- Reach tens of thousands of SEOs
Our subscribers for both the main blog and YOUmoz continue to climb. Every month the numbers grow, just think about how many people will see your work. This is a great way to make yourself known in the industry.
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- Get great feedback
People will leave comments and help/suggestions about your issue, or even ideas you hadn't considered before.
- Good posts get page views
If you write a successful post, it can generate lots of traffic. For example, the great post that Aaron Hunter wrote comparing Joomla and Wordpress is still getting over 1,000 page views a month and he wrote the post over a year ago.
- 6,959 page views from January through July.
- 11,468 page views since date of post (January 2008)
- Get smart SEOs visiting your links
SEOmoz visitors clickthrough rate is tremendously high compared to other blogs and sites in the field. When we link, people click, so if you want eyeballs, make something compelling. Check out how many members we have on our site, that's a lot of people looking at your work!
- Badge of Honor
Our bar is set high - just to make it to YOUmoz is tough; getting on the main blog is a real challenge. Our readers' expectations are high and we reject 10 submissions for every 1 we accept. It's a badge of honor and, in many cases, resume-worthy, particularly in the search world.
As an example, check out chenry's post on CAPTCHAs' Effect on Conversion Rates. It was so popular, it was moved to the main blog, and ended up with 58 thumbs up, 0 thumbs down (a feat I never manage myself!) and 73 total comments.
His entry isn't super long, but it is to the point, he shows graphics and pulls the reader into the post quickly.
- Get a job!
Yes, people come to SEOmoz looking for SEOs to hire (see the marketplace, for example). If you can show your knowledge through written word, you are likely to get some calls/emails.
- mozPoints
When you reach 100 mozPoints, the nofollow is removed from your profile and if you reach 150+ within one month you could get a free SEOmoz PRO membership for a month!
YOUmoz is the best way to earn those points because content gets more thumbs than comments (most of the time). Plus every time your YOUmoz entry gets posted on the site, you get 10 mozPoints, plus whatever thumbs up that post receives. AND if your post gets promoted to the main blog, you'll get an additional 15 mozPoints.
- Beat Rand!
Many of the best YOUmoz writers have authored posts with more thumbs than Rand's posts - just think how you can flaunt it in his sad, bearded face!
- Rank!
If you want to get top rankings in the engines with a piece of your content, but don't have the appropriate domain for it, SEOmoz has a lot of juice and ability to compete. While we don't allow parasite hosting, we do have YOUmoz :-)
- Umm... you get a frickin' live link!
We have some serious sweet link juice floating around these pages, why not take advantage. All submissions are subject to our editorial approval of course (more on this below). :-)
What we’re looking for when reviewing YOUmoz entries
The fact is, if you submit a post that is clear, concise, well written and thought out, your entry will more than likely be approved. We are happy to post beginner articles along with more seasoned posts. Often times if a post is good, but needs some extra help to make it great, we'll work with you to get the post just right.Use images!
Photos and images break up the content and help make it more readable. They give your post more “oomph” and can help you make your point more clear. Plus, great posts with graphics do really well.
For example, just look what feedthebot did back in 2007: How to put Google custom site search into your current website design. He wrote a post about integrating Google custom site search with your current web design and included some great visuals, which made the post engaging. As a result, since the post was published in May 2007, he has gotten over 38,486 page views.
Come up with some sort of unique and relevant image that goes with your post. If the post is short, then one image will do, but if it’s a big longer, break it up with multiple images. Some examples:
- Screenshots with areas highlighted
- Charts or graphs
- Illustrations
- Photos
We search for duplicate content and if we see the same post on another site, your entry will be automatically rejected. So it's more beneficial for you to only submit unique content.
Spell check and Grammar check
We read through every entry and will make changes as needed. However if the post is filled with misspellings and grammar changes that would take us a long time to fix, then your post probably won’t get approved. Depending on how good it is we may send it back to you and ask you to redo it, but only if it’s “knock your socks off” good.
When it comes down to it, have fun with your post and don't hold back. It's great to have posts that cover a mix of subjects, just keep them relevant. They don't have to be specifically about SEO, but the general topic of search marketing usually hits the mark! If you have questions feel free to email or send me a private message. I'm happy to help get your entry posted! And don't forget...
when my youmoz post spends weeks in "awaiting approval" mode, its pretty hard to get excited about attempting to write a better one.
