Google Adsense in Blogger, and inline too

I have an article telling how to insert Google ad in blogger's post which involvels template change and my transform module. I have just discovered that there's a much more easy way to do this. What a pity I haven't seen it comming sooner.

Here's all you need to do:

1. Log into your Blogger account at http://www.blogger.com .
   
2. Visit your blog's Template tab and click on the Page Elements link.
   
3. Click Edit in the Blog Posts section.
   
   
   
4. Check the box next to Show Ads Between Posts. You can then select how often you'd like your ads to appear, such as once after every post or once after every other post.
   
   
   
5. Customize the ads and click on Save Changes when you're done.
   

Please note that right now, it's only possible to insert Google ads using this widget, and not AdSense for search boxes or referral units.

For more detailed instructions, please visit Blogger's Help Center. Lastly, don't forget to check out our blog optimization tips for ways to improve your ad performance.

Easy huh? Link to this post to let your friends know. Happy new year! :)

Making AdSense fit your forum site

When you run a forum site, ad placement and formats are key to designing ads that will be successful but not intrusive to your regular users.

Placement: Display your ad units where repeat users will notice them Because forum regulars tend to skip the header and go straight to the meat of the thread, placing your ad unit above or below the first post can be more effective than ads next to the logo. Place a leaderboard immediately after the last post. This provides users who make it to the end of a thread with a 'next step' when the content ends. Try to avoid placing it after the footer, though, as your readers will likely move to the next thread without seeing the ad. Formats: Adapting your design for multiple ad units and limited space. Using multiple ad units, you can use a variety of formats to fill ad space throughout your site. Placing a skyscraper above the fold on the left side of your forum seems to produce slightly better performance than other positioning. However, when using multiple ad units throughout the page our horizontal bias still favours the leaderboard. Our heat map provides more details. Use horizontal link units, which are small enough to fit near the top of your forum just below the header. For the regular forum visitor, link units offer a wider range of relevant topics to browse.

However you choose to implement your ads, keep in mind that forums are highly interactive sites with regular users. Be sure to blend the ads nicely, so they do not appear overly intrusive, but do not blend them so well that they mislead your users! Every forum site is different and you know your community best, so as always use your own judgement to create the most positive experience for your users.

Tip for making the most of revenue opportunities: Like most sites, forums can benefit from opting in to image ads. Supporting image ads increases the pool of ads, particularly cost-per-thousand-impression (CPM) ads, bidding to display on your site. Since forums tend to have lower click-through rates than other types of sites, CPM ads can improve revenue without the need for clicks. Keep in mind, however, that CPM ads come in both text and image formats.

The Google Search Toolbar

Google has released a search toolbar for Internet Explorer. This toolbar provides you an insider's method to determine and boost your ranking while helping Google (and Yahoo!) deliver more relevant results.

You can install it from the following URL

>> http://toolbar.google.com/

After you install the toolbar, click on the Google icon on the left and choose TOOLBAR OPTIONS. Make sure you have enabled the ADVANCED OPTIONS so you get a display of the actual page ranking of any pages you search.

Look for a headline that says "PAGE INFORMATION" and check to "INCLUDE VOTING BUTTONS" on your toolbar. You will see new smiley and frowning face icons on your toolbar. These are important, as you can send an instant ranking suggestion to Google for relevant keywords used in the search results generated by Google.

Near the bottom of that page you will see "EXPERIMENTAL FEATURES" click on the text link to customize these features. There is a feature here that disables exit popups in your browser.

Researcher Critiques Payday Lending Ban

A ban on payday loans may be leading to greater financial burdens for low-income residents of two Southern states, according to a researcher at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

The study concluded that "compared with households in all other states, households in Georgia have bounced more checks, complained more to the Federal Trade Commission about lenders and debt collectors, and filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection at a higher rate."

North Carolina households have fared about the same, said the report, written by Donald P. Morgan, a research officer with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and Cornell University graduate student Michael R. Strain.

"This negative correlation _ reduced payday credit supply, increased credit problems _ contradicts the debt trap critique of payday lending," the report concluded.

Payday lenders offer quick cash advances _ for a fee _ that customers are supposed to repay with their next paycheck. Borrowers who cannot repay the loan often "roll over" the loan repeatedly, a cycle that critics of payday loans call the debt trap. Borrowers are drawn to the lenders because, unlike banks and credit unions, they don't run credit checks.

