Karlonia.com

Most of us who have tried to make money from blogging are already familiar with the ubiquitous Google AdSense text link ads. They are designed to optimize themselves according to the main keywords present in the content of the web page in which they are included, and publishers earn money every time someone clicks on one of those ads. However, it is also possible to monetize a blog or other website by using the Google AdSense search feature. With this option, site owners can include a Google search box somewhere on their websites, and whenever a visitor enters a query into the box, Google will serve up any relevant search results either from within the site or from the Internet generally, depending on the parameters chosen by the site owner. As with standard search results pages, depending on the query some sponsored results may appear along with the regular organic ones. If a visitor clicks on one of the sponsored results, the publisher earns money on his or her AdSense account just like with the regular text link ads.

With sufficient traffic, this can get pretty lucrative. As I was thinking about what to write for this post, I was reminded of an article I read a little over a year ago which discussed the revenue sources of the Mozilla Foundation, owners of the useful and increasingly popular FireFox browser. It turns out that they had earned approximately $55 million in revenues during 2005, most of it coming from the Google search box that appears as the default start page for many FireFox users.

Yesterday I received an email from AdSense reminding me about this option because Google had detected that I was not yet using it. Apparently Google has recently improved its AdSense for search feature, and after reading about it, I decided to go ahead and implement it on this site to see how it would work. For now, I have replaced the old WordPress search box with the new Google custom search, but I have backed up the old code to a text file in case I ever need to revert to the old search function in the future. Meanwhile, I have the Google search box set up to open results for any queries in a new window; initially, these results will come from within the Karlonia.com site itself, but afterward you can choose the “Web Search” option to access results from the whole Internet if you wish.

Because it does a pretty good job of explaining the new features and how to get started with it, I have reprinted the email text below. I have modified it slightly in order to include the video that was linked to from the original email text; I have placed this in the appropriate spot just below the jump.

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Today I received my first contact form submission, which confirmed that the system works and is sending messages to my email address. The message content is not exactly what I was looking for; instead of an article or advertising offer, I discovered that this site was reviewed and rated by a directory called Blogged.com:

Dear Karlonia.com author,

Our editors recently reviewed your blog and have given it an 8.2 score out of 10 in the Business category of Blogged.com. This is quite an achievement!

We evaluated your blog based on the following criteria: Frequency of Updates, Relevance of Content, Site Design, and Writing Style. After carefully reviewing each of these criteria, your site was given its 8.2 score.

We’ve also created Blogged.com score badges with your score prominently displayed. Simply visit your website’s summary page on Blogged.com.

Click on the “Show this rating on your blog!” link underneath the score and follow the instructions provided.

Please accept my congratulations on a blog well-done!!

Sincerely,
Amy Liu
Marketing
www.blogged.com

I suppose that this is still a good thing overall since it will count as a directory submission and backlink, although my listing is buried pretty far down and is unlikely to receive much exposure.

Unfortnately, I could not find any kind of “eclectic” or “mixed bag” category at the directory, which would probably be a better fit for this blog’s content and might also result in a higher listing. The closest thing I could find was “Miscellaneous”, but this section contained no listings at all, so it is possible that they are still rearranging their categories and trying to decide on what the final names and qualifications will be. Therefore, I might check back with them in a few days and see if it is possible to have my site recategorized. If this is successful, I can then point a few backlinks at whatever page my listing settles on and increase the value of my own link indirectly.

Today I finally spent some time implementing two long overdue site features, the ability to subscribe to the Karlonia.com RSS feed by email and a functional contact page that can be used for submitting articles or sending me other messages. On a somewhat related note, I also managed to have my brother design a new widget graphic for advertising this site at Entrecard or other venues that use similar banner images. The new image is located in the upper left corner of this post.

Although all of these new improvements should be helpful, the contact page feature is probably the most important. Not only do I need a way for people to contact me without having to use the public comment section, but I am also hoping that some of you would like to have your articles published here in exchange for increased name recognition and a free link back to your site. If I could receive enough submissions, this will free up some much-needed time for me to promote the site and explore monetization options, which could generate enough long term income to make things like contests or revenue sharing programs economically viable.

