Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Publicise your blog - 3 register in online directories.
Registering your blog in online directories and search engines will make it easier for more interested readers to find your blog. Directory registrations provide two types of benefits to your blog. The directory will create a hyperlink to your blog on one of their pages and this hyperlink may bring some traffic of interested readers to your blog. In addition, having more hyperlinks pointing to your blog will increase the rank of your blog in the search engines which may also lead to more reader traffic coming to your blog. There are dozens of online directories that specialize in cataloging the blogosphere.
A. Get some content into your blog
Get some content into your blog before trying to register it. Many of the higher ranking directories will decline your application if your blog doesn't have enough unique content to offer. Encourage your friends to post comments on your blog. Their comments add content to your blog. Post some comments on other people's blog sites and include links back to your blog. This buzz of conversation will also help to make your blog more interesting to the editors of the directories. (See previous post on blog publicity via hyperlinks.)
B. Set up a personal account
Some directories require that you set up a personal account before you can register your blog. Be prepared to give your real name and email address. Plan on creating a username and password for your account. Some directories will send you an email message with a link you need to click on to activate your account.
C. Register your blog
The more directories you register with the better! Some will register your blog instantly, while others will take weeks or months. Getting registered first at some low ranking directories will help you later when applying to the higher ranking directories. Some directories will require that you place some tracking code or a link back to the directory on your blog.
Various directories will require you to submit different types of information about your blog. Prepare these keyword-rich items in advance. (See previous post on blog publicity via keywords.) Expect to submit some or all of the following information:
* Blog name
* Blog URL
* Blog description
* Keywords
* Date when your blog originated
* URL of your blog's newsfeed (RSS, XML, Atom, etc.)
Don't stress if a directory declines your application. Just reapply in 6 months when your blog has more content, better content and more incoming hyperlinks.
D. Put a traffic meter on your blog
If you want to measure the results from all this effort you can register with an online traffic service, place some code on your blog and then the service can record how many visitors come to your website over time.
http://www.webstat.com/
http://www.statcounter.com/
Keep in mind that some of the directories will visit your site frequently using robots to check for updated content, so not all of your traffic will be human visitors.
(keywords: blog, web log, register, registration, directory, directories, traffic)
Previous posts in this series:
Tips for Bloggers.
Tags: rss, atom, feeds, aggregation.
Labels: blog