By leaving it in limbo, you sap my will to contribute
If its a crap post, just decline it and ill try write something better.
I have to agree on this one. I believe a few months, maybe a year ago Rebecca made a similar post about wanting more YouMoz entries. With that I sent in one or two over the next few months and they took forever to get reviewed and published or rejected. I understand things take time, but weeks worth of review, that seems a bit lengthy to expect people to get excited about submitting.
Don't get me wrong, I think it's very valuable to submit to YouMoz, but maybe when there's a full back-log more eyes need to be at the ready for the review stage so it goes a little quicker. Just a thought.
Hi, I agree with this as well and will work on being better about that. Just for the record every post is read withing 24-48 hours, if it does't get posted right away it doesn't mean it's bad. It could mean several things actually. It could mean that a similar post went up recently and we want to hold off, or perhaps the post needs a few tweaks and we'll contact you about that.
Normally my routine is to first go through and remove spam (there is a lot of it). Next I go through and read the valid posts (as in, not spam). If there is one that jumps out at me and doesn't need many edits, it gets posted right away. Often times I'll leave a post in the queue because I think it has potential or other times I ask someone else to read through the posts. Personally, I think it's a good idea to have multiple people reading the posts.
So, what I'm trying to get at is that just becuase your post isn't published right away, doesn't mean it's crap. :) And please please if you ever have questions feel free to email or PM me. And I promise to do better at declining posts when need be. Again let me know if you have questions as to why.
I'm expriencing the same issue with the long awaiting approval period. I understand it's busy, but it's a little frustrating with a topical article. I have a post waiting which was reasonably topical (as it related to the 'recent' launch of Open Site Explorer), but is now less so. Hope to see it published (assuming it's approved) soon!
Not empty actually, just not full of great posts either. :)
Both my submissions were accepted so the bar can't be too high.
Tons of thumbs up, Jen! You've been doing a great job making YOUmoz higher quality lately and I think while it slows down the flood of new posts, it also makes YOUmoz a far more worthwhile, high signal to noise ratio blog.
Just looking at the list of top SEO blogs by subscribers - YOUmoz alone is poised to get into the top 25 pretty soon.
BTW - A huge thanks to everyone who has and does contribute. I know how much time and energy it takes to blog, and when I started out, I really sucked, so I have the deepest respect and gratitude for everyone who puts something out, even if we end up not publishing it.
"Umm... you get a frickin' live link!"
Wow. Some reason I thought the links in YOUmoz articles were nofollowed. Now I wish I had linked in my last YOUmoz post.
Oh well, this is how life works : )
(did they used to be nofollowed?)
I do think they used to be nofollowed. In fact it used to say that on the create a YOUmoz entry page. I double checked on that just a few days ago and had that bit of info removed. :)
I don't know if it's just mine, but it still says that when I click on the "Write A Blog Entry"
"Please Note
Ahh well that should be removed on the next code release. :) Sorry, I tried to get that removed before making this post.
Good to know. Thank you!
Exactly what I was going to say. I didn't realize it at the time that I could link to my website(s) in my YOUmoz post. Now that I know, I'll consider writing more often!
Obviously if the post seems spammy or just a marketing ploy it won't get published. :) But if you look through the current posts you'll see that they do get links from us! Just be sure to write a good post, and you'll be rewarded. :)
I owe everything that I am to YOUmoz. Ok, maybe not EVERYthing, but it has paid me back a hundred-fold, not just in warm fuzzies, but in traffic, links, industry connections, and, yes, even cash money. It's still a fantastic opportunity for any up-and-comer in the SEO industry.
Yeah, I have noticed that my YouMoz feed has been pretty empty lately. Hopefully this post is the kick in the pants that would-be YouMozzers need.
I have a couple of post ideas that I have been meaning to write, but just haven't found the time! Maybe this weekend.
Get writing Whitespark! I've really enjoyed your past posts.
Great post, thanks Jennita
I think you can also hold a YOUmoz contest and give winner some really good gifts lol :D Maybe a post about this contest and winner.
