RSS Chomp Blog
SEO, which stands for search engine optimization, can be difficult to understand if you are not familiar with it. Unfortunately many things you read about SEO on the internet are not always true. There are a lot of myths and misconceptions floating around the net and they can sometimes be hard to confirm or debunk because of the ever changing techniques and the complexities of the search engines.
Some of the most common SEO myths are listed below and with it, the information to expose the truth so you can concentrate on real SEO methods to improve your site rankings and increase your traffic.
1. The more reciprocal links you have on your site, the better your ranking.
Have you ever been to site that is nothing but a long list of links? These sites are called link farms or FFA (Free for All links) and they do nothing for your site’s ranking. They are usually just filled with spam and can hurt your rankings because they are probably in violation of Google’s Webmaster Guidelines which you can find on the Google site.
You also do not want to link to sites that are not relevant to your site. For example: if you own a site that sells jewelry, don’t link to sites about home repair or other topics that don’t relate to your site. You want to find quality sites that can complement yours such as fashion sites, make-up sites, etc. So, keep exchanging links but be selective and choose only quality, content-filled sites that complement your site.
2. You need to manually submit your site to the search engines.
Submitting your website pages to the search engines will not boost your rankings, or help your site get indexed any faster. The search engines find sites by a process called web crawling done by spiders or bots. It has little to do with you filling out those long forms and submitting to the search engines. What will get you indexed faster is a quality site with relevant links, good content and the wise use of keywords.
3. Cramming your site full of keywords means a higher ranking.
Have you ever seen a site that repeated the same words over so many times, it barely makes sense anymore? This is called keyword stuffing. Unfortunately, many people believe the more keywords you can stuff into your site, the better. This is sometimes done to such extremes that the content sounds ridiculous and unprofessional, thus defeating the purpose of the keywords.
For example: Jewelry ‘n More has beautiful diamond rings that don’t cost as much as most diamond rings because our diamond rings are more affordable than other diamond rings. If you are looking for diamond rings, visit our site for diamond rings because we have more diamond rings at cheaper prices than any other diamond rings.
This is really an extreme example but this type of thing does happen. The best way to use keywords is to use different combinations of relevant keywords throughout your site’s content. There is no set number of keywords that will magically make your site appear in the number one position so do not over stuff to the point of redundancy. Your web copy should be natural, professional and informative.
4. Duplicate content can get you banned.
Fortunately this is not true. Using duplicate content on your site can cause problems if it is done in a “spammy” or exaggerated way. If you mix the duplicate content with other quality and relevant content, your site will stand a better chance of a higher ranking. What happens when duplicate content is found by the search engines? Well, once the duplicate content is discovered, the search engine will base their decision (which page to add to the search results) on how long the site has been active, the page rank, the amount of incoming links and other qualifying aspects of the site. Duplicate content is a part of the internet (as we have all seen) and there is no penalty for it.
Many people also believe that using reprint articles on their site will bring them a penalty. This is not so. While you don’t want ALL your site’s content to be duplicates, using quality informative articles on your site (that happen to be published elsewhere) is not a problem for the search engines.
5. Higher page rank means higher search engine ranking.
Many people mistakenly believe that if you have a high page rank, you will also have a high ranking in the search engines. This is not so. Page rank is not as important as most people believe. The search engines use other factors to determine your ranking. You need to have a high quality site with functionality, relevance, a good linking system, good information, user-friendliness and purpose. Do not rely on your page rank to raise your ranking in the search engines.
I hope this information will help you in producing a more search engine friendly site. You can do it yourself but be sure to learn the facts and find out which SEO myths are true and which ones are not.
About the Author:
Don’t be one of the 95% of people who fail at their online business. Terri Seymour can help you make money online. Find out how to increase your traffic and sales with her popular “How to Build Your Online Business” ebook for FREE at: ==> http://www.SeymourProducts.com
A roundup of the top blogs on RSSChomp for June 2011:
1. Best Jobs Philippines
Topic: Jobs / Employment
2. Jobs in Malaysia
Topic: Jobs / Employment
3. Radio Gempak
Topic: Radio
4. Portable Finger Pulse Oximeters
Topic: Health Education
5. Yani Gorri
Topic: Kabbadi / Sports
6. Women Kabbadi – Ghalib Dokhtar
Topic: Kabbadi / Sports
7. According To Patients
Topic: Medical Tourism
8. Briyanshu: Kabbadi Friday
Topic: Kabbadi / Sports
9. Debt Consolidation Blog
Topic: Debt Consolidation
10. Jewelry Store Miami
Topic: Jewelry
Want to see your blog on this top 10 list next month? Submit something to RSS Chomp here: http://www.rsschomp.com/submitsomething.php
It is a moment of happiness when there is a new comer in the world. Everyone greets the little one with tons of presents and endless love. Choosing a gift for a new family member or a friend’s child is not the toughest thing in the world, but it is not that easy due to a wide variety of choices available. You could either go for something that would help their parents or something that the child could play with.