Georgia banned payday lending in May 2004. North Carolina has gone back and forth with payday lenders.

In 1997, the state began allowing payday loans. The law expired in 2001, and many small payday lenders closed, but the largest lending chains linked up with out-of-state banks to keep offering the loans. A banking commissioner's ruling in 2005, followed soon after by a consent agreement between three payday lenders and Attorney General Roy Cooper, essentially shuttered the industry's doors in the state.

"The thing is with payday lending, the business model itself is dependent on the debt trap," said Uriah King, a researcher at the Center for Responsible Lending in Durham. "They couldn't open up their doors if they couldn't put short-term borrowers into long-term debt."

King criticized the report because it drew on data from the Federal Reserve's check cashing centers in Atlanta and Charlotte, which processes tranactions in states other than Georgia and North Carolina, including those that do allow payday loans.

Last month, a report by the University of North Carolina Center for Community Capital prepared for the North Carolina Commissioner of Banks concluded "the absence of storefront payday lending has had no significant impact on the availability of credit for households in North Carolina."

That study was criticized by Community Financial Services Association of America, a trade group that represents 60 percent of the industry, because it included survey response data from people who had never sought a payday loan.

"Households without access to payday loans are forced to use costlier credit and suffer greater financial difficulties," said CFSA president Darrin Andersen.

And while payday lending may not be the correct choice "all the time" for consumers, "it's certainly a smart choice from the alternatives," Andersen said.

May be after the recent incidents, they know that they should be careful...

Maximize Your Free Traffic

A traffic exchange normally works by you clicking on a button or image, which then displays a web site in a browser window.

You are credited with the ‘hit’ and you then have to wait an average of 15 seconds or 30 seconds before you can view again, earning another hit.

Earning two or even four hits a minute is a slow way to build up the necessary ‘hits’ to get the exchange to send you traffic in return, because not all of them give you a 1:1 return. Most give
you a 1:2, meaning for every two times you view a site, you get one return view back.

Here is the most intelligent method of maximizing those unproductive seconds between views.

Use a Traffic Exchange launcher, which at the click of a button, launches a number of separate browser windows instaneously. You then R/Click on the taskbar and click on ‘Cascade Windows’ to have all the open windows listed across the screen.

This is popular, some say it will do no good but still, Google give those site which uses these system the higher pagerank :P. On the otherhand, they will dramatically decrease CTR.

Oh well, here's a sample for you to try out (Be warned: You CAN'T use the bonus 2500 credits, you get just what you give ;). From this you will find links to many other similiar site or if you want a simple list, read this post

Google Optimization & Submission Process

The first step is to optimize the quality of your page for Google. Check your rank in the toolbar, any pages you link to should rank as high as or higher than your own page. Your rankings will improve over time.

Don't bother requesting links from low quality link pages because just a few links from high ranking pages can have a much greater positive effect on your ranking in Google than 1,000's of poor quality links.

Include a menu of links to your other important pages within your own website on each page. This will help build your link popularity ranking within your own website.

Work on obtaining links from high-value sites that are related to the theme of your site. When Google finds these links, your rankings will improve.

Include links to other relevant high quality, high ranking sites where your visitors can find quality related information and suggest that they link to you in return. Explain how your ranking can boost their page rank even higher. Soon you'll see how a few high ranking links can make all the difference in the ranking of your pages.

Last submit your page to Google

>> http://www.google.com/addurl.html

Google will schedule your page for spidering and the Google-bot will examine and index your page, as well as the links to and from your page. Submit each page separately as you optimize them. Google's robots will find all your pages eventually, and some experts feel it's even better for your ranking if they are found than if submitted.

Christmas Debt, and how to avoid it.

Christmas, or at least the run up to it, seems to start earlier every year. The adverts on the television, the decorations in town centres and the late night shopping, all serve to tell us that we need to spend big in order to enjoy ourselves.

Try to avoid letters like these.

However, the hangover we can be left with after buying the presents, food and decorations can leave us starting the New Year with a big financial headache.

