Years ago (the mid 90s) when I was learning how to build websites I remember there was a lot to learn in order to get a website up and running. You had to know how to code html, manage a server and of course choose the best animated images.

Fast forward to today and things are completely different. In all honesty you could probably show a 5 year old how to setup their first website.

It’s really not that difficult with todays technology.

If you’re brand new to making money online or have been thinking about setting up your own website than now is the best time to do it. In fact it will take you less time to setup a site than it will to listen to Meat Loafs I’d Do Anything For Love.

So let’s get started.

How To Setup Your First Site Fast

The first two things you need for getting a website up and running is a domain name and web hosting.

If you are just getting started I recommend Bluehost for both. Yes, I get a commission from them if you signup through my link, but that’s not the reason I recommend them.

I myself have an account with them and they are great. I’ve never had a problem with their support and they make it really easy to signup. Plus when you signup you get a domain for free so it makes the process really simple.

On top of that you can host multiple sites under 1 account plus they have a great help center.

So let’s get started.

Step 1. Click here to go Bluehost and click the big green get started button.

Step 2. Come up with a new domain and enter it in the box. Make sure you type it without spelling errors (and include keywords based on your niche).

Step 3. Enter in your information. Choose your desired length for your hosting. You save a bit by signing up 2 years in advance. Enter credit card info and click “next”.

Step 4. Skip all their up sells on on the next page and click “complete”.

Step 5. Choose your password and then login.

Step 6. Once logged into BlueHost. Click on “cPanel” up top and scroll down to the header “Software/Services” and click on “WordPress”. If you are unfamiliar with WordPress, it is the software that a good majority of sites run on (including this site).

Step 7. Click the green “install” button and follow the directions. Congratulations, your site should be setup now.

Now it’s time to login to your WordPress installation and start adding some content and configuring your site the way you want it. At this point if you are unfamiliar with WordPress check out the help section here. You’ve already done the first 3 steps so just scroll down to step 4 titled “Setup WordPress”.

I decided to setup a new hosting account with Bluehost and setup a WordPress site before writing this post. From the time I went to their site and went through the order process until my site was online and ready to go was less than 5 minutes.

Next comes the fun part, adding content. However I’ll save that for another post.

Have any questions with getting your site setup with BlueHost? Ask your questions in the comments section below.

Yesterday I posted how I’ve started listening to marketing podcasts while I run and how that increased my running distance substantially.

As a follow up, I wanted to create a list of 5 marketing podcasts that I’m listening to that I’ve taken away some good solid information. They all are definitely worth listening to if you are interested in growing your affiliate marketing business.

These aren’t listed in any specific order and all have provided me with at least a nugget or two of great marketing ideas.

Make Money On The Internet Podcast

My friend Chris Guthrie (also from Washington) podcasts just about once per month. While he doesn’t have a ton of episodes live he is definitely getting better with some quality content.

If you’re looking for ways to make money online outside of just the standard blog or niche website (although he does cover those as well), give Chris a listen.

Social Triggers Insider Podcast

Derek Halpern just started this podcast in January and only has 4 episodes up, but all are packed with solid information. If you have ever been on his blog you know that he is one smart guy and drops some knowledge bombs that will take your business from pennies to Bentleys.

I definitely recommend anyone who has a website, regardless of what it’s about check out the Social Triggers Insider podcast. It is definitely worth your time.

The Smart Passive Income Podcast

Pat Flynn of Smart Passive Income has been podcasting since July of 2010 and each of his episodes gets better and better. He is easy to listen to, often has some great guests, and has great content, especially for those just starting out in building niche sites and creating passive income online.

He’s a very likable guy and an easy listen with some excellent info covering topics like how to conduct a webinar, buy and sell websites, build traffic, and hire virtual assistants.

The Lifestyle Business Podcast

This is a newer podcast to me, but Ian and Dan have been podcasting for awhile and are living a pretty exciting life. You never know where they’re going to be podcasting from. I’ve heard them in the Phillippines, Thailand and the US (and it sounds like they’ve done episodes in a bunch of different countries).

