Information Universe

How To Implement Local "SEO" In Your Business

2016-01-26T06:27:00.001-08:00

A company can have the best business model in the world, but it won’t matter if it doesn’t get discovered. To that end Konstantin Stoyanov launched 411Locals, and Internet marketing company that helps small-to-medium sized businesses (SMBs) get discovered online.
Entrepreneurs who are launching startups know that a solid web presence isn’t an option. Many brick-and-mortar business owners who once relied on newspaper advertising and direct mail promotions are awakening to the same realization. If a business can’t be discovered on the web, via multiple channels, then it’s losing its competitive advantage.
By now, almost all entrepreneurs are aware of the importance of search engine optimization (SEO). It’s a means of optimizing a website so that it ranks highly in the SERPs.
However, one often overlooked flavor of SEO is Local SEO, or SEO that’s intended to reach an audience within a relatively small geographical area. It’s especially important to small-to-medium sized businesses (SMBs) that don’t cater to a worldwide audience.
I sat down with Stoyanov to discuss with him the challenges that face businesses today and how his company offers solutions.
Q: What inspired you to launch 411 Locals?
Konstantin S: I had a number of businesses before 411 locals and I was a real estate agent as well as an investor. As the online marketing tasks for my own ventures started getting more and more complicated, I found that too much of my time was dedicated to research. I put a team together to help handle some of those action items. That’s when I realized that many other small business owners were facing the same struggles. Specifically, entrepreneurs lack time for research and testing. They also don’t have the expertise on staff to help them get discovered on the web. Finally, they couldn’t find affordable solutions for Internet marketing. The need for help was clear. I decided to use our assets and expertise to assist others.

Q: What’s the key to making a small business a success on the Internet?
Konstantin S: There are three keys to making a business a success on the Internet. First, the company must set clear and realistic long-term goals. That includes detailed planning about how to reach those goals. That’s a strategic initiative that gives a “big picture” view of how the company will reach its target market. Second, there must be adaptability to changes. First, the company must adapt to changes in the Google GOOGL -1.64% ranking algorithm. The algorithm that Google uses to rank pages today will almost certainly not be the same as it is a year from now. Also, businesses need to respond to the efforts of their competitors. If a competitor is ranking higher for a specific keyword all of a sudden, research is needed to determine what’s happening and to respond with the appropriate optimization effort. Finally, there needs to be open communication between the client and the agency.
Q: Why is business differentiation so crucial for success?
Konstantin S: All business in this space must be customized. There is no “one size fits all” solution. It’s all dependent on the vertical, market forces, the size of the target city, and the efforts of competitors to create a visible online presence.
Q: You use the word innovative frequently on your 411 Locals website. In what way is your business innovative? Please try to be specific.
Konstantin S: We have created tools that will monitor and report the keyword positions and of our customers and their competitors. We also provide reports about how those keyword positions have changed over time. We also analyze our own data from all of our customers to determine the most effective practices. Finally, we constantly adopt our SEO techniques and internal processes to provide faster and better result for our clients.
It’s absolutely vital that businesses maintain an easy-to-discover presence on the web in the 21^st century. Otherwise, they’re bound to lose market share to competitors who are catering to a more tech-savvy audience. Thanks to the advent of “webrooming” (people looking for items online before buying them at a store) and “showrooming” (people look for items at a store before buying them online), consumers are trained to shop and search online before making purchases. Businesses that don’t accept that reality will struggle to survive.

What are the benefits of blogging for small business?

2014-08-25T23:56:00.002-07:00

Build Community:

Business blogs provide your small business with a chance to share your expertise and knowledge with a larger audience. An opportunity to connect with a wider audience and build a community is a strong benefit for consultants and knowledge workers

Easy Web Publishing Solution:

Blog software is easy to use. Simply write your thoughts, link to resources, and publish to your blog, all at the push of a few buttons. Blog software companies such as TypePad or Blogger.com offer easy blogging tools to get started. Updating the weblog is a faster process than contacting a web designer with changes or doing the coding and uploading yourself.

Higher Search Engine Rankings:

Search engine marketing is hot. The search market has become the Holy Grail of Internet advertising and continues to grow faster than our expectations. We believe search is actually gaining some market share from other types of online marketing.

The cost of generating traffic from search engine marketing is much lower than traditional media. Search engine marketing has the lowest cost-per-lead and the highest return on investment. U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray, estimated that the cost per lead was $0.29 for search, $0.50 for e-mail, $1.18 for the yellow pages, $2.00 for banner ads, and $9.94 for direct mail.

If your business does not rank in the top 20 spots on the major search engines, you might as well be in the millionth ranking spot. However, techniques such as search engine optimization (SEO) can increase search engine rankings. The costs of many SEO services are between $5,000 to $10,000 per year.

Business blogging offers an affordable solution for small business. Business bloggers are achieving top search engine rankings because search engines rank based on link popularity and easy to index regular content among other factors. Learning the basic skills of search engine optimization and good content management are keys to better rankings for bloggers.

Lower Costs:

Blogging is a low-cost alternative to having a web presence. For small business owners without the time to learn web html or the money to hire a designer/developer, blogging offers an inexpensive method to get your company's name out on the Internet.

Better Communications:

The biggest benefit of RSS for your web audience is a better solution for notification than websites themselves or email. As indicated by Bill Gates in a speech at the Microsoft CEO Summit 2004 in Redmond, Washington: if you just put information on a Web site, then people don't know to come visit that Web site, and it's very painful to keep visiting somebody's Web site and it never changes.

It's very typical that a lot of the Web sites you go to that are personal in nature just eventually go completely stale and you waste time looking at it; And so, getting away from the drawbacks of e-mail -- that it's too imposing -- and yet the drawbacks of the Web site -- that you don't know if there's something new and interesting there ; this [blogs & RSS] is about solving that

Ten ways to boost your business on Twitter and Facebook

2014-08-24T04:35:00.000-07:00

It is a truth universally acknowledged that every business needs a Facebook page. The jury is still out on Twitter, but one supposes it can’t do any harm.

How, though, can you make the most of social media? And what should a small business do now that Facebook is giving increasing visibility to, as it calls them, “suggested posts”?

These are, in truth, “suggested” only because a business has chosen to pay for them to be, but either way many firms fear that their own pages are being squeezed out by paid content.

The answer, for many companies, is that paying is the only option. Facebook and Twitter are both, after all, designed to be free for users but not necessarily as free advertising platforms.

For both businesses, the mobile phone is ever more important. These small screens are how most mobile users will encounter Facebook and Twitter, which makes them pivotal tools for a small business.

With the larger amount of information offered by mobile phones, any company can advertise specifically to potential customers in their local area and can also very easily tailor offers to entice specific sorts of people.

On a mobile screen, the power of an advertisement done well is much more palpable. That makes mobile advertising more important than ever, but it also makes quality more important than ever, too. If an advertisement is poorly pitched on a large screen, its failure is more conspicuous on a little one.

Facebook alone accounts for 15pc of all mobile advertising, and is likely to further encroach on Google’s 53pc share, according to figures from eMarketer. This underscores the growing importance of such advertisements, and with that in mind, there are at least 10 tips worth remembering:

1) Be real –

advertising on social media, whether it is paid or unpaid, is a chance to put a human face to the brand, and an opportunity to engage with customers in just the same way that great service can in a shop.

2) But not too real –

if you’re running a coffee shop, you’ll only alienate customers by expounding on global politics. But it never does any harm to emphasise that, say, your coffee is fair trade.

3) Follow the right people –

Britain’s police forces got into trouble for paying too much attention to Kirstie Allsopp and Lady Gaga on Twitter, and not enough to the public. Every business should follow those who are already customers, and those who could be. Which is still unlikely to be Lady Gaga.

4) Engage in the conversation –

if a fan says you’re great, retweet it. If they say you’re rubbish, ask for more details.
5) But don’t be too public –
there’s no shame in asking a customer to email you if you want a little more privacy.

6) Think multimedia –

pictures, audio and even video are all almost effortless thanks to the smartphone. If you operate from a particularly interesting venue, or a customer doesn’t mind you using them as a case study, get cracking.

7) But don’t compromise on quality –

a rubbish video is just as damaging as a misspelt blog post.

8) Stay current –

few things are worse than a site that hasn’t been updated in weeks, especially on Facebook or Twitter. These are living, breathing places, not simply shopfronts.

9) Put someone in charge –

you wouldn’t dream of not taking your cash to the bank regularly, so think of updating Twitter or Facebook as similarly important. It’s a tool for retaining and recruiting customers, after all. And it may be a good chance for a bright young employee who would benefit from “social media experience”.

10) Don’t forget the law –

if you retain a list of customers, you are responsible for keeping their data safe. And no one wants to think you just sold on their details.
All these tips will not put your page with 20 followers at the top of Google’s rankings. But they will mean you can ask your own friends to “like” it or retweet something. That’s the first step to getting the rapid “network effects” whereby thousands more people see your digital “shop” than will ever walk past your actual store. Good luck.

5 On-Page SEO techniques That’ll Boost Your Rankings

2014-08-23T21:25:00.000-07:00

On page SEO is perhaps the most important process not only for better rankings but also for a successful internet marketing campaign. Every campaign starts from the web site and if your web site is not optimized for both search engines and users, your chances for success are minimized.For the purpose of giving beginners a complete picture, I will explain in brief a few basic terms.

Search Engine Optimization

Search Engine Optimization or SEO in short is a term that encapsulates everything you need to do to improve your web site’s ranking position in the various search engines. This includes configuration settings you have to apply on the website (that’s on page SEO) and techniques you can use outside the boundaries of the website (that’s off page SEO).

Is on-page SEO more important than off-page SEO?

To achieve maximum exposure in the search engines and keep your users happy you need both off-page SEO and on-page SEO. In my opinion on page SEO is more important and I will explain below why.

1) ‘Speak’ the search engines language:

It makes more sense to start with on-page SEO and get it right rather than trying to convince search engines to give you better ranking with off page SEO. Search engines are computer programs (software) and they understand a particular language. With SEO and especially on page SEO you ‘speak’ their language and your goal is to help them understand what you website is about. In other words the more signals you can give them, the more are your chances of achieving better rankings.

2) On Page SEO is about the user as well:

Never forget that your primary target is to keep your users happy. Off Page SEO may bring traffic to the website but if it is not setup correctly, if it is not user friendly the results will be disappointing.

3) Many websites get it wrong:

It’s amazing but it is true that the majority of websites today are not optimized for search engines. Despite the plethora of information about SEO many website owners believe that it does not worth to even do SEO and they quit before starting. For those cases on-page SEO has a lot to offer both in terms of usability but in terms of traffic as well.

4) On Page SEO is sometimes all you need:

If you are running a website for a small business and you need to get local customers searching for various terms on Google then on page SEO is all you need to do.

5) Off page SEO comes after on page SEO:

In order to start thinking on how you can promote your website you need to be sure that the website is optimized and in good condition. So the first step is to work with on-site SEO first and then go off-site.

5 on page SEO techniques for better rankings

Now that the theory about SEO and importance of on-page SEO is justified, let’s move on to the practical part.
There are many on page SEO techniques and not only 5, but for the purpose of this post I will explain below what I think are the absolute settings you have to apply on your website today.

1. Content comes first

A website with brilliant content can do great with or without SEO, a website with bad content will not survive with or without SEO, a website with good content can become even better with SEO!
So, what is considered good content?

Original Content (articles, text, images, videos, presentations, infographics, comments etc.) – No copies or re-writes of existing articles

Content published on your website first –
Even if it’s your own content, if you have already published it on another website then it’s not good for your site.

Content that includes text as well – Try to have text to accompany your non-text content. For example if you post videos on your website try to add a text description as well. If you add images try to describe in words what the image is all about.

Content that is useful – Don’t publish content for the sake of publishing. Before hitting the publish button make sure that what goes live adds value to your website.

Content that is well researched – Users don’t want to read quickly prepared posts and neither does search engines. If you are writing about a certain topic or answering a question make sure that what you write is justified and covers both sites of a story. Long articles are proven to rank better than short articles.

Posting frequency – 2 things are important when it comes to posting frequency. First is to have fresh content on your website and second to establish a publishing strategy and stick to it.

2. Page titles, description and formatting

This is SEO 101 but very important as well. When search engines are reading your pages among the things they check includes the page title, the description of the page, the major headings and images. They do so because they need to understand what the page is all about and then based on other factors as well (off page SEO, domain authority, competition etc.), they will place your page in a position in their index.

Page titles –Each page must have a unique title that will help both search engines and users understand what the page is about. A page with title “On Page SEO Tips” is better than a page with title “index.html”.

Descriptions – The page description is what the searcher will see in the search engine results page. So it has to be descriptive, up to 150 characters and unique for each page. It’s your opportunity to advertise your page and convince the searcher to click your link and visit your website rather than selecting one of the other links.

Formatting –A page needs to be properly formatted. Think of it like a report which needs to have a heading (h1) and sub headings (h2). Important parts of the report are highlighted with bold, underline or italics.
Do not just throw text on the page but make sure that it is readable as well. Besides the formatting practices explained above you also need to use a good size font (at least 12px) and split the text into small paragraphs (max 4-5 lines).

Images –Images are important but these should not increase the loading time of the website. Best practices for using images:
1) Use original images. If you need to use an existing image from the web you need to reference the source.
2) Optimise the size of the images – the smaller the size (in bytes) of the image the better. Use yahoo smush it to reduce the size of an image without sacrificing the quality.
3) Use ALT tag to describe the image – This helps search engines understand what the image is about.
4) Use descriptive filenames – Don’t just name your image ‘image1.jpg’ but try to use descriptive filenames, for example ‘Man doing push-ups’.
5) Use a Content Delivery Network – If you have a lot of images in a single page you can use a CDN service (from Amazon or Google) that will make your page load faster. In simple terms your images will be hosted and served by a number of servers and this speeds up the loading process.

