Here are the job board highlights for this week. Luck!

WordPress Blogger

The Blog Herald is still looking for the perfect fit for their WordPress blogger position. If you keep tabs on the pulse of the blogosphere, have contacts with other prolific bloggers, and know WordPress in and out, then have a go!

Freelance Bloggers

A video monitoring company based in MA needs freelance bloggers who can write about their niche. The position is based from home, and you must have at least three years of experience.

Corporate Video Script Writer

Can you turn boring corporate content into something people will actually pay attention to? Do you have working knowledge of financial services, HR compliance, and e-learning? This Manhattan-based position can turn out to be a fun one!

Social Enterprise Writer

People write for different reasons, and if you want your work to matter more than having a paycheck, then this position is an interesting one. Action for India is a non-profit, and they’re looking for a remote writer who can communicate well. Send a letter of interest and your resume via email now!

Writer/Blogger

Language Trainers wants a writer who can write concise, yet punchy articles. From excellent English writing skills to knowing how to use social media – if you meet these requirements, this remote position might be for you.

Successful marketing largely hinges on how well you understand your customer. Being able to anticipate their needs and wants and how well you can communicate your message across to them without alienating them are factors that contribute to effective marketing, and ultimately, a successful business.

The best way you can anticipate your customers’ needs is by reading their minds, but while there’s no technology yet that can grant you telepathic powers, there’s a tool that, when used properly, can offer you the same results – web analytics.

Web analytics and your business

Web analytics is a new kid on the digital marketing block and has the potential to provide business owners with amazing insights into their customers. It does this by collecting online data – most prominently from the browsing habits of your customers on your website — to better understand the business’ target audience and then optimize web presence based on the findings.

Web analytics can provide you with really valuable information that you can then use to address what your customers are looking for. The changes you make will help improve your customers’ browsing experience within your site,  as well as increase your leads, your sales and even your conversions.

Web analytics produces quantitative output (in the form of data) that is taken from how your customers go through your website, which is a quantitative process. But how do you arrive at this data? Do you need to count things? Do you need a math degree to do web analytics?

What are the options?

This is where web analytics tools come in. There are various web analytics products out there that automatically convert raw data collected from your customers’ browsing habits and turn them into more understandable forms of information that would give you a picture of what happens inside your website. Products as rudimentary as Google Analytics to something more sophisticated and feature-rich like Heatsync are just some of the tools you can use to integrate web analytics into your business. The data that web analytics tools generate will allow you to see where you need to improve or change your website and where you’re actually doing a good job. For example, you can get data that will show you which referral keywords are working, which pages are getting more attention and which ones are not getting the stickiness you want, and which parts of your website has more potential for conversions.  You’ll also see which topics or parts of your website your customers prefer and why. You can then use the information to make changes to other pages within your site to reflect the

The cost of using web analytics is definitely worth the price of admission. The internet still remains a massive but wild frontier. You’ve already staked a claim in the online landscape by setting up a website, but in order to fully unlock its potential you will need web analytics to help you make informed decisions on your website and how you deal with your customers. Your business will be all the better for it.

Image credit: http://www.outofboundscommunications.com/solutions/web-analytics/

Is your website or blog built on the popular open source content management platform called WordPress? There’s a good chance you are running WordPress in fact according to Wikipedia, 22% of all active websites on the Internet today are running WordPress as their core. This is because of the several tools and pure “awesomeness” WordPress delivers. But there are some downsides to WordPress being the #1 most widely used CMS.

The main downside is security. Because WordPress is so commonly used these days, it has become a target of hackers as of late. And will most likely continue to be for the foreseeable future. Hackers love to exploit over-exposed WordPress run sites and hacks are being reported at alarming and record-breaking rates. So if you run WordPress than this blog post is for you… to learn how to better protect your site from malicious hackers.

1. Move Your wp-config File

Did you know that you can move your wp-config.php file up one directory and your site will still work perfectly fine? Most webhosting companies support this functionality and it’s a very important step for security. It makes it harder for a hacker to access and/or find your wp-config file which is the most important file in WordPress.

2. Remove WordPress Version Number from the Public

Do a simple Google search for “remove wordpress version number” and you’ll come across several dozen tutorials on how to do this. It’s very simple to do and involves editing your theme’s functions.php file. This way hackers can’t know what version of WordPress your site is currently running.

3. Protect WP-Includes Files With .htaccess

Using your site’s .htaccess file you can actually protect all the core files that inside your wp-includes directory. Do a google search on this one as well to find the instructions. These wp-includes files are usually the first to get hacked.

4. .htaccess Double Protect Your WP-Admin Folder

Doing this will allow you to create a password before the login page, essentially creating a double-login. This will defeat most spammers who try to brute-force attack your login page.

5. Delete the “Admin” User

Most hackers know that most WordPress configured sites still have the default user called “admin.” Delete this user and assign a more unique username as the site’s overall administrator.

6. Keep WordPress Updated

And last but not least… keep your WordPress core and all plugin files updated at all times. This is still the major reason for most hacks within WordPress.

There are many more things that you can do to further “harden” your code, server, and WordPress site. This is really just a quick action list of items to take care of to greatly minimize your risk with WordPress. I highly recommend after following these 6 steps, learning more about WordPress security and finding new ways to improve.

It’s important to note that all the improvements in the world to WordPress cannot save your site if you don’t have a secure webserver. LAMP security and/or Linux server security is beyond the purpose of this article. If you’re not a server geek like I am, you’ll want to make sure you purchase the right web hosting service that can help create a server environment for you that’s highly protected. Services such as MediaTemple, Rackspace, and Linode are very popular services that get the job done right.

Solomon Thimothy is a writer for ONEims, a web development Chicago company that can help you create an image that will truly represent your company.

Here are some of the most interesting listings we had this week. Once again, we bring you the job board highlights.

WordPress Blogger

The Blog Herald is one of the oldest and most respected blogs about blogging and WordPress, and they need an experienced writer who can write about the platform – tips, tutorials, news, etc. – as well as the blogging scene in general. You also need to be able to track down bloggers and interview them. Got what it takes?

Experienced Guest Bloggers

Guest blogging is all the rave today, but not everyone does it the right way. If you know how to write guest entries as if they were your piece de resistance, and you can place them in appropriate blogs, then this gig will be a rewarding one.

Freelance Writer for Non-profit

If your heart is in helping others, then this writing gig will call to you. A non-profit organization needs a writer who can deal with a variety of tasks on a part-time basis. From grants to proposals to marketing materials – if you can craft well-written documents, then go for!

ESL Coursebook Writer

English is the universal language. Or maybe not really. If, however, you have experience in writing materials for learners of the language, and you are based in North America, then this telecommute position just might be the one you’ve been looking for.

Blogger for iPad Reviews

Special kids are special in more ways than one, and if this topic is something you hold close to your heart, you will want to apply for this online gig. Autism Plugged is looking for a blogger who can cover everything related to using apps to help children with autism. You get to make a living and do something worthwhile at the same time!

Attention all social media managers: The purpose of social media is to be social, and if you and your brand are not posting regularly or interacting with other users, it can hurt your brand.

No company has ever gained success by creating a social media page and then never using it. More and more customers today are turning to company’s social media sites over their websites, and if your company’s page lacks content and interaction, these customers will turn elsewhere.

Yes, sometimes it may be hard to think about exactly what you want to say or it may be hard to find the time to post, but there are things you can do to alleviate these blunders and inconsistencies from occurring.

Create a schedule.

One of the best ways to avoid writer’s block and keep yourself consistent with your posts is to create a social media schedule or calendar. Create the calendar a month in advance and make a general outline of the topics you want to cover. For example, note all the holidays you want to mention, special promotions you want to mention and any newsworthy info that occurs for your business. You can then use this calendar as a guideline to keep you posting consistently.

Shoot for a minimum.

There are some companies that always seem to be talking and engaging on social media, and there are others that find it difficult. If you find it hard to post, try not to keep up with the big dogs and instead shoot for a minimum. For example, maybe you want to post at least three posts per week. This way, you will be constantly giving an online presence without being too sporadic.

Use an automation tool.

If you find it difficult to get on social media every day in order to post or comment, then you’ll want to invest in an automation tool. Tools such as Sprout Social or Hootsuite will allow you to schedule posts in advance, which means that you can spend an hour or so on Sunday setting up your social postings for the week. Just keep in mind that while automation can be a great asset, it’s never a good idea to use only automation. Make sure you get on social sites every now and then to comment on others’ posts and talk in real-time with your audience.

Drive traffic.

