But what do the changes actually mean?

Well, the word on the street is this.  The changes to the Google algorithm impact  on approximately 35% of web searches. So if your main medium is blogging original content then it wont impact you as much say, as someone who spins a lot of content and uses article based sites such as ezine article.

Without getting too technical; the change will ensure that the search engine results will provide results based on up-to-date and relevant results.  Particularly important where ‘update to date’  content is most relevant e.g. hot topics, breaking news, events, or current product reviews etc.

Therefore when someone searches for a specific item, event, topic or news story, in theory the most recent results will appear at the top of the page, with or without the need to identify a specific year or moment in time.  So for example; if you searched ‘Who is hosting the Olympics’ It should show London Baby! as opposed to Atlanta.

This latest change to the Google Algorithm builds on other ‘freshness’ updates that Google has introduced recently most notably last years Caffeine update that has allowed Google to index content faster and the Google Panda which has helped reduce the prevalence of poor quality content which was ranking high because it was SEO rich.

Keeping Google Happy. 

How does this relate to Bloggers and the quality of your content.  Well  I guess it depends on why you blog and how much you value the content you post in respect of driving traffic.  The bottom line is, whether you blog for fun, to inform, or for business. It will never hurt you to keep your content fresh.  How regularly you post also has an impact on the momentum you can create, especially when coupled with quality syndication.

I would always advice you to adopt a regular blogging habit.  It will both keep your site looking fresh, but also help you to leverage your time and get the traffic flowing.

As a blogger, it is so important to ensure you allow for comments and community interaction. Even the oldest of posts can be enhanced by new comments and perspectives being left on your content, especially when you interact and build relationships with the commentators.

If you are thinking… Beth that’s great but my blog looks like a ghost time most of the time and I would love to respond to my comments, but I just don’t get any….Then I would highly advise that you join a group such as the Tribe Syndication Association (TSA).  The TSA will help you out in this department and really help you build traffic and that community environment you are looking for.

If comments isn’t your issue, but you just want to know where you can get some quality ideas for blog content, check out an old post  I did on this very subject called keeping your blog content fresh or look at good all rounder sites like Alltop.

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In the beginning, blogs and traffic are a bit like the chicken and the egg situation.  You can’t get sales if you don’t have traffic and you can’t get the traffic to stick if you don’t have any social proof on your site.

In today’s post I want to share with you some simple methods to help build the community spirit you are so desperate to build on your blog.  After all there is nothing more pitiful than killer blog content with no-one checking it out.

In the beginning a bloggers ultimate goal is to get readers to comment on your blog posts. So how is it done?

1.)    Social Proof – There are a number of widgets that you can add to your blog sidebar to make your blog come to life, such as google connect, networked blogs, twitter feeds, facebook like pages.  If you a wordpress blog, adding certain plugins will also add to your social proof such as facebook share, tweetmeme, digg, google buzz etc and encourage readers to interact with you and your content.

2.)    Join a Tribe – I have used many different models and my favourite by a long shot is TSA Mastery. First of all it’s free and secondly, you will get other bloggers syndicating your content and leaving comments from day one.

3.)    Comment on Other Blogs – What!…yeah might seem slightly insane, I mean why would you want to comment on other peoples blogs when you are trying to get your own blog going.  Well believe me it works, what is more.  If you comment on blogs that have plugins like comment luv you will reap the rewards when people read your comment and hit the link back to your blog.

4.)    Ask for Comments – Might sound obvious, but if you don’t ask people questions and ask people to contribute you might not get what you’re hoping for.  Try to end your blog posts with a call to action by, asking your readers to comment, add value and for their opinion on your topic.

5.)    Interact with your readers – You’ve been waiting for the day when you had some comments on your blog and now you can’t be bothered to thank them for their time and wisdom. If people leave a question, make sure you follow up with them and make sure you leave a message on your blog so that other readers see that you are the real deal.

So what do you do, to increase the sense of community on your blog?

P.S Find out how you could be using cutting edge video communication tools to build your primary business, build relationships increase customer retention and get paid instantly. Find Out How

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Just a short and sweet message for you today, brought to you with one of my favourite scenes in one of my favourite films, that is In the Pursuit of Happiness with Will Smith.

Don’t ever let someone tell you, you can’t do something.  If you have a dream you have to protect it.  A good friend of mine Edward Elliot would even say you have to share it to make it come into fruition.

If you want something, go get it.  Anything is possible, whoever you are, where ever you are, whatever your circumstances.  You just have to keep at it.

