Taking Care of All Your Content Writing Needs! - Page 3 of 3 - This site provides guides, infromative articles, and how to articles on making money online niche.

Make Money Blogging: Start a Self-hosted WordPress Blog in 2022

April 4, 2022September 27, 2018 by Mary Peter

Are you looking for a beginner’s guide on how to start a self-hosted WordPress blog and make money blogging in 2019? Here’s an incredible step by step guide to help you start a blog and make money blogging. Using this guide, you can comfortably create a blog that will make your life turn around through great earnings if you do it as guided here.

I have realized that many writers have a passion to earn more. So, they opt to start a self-hosted WordPress blog to make money blogging. But how many bloggers make money blogging? Is it all about creating a blog and assuming that all is said and done? No! There are many things bloggers need to do before they can start to make money blogging. Such include optimizing the blog, optimizing the content, and marketing products and services to get a commission (affiliate marketing) among others.

This article will help you to create a blog, create content and optimize it, and guide you on how to make money blogging. Before I take you through on how to start a self-hosted WordPress blog to make money blogging, there are a few questions you need to answer to determine if you are ready for a blog:

In The Actual Sense, Do You Need a Blog and Do You Have Time to Blog?

You have read stories of many successful bloggers who make money blogging; some making up to six figures per month, and you’ve decided to start a blog, but in the actual sense, do you need a blog? There are so many things you need to put into consideration before you can decide to make money blogging by creating a blog.

One thing you need to consider is your passion for writing. Can you spend hours writing content? Well, if you have no passion for writing, can you hire a great writer to write quality content for you regularly so that you can make money blogging?

If none of the above favors you, then you need to dump the idea of creating a blog as soon as now! Why? Even if your only purpose of having a blog is to market your services and goods, you need content to describe your product, explain how to use it, and the like. Again, if you are hiring a writer, you need to know what quality content is all about so that you will be in a position to identify if the content your writer is producing is quality or poor.

Also, you need to update your blog regularly. So, whether you are to do it all by yourself or to hire a writer, you must ensure that your blog is updated periodically. How often? At least once a week would be fine but if you can do more than that, then the better especially if your blog is new. You can even create a calendar for your blogging so that you will not miss blogging if you really want to make money blogging.

Avoid this one mistake I see bloggers doing; failing to update the blog with content. And if they do, the content is poor and very short. Take your time and write informative, long content so that it can be as detailed as possible.

One thing that some bloggers will not tell you is that blogging is time-consuming. Once you have started it, you need to work hard and sacrifice a lot of time to update it.

Did we say you need to blog regularly? Yes!

That means there are things you will have to lay down if they are unnecessarily consuming much of your time. Use that time to write, publish and update your blog. That’s not all. If your blog has some traffic, and several people are leaving comments and asking questions, you’ll need to set time to respond to those comments.

In short, you can’t make money blogging if you don’t have time for the blog even if you are able to produce great content. However, if you’ve time to blog, and have a passion for writing great content or can hire a qualified writer, then you qualify to start a blog and make money blogging.

Which Niche Do You Want to Blog About?

Now that you want to make money blogging, what are you going to blog about? To adequately answer this question, you could try to answer this one; how many bloggers do you see publishing content daily? How many of them attract traffic? By answering these questions, you will know that not all content is useful however informative it may be. And not all informative content may be helpful to your readers.

With that, you need to do a lot of research to determine the various blog types that bloggers make money blogging? Get to know if you can blog in the same niche they blog about. Don’t stop there, consider if you have unique points in that niche so that you beat them and rank in Google search engine.

Consider if you have solutions for people in the niche you want to blog about. If you can’t solve people’s problems, and if people can’t get the information they need on your blog, then, there is no need to start a self-hosted WordPress blog.

Take it this way; a doctor report to his office every morning wearing his white coat fully armed with every tool he needs to take care of all his patients. However, when a patient explains his miseries, the doctor has no idea on how to go about it. He can barely treat the patient or advice the patient on the right medicine to take. And if he prescribes the drug for the patient, he prescribes the wrong medication. What do you think will happen by the end of the day?

Patients will look for other clinics to get treatment, and sooner than you think, that clinic will have to close its doors. In the same way, if your blog cannot give the right information and solve readers’ problems, nobody will take the time to revisit it.

You should also do enough research to know if the niche you want to dive into has many readers. Do people love reading articles on that niche? Do those who blog in that line have many followers? If not, then, be sure, you may not be an exception. There is much to do and think about before you can finally decide to start a self-hosted WordPress blog.

Now, it’s time to come up with a good name for your blog.

