I visit lot of blogs daily and see what they have done for them in terms of search engine optimization. I think every blogger or website owner should do this to improve website traffic and sales. After my research, I was shocked to see a few On page SEO factors which are missing on my blog. The main reason of these things missing was the change of theme. I change my theme, widgets lot of times and in that I forgot a few vital things. So what did I miss? I missed some vital On Page SEO factors which can certainly give me an edge over other blogs:

The Top Widget – Right below the menu of this blog, you will see two sections – Most Red Posts and Most Commented Posts. These things work very well for search engines as well as readers. Search Engines can crawl the top posts of this blog and very well place them in site links while readers can easily navigate through the best posts I have written. Not all posts are that great and every reader should be showcased with your top stuff so that he/she is impressed with your work. Search Engines always visit your blog from the top and they should be welcomed with lots and lots of content. There is no point in placing a huge flash banner as it wont be of much help for the search engines. So the idea here is to welcome search engine bots with some best and nice stuff on your website and also help readers in same. If you remember, I had posted a video in which Matt Cutts explains this in one of his examples.

Sitemap - Sitemaps for wordpress can be easily generated using a sitemap plugin. I am sure that lot of people use this plugin to generate a sitemap and submit it to Google Webmaster Central. It is recommended to have the sitemap link on every page of your blog. The best place to have a sitemap link is the footer which was missing on this blog. I kicked myself for missing such a simple yet effective link.

Archives – Archives are very important when it comes to using wordpress. WordPress hides older posts in such a manner that lot of times search engines won’t find your older posts. For a blog like this which was started back in 2006 it is very important to have a Archives page which has a list of all the older posts. My blog URL changed from Harry-Inc.com to HarryBlogs.com to TheDotComBlog.com. In my case it is very important for me to give easy access to my archives. This will work in a positive way for the blog readers as well as search engines.

Global Translator - This is the most simple and effective thing to increase your blog traffic. On the right side bar of this blog, you will see the Global Translator widget. This is a plugin which translates my blog content in various other languages. You would be surprised to see the increase in your blog traffic after installing this plugin. There are many people on this planet who do not search using the english language. We don’t want to neglect these users who can generate sales for us just like any other english speaking customer. Thats the reason, having translated pages is very important. I can assure you a traffic increase of at least 10% after using something like a Global Translator plugin. Language specific pages are very important for affiliate websites which have offers for non english speaking countries.

So does your blog or website miss any of these On Page SEO factors? Or does my blog miss anything according to you? Please share your thoughts so that we can build better search optimized websites.

Budget Problem, No Problem:

Now, this clearly shows that this design is extremely important, but you may not have thousands of dollars for a logo. Don’t worry…Big businesses have all the extra cash to waste, whereas small business owners can get one at a fraction of the cost without even compromising on quality.

So, having said that, let’s now dig deeper and explore why you must create a logo design for your business.

Give Something to Your Market to Visualize Your Business:

Your logo is not a small piece of design; it is in fact your business identity. It helps you stand-out from the competition. Thus, without a logo, you won’t be able to create a unique business image.

If, in a store, you see many products by several manufacturers that you have never tried before, then it’s the quality of the logo that will enable you to determine the quality of a particular product. Without a logo, there won’t be any visualization and, thus, you won’t get any recognition. In order to grow your business, it is crucial that you give your business an impressive face with an impressive logo design.

Make Your Online Marketing Campaigns Effective:

If you use social networking sites, then your logo can help you a lot. Your logo design in your profile will help you promote your business and win the trust of your market. Let’s say you don’t have a logo right now. If you add friends and grow your network, it won’t help your business in any way, because you won’t be promoting your business. The only way of promoting your business will be through the links that you will post and it may even get you labeled as a spammer in the long run.

Having a logo design will prevent you from spamming as people will see your logo and learn about your business. If your network will trust you, then they will trust your business as well and would love to learn more about it. So, build your credibility by communicating with your network and build your business image with a high quality logo design.

