Interview with Pankaj Gupta, a professional blogger and an expert in the field of SEO and SEM.
Pankaj Gupta is a full-time blogger, Affiliate Marketer and a well known expert in SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and SEM (Search Engine Marketing). Some of his popular blogs are WEDOST, Blogdefined, Cricketwa and CouponCodewa. Read to know more about him and get inspired!
Techulator.com interview with technical experts and bloggers.
You have been a well known blogger and an inspiration to many other new bloggers. Can you please give us a brief introduction about yourself?
OMG! Tony Sir, first of all, you are the inspiration for me from the day I landed online, trying to make some earning after getting cheated many times by some USD sites. I remember the moment that I earned my first Rupee online from ISC. Thanks a lot of the opportunity.
I am Pankaj Gupta, a Professional blogger, Affiliate Marketer and now founder of WEDOST. My Educational background is B.Tech in CSE (2006-10). I have been Blogging since 2010 and made it full time since 2011 after leaving my job after around 6 months .
How old are you? How many years have you been blogging? How many blogs do you have? Do any family members support you in blogging?
I am 23 years old and have 2+ years of blogging experience. I have over 3-4 macro sites including blogs and a few micro sites. Yes, my family did not complain about what I was doing online, as I funded my last semester of engineering through my own earning. That, helped them understand that I can do something on my own in the coming years. I am still learning many things each day.
How did you come to know about blogging? Tell us about your first blog.
From my college days, especially last year of my college, I wanted to become my own boss by doing something online. So, I tried many ways to make money online and joined ISC by luck in November 2008. I worked with ISC seriously for a year, earned approx Rs 5000 and then started my own journey from 2011. After trying and failing many times, I learned the basics of Internet marketing and am still learning and trying out. My first blog was on blogspot which is now deleted. Then, I started Blogdefined.com which is to share basic information on blogging targeted to the newbies.
What makes your blog, Blogdefined.com interesting to your current readers? How did it become popular?
BlogDefined is dedicated for newbies. So, most of the traffic is related to them.
What are the areas you are working on?
I mainly work on blogging, SEO and making money online.
Which websites do you browse regularly? What are the tools you use?
I have most of the bloggers on my fb account. So, I keep reading their posts as they are very quick in updating the latest news & information. Regarding tools, I use MNF and MS sometimes to get some ideas. You can do well without these tools also.
What are the technology websites and blogs that you are associated with?
I mainly contribute in Blogdefined.com & CouponCodewa.com. I have few more sites but it is mostly contributed by my team of writers.
What do you do when you are not building software or contributing in technical web sites and blogs?
I explore the internet to find ideas or to get experience of other's work.
How is your daily schedule? How many hours do you work on your blog?
Most of the time I have dedicated towards my work but I dont compromise on 8hrs sleep or having some fun.
Which sites/blogs do you like to follow?
Although I read most of the sites, Mashable & Smartpassiveincome are my favorites.
Do you have any bad experience from other bloggers? What was the biggest challenge you ever faced?
I haven't had any bad experience from bloggers. It has always been a learning experience. Sometimes, they learn from me and sometimes, while helping them I learn many things.
Can you mention the name of the big bloggers in your friends network?
Syed Rizwan, Suresh Kumar G , Ashvini Saxena, Tony John are good friends of mine and are experts in their own niche areas and so, they are the BIG Bloggers for me. (There are many more BIG names in my circle but these 4 are special to me, as I am connected with them from a very long time and being OLD, they are GOLD for me.)
What do you think about the future of blogging? Do you think it will continue to be a profitable business in the long run?
Blogging is now my livelihood. It's now a business for me and every business has a future if, done in the right way. The Indian Internet audience is growing rapidly and it will continue to do so. So, I am sure it will be more profitable in the long run.
What are your future plans? Are you planning to be a full time blogger?
I am already a full time blogger and Founder of WEDOST. We are working on fa ew inhouse projects. One of them is Cricketwa.com. We are working hard to make it big. We are also planning to launch the beta version of my existing site CouponCodewa next year.
Would you like to share your earnings? Which are your highest earning blogs?
No. I never want to share my earnings as, it is not the right thing to do according to me. It might mislead the users to think that blogging is just an easy to make money, which is not the case. Instead, I have always wanted to help/inspire my readers/blogger friends and if they get inspired, they will never need any earning proof to get started. They will find their own path to success.
Do you use Affiliate marketing to earn revenue? What is your advice to others on Affiliate marketing?
Yes, Affiliate marketing is now playing a big role for me. I will suggest learning the basics first. It may take a few months. Get familiar will all the terms and once you are ready, don't forget to take action. Without action, you can not make a single rupee. The best place to start is Warriorforum.com
Which source of revenue you suggest as an alternative to Google AdSense?
Google AdSense does not have any alternative until and unless you are getting thousands of traffic every day. If you are good at blogging or writing and not getting a good start with AdSense, try Affiliate marketing.
Which are the online social communities you are most active on?
I mostly spend my time on Facebook & Twitter.
Most big bloggers have reported that their revenue has been coming down in last few years due to high competition. What is your opinion on the same?
I think only tech bloggers might be reporting this issue and yes, Technology is the most saturated niche right now. It's hard to get ranked. Better to leave technology if you are starting as a new blogger.
My earning is growing well month on month as I am now targeting different niche areas.
How did blogging help you personally other than making money?
I have gained more than 50 good friends online from different parts of India, who are ready to help me whenever I need them. Although we have met through social media and messengers and have never met personally, we are in touch quite frequently over the last few years.
What does your family think about your blogs?
They don't know what I am doing online. But, they are happy with my work. They are a bit confused on what to tell others about the kind of work I am doing.
What do you think about the Panda and Penguin updates from Google? Did your blogs get affected by it?
My work is to keep adding content. Since I am working keeping a long term in mind, I am not worried about any kind of update, as I know I will get the results of my hard work in the coming years.
What do you think about the future of SEO?
I can't predict that as Google keeps changing the rules every month. Who knows when Google will come with a different technology where SEO may not be required at all!
What do you advice - focus on a single site or create several sites in various niche areas?
Focus on one site. Make it big and once it starts giving you a fixed earning, you can start another niche with your savings and then make it big and so on. BTW, one big site can give you huge earning compared to 100's of small sites (AdSense) but sometimes the opposite is also true (Affiliate marketing).
I have seen in many online blogger communities, other bloggers sharing insulting information about other prominent bloggers. What is your take on such unhealthy practices?
I never do and don't care about those who indulge in such practices. It's their mentality and I cannot control them.
Which technology company do you like the most - Microsoft/Google/Apple? And why? Which company do you think will be doing the best after 5 years from now?
I hate my future competitors (Just Kidding). But, I think all of them will keep growing. It will be really good to see new companies joining the club.
Do you have any Microsoft certifications or other certifications? Are you a Microsoft MVP? How does the MVP status help you?
No, I don't have any certifications and actually, have never understood what all I have to do to get one. But, I am really interested in getting one. So, if you can help me by sending detailed information by email, I will be very thankful.
Good and inspirational one and Pankaj is a positive guy!!