CapturedTech - Technology

Adding Site Feeds to Google Buzz

no_reply@capturedtech.com — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 03:52:17 GMT

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.

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Blog Carnivals for Good Backlinks

no_reply@capturedtech.com — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 22:26:52 GMT

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

no_reply@capturedtech.com — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 22:23:19 GMT

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 5 requests a day for non-premium members, but this is desirable to grow your links slowly over time.

The exchange monitors the status of your links on other sites and will notify you to remove your link when the other party is not linking back to you. The minor issues with the service is the limit of one site per login which causes you to create multiple logins for multiple sites. And approving link exchanges could be easier with some batch selection options. Overall it is a nice link exchange network that you should take a look at.

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Using the ASP.Net Ajax Accordion

no_reply@capturedtech.com — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 20:32:31 GMT

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.
    ...

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Maximize Your Promotional Efforts by Sending Out Press Releases

no_reply@capturedtech.com — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 20:59:49 GMT

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 good news, you will also be able to promote your business website.

Usually, a press release doesn’t go longer than a single page. It must highlight a recent big event, rumor, news, or buzz that’s relevant to your business. As soon as your website is live, start the traffic rolling by sending out one or two press releases to let the Internet crowd know about your existence. It is best to write a press release in product or website launches, and in advertising promo offers.

Helpful Guidelines for Crafting a Winning Press Release

As mentioned earlier, press releases are much more effective if their length is limited to one page only. If you write anything beyond that length, you risk the possibility of boring your readers. Remember, the attention span of people is much shorter nowadays, so make sure to catch their interest as quickly as possible.

To write an information packed, exciting press release takes some degree of effort and concentration. Here are a few important elements for writing press releases:

Create an attention grabbing headline which is rich with keywords
State the vital details (who, where, what, when, how, etc.)
Main points should be bulleted for easier reading

Headlines give readers an idea of what the press release is all about. If your headline is effective, they will naturally want to click on your press release to read more. Inserting competitive keywords in your press release headlines will also increase the likelihood that your content will rank in the search engines. This means a huge surge of traffic for you.

In a colloquial way, state the detailed facts in the press release body. You can start by connecting a real life experience of yours, or link your press release to a legitimate event with an expected attendance. Make the announcement as grand and inviting as it can be, because its primary goal is to gain attention from the crowd. Of course, don’t forget to include the link to your website at the bottom of each press release.

Here are some website that will let you submit press releases and make it available to your target crowd:

PR.com
PRBuzz.com
24-7PressRelease.com
Free-Press-Release.com

These websites distribute your press release to hundreds of news partners, primary search engines, and other important platforms to increase your website traffic.

Writing press releases is a terrific way to gain attention from the Internet audience. Knowing how to craft a winning press release is even better. It will give your business massive results and give you more profit in return.

How to Use Signature Texts Properly For Free Advertising

no_reply@capturedtech.com — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 18:03:59 GMT

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 website traffic.

Here are some of the places where you can possibly insert a signature line:

1 Email

2 Forum Threads

3 Newsletters

4 Text messages

5 Social networks

6 Private messages

Your signature file doesn't necessarily need to have your name only. Include a teaser preview about yourself and your business, then include you website link and contact info as well. You can choose to automatically attach your signature text to each email, forum post, and message that you send. When you do that, everyone gets to see your website link and short ad each time you send or post something. This acts like your little billboard that gets seen any moment you interact with others.

Signature texts are very important to use in forums. You are probably aware that most forums do not allow their users to do blatant advertising. Online signature lines are allowed. This gives the smart online business owner a chance to spread the word regarding his or her business, by including your website link in your forum signature. When people see your comments and threads wherein you interacted, they also have an option to click on your site and get more information. It’s indirect advertising, it's free, and it works.

To use this free advertising strategy effectively, you have to choose your words very carefully. In forums, only a certain amount of characters are allowed, so every word counts! Put your name first, or better yet, include a short salutation like the ones below:

1 Sincerely,

2 Regards,

3 Have fun,

4 Until Next Time,

Right after your name and salutation, add your website link. You can choose to add a short description (or tagline) of your website, perhaps a sentence or two would suffice. Your link will automatically be clickable, and it will turn to blue. Once people see it, there arises an almost irresistible temptation to click out of sheer curiosity.