They cover all kinds of topics on how to make an income without having to work for a boss as well as work from anywhere in the world. This is definitely a podcast I’m starting to go back through and listen to older episodes (especially since they aren’t that long).

Inside Internet Marketing

Daniel M. Clark has a number of podcasts, and his Inside Internet Marketing is a great look inside the Internet marketing (mainly affiliate marketing) community. Each podcast he interviews experts in the industry who discuss a wide range of topics.

It’s always an interesting listen and definitely worth your time if you are in the affiliate marketing space.

What’s your favorite marketing podcast?

Today is Monday, my favorite day of the week for sure. Why exactly? Well, I get to go back to working on projects that I absolutely love. My feelings on Mondays have definitely changed since I was stuck in a cubicle working on projects that didn’t interest me years ago.

Anyways, I wanted to share with you something that I discovered this past week that has changed me for the better and apply it to the question, “What should I be doing in my affiliate marketing business?”

Running Just Got Better

Over the years I’ve dabbled a bit in running. While I’ve never run a race (although I’m signed up to run a half-marathon in June), I’ve ran short distances off and on.

Honestly there are times I enjoy it, but most of the time I get bored. I put on my headphones, turn on some tunes and hit the pavement. Within 15 minutes my mind just gets tired of it so I quit.

I just figured I wasn’t in that great of running shape so I didn’t push myself.

Running for the most part was boring.

Then I remembered back in my college days going to the gym and jumping on the treadmill during March madness. I’d watch a game and run the entire first half as I was preoccupied with watching some college basketball. The second half I’d get on a stationary bike and watch the rest of the game if it was good enough.

It didn’t feel like exercise, it felt more like watching a game.

While I prefer to run outside, I took that principle I learned years ago and tried something new last week when running. Instead of music, I downloaded some marketing podcasts and put them on while I ran.

Wow, my first run was 3 miles and it felt like a warmup as I was so engulfed in the podcast. Friday I ended up running 4.3 miles and Sunday I ran 6.1. All 3 were probably my longest runs in over a year and my pace was a 8:30 mile.

At the end of the run I didn’t feel like I did when listening to music. I was learning and felt amazing. Honestly I could have ran longer.

In my years of running this is the first time I absolutely loved running over 5 miles.

I found what works for me. Listening to business podcasts while running.

If you were to ask other runners, they might prefer music or even just silence. I even have a friend who loves running and listening to comedians.

While there are many different ways people prefer to run, I tried a few and found what I like best and gets me the best results. I don’t have to do it the same way as everyone else (although I’m sure a lot of people listen to podcasts on the run).

What Does Running Have To Do With Marketing?

One of the big questions I get asked from people just starting out in online marketing is what should I do? Should I build a blog or a niche site? Should I run social, PPC, or mobile ads? Should I monetize with adsense or Amazon?

My answer is usually simply do what works for you.

Now for beginners I’ll point them in a direction of their passion. What is it that you love to do? Start there and build out a site around what excites you and don’t sweat the small stuff.

It’s like me and running. Before I found out what works I put on my shoes and started running. Each time I did I started tweaking things until I found what works best for me.

Once you get your first site up, then and only then, start testing the waters. Try some PPC, try some mobile or social. Find what makes you excited to work every day and do it.

Don’t just sit there and continue running if you don’t like it. Keep trying new things until you discover what makes you energized to wake up Monday morning and rush to your computer to start working.

As for me, I can’t wait until my next run. I also am excited to be working on some really cool projects this week in my business.

What energizes you?

Wow, it has been over 2 months (almost 3) since I’ve blogged on LoganThompson.me and I’m back. Were exactly have I been you ask?

Well, working on my business.

I’ve been working with my team on building up multiple new websites, buying websites, selling websites, launching mobile affiliate campaigns, launching social media campaigns, testing a plethora (yes, that’s one my favorite words) of SEO tools and services, and spending a lot of time working out (one of the benefits of earning passive income).

Since black Friday my business has grown quite a bit, plus I’ve lost over 20 pounds and am getting stronger day by day (working out with a personal trainer 3 times per week). To me the affiliate lifestyle isn’t about working 16+ hour  days, that’s just ridiculous and I feel bad for people who live like that.

