"page not found" a wasted opportunity

From time to time when you're doing a search you may land on a 404 page. You know - the "page not found"  error message that causes you to click the back button (or close a window). Sometimes it's because a page has moved, been renamed or was just typed incorrectly.

What a Waste! 

You can create a custom 404 page for your site. That way, if a customer lands on it, they can at least easily navigate to any other page on your site. If have not already created a custom 404 page it's a wasted opportunity to keep customers from going elsewhere.

It's Easy!

If you have a good host, and access to ftp then it's only 2 simple steps to rescue customers from the pesky "page not found" black hole.

Step1. Create/Edit your .htaccess file

• Open a note pad and type: (If you already have a .htaccess file then just add this line to it)

ErrorDocument 404 /notfound.html

• Save the file as .htaccess to your computer

• Upload to the server using ftp in the root directory

Step2. Create your custom 404 "page not found" page.

• Create a new html page with your main page navigation, or a site map. 

• Let the searcher know the page they were looking for no longer exists.

• Save the new html page as notfound.html

• Upload it to your server using ftp in the root directory.

That's it! 

Now test it. Let's say you were wanting to purchase one of our ring guards - and by mistake you type the url as viewithere.com/ringad (or went to a page that I moved or renamed).

Instead of a generic browser error page you now see  viewithere.com/ringad (you'll have to click on the link to see what I mean). You'll notice a line that says:

We're sorry the page you were looking for was not found! It may be an old link - but you can visit any of the following pages :)

 Now a customer can easily stay on our site to find what they were looking for.

Customize your Blogger Header

I was surfing sites over the long weekend and saw someones company "blog" on their site. When I clicked the link I was sent to a "google blogger" page that matched their site perfectly. It made their "free" blog more impressive and professional.

Make your blogger header into a streamlined nav bar.

It wasn't as difficult as I thought and if you have an image editing program and a html editor it's just a few short easy steps to looking more professional.

Step 1

a) Create your navigation image in a program like fireworks or photoshop. Here is an example of what I mean:

b) Upload it to your server (or a free space) and copy down the URL

Step 2

a) Open your html editor (I used visual page -most html editor programs will have mapping tools)

b) Start a "new project" and insert your new image. Once it is opened if you right click (or go to image tools) you'll see a "local mapping tool".

c) Using the mapping tool highlight the area you wish to be a link and link it to the www page you want it to direct to.

d) Once completed view the page source- You'll notice it mapped the coordinates for you (I wouldn't know how it would be done manually) copy the image html into your note pad.

Step 3.

a) Go to your blogger layout to "customize" edit the header first. Take out any image already there, the title and description can be left if you want it shown.

b) "Add an element" just below the original header. The element you want to add is HTML/Javascript

c) Paste your image map code in the element box, save and....your done!

Visit our blog to see the mapped image nav bar in action http://view-it-here.blogspot.com/ - mouse over the tabs and the social network images.

Showing Crawl errors in Google Webmaster tools?

If you have a Google account and a website you most likely added Googles "Webmaster Tools" to your account. If not, you should! It gives you great information.

Webmaster Tools is a snapshot of everything you need to know (and it's free). The information it gathers on your site is priceless.

• Top Search queries (impressions and clickthroughs)
• Links to your site (who is linking to what page)
• Keyword significance of your site
  
• Crawl errors
• Diagnostics and HTML suggestions
• You can even go to a lab to see exactly how googlebot sees your site!
• Site performance (how fast your site loads, tools to make it load faster)
• If any Malware is detected on your site
• Sitemaps can be submitted to tell Google about pages on your site they may not have discovered
  
• Subscriber stats and more!
  

What if you don't want a page/directory to be crawled and indexed? Or the page no longer exists but made it in search results and is showing "page not found" crawl errors?

Set an easy robots.txt for Googlebot. Here's a great site that can teach you more about robots.txt http://www.robotstxt.org/robotstxt.html.

Edit a contact in Joomla

If you want to edit your contact form on your joomla CMS it's easy!

