Photo: Gabriel Delgado

Every second, people are searching the internet for information and answers to their questions. Therefore the primary way to get ongoing traffic for your blog is to appear on the first page of search engines.

So how do you get on the first page of search results?

One word: links.

As more and more other websites link to your website, you move up the search results. Web rankings are like high school. The most popular people in high school always had a lot of friends. The top websites on the web have a lot of links pointing to them.

Search engines determine how to rank people by the number and quality of the links that point to you. You can use the metaphor of academic papers. If everyone is citing “Mary’s Book on History” in their reference section, Mary’s Books must be the authoritative source on history.

If only 99% of people cite John’s Book on History, it must be the 2nd most authoritative source, and so forth down the line. This is the guiding principle behind search engine rankings.

How to find links for your blog step 1: Direct outreach to other sites

In the travel world, it’s quite easy to find links to your blog or website. Travelers are friendly. We like talking to other people and meeting new people. We love reading about other people’s travel stories as well as sharing our own. So we are always willing to help other people and spread the love. Just ask most travel website owners and you’ll get a positive response.

Correct usage of keywords in links

When you get a link, you want the anchor text (the words of the link) to be the words you want to come up for in search results. In SEO terms, this is called a keyword.

If your website is about New Zealand or Backpacking, you want those words to be in the link text. The more of those links you get with those words, the more you move up in the search engines.

There is also an added bonus to this. Not only will you get links to help you in search engines but you will also build a relationship with other travel owners and gain new readers as well as finding new websites to read. The more people who read the more links you build! It’s a like a giant snowball but one you need to give a big push to in the beginning.

Monetization

Once you have regular traffic you can begin to think about monetization. The easiest way to do that is to get traffic from search engines to click on ads. The people out there are looking for something and if clicking on an ad gets them what they want, they will do it.

Community Connection

For more information, please check out Matt Kepnes’s complete ebook on Monetization and SEO.

And if you’re just getting started and want to know how to set up a travel blog, Craig Martin gives you a complete step by step guide.

Feature photo by John Wardell (Netinho). Photo above by h.dot.

You’ve just gotten back from a year away and now you need to get a job. You’re nervous and have to figure out how getting drunk at hostels, lying on beaches, and photographing churches can be classified as “experience.”

First, breathe. It’s not that bad. You’re lucky, not only because you got to travel, but because current events have turned in your favor.

Businesses need experienced people who know other cultures, have a desire to learn, are motivated, speak another language, and are willing to move around, all of which are qualities you possess.

It was only five years go that taking a year off was considered career suicide, but now, it’s often considered a career boost- a sign of independence, motivation, and ambition. Employers won’t throw away your resume anymore because of a gap year.

But how do you turn that year into tangible experience to showcase in a resume?

1. Don’t put everything on your résumé

90% of your travels aren’t really “experience,” but soft skills you picked up on the road: people skills, confidence, and independence. Though you may be tempted to write that stuff on your resume, don’t. You’ll sound cheesy and as though you are just putting in useless filler.

2. It’s not the resume, it’s the cover letter!

Your travels are a story and the details don’t translate well as bullet points on a resume. Talk about them in the cover letter, where you can give more detail.

Explain why you left, what your experience taught you, and how it makes you a better employee. This is also where you want to mention those “soft skills,” as they require more detail than a simple bullet point expression. Discuss your travels in depth here using only a small section of the resume as support.

Photo by SOCIALisBETTER.

Tip: Regale interviewers with funny (but not over the top) stories. It will make you stand apart from everyone else. Those willing to take a chance are the type of leaders businesses look for. They want people who lead them into new directions, not waste away behind a desk.

3. Step by step instructions for articulating your experience.

Step One: Call it what it is. Many people put their trip under work experience, but since it’s not work, it’s not work experience. At the bottom of your resume, create a section called “Other Experience” and title it “(Your Name) Gap Year” and include the dates.

Step Two: Pick tangible skills. Skills that translate into any job. Like everything on a resume, this will be all about how you word things. Choose your wording carefully. For example:

Haggled over a dollar with a tuk tuk driver or tried to save a few thousand Dong off a shirt in Vietnam? Negotiation Skills.

Got stuck in an airport because you forgot your plane? Adaptability.

Had to plan, finance, and organize your trip? Budgeting and Planning.

Got stuck in a jungle at night because you explored off the trail? Self-reliance and independence.

You get the idea. It’s all about wording your experience correctly. Notice how those are all skills you can use in the business world. I didn’t put any of those “soft skills” down.

Writing “I’m good with people” is generic and makes you sound full of crap. Choose only job related “hard” skills for the resume because what you are doing is showing how your life experience makes up for your lack of practical experience.

Photo by psoup216.

Step Three: Know your audience! Only put travel on your resume if it helps explain an extended work gap (i.e. a year or longer), is relevant to the job, or unique. If all you did was live in Thailand on Phuket and got drunk then it is useless filler that will only hurt you. If you volunteered in an orphanage in Cambodia, then keep it on. If this job requires extended travel, definitely put it here.

So what would this all look like? Here’s how I would put it on my resume.

Other Experience

Matt’s Gap Year 2007-2008

• Developed negotiation skills through daily contact with sellers in markets and vendors throughout Asia.
• Learned how to adapt to unanticipated situations and improvise new plans due to periodic travel mishaps and unexpected events.
• Developed budgeting and planning skills by financing, planning, organizing my year around the world. This involved using various spreadsheets and keeping a record of expenses.
• Cultivated language and communication skills through contact with people from around the world. Learned to use non verbal and verbal communication to overcome communication and language barriers.

