In the wonderful world of WordPress, it is essential that bloggers stray away from the default settings in order to improve the design and capabilities of their blogs. But where to start? What can you do to improve your blog? There are plugins made, both free and paid, for just about everything imaginable.

I think that the three most basic needs are:

1. Monetization
2. Optimization
3. Navigation

With this in mind, lets try to cover all our bases and find the five best plugins to solve our three basic needs in any WordPress blog.

1. All In One SEO Pack
This plugin is my go-to SEO Optimization tool for WordPress. Other than the built-in “permalink” service, this is really a must have for your website to fare well in Google (and other) search rankings. With the All In One SEO Pack, they enable you to format the titles on every single page, which I see as the most important feature for getting ranked well in searches. Notice how each page on theNetFool.com displays “Article Info | Jimvesting”? You can format your blog like this with All In One!

This plugin goes far beyond merely changing around titles however, you can pretty much change around anything with the meta descriptions of your postings, your selected keywords that show up in search results, and even the ability to “nofollow” posts/pages of your choosing. In order to get your website search engine optimized, you need a tool like All In One SEO… and this one’s absolutely FREE

2. OIO Publisher
I recently discovered this amazing WordPress plugin that “ads” a whole new functionality to your WordPress blog. Of course, I am talking about OIO Publisher, which allows you to run your own ad service where people can purchase ad slots on your page, pay through PayPal, and see their ads appear automatically! This one will run you a $37 one-time fee, but it is well worth it. It’s been called the “ultimate sales platform” for your blog, and it is a lot cheaper than the alternatives which can cost over $100.

Gone are the days when you need to pay other services a percentage of your sales for allowing them to run your ad service. OIO Publisher is a winner in my eyes. The user interface is very easy to understand, and they have an entire marketplace set up that you gain access to once you pay for the plugin. This will allow you to run everything from inline ads and banner ads, to sponsored posts and text links. If you have a digital item to sell, you can use OIO to handle the processing as well. If you are serious about monetizing your blog, buy this plugin.

3. Akismet
There is a reason that this spam-assassin comes with every WordPress installation. Before I was using Akismet, I had by comment moderation setting so that I needed to approve everything that came my way. Gone are the days where this is needed. Akismet is free to use so long as you aren’t a major company, and is basically an entire spam network that builds on itself. Whenever spam is recognized on your comments, it is added to the Akismet database and will never bother you again. It has caught over 150 messages since I have started using it, and is a must-have for any serious blogger.

I had the unfortunate experience of being labeled as spam in the past. This definitely does not happen to more than 5% of commenters, but as soon as I sent an email to the moderators at Akismet, they cleared it up for me and I haven’t had any problems since . With this installed, you really don’t have to worry about your comments being out of line again!

4. Related Posts
There are several “related post” plugins available for free through WordPress. In my opinion, the best of which is the WASABI Related Entries plugin. This is really a must-have option for your blogs. Not only does it look great and encourage your readers to stay on your website, but it acts as a great SEO tool by linking together your website for easier indexing! Again, there are tons of clones claiming to be the original and the best. I don’t really know enough to say which was the first, but I think the WASABI-version is the most functional so I encourage you to check it out first!

Having a related posts option is definitely a nice addition to any blog site. If you don’t already have one up and running, I suggest getting on and sticking it either underneath your content (and above comments), or somewhere on your sidebar. This one’s a winner!

5. Subscribe Remind
Don’t fall for the over-hype’d paid plugins that claim to boost your subscriptions like crazy, all you really need is this hidden gem Subscribe Remind. You’ve probably seen this implemented on other popular blogs. What this does is attach a “If you like this post, subscribe to my RSS feed!” text link around all of your blog posts and above your comments. This may seem like a no-brainer, and really, it should be. This small and simple plugin is one of the best ways to increase the amount of subscribers on your blog site.

Following the tactic that is basically “I’m going to annoy the heck out of you until you subscribe,” Subscribe Remind really does work. With more and more people on the internet subscribing to RSS news feeds, it is important that you have an easily accessible option for readers to subscribe to your blog feed. Overall, I find it unobtrusive, and a top-notch method to increase your subscriber count !

Using these plugins all but guarantees a boost in traffic and subscribers to your blog. By installing and using All In One SEO Pack, OIO Publisher, Akismet, Related Posts, and Subscribe Remind, you will encourage users to subscribe, comment and purchase ads. Not only this, but you will even see better results from search engines! Sure, these tools aren’t an end-all cure for a terrible website, but as long as you are an active blogger with an interesting focus… you should be well on your way!