You also want to find a way to drive traffic back to your social sites to help your audience start to engage with you. A great way to do this is to start commenting on other blog posts that relate to your industry or expertise. As long as it’s relevant, you can then add a link to your own blog or social site to your comment as long as you’re not trying to be competitive or rude. This can help you build traffic to your own social sites while allowing you to build relationships with other bloggers and create an online presence for your brand.

Kaylee Evans is a high school teacher and avid writer from Minneapolis.  She also blogs for Grammarly grammar checker.

There is a great variety of products to protect your web project against an inescapable evil of the modern Internet – spam attacks, which refer to the spreading of illicit hyperlinks via comments and forum posts on legitimate sites. Despite dozens of available anti-spam solutions, even a multilayer combination of a few of them cannot ensure the total safety of your site and its visitors, because spamming methods are getting more sophisticated. Spam protection is not that simple anymore.

What makes spammers such a pest?

When spammers post unwanted links on any well-meaning website, they use its position, traffic and target audience to “promote” their illegal content (adult, warez, irrelevant ads, etc.) or spread malware (spy tools and viruses). Such link “promotion” is destructive to your project. Linking your site to other decent sites in the same field is a way to invest in its proper positioning and stable traffic growth; linking it to any irrelevant or malicious sites, even accidentally, will cause a bunch of opposite effects.

One of the simplest ways for spammers to connect a legit project to an improper source is to intrude on your website’s sections meant for user-generated content, like comments or forums, and publish some unwanted links there. Such an “accidental breach” usually happens when a spam control tool misses to block a couple of malefic comments due to some technical factors (let’s say a spammer was not yet reported and blacklisted in the anti-spam system for the moment of attack).

Why is it important to avoid any unauthorized outbound links?

When some unverified outbound links are posted on your site and not swiftly noticed and removed, they might create a relationship between your web project and some outer source of illegal content. In this case, your site gets involved in a “bad links neighborhood”. This situation may be critical in terms of Google search ranking, as robots will consider the site as spreading forbidden content. Other possible consequences might be as follows:

• Lower your website position in Google and Yahoo search results and further risk of the Page Rank drop
• Suspension of your AdSense account (in case you work with them) due to their strict policies, which don’t tolerate any illegal or spam links
• Spoiled reputation among visitors and regular audience if some of them follow unsafe links and infect their computers with malware
• Getting unsafe rating from SiteAdvisor and other similar services.

What barriers can we build against spammers?

Spammers can hijack your site using spambots which are able to flood an unprotected website’s user-generated sections with tons of replicated, senseless posts. Activity of spambots can be limited with the help of human verification tests (like CAPTCHA); however, there are some ways to hack them, including relay attacks, where human operators are involved to complete tests instead of spambots.

Spam protection needs to go beyond that, though. Tricky human spammers might spam you in a more accurate and targeted manner – they might get registered and authorized on your site/forum, study some of your materials, and then reply with some low quality ad-hoc posts, where malefic links can be hidden (so it is not so easy to notice and delete them).

A number of popular tools can automatically identify and block spammers by blacklisted IP addresses and/or typical spam content they spread, so those “comments” won’t get published. However, this type of solution (like Akismet, Mollom, etc.) is not perfect, as sometimes spam filters allow unwanted content and reject well-meaning comments due to “false alarms”.

Good old manual moderation of submitted posts can help to clean up the rest of spam (on the condition that you can stay watchful 24/7, fixing every breach of spam protection). In fact, most website administrators use a mix of spam control tools to achieve better efficiency, However, one single link published on your website despite all the protection systems (and this is not a rare case) is enough to get you in trouble with AdSense, Google search algorithms, etc.

Keeping in mind everything above and having some projects terrorized by spammers, our team of web enthusiasts hit upon the idea of implementing a specific layer of anti-spam protection to automatically detect unknown outbound links and take them under control.

This is how we created Sur.ly, a free CMS plugin to eliminate discreditable outbound linking on your site or forum.

How does Sur.ly help beat spam?

The Sur.ly team developed several principles, considering algorithms used by popular search engines to keep your site completely safe for use and eligible for search engines, hence non-sensitive to spam attacks:

1. As far as every spam blocking tool has its own weaknesses, it’s hard to absolutely prevent linking between a legitimate site and some undesirable sources – there is always a considerable chance for a suspicious link to appear somewhere on your website. To nip the problem in the bud, Sur.ly automatically redirects any accidentally posted unverified hyperlinks via its interstitial pages. Being taken under control, such unsure outbound links stay safe for your website, its PR, AdSense compliance, etc. until you check and manually delete/approve them.
2. Your site visitors should be protected against breaches of malware and illicit content. If a visitor follows a suspect link they will view the target page indirectly, via an interstitial page on Sur.ly, with certain precautions like warning about unsafe content. Sur.ly has its own mechanism to analyze pages you’re about to open and will warn you if some threat or abusive content detected.
3. Well-meaning newcomers should be respected along with trustworthy regular users, so as a part of customer retention strategy it’s better not to forbid or block all messages with contributed links without consideration.
4. It’s necessary to block repetitive spam attacks. Sur.ly protects referrers, so spammers will get only Sur.ly as the source of visits, thus there is no way for attacks to repeat.

Sur.ly can be used as a single spam prevention tool on your site or as the last line of your anti-spam defence to ensure 100% site security, along with other systems.

The bottom line

I started the entry with the fact that there are many products you can use to protect your website from unscrupulous attacks. At the end of the day, there really is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to spam protection. You will have to test a variety of combinations – products, services, and best practices – and tailor your protection to your specific needs. Doing so will ensure the best possible security setup for your website.

This article was written by Alex Dobrov, a freelance web developer and PR representative. He is also a member of the Sur.ly team.

Images via epsos, Paolo Massa, VeloBusDriver

But what’s lesser known is that you not only have a variety of caching plugins available for you on WordPress, but they aren’t all the same.

This isn’t to say that one is “better” or “worse” than another, but rather, that they have different aims, goals and purposes. A cache that is right for a friend’s site might not be right for yours and vice versa.

So how do you find which caching plugin is right for you? It starts with understanding why these plugins are different and then evaluating your needs honestly so that you’ll be able to pick the right one.

Simply put, this isn’t so much a guide to tell you which caching plugin is right or best for you, but rather, a guide to help you understand that there are options and figure out which one is the best for your situation.

Why and How Are Caching Plugins Different?

On a fundamental level, all caching plugins do the exact same thing. They are designed to make your site load faster and require fewer resources by allowing your server to offer static pages rather than having to generate a new page using PHP and MySQL for every visitor who comes to your site.

The trade off is that, while your pages will be less dynamic, meaning they won’t update as frequently, they will load faster and your site can handle more visitors. For most sites, the drawback on the tradeoff is barely noticeable.

But while all caching plugins do the same thing, they get there by dramatically different ways. Simply put, there are a lot of ways that a server can create, store and deliver a cached version of the page and how a plugin achieves the effect can have a great impact on its performance and it the actual impact it has.

For example, W3 Total Cache, by itself, has six different options for page cache settings, just one of its options. Some of the options are aimed at simplicity, some are aimed at sacrificing server resources for additional speed and some are designed for heavily customized and unusual environments.

Using a caching plugin or a caching plugin setup that’s a poor fit for your server can actually slow your site down or create more problems for you.

So, how do you choose which one is right for you? I would advise doing your own research as the plugins available are constantly changing, but your evaluation always starts with an honest look at your site and your site’s needs.

What Do You Need?

The first step to picking a caching plugin is to take a honest look at your needs. What kind of traffic levels are you seeing? How big of a threat are traffic spikes? How complex is your site? What kind of hosting do you have? Are you having any issues with slowness now?

The truth is that most blogs can get by with a relatively simple caching plugin such as Quick Cache, Lite Cache or Hyper Cache. In all of the above cases, the plugin is geared toward simplicity and toward helping the largest number of WordPress sites possible.

While you’ll still need to research which is right for you, you probably don’t need W3 Total Cache, which is meant to be more of a caching framework than a plugin. The deluge of options, many of which aren’t even available on shared servers can not only confuse but can actually open the door to poor settings that can slow a site down or overly tax a server.

For those needing more power than a basic caching plugin but less than W3 Total Cache, a system such as WP Super Cache might be a good fit as it’s a compromise between the simplicity of the basic caching plugins and the power of W3 Total Cache. However, it too may be too much if you don’t need to choose your caching type or use a content delivery network.

Generally, when choosing a caching plugin, it’s more important to choose a plugin that has the features you need and not necessarily the one with the most options. More options, while important to those who need them, are often just more problems, especially if you’re out of your depth.

