You can earn passive income online or offline through passive income streams and easily supplement your active income; in many cases, you can even replace your active income with passive income.

Unlike active income whereby your potential to earn can be limited by your experience, education, or the number of hours you are expected to work, there are no limitations on passive income when it comes to earning from passive income streams. As a result nobody, apart from you, can cap your passive income.

Any passive income stream matters because it can give you freedom, complete control, and the potential to earn while you are sleeping, playing games, travelling, or doing whatever it is that you love doing.

Although many people may agree that money is money, regardless of how it is earned, earning money from passive income streams can give you freedom from the daily grind of traditional active income streams and provide you considerable or sufficient time to focus on the things that are more important to you.

Passive income possibilities

Passive income streams can open up money-making possibilities that might never come your way if you focus only on active income or active income streams; it can enable you to earn money in ways that don’t usually require a lot of effort and many hours of work, especially after you start earning. This is really huge!

If you sense that working for many hours is limiting the amount of time you spend with your family and friends, and is wasting very important opportunities that can take you to the next level, then you may have to engage in passive income streams which can make a great difference in your life.

The following are some major possibilities of passive income:

1. Passive income can lead you to financial freedom, especially if you can earn it from the internet or online world. It is possible to earn income at any time of the day and from any part of the world without being tied to any particular job or schedule.

2. Passive income can give you control and make you be your own boss. When you are engaged in passive income streams, you won’t have to answer to anybody: you can decide what should be done, when to work, and when not to work.

3. Passive income can inspire you to look for new streams of passive income and choose the most appealing ones that suit your goals and schedule. There would always be an option to choose the passive income streams you genuinely like; based on your interest, you would always have the liberty to choose the best streams.

4. Passive income can open you up to more passive income streams which can earn you unlimited money, especially if you use as much time as possible to set them up and make them work.

Passive income concerns or risks

Most—if not all—forms of income-earning streams or methods come with one type of risk or another, or even many risks! There would always be some risk attached to investing one’s effort, time, or money. That’s how life works.

We discussed some possibilities of passive income in the previous section; now let’s discuss some concerns or risks of passive income so that you can be aware of what to expect when setting up passive income streams:

1. It takes time, effort, and possibly little or no money to establish passive income streams from start to finish: you may need to put in considerable or much time and effort to set up a passive income stream, especially at the beginning, before passive income can start flowing into your pocket.

2. Passive income doesn’t usually start rolling in immediately, especially when you just succeed in setting up the first one. Even after you successfully set up one or more passive income streams, you may have to be patient or dedicate a significant amount of time to market your product or stream before you can start earning any income.

3. You may need to diversify or invest time and effort into more than one passive income stream in order to increase your chances of earning a healthy passive income. Why? Because one stream of passive income might not always be sufficient enough to make you become financially free and secure.

The best way to reduce the risk of not making any or much passive income is to set up more than one stream of passive income, especially the best ones. If you have more than one stream, even when another or other streams slow down or stop, you would still have chances to make passive income from at least one stream.

4. It might be too risky for some people to earn passive income by engaging in passive income streams because little or no work is required; as a result, such people who are consciously or unconsciously more passionate about engaging in activities that would make them work consistently, may end up losing interest in passive income streams. And losing interest could make them stop engaging, and lose income.

Conclusion

In my opinion, the possibilities and benefits of setting up and establishing passive income streams far outweigh any concerns or risks. As long as anyone is ready to put in considerable effort and time to make passive income streams work, then earning passive income would be the best way to achieve financial freedom.

Regardless of the decision you take—whether or not to engage in passive income streams—it’s advisable to engage in both active work (active income streams) and passive income streams so that you can earn more money than you would usually earn without passive income streams.

Passive Income Streams: 10 Important Things You Need to Know

For many people in the world, the only way to get some or enough money is by using most of their time to work; when certain situations arise, they even end up spending more hours than they would really like to.

Many people are limited in regard to the maximum amount of money they are capable of earning; in an attempt to be debt-free and earn a good income, some people take up a second or third job, which is usually exhausting.

In this day and age, it’s important to earn and have enough money, and still have a considerable amount of time to do the things you love without having to work for more hours than necessary.

Surely, if you work for more hours by doing more jobs, it is guaranteed that you will earn more income; but is it always worth working for more hours to the detriment of other equally or more important aspects of your life?

There is a means which you can use to earn more money without wasting almost all of your time; this means is called passive income. Instead of investing more than a necessary number of hours in a dead-end job, you can channel your energy elsewhere and build a source of passive income that can consistently and indefinitely work and earn money for you.

Although money doesn’t solve all types of problems, having enough money certainly makes many aspects of life easy and enjoyable. Having enough money also makes it possible to do many things we couldn’t do without it.

If you want to achieve true financial freedom and have more time to do other things you love, then you need to know about some passive income streams or ideas, and how to make passive income either online or offline.

And you need to find the best ways to make reliable and steady passive income in a way that won’t require you to spend most of your life working too hard and to such an extent that you won’t have time for either yourself or your family and friends.

Although this article doesn’t provide information about the best ways or how to make passive income, it has listed the following important things you need to know about passive income:

1. Passive income is the income generated from any means or implemented idea that makes resources or money work without the person or people concerned having to work too hard or use too many hours working on their resources or money. Passive income is income that is earned while being passive and doing significantly less work.

2. Usually, any passive income stream, system, or method is not a get-rich-quick scheme. Any passive income stream may require considerable time and effort and even hard work at the beginning, but can gradually lead to prosperity and decreasingly require less work once the passive income stream is up and running.

3. Passive income can come in the form of interest rates accrued to bank deposits; rental income from an apartment that has been rented out; money generated by an autonomous system, business, product, or service that has been set up and established, etc.

4. Setting up a passive income system would require you to use some effort and ideas that can make it possible for you to end up earning more—even much more than you can earn in an active or regular job—while putting in significantly fewer hours and effort.

5. A passive income business or venture can make you independent and give you more freedom and control over your own time and future. After some days, a few months or years of applying consistent effort, you could be on the path to both freedom and security which many people usually take almost a lifetime to achieve—if they ever achieve it.

6. Passive income streams—which mostly employ the use of modern strategies and technology—don’t require too many investments in terms of capital. What it does require is considerable or hard work at the beginning, and lesser, little, or no work thereafter, when the passive income streams are fully functioning.

7. You don’t need to know everything about passive income streams or systems before you venture into any of them; however, you may need to be prepared to experiment, and take risks. Although it’s not possible to eliminate all risks, it’s possible to manage them in ways that can still attract success. It would be best to experiment on passive income ideas or streams by taking little or no risks.

8. Some passive income streams, systems, markets, or methods require little to no financial investment; they only require time and effort or hard work, especially at the beginning. Examples include: writing and selling eBooks, Amazon kindle self-publishing, creating and marketing online courses, marketing affiliate products, email marketing, creating and selling apps, creating videos and marketing a YouTube channel, etc.

9. When searching online for passive income streams, beware of the opportunities you may come across; don’t be fooled by every piece of information that may pop out of thin air on websites and blogs, and promise you mansions and paradise after investing little or no money. Always remember that there are no quick and easy ways to earn a lot of cash through passive income streams.

10. The more passive income streams, systems, markets, or methods you engage in, the more you will discover what works, what doesn’t work well, and what doesn’t work for you; once you get to this point, you’ll have to get rid of the streams, markets, or methods that not only don’t work but also hinder your passive income system from working and generating income. To make your passive income system more effective, you may have to adjust some things you didn’t consider at the beginning.

How to Make SEO-friendly URLs that can Improve Your Search Engine Ranking & Attract Traffic

There is hardly any site owner who wouldn’t like to attract traffic to their site and improve their search engine ranking. Apart from creating useful content for readers, one other significantly important thing that can improve your search engine ranking and attract traffic to your site is SEO-friendly URLs which you can create for your posts or pages.

Under the following topics, this article discusses what URLs are and how to make SEO-friendly URLs that can improve your search engine ranking and attract traffic to your site:

• But first, what is a URL?
• Why are URLs important in SEO?
• What is an SEO-friendly URL?
• SEO-friendly URLs are one of the basic pillars of SEO
• How to make an SEO-friendly URL—10 things to do
• Conclusion

But first, what is a URL?

Some people use the terms “URL” and “domain name” interchangeably. A URL doesn’t mean the same thing as a domain name; there is actually a difference between the two.

URL is an acronym that means “Uniform Resource Locator”. A URL is an address to a location or resource on the Internet. For example, in the URL https://schmitt-trading.com/7-reasons-why-an-own-domain-is-so-important/, “schmitt-trading.com” is the domain name which consists of a top-level domain (TDL) popularly known as “.com”.

Generally, a URL consists of:

• a protocol (example: “https” or “http”).
• a domain name (which includes a top-level domain—TLD) like “.com”, “.org”, “.net”, etc.
• a path that leads to a specific page, post, file, or resource on a site. A path is usually located after a hostname, and is separated by a forward slash: “/”.

Why are URLs important in SEO?

In addition to your tags, links to anchor texts, and the quality of your content, search engines use the URLs of your site or web pages to understand the details of your content and what they are all about.

What is an SEO-friendly URL?

An SEO-friendly URL is a URL that is optimized to help internet users and searchers find the type of content they want. URLs that are optimized for SEO tend to be concise, short, contain keywords, and provide a better user experience.

Although it is not a major ranking factor, the structure of a URL structure can help your post or page move to a higher position on search engine results pages (SERPs), improve your search engine ranking, and attract traffic to your site.

SEO-friendly URLs are one of the basic pillars of SEO

In fact, Backlinko had once stated that URLs are a significant ranking factor: In Google’s top 200 ranking factors, URL length was listed as number 46, while URL path was listed as number 47, and keyword usage in URL was listed as number 51. When you knit this information, you will conclude that URL optimization (creating SEO-friendly URLs) is quite a big deal.

How to make an SEO-friendly URL—10 things to do

1. If you can, select a top-level domain (TDL) that is the most popular, or highly popular

Search Engine Land’s infographic clearly shows the qualities of an SEO-friendly URL, and one important point highlighted is that it’s more ideal to select “.com” as a top-level domain (TDL). In essence, this means that it is more ideal to select a “.com” domain instead of a “.net”, “.biz,”, “.tel”, “.pro”, or other types of TDL.

If you already have a domain that isn’t “.com”, don’t waste your time placing too much emphasis on this point—the type of TDL; also, don’t assume that your site is doomed or will be doomed if you select/have selected a top-level domain that is different from “.com”.

However, it is important to note that the type of TDL you select, matters; therefore, consider “.com” whenever you want to select a TDL in the future. Although the type of TDL selected doesn’t directly impact a site’s search engine ranking, it does matter to an extent because most internet users and searchers tend to trust “.com” and probably “.org” more than the rest.

For whatever reason, the type of TDL a site uses can increase or decrease people’s trust in it—and this is huge! The more people trust your domain, the more it will impact your site’s overall SEO, improve your search engine ranking, and attract traffic to your site.

2. Choose https

Nowadays, internet security is a big issue. With the increasing rate of identity theft and cybercrime on the internet, internet users and searchers always want to be sure that they are surfing a secure domain.

As a result, it is highly recommended that you use “https” in your URLs instead of “http”. In case you don’t know the difference between “https” and “http”, “https” means “HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure” which is the secure version of “http”, while “http” just means “HyperText Transfer Protocol”—without the word “Secure”. This simply implies that information on a site that has “https” is encrypted and provides a significantly heightened level of security.

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Searchmetrics had reported that “https” is gaining more relevance, and becoming more of a ranking factor for Google: “https” increases the level of trust and conversion rates because of the encryption and extra security it gives to sites that have purchasing processes, or sensitive user information.

3. Choose lowercase letters and avoid uppercase letters

Although this is commonly practiced among most site owners, it is still important to mention it so that people who aren’t aware can become aware. Always choose lowercase letters because the use of uppercase letters potentially leads to 404 errors or redirects on some servers.

4. Choose hyphens instead of underscores

Spaces aren’t allowed in URLs; so if you want to put spaces in between words, you can use only one of two choices: hyphens ( – ), or underscores ( _ ); although you can choose between the two, it’s recommended that you should always use hyphens because that’s what Google prefers; therefore, be rest assured that hyphens are the best option.

5. Choose safe characters and avoid unsafe characters

It’s totally safe to use safe characters in your URL, but it’s not totally safe to use unsafe characters which you should avoid as much as possible because they are known to create usability issues and significant issues for browsers.

Examples of safe characters include alphanumeric characters such as: 0 to 9, a to z, mathematical symbols, brackets, punctuation marks; on the other hand, examples of unsafe characters include: ~ { } < > % ^ [ ] #.

6. Use one or two keywords

Although it is unlikely that placing keywords in your URL will get your posts or pages to the top of search engines, it can boost your ranking on search engine results pages. Therefore, it is important to include keywords in your URLs, but be mindful of how you use them so they won’t be viewed as spam, and get your site penalized. 

From a user’s or searcher’s point of view, it could be important to use keywords in a URL because, even if you don’t attach an anchor text to the URL, in a certain way the URL can still serve as the anchor text and instantly tell users what your content is about. This could encourage a lot of people to click on the URL even if it doesn’t have an anchor text.

According to information available on one of Search Engine Land’s pages, choose one or two keywords per URL; adding more won’t help to improve your ranking on Google and other search engines. In terms of positioning, it’s best to put your keywords at/toward the beginning of your URL.

7. Don’t repeat or stuff keywords

Repeating keywords or stuffing them in URLs could lead your site to disaster. Don’t stuff keywords unnecessarily in your URL. There are no rewards for repeating keywords; the practice could be viewed as an attempt to manipulate search engines and could diminish your site’s credibility in the eyes of users and search engines.

8. Use the least number of words you possibly can: if possible, use between three and five

In an interview, Google’s Matt Cutts had stated that URLs that consist of three, four, or five words are perfectly okay; but the longer they become, the lesser Google’s algorithm will weigh the words and just not give the URLs as much credit.

In summary, distill the essence of your content into anywhere between three to five words. Generally, keep the number of words to the least minimum, but do it in a way that can still enable users or readers to have an idea of what to expect when they clicking a URL.

9. Keep the length of your URL to the least number of characters you possibly can: if possible, use between 50 and 60 characters

Backlinko analyzed 11.8 million Google search results and found out that “Shorter URLs tend to rank better than long URLs”; therefore, the shorter a URL, the better it will improve your search engine ranking and attract traffic to your site.

Backlinko also analyzed one million Google search results and the statistics showed that, in order for a URL to perform as best as it possibly can in a search engine, the maximum number of characters in the URL should be kept to anywhere between 50 and 60 characters. Having up to 80 or more characters could negatively impact your search engine ranking and traffic.

10. Make your URL easily readable

There is a strong bond between a user-friendly URL and overall SEO. A readable URL will make it easy for users and search engines to understand the type of content that should be expected on a destination, post, or page. Therefore, do all you can to structure your URL in a way that can make it easily readable, even if it has some hyphens and forward slashes.

Structure your URL so that it can be simple, clear, and easily understood by users immediately or shortly after they glance at it for a few moments.

Conclusion

If you can create useful content, and make SEO-friendly URLs by using the points stated above, you will be able to improve your search engine ranking and attract more traffic to your site.

While the process of making SEO-friendly URLs might appear difficult, time-wasting, and tricky, it uses a lot of common-sense principles that you can easily practice, apply, and benefit from.

Definition, importance & advantages of using keyword search optimization

Definition of keyword search optimization

Keyword optimization can be defined as the process of conducting keyword research in order to analyze and select the best keywords that would be able to target and drive qualified traffic from search engines to a website and its article(s).

Why do most websites and blogs take keyword search optimization as a “do-or-die” thing? Because the proper use of keywords can actually make a difference for websites and blogs.

It has to be noted that keyword search optimization is very important in the initial stages of planning for content production and search engine marketing campaigns.

