Starting a Blog is Easy, But…

Blogging…
It seems everyone is doing it.
In fact, I asked someone the other day, “Does anyone create websites anymore?” It seems that when given the choice between a blog and a website, most people opt for blogs these days.
If this describes you, I certainly understand your reasons. Blogs are much easier to setup than websites.
They are dynamic, which means the scripts allow you to display content in many different ways (by date, category, tag, most commented posts, etc.)
The search engines love them, and the free plug-ins (if you use WordPress) can give you even more flexibility and increase your blog’s coolness factor.

One Problem With Blogging

Even though there are many positives with blogging, there’s one thing I’ve noticed about many who choose a blog over a website.
Blogging can often discourage beginners from learning the fundamentals of website creation and design. Unlike a website, you don’t need to learn anything about HTML, CSS or uploading files to publish a blog.
You might argue the same could be said about websites if you use an editor. However, even if you use an HTML editor like Dreamweaver or CoffeeCup for a website, you still have to familiarize yourself with the fundamentals of HTML at some point. (At least I had to.)
With blogs, everything can be done through a WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) control panel that comes with your blogging platform. You don’t have to look at a lick of code if you don’t want to.
Of course, this is no big deal if you find a blog template/theme that you want to use “as is”. But what if you want to customize large sections of your design or change it completely?
Staring at a gazillion lines of CSS code can be quite intimidating. In fact, most people will tell you that in order to learn CSS, you should have a basic understanding of HTML first. (And I agree.) So with no HTML background, I completely understand why some bloggers cringe at the thought of going near the code.
Many people choose blogs because they are easier to setup, but many don’t venture out and learn the fundamentals of HTML and CSS so they can freely update their designs.
I have nothing against blogging. I own one myself, obviously. But I do believe that if you are going to blog, you should spend time learning the basics of HTML and CSS so you have the freedom to update your design beyond the standard template.
Of course, outsourcing a designer is always an option too. However, you don’t want to become completely reliant on a third party. I’ve heard too many nightmare stories with this scenario.
About once a month I get an email from someone who’s paid a designer to create and design their site, but they’ve lost contact with the person and have no idea how to make edits to the design.
As I say all the time, I am far from being a designer, but I have learned enough to maintain and customize my site. You should too.
Even if you buy the premium WordPress Thesis Theme that I use for this blog, it still helps to know the basics of CSS so you can juice up the standard, out-of-the-box template.

A CSS Tutorial Minus The Techie Talk

If you haven’t viewed my newest 4-part CSS tutorial on YouTube, you can watch all four videos in the playlist below. I even provide a very simple, 3-column template that goes along with the video. You can tweak it as needed.
Even though this template and tutorial is for a website instead of a blog, it will still help you grasp the basics and make more sense of your blog’s template code.
Give yourself the freedom to design the kind of blog you want.

My 6 Figure Income Story

SiteSell Sent Me $8,268.35 Last Month

Am I flashing my SiteSell affiliate check in your face to brag?

No, not at all.
When it comes to telling other people how to make money online, it’s all about credibility.
And if you can’t prove you’re actually profiting, then you sort of get lumped in with all the other “how-to-make-money” sites that leave people wondering if that Webmaster has the profits to back-up their advice.
So I thought about it and realized I could turn my success into a blog post to help inspire others.
That check meant a lot to me. Not just because it’s the largest check I’ve received from SiteSell, but because it caused me to reflect on what so many people do wrong in affiliate marketing.
So I thought I’d tell you what has worked for me…

I Use Most Products I Promote

I’ll be the first to admit, when I first started telling people to buy Site Build It!, I didn’t own it.
I was extremely wowed by the fact I could earn $75 per sale (and yearly residuals) that I immediately begin blasting banner ads and text links for SBI! all over my site.
Not a single person bought it for months.
And why would they?
I was just another cold, impersonal website asking them to shell out $299 for the possibility of making money with a website. But of course, I couldn’t really prove it worked because I didn’t own it.
As the years went on, I kept reading all the successful case studies about SBI!. It seemed that every month SiteSell was adding a new success story to the batch. My curiosity got the best of me.

