Beware of Google AdSense Clicks

There are a few things that new bloggers must realize with Google AdSense. The idea of clicking friend's ads, or asking people to click yours, may sound interesting - after all - who knows.

The truth is - Google does. They can track any web site visit, its duration, where it came from, how many pages each visitor viewed, what links they clicked, and now long they were on the next site.

You can get this information if you sign up for a Google Account (different from your AdSense account). Then, go to the web analytics site. Will the stats be better than the ones from the stat counter I suggested? Not really. In fact, because of config problems and the advanced level of Google Web Analytics - you may get less results.

I had one site that the server based software cited more than one million hits, but Google only showed 2000 - because my view was not configured right. However, you can bet that Google's view is config'd right.

The warning is - do not click on Google ads, have your friends click. If you do notice an unusual number of clicks. If you are checking your Google AdSense account (which must be done once a week) and see an unusual number of clicks, just contact customer service and tell them. They are very nice, and will not ban you if you appear to be concerned.

Do You Use Drupal or Wordpress?

Running an online business is frustrating. I know that there are several people here running IT businesses that can add their own horror stories to this blog post.

Building a web platform (website) on a software program that promises to do 10 times what you need, and then only produces half of what you need - and that is with continual updates, bug reports, and a multitude of widgets and plug ins. We did that this year - twice.

Then there are programmers. I can say one name Bxxca and a cold child will run down the spine of any TE at www.inspiredauthor.com who was with us about 15 months ago. Yes, the programmer who did half the job and then demanded more money than my car is worth to finish, that is after we found porn running out of the back end of our server. That hit our Page Rank hard for a good long time.

I have been trying to hire a programmer for months at places like ifreelance. Most of the time I get people who want to be paid to learn their trade. When asked, they don't know the software program - but that is no problem..they are use to being paid to learn. I can't afford that. I doubt many of you can.

Then comes a good day. You find someone that actually knows what you are talking about. I found someone like that in Sheldon www.gamedevguru.com who is not expensive, because he doesn't need to spend fifteen hours figuring out the software before he gets started. He did more on my www.inspiredauthor.com in 2hours than anyone else I've met.

I wanted to let you know about him, one - because he not only knows Drupal but he is great with Worpress, too. I know that many of you are on wordpress - which is a good content management system (as Sharon HH has taught me :).

So, next time you are stuck, want to do something new, want to fix a bug. Don't panic - there is someone who can help you at: www.gamedevguru.com

Compare Web Hosting Services

One question most new web owners tackle is the hosting problem. Trust me, I've been on every level. From buying into a great marketing campaign, only to find that the company is a reseller and doesn't know what they are doing, to owning virtual server space and hiring a programmer to run things (expensive!).

I've been through several hosting companies. Now I use siteground. I can host all of my sites from one dashboard. The service is great. In fact, in a year I only heard of them failing to fix a problem once, and that was a programming problem.

They install scripts free, from wordpress to moodle. And they have alwasy fixed my small problems - like when a script stops working. In fact, they are so good at fixing problems, I've only paid programmers $100 this year! And that was for improving, not fixing.

All of this for a cost of $70 a year for my first site, and about $50 a year for the rest of the sites.

I haven't moved to a dedicated server yet, because my bandwidth allotment is more than it was on the dedicated server, and I have less 404 messages - meaning that the system isn't clogging with traffic. In fact, at one site that claimed to be one of the top 10 in the country, I had 20% 404 messages!!!

They use Cpanel, with excelent stat information, more than 30 scripts for blogs and websites, chats, newsletters, forums, etc - everything you need.

There is a good reason why this site is the #1 hosting site for many of the top ecommerce scripts.



Most important, I have never been hacked, but at the same time, there is no probelm with search engines. I found out - the hard way - that many resllers or 'amateur' hosting services work through Internet companies which make it difficult for search engines.

In fact, our response from Google changed from 2 - 3 months, to days, after switching from the other 'big host' to siteground.

