WDTalk

Have you ever wondered why Google loves WordPress sites, and why they seem to get indexed faster than other sites?

Even Alexa shows greater movement in traffic trends for new WordPress sites. New sites are currently ranked at about 21,000,000 on Alexa (not good). Put just a little traffic on a WordPress site though, and it’ll jump to the one million mark in a couple of weeks.

What helps generate that traffic? The answer is the blog’s ability to PING.  Its an incredibly powerful tool.

Whenever a blog pings, multiple background processes happen which get your blog quickly indexed by search engines as well as bringing traffic from many other sources.

There are tons of blog directories and ping services which accept pings. When you add a new post on your blog, it sends a ping to all these websites saying, “Hey, I’ve just added a new post in my blog”.

The downside is that every time you edit a post on WordPress, it pings that revision (by default) – and that can get you banned from ping services (not good).

How do you prevent this? Download and activate MaxBlogPress Ping Optimizer 3.0. It’s been tested through the current version of WordPress. This plugin will manage your pings so you won’t get banned.

The ping services we use on WDTalk are listed below. Once you’ve activated the plugin, simply insert the following services and save – and you’re off to the races.

http://1470.net/api/ping
http://api.feedster.com/ping
http://api.moreover.com/ping
http://api.moreover.com/RPC2
http://api.my.yahoo.com/RPC2
http://api.my.yahoo.com/rss/ping
http://bitacoras.net/ping
http://blog.goo.ne.jp/XMLRPC
http://blogmatcher.com/u.php
http://blogsearch.google.com/ping/RPC2
http://bulkfeeds.net/rpc
http://coreblog.org/ping/
http://mod-pubsub.org/kn_apps/blogchatt
http://ping.amagle.com/
http://ping.bitacoras.com
http://ping.blo.gs/
http://ping.cocolog-nifty.com/xmlrpc
http://ping.feedburner.com
http://ping.rootblog.com/rpc.php
http://ping.syndic8.com/xmlrpc.php
http://ping.weblogalot.com/rpc.php
http://ping.weblogs.se/
http://pingoat.com/goat/RPC2
http://rcs.datashed.net/RPC2/
http://rpc.blogbuzzmachine.com/RPC2
http://rpc.blogcatalog.com/
http://rpc.blogrolling.com/pinger/
http://api.moreover.com/RPC2
http://bblog.com/ping.php
http://blogsearch.google.com/ping/RPC2
http://ping.weblogalot.com/rpc.php
http://ping.feedburner.com
http://ping.syndic8.com/xmlrpc.php
http://ping.bloggers.jp/rpc/
http://rpc.pingomatic.com/
http://rpc.weblogs.com/RPC2
http://rpc.technorati.com/rpc/ping
http://topicexchange.com/RPC2
http://www.blogpeople.net/servlet/weblogUpdates
http://xping.pubsub.com/ping
http://rpc.icerocket.com:10080/
http://rpc.newsgator.com/
http://rpc.pingomatic.com/
http://rpc.technorati.com/rpc/ping
http://rpc.weblogs.com/RPC2
http://topicexchange.com/RPC2
http://www.a2b.cc/setloc/bp.a2b
http://www.bitacoles.net/ping.php
http://www.blogdigger.com/RPC2
http://www.blogoole.com/ping/
http://www.blogoon.net/ping/
http://www.blogpeople.net/servlet/weblogUpdates
http://www.blogroots.com/tb_populi.blog?id=1
http://www.blogshares.com/rpc.php
http://www.blogsnow.com/ping
http://www.blogstreet.com/xrbin/xmlrpc.cgi
http://www.lasermemory.com/lsrpc/
http://www.mod-pubsub.org/kn_apps/blogchatter/ping.php
http://www.newsisfree.com/RPCCloud
http://www.newsisfree.com/xmlrpctest.php
http://www.popdex.com/addsite.php
http://www.snipsnap.org/RPC2
http://www.wasalive.com/ping/
http://www.weblogues.com/RPC/
http://xmlrpc.blogg.de/
http://xping.pubsub.com/ping/
http://rpc.odiogo.com/ping/

With so much information out there - it’s hard to narrow down any search query to the relevant few you’re truly interested in. I recently found a great list of blogs that are both interesting and successful. I had already been reading some of them, but this is a diverse group with a ton of in depth observations. See my PS: on marketing blogs.

PS: If you’re interested in top performing marketing blogs - see the Power 150 at AdAge Digital. They currently list 1121 marketing blogs (and growing) ranked by a number of indicators including:

• Twitter
• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• StumbleUpon
• Alexa Points
• Yahoo Inlinks
• Todd Points

Click on the link and it’ll show their last posts.

Revised January 18 2012

By default, WordPress blogs use a rel=”nofollow” attribute - so when you read of Do Follow Blogs, these are blogs that have used a plugin that removes the nofollow attribute. Comments then that contain links back to the poster count as backlinks for their sites.

To the Search Engines – these links then are simply links. It’s up to the search engines rather to follow that link and pass value to the poster’s site. There is no “do follow” attribute to instruct a search engine that these links must be followed or assigned value. Why DoFollow versus NoFollow? The NoFollow attribute was introduced in 2005 to discourage comment spam.

Quality Backlinks - To a large segment of SEO experts, a quality backlink is a one way incoming link from a relevant (respected) site with higher PR. It’s a link you earn via hosting a great site that delivers useful information (the stuff that people want to link to).  These are also known as natural (real) links. The theory is that more natural links help boost your site’s popularity and Page Rank.

