So, what did I learn today?

Well, I was watching a recorded webinar with Mari Smith (you know THE top authority when it comes to anything to do with Facebook) and Mari mentioned that having Networked Blogs installed on your Facebook Page is really beneficial for getting more SEO from Facebook.

That’s when my ears perked up. Really?

Well, it totally makes sense as Facebook has an Alexa ranking of 2 and is the second most trafficked website in the world after Google.  It is also ranked #1 in the world for site visits for the length of session time.

So why not piggy-back on Facebook to get some SEO juice?

I had” Networked Blogs” set up for a while, but if you haven’t yet definitely, definitely do install the app on your Facebook Page. You will be glad you did for several reasons as you are about to find out.

How to set up Networked Blogs on
your Facebook Page

Registering your blog at Networked Blogs is very easy. Just go to http://facebook.com/networkedblogs and click on “Go to App.” Then click on “Register a Blog” and follow the prompts.

Next click on “Syndication” and publish your blog posts to Facebook and Twitter.  This is really an excellent feature as it publishes your blog posts automatically* to your different Twitter accounts as well as your Facebook Profile, your Facebook Page (or multiple pages) and Facebook Groups.

When you click on the “Profile” tab you can add a little bio of yourself as well as links to other websites. You also have the option to invite your Facebook friends to follow you blog. Pretty cool, huh?

Last but not least you can add a “Widget” to your blog so people can follow you directly from there. It’s a bit tricky to find the widget on Networked Blogs. The easiest way I have found it is to click on the picture of my blog when I am in my “Profile.”

You can customize your widget any way you want to make it fit in with the layout of your blog. You can see mine in the sidebar to the right. ===>

What are the benefits of installing the Networked Blogs app on your Facebook Page?

Well, the obvious one is you will get more eyeballs to your blog. For one, directly from your Facebook Page as a link will show up in the sidebar underneath your profile picture. And two, directly from your blog if you have the widget installed.

But…as I mentioned above, it’s also fantastic for SEO because Facebook has such great indexing.

*One thing that Mari mentioned and I kind of had heard that before…As far as Facebook is concerned do not set up your Networked Blogs feed to post automatically to your wall. The reason being is that “manual” posts do receive a higher weight…which is great for your EdgeRank.

The way you can change the settings is by going to “Edit Page” (top right on your Facebook Page) and then to “Apps” in the left sidebar. Find Networked Blogs and then click on “Edit Settings” (underneath the description) and then “Additional Permission.” Just uncheck “Publish content to my Wall.”

Now, I personally have it set to publish automatically which publishes my blog posts automatically to my Facebook Page wall but for some reason not to my Profile wall. I don’t really mind though because I would rather publish it there manually anyway. Once I get more fans, I will change my settings to manually publish there as well.

So, I hope this all is not too confusing as I know finding your way around Networked Blogs is not the easiest thing to do. But I hope the screenshots help.

Oh, before I forget it, Mari also mentioned that you can do the same thing with “Notes” at Facebook. Just pull in your blog feed into the Notes app. Mari has a tremendous world of knowledge where Facebook is concerned. No wonder she’s the #1 go to person. By the way, I’m signed up for her “Extreme Facebook Fan Growth” course that starts February 14th. Are you?

As always, please share your feedback in the comments below and if you have any questions I encourage you to share them as well.

To Your Massive Success!

Ilka Flood
The Enlightened Networker

Related posts:

1. Make the New Facebook Ticker Work for Your Business
2. New Directory for DoFollow Blogs Sweeping the Blogoshere
3. Unfriend Finder Lets You Know When Someone Unfriends You on Facebook
4. Where to Get the Coolest Facebook Timeline Cover
5. Don’t Give Your Friends Reason to Use Facebook’s Unsubscribe Option

Writer’s block, arrgghh!  Not a single usable blog post idea comes to mind. Nothing! Zilch! Nada!

