Friday, May 28th, 2010 | Permalink
It’s Friday, and while that generally means another installment of the Weekly Rockstar Blogger Series, I’m going to veer in another direction today…
A good blogger friend of mine, Alex Whalley, needs your help. Well, actually his mother needs your help; and when a mother is in need of assistance, you can bet your bottom bootstraps that a good son (I’m assuming Alex qualifies, he seems like a decent chap) will come running to the rescue. (more…)
Friday, May 21st, 2010 | Permalink
You know what I love about the Weekly Rockstar Blog Series? I mean besides the awesome picture of Angus Young? It’s finding all these cool, awesome blogs that I never would have found on my own.
Think AC/DC rocks? Wait till you read these blogs...
And today is certainly no exception, as I’ve rounded up a serious GEM. It’s got everything you could possibly ask for: Killer Content, Awesome Design, Valuable Free Information and, perhaps best of all, an Attractive Gal Running The Show.
(Note to my girlfriend: that last bit was a joke… Mostly.)
Also, before I launch right into it, I wanted to give yet another crazy awesome shout out to Moon from ExperimentsInPassiveIncome.com, as it was her post (read it HERE) that first acquainted me with this week’s winner. If you haven’t read her blog yet, you should. And then you should give her some awesome Backlink love like I just did, because she deserves it.
Drum roll please…
Why is Erica Douglass (who runs the blog, just in case you missed the blog title reference) so darned cool? Let me count the ways:
The list could go on forever… well, at least for another couple of bullet points – I did only “meet” her about an hour ago after all.
But the point is that she has a really cool blog. It’s chalk full of great information, and it’s always nice to hear advice from someone who has actually been there; someone who is actually walking the walk, so to speak.
I’d also highly recommend downloading her free PDF “Blog Success Manifesto.” She’s got some killer ideas that I hadn’t even thought of, and I’m sure that even the most seasoned blogger could get something useful out of it.
If you don’t read any other post on Erica.biz, read this one: How To Make Money Blogging.
Then thank me later.
Monday, May 17th, 2010 | Permalink
I’ve been a busy little bee in regards to my little Three Dollar Per Day Adsense Challenge today – which should help make up for the fact that I’ve kind of slacked on several occasions since I started on May 1. While I always wish I could accomplish more, I’m pretty stoked on what I’ve got done already today.
If you’re unsure what I’m even talking about, check out Three Dollars Per Day Adsense Challenge: Intro.
I’m about as focused as a drunken Exxon captain when it comes to getting work done. Without a to-do list, I bounce around all day, working a little bit on one task, then a little bit on another. By the end of the day I haven’t accomplished much of anything, even though I’ve worked my ass off.
The solution: A weekly Strategy
I’m finding pretty good success following this model. Keep in mind that I only list absolute minimums, and try to get much more done than I list here. But in the event of a worst-case scenario and I only meet these numbers, I still feel like I accomplished something. Oh, and you’ll notice that I take weekends off. I don’t have to, but when I run out of town on Saturdays and Sundays, I don’t hate myself the whole time.
So here’s the general system I’ve got in place:
Monday: At least three new pages/posts on Site 1
Tuesday: At least three new pages/posts on Site 2
Wednesday: At least three new pages/posts on Site 3
Thursday: Build/add content to my purpose-built backlink sites
Friday: Blog Commenting
This is working out so far, as I’ve got at least 10 pages/posts on all sites so far, and have already started building a crazy network of linking sites for each project.
That would be a big, fat goose egg. Zero. Nada.
But I’m “testing” some new Adsense block placements. I knew right at the start that they’d be pretty abstract, and that they probably wouldn’t convert. But you never know until you try, right?
While I’m inclined to change back to formats and placements that I know work pretty well, I told myself I’d hold fast on this test for at least a month. So I guess what I’m saying is that I’m prepared to make nothing during May, so long as it’s in the name of testing… Best case scenario I discover a system that makes more dinero than my old one… Worse case scenario, I make nothing. Which is what I’m making now.