Youmoz is awesome. I used to love writing on youmoz before we started writing for the main blog. In fact sometimes I still get the urge to write youmoz posts even though I know I can write on the main blog!
I can certainly see the benefits of submitting to YouMoz, hopefully my work will be up to scratch and be approved!
Hey Jen (I know how you hate Jennita ;) ), are you trying to give me more work to do? I never even update my blog! :)
J/k, I have been thinking about submitting something, maybe I'll get off my butt now...
-Brian
You get brownie points for calling me Jen. :) Did you read through all the benefits?? Do it! and thanks for the retweet. :)
Haha, of course I read the benefits Jen. More exposure than the Urban Cowboy! =P np for the RT.
So J Lo is not the preferred nickname???
as soon as you approve german youmoz entries - i will write:-) unfortunately at the moment my english isnt good enought to write an article... maybee in a few weeks, i will take some time to write and give it to a friend to translate ..
but for sure i love to read all the youmoz entries...
that would be cool, be interesting to see if it popped up in .de serps
Maybe @stuntdoppel has a blog that you can post to!! (Training series attendees will get it) Only kidding, your English is better than 90% of people on the net anyhow...
Ok YouMoz, here I come... I'll start planning on my youmoz entry. :)
I bet you see a increase in spam after this post.
Hi
I am new here and this is the first time i am commenting here on seomoz.
I read the post and have learn few things. Thanks
Hope to stay in touch with you all here
Thanks so much for the information! It is some great stuff!
YOUmoz is favorite of the SEO's. But I like your ideas and there reasons.
Since my blog is not about SEO, posting about SEO on it wouldn't be targeting my audience correctly. That's where YouMoz comes in.
YouMoz is a great training ground for anyone looking to learn or share findings. It's not easy to write a compelling article about your knowledge or Ah HAH! moment, but it's worth sharing. Like this article points out, it only takes one really good post to create 1,000's of visits for months/years to come.
I wish I had more time to write. I need to schedule time to stir up the pot with more posts.
Awesome, now if I could just come up with something interesting to post about.
YOUmoz is a very good SEO tactic for SEOmoz. I like it! Good content is still one of the best ways to do SEO. ;-)
Hi Jennita , How much time does SEOmoz usually take to assess and finalize the Youmoz post sent?
This is the first post submitted by me.
I have sent a post but it is still awaiting approval. I know its just a few days back. Maybe I am a little impatient but some posts might lose their relevance if the time taken to approve or reject is more.
Jeez, you guys really had a shocker in Q3/4 of 2008. Visitors down by almost 100,000.
Seriously, heads need to roll over there... ;-)
Is YOUmoz still giving out gift cards for "Theme of the Month"? If so, that should be reason #11.
I've struggled with posting to YOUmoz because TinyMCE doesn't allow me to write my own HTML. I really like to use semantic markup.
Don't worry though, I've got something in the works for YOUmoz that is going to totally blow your mind (seriously).
Theme of the month was a great idea. I hope they are still doing this and hope people take advantage of YOUmoz!
Cool! I look forward to your post. :) As for the Theme of the Month... yes we are still doing that. The past month unfortunately fell by the wayside but I will it back into gear for the following month. Do you have any suggestions as to what the theme should be?
As for suggestions, I can tease that my post is about "Spamming and Black Hat." As for unbiased suggestions:
I have always thought that a "free month of Pro" would be great incentive for YouMoz posts. Submit an article to YouMoz that gets published and you'll get a free Pro membership for one month. I'm sure that YouMoz would be chock full of great content with an incentive like that.
I think this would also help Pro sales. People will see how awesome it is, and not want to bother having to write YouMoz posts all the time to keep renewing their Pro memembership. Also, the more people that you have using and loving a pro account, the more people you have out there telling all their friends about the benefits.
I've learned a lot from SEOMoz though I still feel like a novice. My ranking has improved to 3 and I am getting business from it. I'll think on it!
Get involved in the forums, ask questions! It will come eventually.
Definitely worth it. The YouMoz section has been way too slow in the past weeks, but maybe that's just because it's summer.
I take it the youmoz bin has been a little empty as of late.
It would be nice to see who is giving the thumbs up and thumbs down
People feel free to use the thumbs anonymously which is why they use them. If people could see who was doing what, no one would use them.