A Word of Caution - Blog spam is rampant, especially for Do Follow blogs. There are some “do follow” plugins that allow you to set how many comments a visitor needs to leave (with the same domain URL and/or email address) before their comment link will follow. The DoFollow Plugin for WordPress options:

Timeout

Comments

Pingbacks, trackbacks and other special comment types

My Recommendation

• Use a Do Follow plugin for your WordPress blog if you enable comments
• Do not add the “NoFollow” attribute to inbound links.
• Only add the ‘NoFollow” attribute to outbound links in widgets like Subscribe or Bookmark Me.

What are 404 error pages anyway? From time to time, one of your links on WordPress may become broke. When this happens, WordPress looks for a 404.php web page, and presents that page to the visitor.

The good news is that you don’t have to settle for – the default 404 NOT FOUND page. Some themes make it easy to customize the 404.php file, but others do not. Regardless, leaving it at the default setting is counterproductive.  Why not add a message that helps your visitor or injects some humor to defuse the error?

To edit your Theme’s 404 error template file:

• Open your WordPress admin panel:
• Choose Appearance menu.
• Choose the Theme Editor page.
• Check to see if your theme includes a 404 Template in the list of files.
• Click the link for 404 Template along the right side of the page.
• Edit the message text to say what you want it to say.
• Save your changes.

While you are examining and editing your 404 template file – take a look at the structure of the default 404.php file. It basically features tags that display the header, sidebar, and footer, and also an area for your message:

In addition to adding a personalized message - similar to “something went wrong,” you should also include:

• A link to the site map – (if you have one) and the home page.
• A search box. If you have a site search, add it to your 404 page.

This is my Gravatar as the Editor for WDTalk. Gravatar stands for Globally Recognized Avatar, which is simply the small square image which appears alongside comments you leave when blog commenting. Gravatars are linked to specific email addresses.

In terms of know, like and trust - a personal Gravatar adds weight to your comments, making you appear more genuine.  Most spammers don’t use Gravatars, so not having one sets off spam signals for a lot of bloggers, including me.

Having a personal Gravatar attaches an image - to a name. So often, I see usernames like anoerzggzz145 and my first thought is that, “I’ve got another spammer.”

I’ll let you judge a few I’ve seen over the past few years:

Acaiberriesqx   - linked to obvious spam

Ford new car extended warranty  - Really? That’s your username? Linked to a sales page!

Zenoxskiiqqqw – Come on?!  Three Q’s? And the associated email address wasn’t much better!

Ok, I understand some visitors have some - pretty quirky usernames, but having a personal Gravatar makes you look less like a spammer and more like a member of the blog.

How to Get a Gravatar

• Go to Gravatar.com
• Click on ‘Get Your Gravatar Today’
• Enter your email address
• Click the link in the confirmation email
• Choose a username and password, then click ‘Sign Up’
• Follow the option to Add an Image
• Upload the best picture of you from your computer.
• Crop the image to your liking, then click ‘Crop and Finish’
• Choose a suitable rating for you Gravatar. (I recommend a G rating)

Performance Marketing Insider ran an article earlier this month - about the launch of WordAds by WordPress, wondering whether it could compete with Google’s AdSense.

While I don’t think that’s going to happen overnight - the article did make a couple of great points about the explosive growth of WordPress.

WordPress estimates almost 50,000 new WordPress sites start online every 24 hours. Alexa.com estimates that almost 15 percent of the top 1 million websites are WordPress configurations. The platform has morphed into the most popular full-fledged content management system on the web.

That’s over 18 million NEW WordPress sites each year! Even more significant is the Alexa estimate, based on traffic. Increasing numbers of businesses are upgrading their hosting platforms to WordPress because it has morphed from its early days as a blogging platform to a full fledged dynamic CMS.

Will WordAds succeed? Only time will tell, but my money is on YES.

I just read an article on how the WordPress community has labeled - ThemeForest as its red headed stepchild, and somewhere near the end of that article they started doing comparisons to other theme services, and Thesis was mentioned a couple of times. Add that one of my favorite bloggers, Ana Hoffman, recommends Thesis, and I became curious how they differed.

While reading about Thesis - I subscribed to a free ebook from their site labeled Nonverbal Website Intelligence – the 5 invisible forces behind effective online marketing, by Derek Halpern. I highly recommend reading this report – all 33 pages.

Some excerpts from the report:

#1 Enlightening Images

Images are an essential element of engaging websites. They communicate feelings, fuel imagination, and immerse people in the story you’re sharing.

Oh, and did I mention, aside from your headline, they’re one of the first things people see when they load your page?

You get it – images are powerful. But let’s face it, not all of us can afford the time or money to pay a photographer top dollar to take the perfect picture. So, what can we do? 

A. Line of Sight

Imagine you’re walking down an empty city block and you spot someone curiously looking up at the sky. Would you quickly glance up to see what has their attention?

Probably. People, almost innately, follow the gaze of other people. Now you’re wondering, what does this have to do with websites?

#2 Effortless Navigation

When people visit your site, they’re trying to find something. It could be con­tent, contact information, or anything else your site may offer.

And, how do people find what they want? Your website’s navigation.

You may think you have this in check, but there are vital pieces of Nonverbal Website Intelligence that help your visitors find what they want in a more natural, effortless way.

Before I jump into the details, let me set the stage…

Step 4: The Complete Guide to Speeding Up Website Load Times

Recently, Willie Jackson, a speed optimization expert, prepared an article for the official DIYthemes blog, which shows you, in detail, how you can speed up your website. I highly recommend you read his article from start to fin­ish. If nothing else, you’ll learn exactly what you need to ask your web host or tech guy with regards to your website’s speed.

Performance Unleashed: How to Optimize Websites for Speed

They also offer tons of valuable content - on how to improve your website, including:

• Free Training Seminars

• High-Quality Workbooks and Reports

• Live Webinars

• Informative, How-To Blog Articles

• And Various Other Teaching Materials