So I bought SBI! in 2005 and created flat-stomach-exercises.com. Not only did I make my investment back in 3-4 months with Google ads, but the site rose to the top of the search engines faster than any site I’d ever created.
Of course this made for a great story on 2CreateAWebSite.com – a site that teaches people how to build websites.
Case studies and real-world examples sell like crazy. So if you are trying to get your audience to buy something, why not build a case study that outlines your experiences with the product?
Saying “The product’s great!” is one thing, but being able to show how it’s worked for you takes PREselling to a whole other level.

I Try to Be Brutally Honest

It seems when I started emphasizing that not everyone succeeds with Site Build It!, my affiliate sales went up. Sounds kinda strange at first, but if you think about it, it makes sense.

When you are reviewing a product and only talk about the benefits, people get suspicious – especially when there’s an affiliate link tied to the recommendation.
However, when I started creating videos and explaining that Site Build It! is not a get-rich-quick program, it’s a lot of work and does not promise instant success, that increased my credibility and helped my sales.
People are so used to websites aggressively pushing products, they find it refreshing when someone doesn’t sugarcoat everything – especially when it comes to a product that supposedly helps you make money.

People Often Ask Me For My Affiliate Link

When you PREsell effectively, you’ll find some people want to make sure you get that commission. I get emails all the time from people who want to make sure they are purchasing from the right link.
Long gone are the days when I used to hide the fact I was an affiliate.

I decided that if I’m giving people my honest opinion of something and showing that I use the product, why should I hide the fact I’m getting a commission?
Sure, the affiliate link probably turns a few people off, but for the most part, people don’t mind it if they believe you are being upfront and honest.

So What’s the Point?

I didn’t write this post to tell you to join SiteSell’s affiliate program, because if I may be honest, most people are not going to generate 4-figure checks every month. (Unless your site is geared toward Webmasters.)
SiteSell’s products perform well on my site because I have the traffic and the right audience. And you can do the same with a product or service that fits with your visitors.

The point is, if you are not seeing the type of commissions and sales you’d like to receive from your affiliate programs, think about your model and approach.

Are the products you market relevant to your audience?
Are your recommendations filled with all fluff and no facts?
Do you even use the products you promote?
Do you make it easy for people to ask questions?

And if you’re spending so much time trying to hide the fact you are affiliated with the company then ask yourself “Why?”
The way I look at it is, if you really do like and use the product, what reason would you have to hide your affiliation?

Years ago I would never admit I was an affiliate because I thought it would turn people off.
And while that is still true to some extent, the majority of the people won’t care as much when they feel you are being honest and giving them valuable information.
Yes, developing case studies can be a lot of work, and that also means you’ll have to invest in some products along the way.
But wouldn’t you agree the credibility and rewards you’ll gain in the long-run are well worth the effort?

My Top 7 Money Making Programs

I’ve noticed from reading other blogs, readers seem to enjoy learning how other sites make money. So I’ve developed a “Top 7″ list of my top income generators based on nothing more than monthly income earned.
Note: This list is from all my sites combined.
—————-

1. Domain and Web Hosting Reselling

This program is a great example of why you should look for affiliate or reseller programs in your niche that pay residual commissions.
If my site got wiped out today, I would still be able to live off the residual income I’ve generated since joining this program in 2002. If you have a site that targets Webmasters, reselling domains and web hosting is a great way to build a long-term income that continues to grow and grow.
As a reseller, you receive your own customizable website that allows you to set your prices and determine your profit. The parent company handles all the customer and technical support, so all you do is promote your own reseller store.
It would be hard for any other affiliate program to bump this from the #1 spot.

2. SiteSell

I’ve been receiving checks from SiteSell’s affiliate program since 1999, but nothing like the ones I started getting when I bought Site Build It! and displayed my own success story.
(See the post about my February 2008 check)
This was my biggest lesson in the importance of knowing and actually using products you refer from your site.
SiteSell’s affiliate program pays a generous $75 per Site Build It! sale, plus residuals on all yearly renewals. I really wish more affiliate programs would put the same amount of time and energy SiteSell does into helping affiliates.
I’ve never known another company to offer so many tools to help their affiliates make sales. From videos with your affiliate links embedded in them to over 60 audience-relevant landing pages, this program has it all.

