Looking for ways to increase your blog links? Look no further as 23Blogs has got the right solution for you, absolutely FREE!

What makes 23Blogs different from other link exchange sites?
(excerpt taken from 23Blogs)

As a blogger , just like me .I always get requests to place exchange links onto my blog roll. I answer and put the links on one by one. That's the traditional method/way. The thing is how do I know that my link's still on their blogs?I can't check their sites one by one everyday. Also I don't know how many clicks from those links go to more than 10 blog sites. So We launched this site. 23blogs.com is a free 1:10 text link exchange that provides blogs the ability to cross-promote each other. Member blogs display a box containing text links in order to earn impressions.

How does 23Blogs work?

When you register(sign up) and add a blog, you will get a HTML CODE. This code will display 10 other different blogs titles on your blog and you will earn 10x impressions after you put those HTML CODE on your blog. Also , you will get 1:1 click exchange, That's meaning when your visitors click the ad box on your blog , you will credit 1 click and the system will PAY back 1 click to you. And now, by using our exchange system, you'll never worry about the problem again.

Features available if you join 23Blogs:

• 1000 impressions when you sign up.(once you place our html code within 24 hours.)
• More than 10 different CSS style.
• Referring other blogs earn you credits.
• real-time statistics.
• Targeted traffic! Choose the categories of blogs where you want your text ad to appear.
• Add free content to your blog, making it more appealing to your readers at no cost to you.
• Absolutely FREE!

How do you go about using 23Blogs?
Registration is required for 23Blogs but it takes you only a couple of minutes to do so. Once you're done, you're required to add your own blog as shown in the screenshot below:
Once you're done, click the "Submit" button. Next up is to grab the codes for the 23Blogs widget. Click on "Sites" link located on the column on the right. You would then be brought to the page shown in the screenshot below:
Click on the "HTML Code" link to get your 23Blogs widget code. See below for the screenshot of the page where you can grab the code:

Before you grab the widget code, try browsing through the "Style" drop down list. There are 16 Widget styles to choose from. Browse through the Style page and select a Style that suits your blog best. Check out the screenshot below for the first 6 styles 23Blogs has to offer:
Click on the "Submit" button and Presto! Your widget codes are now ready for use on your blog. See screenshot below:
Bloggerfocus Comments On 23 Blogs

This is a new site that I just got to know recently. Looking from the features being offered by 23Blogs, I'm convinced that 23Blogs has the potential to grow in terms of popularity among bloggers. The idea of using 1:10 text link exchange is well worth a try and I don't see the problem of blogs being blacklisted by Google for link baiting since links come from blogs which are also related to your own blog (in other words, under the same category).

In addition, offering 1000 FREE impression (as promised by 23Blogs) for placing a 23Blogs widget on your blog is just too tempting to be ignored. Although 23Blogs did not specify how long it would take to get the 1000 impression, I doubt that would be off any concern to bloggers. All these goodness from 23Blogs for the price of nothing certainly has got my tongue wagging and my lips wet with anticipation.

Till my next post, cheers and happy blogging!

If you like this post, feel free to subscribe to my RSS feed. In addition, a Digg or Stumble for this post would definitely make my day. :)

Recommended Read:
1. 5 Reasons Why Blog Linking Is Good For Your Blog
2. Backlink Watch - Checking Your Blog's Backlinks

1. Blog linking increases the Technorati Authority of your blog. Authority at Technorati is measured by the number blogs pointing/links to yours.

To prevent the problem of spam linking, an Authority points are calculated based on the number of blogs that links to you. Even if there are 200 links pointing to you from a particular blog, the Authority point is still counted as one. Read about Technorati Authority here.

2. Boost your Google Page Rank via blog linking. Part of the formula used by Google to determine the Page Rank(PR) of a blog involves calculating the number links pointing to that blog.
Although there's always the issue of link spamming(also called spamdexing) that Google is trying to overcome, I doubt it should be of any concern to you unless you're spamdexing as well. My only advise is to build more credibility for your blog and the links will eventually come from your readers and fans.

3. Discovering that other blogs are linking to your blog is a great confidence booster. In some ways, links from other blogs are seen as the ultimate recognition for a well written post or article.

4. In the virtual world of blogging where physical contact is not possible, handshakes and hugs between new found blog friends are made via blog linking.

