TypePad Review

Typepad logoTypePad is a powerful blogging platform that works a little different than other blog creation sites. It is a subscription based system meaning that it is not free, which distinguishes Typepad from Blogger or WordPress.com. Users choose a monthly package from three choices, the Plus package, the Unlimited, and the Business Class. Prices range from $8.95 to $14.95 to $89.95 per month. A fourteen-day trial offer is available but you still must provide billing information and your subscription ends only if you cancel the service. Even though it is not free, TypePad is still considered one of the most popular blogging sites.

Following are listed some of the reasons why users like TypePad and reasons why they dislike it.

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Review: Adbrite

AdBrite, originally called MarketBanker, was actually a new concept for selling ads. Basically, it was a contextual type advertising method, but it was unique because instead of websites having to find their own advertisers, they could place their criteria for ads in this marketplace and find advertisers. It also had a revenue generating section for publishers who did not sell advertising on their sites, but rather, wanted to earn some extra revenue from ads that were served to their pages.

Although the program was great for webmasters selling ad space, AdBrite, as a contextual model like AdSense, was not as lucrative and in some cases not even productive. The biggest problem was the ads were not targeted. Many were not relevant to the web pages’ content. Plus, there were not many ads so the same ones appeared over and over again which bored the site users.

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Review: Yahoo! Publisher Network

Yahoo! Publisher Network, more commonly known as YPN, was Yahoo’s version of Google AdSense. It was a contextual ad program where webmasters could earn revenue from Yahoo! in return for placing ads on their websites and acquiring leads or paid customers. Unfortunately, the program was fraught with problem after problem and is now basically defunct. The sad part about YPN was it was a program with good features, it was just never developed fully. In fact, it never made it out of the Beta stage and because of this, it was only offered to webmasters with US tax numbers.

In the early days, publishers were able to make quite a bit of money from the program. Because it was new, the pay per click revenue was much higher than Google for instance. Webmasters who were able to test both programs indicated that they were getting sometimes at least four and five times the click dollar rate. But, they also indicated that the click-thru percentage was very poor because the ads were not consistently targeted to their content. Also, in the beginning, there were not as many restrictions with the ads as in later days.

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Drupal Review

drupal logoIf you are a novice web developer, you will be confused about the content management system (CMS) that must be implemented on your website. Plenty of software packages (free and proprietary) are available and only the adept web administrators can identify the vantages of a suitable CMS. In the succeeding sections, I will be explaining the advantages of Drupal. Examples of notable websites developed using Drupal include the official website of the Whitehouse and this car theft website. In fact, many other portals maintained by the federal government make good use of the same CMS platform. Despite humble beginnings as a blogging platform, this web publishing package could conquer heights (and minds) effortlessly.

If you plan to make your website search engine friendly, then you must develop the portal using Drupal. Increasing the page ranking of a website will play out to be highly feasible to the web administrator. Another term that you might come across is “modules”. Modules are nothing but plug-ins meant to augment the overall functionality of a website. Innumerable modules are available for Drupal. Hence, you can customize the portal according to your necessities – swiftly, easily and effectively. Conflicts between modules might arise sometimes; you must be wary of such consequences before implementing them on your website.

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How much money does my web site have to make before going Pro?

Webmasters start an online business with the intent of earning some extra cash to pay bills or making a full-time living. Others want to speak about their passions and decide to work on a website to meet people with the same hobbies. And often times, these hobby sites can become serious online enterprises.

Business FundingBut the same question remains for many web property owners. How much money does my web site have to make before going Pro? Here we define “pro” as having a legally registered business entity and leaving a job to work on the site full-time.

In broad terms, the amount of money you “must” make from your website to go pro is different depending on the individual and where the business is located. There is no magic number to which everyone should aspire. But in specific terms, there are several considerations that webmasters should review when deciding to go pro or not.

First, let’s look at leaving your job to maintain your website. The amount of money that you require is at least the same amount you receive from your employer. You must be able to replace your current earnings. But for some people, even that may not be enough.

