WordPress

August 3rd, 2008

Do Follow Blogs: Everything You Need To Know About Do Follow And Then Some

The “do follow” revolution is upon us.  If you own a blog and you’re not familiar with do follow and no follow, get educated by reading this post about why you should make your blog “do follow”.

Do follow blog listsIf you found this blog post, then you may be doing exactly what I’ve been doing off and on for awhile now: searching for do follow blogs so you can post relevant comments on do follow blogs and get a link back to your blog.  Below is some information that I’ve compiled while researching this subject.  No doubt it’ll save you at least the amount of time I’ve spent putting this together.

How To Change Your Blog From No Follow To Do Follow

Check out Ben’s blog post about making your blog a do follow blog here: http://www.seohorror.com/make-your-blog-a-do-follow-blog/

You can download the Do Follow WordPress Plugin for free at:
http://www.semiologic.com/software/wp-tweaks/dofollow 

Check out this new plug-in I just found: Lucia’s Linky Love.

As per Lucia, here’s what this WordPress plugin will do:

Here are the features, as quoted on Lucia’s website:

1. Encourages good comments: Dofollows are added to the author “name” and links in comment text after a commenter leaves some minimum number of comments. The blogger can set this minimum number to anything between 3 and 10. This encourages regular visitors to comment, but discourages spammers by forcing them to visit your blog many times before they get “dofollows”.

2. Encourages links. Dofollows are added to trackbacks and pingbacks only after the blog author has left some minimum number of comments, trackbacks or pingbacks. This discourages scrapper sites from sending you spammy trackbacks but rewards real bloggers for linking you.

3. Gives peace of mind. Dofollows will not be added to comments left more than 14 days after you published your most recent post. This is a safety feature that prevents your blog from becoming a link farm should you ever be unexpectedly absent from your blog due to illness or any other major life event.

4. Thwarts overly aggressive SEO types. The blogger may refuse “dofollows” to “names” that contain too many characters. This can be used to avoid giving “dofollows” to commenters who claim their name is “cashmere dog sweater”.

5. Gives you more control over dofollow / nofollow options. As is always the case, the blogger can also delete the comment, report the comment to Akismet or delete the name or url. That’s good for truly spammy comments. But with Lucia’s Linky Love, you get another, less drastic, option. You manually prevent “dofollow” but still show the comment url and name by deleting the user email address when editing the comment. This lets you permit borderline visitors continue to comment, but deprive them of “dofollows” until they behave the way you like visitors to behave.

I am currently looking into this plug-in.  Lucia did a great job with this and there’s a great chance I’ll be making the switch to this WordPress plugin. 

I am currently looking into this plug-in.  Lucia did a great job with this and there’s a great chance I’ll be making the switch to this WordPress plugin. 

How to find a list of blogs that use “Do Follow”

1. http://tucsonseosolutions.com/dofollowlistoflists

If you have a do follow blog, you really should consider adding your blog to this ever-growing list of do follow blogs.

2. http://www.dofollowblogs.com

On the Do Follow Blogs website, you can add your blog to their directory.  Note: you will need to link back to their blog in order for your submission to be validated.

3. http://www.squidoo.com/dofollowblogslist

You will need to have a Squidoo account in order to post your do follow blog on this list.  As of this writing, there are very few do follow blogs listed here.

4. http://riseabovedirectory.com

The RIse Above Directory is a do follow blog directory.  As of this writing there aren’t too many blogs listed.

5. http://www.feverishthoughts.com/do-follow-bloggers/

Make sure you read all of the rules before submitting your blog.  Note: Tricia uses the Lucia’s Linky Love WordPress plugin.

6. http://www.dofollowdirectory.com/

To list your dofollow blog on this site, it’s going to cost you anywhere from $10 to $2, depending on the placement you want.

7. http://nicusor.com/do-follow-list/

List of more than 350 do follow blogs.  I don’t believe that there is any way to sort the do follow blogs or view categories.

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Want To Find Your Own Do Follow Blogs And Boost Your
Track Backs?  Check Out The TrackBoost Software!

TrackBoost
Check Out The TrackBoost Software Here!

