22 Must have Firefox add-ons for Bloggers (Blogging tip 1 of 22)

#1: SEO for Firefox add-on
This is the number one Firefox add-on for bloggers. It is much the same idea as other Firefox browser add-ons, but it makes a huge difference when it comes to assessing web pages.
There are several aspects that I will touch on however this post can not be exhaustive, as there are many other aspects beyond the scope of the write-up.

It makes in-depth searching a breeze. This add-on is very nifty and easy to use. The writers advice that it is toggled off and on, based on need. After installation, the button sits at the bottom of your browser screen. When you want to search for the ranking of a web page like SEOBook, all
you have to do is go to the page, then turn the toolbar on (by clicking on it in the lower part of your browser) and then right-clicking anywhere in the homepage which you have opened.
Then select SEOforfirefox>Look up this page. The result is an array of values including Google Pagerank, the Google Cache date, date page was written,Yahoo links, Alexa Rank, DMOZ rank and other parameters.

This is a screenshot of SEOforfirefox in action

This tool makes it possible for a blogger to be able to quickly assess the authority of any web page and to know whether to link to it or not.


Another capability of this add-on is in the area of regular Google and yahoo searches. Ordinarily, these major search engines do not give you details of things like Keyword research, Traffic estimator for that keyword, trends for that keyword and a host of other things. It also gives you the SEO details of each of the pages in the search results.

This is the Google search page with the SEO for Firefox turned on.

This is the Google search page without the SEO for firefox turned on.

Below is a video that may be more visual, but I would strongly recommend this for any and every blogger!

Part 3: the best kept secrets of blog traffic building

Blogs are the future of mankind
At the beginning of this 3-part series, I promised to show you why blogs are the future of mankind. Blogs started off organically and have grown into an integral part of online life. Many webmasters are already finding new ways of delivering the blog experience. Chris Brogan, a social media guru blogged about audio versions of a blog and being able to listen to your blog. If you visit Cnet News, you will find links to interesting articles about the history of blogs.

Blogs have altered the way news is reported, adding a personal component to it since the original news ideal of a faceless newspaper or news media reporter. Now the 'I' component has become sort of okay with news and that tells you a lot about what is going on.

Social media has come in and further enhanced the blog atmosphere. Humans are a social group and thus naturally, we will do social things like meet, discuss, gossip, make money, chaet, pray, flirt, seek, and the list goes on. Portals like Digg and Technorati as well as Twitter and the numerous other social media sites have revolutionized blogging further. These social circles are beginning to monetize even more. Micro-blogging is a newer trend and other sites like MyBloglog and BlogCatalog are on the front page for many new blogs and bloggers too.

To predict that things will change is an understatement. As mankind gradually realizes the fact that most of what we blog will outlive us, our natural instincts for will be to dig in deeper and blog more. Bloggers are writing their biography....as it happens. Even more intriguing is the fact that when you look at your blog 7 years from now, you will know what you were interested in seven years ago on a particular day. That is why I know blogs are going somewhere.

Revolutionized search
Looking at the Google success story, one can only imagine where we are going. The original proposal of Google Founders Larry page and Sergey Brin is entitled 'The Anatomy of a Large-Scaled Hypertextual Search Engine'.It eventually has become not only the most successful company on earth, but also the largest force to reckon with in online advertising, search, and web applications.

For anyone that underestimates blogs, what I have to say is, see you in 20 years' time. Then we will all have personal online IDs that will not be prone to the web insecurities of today. The internet today will be referred to as 'analog', while the web in that future will be the real digital web.

Your blog will be your identity.
As we speak, turn on your television and you will see that everybody that is somebody newsworthy has a blog. The movers and shakers of the world are not off-mark. Thus while you blog and monetize and do all sorts of things online, we must bear that in mind and get reputable online.....for the future. People may use social media...which are a spin-off of blogs to harm you. If you have your own voice, at least you can strike back.

In 2005, tagging was referred to as the future of blogging: it is here now. Blogs will get easier to use and more people will have blogs. Spamming may never go away, but it will soon be classified as 'cyber-crime'. These secrets are revealed in good faith. Many top bloggers already know about this, but they are being tight-lipped so that they can be ahead in the game. Share this information with your readers and they will reward you. Stay tuned here as we dig deeper into money-making strategies for your blog. You can recieve updates by email, or via our 'RSS VIRUS'