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Xeround Cloud Database gets Your Website Database in the Cloud

admin — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 02:05:22 +0000

Managing your website and web apps database well is important in ensuring the availability of your website access. Learn how Xeround cloud database can help you in your endeavor.

Cloud services are hot right now – too hot. We need to smarten up to sign up with the right cloud services that actually answer our business issues, not adding more headaches. If we are not careful, you will end up experiencing the so-called cloud lock-in and cloud sprawl.

But it’s often that you simply cannot help it; almost everything you can think of is now on the cloud. Software? Check. Hardware? Check. Web development platforms? Check. Your projects? Check. Your life? Check.

When you are accessing your email via your smartphone, you are in the cloud; when you access your music, images, videos, etc., you are in the cloud.

Now, there are growing numbers of software/hardware plugged in to the cloud, hence new jargon was born on regular basis: Cloud storage, cloud backup, cloud hosting, cloud printer, cloud desktop, etc.

Not all new solutions, though. Some are “refurbished” solutions – conventional IT solutions re-branded as “cloud” solutions. However, some others are cutting-edge and bring real solutions deployed in the cloud.

One of them is Xeround, offering database as a service (DBaaS).

What is Xeround?

Xeround is essentially a cloud database service, allowing you to host your website or web application’s databases in the cloud.

The DBaaS offered by Xeround brings in all the goodness of the cloud: It’s scalable, simple to deploy and always-available.

Scalability – Xeround DBaaS automatically scales up when your need more resources, and scales down when you don’t need plenty of resources.

Simplicity – Xeround works out of the box; 1-click deployment, no code changes, zero maintenance. Nice and easy.

Availability – Xeround comes with no downtime guarantee; your database is always available 24/7.

Xeround also on offer via RackSpace, Amazon Web Service (AWS) and Heroku, meaning that you data stored and cloud applications built on those cloud service providers can be securely access the cloud database services provided by Xeround.

How Xeround can help you? My case study…

Running a website that actively accessing the database is trivial; as your website grows, the demand to database access also grows. This is particularly true if your website runs on a PHP/MySQL-built CMS, such as Joomla! and WordPress, or running MySQL applications that extensively access the database.

We all know the drill: Managing your own web server sucks, especially if you are not really a techie guy.

I have been working with websites for some time – I have actually built hundreds of websites. However, I can’t seem to get around web server issues, especially handling database crashes. That’s why I sign up with fully-managed VPS hosting so that I don’t need to fix the databases on my own (that would be a disaster if I did!)

A couple of years ago I even experiencing databases loss that include the loss of data in dozens of my sites hosted with that particular web hosting provider. It seems that the web servers’ hardware was, um, broken. So the web host just restored clients’ information from last week’s backup. I’ve built 2-3 new sites in that particular week, and – as a newbie in data backup – I don’t have a local backup (let alone cloud backup!)

So, the moral of the story? Having your database in the cloud with reputable cloud database service providers, such as Xeround, can secure your web assets well and ensure the operational of your websites and web applications.

I recommend you to visit Xeround DBaaS and do let me know what you think of it.

Ways to Be An Effective Copywriter For Your Web Site

admin — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 02:22:14 +0000

To keep up with competing websites, copywriting for your website needs to become a priority. Copywriting is exactly what it sounds like: producing written content to post online. A bevy of advantages come with copywriting, primarily boosting search engine ranking, and directing more traffic to your site. Apply these tips to start copywriting effectively.

Write new, meaningful pieces. Any time you sit down to write, make sure your content is fresh and has a purpose. Never copy and paste content from one page to another, or someone else’s Web site. Search engines, such as Google and Yahoo, will not rank copied content. Besides, stealing content is a questionable practice, and would have the adverse affect of linking to another site instead of your own.

Regardless of where you post the piece, make an effort to make it informative and unique to the site. All of your work should contribute something and make reading it worthwhile. Generating consistent content can be difficult. When you find you have a block there are sites, such as iCopywriter.com, that will generate SEO laden copy for you. The copy can then be edited to your particular standards. The point of copywriting the material will be null and void if nobody reads the copy. So, if you need help get it.

Repetition is good, to a point. There’s no problem targeting certain words or phrases, but don’t abuse keywords. Too many of them won’t earn a ranking. Keep pieces focused to the respective website as well as any visual aids that accompany the post.

Edit your first draft. This tip sounds like a no-brainer, but in an age of quick-turnarounds and the ability to share content immediately, editing tends to be overlooked. First drafts are littered with spelling, grammar and syntax mistakes. Readers will be focused on the mistakes of the content instead of the merits of the content. Pay close attention to misused words, sentence structure and placement of keywords or phrases. Little mistakes make posts appear amateur. Don’t let this happen to you.

Include links where appropriate. Search engine optimization hinges heavily on other web sites that have links to yours own. When you write, find places to insert links to pages on your web site. However, don’t overdo links to your site. Bombarding a post with links is not subtle and it’s distracting. Try to limit one link per hundred words. Dropping links is a great way to make strides in the rankings and encourage traffic to you site.

