What are the biggest obstacles you’ve encountered in blogging success?

What are the biggest obstacles you’ve encountered in blogging success? - WebProNews recently interviewed reality television blogger Reality Steve (Steve Carbone). The interview wasn’t entirely about how to launch a successful blog, but as he shared his story with us, there were plenty of nuggets of wisdom that naturally came out of the conversation, which if you’re trying to become a successful blogger, you might be able to learn from.

What are the biggest obstacles you’ve encountered in blogging success? Let us know.

1. It’s ok to start small.

Reality Steve started by sending emails to a few friends. The friends liked his work and started forwarding his emails to their friends, and so on and so on. Social media has made it even easier to reach even more of your friends’ friends. Even Facebook started small, and grew virally.

2. Find a subject area where you know there is interest.

People have all kinds of interests. Some of them are already well-covered by bloggers, and others there is more leeway. Even still, just because the web is saturated with bloggers in any particular subject, it doesn’t mean you can’t bring a unique, helpful and/or entertaining voice to the table. Number 3 is directly related to this.

3. Cater to a niche audience.

If you’ve chose a specific subject to blog about, you’re already catering to a niche audience to some extent. However, it is that bringing a unique voice to the table that really adds to that. The thing is, this niche audience is probably already reading the other bloggers who are writing about the same niche, which is why you have to bring something different to the table.

4. Keep up with your niche religiously.

Reality Steve doesn’t blog about every single reality show, but the ones he focuses on, he keeps up with fanatically. This means fans can consider him a go-to source when they want the latest news and analysis related to these shows. That keeps them coming back.

5. Do diligent work.

Essentially, if you want to be considered such a go-to place, you don’t want to half-ass it. Be thorough. If in some cases you can’t be thorough in detail, at least be thoroughly entertaining, or informative. That doesn’t mean you have to put out long post after long post, just try not to miss things that matter.

6. Collect trusted sources (and use them).

Reality Steve has his regular sources, which he trusts, where he can get key information that he needs to be on top of news related to his area of coverage. This helps keep him at the forefront of breaking news in this space. Having these sources can also be useful for driving links to your blog from other blogs and publications.

7. Develop a good track record.

This is directly related to number six. It’s easier to have a good track record of accuracy, when your sources are trustworthy, but sometimes you may get tips that turn out to be busts. Always indicate if there is any doubt to what you’re reporting. If you can’t take it for fact yourself, you shouldn’t report it as fact to others. If you ever make a mistake, acknowledge it as a show to your audience that you can still be trusted.

8. Use social media.

Use social channels to connect with fans and promote your content (these channels can also add to your visibility in search engines – as an added tip that Reality Steve didn’t really talk about, it can’t hurt to employ basic SEO practices). “Both have been a godsend for my website,” Reality Steve tells WebProNews about Facebook and Twitter.

9. Product-related material can interest both readers and companies.

This isn’t so much a step, but just something to keep in mind, and I don’t mean this from the receiving goods for positive reviews standpoint. You might want to read up on the FTC’s guidelines if you’re interested in that. However, Reality Steve brought up an interesting point about how the networks don’t seem to mind his blogging about their shows, even when he’s spoiling their outcomes, because it brings attention to their products.

If specific products are within your niche, you can reach out to people within the companies that deliver these products, for possible trusted sources, and they might be willing to give you the occasional exclusive story or first shot at breaking news, which can also get you links and help you build credibility.

10. Stick with it.

You may start small, but obviously the goal is to become big. This can take time. Reality Steve has been doing this for 8 years. Following these previous steps over time, they should start to pay off. ( webpronews.com )

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The No. 1 Danger of Using Facebook

The No. 1 Danger of Using Facebook - Spending too much time on it and neglecting other stuff? Your boss finding embarrassing photos? Nope, and nope. People have been getting obsessed with stuff long before Facebook, and "Facebook addictions" making the news now mostly because it's so new. Meanwhile, not everyone finds themselves turned down from a job because of embarrassing pictures, but every Facebook user is affected by the No. 1 danger.

It's not Facebook addiction, in the sense that you need to get your fix like a shot of caffeine. It's Facebook dependency, in the sense that you need Facebook. And that a single, profit-driven corporation is becoming as much a part of our lives as email and the Internet. No one individual controls either of those, but Mark Zuckerberg holds the keys to Facebook. And he doesn't answer to you.

A single point of failure

The danger isn't that Facebook will stop working all of a sudden, a la Twitter's "fail whale." It's that a lot of power is being given to someone who wasn't elected, and who has no accountability to the people on Facebook. The only people Mark's accountable to are Facebook's investors, and they have only one request of him: Make money.

