Last year my top performing blog started reporting unusual numbers. Adsense click through rates (CTR) went down from about 6-8% to the 3-4% range. I normally do very well on the blog with affiliate marketing and those numbers seemed wonky as well. I chocked it up to slow winter until a few days later I was at another computer and had to make a change on the site.. When I typed in the URL to login I waited, and waited. and waited. I thought for second something was wrong with server and left it but it bothered me all day.

When I was home later that night and had some time I went to investigated more. I used one of many free an online tools to check site load time. BINGO.

My site was talking a long time to load- upwards of 8 seconds. That is an eternity on the Internet where people want it fast and want it now.
A few months earlier I had hard coded all my sidebars ( used static html for my pages and categories) . I had thought about then to install some kind of cache plugin but figured since I hard coded everything it wasn’t a big deal (!) and besides my speeds were fine.

I checked few things before I went into full blown panic. I had a ton of scripts running on the site and other plugins that were hard on sever- like Related Posts , AdSense , Daily Top 10 Posts, affiliate scripts and ads, etc and disabled those those to see if it helped. It did but only slightly. The site pages were stil taking 5-6 seconds to load. This was really bad.

I thought it wouldn’t hurt to try a plugin that cached pages on my site. This means that when a visitor comes to your site instead of the server database working at producing a “new” page every time it will store or caches it as a static html file for next visitors.

I installed the the popular WP-Cache for Wordpress. It was simple to install and user friendly. By default it will “store” pages for 3600s or 60 minutes. This will be too long for some sites and you should change it. Also be aware that when you make changes to your site you may not see them because page is cached. You can go into WP-Options and clear cache or if you are making major changes disable the plugin in while you work.

You can also try WP Super Cache which works the same way; however it will not cache files for users who are logged in ( like you, the admin) and users who have left comments. I have not used it but keep meaning to switch over.

Did installing WP-Cache Work?

Yes, instantly. The load time went for 7 seconds to .1 second. A HUGE difference.
Load time is one of the top reasons visitors leave your site. How can they click on your ads follow affiliate links or read your posts if they leave?

I used to think that just hard coding pages would be enough but clearly I was wrong. I installed WP-Cache on all my sites that week. My CTRs went up across the board and affiliate links levelled out and went back to a “normal” range.

In hindsight I should have installed the caching plugin when my traffic started creeping up. The site went from about 1-2,000 visitors to 50,000 visitors that year and was not on a dedicated server. A link to the site as on CNN main web site on week and I had constant sever issues that week could have been avoided if I had wp-cache installed.

WP-Cache is now one of the first plugins I install on a new blog. Great posts and original content will not be read if visitors abandon the site before the page loads.

Tags: Free Tools and Utilities, Internet Marketing and Blogs, Tuesday's Tool, Web Site Accessibility, WordPress Plugins by Lisa Stewart
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Myth #3. I am showing my readers I don’t know everything when I link out.

If I am branding myself as an expert and I link out to another site- doesn’t that say I am not an expert if I have to link out ?

No. It shows them you are working smarter not harder. Trying to write down every thought, idea, proof, write every plugin and theme is impossible, Its not that you CAN’T do it- you are just to be busy to do it.
You can’t be in charge of writing everything in the world.

I have fallen into this trap many many times myself. Where I go to write something and then stop- because then I want to write something else that backs up what I just said. or I see a list or idea or tutorial that I think I can re-do better. Sometimes I do it and do it well and it works brilliantly. Other times I get bogged down and lose focus and get stuck and so frustrated by how big a mountain I have to climb with my limited time that I go and play Zuma so I won’t have to deal with it.
I don;t want to go too deeply into it- but I also think persevering and working through an idea that is hard has value and reaching the other side of the tipping point can be worth the effort; however sometimes you have to invest your time and effort in things that will give you the most reward.

Pick your battles.

As brilliant as you are and the shame that it is that you are depriving the world of all your insight- there are times when you must defer to someone else- if only to relive yourself of the pressure and create other great ideas.

