10 of the Most Inspiring Bloggers and Blogs “ 2011 Year End Gives-back Special”

“The best thing you can do is the right thing; the next best thing you can do is the wrong thing; the worst thing you can do is nothing.” - Theodore Roosevelt

As I take a sit, sipping my hot coffee, I think through the quotes Sir Roosevelt had left us – stunned by the first phrase “The best thing you can do is the right thing.” I asked myself, what was the best thing that I did this year of 2011? I used to think of that when I was little, perhaps by some force of my metabolism I have forgotten the essence of what did I do best – for me and for others. Some of these “Others” are what we call Hero – an inspiration. Yes, every now and then we need a hero. Sometimes we need them to be able to say, “What would [insert your hero’s name] do?” in order to conquer a complicated obstacle. Sometimes just picturing our hero’s face in our mind is enough to keep us going. Sometimes we do not need to look any further than within our own circle of family and friends. At other times, we are inspired by those we know only in name.

I believe that Blogging is a very powerful tool in expressing oneself and changing the lives of others. For this reason I have put together 10 Bloggers and Blogs that I deem to be the most inspirational figures of the year 2011. The list below is in random order.

1 – John Philip, Semidoppel.com

When I think of this blogger, I can’t help but to smile - no I mean it literally. There is something to this blogger and his blog; hmmm… what’s that word? Yes – Charisma to people. The way he writes and engages with other bloggers in blogosphere. You can see his passion in writing, the way how he thinks through complicated situations or issues and come up in grounds that he thinks worth fighting.

So John, what are the good things you did this year?
“Hmm, may nagawa nga ba akong tama? Hmm tingin ko I have, marami ako naturuan sa pagba-blog. Hindi ko na count. hindi ako SEO expert pero lahat ng tinuro sa akin eh itinuro ko sa kanila. Ngayon nga mas earners pa ung mga tinuruan ko, at ang maganda dun hindi sila nakakalimot lumingon...lagi sila nagpapasalamat.
Lagi ko sinasabi na "Blog about your passion and make Blogging your passion" Trademark ko yan hehehe. Yan ang pinakamagandang quote siguro galing kay Semidoppel. Tingin ko 'yung pagbabago ng niche ko kahit may negative impact sa traffic at stats ng blog ko eh may malaking tulong din. Nai-share ko sa mga tao, kapwa Filipino o foreigner man na kung anung kultura natin, simula sa mga laro hanggang sa pamahiin. Nai-share ko sa kanila ang mga point of views ko na minsan ako lang ay may lakas ng loob kahit na may magsasabing mali ako.well opinion nila iyon. Isang tama din na ginawa ko sa blogosphere na napatunayan ko naman siguro na ang respeto ehhindi lang nakukuha sa isang larangan...kahit anung galing mo sa isang aspeto kung wala ka naman pakialam, hindi ka nagmamasid at hindi ka sensitibo eh balewala ang kahusayan.”

2 – Bennix, Bennixville.com

I’m not a techie type person but by the way this next blogger influenced others in terms of technology stuff – you’re up for this list of inspirational figures. From the first time I chat with Bennix and exchange comments, I know that he’s one of the best in blogosphere. The way he take things lightly and of course the way he build bond or friendship with other bloggers and you may add the success his Bennixville blog that as of now holds a much avid followers.

So Bennix, what are the good things you did this year?
“Constantly connecting to successful and active bloggers online is the right thing I did this year in the blogosphere and because they are the people that helps me to excel and achieve my milestone in time. Success is like a magnet if you stick with the losers then, definitely you will have the same fate. It's not wrong to be open-minded, accept criticisms from readers and most of all aspire what others had in the blogosphere, that's the main thing I learn there.”

3 – Charlie, Isangminutongsmile.com and fromthedungeon.com

When things go wrong, you can fall down or look up. You can shut down or wake up, all over again, starting from right where you stand. You can accept that the days won’t always look bright, but commit to finding something worth smiling about. Not sure what that might be? – This next blogger is the right person to talk to. Charlie is the founder of Isangminutongsmile.com whose advocacy is to spread happiness or just a simple smile to share with others. He is also the mind behind fromthedungeon.com. I always admire Charlie for his vision to help others which also the one who lit the fire of blogging spirits.

So Charlie, what are the good things you did this year?
“Ginawa kong tama? lolzz sabi sayo wala akong maisasagot eh :)) ... Seryoso ... Nung nag-umpisa akong magblog hangad ko lang may mapaglibangan, di ko rin inaasahan na aabot sa ganito ang pagba-blog ko. Di ko alam kung tama nga ba, pero sa tingin ko tama naman ... Nagawa ko na ang isa o grupo ng mga bloggers, hindi ko man kilala ng personal, na magkaisa para sa isang mabuting adbokasiya. Ang magpangiti ng mga Kids sa abot ng aming makakaya.”