If you are anything like me, you are starting to get pretty nervous right about now. You know that your readers are waiting for your blog post. You don’t want to disappoint them, yet for the life of you you can’t think of anything that would provide the value your readers are used to.

Pretty horrible feeling, isn’t it?

What happened to last night when the juices were flowing, well, bubbling over actually and keeping you awake? Where are those great ideas now and why in the world did you not get up and write them down?

Because you thought they would still be there in the morning, right?  But they’re not. They’re gone. Gone forever.

Darn!

But all that “shoulda, coulda, woulda” doesn’t help you now, does it?

Writer’s block is a terrible thing and it gets the best of us.

Yes, you could try to go for a walk. Or, you could take a shower and wash that frustration right out of your hair. You could try some uplifting music.

Or, …you could try any of these…

21 Sure-Fire Blog Post Ideas

1. Lists – People love lists. So you could write a blog post about…
   “Top 10____,” “Best of_____,” “Recommended Reading List,” “Top Recommended Business Tools,” or whatever really.
2. Reviews – Have you read a great book lately? Write a review about it. Or how about a product review? Or a company review? Reviews are great to give people inside information about something.
3. How To Tutorials – I personally am a great fan of these. I love step-by-step tutorials on how to do something. (I even found a tutorial video about knitting on YouTube recently. Can you imagine teaching someone how to knit on YouTube? Crazy! )
4. Awards – I have been nominated for several of these in the past.  Let’s see there is the “Blog Mastery Award” and the “Versatile Blogger Award.” They are a lot of fun. You should try it some time.
5. Tips and Tricks – These are always welcome. Maybe you’ve learned a new skill recently that you could share with your audience.  My friend Adrienne Smith just shared how to install Facebook Timeline for example.
6. Quotes – Oh I love quotes and I imagine (at least that’s what I see around Facebook and Twitter) so do many other people. Quotes can be very motivating or inspiring. At times they can even make us laugh. And who doesn’t welcome a good laugh every once in a while.
7. Guest Posts – Why not invite another blogger in your niche to write a guest post for you? This is really a win-win situation for both you and the person who guest posts on your blog. You get a break and he or she gets more exposure.
8. Share a Video – Maybe you found a great video on YouTube about a topic related to your niche. Why not share it on your blog?
9. Things you don’t know about me – This could really be fun! Write a post about a few things your audience doesn’t know about you. Blogging is all about building that personal relationship. Here’s your chance to be” really up close and personal.”
10. Highlight a person that you look up to and maybe learned a great deal from – I wrote this post about Mavis Nong, a young lady whom I really admire and who taught me a lot about blogging. When I grow up I want to be just like Mavis.
11. Visit a forum in your niche and look for problems/questions people are posting – Pick one and answer it on your blog. (And then link back to it from the forum for extra traffic.)
12. Make a list of your favorite blogs – Share the blogs you visit on a regular basis with your readers. If you find value in the information shared by other people in your niche, so will your audience. I just did that kind of in my last post.
13. Share an inspiring story that relates to your niche – People like uplifting stories they can relate to.
14. Google Alerts – This is a great one too! Set up Google Alerts in your niche to get ideas on what to write about.
15. Pain or pleasure – Wouldn’t you agree that we as human beings respond best to either pain or pleasure? So, what’s the biggest problem people in your industry face? Write about solutions that could ease their pain.
16. Share your biggest goof offs – You will find that other people are really not so different from you. So go ahead, share your mistakes, your mishaps, your goof offs. I bet you’ll find people that can relate.
17. Comments – Read through your comments. Often the comments people leave you provide excellent topics to expand on.
18. Point out common mistakes in your industry – You’ve been there and done it. Or maybe you were lucky enough and someone took you under their wing. Now it’s your turn to pay it forward and prevent someone who may just be starting out from making those common mistakes.
19. Re-purpose existing content – Re-write an old blog post and give it whole new view point. Or better yet, turn it into a SlideShare presentation or a video.
20. Expand on someone else’s blog post – Maybe you have come about a great post by someone else, but there is something they left out or something you could expand on further.  Go for it!
21. Share your Top Posts – There’s a reason these are your top posts. People searched for them, they like them. So share them – again— because your new readers may have missed them.

