Saturday, June 27, 2009

Free Image Hosting - Photobucket

Author: David Cowgill
Website: http://www.eblogtemplates.com

Finding a place to park your web images is fairly easy to do these days. The problem is there are dozens of sites out there so how do you know which one to use? If you pick the wrong one, you will usually find out pretty quick. After you spend hours uploading all your images and then linking to them from your website, all of a sudden your image links break and your site is broken with no images.

Most free blog template sites let you download their template but fail to mention anything about the images that go along with it. Some people don’t even realize that images need to be hosted somewhere in order for the template to work properly. They install their newly downloaded template and it just works. Other templates don’t host the images and include the images in a folder which you need to find a place for them to live. People get confused and don’t know what to do.

If you are one of these people or just want a place to drop off your images, then listen up. I’ve been using a great image hosting site called Photobucket ever since I started eBlog Templates. You can use their free service which is great for small sites with not a lot of bandwidth needs or upgrade to their pro plan which gives you unlimited bandwidth for around $25/year.

Here are some other great features of Photobucket:

Keep all your pics and videos in one place - room for up to 10,000 photos and hours of video!
Share with everyone you know by email, IM or mobile phone.
Make slideshows and mashups with music, special effects, captions, and more.
Link to your profile, blog or website. One-click posting, direct to your favorite sites.
I recommend at least setting up an account since it doesn’t cost you anything. Then upload a picture or two just so you’re familiar with how it’s done. If you are currently using a Blogger template that you downloaded for free, it’s probably a good idea to start moving all your images over as well. If you don’t, you’re leaving your images in the hands of someone else and they could delete, move or even put up adult images on your site by just changing the images on their server. Not good.


Ready to super charge your blog? Check out our professional premium blogger templates or make money by joining our blog affiliate program!

Friday, June 26, 2009

101 FREE Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website

The main reason for building a website or creating a blog is in hopes of either making money or getting people to read what you have to say.

In order to do either we need website visitors. And not all website visitors are equal. It’s best if a high percentage of your website visitors are people interested in the subject of your site, not people who wind up there by accident.

And, it’s better still if your traffic is free…if it comes as a result of places like;

1) Yahoo Answers.

2) Myspace.com

3) Yahoo Groups

4) Stumbleupon.com

5) Forums

6) Craigslist.org

7) Site maps

8) E-Book Giveaway

9) Website Design

10) Submit To Directories

11) Tell a Friend

12) Search Engine Optimization

13) Squidoo.com

14) Social bookmarking sites

15) Article Promotion

16) Site Explorer

17) Epinion.com

18) Alexa.com

19) Newsletter Box

20) Pay per Click search engines

21) Get Links from Relevant Websites

22) Increase the Size of Your Site

22) Send out Press Releases

23) Advertise On Online classified Ad Sites

24) Use Firefox Plug-in

25) Add a Forum to Your Site

26) Add a Blog to Your Site

27) Optimize Your Blog for The Search Engines

28) Comment on Other Peoples Blogs

29) MySpace News

30) Digg

31) Banner Exchanges

32) Traffic Exchanges

33) Pop Unders

34) Technorati and ping it when your blog content changes

35) Use a ping service like pingomatic to ping RSS aggregators

36) Submit your blog to all of the RSS directories

37) Link to other blogs in your posts
38) Use Stumbleupon to stumble your posts.

39) Ask your readers to submit your posts to social bookmarking sites (Digg, Reddit, etc.)

40) Start a group blog.

41) Join SpicyPage and promote your blog

42) Join a webring.

43) Sign up for BlogWoods and promote your blog

44) Exchange Ads (not blogroll links) with complementary blogs.

45) Trade blog roll links with related blogs.

46) Use Twitter

47) Publish videos on YouTube

48) Search for Wikis related to your.

49) Join Hub pages and post links to your blog from articles you write.

50) Pray.

51) Create a MySpace Page. Put your blog on it, and get some friends.

52) Tell people you will link back to them if they review your blog

53) Most brands are not well established online, you review related content and it will rank well.

54) Review relevant products on Amazon.com.

55) Create product lists on Amazon.com

56) Review related sites on Alexa

57) Review products and services on shopping search engines.

58) Swap some links.

59) Try to get links from within the content of relevant content pages.

60) Sell items on eBay.

61) Target niche social news sites like DZone, Sphinn or Hugg

62) Whenever you send an email to someone, always add your website url as a signature.

63) Do email signature swaps

64) Tag blog posts at social bookmarking sites

65) Add photos to your blog with appropriate keywords - Google Images generates traffic too.

66) Tag blog photos at Flicker

67) Make a custom 404-error page for your website. You can provide a link back to your main website or even try to monetize it by offering a related affiliate program within your niche.