4 – Roy, Abdul-hakeem.com

Ever dream to have a big brother who’s guiding you to every step of the way and helping you up through encouragement and support? That’s what I see of Sir Roy from London – up for this top inspiring list. He is also the man behind Proudly Pinoy Bloggers Group in Facebook which as of now one of the main reasons why I’m always present in Facebook almost everyday. One way to say thank you is to share my knowledge others like what he did to me.


So Roy, what are the good things you did this year?
“Ang naging nagawa kong tama sa blogosphere ngayung taon ay nakapagbuo ako ng Proudly Pinoy Bloggers group sa facebook, at napagbuklod at napag-isa ang layunin ng kapwa bloggers na magtulungan sa larangan ng blogging. Nagkakaroon din ako ng maraming kaibigan at kakilala at ang bawat isa nmay ganun din.”

5 – Manuel, Designrshub.com

Oh well, Here’s the man – Manuel Garcia, Founder of DesignrsHub. The first time I meet him online just 5 months ago was something that made him to be included in this top inspiring bloggers list. I’m one of the witnesses to how he successful manages Designrshub as one of the sensational design blogs here in Philippines as well as worldwide. And guess what? This man is also the winner of our very first Best TOP10 Contest.

So Manuel, what are the good things you did this year?
“The best thing I did, was to help other bloggers with their blogging career through giving tips, advice, answers to their inquiries and so on"

6 – Gian Faye, the.loading-info.net

Yes, the great Gian Faye of loading-info is one of the inspiring blogger of 2011. I still do remember when I first meet her online and it’s something funny – I actually pissed her. I get to know her when I react viciously in the comment on a blog about Adsense and its banning activities for violators; I’m some sort of bad mood at that time. At the end I did try to make up with her and who knew that she will become one of my trusted blogger friends online. Today, I always admire and respect her ground on certain issues and let me tell you that I’m a fan of her blog too.


So Gian, what are the good things you did this year?
“I quite don't get it because I was trying to do the right thing on almost everything. I think the best thing I did this year is to revive my blog on February which I have abandoned for months. If I hadn't done that I would knew awesome people and awesome blogs.”

7 – Jose, Opinyoneyted.com

This person seems to be the star of 2011 in terms of blessings – The year of recognition in tribute to his talent in writing and blogging. I’m quite impressed by how dedicated he is on his works and he deserves what he is now - definitely one of the most inspiring this year and I can see a great future ahead for 2012.

So Jhiegz, what are the good things you did this year?
“As a blogger, I would say that the best thing I did in the blogosphere for the year 2011 was I able to prove to myself that writing isn't only my passion, it becomes my life that I have my heart and soul in it which was the best way of expressing my total emotions and feelings... Having all my articles visible to my blogs, it all showed my sense of honesty and being fair to my co bloggers... In fact in 2011, I shared the best in me without doing any harm to others. However, since we can't please everyone, those negative criticisms somewhat inspired me to write more, express more and be open to changes for the best. I will take it that way because I always stand being positive all the time... At this point, I am glad that through my blogs I inspire and motivate others to become bloggers for the coming years…”

8 – Aj, Beneath the Tree

I personally believe that the personification of knowledge comes not just in a piece of something informative, thus from the sources that leads to knowing that information. This year might not be my year to learn programming stuff as I listed from last years resolution and I still never give up since I have a sensei to look up to - it’s this guy from beneath the tree. What else is there to worry about? – I trust this guy and his awesome blog.

So AJ, what are the good things you did this year?
“For almost three years, 2011 is a year for me to explore the blogosphere. Also, it has been an opportunity for me too to share not only my skills on programming but my knowledge in other niches. With this, I was able to gain more friends and learn more things.”

9 – Ram, Gadgetreport.me

So hype about the latest gadgets and gizmos? So are we, and Ram of Gadget Report is the first person to see - well that’s if you’re in the Philippines. Ram has been ravishing the latest Technology slash Gadget world on his blog and it’s a one stop for buyers of this stuff. His thingy obsession (sorry for the choice of words) on gadgets makes his way up for the most inspiring bloggers this year. Will he end up being the next Gadget Master? We’ll look forward to that.

10 – Iam Herbert, Herbertkikoy.info

We should be thankful to who we meet everyday like this inspiring blogger – Iam Herbert of Locally Made. I meet him specifically in Facebook Blogger group Proudly Pinoy Bloggers and since then I always visit his blogs get valuable information which always inspires me to write more of quality content. I haven’t met him in person though I think he’s a humble one and that’s one of the reasons why I include him in our most inspiring bloggers list of 2011.

So Iam Herbert, what are the good things you did this year?
“Sharing the knowledge i gained from other people to my fellow bloggers. More white hat and less black hat “

10 Tips on How to Manage Your Time As A Blogger

I've been a blogger since eight months ago. I had experience a lot from doing some blog posts, like typos, beating the deadline for an online contest, having negative comment from a stalker, glitches from my net connection and staying up late...being nocturnal just to blog for hours and learning something new from my articles.

1 - Multitasking

One of the skills you must attain as a blogger is being a multitasker. All you have to do is to be active. Like what I do almost everyday, while blogging I do some research for my next topic and replying to messages on Facebook.

