photo credit: Matt McGee

You must have seen and heard about Google +1.  Have you wondered what it is and how to put it on your site?Well, the +1 button on your pages will help your site stand out as it lets people who love your content recommend it on Google search.

Here are some information from Google that could help you in setting up your +1 button.

How do I Add +1 to my site or blog?

1.  Create a custom +1 button You can choose the size and the language.

2.  Copy and Paste the following code into your site:

<!– Place this tag in your head or just before your close body tag –> <script src=”https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js”></script> <!– Place this tag where you want the +1 button to render –> <g:plusone></g:plusone>

How does +1 affect search results?

+1 helps people discover relevant content—a website, a Google search result, or an ad—from the people they already know and trust. Adding the +1 button to your pages lets users recommend your content, knowing that their friends and contacts will see their recommendation when it’s most relevant—in the context of Google search results. When a signed-in Google user is searching, your Google search result snippet may be annotated with the names of the user’s connections who’ve +1′d your page. If none of a user’s connections has +1′d your page, your snippet may display the aggregate number of +1′s your page has received.

Does +1 affect my site’s performance in search?

Content recommended by friends and acquaintances is often more relevant than content from strangers. For example, a movie review from an expert is useful, but a movie review from a friend who shares your tastes can be even better. Because of this, +1’s from friends and contacts can be a useful signal to Google when determining the relevance of your page to a user’s query. This is just one of many signals Google may use to determine a page’s relevance and ranking, and we’re constantly tweaking and improving our algorithm to improve overall search quality.

For +1′s, as with any new ranking signal, we’ll be starting carefully and learning how those signals affect search quality.

Will users on mobile browsers see the +1 button?

We are not including the +1 button on mobile search results at this time. However, users may be able to see any +1 buttons you have added to your web pages.

Are +1′s public?

Yes, Google may show personalized annotations to any signed-in user who has a social connection to a +1. However, any Google user can choose whether or not to display their +1′s on their Google profile.

So, there you go. I hope this helps.

All the best!

Ros

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A recent survey conducted by an Australian company revealed that social media and online social networking is becoming detrimental to the education of high school students.  The students involved in the survey reported that when they intend to spend only a few minutes on a social networking site, they end up being on the site for an hour or two.  This takes out a lot of time from their homework schedules.  Majority of them admitted that they spend more time blogging or chatting with friends than doing school work.

Many of my teenage relatives who are my friends on Facebook regularly post and are very active on the site.  The attraction of these social networking platforms is that you can express your feelings and write or share almost anything without your lecturer checking out your spelling or grammar.  The downside is nobody will have the heart to correct you of your mistakes.  There seems to be a general culture of tolerance and people just want to take away the good and fun side of the social site. 

Office workers also get into the social networking sites even during office hours to break the monotony of their daily routines. These sites also help you to get in touch with your long lost friends all over the world.  Connecting regularly with your relatives and friends makes you feel close to them and can add some fun and excitement to your otherwise dull moments. 

 So, is social media a help or a distraction to our daily lives? 

 Well, here are some reasons why social media is a great help:

• it provides us an avenue to get some loving words of comfort from our family and friends
• it keeps us posted on the whereabouts of our friends
• it allows us to share our interests and beliefs with the special people in our lives
• it allows us to share photos of our magic moments

When is it a distraction?

• when it takes us away from our urgent and important tasks, such as doing homework or doing our real work 
• when we lose some of our sleeping time just so we can post our latest photos
• when you have other chores to do and these get neglected due to a change in priority, i.e. checking facebook before doing your tasks

The important thing to remember, in order to avoid the social media and online networking sites to distract us from our important tasks and activities, is to be disciplined with our time.  As we all know, time is gold and once you lose it, you can never get it back.  The good news is, you have control as to how you want these sites to work for you: either a help or a distraction.

All he best!

Ros

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The world of blogging is full of English speaking people.  So, majority of the very successful ones are natural English speakers and are naturally confident in this language.  Although, people can be successful blogging in their own language in their own country, it appears that the really successful ones speak English quite well.  Even if they do not come from  English speaking countries, their blogs written in English can attract more readers and more customers.

Success here means that the blog has been able to gather thousands of subscribers.  Consequently, the blog is able to build a pretty good business for the blogger.  However, this does not mean that only English speakers can make blogging as their main source of income.  Recently, more and more bloggers, mostly men and some women, who do not speak nor write English very well are able to make a full-time income online.

I have read some blog posts of a full-time blogger from Southeast Asia that are not well written in English. But still many people want to follow him because they are in the same boat and they can relate very well with him.  He has proven that even non-English speakers can create an income online.  Another lady online marketer has videos on you tube even though her English is not perfect.  And she makes some handsome profit from her online marketing products.  All these come down to their level of confidence:  in their content, in their strategies, in their experience and in their training from their mentors.

So, is it possible to be a successful blogger if your first language is not English?  Well, a growing number of Asians have proven that.  And I hope that you will be one of those successful people in the near future.

All the best!

