The Blogging Evolution

The Blogging Evolution by Melvin Ng

If you are one of the many people around the world wondering exactly what a "Blog" is and why everyone is so hyped up about, then jump on board and take a look around. Blogging has quite literally opened the windows to the world via technology.



People around the world and from all walks of life are blogging. It's one word that young, old, rich, poor, and almost anyone somewhere in the middle has in common. So what is it?



Originally, weblogs, which is a term that has been shortened to 'blog', were essentially online journals that were kept in a log type format. These journals generally contained the most recent entry at the top and worked backwards from the newest to the oldest. They were originally personal pages only and not intended for commercial use. Over time that has changed but their origins were not monetarily driven.



Blogging was largely unheard of until 1999 when the media began paying attention to this new phenomenon. Incidentally, Blogger, a popular blogging platform, was also released in 1999 and was an almost instant success. Part of the immediate and massive success of Blogger is the fact that this program is not only easy to use but also allows users to interact with other Blogger bloggers through comments. It in essence created an even more tightly knit community of bloggers.



Weblogs have evolved in time from the original purpose or function, which was to point to other articles on the Internet. Many of the original web loggers are more than a little bit peeved by the new world order of bloggers.



The new blog is essentially an online journal or diary rather than something that points to information available online from other sources. It is no longer a community of people sharing information and has morphed into a community of teen angst and waterfront property sales sites. Many pioneers in this particular field feel that these changes aren't for the better.



Even today you can still find many blogs that are sticking to the original ideals. They point to information in other places and lead others on a merry chase around the Internet in search of knowledge and clarity. They site their sources and do not copy the works of others, they are purists and they offer a great service to those seeking information and enlightenment. There is nothing wrong with the original way of blogging; in fact it feels a void that is obvious in the rampant amount of misinformation being shared on the Internet.



Despite the value of these blogs, the fact remains that the newer generation of blogging doesn't appear to be going anywhere and as such it seems that the title of a blogger is going to be shared not only by those who offer informative services but also those sharing teen angst and the heartbreaks of divorce or even how much high heels really do hurt on prom night.



Regardless of whether you are interested in blogging as a sort of journal, a sales page, a moneymaking opportunity, or simply to share information and the process of freethinking with other like-minded people, there is a blog for that.



For more info on blogs and blogging, please visit our website. Blogs And Blogging



Article Source: portator.com

A Threat to Your Wordpress Blog: Duplicate Content

A Threat to Your Wordpress Blog: Duplicate Content by Oleg Ishenko

Blogging is extremely popular these days. And the most popular stand-alone blog engine is Wordpress. It is flexible, has many useful featires and there is a lot of eye-catching templates for it. But those who have a Wordpress blog must be aware of a serious problem that can cause your blog to be removed from Google's search results. The problem is: Duplicate Content.



WordPress content management system which, when used with the default configuration, is not duplicate content proof. In fact this CMS is capable to render almost 100% of your content duplicate. As usual the fault of the system has roots in its advantages. WordPress has many features facilitating blogging and linking, such as RSS feeds to posts and comments, trackback URLs, monthly archives and so on. In the same time this variety of URLs returning similar or identical pages represents a clear case of duplicate content.



WordPress And Duplicate Content



The first evidences of duplicate content produced by your WordPress CMS can be found in your sidebar. They are category pages and monthly/daily archives. Category pages store your articles posted under the same topic -- a category. Such pages have no unique content; they are just a collection of your previous posts. Monthly and daily archives also simply group your previous articles by the date of posting. Sometimes when you have only one post in a given day, the archive page for the date and your post are totally identical.



The next case of duplicate content is even more prominent. It can be your home page itself. If it contains not excerpts but the full text of your posts, then it duplicates your post pages. This also applies to the "next/previous entries" pages -- those accessible via /page/2, /3, /4 etc.



Feeds. Search engine spiders crawl all the content they can reach and of course this includes RSS feeds too. The additional problem with them is that Google may choose to display your RSS URL in the search results over the link to the original post. In this case the user who clicks this result will see an XML formatted page which is not "human-friendly".



