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I am a wife to a great husband of 13 years (here ya go, now I have to make changes to this sentence once a year), a mother to a beautiful and, no doubt, genius little girl, and a successful internet entrepreneur. I also devoted my life to Jesus Christ many years ago, and He remains my true priority, focus, and hope.
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Hi Susanna,
hi Ana,
first of all congratulations to you Susanna that you had your blog audited by Ana, we can learn so much from her.
It was a pleasure to blaze the trail for you
As a regular reader of your blog (and viewer of your awesome videos) I can tell you that I like coming to your blog and staying there despite the weaknesses Ana pointed out.
With that said, with her suggestions you can even improve the appearance of your blog, so I am probably able to remove the “despite” in the former sentence in a few weeks or so.
Ana, thanks again for a great audit. And don’t say that you’re not tactful
I would say it’s a like a good massage. It feels good but there are some points of ache. Hope this analogy is appropriate.
Take care
Oliver
Nice looking Blog Susanna. Great Stuff as always Ana…
Thank you Ana,
As you know it was hard for me to put myself under your microscope.
And publicly at that!
It wasn’t until a couple other brave souls took the dive (and survived it!), that I felt brave enough to ask the same for my blog. (Thank you brave pioneers, Heather, Oliver, Mavis and Wayne!)
Obviously I have a lot to work on, and I am SO THANKFUL that you’ve given me such detailed info on needed changes. I already went and made a couple.
Some of these things I’m not really sure how to do and will take some time to figure out. I will be referring back to this a lot for the next few weeks…
Again, thank you Ana for taking so much time and helping me improve my blog.
Susanna
Hi Susanna,
as I wrote above, it was a pleasure to blaze the trail for you. Congrats that you did. It’s definitely worth it.
Take care
Oliver
Ana and Susanna,
Thanks again for the blog audit.
I liked the clean look and easy navigation of Susanna’s site. The she has lots of great quality content.
To your success.
Thank you Sheila, I needed that! ((hug))
This is it. This is the article that tells me we may have a JV in our future. At the very least, I will be pointing to this article a LOT.
My entire being online now is coaching those with static sites (specifically direct sales e-commerce) that nowadays a blog companion is a MUST.
My pitch as I see it…
You promote Your blog. Your Blog Promotes Your business.
(or vice verse, it works either way. lol)
Hi Ana, This is the first audit I have read on your blog and I must say you really do a great job. The analysis is detailed and I went back and forth between reading the post and looking at Susanna’s blog to see what you were referring to. You made great points and I believe all of them can be improved. Susanna really can use these tips to make her blog look even better.
I didn’t even know that the date of expiration of your blog has an effect on Google, great thing to learn about.
Thanks
Hi Ingrid,
I agree that blogs should definitely be part of most company’s online strategy. As you said, periodically adding new material is great for search and keeping your readers coming back.
Funniest part - the idea that getting “pinged” sounds “kinky”. Hilarious.
Also, “Ana, Tzarina of SEO” is funny, so I vote yes.
Thanks for the excellent resource.
Have a good day!
Hi Mark,
Thanks a lot for your comment. I’m glad we see things the same way. Blogs, if maintained and promoted properly can be an integral part of a company’s success.
As for “pinged” lol - but it does sound like that somehow
.
.
As for Ana being the “Tzarina of SEO” - Hell Yes! She certainly is and then some! And thanks for the vote - I’m sure she’ll appreciate it
I’m looking forward to reading your latest article on choosing your niche. A very interesting and useful topic to know about.
Thanks again for sharing your voice here. Appreciated.
Cheers
Another great post Ana. You’re doing super awesome work
.
I really like susanna’s blog and i have to say she is really doing great work!
The only thing i don’t like is testimonials in sidebar.
Susanna - Instead of filling all the sidebar with testimonials, rotate them. It will look much better.
I see, outsourcing is very important. I think must start to seek for better outsourcing. Thanks for convincing me.
Very welcome, Tia; thanks for stopping by.
Ana
Good stuff as always
Thanks, Ray.
