Quality Webmaster Blog

I am beginning to get an eerie feeling when I visit social bookmarking sites. The feeling is part nostalgia, part de ja vu, and part dread. It’s actually more than just a feeling. When SMO Bookmarking in Delicious, Magnolia or Mister Wong, I hear a voice that whispers: remember me… It’s sort of the same sense you get when you hear a new tune on the radio and recognize the guitar chord progression–”Hey that’s “Sweet Home Alabama” by Lynard Skynard, but the band doesn’t even realize that they have subconsciously plagiarized those chords. They think they wrote the melody themselves!

Once upon a time, there only a few web directories. Moment of silence for Yahoo, DMOZ, Zeal (I miss Zeal), et. al. Then, over the years, we all know what happened. Directory scripts proliferated. Submission software blossomed.  These and the other original directories that remain have all been spammed into commercialization (paid directories), dormancy or death. I shut down submissions to my own directories quite a while back. Then Google deprecated web directories in search results.

Social bookmarking sites have cool features that traditional web directories never really incorporated. There are many differences. These are two very high level differences I see:

• Community  - I like seeing what my friends are bookmarking. I like adding friends to my profile.
• Organization - I am all but done with browser bookmarking. It’s unwieldy. Delicious will probably be around longer than my current PC hard-drive that I didn’t back up. I like tagging. I like checking out the highest rated sites.

Now, here we are in the Web 2.0 era with AJAXy social bookmarking sites showing off their frontends: clean rounded corners, gradient reflective logos, speech bubbles, rss icons like freshly waxed aerodynamic sports cars. And, unlike in the directory days, they are offering you more than a link. They offer a network of friends. They offer friends’ links to scour, bookmark and improve your Internet life. They give users a reason to come back (other than to submit another link, haha). But, look underneath the surface. Do you see what I see?

• Submit/Add Link = Save/Post
• Categories = Tags
• Comments = Notes
• Recent = Newest Links
• Auto Submit = Import XML File

Do you get the same eerie feeling?

It has been 6 months since you started your blog and the statistics are not moving. Well actually they are but in a very uninspiring trend. To avoid this kind of disappointment and other headaches, get to know first the various things and tools that can help boost traffic on your blog. Prepare yourself to assume the role of a Webmaster since you will be doing a lot of work.

Below are ten easy-to-follow tips on how to improve your traffic, not necessarily in order. Its usefulness will still depend on your commitment and dedication. 

 * Be the best
If you have a specific niche then I suggest be an expert on it. Some bloggers look for common interests where they can acquire useful information and tips. You can offer books reviews, do’s and don’ts in blogging, online money making, vacation havens and any other topics you have good experiences and knowledge that you want to share.

 * Be connected
Include RSS, Bookmark, and tag contents such as Technorati, del.icio.us, Flickr, Reddit, Digg, StumbleUpon, etc.

 * Be thoughtful
If somebody took the time and effort to write you and asks a question, spend time to answer them even if not instantly, especially if it was a suggestion or a good idea for your blog. This would mean a lot to your reader and builds a connection between you and your readers.

 * Be imaginative
Make the most out of your space by incorporating comments, graphs, polls, meters and other interactive tools. This creates a lively environment and active participation from your members.

 * Be interesting
Do not bore your readers. Be the kind of person that would exude excitement, information, and fun with his personality and posts. Know your visitors and what they enjoy getting to keep them coming back.

 * Be alert
Proofread, proofread, and proofread. If you can have somebody to do it for you better. A perfect topic can wind up a disaster if simple typo errors and grammars are not checked.

 * Be generous
It is sometimes appropriate and always fun to give out freebies such as eBooks, software, and other downloadable to your ever loyal readers.

 * Be active
This is very effective during the early stage of your blog when you don’t have many regular readers yet. The photosphere is a huge network and can serve as a useful avenue to promote you site. Participate in other people’s blogs, forums, and other online networking.

 * Be smart
Use simple and effective software in monitoring and maintaining your blog. Tools such as Blogger, WordPress.com, TypePad, and LiveJournal can automate some of your chores. It can also provide key indicators and stats on how well your site is doing and what you can do to turn the table.

 * Be organized
Archive and categorize your posts. Some readers may not exactly remember the title of the article but the month or category type could be easier for them to note.

One of the biggest mistakes you can make in blogging (or on any website for that matter) is to not fully utilize your title tags. The title tag has been and will continue to be one of the most important elements in search engine rankings. Title tags are the over-arching descriptor for the page; they communicate with the search engines telling them what each page is about.

So then why is it that so many websites fail to optimize their title tags?

Without question the biggest mistake made by websites is to simply use their blog or company’s name as the title. Take Zales as an example. They are one of the biggest diamond stores around and yet what do we find in the title of their homepage? Nothing that mentions diamonds! Compare this to Luxurien’s website and notice the title of their page.

Luxurien’s title tag is fully optimized with their most important keywords: “Fine Jewelry”, “Titanium Rings”, “Bracelets”, “Tungsten Rings”, and “Gemstone birthstones”. These are keywords for which they would like to place highly in the search engines. So it comes as no surprise that they rank second in Google for the keyword titanium rings.

You might be thinking, “Yes, but what if someone types the name of the company in the search engine? Don’t we want to rank first for that too?” Of course you do, but that is pretty easy to achieve. The competition for the keyword “Luxurien” or “Zales” is pretty low, right? The competition for “diamond jewelry” or “titanium rings” is fierce.

Besides, if someone is searching for Luxurien in the search engines it’s reasonable to believe that they already know who you are as they are already seeking you out. In other words, that fish is already on the hook.

Often times people think they are being smart by putting their keywords first in the title tag and then at the end including the company or blog name. I still don’t recommend this! The reason is because by including the name along with your keywords you have lowered your keyword density.

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