• Log into your Joomla CMS admin page
• Mouse over "Components"
• Scroll down the drop down menu to contacts
• Scroll over to "contacts"
  

The next window will show you a list of your present contacts

• Click on the contact you wish to edit (to add a new contact click on "new" on top right)
  

Edit the information and details!

• If you wish to add a second address to one contact or add additional information you can add it to the "Miscellaneous Information:" on the very bottom of the contact page.

Adding images to Joomla Articles

Easy steps for adding images to your Joomla CMS. Click on any images to see them larger.

• log into admin
• choose media manager as seen below
  

• At the bottom of the media manager window you'll see an empty box followed by a "browse" button, followed by a "start upload" button.
• click on "browse" and find the image file you wish to upload, then click on "start upload".
• You should see your image in the thumbnails (the small pics) as in the image below.
  

• Go to the control panel to add a new article (or edit a previous one).
• In the article box you should see a "tree" image - this is what you click on to "add an image"

• An image box will pop open and you type in the full URL (http://www.yoursite.com/images/filename.extention) of the image for example see below image.
• After you add the image URL, you can add a description and title (good for search engines) you should see a snap shot of the image in the box if done correctly.

• Next you can click on the Appearance tab of the same pop up box
• You can decide the position of the image in the text of the article (center, right or left side)
• You can set 10 vertical and horizontal space around the image
• You can make a border around the image (a black box).
• BE SURE to click on insert after your done!
  

• Your image should now show in the article box!

I am NOT Facebook...I swear!

Like most people these days I have a facebook page. I had a strange thing happen recently and I thought it may happen to someone else, so I'm sharing.

---

View it Here.com - Ring Guards and Ring Wraps

Promote Your Page Too

---

Over a course of a month I received a whole lot of phone calls (and posts on the discussion) from people who had issues with FaceBook. At first, I admit - it was kind of funny. People were calling and contacting me asking to grant them access to their accounts, complaining about being harassed, asking to block users (and some of the stories made me bust a gut). However, it wasn't so funny after a month so I had to investigate further.

I started really questioning people where they found our contact information. How were they "searching" for it. What search engine, what links? I took some creative questioning but I found out some interesting things and finally solved my problem!!

People were going to Yahoo Answers and searching "Facebook Contact Information". The returned search was to:

FaceBook | Contact Information

What this means is the "answer" Yahoo gave was on FaceBook - which happened to have a page titled "Contact Information" within one of it's page profiles (my profile).

People did not read the information in that Thread or they just scanned it for a phone number. The thread clearly states what company the page promotes, and when they call our answering box states our company name. Still....the messages came, and came.

I deleted the whole thread and made a new threat titled "Viewithere.com Contact". Problem solved! Now yahoo answers will find the page:

FaceBook | ViewitHere.com Contact

Not a single FB related call since. There are some interesting people on Facebook - I think I know why they do not make their contact information available. *L*

:)

youtube channel...another great marketing tool

I've had a video on youtube for 3 years now (Since Sept. 19th 2006) and even I can't believe it took me this long to realize I wasn't using it to it's fullest.

I've blogged before about using youtube for marketing and how important it is to understand youtubes insights, but I never even thought about the importance of the video channel! You know...I kicked myself when I saw how easy it was and realized how long I could have been benefiting from it! How easy?

• Just go to your account settings and click on "profile setup"

Enter your Website Description, Url and any other info you wish to share on your public channel

• Go to the "My account" tab and click on "my channel"
  

Here you can add even more information on your site/product.

On the "Channel Info" tab add a search friendly title, more description of your site or product, and keywords for search. You can click on the "channel design" tab to set colors or background images (or add or remove channel features). Organize the videos you want to show on your public channel and get ready to promote it! I set mine up in a few minutes - http://www.youtube.com/viewithere - actually, it took me longer to write this blog then it did to set up my youtube channel.

