Blog Posting – A Good Source of Links

One of the most popular guerrilla marketing techniques relies on blog posting as a great source of traffic and incoming links. While reciprocal links are a necessity if you wish to promote your website and rank high in the search engines, blog posting delivers another important element of search engine optimization – one-way links.

When posting on blogs you are allowed to include a live link in your message. Of course, this is different from one blog type to another, and some webmasters may have comment moderation turned on, so they will edit-out your links if they are not appropriate.

Blogs are one of the most interesting and dynamic Internet phenomena and they are, as many veteran Internet marketers already know, a constant source of traffic. This is why you should visit as many blogs related to your website topic and comment on the articles and posts they have.

Remember that you can place a link in your post, but don’t overdo it, as you can easily get labeled as a “spammer” if you do so. The one-way links that come from blogs may really boost your search engine rankings, especially since there are plenty of blogs with a high Google PageRank.

How to Get Your Messages Posted on Blogs

Most blog owners are actively managing their blogs and they will instantly delete any message that has even a small resemblance to anything commercial or spam.

Here are a few useful tips on how to promote your website through your blog messages without making your comments sound like a sales pitch:

* Make sure to actually read some of the posts on that blog and create a custom message to suit the context. Don’t go with a template comment as that will quickly backfire and chances are a large majority of your posts will get deleted within days.

* Don’t place a lot of links in your message. One is enough. If the blog allows HTML, make sure to insert a keyword rich description in the link anchor, as that will boost your page rankings even further.

* Add valuable content with your message. You know how important article submissions are and how blog owners are used to posting whole article on their blog. Do the same with your message – don’t post a 2-line message. Instead, create an article-like comment that brings some updated news on a particular topic and then adapt this message to the context of the blog you are posting on.

* It’s a good idea to select 30-40 blogs that have high traffic and excellent search engine rankings and be a constant poster. At first, convince the blog owners that you are not a spammer by posting relevant comments without any links or promotional language. Once you prove to be “one of the team” you can insert some non-intrusive links to your website, which they will produce excellent results!

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Are Adsense Tracker That Important? You Bet Your Behind It Is!

The importance of adsense tracker.

You should not be contented with the reports you are getting out of search engines about your adsense. Although they can tell you what is happening, they do not really tell you how you can still develop these ads to get more money out of them.

Adsense tracker can do all this and more for you. Compared to search engine reports, what you will get from adsense trackers will help you to improve the income you are already getting. Adsense trackers help you and your site grow and not always stagnant.

Adsense tracker:

1. Helps you suggest which keywords and search engines to use to make more money.

Click thru rates are being broken down by adsense trackers into two categories; search engine keywords and the search engines themselves. Once this is done, you will have no more problem in choosing which keywords to use more in a specific engine.

Adsense tracker can also help you in selecting the sites that you can link to. They will choose quality and high traffic sites from among the many existing ones.

2. Tells you the kind of content you should be creating.

Adsense tracker will be the one doing all the searching through sites and contents that are getting clicked and visited more. It will zero down on the sites that have contents that people are looking for.

When you have more of the topic or content people are searching for, you will be on your way to generating more money than you used to have.

3. Shares with you the ads that are clicked through most often.

As with contents, visitors also have reasons for clicking on an ad that is displayed on a certain page. Adsense tracker will help you understand what is there in these ads that attract the visitor’s attention.

With the many adsense already out there, you will need all your creative juices to come up with something that will get the attention of your visitors and fast.

4. Will suggest what colors and ad formats work effectively.

The appearance of your site is as important as the contents you put into them. Since it is the first thing that your visitor will see when they come into your site, you may want to project a good first impression that will last.

Adsense tracker will tell you the format and colors that the more effective sites are using. It will tell you how you can use these colors to get the traffic that you needed. Getting more visitors into your site can only more income coming to you.

5. Gives you real-time statistics.

Some search engine takes time before information are updated. This is not the same thing with adsense trackers. They can give you real-time and instant updates whatever time or day it is.

Every second counts when you are looking out for the most important data. This means that no time should be wasted just waiting for some details to be checked and reported to you.

6. Checks as many domains as possible.

Not all domains can be accessed by search engines. And some takes time before getting connected to. Using adsense tracker, you can have access to as many domains as you possibly can. And all this in the shortest possible time.

All these are good enough reasons why you should go and get yourself an adsense tracker.

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The Basics of Blogging and Web Site Creation - Part One: Content Is King

Let us start with the few important factors that are required today on the web. There are quadrillions of articles on this, most very poorly written, but the message is always the same.

On the web today, "content is king". But that is not all their is to that rule. Let us change it a bit to fit the reality of the web, search engines, and the sophisticated algorithms being deployed by the search engine trinity of: Google, Yahoo & MSN.

"Content is King, but Original Content is the King of Kings."

Okay - that is the first cardinal rule you MUST understand about the web today. Now what does this mean?

There are essentially three factors in this equation:

1. You must have content - words, phrases, information - on your web site.

2. You should have "original" content on your web site. This is content which either you have created or have gotten permission to reproduce on your web site. It should be "original". Copying content from a web site, and putting it in your blog, where that content has been reproduced in thousands of other web-sites, is not going to help your Google ranking (and you may even be penalized for it.) This does NOT mean that everything, every single phrase and post and article you put up on the web has to be original and not repeated elsewhere. What it does mean though, is that the majority of your web site or blog should be just that - YOURS.

3. Your content should constantly grow. You should be adding to it on a daily or bi-daily basis. Stagnant blogs and web sites are noticed for being stagnant - dead. They drop so fast in Search Engine (search engine) rankings you have no clue! Web sites demand nurturing and work. They do NOT run on auto mode. (Just look at how much time you spend with your blog!)

Now as to why and how.

Search Engines look for content. They have developed very sophisticated algorithms to check content. To see if this content is original, or they are coming across the millionth time they have seen the same thing. This is all mathematical btw. And this is NOT the only thing they look that. (We will get to those other things in our next posts). However, Content is critical. Lets give two examples.

1. Ever notice how fast some popular Forums get indexed in the Search Engines. This is due to the fact that they have an incredible amount of page hits, and that they exist for POSTS. Posts on forums are ORIGINAL for the most part. So engines look for the Content, forums have this, they list them, they see original content - the forum moves up the list, and thus more people find the forum in the search, more people hit the forum pages, more "hits" and "eyeballs" are registered back on the Search Engine servers, and the forum keeps on moving up. The more hits - by mathematics - the more posts. The more posts the more original content. The more original content the better the listing. The better the listing - the more people find the forum. Getting the picture? A never-ending circle of success.

2. For those of you in doubt as to whether Search Engines can "read" content just take a look at Adsense and Adwords. When you go to a site with them, adverts are fed out based upon the: 1: Content of the page you are on, and to Your IP address to determine which country and language you speak. Since I am in Philippines, I am never surprised if I hit a site say that is discussing a topic and has adsense, and though this site is totally in English and geared to people in New York City, some of the adsense adverts are sometimes Tagalog based upon the content of the page I am on. The algorithm finds key words (more on those later) and feeds out the adverts.

So our first lesson on Search Engines and ranking and all that good stuff is about Content. Remember the rule.

"Content is King, but Original Content is the King of Kings."

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The Benefits of Blogging For Business

It goes without saying that maintaining a blog is a good idea for the health of your business. Have you ever asked yourself Why? Being familiar with how blogs work and how to effectively utilize them for the health and wealth of your business will pay you back substantially for your efforts. Ineffective Blogging will simply waste your time, efforts, and this tremendous marketing tool.

Why does your business need a Blog? Credibility would be a good answer. Posting about news in your industry, links you'd recommend to topics related to your industry or post valuable information from the inside or your personal experiences, your readers will see you not only as a valuable information source but as a community minded business.

Building traffic and list building are two more reasons why your business needs a blog. These tools are Solid, Effective, and Proven Tools for marketing your Goods and Services Online.

Blogs are great for your customers. They're not seen the same as your basic website or sales page. Postings are usually informal. At times entertaining yet informative. Their accuracy and effectiveness will peak the interest of your readers, establish you as an Expert, and build trust between you and your readers.

Having the ability to offer subscriptions to your blog through sources, your readers can simply opt to receive notices of your most recent postings, delivered directly to their inboxes. Provided your postings remain relevant to your readers wants and needs, they'll continually come to you first.

If you set up your blog to accept comments, this will give your readers the ability to post feedback on your posts. This will give you valuable insight and ideas regarding your next product or project.