So there you have them 21 ideas for blog posts if writer’s block should hit you one day. I don’t know of anyone that hasn’t happened to before. If it hasn’t happened to you yet …trust me, your time will come. But now at least you are prepared.

Oh, and please,  I would so appreciate your feedback. So if you have any other “blog post ideas” please feel free to share them with us in the comments below. Thank you so much!

To Your Massive Success!

Ilka Flood
The Enlightened Networker

Related posts:

1. Enlightened Networker Taking a Break | Guest Post on Attraction Marketing Online

There are about a dozen internet marketing and MLM blogs in my Google Reader that I follow on a regular basis and then there are a few more that I check for updates every once in a while.

You wouldn’t believe how much I have learned from these people, especially Mavis Nong, since I started my blogging venture a little over two years ago now.  People would be willing to pay lots of money for this knowledge, but I got it all for free.

Of course learning new tricks, techniques and strategies only makes sense if you implement what you have learned. Otherwise it is a complete waste of your time.

Now, when I come across a great internet marketing blog post I bookmark it right away and put it in a special folder. I label it with a keyword or the person’s name so if I don’t have time right away to act on it I know exactly where to find it.

So far this month I have collected some real gems. I actually wanted to wait until the end of the month to share these and make it a “Top 10 List”, but this stuff is just too good to hold on to it any longer.

So here they are in no particular order:

7 Value-Packed Internet Marketing Blog Posts I Had to Share with You

6 Little-Known Factors That Are Reducing Your Email Opt-ins
(A Guest Post by The Blog Tyrant)

How to REALLY Create a Popular Blog From Scratch

How To Install Facebook’s Timeline

Generate Traffic with Trackbacks and Pingbacks

How to Use Favorite Tweets to Build Trust and Get Customers

Email Marketing: How To Save a Lot of Time With This Little Trick

26 Tips for Writing Great Blog Posts

These posts are all jam-packed with great information. And it doesn’t cost you a penny. Unbelievable, isn’t it?

Take a look at those headlines. Did they grab your attention? I think each and every one of those is a perfect example of what a great headline should be. Do you agree?

Well anyways, I just had to share these great internet marketing blog posts with you.

So go ahead check them out, bookmark them if you don’t have time to read them and/or implement them right away.

Oh, and just for giggles, here’s a cute one especially if you are an Apple fan:

Apples to Apple: The Goofiest Infographic You’ll Ever See?

To Your Massive Success!

Ilka Flood
The Enlightened Networker

Related posts:

1. No More Faceless Blog Commenting on The Enlightened Networker

Well, on New Year’s Eve I received my first annual report titled “Your 2011 Year in Blogging.” What I found out in this report was very interesting to say the least.

For example it showed me…

• How many visitors I had during the past year.
• Where they came from.
• My top referring sites.
• Busiest day of the year and the most popular post of that day.
• Which posts received the most views in 2011 and the most stunning revelation that some of my most popular posts were actually written BEFORE 2011. Hmmm! That oughta give me something to think about.
• It also revealed my most commented on post and it told me who my most active commenter was…and a lot more.

Overall this little plugin gave me quite some insights which I am very thankful for. If you haven’t installed it on your own blog you can find it here Jetpack by WordPress.com It also prompted me to think about making some changes to my blog this year.

But before I do that I would love your input and  I would like you to be completely honest please.

Top Commentator Award

As you can see I already changed the way I will highlight my Top Commentators from now on forward. In the past I wrote a post at the beginning of the month thanking the top 3 commentators for the past month.

A couple of things happened … Sometimes they were the same people just in a different order. The other thing and what I kind of didn’t like was that the post I wrote to thank and congratulate them was only visible for a short time before it scrolled down on my blog.