Meanwhile, the new banner image has allowed to me advertise more aggressively through Entrecard without having to worry as much about being rejected for “design clash” problems or because the image is “not appropriate” for some silly reason. I am still getting a few “not relevant” rejections, but these are to be expected for a site that tries to advertise everywhere, including categories that are outside of my usual range of topics. The increased advertising efforts should eventually draw in more visitors and help to push the proverbial snowball closer to the top of the hill.

Finally, those of you who prefer to subscribe to RSS feeds by email will now have this option, paving the way for a steady increase in the subscriber count. While I have not really made much of a push for RSS subscribers, this has become an important metric by which sites are being evaluated for advertising value, and as such it would seem foolish for me to ignore it. I have even managed to strategically place the RSS chicklets so that they flank the Entrecard widget on either side. This will make it very easy for card droppers to subscribe via RSS if they want to keep up with the latest posts.

Earlier today I ran across a video that deals with an aspect of blogging that I have been thinking about a lot lately: monetization. Although I seem to be doing well on the content creation and SEO side of things by bringing in an increasing amount of organic search engine traffic through on-page optimization, backlinks to internal pages, and bum marketing methods, actually monetizing this blog is an area where I have lagged behind. I have managed to pick up a few affiliate sales of Clickbank products and a few signups to the free-to-join programs, but there are still many areas of monetization that I have not explored, including the ever-popular AdSense.

After watching the video from SEOmoz.org, it turns out that I may be on the right track somewhat by using affiliate links instead of starting off with AdSense. However, Jeremy Schoemaker (the interviewee in this particular segment) also mentions the use of direct ad sales through 125X125 pixel squares similar to those have become popular for advertising through Entrecard and Project Wonderful. With regard to pricing, Schoemaker suggests that we allow the advertising market to determine this based on the level of pricing that can be sustained while keeping the available ad slots full. I may try this later if I can overcome the technical hurdles involved with the ad placement and payment processing.

The video itself is about 11 minutes long and consists of an interview between Rand Fishkin of SEOmoz.org and Jeremy Schoemaker, a professional blogger known as “Shoemoney”. I have placed it after the jump for your viewing pleasure:

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If you have just started a WordPress blog, one of the advantages that you will have over most other platforms is the overall SEO friendliness of your content management system. However, there is one little tweak that you should make before accumulating too many posts. This involves changing the format of your permalink structure, which will affect the appearance of each post’s actual URL.

I noticed that many bloggers are still using the default permalink format, in some cases even after several months of operation. Most experienced WordPress users advise that you change this to a more “pretty” permalink structure because this will be more search engine friendly and allow you to target additional keywords in the URL for SEO purposes.

Fortunately, making the necessary change is relatively easy. You can do this by first going to Options >> Permalinks from your admin panel. I have underlined the correct menu selections in the following screenshot:

After clicking on both menu choices, you should see a list of options, including the default, name and date based, numeric, and custom. As you can see in the screenshot below, I have chosen the name and date based option; others who are more technically inclined may choose the custom option and tweak the individual parameters.

Either way, almost everyone recommends getting away from the default PHP parameter display as early as possible. Frankly, I don’t understand why WordPress does not simply designate the name and date based permalink style as the default structure, but until they do something about this, it’s still up to the individual bloggers to change it.

Meanwhile, for a thorough explanation of the more complex technical aspects of this issue, you can visit the WordPress codex documentation on using permalinks.

Over the past two days, I have been exchanging emails and BlogCatalog messages with another site owner who had a very slow-loading and graphically cluttered home page. Although I normally don’t like to criticize other webmasters, this particular page seemed like an egregious case of poor optimization and advertising overload. So when I clicked through to his blog at Etavasi.blogspot.com after I received a notification from BlogCatalog that he had added me to his friends list, I left a short message in his profile shoutbox thanking him for the add and mentioning that his home page was taking an especially long time to load. I noticed that in addition to multiple ads and banners everywhere (many of which had animated graphics that caused my computer’s fans to squeal), most of his posts contained YouTube videos and had very little text content.

