It seems more and more people are starting their own blogs. Or at least I’m getting more and more emails asking if I can refer an affordable blog web hosting provider. Over the years, I’ve used many web hosting providers. Some good, many were not. In the early years I’m sure it was because I went with the cheapest web hosting provider or used the free web host. You know the kind, the ones that put a gazillion banner ads on your site because they were letting you use their service for free!

In the last few years, web hosting has come a long way. Nowadays you can find affordable and reliable blog web hosting providers everywhere. Currently I’m using about 20 different web host for a variety of reasons. Everything from big affiliate marketing websites down to personal web hosting of blogs and websites for my family and close friends.

Before I show you the list, you need to be aware of a few things if you’re a beginner looking to host your first blog. There are a few things you’ll want to look for before choosing a blog web hosting provider.

Here Are The Things I Look For In A Blog or Personal Web Hosting Provider

These are the things I want when looking for blog web hosting.

1. CPanel – The blog web hosting provider you choose should have CPanel so you can easily maintain your account. The only exception that I would make for this rule is DreamHost. They have their own “one click install” program which make using their service as easy as a web host with CPanel.
2. Fantastico – This is a program that will install a number of programs for you with minimal effort. It makes it really easy to set up a blog or personal website. Programs such as WordPress, bulletin boards, photo galleries and much more. Most web host provide it with CPanel, but not all.
3. Multiple Domain Hosting – If you’re just looking to host a personal blog, then this will not matter to you. But if you’re looking for easy web hosting so you can run multiple blogs or websites, then make sure the web hosting provider offers the ability to host multiple domains on one account. Some will only let you host 1 domain while other will allow you to host more than one.
4. Multiple SubDomains – Again, if you’re just looking for a personal web hosting for a single blog, this probably doesn’t matter. But for Internet Marketers, the ability to have multiple sub domains can come in handy.
5. Domain Registration – Although it’s pretty easy to buy a domain in one place and then host you website in another, not everyone wants to fool with this. For this reason, you may want to make sure the blog web hosting provider you choose offers domain registration. What’s even better is if that web host will give you a free domain for buying their web hosting services.
6. Customer Service – Before I sign up with any blog web hosting provider, I email the company and ask a few simple questions. I already know the answers to the questions before I send them. What I’m looking for is how quick they get back to me and how informative their answers are. This tells me a lot about a hosting company.

That’s about it for the “must have’s”. I don’t worry much about the storage space. Most of the web host listed below give you plenty of storage space for your blog or website. Also I don’t worry much about bandwidth on my small blogs or for personal web hosting.

I will tell you this about personal web hosting. If you plan on using your blog or website to store pictures for the family, you’re better off using a service like Flickr and then using a WordPress plugin to show those pictures on your blog rather than try and upload a bunch of pictures to your web hosting account. Your storage and bandwidth will be ate up by large files and pictures.

Okay, here’s what you’ve been waiting for.

11 Affordable Blog Web Hosting Providers for Beginners

Note: Prices and features are current at the time I wrote this. Things change so you should check their websites to see if any changes have occurred since this article was posted.

Dream Host
Price: $9.95 per month on a 1 year sign up or $5.95 per month on a 10 year sign up.
Domain Registration: Yes
CPanel: No
Fantastico: No
Host Multiple Domains with 1 Account: Yes
Multiple SubDomains: Yes
Easy WordPress Installation: Yes
Comments: DreamHost has their own “one click” install for WordPress. This makes it just as easy as having Fantastico on CPanel. I have two DreamHost accounts that I’ve had for many years. I’ve had a few problems in the past (as you will with all web hosting companies from time to time). They’ve been quick to fix any problems I’ve had and their Customer Service has been excellent any time I needed help. They’ve also been very quick to get back with me. A good choice for the beginning looking for personal web hosting or affiliate marketer. Click here for more information on DreamHost blog hosting.

BlueHost
Price: $7.95 per month for one year or $6.95 per month for two years
Domain Registration: Yes
CPanel: Yes
Fantastico: Yes
Host Multiple Domains with 1 Account: Yes
Multiple SubDomains: Yes
Easy WordPress Installation: Yes
Comments: This is another host that I’ve had for years. Good customer service and I have few problems with their hosting of my blogs and websites. They also have free set up, free domain privacy and free domain registration for as long as you keep the account.

