How To Get More Comments On Your Blog

[caption id="attachment_401" align="aligncenter" width="601"] How To Get More Comments On Your Blog[/caption]

 

You put everything you have into your post, publish it, then promote the post as much as possible and wait for the hordes of raving fans to comment.

You wait and wait, but still nothing.

Then a few comments trickle through but you’re sat there thinking – is my content even being noticed?

Does this sound familiar?

You’re not the only one who has experienced this, we have all been there.

In this post I’ll share why comments are important and how to start getting far more comments than you thought possible.

Why you need  blog comments?

There are a bunch of reasons why blog comments are awesome.

They help you to:

• Increase social proof – I touched on social proof in my post last week, when a lot of people comment it makes your blog look popular.


• Gauge how well your posts are received – Feedback is awesome and blog comments are a great way to get post specific feedback.


• Develop relationships with your audience – Getting ahead on the web is all about developing and maintaining mutually beneficial relationships. Get to know your audience better through your comments.


• Give your readers a voice and help them become part of the conversation – Your readers want to be heard, give them a voice and watchengagement soar.

Blog comments are more than just a vanity metric and while they’re not the only metric you should focus on, they are one of the best ways to get closer to your audience.

It’s also important that I mention how certain blogs have been removing blog comments, Copyblogger did it and so did Chris Brogan.

And when you have a huge audience like Copyblogger and Chris Brogan do, the time required to moderate comments gets crazy – from a business stand point it’s a huge investment and it makes sense for them to switch off comments.

The truth is that while this may work for some blogs, it won’t work for all and I’m not quite ready to give up on blog comments just yet (let me know where you stand on this in the comments below – I’d love to hear from you).

The benefits are there; leverage social proof, get instant feedback, get closer to your audience, develop relationships and boost engagement.

Fitting blog comments into your blogging strategy

Despite the benefits of blog comments, you need to seriously consider how they will fit into your overall blogging strategy.

If you want to take things to the next level, it’s important to remember that every tactic or marketing channel you implement on your blog needs to be part of a cohesive strategy.

For example, there are some blog posts where I don’t actively encourage comments because I have different conversion goals (another idea I touched upon last week) such as encouraging email sign ups.

How to get more blog comments

Getting more blog comments boils down to two main things:

• Make it easy for your audience to comment (remove elements that cause friction).


• Engaging your audience better.

Removing elements that cause friction with your audience isn’t always easy, sometimes it requires design tweaks that not everyone can do – but if you can, it’s well worth doing if it fits with your overall blogging strategy.

Are you ready to start getting more blog comments?

Let’s dive in…

Disable spam prevention methods that cause friction with your readers

If you are using any type of captcha’s that your readers have to fill in before they can comment – remove them.

In most cases this just causes friction with your readers and doesn’t stop spam in the slightest.

For spammers, it’s easy to get past captcha’s and there are even services that will solve captcha’s for a small fee (we’re talking just over $1 for 1,000 captcha’s).

Avoid forcing registration

I used to see comments that required registration a lot more; thankfully I am seeing this less and less.

This adds far too much friction and makes it much more hassle than it should be for your visitors to comment.

Consider removing commenting platforms that make you jump through hoops

On a similar vein as forced registrations, it’s worth considering how the commenting system you are using impacts your visitors.

An example of this would be Disqus; it’s a great system that stops spam in its tracks but it’s another hoop for your readers to jump through (that’s if they aren’t a Disqus user).

There are positives to using a system like Disqus, which include:

• Email notifications are managed for you.


• You can earn money from the platform.


• You probably won’t need any other comment for blocking spam.


• Faster loading times.


• For those commenting, it’s easy to manage all of your comment replies from one place.

But despite these positives, it’s worth considering how using a platform like this could impact how many comments you receive.

Plenty of other bloggers have talked about why they are removing Disqus and why they avoid commenting on blogs with Disqus, Gary Korisko shared his thoughts here and the post generated some great comments.

I’ve been a Disqus user myself for a long time and some feedback I’ve received showed a dislike for the platform so I’ll most likely remove it when I re-design my blog.

My plan is to test how things go without Disqus, and you should too – testing is essential to find what works for you.

Link to your comments section at the end of your post

One of the problems with a lot of blog themes is that you have to scroll all of the way to the bottom of the comments to enter your comment.

And because one of the keys to getting more comments is to make it easy for your readers to comment, we need to do something to make this easier.

If you’re a WordPress user and you don’t have anything like Disqus installed, you can do this by linking to #commentform.

The URL will look like this to your visitors:

http://www.yourblogurl.com/post-permalink/#commentform

But you’ll only need to add #commentform.

Minimize distractions and put the focus on your content

I’ve talked about this before and its relevant here too.

When someone is given too many options, they will take the easiest option; no action.

Look at your blog and consider what you should remove – what is really helping you achieve your goals?

Hide low comment counts

I mentioned social proof earlier on and it’s an important one.

If you aren’t getting many comments on your blog yet, avoid drawing attention to your comment counts.

Go back to the drawing board and think about the audience you’re trying to reach

How well do you know your audience?

If you aren’t getting many comments (yet) or you are getting the wrong sort of people commenting on your blog, it’s worth taking a look at who you are really trying to reach.

Are you reaching the right people?

Once you get to understand your audience better and focus on the right areas, your comments will increase.

Write content that deserves comments

I’m sure you are doing this already, but I’ve included this for completeness.

Take a look at your content and ask yourself if you would leave a comment, if not – what’s stopping you? And what can you do to change it?

Leave an unanswered question at the end of your post

One of the best ways to get your readers to comment is to ask their opinion.

Ask an open ended question at the end of your blog post but most importantly ensure that it’s not a question that would result in a yes/no answer.

Your aim should always be to develop a discussion within your comments – the more discussion, the more it will get other people talking.

Email your list and ask them to leave a comment

Your email list is your new best friend.

Your email subscribers are the most likely to share your content and the most likely to comment when you ask them to.

Try signing off your email with a call to action that simply asks your subscribers an open ended question or asks them to leave a comment.