3. Affiliate Networks (CJ.com, ShareASale.com, etc.)

I promote a variety of products that I find on some of the larger affiliate networks. From web software, web hosting, HTML editors, to anything I can find that’s useful and related to my audience.
Belonging to an affiliate network has its advantages…
1) If you’re looking for a specific product to promote, you can do a search to see if there are any relevant affiliate programs that offer the product.
2) You can join multiple programs with a few mouse clicks.
3) All of your earnings are tracked in one place, so you have one-stop reporting instead of multiple affiliate account logins.
The downside is that many companies who run their affiliate programs through large networks tend to have sub-par customer support.
There have been many occasions where I’ve sent an email to a company I’m affiliated with through CJ and never received a response. Companies that run their own in-house affiliate programs seem to have better customer support over all.
Nevertheless, large affiliate networks are definitely worth exploring, particularly if you’re looking for a specific product to promote on your site or blog.

4. AdSense

I hate using the term “easy money”, but if you have enough traffic, AdSense has got to be one of the easiest ways to generate an income from your site or blog.
AdSense performs much better on my sites not targeted to Webmasters and Bloggers – which is a big reason why you don’t see many AdSense units on this blog.
Bloggers and Webmasters tend to be immune to Google ads so they ignore them. However on my fitness site, my click-thru ratio has been much higher.
Even though my main site, 2CreateAWebSite.com targets Webmasters, it does OK with AdSense because it gets enough traffic to make displaying the ads worthwhile.

5. Thesis (DIYThemes)

This program bumped Amazon.com off the list. So in August, 2009 I had to update this post.
I make most of my money from affiliate programs that are tied to products and services I own. It’s so important to build credibility and trust as an affiliate, and one way to start is to buy and use what you recommend.
As soon as I learned how to use Thesis and realized the sheer power, I added a page here that illustrates how it works. Since this site gets a lot of traffic from Bloggers, it’s a perfect fit and the earnings started coming in right away.
Thesis has a very generous affiliate program and if a person buys the Developer’s option, you can earn over $50 for one sale.

6. ClickBank

With ClickBank, you really have to feel it out and see what works for you. Even though it’s on my Top 7 list, I must admit there is a lot of garbage on ClickBank.
Many of the eBooks you can sell are a bunch of recycled facts you can find anywhere on the Web.
They are usually promoted by an over-hyped landing page with a loud sales pitch that promises you to either get rich quick, lose weight tomorrow, or get out of debt in seconds.
However, if you really comb through the ClickBank marketplace, you can find some winners. I was able to find a few good e-books to promote that convert very well on my sites.
The great thing about ClickBank is that the commissions are extremely high since product development and delivery costs are low. You could earn up to $75 on certain products in their marketplace.

7. Ad Sales

I sell ads on my static website, 2 Create a Website. I use Ad Peeps to manage the ads. I used to sell ads here but I wasn’t happy with the click-through rates (traffic is much lower here than on my static site), so I discontinued ad sales here.
I used to use AdBrite, but there was a glitch with their system and my ads stopped displaying properly. It was good to get rid of them anyway because now I don’t have to share my revenue with anyone except PayPal. (They take a very small percentage.)
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These aren’t the only programs I earn money from, but these are the highest paying by far. The rest of my income comes from a collection of other affiliate programs.
This post was not created to encourage you to join all these programs. Quite frankly, if your site does not target the same people and does not have the same kind of traffic, your income will be drastically less than mine.
But hopefully this shows you what is possible if you build a website that allows you to become the “expert” in your niche, and you recommend quality products that you use and are relevant to your audience. You can apply this strategy to any niche.

