Big Foot Web Marketing

Wrapping Text Around Your Google Adsense Ads

This is a more aggressive approach to inserting your Google AdSense Ads into your blog posts. Floating your ads left of your text.You will get a higher CTR on embedded ads like these rather than ads popped into the top or bottom of post. Weigh the benefits of the higher CTR vs. the in your face style Google Ads. A blog that screams MONETIZED may not have the same credibility as one that is more low key. I am reluctant to post ads on this site and I use sparingly. I am much more aggressive with a few of my other sites.

What Size Google Ads Should I Use?

If you are going to to this I suggest you use smaller sized ads, like the 200×200 square or the 250×250 square- especially if the posting area of your blog is not very wide ( like this blog) . It gets repetitive but you really have to test what ads work best where- there is no one magic formula. All the “Make Money Blogging-type” blogs will tell you basics- like ads should be above the fold , in “hot areas” and blend into your site or the reverse and totally stand out, etc. ;the rest is really testing and more testing and using intuition. This is the difference between a 1% CTR and an 8% CTR. All of my blogs have a steady CTR of about 6-12% depending on the blog and the season. I account for the high CTR because of the niche areas of each blog and the ad positioning. These are the MOST important factors. learning whats ads work best mean setting up endless channels and experimenting. This can all go out the window if you decide to switch themes, i.e. Going from a 3 column split theme to a 3 columns or 3 columns theme.

Code for Embedding Google Adsense Ads in Wordpress Blog Posts

Embedding your Google AdSense ads deeper into your post- by wrapping the text- is worth trying. here is the easiest way to do it. If you are using AdSense Plugin, you can set up in there. I do recommend NOT doing that as first- if you use the same code for all your posts you wont be able to track the ads in each post and how they are performing. Set up separate channels and insert the code in several post to see how they do for you. Even better is to put the wrapped ads in post where you have had Google Ads up for awhile and compare results.

Float Ad to the Left:

To float your Google AdSense code to left use this code to float ad to the right

<div style="float:left">paste your adsense code here</div> <p>

will look like this:

to float Google AdSense Code to the right:

<div style="float:right">paste your adsense code here</div> <p>

I have a page set up with some quick and basic HTML cheats, like this one if you need to know some quick HTML code or forget sometimes, like I do

Tags: Blog For Money, Google Adsense, Internet Marketing and Blogs by Lisa Stewart
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Weip.net posts one of the most comprehensive article on the link value I have ever seen. He asks 17 top SEO professional to rate values of a link and how important they are when considering the “weight” of a backlink. This article is sure to be much discussed and cited by SEO related blogs. Great work!
The article is easy to understand by beginners and old-timers alike.
The SEO heavyweights, like Bob Gladstein , Joost De Valk and Hamlet Batista all weigh in with their on opinion link values. ( What’s with Dutch and their innate understanding of SEO and search marketing!?)

If you want to have any kind of any Internet presence- you need to be aware of the value of a back link. A difficult idea to get across is that is not so much how many people are linking to you- but who and how.
Please take some time to read the article. You will learn more about backlinks in 1/2 an hour than you might in a month.

Some of the more controversial factors he proposes to his panel are value of different TLD’s Here is are my opinions based on my experience working as link builder for several years.

Top Level Domains
Does the type of domain matter? i.e a .edu site vs. .com , etc.

Is the value in the domain or the site? My feeling is that search engines do NOT give special treatment to .edu , etc sites. The links themselves would have the same value if the the TLD ended in .com . Edu and .gov sites are usually authority sites and this is the value they pass on ( backlinks and PR).

Type of Link- Which is better a text link or an image link?
I think they have equal value. I also think you have more flexibility with image links and keyword placement. Alt text is one of the more under used SEO superpowers.

Page Rank Domain Authority ;i.e Page Rank
This is very important. I would put PR either equal to or just above relevance.

Target Page- Where Does the link point?
Does it point to a sub-page or main page?
This is a tough one. A link pointing to a sub-page with the right keywords to me is better than a link pointing to main page with generic irrelevant keywords. i.e. Parenting site linking discussing board games linking using anchor text “play chess with your kids” in a post about board games for the family to my post on playing chess with kids while camping vs. same post, same anchor etc pointing to the main page of my RV site.
However, if the anchor text is “travel games” or ” games to play on the road” etc. I might want it pointing to man page of the RV site.

