No worries. Follow these simple steps to publish a new Blog post:

Below the following steps are some screenshots to help guide you along the steps to submitting an article… If you are already familiar with WordPress you probably won’t need this guide…

1. Click on ‘Posts’ (from the left side menu)
2. Click ‘Add New’ (also left side menu). You should now see a page titled “Add New Post”
3. The first box is for the Title of your article.
4. The second box is for the article content. You can either paste your article into this box, or type your article (if it’s not already written). If you are pasting from Microsoft Word choose the “Paste from Word” option . You’ll find that by clicking the ‘Show/Hide Kitchen Sink’ button . There are also options for styling your content.
5. To add an image click the ‘add an image’ icon next to “Upload/Insert”. (If this is your first article submission you won’t yet have the ability to add an image.) You can add an image from your computer or from another URL (another website). It is recommended that you choose the ‘From Computer’ option. If your image comes from somewhere else online, find the image and save it to your computer first. If you are adding an image from your computer click ‘Select Files’ on the ‘From Computer’ tab. A box should come up that allows you to browse your computer to find the image you want to upload. Once you have find the right image, select it and click ‘open’. The image should now be uploaded and you’ll be presented with some options regarding how you want the image displayed within your article (size, aligned to the left, right or center, etc). Click ‘Insert into Post’. You should now see the image within your article. If you want to adjust something click on the image and you’ll see one icon that allows you to adjust the options and another icon to delete the image. After editing image options click ‘update’ to apply the changes.
6. Once you are done with the article content, and any images, add an excerpt into the box labeled ‘Excerpt’. The excerpt is typically one sentence, or paragraph, long and it is the article excerpt or ‘teaser’ that will be displayed on your Blog page along with the article title. (If your blog is designed to show excerpts on the Blog page, rather than the entire article ).
7. You typically won’t need to do anything with the other boxes: trackbacks, custom fields, Discussion, etc.
8. Add “tags” to your article in the ‘Post Tags’ area. Tags are keywords or topics related to your article. If your article is about ‘freedom’ and ‘economics’ using those as tags will help people find your article among other articles of similar topics.
9. Categories: Choose an existing category or add a new category. Simple. The difference between a category and a tag is typically that your category is the main topic of the article, whereas tags are sub-topics and other keywords related to the article subject.
10. Now you’re ready to publish your article. Click ‘Publish’.

The post WordPress: How To Write a Blog Post appeared first on Utah WordPress Web Design.

Most bloggers gain their traffic from 3 sources, inbound links (other websites linking to yours), search engines (Google, Yahoo!, MSN, etc.) and social media (Facebook, MySpace, Squidoo, Digg, etc.).

Take your content to where the traffic is (Facebook, YouTube, etc.) and use your Blog/Website to bring it all together for those find you on the social networks.

Link Building

Link building allows your website to be more easily found by others. The more websites that are linking to you, the more potential you have for getting higher rankings by the search engines. It’s not just quantity that is important, but the quality of the links coming in to you.

Just remember, the best links don’t come from submitting your site to a link farm or blog directory. Quality links typically come from the genuine interest of others in your website or blog, in other words, if you are offering interesting and valuable content through your site others are more likely to link to you, naturally. You may also want to consider purchasing link space on websites with high Google Page Ranks.

Content is King

Great content is an important key component of search engine optimization. After-all, you want people to look up to you as the expert. With lots of original, valuable, entertaining, and inspiring content you can dominate your market.

Keywords and Key Phrases

Something to consider. What keywords and key phrases are people going to search for to find a website/company like yours?  Once you have answered that question you can optimize your site and content to those words/phrases.  Use them throughout the content of your website, but don’t over-do-it. Be wise.

The post Some basics on Search Engine Optimization, Internet Marketing, Social Networking and Social Media Optimization appeared first on Utah WordPress Web Design.