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The dangers of quitting your day job for your e-business

online businessSo you started an online business some time ago and you figure that it is time you spend all day working on the site so that you can make a full-time income right? Maybe…. Before quitting your job for your online work, you need to understand that there are some serious risks to doing that, so we are going to show you EIGHT real dangers of quitting your day job for your e-business.

    1. Businesses, whether online or bricks and mortar, are usually seasonally. What are you going to do in the long, dry months when very little or no money comes in? Do you have the financial resources to see through this time period?
    2. Your business model, if you have one, could be a “fad”. Once the hype is over and users are on to something else, how will you reinvent yourself? And how quickly can you get something up and running to compensate for the lost revenue of the first venture?
    3. Hours worked on a website is not relative to the amount of money earned, whatever kind of online business you are in. What that means is if you make $20 for doing nothing (you set up your website and are trying to decide what to do next), it does not mean that if you work 20 hours per week, you will earn 20 times the $20. Bottom line, you are not going to quit your day job, work twenty hours the next week on your website, and find $400 in your bank account. While it is true that the more you work on your website, the more potential you have, money and time are not direct correlations. You cannot guarantee earnings this way.
    4. Everyone has the read the stories about someone starting a website on a shoestring and making it big-time. These stories are not the norm. You hear about them after the people have long been successful. You do not hear about the millions who failed. To gain any momentum on the internet not only takes long hours and a good strategy (business model), but it also takes money.
    5. Your business always depends on someone or something else. For example, if an affiliate program can no longer pay, you are out your commissions – one of many problems for a starting an online business. If your host or server goes down for some reason, you have no revenue. If the search engines change their algorithms, you could be in for some serious trouble as you watch your income fade overnight. When the hacker decides to mash up your site, your income is lost.
    6. When you go to your day job, you are expected to complete a certain number of tasks in a day in order to get paid. But when you are working for yourself online, it is VERY easy to get sidetracked and ultimately waste time, even days. Many people spend so much time “learning” and “reading”, that they never do anything. Money is not made by perusing. It is made by doing something concrete and having people buy something.
    7. Depression and poor motivation are serious issues with quitting your day job and focusing on your e-business. You have no-one else. Plus, you may in fact be trying really hard and putting in a long day’s work but you have not seen a full-time earnings. It is hard to watch your money and time being spent without getting upset or down.
    8. Earnings are not consistent for a long time in online business. Typically it takes years to build a consistent income. Just because you might have three good months in a row, does mean that level can be maintained. The income can drop as quickly as it came. Until you have about eight to twelve months of the same revenue, you are best served to stay at your day job.

One other thing that should be noted is that these scenarios are not “maybe this will happen”. These are all things that are happening as the norm everyday to millions of webmasters around the globe. So please, recognize the dangers of quitting your day job for your e-business.

Blogger Review

blogger logoBlogger.com is a free blogging platform owned by Google that allows you to instantly publish your information whether it be articles, pictures, videos, personal stuff, or business content. It even works very nicely in conjunction with a ready-made website. As with wordpress.com, you won’t need web hosting, you won’t need any technical skills – it’s very easy!

For example, if you sell wedding shoes so your main site is ecommerce-driven, and you want to quickly set up a blog to provide tips about how to choose the right shoes, Blogger gives you that ability without having to make a new website or using a different script on your existing website. All you do is link to your Blogger page from your regular website and presto, you have an informative blog and your customers are happy!

But, like all free accounts, there are reasons for and reasons against using the site. Here are some of the main ones.

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WordPress.com Review

Wordpress logoWordPress.com is an exciting blogging platform that can help you get on the internet with no cost and little work. Unlike wordpress.org where you install the script on your own hosting account and domain, wordpress.com does not require web hosting nor domain names. Everything is stored right on the wordpress.com site and you are basically up and running in a matter of minutes. That sounds like a whole bunch of advantages, no?