Applying these basic tips can help you copywrite with a purpose. Focus on generating fresh content. Brainstorm several times a week to come up with topics. Then write, edit, link drop and repeat your way to successful copywriting.

How to Manage Your Websites Better with File Compare Software

admin — Tue, 11 May 2010 03:26:32 +0000

If you are a web property investor like me, one of your most challenging tasks is managing updates on hundreds of your sites – this is why I need file compare software to help me and my team to work in efficient and effective manners.

Consider these typical scenarios, at least from my own experience.

You host your websites on a reseller account of a reputable web hosting provider. Regardless the near-100% reliability of most web hosting providers, you do need to regularly backup your files and databases, just in case. Unfortunately, there are times when you need to go through the previous backups due to corrupted files, hacked sites, web servers’ hardware problems, etc. If you run a couple of sites, there should be not much of a trouble. Alas, this it not the case if you run 100s of sites. Ouch.

Your websites run on CMS (content management system,) such as WordPress, Joomla and Drupal. With the all-powerful CMS features and functions, there is one thing in common for website owners to do: Upgrade the CMSs. Usually, the upgrades will go smooth and the whole process is automated. However, in certain version upgrades, there are possibilities for your content to look ‘funny’ due to incompatibilities with the new CMS versions. You need to go through each and every web page to ensure there is no coding or scripts run awkwardly. Ouch.

Here’s another case – Suppose you have a team of web developers and/or content writers; unless they don’t work on the same sites, files or documents, there will be not much of a problem. Unfortunately, many of us don’t enjoy the luxury of having each staff assigned to a certain task; many of us will require our staffs to work where they are needed the most – e.g. Scoring a large project will require you and your team to ‘scramble’ and prioritize on the project, while multitasking on several small ongoing projects. Ouch.

What’s the solution?

The solution to remedy the ‘madness’ is actually pretty simple, really. You need a tool – or software, to be precise.

A Project Management software is one, but what really cut overheads in all get-your-hand-and-feet-wet tasks, such as document and file editing is file compare software. Just search for “file compare software” and you’ll be presented with software – both free and premium – that can help you make and track updates fast.

File compare software is software that, in essence, comparing files of many extensions. You can compare two document versions, to track what changes has been made by your team. You can also compare folders in your computer, to spot the difference and in what manner – this is particularly useful to compare between the current folder and the backup ones, to see what has changed in your files, in such a way that you can detect and spot, for instance, PHP coding syntax errors.

Another time – or rather, life – saving feature of file compare software is the reporting solution. Doing comparisons on your files and documents is one thing, but analyzing them is a bigger problem. Good file compare software offers a powerful reporting solution, helping you to see things clearly and make the most appropriate decision.

I suggest you to invest in such software to help you manage your websites better and faster.

How to build a succesfull forum?

admin — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 14:16:49 +0000

Offer reward or money for your user post. For example you can offer them $10 after they reach 100 post.

Start controversial thread that will attract people to talk.

Quality post is essential. You can do it by your self or hire other people to do the work.

Do affiliate program on getting member to the forum.

Advertise you forum on Adwords

Use the forum url in your signature. Do a lot of post in related forum.

Promote your forum on facebook, google groups, yahoo groups and other community websites.

Talk to bloggers and ask them to post about your forum. In exchange you can offer them back link to their blog or pay them for the post, maybe $2.5. You need to find blogs with enough traffic.

WordPress newsletter plugin updated

admin — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 13:38:28 +0000

I have updated my WordPress newsletter plugin, It will now have the ability to show pop up opt-in form. It can increase subscriptions to your newsletters. Aren’t they dead? Nope, many sites even the big ones are still using them successfully. I once see shoemoney use them too. Pop up are usually used for ads.

The old style popup often blocked by modern browsers by default, so we need to replace it with DHTML hover ads. Hover ads have the same effect, but much more elegantly. The code that creates the window effect is DHTML; a mix of HTML and Javascript. The hover ads grabs more attention. But it’s not enough not grabbed the visitors’ attention, you better make it worth for them. You should be offering them a gift or a bonus. For example:

An ebook on a subject related to your site theme.
A free course via email on a topic related to your site.

The hover ads I made does not show on every page load to the same visitor. This will just annoy the person and also your regular site visitors. The hover ads appear once very soon after the page has loaded.

