The Wibiya Race to the Billion closed on a high note, with one lucky winner who happily accepted his well-deserved prize.

‘‘Great news!!! Thank you very much for my prize! I’m really excited,’’ said Salomon Amiga, who runs http://bberryblog.com/, when he found out that he won a new iPad.

This moment of reaching a billion engagements has been much anticipated since Wibiya was founded four years ago and acquired by Conduit last year. It shows just how much the Wibiya Bar helps our 300,000 publishers increase page views on their sites, boost user engagement, and promote their content.

As part of the celebration, we released our new engagement video that explains how we define an ‘engagement,’ and how it can help your site boost user connections and interactions. Plus, we had some good times in the Wibiya Office.

One billion. That’s a BIG number. And we’re about to reach that number of user engagements with the Wibiya Bar, thanks to you awesome Wibiyans! Since 2008, more than 300,000 Wibiyans have been engaging their millions of users via the Wibiya Bar on their websites or blogs.

So it’s no surprise we’re so close to reaching the billionth engagement.

To celebrate this impressive milestone, we’re giving the site owner whose Wibiya Bar brings on the billionth engagement the new iPad for FREE! The winner’s website or blog will also be featured on the Wibiya blog (which gets you more exposure and more traffic).

Increase your chances to win!

• Add cool apps to make your Wibiya Bar even more engaging
• Spread the word through Facebook and Twitter
• Promote the race via banners, blog posts, and newsletters
• Send Live Notifications announcing the race

Watch our new 1-minute video to find out how you can become an engagement expert!

Hurry up and join the race for your chance to win the new iPad!

1. Years of practice

The opportunity to reach the victory stand requires years of practice. Although a 1,000-meter race lasts about five minutes, participants spend years practicing for it. If you think the fight starts and ends in the ring, think again. The truth is, the fight is on before entering the ring, when the competitors begin training and preparing for the competition. It is the training, the preparation, and the hard work that matters, and makes all the difference. For bloggers, the preparation is all about keyword research, writing posts, proofreading, interacting with your readers, guest posting, and steadily making your presence in the blogosphere.

2. Staying one step ahead

Every time someone breaks the world record in a particular sport, we have a tendency to think that it’s the fastest one can run, or the heaviest one can lift, or the highest one can jump – but there’s always someone out there who thinks otherwise, who’s not discouraged by the competition. In their minds, they just keep thinking that they’ve got to go one step ahead, and that they have got to be the best. That’s the kind of attitude a blogger should maintain when facing a challenge from an already-established blog. Always believe that you can beat the best in the business. All you need is some positivity, patience, and persistence.

3. Focus

Do you think that champion athletes would have made it big if they had been spending their time jumping from one sport to another? Of course not. Staying focused is the key, regardless of your goal. Bloggers should focus on one niche and get really good at, and avoid a hodgepodge of blogs at all costs. Focus is the only way to achieve success that really matters.

4. Feeling like a winner – no matter what

Anybody who steps into the ring (or playing field) is aiming for the gold, but just because there’s one winner, does that make everyone else a loser? The fact of the matter is that having a chance to participate and compete with the world’s best athletes is in and of itself an accomplishment. Keep in mind that the world’s eyes are set on those athletes for the simple fact that they are participating in the competition, so getting the gold is just the icing on the cake. In order to become a successful blogger, it is important that you step into the blogosphere (i.e. start a blog) and keep striving to produce the most valuable content for the readers.

5. Not waiting for the right circumstances

Just pick out any gold medalist in the history of the Olympic Games. If you think about their stories, you’ll notice that many of them came from lower- to middle-class backgrounds, and some were even poor, deprived, or had all sorts of shortcomings. Still, they didn’t spend their time complaining, grumbling, or procrastinating. Instead, they took their lack of resources as a challenge, and turned their shortcomings into strengths. As a blogger, don’t complain whenever you encounter less-than-perfect circumstances. Simply focus on your goals and remember that the adversities will make your accomplishments even sweeter.