68) Outsource grunt work.

69) After someone orders from you offer a one-time offer that compliments your product.

70) Participate in Blog Carnivals

71) create a network of blogs in different niches, and then link them together

72) Give away stock images with a wee watermark of your URL

73) Find and discuss memes

74) Create a Yahoo Group in the niche your site sits.
75) Bookmark your site on Del.icio.us and if you’re really keen, add a Del.icio.us button to your homepage.

76) Place a free ad for your company on Gumtree.

77) Syndicate your site’s content by using an RSS feeds.

78) Submit your RSS feeds to aggregator sites.

79) Don’t worry about PageRank - worrying about PageRank is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum.*

80) Get a custom t-shirt made with your website URL on it, and wear it often.

81) Get a custom t-shirt made with your website URL on it, and wear it often.

82) Send out a newsletter!

83) Giving away an eBook is an excellent way to generate word-of-mouth about your site.

84) Ask bloggers and other Web site owners to review your site and/or products.

85) Add a “Tell a Friend” function to your site, so people can easily recommend you to their mates.

86) Share your banners on banner exchange sites.

87) Create a “lense” for your site on Squidoo

88) Do you have really hot content on your site that geeks would love? If so Slashdot will bring you a mass of traffic.

89) upload a favicon.gif file so that your users have a nice icon when they bookmark your site.
90) Set up a feed on MyYahoo.com so your site gets regularly spidered by the Yahoo search
91) Use Ping-0-matic to ping blog directories. Do this every time you publish.
92) Print your blog URL on your business cards, brochures and flyers.

93) Use Trackback links when you quote or refer to other blog posts.

94) Increase the list you ping

95) Use Facebook

96) Social Networking

97) Micro

98) Email Marketing

99) RSS Feeds

100) Get outside links to internal pages


About Author, Janeth Duque, Specialist in marketing and web site design.




101) Use free hosting and build sites and link them back to your main site.

Friday, June 19, 2009

How to make your blog unique

Article by: ~David Cowgill
Founder, eBlog Templates
http://www.eblogtemplates.com


Having a unique design for your blog can cost hundreds if not thousands of dollars to have made by a professional designer.

Most people that I know (including myself) don't want to spend that sort of money and end up searching Google for free blogger templates (isn't that how you found eBlog Templates in the first place? :-) ).

Well now that you've got your nice free template, it's time to customize it so you've got a unique blog, right? Easier said that done.

One of the top questions people ask me on eBlog Templates is, "David, how can I create a beautiful header image on my blog?". It's a good question because everyone wants a unique blog and any template that you end up using, isn't personalized for you.

Sure, the template usually looks good (that's why you downloaded it in the first place) but you just aren't satisfied until you can get a design just for you or your business.

After having to answer this question literally dozens of times through email and responding to comments, I decided to write a detailed article on my recommendations. People's feedback has been great and it's amazing what some have done to their blogs. Now I invite you to try the same and impress me with your creativity.

The article includes several free blogger header image sites and also a few pay for image sites. If you can find something for free, then great. If not, then you at least have some more options to choose from.

http://www.eblogtemplates.com/free-blog-header-images/


To Your Blogging Success,

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Search Engine Optimization

"Search Engine Optimization May Not Be As Hard As You Think"

About the Author: Stefan Hyross publishes information for the Toronto search engine optimization company WebClimb. Specialists in real estate search engine optimization techniques. Visit the site for more information, news and tips.

Being found on page one of the major search engines is one of the number one marketing techniques you can use.

It's all about bringing targeted traffic and visitors to your site for your niche. Not only that but it is often one of the least costly kinds of advertising even if you hire an expert to do it for you.

For example a Toronto search engine optimization company may charge a few hundred dollars a month for their services. In comparison you would easily spend upwards of a thousand dollars trying to get similar results from paper ads. And optimizing your site can give it much a broader exposure.

You don't always need to hire an expert because you can do a number of things yourself if you are willing to put in the effort.

Before you even begin to optimize your site you need to think about which keywords you wish to rank for.

Think like a customer to discover keywords phrases they might use to find a similar product or service. The more you can think of the better. These may then be plugged into on-line tools like Google's keyword research tool or on sites such as Wordtracker or Wordze.

These sites can give you an estimate on how often these terms are searched for. If you find some terms that have a great number of monthly searches then it is a good indication that being on page one for that phrase could equal a large number of site visitors.

Remember that frequently the keyword phrases with the most amount of searches are often the most competitive also. That does not mean that you can never rank for them, only that it may take quite a lot of time.

