Let’s face it - with various scores of distinctive sorts of TVs obtainable, acquiring a new television can undeniably be difficult. Our shoppers piece aspires to take you through a number of the chief things to consider when buying a new telly.
Are TV’s Changing? The short answer is, yes. Not long ago practically all TV’s were of one variety - Cathode Ray Tube (or more generally known as CRT). Whilst these conventional models are still accessible, there is a whole new series of tellies in development. The so-called “digital revolution” has made it doable to get hold of substantially more television channels and get much improved pictures on your television screen. Recent TV’s are also smaller and fashionable. Some new plasma and LCD televisions are so lean that they can be put on your bedroom room wall like a picture. Visit the Digital Direct website & find yourself Plasma TVs today!
The Different Kinds of TVs. If your TV is more than 10 years old, the chances are that it is a usual CRT TV. The new wave of tellies comes in 3 major forms - Plasma televisions, LCD tellies & HD (which can include either of the other two). Our TV purchasing guide might assist you make out the difference:
Plasma Tellies. The most familiar selection for large flat-panel TVs, plasma screens can be as small as three inches thick - unquestionably slender enough to mount on a wall. The screen is completely flat, so you can basically view the pictures from a sharper angle without losing sharpness. Plasma televisions draw on a matrix of small gas plasma cells to produce a crystal clear picture.
LCD TVs. Akin to plasma displays, LCD TV’s are flat & stylish, using a small amount of room. Available in many various dimensions, LCD TVs present higher resolution pictures when evaluated against plasma screens. LCD tellies may be viewed from wide locations, but compared against plasma, there is clearly decreases clarity. LCD TV’s run via a system of miniature liquid crystals sandwiched amidst a backlight & a sheet of glass.
One of the things that makes HD Radio so exciting is that it enables multicasting. This means a station can broadcast its normal programming, plus a second channel with an entirely different format. For example, KIOI-FM in San Francisco is broadcasting both Hot AC (Adult Contemporary) and 80s pop hits on an HD2 channel. Best of all, these HD2 channels will be commercial free — at least for the time being.
Clear Channel has announced a roll-out schedule for adding HD2 channels in 28 of its markets, including New York City, San Francisco, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Washington, DC.
Note: For a complete list of Clear Channel markets, stations and its new HD2 channels, you can go to the HD Radio Blog you will find on my web site listed below.
Entercom
A second broadcaster, Entercom which owns and operates more than 100 radio stations across the country has announced that it is also beginning to add HD2 channels. The first markets to see these stations will be Boston, Denver and Portland.
Both Clear Channel and Entercom will soon begin promoting HD Radio with contests, give-aways and on-air commercials. And Entercom has said it is also negotiating accelerated roll-out efforts with retailers such as CarToys and Ultimate Electronics.
HD Radio is also great in that it enables AM and FM radio stations to broadcast their programs digitally, a tremendous technological leap from today’s familiar analog broadcasts. These digital broadcasts provide listeners with radically improved audio quality, more radio channels through multicasting, and new data services. In fact, with HD Radio, stations can actually send you helpful information such as traffic alerts and weather reports.
More than 15 manufacturers now offer HD Digital Radios. Online and in-store retailers selling HD Digital radios include: ABC Warehouse, Audio Adviser, Bjorn’s, Boston Acoustics, Car Toys, Great Indoors (a unit of Sears Roebuck & Co.), Harvey’s, eBay, J & R Music, Listen Up, Magnolia Audio Video, One Call, Ovation AV, Radiosophy, Tweeter and Ultimate Electronics.
You can learn all about HD Radio, retailers now selling HD Radios and about Clear Channel HD2 channels at my web site, http://www.hd-radio-home.com
Douglas Hanna is a retired marketing executive and the author of numerous articles on HD radio, the Internet and family finances.
Email Fraud is no more news. We regularly, hear of successful frauds committed on the Internet through the use of fraudulent mails. 419 fraud is a code name for an Email Fraud originating from Nigeria.
Take note, do not be deceived 419 fraud is a code name for an email fraud that promises contracts involving large sums of money. It is not peculiar to Nigeria alone but mostly originates from Nigeria.