2 - Make some drafts

In able to finish your blog posts every time you blog, create your drafts on a word processor like Microsoft Word so that you can edit out your entry anytime. I used to do some drafts on my phone, either jotting down notes in my Memo or in my Evernote for Android. Very useful whenever I have some deadlines for a PR firm.

3 - Queued and publish

After you create your drafts, queue it in your Wordpress or Blogger dashboard and schedule it for posting.

4 - Do some research

Browse for your future blog entries, so you can decide if you want to have it as an article or not. If you have a niche, then go for your specific topic for your blog.

5 - Motivation is the key

Focus on your job as a blogger. Place a "do not disturb" infront of your door. I'll always see to it that I have a quiet time blogging...putting an earplugs listening to my favorite songs while composing an article for my blog.

6 - Write your own 'to do list' for the week

Before, I seldom jotting some notes on my desk, like important projects, reminders and to do list for the day. When I got into blogging, I always see to it that I achieved at least 6 goals for the week. Stressful but it helps me a lot to organize my daily routines.

7 - Make some deadline for yourself

A month ago, I have six drafts in my blog and I have to finish it by 3rd week of November. Giving yourself a deadline is effective, because if you have some drafts on our blog, you can achieve your goals. I'd gave myself two blog entries a week before beating the deadline. Time consuming yet it's easier for me to do some other tasks.

8 - Interact with your followers.

Recently, I joined in an activity from one of the group page dedicated to Filipino bloggers. It's important to interact with your followers, whether they liked your articles or not. Accept their suggestions and adapt it on your blog.

9 - Schedule your invites

Barely a month ago, I was invited to an event from the leading pizza in the country. Unfortunately, I didn't attend that exclusive invite and at that time Mom was in the hospital. Remember, if you can't attend to an invitation from a company, inform them by sending an email and state the reason why you can't come. Or ask your friends or colleagues...be your proxy. I did that recently. I was having my birthday celebration that day. I was inform that I got a ticket from a gig. I informed my friend to be my proxy for that event. She took the ticket, attended that night, she took some pictures and I'll be posting it soon here in my blog the details of that said event. You need to have some options from grabbing an invitation. Mark down in your calendar the event that you will attending so that you can organize it smoothly without hassle.

10 - Take a rest for a day

Few days ago, I got sick because I overworked and exhausted from staying up late at night. You need to have quality time for yourself. Take some vitamins to regain your energy blogging all night. That's a moral lesson to me. I blogged almost everyday and I stayed late as 2 am.

About Christian Melanie Lee

Known as eccentricyethappy in the world of blogosphere, Melanie dabbles her time between her lifestyle blog, Blogged: Eccentric Yet Happy and other three blogs she's an contributing blogger, The Web Magazine, Pinoy Popcast and MTRCB She spend her spare time blogging and composing poems and essays.

10 Real and Effective Tips to increase your Blog Traffic

It may sounds annoying since you’ve heard this one a lot (I don’t know how many times though) across the web. Experts talking about how to increase website traffic presenting it in different styles like a robot, a bee or even a dog with a flower and a cloud message above saying blah-blah-blah increase your website visitor tips (No harm intended, I’m just stating facts here) which seems reiterate info’s and definitely annoying to someone who really need the right info when he found out that it’s no more than a fraud in marketing offering tools for them to buy. That sucks.

Through blogging, the fact to express ones perspective is the main reason behind doing this stuff. To earn money is preferred when a blogger succeeding to monetize his/her works and gain avid readers (in huge volume) which we called “Generated Traffic”. The difficulty in this scenario is how to generate huge traffic to your blog or website?

Here are 10 “Real” effective ways to increase traffic or visitors to your blog based on my experience as a blogger.

1 – Create More Quality Content

For me this is a huge factor to gain traffic. What I mean in Quality is not just unique content but also enticing and interesting to readers. Search engines too loves unique content specially Google. It is important to write quality content but quantity also matters.

For beginners (blogging), post quality contents approximately 2-3 post per week. Avoid posting frequently like 2-3 Post per day…

Why? You’re not that huge like Mashable.

Solution: If you have lots of thing to say… Go on twitter!

2 – Don’t forget to submit your blogs to search engines

As I mention earlier, search engines loves contents – so submit your links to search engines like Google or Yahoo (both have an option to submit links). It’s not that when you submit your blog to these search engines, it will appear in the first page of Google or Yahoo search. The main purpose is to be listed so that you might get a chance to be search.

You may also ping your blog every time there's an update to Pingomatic or Pingoat.

Google Webmaster tool has a feature to crawl your updates automatically – so signup for it. You may consider Bing and Yahoo too.

3 – Blog Commenting

Did you know that commenting on other blogs is such powerful technique? Yes, I say it is. When you are reading post on other blogs with related niche as yours, try to leave a valuable comment so that when the blog owner or other readers may read it and proceed to your blog. It’s also another way of making friends – in doing so; you are gaining friends as well as trust and reputation.