SiteGround
Price: $7.95 per month for one year, $5.95 per month for 3 years
Domain Registration: Yes
CPanel: Yes
Fantastico: Yes
Host Multiple Domains with 1 Account: 5 – extra fees apply
Multiple SubDomains: Yes
Easy WordPress Installation: Yes
Comments: I only have 2 blogs hosted at SiteGround but I haven’t had any issues with them. WordPress installtion is a snap with CPanel and Fantastico and the people I’ve talked with over there are friendly and helpful. The only drawback for me is that you have to pay extra to host multiple domains on one account. Not an issue if you plan to start 1 blog or website.

HostMonster
Price: $6.95 per month on a 1 year signup and $5.95 per month on a 3 year sign up.
Domain Registration: Yes
CPanel: Yes
Fantastico: Yes
Host Multiple Domains with 1 Account: Yes
Multiple SubDomains: Yes
Easy WordPress Installation: Yes
Comments: Popular hosting provider. A good choice for beginning affiliate marketers looking to host multiple blogs on one account.

GoDaddy

Price: $4.99 per month for 1 year with their basic package. $6.99 per month for their Deluxe Package
Domain Registration: Yes
CPanel: No
Fantastico: No
Host Multiple Domains with 1 Account: No for their Basic Package, Yes for their Deluxe Package
Multiple SubDomains: Yes
Easy WordPress Installation: Yes
Comments: Another website host who doesn’t offer CPanel or Fantastico, but their dashboard is easy to use and they offer easy installation of WordPress as well as other scripts and programs. You can also pay month by month if you prefer, they don’t require any long term contracts. They also have Danica Patrick as a GoDaddy Girl. Reason enough to choose them Seriously though, they’re an okay host for personal web hosting but I’d choose another host for building websites and blogs for affiliate marketing.

HostGator
Price: $4.95 per month
Domain Registration: Yes
CPanel: Yes
Fantastico: Yes
Host Multiple Domains with 1 Account: Yes
Multiple SubDomains: No for their $4.95 per month “Baby” package, Yes for their $7.95 per month “Hatchling” plan
Easy WordPress Installation: Yes
Comments: A very popular host for affiliate marketers, especially those using the Build A Niche Store program. I believe their servers are a bit crowded for my taste. But they do have excellent customer service and the accounts I’ve had with them, I’ve had few problems.

MidPhase
Price: $6.95 per month on a 1 year signup and $5.95 per month on a 3 year sign up.
Domain Registration: Yes
CPanel: Yes
Fantastico: Yes
Host Multiple Domains with 1 Account: Yes
Multiple SubDomains: Yes
Easy WordPress Installation: Yes
Comments: I have some large sites hosted by MidPhase and they’ve been a good and reliable host for me. They offer a free domain for the life of your account when you purchase web hosting services from them.

1and1.com
Price: $3.99 per month for their Basic package
Domain Registration: Yes
CPanel: No
Fantastico: No
Host Multiple Domains with 1 Account: Yes
Multiple SubDomains: Yes
Easy WordPress Installation: Yes
Comments: I only have static websites hosted at 1and1 so I’m not sure about their WordPress installation. They claim to be the World’s #1 web host. I’d check them out if your looking for personal web hosting for a simple website or blog. Like GoDaddy and DreamHost, they have their own dashboard that makes it easy to install scripts and software such as Guestbooks and Forums. About the lowest reliable cheap blog hosting I know of.

Dotster.Com
Price: $6.95 per month on a 1 year signup
Domain Registration: Yes
CPanel: No – Have thier own program for easy installation
Fantastico: No
Host Multiple Domains with 1 Account: No on Starter plan, up to 50 on their Standard Plan
Multiple SubDomains: Unknown
Easy WordPress Installation: Yes
Comments: I’m not a huge fan of Dotster for ease of use. But to be honest, I’m more familiar with dashboards like DreamHost and Fantastico. Couldn’t find out whether or not their basic package allowed multiple sub domains.

iX Webhosting
Price: $4.95 per month for a 1 year sign up and $5.95 per month on a 2 year sign up
Domain Registration: Yes
CPanel: No
Fantastico: No
Host Multiple Domains with 1 Account: Yes
Multiple SubDomains: Yes
Easy WordPress Installation: Yes
Comments: Their dashboard is very similar to CPanels and just as easy to use. WordPress installation is a breeze also. One of the first blog web hosting providers I used and I still have blogs hosted there.

WebHostingPad
Price: $3.96 per month for their Basic package
Domain Registration: Yes
CPanel: Yes
Fantastico: Yes
Host Multiple Domains with 1 Account: Yes
Multiple SubDomains: Yes
Easy WordPress Installation: Yes
Comments: A good choice for personal web hosting or small affiliate marketing blogs or websites. Customer service has been good for me as well.

