How To Choose The Best Travel Blog To Follow

Posted on September 22, 2021 by dayat

Travel guides or blogs are necessary especially for solo travelers. These blogs not only contain the places that you would likely want to visit, but also help one to plan their trip efficiently which is crucial especially for places that one has no idea what to expect. If you happen to be starting out a life of travelling, choosing the best travel blog depends on several features which will be discussed below. These features are simple but yet effective ways to ensure that you choose the right site(s) to follow.

Authorship

Before you follow a site, it is crucial to check out the owner of the blog or site that you are thinking of following. Is the site catering to solo travelers, adventurers or thrill seekers? Is the owner, a traveler as well or just someone who spends their time looking at various tour sites and then adding those information on their own blogs? Many websites hire ghost writers to populate their website especially if they don’t have time to work on the pieces and just want to make their site look updated on search engines. One advantage with having the site’s owner as the traveler is that one would know that the articles came from their experiences and would be helpful in guiding you along the way.

Relevancy and Timeliness

There are tons of travel sites in the internet and searching Google would probably yield you thousands and even millions of sites. But which one would provide help to you? Look for a site that has regular and updated content to it. If you happen to stumble upon an old article, some of the information might no longer be relevant. You can also contact the blog owner and inquire about the topic. Travel blog owners love to talk with their readers and some frequent the same place several times but would not mention it on their blog. They can be helpful in providing you with relevant information on the place(s) that you are interested in.

Sharing is Caring

Travel bloggers are passionate about their travelling and would willingly put in links to sites that aided them during their visits. Look for a blog that not only discusses the wonders of the locale but also the horrors and what to expect from the places. Some might do a sponsored travel in exchange for a review on the web owner’s blog. If all the articles contain praises for the site, then it should raise red flags especially if you find some bad reviews of the same place on the internet.

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Top Beginner Travel Blogging Tips and Advice for a Newbie

Posted on August 20, 2021 by dayat

Travel blogging is a format that is simply blowing up right now. When I first started blogging in 2008, I frankly didn’t even know that anyone else was blogging about their travels. In the beginning, I was just doing up a blog so that family and friends back home could follow along with my travels, which is still one of the main reasons that I hear new bloggers have started their travel blogs.

But that being said, if you are going to do something, go ahead and do it correctly. Even if you aren’t sure you want to try to make any money from travel blogging right now, if you are going to set up a blog, do it correctly. You might end up enjoying the process, and more importantly the travel blogging community, so much that you do want to take it up to some form of income generation down the road. With that in mind, start properly. So here are a few very, very basic tips when you are starting out.

(1) Join Twitter and dive right into the travel blogging community. You will be amazed at how helpful everyone will be to help you out down the road. These are going to be your backbone of advice givers, so participate, give back and you will be rewarded.

So, that was a non-writing tip, but the travel blogging community is going to be so important to your travels and your writing, I thought I’d start there, but back to the basic website tips.

(2) You have to self-host your blog. Period. I started using Blogger/Blogspot and wasted about two years there. Yes, it is easy to use, but you aren’t maximizing your potential there. Go to one of the domain purchasing websites, buy a domain name, go to WordPress.org and get started on your own site. You won’t regret the move.

(3) Set your URLs to descriptive terms and not just the default setting. The default setting will produce URLs that have an ending that look like this /?7643 — and those are simply horrible for SEO (search engine optimization) purposes. The change is simple. Just go to your dashboard, look for your administration tab and click on the permalinks button. Choose a title format that uses the words from your title and also try to eliminate the worthless words, such as “to,” “the,” “a” and the like.

(4) Please put a re-tweet button on your site via a plug-in. Twitter is just a universal tool at this point and it is blogging malpractice to not have a re-tweet button that is simple to use. And while you are at it, make sure the settings are set so that your @address comes up automatically when someone hits your RT button — make it easy for people to actually help you.

(5) Publish regularly. This, aside from “have good content,” is the easiest tip to follow in the normal course of business. Publish 3-4 times a week, because as you get a following people are going to actually want to follow you. If you are going to be in a place that has bad internet access, take a day out to write some posts and schedule them to go up automatically, which is also simple in a WordPress self-hosted blog.

(6) Set up social media buttons on your website. At a minimum, you need to have a Facebook fan page and a button link to it on your website. You also should be using StumbleUpon. We talked about Twitter already. There are other social media sites out there (Digg, Delicious, etc.). Don’t overdo the buttons, but you need them at the end of each of your posts, so that people that use them can — once again — help you. There are simple plug-ins for all of them.

