Written on 7/31/2006 at 9:50 am by

Keyword Misspelling Tool

Filed Under: Blogging Tools and Services

One of the things you find when you use a tool like 103bees to check your incoming search engine traffic is that some people find your blog as a result of both them and you misspelling words.

I remember early in my blogging that I had one post that was getting quite a few visitors every day and I couldn’t work out why until I looked at my stats and found that one of the people commenting on the post had misspelled Melbourne (the city where I live) and that every person hitting the page had typed the same spelling into Google. I was the one of three search results for that spelling and as a result had a pretty decent chance of getting the visitor.

The poor spelling of the reader leaving the comment drove traffic to my blog.

I’m certain that this happens every day for many bloggers – however I also know some webmasters (and one or two bloggers) who purposely exploit the misspelling of search engine users. They write articles with spelling mistakes in them on the keywords that they are trying to attract traffic for.

This isn’t really my style (my goal is to build quality into my blogs – all misspellings and poor grammar are purely accidental!) but Microsof adCenter Labs have developed a tool that those wanting to explore misspellings might want to use – their Keyword Mutation Detection Tool in which you can input a correctly spelled keyword and find out how readers commonly misspell it.

found via Jake

Written on 7/31/2006 at 3:15 am by

Yahoo! Launches New Crawler

Filed Under: Search Engine Optimization

If you’ve noticed any changes in the traffic coming to your blogs from Yahoo! it could be a result of their New Version of it’s Search Crawler called ‘Slurp’ – (a crawler is the bot that Search Engines send to your site to index it).

Slurp is said to be faster and more efficient and will have to visit your site less and will use less bandwidth when it does.

Have you noticed any changes?

I’m yet to do any detailed analysis but my first impression is that it’s not had much impact upon the amount of traffic Yahoo! has sent to most of my blogs – however for a couple of them I’m getting traffic from Yahoo! for the first time ever (I’ve never had much luck with Yahoo SEO to this point so this is a welcome sign.

Written on 7/30/2006 at 1:23 am by

Feedburner Ad Network – Three Months In

Filed Under: RSS

Flamocon 175HAfter three months of participation in FeedBurner’s Ad Network I received my first payment (for April) yesterday.

Feedburners ads are the ones you’ll see in my RSS feeds. My first impression review of FAN is still pretty accurate to how I’ve found the system.

I’ve added it to three of my blogs (the ones with the biggest RSS subscriber lists) and while April only earned me $79 – that was only from 10 or so days with it on just one blog (ProBlogger).

The amount FAN is earning me varies quite a bit between my three blogs. Problogger is actually the better earner – partly because it has the most subscribers but also probably because it has full feeds rather than partial and perhaps because it’s channel is a better paying one than the others (blogs are put in channels depending upon their topics – some attract higher CPM than others).

There have been a good variety of advertisers over the period. I like that I can approve or reject advertisers as they sign up. I’ve actually rejected about 20% to this point (either because they were willing to pay only a small CPM or because I felt they were inappropriate for my feeds.

I’m pretty sure they are still restricting publishers joining FAN to those with larger subscriber lists but if you get the opportunity and have a large enough subscriber base I’d say it’s definitely worth a go.

Written on 7/30/2006 at 12:01 am by

I Get Paid to Sleep

Filed Under: Pro Blogging News

The quote that stood out to me in the article on MSNBC that I mentioned a few posts ago was from Andrew Leyden from the Podcast Directory who marvels at his new income source by saying:

‘”I get paid while mowing the lawn. I get paid while cleaning the garage. I get paid driving my wife to her office, buying groceries, seeing a movie, playing video games, or just surfing the Internet. That’s really the nice thing about AdSense: No matter what I’m doing, people keep clicking and I keep getting paid.”‘

For about six months a few years back I did shift work in an in-flight catering company. It was the most boring work ever. I’d stand in front of a conveyor belt for hours on end putting orange juice on trays as they went past. The only way I could get through a shift was to play little mind games as I worked – one of which was to work out how much I was being paid per orange juice (I’m not good at maths so it’d take a whole shift to work it out).