So what features do you need? Your average blog with a routine updating schedule will see a significant boost with any caching system that uses disk-based caching (other alternatives are faster but generally use more memory and server resources) and either through mod_rewrite, which requires you to edit your .htaccess file, or through PHP caching.

Database caching, object caching, etc. probably aren’t necessary. In fact, Hostgator recommends you turn them off if you use W3 Total Cache. While they’re powerful tools in some situations, for most blogs with typical hosting setups they don’t add that much, if anything.

In fact, if you overtax your server with the wrong settings, it could actually go slower than without caching at all.

Bottom Line

While W3 Total Cache and WP Super Cache are both great plugins and can work wonders for your site, it’s important to remember that they are not the only caching plugins out there and others might be better tuned to your server and your level of expertise.

While it’s tempting to choose the caching plugin with the most options or the longest history, if you’re going to use a fairly standard setup for your site, it’s likely best to go with a plugin that was built from the ground up around that setup and not one that includes it as one option among dozens.

Simply put, caching plugins are not magical fixes for a slow site and they can, if used improperly, create problems for your site and the decision of which to use should be weighed carefully.

However, when making that decision, don’t limit yourself to the one or two best known ones. While they are certainly well known for a reason, there are other options out there and they might be better for you.

In the end, if a different caching program can provide less stress for you and your server, it’s probably worth going with it, even if it isn’t the one everyone else seems to be using.

Search engines know when writers are constantly thinking about a keyword when writing an article. However, some people question whether keyword density is really important at all.

Why It Is Considered

You may have heard that having a “keyword rich” article on your website is essential to gaining high ranks. However, is it really about how many keywords are in the article or the quality of the article that matters? Many people get stuck at this phase of building their website rankings.

Often, people get caught up with high keyword density articles which result in just an overly stuffed article that the search engines don’t like. If it isn’t for your visitor, it may just look like spam. Many businesses or individuals still get caught up between ‘writing for the reader’ or ‘writing for search engines.’ The simple fact is that these are one and the same, and should be treated as such. The reason many people think that keyword density is important is because they believe that the search engines will rank you for the keyword that is being stuffed into the article.

Keyword Density Should Still Be Considered

Keyword density is something that website owners should consider; however, it should never be their main focus. If you are writing an article about coffee mugs, you want the keyword coffee mugs to appear a few times in the article, and maybe at least once in the title.

Some people might create an article about coffee mugs and ramble on about something else which will confuse the search engines as they wouldn’t know exactly what the article is about. Naturally incorporating keywords in your article will result in quality keyword density.

One thing you should consider, rather than just writing the same keyword time and again, is to look for variations around the keyword that you can blend into your copy. Using SEO tools such as SEMRush can help you identify keywords and phrases that are linked to your target, and help you to produce a much better optimized article.

Why Is There Hype?

A little over a decade ago SEO strategies and tactics were much different than today. Back then, the way many websites would get ranked was by exchanging content with others, and stuffing an article with necessary keywords.

Fresh content and updated websites weren’t of any benefit nor had an impact on your rankings. However, times have changed and algorithms have updated dozens of times since then. The strategies that worked in 2002, won’t work today.

Remember to approach any new SEO strategies with caution. Whether you are taking your websites SEO duties into your own hands or outsourcing them to an SEO firm, make sure you do your research and make sure that all SEO practices are ethical.

Robert manages and consults businesses on seo tools, link building, and article publishing. He has over 20 years experience in the tech industry. In his spare time he loves rock climbing, playing his guitar, and cooking.

Image via 123rf

Here are this week’s job board highlights.

Auto Writer

Drivers News Network is home to all things automotive. Whether you’re a gear-head, auto enthusiast, career mechanic, a road tripper or just looking to buy your first car, we are a one stop resource for all things car-related. They need a writer who is passionate about the topic and can write about various sub-topics. Telecommute position.

Content Writer

YourMechanic.com is a network of independent mechanics who will fix your car at your home or office. They need a writer who works from home, a writer who does not necessarily know everything about cars and fixing them. You just need to write well!

Wikipedia Expert

Writing content for Wikipedia is not as easy as it may seem. If you have been creating content for the platform for ages, and you know how to get your articles published, go for this telecommute position.

Automotive Aftermarket Writer

If you’re based in the West Coast, and you have considerable experience in the automotive parts and service industry – as well as business-to-business writing – then you might be interested in this position.

City Editor

Red Tricycle is currently seeking a part-time city editor in Washington D.C. The city editor will assume full responsibility for all local content and local social media engagement. If you have the heart of an adventurer, and you can share your experiences well with your words, this position is for you.

Many online marketers try starting a Facebook Ad campaign once and to their standards fail, leading to never exploring Facebook advertising again. I’ve had many online marketers tell me that the blame rests completely on Facebook, and that it’s just not a great place to advertise online. Is it really Facebook’s fault or is it the online marketer who can’t find a way to make his/her ads work?

A little bit of both I think. See… some brands just won’t do well on Facebook regardless of the effort you put in. Some brands cover boring topics, and boring topics tend to not do so well on Facebook. Especially with Facebook advertising.

Still yet, many brands don’t fall into this “boring category” and yet their online marketing managers still find a way to fail. Why? Well instead of telling you why they fail on Facebook, I’m going to put a more positive spin on things and tell you the top 5 tricks for making your Facebook Ad campaign work!

1. Don’t Do In-Stream Ads

Facebook Ad manager gives you 2 options for advertising. 1) normal ads that show up in the user’s right-hand sidebar just outside of the stream and 2) in-stream ads that show up in the user’s actual stream. The latter just creates anger and hatred! You may get a little bit of performance out of it, but the backlash and bad PR will far outweigh any revenue you generate. Not to mention burn a giant hole in your pocket!

2. Setup Pay-Per-Like

I personally am a fan of setting up my ads as Pay-per-like instead of the traditional PPC or CPM types. I recommend building up your Facebook Page likes through your ads and then go to work on monetizing those who are already Likes. In other words, get the users permission to market to them first. Market later.

3. Target Specific Topics and Pages

The Facebook Ad manager allows you to specify topics and even better, specific Facebook Pages to target to. I highly recommend this as it helps you micro-target and get a much higher click-through rate. Not to mention a much lower CPC.

4. Post 2-3 To Page Per Day

In order to get the most out of your new Facebook Ads you’ve got to keep your Facebook page fresh. 1 post per day is to your page is too few, and 4 posts per day is too many. 2-3 is that sweet spot that works for most successful Facebook campaigns.

5. Post Visual Content

Don’t just publish words and links. Facebook users don’t respond too well to just words and links. You’ve got to leverage visual content i.e Photos, Videos, Memes, Infographics etc. Remember, your ad shows your latest status update so make each update count! Quick SEO tip: there’s a dual benefit here. Agency Platform helped me figure this little trick out. Using your Facebook Analytics you can see which visual content got the most engagement. Use that same visual content as link bait to improve your SEO Link building campaign.

The more obvious tip that I cannot forget to mention here is don’t spam! All people hate spam, but especially Facebook users. They really hate being spammed and rarely do they tolerate it. Make sure you are posting content that is relevant and highly engaging. To back that up, make sure your brand is legitimate and that you take any and all efforts to improve your product or service offering. I shouldn’t have to mention this last tip, but it always amazes me how many Affiliates and Lead Gen aggregators are trying to make Facebook Ads work. Ridiculous! Anyhow… good luck in your Facebook Ad efforts. Hope it treats you well!

This article was contributed by Nicole. She has been blogging about social media marketing for years.

Established Bloggers with 2K+ followers on Google+

Are you a blogger who uses Google+ more than Facebook? Do you have more than 2,000 followers on the platform? If so, Reputation Changer wants to talk with you.

Experienced Guest Bloggers

Organic Media Group is an American company which provides guest blog content for their clients. They need guest bloggers who have experience and are willing to work from home.

Freelance Tech Blogger

Are you always keeping tabs on major tech developments related to groups such as Facebook, Yahoo, Google, etc.? If you can write with a UK audience in mind, this online gig will suit you.

Technology Freelance Writer

The Chicago Dispatcher, a monthly publication, needs a freelance writer to cover mobile booking app news. The required hours are dependent on monthly demand, and they want someone with a journalism degree or professional writing experience.

Freelance Copywriter

This copywriting position is open to freelancers in the Central New Jersey area. While the gig is fully remote, there might be a need for on site meetings from time to time.