:)

Your Best Marketing Tool --> Customers

Here are a few recent examples of why:

Hello Frances,

I received my package today and put on the ring guards. This is one of the most clever, effective products I've used. I would love to write a review for you if you have such a thing. I think both your customer service and your product are exceptional, and would be happy to tell others about my very positive experience. I plan to take these in to my jeweler to see if he might like to sell these. I am wildly impressed.
A very satisfied customer,

Lisa

---

Hello Frances,

Thank you so much for the information! I really appreciate knowing that they are on their way. Your customer service is amazing. I can't believe how quickly you responded to my request. THANK YOU!! I am greatly impressed.

Have a great weekend,
Lisa

---

Many thanks for the shipment of ring guards I received this morning-

I am more than pleased with the super products & also super fast service.
I will be more than happy to recommend you to anyone who needs your products.

Sincerely

Tom Russell.

---

I am so delighted with my ring guards that I am purchasing more for myself and others. I am a half size and many rings I love only come in whole sizes. Your ring guards are perfect – no one even notices them!

My package was shipped securely, well-wrapped and protected, and fit in my locked mailbox! How perfect! You are also much less expensive than my jeweler for the exact same thing. Plus, for putting the ring guard on -- something I can put on myself -- the charges are outrageous!

Thank you for being so honest, for offering a quality product, and for great customer service. You rock! I will check your site often to find great things at great prices!

Sincerely,
Carol Whetstone
Author:
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/All-for-Him/Carol-Whetstone/e/9780595449279/?itm=1

---

I just received the adjusters (small, medium, large mix) in white gold that my son ordered for me. I just wanted to let you know that I just love it! The only problem we had was that the smallest one you make wasn't small enough for my size 3.5 ring. Other than that, great product!

Thank you!
Cyndi

---

Hi Frances

I just thought I'd let you know I received the goods today which is fabulous.

I have just completed a fairly extreme weight loss course and I know many other women on the course who have trouble finding these ring adjusters - most of the ones available in the UK are plastic and don't work well.

I am very pleased with the adjusters and If you would like to send me a few leaflets/business cards I am happy to ask if we can display them at the center.

Kind regards
Isabel

---

No worries there. When I ordered my first one years ago, I bookmarked your page because I didn't want to lose it. I have a lot of friends on Weight Watchers and have spread your name multiple times when they find their jewelry is too large. Your products are great and I guarantee you will get all my recommendations!!!

Kim

---

Four ways you lose me

It's a fact that you can use twitter for marketing your product. I, myself, have bought an item from someone who I found during a twitter search. I was searching for "paypal alternatives", they happened to have made a post about paypal. Long story short - I saw her website, liked her product and bought one (using paypal). Enough "twits" have lost my interest lately, for stupid things, I just had to rant.

• Follow to Unfollow

Sometimes it takes me awhile to process the information on your service. I like to research things, compare, then make a decision - nothing loses my attention more then when someone "follows" and then "unfollows" me just as fast. In the last week I have "tweeted" about my interest in a new web merchant service. A few tweeters who offered (or was affiliated with) this services started following me - and I was actually interested in their info. However, when I went back to find their "twitter name" I saw they had "unfollowed" me within 24 hrs. HUH - well I guess they weren't really interested in my business. It felt....rude. I know who they are and I refuse to entertain their service now. Nor will I recommend them.

• Auto Direct messaging

I hate when someone acts like they are soooo interested in you. They ask what you do. OK listen, if you were interested in me - well you would have checked out my twitter page. It tells you right there in my bio what I do. HUH Don't act like you want to know if you can't take the second to look at my page. People who respond with my name really impress me - they took the time. I want to be their friend :)

My favorite auto DM was when I followed someone to message them that they were infringing on my image copy rights. I wanted them to immediately to cease and desist before I took legal action. It knocked my socks off why they auto DM'd me "Thank you for following, we appreciate your interest in us and look forward to your business" Are you kidding me?

• Empty Twitter profiles

I actually check out peoples twitter pages, their blogs too. I enjoy reading others opinions. I'm all for information sharing and learning. I even read the things I don't agree with - just to try to understand. If you have nothing to say I don't want to follow your page. So those using twitter to spam or fill space it feels like an insult. I don't feel like buying anything from someone who insulted me! Sometimes I don't know what your selling even - I don't get it.

