How To Make Money Online In Nigeria » Blogging Tips

Cheap Backlinks: Are They Worth The Pain?

Udegbunam Chukwudi — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 08:06:46 +0000

Backlinks are the buzz word today in every SEO war room. Sites are flaunting them, selling them, buying them and doing all sorts of odd freaky things. It seems backlinks are becoming as good as money in web world.

But, do leveraging backlinks make any sense, especially, in post-Panda algorithm days? There is no black and white answer to this question. Want to know why? Read on.

Why Backlinks are getting God-like status?

Everybody knows that the reason lies within the search engine world. Search giants like, Google, Yahoo, Bing and others, use backlinks as reputation-measuring tool for websites. The logic is well-promoted. If any site links back to your site, it means, link-forwarding site respects your site for any reason, whatever that may be.

This equates a simple fallacy, which means more backlinks lead to more respect and more respect means better Page Rank or ranking in search engine result pages for any particular topic.

The end result is websites slogging for backlinks.

All genuine search engines categorically nix trading of backlinks but that hardly stops anybody from exchanging backlinks for monetary benefit. Many sites depend heavily on backlinks for better PR. There are too many shoddy dealers around; who even sell backlinks in bunches, just like any over-the-counter commodity.

But do those cheap commoditized links work?

They don’t of course. Not only that, such cheap bulk backlinks are full of blowback too.

Google already unleashed Panda algorithm to reign over the malpractice of backlinking. Effects are already visible for all competitive and common keywords. Even relevant backlinks are not as effective today as they were earlier, let alone bulk irrelevant software-generated backlinks.
Considering the vast size of the web world, you can, though, succeed in fooling algorithm for some obscure and ultra-specific keywords. But don’t expect your victory to last long.
Cheap bulk link building services depend on software. Software hardly cares relevance of links, content matching or usability of link-followers. With cheap link services, you can get dofollow back links from even engineering related sites when you actually sell baby-care products. In most of the cases, these links are nothing but spam. And no legitimate business owner likes dealing with spam, because they are serious legal offence.
Besides, you can’t rely on cheap backlinks as a long-term strategic tool. Being a spam, they often disappear into air. And the worst is you have no one to fall back on for your loss.

What to do then?

Having said all these, you can still use backlinks in your favor because search engines still use them to measure your sites’ online reputation. But you have to be more cautious and less fraudulent.

Use backlinks in a very slow pace. Remember not to alert search crawlers. Only couple of backlinking is more than enough for a week.
Always take care of link-originating page and linked page. They must match in terms of relevance. Take care of content and keywords too.
Do not overuse any keyword or anchor word. Search engines take any overuse as spamming.
Try to develop organic backlinks from true authority sites and directories. This takes time but never fails to pay.

At last, you must remember, blackhat practices are too tempting but no genuine search engine likes you playing with their well-guarded reputation. So, do not call for their wrath. In the world of internet marketing they can simply bury you down.

Alyssa Clarke is a blogger who also happens to be a tech lover. She is always on a look out for latest tech stuff and is currently hunting for some cool Mac apps. She recently read about the Toggle touch remote control and desperately wants to own it.

Continue reading this article @ Cheap Backlinks: Are They Worth The Pain?.

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No Google Search Traffic Despite Great Content? Here’s Why

Udegbunam Chukwudi — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 13:57:04 +0000

Recently our chief admin over at Bloggers Lab launched a BlackBerry group strictly for bloggers and internet marketers and during the course of one of our chats over there, a member asked why despite having created enough content on his site, he still wasn’t seeing any search engine traffic or traffic for that matter.

I’ve decided to share my answer to that question with you my readers.

Well in my opinion the reason for this falls on three key points of generating search engine traffic: Content Originality, SEO and Backlinks.

CONTENT ORIGINALITY

It’s not just okay for you to launch a mobile tech blog or make money online blog and then start creating articles on topics that have been treated over and over again to the extent that the search engines are oversaturated with such info.

You need to add some new twist or perspective to the article.

Example: search for the term how to record a video and you’d see over 1billion pages with info on that. Most of these pages have been around for a long time, have plenty of links all over the web pointing to them and of course they have high page rank. Creating an article on this topic again would be a waste of time ’cause to get to the front page of the SERPs would be a mighty task.