With thousands of choices at hand, it is easy to get confused. Hopefully our list of the top five best gifts for a new born will help you make your decision easier.
1. Teddy Bear
The most prominent and the loveliest gift you can give to a new born baby is a teddy bear. Cute, soft and cuddly, these stuffed toys are as loveable as the baby. Even though the baby is not able to play with it for the first couple of months, later a teddy bear can go on for several years as the best friend of the baby. It gives a very warm and comfortable feeling and it is harmless.
2. Nursery Mobile
This is the thing which you will find hanging above a baby’s cot. These are very useful and also one of the things which help a baby relax in his/her cot. They are available in different shapes such as stars, animals, and cartoon characters. They are also available in different colors as well. You should give deep thought before choosing one as these are the last thing a baby sees before sleeping and the first thing he/she sees after waking up. You don’t want them to wake up crying.
3. Clothes
Every baby can use these. Clothes are available in different designs and colors. Different ranges for boys and different ranges for girls are available to choose from. When you are buying clothes, you can take special care of the material of the cloth, as a rough material could cause itching or rashes. Baby clothes come in complete sets and are available at specific outlets, so it is better that you get your gift from a recommended shop.
4. Rattle Toy
A rattle is also loved by an infant. It is pretty difficult to understand the catch here but you don’t have to worry as long as it works. When you shake the rattle in front of the baby, you can see that it reaches out for it and his/her eye move with the rattle. It is very noisy but it is a very effective distraction tool. As soon as the baby gets it in his/her hand, you will notice a firm grip on it and if you take it he/she will most probably start crying.
5. Baby Bath Set
A baby bath set usually includes special baby soap, a baby shampoo and baby powder. Some special sets come with towels and diapers as well. They help to make the baby feel comfortable and smell lovely. This type of gift would be voted the best gift if you ask parents.
Mike has been selling baby toys for several years. For a great gift idea, Mike would recommend the new pillow pets plush toys.
What Is Blogging All About?
Nicknamed for the longer word weblog, a blog is basically an online journal. Blogs are often used for sharing personal information, including pictures and videos for family and friends. However, many people and or groups use it for businesses and charities. Since more and more people are seeking opportunities to make money on the internet, this article will discuss the basics of blogging for making income online.
Keep in mind for creating a blog.
Simply having a blog up and running, producing content and connecting with others doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll rank well within search engines. This article will explore some of the easy (and most rewarding) actions you can take to optimize your blog for search engine optimization.
- “Set the Correct URL Structure” – By default, many blog platforms use a query string as the URL. Query strings are hard to read for search engine spiders and will result in lower rankings for your content. Configure your URL structure within your blog backend and set your URL’s to show the main keywords of your post. Create hard links for your posts.
- “Install Necessary Plugins or Options” – Most blog platforms allow you to install additional plugins or turn on options with will increase your search engine optimization. For whichever blog platform you use, consult other bloggers using the platform to see what they are currently using for SEO. Configure options within your blog to automatically include keywords and give you the option to configure on-page SEO factors such as the title, description and URL.
- “Keep your Keywords in Mind” – Try your best to create content that’s specific to a single topic and keyword. Highly focused content will be search engine friendly content; it’s easier for search engines to understand what you’re talking about because they are programs after all. Place your keyword in the title, body, links and description of your content prior to publishing. You can further improve your traffic and keyword ranking by discovering the exact keywords people search for by using such tools as the Google Keyword Tool.
- “Develop and Produce Powerful Content” – The easiest way to optimize your blog for search engine optimization is to forget about all the hard, technical details of SEO and produce the best possible content you can. Powerful content will be found by others and will be more likely to be naturally linked to. Each new natural link you build to your posts will have greater value than doing so on your own. Produce great content and people will come to your site (along with the search engine rankings).
- “Interlink to other Blog Posts” – Interlink on your blog to older posts that are relevant to the topic you’re currently covering. Interlinking allows search engines to crawl deeper within your website and become aware of the type of content you have to offer. Additionally, interlinking within your blog adds value to your reader which is in parallel to most search engines mission; if you provide great value to your readers than you’re rewarded with higher indexing.