How to build traffic with your blog. Your blog provider may provide potential readers the option of a search box. This tool gives the reader the ability to search for a particular blog using a word or phrase. By using those particular words or phrases in your title you'll boost your chances for acquiring some targeted traffic.

Don't forget to submit your blog to the search engines. Also remember, this is "The Information Super Highway". Blogging is information and the Search Engines Love them. After every post, Simply 'ping' your blog, (this announces
your update. I use http://www.pingoat.com/) and the search engines will pick it up.

So jump on the blogging bandwagon take advantage of one of the cheapest and smartest marketing tools available.

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Your Domain - Just the Facts!

Your domain identifies your business in the eyes of the people searching for the product or products you are selling on your website and in the eyes of the search engines. So, is choosing a domain important? The answer is yes. I hope to enlighten you to some important elements to creating and owning a domain name.

What Is A Domain Name
What is a Domain Name? Your website has a unique address called an IP address. The domain name--in essence, is the IP address with a naming convention. It is far easier for people to remember a name instead of a bunch of numbers.

Creating A Domain Name
Many people new to the Internet and to the Internet Business, do not realize the importance of a Domain Name, they just think they can put up any creative name and people will come. If you're lucky, that may be true, but in truth, your creativity should incorporate the following tips:

When creating a domain name, you should keep in mind the following tips:
1. If it is possible, go with a ".com" extension. This is the most common, and easier for people to remember. In my case, no .com was available, so I opted for the .biz. Since I'm in a business of affiliate marketing -- I felt it perfect for my needs.
2. The name itself -- Do not use dashes or numbers in your domain name--it is hard for people to remember, unless it is central to the theme of your site.
3. Keep your name as compact as possible -- the fewer words in the naming/description of your website will makes it easier for people to remember your site name, and that is definitely what you want.

Protecting Your Domain Name
Once you have your domain name, and your website is flourishing -- you must protect your domain.

So how do you protect your domain? At the end of the year, the registrar will send you a notice that your domain name is about to expire. Inadvertently, you may be thinking, that they just want your money, and they can darn well wait til the date it is due to get your money! Well, I wouldn't do that. There is a very legitimate process called "drop catching"-- that can easily destroy all your hard work in one instance.

Drop Catching
Drop catching is a legal process by which people can quickly grab domain names that have expired and use the link to create a website consisting of advertisements -- or worse yet, resell them to make a profit off of your hard earned traffic. So, it is wise that you do not wait til the last minute to pay your registration. You do not want to log-in to your site, to find an error, or find out that suddenly you are no longer in business.

The rules of the ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), gives domain registrars 45 days after the expiration date to notify the website owner that their domain name is going to be dropped from the registry. After the 45 days, you have a 30 day grace period, then your domain is up for grabs. However ..

Some domain services have created an auction process for expired names, such as GoDaddy.com, that begins the auctioning of domain names in as little of 30 days after the expiration date, to prospective buyers. However, GoDaddy.com does state to the prospective buyer in the auction process, that the original owners still have the option of reclaiming their name.

What's in a name? If it's a domain name, it can be your future online. So choose wisely, and protect what you worked, or have been working for -- a business online.

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A Guide To Domain Name Registration

Are you considering doing business online? If you’re affirmative about that then, you need a home for your site on the Internet first, for that you’ll have to register a domain name.

A domain name provides your website an Internet address. Under the Domain Name System DNS, domain names are framed of the four elements – a server prefix, a domain name, a domain suffix or extension, and a country code (optional). For instance, www.juandelacruz.com is an example of a domain name where ‘www’ is the server prefix, ‘juandelacruz’ is the domain name and ‘com’ is the domain suffix.

‘Dot-com’ is an example of a top level domain extension. There are generic top level domains, gTLDs, and country code top level domains, ccTLDs. Register a domain name of your own. Many ‘Internet Service Providers’, ISPs and Web Hosts also offer free or bargain-rate domain services that essentially make a domain name an extension of theirs. For example, if the ISP is a fictional like ‘youneedweserve’, then the resulting domain name could be www.youneedweserve/index.html. While registering your own domain name, make sure that the extension name should look like a professional one. With an extension domain name, you always have to change the ISP or web host.

Many people do not realize it, but it is a fact that the names on the Internet really matter. Choose a domain name that identifies the business and it should also be easy to remember; so many people type the names or partial names into search engines for finding the site that they are seeking for. Most of the best or obvious domain names are already registered by the people. You should also consider the facts when you are choosing a domain name for the online business and how to register a domain name.

Registering a generic top level domain name or a country code top level domain, the things mostly depend on the market for the product or service. For example, if you are selling your product or services to USA, you can use the country code top level domain, dot-us domain. If you are marketing the products or services globally, you can choose to register the online business as a dot-com or a dot-biz.

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SEO or PPC: Which One is Right for You?

There are two major search engine marketing strategies in use today: SEO (search engine optimization) and PPC (pay-per-click). Both strategies are entirely different and it is tough to decide which one or which combination is right for you.

To decide which strategy is best for you, consider the basics. It is easier to judge the pros and cons when taking the big picture into account. People will continue to battle for the top search engine positions. Search engine marketing is undoubtedly one of the best sources of targeted traffic.

As people continuously try to find new and unique ways to get additional traffic to their web sites, the SEO industry continues to grow. PPC refers to advertising on a search engine that charges on a per click basis whenever a visitor clicks on one of your ads. The order of ads is usually based on bidding prices, meaning that the advertiser who bids the highest price per click will be listed first. These sponsored listings are known as PPC listings.

SEO tries to change your search engine ranking by looking at a number of factors including link popularity, Page Rank and so on. If your web site is search engine optimized then obviously you are more likely to have a good ranking in the search engines. A well-optimized and marketed site will be listed in the top results whenever a person searches for related keywords. One of the best benefits of SEO marketing is you don’t have to pay for any clicks! So, how can we decide which method is better? Both methods actually serve different purposes. However, one is likely to be a better fit for your business than the other one.

PPC

PPC traffic, rankings and results tend to be more stable and predictable than SEO, and, combined with its low cost, this makes PPC one of the more popular ways of advertising. Most companies try PPC before they try SEO, because it’s seen as more stable. In many cases PPC lets you rank well on the search engines, without having to do the tedious work involved in SEO – no finding link partners, posting links, creating content and so on. As long as you have the budget for it, the ranking is yours. Another advantage is that the listing will get posted when you want it and not when the search engine gets around to it. With PPC’s popularity growing day by day, the market is also getting competitive. You will find that CPC’s (costs per clicks) are steadily rising, and for a common man it is getting tough to invest much. As with most auctions, the more people bidding on PPC, the higher the prices get.

SEO

The main benefit of SEO is that it does not cost per click. The disadvantages are that the traffic to your website is more unpredictable and requires a lot of work. With SEO, you have to adapt and constantly change strategies as search engines change their algorithms. SEO is also slower than PPC, as many search engines don't list new sites. So what should you choose? Well, it depends on how much money you are willing to spend, what your time line is, and what your return on investment is. If you have cash then PPC should be your first choice, as it produces fast results. PPC can also be used for testing the effectiveness of web sites. If you have time and money to invest in long-term results, SEO is an excellent option as well.

All and all, the best marketing strategy is typically to go with PPC in the short term to get immediate traffic and analyze conversions. SEO should then be taken with a long term view in mind, so you can reap the benefits of free traffic later on.

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Free Spam Blockers

Remember when spam was just another horrible thing you would never eat? And then you grew up a little and spam became the lyrics to a great Monty Python song. And now spam is something to avoid at all costs. Or, in the case of free spam blockers, at no cost at all. Everything is better when it’s free, right? Such is the case with blocking out annoying spam from your email account, too.

Free spam blockers are popping up all over the internet. Kind of ironic, isn’t it, that some pop-up ads are advertising spam blocking technology. The problem with spam isn’t really the content, of course, it’s the time spent winnowing through all those e-mails in search of the ones that really contain useful information or are from people with whom you want to contact. The best free spam blockers in the world are not only free, but don’t take up any space on your computer. Yes, I’m talking about being very careful to whom you give your e-mail address.

The plain simple truth is that any time you fill out a form that asks for your e-mail address, you are just asking for spam. Maybe the site where you filled out the form sold your address to mass marketers and maybe they didn’t, but chances are if you have ever given your e-mail address to a company rather than an individual, you received spam because of it. And if you’re like most people doing business on the internet, you’re spending anywhere from thirty minutes to an hour and a half just checking your e-mail every day. You don’t have time to wade through the spam pool. That’s why getting yourself one of the reliable free spam blockers out there is so important.

