Beginner Blogging
Posted by Kimberly Bock on November 18, 2008
Beginner Blogging - Blog Optimization
When searching Google for a term that interests you, the search engine results pages (SERPs) bring back results that are most relevant to your search query.
If you are like many, not seeing the results that attract your attention within the first 2 or 3 results pages will have you searching for a different term.
Let’s say you’re searching for beginner blogging in Google. The first 5 results are:
Oh..sorry. None of those sound interesting enough for you? Maybe the next 2 pages will offer something you like? Maybe 10 pages? I mean, there’s 940,000 results.
A Google Blog Search for the same term, returned 20,271 results. First 5:
You’re bound to find something you like if you want to spend the next couple of days (or weeks) searching for what it is you’re looking for. Each of these pages have their place in the search engines. As time goes by, the best optimized site/blog will appear at the forefront of the SERPs.
Search engine optimization allows a blog or website to optimize keywords and keyword phrases throughout it’s pages so that each one may bare fruit in the first pages of a search.
If the above mentioned pages were optimized for the term beginner blogging, that’s great. They got what they wanted. A glowing bright spot on the first page of the SERPs. (If not, then they got really lucky)
If they had hoped to be found in the SERPs for the term blogging fool, the results pages didn’t give their page/site a place in the first pages of results. Why? They were not optimized for that term.
Why Should You Blog?
Ok, so you’ve got an idea. A poetic thought that goes on and on. Maybe you’ve got your eye on a product you’d love to sell. Maybe you just have this dire need to be heard. About anything or nothing in particular?
What can you do? After all, maybe you don’t know anything about this SEO stuff.
Begin with a blog of your own.
You can easily begin your own blog, full of ideas, temptations, dreams, freshly picked fruit from the vine of your mind.
If you can write a diary on a piece of paper, you can blog.
Whether you are a seasoned professional, a consumer rights activist, or an ordinary housewife from Hubabaloo, there’s a place for you in the SERPs for all to see.
Blogging is an outlet, a money maker, thoughts in virtual motion to be viewed by hundreds, even thousands over a period of time.
It is the beginning of a new and exciting age of relationship building. A doorway to forging ties with those of like mind. And a means for putting food on the table if that’s what you are striving for.
Baby steps are needed so you can learn and grow.
Beginner blogging - Free Resources
When beginning a blog, you can opt for a domain of your own or choose to use a free blogging service.
Some free blogging services are:
With these particular services, you cannot optimize the way that you’d like. But they are good for getting you motivated as you experiment with other things such as social media usage and interacting with others who also share the same interests.
What is social media?
It’s a fancy name for interacting, socializing, being seen in various online environments and ‘branding’ your name/message/ideas/business/products/etc. As important as your message might be, social media is budding and is still being defined.
Your SM skills might be that you are
- easy to get along with,
- a good conversationalist about topics that interest you,
- you’re expressive,
- your opinions are of a different color than most, or
- you simply have a voice that nobody can hush
When beginning blogging, you’ll find many popular ones that have already made their ’stamp’ on the internet and want you to supply them with what they need to continue doing their thing. SM is THEIR marketing technique that has worked for them. Having popular ‘friends’ online can be a plus, but make sure that you are not sacrificing the statements you personally think are important.
Keep your associates in proper perspective. There are literally millions of people on the net, you do not need ‘herd mentality‘ to make a difference or be acknowledged.
Whatever your technique..there’s a place for you and what you have to say.
Blogging may begin a little bit hectic. You’ll want to find other people like you. You’ll want to sound authoritative, knowledgable, and trusted.
But don’t feel threatened by those feelings. you’ll fit in just fine as long as you remain true to yourself and put a bit of work into promoting what it is that you offer.
If you have a free blog, you’ll want to use it until you’ve gotten some stability and have a good feel for the ‘market’. (I say ‘market’ loosely. You can market ideas as well as products)
For example, as in the case of one blogger, a search term took me to his old free blog page, then offered me a choice to redirect to his new site. It doesn’t look like he’s doing too shabby either. He’s got 1530 subscribers to his RSS feed. So starting off with a free site may have been worth it for him, as it is for many while experimenting.