Some blogs do accept links when you comment so make the most out of it. Links is a very important factor in ranking your blogs.

Note: If your motive is to do spamming... FORGET it!

4 – Always put RSS feed button to your blogs

Of course, you really need it because when your readers like your post, they might as well subscribe to your blog. Lots of subscription means great increase in traffic too.

5 – The power of backlinks

One way of receiving more traffic is that leaving a related backlinks in your every post. You have to make sure that your readers will probably click those links to read more of your articles and avoiding the instance of leaving your blog. Another thing about backlinking is it can help your post ranks better in search engines since it helps a lot for search engine to find your post easily.

6 – Make sure to Tag your post

Always tag your post. Try to spare your time in tagging keywords of your post. You may used Google Adwords Keyword tool or WordTracker to ensure that your keywords (labels) do have a valuable traffic either globally or locally.

7 – Bookmark your post to Social Bookmarking sites

Yes, I do agree that this step helps Always10’s traffic increase and inclined results of readers. Submitting or bookmarking your post links to authoritative social bookmarking sites like StumbleUpon, Digg, Reddit, Delicious, Folkd, Wirefan and etc will help your blog gets real views and undeniably boost traffic to your blogs like mine.

8 – The importance of SEO

Search engine optimization is quite popular especially to us bloggers. Through SEO, your blog will greatly increase visitor traffic from search engine. Adding relevant keywords and links in your posts will generate huge amount of views from search engines.

You may ask my SEO blogger/friends like Kira of LSGEEKSTER or Gian Faye of The.Loading-info.net about anything specific in that stuff.

9 – Using captivating Images

A picture paints a thousand words – that’s the easiest way to explain it. Using images in your blog post will make it looks attractive and you know, we do love reading books with pictures. You might have a chance to appear in Google Image Search (Which means possible traffic source again) if it is well optimized like adding ALT tags to it.

Why put ALT tags? Google bots or crawlers can't read images like humans do. By adding ALT tags to your images, you are simply telling the crawlers what that image is all about.

*Rant Caution: Avoid putting too many images in your post (that depends if your target audience are kids). It may hurt your website loading speed which is also important.

10 – Your blog is your trademark and signature

This is also quite important. Your blog personality reflects you. Which translate as readers knows you through your blogs. It is good to always put your blog URL in all your signatures like in email signature and Social networking profiles. Show that you own that blog and you are proud about it because that blog resembles you. Adding blog links in your business card and images will also help.

That’s all folks! Let create a better blogging future. This is ME… signing off. Ciao!

10 of the Most Common Blogging Mistakes In-depth 101

Blogging is a very good alternative in expressing ideas combined with pleasure and freedom. Though, blogging is not as easy as setting up or creating a Blogger or a Wordpress account and pushing freedom content to the limits. We have noticed that many bloggers are unfortunately doing it the wrong way and are therefore wasting their time.

I asked for help to my few blogger friends in my hangout site (Bloggers.com) about their own experience in these "wrong-way" stuff and incorporate it with my own experience. Here are the 10 of the Most Common Blogging Mistake I encountered as well as other fellow bloggers.

1 – Poor Content Quality

"Not so describing title for a article/blog post- title should be easy to read and gives a instant idea what the reader may find out within the article." - Moonomo of moonomo.com

This is the number 1 issue with most blogs. The whole point of blogging is to deliver useful content that your visitors can share and link to. You miss out on the whole SEO/SMM value of the blog if your content is not worth reading or sharing.

Tip: Focus on quality, not quantity! Posting 1 quality blog post per week is much better than 5 average ones.

2 – Duplicate Content

"Echo-blogging - posting blogs about news, latest gossips, etc without even adding his/her personal views, review, etc. Failing to acknowledge sources or even link to relevant information when necessary." - Neilyamit of Kartonista.com

"Not giving proper credit for sources (Image etc) or Hiding credit while it's due." - Moonomo of moonomo.com

A widespread disease! To discourage people from doing this, Google recently launched 2 major updates (Panda Update) that ultimately penalized all websites who plagiarize content. Let’s get one thing straight, if you find interesting content on another website that you believe your readers will benefit from, it is OKAY to copy parts of it, as long as you add a link to the source somewhere in the article.

3 – Lack of SMM Capabilities

You could have the highest quality content out there, people are most likely to “+Plus” or “Like” or ”Tweet” it if you give them an easy way to do it. Look at the Network side of this blog post for instance, we display a dynamic sharing bar (AddThis) that makes it easy for our visitors to share our content in one click. It can’t get any easier! Also, our posts are automatically shared on Twitter/Facebook/LinkedIn through the use of some highly efficient Blogger.com widgets and apps. By having Social Media Marketing capabilities within your blog, you help your content spread and go hit and viral!