You can almost instantly tell when you’ve come across one of these free spam blockers because of their oh-so-clever name. For instance, Spamhilator, SpamButcher, or SpamKiller. And you want to know a secret? They are almost all exactly alike. Oh sure, there are little differences that may mean a lot to you personally, but frankly it doesn’t matter. The best thing you can do is download them as a trial version—and with so many on the market offering trial versions, it makes no sense to ever download any of the free spam blockers that don’t offer trial versions—and check them out to make sure they do what they promise. And if they do what they promise, do they do it with a minimum amount of fuss and muss and maintenance on you part.

The key to using free spam blockers is maintenance. You got one in the first place to give yourself more time to do what you need to do. So why would you want to use a spam blocker is high maintenance itself? Go through all the free spam blockers that interest you and then narrow them down until you find the one that works completely in the background without throwing out stuff you really need and that doesn’t require you to keep checking up on it. That’s the one you want.

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How To Podcast Using Wordpress

Podcasting is the next step up from blogging. While blogging is done by armies of pajama-clad ordinary people, podcasting is done by many of these same people, though less often in pajamas, in front of a digital or audio recorder. Short pieces are recorded, then distributed via RSS 2.0 or Atom to their website, typically a blog site. Listeners and viewers can then download podcasts using podcast clients. A good podcast client (for example, Juice, CastPodder, or iTunes) will allow you to subscribe to the RSS/Atom feed of your favorite podcasters and automatically download the content to a computer or to a portable audio player when new items are available.

Most podcasters create their content in MP3 or MP4 audio or video files and upload them, linking to the file in a blog post. Users can then click the link to download the content if they're not automatically subscribed to the RSS/Atom feed. The problem has never been in getting the content to the web page, but in getting the content to work through the feed systems. Wordpress, in most cases, will automatically include new podcasting data in your RSS/Atom feed system. This makes it easy for you to deliver content and for your users to subscribe to that content.

For most people, WordPress 1.5 and above will podcast easily and automatically. When you link to the audio file in a WordPress post using the full URL address, it automatically adds it to the RSS/Atom feed and makes it usable as a podcast. Make sure you use a full address:

Wrong: My podcast
Right: My podcast

Your last step is to put a link to your RSS/Atom feed on your page. By default, the feeds are located at the bottom of your WordPress page. The link should look something like this if you're using RSS:

http://example.com/wordpress/?feed=rss2

If you're using Atom, the link will look like this:

http://example.com/wordpress/?feed=atom

In earlier versions of WordPress, automated links work for posts only, not for static pages. Because WordPress needs to maintain accurate file size information, if you change a linked file you should be certain to republish the post containing the link. If you've linked to a file that for any reason is not fully accessible from your blog, your podcast won't work properly when it is up because WordPress won't have the correct file size information.

For Apache servers and others that use the .htaccess file, you'll need to add a directive to the config file or .htaccess file to get the server to recognize podcast files (m4a and m4b) properly. You can simply add this line to the file you use:

AddType audio/x-m4a .m4a>

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Future Game: Predict and Win!

I just found a site called 'Future Game' where you can earn money and win prizes. Future Game is free to join, simple and fun. Just predict the realtime changes in stock prices, commodities and exchange rate. When you're correct, you can earn money up to $10,000 and win prizes like iPod Shuffle everyday and Apple MacBook every month.

Currently there are Future Game players have already won $33,169.86 in cash and prizes and counting. Read below mechanics and frequently ask questions about the Future Game! To Register Click here!

What is FutureGame?

FutureGame is a fun online game where you can earn cash and prizes by correctly predicting the future. The goal is to make as many correct predictions in a row as possible; this is called a "streak". The longer your streak, the more you earn. Plus, we are giving away an Apple iPod every day and an Apple MacBook every month!

When can I play FutureGame?

FutureGame is always available to play. If you'd like to predict stock prices, you must do so when the US Stock Markets are open: weekdays from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern Time. In addition, currency exchange rates are active 24 hours a day except for Friday at 4 p.m. to Sunday at 6 p.m. and market holidays.

What is a streak?

A streak is a consecutive series of correct predictions. When you click "up" or "down", you are predicting whether the price shown will be higher or lower in 30 seconds. For example, if you predict "up", "up", "down", "up" and each of those predictions comes true, you will have a streak of four.

What causes a streak to end?

Any of the following will cause your current streak to end:

* Closing your game window or quitting your browser
* Switching to a different stock or currency during a game
* Waiting too long between predictions (a timer will warn you)
* Making an incorrect prediction
* Cashing out a winning streak

What is "Cashing out"?

In order for a streak to count as a "winning streak," and thus be eligible for prizes or a cash payout, you must press the "Cash out" button after a correct prediction. This button always shows up when your streak is 3 or more, along with a "Try for more" button. You can always "Try for more" correct predictions to get an even longer streak, but as soon as you get one wrong, your streak disappears and you don't earn any cash or prizes for that streak. When you cash out a streak, the payout associated with that streak gets added to your balance and your current streak gets reset to zero.

Should I "Try for more" or should I "cash out"?

That's part of the fun! If you want to play it safe, cash out early on to secure your winnings. On the other hand, if you play it too safe, you never have a chance to win big. Taking your chances and going for long streaks increases your likelihood of getting prizes and big payouts, but it's pretty frustrating to lose a long streak trying for one more, and you might end up with nothing that way...
How much are streaks worth?

Streaks of 2 or longer are worth money if you cash them out. Remember, if you lose a streak without cashing it out, you don't get paid for it. A cashed-out streak of 2 starts at one penny, and goes all the way up to $10,000 for a streak of 30! As you will notice, the payouts increase quickly each time your streak gets longer.

How can I win prizes?

Currently we are giving away a brand-new Apple iPod every day, and an Apple MacBook every month. The winner of the iPod is the player who has the longest cashed-out winning streak of the day. A day lasts from 12:00 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time. The winner of the MacBook is the player who has the longest cashed-out winning streak of the month. If there is a tie for the longest streak, the winner is picked randomly among the tied players.

What are prize upgrades?

The default daily prize is a 1GB iPod Shuffle and the default monthly prize is a MacBook. But now you can earn even better prizes when you invite your friends to play FutureGame. As explained here, if your friends play, you could win an iPod Nano, an iPod Touch, an aluminum MacBook, or even a MacBook Pro. Plus, when your friends earn cash and prizes, you earn cash too!
How do I know if I won? When will I get my prize?

The FutureGame main page lists the most recent prize winners and their winning streaks, updated right at midnight. If you've won a prize, you will see a big yellow award box on your main page that takes you to the prize claim form. You provide your mailing address, and we send you your prize, completely free. Please allow 2-4 weeks to receive your prize.

When do I get my cash payouts?

Once your balance is at least $20, you can withdraw any amount between $20 and your balance. Just go to your Stats page and click "Withdraw." We will deduct the amount you selected from your balance and mail you a check within 2-4 weeks. If your balance is less than $20, keep playing!

What is the "FutureGame Mystery Index"?

If we told you, it wouldn't be a mystery!
Do I have to give FutureGame any personal information?

You can create an account at FutureGame.com simply by providing a valid e-mail address. This e-mail address is never shown publicly nor is it shared with any other company. Alternatively, you can play FutureGame on Facebook using your existing Facebook account. If you earn a prize or a check for your winnings, then (and only then) you will be asked for your phone number and address where we can send your reward. If you earn more than $400 in cash or equivalent prizes from FutureGame in a calendar year, we will be required to collect futher information for tax/accounting purposes.

Are there any restrictions on who can play FutureGame?

In order to register a FutureGame account and play the game, you must be at least 13 years old and residing in the United States. Requests to send prizes or checks to foreign countries cannot be accommodated at this time.

What about "Insider Trading" or other special knowledge?

FutureGame expressly prohibits anyone who has insider information, as defined by the Securities and Exchange Committee, from making predictions on any stock or security for which they have such information. Even though FutureGame is a game and not a real investment instrument, in order to keep our game fun and fair to everyone and to avoid potential legal action, it is required that you have no insider information when playing FutureGame.

Also, even if you have no inside information, you still must not be viewing or otherwise using any other source of financial data to assist in FutureGame play. Violation of this policy results in forfeiture of any earnings or prizes.
Can I play multiple FutureGame windows at the same time?

No, you may only have one FutureGame window open at a time. Users who violate this policy by attempting to place predictions in multiple concurrent windows are ineligible for cash rewards or prizes. Only one game at a time per person, per computer, and per user account.

Where do you get the data I'm predicting? Is it accurate?

