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I have a website hosted on WordPress.com, online at http://interrace.wordpress.com.
I'd like to get a .com or other domain name for the website, and find out how to be able to put ads on the website as well.
Is there a page somewhere that would give step-by-step instructions on how to do this for people very new to using WordPress and new to the process?
Thank you.
In a nutshell no blogger initiated advertising, retailing or reselling the work created or services provided by anyone other than yourself is allowed on free hosted wordpress.COM blogs. E-commerce transactions via shopping carts and the like cannot be conducted on free blogs from and being free hosted by wordpress.COM
The advertising exceptions noted in support documentation are for high traffic blogs that qualify for and are accepted into the Ad Control program, and for extremely high traffic blogs that qualify and are accepted into the paid VIP hosting program.
http://vip.wordpress.com/
Reference links:
http://en.support.wordpress.com/suspended-blogs/
http://wordpress.com/types-of-blogs/
http://en.support.wordpress.com/advertising/
http://en.wordpress.com/tos/
There is no upgrade that you can purchase that will allow blogger initiated ads on a free hosted WordPress.com blog. The domain mapping entry makes that clear here.
If you do require an ecommerce site, advertising and/or affiliate links you can hire a web host and get a free software install from http://wordpress.org Refer to > http://support.wordpress.com/com-vs-org/
WOAH! You need to read these support documentation entries as you are overusing Tags/Categories. The rule of thumb is less is more. That means you use the least combined number of relevant combined categories and tags on any post.
Global Tags - Missing Posts
wordpress.com search - Missing Posts
TimeThief,
Can you please elaborate on these two points you bring up so I can understand a bit more fully?
On the first part, about running ads on a WordPress.com website...can I sell an e-book I wrote on a WordPress.com hosted website? The other point I don't quite get is, if I wanted to run ads on the website or if I wanted to sell an e-book I wrote, would I go to WordPress.org or somebody like GoDaddy.com to set it up? I love WordPress.com hosting but I'm wondering if ads would be beneficial and I'd like to use other plug-ins to try to boost traffic.
While on the same topic, is it permitted to have a WordPress.com website offering one's services, like a portfolio website or dating coach or tutoring website?
The other thing about the tags: I figured the more tags I used the more people would find my articles and links, since one of the tags should "hit" what they're searching for. So I guess to better grasp that I need to click on the "global tags-missing posts" link after your comment.
Thank you for your help and I'm sorry not to know more about this, but I'm still learning.
can I sell an e-book I wrote on a WordPress.com hosted website?
Yes however, free hosted WordPress.com blogs cannot be equipped for ecommerce trnactions. You may post an unencrypted PayPal donation button and/or a contact form.
I love WordPress.com hosting but I'm wondering if ads would be beneficial and I'd like to use other plug-ins to try to boost traffic.
There is no FTP access to wordpress.com blogs and we cannot install individual plugins into them. They are only for use on WordPress.org installs.
Overuse of tags is called spamdexing and can negatively affect the positioning of your blog in search engine results.
I also find the idea that plugins can generate traffic to a site to be somewhat amusing. There are no shortcuts when it comes to increasing organic (unpaid) traffic to a blog.
Here are 25 basic steps to take to increase traffic to your blog:
1. Structure a reader and search engine blog;
2. In blogging content is king create unique, high quality content so publish fresh content frequently;
3. Learn basic SEO so you can use keywords effectively and apply basic SEO to your headlines, blog and posts;
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the visibility of a website or a web page in search engines via the "natural" or un-paid ("organic" or "algorithmic") search results.
4. Make your blog posts look professional;
5. Create at least 4-6 pillar posts and continue to create pillar posts;
Pillar posts are also referred to as flagship content. Pillar posts are comprehensive posts that offer great value to readers as the contents are timeless in nature. They define you as having authority in the niche you blog in.
6. Select and link to appropriate anchor text;
7. Leave meaningful comments on related blogs and encourage comments on your own blog;
8. Develop relationships with other bloggers so you can build a blog readers’ community around your own blog;
9. Support the blog centered communities on related blogs by commenting on them and promoting posts from them;
10. Link to authoritative sources in your posts;
11. Deep link to your earlier related posts in your new posts;
12. Assign appropriate categories and tag your posts with care;
13. Link to related authoritative blogs in your blogroll;
14. Provide RSS feeds for subscribers;
RSS (Rich Site Summary or really simple syndication) is a format for delivering regularly changing web content. Many news-related sites, weblogs and other online publishers syndicate their content as an RSS Feed to whoever wants it.
15. Having a well designed theme is important, evaluate your theme for effectiveness, and if required, create a new header, make improvements or replace your theme and reduce page loading time;
16. Avoid cluttering your blog with widgets that lack reader value and slow page loading time;
17. Buy your own domain and domain mapping;
18. Verify your blog with the three big search engines.
19. Get organized, use an online to do list by developing a blogging workflow;
20. Join social networks and social media sites like Facebook and use Twitter, Friendfeed and other Free RSS directories to promote your blog posts;
21. Promote your blog through social networks, online groups, and selected directories;
22. Develop a social media time management strategy and stick to it;
23. Submit your latest pillar article to a blog carnival;
24. Become a guest blogger on sites with higher page rank than your own site.
25. Create newsletters and/or ebooks for your subscribers.
Obviously, I need to read alot more about tags (since I always thought the more tags the better not the reverse was true) and how they work and read through your answers more.
But I've learned alot from your comments, so please accept my appreciation for your time and effort.
Hi again David,
I frequently hear from new bloggers that they have been told "the more tags - the better". However, if you think about it then suppose you were in a library looking for a book on the specific topic and the librarian had assigned a huge whack of barely related tags to the book. You would spend days hunting through all those locations on shelves trying to find the book you wanted on the subject you wanted. Basically assigning a categories and tags to posts is like cataloging books. The least combined number of relevant categories and tags one assigns to them the more discoverable (not less) they become. Here's a good forum thread on effective assignment of Categories and Tags. You're most welcome and best wishes for happy blogging. :)
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