I’ll be writing more in the future about basic tips, because I have had so many newbies ask so many simple questions. In sum, remember this. People want to help you. If you have good content, you will find that people want to spread the word. Figure out ways to make that easy on them. If you do the footwork to let people help you more easily…. people will help you.

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What Makes The Best Travel Blog

Posted on July 22, 2021 by dayat

Travel blogs are of great help when it comes to planning a vacation. They have a touch of professionalism in all the details they provide yet they have an informal and personal feel in the experiences they share. However, not all travel blogs are worth reading. A few only have rehashed content making them very shallow guides.

There are certain characteristics that make the best travel blog. We’ve listed the features of the top-rated ones so that you can use them to make your pick.

1. Engaging Content -
It appears to be the obvious; however, it is a tough criterion to fulfill. The content should be creative, informative and original. It should also be different. If your blog offers the same content that other blogs and travel websites have to offer, they will move on. Content should be on various topics namely travel tips, travel experiences, news and travel technology.

2. Up-To-Date -
The tourism industry is time-sensitive and as such the information tends to change periodically. Hence, it is important that review the information listed on your website from time to time and update it to match the latest changes. It includes information on pricing, visiting hours, programs offered at tourist sites and the likes. Make sure you verify the information that you post on your blog. Not only this, great blogs are those that add fresh content regularly.

3. A Bunch of Links -
Whether they are links to airline booking sites, hotel websites or comparison sites, it is very convenient to have them embedded in the text. Readers can get more travel related information by simply clicking on a link.

4. Photos and Videos -
Media files like photos and videos support your content; they are what complete your blog. Photographs of travel destinations, culinary delights and personal sneak-peeks give readers an opportunity to plan their vacation based on your experiences. It also attracts them to read to the end of your blog.

5. Reader Generated Content -
Including a section wherein readers can contribute their two pence on travel tips and insider insights will also earn your blog more readers. This is because the real shared experiences of other fellow travelers add a touch of originality to your blog.

6. Maps -
In addition to the discussion forums and photo albums, a few destination maps are always a welcome addition. Maps are a must when one goes travelling and it is a better if they can print and use them offline. You can also integrate it will Google Maps so that travelers can plot their trip on the map.

7. A Good Blog Design -
In the bid to create an attractive and engaging design, we often end up with extremely gaudy and complicated blog templates and designs. Choose an eye-catching, simple design, but don’t make it too complex.

8. Easy-to-Use Interface -
It should feature an intuitive interface. There should be too many instructions to follow and pop ups to get through before they get to read what they want.

9. Mobile Compatibility -
We live in an age of smartphones and hence it is important that most travel blogs and websites be optimized for mobile platforms. If your blog does not load on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets there is a likelihood readers won’t revisit.

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How to Get More Traffic to Your Travel Blog Using Twitter

Posted on June 22, 2021 by dayat

Whether your blog is purely for leisure or you want to make it into a legitimate business while you are traveling, traffic to your travel blog is of utmost importance.

One of the best new ways to get people to follow your blog is by utilizing the massive networking power of twitter. Now this may seem counter intuitive at first but the most effective way to get traffic to your blog is to drive traffic to your ‘competitors’ sites!

A few things happen when you promote other peoples travel blogs:

People interested in travel will begin to follow your twitter. Thus you will get a larger following on twitter.
These people will see your website link and view your blog. You will start to build a relationship with other travel bloggers who will be much appreciative of your promotion. These bloggers will in turn tell their twitter follows about your blog which is far more powerful than self endorsement. If you go to my twitter page you can see an example of how to promote other peoples blogs.

As you can see from above I have retweeted people blog posts using the twitter term rt @(the persons twitter name). This will then show up on their main homepage behind the mentions button.

Another way of promoting someone else’s blog would be to flat out say that you reading someone’s blog and tell people about it, also adding in the @(twitter name). These two methods both have the same effect of driving your followers to other travel blogs.

Tip: The more and more followers you get the harder it is to see what important tweeters are saying. So in order to see who is talking to you and about you press the home page and then press the @(yourname) button just under your followers count. This will allow you to talk directly to the people in your community who are talking about you.

In summary be good to other travel bloggers, retweet your favourite posts of theirs or posts that you think your readers would enjoy the most. The end result here is that your twitter following will grow virally, you will build a large community of travel blogging friends and your blog will thrive and receive more traffic.

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Travel Blogs – 3 Ways To Make Money

Posted on May 22, 2021 by dayat

Where’s the first place people go when they want to take a vacation? Yes, it’s online.