Your tagline or short promotional phrase is very important as well. Think of a catchy phrase that will summarize the benefits that you offer and leave the reader curious at the same time. For example, if you're providing gadgets and software, you can say "We Provide the Best Gadgets in the Universe", and then post your website link. Something like that.

As time progresses, you may want to update your signature line to keep up with trends, and avoid too much familiarity from readers. Don't hesitate to experiment with new signature lines. Include new website links, and experiment with new catch phrases. Test each signature you create and find out which one delivers more results.

Signature lines can also be added to cell phone and social networking profiles. Each time you're sending a text message to someone else's phone, your signature will appear at the bottom, which will remind them about what you do and the services you offer. Because the character limit in text messages are somewhat shorter, it is ideal to post one website link only.

Are you ignoring your signature line? If yes, then now is the best time to use it to your advantage! You'll be surprised at how much free traffic it can give you.

How To Use Video Marketing To Showcase Yourself Online

no_reply@capturedtech.com — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 17:56:28 GMT

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 story about how you started in business, or how you found a particular product that changed your life. You can showcase your experience and expertise by telling your story and capture it on video.

If you want a basic idea of how this is done, visit YouTube. There are practically a countless number of self-created videos out there for the entire Internet community to watch. What some marketers do is to talk about their real life stories and events, then upload them to YouTube for public viewing. Doing the same thing may not produce millions of views for you, but at least you can a considerable amount of traffic to your website.

Guidelines and rules may differ depending on what particular video site you decide to upload your footage. Be sure you understand all the website rules before broadcasting your video.

On the other hand, you may also choose to upload videos directly to your own website! In your own web domain, you are the boss and you can upload any video you want for your target audience.

Show people how to use your product and guide them to its features. Pictures of products are good, but nothing beats seeing them in the flesh. By posting videos of your products, people will have a more enjoyable experience with them.

Create videos of you using your products and showing how they work. Even with pictures of products on a website, it can be hard to imagine them in action. With how-to videos on your site, no one will have to worry about that.

If you are skillful in teaching, focus on producing instructional videos. Show how to create a doll, repair a tech gadget, or how to perform keyword research.

Practice First

Before shooting the final video, take a few short run through(s). Observe how you look, and the quality of your voice. Try to catch the best form or "atmosphere" for the video. A cheerful, calm, conversational and friendly aura is the most desirable. Avoid words with deep meanings as well as technical jargon. No one enjoys watching a video that is too "academic" or boring. Imagine you are speaking to a group of people who are your real life buddies, and project that same feel in your video.

Making An Original Video

Lots of cool video ideas has been already done before. Thinking of a unique video concept will prove to be a huge factor in driving traffic your way. Your main objective is to catch the reader's attention from start to finish.

Just enjoy creating the video. If viewers see that you're having fun with what you're doing, they are more likely to get interested in what you have to say.

Plug Your Promotions

At some point in the video, when the time is right, mention your website. To avoid misspellings, make the text link appear somewhere on the screen so viewers can visit your site. Some people will jump to that link directly just out of plain curiosity.

Distribute and publicize your video effectively through social networking streams. If you feel you've done a good job with the video, you won't feel shy to pass it over to your friends, associates and relatives. Be open to feedback, both positive and negative, because they help you improve and get better.

Use your social networking skills to tell others about your videos. Invite friends and associates to take a look and then pass the link on to their friends. Also encourage comments. Take to heart any constructive criticism that can help you improve your video image.

All in all, creating videos is a great way to showcase yourself and promote your website for free.

Participate In Online Business Forums to Gain Exposure

no_reply@capturedtech.com — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 17:32:17 GMT

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 forums. You can ask Mr. Sales Superstar directly and you will get a quick answer without feeling intimidated. The community feeling inside a forum makes it a place suitable for new business partnerships.

The key to promoting yourself and your business in the forums is this: Avoid blatant advertising. Forum communities despise those who simply want to advertise their business without taking a sincere interest in the online discussions. It is better to focus on making friends, replying to forum threads, and sharing your thoughts to the community.

Usually, most forums will allow you to create a "signature text" that appears at the bottom of each discussion thread or comment that you post. The signature text is where you are allowed to place a teaser ad about yourself and post your business related website link.

When you regularly hang out in the forums and live well thought out comments, people will begin to notice you. You can begin your own discussions or comment on already existing ones. Post your opinions about a wide range of topics so that people will regard you as an active user who is not just out there to solicit or try to make a sale. It is easy for people to see through any ulterior motive you have. So just have fun in the forum, and make sure that your signature text is appealing enough.

