Thinking TECHNOLOGY 24/7
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In this part, we will look at the Google AdWords Keyword Tool. Google provides this tool for advertisers to create effective ad campaigns. But as content providers and publishers we can also use this tool to perform the keyword selection for our Mini Website. The main objective of Part 2 is to learn the basic concepts of the Keyword Tool. The process of keyword selection for our mini website will be discussed in Part3.
In this series, I give you step by step instructions on how to create a mini website and make regular monthly income from Google AdSense. There are Mini Websites that make couple of thousands of dollars every month! While this kind of income is achievable you have to work very hard towards it. Realistically speaking $100 per month is the average. $100 per month does not look like a great income. But once you have successfully implemented one mini website, you can easily replicate the same technique to create more sites. This series is composed of 7 parts. Today in Part 1, I look at why Mini Websites are a great source of passive income.
If you have any questions or suggestions feel free to leave a comment.
In recent years Social Media services such as Twitter and FaceBook have seen unprecedented growth. Everyone is jumping on the Social Media bandwagon to make use of this new and powerful medium of communication. In this quick post, I look at some very basic Social Media principles that you have to follow in order to get the maximum out of this medium.
It is very important that you have consistent user names (or logins) across all Social Media networks. For example, if your Twitter Id is called “VeryCoolGuy” it is good to have the same user name on FaceBook (i.e FaceBook.com/VeryCoolGuy). Using consistent user names will allow people to easily find you. It is also important that you have consistent profile images across all Social Media sites that you participate. A consistent profile picture will allow people to easily recognize you or your brand. Most Social Media sites also allow you to write a few lines of information about you. Make use of these profile description to tell your audience who you are and how you can help them.
In this post I look at 17 Tools and Websites that can help you with your domain name hunt. For tips and guidelines on choosing a good domain name please read my previous post titled “18 Tips for Choosing a Good Domain Name”.
Instant Domain Search (IDS) allows you to check the availability of a domain name as you type it (letter by letter) in real time. This tool can be used to search .com, .net and .org domains. IDS is very fast compared with other real time search tools.
Domize supports real time name search. Using Domize you can search .com, .net, .org, .biz, .info and .us domain names. One nice feature of Domize is that it provides a history of what you type, allowing you to check the availability of many names all in once.
Very similar to Instant Domain Search, but, supports other Top Level Domains (TLDs) such as .ca.
Psychic Who Is is another real time search service that provides name suggestions as you keep on typing (see above picture).
Another real time search tool similar to Domize. Based on my experience Domains Bot is pretty slow to use.
At Bust-A-Name you can enter your keywords and the system will show you with different domain name combinations that are available for registration. Bust-A-Name also provides the ability to add suffixes and prefixes, look for plural version of a name and the ability to drop the last vowel (example Flicker –> FlickR).
I really like the way Dot-o-Mator generate domain names. First you pick a keyword and then you select an ending word. In the screen shot above I picked “Tech” as my first word and “Experts” as my ending word. Dot-o-Mator will generate possible domain names using synonyms for the ending word. In the above example it suggested names such as TechPro, TechSage etc.
MakeWords has a rich set of features to combine keywords and generate domain names.
Domain Hacks are domain names that are created in combination with a Top Level Domain. Example includes “del.icio.us” and “inter.net”. Xona domain name hacks allows you to create an unconventional domain name. I personally do not like a hacked domain name primarily because it is hard to type and is confusing.
GoDrops is a cool service that shows dropping domain names in real time on a daily basis. During the drop a chatting service allows you to chat about the domain names that are currently being dropped!
Pool.com publishes a daily list of all expiring domains around the world. In addition at pool.com you can take part in Domain Auctions and Back Order domains that are going to expire soon.
Archive.org’s WayBack Machine is the best place to find what type of content was hosted on a domain in the past. It is a good idea to check that the domain you are going to register did not contain any inappropriate content in the past.
If you are going to buy a domain name that is already registered, it is a good idea to check whether Google has banned this domain in the past (due to spamming and fraud). By using the Banned Domain Name Checker you ensure you invest only in good domains which did not offend Google in the past.