42 Fabulous Free Web Tools

Here are 42 free web tools guaranteed to make your web life easier.
1) Icebrrg
Need a feedback form? Survey? Registration form? Head on over to Icebrrg.com and get one for free.
No technical expertise needed. They will even store your information in a database and allow you to export the info to Excel.
You can create up to 3 forms for free.
2) Picnik
Rotate, crop, re-size images and photos right from your browser. A much easier alternative than GIMP, in my opinion. (Thanks for the suggestion, Lisa)
3) Image-Maps.com
Need to turn parts of your image into clickable links? Image-Maps.com will take on the task for free. All you do is upload your image, complete a few fields, get your code and you’re ready to go.
I just used this site to image map my new YouTube channel banner.
Note: I don’t usually endorse Internet Explorer, but I had trouble using this tool in Firefox, so this is one of the few times I will recommend using Internet Explorer instead.
4) SXC – Free Stock Photography
Looking for some royalty free photograhy? SXC has a nice selection, especially for a free site.
5) 123-Banners.com
This site has been around forever! I remember stumbling upon it as a web newbie over 11 years ago. It’s still going strong and now allows you to create Flash and sound banners.
Normally free banner creation sites are pretty cheesy, but their templates aren’t bad for a free site.
6) HTML Basix Javascript Banner Rotator
Everyone always asks me about my rotating/refreshing banner script at the top of my blog. I used to use Magic Image, but I recently switched to HTML Basix’s script because it doesn’t require an external file.
I like these kinds of banner rotation scripts because the banners change without needing to refresh the page.
Note: I wish I could find one like this that shuffles the banner order. Please comment if you know of one or how to tweak the code.
7) Free Hand-Written Fonts
I’m somewhat of a font junky. I like to use different fonts for images I create in Photoshop. This blog has a good list of hand-drawn fonts you can download.
Just download the fonts you want and go to the Fonts section in your PC’s Control Panel to install.
8) My Live Signature
Use this tool to create a graphical version of your signature you can use on your site or any electronic document. (Thanks, Elaine)
9) e-Book Cover Templates for PhotoShop
If you own Photoshop, you can use these Actions to generate e-covers for your e-books, software or any other digital goods. All you do is load the Actions (templates) into your PC’s Photoshop directory and they’re ready for use!
I used these Actions to create the cover for my free e-book, ThePerfectSiteGuide.com. As a matter of fact, I use them for all my e-books.
10) Firefox
I joked about a Firefox mandate on Twitter a while back, but it really would be nice.
While later versions of IE are much better at handling CSS, nothing compares to the speedy, safe Firefox browser with all the cool add-ons.
If you are a webmaster or blogger still using IE, shame on you.

P.S. Google Chrome is great too. If it ever supports an add-on feature like Firefox, it will be a close rival.
11) FireFTP
A very handy Firefox browser add-on.
I love being able to FTP files to my host without having to shut down my browser and open another application. FireFTP works right inside Firefox and simply opens a new tab.
12) FileZilla
If you don’t use Firefox or don’t like FireFTP, FileZilla is another great FTP option.
13) BrowserShots.org
Just because your site looks fabulous in Firefox 3.0, don’t assume it looks so hot in other browsers. This site will give you a preview of your site in virtually every relevant/current browser and multiple versions.
14) IETab
Want a quick preview of how your site will look in Internet Explorer without having to fire up the browser? Install this Firefox add-on and all you have to do is right-click your mouse on the page and select IETab.
15) Twitterfeed
Manually announcing your blog posts on Twitter is sooooo 2006.

Let Twitterfeed automate the process for you.
16) OpenOffice.org
An open-source software suite for spreadsheets, word processing, presentations, databases and more. Hard to believe that it’s really free… but it is!
17) Toodledo
Organize your day, keep track of deadlines, set goals and be more productive. That’s what this free app will help you do.
It’s even fun to say…. Toodle-lee-doo.