Okay, there you have my pick of the 11 web hosting providers I would start with if I was just getting into building websites or looking for a personal web hosting provider. Could you use these for larger sites? Sure. But I prefer a little more meat in a hosting package when running larger sites. For blogs, the 11 above are hard to beat for price and reliability. Drop me a line if you have comments about these or other blog web hosting providers.

I’d like to take this time between writing the big articles and ask my readers what they would like to know more about concerning affiliate marketing or Internet Marketing.

So if there’s been a question you need the answer to or you need some help to get over a hump, let me know, I’ll write a blog post or reply in the comments if I can help. Chances are if you’re having a problem or have a question, someone else is having it also.

Feel free to ask about any topic as long as it pertains to affiliate programs, affiliate marketing, internet marketing, search engine optimization, blogging or Adsense.

I’m no Guru, but I bet I can help most of you if you’ve reached a dead end. Just leave a comment and I’ll get started.

I’ve said it before, as have others, that local search will be the hot niche of the future. So far only a few bloggers have capitalized on this in their area. They’ll be sitting pretty by the time other bloggers figure this one out.

Update: I get a lot of questions about how to find and how to build Niche sites. The best legitimate resource on the Internet right now for learning all of this is the Keyword Crash Course. I took this course back when it was $597 and felt like it was worth far more than that! Now they’ve opened it up for subscribers. You can get in now for $1 and see all the training video’s that I paid $597 for and learn how to find keywords that pay, learn “The Formula” (this alone was worth the fee in my opinion!), set up WordPress, learn how and where to find backlinks plus a lot more. Then if you think this is something you’d like, you can subscribe to their monthly service for $29. Each month you’ll have access to new training material, Webinars and Q&A sessions. You won’t find a better deal about llearning how to build Niche sites on the Internet! Especially at this price! Click here to learn more and to take advantage of this opportunity for $1.

I’m constantly amazed at people who are searching for the latest hot niche to jump into. Many times it’s right in their own hometown or region and they never realize it until someone else takes it. If it’s niche blogging you’re looking for, look no further than your home town!

Why Local Blogging Is HOT

The reason local blogging is so hot and getting hotter right now is the same reason search engines blasted off at their beginning.

People want information and they want it yesterday.

They also prefer that information come from a trusted source. And who not to trust but a knowledgeable blogger who blogs about their community. Surely there aren’t many people with more knowledge than this guy/gal who blogs about their town?

Local bloggers can connect with local searchers without ever meeting them. Take restaurant reviews for example. Have you ever read a review you agreed with? Perhaps it was a good review of Bob’s Burgers on the out skirts of town. You love Bob’s Burgers and you agree with the review. You’ve instantly judged that writer in your mind.

“Gosh, that reviewer is so smart, everyone loves Bob’s Burgers”

or

“What a dweeb that reviewer is, everyone knows Bob’s Burgers uses roadkill in their meat”

Either way, you’ve made a judgement about the character of the reviewer. If it was a good judgement, you’ll definately listen a little closer the next time the review something. 

Once you have a captive audience, the World gets a little easier!

How to Monetize Local Niches

The sky is nearly the limit on how you choose to set up your blog on your local community. I’ve seen some blogs that had forums and business directories while others just blog on local events and people. It’s up to you how far you want to go.

I would start out by using a Magazine or News type blog theme. These use multiple subjects on the front page. The Revolution News theme by Brian Gardner would be an excellent choice.

How you choose to monetize your local blog is also up to you. Many simply use Adsense, which works well for local Internet surfers. However, by including a Jobs section and a Hotels or Travel section you could use Affiliate Programs from sources like www.ian.com and Job-O-Matic.

Your largest source of income though will likely be from local advertisers. You’ll probably have to sell some adspace on your blog to begin with, but after a few months if you continue to grow, the advertisers will be seeking you out.

Start by making a list of some of the top business’s in your area. You then send them all a sales letter along with a business card telling them about your blog and how they could increase business by advertising on it. Don’t send EMAIL!

Paid reviews can also be a huge money maker for local bloggers. Just make sure you do honest reviews about products or services you actually own or have used. If you continually post favorable reviews to places that everyone knows is a dump, you’ll soon loose your trustworthiness with the local readers. Tell the advertisers up front that there is no guarantee of a good review simply because they paid to have one.

Promoting your local blogis no different than promoting any other blog. Until people find your blog and start backlinking and sharing it with others, promote it just like your would any other website. Article marketing, submitting post to all the Social Media sites, directory submissions and so on. Make sure you use local keywords for your anchor text and you’ll soon see traffic come trickling in. Do you job well and you’ll see this trickle turn into a raging river of local traffic!