A good strategy is to select a mix of difficult and easy to optimize terms. This will help get you a short term and long term focus.

The content contained on the pages of your site should be your next focus.

Try to use your chosen keywords into the various web pages. Despite the fact that one of the reasons for using your keywords in your site is for the search engines don't forget that actual visitors will be viewing it.

The greater the number of pages you can add to your site the better. Every time you add new content you are attracting the search engines to frequently return and reindex your web site. This can increase the chances of getting you to page one for many more terms than the ones you are specifically focusing on.

Finally comes what is definitely the most critcal part. Every time another site points to your web site you are one step closer to being on page one. That does not mean getting just any kind of link from any site. They need to be from sites that are of the same theme to yours.

For example if your site is real estate oriented site then you will need to have a real estate search engine optimization strategy. This may include getting links from various real estate agent sites, blogs, or anything related to that topic. You should be more concerned with quality, not just quantity.

One of the premier ways to accomplish this is with article marketing. You create content in the form of articles. These can then be submitted to various directories for inclusion like Article Alley. Your site will get a link pointing back to it in return for handing out free content. This is step you should be doing a minimum of once a week.

You will slowly begin to see your site's traffic and ranking soar. The greater the time period you optimize your site for the better your results will be. It could take some time and work however it is well worth it.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Writing by Nick Stamoulis on Wednesday, May 13

How Many Backlinks Do You Need?

When it comes to link building there is no way to overemphasize the importance of backlinks. It is pretty much common knowledge that you need them. Different search engine optimization experts will put varying degrees of emphasis on them, but all SEOs pretty much agree that they are important. How important are they? Do you need thousands? Hundreds? How many is enough?

There’s no easy answer to the how much is enough question. It depends on a lot of factors, primarily the competitive nature of your niche. One keyword in a very competitive niche may require tens or hundreds of thousands of thousands of backlinks just to make a dent, and a small one at that, in the armor of your competition. Why bother beating your head against a stone wall?

Instead, go for the smaller, less competitive keywords first. The ones that won’t require an army of link builders to spread artillery all over kingdom come just to sound like the squeak of a mouse. If you target those less competitive key phrases and get respectable traffic from those, once you capture the top of the search engine rankings for the long tail phrases, you’ll start to see yourself climb for the more generic phrases within your niche. But it takes time. And patience.

How many backlinks does it take to succeed? One more than you had yesterday. Just keep plugging away, one link at a time, until you win.

http://www.searchengineoptimizationjournal.com/2009/05/13/how-many-backlinks-do-you-need/

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Free Traffic

About The Author
Brye Bishop is a highly successful internet entrepreneur and marketer, committed to providing quality source information and assisting others in their quest for fínancial freedom.

By Brye Bishop (c) 2009

Free Traffic and the 4 Vital
Elements of a Successful Website


Let's face it, anyone can build a website. There are countless companies out there offering a vast array of web building solutions, some good, some great, and some quite frankly are a complete waste of time! But throwing together a website is really only part of the story, only part of the process. There are literally, hundreds of thousands of web pages, that won't ever be viewed and therefore stand no chance of commercial success. Some of those sites are relatively good; unfortunately their owners have misunderstood the process and have the cart before the horse...

In the online world no one just happens by your website, credít card in hand! If you've yet to build your website, or about to create a new site, stop! consider first exactly what you wish to achieve with that site, before you start. "Creating a website should follow a process proven to deliver a commercial end result... or run the risk of ending up, just another pretty picture in cyberspace!"

Fortunately there is a process, and I highly recommend you take a look at it... perhaps you already know it...

Content > Traffic > Pre-sell > Monetize
1. Numoro Uno, as always. Content. Very, very important. Building information-rich sites is crucial. You must have high quality, unique, relevant content on your site, A; because you want to attract visitors in the first place and B; to generate long term, search engine based free traffic.

Online, people are looking for solutions, for information that leads to solutions. They use the search engines to hunt for the most relevant facts to reach this end goal solution. Your job is therefore easy... give it to them... but don't just plonk down any old garbage and hope for the best... take your time, put in the effort, provide good quality information that will over-deliver and keep your visitor interested, satisfy her need and you will be rewarded. Over time, gradually add new fresh, useful content and you will be creating web pages valued by humans and search engines alike. On the internet, high value content is king!

2. Traffic... Ahh! The Holy Grail... Much has been written on the subject, and many are making a good living providing (?) this elusive element.
Truth is, (excluding social media) there are but two ways to get it - you either pay for it, or you optimize for it. If you take the time to understand the basics, you can easily do both.

Paid search, (PPC) such as Google Adwords has its place, and can provide an immediate stream of targeted visitors to your website; however it is a study of its own and can, if not understood, be very costly very quickly! If you want to go that route learn with small amounts (of money) and don't be tempted to throw good after bad... owch! been there!