By the way Ana, is it just me but I see no sharing buttons on your blog at all?
Really?
They are just to the right of this post…
Hi Ana,
I enjoy visiting Susanna’s blog for many reasons and with all your in depth analysis and invaluable tips I can see that her blog will go from strength to strength in the future.
You provide a massive amount of very objective value Ana with these blog audits, thank you.
~Marcus
Thanks for coming by, Marcus.
I do love Susanna’s blog as well and with a few tweaks, it’ll definitely go from strength to strength - well put, Marcus.
Ana
Hi Ingrid,
Wow, wow, wow! What a powerful, entertaining and enlightening post! I thoroughly enjoyed it. You made such a long post very interesting. I’m not fond of long posts, but I just kept reading this till the end. Awesome job!
After reading this, it should be clear to everyone that blogging is the way to go.
Thank you so much for this incredible post!
All the best,
Mavis Nong
Hey Mavis,
Wow what a fantastic comment and YaY for that big smile you just put on my face with all those encouraging words of yours. Thank you very much
!
I’m glad you took the time to stop by and comment here today. I often come across your name in the blogosphere and it’s nice to finally engage with you. Also, a very big congratulations for making the list as one of the Top 50 MLM Blogs - that’s awesome and good for you! Keep up the great work over at Attraction Marketing Online.
I know this post was long - I have a tendency to write those lol - but I do try my best to keep them as entertaining as they are useful. Wouldn’t be much of a fun read without any personality and witty remarks along the way, would it hehe?
I’m psyched that you liked it. I’ll be looking forward to seeing you around more often.
Cheers
Hi Ingrid
Wow, this week has been the week for long posts. People whose blogs I regulary visit such as Rick, Stev,Tristan and now you. What’s great about all the bloggers I’ve named is they weren’t just quantity; but awesome content too. So quality and quantity makes for an excellent read
Also proves the naysayers wrong. That we only want short posts cos most people don’t have the concentration power to cope with long posts! Not me. I’m loving it and so are plenty of other bloggers by the comments you’re getting here.
Good to see you over on Ana’s site and also back on Twitter gal. Go Ingrid.
Patricia Perth Australia
Hiya Patricia,
Boy, I just love it when you stop by to leave your awesome 4 cents. Thank you!
I know I’ve been slacking a bit with Twitter the last couple days, but as you know, I’m actually travelling. But, still very much active in the blogosphere of course lol. At least trying!
I couldn’t agree more with you first about the people you mentioned - all great writers with excellent content to share and second about long posts always being a drag to read due to our attention span. Well, I too have no problem reading or writing long posts for that matter - as long as they are valuable and are able to keep my or my readers attention, then I’m game. And as you very well know, I do my best to try to keep folks entertained while reading some of my novels
.
The feedback here has been great so far and I’m thankful to my host Ana for inviting me to guest post on her uber cool and popular blog.
Thanks so much for taking the time to read this and comment. Will get around to both of yours very soon. I’m looking forward to them ma dear
. And another thank you in advance for being patient with me these last few days - a vacation was in order and thus am not living, breathing blogging 24 hours a day - maybe 16 hours though lol 
. I couldn’t possible take a full break - I would miss these kinds of comments and engagements way too much!
Cheers Mrs. Lavender
Hey Ana,
Excellent blueprint you are sharing here. And this HOT deal offers a great start for anyone who is serious about making money blogging.
I also love the maxblogpress products, they have taken my blog to a whole new level, especially the subscribers magnet. This deal is a steal, it would be insane to miss it.
All the best,
Mavis Nong
Hey Ingrid,
I totally agree with you that blogs is an extremely powerful marketing tool, hands down! I’m not surprised with the stats you’ve put up there from Hubspot. Blogs are definitely the best way to reach out to customers and build a loyal fanbase + social media. No company should live without it. I think blogs have been here for a long time and will be here to stay for a while…
Hi Bryan,
Well I’m glad you agree for it’s obvious that I feel the same way as you on this one. As much as I knew how blogs were popular - the stats still managed to surprise me - in a good way
.
