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It might be kind of obvious, but this week we’re going to focus on building a website. I’m going to try and make this as painless as possible, but for some there will be a little of a learning curve. We’re going to be using WordPress as our website platform. WordPress was built specifically for the user – they made WordPress so that beginners could easily login and manage their content without the detailed code that it takes to update and design a website. We aren’t just using WordPress because its easy for you to use – it’s also a powerful tool for getting ranked in the search engines faster and easier than traditional websites.

Today’s lesson is going to be broken into 3 sections:

1. Installation & Setup
2. Content & SEO
3. Promotion

Installation & Setup

There are 5 really simple steps to get your site set up. There may be some techno-babble or words that you don’t understand at first, but don’t be afraid to ask us questions.

Step 1: Get A Domain Name
There are LOADS of places to buy domains online. We recommend using Namecheap. They have great support, and the domains are fast to propagate. (Definition – Propagate – is the time it takes for your domain name to show your website files out on the web. For example, when you purchase your domain on day one and upload files on day one you aren’t always able to view the website. It takes time for the hosting servers to read that new content has been uploaded and to display those files. Most domain hosts take anywhere from 4 – 72 hours for this to happen, but we find with NameCheap its much faster.)

Step 2: Get Hosting
Hosting is like your own personal locker on the web. This is where you’ll store your “books” (website files). We recommend Hostgator. They have been our hosting for the past 3 years and have fantastic customer support that knows what they are talking about whenever you talk to them. They also don’t keep you waiting forever to when you contact them. Another benefit of using hostgator is their Cpanel. The Cpanel allows you to access features on your hosting quickly. In addition to this Cpanel they also have Fantastico – which will help you install your blog with just a click of a button (instead of download files, unzipping them, uploading them to your hosting, etc). Just one click and you have a website.

Yes, I know other hosting companies have these features, but this is just the one we recommend and if we ever create videos this is what you’ll see us refer to.

Step 2 – Part 2: Edit DNS Settings
Now one thing you should know is that hosting is just a storage facility… you will need to point your domain name at your hosting “name servers.” A domain name just points to those files like an address on the house. When you register for Hostgator they should send you an email that includes these nameservers. If they don’t, just give them a quick call and they will show you how to find what you’re looking for.

Once you have your name servers, you’re going to jump back over to Namecheap.com and click on the domain name you purchased for this project. On the left hand navigation is a link – “Transfer DNS To Webhost” You will need to enter the Hostgator nameservers into the first two lines of the set up. Here is a quick video that show you how to do this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeW-IRh60YQ

Step 3: Blog Setup
You’re now ready to install your blog. Go back to that welcome letter from Hostgator. This will have a direct link to your Hostgator Cpanel. Once you’re logged into your cpanel scroll to the bottom and look for “Fantastico” – this is your push button blog setup. Select Fantastico, and then select WordPress and complete the steps as it guides you through the set up process.

Step 4: Blog Design
Fantastico sets up a generic WordPress blog with a VERY plain WordPress design on it. You now need to customize your site to look more professional. The first step is to find a theme you like. Justin and I recommend Thesis theme or Theme Hybrid. Thesis theme will make your blog an SEO powerhouse and theme hybrid is almost as powerful (but an good free alternative).

They are both professional design and easy to use. Also, because of their popularity they have a lot of tutorials and guide on Youtube to teach you how to use them.  NOTE: Theme Hybrid is free, but they have paid support that is well worth the small fee ($25/year) because their training tutorials are step by step and very easy to follow.

Now installing the theme can get very particular. If you reach a sticking point remember to check Youtube for training tutorials. Here’s a link to a couple I found on installing WordPress themes.

Introduction to Thesis Theme – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipPLruv0JdU
Installing Thesis Theme – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjJm-R9Vwko

Step 5: WordPress Customization
The last step is to install your plugins. Here are the plugins that you’ll want to install:

• WPstats
• All In One SEO
• YATCP
• Yoast Comment Redirect
• Subscribe To Comments
• Top Commentator
• Comment Luv
• Do FOllow
• WWSGD
• AdRotate
• ShareThis
• DiggDigg
• Comment Relish

Something’s you’ll want to do next:

• Edit your Permalinks
• If you’re site doesn’t look like the them is installed – make sure you’ve activated that new them (in the appearance section of WordPress dashboard).
• Start writing your posts (see next section)

NOTE: To all the Mastermind Members, Justin has uploaded step-by-step video tutorials for each section of the wordpress installation, setup, and customization. No thinking involved – just follow the steps of the videos

Content & SEO

Now, one of the HARDEST things of running a blog is NOT the setup process – it’s filling your blog with consistent content. Notice how I didn’t just say content there? Well, when new sites first go up, search engine spiders come to check it out and look for the topic, pages, seo etc. Then they leave… when you post content consistently for a period of time, search engine spiders return more and more often and start to index your site for your keywords faster and higher than your competitors because Google starts to see you as a reliable source for new, relevant, and consistent information on the topic.