Ros

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All bloggers want to have a successful blog.  Here are some of the main elements of successful blogs:

1.  Consistency in Posting of Content

By consistency here we mean the frequency of your blog updates.  It is important to diarize your blogging days and time in order for the search engines to visit your site regularly.  One blogger I know always posts his articles on his blog every Tuesday and Thursday. In fact, according to him, Google even thanks him for this regularly updated blog.

2.  Implementation of Smart Marketing

There are so many ways to market your blogs. Although these demand a lot of time, it is important to understand them and implement them.  You have to make a decision as to which ones you will implement frequently.  Of course, if time is a problem, you can always outsource these strategies so you do not have to trade with your time.

3.  Connecting With Readers

This is a pretty difficult one to address, especially for new bloggers.  However, the more you do it, the more confident you become.  This is particularly true with introverts and shy people.  If you are one of these people, you need to persevere as this will pay off later. The readers need to feel being connected with you as if they have known you before.  It is also good to start this at the early part of your business when you only have a few subscribers.  Later on, when your list grows, the challenge is how to connect to each one of them and make them feel as though they are the only readers you are having.

4.   Using Engaging and Catchy Titles

Again, this could be a challenge.  You need to think creatively in order to implement this.  Like everything else, you can practice and improve.  Other bloggers like to write controversial and radical titles.  Although this may create a barrage of comments in your site (which you always want), you may need to be careful with the type of clients you have.  They may be offended and leave you in droves. So, be different yet be sensitive.

5.  Gaining your Readers Trust.

Not surprisingly, readers would rather deal with a trustworthy blogger than a perfect article writer who behaves like a super sleek salesman.  Be true to yourself and to your readers.  Honesty is always the best policy.  It also attracts readers to your blogs.

It is always important to maintain your blogging strategies in order to achieve the results you desire.  You may not be successful overnight but if you persevere, success may come sooner than you expect.

I hope this post has inspired you and encouraged you to have a second look at your blog or blogs.

All the best!

Ros

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We have heard the saying:  “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”  If you are interested in blogging and making money online through blogging, it is important that you have a plan – a written plan.

It does not have to be long.  If you are intent on getting serious with blogging to earn an income so you can ultimately work at home, you have to treat this activity as a business.  Needless to say, you will need a blog business plan.  There is no need to have a very complicated plan.  A one-page blog business plan is all you need to start with.  When your business is producing the results that you initially targeted, you will need a more elaborate plan to cover all your development needs and strategies. 

Your blogging plan will need to contain your strategies, methods and deadlines.  You can choose an easy method as you start and as you build your knowledge, you can incorporate more activities that could improve your business processes and thus improve your income.

So, as a start-up activity and to minimise being overwhelmed by this whole new learning experience, it is helpful to take a step backward before you plunge on the “how to” in this business. 

Foremost in implementing this plan is the Preparation.

1.   Have a mental and attitudinal change

Majority of us have been taught that in order to live a comfortable lifestyle, we need to study hard, get a degree, find a job and work hard and smart until we retire.   Then we realise it is too late to change the pattern.

However, this new world of World Wide Web has created huge opportunities for those who are willing to change their thinking as to how they are going to earn an income.  Instead of simply accepting this reality of being an employee for the rest of our lives, we have to train our minds to think that it is possible to have a decent income without working in a job.  We need to believe that we can create our own new lifestyle if we are willing and ready to change our mindset.  With this change should follow attitudinal change.  Once we are convinced that being employed is not the only decent way of earning an income, then we free ourselves to explore and discover new possibilities that can change our financial position.

2.   Have confidence in your skills

Confidence is built after several attempts at mastering a certain knowledge or skill. As we repeat and focus on specific actions, we are then gradually building our confidence of this new body of knowledge.  When we are confident, we are able to express ourselves more freely and fearlessly.  This will then facilitate our energy towards achieving the goals that we have written down.

3.  Learn the simplest process

There are many ways to reach an end.  In blogging, there are several ways to start – you can choose to start the complicated way or the easy way.  The easy way will certainly encourage us to implement our processes quickly and will build our confidence.  Learn all the other techniques the successful bloggers and online teachers teach once you are satisfied that you have implemented all your current knowledge.  It is then time to move forward to the next level.  You need to tweak and improve on your blog.

4.  Document your learnings

In the beginning, you will feel bombarded by emails, eBooks, courses and a never ending barrage of products get thrown at you. Your email inbox will be bursting full!  Manage this stage.  You may subscribe from people in your niche but do not be afraid to unsubscribe.  You will get to know soon which blogger or online marketer will be worth your trust and your money.

5.   Implement what you have learned

Whatever you are learning,  things that can assist you in your blog building, need to be written down.  This may be in a notebook of ideas or on your laptop.  Many of these ideas will come very useful for your future business growth.        

6.  Improve on what you have started

Measure how much you have achieved based on your one-page plan.  Adjust the plan and tweak your blog site. Then continue learning.  One downside in any profession or industry is that you have to keep on learning.  However, if you manage your time and balance your activities, you should be able to catch up on new learnings.

When travelling, it is important to have a map in order to track your position and to know how far you are from reaching your destination.  The same way with blogging.  You need to have a plan so you will know how close you are to reaching your goal.   

I hope this post has provided you with useful information as you build a successful blog!

All the best!

Ros

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