Monday, April 09, 2007

The Biggest Technorati Tip in the World

Technorati TipA couple months ago I listed Ten Technorati Tips as an introduction to how the service can help increase your blog's exposure. However, since I posted I discovered the most important thing there is to know about Technorati. Pardon me if this is something you already know, but it's buried in Technorati's pages for all but the most dedicated of bloggers to find, I wish I had found it earlier:

Technorati only keeps your links for six months.

There it is, simple and plain. Any link your blog gets will only be kept by Technorati for six months exactly. This is because Technorati wants to make sure they're only ranking the most current and popular blogs, not blogs that were popular two years ago. Now, here is where this gets important: what does this mean for your blog?

It means the first six months are critical for developing links. From the day you first register with Technorati the clock starts ticking and for six months you can collect links right and left free of charge but one hundred eighty days after that things change. From that time on your links begin to expire, day by day, and begin to drop off your list.

For example, I signed up for Technorati on September 13, 2006. From that day until March 13, 2007 I collected links one after the next until I accumulated around 1200 but on March 14th all links I acquired on September 13th expired and dropped off my list. On March 15th any link acquired on September 14th dropped off, on March 16th all links for September 15th dropped off and so on.

Luckily for me I discovered this principle around the middle of February and knew it was coming and realized I had another month to gain links because on March 14th any links I gained would be offset by the links that expired. Does this make sense? The first six months are a time of growth, once you're past it and begin losing links you will pass into more of a maintenance mode where it is harder to rise in the rankings.

This doesn't mean you can't still grow after six months it just means it's harder to do. To give you an idea, I wanted to see if I could break into the top 1000 before my six months were up. I hit 989 a week before my March 13th deadline and since then I've continued to increase, but at a much slower rate. Of course people are more prone to link to me now that I've been around awhile, I didn't get many links six months ago, and I collect links much faster now than I used to so the farther I go, so the more time that passes, the more links are going to be expiring. If you've been confused as to why your Technorati ranking may have dropped suddenly on a particular day, it could be because of expiring links.

So if your blog is new, do your best to encourage links and if you've been around a while, do your best to encourage links. No blog can afford to sit back and relax with their collection of links and feel confident in their Technorati ranking because the days for each link are numbered.

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To see Technorati rankings in action, pay a visit to Jordan McCollum at MamaBlogga who has put together a list of most popular parenting blogs based on several factors including page rank, number of comments and Technorati ranking. She's a talented blogger on the rise who not only writes well but knows a thing or two about blogging.

Technorati tags:

30 comments:

Miscellaneous-Mum said...

Wow! I had no idea. And to think I had started congratulating myself too....

I suppose they do have to keep people 'honest'.

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for posting about Technorati! I didn't understand it at all. I went back to your other post, and finally realize what "tags" are all about. Now, if I can ever get my blog template redone, I can add tags at the bottom of each post! This was great info.

Pendullum said...

I never could figure out the linking with the ole Technorati and after reading this... I am doomed Scribbit just doomed...
But on a lighter note... I can not wait to carry my laptop into the kitchen and make those yummy muffins!!!!

Julie Q. said...

Why do I have the image of running on a treadmill in my mind? Whew, this sounds like a lot of work, which is why I gave up long ago worrying about my ranking (or at least that's what I tell myself so I don't feel bad that I'm not so popular). I had no idea about the expiring links. I'll bet my Technorati status has plummeted recently.

Oh well, I'll just let YOU put forth all the effort and then maybe if I hang out with you some of your popularity will rub off on me. :)

Musings of a Housewife said...

I really don't "get" this technorati thing. I've tried. I think I'm daft. You really are the technorati queen!! :-)

la bellina mammina said...

Thanks for this - I have to find time to sit down & read about it so I can start using it!!

strauss said...

I am such a computer dimwit and I STILL don't get it.

An Ordinary Mom said...

I must admit when you wrote your first Technorati post I was clueless - it took me a little while to even figure out what it was :) !!

Good to know about expiring links.

OhTheJoys said...

I try so hard not to click over there and check the number and stats. I mean, in the grand scheme of my life it shouldn't matter, right? (Gotta go check my links now.) Heh.

Scribbit said...

Oh absolutely. I could care less about the rankings :)

Of course, on those days when no one is visiting and no one reads my posts it's so comforting--somehow--to say "but I'm ranked ----- (fill in the blank---so life is still worth living !" :)

Anonymous said...

I can see the reasoning behind it but it's still not very fair to those who continue to update their blogs. Oh well . . .

Christie said...

You've probably already received this a million times, but I just nominated you for a little award. Pop over to my blog and check it out!

luckyzmom said...

Clueless here, clueless. I wonder what are "links" and "tags". I just figure that the new friends I meet blogging will introduce their friends to me and so on and so forth. This is all becoming too complicated to me.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the info Michelle!

Anonymous said...

Okay, so my last comment was a test comment since I was having a hard time making the comments work. (I think I've fixed the issue now! Ignore my email.) Anyway, I'm impressed that you got into the top 1000 on Technorati. Very exciting! I've never really tried to increase my ranking - but in one year I've gone from 800,000 to the 6000's. Are you saying that one day I could drop back down several thousand out of the blue?

Anonymous said...

I had no idea - thanks for the info!!

Anonymous said...

Great post!

I had heard about this but it didn't really sink in. My blog has just past the six month mark so I'll be keeping a look-out for any effect.

Anonymous said...

This sucks.

BetShopBoy said...

Hi Michelle

thanks for the great post.

What about Technorati Favourites? Will others who had fave me starts to drop off after 6 months?

Would you consider to join my Technorati Faves experiment at: http://betshopboy.blogspot.com/2007/04/technorati-favourites-exchange_14.html

thanks!

Rhonda said...

Thanks for the information, I had no idea that the links expire.

Maddy said...

You make it sound like a technical experiment or a dare....'can I'
Is that what is was? Pardon me for asking. I suspect that I am way out of touch with the real world.
Best wishes

Anonymous said...

This is a really helpful post - thanks.

I also found your post at Blogging 101 about Stumbleupon really interesting. It works!

Anonymous said...

Wow. Now I know why I'm suck-tastic on TECHNORATI. Thanks for the advice!

MouthGirl.com said...

Thanks for the fantastic information!

Anonymous said...

Wow! Great post! 2.5 months into "Technorati", you just gave me all the reason in the world to focus my attention on the 2 project areas I researched for Wendy's project: article submission & online press release distribution. Interestingly, though I always put my homepage URL, which links to my blog, but not the blog itself. Thanks for answering my dilemma, which URL should I link too...

Nick said...

Wow! Nevermind about the 6 month thingie. You got over 900 links in less than that? Where do I start to learn that?

Nick Chance
KidReviewer.com

Anonymous said...

Thanks for this ,its a grt source of information.
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Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for posting about Technorati links info.

Genny said...

I liked your favorite blogs list--thanks!

Melissa Stover said...

how do you create these links? do others link to you, is that how they are counted? i just signed up with technorati so i guess my clock just started ticking.