FutureGame aggregates data from multiple real-time market streams. Although we make every effort to ensure that our data is current and accurate, we cannot guarantee its timeliness or its accuracy. FutureGame is a game and our data should never be used for investment or trading purposes. In rare cases the data may be incorrect or suffer from outages. In such an event, predictions will be evaluated based on the most recent data in our database. FutureGame is not responsible for potential loss of streaks or cash rewards in such circumstances. Furthermore, in the unlikely event that erroneous data enables an extended streak, FutureGame may at its discretion invalidate such streaks and associated payouts.
Can I win unlimited cash and prizes?

Assuming you meet the FutureGame eligibility requirements and abide by our terms and conditions, you can win up to $10,000 per calendar year, one daily prize per calendar month, and one monthly prize per calendar month. Earnings in excess of $10,000 per calendar year will be forfeited and not added to your balance. Users who have already won a daily prize in a calendar month will not be considered for additional daily prizes until the following month. Users who violate FutureGame policy in any way, such as by playing with multiple accounts, sharing an account, or using an external data stream, forfeit the entirety of their balance and prize eligibility.
So if I already won an iPod this month, I can still win the MacBook too, right?

Yes! You can only win one iPod each month, but that doesn't prevent you from also being eligible for the MacBook.
How can FutureGame afford to give away cash and prizes?

FutureGame is an new type of experiment that lets our users profit without risking anything. We analyze our users' predictions and use them for economic research. Third-party companies are also interested in this data, and we have contracts to provide prediction data. Rest assured that your personal information is never sold or transferred or attached in any way to any data we distribute to any third party. Finally, we sometimes show ads in the game between predictions. Revenue from these ads helps defray the cost of payouts and prizes.
Are there any hidden fees, offer requirements, or anything else I should know about?

Absolutely not; FutureGame is 100% free to play. We never ask for a credit card or take any money from you for any reason, even if you win prizes or cash. We ship your prizes at our cost, so you don't have to give us a cent. Furthermore, you do not have to complete any "third-party offers" or anything else in order to receive your cash or prizes.

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The Golden Formula of Writing Article Easily

Article marketing is the number one internet marketing tool; it is recognized as the most effective and cheapest way to drive traffic to a website. Articles maximize your website exposure, generate valuable back links for better search engines positioning and result in traffic generation to your website.

Many internet marketers grasped the concept of traffic generation with articles but the problem is article writing is not an easy task for many people. Although there are people who are able to complete an article for about 500 words in less then 10 minutes but many need hours to write once. And many find that article writing is so scaring and give up this powerful technique to drive free and targeted traffic to other website.

In actual fact, article writing is not that difficult and your can complete an article easily if you know the golden formula of article writing. Below are some guidelines that can help you to generate your article easily:

1. Have knowledge about the topic

The first thing you are going to need to write a good article is some knowledge on the topic. Remember you don't have to be an expert on the subject; all you are looking for is enough information so that you can whip up an article on it. You can get more related information on the topic you going to write from any search engines; just type in the keyword of your desired article, open at least 3 sites from the front page that look to be the most informative and read them to get more information for your desire article.

2. Outline The 3-5 Points of The Topic

Let say you would like to write an article about fat loss, what you are looking for here is 3-5 points about fat loss, no in depth information, just 3 or 5 points, or aspects of fat loss. For example, you might find something about fat loss program, fat loss with special exercise program or how to control the diet for fat loss & etc, note down these 4 aspects in a text file. From the page that you saw these points, read the relevant information in as much depth as you need so you get some ideas for your content.

3. Give A Good Title For Your Article

The title is the headline of your article and as such has the job of piquing your reader's interest and imploring them to want to know more. Hence, don't overlook the powerful of article. Whether your potential readers want to choose your articles other other's articles are depend on your article title; thus your article title should be "eye catching" enough to draw the attention of your potential readers.

A great article title should contain phases that draw the interest of your potential readers, such phases include:

• Words that generate curiosity like "What you need to know", "...secret revealed"


• Promise a benefit like "how to", "Discover", "Learn to" & etc


• Pose a question which may include "How can", "What if", "Why does", "When is" & etc.

4. Article Summary/Teaser Copy

Most of article directories and websites will display the article summary below the article title. It will act as the door opening key for read to enter into your article. Summary should not be too long, 2-5 sentences based on your key points to lead your readers to read your full article. This summary may include in the end of your article for closing purpose.

5. Article Content Make Easy With The 3-5 Points Noted Down Earlier

A 500 words article may contain 3 to 5 paragraphs and if you have 4 points noted down during your information search; then you can divide each point to 1 paragraph. Start the first paragraph with a brief introduction on your topic or information that you are going to delivery to your readers; then, go into detail on each point and limit each point to a paragraph.

You will find that with the main points drafted down before start writing your article, you will finish writing the article fast and easy because the perfectly structured nature you will know exactly what you have to write in each sentence of each paragraph from start to finish.

In Summary

After all, article writing is not that scary. You do not need to be an expert on the subject; all you are looking for is enough information so that you can whip up an article on it. The golden formula of writing is not other than "Know what you want to write", "Get the related information in points form", "Add an introduction", "Connect all these points together" and finally close it with a "Summary". You are done with an article.

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Succeed By Swapping Links With Other Blog Owners...

When you blog or record your thoughts online, you have the option of making your blog site private or sharing your site with others. Some choose to use a blog more like a personal diary, while other people want to get as many readers on their site as possible. One easy way to increase traffic on your blog site is to link swap. Link swapping is fairly simple and only requires that you have an agreement with other bloggers or websites to put your link on their site in exchange for the same from them. Link swapping is a perfect way to help increase the readership on your blog.

Most of the time, link swapping on blogs will have links to other web sites with similar content. For example, a blog about pets may have several links to web sites that relate to pet care or topics in addition to other bloggers web sites that write about pets. There are two types of blogs, a personal blog or a business blog.

Small businesses can benefit a great deal from regular blogging and swapping links. As a matter of fact, many companies pay writers to blog for them. Companies, media outlets such as television stations, radio stations and newspapers are all getting into the blogging craze. The media can use a blog to give their readers up to the minute updates about stories and events from around the world.

Business blogging gives a company an inexpensive means for sharing their knowledge with other businesses and consumers. Blogging can also help businesses better communicate with their employees with time spent emailing and sending out frequent memos. Also, when a business swaps links with other businesses, those links can help increase traffic to their site. This a great form of inexpensive advertising for a company. There are many online companies that offer free or low cost blog sites to anyone who wishes to use them. Some companies may opt for a more professional blog site and hire web designers for this type of job.

Other benefits of link swapping and blogging to the business are that these types of sites offer ways to show up on search engines. When a web site has more links from link swapping, one keyword search may produce several results leading straight to the company’s blog page. Blogging for businesses is becoming increasingly popular and is proving to be a very good way for business to get the word out about their company.

For anyone who wishes to start blogging and to join in link swapping, there are many free blog sites available for personal use. Most blogging web sites offer easy set up and most can be easily customized to fit the personal tastes of the blogger. In addition, most of these blog sites make it very easy to include links for the specific purpose of link swapping.

Blogging for personal can vary a great deal from person to person. Some choose to use their blog as a way to record their inner most thoughts and feelings. Sharing a blog is optional and many people choose to keep their thoughts private. For those who are not afraid to let the world read their writing, public blogging is also popular. Blogging and link swapping is also an ideal way for large families to stay in touch with each other. Most blog sites even offer picture-hosting options to share not only your writing, but your photos as well. Link swapping provides an easy way for those wishing to share their stories to get the message out.

Whether you want to blog for pleasure or for business, you can use your blog along with link swapping to get the word out about what you have to say. Blogging and link swapping offer a beneficial way for personal users and businesses to share their world with others.

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Who is Alexa and what does she have to do with me?

Traffic is the most important thing to any web based entrepreneur. And Alexa pretty much has a monopoly on that data. Ignore her at your own peril.

Alexa reminds the Computer Man Website Design Team of the teaching of Jesus Christ speaking of the rulers and powers of His time as recorded in the Holy Bible, Matthew 23:4, New American Standard Bible, "They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger".

Sure sounds like the few who control internet content to the old Tennessee Mountain Man.

Want to get an Alexa ranking that matters for your website? You should because all other directories, indexes and search engines stop by their website to see who you are and whether or not you are a mover and shaker in your internet niche.

