Wednesday, May 23, 2007 Robillo: Building a PR5 blog in 3 months By Oliver Robillo IT Talks
(Part 2)
THIS is the continuation from my previous column, where I introduced the framework I used in creating AngDabawenyo.com, my I-love-Davao blog.
In my pursuit to publicize the blog, I employed technological tools (which I discussed in the last article), as well as “traditional” methods. Meaning, activities that involve actual human contact.
The most effective way to get the word out about your blog is by hooking up with your fellow bloggers and potential readers. Announce your site to the blogosphere! Get to know other blogs and initiate or join discussions on their posted topics.
Simply put, when you leave a comment and other bloggers react or reply to your comment, that's when a discussion begins.
Incoming links are vital to your blog's health. It's when other blogs provide clickable links to your own. Bloggers call this "link love." There are several ways to build links, but the most time-honored is exchanging hyperlinks with other bloggers.
"I link to yours if you link to mine" is the basic idea. From Ang Dabawenyo, I link to other blogs that are somehow similar in nature/topic.
Moving on, I also submitted my blog to a host of blog directories, which act as searchable blog repositories. To see the collection of directories I've used, take a look at all those "chicklets" (used to be called buttons in Web 1.0, or the World Wide Web of years past) at the bottom of AngDabawenyo.com pages.
Of course, I should also mention that I created a directory myself: the Davao Blogs Directory (http://dir.davaoblogs.com). As the name suggests, it's free link love for all Dabawenyo bloggers or blogs about Davao.
There are a few more activities that will help you achieve blog popularity. The purpose is clear: to promote your blog, and ultimately to be read. But increasing steady traffic to your blog also results in something that is coveted by bloggers: a favorable ranking by The Big G.
Google measures a website's importance and displays the resultant Page Rank ("PR") as a number from 0 to 10. One of the metrics used is the amount of link love the site possesses.
Aside from quantity, quality also plays a weighty role: it's precious if high-PR blogs linked to you; and it's somehow detrimental if you linked to plenty of low-PR blogs. It's also interesting to note that, Google pulls your PR down if you provide links to adult-content or online gambling sites.
The world's most popular search engine reportedly updates websites' PR values every quarter. I was pleasantly surprised when, on the 1st of this month, Ang Dabawenyo was given a PR5 -- I thought it would start off with only a PR3.
Jumping from 0 to 5, I was told, is not an ordinary feat. All my efforts in designing, promoting and populating my Davao blog have really paid off. And quickly, too!
Google's PR system is carefully monitored by professional bloggers. This is because, according to many, a blog's PR is closely reflective of its real popularity and significance in the blogosphere.
Now, thanks to my PR5, I have more money-making opportunities available via my blog. A case in point: ReviewMe.com. Think of it as a clearinghouse where bloggers and online advertisers converge. (Thing is, I think only blogs with at least a PR3 can participate.) ReviewMe allows advertisers to get their products and services written about, via its huge stable of member-blogs.
Conversely, ReviewMe pays bloggers for publishing reviews on their own blogs. I registered for a ReviewMe account only this month, and I've already gotten several writing offers. So far, the highest amount I've been paid for one article was US$50.
Ang Dabawenyo also plays host to per-post ad placements from DigitalFilipino Club. I get paid about Php300 per ad that I insert into my blog posts. This rate varies depending on the blog's PR. Therefore, blogs with PR10, for instance, might get paid Php1,000+ per placed ad. This opportunity, however, is open only to Club members.
(The DigitalFilipino Club is comprised of individuals and companies that are serious about the development of the IT industry in the Philippines. As well, members profit from business networking, promotions and educational activities that the Club conducts all over the country.
In Davao, the Club has held several activities, the last one being in March 2007. For information on membership, please visit the club's blog --http://digitalfilipinoclub.blogspot.com.)
So I guess I'm on the right track towards becoming a problogger, which is loosely defined as someone who makes the bulk of his living by blogging. In the 3 months that I built up AngDabawenyo.com, I spent hours upon hours online: tweaking my templates for further improvements, participating in other blogs' discussions, optimizing the performance of my server.... That's not yet even counting the time I spend researching and writing my articles! But it's very doable. And the investment required is more on commitment and effort, rather than in terms of monetary considerations. My Ang Dabwewenyo blog, I'm confident to say, is on its way to becoming a successful project. You can do it, too!
Building a PR5 Blog in 3 Months will actually be a presentation that I plan to deliver in June. Together with big names in the Philippine blogosphere, we intend to conduct a series of Web marketing and blogging seminars in Davao late next month. I'll be announcing this event and pertinent details once they're firmed up, via this column and my online homebase, Blogie Blog www.robilloblog.com
