Archive for September, 2008
Tuesday, September 16th, 2008
I am talking about copyright infringement on your website here.
Say, one morning you wake up to find that someone has copy and pasted your homepage (among other pages) text onto their homepage. I am sure you would get rather peeved at the sight of that. I mean, it’s not a trivial matter here. Website copy costs good money. There are keywords you have to think about and research and many, many more variables that led you to place that copy on your web page. For someone to just steal it like that is very frustrating, to say the least.
So, what can you do to deal with the situation? Well, according to Wikipedia, there are a few things you need to do:
1. Establish ownership
2. Establish actual copying
3. Establish misappropriation
These are the items you need to get squared away before anything else. Again, I am just getting these things from Wikipedia.
There is something out there called the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) that kind of governs the whole online copyright issue. It was signed into law on October 28, 1998 and extends the reach of copyright to protect online assets as well.
With this new online protection, it makes handing the issue over to your attorney much easier and less expensive. They have something concrete to work with, and since we all know how attorneys get paid by the hour, that matters.
Once your attorney has the information they he/she needs, they can go ahead and send a notification claiming infringement to the website hosting provider of the website that copied your work. According to the attorney I work with, the hosting provider usually takes the site down rather quickly upon receiving a letter like this. I would think they don’t really want to get in the middle of this kind of thing.
The owner of the website can always go ahead and set up shop with a different hosting provider, but that shows a certain amount of audacity on their part and I would think you could go after someone like this personally. In my opinion, it is much easier to change the copy on their website than to fight you in court.
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Posted in Legal, Websites | No Comments »
Monday, September 15th, 2008
Today has been an interesting day. We have been taking a look at our websites and searching for duplicate content using Copyscape. After today’s findings, we might just go with Copyscape’s premium service.
Now, let me just tell you that duplicate content is everywhere. Actually, someone has probably written this sentence a million times. What we were searching for today was blatant and far reaching content theft. We found a few instances of one of our homepages and general website idea taken for someone else’s use as well as many instances of interior pages taken. Needless to say, we made screen copies of these cases and sent them to our attorney’s office. These are serious and can’t be ignored.
I would like to talk about two things you can do to help out a more subtle form of duplicate content, on your own website.
The first form of duplicate content on your own website is in the form of www vs. non-www. If you go to your website and type in “www.mysite.com” and then type in “mysite.com,” you may see the same page appear. In the search engine’s eyes, these are two copies of the same page. How do you fix this? It’s easy. Just open up your .htaccess file and type in the following code:
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} !^www\.mysite\.com
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://www.mysite.com/$1 [R=permanent,L]
When someone types in “mysite.com” to visit your website, they will automatically be forwarded to “www.mysite.com.” The search engines will be forwarded as well.
Another form of duplicate content on your own website comes in the form of “www.mysite.com/” vs. “www.mysite.com/index.html.” The search engines see this same page as two different ones. What to do? That’s easy too. Just open up your .htaccess again and type in the following code:
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{THE_REQUEST} ^[A-Z]{3,9}\ /index\.html\ HTTP/
RewriteRule ^index\.html$ http://www.mysite.com/ [R=301,L]
When someone either types in “www.mysite.com/index.html” or follows a link like that to your website, they will be automatically be forwarded to “www.mysite.com.”
Now, here is the disclaimer. I used this on my server setup and it worked. Please check with your own hosting company to see if something similar will work for your too.
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Posted in SEO, Websites | 1 Comment »
Monday, September 15th, 2008
A colleague of mine gave me a call yesterday morning with some rather upsetting news. Apparently, one of his websites took a plunge in its Google Ranking. He wanted to know what could cause such a sudden drop in Google Ranking like this.
I really didn’t have an answer for him. The site has been alive (but in the Google Sandbox) for about four years. It always struck me as strange that the site was sandboxed for such a long time. It literally took four years to come from page 30 in the Google Rankings to page one. Suddenly, last month, the website appeared on page one for its most prime keywords. Now, this wasn’t a gradual change in ranking, it was a huge jump.
