SEO success!

My business website is ranking on the first page of Google for my new chosen keywords, hurray! As I explained in a previous post about making money online, I learnt all I know from free sources available on the internet then applied some common sense. There is no magic formula nor dark art involved. 


I have touched on SEO in a feature I wrote on Suite 101 last year on how to create a website for around £40 and this is what I wrote about website promotion: "Once the website is up and running, a website owner needs to ensure it ranks well on search engines, such as Google, Bing and Yahoo. A website owner should try to improve search engine ranking by using SEO techniques. There is good SEO and bad SEO and some search engines have developed formulas for penalizing sites that use bad SEO. It’s best not to stuff a site full of keywords without backing them up with articles and sound information. At all times when a website owner is working on content, they should bear in mind that easy-to-read text is more search-friendly than word games or puns. It’s also a good idea to caption photos as they will turn up on image searches. SEO can be learned from free online guides and from online conferences or workshops." 

This feature is just over one year old but a lot of it still stands. If I may update that section a bit, I'd say, just worry about Google, then the rest will come. Of course more social media tools have become popular, such as Pinterest and BrandYourself. Twitter has become massive with its millions of users and LinkedIn rules the professional world (Facebook for business? Not really unless you sell consumer goods).

So how does an ex web dummy like me and ex young bright thing get to know about social media trends? Well, there is  LinkedIn  and its professional groups, Britmums for blogging and a very handy newsletter from the Social Media Examiner. Yes, it's a lot of reading, but I'm getting results and keeping up to date with what is going on in the digital world.

Watch this space, an ebook for social media virgins beckons....

Making money from blogging and web writing

Get your rank and download How Parents Blogger Make Money?

Make money from online writing:
hot to get an online portfolio

Make friends and get tips on
how to make money from your blog

Can you really make money blogging?
Even if you are new to blogging you will have heard about monetizing, affiliate marketing, the lot. Many bloggers are hoping to make money or at least get a few freebies, but some might have unrealistic expectations. Read Penelope Trunk's post Reality Check, You Are Not Going to Make Money from Your Blog  and weep! Some bloggers applaud her honesty, but many are really angry and in denial. This post was published in 2009 but it is still getting lots of comments.  Getting an income from blogging is a kind of Eldorado for aspiring writers. You write in your own time and get paid for it. In reality very few people make heaps of money out of blogging or get a book deal, and those who get a decent income have other arrows in their bow, such as running a linked business and being a professional writer. There might be other avenues, which I'm not aware of, so please leave a comment if you know any!

Making money as a web writer

I started blogging because I needed online writing experience. I had a website very early on called London Cheapskate, then started this blog in 2005. I have four now - they are there for me to post things I can't get published, to air my opinions or display photos. So far I got very little money through affiliate marketing and monetising, but some posts have landed me writing jobs. For instance this blog post on making stew helped to secure a commission writing family recipes. It's still one of the most popular entries, with two craft posts and one about being a Cheapskate in Cambridge (old habits die hard). Like many 'older' journalists the rapid rise of the internet took me by surprise and suddenly it was all about html, SEO and digital writing. I decided to make the switch as soon as I could. I'm completely self taught, I even designed my own website and wrote an article about the process to show how easy it can be (and all for under £40). I'm no boffin. Blogging and writing for Suite 101 and Bright Hub helped me get an online writing portfolio quickly. I was lucky that all my hard work paid off. My website landed me a big copywriting gig in 2009 and I reinvented myself as an SEO copywriter.

Fine, but I still want to make money from my blog

Right, if blogging floats your boat, why not try this free course by Littlemummy.com? It's really ace (pardon the pun) and it covers all the basics of blogging (you don't need to be a parent to apply). If you are interested in SEO, I recommend browsing Great SEO. And if you want to know how other bloggers are faring, why not join Tots100 and download their free ebook How Parent Bloggers Make Money? Last but not least, you can get more tips and a supportive network at Britmums (dads are members too)! If you are not a parent, then you will need to find other ways to make your blog shine. If you have any tips, feel free to share.

PS: I owe a lot to the generosity of Alison Rothwell who coached us all through Britmums (formerly British Mummy Bloggers). Please read my previous post about SEO for blogs featuring her top tips.