Instead here’s what you should do. Look for the latest video camera that’s selling big time and create an article targeted at folks who own this kind of camera with a title that looks like How to record a video with the Sony HDR-SR12 HDD Camcorder.

By so doing this, you guarantee that your article will be seen by the selected number of people who want to read an article on this and you wouldn’t be competing with other web pages that have loads of backlinks

Click here for more on Keyword Research

SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION (SEO)

Quite a lot has been said about this despite folks wondering what’s the use of this with Google’s launch of the crazy-as-hell Panda which unfortunately hit my sites big time . It just ain’t enough for you to create content and push them out into cyberspace. You have to optimize them in such a way that the search engines know EXACTLY what they are all about and thus file them in the appropriate place which of course should be the first page of the SERPs .

SEO is an extensive topic and if you’d like to learn more about SEO for blogs on the wordpress platform, please read WordPress SEO: The Only Guide You Need and WordPress SEO Tutorial – The Definitive Guide – Yoast.

SEO for blogs on Google’s Blogger platform exists but ain’t so easy to accomplish.

QUALITY BACKLINKS

Backlinks are basically links from other sites pointing to yours. These backlinks are like votes in the eyes of the search engines as they view them as the linking site recommending your site on the web. The more of these links you have coming from top quality sites especially those in your niche, the better for you.

If you’re looking for Google search traffic and you’re yet to master the Content Originality + SEO techniques I previously discussed, you would need some major backlinks.

You could take time out and create them yourself using Viperchill’s tips on How to Really Build Backlinks and Dominate Google or you could just hire some hardcore backlink chaser online to do the job for you (for a particular fee of course)

The problem with hiring people to do the job for you is that, they may use techniques that Google finds offensive and in so doing, they get your domain blacklisted for life meaning no search engine love at all.

If you really work hard at the three tips above, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be seeing your first visitors from Google, Yahoo and other search engines soon.

Some social media marketers might tell you that focusing on traffic from sources like Twitter, Digg and Stumbleupon is the best way to go as Google can one day unleash the Panda on your site and end your stay in cyberspace but the same applies to these social networks too. After a while, when new viral diggs, tweets and stumbles surface, yours would begin to lose it’s magic and the visitors begin to trickle until another power user tweets, diggs or stumbles the post again.

Also note Google traffic is mainly where the money is at if you are looking to earn a passive income via affiliate marketing or google adsense. Hope you’ve read my last post detailing the Top 3 Reasons Why Google Adsense Beats Selling Ad Slots when making money online off your blog or website.

For those that desire tons of traffic from Stumbleupon, be sure to read Getting Mass Traffic from StumbleUpon: A Definitive Guide.

If you’d like to join Bloggers Lab on Facebook, click here now. If you’d like to join us on Blackberry messenger, send me your BlackBerry PIN via email and I’ll invite you to the group.

NOTE: These groups are not meant for folks looking to promote their posts/products or engage in small talk/gossip. It’s strictly for asking internet marketing/blogging related questions and helping others out. Scammers and Spammers will not be tolerated at all.
Punto en Boca.

Continue reading this article @ No Google Search Traffic Despite Great Content? Here’s Why.

How to Blend SEO and PPC for Effective Online Marketing Strategy

Udegbunam Chukwudi — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 13:35:03 +0000

Search engine marketing has evolved over the years to become one of the most important considerations for businesses worldwide. Whatever your industry, and whichever customer base you look to target, SEM can drastically improve your company’s online exposure and maximize your return on investment. You may have experienced great results from organic search engine optimization, or perhaps you’ve seen a real boost in sales from clever Pay Per Click marketing strategies. But what are the benefits of combining these two marketing elements to establish a solid integrated search campaign?

SEO and PPC differ greatly in both their approach to advertising and the results you’re able to achieve in any given timeframe.

SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION IN A NUTSHELL

Search engine optimization is a longer-term strategy that gains you exposure organically and naturally. It takes time to gain those higher SERPs, but once you’re up there, you’ll benefit from increased brand awareness and a new-found respect for your business. This level of visibility is difficult to achieve via any other means and the rewards are fantastic. SEO as a service also deals not only with increasing the reputation and standing of your business online, but develops the practicality and accessibility of your website, which in turn improves the user experience and leads to sustained interest in your products or services. Part of SEO is also generating unique, engaging content for your pages that really grabs the attention of the reader, which will ultimately reduce your bounce rate .