The website doesn’t appear to have anything wrong with it. I gave the entire site a once over. I checked the typical meta information and linking structure and found nothing wrong. The website really hasn’t changed in months, besides the content, so it led me to believe there are outside forces at work.
The question I have is, “Why would a website, with a poor ranking, suddenly rank number five on Google one month and then fall back to page 24 the next month?”
I tried to get some information out of my friend. The only thing major he did in the past few weeks is to add a custom 404 or Not Found error message. I checked the 404 page to make sure the headers were correct and not giving 200 results. They error 404 pages were fine.
Then, I went over to Copyscape to see if there were any copies of his homepage. I have heard this can cause a sudden drop in Google rankings. I did find a proxy website that had almost his entire website cached and was trying to pull it off as its own. This wasn’t a typical proxy server trying to speed up the internet. This was something else…more like an intercept proxy.
I looked in the log files to find the IP address of this proxy website. I found it and blocked the IP address in his .htaccess file and then checked the proxy website again. His website no longer showed and was replaced by the Red Hat error page instead.
We will have to give this a few weeks to see if anything changes. I am now thinking that is something does change (for the better), this may have been what was causing the extremely long Google Sandbox issue as well.
If you have any further suggestions, please let me know via comment.
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Posted in Websites | 2 Comments »
Monday, September 15th, 2008
This article was written by Jay Gaulard on behalf of ArticleHub.US, a popular article submission website.
The more you write articles online, the more free advertising you can take advantage of. The more you read articles online, the more prepared you will be to tackle your own business ups and downs.
Write and Read Articles Online: Why You Should Do It Too
Do you have a lot to say but don’t know how to get people to listen? Do you need information about a particular subject, but don’t know the best way to find it? The answers are right in front of you and they are free and easy to find.
If you are a writer wanting to be heard, write online articles. If you are a reader looking for information about certain subjects, read online articles. It’s that simple. Millions of people have discovered the benefits of writing and reading articles online. So, what is the big attraction and what’s in it for you?
Write Online Articles
If you have a business, product or service you want to promote, the best way to do it is to write online articles about it and get them widely read. That is where companies called article marketers, who publish your articles come in to play.
Publishing online articles with an article marketing website allows you to get your name and what you are promoting out there. The beauty of it is you don’t have to spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars on marketing and promotional tools. Writing articles online gives you the benefit of free advertising and promotion.
The best method to successfully write online articles is to focus on the key features of what you are trying to promote. Then, write an article summing up those features and detailing why they would be of benefit to your prospective buyers. You will not only get your name and product or service out there, but you will also build yourself a reputation as an authority figure on your particular subject.
Benefits of Writing Online Articles
* Get more clicks on your links
* Raise your ranking in the search engines
* Attract your target audiences and traffic
* Improve your Internet presence
* Gain recognition as an expert
* Increase your sales
* Take advantage of free advertising
* Repeat traffic
Read Online Articles
There is also much to gain when you read online articles. If you are trying to start a business, you have a lot of research ahead of you. You will save a lot of time and energy by reading about what others have done in your situation. You can find out what works and what doesn’t. You can learn the best methods to go about certain tasks through someone else’s trial and error.
Online articles in the form of trade publications give you the latest information in your industry. This information includes details on subjects like:
* Latest industry trends
* Current customer needs
* Most popular product lines
* Successful marketing strategies of your competitors
* Upcoming trade show information
* Contact information about suppliers
* Upcoming new products from competitors
The more you read online articles, the more prepared you will be when it comes time to launch your new business or latest product or service. The Internet is the number one venue for sales and marketing of any business. This even includes companies that do most of their business in person and offline.
The bottom line is this: The more you write articles online, the more free advertising you can take advantage of. The more you read articles online, the more prepared you will be to tackle your own business ups and downs. It is a win, win opportunity that is just an Internet page and a mouse click away. Why not take advantage of both free advertising and learning from someone else’s mistakes? The only outcome you can expect is free and easy success. Who could ask for more than that?