1. Start a controversy. Just remember not to cross the line.

2. Start a contest. Make sure to end it too.

3. Give away free goodies. People love them.

4. Write about other bloggers to interest their visitors to read your blog. Keep it positive.

5. Dress up your blog often (By dress-up I mean tweaking the design)

6. Interview other bloggers and post the interview.

7. Write about your personal life sometimes.

8. Ask questions to your visitors.

9. Share some secrets.

10. Celebrate your birthday with your visitors. Think of innovative ways for doing this.

11. Celebrate your blog’s birthday too.

12. Write something funny or disgusting. (Don’t make it a habit)

13. Make a bumper sticker with your blog’s name and stick it on your car. (Just make sure you drive often)

14. Write an e-book and distribute it to your visitors for free.

15. Introduce a commission based affiliate program.

16. Tell your visitors about your latest fad or obsession.

17. Post interesting pictures of your pets.

18. Congratulate the top commentators occasionally.

19. Encourage sharing of opinions.

20. Donate for a cause or become a volunteer for a non-profit organization. Ask your visitors to join you.

21. Put your blog’s ad in the local newspaper or the yellow pages.

22. Hold blog competitions.

23. Create polls.

24. Hold an auction and let people bid for something useful (For example, advertising space on your blog).

25. Write about your blog achievements.

26. Share your hopes and aspirations about your blog.

27. Start an award distribution system.

28. Make contact with your local visitors and hold a get-together or a bloggers’ meet.

29. Start a blog comic strip.

30. Dig up some old article that you wrote on your blog which became famous and start a discussion.

31. Try and get a photograph clicked with a real celebrity and post it on your blog. (Hold on Tiger..don’t rush to that Photoshop button!)

32. Post videos that will help your visitors learn something new. Also submit them to video sharing websites like YouTube.com.

33. Write about your hobbies and interests. (For example, if you like cooking, post a new recipe)

34. Post about one of the weirdest thing that you ever did.

35. Get featured in a print magazine.

36. Buy a paid review from any famous blogger(s).

37. Brand your blog with a catch phrase along with a logo.

38. Distribute T-shirts or merchandise with your blog name on it.

39. Join Yahoo! Answers and put a link on your website to your answers.

40. Keep a track of websites that pick up your articles or press releases. Offer them exclusive news or content.

41. Do surveys and publish the results to your visitors.

42. Build tools that your visitors might find use for.

43. Start a newsletter.

44. Podcasting is another good way to make your blog popular.

45. Publicize your blog to your friends and relatives and let them do some work for you.

46. Be active in Social Bookmarking websites.

47. Share Link Love and you will get it back.

48. People like to read about Web 2.0. Write about it.

49. Write about something that’s already famous.

50. Last but not the least, be yourself.

The post 50 Creative Ways to Make Your Blog Popular appeared first on Utah WordPress Web Design.

Pros:

1. Less Competition. The most obvious advantage to being in a niche is that you’ll have less competition. You’ll have less competition for traffic, for product sales, for affiliate product sales and whatever else you do.

2. Easier to Get Visitors to Subscribe. In more competitive niches your visitors may already be subscribed to a number of other blogs on your topic. In this case it’s difficult to encourage them to add more reading to their routine. You really have to show how valuable your can be for them. But if you are blogging in a small niche your visitors may not be subscribed to any blogs of your kind. If they are interested in the subject they’re much more likely to subscribe.

3. Creating Unique Content is Easier. With less blogs covering your topic you will have an easier time writing blog posts that aren’t repetitive. Unique content is essential for any blog’s success regardless of what niche it is in, so having an easier time being unique is a big advantage.

4. Higher Value for Advertisers. Many blogs create income by selling ad space. If an advertiser is looking for highly-targeted traffic, a niche blog will be a better option for advertisers. Because of this, niche blogs can frequently charge more for ad space than another blog could with the same amount of traffic.

5. Less Competition for Advertisers. Niche blogs will also have less competition from other blogs that are looking to sell ad space for specific advertisers. Again, if advertisers are interested in the highly-targeted traffic that your blog can provide for them, they will have fewer options. This also helps to increase the rates that you can charge for ad space.

