blogging fundamentals

Adsense Widget for Monetizing Your Blog

2007-08-26T16:06:00.001-07:00

ADAM-0NDI-AHMAN
Originally uploaded by missmellydean

If you are interested in monetizing your blogging, adding adsense to your blog is very important. Where you place your adsense does impact the number of clicks you get.

Many people place their adsense on the right column or at the top. This may lead to ad blindness which occurs when you look at the same format over and over again. They know those listings are advertisements and unconsciously filter them out.

A good way to overcome ad blindness is to put adsense in unexpected places. So you might want to experiment with placing your ads between posts. This placement is in the natural flow of text which may lead to a greater amount of clicks on your ads.

Have you wanted to insert your Google adsense between your blog posts without complicated coding instructions? You are in luck. Apparently, there is enough of you out there wanting to insert adsense, that Google has now developed a new adsense widget. You can add your adsense between your blog post just the same way you add adsense to other areas of your blog.

Google has a new post titled "Get Inline" at their adsense blog at adsense.blogspot.com. They show how to add adsense. It is really easy to do like everything else on Blogger.

This is what you need to do:

1. Log into your Blogger account.
2. Go to your blog's template tab and click on "page elements" link.
3. Go to "blog posts" and click on "edit" located on the lower right corner.
4. Under "select items" check the "show ads between posts" box.
5. Under "configure inline ads" you can select how often you want your adsense to appear. For example, you can them appear after every post or after every other post.
6. Next, you can customize your adsense such as choosing format and colors.
7. Most important, save your changes.

Since Google now owns Blogger, Google is becoming responsive to input from Blogger's users. Hopefully, we may see more changes and improvements to Blogger as feedback to Google continues.

Many people place their adsense on the right column or at the top. This may lead to ad blindness which occurs when you look at the same format over and over again. They know those listings are advertisements and unconsciously filter them out.

A good way to overcome ad blindness is to put adsense in unexpected places. So you might want to experiment with placing your ads between posts. This placement is in the natural flow of text which may lead to a greater amount of clicks on your ads.

You need to follow Google's term of service for adsense placement. You can be banned if you break the rules. You are allowed to have only three ad units per page. However, Blogger makes easy to follow the rules by allowing a maximum of three ad units in the blog post. So, you will not exceed the maximum limit if you add adsense between blog posts. You just cannot go on to add adsense anywhere else on your blog.

Top 6 CMS

2007-08-12T11:22:00.001-07:00

agave
Originally uploaded by castellani.marco

CMS stands for Content Management System which is a software program used in managing a website. You often don't need any knowledge of html code or web languages in order to use a CMS. This method of creating a website is sometime called "wysiwyg" or "What You See Is What You Get" because the content during editing appears to be very similar to the final product.

There are many CMS system to choose from and some of the most popular CMS are open source or free. All but one of the top rated CMS systems I have included are from winners of the CMSWire contest and the top hits from opensource.com.

1. Joomla

Joomla is a free, multifunctional content management system or cms. Due to it's ease of use, it has an ever growing community of more than 40,000 users and developers. It's simple, browser-based interface makes it easy to add content pages to your website. For many people, Joomla's attraction is it's ability to be modified with the many hundreds of component addons and plugin that can be added to the website system framework. This way your website can be made to fit your needs. Also, Joomla does a good job of managing the web content needed to run the website.

2. Drupal

Drupal is an open source CMS that is written in PHP and requires a MySQL database. It is an excellent, lightweight, flexible system which can be used to making a variety of sites from blogs to large community websites. Drupal's simple design is easy to customize and it has built-in search tool and search-engine friendly URL's as an extra add on module.

Drupal has many features for building community sites. So, it would be a good choice for a blogging or news site, but it can also support a standard website.

3. Plone

Plone is a free easy to install, full featured, flexible enterprise-ready CMS. However, if you want to add an extension you need a good grasp of Python and web programming. Even if you just use the default installation, you will have a very full featured website to use. Plone is built on top of Zope and has much of the extensibility that Zope has to offer. Plone would be a good fit for someone who is familiar with programming and needs a flexible, scalable CMS.

4. CMS Made Simple

CMS Made Simple has many enthusiastic reviews. It is as the name states. It is a free, very simple CMS that someone with no web experience can use to create and manage a page based website. It is very easy to add content and addons to the site. A list of modules is included in the admin interface from which the modules can be downloaded.

Unlike, Drupal, it does not have community based features such as commenting or forums. It is good for someone who just wants to add or update pages to a brochure ware website.

5. Mambo

Mambo, formerly named Mambo Open Source or MOS, is a free, easy to use CMS. Mambo has attracted many users through it's ease in adding and managing web pages. It's more advanced features such as page caching, advanced templating techniques and robust API has attracted users who are looking for a more complex website. Mambo also offers RSS feeds, forums, polls, blogs, news flashes and etc.

Mambo is useful for creating simpler as well more complex websites.

6. WordPress

Last, I have included WordPress among the CMS system. Both Wikipedia and Gobala Krishnan in WebPro News believe that Wordpress has expanded beyond being an open source blogging tool to becoming a CMS. Since it is enormously popular, I have added it to the list. Gobala Krishnan explains that,"it's all a matter of having clear goals and the right plugins and partnering with the right services."

For example, WordPress was used by medical blogger Graham, at Standford University's medical school, to create a Community Health Resource Center website.

How to Construct Hyperlinks for Search Engine Purposes

2007-08-01T16:40:00.001-07:00

Just follow the path.
Originally uploaded by Schepers

Hyperlinks are used daily everywhere in the web. They are found in blogs, websites, advertisements and etc. In fact, the huge network of web pages known as world wide web or www is interconnected by hyperlinks and would not exist without them. Hyperlinks are not only found in the web, but maybe used in almost any electronic media such as CD-ROMs or game consoles.

How Can I Use a Hyperlink?

You use a hyperlink every time you click on a live link. It would say something like, "Click here for a free widget." When you click there, you are automatically taken to another website where you can download or order the free widget. A hyperlink or live link is the word or phrase covering a website address.

How Can I Make a Hyperlink?

