Take a look at this video (pretty naf) but the program looks good

ReDirect-a-Link

http://redirectalink.com/

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If you ever wanted to install the Akismet plugin – but weren’t sure, then fear not!!  Here is what to do.

First of all navigate your way to the plugins page of your blog to see the following under the “inactive” plugins section

Now simply click on the “Activate” link to the far right-hand side to reveal the next stage:

You are now asked about a Wordpress.com API key??  If you have one from another blog of yours then you can use that, however it is very easy to apply for a new Key.  Simply click on the “enter your Wordpress.com API key” to see this next screen:

Next stage – click on “sign up for a Wordpress.com Account”  Don’t worry – you do not need to sign up for a blog – merely become a “User” – see later.

Fill in your details as necessary – remember the Username you choose may already be taken – so be prepared with a couple of different options.  Use a secure password and remember to keep a note of it!! Fill in a genuine email address so that you get the confirmation email through. Tick the “legal flotsam” box.  Click on “JUST A USERNAME PLEASE” (unless you want to create a blog as well!!)  Click “Next” when you are finished – this will then give you:

While you wait for your confirmation email – fill in the above details as necessary and “Save Profile”

You will shortly receive a confirmation email like this:

Now click on that link in your email to activate your Account – again you will shortly receive a further email with all your details attached:

Notice this has your Wordpress.com API Key showing.  Again, make a note of it and keep it safe – you may need it later.

Now go back to this screen:

Simply enter your API key – use copy and paste to avoid any typos!! – and click on “Update Options”

Next screen will show you that the key has been verified:

And that – as they say – IS THAT!!

Now at any time you can view statistics regarding the Akismet plugin and see exactly what it has managed to catch in the way of  SPAM!

Good Luck with it!!

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Are you troubled by spam comments on your blog??

The easiest way to sort out a lot of spam is to use the built in “Akismet” plugin – strainghtforward and easy to sign up for an account and key if you don’t already have one.

To set up Akismet – take a look at this post  – click here!

For some more good ideas, I have found this excellent post

http://www.net-security.org/article.php?id=987

See what you think!

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The amount of blogging resources on the net today is awesome, and can truly make any average blog a special one in no time. There are millions of resources for you to tap into when it comes to blogs, a few of the best basic ones are highlighted here for your consideration.

Blogger.com is a website owned, and operated by Google that allows users to post blogs for free, and make money with AdSense. While blogger.com lacks the power of a self-hosted Wordpress blog, it is easy for those that are interested in implementing their AdSense ads in a simple, little code, manner and who obviously haven’t got their own hosting.

Wordpress.com is another blog publishing software that is known on the net as a  powerful, and sophisticated blog publisher. Wordpress.com is also free, and allows users to build blogs that are more advanced than a blogger.com site would be.

Probably the best known blogging resource is Wordpress.org – here you can host your own blog with your own specific domain name – and anything you do – is for you!  The wordpress.org site probably contains all you need to set up your own self-hosted blog in no time at all.

Blogrankings.com is another great site that ranks all the latest and greatest blogs. The value of this site is to look at what other top bloggers are doing, and attempt to emulate it with your own blog. Understanding what makes a certain blog in your niche so popular can revolutionize the way you think about and post to your own blog, which could have long lasting positive effects.

Blogarama.com offers users a virtual telephone book of blogs from all areas of subject matter. No matter what your interest, or niche, this website can bring out the best and most popular blogs. This site is full of directory style listings, and even user ratings to help you search the net.

Ultimately the best blog resource is the one that caters to your needs, and thus must be sought out by you according to what you are trying to achieve. Seeking out your own best blog resources will certainly help you profit from blogs in the near future.

One thing to remember – if you think (and you should!) your blog is going to be “big” – then start off as you mean to go on!  Get yourself a domain name and hosting and take it from there.  There is nothing worse thanbeginning with a “free” blog only to find you have to start all over again from scratch when you find you have outgrown their capablities!  Be warned!

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No matter what the website, in order for it to be a success you need to have a constant and steady stream of traffic to profit, and this is certainly the case for those creating blogs.   Traffic doesn’t just magically appear – you need to get that traffic from somewhere.  There are countless ebooks and whole courses on traffic generation, but this is a general introduction.  The interesting fact is that getting traffic to your blog is possibly easier than you might think, and just takes some creative thinking, and a few hours a day of shameless promotion!

So after you hit up your family and friends, who else is going to read your blog? The answer is likely nobody unless you give them a reason to read it. This is where the traffic driving secrets come into play when dealing with a blog. The best way to get traffic to your blog is by using free promotional methods. The key is to have something on your blog worth checking out once they get there, but for this part we’ll simply focus on getting traffic.

Start out by joining all the forums, and social networks in your niche. If you have a blog that is aimed at giving dating advice, make sure to join all the dating forums you can, and any free dating sites possible. The first thing to do is find out where your link is allowed, and post your blog link in your signature. Once this is done take a few hours each day to make posts, eventually people will start considering you an expert, and gladly check out your site.  One of the things to remember, though, is DO NOT SPAM!  Post something of interest and post something helpful.  You will eventually become recognised as being a genuine poster.

Next it is important to start submitting your blog posts as articles to free article directories. The free article directories will help promote your blog by distributing the articles to thousands of resources, which will also get your blog, and your article higher search engine ranking at the same time.

Finally start to collect email addresses and setup your blog for RSS feeds. Allow the membership to enjoy your blog in the comfort of their inbox by choosing the option on your blog software to email the blog post every time a new one goes up. This will be a way to attract daily traffic to your blog for free, and keep the traffic you receive from your expert forum posting coming back.

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In making money with blogs there is one element that trumps all the rest in importance, and that is advertisement placement. The actual spot where you put your ad is as important to your profits as any other thing you do with your blog. The most successful people that blog for profit utilize special placement for their advertisements to best get results from the site visitor, and from experience I can tell you this needs some thought!

Putting your advertisements at the top of the blog isn’t good enough anymore. Many people have been using computers long enough to train themselves to ignore the advertisement banners at the top of a website, or blog, and thus you must find new, and unique ways to get the advertisements read, and clicked by your visitors.  Testing, and continuous testing is the key!

One place to put the advertisements for your blog is directly to the right hand side of the daily blog post. Research shows that the human eyes tend to gravitate to the upper right hand side of any page (you’re looking now aren’t you?), which is where your advertisement should be in order to obtain maximum exposure. The more the ad is put in this spot, the better rate of clicks that you will get on the ad.  Test!

Another great place to put the advertisement is in the body of the text. This is commonly done by highlighting, and adding hyperlinks to some of the more popular keywords. By adding such keywords one can simply click on the highlighted word to learn more about a product, or service you might be promoting. Ensure you make the link open in a new window so that you do not “lose” your customer. “In-text” ads aren’t ever very big so as not to disrupt the text, but they can pack a serious punch in terms of sales because of the natural curiosity of the reader to check out whatever it is you are promoting.

Finally one can place advertisements at the bottom of the blog, with more information about you, the author of the blog. Since blogs are typically personal, people enjoy reading about the author, and thus it makes sense to include a few ads near your profile, to capitalize on the profile checking nature of your visitors.

Above all, though, test! And test again!

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