But I Live In A Small Town, There’s No One To Read My Blog!

I’ve heard this argument before. I’ve seen blogs covering towns with just 10,000 people do very well.

If you live in a small town, then widen out the scope of your blog. Blog about your County or Region. Don’t go getting to large though or you’ll risk having a blog that is vague and hard to rank for any specific keyword. Remember, this is a niche! Start off with your town and work your way out.

In large Metro areas, you may want to just take a section of the city and blog about it. I know a local blogger that only talks about her home life and the downtown area where she lives. She has made herself the “go to” person when it comes to events or other happenings downtown. Local advertisers can’t get enough of her site.

Trying to blog about the entire city of Los Angeles would be as much of a disaster as trying to blog about California. Remember, think small and connect with the people in your local area. This is why local blogging is such a hot niche and why you should learn how to build niche sites.

It has always been said that Internet users have short attention spans. That’s still true for the most part.

When I first started, the rule was the post should be between 250 and 500 words. I naturally write long articles as it is. So I was getting comments and email saying my post were too long. So I started trying to keep them around 500 words. That was hard for me to do!

Here are a few reasons why you should be writing long blog post:

• If you’re only interested in attracting Social traffic, stick to making those short, concise post. Most Social readers have shorter attention spans than a 3 year old, especially if they come from Digg.
• If on the other hand, you want your post to rank high in Google SERPS and bring in loads of targeted organic search traffic, you’re more likely to do it with longer keyword optimized post than shorter ones.
• You’ll naturally have more long tail keywords in your long blog post. Long tail keywords bring in more targeted organic traffic to your site.
• Looking at it from Google’s perspective, which post is more informative? A short one or long post? Google is in the business of delivering targeted relevant information to Internet searchers. Google’s algorithym searches for the most relevant and informative information on the Internet when you enter a search into the the search box. So which post do you think it will return higher in the SERPS? A 250 word post about ‘Mens Hair Loss’ or a 1400 word article?
• If you run a content rich site with Adsense, you can increase your CTR with longer post and articles. Why? Because you’ll stand a better chance of the reader losing interest and clicking on an Adsense ad. Yeah, I know, it’s a pretty underhanded Adsense trick hunh? But it works
• You may lose a few RSS subscribers who do not like long post, but you’ll also gain a few more who feel long post are more informative and detailed. They’ll see you as a detailed authority on the subject.

What constitutes a long post?

The way I look at it is, anything over 1000 words is a long post. I know some who say 700 to 800 words is a long post, but a 1000+ word blog post is much better, especially if it’s keyword optimized.

Long post are also more detailed. Instead of making some short-to-the-point sentences, you can take your time and go into more details with your post.

Tips For Optimizing Your Blog for Long Post

If you’re worried about losing your RSS subscribers to long post, here are a few tips that will help you keep them interested and to optimize your long post.

• Use the H3 tag to break up your long post into sections. Properly constructed H3 headings also add SEO benefits to your long post.
• Use bullets and numbers to break up list or for making points
• Use blockquotes when quoting others or for highlighting a resource
• Use Bold, Italics and Colored Text to get your point across and to break up your long post.
• Not all of your long post have to be a War and Peace novels. Just the really important post you want to expand on and the ones you want top rankings for. It’s okay to mix short post with long post. I’ve done this same thing here on AffiliateWatcher.Com

Still not convinced that long Blog post are better?

Take a look at the thumbnail picture below (click it to enlarge the picture). It’s a screenshot I did of a search for “How To Monetize A Blog With Adsense.” I posted it Monday morning and when I got home that afternoon, I was sitting at the #2 spot for that keyword term.

I jumped over some pretty big names to get to the #2 spot with nothing more than a 1400 word post about how to monetize a blog with Adsense. The only reason the B2evolution network outranks my post with their little generic post is because they have more backlinks to that page. It would be rather easy to outrank them and take that #1 spot away with fewer backlinks because my post has more weight than theirs.

Fortunately for me, this happens a lot with my long blog post. Whether or not it’s on this blog or one of my other ones. Long optimized blog post rank better! I no longer ask; how long a blog post should be, I just start writing and stop when I’m done!

These illusions are quickly shattered when they see their Adsense accounts with .05 and .20 cents per click and a CTR of 1%. It doesn’t take the newbie blogger long to realize that their dream of living of off Adsense income isn’t a reality.

Is Adsense Still a Good Choice For Monetizing Blogs?

The quick and easy answer is Yes and No. In order for Adsense to be a viable option to monetize a blog, you need large amounts of traffic. And not any old traffic will work!