There’s also an iPhone app. (Thanks for mentioning this one, @retireat21.)
18) DropBox
This is a great tool for synching, saving, backing up and sharing files online. What a handy site. (Thanks @Oceanlugano!)
19) Instapaper
Save web pages to your computer or phone for later reading. Works for iPhone and iPod Touch too. (Thanks for the recommendation, @TamiaS)
20) SearchStatus
There are many tools that report a site’s PageRank, Alexa Rank, backlinks, etc. But this plug-in also tells you whether or not a site is using no-follow or do-follow links. (So does SEOQuake.)
Nofollow means a link from that site will not transfer any PageRank to your site. So Google ignores it as a potential backlink to your website. Many blogs use no-follow in the comments area.
I don’t obsess much over dofollow or nofollow links/sites, but I know it’s important to a lot of you. I still believe that if you spend more time focusing on writing quality content, you will eventually get enough quality dofollow links that count.
21) Google AdWords Keyword Tool
Numerous keyword tools have surfaced over the years, but this is still my favorite. Anytime I want to check keyword search demand, I come here.
22) Joomla & Drupal
Want an interactive site but don’t want to learn how to program or hire anyone? These two content management systems lead the pack in their category. You can usually install them on your domains for free through your web host control panel.
23) Ning
Setup your own social networking site in seconds. No fuss, hassle or programming involved. Just understand this script is remotely hosted, meaning your site sits on Ning.com’s servers. (Always somewhat of a risk when you use a 3rd party to host your content.)
You can still buy a domain name and redirect it to your Ning site for branding and to make your site’s web address more concise and easy to remember.
24) Elgg
The self-proclaimed “leading social engine.” Unlike Ning, you can install this social networking script on your own domain and have much more control over the design and customization. Yes, it’s open source.
25) Kompozer
A free, WYSIWYG HTML editor for creating web pages. I know a lot of people that use it and love it. Just be warned, it can do some odd things with your CSS files so make sure you read the documentation.
26) HTMLDog.com
This is the place to go for learning about HTML and CSS. Start here.
27) FireBug
Another nice Firefox add-on. It allows you to edit any site’s CSS code right from your browser. It’s a great way to test updates/changes before going live.
This plug-in is also great for figuring out how other sites use CSS to develop cool layouts and designs.
Note: Of course, you cannot actually edit anyone’s site. The changes will only be seen on your browser.
28) FreeCSSTemplates.org
Quality CSS templates you can download and use for your site’s design. They also do a great job of adding new templates on a regular basis.
29) ColorZilla
Yet another handy Firefox add-on that allows you to retrieve the HTML hex color code, by simply pointing the eyedropper tool to any place on your browser.
30) Hex Color Scheme Generator
This handy, little tool has made this page one of the most popular pages on my site. Not only can you get the hex color code from the color wheel, but you can generate a color scheme for your site as well.
31) Google Analytics
This is without a doubt the best and most comprehensive stat package on the web. I love that you can integrate stats from AdSense, your shopping cart, AdWords, Google Custom Search and more right into the reports to get a complete picture of how your site is doing in multiple areas.
32) Google Reader
This online content aggregator continuously scans your favorite sites and blogs for new content and feeds it to you so you never miss an update. (Can’t believe I forgot about this one. Thanks for the reminder, @socialarts!)
It also looks great on the iPhone and many other smart phones.
33) Google Voice
Get your own Google number and forward it to any number.
You can also choose where calls are forwarded based on who’s calling. You can even listen in before taking a call or direct chosen calls to voicemail automatically.
34) Google Custom Search
Need an internal search engine for your site? Installation is easy. Just copy and paste a few lines of code and you’re ready to go.
And if you’re an AdSense member, you can also make money when users click the contextual ads that appear next to the search results.
You can even opt to show the results on your own site so your visitors never have to leave your domain.
35) WordPress Theme Generator
Create your own custom WordPress theme with this free generator. No HTML, CSS or PHP knowledge needed.
Of course, if you’re not familiar with CSS, that means you will be limited when it comes to your design. However, using this tool may encourage you to learn more about CSS and blog design. (Thanks for the link, @KenmonPittman.)
36) WordPress Database Backup
A must-have plug-in for WordPress users that will automatically back-up your blog’s database using the time interval you specify. I have it setup to send a backup file to my e-mail once/week.
People often backup their posts, but neglect to backup their databases — which is equally important. (Thanks, Paul from TechnicallyEasy.net)
37) Thesis OpenHook Plug-in
If you use the WordPress Thesis Theme, you will fall in love with this plug-in. It makes an already cool theme, even cooler.
You can overwrite and customize almost any section of your blog’s design (header, footer, sidebars, etc.) by simply pasting your custom code in the appropriate sections of the plug-in. No need to open or edit the actual source code.
Note: This plug-in is only compatible with the Thesis theme.
38) Tell-A-Friend Form
Make it easy for your audience to tell their friends about your site. No programming needed. Just sign up and SocialTwist.com will give you the code to create the tell-a-friend form on your site.
39) XML Sitemap Generator
A sitemap keeps the search engines updated on all your content. This site will crawl your site and generate the code for your sitemap. All that’s left to do is submit it to the major engines.
Most blog platforms create XML sitemaps automatically, but this is good for static, HTML sites.
Note: If you use WordPress, just install the All-In-One SEO Plugin and it will create and submit your sitemap automatically.
40) CutePDF
Create PDF files from virtually any printable document using this free app. A great alternative if you don’t want to shell out $450 for Adobe Acrobat Professional.
41) Feedburner
If you own a blog, this is a must-use tool. Feedburner reports, tracks and helps you promote your blog’s RSS feed. It’s not just for blogs, however. You can use it for any site that has a feed.
For example, I use it to display the latest posts from my forum’s Blogging & RSS category at the bottom of this page.
Read a more detailed explanation of how Feedburner works.
42) CubeStat
CubeStat estimates any website’s worth, ad revenue and much more. These tools are always fun to play with. Just don’t take the data too seriously.