Don’t write everything that can be said about a topic

If you write everything that can be said about a topic, you won’t leave much room for discussion.

Admittedly, this is one of the biggest reasons why I don’t get as many comments as I could. I write mostly resource intensive posts which leaves minimal room for discussion.

This is worth considering, but you should also consider how this would fit in with your overall blogging strategy.

I find that I get more social shares and traffic when I publish more comprehensive posts – I take a hit on the comments in favor of broader visibility.

I may change this up in the future to see how it plays out – let me know your thoughts on this in the comments.

Say cool stuff about other people and tell them about it

I’m big on influencer marketing – saying cool stuff about people and linking to their blogs can help you get more shares & traffic, but it can also help you get more comments.

When I say cool stuff about people and link out to them in a blog post, I get more comments – more often than not, these are comments from the people I mention and this brings them into the conversation.

Respond to comments and encourage more conversations

Engaging your audience is essential to not only getting more comments but also growing your blog in general.

One of the best ways to do this is to respond to comments and encourage more conversations – ask questions, get to know your readers and take the conversation further.

Don’t lose your voice to blog contributors

Chances are that people follow you because they want to hear what you have to say – that’s one of the great things about having your own blog.

Your readers want to hear from you.

So, let them hear from you.

Accepting blog contributors works great; it can expand your audience, increase your traffic and email subscribers too.

But, the moment that the majority of your posts are from contributors, is the moment that you start to lose your voice.

Your readers want to hear from you – let them and it will help to forge a stronger bond with your audience.

Make an announcement that you’d love for feedback on

People love to feel cared about.

And you should care what your audience thinks, they are the reason your blog is where it is now and they’ll be largely responsible for getting your blog to where you want it to be.

If you’ve made a change on your blog, find out what your audience thinks – make an announcement and ask for feedback.

Contribute to other blogs that have an active community

When your blog’s community grows, you will get more blog comments.

One of the best ways to expand your own community is to contribute to other blogs within your niche that already have an active community. This could include contributing guest posts or contributing engaging comments.

You will get more email subscribers, increased traffic, increased visibility and if your new subscribers like what they read – they’ll comment (as long as you make it easy for them).

Why People Aren’t Reading Your Blog Posts

[caption id="attachment_397" align="aligncenter" width="601"] Why People Aren’t Reading Your Blog Posts[/caption]

Do you ever look at prolific blogs and get frustrated by how easy they make it seem?

Thousands of people read, comment and share each new post on the blog.

It can be discouraging, especially if you’re a new blogger.

In contrast, your blog may only get a few dozen hits each post. And the only shares that happen come from your own social media accounts.

“Why aren’t people reading my blog posts?”

This same question may have popped into your mind. I know it’s one I’ve struggled with before. Every new blogger has struggled with the concept of traffic, audience and building a successful blog. And that’s why many give up on their blogging before they see success.

Don’t be another one of these failed blog statistics.

Identify the reasons people aren’t reading your blog. Then take strategic steps to improve.

These 27 reasons will help get you started on your quest:

1. You haven’t identified a strong audience persona

You can’t create compelling content without an in-depth knowledge of your audience. Personas not only help you create better content, but they also help guide your topics, strategy and monetization efforts.

2. You don’t know how your audience searches for content

This requires a deeper step into your overall persona.

• What does the audience search for?


• What kind of things do they need to learn?


• How can my content serve those needs?

Answer those questions and you’ll not only have a path for content creation, but you’ll know exactly how to optimize for SEO.

3. Your content’s style and tone don’t align with your brand

If you have a serious brand, but write in a laid-back, silly fashion, you create a brand misalignment. And when this happens, you confuse readers and detach them from what you’re saying.

4. You focus too much on products, services and promotions

People don’t always want to read about you.

The occasional announcement is okay, but you shouldn’t always be promoting something. Make your content about the reader – not you.5

 

5. You aren’t creating content that provides enough value

Time is a precious thing. If you don’t offer immense value, why should someone waste what little time they have consuming your content?

Answer: They shouldn’t.

As an example, take a look at a recent Currency Liquidator post on the Iraqi Dinar. Clocking in at nearly 2,500 words, the post offers the kinds of in-depth statistics those interested in foreign currency need to make investment decisions:

6. You don’t test different types of blog posts for engagement

There are numerous types of content that drive traffic.

 

That should keep you busy for a while. Test out different post styles to see what type of content your audience actually wants to read – not just what you think they want.

7. You’re not infusing any personality into your writing

Bored!

That’s what people think when your content lacks personality. Even the most serious brands can allow their personality to shine through. Don’t be boring.

8. You don’t include enough images throughout the post

We’re visual creatures.

Including images throughout your post creates natural breaks in the content. This keeps readers engaged and reading, instead of distracted and leaving.

9. You aren’t formatting your posts for reading on the web

Please stop writing posts with huge blocks of text.

The online world has its own style for writing. If you don’t adhere to these guidelines, people will leave the page without ever reading a word.

10. Your content doesn’t add a new perspective

If you don’t have anything to add to the conversation, don’t say anything at all. There’s no reason to regurgitate the same thing hundreds of others have already said.

Position your content from a fresh perspective for best results.

11. Your posts don’t stick to the intended topic

Try to avoid veering off topic in your posts. If you’ve ever muddled your way through a post that jumps from one subject to another, you know how frustrating this can be.

When I feel myself getting away from the subject at hand, I make a note of the digression and use it as the springboard for a new post.

12. You use poor grammar and make spelling errors

This should be obvious, but I see so many mistakes online that I’ll say it anyways. Do your best to avoid mistakes, even small slip ups here and there.

 

The online world may seem forgiving, but that’s not an excuse. Major syntax, grammar and spelling mistakes throughout are always unacceptable.

13. You only use cheesy stock images in posts

The visuals you use in your content influence your overall. tone, style and branding. Most stock photos are cheesy. They’re staged and unnatural.

 

If you only use stock photography, it may be doing you and your brand more harm than good.