Maybe they don’t even have a destination in mind. Perhaps they do and now they need to begin planning. It all starts with the internet.

If you have a travel blog, congratulations! These sites are just plain fun to research! A virtual trip when you can’t get away. But, for those who are looking for information on all things travel-related like air fare, lodging and news about their travel destinations, the travel blog gives them what they want.

Let’s look at some of the different kinds of travel blogs…

We have the bloggers who have one particular place where they return time and again. Simply because they find such happiness when vacationing in their paradise. With this love, comes learning everything they can.

Let’s say it’s a tropical destination. The travel blogger knows the best beaches, the hottest dining establishments and where to shop for everything from food to flip-flops.

Naturally, all this in-demand information is on their blog. They include maps, listings of hotels, resorts, restaurants and recreational activities. Anything and everything the place has to offer its tourists.

When someone does a search for the same place, voila! They find this travel blog with all their questions answered. Who else would you want to listen to? Someone with first-hand knowledge!

For another type of travel blog, let’s look at those where at first glance you may not think of as an exotic travel destination. Not to name names. You can fill in the name of your hometown or city. What? Why would anyone want to see a travel blog about where I live, you ask?

Think about it. What about the business travelers? Even small towns bring in the weary, overworked people traveling for business. They need to know about affordable lodging and decent dining. If they find the time to shop, they want to get something for their partners and kids.

Other popular travel blogs are by retirees.The ones fortunate enough to be able to choose an exotic location to live and play after getting through the rat-race. Not only can they share information for future tourists, but they are ideal to supply answers for others thinking of a state or country to retire to!

Now…we move to the savvy marketers who operate their travel blogs as a home based business. Either full-time or part-time. They love travel and making money from home. And, speaking of money, what’s the one thing all these travel blogs have in common? Most of them have AdSense ads on their blogs. When a visitor clicks on these Google Ads, they make money!

Many of these smart webmasters, along with listing products and places, have become affiliated with travel-related businesses. For example, when someone reserves a hotel booking or air fare, the business shares a commission with the blogger!

Now, to the best part. If you have a travel blog or website, would you like to be able to offer your tourist the ability to choose absolutely anything in the whole wide world? That’s right.

How about a cruise of a lifetime? An exciting train adventure? Flights to take them anywhere from Cabo San Lucas to St. Barts. Skiing on snow or water. An African safari?

And let’s not forget the new luggage they’ll need. New clothes, too. Heck, they can even pick up a new passport holder. Sounds unbelievable, doesn’t it? Soon all travel web sites will have this system in place. And no two will be alike.

So fasten your seat belts and enjoy the ride!

(c) 2007 Karen Cook

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5 Tips for Making a Good Travel Blog

Posted on April 22, 2021 by dayat

Blogging presents you an excellent opportunity to document your life’s journeys.

If you are someone who loves to travel, sharing details about your trips to your friends or others who have the same interest can be an exciting thing. Also, this is a good place to put all your best videos and photos as opposed to posting every single image like most people do in their respective social networking accounts.

Here’s how you can make your travel blog fun and engaging:

1. Get ideas from your favorite travel blogs.

It’s a sure bet that you already have several favorite travel sites. Pay attention to what makes you keep coming back to these blogs in the first place. Is it the writing style? The user-friendly interface, perhaps? Or is it the attractive site design?

You can learn a lot by browsing such sites and considering what makes them stand out among the rest.

2. Pick an appropriate platform.

We all have our comfort zones and it is extremely important that you select a blogging platform that suits your convenience.

Some of the blogging platforms you can choose from include Blogger, WordPress, Typepad, and Joomla, among others. These sites offer free usage and they can be customized in many ways. You can tweak the theme, font, format and almost everything else to make the blog uniquely yours.

3. Update your site often.

As you begin blogging, you will eventually discover that consistency can be hard to master. Things can get in the way and you, as a blogger, need to balance your priorities so you can still keep your blog alive.

Do your best to write at least one blog entry per week. This will keep your audience interested in your site. Otherwise, people will likely forget about you if you are only updating once a month or less.

Decide a specific time for the week when you will do your writing. If you are out on a travel, make it a point to allocate a few hours for blogging as well.

4. Keep a travel journal.

To make your life significantly easier, bring a small notebook wherever you go. This may seem like an old idea but it is still so much better than relying on your gadgets. Besides, you won’t need any batteries for this!

Write down any interesting ideas or feelings you have as you discover a new place, try new food, or encounter unique experiences.