At this point, I remembered an optimization tactic that I had implemented on this site about one month ago and suggested in my comment that he could move some of his videos “below the fold” of the posts so that they would not add to the total file size of the home page and further slow it down. At first he did not understand what I meant because of the language differences (he is Malaysian and probably not a native English speaker), but after a few emails I was finally able to get the message across by using my previous post on Chinese New Year as an example of what I had done to reduce the loading time for my main index page. The CNY article had four embedded YouTube videos in it, but I managed to keep them all off the home page through strategic application of the WordPress “more” tag.

The “more” tag is a function that will divide a post in which it is used and place any content that appears below the tag on the permalink page but not on the home page. It will also generate a link to the permalink page on your home page that entices readers to click through and read the rest of the article. This function is very useful for breaking up long posts, reducing problems with duplicate content, and allowing you to use multimedia and larger image files without having to worry about them slowing down your site too much. To use this tag in a post, you can simply place your cursor at the desired location and press the “more” button that appears in your admin panel just above the text window. The image in the upper left corner of this article shows you what this button looks like.

If you use this option to break up posts containing videos, it is a good idea to write some descriptive content that can be placed above the videos so that you still have enough text on the home page to optimize for keywords and increase your potential search engine traffic. Meanwhile, if you want to test your loading times, figure out how large your page files are, and read some suggestions on how to optimize your website, you can use the web page analyzer tool at WebSiteOptimization.com and receive a free diagnosis.

After replying to comments from Entrecard members and advertisers earlier today, I finally got around to uploading and activating two WordPress plugins that I had downloaded a few days ago. The new features will primarily affect people who are using RSS feeds or cell phones to access the content on this site.

The first plugin removes the problem of WordPress truncating post content in feeds whenever I use the “more” tag to break up longer articles. The “more” tag is useful not only for avoiding duplicate content issues, but it also allows me to place things like videos or large images “below the fold” where they will not add to the file size of my home page and slow down loading times. However, I have read on other sites that there are some people who will refuse to subscribe to blogs that do not publish full feeds, so in order to accommodate these folks I have installed the Full Feed plugin. This should allow everyone to read the entire content of my articles in their RSS readers without it interfering with my ability to split up long posts when the need arises.

The second plugin is called WordPress Mobile Edition and affects (surprise!) users of mobile phones. It is supposed to automatically detect mobile browsers and create an appropriate interface that will allow better readability of the site through this particular medium. It was developed by Alex King of AlexKing.org as a way for WordPress bloggers to increase the functionality of their sites and improve the overall user experience.

Hopefully these two new additions will improve the ability of a more diverse group of readers to access the information available here so that we can all improve our knowledge base and increase our personal and economic freedom. Meanwhile, if you have any suggestions for plugins that you think would improve your experience here at Karlonia.com, please feel free to mention these in the comment section below.

One of the ways in which a relatively new blog can generate some buzz and get a head start on building up traffic is to run some type of contest that will provide a natural incentive for other people to visit and link to the targeted website. It has become somewhat of a trend in the blogging world recently, and yesterday I just happened to run across such an event sponsored by BusinessBlogger.net. In fact, this post is supposed to serve as my entry into this contest according to the sponsor’s rules.

In addition to running the contest to promote their main blog, they are also launching a new directory site called Business+Directory that is accepting free submissions during February for people who are entering the contest. Currently, the directory does not seem to contain any sites, but the basic infrastructure and categories are there. Presumably it will be filled with approved sites from the contest participants after enough entries have been submitted.