3. URL Structure

The URL structure is an important part of on-page SEO. Whenever I talk about URL structure, I prefer to split it into 4 major parts:

1) Permanent links – Permanent links are the URL’s of each page. Good URLs should be less than 255 characters and use hyphens to ‘-‘separate the different parts.

For example a good URL is:

https://www.reliablesoft.net/seo-tips-for-beginners-15-ways-to-google-boost-your-web-site/

A bad URL is:

https://www.reliablesoft.net/p?165 or

https://www.reliablesoft.net/seotipsforbeginners/ or

https://www.reliablesoft.net/123131/publish/data2/seo_Tips.html

2) Categories – Group your pages into categories to help users and search engines find what they want faster. It’s like having a warehouse with lots of uncategorised items versus a warehouse with all the items assigned to a dedicated category. You can have sub-categories as well but my advice is not to go over one level. For example a good category structure is:
InformationUniverse > Social Media > Facebook and not InformationUniverse > Social Media > Facebook > Tips

3) Breadcrumb – A breadcrumb is also important for all your pages because it allows users to navigate your website in a structured way since they always know where they are and how deep below the home page.

4) User Sitemap – One of your options in the main menu should be the User Sitemap. This is an html file that represents the structure of your website.

4. Internal linking

Linking to pages within your website is very important for SEO because:

1) It’s like building your own web: If you watch the nice tutorial by Google on how search works, you will see that the first step a search engine spider will do is follow the links they find. So when they arrive at your page, if you don’t have any other links within the text they will read your page and go but if you have links pointing to other pages within your website they will take those into account as well.

2) It’s a way to let search engines know about your other pages: As explained above when search engines find a page with links, they will go and read those pages as well so you can use this technique to tell search engines about pages of your website they have not yet discovered.

3) It’s a way to tell search engines which are your most important pages: Every website has some pages that are more important than others. Internal linking is one of the ways to pin-point the most important pages by sending them more internal links.

4) It’s a way to increase time on site – A user that is reading your post is more likely to click on a link to read more about a certain subject and thus increase both the time spend on your website and the number of pages per visit.
Best practices for internal linking:
1) Don’t use keywords only for your internal links
2) Add internal links when they are useful for your reader
3) No more than 7-8 internal links per page (this is my opinion and not based on any research or studies)
4) If applicable you can also use ‘related posts’ at the end of each post for internal linking

5. Speed and authorship

Last but not least, 2 SEO techniques that are becoming more and more important especially after the release of penguin 2.0 (or 4.0 as some people like to say it): Speed and authorship.

Speed: Google is investing a huge amount of money to make the web faster. In every Google I/O someone will talk about the importance of speed and their desire to include the fastest websites in their index. In order to ‘force’ web site owners to take speed into account they have officially added speed as one of the ranking factors.

So, we know for sure that web site speed does matter when it comes to SEO and ranking. As a webmaster your job is to make sure that your website loads as fast as possible by taking into account Google’s recommendations.

Google authorship: Google is preparing for the next generation of Search and their effort is to rank higher webpages written by people who have authority on the particular subject. One of the ways to establish authority is by correlating the content you publish on the web with your Google+ profile. Then depending on how many followers you have and who follows you, your ranking may change.

Google authorship is still at its early stages but it’s gaining ground fast so you have to create a Google+ profile and bind the profile with your content.

Chocolate and Heart Health -- Really?

2014-08-23T08:00:00.001-07:00

Chocolate is made from cocoa, which contains polyphenols, which may work as antioxidants that lower LDL cholesterol (the bad kind) and reduce blood pressure. Some experts suggest that eating some chocolate every day can decrease your risk of cardiovascular diseases.

Cocoa contains epicatechins and catechins, which are similar to the polyphenols found in green tea; and quercetin, which is found in fruits and vegetables. Dark chocolate has more antioxidants than milk chocolate because certain processing methods remove the polyphenols, which have a bitter flavor.

Research studies as far back as 2006 looked at chocolate consumption and how it correlated with cardiovascular disease risk in large populations, and found a correlation. People who consumed more chocolate of any kind tended to have a lower risk of cardiovascular disease. This is interesting information, but the problem with these types of nutrition studies is the large possibility of confounding factors. If people who eat chocolate also do other things that decrease their risk of cardiovascular diseases, researchers and reporters can come to the wrong conclusion.

It's better to have randomized control trials, which are studies in which one specific therapy (in this case chocolate or cocoa) is studied in such a way that confounding factors are eliminated or at least minimized.

Cocoa appears to have beneficial effects on the function of blood vessels, so it's possible that chocolate could help people with high blood pressure. Several studies on chocolate's effect on blood pressure have been completed, and many (but not all) of them demonstrate a decrease of blood pressure readings for the subjects who had high blood pressure.

Unfortunately, there are a couple of problems. The studies that showed decreases in blood pressure were mostly open-label studies. That means both the subjects and researchers knew what they were taking and why they were taking it. That's a big issue because when people know that the substance they're taking may improve their health, they're more likely to show health improvements that have nothing to do with that substance (it's called the placebo-effect). Most of the studies that were double-blind studies (neither the researcher nor the subjects knew if they were taking the real chocolate or a placebo) didn't show that same decrease in blood pressure.

Another problem with these studies is that different brands of chocolate were used in different studies. Processing methods may vary greatly from company to company (and often those methods are secret) so the quality and amounts of antioxidants could have differed.

Polyphenols like those found in chocolate may be able to lower cholesterol. Research findings from two different studies published in 2010 showed some promise that cocoa could reduce LDL cholesterol and increase HDL cholesterol (the good kind). But they were small studies. Larger studies are needed to see how much affect cocoa really has on cholesterol levels.

Cocoa also contains small amounts of xanthines (theobromine, theophylline and caffeine) and another compound called phenylethylamine. But since chocolate contains only small amounts of these compounds they probably don't have any impact on your health.

It's possible that eating a small amount of chocolate (dark chocolate has the most antioxidants) may help reduce your blood pressure (if you have high blood pressure), but the evidence isn't all that strong. So when you balance that with the added fat and sugar found in chocolate treats, you need to watch the amount you consume. A small amount of dark chocolate (less than 100 to 200 calories based upon your daily need) is fine, but don't think of it as medicine and expect it to lower your blood pressure; there may be many other lifestyle and dietary factors involved.

6 Legit Ways to Make Money From Home That You've Never Heard Of

2014-08-23T04:26:00.003-07:00

These days more and more people are finding that they aren't limited to a single source of income. With all the unique money-making opportunities available, many people are finding that they can earn a few extra hundred dollars a month by thinking a little outside the box.
While all of the opportunities listed below are legitimate ways to make some money, it would probably be unrealistic to expect to make a full-time income from any of them individually.
So check them out and let us know in the comments which ones you like best and earn the most for you!

1. Get paid using your iPhone (or Android)

There seem to be many apps popping up that pay you to do simple tasks like taking a picture of a menu, or taking a picture of yourself drinking a Starbucks, or verifying that a road is closed -- you get the picture. Here are a few that I found:

Juno Wallet
Gigwalk
CheckPoints
WeReward

2. Complete jobs on Zaarly.com

Zaarly is a website that connects those offering random services (like walking a dog, being a personal assistant for a day, giving guitar lessons, etc.) with buyers who are looking for those services. I would suggest checking out some of the ideas listed on the site and sign up and offer those services as they are in demand.

3. Teach English (or other language) classes online

Did you know that English speakers are in high demand in Asia? As a result many are turning to freelance English teachers using websites like Italki.com. The site is basically a virtual online classroom for freelance teachers and students. Anyone can offer lessons (and set their own price), and anyone can take lessons. From a quick scan, it looks like making $15 to 20/hour is a fair expectation.

4. Make money by viewing ads on your Android lock screen

I've been trying out this Android app called Locket that puts ads on your lock screen and pays you for each time you unlock your phone.
I've been using it for a few days now and have made about 3 bucks thus far, so it isn't huge, but at the same time, I didn't really have to do any work to earn the money.

5. Sell your service at Fiverr

Fiverr is a website that allows you to sell your service for $5. There are all kinds of crazy things people are offering and getting paid for on there -- like taking a picture holding a sign, recording two sentences in an Irish accent, recording a video singing a certain song, and even prank calling a friend all for $5. So if you have a little creativity, there are some fun ways to make some money on the side.
6. Rent out your car for $10+ an hour
I just recently heard about RelayRides.com, which allows you to either rent or lend your car to others -- and get paid in the process. If you live in a big city, this could be pretty profitable.

9 Foods to Help You Lose Weight

2014-08-22T23:45:00.002-07:00

Delicious foods that help you diet? It sounds too good to be true.

No doubt: Weight loss comes down to simple math. You have to eat fewer calories than you burn.

"Certain foods can help you shed body weight,because they help you feel full longer and help curb cravings."

Some even kick up your metabolism. So take this list when you go to the supermarket:

1. Beans

Inexpensive, filling, and versatile, beans are a great source of protein. Beans are also high in fiber and slow to digest. That means you feel full longer, which may stop you from eating more.

2. Soup

Start a meal with a cup of soup, and you may end up eating less. It doesn’t matter if the soup is chunky or pureed, as long as it's broth-based. You want to keep the soup to 100 to 150 calories a serving. So skip the dollops of cream and butter.

3. Dark Chocolate

Want to enjoy chocolate between meals? Pick a square or two of dark over the milky version. In one study, chocolate lovers who were given dark chocolate ate 15% less pizza a few hours later than those who had eaten milk chocolate.

4. Pureed Vegetables

You can add more veggies to your diet, enjoy your "cheat" foods, and cut back on the calories you’re eating, all at the same time. When Penn State researchers added pureed cauliflower and zucchini to mac and cheese, people seemed to like the dish just as much. But they ate 200 to 350 fewer calories. Those healthy vegetables added low-cal bulk to the tasty dish.

5. Eggs and Sausage

A protein-rich breakfast may help you resist snack attacks throughout the day.

In a study of a group of obese young women, those who started the day with 35 grams of protein -- that’s probably way more than you’re eating -- felt fuller right away. The women ate a 350-calorie breakfast that included eggs and a beef sausage patty. The effect of the high-protein breakfast seemed to last into the evening, when the women munched less on fatty, sugary goods than the women who had cereal for breakfast.

6. Nuts

For a great snack on the run, take a small handful of almonds, peanuts, walnuts, or pecans. Research shows that when people munch on nuts, they automatically eat less at later meals.

7. Apples

Skip the apple juice and the applesauce and opt instead for a crunchy apple. Whole fruit blunts appetite in a way that fruit juices and sauces don’t.

One reason is that raw fruit has more fiber. Plus, chewing sends signals to your brain that you’ve eaten something substantial.

8. Yogurt

Whether you prefer Greek or traditional, yogurt can be good for your waistline.

A Harvard study followed more than 120,000 people for a decade or longer. Yogurt, of all the foods that were tracked, was most closely linked to weight loss.

That doesn't prove that yogurt caused weight loss, but it stood out among other foods.

9. Grapefruit

Yes, grapefruit really can help you shed pounds, especially if you are at risk for diabetes.

Researchers at Scripps Clinic in San Diego found that when obese people ate half a grapefruit before each meal, they dropped an average of 3 ½ pounds over 12 weeks. Drinking grapefruit juice had the same results.

But grapefruit juice doesn't have any proven "fat-burning" properties -- it may just have helped people feel full.

Be careful: You cannot have grapefruit or grapefruit juice if you are on certain medications, so check the label on all your prescriptions, or ask your pharmacist or doctor.

Shop Smart

Load your shopping cart with lots of lean protein, fresh veggies, fruit, and whole grains, says food scientist Joy Dubost, PhD, RD. The most important thing, when it comes to lasting weight loss, is the big picture of what you eat, not specific foods.

7 Things That Will Improve Your SEO More Than SSL

2014-08-19T23:35:00.000-07:00

The SEO industry, myself included, is a sucker for silver bullets. At one point in our careers, we’ve all looked for that one thing that will give us top rankings with convertible traffic for as long as we hope to have them. So whenever Google announces a new factor that will influence rankings, we obsess over it.
The fact of the matter is there is no one thing that will get you more organic traffic. Good SEO is a healthy combination of things, but it doesn’t have to be the exact same combination of things. As Ryan said, there are hundreds of things you could be doing that help your rankings more than SSL. In no particular order, these are my top seven:

Consistent URLs Everywhere

That means the link your users see, the link you use in your internal linking strategy, and the links you use in your XML Sitemap need to match. The most common mistake I see is having the canonical link still in your XML sitemap. If you update one, update them all.

Short, Non-Parameter Heavy URLs

This isn’t about having an exact-match domain. It’s about making it as easy as possible for spiders to find your URL and read it. Limit the number of parameters you have. Use words instead of numbers. Use hyphens instead of underscores. Avoid subdomains when possible.

Real, Relevant Content, Not "SEO Copy"

It’s rare you’ll see a Web page without a copy block on it now, but far too often this content isn’t really content; it’s "SEO copy," following some formulaic calculation with 300 words, three to five keywords stuffed in sentences, and five internal links with exact match anchor text.
Break this habit. Good content doesn’t follow a formula. Write content that will actually help your users making a purchasing decision.

Live Text High on the Page, Not Stuffed at the Bottom

Search engine spiders read pages very linearly and very literally.
Live text, not hidden behind a div, not masked in links pointing to other pages, is the best type of content you can have. It’s how search engines know what your site is about in order to rank you. If a spider has to crawl through 100 links and 50 images before they get to the meat of your page, it’ll consider those things more important than the copy itself. Push your content up higher.