WHY ARE PEOPLE FALLING VICTIMS TO 419 FRAUD
The 419 fraudster, uses social engineering neglected by most information security consultants to gradually convince the unsuspecting victim that the fictitious contract dangled before the victim is legitimate.
People are falling victims everyday why?
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They get close to you through regular chats over a long period of time, developing a kind of bond (friendship).
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They use the power of sympathy to play on their victims.
- They take advantage of the inbuilt desire in us to make money.
- They use the names of well-known organizations to perpetrate the crime.
- They use real life circumstances and situations, which are very reliable to commit fraud.
SAMPLE OF A TYPICAL 419 MAIL (EMAIL FRAUD)
This sample 419 Mail is Original(no correction of spelling mistakes).
Mr. Felix Afuwa
ECOBANK
Credit control Manager
Victoria - Island Branch
Tel.: 234-1774-8735
Fax: 234-1759-3019
Attention: XXXXXXXXXX
I am Mr. Felix Afuwa, the Credit Control Manager of ECOBANK - Victoria Island branch in Lagos Nigeria.
I am in charge of credit finances in the bank. The banking sector has a peculiar nature in my country as it concerns financial transactions; anything is possible for you to stay afloat with the enormous competition therein.
There was this foreigner Mr. John VanderPloeg who came at a time to deposit the sum of US$15.8million United States dollars in several installments on behalf of some multinationals for the prosecution of the Late General Sani Abacha to succeed himself as the civilian President of my country. What happened to this plot is left for prosperity to judge.
My reason for contacting you is because I want to find out if you could assist me with this situation.
This money has been in the bank for some time and due to the manner and purpose for which it was deposited, there was no next of kin provided for this transaction. Mr. John VanderPloeg I have on good authority was just an agent used for this purpose and has fled the country following a series of revelations on how the Abacha’s plundered the Nigerian economy and more revelations coming up at the present Oputa panel 3years after the death of the dictator. At the end of this year the bank would mob the money up if nobody comes forward to lay claim.
Taking into cognizance the foregoing, I am in a position to make all necessary arrangement to portray you as the next of kin as it affects this transaction at the bank, so that this money can be immediately transferred on your request to another bank account abroad.
I am willing and ready to offer you 10% of the funds for you assistance.
Call me so that we can discuss further
Yours truly,
Mr. Felix Afuwa
TIPS ON HOW NOT TO BE A VICTIM OF 419 MAIL (EMAIL FRAUD)
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Do not open a mail you didn’t solicit or request for.
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Any mail requesting for a certain sum of money or gifts before a contract is awarded do not reply, do not reply such mail.
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If at all you are interested in the business you never solicited for or asked for, please cross check with security agencies located in your country. Make sure you present a copy of the mail when reporting.
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Always let your spouse or friend know about any mail requesting for money or gift before business is transacted.
Advice
Fraudulent mails are sent out daily. Do not fall a victim by getting regular education on fraudulent mails through newsletter subscription, audio seminars, security e-courses, purchase of security ebooks. Don’t be the next victim take security awareness education serious.
Christopher Okoh
CEO
Computer Security & Network Associates.
Website: http://www.compsana.com
He has written over 100 computer security articles. He also writes for computer security magazines and newspapers.
He specializes in security awareness training through free articles, audio seminars, newsletters, e-course, and e-books. The wave making title released by him is “419 Fraud Is a Reality. Don’t Be Caught Off Guard”. Over 5,000 downloads the first week of its launch. Several Information Security Consultants recommend it a must read.Visit http://www.compsana.com for a copy of this wave making e-book. His main pre-occupation is to create enough security awareness on the web to drastically reduce the number of cyber fraud victims.
Isn’t life grand? Most everyone is somehow able to move into this new century with technology sitting in their laps… It’s a new found crush for misunderstanding simple things. What I mean by that is when you were little, one touch told you not to paw at the stove. As a teenager, one car accident may have put seat belts on your mind. Now you have a wireless network at home! What will it take to consider networking safely?