Debt is a fact of life for many people these days but following some simple guidelines can help in the run up to Christmas:

• Make a list of who you need to buy presents for and set a limit according to your budget on how much you can spend;
  
• When you go shopping keep track of what you have spent – that way you will know when your money is low and when you have spent what you budgeted for;
  
• Try to avoid going over your budget – shop around for the best deals and try to avoid buying on impulse;
  
• If you cannot avoid borrowing, make sure you can afford the repayments - avoid credit cards, store cards and doorstep lenders as these can be very expensive.
  

If you get into financial difficulties or find you have overspent, follow these tips:

• Don’t panic and don’t ignore the problem – it can seem tempting to ignore bills and threatening letters but they won’t go away;
  
• Avoid borrowing further to try and pay off existing debt – this may lead to more problems in the long run;
  
• Talk to your creditors – don’t just stop payments without explaining why. They can sometimes be more understanding than you might expect;
  
• Work out priority debts, for example, rent and utility debts – pay these first. Don’t fall into the trap of paying whoever shouts loudest first;
  
• Work out a budget that covers all your income and essential outgoings. Only offer to pay off debts at a rate you can afford;
  
• Get help - CAB has outlets right across Northern Ireland and many years of experience helping with debt problems and negotiating with creditors.
  

Mortgage Refinance Benefits

There are numerous reasons why people decide to refinance their mortgages with the most common reason for refinancing a mortgage is to save money. A refinance could save you thousands of dollars in interest, or save money on your outgoing monthly expenditures if you use the refinance to consolidate other debts. Here's a look at some of the various advantages a mortgage refinance provides:

1. Consolidating and saving on other interest costs. A really beneficial use of a mortgage refinance is to help reduce the amount of money you pay out each month on various accounts. If you can reduce the overall interest rate in the process, that's an even greater benefit that you'll feel over the long-term! If you have numerous credit cards with balances, the interest rates are eating away at your money, especially if they have high interest rates. Streamline your debt by paying off credit cards, auto loans and personal loans with your refinance and improve your monthly cash flow.

2. Lower the interest rate on your existing mortgage. If the market has improved since you obtained your mortgage and you could save two percentage points or more on your mortgage, it's probably a good time to consider refinancing your mortgage to take advantage of the lower interest rates. If you have good credit, you may even be able to avoid paying the closing costs, which make the refinance even more desirable. A mortgage with a lower interest rate will result in lower monthly payments, which is a major selling point to individuals who are struggling to keep up with their payments.

3. Converting Adjustable-Rate-Mortgages into Fixed-Rate mortgages. Often times, people get an adjustable rate mortgage because they're extremely attractive when they first get it- with low interest and payments. As the interest rates rise, though, the outcome is a mortgage payment most people can't afford. Refinancing an adjustable rate mortgage into a sensible fixed-rate mortgage is often a necessity for out of control adjustable rate mortgages.

4. Changing life situations may create a beneficial opportunity to restructure the length of your mortgage term. When you close on your house, your life is in a certain "phase", and your financial situation as well as many other aspects having to do with your life may change as time goes on. If you've advanced in your career and you have a better cash flow than you had originally, you might choose to decrease the length of your mortgage term to fifteen years in order to save on the total interest you're paying. Alternatively, if you're thinking about selling the house, or your financial situation has taken a turn for the worse, you could choose a longer loan term to reduce what you pay on a monthly basis and free up some of your money each month.

5. Get your finances back in order. There are times that your financial situation may go downhill quickly and without warning. For whatever reason, you may find it difficult to keep up with your payments on your mortgage or other obligations. If you fall behind and begin missing payments, you're going to find it even more difficult to get caught up. There is a possibility that you may be able to use a mortgage refinance to get yourself back on track. If you were to consolidate most of your other creditors into your mortgage payment, lower your interest and/or extend your loan term- you could create a more affordable monthly payment that allows you to get back on track financially.

There are many opportunities for benefiting from refinancing your mortgage. Consider your own financial situation and where you are in your life currently, and determine if a mortgage refinance would benefit you and put more money into your pocket.

Funny name generator

Well, I have a previous post about a name generator that can generate multiple name with characteristics you want. Now it's christmas and it's time to play right?

Behold! The Funny name generators

This is a chain of sites that can give you either a cyborg name, sexy name or monster name. Just type in your real name and... enjoy ;)

cyborg name generator
Sexy name generator
Monster name generator
Several old name generators

Avoiding the Christmas Debt Nightmare

The holidays are a time to be merry... but unfortunately too much festive spirit can leave you with a debt hangover. It is easy to fall prey to the barrage of advertising and the competitive "Keeping up with the Jones" mentality when it comes to Christmas spending. Remember that the holiday season should be a time to focus on spending time with your friends and family, rather than running from store to store and worrying about the mountain of debt you are accumulating on your credit cards.