• Fake sharing

This one irks me the most. Someone sends me an interesting tweet. I get excited about how freely they want to share information. Maybe it's from someone who I have some experience to offer back - freely! I follow the link only to find out you want me to buy it! I mean, that's like someone offering you their seat on the bus and then demanding a quarter for it. Offer me something of value will you! Then let me decide if I want to trust your opinions enough to pay for your information. And NO I'm not comfortable "just" providing my email - thanks anyways. I'm on to you.

Video Insights

I've noticed a positive development this last week - thanks to youtube insights. What did I noticed? The video, embedded on my website, is slowing going down in the percentage of total views.

Your video viewership from your website is going down? And that's a good thing? Let me explain...



Out of the 100% of my videos viewers only 68% were from people viewing it directly on my site. That means a WHOPPING 32% of views came from people who did not even know my website existed! And never visited (yet).

If you looked at the graph above the 32% breaks down as follows;

• Google Search 8.0% (youtube insights even reports on the keywords that were used to find your video).
• External Links 8.0% (this includes sites such as twitter, yahoo, bing, blogs, icq search etc.)
• youtube and related 12 % total
• Viral 3.6 % (this is when your video link is shared by email and instant messaging).

From the 32% above more than 20% is from some form of social networking. So yes I think it is a very positive development when my web sites percentage of total views is falling. NOT to be confused with the videos traffic declining.

;)

Wake up and smell the...social networking?

click on image to make it larger

I was "catching up" on my friends facebook pages and saw a perfect example of the powers of social networking for those companies who still wonder what it is. I found myself thinking that maybe I'll try this coffee too! 2 of my friends say it's great...I never heard of it before but I TRUST their opinions. Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to figure out how to get them to talk about YOUR product.

• Provide a quality product

• Provide great customer experience

• Understand your customers

"bing - bong" is that opportunity ringing the bell?

I have been hearing (or rather reading) a lot about MSN's re-vamp of it's re-branded search engine "Bing". A lot of what is being said is that Bing can not possibly give Google any grief -as people are loyal to Google and have been for years.

So? If you have been online for the past few years you'll notice many sites popping up and dominating their goals....look at twitter. I'm sure facebook did not foresee the ruckus they would cause.

I hope bing survives - hell I hope it does well! Nothing wrong with a little more competition - it keeps the other guys honest (and keeps their prices down in PPCs).

What do I like about Bing?

• I love the image search on Bing - all images load into one frame so no clicking to the next page. You can choose the size of image you want to search even (weeds out the small icon-ish images). I found a new copy right infingement of my images that google missed (as the page is not linked to the sites main index).

• I love the pop up window in search - it scans the site - gives you 2 paragraphs of content - contact info and an idea of what other pages the site has - too kewl. No more clicking to open new windows or tabs (or back peddling to the search page). I Like it!

• I like that the 3D map program actually runs on my laptop (never could get google earth to work).

• I even like the daily background images Bing uses on it's main search page. I have heard rumors that you can find easter eggs if you mouse around (I never found any - yet).

I also love that BING.COM now shows up as #10 in my top 10 traffic sources in google analytics a week after the official launch.

Facebook and digg pull their ads from MSN...with the growth in social networking there may be an opportunity to getting higher search volumes (thinking with my ppc cap now). Go Bing GO....or should I say "BING-GO"

:)

The Positive of Negative Keywords

Nothing feels worse then paying for traffic...except paying for traffic that you don't want!

Google recently upgraded their AdWords interface and thanks to a recent tweet @jordanlebaron,

"http://twitpic.com/5ks6i - Just figured out I can see raw queries in the new #adwords interface: Campaigns > Keywords > "See search term..."

I was impressed with the importance of this new feature. "Raw queries" are what a searcher actually typed into the search engine which resulted in triggering an ad for one of your keyword bids. Phew, long sentence.