Think of all the strange and forgotten information in your computer - some of it, not surprisingly, you’ve forgotten about. Sure you delete your cookies and wipe the Internet History clean from time to time. You ask your computer not to remember passwords too, but you’re still a target in two possible ways that are as easy to fix as not touching hot things and putting on a seat belt.
Briefly, wireless networks consist of three things: The signals, the broadcaster and the receiver. Your Internet connection is the signal. Your modem feeds into the router which acts as the broadcaster. The network adapter in your computer is then the receiver. With those items, you can surf the Internet without inhibitions; and with no passwords or hurdles for novice hackers to stumble on, they can surf your computer without inhibition.
The open door, even for modest hackers, is that broadcaster. It says, “here I am!” Your receiver is tuned in to it. Other receivers can be tuned in to it from beyond your walls. Once on the same router, they can query for other computers (that’s YOU) on that router. Your defense is simple but certainly not fool-proof for real professional cyber evil-doers. When you set up your wireless network, 9 times out of 10, you’re asked to create a password so that users may sign on - it’s often called a WEP.
This is not a busy-task to waste your time. If a casual user with an infected computer shares your router, your computer too will share in the joy of infection with zero hacking required on the part of the casual user. They were just looking for a free ride that you offered by NOT creating that WEP. You don’t need a hard word but definitely don’t use an easy word that creates the ‘key’…
The computers in the router and in your lap will most likely do the rest. This is a one-time procedure UNLESS your router is reset. To reset the router is to force it to forget everything it knew. All your Internet Settings and magic high speed Internet access numbers will have to be re-entered. A router is reset internally or externally by pushing a button generally on the back. It’s labeled too.
Internal settings can be accessed by entering the IP of the gateway which will soon be common knowledge. If you’ve not placed a password there, anyone can change anything - especially that computer-savvy kid coming home from school who always messes your stuff up as a thank you for room and board. Change the default password to avoid the thanks. And in extreme cases, you can physically HIDE the router to keep that reset button from being pushed thereby defeating all your modest counter measures!
The strongest reason to employ any simple safety here is to eliminate neighborly free-rides from machines that may be infected. Like buckling up, ten seconds setting a router with passwords can save you a lot of grief.
Bryan Applegate spends his time with Dinarius, Inc. repairing networks that were never secured. While the money’s good, there’s other things in life like teaching. Other free lessons and advice can be found at Dinarius.com
The money being spent online is steadily growing. With billions of dollars being spent each year online, the opportunity to make money on the internet has never been bigger. Unfortunately, with that opportunity come people who want to make money in less than honest ways. We’re going to look at some concrete ways you can identify fraudulent transactions and save yourself a lot of chargeback fees, money and grief.
Get more information from prospective customers.
The more information you have to work with, the better your chances are that you will be able to positively identify fraudulent transactions. At the very least, you need to make sure you get a customer’s name, credit card billing address, phone number and the IP address of the computer currently accessing the order form. You should also get a valid email address. This email address should not be one that comes from a free email service.
Fraudulent transactions occur more frequently from certain countries.
The first thing you should know is that certain countries are more prone to fraudulent transactions than others. If you get an order originating from one of the following countries, you should be suspicious and do more digging. Some of these countries include: Ukraine, Indonesia, Yugoslavia, Lithuania, Egypt, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Morocco, Vietnam, Russia, Pakistan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Israel, Iran, Cameroon, Gambia, and Ghana. This doesn’t mean that every transaction from any of these countries is definitely fraudulent. But you should be very suspicious.
Confirm the address of the customer.
The first thing I do when I get an online order is to check the phone number of the customer against a reverse phone number directory. The majority of my orders come from the United States and Canada. Phone numbers from these countries can usually be entered into reverse directories to find out the address that phone number belongs to. If I can’t get a match for the phone number it servers as a red flag and warrants more investigation.
Lookup the customer’s country and city of origin
I’ve already outlined a long list of countries that should be suspicous to you. How do you determine if your customer placed the order from within one of these banned countries? Simple. You cross reference their IP address with an IP lookup database that can tell you what country they are in. The city they are from and sometimes even ISP they use! If you handle only a few orders a day, you can use an excellent free service at IP2Location.com. If you do handle more volume, IP2Location.com also offers subscription packages at various prices.
