Learning the Basics of RSS

What is RSS?
You probably have seen this three-letter acronym in the course of your internet surfing. RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary; syndicating means republishing an article that comes from another source such as a website.

An RSS is a means of publicizing updates about websites. It may or may not include a summary and photos of the latest posting. But those that provide summaries (thus Rich Site Summary) allow users to skim through the article so that they could decide later on if they want to access the website source. The RSS feed usually contains the title of the update originating from the website. It is also usually the link to the website source.

What are the benefits of RSS?
RSS gives benefits to both readers (users) and web publishers.

1. It gives you the latest updates.
Whether it is about the weather, new music, software upgrade, local news, or a new posting from a rarely-updates site learn about the latest as soon as it comes out.

2. It saves on surfing time.
Since an RSS feed provides a summary of the related article, it saves the user’s time by helping s/he decide on which items to prioritize when reading or browsing the net.

3. It gives the power of subscription to the user.
Users are given a free-hand on which websites to subscribe in their RSS aggregators which they can change at any time they decide differently.

4. It lessens the clutter in your inbox.
Although your email address will be required to enjoy the services of online RSS aggregators, RSS does not use your email address to send the updates.

5. It is spam free.
Unlike email subscriptions, RSS does not make use of your email address to send updates thus your privacy is kept safe from spam mails.

6. Unsubscribing is hassle-free.
Unlike email subscriptions where the user is asked questions on why s/he is unsubscribing and then the user would be asked to confirm unsubscribing, all you have to do is to delete the RSS feed from your aggregator.

7. It can be used as an advertising or marketing tool.
Users who subscribe or syndicate product websites receive the latest news on products and services without the website sending spam mail. This is advantageous to both the web user and the website owner since advertising becomes targeted; those who are actually interested in their products are kept posted.

What are the drawbacks of RSS?
The disadvantages of RSS use are brought about by its being a new technology and some user-preference concerns.

1. Some users prefer receiving email updates over an RSS feed.

2. Graphics and photos do not appear in all RSS feeds.
For conciseness and ease of publication, RSS feeds do not display the photos from the original site in announcing the update except for some web-based aggregators

3. The identity of the source website can be confusing.
Since RSS feeds do not display the actual URL or name of the website, it can sometimes get confusing on what feed a user is actually reading.

4. Publishers cannot determine how many users are subscribed to their feed and the frequency of their visits. Moreover, they would not know the reasons why users unsubscribe which could be important in improving their advertising.

5. RSS feeds create higher traffic and demands on the server.
Most readers still prefer the whole update over a brief summary of the entry, thus they still access the site.

6. Since it is a new technology, many sites still do not support RSS.

How do I start using RSS?
There are two things needed: an RSS feed and an RSS aggregator or reader. The RSS feed comes from an RSS-supported website. There are also websites that provide a list of RSS feeds of different websites. An RSS aggregator is used to read the RSS feed from the source website. It scans and collects data on latest RSS feeds from the worldwide web.

An aggregator comes in two forms: a downloadable program also known as desktop aggregator and an online or web-based aggregator. Downloadable aggregators may require payment before they can be acquired, while internet-based aggregators are usually free of charge. All you need to do is to register an account then you are ready to use their services. Both versions allow you to customize or choose which RSS feeds to enter. Paid aggregators are usually chosen by more experienced users and they usually allow more freedom in customizing feeds.

1. Choose an RSS aggregator to use. For beginners, web-based aggregators are recommended since they are usually user-friendly

2. Scan the homepage of your target website for the RSS or XML button. It contains the RSS code you need to enter in the aggregator. Copy this code. Syndic8 provides a directory of websites that support RSS.

3. Paste the code (which contains the URL of the website) in your aggregator. There is a space provided for pasting the code.

After you have done these three easy steps, you can start reading the RSS feeds coming from the website. New postings appear as they are published real time at the source website.

RSS and Internet Marketing

The original idea of RSS came from Netscape, where their intention is to provide a means for users to customize their personal homepage to contain links to websites that interest them, similar to bookmarking websites.

The application of RSS to internet marketing was an unforeseen development to RSS technology developers. Since users are given the freedom to add RSS feeds to their aggregators, those who are interested in particular products and services available in the internet can now be notified real time. Marketing becomes more specific to interested people and not a hit-and-miss operation.

Those who intend to use RSS for marketing their products and services should consider linking up with email account providers, (e.g. Yahoo, MSN, Google mail); networking websites (e.g. Friendster, Multiply, My Space, Hi5); websites of newspapers and television network websites (e.g. New York Times, CNN) for medium to big-scale companies. Small-time industries can also look into networking websites as well as personal blog websites (e.g. Blogspot) and websites of clubs and organizations that would probably make use of their products or services e.g. a fishing supplies store can look for the website of their local fishing club for possible RSS marketing.

Clearly, RSS is an innovation in information management in the worldwide web as well as online marketing. We can expect better RSS technology in the not-so-distant future as its popularity increases among users and website owners alike.

About the Author:
Jane Foster runs the website Home-Industry - a work at home directory which regularly reviews and updates details of the latest internet home business ideas and opportunities. To get your own money making website set up free visit: Pluginsite To receive a free email marketing course: mailto: home-industry@getresponse.com
Content Provider: http://www.my-articles.com

You Need a Blog to Promote Your Affiliate Programs

If you aren't already blogging you need to be. Furthermore, you need to blog within the niches for the products that you are promoting. If you do it correctly, you can easily drive a few thousand visitors to your blog every month, showing the affiliate programs you recommend.

If you aren't already blogging you need to be. Furthermore, you need to blog within the niches for the products that you are promoting. For instance, if you are promoting cat care products and gardening supplies, you need a blog for cats, and a blog for gardening. Blogs have become very useful and effective marketing tools. If you do it correctly, you can easily drive a few thousand visitors to your blog every month, showing the affiliate programs you recommend.

Not only are blogs effective, if you look around, you will find that everybody is blogging. Some marketers think that blogging may be a waste of time simply because everyone else is doing it. This isn't the case. It is because everybody else is doing it that you should blog as well. The exposure that you will receive from blogging is astounding, and it can even become viral.

Blogging software is usually available with webhosting accounts. You should definitely have webhosting for the domain name that you should also have. You can typically install blog software with the click of your mouse in this case.

You can also get a free blog account at hosted sites such as Blogger. Some marketers have a blog hosted on their website, and an identical blog hosted at a hosted blog site. This way, they are providing links to their website every time they make a blog entry, which enhances search engine optimization.

If possible, add a new blog entry every single day. If you just cannot do that, make sure that you post at the very least once a week, or a few times a week. The more often you post, the more exposure your blog will receive.

One way to find something to write about is to visit other people's blogs, or to read industry trade magazines. For instance, if you are promoting cat products, you might get blog ideas from Cat Channel, which is an online cat magazine, as well as from cat blogs that have a lot of readers.

Forums about cats may also give you lots of writing ideas. Another option is to use the same method that you use with writing content for your list. Hire a ghostwriter to blog for you. Many people do this, and your blogger will be adding content on a regular basis, coming up with appropriate topics for your affiliate links, as you specify. This will free up your time considerably.

About the Author:
Kurt Naulaerts runs a web site promotion service and also teaches people how to become successful with affiliate marketing. Find out how to start an income online using affiliate marketing programs.
Submitted on 2006-09-10
Article Source: http://www.articlesalley.com/

Blogging For Profit; The Simple Success Strategies Of A 19 Year Old Kid.

A blog is a simple but powerful tool which all marketers and businesses should be utilising to explode their sales, build credibility and improve customer retention.