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No Follow Do Follow, Do We All Follow?

Wordpress plugin for dofollowIf I posted everything I found during my research, the only thing you’d be following is the path to hit the back button to get away from this post.  Everything above was added with saving time in mind.

While searching through too many pages in Google using many different search terms, I found at least 30-40 other lists of do follow blogs.  However, I did not post those here because the list was in no order.  You’d spend your whole weekend trying to find relevant blogs to comment on - and I’m sure you have better things to do with your time.

However, there’s more than enough for your to get started using the links I provided you with above.

The Do Follow Comment Posting Attack Plan

I’d imagine if you’re reading this, you’re someone who is truly trying to build a great blog and you value your reputation.  Meaning, you’re not a comment spammer and your blog actually has some content instead of 523,392 affiliate links for penis enlargement pills.

Now I haven’t read this anywhere, but based on everything that I’ve been reading and learning about over the last several months, you need a long-term plan for your blog.

A long-term plan will help not only motivate to keep your blog updated (a blog without a post for a week or more tends to get dusty), but it’ll also help you stick to your do follow comment posting plan.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been collecting the links to relevant blogs that I like that are also do follow.  I also make sure that the blogs relate to my blog in some sort of way, whether it’s about Internet Marketing, Affiliate Marketing, SEO, crazy marketing ideas, publicity, and all the other marketing-related terms.

My plan is to spend just 10-20 minutes a day cycling through the list I’m creating.  Meaning, while I’m drinking my coffee in the morning, I’ll pull up the list of the blogs I like and see where I left off the day before.  I’ll then pull up the next 5 blogs and see what new blogs posts they’ve written over the last week or so.  

If they’ve posted something cool, something that I want to comment on, or link to, I’ll READ THEIR BLOG POST and try to add some value, or if I have a question about the subject they’re talking about, I’ll post my question in the comment section.  Note: Spammers don’t read blog posts.  They’ll usually write something like:

Nice post you have here. Me like your blog and will link. Thanks :)

And of course, they’ll link to their affiliate link to some penis or boob enlargement pill or potion.  So make sure if you post a comment on someone else’s blog, you actually read what they wrote and write a great comment.  Most do follow blogs will be heavily moderated.  So you can bet the blog owners will be combing through the comments to their posts at least once a day and deleting the spam comments.  So make 100% sure that your post doesn’t look or smell like a spam comment.

Back to my plan… I figure if I just spend 10-20 minutes a day posting GOOD comments on 5 relevant do follow blogs, the search engine fairy will sprinkle a little dust on my blog.  And within the next month or two, I’ll start to see the rewards.

If you can post on 5 blogs a day for 30 days, that’s 150 comments you’re leaving per month.  And if you can find at least 75 blogs that are in your industry, you’ll be leaving comments on each one twice per month.  But what happens if a blog uses Linky Love?  Well, check this out:

Linky Love Domination Method

How to get links to your blogIf a blog uses the Lucia’s Linky Love WordPress plugin, then you may want to create a different category in your Excel spreadsheet, or however you’re keeping track of all this.  

Why?  Because if a blog uses this plugin, the administrator can set the number of approved comments you must leave before your links become do follow.  That number can be between 3 and 10.

So for those blogs, I may try my best to comment on posts every week, or at the least, every 10 days.  Some administrators may have it set to 3 in order for you to get some do follow love, while others may go as high as 10.  By setting up a plan - and sticking to it, you’ll be much further along than most other bloggers.

People are lazy.

Some bloggers may spend a day or two (or less) each month to post comments on do follow blogs.  Others may do so every day, but may not have an actual plan that they follow.  By making note of which blogs you’re posting to who use the Linky Love WordPress plugin, you’ll know for sure that the link to your blog will be followed within the next few weeks, or couple of months if they have the number of posts set as high as 10.

So take some time and go through all of the links above and copy the links to blogs in your industry that are do follow blogs.  Then, create a plan of when you’ll spend just 10-15 minutes a day posting great comments on these blogs.  In time all of the work will  begin to pay off.

