Question: My website now has more than 500 html pages. The task of making changes on my site has become too time consuming, not to mention the wear and tear on my poor fingers and wrists of a million copy-and-pastes. Should I move my static html website to a blog/cms solution instead?
The answer is a definite YES! In fact, it is this blogger’s opinion that anyone who produces content online should be using a blog software, or a content managment solution, to manage and publish that content.
There are so many reasons why you need to move away from having static html. Here are the main ones I can think of. Below are some options and tools you can use to make the switch.
Why move my static html website to a blogging platform?
#1 – Because the search engines like the way that blogs organize information. It’s very “neat and tidy” to them, which means they like the structure, which allows them to easily find what they need.
#2 – Managing html is so 2000. Seriously, even if you know html like I do, there’s no need to actually use it in today’s publishing world online. When your content is in a blog platform, you can simple edit it anytime without having to have an html editor open, and worrying about messing something up.
#3 – Blog software like Wordpress.org is built with server side includes built right into the designs/themes. In other words, if you are using Wordpress, and you wanted to change the header image on your blog, you simple edit one file and the image is changed on all 500 pages of your blog. If you have an old html static website, and you don’t have includes in place, you’re either going to have to do a search and replace (which can be tricky) or manually open every page and make the changes.
What tools should I use to make the move?
I highly suggest using Wordpress.org, which is what this blog uses, and best of all it’s free. If you are looking for something not so “bloggy”, I highly encourage you to use a piece of software called Article Manager from Interactive Tools.
Question: We are looking for ways to get our videos about our company up higher on YouTube.com when someone searches our company name. Do you know what affects the search order and how we can get the videos we produce higher on the list?
When you upload a video to YouTube.com, you are asked to enter some information about the video. YouTube uses this information to help people find and match videos. So optimizing that information is VERY important.
Specifically, when uploading a video, you are asked for the following. Take your time and follow these tips to ensure that your videos can be found.
Title – This is the short explanation of your video. If you search on YouTube, this is what people see first. So you need to make your title short, but informative. Example: If you’re uploading a video about “How to put up Wallpaper”, then that video should probably just be titled “How to put up wallpaper”, and you could add your company name behind that if you wanted, so “How to put up Wallpaper by XYZ Company”.
Description – This is the longer version of your Title. Important for readers who want more explanation. Try to include as much detail in the description as you can, and also try to throw in a link to your website or your phone number if you want. It can’t hurt.
Tags – This is the most important one to think about. YouTube uses tags as its primary form of organizing videos. So you need to make sure you put the right tags in place as this will greatly affect how and if your video will be found by the right searches.
The Trick To Writing YouTube Tags
You’re going to have to think a bit here. Writing good tags can take some work, but it will pay off if you spend the time and do it right.
The biggest tip you need to know is that you need to match your tags to the words or phrases you used in your title/description. This is VERY important!
Here’s a few more tips.
1. Write as many tags as you possibly can and YouTube will let you have.
2. Don’t try to write tags that don’t fit your videos. YouTube won’t like you for that.
3. Write how people think. For example, if someone is looking for a video on how to put up wallpaper, what would they type? Probably “how to put up wallpaper” or “wallpaper videos”, right?
4. Leave out any natural language words like “the” or “and”, etc…
I want to be successful online, but I need to learn how. Is there any information out there about how to start a successful online Internet home business?
AsktheBlogger talked about OneSource and its wonderful wholesaler product directory in another post. But you know what? There’s way more that they have to offer.
Specifically, check out the banners on the right of this entry. Those are direct link to FREE ebooks that can help you learn how to start a successful home Internet business. These books are written by WorldwideBrands guru and radio show host Chris Malta.
You can listen to Chris’s amazing radio show as well to learn even more about how to be successul online.
My biggest problem is finding high-quality products to sell online. Where can I find reliable drop shippers and product wholesalers?
Never fear. Finally there is a place you can rely on to find products to sell online, and most importantly, you don’t have to worry about being scammed. Whew! Take a free preview and tour by clicking here.
OncSource, created by Worldwide Brands has created a directory of the world’s most reliable and trusted product wholesalers. That means that they’ve taken the guess work out of your hands. No more getting scammed trying to find a good partner. No more worrying that you’re being overcharged.
Want To Know More About Finding Products To Sell Online?
Click the image below to visit the OneSource video resource center to learn everything you ever wanted to know about dropshipping and finding products to sell online.
I want to get better search engine rankings. How do I change my Wordpress permalink structure without breaking my old blog links?
When you install Wordpress fresh, it sets your permalink structure to something like this:
» http://www.domainname.com/?p=123
That’s fine, it doesn’t hurt you. The problem is that you may want to later change your permalink structure to something that has your post title keywords in it for possible improved search engine rankings. For example, like this post.
So if you make that change, you risk losing all of your old search engine indexed pages, and possibly all of the bookmarks that people have accumulated to you over time.
So How Do I Change It Without Breaking My Links?
There’s a plugin that can help you called ‘Permalinks Migration Plugin for wordpress’.
With this plugin, you can safely change your permalink structure without breaking the old links to your website,and even doesn’t affect your search engine rankings.
How Does It Work?
Here’s the technical details on how it works. I realize it can be confusing, but you should know how it works.
There is a way to tell the search engines (and browsers) that the page has permenantly moved, and that the old address should be replaced by the new one . It’s called a “301 Redirectâ€, also known as a Permanent Redirect.When you do this, Search engines will update their indexes quickly and you won’t lose your pagerank.you will continue to receive traffic as though nothing had changed. This works for search engines, bookmarks, and links from other sites.