Not only is it interesting (and gives you ideas of content to add to a site) it is important in locating "Negative keywords". Negative keywords can be set for your ad group. They are keywords or phrases that you do not want your ad triggered in the search results. I assure you I have no nipple ring pictures on my site, nor am I really all that interested in my ad showing in the search results. I don't consider it "targeted traffic" and I don't want to pay for it :P

You try to save money where you can! Every little bit counts. If you want even more details then what googles raw queries tell you I found this great post on www.wpromote.com What they recommend is to employ what they call the “Google Analytics Raw Query Hack”. It is easy, non-technical and completely free! Check out their site for more info on how.

:)

Improving your CTR made easy

There are so many things you have to do on a daily basis to succeed with your online business. One of these things is constantly trying to reach - in increasing numbers - the right audience.

If you know your conversion rate is 15% (15 out of 100 targeted visitors purchase) and you know you'll make an average of $150 profit per 100 visitors then of course the laws of averages says "if you had 1000000 viewers you'd be rolling in money!" So... the constant struggle with increasing targeted traffic to your site is a daily ritual.

If you're using Google AdWords one of the things you can do is improve your CTR (click - through - rate)! Also, as an added bonus, Google will charge you less cpc (cost per click) since SO MANY PEOPLE click through your ad! Another reason I love google :) I think they should hire me for praising them so much!

High CTR means more attention from "keyword targeted" searchers. When you capture "targeted" traffic you will notice much better conversion rates. With 1,000,000s of sites out there you must catch the searchers attention better then any one else!

Luckily it's easier to do then you may think (if you are using Google AdWords).

Split ads in a campaign: In your Google account you can make different "ads" within a campaigns "Ad Group". Google will alternate the ads (directing them to the same landing page, the same keywords and using the same budget), while tracking the number of impressions and the number of clicks. You can test different ads to see which results in the highest % of click through rates. Of course some ads will result in lower CTRs (always a pain - but better off knowing I guess).

• Test Headlines: Each ad headline can use a max of 25 characters. If you have the actually keyword in the title it will be highlighted in BOLD on the Google results page. People are drawn to bold - and if it matches exactly what was typed in the search engine they are more likely to click through. You can use Googles auto headline - which will put the keyword in your title for you - but it is often found to be less targeted traffic and may not convert as well (in my opinion). Try seasonal headlines, mark events, align your product with what's happening now - the idea is to keep testing - get rid of those that don't perform.

• Test Content: In Google AdWords you have 2 description lines and each only allows for 35 characters max (and tweeters find 140 tough!). This is where you speak to your potential customera -use it wisely! It's not as easy as writting a 70 character (includes spaces remember) sentence. Being forced into using 2 lines may split a word right in half! or worse...waste character spaces! Don't use words like "best" "guaranteed" "in business for x yrs" WASTED CHARACTERS!!! Use your website for that info (too bad not everyone knows computer shorthand ;P) In fact - I'd be as bold as to say do not list any features at all....go 100% benefit (or at least test it out)!

• Test display URLs: If your landing page URL is long then this is a great feature. You can create any URL in this space (it allows for 35 characters). Make it easy for people to remember. If your URL is long shorten it :)

www.thebesteverurlonline.com/index.php/nowthisdomainwillbesold.html

TheBestEverUrlOnline.com/Sold

Much easier to read no? Notice the capitalization?. You get 1024 characters for your actual destination url (although nobody sees it on the google ad) be sure to always use the actual landing page URL.

Keep an eye on the number of impressions vs the number of clicks. Test Test Test - in with the good - out with the bad. Improving your" click-through-rate" will be one of the easier tasks of your day if you're using Google AdWords.

<3

Arm yourself with knowledge of search trends

It's been about a month since I last wrote here. Life has a way of changing direction at any given time. I'm happy to say even if I am not writing - I am doing!

I found some interesting tools to tell you about. I may have touched on them previously but as always on the internet - things just keep getting better!

More reasons to love Google straight from their labs.

