Hot Hosting

UnderCon – Perfect WordPress Pre-Launch Page

admin — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 18:30:28 +0000

Are you working on launching or maybe even re-launching a WordPress powered web site? If so, you might want to slap up a quick “under construction page” to keep people happy until the final version of the web site is ready. UnderCon, a great theme for WordPress will help you do that with style.

The idea here is very simple. It is just a default page to look at before a real web site is ready. That does not mean though that you can not customize it. You can.

Some of the features include:

Customizable title, description and logo under theme option page.
Use Feedburner for email subscription and delivery.
Free. Released in GPL license.

Want to give it a shot? Go download the UnderCon theme over at ShoppingThemes.com or try the live demo.

Double Save Your Work to a USB Drive

admin — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 18:30:25 +0000

Nothing kills your will to live faster than losing a lot of work you have been spending hours upon hours creating it. Not that I am bitter about my own paste experiences or anything. With that thought in mind though, I thought it might be a good time to introduce you to Back4Sure.

Here is a little more about the program from the developers:

Back4Sure is a freeware program for making backup copies of your documents, pictures, music, videos and anything you find valuable. The files to copy may be distributed all over your computer, even on different drives. Back4Sure will gather all the files you’ve selected for backup and make a copy of them into a specified target directory. The folder with the drive drive letter of the source drive and the directory structure will be automatically created in the target directory, so all your files will be stored correctly and easy to find. In this process, Back4Sure will only copy files that have changed since the last backup, so even a large number of files is backed up as fast as possible.

This is one of the best freeware backup utilities I know of. You have the choice of using a USB flash drive, a second hard drive or a network share as a backup target. With the program’s built in compression techniques you can squeeze your backups down to make them fit – so they are not wasting space.

Occupying less than 1 MB of storage space, it can also be run from a USB portable flash drive very easily too. You can go pick up Back4Sure at it’s official site to make lost work a think of the past.

How Does Search Engine Optimization Relate to Your Web Host?

admin — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 23:08:49 +0000

Search engine optimization is perhaps the most important marketing aspect in online business. If you want a successful website, then you need to be at the top of the search engines. There is simply no other way to get tons of targeted traffic on autopilot. The problem that most people have regarding search engine optimization is the sheer density of it. There is just so much to know and it seems as if there is not enough time in the day to devote to it. As soon as you think you know it all, you find out you’ve been doing something wrong all along. Search engines have been developed over time to index and catalog every aspect of your website, both internally and externally. Therefore the factors that affect your search engine ranking are innumerable. One factor that most people overlook is the relationship between their hosting company and their search engine optimization effort.

Server Reliability

Perhaps one of the most fundamental aspects of your web host that will affect your search engine ranking is the reliability of your web server. The main problem that you need to be aware of is server downtime. Search engines crawl the web at various points throughout the day. No one can know for sure when the search engine spider will visit your site. This means you need to make sure your site is up at all times. If the search engine spider attempts to crawl your site while it is down, then all of the recent changes you have made to your website will not be indexed., This can greatly hinder your search engine optimization progression.

Robot Text

Another important factor of search engine optimization that closely relates to your web hosting account is your robot text. The robot text is a document that tells your server how it should deal with outside influences such as website visitors and search engine crawlers. This document will differ depending on the hosting company that you’re with. Some web hosts will have the document set to allow search engine crawlers while others will not. It is extremely important to make sure your robot.txt files allows crawlers to index your site, otherwise the site will not even be indexed at all!

IP Address Reputability

The final SEO factor that is directly related to your web host is your IP address. Every website online has an IP address that it is associated with. With some hosting plans you share an IP address with others, and some hosting accounts give you your own dedicated IP address. If you decide to share an IP address with others then you need to understand that you are taking a substantial risk to your search engine optimization efforts. Since you are sharing an IP address with other sites, if these sites are penalized by the search engines your site could lose some of its value within the search engine as well, especially if your site is in anyway linked to the non-reputable site on your IP address. For more information on this make sure you talk to your hosting company about dedicated IP addresses and how they can help you.

Whiteboard Friday – Faceted Navigation

admin — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 22:04:13 +0000

Posted by great scott!

So last week Eric Enge interviewed everybody’s favorite Spam Cop, Matt Cutts (not to be confused with everybody’s favorite Axe Cop), about all sorts of juicy Googleyness. You can read the whole enchilada over at Stone Temple, or view an illustrated version Rand put together (I recommend you do both, it’s really good material).