Alexa may well be the world wide web's Dunn and Bradstreet. If you know anything about business, business finances, the Better Business Bureau or the Chamber of Commerce or have had to deal with your broker or banker on business matters you know the importance and the drill. Sounds daunting, doesn't it? Sure it does, and what makes it worse is Alexa's hypocrisy. Like the credit bureaus, Alexa collects, keeps and reports information about you and your website, but it keeps no data on its' own traffic.

The first question asked by your prospective partners, marketers, and promoters is what is your Dunn and Bradstreet... oops sorry, Alexa rating.

Alexa, located at the Presidio of San Francisco, CA, was founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle and Bruce Gilliat. It offered a toolbar that gave Internet users guidance on where to go next, based on the traffic patterns of its user community. Say what? Yes, this cousin of Big Brother thinks it knows better what you want or need than you do. And, they select who best provides that for you. Based on what? Based on their user traffic.

Who do they think they are, and how do I become a part of this crucial community of the web elite?

They are the people who offer context for each site visited: to whom it was registered, how many pages it had, how many other sites pointed to it, and how frequently it is updated. Engineers at Alexa, in cooperation with the Internet Archive, created the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine. The nonprofit organization established to preserve Web sites by taking regular "snapshots". The Wayback Machine provides links to older versions of a webpage. Alexa also supplies the Internet Archive with web crawls.

Amazon dot com acquired Alexa in 1999 for approximately $250 million in Amazon stock.

Alexa entered a partnership with Google in 2002, and with the Open Directory Project about a year later in 2003. Live Search replaced Google as their provider of search results in the summer of 2006. Then in the autumn of that same year they began using their own Search Platform. Then in December they released Alexa Image Search. Built in-house, it is the first major application to be built on their Web Platform. Today, Alexa is primarily a search engine, an Open Directory based web directory, and a general supplier of site information to all suitors.

In late 2005, Alexa opened its extensive search index and web-crawling facilities to third party programs through a comprehensive set of web services and APIs. These could be used, for instance, to construct vertical search engines that could run on Alexa's own servers or elsewhere. Unique to the internet, Alexa's Web Search Platform gives developers access to their raw crawl data reinforcing their comparison with Dunn and Bradstreet. Alexa, like every other web based endeavor feeling the bandwidth pinch changed their API to require comparisons be limited to 3 sites, reduced size embedded graphs be shown using Flash, and mandatory embedded BritePic ads in the early summer of 2007.

So who is Alexa and what does she have to do with me? Alexa is the ultimate remote helpdesk. Accessible only as a self help desk, she is the real gatekeeper. Her stats help determine your Google Page Rank, and Firefox's About This Site are all Alexa metadata. Everyone else also pretty much reports what is in her data base. You know those stats you depend so much on? Irrespective of who supplies them to you... chances are they got them from Alexa.

To join the club browse to Alexa dot com and follow the webmaster instructions. Don't forget the Alexa Tool Bar! It matters! Alexa averages your raw traffic over a three month period to determine your traffic flow and where you rate. Under 100,000 visitors a month over any consecutive three month period and you drop off the radar.

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Top 10 Reasons To Advertise With Ezines

You've heard the buzz but still have some questions. Does Ezine Advertising really work?

Yes, Ezine Advertising really does work and here are 10 reasons why this form of internet marketing is so powerful and effective:

1. An Ezine is an electronic magazine or newsletter. The electronic format makes it easy to respond to your ad. A simple mouse click is much more convenient than picking up the phone, mailing in a card, or driving to a physical store

2. The electronic format offers less potential for distraction before they arrive at your "store". Just think if you send a traditional sales flyer through the mail. The customer is eager to buy but needs to drive past several other retail establishments to arrive at your store and then walk past still more in the mall or shopping center. They might spend the money meant for your pocket before they ever arrive! In an Ezine they click right from the ad into your "store" so there is less potential for loss.

3. Subscribers have opted in. Opt In means they have voluntarily signed-up to receive the Ezine and were not added to the list without their knowledge or permission. Your ad is less likely to be tossed in the garbage like junk mail or deleted like spam. It is also likely to be "white listed" and so won't get caught up by spam filters.

4. Cheaper than most traditional forms of advertising. Priced television, radio, or print media lately? It is also cheaper than many other internet advertising options. Have you looked into the cost of PPC?

5. Easy to target ads and products to specific audience. No matter what your target audience there is an Ezine out there to serve it-and probably dozens to choose from!

6. No need to narrow your category like in traditional classified advertising. Classified listings restrict your placement so only people looking in that category see your ad. In an Ezine every reader sees it!

7. Most Ezine subscribers read for the free information they expect from their Ezine and will usually read each issue from top to bottom. Since most publishers only allow a limited number of ads, your ad will have greater visibility.

8. Most people buy when they least expect to, so as they are reading their Ezine they will be relaxed and more receptive to marketing. This contrasts sharply with many other advertising mediums (TV, radio, direct mailing) as then people are expecting a sales pitch!

9. Ezine subscribers feel comfortable acting on sales pitches because the electronic format makes it risk-free to respond to your ad. They don't have to risk getting trapped on the phone or in a store by an over-eager sales staff. They take comfort in knowing that one simple click can get them back out again!

10. The electronic format also makes it easy to capture more information about your prospect. You have the opportunity to at least get their name and e-mail address (if you are savvy about your offer) and potentially a whole lot more. Once you've got that then you can sell, sell, sell!

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ClickBank: Now Available in the Philippines!

The largest source of digital products Clickbank is now already open in the Philippines! And this is good news for Filipinos who keeps waiting for ClickBank to open again in the Philippines since it was temporary closed way back years. I just visit ClickBank and I was just notice that Philippines is already on their list. I register and now preparing to promote some of their best selling items. I can’t wait to see some big checks again!

Register here!

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PodCast Marketing: How Effectively Are You Deploying This Definitive Marketing Solution?

Each day starts and usually ends with the same BIG question. Our clients and prospects ask us, "How can I grow my business and capture my fair market share?" Our answer is quite simply, "Build yourself a base of prospects and work that pipeline relentlessly and efficiently."

One BIG tip that I can offer you as read my short synopsis today, learn how to become a successful PodCaster and watch your bottom-line fly skyward!

Over the past decade, the Internet has created many new breakthrough marketing mediums. From successful ezine publishing and distribution straight through to more pronounced search engine optimization practices.

As a television and radio broadcaster/marketing consultant, I have had the sincere pleasure of understanding just how important both the radio and television marketing methods are to businesses and individuals in getting the word out to their prospective audience.

Our weekly online radio show, Net Talk Radio has been received very well amongst listeners and advertisers alike. I guess I always knew that in time, connectivity speeds and portable hand-held devices would ultimately allow for a more expansive target audience reach.

The day has finally arrived!

Although, we began using our online talk radio format years ago, we are now able to sweeten the pie by allowing our listeners to almost effortlessly download our show (information and entertainment) right into the iPod and iRiver devices. Now our audience can listen where ever and whenever "they" like. Plus, as an added-value benefit to us and our valuable advertisers, we can track every hit (listener) around the clock for about the cost of a cup of coffee! We make all this happen by deploying one of today's best emerging audio/blogging technologies popularly referred to as, "PodCasting".

PodCast Marketing: Anyone Can Do This!

First, What is Podcasting?

Podcasting is a term that manifested as a fresh way to describe the technology used to push (share) audio content from web sites down to consumers (clients) of that content, who usually listen to it on an iPod (hence the term "pod") or any other type of .mp3 player (iRiver) at their command, convenience and control.

PodCasting is somewhat similar to the concept of time-shifted video software and devices like TiVo, which let you watch what you want exactly when you want it by simply recording and storing video, except that PodCasting is primarily used for audio to date. (Universal video deployment is most likely just around the corner.) With that stated I should explain, however, that this easy to use emerging technology can be used to push (deploy) any kind of file such as photos (images), software updates, videos and/or text.

PodCasting uses an XML-based technology called RSS (Real Simple Syndication). Content publishers (PodCasters) describe new content in an XML RSS file which includes dates, titles, descriptions, and specifics links to the .mp3 files. This "automatically" generated file is referred to as an RSS feed. Dave Winer is considered by many to be the creator of RSS and a pioneer in the environment of applied XML. The component to making PodCasting work with RSS is "enclosures" (remember that term), an element supported by RSS 2.0.

As a consumer or end-user, you simply run an "aggregator" (remember this term, too) program like MTV's Adam Curry's iPodder software on your local computer, which lets you easily subscribe to RSS feeds. Programs like Adam's will either by schedule or by random design, download the RSS files, and check to see if any fresh content is available. If new content exists, the audio files are automatically downloaded and put into a folder (of your choice) on your hard disk or directly routed to your mp3 player.