DN Forum is the largest forum on the web that is dedicated to domain names. This forum is very active and is viewed by thousands of users. DN Forum is a great place to get all types of advice on domain names and to buy or sell domain names.
Another popular domain name discussion forum.
DN Hour is a service that lets you submit news related to domain names. Each news item is ranked by the DN Hour user community.
DropBox is a cool software that allows you to share files across multiple computers. In order to use DropBox you have to download it from www.getdropbox.com and install it on your computer. During the installation process you will be asked to create a DropBox user account.
In order to use DropBox on multiple computers the software has to be installed on each computer. For example, you might install DropBox on your home PC, your laptop and your work PC.
Lets assume you are a blogger and you are working on a blog post at home and would like to review it the next day during lunch time at your work.
To do this you will simply create your post document and store it in the DropBox folder on your computer. When you copy the document into your DropBox folder the software will automatically upload (and sync) your document to the secured DropBox server.
DropBox provides you with 2GB of storage space on the server. For more storage space you have to pay a service fee. Since most of the time you would be storing documents that you are currently working on, 2GB of storage space is ample for that purpose.
Once you store the document in the DropBox folder it will be available for use from any of your computers that has DropBox installed on it. The DropBbox folder can be opened by simply clicking on the DropBox icon on your Windows Task Bar.
DropBox Folder
DropBox Icon on Windows Task Bar
DropBox also supports the concept of Public folders. A file that is stored in the Public folder can be shared with anyone on the Internet. In order to access documents in the Public folder you do NOT need the DropBox software. To share a file in the Public Folder simply right click on the file and select DropBox –> Copy Public Link. Now you can email this link to anyone who wants to access the document via a web browser.
Sharing a Link in Action
DropBox provides a way to seamlessly share and edit document across multiple computers in a very intuitive and user friendly way.
Today TechCrunch.com reported that the DropBox application for iPhone has been approved by Apple. Soon you will be able to sync and share files on your iPhone using DropBox!
In this quick post, I give you some tips on reducing Bounce Rate. For those who do not know the term Bounce Rate, here is the definition from Google.
Google defines Bounce Rate as follows:
“Bounce rate is the percentage of single-page visits or visits in which the person left your site from the entrance (landing) page”.
By reducing the Bounce Rate of your website you can increase the number of people who will spend more time browsing your website or blog. The following are some simple tips to reduce Bounce Rate:
Photo Credit: sean dreilinger’s photostream
A Link Bait refers to any content that is published on the web with the primary objective of attracting back links to the publisher’s website. Content Hooks are techniques that you can employ to create a Link Bait. The following are some popular Content Hooks that you can use to attract traffic.
For each of the content hook, I have given a real world example. I am not suggesting that the authors created this content with the intention of Link Baiting. These examples are so great, they have the qualities of a good Link Bait. That is the reason I am providing them as examples.
There is always a great demand for news that is fresh. One way to attract more visitors to your website is to publish latest information that is not widely available. Mashable.com published “Google Wave: A Complete Guide” on the day Google Wave was announced.
If you have expertise on a particular field, you can use your knowledge and skills to create content that will be highly sought after. Joel Spolsky uses his expertise on software development to write his blog joeonsoftware.com
Any content that is visually appealing can be considered as an Eye Candy. Examples include optical illusions, amazing pictures of nature, beautiful women etc. The blog post titled 10 beautiful iMac setups worth a look (pics) is a classic example of an Eye Candy hook.
Articles that solve real world problems are always in great demand. This is because the reader has a real need to get an answer for her question and is likely to pay more attention to the content. How Web 2.0 Logos are drawn (Photoshop) is a good example of a problem solving article where the author teaches how you can create a professional looking web2.0 logo.
Pages that provide valuable content in the form of a list are popular among readers. This post titled “10 Rare HTML Tags You Really Should Know” is a very good example of a List Post.