If you follow Ad Hustler on Twitter, he tweeted a great quote yesterday that sums up my philosophy on working.

That’s why I love passive income. In fact some of my highest profit days I am no where near a computer.

So I’ve decided to take my blog in a new direction. Up until now I’ve just posted every now and then when something has been on my mind. I now plan on taking the knowledge that I have and helping others earn passive income online. In fact it’s not that difficult to do, it just takes time and a willingness to learn.

Unlike a lot of bloggers out there I don’t have an agenda. I’m not trying to pitch you on a 12 step system for making a billion dollars in 7 days. I’m here to help you out.

What Do You Want To Learn?

Is there something related to Internet marketing that you are wanting to learn? Just send me an email or write in the comments below and I’ll make sure to cover it on my blog.

Also make sure to follow my new Facebook page with updates and tips.

Best of luck!

Last week my wife and I just got back from a vacation in Maui which definitely was a much needed break from the internet hustle. In fact while I was there I did absolutely zero work, which for those that know me is like a week in rehab.

While there much of our time was spent sitting on the beach doing nothing at all other than reading a book or watching the waves roll into the warm sand in front of us. Quite a bit of time I was able to spend time thinking about my business instead of working in it.

So often I get so caught up in working in my business that I don’t take the time out, unplug, and really think deeply about where I am going and what I’m doing to reach my long term goals. If you haven’t taken a few days off away from your computer and cell phone for awhile, I highly suggest you do. It is amazing what I’ve learned and thought of in the week away from my business.

Lessons From a Menu Guy

One night while in Maui we decided to head into Lahaina to shop a bit and grab some dinner. We walked past a guy standing in front of a restaurant holding a menu. Obviously he was working for the restaurant to lure tourists in to eat whatever they had to offer. While walking by I was waiting to get the sales pitch, but instead, he just looked at me, we both smiled, and then we walked past without him saying a word to us.

I thought maybe he didn’t work there or possibly he was the shy type. A few hours later we were walking on the other side of the street and there he still was, standing in front of the restaurant holding the menu out not saying a word as people passed by.

We ended up going to a burger place that was right next door to where he was and the business man inside of me was happy when we were seated at a table on the balcony overlooking the sidewalk where this guy was “working”.

I watched hoping to see him in action. Obviously the guy was getting paid to be there so what was his angle? In the hour or so we were there I watched closely and counted a few hundred people walking by and only 1 person he talked to. From the looks of the conversation and some pointing, that person had just asked for directions.

Every 1-3 minutes he’d reach in his pocket, pull out his phone and look at the time. He probably did that 20 times in an hour. He’d also study and read the menu making it look like he was busy. Between that he’d pace back and forth giving passers by a polite smile as they walked on by.

To someone walking on the sidewalk this guy looked like he was working. He was probably a busy guy.

From my point of view however, he did absolutely nothing to get people into the restaurant. I actually only saw 1 couple walk in and they didn’t even make eye contact with our menu friend.

So here is this guy making money by acting like he was busy, when in reality what he was doing didn’t help the bottom line of the business at all.

Are You The Menu Guy?

I started thinking about this guy and how sometimes I can relate to him. Obviously he wasn’t the most outgoing and probably just took the job for money so he could live in Maui and surf (he looked like he might be a good surfer).

He was doing everything he could to look busy, but no progress was made.

Do you ever find yourself in that position? I know I do. I check stats, keep my email open so I can delete or reply to emails as soon as they come in, check stats again, read another blog post, check stats again, check analytics, take a break, delete emails, chat on Skype, look through Flippa, and then check stats one more time.

It seems like I’m busy, but I’m not at all productive.

Busyness is not productivity. 

Sometimes you need to take a step back from your business and really take a look at how you are spending your time and how it is actually helping you if any. If your time is being wasted, change your plan.

If you’re too busy to stop and analyze your business and what you are doing day to day, you are most likely not as productive as you could be. You’re the menu guy.

How do you make sure you maintain good productivity in your business?

Whether you blog or just run your sites using WordPress, spam comments are a pain in the butt. Hopefully at the very least you are using the Akismet plugin to help keep your comment spam from overwhelming your site.

