The best way to market your content is through customer insight. It is not just knowing what your customers want, but knowing how your products make a difference in their lives. Ask what features they love and what they want to see more in the future. So, before we get into some serious business, here are 5 quick ways in order to improve the blogs you post.

1. Less is more.

• It’s not always the better option just because it’s longer. Take for example the videos Instagram. It only has a minute in terms of duration. So, you have to maximize that time given to make the best content you can think of.
• You don’t have the whole day to explain your products. Just give a quick run through of what you have. People now value purpose. Your content should be able to teach and guide people in the quickest way possible.

2. Fun isn’t bad.

• Like what I said in part 1, digital media does not necessarily follow the usual norm. So, loosen up a bit. Your posts need not to be formal at all times.
• When the topic is light and comedic, emojis are not forbidden. To be honest, there’s even a study that proved emojis help in getting emails opened. People open emails more when they see an emoji on the headline.
• So, this just means that adding a funny GIF or inserting a sticker message is not bad for business. In fact, it is doing the opposite. I think people are clamoring for a more fun and entertaining content.

3. Analyze the results.

• Most of the time, numerous businesses just look at reports and they DO NOT dig deeper into these important reports.

  • When reviewing the results, ask these questions:

    • What are the results?
    • What is it trying to pinpoint?
    • What should I do basing from these data?
• There should be an action to every analytics report. It does have to be big that’s very noticeable for everyone to see. You just have to take baby steps, and implement new changes little by little.

4. Find a connection.

• There are times when content fails because you are trying to connect 2 unrelated subjects. What the relevance of coffee to dancing, or music to blankets?
• If you want your content to be effective, there has to be some kind of a connection between the things that you will write about. Find ways of connecting topics together even to the most trivial detail. Make it fascinating for your audience, and add some fun factor if you have to!

5. Utilize other channels too.

• Many people are on Facebook and that is a fact. Everyone you know is probably on Facebook. However, there are other channels too in order to promote your content.
• There are many social media apps you can download on your phone. To name a few, there’s Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat. For video apps, there’s Twitch, Periscope, Vimeo, and Youtube.
• Try and explore the other social channels because you could reach far more audience there than just by sticking to one platform.

Back? 4 Easy Ways to Improve Content (Part 1)

What could be the other factors that would affect website traffic? The last time, I talked about the growing number of mobile users and the change in the way users search for information.

For this blog post, I will continue to discuss issues such as having an unsecured website, indexing concerns, and hacking.

1. Indexing Issues

• Let us talking about indexing issues first. What does this mean? It could be that Google could not search for your website and its continents.
  • Google shouldn’t be blamed for this because it simply means that you have surpassed your ongoing web host subscription. When this happens, your website exhausted its allocated resources and it will display error 404 or Page Not Found. It could altogether stop displaying web pages.
  • In this situation, the web host or the server cannot show your web pages. You can equate it to having too many web browsers opened on 1 computer. The computer starts to slow down as the RAM slowly gets occupied by the browsers, and eventually, it wouldn’t be able to show web pages.
  • Another factor is that… as your website grows over time, more bots websites will crawl your website aside from Google. These rogue bots will compete with Google’s bots.
  • Whatever the situation is, whether it’s the host or the bots, both situation is not good for your website. There are ways to lessen the negative effects of rogue bots. You can use firewalls like Sucuri , WordFence, and web security apps. These programs can block these rogue bots off your website. Another alternative you can do is to subscribe to a better and sturdier web host.
• Remember that there are moments that the web host will purposely suppress the web traffic. This is to maintain the resources for all the other websites on the same server. So, don’t be surprised when there are instances that the host stops displaying your web pages.

2. Unsecured Website

• The web browsers have advanced features unlike before. It has the ability to warn users when they are about to access the uncertain website. It’s likely possible that your potential web visitors are getting a warning message from their browsers.

3. Hacking

• Web traffic could also be affected by hacking. This could be unauthorized web pages and links that you did NOT create. An easy way to test if your website has been compromised to use an FTP program to check the website. I have listed down a list of FTP programs here.
• Another method to check your website is to go to the indexing section of the Google Search Console. Browse through the indexed pages and search if there are pages that you and your team have not made.

4. An Update in Google’s Algorithm

• Lastly, it could be just Google. The team behind Google is constantly changing how things work. The new update could have just rewired the existing configurations. Google is relentless in finding dubious web activities. With a set of new rules, you need to adapt to these algorithm changes.

To increase your network, you need to interact with other experts in the field. You can collaborate and create content that fit for both of your target markets. One way to do that is through guest blogging.

What do you get from this? When you do a guest blog, you write for another website. This benefits the website, and also your website, too! The website gets new content while you can website traffic from the readers of the said website.

Basically, guest blogging helps in:

• building relationship with peers,
• gaining more web traffic,
• obtaining backlinks for your website,
• acquiring possible customers,
• promoting your brand,
• and creating awareness.

However, since it is an effective strategy for both parties involved, you can’t help but get overwhelmed with the outpouring number of guest blogging ideas. So, I decided to compile a list of practical tips to succeed guest blogging. Read the 5 tips below:

• Expand your network and build relationships.

  • You just don’t go around telling people, “Hey! I have this great guest blog pitch.” That’s not really the best way to represent your brand. It has to come naturally and relationships grow over time.
  • The more people know you, the more chances they would invite you. A host may need content ideas, and that’s where you come in. You get to support the host website by sharing a different kind of content. 
  • Of course, no one will hire your services if you are stranger to the community. Here’s how to get noticed:
    • Comment on different websites.  Don’t just comment to promote your content. Talk about the post you just read, and share some sensible ideas.
    • Write about your influences and mention them. Brand will appreciate your effort blogging about them.
    • Share their new posts. Give them a boost and they will do the same.
    • Interact with them on social media. Brands and professionals usually are active on Twitter. Since it’s a microblogging site, it’s your chance to have a quick chat.
  • Do these tips and the brands you admire will instantly recognize you. So, there’s no need to be shy. Go out there and interact more. You will never know who’ll stumble upon next!

