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Some clients seem to think that once their website is up and running they can now “leave it alone”. Wishful thinking! Websites are in some ways just like cars where you need to spend time and money on maintenance to keep it running ”sweet”.

Two simple habits are of great importance here:

1. Creating a budget.
2. Visiting your own website.

Creating a budget is the first good habit of successful website owners

Your website needs to stay “fresh” and in order to achieve this you need to allocate time and resources.

1. Allocate time - Checking statistics, traffic, finding keywords, adding new products, images and content, researching competitors websites, reading blogs and newsletters, updating pages, changing images are time consuming and require specific skills which are often in short supply in a small or medium size business. This needs to be done and you need to allocate “sufficient time” to do these tasks. If you can’t (or won’t) do it yourself then you must pay someone else to do this (e.g employee or web agency).
2. Allocate money - Although you are able to do many tasks yourself using the CMS you will still need to engage your webmaster every so often to add pages, functionality, technical upgrades and advice. Allocate funds in your budget for this professional assistance and upgrades, especially If you do not possess enough time to handle the website yourself. Clients who are prepared to “spend money” on their websites also seem to have the highest amount of traffic.

A Must Read: 18 Mistakes can kill you in startup

Both elements (time and money) are more often than not in short supply, resulting in clients simply not touching their website year after year. These websites then start lagging behind and getting increasingly fewer visits, no growth, lower rankings and less business.

A second good habit is to visit your own website

We tend to become a bit defensive when we do this, but being somewhat critical by putting yourself in your visitors shoes can pay huge dividends:

1. Overall appeal - am I pleased with the first impression and does it display well over the range of devices like desktops, laptops, tablets and mobile devices (smart phones and tablets)? Should I upgrade my website with a new design using latest web technology (e.g responsive design).
2. Keywords - What phrase would your visitor key in to the Google search box so they can find your website? Do I maybe need to update my content to include these keywords (more often)?
3. Accurate reflection - Does website give an accurate picture of my products and services and how can I make improvements.
4. Information current? - Visitors are quickly put off when your latest newsletter is dated 2008, or that the “What’s New” section has not been updated since 2006.
5. Images and pictures - Are they of a good quality and recent? Does that staff photo still include some resignations?
6. Easy to find? - Is it easy to browse my site and can I really find what I am looking for in the first 20 seconds or so?

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By allocating time, money and a critical eye you will be able to fine-tune your website so that it becomes your most valuable tool of the 21st century.

Long term blogging success is at the forefront of every new bloggers mind. When we take our first tentative steps into the foray of the big blogosphere we are full of fire and ideas. So we blog away, enthusiastically for weeks on end until we run out of steam, ideas or inspiration.

It isn’t easy to be noticed amongst the noise and many bloggers just pack their bags if their place is consistently devoid of visitors.

Blogging can be a very lonely exercise. But contrary to popular belief it doesn’t have to be. Quite the opposite really. You too can survive for the long run with your blog if you implement the 5 critical keys to long term blogging success.

Let’s look at them and how they can help you open hidden doors to your very own blog emporium.

1.) It all starts with the content.
If your content sucks, so will your blog and that’s the end of that. Not many of us are actually gifted enough to publish one killer content post after each other. And we don’t have to either. It is far more important to talk with your heart and write about subjects that are interesting enough to your readers.
You also don’t need to be the expert on your topic, as long as you research your bits, you will be creating a perfectly fine blog post.
While many grapple with the disease of writers block, you don’t really need to. You can create your very own brainstorming list of blog posts in very little time by focusing around a topic, idea, tutorial or series.

2.) Keep planting those seeds.
It is relatively easy to just give up but a lot harder to keep writing. Especially when we run out of ideas it takes considerable effort to keep those posts coming. Remember though, every single bit you do for your blog counts.
Whether you build links, write posts or interact with your community, it all counts. This also includes networking with others who are like minded and operate in the same industry.
These people can be a tremendous source of inspiration that will keep you going for years on end.

3.) Stay focused
Keeping your focus razor sharp is essential for your long term blogging success. In today’s world it is so easy to get sidetracked with yet another idea or project and before you know it, your blog is dead. I suppose you need to think about the longevity of your blog before you fall head over heels if it’s not really what you want to do.

One way that helps with focus is to plan your posts. With the WordPress timestamp feature it is so easy to write a whole batch of posts upfront and publish them for later.
A huge problem for many bloggers is their day job. When they come home at night they are generally exhausted and the last thing they want to do is to blog. This is understandable, especially if you don’t blog for business but merely for fun.
Just remember that a fun blog could quickly turn into a money spitting cash machine with the right content and readers. Just look at the ICanHasCheezBurger blog. What started out as a joke and hobby quickly became a massive income stream.

If you struggle with focus, you might be better of by posting all your weeks entries on the one day and get it over with. That way you can still enjoy private time with your family during the week after a hard days work at the office.

4.) Build your network
I quickly mentioned this in point number three, but deemed it worth its own number since networking is so important. Without a network nothing ever happens in live. We would be lonely and miserable. From an early childhood we form groups and network with like minded people throughout our lives.
Networks help us to belong and form new friendships. The same applies for bloggers. If you network within your industry your blog has a lot more chances at long term success (survival).
You can network by:

• using forums
• comment on other blogs
• social media
• interest groups

Networking has allowed me to make many online friendships and it is those that keep my blog alive.

5.) Don’t fail
Failing is synonym to giving up, so if you want your blog to survive for the long term, you mustn’t give up. I know, it sounds easier than it is. With a bit of effort and resolve while keeping your focus you too can find long term blogging success.