Every month as Webmasters we ask ourselves what we can do to get more traffic and success with our SEO efforts. Because things seem to change so much in SEO we are forced to constantly change, innovate, and adapt. You could make an argument that this is what makes SEO so enjoyable. It’s challenging and new challenges are always arising.

Over the past year there have been almost countless updates to Google’s algorithm, countless changes to search results across several major search engines, and talk of even more countless changes and updates looming around every corner. So join me if you will, on a simple/common sense high-level overview of what to do and what not to do in your SEO efforts throughout this year 2013. First let’s take a look at the “Do’s.”

1. More Guest Posting

Guest posting, if done properly, will be a strategy that you will reap success from throughout this year and next. As long as the content is top-notch and you are focusing on getting published on high quality, high-moderated blogs.

2. Emphasis on Authorship Markup

I’m not just talking about setting up Authorship Markup in your code for rich snippets, but also focusing on building up author Google+ profiles.

3. HTML5 Integration

Converting your sites to HTML5 will be huge because of the ability to leverage new tags for SEO like the tag or the tag. HTML5 integration = better communication to search engines on content and types of content.

4. Mobile Mobile Mobile!

Optimizing your site for mobile will be huge as well. But more importantly, not creating a separate mobile site but creating a responsive design that’s the same site just adjusted to work with mobile phones and tablets.

5. Social Media Pushes

Pushing branding efforts in Facebook, Twitter and Google+ will continue to be a major area of success for SEO. The people who have figured this out are increasing their organic search traffic hand over fist each month.

Now that you know what to focus on, let’s take a look at the “Don’ts.”

1. Low Quality Guest Posting

There’s really no difference in low quality guest posts from article submission sites. Which is why you must stay away from this. High quality only!

2. Article Submissions

This is just old-school and Google has gotten so good at evaluating these types of links. You may think they’re working now, but the end is near!

3. Buying Links

You’ll always hear a few SEOs touting their link buying strategies and how they still work when executed properly. Even more however, you hear of webmasters who’ve been penalized by Google because of paid links. It’s your choice.

4. Link Building Too Fast

Slow and steady wins the race. Google and Bing are going to reward patient SEOs. Why? Because big brands are patient. They’re around forever so they have to be patient. It’s the affiliates who aren’t patient and that’s who Google is trying to eliminate.

5. Low Quality Content and Blogging

Always be on the lookout for Panda! One of the biggest don’ts of the year is publishing poor quality content in the form of pages or posts on your site.

Sometimes I find it better to structure a brainstorming or thought process not necessarily around “what works” but more around “what’s important.” This simple separation will help you prioritize better in your SEO efforts and truly understand where you should be putting your time, money and effort.

For example, would an aggressive press release strategy where you’re publishing multiple press releases each month work? Sure it would. The questions you should be asking yourself however are a) would the results be big enough compared to other things I could be focusing on and b) knowing how Google likes to improve things on their end, would the results be long-term? Looking at SEO strategies for SEO’s and SEO services in this light will help you come up with a solid DO and DON’T list like the one above.

This article was contributed by Nicole. She has been writing about SEO and link building for years.

When 2013 was just kicking off, pundits and aficionados were dubbing it as ‘year of the mobile’. As much as we like to get snarky with the headline catching proclamations, they might actually have been onto something. Taking a look at the numbers between 2010 and 2013, we indeed see that mobile devices’ share of global internet traffic has jumped from 2% to 14%. Research is indicating also that this trend is only gaining steam. Whether in Southeast Asia, sub-Saharan Africa or Scandinavia, there is now an unprecedented amount of smartphone and tablet owners along with unprecedented accessibility to Wi-Fi and 3G networks.

WWW dot Darwinism

So the world is in the process of ‘going mobile’. Does this then have any implications for web content or web design? Do sites now need to perform and look differently? The short answer is, yes they do. In fact, many websites are actually losing traffic because they’re not adapting to the changing reality of how they’re accessed. In industry jargon, they’re not ‘optimized-for-mobile’.

How is this so? What do sites have to do to keep up with the changing world around them?

“Design is about how a product is used” – Steve Jobs

To answer the above, we need to understand that there are a few issues that need to be addressed when designing a mobile-friendly site. First off, many desktop sites contain a wealth of multimedia and javascript components, which a desktop machine – with its relatively high processing power – has no problem displaying smoothly. Mobile devices though, due to their relatively limited processing power, usually can’t handle them properly. These components then have to be used in a site sparingly.

Second, because of the small screen sizes of smartphones (between 4 and 5 inches in size on the average), fonts which are normally suitable for a desktop monitor (around 19 inches in size) usually appear on them very small. Which brings me to my third point: On mobile devices, there’s only room for viewing objects vertically. There’s no room for positioning objects side by side (assuming they’re sized large enough for the human eye to behold), whereas on desktop sites, due to the large viewing space, components can be placed side by side. On a smartphone, such a layout would require the user to zoom out and in and scroll left and right (besides up and down) for accessing content (see screenshot).

In short, a desktop site on a mobile device can translate into a frustrating experience for a user, leading to his abandonment of a site. For site owners this can be a big deal.

The Everyman’s Solution

How then do we remedy this situation? How does a site owner transform his site from a mobile Syria into a mobile Singapore? If you’re a web professional who doesn’t mind the toil (superfluous?), there are a number of effective ways to do so. The thing is, these solutions require time and expertise to implement, or at least the funds to pay someone to implement, which renders them inappropriate for the layman, or even for the designer who just wants to take care of business quickly.

Fortunately, for time pressured, code-challenged, frugal folks, a solution is available in the form of one of the many online platforms for building a mobile website. Such platforms allow you to create an alternate mobile version of your site, which is served dynamically in as optimized-for-mobile HTML to mobile visitors. Let’s have a quick look at what I mean, and you’ll see how you can create a mobile version of your site easily.

Getting Mobilized

What an online conversion tool does is create an alternate version of your site, which is served to visitors identified as browsing on smartphones or tablets. But first we need to build our site’s mobile version. To get started, we navigate to one of the abovementioned online site builders (in our case GinWiz.com), input our site’s URL and presto! a mobile version of it is created in a matter of seconds. In our case we used dunkindonuts.com (who doesn’t love donuts?).

We’re also able to customize the look and feel of our site and can add unique mobile features too, such as the click-to-call, click-to-email buttons.

Once optimized for mobile, a site will look and behave differently than it would just being left in its desktop format. For instance here’s a look at the desktop version of the popular site Ask on a mobile device:

In order to properly view content a user would need to zoom in and then scroll in 4 directions. After optimization for mobile the picture is a bit different:

The content is within viewing range, is laid out from top to bottom.

How do smartphone-using visitors actually access a mobile site?

To make sure your mobile device-using visitors actually reach and enjoy your mobile site, all you’d need to do is insert a line of javascript in your ‘head’ tag on your regular site’s homepage. Once that’s inserted, any visitor to your site using a mobile device will be automatically redirected to your mobile site.

Summary

To sum up, there are more web surfers using mobile devices today than ever before and they don’t have much patience for sites that aren’t optimized for their devices. If you own a website or are a designer, a great way to cater to them (in addition to the standard professional ways) and make sure they have an optimal browsing experience when visiting your site, is to use an online site builder.

About the Author
This article was written by Shimon of GinWiz, a tool which allows you convert and optimize your website for any mobile device.

Lead Image via Bruce Clay

But While Tumblr investors were certainly happy for their payday and the service itself was in desperate need of cash to keep operating, Tumblr users greeted the announcement with significantly less enthusiasm.

But amidst the criticism and anti-Yahoo! jokes was a possible warning sign for Tumblr, namely reports that WordPress.com, the hosted service based on WordPress and operated by Automattic, had seen a skyrocketing level of Tumblr posts being imported to them.

But is WordPress, in particular WordPress.com, really the right choice for angry Tumblr users? The answer isn’t clear. Because, even if it is the best possible alternative, there are still many reasons why Tumblr users won’t be happy on WordPress and may find it a bad fit.

But to decide if it’s really the go-to destination for Tumblr users, we have to look at why it may be a good fit and, more importantly, why it may not.

Why WordPress Is a Natural Fit

On the surface, WordPress is the natural choice for any former Tumblr user who wants to move on.

Tumblr is, at its core, a blogging/publishing platform and WordPress is by far the most popular platform out there (in particular for the largest sites). It’s well-known, well-supported and has proved its mettle time and again on a variety of sites, including everything from blogs, static sites to Twitter-like interfaces.