For new webmasters, this is the ideal solution to express yourselves and get your opinions published without the hassle of dealing with web hostingphp and editing template files…

So let’s take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of using WordPress.com as a blogging platform…

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Ranking In Country Specific Search Engines

Have you ever considered how search engines are able to display the most relevant results? An Indian searching for personal injury lawyers is interested in learning about prominent attorneys in India. Imagine the scenario when Google displays the contact details of an American lawyer to an Indian user! In simple terms, search engines incorporate advanced algorithms that display results that are highly relevant to a country or a particular region. In the subsequent sections, we will consider the same comprehensively.

flagsIn order to obtain a good ranking in the country specific search engines, you will have to consider certain strategies. You must always consider the country where you are planning to host the website. For example, if you wish to promote a service in America, please ensure that an American company that has servers in USA does the web hosting. If you tweak the website in an optimum manner, then the search engine rankings will increase within no time. Many webmasters fail to grasp this concept and wonder what went wrong! Because we’re active in Belgium, we are experts on the subject. Many of our sites, like our wine site, rank in both Belgium and The Netherlands with different pages.

How does a search engine determine the country of an internet user? Every cyber citizen will have a unique IP address. This IP address is relevant to an ISP (internet service provider). Search engines will determine the ISP and will subsequently display country specific search results. The same company will employ another strategy too to determine the precise location of a user. The domain name plays a significant role in deciding the appropriate location. For instance, the websites hosted in the United Kingdom will have a co.uk domain name. Similarly, those websites hosted in China will have co.cn domain attributes. If you wish to entertain the interests of the Chinese, please opt for a co.cn domain and a web hosting company that has servers in China.

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Making a Twitter Page for your Business/Web site: The Benefits

TWITTER LOGOTwitter page is a good idea for businesses who want to keep themselves and their brands in the limelight. That does mean that every time you “tweet”, you have to promote your website link, but it does mean that you should be adding useful information to conversations to let people know you care and can offer something of value or substance. Although there are no specific rules of etiquette for using Twitter, there are nonetheless, some things that are common sense really. Before we look at the benefits of making a Twitter page for your business or website, let’s examine two things which you must avoid.

1. Avoid the urge to “tweet” 24/7. Unfortunately many people are finding that Twitter is addicting. Somehow they feel if they are not tweeting, they are out of the loop. Understand that reading every update and tweeting is a detriment to your business and your time management.

2. Although Twitter is very informal, avoid the urge to talk about frivolities. Be professional. No-one cares about your cat using the litter box or your pants that are too short.

Despite these two warnings, there are a variety of reasons and benefits to make a Twitter page for your business. Here is our list abbreviated in point form.

  • A way to build excitement and interest for a new product. You can give users advance notice of an event or a product launch in the pipeline.
  • Responses are immediate which aids in information gathering. If you want to know what your customers think or need input on something, a poll or question will help you get what you need. Just be careful not to divulge proprietary info for which you have not yet trademarked or patented.
  • A form of networking. Find joint ventures, freelancers, customers, and mentors.
  • Twitter is a consistent place to find you. Many people follow others on particular blogs or magazines. Once you are no longer a contributor, there is no way to follow you anymore. A Twitter page resolves that issue.
  • Encourages you to work especially when your page is busy.
  • Gives you the topics to create articles and blog posts.
  • Spy on your competitors.
  • If you need clarification on something, get help from others by asking your question.
  • You will receive traffic if you are helpful to others. Don’t only use your links to your website but also show links to general websites which are beneficial to the reader. For example, if you do accounting, and someone asks a particular question, there is no reason why you cannot send her to the relevant page on the IRS site or a certified accounting association.
  • Twitter users will spread your word if they like you.
  • People are more in tune with an identity, a person, rather than a company logo.
  • Level playing field. You can connect with experts where otherwise it would have been impossible. Try contacting experts by telephone or mail. But many times, they will communicate with you on Twitter pages.
  • Twitter gets information out instantly. Many see the “news” on Twitter pages before newspapers.
  • More than one person in an organization can tweet on the page.
  • Search to find out what others think about your products and add useful information to their sites. But do not get defensive and engage in combat. Use the information to improve your situation. Be helpful above all.
  • Can be used for instant meetings when people are not in the same location.

As you can see, if used properly, making a Twitter page for your business or website has many benefits. We have a very young twitter-page over at @dom4j – but have had great succes with The Lingerie Post‘s twitter-page!