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Posted in Advertising, Articles | No Comments »
Monday, September 15th, 2008
This article was written by Jay Gaulard on behalf of ArticleLeeg, a popular online article website.
Marketing your business through online article websites allows you to reach a huge number of prospective customers without spending a lot of money.
Using Online Article Websites to Promote Yourself
These days it really doesn’t matter if you sell products and services online or offline. Your prospective buyers may live a block from you and can run down the street to purchase your goods. They will still likely find you, or at least keep up with your activities online. This is why you should use the Internet for your promotional and marketing efforts. So, how do you use online article websites to promote your business? The answer is really very simple.
Marketing through online article websites allows businesses to reach prospective clients down the block or on the other side of the world. The subjects of your online articles should be designed to reach your niche market. This is the group of prospective consumers that are already interested in your type of product or service. By beginning to make a name for yourself, you will become a recognized seller and an expert in your field. People will trust you and your advice and they will pass the word to others who may be interested in your products or services.
Online Article Marketing
Marketing your business through online article websites allows you to reach a huge number of prospective customers without spending a lot of money. These websites basically do all of the legwork for you. You only have to submit a well-written, keyword rich and informative article that conveys the information you want to get distributed. Interested consumers are already looking for information about your products or services. The more they see your name appear with informational content, the more they will see you as an expert on the subject.
Think about how you search for information about a particular subject. You type keywords into your search box, and the search engine brings up the matches for you. Seems easy enough, right? It really is. All you have to do is supply good information and proper keywords in your article and the marketing website uses those keywords to get your article searched by the most popular search engines.
Writing the Online Article
Write a catchy headline that includes your keywords. The title is the first thing the search engine spiders will crawl to see if the article is appropriate to the requested search. It is your first chance to win someone over. A good title either grabs the readers’ attention or makes them move on. The title should convey the topic your article covers.
Use keywords strategically placed throughout the article. Also be sure your article is search engine optimized (SEO) so that you are providing a lot of useful information that will be ranked high on the search engine lists. You submit the article to a good online article website and provide your website and contact information in the author’s box. That’s it!
When someone types in the keywords you have used, your article will be one of the references that appears on their results list. The more articles you submit like this, the more recognizable your name and product becomes. Internet technology has created new avenues for businesses to promote their websites, their products and services and their overall philosophies and knowledge about their area of expertise. Through the use of online article websites, you can promote and build your business successfully whether you want to remain small and home-based or become a multi-million dollar conglomerate. As you promote your business, you will also be able to do more of the following:
* Obtain more customers
* Enjoy the freedom of using the Internet on your own schedule
* Make use of all of the Internet marketing options available to you
* Take up less of your time for marketing efforts
You really have nothing to lose and everything to gain by using online article websites to promote your business. Why not get that first article written and submitted to an online article website today? What are you waiting for?
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Posted in Advertising, Articles, Business, Directories | No Comments »
Monday, September 15th, 2008
This article was written by Jay Gaulard on behalf of BlogLeeg, a popular blog directory.
If you’re blogging without pinging blog directories, you’re missing out. Blog directories help your blog get more traffic.
Blog Directories Can Bring Big Traffic to Your Blog
When the Internet was young, search engine traffic came at a premium price. Websites could buy their way into search engine listings, but there was no guarantee that the purchase would result in a significant amount of traffic.
Today, the rules are much different. In some ways it’s much easier to get great traffic from search engines, but in other ways it’s even harder. A website has to have a lot of clout before Google or Yahoo will list it in their top returns, but there are many ways to make your site more attractive to the search engines.
If you’re trying to build traffic for a blog, the best thing you can do for increased traffic is to blog and ping. This slightly humorous-sounding term simply means that you let blog directories know each time you make a new blog post.
By cluing in the blog directories whenever you add a new blog post, you’re building traffic in two ways. You might get an initial rush of traffic from the blog directory as readers click through to see your new entry. The real magic happens when the search engines follow the link from the blog directory back to your blog.
The search engine then finds other material to index. As you keep getting more links to your blog, the search engine has more pages to index. Eventually you’ll find your blog turning up in searches. You won’t be in the top couple of pages right away, but you will see your search engine traffic rise.
