Adding Site Feeds to Google Buzz

One of the more popular features of Twitter is the ability through their API to post at intervals or when an RSS feed is updated a tweet to Twitter automatically. So blog owners don’t have to worry about tweeting their new blog entries cause it is done automatically from a service like TwitterFeed.com.

With Google Buzz being the latest micro blogging platform, everyone wants the same features as Twitter from Google. Of course Google doesn’t want some of the features that it deems to be problematic, but it does allow you to post your RSS feed automatically to your Buzz account whenever a new post is available. Just how do you get Buzz to connect to your site or sites?

There are a number of posts about adding a an XFN tag to the site or a rel=me tag when you link back to your site from Google. But all this seemed silly to me because the sites aren’t profiles of me, they are just blogs that I work on occasionally about topics that I enjoy. Then I discovered the simple way to connect a site.

Go to the Webmaster Tools portal within your Google account and add the site you want to connect to within Buzz. Verify the site by adding a file or a meta tag to the header of the home page. Then return to GMail, Click on Buzz, and Click on connected sites. The new sites will now be available for connection. Your latest post will appear within Buzz and new posts will automatically be posted.

Now if only I could figure out how to get more followers of my Google Buzz without a public interface.

Blog Carnivals for Good Backlinks

If you haven’t been a part of or hosted a blog carnival but are looking for good back links, you should consider becoming a member of BlogCarnival.com and participating. Blog Carnival runs daily carnivals of articles from around the Internet on various topics. You can submit your own articles to the carnivals and gain important back links to your site. Each carnival operator has the discretion to only include the articles they see fit, so your article must be good and your description must be relevant to get mentioned.

I run two blog carnivals currently on a bi-weekly basis and receive between 15-20 articles each edition. I generally post all articles as the sites do not carry much page rank weight. But sites with high page ranks are that much more sought after and tend to be more selective for their carnivals.

Today the categories included family, wedding flowers, fashion, homeschooling, taxes, and evolution. The taxes blog carnival was posted on a blog with a page rank of five which gives you a direct PG5 link while the post remains on the front page. I like to sort the carnivals by categories and then by the date of the next carnival posting. This way my articles are submitted to relevant carnivals that will be appearing soon.

Best of luck with your link building and begin running a blog carnival to give back to the community.

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LinkMarket – The Link Exchnage Network I was receiving many varied request to exchange links with webmasters on a number of different sites. I began to search for a network where I could do all my link exchanges without having to email individual site owners. LinkMarket.com came up in the search results from Google and I have been working with them since that time.

The exchange has a great set of websites with many higher page ranked sites available. And it is possible to have exchanges approved with higher ranking sites even when your site is not ranked or on the lower end of the page rank scale. Setup a page like other sites have on your site and began exchanging links right away. There is a limit of...

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Using the ASP.Net Ajax Accordion

It was suggested that we utilize the Ajax Accordion control in a recent project and although the software is easy to install finding decent documentation on a quick solution was not as simple. I did finally stumble upon a couple of examples and modified the code from them to come up with an easy way to implement an image based menu with the accordion style navigation.

The first thing to do is register the Ajax Control Kit in the page header.

<%@ Register Assembly="AjaxControlToolkit" Namespace="AjaxControlToolkit" TagPrefix="ajaxToolkit"%>

Place the Script Manage on the page itself or on the Master Page.Placing the Script Manager on the Master Page worked well in our case as multiple pages used Ajax .

    "ScriptManager1" runat="server">
            

The main body of code contains the Accordion definition, a Panes area, an Accordion Pane definition, a Header, a Content area, and closing tags. The unique thing that we did was to place an asp image object within the header group instead of text. Our content area also contained a user control but the links of the menu could have been created directly on the page just as well.

    "Accordion1" runat="server" FadeTransitions="True" 
    SelectedIndex="0" TransitionDuration="100"  HeaderCssClass="accordionHeader" 
    ContentCssClass="accordionContent" AutoSize="None" ToolTip="Something">
     
    "AccordionPane5" runat="server">
    
"server" AlternateText="Some Text" ImageUrl="~/Images/Menu1.png" />    
    
    
    ...
    ... Links to Menu items.
    ...
    
    
     
    

Maximize Your Promotional Efforts by Sending Out Press Releases

If you want your target market to become updated about what’s happening in your business, often you have to broadcast it to the general public. Writing and sending out press releases is one of the best ways to gain massive exposure for your website.

What is a Press Release? A press release is nothing more than an announcement. You can see lots of them in the online and offline business world. If you run an online marketing business, then it naturally follows that you should write press releases for Internet readers. All you do is to share any exciting development or update you have in your business. By spreading...

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How to Use Signature Texts Properly For Free Advertising The signature line of your email or forum profile has more purposes than simply writing your name on it. Some people simply avoid using the signature line, not knowing how much business and future profits it can give them. If you are a serious home based online entrepreneur, do not ignore the massive potential of your signature text.

In grade school, teacher taught you how to write letters. You probably remember how important it is to include a salutation at the end of any letter. In the Internet world, this salutation can very well be your signature line. If you haven't been utilizing this, you're probably missing out on a lot of free...

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How To Use Video Marketing To Showcase Yourself Online Articles are not the only pieces of content that online surfers are looking for. What they really want and in need is fresh and useful content in any form. Alternatively, you can also use videos to get more traffic to your site.

You don't have to create highly sophisticated videos with professional effects and all that stuff. With a simple laptop or desktop, and some default video software, you can start shooting videos. You may also choose to use a webcam with video recording capabilities and you are ready to become an online video sensation.

Start by getting in front of the camera and tell your own story. Perhaps it is an inspiring...

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Participate In Online Business Forums to Gain Exposure If you want to interact with other online entrepreneurs who can potentially help you in your business and vice versa, you should try joining an online business forum in your niche. Keep in mind that networking is give and take. As you learn from other entrepreneurs, you can also share them what you know. You can also indirectly promote your business website while doing all that.

Perhaps the main benefit of joining niche forums is the possibility for making new connections. You will be able to interact with people who are already successful, or the so called "big guns" in your particular industry. Best thing is, everyone is equal in the...

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Get Hordes of Free Website Traffic by Offering Coupons Because of tough economic conditions, consumers are on a constant lookout for companies who will help them save money. You can help people save money without putting your business profit on the line. A good option is to offer coupons to potential customers.

Coupons are not new to us. We use them to buy goods at the grocery stores. Retail shops offer special promos and discounts as an “ethical bribe” to get you to buy from them. Likewise, online stores can use this advantage by making coupons available to lower the total price during checkout.

Do you know that coupons can singlehandedly increase your website traffic and conversion...

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How to Use Article Directories to Drive Website Traffic

People often come back to the internet primarily because they're seeking content. By providing information that they are searching for, you will be able to gain loyal readers who will repeatedly visit your website. Providing the information they seek can lead readers back to you again and again. If you are a writer, use your skill to promote your website through article directories.

What are article directories? These are places online where webmasters usually go to find valuable content related to their specific field or industry. Regular people surfing online also stumble upon article directories in their search queries.

As an online entrepreneur, you can use article directories to your advantage. If your content is published in any of the top directories, you can gradually build a massive readership base on the internet. The more articles you post, the better chances you have of being seen by the internet crowd. Doing this...

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