Furthermore, WordPress has been working hard to introduce Tumblr-like functionality into its core. The introduction of post formats in the WordPress core enabled the creation of Tumblr-like blogs with different types of posts, each that had their own style. Currently, there are many themes, including ones available for free on WordPress.com, that provide great Tumblr-like functionality.

Finally, WordPress offers a very simple importation process and, if you have a self-hosted installation, it’s even trivial to get your permalinks to sync up with your new site, prevent 404 errors (http://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-tutorials/how-to-properly-move-your-blog-from-tumblr-to-wordpress/). In short, it’s likely one of the smoothest transitions you can make, especially if you own a domain for your site.

When it’s all said and done, WordPress looks pretty appealing for any disgruntled Tumblr users. WordPress is popular, well-known, well-supported and, easy to move to and, in many ways, very Tumlr-like. What’s not for a Tumblr user to love?

Sadly, there are a few potential snags.

Challenges for Tumblr Users

One of the first hurdles new WordPress converts will likely face is cost. Tumblr users, for example, can alter a theme’s code, add a domain and do a slew of other customizations for free. With WordPress, you either need to secure a self-hosted installation, which in and of itself will cost between $40 and $120 per year depending on where you host your site, or pay WordPress.com a fee for the privilege if you prefer to go that route.

As great as WordPress.com’s free features are, if you use many of the more advanced features from Tumblr, you’ll likely have to pull out your wallet.

However, the biggest challenges Tumblr users will face are less technical or financial and more cultural.

The WordPress community is very different from Tumblr’s. WordPress, including WordPress.com, started life as a straightforward blogging platform and spent much of its life modifying itself to be more akin to a traditional content management system, capable of running a variety of sites.

The features that have aimed to make it more Tumblr-like (or even Twitter-like) are much more recent. In fact, it was just in 2010 that WordPress.com added “Like” and “Reblog” features to its service, seemingly yesterday for a community that goes as far back as WordPress’.

So while those tools are there and you can use them, their presence isn’t as core to WordPress.com’s community as they are to Tumblr’s, which grew up with those features. In fact, it’s safe to say that, despite attempts to make WordPress.com more interconnected, it’s still more of a blog hosting service than it is a network.

In short, don’t expect to see a quite as much interconnectedness between blogs and don’t expect Tumblr’s culture to translate perfectly to WordPress. While Gifs and memes can be found on WordPress blogs (it’s worth noting the original cat meme site runs on WordPress), they aren’t as prevalent and the WordPress community simply isn’t as young and is largely focused on different things.

In short, WordPress is a different platform with a different community that’s been built around it. While you can likely build a clone of your Tumblr pretty easily using WordPress, you can’t clone the community that’s built up around your site on Tumblr.

Since no blog, Tumblr or site in general is an island unto itself, this can have a big impact on how successful and happy you are with your work.

Conclusions

So is WordPress right for your Tumblr blog? It really depends.

If you run the kind of Tumblr that would work well on WordPress and with WordPress’ community, such as a photography blog or a more traditional text blog, then it likely will make the jump well. It’s even better if your site has a decent audience independent of Tumblr’s and have your own domain name so you can take that audience with you.

Still, for most Tumblr users, the best move is likely to stay put. Rather than rushing to jump ship and charge into a different community that may not be right for your site, it’s probably wiser to not be hasty and weigh your options, including giving Yahoo! a chance.

After all, there haven’t been any changes yet and Yahoo! seems to be taking great strides to keep Tumblr independent. It could wind up that Tumblr is Yahoo!’s YouTube, a major purchase that is kept independent and largely untouched.

But despite that, there are still uncertain times ahead and Tumblr users would be wise to keep a lookout for alternative. It may be early to import your posts to WordPress, but it’s nice to know that you can…

There is not enough time to discuss all the different ways that businesses can use SEO services and various SEO tools. We could spend days talking about the best way to build communities around your business, creating keywords, keyword research, etc.

There are many building blocks in the SEO process and one of the ways to obtain successful SEO is to know how to use the building blocks. Blogging is a great method of SEO that helps with creating backlinks, helps strengthen your community, and allows businesses to connect through their customers.

This blog is going to help you with successful blogging for your business.

Interesting Blogs

Now, just like any other form of writing, when you are writing a blog for your company, you want the content to be interesting and informative. People use blogs to gain information and sometimes look for new ways to apply the information they have learned. But how can you tell if your blog is interesting? Well, you are going to want to ask some questions as a start.

Now when we put ask questions, we are not really referring to asking personal questions to yourself, we are talking about the blog itself asking questions. What questions are your blogs going to answer? Questions show the path to purpose, people are looking for information, but to what questions?

Your best bet is going to be to write out a list of questions on your topic that you think your blog is going to answer. Obviously you are not going to use every question you come up with because well, you want to keep it somewhat short. But writing out the questions is allowing your brain to exercise and get the creative blog juices flowing.

Once you have written down all those questions, you are going to narrow your list down to a mere question or two.

Researching For Blogs

Now most people may imagine blogs as a way to share all the knowledge you may already know on a topic. Wrong. Blogs are focused around questions and in order to answer questions, you need to do some research. People turned to blogs because it is easier than having to travel to multiple sources to get answers or an understanding of their question.

So you want to spend time on research for your blog to be successful. SEO online always preaches about good content in SEO, so research is going to help make your blog content valuable.

Creating A Cycle

Now the real trick to blogging is combining everything we have discussed so far and turning it into a cycle. Writing a blog is a process, especially if you want valuable information through your blog. When you started your blog, you started by asking questions and narrowing those questions down.   Once you narrowed those questions down, you begin to research the answers. Well, once you start researching, you are going to stumble across more questions that your blog could answer. Don’t write these questions off, throw them in the pattern until you have a solid blog.

Robert has been researching the best SEO tools for the past 5 years in an effort to educate businesses about the benefit of SEO services, and how they can help businesses develop into Internet Marketing.

Consider these eight common mistakes that could derail your success if you ignore them.

Distractions

Distractions are one of the key points which can play a major role when working from home. If you are married and working from home, with your spouse and kids doing what they do, then you are in for a real “treat”. With all the noise and interruptions, distraction is always around the corner.

Find a quiet space for your office, keep the door locked, and most importantly, set limits.

Try to convey to your family the importance of having an environment free from distractions while you are working. If you can not do this, telecommuting might not be for you.

Increased workload

Sometimes, partners or families of telecommuters forget the fact they are working and are loaded with lots of additional chores. Being present at home does not mean you are available anytime for laundry, errands or supervising and monitoring your children’s activities.

At the same time, employers might think that there is more time available for their employees and that telecommuters are able to take on more work. You have to be aware of these two extremes, and be ready to juggle.

Out of sight, out of mind

When you’re not interacting with people in the office, you tend to be overlooked. Your presence in the workplace helps remind your boss of your value to the company.

When you telecommute, you have to work a little harder in maintaining communication with colleagues (chat, video or phone calls).

Participating in group projects whenever possible is good.

Isolation

Do not underestimate the value of social interaction, especially if you are an extrovert.

Working from home can be ideal for introverts who are able to concentrate better when they are alone, but many people find themselves to be in a state of better motivation and concentration in the company of others.

The lack of routine

Before you start working from home, set up a planned routine: Grab a cup of coffee before sitting at your desk, check your email, schedule meetings and lunch breaks at the same time every day, etc.

Establish a routine that is similar to the one you had in the office and use a timer if necessary to keep you focused on your tasks.

Data security

This is one aspect that can turn out to be a major worry at times. You do not have servers at home to store your data like you do at your workplace. Your PC system at home might not be that powerful as the one that you use at your office. Beware of your tasks, projects and team work all the time, and keep your the antivirus updated. Better yet, Internet security applications are widely preferred over antivirus software.

Use passwords to access the system across all your devices, and protect key folders that contain important information.

Limited equipment

Employees who work from home use their own computers, printers, phones, fax, routers, and other electronic devices. Try to have some of the best working tools that allow you to telecommute with comfort, safety and efficiency.

Inability to separate work and family

As with the distractions and household responsibilities, the line between work and family life can be blurred when telecommuters are performing tasks at night and weekends.

Just imagine this scenario: your family is waiting for you to plan a picnic and then you suddenly receive an email. You think, “I will answer this email quickly and be back”. Some time later, you realize that you have lost a couple of hours of your weekend.

Try to keep your work tasks within your regular working hours to prevent any kind of exhaustion that may come due to these blurred lines.

About the Author
Clement Almeida is the managing editor at Bloggercent. He also has an interest in watching movies, proven by the large number of movies in his library. An active person, he has taken a new step towards blogging and hopes to use his skills in this venture.

