Error Message Generator

Atom Smasher's error message generator lets you create your own "error message" (or you can choose one from their error gallery). You can copy the code and use it on your web site. Funny!

No Need to Click Here - I'm just claiming my feed at Feedster

Dan Ostermayer

Bad Passwords

Found on Dan Ostermayer's blog:

Is your password on this list?
If it is, change it. This list was compiled from the most common word list used by most password cracking programs.... read more

"Are hidden layers a bad search engine optimization (SEO) technique?" from Ask Dave Taylor!

Dave, I just read an article of yours where you say not to hide keyword-content with matching font and background color. I'm curious to know if the same is true for a hidden layer containing keyword-content? There is so much to learn about SEO and what are the best techniques to use!

My temptation is to ask what do you think? but I won't. Instead, let's spend a little bit of time talking about the ostensible purpose of search engine optimization...

With the rise and dominance of Google, there's now a clear advantage to creating Web pages and Web sites that appear earlier in the search results. If someone's searching for your product or service, being match #34,403 is clearly considerably less valuable than being match #4 on the results page.

Position on the search results page is based on what I call your Relevance Score, a formula that's calculated by Google's search engine to figure out in quantified terms how relevant your Web page is to the given search term and how authoritative your site is overall (to break ties). Note that this is different, and pretty much unrelated to your PageRank, though most SEO people are pretty obsessed with their PR scores, unnecessarily so in my opinion.

Given the existence of Relevance Scoring, it's clear that if you knew exactly what formula Google used, you could create Web pages that were perfect matches, with the right words in the right places, the right ratio of key words to non-keywords, the right HTML tags, etc. Then, though you couldn't guarantee the #1 spot, you could certainly move to the front of the pack, far ahead of sites that aren't paying attention to what Google's looking for.

The sad news is that no-one outside of Google knows how they calculate Relevance Scores (even if they say otherwise) so we're left guessing and experimenting. And that's where things get a bit dicey...

Some people are so obsessed with getting optimal search rank that they'll try things that they know are cheating, are sneaky tricks, because the value of higher ranking is worth the risk of being busted. (and believe me, if Google busts you for using sneaky SEO tricks, they can kick you out of the database entirely, which will make that 34,303 ranking sound pretty good).

And so they try things like a dozen title tags stuffed with keywords, doorway or portal pages that are designed to be optimal for one specific keyword but exist only for the search engine crawler, and even entirely different pages for search engines through some sneaky low-level coding. Another, simpler trick? Having text the same color as the background, where they can jam a dozen occurrences of their favorite keyword without having the page look too daffy to the human visitor.

All of these are prohibited by Google (and other search engines, lest we forget that Google doesn't have 100% of the market) and if their system catches you doing this, they'll penalize you or even kick you out of the system.

Given all of that, do you think that having a hidden layer through CSS to keyword load your page is fair, legit and valid? Do you think that the hundreds of bright engineers at Google can't figure out a way to scrape your CSS and identify a "visibility:hidden" attribute, then flag your page as playing tricks? If so, try it and see how it goes. But my recommendation is always to make the best possible pages through legitimate HTML and CSS techniques, then focus on writing the best content pages you can write because at the end of the day, it's all about what you're saying, not how you're formatting it.

Link Popularity (Marketing)

The Hardest Part of Search Engine Optimization

Link popularity is a key to improving search engine rankings of any Web site. One of the hardest parts of search engine optimization (SEO) is improving the visibility of a Web site by increasing link popularity. But, link popularity is the most effective way of SEO. Every search engine’s algorithm factors link popularity into its placement of Web sites in its search engine results pages (SERPs). This document will detail a very effective way to improve a Web site’s link popularity thus helping that Web site’s rankings in search engines.

Getting Links
There are numerous ways of obtaining relevant, non-spam inbound links to a Web site. The most effective method of obtaining relevant links will be to ask other Webmasters whose Web sites share the same niche or genre as the Web site being optimized. This method is sometimes painful, slow and can result in a relatively low number of links to your site. Not to mention finding similar Web sites that will link to one you're maintaining can be difficult at times. But, help is here.

Search Engines
To gain improved rankings in search engines it's a good idea to target the search engines you want to improve a Web site's rankings in. For general search engine optimization and promotion, you should target Google, Yahoo!, and MSN. Google and Yahoo! provide the majority of search engine results that Internet users see today. Microsoft keeps hyping up MSN like it will be a major player someday so why not get a hard start in MSN's search results. If a Web site appears in these three major search engines, it will be in numerous other portal and search engine Web sites as well. You can target any genre, niche, or regional search engine you see fit but the two major players are Google and Yahoo! with Microsoft tooting its own horn about MSN.