Pages that bring together a list of resources for a given topic are high in demand. Resource pages save a lot of time for the reader who otherwise would have to spend hours searching for the content. Looking for tutorials that teach you how to design a logo? This resource page has got it all: 70 Excellent Logo Design Tutorials and Resources
Note: Do not confuse a list page with a resource page. A list page primarily is made up of original content. While a resource page links to other content on the web.
Writing content with a sense of humor can attract more readers and links. “How to make the worst website” is written in a very humorous manner.
Numbers and statistics never fail to impress anyone. I am finding it hard to get a good link bait example that uses numbers and statistics. If you know one please share it in the comments section. Thank you.
Any content that stirs controversy will attract more visitors. This includes both the folks who agree with you and the folks who disagree with you! Controversial content should be handled with care. If you go off the limits it might in turn affect your reputation.
The use of Auto Follow in Twitter is a highly debated topic. There are people for and against Auto Follow. The following post on Auto Follow sure did attract a lot of reader attention. Twitter Marketing: Why You Don’t Need to Mass Follow Users
I hope you find these content hooks useful. If you know other content hooks please feel free to share in the comments section.
Photo Credit: bogdog Dan’s photostream
The Thesis Theme developed by Chris Pearson and marketed by Brian Clark has become the most popular and de facto theme for people who want a highly customizable and user friendly WordPress premium theme. While Thesis is a great theme, it costs 87$ for a single user version and $164 for a developer version.
If you are not yet ready to spend that much of money on a WordPress theme, you can consider the Vigilance theme (by Jestro) which provides a very rich set of features and it is free! Vigilance comes in two flavors. A free version and a paid version. The paid version which is called as the Pro version is a child theme that will coexist along with the free version. The child theme provides some extra add-ons. So in essence the free theme is almost identical to the Pro version.
My blog is currently running on the Vigilance Pro theme (version 1.34 as of Sep 2009). The Vigilance theme has been continuously developed and improved over the last 1 year. It is a very mature theme that has been tested by a large community of users.
The Vigilance theme has a control panel where you can modify many settings without doing any coding. While the control panel provides a rich set of customization features you might still want to further customize your theme by changing the code.
If you are technical enough you can customize the Vigilance theme by yourself. But if you need help in customizing the theme you can join the support forum at Jestro. By customizing the theme you make your blog unique. The membership to the support forum is priced at 44$ for life and it is definitely worth the price because you get help on customizing all other themes that are released by Jestro. I am a member in the support forum and I am very happy with the level of support provided by Jestro.
For a complete list of Vigilance features visit the Vigilance Theme page.
With this type of hosting you do not pay any money for the service. Most of the Free Hosting solutions in the market are less reliable compared to a paid hosting service. Since the service is offered free the hosting company has Terms and Conditions which do not always serve in your best interest. Some Free Hosting services require you to display ads and some are designed as a marketing tool (or bait) to upgrade you to a paid hosting package. I do not recommend Free Hosting service if you are serious about your online venture. I only recommend Free Hosting services for projects that are in Testing or Prototyping phase.
Self Hosting refers to hosting your website at home on your own computer. Personally I do not recommend this option either. First of all, you have to spend time setting up and maintaining your web server. This time and effort could be well spent on developing your online business. Secondly, you should have good working knowledge of web servers and networking. Other common problems with self hosting include problems such as maintaining consistent speed and uptimes. Unless you are a techie who really wants to have full control of your web server, do not consider self hosting as a viable solution to your Internet business.
This is the most common and popular choice of hosting for a new website that has a low volume of traffic. In shared hosting your website is hosted on a computer along side with many other websites, thus the name Shared Hosting. Your website has to share resources with other websites on the same computer. Nowadays you can get a decent Shared Hosting service for around 5$ – 10$ a month. Cheaper services tend to put more web sites on a single computer while quality services tries to keep this number down in order to maintain good performance and customer satisfaction.
In Shared Hosting your website shares the IP address of the computer with other websites. Sharing the same IP address can pose you with some problems. For example, if another person’s website on the same computer is involved in email spamming, Spam Blocking Software might block all emails from that IP address. As a result your outgoing emails could end up in the spam folder.