Many bloggers love to talk about Social Media and they spend a good amount of time writing articles and submitting them to the popular Social Networks like Digg and StumbleUpon in order to bring the masses of Social Networkers to their site. While this may increase traffic to a blog, it rarely translates into clicks on their Adsense ads.

Why Social Traffic Isn’t Good For Adsense

If you’re one of these bloggers who’s chasing traffic from Social sites and still wondering why your Adsense account is empty, listen up, I’m fixing to let you in on a little secret.

Social traffic doesn’t convert for squat. Of course, you already knew that didn’t you!

Why?

Because people who use the Social networks are pretty ‘Net savvy and they don’t click ads. They read blogs more for entertainment purposes than they do for the informational value. Sure, they may read a post about whether or not Adsense is still a good choice for monetizing blogs, but if there’s an Ad block on how to monetize a blog with Adsense next to the post, they aren’t likely to click on it.

Another reason Adsense is a poor choice for Social blogs is because the Click Through Rate (CTR) will be in the dumps. This will cause  your Adsense ads to be Smart Priced.

This is how it works. Google Adsense works of off the principle that a targeted Internet searcher is more valuable to the advertisers than a browser just clicking around the Internet.

So when your Social Network browser comes to your site, Google does not consider this a targeted user. If the advertiser is paying $2 per click, and a Social Network user comes to your Social blog about making money on the Internet and actually does click on a Adsense ad, you’ll receive a lower per click price than if that user had went to Google and typed in “how to make money online” and came to your blog and clicked an Adsense ad about ‘how to make money online’. Google considers this targeted traffic and will pay you the most for this type of Internet users. 

Why Organic Traffic Pays Off With Adsense

Stop and think about this one for a minute.  When an Internet user is searching for some knowledge, they want it and they want it yesterday! Many of us will not stop searching the Internet until we find the useful information we need. We’ll click on this or that, we’re frantic searchers and we need that information!

Let’s say you’re bills are piling up because gas is at $4 a gallon and food prices are skyrocketing. You need some debt relief. So you go on over to Google and type in ‘debt relief’. You then click on the first result that promises you quick and painless debt relief. After you browse the site for a few minutes, you realize this site can not answer your questions and you’ll have to go elsewhere. There’s an Adsense ad block to the upper left with an add about instant debt relief. Hmmm, that’s just what you need right now, instant debt relief.

What do you do?

Click the Adsense ad promising instant debt relief or hit the back button a half dozen times to get back to the Google SERPS page?

Yeah, me too. I’ll hit the Adsense link every time if it will lead me to what I’m looking for.

And you know what?

The Webmaster or blog owner gets the maximum payout for your click because you found his site by searching for the term ‘debt relief’.

If I had gone to his site looking for ‘Ways To Make Money Online”and then clicked the same ad, chances are good he would not have received the maximum payout for that click. That’s why you’ll see some of your Adsense ads paying out .20 cents for one click and the next it gives you $2. It’s all about how the Internet user got to your site.

So What Type Of Blogs Are Best For Adsense?

It’s not really what type of blog is best for Adsense, the question should be “What type of traffic is best for Adsense?”

And that question is an easy one to answer. It’s organic search traffic. Plain and simple.

Now having said that, you’ll see that many of the so called Social media blogs do not rank well for anything of value.

Ever see John Chow or some of the other popular social bloggers rank in the top 10 for terms like “how to make money with Adsense?”No, you don’t. That’s one of the biggest reasons you don’t see Adsense on their sites. They can’t bring in the organic search traffic they need to convert browsers into ad clickers and their social traffic sure as hell won’t click the ads. So they end up with a crappy CTR and get Smart Priced. The few clicks they do get, Adsense pays out a few cents here and there. Then the Social bloggers will proclaim to the masses about how Adsense doesn’t work any longer!

Adsense Can Be a Steady Income Producer For Blogs and Websites That Pull In Organic Traffic

This is the real secret to Adsense and how to make it pay the most for every click. If you have a blog or website that ranks well for a number of keywords and your pages are optimized to bring in targeted search traffic, you’ll do well with Adsense.

Your blog doesn’t have to be a custom made WordPress blog nor does it have to be fancy. In fact, you can start with one of these Adsense optimized themes. It does have to be SEO optimized with lots of backlinks to rank well for your keywords.

Forget about the Social traffic and getting your post Dugg and Stumbled. Sure, it’s nice to see all that traffic, but why bother when you know it’s not going to convert plus it’s going to ruin your CTR. And to top it off, it will get you Smart Priced with Google Adsense.