That's why Facebook can experiment with stuff like its unpopular new "Timeline" system and make everyone who uses Facebook deal with it. Where are you going to go if you don't like Facebook? LiveJournal? Maybe that new thing Google is doing? Yeah, right. How are you going to see what your friends and favorite brands are up to if you're not on Facebook? Plus all your crops in Farmville will die!

Having a Facebook account is like having a car. Everyone assumes you have one, and there are things you can't do and places you can't go if you don't. Even online games and websites' comment forms require you to have a Facebook account these days. Unless you want to give all that up, you're not allowed to stop using Facebook.


And Facebook's not like other companies

Not even other monopolies like AT&T and Verizon are in some places. Because to the phone companies, you're the customer, even if it's mostly because there's no one else you can buy from. But to many Internet companies, like Google and Facebook, you aren't the customer. You're the product.

No, they're not grinding you up and making Soylent Green. They just need your eyeballs, because they're selling advertisers the right to put ads in front of them. And while there's nothing especially sinister about online advertising (please do click on one of our fine sponsors), in Facebook's case you can't just change the channel or go to a different website.

You're the perfect, powerless, captive audience. And Facebook can censor what you say about it, too. ( yahoo.com )

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10 Top Smart Web Design Tips

10 Top Smart Web Design Tips - When in the thoughts of producing a website, think hard on the some important key points you must deploy. To give you a few hints and tip I have set out below some useful sources of information that can help you to develop a good looking and profitable website.

1. Time is money, save both by managing and processing work carefully and logically. They say that an impression is made by the viewer in the first four seconds of reviewing a site. Thus it's this time that you have to make a good impact on your reviewer.

To miss this opportunity only leaves you with a large amount of ground to catch up on. So, you have only four seconds to persuade your visitor to continue navigating around your website, otherwise they may well already be thinking of trying the next one.


2. Convenient and simple menues guide your users. When first they enter the site, they examine it and look for the all important navigation aids. Again, these are features that must appear very obvious and in clear sight, users must see everything they need simply classified on the shelves as they would expect to see them.

Once you have grabbed the user's mouse pointer, they will have a desire to click further and drill down.


3. What is the most eye-catching place on a web page? It is a well recognised fact among web presenters that the upper-left corner is the most desirable position and it's where the eye tends to sink to. Why is this so? This is natural as in European countries people usually start reading books or writing articles from this position.

Of course, it will appear different for those that are surfing from and Oriental or Middle Eastern country. Thus your target market has to be well thought out before selecting the information starting position. Thus most Western websites and applications are mainly designed from the up-left corner. Here you can place a logo or slogan, search box or any other piece of information that you feel would benefit from such a position.


4. Other psychological studies say that web information is in fact scanned in an "F" way. What does this mean? The top area is scanned horizontally, and the middle area and lower one is scanned only on the left side- vertically. So again please consider this research when arranging content for your website.


5. Another interesting fact is that of advertising. In the whole users deplore adverts and their eyes will ignore all of them just by association, remember the brain is a very fast processing device and scans the page without you thinking and has already decided very early on what an advert looks like and will ignore if it recognizes a pattern.


So again remember that people are busy and have just small amount of time to devote to finding what they need. So respect their time and be patience but plan the your advertising carefully and not too aggressively!


6. Do you think that images are more alluring than texts? You are possibly wrong, as sometimes word can seize you more attention that any bright graphic. So, if you want to deliver an important message to a person, use a slogan rather than a pretty image!


7. What else can grab users' attention? Slogans, buttons, textual headlines...- they must be simple and bright and well thought out. Dirty childish graphics will turn people off very fast.


8. Text must be formatted in a proper way. Make it simple, understandable with continuity of size, font and colour. Different fonts and sizes of letters, paragraphs, underlined, bold, italics and other means of word expression can help you but must be used sparingly and within the overall look and feel of the site.


9. People faces in graphics will catch the users' attention. You can apply various ideas around this idea. especially if an image's look is directed straight at the reviewer...


10. White spaces are a worthy and not well used device. It can provides a web page with the necessary air to breathe as well as giving space between the elements, so use wisely and your page will be worth reading ( Entireweb )

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Top 12 Search Engine

Top 12 Search Engine - There are many misconceptions about search engine marketing (SEM), and some have actually become established myths. The most popular myths are those about in-house optimization, submission software, traffic quality, and lead superiority -- not to mention the myth of guaranteed top-positioning. Below are the top 12 myths that can lead marketers astray if left unchallenged.