However, such a mammoth process requires a lot of patience. If your targeted search terms are competitive it can take months or even years to achieve top positions. It’s also difficult to test your SEO campaign because it will take a long time to produce palpable results.

PAY PER CLICK MARKETING IN A NUTSHELL

At the other end of the scale, Pay Per Click marketing is great for boosting your conversion rates in the short term. PPC is based on a spend-per-click model; you pay more upfront for the exposure and your ad is catapulted to a position of high visibility instantaneously. You can target more keywords, many of which can be longer tail and more product-specific, so it’s a popular choice for businesses running short-term promotions or audience-specific online campaigns. PPC management services allow you to constantly analyze and adjust your ad campaigns too, a great benefit for companies unsure of the best search terms to target. Effective Pay Per Click management can gain you high visibility and will drive the traffic straight from the search engines to a targeted landing page. This is a great tactic to employ if you’re looking to boost conversion rates quickly, but not sustainable if you’re a small company with a limited marketing budget.

BENEFITS OF BLENDING SEO AND PPC EFFECTIVELY

OK, so now we’ve established the pros and cons of SEO and PPC, let’s talk money. Budgeting is likely to be your biggest consideration and possibly the reason why you lack confidence in integrated search. If you outsource your SEO campaign to the professionals, you are likely to be investing regular payments into the service over quite a lengthy period of time. The potential for such great expenditure rightly puts a lot of business owners off the concept, especially if they’re looking for fast results. Similarly, Pay Per Click will boost an increased but temporary flow of interest unless you can sustain your click spend.

In the opinion of industry specialists, combining both services as part of a carefully considered search campaign is by far the best option, despite the initial cost concerns. By distributing your budget between tactics you get the best of both worlds – a better website, a natural ascension through the ranks for your broad match keywords as well as a cleverly targeted and easily adjustable ad campaign.

Aside from the cash issues there are even more points to consider in favor of integrated search marketing.

Firstly, consumers click on links and ads based on their individual needs, and by investing in both SEO and PPC you’re covering all bases. Your business will be reaching a wider range of consumers from a variety of sources and you can rest assured that no stone is left unturned.
Second of all, by blending SEO and PPC you are in a better position to analyze your campaigns and find out what works for you as early as possible. Pay Per Click campaigns can be tested at any time using industry tools and the results from this analysis can obviously be applied directly to your SEO work.

As far as Google is concerned, it’s interesting to note that websites that employ both SEO techniques and target keywords via Pay Per Click management sometimes gain a higher quality score from the search engine, which actually reduces the average cost per click for search terms.

There’s no doubt about it, integrated search campaigns result in a front-page double whammy when it comes to search prominence. You’re providing double the reach of your campaign, so should experience double the traffic, right? This may not directly be the case but you will definitely see an increase in quality enquiries and a boom in product sales. Set yourself apart from your competitors by distributing your outgoings between both SEO and Pay Per Click marketing.

With the help of an experienced integrated search agency, you’ll be able to set yourself up for success by managing your budget and pumping your cash into the areas where it’s going to make a real difference.

Photo Credit: Sean MacEntee

The above article is edited by Roxanne Peterson, who is associated with many UK Seo and Web Designing related companies like SEO Positive in UK which is showcased in the article. She excels in writing articles related to web designing, SEO, pay per click services, social media etc.

Continue reading this article @ How to Blend SEO and PPC for Effective Online Marketing Strategy.

3 Copywriting Strategies To Attract Targeted Web Traffic Easily

Udegbunam Chukwudi — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 21:39:38 +0000

Can you persuade a prospect with your word?

Few marketers are beginning to grasp the real meaning of doing business online. Majority of internet entrepreneurs are still gazing about with no concise direction to follow. Effective copy writing strategy can do a lot for your internet business in the form of: increase in readership, email subscription and high conversion for your information products or affiliate offers. Having achieved some level of success writing different forms of copy for clients and my businesses, I discovered 3 strategies that could boost your web traffic.

