How to Setup Godaddy Domain with Blogger

Using a custom / top level Domain with blogger blog is of course a good idea. It helps to make branding, looks professional and also helps to getting backlink easily rather than a blogger sub-domain and you know SEO factor is very important these days.

Please note that I’m not writing here about how to register/buy a domain from Godaddy, this tutorial is about to adding a domain (that you have already registered/bought from Godaddy) to your blogger/BlogSpot blog as a custom domain.

Here’s how to set up a custom domain for your BlogSpot Blog that was registered from Godaddy.

I’m dividing this tutorial into two parts;

Step-1: Adding the custom domain to your blog on blogger

Step-2: Creating CNAME Record on godaddy.com

Step-1. Adding the custom domain to your blogger blog

1. Go to your BlogSpot blog’s basic settings page, Dashboard > Settings > Basic
1. Click on Add a custom domain > Switch to advanced settings
3. Enter your domain (e.g.  www.example.com) in the box under Advanced settings
4. Click on Save

Don’t worry about the massage “We have not been able to verify your authority to this domain. Error 5”  - We gonna fix out it.

5. Look just below to the error massage; you will see some necessary code provided by Google.Copy and Save the marked code snippets as shown in the screenshot below. It will be required on the next.

Note: This code provided by Google is to verify your Domain Authority. You have to create two CNAME record on your domain’s DNS settings with these code. One cName code is for hosting and the long one is for verifying authority.

Now follow the second part of this tutorial below.

Step-2: Create CNAME Record on godaddy.com

1. Log in to your Godaddy account.
2. Open All product tab and from Domain sub-tab select Domain Management. It will reach you to the Domain Manager page.

3. Click on your desire domain name. A new page of domain managing will come.
4. In that page, scroll down and click on Launch link under DNS Manager section

 
5. Add a CNAME Record by clicking Quick Add button under CNAME (Alias) section, with the detail below…

• Host: www 
• Points to: ghs.google.com 

[Note: If there is already a CNAME Record with www as Host, first delete it then add yours.]

6. Create another CNAME Record with the details you saved in (step-1:5)
7. After that, click on Save Zone file > Ok

Note: You may notice that there is few CNAME Records created already, these are generated by Godaddy as default. You can delete theme all if you don’t need as because we’re pointing this domain at Google Hosting server (ghs.google.com)

Here we have done all on Goaddy side.

 Now go back to the blogger settings page[…]

1. Click on Save

2. After successfully saved click on Edit again.
3. Check on Redirect example.com to www.example.com
4. Save

One last note: After completing all the steps successfully, if you see “404 error” while previewing your new added domain. Don’t worry; these changes may take 1-48 hours to take effect.

If you find this helpful don’t forget to share with others. And if you face any difficulties or you thing I have missed anything don’t hesitate to let me know in comment.

How do I submit my site to The Open Directory

How to submit step-by-step:

1) Go to http://www.dmoz.org.

2) Use (a) the search engine or (b) the directory links to find the perfect category for your site.

3) Look in the upper right-hand corner of the directory page for a text link that says, "add URL" and click on it.

4) Carefully read the page. If you've used all of your wits, and you are truly at the most appropriate category for your site, then fill out the form. Just put your URL in the text field labeled "Site URL" which already includes "http://." Then put the title of your site in the text field labeled "Title of Site." Put a description of your website in the field marked "Site Description." Put your e-mail address in the field marked "Your E-mail Address, " and hit the button at the bottom of the page marked "Submit."

That's the whole process. Following are tips for ensuring that you get each step right, which is harder for some people than many would guess.

Step 2 is often a challenge. There is a tendency for Webmasters to think of their sites as being more comprehensive and useful than they really are, and thus to submit their sites to higher level categories than are appropriate. There is also a trend for Webmasters to search for the category that they think is most likely to be viewed by the type of customer they hope to attract, rather than searching for the category that best encompasses their website. For example, a Webmaster for a walk-in health clinic website is likely to submit his or her site to one of the hospitals categories, thinking that he or she will be doing the users a favor - helping them to find his or her clinic site when they're "obviously searching for medical help." You should not try to choose a category by anticipating how users will browse through the directory. The directory may not be perfect, and you may think that by submitting your site to one category over another that is clearly more appropriate will help the users of the directory, but don't do it. That's the job of the Open Directory Editors. Don't look for a category where you think that your customers are going to search. Instead find the best branch in the DMOZ directory using logic. If your site sells jewelry made with amber, submit it to "Top: Shopping: Jewelry: Bead and Gemstone: Amber" and not to "Top: Shopping: Jewelry: Bead and Gemstone." If you are not sure about a particular category, click on the link in the upper right hand corner of the page that says "Description" for a detailed description of the category parameters.

Completing step 2 correctly will insure that your site is reviewed faster. If you submit your site to the wrong category, then the editor of that category is going to forward it to the right category, causing a delay in listing your site. As you can imagine, some sites are very difficult to categorize. If you're not sure, submit to the category that you think is best and rely on the editors to do their jobs. Eventually the site will be properly indexed in the system.