14. You have an outdated or unprofessional blog design

In many ways, design – not content – is king.

If you have an outdated, unprofessional blog design, would-be readers will leave your site before they ever give your content a chance.

15. Your blog isn’t optimized for mobile reading

More and more people are using their mobile phone to consume content. It’s also increasingly important for SEO.

A responsive design ensures that your website is optimized for mobile viewing. Don’t overlook this key design aspect.

16. Your blog takes too long to load

By nature, the Internet gives us information as fast as we want it.

If your website takes too long to load, readers will abandon their quest to get information from your site – and they’ll quickly find it somewhere else.

17. You haven’t optimized for social sharing

Publishing solid content is only half the battle.

Getting people to read it can only happen if they know it’s there. Social sharing optimization makes it easy for the readers you do have to help you spread the word.

18. You don’t optimize every post for SEO

You don’t need a full-time, in-house SEO expert to make strides in the search engine rankings.

Plenty of tools make it possible for you to rank well from the content you post. Take advantage of them and watch your readership soar.

19. You aren’t crafting compelling headlines

The headlines you use could mean the difference between dozens of people reading your post and thousands of people flocking to your blog.

 

Spend as much time on the headline as you do for the entire post, if that’s what it takes. It’s that important to the success of your blog.

20. You aren’t testing new headlines using social media

You know you need to create compelling headlines. But have you tried using social media to test different variations?

Formulas and the success of others don’t guarantee your success.

Use your social profiles to test several variations of headlines to see what kinds work best to capture clicks from your audience.

21. You don’t promote the post on social media enough

Don’t post just once.

That’s a huge mistake that many bloggers make. People consume more information in a day than most of their ancestors did in their entire life. Go ahead and promote your new post a few times. You might just be surprised by the results.

22. You haven’t reached out to influencers about the post

No man is an island.

Successful bloggers are always leaning on the influence of others to gain readers. If you want readers, reach out to the people in your industry that already have them. A few ways you can build a connection include:

• Adding immense value to influencers by providing your assistance.


• Asking for their input or expertise on an upcoming post.


• Interviewing them for their new book release.

23. You aren’t building a targeted social media audience

It’s great if you have thousands of followers. But if you’re running a marketing blog and you’ve bought a bunch of fake followers, what good will those bots do for you?

Ultimately, it’s better to have dozens of highly-targeted followers than thousands that don’t care about you.

24. You spend more time writing than promoting

Some people really like taking an 80/20 approach to their work.

And if you’re applying this concept to your blogging, you’ll want to spend 80% of your time promoting and 20% of your time writing. Don’t get bogged down by the writing. Go find your readers.

25. You don’t update your email list about new posts

Anyone who’s starting a blog needs an email list.

But if you don’t do anything with that list, it won’t do you any good. Set up your email marketing service to update list members each time a new blog post releases. This can typically be done automatically, giving you a quick and easy way to get more people reading your blog posts.

It’s frustrating when people don’t read your blog posts, but it doesn’t have to be that way.

 

99 Marketing Tools i Cannot Live Without As a Blogger

[caption id="attachment_390" align="aligncenter" width="601"] 99 Marketing Tools i Cannot Live Without As a Blogger[/caption]

To say that digital marketers have to be jacks-of-all-trades is a considerable understatement. Marketers don’t often get the recognition they deserve for having to master so many different software tools, but if there’s one profession that requires knowledge of more tools than a Swiss army knife, online marketing is it. 99 Marketing Tools i Cannot Live Without As a Blogger.

In this post, we’ll be rounding up our top 99 online marketing tools. In this list is (almost!) every tool you’ll ever need to master (almost!) every aspect of a digital marketing campaign, from PPC and SEO to social to content and email marketing. Some tools are very specific, whereas others offer robust, diverse functionality. Some are free, others are not. Either way, you can check out the whole list, or skip to the section you’re most interested in:. 99 Marketing Tools i Cannot Live Without As a Blogger.

• PPC Tools


• SEO Tools


• Social Media Tools


• Content Marketing Tools


• Analytics and Conversion Rate Optimization Tools

PPC Tools

1. AdWords Editor

If you work on large campaigns or multiple campaigns in Google AdWords on a regular basis, you’ll need AdWords Editor.

The recently redesigned interface makes working in AdWords Editor much easier, and the new suite of tools has almost everything a PPC marketer needs for bulk editing. Essential.

2. Keyword Planner

Google’s Keyword Planner is a similarly essential tool. Although you need an AdWords account to use it, the Keyword Planner isn’t just for PPC; it can help identify a wide range of keywords and associated data for uses in your AdWords campaigns as well as content marketing and SEO.

3. Bing Ads Editor

With Bing Ads becoming an increasingly popular PPC platform, the Bing Ads Editor is your all-in-one companion for managing your Bing Ads campaigns.

4. AdWords Scripts

Many PPC marketers have discovered the power and flexibility of AdWords Scripts to help them automate tasks that would otherwise eat into their precious time. If you haven’t checked them out, maybe it’s time to give them a try!

5. AdWords Performance Grader

WordStream’s AdWords Performance Grader (which we recently improved!) performs a thorough PPC audit of your AdWords account in 60 seconds or less, completely free. See what you’re doing right, and where you could improve, and see a greater return on your AdWords investment.

6. Bing Ads Intelligence

Although Bing Ads has intentionally made its experience as similar to AdWords as possible to help advertisers make the transition or run complementary campaigns, one area Bing excels in is its reporting functionality. The Bing Ads Intelligence suite of tools offers some remarkable reporting, so if you’re serious about Bing Ads, be sure to explore Bing Ads Intelligence.

7. Bing Ads Grader

Like WordStream’s AdWords Performance Grader, but want to see how your Bing Ads account is doing? No problem. The WordStream Bing Ads Performance Grader will evaluate the strength of your Bing Ads account and provide step-by-step advice on how to improve.

8. Keyword Wrapper

SEO Book’s Keyword Wrapper may appear to be an SEO tool, but as with many such tools, it offers a great deal of value to PPC marketers. Simply enter one or more keywords, then “wrap” them into groups according to match types such as broad, phrase, and exact – or all three!