Long story short, I’ll probably switch everything over early next month. Unless the cash starts pumping in hand over fist.
Friday, May 14th, 2010 | Permalink
It’s been a while, but luckily I resurrected the Weekly Rockstar Blogs Series from the nether regions of my brain, dusted it off, spit-polished its cheek and am presenting it yet once again.
Think AC/DC rocks? Wait till you read these blogs...
As some of you may remember, my whole intention of this series was to point out one “If you read no other blog post this week, make sure it’s this one” mammothly awesome post. But given my recent lax attention span to this post, I’m gonna go balls out and mention a handful.
It’s my way of trying to make everything better… I’m never any good at that, but it’s worth a try, right?
Just like the U.S. Government, there isn’t any order real order here, they’re listed as they randomly pop into my brain.
Nick has recently tried an experiment that I’m anxious to watch unfold. No, it’s not a huge cash system, it’s much more unique: He’s trying out a single-column WordPress theme on his blog. No sidebars, no widgets… it’s all either above or below the content areas. Take a look and let him know what you think. The direct link to the page is: I Need Your Opinion, Do You Like My New Blog Format.
Mike came up with an insanely clever idea, he’s giving away some freakin’ amazing prize in exchange for traffic generating tips. You should check out the discussion he’s got started AND the stuff he’s giving away. Not only is Mike giving away some killer physical products, but he’s also offering up his ghostwriting abilities – so if you’re not big into writing, this might be a great way to get some fast, easy, quality content. The direct link to the page is: I’m Giving Away The Farm.
Also, I wanted to give a major shout out to Scott Barron, as it was his most recent post, Why Didn’t I Think Of That?, that pointed out Mike’s cool post.
Honestly, I have no idea what this guy’s (or gal’s) real name is, but I’ve been following the blog for a week or two. This person is trying to build an income of $50 per day from an army of small niche sites – and has set the deadline at 60 days. “Bay” (it’s as good as name as any, right?) is about halfway through and is already pulling down about $10 consistently through Amazon and Adsesne. Check out: The 60 Day Challenge: Days 30 & 35.
Check them out and let me know what you think!
Tuesday, May 11th, 2010 | Permalink
Want an easy backlink to your site? Become a motor mouth. Really. Allow me to explain…
Many blogs reward their Top Commentators with a shout out in the side bar. You’ve probably seen them on some of your favorite blogs, or maybe even use the feature on yours. The concept is simple: the more comments you post, the more likely you’ll end up on this list. And this list usually includes a hyperlink back to your site (the one you’ve included in all your comment forms).
How’s that for cool?
The best part is that many bloggers don’t set this feature to “NoFollow.” Whether it’s on accident (I’m sure there are a few) or by design (I’m willing to bet that most people fall into this category), the point is that YOU can get even more benefit out of leaving comments on your favorite websites – something you should be doing anyway, if not, read my Why Blog Commenting Rocks post.
… And if this whole backlink discussion sounds like a doctoral Latin presentation, check out What Are Backlinks?
I really love the Top Commentator plugin for a number of reasons. But in terms of backlinks, it’s a super-amazing-awesome way to get some quality love to your website in a very short amount of time – while helping the original blogger build a community at the same time. Win-win. I’ll cheers to that!
What’s so amazing about leaving enough comments to end up in the Top Commentators shout out? Two BIG answers:
1. Most comment forms are set to “NoFollow.” It’s a geeky web term that I’ll go into some day, but the point is that Google (theoretically) won’t give the same amount of backlink love to NoFollow links. However, the Top Commentators plugin is NOT usually set to NoFollow, which means you get crazy good love… Like a puppy!
2. A Link From Every Page In The Blog. The sidebar plugin runs on every single page, which means it shows up on every single page within the blog – meaning you’re getting a backlink from every teeny tiny corner of the other person’s site. A regular comment, on the other hand, is relegated only to the page/post you commented on. Imagine if the blog is super huge, say, 300 posts and pages… that’s a lot of backlinks!