A hyperlink is HTML code consisting of two ends or anchor tags and a direction or valid web address. The hyperlink text is usually underlined and in various colors to show the current status of the hyperlink. The different colors would tell you if the hyperlink had been "visited" or "activated" for instance. When you code a hyperlink it looks something like this, but with <> at the beginning and the end.

href = "web address"> text or image message < / a

This hyperlink will take you from one web address to another address. I have added extra spaces so that the link will not be live. For a live link, there should be no space except at the beginning between the "a" and "href." To go a particular location on a web page, you would use slightly different HTML code.

How Can I Go to Specific Location on a Web page by Hyperlink?

You will use the same HTML code but with one small change. Instead of using a web address, you will use a fragment identifier and the "#" symbol. It would look something like this, but with "<" and ">" added at the beginning and end.

href = "# widget"

Next, you will need to indicate where you want the hyperlink to go to on the page. To do this, you would write code to the location. Then, you would place the code on your web page at the place where you want the hyperlink. It would look something like this, but with the "<" and the ">" added at the beginning and end.

name = "widget"

How Do Hyperlinks Help Search Engines?

Another tool to find websites is the search engine. This in turn relies on hyperlinks to locate other websites. Today there is an enormous amount of websites to search through. So the search engine uses a page ranking system to determine which website to bring up first. The page ranking system is largely based on hyperlink or link popularity.

Although the page ranking system is pretty complex, it all boils down to one simple rule. The more page links or hyperlinks you get, the higher rank your website page gets. Another simple rule measures the quality of the page rank. One link with a high page rank gives a higher page rank to your website than several links with a lower page rank. So together, quantity with quality works together to assign a page rank to your website. This in turns, determines whether a search engine will bring your website up first, tenth or etc. in response to a search.

To learn other HTML code, you may want to buy a comprehensive code guide. Also, there are free internet tutorials that will teach you the basics of HTML code.

Why Permalinks and How Do You Use Them?

2007-07-17T18:46:00.001-07:00

Originally uploaded by gravityfailsme

Almost every day, permalinks are used and casually referred to. The unspoken assumption assumes a common knowledge as to what permalinks are and how they are used.

In the course of reading a book or article, I often come across certain words again and again until they are familiar. But some how along the way, I never did learn the meaning. Sometimes, I even have acquired a wrong definition that is not corrected until I go to the dictionary and look up the word. That is not the case with permalink. Not a wrong definition, but I have never looked up what it actually means and does.

Wikipedia defines permalink as a portmanteau word made up from permanent link which never changes. Thereby, any link disintegration is avoided. Most weblog use permalinks as an URL that points to particular blogging entry long after it has been moved from the front page to the archives. Making it useful for tracking and saving pervious blogs.

Here is another word, portmanteau. It is a word that is made up from two other words. An example is blog. It is made from web and log as in journal. A blog is a journal online.

Although other types of websites may use permalinks, it found more readily in weblogs. This is because a blog with continuous new entries will feature an entry for only a short time before it is move from its front page to the archives.

Many visitors to weblogs want to store the URL for a particular entry that is on the front page. They may find when they revisit the site that the article that they want to store has been replaced by another entry. So many bloggers prominently post permalinks so that the visitor will store the long lived URL or permalink for reference.

Weblogs use permalinks in numerous other ways. They can be used for link tracing, link trackbacks and various feeds since they refer to specific weblog entries.

There is not one correct way to format permalink URL. Generally, permalinks are made of a string of characters which represent the date and time of posting and author. Then if the article is renamed, edited or archived, the permalink functions as a internal database identifier. For example, Blogger has a feature which a post's ID is placed in the Blogger template and a permalink is created.

While Blogger takes care of permalinks for you, users of Wordpress weblogs can take a more active role. If you use Wordpress you can customize your permalink from the WordPress admin panel.

The Wordpress default permalink is considered ugly and unprofessional. The URL looks something like this:

http://domainname.com/index.php?p=15 (where 15 is the post number)

This Permalink is ugly with all the letters and question mark. It does not give the reader information about the post other than the number. The default does work on all server environments such as Linux and Windows.

Wordpress does offer three options to change the permalink to being pretty which can give more information about the entry in the permalink title.

The first option gives the posts' date and name and looks something like this:

http://domainname.com/2007/08/03/sample-post/

The second option is numeric and looks something like this:

http://domainname.com/archives/123.

The third option is custom in which you can specify the permalink structure you want. This is useful if you want to add keywords to your URL for seo purposes.

The writer at bloggerholic.com gave his method of adding keywords to the permalink. The format is:

/%category%/%postname%-%post_id%.htm

He goes on to say that he added post_id%.htm to distinguish between other posts with the same name.

So the he states that the resulting URL will look something like this:

http://domainname.com/search-engine-optimization/how-to-create-seo-titles-using-permalinks-31.htm.

If you wish, you could use .html instead of .htm as show in the example. Either way, you will not create actual .html files. It is just an illusion and does not offer any search engine benefits. It just gives a cleaner look and you can number your posts per example.

Z List Rediscovered

2007-07-10T13:58:00.000-07:00

I found the Z List meme in one of DoshDosh's posts. I thought it sounded like fun and had some interesting sites to look at later on. Although the possibility of adding traffic exists. That should not be your main focus. DoshDosh states it best when she adds that genorosity not traffic gain should be your main movitation for adding the list to your blog.

A later follow up report confirmed that approach as some writers were unhappy with the list. They expected to see immediate increase in their seo. It is best to look at the list as way to discover other great blogs that you did not know existed. I found several blogs from this list that I go to almost daily now.

The orginal Z list was started by Mark Collier from A Viral Garden in December 2006. The Z List is a blog meme in which the participants copy and paste the list of blogs and add any blogs that they feel deserve a spot in the sun. I did not add any blogs as the list is quite long by the time I found it.

Mack Collier from A Viral Garden started ‘The Z List‘ in December 2006 as a response towards Technorati’s method of assigning authority based on the number links pointing to a blog. The Z list is a blog meme, which is a list bloggers create and share links to blogs. It really all about sharing blogs that you enjoy with other bloggers.