I've been doing a lot of research with regards to blogging and came across a case of a 19 year old kid who was making something ridiculous like $50,000 a year with a blog on mobile phones, from his bedroom! This is an extraordinary case but clearly there is a good earning potential through blogs, however they do take time to grow and build up a readership.

Blogs provide a very simple, quick and easy means to add fresh content to your website. As I’m sure you’ve heard many times over ‘content is king’ from a search engines’ view point and by providing high quality, regularly updated content your website should benefit with regards to your search engine ranking.

By providing fresh, high quality relevant content you will gain an increase of both first time visitors and repeat visitors, they will come back to check out your new content. Providing it’s interesting, relevant and useful to them, you will begin to build relationships with your readers, increasing your credibility and building their trust in you and your business.

These repeat visitors will be exposed to your messages more and begin to trust you and your recommendations. This in turn will fuel sales and referrals. Just make sure you don’t recommend a product you haven’t tried, if it is bad you will lose all credibility.

Whenever you buy a new product, review it in your blog and be brutally honest, your readers will love you for it. Take a completely unbiased view point and talk about both the positives and negatives of each product. In essence you are providing more of an insight into the product than the sales page itself, this will help convert those prospects that are ‘sitting on the fence’ so to speak. As it has been shown that prospects are seven to ten times more likely to buy from a blog recommendation than from other sources!

There are many ways in which you can monetize your blog, for example, by using it as a tool to promote your own products or affiliate programs. Other ways that you can generate extra income through your blog are through the Google Adsense program, selling banner/link space as your traffic increases or by adding you own opt-in sign up form to which you send your newsletter or other targeted offers.

Your blog can be syndicated using RSS, enabling savvy webmasters to use your blog content on their web pages. This benefits them as they have regularly updated fresh content for their website and benefits you through increased exposure, free targeted traffic and extra inbound links.

To get the most benefit from my blog I use a technique called ‘blogging and pinging’, whereby every time I post to my blog, I ping Ping-o-matic.com to inform the search engines and blog directories I’ve updated my blog.

You should submit your blog feed to blog directories to gain more exposure. You can do this manually however, these are three automated sources that I have had the most success using and best of all…they are free!

http://pingomatic.com/
http://www.rssfeedpromoter.com/.
http://www.feedsubmitter.com/

Be passionate about your blog, love your blog. If you do not then it will become obvious through your posts and you are unlikely to be anywhere near as successful as you could be.

Add to your blog regularly provide good quality content and reviews and you will be on your way to blogging success.

About the Author:
Ian Canaway
Get your FREE step by step guide to setting up your first blog, visit: http://www.trafficstrategiesonsteroids.com/blogsetup.pdf - Ian Canaway will help you launch your very own money making website today that's 100% ready to take orders and pull in massive profits for you right now. guaranteed! http://www.asuccesfullhomebusiness4u.com
Article Source: www.iSnare.com

10 Effective Ways to Optimize Wordpress for Search Engines and Traffic

1. Use Descriptive Titles, and Mod-Rewritten Permalinks

Descriptive titles will bring relevant traffic to your site. This is one of the most important things you can do to your site to bring SE traffic to it. While I'm writing this article specifically for WordPress, I'm sure you probably could find similar mods or plugins for other blog engines to take their place. When I say a descriptive title, I don't mean to spam your blog's titles with keywords, I mean to write a short summary of the post contained within it that lets users know what they're fixing to read. Think of it from the users side: If you're on Google and you see a site titled "Hosting, Domains, Design, DNS - Joes Web Hosting", and a site titled "Great Hosting from Joes Web Hosting", which one would you click? Even though I dramatized the example, I made my point. Another thing to consider is phrases. When a user enters a phrase that's on one of your blog's titles, it will most likely be ranked higher than other pages. For example, if someone's looking for "Great Hosting", the post titled "Great Hosting from Joes Web Hosting" will rank higher (though, not much higher since that's such a general term). Secondly, you should use mod_rewritten links on your blog. This requires a server with Apache installed, with the rewrite module. This is a great tip, since it will place keywords in your individual post URLs.

For example, instead of "domain.com/p?=1", you'd get "domain.com/01/20/08/joes-web-hosting-services/". This, along with descriptive titles will help your blog out greatly.Wordpress has this built-in, but you must first configure it. Login to your WP admin area. Once the page loads, select "Options" from the upper menu bar, then select "Permalinks" on the next page. I recommend using "Date and Name Based", or enter this custom value in the box towards the bottom of your screen: "/%year%/%monthnum%/%postname%/". After doing this, you must update your ".htaccess" file so it rewrites the URLs correctly.

2. Remove your blog's name from Individual Post Page Titles

While this may seem counter-productive, it's actually a good idea. When your blog is indexed by Google (or any other search engine), many times the pages are seen as being too-close together and they are omitted from the search results because of this. This also reduces the relevancy of search results from your site, since your blog's name is taken into account by the search engine. By removing your site's title, you can (in most cases) cure this problem. To do this, look in your Wordpress' "header.php" file. This is found in your theme's directory.

Find the following code:

<i><title><?php bloginfo('name'); ?>

<?php

if ( is_single() ) { ?> » Blog Archive <?php } ?>

<?php wp_title();

?></title></i>

Replace it with the following code:

<i><title><?php

bloginfo('name'); ?> <?php if ( is_single() ) { ?>

» <?php } ?>

<?php wp_title(); ?></title></i>

(http://wordpress.org/support/topic/66362)

3. Install the Mega tag description and Keyword plugins

META tags aren't as important as they used to be, but they are still a factor in the ranking of your site, especially on smaller search engines. For META decription/keyword tags to be effective, you must choose relevant and unique tags. However, both of these mods do this for you to some extent. You can choose your own, or use the default ones (either one is fine, since the plugins generally choose good keywords and a good description by themselves). If I had to choose between the two of these plugins, I'd say to just go with the description tag (though both are better). To find these plugins, just do a Google search for "keyword meta tag plugin Wordpress" and "description meta tag Wordpress plugin", or something similar (as these plugins/Wordpress may be updated rendering the old links useless).

4. Install the Google Sitemaps Plugin and Submit to Google

Installing the Google Sitemap Plugin can decrease the amount of time it takes Google to index your site dramatically. It generally takes weeks or months (depending on the size of your site, sometimes sooner) for Google to index new pages on your site. With the Sitemap Plugin, this amount of time can be reduced to just hours. To install this plugin, simply do a Google search for "Wordpress Google Sitemap Plugin", find it, and download it. Installation is just like a normal plugin. Once installed, submit your Sitemap to Google at "http://www.google.com/webmasters/sitemaps/siteoverview". As of writing, you'll also have to verify that the site is your own by either inserting a META tag into your site, or by uploading a specifically named HTML file.

5. Submit your RSS Feed to Other Sites

Submitting your RSS to other sites can increase your traffic substantially. Each time your blog's RSS feed is updated, you can have the other sites download the new feed and index your site (see the Pinging area below). This is essentially the same thing as letting a site index your site, but it's more targeted towards news and blogs. If you can find a site targeted towards you own site's niche (ex: Gardening, Computers, Autos, etc.), you're sure to boost your traffic levels, as long as your blog has unique content that's updated frequently. An excellent list of sites to submit your RSS feed to is available here: "http://www.rss-specifications.com/rss-submission.htm".

