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Writer's Notes - By Jeanne Dininni

 
WritersNotes.Net: Helping Writers Follow Their Dreams Through Information, Inspiration, and Encouragement!


The B2B Blogging Gig I Couldn't Refuse

Back in November, my good blogging friend, Brad Shorr, of Word Sell, Inc., offered me a gig I simply couldn't refuse. He invited me on board as co-author of The Whoa Factor, an SEO/SEM blog that Brad's been writing since 2006. It seemed his previous co-writer was leaving and he needed a replacement. Needless to say, I felt quite honored that Brad would want to share this fantastic gig with me and responded as any self-respecting blogger would: You bet I'd like to come on board as co-author of The Whoa Factor! When do I start? (or words to that effect).

Well, that day has come and gone and I've been happily blogging at TWF since early December, enjoying the challenge of spreading my wings in a somewhat different niche than I usually tackle, relishing the fascinating research, and loving the entire process of crafting the most helpful and informative posts about search engine marketing that I can.


The Whoa Factor: Company Blog of Award-Winning Whoast, Inc.

The Whoa Factor is owned by Whoast, Inc., an award-winning company which offers Professional SEO services and PPC management to many different types of businesses. Please take a moment to check out the above links to view the impressive awards won by Whoast and learn how this professional PPC management company can help you optimize your own website or blog and/or maximize the revenue earned on your pay-per-click advertising.

And, while you're at it, don't forget to check out The Whoa Factor if you're at all interested in search engine marketing strategies or would like to read about search engine optimization techniques that are presented with the non-technician in mind. Brad and I both do our best to provide the most dependable information and link to the most helpful SEO/SEM resources on the Internet.


Whoast's Prestigious PPC Competition Award from TOPSEOs.com

One thing I'd like to mention about Whoast's 2008 PPC Competition award from TOPSEOs.com, is that it resulted from a rigorous and highly competitive, year-long assessment, in which the company was judged on many factors, all of which are critical to PPC management.

Here's an excerpt from the press release which announced the company's win. It describes the rigorous process used to select the 10 winners:

To identify the winners of the PPC Competition, topseos.com carefully evaluates both the pay-per-click results generated and the tactics used by the top PPC management companies. Each qualified candidate in the competition is meticulously measured on several unique contest criteria throughout a twelve-month period. Along with overall customer satisfaction, candidates are also carefully evaluated on their depth of knowledge in PPC management and reporting methodology used.

Additionally, topseos.com also analyzes each candidate’s internal principles and discrete competitive advantages along with their core competences over four phases, with each phase equating to a quarter of a calendar year. Through this intense evaluation process, topseos.com is able to identify the premier PPC management companies that exemplify the most innovative marketing strategy, service and results.


Whoast's Baby: A Chip off the Old Block?

Now that you know a bit about Whoast, I'd like to share a recent accomplishment of its "baby," The Whoa Factor blog:

Recently, while busily working behind the scenes, quietly yet doggedly pursuing the best SEM and SEO info on the Web, I received a Google Alert informing me that, like Whoast (its parent company), The Whoa Factor had just been recognized as one of the "Best Blogs on the Net." I learned that TopRank CEO Lee Odden had included The Whoa Factor in his BIGLIST SEO Blog Reviews for February 2, 2009, thereby adding TWF to his BIGLIST of Search Marketing Blogs at TopRank Online Marketing. This was indeed an honor for both Brad and me, since Lee Odden has been sharing his considerable SEM/SEO expertise at TopRank since 2003.


My Second Honor at The Whoa Factor

Earlier today, I also learned from Brad that one of my Whoa Factor posts has received recognition from BtoB Magazine, a major Chicago-based publication (circulation 45,000) and business website focusing on marketing strategy. (Whoast is itself based in Chicago.) It seems that my post, Landing Pages: What Makes a Good One? has caught the eye of Tequia Burt, Senior Editor of BtoB, who has added it to the February 13th edition of the BtoB Blog Roundup,* making it one of its three Blog Posts of the Week. This is also quite an honor and actually a bit humbling, if the truth be told. As a relatively new SEM blogger, I must admit that I'm a trifle overwhelmed—but in a good way.


A Few Words of Thanks

I'd like to thank Brad for having enough faith in my ability to invite me on board at The Whoa Factor. I truly do consider it an honor to co-write this blog with a writer and business professional of Brad's caliber. And I'm equally honored to blog for a company with the fabulous reputation that Whoast has earned both through its fine work and its integrity. To the folks at Whoast I'd like to say Thanks for putting Brad in charge of The Whoa Factor—not because he's offered me this amazing gig (well, maybe partly), but (mainly) because he's the best individual for the job. (But, of course, you already knew that.) Thanks, too, for being a company I can be proud to blog for. And to Tequia Burt, Thanks for noticing my post and deeming it worthy of your BtoB Blog Roundup.