Two more people should be mentioned, Becky Carroll and Sharon Sarmiento. They took the list and organized it in a grid format. I tried to present it as close to their format as I could on blogger. They can be found at:

http://customersrock.wordpress.com/ Becky Carroll

http://www.esoupblog.com/ Sharon Sarmiento

Here is the list of blogs that people submitted as some of their favorite blogs:

Calico Monkey - Blog Name
Animation - Catagory
Focuses on the ToonBoom software to create animation. - Description

Women, Art, Life: Weaving It All Together - Blog Name
Tammy Vitale - Aurthor
Maryland, USA - Location
Art - Catagory
Art-focused, including thoughts on the art that Tammy produces. - Description

Woolgathering - Blog Name
Elizabeth Perry - Author
Art - Description
Looking, thinking, drawing, being - Description

World Blog Collection - Blog Name
ugyen - Author
Blog aggregator - Catagory
Blog listings categorized by type; goal to add 1000 links in ’07. - Description

Blogging Secret - Blog Name
Louiss Lim - Author
Malaysia - Location
Blogging - Catagory
Part personal but mostly blogging related site. - Description

Blogging to Fame - Blog Name
Divya Uttam - Author
India - Location
Blogging - Catagory
All aspects of online business from SEO to usability and blogging. - Description

Blog-Op - Blog Name
Chris Lodge - Author
Blogging -Location
How to improve your blogging by Chris and others. - Description

Daily Blog Tips - Blog Name
Daniel - Author
Blogging - Catagory
Tips to improve your blogging from tools to design. - Description

Mike's Money Making Mission - Blog Name
Mike - Name
Blogging - Catagory
Making money using free blogs. - Description

One Reader at a Time - Blog Name
Bob Glaza - Author
Blogging - Catagory
One blogger’s experiment in building and engaging with online communities. - Description

Ruminate this site - Blog Name
The Ruminator - Author
Maine, USA - Location
Blogging - Catagory
Reviews blogs and sites so that we don’t have to. - Description

SMogger Social Media Blog - Blog Name
Linda Bustos - Author
Vancouver, Canada - Location
Blogging - Catagory
The ethical use of social media for bloggers and other web users. -Description

SuccessCREEations - Blog Name
Chris Cree - Author
Georgia, USA - Location
Blogging - Catagory
Blog Consultant bringing the twin passions of business and blogging together. - Description

Successful Blog - Blog Name
Liz Strauss - Author
Blogging - Location
The legendary Liz Strauss, blogger extraordinaire and creator of the SOB award. - Description

Troy Worman's Blog - Blog Name
Troy Worman - Author
Jacksonville, USA - Location
Blogging - Catagory
Focus on writing, ideas and connections - Description

Copywriter's Crucible - Blog Name
Matt Ambrose - Author
UK - Location
Blogging, Copywriting - Catagory
The importance of copy in corporate blogging - Description

Copywriting Tuneups - Blog Name
Eric Rosen - Author
Blogging, Copywriting - Catagory
How to measure reading effectiveness and why it is important in the blogosphere - Description

Dipping into the Blogpond - Blog Name
Meg - Author
Sydney, Australia - Location
Blogging, Tech - Catagory
Blogging about starting an Internet company in the Sutherland Shire. - Description

BrandSizzle - Blog Name
Anne Simons - Author
Branding - Catagory
Broad and deep insight into the branding process. - Description

Own Your Brand! - Blog Name
Mike Wagner - Author
Iowa, USA - Location
Branding - Catoagory
Blog to help businesses re-imagine their brands. - Description

The Emerging Brand - Blog Name
Anna Farmery - Author
UK - Location
Branding -Catagory
Corporate branding blog focused on leadership. - Description

The Engaging Brand - Blog Name
Anna Farmery - Author
UK - Location
Branding - Catagory
Using technology and marketing knowledge to improve business communications. - Description

What is Brand? - Blog Name
Japan - Location
Branding - Catagory
Japanese readers/speakers? Anyone? - Description

Presentation Zen - Blog Name
Garr Reynolds - Author
Japan - Location
Business - Catagory
(Site in English) Tips for great presentations, marketing, and business communications. - Description

Bob Sutton - Blog Name
Bob Sutton - Author
California, USA - Location
Business - Catagory
Discussions of “jerks” in business. - Description

Ramblings from a Glass Half Full - Blog Name
Terry Starbucker - Author
Connecticut, USA - Location
Business - Catagory
Views on business life. - Description

Simplicity Mary’s Blog- Blog Name
Mary Schmidt - Author
New Mexico, USA - Location
Business - Catagory
Business development, marketing troubleshooting - Descriptions

Funny Business - Blog Name
Scrambled Toast - Author
Business commentary - Catagory
Wide ranging discussion on business with a funny and pictorial approach. - Description

Creative Think - Blog Name
Roger von Oech - Author
California, USA - Location
Business, Creativity - Catagory
Fun Ideas to stimulate your creativity. - Description

The Copywriting Maven - Blog Name
Roberta Rosenberg - Author
Washington DC, USA - Location
Copywriting - Catagory
Marketing and SEO copywriting tips. - Description

Brain Based Biz - Blog Name
Robyn McMaster - Author
Creativity - Catagory
Tips for stirring creativity in business. - Description

Experienceology - Blog Name
Stephanie Weaver - Author
California, USA - Location
Customer Experience - Catagory
How to create great customer experiences on the web and in the “real” world. - Description

Shut Up and Drink the Kool-Aid! - Blog Name
Tim Jackson - Author
Cycling, Blogging - Location
The irrepressible Tim MasiGuy Jackson and Co’s slant on bicycle marketing. - Description

MineThatData - Blog Name
Kevin Hillstrom - Author
Database Marketing - Catagory
Tips for database marketing from the viewpoint of a DM wiz. - Description

Design Sojourn - Blog Name
DT - Author
Sydney and Singapore - Location
Design - Catagory
How to do good design and create clever products.- Description

aialone - Blog Name
JT (Jon) Winebrenner - Author
Canada - Location
Design, tech - Catagory
Design, innovation, as well as Jon’s cartoons! - Description