While Akismet it great I’m sure you still get quite a bit of bot generated comments filling up both your spam box as well as making it to your approval page.

On my craft beer blog, I was getting anywhere from 250-500 comments coming in everyday which was a bit frustrating. While most were caught, not all were so I was left cleaning comments daily.

I’ve been using WordPress for years and had no idea there was a feature to turn off comments after a certain number of days which has been a savior to my spam problems. After making the small change a few months ago, I maybe get 5-10 spam message a week, and those are pretty much all caught by Akismet now.

How To Turn Off Comments After A Set Number Of Days

It’s pretty simple to change. Just login to WordPress and follow these instructions.

1. Click on “Discussion” under Settings.
2. Check the box next to the text “Automatically close comments on articles older than ___ days.”
3. Set the number of days you want the comments to close after. I use 60 so people can still comment for up to 2 months after the post as been written.
4. Use your free time saved by not managing your spam box to start a new hobby.

What other tricks do you use to stop WordPress comment spam?

One topic that I haven’t discussed at all on my blog which I plan to quite a bit in the future is outsourcing. If you’re in the internet marketing space at all you should be using outsourcers as much as you can.

It’s so nice to have people working IN my business so I have the time to work ON my business. While I do outsource a few tasks to outsourcers on places such as oDesk and eLance, I much prefer to hire full time employees in the Philippines.

I pretty much outsource most of my writing (except for my blogs), SEO, link building, and web design tasks now so I can spend my time moving my business forward.

Why The Philippines?

In the past I’ve hired from other countries such as India and Bangladesh, and I quickly realized that I prefer to work with people in the Philippines the best for a few reasons.

1. They speak and write in English very well. Less communication gets lost in translation.
2. Their culture is a lot more similar to Western culture than other countries.
3. They tend to be hard workers and very loyal.
4. I’ve had more success working with Filipinos.

A Good Experience Starts In The Hiring Process

Over the past two years I’ve had some good success and some failures with hiring employees and realized the number 1 cause of a poor experience came down to my hiring process which I’ve since started to perfect.

While I just wanted to touch on it in this post, I’ll be writing another post in the future with my hiring process. However before you start interviewing potential candidates, you need to start getting some applicants.

Where To Find Your Filipino Employees

There are a few main places I’ve used that have worked well for getting qualified candidates.

OnlineJobs.ph

Most of my employees I’ve found through OnlineJobs.ph. It’s a paid service but you will find some great candidates. I’ve posted an ad on there and had over 100 candidates within 2 days.

Easy Outsource

I’m starting to like Easy Outsource more and more. I’ve noticed that a lot of candidates that I see on OnlineJobs.ph also list themselves and apply for jobs at Easy Outsource. The downside is that the system is setup in a way so that most job searchers can apply to multiple jobs with the click of a button, so they don’t tailor there cover letter to your job specifically. However you can find quite a lot of candidates, and best of all it’s FREE to use.

Craigslist

I’ve listed a few ads on Craigslist in the Philippines which got me quite a lot of resumes. I’d suggest posting your ad in Manilla and Davao City (although it might not hurt to try some of the other cities). Keep in mind that Manilla is a huge city so the cost of living is a bit more so you’ll be spending a little more on salaries.

BestJobs.ph

I’ve heard some great things about BestJobs.ph, but I’ve never used the site. I’ve heard that you have to be in the Philippines to use it, but I guess people have ways around it to find good employees.

Forums

A lot of marketing forums have sections for you to hire people for different tasks. Quite often you can find people who are looking for long term work. Check out Digitalpoint, WickedFire, Warrior Forums, Blackhat World, etc… and you can find some good talent.

Word of Mouth

Ask your current outsourcers or other people you know who have outsourcers if they know of any one. Any time I’ve asked my employees if they know of someone good that’s looking for work they always do. You can find some of your best employees just through word of mouth.

Questions

Do you have any questions on hiring? Ask them in the comments below. Look for more posts in the future on the hiring process, communication, and other outsourcing tips.

Are there any places I’m missing that you’d suggest looking?