If you haven’t yet seen this film, I would urge you to do so.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Have a wonderful Week,

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Watch this 5 minute video tutorial below, set up your gravatar and get your face seen all over the web, by using the same picture on all social networks, forums, article submission sites and other websites.

Click here to view the embedded video.

So go ahead and set up your gravatar and leave me a message below to test out if your gravatar is working properly.  It’s as easy as ABC, but if you do get stuck, be sure to give me a shout.

In my next video tutorial, find out how you can customise your blog with a professional looking signature.  You can also use the tool to add other graphics and headings to your blog.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I hope you enjoyed these videos.  Please let me know if they were helpful.  I would also really like to know what other  ‘HOW TO’ videos I can do for you in the future.  Have a great week.

Yours in Success,

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First things First, Twitter is a great tool to use as part of any social media strategy but it’s sometimes difficult to get started with all the twitter jargon, twitter slang and twitter acronyms flying about.

The great thing about Twitter is that it allows you to carry out actions quickly by using some simple shorthand codes.  These are particularly useful if you would like to maximise your time or use your mobile phone to tweet.

So let’s get started, here are some basic codes you should know if you want to get off to a good start with twitter.

The @ Sign

The @symbol is typically used when you want to reference another twitter user or if you want to say something directly to someone.  Unlike many of the other shorthand codes used on Twitter there should be no space between the @sign and a username e.g.

@bethhewitt80 thanks for the great tips

When using the @sign, twitter will ensure that the message shows up in their mentions tab.

D = Direct Message

If you want to send a message to someone but don’t want anyone else to see it, or perhaps it just isn’t relevant to anyone else. You can send a person a direct message e.g.

D bethhewitt80 do you know you have two odd shoes on today?

A word of advice! Never send anything highly personal or sensitive in a direct message.  Whilst you might intend for it to go only to the specific user, Twitter is so fast paced that a tiny omission or spelling mistake could mean your secret message gets broadcast to all of your followers OOPS!

You might also want to find out if someone checks their direct messages regularly.  Personally I tend to not spend too much time in my direct message inbox.  If you want someone urgently try traditional e-mail or even picking up the phone!

It is however, possible that some people have direct messages sent straight to their mobile phones.  This is a great tool for people always on the move.

RT = Retweet

If you read a tweet that you think your followers will also like you can Retweet it to your followers. To do this all you have to do is add RT to the start of the message. E.g.

RT @bethhewitt80 thanks for the great tips

# = Hashtags

A hashtag is a way to delineate a keyword so that other users can easily see discussion, topic and events relating to that keyword.

Some common hashtag keywords include: #followfriday, #tribetuesday #whois #wishlist

Hashtags make it easier to filter tweets by specific topic.  You can also follow specific hashtags inside tweetdeck so that you can see what other people are saying about a particular #hashtag.

Hashtags although quite quirky are extremely useful and allow you to measure the performance of certain events, topics and trends.  They are also easy for others to search, find and share.

You can easily search tweets and conversations about your hashtag by going to www.search.twitter.com Sometimes hashtags become so popular that they will stick around whilst others are temporary and denote to a particular event.

I hope you found this post useful.  More twitter tutorials coming soon…from how to set up your twitter account, twitter dos and don’ts and must have twitter tools.  I am always looking for suggestions on future posts and videos so please leave your suggestions below.  Not just Twitter but anything social media.

Did you know that you can drive even my traffic to your blog by personally branding your tweets? Find Out More  ====> Here

Yours in Success,

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Why am I blogging about this? Well, after we have been blogging for a while and we starting to reap the rewards of increased traffic, sales and recognition.  It’s easy to forget how it was in the beginning, it’s easy to forget how difficult it was to build up the momentum and only to lose it all and have to start all over again when we stop blogging for a month or two.

The same goes for sending out regular newsletters, sending out emails to our subscribers, doing videos and articles, interacting on twitter and facebook, responding to messages the list goes on.

So what can we do to make sure this never happens?

1. Don’t over commit – When striving for success and an abundant life of everything we desire, it is easy to bite of more than we can chew.  This is especially true for those building a home based business while still working that 9 to 5.  My biggest piece of advice is to work out what you want to concentrate on, get good at it and then either get quicker, get automated or outsource.  Don’t spread yourself too thinly, it’s better to excel in one area than have a little bit of knowledge in lots.

2.  Build a blogging schedule – Be realistic and decide how you can be as productive as possible with the time that you have.  You are going to have to find a time when you can research, write, type up and edit your post. Decide when a good time to write is? In the beginning, a blog post can take a few hours but over time, ideas will flow and you will be able to write a blog post in next to no time at all.

