Link Relevance
May 15, 2007
Link Relevance
by: David Andrew Smith
We are constantly being told by SEO experts and the Search Engines that the importance of a link is determined by its page rank and relevance to our own web sites. Consequently when developing a linking strategy we should only be concerned with relevant links. That is other web sites which have some connection to our own. For example I run a web site devoted to providing a variety of cleaning services to commercial clients throughout the UK, so a relevant site would be a cleaning machine supplier or a cleaning chemicals supplier. Not other cleaning companies for the obvious reason they are our direct competitors.
Now this sounds simple and straightforward and if we did this we would end up linking to about twenty sites. This number is not in any way sufficient for us to compete with our competitors who have many hundreds and in some cases thousands of links recognised by the search engines.
Ecommerce for Beginners
May 14, 2007
Like most average persons, I wanted some extra money to supplement my regular income. I had considered a part time second job at times, but hated that option because it would take me away from the family, make me more tired and probably just pay minimum wage. I also wanted to be able to work from home.
I had surfed the internet for years and had often considered the idea of participating in the internet revolution. I had read some statistics on the use of internet and the increasing numbers of homes with computers and the increasing percentage of Christmas shopping done over the internet. So I decided to jump in with both feet.
First what is ecommerce? The online world designates web sites devoted to retail sales as an e-commerce site. E-commerce sites sell either information or hard goods such as cameras or knifes. E-commerce sites also have Shopping Carts and Payment Gateways attached to them that non-sales web sites do not need.
Ok??so you want to develop an E-commerce site. You are now probably asking do I have enough skill, mental patience or aptitude to be successful?
Choosing a Quality Web Host
May 13, 2007
If you are anything like me, you’d probably like to have a website on the Internet but you just have no idea how to go about it. All this talk of web hosting, bandwidth, disc space, and other jargon can cause one to say, "This is too complicated and technical, I just wanted to have a place to put all of my favorite skateboarding photos, cool information on ramp designs, and the best places to skate!" To get a website on the Web you have to go through a web host. The question is how do you find the web host for you? If you type ‘web host’ into your search engine like Google you will get thousands of sites. Hit on one of these and like any product on the market you will see all sorts of persuasive propaganda to incite you to use their company; that is if you can decipher any of the technical jargon that only computer-heads can comprehend. Some web hosts offer free business cards with an account; some probably offer free watches?like all consumer industries you the buyer must beware. I’m a writer so I’ll use the analogy of a writer’s journal. The journal I like must not be too big or small in book size. It also must have a good amount of space allocated to each day, again not a whole page but not just a few lines. Of course I also want it to be cheap but of a good quality that won’t fall apart while I’m using it, and I hope it would last for posterity. I just want the diary, some nice pictures in it are O.K. but unnecessary especially if it adds to the price. It’s the same with a web host and web site scenario. You want to get the right deal for you, enough space and enough access to the public that you wish to associate with. As a novice who doesn’t understand all the jargon this can pose a problem. Are you an individual, small business, blog, or a big time corporation? What do you need and how do you get it? As far as I can tell the web hosting business is a lot like the fast food business. The big corporations have strict guidelines, will offer you special deals, and have monthly ‘cheeseburger specials’. But, I’ve always been more interested in the ‘Mom and Pop’ small time diners who have that real caring human approach. You know you are a customer and a person, not just a number on a sales receipt. I believe the hosting companies are the same. A smaller hosting company will probably treat its users with more honest integrity as well as having more flexibility in dealing with your individual situation. They can often tailor web site packages to accommodate exactly what you are looking for as well as the ability to update them quickly when your needs change. My advice is to contact a few of the smaller companies. Look for ones with good reputations or just arbitrarily email them and compare results from different places. Which one do you feel most comfortable with? Go for it; ask as many questions as you can, see how the different hosts differ in their answers. Try one; if it doesn’t work out try another, it’s really easy to move around. Don’t be afraid, you’ve got nothing to lose except the fear itself!