Importance/advantages of using keyword search optimization

When it comes to search engine marketing, keyword research and optimization is very important because it offers high and valuable returns. As a content writer or blogger, searching for/using popular keywords (both short-tail and long-tail) will really help to produce trendy content that can attract organic traffic.

Keyword search optimization can actually help your content reach and attract potential customers if you have an idea of the words/keywords that are mostly typed during queries/searches; in order to do that, you can use a keyword optimization tool website.

The undeniable fact is that, on search engines, most websites are ranked for quality in combination with appropriate use of certain keywords that search engines can find. The use of keyword search optimization has the following advantages:

• It attracts an engaged audience: the type of audience you are looking for.

• It leads to increased conversion in terms of views and sales: it helps relevant content not only to attract visitors but also to convert them to customers and sources of cash or revenue generation.

• It gives content creators and bloggers insight into current internet marketing trends. By consistently analyzing keywords, it becomes easy to always understand internet users’ and consumers’ behavior, and what potential customers are mostly searching for.

• It helps to properly prioritize time, and not waste it on creating content that uses inefficient keywords that can’t attract as much traffic as other more efficient ones. Using the right keywords can greatly increase a site’s return on investment (ROI) in terms of views and exposure.

• etc.

(Featured Image Credit: Pixabay.com.)

How to start making money immediately with your social media accounts or blogs

This article explains an easy method you can use to make money online by shortening URLs and making money from them after people click on them.

The URLs don’t have to come from your website or blog. In fact, you don’t even need a website to make money from shortened URLs or web links of content you can share on many online platforms.

Many shortened URLs on the internet are paid for. Paid shortened URLs or links are usually overlooked by many people; however, they can be used to earn tons of cash, especially if they are shared regularly to huge traffic, regardless of source or destination.

By using any URL-shortening platform, service, or website, you can earn money online by shortening long URLs from any websites, and pasting or posting them on various platforms.

The good thing about making money from shortened URLs is that you don’t need any technical skills. In addition, you don’t need to own a website or blog. On the other hand, if you own a website or blog, especially with a large following (followers), it would be a great bonus for you.

How are shortened URLs or links used to make money?

After signing up with any URL-shortening service, you just need to enter (or copy and paste) your link onto the box provided by the service and create a short URL for free.

You can sign up with the best, most veteran, and most trusted URL-shortening website—Adfly. Although there are so many URL-shortening services, Adfly is the biggest player in the market because they’ve been in the business for a very long time, have a good reputation, and payout the highest and most decent rates—in addition, I’ve personally been using Adfly and can give an account of how it works.

Each time someone clicks on a shortened link you create on Adfly, you will get paid! Usually, when a visitor (or anybody) clicks on an Adfly shortened link, the shortened URL will pause for about 5 seconds and then redirect the visitor (or anybody) to the destination of the original link. For those 5 seconds, Adfly will display an advert which you will be paid for, especially if the visitor waits for the web page to open.

In order to help direct readers, but still, make money, you may give instructions such as: “When you click the link, you may also have to click the ‘Skip AD’ button that could appear around the top right corner of your screen, and the web page (or file, it depends) will open/appear. Alternatively, if the “Press allow” button appears, click it so that the web page (or file) will open/appear”.

Where to get traffic for your Adfly shortened URL

As we all know, the internet has long been a platform where people share information through links, or by linking. Most types of information are interesting because of their importance to people’s lives.

In order to make money after signing up with Adfly and creating shortened URLs, you can post them on forums and social media networking platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, etc.

Whenever a visitor clicks on your shortened URL, money will be credited to your account. So, there is always a potential to earn income from every click on your shortened URL, especially when or where there is a lot of traffic.

One of the best ways you can generate money or attract a lot of people or visitors to click on your shortened URLs or links is to set up or make use of Facebook groups. Many Facebook groups have more than a million followers—so you can actually make good money quickly!

You can also make a lot of money creating eBooks like I do, and ask visitors who are interested to download them. Alternatively, you can produce videos and post them to YouTube, with a shortened link placed as the hyperlink for the description of the eBook or video. Generally, you could post your shortened URLs on/through the following platforms:

• Facebook: several millions of people use Facebook on a daily basis; so Facebook is one of the best, if not the best platform to post your links and publish them.
• Forums: you can write posts or comments on countless forums in order to promote your links.
• Pinterest: you can publish pictures of popular content with your shortened URLs attached.
• Twitter: you can post shortened links to interesting content or web pages for followers who could click and retweet the links.
• Youtube: you can use your shortened links on YouTube.com in order to direct (or redirect) visitors to uploaded videos.
• A website or blog: you can make a free website or blog and create shortened links for the content of your website. If you don’t have a website or blog, but need one, then easily get one for free: sign up with WordPress.com here.
• Paid campaigns on other websites/platforms: you can run paid campaigns in order to put your shortened URLs at the front of huge volumes of true, trusted, and tested traffic from targeted countries such as the United States (US), Canada, United Kingdom (UK), Australia, Spain (ES), Germany, etc. On Adfly you can pay and advertise mass campaigns for any number of people to view your links by clicking the “Advertiser” button (at the top right of a registered account) and selecting certain options.

If you are interested in making money from your social media accounts or blogs click here and sign up with Adfly.

How to create short Adfly URLs

In order to create shortened URLs on Adfly, first sign up for an Adfly account. After you sign up and get an account, sign in to your account and you will find a box on the home page where you can shorten any URL by pasting it onto the box and clicking “Shrink!”.

After you paste and click “Shrink!”, a shortened URL will immediately be created. Once it’s created, copy and paste or use it on any platform you believe would bring you the highest money or profit.

Payment methods used by Adfly

Adfly offers the highest payout rate of about $22 per 1000 unique views that come from the United States. The rates for other regions differ and are typically lesser.

You can actually make a lot of money from Adfly if you can attract tons of traffic from the US. Other countries that attract more money through shortened URLs include Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Finland, Germany, and the UK.

If you choose PayPal as your payment method, whenever your earnings grow up to $5 or more during the preceding month (or months, depending on how much money your links attract during the time period), your earnings will be automatically paid before midnight on the official payment date for payment which is on the 1st day of each month.

If you choose Payoneer as your payment method, and the money in your account grows up to $10, then your earnings will be automatically paid on the official date of payment because the requirement for withdrawal via Payoneer is that any account should have a minimum of $10.

If you sign up, ensure that your PayPal or Payoneer email/account ID is correct, otherwise, you won’t be able to receive payment. If you intend to miss a payment, then it is advisable that you remove your payment details from your account before the 1st day of each month that you request for and expect payment.

Besides earning money through shortened links, you can also earn money by attracting referrals for Adfly. If you refer people, you would receive 20% of their total earnings for life.

If you like Adfly’s offer and are interested in earning money from shortened URLs, then sign up here and start earning money immediately!

In case you may need a Payoneer account for receiving and withdrawing money from Adfly

If you would like to get a Payoneer account, click here and sign up. Payoneer provides registered members with foreign bank accounts and makes it possible for its users to receive and withdraw money in over 50 currencies, and into local bank accounts in more than 200 countries.

(Featured Image Credit: Pixabay.com.)

The choices you make will make a difference for your visitors, customers and followers

It’s quite difficult to get the general impression that visitors, customers, or followers have about a particular website, blog, offline office, or any business.

How do visitors feel about your business? Is there any difference in how you view life that also reflects in the image or brand of your business?

Do visitors see your business in a different light and on a different level than other people in your niche? Do you stand out, or have you also gotten relaxed doing the common things that are being practiced?

Do you go an extra mile to give visitors more value than your competitors do? Or do you just do the same things your competitors do?—And in your own case, just for fun?

It is quite common for people or businesses to copy what other outstanding businesses are doing

Although not a wrong practice, the common thing is for individuals or businesses to copy what pace-setters do.

If you want to be unique and stand out from the crowd, the best thing to do is to look at pace-setters for inspiration, but at the same time, still look out for your own unique path that can radiate uniqueness.

Visitors, customers, and followers are always looking for something that can add value to their lives—fortunately, or unfortunately, they feel much better if they get it at no cost

We’ve all had the feeling of being a customer who was searching for something, confused, frustrated, and thinking that nobody cared, not even the people we “follow”.

Many a time, visitors, customers, or followers need one form of help or advice or another. Sometimes visitors don’t even know exactly what they want until they see it among the products of your business.

Try your best to stand out—dare to be different!

If you take a good look at some individuals or businesses that are successful and have stood out, you’ll notice that their products or services are not much better than that of their competitors.

In fact, in many cases, their products or services could be inferior—but generally, the combination of their business and culture or image/brand makes them stand out.

Standing out can be discouraging if we don’t have a strong mindset. Why? Because it requires us to step outside our comfort zones. While stretching ourselves, if we are patient, zealous, and committed, we will reap great rewards or dividends!

The awesome passion-based qualities that make WordPress.com a unique platform

During my blogging career which has spanned over 7 years and touched quite a number of platforms whose names I can’t remember, I’ve been fortunate enough to experience the qualities of different websites and a few self-hosted platforms like WordPress.com.

And although everybody might have their own opinion as regards to which platform is the best, I would blatantly state that WordPress.com has the best passion-based qualities which I have not experienced elsewhere.

Why? Because WordPress.com’s qualities SUIT MY NEEDS! Note that my needs—which are unique and more applicable to me—differ from the needs of other people.

Sign up and start building a free or paid website on WordPress.com

In addition, my needs—along with that of every other person—would certainly include a high-level security which WordPress.com usually provides—you can read more about security and general issues here: Why WordPress.com is the best platform for building websites–in comparison with WordPress.org.

Apart from security, WordPress.com’s general practices create a passion—an attractive passion-based culture

Although passion is very useful in life, it’s not always easy to create and instill it in millions of people—WordPress.com has been instilling passion in people for a very long time.

But what is a passion-based culture? A passion-based culture is a culture in which most of people involved in a business—in this case WordPress.com—are entertained, engaged in their dreams, are happy and energetic.

Although not everybody on WordPress.com might be happy—as is usually the case everywhere in the world—most people on WordPress.com (which consists of WordPress.com management team, its happiness engineers, and the owners of websites and blogs, etc.) are happy and fulfilled.

It is obvious that WordPress.com values the happiness and purpose-driven values it gives to millions of people across the world—even much more than it values its own bank account

It is quite clear that WordPress.com has a reason for creating its platform for people to use—a reason that is far greater than making money just to fatten their pocket or bank account.

This is the reason why WordPress.com attracts a lot of customers and makes a huge profit. One problem though is that some customers do not put in enough effort to fulfill their own personal dreams which WordPress.com can only provide necessary tools for them to use and achieve.

Over the years, WordPress.com has been able to sell itself and give people a platform to execute their passionate purposes and plans.

WordPress.com has a DNA that brings the best out in people who have faith, drive, zeal, patience, and determination

WordPress.com has a clearly defined DNA that humbly states what it stands for, what it can accept, and what is non-acceptable and non-negotiable. If anybody is good to go with it—as many people have been—it can only bring out more productivity and passion in those people whose utmost desire is to offer their talent and services and be inwardly fulfilled.

WordPress.com has an established progressive environment

Motion and progress or progression are universal laws that WordPress.com gets along with quite well because it is focused on making progress and perfecting the needful in all-encompassing ways that are targeted at carrying everybody along as much as possible.

There are many processes and procedures in use today that were obviously not in use years ago; they were implemented along the line in order to balance the platform’s security and operability together with the desires of the majority.

WordPress.com inspires people with processes and ideas that can help them define and achieve their dreams

Although many people in the world spend most of their time earning a living, it seems only a few of them have insight into what they would actually like to do with their lives.

WordPress.com has the capacity to make people clearly see the next important step; it presents them with a gift and opportunity to clarify their goals and continue chasing their passion.

If you would like to build a website, sign up with WordPress.com by clicking here.

(Featured Image Credit: Pixabay.com.)

10 Important practices that can greatly increase your rankings on search engines

If you are a site or blog owner who is interested in improving your SEO rankings, this article will provide you with an example and the most important steps to do so using keyword search results.

The use of popular keywords can improve your SEO rankings. The following are 10 important practices that can greatly increase your SEO rankings:

(1) Know or state “exactly” what you would like to write about, and write the main keyword or keywords down

At the initial stage of preparing articles, it is very important to have a concrete and precise idea of what you would like to write about.

For example, let’s assume you are an affiliate marketer who wants to promote “WordPress.com”—not WordPress.org—then your main keyword should be “WordPress.com”.

Other keywords could follow, but before you decide on using them, conduct a keyword search for “WordPress.com” and assess your results in order to find other minor/related keywords that are popularly searched for.

(2) Conduct keyword search for “WordPress.com” and select other minor/related keywords that can be used to enrich your articles and improve SEO ranking

A number of sites can be used to conduct keyword searches online. However, if you would like to conduct free keyword search, you can use KeywordTool.io via the following link: https://keywordtool.io/google.

Visit the website and select “Global”—if you would like to find the recent most popular keywords that are being searched worldwide—and the language, which in this case is English.

After you select those two options, type/enter “WordPress.com” in the search box and the following results of the top 23 most popularly searched keywords (worldwide) would appear as shown in the figures below:

Figure 1: Top 7 most popularly searched keywords, worldwide

Figure 2: Top 8th to 23rd most popularly searched keywords, worldwide

Note that the most popularly searched keywords—minor/related keywords—are “WordPress.com themes”, “WordPress.com” pricing, “WordPress.com or WordPress.org), etc.—the list goes on as you move down the table.

(3) Study the results obtained from keyword search

After you conduct keyword search, study the results, assess and select the keywords that would best fit the content you intend to create.

If you already had other keywords in mind that didn’t show up in the search results, you can still find a way to discuss them in your content.

(4) Select the keywords you wish to place/use in your article

(5) Choose a befitting and attractive title or headline that would likely attract clicks—make sure the main keyword is in the title

From our example—creating content around the keyword “WordPress.com”—we could select a title such as: “Why WordPress.com is the best platform to build your website: themes, pricing, support”.

This title is would likely attract clicks from searchers of the most popular keywords because it tells them that themes, pricing, support—which are among the most popular keywords—will be discussed.

(6) Put the minor/related keywords in “bold” sub-headings within your content. This can help scanners quickly locate different types of popular keywords.

(7) Conduct thorough internet and book searches for the most informative content that is related to your interest and is based on your selected keywords.

(8) Write your content in an original, informative, and interesting way that can provide readers with useful information.

(9) Make sure you discuss each piece of relevant information under each bold sub-heading within your content.

(9) Place an appreciable amount of white space (spacing) in your content in order to make it easier for people to read.

(10) Self-edit your work, or give it to a good editor to view it before publishing. This would ensure your work is void of grammatical errors that can reduce your SEO rankings on search engines

(Featured Image Credit: Pixabay.com.)

The difference between posts and pages—an important (user-friendly) difference you might not know about

On WordPress.com there are two different approaches or platforms that can be used to create content: posts and pages. It is quite evident that creation of content on posts is more popular than creation of content on pages—obviously there are reasons.

Although posts are important, pages are important as well, especially in the context of navigation. Pages can actually make a user’s experience much easier in terms of locating other articles that are older or far down the ladder of “categories” or a blog’s feed.

In order to make your site much more user-friendly and easy to navigate when looking for older articles that were produced a long time ago, the use of pages would likely seal the deal much more than categories could.

The major differences between posts and pages

Usually, while WordPress.com’s posts have names or designations of public authors, pages don’t!  Also, posts are usually displayed in RSS feeds, while pages aren’t!

Posts usually have formats that can be customized, while pages usually have fixed templates. Also, while pages don’t have publications dates, each post or article has, as can be seen beneath the titles in the figures below:

 

 

Whenever a typical post is to be written and published, the date of publication will appear beneath a post’s title, as can be seen at the top of this particular post, and also at the far left edge in each of the three images shown above.

