Archive for June 22nd, 2007

How To Stay One Step Ahead of the Google Dance

Friday, June 22nd, 2007

It’s taken you 6-months of hard work, constant changes, reading every shred of information on search engine optimization strategy not to mention thousands of dollars trying out web optimization tools and services.

Finally, you have a page rank of 5, you are listed in the top 10 on your major keywords, and you are seeing the benefit - some decent traffic from Google and other search engines.

Then, as quickly as your search engine optimization strategy begines working, it suddenly, and without notice, disappears!

You frantically look for evidence of dropped links, pages not working, it HAS to be something you’ve done!

Well, the truth is, it may not have been anything you did - turns out Google updates their algorithms every few months in an attempt to improve it’s search engine optimization strategy.

In fact, Google has shown that they are not afraid to make major changes impacting tens of thousands of sites, businesses and corresponding sales and profits.

Even more concerning, everything points to the fact they will continue to make changes.

So what can you do to protect your search engine optimization strategy and the resulting traffic critical to the success of your online marketing?

There are some things you can do.

1. BUILD CONTENT WITH REAL, RELEVANT VALUE

Do you develop content just for search engines or just for your visitors and customers?

The answer is both.

Truth is, your customers search for information based on keywords. Use tools like Wordtracker (http://www.highertrustmarketing.com/part/wordtracker) to find those keywords.

Plan your articles around answering questions associated with each keyword. Over time, you will build highly relevant content that will be irrisistable to the search engines - no matter how they change them.

2. LINK FOR QUALITY, NOT QUANTITY

One single link with a Pagerank (Google’s term for ranking sites) of 5 is worth 10 or more sites with a Pagerank of 3.

In addtion, as an important part of your search engine optimization strategy, make sure your links include a brief description (a URL only inbound link may be ignored), includes important keyword and appears on a relevant partner site.

Avoid FFA’s and most link farms, they may actually do you more harm than good.

3. AVOID KNOWN MISTAKES

Common mistakes people make with their search engine optimization strategy are:

  • Cross linking unrelated sites, recent discussion with master Affiliate Marketing pro James Martell recently brought this issue to light

  • Submitting to link farms, in many cases this will eventually get your site penalized or even banned from the SE’s

  • Duplicate content. Many people feel the need to duplicate their pages and make small changes for each search engine (also called doorway pages) - however if this is not done properly, you will get penalized

  • Trying to load your content with too many keywords. Focus on 1-3 keywords only

4. USE GOOGLE ADS

While still unproven, it certainly has been found by many in the search engine watch community that sites who use Google Adwords or Google Adsense tend to appear higher in listings.

5. VARY YOUR TRAFFIC GENERATION TECHNIQUES

Too many people rely on Google traffic for 99% of their traffic. It’s true, search engine traffic is the most economical way to advertise online, but there are many other ways to vary your traffic generation strategy.

Add these traffic generation techniques to your search engine optimization strategy:

  • Writing articles

  • Running affiliate program

  • Joint Ventures

  • Viral “sticky” tools

  • Press Releases

Yes - you need to dance with Google. By following these techniques, you can actually lead your traffic generation strategy rather than follow the Google dance.

EzineArticles Expert Author Jeff Smith

About The Author

Discover how to create your own best-selling eBooks, Special reports or books to sell online …AND keep 100% of the profits. Limited time complimentary access to 7-Part Minicourse will get you started quickly and easily. Visit: http://www.highertrustmarketing.com/

Still Running Wild

Friday, June 22nd, 2007

Its name means a small yet hardy wild horse that could most
probably be a descendant of the Arabian horses. And for many
years since its introduction, this vehicle has lived up to its
name and charged through the automobile world and has been the
top selling sports car for nineteen years straight as well as
holding the best selling convertible of America spot. It would
be quite surprising if most people would not know what this
vehicle is. Certainly, this vehicle is the Ford Mustang, who has
made its first entrance to the public back in the year 1964. And
even if it has stayed that long in the market, it still is one
of the most popular sports cars the globe over.