Where Do I Get Started?
Simply download the plugin here and follow the directions. Good luck!
Bonus! AsktheBlogger Video On Wordpress Permalinks
Is the Reviewme.com Affiliate Program a good program to join to make money with on my blog?
Yes! As a matter of fact it is, and especially right now because it’s very new and fresh, so if you sign up now you have a better chance at referring new signups.
What Does ReviewMe Pay?
That’s the beauty of it, ReviewMe pays you $25.00 for every new advertiser you refer to ReviewMe who purchases a blog review. So if you can generate enough referrals, you can rack up quite a bit of commissions pretty fast.
Here’s a tip, also signup for Text Link Ads because they pay on both publishers and advertisers. Promote them both.
Should I Start Paying For Reviews?
Heck yes. AsktheBlogger has bought many reviews and it’s worth the time, effort and little money you have to spend. The trick is to simply buy what you can afford, on the right blog.
You don’t have to spend a ton. Just sign up for free, and look for blogs that match your audience.
Sign Up Today, Before It’s Too Late!
Like I said, this program is new, so there is lots of opportunity to get some signups before it hits the mainstream blogs. It’s free to sign up, give it a go.
I have a niche content site and I’m starting to get some traffic, and I’ve identified my first affiliate offer to promote. Now I need to know what is the best technique for making my affiliate ad work best. The product will be of interest to my audience, but is not directly relevant to the site’s niche. Can you give me some advice?
Being successful using affiliate marketing is very possible, sure, if you know how to position your affiliate ads. So let’s talk about that.
The very best way to make maximum referrals from your affiliate marketing ads is to presell the ad. In other words, you can’t just throw a banner ad up and expect it to work. You need to engage your readers with reasons why you’re recommending whatever it is you’re recommending. For example, you can see this on almost every post here at AsktheBlogger.
Good example: I came across this product the other day that I really liked, it’s called the “ABC Product” (put in affiliate link to product) and here’s why I liked it. If you are in the market for a product like this, you might be interested in (link here).
Bad example: This product is awesome, go buy it now.
But Don’t Lie Just To Make A Buck!
Here’s the big ethical issue. Are you simply trying to make money, or are you trying to build trust and relationships? Because that’s what affiliate marketing is all about, trust and relationships. If you are writing bogus content on your site or blog just to sell a product, well, then, your readers are eventually going to catch on and probably not trust you.
You should know that everything AsktheBlogger recommends is something that he has used or experienced. You won’t see any fake content here just to make a buck.
You may want to learn more about how to become an successful affiliate marketer. Check out the AsktheBlogger previous post about how you can quit your day job!
Don’t forget, you can always Ask The Blogger for help anytime!
What’s the best way to find quality products and services to resell as an affiliate on my blog or website?
AsktheBlogger answered this question in the post before, but wanted to give some more ideas about how to find quality affiliate programs to promote on your blog or website.
A great trick to finding high-quality affiliate programs in your niche is to simply look at your competitors sites. Do a search on Google for websites or blogs in your industry, then look on their sites for ads. All you have to do then is simply track down the advertiser’s website and look for the affiliate sign-up link.
The point is, you should follow the competition and do and use what works for others. Chances are, the website that is running the affiliate ad has probably done the research already to choose which program works best, so why not follow their lead?
You may want to learn more about how to become an successful affiliate marketer. Check out the AsktheBlogger previous post about how you can quit your day job!
Don’t forget, you can always Ask The Blogger for help anytime!
How come my Alexa ranking keeps going up lately and it’s now at 305,686 but my Google PR is still blankety-blank? My site is sitemapped and verified. Guess it has to be a lack of links?
Alexa has nothing to do with your Google page rank or indexing. In fact, most any website or blog can get “into” the Alexa directory in days if not faster as Alexa simply works that way.
Getting “into” Google isn’t so easy.
I’m guessing your page rank is still at zero because your site is still in what search engine marketers call the “Google Sandbox”. The Wikipedia defines it as such.
The Sandbox Effect is the theory that websites with newly-registered domains are placed in a sandbox (holding area) in the indexes of Google until such time is deemed appropriate before a ranking can commence.
What Does That Mean Really?
It means that it’s going to take awhile for ANY new website to get into the regular Google listings.
Now, if your website is not new, and you’re not getting any Google page rank, there is most likely a problem, and one of those problems could be that you have a lack of backlinks, in other words, other websites or blogs who link back to you.
Here are a few articles to help you out on your quest for more information.
I have signed up for a Google Adsense account and got a number, but can I use it on my blog?
Absolutely! Google Adsense is an amazing tool that can help your blog earn either just a few bucks or millions! It depends on your blog’s traffic levels of course. But everyone who has a blog should at least try to use Adsense and see if they can make some money from their blogging efforts.
Once you’ve signed up and have an account, you need to create a piece of code to fit within your blog. You’ll then need to copy that code and paste it into your blog’s theme or template. You can find an explanation on how to edit your Wordpress blog themes here.
If you’re not using Wordpress, please consult the help files from your blog software provider. Look for “how to edit blog templates” or “how to put ads in my blog”. They should provide some level of documentation that can help you along.
The very best way to make maximum referrals from your affiliate marketing ads is to presell the ad. In other words, you can’t just throw a banner ad up and expect it to work. You need to engage your readers with reasons why you’re recommending whatever it is you’re recommending. For example, you can see this on almost every post here at AsktheBlogger.
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