5. Pictures and videos.

Your travel blog will be boring without them!

Your readers need to feel as if they were with you during your travels so make sure to post your best shots and footages. This is crucial towards making your blog appealing to your target audience.

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A Travel Blog is the Best Way to Record Your Vacation Travel

Posted on March 21, 2021 by dayat

If you’re wondering what a blog is, the word blog is an abbreviation for ‘web log’. It is simply an Internet diary, or log, of your thoughts and daily activities. Most people take their laptop with them on vacation so that they are able check their emails and send messages. It is therefore simple to set up a travel blog on your laptop before you go, and to update it as you travel.

We find that it is not always possible or convenient to get access to the Internet when we are travelling. We take brief notes of the places we visit and the things that interest us each day so that we don’t forget anything when we are transferring our experiences to our blog. It saves time and head scratching when we are trying to remember what we did a couple of days earlier.

We kept a travel blog when we were in Britain last Summer and we found it was the best way to record our experiences. Now we have a complete, day by day, record of our holiday with corresponding photos. It is a permanent record of our trip that we can refer to any time. Far better than dim memories of what we did and fading photos in an old album.

One of the advantages of a travel blog is that it allows your family and friends to follow your blogs and to keep up to date with your travels. We were surprised how many of our friends followed our blogs and sent comments and questions about our experiences.

Perhaps I should explain that your most recent entry appears on top of your blog, with previous days entries under it. In other words, the last entry is first. When we came home we simply reversed the order so that we are now able to read about our trip starting at day one and going on from there. This is a great way to keep lasting memories of a magic holiday trip.

We called our family travel blog, ‘tracing-suffolk-roots’ as it was kept purely to record our adventures and photos as we traced our family history and ancestors in the Suffolk area of England. Apart from your laptop, set up to take your blogs, and a diary or notebook to jot down things as you go, you will need a good digital camera to capture the images of your adventures. After all, you only get one chance to capture those precious memories. Recently we have added a Squidoo lens to include more on the subject of travel blogs. You can find our lens at http://www.squidoo.com/holiday_blog It goes in to a little more depth about setting up a holiday blog and has some info and suggestions for getting the most out of your camera and your holiday photos.

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Travel Blogs For Baby Boomers

Posted on February 16, 2021 by dayat

Have you thought about a travel blog? These documentaries of our travels are getting a lot more popular with people who love to see what the world has to offer. They let you tell others about your journeys and keep in touch with friends and family, no matter where you are. All you need is a computer and an Internet connection, two things that are getting much easier to find. There are even small laptop computers that are made for people on the go. Travel blogs for baby boomers are getting more and more popular, and it’s no surprise.

If you’re thinking about starting a travel blog, there are a few things you’ll need to do, and some questions you’ll need to answer. A blog needs some kind of hosting space, and there are lots of options out there. But first, you’ll have to think about whether you want one that’s free, or whether you’re willing to pay to get more options and avoid a few annoyances.

There are a number of blog sites that will allow you to create your own travel blogs for baby boomers for free. However, they often limit your customization options and may even stick you with ads. For some of us, that’s not a viable option, but for others it’s just fine.

Free sites vary in quality, so you’ll want to compare a lot of them if you’d like to use one. Blogger is one of the more popular general free hosts, but there are also themed ones, like Travellerspoint.com and WordPress.com, which might help people with specific traveling blogs. WordPress.org and TypePad charge for their services (a monthly fee) and offer more customization, but you’ll need some technical expertise to get the most out of them.

The complexity of your blog is another concern. The design is up to you, but you’ll need to think about how much tech know-how you have or can get help with. If you don’t know a lot about the Internet, don’t force yourself to learn coding right away. Plenty of great travel blogs for baby boomers are made using pre-made templates that require little manipulation. These can help you get a great looking blog up quickly and easily.

Think about the audience of your blog, too. Are you planning to share your blog with the whole world, or is it just for your family and friends? It’s possible to make the site subscription only or password protected if you’re more interested in letting those close to you in on it, or you can make it public. Remember that it’s possible to moderate your comments to keep rude people and sales robots out of your blog.

Don’t forget to add more than just text in your blog. A few photos of your trip can really liven things up, and some people choose to include video, as well. Travel blogs for baby boomers let others find out what the locations you’ve been to are like, and they’ll even help other travelers prepare for their similar trip. So, if you’ve got something about your travels to shar

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Sustainable Landscaping in Residential Properties

Posted on February 18, 2019 by dayat

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