Choosing your blog statistic tracker

Many Web analytics tools are available to bloggers. Some are provided free whereas others have a cost. Take some time to research the various Web analytics providers to find the one that offers you the functionality you want at the price you’re willing to pay.

Most Web analytics tools integrate with your blog through a simple copy-andpaste procedure. You register for an account, enter information about your blog, and a snippet of code automatically generates that you copy and paste into a new HTML/JavaScript gadget on your blog.

It’s a simple process but one that helps your blog to grow immensely. Several free Web analytics tools provide sufficient data and functionality for typical bloggers. Following is an introduction to several popular Web analytics providers that offer a variety of free blog statistic tracking services.

Google Analytics

Google Analytics integrates seamlessly with Google Blogger, as you’d expect. It’s considered one of the best blog statistic trackers because it provides comprehensive information to users at no charge. You can create custom reports and even track advertising and promotional campaigns.

StatCounter

StatCounter delivers basic blog statistics to users for free. However, the free version of StatCounter displays only the last 100 visitors to your blog in its statistics. This may or may not be adequate for you depending on your goals for your blog and the level of tracking detail you want. StatCounter also offers a package that delivers additional data and functionality for a fee.

FreeStats

FreeStats provides a variety of reports for bloggers to analyze their blog traffic patterns. As the name implies, FreeStats is available for free.

SiteMeter

SiteMeter offers a basic amount of blog statistics for free, but only displays information about the last 100 visitors to your blog (similar to StatCounter). Depending on your requirements, this might not be enough for you. SiteMeter also offers a package that provides more information and data for a fee. Some of the blog statistic trackers and tools available to you online are not compatible with blogs hosted through Blogger (meaning they have a Blogspot extension in the URL). Hosting your blog on a third-party server gives you

maximum control and provides access to the widest array of blogging tools, including blog statistic trackers. You can read more about third-party blog hosting.

The Web analytics tool you choose is entirely up to you. In fact, you might want to test the free versions from multiple providers to compare their offerings and find the one that works best for you. If you require more robust statistics, you might want to consider upgrading to a package that provides more features and functionality for a fee. However, most bloggers find the free tools adequate.

How to Manage Blogger Dashboard

From your Blogger dashboard, you can access all the controls for your blog, just like the tools to drive your car are located on your car’s dashboard. The primary elements of the main Blogger dashboard are described in this list:

Manage Your Blogs: This section lists your existing blogs with links to each one, where you can write new posts, change the blog’s settings, revise the blog’s layout, or even view the blog live online. Each of these options is discussed in detail later in this chapter. You can also click the Create a Blog link to start another blog that is then added to the Manage Your Blogs section of the dashboard.

Blogs of Note: The latest entries from Blogger blogs that you sign up to follow (select the Add button to add blogs you like), the Blogger Buzz blog, and blogs of note according to Blogger appear in the Reading List section of your dashboard so that you can easily see the latest updates and news of interest to you.

View Profile, Edit Profile, and Edit Photo: These links open your About page, where you can review and revise your bio that appears on your blog. Profiles are discussed in detail.

My Account: This link opens your personal account page, where you can modify your account information, such as your e-mail address and password.

Mobile Devices: Follow the link in this area to begin mobile blogging. Multimedia blogging is covered in depth Tools and Resources: You can access your Google AdSense and Google Reader accounts directly from the Blogger dashboard. Read more about Google Reader and about Google AdSense.

Help Resources: The online Help function for Blogger is quite useful. Google Groups dedicated to providing help to Blogger users also exist, which you can access by clicking the links in the Help Resources section of the Blogger dashboard. You can also access help by clicking the link in the Manage Your Blogs section or the link in the upper-right corner of any Blogger account page. You can also access the controls available from the Blogger dashboard from tabs displayed as a navigation bar along the top of any Blogger page.

How to Publish on your blog

Each entry that you write and publish on your blog is a post. Posts are arranged in reverse chronological order, starting with the most recent post at the top of your blog’s home page. Older posts are archived (typically by date), so they’re easily accessible by readers. Your posts are the lifeblood of your blog. They not only take up the majority of the space on your blog but also help visitors find your blog. They’re also the reason people return to your blog. If you continually update your blog with fresh posts, readers always have something new to see and read. If your visitors like what you have to say, enjoy your writing style, and feel welcome (for example, they feel comfortable leaving comments, which you respond to in a timely and respectful manner), they return frequently. They’re also likely to tell other people about your blog and link to it from their own blog (if they have one), leading to more traffic for you. Blog posts are made up of these six basic elements

Title: The titles of your blog posts serve two purposes. They entice visitors to read the full post, and well-written post titles help people find your blog from keyword searches on search engines such as Google.

Post date: The date you publish your post to the Internet appears as part of your blog post entry. The date is important to visitors who like to see that a blog is updated frequently. It can also help when someone stumbles on one of your old posts by showing them when the post was originally published

Author byline: The author byline is particularly helpful for blogs written by multiple people. The author byline can link to your About page or profile to provide one-click access to your bio for readers.

Images or videos: Images and videos provide visual appeal, as well as interactivity, to a blog. They can further demonstrate a point you make in a post and when named well, can help with search engine optimization.

Backlinks: Backlinks provide a virtual shoulder tap to other blogs and Web sites that you link to in your blog posts. They also provide a way for readers to find more information about a topic discussed in your blog post.

Comments: Comments are the pulse of a blog. When readers leave comments on your blog posts, conversations start that can be especially powerful. Highly interactive blogs are typically quite successful.

Making money from your blog or Website

Many people start blogging for one reason — to make money. If you’re one of those bloggers whose ultimate goal is to earn money from your blog, you should know upfront that generating a profit takes time. As your blog traffic grows, the opportunities for you to make money will also grow. Think of your blog as a business. If customers don’t come through the door, you won’t make any money. The same is true of earning potential on a blog. If visitors don’t come to your blog, no one can click on your existing ads.

Furthermore, new advertisers won’t want to pay to advertise on your blog because no one will see their ads. Start your blog now, but be patient. As you drive traffic to your blog, more revenue-generating opportunities will arise. In the meantime, earn from blog monetization options and start putting together a plan that you can implement as your blog traffic increases

Realizing the pros and cons of blogging

Your words can live online for a long time. When you publish something on your blog, anyone with Internet access can see it. If you enable comments on your blog, people all over the world can also respond to what you publish, and you might not like what they have to say. Those are just two of the drawbacks of blogging.

Blogging can be a double-edged sword. On one hand, it gives you the opportunity to share your opinions with others and find like-minded people to network with. On the other hand, it exposes you personally to the world. Of course, finding personal information about almost anyone through simple online searches is fairly easy these days, so trying to remain anonymous online is difficult. That’s why it’s important to be mindful of what you publish online, because you never know who might be reading it now or in the future.

For example, that picture of you and your coworkers partying in the boss’s office that you publish on your blog today could be found by a future hiring manager five years from now when you’re looking for a new job. Be careful what you publish on your blog. What you publish today can still be found through online searches in the future, and you never know who might be looking.

Blogging can also bring new opportunities to you. As your online presence grows and people within and outside the blogosphere get to know who you are, it’s quite possible that new career, volunteer, or interview requests might come your way. However, each of these opportunities brings its own set of pros and cons in terms of the amount of time they require compared to the rewards they bring.

One of the best parts of blogging is developing relationships with your readers and other bloggers. It’s possible to connect with people through your blogging efforts who could have a big impact in your personal life or your career.