HOW TO GENERATE TRAFFIC WITH GOOD COPY WRITING

1. Keyword Research Strategy

Keyword research can make or mar your business. I go about my keyword research in a different way. Conventional keyword research still works, but the competition is extremely severe these days. Everyone wants a slice of the goldmine online and the keywords you would have targeted are already gone. That is why Google keywords tool isn’t going to give you the right keywords. It’s not a tool for SEO, it’s mainly for AdWords, but you should use it to test the market. 95% of the keywords you would discover are highly competitive, but there is a way to dig into it.

Let’s assume you discovered a keyword like, “make money online.”

Of course, you know how competitive this is, it has over 21,000,000 web pages on Google alone. In order to still sell your affiliate products/information product, take that keyword and dig deeper into it. I prefer using the Free Wordtracker tool to see variations for “make money online.”

Wordtracker’s free keyword tool is going to reveal over 50 variations for that competitive keyword you want to target.

2. Headline Strategy

The headline is the first point of contact between your targeted audience and your work. If you don’t do this creatively, I’m afraid, you may lose that buyer. Headlines are expected to convey an message, your visitor has to know right from the very first encounter that you’ve what he is looking for. Short headline tends to work better than those longer ones. This does not mean you should alter your keywords, what it means is that you should limit your headline to 71 characters. You know why?

When your blog post or article shows up on Google, it’s only 71 characters that would be visible. The remaining part will be dotted or hidden until it’s clicked. Remember you have few minutes to capture your prospect’s attention, everyone is looking for shortcuts to achieve success – make your headline short and begin with your primary keyword. Beginning with your keyword is very vital because, search spiders read contents from the left. The faster they discover the term you’re targeting, indexing is guaranteed.

3. Write As To One Person

What ever writing style you’re using online, endeavor to speak to one customer. If this sounds ridiculous, this is what I mean: your niche might be huge, filled with paying customers who are eager for quality information. But do you realize that each of these persons would be accessing your content personally, at a time? When you write to one person, the message you’re trying to pass across becomes clearer. Every of your prospect out there is desperate for someone who understands their problems, and who is working towards solving these problems easily. This copy writing strategy is what professional internet marketers like Ewen Chia and Yanik Silver adopt in all their sales letters.

These 3 copywriting strategies can be applied to all your writing works: articles, sales copy, email copy, classified ads, blog post, freelance writing etc. Slight adjustments in your write ups, with these three tips can bring about an upsurge of targeted traffic easily.

Michael Chibuzor works a lot in the SEO arena. He runs a web traffic generation blog and you can learn free traffic tips from http://www.blast4trafficnow.net/

Continue reading this article @ 3 Copywriting Strategies To Attract Targeted Web Traffic Easily.

Blogging Seriously and Working Full-Time: Is it Possible?

Udegbunam Chukwudi — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 09:12:20 +0000

As most of us who have been blogging for a while, we know that making a viable living off our online musings is not exactly something you can depend on. The vast majority of bloggers thus make some money through their blogs but they rely on a steady income through a “day job” of some sort. Of course, it doesn’t hurt to dream of one day being a high-profile blogger who someday lands a billion dollar book deal, but in the mean time, here are a few tips for juggling a job while trying put some serious time into your blog:

1. Try not to ever take any work home with you.

While there are some jobs where it is inevitable that you will have to come home after regular hours and do some extra work, the vast majority of jobs have pretty reasonable work hours if you plan your schedule accordingly. If you can help it, try to keep your work at work, and leave your home life for pursuing your hobbies and personal interests.

2. Set a routine, test out different times, and figure out what works best for you.

Some people are more productive at certain times of the day. I never realized that the morning time before work was when I was most alert and creative until I tried it. Try working at different times before and after work, and try doing different time intervals. For example, some bloggers can completely throw themselves into their work for a few hours at a time, while others work only in spurts. Listen to your body and mind and determine what work style gets you going the most.

3. Always set aside a different space in your home, where it is distraction-free, to work on your blogging.

Even if you can dedicate the time it takes to making your blog a serious contender in whatever niche, you still have to have the right environment. While some bloggers need a dedicated office space to work, there are several different options. For one, you can find a space in your room where you lock the door and tell no one to bother you for a few hours. You can also go to a café with Internet, if you prefer a more crowded environment. Many larger cities now offer work spaces for a small membership fee, for those who are self-employed.