Go after the money. And in this case, the money is in ranking well for your keywords and driving crowds of targeted organic search traffic to your blog or website.

Your blog or website should cover one subject, such as ‘debt relief’. Don’t try to make a blog or website cover everything under the sun. Each page of your website should have an article or post covering one keyword.

For example, if you had a blog over the main keyword of ‘debt relief’, then you’d probably want your interior pages targeting keywords such as ‘bankruptcy’, ‘debt consolidation’, ‘how to pay off your bills early’ or ‘debt consolidation loans’.

While you’re at it, make sure your blog or website is optimized for Adsense. Don’t cover every page in Adsense ads. The top paying ad block is normally a 350 block at the top. You might also want a Tower block in the sidebar, but that’s where I’d stop.

In the past, I put those little Adsense link blocks on my sites, but have always done poorly with them. I’d rather someone click on one of the Adsense ads in the body so I’ll make more money per click. That’s why I’ve started putting only two Adsense ads on my content sites. More ads normally dilute your per click payout.

To wrap this up, if you want to make money with Adsense, forget about those cool social blogs, go with a keyword targeted blog or website. SEO optimize it, build backlinks to make it rank well for your chosen keywords and then sit back and watch the Adsense money roll in. You can still monetize a blog with AdSense, you just have to go about it wisely.

This post has been a long time in coming. I guess you could say that I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it no more.

I spent about an hour and a half this morning browsing the do-follow list and leaving comments on several blogs. So what’s the problem? Many of the comments sections on those blogs using the do-follow list still have the “nofollow” attribute.

What’s The Do-Follow List?

The do-follow list is a list of bloggers who have removed the “nofollow” attribute from their comments so that the links left by Commenters are “nofollow” and will be followed by Google.

I used the do-follow plugin briefly on this site, found that I didn’t like it and have since used the Top Commentator plugin to reward my regular commenters with a PR4 backlink.

Luckily I never submitted my blog to the do-follow list.

Bloggers Beware of The Do-Follow List

The problem with the do-follow list is that about 80% of the blogs listed on these list, and there are several, still have the nofollow attribute on their comments.

Now you can look at this several ways. Either they’re being completely dishonest by not using the do-follow plugin as they are advertising or they’re just naive.

For you bloggers who think you’re leaving all these wonderful comments and that Google is following your link back to your site, you’re dead wrong. You’re being taken advantage of by many bloggers on the do-follow list!

Most of you have no idea whether or not the bloggers on the do-follow list have actually taken the nofollow attribute off.

When I’m using the do-follow list, I use Firefox with the SEO extension. This allows me to see which links are nofollowed and which ones aren’t. On some blogs, you can also look at the source code, but trust me, the SEO extension for Firefox is quicker. Just make sure you activate it in your toolbar! It then will highlight in a redish pink color all links with the nofollow attribute. Pretty easy!

Also, if the blog you’re looking at is a Blogger blog, the comments are nofollow. You’ll find a whole bunch of Blogger blogs on the do-follow list that claim “You comment, I follow“. Either these bloggers are dishonest or they don’t understand what nofollow is. Out of the hundreds of Blogger blogs I’ve visited, I’ve only seen one or two that actually had the nofollow removed and they were custom sites with their own hosting. If Blogger is hosting the blog, the comments are nofollowed and your link will not be followed by Google. Don’t waste your time.

If these bloggers were on the up and up, they’d do several things.

1. Take down the “U Comment, I Follow” icon
2. Find all the do-follow list and have their blogs taken off. As a blog owner, it’s your responsibility to remove your blog from these list if you’re not going to follow the do-follow guidelines.
3. Or if they truly wanted commenters, they follow the guidelines for do-follow

No Keywords In The Name Field

Here’s another area that is getting me a little peeved lately. Several of these blogs have comment policies where they do not allow you to put a keyword in the Name field.

WTF difference does it matter what is in the name field? This tells me one thing. The blog owner wants the maximum benefit of my comments on his/her blog but doesn’t want me to have the maximum benefit of a followed link. Pretty damn stingy in my book!

Now having said that, let me say I do not blame them one bit if someone leaves a comment with a link back to a bad neighborhood such as drugs, porn, gambling or other bad neighborhood. You have to protect where you’re blog is linking too. I also do not object bloggers removing comments that do not add value to the blog post.

But refusing to allow a commenter to use a Keyword instead of their name is just plain selfish. The whole point of using the do-follow plugin is for bloggers and their readers to mutually benefit.