This vehicle has been the icon of American vehicles and
performance. It holds a bold style, a brawny and strong engine,
and excitement that finds its source from its rear wheel drive.
The 2006 Ford Mustang has a V6 engine that the company dubbed as
the “Pony Package”. It holds 18 inch wheels, new colors, a
custom grille with fog lamps, and an interior upgrade. This
vehicle has been made available in different trim models that
include the standard, the deluxe, and the premium package. As
per the last year, this sports car has been acclaimed as the
Most Significant Vehicle, which is an award that is given out by
Edmunds.com. Also, the Ford Mustang received the Official Car of
Summer award given this time by the Outside magazine. It also
raced its way up AutoWeek’s and Ward’s Auto World’s list of top
10 cars and 10 best vehicles respectively.

Because of the Ford Mustang’s colorful history, this sports can
still owns the signature long hood and short rear deck along with
its C-scoops in the side, the three-element tail lamps, and the
galloping horse badge that is located at the center of the
grille that was has been its natural identity in its entire
history. What has been added up for the 2006 Ford Mustang is
that it now holds Pony front fender badges, a lower door
tape stripe, carpeted front floor mats that has been badged with
a special brushed chrome “Mustang” logos, and a rear spoiler. It
also features four-wheel disc brakes that has the anti-lock
braking system and traction control. One of the new accessories
and customizations that a 2006 Ford Mustang owner could have is
its instrument panel that, as the first in the industry, is
color-configurable and which owners could choose to mix and
match lighting at the touch of a button. With this, owners could
create more than 125 different color backgrounds for their
instrument panel.

Shopping for Ford Mustang parts and
Ford auto parts has been made easy by online stores like Auto
Parts Deal. Auto Parts Deal comes handy with all sorts of
parts and accessories for Ford Mustang and Ford vehicles. Ford
Mustang owners and consumers can work their way through the easy
to handle collection of quality and affordable Ford parts.

Tips For A Healthy Heart

Friday, June 22nd, 2007

Keeping our hearts healthy is important, but how do we do it? Fortunately the answers to this are very clear.

Being overweight, particularly if you carry the weight around your waist, puts unnecessary strain on the heart. To find out if you have a problem you need to know your height to weight ratio (WHR). To work this out measure round your waist in centimetres and divide it by your hip circumference. The measurements need to be in centimetres, so if your measuring tape is in inches, multiply each measurement by 2.5 before dividing one by the other. If the figure you end up with is greater than 0.9 for men and 0.8 for women then your fat distribution is likely to be associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Research has shown that many overweight people with angina, raised blood cholesterol and high blood pressure found their condition improved greatly, even after losing only some of their excess weight. Many of those who kept their weight off were able to reduce their medication or even stop it entirely.

Exercise is important for your heart too. If you take regular exercise, it will speed up your basal metabolic rate. This means that you will burn more calories, not only when you are exercising but for some time afterwards as well. People often imagine that they have to exercise hard to have an effect, but it’s enough just to take exercise that leaves you warm and breathing heavily, but still able to hold a conversation.

Did you know that each day most of us take between 3,000-4,000 steps? And that’s just not enough. Experts say that we should aim to take 10,000 steps to maintain a healthier lifestyle. Increasing to 10,000 steps a day will burn between 2,000 and 3,500 extra calories per week, which will result in achieving a vastly better health profile and longer lifespan. There are lots of ways you can increase the number of steps you take: get up to change the TV rather than using the remote; park further from the supermarket; take a walk around the local park or your garden/yard; walk rather than take the car on short journeys. Using a pedometer will help motivate you to clock up those extra steps.

Giving up smoking is likely to have a dramatic effect on your heart. Carbon monoxide produced when you smoke cigarettes attaches to red blood cells, so that in smokers up to half the blood can be carrying carbon monoxide rather than oxygen. No wonder many smokers are breathless! If you need help giving up smoking, try one of the books or CD’s by Allen Carr. He has helped thousands of people to give up.