• Pick your target websites wisely.

  • Just because guest blogging is a popular strategy, it does not mean everyone is doing it. Some business are not open to the idea of you guest blogging on their website. So, don’t bother insisting. Instead, pick websites that are welcoming the idea.
  • Identify what blogs share the same sentiments as you. It’s nice to write for someone who share the same values.
  • Contact the websites that have same audience. If you are share the same target, their readers might just be interested on your content as well.
  • Look for websites that are interested on what you will be blogging. For example, you are a fan of this computer tutorial blog, and you would like to make a guest post. Since you happen to be a voracious reader as well, maybe you can contribute and talk about “Books That Are a Good Introduction to Coding.”

Creative Commons license can help people recreate existing works. It definitely fosters creativity and ingenuity. However, the problem is that most of Creative Commons photos are not properly attributed, meaning people simply copy without any mention of the artist.

According to an infographic compiled by Foter Blog, more than 90% of the photos are not referred or credited to the original source. Not just that, less than 10% of the photos are not accurately attributed. The source might be cited, but a linkback is not provided. Some websites even provide a credit line for people to use, but the format is totally ignored. They just need to copy and paste the details into their websites, but no one seems to bother following.

The same source also shared that there are now over 227,230,423 photos under the Creative Commons license. Let’s make it clearer for people at the back:

• >90% are not associated to the original source and >99% are not properly cited.

Every CC license:

• applies to all the photos worldwide
• is not changeable
• is not exclusive

A CC license grants you the permission to:

• copy or download,
• modify or edit,
• display it publicly,
• and distribute

The conditions:

• Attribution (BY) – You may copy, edit, distribute, and make your own version only if you mention the original artist.
• Non-commercial (NC) – You may copy, edit, distribute, and make your own version, but it has to be for non-commercial purposes.
• No derivatives works (ND) – You may copy, distribute, display, but you cannot make your own version. Adding your own twist is not allowed.
• Share Alike (SA) – You may distribute your own version of an artwork. However, the new version must be under the same license agreement as the original version.

NOTE: Some licenses can contain a series of conditions. So far, there are 6 license types created by CC, and you can read more about it here.

Let’s go back to some important statistics:

• The most popular photo categories are: 1) Travel, 2) Wedding, 3) Art, 4) Music, and 5) Party.
• 1% of the 227,230,000+ photos follow a CC Attribution, Non-Commericial, Share Alike condition. Additionally, 27.1% follows a CC Attribution, Non-Commericial, No derivatives condition.
• ONLY 30% of the total photos are allowed for commercial use.

How to properly cite original owners?

• All the CC licenses require attribution. There is NO one correct way of citing the source, but the photos should have 4 things included:
  • The author – This should include the name or username, and link to the person’s profile.
  • The title of the work – Mention the title of the photo if available, and add the link on where the photo is found.
  • The CC license type – Is it BY, BY ND, BY SA, BY NC, BY NC ND, or BY NC SA?
  • The copyright notice – Add a line or two stating that the photo is under Creative Commons.

Where to put the attribution?

• There are 2 options for this:

1. Under the photo – This is the preferred placement.
2. At the end of the blog post – A good alternative is also listing all the sources at the bottom of your document.

At this day and age, you might think using other people’s photos is totally fine. If you aren’t cautious, you could end up violating the Copyright Act.

What is the Copyright Act?

• According to the copyright.gov, the Copyright Act safeguards photographic works whether it is captured by a camera, it is a digital file, or it is a film. The website also cited examples like black and white photos, color photos, and many more.

What does this mean?

• When you search for photos on Google, the search engine is just giving you suggestions basing from your search query. It does NOT mean you can just download and/or copy the photo. Without permission, you CANNOT use the photos especially if it is for commercial purposes.
•  It could cost you hundreds of dollars. Unfortunately, a lot of people think that when an image appears on Google they use it freely and put on their respective websites. The United States Copyright Office ensures that even online properties are protected through the  Copyright Act and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

Here comes the DCMA.

• Aside from the 1976 Copyright Act, there is also the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The DMCA, as it is popularly called, was enacted in 1998. This act states that the Internet Service Provider (ISP) is not accountable for copyright infringement. It is the user that is responsible for the unauthorized use of digital media files. The ISP has the power to remove materials from a user’s website if they confirm a breach of the Copyright Act. Many of these violations affect photographers.
• The DMCA specifies certain fees when you infringe someone else’s work. The section 1202 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act states that a violation could mean paying from $2,500 to $25,000. Take note that is just for ONE violation!
• Additionally, under section 1204, penalties could go up to $500,000 fee for a first offense. The fee could increase if there are subsequent breaches. You may read more about it here: https://www.copyright.gov/legislation/dmca.pdf

That photo on Google.

• So, the next you Google something, be careful because that photo might belong to someone else. Ask permission when you wish to use a photo that is not yours because authorization is not implied. You actually have to give the proper credit if you are permitted to use it.
• Whether you use it on your website, or post it on social media, the photo is still protected by the law. You can get sued for using something that is NOT YOURS. It’s not just your website that is at stake here, but also, you could lose your hard-earned money.

Related: Where to Sell Your Photos Online?

• Other people choose to sell their works online. They might have chosen to upload their photos on premium stock photography websites. A fee might be needed in order to properly use the photos.
• However, there are also free stock photos available online. So, do not worry because there are countless websites that offer free photos. You can even them for both commercial and personal use.

Related: 10 Websites Where You Can Get FREE Photos