About one in five consumers will be coping with their Christmas debt well into the new year. Many forget that winter brings other expenses, like substantial gas and electricity bills. These start to arrive in New Year, just when you're faced with the credit cards bills from your holiday shopping.

If you are a single parent, unemployed, or a senior citizen you may qualify for tax credits or heating assistance grants that can lighten your financial burden in the winter months. Any chance to lower your expenses during this time of the year is worth exploring. Budgeting for these expenses ahead of time is crucial to avoid debt and late payments that can negatively affect your credit score.

By avoiding overspending during the holiday season, you can eliminate the high balances on your credit cards that have haunted you in the past. Here are my top tips for keeping your holiday spending under control:

Open a Christmas club savings account with your bank or a local credit union. This is a short-term savings account that you open in January which usually requires no minimum deposit. Make deposits throughout the year whenever you have a little spare cash then withdraw your money on November 1st . With planning, this account can be a powerful weapon against accumulating debt on your credit cards. Create a shopping list and stick to it. Impulse spending is the fastest way to become overwhelmed with debt.

Start your shopping as early as possible. Keep your eye out for sales and good deals in the months leading up to Christmas. If you spread your expenditures for gifts over a few months, you won't end up putting everything on the credit card in December.

Don't overlook flea markets and resale shops as places to find unique but inexpensive gifts. Dollar stores are also a great place to save on wrapping paper, ribbon, bows, and decorations. You might also find good stocking stuffers for the kids such as puzzles, coloring books, and crayons. Plan your holiday menu in advance to avoid throwing your money in the trash as wasted food.

Package homemade baked goods in decorative tins to give as gifts. Buy ingredients well in advance when they are on sale at the grocery store. Nuts, spices, and chocolate are usually the most expensive components in a recipe so be extra vigilant in watching for deals on these items. Most dry ingredients used in baking can be stored for months and even butter can stored in the freezer.

Be extra careful when using credit and cash advances. In the weeks leading up to Christmas consumers are flooded with credit card offers. Pay close attention to the fine print as interest rates and repayment terms can vary enormously from card to card. Store credit cards are usually your worse option as they often higher interest rates than ordinary credit cards. Interest-free balance transfers can be helpful as long as you will be able to pay off your balances during the grace period. Cash advances on credit cards are probably the most expensive form of borrowing as many credit card companies charge outrageous fees for these withdrawals.

In conclusion, control your spending and budget for purchases in advance. If you must put your purchases on a credit card, educate yourself on the best card to use beforehand.

6 Ways to Make Money Blogging

1) Cost-Per-Click (CPC) Advertising Programs
CPC advertising programs are the best money making programs for most of the bloggers. They are suitable to all kind of blogs with family-friendly content regardless of their traffic level and age. CPC programs work well on blog because they display contextual ads that are highly relevant to blogs content and bloggers will earn anywhere between 10 cents to 50 cents for each contextual ads click by their visitors. With proper CPC ads optimization and consistent amount of traffic, a blogger can earn a steady amount of money displaying CPC ads on his/her blog.
is no doubt, the undisputed king of CPC advertising programs and Yahoo Publisher Network is the closest alternative of AdSense.

2) Cost-Per-Action (CPA) Advertising Programs
CPA programs is quite similar to CPC programs except CPA programs don't pay bloggers for each click on the CPA ads hosted by bloggers. The blogger only makes money when the visitor takes an action on the CPA advertiser website. The action can be a sign up, making a purchase, generating a lead, downloading a product and more. CPA networks pay a lot more than CPC programs, for a visitor sent by the blogger from his/her blog to a CPA advertiser website and the visitor taken an action on the advertiser site, the blogger can earn few dollar to fifty dollar depend on the niche. But CPA ads tend to work well on large traffic blogs only. AzoogleAds.com, Commission Junction and Advertising.com are some of the largest CPA networks. They are good payer currently. Good way to make extra money together with CPC.