The interview shed a lot of light but also inspired some confusion and questions, especially about how much of a site Big G will or won’t crawl. If you’ve got a big site, say an e-commerce site with lots of flexible navigation and categorization, this could be a big problem for you. Fear not! This week’s Whiteboard Friday will show you a clean, simple way to allow for both great usability for your visitors and compact, straightforward crawlability for the engines.

You might also want to check out this older, but relevant post on diagrams for understanding crawl priority.

Do you like this post? Yes No

Announcing the New SEOmoz Toolbar – Plus 5 New Features

admin — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 05:00:57 +0000

Posted by adamf

First, let me make a quick introduction. Normally, I spend my time focused on new products at Search Engine Optimisationmoz, working with a great team of people that design and build our new tools and features. Today I am excited to use my first blog post to announce our new Search Engine Optimisation toolbar for Firefox, and tell you about some of the powerful features we have added.

As a quick reminder, all of these new features are free, and will be available to anyone who downloads the Firefox Search Engine Optimisation Toolbar! However, we still reserve advanced link data for PRO members.

So, on to the features. To add a little color to my descriptions, I’ve also asked some Search Engine Optimisation experts you may recognize to preview the toolbar and talk about how they use the new features.

1. New SERP Overlay

This new Search Engine Results Page overlay was designed to offer the most relevant link data without getting in the way. You can now use our toolbar to see which search results are getting the most links, and click Explore to run a full analysis in Open Site Explorer. To turn on this overlay, click the settings button on the toolbar, and select SERP Overlay.

"I get the best ‘feel’ for abstract metrics by seeing them in familiar places. I find it easiest to understand the new metrics by seeing them on search results I’m familiar with; as an added bonus, this is one of the most helpful analyses you can do when looking at a new SERP for the first time." –Will Critchlow

2. Page Authority and Domain Authority

Page Authority and Domain Authority have taken their place as the primary metrics in the toolbar. These two predictive metrics will give you the best indication of how authoritative pages and domains are. If you miss having mozRank and mozTrust available at a glance, don’t despair! You can add these back into the toolbar by selecting them from the settings menu.

3. Surf Like a Search Engine

We have added new settings that allow you to hide images, turn off JavaScript, and even set your user agent. This will help you see pages like the search engines do, and identify potential bad page behaviors. And just to help out, we’ve added a handy little overlay to keep you aware of when any of these features are set. Just click the link in the overlay and all of your settings will return to normal.

"The new user agent switching means I’ve removed another plug-in from Firefox. I love my Search Engine Optimisation plugins but I also think there’s such a thing as having too many. Go for simplicity is what I always say. Special love goes out to disable JavaScript, too – I actually caught a nice bit of hidden link spam with this last week! Disable images is a sure fire way to check out the image alt attributes on a web page too. Nice." –Richard Baxter

"I don’t want to take credit for an awesome feature. OK. I want to take credit for an awesome feature. After constantly forgetting I was surfing as googlebot and getting chucked out of Google calendar etc I asked for this feature and it’s just as awesome as I hoped it would be. "

4. New Data in the Analyze Page Overlay

Our analyze page overlay has also been enhanced with a number of new, useful data points, including

Page Download Time – this becomes more important with Google’s announcement that speed matters.
Text to Code Ratio – Is there more code on your page than content? Don’t make the search engines sift through too much code to find the relevant content.
HTTP status codes – Find out the status code of the current page, and learn which redirects were involved in getting you there.

Overlay" src="http://www.Search Engine Optimisationmoz.org/img/upload/status-code-overlay.png" />

"The overlay is still the most valuable thing for me. I must use it 5+ times every day to get quick info about how many links are on a page, whether it’s using rel="canonical" or whether the keywords are properly included in the right page elements. I hate using ‘view source’ and searching through code; overlay FTW!" –Rand Fishkin

"The http status codes feature is my favourite new addition to the tool. There’s not more reloading and hunting through LiveHTTPHeaders reports – this lets me very easily see the redirect route taken in getting to the current page." –Rob Ousbey

5. Quick Access to Tools from Search Engine Optimisationmoz and Third Parties

The tools dropdown has been expanded to include fast access to the latest Search Engine Optimisationmoz tools as well as a wealth of other helpful resources, including traffic data, Twitter tools, and domain info.

I hope you enjoy the new toolbar. Please give it a try, and be sure to send feedback so we can keep making it better. You can easily send feedback by clicking on the light bulb icon on the toolbar.

Do you like this post? Yes No

The Unique Advantages of Plesk

admin — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 20:16:19 +0000

The current control panel market is extremely competitive in nature and constantly expanding with new software. These software titles claim to be the best, or the most suitable for a certain situation, yet only a few actually can come close to fulfilling this promise. One of the few control panels that could be placed in the top 3 would be Plesk. Parallel’s Plesk is a unique and powerful control panel that simplifies administrative tasks and improves the functionality of your website. Since the features of Plesk are so diverse, we deemed it necessary to create a full overview of Plesk’s most unique and powerful features.