4. Read productivity blogs and books.

Although so much in the so-called productivity niche sounds like a bunch of fluff, sometimes it’s nice to get some motivation, to at least know that there are millions of others out there like you who may struggle getting things done. Some of my favorite productivity blogs are Web Worker Daily, Dumb Little Man, and Change Your Thoughts. Many of these are geared specifically toward bloggers.

To answer the question posed at the beginning of this post, yes it is entirely possible to juggle a day job and a serious blog. At the same time, you ought to be aware of the fact that it can be exhausting, and it becomes a clearly impossible undertaking if you don’t plan ahead.

Photo Credit: Ryantron

This guest post is contributed by Lauren Bailey, who regularly writes for best online colleges. She welcomes your comments here or at her email Id: blauren99 @gmail.com.

Continue reading this article @ Blogging Seriously and Working Full-Time: Is it Possible?.

The Bloggers Guide to Legal and Insurance Matters

Udegbunam Chukwudi — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 07:59:05 +0000

Bloggers, like workers in any other field of activity, need to make sure they have all of their bases covered in terms of legal and insurance matters. Behind all the words contained in a blog is a human, and as we all share human frailties, life insurance is one sure fire way of covering all our financial bases should something go astray.

Life Insurance Goes Hand in Hand with General Insurance

A good life insurance cover goes hand in hand with other types of general insurance writers need. Writers in particular need to be protected in case of libel, which can occur when a blogger publishes a blog that is regarded by someone else as defaming their character. It is a civil misdemeanor that is considered to have harmed a complainant’s character or entity, thereby creating an atmosphere of ridicule or scorn against that person. A similar civil wrong against another person can be committed in a newspaper, magazine or book as well as over the air through a television or radio broadcast. Libel is not to be confused with slander which occurs when a statement that is false is uttered verbally against another but not published.

Cyberlibel is Online Libel

Libel that is published in a blog is known as cyberlibel. This particular type of defamation is committed through the internet and it can appear in chat rooms, emails and message boards as well as in blogs or on a personal website. For a charge of cyberlibel to succeed against a blogger the third party has to have received some manner of verifiable harm as a result of the blog having been posted. It is a serious matter that brings into the argument the issues of free speech and anonymity which is why many feel there is a growing need for new laws to be implemented to better regulate the reasonably new online medium of blogs.

Offending Statements Must Have Knowingly Been False

For a cyberlibel charge to succeed against a blogger the statement made must have knowingly been false when presented on the blog as a fact. This can sometimes be claimed to be an opinion which, in the United States, is protected under freedom of speech laws. In the blogger’s defense the damaging piece must be shown to be an opinion, not put forward as a fact. It is therefore important for all bloggers to protect their interests, and insurance is the most obvious way of doing that. Insurance for bloggers can be especially important when a law suit can be expensive to defend, even if it does not ultimately succeed.

Cyberlibel Still a Grey Area

The world has still not quite come to terms with cyberlibel. Many are strongly resisting any control, stating that the internet is a unique medium in which free speech and the spread of information is important for the growth of democracy. Others are arguing that the same laws that apply to newspapers and other printed media should equally apply to the web. The difference between the traditional print media and web content however is that it is easier for an aggrieved person to make their own blog entry, post a refuting article, or respond on a message board than it is for them to secure the front page of their local newspaper. As a result, many agree that this lessens the need for any legal imposition to be created to further protect an aggrieved person’s reputation.

Examine Your Existing Cover

In most cases, if your blog is not business oriented your regular household insurance policy could give you sufficient cover, as most home-owner and some renter’s insurance policies give you automatic libel cover. Although it will be unlikely that these policies will cover you for punitive damage, they will most likely cover you for legal costs and compensatory damage. This may vary between policies so it will pay you to check your particular cover out and if you find there is an exemption in your case you should look around for another. If your particular blog has no relationship to your calling, be it trade based or professional, you will probably find you have sufficient cover.

Additional libel insurance will have to be sought out if your blog will contribute in some way to your earnings. These assumptions have not been proven either way to date but if you don’t want to be the blogger who sets the precedent it might pay you to pay that extra amount of premium to make certain that you are protected.

Bloggers are not immune to illnesses and injury suffered by others in the community, so it is therefore an appropriate time to check all your policies as you take control of your protection against any possible libel lawsuits being brought against you. When you get all of your insurance policies up to date you will be better protected and therefore write more confident blogs. Even though you may feel less exposed to a damages claim, it will still be wise not to partake in anything that could be construed as being malicious in the blog you are publishing.

