Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Free Website Headers: How to Customize for Your Website

By James T Maxwell

Being the owner of a new website, or an existing one needing a bit of work, there are always certain aspects to be considered. Perhaps you would like your viewers to see a very professional looking business page. Or maybe your site caters more to families leaving you wanting to have a family-friendly 'feel' to it when they find your page.

The days of hiring someone to do your web or graphic design work are long gone. Remember those days? It was once a natural practice to hire someone, which meant spending money, to get precisely what it was you were looking for. Even then, there were still no guarantees. There are now many different programs available, permitting you to totally revamp your current website, or even helps you create a great first site. Of all the choices, we have found Photoshop to be the easiest to work with.

When you use Photoshop, you can easily have a finished product in your own style in no time at all. You'll be doing the work yourself, using your own computer and on your own time you'll be saving money from the get go. While choosing this method of creation for all your header needs, with your personal style and feel to them, you will simply have to add them to your site codes once you're done. Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves though.

To get started, open your Photoshop software and create a new image. You can set the size of your image, which will be your header, either by entering 1025 x 150 pixels (or whatever the size of your webpage may be) or by using the image-size tools available to you in order to set the proper dimensions you wish to work with.

After selecting the image outline or header, choose the tool which resembles a rounded rectangle. You must now drag this pointer to the top left corner of the image. Left click in order to draw a rectangle crossing from left to right sides of your image. This will show you the exact outline of your header section.

Continue now by selecting "Layer" from the navigation tool bar, found at the top of the window you are working in. Your next option to choose is the "Layer Style", followed by "Add Drop Shadow" from amongst the various options. You will now find a new pop-up window with the option "Drop Shadow, Inner Glow and Outer Glow." Check the box in front of this option.

Next, you choose the "bevel" option. This will result in your rectangle now having a professional style with depth, added by the shadow you have chosen. Click on the "Layer" icon in order to add a new layer to your header.

Next, open the text tool, dragging it to the top left corner of the image. Type here the name of your website or company. You can play around with the font type, size and color to find the one you like best. Various text option tools can be found on the navigation bar at the top of the image.

At this point we are going to add more style to your header. Start off by selecting the rectangle tool, then left-clicking the top right-hand corner. If you drag the pointer along the top of your header, you'll create a smaller navigation bar at the top of the image.

Click on the "Direct Selection" tool, then you can select the rectangle by left-clicking on it. This results in small squares appearing at each corner of the rectangle. If you click the lower left corner of this shape, and drag it toward the right side you will be creating an angled edge for this navigation bar.

In order to add color and/or effects to the upper navigation bar, you would need to choose the "Fill" tool and pick your options from there. It is also possible for you to cut and crop any image to an exact size you may require with the "Crop" tool.

Since you want to be sure you don't lose all of this work, click "File" then "Save for Web and Devices" and save this image. You might consider creating a folder to contain all your business website information so everything is kept together. Once your new header is saved, it's time for you to upload it to the "Images" file of your website codes.

To add the new header to your web pages, you will be using it as a background image. It will be located in the first row of the first table of your website, right under where you see the head tag.

Now you know just how easy it is to create your own website headers for free. Depending on the nature or purpose of your website, you may decide to change things up more often. How about for each season? Or the other pages of your site? It's no longer a question of money, but of imagination.

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Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Do You Know How the Google Search Engine Really Works?

By Henry Zeng

While we don't often think about - or care - how Google works, it is very crucial for anyone who is using search engine optimization, or natural search marketing for their business to understand the basic principles that drive the Google search engine.

There are three main parts to Google: Googlebot, The Indexer, and the Query Processor. Each of these three parts is crucial to online businesses, believe it or not. Let's take a deep look at each of these Google elements to see how they work.

Googlebot is the search engine spider that comes to your website and spiders your pages. It isn't an actual spider, of course.

It actually works more like a web browser by calling a server, requesting pages, and downloading them - just as you do when you open your web browser, type in an web address, and the page loads.

Googlebot, anyway, is run by numerous computers and performs this task much faster than one user could on their home or work personal computer. Googlebot also doesn't know whether a website exists or not until a URL is put into their Add URL form, or they find a link points to that website on another web page.

