Social Bookmarking Boosts Blog Traffic

"A social bookmarking service is a centralized online service which enables users to add, annotate, edit and share bookmarks of web documents." 

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_bookmarking)

According to Christina Garcia, there are five reasons that bloggers should engage in social bookmarking:

Global Accessibility:  You are given access to the bookmarks, regardless of what technical device that you use ex. computer, cell phone, etc.

Profitability:  Social bookmarking increases your popularity.  If you have a monetization program like Google Adsense, this leads to increased revenue.

Web Presence:  Categorized bookmarking means the bookmarking service organizes and archives your favourite links.  You may do this by tagging bookmarks with keywords.  You will increase your web presence at the list of your favourite bookmarks and promote your brand (for more details, see http://alinefromlinda.blogspot.ca/2015/02/the-power-of-branding.html) at a collection of bookmarks with similar interests.  

Share Inspirational Information:  A social bookmarking service enables you to share inspirational information with your family, friends, co-workers or followers ex. updates, tips, safety concerns, book reviews or amazing recipes.

Higher Page Ranking:  Your website or blog will be found faster by search engines if you make use of social bookmarking.

Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest are obvious social bookmarking sites.  Here are 15 others:

1.  Delicious at https://delicious.com/ allows you to discover, share and organize the hottest links online.

2.  Folkd at www.folkd.com enables you to share links with family, friends and followers.  

3.  Diigo (Digest of Internet Information) at https://www.diigo.com/ is a multitool for knowledge management.

4.  Reddit at http://www.reddit.com/ calls itself "The Front Page of the Internet", providing entertainment and news online.

5.  MyHQ at http://www.myhq.com/ allows you to share bookmarks in a banner free environment.

6.  StumbleUpon at https://www.stumbleupon.com/ is "A Giant Collection of the Best Pages of the Internet".

7.  Linkagogo at http://www.linkagogo.com/ dynamically bookmarks websites for you to share with family, friends and followers.

8.  Mister Wong at http://www.mister-wong.com/ has over one million users.  The services saves and manages your favourite websites.

9.  Yelp at http://www.yelp.ca/ is the best way to find local businesses.  Read opinions, search photos, instant chat and locate local hotspots.

10.  Google Bookmarks at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Bookmarks is a free service to create and share your favourite bookmarks.

11.  Tumblr at https://www.tumblr.com/ allows you to grow your blog audience by connecting with other blogs.  You may post text, photos, videos, quotes and questions.

12.  Blogger at blogger.com allows you to create a blog, grow your audience, earn money and share posts.

13.  Wordpress at wordpress.com lets you build and maintain a website or blog.  It has evolved into a full content management system with thousands of plugins, widgets and themes.

14.  Storify at https://storify.com/ allows you to create stories and timelines fast and easily; it is interactive with social media like Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.  

15.  Instagram at http://instagram.com/ is a fun and easy way to share life with family and friends through a series of  pictures.  

Happy Social Bookmarking!

www.seolix.com

Advertising Your Blog

"The importance of your site is based on how many other sites link to yours and how important those sites are." (Professional Blogging for Dummies)

Now that you have set up your blog, it's time to get the word out.  Start by telling your family, friends and business associates.  Make a business card with your blog address.  My card says "Writer" with a picture of a typewriter in the background.  Send a mass e-mail sharing the details.  Include a link to your blog in your e-mail signature.  Advertise your blog on your website.  If you have a business blog, give a brief description of it in your company boilerplate (a brief description at the end of a news release).

Set up an ego search online which lets you know when your blog is mentioned or linked to other blogs.  Set up a Google Alert search of a topic that you blog about.  You can even do a Google Alert for your own name.  Link to other blogs regularly.  Leave comments on other blogs to identify yourself as part of the blogosphere.  Remember to keep your comments relevant and new, rather than just repeating what other readers have written.  Make sure to mention if you have a personal interest in the topic.  Comment on topics that have no interest to you twice as much as topics that do, thereby showing you have no immediate value in doing so.  Remember to reread your comment for errors and tone before your click Send.

