As bloggers, we always want our blog to be visible to search engines. I’m sure you have implemented some Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategies for your blog in the past.

However, there’s another way of making your blog more accessible to your target audience and that is through submission to web directories. Like the yellow pages, a web directory allows readers to browse through a list of websites listed under different categories. If you are listed in famous directories then your chances of being found is higher compared to those who did not have their blogs listed.

You should be careful in choosing the right category for your blog though. You cannot just randomly select the category. You should be listed in the category of your niche. This way, people who are searching for websites on your niche will easily find you.

The advantage of a web directory over a search engine is that they don’t rely heavily on deep linking. The link given is the link to the homepage of the website. This makes searching easier and the result more targeted.

There are a lot of user friendly and free directories for you to submit your blog. One of the most common directories is Yahoo! Directory. It’s a reliable web directory and and since it’s Yahoo! you can expect it to have thousands of visitors a day. Best of all, it’s free.

Another free web directory is the DMOZ Open Directory Project . It’s like the Wikipedia of websites. It is constructed and maintained by a global community of volunteer editors. Google, AltaVista, and AOL Search are some of the search engines using the Open Directory Project. It claims to be the “largest, most comprehensive human-edited directory of the Web.”

Increasing traffic is what we bloggers want therefore we should make use of available venues where we can promote our blogs. We should always seek for more ways to attract more readers and subscribers. Submitting your blog to free web directory will be a big help in achieving this.

(This is a guest post from Eli of Business Sphere. Visit his blog for more business advice.)

Since many blogs just decay and eventually die, and since everyday there are some 175,000 blogs being born, how do you make your blog competitive and stay longer in the blogosphere?

There are six secret ways to make your blog competitive and strong:

1. Specialize. Don’t be content of posting unrelated topics, from travel to photography to food, to Twitter to Facebook to Google Adsense, to the latest celebrity gossips and what have you. I have seen many blogs which are like these, and the owners are wondering why they have no or little traffic and why their ads produce very little revenues. (represented by cost per click or cost per thousand impressions).

Specialize by create your niche. Once you have created a niche for your blog, don’t forget to let your readers and subscribers understand the difference between what you and the competition are offering.

2. Provide quality content posts as perceived by the readers. The quality of your articles is what the readers say it is, and not how you perceive it to be. You may believe that your blog and your posts are the best there are in the blogosphere, but if the people are not reading, then what’s the use?

3. Link up. A good blog has linkages or links with blog directories. The reason is obvious. A blog directory functions like a telephone directory. If your blog is not listed there, chances are people don’t have any idea that you exist.

4. Be unique. Being unique means your blog has distinct qualities that make it stands out from all other blogs. It also means your blog looks different because of its special characteristics. In short, don’t copy the layout of many blogs which look like Christmas trees with ads all around in different shapes and colors, which even results to very slow loading.

5. Be close to your readers. Listen to your readers’ comments and feedbacks, and acting on what you hear. Without the readers your blog has no reason for existence.

6. Become reader-focused. Blog for your readers. It’s your readers who provide you with the traffic, generate your ads revenue by their clicking and reading your ads, and by buying your online store, if you have one.

Implementing these six secret ways, which are actually management and business principles in practice, can make your blog survive and become successful in the blog marketplace.

I know there are probably thousands of blogs out there which talked about blogging and how it should be done. Well, I was contacted by a person interested in blogging and asked me how much I charge for tutorial.

What a great opportunity to earn extra cash! But then on second thoughts, blogging is so easy and you don’t need to pay to learn blogging. I provided that person some pointers but if he still needs my services, I’d be very willing to provide it. It’s another raket in the making.

For would be bloggers, here are some unsolicited advice from a not so new, but not yet veteran blogger.

You have to be passionate about blogging

Why do you want to blog? This should be the first question to ask yourself. If it’s for a reason, you must be passionate about it. Blogging is fun only if your heart is into it.

Choose the platform that’s right for your needs

The platform to use and the topics on your blog will depend largely on why you want to blog in the first place. If it’s just for personal interest then there are several blogging platforms out there which are free like WordPress.com or Blogger.com.

However, if you want to earn from your blog, then it is advisable to get your own domain. Most paid post sites only accept those with their own domain names.  So if you’re planning to do some paid reviews, better have your own self-hosted blog.

Having your own self-hosted blog will cost you a little since you’ll have to pay for your domain name and web hosting. Some web hosting companies offer domain name for free if your blog will be hosted by them. Check out web hosting sites for comparison of services. The ratings from bloggers are also very useful in order for you to determine which one has a better offer.

I started with free hosted site WordPress and since my needs and wants changed over time, I migrated to self hosted blog. It’s important to get all the information you can n web hosts especially the after sales service. You don’t want your blog to go offline most of the time, do?

Be prepared for criticisms

You can not please everybody so be prepared for those who don’t agree with you. If you don’t want to be criticized then you should have made a diary intead. At the other end of it, there are those which have teh same interests are you. These people will provide you inspiration and by intearcting with them, you can learn from them as well.

I’m still a neophyte by most blogger’s standards but I’d like tothink that in blogging, there’s no neophyte nor veteran. As long as you love blogging and continue to give value to other people then you are an asset to the blogging community.

photo credit: Foxtongue

My Adsense Story continues here. I finally got my first Adsense payout of $112.75 today. It’s a very small amount compared to what other bloggers earn and it took me 14 months to earn it while others did it for just a few months. But hey, I’m not complaining, times are tough so every cent counts.

I asked  my co-worker friend May to accompany me to the nearest Western Union since I was quite nervous. I had some bloopers since when I started filling out the form I realized I left my Adsense payment details at the office. Despite the glaring heat of the sun, we have to come back and get it.

On our return, May brought her camera so she can take a picture of me while claiming my money. But then, both of us were kinda shy. And we’re quite conspicuous since we were there for the second time. We joked that since they can see us through the CCTV, they would think our actions were quite dubious and somebody may just come in and handcuff us. We were exaggerating of course. Just for laughs.

I was just happy to share my blessings with my co-workers so I treated them with some chips and softdrinks.

To add insult to injury, our messenger jokingly asked,

Ngaa indi pizza day? (Why didn’t we have pizza instead?)

I told him,

‘Ok, I’ll buy you pizza tomorrow. Pizza-flavored Chippy.

Again, it’s the financial crisis. Beggars can’t be choosers. I’ll have to make double efforts with my rakets so that I can treat them to a real pizza next time.

Manny Pacquiao made history by defeating Oscar de la Hoya at the 8th round by TKO. It’s a dream come true for Manny Pacquiao. It’s not everyday that you win a fight with Oscar de la Hoya.

Knowing he doesn’t stand a chance with Pacquiao, De la Hoya refused to come out of his corner after the 8th round of the welterweight duel at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas. Quoting one commentator, Pacquiao “reconfigured” the pretty face of De la Hoya. Good thing his corner ended up the fight the way they did or De la Hoya would end up beaten to a pulp.

After this fight, who’s going to challenge Manny Pacquiao in the boxing ring? Will it be Ricky Hatton? Does this mean retirement for De la Hoya? Let’s wait and see.

Thanks to Justin.tv for the livestreaming.