Once you determine the country of origin, if it doesn’t match the country the customer listed with their billing information be very careful. Yes, it is possible that your customer could be travelling away from home. It is much more likely that their credit card information has been stolen and it is being used fraudulently. A mismatch between the country reported by IP and the billing address is a big red flag.
Don’t let customers use free email addresses.
A free email address is so easy to setup at most free email services. The odds of your being able to track down the person that registered that free email address are next to none. If at all possible, block all known free email services. The most common include Hotmail, Yahoo, Mail.com, and Gmail. If you can’t block free email addresses in advance, consider a free email address a red flag. A utility you can use to determine if an email address is a known free email is dnsstuff.com. Look towards the bottom left of the page that comes up.
Don’t ship a product until you are sure.
If two or more red flags go up, beware. If you ship a product from a fraudulent transaction, you will very likely be slapped with a chargeback from your credit card company and lose the money from the good. Be skeptical of all orders until everything checks out to your satisfaction. If in doubt, refund the purchase. Too many chargebacks will result in the cancellation of your merchant account. Who needs that?
A little diligence can go a long way to helping you prevent loses from fraudulent transactions. With a little knowledge, you can greatly reduce lost profits due to fraud.
This article was written by Joe Duchesne, president of http://www.yowling.com/, Yowling offers free ecommerce shopping carts with their web hosting plans. Copyright 2005 Yowling. Reprint Freely as long as you provide a clickable link back to my website from this resource box.
From the “Ask Booster” column in the June 17, 2005 issue of Booster’s Auction News, a free ezine for online auction sellers and enthusiasts.
Dear Booster,
How can someone get private information from my computer?
Thank you,
Evan S.
Minnesota U.S.A.
Dear Evan,
Hackers can get your private information from your computer in a number of ways. Here are the top ways they do it:
* Computer viruses, spyware and adware from e-mails you’ve received and/or websites you’ve visited.
* Hacker programs that find unprotected IP addresses are subject to attack. An IP address is a series of several numbers (ex. 65.129.37.84) that identifies your location on the internet. It’s like your “internet” telephone number.
* Entering your financial information (i.e., credit card info) into a website that does not offer secure order processing. Your internet browser should show you that you’ve entered a secure site.
* Having your financial information “intercepted” by a hacker while shopping online at a legitimate website. This is called “pharming” and is becoming a more worrisome threat.
* You downloaded software from that contained a malicious program.
* You fall victim to a “phishing” or “spoof” scam, whereby you GIVE your personal information away.
* Phishing and spoof e-mails appear as if they are coming from a legitimate website. The e-mail generally alarms the recipient with a message such as “your account has been suspended” or telling you that you need to “verify your account.” Most eBay and PayPal users have received at least one (if not several more) spoof e-mails appearing to come from either eBay or PayPal.
eBay has information showing you how to spot spoof. I highly recommend your take a few moments and visit http://pages.ebay.com/education/spooftutorial/index.html for this brief tutorial.
* Another growing threat is called “malware” which is a spyware. Malware is a malicious software which logs your keystrokes and forwards the information to a hacker. This type of software can come through viruses and is often included in downloaded applications.
Knowing how to protect yourself can greatly reduce your risk of identity theft. Following are some suggestions to help you protect yourself. The programs listed below are just a few of the many options available.
* Use an anti-virus software such as Norton AntiVirus (www.norton.com) or McAfee AntiVirus (www.mcafee.com) and regularly UPDATE it. Updating is absolutely CRITICAL if you want the software to protect you. For thorough spyware and adware scanning, popular software choices are Spy Sweeper (http://www.webroot.com) and SpyCop (http://www.spycop.com).
* Using a firewall software such as Zone Alarm (www.zonelabs.com), Norton Personal Firewall (www.norton.com) or McAfee Firewall (www.mcafee.com).