Blog and ping might sound a little complicated, but it’s actually very easy. Most major blog platforms ping the major blog directories automatically. If you want to ping a blog directory that’s not listed in their default list, you can usually add it manually.
What if you don’t actually have a blog yet? Well, it’s time to hop on the bandwagon. Blogs are useful for conveying your personal thoughts to anyone and everyone, about whatever subjects you choose. You can keep in touch with far-away relatives or just give yourself a creative outlet.
Lately, though, blogs are used quite often as marketing tools for businesses. The business blog can take many forms, from an informal journal kept by a CEO to a formal, frequently-updated record of new products.
Setting up a new blog is not difficult at all, and you have several options to do it. Most often, new bloggers set up a blog with one of the popular blogging platforms. These platforms offer standard templates, or you can create your own to match your company’s color scheme or your personal preferences.
Once your blog is set up and ready to go, don’t forget to make sure that it pings every blog directory possible. Blogging without pinging the blog directories is like spinning your wheels: you’re doing something, but you’re not making any progress.
If your blogging platform does not support pinging or doesn’t submit to the directories you want, you can use software to accomplish the same thing. It’s available under many different titles, but the basic function is to take your most recent blog post and send it to several blog directories. Your links start building up, your search engine traffic increases, and you are one happy blogger.
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Posted in Blogs, Directories | 1 Comment »
Monday, September 15th, 2008
This article was written by Jay Gaulard on behalf of http://www.experato.com, a popular website directory.
Does your online business need more exposure than it’s currently getting? To jump start your business and see your number of online visitors skyrocket, try using an online website directory service.
Boost Your Website Traffic with a Directory Service
Are you looking to increase traffic to your website? Does your online business need more exposure than it’s currently getting? To jump start your business and see your number of online visitors skyrocket, try using an online website directory service.
An online website directory service is a website that features every type of business imaginable. From dog food to florists, all of the business websites are neatly categorized into headings and subheadings.
The category system of organization helps the online website directory to be as user friendly as possible. It offers up a wealth of information in a manner that is easy to understand.
It is important for web surfers to find the information they desire quickly and easily. Website directories are constructed to make a visitor’s experience convenient and hassle free. The pleasant experience a potential customer encounters when using a website directory will directly affect their overall impression of your business.
If you are affiliated with a directory that is well-designed and easy to use, it makes your business look professional. If you are listed on a sub-par site that is cluttered and chaotic, it will make your business look unorganized and give a bad impression to your potential clients.
Often, the best online website directory service is one that listens to the needs of its visitors. For instance, if a web surfer sees that a new category is needed for a certain group of businesses, the website should make it easy for them to submit their suggestions.
After all, their ease of use on the website translates into web traffic for their valued advertisers. Make sure the online directory you choose to list your business with cares about the satisfaction of their visitors.
Many online website directory services also allow their users to rank and review the websites they frequent. If you have a particularly good website, listing it on a directory service is a must. It will earn you the positive feedback that your online content deserves.
Another convenient feature that is offered by a good online website directory service is a search tool. Imagine if a potential client was looking for your website through the directory, but couldn’t remember the exact name of your business. The client could simply go back to the directory and type in as much of your business’ name as could be remembered.
Because there are far fewer competitors listed in an online website directory than in a huge search engine, clients are far more likely to find your website again. In this manner, an online website directory service makes you easier to find online than lots of the competition.
In fact, some directories offer more than a simple, standard search feature. The best directories offer an advanced search option, sometimes called a power search, that allows visitors to search by a person’s name, e-mail address or business category. This is very useful if a potential client can remember your e-mail address, but not your business’ name or phone number.
Often, you can add your business’ website to an online directory service for free. The directory will provide you with a backlink to your website at no cost to you, just like registering your domain name for free with the major search engines. So, if there’s no charge, listing your website on a directory is a no-brainer.
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Posted in Advertising, Directories | No Comments »
Monday, September 15th, 2008
This article was written by Jay Gaulard on behalf of FigLeeg Classifieds, a popular free classifieds website.