I used an asterisk as noted above to make this very honest and often painful-to-some disclaimer. When I stated that "Anyone Can Do This", I should more accurately state, "Anyone that properly learns (from a real professional) and activates their own PodCast process can reap the significant harvest of BIGGER numbers by creating and nurturing their own emerging community. As an online business owner this is HUGE and required! This marketing solution can not only make you financially solvent, it can even make you a "STAR"!

Fitting The PodCast Magic Into Your Arsenal

Here now is a list of things to do to prepare yourself for your first PodCast presentation.

1. Research The PodCast Element

Learn precisely what PodCasting is all about and how it works. I recommend visiting http://www.google.com and typing, "PodCast Radio" into the search field.

2. Physically Search Out Only The True Professionals

Create a list of those PodCasters that undeniably know exactly what they are doing. Align your yourself with only the best. From this list, call them on the phone and pick their brain(s). If you cannot locate an actual telephonic point of contact, I strongly urge you to wipe them from your list. You want to do business with those that believe in "touching" their market with more intimacy and one-to-one personalization rather than just an email. Remember, you are looking for a friend. A mentor. Not necessarily someone to take your money and be off. A solid partnership (friendship) is your objective here.

3. Discover Your Passion

What passion do you share with others? What true value will your audience glean from you? Who is your target audience? Understand your "WHY"!

4. Develop Your Plan & Work Your Process

What do you need to learn? What do you need to do? What specific date will you be ready? Who will provide you with the support you will need to fulfill your plan. What equipment is required?

5. Make Your Podcast Happen!

As you roll out your "new-to-you" adventure, don't expect total perfection on day one. Be kind to yourself and know that you will evolve. We all started from square one. You should have heard my first radio air check from my first radio gig in Bakersfield, California. I sounded just like a bumbling knucklehead. :-) Enough practice and desire can make you near perfect, but do be fair with you and give yourself time to grow.

Listen to other Pro-PodCasters. Listen to your local radio stations. Read books and articles like this one on a daily basis. (I do it everyday!)

6. Finally... No Excuses!

If you "really" want to crank up the heat on your marketing efforts, than PodCasting will give you the significant marketing advantage.

Know this...

Others will talk about it, but never make their move.

You, on the other hand, will except no feeble excuses and get working on your very first PodCast right away! (At the very least, be sure to move PodCasting up near the top of "TO-DO" list!

In closing today...

I have illustrated only a fraction of what you must know before you go piling into your PodCast endeavor full steam ahead. Be sure to identify and experiment with all angles of marketing when it comes to producing an on-going, money-generating PodCast production for all the world to hear and take notice!

Happy PodCast Marketing!

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What would you do if you were a student?

If you are a student then you have already completed several types of assignments during your period of study. You undoubtedly have already written different types of the essays like custom essays and term papers. You might have completed several other types of writing assignments. However, there is an assignment that in terms of writing, organizing and composition, differs form all other ones. This type of assignments is thesis.

I would not discuss the purpose of the thesis, however I would like to emphasize on the writing process. As all writing assignments your thesis should comprise an outline. Unlike other writing assignments, it is imperative divide your outline on several subheadings. Once this task has been completed, you can start describing your subheadings by providing some information on the meaning of the headings. However, this part should have clear and definite organization. Your paragraphs should be linked together by convincing and logical sentences. If you are not sure whether your outline fits the description mentioned, you might discuss it with your advisor, who would provide some important tips on your outline. Nevertheless, it is not necessary to run to your advisor, once you have tried just once the completion of your outline. Try to think how the paragraphs can be connected, what logical chain can be presented, and once you have thought it over and rewritten your outline several times, you can present it to the adviser. This is the process of the thesis writing.

The main part of your thesis is the thesis itself, which should comprise in several sentences the most important points of your contention. You have researched some problem, you have made some analysis of it, you have reached some conclusion, and you can present you thesis- the essence of your arguments. However, do not forget that in dissertation writing one should present the thesis that should demonstrate not only understanding of the problem but also provide some useful and new solutions on how this problem can be resolved. This is the most important point that distinguishes dissertation writing from the writing of other types of written academic assignments.

As in other types of assignments your thesis should include the conclusion, which should answer the following questions: What questions have been answered? What problems have been researched? How can your work contribute to the knowledge? How the results of your work can be used in practice? This chapter should have lucid, clear and succinct writing style. Once you have completed and stick to the draft of the outline mentioned, you may be rest assured that your thesis will fit the requirements set by your educational institution.

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Are You Being Robbed, Without Even Knowing It?

“Would you let someone walk into your home, take whatever they wanted and leave as if nothing had happened?“

No! Of course you wouldn't. So why are you letting them do it to your website?

WARNING:

If you are using PayPal , Clickbank or a number of other payment processors for your digital downloads YOU ARE LOSING MONEY!!!

Using a simple two step operation those in the know can read your website, download your product for free (Steal it) and be gone without you even knowing a thing.

Depending on your traffic and product price, this could be costing you hundreds, even thousands of dollars a month.

“So Simple your average 12 year old can do it!“

Almost as scary is the fact that any pictures, content, links in fact anything on your website can be stolen with just two simple mouse clicks. This isn’t only available to those in the know either. It is common knowledge and is so simple your average 12 year old could and does do it, EVERY DAY.

“Where do your Emails go first?“

Did you know that your emails can go through more than four different severs before they arrive at the in box of the person you sent them to. Again with only a little know ledge it is possible to read your emails at any stage of their journey from your computer to the recipients in box.

“Would you allow these people into your home?“

Ill ask you again “Would you let someone walk into your house and take your money?”

NO?

Then why do you let them steal money from your website?

“Would you let someone walk in to you home and walk out with the contents, such as your TV set or stereo?“

NO?

Then why do you let them steal whatever content they want from your website?

“Would you let someone at the post office open your letters and read them before they were delivered to you?”

NO?

Then why do you let someone read your emails before you even receive them?

Just being aware that these things go on every day puts you ahead of the majority, who are totally oblivious to this outright theft and invasion of their privacy.

“Don’t allow them into your website!“

Now you know, You could be losing money, you could be donating anything on your website to anyone who wants it and that your email could be read by many different people before you see them.

What are you going to do about it.?

If you are going to broadcast that you have free products available and invite people to take whatever they want from your website. What do you expect?

“Don’t be a victim“

As with any crime, the perpetrator chooses his victim carefully. He searches for someone who looks like a victim.

It's the same on the net. The criminals look for vulnerable websites ie Websites allowing digital downloads. They are looking for websites with nice graphics, good content and lots of keywords. Oh, did I mention, that your competition can actually steal your Keywords in a bid to get a better search engine ranking.

“ Conclusion”

Now you know what the criminals are looking for you can take the necessary measures to protect yourself.

Do you want to be a victim?

It’s up to you!

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6 Tips To Secure Your Website

Most people on the internet are good, honest people. However, there are some people browsing the internet who derive fun from poking around websites and finding security holes. A few simple tips can help you secure your website in the basic ways. Now, obviously, the subject of data security is a complicated one and way beyond the scope of this column. However, I will address the very basics one should do which will alleviate many potential problems that might allow people to see things they shouldn't.

Password Protecting Directories

If you have a directory on your server which should remain private, do not depend on people to not guess the name of the directory. It is better to password protect the folder at the server level. Over 50% of websites out there are powered by Apache server, so let's look at how to password protect a directory on Apache.

Apache takes configuration commands via a file called .htaccess which sits in the directory. The commands in .htaccess have effect on that folder and any sub-folder, unless a particular sub-folder has its own .htaccess file within. To password protect a folder, Apache also uses a file called .htpasswd . This file contains the names and passwords of users granted access. The password is encrypted, so you must use the htpasswd program to create the passwords. To access it, go to the command line of your server and type htpasswd. If you receive a "command not found" error then you need to contact your system admin. Also, bear in mind that many web hosts provide web-based ways to secure a directory, so they may have things set up for you to do it that way rather than on your own. Barring this, let's continue.

Type "htpasswd -c .htpasswd myusername" where "myusername" is the username you want. You will then be asked for a password. Confirm it and the file will be created. You can double check this via FTP. Also, if the file is inside your web folder, you should move it so that it is not accessible to the public. Now, open or create your .htaccess file. Inside, include the following:

AuthUserFile /home/www/passwd/.htpasswd
AuthGroupFile /dev/null
AuthName "Secure Folder"
AuthType Basic

require valid-user

On the first line, adjust the directory path to wherever your .htpasswd file is. Once this is set up, you will get a popup dialog when visiting that folder on your website. You will be required to log in to view it.