However, to be fair. Godaddy is a better place for newbies. You can phone about everything, you can get 'instant' websites, and they will help you with problems - but they are more expensive. While siteground does offer a domain service - I still manage my domains through godaddy. One thing I did learn, is that many resellers work for godaddy-which gives them the right to say they are the biggest.

Make $20 - $50 for 8 Hours Work

I am starting to send people ideas of places where they can earn money writing. I am not a full time writers at Helium. I've been there for about one year, but only have about 200 articles posted. My entire time committment has been about 100 hours - maybe 8 hours a month. Usually, Helium is where I go when I am between projects and have a down time.

I use to play solitair. Now I play at Helium. I make about $20 - $50 a month from Helium. They always pay on time. It is free to join. You are never asked to upgrade. And, you never receive spam from them. Did I mention that it is free to join?

Click the link to take a look, there is no obligation -



PROMOTION

We all know that PR is everything, and that we need inbound links to build PR. Helium has never refused any article with less than 4 links to my blogs - especially if they link to more articles, not the home page.

Making Your Blog Template Look Right

Sometimes a blog page doesn't look right. You may have put three scripts into the HTML box on blogger, or onto your web page code.

One problem bloggers face when adding their blog to directories is that they get long lists of blog names. This is okay if the code is at the bottom of the page, but not if it is in the sidebar (the menu at the side of the page).

This problem can also mess up a page when using affiliate codes.

First - make sure your code is not wider than the column. If the widget or code will not appear at all, then you need to select the code for a smaller widget.

(A widget is the small picture that advertises. At the top of this blog - the 'vote for this blog' picture is a widget)

One way to fix this problem is to add the code

after the script. This will tell the HTML to leave two blank lines UNDER the first script. This way your widgets and affiliate codes will appear in a straight column with 2 blank spaces between.

If the

code does not work then try

which tells the HTML page to start a new paragraph.

Stay out of the 'edit template' feature if possible. Most of today's blogs work on 'blocks' that let you paste your scripts into these. If you do need to go into your edit template make sure you copy and paste the template in MS Wordpad before working on the template.

Blog Catalogue

There are many directories where bloggers need to submit their blogs if they want to increase their PR and their hits. Most of these come and go regularly. Others, stand our among the crowd and actually do what they were meant to do - help bloggers increase their rank.

I use several, but the first one I am going to talk about is blog catalog


Blog catalogue lets bloggers network. It tracks their neighbourhoods and gives bloggers and easy 'one step' place to find blogs of similar topics. The trick is to make sure that your user name has something in common with your topic.

For example: FamousAuthor would be a great user name for someone selling books. Their normal user name - say it is Sunny - will not help promote the blog. But, that doesn't mean the tool will not work well for you.

Listing is free, but you will either need to paste a small piece of code into the bottom of your web page, in the HTML code, or if you are on blogger, use the HTML/Java tool.

However, there are more features. I have added the 'recent visitor' widget to this blog. I only neighbourhood with blogs that have this widget. I an 'into' networking, but I want something in return - I want the blog owners to reward my participation by giving their visitors the opportunity to view my blogs.

I also want people to view my blog - so I include a widget.

I also believe that this widget (Recent Visitors ) lets my readers know that other people are visiting my blog.

How To Make a Widget.

Before starting, make sure the title at the top of your widget is the correct blog name. There is a drop down box that will list all your blogs.

1. Reset the widget size from 180 to 120. Most blogs do not have templates which will accept 180.

2. Reset the number of views to whatevery you want. I like to select 10.

3. Reset the icon size to small.

4. Leave the user name active.

5. Click on the color label (background, boarder, link, title) and it will turn bold. Then, pick a color which will blend with your template.

6. Click the 'update code and preview widget' button. If you like the result, then you can paste the code into your blog. I suggest putting it near the top.

You are done.

Profiles & Lenses

The net is becoming a social network. If you want to make money then you need to start making lenses. There are a few good places to put a lens. Many people wait for months (with no hits or money) before they click on the link and make a lens.