6. Ping Other Sites Automatically when you Update your Blog

As mentioned in the RSS feed section, pinging other sites allows other sites to get updates from your blog much sooner and automatically when you make a new post. This is very much like the Google Sitemap plugin (the concept is, anyway). To have your blog update other sites when you update it, login to your Wordpress' admin area. Select "Options" from the main menu, then select "Writing" on the next page (sub-menu). You may want to choose others, but I have the following sites in my blog to ping:

http://rpc.pingomatic.com/
http://rpc.pingomatic.com/
http://www.a2b.cc/setloc/bp.a2b
http://api.feedster.com/ping
http://api.my.yahoo.com/RPC2
http://api.my.yahoo.com/rss/ping
http://www.blogdigger.com/RPC2
http://www.blogshares.com/rpc.php
http://www.blogsnow.com/ping
http://www.blogstreet.com/xrbin/xmlrpc.cgi
http://coreblog.org/ping/
http://ping.blo.gs/
http://ping.feedburner.com
http://ping.syndic8.com/xmlrpc.php
http://ping.weblogalot.com/rpc.php
http://www.popdex.com/addsite.php
http://rpc.blogrolling.com/pinger/
http://rpc.technorati.com/rpc/ping
http://rpc.weblogs.com/RPC2
http://topicexchange.com/RPC2
http://xping.pubsub.com/ping/
http://api.my.yahoo.com/rss/ping
http://api.moreover.com/ping
http://rpc.icerocket.com:10080/

Please keep in mind, unless you install the "No Ping Wait" plugin, there will be a delay after you make each post (while your blog contacts the other servers to ping them).

7. Use "alt" and "title" tags, respectively, on your posts images and links

Using "Alt" tags on your images and "Title" tags not only helps your search engine rankings, but it also helps disabled people with screen readers view the content on your site. It also can help your page be valid HTML (another thing that can help your SE ranking). I recommend simply describing the link/image and not trying to cram tons of keywords to boost your ranking. For more information on doing this, visit W3C's site and look up the tag for the version of HTML/XHTML used on your site (if you want it to be valid).

8. Exchange links with other relevant sites, but don't use exchange networks

Exchanging links with other sites can help your rankings tremendously, but trading with the wrong sites can do the opposite. That's why I reccommend only trading with sites that are relevant to your own and are listed in Google. One-Way links are placed much higher in Google than reciprocal links, so free or paid directory links would be even better. An excellent list of SEO friendly directories can be found here: "http://info.vilesilencer.com/". Using an exchange network can have adverse effects on your site due to the general quality of sites in them. Basically, a one-way text link on a high PageRank directory is the best route. Be sure to use good keywords in your link/title, as Google takes this into account for keyword/phrase rankings.

9. Post short, interesting posts on your blog daily to keep readers coming back for more

You don't have to write a book to keep readers coming. In fact, most people like reading short and simple articles that are straight to the point. By giving readers what they want, you are increasing the probability that they will come back. Choose interesting topics to post on your blog that are relevant to your site's niche. For example, if Ferrari just released a new car and you have an Auto blog, you could post a short paragraph summarizing the information about the car and your opinion, include a picture or two of the car, and include a link to a more in-depth article. Alternatively, you could re-write the article (it allowed) and post a link back to the site in a "Source" list under or above your own article. Doing this will keep readers on your site.

10. Share your site with people you know, and ask them to tell others they know

While it may not seem like much, telling people you know can help you build a site. People you know can offer advice on design, topics, etc. and let people they know about your site. People who know you are also far more likely to comment on your postings, making your site look more active, thereby encouraging others to do the same. If you choose to do this step, ask the person to tell 3 other people they know about your site. This will in effect create a small network of people reading and commenting on your site. Plus, if they really like your site they'll continue to tell others about it.

About the Author:
Article written by Hiram Davis, owner and publisher of http://www.blognation.be/
Don't waste your time with other hosts, switch to a reliable hosting solution: http://www.thinktivity.com/
Article Submitted On: September 21, 2006
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com

Monetizing Your Blog - part I

You have been working hard to produce good-quality, original content on your blog and you have attracted a decent amount of traffic by doing so. However, money is not going to appear out of thin air just because you have traffic. You have to turn your traffic into money.

There are several ways to generate profits from the visitors of your blog, and Google’s Adsense programme allows you to do so with ultimate ease. First, visit their website at http://adsense.google.com/. You’ll find out more about their advertising programme there, but here are some extra bits I’d like to tell you.

First, Google’s Adsense programme is a really useful way to monetize your blog because when users finish reading your newest post, chances are they want to leave your blog because they have nothing else to do on your blog. If your Adsense advertisement block is visible on your blog, they might see advertisements relevant to them and click on them to exit your blog. Ka-ching! You’ve just cashed in on your first virtual cents!

But yes, your profits will only be cents if you don’t “do it right”. This involves placing your Google ads in the right places and ensuring they blend in to your site so that they appear more like links rather than advertisements to your visitors. Consult the page https://www.google.com/support/adsense/bin/static.py?page=tips.html to see the “heat map” of your blog. The “hotter” a certain area, the greater the chances of someone looking at your blog.

Once you get a Google Adsense account, you can change the colour of your advertisement text and links. You will want them to match the colours on your blog. If your blog’s text is black and the links are red, do the same for the ad blocks too! It’s that simple.

Another way to earn profits from your blog is to recommend products to your readers. When your visitors buy from the merchants you recommend, you get to keep a little commission too. This is known as affiliate marketing and it is very easy to start because you don’t have to create your own products or services.

Anyway, let’s refer back to our technological gadgets blog example. Let’s say you discover this Gadget X on a merchant’s website, and they offer an affilliate programme. What you would do is to create a post in your blog and do a mini-review on this Gadget X. Rip it apart and point out its benefits and bad points, if any, and include a link (which is given by the merchant) for the visitor to purchase the Gadget X online.

If your visitor clicks and purchases the gadget, the merchant will track from the link that the purchase is referred by you, so they will send you your share of the profits. Imagine if 1 out of every 100 visitors you get purchases this product, and you earn $27.00 commission from each purchase! If you get 10,000 visitors in a month that would be a $2,700.00 paycheque for you just for writing about ONE product.

Now, affiliate programmes are very nice ways to generate profit, but how do you find affiliate programmes that are related to your blog’s theme? Easy, just go to Google and search for +”affiliate programmes”. Another slightly better way is to go to http://www.associateprograms.com/search to look for affiliate programmes in your niche.

The two ways mentioned above are basic ways to generate profits from your blog. We’ll be discussing other great, profitable ways, so keep your eyes peeled.

About the Author:
Milos Pesic has been marketing online since 1998. He is the owner of www.Turnkey-Club.com, the ultimate resource for digital products. Get valuable gifts just for visiting.
Article Source: ArticleToGo.com

Blogging For Money

While most of the bloggers don't care about money, but about exposure, there are some making pretty decent earnings with blogs. The question is: how much? Well, that depends on the method used by the blogger, the traffic he or she can attract to the blog, the value of the post and so on. If you are willing to win some money with a blog, there are a few possibilities.

There are various ways to make money from a blog: advertising, including the famous ads by Google (AdSense), affiliate marketing, the controversial pay-per-post current, the actual blogging job and donations:

1. While AdSense is not so difficult to master – all you need to do is insert a code provided by Google into the HTML of your blog and Google will display on it ads related to the content. Each click on the ads will bring you a few cents. High value keywords may even bring you larger amounts. Google is not the only pay-per-click program provider. Even Yahoo! has a similar plan. It's up to you what you choose.

2 To win money trough affiliate programs requires more efforts: you need to place links to merchants. These links should be appealing – to determine visitors to take action. And writing "sales links" is not such an easy task.

3. The third method is known as pay-per-post. Many advertisers are willing to pay bloggers to post advertisements or news on their blogs. The purpose is to build traffic and gain back links that will boost their search engine rankings. There are plenty of online firms offering such an opportunity to bloggers. Some examples of sites where bloggers could make money blogging are: http://www.weblogsinc.com/, http://www.soulcast.com/, or http://payperpost.com/.

