Using Tags to Get More Traffic to Your Blog through Blog Directories

Tags are generally ignored by site owners and bloggers in terms of potential. They're small, for one and very often easy to overlook. Furthermore, those who do not understand their use or significance or at least why and how they work may not often appreciate their value. This is unfortunate because tags can help increase the traffic coming in to your blog from blog directories. Learn what tags are and how they work so you can maximize their use.

Tag – you're it

A tag, also referred to as a meta tag, is a keyword that is used to label specific information found on a web page. A meta tag uses HTML tags that are hidden from plain sight but clearly 'visible' to web crawlers.

A tag functions mainly for identification of an article, for example, or a title, subheading, site description or image – hence the name 'tag'. They are often used as tools to ping multiple search engines, create a presence for use in social bookmarking and to drive traffic to your site, especially your blog. With tags, it will be easier for your site, article or web page to be found in search engines where they are supported.

Put simply, a tag is a small piece of identification on your blog that informs a search engine bot or spider what your site is about and how it should be indexed. If you can choose and design the right combination of tags for your blog, you will be able to manipulate the number and type of traffic that reaches your site from blog directories legally.

Using tags on your blog to drive more traffic

Blog directories are repositories of information and news regarding the types of blogs available for a particular topic or subject. As such, they can be very useful sources of highly targeted traffic for your own blog. To maximize the use of blog directories for this purpose, consider doing the following:

Choose your words carefully

Keep in mind that your blog is just one of millions out there vying for attention. Even if you're trying to build a reputation within a relatively smaller niche industry, you will still be competing with at least a dozen others in your market segment. Careful consideration in choosing the specific keywords (or tags) to use with your blog will help you stand out in blog directories.

There are three important tags that you should focus on when designing your blog for traffic increase from blog directories. These are the title tag, the description tag and the keyword/s tag.

The title tag. The title of each blog entry you have should contain the most essential keywords that appear in your write-up or are relevant to your content. This will help optimize your entry and make it easier for search engines to find and index.

Prospective visitors who perform a search using Google, Yahoo! or MSN Search, for example, will be able to reach an optimized blog, since it's more likely to appear in a search engine list. As a result, you drive more traffic to your blog.

The description tag. Although description tags are ignored by some search engines, adding this to your blog can help influence how your blog (or at least its web pages) is described.

The keyword tag. The keyword tag is the word or phrase that you will repeat within the content body or web page in question. Used strategically, these keywords can help increase your blog's results in search engines and bring in more traffic to your site by allowing visitors to easily find you.

Don't be afraid to combine keywords, though. That's how you will be able to create highly targeted key phrases to optimize your blog. Three- to four-word key phrases will do. Multiple word tags are advantageous to single word searches as well. If you use a keyword phrase tag that says 'rock paper scissors', for example, your blog still has the potential to show up in case someone uses only the word 'rock' or 'paper' in his search.

Don't overdo the use of tags

If you don't watch out, tags can be addictive. It could reach a point where you might find yourself using tags that have little relevance to your blog. This usually happens when you try too hard to make sure that your blog or web page appears in more listings.

Although it may seem like a good idea to help increase traffic to your blog particularly as a means to shine in blog directories, overuse of tags can be counter-productive. Try to be careful in choosing only the kind of tags that your blog truly needs. Leaner but highly targeted tags are much more effective than generic ones.

Follow through

A good tag can gain initial interest in your blog and increase traffic coming from blog directories. However, it can only do so much. Now that traffic is beating at your door, you should be able to throw a real party thereafter. Make sure that the content associated with your tag/s is well worth your visitor's click. It should offer specific information for a specific purpose and should include the content that you so readily promised in your links.

Otherwise, you won't earn the trust of a loyal readership or following. A baited title that lacks the backing of useful content will be viewed as a cheap trick and won't earn you a lot of respect – or traffic.

How to add your blog in blog directories: a Primer

There are more than a million blogs now online, and there are thousands and thousands of readers who have to sift through all the intellectual and creative sedimentation to find things they like to read. After all there are so many tastes and thoughts as there are people on the planet, and having a blog can be bet for everyone to be heard. If you have a blog, surely you have had dreams of making it big in the blogosphere and get people to read your work no matter where they are in use. To do so, however, you will need to find ways to promote your blog.

Thanks to the power of technology and the Internet have many methods to choose from when it comes to promoting your blog. For one, you can post on the forums that have themes that are related to your blog, and that there are members who might be interested in the things that you have to say. Another way that you can publicize your blog is posting to the mailing lists: you can extend assistance to people who you know can benefit from your experience, or you can simply join the mailing list where people that share your interests.

