You sure need some basic knowledge of how to start a blog that matters, not just to your potential customers, but also to the search engines.
Step 1. What do you want to blog about?
This is an important question. In order to make money from blogging, you must have a unique topic: either something that has not been covered yet, or a topic that is not too competitive. You want your blog to be seen when someone searches about something, and because it is hard to compete with established blogs, you have to choose your niche carefully.
Also, it would be more beneficial if you blog about something that you already know, or something you are passionate about.
How do I know if a niche has low competition?
Let’s say you want to create a fashion blog. Go to Google Keyword Planner and search for keywords related to fashion. (If you want, you can also target a location for these keywords searches. You can see the Targeting options on the sidebar).
Take note of the keywords that have at least 1,000 searches per month and with average CPC (Cost Per Click) of at least $1. Also, make sure that these keywords have low competition.Note: You can find the CPC under the Suggested Bid column
Benefits of choosing the right keywords:
- Search engine will easily recognize your blog and you will eventually rank higher on Google. Higher Google Rank = more people seeing your blog whenever they search for your keywords.
- You will receive more organic and targeted traffic (traffic from search engines). This traffic pays more when they click on your ads.
These are some of the profitable keywords related to fashion. Choose one main keyword that you will focus on blogging about and use the others to sprinkle within your articles.
What if I don’t find a keyword with low competition, decent monthly searches and good CPC?
That means your blog will not be profitable because only a few are interested in it. Try another topic with better stats.
Consider this:
After collecting all the good keywords, do you think you can produce enough blog posts that can sustain your blog upon launching? Can you keep adding more articles based on those keywords?
Publishing relevant articles regularly is important to keep your blog active. An active blog will gradually climb up the search engine ranking.
Bonus:
Always add long tail keywords to your articles whenever possible. Long tail keywords are the search phrases that are always typed into the Google search box. There are two ways to find them.
1. By typing directly in the search box and taking note of the suggested searches. Use your creativity!
2. By checking out related searches found below the search results feed. On the example below, I used the keyword fashion apps, and these are the related searches that you can use.Step 2. Choose a Domain Name
If you can generate a unique domain that is short and easy to remember, that’s great! If not, consider using your main keyword as your domain. Not only will it help in improving your page rank, you will also get more clicks when users see your relevant domain showing up on search engines.
Your Domain Name Extension
SEO-wise, .Com, .Org, and .Net are the extensions that can rank your blog globally.
Step 3. Choose Your Hosting
Choosing the right company to host your blog is crucial. You don’t want your visitors seeing an error page while browsing your website, right? There are a lot to choose from.
I recommend using Bluehost.com for good hosting service and customer support to help you succeed with your blog.
BONUS: You can get free .Com domain from them when you purchase a hosting plan that at $5.95/ month.
Step 4. Set up Your Website
Don’t know how to develop a website? No problem! You can use Wordpress to build your website. Bluehost allows you to install the Wordpress platform when you choose to host your site with them.
This video explains how easy you can do that.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyH98Dmcfqc[/embed]
Get The WordPress Installation Blueprint that will help you setup your Wordpress site fast and easy.
Next, log into your WP dashboard. There you can see an empty blog - a canvass that you will build into a beautiful website.
You can easily change your theme through the dashboard. Go to Appearance > Themes > Add Themes.
You can also add plugins to improve your site's appearance and performance.
Step 5. Add Contents
Setting up your blog is the easiest section of blogging. Maintaining your website can be tough, but this is the first step to actual blogging. On you blog, make sure you have these important pages:
- About
- Contact
- Privacy Page
- Terms of Use
These pages are for your readers. They need to know who you are and how you use their information (in case you decide to add a subscription feature where you’ll have to collect their emails).
Another important page is the Sitemap. This will alert the search engines of new updates coming from your website. SearchEngineLand.com discusses the importance of sitemap and how you can implement it to your website.
Consider this:
When launching your site, publish at least 5 high-quality articles for your readers to see.
How long should each blog post be? Read Neil Patel’s answer here.
Now you know how to start a blog. Of course, you have to attract people to visit your website in order to make money blogging. On my next post, I will discuss different ways of how you can keep your blog active, and how you can bring more traffic. So, stay tuned!
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