Entries from April 2008 ↓

One of my  domains economicshelp.org gets75% of traffic from the UK. However, I had to switch from a UK host to a US host (because the UK host wasn’t giving good wordpress support)

I was concerned that this could lose the UK traffic. I did buy the .co.uk domain and mirrored that to the .org.

One tip I picked up is that in Google Webmasters tools, you can give a website a specific Country target. By default it is left at non country specific. For some websites it is very important to target a certain geographical niche. If you host on a foreign (US server) then selecting this option will enable you to rank in local searches. like Google.co.uk

Recently I have noticed that Google is giving much more weight to country specific searches. Search results can vary quite a lot from one country to another.

BTW: Netwriting.co.uk gets less than 50% of traffic from the UK, despite having a .co.uk domain name. But, the information here is not country specific I would leave the option at Google webmaster tools at non country specific.

I wrote previously about the benefits of having a .co.uk domain name

(It also helps that .co.uk domain names are cheap to pick up at less than $5. I know some countries like .com.au and .ie charge a very high amount.

There are some useful comments on this post at Problogger (in fact the comments are much more informative than the post itself) - the joy of having 46,000 subscribers - the readers will write the blog for you!

These are some tips for creating a regular publishing schedule. They are points I need to implement on this blog, which has suffered from inconsistent posting of late. (Just shows that when we give advice, we are often giving it to ourselves.)

• Traffic on a Saturday is about 50% lower than on a weekday. Therefore, I tend to avoid posting over the weekend.
• One of the best days to post is Monday. It’s the start of a new week and it’s good to start with a keynote article.
• There is tremendous power in creating a regular publishing schedule. For building up RSS readers, I suggest 5 posts a week Mon-Fri, is an excellent schedule to keep to. Even if you only post 3-4 times a week, a regular pattern will help people to know when to expect.
• Spreading Out Your Posting. One of the best features of Wordpress is the ability to postdate blogs. This means you can decide when an article is published. This is perfect for a blog I have on Poem of the Day. Once a week, I choose poems and set up publishing for the rest of the week. It saves having to go into the blog every day.  I have increasingly used this on other blogs. I will spend a day writing content for a blog, and then let the 5-7 posts get publised on a daily basis. This is an efficient way of working, especially if you have a lot of blogs.
• A regular time of posting also helps. If you know a blog gets updated at a certain time, it saves people making a wasted journey to your blog. Remember most people don’t use RSS. If they know what to expect then it will encourage them to go.

There are many programmes which enable you to research useful keywords for your blog, such as Keyword research tool and Wordtracker. However, the downside of these programmes is that they are very expensive. Unless you are making significant sums of money it is hard to justify the cost. However,it is still possible to find relevant keywords for your blog at no cost.  Also, there is a time factor, when I had access to wordtracker I could spend many hours researching keywords. Now, I’d rather just get on and write the post. These are methods to find the right keywords at no cost and quickly.

Google Search

If you type a word into the google search box in Mozilla firefox, google will give you suggested popular keyword search combinations. This can be invaluable for thinking of related titles to your main keyword. For example, typing mortgages gives me suggestions such as: mortgage implode, mortgage rates, mortgage calculators, mortgage express. These are key phrases I wouldn’t have thought of. To make full use of this free keyword suggestion tool needs a bit of creativity. For example, it won’t give suggestions for combinations of words to procede your term …. mortgage. Therefore, keep trying different combinations of keywords you think might be a appropriate to your blog. In addition you may find Google’s adword site useful for generating keyword suggestions

Free Trial

You can always take advantage of a free trial and do some extensive keyword research in the 30 day offer period.. Keyword analysis offer a trial period which give limited access to their database. But, I still found it gave lots of ideas to be getting on with. Key word Discovery

Common Sense

After a while, you will get a feel for the kind of things that people search for. Creating titles becomes intuitive and you will need to rely less on keyword tools. For example, certain keywords are often used in relation to a variety of searches. Adding some of these words can make a big difference to the success of your title. Keywords may include:

• Free
• How to
• Top 10
• Best
• Quotes about …
• 2008 (people often search current year)

Simplicity

People don’t search with complicated sentences, they tend to use easy, common words. Try to simplify your titles If you have a title, “Are Adverse Economic Conditions having a negative impact on House prices?” Try instead, “Are house prices falling?” The second title is what people will be searching

Statistics

I’m a bit of a stats addict. I waste too much time, but, at least I can console myself that your statistics programmes are very valuable for generating keywords. I recommends Awstats, Statcounter and Google analytics. All these are 3 and the second two are easy to incorporate into your blog. The key section is keyword analysis. This shows what is successful and what is working for you. Not only do you find which keywords people are using, but also their relative poverty. Start at the top of the list and see how you can expand upon them. For example, on one page, I found ‘housing Market’ was a very popular keyword. The first thing I did was to optimise this page, to try and get it an even higher google ranking. The second thing I did was to use derivations of this keyword. So for example, I created “london Housing Market” “Housing Market Panic” “Housing Market to Crash?” This is known as exploiting the ‘long tail’ and is an important aspect of any basic SEO.