Image credit: Phil Toselli

Social Media Writer

This one is for beginning writers based in San Jose, CA. A company needs an enthusiastic individual to work on their social media and blogging profiles. College students are welcome to apply.

Essay Editor

Have you always wanted to help people learn how to write properly? If you believe in starting them young, this editing gig will match your passion. College Right is looking for essay editors, and you might be a perfect fit!

Freelance Editor for French Slang Book

Ulysses Publishing is looking for an editor to edit the raw manuscript and to make sure the text conforms to the style, tone and general organization as established by the in-house editor. An editor who is fluent in French is required.

Freelance Writer

The Rockefeller Foundation needs a freelance writer who can occasionally meet in New York. This is your chance to work for such a big name!

Digital Marketing Blogger

Online marketing, SEO, content marketing, and social media – if you know about these things, then you might be blogger that Addictivity is looking for. This is a telecommute position.

That’s a tad morbid, isn’t it? Well, it’s no secret that everybody born on this earth has to die one day. Nobody is eternal and death doesn’t really send invitations before it takes one away. Taking into consideration that this is the 21st century and majority of the people out there are active members of at least one of the top social media networks, have you ever wondered what the status of your social networking profiles will be when you leave the world? Will they be deactivated or deleted? If so, then how? Let’s have a look.

The Inactive Account Manager – Google

Google recently introduced the so-called inactive account manager which allows users to manage the way their account is to function after their death. There are three options to choose from.

You can set a Timeout period, i.e. a time slot after which your account can be treated as inactive. The Inactive Account Manager will alert you via SMS or email before this timeout period ends, so that you can reset it (as long as you’re alive!).

Another good option is to setup trusted contacts. These trusted ones will be made aware when you stop using your Google account. You also have the choice of sharing your data with them if you wish to do so.

You can also request Google to delete your account but that would be an instantaneous procedure.

Turn your Facebook page into a memorial

If an active member of Facebook dies, his/her friends and relatives have 2 options to choose from for them to decide upon what is to be done with the profile page after his/her demise. One, they could completely erase the profile. Two, they can turn it into a sort of tribute page where friends can keep leaving messages.

For the first option, you must fill in this form and also provide proof of death of that person. To make the profile of the deceased as a tribute page, fill this other form and provide evidence of death.

The “Tribute Page” is similar to an active account in that it allows friends of the deceased to leave messages, see the published photos or interact with past releases. But it has certain limitations, such as non-appearance of the profile in public searches, photo tags, events or friend suggestions.

Twitter Account Closure

In the case of Twitter, you have no options to create a “tribute profile”. In fact they have got no form to deal with such issues. The only options are to leave the account as it is, or request closure. For closing the account, a friend or family member must follow the instructions put up on this page here and submit certain documentation by mail or fax, including the certificate of death and personal identification.

Linkedin – Verification of Death

For LinkedIn, your surviving relatives or friends would have to submit a verification of death form by signing a document called “Verification of Death”. It’s in this form here.  This form is not put up anywhere on the linkedin website, but a third-party tool called Docusign has been created for this. You will have to fill in details like – Deceased Name, his/her email address, date of death, your relation with the decease and other such related questions.

So these are the ways to close the social accounts of your loved ones in case of their death. And, if you want to cover your behind in case your death, you might want to let your closest friends or family members know about these things, too.

About the Author: Clement Almeida is the managing editor at http://www.bloggercent.com. He also has an interest in watching movies, proven by the large number of movies in his library. An active person, he has taken a new step towards blogging and hopes to use his skills in this venture.

[Image via Abode of Chaos]

Traditional publishing has long maintained a “church and state” separation between the editorial and advertising departments. Meanwhile, from the reader’s point of view, the two have always intermingled. The daily news appears alongside ads for fashion brands, department stores, and household services. We can almost certainly credit the the abundance of local car dealership advertisers for the auto section in local newspapers. The line has always been blurry.

So why does today’s merging of online content and commerce cause hesitation and uncertainty, especially in consumer-oriented content such as fashion, electronics, or motorcycles? It shouldn’t. The majority of bloggers do not claim to be journalists in the traditional sense of the word. Their role is closer to that of columnists; they seek to influence their enthusiast audiences through the expression of their opinions. Therefore an advertiser, sponsor, or merchant isn’t paying for coverage, but for access to a blogger’s audience.

An attentive audience at that, since blogs have become the most trusted source of information. They have replaced traditional publishers in the areas of influence and ability to drive direct purchases. A March 2013 report published by Technorati showed that blogs are more likely to influence consumer purchase behavior than any other independent online media, including Twitter, Facebook and even online magazines.

Methods of blog monetization

We know audiences trust in blogs and welcome product reviews and recommendations. The question is, what’s the most efficient way to monetize the value of your content? There are numerous options, such as:

• Using contextual advertising (with a service like Google AdSense) through automatically generated display ads on your website. Revenue is earned from valid clicks or impressions.
• Selling paid banners, where you sell ad space directly to businesses and brands
• Signing up for affiliate marketing programs, in which a merchants pay commissions on purchases clicked through from a blogger’s site
• Direct sales through e-commerce stores, memberships and consulting services

However, some of these online advertising approaches are neither sensible nor effective today. For all but the largest blogs, developing and selling individual ad units is not a realistic option. While affiliate marketing can be profitable, it requires a great deal of time and effort to research each advertiser, apply for their program, and then create all of the affiliated links in past and future posts. At the same time, consumers have become increasingly tired of intrusive, distracting display ads. Banners and pop-up ads have become white noise, now generating a CTR of just 0.09%.

But don’t panic – a smarter way is emerging. Native monetization is a new approach to advertising that seamlessly integrates promoted brands or products into the fabric of a site itself. This includes automated link monetization services, which turn the links (and, optionally, keywords) within your blog posts into affiliated links. When readers click and buy, the link monetization technology ensures your site gets credit for the referral and you earn revenue.

With link monetization, readers are able to cut through the clutter of web searches and advertising to find the products they want – from the bloggers they’ve come to trust. While merchants are building a more targeted base of customers, bloggers make money from the stuff they are passionate about without the stress and hassle of traditional affiliate marketing. Everybody wins and the blurring of content and commerce is truly not an issue.

Don’t forget to disclose

In October 2009, the FTC determined that any blogger who receives payment or accepts gifts for a post is considered to be providing an “endorsement.” The ruling also states that “bloggers who make an endorsement must disclose the material connections they share with the seller of the product or service.”

As a blogger, you’ve put your blood, sweat and tears into building a trustworthy blog and cultivating loyal followers. Your audience views you as an expert and trusts your recommendations.  Don’t risk that trust by failing to disclose your affiliate relationships in compliance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR § 255.5: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. A simple badge linking to a disclosure page or a mention in your “About” section can satisfy the requirement. Just make sure readers know you get paid when they click and buy. Don’t be timid; many readers love to help out their favorite bloggers and actively choose to make purchases via their links if they know the credit goes where credit is due.

Planning your content to maximize blog monetization

How do you use link monetization to deliver “curated” advice that builds your authority and your bank account? Be authentic – focus on the stuff you’re truly passionate about and time coverage according to your audience’s interests. Follow trade publications, sites, associations and events to build your expertise and give your audience previews and reviews that will help them feel “in-the-know.”  Take advantage of the year’s shopping-related holidays and triggers, like graduation and sports seasons.

Monetization doesn’t have to be a dirty word for bloggers!

After all, the content of your blog is valuable to your audience. The key to generating revenue without degrading your editorial integrity is tapping into link monetization to automatically earn money doing exactly what you do best — sharing your honest opinions and insights with your audience. Blog monetization does not have to be a dirty thing.

For more information, download the “Blogger’s Guide to Earning More” – a handy reference to help build your brand, bond with your audience and build your business.

OLIVER DEIGHTON is Vice President of Marketing at VigLink, a technology company helping publishers earn from the content they create and the commerce they drive. Prior to joining VigLink, Oliver spent nine years at Google where he was most recently a Product Marketing Manager leading key projects across a broad range of B2B and B2C product areas including AdWords, the Google Display Network, Google Play and Google+. Prior to Google, he held marketing and sales positions with MP3.com and eMusic. Oliver graduated from the University of Arizona in Tucson with a bachelor’s degree in anthropology.

