Web Design & SEO For Small Businesses

Robots.txt is a special file which is located in the root of each server which is a plan text file which allows the administrator of a website to define which web content need to be allowed and disallowed for the bot which visitors their website.

All major search engine like Google, Yahaoo and MSN agrees to the Robots Exclusion Protocol. There are several elements that every website owner need to understand for a easing crawling of their website. Following are the top 10 common mistakes to be avoided while create a robots.txt file.

1. Adding robots.txt not under the root directory - This is one of the common mistake webmaster do. They upload the robots.txt file at the wrong place it must reside in the root of the domain and must be named “robots.txt”. A robots.txt file uploaded in subdirectory is not a valid one since blots check for robots.txt file only in the root of the domain name.

User-agent: *
Disallow:

2. Wrong syntax in robots.txt – Another explanation is that the Webmaster used the wrong syntax when creating the robots.txt. Therefore, always double check the robots.txt file using tools like Robots.txt Checker
Here is an example

User-agent: *
Disallow: private.html

We advise you to start a file/directory name with a leading slash char (Example: /private.html).

3. Adding comment at the end of the sentence instead of at the beginning – If you wish to include comments in your robots.txt file, you should precede them with a # sign like this:

# Here are my comments about this entry.
User-agent: *
Disallow:

4. Empty robots.txt file almost like not having one – If you have created a robots.txt file under your root directory and there is nothing in it, then it is similar like not having one. Because nothing is disallowed or no User-agent is given, everything is allowed for every bots.

5. Blocking the pages which you need to get indexed - If  you are blocking spider bots and pages using robots.txt you should have thorough understanding of the syntax to be used any mistake can cause you huge problem with the spiderbots.

6. URL’s Paths are case sensitive – URL paths are often case sensitive, so be consistent with the site capitalization WARNING! Many robots and webservers are case-sensitive. So this path will not match any root-level folders named private or PRIVATE.

7. Misspelled robots/user agent names – SpiderBots will ignore mispelled User-Agent names. Check out your raw server log to find User-Agent name which you need to be blocked. Check out UserAgentString.com for a list of User Agent name.

8. Don’t add all the files in one single line – Some of the common mistake is adding all the files under on disallow.
For example

User-agent: *
Disallow: /private/ /images/ /javascript/

This is a wrong syntax and robots will not understand this format. The correct syntax is given below.

User-agent: *
Disallow: /private/
Disallow: /images/
Disallow: /javascript/

9. No allow command in robots.txt - There is only one command that is Disallow: and there is no command called Allow: So if you want to allow the bots to visit the page just don’t add the files.

10. Missing the colon – Missing the colon in Disallow and User-agent entry. Here is one of the example of a missing colon entry.

#This is a wrong entry
User-agent: googlebot
Disallow /

#The correct entry
User-agent: googlebot
Disallow: /

Please leave your comment if you find any other common mistakes which need to be avoided while generating a robots.txt file. Also below are few robots.txt useful resources and tools.

http://www.mcanerin.com/en/search-engine/robots-txt.asp
http://webtools.live2support.com/se_robots.php
http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2008/03/speaking-language-of-robots.html

If you have been to Affiliate Summit 2008 in Las Vegas you might have heard about the Controversial keynote speech by Jason Calacanis. I didn’t get a chance to attend the summit but maybe next year. Jason Calacanis co-founder of Weblogs which made headlines last years after selling to AOL, quoted like this

“Affiliate marketing is bullshit. Thank you.” and “Anyone here from PayPerPost? You need to kill yourself. I’m kidding. Well, I wouldn’t mind it if you did.”

This is his stunt to gain popularity which I think is not ethical blaming affiliate marketers as spammers.

We affiliate marketers toil hard to be successful making money online through affiliate marketing need determination and handwork and we are proud in doing that. Jason if you think affiliate marketing is all about spamming then why big companies like Amazon, Yahoo and Microsoft all offer these affiliate programs.

Attacking Super affiliate like Shoemoney & Zac Johnson about posting their high earned checks on their website is just jealousness on part of Jason or just trying to get cheap attention. For an average affiliate marketer it is inspiration and hopes to make money online.

Read other bloggers who wrote about his remarks are affiliate summit 08

Jason Calacanis Doesn’t Understand Affiliate Marketers

My Thoughts on Jason Calacanis…

Jason Calacanis Keynote at Affiliate Summit

Jason Calacanis Keynote Recap (Affiliate Summit)

Jason Calacanis keynote at Affiliate Summit West 08

Jason Calacanis Insults Affiliate Summit Attendees, Says They Pollute the Internet

Hear the Controversial Jason Calacanis Summit Keynote

The bottom-line is what ever Jason Calacanis intention is affiliate marketing is the only opportunity out there for anyone who can make a living online rather than dreaming of becoming next Bill Gates or a dream job at Silicon Valley.

Most people when they think of website promotion, they think about search engine marketing. But actually there are different ways to promote a website without depending on just search engines to get targeted traffic. All you need to do is thinking in a creative way, try innovative ideas and different way how to promote it. Online Marketing is not just all about SEO it is all about Creative Marketing. If you can do it right, there is more waiting for your website to come out of sandbox, link popularity and dependency on Search Engines.