Premium Domains and Hosts
Once you’ve established yourself a bit, you’re likely to want your own domain. Something to call your baby. Something thought of from start to finish and everything in between.
Maybe you’ve built a fine network of followers (readers and friends) and want to expand on that.
Having your own domain, is simple and can be very affordable.
You may be asking these questions:
- What is a domain?
- How much does it cost?
- In promoting my ideas, products, services, what kind of name do I choose?
There are many different domain registrars out there. I use GoDaddy for my domain purchases, but I don’t use them for hosting.
Firstly, what is a domain?
A domain is the main subdivision of internet addresses, the last three letters after the final dot, and it tells you what kind of organization you are dealing with. There are six top-level domains widely used: .com (commercial) .edu (educational),.net (network operations), .gov (US government), .mil (US military) and .org (organization). Other, two letter domains represent countries; thus;.uk for the United Kingdom, .it for Italy, .fr for France, .de for Germany, .es for Spain and so on. (definition: Visual Route Glossary)
What is a domain registrar?
A service that sells and manages domain names.
10 domain resgistrars
- Go Daddy
- Register.com
- Buy Domains
- Great Domains
- Domains
- Afternic
- Modern Domains
- Domain Barn
- Misk
- DomainRegistry
Think closely about the direction you’d like to take your blog.
Are you interested in pets? Maybe a good name would be pets.com.
Primary focus on cats? How about cats.com?
Shoes? shoes.com.
Black fancy shoes? blackfancyshoes.com or blackshoes.com, etc..
Until you’ve begun using SEO to optimize your blog, the title isn’t going to be of much use to you in placing you in the frontline of the SERPs, but it will be very useful once you’ve begun the SEO process. One of the greatest advantages of having your own premium domain is to optimize it the way you like. Paid domains also hold more weight with the search engines while presenting pages in the results. Especially if you pay for longer than a year. It is considered a more trusted domain.
Cost? A top level domain can be as cheap as $10 a year, or as much as $70 per year. (it can actually be far more expensive if buying a domain that has been previously established then resold)
Define ‘top level domain’
A top-level domain (TLD), sometimes referred to as a top-level domain name (TLDN), is the last part of an Internet domain name; that is, the letters which follow the final dot of any domain name. For example, in the domain name www.example.com, the top-level domain is com (Wikipedia)
List of top level domains available
Choosing a host
Host is a nifty word for server. What is a server?
A file server and/or a computer that processes requests for HTML and other documents that are components of web pages.
What is HTML?
(Hypertext Markup Language) The programming language used to create documents for display on the World Wide Web. definition: World Bank Institute
When you write something in a blog editor, it is actually transformed from HTML into the normal wording you see on an actual blog.
A server is required in order for HTML to get from one computer to another across the globe or to your backyard.
Host providers:
DreamHost is carbon neutral.
Also, more host provider information resources available at:
Cost? A 2 year plan is suggested, as it seems to appeal to the search engines as well as your readers for trust building. Yearly, a cost of $60 a year will get you well under way. (approximately $6 to $8 a month)
So if you’re a girl with pixies in your hair that wants to spread love and peace all over the world, use a blog to do it.
If you are a middle-aged man with a loving family that could use the extra cash, start an affiliate blog.
Affiliate?
Programs that generate leads and sales from other websites, paying commissions for those sites that host their products. (definition: GreyFoxWebWorks)
If you are an established business person (brick and mortar, not virtual), then why not begin a blog that expresses your beliefs, concerns, knowledge, expertise, and product/services information so we (the consumer) can get to know you and your offerings and build trust for you?
The learning game is a two-way street. The consumer can benefit from getting to know you. You can benefit from interacting with the consumer.
Everyone wins when utilized wisely.
Next Marketing Suggestions article, we will learn more about social media, social media tools, and realistic use of social media for even the idea marketer. We do not have to believe marketing is a dirty word. Consumers can also be a part of the marketing world.
Writing an article about how to overcome drug addiction is marketing.
Blogging for environmental awareness is marketing.
Even writing about how crappy your evening of babysitting went is a marketing tool. It has the ability of teaching and for learning as well.
It’s in the eye of the beholder.
I hope this gets you on your way to experimenting with using your voice. Think of it as singing in the shower. But with thousands of people listening. 
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