Links

Plain and simple. Link building is not, and will never, die, and a site that has better, higher-quality links will outrank a site that doesn’t (assuming on-page optimization is equal). Linkarati put together some great link-building resources to peruse through if you need a refresher.

Strong CTA-Friendly Title Tags

Notice this has nothing to do with keyword-heavy title tags. You still need a keyword in your title tag, and it still should be one of the first things in it, but stick to just one, maybe two. I’m also partial to including action words — Shop, Buy, Apply, etc — in my title tags, since it elicits an action that the user should take from clicking on my listing, rather than just a description of what they would find.

Speed Up Your Load Time

The slower your site, the longer it takes spiders to parse your page. More importantly, users have lost all patience and won’t stick around for seven seconds just to see what you’ve got to offer.
If you’ve made a lot of updates and haven’t taken a deep look at your code, chances are you have a handful of lines that you don’t need but that are taking up space, because when it comes to your technical makeup, every bit matters.
This is by no means an exhaustive list, and since no one does SEO the exact same way, your top seven may look a little differently than mine. So, what did I miss? What do you think impacts rankings more than an SSL certificate?

RSS Feeds and SEO

2014-08-19T15:00:00.000-07:00

A hot topic for any website owner is that of SEO (search engine optimization) which is all about the ability of a site to rank highly for particular search terms in search engine results. If you don’t rank well in search, you may well be limiting your traffic considerably. Many efforts are made therefore to improve sites traffic by improving search visibility. One of the ways this is achieved is to increase the amount of content at the site so that the number of keywords found by search engines is maximized. In addition, search engines generally display the most recent content that meets their criteria wherever possible.

RSS feed contents in themselves will not enable much better ranking as their content is not unique; however, the increase in traffic that is generated as a result of your site being the place to go for information will help considerably. The more time a user spends at your site, the higher it will rank too. Google keeps a track of all these metrics and uses them to keep track of your site and how much it appeals to the people who go there.

Since Google changed its search engine completely in Sep 2013 (The "Hummingbird" update), there has been a big shift in many websites in terms of ranking in their search results. More attention has been paid to duplicated and low value content. However, the content of an RSS feed is not accessed by a search engine crawler - all they will see is the XML code that created the RSS feed, and the HTML of our widget code (our FeedWind code) - the content will be detected as being syndicated which is not a bad thing as long as that is not the only content on the page. Notably links in RSS feeds have 'nofollow' instructions attached as default.

Does adding RSS to my site improve search ranking?

Adding RSS feeds can help a site ranking, but in a less direct way than the unique content available on your pages. Obviously if you are directing multiple feeds to your page, it is not practical or useful to take all the links and rewrite the content on your own pages.

If you add RSS feeds that have been aggregated or customized, they will contain a flow of keywords that you will not necessarily rank for, but if related semantically (by meaning) to other words and phrases on your site, they will be seen as relevant. Additionally, the freshness of information is also a measure of how well your pages will rank. Having an RSS feed on the page means you are getting information from somewhere and that information will usually be a blog, news, search results or product review or something that is updated regularly rather than static content.

Google do not discuss exactly how they treat RSS feeds coming into your site but Matt Cutts (the Google Search Chief Engineer) did explain that RSS feeds need to contain recent information. There is an interesting blog article on the subject of how does Google index RSS / Atom feeds at the the Google Webmasters Blog.
What is important to note is tha the SEO value is directed to the source of the RSS feed - in other words, if you publish RSS on your site, the site that delivers the RSS feed to your widget etc gets the SEO value and faster indexing than otherwise they might. This does also mean that publishing a widget containing an RSS feed from your blog onto your homepage is a good way to get fast and thorough indexing of pages by Google.

Check your RSS feed contains recent information

This is something easy to check by simply putting the feed URL into the FeedWind setup screen and looking at the preview. By default, the feed will show news items and their date of publication. If you see that your feed contains too many old items, try a different feed or find alternatives where possible. If the old entries in an RSS feed you are using are all related to a particular topic you can do without, you can use Yahoo Pipes or a similar feed aggregator/filter system to weed out the stuff you don’t want to appear in your RSS widget feed. If you are covering a broad topic you might want to either include several feeds in separate containers to allow you to display multiple feeds on a page/site, or use the RSS feed aggregator to add together feeds from different places and display them combined in a single RSS feed widget.

Whatever your aims are for your RSS feeds, they provide audiences with better navigation and up to date information and the website owner some SEO value. There is certainly no punishment for having RSS feeds on a page (which in theory duplicates content from elsewhere) Google encourages good content to be shared like this as it improves the user experience and accessibility of information online.

16 Ways to Lose Weight Fast

2014-08-16T04:24:00.001-07:00

Tweak your lifestyle

It's a familiar story: You pledge to honor a daily elliptical routine and count every last calorie. But soon, you're eating cupcakes at the office and grabbing happy hour mojitos, thinking, Oops, diet over.

There is a better way: Swap the all-or-nothing approach for one or two healthy switch-ups in your daily routine. Doing this can lead to more weight loss than you ever imagined.

In fact, we talked to readers who knocked off 10, 25, even 60 pounds with some easy tweaks. Borrow their slim-down secrets to transform your body the real-world way.

Swap your go-to order

I used to eat out at restaurants up to nine times a week! By cutting back to just once a week and ordering a grilled chicken salad instead of a large bowl of pasta, I've lost 20 pounds in one month.

Skip the salty aisle

I reached my goal weight after I stopped routinely buying snacks at the grocery store. If I wanted a bag of chips or a candy bar, I had to walk to the store to get it. That inconvenience usually made me ignore my cravings.

Have a 300-calorie breakfast

I used to skip breakfast, but now I never go without. I always eat about 300 calories of a healthy mix of protein and whole grains. My go-to meal: a sandwich with natural peanut butter and apple butter. It keeps my hunger down so I snack less throughout the day. In a little over a year, I've shed 65 pounds.

Get fit in five

I try to fit in small bouts of exercise whenever possible, like doing jumping jacks or crunches during television commercials or dancing while washing dishes. This burns extra calories and keeps me from mindlessly munching in front of the TV. Now my clothes fit way better, and I’m more toned than ever

Kick the habit

I quit smoking, and right away joined a gym and started working out with a personal trainer. There was no way I could exercise and feel healthy if I kept lighting up. I've already dropped 37 pounds in three months!

Do a purge

I totally cleaned out my pantry. Once I replaced the foods I used to overindulge in, like ice cream, with lower-cal snacks, such as roasted sunflower seeds or Special K Chocolatey Delight cereal, I began making better choices automatically. Now, I'm slimmer than I was before I had my two kids

Healthy up your happy hour

After work, my colleagues and I always grabbed dinner—and it was usually deep-fried. Then we changed things up. Instead of nights out, we started walking and running around a local track. A year later, I’m down 40 pounds.

Get fired up

I loaded my iPod with jams that make me look forward to going to the gym. They energize me, allowing me to pick up speed on the elliptical—and because I want to hear my entire playlist, my workouts are longer now. Two months later, I'm down 13 pounds and have killer legs

Pile on the veggies

By adding vegetables to the foods I love—like eating pizza topped with arugula and green peppers instead of pepperoni—I became so full so quickly that I no longer had room to eat things like chips or super-rich desserts. I said good-bye to four dress sizes

Run your butt off

When I wanted to fit into my skinny jeans again, I started running 20 minutes a day during my lunch hour. In two months, I've lost 20 pounds, have tons of energy, and just finished my first 5K. Those jeans? They're too big now!

Downward dog it

Yoga has become the best thing for my relationship with food and my body. From practicing it several times a week, I'm now more in touch with my hunger cues—so I eat intuitively and stop when I'm full. I've gone down a jeans size, and my cellulite has disappeared!

Don’t super size it

When going out for fast food, I used to get the large-size value meal. Now, I satisfy a craving by ordering just one item: a small order of fries or a six-piece box of chicken nuggets. So far, I've shaved off 16 pounds in seven weeks, and I'm on track to being thinner than my high school self for my 10-year reunion later this year.

Save room for your dessert

"I budget for the treats I love. By eating healthy snacks like carrots and hummus, I have calories to splurge on a piece of chocolate and glass of wine each night. And I've still managed to lose 20 pounds in three months.

Nix nighttime eating

Each time I needed to lose the baby weight, I stopped eating after 6:30 p.m. five nights a week. The other two evenings were reserved for nights out. Most of what I'd eat at night was junk food anyway, so it took only two months to get my pre-baby body back.

Walk with Spot

My dog and I go for a walk every day, even if it's for just 10 minutes around the block. When the weather is horrible, her enthusiasm gives me the incentive to get out when I wouldn't dare lace up my sneakers otherwise. All the walking adds up: I've lost more than 50 pounds this past year.

That,s all you have to do to lose weight fast. Share this post with your friends and family.

How to Get Traffic From Tumblr

2014-08-16T03:00:00.001-07:00

Social media do take lots of time but if you are seeing a return on your investment there, you are most likely looking for more good social media sites to expand to. While there isn't a shortage of social media sites, some of them are just a waste of time and effort, so you'd better skip them and head to the ones that work.

It is not that hard to find good social media sites. For instance, Tumblr might not be as big as Facebook or Twitter, but it is a popular blogging and social networking site, so you might want to explore it as well. Most of the tips for getting traffic from social media sites in general apply to Tumblr as well but as you will see, there are some specific ones that are tied just to it.

1 Post All Types of Media You Can

Tumblr offers multiple types of media for you to post. These types include: text, photo, quote, link, audio, and video and the best you can do is use them all. Of course, if your content is not fit for a particular type of post, don't force yourself to post that particular media – i.e. if your products are not visual, video and even photos might be an overkill. You can post things that are directly related to your business and niche but you can also post more fun stuff that will appeal to the general audience.

2 Post Memes

One of the specific things about Tumblr is that of all sorts of media, memes are especially popular. Memes aren't very hard to create, so if you can't find cool ready-made ones, take the time to create a couple of memes yourself, post them, and see if they get the response you are hoping for. If they do, invest more time and effort (or even consider hiring somebody else) to create more memes.

3 Add Many and Relevant Tags

Tags on Tumblr are very important because this is the main channel through which users will find you. This is why it makes sense to add as many (but relevant) tags as possible. Look for variations and synonyms of your target keywords, and include them all. It goes without saying, though, that you shouldn't become a tag spammer.

4 Create an Excellent Profile

As on all social media, your profile is your business card. Therefore, you can't afford to have a messy profile. You need to create an excellent profile so that other users like you – this increases the chance of getting more followers.

5 Be Active and Regular

If you don't already know that social media do take time daily, now you will learn it. The key to getting and keeping an active and loyal following on Tumblr is to be active and loyal yourself. It's better to post a link a day than post 10 links at once after you have been gone for 10 days because in the first case your followers will have the habit of checking the daily stuff from you, while in the second case they will never know when you will post and might miss your multiple posts.

6 Interact with Other Users

Another trick to becoming popular on Tumblr is to interact with other users. Follow them, comment on their posts, reblog their stuff – this all helps to become a Tumblr star whose posts are read by many users.

7 Reblog, Reblog, Reblog

When you find a good post from somebody else, don't hesitate to reblog it. This way you are feeding your audience with new stuff, while at the same time the original author will be thankful and might reblog some your original posts in return.

8 Quality Matters More than Quantity

When we say to be active in posting and interacting with other users, this doesn't mean you should spam and nag – it's better to post less frequently, if you have nothing relevant to post than to post junk every day just for the sake of it. You might think of filler posts (i.e. funny stuff that supposedly appeals to everybody) and have some of these in stock, so you can post them when you have nothing better but don't post meaningless posts just to fill your daily quota.

9 Blog Around a Niche

While nobody limits your topics, for best results, you'd better narrow down your choices to topics from one niche. Tumblr is especially good, if you need niche traffic, so if you have multiple niches, you'd better create separate profiles for each of them than mix them all in one profile.

10 You Can Advertise Yourself but Do It with Measure

Tumblr allows to place ads in your posts, so you can advertise yourself, your site, or your products but do it once a week at most; otherwise, you will irritate your followers really soon and the effect you will achieve will be just the opposite to what you want. Resist the temptation to post ad, if the ad itself is not cool, or if the product/service you are promoting is far from excellent. You need to do this only once and many of your followers will drop you right away.

Tumblr doesn't have the huge number of users of Facebook but the good thing is that your competition isn't that huge either. If you have good stuff to post and you are persistent, sooner or later you will get noticed. And who knows, even if Tumblr isn't the first choice for many other webmasters, it might turn out that for you personally it works like a charm. In fact this is what matters most – if it works for you, not for the whole world.

6 Best Do Follow Sites for Getting Backlinks

2014-08-04T21:43:00.000-07:00

If you write online web content, you know that it can be important to get quality backlinks to your writing. All backlinks are not created equally. One quality do follow backlink will increase rank with search engines as well as 100 no follow backlinks. There are literally thousands of places online to get do follow backlinks. The question is where to get the BEST backlinks. The best site for quality backlinks will vary by writer, but here are a few things to consider.

Does the site where I am creating backlinks pay for the links?
Some places like Xomba.com and SheToldMe.com offer do follow backlinks and will actually pay you for posting your links. Some writing websites such as Suite101.com, Squidoo.com, HubPages.com, and Infobarrel.com allow you to post links in your articles. These articles will earn you money and the links from these websites are do follow.

Does the site relate to the writing I am promoting?
Placing a link in content unrelated to the writing you are promoting doesn't work well. For example, if you find a forum that allows you to post do follow backlinks to your writing, it will do you little good if the link does not appear in content related to your writing. The text in the actual link and the information around the link all must relate to the page being linked to get the best quality do follow backlink.

Is it a Quality Site?
Before posting a backlink, look over a site and evaluate it's quality. If the site looks unprofessional or spammy, do not post a backlink there. Backlinks from well ranked sites will help promote your writing. The Google toolbar will help you to know the Google PageRank of the website from which you are considering posting a do follow backlink. The higher the overall rank of the website, the better quality the backlink.