7 AdSense Strategies You Should Adopt

1. Make room for the 728×90 banner — if you can

Obviously you don’t want to crowd your site or make it look awkward, but if your experience with this unit size is anything like mine, you may want to consider opening up a spot.
I am now using this banner size on three of my sites: WebsiteBabble.com, Flat-Stomach-Exercises.com and finally this blog.
In all three cases it performs great and the eCPM (earnings per thousand) is higher than the other sizes. This is the only AdSense unit that has ever performed well on this blog.
Due to the Google terms I am not allowed to disclose my eCPM, but it is significantly higher than my other units. Understand that a high eCPM doesn’t necessarily mean I’m getting a lot of clicks, but I’m earning more per click compared to other units.

2. Set your channels to “Targetable”

Doing this allows premium advertisers to advertise solely on your site if they wish. They can outbid all other contextual advertisers and lock down a spot on your site for an indefinite amount of time. Premium advertisers pay more for this kind of ad, so it means you can earn more per click.
For more details on how to set this all up, watch the video I created last September…

3. Display ads alongside videos

I do this quite often on 2CreateAWebSite.com, and those units usually perform better than any other (even the leaderboard ads). And if you’re wondering if this is against the terms, wonder no more.
I actually got this idea from Google. Their optimization team ran an analysis on my site years ago and suggested I add the ads alongside my videos.
From a technical standpoint, there are a few ways to accomplish this. It’s probably best to use CSS, but you can also use a simple table. Yes, tables are so 1990-ish, but they still work and come in handy for accomplishing this.
So the idea is to create a table with two equal columns. Put the video in the left column and the ad code in the right (or vice versa.) Here’s the code for a simple table you can use. Adjust the widths of your table, video and AdSense ads accordingly….
<table width=”600″ align=”center”><tr>
<td width=”300″>
INSERT VIDEO CODE HERE </td>
<td width=”300″>
INSERT ADSENSE CODE HERE
</td></tr></table>

4. Target all units

It’s amazing how many people do not setup new units when they create new AdSense code. How will you ever know which unit performs the best if they are all lumped together?

5. Refresh!

Every now and then I’ll do a refresh and change the look of my units… slightly.
I usually keep the background color the same because I like for it to match my site, but I may change the color of the title or URL text. I seem to notice a slight boost when I do this. Of course there is never any proof this is the reason, but what can it hurt to try?

6. Pay attention to your Analytics reports

If you use Google Analytics, you can sync your AdSense and Analytics accounts together so you can see how much each page is earning.
Keep track of and analyze your highest earning pages. Are they your highest because of traffic or is there some other reason? (Different ad placement or size.)

7. Delete under-peforming units

I have not been able to confirm exactly what AdWords advertisers can see with regards to the Publisher’s stats (click through rates, etc.) But since they can opt to advertise on our sites exclusively, I try to keep my overall CTR as high as possible by getting rid of units that perform below my own average.
Obviously “under-performing units” will be defined by your individual average and it will be different for everyone.
Are there any other AdSense tips you’d like to share?

Bad, Misleading SEO Info Spreading Like Wildfire

Over the past 12 years, I’ve watched SEO (search engine optimization) evolve.
People often ask me to do an updated video on SEO to talk about what I do differently now. (My last SEO video was published in 2008.)
I hate to disappoint you, but my SEO strategy really hasn’t changed much over the years — mainly because it hasn’t had to. So I’m not sure I’d have anything new to tell you.
I don’t use numerous SEO plug-ins on my blog. I don’t fuss much over dofollow vs nofollow, nor do I sit and count page keywords, count backlinks, submit to article and regular directories or stress over meta tags. So why does my search engine traffic keep increasing?
The first reason is my site is mature and has a lot of backlinks. That gives me a clear advantage. The second reason is that I continue to earn more voluntary backlinks from people who generously link to my site.
So the engines look at the big picture when deciding how “relevant” a site is for a particular keyword phrase. So it’s not just about content or just about backlinks. It’s a mixed bag of criteria.