6. Easier to Retain Readers. With less competition from other blogs, your readers won’t have the option to unsubscribe and get the same or similar information somewhere else. Creating and retaining loyal readers is a key to successful blogging and is much easier for specific niche blogs.

7. The Novelty Factor. Being in a smaller niche will make it easier for visitors to remember you because you will be more unique. Don’t underestimate the importance of being able to create a memorable impression on visitors.

8. Higher Search Engine Rankings. Niche blogs usually will have an easier time achieving high search engine rankings because of the lack of competition and the specific keywords and phrases that searchers will use.

9. Easier Monetization. The traffic of a niche blog will usually be more valuable than the traffic of other blogs because it is highly targeted. With highly-targeted traffic and less competition, monetizing a niche blog becomes easier because there are not hundreds of other blogs trying to earn income from the same visitors.

Cons:

1. There’s No Guarantee the Niche Will Stay Small. Some blogs start in a small up-and-coming niche and before long they have much more competition.

2. Lower Traffic Potentials. Although it may be easier to create higher search engine rankings and higher subscription rates, blogs in small niches will still have lower potential amounts of traffic than blogs that cater to larger audiences. Social media websites favor topics that are of interest to a large number of people, and links can be harder to come by for niche blogs simply because there may be less websites and blogs interested in linking to that subject.

3. Less Options for Monetization. Although it may be easier to monetize a niche blog, you may also have fewer options. If you are looking to monetize a blog by selling affiliate products you may only have one or two options, whereas with a more popular subject you may literally have hundreds of options.

4. The Niche May Become Obsolete. Depending on the niche you choose, it may not be of any interest at some point in the future. Be careful when you choose a topic and make sure that it has staying power.

5. Less Search Volume. The potential for higher search engine rankings is somewhat offset by lower amounts of searches. Ideally, you’ll want to rank highly for common search phrases, but this may not be possible depending on your niche.

My blogging experience is in the highly-competitive subject of web design and internet marketing. I’ve found that these pros and cons need to be considered by new bloggers. I’ve had an easier time creating traffic because there are so many people interested in the topics that I cover, but getting truly loyal readers is much more difficult.

Social media has been the number 1 source of traffic for my blog, and I know this is the case for many blogs that cover similar topics. On the other hand, a highly specific niche blog may have a harder time creating social media traffic, but an easier time creating loyal readers.

Ways to Check the Amount of Competition Before Starting a New Blog:

• Perform a search at Technorati for keywords and phrases related to a niche.
• Perform a Google Blog search for keywords and phrases related to a niche.
• Set up a few Google Alerts to track new content that Google indexes on the subject.
• Use Google Trends to see the search volume of phrases.
• Use sources like Techmeme to see what topics are hot.

When deciding on a topic, you first and foremost must choose a topic that interests you enough to keep you motivated. Building a profitable blog takes a lot of consistent work, and this can be very difficult to accomplish if you don’t enjoy writing, reading, and learning about the issues and subjects that you cover.

If your interests lie in a subject area that is highly saturated you need to understand what you are up against and have the persistence to stick it out. If you decide to compete in a smaller niche you need to realize that you will be targeting a smaller audience than some other sites. While you may never reach the high traffic levels and subscriber counts of some of the top blogs, you will still have a realistic chance to earn money from your smaller niche.

Do you blog in a small niche? What challenges and struggles do you face that you think are related to the topic of your blog? What other advantages and disadvantages do you see for niche blogs?

The post The Pros and Cons of Niche Blogging appeared first on Utah WordPress Web Design.

The effect your blog has on the your search engine rankings can vary depending on what you are blogging about, how valuable it is and how much you are blogging.

If you are blogging about a specific topic, and are providing useful information, people are likely to check it out. They may even link to your blog posts. This, along with many other factors, can increase the popularity and page rank of your website. A proven method to keep people coming back for more is to provide them with new and useful information for free. Offer a little something, Give’em The Pickles. Let them see you are the expert but you’re also not afraid to share some of what you know. You’ll probably end up getting more business.

The post Blog to the top, and Page Rank appeared first on Utah WordPress Web Design.