CJ Jumping into SEO?
I logged into Commission Junction today to see this:
The timing of this is pretty curious, if you ask me. Right on the heels of Google Affiliate Network and their declaring that they’re 86’ing the referrals. So what’s up now Calacanis – SEO still bullshit?
Read MoreFree Toolsday for July 1st
WordPress boasts an impressive 3,464,799 blogs using their self-publishing service. Anyone who uses WordPress.org to power their blog like I do know that one of the best features is the ability to import countless plug ins to add different functions to your blog. One of the greatest ones I’ve found is Twitter Tools.
Twitter Tools integrates with Twitter by allowing you to archive your tweets, create blog posts from tweets or tweets from blog posts, as well as creating a daily digest post of tweets and posting tweets from the WP admin section. I have found this much more reliable than other automated tweeting services like twitterfeed. This is probably why over 25,000 people have downloaded this great plug in.
The plug in, like most, is really easy to install and only requires that you enter your Twitter login information. Whenever you post to your blog, a new tweet is posted through your Twitter account with the title and a link. This alerts your Twitter followers to your latest blog posts. Some people like this better than a feed reader because they can pick and choose which blogs to read based on the headlines.
The only thing I don’t like about this plug in is that a new tweet is sent even when you just edit an existing post. So if I know I’ll be going through old posts to update them (links, new info, whatever) I’ll disable the plug in temporarily and turn it back on. You can also edit the .php file of the plug in to prefix your title with whatever you want. As a default it’s New Blog Post: but you can make it say the title of your blog, New, whatever you like. This is helpful especially if you run more than one blog and run the automated tweets to the same Twitter account.
I highly recommend trying this out if you’re on Twitter (if not, get on it!). Also, share your experiences with Twitter Tools if you’re already an avid user!
Read MoreFree Toolsday for June 17th
Once again this week, it’s technically still Tuesday so I’m a bit late for the East Coasters, but hopefully this is worth it.
Tim Carter of AskTheBuilder.com said during the video panel at the last Affiliate Summit back in February that people go onto the internet for two reasons: to be entertained or to solve a problem. A great way to solve 80% of your business related questions is to go to LinkedIn Answers.
I haven’t had occasion to ask many questions since there are SO many useful questions in a variety of topics. In terms of business information that’s relevant to your working life, this tool kicks the crap out of Yahoo! Answers. This is targeted information in a really easy to find format. Unlike forums that can be filled with years of information out of context, LinkedIn Answers allows you to search for the information you need and find it fairly quickly.
Don’t take my word for it… go check it out! LinkedIn Answers. And remember if you’re an expert at something, share your wealth of knowledge and answer some questions too! Karma, people!
Read MoreFree Toolsday for June 10th
OK it’s TECHNICALLY still the 10th here in California, so here’s this week’s free tool.
SEO Quake
is an extension for both Internet Explorer and Firefox. It’s a great tool for webmasters to improve their websites, but also a terrific tool for an affiliate manager doing due diligence on the websites their affiliates list.
My favorite feature is the Whois tool. I use this to check the registrant information on websites on affiliate applications before I approve them. I use the whois data to try to weed out the shadier side of affiliates registering with websites that do not belong to them.
As with most toolbars or extensions, which features you include are completely customizable. Another great feature for the SEM/SEO minded is the page rank button and the other Alexa rankings and Google index numbers.
Of course, there are tons of features of the toolbar that I haven’t even explored! So go check it out at www.SEOquake.com and tell me what your most useful feature of the toolbar is!
Read MoreFree Toolsday for May 20th
I learn so much just by hanging out on Twitter most of my day. I learned about a spectacular travel site called TripIt.com from Sam Harrelson.
This knocks TripAdvisor out of the park. I got on TripAdvisor thinking that it would be great a resource with all the reviews of hotels and attractions in the areas. But in the last year 99% of the travel I’ve done has been for work, where I’m not there for pleasure and I’m not necessarily choosing where we stay or go. So I don’t think I’ve logged into TripAdvisor in months. At least 6.
TripIt is a much more suitable replacement for me. And the user ease is AMAZING. But I’m getting ahead of myself. First, let me tell you the purpose of TripIt. The site works as a great organizational tool that aggregates your activities, meetings, hotel information, flight information, etc into a centrally located personal travel assistant. Just email your confirmation emails directly to plans@tripit.com and it integrates the details into your trip itinerary.
The itinerary itself is spectacularly thorough. Not only does it add your hotel info and flight info through the email, but you can also add different types of events, restaurant outings, and meetings. Everything is color coded and the site automatically adds Google Maps and Directions from one location to another into the itinerary. Here’s an example from my current trip to Boston:
TripIt also integrates well with Google Calendar, which is my online calendar of choice, and adds exact time and details for each appointment, flight, check in, check out, etc. The site has a printable itinerary that is currently keeping me on track here in Boston, and if you’re more of a mobile/smart phone reliant person there’s mobile features as well. I only wish the printable version was color coded as well, but I understand why it’s not.
If you travel a lot for business, you should give this site a try at the least. As all the free toolsday features, it’s FREE! So you have no reason not to go check it out.
Read MoreOnline Video Toolkit – Live Today!
Today is the date, kiddies! The launch of Jim Kukral’s latest joint, OnlineVideoToolkit.com, has brought your freebie early this week. Jim himself has said he’s never been the kind of guy to put up a 3 mile long sales page and sell the information he knows, so he’s giving it away! That’s right, all you have to do is sign up… give him your preciously guarded email address and the keys to the castle are yours!
I signed up a couple weeks ago and was invited to check it out yesterday before it was technically launched. So far Jim has 10 really informative videos up, covering the basic aspects like sound, editing, lighting, wardrobe, and of course your choice of camera. For anyone looking to seriously jump into online video and produce well made content for reasonable prices, this toolkit is a must have.
Jim’s been doing online video for some time now, and he’s one of the most vocal proponents of online video and it’s potential. Jim currently produces The Daily Flip on his website JimKukral.com and records the Video Ninjas podcast on GeekCast.fm with Magnify.net’s Steve Rosenbaum. So, brother knows what he’s talking about here! This is really the perfect resource for beginners and intermediate online video fans, and it’s free! So there’s really no excuse not to at least go check it out.
I’m already enjoying it, and it’s inspired me to make some more video. I know, I said that about podcasting too but I SWEAR I’m working on some of that as well! So I’m going to stop wasting time and go watch more of the videos at OnlineVideoToolkit.com in preparation for my trip to Boston next week, and I suggest you do the same!
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