Now I sometimes play a different game – this time not because I’m bored but because it’s kind of fun.

I work out how much I get paid to sleep, to play with my son, to walk out to the mail box, to take a weekend off at a Bed and Breakfast etc. It’s an amazing feeling to know that you have a business that earns you an income whether you’re actually physically there working on it or not.

A lot of people see making money online via blogging as being a ‘passive income’.

I don’t agree with using that term to describe ProBlogging simply because there is a lot of work involved and it does take years to build up (read this ProBlogger Public Service Announcement if you’re seeing quick and easy dollar signs floating in front of your eyes thinking about blogging). However – there are moments where the income feels, and really is, quite passive.

Of course if you remain passive for too long your income will suffer – but it’s a nice feeling to be able to take a day off and know that the work you’ve invested in your blogs in the previous months and years is still paying off.

Written on 7/29/2006 at 1:47 pm by

Comment Spam – Is Akismet OK?

Filed Under: Blogging Tools and Services

Is anyone else using the Akismet comment spam filter getting hit big time by spam today?

I’m not sure if it’s down, whether someone’s found a way past it or whether I’m just getting a massive attack and the normal small % of spam is getting through – but for the last couple of hours I’ve had so much comment spam that I’m deleting it as fast as it’s coming in!

This happened last week for a few hours one day also.

Looking at the numbers of what Akismet is stopping it does seem to be working to some degree (as the total number is going up) but it’s definitely not getting everything today.

Very odd.

PS: Looking at their graph tracking spam it seems that the last 24 hours or so have seen a massive spike in spam attacks.

update: The spam attack has continued. It’s been 6 hours now with it coming in as fast as 2 to 3 comments per second (thats just what Akismet isn’t stopping – add to that what it is stopping and it’s a massive attack).

I’ve noticed that this often happens on weekends – I guess spammers know its a time that bloggers are online and less likely to be dealing with it.

I’ve also been watching the Akismet graph and even though there is still 14 hours left in the day the amount of spam it’s reporting is almost as high as yesterday and yesterday was the second highest recorded day of comment spam in the time since they started tracking it. Looks like today will be a new record.

I have enabled the option in WP to make sure that you have to have had a comment approved previously for your comment to escape moderation. This means none of the spam is actually going up live on the blog which is something at least. It does mean however that I have a massive list of comments to moderate (legit ones and spam). Apologies to first time commenters whose comments are all being put in the queue.

If this doesn’t stop before I go to bed in a couple of hours I might need to disable comments overnight tonight as I don’t really feel like facing 500-1000 comment spams when I wake up tomorrow! Apologies in advance if I do disable them – it’ll be temporary.

Written on 7/29/2006 at 11:02 am by

BlogHer in Spirit

Filed Under: Pro Blogging News

Blogher250I think most people are aware that the BlogHer conference is currently under way in San Jose. From what I’ve read about it – it’s going really well and there are some wonderful bloggers in attendance.

However not everyone is in a financial or life situational position to be able to attend and while there’s plenty to read on their blog about what’s happening Phat Mommy is encouraging non attendees to attend BlogHer in Spirit. It’s a nice idea and she’s followed it up with a post on Friday’s topics.

A number of bloggers have picked up the idea and run with it including Erica from LittleMummy withtwo posts on first day workshops – the first on audience building and the second on generating an income from blogs (official page on the sessions).

update: Jen is Live Blogging from Blogher, Huffington post has notes on the keynote and Laura is sharing some impressions – as it Lipsticking.

Written on 7/29/2006 at 9:18 am by

Earning Fortunes – One Click at a Time

Filed Under: Pro Blogging News

MSNBC has a ‘nice’ (I call it nice because it’s a fairly shallow, but warm and fuzzy one) article on Publishers making money from contextual advertising and gives some examples of a variety of sites making decent money, one click at a time. I’m always amazed by the diversity of sites out there that make money. This article covers site ranging from services that help scientists and researches find public documents, to one that reviews the best seats on planes, to one that offers free layouts of MySpace users to one that is a directory of podcasts. What a bizarre and wonderful collection of sites making good money from contextual ads.