I was sitting here thinking about what questions people ask me the most when I mention what I do for a living and the topic of blog monetization keeps coming up.

Many friends and random people I run into run blogs on a wide range of topics and they either ask me how to make money from it, or they simply state that blogs are great for receiving free stuff, but you can’t earn a living off of them.

While I would say a big majority of bloggers don’t know how to properly monetize their site, it can be done and it isn’t too difficult to earn $500-$5000 a month with an average blog.

So you want to make money with your blog?

The first step is to clean up your blog. While you might make a few bucks here and there filling up every free inch of your sidebars and footers with ads and links to products, all you are doing is distracting your readers and making it more difficult to make some decent cash.

Once you clean your act up, implement some of these 10 strategies and watch your income increase.

1. Make Sure You’re Passionate About Your Subject

Although this isn’t a direct way to make money, it is one of the most important pieces to being a successful blogger. Unless you are a full time marketer and know how to enter pretty much industry, stick with a topic you love. I write my craft beer blog because I absolutely love craft beer and it gets me excited.

If you aren’t excited about your subject, no one is going to want to read what you’re writing and that means no visitors. No visitors means no income.

To make money with your blog, you have to put a lot of time into it so make sure it doesn’t feel like work and stick to a topic you love.

Also make sure the topic isn’t too narrow as that could be tough to monetize. While a blog about chocolate candy could work, a blog about something as narrow as just Almond Joy might be a little too narrow to make money with.

2. Build Your Email List

If you want to build a long term asset, make sure you start building an email list for your blog as soon as possible. Look at your list as a marketing channel. You build it up and pretty soon you have fans of yours that obviously are interested in your content since they gave you their email address.

As your list grows you can monetize it in multiple ways. You can promote your products and services as well as new content to your readers. Maybe you find a great affiliate offer and you send out a quick email to your subscribers about it. As long as you make sure they remember you, you will be putting money in the bank.

A great tip for your email lists is to use them to ask readers what they want and what problems they have that you can solve. From that info you take it and build up more content for your site that solves your users problems (and it doesn’t hurt if you throw some affiliate links in the solution if applicable).

Your followers will love you as you are solving their problems and your visitors and income will increase. Cha ching!

For list management, I use Aweber which I really like, but you could use other services such as Constant Contact or MailChimp.

3. Real, Genuine Product & Service Reviews

Most bloggers at some point review a product or service. Either a company gives them a free sample, or to help their users stay informed.

Reviews are probably one of the single best ways to make money on your blog. You could put an affiliate link to a product in your sidebar, but I guarantee you if you write a review about the product, you will make at least 50 times more money with it.

Just make sure to follow these rules of making money off of reviews.

1. ALWAYS use an affiliate link.
   So many bloggers link to a product on a merchants website and don’t make a dime if someone clicks through and buys the product. Just because a company sends you a free product doesn’t mean you can’t sign up for their affiliate program. Include affiliate links throughout the review.
2. Be GENUINE
   People can sniff out fake reviews. Actually try out the product or service and give your honest opinion. I’ve had reviews that I wrote that weren’t so favorable still make decent money. People are looking for good information. Provide it to them and you’ll be rewarded.
3. Be Thorough
   Don’t just write a paragraph review. Go in depth. The more details you can give about a product, the less places your visitors will have to visit before they click through your affiliate link and buy it.
4. Do Your Keyword Research
   If you’re an internet marketer you should already know how to do this.  Basically you want to make sure your post is optimized best for search engines. Are people search for “Green Widget Review” of “Reviews of Green Widgets” more often in Google? Just head over to Google Keyword Tool and do your research. Check out this post on SEOmoz if you want to learn more on keyword research.

4. Paid Posts or Reviews

Offering paid posts or paid reviews can help generate some income fairly quickly, but make sure you are a bit cautious. Many bloggers generate $100-$500 pretty easily per post which can add up if you find enough interest.

One thing you need to make sure of is to not irritate your readers. While paid posts here are there are great, make sure not to let it make up the bulk of your posts.

Also make sure not to allow just anyone to buy posts. I don’t know how many times I get people trying to promote there gambling sites coming to my beer blog wanting to pay for a post. If it isn’t something your readers are going to be interested in, be cautious. With that said, you can earn some great money selling paid posts.