Think of it like starting a new blog.  Heck, let’s use this one for example.  As of this writing, there are only a few subscribers to my RSS feed.  I’m not getting much love from the search engines right now because the domain and blog is so new.  So often times it feels like I’m writing posts that no one in the world will ever see. 

This is why most bloggers give up within the first 15-30 days.  They’ll write a ton of posts, see no traffic coming in and lose interest.  It pays to keep writing great content - just not as fast as we all want it to.  But, if you stick to your commenting plan above, you’ll surely speed up the process!

Good luck and feel free to comment on the above.  And again, this is a do follow blog. :)

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July 29th, 2008

XsitePro Website Builder Software Vs. Wordpress Blog Builder.

I’ve been an XsitePro user since they launched several years ago, and during that time I’ve created more than 100 websites using the XsitePro website builder.  In fact, I won the best XsitePro website design contest a few years back for a website I created.  Imagine that… someone who zero programming or design knowledge won the “Best XsitePro website of the Year Contest“.

XSitePro is hands-down the absolute best website builder I have ever used… and I’ve tested every single website builder software on the market today.

Now a lot of people ask me…“What do you suggest, building a website with XsitePro or using WordPress to build a website?”

My answer: I suggest using both, depending on what you want to accomplish, as Wordpress and XsitePro has some excellent features that the other does not… however, there are several things you need to know before you make any decision.  But first…

I have a few websites that I built using XsitePro and had a custom WordPress design created to seamlessly integrate into the website.  I also have many websites built using XSitePro and of course many blogs created with WordPress.

If you’re looking to build a static website used to sell a product or service, like a sales letter or a 2-3 page website, I would suggest using XSitePro.

XsitePro Website Builder Or WordPress Blog?

If you’re planning on creating a website on a topic and you plan on adding a lot of content overtime, I’d suggest using WordPress to create a blog.  The reason why I’d suggest WordPress instead of XSitePro is because you’ll want people to keep coming back to your blog, post comments, and become engaged.  Compare that to a sales letter for a product built using XsitePro, people may land on your website, purchase your product, and never return.

WordPress allows you to build up a following, create a community, encourages others to share their thoughts and feedback on your blog posts.  With a static XsitePro website, you will not have the interaction with your visitors.

Search Engine Optimization: XsitePro Vs. WordPress

XsitePro Search Engine Optimization ToolsNow, as far as Search Engine Optimization, both XsitePro and WordPress pack a powerful punch, but there’s a lot more to do on the WordPress side, like installing plug-ins, adding tags to your posts, etc.  With XsitePro, everything is included; there are no extra plug-ins needed.  Everything is ready to go the moment you download it to your computer.

I’ve had some great success over the years ranking on the first page of the search engines with websites I created using XsitePro.  They have a very cool built-in SEO tool that will help you tweak your pages so that your pages are optimized for the keywords or phrases you’re targeting.

XsitePro really has some very impressive SEO tools that’ll take your SEO to new levels.  You have charts, graphs, and everything you need to ensure your pages get ranked.  I am a testimony for the fact that they work - and do what they say they do.

XsitePro Vs. WordPress When You’re On The Go

I admit, there is a big downfall that makes XsitePro a little tough for those who travel or own more than one, two, or three computers like yours truly. With WordPress, you can access your blog from any computer and add content at any time.

However, with XsitePro, you are stuck to just one computer - although you can have XSP installed on a few computers, it makes managing and editing a tough battle.

I have four computers I bounce around from, but I’ve made the switch to Mac recently for 90% of my work. However, when I’m working from home (which is 95% of the time - or else it’s at Barnes and Noble), I have both my Mac running and my PC running next to me. My day-to-day operations and email runs on my Mac, and a few PC-related programs and XsitePro runs on my PC.

It’s actually easier that way for me and helps keep me organized. All my files, documents, etc. that I use for XsitePro is on one computer, and everything else is on the other. (My other computers are used for other things like Camtasia video creation, which I do on my desktop.)

So when I travel, I of course bring my Mac with me. That means that I cannot touch any of my websites that I’ve created with XsitePro. And frankly, that hasn’t cause any problems in the 3-4 years that I’ve been using XsitePro to build websites.