4 – Poor Formatting

"Mixing cAsE/using too much special characters in title/post. Having grammar and spell mistakes. Making words shorthanded and ruin English writings for example: i lyk d hell!" - Moonomo of moonomo.com

"Making it hard for someone to read, i.e. using all centred text, or not breaking into proper paragraphs." - TropicalMum of tropicalmum.blogspot.com

"I think unnecessary fancy font and dark shade will be the one for that list... " - Sunitagiri of IDareDream.blogspot.com

"Not consistent in choice of typeface for headings; sub headings and text. Poor knowledge of graphics/ layout/ structuring etc. " - Thiruselvam k of ladbeaunews.blogspot.com

"I think it depends on the type of blog and the formality. Structure, punctuation, grammar and font are not as important as the context of the blog. When I first started writing I had a friend editing my blog and it took away from the rawness of my writing. " - Gail of gailsforum.blogspot.com

"Poor Design, black backgrounds with red text are not fun to read." - Special McSpecial of crippiescorner.blogspot.com


A lot of blogs out there are tough to read because of poor formatting and CSS styling. Make your blog content light and easy to read by splitting your content into short paragraphs. Add headers or sub-headers within your blog post. Add images or videos or quotes or colors! Make sure your font is clear and large enough to read. All these factors influence the interest of your readers.

5 – Inadequate Blogging or Post Updates declining

"Waiting several weeks in between posts, your readers will forget about you." - Special McSpecial of crippiescorner.blogspot.com

This is quite a popular mistake. Posting once or twice a year simply doesn’t cut it. People get excited when they first launch their blog, but the excitement starts to gradually fade out and the blogging frequency starts to drop.

Note: Remember, it takes a couple months of blogging to start gaining a loyal audience. Don’t give up mid-way!

6 – Blogging too often

This is very similar to number 5 though We might look in depth. The other side of the coin! Blogging too often can make you look like a spammer.

Tip: Don’t flood your visitors/subscribers with content, make them look forward to your next post!

We’ve seen some small blogs update posts in up to 4 to 5 times a day! Now, that kind of blogging frequency is fine if you’re a major authority like Mashable, but when you’re starting out, keep your posting at 2 to 3 times a week at most.

Solution: If you have a lot to say, get on Twitter!

7 – Poor Headlines/Titles

Titles are the most important part of your blog. That is pretty much the only factor that determines whether people will click to read more or ignore your post. Make your titles short and sweet. Also, write them in a way that visitors will feel like the info they’re about to read is unique, up-to-date and cannot be found elsewhere.

8 – Neglecting Blog SEO

Blogging is a tremendous benefit to your overall SEO initiative. To get the full value from it, you should make sure your posts have: a descriptive, keyword-rich title, a permalink (also known as keyword-rich URL), section headers that are descriptive and utilize keywords specific to each section, “anchor” text should contains keywords relevant to what’s being linked to.

9 – Self-Promotional or "Love My Own" Blogging

"I don't write or pretend to be perfect but my posts come from the heart and are intended to help, motivate and inspire others." - Gail of gailsforum.blogspot.com


"Less interest about Socializing with fellow bloggers/readers. Or, Too much interest to get huge traffic/rank within short period of time by doing kind of spamming the internet for example: link dropping anywhere possible." - Moonomo of moonomo.com

When you blog, you should focus on providing useful content to your visitors first, promoting your own services/products should come second. It is okay to add a link to your products and invite people to try out your latest service, but you must do it in a way that feels genuine to the reader. Talking about your products in every blog post is a good way to lose all your audience.

10 – Covering too many topics

If you want to establish yourself as an authority in your genre or industry, make you sure you’re blogging exclusively about that industry. It is okay to occasionally blog about an external news item or major event that is taking place in your city, but keep 90%+ of your posts on-topic and make sure you’re delivering useful info to your readers every time.

That's all folks. Let's make a Better Mistake tomorrow.

• Reference/Source: Ironmonk.net

10 Basic Strategies to be a Star Blogger/Webmaster

I found this post at Aboutus.org which is very helpful for newbie bloggers and I like the idea of adding it to our lists.

If you’re looking to make your content stand out from the bland content so prevalent on other website, you’ll need more than just writing talent. You’ll need to think outside the box – and you can start by trying these 10 ways to get noticed in your industry.

Here's Top 10 Basic Strategies to be Star Blogger/Webmaster

1 - Make friends with people who have already been noticed.

Being friends with someone isn’t just about adding them to your Facebook page, Twitter follows or Delicious networks. It’s about interacting with someone on a semi-regular basis, whether you’re offering them ideas, acknowledging their professional contributions, or just saying hello. If you’re friends with important people in your industry, chances are they’ll pay more attention to what you publish, and will be more likely to share it with their own networks.

2 - Start small.

If you’re nervous about approaching the big names in your industry, don’t be afraid to start smaller. Join the Linkedin group of a company with interesting executives, follow big names on Twitter, and attend events where industry leaders may also be present, so you can introduce yourself by askig questions or sharing in an open forum. You never know what other interesting people you’ll meet during the networking process.

3 - Be authentic.

