Strong passwords

The first rule in internet security is to have a secure password. Avoid any words that are in the dictionary as password crackers will find these are child’s play to get past.  Mix alphabet letters, numbers and symbols to make it harder to work out the password. If you store your passwords, use an encrypted file to keep them safe, or use a password manager online.

Look after your blog’s admin panel

Make sure that you change the admin panel URL.  You can do this using a plugin or ask your blog platform support team to change the blog admin panel link for you.

Ban untrusted IPs

You may notice the same IP accessing your blog repeatedly.  Flattering though it might be, it is unlikely that you have one obsessive fan of your blog – ban them immediately.

Update regularly

Coding gets out of date, so keep your design and theme coding up to date with the latest your blog platform has.

Keep it private

Most public computers will be ridden with viruses and Trojans.  These could make it easier for hackers to discover your password. Only access your blog admin panel from your own pc.

Use antivirus software

Make sure that you have good antivirus software on your computer, laptop and mobile phone – any way you access the internet and your blog.  Run a virus scan on any files before uploading them to your blog.

Of course, having good antivirus protection on your computer is essential for other reasons than maintaining the integrity of your blog. If you don’t have good internet security, your computer contains a lot of personal and payment information about you, and you are exposing yourself to risks every time you go online.  A good antivirus programme along with firewall, anti-spyware software and a spam filter won’t cost much, and will give you security while online.

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Photo: The Rocketeer

One great advantage to having a blog is that it notifies your web visitors that you are an expert. While your basic website gives an overview of your products and services, a blog can really dive into what you know in great detail. Businesses that have blogs look trustworthy and reliable.

Additionally, if you are using Twitter, you will soon find that it works hand in hand with a blog. When you post new blog entry, you can add a corresponding tweet that deals with the subject you are writing about. Twitter will send web traffic to your site through your tweets. You will find that people who normally would have never visited your site are going there to read your Twitter posting. While you have these web visitors at your site, they can read about your products and services or perhaps sign up for your mailing list.

Also you can set up your blog to be compatible with RSS feeds. This means that your subscribers will receive a notification whenever you post a new blog entry. This will keep your business fresh in your customer’s minds.

A blog can also be beneficial as far as your google pagerank goes. Google gives preferential treatment to websites that are updated frequently. Websites without blogs have a tendency to remains static. A blog will allow your site to be constantly updated with new keywords and up-to-date content. You don’t even need your web designer to help you once your blog is up and running. You can simply log in and post your entries in just minutes.

The bottom line is that if you are looking to expand your business and attract new customers, it only makes sense to consider adding a blog. You will easily get into a routine where you post new content all the time. The end result is that you will be pleasantly surprised when new customers tell you that they found you through your blog!

Source: Free Articles Directory Submission

About the Author
Every day, more and more website owners are adding blogs to their sites. A blog can help your business grow in a variety of ways.

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Photo: KatieKrueger

Whilst the argument still rages over which blogging platform is best, WordPress or Movable Type, designers will be better off spending their time on the non-technical aspects of improving the SEO of their blogs.

With this principle in mind, there are six nontechnical ways to do just that.

• Write Better Content.  Search engines rank the importance of your site according to the number of links your site receives from other sites.  When everything else is boiled down, the search engines want to deliver the best information to surfers according to the keywords they are looking for and this is usually indicated by the number of websites that link to your content.  If you write content that answers surfer’s questions, the more links you will receive and the higher the ranking you will achieve.

• Write Better Titles.  The title is the first thing people see when they visit your site, so it is no wonder that search engines also rank page titles highly when it comes to assessing the value of your site.  A title is like a headline in a newspaper, if it attracts a reader they will continue to read the rest of your article.  But beware, there is no point in writing a title just for the sake of it, the content that follows must still be relevant.

• Use Social Bookmarking.  One of the most valuable things you can do to increase your site’s relevance and ranking in the search engines is to promote your content.  By using social bookmarking sites like Digg, Stumbleupon, Delicious and Yahoo! Buzz you can promote the value of your content by gaining your site more exposure.  Social bookmarking sites also get your content indexed faster.  In fact, there are many other social bookmarking sites you can use apart from the three mentioned here, the more the better.  Don’t forget that the title of your content makes a big difference here.