I thought a better idea would be to spotlight the Top Commentator in the sidebar where it could stay visible for the whole month. Since there isn’t much room in the sidebar I thought of just highlighting the #1 Commentator for the month.

Your thoughts, suggestions, ideas?

Most Popular Posts

I mentioned above that some of my most popular posts were “How To” posts. To add a “How To” category has actually been on my mind for quite some time. So you can expect me to share more of those in the future.  Is there anything in particular you would like me to share with you?

The other most popular post where story posts  like…

“What Can You Learn From A Mayonnaise Jar And Coffee About Life”

“Can You Make A Difference? | The Starfish Story”

“Whatever the Mind Can Conceive and Believe | An Inspiring Story of Determination and Realizing Your Dream”

These types of posts are actually my favorites too so if you would like more like these just let me know.  I am here to please

Please leave me your feedback in the comment section below. Thanks so much!

To Your Massive Success!

Ilka Flood
The Enlightened Networker

Related posts:

1. Top 3 Commentators at The Enlightened Networker for October
2. No More Faceless Blog Commenting on The Enlightened Networker
3. Enlightened Networker Taking a Break | Guest Post on Attraction Marketing Online
4. My Sincerest Thanks to The Enlightened Networkers November Top Commentators

Considering I haven’t even had as much as the “sniffles” for the past 8 years and I am really  a lousy patient when I do get sick, I sure hope for a very healthy 2012 for my family’s sake.

But back to the subject…

For the very last time this year I have the privilege and the immense honor to highlight the…

Top Commentators of The Enlightened Networker for November

So without further ado, here they are…

For the 3^rd time in a row sparkling at the #1 spot is Adrienne Smith. Adrienne is always leaving meaningful replies as well as adding her own warm and witty personality which also reflects on her own site where she is sharing great tips on how to build a successful home business.

Make sure you read her latest post:  “CommentLuv Premium Goodies”

Coming in at second place Ryan Biddulph is no stranger to The Enlightened Networker’s Top Commentators Award. He’s also one of the most giving people I know always sharing mine as well as other people’s content throughout the social networks. If you’ve never visited his blog make sure you do so today as you will find a wealth of information there on how to grow your home business opportunity.

I invite you to read Ryan’s latest post:  “Take The Lazy Step To Grow Your Home Based Opportunity”

And in 3^rd place another serial Top Commentator Award Winner, Marcus Baker. I love it when Marcus visits my blog and leaves his feedback, because his comments are always insightful, warm and add great value to the conversation. Marcus writes about personal development on his own blog and his posts are packed with great information helping you grow as a person.

So make sure you check out his latest post: “Replies To Messages In Bottles”

So, there you have them, the Top 3 followed by…

4. Diane Aksten, 5. Oliver Tausend, 6. Etieno Etuk, 7. Tosin Adeoti, 8. Albert Rox, 9. Radu Dascalul, 10. Akos Fintor

It’s because of all of you that The Enlightened Networker is what it is.

“Many thanks for your continued friendship and support!
Thank you for your never-ending feedback and adding great value to my blog!
For all you do, please accept my sincerest appreciation.”

To Your Massive Success!

Ilka Flood
The Enlightened Networker

Related posts:

1. Top 3 Commentators at The Enlightened Networker for October
2. A Heartfelt Thank You to September’s Top Commentators
3. I’m Back! – And Thanking My Top Commentators for August
4. No More Faceless Blog Commenting on The Enlightened Networker

The first day (or first week) of the month is also traditionally the time when I acknowledge and say thanks to my top commentators. At least it’s been like that for the past year or so.

This month almost looks like a repeat of last month, only the order has changed. Marcus and Etieno switched places.

