Just another idea for my readers in regards to blog promotional tools, and in this case a site - http://pingoat.com What is pingoat?  Pingoat is a service that will keep track of blogs and publish them for you and ping other services when you make new posts.  By allowing the ping you will increase your blogs popularity and get more traffic and potentially more money will be made.

You should visit the site and get started today if you want more visibility for your blog!

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Here is a current breakdown of search engine useage, and again my point to all clients to put Google on top of thier priority list:

Thanks to Search Engine Watch for creating this breakdown for all to see.

If you are not optimizing your sites and playing by Google’s rules then you are missing out on atleast 1/2 of the traffic market out there.  Get your site good with Google first and worry about getting ranked there and all the rest will fall into place.

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Ok, taking a break from SEO topics for a bit and letting the blogger in me really come out, and talk about a few things regarding my favorite (and most irritating) show - LOST.

Everytime I watch a new episode I say the following words - I freaking hate this show, I am never watching it again, but we know that is not true now don’t we?  The island has me.  Not knowing anything and getting strung along with little bits of new information that do absolutly nothing for me is DRIVING ME NUTS!  Ok, calm down its just a TV show right?  I guess thats like saying Star Wars or Lord of The Rings was just a “movie” … so NO, its not just a TV show, its a way of life for me on Wednesday night (how many else out there plan around LOST on Wednesday night?) and the thing that really suxs about that is I hate it, but can’t do a damn thing about it!!!!

Lets talk about last night.  We get a little more insight into Lock, but what the freak was all that with Boon?  Again, I need some answers not more questions.  It was also hard to watch last nights episode cause I am still wondering what the freak is up with Jack and everyone else with “the others”.

I am also glad for recording devices cause watching 50 minutes of commercials and 10 minutes of LOST would really tick me off if I had to do that.  Does anyone else remember there being so many commercials in LOST the previous seasons?  I will never be able to get myself to do this, but what I need to do is stop watching and just wait to watch them all at once a year from now when they come out on DVD.  My wife and I did not get into LOST until the second season, after renting the entire first season one weekend cause we were bored and watched it without sleep and got addicted instantly.  I am telling you … its worse then a drug for me! 

JJ Abrams is a person I love, and hate for creating LOST and has me hooked until the bitter end.  I guess I can tie this into this “marketing blog” because LOST my friends - is marketing brilliance!

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DMOZ … arggg - a very frustrating topic for most internet marketers and online business owners that know anything about directories.  If you have tried many times (and failed) to get your site listed (even waiting years) you are not alone.

Even some of the best search engine marketers and SEO’s out there have a difficult time getting thier sites listed in DMOZ.

There is a few things I would love to know:

1. Why does Google give so much credit to sites that are listed with DMOZ especially when its a dirty directory?  What do I mean?  I have read so many instances about corrupt editors getting paid for including sites, while at the same time thier own personal sites have multiple listings in the directory - and I am talking over 20 links!  You hear: “Become and editor of a small category and its easier to get your foot in the door and get your sites listed that way” GOOD LUCK.  I have been doing search engine marketing for the last 9 years, and feel I know what I am doing with SEO, yet every time I have applied the last three years I have got denied!  What really “grrrrrrs” me about that is I know people (even friends - sad to say) that do not deserve to be editors, but just got accepted by chance cause they heard they could get thier sites listed easier that way!   Sound Fair?  Not to me!
2. Why does DMOZ keep editors that have not updated thier category for ages?
3. With all the money Google has (and with the recent purchase of You Tube for like a gazillion dollars) don’t you think they and thier thousands of employee’s could run the directory a little better?

Now my rant will not get any of my sites listed easier with DMOZ thats for sure, but I mostly want to let those who read this blog and have tried and tried to get listed with DMOZ know that they (and thier frustrations) are not unique.

Granted I have had a few of my sites listed pretty quickly with DMOZ (my record for one site was 5 days) but for the most part (probably because of the nature of most of my sites) it has taken months and in alot of cases still no listing.

Again, my main gripe is the fact that all my sites seem to do better once listed with DMOZ, so I know the G gives importance to the link, but again I ask WHY …. with all the corruption going on its flat out annoying.

I guess the only way I can get this site listed in DMOZ if I change my last name to CUTTS and add one more T to my first name (Mat).

Come on guys…you started out as one of the most amazing directories, full of good sites, and something that was really useful.  Bring that DMOZ back and lets get it cleaned up.  I’d be first in line to help out with the process.

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This shopping cart can be added to any website so I wanted to share this cool cart with all my fellow bloggers that have looked far and wide for a good cart solution that works easy.  I use wordpress software and this cart works well.   Right Cart fee is 1% per transaction and that is it (much lower then paypal).  So check it out!  It’s all run with Ruby on Rails.  Watch the videos on their site and you will be amazed.  I’m still looking into it more but it seems a very promising solution for bloggers that sell products, and don’t want to spend a ton on a programer to integrate a cart solution into thier blog. 

http://www.rightcart.com 

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A cool new tool from Text Link Ads (thanks guys for yet another tool that we can waste more time with - in a good way)

So what is it? A blog juice calculator - it calculates how your blog stacks up to the top ones out there in your field … so whats my blog juice?

Oh welll, its a fun tool!  Enjoy!

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I am going to be going over things related to blog promotion more heavily on this blog from now on.  I have even added a new category on this blog dubbed - “blog promotion” so all my readers can easily find the latest information in promoting thier blogs.

I came across a new RSS Feed Button Tool that I think is pretty handy and I would love to share.  This is a very cool tool for quickly creating up to 14 RSS feed subscription buttons or chicklets for your blog.

All you have to do is fill in the blog title, blog url and feed url and the for will reply with code for subscription buttons to: Rojo, My Yahoo, Bloglines, newsgator, My MSN, Pluck, NewsBurst, searchfox, Google Reader, My AOL, del.icio.us, Feedster, Furl and Yahoo My web.

Again, thanks to Top Rank Blog for this cool new tool. 

 

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A good friend of mine … Mr. Diggles himself has finally launched his own personal blog.  I wanted to share this with everyone, and give them the opportunity to add him to thier blogrolls as I know you will get a kick (and learn from) out of the stuff that will be posted. 

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Well, its official.  There has been rumors going around the web for the last little while, but I wanted to share with all of those who read this blog that You Tube was purchased by Google and the announcement was made official yesterday.

To me it makes sense,  Google did not want to make a mistake again of getting a powerful high traffic social site (like the did with My Space - who gets more traffic then Google)  I think Google missed that one and regret it - although, thinking about it …. they have enough money that they probably don’t regret it that much!  It’s just interesting to me to see the kind of companies that the powerhouse of search engines have thier eyes on!

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Now I know that Google Blog Search is nothing new, but when most of the clients I chat with every day ask me questions like, “where is a good place to find related blogs that I can network with?”  It is really easy to find any kind of blog you are looking for with the New Google Blog Search.  So, thats why the post!

Just wanted to share with everyone that reads this blog the most easy way to find (related) blogs, and increase your visibility through it.  Google Blog Search - read more about it by clicking the link, or image below:

It does a pretty good job and you can find almost anything you are looking for, and sometimes things your not!  Either way its a good reminder to get your site submitted to the Google Blog Search at the very least!

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