The question to be answered is, "How do I get traffic to my website or  blog?" There are two schools of thought. The first is to pack your site  with keywords and then get as many back links as quick as possible. The  problem with that starts with keyword research.

Keyword research is a pain in the ass! Why? There is no concrete  answer given on what keywords are good, and not only that, there are so  many different tools to use that rank keywords differently.

Google Adwords keyword tool pays attention to the keywords profitability for them, not you. Too  many people, including myself, have at some point falsely believed the  results were real numbers based on actual searches.

Look at the difference between the results Google keyword tool and a service like Wordtracker gives. See a difference? Which also leads me to my next point, the cost of research.

If you are putting up niche sites trying to rank for a specific  keyword, you will definitely need to pay for a good keyword research  tool. Here's another kicker. Unless you know what you are doing, you may  spend time and money finding a keyword that isn't too competitive, but  yields zero sales. Yes, even after you get ranked on Google page 1. Been  there, done that!

I've spent over a year trying to perfect what isn't perfectable. Is  that even a word? Unless you can recite the Google algorythms for  ranking, you can't tell me with any real certainty that I will be  ranked, let alone make any sales!

Blog Monetization Strategies - Conclusion 1

There are products out there that can help you in keyword research,  generating backlinks, social bookmarking, and submitting content, but  the truth is, very few of these are long term strategies. There are too  many factors, not the least of which is human psychology, that will keep  you from succeeding the way you really want to, when you are constantly  trying to hit the home run with a quick fix.

Let's face it. We want our blog to be on Google page 1 tomorrow  making us sales while we sleep. We are bombarded with shiny objects that  distract us from the direction we were going. We buy backlinks,  Facebook fan page templates, Twitter this and Twitter that. Soon  thereafter you realize you just lost two days worth of work trying to  figure out how to create a facebook fanpage app.

Don't misunderstand me, having a facebook presence is important, but  we are talking about monetizing our blog here. What I am about to  describe to you in the next paragraph, needs to be the focus until you  get your blog off the ground. Then and only then should you be adding  arms to your online presence like facebook.

Blog Monetization Strategies - Conclusion 2

This is something that I learned the hard way. I have purchased many  an information product, Warrior Special Offer, and more. Some were  awesome, some totally, and others I haven't even opened. Here is what I  learned.

The fact that I didn't understand the basics of on page SEO at the  very least, was extremely detrimental to my success. I didn't even  realize it. Let me give you an example. I have a blog that I have been  posting to with original content for over a year. I had some posts get  to Google page 1, but none really resulted in sales per se.

The posts I made, I then went and submitted to article directories.  I had the article submitter software and the spinner, and all that. I  had some success, but very few sales. Why? because even though I was at  the top of Google for certain phrases, it didn't translate into traffic,  or money.

I got frustrated! I quit for a while. Then one day I got online and  searched for a blog similar to mine in the same niche. I found one that  had an Alexa ranking in the low 100,000's. This is a pretty good score.  Mine? After all the articles and posts and social bookmarking, was  25,000,000! Pretty damn impressive huh?

I decided to look 'behind' his page at the page source information.  When I compared our sites, I realized something. His was clearly more  optimized than mine. I didn't have a META description for instance. I  know META descriptions don't boost SEO, but they do boost click through  rates, which increases your Alexa score.

If this sounds like Japanese to you, then you probably have the same  problem I did. I didn't know any better. Going back some years, this was  a common thing to do. Input META description and keywords in the HTML.   This stuff was basic until all the shiny objects started appearing and  the make money from home craze started.

I think people have simply forgotten basic SEO stuff and turned away  from learning stuff like HTML. Guess what guys?! The folks who know HTML  and CSS are selling you plugins and all kinds of stuff. They hold all  the cards because they have the knowledge, the lazy masses don't!

Here's what else I did that is stupid simple. I searched blogs in my  niche. I found ones that had some good back and forth feedback between  author and readers. I started commenting, and doing trackbacks. Yes, I was actually doing the 'hard' stuff most bloggers and site owners won't do.

I went to blog directories and submitted my blog. Why? Because they have high authority and I want  my blog linked to that. In less than a week, just by adding META  descriptions and keywords, commenting on blogs, and doing trackbacks, my  Alexa score is about to drop below 1 million. I jumped over 24,000,000  in one week by doing basic shit I should've been doing a long frickin  time ago!

Guess what else? I have real readers coming to my blog and leaving  comments. I am building relationships with people within my niche. Oh, I  forgot. Traffic! I am now getting around 100 unique visitor daily! I  know it isn't much, but momentum is rolling in my direction. Not long  ago I was lucky to get 100 unique visitors a month!

I know, my second conclusion was long winded, but it is an important  point to make. Go back old school and do the 'hard' stuff. Research your  niche. Start reading other people's blogs and comment. This gives you  backlinks, and starts a relationship.

Do like I did. Take some time and learn HTML for instance. Learn how  to manipulate your blog and tweak it. Then teach it to someone else. For  the average Joe, there really is no 'quick' way to monetize your blog.  Do the basics and learn something new.

It's an exciting world wide web out there!