The List
Plug these search terms into the search engine of your choice, replacing "your keyword(s)" with the keyword(s) or keyword phrase for the Web site or Web page whose rankings and positioning you're trying to improve. There is no quick and easy way to do this. Getting good links from quality sites is always going to be a time consuming search engine optimization process. You should go as deep into the search results for each search as you see fit.

* "Add a link" + "your keyword(s)"
* "Add site" + "your keyword(s)"
* "Add a site" + "your keyword(s)"
* "Add URL" + "your keyword(s)"
* "Add a URL" + "your keyword(s)"
* "Submit a link" + "your keyword(s)"
* "Submit a site" + "your keyword(s)"
* "Submit URL" + "your keyword(s)"
* "Submit an URL" + "your keyword(s)"
* "Suggest a link" + "your keyword(s)"
* "Suggest a site" + "your keywords(s)"
* "Suggest URL" + "your keyword(s)"
* "Suggest an URL" + "your keyword(s)"
* "Directory" + "your keyword(s)"
* "Directories" + "your keyword(s)"
* "Resources" + "your keyword(s)"
* "Links" + "your keyword(s)"
* "Related sites" + "your keyword(s)"
* "Related urls" + "your keyword(s)"

Be sure that the keywords you use to search with appear in the pages whose link popularity you're trying to improve. The search results that appear will be the sites you'll want to ask for links from after checking them to make sure they suit your needs and wants.

Here's a warning before you get too crazy with targeted keywords. If you search four (4) search engines (Google, Yahoo!, MSN, and Kanoodle) with fifteen (15) different keyword(s) or keyword phrases, using the list of nineteen (19) search terms provided here, you're going to conduct 1,140 searches. This takes time, but trust me, it's well worth it and link popularity is an essential part of SEO.

Guidelines
The key thing in getting relevant links holds true in getting links using this method as well. When submitting to directories make sure you pick the best category for the page or site being submitted. Target relevant keywords and keyword phrases when searching. Don't submit to sites that spam or trick search engines. Remember that sites linking to a Web site should reflect a positive image on the Web site being linked to.

As always, be sure not to ask for links from shady Web sites, free for all link campaigns, sites with the exact same content as yours, top link sites (top 100, top 10, top 20, etc.), and any other site that has been banned or blocked from a search engine or has an unorthodox link page (hundreds of links, lots of banners, incredibly small text, hidden text, etc.). The most important thing to remember is that links should benefit everyone involved. The site linking to your Web site, the Web site with the inbound link, and the visitor following that link should all get something out of the deal.

I take things one step further and don't create usernames and passwords for directories or Web sites that ask you to do so to request a link from them. I have also setup an e-mail address specifically for replies to link submissions (separate from the typical Webmaster or admin e-mail addresses). I'm not saying that this method is for everybody but if they are asking you to create an account then chances are they want to communicate with you. If you don't know the site, then don't trust them.

Another very beneficial method to submitting links would be to make sure you vary the anchor text as much as possible. Anchor text is what the link actually says in text. If every link that you ask for from other Web sites contains the term, "Short Family Web Site" then you're likely going to dominate "family Web site," "short," and "short family" in the search engines. By varying this text to fit your Web site and its niche, genre, etc. and targeted keywords, you increase your chances at getting traffic from a wide variety of searches as opposed to just three. It's definitely something to keep in mind.

Suggestions
What I have done is created two text files containing information that helps me quickly search and ask for links. The first text file contains all the search terms mentioned in this document followed by the keyword(s) or keyword phrases I've searched for already.

The second text file contains information about pages whose link popularity I'm trying to improve. This information includes Web page title, description (from the description META tag), keywords (from the keywords META tag), and the URL of the page.

These two files make it easier to track what keywords have been promoted and speed the process of asking for links from other Webmasters. With a little time and searching any Web site's link popularity will increase quickly using this method.

Another method that I've recently come up with is to create three spreadsheets. The first spreadsheet will contain "The List" with a column to the right so that I can indicate what search engine I last submitted what search term to. The second spreadsheet is a listing of search engines and what keyword(s) or keyword phrases I'm targeting for each search engine. Normally this list will be the same across all search engines. As I complete a keyword or keyword phrase in a search engine I remove it from the list. This is so that when I look at both spreadsheets I can pinpoint exactly where I've left off. The third spreadsheet contains information that is commonly submitted to sites I'm requesting links from (such as, e-mail address, URL, etc.).

This method is a little more involved than the first method but it's a tad more efficient when you actually start requesting links from other Web sites.