• Google Trends : Here you can compare the search "trend" (popularity) of up to 5 terms since 2004! For example - compare what sport is popular with searchers "golf, tennis, hockey, baseball, basketball".

Interesting no? Looks like "Golf" (even though it has about the same news coverage) is the sport of choice for internet searchers. May be a good target field to conduct business with :) As a marketer I am interested in the trend of say - my top 5 keywords.

Google Trends also tells you what country and city has the highest search volumes for EACH of those keywords. WoW! Talk about being able to "target" regionally. (Google AdWords even has a way to target your ads by region). A wise marketer would use this info ;)

• Google Insights for Search: While Google Insights for Search and Google Trends use the same data, Insights for Search is geared towards researchers or advertisers who may find some of its advanced reports more useful.

It's great to know what the present top search terms for golf websites are - but it's even better to know the "Rising Searches". Especially if your site is looking to "Break into" a new search volume before the bids on the keyword term gets too high. Just another tool any wise marketer should use ;)

Make the best of your Google Adwords campaign by arming yourself with knowledge of the search trends for YOUR product.

---

I LOVE Google.

Yes - I will admit. I love Google (I feel as if I should stand as I say it "My name is Frances and I am a Google lover").

Sorry Yahoo. I tried to make friendly with you - but I found you to be a bit lacking in personality. You don't seem to "know" even a third of the people Google does - and it's all about relationships. You're not clear when communicating with - and you hardly share anything interesting. You may HAVE interesting things to say but...I never seem to hear about it. I have been listening - asking around - no one says much about Yahoo (Other then it's number 2 and Google themselves wants to be their friend). Yes I do have a Yahoo Account too - in case you're wondering.

:)

Can't paypal and google just get along?

Like anyone I want to be able to track my conversions based on goals I set out. My goal is for people to reach a "thank you for ordering page" right after they submit payment. Simple no? If they reach this page my google analytics "goals" should count that as a conversion.

Google is so off from the sales registered in my paypal account that it's not even funny! I mean huge off. So far, if I believed google, I had 1300 viewers follow through my "funnel" to the purchase page. Google then tells me only 3 people ended the cycle on the thank you page.

Paypal of course tells the real story - the truth is in the bank - as they say. So why isn't paypal bringing people to my thank you page after submiting their order like I asked them to (actually they offered in the button customizations).

• Why is google obviously counting people who "checkout" as "exits" (from my site to paypal BEFORE the sale).
• Why is it that I can only customize the header image and background color in paypal buttons?
  
• Why can't I put my google tracking code on the paypal payment page...(hmmmmm)?

I could just pull a Bobby McFerrin "...naaa na na na nananaaa dont worry...nannanaaaaaa...be happy" but I really would like to take advantage of googles other tools like "website optimization" where I can create test pages. Find out what converts best - how best to present my Ring Guards to my customers - lots of neat stuff.

If you know I'd love to know.

:)

Make sure your full message gets across

Awhile back I decided to add a "how to video" to my Ring Guard site to help customers with our product. It was a short video and I decided to use youtube and embed it on my site. There were many reasons why I went with youtube at the time.

• Youtube offered an easy way to upload my edited video
• It generated the code to embed the video on my site automatically
• It tracked the number of viewers so I could easily see if my customers were watching it
• It also submitted my video to a popular social media tool
• It was FREE
  

Youtube also generates insight reports (I've mentioned them before). Wonderful reports full of information that anyone marketing their product wants to know. My favorite insight is "Hot Spots".



This report (to quote youtube) shows you

• The ups-and-downs of viewership at each moment in your video, compared to videos of similar length.
• The higher the graph, the hotter your video: fewer viewers are leaving your video and they may also be rewinding to watch that point in the video again.
• Audience attention score is an overall measure of your video's ability to retain its audience's attention, compared to videos of a similar length.

Your video plays side by side as the graph shows you at which point you're losing viewership. It offers you a chance to edit your video to keep the graph in the "Hot Spot".

Make sure your full message gets across and help people make the decision to purchase.

