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When you start a blog, you do so either as a hobby - just to put your thoughts into it OR you make the blog to earn money out of it. Earlier, most people created blogs for the first reason, but now the trend is towards trying to make money out of blogging.  Bloggers and small website owners can make money with AdSense without knowing any tech, even with a free blog and without spending a penny on web hosting, web designing, etc. In this post, I have tried to simplify things for bloggers who don't know the subject of making money from AdSense. The tips given here will work well in 2021 and beyond.  Because the post is an all-in-one post on AdSense, it has become quite big. So, I have divided it into two parts. If you do not know how Google Ads work on blogs and websites, you would want to learn as much as you can: if so, continue reading the rest of the post. If you already have AdSense on your blog or are interested only in tips to make more money with Adsense ads, jump...

In March 2021, Google implements 100% mobile first indexing. Are you prepared? What all should you do to be up-to-date in terms of SEO? Just from a knowledge point of view too, a number of queries arise: Does ' mobile first indexing ' mean that Google now has two types of search bots and it maintains two types of search indexes of websites? Is mobile first indexing a sudden change? Does it impact our websites or blogs from SEO point of view? What happens to the desktop versions of websites on Google search? What is mobile first indexing? Mobile first indexing means this: F or ranking websites and web pages for search purposes,  Google (or any other search engine) gives precedence to the mobile version. When a mobile version is available, that one is assessed for indexing.  Does Google maintain a separate index for mobile websites? No. Google has clarified this recently: ... there isn't a separate mobile-first index; Google Search continues to use only one index. Google S...

We bring you the updated list of 40 useful websites, apps and tools for bloggers, web writers, authors, newspersons, photo and video editors - all those who create and modify content for the web or elsewhere. Some of these are excellent tools for other purposes such as Search Engine Optimization, web security, and checking whether someone has stolen your content. Each of these free tools/ apps have been used by me and my friends and blogger friends. I have only included websites and software when I find them safe, stable and really useful.  Tools that do not install well or are reported to install junk on your computer, those with useless features in their free versions, and tools/ apps that are not found totally safe in my and others' reviews have been rejected.   Some of the entries in this free tools' list are freemium tools - these have free as well as paid versions. Repeat: all these great tools/ sites/ apps are FREE! Free writing tools for bloggers, writers G rammarly...

Bing vs Google market share and usage  Google is the daddy of web search, no doubt about that. The second most important search engine is Microsoft Bing (earlier called just Bing), with market share ranging from about 2% to 16% in different geographies. In addition, Yahoo! search engine also uses Microsoft Bing data and its market share goes up to 14% in some areas.  Though I use Google predominantly for search purposes, I do use Bing when I need better results. It might look counter-intuitive but it is a reality. Try it and you will find that its search is simple and straight, and it sometimes gives better results than Google. It might be behind Google in innovations, and it might lag when it comes to finding the intent of the search but it seems to excel when the query is straight forward. Moreover, its filters on top of search pages are very easy to apply. You do not have to look for 'advanced search' as on Google. I checked a dozen webpages of my blogs on both Bing and Goo...

This post shares experiences of four established travel bloggers. especially during and after Covid 19 pandemic. As one would expect, Covid 19 has disrupted travel bloggers’ routine badly. At the same time, this has given them an opportunity to do maintenance, reflect on their blogging journey and innovate so as to adjust to the new reality.  Indrani Ghose, of i Share says the pandemic slowed her down but it threw up a wonderful opportunity to connect with nature.  “I have indulged in bird photography and clicked several hundreds of pictures of different birds. This has kept my Insta feed live with fresh pictures. I have also contributed articles to newspapers. This period of lockdown gave me the opportunity to look back into my old posts, update and repost them and I am really glad about it,” Indrani shares. Ami Bhat, who runs Thrilling Travel blog, says, “After a very eventful year in 2019, 2020 turned out to be a complete wash-out. The numerous plans and advance bookings ...