This is a good option for dial-up modem users. Why? Dial-up modems are slower, so a firewall software will often see the attack coming and prevent it. Most hackers don’t like the slowness of a dial-up because they can’t easily get in and out of your computer without being detected. It is also critical that your firewall software be REGULARLY UPDATED!
* Those accessing the internet with broadband (i.e., DSL, cable modem, etc.) need the added protection of a firewall hardware such as a Linksys Router (www.linksys.com), NetGear Router (www.netgear.com) or DLink Router (www.dlink.com). The reason why is because the speed is higher on broadband which allows the hacker quicker access into your computer without being detected. The router is what will be “on the internet” versus your computer. Since the router is not a computer, there is nothing for the hackers to attack (i.e., no hard drive, no processor, etc.). The router simply acts as a “bodyguard” that only allows those with permission to come in.
* In the event that you unintentionally “bring in” a hacker (as explained above) or you had the misfortune of being the victim of a very clever hacker, it’s still smart to have a firewall software (in addition to firewall hardware) to make it difficult for the hacker to “exit” with your data.
If you want to check the vulnerability of your machine for free, visit the well-respected GRC’s Shields Up website at https://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2. This website will attempt to break into your computer in order to expose vulnerabilities. Click on the individual options (i.e., file sharing, common ports, etc.) for a vulnerability analysis.
Keeping up-to-date with internet scams is also helpful in keeping your private information safe. Here are just a few reference websites you may want to bookmark for future reference:
* Scam Busters: http://www.scambusters.org
* Anti-Spam Help & Advice Website: http://www.spamhelp.co.uk
* AuctionBytes Online Fraud Discussion Forum: http://www.auctionbytes.com/forum/phpBB/viewforum.php?f=28
* Internet Fraud Complaint Center: http://www.ifccfbi.gov/index.asp
* Anti-Phishing Working Group: http://www.antiphishing.org
* Microsoft - Help Safeguard Your Personal Information Online: http://www.microsoft.com/security/incident/spoof.mspx.
Lastly, check out the Better Business Bureau & Javelin Strategy’s ID Quiz to see how safe you are from identity theft: http://www.javelinstrategy.com/IDSAFETYQUIZ.htm.
Great question, Evan. Thanks!
Wet kisses & tail wags,
Booster
BoostYourBids.com is a free information website for online auction sellers and enthusiasts. BoostYourBids.com publishes a free opt-in ezine called “Booster’s Auction News” every Friday. Subscribers of this newsletter are automatically entered each month in Booster’s Monthly Prize Drawing featuring valuable prizes geared towards online auction sellers.
Booster’s Auction News is written by Angela Saul, webmaster of BoostYourBids.com. Angela has been selling on eBay and other online auction sites for more than five years.
http://www.BoostYourBids.com - The FUN Internet Destination for Online Auction Sellers & Enthusiasts!
One good thing about writing articles for a living is that I get to learn about new things. Since I spend most of my time in front of a computer, it seems I don’t get out much and unless it’s on the nightly news, I don’t usually hear about computer scams. That’s how I found out about Phishing Scams. I had never heard of such a thing until I was asked to write an article about it, and I’m glad that I was asked. I now know what a Phishing scam is and I’m happy to share this information with you, in case your not very computer savvy either. Now most of us know enough not to openly give out personal information online to just anybody, and common sense tells us when something looks a little shaky when we see it. However, Phishing scams are hard to see because they are made to look like things we are used to. We do a lot of things online today, banking, paying bills, shopping, stock trading, etc. We usually don’t give it a second thought to give our information in doing any of these activities. That’s what these Phishing scams are hoping for, that you won’t give a second thought to giving them your personal information.
Phishing scams usually come as emails or pop-up messages to lure your personal information from you. “We suspect an unauthorized transaction has occurred in your account. To ensure that your account is not compromised, please click the link below and confirm your identity.” Have you received an e-mail that looks like that one? Or how about; “During our regular verification of accounts, we could not verify your information. Please click here to update and verify your information.” Both of these scams are called phishing, and it involves Internet schemers who send email or pop-up messages that lure you into giving them your personal information. Credit card numbers, bank account information, Social Security numbers, and passwords, any information or sensitive material you think is safe. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), phishers claim to be from a business or organization that you deal with, including Internet service providers, online payment services and even government agencies. The messages can ask you to update or confirm your account information, or threaten you if you don’t respond immediately. The messages will then direct you to a website that looks just like the one you’re used to dealing with, but it’s not, it’s a fake website and its only purpose is to trick you into giving out your personal information.
