In today’s competitive business world, individuals are working hard to make both ends meet––looking to vying for new ways to climb the corporate ladder. They work hard to increase their pay while also increasing their level of commitment and responsibilities.
The majority of those opt for starting a blog.
Thanks to the internet, that has afforded us the freedom to become digital nomads and allowing us to earn revenue from anywhere in the world. For those who are thinking of starting a blog to earn passive income, this digital nomad lifestyle is a great thought.
Steps to Start a Blog and Make Money
People have been earning income online for decades now. The truth is, there is no shortcut and as the internet saturates day by day, earning that money becomes both easier and harder simultaneously.
In other words, there’s a steep learning curve. Now, let’s learn how to start a blog and make money online.
Step #1 — Decide On a Niche
The first and foremost step in starting a blog is deciding an exciting niche. The niche will determine the content, the information required to convey to the audience, etc. It could be specific to the industry or may talk about a certain area of skills or personal development. Well, a person decides on its own.
Step #2 — Find a Good Domain Name
Similar to choosing a niche, the next step in starting a blog is to find a good domain name. Remember, domain names must attract the audience as it will eventually help a person earning a healthy income.
There are all sorts of new domain name extensions available. However, experts advise to stick with the dot-com domain extension. For this, a person can try GoDaddy Auctions or other platforms.
Furthermore, it is vital to ensure that the domain name is short––ideal is maximum of two words, but three words is the absolute maximum.
Simply put, a person should avoid a name that is greater than 15 characters because Google doesn’t like long domain names.
Similarly, avoid hyphens in the domain name as an audience might think it spam. It would be great to use a keyword in the niche within the domain name. It’s not mandatory but could be a bonus for SEO strategy.
Step #3 – Find a Hosting Account Provider
The third step towards setting up a blog is to choose a reliable hosting provider. While searching, a person will see dozens of great hosting companies; therefore, the choice entirely depends upon budget and several other factors. Use Google to search for the “best hosting providers or hosting accounts,” and so on. Moreover, go to lookup.icann.org.
Step #4 — Install WordPress
Now, the hosting account is ready, and it’s time to install WordPress––use some best practices when working on it. For example, choose a good blog title for the blog. The tile name should not be too long, and it must be relevant to the selected niche or intended topics.
Likewise, select a good theme and design, according to the niche. There are literally thousands of WordPress themes available that a person can choose for his or her blog. Two of the most favorite WordPress themes are Template Monster and Envato’s Theme Forest.
Step #5 — Configure AMP Pages
The Accelerated Mobile Projects specification is vital due to globally slow internet speeds in many parts of the country.
Google knows that audience will abandon a SLOW SPEED site and so to combat this issues, it has created the AMP specification for site owners to ensure that pages load very quickly.
Step #6 — Setup Google Analytics
Now, it’s time to install an analytics system. We would advise to setup Google Analytics as it is very simple to do that and is an excellent choice for a WordPress blog. After creating an Analytics account, a person can either install an Analytics plugin or free Google’s Tag Manager plugin to configure and link things together.
How to setup and install tag manager?
- Use an existing account or create a new one at tagmanager.google.com.
- Install the container in the mobile app or on website
- Add and publish tags.
Step #7 — Keyword-Focused Content
Content is king! And so, starting a blog to earn money involves good writing. But it’s not just writing, a person will need to write keyword-focused content to optimize it repeatedly. It is advisable to follow SEO writing rules to be effective during this whole process.
Step #8– Setup Google’s Webmaster Tools
The Google’s Webmaster tools help a person to select the right keywords to rank. Moreover, the tool submits an XML sitemap (a way to organize website) and track keyword impressions, in addition, to click-through rates. In short, this is one of the best tools for growing a blog or site.
Step #9–Learn SEO the Right Way
Learning search engine optimization is a long journey. A person needs to understand the fundamental principles of SEO to pay attention to all key aspects that impact ability to rank on Google or other search engines.
Step #10 – Rinse, Repeat, Again and again
Keep going! Write great content and share it everywhere on social platforms. After a few days, you will notice a huge fan base of your blog.
Final thoughts
If you’re looking how to start a blog and make money, be prepared to earn no money at first–– Not in the beginning at least. That’s correct. You won’t win the race as a blogger alone, unless you’re a social media star with uncountable followers.
If you are new in this blogging world, be prepared to experience a lot of hard work and some pain. Or you can say that there is no hack or shortcut. You have to work day and night and do the work.
Thank you for reading!
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