It’s without a doubt that blogs are the ideal way of building a loyal reader base as well as spreading a message and much like social media in general - they are not a fad and are here to stay (in my opinion).
As I said - static websites are great for companies to have - and they should - but adding a blog to them would be them all the much better to read. Customers want to be able to ask their questions and get a reply as well as read what other people are saying.
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your 2 cents. Appreciated.
Cheers
Holy cow - this is an awesome (and huge) post.. and I agree that blogs kick ass.
I don’t know what I’d be doing today if I hadn’t started my blog back in April; probably the best decision I’ve ever made. Thanks for sharing the stats, I hope it opens some people’s eyes.
great stuff
talk soon
Hector
Hola Hector,
Holy Cow is right haha! It’s indeed somewhat of a novel but a rather entertaining one at that.
I’ve become quite the avid reader of your awesome blog and therefore I too am glad that you started it. You always have very interesting and useful things to share and I look forward to learning more from you. Thank you.
Needless to say, that I feel the exact same way about my blog. Best decision I ever made! And what’s even more incredible is that I get to engage and learn from wonderful peeps such as yourself.
I hope this post will be the extra nudge for people to start one of their own. The rewards are not only inspiring but endless.
Thanks again for coming by to share your super supportive words. I appreciate it.
Cheers
I am surely agree with the entire point in the list but I mostly agree with the WordPress factor. I believe that the WordPress which make a blog as today — easy to use and SEO Friendly.
Hi Dana,
I’m glad you agree with the points I made
. And yes, WordPress does indeed make your blogging life much easier. The myriad of options you can add and use with WP, can only strengthen both your appearance and your SEO - along with many other things.
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts.
Cheers
Blogging is just a great way to express yourself and engage with the community. When you have a platform that allows a two way interaction, you start to build a relationship with your visitors that will lead to positive growth overall.
Hi Richard,
Nice to see you here. Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts.
I completely agree with what you said. Blogging is indeed a great way to express yourself - and it has been absolutely fantastic for me. Slowly but surely, I have been able to build a relationship with my readers and other brilliant bloggers. Needless to say the advantages and pleasure that it’s been.
As I mentioned in the post - your visitors - as long as they like what they read - will help you grow your blog and in turn generate more traffic. But as we both said - it’s a two-way interaction - so it’s essential that you take the time to reply to those that contribute.
Thanks again for your comment. I’ll be looking forward to your next post awesome money making post
.
Cheers
Ana, great post and blog. I have used much of what you have here and it works well. Promoting yourself is a very powerful way to market online in our industry
Thanks and keep up the great post
Jim
http://numisreviewgold.com/
You are welcome, Jim - thanks for stopping by.
Ana
I agree with most points. Blogging is better but sending the blog info to facebook as secondary helps too
Hi Jen,
Thanks for stopping by and glad you agree. Yes, sending your blog posts to Facebook certainly is beneficial. That is only one of the great perks of using social media, networking and bookmarking sites.
Cheers
Wow Ingrid, that was so awesome.
Not only was it packed so full of valuable information and facts, you managed to deliver it in a very entertaining fashion.
You’ve left me just about speechless.
Really, what more is there to say?
Loved it!
Susanna
Hey Susanna,
. Thanks for your encouraging words.
I’m thrilled that you enjoyed this post
I also saw that you added it on my FB page
. Very cool of you!
I know it was rather long and am definitely grateful to Ana for still wanting to publish it here - but it’s the delivery that makes all the difference. Adding humor to anything, obviously makes it all the more interesting and entertaining to read. And I’m glad people found both facts, good advice and humor here
.
Thanks again for your awesome support. Much appreciated.
Cheers
Ingrid:
Exceptional post! Humorous and fact based…couldn’t ask for anything more. It took me awhile to get on the blog band wagon, but once I did, there is no turning back..or sideways..or whatever way the world turns!
Hey Lisa,
.
Awesome of you to say so, thanks a lot
I had to do something to get all of you to read till the end haha. Adding a bit of humor to anything you can (as long as it’s appropriate/well-placed) is always an added value. I find that a little entertainment in the text goes a long way and makes the learning more fun.