Consider Investing in Yourself
If you have a blog or a website, consider in investing some time in your future as a writer. Post links all your web content writing on your personal blog or website. As your blog or website grows and increases in rank, so will all the writing that you currently have linked to it. You can get do follow backlinks from Wordpress and Blogger. If you are using Blogger (Blogspot) note that you must change your blog settings to allow links to be do follow.

7 Ways Fruit Benefits A Healthy Lifestyle

2014-08-03T04:30:00.000-07:00

Fruit benefits a healthy lifestyle by giving us the carbohydrates, fiber and micronutrients essential for our bodies to function properly. The carbohydrates that come from fruit are easier for our bodies to digest than those that come from grains and the fiber and micronutrients, which are vitamins and minerals, help support essential functions in the brain, nerves and muscles.

The health benefits of fruit cannot be disputed and are recognized among natural health practitioners as well as the traditional medical community.

The numerous ways fruit (fresh or dried) benefits a healthy lifestyle will be broken down into the following seven popular fruit categories: apple, banana, grapefruit, mango, orange, strawberry and tomato.

Let’s explore how each category helps support our natural body rhythms and health.

1. Apples Are Proven Nutraceuticals

We’ve all heard the saying “An apple a day keeps the doctor away,” but did you know that apples contain substances that have protective and therapeutic values? Known as nutraceuticals, these fruit benefits may be just what your body needs for optimum health.

Apples contain a number of antioxidants that reduce damage from free radicals. Free radicals are naturally formed by the body when a molecule in the body loses an electron. This can happen during metabolism, or when we are fighting off a virus or bacterial infection.

Flavonoids, just one of the many apple fruit benefits, are a group of plant pigments that determine the color of fruits and vegetables and help reduce the risk of stroke, coronary heart disease and heart attack mortality in humans.

The delicious red apple also contains pectin, also known as soluble fiber, which has been found to help lower blood cholesterol levels. Pectin causes the cholesterol in foods to remain in the intestinal tract until it is eliminated from the body. It also binds carcinogens in the colon, which helps protect the body from certain types of cancer.

When it comes to the health benefits of fruit, apples lead the pack. Eat at least one a day, then lift a glass of apple juice or cider and drink to your health!

2. Natural Health Benefits of Bananas

Besides being a good source of fiber, magnesium, potassium, carbohydrates, vitamin C and vitamin B6, bananas boast a bevy of other benefits. But first, let’s start with the ones you know.

Potassium is a vital mineral that can help replenish electrolytes and reduce stress and vitamin B6 is good for calming the nervous system and supporting vital body functions.

Magnesium can help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal and also helps with the uptake of calcium.

But did you know that bananas are also a good source of tryptophan? This protein found in bananas converts serotonin to the neurotransmitter once it enters the body. Serotonin is used for treating depression, so eating a banana can elevate your mood, help you relax and feel happier.

3. Optimal Health Benefits of Grapefruit

The fruit benefits of grapefruit include vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin B5, potassium, lycopene, and fiber. Grapefruit is an excellent source of vitamin C, a power-packed vitamin that is essential to the support of the immune system and helps prevent free-radical damage that can trigger inflammatory conditions such as asthma and rheumatoid arthritis.

Lycopene, along with other phytonutrients found in grapefruit, inhibit tumor formation because they form glutathione-S-transferase, a detoxifying enzyme. Lycopene has the highest capacity of the common dietary carotenoids when it comes to fighting oxygen-free radicals.

Eat a grapefruit or drink its juice on a regular basis so your body can take advantage of all the benefits of grapefruit.

4. Power-Packed Mangos

Mangos, one of the world’s most popular fruits, are an excellent source of beta carotene, pectin, vitamin C, vitamin E, niacin, potassium, fiber, and iron. That’s a list that packs a punch!

One mango delivers almost twice the recommended daily allowance for adults of vitamin A, which is believed to help protect the body from heart disease, help prevent cancer and even eliminate acne.

Additionally, Iron-rich mangos are high in antioxidants, low in carbohydrates, depurative, diuretic, and can help combat stomach acidity.

5. Outstanding Oranges

Oranges, noted for their vitamin C, are a good source for fiber, folate, calcium, potassium, vitamin B1, and vitamin A.

Vitamin C is an antioxidant and offers immune support. It is also the body’s primary water-soluble antioxidant. This helps disarm free radicals, which in turn helps reduce the risk of cancer, inflammation and helps prevent the oxidation of cholesterol.

Oranges can trigger allergic reactions in some people. This is often due to the sulfites that orange peels are typically treated with. Orange peels contain limolene oil, another major allergen.

6. Strawberries, Good for You, Good for Your Skin

Strawberries are an excellent source of vitamin C, folate, potassium, manganese, iodine, omega-3 fatty acids, fiber, copper, and vitamin K. They are also believed to contain anti-cancer bioflavonoids.

The downside is that strawberries contain oxalic acid, which reduces mineral absorption.

When measured in ounces, strawberries contain more vitamin C than oranges and the seeds provide insoluble fiber that can help prevent constipation. Because of the pectin that strawberries contain, they help lower cholesterol.

You can also use strawberries externally. Strawberry juice will remove tarter from teeth and help heal gums, while the flesh of fresh strawberries can make an excellent facial mask that rids the skin of dead cells and heals blemishes.

7. Tomatoes, Packed With More than Just Lycopene

You may already know that tomatoes are a good source of lycopene, an antioxidant that protects the body from some types of cancer, but did you know tomatoes are a good source of vitamin A, vitamin C, folate, potassium, fiber, and iron?

The vitamin A and vitamin C in tomatoes help neutralize free radicals and the fiber helps lower high cholesterol levels as well as regulate blood sugar levels. Eating tomatoes, fresh or cooked, can help lower the risk of heart disease.

Enjoy the Health Benefits of Fruit in Other Forms

The health benefits of fruit can be found in dried fruit and juices. Dried fruit generally contains more nutrients than fresh fruit because it is in a concentrated form. Eating five servings a day of fruit will make sure your body receives the fruit benefits it needs to support a healthy, functioning system.

Always Consult Your Physician First

Although it is helpful to get health information by reading and talking with friends, make sure you consult your doctor first before trying any new treatment or changing your diet.

Remember that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not strictly regulate the strength, purity or safety of herbs and supplements.

Be sure to always read product labels. If you have a medical condition, or are taking other drugs, herbs, or supplements, speak with your doctor before taking medical action or changing your health routine.

Are You a Health Food Nut?

Lentils. Fish. Nuts. You know health food is good for you, but that doesn't necessarily make a bland block of tofu any more appealing. Experts insist that health food is essential to your diet, but do you know why?

My Simple Method To Gaining 5000 Friends On Facebook With Or Without Verifying

2014-08-02T08:37:00.001-07:00

I create Facebook profiles for promotional purposes. What I do is make one using a generic name. Common female first name and common last name.

(ex. Beth Johnson, Jessica Reynolds, Samantha Hoffman, etc)

Examples were just thought of off the top of my head.

Then, I pick a major city in the USA, google high schools and colleges in the area to use for information and create a fake birthday which puts them around 18 - 25. I also steal people's bio's from various social networking sites. Feel free to use your own or try to find one like I do. I use one that makes someone sound really sincere and kind. Find a various quote that a female may use also. Maybe even fill out religion and political stance. They more info you put in the profile, the more realistic it will appear and it will be more likely for quicker add requests.

I also have many sets of pictures of women in that age range. The more pictures you have, the better. It's important to pic an attractive female, but not 100 percent necessary. It's best to use pictures from someone who I refer to as "cam whores". They post a ton of pictures thinking they are like a model, but they haven't been paid to be do any real work. They just enjoy the attention.

I also search for forclosures in that city which will lead me to an address of an unoccupied home that I use in the profile which helps to make it look more realistic. Also, it makes the female look less than intelligent for leaving personal info up which is a good thing. Dumb women make men think they have a better chance to score in person or get nudes which a lot of your new "friends" will want.

Once your fake profile is set up, search for the term "add me", "ADD ME Friends", "Add meeeeeee" and "add teman tambah teman 1 menit 1000" to start with and check only for pages, not people. There are many to choose from and you want to find those pages with the most friends. Be sure to see if any other pages lead to other sources of fanpages of similar content. These pages are meant for people to gain friends and it works faster with this method.

If you don't verify the account, you can't post on walls of these pages. However, if you post a picture of any type, it'll let you comment along with it. Feel free to go to google images and search "add me" for some pictures to use for this cause. If you use a graphic that states add me on it, no need to say anything. I like to say something like "I will add everyone!"

People on these pages will send you friend requests quickly. Post on 5 pages with pictures and sit for a bit. Add people that post within the last five - ten min saying something like "Add Me" and they will usually add you back quickly.

If not verifying, you may not want to post on too many pages or you will get roadblocked. That means that you will need to verify with a credit card or phone verification if you want to continue to use the profile. You will also lose your friend adding privileges if you try to add people too quickly as well. I've seen 2 day bans up to 30 day bans with adding. You will still be able to post pictures on the walls though which is a major positive.

I make sure to turn off my instant messenger because a lot of these people that add will want to cyber you or add you on their skype, msn, yahoo. You can play with them however you want if you have the time. They may come in handy depending on your reason for creating a profile.

I post realistic status posts in order to keep them wondering if I'm real, but I don't even think that's necessary. I lock down my profile in privacy settings so it only shows my bio/info, quote, religion, political stance, address and main pic. Feel free to experiment what works best for you. I found that they will add you more often this way because they are curious what other pictures look like. I kick anyone who claims I am fake and delete their comments. Sometimes people will claim you are fake in order to bait you into a cam session to prove you're real. I like to say I don't have to prove myself to anyone and move. Tell them you don't have a cam also and give them a frowny face.

I was posting links for every blog post I was doing and claiming it was my friends blog that I was a major fan. I was getting tons of hits from doing this, even though, a lot of these accounts are also fake. Sometimes people will do it to try and get in your good graces so you'll post/send them nudes. I usually act as though I'm grossed out by that and I have good morals. They will think they can sweet talk you into it later, but for now they will act okay with it most likely OR they will stop being your friend. Either way, there are tons of people out there to add so don't be discouraged. Learning how to deal with perverts is a whole other topic, lol.

I post statuses saying that I'm receiving too many private inbox messages so I can't respond to them and I am not able to read them. I usually post that every few days so they understand I'm not trying to be rude. I also try to bless them with conversation in my status comments and blog link comments. It makes for people to feel special and possibly a long term fan/clicker.

Once you hit the max friends limit of 5000, you should still be getting a ton of requests. I weed out the super fake profiles as well as the people who do not have a profile picture. This method is good for clicks from around the world. It may take more work to attempt to gain a targeted audience, but it can be done. You'll just have to do some more looking into their profile info. I suggest just adding everyone at first then pick and choose later once maxed out.

11 Home Remedies to Get Rid of Blackheads Overnight Fast & Naturally

2014-07-30T00:18:00.001-07:00

Blackheads are a skin problem that you surely want to remove as fast as possible. They are small bumps caused by clogged hair follicles. Its dark surface, caused by oxidation, can be very unsightly. Blackheads are a form of acne, but do not let the word “acne” worry you too much. In fact, this form of acne is the easiest to treat. It is so easy that you can even remove the blackheads from your nose and face by just using home treatments. Blackheads home remedies are not only affordable, they are effective and safe to the skin as well. Below are some home remedies to get rid of blackheads fast and naturally.

Natural Leave-On Facial Treatments to Get Rid of Blackheads Overnight From Nose & Face:

1.) Apply Tomatoes to Remove Blackheads Overnight from Nose and Face

The antiseptic properties in the tomato are effective in de-clogging your pores. Mash the tomato and use its juice and peel as a facial treatment. You have to concentrate on areas (Nose & Face) where the blackheads are found. If possible, let it stay overnight on your face. This tomato treatment will dry up blackheads. This will make blackheads naturally fall off from the surface of the skin.

2.) Use Lemon to Get Rid of Blackheads Overnight From Nose and Face

Also known to have antiseptic and antioxidant properties, the lemon makes it a popular home remedy for removing blackheads from the nose and face. Since lemon is quite acidic, dilute its juice in small amount of water to not irritate skin. Add salt to the mixture to make it more effective. Apply the mixture to the face and nose. Leave it overnight and wash it in the morning with lukewarm water. The salt and the natural acid capability of the lemon, make a perfect combination in drying up blackheads. Instantly, you will feel that your blackheads are lessened. Your skin will be more clean and glowing.

3.) Apply Egg and Honey to Get Rid of Blackheads Overnight

You can create an effective blackhead removal paste by mixing the whites of the raw egg and honey. You will apply this all over the face, concentrating on the area of the nose where the blackheads are visible. Leave the paste for thirty minutes or until your face feels tight. Rinse the paste very well using warm water. This treatment will remove your blackheads. Also, your face will be clear, and glowing after you have done this natural treatment.

Few Natural Facial Scrubs to Remove Blackheads From Nose & Face:

4.) Get Rid of Blackheads Overnight with Sugar and Honey Face Pack

Mix enough amount of sugar to honey to create a natural facial scrub. After cleansing the face, use the sugar-honey mix to scrub the nose and other areas of the face where the blackheads are visible. The scrub will slough off the dead skin that will permit the blackheads to surface. Once your blackheads have surfaced, it is now easier to be removed from the skin. This is an effective way to remove blackheads from nose and face.

5.) Get Rid of Blackheads Overnight with Baking Soda

Make a baking soda paste by adding few drops of water until it looks like a melted ice cream. Scrub it only to the areas where the blackheads are found. Make sure to just scrub in gentle motions to not harm the skin. Rinse with warm water afterwards. The baking soda mixture will dry up the blackheads. The baking soda also has bleaching properties that make the skin glow and brighten along with removing blackheads from nose and face.