Do You Have a Suitable Name for Your Self-hosted WordPress Blog?

I thought it would be easy to come up with a name for my blog until when I realized that all the names I wanted were not available. It took me more than thirty minutes to come up with a good name for my blog. So, how do you go about it especially when someone has taken the name you so dearly want?

Here are a few tips to help you;

Firstly, don’t use a name that is too complicated and difficult for people to remember. This is a mistake I had done when naming my free blog. I did not know it was complicated until one day someone told me the name is too long to remember.

Let your name be short and easy enough for somebody else to remember. Remember, you don’t want your visitors to have difficulty recalling the name of that excellent blog they had visited the previous day, right? Therefore, make it easy for the old and the young to remember the name of your site. And you’ll see how fast you can make money blogging once you start a self-hosted WordPress blog that has a simple name.

Secondly, let the name agree with the motive for starting your self-hosted WordPress blog. Since you now have a niche you want to blog about, come up with a name that relates to that niche. For example; if you want to blog about cooking recipes, your blog name should be something like; “The Ideal Recipes.”

However, it is crucial to note that we are in a race. Competition is the norm of every business. You, therefore, must look for a simple, easy to remember ,but also UNIQUE name.

What if you have no specific niche you want to blog about?

Why not use your name as your blog name? That too is a great idea. That is what I decided to do so that I could make money blogging on anything I wanted.

So, now that you have a name for your blog, you are now ready to start a blog and make money blogging.

Get a Web Hosting and Start a Self-Hosted WordPress Blog

Now, when starting a blog, you need a name for your blog which we call a domain name. It should go for only $10 annually. You also need a web hosting that allows your blog to be visible online.

In the case of web hosting, the prices vary depending on the company you want to host your blog. I suggest you use Site Ground, Blue Host or HostGator. All these hosts are termed to be good, and they are quick to respond in case of any hosting issues. I use Site Ground since they are also affordable.

Also, I would recommend you use “.com” over” .ke,” “.Uk,” and the like. For example, I use mary-peter.com instead of mary-peter.ke for my self-hosted WordPress blog.

Now, choose the hosting you want. I will mainly focus on Site Ground since that is what I use. If you are starting and need an individual hosting, I recommend you use the startup option.

Next, click on “Get started” and choose a domain. Type the name you want in the space provided.

Once you type the domain name you need press enter key. They will notify you if the name is available or in use. If the domain is available, then you proceed to the next step, if it is not, they will give you some names that you can choose.

For example, in my case above I wanted my domain name to be “ProWriter,” but it was not available. Instead, they gave me three options, and I did not want either so I tried another domain name, “thesuperbwriters” which was available. So, if you still aren’t content with the options they are giving, type another domain until you get a name you feel comfortable using. Once you get a good name, scroll down to the purchase dialogue box.

I believe that your plan will still be selected for you.

Just scroll down unless you want to change to another plan. Now, fill in the information in the “Purchase Information” dialogue box.

State the period of hosting you opt to use.

If you believe that SiteGround is the best web hosting service provider, you can go for the hosting price of 12, 24 or 36 months. For a start, I suggest 12 months. However, if you are not sure if their hosting services are excellent, you can go for the “one month trial” option.

Now, scroll down and enter payment information. Be sure to enter the right details so that you will not have trouble later.

Once you confirm that all the information you have given is okay, check the “I agree to the terms of service and privacy policy of site” box. Finally (hoping you have enough amount in your account), click on pay now. Note, the total price indicated below is for the “one month trial” option.

It is time to install WordPress. One good thing with Site Ground and some other web hosting service providers like HostGator is, you can ask them to install WordPress for you. They will do it in less than five minutes. You can also choose to follow one of the various ways of installing WordPress in the self-hosted WordPress blog. However, there is nothing complicated in installing a WordPress; you can do it by downloading the software and following the steps given.

Once you have successfully installed the WordPress, choose a design that you feel comfortable using. The design is what we refer to as a theme. I highly suggest you use the “Maskitto Light” theme if you are going for a free theme. Why “Maskitto Light” theme? It is easy, and a beginner can easily and comfortably use it.

No need to worry about the best theme you should use after you start a self-hosted WordPress blog. Just choose any that you think is okay. In case you don’t like it, you can always change it. Now, to choose a theme, login to your WordPress Adm., and enter your username or email, and your password. If you share your computer with nobody, you can check the, “Remember me” box to allow it to save your password.

However, computers get stolen, and the thief can have quick access to your site (God forbid) if you have saved the password. Therefore, it is important to enter your details each time you log in.