- “Give People Options to Share” – Many search engines have now begun to make the switch to real time indexing which calls upon social media services like Twitter and Facebook to show relevant content to their users. Give your readers options to share your content across the web by placing social media buttons at the beginning and end of your blog posts. The wider you’re able to spread your post the more likely you’ll build back links from people finding your content and that it’s relevant to search engine users.
- “Build Links back to your Posts” – Treat your blog post much like as if you’ve released a new product by building back links to increase your search engine ranking. Back links can be built through blog commenting, social network participation, social bookmarking and guest posting. Each new back link increases the overall likelihood that your content will be found and rank well within search engines.
- “Publish Content regularly” – The more frequent you publish new blog content the greater reason search engines will have to index your blog posts. Although you do not have to publish every day it is important to keep a consistent schedule. Not only will you send new visitors to your blog when publishing frequently but because search engines are spidering your blog they are more likely to honour you with higher search engine rankings (and quicker search engine placement).
31-year-old Richard Handl, a science enthusiast, who was trying to build the world’s first home-based nuclear reactor was arrested in his home after questioning Sweden’s Radiation Authority as to whether his hobby might be illegal.
Read more: http://techland.time.com/2011/08/04/man-arrested-for-attempting-nuclear-meltdown-on-his-stove/
When you post a tweet on Twitter you want as many people as possible to retweet your post. This is a great way to instantly increase your exposure and attract more people to your site/blog/business. When Twitter first started out, there weren’t many posts worth retweeting. Who wants to retweet when what a person watched on TV or what they bought when they went to the store. But people are now tweeting more relevant and helpful info. Below are ten things you can do to increase your chances of getting retweeted!
1. Give and You Shall Get – If you want people to retweet you then you do the same. Anytime you see an interesting or resourceful post, retweet it. More than likely the person whose tweet you retweeted will return the favor.
2. Ask for an RT – Don’t be afraid to ask people to retweet you. Just put a “Please RT” at the end of your post. This has been proven to work. Be sure to leave room at the end of your tweet for an RT and username. If there isn’t room, people will have to edit your post and then you probably won’t get the RT.
3. Offer a Free Gift – Giving something away for free is always a good thing when trying to build your network. Be sure it is something useful and helpful so people will think it is worth retweeting.
4. Make Your Tweets Useful – As mentioned before nobody wants to retweet what you bought at the store or what movie you’re watching on TV. Be sure to tweet things that will help people and benefit their business. Quotes are popular with retweets so tweeting good quotes is a plus.
5. Use Hashtags – Hashtags are similar to keywords. It is a way to categorize or group your tweet with other similar tweets so people looking for your category can find your tweet easier. For example: if you are tweeting about ebooks then you would add the hashtag #ebooks to your tweet. You can find out more about hashtags at hashtags.org. If people can find your tweet then it is more likely to get retweeted!
6. Sell for a Retweet – Offer a product or service for a tweet. This is an effective way to get a lot of RTs. If you have been offering a free report or ebook to get people to subscribe to your newsletter and/or feed, then you are familiar with this process. You simply let people know they can download your product for a simple retweet. You can make a “Pay with a Tweet” button here: paywithatweet.com
7. Make RTs Easy – You can make it easy for your wordpress blog visitors to tweet your blog posts with a TweetMeme Button. The tweetmeme button will even show how many times your post has been retweeted.
8. Timing is Everything – Studies have shown that there are certain times when tweets are more effective and will be more likely to be retweeted. RT action is highest from about 2:00 pm through 6:00 pm EST. The best days of the week for retweets is Thursday and Friday.
9. Free Guide – Download a copy of Dan Zarrella’s free report “Science of ReTweets”. This PDF report contains a lot of helpful data and information on tweaking your ability to get more retweets. You can find it at danzarrella.com
10. Build Relationships – Network, network and network. Building relationships is extremely important in all facets of business. Get involved with your followers and with those you follow. Nothing builds a business better than a solid foundation of relationships.
Once you have implemented all these tips into your tweeting you can see how well your retweets improve by going to retweetrank.com. Simply type in your Twitter name and it will tell you how many times you have been retweeted.
Social media is exciting and can do wonders for your business but you must get involved and work at it. Unfortunately, it doesn’t come to those who (just) wait! 