9. Google Trends

Search trend data can be incredibly valuable to PPC marketers – so you can adjust campaigns to match seasonal demand – and Google Trends is one of the best free sources of this information out there.

10. Phrase Builder

Need a ton of related keyword ideas in a hurry? Phrase Builder is a great tool for quickly generating related keyword lists based on your input criteria. Useful for building large lists of keywords.

11. Analysis Toolpak for Excel

Personally, I barely use Excel’s core functionality on any given day, but for power users, the Analysis Toolpak for Excel adds a whole bunch of additional features that are useful for PPC marketers hoping to wring even more out of their Excel workflow. Learn how to install it here, then check out what it can do here.

12. Soovle

Similar to Google Suggest – but with a lot more data – Soovle lets you see autocomplete suggestions instantly from not just Google, but several other sites including Wikipedia, Amazon, and YouTube. Very handy, but it’s worth noting that Google plans to cut off access to the autocomplete API in the near future, meaning Soovle will only be able to provide results for other search engines when this happens.

13. Convertable

One of the biggest challenges in lead generation campaigns is learning enough about your leads to qualify them. Convertable makes this easier, offering much more data than traditional forms allow, providing you with data on everything from the browser they used and their operating system to the traffic source and the keywords they entered, as you can see in the screenshot below:

14. UberSuggest

One of the most popular third-party tools for PPC marketers, UberSuggest works similarly to other suggestion-based tools, but also offers robust foreign language support and some other nifty functionality. Again, when Google sunsets access to the autocomplete API, this tool might disappear, but for now, it’s worth checking out.

15. SplitTester

Calculating the CTR of two different ads is easy – predicting how they’ll perform over the long term is much harder without running a lengthy A/B test. SplitTester allows you to enter numerical CTR data to predict the ongoing performance of the two ads. Great for estimating statistical significance if you don’t have enough time for a full A/B test.

16. WordStream Landing Page Grader

Strong landing pages are essential to the success of any PPC campaign, and WordStream’s free Landing Page Grader will show you how you can improve your landing pages with a detailed, personalized report.

17. Keyword Competitor

Nothing like a little armchair industrial espionage to get your campaigns off on the right foot, eh? Keyword Competitor lets you check out what keywords your competitors are using, as well as how well they’re performing. Sly!

18. iSpionage

While we’re on the topic of espionage, give iSpionage a try (see what I did there?). This handy tool also lets you get the lowdown on what other businesses in your space are up to, allowing you to make informed decisions about your own campaigns.

19. SEMrush

You can never have too much competitive analysis, and the SEMrush suite of tools is definitely one of the best out there. Search for detailed keyword data by domain or keyword, and see what everyone else is up to.

20. SpyFu

SpyFu is another competitive analysis tool, but it offers some really cool features other tools lack, such as the ability to download CSV files of competitor keywords and reporting export functionality. It also has a really nice interface with plenty of important information easily available at a glance.

21. KeywordSpy

Another keyword research tool that can help you gain a valuable edge over the competition. KeywordSpy offers the data you’d expect from such a tool, as well as ad copy and keyword combination information, AdWords spend data for entire sites, and other cool information that can help PPC marketers.

22. WhatRunsWhere

WhatRunsWhere is a powerful tool that offers a wide range of data on display advertising campaigns. Covering 150,000 display advertisers across more than 90 ad networks in 15 countries, WhatRunsWhere is essential for companies hoping to get ahead in (display) advertising.

23. The Search Monitor

Of all the competitive intelligence tools we’ve looked at so far, The Search Monitor is one of the most useful. PPC marketers can use The Search Monitor to examine data on sponsored listings and PLAs across nine ad networks and 1,200 industry verticals, and also offers a ton of geotargeting and custom audience functionality. Well worth checking out.

24. AdGooroo

One thing we hear time and again about our own tools is how valuable the benchmark performance data is, and that’s one area where AdGooroo shines. As well as the usual ad spend estimate modeling and other tools, AdGooroo also lets you look at snapshots of specific brands in your vertical – very interesting if you’re looking to adjust your PPC strategy.

25. Typo Generator

If you’re targeting exact match types in your campaigns, give Typo Generator a shot. Google does offer variation matching within AdWords, but this tool is still useful for the hyper-control-freak PPCers out there.

26. Keyword Niche Finder

Our final PPC tool is WordStream’s own Keyword Niche Finder. This free tool lets you find keyword niches (as in, pre-organized keyword groups), which can be very useful when thinking about how to structure your campaigns. It’s pretty handy for SEO purposes, too.

SEO Tools

27. Google Suggest

Google Suggest is invaluable when you need keyword and content ideas. You might not have given much thought to how Google’s autocomplete functionality can help you, but with powerful modifiers and other tricks, there’s more to it than meets the eye.

28. Ahrefs

For SEOs, Ahrefs is a must. This tool offers a wide range of functionality that every SEO will find useful, from link profile data to content referral information. Essential.

29. Majestic

With more backlink data than you can shake a proverbial stick at, Majestic remains the go-to for many SEOs. This robust tool (which offers its own API for working with your own data sets) is extraordinarily powerful.

30. Compete

Ever wanted to know how much traffic your favorite blogs really get? Well, now you can. Compete offers estimated traffic data based on a range of metrics, and you can plot your results against primary and secondary metrics to customize your reports. Very handy.

31. DeepCrawl

Migrating to a new site is a worrisome time for any SEO. With DeepCrawl, you can test the impact of changes in a safe environment before pushing them to a live server, among many other awesome tools. DeepCrawl lets you check your redirects, ensure your hreflang tags are applied correctly, review canonicalized pages, and more.

32. Anchor Text Over Optimization Tool

Does exactly what it says on the tin. The Anchor Text Over Optimization Tool lets you search for and identify over-optimized anchor text links (which can look unnatural to Google) on external sites, and also allows you to submit change requests directly to site webmasters. If you’re worried about Google penalties, give it a try.