5. Banner Advertising

Another way a lot of bloggers monetize their blogs is through selling banners. Looking at blogs you will see a wide range of prices from $25 a month on up to $5000 a month for a spot depending on traffic.

Like paid posts, I suggest you limit the ads on your site. If there is a hundred ads on a site, the content won’t be the focus and your visitors won’t be sticking around long enough. If you don’t have any advertisers to start with, use Google Adsense or Chitika.

I use a WordPress plugin called OIO publisher to manage all of my advertisements. It makes managing everything from payments to setting up new ads pretty simple. I highly recommend it.

6. Promote Your Own Products

If you have your own products or services, whether it be a book or DVD, use your blog as a marketing channel for them. I’m not talking about doing a hard sell or anything like that. Use your blog as a way to connect with potential customers.

For example lets say you have a set of DVDs that teach people how to golf. Why not setup a blog that gives tips, techniques, reviews and videos and start giving away free content and building up your user base. Pretty soon people will be sharing your posts with their friends and you will get a following.

Now make sure people know about your Golf DVD’s with a few mentions in some of the posts, a link in your sidebar, and your about us page (which is usually one of the most popular pages on your blog).

If you don’t have a product to promote, create one. Write an ebook. Make t-shirts. Build some software. Create something that will generate a new income stream for you.

A great example of promoting your own products is Gary Vaynerchuk’s blog. See how he built his personal brand with his blog and promotes his books in the sidebar. People know and respect Gary because of his blog and speaking engagements so they will be more likely to buy his books.

7. Offer a Service or Consulting

Another great way to make some money is use your site as a tool to sell your services. Setup a page on your blog that describes your services and make sure to mention them from time to time in your posts (as well as link to it in your sidebar or header).

An example of this can be found at QAQN, a podcast site founded by Daniel Clark. Daniel knows what he’s doing when it comes to podcasting so he decided to take that knowledge and start a podcasting consulting service. Now instead of just having a podcast, he has created an additional revenue stream by offering his consulting services.

8. Book Speaking Gigs

A blog is a great way for people in your industry to get to know you. Why not start speaking at events if you aren’t already doing so. The more you do it the more you’ll start getting paid if you’re good.

I know many bloggers who make money getting speaking gigs because event organizers found out about them through their blog (take Seth Godin for example).

Make sure to create a speaking page on your blog listing previous speaking engagements and videos so people know you as a public speaker.

9. Sell Your Blog

Ok, this is a little different than the others, but there is some great money to be made selling blogs with traffic and readers. If you’re unsure of how to monetize your blog, just focus on producing great content and building up your traffic. The more quality traffic you have, the higher the price you will be able to get for your site.

If you run out of time to update your site, sell it quickly if you don’t plan on reviving it. People want to buy sites that have good fresh content.

I’d suggest listing your blog on Flippa if you’re looking to sell. Heck, just contact me and I might be interested in buying it.

10. Create Premium Content

If you have a lot of great content, why not create some “premium” content and turn your blog into a membership site. If you have a decent following and people trust your current content, it could become a huge revenue stream.

Just think if you could get 100 people to signup to a $30 a month membership section on your site offering premium content. That’s $3000 a month with only 100 people. Not bad.

It does take lots of work setting up a membership site, but it can definitely pay off.

Conclusion

These are just 10 ways to monetize. There are tons of other options I didn’t cover so I’m opening it up for conversation.

What are your favorite ways to monetize your blog?

Note: This is a guest post by Murray Newlands

In short, content monetization is the process of earning money through written content.

There are many methods to achieve this. You can earn money by either selling the content or by using internet-based writing activities. In the first method, potential buyers of your content can be anyone from news editors to artists to entertainment blogs. In the second method, you can use one of the hundreds of possibilities available through the internet that enables you to make money from something aside from the actual content. Examples of some of these opportunities are the use of AdSense, sales of consultation or advertising for a small business.

It’s important to know these different techniques if you want to enhance your writing and reach your readers’ expectations. In order to grab the attention of your readers, you need to deliver the content while keeping your specific audience’s specific interests in mind. You need to convey to your readers the main reason you are writing the piece.