So, let’s see then…

The Top 3 Commentators of
The Enlightened Networker
for the month of October are …

Sitting pretty and steady on first place is Adrienne Smith. Adrienne always delivers exceptional value on her blog and her engaging way makes her blog posts a very easy read. You’ll come away with information that rocks so if you haven’t visited her blog yet, make sure you do it today.

Here’s a preview: “Why Free Information Is Sometimes More Expensive”

Coming in second is Marcus Baker.  If you are a regular reader of my blog you may know that Marcus is no stranger to this award as he is one of my top supporters always leaving me great feedback. His blog is about personal development where he shares his great insights sprinkled with his personal experiences.

Find a great sample here: “Make Life an Ongoing Joyous Experiment”

And occupying third place is Etieno Etuk.  Etieno is still quite new to The Enlightened Networker however he managed to being featured in the top 3 spots twice in a row. Good for you, Etieno! His passion for wanting to help people find success shines through on his blog so make sure you pay him a visit.

Etieno’s latest post: “Les Brown On How To Discover The Greatness Within You.”

Following on places 4 through 10 are….

4. Oliver Tausend,  5. Brock Blohm,  6. Jym Tarrant,  7. Ryan Biddulph,  8. Christian Hollingsworth,  9. Jayne Kopp and 10. Stacy Claflin

Thank you so much to all of you!
Your comments always put a smile on my face and the added value
is so very much appreciated not only by me,
but by my readers as well. So again, my heartfelt THANKS!

 I have to add that I truly appreciate all of my readers. I know some of you just read my posts without leaving a comment. And that’s totally fine. Just know that I do appreciate you all as well. Without you, The Enlightened Networker would just simply cease to exist. So thank you!

Here’s an invitation to everyone visiting this blog:

I write an appreciation post like the one above in the beginning of every month. If you like to be featured as one of The Enlightened Networker’s top commentators next month all you have to do is participate in the conversations. Make sure you provide valuable feedback which actually adds to the conversation and not just a “nice post” for example. I will then acknowledge you with your picture (make sure you have one) and a link back to your BLOG. (No sales ore capture pages please.) — Here’s a “heads up” …changes will be coming down the pike where commenting on this blog is concerned. So stay tuned!

To Your Success!

Ilka Flood
The Enlightened Networker

Related posts:

1. My Sincerest Thanks to The Enlightened Networkers November Top Commentators
2. A Heartfelt Thank You to September’s Top Commentators
3. I’m Back! – And Thanking My Top Commentators for August
4. No More Faceless Blog Commenting on The Enlightened Networker
5. Changes at The Enlightened Networker and Your Feedback Please

FreeArtisticPhotos.com

Finding free images for blogs is not as simple as performi­­­ng a Google Image Search. As a matter of fact, doing that might land you in hot water because you could be violating copyright laws.

Many of the images that will show up in your browser when you do a simple image search on Google are actually copyrighted and belong to whoever upladed them to their website or blog.

See, when you upload an image to your blog, it will be indexed by the Google search bots.

For example, if you do a search for anti “spam plugin” you will find that an image I created for a previous blog post will show up in the search results.

Now it’s not okay to just download that image an use it as your own because it belongs to me. It’s copyrighted. But many people don’t know that.

So to be on the safe site, make sure you check the “Usage Rights” under “Advanced Image Search” when you do an image search on Google.

Hey, there’s absolutely no reason risking getting into trouble when there are great resources for free images or low-cost images available.

Here are some terrific ones I’d like to share with you….

Free to Use Images

Everystockphoto.com is a license-specific photo search engine that indexes millions of photos. Most of them are free under specific conditions.(Everystockphoto.com)

Stockvault.net is another great source of free images online.(Make sure you read the Terms of Use.) You can also find some very interesting and fun PhotoShop tutorials there.

Finding the right free images for your blog might be a snap at www.sxc.hu. With over 394,286 images online you’ll be sure to find just what you’re looking for.

Looking for some really amazing artistic photos? Then FreeArtisticPhotos.com is your place. This site has some beautiful high res photos that you can download for free as long as you obey the Terms of Use. So make sure to check them.