Dedicated Hosting is the Lamborghinis of Web Hosting solutions. Dedicated Hosting is suitable for major online businesses and stores. In Dedicated Hosting you have exclusive access to the entire computer and its resources. You do not share the computer with others. Dedicated Hosting is expensive and only justified if your website attracts a very large volume of traffic. Dedicated Hosting comes in two flavors: Managed and Unmanaged. In Managed Dedicated Hosting the hosting company takes cares of the administration of the server. In an Unmanaged operation the hosting company leases the server to you and you are responsible for the maintenance of the computer. This gives you more control over the computer. In the Unmanaged option the hosting company is only providing you the infrastructure support. Dedicated Hosting Packages are priced from $100 – $500 a month.
Is your website too big to be hosted on a Shared Hosting and not big enough to justify the use of Dedicated server? If this is the case then a Virtual Private Server based hosting might be the solution for you. Mid size companies and websites that have a good volume of traffic can consider a Virtual Private Server hosting. In this hosting solution you get your own virtual server. A number of virtual servers can use the same physical computer.
So what’s the difference between a Virtual Private Server and Shared Hosting? Unlike in Shared Hosting where an IP address is shared with multiple websites, in a Virtual Private Server setup, each server sharing the same physical computer has unique IP addresses and completely different sets of Operating Systems. Virtual Private Server provides increased isolation and protection. Price for Virtual Private Server range from $30 – $ 120 a month.
Grid or Cloud Hosting is suitable when your website traffic is highly volatile. For example, if on some days you have very low traffic and on other days you have very large volume of traffic, then Grid or Cloud based hosting could be your choice.
In Grid Hosting a cluster of computers work together to host a website. During low traffic periods few or one computer can handle visitor requests. During heavy traffic periods more computers will support the website. This means you only use computing resources as and when required.
Grid based hosting is highly scalable. In Grid based hosting you only pay for the resources you use allowing you to save money. Grid Hosting prices can range from $10 – $20 a month.
In Reseller Hosting your hosting company will provide you with an account that will allow you to manage hosting services for your clients. In this account, your web hosting company will provide you with special administration features that will allow you to create user accounts for your own clients. This means you act as a mini hosting company. This option is suitable if you want to provide web hosting as a value added service to your clients. For example, if you are a website designer you can provide hosting services to your clients under Reseller Hosting program.
If you have any questions or doubts please leave a comment.
Photo Credit: torkildr’s photostream
404 Error! After Submitting a Comment on a WordPress Blog
Recently a reader of this blog contacted me to inform that he got the infamous 404 page not found error after submitting a comment on my blog. When I tried to leave a test comment on my blog, I encountered the same problem. My blog was running on WordPress 2.6 and was recently upgraded to 2.8.4. So, did the upgrade cause the problem? Yes it did!
After submitting a comment, WordPress (2.8.4) was trying to lead me to the following page:
http://techthinker.com/dropbox-an-easy-way-to-sync-and-share-files/comment-page-1/#comment-1622
So let’s dissect the above URL to see what is the problem.
http://techthinker.com refers to my blog’s domain.
dropbox-an-easy-way-to-sync-and-share-files is the name of my blog post.
#comment-1622 is the position within the post page where your new comment will appear.
So what is comment-page-1/ ? This is an erroneous text inserted by WordPress.This text is inserted by the WordPress Comments Pagination feature that allows comments to be grouped into pages.
How to fix this problem?
The most simple fix for this problem is to turn off the Comments Pagination feature in WordPress.
To do this open up WordPress Admin and choose Settings –> Discussion and then un-tick the checkbox Break comments into pages …
Another way to fix this problem is to modify your .htaccess file. The .htaccess file is available in the root directory of your website. Simply edit this file to have the following setting
By doing the above change in your .htaccess file any request to the above erroneous URL will be permanently redirected to the correct URL by stripping the text “comment-page-1/”.
Do you know any other fix? Please feel free to share in the comments section.
Happy Blogging and don’t forget to subscribe.
Photo Credit: willem velthoven’s photostream