4. Firms are looking to hire professional bloggers. There are already job portals for bloggers on the Internet and job postings for bloggers on many websites. If you are looking for a blogging job check out Problogger: http://www.problogger.net/ and the blogger jobs board you find onsite.

5. A less popular method is used by bloggers who ask their readers to "donate" some money to help them keep the blog going. It may come as a surprise, but many visitors do act on such requests, especially when they find something really interesting and they enjoy reading the blog

These four methods are what bloggers call "making money with a blog". Professional bloggers know a more effective method: "making money as a result of a blog". This is the case for many writers, SEO experts, web gurus and online entrepreneurs. If we think about it, even big corporations understand the importance of a having a blog and what huge revenues they could get as a result of having a blog. That's great news for passionate bloggers looking to make a living online (remember the forth method of making money with a blog?)

As a conclusion, blogs are great to share knowledge, but, with some skills and experience plus a touch of really valuable content, they could generate some fine profits for their owners.

About the Author:
Scott Lindsay is a web developer and entrepreneur. He is the founder of HighPowerSites and many other web projects. HighPowerSites is the easiest do-it-yourself website builder on the web. No programming or design skill required. Get your own website online in just 5 minutes with http://highpowersites.com/http://HighPowerSites.com at: http://www.highpowersites.com/http://www.highpowersites.com
Posted: 31-08-2006
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com

RSS Feeds And Security

The growth rate of RSS is amazingly fast. RSS when first made its appearance was recognized as a techie device but nowadays it has become so popular that the general mass is using this tool. But remember that RSS, a blessing for us doesn’t come for free but often with carrying some unwanted gift for us! – The RSS spam. This spam which contain dynamically generated balderdash feeds stuffed with keywords created by the content publishers are not headaches because of their nonsense but they often endangers the security. Spam included in RSS is not only irritation to the search engines but also feeds pales compared to the probable security concerns that might have been in the future of the RSS.

RSS related security implications

If RSS increases, the security gets more endangered. While the publishers are fast in innovating new uses for RSS feeds, the hackers are watching it all. Even in its raw form, the extendibility and the power of RSS can make it very vulnerable. The very abode of these vulnerabilities is the expansion abilities of the specification of RSS, mainly the enclosure field which is the launcher of podcasting phenomenon. Basically, this enclosure field is not a headache, since the enclosure tag is not used by RSS feeds. The tag is generally used in linking file types such as word documents, mp3 files, images, and executables and in the same terms in email attachments.

RSS Distributing these file types has helped the immensely the syndicate standard users but long with that it has also created problems. But we don’t take these problems as risks since we select the content received which limits spreading of viruses, spyware through RSS; still we run at a risk if an infected file is spread.

This risk is the effect of technology and our poor education.

Several RSS readers, pod catchers, news aggregators automatically download the information from the enclosure field even if they don’t know their sources or file types. This ignorance often calls for dangerous insecurities for our computers.

Generally speaking almost all the RSS developers admit the risks that are attached with the enclosure field but a very few developers don’t care to equip the RSS feeds with screening, filtering and authentication abilities and a myriad of automatically download enclosures.

It is very unfortunate that every RSS readers or aggregators or pod catchers ponder over the probable security implications related with RSS feeds or podcasts. Usually some work automatically downloading enclosures sans any warning or any concerns about the security. So ensure to introspect the handling of files by your RSS reader.

About the Author:
Joshua Miller is an author and technician. See more articles at Firewall Protection Software and Firewall R Us
Content Provider: http://www.my-articles.com

How to use articles in blogs

Blogging has become a way of life for most people who use their blogs to write their thoughts and even to promote their businesses. The blog has come a long way from its earlier days as an online private journal to its present existence as a method of keeping in touch not only with family and friends but also with business clients.

Blogs are much like a website that contains different entries in the form of articles, photos and even videos. Blog sites are where people often write their views on certain issues such as politics or local events. Others use blogs to keep their family and friends updated with the goings on in their personal lives.

However, there are people who have discovered that they can make money out of their blogs. Suddenly, the passion for writing blogs has started to become a business venture where a good writer can earn income. More and more blogs are making use of banner advertising or pay per click links to earn money.

A blog that has many useful articles will have better chances of being viewed by as many people as possible. This is good for people who have the gift of gab and who have the time to write educational articles and useful how to articles. But how about people who are average writers but who may want to use their blogs to promote certain products or services?

Thanks to freelance article writers, the concern for numerous blog articles is no longer a big problem. Bloggers can get their fill of articles and make use of them to promote their sites. For bloggers, having the best content will mean getting enough advertisement for their sites.

Bloggers who buy freelance written articles can use the articles any way they want to. They can edit the articles to make them unique and be easily searchable by search engines. Bloggers can group articles of the same topic and create an ecourse or an ebook.

Freelance written articles can be beneficial for blogs but the blogger must know how to use such articles. Having as many contents in a blog is good for advertisement and site promotion. The more unique the blog content is, the more it will be favorable to the blog owner.

The question faced by most bloggers is how much should I pay for articles to be written. The amount really depends on the blogger. Some owners need many articles others need just one or two for link building. Anyone who wants unique articles for cheap can write there own but there are many freelancers who are willing to write your articles for cheap.

What more, the benefits of posting unique articles in a blog will surely be worth the extra money to invest in freelance written articles.

About the Author:
Darryl Power
I have over 9 years of online marketing and writing. http://articleadvantage.com
Submitted: 2006-09-27
Article Source: GoArticles

Blog Internet Advertising Rates: Make A Fortune By Grasping The Offline Print Media Difference

There is an important hidden truth that has to do with blog Internet advertising rates and it is very important that you grasp and understand it well.

In the print media, space is limited by the cost of production which keeps ad rates high and makes the balance of content versus advertising critical to the financial success of any print publication that relies on advertising. The situation is completely different when it comes to blog Internet advertising rates. The cost of production and transmission of information to your audience is so low that it is almost zero. This means in essence that your ad rates can be very low and you'll still be profitable.

This difference with blog Internet advertising rates is important because in the print media world, ad rates can not go below a certain point because if they do, the publication will cease to be profitable.

This means that it is very viable to go for ad volumes at low rates and then use each and every page available to you to carry targeted ads that are relevant to the particular micro niche targeted in the content you have generated. That is exactly how Google Adsense has become the key division of a $100 million company. Some Adsense ads pay out less as a single digit cents figure. The money is then made on the volumes an because the rates are low, they are totally viable to the advertiser who knows exactly how many clicks they need to generate a single sale. They therefore come back again and again. Hidden here is one of the most important and critical secrets behind successful blog Internet advertising rates.

Visit the writer's blog to read the rest of this article and to get more blog business opportunity Ideas. Or hire a low cost writer who will change the destiny of your blog.
visit me at http://marketingurhomebiz.blogspot.com/

About the author:
Christopher Kyalo
Article Source: Article Warehouse

Blogging 101

Business Blogs have brought a new dimension to Internet Marketing. This article explains some of the benefits that regular blogging can bring your business.

Over the last few months, business blogs have taken the internet by storm, as they have moved from being a web diary, to become part of a highly effective marketing tool.

If writing is an art, then, blogging is one way of using words to come up with an art. This is because people who are into blogging are the ones who are artistic in their own sense, carefully choosing words that would best describe their feelings, sentiments, wishes, desires, and everything.