And, if you don’t already, start flossing your teeth! This may seem bizarre in relation to the heart, but it has been shown that there is a link between gum disease and heart disease. The exact mechanism isn’t understood fully yet, but flossing your teeth and having regular dental checks is important for a healthy heart.

Finally, give and receive love. The scientific evidence isn’t there (yet) for how important this is for our hearts, but it has been established that people who have loving relationships also tend to have long and happy lives.

Jane Thurnell-Read is a writer and researcher on health, stress, alternative medicine, and happiness. Visit her web site http://www.healthandgoodness.com for tips and information on how to live a happier, healthier life no matter how busy you are.

Guitars - How to Choose a Guitar

Friday, June 22nd, 2007

There are different types of guitars on the market for people who would like to learn how to play one. Guitars vary in their features and brands. Some have high tech designs while some are ordinary in appearance. The important thing a person must consider is the type of music he likes and wishes to play. Here are some tips on how a person can find the right guitar for him.

1. He must be sure of the type of music he wants to learn and play before buying a guitar so that it will be appropriate for the music that he likes.

2. If a person is interested in rock music, the guitar that will suit him best is the electric guitar. Electric guitars are generally very expensive depending on their brand. Wait to buy the expensive guitars like the Fender Stratocaster and the Gibson Les Paul until you are an experienced player.

3. You may want to choose an electric guitar that is made of solid wood because it brings a much better sound than those made of plywood. If budget is a problem, then consider those made of plywood as they are a lot cheaper.

4. You may try to find stores in newspapers or in the Internet, which offer great deals and discounts for guitars and other instruments. Be sure to compare the prices and determine the store that offers the best possible value.

5. If you still cannot afford even the lowest priced guitar, then look for good second hand guitars. This could be a possible option for you until you save enough to buy a brand new one.

6. If your interest is for classical acoustic music, look for the Spanish Classical Acoustic Guitar or the Steel String acoustic, which are specifically made for this kind of music.

7. When you finally choose the guitar that you think is best for you, don’t forget to test the instrument first especially if you prefer the electric guitar. You must plug the amplifier into the guitar to see if you like the sound.

There are many options for guitar players when choosing a guitar. One must remember that whatever type or brand he chooses, it is the fundamentals of learning to play the instrument that matters most.

Bill McRea - EzineArticles Expert Author

Bill McRea is the publisher of Guitar Warehouse the best place to Buy Guitar and learn Guitar Playing Techniques. Both sites offer free lesson and product sales.

Preliminary Steps to Developing Your Self Confidence

Friday, June 22nd, 2007

The first step in developing your self confidence is to conduct
an intelligent self-examination.

Poor self confidence is a like a disease, to be diagnosed as
carefully as any other sickness. Poor self confidence arises
largely from allowing your mind to habitually dwell upon
negative thoughts of doubt, failure, and inefficiency. This
negative power can become so great, that it affects almost every
aspect of your life.

However, when you have a firm, decisive, and positive
disposition, you will see how the space clears around you, and
leaves you room and freedom.

Confidence begets confidence! A strong self confidence will
often safeguard your interests and give you an abiding sense of
security. It makes you feel equal to almost any undertaking,
however difficult, leading you to think and believe that, “I can
conquer if I believe that I can.”

Indecision is a frequent cause of the poor self confidence. Many
people hesitate to take a step one way or the other lest they do
the wrong thing, and this spirit of irresolution and hesitation
often leads them into the very mistakes they would avoid.

“He who hesitates is lost,” while he or she who develops self
confidence grows great and puts on “the dauntless spirit of
resolution.” The world generally accepts you at you own
valuation. If you give an impression that you aren’t confident,
you will be imposed upon and taken advantage of at almost every
turn.

Let me illustrate…

The other day I saw a dog leisurely pass a cat on the street,
and to all appearance there was no ill feeling on either side.
The cat looked him straight in the eye as he approached, and the
dog returned her confident glance and quietly passed on.

Then the cat, seeing a good chance for escape, bolted across the
street, but the instant the dog saw her running he turned and
followed in hot haste. It was cat and dog for some yards, when
suddenly the cat stopped, humped her back and looked defiantly
at her adversary. He stopped, caught his breath, blinked
uncertainly, turned up his nose, and walked off.