Compatibility

Perhaps one of the most notable features of Plesk is it’s unique ability to work with both Window and Linux operating systems. Plesk is also compatible with virtually any server environment and thrives in the VPS server environment. Plesk can also be used with any web hosting account, letting users take their control panel with them when they decide to change web hosts. Plesk also includes a language pack that lets users customize the software using their own language, making it a multilingual control panel as well. This compatibility truly makes Plesk a suitable option for any user, regardless of their nationality or system/server configuration.

Reselling

Another unique feature of Plesk is the ability to customize the look and feel of the control panel for re-branding and reselling. Users can change the color of the control panel and many other options, and then rename it and resell it under a different name. Of course to do this, you’ll need to purchase the appropriate Plesk plan, but it is a feasible and plausible way to make extra money with your control panel, especially if you’re already reselling hosting packages.

Stability

Plesk is also one of the most stable control panels, protecting your site from hackers, server crashes, and dreaded downtime. Using Plesk gives you the ability to relax knowing that you control panel is secure and therefore the administrative interface of your site is protected. Plesk’s performance also adds to the stability of the program, as each feature can be learned with ease and use to it’s maximum capabilities by even the most novice user. Plesk also has integrated troubleshooting features that automatically catch and repair errors within the administrative system, ensuring maximum reliability.

Site Builder

The patented Plesk site builder includes a variety of extremely useful tools that let you create, edit and organize your web pages with ease. The entire control panel is fully expandable and can be enhanced with the few clicks of the mouse and the addition of a few web applications, although the default settings are more than capable of carrying out complex tasks. The site builder itself is extremely simple to use, due to it’s user-friendly five step wizard that walks users through the process of creating a web page with ease.

Although many people prefer solutions such as cPanel, Plesk has proven itself as a worthy competitor time and time again. If you’re using dual operating systems, or if you just need a highly capable control panel solution, then I would highly recommend Plesk.

Using Anchor Links to Make Google Ignore The First Link

admin — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 16:30:33 +0000

Posted by Errioxa

This post was originally in YOUmoz, and was promoted to the main blog because it provides great value and interest to our community. The author’s views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of Search Engine Optimisationmoz, Inc.

In the past, I have tried several different ways to skip the first link that Google takes into account for a given URL (nofollowed links, links with 301 redirections, etc). However, all these attempts had little success (301 works but it’s very suspect). Recently, I ran a test to see how Google handled the anchor links (links to different sections within the same page, eg: example.com/index and was surprised by the results I found. In the setup I tested, Google completely ignored the first standard link and instead credited the second anchor link.

The Test

For my test, I included several links on a page (Page A),

the first link is a simple link. (text)
the second and third link are anchor links. (other text)

Or in graphic form:

Results for Test 1

If you search for the first linked text we can see that we don’t get the results of the destination page (Page B) . This link is not an ‘anchor link’, this link is a link to a ’simple URL’ (that´s how I named it) but it is ignored.

SERP for first link: simple link (no # mark)

Instead, Google takes the next two anchor links (this and this) and shows the page they point to in the results. Although the apparent ignoring of the first link is odd, the way the link is displayed is even weirder. As you can see the URL that shows in the SERPs (See red box in image above) does not take to the anchor link, but to the simple link.

SERP for second link: anchor link (#)

SERP for third link: anchor link (#)

Results for Test 2

SERP for first link: simple link

SERP for second link: anchor link (#)

I ran two more tests to see if the test could be reproduced. Both of the other tests had the same results!

Conclusion

It is interesting to see the impact that link order has on rankings. Keep this in mind going forward and I hope you find this as interesting as I did.

Note from Jen: Errioxa had an updated version in the queue that I missed that explains this all a bit better. I have updated this post with the new version. 3/16/10

Do you like this post? Yes No

Win a Free 30-Day Online Marketing Program

admin — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 16:30:29 +0000

Lunarpages now provides one of the industry’s best online marketing offerings out there today. To help celebrate the successful launch of the Lunarpages Marketing and Advertising plans we are going to give one user 30 days of professional online marketing help for free.

So, what exactly will the lucky winner get?

One lucky Lunarpages customer will receive a FREE 30-day Basic SEM-SEO program, valued at $389. This is an extraordinary program that includes Search Engine Marketing in Google, set up of your Facebook & MySpace advertising programs for use of your free coupons, custom written meta data for your website, a Keyword Density report, development of two 400 word articles about your business, each submitted to 20 sites, business directory listings in over 25 directories including Google Maps, Yahoo Local, OnStar, City Search, Insider Pages, Search Engine Rankings report and more. You get the idea…It’s a lot of stuff.