-Jimvesting

One of the more pressing issues for bloggers like myself is how to increase traffic, your number of readers, and your visibility on the net. Starting a blog is one thing, but do you get people to notice it? One thing is for sure, people want to be noticed, but sometimes just posting is not enough for you to be discovered, listed in Google or what have you. Knowing this, here are the top five methods of driving traffic to your blog for FREE!

1. Build a Network
You should consider blogging just like interviewing for a job. I consider the number one priority (and first step) to increasing your blog’s traffic to be building a human network. What do I mean by this? Think about it this way: if you can get linked up with some of the best websites, and even from some of the not-so-popular, you will be benefiting from the trade NO MATTER WHAT. This reigns true in economics as well. It is irrelevant if a blog is better or worse than your own (as long as they DO have readers of course), because trade will boost both websites’ traffic. People read blogs to gain information and be entertained, by virtue of your name being around, you will get more and more feedback from people noticing you.

How do you start to network? There are many ways, but I think the most important two are to comment on other blogs and be active in a community. I have gotten probably about 60% of my traffic originally from other blog sites. If you comment on similar blogs, people will visit your website. This may seem far-fetched at first, but trust me. Making thoughtful comments on other blogs is one of the best ways to get noticed. Similarly, being active on a reputable community is a huge plus. Whether this is a forum board like Digital Point and Bloggeries, or a blogging network like MyBlogLog or Technorati, communicating with other people (checking out their site, them checking out yours) will drive traffic without a doubt.

2. Blog Competitively
Blogging isn’t for the weak. If you want your blog to become a destination, you need to get your game face on. Not to say that should be rude, but increasing traffic is partly a function of pursuing opportunity with an iron fist. When I link up with a site, I don’t care what they have to say as long as they have readers… you should see them as existing solely for your benefit. This sounds rude, but if you really want to expand, you should be taking advantage of as many trade opportunities as possible.

Competitive blogging isn’t only getting your link out, you need to be doing something different. You are essentially competing with other blogs for traffic at all times, so if your posts are not unique… people will be discouraged from reading. Holding a contest is a brilliant idea, but first and foremost, you must be sure that you aren’t simply increasing traffic temporarily. Bigger is better, so offer what people want and don’t be too frugal. In addition to contests, just make sure that you are advertising in similar blogs and writing meaningful posts that people will want to read.

3. Make a Nice Design/Layout
I really can’t stress this enough. If people don’t like the look of your website or blog, they simply will not like the content. It is very hard to find good content on a blog with clashing colors, simply because it is too distracting on the eyes. In order to make any site more aesthetically pleasing, you need to find a color scheme that works. This should simply be base one, and there are many online services that can help you get a scheme that works for you. I used a particular service from websitetips.com to help guide my decision. Make sure you have a fair amount of eye-catching graphics on your blog as well. If you do not have some kind of mascot or logo, I suggest you either make or outsource this job. Every website really needs some kind of identifying characteristic that draws readers back to it. If you do not have a nice design/layout, you are more than likely hemorrhaging your traffic.

4. Get the Word Out
Don’t expect visitors to find your website on their own accord, you need to assert yourself onto the internet. The best two ways to do this are by submitting your site to web directories and by writing articles for article databases. Firstly, web directories are essential because they provide free reciprocal links to your website that are universally recognized on the internet. Many of these are paid services, but there are plenty of free web directories that can get you your fix. Here is a good list to get you started. Articles are even more useful for spreading your link around, as you can typically add a promotional paragraph to the end of every entry. I use: EzineArticles, GoArticles and ArticleDashboard.

Another great way to “get the word out” is to “ping” various services every time you add new content. This essentially allows crawling engines to update their cache accordingly to get all of your content linked up. The best way to go here is Ping-O-Matic, which does the job fast and free.

5. Post Every Day
Last but not least, you should be trying to make a good post every day. Three times a week won’t cut it in this increasingly competitive environment. If you can aim to provide one new post every day for 30-days, I guarantee your traffic skyrocket. People want content, and a blog that doesn’t update is as unattractive as anything. Also, updating your blog often really sets off search engines like Google and Yahoo into placing your links higher and in more attractive positions. Search engines love new content, so optimizing your site can be as simple as posting daily. I want to make a cut off though of posting multiple times each day. You definitely don’t want to post too much, or too little… it is a delicate balance and I recommend 6-9 posts per week too keep interest levels up.

To prove this theory, here is a log of my traffic. I did not make a post on either Sunday or Monday, I made posts on Tuesday and Wednesday. Check out the more-than DOUBLED readership on the days I made posts:

With these tips in hand, you should be well on your way to increasing your traffic. If you were to hold these rules constant for just 30 days, making competitive moves and posting every day, I guarantee your readership will increase over at least 33% from your original posting strategy. Keep to your niche, stay positive, be insightful and you will be well-read in no time!

-Jimvesting