I’m glad you found this post equally useful.
Thanks for your enthusiastic comment.
Cheers
Very entertaining and persuading article, Ingrid
One point I would like to make comment companies lack of resources to set up a blog, and although their web masters know about the advantages of blog, it’s hard to set up one as well.
One of the reason is corporates don’t have voice. Unlike a blog, where you can personally voice your own opinions and although it may be a weird one, that’s ok. However, with a corporate blog, you’re really representing a whole company. That’s hard! Google and Starbucks are the few which maintain a good blog on all of its products today. Google has a development team to blog while Starbucks allow its employees to share their thoughts on the blog.
Several small companies also find its hard to know about online marketing and SEO. Most start-up companies have to hire SEO firm in order to consult them about online advertising.
But, if I opens a company, I will surely add a blog to it.
Hey Mike,
I’m glad you liked this article and found it persuasive. It was indeed one of my intentions
.
It’s true that many companies out there lack the resources to set up a blog. As for representing a whole company, I’m sure that someone in one of the departments such as Marketing/Communications or PR can manage being the voice of the company. One example I think is great is Scott Monty for Ford. He’s done a brilliant job using Social Media to enhance and empower the vision of Ford.
Your examples of Starbucks and Google are right on. Thanks for sharing them here. They’re good to follow.
I believe it’s a bit tricky to be the one to represent your entire company with a blog - as you pointed out. The person responsible for that should be well aware of all kinds of disclosure policies as well as other regulations pertaining to what can be shared and how. The tone and style are quite important. But, I’ll say it again - if a company can afford (in every sense of the way) to have a blog, then it would be an added value and would encourage both readers and customers to engage.
As for learning the online Marketing part and SEO - well, it’s simply a matter of time plus a heck of a lot of reading and practice. After all, that’s how many of us did it and continue to do so.
I believe that having a blog - whether corporate or personal - is time consuming and one has to be ready to put in the heart and hours that are expected. If a company simply plans to put one on their site with regular updates but no interaction and commenting with readers/customers than what’s the point? They may as well just a have a news banner and that’s it. But if they want a blog that they can benefit and learn from, than they should find the time and allocate the proper resources to set one up (if they can, of course).
I think I’ve rambled enough here haha but I hope I’ve made my point somewhere. Thanks again for taking the time to leave your insightful wrods. I really appreciate it.
I’ll be over to my blog shortly to reply to you there as well
.
Wishing you continued success over at eBlogCamp!
Cheers
Hi Ana,
I enjoyed this simple breakdown that anybody can do using a free tool.
I have to admit I have become so used to using Market Samurai now that I hardly ever use anything else.
~Marcus
Hi Ana,
I loved this….
“The trick is to use Goldilocks’ wisdom: We need to find a market that is “just right” – with good traffic levels, and good visitor values.”
Often people interpret niche as big, bigger and best when the secret is “just right”.
~Marcus
Hi Marcus,
Love the Goldilocks’ wisdom
You are so right, people often commit mistake on niche. Balance and right knowledge are important.
Regards,
Ana
Wow Ingrid what a meaty (with apologies to the ‘veggies’… think flabby cabbage!) post.
For anybody confused about blogs vs static sites, everything should be totally clear after reading all your great research and pointers.
~Marcus
Hey Marcus,
In my case, “meaty” sounds just fine! Was never much of salad girl lol.
I’m glad you think this post is useful for like you said, a lot went into it. I tried to keep it simple and straight forward.
Thanks for stopping by and leaving your encouraging words. Much appreciated.
Cheers
Great collection of stats to convince the hesitant. I passed this along to a friend who was trying to set up a site for his business, I had suggested a blog for pretty much all the reasons stated above. Seeing it backed with numbers is better
HI Jacob,
Thanks a lot for taking the time to come by and comment and for passing this along.
I hope your friend will find this post helpful in deciding what to go with. Like I said, I think static websites are quite important for businesses and it would be great to have both.