Unlike posts, WordPress.com “pages” don’t have publication dates because they are meant to be static; on the other hand, “posts” are meant to be dynamic or moving, except in certain cases where they are stuck to the top of blogs with the “stick to the top of the blog” button.

Examples of content that should be on a page include “Contact Page”, “About Me”, “About Us”.

In order to make searching easier for users on your website, you may put all “titled links” of posts on single page so that navigation downward or upward will occur within a few seconds, even if the page has a lot of content that includes “titled links”.

Usually, when users scroll down “categories” or website feeds that contain posts, they gradually become tired and discouraged surfing, even when they are interested in certain posts that appear  to be rich and engaging from their titles or introductory words.

To make navigation easier, the titles and links of posts can be entered on a single page and in alphabetical order as shown in the figure below where the titles of the posts that appear in the figures above, also appear on a single page titled “Motivation & Self-help Articles (80)” as shown in the figure below:

With the alphabetical arrangement of the first words of each blog post title, as shown in the figure above, surfing for posts becomes much easier and faster for users—especially those who are impatient, or in a hurry.

You can place pages on your menu instead of categories—but you would have to create new pages

Many people might not know that it is possible to place pages (for example, “Motivation & Self-help”, “Environmental Science & Engineering”, etc.) on your menu instead of categories, as you can see in the figure below:

The advantage of using pages on your menu

If you use pages on your menu instead of categories, it will help users navigate faster and easier—downwards or upwards—and also make it easier for older content to be accessed within seconds of scrolling downwards.

Although posts can be arranged on pages, and also in categories, pages are far much easier and less tiresome to navigate by visitors who are mostly in a rush and don’t have enough patience to thoroughly navigate categories.

Certain Points That Newbies Must Note as They Seek To Make Money Online

On a daily basis, many people browse through lots and lots of web pages — like I once used to — with the intention of finding ways to make money online. Most of them finally get involved in ventures which are new, or quite new to them. At this point in money-making, this category of people can be referred to as “newbies”. This article attempts to pinpoint certain things that should be noted while searching for avenues to make money online:

1. Nobody can really make money on the internet by hurrying or rushing. Once you become a partaker of an online money-making empire, you might not be able to make above a certain chunk of money per time, neither can you amass large amounts of money instantly. In the journey to making money online, you have to grow into it: money-making is a process that usually grows!

Strong and lasting business empires are created over a period of time with endurance, expectations, hope, faith, and steadfastness. Another thing you have to put at the back of your mind is that nobody can make money online without having specialized skills or knowledge. Anybody who desires to create a certain form of wealth from the internet must invest time, energy, and resources into the area of knowledge they are interested or skilled in. In order to be successful, you must invest your knowledge into an online business, no matter the amount of knowledge you possess! Newbies, most especially, must be decisive about what they really want to do online. In case they are ignorant, then they have to educate themselves offline, or search online for the type of people and materials which can educate them on ideas that are a necessary requirement for becoming successful and influential figures in their money-making domain. One thing to always remember: coupled with patience, you need basic knowledge to start off, gain positive experience, and become successful and influential — all these take up a considerable amount of time!

2. You can’t make money online when you decide to do the things that other people are doing without having a certain degree of passion. Don’t waste your energy and resources on an online business just because every other person is partaking in it or talking about it. Be spot-on in knowing exactly what you want to partake in and achieve online; then carry out independent research to ascertain whether the business can generate an appreciable or great amount of money over time. You can’t make money online by assessing opportunities without having basic knowledge and understanding about the online environment! After gaining knowledge and understanding about how the internet works, then certainly you won’t be uncertain and probably afraid in many instances where things might not go as smoothly as you expect.

3. Lastly, you must have the necessary drive, determination, and focus in order to make money online. Don’t hop around the internet being a jack of all trades, but master of none. At first, concentrate on one opportunity, then obtain a handsome reward before you venture into another opportunity/other opportunities.

How keyword optimization continues to make my articles attract increasing numbers of views from Google—with screenshots

This article is meant to inspire people who are interested in keyword optimization, and who believe in it. The article serves as an update on a previous article, and a source of motivation for web publishers and bloggers who aspire to always continue growing their sites. Last time I published a post on how keyword optimization shot my keyword-optimized articles to the top on my website stats, I was inspired by responses/comments from readers was inspired to write and publish this article.

We will take a look at nine screenshots which would prove how effective keyword optimization is, and how it can attract high return on investment in terms of increasing number of views and eBook downloads mostly from people who have been referred from Google.

A brief look at the stats of two of my articles that have been the most viewed, especially from Google

When I published a related article on August 21, 2019, my most viewed article “Definition & types of technical drawing” had been viewed 1,352 times, with over 70+% of the views coming from Google within 6+ months prior; in addition, my article “15 Reasons why You Should Study Environmental Science” had been viewed 671 times within 8+ months prior.

But as at today (screenshot 1), and within 14+ days after the related article was published, Definition & types of technical drawing and 15 Reasons why You Should Study Environmental Science had been viewed a total of 2028 and 1,167 times, respectively—this represented a rise of 676 and 496 within 2+ weeks: 50% and 74% increase, respectively, in terms of the number of views.

Screenshot 1

Because of interest from my readers who have been coming from Google, I was motivated to produce two eBooks (one of them has been revised once, while the other has been revised 4 times) which, as at the day of publication of this article, had been downloaded a total of 312 times: 174 and 138 times, respectively (see Screenshot 2 below), and 231 out of the 312 were downloaded within the first 6 days of September, 2019.

Screenshot 2

Definition & types of technical drawing, which used to attract between 30 and 50 views per day, later started attracting between 70 and 100+ views per day, mostly from Google. In fact, on September 4, 2019, it attracted 124 views even though I didn’t publish any article on that day (see Screenshot 3 below).

Screenshot 3

In August, 2019, Definition & types of technical drawing attracted 499 views, but within 6+ days of the following month (September, 2019) had already attracted 391 views (see Screenshot 4), and within one or two days, could beat the stats of last month; at the end of September, 2019, I wouldn’t be surprised to see these stats double, triple, or quadruple the stats of August. 2019.

Screenshot 4

When I started this site, even up to 2 years later, it was quite normal for my site to be referred by Google between five and ten times per month; but after using keyword optimization much later than 2 years, it became quite normal to wake up a few hours into a new day and see my site being referred 16 times by Google, and my most viewed article being viewed 21 times (see Screenshot 5).

Screenshot 5

My greatest motivation is my site’s Google Search Console report which showed that the average position of my site within the last seven days was 1.3 whenever the query “types of technical drawing” was made by Google users (see Screenshot 6).

Screenshot 6

Also, the average position of my site within seven days was 6.4 whenever the query “why study environmental science” was made by Google users (see Screenshot 7).

Screenshot 7

Generally, the top 5 queries that made my site to be highly referred by Google and viewed from Google within 7 days, were (see Screenshot 8):

• types of technical drawing

• why study environmental science

• technical drawing

• different types of technical drawing

• why do we study environmental science.

Screenshot 8

The keywords that appear in Sceenshot 8 above (Google Search Console report) ring a bell and inform us exactly what some people are searching for on the World Wide Web. The same thing happens around other keywords outside the technical drawing and environmental science niches.

Generally, within the the past 7 days before this article was published, most visitors from Google came from the following countries (see Screenshot 9.):

• Philippines

• Nigeria

• India

• United States

• Guyana

• United Kingdom

Screenshot 9

Conclusion

From my experience within 8+ months (i.e., between January 1, 2019, and September 6, 2019), I would advise fellow bloggers to use keyword optimization if they want to easily attract readers (who belong to their niche) through Google, Bing, Yahoo, Baidu, etc., from the internet world. I advise that fellow bloggers should search for keywords in their niches, and start using them, or continuously get more familiar with them.

If you are interested in increasing your site’s exposure, blog regularly, and use keywords which can be confirmed from Google/keyword tool; also, if you can, share the links of your content on other social media platforms. Furthermore, you can expose your site much more by producing downloadable eBooks which you can upload for free on your website and other popular eBook websites such as PDFdrive and Slideshare.net; if you do so, people who are interested could download your eBooks and continue to share them with the wider world which, over time, will likely continue to come in larger numbers to your site.

You may read related articles by clicking the following links:

How keyword optimization made my article attract the highest number of views & rank almost 1.0 on Google—6 screenshots & a practical example

The feeling of blogging to 1st position on Google in 28 countries

How keyword optimization made my article attract the highest number of views & rank almost 1.0 on Google—6 screenshots & a practical example

It is widely believed that gaining experience (or trying out things) is the best way to learn and become more certain or confident in many areas of life. My experience in testing and applying keyword search optimization on a few articles has been paying off—but I know this is just the beginning!

Since I started publishing content on the internet 7 years ago, I’ve never really liked the idea of concentrating on keywords or applying keyword search optimization, most especially because of the extra effort it requires and the rules that have to be followed in order to properly incorporate it when producing content.

On the other hand, stats from my website’s dashboard, and Google search console performance reports have proven that keyword search optimization (or “keyword optimization SEO”) will always help articles attract views and clicks from other search engines, even if followers from a hosted platform (for e.g., Weebly, Blogger, WordPress.com, etc,) are not attracted to the article enough to make them “comment” or “like” the articles.

One major lesson I’ve learned is that even if nobody is attracted enough to “comment on” or “like” an article that is first published within a hosted platform (like Blogger or WordPress.com) where most site owners or bloggers get/have their respective followers, the article can still receive the highest number of views from all types of search engines, especially Google. (But keyword search optimization will be needed to get there.)

This has “almost” been the case with one of my articles titled Definition & types of technical drawing. The article has roughly one-third the number of likes and comments that My reception of “the versatile blogger award” has; yet still, the former has been viewed 400+ times more than the latter.

In fact, as at the time of writing, My reception of “the versatile blogger award” was in the 1st position in terms of the total number of likes from WordPress.com-based readers, while Definition & types of technical drawing was in the 71st position. We can all agree that results would have been very different if readers outside WordPress.com—such as those from Google, Bing, Yahoo Search, Facebook, etc.—were easily allowed to like/comment on WordPress.com-based posts.

In order to convince you about the reality, we will take a look at screenshots, stats, and analysis of one of my article’s views on my site’s WordPress.com-hosted dashboard, and Google search console performance reports, respectively; also, I will briefly discuss about 2 other articles that have been responding well to to searches/queries, and attracting views from Google.

Before we move forward, truth be told: over time, keyword optimization can help your articles attract the highest number of views possible from all search engines, especially the most powerful one: Google. The right application of keyword search optimization can bring your website a lot of exposure, visitors, customers, conversions, and even money.

Generally, we will discuss the following:

• Definition of keyword search optimization.

• Importance/advantages of using keyword search optimization.

• Screenshots, stats, and analysis of my highest viewed keyword-search-optimized article titled: “Definition & types of technical drawing”.

• Practical example: where and how to place keywords.

• Conclusion.

Definition of keyword search optimization

Keyword optimization can be defined as the process of conducting keyword research in order to analyze and select the best keywords that would be able to target and drive qualified traffic from search engines to a website and its article(s).

Why do most websites and blogs take keyword search optimization as a “do-or-die” thing? Because the proper use of keywords can actually make a difference for websites and blogs.

It has to be noted that keyword search optimization is very important in the initial stages of planning for content production and search engine marketing campaigns.

Importance/advantages of using keyword search optimization

When it comes to search engine marketing, keyword research and optimization is very important because it offers high and valuable returns. As a content writer or blogger, searching for/using popular keywords (both short-tail and long-tail) will really help to produce trendy content that can attract organic traffic.

Keyword search optimization can actually help your content reach and attract potential customers if you have an idea of the words/keywords that are mostly typed during queries/searches. And to do that, you can use a keyword optimization tool website in a way that will be explained further below.

The undeniable fact is that, on search engines, most websites are ranked for quality in combination with the appropriate use of certain keywords. The use of keyword search optimization has the following advantages:

• It attracts an engaged audience: the type of audience you are looking for.

• It leads to increased conversion in terms of views and sales: it helps relevant content not only to attract visitors, but also to convert them to customers and sources of cash or revenue generation.

• It gives content creators and bloggers insight into current internet marketing trends. By consistently analyzing keywords, it becomes easy to always understand internet users’ and consumers’ behavior, and what potential customers are mostly searching for.

• It helps to prioritize time properly and not waste it on creating content that uses inefficient keywords that can’t attract as much traffic as other more efficient ones can. Using the right keywords can greatly increase a site’s return on investment (ROI) in terms of views and exposure.

• etc.

Screenshots, stats, and analysis of my keyword-search-optimized article titled: “Definition & types of technical drawing”

Although the article Definition & types of technical drawing doesn’t have/hasn’t had anything close to the highest number of likes and comments on my site since it was published some time ago (February 15, 2019), it currently attracts between 30 and 50+ views per day, even when I don’t publish. Initially, it started from a few views per day but was increasing every day until it started attracting 50+ views per day.

Most of the views come from Google; you can see the stats for only one day on “Screenshot 1” below.

Screenshot 1: the article’s average Google views per day

As you can see, the stats on the image show that my website attracted a total of 167 views on August 16, 2019. And even though I didn’t publish a new article on that day, my website was referred 63 times from Google, while the article itself attracted 55 views, and my Google search console performance clicks and impressions for days and weeks also confirm that most of the article’s views always come from Google, rather than from WordPress.com.

The good thing is that the longer an informative and keyword search optimized article stays on the internet, the more it tends to increasingly attract search engines, and the more it will be found, especially if quality content and keyword search optimization are properly incorporated into content during the writing stage, and prior to publishing.

As you can see on “Screenshot 2”, as at the time of writing, my site has been referred 963 times from Google, 156 times from Bing, and 20,156 times from WordPress.com’s readers in 2019; while the article itself has received 1,352 views from all search engines (including Google). Generally, as at the time of writing, my site had 110 articles and had been viewed about 42,300+ times.

In addition, daily stats and observations from Google search console performance reports have proven that the—although comparably less popular on WordPress.com—had been viewed about 900+ times or more from Google; and this can be attributed to the use of keyword search optimization.

Screenshot 2: article’s total number of views

I also applied keyword search optimization to 2 other articles which have also been doing quite well on Google as you can see on “Screenshot 2” (above) and “Screenshot 3” (below) of my site’s stats dashboard and Google users’ queries/searches such as “why study environmental science”, “why do we need to study environmental science”, and “Christian freelance writing jobs”. These queries/searches lead to my articles titled: 15 Reasons why you should study environmental science and Christian freelance writing jobs: 19 websites that pay for submissions.

Screenshot 3: performance and Google search console report on Google users’ queries for related articles

Generally, as you can see on “Screenshot 2”, no other article has attracted more views than the article under discussion; in addition, “Screenshot 3” informs us that no other article on this site has attracted more clicks and impressions on Google than Definition & types of technical drawing; it’s just way too far ahead of the rest.

In fact, the stats (August 17, 2019) on “Screenshot 4” show that the article has an average position of 1.4 (almost 1.0) on Google whenever searches/queries are made using the long-tail keyword: “Types of technical drawing”.

Screenshot 4: average position of article whenever a specific query/search is made by users on Google

As defined by Google, the average position, which is based on searches from every part of the world, is the average position of a website in search results whenever a specific search/query (for e.g., “types of technical drawing”) is made during searches by internet users.

One important thing to always remember is that proper use and placement of keywords can make it extremely possible for content to be easily seen and accessed through all types of search engines, be it Google, Bing, WordPress.com, etc.

The performance/stats of quality and keyword-optimized articles on Google can be very inspiring and provide more insight to people who are interested in knowing the benefits of keyword search optimization.

A little bit later, we will view a brief practical example on how a combination of a keyword optimization tool website and keyword search optimization (or, keyword optimization SEO) can be applied during the writing process, and before publishing articles. The great results of such a combination usually show up long after keyword-optimized articles have been published.

