Posts Tagged ‘Web search engine’

Zemanta, my blog’s new best friend

Posted: September 7, 2012 by jdobypr in News
Tags: , , , , , , ,
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Image representing Zemanta as depicted in Crun...

Image via CrunchBase

If you have ever searched for related article links or pictures for your blog post, you know how time consuming it can get.  Searching the web for keywords and tags that can help your post become easily searchable is also a drag when you have to do it manually.  Until recently, I had been using a keyword application entering multiple search terms and taking the most popular with the least amount of competition and THEN creating my headline and sub-headline.  Well, now I use a tool called Zemanta which is a plug-in that totally increases my productivity by decreasing the amount of time spent searching and increasing the time spent actually creating an article.

Zemanta is a blogging tool that allows you to setup search resources including blogs and websites you would normally search manually and creates a “favorites” database for your search resources.  As you are writing your piece, Zemanta is analyzing your post and comparing it to content from YOUR favorite resources as well as the entire web, for content and photos related to your post. You end up with a selection of properly attributed list of related article links and photos which you may choose from to add strength to your post.  Photos have proper copyright attribution, perfect sizing for insertion into your post at a location you determine.

Benefits!

Aside from giving you a selection of related articles to choose from, the tool makes the process of creating natural back links much simpler.  When you add a related article to your post, the blog site from which the article was pulled is notified that there is a track back to their article from your blog/site.  This connection allows YOUR post to gain attention from someone new and perhaps, they will add your blog to THEIR resources list.  I personally have my blog set up so that when someone uses one of my articles, I get notified by e-mail of the track back and get the chance to approve or disapprove the link, which helps me avoid having back links from sites considered by search engines to be spammers and thus lowering my ranking.

Just imagine that some CNN or MTV contributor has posted an article that is related to yours, you OF COURSE select that article because the referrer is well respected by search engines.  Now that contributor know you have linked his article to your site AND you end up with a back link to CNN or MTV directly to your article.  Search engines seem to eat this up and in some magical way, your blog’s ranking begins to climb and gain a positive reputation.

Cost

Nothing but your time to download, install and connect the app to your blog and set it up with your favorite sites/blogs.  If you use wordpress, setup is very simple.  Go to your plug-in page, search Zemanta, install, activate, enter some basic data and boom!  All set.  Once it is set up, the benefits are immediate so your time outlay is paid back with just one blog post.  This tools is FREE.

Comparison to other applications

There is no comparison to be had, I have not found another tool like this and please trust that I have searched.  There are other SEO type applications but for those of us like me, this one is the simplest most comprehensive tool to analyze your post, suggest appropriate in-post tags AND keyword tags all based on the content of your post.

I have not been paid for this short review, I just wanted to share a great resource with others who may be looking for a great way to find related content and perhaps generate natural back links.  I am also a Yahoo! Voices Music Featured Contributor and there, I have to actually to enter search terms in a box to HELP the platform find related articles.  That is not a complaint, just a fact.

I HIGHLY recommend the Zemanta tool as an effective tool to increase your productivity, expose your blog to other bloggers, create natural back links to respected blogs/sites…you may even connect with new blogger friends.  I have met and engaged with quite a few very respected blogs and bloggers via this tool and have increased my subscriber base and readership exponentially just because I began using Zemanta with my blog.

Check it out for yourself and let me know what you think…I am interested in the experiences of others using this tool.

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Tools for Internet Articles that Ensure they Live Longer than a Week!

Posted: February 11, 2012 by jdobypr in Media
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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The IMP Log: The Very First Message Sent on th...

The IMP Log: The Very First Message Sent on the Internet (Photo credit: FastLizard4)

“The Internet is the information highway”, this phrase has been used so many times it should be nominated for the Internet Cliché Award. People that go to the Internet are subdivided into groups, but generally, they are out to search for information. Whether for gaming, business, fun or anything else, the Internet has provided us with information that has proved to be very beneficial.  One of the key elements of an Internet article is the “related articles” list at the bottom of the page.  This “related articles” section is actually a list of links to articles related to the one your reader is currently perusing. “Public Relations specialists who write article formatted pieces should pay special attention!” says Jerry Doby owner of Doby Communications, Inc., an entertainment industry PR firm.

Through the recent years many people have learned the secrets of Search Engine Optimization. More and more sites have seen the positive effects articles have provided for the traffic of their sites. Some have even created sites devoted entirely to providing articles that could be read by their website visitors and have links that lead to many sites related to the topics and subjects of the articles.

Related article links

For example, the sites may feature articles surrounding the music industry. As a website visitor reads the articles they have searched for, they can find at the end of the article a related articles list that can be clicked to link them to the additional information on the subject. Of course the article would be in relation to the site. Lets say the article is about The Grammy Awards, the related articles section may link to stories about announced performers or presenters for the awards show.  This creates more engagement from your readers AND lets other writers know you are also covering similar topics.  Perhaps at some date, they will link back to your article, giving it extra life!

The Benefits?

Now we know what related articles are, what are the benefits of having a good list of related pieces at the end of your article? Mainly related articles potentially drive traffic to your site by creating an association with other articles and writers on the same subject type.  They also get affiliation with other sites that can be beneficial for them as well. For the sponsoring site, when you get people to click on your related article links, you generate traffic that can be counted upon as potential future readers.

Never underestimate the power of the related articles section of your piece, it may be small in size but will provide a significant aid in driving traffic back to your site. A boring list will never get the job done, carefully select recent and relevant articles from the most recognizable sources you can find.  When and if those sources link back to your article, it increases the lifespan of something that by default can get lost in the archival abyss that is the Internet.

Great for publicity writers!

One last note, this tool is ESPECIALLY useful for PR specialists who disseminate their client news using outlets of their own creation like blogs, newsletters, etc. Tying your client’s story to a similar article about a major name from a major outlet can turn your piece into something more than you ever expected!  Imagine having an Internet article on CNN.com or MTV.com listing your article in its related articles section of a news story.  Enough said!

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