Create a FREE Profile
Yahoo is a great tool.

Sponsored Search

One of the best advertising programs is the sponsored search. This is where the advertiser buys the top spot on the search engine search results. Take a look, The cost is from $5 - $100 a month, per keyword, and if the combination of your blog/products and the keyword is right -the results will be ten times more than you invest.

This is a great way to make money before you are receiving big hits.

Why You Should Continually Revisit Your Old Blog Posts

A lot of people wonder where I learned all the advanced SEO tips and tricks that I know. simply - I took an accredited course and learned from pros. Of course, most freelance writers do not have the money to invest in 1 - 3 SEO courses a year.

I hear many people complain. Those who have smaller versions of inspiredauthor.com always complain that they do not have time to learn. Of course, if they made the time, their sites wouldn't be smaller.

On the other hand, if I researched web programmers and didn't get 'sold' I wouldn't be rebuilding inspiredauthor again.

Life and learn

However, no matter how much you learn, there is always more to learn. I was surprised to learn today how easy it is for someone to steal our blog content. I learn a lot from this blogger. I wouldn't say he is ahead of everyone else, but at least his information isn't 2 years old like so many of the other 'guru' sites.

There are ways to protect your content. People steal your blog by republishing the feed using a javascript. So, they cannot change the titles or the content.

I know one blogger who has a certain tag at the end of all their blogs. I won't tell you what it is, but it is something like 'hey-ya mate' with a typo in it. He just types this into his browser and sees what web URLs come up.

I am not sure if there is anything you can legally do if someone steals your content. But, at least you can write a few blog about their 'crappy', theiving website, - which, of course will be picked up by your feed burn and will appear on their site.

Stat Counter

There are hundreds of stat counters on the web. However, I like using http://my7.statcounter.com You'll notice it on this page. It works great with the new blogger 'add page element/HTML' feature. Just open the box and add the code. After saving the counter will appear on the page.

They have a wonderful counter wizard that lets you change a few dozen different colors and layouts. If you do not want visitors to see your hits, then just insert the button at the bottom of the page. This can be done two ways. One by using another HTML element box. Or, by opening the template and pasting the code at the very bottom, just above the /< body > code.

In the three years that I've used the free version, I've been able to track repeat visitors, unique visitors, and compile data based on weekly, monthly, and yearly data.

Spell Check

The best spell check tool is the one you can download with the Google toolbar.

Downloading the toolbar, and installing the spell check, will enable you to spell check any text box on your screen.

However, it is still important to write all your blog posts in a word doc and transfer them to the web. This is the only way to manage your posts and cross posts, and protect you if the blog host goes off line.

The Pros and Cons of Blogging Communities

There are advantages of blog communities. They receive lots of hits, and have an inherent promotion aspect. The trick is to find a good one. No professional blogger needs to be reminded of the lesson learned from writingup, or should I say the now defunct writingup.

Out of the ashes, and managed by a different host, came www.communati.com. This blog, and www.bloggerparty.com are two relatively good posts. The webmaster at www.communati.com lets people use their blog for building links. Bloggerparty will instantly delete any blog with more than two links.

In the end, belonging to a blogging community has good emotional benefits, and poor financial/promo ones.

Good, because you will make friends and socialize. Bad, because you can spend hours a day on these sites, without ever creating your own blog network.

Step One - Make Your First Blogs

It took about three hours for a new mentor to start a Google AdSense account today, and start 5 blogs at blogger. She isn't worried about tagging, feeds, or the perks yet.

She did buy her own domain, something I do not suggest you do. But, if you want a private domain, then go to www.godaddy.com and get one. Then phone their customer service and ask for help. Godaddy is a great company, one of the largest on the net. But, what makes them great is their willingness to help newbies.

Once you are done setting up, have fun blogging. It will take several weeks to build enough inbound links to your blogs, and earn a PR rating of 2, so have fun through the first weeks.