Practical example: where and how to place keywords

In order to explain where and how keywords should be best placed, we will use one of my most recently published articles as an example; it’s titled: Why WordPress.com is the best platform to build your website—comparison with WordPress.org.

Take a look at “Screenshots 5″ and “Screenshot 6” below:

Screenshot 5: search result showing the first 7 keywords

Screenshot 6: search result showing the 8th to 23rd keywords

Now, assume you are the person producing/writing the article, and follow the instructions below:

• Think and concentrate on the exact type of article you want to write about, and write the main keyword and title down. You might not get the exact title you want at the beginning, but first, just write something important down, especially the keyword. The title should have an important specific word (or keywords). In this example, I am an affiliate marketer who wants to genuinely encourage people to sign up with WordPress.com because of the obvious benefits/advantages, and stats; so I’ve decided to write a detailed and convincing article explaining why WordPress.com is better than WordPress.org. The thing to note is that WordPress.com is the main keyword here; so go to the next step: search for other “related” keywords associated with WordPress.com searches/queries by search engine users. Generally, the aim is to create an article that will provide a higher number of people with quality information when they type various related long-tail keywords on the internet or search engines.

• Next, visit https://keywordtool.io/google.

• Type “WordPress.com” in the search box and wait a moment for the results to appear.

• In “Screenshot 5”, you will notice 7 keywords arranged in decreasing order of search volume stats (which are hidden by the website) from top to bottom. It is not so important to know what the actual search volume stats are; rather, the most important information to take away from the search is that globally, the first keyword (WordPress.com themes), is the most searched keyword (or “long-tail keyword”), while “WordPress.com pricing” is the second most searched keyword, and the list continues.

• If you think the first set of keywords are not too relevant to the content you want to produce, then do a better or broader job by going beyond the first 7 (or even the first 10) keywords. Look at more keywords by going further below; so take a look at “Screenshot 6” where you can see the 8th placed keyword, up to the 23rd placed one: “WordPress.com themes”, “WordPress.com dashboard”, etc.

• Out of the first 5, 10, or 20 most searched keywords, select just a few that you know will be relevant to the content you want to produce for people to find, or read/view. The more keywords you select and use, the easier it will be for many people to find your articles via search engines. One of the keywords that would likely benefit a WordPress.com affiliate the most is the third most searched keyword which is “WordPress.com vs WordPress.org”. And that’s what this article is centered on, with an edge that explains the benefits of using WordPress.com, and why people should sign up.

• Use the keywords in your content as subtitles and make them bold and a bit larger so that even scanners (people who hurriedly scan content) can still be attracted to one or two subtitles which can draw their attention in, and finally make them read the whole article.

• Finally, write a relevant and information-rich article, and ensure that the main keywords are in each (or at least some) of the sub-titles or sub-headings.

• Alternatively, you could write different articles, with each article concentrating only on one keyword—one article for one keyword. But if you choose this option, you will have to write several articles in order to cover many keywords.

Note:

• In order to get the best results, use bold subtitles and make sure keywords are placed in some of them, if not all.

• Make sure articles are informative, clearly expressed, and contain good grammar and punctuation (depending on the language used).

• Place sufficient white space in your content because most people find it difficult to continuously read or concentrate on content that leaves no breathing space or pauses for the flow of their trending thoughts.

• Be patient because, even after getting verified on Google search console, it usually takes Google time to index a site; say from somewhere between a few days, and some weeks.

Conclusion

If you use keyword optimization tool website and follow the above instructions, it will be easy to carry out keyword search & analysis, structure your internet marketing agenda, and continuously attract the broadest base of any type of audience.

Note first that it’s important to verify your site on Google Search Console in order to gain access to insightful stats that can sharpen your keyword search optimization strategy. You can do verification through your site’s WordPress.com dashboard, or here.

Because of the extra effort involved in applying keyword search optimization, most site owners, marketers, and bloggers don’t find time to optimize keywords in their content. This is not always good because the absence of keywords and keyword search optimization can negatively impact a site’s search engine optimization (SEO) and pay-per-click (PPC) status/results, respectively.

If you don’t choose and use the types of keywords that are often sought after, it might be a bit difficult for your content to be found on the wider internet base. That means lesser, little or no traffic; and lesser, little or no views, sales, and money as well—especially if, in addition to the absence of keywords, you don’t have a solid base on social media platforms.

By consistently applying keyword search optimization, and expanding your website’s database of keywords, your site traffic, views, leads and sales will always continue to grow at an optimal level.

If you are interested in reading updates on the content of this article and seeing screenshots of the positions of one of my articles on Google at 1.3, 1.2, and 1.1—1st position in 28 countries—then click the following links:

How keyword optimization continues to make my articles attract increasing numbers of views from Google—with screenshots

The feeling of blogging to 1st position on Google in 28 countries

Why WordPress.com is the Best Platform to Build Your Website—Comparison with WordPress.org

It is understandable when anyone doesn’t have sufficient information about a new venture they would like to get into; the same applies to people who are interested in owning a website and building it from scratch.

In the same manner that life is unpredictable, so are certain issues and unforeseen circumstances that arise when operating and using a website. Issues could arise at any time, regardless of one’s experience or inexperience, especially on WordPress.com—and also on other platforms.

It won’t be surprising to find out that some users of WordPress.com still haven’t come across interesting information and stats about their platform which has brought a sense of fulfillment to about 33% of internet users, as at the time of writing this post.

The major reason why WordPress.com is the best platform on which you can own and operate a website is because of the obvious level of security it offers by shielding its users’ websites from security breaches that are known to have decimated many self-hosted WordPress.org websites, especially the ones that don’t have adequate web security tech.

In terms of security and some other important features, WordPress.com has lived up to the billing! On the other hand, some people are of the opinion that WordPress.org’s self-hosted platform is better than WordPress.com’s hosted platform because of the higher degree of “freedom” that WordPress.org offers.

Sign up and start building a free or paid website on WordPress.com

It has to be clarified now—as much as it will still be clarified a little bit later in this article—that the self-hosting WordPress.org platform has a history of vulnerabilities, security, and connection issues that have left scars on experienced and inexperienced people who operate websites on the internet world and general blogosphere.

The scars only serve as a reminder that not all that glitters is gold, and that certain degrees of freedom usually come with a price; a price you won’t have to pay if you host your website on WordPress.com.

Self-hosting, which is the domain of WordPress software (WordPress.org), has left scars that new initiates of the web and internet publishing world have to take heed of, not so as to shun WordPress.org completely, but rather, to patronize WordPress.com which is a security-tight web/blogging platform owned and hosted on the internet by Automattic.

Before we move ahead, let’s take a brief look at some interesting facts and stats that give insight as to why WordPress.com is quite popular amongst most internet users

• On WordPress.com, over 409 million people view more than 20 billion pages each month. This means that any web/blog owner has a large community that can increasingly subscribe to their blog if they consistently publish quality posts and interact with WordPress.com users’ on other blog posts.

• WordPress.com’s registered users span across a variety of customers ranging from new bloggers and entrepreneurs to major brands such as TIME, Spotify, TechCrunch to TED, CNN, and the National Football League.

• As of February 2017, it was noted that over 77 million new posts and 42.7 million new comments were being published on a monthly basis on WordPress.com.

• Although WordPress.com doesn’t endorse any content or inform people that content is accurate, useful, or non-harmful, it still doesn’t advise that content should be offensive, indecent, or objectionable.

• WordPress.com is not responsible for any use or effects created by the content that people publish.

In case you are looking for a platform on which you can own a website or blog, look no further; sign up with WordPress.com now by clicking on the menu of the page that would open. On the other hand, read a bit further through the article, and you will be happy to come across very important reasons why WordPress.com is the best platform for you to own and build a website.

Soon, you will get to see convincing reasons why a greater amount of money is always required for one can self-host a website on WordPress.org, and acquire the type of high-quality security necessary to operate a website with little or no issue(s).

WordPress.com is the best hosting platform that can certainly stand up to security and connection issues, and still allow you to publish comfortably, and run your website as much as you possibly can.

Many people argue that WordPress.org (self-hosted) is better than WordPress.com. They might be right when referring to certain aspects like “freedom”, but they might not be right in regard to all other aspects; for example, when it comes to the degree to which certain platforms make site owners relaxed and comfortable in their journey of self-education and self-development in web/online publishing, WordPress.com is a notch higher.

It’s true that certain people are satisfied with WordPress.org—but probably have gotten that satisfaction at a comparably higher price. Even at that, stats still point to cases that have proven that the greater population have been on the receiving end when it comes to vulnerability and security or connection issues related to self-hosting (WordPress.org’s) platform on one end of the web/blogging world.

At the other end of the web/blogging world, you have WordPress.com which has the personnel and technology that can handle technical aspects of web publishing along with the type of security issues that have demoralized and ended the careers of promising self-hosted bloggers/site owners.

My experience

When I first got this website in 2016, I was actually interested in WordPress.org as a self-hosting platform, but after using WordPress.com for 3 years and gaining a greater sense of fulfillment and peace in terms of security, and experiencing no loss or negative impact of vulnerabilities, I’ve forever made up my mind to remain on WordPress.com and go nowhere else.

In my humble opinion (which is based on experience and acquired information), although WordPress.org might have a higher degree of freedom and other privileges, there is still no better platform than WordPress.com!

This article will briefly state some past mishaps that could discourage a beginner or inexperienced blogger/web owner from using WordPress.org’s self-hosting platform.

Although not all that glitters is gold, WordPress.com glitters enough to be considered as gold, especially when it comes to providing opportunities for self-education and self-improvement without facing serious threats from security risks.

It is possible that after using WordPress.com for a while and gaining sufficient experience—if the need arises—owners of websites on WordPress.com can still migrate to self-hosted WordPress.org.

But as you may come to understand, it won’t be necessary to migrate, especially when self-hosting has had a history of vulnerability, security, and connection issues that could leave an inspired and inexperienced website owner in a permanent state of anxiety.

Types of hosting: comparison between WordPress.com (hosted websites) and WordPress.org (self-hosted websites) 

Like it always happens online, many people come to the internet not knowing that they can either acquire/operate a hosted website (which is what WordPress.com offers) or a self-hosted website (which is what WordPress.org offers).

So generally, there are two main options for people who desire to have a website or blog on the internet: to acquire either a hosted website, or a self-hosted website:

(i) Hosted website

Having a hosted website is like lodging in someone else’s house and being subjected to rules and boundaries, but still given the utmost amount of necessary insurance and security. You are not liable for security; neither do you have to bother about it. The actual house owner (examples include: WordPress.com, Blogger, Weebly, etc.) is the one who takes care of maintenance and security.

When it comes to having a hosted website, WordPress.com is like a landlord on which people host their websites; you can get a website now if you sign up here by clicking on the menu of the page that would open.

On WordPress.com, you can publish content without bothering about stuff like general security, SSL certifications, WordPress software upgrades, and other technical configurations that require an appreciable amount of money, experience, or knowledge.

(ii) Self-hosted website

Having a self-hosted website is like living in your own house and laying down your own rules, but still having to be concerned about the type of security you employ to take care of potential attacks. In many instances, you will have to pay an appreciable amount of money for many important services, regardless of the level of your experience. Still yet, certain levels of security are not guaranteed.

You are liable for maintenance and security, and have to source for both; these are important things you must focus on as a sole owner of a website on the self-hosted WordPress.org platform.

One of the most important advantages of using WordPress.com is the fact that it gives a luxurious amount of space for you to own and run a website, and still educate yourself without being exposed to too many security risks associated with technical errors or inexperience.

Sign up and start building a free or paid website on WordPress.com

On a general note, WordPress.com (Automattic) is a service that hosts millions of WordPress.com blogs on a shared server, while WordPress.org is a community where people host their respective websites/blogs with the open-source WordPress software which is usually being downloaded and run through each person’s individual web server.

So, generally, this post is for three kinds of people: first and foremost, those who are interested in creating and building a website, but only have little or no knowledge about where and how to start a website and build it; second, it is meant to educate or remind WordPress.com bloggers/website owners about the privileges they enjoy in terms of the security their WordPress.com platform provides; third, it is meant to inform those spammers—who have been trying to spam my website but will never succeed—that WordPress.com’s technology and staff will always prevent my website from experiencing security and connection issues!

Some other important topics that will be briefly discussed

In case you are new to the internet or blogging world and need a website, your journey will be smoother if you sign up and use WordPress.com by clicking on the menu of the page that opens. In addition to the general WordPress (WordPress.org) security and connection issues we will soon list, we will also look at the following:

• WordPress.com plans and pricing.

• WordPress.com support.

• WordPress.com mobile applications.

• Important points that have to be remembered.

• Big questions that need answers: what would you like to publish on a website? What type of website would you like to have?

• Conclusion/advice for people interested in owning/operating a website or blog.

A few WordPress.org security and connection issues which WordPress.com can give your website adequate protection against 

Because of the following past issues associated with self-hosting on the WordPress.org platform—and which are still issues to be concerned about today—WordPress.com is the best platform that can handle the vast range of vulnerabilities, remove stress and make it comfortable enough to publish content and concentrate on other important areas of your life:

• In May 2007, a study revealed that 98% of WordPress blogs were exploitable because they were running outdated and unsupported versions of the open-source WordPress software.

• In June 2013, it was found that some of the 50 most downloaded WordPress plugins were vulnerable to common Web attacks such as SQL injection and XSS. A separate inspection of the top-10 e-commerce plugins showed that seven of them were vulnerable.

• In March 2015, it was reported by many security experts and SEOs, including Search Engine Land, that a WordPress SEO plugin called Yoast—which is used by millions of people worldwide—has a vulnerability that can enable hackers to do Blind SQL injection. To fix that issue, WordPress.org immediately introduced a newer version 1.7.4 of the same plugin to avoid any disturbance on the internet because of the security lapse that the plugin possessed.

• In January 2017, security auditors at Sucuri identified a vulnerability in the WordPress REST API that would allow any unauthenticated user to modify any post or page within a site running WordPress 4.7 or greater. The auditors quietly notified WordPress developers, and within six days WordPress released a high-priority patch to version 4.7.2 which addressed the problem.

Although these incidences and many others happened in the past, they are worth considering and evaluating before choosing either WordPress.com or WordPress.org. Usually, WordPress.com handles all security concerns for users, while users in turn just focus on publishing fresh content and building their websites.

Sign up and start building a free or paid website on WordPress.com

WordPress.com plans & pricing

With no money and experience, but only a computer or mobile phone and strong internet connection, you can sign up with WordPress.com and get your website running the same day, while still being assured of security and web stability.

Regardless of the size of any budget you have—even if it is $0.00—WordPress.com has a plan right for you; it doesn’t require you to pay an extra penny; in addition, there is community support and much more.

However, you may later upgrade from the free plan to a higher one that has advanced customization, more themes, additional storage space, and business or money-making features/tools that optimize websites and blogs for growth.

Generally, you can build a blog, a full website, or a combination of both. You may write about your life, portfolio of professional work, or build a big business site—it all depends on you. In addition, you can upload images, photo galleries, audio, video and text documents, etc.

One exceptional ability the WordPress.com hosting and publishing platform has is that it saves people’s work every few seconds; so it’s not possible for even a single word to get missing. You can sign up with WordPress.com immediately, and start publishing content within minutes if you register via the menu of the page that opens.

If you need more features, you can choose from one of four other affordable plans to upgrade to. Each plan will give you a custom domain name, more space for your files, and support.

Some plans have advanced design customization, monetization tools, and the ability to upload secure and WordPress.com-tested WordPress plugins or themes. The affordable plans that come with more features and opportunities for earning cash include:

• Personal: Best for personal use —billed yearly at $5 per month.

• Premium: Best for freelancers—billed yearly at $8 per month.

• Business: Best for small businesses—billed yearly at $25 per month.