Basically, blogs were first introduced as weblogs that refer to a "server's log file." It was created when web logging hit the virtual market. Since its inception in the mid-1990s, web logging gradually saturated the virtual community making the Internet a viable source of greater information.

However, with web logging, you still need a web site and domain names, but with blogging, you do not need anything just an account with blog providers. In most cases, these kinds of blogs are free of charge.

With the onset of blogging in the industry, personal journaling had been a common ground for people who wish to be known all over the world. However, not literally famous as this is not a case on being popular or well-known personality.

Generally, blogs are created for personal use. Like a journal, people can write their daily adventures, sentiments, and whatever ideas they want to express online.

Nevertheless, with the advent of the online businesses, blogs had gradually taken the limelight in providing businesses a chance to boost their productivity online. This is where the business blogs have taken the limelight.

Business blogs are, basically, created to advertise the services or products of a certain web site or online business in order to increase online sales.

Moreover, business blogs are also one way of promoting the company so that the other readers will know that a certain company exists online. With blogs, entrepreneurs are able to establish a name in the virtual market through articles that can be very useful in the reader's life.

From there, you can make money out of blogs by simply syndicating it to your business web site. This can be done through the RSS technology.

So, if you are thinking of creating a blog, whether for business or for pleasure, you need to know some tips that could help you get through and make your blog one of the interesting blogs online.

Here's how:

1. Consider your audience

Even if your blog is generally personal, still, it would be better to consider the minds of your readers. You have to think of something that would interest them.

After all, most of the reasons of the people who write blogs are not at all confined to their own personal motives. Most of them would love to be "heard" (or read) and would love to be known, in some way or another, even for just a minute. Hence, it is very important to come with a write up that everybody can understand, not necessarily that these people can relate to it but they can understand it.

2. Pictures speaks a thousand words

To make your blogging worth the browsing effort of your readers, it would be extremely nice if you will put some pictures in it. It does not necessarily mean you have to place a picture of yourself. Any photographs will do as long as it does not pose danger or insult to anyone who will be reading your blog.

3. Make constructive and beneficial blogs

Even if you are free to write anything you want to say to the world, still, it would be better to create some write-ups that would be beneficial to your readers.

After all, its information technology that you have there so better be inclined to provide information rather than sheer quirky entertainment.

4. Avoid making multifaceted and complicated blogs

In order to have an interesting blog, try not to use some highly technical and highfalutin words. After all, it is not a science discourse or a debate that you are making, so better stick to simple facts and short blogs.

Bear in mind that most people who use the Internet usually do more scanning than scrutinizing each site word for word. Therefore, it would be better to come with blogs that will not bore your readers just because you have these lengthy articles.

5. Make it interactive

As much as possible and if your capacity will allow it, make your blog interactive. You can do this by placing some video or audio clips in your blog.

You can even place an area for comments or for some feedbacks. In this way, you can get some impressions or reactions of other people. Who knows, you might even gain some friends just by making them feel at home in your blog site.

6. Use Blogs with other marketing tools.

Use blogs in conjunction with tools such as RSS feeds, and you have a perfect way of adding fresh content (loved by search engines) automatically every day - and with true and pure 'White Hat' marketing techniques. (The opposite - Black Hat - is frowned upon by Google).

Indeed, blogs are not created just for the mere fun of it. It also has its own purpose in the world of the Internet.

Therefore, for people who wish to harness their craft, as far as writing is concerned, blogs are the best way to do it.

As they say, blogging is the contemporary term of creative and commercial writing, but it is becoming more and more the marketers dream machine.

About the Author:
Geoff Morris is a specialist internet marketer. Visit his Blogging Tips web site for more Ideas On Making Money From Blogs
Submitted on 2006-08-06
Article Source: http://www.articlesalley.com/

Webhosting For Blogging - To Pay Or Not To Pay

Blogging is an abbreviation of "web-logging". The simplest definition of a blog is that it is an online log that is organized in reverse chronological order. It comprises of comments, declarations, links, or anything else of interest to the blog writer.

There are two basic requirements of starting your own blog. You need a software to run a blog and a place on the Internet to host your blog.

Taking into consideration the above mentioned two factors, there can be four categories of blogs:

1. Free Software + Free Webhosting
2. Free Software + Paid Webhosting
3. Paid Software including Price of Webhosting
4. Paid Software + Paid Webhosting

We have given descriptions of all these four options alongwith their pros and cons.

We have also given recommendations regarding the suitability of these options.

1. Free Software + Free Webhosting

This is a completely free way of blogging. Here you pay neither for the software nor for the virtual hosting.

But there are some drawbacks of this system. It offers very few features as compared to the paid services. You cannot post pictures online or design your preferred look for your site.

The companies that provide free software and free domain hosting frequently place a banner immediately above your site. This detracts the visitors from the look of your site. You also have no discretion over the content of the advertisements.

The key advantage of this system is that it is absolutely free. This option is extremely useful for a newcomer since he/she can try this method to find if they are really interested in blogging.

This option is recommended for those people who would not like to pay anything or for the newcomers.

2. Free Software + Paid Webhosting

This option provides you free software but you will have to pay for the domain hosting.

There is a cost factor involved in this option. Minimum cost of domain hosting would be $5 per month but a realistic budget would be slightly higher, around $7-8. The annual registration fee for domain name would be about $10-30.

This system will let you do certain things that you were unable to do with the free one. Here, you can modify the look of your site and you can also post pictures. But free softwares have fewer features than paid ones.

This option is highly recommended because by just paying the cost of virtual hosting and domain registration, you can avail great features and flexibility.

3. Paid Software including Price of Webhosting

This is a subscription-based option. There are ongoing costs involved in this option.

You have to pay at least $6 per month for basic services and for advanced features the fee would be around $15 per month.

The cumulative cost for a year would reach up to $200. That makes this option a very expensive one.

Apart from customizing the look of your site and posting photographs online, you will be able to use a software that provides more features than a free one.

This option is recommended for people who do not want to be troubled with virtual hosting and software installation issues. This is the easiest possible solution. It offers great features but at a reasonably high price.

4. Paid Software + Paid Webhosting

This option provides you paid software and paid domain hosting.

The cost of the domain hosting ranges from $5 to $10 per month while the cost of the software would be at least $45 (one-time cost).

This option gives you great amount of flexibility. You can select your own domain name and have a feature-rich blogging software.

This option is highly recommended for businesses since the cost is not a major consideration.

About the Author:
Stanley Spencer
Copyright © Active-Venture.com's (http://www.active-venture.com) virtual webhosting service. This article may be reprinted freely online or in print, provided the resource box, Web addresses and copyright information remain intact.
Article Source: www.iSnare.com

B-Blogs and Customer Connectivity

Do you have a business blog? Do you have a goal in mind for what you’d like to accomplish with your blog? Do you have topics you won’t discuss in your blog?

Sometimes referred to as b-blogs, a business weblog can be a vital link to existing customers and prospective clients.

Many of the best b-blogs provide visitors with a look at the…

1. Company represented.

2. Individual heading that company.

3. News that affects the company and its customers.

4. Links that may be beneficial to the customers

5. Personality behind the logo.

The genius behind blogging is that the posts are at the discretion of the business owner and are designed to be informal. This allows visitors to gain a sense for the type of person you are and the type of company you own.

Because the format is informal you need to make sure you have a laser-like focus for your blog. Deviating from a pre-set course for your blog could alienate visitors who have come to expect a singular focus. In some cases bloggers have found themselves in legal trouble because they made a libelous remark about someone on their blog.

By keeping your goal firmly fixed, you may find that more than your customers may look to your blog as a trusted resource. Many successful b-blogs are routinely visited by competitors, which should be viewed as a significant source of flattery. This scenario is a strong indication your success is being noticed.