SEO in 2010 and Beyond

The present and future of SEO is all about authentic popularity. What do I mean by authentic? I mean getting voluntary links from relevant sites that are credible and popular in the eyes of the search engines.
If your site is about home decor and a popular home decor site decides to feature or link to you in a blog post, that’s the kind of authentic backlink you want. Or perhaps you write a guest post on a popular blog in your niche. Now that’s what I call an authentic, quality backlink.
Too many people are still trying to fake their popularity by haphazardly submitting to worthless sites/directories or going on link exchange hunts. The search engines have caught on to the tricks and ignore many of the backlink schemes people use to falsely inflate their popularity.
There have been many SEO tricks and tactics used over the years. Sooner or later people find a way to exploit and abuse them, so the engines have to adjust their algorithms.

My Pet Peeve

What really irks me is all the bad information out here that confuses and misleads.
One problem is there are too many marketing blogs that talk about SEO, but they are authored by people who don’t have the traffic to back up their information and tutorials. They are just paraphrasing information from other wrong/misleading sites, but have no proof that these tips actually work.
So you have a bunch of people with no SE traffic writing about how to get SE traffic because they read about tips on other blogs that also have no SE traffic. Ugh!!
New webmasters and bloggers read this information, adopt these same strategies, write about them on their blogs and the cycle of bad information continues to infect the Web.
How many blog posts have you seen touting the best SEO plugins that supposedly boost your traffic when the publishing blog has little or no traffic? Hmmm…

For the record, I have nothing against SEO plug-ins. In fact, I use one myself. I’m just not convinced that using 15 SEO plug-ins is any better than using one or two. I think they can be helpful when it comes to getting your pages indexed, but I have absolutely no proof they improve your rankings. And until I have some, you won’t see me writing much about the effectiveness of such plug-ins — at least not from a traffic standpoint.

The Engines Keep Getting Smarter

Any SEO tactic/strategy that involves deceiving the engines in regards to your popularity will have little or no effect on your rankings. For example, anyone can create a bunch of backlinks by going out and submitting to a gazillion directories. The same goes for link exchanges.
So it’s natural for Google to put less emphasis on these links when they calculate a site’s rank. In fact, they even removed the directory submission tip from their SEO guidelines as explained in the video below.
Matt Cutts is very clear that if there is no discretion involved with the sites offering the links (meaning anyone can get listed if they pay/submit) then Google immediately devalues the backlink. That’s important SEO information that too many people ignore.

SEO for the Long Run

If you want to make an impact with SEO, spend time coming up with ways to stand out so people will feature/link to you voluntarily. You’ll be amazed at how many generous people will be when it comes to featuring you on their sites, etc.
Write guest posts for as many relevant, popular blogs as you can. Use social media to network with people in your niche. Be bold and get creative. Dare to be different from your competition. Read up on “pillar content” and make sure your site has plenty of it.
When you become authentically popular, you won’t have to stress over the next PageRank update, meta tags, finding dofollow sites or how high your keyword density is on a page.
They’ll be no need to jump every time the engines make major adjustments. Your rankings will likely remain stable (or even increase) because you’ll have authentic votes (quality backlinks) for your site instead of fake popularity through numerous directory submissions, link exchanges, etc.

I’m not saying you should ignore basic SEO techniques like keyword-rich page names, using major keywords in your domain, keyword-focused content, etc.
Of course you should still create your pages to target certain phrases, interlink your pages with relevant anchor text, create a sitemap, etc.
However, I think it’s a waste of time to spend your days hunting for backlinks and link exchanges. A few relevant exchanges and directory submissions are fine, but no need to get excessive with it.

I’m convinced that if people spend half as much time coming up with creative ways to present their information as they do hunting for worthless backlinks, it would make a world of difference in their SE traffic.
When you focus on quality and are unique with your delivery and presentation, your followers will do a lot of the marketing for you and the search engines will reward you accordingly.