The Internet is crawling with scammers, and you sure don’t want to be mistaken for one. Make sure that all of your social profiles have (appropriate) photos of you. Add enough personal details – even if you’re a very private person – so that people can get a feel for who you really are. In a digital world filled with people’s most intimate information, the bar has been raised, and you need to share a few genuine bits of yourself to seem authentic and real.

4 - Do something different.

One of the best ways to attract attention is to push the envelope a bit. If you write about cooking, try making a week’s worth of meals with a single ingredient as your staple, and record your recipes and experiences. If you write about home organization, try living with unorganized people to see if you can change not just the look of their home, but their entire way of life. Documenting your unique experiences in words and photos will help you attract attention just because your content will be truly unique – no one else can replicate it.

5 - Write for retention.

There’s no question that you should write with first-time visitors in mind – you want them to be able to orient themselves quickly and understand what you have to offer. But it may be even more important to write for your established readers, so they’ll want to come back again and again. You also want people to feel like you offer ongoing value, so they’ll share your work with their own friends and colleagues. Don’t hesitate to refer and link to your past publications. That helps new visitors get a feel for your world and expertise, while reminding regular readers of what they’ve already read on your site, and helping them catch up on what they’ve missed.

6 - Stand out on the page.

Chances are good that your website has more than just straight text. In addition to the design elements that are necessary for every web page – for example, navigation menus - you may have advertisements, links to partner websites or prominent buttons and links to other pages on your own website. Nevertheless, the page must be designed properly so your message doesn’t get swallowed up by peripheral information. After all, it’s not enough to drive people to your website – you need to make sure they stay there, absorb what you are offering and participate in the conversation.

7 - Optimize your writing for search engines.

It’s not easy to get your website ranking high in search results - but if you can, this is a great way to get noticed. Your best bet is to write without even thinking about search engine optimization, and then to edit carefully for your important keywords. This method lets you get your thoughts in order without worrying too much about word choice or repetition. Make sure you use your important keywords in the title and several times in the first 250 words. That will help your piece rank better in results for searches on those keywords.

8 - Use infographics.

Infographics can be charts, cartoons or Photoshopped images that help tell your story. While you may feel infographics take attention away from your writing, they do help readers who aren’t going to take the time to read your entire piece. As a bonus, infographics look great in the Facebook news feed, and they’ll win you extra attention there.

9 - Spread the love.

If you want to be respected in your industry, you’ll need to show that you recognize other people’s meaningful contributions – and you’re not afraid to share them. In fact, I’d argue that your loyal readers could get bored if you share only your own take on industry issues. Introducing a conflicting opinion – even a controversial one – can spark a lively conversation, while offering a complementary view can support your own viewpoint. Added bonus: When you generously share and link to other people’s work, they’re often kindly disposed towards you, and may link to some of your work later on.

10 - Use your social network.

If just a few friends share your article, and they in turn share the article with a few of their friends, and those friends share with their friends, you’ve got the beginnings of a viral spread. It’s important to note that a piece can go viral like this only if you write about something that’s relevant to a wide audience.

If your core area is pretty specific, see if you can occasionally create a piece that has appeal for a wider audience – even if it’s not something they’d normally read about.

• Reference/Source: Aboutus.org by Sari Holtz [May 12, 2011]

About

Sari Holtz of DailyForex.com

Sari Holtz is an internet marketing veteran who works as the optimization manager for DailyForex.com, a website that offers Forex reviews, trading resources and financial news.

10 of the Most Common SEO Mistakes Usually Neglected

No, these aren’t “myths” disguised as “common mistakes.” I’ve already beaten the SEO myths theme to death. What follows are 10 of the Most Common SEO Mistakes Usually Neglected. Some of these things catch even the best of us…

1 - Targetting the wrong keywords

This is a mistake many people make and what is worse – even experienced SEO experts make it. People choose keywords that in their mind are descriptive of their website but the average users just may not search them. For instance, if you have a relationship site, you might discover that “relationship guide” does not work for you, even though it has the “relationship” keyword, while “dating advice” works like a charm. Choosing the right keywords can make or break your SEO campaign. Even if you are very resourceful, you can't think on your own of all the great keywords but a good keyword suggestion tool, for instance, the Website Keyword Suggestion tool will help you find keywords that are good for your site.

2 - Ignoring the Title tag

Leaving the "title" tag empty is also very common. This is one of the most important places to have a keyword, because not only does it help you in optimization but the text in your "title" tag shows in the search results as your page title.

3 - A Flash website without a html alternative

Flash might be attractive but not to search engines and users. If you really insist that your site is Flash-based and you want search engines to love it, provide an html version. Here are some more tips for optimizing Flash sites. Search engines don't like Flash sites for a reason – a spider can't read Flash content and therefore can't index it.

4 - JavaScript Menus

Using JavaScript for navigation is not bad as long as you understand that search engines do not read JavaScript and build your web pages accordingly. So if you have JavaScript menus you can't do without, you should consider build a sitemap (or putting the links in a noscript tag) so that all your links will be crawlable.

