by Bryan on October 2, 2008
So Google performed an update to its toolbar PageRank this past weekend. It’s always nice to get a visual snapshot of my site’s PageRank but that is all it is, a snapshot.
I’m an avid reader of various webmaster blogs and forums and it seems every time the Google toolbar is updated I see a gross amount of incorrect statements being made about PageRank as if they were fact. So if you will, I’m going to take this opportunity to cover a few PageRank misconceptions.
1. A Toolbar Update Is Not A PageRank Update
It seems a lot of people think PageRank only updates every few months when Google updates the green PageRank bar. This is not true. In fact, the internal Google PageRank (the one that impacts SERPs) is constantly updating. The green toolbar PageRank is simply a rounded snapshot of data pushed to the toolbar.
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by Bryan on September 30, 2008
Today we’re going to cover the basics of live blogging and what it has to offer.
What is Live Blogging?
The term is a literal one and the premise is simple. Live blogging takes place when a blogger covers an event in real time. Typically the event will be something along the lines of a conference, sporting event, leisure trip or other news worthy event. The execution of a live blog is typically done in one post that is updated on the fly with a segmented time line of comments. If the event occurs over multiple days it would be common to have a new blog post for each day.
What are the Benefits of Live Blogging?
In the right circumstances live blogging provides a much richer experience for the reader over a typical blog summary and review post. The concept is most effective when the blogger is covering an event that a large segment of the reading audience would like to have attended in person. By offering live coverage the blog’s readers get to experience the event with the blogger as a sole source of information or as a supplement to larger media coverage. Live blogging requires skilled execution but when performed effectively it can build additional reader loyalty and provide unique and quality content to a blog.
by Bryan on September 22, 2008
If you are a WordPress user and you are utilizing the WordPress stats services you’ve probably noticed that the service also comes is a very small smiley face addition to your blog footer. The smiley was added as a visual way to ensure the stats are tracking and is not something that can be removed directly from the plugin code.
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by Bryan on September 19, 2008
So what is this RSS stuff I see everywhere and why should I care?
It’s a fair question and probably one that has gone through all of our heads at some point. Heck, maybe you are asking this very question right now. In case you are I’ll give you the skinny.
What is RSS?
RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication which is a format to feed content and syndicate it via various tools which are referred to as RSS aggregators or RSS readers.
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by Bryan on September 18, 2008
So you’ve decided to start a blog that will be more than just a personal online diary. Great! Now What?
Well, a good starting point is finding a nice domain that includes your target keywords. Keyword domains have tremendous value in branding, name recognition and search engine traffic. There’s little doubt if you search for [your topic]blog.com it will already be registered. You might have also found that the domain owner is asking several thousand dollars or more for the rights to it. Welcome to the world of domains.
Not to worry though. I have some tips to help you find a great keyword domain name for your blog that will bring the same level of brand awareness and marketability your looking for.
As a person that has been in the domain business for over 7 years I have 3 principle rules I like to work from when choosing a domain for development.
The domain 1) needs to be a .com 2) should have no dashes 3) needs to include the target keyword/term.
(note: There are always exceptions but I prefer to stick by these rules if possible.)
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