Another way for you to make more people come to your side bloggin Universe is to add your blog in blog directories.

In the same way that Google indexes the individual websites and puts them under the right word so you can add your blog to the directory online blog. Blog directory is a great way for you to get noticed. By posting your blog into certain categories or keywords and by putting it in a place that allows you to search and where individual entries can be grouped and filtered according to the theme you can get more readers – and not just random readers that pass, but those who actually may share your interests.

How do you get your blog to blog directories online?

There are many different directories, and you will need to find one that not only offers free ad-there are a lot of them, so you don't need to worry – but ones that will allow you to get the most visibility. In addition, you are not limited to one blog directory: try placing yourself in about four or five years, as there are readers and browsers that often stay loyal to one blog directory. This method may allow you to extend yourself further and faster.

Before you enter your blog to the online catalogue, make sure you know exactly what your blog.

They are needed when you register your blog site. You want to put down some random keywords in an effort to get your blog noticed everywhere and anywhere. You know what it feels like to stumble upon a website which has absolutely nothing to do with the search term, so imagine that blog reader will feel when he or she finds your blog, but not interested in its contents!

Don't turn away potential readers!

At the same time, make your content readable and worth going back to. There are many blog writers out there who don't even spell correctly or write with feeling, and you need to set yourself apart from the rest. Make sure that your blog is ready for peace before putting it on the blog directory.

These are just a few tips that you can take note of before you start to put your blog to the blog directory. For more information, go through the about and FAQ sections of the blog directories to see which rules you need to follow and the scope of the catalog. Good planning and good keywords not to mention good content, you will succeed in blogging.

Top Blog Directories to Submit Your Blog to

If you have a blog, then you can count yourself among the thousands of other people on earth who have a blog, who can sell their products and services online, and who find ways to network through friends, former classmates, relatives, even acquaintances, in order to make more money. There are thousands upon thousands of blogs on the Internet right now, and you will need to shine through the muddle of language, or, at the very least, be known to a few well enough in whatever niche you choose to place yourself.

One way for you to establish your audience is to actually have a niche that you proclaim yourself to be in, and one way for you to do this is to place your blog address in a blog directory. You also have the pick of the litter: you are not limited to placing your blog in a single directory, which is advantageous if you consider how these blog directories have their own audiences whom you might lose if you aren’t meticulous enough.

If you are interested in submitting your blog to a blog directory, make sure that your blog is ready for the viewing. Do not simply place your blog address and then expect people to read half-baked essays, poor stories, or no entries at all. Have a lot of good content to welcome your new and current readers. Moreover, be aware of exactly what keywords your blog will have.

This means that you will have to go through your content, and then evaluate what keywords to use, so that you can properly categorize your blog and then provide the right keywords if the blog directory service asks for it.

Here are some blog directories that you may want to consider when you are finally ready to sign your blog up.

1. Blog Catalog (http://www.blogcatalog.com) allows you to not only place your blog into a category. It also shows which categories are the most popular, so that you can be better guided as to what market has the biggest readers. Through blog catalog, you can join discussions and form or join groups.

2. At Blog Hub (http://www.bloghub.com), you can add your blog and chat at a forum, chat with your fellow bloggers, and get news on affordable web hosting services, as well as other articles that might be of interest to you. Blog hub also offers information on how to use services to monetize your blog.

3. You can also add your blog to the directory at Blog Hint (http://www.bloghints.com), where you can view the latest blogs added, the most popular, and the highest rated. Blog Hints will even suggest a category for your blog, and you can access some Wordpress themes if you are using that service. There are many different blogs in this directory that you can search through. The blogs are also arranged in folders that are readily visible on the front page of the site.

4. At Blogging Fusion (http://www.bloggingfusion.com) you can also readily view the available categories, and you can even get your blog featured. There are also available blog ratings systems and popular blogs lists for you to browse.

5. Another directory is Blog Flux (http://dir.blogflux.com) where you can look through an alphabetical directory, see featured blogs, and see the latest updates to blogs listed in the directory.

How to Make Money with Article Directories

Are you a website owner who has recently wrote or purchased articles? If so, what do you plan to do with those articles? If you are like many other site owners, you may opt to display the content on your website. This approach is nice, but you do have another option. That option is article directories.

Unfortunately, many website owners, especially those just getting started, make the mistake of believing that article directories are nothing but a waste of time. Although you are not paid directly for each article you upload, they can help you generate income overtime. As for how, please continue reading on.