• Use Social Media.  By posting your article title and URL in the status update on Twitter and Facebook you can gain a massive amount of traffic and get additional exposure to your content as well.  The importance of social media is demonstrated when you consider that Facebook recently surpassed Google as the most visited site on the Internet.

• Link to Your Blog.  When it comes to ranking, the authority of your site is of vital importance to the search engines.  The authority of your site is measured by Google in terms of PageRank, and PageRank is affected by the number of links you have to your blog.  You can maximize the SEO value of your blog by linking capacity by linking to it from your entire site.

• Update Your Blog Regularly.  The more quality articles you post the more pages your blog will have and this increases the authority of your site over time.  You should post to your blog at least once a week, or, more often if you wish to build up your traffic and rankings more quickly.

Implement these six nontechnical steps and you’ll be well on the way to maximising the SEO of your blog.

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Blog Naming Tip – Give Your Blog a “Reasonable Name”
By Ted Demopoulos

Give your blog a reasonable name. Although avant-garde names are popular now, they are not appropriate for many blogs, and certainly not for professional or business blogs. A descriptive name always works well.

Avant-garde names can work, such as the extremely popular Boing Boing and icanhascheezburger, but do you want a “strange” name for your blog long term? Blogs are rapidly becoming mainstream, and many blogs, perhaps most blogs, should have mainstream names.

Hopefully your blog will be a successful and longterm endeavor. Choose a name that will be “reasonable” in the long run. Cute, trendy or off-the-wall names might just seem absurd or unprofessional in a year or less.

I’ve talked blogging clients out of the following names for professional blogs!

I, Negro – an Afro-American blogging on marketing

He’s Dead Jim – a mortician blogging on, yes, choosing a funeral home, funeral services, and prepaid funeral plans

White Supremacist Nosepicker – a sales trainers blog (says he just liked the name for its absurdity)

I’m all for strange, bizarre, unique, etc. where at least slightly appropriate, and a far out blog name CAN work for a blog sometimes, but what were the people above thinking? Those names are all entirely inappropriate for their intended purposes!

What would be good names for those blogs? There are always plenty of good choices, but a descriptive name works well. A marketing blog could be called “Marketing Thoughts” for example. It’s obvious what that blog is about, and the name can be more specific, for example “Online Marketing for Family Run Business – Thoughts by Joe.”

A mortician’s blog would need a sensitive name: “Easing the Pain of Loss” might work for example. It’s certainly better than the comical name “He’s Dead Jim” which may offend many people, even those that recognize it as a famous Star Trek line.

And the sales trainers blog similarly could have a descriptive name instead of an offbeat name that conveys an air of foolishness instead of serious business sense.

Pick a blog name that won’t seem as inappropriate as that tattoo you got when 18 years old and drunk! Pick a blog name for the long term. Actually your blog doesn’t even need a name; you can just use your name or organization’s name in the header of the blog.

And for over 100 more tips on successful blogging, I invite you to grab your free copy of my ebook Secrets of Successful Blogging at http://www.secretsofsuccessfulblogging.com

By Ted Demopoulos, author of “Blogging for Business” and “What No One Ever Tells You About Blogging and Podcasting”

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Blog Success – Your Blog’s Focus
By Ted Demopoulos

In order to have a successful blog, it’s important for your blog to have focus. You can’t blog effectively on several unrelated topics in the same blog and expect to have many readers. It’s unlikely that many potential readers will share your mix of passions — a blog must focus on only one topic for maximum success.

Photo: ablogconsulting.com

Let me give you an example. I have a friend Jacque who is a born-again Christian and a passionate gambler. He lives for Jesus and he loves to gamble. He certainly doesn’t have any problems with either. He can carry on a discussion without mentioning Jesus in every other sentence. He also doesn’t have any problems with gambling. He is not out of control; he’s just really into sports and likes to bet on sports. He spends far less than many other people do on their hobbies.

If he were to blog on religion and gambling, it probably wouldn’t work very well. He couldn’t build a really large readership. There are not a lot of people that are into both and also people involved in one may tend to not like the other. A similar issue is when someone blogs on their business, whatever it is they do that they are hopefully passionate about, and they blog on too many miscellaneous topics or perhaps too many personal details.

Now you certainly can go off topic sometimes.

Recently I adopted a little girl from Russia and you can bet I posted a picture on all my blogs and said, “Hey, I just adopted this wonderful little girl from Russia.” However you are not going to read about my personal life every week. If I suddenly have a cold or a sinus infection, I am not going to blog about it, not in a business blog

If you already have a large following, you may be able to go off topic more often if you are still providing lots of content in your core focus.