If you don’t think you have the will power to commit regularly to writing a blog post. Why not shut yourself away for a day and write as many blog posts as possible.  Every December I attempt to write 52 original blog posts, so that I always have a blog post for each week of the year.

3. Have an accountability Partner – After you have done some general networking online, you will no doubt find other bloggers in similar niches who are trying to achieve the same thing as you.  Why not approach someone you resonate with and ask them if they will be your accountability partner.  This way, you will have someone to report to every week and who you can bounce ideas off.  A great place to find bloggers willing to help each other out is within the TSA Mastery.

1. Something to Blog About – One of the biggest stumbling blocks that Bloggers have, is not knowing what to blog about.  When you have been in the blogging game long enough, you will find ideas flowing out of you.  But once in a while we all need a little help with the writer’s block.

• Read other blogs
• Set up Google Alerts for your Niche
• Use Alltop.com, Stuff to Tweet, Mashable
• Ask your readers what they want.

So now you don’t have any excuses not to blog, let me know what methods you use to make sure that you don’t give up on the blogging game.

Yours in Success,

P.S. If you are sick and tired of trying to generate leads and making teeny-weeny commissions each month find out how I was able to make over $1000 in commissions in just 30 days using this simple straight forward system

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 So yesterday it was announced that Zeek Rewards and Zeekler.com has voluntarily closed it’s doors as the North Carolina Attorney General issues a Civil Investigation Demand in to the company.  It then took only a handful of hours before all the so called leaders and guru’s started showing their true colours, pointing fun at Zeek Affiliates and offering their wonderful company as an answer to the Zeek affiliates prayers.

It is really upsetting that people are so quick to judge without taking time to listen to the full facts.  Now I’m not an affiliate in Zeek, but I do have friends that are and I hate to see them being mocked by people in any way shape or form.

What we do know is that the Red Carpet Event next Wednesday has been cancelled, that any training and leaderships have been cancelled for the foreseeable future.  That  Zeek Accounts appear to be frozen.  We know that the locks have been changed on the premises by the company and employees have been seen taking out personal effects. Now if this was a Criminal investigation, those locks would have been changed by Law Enforcement and evidence would most certainly not have been able to be removed from the premises.

Whilst we don’t know for sure, it is likely that Zeek have a set period of time in which to answer the questions of the Attorney General Office, that they are under close scrutiny and questions surrounding the companies business model, accounts, compensation plan etc need to be looked at in detail and from a balanced viewpoint.

To my mind it actually makes perfect sense that a company such as Zeek, that has been growing exponentially over the last 12 months,  that has seen almost unprecedented growth should now be looked at closer, not just for consumers but for the affiliates who have invested their time and energy in to the company.

Let time  do it’s thing, if this is a legitimate sustainable business model it will be established over the coming weeks and months.  If it is not, then so be it.  But let’s let the Zeek affiliates have time to make an informed decision as to whether they wish to continue to affiliate with the company and or want to pursue other forms of income.

If you have any up to date news on Zeek, please feel free to share it below,

To Your Success,

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Being unique is difficult to achieve and it’s even harder to teach someone how to be unique, but I thought you might enjoy a few tips on how you can start your search for search for uniqueness.

• Personality – Your personality is everything, try to not conform to the norm.  Go against everything your English Teachers taught you, be different, make people laugh through your writing, do what makes you happy and others will think you are great too.  Seriously…sounds simple, but being Authentic is King!

• What’s your Niche? – There are lots of Social Media and Internet Marketing blogs about.  There is nothing wrong with this, but if you are going to go down this route, you might want to have a Unique Selling Point. If you do happen to have a crazy past-time, skill or gift, why not shout about it and give your blog the edge.

• Design – If you are serious about being a success blogger, you might want to invest in some custom designed graphics.  There’s some great services out-there at reasonable prices.  I recommend any of the following.

• Be a Character – If you think you can pull it off, why not go one step further and build a whole character around your niche for your blog.  There are lots of great examples out there of people who have been successful doing this.

• Creativity is Key – I’ve said this in previous posts and the fact still remains.  Readers have short attention spans and get bored of bland text on the page, mix up your posts with images, videos, spoken audio or music.

• Well Researched – There are lots of bloggers who do short sharp and focused blogs giving personal opinions and past experience, this is great and there is nothing wrong with this, but some of the most valued and well respected bloggers are those that go that extra mile. Who evaluate products and services in detail and who are not afraid to go against the grain.  Consider doing some of these types of posts every now and again and you will gain dedicated readers for life.