About the Author:
Terri Seymour has over twelve years of online experience and has helped many people start their own business. Visit her site for free articles, resources, information, resell ebooks and more. Sign up for the RSS Feed for a free business ebook with MRR. http://www.SeymourProducts.com
If what I say is true by Elvert Barnes
Every blogger wants to put out a high-quality, informative site that inspires passion in our loyal readers and brings in new traffic. However, it can be difficult to truly cover all the bases and provide a broad array of knowledgeable content on a wide variety of topics, and it can be difficult to come up with fresh material all the time, on a consistent basis. That’s why guest bloggers are such a great idea.
There are services that help you find people to write guest blog posts, such as myblogguest.com. Registered blog owners can look through guest article offers or put up a specific request and connect with knowledgeable people. However, most guest posters would like something in exchange for their articles.
Direct Compensation and Profit Sharing
It seems like a no-brainer, but people like cash. Now, I’m not saying you have to pay up-front or offer huge sums to get folks to write for you, but a growing number of high profile blogs pay select writers for their work on a per-article basis, which might also work for your blog. Or, you could offer them a share of the Google Adsense and affiliate revenue you pull in, based on how many hits their articles get.
Link Exchange
Maybe the guest blogger you have in mind has never even heard of your blog, but they like what they see when they check it out. Show them some of your traffic numbers, and let them decide for themselves whether a link from your site to theirs could be beneficial to them. Perhaps in exchange for a stellar guest post, you can offer to put a dedicated link to their site on a sidebar as one of your favorites or as a recommended resource, or you can just allow them a link or two in the articles they write.
Quid Pro Quo
Offer to swap guest posts with another writer that you follow and like. You can each gain benefit from an outside perspective, and get a new voice on your site. You can also link back to your site in your guest posts, which creates more traffic to your site.
While featuring guest writers on your blog has many benefits and advantages, there are some potential drawbacks that can come with the territory. For starters, their writing style might clash with yours and end up having a net-negative effect on the tone of your site. Sometimes, these things just don’t work out. The only way to get around that problem is to lay out your ground rules beforehand. In other words, make your editorial guidelines clear before one or both of you get started on a guest blog post.
Crafting a successful and lucrative blog that you can be proud of is never easy. It takes hard work, dedication and a bit of luck. Incorporating the right guest bloggers into your site can only help if you play your cards right. You should constantly be on the lookout for potential guest writers, even when you’re just surfing the web casually. When the right person comes along, don’t hesitate to reach out and contact them about a potential collaboration. A regular staple of quality guest bloggers can take your site from run-of-the-mill to standout status faster than you’d think.
Mike Stafford is a blogger and content contributor for insurance company websites. He is also a financial advisor and helps people receive loans for bad credit risk clients. He strongly recommends that you compare loans online before choosing your lender.
Whether you are writing for your own blog or guest posting on some other people website, it might be useful sometimes that you make use of images. How you deal with copyright issues? What if you don’t have money to buy stock photography? Fortunately there are some sites that will provide you with free photography and this is what we will be looking at in this article.
Flickr
The first place where you might be interested to start your search will be Flickr where you will be able to find a wide variety of photographs. However you need to be careful of the licenses. Make sure that you choose “Only search within Creative Commons-licensed content” in the advanced search features. This will provide you with numerous photographs that you could use on your site.
Wikimedia Commons
This is another great place where you could find some free photographs that you could use on your site. The majority of photos listed on this site is released under the Creative Commons license and may be used without any problems. However you need to follow all the rules regarding attribution.
Google Image Advanced Search
Many people do not know that there is an option within Google Image search that will return images that you can use freely on your blog. The option is located within the Advanced Search features where you will be able to choose what type of license you are looking for. One word of caution though. Make sure that you read the license on the originating site to ensure that the photos are free to use.
MorgueFile
The site describes itself as a “public image archive for creative by creative”. Indeed you can find a lot of images and photographs spanning across various fields and should allow you to numerous blog posts. The best part is that all photographs are free to use and will not require any form of attribution before you use them on your blog. This is a site that is definitely recommended.
Stock.XCHNG
This is among the best site when it comes to free stock photography on the internet. Despite being under new management from Getty Image, this has not affected the site policy and you can find a wide variety of royalty-free photos that you can use on your blog. All photos available on this site are quality ones and will definitely suit your blog.
It is not always required that you buy stocks photos since there are a lot of free services on the Internet that will provide you with quality stock photographs that you could use on your blogs. Just make sure that you read each site licenses and make sure that you provide attribution where this is required.
Besides this topic, Robert Bellarmine aslo writes for Visitask.com where he deals with the subject of project management.