There are many misconceptions about search engine marketing (SEM), and some have actually become established myths. The most popular myths are those about in-house optimization, submission software, traffic quality, and lead superiority -- not to mention the myth of guaranteed top-positioning. Below are the top 12 myths that can lead marketers astray if left unchallenged.

1. In-House Optimization Is Cheaper

Research indicates less than 1 percent of marketing budgets go to SEM, so it's no wonder many Web sites will be improperly optimized. Yet SEM pros get better rankings faster because they've mastered the complex, technical, ever-changing submission process that has such a steep learning curve. Outsourcing is cost-effective because the pros benefit from economies-of-scale after the initial outlay in personnel, technology, and process development. In-house SEM lacks such cost maximization.

2. It's a One-Shot Deal With Submission Software

Submission software promises the moon. But how can software get the same kind of results reputable vendors provide for a fraction of the cost? There's no way software can identify keywords automatically or optimize your content and HTML coding. All the engines have specific submission guidelines that change like clockwork. It's not one-size-fits-all, and no software program can customize and update to the degree required for maintaining top listings.

3. SEM Leads Are Inferior to Traditional Media Leads

This is the opposite of reality. SEM leads are the most qualified leads you can get because people searching for products and services on search engines are in "action" mode and ready to buy. Search engine traffic is qualified because users initiate the search with a purpose, making these leads targeted and more valuable than those from the "broadcast advertising" methods used by traditional media.

4. SEM Traffic Isn't High Quality

Ideally, it'd be nice to have an integrated marketing campaign with TV ads, direct mail, email, banner ads, and search engine marketing, but not everyone can afford this. When your marketing budget is limited, the place to start is with SEM. A properly optimized site can produce leads and sales within a short time period. Case studies have shown that search engine traffic is equal to or better than traffic from more expensive sources.

5. Guaranteed Top Rankings or Your Money Back

Money-back guarantees are worthless in search engine positioning because outcomes are always unpredictable and ever-changing. New submissions are always being added to databases, changing rankings continuously. Bottom line: technicians simply cannot control the search engines.

6. You Need Listings in Thousands of Search Engines

Submission software claiming to "Submit to 1,500 directories and search engines" will get you listed in many FFA (Free For All) engines. FFA listings are worthless and don't begin to compare to directories and engines like Yahoo! and Google. A likely result: Your name gets on email spam lists.

7. Once You Achieve Good Rankings, You're All Set

Search engine positioning requires trial and error, and success is ephemeral. Today's top listings will change tomorrow; sometimes, listings change on an hourly basis. Maintaining positioning requires constant monitoring and tweaking. It can't be guaranteed, and results aren't permanent once achieved.

8. SEM Doesn't Give a Good ROI

This is actually a falsehood. The ROI for SEM is excellent compared to other marketing methods, especially when compared to keyword banner buys. Marketing Sherpa case studies also illustrate this by comparing the results of banner ads, direct mail and SEM. With SEM, you get better conversion rates, lower cost-per-click, and lower acquisition costs.

9. Professional SEM is Too Expensive

SEM has proven cost-effective compared to banner ads, direct mail, email marketing, and print advertising. For instance, SEM deliverables are half the cost of keyword banner campaigns, and SEM provides specific measurable results.

10. All SEM Services Are Alike

Fact is services and pricing vary widely. SEM is striving for ethics and standards although there will always be a few questionable providers. Ask your provider to define services, pricing, contracts, and reporting. Verify the provider's experience and proficiency by interviewing past customers.

11. You Can Save Money With Pay-Per-Click Engines

You hear about buying PPC traffic and getting featured listings for free in the major search engines. This is partly true because of partnership deals, but your best results come from a well-integrated SEM campaign that includes optimized pages for both human-powered and crawler-based search engines and enhanced link popularity. A PPC campaign can be expensive without cost management and ROI verification. Lastly, some users avoid featured listings because they consider them tainted.

12. A Buyers Guide to SEM Vendors Is Gospel

It would be nice to be able to depend on a buyers guide, but the industry changes too rapidly for any guide to remain current and accurate, even with updates. While I'm proud of the top rating Web-Ignite got in MarketingSherpa's SEO buyers guide, I would still recommend that you get referrals from people you know and interview prospective vendors in depth. Always trust your own judgment above someone else's opinion. ( sitepronews.com )

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SEO Predictions That Came True

SEO Predictions That Came True - Each time a year ends, we encounter countless bloggers and writers who share their thoughts about the incoming year. Some predictions are theoretically supported and some are just plain wild guesses. Predicting what's in store for the next year is almost a tradition for writers, even those not involved in SEO and Internet marketing. Sports writers, business analysts, music critics, and amateur writers - they all follow this unsung tradition. Many think that this tradition is worth following because nailing a wild guess or a well-researched fact means only one thing: respect from your readers.