Move to the dashboard and hover over “Appearance” then click on “Themes.” Next, click on, “Add New.” As we have said, you can choose “Maskitto Light” theme or any other you wish. Now, click on, “Install.” After that, activate your theme by finally clicking on “Activate” button.

Great! You now have your self-hosted WordPress blog. You need to stand out from the crowd, right? Get down to customizing your site.

Get Your Blog Looking Good By Customizing It

It is time to customize your blog so that it looks professional and attractive, and also make it fit your needs. You will need to customize things like color, menus, the widgets, the site identity and the like.

You don’t have to be afraid, thinking you will mess up with the new WordPress blog, no. There’s a preview section on the right that allows you to see every change you make. Now, click on the primary category which is “Site identity.”

You need an identity, right?

You cannot escape that. Once you start a self-hosted WordPress blog, add a blog name. You can also choose a tagline. For example, I used “Mary Peter as my site name, and my tagline is, “The Blogger You Can Trust.” You should “save and publish” every new change you make to ensure you don’t lose the changes after logging out.

Optimize Your Site to Rank on Google Search Engine

Once you start a self-hosted WordPress blog, you need to let the world know. After all, you cannot make money blogging if people are not visiting your site. Let them see the site so that they can visit the self-hosted WordPress blog. You do this by optimizing your website/blog. Bloggers make money blogging by optimizing their sites excellently.

You cannot optimize your site poorly and expect to earn from it. After optimizing your website, people will see your site, they will read your posts, and some will follow you while others will become daily visitors to your site. That sounds great. Okay!

At least you need to know how to create an “About me page,” “Home page,” and “Contact page,” when starting. You must know that it is not an easy thing to do, but you must do it once you start a self-hosted WordPress blog. Remember you are trying to get people to visit your site and not mine. I also work hard daily to make sure people read my blog posts and not yours. It is ridiculous, but it is the truth we can’t deny.

So, put enough effort into this optimizing part to emerge top on the search engine.

All thanks to “Yoast plugin” for making optimizing easy for you. If there’s a plugin that is essential, helpful, and friendly is “Yoast SEO.” It is one thing that has made blogging easy and enjoyable for me. Why? Yoast SEO analyzes your site/posts and shows you what you need to improve.

For example; Yoast SEO notifies you when you use passive voice in your blog posts. It also indicates what percentage you have used it, and you can further check which sentences contain the passive voice since it can highlight them. You can even know how many times you have used the keyword and if there’s a need to add or lower the keywords.

That’s awesome, right? Don’t miss the benefits. Download and install the Yoast SEO plugin and see how optimizing becomes so easy. So, how do you go about installing the Plugin? Once again, on the dashboard, move the mouse and hover over the plugin. Select “Add new” on the search bar. Search for “Yoast SEO” plugin and once you find it, install the plugin by clicking on the “install” button. Remember to activate it by clicking on the “Activate” button.

Are you worried that you don’t know how to use Yoast SEO plugin? Don’t worry; you will learn to use it to optimize your articles later in this post.

Once you have all your pages intact, it is time to add the engaging, well researched and original content.

Come Up With Incredible Topics

Now, this will also cost you plenty of time since you need to do a lot of research. You can’t start a blog and make money blogging on anything. No! Remember, we said that you must decide what to blog about before you start a self-hosted WordPress blog. It is now time to come up with a topic that will beat the new bloggers as well as the gurus.

After all, that’s how you get to rank on the Google search engine. You start by coming up with topics you can comfortably write about. One thing that has made it easy for me to get ideas/topics to blog about is the fact that I love learning new things.

Again, when I started blogging, I did not have much knowledge of what was expected of me so that I rank. So, the first thing I wanted to know is how to optimize my pages/sites for ranking. So, I got another topic to blog about; 9 Ways to Optimize Your Articles for Google In 2018.

I could practice everything I learned to be sure everything I wrote was correct and useful. You see, you make money blogging what you have learned and implemented. That’s how the whole process ends up being fun. Now, once you have created your content, ensure it is free of any grammatical errors. And in case you don’t know how to write and format your articles, this article will help you out.

Also, make sure there is no issue of plagiarism. Plagiarism can cause Google to penalize your site.

Avoid it at all cost. Format your piece so that it looks excellent and professional. Once you are comfortable with everything in the content, you need to publish it.

So, how do you go about publishing content on your blog and optimizing it?

Publishing Your First Content

First, log in as an administrator so that you can post your content.

Now, since you have just created a new blog and have not published any blog post, you need to know that there is a default post that you will find in the “posts” section. You don’t need it. Don’t feel guilty when deleting it.