Continue reading →

1. Spelling mistakes. Use a spell checker when writing. It is also helpful to use the Mozilla Firefox inline spell checker which will help catch errors if you write directly into your blog. There is no excuse for not using a spell checker which will help catch 85% of spelling mistakes. However, don’t forget that you still need to check because the spell checker can still miss words not used correctly. See: humorous example of spell chequer
2. Grammar Mistakes. Avoid common errors such as confusing their and there. You’re and your. If you are uncertain, take time to learn these rules, the effort will pay you back through helping you to look more professional. See: 5 Grammar Mistakes to avoid
3. Punctuation Mistakes. The comma can be tricky. How to use the comma these are the main useage of the comma. Punctuation mistakes to Avoid
4. Unnecessary words. Avoid unnecessary adjectives.
   • He was sprinting very fast - If you are sprinting by definition, you are going very quickly.
   • It is equally superfluous to say the “wet rain.” - It is rare that water is dry…
5. Repetition. Some repetition can create emphasis. But, generally, you want to avoid repeating yourself. If you have made a point, don’t keep making it in the same manner.
6. Lack of Clarity. Good writing is simple and to the point. If a word can be left out without altering the meaning, then do it.
   • BAD: I think that, on reflection, the new version of the English dictionary is mostly, quite a fascinating version. However, I am not entirely certain that it will be well liked by young generation, who generally seem not particularly interested in changes in the usage of English language.
   • WHAT YOU MEAN: The new English Dictionary is fascinating. But, the younger generation will probably not be interested
7. Repetition of words. It is considered bad practice to keep repeating the same word. In this example, using the word general 3 times creates an unpleasant effect. You should avoid this overuse.
   • BAD: Generally, the comma is misused. In general everyday use, the comma splice often creeps into people’s writing. Generally, I think people should try to learn how to use a comma.
   • GOOD: In many situations, the comma is misused. In general everyday use, the comma splice often creeps into people’s writing. Arguably, people should give much more importance to using the comma.
8. Moralistic. Do we need the moralistic second sentence? It is usually unnecessary to condemn other people. It is sufficient to point out the error.
   • x made the mistake of using uncopyrighted images. This is shameful and shows his contempt for basic human decency. Photographers should always be given credit
   • x made the mistake of using uncopyrighted images. Photographers should always be given credit Continue reading →

Some days I can spend several hours a day on the computer, but, one thing you soon learn is that productivity doesn’t equate to time spent. At times I can achieve more in 2 hours than I can in 5 hours. To become more productive the first thing is to become aware of how many tasks you can complete. If you keep evaluating your output, it will be easier to pick up on things that can increase productivity.

Tips for increasing productivity:

Finish a Task.

Often I find myself with several articles and tasks on the go at the same time. I like starting things but then don’t want to finish them off. The problem is that this is an inefficient way to work. If we get an article 75% finished it is easier to finish it whilst it is fresh in our memory. If we have to go back to finish off tasks we waste time remembering how we started. If we can do things methodically one at a time then it can be a very powerful way to increase our productivity. Don’t measure your productivity by tasks started, but only by tasks finished.

Have a Clear Goal.

Another big issue is whether we know what we are doing. If we have vague ideas about what we should be doing it is much easier to be unproductive. We flit from one thing to another, not entirely sure what we should be doing. If we have a very clearly defined goal then it can be like a magnet which pulls us towards completing it. Uncertainty in deciding what to do can be very time consuming. Therefore spend time preparing a plan of action and then follow it through.

The Power of Concentration.

Concentration is the art of focusing on one thing at a time. If we truly concentrate then we can be much more effective in finishing a task. Concentration means we avoid getting sidetracked by other issues. If we focus on only one thing at a time we can complete the task effectively and avoid getting sidetracked.

Simplify

To increase productivity we should always be trying to simplify.
To simplify our workplace creates greater focus. The less distractions you have around the workplace the more productive you can be. I often like writing in a quiet cafe, because there is nothing but my laptop. I need to work on creating a minimalist workplace so that I can have the same focus when writing at home. Continue reading →