There is Something Magical About 10,000 Views

I have noticed over my time online, I have been around since the late 1990's. that there has been an almost constant divergence in results in search engines.

Get to the magical number, whether it be in a day or ten years and there is a definite boost in your viewing figures.

The magical number is ten thousand (10,000)  Below that magical figure every view is hard fought and views can be measured in dozens per month. Beyond that magical figure views come thick and fast measured in dozeens or hundreds per hour, if you are lucky minute.

Views are of course the all important reason why we produce content for the net. We either need viewers to introduce to advertisers through pay per click or affiliate programs (This blog is supported from zazzle.com and amazon.com affiliate sales) or we have a pay per view plan in place like the Yahoo! Voices program or maybe you and I just love to be read. Then the view count feeds our need to be read widely. I will admit that the vanity side appeals to me more these days rather than the earnings in cold hard cash.

This blog now is moving into a new phase of its life, it is just a few hundred views short of the magical ten thousand views. It will get there in a few weeks. Then we'll see if the magic number theory holds out as much as it has with other sites that I have created  in the past.

Thanks for getting me to the next magic number.

Consider Local Travel Guides For Evergreen Content

As we approach June and the Summer vacation season consider your own local knowledge about places to visit and stay.

Most major cities in the world will have a travel guide written about them. If you read many travel guides you may, if you know a particular place very well wonder why they fail to mention that really great restaurant that you know or a fantastic beauty spot. Most travel guides write to a formula and change very slowly, it may actually have been several years since your favorite city was visited.

Post your opinions on sites such as Yahoo! Voices or HubPages and you will probably find a lot of interest in what you have to say.

Give details of places to visit, what to see and do and also post details of little known travel tips, if you know of a local discount card for travelers talk about that too.

Many travelers today are travelling without guides and so the more information you give them the better.

Another tip is that you may also offer to create a personal itinerary for a person, and charge a small fee. Note their interests and supply them with a suggestion list of places to see or eat. Check out sites like fiver.com to set up an account to receive orders.

I Love Hubbing Shirt

As we move from Spring to Summer, I got to thinking of comfort and also a way for you to publicize your HubPages work.

What better way to stay cool, look great and also introduce yourself as a HubPages author.



 

I Love Hubbing

T-Shirt

By William Elliott

The shirt is customizable, you may change the style, color and size. It is also available in men's women's and childrens sizes.

Add your own Hub profile page URL so anyone can make a note and visit your main page. The possibilities are endless.

Buy it from my Zazzle Store today.

Never Lose Faith That You Will Succeed

When you first go online and either write an article, create an online store, or make a selling webpage you are often full of enthusiasm. In weeks you will be able to retire on the income, you can tell the boss in the job you hate where he or she can put that job.

Then what happens?

Not a lot really. Ten or a hundred people come to your work, maybe some will stay for more than a click through. Most will pass you by and you become disillusioned as to the benefits of having created anything.

You think of all the good things that job you hate gives you and you walk away from the internet.

In a few weeks your dreams are dust.

I have been in that position too. I had dreams, I lost those dreams and instead of going on to the next way out of a boring life of work, I held on. I am now in my seventh year of writing, blogging and owning a couple of retail stores online.

I now have residual income from articles, income from zazzle and cafepress stores am seeing returns from amazon affiliate and selling items on eBay and amazon too.

Do I still have a day job to pay the bills, yes. I like my day job because it helps me work at my other enterprises. Without my day job I know all my internet interests would become my day job and I don't want that.

I work at least forty hours per week at my internet enterprises. That is how it is but it is all fun. I work about the same hours at my day job too in paid and unpaid time, but again there is enough balance to keep that all fun.

Life should be fun and I have a lot of that in my life because I enjoy the  benefits of  a netincome  supported lifestyle.  It took me a few years to get to where I am so I will say.

You can do whatever you want if you don't give up after the initial enthusiasm has been blown away.

Keep the faith in yourself and you WILL succeed.

Search Engine Optimization Explained" Optimize, if it can be searched it can be Optimized

Optimize is one of the best books that I have read recently on the subjects of Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Social Media Optimization (SMO) and integrating social media and all you efforts to bring potential customers to your webpages, online stores, and help you to generate cash from your online presence.




Optimize:
Lee Odden

 

Lee Odden has many years experience in online marketing and has worked extensively in Search Engine Optimization. He is also a successful blogger on the subject as well as a public speaker and advisor to several corporations on the subject of building consumer recognition of their brands through internet marketing.

In this book Odden, tells us that all we think we know about SEO from the past is gone. The old methods of keyword stuffing and writing for search engines is over. Apart from providing bad content where neither consumers nor those selling products really gained anything, the content of the past has now only created confusion and a mountain of poor quality ads and data which the consumer must now wade through to get to the really valuable material which carries the best value.

Lee Odden's main principle is that any item that can be searched can and must be optimized not for the search engines but for the Consumer.

If you take anything away from this book it is to change almost everything you think you know about SEO and begin to optimize all your web based endeavors from now on.

He includes tips on using video on sites such as Youtube and also sites such as Twitter and Facebook. He does not use vague claims but highlights his conclusions with case studies from the real world, corporations such as Ford Motor Company and small businesses figure throughout the book.

When you create any content on the web, never forget the purpose nor the audience and that no matter how small you are you are a business in the market of providing information and looking for a returm on your efforts.

Optimize: : How to Attract and Engage More Customers by Integrating SEO Social Media and Content Marketing,

Should You Consider a Blog?

In the Questions and Answers section on HubPages and also on several forums, the questions of creating your own blog is an evergreen topic.

For my two pennies worth there are a few good reasons to have a blog as opposed to writing for HubPages.

1. You have full Editorial Control: If you are writing on your own blog you are not tied to the limitations of HubPages. You can post what you want, within reasonable boundaries, most hosting services have rules on what canbe posted on sites but they are very unlikely to pull your content because you have been idle for a few weeks.

2. Hosted Blogs are very inexpensive these days. A blog on Go Daddy or Host Gator can be had for about $6 per month.

3. You can monetize your own blog and NOT share your income with HubPages. When you publish on HubPages all ad revenue and revenue created by people viewing your work is shared with HubPages. Also items sold on your Amazon and eBay links are shared with HubPages. Fine you are happy sharing your revenue for free hosting, but revenue sharing is not really free, and if you are not a member of Google AdSense scheme you are giving your revenue to HubPages for free.

Having your own blog may not give you access to Google AdSense, but there are other cash per click options out there who might be more suitable fir your content.

4. You are responsible for your own reputation. As HubPages becomes seen as a place for poor content and marketers and spam your reputation becomes tarnished. With your own blog, you are the controller of your own public persona. You can keep your own reputation squeeky clean, and wholesome.

Ask yourself if you may reach a wider audience and make more money, being your own independent blogger.

It does take some time, two or three years to start to build a strong blog, so its not for everyone, with perseverance though blogging can be much more satisfying, publishing for yourself rather than for another organization like HubPages.

Google Panda and its Repurcussions: Two Years On

I recently came across this article by Matt McGee on the Search Engine Land website.

The article reflects on the Google Panda Algorithm release in early 2011 and examines how it affected rankings, and quality on websites such as HubPages.

I think the article will be an interesting view into the relationship between Google and HubPages.

To read the linked article click  HERE to go to Search Engine Land This is the third of three articles by Matt McGee, if you want to read the first two articles there are links on the Search Engine Land page.

I hope that you will find the article as interesting as I did.

Did Panda affect you badly?

 

Have you recovered from Panda yet?

Please feel free to leave comments and answers in the comments section below.