This guest blog post is by Damien Riley of Postcards from the Funny Farm.
Talk has really peaked about Google PageRank (PR) versus value for a blog. Can Google’s university created algorithms really dictate automatically the value of a website? My answer is no they can’t but they remain the industry parent for handing out “worth.” In turn, advertising companies and websurfers in general tend to assign value as they are told to by Google. Does anyone else find this disconcerting? Anyway, my post here is not about Google or PR, it’s about becoming a site of value. How do you get there? Well, first you have to define value and what you want to become. For example, I find value in posts that make me feel inspired, but not everyone does. The good news is, anyone can add value to her/his blog. You don’t need to wait for Google to tell you if you have worth.
The other day a friend on a social media site I frequent thanked me for linking to her site. She said it meant a lot coming from an “established blog.” I was taken a bit aback when I heard that. Because my blog undergoes so many changes and evolutions, I never really considered it “established.” Then I thought about it. There are a lot of items I take for granted that do make me “established,” if only relative to others:
- My blog has been in existence for over 2 years.
- It has 909 posts.
- I get 80 unique visits a day on average. (source Google Analytics)
- I have a loyal blogroll full with sites I have developed relationships with
These and other items do indeed make me an established blogger. As I thought about these items that make me “valuable” to less established blogs, I began to look at them in hopes of putting them together in a quick tip to help blogs just starting out. As I analyzed, I came up with good news and bad news. The good news is that the requirement for these items is something anyone can do. The bad news is, people starting really don’t have it usually: patience.
New and old bloggers benefit by patience. To define your own value is to declare independence from parent companies like Google that thrive by assigning value as they see it. You can create your own success by setting goals and then working daily to meet them. In the end, you will be sure your blog is valuable and, one fringe benefit might be that Google affirms what you already know is true (along with Technorati, RealRank, etc). Be patient at doing the right things toward your goals through confident writing and you will be more of an “established blogger” every day. What makes your blog valuable?
For more information on this topic along with psychology and inspiration, visit Damien’s blog Postcards from the Funny Farm.
I have to say as I first started blogging about 18 months ago I was looking at my page rank and authority on Technorati to gain reassurance that I was going in the right direction with my blog. I guess until you get steady comments it is the only way we
can gain a representation on “how well the blog is doing”. You are totally right here we can rate our own blogs and add value to it. Established to me is when you have consistently been blogging over a certain amount of time and secured a loyal readership with whom you engage. Your blog most certainly fits in that category
A great post I hope we get other points of view on this one from the Fuelers
Great post Damien.
I think a new wave of blogger is coming, the realists, so many claim to have tens of thousands of readers but in reality, they are spoofed into visiting, it is the loyal readers and comments that make the blog valuable.
If you look at “uber” blogs such as Techcrunch, with nearly a million subscribed readers, the average post gleans 50-75 comments..ie not a lot!
For me, the value is in the content and comments and the conversation they bring..
Keep up the great posts!
@KevinD: Isn’t it a case that more “readers” does not equal more comments as essentially there are only so many points of view to be expressed and people generally don’t comment if someone has said what they feel already??
Btw. Great post Damien
@Paul O’Flaherty: It could also be more readers and less comments = no great content or not opinion generating content?
A blog with no conversation is effectively a website!
Or, importantly, as you covered before on your blog..fake readership stats?
Great topic… I was only yesterday discussing some of these issues with a colleague. It seems that since I’ve ‘achieved’ PR5, I’m getting lots of emails from far and wide asking to advertise on my site. I find this intriguing as my site visitor stats are actually quite low although feed subscribers stats are 6 times as high. As most of the requests are for text tag links, I’m assuming the attraction is ‘google juice’ rather than reaching my subscribers or readers, but I’m still surprised to be attracting this attention without actually doing anything consciously…
My focus whilst creating content for my blog is solely on value to the reader which is niched to social media marketing for small business owners and entrepreneurs using Typepad and whilst I do get comments, I don’t get that many. However, I never worry that that means my content is not valued…
I’m inclined to think the number of comments you get is directly linked to your blog style, ie. whether you keep an informational blog or more of a community or conversational blog. By that I mean, if you are positioned as an authority and provide useful and compelling content, readers tend to come, get the info they are looking for and head off again wihtout commenting. By contrast, a number of my clients (who are also experts in their fields but who blog about wider topics and in particular, their own learning/journey) will tend to attract more comments. My stats suggest that people spend quite a long time digging around in my archives before leaving – so I figure I must be providing valuable content.
I’d be interested to hear whether this rings true for others.
Warmest
Claire
Thanks for the comments folks. This new Wordpress platform just blows the other one away. I see huge potential for networking here and I will be contributing as much as I can and as much as they’ll have me.
If I may quote Claire:
“I’m assuming the attraction is ‘google juice’ rather than reaching my subscribers or readers …”
That is so interesing Claire! I never thought about Google’s master PR plan to be simply creating a supply and demand for their own service. I question whether the PR system is motivated by true value or pure greed … but I do appreciate Google services such as Analytics. I rely heavily on that daily.
What do you folks think?
“To define your own value is to declare independence from parent companies like Google that thrive by assigning value as they see it.”
Very good point!
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am I allowed to say ‘Priceless’ as I have no idea on the teckky stuff at all around blogs (as many bloggers don’t… well I hope I am not on my own lol) about page ranks et al
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This is a subject dear to my heart.
My focus has been mainly on what I hope are great posts. This is really what value is about I think – for my kind of blog which is an informational one. I think I need to focus on marketing my blog more though.
I find my Google Analytics rather depressing – about 20 unique visits most days. Although (according to Feedburner) I do have over 100 subscribers. And, does anyone else find that those who come from stumbles don’t seem to become subscribers?
My blog has been around for a bit over a year and I’m still figuring out all the stats stuff.
I sure hope that focusing on value (good posts) is what’s most important.
Thanks for a great post on an important topic Damien.
@Evan: Analytics go up and down for me. Yesterday I was 45, some days I am lower than 20. I average the last 30 days and publish that monthly on my blog along with a paragraph on what worked and what didn’t. The last thirty fell short of my goal but I don’t get down, I just get creative, innovative, and integrative and try new stuff.
Something about the authenticity of your comment sets out out from the crowd. I’ll be hanging out at your site for a bit if you don’t mind! I can help your daily uniques by one right
Sounds like I might read something good too.
Have a great day
I have been blogging for 4 years in the same blog (Mydayandthoughts) and over a year in C’s life Most weeks I never look at the stats. My blogs have value because they are me.
Well said Celeste. You set the criteria.