I’ve found that blogs are very easy sites to get traffic for. There are a ton of blog directories and search engines that simply provide links to blog rss feeds. They show when a blog has been updated and usually show a headline. I’ve found this to be a very reliable way to get my site listed quickly on dozens of web sites.

This helps people find me, it also helps the search engines find me and boosts up my ranking a bit. You really can’t loose by creating a blog and getting in listed in other blog directories.

You want to create your blog and spend some time updating it before you submit your site. You want to post a few articles so people who review your site can verify the quality of the site. You can also do some things like pick a nice template, add a few links, etc. to make your site look more sophisticated. If you have an ugly blog with no articles, you may not be listed in the blog
directories. So make sure you put a bit of effort into your site before submitting it.

When you submit your web site most directories want you to provide the page directly to your RSS feed. If you are using a service like blogger, typepad, or live journal, then they probably have a little XML icon on your page which links to your RSS feed. If you click on that icon you’ll see your RSS feed. Your RSS feed should look something like our RSS feed. Now go to the top of your web browser and copy that link.

Now where do you go to submit your site?

I went to DMOZ and Yahoo to lookup Blog Directories. Then I manually went to each directory and submitted my site. It takes a little while but once you get the hang of it, it is pretty easy. Some of the blog directories require you to link back to them. You may have to put a text link or button on your blog before they’ll list you.

If that seems like a lot of work, then here is a tip for you. My friend Josiah has been putting together a service that will automatically submit your blog to the top 50 blog directories and
search engines. His service is called RSS Directory Submission. For only $8.95 he’ll submit your blog to 50 different directories for you. That way you don’t have to waste 4 or more hours doing it by hand.

In short blogs are a good marketing tool because you can get yourself listed on hundreds of other sites pretty easily. This gives you traffic and also helps you in the search engine listings. However you want to do it, I suggest you get started today. Don’t wait for 6 months or a year before starting your BLOG because they might loose their popularity or the BLOG directories might make their submission requirements tougher. Once upon a time Yahoo was free to get listed on. Now it costs $299 for a listing. Don’t ket this happen to you with the BLOG directories.

- Ben
ben@benjaminfitts.com

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