33. SEO Title Tag 3.0

Optimizing your title tags has never been easier. SEO Title Tag 3.0 lets you effortlessly optimize title tags in minutes.

34. Domain Hunter Plus

This free Chrome plugin lets you quickly check for broken links without leaving your browser. Domain Hunter Plus can crawl hundreds of links on a single page, provides error status codes for easy diagnosis, and lets you export results in .csv format. Very cool.

35. Keyword Map

Wordtracker’s Keyword Map is a handy tool for SEOs looking to build keyword maps for website architecture.

36. MozLocal

Moz is every SEO’s best friend, and having acquired GetListed in 2012, it’s no surprise that Moz is one of the best tools for local SEOs out there. MozLocal helps local businesses rank competitively in the search engines, making smaller sites as visible as possible.

37. Google SERP Snippet Optimization Tool

It may not look pretty, but this Google SERP Snippet Optimization Tool is actually pretty handy. It lets you mock up SERP snippets and URLs quickly and easily so you can see ahead of time what your content will look like in the search results. It also offers several display options, such as bold text, dates, and rich snippets.

38. Internet Marketing Ninjas SEO Tools

Our friends at Internet Marketing Ninjas offer several free SEO tools that might help you with your technical SEO work. Tools available include a broken link checker, an image and link analyzer, an on-page optimization tool, and a Greasemonkey add-on that helps you find URLs from search results.

39. Linkstant

Wondering where your new links are coming from and just can’t wait for a search engine report or your Analytics logs to catch up? Then check out Linkstant (as in links + instant), a link checking tool that offers immediate results.

40. MozCast

Keeping up with changes to Google’s algorithms can be hard work, which is why MozCast makes it easy and fun. MozCast compares Google algorithm updates to the weather, providing at-a-glance updates of how much the algos have changed over the past day or week.

41. Rank Checker for Firefox

No surprises with this tool. Rank Checker for Firefox is a free, open source add-on for Mozilla’s browser that lets you quickly check your rankings without handing all your data over to a third party.

42. Schema Creator

Schema can be an excellent addition to your site, but to the uninitiated, it’s not exactly easy to get started. That’s what makes Raven’s Schema Creator such a powerful tool. Start generating schema microdata for your site in minutes.

43. Seer SEO Toolbox

If you’re new to SEO or just want a simpler suite of tools to help you with your technical SEO work, check out Seer Interactive’s SEO Toolbox. Made with marketers, not technologists, in mind, these handy tools will help you get more done with less effort and technical know-how.

44. SEO Tools for Excel

Just like their PPC counterparts, SEOs almost certainly use Excel as part of their workflow. Why not make it more useful by adding SEO Tools for Excel? This software adds a range of SEO-centric functionality to Excel, making it easier to get more done in Excel.

45. SEOgadget Tools

Similar to SEO Tools for Excel, SEOgadget Tools extends the functionality of Excel to make it a more useful tool for SEOs.

46. Similar Page Checker

Having too much duplicate content on your site is a search engine no-no. Similar Page Checker is a free web-based tool that runs comparisons of your pages to a second page, highlighting areas of similarity that could get you in trouble with Google.

47. URI Valet

Need to check your server headers? Then use URI Valet, a free tool that allows you to check server headers according to a range of parameters, including by protocol and user agent.

48. Xenu’s Link Sleuth

This old-school tool Xenu’s Link Sleuth gets the job done and then some. Use this tool to find broken links on your site quickly and easily as well as to easily get a full list of all your indexed pages.

49. MozBar

Yet another awesome free tool from our pals at Moz. The MozBar browser extension lets you perform a range of SEO tasks from your browser, including keyword ranking data analysis, schema validation, and SEO metric reporting.

50. The Alexa Toolbar for Chrome

Alexa is one of the most trusted web metrics sites online, and with the Alexa Toolbar for Chrome, you can see at-a-glance information about the site you’re currently browsing, including traffic rankings, inbound links, and user reviews.

51. Mozscape API

Sometimes there’s just no substitute for rolling your sleeves up and working with the raw data yourself. If this sounds like your approach to SEO, you’re probably already using the Mozscape API – but if not, check it out right now.

52. Open Site Explorer

Seriously, when it comes to SEO tools, nobody does it better than Moz. Open Site Explorer is invaluable not just to SEOs, but digital marketers of all stripes. If you haven’t used it yet, you’re missing out.

53. Screaming Frog SEO Spider

Offering an in-depth SEO audit of more than 30 metrics, Screaming Frog’s SEO Spider tool is one of the most comprehensive technical SEO analysis tools out there.

Social Media Tools

54. Hootsuite

Few social media management tools are as well-known or widely used as Hootsuite. This fully featured platform offers all the social media management functionality you could ever need, which is probably why it’s so popular.

55. TweetDeck

If you only want to focus on Twitter, TweetDeck will soon become your new best friend. Don’t waste time wrestling with the Twitter.com interface – get all the functionality Twitter should have built in the first place with TweetDeck.

56. Buffer

Yes, other social media tools offer scheduling functionality, but Buffer is among the simplest and most elegant platforms for managing social media accounts. Bonus points to the Buffer team for running one of the best blogs in the business.

57. IFTTT

Although not a social media tool in the strictest sense, IFTTT (short for If This, Then That) lets you connect the apps you use on a regular basis and create logic-driven workflows for automating routine tasks. An interesting way to create social media updates and dozens of other nifty uses.

58. BuzzSumo

Another app that falls into several categories, BuzzSumo is just pure awesomeness. Find out which content is being shared across which networks and by who. Brilliant.

59. SocialOomph

Social media management platform SocialOomph does a little bit of everything – post scheduling, keyword tracking, draft management, multiple account connectivity, and mentions/retweet monitoring. I haven’t used it myself, but a lot of digital marketers recommend it.

60. Tweepi

Another great Twitter management tool Tweepi makes it easy to get your Twitter account under control. See who’s not following you back (and unfollow en masse), clean up your follower list, and even force undesirable accounts to unfollow you.

