Tips for Creating an Effective FAQ Page

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Does your blog have a page dedicated strictly to questions asked by your target audience? Creating a frequently asked questions (FAQ) page is a great way to add value to your blog while helping visitors in the process. If a visitor has a question about your blog, business, or a product that you offer, he or she may look at the FAQ page for an answer. Search engines will also index this page, ranking it for questions contained within the page. Look for Real Questions Asked by Users How many times have you gone to a business's FAQ page, only to be disappointed that the questions and answers...
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The Blog Post Checklist

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Getting ready to publish your next blog topic? Follow our checklist to make sure you're not missing anything! Relevant Title Fewer than 55 Characters Arguably, one of the most important elements of a blog post is the title. When search engines index a webpage, they normally include the title as the main heading. Therefore, bloggers should create unique, relevant titles for each new post. It's also important to note that Google only displays the first 55 characters of a webpage's title, so keep your titles under this amount to ensure a high level of visibility. Include Images Why should y...
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Breaking Down the Cost of Blogging

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Thinking of starting a blog? Whether it's for personal or commercial purposes (or both), you'll need to make sure you have the necessary funds to get started. There's an initial investment required with all ventures, and blogging is no exception. So today we're going to break down the cost of blogging, revealing exactly how much it costs. Domain Registration First and foremost, you'll need to register a domain name for your blog. Depending on the extension (e.g. com, net, info, org) and the registrar, you can expect to pay around $10-$20/year for a domain. Of course, you can also create a...
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How to Make Your Blog Visible in Google

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Boasting an estimated 3.5 billion searches per day, Google is hands-down the world's leading search engine, and for good reason: the Mountain View company is constantly working to improve its search results while creating a positive experience for the end user. Bloggers should capitalize on this trend by optimizing their blogs for higher Google rankings. But what if your blog doesn't show up in Google? Be Patient Many bloggers expect Google to rank their blog within the first few days of it being launched. In some cases, Google will index and rank a new blog within a short period of time,...
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5 Rules to Follow When Guest Blogging

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Looking for a safe and effective way to promote your website or blog? Guest blogging remains a time-tested strategy for promoting a website. It involves writing and submitting blog posts to other blogs in exchange for a link. To take full advantage of this technique, though, there are a few rules that you need to follow. 1) Only Write for Relevant Blogs Arguably, one of the most important rules to follow when guest blogging is to write for blogs that are closely related to your niche. If you manage a website about pets, for instance, you should focus your guest blogging efforts on blogs in t...
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How to Identify (and Stop) Comment Spam

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Allowing visitors to comment on your blog's posts and articles is a great way to promote engagement while creating free, unique content in the process. Each time a visitor leaves a comment, it creates additional content for your blog -- content that search engines love. However, the downside to enabling visitor commenting is the potential for spam. Spammers will exploit this feature to promote their products, services and websites, all while watering down the quality of your blog. So, how do you identify and stop comment spam? Why Comment Spam is Bad Let's first go over the reasons why co...
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Getting Started as a Blogger: What You Should Know

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So you're thinking about starting a blog? Whether it's for commercial or recreational purposes (or both), you'll find that blogging is a fun and rewarding experience that allows you to share your thoughts with readers. And if you do it right, people will begin to remember who you and what you write about, following your blog to catch future updates. What to Blog About One of the first steps in getting started as a blogger is to decide what you want to blog about. This is arguably the single most important step, simply because it will dictate your blog topics. Choosing a niche that doesn't in...
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Are You Using Tags and Categories Correctly?

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One of the perks of using WordPress as your website's content management system (CMS) is the ability to place new posts and pages within tags and archives. The next time you create a new post or page, look to the right-hand menu and you'll see a widget-like box for "Categories" and "Tags." Using these elements can prove useful in boosting your site's search engine visibility while attracting new visitors in the processors -- but only if it's done correctly. Tags vs Categories: What's The Difference? Some bloggers assume that tags and categories are the same, so they tend to use them intercha...
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5 Reasons to Blog with WordPress

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Thinking about launching a new blog? One of the first steps in blogging is to choose your content management system (CMS). From Blogger and Tumblr to WordPress and Joomla, there are dozens of possibilities available. However, WordPress remains the world's most popular blogging software. Here are some of the reasons why: It's Free Did I mention WordPress is completely free to download and use? Whether you choose the hosted or self-hosted version, you can launch a WordPress blog for virtually nothing. Granted, there are some premium themes and templates for sale, but these are optional and not...
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Should I Blog on a Dedicated Domain or Subdomain?

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This is a question many first-time -- and even some seasoned -- bloggers ask. Some believe dedicated domains are better suited for blogs, simply because they provide greater freedom and accessibility, whereas others prefer subdomains. If you can't decide between the two, keep reading for a break-down of the pros and cons associated with dedicated domains and subdomains for blogs. Dedicated Domains vs Subdomains: What's The Difference? Let's first go over the basics of dedicated and subdomains, as this a topic that confuses many people. A dedicated domain is exactly what it sounds like: a sta...
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