Generally, it is inappropriate to post your website link in the body of your thread or comment. However, there are some instances when you are allowed to do this. For example, a particular discussion in the forum is related to a recent blog post that you wrote. In this situation, you can post your blog article link without having to worry if the moderators will delete it. As long as you're trying to help and share relevant info, you'll be ok.

Another advantage of interacting with successful entrepreneurs is that, eventually, you get to meet someone with huge influence in your niche. Striking a partnership with this kind of person can potentially give you lots of business. By entering joint ventures with other online business owners, you will be in a better position to make it big in your industry.

Do no hesitate to view other people's threads and commenting on them. Being a respected member of any forum takes some time, but once you get the exposure, you will start seeing more results in your business.

Get Hordes of Free Website Traffic by Offering Coupons

no_reply@capturedtech.com — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 21:41:49 GMT

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 rate in no time? When people find out that you are offering cool discounts, they will check you out and possibly spread the news via word of mouth. Add some excellent, sales driven content on your website and you leave your visitors no choice but to buy from you.

If you have already established a mailing list with lots of subscribers, you can simple send out a broadcast email that lets them know about your discount coupons. Create a new page on your website where privileged members of your newsletter can enter their coupon codes.

With the help of website integration experts, you can setup your order page by integrating your shopping card with specific coupon codes. Once customers type the correct coupon codes on your order page, the discount is automatically deducted from the price of the item. After a customer has successfully bought a discounted product from you, they are more likely to share the same coupon code to their friends and associates. This is where your sales start to skyrocket like crazy.

How to Setup Your Discount Coupons

If you want to setup an order page with complete discount coupon functionality, all you have to do is to look at the type of shopping cart, of course. Usually, your shopping cart provider knows how to handle coupon code integration, but sometimes you may need to use a third-party service.

Be creative and use coupons for various offers and occasions. Either way, your sales and traffic will increase, provided that you’re selling a product with real marketable value. If you’re in the golf playing niche, give away a free golf e-book or instructional kit for every golf club purchase made on your site. Or, you may choose to offer a 15% to 20% discount on all items in your online store for a limited time. There are countless ways to use discounts and coupon codes to increase traffic and sales. All you have to do is to be generous and creative.

How to Use Article Directories to Drive Website Traffic

no_reply@capturedtech.com — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 00:30:47 GMT

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 is not as hard as it seems. All you have to do is follow simple editorial guidelines. Article directories may differ in rules and guidelines, so make sure you double check your work before submitting.

The simplest way to write articles is to write about things you have an expertise in. In other words, create content relevant to your niche. As long as you stick to a particular topic that you love and know lots about, you will never run out of thoughts to write. If you're in a business to business niche, why not create content regarding entrepreneurship, how to spend money wisely, or "how to start a small business"? The point is, you have to start sharing information and expertise that you already have.

Keys to Attracting Traffic to Your Site

1 Whatever article topic you choose, make sure that you have an eye-catching, jaw-dropping headline. Then do not disappoint them with information found in the article body. Articles with bullet points and step-by-step guidelines tend to get read more than the others. Why? Because people perceive bullet points and numbered steps as an easy way to read information. All they have to do is skim through your article and they get the info they need.

2 Insert Keywords In Your Article. If your content is an average of 400 to 500 words, you can mention any particular keyword approximately six or seven. If you overuse those keywords, you will be guilty of "keyword stuffing" and your article can get rejected or banned by the directories. So a bunch of competitive keywords that you want to use, include them in separate articles instead of stuffing them all in one article.

3 Submit articles to well-known, high traffic article directories. Hundreds of thousands of online readers usually hang around sites like About.Com and Ezinearticles.com to seek info. If your articles are published in those directories, you can have maximum exposure for your site. All it takes is for web surfers to type your keywords on the search box and they have the potential to find you online. The truth is, the more people get to read your articles, the greater chances that they will seek more information and navigate towards your main site.

4 Use your author resource box. This is the most important aspect of your article marketing efforts. An author resource box is a block of text found at the bottom of all your articles. This box contains teaser information about the author, and a link that points to his or her website. Once people read your online articles and enjoy reading them, those people are more likely to find more info about you. They do this by clicking on your resource box and follow you to your main website.

While it is true that audio and video are very helpful for marketers in these modern times, written content still stands as the best piece of online promotional material. Drive website traffic to your website by submitting highly interesting topics to the article directories.