3) Promote Affiliate Programs
Marketing affiliate programs is very common nowadays. You sign up with affiliate program of an online company, then decide whether to use the company's text link or banner ads on your blog to promote the company's products or services and earn affiliate commission when a visitor make a purchase through your affiliate link. Affiliate programs can be promoted without a website and blog too.

4) Pay Per Post Programs
Pay per post programs started last year. The programs pay bloggers to write a blog post about a sponsor's website. The paid blog post can be a review or an introduction on the advertiser's website, products or services. The blogger will be paid a least $5 for each sponsor post. Blogs that have massive traffic, high Google PR and large number of subscribers can charge a few hundred dollar for just writing one sponsor post.

The downside of pay per post is that writing too many sponsor posts that are not relevant to your blog content can seriously affect your traffic.

5) Sell Text Link Ads
Selling text links on your blog can be a great source of additional online revenue. It is not difficult to get started, just go to to sign up an account (and get $100 free), then decide which part of your pages you want to display paid text links, set your price and you are ready to take order. Text-link-ads.com will handle all the promotional works. Another company that offers the similar services as Text-link-ads.com is Reverselinks.com

6) Hosting Web Poll
Vizu Answer offers a pretty new way to monetize your blog's and website's traffic. The pays the publishers on a cost-per-thousand impression (CPM) basis for hosting targeted web poll. The money a blogger can earn from hosting poll is depending on the page views. The more page views, the higher the earning

Tips to Join Google Adsense

Before you go and join Google Adsense, read this to improve your chances of getting accepted.

Google "screens" all websites, before they get accepted into the Google Adsense program. This is to ensure that your website complies with Google's Adsense terms. It has been argued by several people that the Adsense screening procedure consists of two steps:

• Step1 : All new applications are screened by a Google robot "bot". It checks the content of your site, and the number of pages within your site, and a few other factors important to Google.


• Step2 : If the "bot" gives an initial "ok" for your site, it is then quickly reviewed by a Google employee, that finally decides if your website can be accepted into the program.

You then receive a welcome e-mail from Google's Adsense team, and you are ready to start serving Google Adsense ads on your website.

In case that your website is not initially accepted into Google's Adsense program, don't despair!

You will be notified by Google's Adsense Team that your website cant be accepted into the program at the moment, including one or more reasons why. At this point you should closely watch the reasons stated, and make the necessary changes to your website, and then reply to the e-mail and ask for a re-evaluation.

Evaluation of your application usually takes from minutes and up to 48 hours.

Improve your chances of getting accepted into Google Adsense:

You can, and should, pay close attention to the following, and make sure that your website meets the following BEFORE applying to Google Adsense.

• Make sure that your website has original content, which means your pages should contain valid information - not link farms!


• Create 10-15 pages of content, each with different information about your websites subject.


• Create title, meta tags, and headline "<H1> for each page.


• Order a domain to hold your pages, free hosts are more unlikely to get accepted.


• Make an easy to use navigation.


• Include a sitemap on your website, that clearly identifies each page and a small paragraph on each page.


• Include a contact, disclaimer, and privacy policy page on your site.


• Make sure that your website doesn't include content that are not allowed by Google Adsense.


• Don't serve other text bases ads (other adsense similar programs).

Pay close attention to Google's Adsense terms, and make sure that you understand it - then make changes to your site that you think might be in violation.

If you try to follow the above steps, you are likely to get accepted, even though we can't give you any guarantees!

Claiming a blog in Technorati

The web is teaming with blogs. Every day hundreds of thousand of people pour their thoughts on to the keyboards and unleash them on the unsuspecting public. This outpouring of random thoughts has created a huge volume of information and, unfortunately, misinformation on the web.

If you have a blog, a very important concern is "how do you get others to notice your blog in this vast see of information called the blogosphere? Well, if you had a website, you would want to have it listed with a search engine. Blogs are no different. Technorati is one of the more popular search engine specifically addressing the needs of bloggers or rather the needs of the people that want to search blogs. Technorati.com has the process for registering blogs. They call this "claiming a blog". Basically, you give it a url of your blog and then you prove it that the blog is indeed yours. The way you go about proving that the blog indeed belongs to you is simply by making a post that includes a very small piece of html that technorati provides to you. For example, to register this blog I was given this html to include in one of my posts.
Technorati Profile
This link simply places a link to your Technorati Profile in to the post.