I have put together 25 different ways on how to promote your website online absolutely free.

1) Web Content optimization – Content is key to any website. If you website is optimized for search engine it will definitely going to be noticed and started getting traffic and links.

2) Link Building – Links are so crucial for online visibility not only to the search engine eyes but link from good relevant sites can bring you targeted traffic and get noticed.

3) Article Distribution – Article syndication is one of the best and cheapest way to promote your website. There are hundreds of article directories out there to promote.

4) Online Press Releases -Online Press Release or press statement is a perfect way to attract media attention or publicity for products and services of your business.

5) Freebies – Giveaways and Freebies can attract a lot of attention as well as links from other websites. If you can create a unique tool or useful free product online it can get noticed and drive traffic to your site.

6) Unique Ad Creation – Pay Per Click Campaign is all about how you create a good ad, the more unique the better, A well written ad gets attention of the search engine visitors and will click on your ad.

7) List Building Email promotion – List building or email list building is a good way to bring visitors to your website, if you provide a newsletter subscription or free advice on your niche you have the right to ask for the visitors email address and name which can be used for future promotions.

Blogging – Blogging is a newest buzz word out there every business are getting into this new web2.0 marketing technique. Blog commonly knows as web logs where visitors can engage in a conversation.

9) Sponsored Reviewing – A review about your website is another way to promote your website or blog. There are several blogs and website that does this.

10) Commenting – Comments on review sites and blogs is a another way to do a promotion. If you comment and engage in a conversation in blogs which is relevant to your industry chances people will visit your website.

11) Social Media – This is the new craze among marketers Place like Facebook, Myspace, digg and stumbleupon can bring in tons of traffic if you promote it properly.

12) Online Contests – Facilitate and run contests on your website can get viral if people willing to participate in contest will spread the word through their website and blogs.

13) Forum Posting – This is the place where like minded people hang around, So to get noticed you need to engage in threads asking question and answers related to your topic.

14) Video Marketing – Videos are an effective way to promote your website. If you can broadcast relevant videos related to your industry visitors will folk to your website.

15) Affiliate Marketing – affiliate, reseller, and associate programs will allow your products and services to be listed on other websites which increases sales.

16) Mobile Media Marketing – can be mobile advertising, mobile search, mobile messaging, ring tones… and this is still in its early stages.

17) E-books Marketing – E-book marketing is a great way to achieve popularity of your website, If you can offer free tips and ideas via e-Books which can be downloaded for free it can create a viral effect.

18) Joint Venture - Same Target Customers and Partner Up With other online marketers who share the same niche you can sell your products to their list as well visa verse. But doing joint ventures you can get targeted traffic.

19) Banner Advertisements – One of the oldest forms of online advertisement to get noticed online still it works if you can create a eye-catching banner ad.

20) Sponsored Links – Search Engines hate this but still you can get a sponsored link weather it is do follow or no follow on high traffic relevant website it is a great way to promote a website.

21) Testimonials – A strong guarantee makes it safe for prospects to give you a try. A customer who is indecisive about your product or service may go ahead and give you a try if there’s no risk. The guarantee will push many customers “over the edge” when there’s doubt about making the purchase.

22) Podcasting – Podcasting your website content is another way to promote your website. Your digital media files which are distributed over the web would be downloaded into media players and listeners will follow your website.

23) Classified Ads – Classified ads online through Craigslist.com, usfreeads.com, Squidoo, Hubpages is another way to promote your website.

24) Local Search – If you website is local based then you can submit you Local Search databases like Google, Yahoo and MSN local as well as other local directories.

25) Interviews – Finally if you an expert in your niche you can offer interviews in different websites and blog which will give more exposure to your website.

Hope these techniques if implemented in your online marketing to-do list you can see success in your online venture and also I think this atleast motivates you to start. If you feel that there are other different ways please, feel free to comment.

One of the major money earners for online marketers is pay per click program today. Even though there are several other ways to make money online too. Pay Per Click programs are the best choice for internet marketers since is easy to earn money without any sales. Even though the earning from these programs started diminishing slowly but it is still popular and if done it right you can still make tons of money online.

Here is some of the top popular pay per click affiliate program where you can make money online:

Casale Media – is a popular first tier ads network. You can earn between $.50 to 1.25 on each banner ad you put up on your website or blog. Each publisher is provided with custom web based account where you have complete control over your ad management. Some of the criteria for been accepted in Casale Media is your website should have atleast 10,000 unique per month with English based content. Casale Media offers different ad format to be used on your website. Like skyscrapers and popunders.  Publisher’s payment is done through PayPal or check and the minimum earning need to eligible for payment is $25.00 USD.

AdBrite - is an advertisement service that allows advertisers who visits your website to purchase ads directly from your site. The process is pretty simple you have the right to decide what ad products to offers and how much to charge for that ad space. AdBrite will server your ads and bill the advertiser and make you the payment each month via check. You will get 50% of the revenue from each ad and the other half goes to AdBrite. Payments are done monthly and the Minimum payout is $5.00.

