Ash Buckles

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Writing is a huge part of blogging but keeping motivated is a lost cause. Looking through several websites for tips on how to beat writers block and best websites for writers, we see so many repetitive ideas we already know. Just this week we heard from ProBlogger on this same issue, less than 24 hours after I started this draft.

On StumbleUpon, I’ve been finding some really cool sites that help to keep writing interesting and I decided to share them with you here.

One idea is http://www.writerhymes.com – It’s a little weird in it’s functionality but a cool idea that can help spark an idea. Once you figure out how the clicking works you’ll be greeted with several rhyming words to complete your sentence or poem.

Besides the pencil sharpener that reminds me of elementary school it gets you in a rhyming mood, which is fun and productive.

Another site is http://www.writesomething.net – This site is great for keeping you writing even when you have nothing to say. You can read short posts from others and roll with the words without having “your” story in mind.

Keep in mind that this site seems to be an experiment in social community and technology and not so much a true writing resource. However, don’t let this keep you from finding the inspiration you need to unblock your mind.

The next site is http://oneword.com – This is my favorite so far because it gives you one word and 60 seconds to write your most interesting piece. It’s like that lame exercise in English class where your teacher asks you to write for two minutes straight without stopping; even if you can’t write intelligible sentences. Yeah, that one. But what’s great about it for writing is that you can’t out-think your writing and keep yourself from getting going again.

Something else I’ve found to be interesting, right or wrong, is to write a post and save it as a draft. After a few days, re-write the post without referencing your first draft and see if you have anything new to say. This has worked well for me in remembering to add everything I intended as well as ensuring that I’ve completed my thoughts.

Whatever you decide, find something that works for now and forget about it. Then next time, find something for that moment and work with it. The rut we get into comes from trying to force writing and doing so in a direction that we think it should go.

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The purpose of XML Sitemaps is to make sure the search engines know about every page you intend to have indexed as well as helping to set a preference on how frequently they should re-index each page based on your activity. For example: your home page may be updated each morning but your category pages may be updated approximately each month.

Keep in mind that XML Sitemaps are still missing from most websites and gives you a slight advantage over your competition; and when it comes to SEO you want every slight advantage you can find.

Your XML Sitemap should include every page you’d like to have indexed, up to 50,000 urls, and you can have multiple XML Sitemaps for sites with more urls. You can build these XML files yourself or if your site is smallish (500 urls or less) use a XML Sitemap Generator to make it easier for you.

You can also submit a Yahoo URL List in the format of one url per line in a text file named urllist.txt. Yahoo subscribes to XML Sitemaps so this isn’t necessary but doesn’t hurt either.

Your rankings will increase with every valuable SEO technique you use and XML Sitemaps are another way to ensure you get each of your pages indexed properly in the search engines. Because this file is hidden from view, it’s often forgot about by your competitors and is a great, simple way to give your site a little extra push.

BTW: if you’re running Wordpress, you should install and configure the Google XML Sitemaps plugin.

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It’s been a couple weeks since I posted Ash the Keyword: An SEO Challenge and if you’ve been following my results in Google you noticed that my ranking for Ash slipped from #126, where I started on August 1, to #138 within a week. This was fully expected along with this morning’s results of showing up at #108. So within two weeks of making a few minor adjustments (less than 2 hours work) I’ve been able to increase my ranking from #126 to #108 on a keyword with 126 million competing pages and this will continue as I invest a tiny amount of time and consistently focus on the keyword Ash.

Why did my listing slip before getting better? Because I’ve been working on making the necessary changes to boost my listing up for my main keyword Ash. Anytime you take a stale blog (I just started writing again after 6-8 months) and start making SEO changes to it, you’re going to see all kinds of ups and downs as Google and the other search engines try to determine where to place you.

There’s also the factor of links coming to my blog from other sites that need to be indexed and each of their schedules are timed differently from mine. SEO is a process that must be approached with care and patience and as long as you follow the rules you will succeed. I’ll continue to update you on the progress of my quest to rank in the top 10 of Google for my name, Ash, with roughly 126 million competing pages.

BTW: I’ll be speaking at WordCamp Utah next month if you’d like additional tips in person.

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Join us at WordCamp Utah

I’ve been blogging for several years but I’ve only been using Wordpress for about a year. I’ve used Blogger, Typepad, and custom blog software that I’ve built. I think I avoided switching to Wordpress because it was easier to stay even though I knew all the reasons I should switch.

I recently overheard on Twitter:

Deciding not to use Wordpress is telling everyone you’d rather spend your time futzing with your blog rather than writing good material.
08:27 AM June 24, 2008 from web – Akula

Anyway, the purpose of this post is not to convince you to blog using Wordpress – you should know that by now. I’m writing to tell you that I’ve been asked to speak at WordCamp Utah. Additional information is available from Joseph Scott.

I’ll be speaking on SEO and how to prepare your Wordpress site/blog for indexing in the search engines. It’s sure to be a truly amazing experience with speakers like Matt Mullenweg, Richard Miller, Cameron Moll, Thom Allen, and Alex King. And anyone else they tie down beforehand.

Pass the word about WordCamp Utah. There’s only 7 weeks left to get the word out.

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This artist intrigued me from the beginning but not for his style of work. He’s obviously talented anyway but he was born blind and has never been able to see and understand colors as sighted people do. Watch the video at the bottom for more information.

Here’s a few of his pieces and you can find more of his work on his website.

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