If its been well many times by others consider leaving it and spend your time creating something new or working on something you can do better. I have about 2-4 hours a day I can blog before house and home falls apart. I have to give up some ideas. I have a TON of ideas sitting in Evernote for when there is enough time. Occasionally I do even make the time and rewards are huge. Most times I just can’t do it and I need to spend my time installing a better theme on 4 blogs in an afternoon rather then spending 2 weeks creating “the perfect” theme.

I can create big complicated graphs explaining long tail search or I can link out to The Long Tail and take that 8 hours and write 16 blogs posts. Sometimes neither is the better choice. I spent 3 days on a painting technique tutorial on as art blog post and every day I reap benefits with links back to it. I could have also just created 30 posts about the technique and ranked number one over night for the niche term.

Deciding when to leave something or create yourself is difficult. However getting bogged down and trying to everything yourself is ridiculous and impossible. Don’t fall into that trap! Give yourself some breathing room. Freeing your mind from lots of BIG thoughts can help you focus in on one thought and do it superbly.

Think of it as not that you are showing your readers that you don’t know everything- you DO know everything but you just do not have the time to write it all down.
Linking out actually further establishes you as an expert. You can expound on ideas and concepts without spending valuable time creating graphs or setting up tests and experiments.. You can use other peoples information to extrapolate a theory or come up with your own inferences.
Thinking like the ‘expert” you are- linking out makes you the news hub for your niche or market. Other sites just further cement your position.

Tags: Internet Marketing and Blogs by Lisa Stewart
1 Comment »

Here is part 2 of a 7 part series about common myths blog owners cling to as justification for not linking out to other sites. Linking to other sites contributes to a healthy active blog as well as helps establishes you blog as the authority in your niche.

Top Ten Reasons People give For Not Linking Out and Why They are Wrong

#2. I am encouraging my site visitors to leave my blog.

Yes and no. Short term- yes you are actually taking them by the hand and leading them off your site and somewhere else. Long term though you are positioning yourself as a “news resource”. As a news resource you are the center of the hub- Think of links out of your site as spokes on a wheel. If you give them good advice on where to find the information they are looking for time and time again they will come back and see you as “the” place to go. I have several blogs that I visit to get broader information on a topic and rely on them to point me to other related sites.

When I find I am outlinking heavily on a particular subject or one that stirs up a lot of interest or the same types of sites over and over gives me pause- I start to think about branching out and creating another blog on that subject.
An example of this was a home electronics blog I had set up a long time ago. I was writing a lot about HDTV and home theater and outlinking a fair amount. I wrote a few of my own posts so i wouldn’t outlink so much but didn’t spend a great deal of time developing it. I noticed a huge interest in some articles on Blu-Ray and HD stuff that I had written and saw traffic spike. Anything I wrote about Blu-ray and HD anything performed well- so much so that I began another blog just on home theater. My interest in home theater is not that big but I was able to hand over the idea and a blog to my brother-in-law who does well with it.

It is a bit of a tightrope deciding when you should develop your own content vs, sending people to other sites.

When is okay okay to send people to other sites?

-If the site is an “authority site” and back up a statement or theory you are trying to make or prove.
If the link will further benefit your reader. If you are writing an article and you can outlinking to another article that give more detail than you are able to manage i.e a video tutorial. Don’t get trapped into thinking- Gosh- what a great idea- I wil make my own video sometime so i won’t have to link out. link out. You may or may not get to making your own video. In the mean time- you will be helping a reader by pointing him in the right direction and further loyalty an your status as a “news resource” for you niche.

- A well written article in your niche. Sometimes someone else will just come up with a great article that is well written, As a “news source” you owe it to your reader to share with them.