• eCommerce: Best for online stores—billed yearly at $45 per month.

An added advantage of using WordPress.com is it has promos that reduce the prices of each plan. After 2½ years of using the free plan and experiencing no security and connection issues, I decided to upgrade from the free plan to the premium plan, and paid $76.8 instead of $96; this was possible because, around the time, there was a promo that offered 20% discount on the price.

Sign up and start building a free or paid website on WordPress.com

WordPress.com support

WordPress.com contact and Happiness Engineers are always available online and respond quickly to messages from WordPress.com users. They are very interactive and answer questions, issues, or concerns regarding users’ websites or blogs. You may contact WordPress.com support here.

Also, WordPress.com has a forum where older and more experienced bloggers interact and give answers to questions asked or observations made by bloggers or new website owners. The forum can be accessed here.

WordPress.com mobile applications

Automattic has applications for WebOS, Android, iOS (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad), Windows Phone, and BlackBerry. The applications have features/options which enable users to create new blog posts, new pages, comment, moderate and reply to comments, and view their site statistics.

All mobile and desktop apps can be updated and downloaded from the internet. Generally, there are mobile and desktop applications available for iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, and Linux systems.

Important points that have to be remembered

• Self-hosting your website on WordPress.org can expose you to untold and unforeseen security risks which WordPress.com usually sees from afar, and addresses within a short period of time.

• Although there are security risks in anything people do on the internet, self-hosting a website on your own server/network could expose you to even more risks, especially if you lack knowledge and experience.

• Self-hosting of both big and small websites is subject to “denial of service attacks” and “scripting attacks”, sometimes at mind-blowing volume.

• When self-hosting in any part of the world that usually experiences an unsteady power supply or regular power outage, it might be difficult to gain control over any situation that occurs after power is interrupted. How long will the power be out? Minutes? Hours? Days? You might not know.

• When self-hosting, even if you guard your website on a server using a cage, you can still run into random events such as internet service outages, or leakage due to poor plumbing. If your bandwidth is exceeding an assigned amount, your ISP might shut down your connection. Many things can go entirely out of control.

• If you put the mental and technical costs of self-hosting a website into consideration and consider the vulnerabilities that anybody can be exposed to, it would be better to take a less dangerous route: sign up with WordPress.com by clicking on the menu of the page that opens.

• Even if your business is a small one, the cost of applying self-hosting services (which use professional data centers to house servers) could be overwhelming.

Sign up and start building a free or paid website on WordPress.com

Big questions that need answers

If you are interested in owning and operating a website, then you have to consider technical and safety issues and ask yourself which platform is in a better position to cheaply, safely, and effectively deliver your website content to visitors, and keep your heart at rest.

Another thing to note is that, apart from security concerns, you must ask yourself the following important questions before you choose a  self-hosted platform, or sign up with WordPress.com by clicking on the menu of the page that opens.

(i) What would you like to use a website for?

Websites can be used for many purposes. The following, which can give only a few ideas, are just a scratch on the surface:

• Interacting with the world: the internet is used by billions of people every day. This presents a great opportunity to interact with a large reader base that can end up patronizing you/your website for an indefinite period of time, especially if you deliver high-quality content and services. According to many reports, WordPress.com has over 56 million registered users/blogs/website owners; this large number of users can provide you with endless opportunities if you put in an appreciable amount of effort to grow your website/blog.

• Making money: your website or blog or can become an income-generating asset if you are smart, and work hard. WordPress.com’s plans have opportunities for making money from its Wordads and affiliate marketing programs. WordPress.com’s affiliate program is one of the fastest ways to make money from your website or blog, especially if you know what you are doing.

• Applying for freelance writing jobs on job boards such as Problogger.com, Indeed.com, Upwork.com, Guru.com, and many others. It has to be noted that only freelance job applications related to the content of your website/blog will likely receive responses from potential clients. Most clients usually request for links to posts/articles that resonate with what they are interested in. It is not advisable to apply for jobs that are not related to your niche, and also not related to the content published on your website.

(ii) What type of website would you like to have?

There are many types of websites that people use for many purposes; the following are just a few:

• Business: Agriculture, Funeral Homes, Design, Wholesale, Travel.

• Culture: Advice, People, Fashion, Museums, Religion.

• Education: K-12, Higher Education, Journals/Research, Classroom Webpages, Individual Student Webpages.

• Personal: Hobbies, Interests, Family, Fan Pages, Pets.

• Employment: Careers, Job Searches, Work Place Issues, Unions, Organizations.

• Health: Nursing, Fitness, Disease, Pharmacy, First Aid.

• Entertainment: Movies, Music, Games, Humor, Radio.

• Government: Elections, Student Government, Law, Civic Participation, Military.

Sign up and start building a free or paid website on WordPress.com

Conclusion/advice for people who are interested in owning/operating a website or blog

• Regardless of your experience or level of knowledge, worries over security and connection issues often associated with self-hosting on WordPress.org will be a thing of the past if you sign up with WordPress.com by clicking on the menu of the page that opens.

• WordPress.com provides direct access to support and features that can be easily used to publish content on the World Wide Web (the Internet).

• WordPress.com can help you achieve your dream of reaching out to the world without worrying about problems often associated with security and connection issues. Your major work will be to keep your website alive by consistently publishing quality content—even if you don’t have sufficient knowledge and money to subscribe to awesome features.

• At this point, it is important to state that it might be a waste of time to either sign up WordPress.com or opt for self-hosting on WordPress.org open-source software if you don’t have a concrete and long-term plan on ground for running a website.

• It is not advisable to venture into something that won’t have a firm foundation after a short period of time! Anybody who is really serious about owning a website needs to have a minimum amount of determination in order to get their site established.

• Keep your website or blog fresh. Don’t post one or two articles, and call it a day, or call it forever! Think about your blog as your job—either part-time or full-time; you have to devote time to it if you want to see an increasing number of followers, subscribers, and even huge paychecks rolling into your pocket.

• The more you publish, the more your website will develop a firm foundation in your niche (subject of expertise), and the more people will follow it.

Sign up with WordPress.com here: click on the menu of the page that would open.

The numbers of words are not as important as the impact of words on readers

The sizes of posts, or number of words they contain, are not as important as the impact of words on readers’ thoughts. The quality of one’s vocabulary does not depend on the size of content, or the number of words used; rather, it depends on the effects the words, sentences, and phrases have on readers’ thoughts!

And don’t get it wrong: there’s nothing wrong with creating content that has too many words. On the other hand, the numbers of words are not as valuable as the impact that words have on readers and their thoughts.

Humans don’t think using words; they think by using pictures or images

Words are raw materials for processing thoughts. Whenever words are read, spoken, or assimilated, the mind automatically converts them into pictures or images, which are the things it actually works with best.

Each word, phrase, and sentence creates a different picture. The pictures in the mind vary according to the types of words used to make descriptions.

Whenever we speak or write, we project movies in the minds of listeners or readers, and the words we use to determine how listeners or readers react.

Supposing you tell someone: “I feel sad to inform you that you will continue to fail.” What do you think the person will visualize in their mind? They would see continuous defeat and disappointment because of the word “fail”. On the other hand, if you tell someone the opposite, they will visualize continuous success and accomplishment.

Or, if you tell your friends: “we are going to incur a huge debt”, they will certainly see money disappearing; but if you say: “we are going to make a huge profit”, they will certainly visualize money coming in.

The point is this: the types of words used, and how they are placed, create an impact on listeners and readers. And impactful posts create resonating pictures that linger on in the minds of listeners or readers.

Articles/posts that drive home messages contain words, sentences, and phrases that have been aligned in ways that produce clear mental images which allow free-flowing thoughts without obstruction.

In order to buttress points more clearly, we will use phrases that create different pictures or impressions—either positive or negative. As you read them, ask yourself what picture you see: “What picture do I see?”

1. Negative picture: There’s no need to try again; you will never succeed.

Positive picture: If you failed in the past, keep trying with different approaches; you can still succeed.

2. Negative picture: If you studied mathematics and failed the exam, there’s no need to study it again because you won’t pass.

Positive picture: If you studied mathematics and failed, you can still pass the exam if you study harder.

3. Negative picture: If you go there, you will lose confidence and be preoccupied with fear.

Positive picture: If you always meditate positively before going there, you can still build confidence and conquer all fears.

4. Negative picture: Because you are not well educated, you will never acquire the qualities of a real leader.

Positive picture: Although you are not well educated, if you are good and believe in yourself, you will acquire the type of leadership qualities that the world loves.

5. Negative picture: He always offers the best services, but will never become great.

Positive picture: If he keeps on offering the best services, he will become great.

6. Negative picture: Because nobody ever made it in the past, you will never make it.

Positive picture: Although nobody ever made it in the past, one person’s impossibility is still another person’s possibility; you can still make it.

7. Negative picture: The past is gone; there’s nothing to learn from it.

Positive picture: Although the past is gone, there are motivating insights you can still learn from past experiences.

8. Negative picture: There is no way you can move forward and upward because of your background.

Positive picture: If you are diligent, work hard, and have belief, regardless of your background, you will move forward and upward ever, backward never.

9. Negative picture: No matter how strong your faith is, it will never alter that.

Positive picture: Although it may be difficult to alter that, your faith could still be strong enough to alter any of today’s facts.

10. Negative picture: You are old; your best days are out of reach.

Positive picture: Although you are old, your best days are still ahead of you.

Conclusion

Any time there is an opportunity to create content, articles, or posts, use words, phrases, and sentences in ways that won’t wear peoples’ thinking out, and cut them down.

This doesn’t mean the negative side of life shouldn’t be discussed; it just means that the words shouldn’t be used in ways that will hinder the fluidity of pictures or images, and obstruct peoples’ free flow of thinking. Also, it could be of good service to people if content is written in ways that won’t make people hopeless, and cut them down.

Words and the visualizations they create, can either be dull and boring, or bright and entertaining—and they make people react accordingly.

The impact of aging data on the effectiveness of internet marketing

The whole internet is built on data. Moreover, data is a vital component of the digital marketing industry which is just one field out of so many that are represented online.

Most owners of websites, blogs, brands, technology and service providers spend a lot of time figuring out how to acquire data, and what to do with it.

The effectiveness of an internet marketing campaign depends on the quality of data obtained and the purpose or aim for which it is used.

Successful internet marketers have always grown through the challenges caused by changes in data

The success of online advertising and digital marketing, especially during periods of financial crisis, has always depended on how precise businesses use data to make high returns on investments from their targeted campaigns—the right audiences.

The measure of each campaign’s success shows up in respective ROIs which are powered by quality data—old or new; old or aging data usually has its downside or limitations in the scheme of internet marketing.

The issue with data that ages—data aging

If we consider the fast pace of the internet, and the go-getting attitude of digital marketers, it won’t be surprising to understand why many people don’t think or talk about aging data—or data aging.

Depending on the type of internet/digital marketing strategy or campaign, data either gains or loses value over time—generally speaking, data ages.

The problem is that most website or blog owners and marketers don’t do their homework: they don’t review or query old data which always has significant positive or negative impacts on businesses or online campaign strategies.

Usually, one of the most discussed uses of data is the one targeted at getting the most out of the changing or unstable behaviors of customers—behavioral targeting.

Although many websites that provide tech services implement or employ cookie lengths (precise durations of time in which cookies stay on people’s computers or phones), they drop cookies at a specific time, and make certain decisions about people’s behaviors when cookies expire.

The issue is that over an extended period of time, cookies don’t give good clues as to whether individuals plan to make a purchases, or whether lack of time affects their decisions to continue moving in a purchase funnel, or move completely out of/away from it.

Are most individuals still on the lookout for t-shirts? Or, after visiting t-shirt stores for a few days, have people lost interest in t-shirts, and suddenly picked up interest in shoes?

If they have picked up interest in shoes, does it mean that they will make any purchase?

On a General note, it will be difficult for a cookie with a short lifespan—say two months, or so—to give clues or provide reasonable answers to questions raised in the previous paragraph, especially when it comes to a business that has been running for a year or so.

The thing is this: there are many behavioral changes that old or aging cookies won’t be able to detect. By building digital advertising campaigns around such aging data, one would likely experience negative results or impacts, rather than positive ones.

Conclusion

Generally, most website owners and internet marketers don’t seem to query aging data, or find a way to use aging data profitably—they don’t seem to take it serious.

The online marketing or digital industry has always had the challenge of making moves without having in-depth understanding about the fluctuating decisions and behaviors of individuals, which can be perceived to an appreciable extent with the help of cookies.

A lot of questions definitely arise when it comes to how well computers process changes in human decisions and consumer behavior when it comes to digital advertising or online marketing.

If a website or business owner continues serving ads for trousers when most individuals have decided to go for t-shirts, then they would likely not make any good profit from such a campaign.

Most good businesses that are transparent with their numbers—returns on investment (ROI)—know where faults come from whenever cookie data-related campaigns are unsuccessful.

By frequently obtaining new data, and doing away with irrelevant aged data when necessary, website owners and businesses will be able to run much better and efficient internet marketing campaigns that can attract high ROIs.

8 Important areas that are worth considering when promoting any business using digital media strategies

For any business or business strategy to succeed using digital media strategies, the former has to depend on the latter to a very great extent. We are deep into the internet or computer technology age in which new business opportunities open up for digital marketers every day.

Many business opportunities that spring up carry an air of unpredictability around them; this usually takes many digital marketers unawares. Moreover, many marketers find it difficult to harmonize their business and available digital strategies together with unexpected changes within and beyond the borders of their business.

Unexpected circumstances have made digital marketers (or their businesses) change how they use digital media strategies to aid growth and increase their successes.

This article will look at certain important areas in which digital marketers can adapt their business strategies to, and meet up with the changing needs of consumers and the evolution of their business environment.

But first, what is digital media strategy?

Digital media strategy is any plan that can utilize data- or technology-based processes to maximize business opportunities.

Examples of digital media employed in strategizing businesses include most or all media that exist as data in computer-decipherable format. Examples include: web pages, websites, digital images, software, databases, digital audio such as MP3, etc.

What is a business strategy?

A business strategy is a long term plan that contains actions designed to accomplish specific goals or objectives; it can also be defined as a master plan designed to make any business competitive in business markets, satisfy customers, and achieve desired goals.

Now, we take a look at eight key areas that are of paramount importance when using digital media strategies to promote any business strategy:

(1) Type of business enterprise or model

A business enterprise or model can be one out of many that exist. It is important for a digital media strategy to be in harmony with a business enterprise or model.

For example, if a digital marketer intends to create a relationship-based (content and social media) business, but still includes an aggressive money strategy, it might lead to misunderstandings with customers because in many cases, customers’ feelings are often overlooked when money is rigorously pursued—the reverse could also be true.

Thus, it is important to harmonize a business enterprise or model with available digital media strategies. There are different types of business models which still have many other models within them.

The following are common business models that use digital media marketing strategies for promotion:

(a) Mass market B2C (business to customer)

This model involves direct exchange, marketing, or general buying and selling of services and products directly between customers.

(b) Niche B2C

This model usually has businesses or services targeted at specific people; an example could include buying and selling of products for people who live with a specific health-related problem, or disability.

(c) B2B (business to business)

This model includes business or services such as wholesalers or resellers that sell directly to other businesses. This model deals with other businesses or leaders of businesses, rather than consumers.

(d) Freemium

This model has been trending in recent years. It’s very popular and has attracted users because businesses that employ it usually give out a certain per cent of a product or service for free.

In so doing, it the service has offered more interesting emotions and experiences that could even be far more worth than the money used in buying an item or service.

(2) Type of product, service or brand

Any product, service or brand is key to the success of any business, and if possible, should even be regarded as a person. Why? Because the values of any business are usually held in the same esteem that each person holds and respects themself.

Businesses should exude uprightness, politeness, honesty, and a desire to achieve something greater, and grow more in knowledge.