This is a guest post written by Bashir Jutt, if you’re interested in guest posting on Wibiya’s blog please see the guidelines.

Bashir shares World Soccer Shop vouchers and London Pass vouchers on his website.
He is passionate about all types of sports and blogging.

If you are just starting to blog, chances are that you’ll soon reach a state in which you’ll feel dejected and depressed, and you’ll think of quitting. This post is perfect for those times. Chances are, you’ll be facing one of the following three types of rejections, and this post might help you lift your spirits and keep going.

Google’s rejection:

The word “Google,” because of its sizable share in the search market, can be used as a synonym for search engines (at least for the time being). And the bigger it gets, the more important it will become for your blog to be in the good books of Google, which is something easier said than done. Being in the good books of Google means optimizing your blog in a way that Google will happily index your pages and posts, featuring them at the top of the results for many different keywords. But reaching that point can take a lot of learning, effort, time, and money. Getting rejected by Google will make it extremely hard for you to find a footing. If Google coldshoulders your blog, you will be getting no traffic, no unique visitors, no clicks, no earning, nothing, nada, zilch.

How to deal:

Dealing with Google’s rejection is easy. First, you have got to stop obsessing about the rankings and start trying to please your readers. While there’s no direct link between Google’s ranking and readers’ endorsement, chances are that delivering the best possible content and valuing your readers will automatically make your blog a likely candidate for higher rankings. To start with, write detailed, unique posts for your readers; try to provide them with all the information they need in one single place; strive to add value to your blog; try to engage them in social media; and many other things – all of which have become a cornerstone for good SEO practices.

Readers’ snub:

Speaking of readers, this brings us to the second and even more distressing type of rejection – the dreadful snub coming from readers. It could be that you are very good at SEO, or have got the money or resources to invest in marketing, or you have connections in the blogosphere, and you manage to rope in good numbers of visitors by hook or by crook. But the problem arises when you fail to turn these visitors into loyal readers, or even manage to hold them for some time, but then they leave your blog in a flash. This means that despite good traffic, you wouldn’t be earning anything from your blog – no money, no fame, and no recognition.

How to deal:

Readers might be rejecting your blog for many reasons. One of the most common reasons why readers select or reject a blog is the quality of the content. In order to reverse your fate, try to learn more about your target readers, get a sense of what they’d like to read about, find out their likes and dislikes, and then make changes accordingly. You can learn more about your readers via social networks, or even by visiting some popular blogs covering similar topics to see what works and what doesn’t.

Guest post rejection:

Guest blogging is easily one of the best ways to promote your blog. Not only does your blog get quality backlinks and climb up the SERP, but it can also potentially put your blog in front of thousands of readers – especially on reputable blogs. But getting your guest posts posted on reputable blogs is easier said than done. If you are writing run-of-the-mill content on run-of-the-mill topics, chances are that your guest post will be politely refused. Still, no matter how polite the blog owner gets, the rejection will always result in sore feelings.

How to deal:

First, don’t just write for the sake of writing a blog post and send it to the first blog that you find at one of those guest blogging lists. Instead, go through the blog and get a feel for the type or quality of content posted there, and try to interact with the blog owner by regularly commenting or their social network profiles. Write to them with your post ideas and ask if they’d like a guest post on the given topic. Once approved, put your best foot forward and try to come up with a detailed yet interesting post, and then send it to the blog owner. Even if your writing is not world class, your hard work will show off, and you will be getting one of the most uplifting responses in your blogging career – a short and sweet reply that goes like: “Your post is approved and will be live soon.”

This is a guest post written by Natasha Mesty, if you’re interested in guest posting on Wibiya’s blog please see the guidelines.

Natasha Mesty is an Internet Marketing expert and writes on topics related to guest blogging. Watch this video on guest blogging to learn more about myblogguest.com and how it can help you in your guest blogging endeavors.

Add the Pin It app to your Wibiya Bar now

The Pin It app enables users to share images from your site by pinning them on Pinterest, a popular, fast-growing social network that allows you to organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web onto a virtual pinboard.