Blogs have become a common part of digital culture, so much so that there’s a blog about anything you could possibly want to read about; from foreign culture to lifestyle choices to cake recipes, there is something for everybody.
However, this abundance is a double edged sword, especially if a person plans to start a blog of their own. Standing out can be difficult, and some blog owners believe they should be shelling out money in order to become popular. You do not have to spend any money, though, if you make clever choices to have your blog stand out from the rest.
Give Away Prizes
Prizes are irresistible. No matter what the item is, as long as it is free, chances are a great number of people will want to have it. This can be used to your advantage. If you have a rather large book collection and are looking to cut back, for example, you could pick out a book from said collection that is in excellent condition to be the prize.
You can also get in contact with companies that have some connection to your site (a bank if you’re writing about finances, or a recipe-book author if you’re writing about homemaking, for example) and ask them for items to give away. They get advertisement through the contest, and you get an excited readership. Put together a contest or giveaway and try to garner excitement through any means that you can; this will get you more attention and bring about success.
Comment on Other Blogs
Not everybody considers this an option for gaining more success, but it should still be a possibility. If you frequent blogs that are popular, take the time to comment on at least one entry. It should not be for the express purpose of linking to your site, however.
While you can and should do that, as it will bring more attention to your site, if you are too obvious about your attempt to promote, people will find it annoying. Make your comment relevant to the conversation. The more comments you make and the more links there are to your site, the higher your ranking can get on Google.
Give the Blog A Good Layout
This is a trap that many blog owners tend to fall into. They might believe that putting work and hours into a creative and fun blog layout is a waste of time. After all, people are only coming for the content, right? This is partly true, but people are also attracted to a blog that has a layout that speaks to them. If it helps them remember the blog, they will return at a later time for more.
Write Valuable and Helpful Content
Think about your audience and what would be considered valuable to them. If the point of your blog is to offer advice to parents on raising their children, a blog entry about saving money on designer shoes would not be considered useful. Use appropriate spelling and grammar, as people will be less likely to take a poorly written blog seriously. If need be, you can visit similar blogs to find inspiration from their writing style and content. Do not copy them outright, as this could bring trouble.
Having a successful blog may feel impossible with so many already in existence on the Internet. However, by working at it and putting in time and thought, you can bring attention to your site without spending a single penny.
Gina Patterson is a blogger, personal finance consultant, and a content contributor for companies offering credit cards for those with less than perfect credit.
Money at Hand by Don Hankins.
Blogs play a large part in how the culture of the Internet grows and changes. They can not only serve as a way for the owner to express their opinions or hobbies, they also give people that visit a place to socialize with like-minded individuals.
With the potential already present, some blog writers choose to use their blog as a way to bring in extra income. One big way to accomplish this is through ad revenue, but just having some ads on your site is not enough to make you a large income; your blog dictates the amount you can gain through ad revenue.
Write Well and Often
People are less likely to take a blog seriously, and thus look around and click on ads, if they do not like the entries that they see. It is not enough to simply write a few entries and hope for the best. If you really want to grab people and get them looking around, take care with how you write. Use spell- and grammar-check, and give the entries a point. It is also vital to update often, so that your blog will not appear inactive and thus irrelevant.
Submit Blog to a Search Engine
No matter how much content you have on your blog, or how many ads are waiting to be clicked on, it does you little good if readers cannot find the blog. This can be solved by submitting the URL of your site to various search engines. When you send your address to a search engine, when people are looking for a certain subject, and they type it into the search bar, they just might come across your blog. The more visitors you get, the more chances there are for somebody to click on ads.
Place Ads on Popular Posts
Whether your blog has a few posts or a few hundred, it is likely that at least one of your posts gets more traffic than the others. Take care that you monitor traffic with certain entries, and try to figure out just what it is that makes them stand out from the others. In order to help increase ad revenue, consider placing ads on the specific entries. Because of the amount of readers that look at them, the ads will likely not go unnoticed, which will help bring in more money.
The world of the Internet is always changing, but there are certain parts that stay no matter what the year or month. Blogs have proven themselves to be a mainstay, and for many reasons. Whether people visit blogs to read about political arguments, recipes, or even toys from their childhood, there is always something to find.
Some blog owners take the opportunity to bring in revenue, and this can be accomplished with text or picture ads. Setting the ads up is one thing, but it is another to bring in more money successfully.
Sylvia Alvarez is a financial consultant and content contributor to government purchase order financing companies; she also works on a PO loan blog.