Online marketing is the most effective way to promote a business, whether it is an online business or actually has a storefront. Classified ads can be an effective online marketing tool.
How to Promote Your Business Using Classified Ads
Classified ads can be very effective in online marketing. Free classified ads fit into every budget. It all comes down to how much time you are willing to spend creating, posting, updating and deleting ads. Depending on your particular product or service, it can be time-consuming to respond to interested parties, deliver goods or services and maintain a high level of customer service.
Selling through free classified ads can help you promote your business. Include your company’s name, product information and a website link in your ads to gain more attention. Include pictures whenever possible to give customers a better idea of what they can expect if they make a purchase from you.
The Benefits of Promoting on Classified Ad Sites
Aside from saving you money in advertising costs, placing ads on free classified sites has many other benefits. These include:
* Targeted traffic directed to your website.
* Instant posting.
* Few rules regarding what can be posted.
* The opportunity to test your ad copy at no cost before placing ads on websites that draw more traffic but charge a fee.
* The ability to track your visitors and gauge how successful each ad is.
* The ability to build your opt-in list and follow up with potential customers.
Tips for Promoting Your Business Using Free Classified Ads
Promoting your business with free classified ads is relatively easy. Still, there are some steps that can make your campaign more successful. Keep these tips in mind:
* Familiarize yourself with the terms of the classified ad site before posting. This will help you avoid having your ads deleted.
* Place ads frequently for better results. Update weekly to keep your posts at the top so you get more views.
* Remain professional, both in your classified ads and in dealings with potential customers.
* Make sure your ad shines and stands out from the crowd without being too loud or obnoxious.
* Include keywords to help targeted customers find your ads.
Classified Ads and Niche Marketing
One particularly effective way to get more targeted traffic from your free classified ads is to choose sites that are very specific in nature. For example, if you own a company that sells creative and unique baskets, then you can place your ad on a site for gifts. If you own a used car dealership, however, the gift site is not going to work for you. You can advertise in the automobile section of a general site, but you can also search for classified ad sites that are specifically geared toward car enthusiasts. The key is that visitors to these sites will already be interested in what you have to offer.
Traditional Advertising Versus Online Marketing
The advertising world has changed a lot over the last decade. Traditional print ads are not as effective as they once were. They also can be costly. Online marketing is the most effective way to promote a business, whether it is an online business or actually has a storefront. Free classified ads should certainly be included in your marketing strategy. Carefully track your website traffic to gauge how effective each ad is, and then make adjustments as needed. Online marketing is here to stay. Avoiding this valuable tool is like shutting the door on potential customers.
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Posted in Advertising, Classifieds | 1 Comment »
Monday, September 15th, 2008
This article was written by Jay Gaulard on behalf of FlyLeeg Classifieds , a popular free classifieds website.
Free classifieds are a great way to buy, sell, and find employment. Since newspapers and paper classifieds are dying out, the shift to online classifieds has made connecting with other people even easier.
Find What You Need Online With Free Classifieds
The Want-Ads and Bargain Finder, once the major carriers of classified ads, are being upstaged by online classifieds, especially free classifieds. The Internet allows classifieds to run without the cost of printing and distribution. This enables many more ads to be listed and updated daily, making a much wider variety of services, products and job listings available.
Free classifieds are a great way to buy, sell, and find employment. Since newspapers and paper classifieds are dying out, the shift to online classifieds has made connecting with other people easier than ever. Online classifieds enable you to reach a larger audience, exponentially raising your chances of connecting with the right people. A lot of the largest online services cost money, either by subscription or pay-per-use, but many new sites specialize in free classifieds.
Free classifieds provide you with a venue to sell almost anything you want. Don’t feel like having a garage sale? Put that old exercise machine in an online classified and wait for buyers to contact you. Did you recently replace all the furniture in your living room, but don’t know what to do with your old furniture? List it as a sale in an online classified ad. Make sure that you let potential buyers know that the furniture is, of course, “like new.” Describe the items that you are selling in as much detail as you can. Keep to the space provided, and use abbreviations if needed.
