How Search Works Straight From Google's Mouth

This is a quick video by Matt Cutts from Google giving you a quick explanation of how search engines work. He also provides you with some search engine optimization techniques you can use right away that will help your blog get more traffic.

It's a good video for a new blogger that is just starting out and trying to learn how search engines work. When I started out SEO seemed like a foreign language and I thought I'd never grasp it, but it's not really as hard to understand as it first appears.

If you already know how search engines work and understand the basics then don't waste your time watching this video. But if you're a new blogger and have some questions then I'd recommend watching this quick video.

Here's a link to Google's Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide that's another great resource to learn from.


 

Google Adsense Is Still Confusing and Frustrating

Why doesn't Google make the Adsense platform more user friendly? I've been struggling with learning it off and on for a few years, but I always end up pissed off and frustrated. Then I'll take a break and say that I'm done with trying to figure things out because it's way to time consuming for me to learn while I'm trying to continue building my sports site and creating content for it. But then I always seem to somehow find myself trying to figure out how to use Adsense after my cooling off period is over.

It's become a vicious cycle of mental torture that I can't escape. Now I know how Bill Murray felt in the movie Groundhog Day, help!!

I'm not writing this to badmouth Google, I'm actually a fan of Google and use several of their services, but Adsense continues to be a struggle. I know that part of the problem is with me, but I still think they could make the user interface and help sections more user friendly as well as easier to understand.

I really want to use Adsense and don't mind dedicating some time to learning it. I'm also aware that things are always changing and you may need to spend some time learning new features as they become available.

One thing I'm going to do if I ever learn the ropes is to make an easy to understand tutorial for people like me to use from the sign up point right on through.

I've actually created ads and served them on my site, but there's a lot I'm not grasping and it's just so frustrating to feel like I'm wasting so much time on something I may never figure out.

Facebook Page SEO Tips

I came across a good video while researching ways to improve the Facebook Page for my sports blog. The video has some good tips that will improve your page's visibility in search engines. I knew that Facebook Pages were turning up in search results, but I wasn't really aware of the fact that you could help to improve your page's performance.

If you have seven minutes to spare and would like to improve the traffic and engagement of your page then this is well worth your time.

 

Still Kicking Around The Blogosphere After Five Years and Loving Every Minute Of It!

I can't believe it's been almost five years since I got the itch to start a sports blog! Time has seemed to fly right on by. My journey has been filled with many ups and downs, but my love and desire for blogging has only grown stronger.

I started this blog as a way to chronicle my trials and tribulations and to connect with other like minded bloggers. I haven't kept up with this site as much as I intended too at the outset, but will be doing so from here on out.

A lot of things have changed over these last five years to make it easier than ever for "newbie" bloggers to get themselves up online and to get their message out into the Blogosphere without spending a dime. I was scared to death when I first started out and knew absolutely nothing about the online world. I couldn't do much more than surf the web and send someone an email, that's the truth.

When I was introduced to blogging a light bulb went off and I knew right away that I had to do one, no matter what. I've spent many, many hours learning and have come a long way. I've made many, many mistakes along the way as well, but I just keep plugging along and learning. There's been a ton of frustration and at times I've felt like quitting, but I can't. I love the challenges and enjoy learning all the different aspects to building a successful blog.

One of my biggest mistakes when I first started out was to avoid joining social media sites like Twitter and Facebook. I had no clue how powerful of an ally than can be. I was scared to join because I wasn't sure how to use them and thought they'd somehow end up being a detriment to building traffic for my sports blog. Now I look back and realize how ignorant I was.

If you're reading this and thinking of starting your own blog I'd say to go ahead and jump into the social media frenzy now, you will thank me later, I promise. Just dive right in and start interacting with people.

A Video Introducing Google Play