Photo Credit: Ell brown

Kristy Ramirez writes for Life Insurance Finder where she helps people to compare life insurance quotes and select the best life insurance policy to meet their needs at the best possible price.
Bloggers who are members of the Authors Guild will find this organization can offer good advice in this area. You can also speak with your insurance advisor who will check out your regular household policy for you and fully explain its contents.

Continue reading this article @ The Bloggers Guide to Legal and Insurance Matters.

Top 4 Quick Ways Of Earning A Reputation As A Fraud

Udegbunam Chukwudi — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 08:00:00 +0000

Making money online just as it is offline is severely dependent on one thing and that’s TRUST! Most newbies are seeking for fast money without giving a damn who they hurt along the way and before they know what’s happening, they’ve totally ruined their reputation online and thus no on wants to do business with them again.

If you’re of the few who are serious about earning money online, please continue reading to learn a few tiny but crucial tips to making it big down the line online without getting labeled a scammer.

HOW TO GET TAGGED AS A BIG FAT IM SCAMMER

Ignore Every Request For A Refund: Every successful, credible business offers a some form of guarantee to their prospective clients. Some internet marketers are now in the habit of denying refunds. I’ve only experienced that once with Utiware and it was one ordeal I hope never to go through again.
Offer Way Too Many Goods/Services For A Ridiculously Low Fee: I once saw a guy offering to teach anyone CPA Marketing, Autoblogging, Google Adsense, PayPal Verification, WordPress Setup etc for a mere N3,000 ( $20 ). To make matters worse, he went further to offer 3 Months of Free Training Till Success is Attained. I don’t care what anybody says but I strongly believe that this feat is impossible to accomplish to the letter and it’s just another recipe for disaster as the client will definitely bitch when he/she doesn’t get what he paid for.
Deny Your Customers/Clients Multiple Access To You: Fascinating as the internet is, there will always be glitches. These glitches could make a product inaccessible after the client has made a payment and this could be quite frustrating for the client. Imagine paying $100 for an instant download and a few minutes after using your credit-debit card, you’re yet to gain access to your download. You then proceed to contact the product creator and get no response after hours! PANIC sets in and you start to wonder whether you’ve just been scammed! Email ain’t enough guys, leave phone numbers and social media/messenger handles ’cause they matter a lot and make you more accessible.
Sell Goods/Services That Aren’t 100% Sure To Work: stuff such as PayPal verification for non accepted countries, acquiring a payoneer MasterCard, shopping online with the GTB Naira MasterCard etc are never accurate and any client who pays for your eBook tutorial on these subjects and ends up not achieving his target will feel scorned and ask for a refund instantly. Fail to refund his/her money and you’ve become a fraud.

Making a living online is totally possible but requires a lot of patience and perseverance and that is why I strongly recommend that every make money online newbie, should get a day job that can pay the rent, feed him and handle some little bills around the house while focusing on the online thing. Most folks who go into earning online without a day job are most likely turn into scammers as they are over eager to make the money fast.

Do have a great week guys

Continue reading this article @ Top 4 Quick Ways Of Earning A Reputation As A Fraud.

Top Six Ways Of Protecting Your Online Investments

Udegbunam Chukwudi — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 16:48:50 +0000

Photo Credit: squacco

About a week ago, a facebook friend contacted me asking if there was a way he could regain control of his email account as his friend/partner out of annoyance over an argument they had, had taken over his email, changed the password and subsequently taken over a few of his online accounts + earnings .

Some of us go into the whole online business thing thinking only of the money that could be made from it without giving protecting that source of income a single thought.

Listed below are a few security tips that all bloggers/online entrepreneurs need to follow in order to keep their stream of cash secure for the future. I personally use and recommend them all.