6.) Remove Blackheads with Use of Lemon and Sugar Mixture

Squeeze small amount of lemon juice to brown or white sugar until it forms a thick mixture. You may use this combination to scrub the nose and the face when removing blackheads.

The sugar balances the acid in lemon, while the lemon juice lessens the roughness in sugar. Together, they create an effective facial scrub that removes blackheads and other blemishes in the face.

7.) Get Rid of Blackheads With Honey and Cinnamon Scrub

Mix half teaspoon of cinnamon with one teaspoon of honey. Apply it on your skin. Leave it for 5 minutes and wash off with lukewarm water. It helps to remove dirt from the pores and removes blackheads from nose and face.

Few Natural Toners to Remove Blackheads From Nose & Face

8.) Apply Olive Oil and Lemon Extract to Remove Blackheads

Mix equal amounts of olive oil and lemon extract to create an effective facial toner against blackheads. Using a cotton ball, apply the mixture to the entire face. You have to concentrate on the nose area. Do this every day and you will be glad on how easily your blackheads fade.

9.) Use Apple Cider to Get Rid of Blackheads Overnight from Nose and Face

The natural acids found in the apple cider make an ideal toner that fights blackheads in the face and in the nose area. If the apple cider that you found in the grocery has a high concentration, mix it with water to lessen the acid. This acts as an effective toner to remove blackheads from nose and face.

10.) Apply Tea Tree Oil to Get Rid of Blackheads Overnight

Known for its antiseptic properties that effectively heals skin blemishes, tea tree oil can be your best treatment against blackheads. Apply this every day on the face. You have to pay extra attention to the nose area that is prone to blackheads. It will not only remove blackheads, it will also prevent it from coming back.

11.) Apply Green Tea to Get Rid of Blackheads Overnight

One of the mildest yet most effective means of getting rid of blackheads is green tea. Its antioxidant properties help the skin in getting rid of dirt and bacteria build-up that leads to all forms of acne, including blackheads. When you use it as a natural toner everyday, you are on your way to blackhead-free nose and face.

6 Things Women With Gorgeous Skin Do Every Day

2014-07-29T07:00:00.000-07:00

They cleanse gently, once a day.

Unless you have oily skin, you only need to wash your face in the evening, with a creamy cleanser and lukewarm water. Give the cleanser time to work. "Instead of scrubbing your face, let the cleanser sit on your skin for several seconds and break down the makeup, dirt, and oil," says Boston dermatologist Ranella Hirsch, MD. In the morning, simply splash your face with lukewarm water. (If you're oily, use a gentle foaming cleanser morning and evening.)

They reapply sunscreen.

You know that the number one way to prevent skin aging is to apply sunscreen, so of course you already use a morning moisturizer with an SPF of (at least) 30. What women with gorgeous skin also do: Reapply sunscreen every few hours. Sun-shielding ingredients are only effective for about two hours—long enough to protect your skin on a morning walk or commute but not throughout the afternoon. New York City dermatologist Heidi Waldorf, MD, keeps Colorescience Sunforgettable Mineral Powder Brush SPF 30 ($50, Colorescience.com) in her bag because it's easy to brush on over makeup (and on the back of her hands or décolletage) throughout the day.

They use a retinoid cream every night.

"The first time I meet someone, I immediately know if she's using a retinoid because her skin is glowy and smooth," says Miami dermatologist Leslie Baumann, MD. Retinoids are vitamin A derivatives that have been proven to boost collagen, which reduces fine lines, and to speed cell turnover, which evens out discoloration. Retinoids are available over-the-counter (as retinol) or with a prescription (as tretinoin, adapalene, and tazarotene). Because retinoids can cause some irritation at first, Hirsch recommends applying a gentle moisturizer, letting it soak in for at least 30 minutes, then applying your retinoid cream.

They eat salmon, and consume lots of antioxidants.

Salmon's high omega-3 content helps hydrate skin from the inside out and reduce the inflammation that can cause skin redness, says Baumann. And antioxidant-rich foods and drinks—blueberries, dark greens, green tea and coffee—help fight free radicals that can damage the cellular structures of the skin, accelerating skin aging.

They break a sweat.

Raising your heart rate once a day makes your skin glow. Because exercise improves your circulation and oxygen capacity, it improves your complexion. "And we know that the skin has endorphin receptors, which may also explain why it is positively impacted by aerobic exercise," says Baumann.

They sleep at least 7 hours a night.

Cortisol, the stress hormone, ages the skin and can cause acne. Sleep reduces the cortisol level in your body. So it's a simple equation: Sleep = younger, clearer skin.

How to Get Rid of Pimples Fast

2014-07-29T06:56:00.001-07:00

Pimples are a normal skin condition that affect many people. Pimples are an inflammation of the skin in which the sebaceous glands (oil glands) become infected with bacteria, swell up, and fill with pus. Excess sebum secretion by the oil glands is the primary cause behind this problem. Pimples generally occur on the face, neck, back and shoulders. Though not a critical condition, pimples can make a person feel miserable due to their appearance.

There are a lot of lotions and medicines on the market to treat pimples but they can take time. Many natural methods are effective in treating pimples within a very short time period.

Here are the top 10 ways to get rid of pimples fast.

1. Ice

Ice can be used to quickly get rid of pimples. It helps in improving blood circulation to the affected area, and in freezing the skin pores and removing dirt and oil accumulated on the skin. You can use ice cubes or crushed ice, whichever is convenient.

Wrap the ice in a piece of cloth and hold it on the affected skin area for a few seconds.
Wait a few minutes and repeat the process.

When used repeatedly on the pimples throughout the day, ice helps reduce inflammation or swelling and will immediately soothe your skin.

2. Lemon

Another quick way to get rid of pimples is the use of lemon juice, which is rich in vitamin C. Lemon juice helps pimples dry up faster. Be sure to use fresh lemon juice and not bottled juice, which has preservatives. There are a couple of ways to apply this remedy.

         Dip a clean cotton swab in fresh lemon juice and apply it to the pimples before going to bed.
        You can also make a paste by mixing one tablespoon of lemon juice with one teaspoon of cinnamon
powder and put it on the pimples overnight. In the morning, wash the skin well with lukewarm water.     However, this particular remedy is not suitable for those with sensitive skin.

3. Honey

Honey is a source of natural antibiotics that can speed up the healing process, as well as help prevent infections.

Dip and clean cotton swab in honey, put it directly on the affected area and leave it on for half an hour.
Wash the skin well with lukewarm water.

Another option is to mix honey and cinnamon together to make a paste and applying it over the pimples before going to bed. In the morning, there will be less inflammation or swelling. Wash the skin well with cold water.

4. Toothpaste

The toothpaste that you use every morning to clean your teeth also can be used to treat pimples quickly. It is most effective when used following the ice remedy. You must use white toothpaste; avoid using gel toothpaste.

Apply some white toothpaste over the affected skin area before going to bed.
In the morning, wash your face with water and you will see a significant improvement in the swelling.

If you wish, you can repeat the process in the daytime also. Just make sure the toothpaste remains on the pimples for at least half an hour.

5. Steam

Steaming is wonderful for your skin at any time, but particularly when you have pimples. The steam will open your pores and allow your skin to breathe. This helps get rid of oils, dirt and bacteria trapped in the pores that can cause infection or inflammation.

Fill a large container with hot water and allow the steam to come in contact with your face for a few minutes.
Rinse your face with lukewarm water and, after drying, apply an oil-free moisturizer.

This treatment will also give your complexion a lovely glow.

6. Garlic

Garlic is an antiviral, antifungal, antiseptic and antioxidant agent that can help in the fast treatment of pimples. The sulfur in garlic also promotes quick healing of pimples.

Cut a fresh garlic clove into two pieces.
Rub the garlic on the pimples and leave it for five minutes before washing the skin with lukewarm water.
Repeat the treatment several times a day.

Eating one raw garlic clove daily can also help purify your blood. But do not to eat too much raw garlic as it can upset the stomach.

7. Baking Soda

Baking soda is a good option for all, but especially those with sensitive skin because it will not cause any kind of skin irritation.

Make a thick paste by mixing one teaspoon of baking soda with some water or lemon juice.
Wash your skin well, leaving it slightly damp. Apply the paste on the affected areas and allow it to dry for a few minutes. Never keep baking soda on your skin for longer than a few minutes as it can cause dryness.
Wash your face with warm water and apply a moisturizer.
Repeat the process twice a day for quick results.

8. Peppermint

Peppermint is a powerful herb that can help eliminate pimples very fast. The calming, soothing effect of the menthol present in peppermint helps reduce the irritation and redness caused by pimples. Its antibacterial and antiviral properties also help kill bacteria that causes pimples.

Crush some peppermint leaves to extract the juice.
Apply the juice gently on your pimples and leave it for 10 minutes.
Wash your skin with cold water.

If fresh peppermint leaves are not available, you can use peppermint oil, which contains a number of vitamins and essential fatty acids. Take two to three drops of peppermint oil and apply it on your pimples. Massage the oil for a few minutes and then rinse with water.

9. Cucumber

Cucumber is a rich source of potassium and vitamins such as A, C and E. It also has a cooling and soothing effect on the skin.

Cut one or two fresh cucumbers into pieces and soak them in water for about an hour. The nutrients, such as vitamin A, potassium and chlorophyll will transfer to the water.
Strain the water and drink it, or use the water to wash your face.

You can also make a face mask by grinding one cucumber. Apply the mask on your face and allow it to dry for 15 minutes. Wash your skin with warm water. This will help clean dirt and bacteria from your pores.

10. Papaya

Papaya fruit has a number of properties that help in the treatment of pimples. It is a good source of the antioxidant vitamin A, and it has enzymes that help reduce inflammation and make your skin soft and smooth. In addition, the exfoliating capability present in papaya will remove dead skin cells and help clear clogged pores. It is simple to use — just crush raw papaya pieces to extract its juice and apply it over the pimples.

6 Things That Blogging Can Do For You

2014-07-17T10:42:00.004-07:00

The other day I was asked why do you blog? Of course I answered why not? But it got me thinking... why do people blog?
Everyone has their own personal motivation, whether it's to log their list of eateries and food they've devoured, record their opinions on world events or even for therapeutic reasons. Either way, blogging can bring good things to those who practice it. Based on my experience and observations within an industry which thrives on hearing what other people have to say, I've listed six things that blogging can do for you.

1. Write, write, write.

One thing about blogging is you obviously have to write. And if you want other people to read what you have to say, you need to write well. With more experience, you begin to understand how to engage your readers and as you continue to write, you become a better communicator.

2. The great communicator.

With each blog entry, you are putting your personal thoughts onto paper. As you do this more often, your communication skills increase. You'll notice your office memos and work emails start sounding more polished. Interpreting what others are voicing through writing or even conversationally becomes faster and easier for you as well.

3. Attention please, this way!

Those with better communications skills have more confidence in themselves. You'll have an easier time socializing with people in-person and expressing your thoughts face-to-face. Public speaking may not be something you shy away from now. I personally hated going to social mixers, not so much because I didn't have anything to talk about, rather I have an introverted personality in such situations. But as I've been blogging more, I've also opened up more. Through blogging, you start learning more about anything and everything and have more to say during social settings. You start bridging similarities between you and others and can openly express your opinions while being willing to listen to theirs as well.

4. The librarian.

Because you're writing often now, there is a need for substance. As a blogger you can write about anything you want but if there is no validity to them, why would anyone want to read your blog or take you seriously for that matter? I invented the "?" I once saw a dog walk around with a cat and a mouse on his back. That's great but where's the evidence? You obviously need to have some knowledge about what you're writing about and with that, comes research. When I blog, whether it's about food or a particular current event, I need to research the facts. I need to know where the restaurant is, how people have reviewed it, menu, etc. Same goes with any current event topic.

5. Organization.

In order for people to read what you write you need to organize your thoughts and ideas and write them clearly. As you continue to do this, your writing organization skills increase. I've now noticed when I write anything, I begin with structuring the document in my head. I jot down that structure on paper and then I start filling in the blanks. Blogging has increased my awareness for the need of organization in writing to effectively communicate what I have to say.

6. Helping others.

Blogging makes you better at communicating and researching topics. The more you train yourself in these areas, the more open you are to hearing two sides to every story. With your heighten research and organizational thought process skills, you take in and scrutinize information before blurting out the first thing on your mind. You become less of a "shouter" and more of a listener. Rather than complain and rant about anything, you'll notice you can help others with information they may lack. If readers take issue to a particular dish they had at some restaurant, I normally find myself asking them 1.) what was wrong with it and 2.) I give them names of some other alternative restaurants that they could go to instead rather than continuing their rant.

Top 6 Reasons why Blogs Fail and What to be Done About It

2014-07-17T10:34:00.000-07:00

Why do some blogs thrive and others fail? Do you blog? Have you been working hard to build a loyal following for your business, but it’s just not happening for you?
The good news is you’re not alone. Most blogs don’t get the traffic or the attention they desire.
What follows are the top mistakes made by bloggers (and how to fix them).

Mistake #1: It’s all about you

When I first started blogging, this discovery surprised me: Nobody gives a hoot about my products, my services or me. This also means most people don’t care about you, your company or your products, either.
What do people really care about? Solving their problems, getting access to great information and recognition. If you can provide content that focuses on the challenges faced by your readers, you’ll grow much quicker.

Mistake #2: You’re overselling

Have you ever been to a blog that contains so many ads that there’s almost no room left for the content? People are repelled by marketing messages. You wouldn’t wrap a wedding gift with coupons, would you? If you want to keep readers, tone down the selling.
Great blogs deliver commercial-free gifts in the form of valuable content. That means very subtle ads. And when you do use ads, promote free content, such as a newsletter subscription or a white paper.

