I know ya'll get sick of hearing me say it every week, but thank goodness it's Friday. No lie, this place has gotten on my last nerve this week.
Since making the decision to try to correct my financially challenged situation by using my blog to make some extra money, I've worked hard to increase traffic, my Google page rank and the number of feeds coming in to Hidden Mahala. I've read about SEO (search engine optimization,) added meta tags, followed the advice of ProBlogger and registered for every blog promotion tool I can find.
The new Google page numbers came out yesterday. My blog dropped a point.
It's not all bad I suppose, ProBlogger wrote that he dropped a point as well, as did several of the other blogtastic "cool kids." My Alexa rating continues to fall, which is a good thing. Google's ranking system gives higher numbers to the more favorable positions (I went from "3" to "2") but Alexa works in reverse. With Alexa, the goal is to work towards the number one position, website Shangri-La. Six months ago my Alexa rating was 7,363,888. Today it's 3,044,063.
So why the nose dive in Google ranking? Maybe there are just so many more sites to compete with that the competition is getting stiffer.
Ya'll are probably wondering why I even care about ranking and ratings. Isn't it enough to know that I've got great readers like you?
It really is.. but...
I've tried to increase those numbers because those gauges of internet popularity determine the quantity of better paying sponsored post opportunities I'm eligible for. Higher ranks equal more money per sponsored post, which means I can write fewer of them and concentrate on writing more of what I enjoy.... Like Uncle Hubert's Custom Cows and my stalking plans for Craig Ferguson next month in Big City.
Do ya'll keep up with your internet ranks and ratings? If so, did you experience a Google nose dive?
I'm gonna go take off my shoes and do a Happy Naked Friday dance out on the front lawn. I'll see ya'll later!
10 comments:
Do you make any money at it? I'm just curious.
I've only tried to see if I even had a google ranking or alexa - and it was ugly.
So I don't look. If I was working my 40 hour week and blogging, I would pay more attention to it. But - as it is - I have my regular job and then making jewelry too - it's too much to try to up my page rank.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
I have thought about trying to make money, but then I hear things from others about "the handful of change" they made in a month, and I realize, I can just do this for the enjoyment. No pressure. It also seems like so much to keep up with, keeping your blog "out there." I wish you the best if you can manage it. I can't.
I have thought about trying to make money, but then I hear things from others about "the handful of change" they made in a month, and I realize, I can just do this for the enjoyment. No pressure. It also seems like so much to keep up with, keeping your blog "out there." I wish you the best if you can manage it. I can't.
poopie: I make about $200 a month from the sponsored posts. I've not had much luck from any of the ads I've tried. That $200 a month might seem like pocket change to the majority, but my yearly income (from my job at he asylum) falls below 21k. In all honesty, with my situation at the moment, I could use a second job.. I'm just too old and tired.
bettejo: I did beadwork too for a while :) I worked mainly with seed beads, so one piece took days. I loved it, but realized I'd have to charge a fortune to make up for the time I was investing. I still have my big ol' basket o' beads. I'll have to post some pictures of my favorite pieces one day :)
terri: It's true, you can't make much from ads unless you've got amazing traffic.. and I don't. I make a little from sponsored posts, enough to pay some of my bills. It's been worth it to me :)
So true!
Last night I logged on (from my hotel room) and saw that my blogspot pages all fell. Boo hoo. I have an AWESOME housewife 'recipe' blog that went down in google rank and I was oh-so-sad.
meritt: re-check them this morning, most have bounced back up. Only the ones with text ads were affected apparently. Don't go by PPP, they probably won't update until Monday. Mine had gone back up today.
I don't understand diddly squat about the page ranks, Alexa, Technorati and those things. May as well be speaking Greek to me about that stuff. But anyway, I've been giving thought to paid blogging and finally decided to give it a try. Yesterday, I applied to two companies, got accepted by one and made it through the first step of the other. Today, I tried my first post as a "Paid blogger" and I have no clue if I did it right or not. I guess they still have to look at it and approve or not of what I posted there. I'm not doing this to get rich quick - just maybe pick up a few extra bucks here and there, if possible. And, trust me, I can understand completely your comments on wanting/needing to work a second job! Been there, done that for almost all the 40 plus years I was part of the work force and it ain't pretty when you have to do that to just survive.
How do you check your Google ranking? I didn't even know that there was such a thing.
melissa: there are loads of tools out there to check it. Google "page rank" and try one. It gives you a rating out of a possible "10."
Jeni: If you went with Payperpost, don't worry. If the post doesn't meet the requirement, they'll email you and tell you what needs to be fixed. You'll have time to edit it. Everyone has to fix something the first few times :)
Post a Comment