Very Low-Cost Images

Two of my favorites for very reasonably priced images are Dreamstime.com and iStockphoto.com. They both also have free image downloads. While you can find free to use images right on the website at Dreamstime.com (just click on the “Free Images” link, iStockphoto offers free downloads when you are signed up for their newsletter.

Looking For Some Really Cool Free Icons?

Need some cool free social icons? You can find a ton of them at FreeIconsWeb.com. On over 50 pages you can find any icon you’d ever want. From credit card icons, to social media icons, gosh even Santa Claus, Angry Birds and Matreshka Dolls. Knock yourself out!

FreeIconsWeb.com

For even more free social icons visit Iconfinder.com. You can even find icons there that you can usefor commercial use with no link required. Just use the filter on the site to filter your needs.

So, there you have them. I know, some of us are on a very limited budget and buying images to put on our blog or website may not be an option.

Now, just so you know, some of these sites may ask you to register for an account. Don’t worry, signing up doesn’t cost anything. It’s totally free.

Have you been using free to use images in the past? Do you know of any additional sites that are of great value? If so, it would be awesome if you could share your feedback below.

Thanks and I hope these resources are helpful.

To You Success,

Ilka Flood
The Enlightened Networker

P.S. Update to the list of free image sites above. My friends Marcus Baker, Stella Anokam and Jym Tarrant were so kind and add these sites to it in the comments below. Make sure you ALWAYS read the “Terms of Use” on every site.  Enjoy!

http://www.freepixels.com/
http://www.bigfoto.com/
http://pdphoto.org/index.php
http://www.morguefile.com/
http://pixabay.com/
http://FreeDigitalPhotos.net
http://flickr.com

Related posts:

1. Paperli – Where do you find the time?

To be quite honest with you, I had to look up the word “versatile” in the dictionary as I had no clue of its meaning. Cross-checking various online dictionaries as well as my trusted Harper Collins German-English dictionary I came to the conclusion that it means…

1. Capable of doing many things competently. 2. Having varied uses or serving many functions.

Pretty cool!  Now that I know what it means I’m even more delighted and only too happy to pay it forward.

What do you do when you get nominated for the Versatile Blogger Award?

• Thank the person who nominated you for the award by linking back to him or her.
• Pass the torch along to 15 other deserving bloggers
• Let those bloggers know they’ve been nominated
• Share 7 random things about yourself

7 Random Things About Me (Betcha didn’t know this…)

1. I learned English listening to Beatles records. After my grade school teacher denied me to take English classes (because I only had a mediocre grade in German) I killed my piggybank and invested in an audio language course, titled “Walter and Connie.” After that I translated Beatles songs with the help of a dictionary.
2. I was a huge Formula One Racing Fan and often went camping out at the German Grand Prix in Hockenheim with my friends. Once I came to the U.S. it was harder to keep up with the races, but I still watch the Indy 500.
3. Racing isn’t the only sport I love watching. Being German I am also a huge soccer fan as well. As a matter of fact, I was such a die-hard fan that during the World Cup Final in 1982 I did not go to the hospital to have our first son until the game between Germany and Italy was over. My husband was getting more nervous by the minute as my contractions had started early that morning and here it was late in the afternoon. Well, Germany lost to Italy that day 3:1 and Gavin wasn’t much in a hurry after all since he didn’t arrive until the next morning.
4. I used to knit all my sweaters, before meeting my husband and moving from Germany to the U.S. As a matter of fact I used to do a lot of crafts even when the kids were little. Just no knitting, because I couldn’t find the yarns I was used to. I’m kinda picky like that.
5. In my early 20ies I took Judo classes with a friend of mine. We were the only girls in the class. I was quite amazed the first time I put a guy weighing twice as much as myself and being at least one head taller than me on the mat. I barely weight 100 pounds back then.
6. The most stupid thing I have ever done, was trying to pick up the front end of my car and lift it off the railroad tracks. To this day I don’t know exactly what happened, but when I got into my car that day at the Post Exchange in Bremerhaven it somehow rolled right into the tracks. My first thought was, to pick it up and lift it off the tracks…Em, stupid!!! In my defense I have to say, I was pregnant at the time and maybe the hormones had something to do with my thinking I was Superwoman. Luckily some very nice gentleman soldiers came to help me out. They lifted my car off the tracks and I drove home, quite embarrassed about the whole situation.
7. I actually was terrified of dogs as a child. After being bitten a couple of times by a dachshund — admittedly after pulling his tail — I changed sidewalks if I saw a dog a mile away. Good thing I got over this or I wouldn’t be able to enjoy our family darling, George the boxer.