FTC recommends never give out personal information to email or pop ups that ask you for it. Legitimate companies never ask for this information via email. Don’t cut and paste a link from the message into your Internet browser. Don’t “click” on a button or web address given to you via email unless you’re absolutely sure of were its going. For more information, look for websites pertaining to phishing scam information.
Leeanna is an expert author writing for Phishing Scams
One of the biggest developments in the VoIP industry in recent years has been the growth of mobile VoIP technology. Although still relatively early days for the mobile VoIP start-ups such as Truphone, it certainly seems they have the potential to to make some big waves in the industry. Some of the recent incumbent mobile operators’ actions seem evidence of this with T-Mobile recently being forced to allow the use of Truphone over its network, having previously barred calls to Truphone alloted numbers.
Whilst some people claim that as VoIP prices fall towards zero, this is making it a increasingly hard industry to make any sizable profit in; the wider availability of low cost high speed broadband and has resulted in a huge surge in the availability of free Wi-Fi. As a result this is making mobile VoIP operators an increasingly attractive offer for consumers. The trend in the availability of new ’smart phones’ with the ability to run mobile VoIP client software, at ever reducing prices is also, it could be argued, creating a tipping point in the industry.
We have recently seen T-Mobile introduce their VoIP service called @home giving people the option of paying one low monthly flat rate. However whilst the industry is finding home owners reluctant to abandon their fixed phone line completely, mobile VoIP operators have no such obstacle to contend with. The seamless integration of mobile VoIP software into the functionality of mobile phones, as well as the falling cost of unlimited data phone packages has resulted in a predictably fast growth in the mobile VoIP industry.
Currently it has been reported that there are 4 million VoIP customers in the United Kingdom, and this looks set to increase steadily. How established mobile phone operators will take advantage of this growth remains to be seen but the decision to force T Mobile to unblock calls to Truphone users surely transmits a crystal clear signal that rather than try and resist the mobile VoIP operators, the long established industry monoliths must find a way of working with them.
One issue which could have an influence on the amount of subscribers of mobile VoIP is security, with many highly publicized stories highlighting the vulnerabilities in making calls using VoIP. Another problem to to confront is ‘VoIP phishing’ where people are convinced to part with their personal data voluntarily after taking the ‘bait’ from a thief. This is also symptomatic of other VoIP security problems where unscrupulous would be thieves can tamper with the caller ID making it appear as though they are ringing from their own financial institutions. Once such problems have been dealt with and fears allayed it is likely that mobile VoIP will become much more prevalent in everyday life as people take the opportunity to turn their mobiles into VoIP phones.
No, it’s not a general question for all and sundry. Obviously, there are many who would want to link to a Home Business or Affiliate program related website and for good reason. They would be helping their Page Rank, if that’s important any more however, more to the point, they would be improving their chances of a better ranking in the SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages). But yes, you guessed it, THERE IS A PROVISO. A very important one, that so many people engaged in reciprocal linking programs just don’t seem to be able to get their heads around…
I must confess, I have written about this same subject, just on twelve months ago, I think it was. My experience during the time since would suggest that I may as well have been writing fairy stories, for all the good it did.
I get, and this is no exaggeration, at least a dozen requests EVERY day from people wishing to link with my (currently seven) Home Business or Affiliate related sites, who have websites that have absolutely NOTHING in common in any way with either topic, or in the case of Affiliate content websites I have, nothing to do with the subject matter or product/s concerned. The majority of these requests, for some reason, seem to come from ‘poker/casino/gambling’ websites and those concerning ‘travel/holidays’.