But indeed, the blog stats do speak for themselves!
Good luck
Cheers
I have to disagree at least a little. A blog has severe limitations when it comes to helping promote and support certain types of sites like ecommerce etc. Modern day ecommerce needs specific incentivized social tools to really make it operate and a blog no matter how flashy is still a blog. For some consumers that can be a serious detraction.
Hi CJ,
I totally respect your opinion and you make a valid point. And like I said in the very beginning of my post and again at the end, a static website is essential for a company to have. Depending on what kind of company you are and what your goals are - having both would also be a great option.
However, in regards to promoting using social tools, I would say that a blog rates quite high. A blog may still be a blog - but it’s also a website that has tons of advantages that a regular/static one doesn’t possess.
I certainly don’t claim to be an expert with e-commerce sites so I will have to take your word on it for this particular case.
I would also love to hear from other people regarding this. It would make for a nice discussion. Maybe Ana can share her thoughts on this as well.
I appreciate you stopping by here and leaving your insightful comment. Thank you.
Cheers
I may have overstepped. I was mainly remarking on how you would recommend a blog to 90% of people, which is the best way for the 90% of the populace to break into sharing without having to be a programmer. I deal a lot with ecommerce sites and marketing strategies so MY 90% NEEDS the static site and the blog and the social sharing tools etc etc. Sharing tools for every product. Shopping cart functionality and all that.
The information you have provided is certainly a helpful tool in selling blogs for marketers trying to help their clients get into SMO.
Hey guys, just have to chime in here…
I think you’re both right. For certain consumers of certain products, a blog just won’t cut it. But overall, a blog has so many advantages it’s daft to ignore it in almost every instance.
If I were one of those companies I simply use both a blog as well as my other sites. Best of both worlds. A blog makes a great stepping stone from social media to corporate pages!
Great post Ingrid, it certainly says something for your copy that I made it all the way to the bottom! You’re fully flying the flag blogs… Well done!
Thanks and thanks to Ana for hosting.
Jym
Hi Jym,
Thanks for participating in this conversation. Your input is certainly valuable and appreciated.
I think CJ makes a great point in regards to e-commerce sites. But like you said, in such cases, I too would suggest using both a static website plus a blog that’s incorporated in it.
Adding a bit of personality through the use of a blog to a site is definitely a plus. As we have witnessed, people like to hear/learn from others as well as share their own experiences.
I could understand how not having a corporate website for such a business could be a disadvantage - but as we both touched upon - adding a blog to the site and in turn having the best of both worlds - would surely be a great option as well as beneficial in numerous ways.
I really appreciate you stopping by here and sharing your 2 cents. And thank you for your very kind and supportive comment regarding my writing
. I’m glad I was able to get you to read till the bottom haha. It’s nice to know I managed to capture people’s attention with a long yet useful and humorous post.
Cheers
Great Info! Wordpress Blogs are the easiest way to go by far.
Hi Takara,
. I find WordPress to be simple and loaded with extra little perks.
Glad we agree
Thanks for your comment.
Cheers
As a website owner, I hate the fact that advertisers and other webmasters will judge you based on that little green line, rather than on your content, traffic, etc!
It would be nice for Google to give one last public update before abolishing the system completely.
The one thing that this has done is open up the door for other systems to fill the gap, such as mozRank. I actually never heard of it until a couple of months ago, but it’s great to have an alternative way to measure my relatively new site.
I think Google are still a few years away from being able to stop relying on links (which is at the base of their algorithm). Same goes for devaluing them enough so that they represent less than 50% of ranking factors for competitive keywords.
Sure, they are complementing / updating their ranking factors with new data (mainly social “noise”), but links still play an important part in that “noise ” (even if they are nofollow).
I agree with your view on PageRank though, I think it’s dead in the current format especially since it makes it easier for people to try and game the system (wooooo, this blog has a PR6, let’s spam it vs oh, PR0 I won’t bother!)
Great post - great information. I am just getting back to my long list of “blogs I like to read” and am happy to have shown up today!
I design/build/develop websites & blogs and have landed firmly in the Headway camp!
