How to grow your blog to the next level with SEO
Nice common sense article by Darren Rouse about what to do to promote your blog once you're out of stealth mode. (I'm just bookmarking this for later review.)
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Friday, February 27, 2009
24/7 Wall St. Ranks the Most Valuable Blogs
24/7 Wall St. chose the 25 most valuable blogs, based on a pretty loose set of criteria.
The most interesting thing about this? The Perez Hilton site is worth an estimated $32 million. For writing campy tripe and drawing on pictures with his white markers, Mario Lavandeira apparently earns nearly $9 million a year in advertising revenue. He's a hard-working guy with a definite, tireless talent for self-promotion - don't get me wrong. Just WOW, though.
So, what else pops out? Well, we apparently like gossip, politics, technology & gadgets, sports and financial information - in various combinations. There is some support for the notion that people tend to gravitate to like-minded people. Sugar is for girls and young women. Wowowow is for women over 40. The Huffington Post and DailyKos are largely appealing to those who are politically center-left or simply left. However, gadget geeks and investment folks are all ages, genders, locations and political affiliations, so we're still engaging in diverse interaction on a lot of topics.
I was surprised at the popularity of the women's sites. I also think women fuel the popularity of the gossip sites - purely because most of my friends who are interested in pop culture are female. So women are a force to consider now, which is amazing considering how scarce they were when I got started in this online business 15 or more years ago.
News is of interest to folks, but via Drudge or HuffPo, not CNN, MSNBC or Fox. Or, they want topic-specific news they find at SB Nation (sports), mashable and TechCrunch (technology), or the Alley Insider sites (Silicon Alley, Greensheet, and so on).
Last, site traffic seems to be on the upswing for many of these sites. So, even if advertising prices drop, I am willing to bet that readership numbers will continue to increase for well-written blogs and sites centered on those core topics - gossip, politics, technology & gadgets, sports and financial information. MAybe I'll go sign up for Google's AdSense and dip my toe in.
The most interesting thing about this? The Perez Hilton site is worth an estimated $32 million. For writing campy tripe and drawing on pictures with his white markers, Mario Lavandeira apparently earns nearly $9 million a year in advertising revenue. He's a hard-working guy with a definite, tireless talent for self-promotion - don't get me wrong. Just WOW, though.
So, what else pops out? Well, we apparently like gossip, politics, technology & gadgets, sports and financial information - in various combinations. There is some support for the notion that people tend to gravitate to like-minded people. Sugar is for girls and young women. Wowowow is for women over 40. The Huffington Post and DailyKos are largely appealing to those who are politically center-left or simply left. However, gadget geeks and investment folks are all ages, genders, locations and political affiliations, so we're still engaging in diverse interaction on a lot of topics.
I was surprised at the popularity of the women's sites. I also think women fuel the popularity of the gossip sites - purely because most of my friends who are interested in pop culture are female. So women are a force to consider now, which is amazing considering how scarce they were when I got started in this online business 15 or more years ago.
News is of interest to folks, but via Drudge or HuffPo, not CNN, MSNBC or Fox. Or, they want topic-specific news they find at SB Nation (sports), mashable and TechCrunch (technology), or the Alley Insider sites (Silicon Alley, Greensheet, and so on).
Last, site traffic seems to be on the upswing for many of these sites. So, even if advertising prices drop, I am willing to bet that readership numbers will continue to increase for well-written blogs and sites centered on those core topics - gossip, politics, technology & gadgets, sports and financial information. MAybe I'll go sign up for Google's AdSense and dip my toe in.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Mashable offers up job hunt sites
Okay, I love mashable.com. If you're reading this, I highly recommend you bookmark them, follow them, add them to whatever RSS service you use. They consistently post useful information about current technologies, websites, and the online zeitgeist. Lots of user-generated content, so if you're a savvy tech guru, it's also a great place to post an article lots of people will see.
Their latest offering? several things that can help anyone looking around for work.
Top ten social networking sites to help find a job
Career toolbox: 100+ sites
Their latest offering? several things that can help anyone looking around for work.
Top ten social networking sites to help find a job
Career toolbox: 100+ sites
Sunday, February 8, 2009
More royalty-free images - Wikimedia Commons ROCKS!
Wikimedia is a media file repository - that is a fancy way of saying they have tons of images, sounds, and video files, royalty-free. I recommend donating to them - this is a wonderful site. I had a client who needed some pictures of small businesses - done. They have some great pictures of Jack Russell terriers. So far, I've not explored the videos except for an historical one or two. But it's fun and useful - check it out.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Mail Goggles make sure you don't hate yourself in the morning
Have you ever played Drink and Dial? Had that irresistable urge after a few too many mojitos to call someone you've not spoken to in ten or twenty years and share your great mood? Or get that deep dark secret off your chest? Tell your boss what you really think of him or her? Woken up the next morning wondering why you're feeling crummy and then remembered with that sinking sense of dread just exactly what you shared in your tipsy candor?
I haven't ever been that silly, of course. I am a staid and pragmatic marketer. I did have a friend- yeah, that's the ticket - who, long ago when she was single, after a dinner of more wine than food, while at a conference in a city not her own, found an ex-boyfriend's number in the local phone book and gave him a call at or about midnight. She just wanted to catch up and reminisce about past good times, as I recall, but his wife was not as jovial as she expected her to be when she answered...but I digress.
In today's digital world, you don't have to fumble through the phone book. You can text or email whomever you wish from your contact list and bare whatever soul-searing secret you want. Google Labs has something on tap called Mail Goggles to save you from yourself. It forces you to do a few simple math problems to make sure you are coherent enough to get that email off your chest. It looks like, should you not pass the math test, Google won't send the mail.
Worth a look, but far better simply to just stay completely away from the computer in the wee hours after a few drinks. If you cannot say Google Goggles three times really fast, don't touch your email.
I haven't
In today's digital world, you don't have to fumble through the phone book. You can text or email whomever you wish from your contact list and bare whatever soul-searing secret you want. Google Labs has something on tap called Mail Goggles to save you from yourself. It forces you to do a few simple math problems to make sure you are coherent enough to get that email off your chest. It looks like, should you not pass the math test, Google won't send the mail.
Worth a look, but far better simply to just stay completely away from the computer in the wee hours after a few drinks. If you cannot say Google Goggles three times really fast, don't touch your email.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Saturday, December 27, 2008
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