Make Your Offline Marketing Campaigns Effective:

Distributing brochures and giving away complimentary items are some great ways of promoting your business offline. However, you won’t get any recognition if your brochure or products won’t have your logo imprinted on them. Other than recognition, a top-notch logo will also help you win the trust of your market.

When your target market will look at your complimentary products (with your logo) again and again, they will automatically begin to trust you (Hey, after all, they are already using your product in the form of a mug, pen, T-shirt or any other complimentary product).

So, folks, you need a logo design to give your business an identity and make your marketing campaigns effective.
In today’s tough competition, you can get a top quality logo, designed by a professional designer, at a very low price. So, you too can now create your brand identity effectively.

This is a Guest Post by Ben Johnson.

Questions on Internet Marketing or Making Money Online – I get lots of emails from people who will send an email simply saying they want to know how to make money online. I feel very sad when I read such an email. Why sad? Look at the question dude! The question is so generic and this blog has tons of information on Internet Marketing and making money online.

So what should the questions be about?

If you need help or are stuck with something I posted about then the best way to ask your query is to ask it in the comments section. I will reply to your query for sure if you post a comment. This helps you and other people reading my blog.

Asking for Blog Comments – I get lots of messages from people who ask me to comment on a blog post of theirs. If you look at my blog comments, I always ensure that I comment back and most of the times subscribe to people who comment on my blog. So the best way to get comments on your blog is to comment on mine with your blog URL.

Asking for Social Bookmarks, Digg Re-tweets etc. - First and foremost, I do not use all social bookmarking websites. I use Digg and the best way to get Diggs from me is by adding me as your friend on Digg. The best way to get Diggs from people is to add them as friends and Digg their posts in exchange. This also applies for re-tweets and posting on Facebook.

This does not mean that I will only help people who do favors for me . The reason why I am asking people to do the above mentioned things is to avoid messages, emails which are huge contributors in wastage of valuable time.

This is very important for ALL webmasters because hackers can do anything with websites. Right from deleting and stealing posts to gathering information on sensitive data like bank accounts, paypal accounts and more…

I personally have had issues with people copying my content and images. There have been times when I was caught with doing something that was not legal. Internet is a huge market and to keep up with everything is just next to impossible. You might run a website which is doing extremely well until you get a notice saying that whatever you are doing is not legal. Most common issues people face is copying of content, trademark issues, registration issues and so on. So how does one save himself from all such issues? You don’t want someone sending you an email after which you are forced to shut down your business or website which makes you hundreds of dollars per day. Such issues can end people’s career and in some cases you might end up in jail.

If you search on the Internet, you will find loads of information on legal stuff. The information is not available at one place and having a 100% safe website or business online is extremely difficult. Trust me, these things are not easy and you will end up losing lots of time and money.

What if I give you access to a video which helps you take care of all such issues? It will not only save from others suing you but the video will also help you on how to take care of others in case they are using/copying your stuff. How many times have you come across some website or blog using your content, images or even your name? There is a step by step process to take care of such people and the process is beautifully explained in the video by Jeremy Schoemaker.

I would recommend each and everyone of you to watch this video for following reasons:

1. You will come across legal hassles with your online business some day so don’t assume that the video is not for you.
2. The video is pretty simple and even a school going kid can understand things explained in it.
3. You won’t find this information at one place anywhere on the Internet.
4. People charge heavy fees to pass on this information and you are getting it for FREE!

So sit back and watch this video carefully!

Warning!!!! Don’t forget to take notes. The video won’t stay up for long.

What is a Google AdSense PIN?

All Google AdSense publishers who are approved after 28th January 2005 receive a PIN from Google after they reach their verification threshold (usually $10). This means that Google sends you a PIN after your earnings via AdSense reaches $10.

What to do if Google AdSense PIN is not received?

Google allows you 6 months time to enter the PIN in your account. If you do not enter the PIN in your account within 6 months, then your account is closed and all your earnings are returned to the advertisers.

I see Public Service Ads and have not received my PIN.

If you do not receive or enter your PIN within four months, Google will start showing public service ads on your website.

What do I do if I don’t receive the PIN?

