This is part two of my interview with Mr. Darren Rowse of ProBlogger.net. You can read the first part of the interview on page one.
What are some SEO strategies that you've found are the tops for bringing traffic to your site?
Most blogging platforms are pretty well set up for SEO these days - in fact blogs are well placed for ranking well in search engines due to their fresh content, site structures (with categories) and interlinking both within and between blogs.
Some of the things I recommend that can enhance this include:
- make your post title your page title
- interlink your posts
- consider a site map or at least link to your main pages from your side bar
- don't just link to your home page on every page with an image link-a text link with keywords that you're targeting is better for SEO
- write niche posts - keep each post to one particular topic. If you want to write on more than one topic per post consider breaking it up into a series.
When you first started out blogging, was going full-time as a blogger something you saw happening?
No - all I expected at the beginning was to have a single blog that kept a record of my life and perhaps created a space for my friends to get my updates. I never considered that I'd find a way of sustaining myself or my family financially through my blogging.
Do you think that this, blogging full-time, is something anyone could do?
Yes and no. If you think about any industry and how people go 'Pro' you see that there are always different levels that people can take things to. Pro-Golfers or Pro-Basketball players, etc. are a small percentage of those that aspire to be at the level that they achieve. They get to the pro-level because of a lot of hard work, luck, natural talent, etc. I suspect the same is true for bloggers. I think anyone can make some money from blogging - but the amount will vary on many factors and only a small number will probably be able to go full time.
How much time do you spend on this on a daily basis?
Too much! I treat it as a full time job - as a small business. At present I'm a sole entrepreneur with no one working for me so my hours are long. I've not added it up but I'm probably working 50-60 hour weeks at present. Having said that - I can take time off and have a very flexible work schedule - I work in the mornings and at night and have afternoons free for playing, other work etc. I enjoy it - a lot!
What do you see happening with your site in the next few years?
The next few years will be an interesting time. There is a massive influx of bloggers trying to blog professionally so things are getting a bit cluttered.
I'll continue to develop my current sites but am working on some new projects also. In the next few weeks I'll be launching a new blog network with a number of other bloggers. I'm also chatting to publishers about a book, am running a course called Six Figure Blogging with another blogger,and am planning a number of new blogs.