There are thousands of places to blog on the net, but I suggest blogger. As you build your network, the dashboard here will make life easier. My second choice is WordPress they have a good dashboard, and great tools.

Blogger Pro Forum

Diva Network started a forum at yahoo groups. This forum is designed to give bloggers a chance to increase their PR. This group is cash free, but will involve a time investment each month.

Bloggers will need to tag 1 post from at least 10 blogger's blogs. This means, if a blogger has 20 blogs in the site, and there are 30 bloggers in the group. You need to tag with del.icio.us, digg, technorati - just one post for each blogger - not each blog.

Also we are also looking for one comment in each blog. This works two ways. It will improve the image of the host blog, and it gives you a chance to attach a url to the blog.

Last, we are asking that you review one blog a month.

All together, we expect this to take 1 hour a month. Not a lot of time, but it will increase our PR rating. and make it easier for everyont to 'get paid to write.'

Social Media

Like all buzz words, Social Media, is really nothing new. It merely is the new word encompassing blogs, podcast, video/youtube, forums, and java chats. That said, it is one of the most powerful weapons a woman owns.

Face it ladies. We are beautiful. With a little poise and artistic creativity, we can use all of these tools to our benefit. Even if we do not like the camera, the Internet is faceless. A person can become an international star without ever revealing their true self.

Thousands of bloggers with major blogs (1 million hits a year is a good foundation) are work at home, freelancers, or just stumbled on the blogsphere by accident.

Most do not know how to get started. All women have MS movie maker on their computers. It is a great tool for creating a promotional slide show. Have nothing to sell? That is wrong. You do have something to sell.

Your Image

You are an image. That image has nothing to do with your face or figure. It is not defined by the clothing you wear, or how big the rock on your finger is. That image is born inside you. Everyone has a story to tell. Everyone has a message.

At one time in history women were allowed to tell their stories. Now, the cubicle, the title secretary, housewife, or mother has silenced that voice.

Your Voice

Social media is your voice. It doesn't matter if you have something profound to say, or simple. It is something valuable. You may not realize how valuable your voice is. One of the biggest mistakes of this century is telling people that their voice is not worth hearing unless they have a university degree.

It is time to take the media back. It is time to stop letting society/media tell us what is right, what works, and who we should be. A real woman has hips. A real woman has wrinkles. And, real women are surfing the web looking for someone who 'speaks their language.'

Your Message

The message is simple. It took you decades to learn, but it is simple. A message born in your heart.

Unfortunately, many women start their journey by spouting dogma learned from politics, business, schools, or religions. What a waste. While you waste time repeating this rhetoric, the collective knowledge that women shared for centuries is fading into extinction.

Share your message. Don't worry if you get it right the first time. Don't worry if it stands up against other messages.

Social Media

Want to know how to get started? It is easy. Evolution taught humanity how to learn in a single word - play. Play with a blog, MS movie maker, youtube, and podcasts. Do not worry about quality or quantity. Take time to play.

Too many voices are silenced by fear: The fear of not sounding good enough, Not being famous, or not having something of vital importance to say.

Take the word Social out of Social Media. Social - for all society.

The world reclaimed the Internet from big corporations and changed the way the WWW operates, one voice at a time. It is time to make your voice be heard.

Seven Years Ago

Seven years ago I said goodbye to working outside of the home. The frustration of working for someone with half my education, and making one tenth of their pay, empowered me to leave my job, and to repeat the cliche' I've never looked back.

I've met so many other women since then who have left high paying jobs to work in a world, free of men, free of politics, and free of abuse. Each of these women have a story to tell. Each has a tip to help others succeed.

Each is a Diva

They taught me that I was a Diva. That I had power. Now, I am bringing together Divas to work together, learn together, and overcome the myths that have prevented us from succeeding for decades.

Myths like:
I am too old
I lack education
I am married

These myths are poison, draining the beauty and power from your soul.

Take a minute and learn that you can succeed. You can become beautiful again. It is not impossible, after all, you are a diva.