61. Save Publishing

A very nifty tool, Save Publishing lets you quickly identify passages of 140 characters on any web page, making it easy to find – and tweet – quotes and quick takeaways from your content and other sources.

62. SocialFlow

SocialFlow doesn’t manage your accounts or make it easier to handle everyday social media management, but it does analyze millions of data points to determine the precise moments when to publish on social to create maximum visibility and engagement with your content.

63. LikeAlyzer

Don’t let the awkward name fool you – LikeAlyzer is really cool. This tool evaluates the strength of your Facebook page to give you additional insight into areas you can improve when engaging with followers and fans on Facebook.

64. Sprout Social

Sprout Social makes it easy to keep on top of your social media management. Offers agency-specific tools as well as functionality to handle social customer service (very important).

65. Social Bro

I haven’t used this platform myself, but terrible name notwithstanding, SocialBro seems to offer some useful Twitter management features. Free plans are available if you fancy giving it a try for yourself.

66. Crowdbooster

Social media analytics platform Crowdbooster offers some nice-looking reporting features, export functionality, as well as the scheduling and general-purpose management functions you’d expect from a social media tool.

67. Happy Cyborg

What if you could entrust your Twitter account to a machine? This isn’t dystopian science fiction but a reality thanks to Happy Cyborg, a fun tool that’s still in beta. Happy Cyborg assumes control of your Twitter handle and behaves as you would based on common responses to Twitter interactions. Probably not recommended for corporate accounts, but it could be ideal for busy entrepreneurs who find themselves tweeting the same stuff frequently.

68. Openr

Openr is a really nifty tool that lets you add a call to action to anything you post on social media, allowing you to harness the power of social’s reach and make it even easier for your audience to take action.

69. Bitly

Where would Twitter be without Bitly? The original link shortening tool is still highly useful as a standalone tool, even after Twitter incorporated Bit.ly functionality into TweetDeck.

70. Mediatoolkit

Keeping track of what people are saying about you online is crucial for effective brand management, and Mediatoolkit makes it easy.

71. Everypost

Social management tool Everypost does, of course, offer scheduling and publishing functionality, but its greatest strength is its very cool content curation tools. Curate content from virtually anywhere, then publish across your social accounts. Very cool.

72. Discover.ly

Chrome extension Discover.ly lets you explore relationships with influential people on social media. It provides additional information about people, including previously unconnected accounts, such as a person’s Facebook or LinkedIn profiles from their Gmail account, and helps you form stronger relationships with industry power users.

Content Marketing Tools

73. Prezi

Let’s be honest – most slideshow presentations suck, but Prezi helps you make presentations people will actually want to watch.

74. Powtoon

Powtoon lets you create animated elements for your slideshows quickly and easily, bringing a touch of finesse that most PowerPoints lack.

75. Blog Topic Generator

Stuck for ideas on what to blog about? Then try HubSpot’s Blog Topic Generator, which does pretty much exactly what you’d expect it to do.

76. Content Idea Generator

Similar to HubSpot’s Blog Topic Generator, Portent’s Content Idea Generator helps you quickly come up with ideas for new content projects simply by plugging in a general topic.

77. Trello

Trello is a godsend for large or distributed content teams working to a shared editorial calendar by simplifying the editorial workflow process into nice easy boards. Seriously, check it out.

78. Feedly

Many a marketer mourned the loss of Google Reader (RIP), but Feedly is just as good – if not better. Stay on top of the day’s news and must-read content with this awesome RSS app.

79. CoSchedule

Another scheduling/editorial calendar tool, CoSchedule also offers some nifty free content tools like its Headline Analyzer. Well worth a look for small teams.

80. After the Deadline

Not all content teams can afford the luxury of hiring a dedicated copyeditor, which is what makes After the Deadline so awesome. This free Chrome plugin checks your grammar, spelling, and everything else you need to keep an eye on before hitting “Publish.”

81. Polar

Adding interactive elements like online polls can be a great way to make your content more engaging. Polar makes adding polls to your content a snap, and it has a really intuitive interface, so you don’t need mad coding skills to get started.

82. SlideShare

For marketers who do a lot of conference presentations or webinars, SlideShare is the other social network. Create awesome slide decks, then share them on SlideShare with your audience – simple.

83. PlaceIt

Ever wanted to put screenshots of your product into stock imagery, but lack Photoshop skills? Now you can with PlaceIt, an easy way to customize images with your own branding and product stills. It also features video integration, which looks awesome.

84. Canva

Canva lets you create stylish, striking visuals for social media posts and content projects with an effortless drag-and-drop interface. You can upload your own assets to work with (for free), or pay a small fee to use Canva’s own library of visual materials.

85. Share As Image

A really nifty tool for content marketers, Share As Image lets you add text to any image on the web for fast, easy social sharing of visual content. Just be sure to get permission to use images you find online before including them in your campaigns.

86. Piktochart

Long gone are the days when you needed to hire an expensive graphic design specialist to create beautiful infographics. Piktochart is an awesome free tool that lets you start designing infographics, presentations and more in minutes. Well worth bookmarking.

87. Tableau Public

Incorporating data visualization into your content projects is a near-guaranteed way to make them stickier and really pop when it comes to illustrating complex topics. Tableau Public is an amazingly powerful, completely free data visualization tool that lets you create incredible interactive visualizations. Amazing.

88. The Readability Test Tool

Nailing the style and tone of your content is crucial. To check if your latest post is a little on the wordy side, check out The Readability Test Tool, which evaluates web pages according to the Flesch Kincaid Reading Scale.

89. Quora

It might not seem like a content marketing tool, but Quora can be invaluable for crowdsourcing answers to your questions. Many content marketers use Quora to find quotes, explain complex topics, and other ways to make their content more accessible.

90. OmmWriter

Hate drafting in Word? Need to eliminate distractions while you’re blogging? Then give OmmWriter a try. This minimalist writing environment strips away everything between you and that all-important first draft, giving you the time and space to get more done.

