What’s a part-time blogger to do, with millions of blogs online and a need to have yours seen, because you have things to show, to say and to sell?

Since blog marketing is something so many of us need to practice, I’ve decided to summarize what I learn about it here. To get started, I’ll run you through some basics.

Assumptions
I’m going to assume that you are using (like me) the very fine and popular WordPress blogging system.

The basics
What’s your goal? Google!
As you no doubt know, Google has taken over the web user search market. So, the most likely ways people will find your blog are either by a Google search or via a link from another blog or web site – which the user most likely found through a Google search. The same things you do to be easily found on Google will help with the other search engines as well.

Of course everything is not search engines and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) of your content. There are other, though in some ways less effective, ways to get people to your content. For instance: links in mailing lists, online forums, press releases, syndicated free articles and so forth.

How does Google decide which sites and blogs are the best and deserve to be listed at or near the top of the search engine results pages (SERPs)? The details of Google’s algorithms are secret, but the the basic idea is that if your published web content is best, it will have the most (and the highest quality) links leading to it from other web sites, blogs, directories and search engines.

This means that inbound links (IBLs), from other people’s web content to your blog, are critical in order to get high rankings on Google’s SERPs.

Notice that we are talking about using Google’s “natural” or “organic” free search, not their AdWords Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising service – the little advertisements you see on the right column of the Google SERP. However, if you are in a hurry, want more control over your marketing and can afford the likely minimum cost of $20 to $30 per day, and have the time to learn all about Google’s AdWords PPC service (or the funds to hire an expert) – then you should consider a PPC campaign. They can be very effective. The key, of course is to make significantly more from your sales than you spend with Google – not as easy as it sounds.

PPC can lead to much faster results than the “free” marketing methods described here. But be aware that a PPC campaign must be done with skill and understanding. It’s all too easy for the novice to make money for Google and none for themselves. This is partly because beginners work to get the most traffic to their content, via the highest AdWords Click Through Rate (CTR), when what they should do is concentrate on getting the most sales from the most qualified traffic. Who care how many visitors you have if none of them take whatever action you need them to take?

Getting inbound links
One blog marketing move everyone should do is to get their blog listed in blog directories. These directories provide a link to your blog and usually let their users rank and otherwise promote your blog, if they like it. This is a valuable service, so many of them charge $30 to $50 for your listing – either as a one-time cost or annually.

A special category of link directories are the social ranking web sites, like Technorati and del.icio.us. You should join a few of these sites and you should also use a blog plugin that presents their buttons below your blog posts and on each blog page, so their members can easily rate your blog. You’ll see the results of one such plugin below this post.

The blog you’re reading uses the cool “Sociable” plugin by Joost de Valk. He offers good blog marketing advice on his blog.

Blog directories also turn out to be one of the best sources for info on how to market your blog. For example, EatonWeb is a blog directory which maintains a useful blog about marketing blogs, called (what else?) the EatonWeb Blog. Once you become a member (required to list your blog), you’ll find more excellent summary info on blog marketing on their site pages.

Here is a good list of blog directories to get you started:
20 Essential Blog Directories

And another directory with good advice:
How to market your blog

Until next time…
       _jim coe