So, there you have them. Seven things I bet you didn’t know about me.

Passing on The Versatile Blogger Award

And now it’s time to pass on the torch to these outstanding bloggers, listed below in no particular order.

Peter Fuller – Home Business Solutions for Zoomers (Boomers with Zip)

Carol Amato  – A Marketer With Integrity Ready To Help YOU Make Money Online

Carolyn Nicander Mohr – The Wonder of Tech

Maria Eves – Attraction Marketing Specialist

Kimberly Castleberry – Just Ask Kim

Etieno Etuk – Where Transformation Happens

Carla Gardiner - Anti-Aging Fiery Grandma Exposes Secrets to Turn Back Clock

Mavis Nong – Attraction Marketing Online

Bob and Rosemary Clarke – Simple Solutions for Part Time Networkers

Catherine Alexandra – Attraction Marketer Problem-Solver and Visionary

Janet Callaway – The Natural Networker

Mike Paul Jr – MikePaulJr.com

Michele Welch – NewBizBlogger.com

Stella Anokam – Simplifying Online Marketing How-Tos For Beginners

Jane Sheeba – ProBlogging Success

Of course my hope is that you all will take me up on your nomination and then pass it on to other deserving bloggers. That way we will all get to meet and connect with fellow bloggers we would have never had the chance to meet otherwise. Now isn’t this fun?

To Your Success,

Ilka Flood
The Enlightened Networker

No related posts.

Always on the lookout for high quality blogs I couldn’t resist clicking on Adrienne’s tweet and boy am I ever glad I did.  I would have missed a big one.

Early on after embarking on my blogging venture I learned how important it is to leave comments on other bloggers in your niche’s blogs.  Because, not only is blog commenting very important for SEO — it is one of the best strategies for getting free quality backlinks to your blog — but also for building great relationships with other bloggers. (The blogosphere is a pretty tight-knit community and linking up with the right people can prove invaluable for your business.)

Finding quality blogs to comment on however and especially dofollow blogs has been quite a tedious task.  But Christian Hollingsworth the creator of YouDoFollow.com realized this problem bloggers are facing. That’s the reason he created YouDoFollow.com, a free dofollow blog directory.

What does “DoFollow” mean?

Up until a year or so ago I didn’t even know there was such a thing as dofollow or nofollow. But once I found out it made a world of difference not only in my blog commenting on other people’s blogs, but also in the way I treated the comments left on my own blog.

You see, when you leave a comment on someone’s blog that is “dofollow” you will get some well-deserved link juice back to your own blog. I mean if you take the time to leave great quality feedback, don’t you deserve something in return? I sure felt that way, that’s why I made The Enlightened Networker a “dofollow blog” as soon as I found out. You can read more about this subject on my earlier post here …“To DoFollow or NoFollow That is the Question”

How can you benefit from YouDoFollow.com?

It’s actually quite simple. If you are a blogger who provides valuable information and your blog is dofollow you can submit your blog for free to this list of dofollow blogs on YouDoFollow.com.

Choose the category that best fits your blog and if there’s no match feel free to suggest more categories. Christian will manually review your blog and check if it meets all of his requirements.