91. Evernote

Personally, I favor the hundreds-of-bookmarks-organized-into-folders approach to research, but if this sounds like too much hassle, give Evernote a try. This powerful free app lets you save virtually anything you find online to a personalized folder system synced across all your devices – awesome.

Analytics and Optimization Tools

92. Google Analytics

The granddaddy of analytics tools, offers everything you need to track the effectiveness of your campaigns and monitor the performance of your site. For such a complex tool, Google Analytics is surprisingly user-friendly.

93. CrazyEgg

Heatmaps are immensely useful tools to see how your visitors are really interacting with your site, and nobody does heatmaps better than CrazyEgg.

94. ClickTale

ClickTale lets you review video recordings of real website visitor sessions, revealing their mouse movements, what they click, and most importantly, where you’re losing them.

95. SubjectLine

Worried your email subject lines aren’t as compelling as they could be? Then test them to see how they measure up with SubjectLine. For example, I entered the subject line “Want to get more out of your PPC campaigns?” which gave me the score and breakdown below:

96. MixPanel

MixPanel is a powerful analytics tool that lets you work with large datasets without writing a single line of SQL code. It also boasts a clean, intuitive interface, making advanced analytics analysis easier than ever.

97. Formisimo

Analytics tools are all well and good, but finding out why visitors abandon web forms and checkouts is hard using traditional platforms. That’s what makes Formisimo such a valuable tool for digital marketers. Find out exactly what visitors are doing – or not doing – with your web forms.

98. Visual Website Optimizer

Another A/B testing and optimization tool, Visual Website Optimizer (or VWO) is remarkably easy to use. Dive in and get started with testing virtually immediately.

99. FiveSecondTest

In-depth A/B tests are all well and good, but sometimes, a person’s gut reaction to what they see immediately upon landing on your page can yield surprising insights. That’s the idea behind FiveSecondTest, a testing platform that shows you what people see within five seconds of arriving on your page – and what they miss.

6 Free Blogging Tools To Attract New Readers

[caption id="attachment_382" align="aligncenter" width="601"] 6 Free Blogging Tools To Attract New Readers[/caption]

I have a confession: I’m a bookmark-aholic.
6 Free Blogging Tools To Attract New Readers. I’m one of the thousands (note: completely unscientific research) suffering from FOMO on every “tools,” “tricks” and “tips” post, which leads to me starring then filing the content into one of my 123 folders.

Yes, you read that right. 123 folders. Jeesh.

But here’s the good news. When it comes to compiling PR tools for posts or agency seminars, that obsessive bookmarking pays off.

In an upcoming agency seminar, we’re featuring tools all PR pros should have on their radar. And a lot of these resources came straight from – you guessed it – my crazy Chrome filing system.

There are dozens upon dozens of them. So, for the next couple of weeks, I’ll be sharing the tools I use (along with takeaway tips for you) surrounding media relations, social media and, today’s topic:

Free Blogging tools

1. Google AdWords Keyword Planner

Keyword Planner helps you refine your blog topics based on search traffic. You enter the key phrase you’d like to write about, and it shares traffic for that term, plus other variations that may be more popular.

A few things to keep in mind with Keyword Planner:

• Don’t choose a keyword based solely on traffic. Typically, those high-traffic keywords are tough to rank for, and your topic should matter to your audience first and foremost. Use Keyword Planner as a backstop, not your sole editorial planning tool.


• The “competition” in Keyword Planner isn’t actually competition for how you’ll rank in search engines. It’s competition for certain Google AdWords, which is entirely separate. To evaluate organic search engine competition, you need to evaluate domain authority, which is why you should start using …

2. MozBar

When I discovered MozBar, my first question was: “Where have you been all my life?” It’s a Chrome extension that lets you analyze a certain site’s domain and page authorities, on-page SEO elements, social shares and more. It analyzes your website to ensure you’ve covered all the SEO bases in terms of meta description, alt text, etc.

Now, for evaluating search engine competition, head over to Google, turn MozBar on and type in the keyword you’d like to rank for. It will display domain authority for sites ranking for your chosen keyword. (You can find your domain authority for comparison’s sake by turning MozBar on while you’re on your site.)

If you have a domain authority of, say, 30, but those ranking for your keyword have domain authorities in the 60s (see visual, DA = domain authority), you’ll have trouble getting on the first few pages of Google. If that’s the case, think of long-tail variations of that keyword that have less traffic (but also less competition) so you have a good shot at a high rank.

3. Ubersuggest

If you’re having trouble coming up with new, fresh blog topics, Ubersuggest will be your BFF. Enter a keyword, and Ubersuggest shares an A-Z list of all the words Google searchers have added onto the end of that phrase, which can help guide your direction for the post.

For example, if I type in “basketball,” Ubersuggest tells me that people searched “basketball shoes,” “basketball positions,” “basketball rules,” etc., etc.

And, if you click on the plus sign for a certain term (say “basketball hoop”), Ubersuggest lists out additional long-tail keywords people are looking for. How’s that for efficient blog-topic generation?

4. StumbleUpon

While I’m not a big StumbleUpon user myself, I do still see its value for content amplification. I have a StumbleUpon extension on Chrome, and after I’ve published a blog post, I upload it to the platform (without ever leaving my site). I do this with the Pinterest Chrome extension, too.

5. Hemingway App

This one is a godsend. For a final set of eyes before publishing, copy and paste your post into theHemingway App. It analyzes your content to tell you:

• Which sentences are hard to read,


• Which sentences are very hard to read,


• When you have too many adverbs,


• When words or phrases can be simpler, and


• When you’re using passive voice.

 

6. Topsy

It’s easy to interact with the readers who comment directly on your site, or tag you in their social shares, but what about those flying under the radar? Topsy compiles a list of everyone who shares your content – whether they tagged you or not.

It’s a true goldmine for building relationships with new readers. I check whenever I can to see which tweeters I need to thank for sharing my posts.

Is this list of blogging resource complete? Of course not. Even my crazy bookmarking can’t keep up with every industry tool. But, if you add these resources to your PR toolkit, you’ll be well on your way to a successful career in blogging.