First, check if your address entered in your AdSense account is correct. Next, check with your local post office. I have seen that letters from other countries stay at the post office for ages. I don’t know the reason but this is quiet common in India so it might be the case in your country as well. If you still don’t find the PIN, then request a new PIN from Google. This can be done from your AdSense account itself under My Account > Payment History. A good time to receive a PIN should be 3 months. You should request a new PIN once 3 months are over. You can use the old PIN in case you receive it after requesting a new one.

Why don’t they simply send the PIN by email?

This is a funny question but people do ask about it so I’ll answer. The main purpose of Google sending this PIN by post is to ensure that the address that you have provided is correct. On receiving and entering the PIN, Google confirms that the cheques will indeed go to the intended recipient.

Why does Google need to verify addresses?

Lets say your name is Billy Bob and Google sends you a cheque of $1,000. The cheque reaches someone else’s place who might or might not know some other Billy Bob. If the cheque receiver is another Billy Bob then he can easily deposit the cheque in to his account and withdraw the money. Other possibility is that some person might open a bank account in a fake name (your name) and withdraw the money (Opening fake accounts is difficult but possible) . To avoid all these issues, Google needs to ensure that the cheque is being sent to the correct address.

I know someone who never went through this PIN process. Why me?

There are two reasons for this. One, the person was approved in to Google AdSense before 28th January 2005. Second, he is from a country which has wire transfer facility and he has opted for it.

I tried a lot, but these letters from Google never reach me.

Lot of places, especially remote areas face this problem. Its sad but the only answer to this is that if you cannot receive the Google AdSense PIN then the chances are that you’ll never get the cheques as well and if you don’t get the cheques why use AdSense?

If you have more questions, issues related to Google AdSense PIN then please as in comments and I’ll be happy to help you guys

Once subscribed, you will receive a Free eBook written by me or some top name in the industry. Right now you can get the book ‘Setting Up an Online Business’. This book has all information on ways to build a website and make money online. Lot of people tend to know a lot of things about making money online but miss on basic things and thus miss some great opportunities. The book covers all aspects of making money online and is recommended for everyone. Apart from the Free eBooks, subscribers will also receive information on affiliate networks, niches and whats hot in the industry. This will definitely help you to make money online if you implement things the way I suggest. Again, all this information comes to you free of cost so ensure that you subscribe ASAP and don’t miss out on some solid information.

Right now I have subscribers who keep thanking me all the time for providing such information and resources. I want the rest of you to get started so that I get more feedback and you earn more profits.

Difference between RSS Subscription and Newsletter Subscription:

Please note that the RSS feed subscription will give you access ONLY to the blog posts and NOT the Free eBooks and other resources. To get your Free eBooks, useful information and resources, you need to sign up for the blog newsletter. You may sign up for the Free eBooks and newsletter using the form below.

Successful Blogging = Fun = Sharing your passion = $$

” I wanna be a Unsuccessful Blogger “

Everyone wants to make something out of their efforts. The way we put efforts at our workplace to earn the hard cash, some lucky stabbers have been able to make big in the world of “Blogging” by sharing their views on topic of their interests and making their articles so powerfully word-ridden that the amount of subscribers is always growing.

But I belong to an old school of doing the things my way. Its very difficult to say what best things should be put together to have a 1000 visits per day blog, but comparatively easier to do the stuff that you like, you believe in. This is my guide to be an – Unsuccessful Blogger.

Page Load Time

The most important criterion is make your blog load slowly which can be achieved by adding irrelevant banners, widgets & heavily loading videos on each of you pages. Make sure you try your level best to make sure the visitor takes hell lot of time to read the articles they have come looking for. No need of wasting time to adjust the layouts of the posts and pages, try to keep it creepy.
Annoying ads and pop ups are another way of solving your resolve. Ads that say you are “The lucky 10000 visitor” is my recommendation.

Number of Posts

Do you want the same dead visitors to visit your pages or the newbie’s that have come in search of valuable information?
Put as many as posts on the same page as your blogging software allows you to so that the visitors get hell irritated to scroll down for the needed content. The joy of an unsuccessful blogger is making sure the visitor never returns back.