For example, Bruce Schneier is a very popular blogger on security. He decided that every Friday he would blog about squid. Squid doesn’t stand for anything technical in this case: just squid the animal, the creature swimming in the ocean. He didn’t cut down on his normal posting. He still posted as much information on his normal topic, security, but he thought it was kind of interesting to blog on something entirely unrelated. He just posted something about squid every Friday. It didn’t affect his popularity although there was a lot of talk and comments about it, but it didn’t cut down on his readership.

Now Bruce may be a slightly special case, because he is such a popular blogger, but pretty much the same rules would apply regardless. He kept blogging just as much on his main topic as always and just inserted something kind of fun every Friday. It seems to workout fairly well for him.

In general you should stick to your topic. If you want to blog on all kinds of miscellaneous things, you can always start a personal blog in addition to your business blog.

And for over 100 more tips on successful blogging, I invite you to grab your free copy of my ebook Secrets of Successful Blogging at http://www.secretsofsuccessfulblogging.com

By Ted Demopoulos, author of “Blogging for Business” and “What No One Ever Tells You About Blogging and Podcasting”

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Why Do I Need a Blog?
By Jonathan Hook

Blogging is the day’s buzzword and you really need to get on the blogging train if you want to make some cool cash in a small time. Are you interested in finding out how you can make the most out of your blog? Keep reading then.

A blog is basically a space where you can write and post whatever you like. You can pick up a social issue like the condition of people in Africa or environmental issues like global warming. You can also share some recipes with people or just write about your personal life or some experiences. A blog is a place with literally thousands of possibilities. You just have to take a step ahead and create your own possibility.

If you are really passionate about something then your first hurdle towards effective blogging has been eliminated. Now all that you have to do is to register yourself on any of the blogging websites like wordpress etc., find a name that is available and relevant to your topic of discussion and start writing about it.

But what you write must be quality matter and not gibberish; it should attract the reader, give him or her some valuable insights into the topic being discussed and make them come back to you for again with even more visitors. Easier said than done, wouldn’t you say? Well, I totally agree but then this is how it is done. There are a certain things that you can do here and there to make this task a bit easier and get better results and return for the time that you have invested.

The first step is that your blog’s name should reflect the topic that you are blogging about. So if you are discussing about paintings, then don’t name it ‘Paula’s blog’ or ‘Scott’s blog’, etc. keep the name relevant like ‘paintingsworld’ or ‘paintingbazaar’ etc. These names will give an interested reader the first glimpse into what your blog is about.

The second thing that you must do is to pen down a few points. These should be about what all topics that you’ll discuss about paintings and what all you will avoid touching on. Once you have done that it is time to start writing a few articles. Write something about yourself, a little bio of sorts. Write about your experience in the field etc. Now once you have a short intro of yourself and a few articles ready, it is time to start posting articles. Post two or three articles everyday for a few days.

Now if you have a few people reading your material and posting comments it is time to sign up with Google AdSense. They will then place ads on your blog and every time a visitor clicks on these ads you get paid a commission. These commissions are then paid out on a weekly or a monthly basis.

Also you must ensure that the content that you have uploaded is Search Engine Optimized (SEO). You can always take the help of a professional in this regard so that your blog gets a higher ranking in the Google search engine. Also, when you setup your blog on WordPress, you get a major advantage which is not available on most of the other blogging sites.

At WordPress you have the option of uploading or rather to say saving many articles at a time while publishing just a few every day. This way you don’t have to login and post new content every day. It also keeps the content on your blog from becoming stale thus keeping your visitor base loyal. It also helps in saving time because you have to write all the articles just at once and then they’ll automatically keep getting posted.

Jonathan Hook works with bloggers to help them monetize their blogs. Click on http://www.e-bloggers.com right now for free tips and ideas on how to make money with your blog.

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Blogs have exploded in popularity over the last few years, especially among business owners and Internet marketing folks.

The reasons why are fairly obvious, at least for those of us who are familiar with blogging. It is, after all, an excellent way to grow your business presence online.

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But for the marketer just getting started, the world of blogs can be a confusing one. In this article, I’d like to eliminate some of that confusion by explaining the top-three software programs that power most of today’s business blogs. I’ll also give you some tips on choosing the right platform for your needs.