Not Common But Effective Free Marketing
May 12, 2007
We all know the many “free” traffic producing avenues. We all know about free classified ads, traffic exchanges, web site submitters, banner exchanges, link exchanges, but how many of you have ever thought of this FREE traffic avenue! In the past I have tried, I think, every free method of advertising, and have also had some success with the variety of free advertising resources. I have also tried different paid advertising sources. They have been very effective in building my business, but many times have proven to costly,especially when you are just starting out in a new business. So I was always on a quest to find new and better ways to advertise. Then I met a person on line with the secret!!
The Budget Webmaster?s 6 Step Guide to Improving Existing Rankings in Google
May 11, 2007
The Budget Webmaster’s 6 Step Guide to Improving Existing Rankings in Google
You know the scenario. You get an occasional click from Google for a certain keyword. You go to find out why you aren’t getting more clicks, and you find out that you’re ranked in the 30’s, 50’s, or heaven forbid, the 300’s. "Great", you think, "I finally get ranked for a good keyword and it’s a worthless ranking".
Not necessarily.
If you got ranked for a keyword you wanted At All, the game’s not over yet. If your site’s content is geared towards that subject, you can get your ranking in search engines increased, at no cost. How?
The first thing you want to do is find out how well you are ranked for this keyword. For Google in particular, this used to be a difficult chore. In the old days of 2003, you’d spend your valuable time doing a search on your desired keyword, then a sub-search for your site, and crawling through pages of listings to find out exactly where you stood.
Now there is hope in the form of the following website. Direct your browser to:
http://www.googlerankings.com/index.php
I Want To Be An Online Marketer!
May 10, 2007
Where do I start if I want to be an online marketer? Tough question, huh? There are lots of ways to begin your way on the bumpy journey. Just make sure you are aware that it WILL be a bumpy ride.First things first: do a lot of research. Find out what kind of thingappeals to you most. It could be affilate programs, mlm`s or maybe youlike the idea of selling other peoples products for a commission etc.There are a ton of options, and 1000 times more hype. This is why it`s so important to do as much research as you can before starting out. Sure, you can go the long way round, which is how a lot of us start out, but that`s even more of a bumpy ride…heheheOk, so lets say you`ve decided on where you want to start. You don`t have a product of your own, so you decide to sell other peoples information products, just as an example. Don`t make the mistake that so many people do, by trying to sell something you haven`t personally tested.Put it this way: Who would YOU prefer to buy from? Someone who knows absolutely nothing about the product they`re selling? Or someone who has had firsthand experience with the product they`re selling? You know it`s person number 2, right?So test the product first. Learn everything there is to know about it. If people can trust you to give an honest opinion, they`ll be back for more. Great way of getting contacts AND repeat customers.Now you need a website. Sure, get a free site in the beginning. People might not take you real serious, but at least you get to test and play around with your site until you`re ready to pay for one. Owning your own domain name adds credibility to your site, and there are plenty cheap hosts out there, so do that as soon as you feel ready.Make a real fast-loading splash page from which to sell the product. You don`t have long to catch a potential customers interest, so make it fast and interesting.Don`t fill the page with a ton of waffle. Give the most important information. What can the person get from using the product? Why is the product exactly what the person needs? What is the price etc. Give people a way to pay immediately, in case they REALLY like what they see, there and then.If you have a LOT of information, give them a link to a “more info” page, maybe with pics and payment options. Get a small popup where people can sign up for your contact list for notices on future products. Give them a freebie in exchange for their name and email address.Oh look, you`ve suddenly built yourself a contact list! No “leads” to buy from uncertain sources, no “harvesting” email addresses, no bugging friends and family. You did it! Now you need to keep in touch with your contacts.Why not send them a mail asking for a little more info. Maybe a poll on what type of things they`re most interested in? If you know what your contacts are looking for, then you have something to work with. You can find whatever they need, test it out, and when you`re happy with it, say “Hey, I found something I think you may like!”Narrow your focus. Don`t try to be “everything” to “everyone”, you`ll just end up spreading yourself out way too thin. Find what works for you, what excites you, and work from there. Yes, I said “excites”. We all need a bit of excitement in life, right? So why not work with something you`re excited about? If and when it stops working for you, drop it and move on.Remember, you can do this with all kindsa programs, not just information products. It all depends on what appeals to you most. Just give it a reasonable amount of time, and stick with it. If it DOESN`T work, then hey, you`ll have learnt some things on the way, and you`ll be more ready to carry on to the next thing. Don`t give up, be determined and disciplined,and you will find the way.