Image via 401(k) 2013 and bizbuzzmedia

1. Posts

Posts app

Works with: WordPress, Blogger
Price: Used to be $9.99, but now it’s free!
Simply put, Posts is the best blogging client for iPad. It’s got the kind of slick interface that Apple itself could have made, its lovely design features thumbnails to make managing your blog more visual, it offers both WYSIWYG and HTML editing, and you can even use it to manage multiple blogs. You can moderate comments from right inside the app, and there’s a robust offline blogging mode, too. You’ll be hard pressed to find a more full-featured, easy-to-use, beautiful blogging app anywhere. I wouldn’t mind seeing support for more blogging software, but for what you get, at zero cost… Posts can’t be beat.

2. Blogsy

Blogsy app

Works with: WordPress, Blogger, Tumblr, TypePad, MovableType, Drupal, Joomla, SquareSpace, MetaWeblog, IBM Connections
Price: $4.99
The best thing about Blogsy is that it’s creators are updating it and adding new features constantly. One of the very first iPad blogging clients to be made available, I checked Blogsy out a few years ago and wasn’t very impressed. But thanks to the developer’s commitment to never stop improving it, it’s become a real powerhouse of productivity. It interacts seamlessly with your most-used social networking services like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr, and more (but strangely, no Twitter). And did you see that list of blog software it’s compatible with?

3. Poster

Poster app

Works with: WordPress
Price: $2.99
Poster is iPad blogging done right. It has a clean, minimal interface, and it has all kinds of bells and whistles that Apple fans will love. At first glance, Poster looks like a “quick and simple” blog editor, but don’t underestimate it. It can manage up to nine different blogs, it smartly integrates with Dropbox, it supports multiple languages, and it lets you create articles with custom post types. Perhaps Poster‘s real specialty is allowing you to create new blog posts using selected text, images, and more from other apps. Virtually anywhere you see a picture, you can select it and switch to Poster to create a post about it. See a quote you like in Mail or Safari? Copy it and open Poster, and you’ll have yourself a new post with that text. Poster is power and beauty in one package.

4. Prose

Prose app

Works with: WordPress, Blogger
Price: $2.99
Another in the vein of Posts (see #1), Prose is a utilitarian blog editor that gets the job done but doesn’t do anything terribly unique. Still, iTunes users have almost unanimously positive things to say about it. You can edit in WYSIWYG or HTML modes, manage multiple blogs, it has an offline mode, and plays nice with your social networks. One nice feature is how it creates neat visual thumbnail previews of your posts and media.

5. BlogPress

BlogPress app

Works with: WordPress, Blogger, Tumblr, MovableType, TypePad, LiveJournal, Windows Live Spaces, Joomla, Drupal, SquareSpace
Price: $2.99
It may not be much to look at, but BlogPress has a lot to offer under the hood. It handles all the usual stuff like text, photos, and vids with ease, but it also offers some thoughtful extra features that you might not find elsewhere. It can automatically generate geo-location tags and maps, for example, and it supports the MetaWeblog API. On the other hand… It always gives me a little pause when an app’s description or website is filled with typos and bad grammar; it usually means that either the app is a quick hack job, or that the developer is so focused on programming that small, user-friendly details get overlooked. I fear the latter could be the case with BlogPress, but it’s still one to keep an eye on thanks to all its powerful options.

Also worth noting: all of the major blogging platforms have their own proprietary apps, many of which are quite good. They include WordPress, Blogger, Tumblr, LiveJournal, Xanga, and more.

About the Author
Benjamin Weeks is an Internet entrepreneur and freelance blogger with discerning tastes. He prefers to wear Izod, he gets his 4G access through Clear Internet Deals, and he cried the day that Saturn cars went out of business.

Optimize Your Site Through A/B Testing

A/B Testing allows you to discover what isn’t working with your current website strategy, giving you the necessary knowledge to fix it. This can be achieved in numerous ways, both with your online marketing and offline marketing such as emails. No truer, however, is this for call to actions, which should elicit a response from the visitor.

You see, visitors are very critical in this over-saturated web, and something that doesn’t meet their criteria will get tossed to the site faster than they can click out of the website. Always test your call to actions in determining what is resonating with your audience. You might find the slightest change in verbiage makes a huge impact in getting the sale by garnering the necessary response in the visitor.

Test Regularly

If you want to see significant results, they aren’t going to happen overnight. The only way to ensure your marketing is on the path to success is to test your design elements regularly. The more you test, the more likely you are to reach that positive result. Make sure you test once you launch the site as well. You want to come in as early as possible, as this ensures you don’t lose those pivotal conversions from not testing.

How Long Should I Test?

There’s no clear-cut answer to this question, only an estimate based on your site’s volume of visitors. The higher the volume of visitors means you should test until you receive 70 conversions for one variant. Conversely, if you have a low-volume store with high-value items, it’s best to aim for 20 conversions.

Implementing SEO on Your Site

Search Engine Optimization ensures your website is seen by your targeted audience much easier. Many businesses utilize it as part of their marketing strategy to ensure they’re getting the traffic they need. When used in combination with A/B testing, search engine optimization can reap very real rewards for your business. Let’s take a closer look at some ways this is achievable.

Do I Need an SEO Expert?

Many business owners believe there is some sort of magic behind the creation of SEO, and only experts can get them to first page on Google. In all actuality, SEO is pretty easy to handle once you understand the basic components. It doesn’t require technical training or a highly skilled individual to do it. Simply devote an hour or two at it a month, and you’ll see incremental changes in traffic.

You Don’t Have to Spend a Fortune on Good SEO

Luckily, the basic workings of SEO are the same such that it doesn’t require a huge cash investment when another provider is willing to do the same work for a smaller fee. Whether you spend double the amount won’t matter because the SEO will work the same.

A Few Search Engines Will Do The Trick

You need not be listed in every search engine possible to receive the amount of traffic you’re looking for. There are roughly five hundred search engines and yet Google has 70% of clients in the wide world. Yahoo and Bing follow after, but don’t stress about showing up in all the rest as they most likely won’t produce the results you’re looking for.

Nothing is Guaranteed

There’s no clear path to getting the results you’re looking for with SEO, which is why you should be cautious of agencies that are trying to get you to the first spot on Google. It’s a fine mixture of having the right keywords and key phrases so that search engines latch onto your site. Through careful optimization over the long term, you’re on the path towards mastering the art of search engine optimization and reaping rewards for your business.

Do you implement these techniques into your Internet marketing? How has A/B testing or the use of Search Engine Optimization worked for your business? Let us know in the comments!

About the Author

Ruben Corbo is a freelancer writer who writes about several different topics in the field of internet marketing, gaming, art, and music. For more information about topics relating to multivariate testing or anything that will help you convert your high traffic into online sales, go to http://www.Maxymiser.com/.

Image via Rushtips

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In Internet marketing, organic traffic is web traffic that comes from listings that aren’t paid for. These listings can include guides, search engines like Google or Bing and directories. Typically, when you want to make money blogging, search engines are the best source of organic traffic. Below are 6 smart ways to drive organic traffic to your blog or website.

#1 – Deliver Quality Content

One of the easiest ways in internet marketing to drive organic traffic is to deliver quality content to your readers. This is not only more appealing to visitors but it also gives them a reason to explore your site further. In addition to quality writing, it’s also important to choose your keywords. It’s best to use the keywords in the first and last 100 words of the article. Take care not to stuff your page with keywords, however, as most search engines penalize that.

#2 – Search Engine Optimization

When it comes to SEO, there isn’t a definitive list of dos and don’ts because search engines are constantly evolving. Fortunately, there are a few key points to consider when you want to make money blogging. A great headline that includes your keyword is important, as are alternate text for images, outbound and inbound links and a concise permalink with no stop words (or, to, the, etc.). A keyword density of 1% to 2% is best and there are numerous SEO plugins you can use such as SEOPressor or WordPress SEO.

#3 – Build Natural Backlinks

Natural backlinks are another important way to drive organic traffic and make money blogging. In the internet marketing world, natural backlinks are links your blog receives on its own without help from the site owner. These links are generally from sites that enjoy the blog’s content. Obviously building natural links isn’t a simple task. It takes dedication, great content and constant promotion via social media and other platforms. While it may be time consuming, the payoff is definitely worth the effort.

#4 – Internal Linking

Another great way to boost organic traffic to your blog is to link to internal posts on your site. This helps search engine bots to find your site’s content faster and more efficiently, which in turn makes it easier to make money blogging. Most importantly, it allows your visitors to find the information they are looking for which reduces the bounce rate and increases page views. This task can be automated by using a variety of plugins that are available for internet marketing purposes. These plugins use an algorithm to figure out the best page on the site to link to, based on the subject of the post.