Again, you don’t want it to be seen on your blog when you publish your new post on the self-hosted WordPress blog. Whoops! I didn’t know this when I created my free blog. Somebody had to tell me to delete it. The free blog was a stepping stone though.

It is time to publish your content.

On the dashboard, click on “Posts” and select “Add new.” On the Editor’s screen that appears, you can start by entering in the title in the space where you are instructed to enter the post title.

Make sure the Keyword exist in the title so that your URL has a keyword too. I recommend you have the keyword in the first 3-5 words of your (SEO) title.

Copy the content you wrote in Microsoft Word and paste it in the editor’s screen. If you like typing directly on the editor’s screen, start typing.

It is crucial to note that images are a perfect way of conveying the information to people. Some people will read content because of the image they have seen attached to that content.

It’s, therefore, essential to add an excellent, charming image that is relevant to your content. How do you add a picture?

First, ensure that you have downloaded a good image. I prefer getting images from pixabay.com because they are smart and you can download whatever size you want. So, for free images, I suggest you get them from Pixabay.com.

When saving your image, I advise you give the image a file name that has a keyword. Why is it important to save it using the keyword? You see, the keyword helps Google to know what your image is all about thereby making ranking easy for you.

Now that you have the image, place the cursor where you want your image to appear. Avoid having the cursor at the start/top of your post. Why? If you add a featured image, your post will look horrible since featured images appear at the top of the post. Therefore, find a better place for your image and place the cursor there before you click on “Add media” button. After that, click on “Add Media” button.

Next, click on “upload files” and select the image you need from your storage location. Then click ok. After uploading the image, on the right, you have some fields that are blank. You need to fill them; though not a must you fill all of them. But you should have a title for your image and an “Alt text.” So, ensure you fill these two fields if you don’t want to fill the others.

However, ensure you have the focus keyword in the “title” field and the “alt text” field. This way, you boost your ranking.

After filling these fields and any other you feel necessary, scroll down and center the image. Also, select “full size” option so that the image can fit well in the blog post.

Now, click on “Insert into post” button to apply the changes on the image and to insert it in the content.

You still need another image. This time around is a featured image. This is what you see appearing at the top of the post, or on some home pages. For example in my blog, my home page will show you all the featured images attached to the content.

However, in the case of a featured image, it is good to ensure that all photos are of the same size. Why is it vital to do so? If all your featured images are of the same size, they will look smart and organized. But if they are of different sizes, some will be larger while others will be smaller which doesn’t look professional.

So, decide on the size you will use and always crop all your images to that size. For example, I always crop my images to 643*428. Now, after you have decided on the right size for your featured images crop the image and save.

Go back to your post and click on, “ set featured image” option on your right hand side.

The same dialogue box we had when inserting the previous image will pop-up. Follow the same procedure, but let the size be the one you have decided to use, not full size. You should now see the image on the right hand side like I have shown below.Let’s get back to optimizing our post before we click on the “publish” button. How will you confirm if all things are well optimized? Yoast will always show you. If the color is green, that means you have done it well. Where the color is not green, it shows you need to make some amendment.

So, try as much as you can to have as many green lights as possible. It may be difficult to make everything green, but strive to have at least 80 percent green.

How do you achieve this?

First, scroll down until you see, “Yoast SEO Premium” then click on “Edit Snippet” so that you can now type your “SEO title” and the “slug.” The SEO Title is what you have on your post as the post title, and should be of a good length so that you can have the green light.

Next, write a short Meta description because having it too long will disable the green light, it should also not be too short. You can type until you have the green light. A Meta description is what you see immediately after the title on the search engine. It comes directly after the title.

It explains what your post is about and it contributes a lot by persuading the reader to read the article. You see, if you can persuade many people to read the posts on your self-hosted WordPress blog, you will soon make money blogging.

Therefore, let the meta description be persuasive enough to win the attention of the readers thereby persuading them to click on your page. Your Meta description too should have a keyword. Remember you are optimizing to rank on the search engine. That is why you should include a keyword in the Meta description, the slug, the SEO title, and the image.

Remember not to have the passive voice, long sentences (more than 25 words), plagiarism, and grammatical errors.

By now, you should have at least 80% of green lights.Hoping you have many green lights to boost your ranking, now click on “Preview” before you publish your content. This is vital since it helps to confirm that the blog post is okay since the way it looks in the preview is how it will be once you publish it.

If there are wide spaces between paragraphs, delete them.

If you are comfortable with everything, go ahead and click on the, “publish” button.