Frozen Puck - Blog Name
Brock Skywalker - Author
Canada - Location
Eclectic - Catagory
Making cool stuff with expensive toys - Description

Movie Marketing Madness - Blog Name
Chris - Author
Entertainment, marketing - Catagory
Marketing with a focus on Hollywood. No info on About page. - Description

gDiapers - Blog Name
Jason - Author
Oregon, USA - Location
Environment - Catagory
Corporate blog discussing environmental issues. - Description

Time to Budget - Blog Name
Mona Weathers - Author
Finance - Catagory
How to gain financial freedom by controlling your finances. - Description

Girls Swimsuits - Blog Name
Preety - Author
Girls - Catagory
The name says it all, new site, small archive. - Description

Home Business Wiz - Blog Name
Barbra Sundquist - Author
Canada - Location
Home business - Catagory
Collection of resources about home business. - Description

Working at Home on the Internet - Blog Name
Joe Hauckes - Author
Home business, Blogging - Catagory
Home business entrepreneurs and making money from home - Description

Kristie T - Blog Name
Kristie Tamsevicius - Author
Home business, Online Money Making - Catagory
Fun, mom-geared work-at-home tips and advice on making money on the net. - Description

Leading Questions - Blog Name
Ed Brenegar - Author
USA - Location
Leadership - Catagory
Real life leadership, organisational tranformation and practical tips for leaders of all kinds. - Description

Make It Great! - Blog Name
Phil Gerbyshack - Author
Wisconsin, USA - location
Life coaching - Catagory
How to take your life from good to great by focusing on relationships. - Description

You Already Know This Stuff - Blog Name
Jodee Bock - Author
Fargo, USA - Location
Life Coaching - Catagory
Reminding us all that what we need to know is already in our minds and hearts. - Description

HolyMama! - Blog Name
USA - Location
Lifestyle - Catagory
Funny perspective on life from a stay at home Christian mom. - Description

My Marrakesh - Blog Name
Maryam Montegue - Author
Morocco - Location
Lifestyle - Catagory
Expatriate American with an eye for style, architecture and good living - Description

Gangster Sonny - Blog Name
Mafia - Catagory
Fascinated with all things mafia … from movies to weapons. - Description

Talking Story - Blog Name
Rosa Say - Author
Hawaii, USA - Location
Management - Catagory
Management and leadership, Hawaiian style. - Description

AENDirect - Blog Name
Aen Tan - Author
Singapore - Location
Marketing - Catagory
Freelance art director’s view on creativity and advertising - Description

Being Peter Kim - Blog Name
Peter Kim - Author
Massachusetts, USA - Location
Marketing - Catagory
Personal insights from the depths of Forrester (note: this is his personal, not Forrester, blog). - Description

BizandBuzz - Blog Name
Gianandrea Facchini - Author
Rome, Italy - Location
Marketing - Catagory
Brand building and marketing from an Italian perspective - Description

bizsolutionsplus - Blog Name
Lewis Green - Author
Connecticut, USA - Locaation
Marketing - Catagory
A passionate and respected author, marketer and activist. - Description

Blog Till You Drop! - Blog Name
Laurence-Hélène - Author
UK - Location
Marketing - Catatory
Marketing, advertising, branding, blogging - Description

Branding & Marketing - Blog Name
Chris Brown - Author
Ohio, USA - Location
Marketing - Catagory
Designed for business professionals with an interest in branding and marketing. - Description

Buzzoodle - Blog Name
Ron McDaniel - Author
Ohio, USA - Location
Word of mouth, Marketing - Catagory
Creating buzz with word of mouth marketing. - Description

Christine Kane - Blog Name
Christine Kane - Author
Marketing, Music - Catagory
A recording artist, Christine harnesses the power of community to reach her audience. - Description

CKs Blog - Blog Name
Christina Kerley - Author
New York, USA - Location
Marketing - Catagory
Clever strategies, the new best practices, and the smart marketers behind them. - Description

Conversation Agent - Blog Name
Valeria Maltoni - Author
Pennsylvania, USA - Location
Marketing - Catagory
Connecting ideas and people—how talk can change our lives - Description

converstations - Blog Name
Mike Sansone - Author
Des Moines, USA - Location
Marketing, blogging - Catagory
Known as the blogging yoda (for insight not looks), Mike is a conversation generator. - Description

CrapHammer - Blog Name
Sean Howard - Author
Canada - Location
Marketing - Catagory
Marketing using new media. - Description

Customers Rock! - Blog Name
Becky Carroll - Author
California, USA - Location
Marketing, Customer Experience - Catagory
Marketing the customer experience; its importance for businesses. - Description

Diva Marketing - Blog Name
Toby Bloomberg - Author
Atlanta, USA - Location
Marketing - Catagory
The Diva herself, aligning technology, marketing and branding for businesses. - Description

Dmitry Linkov - Blog Name
Dmitry Linkov - Author
Moscow, Russia - location
Marketing, Business - Catagory
Everyday and business issues - Description

Drew's Marketing Minute - Blog Name
Drew McLellan - Author
USA - Location
Marketing, Eclectic - Catagory
Where strategy and passion collide - Description

eSoup - Blog Name
Sharon Sarmiento - Author
Alabama, USA - Locataion
Marketing, Entrepreneurism - Catagory
Productivity, marketing, web media, small biz development and other stuff entrepreneurs ought to know. - Description

Get Shouty! - Blog Name
Katie Chatfield - Author
Sydney, Australia - Location
Marketing, Planning - Catagory
Digital strategy and thoughts on blogging. - Description

Hee-Haw Marketing - Blog Name
Paul McEnany - Author
Texas, USA - location
Marketing - Catagory
There is no box. New media marketing strategy thrown together with a few cuss words and a dash of panache. - Description

Hola! Oi! Hi! - Blog Name
Katia Adams - Author
New York, USA - location
Marketing, Multicultural - Catagory
Thoughts of a Brazilian newly arrived in the US with a marketer’s point of view. - Description

Jeremy Latham’s Blog - Blog Name
Jeremy Latham - Author
Vancouver, Canada - Location
Marketing - Catagory
A marketing-business oriented blog on website development. - Description