Safer and arguably better, is optimization (SEO) for the organic results, as reached via a Google or other search engine search. This is simply intelligent website construction, a process anyone can do. The important point is, the optimization should be built in during the creative process, at the time you're constructing the site; you are literally building your website to principles that make it search engine friendly, thus leading to high natural positions in organic search results, leading to of course, significant free traffic flow to your site...

3. Don't sell... Pre-sell. You have created a website with value rich content, and fully optimized its pages for indexing by Google (and other search engines)... Folks are arriving at your site as directed by their search results. You are keen to have them buy your goods or services, ready with your pitch... but wait! There's another vital step in the process of converting your visitors into customers, and you've done half the work already...

Pre-selling is a warming up process, whereby you develop trust and confidence in your offering... it's already well known that people are more willing to buy from those they like, trust or respect. By over-delivering relevant high value information, without appearing to be forcing a sale you will almost by default, create an atmosphere that inevitably leads to sales. Simple!

As far as your visitor is concerned, her needs are being met, his wishes are being fulfilled, you are providing the very information that is the solution to that which they are searching for in the first place. Pre-selling creates an open-to-buy mindset that smoothly introduces your visitors to your monetization offer.

4. Monetize. Ok thanks for sticking with me, here's the home run... This is where you make your offering enticing by introducing and highlighting the many benefits of your product or service, and detailing exactly how it offers the solution to their predicament. You have paved the way with informative, relevant content and can now look to close with persuasive sales copy.

Your call to action should be strong and concise. Tell your prospect exactly what they need to do to order. If you have a good product, and you should, let them know exactly how they will benefit by ordering from you... Today!

So there it is... in brief... A formula simple, yet highly effective. Generate targeted free traffic via your highly optimized website, provide information packed content that offers solutions, warm up or pre-sell your visitors by over-delivering on the quality of that content, then and only then, monetize by introducing persuasive, benefit focused sales copy to convert pre-sold visitors into enthusiastic customers. For full details on how to implement each of these steps (with no technical knowledge whatsoever!) grab yourself a free 48 page e-copy of The Simple Art of e-Persuasion at the info link below... or visit my site.

http://www.sitesell.com/

Monday, June 8, 2009

Google Tracking For You



We are not sure how anyone can sell this service when Google provides it free along with so many other services at no charge. This Fast Implementation is great, it's easy and we love it. We Rate: 10 out of 10

Go to the : Getting Started Page

You don't have to buy a kit, that is a scam.
You don't have to pay anybody to do this for you, it is truly simple.



You also have an entire section on help, the help describes and gives directions on everything you need to get the job done. If you use the information, read the reports, use the reference materials provided you will be amazed at how you can attract more traffic to your site.

As for the experts, well, we all have to start somewhere.

Sunday, June 7, 2009

LinkWithin Widget

They say on their site:

Show Related Stories Under Each Story!
LinkWithin is a widget that links to related stories from your archive under each story on your blog.

Don't Let Your Past Stories Go to Waste!
We retrieve and index all stories from your blog archive, not just recent stories, making them accessible to new or casual readers of your blog who would not otherwise encounter them.

Increase Pageviews, Keep Readers Engaged
The widget links to stories that are relevant and interesting to readers of a particular story, keeping them engaged with your blog, and increasing your traffic.

Elegant, Unobtrusive Design
Our widget is minimally styled and blends in with your site design.

Free and Easy to Install
The widget is free and ad-free. It takes a minute to get the widget up and running on your blog, no signup required!


NO signup means no endless emails, no trackers, so we gave them a 10 out of 10.
It's especially great when you use photos. We loved it!

According to Laura Lippay, the Director of Technical Marketing at Yahoo

Video available at:
http://videos.webpronews.com/2009/06/05/the-secret-to-outranking-your-competitors/

According to Laura Lippay, the Director of Technical Marketing at Yahoo, having a great product is one of the most critical keys to ranking high. Secondly, while technical SEO factors are very significant, there also needs to be a strategy that enhances the product and ultimately pushes it to the top.
To create a strategy, first determine what you could build into your product that would make you outrank your competitors. This type of strategy includes aspects such as social media, creating a buzz, getting links, and more.
Search engine optimization is a competitive game, and staying on top requires more than standard SEO practices.

Google Announced

Google announced that its SEO Starter Guide is now available in 40 languages. This covers 98% of the global Internet audience according to the company. "We hope that webmasters around the world can use the guide to improve their sites' crawlability and indexing in search engines," says Brandon Falls of Google's Search Quality Team.