There are many ways that you are able to monetize your content. When writing for a newspaper, for examples, you need to write articles in a manner that can attract the reader’s attention. You earn money though writing a compelling piece that editors of the specific paper want to pay you for one time. You also need to make it an interesting, engaging article for those who want to advertise in the paper, so that the paper can earn from business relations, readers, advertisers, etc.

If you are acting as an advertiser, you need to design the content according to the market—you need to make potential customers of your product or services know the qualities of your product. Your goal is to convince them to purchase your product or services.

If you want to sell your business ideas, you need to focus the content of the ideas. This enables your customers to see your ideas over and over and to get accustomed to them. And If you own a website, you can significantly raise your website’s income by advertising with the help of marketing tools such as Google’s AdSense, paid posts and link insertion.

But perhaps you are a blogger that doesn’t make much money from your website. Who says you shouldn’t earn money from your labor? What’s wrong with making money while working on your hobby? If you want to boost your blogging income, you can use link insertion as a simple tool for content monetization of your blog. All you have to do is to insert some java script code in your site and this can monetize your site automatically. The software will use words and phrases from blogs and use them to link it to relevant advertisers.

An excellent tool for advertising is INTENTclick, which provides an alternative basis for your content monetization. This tool is especially useful for content, which are for advertisement of products or services in origin. You can find more details about these helpful internet advertisement techniques in the book “Content Monetization.”

So all said and done, content monetization really does matter, as it can be a great source of revenue for your website. Using the correct tools can help you reach optimization and make the most amount of money without upsetting your readers.

Disclosure: I am working for the company INTENTclick.

I’ve been spending a ton of time lately working on SEO. It seems like I’ve spent countless hours going over ever piece of my sites, building tons of backlinks, and constantly thinking of how I can improve my search results.

One thing I’ve learned since all my sites are built on WordPress, is that having a good framework is essential to ranking your sites quickly.

Over the years I’ve bought just about every paid theme available, with some claiming to be the best SEO WordPress theme around. While I’ve had success with multiple themes, the one that I use on pretty much all my sites (including my blog) is Thesis.

Why I Love The Thesis Theme

Out of the box it is a solid framework for SEO. I don’t have to worry about H1 tags and adding SEO plugins, it does all that for me.

For awhile I was running the All In One SEO plugin along with it until I realized it really isn’t needed. Thesis has it built in. The only plugin I really use is Google XML Sitemap.

The main reason I like it though is that it has increased my rankings time and again on multiple sites I own.

Case Study – Why I Think Thesis Is The Best SEO Theme For WordPress

Ok, so let me show you a recent example of the importance your theme is to your SEO.

Earlier this week I was browsing through my domains and came across a site that I put up about a year ago that was collecting dust. I didn’t build many links into the site so it was just sitting around in lala land using the Socrates theme.

Looking at my rankings tracker, the main keyword for the site was hovering around a rank of 40-50 in Google. Not great.

So I decided to try an experiment and the only thing I changed on the site was the theme. All the content and images were left exactly in place and all I did was change the theme to Thesis and changed a few colors.

I made the change on September 1st (which took just a couple of minutes) and moved on. I actually forgot I changed it up until yesterday.

I pulled up my rank tracker and now the site which was ranking between 40-50 for the past year was up to 14 5 (with no new backlinks, just a new theme).

You can take a look at the graph below to see how the rankings increased. Pretty incredible if you ask me.

I use Rank Tracker on all my sites to track my search rankings. I highly recommend it.

Obviously this isn’t the most competitive keyword in the world, but still, your theme for WordPress has quite a bit to do with your search ranking, especially if it’s producing crappy code.

Now my next step will be building in some back links to the site and adding a bit more content.

If you’re looking for great WordPress theme framework, go check out the Thesis Theme. I’m not saying it’s the only theme to use, but it’s the only one I use now.

Just make sure your theme is helping your rankings and not hurting them.

What theme do you think is the best SEO WordPress theme?

UPDATE: A few days after writing this post this site moved into the 5th position on Google (still haven’t built any links into it).