How These Programs Work

Basically, a blog is nothing more than a website published in reverse-chronological format (with the more recent posts listed at the top). Behind the scenes, there will be some kind of content-management system at work, and this is what makes blogs so easy to use — the scripts and software do all of the logistical work for you.

Different blogging programs offer different features, but they all perform the same basic function. They convert your text into an HTML web page, known as a post. Best of all, they do this for you at the click of a button. You create your blog post by typing into a text area, much like you would create an email message or a Word document.

When you are ready to publish the new post, you simply click the “Publish” button and the program does the rest for you — converting your post into HTML coding, publishing it onto the blog, and even organizing it by category and chronology.

Which Blogging Tool Should You Use?

Before we go any further, we need to discuss an important point. The blog program you use is not nearly as important as the information you publish. So my advice is to experiment with the three platforms listed below, choose the one you like best, and then focus your energy on creating quality content.

With that being said, let’s take a look at the three most popular blogging programs in use today — WordPress, Blogger and TypePad. These are covered in no particular order.

1. WordPress

This is one of the most popular blog platforms. WordPress can be used in two ways. You can host your blog with WordPress, or you can download the program and install it onto your own web hosting account. In other words, it can be used as a hosted solution or a standalone solution that you run on your own web domain / website.

The creators of WordPress upgrade the program quite often. This can be good and bad. It’s good that they are always adding new features and what not, but at the same time it can be a real pain to upgrade it all the time (if you have it installed on your own web hosting account).

2. Blogger

Blogger has been around for many years, but Google now owns it. I’ve been using Blogger for quite some time (in addition to other programs), and in my opinion it is the most stable blogging program available. I haven’t had a single problem in many years of use.

While Blogger lacks some of the “bells and whistles” of WordPress and TypePad, it’s still an excellent tool with many benefits. Here again, you can use this program in one of two ways, as far as publishing goes. You can host your blog with Blogger’s domain (blogspot.com), or you can publish it onto your own web domain / hosting account.

3. TypePad

At this point, it’s worth noting that the two programs previously discussed (Blogger and WordPress) are both free to use. On the other hand, TypePad will cost you money. Prices vary based on the level you choose, from basic on up to “enterprise.” Many bloggers who use this program feel that it is well worth the price, especially if you’re looking for a more advanced solution with greater flexibility.

Experiment With Blogging Software

So which one is the right tool for you? Well, that’s a question you’ll have to answer for yourself. The good news is, it’s fairly easy to find out which one you prefer. All you have to do is try each program to see what they offer. You can (and should) experiment with most blogging platforms for free. Even TypePad, which costs money, allows you to take a free trial of their system.

Any of the solutions covered in this article can support a business blog. So here’s what to take away from this lesson. What you put into your blog (content, ideas, information and personality) is far more important than which software program you use to power it.

Brandon Cornett is the publisher of Software Learning Center, which offers articles and reviews of popular blogging software tools and many other types of business software. Learn more by visiting http://www.LearnAboutSoftware.com
 

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Recently a business friend and I were discussing the rise of the internet, ensuing innovations and rapid pace of change. Then the comment he made was “I don’t even know what a blog is!”

“Blog” is an abbreviation for “web log”. It is a website that acts as a reverse chronology journal, with the newest entries appearing first. People author blogs for a number of reasons; personal expression, political agendas, family connection, and importantly for us, business information. Someone who authors a blog is called a “blogger” and the activity is called “blogging”. Each individual entry is called a “post”. Most post a quite short, maybe just a few hundred words. So, now you know.

Blogs are much more than just a one way flow of thoughts though, most have the capacity for readers and subscribers to interact with the author and other readers by commenting on the various posts on the blog. This is similar to a forum, except that it is completely up to the discretion of the author as to who they allow to comment, and what they say. A little less democratic, but useful nonetheless.

Blog authors can also interact with each other, not only by comments, but through a “trackback”. This is where one author references another author’s post, and may earn a link back to their blog. Just like comments, the original author has control over who they allow to place “trackbacks” to their blog.

The trend of blogging is one way that the internet is changing the way that people receive their information. In many recent events, such as the earthquake in China, bloggers were spreading word about the event before it hit the mainstream media.