P.S There is even insights into how much of a "viral" effect your video produces. Don't you love it?

:)

What Social Networking means for my business...

I've been reading up on tweets lately. Searching for small businesses such as myself - selling a product online - trying to learn something new (and I do all the time) from others.


But...I've been struggling to figure out what social networking means to me, and how I can use all the tools available to increase my business. After all, that's why I was interested in social networking in the first place.

I wasn't looking for a job, or to build an MLM empire, or to convince people I knew all about SEO (search engine optimization) and SMO (social media optimization) like most tweets I found about business were.

I wasn't this new wave of "entrepreneur" that popped up during the recession either, or the "twitter expert" so many claim to be. Could my business really benefit from this platform?

I have been slowly learning that the answer is YES. Here are just some of the things that I have discovered.

• Social networking is about offering "networks" information they would find interesting or helpful.
  

You don't have to sell anything to people, just share experiences and resources. If they want what you sell - they will check it out. They would never have known about your product it if they weren't initially interested in what you had to say and visited your site (or blog). Otherwise they would have found you in the search engines. I have a few blogs that I do for my personal interests - parks and dogs. The information I share is totally unrelated to my product - yet I see in my google analytics traffic coming to my main site through those blogs. Ahhhhh!! I get it. So I have to think the work or time I put into it is like the $ I pay per click. A soft or passive sell. I figured I better make blogs about things I was passionate about - otherwise I'd never do it.

• Social networking is about sharing and contributing.

It's really about the EASE in which you can share ideas, articles, or even products you like. If it was not for reading tweets I would never have found twitter.com/addthis which offers an excellent tool. The tool can be put on any site to allow your audience (or visitor) to easily share it with others they know. So now I can offer people the ability to add my Ring Guard website to their Social Network and guess what..they have! On the "AddThis" website you can track what sites they are sharing with (and what pages).

• Social Networking is about learning and growing.

I've "stumbled" upon many resources I never knew exisited (and I have been making a very decent living online for over 10 yrs). I found out how to use certain aspects of google more effectively (google goal setting and google base to name 2). I have seen what others are doing to promote themselves. I have had people answer my questions (not many mind you but at least some do). I try to "pay it forward" as much as I can.

Now of course there are idiots out there social networking who THINK they know it all or will not acknowledge your contribution to a thread of interest. AND I have run into a "data mining" link fake out from a tweet ...so you have to weed out the bad and follow those who you value.

After all....it really is about the QUALITY of follows not the QUANTITY.

I look forward to learning more from those I follow - and share their links with others. That is afterall what networking is about.

:P

How come I'm just learning about google base...

I was reading "tweets" and came across someone mentioning "google base" (yet another google beta). Google Base? Should I use it? What is it?


What is it?

"Google Base is a place where you can easily submit all types of online and offline content, which they'll make searchable on Google (if your content isn't online yet, they'll put it there). Users may find their results for searches on Google Product Search and even Google web search."

• Upload a feed or use it's handy "one item" publisher form.
  
• Add up to 13 images to your item.
  
• The more information you provide, and the more you use attribute details to organize that information, the better your products' chances of being visible when a user is searching for them.

Should I be using it?

Of Course! Why not? It's free and it comes with a reporting and stats page. I added it to my Google account and published and item pronto! It can also be used for sites that are content based. Check it out if your like me and just finding out about it - you may find it useful! GOOGLE BASE BETA

:)

google makes a game out of improving image search

I was looking through my google "webmaster tools" and saw google was looking for help in better indexing their image searches.

The Image Labeler Beta makes a game out of what I'm sure would be a tedious task. Two online "players" are randomly paired and for 2 minutes are shown the same images. The basic idea of the game is to "name the image" the same as your random partner. You earn points - what for? I'm not sure but you earn them! The site lists the top matches of the day as well as the top all time players.

I have noticed that google image search has been sending me traffic lately. You can add google "webmaster tools" to your account (it is free), verify your site and make sure your images are included in the game (and improve your image indexing).