If you attack your link popularity campaign using the suggestions discussed in this document you will be on the road to sustained, increasing traffic from month to month in no time.

This page contains information mentioned by members of WebmasterWorld in "It's time to get some new links!." I'd like to thank the members who posted in that thread and allowed me to use their advice and ideas here.

Originally featured on chrisshort.net - The Technical Innards of Chris Short

7 Powerful Ways to Get One Way Inbound Links

7 Powerful Ways To Get One-Way Inbound Links

By Trent Brownrigg
Contributing Writer
Article Date: 2004-12-29

It's no secret that having links pointing to your website is very good for search engine rankings, and gives more ways for human visitors to find your website. So, how do you get one-way inbound links to your website? Well, there are numerous ways, and I am going to focus on seven of the most effective techniques.

You probably already know about link exchanges as great way for getting links to your website. However, with link exchanges, you have to give a reciprocal link back to the website that is linking to you. In this article I am going to show you how to get links to your website without giving a link back.

Ok, here are seven powerful ways for getting one-way inbound links:

1) Content - Packing your website full of useful content is one of the best ways to get inbound links. When you have a lot of content other webmasters will naturally link to you because your site will be valuable to them and their visitors.

Some examples of good content to add to your website would be; free articles, tools, tips, and resources related to your website theme. You could also have a blog that you update regularly with fresh content.

2) Testimonials - A big trend on the internet right now is adding testimonials to websites. The site owners typically get the testimonials from their site visitors and business customers. In exchange for the testimonial they usually give a link back to your website.

Every time you come across a great website, or have a good experience with a purchase, send a testimonial to the website owner. If they decide to publish your testimonial you will get a link to your website. After a while these links will add up to a significant amount.

3) Online Directories - There are hundreds of online directories that accept website submissions. This is a very good technique for getting one way inbound links. Many of the top directories require you to pay for inclusion or provide a link back to their directory. You can give the link back if you want, or pay if you have the extra money. However, there are also numerous directories that will accept your website without payment or a link back.

All you have to do is find the ones that accept free submissions and you will get your one way inbound links. You can find quite a few directories, and some other great information about submitting to directories at http://www.directory-pages.com/

4) Articles - Writing articles is one of the best techniques for getting one-way inbound links to your website. Many webmasters are looking for more content for their websites and Ezines. You can provide them with that content by writing articles and submitting them to websites, Ezines, and article directories.

In return for your effort you can put a little blurb about yourself and/or your business, with a link to your website, at the end of the article. You will rack up a very high amount of inbound links to your website by utilizing this technique. I have done it many times with a lot of success.

5) Free E-book - You can write an e-book and offer it for free in exchange for a link to your website. You can also put links to your website and other affiliate links in the e-book. Putting the links in the e-book will increase your website traffic and affiliate profits.

You are probably thinking that you can't write an e-book. Well, yes you can! It doesn't have to be some killer piece of work that you spend months writing. Instead, you can just make it a collection of your favorite articles, resources, and tools related to your website theme. As long as it is useful to your visitors they will gladly link to you in order to get it.

6) Blogs - There are actually a few ways to get one-way inbound links with blogs. The first way is simply to host a blog on your website and update it frequently. People tend to link to blogs because they provide content that is constantly being updated.

The second way you can get one-way inbound links with your blog is to submit it to blog directories. Just like website directories, there are tons of blog directories on the internet that you can submit to for free. Just do a search on Google for "blog directory" and you will find many of them to submit too.

The third way of getting inbound links with a blog is to host it somewhere other than on your website. Then, provide a link from your blog to your website. After you have done that, you can submit your blog to directories for the extra page rank and added exposure. Use this third technique with as many blogs as you have time to update regularly with quality content.

7) Free Article Directory - Create an article directory on your website and allow your visitors to submit articles to it. Ask for a link back to your website in exchange for the article submission. This will build your inbound links and create free content for your website. I have successfully used this technique for quite a while. You can see one of my article directories at http://www.work-at-home-jobs-iowa.com/article

Alright, there you go, you now have seven very effective techniques for getting one-way inbound links to your website. Get started on them right away and you should see your search engine rankings rise, your website traffic increase, and your profits explode. If you have any questions about any of these linking techniques just let me know, I will be happy to help. You can find my "contact me" link at the bottom of my website.
About the Author:
Trent Brownrigg is a successful internet marketer, webmaster, and author of business articles. He will personally help you build a secure financial future. Visit http://www.work-at-home-jobs-iowa.com for more details.

Source: 01/10/2005: http://www.promotenewz.com/promotenewz-11-200412297PowerfulWaystoGetOneWayInboundLinks.html