How to create your own website

admin — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 14:27:37 +0000

Do you ever want to create your own website? Do you own a business and want to create a website but did not have enough money? If you answer yes, then this is your lucky day. With this article, you can learn to create your own website with wordpress, the blogging tool. Why WordPress, not Joomla? Because you can find lots of quality template for WordPress than Joomla, since more people are using WordPress than Joomla. Here are the steps:

Buy your self a domain and hosting. For hosting, you can try WebHostingBuzz, because they have a package that is called 1-click Install WordPress where you can easily install WordPress
After you have setup your WordPress, login to your administrator area and create Pages which does not allow comments and pings.
Create contact us using this plugin. Go to Settings to get the Contact Form code. Create a new Page using this code.
Set your Permalink to Common Settings with the value /%postname%/%category%/
Go to your Reading Setting, and set Front Page Display with the page that you want to be the Home page.
Go to your links/blogroll list and delete all the links there.
Add links with the URL of your pages. Set the category to blogroll.
Update the ‘blogroll’ category with ‘Main Menu’
You can order your link in your website using this plugin. After you have order it, you need to modify your sidebar.php theme to use correct function as stated by the plugin or using the widget with the “My Link Order” widget.
Edit your header.php of your theme and delete the top menu of your website.

You will now have a website made from WordPress. See the result here. If you have any difficulties, don’t hesitate to ask.

Domain history

admin — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 16:33:10 +0000

I just found a new domain name which I though a good name. In fact, its so good that I can’t believe that it was still available. But before buying a domain name, one should find out the history of the domain. You don’t want domain which has been used for spamming, and thus penalized by search engine.

One tool you can use is http://www.archive.org/web/web.php. But there is a possibility that it was previously owned by somebody.

Top Paying Keywords

admin — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 13:39:13 +0000

One way to increase your Adsense revenue, is by having high paying keywords on your website. The higher an advertiser pays for a keyword, they more you will receives when someone click your Adsense. There are numerous ways to find out which keywords pays more.

Search Google for “high paying keywords” or “top paying keywords”.
Go to toppayingkeywords.com which provides finding good keywords service.
By finding out by your self. If you have many websites, you can track your Adsense revenue by using channel. You will then find out which channel is more profitable. All you have to do is sell the least profitable and focus on the most profitable.
Search a keyword at Google.com. More advertisers in the right of the search result page means a lots of competition. High competition means advertisers need to pay more. High paying keywords usually have more advertiser for that keyword.
Go to Google Adwords keyword tool. You can find out how much average does the advertiser pay for a keywo

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Generating Traffic With EntreCard

admin — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 15:28:35 +0000

EntreCard is a traffic exchange system where you advertise with your widget on your blog other peoples blog ads. You will be using virtual currency called EntreCard Credits, or “EC”. With EC, you can purchase advertisements on thousands of blogs, or shop for hundreds of products and services in EntreCard’s virtual marketplace.

When you are signing up you are asked to create a 125×125px image ad or create a text ad for your blog. You will need to add a widget to your blog. Once you have earned enough EC you can advertise to other people blog. Click on Campaign at the top menu, and find the blog you want to advertise with. What this, you will send the user a request that you want to advertise on their blog. If they approve then for one whole day your ad will show on their blog. You can have traffic from other people blog with EntreCard.

Every time someone purchases an advertisement on your blog the cost of your ad goes up. Blog with higher Alexa, Page Rank, and Technorati Authority, will have higher ad cost.

Your Marketing Guide For Your Blog

admin — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 15:38:30 +0000

For this guide, we will take an example of a stock blog. The blog talks about investing in stock. The purpose of this guide is to build traffic for your site. This guide will require no money. The strategy is divided into two part, dailly and weekly strategy.

DAILLY strategy: (Total 1 hour 15 minutes)

Create a post about daily stock market activities. Which stock is on the move, and why is it. (15 minutes)
Find 3 forums which talks about stock (your niche). You can searh at Google for “stock forum”. The forum must be popular and have lots of activity. Register into the forum and create attractive signature. You can use color and bold for your signature. Post five post for each forum. Post in popular thread and be the first to reply post. (15 minutes per forum. Total 45 minutes)
When looking at the forum, take a note of other people blog and interesting topics. Visit one blog from your blog list. If you have 7 blogs on your list, you can visit them all in 7 days, a week. If you have 14 blogs on your list, you will visit them all in 14 days, two week. Read their blog, take a note of interesting topics, and comment on their blog. (15 minutes)

WEEKLY strategy: (Total 1 hour 5 minutes)

Remember that we have taken note of interesting topics when visiting forums and other people blogs. Do some research on Google about the topic. For example, in recent weeks stocks around the world went down sharply. You can do some research why this happen. Write an article of 500 words or more on the topic. Post the article on your blog. (45 minutes)
Submit your article to Social Bookmarking Sites like digg.com and del.icio.us. (5 minutes)
Post your article at your top 3 forums of your choice. You can put a link to your post by saying like this “What do you think? You can comment to here”. “Here” is a link to your blog. (5 minutes)
Submit your article to www.ezinearticles.com, www.articlecity.com or any website that will accept your article. (15 minutes)
Check your blog’s traffic statistic. You can see your progress and plan a strategy based on your traffic statistic. If one forum does not gives you enough traffic, you might want to change another forum.

Follow the guide and let me know the result.