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I have started blogging, and I am new. I thought it would be as easy as write, post, and receive comments; but I haven't received any comments and in fact I wonder if my blog is visible at all. I want to know how I can be effective as well as affective as a blogger, and be seen. I'd like help with this issue. Please advise me as to what is I am
The blog I need help with is got2bhelene.wordpress.com.
Whoops... I accidentally submitted my question without finishing my last sentence, and I cannot figure out how to fix this error. Is there no way to edit once submitted. I meant to say please advise me as to what I need to do, not what I am:).
Let me give you an example: I have seven blogs, and the normal ratio of hits to comments is 700 to 1. How many hits have you had?
The best site for advice on increasing your visibility is http://onecoolsitebloggingtips.com/ where the tips are all WordPress.com-specific.
There is no way to edit posts in the forum.
@got2bhelene...Ok I took a look at your site and one big thing I noticed is that is that you don't seem to be adding TAGS to any of your posts.
TAGS are words that help others find your blogs when they do a "search" so they can play an important part in people finding you. It's kind of like playing word association.
TAGS are easy to include. When you create a NEW POST if you look to the right of your screen you will see an option there that says POST TAGS. It has a drop down menu if you click on the little arrow. When that opens up you can type in the TAGS you want in the ADD NEW TAGS box for that topic then click ADD.
When TAGGING try to use common words that others might use when searching. EXAMPLE: If your blogging about school you might TAG with words like, kids, school, education, children, teachers, learning, studies, books, tests, etc...each one increases your chance of being found.
You can also TAG with what I call 'hot tags'...these are not words that are really associated but will aid in finding you...such as blog, blogging, new, news, wordpress, posts etc.
Thats the basics....and it should help some. If you need more help you can visit http://www.theguppypond.wordpress.com
It is a site I created to help "newbies" learn the in's and out's here at wordpress in plain and easy to understand english. It's a walkthrough that shows you what to do and lets you ask specific question on each topic.
:) good luck...
Uh, adding tags which do not relate to the content of your post can get your blog removed from the Global Tag pages. It's a VERY bad idea. Do not do it.
True Rain but tags such as the ones I listed as "hot tags" are related just not specific.
I did not mean that if your writing a post about "fishing" that you should tag it with things like shoes, shopping, laundry etc. but adding the tags, blogging, new, wordpress, posts ect, would be related, would they not?
No, they would not; they would subject your blog to suspension from the Global Tag pages and hugely hurt it. Only choose tags/categories that relate to the subject matter of the post.
The tips here may be of help:
http://support.wordpress.com/getting-more-views-and-traffic/
@got2bhelene
If you haven't done so yet I recommend that you verify ownership of your blog with the big 3 search engines using the instructions found here. > http://en.support.wordpress.com/webmaster-tools/ I also recommend that you bookmark the link for the support documentation as you are bound to be using it frequently.
Attracting readers and receiving comments are related issues. What's important to grasp is that "build it and they will come" is a fallacy. If you want to increase readers and receive comments, as we all do, then you must be sure your content is being indexed and comment, comment, comment on other blogs in the same niche.
In blogging interesting content is the main attractor: content is king and marketing is queen. If you write high quality original content and promote it then the result may be an increase in organic traffic and comments, or not. If it’s not easy to locate your content in search engines then there will be no increase in new traffic. Thus, what determines success is two things: whether or not your content is found; and whether or not the readers who do find it become subscribers.
To attract an initial traffic flow that will hopefully convert into regular readers and subscribers who do comment, new bloggers who already have good writing skills and interesting content to blog about need to focus on:
There are 10 standard tips to gain traffic and comments. :
I am an experienced blogger with a blog that has authority in it's niche and a credible PageRank. My blog is aimed at learning how to blog, becoming a better blogger, building a better blog, and effective blog promotion. As posting an active link to my own blog here may be perceived as shamelessly promoting my own blog in support threads, I won't do that. You can click my username, if you wish to find my blog.
Best wishes for happy blogging. :)
How would the tag "blogging" not be related? Every single post could be tagged blogging because that is what you are doing while writing that post. Anyways, I don't know a whole lot about blogging but I like to just hang out around the showcase forums and when people ask for a blog to read I post my link. I've met some cool people this way. I think the number one thing you have to remember is that IT WILL TAKE TIME. Don't expect your blog to blow up over night. You have to develop a reader base and then keep growing it slowly. Good luck with your blog. Check out mine if you want.