But Wait…

I know what you’re thinking. Sure, Lisa. You’ve been out here forever so you have a mature site that has benefited from good rankings for a long time.
That is certainly true, but how do you explain the people who have gained good rankings for fairly competitive terms in the past few years? Notice that they never credit directory submissions or link exchanges as a top strategy for building traffic to their sites?
I’ve yet to read a book or article from a successful website owner where they credit link exchanges or directory submissions as their primary traffic building strategy. I honestly never have.
Usually they give credit to guest posting, social media strategies, or they are excellent communicators and draw in an audience with their awesome writing skills.
Sure they use and understand basic SEO strategies like using a sitemap, creating keyword-focused pages, etc. but the emphasis is never on chasing a bunch of dofollow links from various sites.
I apologize if this post is too harsh or critical. As I said earlier, I’ve been out here a while so I am looking at this from a different perspective.
Nevertheless, it’s hard to ignore the numerous emails, forum posts, and FB fan page questions about gaining backlinks quickly in order to get traffic. It just reminds me of how much misleading information there is on SEO.
I’m getting a little tired of all the poor, irresponsible tips that leave people spinning their wheels when they could be using that time to do more productive things that will truly impact their SEO in a positive manner.

Your Thoughts?

I’d especially love to hear from those of you who got started within the last few years. If you have decent search engine rankings for competitive terms, what techniques and strategies do you credit for those rankings?
And if you truly believe in using 50 SEO plugins or submitting to countless directories, what proof do you have this truly has helped your rankings?
I’d really love to squash a lot of the SEO myths and hype out here for the newbies who read this blog. Let’s discuss!

Design Help for Static Website Owners!

Ever feel left out because you have a static website and everyone else seems to own a blog? All the tips, articles and help seem to be directed to bloggers these days.
And that’s really not a huge surprise since most people opt to create blogs now. They’re quick, easy, dynamic, they foster discussion and you can find hundreds of well-designed themes for free!
I really don’t want to get into a discussion about which is better (blog or static site) because I think it’s all relative. Obviously blogs are current. They provide more instant functionality and they’re easier to create, but it doesn’t mean they’re best when it comes to learning the fundamentals of design.
However, when people say blogs are better than static websites, they are usually referring to the ease, functionality and design options — not necessarily financial success and learning/understanding how to design a website.
I think building static websites prior to having a blog is what helped make editing my blog less intimidating. Since most people start off with blogs today, they aren’t necessarily forced to learn much about the code.
That’s fine if you don’t plan to update your design in a major way, or you find the perfect theme. But it can become a problem if you want to start moving things around, re-designing and positioning elements like AdSense units, banners, etc.
Of course that doesn’t mean all bloggers never become proficient in CSS. I’m sure many of you reading this now learned a lot about HTML and CSS because of your blog and are quite comfortable changing things up.
But I personally believe it’s easier to make sense of things when you start with a static website. The code is often cleaner and you can edit, test and preview your design right from your computer without setting up a server like you would for WordPress.
But I digress…
In spite of what people say about static websites, I know a big part of my audience still uses them and I haven’t forgotten about you!

I see your comments, read your e-mails and I get your frustrations when it comes to design. So I am putting the finishing touches on a 3-column CSS template that I will be selling very soon, and I promise you it will be the best teaching template you’ve ever seen.
You may remember a few of the free templates I’ve offered from my site and on YouTube over the years. They are pretty basic and fine for getting started, but they don’t hold a candle to the one I have created from scratch.

Template Features

Very clean HTML & CSS code
Loads fast
Compatible with Firefox, Chrome, Safari and even older versions of IE!
W3C Validated
Customizable horizontal CSS navigation menus with hover effects
SEO Optimized (Content is ABOVE the navigation in the source code unlike most 2 or 3 column CSS templates.)
Over 60 original, graphical backgrounds to choose from
Over 40 original, custom headers (some with premium, high-res photos)
Instructional Video
Embedded instructions in the stylesheet and template to help modify the design
Guidance with positioning banners, social networking icons and other elements in the header
Can be configured to work with Site Build It!
Since it’s static, you can edit, test and preview right from your computer before going live

And because there are so many different headers and backgrounds to choose from, you can create hundreds of different designs just from this one template. (All backgrounds and header designs were created by me in Photoshop, so you’ll have full rights to use them commercially.)
I’ve actually had fun developing the headers and backgrounds and I think those alone will be worth the price of the template. There will even be photos of people with transparent backgrounds that you can position inside the header if you wish.
If you’ve always wanted to have more control over the design of your site, this is going to be the template for you! And if you have a blog, it will help you understand how to customize that as well — especially when it comes to positioning elements in your header like AdSense banners, etc. Even though blogs are dynamic, they still use CSS to govern the design.
So why am I telling you all this before launch? Well, my newsletter subscribers will be getting the template for a deep, discount for a limited time. So make sure you are on my list!
Details will follow soon.