It used to be a lot easier to make money as a blogger since the search engine algorithms were more forgiving. There is still plenty of money to be made with a website and blog. However, it takes a bit more effort and focus than it used to. This isn’t a bad thing necessarily, it just means you have to be prepared for the long haul.
The best way to gain traction and create a successful blog is to become an authority in your niche. This is what search engines like Google are looking for. They want to see an expert creating helpful content and not just a fly by night operation that is trying to game the system for views. You can still use tools to make things easier such as apps and SEO research tools, but you’ll need to focus on becoming an authority. In this article, we will go over several ways that you can do this.
1. Put your name and face on it
The way to be an authority is to make a name for yourself. Google wants to see a common thread around the internet with your name and face so it can understand that you have some recognition as being an expert. This means that the days of the anonymous websites with questionable credibility are long over.
These days you have to make sure that you become an expert if you weren’t one already. Then, get a good picture of yourself to put on your website. You can make a professional profile picture by using a background remover from Vista Create and then use it on your about page and your social media profiles.
It’s important that Google can recognize that it is the same person when it sees an article mentioning you or your website across the internet so having consistent photos and making sure your actual name is on the site is important.
2. Start networking
Networking is very important no matter what type of business you are getting into. When you are trying to become an authority in a niche it takes on added importance. This is because you need to get your name spread around the internet so it gets picked up by the search engine algorithms.
Take every opportunity you can to get your name on a website with the name of your blog, too. If you have the chance to be on a podcast, for instance, then jump on it so you can be known in the niche and industry.
The thing to avoid is backlink trading, however. This means that if you are approached by a blog in your niche and they ask you to put a link to their blog on yours in exchange for a link back to yours then decline. The search engines understand this method of trying to build authority and it can hurt you in the long run.
3. Create an empire
When you pick a niche in which to operate, you need to dominate it and be the name everybody recognizes. It doesn’t matter if the topic is lawn care or personal finance. You need to be the person people trust to give them good information.
The way to do this is to use every platform at your disposal to create a name for yourself. You can’t just have a website and rely on organic traffic. Start a Youtube channel on the topic and cover a lot of questions that people have about the topic. Even if you are camera shy there are ways to make videos without your face being in it. As long as it is your name attached then people will trust you.
Then, have a podcast where you can discuss the topic in more detail. Look for people in the niche that are also experts to interview on your podcast. Lastly, have a solid presence on the social media platform where your audience tends to hang out the most. You can’t be active on every one of them so choose the right social media network that is going to be worth your time and effort.
After a couple of years, you will be known in the niche and Google will certainly pick up on the fact and reward you with traffic to your blog. This is why the big sites always have the top posts in the SERPs. It isn’t just because they have a lot of backlinks and pay for SEO services.