There are a number of reasons why you should be blogging if you’re in business, here’s just a few:

1. A blog positions you as an authority in your field, especially if you consistently post to it over a period of time.

2. Blogs allow you to create a two-way, informal conversation with your customers, prospects, audience or even staff. You can introduce people to your business or brand in an engaging and non-threatening manner, that provides them with free information of value.

3. Blogs can be good for your website ranking – consistently added to, they will create many hundreds of keyword specific pages, and fresh information is valued over old information by search engines.

4. Its so simple! There are many great free or low-cost blogging platforms available, making it really simple for people to start and manage their own blog.

5. Blogs help you organize your thoughts. As you write and expand on your ideas, it helps you to solidify your knowledge as you share it with others!

Consider starting a blog for your business, the sooner the better. Just as it has becomes standard for a business to have a website, it ought to be a standard too!

Watch out for further articles about building traffic to your blog, and avoiding some of the costly mistakes.

By C.S. Thompson – Online Communications Specialist

For more information about improving your online communications, contact me via info@thompsonmarketing.com.au

Get a free website evaluation by taking our online effectiveness survey at http://www.thompsonmarketing.com.au

C.S. Thompson is an online communications specialist whose firm focussed on targeted marketing communications delivered primarily via electronic media. Based in Sydney, Australia, Thompson Marketing Consultants delivers results for customers via effective and well managed websites, email marketing campaigns, social media strategy and marketing planning.

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Blogs are considered to be the latest trend in online communication; millions of online individuals make use of free blog sites to propagate their online presence — either for personal use or for business functions. Using one for your online purpose offers advantages than having a professional make you one from scratch.

Photo: papafrita.org  

Cost-Effective Site Creation

You don’t need to worry about site creation costs and maintenance fees when using free blog sites. This Internet service offers fully-functional site development tools to create professional-looking websites complete with features and applications. You don’t have to hire a professional Web developer to do the job for you since free blog sites can help you make one up with just a few clicks of a mouse button.

No Need For HTML Programming

One problem faced by online individual in coming up with a site from scratch is HTML programming. HTML or Hypertext Markup Language is used by Web programmers to create websites complete with all the features and provisos that make it look professional and clean.

Free blog sites offer a user-friendly interface that will allow an individual to create their website just by toggling some of its features. You can easily make use of WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) text boxes to input your site content without needing to place in HTML formatting tags. You can evev insert pictures and links with just a click of a button.

Easy Update

Information is very important in putting up a website. To improve or maintain your online popularity, it is necessary to dose your page with updated information relevant to your topic that will attract the interest of your visitors. Free blog sites contains features where you can just type or paste the text you want post on your site and publish it quick and easy. You can also make use of third-party applications to submit your posts directly to your blog without opening a Web browser.

Build Up Your Online Network

Since most Web surfers today are busy checking out blogs instead of looking for information they need on different sites on the Internet, you can easily build-up your online network with every visitor that drops by your page.

Since each of your posts can be given a comment by anyone who views your blog, you can easily interact with them to increase your online popularity. You can also enable guestbook or chatroom functions of free blog sites to make your page as interactive as possible for better communication with your patrons.

http://bloguni.com — Free Blog Sites
Vanessa A. Doctor from Jump2Top – SEO Company

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Finding the Right WordPress Theme
By Susan Suarez

Many new and experienced users of one of the most popular blogging platforms called WordPress, have trouble finding the perfect theme due to the amount of new themes created daily. Searching via Google and other popular search engines for the term “WordPress theme” will result in many pages of both new and out-dated themes, with some of them yielding no support because of when they were created.

For those looking to use WordPress as a blogging platform or as a website, finding great templates is very important to webmaster’s concerned with branding and gaining faithful readers. A simple look online will give a variety of popular WordPress Theme Galleries on the web.

There are a few things to take notice when finding a new WordPress Theme:

-If you using a free WordPress Theme, make sure to keep the footer links intact to give proper credit to the author of the theme. The authors work so hard for free.

-Check out the theme demos to get an idea of how the theme works to save you time from changing your mind later.

-Check the original author’s site for questions regarding theme modifications and special requests. A lot of the time, they will be more than happy to help you with simple requests.

Finding the right theme can be a tiresome search, but if you find the right template for your website that only requires some modifications, it will payoff. Especially when you try to convey to your readers what your site is about and want to stand out from the growing population of wordpress users.

Susan Suarez is the creator of New WordPress Themes

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