With the ‘Pin It’ button on your Wibiya Bar, users can instantly add images from your website or blog to their pinboards, choose which board to pin them to, and include captions beneath each image.

As more people start pinning your content, you’ll receive more traffic from Pinterest.

Pinterest is one of the top ten social networks, growing at an incredible rate. You don’t want to miss out on this app. So sign in to your Wibiya account and add the Pin It app here.

Wanna give the app a test drive first? Check out how the Pin It app works on wwwhatsnew.

PS: Follow Wibiya on Pinterest and see what inspires us!

The starting point of any image strategy is to target your audience and determine niches. This will point you to the optimum communication channels and help you deliver dedicated messages. These are the five main market categories you should make your blog visible to:

Your own readers + social media public

Readership success begins with useful and motivating content. Write as frequently as you can and cover topics you personally take pleasure in. (Remember, if it’s not enjoyable to write, it’s probably not interesting to read either.) It’s a good idea to spice up your posts with quality photos and icons, as well as to embed videos related to the written content.

If you’re thinking, ‘OK, I already do this but people are still not following and sharing my posts,’ don’t worry – enhancing your social media presence is relatively easy and painless. Add social media subscription buttons for the networks you have presence to so that your readers can follow the blog directly from their profiles. As a blogger, it’s advisable to be active on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Tumblr, and even Pinterest.

If you are on WordPress, you can use plugins such as Walleria and Sexy Bookmarks for automatic sharing of your posts over social media. On Blogger, you have Social Feed and dedicated widgets for each network. Track your social media sharing of your articles and make the figures public on the blog to document your popularity. People who see a thumbnail of their friends that have already liked your blog will be surely drawn to do the same.

A special corner of social networks is reserved to video sharing services, starting with YouTube. It’s extremely beneficial to do some video blogging besides the written blog, as you will attract a solid audience. Check out other video-sharing services, too: BlogTV which features live video shows and chat, or LiveLeak, a pool for those attracted to citizen journalism.

Visitors who are not so active on social media

A major segment of people, particularly those over 40, are still email users rather than social networkers. For them (and others), it’s beneficial to add an option of subscribing via RSS, so that users can receive updates via newsreaders such as Google Reader. The contact form on your blog should have an opt-in for email newsletters. Positively use email marketing, however 90s it may look. Oh, and one more thing: Put the URL of your blog in your email signature, even for personal mailings – it’s a great source of exposure that is often undervalued.

Other bloggers in the niche

Good relations in your niche bring you brand exposure, opportunities to evolve, and a flow of inspiration. Write about other bloggers reasonably frequently and cite them whenever necessary. Get generous with the links you give in order to gain some back – install a blogroll or do other types of linking. Being an active commenter on other blogs helps you draw attention. Real-life meetings and events are also great circumstances to do some networking. Attend events in person with some business cards at hand.

Search engines

All right, we all agree that a blogger should flatter fellow humans and not the search engines, but don’t throw stones! If you can make friends of the search bots, you have won. It’s a fact: 75% of users never scroll past the first page of search results. How do you gain real estate on the SERP? It all begins with well-crafted, keyword-optimized, and constantly-updated content. On-page SEO techniques also include creating a sitemap, SEO-friendly URLs, keyword use in titles, and internal linking with relevant anchor texts. As you tick each of those, turn to the outside world, too, and do some link building.

There are various methods for creating valuable links with that “natural” feeling that comes from handmade SEO. Submit your address to blog search galleries and directories: Technorati, Best of the Web Blog Search, Bloggeries, OnTopList. Set your blog to send pings (by subscribing to services like Ping-O-Matic). Submit your article to social bookmarking sites and become an active guest blogger. This will help not only your SEO, but also increase your reputation as an opinion maker, which is vital for any blogger.

PPC advertising

A lot of blogs do great without paying a single cent on PPC. However, paid advertising remains a great method to gain short-term visitors.