One of the primary reasons b-blogs are a successful means of conveying information to your customers is they are non-invasive. There are no emails to download and no newsletters to process. In the end, those who visit the blog are there because they chose to be there. They come back because they enjoy the connection.

By becoming a trusted source for information in an informal atmosphere, a b-blog can help move a customer to action through a level of trust you have built through your blog.

Some b-bloggers find that when they post at least daily the growth of their visitors increases rapidly. Some will return for the information while others return because they find your personality a source of interest.

Blogs have been used successfully for personal and instructional use. The advent of a business blog is simply another step in the growth of this tool readily adaptable for customer connectivity.

About the Author:
Scott Lindsay is a web developer and entrepreneur. He is the founder of HighPowerSites and many other web projects. HighPowerSites is the easiest do-it-yourself website builder on the web. No programming or design skill required. Get your own website online in just 5 minutes with HighPowerSites.com at: http://www.highpowersites.com
Article Submitted On: September 21, 2006
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com

Blogging: A Start-Up Guide

Blogging is so easy that you probably do not need a start up guide, but for those who have blogaphobia, I am doing this.

1. By reading this you are half way there. This is a blog style post.

2. If you post, you are blogging to an extent.

3. If you take my advice and get a blog, you are a blogger.

4. If you sell anything, or create money trail, you are making money blogging.

Now that I've bored you with a list, you probably want something good. I'll give it to you. If you have never blogged, this little start-up guide is for you. If you have blogged, maybe you just need a refresher course.

Anyway, you probably want to know how to blog. You know what blogging is and you know you can make money with it. What you may not know is how you start.

Well, it's easy. Choose a provider. Make sure it's someone who has the up-to-the minute programming so you don't look ancient.

Create an account –Then, start writing! Alas, you are going to say "exactly HOW do I just pop into the blog and write?"

It's not some horrid thing where you have to have a book next to you figuring out designs and codes. For the most part, there are layouts you choose from and often you can even pick colors of fonts and such. It's like decorating a living room, only this is a living room about 12 million people could possibly visit. So make it look nice!

You don't have to have software usually or anything snazzy. You simply pick a design or layout and create a look or image based upon choices that you'll be prompted to make.

Is it an article, a column? What the heck IS a blog? As mentioned before, in another article -blogs are actually entries. It's like a diary or a journal. You simply write, but note – that whatever you do not want the world to see, do not write. After you write your entry, you will be asked to publish or post it. Once you do that you still can often, go in and edit or delete it. You will usually give your blog a title. You type your entry, which you may call "blog" or "Content" and away you go. You've just blogged.

Sometimes, you allow (or not allow) the public or a select bunch you've invited to make posts or comments to what you have written. This makes for fun if you do allow it but sometimes it can be downright harsh. There is usually no screening on posts unless you specifically in your template and choices make sure no one has potty mouth or gossip mouth. The way to do this is to be a moderator, or to even hire a moderator. This way, all posts first go to an email address (they have no idea) and you or someone with some degree of ethics and standards, will edit, delete or allow the post to go through. That personally is my advice; don't let downers, potty mouths or idiots post on your site unless you are really sure that you will attract only a top-notch crowd. Since blogs are often public places – think of the blog as a public bathroom. Only let the people in who flush and wash their hands. This is an especially nice feature also for control freaks.

Do I have to be youngish? Hip? Can I be a boomer or older than dirt? Anyone can blog. There is no set rule of thumb. It used to be hip kids, journalists and maybe a select other few who did it. Now, you have grandparents who blog and let their kids blog also – and grandkids. It's a great way to keep the family as a unit if you keep everyone together, you know?

Blogs are special. They are unique. They are really nothing more than a public diary or journal – where a web site is all about people going to the site and just staring at it, a blog is all about saying, "Come on in and sit a spell" – which is why you will find that blogs tend to be more upscale, than say, a chat room or chat board. Blogs are the welcome wagon of the internet. Chat rooms are like a seedy bar. Chat boards are like hospital waiting rooms where people sometimes share doom, gloom and gossip. But Blogs are really usually positive. Sure you will have that negative blog here and there – but a decent blog owner will beget decent posters for the most part.

It is a small world. So, when you visit a blog, or when you have a blog – expect people to comment online. It's a diary where people will actually say – "this is cool, and I want to be a part of your life and share this with you" and…they will! If you allow this in the template, you will have comments that agree, disagree or just share. You may have folks promoting themselves, or you may have cheerleaders supporting your blog. Either way, it's a great way to make friends and yes, make money if that's what you wish.

You need to realize that your blog could and very well may be found on the net during someone's search. For instance, if you have certain tag words in your blog, or it's just plain popular, a key word search could turn up your blog. It's the net, and it's public. Blog smart!

Blogging is for you, even if you think it isn't. You may think you are not a writer. So what? First of all, if it is a personal blog meant for only a few folks, and you don't care that you are not a thespian of the paper, then don't worry about it. Also, you don't have to be a super-duper writer at all. Even if you are a writing savant, you certainly at least have an opinion, correct? Voice it through blogging! You also probably have a passion such as gardening, cooking or fixing old cars…that a bajillion people also have, that you could talk to and share with. Again, you can make money. If you like gardening, you may want to think about selling seeds, or dried lavender from your garden, or renting ad space or a few thousand other ways to make money. Maybe an online course where you teach the power of planting? As long as you have passion and ideas, there will always be possible ways to make money that are fun and proactive.

Blogging is absolutely one of the most easy, fun, economical yet possibly financially rewarding hobbies you can start for yourself.

About the Author:
Michelle is a bona fide professional blogger. If you’re aiming for six figure online profits then you NEED her fresh, upbeat advice! Read the full version of this article here.
Posted: 02-09-2006
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com

Blogging To The Bank - Instant Profits From Your Blog

Blogging to the Bank is another new eBook about internet marketing and how to increase your sales profits. With Blogging to the Bank ( http://www.bank-blogs.com/ ) you can learn how to make hundreds of dollars daily without having your own product or website. This eBook also claims to be able to show you how to get number 1 rankings on the search engines for free and how to run your business on autopilot.

Blogging to the Bank is all about making money using blogs which are journal like entries that can be set up for free and are taking the internet marketing world by storm. Blogging to the Bank reveals how to make money using your blog and how to get free targeted traffic to your blog.

This ebook includes detailed proven money making methods and screenshots to make this book simple and easy to follow. Included in this eBook are the keys to making your blog a success, how to choose between Blogger and Wordpress and which is the best, how to get search engine traffic for free, which Blogger template is the most successful and where your Adsense ads should be placed for greater profit.

Blogging to the Bank also provides users with SEO techniques, traffic secrets, and how to generate an abundance of back links to both your blogs and websites. Quite literally Blogging to the Bank is your step by step guide to creating, implementing, and running a successful and profitable blog on the internet. This eBook is priced at $99.95 which is quite high for a 40 page eBook, but you do get a lot of valuable and useful information and there is also a 60 day money back guarantee if you're not happy.

John Ducharne separates the great marketing products from the mediocre. Check out his Blogging to the Bank review at: http://www.netproductreviews.com/blogging-to-the-bank-review/

About the Author:
John Ducharne is an avid marketing enthusiast who has reviewed more than a hand full of useful products. Check out http://www.netproductreviews.com/ for more.
Published 04/8/2006
Article Source: http://www.EzinePlug.com

How To Increase Your Sales Traffic By Publishing Customer Reviews As RSS Feeds

It is a simple truth. Yet while many of the biggest players on the web know it, most webmasters overlook the fact that customer reviews can provide for a source of constantly updated content that potential customers would find to be an invaluable source of information.