Congratulations, your first post is live! But how many people know you have a blog? Maybe your friends, but do they know you have published your first article? Again, once you start a self-hosted WordPress blog, your focus is not only on friends, but the whole world too. Otherwise, it would be difficult to make money blogging if you only wanted your friends to visit your website and not other people. So, what do you do next?

Share Your Blog on Social Media to Make Money Blogging

Once you start a self-hosted Word-press blog, you need to share your post with the world every time you publish an article. Share your post with as many people as you can mostly through Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Twitter.

These are the most prioritized social media platforms. However, you are not limited; you can also share on Google+, Skype, and the like.

Now, you need to know how bloggers make money blogging. Why? Once you start a self-hosted Word-press blog, you don’t want always to spend time producing quality content that earns you nothing. Of course, you want to make money blogging, right?

Make Money Blogging by Monetizing Your Blog

After you start a self-hosted WordPress blog, publishing good content is just one step away from making money blogging especially if you are a great writer. Why? If you share your blog posts widely with the world, and if your content is quality, then, people will hire you to write content for them. However, that is just one way of making money through blogging.

What if you are not a writer, is it possible to start a blog and make money blogging?

Yes, it is!

You can start a self-hosted WordPress blog and make money blogging by selling various products and services. Also, bloggers make money blogging by selling advertising space.

Nevertheless, for a new blog, it is difficult to earn through selling advertising space. Why? People want to advertise in those blogs that are ranking. So, you need to work hard to make your site rank. This way, you will not have to look for advertisers; they will come looking for you to have space to advertise their products and services.

In this case, you will have the privilege of deciding how much you are going to charge them, right? This is why most bloggers make huge amount of money blogging once they start a self-hosted WordPress blog.

For a new blog, I recommend you start by creating an AdSense account so that Google will do the task of finding advertisers for you. Sign up for an ad sense account since it is free. However, your self-hosted WordPress blog must have several posts to qualify. Also, you must be through with setting up of the blog before you signup for an AdSense Google Account.

So, how do you earn from Ad sense? First, you need to know that advertisers pay Google to advertise with them. So, out of what advertisers pay Google, you earn 68% every time a visitor clicks on Ads on your self-hosted WordPress blog. The more the clicks, the higher the pay. Bloggers have many secrets that help them make make money blogging. This is just one of them.

Conclusion

Just as we have discussed, before you can start a self-hosted WordPress blog, be sure you have enough time for it. Be sure of what you want to blog about before you get started. Just like any other business, you need to give your blog time to grow/rank. Bloggers who make money blogging can affirm that it takes time before you can start earning awesomely through blogging.

Do you want to start a self-hosted WordPress blog and make money blogging but you don’t know how to write engaging blog posts? Blogging is what I love most, and I’m willing to help you create blog posts that will rank top on Google search engine.

Do you find it challenging to create a self-hosted blog and need help? Get in touch; we provide excellent web services. We shall build an excellent website/blog for you.

Penalized by Google: Google Will Penalize Your Website in 2018

April 4, 2022August 25, 2018 by Mary Peter

As you strive to have your site on the first pages, it’s crucial to note that Google will penalize your website if you don’t keep up with their guidelines. The consequences of being penalized by Google are painful. They include losing keyword ranking which of course results in loss of visibility in search engines. As a result, your traffic also goes down massively and your earnings too lower.

Google is pleased to have your site rank, but there is a concern on quality, quantity and the like. Therefore, don’t just toil to appear on the first pages, tread carefully so as not to be penalized by Google for violating their rules.

Recently, so many sites were penalized by Google leaving many site owners helpless, frustrated, and annoyed. You don’t have to say you never knew. Here are eight things you need to avoid like a plague.

Broken Links and 404 Errors

Google assumes that every website owner is responsible enough to keep updating his website regularly. That being said all content in your site requires to be updated. The links too should be up to date. Failure to this, your web visitors gets a 404 error and a broken link. As a result; Google automatically assumes you care not about your readers since you don’t update your site content and links.

The results? Google will penalize your website.

How do you remedy this? Keep an eye on Google console to identify any errors that Google has detected on your website. Don’t waste a minute if you find a few there. Correct each of them before it is too late to do so. Another simple way to avoid the 404 errors is by use of screaming frog. Enter the URL of your site, and it will give the status of each page of your website. If a 404 error is displayed, rectify it by either deleting that link, replacing it with another one, or identifying the cause, and amending it immediately.