Stealing Passwords And Other Juicy Googlebits
May 10, 2007
Stealing Passwords And Other Juicy Googlebits
by: David Andrew
Disclaimer: Before we even start, I’d like to let my readers know that I am a full-time information security professional. I do not condone the theft of anyone’s personal information including passwords, social security numbers, credit card numbers, etc. Moreover, I condemn such acts as morally and ethically wrong. The purpose and goal of this article is not to assist people with criminal or nefarious intentions, but rather to educate about the type of information that can be easily found with a web browser and a search engine, and by extension, the type of information that should and should not be submitted to web sites.
How To Create A Stunning Drop Capital Effect On Your Web Pages
May 9, 2007
Drop Capitals are frequently used in many newspapers, books and magazines in the offline world. You will frequently see the large capital letter sinking down into the first paragraph of articles, stories and chapters in the majority of publications you come across.
The drop capital gives the page a nice finishing touch, and certainly adds a more professional looking feel.
Online, the drop capital looks just as good on web pages as it does in print. The only drawback is that you can easily get the whole effect wrong, and end up with a less than appealing result.
The wrong way…
When most people attempt to create a drop capital effect on a web page, they usually just enlarge the first letter by a few font sizes and make it bold.
If you do this on your own web page, you will notice that instead of a ‘drop’ capital effect, you end up with an odd looking letter which sticks up above the rest of the paragraph, and just looks out of place.
The right way…
There are essentially, two parts to creating the drop capital effect.
Step #1 -
The Topic Of Your Website
May 8, 2007
The first thing you will have to deal building your website has nothing to do with the web design itself, it’s me related to content writing but it must be defined and will effect the rest of your actions. So first of all you need to decide what the topic of your future website is. Topic is very closely connected to another web design issue: keywords. The keywords you select will depend upon the topic you have chosen. When thinking about website topic ask yourself a few questions: What is the goal of the site you are making? What are you trying to achieve with your site. Specify a goal, preferably in one short sentence.
Take a sheet of paper and a pen and put all you can think out about your future website. Brainstorm! Just put everything that comes to your mind: what you want to give to your visitors, what the site is about, what you want to accomplish with your website, what is your experience in the area you would like to select as topic? The more points you could think up the better. Then sort it in the number of importance. Think what points can be deleted without harm to your project. Delete them. Leave only what is REALLY important. Try to get your goal out of those points.
Grassroots Marketing Campaign
May 7, 2007
Many people, in a rush to spike sales through the roof, think too big and end up completely missing out on one of the best free marketing opportunities on the net: discussion forums. Instead of focusing on individual sales, they go immediately for ads that promise thousands of visitors, pay-per-click search engines that could potentially expose them to thousands, and even sloppily-produced and sometimes fraudulent spam submission programs.
Even though it is essential to increase your rating with search engines, to purchase pay-per-clicks, and to participate in link exchanges and banner exchanges, discussion forums can often provide an extra, non-conventional sales medium to your campaign that allows you to quickly pull in customers with personal contact and conversational presentations of your product.
You can find these boards by searching for the specific product you sell and then adding the word "messageboard" or "forum" or "discussion forum" after it in quotations. For instance, I sell marketing tools and online business-builders on one of my websites, so when I look for forums to market my products in, I go to google or overture and type in "business messageboard" or "marketing forum." Find as many of these highly-trafficked forums as you can and sign-up. Some of them will require you to confirm it through your email address.