Another form of Dishonesty are the bloggers who advertise their comments are nofollowed but only a select few commenter’s links are nofollowed. These blogs may only remove the nofollow for their friends or for those who make “X” amount of comments. That’s all well and fine, but do not advertise that your comments are do-follow because they’re not!

If You’re Going To Comment, Do It Right!

Just this morning, I deleted 4 comments by someone who left comments on 4 of my blog post. His/her comments were “Thanks for sharing”.

That’s bullshit. If you’re going to leave a comment, leave one that benefits the blog. If you don’t have the time to leave a decent comment, don’t leave one or I’ll make the time to delete them on this blog and I don’t blame others for doing it.

When I comment, I try and leave at least two sentences, most of the times it’s more…a lot more if I get on a roll.

The Do-Follow Dishonest List

I’ve been seriously thinking of starting a Do-Follow Dishonest list. This list will comprise of blogs who advertise they use the do-follow plugin or otherwise have removed the nofollow attribute from their comments but who have not:

• removed the nofollow attribute from their comments
• removed their blog from Do-Follow list
• stopped displaying the “U Comment, I follow” icon or other forms of advertising that their comments are nofollowed.
• allowed all comments to be do-follow. If you advertise your comments are do-follow, then all comments should be do-followed, not just those of commenter who’ve made “X” amount of comments or those who you like. Otherwise stop advertising that your comments are do-follow. This is nothing more than scamming visitors into thinking your comments are do-follow!

Yeah, the more I think about it, the more I think this would be a good idea. What do you think?

If you use the do-follow list at all, you owe it to yourself to get Firefox and get the SEO extension so you’ll know who’s being honest and who’s not. Otherwise, you’re wasting your time if you’re posting comments for a link.

The whole point of the do-follow plugin and the do-follow list was so that Bloggers could help each other. Bloggers would use nofollow on their comments so they could attract visitors who would leave comments. The commentators would then get a link back to their website for leaving comments. Now some of these blogs have benefited due to the do-follow movement and do-follow list but refuse to play by the rules. I’m calling your guys/gals out right now.

Stop being dishonest with your visitors!

are do-follow bloggers dishonest

Since I recieve several emails per week asking “What’s the best affiliate program for Blogs?” or “What’s the best affiliate program on the Internet?”, I figured this had to be a topic more than just a few of you had an interest in.

There are thousands of affiliate programs you could use on your blog, we both know that…right? What you want is the very best affiliate program to make the most money from your blog…am I understanding you correctly?

That’s what I thought.

The Best Affiliate Programs For Blogs

Okay, here’s the secret affiliate program. As an affiliate marketer, I’m taking a big chance on letting you in on this secret. I mean, all us affiliate marketers have this big secret meeting each month (special hand shakes and all) where we compare notes as to how many millions we’ve made from the best affiliate program for blogs. We don’t normally share it with outsiders…just the mere fact that I’m mentioning it on this blog puts me in grave danger

Okay, enough jerking you around.

The formula for deciding the best affiliate program for blogs is simple. The best affiliate program for blogs is the affiliate program of a product or service that you’re familiar with and one you can honestly recommend to your readers.

You have to know your product and you have to know the readers of your blog! Stop putting sex ads on your fishing related blog! Just because I happen to enjoy fishing and having sex (not at the same time) doesn’t mean I want to see a bunch of porn ads when I visit your fishing blog. In fact, this turns me off (no pun intended) and you can be damn sure that I won’t click on any ads! I’ll hit the Back button or close the browser first!

You see, there is no “best” affiliate program for blogs. Is there a “best” car ever made, or the “best” fast food joint or the “best” computer, best fishing bait…no. There are just other peoples opinions on what’s the best.

You may think that Fords are best while I believe Chevy’s are the best vehicles on the road. Another blogger may be believe that his 1972 Dodge Dart is the best vehicle ever made.

Yet, if we each had a blog covering the subject of what the best vehicles ever made were, we’d sell you on the advantages of each of our favorite vehicles! If you read the bloggers blog about the 1972 Dodge Dart, chances are many people would be sifting through salvage yards around the World looking for a 1972 Dodge Dart because you trusted and believed what the blogger recommends!

Disclaimer: The 1972 Dodge Dart IS NOT the best vehicle every made…just ask my ex-Wife! =)

You see, you have to believe in something to really sell it. This little nugget of truth has been lost of many a car and real estate salesman, not to mention would-be A-list bloggers. That’s the simple fact.

How To Choose The Best Affiliate Program For A Blog

To begin the process, have a look at this article I posted about how to choose a profitable affiliate program.

During that process, you’ll be choosing an affiliate program based on what your blog’s niche is about (and I hope it isn’t about making money online!).

