Hi Everyone.
I wanted to take a moment to give you a little RantRave update. I'll start with the bad news. Last December, we decided to give you, the writers, 100% of your AdSense impressions. This was an attempt to attract more users and grow the community. Unfortunately, this plan didn't exactly pan out, so we have made the decision to revert back to the 50/50 split. We've got to pay our bills, too. This will go into effect early next week.
I would like to help you better your odds of appearing in both Google News and organic Google searches with a few Dos and Don'ts.
First, here are a few pointers to help you get your posts approved for Goggle News and appear in organic searches…
Write about Trending TopicsVisit sites, such as
Google Trends and Twitter to find out what people are searching for right now. A good example of this working was when Michael Jackson died. I wrote a post about his death, just as it was confirmed, and it almost immediately had 12,000 views (then the site crashed). The same day, someone wrote about a rumor that Jeff Goldblum had died and it achieved 15,000 views. Obviously, these are extreme examples, but using these sites should help you easily achieve 1000-5000 views in a day. And, 50% of 1000 views is better than 100% of 50.
Use Titles that will inspire clicksWhen choosing a title for your post, decide if it is something people will search for, or click on if they find it. A post titled "Not again!" will not attract as many clicks as a post titled "Newest Oil Leak Fix Fails." With the second title, it is obvious what the story is about. The first title could just as easily be talking about last night's Mariners game.
As an example, last summer I built a table for my BBQ. I found the plans online and was impressed with them, so I wrote a Rave. The title was "DIY Big Green Egg Table by NakedWhiz". If you search "big green egg table plans", my post is #4, right ahead of NakedWhiz's own site. In that first month, I only had 100-200 clicks, but now has over 10,000.
Keyword SaturationKeyword Saturation is key to having your posts rank well with organic Google searches (meaning, regular Google searches, not Google News). As a general rule, you want your searchable term to appear 2-3 times for every 100 words (2-3% saturation).
Both Keyword Saturation and a strong title will ensure your post has lasting power in organic Google Searches.
Things to Avoid:Here are a few things to avoid…
WRITING IN ALL CAPSTHIS SHOULD BE A NO BRAINER. WHEN YOU TYPE IN ALL CAPS PEOPLE FEEL LIKE YOU ARE YELLING AT THEM. NO ONE LIKES TO BE YELLED AT, SO THEY WON'T READ YOUR POST.
Directing posts to a specific personWhen you direct your argument at a specific person, you are automatically alienating the other 6.799999 billion of us who may be reading. If you have something to say to a specific person, send them a personal message. If they've blocked you, take the hint and move on.
Writing less than 200 wordsGoogle doesn't like short posts, so I don't care for them either.
No ParagraphsIf you write 500 words, but fail to space it in any way, shape or form, it looks like a massive wall of words and no one wants to read that. It's overwhelming.
Improper Punctuation/Grammar/SpacingMost of you should have learned this one in elementary school. Posts with misspelled words, improper punctuation (or a complete lack of it), or paragraphs that don't have a space between them look tacky and won't find their way to Google News.
Inappropriate/Irrelevant Picture or YouTube VidIf you're writing about one topic, don't use a picture of something completely obscure or inappropriate. And, don't use the same picture for every single post. Please.
Uncited SourcesIf you write about a story, but lack any citations of any kind, I have to assume it is made up and will, therefore, not submit it to Google News.
Lack of any original contentIf you write about a news story that you read about somewhere else, but do not add any opinion, I will not approve it for Google News. The site is called "RantRave", not "Look at this news story I found somewhere else."
Cut and PasteI've ranted about this before, but if I can find your story, word for word, on numerous other sites, I can only assume you did a cut and paste job. Not only will you not be approved for Google News, your post will probably be deleted, as well.
None of the above offenses will get your posts deleted, but you likely won't see your posts in Google News.
There you have it. With these tips, you should be able to achieve a much higher view count. I know you're probably bummed about the 50/50 split, but hopefully this helps ease the pain.
Thanks everyone!
Alex Layton
Site Administrator