Turn Off Directory Listings

By default, any directory on your website which does not have a recognized homepage file (index.htm, index.php, default.htm, etc.) is going to instead display a listing of all the files in that folder. You might not want people to see everything you have on there. The simplest way to protect against this is to simply create a blank file, name it index.htm and then upload it to that folder. Your second option is to, again, use the .htaccess file to disable directory listing. To do so, just include the line "Options -Indexes" in the file. Now, users will get a 403 error rather than a list of files.

Remove Install Files

If you install software and scripts to your website, many times they come with installation and/or upgrade scripts. Leaving these on your server opens up a huge security problem because if somebody else is familiar with that software, they can find and run your install/upgrade scripts and thus reset your entire database, config files, etc. A well written software package will warn you to remove these items before allowing you to use the software. However, make sure this has been done. Just delete the files from your server.

Keep Up with Security Updates

Those who run software packages on their website need to keep in touch with updates and security alerts relating to that software. Not doing so can leave you wide open to hackers. In fact, many times a glaring security hole is discovered and reported and there is a lag before the creator of the software can release a patch for it. Anybody so inclined can find your site running the software and exploit the vulnerability if you do not upgrade. I myself have been burned by this a few times, having whole forums get destroyed and having to restore from backup. It happens.

Reduce Your Error Reporting Level

Speaking mainly for PHP here because that's what I work in, errors and warnings generated by PHP are, by default, printed with full information to your browser. The problem is that these errors usually contain full directory paths to the scripts in question. It gives away too much information. To alleviate this, reduce the error reporting level of PHP. You can do this in two ways. One is to adjust your php.ini file. This is the main configuration for PHP on your server. Look for the error_reporting and display_errors directives. However, if you do not have access to this file (many on shared hosting do not), you can also reduce the error reporting level using the error_reporting() function of PHP. Include this in a global file of your scripts that way it will work across the board.

Secure Your Forms

Forms open up a wide hole to your server for hackers if you do not properly code them. Since these forms are usually submitted to some script on your server, sometimes with access to your database, a form which does not provide some protection can offer a hacker direct access to all kinds of things. Keep in mind...just because you have an address field and it says "Address" in front of it does not mean you can trust people to enter their address in that field. Imagine your form is not properly coded and the script it submits to is not either. What's to stop a hacker from entering an SQL query or scripting code into that address field? With that in mind, here are a few things to do and look for:

Use MaxLength. Input fields in form can use the maxlength attribute in the HTML to limit the length of input on forms. Use this to keep people from entering WAY too much data. This will stop most people. A hacker can bypass it, so you must protect against information overrun at the script level as well.

Hide Emails If using a form-to-mail script, do not include the email address into the form itself. It defeats the point and spam spiders can still find your email address.

Use Form Validation. I won't get into a lesson on programming here, but any script which a form submits to should validate the input received. Ensure that the fields received are the fields expected. Check that the incoming data is of reasonable and expected length and of the proper format (in the case of emails, phones, zips, etc.).

Avoid SQL Injection. A full lesson on SQL injection can be reserved for another article, however the basics is that form input is allowed to be inserted directly into an SQL query without validation and, thus, giving a hacker the ability to execute SQL queries via your web form. To avoid this, always check the data type of incoming data (numbers, strings, etc.), run adequate form validation per above, and write queries in such a way that a hacker cannot insert anything into the form which would make the query do something other than you intend.

Conclusion

Website security is a rather involved subject and it get a LOT more technical than this. However, I have given you a basic primer on some of the easier things you can do on your website to alleviate the majority of threats to your website.

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‘Spoofing’, ‘Phishing’ and ‘Link Altering’ - Expensive Financial Traps

A growing rank of Internet crooks are now using new tricks called "phishing" and "spoofing" to steal your identity. Bogus e-mails that attempt to trick customers into giving out personal information are the hottest new scam on the Internet.

"Spoofing" or "phishing" frauds attempt to make internet users believe that they are receiving e-mail from a specific, trusted source, or that they are securely connected to a trusted web site, when that’s not the case at all, far from it. Spoofing is generally used as a means to convince individuals to divulge personal or financial information which enables the perpetrators to commit credit card/bank fraud or other forms of identity theft.

In "email spoofing" the header of an e-mail appears to originate from someone or somewhere other than the actual source. Spam distributors often use email spoofing in an attempt to get their recipients to open the message and possibly even respond to their solicitations.

"IP spoofing" is a technique used to gain unauthorized access to computers. In this instance the unscrupulous intruder sends a message to a computer with an IP address indicating that the message is coming from a trusted source.

"Link alteration" involves the altering of a return internet address of a web page that’s emailed to a consumer in order to redirect the recipient to a hacker's site rather than the legitimate site. This is accomplished by adding the hacker's ip address before the actual address in an e-mail which has a request going back to the original site. If an individual unsuspectingly receives a spoofed e-mail and proceeds to "click here to update" account information, for example, and is redirected to a site that looks exactly like a commercial site such as EBay or PayPal, there is a good chance that the individual will follow through in submitting personal and/or credit information. And that’s exactly what the hacker is counting on.

How to Protect Yourself
• If you need to update your information online, use the same procedure you've used before, or open a new browser window and type in the website address of the legitimate company's page.
• If a website’s address is unfamiliar, it's probably not authentic. Only use the address that you’ve used before, or better yet, start at the normal homepage.
• Most companies require you to log in to a secure site. Look for the lock at the bottom of your browser and "https" in front of the website address.
• If you encounter an unsolicited e-mail that requests, either directly or through a web site, for personal financial or identity information, such as Social Security number, passwords, or other identifiers, exercise extreme caution.
• Take note of the header address on the web site. Most legitimate sites will have a relatively short internet address that usually depicts the business name followed by ".com," or possibly ".org." Spoof sites are more likely to have an excessively long strong of characters in the header, with the legitimate business name somewhere in the string, or possibly not at all.
• If you have any doubts about an e-mail or website, contact the legitimate company directly. Make a copy of the questionable web site's URL address, send it to the legitimate business and ask if the request is authentic.
• Always report fraudulent or suspicious e-mail to your ISP.
• Lastly, if you've been victimized, you should file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at http://www.ic3.gov.

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RSS... and WHY Its Being Considered The Newest Player In The VIRAL Marketing Game

I have a quick question to ask you... "Are you sick and tired of hearing about RSS(Real Simple Syndication) and how it can take your online business to New levels with VERY little effort on your part?"

If you answered 'YES' to the question above then stop reading this article Right Now!

If you answered 'NO' then your going to love what I'm about to reveal to you about RSS and WHY its being consider the newest player in the VIRAL marketing game.

But before I do I think its important you understand the mechanics of each(RSS and VIRAL marketing) and what there role is so there's no confusion.

RSS by definition -- RSS stands for 'Real Simple syndication or Rich Site Summary' and is used to syndicate news or information and is usually associated with Blogs because blogs use an RSS feed to distribute their content.

Next...

VIRAL Marketing by definition -- is any form of advertising and/or marketing techniques that "spread" like a virus without you having to do anything.

Now that you have an idea what the two mean and the roles they each play it's now time to tie it all together.

I have another quick question...(As you can see I like to ask questions.) "What do all website owners and portal sites need on a 24/7 basis to keep their visitors/readers coming back day after day?

If you answered 'Content' then give yourself a pat on the back because your absolutely Right!

And what do RSS feeds contain that update on a 24/7 basis?

CONTENT! Whether its News related or Articles.

And where do website owners and portal webmasters go to find these much needed RSS feeds?

You guessed it... 'RSS Directories' where hopefully You submitted your RSS feed(s) to.

The great thing about 'RSS Directories' is they are all categorized making it easy for whomever is looking.

And if your RSS feed catches their eye, guess what? They'll add your feed to there website where You'll gain all that FREE exposure at their expense.

Now, just imagine if 100 or 1000 website owners picked up your RSS feed.

Your traffic to your website would start to Explode effortlessly without you lifting a finger.

And the cool thing is all you had to do was set it up once.

The more 'Quality' RSS feeds you have out there the more opportunities you have of getting picked up by webmasters.

Do you see Now how RSS is being considered VIRAL? And this all happens while your sleeping.

It gets better So hold on.

Do you publish your own Content/Articles?

If you do you are also in for a real treat because guess what other directories are starting to incorporate RSS into their directories?

That's right, 'Article Directories'.

By submitting your articles to the TOP 'Article Directories' the same effect will happen as I outlined with 'RSS Directories'.

Remember this, people come online primarily for Information that will help solve a particular problem they are dealing with.