- Link to an idea or statement or idea that is completely the opposite of what you believe and stand for.
Nothing will prove you RIGHT more than some one else’s dumb opinion. You can point out the flaws in their argument and show the world just how right you are by their wrongness. This can be tricky and handle with care. Some topics I am fine to blast away on- For example I will take on make sure your reader agree with for the most part if you are going to go on the attack or may backfire.
You can also do it in a friendly and polite way- but not as much fun Controversy is probably one of the oldest forms of link baiting and one of the most successful when done right.
Matt Cutts writes abut its usefulness in good article on the art of link baiting here

Saying something controversial. You can be cheeky, like Threadwatch, or you can be incredibly earnest. I give the creator of Google Watch credit for staking out the “anti-Google” territory way before anyone else. Later, Andrew Orlowski probably realized that taking potshots at Google or blogs was a way to generate lots of discussion. By the time it trickles down to sites like FuckedGoogle or whatever, it gets to be “done”–that niche is starting to be tapped out. So how do you take a new approach?

here is a good recent example of what I am taking about , Andy Beard proves his rightness

- New blogs that are in your niche. New bloggers are much more likely to notice when you link to them and will be grateful A new blogger today may be a powerful and experience blogger a year from now. I will often make a point of working in links blogs that mention me or comment on my posts in future posts.Blog Hack: Link to New Blogs and Get More Readers is meaty post that will show you how to pursue this idea and make it work.
I suppose you could call this LINK LOVE ( I DESPISE that term and would choke if I had to say it) . Wish some one would come up with a new name.

- Link to blogs that “follow” . Outlink in your posts to blogs that follow /dofollow or below to the “nonofollow movement” whatever its called… a blog that allows spiders to crawl link in comments because that have turned of the nofollow attribute that is in their blog patform- snippet of your post will end up in their comments section and as a link back to your site. This is sometimes over looked when discussing dofollow blogs. Not only doe you get a link back when you comment- but when you post on your own blog (trackback). Guess this more linky love. Blech.
You will find directory of dofollow blogs and you can also add your dofollow site by clicking here

-Link to other blogs that interest you. If you find it worthy your readers probably will as well.

The main reason for having a blog is to create “conversation” and establish/brand yourself as an expert. By becoming a “news” hub for your niche your blog will be a valuable resource for your readers. Pointing them to great advice or a useful site will only help your readers- and you.

More on Blog Branding:
Blogging Tips Book: Blog Branding and Identity
Your Brand Is Defined By Your Audience Expectations
Marketing Tip: How to Use Blog Comments as a Personal or Blog Branding Strategy

Tags: I Follow-DoFollow, Internet Marketing and Blogs, link building by Lisa Stewart
2 Comments »

Just read a great post by Andy Beard, my e-Crush.

Andy comments about a recent post by Dave Naylor in Why You Should Nofollow Your Blog Comments? post about why blog should allow comment links. In ballsy move Andy ( a dofollow proponent) uses same post title as Dave’s nofollow blog and shows that his post ranks higher in engines than Dave’s. Ha! Touche.

Poor Dave!To be fair to Dave, Andy’s post probably ranks higher for other reasons than the fact that his blog is dofollow-both on page and off site factors. But it does underscore a point.

Blogs are about engaging in “conversation” . Dofollow blogs encourage community and relationships. Would I still read Andy’s blog if he didn’t follow links on his comments? Yes.

Would I comment as much. Nope. I would comment but not as much. When I comment on a blog I am mindful that that comment may be a portal to a new site visitor. This is a good enough reason to comment on another blog. Knowing a blog follows is an incentive sometimes. All things being equal - blog readership, page rank, relevance, I would rather take 10 minutes and comment on a blog that follows than one that doesn’t.

I appreciate comments on my blogs. It is content I don’t have to create. On one of more popular ( read profitable) blogs I rely heavily on reviews- reviews from readers. Visitors are much more likely to review a product when they get a link back and the reviews are invaluable to the integrity of my site.

I am so tired of the dumb “too much spam argument”. It doesn’t take that much time to delete spam. Certainly not as much time as it would take for me to write content that readers leave for me.

Engaging with readers and other bloggers is the whole reason a blog exists. Anything that encourages that relationship is to be applauded not stomped out because it is inconvenient.

Tags: Internet Marketing and Blogs by Lisa Stewart
1 Comment »