Before focusing on how article directories can make you money, it is important to know what they are. Article directories are websites where internet users are able to upload and display their articles. At the end of each article, you should be able to post a link leading to the website of your choice. This website should be yours. It can either lead to a website where you are selling a product, service, or a content filled website that makes money through advertisements.

What is nice about article directories is that they allow other internet users to use your articles. Yes, this may cause you concern, but this is actually how article directories work their magic. One of the best is http://www.articlebeach.com - Many have a clause stating that all links must be left intact. Since each of your articles should have a link to your website, your link can be distributed all across the internet, with minimal work on your part.

Since article directories do allow others usage rights to your articles, you will want to put fresh articles on the directories. Do not have the exact same articles posted on your personal website, as the search engines may penalize you for having duplicate content. If you hire an article writer to write content for your website, ask them to write a few additional articles for the directories. On that same note, these articles are easy to write yourself. Try to ensure all articles are between 400 and 500 words.

As for how article directories make you money, they work by generating traffic for your website. Whether you are selling a product, service, or making money through advertisements clicks and affiliate programs, traffic is a must. If no one visits your website, you will not make any money. Article directories can bring that much needed traffic to your website and possibly generate income for you.

When preparing to write your articles or when hiring a professional writer, remember the word count. Most directories require articles with word counts of around 400 words. The smaller the word count, the less time you have to spend writing or less that you have to pay a writer.

In keeping with getting your money’s worth, know that these articles can easily be rewritten to make new, fresh content. You can rewrite them yourself or pay another writer, as little as $1 a rewrite. This means that you get more uses out of each article and a better value for your money. By rewriting one article multiple times, you can essentially submit 10 different articles to 10 different article directories.

Article directories can be found with a standard internet search. Although they do have different methods of submission, it should take you no less than 5 minutes to add one article to the directory. If you outsourced these articles, ask your writer to submit the articles and links for you. Some writers will do so for free or for a small fee, like .50 cents or a $1 for each article upload.

As a recap, article directories will not generate upfront payment for you, but they can help to create passive income. Passive income is nice, as it keeps on generating overtime. If you run a content filed website or a website that sells a product or a service, start relying on article directories to help you today. The first step is to either start writing yourself or hire a quality article writer.

Tips for Submitting Outsourced Articles to Directories

Are you a website owner who wants to use outsourced keyword articles to increase your website traffic? If so, you can and should rely on article directories. When properly used, they are a great way to increase your visitor count. This, in turn, increases your own sales or affiliate sales.

As previously stated, article directories are a great tool to use, but only if you use them properly. If you are using outsourced articles, that you did not write yourself, you must check for uniqueness first. In fact, this should be done regardless of what you use them for. Most writers will submit unique articles, which they wrote from scratch, but there are no guarantees. Reputable article directories will not allow you to post plagiarized content online, even if you were originally unaware of its copied status.

It is also important to know what article directories expect and require. Despite the possibility of a variance, most only allow you to include a website link at the bottom of your article. They tend to avoid articles that are straight up advertisements. If you know ahead of time that your outsourced articles will be distributed to directories online, talk to your writer. Make sure they know your articles cannot be too salesy.

In keeping with knowing what to expect, some article directories have specific word counts. For example, most require that articles be no less than 300 words each. On that some note, don’t post long articles. Your link will appear at the bottom of the page. This means the reader needs to make it through your article to see your link. A 500-word article is more appropriate than a 1,000-word article.

It is also important to know that unique content is best. There are a lot of article directories for you to submit your articles to. They can be found with a standard internet search. The more directories you submit your outsourced articles to, the more your links will be seen and clicked on. Some, however, do not allow duplicate content even if you own it. This means that you must rewrite each article to make it unique.

Speaking of rewriting, do not write a new article from scratch for each article directory. Instead, just make a few adjustments. You can change a couple of words in each sentence or change the context of a few sentences. You can also add sentences to make the article longer or eliminate some to reduce its length. There are so many ways for you to create a “new,” article out of just one.

If you like the idea of spinning or rewriting an existing article to make it “unique,” but don’t want to do the work yourself, you don’t have to. Outsource the work. Do not hire the same writer. Instead, look for someone who specializes in rewriting articles. Have them rewrite the originally outsourced article 2 or more times. Rewriters tend to charge lower fees than those who refer to themselves as writers.

Finally, know what article directories are worth the time and money. Not all article directories are created equally. Some perform better than others do. At the very least, look for directories that distribute your articles. This increase the exposure your articles receive, but only if your links remain attached. Otherwise, you are simply just allowing others to capitalize on your article without receiving anything in return.