Duplicating Content

Google has one primary goal, to offer original and quality content to its users. You, therefore, have a role in keeping the content of your site unique as you also work on its quality. While many web users are aware of the consequences of plagiarism, many know not of the effects of content spinning.

Google is also harsh on those who are lazy enough to do research and want to rewrite content from other sites and twisting it to look unique.

The same axe that will deal with any plagiarized pages will also deal with any website that has spun content.

Is there is a remedy? Yes, while sometimes you may be sure that your content is original, it is good, to use tools such as Copyscape, Turnitin, and CopyGator. If you are that web owner who hires content writers, to do the writing for you be sure to scan each page you receive from them.

Google will Penalize Slow Loading Page

A website that loads slowly is frustrating and annoying. Slow speed maybe as a result of too many advertisements, unoptimized images, slow web hosting, and the like. A page that takes more than 4 seconds to load is termed as slow. It is unfortunate that slow loading speed will deprive your site of potential visitors and lower your site ratings.

As a result, Google will penalize your website. After all, who want to take all the time waiting for a page to load while countless sites are loading fast? How do you avoid this? Some of the ways to remedy is adding a caching or using a CDN (Content Delivery Network).

Google Will Penalize Your Website for Stuffing Keywords

Keywords are crucial for content ranking but stuffing them gets you into trouble with Google. The fact is; if you stuff your content with keywords from the introduction to the conclusion just because you want to rank, you will lose your site. This will be another way of telling Google you have nothing to write about and that your content is poor. The result? Google will penalize your website.

The way to avoid stuffing is by ensuring you use less keyword for low word count and more keyword for high word count.

Poor Quality Content

As earlier stated, quality content also matters just like original content does; Google assumes that the more content your site offers, the more quality it is, and the more information it is providing. Again, if your visitors can’t find enough of what they need, they will leave your site and go to other websites for more findings, and details. This way; your rating gets poor, and Google will penalize your website.

You need to find more time to research on what you are writing about, ensure the information you are providing is true Then have it in your website. It is essential to note that if you are persistent in delivering quality content, your readers will become your daily followers and so are your web visitors.

Google too will uphold your hard work by ranking your site.

Misuse of H1 Tags

Well organized work is attractive, increases readability, and show professionalism; that is evident. H1 tag is one way of improving readability. Nevertheless, overusing H1 tags confuses Google, and the next thing is that your site gets penalized by Google.

In my other article, 9 Ways to Optimize Your Articles for Google In 2018, I stated that you must be careful and orderly when using header tags. If your work is quality, and you have done enough research but you fail to organize it appropriately, it will not look appealing to your readers.

Who wants to read such work? No one! Google too hates it. Keep it in mind that, if your page has more than H1 tag, Google will penalize your website.

Mobile Friendliness

With the introduction of mobile phones, many people prefer using them over computers. That is why, Google assumes that if your site is not mobile friendly, it is not valuable. Google, therefore, want all sites to be mobile friendly. People feel more comfortable carrying a mobile phone since it is lighter and smaller in size. Again, they can search whatever they want anywhere, anytime, anyplace on their mobile phones.

This is why Google will penalize your site if it is not mobile friendly. You can quickly run a test to determine if your site is mobile optimized and act accordingly.

Buying Links

Many believe it is alright to buy links as long as Google doesn’t know it. You may never think it is poisonous to buy a link until goggle penguins remove your site. As much as you want to rank fast, buying a link can be one suitable way of seeing your traffic drop tremendously within a concise time. For example, buying links of low authority sites like Bookmarks can mess you up.

This will be one way to prove that you are manipulating the Google search engine and rankings and Google will penalize your website. The same will apply to the exchange of links. It is risky to exchange links with other website owners so that they add your links to their sites and you add their links to your site. Google is smart enough to think you are trying to manipulate rankings.

Final Word

Over to you now, decide today to keep your website running and ranking 24/7 by ensuring you don’t make any of the mistakes discussed in this article. However, if in the past you have fallen into the trap of being penalized by Google, the time to correct the mess is now. There are many more reasons that can contribute to a penalty by Google; overlooking any of them is risky since Google will penalize your website.

Recovering from a Google penalty and its consequences may not be as easy as it sounds. Better you avoid it.

9 Ways to Optimize Your Articles for Google In 2018

December 29, 2022August 8, 2018 by Mary Peter

Do you want to maximize your ranking? Optimize your articles for Google by adhering to the following technical specifications. Nevertheless, as much as the specifications below may be useful, you cannot ignore the fact that quality content matters. Now, with the quality content, you can go ahead and optimize it to have a high number of visitors on your website.