BidVertiser – is an advertisement program where you can sell your ad space on your website or blog for money. BidVertiser will pay for every click on your site. All you need to do is display the BidVertisers text ads on your blog or website. The program works like this the Advertisers will bid each other to get ad space on your website and you will be receiving for the highest earnings per click. Revenue from each click depends on the advertisers bid price. Method of payment is either PayPal or by check on a monthly basis with a minimum payout of $10.00 a month.

ShoppingAds – Earlier called AuctionAds after its debacle, ShoppingAds allows publishers to make money online by placing relevant merchant’s ads on their site or blog. When a visitor clicks on the ads you make money on a cost per click or Cost per acquisition basis. It is pretty simple all you need to do is place the relevant keywords of your website or blog while generating the ad. Method of payment is PayPal and a minimum payout of $50.00 a month.

Text-Link-Ads – Very popular among bloggers, recently it got a setback because of Google’s paid link penalization. Text link Ads is a text link broker company where they will intermediate between the publisher and advertiser to place ads. Text-Link-Ads have a huge inventory of advertisers looking for text links on blogs, website, forums etc. This is a real money making program if you have a high Google page rank and Alexa ranking. Text Link Ads will pay your 50% of each sale of text link ads sold off your website through their system. Method of payment is PayPal or check on a monthly basis and minimum payout of $25.00.

AdToll – is an Ad management networks for webmasters to make money selling ad spots on their sites and blogs. Customized text and banner with different sizes can be used in the site. AdToll offers a higher commission of 75% on each sale also their service includes that each publisher is assigned with their own account manager so that they can work closely with. Payment is done monthly with $20.00 a minimum to get paid done via PayPal, wire transfer and checks.

ValueClick – is an Advertising network where you can place quality ads on your blog or website, the earning potential is as high as 65% for all your cost per click and cost per impression ads. Also ValueClick offers revenue for referring other publishers. ValueClick offers different variety of ad format for your website from banner ads to popup and under popups and more. Payment is made monthly with a minimum payout of $25 made via PayPal or check.

ExoClick – is a European based Pay Per click program providing services to publishers. ExoClick offers detailed Ad management statistics to you on real time. It supports in four languages English, French, Spanish and Polish. Earning is paid on weekly basis through PayPal. Publishers can also get 5% on referral bonus if you introduce a publisher.

Google Adsense – The most popular pay per click program where you can earn enormous money because of its advertisers. Adsense can earn you tons of money if you have good search engine traffic to your site. Some of the reason why Google Adsense is a money maker because of the contextual form of advertisement, Adsense ads can be put up on any web page and it will show ads relevant to the content of that website. As of today there are millions of websites where Google Adsense ads are displayed. Signing up for Google Adsense is free Payment is made monthly with a minimum payment of $100.00 via wire transfer or check. International publishers have several options for payment.

YPN – Yahoo publisher network is another pay per click program from yahoo. Right now only US publishers are allowed to join this program. It is promised to be an alternative to Google Adsense but it is far away when compared to Google Adsense. It works on a similar basis like Google Adsense with a Publisher admin area. Minimum payout is $100.00 on a monthly basis and payments are made through check.

Making money online and be your own boss is everybody’s dream. And writing content for money is one of the best opportunities available online today. Don’t worry making money online through writing content is free. If you know plenty of stuff that you could tell to people then you should be able to make money writing content online.

You would love to make money like this if you know the opportunities available online as well as how easy it is to write and get paid. Today I am going to point out some tips why you would enjoy writing content online for money.

1) Opportunity to write which you like – Couple of years ago there was no such opportunities which is available now for writers weather your are a freelancers, professional writer or a stay at home mom. If are good at any particular niche there are avenues to write for now. Writers are wanted for rare niches which were not popular a few years ago, so the opportunity is huge for anyone who wants to make money online via writing content.

2) Can write from anywhere – With the advancement of broadband and wireless technology you can make money sitting anywhere on the planet. You can make money online while you are at home, on a vacation, at a park, airport, on a flight and even at your in-laws place. Time is not a problem now if you want to make money writing online.

3) Places to make money writing content – There are several places where you can make money writing, Blogs and websites are looking for writer to update their content, PLR sites are looking for writers, Freelance sites like Elance, Get-a-freelancer and scriptlance are loaded with projects looking for writer to provide quality content for them. But I would recommend sites like associated content and Helium where you can make money on a regular basis.

4) Magazines and newspapers – traditional method of writing for newspapers and magazines still is a good way to make money but the process is longer. Still there are opportunities for someone who wants to make money through this channel. I would recommend the online methods since it is fast and earn your money fast.

5) Online Payment methods – writers was skeptical earlier that if they write for someone how much times and weather they would pay you upfront or have to wait the check to arrive. But today’s online content writers get their payment via wire-transfers and online transaction like PayPal and Google checkout
where you get your payment within in minutes after you submit your content.