Here is a summary of the contest rules as I understand them. Any readers who have their own blogs should perform the following steps in order to receive an entry:

1. Make a blog post and link to the BusinessBlogger.net contest page as I have in the first paragraph above.

2. Link to the Business+Directory site as I have in the second paragraph above.

3. Your post should be written in your own words (no duplicate content) and should be at least 250 words in length.

4. The contest will continue until the end of February 2008. At that time, two winners will be chosen at random and prizes will be awarded during March.

5. The grand prize is $500 cash paid via PayPal; the second place prize is a new BFG NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT OC 512MB PCIe with ThermoIntelligence Graphics Card, which will be shipped via USPS.

6. There is a fine print disclaimer which states that at least fifty total entries must be received in order for them to award the prizes. So far it looks like there are about 30 entries and we’re still near the beginning of the month, so we’ll probably reach the minimum threshold.

Overall, the contest looks like a pretty good idea. I probably won’t win either of the main prizes, but I will be able to get in a free directory submission, and with other webmasters linking to the directory page, the likelihood of my link eventually getting some juice from the search engines is significantly increased.

Of course, an even better idea would be to run a contest myself here at Karlonia.com. Even before I discovered BusinessBlogger.net, I have been thinking about having an essay contest where people could submit essays or articles and get free links back to their sites in addition to some small cash prizes for people who write good quality articles.

I’m not sure how much interest there would be for something like this, however - people may be too lazy to write the articles, and I could wind up either getting a lot of duplicate content stuff or not enough submissions. I might need to float the idea on a few forums or other venues and see if there are enough interested people out there to make this worth doing.

Most of us who have been blogging for any significant amount of time have heard the phrase, “content is king”. It has been repeated in so many publications that it has surely become cliché by now. I have read articles from a few folks who have challenged the notion somewhat, claiming that things like traffic generation or social media have become more important. However, even if it is technically not “king”, few people could reasonably disagree with the idea that content is still the ultimate backbone of any website. Without some kind of actual written content, one cannot be indexed in search engines, and it is unlikely that a website could make much money without displaying any text (although I wouldn’t be surprised if someone has actually tried this).

When creating and maintaining blogs for income purposes, the need for a consistent supply of content is often one of a webmaster’s greatest challenges. Although bloggers can always write all of the posts themselves, most professional webmasters soon realize that this is a very time-consuming task and begin looking for alternative solutions. Fortunately, this is a task that can be outsourced - that is, contracted out to other people in exchange for a fee. If you are a beginner in this particular area, or have been a “hobby blogger” who wants to take your blog to the next level, this article will explain six reasons why you should consider outsourcing your article writing chores. Some of the ideas were derived from an excellent guest post by Rock from InternetBabel.com; I have also included my own impressions from personal experience with writing and publishing blog content.

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After several months of being a very minor issue, the problem of automated comment spam suddenly became a significant problem on this blog approximately two days ago. Comment spam, which had been arriving at a very manageable rate of 2-3 messages per day, sharply increased to 5-10 spams per hour recently, prompting me to search for some kind of solution to this in order to avoid being overrun by irrelevant information and dubious outbound links.

Fortunately, I have found something that seems to be working so far. It’s called WP-SpamFree, a WordPress plugin that effectively blocks comment spam that comes from automated “bots” by taking advantage of the fact that most of these bots are not equipped to process JavaScript or cookies, features that most Internet users have enabled by default. Moreover, it is able to block spam without having to resort to turing numbers, captcha, challenge questions, or other “features” that are likely to annoy visitors who wish to make a legitimate comment. If a user happens to have JavaScript and cookies turned off, the plugin is supposed to prompt the visitor to turn these back on before posting a comment.

I managed to get the SpamFree plugin installed a few hours ago, and so far it seems to be working; there have been zero comment spams during a period of time when I was previously receiving at least 20. The only disadvantage that I can see with this particular solution is that it is designed to prevent spam from bots but not human comment spam; however, I can effectively deal with the latter through vigilance and prudent moderation. Meanwhile, you can read about the details of WP-SpamFree and how it works at Hybrid6.com/WebGeek.

