The Blonde Diaries

With the popularity blogging over the last couple of years, it can be very difficult to set yourself out from the crowd.  How can you get regular traffic or get to the top of Google search ranks?  Often times, you can just google search and find some blogs that have tips on using SEO techniques and key words that can be helpful. But if you are into other hobbies and don’t want to make blogging a full-time hobby, finding an Advertising Agency that specializes in areas such as SEO and Google Adwords maybe your best option.  I know it is an option that I have been thinking about lately.

That! Company is an online advertising agency that can help you with all of the above and more!  They began online and help their clients in both digital media and traditional media.  Some of the services they provide that caught my attention: search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click advertising, podcasts, social media, and mobile ads.  These are all great ways to drive traffic to your site and touch on all of the latest gadgets and trends.  The nice thing is that you are able to pick your services and That! Company will work with you to make it a reality that fits with your budget.  It is really nice to see a company who is willing to work with the client and not try to give everyone a one-size-fits-all package with items you might not be interested in and missing items that you do want.  With an expertise in online marketing and a staff of professionals you can make sure you are getting the most for your money.

I do this every year. I use to have a countdown/ticker that would keep me up to date on my blogaversary but something with the coding and my blog went haywire and it is gone.

Today makes 3 years of blogging on The Blonde Diaries and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. In honor of the occasion, I bought myself a little treat yesterday (ok I’m just using this as a justification for the treat) and it is schedule to arrive Friday unless I can get UPS to reschedule my delivery to Monday when Mike will be back at work. I’m thinking it just won’t work if I claim it was just $50 when it was more like $230 but since I’ve been fairly good all month long I felt that it would be ok to buy a pair of shoes as well as the swimsuit last week for my upcoming vacation.

So here is my little treat – stock photo of course – but I will definitely share my own photo once they come in.

A few years back I was really into mainstreaming my blog. I would look for tips on how to improve my page rank, Alexa ranking, SEO related stuff and so on. There was quite a bit of do this not that out there when it came to best practices. I would try my hardest but at some point I just said to hell with it all, I just don’t give a damn.

One thing that I am still struggling with though is how to link within my blog or to other blogs. Much of the advice I found was to talk about the item you are linking to and then use the words “click here” when linking so that you didn’t look like you were over linking or being paid to write a post.  I totally get what the advice is saying but I know from personal experience, I click on links more if it is the website or blogs name rather than the words click here. What do you think? Do you notice a pattern with your websurfing when it comes to click here vs. the site name?

I saw in a comment on another post that my friend Heather from Joy De Vivre Designs gave me the Sunshine Award. I love blog awards and I just love Heather”s blog. One of her weekly features is posting Etsy Shops so you can discover great new accessories. If you love fashion and accessories you need to visit Heather”s blog.

I am passing the Sunshine Award to:

1. Alice Teh
2. All About Kimberly
3. Cascia at The Healthy Moms
4. Hedy at A Penny for My Thoughts
5. Sam at Dream Out Loud 24/7
6. Danielle at New Adventures, Same Me
7. Janessa at Life Is A Zoo
8. Teena in Toronto
9. The Bumbles Blog

I find that during the winter months, people tend to branch out and find new things to do around the house. Cooking, indoor exercising, reading, and blogging for example are all great things you can do around the house. If you are new to blogging it can be very daunting. Where do you begin once you get your blog set up? You have articles but feel like no one is reading them. How about checking out directory submission sites? Most are free to list your blog with a little except and you can develop quite a bit of traffic and a good following. It is also a great way to discover a new blog or two. If you don’t know which ones to sign up for how about checking out your favorite blogs to see where they are listing. Starting with what you like is often the best place to find great tips and tricks.