If you’re seeking employment, free classifieds are a great way to find a new career. Employers are constantly adding new listings to classified websites. As long as you’re vigilant and know the types of positions that interest you, you’ll be able to find companies looking for people like you in online classified ads. Listings usually give all the pertinent information such as requirements, salary and hours per week. Keep looking until you find the right job for you.
Online classifieds are also great for musicians looking to connect with other musicians. Taking over the once dominant music store bulletin board, musician classified ads can help you find the right upright bass player for your swing band. On the other hand, if you’re just starting out in a new city and are looking for musicians to collaborate with, then online classifieds are perfect for you. List the instruments and styles in which you specialize, and what you’re interested in accomplishing. Are you a professional, seeking other like minded musicians to form the ultimate touring group? Or are you just looking to have fun in your spare time? Free classifieds help musicians find what they are looking for every day.
Many free classifieds are able to remain free because of other forms of paid advertising on their site. You won’t be connected in any way, shape or form to these businesses, though. It’s a completely separate service that provides funding for the site.
Whatever you’re looking for, free classifieds are bound to have it. Whether you need a job, an accordionist or a new computer, online classified ads are a great place to look. You are sure to find someone online that’s offering exactly the type of classified ad you need.
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Posted in Advertising, Classifieds | No Comments »
Monday, September 15th, 2008
This article was written by Jay Gaulard on behalf of FlyLeeg Classifieds , a popular free classifieds website.
Free classifieds are a great way to buy, sell, and find employment. Since newspapers and paper classifieds are dying out, the shift to online classifieds has made connecting with other people even easier.
Find What You Need Online With Free Classifieds
The Want-Ads and Bargain Finder, once the major carriers of classified ads, are being upstaged by online classifieds, especially free classifieds. The Internet allows classifieds to run without the cost of printing and distribution. This enables many more ads to be listed and updated daily, making a much wider variety of services, products and job listings available.
Free classifieds are a great way to buy, sell, and find employment. Since newspapers and paper classifieds are dying out, the shift to online classifieds has made connecting with other people easier than ever. Online classifieds enable you to reach a larger audience, exponentially raising your chances of connecting with the right people. A lot of the largest online services cost money, either by subscription or pay-per-use, but many new sites specialize in free classifieds.
Free classifieds provide you with a venue to sell almost anything you want. Don’t feel like having a garage sale? Put that old exercise machine in an online classified and wait for buyers to contact you. Did you recently replace all the furniture in your living room, but don’t know what to do with your old furniture? List it as a sale in an online classified ad. Make sure that you let potential buyers know that the furniture is, of course, “like new.” Describe the items that you are selling in as much detail as you can. Keep to the space provided, and use abbreviations if needed.
If you’re seeking employment, free classifieds are a great way to find a new career. Employers are constantly adding new listings to classified websites. As long as you’re vigilant and know the types of positions that interest you, you’ll be able to find companies looking for people like you in online classified ads. Listings usually give all the pertinent information such as requirements, salary and hours per week. Keep looking until you find the right job for you.
Online classifieds are also great for musicians looking to connect with other musicians. Taking over the once dominant music store bulletin board, musician classified ads can help you find the right upright bass player for your swing band. On the other hand, if you’re just starting out in a new city and are looking for musicians to collaborate with, then online classifieds are perfect for you. List the instruments and styles in which you specialize, and what you’re interested in accomplishing. Are you a professional, seeking other like minded musicians to form the ultimate touring group? Or are you just looking to have fun in your spare time? Free classifieds help musicians find what they are looking for every day.
Many free classifieds are able to remain free because of other forms of paid advertising on their site. You won’t be connected in any way, shape or form to these businesses, though. It’s a completely separate service that provides funding for the site.
Whatever you’re looking for, free classifieds are bound to have it. Whether you need a job, an accordionist or a new computer, online classified ads are a great place to look. You are sure to find someone online that’s offering exactly the type of classified ad you need.
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Posted in Advertising | No Comments »
