Archive for September, 2008

Some bloggers want to remain anonymous, while others are out to build a brand. Some struggle because they serve local markets, yet attract visitors from all over the country (and the world). There is a simple way to increase your blogs local exposure however. Perhaps you have heard the advice to put your address on every page of your website for better local search exposure? Well, with a blog (at least a WordPress blog), it’s so much easier because whatever you code in your footer or on the template (including widgets) will show up on every page.

The simplest way to implement this is by adding a “text box” at the bottom of one of the columns, and you will now have local branding. I just implemented this for one of the local blogs that I manage, so I look forward to seeing it work for me as well.

If you run a small business, this is another angle you can use to capture local market share. So if you aren’t yet blogging – there is never a better time to start than today.

Hope that helps.

I was never a fan of the new Facebook layout when it was put out there for testing. Now, there is no longer a choice for the old Facebook layout that we’ve all grown to love. But it’s not just be that feels that way. Today, I noticed that a few friends had joined a Facebook Group called 1,000,000 AGAINST THE NEW FACEBOOK LAYOUT! and also noted that they have already exceeded 1,000,000 members – I became member # 1,240,915.

So what don’t I like about the new Facebook layout?

1. It hides most of the old stuff from the profile home page. It’s got lots of tabs to find other info, that is just clunky. Everything you needed was there on the old layout.

2. Groups and Pages are hidden. Perhaps that was one of their goals, but it really makes groups and pages less prominent because they are no longer on the front page.

3. Inability to click through to profiles. (UPDATE: This seems to be working now – I did say it seemed to be an error in my original post because it seemed very odd) It’s almost like this is an error because if you are on your profile page and see that you are now friends with someone, you cannot directly click to their profile.

I could go on, but I am short on time. I don’t think it is so much that people don’t like change, but more so that people don’t like changes that aren’t for the better.

UPDATE: I have noticed a handful of groups on FB like this one. My strong recommendation is to join the party with this group so that the powers that be can have an accurate count of what percentage of their audience is unhappy. They boast 100,000,000 members, but I am curious to know how many of those are active At any rate, this group currently consists of 1,257,685 members (just above 1.25% of the total FB population), which means as of today, roughly 8,000 members per hour are joining this group.

Do you sell digital products or monetize your websites through affiliate sales? If so, you can now get paid faster through Clickbank! I have to say that while no platform is perfect, Clickbank has consistently tried to make their publishers happy by meeting them on their terms. First, they added a subscription payment option, then a direct deposit option – which reduced time to receive checks and took the admin work out of depositing check, and today they have announced that they are offering a weekly payment option. I logged in and updated one of my accounts just to make sure it was live – and it is.

If you are looking for a payment processor that you can count on to handle all of your payments (and returns) internationally, I recommend checking out Clickbank.

One reason I am never quick to upgrade any of my Microsoft operating systems is because of what I call their “free beta tester program.” It seems that the Microsoft way is to launch a new product and then have their users find the bugs so they can release fixes (also known as patches). It is very annoying and I don’t get involved; I am still using Windows 2000.

Enter Google, with their new Chrome Browser. I was away when it launched and I came back to many articles on the problems people are having with it as they made the mad dash to be first to try it out. If I had lots of free time, I would jump in and play like the rest of the cool kids, but I am thankful to get the updates from a host of alerts about how it is coming along. Sadly, I am not yet impressed.

If you want to join the Google Chrome Beta Tester Program, you can jump in right here. And to all of you who have already entered the Google Chrome Beta Tester program… I thank you (as does Google).