It really is all there is to it. Once the Technorati spider notices this html in your blog post, Technorati.com will complete the claim process and your blog will be indexed by its search engine. So, what are you waiting for, go to Technorati.com and claim your blog.

Hint hint: Read some previous posts to know why I am signing up for Technorati ;)

Reducing Holiday Financial Stress

Suzi McGarvey, extension associate, University of Missouri Extension
Reviewed by Brenda Procter, M.S., State Specialist & Instructor
Personal Financial Planning, University of Missouri-Extension

With the holidays soon at hand, many people begin to feel the financial stress of the season. You can lessen the anxiety you may feel during this time of the year by planning purchases in advance. Consider the following tips for a more enjoyable holiday season:

• Make a list of the people you will need to buy for and how much you plan on spending for each person.
• Determine how much in total you plan on spending, and if this figure seems too high, make adjustments in your planned purchases.
• Try to avoid the temptation of paying for all of your purchases with a credit card when you do not have the money to pay it off. Avoid thinking that you'll just "pay it off later." If you cannot afford a particular item, look for something similar but less expensive or search for an alternative present. Set a limit and try to stick to it.
• Be wary with department store promotions. Offers of "buy now and pay later" sometimes have hidden clauses that allow interest to accrue until your first payment. Read through all paperwork before signing it, and do not be afraid to ask the store clerk questions regarding the promotion. Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
• Be creative with your gifts. Try making homemade items or give personalized gifts offering your services for things such as an evening of free babysitting.
• A donation to a local charity may make more of a lasting impression than a store-bought gift. Use money that you would have spent on friends and family to make one larger donation to one specific charity or give smaller donations to each family member' s favorite charity. Call local food pantries, shelters and charities to find out what they need during the busy holiday season.
• If you're hosting a family dinner, ask others to bring a dish.
• Pay attention to return policies for items you purchased.
• Keep your receipts. If you need to return something later, having your receipt will speed up the process and you will have a better chance of getting your money back.
• Shop alone. A tired spouse or child may encourage you to impulsively buy some items so they could get home sooner.
• Avoid high pressure sales tactics. Know what you're looking for before you enter a store or tell the sales clerk that you are looking and will let them know if you need help with something.
• Search through clearance racks for sale items. Shop at discount stores for gifts for children, neighbors, and co-workers.
• Don't wait for the last minute to do your shopping. You may be more tempted to purchase higher priced items if you are in a hurry or don't have time to comparison shop. If you spread your shopping out over several weeks/months, you won't have to come up with so much money at once.
• After the holiday season, start saving for the next one. Put aside a little each month or look for sale items through the year that could be saved for the holiday season.

4 ways to send money abroad

From time to time you may find something you need to buy but the seller resides in another country? So the first step to what you want is to know how to send them money so they can send the goods for you (or to some purchasing services, like eBay).

1. Money Transfer Services. There are various services for retail or online money transfers. Xoom is the best known, most secure and reliable online service. If you open an account with them, you can send or receive money within minutes to/from other people around the globe. You pay the lowest fees in the market for your transfer. Recipients do not require a bank account or Internet connection to receive funds.
2. Post Office. Wire transfers can also be offered by the U.S. Postal Service. Your recipients can receive their funds from various bank branches up to $2,000 per day. For transfers exceeding $1,000 proper identification is required. According to the amount you send a fee ranging from $10 to $20 will be charged for each transaction. Your recipient’s name on their documentation should match exactly the name on the money transfer. Multiple money orders are subject to a daily maximum of $10,000 where as each money order is restricted to a maximum of $700. Your recipients will get local currency upon cashing their money orders. Local or damaged money orders can be claimed with a valid receipt. The cost of $3.25 each applies to any International money order of a value up to $700. Money orders can also be purchased at banks at a slightly higher price.
3. Banks. There are programs serving foreigners send money home that are developed by major U.S. banks as well as local smaller banks. Recipients can claim their money from partner banks where the funds were wired. Certain banks may require you to have an active account with them, so research your local branches for such services. You can also send funds by purchasing stored value cards offered by major U.S. banks. These cards are similar to credit cards with the difference that the amount has to be deposited in advance. Recipients can name purchases at stores that accept major credit cards or withdraw money from various ATM locations. Several banks will issue a check card connected to your U.S. account for your family members abroad. Check cards withdraw funds directly from your checking account and look like common credit cards. Banks transfer money the
4. Credit Unions. IRnet is a service that electronically transfers funds between credit unions’ members. Several countries in Europe, Africa, Latin America, and Asia are served by IRnet including 3,000 locations nationwide.

