7 Tips for Choosing the Right Blog Software for Your New Blog

Choosing the right blog software for your new blog requires that you ask yourself some questions and make a list of all of the features and tools you need as well as your budget. Once you have this information written down you will be prepared to start shopping for blog software. However, keep in mind the following seven tips for choosing the best software for you.

Tip #1 Ping Updates
These allow you to update your blog and are very important in blog software. Make sure the blog software you are interested in provides automatic ping updates.

Tip #2 Comments
Whatever blog software you choose, you'll want to make sure that it has an area for comments from visitors. This will help you understand what is successful in your blog and what is not, as well as guide you in future blogs. This is a really great tool and should be part of your blog software.

Tip #3 Trackback
If you are discussing your blog on another blog, or simply adding information to another blog, trackback will allow you to update this information. This is a little confusing, but trackback allows you to talk on your blog about information on another blog and ping the writer of the other blog to let them know what is going on. Trackback is certainly a feature you want in your blog software.

Tip #4 Pingback
Pingback is similar to trackback, but it just sends a URL to the other blog to let them know you are talking about their blog on your blog. This is not used as much as trackback, but you will want a blog software that has at least one of these two functions.

Tip #5 Web-based
The point of a blog is you can post information instantly online, so you want your blog software to be similar to a word processor and web based without a shadow of a doubt.

Tip #6 Archiving
You want a blog software that supports archiving, and most of them do. The reason for this is you will want to save all of your past blogs by the date they were published and archiving allows you to do that.

Tip #7 Categorize
Another great tool you will want in your blog software is the ability to categorize. You want to keep your blogs organized and in categories, if you have them, so this option is really a great one for most bloggers.

There are lots of types of blog software available. You just need to do the research and compare what you find with what you need and then... start blogging!

Powerful Ways to Boost AdSense Revenue

Are you interested in boosting your AdSense revenue overnight? The following ideas are the very ideas that tripled my AdSense earnings when I applied them to my first ad supported website. This article will explain the reasoning behind each strategy, and will follow with my particular application.

Ad Positioning

If you want your ads to get clicked on, you have to put it in a place that it will be seen. Each website is different, so it may require a little experimenting on your part. Typically, the most effective position for your first ad unit will be directly under the title, before the content begins. Another effective position for an ad unit is at the end of your content. Your visitors, after reading your article, will wonder what they want to do next. If you place an ad in this position, they may click on the ad. Google gives you one more ad unit. You will have to experiment to find the best position for this one.

My Application: On most pages I placed one text ad directly under title before my content begins, one text ad following my content and one text ad to the right of my content. This ad position strategy provides me with earnings that are far above the 3% average.

Ad Formats

There are many formats to choose from, and some perform better than others. The wider formats, being easier to read, generally outperform the narrower formats. As a rule the best ad formats are the 1) Medium Rectangle, 2) Large Rectangle, and 3) Wide Skyscraper. They are all wide formats, and provide visitors with the maximum number of ad links. Other ad formats should only be considered when space is a concern.

My Application: On most pages I included two medium rectangles, above and below my content, and one wide skyscraper to the right of my content.

Ad Colors

It is best to blend you ad colors with your website. Blue links are recommended, because this is what most people are accustomed to clicking on, and borders should be eliminated. These elements will not only improve your click-through-rate (CTR), they will also improve the overall look of your website.

My Application: The links are blue, and my ads have no border. Gray text under the link, and gray text with a colored URL were both tried. No noticeable variation in CTR occurred.

If you are ready to step out from the crowd and begin seeing your profits soar, the first step is to learn how to track your ad performance with AdSense Channels.