Trackback URLs. Many WordPress templates add trackback links after posts. This links enable authors to track who links to their posts. Usually, if your post URL looks like "yoursite.com/2006-11-30/yourpost/" its trackback URL will be "yoursite.com/2006-11-30/yourpost/trackback/".



Identical meta-description. By default WordPress doesn"t provide a tool to add unique meta description tags to your posts, and they either have none or share a single site-wide description. Having no meta description at all is a disadvantage, as a properly written one can make your snippet stand out in a SERP. Having an identical description for all your pages is a threat, as Google might get them filtered out as too similar.



Because of the duplicate content Google search can return less desired URLs (such as feeds or archives instead of original posts); your pages can be moved out of their index, or placed into the supplemental results, which are rarely displayed to users.



Oleg Ishenko, MCSE, MCDBA, BSc

Get more useful info on SEO at our SEO Training Materials



Article Source: portator.com

30 Different Ways To Promote And Advertise Your WebSite

30 Different Ways To Promote And Advertise Your WebSite by Andrew Wroblewski

There are literally thousands of things you can do to promote and advertise your website, here are just a few I have found to work for me.



1- Tell your audience what kind of support they'll get after they buy. It could be free consulting, tech support, free servicing, etc. This may also answer some of their buying questions ahead of time. People don't want to buy products without knowing you will be there to help if they have problems.



2- Ask people at the end of your copy why they decided not to buy. This will give you new ideas on how to produce ad copy that's more profitable. Have a web form or e-mail link in place so they can answer you. You may find out they don't like your guarantee or graphics. It could be anything.



3- Think of ways to get your site or business in the the news. You could sponsor a fundraiser, break a world record, hold a major event, etc. Simply write a press release about what you've accomplished, then send it to media outlets that cater to your target audience.



4- Hold a contest on your web site. Give other web sites the option of offering it to their visitors. This'll multiply your advertising all over the Internet. It would become a viral contest. Of course the contest must either be ongoing or held regularly so you could allow other online publishers to offer it to their visitors or subscribers.



5- Tell your potential customers that your ordering system is highly secure. Also reassure them that you take every effort to protect them. People want to feel they are safe online. They want to know that you care about their well-being. Tell them all about what you currently do for them to make them feel more secure.



6- Carry business cards with you wherever you go. Have your web address printed on them. You can hand them out to anyone you meet. Just think of all the people you meet on a regular basis: grocery clerks, post office workers, bag boys, family members, friends, salesmen/women, etc.



7- Contact national radio stations to ask them if they are looking for guest speakers. Tell them your area of expertise; maybe they'll book you for a show. Of course you would want to contact targeted stations and shows which would want to know more about you and your area of expertise.



8- Join clubs related to your area of business. You could trade leads with other businesses. Learn new ways to run your business and sell your products. You could also create your own online business club. You could provide private chat rooms, message boards, articles, etc.



9- Think of a domain name for your web site that's easy to remember. It should be related to what your business does, sells or provides. If there aren't any business names available, use your actual birth name. You could at least brand yourself. Your own name will give you credibility.



10- Position your web site at the top of pay-per-click search engines. You will only pay your set amount for each click-through you get to your web site. Just make sure your profits will pay for your advertising cost. If they won't, maybe you could share a web site with another related business and split the costs.



11- Allow your visitors or customers to increase your traffic or sales. Ask them how you can improve your business, web site or product. You can ask them at your web site, in your e-zine, on your message board, in your chat room, in your guest book, in your product packages, etc.



12- Team up with other e-zines that have the same target audience. Combine subscriber bases and then publish one e-zine together to increase subscribers. You could all include your ads and announcements in the e-zine. You could also take turns for the top advertising space.



13- Swap endorsement advertisements with other web sites. Endorsement ads usually pull more sales and traffic than regular advertisements. People have taught themselves to ignore advertisements because they see hundreds of them every day. Endorsements usually don't look or sound like normal ads.