Credit Card Catches

Credit card offers these days often come accompanied by pages and pages of fine print. Buried in this "legal" credit card processing process are some common catches that could impact you in a major way. From universal default clauses to annual fees, here are the most common credit card traps you should avoid:

Annual Fees – An annual fee is a charge sometimes required by credit card companies for use of an account. These fees usually range between $35-$50 and are most common with subprime credit cards designed for borrowers with poor credit and rewards credit cards. You can see exactly what the annual fee on a credit card offer is by checking out the “Schumer Box” in the rates and terms section of the offer. With a rewards card, you should ensure that the benefits of the mileage or points program outweigh the cost of the annual fee.

Bill Payment Fees – Even with online banking becoming increasingly common, some credit card companies charge extra fees for paying your bills online or by phone. If this is the case with your card, be sure you pay your bill by mail as soon as the statement arrives. You don’t want to have to pay an extra $5 or $10 just to make your credit card payment on time each month.

Grace Period – Standard credit cards commonly have a 20 to 30 day grace period. This is the period of time when you can pay your credit card bill without being charged interest. It is important for borrowers who like to use their credit cards frequently and pay their bills in full each month to have a long grace period. If your credit card doesn’t have a grace period, interest is charged on your debt as soon as you make a purchase

Cash advance - you can still pay even when you ran out off money. If you don't notice this, you may end up finding with debt problems and credits reports.

Debt consolidation: cure or continued credit problems? (1)

Interest rates haven't been this low for decades, tempting some consumers to take on additional debt to ease existing credit woes. The goal is to consolidate various higher-interest balances into one, easier-to-handle and less-costly package.

But be careful of what looks to be a quick fix.

"You're getting symptomatic relief, not a credit cure," says Chris Viale, general manager of Cambridge Credit Corp., a nonprofit credit counseling agency based in Agawam, Mass.

This fighting-fire-with-fire approach can take several forms. There are debt-consolidation loans, balance transfers to a zero-percent credit card and home equity loans or lines of credit.

But, says Viale, 70 percent of Americans who take out a home equity loan or other type of loan to pay off credit cards end up with the same (if not higher) debt load within two years.

Viale's statistics underscore a major problem with debt consolidation: It feeds upon the tendencies that got you in trouble in the first place. By taking on yet another creditor, you're adding the proverbial fuel to the fire. In this case, it's your money that's burning.

Plus, if you've taken on so much debt that you're looking for more as a solution, chances are you won't qualify for the very low interest rates you see advertised. Those generally go to people with stellar credit ratings.

However, if you're at the end of your credit rope or swear that this time you'll be more disciplined, debt consolidation may be something to consider despite its risks. Here are some popular forms of debt consolidation, how they work and a look at their pros and cons.

Home equity loan or line of credit

Home equity lines or loans often are touted as a quick and easy way to get out of debt. By leveraging your residence's value, the pitch goes, you can get money to pay off other bills and a tax break, too.

But borrowing against your house can backfire. The biggest risk: You could lose your home if you default on the loan.

"Some hardship occurs and now they have double the debt and if it's secured by their home, they could lose it," says Diane Giarratano, director of education at Garden State Consumer Credit Counseling in Freehold, N.J.

And while equity loan interest generally is tax deductible, it could be limited in some situations. Even when it does provide a tax break, Cambridge's Viale says "that doesn't mean it makes fiscal sense."

Giarratano agrees. "Banks will tell you how much you can borrow," she says. "That doesn't mean you should borrow the total amount, but that's what people do."

Still, a home equity line of credit or loan to pay off creditors can work for some debt-burdened homeowners. Just be sure to do your homework to guarantee that the home equity dollars and cents make sense. This Bankrate calculator can help your determine whether borrowing against your home's equity is a wise move.

Zero-percent credit card

What about people who don't own a house? In these cases, many turn to zero-percent credit cards to reduce debt. Again, prudence and discipline are required.

Companies offer these rates as teasers -- enticements for you to switch credit card vendors. Much of the time, card companies target consumers with better credit, so that may leave someone struggling with debt without this option.