Written on 7/29/2006 at 4:48 am by

You Don’t Need a Product of Your Own to Have a Successful Product Blog

Filed Under: General

As we wrap up this short series of posts on product blogging, let’s take a look at a strategy for those who may not have a product of their own to sell. We’ve looked at selling information and niche e-commerce, and you can obviously use those strategies with products that you sell on behalf of others.

Two Ways to Work on Commission

Selling for others online basically boils down to two options:

  1. Affiliate programs are a logical choice. They’re easy to find and join via various affiliate program directories, and tracking and payment systems are already in place. However, you have competition. The key to successful affiliate product blogs is to add independent value, as we’ll discuss below.
  2. Joint ventures or representation agreements are another option, and can be hugely profitable if structured and executed properly. In this case, you find a product that is not currently being marketed online, and strike a deal with the owner that allows you to sell the item on a negotiated commission basis. You’ll also need to be familiar with affiliate program software, as you’ll likely be advising the seller on how to set up a way to track your sales.

Add Value and Build Credibility

With the crack down on the “Google Cash” method of sending searchers directly to affiliate merchant sites via pay-per-click, plus the most recent AdWords landing page shake-up, the situation is clear — the pressure is on to actually add value, rather than simply drive traffic. Plus, as the Internet itself makes consumers more savvy then ever, some of the older affiliate marketing techniques have become less effective.

  1. Adding value means offering something to the potential buyer beyond a link to the merchant site. This could be free bonuses you deliver with a purchase, or even a rebate that comes from your commission. But it need not be anything like that. Creating content that caters to the lifestyle surrounding the product, or that shows how a product solves a problem, is a value-add strategy that is perfectly suited for blogs.
  2. Creating “review” sites monetized by affiliate links is a strategy that goes way back, but it may not work very well going forward. Savvy consumers can sniff out your profit motive, and discount your review and go looking elsewhere. Blogs like Engadget and Darren’s own digital camera review blog forego hard selling of the product and rely mostly on advertising instead. You’ll want to be transparent about wanting to sell the product if that’s your model, and by no means be ashamed of it.

Learn the Product, and Don’t be Afraid to SELL It!

It’s impossible to truly add value and maintain credibility without really understanding what you’re selling. In-house copywriters live and breathe the details of the company products, and the first thing freelance copywriters do when starting a new assignment is become exhaustively familiar with everything they can get their hands on about the item to be sold.

Once you really understand a product, and believe in it, selling becomes much easier. Your enthusiasm is genuine, and people can pick up on that in your writing. Combine your knowledge and that excitement with good copywriting, and you’re on your way.

If you’re interested in learning more about copywriting for product blogs, affiliate marketing and joint ventures, I’ll be digging in deeper over at my place.

Otherwise, thanks to Darren for letting me guest post during his paternity leave — his biggest adventure is only just beginning. :)

Written on 7/29/2006 at 4:00 am by

If I had to Start My Blog Again – Final Reader Submissions

Filed Under: Pro Blogging News

200607181510This week’s group writing project is now officially closed with 80 submissions (see the complete list here). Thanks to all who participated.

Now the ‘judging’ of submissions begins. Head to the full list from this week and do a little surfing of what people have written. While there is no official ‘winner’ or ‘judging’ I encourage you to find a few that you resonate with most and link up to them on your own blog to acknowledge the good blogging of others.

Here are the final 12 submissions. Once again there is some insightful posts in this lot!

Thanks to all who have participated in this week’s project. There will be a new one in the week after next (I’ve got a fun topic in mind that all bloggers should be able to participate in). I’m also considering offering a prize or two to those who participate in the next round to add to the benefits of participating.