When Googlebot comes to a page, they take all the links from that page, and put them in a queue for crawling, and repeat this process over and over again. Once Googlebot has found a link, and downloaded the page, it hands that page off to the Indexer.

The Indexer stores the pages in Google's Index Data base. The Index then sorts all of the pages in its database, alphabetically, by looking at all of the keywords on the pages. The Indexer does not pay any attention to what Google calls stop words, such as is, on, or, why, how, etc. It just pays attention to more important keyword type words.

The Indexer, after Indexing pages, waits for the Google Query Processor to ask it for a list of documents. A keyword is given to the Query Processor, which in turn asks the Indexer for a list of sites that contain that keyphrase.

The Indexer then supplies the Query processor with a list of the documents, and the Query processor presents the results to the user who requested the keyword.

You see, each element is important to the others. It all starts with the Googlebot finding your webpage link on another site, or by you going to Google and using the Add form to submit your site.

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The Best Hosting Reviews on the Web

By Steven Gold

According to a survey done by Netcraft, there are more than 108 million websites on the web and although many of these sites are distinct in their own right, there is one element they all have in common; web hosting. Some of these websites have good hosting companies, others have not so great ones but nevertheless it is an integral aspect of the website building process. Fortunately, there are many review type sites out there that, through extensive research, have determined a handful of excellent web hosting companies at affordable rates.

Web site hosting reviews company, www.thehosthunter.com is such a review site that has taken the liberty to outline the proper specifications to help us in choosing the right company to host with. You first need to ask yourself important questions such as, how much content do I have?, and how much traffic will I obtain from my website? These questions are important to understand how much disk space or bandwidth you might require. Additionally, do you have employees where they might need a company email as well?

If all the specifications meet your needs, then I highly recommend evaluating the support of each potential web hosting company. Its one of those features that are too often regarded as unimportant but will sting you in the end if you dont receive the type of support youre after. Problems may arise dealing with webservers, databases, and installation of files and youll certainly require an expert to assist you.

When I first began building websites, it was a huge learning curve and naturally I had a lot of questions. Instead of picking up the phone and calling my web hosting company every other day to assist me with installing a database or uploading some files, they had a link on their webpage to a FAQs page giving me step-by-step instructions on common problems that their customers had. It saved their support department time and money but more importantly, I was able to solve the problem myself in usually less than 10 minutes.

Another decision that you need to make before choosing the best web hosting company is whether or not you want to commit to a yearly contract. Ive once had to change hosting companies twice in less than six months because of server downtime and lack of technical support. Had I entrusted my website with one single host, I wouldve been a dissatisfied customer stuck on a yearly plan with a less than stellar service.

Everyone whos looking to build a website either wants the best material or web design but far too often, these very individuals forget about laying down the proper foundation first in their web hosting. One of the best hosting reviews on the web at www.thehosthunter.com has done the research for you so you wont have to worry about the technicalities and spend more time on the actual website.

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How to Pick Out PLR Articles for Maximum Marketing Results

By Harry Constantine

There are many places where you can purchase private label articles. Some places don't supply good quality articles but they can be used as a starting point for writing your own articles. Also many of these private label sites have a high membership which means you will see the same article being submitted time and time again to an article directory. The article directories frown upon this as they want every article submitted to be unique, if you submit an un-edited PLR article you risk getting your publisher account suspended.

When you get articles from a article membership site, you should take some time to edit your articles by at least thirty percent, to ensure that there is plenty of unique content within your articles. That could be quite a time consuming process especially if you have 1,000 private label articles a month to edit or spin!

You will need to edit your articles to make them unique, and if you are not able to do this yourself, then you should consider outsourcing your tasks. This will add to the cost of buying the PLR articles, and you might want to consider buying unique articles, these unique articles will be more expensive than standard private label articles but it may work out cheaper in the long run when you take into account the time it would take you to edit the non-unique private label articles.

One of the main benefits of PLR articles is that someone else has spent the time researching the subject and then writing the articles, this research takes days and sometimes weeks so there is defiantly some time to be saved in that respect. Now there are many articles which are poorly written, and this is where you need to do your due diligence to ensure good quality articles, a bad article won't have nearly the same impact on your audience as an intelligent, well written article.