Please read more about this on Christian’s recent blog post: “DoFollow Blogs for Bloggers”

What are your thoughts? As for myself, I believe creating this directory for bloggers is an excellent idea. I urge you to take action today and submit your blog at YouDoFollow.com because I can’t wait to check it out and leave my comments.

See you there!

Ilka Flood
The Enlightened Networker

Related posts:

1. How to Add Networked Blogs to Your Facebook Page for More SEO
2. No More Faceless Blog Commenting on The Enlightened Networker

First: Faceless Blog Commenting

I have addressed this issue before in my post “Invasion of the Face Snatchers,” but it’s time to do it again.

Blog commenting is one of the best strategies I know for not only getting quality backlinks but to build profitable and long-lasting relationships with like-minded people as well.

PEOPLE is the key word here. Not company logos, pets, or default faceless avatars.

I can’t help but feel a little uneasy if someone leaves a comment on my blog and I can’t see his or her face. Even if it is a well-written comment, I am torn between approving or disapproving it.

Now in the case of people who use the default images, I assume they just don’t know how to upload a picture. But those who use images of pets or company logos, should know better. If they can upload a picture of a pet then they can just as easily upload a picture of themselves.

If I reply to a blog comment I would really like to know whom I am replying to.  This is a “people business.” I don’t talk to dogs (except for my own) and I don’t converse with logos or faceless people either.

To be quite frank with you here, I rarely comment on blogs where there are a lot of faceless replies. It makes the site look very unprofessional and I don’t want my own site to look cheap or spammy either. I have put too much time and effort into it for that.

So, from here on out, if you would like your blog comment approved, please make sure to use your picture as your avatar.

You can do that very easily at Gravatar.com. Just get a free account, upload your picture — you need to use the same email address that you use for leaving comments — and Gravatar.com automatically updates all your past comments automatically. Isn’t that cool?

Second: Landing or Product pages

As you probably noticed I am a great fan of CommentLuv. I believe in giving back to my readers who take the time commenting on my blog. Commentluv does that beautifully as it creates a link back to the blog post of the person who’s leaving a comment.

As beautiful as this feature is, it also creates a little problem for me. I do not like to link back to landing or product pages. For two reasons, one, it’s spammy and two, I can’t leave a comment in return and create a backlink to my own site. If I give you a backlink, wouldn’t it be only fair if you gave me one back as well?

So starting today, I will only approve comments which link back to other blogs. My focus is to connect with other quality bloggers so if you would like some link juice from me, please create a blog.

(There is one exception…I have a few regular commentators whom I have build a relationship with and who don’t have blogs. I will still approve your comments, but I will no longer link back to your sales pages. I sincerely hope you understand. The easiest way to get around this would be to get a blog that is not focused on selling a particular product or service.)

In conclusion let me make this as clear as I possibly can…

• Faceless comments will no longer be approved.
• Make sure your NAME appears in the Name Field not your keyword or company name.
• Comments must be contributing to the conversation. No “nice post” comments.
• Comments must link back to quality blogs, (preferably in the same niche as this blog) not to landing or product pages.
• In order to be featured on my Top Commentators list you must both show your picture as well as a link back to your blog. (If I can’t leave a comment on your blog, I can’t feature you or give you link juice.)

That’s about it! I’m getting off of my soap box. I’m really glad I finally got this off my chest as it has been bugging me for quite some time. Blog commenting is supposed to be fun. Let’s keep it that way.

Here’s to a beautiful and long-lasting friendship!

Ilka Flood
The Enlightened Networker

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1. Top 3 Commentators at The Enlightened Networker for October
2. Enlightened Networker Taking a Break | Guest Post on Attraction Marketing Online
3. Changes at The Enlightened Networker and Your Feedback Please
4. My Sincerest Thanks to The Enlightened Networkers November Top Commentators
5. New Directory for DoFollow Blogs Sweeping the Blogoshere