(Putting the 30-day challenge into practical use – Part 2)

On my previous post, I highlighted some of the methods I used to get top search engine rankings for What Sells Online! In How to Generate Ideas on What To Sell Online, I revealed some of the ways to get ideas for potential niche keywords. Finally, in Putting the 30 day challenge into practical use – Part 1, I discussed some ways anyone can use to nail down several niche keywords they could work on.

Now that you have your list of niche keywords, here’s what you need to do next:

• Use niche keywords to write good content
• Post your content on a Web 2.0 site or blog
• Search for relevant affiliate products to promote
• Get your niche blog listed on top of search engine results
• Other methods to draw traffic to your niche blog

a. Using niche keywords to write content

When search engine spiders comb through a website, they identify optimized keywords used on the site to be used for search engine listing and ranking purposes. You need to optimize your keyword or keyphrase by inserting it in:

• The TITLE of your blog post
• The first paragraph
• The last paragraph
• Anywhere else in your post deemed necessary

Try to keep keyword density less than 5%, throughout your post. Too many optimized keywords and the search engines will classify you as spam.

How exactly do you optimize your keyword?

• Bold the keyword
• Have the optimized keyword as part of your topic header
• Italicize the keyword
• Link the keyword to another blog post or an external site

b. Where do you get content for your blog post?

It really helps when you have experience, knowledge and some skill in the topic you are blogging about. However, knowledge can also be gained by reading books, other people’s blog posts or articles from the internet.

If you personally know someone who is an expert in your topic, you could also obtain first-hand knowledge from this person through an interview.

Run a search with keywords similar to your niche keyword and review the content in the websites listed. Some of the article distribution sites such as Ezinearticles.com, GoArticles.com or Amazines.com contain pretty good articles which you can use for content reference.

Does this mean that you can’t build a niche blog if you don’t write well?

Well, the truth is, being able to write quickly and concisely certainly would help in being an Internet marketer. After all, you get to save costs and express yourself more openly with your own style and content. However, blogs need not be written in a flamboyant manner. Many personal blogs are written with a personal touch, often filled with the author’s local lingo.

Nevertheless, freelance ghost writers can be hired from outsourcing sites such as Elance.com and Guru.com, to help write for you.

c. What are some FREE Web 2.0 sites you can use to build your blog?

• Blogspot.com – I’ve found that this popular free blog site receives favor from Google. My blogs built using Blogspot tend to list fairly quickly on search engine listings.

• Wordpress.com – Many more serious bloggers use Wordpress for their personal blogs. Of course, bloggers who use their own domain names or require a higher storage volume would have to pay for these additional services. Download the How to create Money Making Niche Sites with Wordpress, a detailed Wordpress blog setup guide.

• Tumblr.com – Featured on the Thirty Day Challenge, this site is very easy to use and easy to start with.

Also, read 40+ Free Blog Hosts for a list of other blog sites you can use to host your blog.

d. Finally, 4 must-have SEO elements for a niche product blog

• Outbound links with high authority sites

Search engines seem to place an importance to outbound links when they rank sites. Also, who your blog links to is also important in affecting your ranking. Read Do Outbound Links Matter for SEO (and more) for more information.

• Optimized keyword in blog URL

Use your optimized keyword in the blog of your URL. For instance, if your blog is about sport fishing, you may want to register your blog as http://sport-fishing.blogspot.com or http://sportfishing.blogspot.com. In any case, don’t overdo it with the dashes on the URL, as explained in Top 16 SEO Tips from a Yahoo Insider post.

• Internal links

Internal links help search engine spiders move through the posts in your blog. This is important when you want your website to be spidered properly. With this, sitemaps are also essential for the same reason.

• Unique content

Although your content does not need to be top notch, it DOES need to answer the questions people are asking when they searched with your niche keyword.

Otherwise, you’ll have a high bounce rate and visitors will leave your site after a brief glance. This won’t do if you are trying to market affiliate products with your blog.

Coming soon: How to find the right affiliate products to promote on your niche blog?