Such values, if present in a business structure, would easily be expressed through services, sales and innovation; in fact, they give a business an attractive personality.

A product, service, or brand could (or should) also have a visual identity or logo which, in most cases, emanates from a business owner‘s personality and outlook.

(3) Customers’ interests: be honest, and value customers

Although many businesses claim to have the interest of customers at heart, not all of them make key decisions with customers in mind.

One important thing any business should strive to do, is to be honest about their values, and truly work towards achieving preset goals.

In this regard, it would be appropriate to make decisions that can offer the best service(s) to customers.

This might require making financial sacrifices, reducing profits or carrying out duties that won’t benefit the business directly and on a short term basis.

If any business cares about its customers, then it has to ask itself time after time whether its customer’s decisions have been placed ahead of its financial decisions.

This doesn’t imply that a business should neglect its financial decisions; on the other hand, there are situations when customers should be considered before finances or monetary gains.

(4) Business culture

Like every society or house, businesses build their respective cultures from the day they start operating.

Business cultures springs up from decisions, conduct, demeanor or behaviors of its management or leaders whenever they deliver services.

Business cultures have positive or negative effects on everything businesses do.

A business’ culture may either encourage staff to build a career out of a business, or dump it for another business that has a more attractive culture.

Whichever culture any business decides to use, it should be inspiring, positive, energetic, and energizing; if not, then it should start working on being so.

(5) Global scheme or strategy

The growth of any business to a global or worldwide scale—globalization—can attract a lot of challenges. In fact, in many cases, it can take some businesses by surprise when they outgrow their locality.

Business globalization brings about cultural and lingual challenges, along with issues related to payments and other processes.

Most businesses can ease the challenges they encounter globally if they take culture, language, payment processes, amongst others, into consideration and find ways to solve them.

Many businesses have an international presence on the internet, even if they have much more localized audiences.

(6) Future plans: vision

It’s one thing for any business to have a plan or mission, and draft aims, goals or objectives which will be delivered through a strategy/strategies; and it’s another thing to have a long term future plan. In fact, future plans or visions should sit on top of immediate plans.

If a business doesn’t have a vision in place, it should start thinking about one. A vision is important because it can keep customers and investors, shareholders much more committed to a business.

Regardless of the type of vision any business has, it’s important that business strategies fit with visions; otherwise, businesses will risk delivering services that are not in harmony with their business directions.

(7) Research and perception (insight)

Research and perception about experience—in and around a business—is crucial to the success of any strategy; of utmost importance also, is an understanding of the implications of all types of business data.

Generally speaking, digital research, properly and adequately conducted, can be very helpful and give clear and precise information about the percentage of consumers buying an item online, the number of countries buying the most, etc.

An idea about these types of data will give a clear indication about any possible gaps in a business, and could help develop understanding about profitable areas that should be exploited.

Researched data can also help to generate ideas for future plans, schemes, and tactics that can sharpen existing strategies much better.

Questionnaires can be administered to customers, clients or businesses in order to gain insight into their behaviors, understand what motivates them, and how they react to different services.

(8) Key performance indicators (KPIs)

An important method for assessing the success or level of performance of a campaign (business strategy) is by using key performance indicators (KPIs).

Generally, we have discussed the various types of business models, and know that they could have different objectives, cultures and visions.

Amongst other things, objectives, cultures, and visions will dictate a business’ KPIs (key performance indicators).

If a business wishes to make its strategy successful and accepted by decision makers, other businesses, shareholders and customers, then it will have to keep on delivering what it has promised to deliver.

It is important to note that business KPIs could come in countless different forms such as (but not limited to) customer satisfaction, the number of customers, sales, profit, share price, retention, and other useful metrics that help to determine the success of a business during any given time period.

Freelance writing online job opportunities: campervans, MS Excel, kitchen, dogs, men’s lifestyle, etc.

The first time an article on freelance writing online opportunities was published on this website, quite a number of people showed interest through comments, and it was evident that people could be interested in making money from their writing skills.

The responses from that article, and the number of websites/blogs that can be seen publishing content related to the ones in freelance writing job opportunities, have motivated me to publish another article on some of the most recent freelance writing online opportunities on the internet.

Why? Because I’m convinced there are talented writers and bloggers out there who might be interested in getting making good money from their writing skills—if they have the interest to give freelance writing a try.

Although there are many websites that advertise freelance writing online opportunities, today’s article contains freelance writing online opportunities from only one of several other reputable online websites/job boards: Problogger.

Note that out of the 6 adverts listed further below, 2 were published today, while 2 were published yesterday, and the remaining 2 were published about 3 and 4 days ago, respectively. All adverts state that freelance writers are free to work from any place of their choice in the world.

For those who may be interested, it would be good to hurry up and apply because adverts close up after some time, especially after a good number of people apply early. On the other hand, freelance writing online opportunities will always come and go on job boards. ALWAYS!

So it may be a good idea to always check websites/job boards that advertise freelance writing online opportunities every now and then—even on a daily basis.

In case you don’t have a clear idea about what freelance writing and freelance writing online opportunities are, but you need explanations, view a detailed article on these subjects by clicking here.

Details of advertisements

(1) Description: Campervans, RVs & Tiny Homes

TheWaywardHome.com is looking for subject matter experts in the areas of campervans, RVs and tiny homes.

They want a writer who can research and write 2 articles each month, each ranging from 1500 to 3000 words.

Payment

Rate for payment will be between $0.05 and $0.08 per word, depending on experience.

For more details on how to apply, click here.

(2) Description: MS Excel

Experienced Microsoft Excel writers are needed to join the team on a part-time or freelance basis.

The writers shall be expected to create content on Microsoft Excel (the basics), and some of Excel’s more advanced features—formulas, charts, PivotTables, conditional formatting, filters, and so on.

Payment

Not stated.

For more details on how to apply, click here.

(3) Description: Research Analyst

“Wonder” is an on-demand research network where bright minds are needed to create content on intriguing and intellectually stimulating topics. With “Wonder”, any writer can earn while they learn—do research and get paid.

Research conducted by writers will serve as the bedrock for strategies and initiatives by clients that include top-tier consulting firms, VCs, and international marketing agencies.

Payment

Between $15 and $18 per hour, based on flat-fee project work.

For more details on how to apply, click here.

(4) Description: Kitchen & Food

Writers are needed to write new articles and rewrite old articles for a food/kitchen blog. Most of the content will be kitchen equipment reviews, lifestyle, and recipes.

Writers should have experience writing about food, cooking and baking, and reviews.

To be considered, writers are expected to include 2 to 3 links to their food, kitchen or cooking articles, and state their rates per article, amongst other requirements.

Payment

Not stated.

For more details on how to apply, click here.

(5) Description: Dogs

“Ultimate Dog” is looking for passionate, professional dog writers who have experience writing about puppies, dog health, dog training, dog behavior, and dog care.

Payment

Writers are expected to state their own rates in U.S. Dollars per 900-word article (required).

For more details on how to apply, click here.

(6) Description: Men’s Fashion & Lifestyle

Good writers are needed; they must have solid research skills in order to write for TheAdultMan.com which is a growing men’s fashion and lifestyle website that attracts about 200,000 monthly readers.

Payment

Payment is per written word.

For more details on how to apply, click here.

Apply Now, if you have at least 1000 followers

Freelance jobs always come and go on job boards—ALWAYS. After seeing another opportunity today and knowing there are possibly many of you out there who have more than 1000 followers, are GREAT writers, and could be interested in freelancing your writing skills, I was moved to write this post about a freelance writing opportunity I saw on a credible job board (website): https://problogger.com.

Please note that this advert was published on January 15, 2019, and in case you’re interested, I advise that you hurry up and apply because adverts close up after a while, especially when lots of people apply.

Details of advert

Name of company: TopBuzz (Large Organization: a global audience of over 36 million people)

Expected applicants: Anybody: You can work remotely from anywhere in the world.

Job Type: Contract

Category: Blog/Article Writing

TopBuzz doesn’t stop you from blogging on your blog or website. They give you an additional distribution channel so you can earn more from your content — that’s all.

Job description

TopBuzz is searching for top bloggers/writers who are interested in growing their audiences and monetizing their content, globally.

TopBuzz is an AI-driven (artificial intelligence-driven) content distribution platform that increases the exposure writers, creators, and publishers’ content around the world and ensures that all content producers earn from this activity.

They’ve partnered with the biggest names in media; from New York Times and CNN to entertainment powerhouses like TMZ — but they still need more content from bloggers like you.

Most established news outlets publish on “TopBuzz Articles” right now as you are reading; however, TopBuzz knows there’s an audience for content written by talented bloggers, and covers trending topics, current events, sports, food, fashion, entertainment, etc.

Here’s what they offer

• global distribution of your content to their audience of over 36 million

• monetization of your content (this varies per blogger)

• matchmaking of AI and algorithms that would pair your content with the audience related to your niche

• stress-free posting; you own everything you publish

Requirements

• Unlike me, you must have at least 1000 followers. (Many of you do.)

Methods for application

• Send a cover letter to topbuzzrecruitment@gmail.com and include a link to your blog or website, and they’ll take it from there

• or, enter your name, email address, send a message/letter to TopBuzz, and attach your writing sample/resume at the bottom of the page would open after you click this link: https://problogger.com/jobs/job/bloggers-needed-9/?form=apply#wpjb-scroll

And if you’re interested in another freelance writing opportunity for SEO writers (multiple industries) who have the time and ability to write long-form content, then click this link:

https://problogger.com/jobs/job/seo-writer-for-long-form-blogs-and-web-pages-multiple-industries/

Good luck!

7 Important Content Marketing Development Strategies that Would Make Most Visitors Read Your Posts

Many website visitors don’t actually read blog posts. Visitors only read content if it’s compelling enough; they could even go further to share your content on social media and other web platforms, and help increase your website’s views to a great extent. Here are 7 important marketing development content strategies that can be employed in writing blog posts that visitors would love and be compelled to read.

(1) Conduct internet search to find out what is trending—the most pressing issues bothering people who could become your visitors

Conduct a search about popular issues, and reflect them in the titles of content you intend to write for visitors of your website.

One of the best ways to find out popular issues is to visit community-based websites like Reddit, Buzzimo, SEMRush, etc. These websites provide up-to-date information about pressing issues in the world.

(2) Write blog posts around the following popular types of content

• List-posts/How-to posts: they guide visitors on how use listed ideas/actions to get things done.

• Posts based on interviews with experts: in many instances, experts assist visitors in handling issues better than blog owners do.

• Posts on reviews: they help visitors evaluate products used by customers, before making decisions about purchasing such products.

• Posts on frequently asked questions (FAQ) and quizzes: visitors who are interested in gaining knowledge cannot help but read adventurous, entertaining and educative FAQ’s and quizzes.

• Posts on personal motivational stories: personal stories on success attract visitors to read insightful pieces that actually help people succeed.

• Posts on breaking news/products or discoveries: visitors are always interested in learning something new.

(3) Find appropriate keywords that will build affinity with visitors

After deciding the type of posts you would like to write about, find appropriate keywords based on your list of upcoming topics. In order to select popularly searched keywords you anticipate visitors would likely type on search engines, go to Google.com and type the keywords you’ve chosen. After typing, you’ll notice the appearance of a list of related long-tail and short-tail keywords, which is influenced by the keywords most internet users type, and which potential visitors seem to have much affinity for.

(4) Find out which keywords rank the highest

After deciding on appropriate keywords, use online platforms such as keywordtool.io, Google keyword planner or Google trends to find the keywords that rank the highest in terms of search and traffic volumes.

After you’ve found the keywords that rank the highest, place them appropriately at a low density within your blog content—but don’t stuff your blog content with them.

(5) Use attractive images visitors wouldn’t be able to resist viewing

In order to make posts attractive to visitors before engaging them to read, place a visually appealing image on your posts. It’s been observed that articles with images get around 94% more views than articles without images.

The lesson here is this: content that has images/pictures attract far more visitors than content that doesn’t.

(6) Make content more scannable and readable

After creating your content, make it scannable by leaving sufficient white spaces within content in order to enhance visitors’ readability so that words won’t be too stuffy and tiring to read.

Coupled with sufficient white spaces, you could also use bullets to make important points easily seen by some visitors who are either in a hurry, or like scanning content.

(7) Employ tools that can perform quality control check on your writing

After preparing content and placing an attractive image, carry out quality control check by employing the following:

• Google Docs or MS Word: both help in highlighting spelling and grammar errors which you can remove before they discourage visitors from visiting your site and reading its blog posts in future.

• Copyscape: helps to check for plagiarism and ensures content is original and not duplicated.

Freelance Writing: Types and Benefits; How to Pitch Editors and get Writing Jobs

It would be wrong to assume every reader knows what freelance writing is. But at least some readers have an idea about it, while others who don’t can search the internet and find out some things about it. Regardless, we will provide some useful information about freelance writing.

Definition

Freelance writing is any paid writing job done by someone who is not a conventional or an official staff. A freelance writer is someone who sells writing services to different employers without having to meet them.

A freelance writer is self-employed, and typically works in a place of their choice, with their own tools, and at their own chosen hours. Freelance writers can work for just one client, website, online publication, or magazine; on other occasions, they could write for several clients or publications around the same time.

Read: “The Ultimate Freelancing Guide”—by TOPTAL

Download PDF: 1143 Magazines, websites, and Blogs that pay Writers (2019 Edition)_by Jacob Jans

Christian freelance writing online jobs: 19 websites that pay for submissions

The more talented and diverse a freelance writer is, the more likely they will be able to get writing jobs from reputable publishers and websites, and earn a lot of money that could possibly run into a few or several thousands of dollars per month.

Types of freelance writing jobs

Freelance writing jobs cut across the following:

• Article creation for websites, online newspapers, magazines, and publishers: business plans; case studies; marketing emails; press releases; web pages; white papers.

• Blog posts.

• Direct mail sales letters.

• Ghost-writing services.

• Newsletters (physical or email-delivered).

• Radio & video scripts.

• Research reports.

• Speeches.

Benefits of freelance writing

There are numerous opportunities that could ensure a freelance writer would likely not be unemployed under any circumstances. A lot of websites are seeking for freelance writers to execute jobs related to academic writing, non-academic writing, content development, etc.

The more a freelance writer expands their horizon, the more they would likely be paid their desired rate(s) of compensation. This makes it easy for them to earn a living from writing. In case all of this is new to you, or you just stumbled across freelance writing like I did about 7 years ago, it doesn’t matter, you can still make it within a short time.

Generally, benefits of freelance writing include:

• Freelance writers don’t have to adhere to the corporate culture of dressing and frequently communicating with leaders and heads of companies.

• Freelance writing provides quick money and good career progression for those who choose it as a career. Nowadays, talented freelance writers are able to get good work, and various companies provide good compensation for freelance writing.

• Freelance writing enables one to be independent and be self-employed.

• Freelance writing enables one to avoid boredom and insensitivity associated with traditional office jobs.

• Freelance writing enables one to work conveniently from home.

• Freelance writing provides a platform whereby one can save money that could have been spent on commuting regularly to work.

• Freelance writers who work like professionals are not bothered about getting full-time employment by any business or organization. They are in full control of their own businesses and don’t have to worry about getting employed or battling with mind games associated with traditional office work.

• Freelance writers have the opportunity to render their services to whoever is interested.

Proper management of a freelance writing business is one of the best ways to create career stability.

Note

Irrespective of the benefits listed above, freelance writing is not for everyone:

• It’s not for those who are not talented in writing.

• It’s not for those who are disinterested in writing.

• It’s not for those who like traditional work that involves regular commuting and working under seniors and leaders.

• It’s not for those who lack coordination and can’t manage their time properly.

• It’s not for those who lose motivation after writing a few or inconsistent pieces of content.

• It’s not for those who are impatient and would likely not be patient with editors who usually receive a lot of submissions.