John Wagner - Blog Name
John Wagner - Author
Texas, USA - location
Marketing - Catagory
News and views on marketing, advertising, media, PR and grass-roots communications - Description

Kinetic Ideas - Blog Name
Wendy Maynard -Author
Oregon, USA - Location
Marketing -Catagory
Marketing tips, ideas, strategies, and musings for small businesses. - Description

Logic + Emotion - Blog Name
David Armano - Author
Chicago, USA- Location
Marketing -Catagory
The intersection of marketing, brand engagement and experience design. How to turn your passive consumers into active brand participants. -Description

Marketing Hipster - Blog Name
Cord Silverstein - Author
Raleigh, USA - Location
Marketing -Catagory
Online oriented blog on marketing and web 2.0 tools. -Description

Mindblob - Blog Name
Luc -Author
Brussells, Belgium -location
Marketing -Catagory
Using alien intelligence to follow the path of ideas as they come to life. - Description

Multi-Cult Classics - Blog Name
HighJive - Author
Marketing, Advertising -Catagory
Musings on Multiculturalism in the Ad Industry and Beyond. -Description

Nick Rice - Blog Name
Nick Rice - Author
Kentucky, USA - Location
Marketing, branding -Catagory
Marketing strategy combined with creative thinking and design. - Description

On Influence & Automation - Blog Name
Douglas A. Karr - Author
Indiana, USA - Location
Marketing - Catagory
A marketing and technology blog -Description

Pardon My French - Blog Name
Eric Frenchman -Author
New Jersey, USA -Location
Marketing - Catagory
Online strategy and marketing with great case studies of real projects. - Description

Pow! Right Between The Eyes! - Blog Name
Andy Nulman -Author
Marketing -Catagory
The importance of surprise in business -Description

Purple Wren - Blog Name
Sandy Renshaw -Author
Iowa, USA - Location
Marketing - Catagory
Tools and techniques for communicating life through print and images. - Description

Servant of Chaos - Blog Name
Gavin Heaton -Author
Sydney, Australia - Location
Marketing -Catagory
Gavin’s rant on the world of branding and storytelling. - Description

Shotgun Marketing Blog -Blog Name
Chris Houchens - Author
Kentucky, USA - Location
Marketing -Catagory
Musings on marketing and related ideas. -Description

Small Business Blogging - Blog Name
Andy Wibbels -Author
Chicago, USA - Location
Marketing, Tech - Catagory
Using web media to market your business -Description

Tell Ten Friends - Blog Name
Jordan Behan - Author
Canada - Location
Marketing - Catagory
Marketing using new media to make connections. - Description

The Branding Blog - Blog Name
Martin Jelsema - Author
Marketing -Catagory
Branding principals, opinions and prejudices he's developed - Description

The Experience Curve - Blog Name
Karl Long - Author
California, USA - Location
Marketing, Social Media - Catagory
Social media and marketing from an experiential point of view. - Description

The Instigator Blog - Blog Name
Ben Yoskovitz - Author
Montreal, Canada - Location
Marketing - Catagory
Entrepreneurial focus on marketing, ideas and building your business - Description

The Marketing Minute - Blog Name
Drew McLellan - Author
Iowa, USA - Location
Marketing - Catagory
Expert insight into marketing and branding. And Drew loves Disneyland. - Description

The Viral Garden - Blog Name
Mack Collier - Author
Alabama, USA - Location
Marketing - Catagory
Mr Community leads the way in using technology to create conversation. - Description

Two Hat Marketing - Blog Name
Steve Miller - Author
Washington, USA - Location
Marketing -Catagory
Views on targeted marketing. - Description

Unconventional Thinking - Blog Name
Chris Kieff - Author
New York, USA - Location
Marketing -Catagory
The art and science of growing businesses - Description

Viaspire - Blog Name
A biz blog—Viaspire - Author
Marketing - Catagory
Marketing and Communications consulting firm blog -Description

Popcorn n Roses - Blog Name
TC Kirkham and Kim Brown - Author
Massachusetts, USA - Location
Movies - Catagory
Movie industry blog with reviews and musings. - Description

Current World news - Blog Name
News - Catagory
“Breaking” news across a couple of categories. Small archive. - Description

Choice at Your Fingertips - Blog Name
News, Blogging - Catagory
News and tips for making money blogging. No archive. - Description

Blogtrepreneur - Blog Name
Adnan -Author
UK - Location
Online Money Making - Catagory
How to be an online entrepreneur and also build community! - Description

Can I Make Big Money Online - Blog Name
George Brian Manty - Author
Online Money Making - Catagory
Tips for making money online including research, design and blogging. - Description

Dosh Dosh - Blog Name
Maki - Author
Online Money Making - Catagory
Trying to source legitimate methods for making money online. - Description

Internet Bazaar - Blog Name
Guhan Mathivanan - Author
Online Making Money - Catagory
Tips and ideas for making money online. - Description

Kumiko's Cash Quest - Blog Name
Kumiko - Author
Tokyo, Japan - Location
Online Money Making - Catagory
Trying to make money online and sharing the experience. - Description

Million Dollar Experiment heads Down Under - Blog Name
Rob St George - Author
New Zealand - Location
Online Money Making - Catagory
Can thinking positively make you a cool mill? Rob hopes so. - Description

Quest to make money on the internet - Blog Name
UK - Location
Online Money Making - Catagory
Currently up to £128, this site makes money by letting out its posting space. - Description

Critical Fluff - Blog Name
Jayniek - Author
Maryland, USA - Location
Personal - Catagory
Ranks various things in life with mulligans, crabapples, and pineapples. - Description

Forged Euphoria - Blog Name
Personal - Catagory
Some sponsored links. - Description

OrbitNow! - Blog Name
Troy Worman - Author
Florida, USA - Location
Personal - Catagory
Miscellaneous musings - Description

The Sartorialist - Blog Name
Photography, fashion - Catagory
Photos of fashion on the streets, geared to inspire designers. - Description

Bullshitobserver - Blog Name
Todd Anthony - Author
Politics - Catagory
Politics and commentary. - Description