XsitePro Vs. WordPress: Ease Of Use

I admit - I’m far from a techie.  The only HTML I know is how to bold words.  I couldn’t write a line of code if you paid me $10,000 to do so.  So, for those of you who are technologically challenged like me, which solution is best?

XsitePro or WordpressHands down, I would go with XsitePro on this one.  I was able to create a website using XsitePro within just one hour of buying their website builder software.  It’s simple to use, easy to figure out, and it comes with a MASSIVE manual showing you how to do everything.  And I mean everything.

My first few experiences with WordPress were, well… not so good.  I spent days trying to get my first WordPress blog up and running.  I couldn’t figure out how to upload everything onto my server and then when it came to installing the 20-30 plug-ins I wanted, I kept breaking my blog so things wouldn’t work correctly.

I finally gave up and hired out the WordPress work - and still do so to this day.  Although it’s now been a couple of years since I’ve started to use WordPress and I can now get a blog up and running and install all of the plug-ins myself, it takes me 10 times longer to do it than having someone who knows what they are doing.

So as far as ease of use, XsitePro is the winner here.  Both do have some learning curves, but with WordPress, the curves are very sharp and full of jagged knives sticking out at every corner that could kill your blog if you’re not 100% sure about what you’re doing.  So if you want a blog and you’ve never set up a WordPress blog before, hire someone to do it for you.

If you want a website builder that is as easy to use as Microsoft Word, use Xsitepro.

XsitePro offers a free video webinarXsitePro Video Demo and Webinar

If you want to learn how XsitePro works, I highly suggest watching this free XsitePro webinar. It’s almost 90 minutes long, but it’ll show you exactly what this powerful website builder software can do for you.

You’ll see that even the non-techies can easily create great-looking and professional websites, without having to learn html or software programs like the DreamWeaver website builder.

Conclusion…

The decision as to use XsitePro or WordPress or both depends on what you want to accomplish.  I use both and highly suggest both.  For sales letters and static websites, use XsitePro.  For sites that you’ll be adding new content to continuously and you plan to earn income through affiliate programs, use WordPress.  To take your site to the next level, use both.

To learn more about XsitePro, goto: http://www.whackedoutmarketing.com/goto/xsitepro/

You’ll be glad you did!

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July 16th, 2008

WordPress 2.6 Released. WordPress 2.7 Coming…

Just when we get this blog all squared away and all of the WordPress plugins activated and tweaked, we find that Wordpress 2.6 has just been released.

Well, it’s safe to say that I will not be upgrading to WordPress 2.6 just yet.  I’m not 100% sure that all of the plugins we installed support 2.6.  Hopefully they will, but I’m not about to test it and make sure.

What’s more interesting is that WordPress 2.7 may launch in October.  These guys are going 1,000 miles an hour and hopefully we’ll all be able to keep up - more importantly the WordPress Theme and plugin designers that is.

If you are a blogger and use WordPress, below is a video that explains some of the changes and updates that WordPress 2.6 now offers:

Some of the new 2.6 features that I’m looking forward to seeing when I make the move to upgrade are:

1. Word Count Feature

This is a “nice to have”.  I’ve always wondered how many words some of my blog posts are.

2. Gallery update

I was just playing around with this today in WordPress 2.5.  It’ll be nice to easily move around images in a photo gallery.

3. Post Revisions

If you run a blog that has multiple authors, this is an excellent feature to keep tabs on what others are doing and the changes that have been made.  Also, from an Affiliate standpoint, I can see this being useful as well to see what offers you previously promoted on the same blog post over time.

4. WordPress Gears - Turbo Blog

I’m VERY excited about this one.  You’ll be able to upload you blog files to your computer so that the pages, files, and images can upload super fast when you’re working on your blog.  For me, I have a fiber internet connection that is VERY fast, but still, this will make everything run even faster.

All in all, I’m happy to see WordPress 2.6 released.  But I’m going to sit on the sidelines for a week or two to make sure that the plugins I have installed will all be compatible.  Then, in October when WordPress 2.7 is released, we can do it all over again.

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