The Advantages of Online Advertising 2015

[caption id="attachment_377" align="aligncenter" width="604"] The Advantages of Online Advertising 2015[/caption]

The Advantages of Online Advertising 2015. Advertising has come a long way since the times of solely using traditional marketing, which included television, print, and the radio. With the introduction of the internet, online advertising has revolutionized the advertising game. There are four main advantages to online advertising: The ability to measure results, take control of ad campaigns, the ability to use precise targeting, and the ability to generate an e-mail list. The Advantages of Online Advertising 2015.

The biggest advantage to online advertising is the ability to measure the results from your marketing campaigns. When showing your ads online, you’re able to see the data almost immediately. You can see the exact number of people who have seen your advertisement, and/or the number of people who have bought your product. This means planning for future campaigns in accordance to how well they did during the present campaign is possible. In comparison, traditional advertisement is limited in that when you show your ads on television, you’re not able to measure how many people have watched the commercial, and/or have bought a certain product.

The second advantage to using online advertising is that you have a lot more control over everything, including the budgeting and costs, which makes advertisements costs a lot less expensive. For example, you can set your budget to as low as $5, or whatever price you’re comfortable with. Typically, we like to set a budget of $25-$50 a day, and then adjust it based on the results. If your campaign is not performing well, you can pause it and subsequently create new ones. Using traditional advertising is much more expensive, as you need to pay for your advertisements to be printed, shown, or heard. You have little control over this process, because once your advertisement has been broadcasted, there’s nothing you can do to stop it or track its progress.

The third advantage is that online advertising allows for precise targeting. This means that you are able to specifically choose who you want your ads shown to, and where you want them placed. You have control over if you want your ad shown on desktop, mobile, or on specific websites. When putting out an advertisement on Facebook, for example, you are able to target specific age groups, genders, locations, interests, and behaviours. On Google, you can target within certain markets and niches, such as the fashion industry. What’s even better is that you can create different ads for different target groups, and you can get statistics and data on how well those ad campaigns are doing and how to optimize your ads and targeting accordingly. You are also able to extend your reach once you start making profits off of your current campaigns.

The last advantage is that not only can you advertise on social media platforms, but you are also able to generate e-mail lists and promote and send future affiliate offers and promotions. Retargeting is also possible, which allows you to show ads to people who have previously visited your website before. For example, if a customer were to make it to the Add to Cart page on your website, then they were to abandon it, retargeting would allow you to show them ads in the future. You could even customize your ad, so that you would be showing them an offer rather than the original ad. With traditional advertising, you can choose to air your commercials on networks that are most likely going to be geared to one age group or gender, but you can’t be sure that it will show to that particular audience. You also aren’t able to build a list that you can retarget your offers to.

While many companies still use traditional forms of advertising, online advertising has become very powerful and cost-effective. Since the advertiser has full control over costs, even small companies are able to take advantage of this form of marketing. In addition, advertisers are able to build rapport and relationships with customers to help support other advertising initiatives. Most importantly, companies are able to get conversations about their brand started in order to boost their brand image and competitiveness.

How To Optimize Your Blog 2015

[caption id="attachment_372" align="aligncenter" width="601"] How To Optimize Your Blog 2015[/caption]

How To Optimize Your Blog 2015 . Blogging is key to running a successful content strategy. We’re at a point now where you can’t have one without the other. And if you don’t have a blog yet, get after it! The struggle is, and will always be, finding good content that’s worth writing about. Content needs to be fresh, engaging, and exciting, inspiring your audience and leading further reader discussion through comments, shares, tweets, and retweets.

Wasting time on blogging boring and non-engaging material isn’t going to benefit anyone, least of all yourself and your business. You don’t want to ruin your reputation with bad posts that people don’t care about. Below are a few tips on how to ensure your blog stays top-notch. How To Optimize Your Blog 2015.

So where can you get ideas?

Start A Folder

Keep ideas handy in a desktop or Google Doc folder and go back to it whenever you’re in need of inspiration. Any time you come across something new (article or video) make a note of it and keep it in the folder. A great way to find new content is using an RSS feed in your browser. An RSS feed makes it super easy to keep track of your favorite blogs and news sources all in one places. Here’s the Chrome plugin I use.

 

Brainstorm

Try grabbing a notepad. It’s old school, but it really helps me solidify my ideas and keep notes for future posts. Use bubbles or bullet points—whatever gets the creative juices flowing.

Don’t have to keep it to yourself either. If you’re stuck, ask around; see if someone has an idea, and if they do, you have instant material. It’s important to get other people sharing and weighing ideas with you too. Talk to designers, to writers, to members of other teams. Get as many opinions and ideas as possible.

Think Of Your Audience When Coming Up With Blog Ideas

Think of the size of your group, their collective interests and the messages that will affect them the most. Plan accordingly, and make sure to eliminate or restructure ideas that will confuse or minimize your audience. Talk them out with your group and be open to their feedback. There’s not one “right way” to do this.

Do Some Research

Read your competitors’ blogs to see what they’re saying. There’s no shame in it; it’s good to know what they’re thinking of and writing about. Find out what makes their customers tick and use that insight to emulate them (if it’s working) or differentiate yourself (if it’s not). How To Optimize Your Blog 2015.

Think Outside The Box

Don’t be afraid to write about your brand from a different perspective. Obviously you want to stay on topic, but consider using a new style or even a different person altogether. Get more minds contributing and not just brainstorming. Always be relevant but unique.

Stay Fresh

Posts don’t have to be lengthy but they do need to be consistent and regular. Look for timely news, upcoming events, seasonal interests. Use a calendar to mark down all the relevant days that could use a coinciding blog post. Try to stay as top of mind as possible. The goal is to be a thought leader.

Blogging can be a hard, but it shouldn’t be! Make it a fun challenge that’s rewarding and enjoyable. Don’t get burned out and you’ll find that it’s easy to pull ideas out of nowhere if you follow these easy tips.