• Community Friendly – The whole point of a blog, is that its interactive and community focused, but many bloggers over look this.  When bloggers first start out, they eagerly await that first comment on their post and then when it happens forget to interact and build relationships with their readers.  Make your blog as easy as possible for readers to subscribe, comment, syndicate, contact you, add value and ask questions.

• It’s all in the Giving – Being a blogger is one thing, but being a real blogger is helping other bloggers to succeed.  Reading other peoples blogs, will give you inspiration and ideas, it will help build your credibility in your niche and will make you stand out.  One of the best ways to contribute to other bloggers is join a Tribe, like TSA Mastery.

Hope you found this post useful, let me know your methods for making yourself more unique and what you have found successful.

Yours in Success,

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What is this thing they call a blog?  Well there are many definitions and naturally with all things on the internet, things have evolved over the last few years.  But to start with let us consider this definition.

A blog to me is a website that maintains an on-going chronicle of information which should be updated frequently by the blogger.

It could contain journal type commentary, niche-specific articles, or posts which link to other websites, articles, videos and resources, that may be of interest to the reader.

Blogs traditionally represented the personality of the blogger and whilst this is still true, many blogs are now used in a business-like manner to create a brand, to market products, services and to build communities and relationships with customers and business partners.

Why you need a blog TODAY!

You should think of your blog as your central hub or your home – a place where everyone from all areas of your life can find you and find out about you.  If you are building a blog for business purposes then each blog post offers vital information on areas of your business or industry.  Furthermore blog posts are dramatically less expensive than newspaper, magazine, radio, TV or web banner advertisements and the people that visit your blog will usually already be interested in what you have to offer.

Blogs present an eternal advertisement, which unless deleted or edited will live forever online.  Overtime your blog will become your showcase and portfolio of work and evidence of your expertise and credibility.

Blogs are extremely social allowing the creation of a community of followers who will actively comment on your posts. Whilst many people thought, the traditional blog presence would demise with the advent of micro-blogging platforms like twitter and social networks such as facebook, savvy bloggers have embraced the arrival of web 2:0 technologies integrating social media links and tools to be used in conjunction with social media platforms.

If you are considering starting a blog here are my top 6 reasons why you should invest in a self hosted blog.

1. Having a yourname.com website, shows professionalism and does wonders for your reputation

2. You own your website and are in complete control, you don’t have to worry about your website and all its content disappearing.

3. Self hosted blogs such as WordPress are Search Engine Optimisation friendly.

4. Plugins and Widgets are easy to install and help you achieve basically anything you can think of!

5. You can integrate with other social media platforms

6. If you get really good at blogging  you could even sell your blog for a quick buck!

P.S If you are wanting a professional but affordable design service to give your blog and social media presence the celebrity look  you were looking for.  Don’t Miss This ==> Social Media Celebrity Design Solutions

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If this sounds anything like you and you find it difficult to say no, then you might benefit from some tips on how to be more assertive or even how to use some visual techniques to make it less likely of getting asked to do something.

When I am at work nothing says do not disturb better than having your headphones on, this might seem too good to be true but seriously headphones work. If you don’t have an I-pod or other music device just pretend!

Similarly, if you are in a public place and are just not in the mood to participate and want some ‘me’ time simply get a book out and get engrossed, most people agree that it is rude to interrupt someone who is reading.

If you use an electronic diary which your work colleague can check, or you have instant messenger at work make sure you block out time in your diary so that people can’t sneak a meeting in there and make sure your status is set to do not disturb.  This is simple but effective.

Be more assertive.  This is easier said than done, but it does get easier with practice.  The best way to say no to a request is to start your reply with…

“Thank you for asking but I can’t commit to that right now.”

Or if it’s really difficult to say NO but you just don’t have the time, tell them WHY and BUY yourself some time.

“I would like to help but I am currently working on X,Y,Z…If you can’t get anyone else to do it, the earliest I will be able to get started on it will be [day]”

This puts the ball back in their court…if they want it doing sooner than your given day, they will have to find someone else or wait until it’s convenient for you.

Another method I like to use is the art of compromise.  Consider what someone can do for you, if you agree to do something for them.

“OK I can do that for you, but would you mind doing a testimonial for my website?”

OR

“I can get that report written for you by Friday, if you could help me come up with some articles for the newsletter, would that be OK?”

Hope that gives you some ideas of how to avoid some dreaded work, would love to know what has worked for you and if you have some of your own tips.

Yours in Success,

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