It is also true that by simply combining customer reviews with RSS feeds, you too can ride a new wave of shopping (or social) traffic.

Traffic! It is the one problem that webmasters continually face, and which can NEVER be fully solved. How to find visitors in a reliable, repeatable, and cost-effective way. Because without visitors all your beautiful content might as well be locked away in a vault--no one is ever going to see it. If the purpose of your site is to sell, you will sell nothing. If the purpose of your site is to build a social network, you might remain its only member. You need traffic to succeed. Lots of it.

In this article I am going to consider just one traffic building initiative--one that happens to be enjoying a growing wave of popularity. It involves harnessing the power of RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds to build traffic. You are probably aware of RSS as a means of syndicating news content. Websites that produce news have been building XML-formatted news stories for years. These files are retrieved by other websites, the new stories are extracted, and the content is placed (on these publisher sites) before a public ever-hungry for new information. The arrangement has worked well for everyone. Those who have displayed the RSS feeds have gained content to feed their visitors. Those who have produced the RSS feeds have obtained backlinks to their websites, which has helped to bring in new traffic. In fact the arrangement has worked so well that webmasters have been encouraged to move beyond simple news syndication.

This makes a lot of sense. News articles hardly represent the only content that surfers are looking for. Recipes, shopping coupons, MP3s, schedules for local events... The list of possible things that people search for is endless, and if you can provide "new" instances of such information, then RSS represents an ideal means of getting that information in front of the people searching for it. Sure, it used to be the case that everything you wrapped up in an RSS feed had to take a very simple form. Every item in your news feed was reduced to a title, a url (to the source of the information), and a short snippet, or description, to hook the reader. But RSS has sprouted wings over the years and now you can package practically any data structure into a feed that you like. Because of this there is no reason why we cannot suitably package customer reviews into a feed.

But what exactly would we put into an RSS-formatted customer review feed? And is this a good idea? Let me answer the second question first. Yes! It is a very good idea to package customer reviews as RSS feeds. Why? Because if you think about it, a customer review is very much like a news item. It is a packaged opinion that has been released for the express purpose of swaying the mindset of someone who is looking for information on the very topic it addresses, whatever that topic might be. To the person searching for the information, this review is news indeed, and more often than not it is welcome news.

So what should go into the feed? Well, a summary of the review, seems obvious. That can be used as the title element, and a snippet of the review can be used as the description. But there are other elements to a review that we have grown accustomed to over the years, and they can go into the feed too. Pros and cons of the reviewed item can be listed and highlighted. We can put in a numeric rating for several different attributes of the item being reviewed (for example, quality and robustness of the item, it's ease of use, value for money, and so on). We can put in images too. Stars to represent the numeric ratings, maybe. A picture of the item. We could even put in a link to the profile of the reviewer if we wanted. When we do these things, the final formatted customer review feed can look very enticing indeed.

Of course, the prospect of collecting reviews, let alone formatting them into RSS feeds might very well seem daunting to the average webmaster. But there are low-cost commercial applications available which will do all of this work for you--for example, the review engine known as Red Queen at http://www.randommouse.com/redqueen. Furthermore, you can now upload customer reviews (in RSS format) to Google Base and make them available to the various Google outlets. Admittedly these are early days for webmasters hoping to profitably hook into Google Base traffic sources, but the prospects are exciting nonetheless.

One thing that seems certain is that customer reviews as RSS feeds represent an as yet untapped opportunity for webmasters. Customer reviews have long been profitably used by big players on the web (Amazon.com being an obvious example) but have not been fully exploited. By coupling this popular opinion-based source of information with the technology of RSS syndication, savvy webmasters who take the reins today are sure to get first mover advantage on this new means of marketing, and build the traffic they need to assure the success of their online businesses. And, of course, there is really no reason why you should not be one of them!

About the Author:
Stephen Carter is the developer of Red Queen, powerful customer review software that allows webmasters to take advantage of the traffic building potential of customer reviews published as RSS feeds. To learn more, please see the accompanying tutorial: How To Publish Customer Reviews As RSS Feeds.
Content Provider: http://www.my-articles.com

Blog It And They Will Come

If you're hoping for a "Blog it and they will come" field of dreams, you can forget that. Recent statistics from blog search engine Technorati show that a new blog hits the Internet every 7.8 seconds! Sheesh, talk about having to rise above the noise level to be heard, how in the world are you going to get eyeballs glued to your blog when there is so much competition out there? Unlike e-zine subscriptions or autoresponder mailings, it's not the quantity of visitors that counts, it's the quality of the visitors as well as how often they return to continue reading your blog. Quality, in this case, refers to how often they click on revenue-generating links in your blog and how often they buy something that you're blogging about. Of course, if you're operating an altruistic blog that has no revenue-generating features, then you are only concerned about how often the readers return to bask in the illumination of your knowledge, expertise, biting sarcasm or humor. Either way, those are the two measurements of a successful blog. Now don't get me wrong, the number of readers is important, of course, but it's better to have 1,000 faithful readers who return regularly than it is to have 5,000 readers who come once and you never see them again after that. There is no free traffic! I love when bloggers say "I won't pay for traffic. I can get it for free". Nothing is "free" my friend. You will either pay for traffic with money or you will pay for traffic with your time. Neither way is "free". So what you have to do is decide which of these situations describe you best: A) You have more money than time. If you are so blessed, then you need to develop an advertising plan to help you spend your money wisely. An advertising plan requires you to research the different advertising programs that are available, study the demographics of the traffic that you'll be receiving, make a budget, set up test purchases and analyze the final results. Well, you don't HAVE to develop an advertising plan. You can always just throw money at different potential solutions and hope for the best. If you do that enough times then you will automatically end up in the "B" category of "more time than money" because all of your money will be gone and you still won't have any traffic. B) You have more time than money. You've got a great blog going, the few people who show up already absolutely love it, but you're in a financial crunch. Is there any hope for you? Yep, there's plenty of hope. What you'll need though is a lot on ingenuity and the time to turn your smarts into traffic. Believe it or not, you should still develop an advertising plan because even though you're not spending cash, you are spending time. Time IS money and if you waste time then you're wasting opportunities to get traffic to your site. No matter which way you end up paying for your traffic, time or money, you should first make an investment in buying some "knowledge" from people who have already been there, done that and got the T-shirt. That way you can spend less and get more bang for your buck or your time.

About The Author:
John Taylor is a prolific writer, he is the author of several Internet Marketing related eBooks, for example... http://Test-and-Track.com. jt@clickforcontent.com
This article was posted on April 03, 2005
Article Source: The Articles Directoty

Can Blogging Increase Web Traffic?

Blogging is merely keeping of a log at a website. It is a combination of the words "Web" and "log". Blogging is carried out through a blogging software that maintains the daily posts on the site. It doesn’t take long to set up blogs and once installed you can update it easily with lots of content daily.

To keep a blog is simply to maintain a page on your site where there can be daily posting of new content by the website owner or the visitors to the site. Blogging has one particular striking feature - the information there is always kept fresh as there are daily entries.

Our interest in blogs is in its search engine placement significance. Blogs can fetch you a lot of web traffic without any effort at all.

Search engines tend to rank sites with content favorably. Since a blog posts fresh content to the site on daily basis, the information at such a place is kept fresh and current making it a preferred destination for visitors. The web is about information - current and meaningful ones so as the information in the blog gets updated constantly with rich information so does the ranking on the search engines increase.