If you decide to use private label rights articles then you will also need to decide how to use them. You could use those articles for part of your research on a topic or niche. You might also want to use them to write your brand new articles rather than rewriting them.

If you are rewriting an article then you will need to understand what the original article is trying to portray and then write it in your own words or add some new sections or paragraphs to the existing articles.. As you spend more time doing this, you will find it becomes easier and easier. Like with anything, the more practice you have the easier it becomes! The beauty of rewriting articles is that you can continue to use the same formula until you are satisfied with the end results.

The final thing that a lot of people need to remember is the article needs to be interesting. Of course you want the search engine to index the articles, you want the article directory to accept them, but if people find it dull and boring then they will not end up on your website or clicking on your other articles. Use the articles to tease them, let them know about the gems waiting for them on your site. Let them know that they will not be disappointed if they arrive at your site to learn more about the subject that interests them. However do make sure you don't turn your article into a pitch fest for your website, try and find a happy medium between pitch-fest and an informative, entertaining article.

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The Power Of Article Marketing

By Michael Fleischner

In today's web world, one thing is clear. Content is still king. Writing the right kind of content and disturbing that content, also known as article marketing, can help you establish yourself as an expert and improve your online marketing results.

Getting started with article marketing doesn't take much time and has many benefits. You can use article marketing to attract customers to your website, establish credibility, or simply post information about what you offer. No matter what your purpose, article marketing can help you succeed.

More and more information available online is from disreputable sources and has varying degrees of accuracy. Simply said, some information is complete junk. When you write your articles, make sure to provide references and accurate information about your subject matter. You will build a loyal following and become a trusted source of information.

Article marketing is actually quite simple. Consider these areas to produce an effective article marketing strategy.

Understand your area fully. Before writing your article you must be comfortable with the subject matter. If the content is a little out of your comfort zone, do some research first. You want to appear as an expert. If you don't, readers will not see you as such and will seek out other content written by someone more knowledgeable.

Create a writing plan. How are you going to approach your article marketing campaign? Are you going to write a ton of articles in a single sitting and only focus on article marketing for a short period of time? Article marketing is most effective when it is done consistently over a long period of time. Put a schedule together that you can easily follow for writing and distributing articles to major article directories.

Write your article. Write and article on your subject that includes the specific keywords you seek to optimize for. Your article should be between four to seven hundred words. It all depends on the intent and purpose of the article. After you write your article make sure you proof it for spelling and grammatical errors.

Submit to article directories. Make sure that you are submitting you completed articles to a number of popular article directories. You want your article to be posted on as many third party websites as possible. Start with the most popular directories like GoArticles.com and work down the list. Focus on those with a high Google PR and then move to those which are less popular.

Article marketing is a popular and effective means of achieving expert authority. The most important aspect of effective article marketing is the clear understanding of your desired outcome. Once you have a goal in mind, put together your plan and work towards it. The benefits of article marketing will become very apparent to you in no time at all.

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Monday, April 20, 2009

Prices Increase And Marketers Need To Get Creative

By Michael Fleischner

Each year, thousands of companies consistently raise prices to increase margins and offset growth in various costs. For anyone working in corporate America, you are quite familiar with this tactic. For marketers, rising costs are always a challenge.

Price increases can negatively impact the sales and marketing efforts for today's busy marketing professional. A price increase on products or services that haven't changed creates a difficult scenario for current customers familiar with a lower cost. This is especially true when we hear objections from our customers expressing their dissatisfaction. With few or literally no changes to a given product overcoming objections is difficult.

A key concern among marketing professionals is that customers will quickly move to a competitors product as soon as they hear the words price increase. This is especially true in markets where your competitor has a similarly priced product. There is always someone else that your customer can buy from. The good news however is that few customers migrate because of price increases.

There are a number of factors that explain why this is the case. Also, one must consider the cost to the customer to start from scratch. This has both and emotional as well as financial component.

Your customers, and all consumers for that matter, have been conditioned to find the lowest price possible for any given product or service. When rolling out a price increase, customers do not want to pay full price. This is why they continue to ask for discounts even after a price increase has been put into affect.