Why is it that the people requesting these links don’t understand that they are, in fact, irreparably damaging their websites and possibly harming their chances of a decent showing in the SERPs? (Not that all those with these types of websites practice this type of ‘free for all’ linking). Why can’t they understand that Google, the devisors of the PR and the Search Engine with whom most are concentrating on scoring a good ranking, quite clearly explain that “…links from RELEVANT websites are the only kind of link that is likely to improve your SE rankings”. They also go on to say that “using any kind of mass linking program or ‘free for all’ method of linking is more likely to damage your rankings”.
While it’s true that your PR will probably increase with the amount of ‘raw’ links to your website, those links that are from websites of non-relevant topics will NOT serve to improve your ranking in the SERPs. Where the PR is calculated simply from the number of links, the algorithm used to come up with the SERPs definitely includes more complex data including an analysis of the content of the websites from which incoming links come, not just the text of the link.
The only advantage I know of, that PR alone will give you is a better chance of obtaining reciprocal links from other websites. Certainly, a far better way to obtain links is to publish good quality articles about the topic of your website, which of course will be picked up, by and large, by websites looking for good content of the same subject matter. This will also serve to give you ‘one way’ incoming links, which although Google don’t appear to mention in their pages, are widely understood to be of more value than ‘reciprocal links’.
Apart from the reasons I’ve mentioned above, there is also the amount of work involved in trying to do the right thing by answering these pointless requests for links. I must say, it’s very annoying given the time involved, which could be better spent by all parties doing more constructive things.
I have often lamented the irreparable damage that mass linking programs have done to many websites. After all, there is virtually no chance of getting the links that are in place from non-relevant websites removed. It would be a mammoth task. The types of link building program that collect links from anyone willing to complete the form on your website and place your link on theirs, have turned a number of websites into mini directories, which certainly won’t help their rankings in the SERPs.
My advice to anyone, either new or an old hand is to join one of the reciprocal linking co-operatives like Linkmarket.net, in which you are able to approve links from sites of YOUR choosing and request links from sites with the same content and subject matter. After all, links of the same content as your website are the most likely to interest your visitors and THAT is the primary basis of linking, to offer worthwhile information and assistance to your patrons. Incidentally, that’s what Google and the other SEs are primarily concerned with, sites that are of value to THEIR patrons and they will only offer you as a choice if they feel you have the same goal in mind.
I’ve been told that when I do anything designed to improve my rankings, to ask myself a simple question, “would I do this if there were no Search Engines?” If the answer is no, then it probably won’t benefit my visitors and will be a waste of time as far as my SE rankings are concerned.
The 2005 Edition of Steve Brennan’s popular ebook title ‘The Affiliate Guide Book’ is now available. He also operates a number of Affiliate wesbites which include The Home Based Business & Affiliate Center and The Diet & Weight Loss Place.
Writing articles is all the rage these days on the web. Or should I say getting other people to write articles for you, joining membership sites that provide “private label” rights — that is all the rage.
And the reason? You get all the benefits of a well-written article without the work! Someone has to write the articles of course, and if you have writing skills theres plenty of opportunity for you.
Why have articles become so popular? People surf the net looking for information — or “content” to use the buzz word of the moment. They’re not interested in adverts, or flashing banners — they just annoy people. If they search for bananas they want solid information about bananas, not a list of related banana links!
A good article will provide that content, or information.
A year or so ago webmasters thought they could profit by creating sites filled with ads and related keywords. This still works, but more people are moving away from this as it’s becoming harder to get indexed in the search engines, and to stay in the search engines. So, you don’t make the money you used to from this kind of site.
That’s why articles and content websites have grown in popularity. It’s a way to fool the search engines without fooling them, if you see what I mean. You give the SEs what they want, which is good quality content. You give your visitors what they want: solid information that helps them.
And you give yourself what you want: visitors that like your site, search engines that index you, and a growing income.
A well-planned article campaign with backlinks to your site can make a huge difference. This is just one aspect of good SEO, and it’s one that everyone can pursue for little cost.
Matt Russell’s latest site provides great information on good SEO techniques at http://www.Eze-Seo-4u.info, and it’s all free. Get all the SEO help you need.