• It’s not for those who think freelance writing is a get-rich-quick scheme. Depending on talent, freelance writing could actually be a get-rich-quick scheme; however, it’s not a get-rich-quick scheme in the way many people think.

How to effectively pitch/query editors in a way that could get your submission accepted

It’s possible that you’ve never done freelance writing before, or have never been paid to write or do any form of paid journalism; regardless, if you’re determined and have a little idea about how to pitch editors, you could succeed.

What is a pitch?

A pitch is a freelance writer’s description of a valuable idea or story to an editor. Pitches can be expressed verbally, or sent via email to editors.

Before you can be established as a freelance writer and receive regular payment for your writing, you have to be able to write pitches that can get you published.

In order to craft a good and convincing pitch for an editor, you have to carefully study articles on their website and gain a deep understanding of what they’ve published, and what they would possibly like to publish in the future. After studying articles on websites, you would be in a better position to prepare a pitch or many pitches.

An effective way to pitch editors

One of the most effective ways to pitch editors after studying published articles/content on their online newspapers, magazines, or publications is to follow this basic format:

(1) Introduce yourself and briefly describe your idea in a short sentence

When preparing any pitch, this is the only thing that is important enough to grab the attention of editors and get a pitch accepted for publication. A briefly described idea makes it easy for an editor to quickly determine whether a pitch is in line with their publication or not.

(2) Add a second brief sentence that expatiates your idea a little bit more

This should be a sentence that broadens your idea a little more and adds some more value to your idea. It could also be a short sentence that highlights your experience and previously published articles related to the content published on an editor’s website.

(3) Finally, add a third sentence to close the pitch

Close the pitch with words that express humility, and that you would be an easy-going person to work with. You could end your third sentence with something like: “thank you for your consideration”.

Typically, 2 or 3 sentences are enough for a pitch. Your ability to summarize a good idea in one sentence would give the impression you have a broad understanding of an editor’s publication/website, and the idea you are pitching.

Please note that at times it might be important to make your sentences a bit longer—this depends a lot on your idea. However, longer sentences could discourage a busy editor from assessing a pitch if there are many other pitches in queue.

Generally, a pitch with 3 sentences is all you need to send each time you are pitching an editor. If you’re pitching for a feature article on a major publication that gets hundreds of thousands or millions of views per month, then a longer pitch would be more appropriate even though you would have to briefly explain why your idea or story is worth publishing.

Bear in mind that there is no strict format/formula for preparing pitches. Find a way to develop your own style and always use a format that works for you. What would determine the success of your pitch is the study you carry out on any publication before pitching.

The more you know about a publication and what they are interested in, the easier it would become to get published and paid. If you are very talented, it’s advisable to pitch editors of big websites because they usually pay more.

If you are interested in exploring freelance opportunities for Christian and motivation writers, click the following link: Christian freelance writing jobs: 19 websites that pay for submissions.

Christian Freelance Writing Online Jobs: 19 Websites that Pay for Submissions

This post contains information for old and new writers who are talented, confident, and interested in getting paid for writing about GOD or topics on the Christian faith. As at the time of publishing this post, and probably far beyond, many websites listed further down this article have been accepting articles/content submissions from writers. Please note that there are several others you could come across if you search Google or other search engines.

Many Christian-based websites and online magazines have been publishing original content produced by Christian writers from all over the world. The websites listed in this article can’t be found on job boards because they don’t advertise on job boards.

You could likely get better responses from editors (of websites) if you pitch them with ideas, or submit original or reprint (previously published) content, instead of applying on job boards. Why? Because there is lesser competition for talented writers who pitch websites. However, one must be talented in order to succeed with their pitches.

Download PDF: 1143 Magazines, websites, and Blogs that pay Writers (2019 Edition) by Jacob Jans

Download a motivational eBook (PDF): “Real Faith that can Deeply Inspire You Forever”—This book can inspire you to overcome challenges & achieve greatness

Christian freelance writing jobs are more difficult to secure on job boards because job boards are too open, widely available, and have very stiff competition. The adverts of the websites and online magazines written in this article are less likely to be seen on job boards.

Note that many of these websites agree to pay for previously published quality articles as “reprint”. Payment information, which has been listed beside each website, should be considered before and during pitching. Some payments are fixed, while others are flexible.

Sign up and start building a free or paid website on WordPress.com

If you are new to freelance writing, note that there are some important things you need to know before becoming a successful freelance writer. If you intend to launch into freelance writing, I strongly advise you to do a thorough Google search on how to start and become a successful freelance writing—a lot of content has been written about this.

Notice

This article has been published with the aim of providing information about freelance writing job opportunities to interested Christian writers. Although there are so many websites that pay, you will find 19 websites in this post which I recommend because of the responses I’ve received from a number of them.

Please note that the information in this post is correct as of the time of publishing; however, this is not guaranteed to always remain the same. The online publishing world changes a lot, and websites can change their payments, submission guidelines, etc.

Therefore, take the information in this post as a starting point to connect yourself with websites that could actually like to keep you as a writer on a permanent basis if they fall in love with your writing.

We’ll start by stating brief details about five websites that provide freelance Christian writers job opportunities online. Next, we’ll give direct links to the remaining 14 websites which interested freelance writers can visit and view details of writers’ guidelines.

(1) Bible Advocate

This is one of many websites that provide freelance Christian writing job opportunities online. They request that submitted content should be able to help Christians understand and obey God’s word.

Details

• Subjects of interest: biblical topics and doctrine, current religious and cultural issues, Christian living, and inspiring personal testimony. Other editorial features include poetry, church news, and mission activity.

• Number of words: Feature articles, personal experiences: 1,000―1,500 words; Short articles: 500―1,000 words; Fillers: 100―400+ words; Poetry: 5―20 lines (traditional, free verse, blank verse).

Payment

• As per publication, Bible Advocate pays an honorarium of $25 per published page, and up to $65. It pays $20 for poetry and fillers.

See details of writers’ guidelines here: https://baonline.org/resources/Writers_Guidelines.pdf

(2) Christian Courier

If you would like to write for this website, first email either the Editor or the Features Editor whose addresses can be seen on the “Write for Us” page.

Details

• Subjects of interest: creative critical Christian journalism, and networking with Christians who are culturally savvy in faith.

• Number of words: no limit.

Payment

• They encourage payment by direct deposit. Payments for all news, features and other written content are made at a flat rate regardless of length: Editorials: $50; Columns: $50; Reviews: $30 (Short), and $70 (Long); Features, news stories: $70; Original art & poetry: $45

For more details, see writers’ guidelines here: http://www.christiancourier.ca/about/category/write-for-us

(3) Church Health Reader

Church Health Reader accepts electronic submissions from freelance Christian writers and recommends that queries and proposals be sent rather than completed submissions. Queries can be made in addition to web links or samples of previous writings.

Details

• Subjects of interest: inspirational and innovative resources drawn from knowledgeable sources; practical ways to create happier/healthier communities; research and reflections on health and healing for lay leaders and the clergy.

• Number of words: Not stated. (You may query them.)

Payment

• Suggested payment amounts for different writing categories: Feature: $200; Article: $150; Reflection: $75; Recommendation: $40; Research: $250.

See details of writers’ guidelines here: http://chreader.org/submissions/

(4) Clubhouse Magazine

This magazine accepts typed, double-spaced manuscripts with author’s name, address, phone number, email address, and an approximate word count appearing on the first page of the manuscript or in the cover letter, as well as the genre of the story. They only accept completed manuscripts, but no query letters.

Details

• Subjects of interest: content that inspires, entertains, and teaches Christian values to children aged between 8 and 12 years; fiction stories built on the foundation of Christian beliefs; creative stories about characters whose ages are within the same age (8 and 12) bracket as the audience.

• Number of words: Stories with multicultural/ethnic settings: 1,800 words; Fantasy/science-fiction stories: 1,800 words; Historical fiction featuring great Christians: 900–1,800 words, depending on the story; Your own adventure stories: 1,800–2,000 words; Humor with a point: 500 words.

Payment

• Generally, payment is between 15 and 25 cents (or $0.15 and $0.25) per word, depending on the amount of editing required. Feature-length fiction stories are usually bought for $200 and above. Non-fiction pieces are purchased for $150 and above.

For more details, see writers’ guidelines here: https://www.clubhousemagazine.com/submission-guidelines

(5) Creation Illustrated

They accept submissions that are “illustrated” with quality nature photography provided by freelancers. Articles should inspire the reader to be in awe of God the creator and help generate a humble, worshipful spirit that glorifies God.  Stories or content should be uplifting and positive rather than confrontational and argumentative.

Details

• Subjects of interest: stories with spiritually-uplifting lessons backed by scripture; information about scientific data with references and any quotations that must be verbatim and attributed to source; original and well-substantiated content that can provide encouraging insight about the power of God the creator; Godly character qualities supported by scripture and illustrated in nature.

• Number of words varies: approximately 1,500 words; approximately 1,000 words; approximately 700–1,000 words

Payment

• $100 per 1,500 words article; $75 per 1,000 words; $75 per 700–1,000 words

See details of writers’ guidelines here: https://www.creationillustrated.com/writer–photographer-guidelines

(6) Devozine: The Upper Room

Payment

• $25 for weekday meditations 150–250 words long, and $10–15 if the submission is used as part of a group, or reflection for another meditation; $100 for an article 500–600 words.

For more details, see writers’ guidelines here: https://devozine.upperroom.org/write-for-us/writers-guidelines/

(7) Elders’ Digest

Payment

• Up to $75 for unpublished articles, and $25 for a 1-page article. (Check website for the stated amount of words.)

For more details, see writers’ guidelines here: https://www.eldersdigest.org/writing-guidelines

(8) Evangelical Free Church of America

Payment

• Flat-fee rates apply, starting at $63 for a 250-word article—including limited subsidiary rights—for articles running between 250 and 1,500 words. Reprint payments vary.

See details of writers’ guidelines here: https://www.efca.org/resources/document/writing-guidelines

(9) “Focus on the Family” Magazine

Payment

• Payment begins at 25 cents (or $0.25) per word. (Check website for the stated amount of words.)

For more details, see writers’ guidelines here: http://media.focusonthefamily.com/fotf/pdf/magazine/fotf-mag-writers-guidelines.pdf

(10) Guide Magazine

Payment

• Payment is 7–10 cents ($0.07 and $0.10) per word upon acceptance for first serial rights. They accept submissions for reprints, but payment is less. Their standard feature-length stories are 1000–1200 words, but they also accept shorter pieces of 450 words and above.

See details of writers’ guidelines here: http://guidemagazine.org/writersguidelines

(11) Narramore Christian Foundation

Payment

• $200 for articles between 1,200 and 1,700 words; $125 for articles less than 1,200 words. For previously published articles, they pay $75 per article, except when the previous publisher has a standard fee and requires direct payment.

For more details, see writers’ guidelines here: https://ncfliving.org/psychology-for-living-literature/writers-guidelines.html

(12) Now What? (Bible Advocate Press)

Payment

• They pay an honorarium of $25 – $65, depending on the length of the edited version.

See details of writers’ guidelines here: https://nowwhat.cog7.org/send_us_your_story/

(13) Prayer Connect                                     

Payment

• Payment will vary based on the type of article. Typically, a non-themed article will be ten cents ($0.10) per word. Feature articles, 1,500 to 2,000 words, are normally assigned to writers with expertise related to the theme of the issue.

For more details, see writers’ guidelines here: https://www.prayerleader.com/about-us/write-for-us/

(14) Prism Magazine

They accept unsolicited submissions for several sections of their blog/website. Although query letters could pique their interest and convince them to work with a writer new to them, they prefer to read an entire manuscript than queries.

Details

• Subjects of interest: social justice features, Christianity and its relationship with contemporary culture, holistic ministry profiles, and spiritual challenges.

• Number of words: between 800 and 1000.

Payment

• Payment is approximately $50 for up to 800 words.

See details of writers’ guidelines here: http://prism.wpengine.com/writers-guidelines/

(15) Regular Baptist Press

Payment

• Payment for submitted manuscripts varies according to the assignment, rights purchased, and quality of the manuscript. Generally, they purchase first rights for $120, but pay a premium for items that require minimal editing. They look for articles between 1,100 and 1,200 words long and consider shorter articles between 700 and 1,000 words.

For more details, see writers’ guidelines here: https://regularbaptistpress.org/employment/write-for-rbp/

(16) Sojourners Magazine

Payment

• They pay for reported pieces, and for strongly researched analysis pieces. They pay $50 per poem upon publication. Their feature articles are typically 1,800-2,000 words. However, they do not publish material that has been previously published, including on blogs and online publications.

See details of writers’ guidelines here: https://sojo.net/about-us/what-we-cover/write-us

(17) The Kids’ Ark

Payment

• Payment of $100 upon publication for unpublished content, including rights to reprint at a later date. Payment of $25 for reprints after publication. They want stories no longer 650 words and written for 6- to 10-year-olds.

For more details, see writers’ guidelines here: https://www.thekidsark.com/guidelines.htm

(18) Today’s Christian Living

Payment

• Payment is generally based on approximate word count after editing: $25 for words less than 650 words; $75 for 650–800 words; $100 for 801–1,199 words; $150 for 1,200–1,800 words.

See details of writers’ guidelines here: http://todayschristianliving.org/writers-guidelines/

(19) War Cry (The Salvation Army)

Payment

• Payment of $0.35 per word for previously unpublished content, and $0.15 per word for reprints. Articles should be between 800 and 1,250 words, while brief news items/sidebar pieces should be between 100 and 400 words.

For more details, see writers’ guidelines here: http://www.thewarcry.org/submission-guidelines/

In case you don’t know much about freelance writing, the types of freelance writing, benefits of freelance writing, and how to pitch editors and become a regular paid writer, then click the link below and read an article that can give you a detailed insight: Freelance Writing: Types and Benefits, & How to Pitch Editors and Get Writing Jobs.

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The Internet’s Most Popularly Used Words that Make Headlines Go Viral

It is easy to understand the characteristics of viral headlines on the internet if we observe the type of words that appear in the titles of web pages that appear at the top of search engines like Google which directs internet visitors to blogs or websites that receive very high volumes of traffic.

By figuring out what makes different types of content to be so attractive to different internet audiences, one would likely end up noticing that most readers’ attraction to titles and articles could depend a lot on their feelings, emotions, level of interest, and a number of other things or factors that can’t be controlled; regardless of what they may be, the following types of words have been observed to be influential in making headlines go viral:

Words that “point” to a specific person, thought, or thing

Direct examples of these types of words include: “the”, “that”, “this”, and “a”. The attractive power of these words lies in how they “directly target particular things or objects of interest”. If you place such words (possibly in combination with other words) in any headline, readers would instantly form a specific idea about how exact (the, a), how close (this), how far away (that), or how insignificant a person, thought, or thing is. During the course of searching the internet, and up to a point of getting attracted by a headline and reading through an article, a reader will clearly conceive what they are directed to think about in order to comprehend the content that expresses it.

Words that “refer” to something, a person, or a group of persons

Direct examples of such words include: “you”, “your” and “people”. I believe that the number one target of creating content is to give useful information to any reader (person, or persons). This reason indirectly explains why viral headlines consist of these types of words. The word “you” was once ranked as the fifth most used word on the internet, while “your” was once ranked as the seventeenth most used word. What does the popularity of these words imply? It simply implies that the aim of using them is to give value to a reader or many readers. A research that was conducted by using different headline compositions observed that headlines consisting of these words (you, your, and people) were the most efficient.

Words that are used to ask for information about something

Direct examples of such words are: “why”, “where”, “what”, “which”, and “when”. One striking impact of these words is the level of curiosity and number of questions they arouse in readers’ minds: it makes them to directly conceive specific things and get a clear meaning or explanation. It has been observed that by structuring headlines to appear as questions, click rates typically increase. An inquiry into “why”, “where”, etc., is attractive to readers because it makes them interested in acquiring knowledge and learning something new in order to cover up ground in areas where they are deficient.