That sounds professional, actionable, and tangible. It explains each skill and how I developed it. Remember that the employer is going to ask you to explain these points just like they would any other part of your resume.

It’s important you have anecdotes supporting each bullet point, especially since these have no boss to confirm any of this- just your word. If you can’t explain it well, keep it off.

Use your travel experience to differentiate yourself. That’s why in the beginning, I said put it in the cover letter. It allows you more time to explain the story behind it.

Photo by Matthew Kepnes

Ever since Ford first rolled out the Model T, America has had a love affair with the automobile.

The country grew up around cars. They allowed us to travel the vast distance of America, move quicker, and further our sense of freedom and adventure.

With the rise of the automobile, the great American adventure was born – The Road Trip. Be it two days, two months, or two years, all Americans have done a road trip.

This article will explain why a road trip is still the best way to tour America and include some tips for novice travelers and highway veterans alike.

1. America is not “travel” friendly

America is large and its size makes can make it hard to get around. The bus and train systems aren’t as extensive as in other parts of the world.

Want to see the Grand Canyon or Yellowstone National Park? No buses or trains go there. You will get dropped off in cities at least an hour away.

Along the coasts, where many of the major cities are, it’s much easier to navigate, but if you decide to cross the United States to see much of its parks and the vast middle, you need to rent a car.

Without a car, there is no door to door service to the small areas that hold America’s culture.
The beauty of the car is that you can stop and go wherever you like.

Greyhound buses won’t give you any flexibility to meander in that little town or go stop and see the world’s biggest ant farm or elastic ball.

Photo by Matthew Kepnes

2. Stop and take in the culture!

Because of its size and history, each part of America seems, in many ways, like its own little country. Make sure you travel to a variety of areas to get a real feel for cultural diversity.

Americans aren’t the generic stereotype the world media perpetuates.

Travel to New England and get a glimpse at the Yankee frugality and small town charm, travel to the South for southern comfort food, country living, and a slower pace. Travel out west for the cowboy spirit or go to the Pacific Northwest for a laid-back approach to life.

Wherever you go, you will find something different, and lingering in those little sleepy towns is only really possible by going overland from one end to the other. A bus can take you some places but a car will take you almost anywhere.

3. Hostels are rare.

There’s usually a hostel around National Parks and in major cities, but for the most part hostels are hard to find. Don’t always count on finding a hostel. Washington D.C., for instance, only has two hostels!

America is a more hotel oriented country. However, there are camp sites and rest stops if you don’t mind roughing it!

A good option to look into is Couchsurfing, a community of people who let you stay with them for free. Or, do a geographic search of travelers and locals where you are going and connect with them through matador.

Photo by Matthew Kepnes

4. You will eat fast food.

I know, I know- fast food is junk food. Normally, I would never recommend fast food to anyone, but traveling on a budget in the States is tough and food can eat up a lot of cash if you’re not careful.

On the road, you don’t have a lot of options with food. Maybe Jim’s Diner or Paul’s Sandwich stop isn’t that good. I mean how long has that salad been sitting there?!

American highways are really only lined with junk, and at least you know what to expect from McDonalds or KFC. (Though, Carl’s Jr. is REALLY good, as is In N Out.)

However, don’t always eat fast food to save a buck! Splurge once in awhile to taste the local flavor- the Cajun gumbo in New Orleans, southern fried chicken in Georgia, lobster in Maine, or a hearty steak dinner in Iowa!

Food is an essential part of any culture and while McDonald’s can help you out during your ten hour drive across South Dakota, once in town, grab something unique.

[Editor's note: A camp stove and groceries--ideally purchased at a local market--work pretty well too.]

Photo by Matthew Kepnes

5. Leave the interstates for the smaller roads.

America is such a diverse place that getting lost in it, like getting lost anywhere, can yield exciting results.

Stay in an old western farm town in Wyoming, drive an extra 50 miles to see the Hopi Indians in New Mexico or stop in a quiet Vermont town and taste some maple syrup.

Every exit off the highway opens up a new possibility to explore a tiny American sub-culture you’ll never find in a big city.

Taking the long way to Arizona, I encountered old deserted oil towns and western towns in the hills that I would have never seen if I had stayed on the interstate.

In South Dakota, I came across an amazing little diner and, in Louisiana, nice little pub.

So go and explore off the highway and see the real America!

6. It’s all about oil.

If you’re driving, learn to scout out the cheapest gas. Gas prices vary greatly across the country. They can be as high as $4.50 in California or as low as $3.20 in Oklahoma.

In general, the coasts, major cities, and the north have higher gas prices. If sky high gas prices don’t exactly fit your budget, try visiting more places in the south, southwest, and western mountain states. Things may be further apart but at least the gas is cheaper!

A good alternative is to mix it up. Use buses and trains along the coasts where stops are more frequent, and rental cars in the middle. That way you can still see those little sleepy towns without giving Exxon Mobil all of your money.

A second alternative is to go in with your friends on a veggie-oil powered rig.

Community Connection!

Here are a couple of road trips recommended by locals at matador. We ran these as a series last year, here at the Traveler’s Notebook, calling them “Green” road trips for their “maximum activity options with a minimum amount of driving.”

Vermont

Nova Scotia

What are your best road trips?