#5 – Exposure on Social Media

One of the many factors search engines use to decide page rank is social media authority. The more exposure your blog has on sites like Facebook or Twitter the higher your rank in the SERPS will be. In order to best utilize social media and make money blogging, it’s necessary to offer a variety of sharing options for your visitors. Social media plugins can help you choose the most appropriate sharing buttons for your page, which will be found alongside of your content. Since many social media sites have millions of users they are a gold mine when it comes to internet marketing so use them well.

#6 – Professional Looking (and SEO Friendly) Design

Whatever your CMS or blogging platform is, you will usually find dozens or even hundreds of templates or themes for your blog. While this might sound great, not all themes and templates are created equally; some are more internet marketing friendly and professional than others. You should use premium, SEO-ready templates whenever possible since their CSS and HTML codes have been validated, and they offer the correct use of H1, H2 and H3 tags.

It’s never been easier to make money blogging provided you follow the guidelines above and do your due diligence. If you are willing to put in the work, your blog will be making money in no time.

Thomas Alling is the owner the popular blog BloggerCodes.com – He writes about different ways to make money online and also write unbiased reviews of internet marketing services and business opportunities. The latest is a review of the Empower Network.

The key to having a successful blog is to have a plan. Just throwing up content every now and then isn’t going to find you the audience you want, and visitors to your blog certainly won’t return if you don’t give them a good enough reason to. The first way to ensure that they do come back is to make it easy for them to do so. Take a long, hard look at the design and layout of your blog, and be honest with yourself. Would you stick around if it belonged to somebody else? Also, consider how easy it is to find once people are on your site. Display the most recent posts in a sidebar and have “Blog” listed proudly within your navigation.

Now that you’ve got the easy part down, let’s take a look at five things you can do to completely destroy any chance of having a successful blog:

We Love You… Now Buy Our Stuff!

Repeat after me: Your blog is not for promotional purposes! Too many businesses try to use their blog as a way to promote their products and services rather than using it to share information that readers will share in return and keep coming back to the blog to see what else you have to offer. If you had a door-to-door salesman who came round to your house every day, no doubt he would start to get more than a little annoying after a while. The same can be said of blogs that are constantly trying to slip in promotional content. It gets really tedious and wreaks of desperation. If you’re great at something, it should come through the information and advice you present through your blog. You don’t need to come across all “Sell! Sell! Sell!” in order to make an impression.

Keywords over Great Words

By now it must be a universal rule that you should write your blog content from a place of honesty before going back over it to add any keywords or key phrases you feel are important to the post. Anyone with half an hours experience in the world of blogging will be able to sniff out a blatant attempt at search engine manipulation and from that point on you have lost a reader. It’s completely the wrong attitude to have. You should put the reader and their needs before anybody else’s. Do this and your blog will look more like a love letter to your readers, instead of a Valentine’s Day card to Google.

Thank You for Your Comments… Bye!

Ever read an article or blog post that was overwhelmingly brilliant, shockingly bad or has driven you to great vengeance and furious anger? 9 times out of ten you’re going to write a comment on that post, and you’re going to expect a response, especially if you were in complete disagreement with the writer. Imagine then, that after your reply, you never heard a peep out of that writer again. Not even an acknowledgement that you took the time out to respond.

If you want to guarantee that you lose readership, you should do exactly the same on your blog post. There has to be more of an agenda to your content than simply throwing it out into the world. Getting a good debate going and seeing that people are responding to your words is a great feeling, and should be what all blog posts aim for. If you’re just going to leave commenters hanging, they won’t be hanging around your blog ever again.

Most Recent Posts… 2011?!

A regularly updated blog is essential in today’s business world. You can almost guarantee that the majority of your competitors will be keeping their blog updated with fresh content every week or so, so you should do the same. It doesn’t look very good to potential clients and customers when they visit your blog and the last time you wrote something was August 2011, and you’re talking about something that was relevant or interesting back then but now is about as much use as a review of the iPhone 3.

The more you update your blog with engaging, fun and interesting content, the more traffic it will generate and it is far more likely that you will see a lot more interest in you, your products and your services. Just no videos of the team doing the Harlem Shake or a “hilarious” rendition of ‘Gangnam Style’. Nobody wants to see that.

Daley is a freelance writer who wants to help his fellow writers to get out there fully confident and armed with great writing. He can be found struggling with his own career at www.daleyjfrancis.com

However, this wasn’t the first time Tweetdeck made a major change that sent users scrambling for alternatives. In December of 2011, months after its purchase of the app, Twitter recoded the application entirely, renaming it “Tweetdeck by Twitter”, and stripped out many of the apps most popular features, including LinkedIn and Foursquare support.

Though the app was able to battle back some and win over some of the people who left it, there are many, even today, who still pine for the original Tweetdeck over any other version.

But this isn’t the first time in recent memory that important Web applications have been shuttered or drastically changed. In March, Google announced that its popular Google Reader service would be shutting down July 1st and, in April, Posterous announced it was closing in a mere 30 days.

These are just a few quick examples of a problem everyone who works online faces. The tools you love and use every day could he a case of “Here today, gone tomorrow,” and there isn’t much that you can do about it. Companies go out of business, crashes happen and unprofitable products get cut, it’s part of life online.

Still, it’s obvious that you need to be able to continue working and that creates a new set of problems, how do you continue working after after your tools have been taken away from you?

The answer is a combination of proper planning and, more importantly, building your own toolset.

Changing Tools Mid Strike

The Internet is probably the first time in human history that a person can have their tools taken away so permanently, so easily. Though carpenters might have a hammer break or lose their screwdriver, they could trivially find and purchase a very similar tool and continue on.

With the Internet, not only can your tools break and disappear, but they can do so for factors outside of your control and with no possibility of finding a perfect, or in some cases near-perfect, replacement. Even worse, these changes can happen with little to no warning, sending scrambling to find an alternative and, in some cases, direct your visitors to your new home.

This can make building a presence online feel like you’re trying to construct a house on quicksand, constantly being forced to change, shift and pivot as the ground disappears out from under you.

So how do you improve the stability of your online experience and ensure smooth transitions when necessary? Here are a few tips to help keep you on firm footing, no matter which services are closing down.

Finding Solid Ground

If you want to find solid ground online, you have to be prepared to make it yourself. Building your house on someone else’s foundation is risking having everything disappear from underneath you. If you want a stable presence on line, you have to take responsibility for it yourself.

On that note, here are a few good suggestions that can help you stay sane even as the world around you keeps shifting.

1. Get Your Own Domain: The first step to having a stable online presence is having a reliable address. A domain is fairly cheap, about $10 per year, and is yours as long as you keep paying for it. Even if the service you’re using closes, you can just point that domain elsewhere and keep going.
2. Self Host What You Can: Hosting, especially for smaller projects, is also fairly cheap and simple. Plus, what’s on your server, you control and will remain active until you decide to leave (or stop paying). Even if WordPress.com vanishes tomorrow (highly unlikely), your WordPress installation on your server will remain valid, keeping you online.
3. Avoid Unproven Services: Online it’s tempting to jump on the latest fad or trend, but a service that’s here today can be gone tomorrow. Stick with proven providers that have a large history, a stable user base and seem to be doing well financially. As Google Reader shows, this isn’t guaranteed protection, but it greatly reduces the risk.
4. Backup, Backup, Backup: Backups are always important but they are doubly so with Web services. Disasters strikes, companies close and data is lost. Don’t let yours be lost forever. Backup your content regularly so you can quickly port it elsewhere.
5. Always Be Looking at Alternatives: If you use a service and depend upon it, always be looking for alternatives and experimenting with them. Not only might you learn about something that’s even better, but you’ll know the lay of the land and be able to move on quickly should something happen to the tool you trust.

If you can do these things, while you won’t be completely immune to the bigger shifts that can happen online, there won’t be many disasters that you can’t recover from quickly.

Bottom Line

If you want a stable presence on the Web, the responsibility is on you. If you try to build a house on someone else’s foundation, you could find that the ground is sinking beneath you. You have to carve our your plot of the Web and make a stable home for yourself.

While this requires extra time, effort and money to set up and run, it’s likely energy well spent. After all, the effort it takes to make a good home for your Web presence is significantly less than the energy it takes to move and readjust it after you’ve had your foundation kicked out from underneath you.

So whether you are hunting for a blogging platform, tools to help you use social media or ways to discover new content, be mindful of the grim realities of such online tools. Try to do as much as you can under your own roof and, when you can’t, stick with third parties that are reliable and stable.

But even then, always be prepared for surprises. You never know when Google may shutter another project you’re using or a major company make an unexpected change.