Step 4 includes several challenging elements, even for the geniuses among us. Correctly inserting the Title and Description for a website is often a challenge even for DMOZ editors. It can be a daunting task for people who are trained in marketing. When getting ready to write your title and description, it is helpful to think about the style of writing used in the instruction manual for your VCR. Notice that the instruction manual doesn't talk about how great or innovative the system is - it just describes the system and explains how to use it. For some of us with a marketing background, describing a website without using marketing or promotional language can be nearly impossible to master. Marketing language and techniques seep into your very way of thinking. If you have a friend that works for a PR agency, you can test this theory. Just ask them about their worst client. They are likely to give you some good dirt on the company, but they'll also tell you how terrific the company is at doing whatever the PR firm was hired to promote. They just can't escape it, even years later.

Getting back to the question, let's examine the Title requirement first. As a rule, the title of a business website is the name of the business. The title of all other websites is the title listed on the site in question. For help with difficult titles, visit Open Directory: Guidelines: Editing Style Guidelines: Titles.

The description, which we are discussing last, is the most difficult element in a DMOZ listing. There are basically two ways to learn to write a description for a site in DMOZ. The first way is to read all of theguidelines, assimilate the information, then follow them. The second way is to browse through the directory, looking at how sites are described in your category and in categories above and below your category, then imitate the style. Depending on your style of thinking, you may choose one way over the other. For a quick start guide to writing descriptions, visit Open Directory: Guidelines: Editing Style Guidelines: Descriptions.

How to increase traffic to website

There are many ways you can increase traffic on your website, and in today’s post, we’re going to look at some of them.

1. Advertise

This one is so obvious, we’re going to look at it first. Paid search, social media advertising and display advertising are all excellent ways of attracting visitors, building your brand and getting your site in front of people. Adjust your paid strategies to suit your goals – do you just want more traffic, or are you looking to increase conversions, too? Each paid channel has its pros and cons, so think carefully about your objectives before you reach for your credit card.

If you’re hoping that more traffic to your site will also result in more sales, you’ll need to target high commercial intent keywords as part of your paid search strategies. Yes, competition for these search terms can be fierce (and expensive), but the payoffs can be worth it.

2. Get Social

It’s not enough to produce great content and hope that people find it – you have to be proactive. One of the best ways to increase traffic to your website is to use social media channels to promote your content. Twitter is ideal for short, snappy (and tempting) links, whereas Google+ promotion can help your site show up in personalized search results and seems especially effective in B2B niches. If you’re a B2C product company, you might find great traction with image-heavy social sites like Pinterest and Instagram.

3. Mix It Up

There is no magic formula for content marketing success, despite what some would have you believe. For this reason, vary the length and format of your content to make it as appealing as possible to different kinds of readers. Intersperse shorter, news-based blog posts with long-form content as well as video, infographics and data-driven pieces for maximum impact.

4. Write Irresistible Headlines

Headlines are one of the most important parts of your content. Without a compelling headline, even the most comprehensive blog post will go unread. Master the art of headline writing. For example, the writers at BuzzFeed and Upworthy often write upward of twenty different headlines before finally settling on the one that will drive the most traffic, so think carefully about your headline before you hit “publish.”

5. Pay Attention to On-Page SEO

Think SEO is dead? Think again. Optimizing your content for search engines is still a valuable and worthwhile practice. Are you making the most of image alt text? Are you creating internal links to new content? What about meta descriptions? Optimizing for on-page SEO doesn’t have to take ages, and it could help boost your organic traffic.

6. Target Long-Tail Keywords

Got your high commercial intent keyword bases covered? Then it’s time to target long-tail keywords, too. Long-tail keywords account for a majority of web searches, meaning that if you’re not targeting them as part of your paid search or SEO efforts, you’re missing out.

Image via thegardensofeden.org

7. Start Guest Blogging

Before you say it – no, true guest blogging isn’t dead, despite what you may have heard. Securing a guest post on a reputable site can increase blog traffic to your website and help build your brand into the bargain. Be warned, though – standards for guest blogging have changed radically during the past eighteen months, and spammy tactics could result in stiff penalties. Proceed with caution.

8. Invite Others to Guest Blog on Your Site

Guest blogging is a two-way street. In addition to posting content to other blogs, invite people in your niche to blog on your own site. They’re likely to share and link to their guest article, which could bring new readers to your site. Just be sure that you only post high-quality, original content without spammy links, because Google is cracking way down on low-quality guest blogging.

9. Go After Referral Traffic

Rather than trying to persuade other sites to link back to you (a tedious and time-intensive process), create content that just begs to be linked to.

When Larry wrote about the kick in the proverbial teeth that eBay took from Google’s Panda update, we managed to secure a link from Ars Technica in the Editor’s Pick section alongside links to The New York Times and National Geographic. Not too shabby – and neither was the resulting spike in referral traffic. Learn what types of links send lots of referral traffic, and how to get them, in this post.

10. Post Content to LinkedIn

LinkedIn has become much more than a means of finding another job. The world’s largest professional social network is now a valuable publishing platform in its own right, which means you should be posting content to LinkedIn on a regular basis. Doing so can boost traffic to your site, as well as increase your profile within your industry – especially if you have a moderate to large following.