Hey Jaime,
.
Thanks for stopping by
I’m thrilled you liked this post and that you found it useful.
As you already know, I too am a big fan of Headway. Their virtual editor is simply brilliant - not to mention fun! I’ll repeat though - Thesis and Genesis are in a league of their own as well but for someone like me who is “CSS challenged” -going with Headway was only evident.
Thanks again for sharing your thoughts.
Cheers
thanks for these tips.every one is want to increase her site traffic so these these tips are helpful for them.i think f people follow your tips they can easily increase her site or blog traffic.
Thanks and hope you’ll use them as well.
Ana
Great post! I love WordPress! I had no idea how simple it was to get a website up and going until I found WordPress. Great statistics you pointed out! Thanks for sharing.
Staci
Hiya Staci,
.
Thanks so much - I appreciate that
I’m a big fan of WordPress too and learned everything I know when first setup my blog. So many options and so easy to install. It’s just a matter of time as well as reading up and learning what the extra perks are and which ones can work best for you.
Some great posts over at your blog. I’ll be looking forward to reading some of them
. Nice job.
Cheers
Oh I’m lovin’ the link to the “best internet marketing tools” with the line, DO IT LATER…yea right, good one. LOL
Thanks Dennis, I’m so glad you love it.
Nice to see you around
Have a good day,
Ana
Wow Ingrid!
This was an incredible post and I got so much out of it. I think I’ll have to set aside a week to dive in and explore all the great links and resources you shared here. Wow…great job and thanks so much for all the great value!
Heather
Hey Heather,
A big fat WOW right back at ya for that super kind and encouraging comment
. Thank you!
I’m glad you found this post useful. I actually put some work into it as well as linked to some great sources which can certainly teach you a heck of a lot - namely Ana of course!
Hope you make some time to check out the articles mentioned here - they’re well worth it.
Thanks again for sharing your supportive words. Appreciated.
Cheers
Hi Ana,
Some great tips and information you are giving. I am just starting to use the Ninja plugin. Andrew keeps me up on important plugins, etc. Yes, that would be the Andrew above. Europe does have beautiful country side. Spending time over there and with Andrew is the best vacation I have ever had. Loved it.
As for Colorado glad to have you, but if you are looking for the snow, you will need to stay in the mountains, because here in the Denver area snow is not happening. We are as dry as you can get. You will love the snow in the mountain though, because they have plenty.
Thanks again for the information and I have found outsourcing my technical stuff with Andrew has saved me many times over.
Have a very Merry Chirstmas and I to love the hat.
Debbie
Such a pleasure to see you on my blog, Debbie!
I am with you: I love European country side… There’s just something so special about the hills, the villages, the roofs, the bakeries, the smells…
I know, most people who live in Europe are saying “really?” right about now; to them it’s just a part of their day to day life.
I surely hope it’ll snow in Colorado Springs area by Christmas!
Merry Christmas to you as well, Debbie, and hope to see you back on my blog soon.
Ana
Many inventions come and go, especially in the early stages of the internet, but blogs will always stay as the cyber newspaper. Newspapers exist since hundreds of years and so will blogs, because no visual and audio media can compete with the written word.
Hey Andreas,
A great way to look at it! Thank you for sharing those wise words
.
Indeed, blogs are here to stay! As long as people have something to say and share and as long as they are interested to learn from others, then I have no doubt that blogs will continue to prosper and grow at an exponential rate.
The written word is gold. But much like journalists with newspapers - if you (bloggers) intend to share your thoughts, opinions, stories, etc… great. But it’s still important to have valuable resources and enough research or info to back up what you share (unless it’s a personal blog of course).
Thanks for stopping by.
Cheers
Hey Ana,
It’s very clear that you invest a lot in yourself when it comes to your online business, which is exactly how it should be. And it’s little wonder you’re able to give so much to the online community on how to increase their business online.
Your 4 steps is just the simplest blue print out there, and if people get it, they can save a lot of frustration. It really can be that simple - no need to complicate things.
Take care,
Wayne
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