5 - Lack of consistency and maintenance

Our friend Rob from Blackwood Productions often encounters clients, who believe that once you optimize a site, it is done foreve. If you want to be successful, you need to permanently optimize your site, keep an eye on the competition and – changes in the ranking algorithms of search engines.

6 - Concentrating too much on meta tags

A lot of people seem to think SEO is about getting your meta keywords and description correct! In fact, meta tags are becoming (if not already) a thing of the past. You can create your meta keywords and descriptions but don't except to rank well only because of this.

7 - Using only Images for Headings

Many people think that an image looks better than text for headings and menus. Yes, an image can make your site look more distinctive but in terms of SEO images for headings and menus are a big mistake because h2, h2, etc. tags and menu links are important SEO items.

8 - Ignoring URLs

Many people underestimate how important a good URL is. Dynamic page names are still very frequent and no keywords in the URL is more a rule than an exception. Yes, it is possible to rank high even without keywords in the URL but all being equal, if you have keywords in the URL (the domain itself, or file names, which are part of the URL), this gives you additional advantage over your competitors. Keywords in URLs are more important for MSN and Yahoo! but even with Google their relative weight is high, so there is no excuse for having keywordless URLs.

9 - Backlink spamming

It is a common delusion that it more backlinks are ALWAYS better and because of this web masters resort to link farms, forum/newgroup spam etc., which ultimately could lead to getting their site banned. In fact, what you need are quality backlinks.

10 - Lack of keywords in the content

Once you focus on your keywords, modify your content and put the keywords wherever it makes sense. It is even better to make them bold or highlight them.

• Reference/Source:Webconfs.com

The Top Ten Job Search Engines for Job Seekers

Job search engine is that type of website which deals employments or careers. Many job search engines allow jobs providers to post the jobs on their websites. Users can find there all types of job and apply for them. They don’t need to pay any registration fee because jobs search engines earn from their employers & ad networks. Here are some popular job search engines.

1. Naukri.com (India) - Naukri.com is a Indian job search engine. It’s very popular in India. It was launched in 1997 by Sanjeev Bikhchandani .

2. Bixee.com (India) – Bixee.com is job search engine for only Indian job seekers. It was launched in 2005 by Ruban Phukan and Rajesh. In 2006 it was acquired by ibibo.com .

3. Monster.com (Usa & India)- Monster.com was launched in 1999 with their slogan “Your calling is calling”. It is a popular job portal in USA and India. The monster board was founded by Jeff Taylor.

4. Yahoo hotjobs ( World wide ) – Yahoo hotjobs ( www.hotjobs.com ) is an online job search engines. It was founded by Richard Johnson in 1996. It was acquired by Monster Worldwide and merged into monster.com .

5. Craiglist.org (World wide ) – It is the most popular classified site on the internet. It was founded by Craig Newmark in 1996. It is a well know classified website for job search. It’s network of online communities, forums, job classified, free online classified advertisement such as housing, personal, sale for etc.

6. Careerbuilder.com (USA) – Careerbuilder is a popular job search engine in USA. It was launched in 1995. It was created by Rob McGovern. It provides online career search services.

7. Linkup.com (USA) – Linkup is the another great job search engine in USA. It has solid applicant tracking system so that they can prevent duplicate listing & fraudulent. It was launched in 1995 .

8. Indeed.com (USA) – Indeed.com is a metasearch engine for job listing where job seekers can find their suitable job from thousands of job listing websites. It was launched in 2004 by Paul Forster and Rony Kahan.

9. Timesjobs.com (India ) – Timesjobs was lanched in 2004 by Times Business Solutions Limited (TBSL). It’s another great job search engine for India job seekers.

10. Shine.com (India ) – Shine.com was launched in 2008 by HT Media. It’s another great option for India job seekers after naukri.com and timesjobs.com . It has a unique service to create resume for job vacancy.

• Reference/Source: way2workfromhome.blogspot.com

Top 10 Social Media Blogs: The 2011 Winners!

Social media is a big subject. If you’re looking for some reliable places to go for the best tips and social media tactics, look no further!

Our second-annual contest generated more than 300 nominations. Our panel of social media experts carefully reviewed the nominees and finalists, analyzing the quality of their content, the frequency of posts and reader involvement (among other things).

The following are the winners of Social Media Examiner’s Top 10 Social Media Blogs for 2011.

If you’re looking to master all that social media has to offer, these rich blogs need to be at the top of your reading list.

1. Brian Solis: The grand master of social media, Brian is one of the web’s leading social media evangelists and his blog is required reading for businesses.

TopRank: This popular blog, the brainchild of Lee Odden, provides exceptional social media advice and should be one of your daily destinations.

Convince & Convert: Jay Baer’s Convince & Convert provides outstanding content for businesses seeking to embrace social media. This is the second year Jay has made our list.

Six Pixels of Separation: Mitch Joel offers consistent and thought-provoking content delivered with personality.