And because many readers believe the webpage that appears on the first page of Google search contain quality content, they won’t search any further; they will click on what they see. So, you as a website owner should strive to at least have your web page on the first pages of Google search results. Of course, it is not easy, it needs time and commitment, but it is worth doing.

Again, it is not a one-time thing, every page you publish and want to rank, you must always optimize it.

Here are several things that you need to do to achieve that.

Title

Your post title is what you readers see first before they get access to the entire article. The post title makes readers decide if to continue reading or not. It should, therefore, be appealing and should not have more than 66 characters.

However, though the title may be attractive, if it is not optimized it may never rank on Google. In my other article on Why Your Articles Are Not Ranking Number One On Google, I explained it is important to help Google know what your article is about by optimizing it. How do you do that? Make sure your focus keyword appears in the post title.

Keyword

Do you find it difficult to come up with an appropriate keyword? Well, Google Trends will be of help. Choose a keyword you have not used previously in your website. Be unique, and no one will accuse you of duplicating content.

Don’t use it once and think it is all done; use it several times in your article. For example; you can have a keyword in the introduction, twice in the body (depending on the size of your article), in the subtitle, and in the conclusion. The higher the word count of your content, the more the opportunity to use your keyword severally.

Shorter articles need fewer keywords. Nevertheless, avoid stuffing your article. To optimize your articles for Google, you can decide to use several different keywords. For example, you can use three different keywords in one article.

Why is this effective and important? Two people typing on the search engine using two different keywords, which you have used will most probably land on your page.

Otherwise, it is no harm to use one keyword. It is also crucial to note that long tail keywords are considered to rank better. What is a long-tail keyword? A keyword that has three to four words is termed as a long-tail.

Nevertheless, be sure not to fall into a terrible mistake I have seen many people make. Don’t just add the long tail keyword anywhere to optimize your articles, allow it to appear naturally in your content. Let it be relevant to the content.

Meta Description

In the search engine, a Meta description appears below the title. Having a meta description that has 156-160 characters is considered appropriate. More than 160 characters will lower your rankings. Since the Meta description appears below the title, it should be charming yet relevant. Let it compel readers to click on your page to read more.

To enhance ranking, include your keyword in the meta description. It is essential to add a call to action to it. For example, in this article, the first two sentences make up a meta description which also has a call to action.

Optimize the URL

Always optimize the URL of your page. By doing this, you will be providing a description to the search engines on what your page is all about hence Optimize Your Articles for Google. Now, to make it easy for your users to find your web content quickly, always include a relevant keyword in the URL.

For example, if you write articles on Optimizing WebPages, your URL should be; https://mywebsite.com/optimizing-WebPages/

Image File names and Alt Tags

It is important to know that SEO rules apply even to images. Therefore, images on your site cannot rank if you do not use a file name and an alt tag that has a keyword. Use appropriate file names that describe the image. Never use “image005.jpg.” as a file name.

Use a relevant file name to optimize your articles for Google by adding a keyword to the alt attributes. For example, your image file name can be “Optimize your articles for Google.jpg.”

Out Bounds links/External Links

Should you link your pages to other websites? Yes, it is essential. Why? Outbound links direct your readers to another website or web page, which optimizes and increases the number of readers on your site. However, you don’t just link to any webpage or website; you need to identify high-authority websites and link to them.

Again, too much of anything is poisonous; avoid adding too many outbound links. One or two high authority sites are okay. However, it depends on the word count of your article.

Inbound Links

Do you want your readers to access other articles on your site? Here is a good chance to add inbound links to your article. Make sure you link to the most appropriate pages. If the information in the links is relevant and crucial to your readers, they will want to get more from your site. Once again, avoid adding too many inbound links.

Share on Social Media

You need more readers on your website. Right? Inserting a sharing button on your pages is vital and helpful and will optimize your articles for Google. You see, the more the share, the more the world (readers) gets to know you, and the more the chances of getting high traffic on your website.

Make it your behavior, any time you publish new content, to click every sharing button you have on your page, especially on Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin. Encourage your friends to share the content, too, if they find it helpful.

Header Tag

A header tag is very crucial. To optimize it, you need to have your keyword in the header tag. This way, when search engines crawl your site, they will consider the header and identify the keywords you have used as vital.

The header tag runs from H1, H2, and H3, to H6. However, you don’t just add the header tags anywhere. You’ve got to be orderly. That is, start with H1, H2, and H3, and follow that order till you are through with all the tags. You can read more on header tags here.

One more thing to remember, your headers should be readable. Again, avoid stuffing keywords.