It's only the third month of the year but some predictions from last year have become realities. People didn't ever expect that the realization would be this quick, but, unbelievably, many predictions are coming true right now.

The Power of Content Length

This was a common prediction that was heavily criticized. I read on some blogs last year that Google would be considering a site's content length as a determining factor for site ranking. Experts and SEO veterans commented that this was an amateur's prediction, but they all ended up wrong. As a result of this latest algorithm update, many guest blogging sites have increased their minimum article length to 450 words, and some are requiring even lengthier articles. Perhaps this recent update caused content-related terrors to some SEO geeks. They'll just have to remember that quality is still better than quantity.

Mobile Search Growth

Both local and global search benefited from the rise of high-tech phones which provide consumers mobile Web browsing. The growing rate of free Wi-Fi zones over the country also made browsing even more accessible to mobile phone users. Mobile browsing changed the way people use the Internet. Browsing the Web has become a daily part of people's lives - not only Americans and Europeans but also people from highly developed Middle Eastern and Asian countries like Singapore, South Korea, Japan, Qatar and Dubai.

Social Media Expansion

Countless companies vied for the most numbers of "likes" and "followers", not only for branding and popularity purposes but for online presence strength as well. These two social media giants have become major advertising tools. No SEO campaign would be complete without social media and no advertising method would be fruitful without Facebook and Twitter accounts. Social media expansion is an advertising basic for many businesses.

Although confirmed as a hoax, the rumor of Facebook closure struck many businesses. It isn't easy to find a social networking site as powerful and effective as Facebook. The shocked Tweets from many businesses owners that day prove that advertising and SEO without social media is impossible. A business' online presence is major determining factor of success.

Website Speed

It took a year for all SEO practitioners to understand the value of site speed in SEO. Google first announced that site speed would be part of their algorithm. It's not a surprise that many site owners are now aware of site speed's importance. There are reports that many businesses suffered a major decline in rankings because they took site speed for granted.

Site speed can be a determining factor for website traffic. With the millions of websites available today, a slow-loading website can force a viewer to transfer to a faster site that can provide them the information they need.

Other Search Engines

Google is still the leading and most reliable search engine today and the main reason we obsess about search algorithms and rankings. Some business owners pay large sums of money just to get their sites to the top of Google's search results. Google has set the yardstick in Web search and brought balance and fairness to the competition for rankings, so that anyone can now get first page search result placement. But, there are still other search engines we can focus on. Not all Web users rely on Google to find what they need. There is still a significant percentage of users who prefer other search engines that you too should consider when doing your SEO. Yahoo! was once the leader of the search game, and it's realistic to think that there are remaining Yahoo! loyalists out there who put less importance on Google results. Then there is Bing, the Microsoft search engine that draws yóung Web users because of its homepage and features.

Bing and Yahoo! are continually improving their search algorithms because they know they have a large following and an increasing number of users. It's fairly certain that these two search giants are making plans to erode Google's current standing as the Web's dominant search engine.

The Reincarnation of Blogs

Blogs didn't ever really go out of style. Business owners use blogs to reach a wider sector of their target market and audience. Many have invested time in establishing domain authority and positive online reputation management, temporarily putting link building aside. Some articles previously stated that "link building is dead", making SEO practitioners abandon the method and focus on other SEO strategies. However, many experts have reinstated and proved link building's ability to provide traffic and rankings. Link building is becoming popular again, and we all know that the best way to practice effective link building is through blogging.

In addition, local search's popularity has made blogging more appealing to a local audience. There are blogs today that specifically cater to a locality. Blogs, treated as micro websites, have proved their worth to local businesses, making blogging the most effective way of building links and networks.

Local Search Dominance

Global search has become popular over the past few years, but many people choose to concentrate on local search to get more specific results. As local search continues to escalate its way to dominance, the strength of the American local market today can be attributed to the growing number of local search users and the improvement of local SEO methods. The strength of site authority, anchor texts, and traditional link building is evident this year. Behind this strength are the ever-growing Local Listing (e.g. Google Maps Optimization) and SEO Resellers that focus solely on providing and introducing SEO to the local business scene. ( SiteProNews.com )

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