To learn more about our marketing offerings, check out:

SEO/SEM Marketing and Advertising at Lunarpages

How can you take part in this fantastic contest? All you have to do is visit the contest page, fill out your name, URL, phone number and e-mail address.

Add a Second E-mail to Account Records

admin — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 16:30:25 +0000

This is something I would encourage everyone to do, as it is a very important means of communication for us to have on record. Please take a few minutes of your day to give us a secondary e-mail account we can reach you at. This way, we have one more way to get in contact with you in case of an emergency situation.

How to Add Your Secondary E-mail Address

The first step you need to take is to login to the Customer Account Page with your hosting account user name and password.

Next, click on Billing/Contact Information.

The third step would be to provide your alternative e-mail address, update your primary e-mail address or both. You can do this for your billing information on record and your contact information on record.

After you are done editing your billing information, click the button that says, “Save Billing Information”. If you are also updating your contact information, be sure to hit the button that says, “Save Contact Information” once you have completed updating that as well.

Also, it is worth pointing out that either e-mail account we have on record for your account, the primary e-mail account or the secondary one, should never be associated with one of your domains you are hosting or have registered with us. Please use a different e-mail provider, such as your ISP, or you could use one from a place like Yahoo! Mail or Gmail.

Why Update? Other than your phone number, your primary and secondary e-mail addresses are what we have on record to contact you at if something goes wrong with your hosting account. The reason we do not want you to put an e-mail address there that we host, is because what if the account associated with the e-mail account was having trouble? We would be without a way to reach you via e-mail and this would slow down our support process.

So add an alternative e-mail to your account records today, and update your primary e-mail address if needed. Better to do it now, rather than chance not getting notified just in case the worst might happen.

X-Cart Reviewed– eCommerce Shopping Cart Solution

admin — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:21:26 +0000

A good shopping cart is perhaps the single most important feature of an eCommerce hosting plan. Having a user-friendly, convenient shopping cart is one of the best ways to convert targeted traffic into sales. One of the best new shopping cart solutions on the market is X-Cart. X-Cart is offered in several versions, including a free version and a more extensive X-Cart Pro edition. Some of the more appealing aspects of X-Cart is that it can be tried for free, it is a server-based solution, and it comes equipped with all of the features needed in a competent shopping cart software. In this review, we’ll cover some of the more notable features of X-Cart and offer a comprehensive overview of it’s capabilities.

Administrative Interface

The administrative interface of X-cart is categorized into six main sections; Administration, Affiliates, Management, Your Profile, Authentication, and Help. All of these sections can be accessed with ease from the main interface, in the web browser of your choice. Although the navigation and functionality of the software is relatively simple once it is setup, it may be difficult for the novice user to configure the software to match their server’s needs. It should be mentioned however that users do have the option of having the software configured for a fee of $50.

If you’re new to eCommerce web hosting, then it may be optimal to spend the $50 to avoid any hassle involved with installing and setting up the software. Most users find the installation and setup fee is worth the amount of features offered by X-Cart. Once the software has been configured, you can install it on any hosting account you’d like, and there are no limitations to it’s uses. If you’re having trouble finding a web host, you could also refer to the list of recommended web hosts on X-Carts site.

Category Manager

One of the more notable features of X-Cart is the Category Manager, which is a user-friendly administrative toll that lets you effectively organize your product catalog. With the Category Manager you can add as many categories as you’d like. You can also add subcategories by simply adding a slash to the category directory. For example, you could add a Horror sub-category in the “Movies” category by typing – Movies/Horror. This aids in site organization by providing a feature that is usually seen in content management systems, but rarely employed in shopping cart solutions.

Traffic and Sales Analysis

X-cart also offers a unique traffic analysis tool, providing detailed reports of the shopping carts use. For example, the conversion funnel report shows you the specific point in time when potential customers abandoned the shopping process. The software tracks the habits of customers as soon as they enter the site, noting which products they add to the cart, how long they shop, which products they view, and other crucial statistics. This information can be very useful in optimizing your site for maximum sales.

Expandability

One of the best aspects of X-Cart is it’s expandability. The user can expand the abilities of the software by adding modules that improve the overall functionality of the shopping cart. The amount of modules you’ll receive will depend upon the version of X-Cart you purchase. Although the software is fully customizable, novice users may find it somewhat difficult to edit the templates and design of the software without prior training. Fortunately, the software includes reliable and extensive support.