Some blogging tools worth looking into include:

Blogger.com - http://www.blogger.com
Blosxom - http://www.blosxom.com/
Drupal - http://www.drupal.org
Geeklog - http://www.geeklog.net/
LittleHJ - http://www.littlehj.com/
ModBlog - http://www.modblog.com/
Movable Type - http://www.movabletype.org/
PHPNuke - http://www.phpnuke.org/
pMachine - http://www.pmachine.com/
Radio UserLand - http://radio.userland.com/
WordPress - http://wordpress.org/

Like in traditional sea, your blogging should be around a central theme or keyword. Too many themes may dilute the consistency of your content and score you down the lane of SEO. Sticking to a central theme will help you to enrich the content of your pages and get favoring scoring in the search engine ranking algorithms.

The most popular blogging tool on the market today is WordPress which can be downloaded from their website at http://wordpress.org/download. Installation is simple and does not require extensive knowledge of programming languages.

Blogging is being used by many sites as a way to passively draw targeted traffic and search engine rankings. Installing one can help you draw web traffic and get noticed quickly by the engines.

Good luck with your website,
Reginald

About the Author:
Reginald Lookforlinks.com
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Blogging As An Internet Marketing Tool

Some reasons why you should use blogging as an Internet marketing and ways to build your market through blogging

Blog is short for the word weblog. A weblog is a journal (or newsletter) that is frequently updated and intended for the consumpution of the general public. Blogs generally represent the personality of the author or the Web site.Blogs can be used in the business world as well. It is a concept that started in late 90s. It used to be a way to comment an existing webpage, an opportunity for visitors and readers to react or voice out ones opinion on the said page. What started as a single-sentence commentary has evolved into pages of personal take on just about anything and everything under the sun. As it continues to move forward, online advertising has tapped into the blogs potential.

Here are some reasons why you should use blogging as an Internet marketing
tool.

Blogging is simple. The simplest way to get your piece on the net is through blogging. No skills are necessary an average adult can read and type, or at least click a mouse. Its like having a virtual piece of paper and you just write your ideas, experiences, new products, and hope that the truth behind your articles comes out and entice your reader to also try your product. If you have a PC and an Internet connection (who does not?) then you can blog and advertise.

Blogging is authentic. In this day and age where advertising saturate our lives, we question the credibility of promoters claims. However, in blogs, real people share their real-life experiences, unscathed by paid advertising. Reading blogs about first-hand product use is like talking to people about their first-hand experience. You definitely want to buy a tried and tested product.

Blogging is free. Because blogging is yet to be proven as a mainstream online advertising media, most sites see it as something to augment current marketing tools and thus offer it for free. Any opportunity for free webtime is definitely a bonus especially to businesses that are starting up. Needless to say, paid blog pages can generate more income for your seriously growing business.

Blogging builds credibility. As you get more and more into writing your experiences on a particular product or industry, your readers come to realize that they can depend on your posts for their own information needs. As such, you become an expert on it; as a consequence, more readers visit your site and more bloggers link to your blogs.

As companies and professional organizations notice the growth of your readership base, they may soon get in touch with you for advertising on your blog page, or make you an affiliate, which pays for every referral generated from your blog site.

Blogging builds your market. Unless you are a Hollywood star,chances are, only your Mom reads your posts. Mom has a lot of friends, so she lets her friends know how interesting your blog site is. But you need not depend on Mom to increase your readership base.

Here are some ways to build your market through blogging:

By using your e-mail. Today, blogging is overcoming the e-mails popularity in quickly and effectively reaching and expanding a market. In this age of speed and quick access, logging in and downloading e-mail is simply taking longer than clicking into a blog site. Let them explore your site by using a short e-mail message as teaser to your blog site. If your e-mail is on an entirely different subject, use your e-mail signature to give a link to the site.

By joining a blog network
A network of blogs maybe a collection of blog sites that share the same industry, interest, readership base, payment mode, etc. Consumers find credibility and convenience in clicking one link to several real bloggers about a single subject. Clearly, more bloggers are better than one.

By understanding your readers. Conduct a simple survey for your readers to understand their profile and advertising preferences. Ask consumers to give you feedback on a post, an ad link, or a trial that you shared. In this way, it is like interviewing your readers without the commitment and intrusion of a face-to-face interview.

By using subscription. An easy way to get your readers e-mail is to give them an opportunity to subscribe to your blogsite. Keep some exclusive information for your subscribers to entice readers to subscribe and give their e-mail address. Just be responsible in using their e-mail address, as the last thing you want is a comment on your blog that you are a spammer.

By using RSS. RSS is the fastest growing technology on the Internet today. As such, having RSS feeds to your blog is definitely another means of generating awareness for your readership base. Having a variety of feeds can add interest to your blog site.

Your business will get a boost by incorporating and effectively using blogging as an Internet marketing tool.

About the Author:
David
For more articles by this author on this subject and the most effective methods of using blogs for profit, visit his site at http://www.Blog-Cash.com
Submitted on 2006-08-07
Article Source: http://www.articlesalley.com/

Blogging For Dollars: Your One-Minute Business

Have you ever wanted to work for yourself? Imagine - you could decide when and where you work, how much you want to earn, and best of all, no one could ever fire you.

What if I told you that you could start your own business in less than one minute?

You can.

You can start your own business in less than one minute by creating a blog. A blog is essentially an instant-publishing solution. Think of it as creating your own magazine. If that sounds intimidating, it's not. You're a mine of information and knowledge, but you're using all that know-how for someone else. When you create a blog, you're using that information for yourself.

You can create your blog today, and start adding entries to it. You can even monetize your blog today. Tomorrow, and for the next few weeks, you add more information to your blog. And then - you can make your blog your business, sooner than you thought possible.

Thousands of others are already developing their blogs into low-cost, instant businesses. Would you believe that some bloggers earn tens of thousands of dollars a month? They do. You can do it as well.

Start your blogging business today

You can start your blog in less than one minute. Go to Blogger.com (which is owned by Google) and create a blog. This blog is your new business.

Choose a topic for your blog on which you're an expert. Not an expert? Of course you are. You're an expert on what you do. If you're a mother, you're an expert. If you're a student, you're an expert. If you're a bricklayer, you're an expert.

Or, choose a topic that's your favorite hobby: sports, cooking, eBay auctions - the choices are endless. What do you love? Create a blog based on your passion.

Monetize your blog

Once you've created a Blogger blog, monetizing the blog is easy. Google does it for you, by running AdSense advertisements on your blog. Businesses pay Google to run ads, and Google pays you. You just need to set up an AdSense account (it takes minutes), wait for Google to approve it (takes a day) and then insert the ads into your blog. Check the Blogger Help file for all the information you need.

Keep adding information, and collect cash

The next step is to keep adding information - blog entries - to your blog. The rate at which you add entries is up to you. You'll find that the first few days of creating entries take longest. This is because you're building your blogging muscles. Within four days, you'll have gotten into the swing of it, and you'll find that it just takes minutes to create a blog entry.

As you add entries, they will be indexed in Google, and when readers visit your blog and click on the AdSense ads, you earn money. The more visitors, the more you earn. It takes around a month for you to start seeing consistent income from your blog. Then, as you keep blogging, your income will rise steadily.

There are many other ways to earn income from your blog.

So there you have it: your one-minute business. No other business is as easy or as simple. And very few other businesses are as profitable.

About the Author:
Angela Booth is a veteran copywriter and blogger. Her ebook, Blogging For Dollars: How to become a career blogger -- in your PJs, if you want, is available at http://www.abmagic.com/Blog/blogging.html You can visit the book's blog at http://www.dollars2blog.com/blog/ Angela will show you how to turn a humble blog into a great career, or a lucrative business.
Article Submitted On: September 21, 2006
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com