Search Functionality – ” Who Cares “

Search will help visitors to find their needed content on your website. But do you really want to make it that easy to them. Hell NO!!

Images

I have high impetus on importance of Images to make your blog look unpresentable and the content unreadable.
Make sure you play it right with the resolution of images to the extent that picture looks obscured.
Content is the best buddy of a successful blogger and our prime enemy. Put irrelevant images to support your content is the key here.

Social Networks

Everyone likes to have a Facebook and Twitter connect to their blogs. Our aim would be to integrate social widgets such as “PinYen” & “Xianoei” ( The Facebook alike from China ).

Stay away from Blogging family

The big no no is to put comments and disclose your blog address on other blogging communities. This will attract visitors which we dont need at any cost. No social engagements please.

Spell Checker is too old for my stuff

If a small greeting like “Bye” can be replace by “Bi” in the chat world its our responsibility to make sure we use text message language in our blog content. We need to take the messaging language to all new heights. It will help you virtually torture you visitors are solves your purpose of gifting them a migraine attack.

Foul Language

Who doesn’t like it & who doesn’t speak it? Make sure the visitors get embarrassed to open up your blog in-front of their loved ones. It will be an achievement if they bookmark your blog to not visit again or put an adult lock in their Internet preferences.

Themes

Make sure you select the lowest rated theme for your blog. The theme should be such that the visitors should exclaim – YUCK. The color combination should be so bright that the people with color blindness visit our blog for their treatment. Yellow, Purple, Green are the colors that should be used heavily on every page.

Content & Access

Never update your content regularly. Do once a fortnight or just edit 1 or 2 words to keep yourself self contented in blogging the right way. I don’t see a real need to publish anything informative about your topic of concern. You can write in a way you speak to your local shoemaker or milkman. Keep it very simple and distracting enough for visitors to come out confused and head scratchy if they are successful is reading through your topic.

RSS Subscription will not help the visitor’s bookmark you in a way but will increase the flow of the traffic. Who cares about the traffic anyway?

Name

Name your blog in your native language or in a way that makes the visitors impossible to remember you. Keep changing the blog name regularly and regularly keep pseudo banner that says – ” We are currently unavailable due to high fever ”

I would love to hear from my fellow blogger if they can add more inputs for anyone who dreams and has been born to become that real - Unsuccessful Blogger.

So what does this have to do with a blog or a website? Do you know that others make loads of money from your website? In my earlier posts, I have explained on how to generate more income from your blogs or websites and this post is related to the same topic. So the strategy here is pretty simple. I see many blogs and websites run pay per click ads like AdSense, Adbrite etc. There is no harm in running these ads if you are making good money with these programs but it does make sense in trying something bigger and better. So how do we do it?

Don’t let others make money from your blog.

If you a run a blog with AdSense or similar ads, you might see a couple of ads getting displayed lot of times. The person who is paying to display that ad on your blog is making more than what he is spending. He obviously is making much more than what you are making from his ads. Most of the times, it can be a service that he is providing or a product that he is selling. This product or service might not be his own. He might just be taking commissions for sending people from your blog to some other website which he does not own.

As a blog owner, your job here is to bypass this advertiser and try to provide the service or product yourself. This will allow you to earn much higher than what you make with clicks. If you cannot afford to provide that service or product, look around and look for someone who provides a similar service or product. Contact this person and get a cut on every sale made from your blog.

Isn’t it simple? So now you are earning in dollars compared to your earlier income which was a few pennies for clicks.

Go back one step to make more money

Your money making journey does not end here. Once you see that you are making nice commissions by selling someones service or products directly, always try and see if you can create that product or provide the service directly to the end user. This won’t be easy so getting in a partner or helper can work. You may also find coders from Rent A Coder to get things done for you.

In the Internet Marketing or Make Money Online world, product owners and service providers make the maximum amount of money. As an Internet Marketer, one should always try and create his own product/service or aim for one because that’s where the real profit comes from. Working on the Internet has lots of benefits, lot of work can be outsourced to others. Payments, sales, support and in fact everything can be outsourced which allows to be concentrate on creating more products and services.