I agree, keep it anonymous, I really can't imagine anyone ever getting thumbed down if they thought they might be called out on it.
That said, I usually owe up to it and follow up with a comment whenever I thumb something down.
i see some of Rand's post that get 1 thumbs down, and I think it's a troll!
Sphinn shows who votes it up/down, and it does pretty good
and if you vote it down...you have to give a reason
i think you should be able to leave optional comments as to why you gave it a thumbs down but not show the name that gave the comment
Speaking of spell & grammar check, there is a good program Grammar Check Anywhere (SpellCheckAnywhere.Com) it adds spell & grammar check to all programs.
i made a post and its still waiting approval but its been awhile i was told it probably wont be published but it is a decent question (i think) so why not post it? what qualifies a post as having enough quality to get approved?
i think you might still be able to go to it even if its not approved so i put the link below but i don't understand why it hasn't at least been approved or denied in 2 weeks even after i saw @mattcutts mention this same topic on his twitter feed like last week so i would think it had some relevance
https://www.seomoz.org/ugc/is-it-smart-to-politely-tell-users-that-they-should-upgrade-their-browsers
Hi, I had mentioned you could email me for specifics on why it wasn't posted. I do think the question is somewhat relevant however it is not a blog post, it is simply a question. If you could take that idea and talk about the impact IE 6 is having, perhaps get quotes from other people, etc. That could be useful to others.
I hope you'll continue to post, but please remember that not everything will be put on the site. And always feel free to contact me if you have questions about your post.
It seems like this crops up fairly often - might be worth adding a point to the main post. Although discussion is encouraged on YOUmoz, it's not a forum - open-ended questions are usually rejected. It's ok, from what I've seen, to end a post with a question or ask for feedback, but there should be enough "meat" (some data, a hypothesis, etc.) to support the question.
is there a place where we can ask open ended questions? i didn't really have anything new to present i just wanted the communities opinion on the idea. i understand its not really a post i just wanted to know where i could put it to try and get an answer
Outside of Q&A in the member/Pro section, there isn't really a pure community function (or forum equivalent) at this point. It's something the SEOmoz team has been talking about for a while - it's difficult, because an open-ended community is a much different animal than a user-generated blog.
Of course, I think it's ok to pose questions in a YOUmoz post, as long as the overall content still stands alone. So, for example, if you had some data to present about browser adoption or trends or ways you've dealt with this issue successfully with clients, then posing the question to the community at the end of that post would be fine.
I know it's kind of a fine line and might seem arbitrary at times, but I will say that the SEOmoz staff (and I say this as a community member and YOUmoz poster myself) sincerely tries to give every submission its due and provide feedback. If I had to boil it down to one thing, I'd just say this - think in terms of what you'd post to your own professional blog. If the YOUmoz submission can stand alone as an industry blog post, is relevant, and you've put the time and energy into formatting, spell-checking, etc., you'll have a pretty good shot.
Youmoz needs to be updated more. There was 13 days between the last post and one before-this is too long. Especially as the content can sometimes be better than the Moz blog.
I completely agree that 13 days between posts is too long, but to be honest we can only post when we have something good to post. That is why I wrote this post. :) We would love to have a new post every day!
Think of it this way:
It gives you more incentive to post because your YOUmoz post is more likely to be on the front page of YOUmoz for a longer period of time.
That's true...yours did very well.
hello,
how come my post was not published ? i`ve worked on that post for like 5 hours
https://www.seomoz.org/ugc/meta-data-and-user-scenarios-for-international-seo
Hi Remi,
I just answered your email. :) Feel free to email me with any questions!
Jen
I am new in seo, i have a blog related to Free search engine seo and Blogger SEO Opimization I got and learn many new things from your blog which i was searching from many days, Thanks for your contribution
I had no idea about the 100 points/ nofollow deal. Time to start commenting!
If you have something useful to say, please comment, but please DON'T just post "Awesome Post!" comments solely for the purpose of increasing your thumbs so you get a dofollowed link.
Thanks for the tip sparky. As you can see with my whopping 3 mozPoints, I don't make a habit of perusing blog posts and leaving generic, digital vigilante style comments like some other members do.
You're right. Sorry. I was too quick to assume what your intentions were.