How I moved up 300 spots in AdAge’s Power 150 in 4 months
First off I would like to say that I do not blog for fame or fortune. I don’t think having a high ranking blog is ever a means to an end. But gaining greater exposure to you content can help meet many a marketing goal. I have said in the past that I blog for three main reason:
- I believe that blogging makes you smarter. I would continue to blog if no one ever read this blog. Believe me that there were many times when it really felt like that.
- I learned so much from all of you and all of the blogs I read that blogging is my small attempt to give a little something back. It’s with that intent that I share this post.
- By learning what works here on this blog I am able to apply that in my work.
When I started this blog I signed it up for the AdAge Power 150 list not with any hopes of having a high ranking but mostly because I could (so can you if you have a marketing focused blog). The name of the list is a little misleading, there are actually almost 1,000 blogs. If you’re not familiar with the 150 you can get the back story and methodology here. I’d like to point out that there are many great blogs ranked lower than this one that I think are far better. There are also many, many blogs not even listed on the 150 that would crush mine if they were on the list.
Just give me the goods
Don’t want to read this long post but just want my tips? Here they are.
- Blog 3 times a day or close to it
- Use the right tools
- Find a network and engage
Blogging 3 times a day
One of my New Years goals (I don’t really do resolutions) was to blog much more often. I try and blog every day, multiple times a day if I can. But I don’t kill myself trying to do it.
This was the first trick to moving my blog up the ranking. since I first added my blog to the Power 150 this blog was always listed in the 400′s somewhere. (As of this writing I’m at 148. Who knows how long that will last.) Technorati’s State of the Blogosphere found that one thing all of the top blogs had in common was that, on average, they post at least 3 times a day.
What’s funny about that is that 3 times a day has been the Golden Rule of blogging forever. It’s considered the magic number for SEO and it appears to be the magic number for attracting readers.
I don’t have time to do 3 huge posts a day. Honestly I don’t average 3 posts a day and there are many, many successful blogs that only post a few times a week. But if you’re wanting to make your blog better, blogging more often makes you a better writer and keeps people coming back.
Using the right tools
Like I said, I don’t have time for 3 long blog posts a day. Instead I try to throw out several short posts a day and a few longer ones each week. As I’m reading all the various blogs and news each morning, I come across articles that I find particularly interesting and I feel I have some value added thoughts to add. I use the ScribeFire blog editor to grab a link and some quoted text, I add my thoughts (be it what they may) then use Zemanta to add images, links and some related posts then hit post. The whole processs takes about 10 minutes on average.
ScribeFire lets me post quick short posts as I’m reading inspiring material. Zemanta allows me to quickly add all the extra stuff that makes a post a little extra special. Zemanta is also a valuable tool for gaining links, helping me discover other similar blogs and help my blog get discovered on other blogs by adding my posts to the related articles suggestions.
These are the tools that work for me but it’s important to find the ones that work for you.
Find a community and engage
This one ranks second only to having valuable content. One could argue that it is just as important for having a successful blog because if people can’t find your great content then it won’t matter.
I blog a lot about Twitter because I think it’s super cool. I also blog about it because it has by far been the highest value community I’ve been involved in. By being as engaged as I have been with Twitter it has allowed me to meet some wonderful people, share stuff I find cool and allow me to promote my own blog in the process.
Social networks are the #1 source of traffic to my blog. That’s a huge difference from last year. Last year Google was the main source of traffic. This year of all the social networks, Twitter is the main source of traffic.
Weather it’s Twitter, FriendFeed, a network of your favorite blogs, an email distribution list, whatever; get engaged, comment, share.
Beyond even that the main value I get out of being engaged on Twitter is the feedback. The community involvement makes me not just a better blogger but also a better marketer.
Final Thoughts
Much of my progress has corresponded with AdAge’s updates as they’ve tried to make their algorithms better. It’s also important to note that these tips work now but it’s ever evolving. I think these core tipss will always be fundamental but how you apply them will vary from blog to blog and as this space adjusts.
Happy blogging.
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