To explain things in short, see what products are people selling using YOUR blog or website and try to do the same. Keep going backwards and you can easily be the Dhirubhai Ambani in Internet Marketing or Making Money Online world soon.

The bad experience with Tata Indicom started back in October 2009 when I called them to cancel my connection. Few days after canceling the connection, I got a call from this lady from Tata Indicom and here is the conversation:

Lady: Sir, why have you cancelled your connection.

Me: I want an unlimited plan which MTNL is providing. You guys dont have any unlimited plan.

Lady: Sir we do have an unlimited plan.

Me: I don’t see it on your website.

Lady: It’s not on the website but we have a plan in which you’ll be getting a 2 Mbps line with unlimited usage. You will have to pay around Rs 1600 plus taxes etc.

Me: OK…You can activate that but will it work on the same wiring?

Lady: Yes Sir. No need to do anything extra, even the modem need not be changed.

Me: Ok. But your people have already taken the modem.

Lady: Not a problem, I’ll send the modem tomorrow.

Me: OK

Call Ended.

No one ever came to me with any modem. A week later, two men came to my house at 8:30 PM (nice time to see a customer). They said they are here to activate my Internet Connection. They had nothing with them so I asked them where is the modem. They looked puzzled and said the modem is with me. I politely asked them to get lost and come back with the modem. One of them called their local office and confirmed that my modem was with them.

After this no one from Tata Indicom ever showed up but I kept on getting the monthly bills. I called them a few times and told them that I don’t have a connection and why are you sending me these bills, to which I never got a solution. After some time, I ignored all these bills and they went straight to my trash without me even opening them.

In February 2010, one gentleman came to my house and said he is here because I lodged a complaint that my Tata Indicom connection is not working. I laughed out loud on his face and asked him to get lost because I don’t have a connection. Couple of weeks later another boy came to my house for the same reason. This guy was very polite. I took him and showed him my entire house. I asked him if he can see any Tata Indicom wire or any sort of DSL connection in my house. He agreed with me, made a few calls to his local office and left. After a few days, I got a call from some senior person from Tata Indicom and I explained her the entire story. She apologized and said that I’ll get a new connection ASAP which I got in just two days. The problem did not end here…. I started getting 2 bills now…One for the old disconnected connection and one for the new. I had to call these guys several times to settle this and it was done.

Apart from the problems above, there are other BIG problems that you will face while using Tata Indicom service:

1. The most irritating stuff that these guys do is call you EVERYDAY!!!! Yes I am NOT joking. You will start getting calls from these idiots everyday after you receive your bill. And NO, this is not after the due date is passed. They will call you EVERYDAY and ask you to pay your bill. I have never seen such a company before.
2. To make things worst, I receive at least two emails from these guys DAILY. These guys think that every Harshad in the country has email address harshad[at]yahoo.com (that’s my email address). I get emails asking me to pay my bills and I am Harshad Panchal, Harshad Khedekar, Harshad add any surname to it. Replying back or complaining is of no use. Thanks to Yahoo spam options, all these emails go to my spam folder.
3. Tata Indicom engineers come to your house without any reason. Every fortnight, an engineer will visit you to repair your connection which is working absolutely fine. On asking, they will say that you had lodged a complaint (which you never did) for Internet connection not working.

Update: I got a call from Tata Indicom just after I finished writing the last line here. Here is the call conversation:

Me: Hello.

Lady: I am calling from Tata Indicom and when are you paying your bill?

Me: But the due date is not passed.

Lady: I know but when will you pay the bill.

Me: (Angrily) The due date is 22nd July 2010 and please dont call me before that. Why do you guys keep calling me everyday.

Lady: Hey! Don’t shout at me.

Me: I will because you guys piss me off by calling everyday.

Lady: Hey! I don’t eat on your earnings so dont shout at me.

Me: You eat because I pay my bills and that’s how you get your salary.

LOL…I disconnected the call after that.

I hope someone from Tata Indicom reads this and takes some action. Technically, Tata Indicom has good service in terms of plans, uptime, speed etc. But with such harassment, I don’t see people sticking to these guys for long.