Websites contain 'Information'.

Website owners need Fresh 'Information' on a 24/7 basis to feed their readers needs.

RSS feeds deliver content, whether its News related or Articles, on a 24/7 basis or whatever frequency the website owner chooses.

How can you take advantage of this Right Now if you haven't already?

Simply set up a Blog at Blogspot.com -- http://www.blogspot.com -- and start posting to it on a Daily basis with your Articles, Product Reviews or News related postings related to your target audience.

Then go submit your Blogs RSS feed to all the top 'RSS Directories'.

Here's a link to a list of Top RSS Directories that you can submit your feed(s) to.

Go to: http://www.masternewmedia.org/rss/top55/

Once you've done that you'll want to Ping your Blog to get the Search Engines to come visit and start indexing your Blogs pages.

You can do this by using this Free service called Ping-O-Matic.

Go to: http://pingomatic.com/

Well there you have it in a nutshell.

I hope you see the true Power of RSS and more importantly... "WHY Its Being Considered The Newest Player In The VIRAL Marketing Game".

The only thing left for you to do is... Take Action!

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Are Links Important For Search Engine Rankings

The amount of quality links pointing to your website determines the popularity of your websites with many of the search engines, so it is very important to obtain quality links. However, you need to know where your website stands in the search engine rankings in order to see how much work you need to do to increase and maintain that popularity rating.

Another way to build links is through free content creation or free article submissions. When creating your website you will need to fill your site with fantastic content and make updates so other sites want to link to your site. Search engines are now smart enough to know that content is related, so, links from relevant sites are more important then links from sites which are irrelevant.

The assumption still is that if a site has valuable content or services to offer that other webmasters will link to that particular site. Most importantly, work on your content for natural linking from other websites. It is hard to get one way links but if you have good content that goes far beyond other sites people will want to link to you, it is still harder to get one way links than it is to get reciprocal links.

Since page rankings is very important to the major search engines, and links influence this, it is important to create a game plan on how to build links to your site. A well laid out plan will help in establishing the overall link plan and strategy to drive traffic to your site. As time goes on your site will grow and your page rank will get better and you will have better chances securing quality links. As you website continues to grow and build in popularity you will need to quality links from other sites pointing to your site to keep your rankings. Link building never stops, if you stop link building and other sites stop linking to you, you could possibly lose your ranking on the search engines.

The amount and quality of links you need will depend on the competitiveness of the keyword phrases for which you are optimizing. If you put in the time and work on your link building efforts over time you will see results in the long run.

Article directories work with many different partners and by writing articles your articles can show up on many different sites. Your best bet in these times is to write articles and submit it to article directories. By using article submission services and directory submission services you are able to increase your ranking to your website, by submitting you are creating one way links back to your site.

Using automated tools are not link farms, the reason for this is because you decide who you want to trade links with each and every week. Continue building quality links and you will see that in time it will all pay off.

Getting the one-way link is more difficult to obtain than reciprocal links, but the pay off will come if you get solid long-term links and you will see the search engine ranking results increase.

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The Power Of Link Building

Establishing links with other websites provides Webmasters with a number of unique benefits. First, Webmasters will find that link building improves the success of their website and helps them create unique and important connections in the Internet community. Still, there is many other benefits to link building; let’s take a look at some of the benefits below:

· Free Advertising:

Link building is a form of free advertising—there’s just no two ways about it. In fact, link building can save you loads of money on costly promotional strategies. With every link you establish with another Webmaster you are creating a place on the web where people can find you. Further, when people can find your website easily, your website traffic immediately increases. Meanwhile, the increased web traffic can result in more business for your site if you are running a web-based business or more popularity in terms of personal websites.

· Easy to Start Link Building:

Link building is easier than some of the other promotional strategies that webmasters engage in. Unlike purchasing advertising space, which can be quite costly and unlike creating awards for other websites to win and post, link building is the result of the simple communication between webmasters. Webmasters are listed according to theme and you can easily match your theme with those webmasters with similar interests and bents. Then, with a quick email you can be making important links—links that will afford you myriad, incredible Internet benefits.

· Increase Your Visibility on the Web:

With every link you manage to establish you will have a “little space” allotted to your website on the web. People love looking for similar links and the best way to do that is to visit websites that list other sites that possess similar themes and ideas. Thus, if you are looking for webmasters with similar ideas through the use of a link partners like http://internetbusinesscontrolpanel.com/links/ and contact the webmasters listed in their link directories, you will be increasing your visibility with every connection you make.

· Improve Your Reputation:

Do you want to be revered as an expert in your field of endeavor? One way to do that is to get recognized on the Internet as a powerful web force. So, how do you become a powerful web force? You must increase your visibility and you must increase you search engine ranking. Thus, when people find that many websites link to you and they can also find you listed in search engines without having to search for an incredibly long time—they will come to believe that you are well established and you will soon become an expert on your theme!

· Easy Connection with Webmasters:

Link building has been known to help people establish both long lasting friendships and long lasting business associations with other people. When you contact various webmasters and request a working link, webmasters will check out your website. When they are thoroughly impressed by what you have to offer, not only will they agree to provide you with a link, but also they are likely to strike up a conversation with you through email. As you respond to various webmasters, you will find yourself establishing unique affiliations and friendships often form from such affiliations.

· Create Diversity in Your Web Connections:

Not only do you get to link to fantastic websites on the web when you begin a link building campaign, but you get to establish a diversity in your link building and that diversity will continue to make your site attractive to your viewing audience. For instance, you can establish links to websites, forums, groups or even databases that possess a similar theme to your website. Thus, when your visitors are looking for variety—while still maintaining the same theme, they will find your website to be an astounding resource. Finally in revering your website as a knowledgeable resource, visitors will repeatedly return to your site every time they want to visit websites based on your theme.

· Becoming a Member of the World Wide Net:

As you become a member of the World Wide Web and link to other websites, you become noticed as being an accepted piece of a much larger tapestry. As you are recognized as an accepted member of the Internet, visitors will feel confident in whatever it is your website is attempting to convey. There confidence will ensure return visits in the future and can even lead to word of mouth recommendations to friends and family members about your offerings.

In the end, link building is a task that will help your website be the success it should be. Further, link building is a simple process, especially when you use directories . So, don’t wait to get those fantastic links established, get connected with like-minded individuals by starting your campaign today.

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The Best Advice Ever About Money

Wanna know the best advice ever you can get about money?

Here it is...

Let's say that you are getting regular monthly salary from work and you are happy with it. Now, at the end of the month (and most of the time, two days after you get your paychecks), you wonder where all your money is gone.

You begin reasoning.

30% of it goes to house mortgage.
20% of it goes to car payment.
10% of it goes to credit card payment.
5% of it goes to utility bills.
etc, etc, etc...

"That should be fine. I've got all taken care of. Next month, I'll get another paycheck and the same cycle goes on and on... enough for me to survive the whole life."

Well, you gotta be careful now.

What happens if your car broke down?
What happens if your kitchen needed renovation after a heavy storm last night?
What happens if you suddenly forgot that you've overspent your credit card?
What happens if you fell sick?

Things could be worse, and now is the time that the cliche "Fix your roof on a sunny day" is very much true to you.

You don't want this to happen to you, right?

There could be thousands of things that could go wrong in our lives but unless we realize that we need to prepare for the worse, we'll never get ahead of ourselves.

Sometimes, fixed salary could be a good thing for you because you can plan with what you want to do with your money on a predictable basis. Though I strongly believe that you still need a secondary income - preferably a recurring secondary income - to improve your financial situation at any level.

And, the best plan to improving your financial situation is...

PAY YOURSELF FIRST.

That's right!

Regardless if you have $300,000 of house mortgage or a $100,000 savings in the bank, make it a habit to pay yourself right after you get your monthly paychecks. This habit will definitely help.

Let's see...

You've been paying everybody you owe every month. You pay the bills, the banks, the mechanics, the who knows who and you actually get nothing, except settling the scores.

There's just another person that you forget to pay - that is YOU.

Imagine yourself as a bill collector on yourself. No matter what, you have to pay yourself at the beginning of every month (I suggest 10% of your salary. The more is better) - or else you cease to function as yourself.

Never fail to pay your SELF and only after you pay yourself, then you pay the others.

Hard?

Yes, at first, but once you put the action of "Paying Yourself First" into habit, you'll actually enjoy doing it, knowing that you do good deeds to yourself.

Try it once. Then do it the second month. And then, another... and another.

PAY YOURSELF FIRST because you deserve much more than the other bill collectors.

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