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anyone wants to buy ad space on your blog, you're going to use Google AdSense. AdSense scans your page and includes ads relevant to your content. Opinion varies as to the accuracy of this service.

Whatever you do, though, don't stick your ads in readers' faces. It is a huge turn-off and is akin to standing way too close to someone when you talk. Big flashy ads or too many ads on page distract from the content and can drive away otherwise interested readers.

Instead, place ads discretely and match their color scheme to that of your site or blog. This looks classier and increases the chance that the reader will glance at the ad throughout the course of their visit and give it the attention you're hoping it gets.

Who Are You?

A picture of you and any other authors, along with a blurb about who you are, what you do and, specifically, why your write your blog, humanizes you, legitimates your work and makes readers feel that much 'closer' to you. Now don't get all stalkerish on me or anything, I'm just saying that knowing the face who writes your favorite blog promotes familiarity.

Tag, Tag, Tag!

Tags are a great way to organize a blog. It gives me a quick reference guide to your favorite topics and lets them weed out posts they may find uninteresting. Be careful though - rather than have 100 tags that only apply to one or two posts each, try to narrow it down to 10 or 15. Any more than 20 and it becomes kind of a chore to go through all those tags and decide what to read.

Read, Read, Read

The blogging mania that is sweeping the internet means literally thousands of new blogs a day. Read the popular ones, as listed at blogpulse.com and technorati.com and similar sites. Take notes on what popular and successful blogs look like and how they act, i.e. update frequency and consistent columnists vs guest writers, etc.

Remember - the best blogs are unique, user-friendly and topically consistent.

Learn more about this author, Joe Ross.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

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