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

The Power of Branding

"A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person.  You earn reputation by trying to do hard things well." (Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com)

Wood can be branded to write a message on a sign; a cow can be branded to show ownership; American slaves were branded, also to show ownership; imprisoned Jews were branded during the Second World War.  Branding, which has been around for centuries, can definitely have a negative connotation.

www.dryheadranch.com

However, it can also have a positive connotation.  Today, business branding is commonplace.  When my nephew Bo was only 2 years old, he would shout out "Donald's" every time his parents drove past the fast food restaurant.  The golden arches are a form of branding.  When I visited Chicago a couple of summers ago, we took an architectural cruise along the Chicago River.  My favourite skyscraper was a jutting silver building with six giant letters on the side of it, "TRUMP".  Donald Trump is a genius at branding:  his name plasters his buildings, his products, even his helicopter.  Visit http://www.trump.com/ to see how the mastermind works.

upload.wikpedia.org

Internet branding is a technique that uses the World Wide Web as a medium for positioning a brand in the marketplace.  Websites, social media, blogs, online press releases and video marketing are some of the medium used to advertise a brand.  Visit http://garinkilpatrick.com/online-brand-building-tips/ for ideas.

whitespace.on.ca

Personal branding is way for individuals to "market themselves and their careers as brands".  It can also be called "self-packaging", a term coined by Tom Peters in 1997.  It is a way to "establish a prescribed image or impression in the mid of others regarding an individual, group or organization". Self-packaging is not a new idea; Napoleon Hill first introduced the concept in his book Think and Grow Rich back in 1937, a bestseller that has sold over 70 million copies.  For more about this book, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Think_and_Grow_Rich.

ronnicruz.com

Personal branding is a way to identify yourself on the Internet.  It gets your name, your image, your product or your blog out there.  It helps you connect with clients for your company or career.  For tips on how to build a strong personal brand visit http://www.quicksprout.com/the-complete-guide-to-building-your-personal-brand/ or http://www.forbes.com/sites/shamahyder/2014/08/18/7-things-you-can-do-to-build-an-awesome-personal-brand/.

Personal branding helps you stand out courtesy http://www.inc.com/uploaded_files/image/970x450/personality-pano_22382.jpg.

Personal branding is a way to separate yourself from the competition.  Employers increasingly use social media tools to vet applicants before offering them interviews.  They check out applicants' Facebook pages, Twitter pages and personal blogs, to get a sense of what they are all about.

Remember, your brand should be consistent across the board.  Your blog, Twitter page, Facebook page, Pinterest page and any other social media pages should have a similar look.  For more information, visit https://support.canva.com/hc/en-us/articles/202666204-How-do-I-create-a-consistent-brand-image-.

Source:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Branding

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/.

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Technologically Challenged

I am a dinosaur.  I don't own a cell phone.  I've never sent a text.  The only reason that I joined Facebook three and a half years ago was so that I could connect with other writers.  However, it's been a great forum for my blog.  Now, I'm looking for more blog followers and hits.  This week, therefore, I decided to become a full fledged member of the social media world.  My teenage son can do these things in his sleep, but for me, it's a monumental task.  But I was bound and determined to do it.

I started out with Twitter.  I signed up and opened an account -- without any tears!  I sent my first tweet, successfully.  Then I went crazy and sent several other tweets.  Next I turned to Pinterest.  I signed up, opened an account and pinned my first photo.  I even tried Google +, but Thomas told me that it was a waste of time, so I gave up on it.

My next task was to sign up for Google Adsense (http://www.google.com/adsense/).  I've been blogging for three and a half years, why not make a bit of money at it?  Once again, I signed up successfully.  Now I just have to wait up to a week to be approved.

I have always wanted to write more articles.  I discovered Hubpages on the Internet.  Why not sign up to write Hubs?  So, I gave them a list of information as well as my Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest accounts and signed on the dotted line.  I wrote my first Hub, "Open Adoption:  Uncharted Territory", which took an hour and a half to complete.  Then I pressed a button -- and it disappeared!  I didn't cry, I didn't throw anything.  I just calmly started to rewrite the article.  This time, however, I saved it in Microsoft Word, just in case.  The second time around I was able to successfully submit the article. I was told it would take 24 hours to proofread before it would be published.  I don't care -- I'm a Hubber!

Besides Social Media, another way I can increase my blog hits is to use tags.  Again, how hard can it be to learn? So, I googled it.  I was pleasantly surprised to find out how simple it was.  Each time I write a new blog post, I have a box to the right of the text with the word Labels at the top.  I click on it, a box opens, and I list the words that I would like highlighted from that particular post.  Then, when I publish my post, voila!  The highlighted words appear in orange at the bottom of my post as "tags".

I thought, I wonder if tags are the same as "hashtags"?  I guess they are.  I was so proud of myself that I bragged to my daughter Jacqueline that I had learned how to use hashtags.  She laughed and explained to me that a hashtag is something you use when you text.  She said:  "Stick to Facebook, Mom.  It's more your speed."  

Nonetheless, I am still pleased that I have navigated through the Social Media world successfully. My next task is to set up an official website which will provide links to my writing (blog, newspaper articles, short stories).  Can I do it?  Will I succeed?  We'll see.  If I'm successful, you'll see me doing a happy dance. Thomas and Jacqueline, however, will not bat an eyelash.  I'm still their "dinosaur" mother.

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