HOW TO PROTECT YOUR ONLINE INVESTMENTS

Activate Google Adsense Allowed Sites Features: if you are earning some serious cash via Google Adsense and have a habit of posting your enviable monthly earnings for the world to see, listen up. Some mean spirited folks could successfully get you in trouble by copying your Adsense code and pasting it on sites that do not agree with Google Adsense’s terms and condition. Once Google detects this, your account could be shut down without warning. Using the allowed sites feature, you can specify the URLs that are allowed to display Google ads for your account. MAKE USE OF IT NOW!
Never Give Out Your Email Address & Password: Personally I’ve got some major trust issues and would almost NEVER allow someone access my email account on my behalf. Plenty of sh*t goes down just like it did for my facebook friend. Your email account is an easy route to all your online sources of income as login data etc could be found there. PROTECT IT WITH YOUR LIFE.
Choose Strong Passwords For Your WordPress Blogs and Never Give Them Out: Evil folks can easily hack into your account and strip your website of every posts, comments, pages etc in a flash leaving your business in ruins. If you must entrust someone with the task of fixing something on your installation, I strongly suggest you create a separate profile for that person with certain privileges and once the fix is in place, delete the new profile and change your password at once. For more wordpress security tips, please read How To Secure WordPress Blogs With Plug-ins and 10 Easy Ways to Secure your WordPress Blog.
Get An Effective Antivirus/Internet Security Software: Each and everyday a new breed of computer virus/malware is unleashed on the world and our online accounts especially the internet banking accounts are at some serious risk of being compromised as long as we stay connected online and transfer data via external devices to our computers. You can NEVER underrate the use of an antivirus. You can get a good computer/internet security package for as low as $16 for 3 Users or if you’re strapped for cash, check out Top Three Free Antivirus Antispyware For PC & Android.
Protect Your Content From Scrapers: The internet is rife with lazy a** folks who would rather make money online off content written by other folks. A good way of protecting yourself is by always applying watermarks with your images like I do across my blogs using Windows Live Writer. I purposely put important info into images so that if the scraper doesn’t scrape the images as well, the content would be pretty incomplete to whosoever is reading it. Adding a watermark to your images also helps make Google DMCA’s work a lot faster. I reported a site once and within 3 hours, the adsense account attached to the site in particular was suspended! Ain’t nothing that proves a content is stolen better than an image with a web address watermark .
Scrutinize All Guest Posts Carefully: If you’re in the habit of accepting guest posts regularly on your blog, you ought to be very alert as some folks are just stealing content and passing them off as guest posts. Someone almost gamed me until I ran a Google search on his guest post submission and discovered that the guest post and previous ones he had sent in as well had been ripped off sites like SmartBloggerz. His lame excuse was that he had been trying to make money online for over 3 years now with nothing to show for it thus he chose to try the evil way. I simply gave him an advice to go get a primary day, offline job with which he could support himself while busrting his a** online. Imagine if I hadn’t scrutinized the guest post. I would have been tagged a scrapper and possibly reported to Google like in Point No. 5 and subsequently maybe lost my PR, search engine rankings and my Google Adsense account.

These are just some of the measures I take to make sure my make money online ventures are secure and remain fruitful. Which methods do you use to secure your online investments? Please share with us .

Continue reading this article @ Top Six Ways Of Protecting Your Online Investments.

5 Quick Tips For Blogging While Traveling Or Vacationing

Udegbunam Chukwudi — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 09:26:48 +0000

This is a guest post by Debbie Dragon of Cheap Hotels. If you’d like to write for us, pleas review our guest posting guidelines.

If you are a hardcore blogger and heading out on a vacation or other trip, you may want to take your work on the road with you. At one time in the not too distant past, this might not have been possible, but today it is a totally different story. No matter where your travels take you, around the world and back, you most likely will be able to blog as you go.

Preparing before you leave home will help your trip run smoother and also keep you from spending more time blogging than vacationing.

Read on to get some great tips and information that will make blogging while traveling a great experience.

Decide Your Time Commitment Level: When you are on vacation you will not want to spend your entire trip working. So, before you leave home decide what it is specifically that you will need to do, decide on how much time that will take you and then fit that time into your travel itinerary. The hard part for some workaholics will be to stick to the schedule, but if you want to enjoy your vacation this is a must!
What Can You Do Ahead Of Time: If you just want to be able to add posts to your blog while on the road, you might want to consider writing at least some articles before you leave home. This can greatly cut down on the amount of time you spend working while you are traveling. Then while on your travels all you will need to do is upload and publish your content. You can even upload the articles and have them scheduled to go live on your site at a particular date and time .
Make The Best Use Of Your Time: Try to fit in your blogging time into the parts of your vacation that will not impact your “fun” time. Getting as much done as you can while waiting in the airport, for example, is a great way to make sure your blogging does not interrupt your vacation plans.
Bring Along Files You May Need: In other words, check to make sure you have transferred anything you will need from your desktop computer to your laptop. If you’re the type that likes to travel pretty light, investing in a Netbook or iPad would be the best way to go as they are quite smaller than the average laptop and would fit nicely into a carry all bag . If you are one of the many folks who have difficulty using a built in laptop mouse, packing a regular desktop mouse would help you a lot.
Check For Internet Access: If you are going to be working on your blog while traveling you will of course need internet access. Depending on where you are traveling this may be a challenge. Your best bet is to make sure that you book accommodations that offer free internet service as part of your room package or you could invest in usb internet modem which would give you the portable personal internet advantage.