To lower bounce rates and boost conversions, the golden rule is to build landing pages around the keywords you are bidding on. In the case of your blog, provide useful articles on the topics mentioned in the ad text. Don’t go for non-search traffic (contextual advertising), as it has a very small ROI. And always offer some free resources, such as a downloadable e-book for example, on the landing page in exchange for visitors subscribing to your newsletter. Give to get – this should be a basic principle for any blogger, so follow it yourself and enjoy the growth of your audience day by day. Good luck!

This is a guest post written by Laura Moisei, if you’re interested in guest posting on Wibiya’s blog please see the guidelines.

The SoundCloud player app, built into the Wibiya Bar, automatically imports and plays your sets and tracks directly from the Wibiya Bar, and lets fans share your music via a variety of social tools within the app.

In addition to the SoundCloud app, you can add loads of other interactive features to your Wibiya Bar, including cool apps like Facebook and Twitter, YouTube, picture galleries, games, live chat, and much more. You’ll get your fans groovin’ to your sounds in no time – while they’re browsing your site!

Hundreds of music talents are already using the Wibiya Bar with the built-in SoundCloud app. Check out how one awesome band from New Zealand, Rival State, are keeping their fans engaged on their site: Rival State.

“We’ve always been a huge fan of SoundCloud and when we came across Wibiya and its integration of SoundCloud for our website, it was a no brainer when it came to using it!” said Rival State band member Stefan Einarsson. “Great features, great support, and so easy to use! Highly recommended.”

You’re a click away from getting the Wibiya Bar and SoundCloud app on your site. So go on, head over to the SoundCloud App Gallery and start sharing your sounds with the world!

While it’s a great way to get your opinion out and have your voice heard, Twitter is also a brilliant marketing tool.

If you have been using Twitter for some time now, you probably consider yourself to be an advanced user. Don’t get too comfortable, though. There is always something else to learn and more to know. These tips for marketing on Twitter could help you learn a few new tricks and start tweeting like an expert in no time.

Create a custom Twitter background to help you stand out.

A custom background will make you or your business look like a big deal. It shows that you care about how you, your brand, or your products look. The background can show who you really are by expanding on the tiny bit of room you have on your Twitter profile. You can use an online tool to create one, or you can recruit a designer to make you a customized background from scratch.

Use Twitter clients.

Services like HootSuite, TweetDeck, and CoTweet are helpful if you are juggling multiple social networking accounts and contributors. They can also be handy if it is only you on a single site. Using these services allows you to see everything that is going on with your Twitter account in one place. Instead of clicking around, all the information you need is right in front of you.

Additionally, you can use these services to schedule your tweets. This keeps your account active even when you need to be away from your computer.

Use keywords in all your tweets.

People scour Twitter for topics they are interested in by searching for keywords. Be sure to inject each post with a keyword, with or without a hashtag. Unless you use keywords, you aren’t giving potential new followers a chance to find you or your tweets.

Foster relationships with your followers.

When someone tweets about you or retweets a post, you should pay attention – especially if you are trying to build a business or market yourself. You should reach out to these people, as they could be great allies for you.

First and foremost, you need to thank them for the tweet, either by direct message or a tweet. These folks will appreciate the recognition.

Then you should add them to a special list of people who have shared about you, and review that list occasionally. Watch for content that you should be sharing or information you need to know. Jump into pertinent conversations and retweet valuable information you get from these folks.

This helps you to get to know your followers, what they like, and what they are in to. Additionally, it can help you get to know their followers and friends, which could eventually lead to even more followers for you.

Use your own voice when you tweet.

When you tweet, everything you post should be in a voice that is true to you (or your business or your brand). You should sound like you are just sharing information; your tweets should not sound anything like marketing talk. Any agenda you have should not be noticeable in your tweet.

By having a real, authentic voice, your followers will find you to be more real and more transparent. This translates to more likeable. They will be more willing to buy whatever you are selling if they don’t feel like you are trying to sell them anything.

This is a guest post written by Kevin Moor, if you’re interested in guest posting on Wibiya’s blog please see the guidelines.