Mistake #3: You’re not embracing outside experts

Whether you’re a one-person show or you have employees, have you ever considered shining the spotlight on outside pros? If you’re not working with experts who could bring value to your audience, you’re missing out.
These are people who have great knowledge to share with your audience. Why not interview book authors, experts working at familiar companies or even your peers? When you work with outside experts you can grow a bigger following and form potential strategic alliances with the experts.

Mistake #4: You don’t produce useful information.

Perhaps you buy into the notion that your blog shouldn’t be about your products. The next mistake is producing content people don’t find valuable.
For example, let’s say you produced an article titled, “10 Things to Look for in a Wedding Planner.” Now that might be useful to people who’ve already decided they need a wedding planner, but what about couples who aren’t sure of the value?
If you instead produced an article titled, “The Ultimate Guide to Picking Wedding Music,” or “5 Ways to Prepare the Bride and Groom’s Reception Table,” you’ll get a lot more interest. And just maybe some people will decide to hire you to help with their wedding.
Demonstrate your expertise by producing highly valuable content.

Mistake #5: You haven’t made it easy for people to share

You might have great content that people love. But if you don’t give folks an effortless way to share the content with their friends, that content won’t live up to its full potential.
Be sure to include relevant sharing buttons for your audience. Here’s a video that shows you the most popular social sharing options.

#6: You aren’t engaging people

Have you ever entered a small store only to find the cashier on the phone behind a desk, fully ignoring you? When people leave comments on your blog, you should engage them.
Try replying to nearly every comment left on your blog post and watch how quickly you create loyal followers.

10 Easy Ways to Get More Facebook Likes for Your Business Page

2014-07-16T23:21:00.001-07:00

In order to achieve success on Facebook you need a community. That’s a fact. If you don’t have a community, you don’t have anyone listening to you, and if there’s no one listening to you, it’s difficult to build brand awareness and deliver ROI.
You need a community filled with people who like you and share your content with like-minded friends. But it’s not just about the quantity of Facebook likes that you collect, it’s about the quality; attracting Facebook likes from a group targeted to suit your business goals whose comments (and endorsement!) can increase your shares on Facebook.
So here are ten quick and easy tips to drive targeted Facebook likes to your business page.

1. Complete your Facebook Business Page Profile

Your Facebook Page is the first thing people see when they come to visit you on Facebook. Let visitors know why they should like you! Create a catchy description and make sure you categorize your page correctly. Also make sure to list your address, phone number and hours of operation (if applicable). Not only will this inform your potential followers, it will tell Facebook what kind of organization you are you so they know to show your page when users are searching for companies like yours – which can increase your Facebook likes even more!

2. Ask friends, business partners and other contacts to like you on Facebook

Friends are like underpants. Some snap under pressure, some are a little twisted, but some will give you support. When you first create a Facebook Page invite your supportive friends, family and business partners to like your Facebook Page. These initial likes will give you higher social media credibility and visibility. Then, alert your customers, prospects and your other social communities, and promote your Facebook page anywhere you mention your website. If people don’t know your Facebook page exists, they can’t like it.

3. Add social plugins to your website

Visitors on your website should be able to find your Facebook Page easily. My recommendation is to use Facebook’s Social Plugins, like the Like box plugin, to get more Facebook likes. These plugins include a like button, your recent posts, and pictures of some of your fans.

4. Find out what interests your community

With Facebook’s new Graph Search it’s really easy to find out what interests your target community, and post relevant content to increase Facebook likes.
Here’s an example:
Let’s say that I have a Facebook Page for my new pizza restaurant in San Francisco. To learn more about my target community’s interests, I search for “Favorite interests of people who like Restaurants and live in San Francisco, California.“ Facebook tells me that my target community also likes cooking, wine tasting and traveling.

I also want to see the interests of my competitors’ communities, so I search for “Favorite interests of people who like Pizza Hut and Domino’s Pizza,” and I find out that they like cooking, chocolate chip cookies, eating, food and partying.
This information is great to have at hand when I’m thinking about what to post on my Facebook page. By posting content that my audience is interested in (for example, suggesting which wines go well with my pizza) they will share it with their friends and help me get more Facebook likes. This same content will also attract likes from people who come to my Facebook page from my website, email signature, or a Facebook search.

5. Use Facebook Ads

Facebook ads are another great way to increase Facebook likes. To get the most out of your ads, you can target by your community’s interests to find people similar to your current fans.
In the image below, you can see how I’ve used the information that I got from Graph Search and how I’ve targeted my ad for my new pizza place.

Experiment with different types of ads to see what works best for your organization, and make sure you choose the option that allows Facebook users to like your page directly from the ad.

6. Run a contest

There are many companies that have created successful contests on Facebook that resulted in many thousands of Facebook likes. But there are some things that you need to know before you create your own contest. For starters, make sure that your contest follows Facebook’s promotion guidelines. Your contest must use a Facebook app, which allows you to create a fan-gate, so that only those who first like your page can participate in the contest. Apps also have a unique URL, so you can promote your contest with a Facebook ad and increase Facebook likes even more.
Also, when you create a contest make sure that your app is working for mobile users, that the content of the contest is funny, that it’s easy to participate and that the contest encourage users to share their result and participation with their friends.

7. Like, and interact with, other companies

Did you know that you can engage with other company pages as your Business Page on Facebook? This is a great way to build awareness among like-minded companies and their followers. To do this, visit your Facebook Page, click on “Edit Page” in your Admin Panel and select “Use Facebook as YourPage.”

Finding companies to like and interact with is easy. Use Graph search and search for e.g. companies, pages, places that is of interests for your company and like these Pages (you can’t like personal profiles).

After you have liked some Pages, you can view your company’s Newsfeed and engage with the pages you like. Not only is the company likely to follow you back, but their engagement with your page will help you increase Facebook likes amongst their followers as well.

8. Publish engaging content

It’s important to publish engaging, entertaining and interesting posts on a regular basis, and to keep an eye out for the posts that get the most engagement. If your posts are valuable to your followers, then they will share your posts with their friends, helping you increase your Facebook likes. Images are among the best types of post for driving engagement so make sure you publish images your followers can relate to and will like. You may also want to include calls to action in some of your posts, asking followers to like, comment or share your content, or ask your community a question.

9. Be active

By now you know that you should publish engaging, interesting and entertaining content. But how often should you post? There is no magic number but there are best practices and analytics to guide you. Post at least one status update per day, and experiment with the timing of your posts to see when the majority of your followers are active. People are unlikely to like your Facebook page if you don’t post regularly – and they certainly won’t engage with your content (or help you get more likes) if they don’t see your posts.

10. Measure, analyze and learn

Use Facebook Insights to find useful metrics on your page performance. You can see things like reach (how many users are seeing your posts), engaged users (how many users engage with your posts) and new likes (when and why do you get new followers). These metrics will help you understand what’s driving your likes and engagement, so that you can adjust your posts accordingly. If you would like to know if you have good engagement, or want other recommendations for improvement, try out the free Facebook analytics tool, LikeAlyzer.

Would you like to add any tips for getting more Facebook likes? Did I forget something? Please add a comment and, if you like the post, feel free to share it with your friends.

Top 10 Tips for Blogging

2014-06-28T23:05:00.002-07:00

Blogging is a great tool for writing, sharing news and photos or art and just generally reaching out to the nameless ranks of people combing the internet every day in search of news and entertainment

10. Consistency

Your readers and search engines love consistency. If you post three times a week, every week, this is considered the bare minimum for attracting and maintaining a readership. There is such a thing as too much blogging, though. Posting once a day is considered normal, meaning you’re not living in a dark cave staring at the glowing rectangle all day every day. But every post you make is a new page to be indexed by the search engines, so after one year you will have more than 300 pages in the web with your name on it!

9. Originality

With the ever-growing legions of bloggers out there, internet devotees are always on the lookout for the next great, original blog concept. One blogger might be devoted to showcasing photos of the rooftops of St. Petersburg. Many blogs are devoted to fashion and celebrity gossip, but there aren’t that many documenting people dressed in the gothic style during the hot days of summer.

8. Personality

Whether you create a web persona for the purpose of blogging or you plan to put your real self out there, personality is essential to a good blog read. This gift comes naturally to some bloggers and not at all to others. Whichever you are, your writings will reveal this personality to the world. A lot of bloggers give up fast when they receive negative feedback that is taken personally, but keep in mind that all writing media is subjected to waves of rejection. Don’t give up – there are mean, anonymous people out there surfing the web leaving rude, baseless comments, but there are also plenty more people with constructive comments to offer.

7. Brevity

Be brief in your blog posts. Break up text with cuts, subheadings, bullet lists, photos – people reading on the web tend to scan for anything that slows down or catches their eye. If you want to keep your readers reading, be succinct!

6. Diversity

Multi-media is almost a must these days. Text, video, photo, audio – use all of it in your blog to create well-written posts that are augmented with images or other media. As long as you’re on the way to becoming a blog superstar, might as well go for those YouTube views as well. Uploading your video to YouTube is a great example of how to drive traffic back to your site, as well.

5. Social networking

Use Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, whatever your social network of choice is to drive traffic to your blog, alert your friends you have a new post.

4. Collaboration

Use online relationships to collaborate on blog posts and expand your readership – encourage comments, comment on other people’s blogs, link freely and share traffic.

3. Promotion

Commenting on other blogs and getting your blog noticed joins up with social networking here. If you are promoting a product on your blog pay attention to other bloggers promoting a similar product. Use your best judgment to decide what works and what doesn’t. But please, no spamming – it is discourteous, not cool, other users will not take kindly and search engines will penalize you (remove your pages from the index).

2. Other media

Why limit yourself to just a blog? Podcasts are a great example of new media working with blogs to make them even more up-to-date and interesting – your readers will enjoy hearing your actual voice and it will heighten their reading of your content in the future. Check out TypePad blog software for integrated podcasting capability.

1. Fun

The most important part of blogging is having fun and loving your blog. If you choose to blog about something you have a passion for that will come through across the vast and nebulous internet. Additionally, the blog will be sustainable for you because you care about it.

Tips for Successful Blog

2014-06-28T22:47:00.002-07:00

With so many amazing arts, heritage and creative blogs out there already, how do you make yours stand out? How do you get people returning for more, and how do you increase visitor numbers and build a loyal following?
There are plenty of tips and tricks to get your own creative blog rocking and therefore raising your profile and helping you to win more business. Here's my top 19 tips for a successful creative blog, but if you can think of any more, please comment below and help me make this the best list on the web.

Getting started

Choosing a blogging platform is your first challenge. There are lots of free options out there including Wordpress, Tumblr, TypePad and Blogger. All of them offer free design themes so you can customise your own blog so it's very easy to get started. And if you're not sure how to use them? There's plenty of online video tutorials to be found on the web.

Consider integration

From an SEO point of view, it's worth getting your blog integrated with your existing website to build content and make the search engines love you even more. After all, SEO (search engine optimisation) is all about content. But if you're not able to do this or can't afford to hire a web developer to sort, then start a free blog and make sure you include links to your main website or other links, for example to your artistic portfolio.

Find a niche

When choosing a creative topic to blog about, try and find a niche. Make your blog about something very specific and you'll please both the search engines and your readers. Try not to be too general and really focus on one specialist topic and stick to it. Find your own niche and go for it – just remember to stay on topic.

Write about what you love

Write about something you love, otherwise you'll show no passion in your writing. And if there's no passion, your content will suffer, so find a topic you are comfortable with and only write about that. For example, if you're a museum curator, talk about the industry, emerging trends and other museums or exhibitions you love. And if you're a theatre director, you could write about industry folk you admire or share your working day with your followers.

Offer value

It goes without saying but if you don't provide something the public wants, your creative blog will never be a success. Give people what they're after and offer real value to their web browsing experience. What do I mean by this? Well, value is demonstrated in the content you publish. If your content isn't valuable people won't read it or return to read more. Really think about what you're putting out there and give the people what they want.

Focus on marketing

You won't get anywhere if you just launch a blog and hope that people will come without any marketing effort. You have to actively market your blog and you can do that through a variety of ways. You can start chatting with other bloggers by leaving valuable comments on other people's blog posts – this will help draw people back to your own site. Or you can make use of the search engines and write about topics that are popular in the searches, like this very feature. Or you could even offer to contribute to influential e-zines or blogs to help raise your profile. Whatever you choose to do, just get out there and market yourself like mad. There's really no excuse not to.

Encourage interaction

Get people talking on your blog. Ask them to add their comments on various articles, like I've done with this post. Encourage interaction wherever possible. Ask for feedback, respond to people's contributions, build a community and be nice. People love to interact, so make sure you're friendly and welcoming.

Make commenting easy

Just be aware that there are many reasons why people might not comment on your blog posts. It could be anything from not providing easy access to log a comment to writing about negative things people don't want to be a part of. Bottom line? Make commenting easily accessible and write about stuff that gets people talking positively. If people can interact on your blog, they'll keep coming back for more.

Don't worry about negativity

Occasionally you may get the odd negative comment on your blog. Don't let it put you off or scare you away from blogging. Any comments you're not happy with can be deleted or responded to positively. Despite what people say, it's very rare that you'll face negativity so don't worry about it too much.

Don't get stage fright and believe in yourself

Once your blog starts to get more than 1,000 visitors per month, it's only natural that you may lose confidence in yourself and your writing. Don't get stage fright and keep at it! There is a reason why you have so many visitors, so believe in yourself and keep writing fantastic content.

Provide easy reading

Research suggests that people view and scan web pages rather than read every last bit of copy. Therefore, try and keep your articles as easy, quick reads. Provide lists wherever possible and break up the text. From an SEO point of view, you want to provide at least 250 words of copy. But it's also good to stick to this number for your readers — unless of course you're writing an article such as this one – in which case, add in bullet points or lists because it will hold people's attention more.