Here are 3 ways we post CONSISTENT content in our new niche without having to spend HOURS everyday thinking up and writing more blog posts.

Step 1 – finding topics/keywords

1. Go to google and type in the main keyword or title of your niche.
2. Click on the link that says +Show Options (just under the search box)
3. Now click on wonderwheel – this will show you your main niche, and then the top keywords that google sees as directly related. Select 5-7 of those second level keywords and write them on a notepad(we’ll call then Blevel keywords and your main keyword is an Alevel keyword). Next select one of those blevel keywords – the wonderwheel with then show you a set of Clevel keywords. These are most likely long tail keywords. The Clevel keywords are easier to rank for because the are long tail. You should select 4-5 level keywords for each of your blevel kewords.
4. All together you should have about 20-35 keywords. Now each one of those keywords will be the focus of your blog posts – these smaller (clevel) keywords will start to get you ranked in the search engines. When google see’s that they relate to the blevel keywords then you’ll start to get ranked for those, and eventually you’ll start to get ranked as an authority site for the monster Alevel keywords.

Step 2 – Actually writing the posts
I know right now you’re looking at that LONG list of keywords and thinking – THIS IS GOING TO TAKE FOREVER (probably with a few expletives in there too No worries, you’re next step is to plan out when you’re going to write them. Break out a calendar and divide your keywords up into groups of 7 (not all on one topic – be sure to mix them up) Now pick a day of the week where you can block out 2-4 hours of working time. If that’s not possible pick out 3 days that you can set aside a FULL hour to work.

Step 3 – Write 5-7 posts & Schedule
Now on that day that you sectioned out a block of time – WRITE your blog posts. You don’t need them to be intense posts. 200-500 word articles on a topic is fine. If you’re stuck on what to write about with the keyword then search that keyword in google and look for forums where people are asking questions. You can also use sites like Yahoo Answers where you’ll find questions that people ask related to your keyword – these make great posts as you just have to answer their question. You can also use video sharing sites – search your keyword at the video site, find a video of someone talking about your niche and then embed that video into your post. Below the video write a short paragraph (with your keyword in it) that describes why you liked the video, what the reader can learn from watching the video, etc.

NOTE: As you write these posts remember to include your keyword in your Title, in the content, and in the Tags of each post.

Remember you only have to write 7 posts at a time. At 15-30 minutes per post that’s less than 4 hours (or you can split it up and try to write twice a week). You’ll get faster at this part the more you do it – this is just one of those things that takes time, dedication, and practice to master.

Now schedule your posts to publish once per day. Login to your WordPress admin. Click on posts, then select add new. Type in the title (with your keyword in it), copy/paste your text into the content section, add a category for this post, then add tags for this post. Now just above the publish button is a small “schedule” button where you can select a date for this post to be published on. Be sure to schedule one for each day of the week – so your first post goes live today, then the remaining get published for every other day of this week consecutively.

Promotion

The last step of the Blog Basics is to promote your blog so that you will get indexed in the search engines and start driving traffic to your blog. Justin has 5 steps that you should ALWAYS do after every blog post is published. (so that means every day this week, you’ll need to do these steps after your post is automatically published. Don’t worry it only takes a few minutes, so you can do this in the first few minutes you have in the morning or the last 30 minutes before bed). Here’s the link to those steps -

5 Ways To Promote Your Blog

Well, I wanted to say “that’s it” for today’s lesson, but I sort of felt that was an understatement I know this post is long, but I wanted to give you as much detail as possible. If you have any questions, please post them below – we’ll answer them in tomorrows post. Mastermind members – remember there are video tutorials and a forum for you to get help today.

Most importantly – don’t let this post overwhelm you. All it takes is ACTION & Action builds confidence!
Have a great day
Chaunna

PS. Not A Mastermind Member? Send us an email (sitefling [at] gmail [dot] com and get a discounted rate for being a 90 Day Challenge Participant

Tagged as: become a blogger, beginning blogger, blog setup