Finally, find a way to include your vacation travels into your blog. No matter what your blog is about people love to hear about traveling and when you share with then your experiences they are more likely to relate to you and come back for more.

Debbie Dragon is a writer for Cheap Hotels where prices are low and there’s no nasty booking fees for cheap hotels in Sydney and just about every other city in the world!

Continue reading this article @ 5 Quick Tips For Blogging While Traveling Or Vacationing.

Top 8 Disadvantages of Staying Permanently Connected

Udegbunam Chukwudi — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 00:34:59 +0000

Photo Credit: markhillary

Socially-driven individuals love the thought of being able to carry on multiple conversations from sunrise through the day and evening until well after midnight. People who observe the scramble that constant cyber conversations cause are confused by the obsession to be contacted at all times. "Workaholism" was once controlled by walking away from the workplace, but technology has heightened the risk of being reachable anywhere by anyone at anytime.

There are some serious consequences to not controlling the habit of staying permanently connected and they are as follows

1. Constant interruptions – Personal relationships require nurturing and investment in the same way that professional obligations must be met. When smart-phones allow the continuation of the workday well into the evening, personal relationships are set aside with every interruption. The end of the workday is important for the health of the family and must be observed by anyone wishing to maintain personal relationships.

2. Distraction from present – Sitting across the dinner table from someone who is having a text messaging conversation can result in the abrupt end to the dinner. Nothing conveys lack of interest in the people present than the distraction of a cell phone at the table. Disconnect from all outside contacts long enough to have dinner with the family.

3. Threats to data security – Businesses that remain connected around the clock have encountered exponentially more network violations through their social networking contacts. Turning off all computer equipment at the end of the workday protects sensitive business information from cyber attacks in the off-hours.

4. Privacy violations – Many businesses have started monitoring social networking sites to learn more information about current employees and potential hires. Negative comments about superiors have resulted in termination for those careless enough to discuss work in cyberspace. Hiring managers will investigate future employees by using their social media pages to learn more about their character. Conclusions are drawn from every word written on these sites.

5. Unrealistic expectations – Whenever a person is available constantly, others begin to expect immediate response regardless of the hour of the day. When changes are made to reduce the availability, resistance is met because expectations are out of line with reality.

6. Loss of productivity – When social networking sites are visited during the workday, productivity is lost, and the day must be longer to compensate for the work that is not yet completed. Distractions from responding to social interruptions cost hours every week because of the time required to regain concentration and continue work.

7. Burnout – Every person needs real breaks from the work environment and electronic tools. Learning to use the social networking tools effectively requires discipline and awareness of the impact on relationships. When thoughts are focused constantly on the next possible note from someone else, the habit must be broken for the benefit of everyone involved. Inability to sleep is one of the first signs of burnout and immediate action must be taken to prevent serious health issues.

8. Physical ailments – Repetitive strain injuries have been sustained by those who are constantly typing on tiny keyboards attached to cell phones. Eye strain can be a serious issue for those who are unwilling to limit their use of electronic gadgets to a few hours each day. While being reachable at all times may make the individual feel important, the real issue is the impact on responsibilities that require attention in the present.

Everyone must regulate their use of social media to prevent impacting other people and conveying an insensitive awareness of the needs of others. Social skills are always in vogue and must be maintained with the people who are in the room.

Set aside the electronic devices outside business hours.

Matt works at Credit Card Compare, an Australian comparison website where Australian businesses can compare business credit cards with rewards such as cash back and airline flyer points.

Continue reading this article @ Top 8 Disadvantages of Staying Permanently Connected.