14- Outsource part of your workload to save time and money. You can spend more of your time and money promoting your business. You'll save money on employee costs, space costs, training costs, etc. Keep the work you enjoy doing to keep you motivated and ship out the work you don't like.



15- Include a signature file on all the e-mails you send out. Provide your business name, phone number, e-mail and web address, etc. Also include a brief blurb for your business or the product you're selling. For example, you could say, "How To Wash Your Car In Two Minutes or Less!"



16- Use pictures or graphics on your web site that support the product you're selling. They could give your visitors a clearer vision of your product, the benefits of the product, people's emotion when they own the product, etc. You could also use 'before' and 'after' pictures.



17- Create a friendly, long-term relationship with all your customers. Practice good customer service and follow-up with them on a regular basis. You could follow-up with gifts, greeting cards, free things, coupons, special offers, reminders, your e-zine, helpful advice, etc.



18- Create strategic alliances with other web sites. You could exchange banner ads, sell each other's products as back-end products, cross-promote, etc. You could also create a web site together and promote it on your separate web sites. You would both just split the costs and profits.



19- Increase the perceived value of your product to skyrocket your sales. Add on free bonuses, after- sale services or an affiliate program. Other factors that would help are: your own domain name, a professional web design, a good-looking product graphic and persuasive ad copy.



20- Give customers a discount on their total order to increase sales. You could give them a discount for ordering over a set dollar or product amount. For example, you could say, "Buy over $39 worth of products and get a 20% discount on your order!" Another example, "Get a 15% discount if you order 3 or more products!"



21- Allow your visitors to reprint the content on your web site. Just ask them to include your resource box and a link to your site in exchange. This will turn your content into a traffic machine and the external links will help increase your ranking in some search engines.



22- Provide a free contest or sweepstake at your web site. It's a fact, people like to win things. If you can fulfill that need, people will visit. You can also attract them to revisit by holding one every week or month. You could also start an opt-in list for people who enter your contest or sweepstake so you can follow-up with them regularly.



23- Save time and money by using ad submitters. You will reach a larger part of your target audience far more quickly than by manually submitting your ad. You should manually submit your ad to the most popular web sites so you have a better chance of being listed or placed in a good position.



24- Create a good first impression. You will not be able to sell very many products if your visitors think your web site looks unprofessional. Use crisp graphics, attractive color combinations, a readable text size, even spacing, even margins, bold headlines, indent benefits, etc.



25- Stop procrastinating and start finishing all your business tasks. Do one at a time. Don't get caught up thinking that you can never get them all done. Make a list. Do the easiest or most crucial one first and move down the list. Cross off each task as you complete it.



26- Develop a relationship with all your visitors and customers. Tell them how much you appreciate them visiting your web site or buying your product. Invite them to online and offline events like free chat room classes, parties, dinner gatherings, business events, etc.



27- Hire a business coach to help improve you and your business. That could help increase your sales, motivate you, balance your workload, etc. It would be like renting an extra brain. You would have double the thinking power.



28- Stay away from being too comfortable with your income or life. You should always be making new goals for yourself and developing new sales ideas. The world keeps changing and if you pause too long, you might miss out. You only live once.



29- Make sure you don't become a workaholic. Your mind needs time away from your business life. This will help your brain think clearly while working. The best time to get profitable ideas is when you're not thinking about them. They just pop into your brain.



30- Create and follow short/long-term goals for your business. The short-term goals can create early success and the long-term goals can create future success. Design each goal so they all add up to your ultimate goal. Don't make your goals too unrealistic otherwise depression and frustration could move you farther away from them.



Good Luck and get busy promoting!



When not on his soapbox, Andrew Wroblewski is doing battle with the thousands of spyware programs that can affect you via his anti-spyware and spyware removalwebsite: http://spyware.pcwash.com where you can get a FREE spyware scan of your computer system.



Article Source: portator.com