New Millenium PR - Blog Name
Andrea Weckerle - Author
PR - Catagory
Bringing business, branding, marketing and PR together. - Description

The New PR - Blog Name
Ryan Anderson - Author
Ottawa, Canada - Locaation
PR - Catagory
Public relations in the online world. - Description

Carpe Factum - Blog Name
Timothy Johnson - Author
Project Management - Catagory
Blog that focuses on the things you need to do to accomplish things. Especially big things. - Description

Work, in Plain English - Blog Name
Penina S Finger - Author
Project Management - Catagory
A design and marketing focused blog on project management. Interesting mix! - Description

SEO Blog - Blog Name
SEO - Catagory
New site on SEO and use of blogs to improve rankings. - Description

Flee the Cube - Blog Name
ICesar - Author
California, USA - Location
Small Business - Catogory
Starting up a small business in web design. - Description

Community Guy - Blog Name
Jake McKee - Author
Dallas, USA - Location
Social media - Catagory
Online and offline community building tips and tricks. - Description

A Free and Decent Blog Host - Blog Name
Unfathomed_Psyche - Author
Tech - Catagory
Technology news focusing on blogs and blog software - Description

Billions With Zero Knowledge - Blog Name
Austin Hill - Author
Canada - Location
Tech, Business - Catagory
Changing the world with little bits of knowledge - Description

Connected Internet - Blog Name
Everton Blair - Author
London, UK - Location
Tech - Catagory
All things to do with technology, mobile phones and gaming. - Description

darrenbarefoot.com - Blog Name
Darren Barefoot - Author
Canada - Location
Tech, marketing - Catagory
Tech news, writing and marketing - Description

Deepak - Blog Name
Deepak - Author
Tech - Catagory
Focuses on the technology of the Internet and loves Google. - Description

MapleLeaf 2.0 - Blog Name
Mark Evans - Author
Canada - Location
Tech - Catagory
Tech news stories relating to Canada - Description

Scott Burkett's Pothole on the Infobahn - Blog Name
Scott Burkett - Author
Georgia, USA - Location
Tech - Catagory
Musings on technology, IT management, and online community. - Description

Small Surfaces - Blog Name
Gabriel White - Author
Tech - Catagory
Interaction design, user interface design, user experience, usability and social trends related to mobile devices. - Description

TechBuzz - Blog Name
Thilak - Author
Mangalore, India - Location
Tech - Catagory
Tech new and reviews written by 17 year old in India. Awesome. - Description

Masey.com - Blog Name
Rob Masefield - Author
Travel - Location
Design and photography blog. - Description

Through the Lenses - Blog Name
Jas - Author
Vancouver, Canada - Location
Travel, Photography - Catagory
Travel/photography blog includes stunning shots and photography tips. - Description

The Best Guides to eCommerce with Favor - Blog Name
Viral marketing - Catagory
Viral marketing tools, memes and SEO tips. - Description

Web Metrics Guru - Blog Name
Marshall Sponder - Author
Web analytics - Catagory
Web analytics, in particular for blogs - Description

The Future of the Web - Blog Name
Jesse Skinner - Author
Canada - Location
Web Development - Catagory
Use of new technologies for the web. - Description

Social Media on the fly - Blog Name
Mark Krupinski - Author
Florida, USA - Location
Web media, blogging - Catagory
Learning social media on the fly - Description

Using the Free SEO Book Keyword Search Tool to Your Advantage

2007-07-08T18:33:00.000-07:00

This is a useful tool for several reasons.

First, it provides a monthly regional search volumes by market for Google, Yahoo!, and MSN. Second, it provides direct links to Wordtracker, Keyword Discovery and Google trends. All these links are other tools you can use.

How do you use it?

You type in your keyword (e.g.dog training) into the search box. The site page will have two boxes. I found that sometimes I need to put the keyword in boxes in order to get all the searches.

After you get the results, you should focus on the length of the columns instead of the actual search volume for the keyword. The longer the list of keywords, the more avenues of traffic you will have within this particular niche.

You need to get an over all picture of your niche and not just focus on your keyword. With this tool you can get an idea of potential keywords and search volume.

After you have found a suitable niche with a moderate search volume, you’ll need to check its monetization and profit potential. I will discuss those topics in a later blog.

Well Kept Secret On Adding Google Sitemaps To Blogger

2007-06-22T14:20:00.000-07:00

Ok, I am convinced. I should put a sitemap on my blogger site. But, what steps do I take to add a sitemap?

First, I better define a sitemap. It is simply a map of your website and lists of all your sections and pages. A sitemap speeds up the indexing of your pages in Google and can help viewers find their way around your site. There are three basic types of sitemaps. So, what kind of sitemap should I use? It depends what you intend to do with your sitemap. You may also use more than one kind of sitemap on your site.

First, there is the traditional HTML which is useful in utilising your Link Text. This makes it easier for human visitors to navigate the site.

Second, there is the XML Sitemap which is utilised by Google's search engine. Google's sitemaps contain URLs and indexing information. This information is read by a Spider and the information is indexed. The number of URLs in a sitemap is limited to fifty thousand. A second kind of google sitemap, the Google Sitemap Index File, indexes the sitemaps. The index file may index up to one thousand sitemaps.

Third, there is the ROR sitemap which is similar to the XML format which is used for describing any element on your website such as products, services, images, reviews, etc. It can be used for all search engines including google.

Wordpress provides blogs with a sitemap plugin. When you update your site, you do not have to worry about updating your sitemap. The plugin updates your sitemap instantly and alerts Google to the change in your site.

What if you want a Google sitemap for your blog on Blogger?

Unlike Wordpress, Blogger does not offer a way to get a sitemap. Although, Google provides a Sitemap Generator that creates sitemaps from URL lists, web server directories, or from access logs. Google only allows you to submit your blog site, but does not allow you to generate a sitemap for your Blogger account. However, there is a way to get around that.

First, log into Google Webmaster Tools with your google account. Paste the URL of your blog in the add site option. When you click on the "Ok" button, your site will be added to your account.

Second, you will need to verify your blog. With Blogger, you need to choose "Add a META tag" from the drop down menu. Code will be generated for you. Highlight the code and copy it.