Final Line

While it is very crucial to Optimize Your Articles for Google, many people don’t know how to do it. Don’t be a victim of publishing content that never ranks. Start by having a primary focus on always providing your readers and daily visitors with quality content all the time. However, the good thing is that once your readers realize your website has great content, they will become your regular followers.

And though it may take time to rank, eventually, you will make it if you consistently follow the strategies I have stated herein. Nothing discussed above is too complicated; it is all doable.

Apply it, and you will be glad you read this article.

Why Your Articles Are Not Ranking Number One On Google

April 4, 2022July 26, 2018 by Mary Peter

Could you be wondering why your articles are not ranking number one on Google? I’ll take you through some of the reasons why you are not achieving this.
Of course, the internet is full of poor content, right? But does that mean that all content that is not ranking number one on Google is not quality? Again, why is it hard even for some content marketing gurus to have their articles stand out on Google?

You may have quality articles and excellent content marketing skill, but still, find it difficult to have people notice your site quickly. The right strategies must be applied, and you must also be patient to start seeing the benefits of it all. Nothing is easy at first, but with time you will find it easy, and doable.

This article will help you know how to start ranking top on Google. Find out more by reading the content.

Ranking Top on Google through High Quality

Are your pages flooded with poor quality content? Is the word count less than 300 words? Then, you cannot rank number one on Google. Over the years, you have heard that quality matters most. Yes, to some extent it is true, but that does not mean that quantity does not matter at all.

You cannot have pages with only 250 words and expect to rank. Word count should be a factor to consider too. Nevertheless, as much as you are considering the word count factor, always prioritize quality. Don’t just fill the page, let each word you type make sense. This way, you will always be ranking number one on Google.

Strive to ensure that your content makes content marketing easy for you.

The more the word count, the more the opportunity to include more keywords thus the possibilities to rank high. Again, your page seems resourceful and valuable if the word count is high.

Web Page Optimization

Optimizing your web pages alone cannot help you rank number one on Google. The correct way of content optimization must be applied. For Google to rank your content after the keyword has been typed, it needs to understand what your content is all about.

How do you do that? By rightfully optimizing your web pages. This way your content will stand out.

How do you optimize your web pages correctly?

Have a primary keyword (main topic) and a secondary keyword (that supports the topic). Let each page on your website focus entirely on the main subject.
Include the primary keyword in the title, introduction, body, and last paragraph of your content. Also, include the secondary keyword in your subtitles.
Chose three or four keywords (secondary keywords) that relate to your main topic.
Dynamically generate URLs that have a keyword.
Identify one or two high authority websites that relate with your content and link out to them.
Link internally to other (one or two) pages that relate to the main topic on your websites.
When naming your images, include a secondary keyword in the filename.

Low-Quality Backlink

Any incoming links (from another website) to your site are known as backlinks. To show how reliable and trustworthy your website is, you need to backlink your website. With low-quality backlink or no backlink whatsoever, ranking number one on Google may end up to be a dream never come true!

The thing, therefore, is identifying relevant websites (in your niche) that offer high-quality content and backlink your site. A single high-quality backlink to your website can tremendously cause your content to rank number one on Google.

In short; quality matters most in backlinks.

As much as you are backlinking to high-quality websites, your content should be engaging to make readers want to read through the page until they get to the backlink. After all, who will be interested in clicking a backlink in a sparse, boring and non-engaging content?

You should note that when you produce engaging content, other website owners will want to backlink to your site too.

Your Website is Very New to Rank

It should not be a surprise to hear that your website needs to be several months old to rank number one on Google. The older the site; the higher the chances of ranking top on Google. Nevertheless, the fact that your site is new should not make you lose heart. Remember, those sites that are ranking well today started from where you are.

As discussed previously in this article; produce engaging content, optimize the pages and content, backlink to high-quality websites, and you will be ranking number one on Google.

Also, it is important to find if Google indexes your new website. The reason is, Google has to index your site for it to appear on the search engine. Sometimes it takes several weeks for Google to index a new website, but not necessarily.

Final Line

There are so many reasons that can prevent your articles from ranking number one on Google. However, the reasons mentioned above are the most common ones. Thank God; now you know! Take action. Deal with everything that was hindering success from coming your way. You now have the chance to rank number one on Google.

It is important to note that great writers able to produce engaging content are emerging each day and competition becomes high each day too. None of the reasons discussed above is a mountain too big to level; it’s achievable.

However, for your articles to rank number one on Google, you need well-crafted content. That is what you get when you hire me. I provide gilt-edged content that is engaging and will help you rank higher and higher.