The best part is that becoming a “Top Commentator” is super simple: just keep on commenting like you normally do. If you’re the type that doesn’t leave comments – I used to be that type – than I’d highly recommend giving it a shot. Not only are you building backlinks to your site, but you’re also building friends.
And who doesn’t need more friends?
On a related side note: I love the blogging circle that has developed between Search Engine Viking and several other blogs. We frequently read each other’s stuff, leave comments, recommend links sometimes even email back and forth. And it would have never developed had I not broken out of my lame little shell and started leaving comments… Just food for thought for those of you who haven’t bit the bullet and started commenting yet.
Such an awesome tip couldn’t come without a catch, right? Sort of. The only catch here is that most of these Top Commentator blogs automatically reset after a predetermined amount of time, usually at the start of every month. So if you want to keep the link love flowing, you’ll have to keep commenting over the long haul – it’s not a “set-and-forget” strategy.
But all in all, you won’t find an easy backlink strategy any easier than by ranking high in Top Commentator sidebars throughout the Internet.
Monday, May 10th, 2010 | Permalink
It’s been exactly two months since I posted Alexa 3,598,486 And Counting, which, as you can probably guess even without reading that post, that my Alexa ranking was 3,598,486. And you may also recall that my “goal” was to rank at least one spot better by June 20, 2010. Well, I’m proud as a reality show winner to announce that I’m way ahead of schedule.
My current (May 10, 2010) Alexa ranking: 1,195,786.
I think I hear crickets...
That’s an improvement an improvement of 2,402,700 places in two months!
Is that good? Beats the heck out of me. All I know is that Search Engine Viking is making strides to taking over the Internet as we know it.
I still don’t know. I do know that it’s a measurement of a site’s popularity, but beyond that, I have no idea. And to be completely honest, I don’t really care. At least not at this moment. All I’m really interested in is the fact that my numbers have improved.
Alexa ranks sites. That’s all I know. The lower the number, the better. Kind of like golf, but with fewer product endorsement deals.
There’s a huge debate regarding the validity of Alexa’s system. Some people say it’s accurate (usually the people at the top), while others say the process is flawed. I personally don’t know. I’ve never cared enough to test it out. All I know is that I’d like to someday cross into the top 100,000, if for no other reason than I’d get a cool graph on the Alexa index.
Because of awesome readers like you!
Seriously.
Readership and the “community” that builds around a website plays a big role in how Alexa tallies its figures. So your patronage – whether you occasionally skim this blog or have become a frequent commenter – is a big reason why I’ve made such a big jump. I think. Like I said, it’s all a big mystery.
But thank you!
Obviously I blasted past my original goal, and did so more than a month in advance. Let’s keep the momentum rolling:
Goal: Alexa Ranking of 1,000,000 by June 20, 2010.
Is this goal possible? I think so.
I’ll definitely need some help getting to the one million mark. If you’d be so kind to help me out, I’ll love you forever (not that I already don’t).
Here are some super simple ways to help out:
Read Search Engine Viking. You don’t have to take notes, but simply coming back every once in a while to see what’s going on would be huge.
Comment On The Posts. Nothing fancy, just a little note here or there.
Link to this site. This is ginormous. Not only do backlinks help out Alexa, they help out with SEO (read What Are Backlinks if you’re unfamiliar with these). I’d love any “link love” you can offer, be it a link to the main URL – SearchEngineViking.com – or to any individual post(s).
Saturday, May 8th, 2010 | Permalink
Seven days in, and things are cooking along quite nicely. I just barely added a sample Adsense code to one of the three sites, and I’ll probably go ahead and pull the trigger on all of them tomorrow. So hopefully tomorrow they’ll all be set up to bring in oodles and oodles of cash. Or at least a couple of cents.
Work on the sites is still going slower than I’d like, though looking back I am getting quite a bit of work done on them – just not as much as I’d prefer. I spent what time I had today building some pages for one site, I was hoping to have three main pages for each of them written by the end of the week. Probably won’t make that.