Below I list just a few things to consider before communicating a price increase to customers. Do what you can to lighten the load or simply divert attention to something of greater value.

Add value that is greater than or equal to your price increase. Customers do not want to pay more for the same old thing. When they do, their perception of value diminishes. Provide additional services, support, or terms to deliver additional value that is substantiated by price.

Know the cost to switch vendors. Research your competitors and understand their pricing. Does the offer they use clearly explain the pricing of their product? Your customer may perceive a competitor as costing less but in actuality their services cost much more or provide less features. Do your homework before introducing any type of price increase.

Do not treat all customers equally. I know it is taboo today to say such a thing but not all customers are equal. Some have been with you a long time. Others are working with you for the first time. Your price increases should reflect the individuality of your customers and the impact you wish to have. Consider treating customers differently.

The final bit of advice I can give around price increases is that you should really understand your competition and what types of alternatives are available to your customer.

If you have a stronger package at a better price than you competitors, switching is not an issue. If your offering is less valuable and more expensive, then perhaps you need to reevaluate your pricing. As a marketer, your job is to create a perception of value or remedy for a given need. Identify that need and focus your messaging on meeting that need. When you do, price is rarely an issue.

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Why Choose To Buy WordPress Goldmine

By Allison Thompson

It is not often that an e-book is published on a particular subject, which just makes all others look completely useless. However, with the release of WordPress Goldmine this is what has happened. Where most affiliate marketing guides get you to focus on finding a product through Clickbank and then create a blog for it, WordPress Goldmine does not. Instead it looks at the different aspects relating to the process of finding the right domain names and what products to promote the site.

This e-book gives you more information on the processes required to build a successful site along with the different types of sites that one can create. Also you will find that it provides you with live examples of ones that the author has built and this really adds to the value of this book. Another thing which seems to make this book is that the content is easy to follow as the author has separated it up in to 5 easy to understand and follow sections.

Section one of the book looks at the ways of using WordPress for building blogs and takes you through the various phases of not just setting up but also running your blog in the shortest amount of time. Included within this section of the book are some bonus videos that will further help you to understand the whole process of making blogs from beginning to end.

When you start reading section two here you will learn about the kinds of content that one can utilize for a blog. Here the author covers everything from PLR articles through how to get original content on to your blog. In fact here the author clearly explains the ways of regularly getting unique content posted to your blog for free and will further help to enhance and develop the one you have built.

When one reaches section three, this is probably a real gem as the author shows you a number of different ways in which you can monetize your WordPress blog. But be prepared to spend sometime on this section as it provides a good indepth explanation on how the author himself made a $15,000 income through just one blog post. Of all the sections you will probably find that this one alone is worth the money that you have spent purchasing the book. It is also here that you will learn about the ways to make money from a blog offline. It is through this authors plan that one can learn about how to create an extra $1,000 per week by the end of the year, which is a vast change from those plans which say "earn $$$$ in just 30 days" and so makes this plan more achievable.

After reading section 3 you move onto section 4 and in this part of the book the author will explain the different methods that can be used to promote the sites that you build. There is an easy to follow diagram in this section which lists the kinds of sites that one can utilize and which will in turn help to make yours a success rather than a failure. Again this section is value for money simply because it is not often yuo will be provided with details of a traffic generation system for your site that is easy to master.

Section 5 of this book helps you with learning the ways to promote the sites that have built in order that you can take them to a completely different level and compete more affectively against any competitors. Though a few folks may find this section a little formidable in the beginning, the writer does include several warnings at the beginning of it that you need to have mastered the other ones before you move on to this one.

In conclusion WordPress Goldmine is a quality guide book which can help you in relation to affiliate marketing. It is through the use of commonsense rather than hype that this book was a pleasant change to read from the others currently available. With the publication of this e-book we could well find that other internet marketers will choose to publish books of a similar calibre to this in the future.

Albeit WordPress Goldmine contains 110 pages, each one of them is value for money. Whether you are a complete novice or have been involved in internet marketing for some time you are going to find tips and advice contained within these pages useful. In fact it is these which can help you with increasing the amount of income you actually make online. Therefore, if you really want to start earning a good online income through affiliate marketing then I suggest you purchase a copy of WordPress Goldmine today.

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