This article is written by Kevin Moor, who also writes for Anti Virus Software Alert, a site emphasizing on antivirus software.

Based on data from reputable sources and experts online this article will be showing you 5 steps you should take to write share-worthy articles.

1. It is all about the value

According to the New York Time’s Psychology of Sharing, a study of 2,500 participants focused on understanding why people share, 49% of the participants say that “sharing allows them to inform others about product they care about” while 94% of the participants say they “carefully consider how the information they are sharing will be useful to the participant”.

In other words, the number one motivation behind people sharing an article is how useful it will be to those they are sharing it to. It makes sense, as naturally sharing occurs not just online but offline with friends and family and you wouldn’t just shared something with a friend because it wants to be shared…but probably because it will make you cool.

We all want to look cool to our friends and family and being the person that is always with the solutions to their problems will always make you look cool. In other words, the more value you provide in an article the more validation a reader will get from sharing it and the more inclined him/her will be to share it.

Contrary to what most people would like you to believe, online sharing doesn’t have to center around power users alone. Having articles that provide great value and that makes whoever share it look cool will definitely make a lot of difference.

2. Whether your articles will be shared or not also has a lot to do with the audience

In other words, who is your message being tailored to? Is your content focused to a group of people you’ve built a relationship with over time or do you just provide generic tips on generic topics every once in a while?

68% of those who were studied in the above mentioned report said they “share to give people a better sense of who they are and what they care about”. In other words, it has more to do with the person who will be doing the sharing than the article itself. This once again proves the importance of building an audience base that care about your work. In other words, having a blog or writing content that talks about anything at anytime isn’t likely to get that much sharing attention but by focusing on a group of people you will be able to attract more social shares. This also goes with the idea of having a niche; not that this will give you any sharing super-powers but since most of your readers already care about the topic you’re writing about they will be more likely to share it with their friends and followers.

3. Controversial articles have an increased potential of getting shared

What one of the participants of the above mentioned study actually said was this; “When I post controversial things, it makes me look engaged and provocative, and I want to be perceived that way. If I don’t get a response then I know I’ve missed my mark.”

In other words, whenever there is a discussion and everybody agrees it becomes boring, and there is hardly a difference made. However, whenever something controversial ensues the person who brought about the idea looks smarter. The importance of engagement online is becoming extremely important every day and controversial articles have an increased likelihood of generating conversations. People talk about controversial subjects because they just can’t get it off their minds, and sometimes they want to believe they’re right so they’ll share it with a friend or two to see what they think, hopefully to get validation that they’re right.

Controversy can be good for generating engagement and social media shares for your articles so leveraging it in a smart way is sure to make a difference.

4. How do your readers trust you?

Likeability and trust are also important factors when it comes to determining which content to share online, especially since we’ll be giving another person access to our networks. People really care about their personal network and the trust they’ve built over time, they don’t want to abuse this and as a result will only allow someone they trust access to this network. In other words, even if your content looks cool your readers would probably not share it if they don’t trust you.

How your content is shared have a lot to do with you personally and your brand so one of the first steps you should take to get people to share your content is to gain their trust. In other words, sending unsolicited emails to people you have no relationships with won’t make a difference but getting in touch with friends and close ones might just help you increase your number of shares.

There are several ways to build trust online; you can build trust by connecting with influencers in your field by getting them to endorse you, by leveraging their audience and network or by being everywhere.

5. Keep it simple

No need to write pretty long articles with all the formatting you can think of. Keep your articles simple and only include points/links you think are relevant to your point and will help further the understanding of those reading your articles.

Article shares has nothing to do with the length of the article, instead it has more to do with your readers’ understanding of the article. In other words, is it 200 words you need to use to help your readers better understand your articles, or is it 2,000 words? Make sure you don’t use more words than necessary and any addition that makes your article more complicated will probably reduce its likelihood of being shared.

This is a guest post written by John Smith, if you’re interested in guest posting on Wibiya’s blog please see the guidelines.

John Smith is a writer who reviews medifast coupon code and eDiets promo code.