As long as the cat showed fear and ran, the dog chased her; but
the moment she took her stand, he respected her. When you stand
up boldly and self confidently for your rights, fear slinks
trembling into the shadows.

When you enter upon a study of self confidence, resolve to
follow it to completion with bulldog tenacity. Realize that no
weak-hearted, intermittent efforts will achieve your desired
purpose. Hold before you the supreme assurance that you can and
will achieve this indispensable power, and great will be the
reward of your energy and perseverance.

The building of self confidence is not difficult, but it
requires patience and intelligent effort. By reading this
article, you have taken that all important first step!

Cell phone users in UK going crazy

Friday, June 22nd, 2007

The growing popularity of ring tones has marked a significant
rise in the mobile downloads. The sales in mobile downloads is
probably going to reach 760 million this year, from just 30
million in 2002. For young and fashion conscious people, ring
tones are a craze. Some consider it annoying and irritating. But
it cannot be denied that ring tones have become exceptionally
hit contributing to the growing Britain’s mobile
phone download market. Users are encouraged to spend too
much on mobile accessories like ring tones, music, games and
other content. It is likely that they would spend a total of
£740m ($1.3bn) downloading mobile content to their phones this
year. It means that there would be more than 18-fold increase on
the £40m spent on downloads just three years ago. Undoubtedly,
the ring tone industry is growing at an exciting pace. The easy
to download nature of ring tones is further driving young people
to personalize their phones with ring tones. The latest
generation 3G mobile phones are giving more fuel to users to
download superior quality ring tones to their phones. This new
technology has increased the capacity and quality of ring tones.
The owner of ring tones, Jamster is at the top of UK’s mobile
download industry, the cause being the roaring success of ring
tones. The Crazy Frog was the first to make it to the top of the
music charts with a version of Axel F, in May this year. It is
just the beginning of this rapidly expanding sector and people
have just started to recognize its potential. Ring tones for
mobile phones may soon be the most profitable segment of the
industry. On the other side, users are also complaining of the
junk mobile texts charging them high rates after they sign up
for ring tones. Jamster gives explanation by saying its range of
services are growing. Compared to ring tones with 33% sales,
games account only with 26% of sales.Ringtones report the
largest share of the UK download market. Rest of the market has
mobile phone screensavers (13%), gambling (9%), music (8%) and
other content - from stocks and shares to pornography (11%).
According to the reports, by 2010, the industry could be worth
£24.6bn globally. Top mobile
phone networks Vodafone, Orange and 3 network are increasing
their amount of content to download.

The Vodafone is currently having 3.2 million users. 3 network is
also moving with force offering pop music and video downloads.

But still 40% percentage of users think this is waste of money
while some say they are not aware of the procedure to download
the mobile content. So the challenge is to draw the attention of
older people towards the downloading mobile content. This can be
done by providing content of their interests.

Your Goals Clearly In Mind

Friday, June 22nd, 2007

Keep Your Goals Fresh In Your Mind - Most of us have goals, the question is how many of us actually follow-up and work those goals.

What I mean is going a step further then actually recording your goals, with that said the question is how do we effectively work our goals list…

Here are a few techniques that work for me, hopefully you can adapt these to work for you. Add daily, weekly and monthly tasks to your overall goals.

Make these tasks achievable yet enough to stretch you at the same time.

The objective of achieving our goals is as much as what it makes of us to reach them, as it is what we actually get in reaching them.

The main idea is that with each accomplished task, it’s taking you closer to your overall dream.

Equally important is to take evaluation of your progress along the way. Review your goals at least once a week, or at least once a month! It is the old out of mind, out of sight saying.

Don’t fall victim to it.

Keep your goals fresh in your mind.

If you can review your goals each day you’re that much better off.

It really is about keeping our objectives fresh in our minds.

To your success, Josh Hinds

EzineArticles Expert Author Josh Hinds

Josh Hinds of http://GetMotivation.com specializes in helping people to achieve maximum success and live the life of their dreams — receive his motivation newsletter by going to http://GetMotivation.com/ezines.html.