5. Sharing your readers with blogs that you link to. Let your readers know that you are not stingy when it comes to knowledge and information sharing. If you lose your readers by doing so, it comes to show that there is much to improve on your blog. Blame not your readers for jumping boat(blog), but yourself for not doing enough to captivate them.
____________________________________________________________________
The list goes on! Here are more reasons on why blog linking is good for your blog. Do keep them coming and don't forget to claim your Entrecard and Beer Credits from me!

6. When you link, you build your blog's brand, because in traffic reports, blogger take notice to another blog. It really makes their day. (submitted by Drburst from CollegeIntention)

7. If you blog about a small niche, say playing warcraft while underwater and you link to another blogs about playing warcraft underwater, you will promote your whole niche, bring the google page ranks of your niche up, and bring more people to your hobby/cause/army/republic/ect. (submitted by Drburst from CollegeIntention)
____________________________________________________________________
There you have it, 5 simple reasons on why blog linking is good for your blog. If you have more reasons to add on to this list, feel free to drop a comment. Each accepted comment (added to the list above) is worth 50 Entrecard credits and 200 Beer Credits. I'm also throwing in a link from Bloggerfocus to your blog as well.

Till my next post, cheers and happy blogging.

P.s : Subscribe to Bloggerfocus and make somebody a happy man today.

Yeap, that's what the title say, I've been pimping my blog, or at least try to pimp my blog. The reason of course is very simple, having a decent looking blog does help to keep the readers glued to you. If it does not look professional at least make it look presentable.

I admit I ain't a code guru that could turn a simple blog into a spectacular one by just snapping my fingers once. I had to do it the hardaway, backing up the previous template, looking for a decent looking template and then taking the risk of uploading the new template. I tried uploading a couple of templates and I would say it was disastrous. The layout in blogger totally got messed up, my ads disappear, and best of all my stat counter deserted me. The perils faced by an illiterate coder...sigh

Finally, I managed to find a template that actually meets my requirement. Firstly it has to be a 3 column template to allow more space for ads, links, pictures and etc. Next it has got be simple in design and uses light colours as a background. There is no significant prove that light background with dark fonts have an edge over dark background with lighter fonts. Its just a matter of preference and maybe it adds to the "pureness" of my blog.

Back to “pimping” the blog, there are a few points that I believe should be taken into consideration when you choose your template or in some cases, when you design a blog. Let me list them out:

1. Make sure the background colour and the font has good contrast (like my blog for example... what a showboat)

2. Make sure you select a good title/theme for your blog. Your blog title would be the first line of attraction for any readers. For example, between "Pimping Your Blog" and "Make Your Blog Nicer", which would you think have a better chance to attract a reader to explore more about your site/blog?

3. Make sure that you do not insert a picture as background that would make readers struggle to read what you have written.

4. Make sure you do not "rainbow-tized" your blog. That means, try to cut down on the number of colours you use on the blog. You don't want to give the impression that you own a rainbow instead of a blog.

5. Make your blog look neat and tidy. Do not scatter your ads, pictures, and links all over your blog. For example, in a 3 column blog, try placing all the ads, rss feed and sponsors in a single column and the links or pictures on another column. The bottomline is for readers to get a good impression upon the first glance of your blog. I believe most of you would have just closed a page when you come upon a hap-hazard site that has ads strewn all over the place and you can't seem to find the search button.

6. A picture paints a thousand words, thats how the saying goes. But when you have too many pictures in your blog, would that mean you are having thousands and thousands of words added to your article? All right, enough with the sarcasm. What my point is, try reducing the number of pictures in your blog. The more pictures you put in it, the slower the loading of your site/blog will be for a reader. Imagine having a large picture banner at the top page describing about your site, then you have loads of picture ads by the side column, coupled with tons of other pictures for each paragraph of your article. Imagine the loading time for your site/blog especially in areas where readers have bad broadband services? If pictures are a necessity in your blog, a few options are available to solve the problem at hand. Perhaps you could try posting pictures which you think are important or relevant to your article. How about posting the thumbnail instead of the actual picture in your blog? To a lesser extent, perhaps you can to provide a link to the site where your pictures are hosted.

I hope some of the tips from this article would help make your blog a better place to read. If you have any comments about the article, feel free to drop a comment or e-mail me at sksee82@yahoo.com.

If you have something to comment about my "pimped" blog, follow as instructed in the paragraph above.

Like my article? subscribe to me now.

Special thanks to http://www.spiga.com.mx/ for the outstanding template.

Remember to check back at my blog frequently. RSS feeds do not immediately update new articles.