An Apology to My Writer's Notes Readers

Just thought I'd share my latest professional endeavor with all of you, along with my profuse apologies that my blogging here at Writer's Notes has decreased considerably of late. This hasn't been solely due to my blogging at The Whoa Factor but has been more the result of combining so many different writing, editing, and church-related administrative projects that there just aren't enough hours in the day to accomplish everything I'd like to do. So, please bear with me, as I attempt to better organize and balance my workload by choosing my gigs wisely and becoming more adept at working smarter, not harder.


Thanks so much for your patience!
Jeanne

*UPDATE (6/17/09): This is the permalink to my post's BtoB recognition page, which I just discovered today via Google search. The web page includes a short statement about my post, as well as links to the other two posts recognized that week


Did you enjoy this post? Have you ever taken on a pro blogging gig--or are you perhaps involved in one now? If so, we'd love to hear all about it. What niche was it in, what topic did it address, and how did things go for you with this particular gig (or how are they going)? If you've never had a paid blogging gig, would you like to try one? What do you think you'd like most about it--and what would you like least?



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Google Update in Progress

September 28th 2008 23:50


Have You Checked Your Google PR Lately?

If you haven't checked your Google Page Rank lately, now would be a good time to do it, because I've just learned that a Google update is in progress. (You'll find a link to a Google PR Checker Tool in my sidebar under Spotlight Posts.) Hopefully, your site's PR has increased with this update.


Writer's Notes Loses PR

Unfortunately, Writer's Notes' PR has decreased from PR 3 to PR 2--which causes me to speculate about whether the decrease could be related to a few sponsored posts I've written lately (after I'd refrained from writing sponsored posts for quite a while). It's always difficult to determine what Google's precise motivation is for cutting a site's PR, and it may be totally unrelated to the mere two sponsored reviews I've posted recently. Quite likely, it has more to do with my blog's decreasing Technorati ranking and authority and its relatively low Alexa ranking. (Though my Alexa ranking is actually improving, it's not the best it's been since I began blogging in early 2007.)


What's Your New PR?

If you don't already have a PR widget on your blog to alert you to fluctuations in your site's PR, why not use the PR checker tool I've placed on my blog for your convenience--or any one of many others that are available online--and find out your blog's latest PR. You may just be pleasantly surprised!


Hope your PR has skyrocketed!
Jeanne


Did you enjoy this post? Were you aware that a Google PR Update is in progress before reading this post? Have any thoughts about the Google PR update process? Any great news to share about your new PR? I'd love to hear it!



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Google PR Surprise

Just noticed that Google has increased Writer's Notes' Page Rank from PR 2 to PR 3! That's good news! Ever since I first achieved PR 3 at the end of October, 2007 (see Google Page Rank--at Last!), only to lose it again about a month later, I've been waiting (rather impatiently) to gain it back.


Initial PR Loss

At the time, (i.e., during the notorious 2007 Google PR fiasco, er, update, during which the Big G stripped an unprecedented number of blogs of Page Rank and lowered the PR of many others), Writer's Notes' PR dropped to 0--a major disappointment! I didn't blog about my lost PR at the time; I guess it was too painful to talk about. Instead, I quietly removed my PR widget from my sidebar and left it at that. I had, however written a post related to this topic shortly before losing my own PR. Do Paid Posts Equal Link-Selling? The Latest PR Dilemma for Bloggers was my response to the PR other bloggers were losing. When my own hard-won PR unceremoniously dove to 0, I all but discounted Google as a viable blog ranking source, though I had little choice but to accept its proclamation. And there things sat, until early May.


My First PR Surprise

I suddenly noticed, one fine day in May, that I had Google PR once again--PR 2, in fact. Since many of you already know this story, I'll spare you the details and refer anyone who doesn't to my post, Has Your Google PR Changed Since the Last Update? Find Out! (You'll also be able to check your own PR by using the PR-checker tool found in this post--that is, if you don't already have a widget which automatically updates your PR whenever it changes.) The most interesting thing to me about this unexpected PR increase was that it occurred between Google updates--which, at the time, I wasn't aware could happen.*


Repeat Performance

Well, it's happened again: my PR has increased between Google updates.* I've finally regained the PR 3 I lost eight months ago (which had taken me nine months to achieve in the first place)--and interestingly enough, it's happened less than three months after the first increase (to PR 2). Now that I can live with! And hopefully the only way I can go from here is up!


What's Your Google PR?

If you haven't checked your blog's PR lately, now might be a good time to check it. The handy tool I've mentioned above will make that very easy to do. I've also placed a link to the Google Page Rank Checker Tool in my (left) sidebar under Spotlight Posts. That way, you'll be able to access it anytime you'd like to check your blog's PR.

Why not check it, now? Maybe you, too, will be in for a pleasant surprise!


To ever-increasing Page Rank!
Jeanne



*I now realize that I'm likely wrong about this, since, at least this time around I know that a number of other bloggers also received PR increases. That would seem to indicate that these were actually Google updates that I just didn't realize were happening--which makes a lot more sense than the idea that my blog's PR increased without an official update occurring.



Did you enjoy this post? Learn anything? Have anything to teach or share with us about Google PR? We'd love to hear from you!



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