@rain...ok I will admit you are confusing me here a bit. I understand what you are saying about making tags "related" but I honestly don't see why if when I write a "new" blog on WP, the following tags would not be "related"...new, blog, blogging, WordPress or posts even if that blog is about "shopping"
My reasoning here is this...It IS a "new" "blog" that I am "blogging" on "wordpress" and then "posting"....so all of those tags relate. So why then would any of them jepordize my blog on the Global Tag Pages?
I am not trying to pick a fight here...I REALLY do want to understand this.
~~ waving to raincoaster
I see a discussion above on subject of interest to me as both a blogger and as a librarian ie. relevant tagging
Tags and categories are treated exactly the same way bey search engines. They are index terms (keywords and phrases) used to index and retrieve data with. Whether you choose to use one or the other or both is up to you. But if you do use them be sure that they are relevant or your blog will stand to suffer the negative consequences of being booted out of the wordpress.com global tagging pages, and the wrath of Google. See > http://en.support.wordpress.com/posts/categories-vs-tags/
Loosely speaking Categories are like the Chapter titles in a Table of Contents of a book. Tags are like the index terms that are found in the back pages of a book. Both are based on keywords or keyword phrases that naturally occur in any language when spoken or written.
Whenever you get confused about Categories and Tags pretend you are in a library looking for a book on a specific topic. Ask yourself this: What words would I use to find the correct book on that topic in that library catalog?
Change the word "book" to blog and you will know how to find a blog on any specific topic by typing keywords into a search engine and getting back the results.
Imagine you are in a library and some lame brained librarian was assigning a huge lot of categories and tags to books that did not accurately reflect their contents. You would be running around in circles trying to locate truly relevant books.
More is not better if "more" amounts to adding irrelevant Categories and Tags because the result will be worse placement for your blog in the SERPs (search engine results).
The rule of thumb is to assign as few Categories and Tags as possible that accurately pinpoint the content in the post. When you assign a minimal number of relevant categories and tags to a post you are selecting the keywords that you think other people would type into a search engine and find your blog with. They are important. Choose them carefully and do not overuse them. http://en.support.wordpress.com/global-tags/
@Hanni
Thanks for moving this thread. :)
@Time
Thank You. Once again I have read everything you said and then checked out the links you offered and read what they had to say before coming back here to follow up with a comment.
I fully understand the need to be "relevant'" when tagging a post and I agree that "over tagging" is not a good thing. In reading from the information you suggested I found that they suggest 5 to 10 tags or categories or a combination of both is what is recommended and I think that is great advise. (I don't always make that limit but I do try)
I think where the main issue is, is in understanding what is and isn't a "relevant" tag. Words can have relevance without being specific and vise versa. Just because your blogging about a specific subject the inclusion of tags that aren't specific, but still relevant (and within limits) should increase the chances of other finding you.
Like me for example, when I "tag" I generally include the words, new blog (or post), wordpress, and blogging along with some very specific tags and I have found personally that it generates a pretty steady stream of visitors to my sites considering how new they are. While I am no where near the level you may be at, I have seen a steady increase so I feel like it's working.
I was not suggesting that "got2" go crazy and tag like a maniac, I was just pointing out that NO tags could be part of the problem she has. Like everyone else that is new here, it's learn by trial and error. If you do it and it works well...keep it up, if it tanks...find another solution to try.
@tfockler60
My comments above are addressed to the party who posted this thread ie. got2bhelene
It's also my opinion that your comments are not helpful.
@ time
LOL...oh my goodness.
Please clearly indicate then who your speaking it will greatly help in avoiding confusion when multilple people have posted comments.
As for "your" opinon of my comments well you know what they say about opinions. :)
It's amusing when the "self proclaimed" professionals get testy over being "thanked" for something. Don't worry I won't do it again. And you can just bypass any questions I might post in the future I really don't want to upset you.
@tfockler60
Only bloggers who make an income from their blogging refer to themselves as "professional" bloggers. I don't make an income from blogging and have never proclaimed myself to be a professional blogger. So your accusation is false and your need to believe that you have what it takes to upset me in any way, shape or form is laughable.
lol clearly the fact you felt the need to respond yet again after I indicated you no longer need to bother, clearly says I have upset you so your assertion is false.
I never said you were a professional, clearly you're not (just my opinion), but then you do seem to have difficulty deciphering the subtleties of "intended meaning" and "literal meaning".
Oh well... this is no longer worth my time. Best of luck to you and happy blogging.
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got2bhelene
hanni