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This morning I discovered a nice little three minute video that explains the concept of blogging in a way that most non-bloggers (yes, amazingly such people still exist!) will probably understand. It also saves me the trouble of typing out one of my 1,000+ word essays saying essentially the same thing.

Video credit goes to Lee LeFever at www.commoncraft.com/show.

While visiting other sites yesterday, I discovered a new blog advertising service called Smorty that allows writers and publishers to get paid for blogging. After registering at the site, members can submit their blogs for approval and will usually receive a reply within 24-72 hours. If a blog is approved, its author can log into Smorty and view any current paid posting opportunities that have been submitted by advertisers. Bloggers who accept any of the proposals can then review the advertiser’s website and write a post about it according to the listed specifications. The amount of money that the blogger will receive for the post upon approval is also part of the listing.

In order to get approved into the Smorty network, there are a few basic rules. Eligible blogs must be at least three months old and have an activity level of at least two posts per week. The site must be indexed by the Google and Yahoo search engines, and must not contain pornographic material or excessive amounts of duplicate content. The earning potential of a blog is determined by an assigned “Smorty smart score” that includes factors such as PageRank, Alexa rank, the number of posts completed, and the ratio of posts that are accepted or declined. In general, a higher score will allow bloggers to access higher paying opportunities from the advertisers.

Meanwhile, as blog advertising is becoming an increasingly popular way to generate publicity for businesses and their websites, Smorty has established itself as a useful venue for webmasters to obtain traffic and inbound links from bloggers who write reviews for them. Advertisers can create campaigns, including keywords, anchor text, and links. They can also provide specific instructions for the bloggers, set a minimum PageRank, and decide on a bid price.

After the campaign has been approved and distributed to the bloggers, the advertisers have five days to review any articles that are written to make sure that they comply with Smorty’s rules. If there is a problem, they can dispute the post and have it declined if Smorty agrees that there has been a violation of the rules. Otherwise, posts are automatically approved.

Overall, Smorty provides an excellent venue for authors to blog for money while allowing site owners to advertise on blogs and benefit from higher traffic and search engine rankings.

This article by Kat Yares lists seven important actions that we can take in order to become successful writers and bloggers. As these actions evolve into established habits, the tasks of consistent writing and posting will eventually seem easier and more natural.

1. Read

To write you must read. Anything and everything. If you’re a blogger, read other people’s blogs. You must pay attention to how others put words on paper or type them into their web pages. By reading, you discover what readers or editors are looking for and what has been successful.

2. Observe

Watch people. Look at their mannerisms and characteristics, eavesdrop on their conversations. See your surroundings. Feel the wind in your face. Hear the sounds of nature or the sounds of the city. Allow yourself to feel the warmth of the sun or the iciness of a winter rain. Describe it.

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Although this article by L.T. Wright was composed from the standpoint of a traditional freelance writer, most of the same motivations and experiences that the author mentions also apply to modern bloggers. The technology of writing and publishing has certainly changed; instead of dealing with brown envelopes and mailboxes, we can simply press that handy-dandy little “Publish” button. However, this article is still one that I can readily relate to because the fundamental experiences involved with creating new content and attempting to make a living from it have not substantially changed with the passage of time.

What exactly is it that motivates wannabe writers to take the plunge into the competitive, minefield spawn world of writing?

It is a scary experience finally posting off with shaking hands and apprehension, that big brown envelope full of all your hopes and dreams of becoming an established writer. Now the waiting begins and you start to count rejection letters jumping over the fence in place of sheep in your sleep.

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Like anyone who is in the business of creating content for a living, we bloggers sometimes have to deal with the phenomenon of writer’s block. This article by Jeff Johnston explores some of the common causes of this condition and describes a technique called freewriting that can be used to overcome it.

Writer’s block is the bane of any writer. Most of us, if not all of us have experienced it at one point or another in our writing career. For those of you who don’t know what it is, writer’s block is a condition that occurs when a writer sits down to write something and cannot get anything to appear on the page. It is a mental block that seems to cease all creative thought. There are many causes of writer’s block:
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