Third, go to your blogger account and click on template. Paste the META tag code under the first "head" and save the template changes. Next, click on the "Republish" button.

Fourth, go to the Google webmaster tools account and go back to the "Verify site ownership" and check the"I've added the META tag in the home page of..." Then, click the "verify" button.

Now you have added your site to the sitemap account and have verified it. Next, you need to add the sitemap url. Since Google will not allow you to add a text file or anything else, you will need to add your site feed (ATOM) as a site map.

Fifth, clink on "submit a sitemap" which will take you to "add sitemap". Next select the type saying "Add General Web Sitemap"

Although, I have the newer beta version of Blogger, only atom.xml worked for me. It may be different for you.

Last, you will get a confirmation and your blog will now be indexed.

Once you set up your sitemap, it is all set until you make updates to your site. Then you will have to make updates to your sitemap. Google makes this it easy to do. Everytime you make a change, log into your Google account and click on the resubmit button.

What Is RSS Feed and Why Would You Use It?

2007-06-15T12:43:00.000-07:00

RSS is known as "Really Simple Syndication" or "Rich Site Summary." It is a tool that can save updated content on your favorite website or blog. It updates material by scanning websites via an XML code that sends the information to subscribers. If you want to share your website, RSS, makes it really simple. You place your content in an RSS document. Next, you register your content with a website that provides RSS feeds or aggregator.

The content usually includes new or blog websites, but can contain other types of digital content such as pictures, video or audio files. Once the content is sent to a RSS feeder, the feeder usually will show a headline, some text or review of the content. If you want to read further, you will need to click on a link.

There are two kinds of aggregators to register your website with. One is a downloadable program for your desktop and the second kind is an online or web based site.

Typically, a desktop feeder charges for its program, but it also offers additional customization of page format and RSS feeds and other services. An example of a desktop aggregator is FeedDemon which features services such as a search channel that includes other RSS service, filtering of RSS feeds, built-in podcast receiver and etc.

An online aggregator is usually free of charge, but is more limited in providing customized service. My Yahoo and bloglines are two examples of online aggregators. My Yahoo has popularized RSS feeds to both users and advertisers with its customizable home page design and use of banner advertisements.

While My Yahoo may be well known, Blogline has many advantages to offer. It is user friendly for beginners and offers many benefits such as it's own directory of RSS website feeds, add-on tools for subscription buttons and automated blogrolls. In addition, it supports all major browsers such as Netscape Navigator, Internet Explorer, Firefox, and offers other benefits not listed here
.
You don't have RSS feed on your site?
You can download RSS Builder. It is a freeware program that can create a RSS feed for your web site. Then you can submit RSS feeds after you download. Or you can create own format. RSS 2.0 is by consensus, an easy and simple format to use.

Why should you send out RSS feeds?
You will increase the visibility of your site and allow viewers to easily keep up with your posts. Also, it offers your users convenience of not having to search your page. They can just go to their aggregator which will provide them with a description of your site and a link to it.

After you submit RSS feeds for awhile, you will begin to attract a wider audience and increase traffic for your site as viewers begin to book mark your website for their content source.

Why should you get RSS feeds?
You can generate additional traffic to your website by adding RSS to your site. Using RSS will bypass the regular indexing procedure and will get your content indexed quickly. Also, RSS feeds can be found and read from cell phones and PDAs.

You can update your sites with new content by patching in various websites to your blog. When the various websites are updated, it will be reflected in your blog. This is an easy way to instantly add new content to your site.

You will find that RSS is a valuable tool for either a blog or website. Since you can implement it for free, you will not lose anything for trying it out. Chances are that you may enjoy the benefits of easy access to content and increased traffic to your site.

For Better Or Worse? Micro-blogging Or Blogging?

2007-05-29T15:13:00.000-07:00

Do you want to write but not have to write a lot? Just need to make one point briefly? You might want to consider micro-blogging which are the post cards of the internet world.

They are generally free, but since they have limited space, not everyone will want to use one. If you need to write a lot, you might not want to try cram everything into a small space.

I will discuss three very different micro-blogs by going over their functions and the type of members that would enjoy using them.

1. Tumblr

With Tumblr, you create a "Tumblelog" which is a micro-blog where you can submit post by website or email. It does not have SMS or instant message. But, you can choose to automatically notify blog monitoring services such as Technorati and My Yahoo when you post a new message.
You can create six different kinds of posts with Tumblr. They are Regular Post, Quote, Link, Conversation, Photo, and Video. The post do just what the names says they do. For instance, you can add photos by uploading them to your Tumblr site or pull them in by using a link.

These six posts make Tumlbr very easy to add content such as videos, photos and RSS feeds from other sites. As a result some sites are just posts with just images, quotations or YouTube videos rather than actual content. While other Tumblelogs resemble other blogs with long written out posts.

Other features include "followers" who have added you as a friend and are following your posts. Also, Tumblr has a bookmark bar button for easy posting of website finds. You are giving the option of what category to put your new content in when you click on the bookmark button.

Last but not least, you can host your custom domain name on Tumblr. You will need to buy your own domain from a registrar such as GoDaddy. Once you have done that, Tumblr gives you instructions on how to set up your site. They suggest that you already be familiar with setting up websites as they do not have the staff to give personal help.

2. Twitter

With Twitter, you only get 140 character per post. There is no multimedia such as photos or videos, only text. Your page options are also limited as you can only write one-line profiles. But, you can change your colors and background images.

The 140 character limit does tend to create a stream of conscious message. This might be useful for updates on traffic, weather, or airport conditions. Or you could receive a blow by blow account of your neighbor's yard sale. It is all up to the members and you.

What makes Twitter popular is that you can use it practically anywhere. You can post Twitter by website, phone or instant message. If you want to instant message, you can choose between different applications such as AIM, GTalk, .Mac, LiveJournal and Jabber.

3. Squidoo

Squidoo is a free social networking website that is composed of lenses that members create. You can build several pages and link them together or build single pages on many different subjects. If you need help on creating a lens, you can click on "build a lens" button where you will be guided step by step on setting up your lens. Or you can go to SquidU, a website, where your questions can be answered by volunteers and expert lensmasters.