Why You Should Crosscheck Grammar in Your Content Before Publishing

Before you think this post is an all-conclusive one on grammar, let me state that it isn’t. Rather than being all conclusive on grammar, it’s a brief exposition on the advantages of cross-checking grammar before publishing content. In addition, it stresses how the quality of grammar and punctuation can affect content exposure, and how correct/good grammar can be used to optimize content and make readers want to come back for more in the future.

If we agree that, as humans, we are all prone to making mistakes, then we can also agree that nobody is immune to making grammatical and punctuation errors. No matter how many times we proofread content, an error might still go unnoticed, and if there are too many typos in our content, it could affect our brands/websites. Generally, people ask:

• Does correct/good grammar help to market one’s blog, website, or brand?

• Does incorrect/bad grammar decrease content rankings on search engines?

Well, while there might not be all conclusive answers to these and related questions, it is important to note that good grammar transmits clear messages and attracts visitors’ or clients’ trust. Advertisers, bloggers, content marketers, social media personalities, and marketing professionals should always keep this thought at the back of their minds, along with the fact that many typos can negatively impact sites, blogs, or online businesses.

A recent study (as at the time of writing) by “Disruptive Communications” revealed that bad grammar, spelling, and punctuation mostly annoy people on social media. If people are annoyed by poor grammar on social media, just think about how angry they would be if blogs, emails, and eBooks are riddled with grammatical and typographical errors. Generally, it’s better to query/crosscheck your content for errors and correct them before publishing and whenever you notice them after publishing.

Repeated grammatical errors or typos could reduce readership on blogs and websites. A few typos might not destroy your brand or blog, but they can decrease readers’ or potential customers’ trust in what you claim to stand for. The thing is this: if you can avoid making grammatical errors, then just go ahead and do so! It’s true that sometimes you may misspell a few words or use them wrongly; however, Google and other search engines might not punish you by ranking your content low, especially if you keep grammatical/punctuation errors to a bare minimum and continue to produce original content.

Many people aren’t aware that search engines are sensitive to grammatical errors—which have had negative impacts on the rankings of contents and websites. Every site owner would like audiences to understand their messages and search engines to read their content with ease. Although the use of language might not be a conclusive factor in determining rankings, search engines read contents on websites in order to understand the type of information they provide. Websites that produce grammatically correct content make it easier for search engines to read texts, grasp their meanings, and make them more visible to users.

Matt Cutts (co-patentor of much of Google’s webspam software) stated in a questions-and-answers video in 2011 that he wasn’t aware of any direct grammar algorithm; however, he noted that “there is a correlation between content with good grammar and high-ranking positions on Google search pages”. Search engines are always improving on this; in fact, Google has a history of continuously updating their algorithms and technology for “reading” content on pages and ranking them, and would likely continue to do so.

The only way to be fully prepared for any onslaught/algorithm updates that may arise due to bad grammar, is to regularly crosscheck whether each piece of content you produce contains proper grammar and punctuation. Doing so is the best way to keep your content away from as many unnecessary grammatical/punctuation errors as possible.

Why it’s important to crosscheck grammar in your content before publishing

1. Search engines tend to rank content higher if it is grammatically correct. This implies reduced search engine visibility for content that contains considerable or a lot of incorrect grammar. The truth is that correct grammar enhances users’ respective experiences, and in today’s wars between Google and other search engines—which target as many daily searches as possible—there is an insatiable desire to provide the best user experience as possible so that people would continue to keep coming back for more. Common sense dictates that the correct use of tenses, grammar, spelling, and punctuation are all important factors in making visitors spend and enjoy their time on a site.

Search engines use certain algorithms, and whenever people search for something, Google looks for related words or phrases on websites. If a website has content that someone is looking for, but people are bouncing off because the content itself is riddled with poor/bad/incorrect grammar, then Google would likely not rank it high or well on its results pages. The implication of this is that poor grammar would make sites lose considerable amounts of traffic whenever they publish content that consists of considerable or many grammatical/punctuation errors.

Any content that uses correct grammar and punctuation will rank higher, and show up more regularly. On the other hand, content that is riddled with grammatical errors would likely make visitors disinterested in returning back to it; even if people return, they might spend lesser amounts of time, especially if they continue encountering errors again and again.

It is common knowledge that search engines (especially Google) take notice of the amount of time people spend on sites; as from 2013 to date, Google has continuously paid attention to signals from social media platforms. Search engines are designed to think like people; so if people notice consistent errors, so will Google, Bing, and other search engines. In fact, Google bots have the ability to find out whether websites’ content and SEO structures are appealing or distasteful to visitors.

2. Most people, websites, or blogs would either link or not link to your content, but this depends on the quality of your content’s grammar and punctuation: Poor grammar and punctuation doesn’t not always inspire confidence in readers or visitors, especially new ones. How many people would trust a banking institution that has this statement on their website: “We ‘is’ the best banking platform for you”? It’s highly probable that nobody would. The truth is that most visitors would look elsewhere and may advise others to do the same. Such a vote of no confidence can negatively impact web traffic to a site. There are a lot of other common errors out there, which some reputable sites are guilty of. The following three are quite popular:

• Using “are” when giving information about one (single) brand: The name of one brand should be followed by “is/has”, not “are/have”. For example, “XYZ is…” and “XYZ has…”. You might have noticed that some websites, especially those that have brands (or products) ending with an “s”, often incorrectly use “are” and “have”: “XYZ are…” and “XYZ have…”. It should be “XYZ is”, and “XYZ has” (for singular brands), or “XYZs are” and “XYZs have” (for plural brands). Keep your eyes open to these types of errors.

• Using “then” instead of “than”, and vice-versa. For several years and running, many people on social media have gotten used to seeing the erroneous usage of the words such as “your” and “you’re”. The same goes with “there”, “their” and “they’re”. Imagine seeing “you’re business will grow” on a website, instead of “your business will grow”.

• Using active voice rather than passive voice. Although using passive voice is not generally regarded as being grammatically incorrect, especially when it isn’t littered all over any piece of content, it is still not widely used, accepted, or supported by a number of persons, websites, publishers, or brands. The active voice is mostly used and should dominate sentences. Also, they should always be present in content whenever subjects act on objects.
• For example, in the sentence “the writer produced the content”, it can be clearly sensed that “the writer” is the subject, while the verb is “produced”, and the object is “content”. Sentences with a passive voice would turn this around and state: “the content was produced by the writer”. Most authoritative brands tend to go with the active voice rather than the passive. It’s advisable we get used to this, especially if we haven’t yet done so.

You may be asking “what do links have to do with using proper grammar and spelling? The fact is that most leading websites won’t link to your content—no matter how original and informative it is—if it doesn’t adhere to the basic rules of grammar. Leading websites, which rank higher on search engines, would only link to your content if it adheres to the basic English grammar, punctuation, and spelling rules they know about.

Imagine that you’ve written a mind-blowing article which has attracted the attention of high-ranking websites like “The Guardian” and “The Huffington Post”, and motivated them to link to it, only for them to decide much later that due to poor English language usage, incorrect grammar, punctuation, and spelling, they won’t recommend your site to their readers. This would surely affect or even halt the rise of your brand, and you could miss out on quality links that have the potential to move your pages higher up on search engines. This is one compelling reason why you should spend a little more time cross-checking grammar and punctuation before publishing.

3. In order to assess how credible your site/brand is in the public’s (internet users) eye: To a great extent, your credibility could be judged by the quality of your content’s grammar and punctuation. When people search for brands, blogs, or websites that they would like to visit regularly, they consciously or unconsciously assess grammar in order to judge the quality of the content. If people run into considerable grammatical errors on a website, they would likely place it on the list of websites they wouldn’t like to revisit; this is one bias people tend to have, whether it’s conscious or not.

Another thing: you are what you write. If you write and publish content that’s considerably free from spelling and grammatical errors, then you’d come across as someone who adheres to rules/standards, and this would position you as a thought leader in your niche. On the other hand, if you publish content that’s full of errors, you’d only be giving the impression that you’re careless; unfortunately, this would make people not take you seriously.

4. In order to ensure there is high quality, and thus a strong bond between you and many internet users: English language serves as a great and efficient tool for communicating with people on the internet; it is important for site owners to use English in a clear and concise manner. Any site that produces fresh content and maintains effective communication with its audience would make its audience always revisit it.

Grammar shouldn’t be so poor that it would make an audience guess or struggle to understand the message you’re trying to convey through your writing. Too many typos in content makes it difficult for people to read, understand, comment, and share. Don’t rely on softwares to highlight your mistakes; instead, read your writing out after you finish. If you’re not sure whether it’s appropriate to use an apostrophe, or add a comma, then don’t be afraid to check a dictionary or make a search on Google.

5. It could strengthen your editing and proofreading skills, and make you become an expert: People become experts after practicing over a considerable amount of time. By regularly cross-checking content for incorrect grammar, you’ll become adept in editing and proofreading—irrespective of whether English is your first language or not.

How to develop the ability to spot and delete incorrect grammar & punctuation from content

How can you develop the ability to effectively correct bad grammar and prevent it from appearing in your content when other writers are struggling, or have failed? The good thing is that you don’t need to spend a lot of money or become a professor of English language before you can become successful in spotting and eliminating incorrect grammar from content.

If you have the interest and can create time, and put in considerable effort, it would be possible to develop/strengthen your grammar skill by reading content and answering quizzes in books and on resourceful websites. Also, have a reputable dictionary (for e.g., Merriam Webster) installed on your laptop/tablet/phone and use it to study spellings and meanings of words that confuse you.

By following the links listed at the bottom of this article, you’d be able to:

• study English grammar rules

• practice quizzes in order to acquire more grammar skills, or

• find out the difference(s) between British and American English styles and selected terms:

1.   English rules (recommended for everybody)

2.   Free interactive grammar quizzes (recommended for everybody)

3.   British style versus American style (for anybody who is interested in either of the two styles)

4.   British terms and American terms (for anybody who is interested in either of the two terms)

Before hitting the “Publish” button, cross-check your content one or more times to ensure it contains little or no grammatical/punctuation errors.

Google’s History of Differentiating Good Content from Bad Content

Just as it is quite common for anybody to come across good and bad people in life, so also it is quite common for internet users to come across good and bad content, respectively. After Google’s inception several years ago, an algorithm was developed as the basis for SEO and has been used to help internet users find information more conveniently. However, the creation of bad content affected and devalued Google’s platform to a considerable extent; since then, Google has been making continuous modifications to its original algorithm and made it rely on more than 200 unique signals in order to consistently between differentiate “good content” (which is ranked higher) from “bad content” (which is ranked lower, or is neglected). Differentiating good content from bad content involves crawling and indexing both types of content. Google developed robots (called Googlebot) to crawl the web and categorize content into “good” and “bad”, or “acceptable” and “unacceptable”.

Changes in Google’s algorithms that have been differentiating good content from bad content

After developing the first search engine algorithm, PageRank, in 1997, Google continuously modified its algorithms in a quest to differentiate between good and bad content. We take a look at continuous changes (which occurred significantly from 2011 to date) in algorithms that have helped Google to always differentiate good content from bad ones:

(i) Google Panda

Google Panda (launched in 2011) was created with the aim of detecting “content farms” and blocking them from showing on Google search results. Content farms have bad content that contains shallow and grammatically incorrect information that is improperly punctuated and overly stuffed with keywords. Also, in an attempt to differentiate between good and bad content, Google Panda acted against scraper websites (sites that create bad content by “scraping” original content from existing websites) by making them not show up on the upper echelons of Google’s pages.

(ii) Google Penguin

Google Penguin (launched in 2012) was targeted against web spam with the aim of decreasing the ranks of bad content which violated Google’s quality guidelines related to keyword stuffing and intentional duplication of original content from other websites. Google thinks that keyword stuffing (putting too many keywords in content) creates negative experiences for site users and makes content incomprehensible. Incomprehensiveness and lack of unique/relevant content are considered as a signal for Pengiun to lower the rank of any bad content.

(iii) Google Hummingbird

Google launched Hummingbird in 2013 as a brand new algorithm that uses some parts of old engine systems such as Panda and Penguin. Hummingbird does not affect SEO if you use a white hat approach (improve your search rankings while staying within search engines’ terms of service); neither does Hummingbird differentiate between good and bad content. Although Google released Pigeon update in 2014 and Mobile update in early 2015, the two were not designed to differentiate between good and bad content.

(iv) Other Google Algorithm Updates

Prior to the release of Google Fred in 2017, the Possum update was released in 2016 and used to improve location-based searches, although it didn’t differentiate good content from bad ones. Google Fred update was released with the aim of lowering the rank of bad (low-quality) content that was created for the sole purpose of bringing in revenue from ads.

It can be observed that from Panda to Fred, Google continuously updated its algorithm’s program in order to make it more difficult or impossible for bad content to manipulate Google’s search network.

References

1. Lievonen, M. 2013. Understanding Google algorithms and SEO is essential for online marketers.  Tampere University of Applied Sciences International Business Marketing. Available at: https://www.theseus.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/67859/Lievonen_Marjut.pdf?sequence=1

2. Rand Fishkin. How to Determine if a Page is “Low Quality” in Google’s Eyes Whiteboard. [Weblog] Posted August 25, 2017. Available at: https://moz.com/blog/low-quality-pages

How To Enhance Your Affiliate Marketing Profit

The dream of all affiliate marketers is to make abundant profit from their businesses. As an affiliate marketer, it’s possible to earn a lot of profit by advertising and selling merchandise, and carrying out other related activities.

Due to the fact that our world is an ever-changing one that could sway away from the status quo, all marketers have to always be on their feet in order to continuously invent and employ unique ways that can popularize and sell their products. Listed below are some ideas which affiliate marketers use to maximize their profits:

i. Give Peculiar Proposals or Offers

Those affiliate marketers who have a good conscience would always try to help their clients get commodities that the clients need. If you really intend to attract more customers, employ ways to beat down the existing price of commodities — to a price that is, at least, a bit less than the rate at which most sellers are selling those particular products.

Try to give out discount rates and incentives, or bonuses. If you are not the owner of the business or merchandise, then you might need to ask the owner to set up special offers for clients—especially if you are convinced that both parties will gain from it on a long-term basis.

When giving discounts, don’t worry about the lesser amount of profit you are going to make around that particular time (when you are giving out discounts). Rather, look at the long-term picture where your number of customers might greatly increase in the future. The truth is that most customers are attracted to prices that can accommodate the available amount of money they are willing to spend on acquiring products.

ii. Give Reliable Reviews About Your Commodity

Customers can hastily note the difference between an affiliate marketer who is bent on advertising anything to earn money fast, and one who advises customers to buy the best type(s) of products that suits their desire(s). At all times, it’s advisable to use all commodities you intend to sell so that you’ll be able to give a reliable review about them.

Also, whether you can use a particular product or not, ask customers to give their review(s) about products they’ve bought and used. Such reviews will assist you (an affiliate marketer) to serve customers better because they’ll provide information about what they expect from you.

iii. Take Note of the Differences between Your Products

The desire of all customers is to get the best quality products. The best quality should go hand in hand with a pocket-friendly price tag. Always make a comparison between the different types of commodities that your clients are attracted to. Create articles on your website that state the price(s) of each product(s), and explain the advantages and disadvantages, if there be any, of using any of the products.

iv. Employ Successful Marketing Strategies

One of the most effective platforms for advertising commodities is by placing articles on a blog created by you. These articles should expose all details about the product you intend to sell. It is advisable to sign up with social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter and advertise your products where multitudes of people can see links to your web page where they can actually buy any product.

Your sales can also be enhanced by using emails to market your products. Successful affiliate marketers have the emails of people who have shown a desire to buy their product(s). Always send out emails to them whenever you want to advertise a new product or give reviews about products you sold in the past.