Josh is also the co-founder of http://AudioMotivation.com - visit now to hear leading motivational speakers and authors.

Arts and Crafts - How To Write an Arts and Crafts Newsletter

Friday, June 22nd, 2007

Blah! Blah! Blah! This is what your readers will be mentally deciphering if they are reading a boring newsletter about arts and crafts.

Whether writing an arts and crafts newsletter for a hobby or as a means to stay in contact with your customers it is vital that the newsletter remain simple, descriptive and full of relevant content.

When describing in a newsletter how to complete an arts and crafts project details are a must. The steps to the project should be laid out in numbered format and be descriptive as possible. Sometimes, it’s even best to state the obvious because it is assumed that the reader has never made this project.

Content is necessary in an arts and crafts newsletter. Content relevant to crafting tips, ideas, techniques would be great to use. Also, if the content is your own that’s even better. That begins to show the subscriber that as a crafter you are confident and have a true knowledge of your craft.

If you are writing the newsletter to stay in contact with customers then periodically offer your customers special promotions that only the subscribers will receive. It’s important to build a relationship with your subscribers and what better way than to save them money.

Brandi Clark, owner of Visit Floral Creations, is an experienced crafter. Join her free newsletter “Crafty Corner” to begin receiving craft ideas, crafting tips, and techniques plus discounts to be used at Visit Floral Creations. Join by visiting http://www.craftycorner.makes.it

What Exactly Is Podcasting?

Friday, June 22nd, 2007

Podcasting is simply a new way to distribute audio and video files to listeners.

Ipod + Broadcasting = Podcasting

The “pod” in podcasting refers to Apple’s iPod digital music player, but an Ipod is not needed to listen to podcasts. A podcast can be listened to on any device capable of downloading and playing media files.

The most common devices used include ipod’s, other MP3 Players, PDA’s, Cell Phones, and PSP’s. Podcasts can also be listen to directly from your computer or streaming off the internet.

Podcasting is not just downloading media files off the web.

There’s more to it. Much more.

Listeners subscribe to a podcast show. Then special software periodically checks to see if any new podcasts are available. If a new show has been created, the software automatically downloads the audio file to the subscribers PC or directly to a portable media player such as an Apple iPod.

In this sense, podcasting is like “Tivo” for internet audio and video. In fact, Tivo now supports Podcasting.

Podcasting is quickly becoming a major media force. With stations like ESPN and Disney now publishing podcasts on a regular basis, it won’t be long before it’s mainstream to the public.
So who started this monster?

Podcasting has evolved to what it is today because of a number of different technologies coming together.

Portable media players, MP3’s, RSS 2.0, podcatcher software and the popularity of high speed internet all play a big part in making podcasting possible.

Podcasting as we know it today can be traced back to two podfathers.

Adam Curry and software developer Dave Winer are credited with developing Podcasting as it’s heard on MP3 players around the world today.

Adam Curry developed a program called ipodder that allowed him to automatically download internet radio broadcasts directly on his portable MP3 Player.

Dave Winer heavily promoted RSS (Really Simple Syndication), mainly used by bloggers and news-like sites to syndicate their content to RSS-aware programs called news aggregators. Curry and Winer then developed a way to send media files through RSS feeds.

So how can you begin podcasting?

It’s easy. In the most basic form you have 3 steps.

1.Record your audio and convert it to an MP3

2.Create a simple text file called an RSS 2.0 feed that describes your file

3.Upload your MP3 and RSS 2.0 text file to the web.

Head over to http://www.podcastalley.com and check out some podcasts and see what others are currently doing in the world of podcasting.

If you think you might have a show in mind don’t hesitate to get started. Podcasting is still in it’s early stages. You can quickly have a worldwide audience for your show.

Keith DeSantis publishes cutting edge newsletter educating business owners on how to use audio and video for the web. He has also developed a comprehensive online course on “Profitable Internet Video Production” http://www.onlinebusinesszone.com

Copywrite 2006 “Online Business Zone”