Give your posts punchy titles

When thinking about things to blog about, write articles that have punchy titles: ones that people search for through search engines and titles that are appealing and catchy. You want to draw people in and inspire their curiosity.

Keep it regular

A blog is almost like an online journal and suggests a "regular" focus. Try and keep your blog updated with at least two articles a week. Ideally, you need to be blogging every single day, especially if SEO is one of your key priorities. Otherwise, just try and keep things going. And if you go on holiday, make best use of scheduling tools on your blog so you can post articles automatically while you're away from your desk.

Avoid clutter

When designing your blog — either creating one from scratch or using any of the free blogging platforms online — try and keep the layout clean, fresh and uncluttered. Avoid adding lots of unnecessary features. Keep it easy on the eye and you'll please your blog visitors and have them coming back for more.

Get social

Don't neglect social media elsewhere like Twitter and Facebook. Make sure you hook these up to your blog's RSS feed and update your followers and fans with your latest post. Twitterfeed is a great tool that automatic publishes your posts to your Twitter and Facebook accounts — great for Twitter but looks a bit spammy for Facebook at present. Test everything first and make sure you're happy with the automatic updates and tweets you're putting out there.

Keep an eye on analytics

Keep track of how people are landing on your blog and how they're finding you. You can then tailor your blog posts to your readers' needs as well as making best use of those external sources that are really drawing people in. If you invest in any online advertising, your analytics will also help determine your ROI (return of investment) and whether it's working or not. Keep an eye on your web analytics and ensure your blog is working as powerfully as it should be.

Allow easy following

Place "follow" badges on your blog wherever possible. For example, on Blogger you can add a free widget which encourages people to "follow your blog" in their own Google readers. Tumblr has something similar but this is already integrated. Make sure you provide an easy follow option on your own blog, even if it's just clear links to your RSS feed.

Get personal

Reveal more about who you are in your posts and your audience will love you for it. People want to follow people, not brands. Include an "about" section if possible and a photograph of yourself. By offering a personal slant, you'll be encouraging people to like you and by tapping into their emotions you'll encourage loyalty hence happy, returning visitors.
A really great example is Ana Kinsella, a fashion blogger from Ireland. Her Ripped Knees blog is mixed with lots of fashion news, but the personal slant is when she posts pictures of her own outfits. Stylebubble is very similar and hugely popular. Add a personal touch to your own blog.

Spell checking and proof-reading

Finally, before you hit the "publish" button, it's crucial you check your spelling and proofread your article again and again. Bad spelling will not only ruin your credibility, it will damage your SEO as the search engines won't appreciate poor copy. Make sure you check everything before you go live.

20 Beauty Secrets Every Teen Should Know

2014-06-28T21:51:00.001-07:00

"No, I'm not! I'm not a tomboy! I love my makeup! That's not true! I'm not a tomboy!" -- Hilary Duff, Academy Award-winning actress
There's nothing worse than getting advice from older people, we know, we know, but the truth is some advice is worth taking and keeping, especially when it comes to fun beauty tips. I've been reading fashion magazines and testing beauty products for years. In this time, I've read 1000s of beauty tips, tried 1000s of products, but only a few are worth keeping around. So, here I share with you the 20 things I wish I knew when I was a teenager.

Watch the foundation

In high school I wore a full face of Cover Girl liquid foundation every day despite the fact that I had pretty nice skin for a 16-year-old. I was a victim of "cake face," that matte look that screams to the world, "I wear lots of makeup." I had no idea then that heavy foundations are not meant to cover the entire face, they should be used judiciously -- to cover up only the uneven spots like the cheeks, around the nose and maybe the chin. Once the foundation is in place, you can then dot concealer on any ruddy or pimply spots the foundation doesn't cover. Here's a secret I wish I knew then: gorgeous skin is dewy and natural and heavy foundations leave look looking anything but. A better bet than foundation is tinted moisturizers, which didn't exist when I was a teenager.

You pat concealer in, you never rub it in

When I was younger, I used to slather concealer over my ruddy spots because tap, tap, tapping it in seemed like such a waste of time. The truth is tapping in it leaves your face looking much more flawless. Here's how to properly do it: put a bit of concealer on the pad of a finger and pat it in. Never rub. Got acne? Gently tap the concealer over the blemishes and then set it with powder.

Play up your lips or your eyes, never both

Ever notice how girls with heavy eye makeup and heavy lips can look overdone and a bit clownish? When it comes to making up your face, it's best to decide to play up either your eyes or your mouth, but never both. I'm not a huge fan of rules when it comes to beauty, but I pretty much always follow this one and I wish I knew this tip when I was a teen. If you wear a smokey eye, go for nude lips with just a bit of gloss. Prefer the drama of dark lipstick? Keep face light (stay away from heavy blush) and wear only mascara on your eyes and a light eyeshadow. Don't heavily line your eyes. Play up both and you'll look like a clown. And never, ever line lips in a darker color than your gloss or lipstick.

Less is more during the day

Ever notice how some of your friends look their best with no makeup at all? No matter your age, there is such as thing as too much makeup. If you wear foundation, powder, blush, liner, mascara, eyeshadow, lip liner and gloss on an everyday basis, then you're probably overdoing it. Leave the heavier makeup to the evening and formal occasions and tone it down during the day: All you really need is a great mascara, concealer for blemishes and gloss. Add a pop of blush in winter.

Oily hair? Baby powder to the rescue

I have to wash my hair every day or it will look greasy. But the truth is, I hate washing my hair every day. I get by on the days in between using baby powder that I apply at my crown and roots and brush through. It soaks up excess oils like nothing else. I find it works better than dry shampoo, but that's just my opinion. Baby powder works best on blondes or girls with light brown hair. If you have dark hair, you might be better off with a dry shampoo crafted especially for your hair color.
Baby powder also works wonders at the beach. Apply baby powder to get sand to slide right off. I learned this trick from my cousin who has babies (there's nothing worse than a diaper full of sticky sand), but it works on older kids and adults too!

Bye-bye bad hair color

Ever see those girls with naturally dark hair and super blonde highlights the width of spaghetti? It's as if someone painted little lines in their hair (which is actually what they did). Not attractive. The secret to great hair color is hair that looks like you didn't pay to have it done. That said, some of the best hair color is so obviously not natural but is so cool that everyone will want it. Either leave people guessing or leave them dying to ask where you get your hair done.

So when to do it yourself and when to head to a salon?
The general rule of thumb is to do your own hair if you are going only a shade or 2 lighter or darker. Anything more than that and you need a professional's help. Going from dark to blonde is actually a complicated process. You'll first have to strip hair of its natural color (this is called "bleaching"), then the stylist will color your hair blonde and possibly add a few highlights of darker and lighter strands to give hair definition. This is not something to try at home. But if you are dyeing a few strands blue or a couple shades darker, you can do it yourself.

Vaseline is your best friend

I actually knew this tip as a teen -- that's actually where I learned it. Vaseline is a great product to have on hand for 2 reasons: it's a great eye makeup remover in a pinch and used with a toothbrush, it's the best lip exfoliator ever. Here's how it works: Slather on a bunch of Vaseline, then use a toothbrush to massage lips. Wipe the excess off on a tissue. Your lips will be smooth and soft.

You can never go wrong with layers

Long layers are great for any hair type: Super curly, straight or wavy. It makes thin hair appear thicker, curly hair appear manageable and wavy hair appear just-got-back-from-the-beach sexy. Just make sure you don't get too many layers cut in. Short, spiky layers and hair that's short on top and long on bottom (mullets!) can be dated.

Acne? Get thee to a dermatologist, stat

Biggest mistake people with acne make? Not going to a dermatologist. Forget those $150 jeans you covet. Getting rid of those pimples will be the best investment you'll ever make. And the only guaranteed way to do it is with a dermatologist.

Spend money on key beauty products

There's no to spend a lot of money on cleansers, makeup removers, polish removers and anything that doesn't stay on your face for very long. Why spend $60 on a fancy cleanser that touches your face for 1 minute a day? You can also find affordable moisturizers that won't break the bank but will leave your skin feeling soft and supple.

Buying foundation or lipstick? Test it first

There are some beauty products you simply must try out at a department store or Sephora before you buy. These include: Foundation, lipstick, blush and powder. Buy these products in a grocery store and you'll be lucky if you picked the right color for your skin tone. What you can get away with without testing: Mascara, eye liner, most basic eye shadows and lip gloss.

The One Beauty Product You Should Never, Ever Skip

Had I known this trick when I was a teenager, I'd have fewer wrinkles as a 40-year-old. The first beauty product you should apply every day is sunscreen, even if it's cloudy or rainy outside. Why? Good habits start young and if you use sunscreen now, you'll have gorgeous skin when you're 50, 60, 70. Plus, the sun's UV rays can penetrate clouds and car windows.

The Secret to Sexy, Beachy Waves

There's nothing cooler than long, layered waves. Wavy hair is gorgeous on all hair lengths, from chin length to shoulder-length to long. To get them, wind hair AROUND the barrel of a large curling iron. Reverse direction for each 2-inch section (wind up for one, down for another).

Self-tanner will always stink

Unfortunately, even the best ones smell. Your best bet is to apply self-tanner a good 24 hours before an important event and take a shower (don't loofah) to wash off any smell. For really big events like a dance or wedding, consider a professional spray tan. These are pricey and don't last long, so make sure to do it a day before the big event.

Don't let nails go

Not into manicures and pedicures? No worries. Just make sure to keep nails clean and the same length. If you do want to paint them, don't keep the polish on until half of it's chipped away. Also, there's nothing worse than too-long toenails. Keep nails clipped between pedicures! People tend to judge others by the care they put into their hands and feet.

Don't line the inside of your eyes

Of course you can line the inside of your eyes. There's no one stopping you. But keep in mind it will make your eyes appear smaller and who wants that? I love the look of a liquid liner on the top lid and a smudged pencil line on the bottom lid.

Shave legs at the end of the shower

Cut down on nicks and cuts by making shaving the very last step in your shower or bathing ritual.

Play up your best feature

What feature do people comment on most? Play it up. If you're told you have Angelina Jolie lips, make sure to wear gloss and play with bold lipstick colors. If it's your eye color people love, find eyeshadow colors that complement them and make sure to wear mascara. Also, know what color shirts look best on you and go shopping.

Save money by making your own scrubs and face mask

Why buy a $60 scrub or face mask when you can make one out of ingredients from your kitchen for pennies? All you need to slough off dead skin from your face and body is a homemade scrub made of 1 part oil and 2 parts sugar or salt. As for face masks, I have dozens of recipes for all skin types.

Remember: Beauty does come from within

Think about a girl you know who could stand to lose a few pounds yet all the guys love her. Why? Because she's confident. If you aren't wearing makeup and your toes haven't been repainted in weeks, if you're happy and smiling you will still be 10 times prettier than the mopey cheerleader sitting next to you in class. Trust me (wink).

46 best health tips ever

2014-06-27T03:47:00.002-07:00

We've done the legwork for you and here they are: the 45 best health tips. Make that 46 - taking the time to read this tops the list.

1. Copy your kitty:

Learn to do stretching exercises when you wake up. It boosts circulation and digestion, and eases back pain.

2. Don’t skip breakfast.

Studies show that eating a proper breakfast is one of the most positive things you can do if you are trying to lose weight. Breakfast skippers tend to gain weight. A balanced breakfast includes fresh fruit or fruit juice, a high-fibre breakfast cereal, low-fat milk or yoghurt, wholewheat toast, and a boiled egg.

3. Brush up on hygiene.

Many people don't know how to brush their teeth properly. Improper brushing can cause as much damage to the teeth and gums as not brushing at all. Lots of people don’t brush for long enough, don’t floss and don’t see a dentist regularly. Hold your toothbrush in the same way that would hold a pencil, and brush for at least two minutes.

This includes brushing the teeth, the junction of the teeth and gums, the tongue and the roof of the mouth. And you don't need a fancy, angled toothbrush – just a sturdy, soft-bristled one that you replace each month.

4. Neurobics for your mind.

Get your brain fizzing with energy. American researchers coined the term ‘neurobics’ for tasks which activate the brain's own biochemical pathways and to bring new pathways online that can help to strengthen or preserve brain circuits.

Brush your teeth with your ‘other’ hand, take a new route to work or choose your clothes based on sense of touch rather than sight. People with mental agility tend to have lower rates of Alzheimer's disease and age-related mental decline.

5. Get what you give!

Always giving and never taking? This is the short road to compassion fatigue. Give to yourself and receive from others, otherwise you’ll get to a point where you have nothing left to give. And hey, if you can’t receive from others, how can you expect them to receive from you?

6. Get spiritual.

A study conducted by the formidably sober and scientific Harvard University found that patients who were prayed for recovered quicker than those who weren’t, even if they weren’t aware of the prayer.

7. Get smelly.

Garlic, onions, spring onions and leeks all contain stuff that’s good for you. A study at the Child’s Health Institute in Cape Town found that eating raw garlic helped fight serious childhood infections. Heat destroys these properties, so eat yours raw, wash it down with fruit juice or, if you’re a sissy, have it in tablet form.

8. Knock one back.

A glass of red wine a day is good for you. A number of studies have found this, but a recent one found that the polyphenols (a type of antioxidant) in green tea, red wine and olives may also help protect you against breast cancer. It’s thought that the antioxidants help protect you from environmental carcinogens such as passive tobacco smoke.

9. Bone up daily.

Get your daily calcium by popping a tab, chugging milk or eating yoghurt. It’ll keep your bones strong. Remember that your bone density declines after the age of 30. You need at least 200 milligrams daily, which you should combine with magnesium, or it simply won’t be absorbed.