Squidoo is really helpful in building traffic to your new website or blog. You can link your site into Squidoo pages which are quickly built up by search engines.

You also make money on this site through adsense ads that are placed on your site and through Ebay or Amazon modules.

When advertisers generate money on your site, you get a portion of it. Squidoo divides it up into three parts. One parts goes to Squidoo for running the site, second part goes to charity and you get the third part.

Online marketers love this site for driving traffic and high ranking in search engines among other things.

Who should use a micro-blog? Just about anyone. Give the flexibility of a micro-blog, you could just share your photos or videos if you do not want to write. Even if you want to want to write and prefer to write longer articles, you might consider a micro-blog as a complement to your blog or website.

To Blog Or To Website That Is the Question

2007-05-17T22:43:00.000-07:00

Congratulations, you have decided to join the online community. Maybe, just to air your view points or to venture into an online marketing business.

But, how to get started? There two main ways to venture forth. Either by blog or by website, the choice is up to you.

But, first we need to define the difference between a blog and website. A website is a internet application that contains web pages, images, videos and other digital assets. It is hosted on the World Wide Web. Whereas, a blog is part of website where entries are made and displayed in a reverse chronological order. It is sometimes known as an online journal.

I will discuss the pros and cons of both. The choice is yours.

First, I will cover blogging.

If you have little or no computer knowledge and even less money. Blogging is the way to go. You can get a free blog from blogger.com or wordpress.com. These are the two more popular choices. They will host and maintain your blog for you. You can customize your blog from their selection of templates. Just write and post and you have your blog. You can post your own content, advertise your own goods and services. Also, you can advertise goods and services of others as an affiliate.

A blog will allow communications between visitor and writer where they can exchanges opinions on certain issues. Whereas, in a website, a visitor can only read and not offer comments or suggestions to the writer or other visitors.

The cons to blogging is that you have write many articles to get your business going. However, you can hire a ghost writer to write articles for you. Later, when the blog becomes very successful, you may want to upgrade which will cost money.

Second, I will cover using a website.

A website allows you to have complete control over your content and is the fastest way to advertise. However, there are cost involved with setting up a website. You will need hosting, a domain name and maybe a custom built website. Or you may decide to build your own site. A user friendly program for creating your own website is Microsoft Frontpages. Last, you will need a Autoresponder.

A disadvantage of building your own website is that you are responsible for taking care of any problems that may arise.

Also, you may need to consider whether you need a website in the first place. Maybe a blog is all you need for the present time. Can you explain to someone else the advantages that you will have with a website and what it will do for you?

Whether you decide to use a blog or website, you cannot just sit back and relax. You have to market it and build traffic. You have to promote it. If your goal is internet marketing, you will never make any money if you just submit it to a few search engines and do nothing else. Traffic or having visitors go to your site is a major component that makes your blog or website valuable.

Three Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Blog

2007-05-10T15:01:00.000-07:00

So you have set up your blog with great content and graphs. Now how do you get people to read your blog?

First, you want to post, post, post to your blog. Writing and posting to your blog is like blood circulating in your veins. The more new content is circulated through your blog, the stronger it will be.

But you can't write:

Of course you can. Just set aside time in your day to write and start putting anything down that comes to mind. That way, you are getting the juices started and soon more ideas will come. Then the article will be done.

If you have no time to write or simply don't like writing, you can hire a ghostwriter. They can be found at Elance.com or Craigslist.com among others.

Second, social bookmark your blog. So, what is social bookmarking? Simply, it is people online sharing their opinions, insights, experiences and etc with each other. This sharing can take many form such as chat forums, blogs, podcasts, and message boards. It is anything that brings people together so that they can interact with each other.

There are many social bookmarks to be a part of. I will briefly discuss four of the most popular sites:

1. Digg (http://www.digg.com) started off as community-based website emphasising technology and science articles. It has now become so popular and large that it includes almost anything.

2. Del.icio.us (http://del.icio.us/) is a close second to Digg in the backlink community. Del.icio.us main focus is to store your bookmarks online. This encourages cross-linking among those who share similar interests. resulting in the creation of backlinks . All posts to del.icio.us are publicly viewable by default, although specific bookmarks can be marked as private. Imported bookmarks are private by default.

3. Technorati (http://www.technorati.com) is the award winning authority of weblogs. The primary purpose of Technorati is monitoring your online visibility by monitoring linking, other sites mentioning you, your site's progress and competitor's progress.

4. Furl (http://www.furl.net/) allows members to bookmark, annotate and share web pages. Users may view lists of other members who have made comments or furled a website. Members can subscribe to a user's archive to get email notifications when a new item is added.

Third, you can write a press release to drive traffic.

There are many press release companies. One of which is PRWeb. They were one of the first companies to allow almost anyone to write and distribute a press release online. Earlier before the advent of the internet, mostly large companies and corporations distributed press releases. However, PRWeb charges for their service. There are many press release companies that are free. One advantage of press releases is that they do not have to be very long. A couple of hundred words in several paragraphs is enough.

With a little creativity and practice, you'll soon see your traffic growing. These three simple steps will allow you to attract and retain your readers as your blog develops.

Blogger versus Typepad

2007-04-08T17:06:00.000-07:00

It came to my attention that Blogger and Typepad were being promoted to beginning bloggers. Which to chose? Blogger is free which a big plus in my book, while Typepad charges a small fee.

CNET reviews compared the two stating that "Best known, and free, is Google Blogger. But you get what you pay for: Blogger is a basic blogging service that won't overpower beginners with too many options or choices. For a small monthly fee, however, Six Apart TypePad provides the services we'd like to see offered within Blogger, such as mixed-media templates, built-in photo uploading, and guest accounts. Ironically, Blogger makes it much easier to host your blogs on your own domain; TypePad allows it but also requires a little extra work between you and your ISP. "

I found that Blogger's Flickr makes it very easy to post images to your blog. As to templates, blogger offers your choice of templates and allows you into the HTML if you wish to change them. So far, I have not found enough incentive to switch to TypePad. After all, free is a very good argument for blogger.