Social Media Explorer: This blog, from Jason Falls, provides excellent perspective on the current state of social media and should be a regular stop for serious social media marketers. This is the second year Jason has made our list.

Brand Builder: For businesses looking to dive deep into social media discussion, check out Olivier Blanchard’s rich insights. This is the second year Olivier has made our list.

Spin Sucks: Gini Dietrich’s blog takes a look at social media from a PR perspective. Check her site out!

Danny Brown: Danny Brown’s blog examines the human side of social media with rich content and insights.

The Anti-Social Media: For something completely unique, check out Jay Dolan’s satirical blog on the state of social media.

BrandSavant: This unique blog from Tom Webster combines a great intellect with with common sense, giving it an edge.

Congratulations to the winners. Be sure to check out these amazing blogs!

• Reference/Source: socialmediaexaminer.com By Michael Stelzner

Be Ready for: Top 10 Social Media Blogs 2011

We received over 330 nominations for our second-annual Top 10 Social Media Blogs contest (the blogosphere’s biggest contest for social media blogs).

The list of 23 finalists is pretty impressive! Take a look for yourself below.

The Judges: Our judges include David Armano (Edelman), Debbie Weil (author, The Corporate Blogging Book) and Rick Calvert (CEO, BlogWorld). They are currently finishing up their reviews of these sites.

Here are the finalists (in alphabetical order):

• Anti Social Media
• Brand Builder
• BrandSavant
• Brian Solis
• Convince & Convert
• DannyBrown
• Grow: Marketing. Social Media. Humanity
• Kikolani
• Kommein
• Mack Collier
• Mark Oborn’s eMarketing
• Michael Brandvold
• Pushing Social
• Reel SEO
• Ricardo Bueno
• Six Pixels of Separation
• Social Media Explorer
• Social Fresh
• SocialMouths
• Social Penguin
• Spin Sucks
• StormDriver
• TopRank

How We’ll Pick the Winners

1. Initial qualification: A blog must have a strong social media focus, must have been nominated multiple times by multiple individuals and must be regularly updated. If someone nominated more than one blog, only the first nomination was counted.

2. Final winner selection:

* Quality of posts: Our judges will examine and score the quality of posts on each blog. Educational and discussion-spurring posts are more valuable than self-promoting posts (55% of decision).
* Frequency of posts: Blogs that feature multiple posts per week will score higher. This is a sign of the blogger’s commitment to blogging (15%).
* Reader involvement: Blogs that have regular comments from readers are another sign of a healthy blog. In addition, the numbers of nominations for a specific blog play a part in this (15%).
* Blog ranking: The number of other blogs that link to the nominated blog shows the value of the content (15%). We’ll use accepted third-party blog ranking systems for this portion of the score.

Congratulations to the finalists! We’ll announce the winners here soon!

• Reference/Source: socialmediaexaminer.com by By Michael Stelzner

10 Most Misspelled Words in Blogs

Ok, so technically the following words aren’t misspelled. They’re misused. The reason you should review this list is because a spell checker won’t correct these for you. Make sure that you’ve got foolproof control over them (especially if you tend to write around 3:12 AM like I am now). Extensively misusing them throughout your posts may actually cost you a visitor or two every now and then because some folks do get caught up on these, which means they won’t focus 100 % of their attention on your incredibly valuable content!

1. Your - You’re
As mentioned above, your message might lose impact if you’re not paying attention to this number one word maltreatment. If you find it particularly difficult to separate them from each other, stop using ‘you’re’ altogether and notice how you are starting to improve your spelling.

2. Then - Than
The next step is then to tell yourself that it’s better late than never to get that vowel placement in order. Then your readers might find something more useful to comment on than your apparent spelling impediment.

3. Its - it’s
It’s best to write an article and its words properly for optimal reader engagement. Again, if you still fail to tell the difference without effort, just write how great it is not having to worry about misusing or misspelling words.

4. To - Too - Two
To write two posts per day, or not to write two posts per day. That too is the question.

5. Were - Where - We’re
Where in the world were you? We were at Billy’s and we’re staying for another day. Make sure your blog visitors do that too.

6. There - Their - They’re
They’re moving their cursor over there. By focusing more attention on proper word use, your visitors won’t highlight and pinpoint your mistakes.

7. A - An - And
A flawlessly written article serves as an eye-opener and should provide lasting value. Remember also that an abbreviation like SUV starts with a vowel pronunciation and requires an ‘an’ in front of it.

8. Off - Of
Of all the mistakes you could prevent from appearing, start off by checking out this common mix up. You should have paid attention at school when they told you not to write ’should of’. Or off your visitors go.

9. Here - Hear
Hear ye! Hear ye! Here is a blog worth reading. You can almost hear the distant clicks of new visitors finding their way over here this very moment.

10. Lose - Loose
But if you’re too loose on your writing discipline, you will end up losing those readers after a while. You’d have a bolt loose if you don’t apply these 10 writing rules from now on with greater care. You win some and you don’t lose anyone.

• Reference/Source: theprobabilist.com by The Probabilist