10. Berries for your belly.

Blueberries, strawberries and raspberries contain plant nutrients known as anthocyanidins, which are powerful antioxidants. Blueberries rival grapes in concentrations of resveratrol – the antioxidant compound found in red wine that has assumed near mythological proportions. Resveratrol is believed to help protect against heart disease and cancer.

11. Curry favour.

Hot, spicy foods containing chillies or cayenne pepper trigger endorphins, the feel-good hormones. Endorphins have a powerful, almost narcotic, effect and make you feel good after exercising. But go easy on the lamb, pork and mutton and the high-fat, creamy dishes served in many Indian restaurants.

12. Cut out herbs before ops.

Some herbal supplements – from the popular St John's Wort and ginkgo biloba to garlic, ginger, ginseng and feverfew – can cause increased bleeding during surgery, warn surgeons. It may be wise to stop taking all medication, including herbal supplements, at least two weeks before surgery, and inform your surgeon about your herbal use.

13. I say tomato.

Tomato is a superstar in the fruit and veggie pantheon. Tomatoes contain lycopene, a powerful cancer fighter. They’re also rich in vitamin C. The good news is that cooked tomatoes are also nutritious, so use them in pasta, soups and casseroles, as well as in salads.

The British Thoracic Society says that tomatoes and apples can reduce your risk of asthma and chronic lung diseases. Both contain the antioxidant quercetin. To enjoy the benefits, eat five apples a week or a tomato every other day.

14. Eat your stress away.

Prevent low blood sugar as it stresses you out. Eat regular and small healthy meals and keep fruit and veggies handy. Herbal teas will also soothe your frazzled nerves.

Eating unrefined carbohydrates, nuts and bananas boosts the formation of serotonin, another feel-good drug. Small amounts of protein containing the amino acid tryptamine can give you a boost when stress tires you out.

15. Load up on vitamin C.

We need at least 90 mg of vitamin C per day and the best way to get this is by eating at least five servings of fresh fruit and vegetables every day. So hit the oranges and guavas!

16. No folly in folic acid.

Folic acid should be taken regularly by all pregnant mums and people with a low immunity to disease. Folic acid prevents spina bifida in unborn babies and can play a role in cancer prevention. It is found in green leafy vegetables, liver, fruit and bran.

17. A for Away.

This vitamin, and beta carotene, help to boost immunity against disease. It also assists in the healing process of diseases such as measles and is recommended by the WHO. Good natural sources of vitamin A are kidneys, liver, dairy products, green and yellow vegetables, pawpaw, mangoes, chilli pepper, red sorrel and red palm oil.

18. Pure water.

Don’t have soft drinks or energy drinks while you're exercising. Stay properly hydrated by drinking enough water during your workout (just don't overdo things, as drinking too much water can also be dangerous).

While you might need energy drinks for long-distance running, in shorter exercise sessions in the gym, your body will burn the glucose from the soft drink first, before starting to burn body fat. Same goes for eating sweets.

19. GI, Jane.

Carbohydrates with a high glycaemic index, such as bread, sugar, honey and grain-based food will give instant energy and accelerate your metabolism. If you’re trying to burn fat, stick to beans, rice, pasta, lentils, peas, soya beans and oat bran, all of which have a low GI count.

20. Mindful living.

You've probably heard the old adage that life's too short to stuff a mushroom. But perhaps you should consider the opposite: that life's simply too short NOT to focus on the simple tasks. By slowing down and concentrating on basic things, you'll clear your mind of everything that worries you.

Really concentrate on sensations and experiences again: observe the rough texture of a strawberry's skin as you touch it, and taste the sweet-sour juice as you bite into the fruit; when your partner strokes your hand, pay careful attention to the sensation on your skin; and learn to really focus on simple tasks while doing them, whether it's flowering plants or ironing your clothes.

21. The secret of stretching.

When you stretch, ease your body into position until you feel the stretch and hold it for about 25 seconds. Breathe deeply to help your body move oxygen-rich blood to those sore muscles. Don't bounce or force yourself into an uncomfortable position.

22. Do your weights workout first.

Experts say weight training should be done first, because it's a higher intensity exercise compared to cardio. Your body is better able to handle weight training early in the workout because you're fresh and you have the energy you need to work it.

Conversely, cardiovascular exercise should be the last thing you do at the gym, because it helps your body recover by increasing blood flow to the muscles, and flushing out lactic acid, which builds up in the muscles while you're weight training. It’s the lactic acid that makes your muscles feel stiff and sore.

23. Burn fat during intervals.

To improve your fitness quickly and lose weight, harness the joys of interval training. Set the treadmill or step machine on the interval programme, where your speed and workload varies from minute to minute. Build up gradually, every minute and return to the starting speed. Repeat this routine. Not only will it be less monotonous, but you can train for a shorter time and achieve greater results.

24. Your dirtiest foot forward.

If your ankles, knees, and hips ache from running on pavement, head for the dirt. Soft trails or graded roads are a lot easier on your joints than the hard stuff. Also, dirt surfaces tend to be uneven, forcing you to slow down a bit and focus on where to put your feet – great for agility and concentration.

25. Burn the boredom, blast the lard.

Rev up your metabolism by alternating your speed and intensity during aerobic workouts. Not only should you alternate your routine to prevent burnout or boredom, but to give your body a jolt.

If you normally walk at 6.5km/h on the treadmill or take 15 minutes to walk a km, up the pace by going at 8km/h for a minute or so during your workout. Do this every five minutes or so. Each time you work out, increase your bouts of speed in small increments.

26. Cool off without a beer.

Don’t eat carbohydrates for at least an hour after exercise. This will force your body to break down body fat, rather than using the food you ingest. Stick to fruit and fluids during that hour, but avoid beer.

27. ‘Okay, now do 100 of those’.

Instead of flailing away at gym, enlist the help – even temporarily – of a personal trainer. Make sure you learn to breathe properly and to do the exercises the right way. You’ll get more of a workout while spending less time at the gym.

28. Stop fuming.

Don’t smoke and if you smoke already, do everything in your power to quit. Don’t buy into that my-granny-smoked-and-lived-to-be-90 crud – not even the tobacco giants believe it. Apart from the well-known risks of heart disease and cancer, orthopaedic surgeons have found that smoking accelerates bone density loss and constricts blood flow. So you could live to be a 90-year-old amputee who smells of stale tobacco smoke. Unsexy.

29. Ask about Mad Aunt Edith.

Find out your family history. You need to know if there are any inherited diseases prowling your gene pool. According to the Mayo Clinic, USA, finding out what your grandparents died of can provide useful – even lifesaving – information about what’s in store for you. And be candid, not coy: 25% of the children of alcoholics become alcoholics themselves.

30. Do self-checks.

Do regular self-examinations of your breasts. Most partners are more than happy to help, not just because breast cancer is the most common cancer among SA women. The best time to examine your breasts is in the week after your period.

31. My smear campaign.

Have a pap smear once a year. Not on our list of favourite things, but it’s vital. Cervical cancer kills 200 000 women a year and it’s the most prevalent form of cancer among black women, affecting more than 30 percent.

But the chances of survival are nearly 100 percent if it’s detected early. Be particularly careful if you became sexually active at an early age, have had multiple sex partners or smoke.

32. Understand hormones.

Recent research suggests that short-term (less than five years) use of HRT is not associated with an increase in the risk of breast cancer, but that using it for more than ten years might be. Breast cancer is detected earlier in women using HRT, as they are more alert to the disease than other women.

33. Beat the sneezes.

There are more than 240 allergens, some rare and others very common. If you’re a sneezer due to pollen: close your car’s windows while driving, rather switch on the internal fan (drawing in air from the outside), and avoid being outdoors between 5am and 10 am when pollen counts are at their highest; stick to holidays in areas with low pollen counts, such as the seaside and stay away from freshly cut grass.

34. Doggone.

If you’re allergic to your cat, dog, budgie or pet piglet, stop suffering the ravages of animal dander: Install an air filter in your home.

Keep your pet outside as much as possible and brush him outside of the home to remove loose hair and other allergens. Better yet, ask someone else to do so.

35. Asthma-friendly sports.

Swimming is the most asthma-friendly sport of all, but cycling, canoeing, fishing, sailing and walking are also good, according to the experts.

Asthma need not hinder peak performance in sport. 1% of the US Olympic team were asthmatics – and between them they won 41 medals.

36. Deep heat.

Sun rays can burn even through thick glass, and under water. Up to 35% of UVB rays and 85% of UVA rays penetrate thick glass, while 50% of UVB rays and 75% of UVA rays penetrate a meter of water and wet cotton clothing.

Which means you’ll need sunscreen while driving your car on holiday, and water resistant block if you’re swimming.

37. Fragrant ageing.

Stay away from perfumed or flavoured suntan lotions which smell of coconut oil or orange if you want your skin to stay young. These lotions contain psoralen, which speeds up the ageing process. Rather use a fake-tan lotion. Avoid sun beds, which are as bad as the sun itself.

38. Sunscreen can be a smokescreen.

Sunscreen is unlikely to stop you from being sunburned, or to reduce your risk of developing skin cancer. That’s because most people don’t apply it properly, and stay in the sun too long.

The solution? Slather on sunscreen daily and reapply it often, especially if you’ve been in the water. How much? At least enough to fill a shot glass.

39. Laugh and cry.

Having a good sob is reputed to be good for you. So is laughter, which has been shown to help heal bodies, as well as broken hearts. Studies in Japan indicate that laughter boosts the immune system and helps the body shake off allergic reactions.

40. It ain’t over till it’s over.

End relationships that no longer work for you, as you could be spending time in a dead end. Rather head for more meaningful things. You could be missing opportunities while you’re stuck in a meaningless rut, trying to breathe life into something that is long gone.

41. Strong people go for help.

Ask for assistance. Gnashing your teeth in the dark will not get you extra brownie points. It is a sign of strength to ask for assistance and people will respect you for it. If there is a relationship problem, the one who refuses to go for help is usually the one with whom the problem lies to begin with.

42. Save steamy scenes for the bedroom.

Showering or bathing in water that’s too hot will dry out your skin and cause it to age prematurely. Warm water is much better.

Apply moisturiser while your skin is still damp – it’ll be absorbed more easily. Adding a little olive oil to your bath with help keep your skin moisturised too.

43. Here’s the rub.

Improve your circulation and help your lymph glands to drain by the way you towel off. Helping your lymph glands function can help prevent them becoming infected.

When drying off your limbs and torso, brush towards the groin on your legs and towards the armpits on your upper body. You can do the same during gentle massage with your partner.

44. Sugar-coated.

More than three million South Africans suffer from type 2 diabetes, and the incidence is increasing – with new patients getting younger. New studies show this type of diabetes is often part of a metabolic syndrome (X Syndrome), which includes high blood pressure and other risk factors for heart disease.

More than 80% of type 2 diabetics die of heart disease, so make sure you control your glucose levels, and watch your blood pressure and cholesterol counts.

45. Relax, it’s only sex.

Stress and sex make bad bedfellows, it seems. A US survey showed that stress, kids and work are main factors to dampen libido. With the advent of technology that allows us to work from home, the lines between our jobs and our personal lives have become blurred.

People work longer hours, commutes are longer and work pervades all aspects of our lives, including our sexual relationships. Put nooky and intimacy on the agenda, just like everything else.

46. Good night, sweetheart.

Rest heals the body and has been shown to lessen the risk of heart trouble and psychological problems.

How can I Speed up My Metabolic Rate and Lose Weight Faster

2014-06-27T03:32:00.001-07:00

It’s well understood that weight loss is a matter of energy in, versus energy out. Energy out (exercise and general day-to-day activity) must outweigh energy in (what you eat), and your individual metabolic rate will determine how much it needs to outweigh it by. Your metabolic rate is the number of calories you burn when you are at rest and everybody is different. This explains why some people are seemingly naturally slim while others seem to put on weight just by reading a cookbook!

The main factor affecting this is the amount of lean muscle mass in the body. Muscle is "metabolically active tissue" which means the body has to expend energy to maintain it. So just sitting on the couch with your lean muscle mass you're burning more calories than a person with less lean muscle mass.

The amount of lean muscle mass you naturally carry depends on uncontrollable factors such as genetics and age. As you age, lean muscle mass reduces, metabolic rate slows and weight begins to creep on. This can occur as early as late 20s and it's never a welcome development! You're moving and eating similarly, but your physique just isn't the same. Once this transition starts it is suggested that weight begins to increase at approximately 1kg per year - so in a decade you can find yourself 10kgs heavier.

When lean muscle mass starts to decrease, the methods of weight management people have traditionally relied on (a low calorie diet with cardiovascular activity) just no longer does the job. Also, it can be a punishing regime difficult to sustain and may even decrease metabolic rate further.

The best way to regain lean muscle mass is weight training. Attending a BODYPUMP group fitness class or using a personal trainer are great ways to build weight training into your fitness program. As well as building lean muscle mass, weight training increases metabolic rate for hours afterwards as the body recovers. It's the gift that keeps on giving!

There are other ways to keep metabolic rate high. Be a grazer - never skip breakfast and eat regularly throughout the day. You don't need to eat more food, just eat more frequently. Then your body knows that its energy source is steady and will burn more calories instead of storing it as fat for later use. Protein is a great booster for metabolism. It preserves lean muscle mass and your metabolic rate increases when your body processes it. Protein also makes you feel fuller for longer, curbing the temptation to over-eat.

Omega3 fatty acids found in fish are another great booster. Fresh foods increase metabolic rate, processed foods slow it. Green tea is a well known booster and increasing your water intake is another quick easy way of speeding up metabolic rate.

Taking the right steps to improve your metabolism can turn your body into a calorie-burning machine! You can manage your weight with less effort and improve your health at the same time.