Tags: Internet Marketing and Blogs by Lisa Stewart
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When would you need to move your Wordpress blog from one domain to another?

-unexpected traffic. Thus may happen out out the blue when a story gets Dugg and your traffic spirals out of control and your cheap hosting pan can’t handle it.
-You hate your hosting company and just want to switch.
- You started your blog as an add-on domain and want to switch it to its own domain.
-because.

-Back Up Your Site and Wordpress Blog
Follow the directions found here for Backing Up Wordpress Blog.

- Change Domain Nameservers. When you have settled on new host, set up your plan and use the domain you are currently using when it prompts for domain name. Most plans will then ask you if you own this domain and offer you choices. I use 1and1.com primarily and they make it pretty easy and its free. Some companies will charge you a transfer fee when moving domain hosting.

You can either KEEP the domain hosting the same and just host the actually site on the new host OR you can transfer domain name to new host as well. I do find the latter easier, but up to you. If you decide to keep the domain with different company then where you are hosting- you will have to change DNS name servers. The host name will “point” to where you host. This is done in the admin panel of your DOMAIN. It may take anywhere from a few hours to a few days to do.

Note: Once you have done this- and the domain is switched over- you will NOT able to “see” site until you have set up new server. You will still have FTP access until you cancel account. The files stay in whatever folder you put them in.

Upload wordpress files, etc as per instructions here Backing Up Wordpress Blog.

Tags: Blogs and Blogging, WordPress Blog by Lisa Stewart
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If you are looking to KEEP the same domain name for your blog and just want to change hosts, read instructions for moving Wordpress blog to different hosting plan. If you want to change domain name and will be using same host, see below. If you are changing domain AND changing host do both. You only need to change namservers if you are changing hosting plans. You only need a 301 redirect if you are changing domain name and keeping blog the same.

Moving Your Wordpress Blog to New Domain

I am in the middle of re-directing from an old Wordpress blog with a domain I hate to one that is more palatable. There are two parts to this, 2st setting up new domain and importing all the post from the old domain- making a duplicate of the site, then redirecting from old domain to new.
Step 1: set up new domain with name I can live with. (note to self- the “cuteness” factor of a domain name is directly proportional to how much you will hate it in 3 years.)
I use 1and1.com and Dreamhost as my hosts.. My preference by far is 1and1.com. I may set up reseller account in New Year.

2. Backup and install old blog into new domain/new server. I am in the middle of this now. I am using the info here as guide:Moving your WordPress weblog to a new domain name. The information here is clear, precise and easy to understand.

HOURS or DAYS later when your “new” old blog is set up. Go to the 301 redirect. Easiest part of the whole process.

Set Up 301 Redirection

3. This is the most SEO “friendly” redirection. You are telling the server to redirect a visitor from the OLD page to the new page and giving it the message that this page has permanently moved to the new location.

In most cases the easiest and best way to do it is by by using the htaccess file. You will see this in root file of wordpress directory on your (old) server when connected with ftp client.

To redirect from an old domain to a new one

Edit your htaccess file by adding this to

Options +FollowSymLinks
RewriteEngine on
RewriteRule (.*) http://www.mynewdomain.com/$1 [R=301,L]

Where to place the 301 redirect code in htaccess file?
Put this code just UNDER where is says # END WordPress

4. If you are able- make it a priority to contact sites that have your old domain address and have them update your backlinks with new domain. Get some new links to your “new” domain ASAP. Leave them both up for about 6 months then take old blog down.

Possible Problems You Might Come Across When Moving your WordPress Blog To New Domain

How do I uncompress .gz file?
Power Archiver , which is freeware . I actually back up my database manually ( as opposed to using backup plugin). You will need to uncompress to change URL to new domain in your database and I seem to have difficulties with gz files. If your database is large you will have to compress or may hang up your PC. Note: MAKE COPIES OF THESE backups! I even go so far as to email them to my laptop or another computer.

Blank pages/not working, etc double check your passwords/user/database name, etc in config.php file. Chances are you have made a typo or left a space where there shouldn’t be.

Tags: WordPress Blog by Lisa Stewart
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