Social media is an excellent way to promote your blog.  As of 2010, Facebook already had five million active viewers.  You can set up a like button on your Facebook page.  Similarly, you can set up a Like button on your blog which can link back to your Facebook page.  Read Facebook for Dummies (http://www.amazon.ca/Facebook-For-Dummies-Carolyn-Abram/dp/1118633121) by Leah Perlman and Carolyn Abram for more information.  You can also share your blog on Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn or Google Plus as I do when I write a new post.

Try writing a guest blog for someone else.  A one time deal might only drive your traffic up temporarily but if you do it on a regular basis ex. once a month, you'll likely see a lasting increase in your blog hits.

Another way Internet surfers can find your blog is through keywords.  Google analytics can tell you the keywords people use to find your blog based on algorithms, proximity, frequency and page rank. Sometimes, the strangest keywords come up ex. kosher clowns, ghetto chicken head, pregnant man or yellow balloon cake.  It is a good practice to get into to include keywords at the end of your blog. However, remember that people read your blog for its tone, not for its keywords.


For more information, visit http://www.thesitsgirls.com/make-money/30-ways-to-grow-your-blog/.

blogspot.com

A Christmas Book Basket

A few weeks ago, I saw a great idea on Pinterest for Christmas.  Gather a collection of 25 Christmas picture books.  Wrap them up.  Put the collection under the tree.  Every day in the month of December, have your child unwrap one book and read it to him/her.

Now, it gets expensive to buy 25 picture books.  But I did go shopping with my friend Heather in Niagara Falls, New York yesterday.  I bought a couple of hardcover books for $3.99 at Ollie's Discount Store. Two days ago, I visited Brantford Public Library's Catalogue and requested 22 Christmas books, many of which Jacqueline has never read.  I couldn't believe the selection they had.

It remains to be seen whether I will wrap them since that costs more money and is time consuming. Besides, I will be returning the library books in three weeks.  But I will put the collection in a basket or box and set it under the Christmas tree.  I look forward to Jacqueline delving into the basket.

Here is the list of books I bought or borrowed for our Christmas library this year:

1.  One Splendid Tree (Marilyn Helmer)
2.  Christmas from Heaven (Tom Brokaw)
3.  The Christmas Tapestry (Patricia Polacco)
4.  A Charlie Brown Christmas (Charles Schulz)
5.  How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Dr. Seuss)
6.  The Polar Express (Chris Van Allsburg)
7.  My Pen Pal Santa (Melissa Stanton)
8.  Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus (Christopher J. Piehal)
9.  Boris and Stella and the Perfect Gift (Dara Goldman)
10.  Christmas in the City (Loretta Krupinski)
11.  Cobweb Christmas (Shirley Climo)
12,  How Many Miles to Bethlehem? (Kevin Crossley-Holland)
13.  The Finest Christmas Tree (John Hassett)
14.  The Tale of Baboushka (Elena Pasquali)
15.  The Great Reindeer Rebellion (Lisa Trumbauer)
16.  The Message of the Birds (Kate Westerlund)
17.  Jackie's Gift (Sharon Robinson)
18.  The Little Crooked Christmas Tree (Michael Cutting)
19.  The Carpenter's Gift:  A Christmas Tale about the Rockefeller Center Tree (David Rubel)
20.  The Night Before Christmas (Clement C. Moore)
21.  Mortimer's Christmas Manger (Karma Wilson)
22.  Aunt Olga's Christmas Postcards (Kevin Major)
23.  Arthur's Christmas (Marc Brown)
24.  Can't Wait Til Christmas (Mike Huckabee)
25.  The Christmas Cookie Sprinkle Snitcher (Robert Kraus)


Here is the original link:  http://www.pinterest.com/pin/18295942212097925/

Christmas book basket courtesy faithfulprovisions.com.