If you’re blogging about cars, then you’ll have car related affiliate programs on your site. For some people, Adsense pays more than their affiliate programs (although it shouldn’t!)

You see, affiliate programs rely on lots and lots of traffic to generate good sales. So when you’re pet related affiliate products arent’ selling well on your pet related blog, part of the reason could be those 41 rss subscribers you’re feed counter says you have.

You need lots of traffic to make a lot of money from affiliate programs! Chances are if you have low numbers you’re having low sales. In fact, I’d bet the vast majority of blogs fall into this category.

Guys (and gals), it’s like this: There is no magic money making pill out here on the Internet that will make your rich overnight…well…at least legally!

Hard work and “biz smarts” still trump the “get rich quick or walk away after my 1st failure” mentality!

Match affiliate program offers to the subject of your niche and then work on driving targeted traffic to your site. That’s the secret of the best affiliate programs for blogs!

Many of the blogs that I visited had removed the MyBlogLog widget. So then I logged into MyBlogLog account and noticed that there were fewer subscribers to some of the communities and my own community had shrunk.

In fact, when I looked at the top 10 A-list bloggers, I noticed only 1 had the MyBlogLog widget on their site.

What Has Caused the Exodus of MyBlogLog Subscribers?

So I started doing a little research into why this was happening.

I read old reviews about the acquisition of MyBlogLog by Yahoo and really found nothing.

Now I knew that some bloggers have had a problem with MyBlogLog from the beginning when it was reported that their widget was reading and possibly recording traffic to the blogs that used their widget. It was even reported that this widget would read and log clicks to Adsense. Needless to say, this didn’t set well with a lot of people.

Even with those reports though, many bloggers were adding the MyBlogLog widget to their blogs in huge numbers.

It wasn’t until I started reading post on other blogs about Yahoo requiring a MyYahoo account to login to MyBlogLog that I started seeing a lot of discontent. Obviously many MyBlogLog users refused to make the changeover and decided to leave rather than be forced to open a Yahoo account.

Why would Yahoo make this move?  Surely they knew it would drive away subscribers?

Life After The Yahoo Acquisition

Personally, I don’t like the move either. I have multiple MyBlogAccounts and Yahoo accounts. When I go blog browsing, I have one MyBlogLog account I use. However, sometimes another profile will pop up on the blogs MyBlogLog widget. This doesn’t set well with me.

I’m not sure what Yahoo’s plan is for MyBlogLog is. From where I’m standing, it doesn’t look like a good fit for Yahoo. I believe their move of requiring a Yahoo account to login proves this.

So what’s in store for MyBlogLog? I don’t know honestly. I don’t use MyBlogLog as much as I did previously. It also seems to have become very spammy.

I’ll continue to show the widget in the short term, but I’m wanting to see some advantages of using it.

What experiences have you had with MyBlogLog? Do you still use the widget? Share your experiences with the rest of us by dropping a comment.

I’ve got to be honest, I read Yaro Starak’s blog Entrepreneurs-Journey on a regular basis and figured there wasn’t anything new I’d see in this make money fast eBook. But I needed something to keep me from going bonkers on our 8 hour driving trip. So I downloaded it plus I brought along my pen and highlighter.

It took me just a little over an hour to read the book. This includes looking up and commenting on my wife’s driving from time to time. I then started reading it a second time, with pen and highlighter ready to go to work. This is how I normally read ebooks. I read them all the way through and if there is pertanent information, I’ll go back and reread the ebook, this time slower (I’m a skim reader) and making notes or highlighting text.

This free ebook was informative and I found myself actually enjoying the ebook. I consider anything that takes my mind of my Wife’s driving to be great!

I’ll fess up and say there were a couple things in this ebook that I either didn’t know about or haven’t tried. This would be an excellent starting point for you if your serioius about making money on the Internet. Yaro’s writing style is straight forward and to the point. Those of you who know me know that if I hadn’t liked this ebook, there’d be no mention of it here. I only write reviews for tools and programs I like and find useful.

Yaro has laid this book out in a way that you could take anyone off the street, show them how to use WordPress or other blogging software, give them a copy of this free ebook and they could be on their way to making money on the Internet.

There is more information in this free ebook than many of the $47 and $97 ebooks I’ve bought in the past (I’m an ebook junkie ). Yaro could have easily sold this ebook and made some fine profit from it.

You can download the How to Make Money Fast Blueprint today and implement many of the techniques on your website or blog and improve your search engine rankings and profits almost immediately. I’m sure you’ll find it every bit useful as I did.