Also, I’m planning on adding an analytic code to all three sites, so I can track page views as well as adsense clicks. I’ve always used Google Analytics for that, but I’m considering Stat Counter just to try something new. We’ll see.
Thursday, May 6th, 2010 | Permalink
Considering I’m only five days into my little self-imposed challenge, I’d say things are going fairly well. I still haven’t put any Adsense blocks up yet (I’m still debating on waiting a week or so – just as an experiment), so I don’t have any cold, hard cash numbers… yet.
(Note: If you’re new here and are wondering “What the heck is this guy talking about?” Check out Three Dollars Per Day Adsense Challenge: Intro, hopefully you’ll think I’m a little less nuts).
All three sites are live, and each has a Home page, an About page, a Contact Page and an “Articles” page. The later is simply the blog, of which I am calling all blogs “articles.” I’ve also written two blogs/articles within each site and provided a backlink to the main URL.
I’ve also submitted at least one link on each site to Digg, and spent about an hour last night trying to figure out how in the heck Reddit works… Anybody have any clue? I swear that program makes about as much sense to me as a Girl Scout Cookie stand positioned outside a Weight Watchers office.
Two of the sites have already been indexed by google.
Back to work on the sites…
Tuesday, May 4th, 2010 | Permalink
Authority Websites: Cool Hair and $100 per Month Paychecks.
I know, I know; you’re probably asking yourself: “Day 3? What happened to days 1 and 2?”
The fact is that I was out of town and had limited Internet access, so I utilized what time I had to work on the challenge rather than update the blog. It’s nothing personal, I promise; it’s just a matter of priorities.
I’m running a little behind thanks to my little out-of-town adventure, and was hoping to be about a million miles farther than I’ve gotten so far. But that’s okay, I’ll make up for it with a little extra elbow grease throughout the next few days.
Here’s where I’m at:
Purchased The Domains. Unfortunately the low-cost domain registration service I usually use is having some major issues, so I bought the domains through my host service, BlueHost. They do a great job, it’s just that they charge a bit more than I was expecting. With privacy enabled, it cost almost $45 for the three domains, whereas I normally pay about $9 each, meaning it *should* have cost $27 – so right up front my costs have doubled. No sense in crying, $100 per month should more than make up for it!
Created Unique Pen Names. Each site will be written under a unique pen name, so I registered an email address for each one. I went with hotmail, but Gmail or any of the others probably work equally as well.
Installed WordPress. Like I said in an earlier post (Three Dollars Per Day Adsense Challenge: Overview), I’m powering all three sites with WordPress. It’s like family: we fight a lot, but at the end of the day I know it better than anything else. And by “know it better than anything else” I mean: I don’t know how to build websites any other way.
Wrote the Static Homepages. I wrote about 500-750 words as the main page for each site, then adjusted the settings so that these pages come up as the “Home” page.
Wrote Some “Housekeeping” Pages. Each site has an “about” and “contact us” page. Neither are anything fancy, but Google likes seeing them. The “Contact” page is nothing more than a one-sentence blurb and a contact form (which is included in a plugin I downloaded).
That’s it for now, thought I’m about to spend some quality time working on them once I’m done writing this post.
I should note that I haven’t added Adsense to any of the sites yet. Normally I throw it up as soon as the site is live, but I’m toying with the idea of waiting a week or two, at least until the sites get indexed. I’m not sure if it makes a difference or not, but it’s worth trying. I’ll let you know what I decide.
DoFollow Blog List
Wednesday, May 26th, 2010 | Permalink
Welcome to the Search Engine Viking DoFollow Blog List.
This list is an ongoing list of blogs that don’t use the “NoFollow” code in their comment forms, which means you can get some serious SEO/backlinking benefits simply by leaving your own comments and entering your URL into the form. (more…)
Tags: Backlinks, Blog Commenting, DoFollow, NoFollow
Posted in SEO | 48 Comments »