Even if you do qualify for a zero-percent or similar single-digit rate, it won't last forever. Make sure you know when it will end and what the rate is expected to jump to when it does.

The low rate also lasts only if you pay on time. One late payment and the credit card company will jack up the rate. Also look for hidden fees and charges that can increase the actual cost of credit.

"It's a short-term fix," says Viale. "The only way it works is if you are really meticulous about paying it and stay on top of it and then move onto another credit card before the low interest rate expires."

Opening new credit card accounts every six months, however, could negatively affect your credit rating, he cautions.

And to successfully lower your debt load, you'll need to pay far more than the smallest amount the card company will accept, especially after that zero rate disappears. "Paying the minimum for a $20,000 debt won't cut it," notes Viale.

Bankrate's minimum payment calculator illustrates Viale's assessment. Say, for example, you transferred $20,000 of other debt to a zero-percent card and paid $1,000 on it by the time the rate jumped to 14 percent. If you make only the minimum monthly payments, it will take you 1,134 months -- or 94.5 years -- to erase your remaining $19,000 balance. If you live that long, you'll pay $64,805 in interest. And that's presuming you don't charge another thing during that time.

Debt consolidation loan

Did the credit card computations scare you into looking for another option? There's always a debt-consolidation loan. Offers for these financial products are an e-mail box staple. Chances are you get a dozen or more everyday suggesting this as the solution to your growing debt problem.

A major appeal of consolidation loans is convenience. Instead of paying 20 different creditors who are charging different rates at different times of the month, you take out one big loan and pay off all those accounts. Then you make a single payment on that loan once a month.

But ease doesn't automatically translate to savings.

Before you sign on the dotted line, be sure that the costs of the new, bundled loan will truly be less than what you're already paying various creditors. For many consolidation-loan candidates, their current credit woes mean they won't get the lowest-available interest rate. Plus, when there is nothing to secure the loan (such as your home), expect the lender to bump up the rate.

Calculate interest and fees on all your existing accounts to determine the total of the payments you now make. Then compare those amounts with the consolidation loan numbers to make sure it truly is a better choice.

And, as with any product, shop around. The bank down the street may offer an attractive loan rate, but a check of your local credit union could turn up better terms, says Deborah McNaughton, author of "The Get Out of Debt Kit."

"Credit unions also tend to be more lenient than the banks," adds McNaughton.

Read part2

AdSense Ad Review Center Announced

Google will be rolling out a feature called Ad Review Center to AdSense accounts over the coming months, they announced. This service seems to be aimed at webmasters who find some of the ads Google chooses for their sites too annoying and irrelevant (think blinking “find a partner” Flash ads on a news site, for instance). However, you will not be able to review every ad, but only those which are placement-targeted to your site.

If you do block an ad – and lose revenues that ad may have generated otherwise (or if you’re lucky, free the spot for better, more successful ads) – you will be able to select some feedback in regards to your reasons, Google says, which in turn can be check by the advertiser. Note with the Ad Review Center, you may also optionally choose to pre-moderate any new placement-targeted ad.

To see if you have this feature already, log-in to AdSense and switch to AdSense Setup -> Competitive Ad Filter. That much is old, but on that page you may one day find a new, green box with a link reading Ad Review Center (I don’t have it yet).

So, more choice is good, I guess. It might also be nice if Google would allow webmasters using AdSense to perhaps describe, in general terms, the kind of ads they want to allow on their site. Right now you can only determine the ad size, and whether or not you accept images, but you cannot, for instance, toggle options like “Flash allowed” or “animations allowed.” (And once the Ad Review option collects enough feedback from webmasters, Google could even offer an option in the style of “automatically block all ads which get blocked manually a lot”… sort of like a spam filter for advertisement.)

Source: http:// blog o scoped .com/archive/2007-12-14-n69.html

Before you apply to AdSense

Getting started with AdSense is easy, but when reviewing the applications we get, we've noticed a few common pitfalls. To help make sure your application is approved the first time around, ask yourself the following questions below before submitting.

Do I have what I need to apply?

• Website: To display Google ads, you need administrative access to the site you submit for AdSense in order to place our JavaScript ad code on your site. Adding the Google code to your site's source code will enable you to show ads, search boxes, and referral units on your pages.
  
  If you don't have a website of your own, that doesn't mean you can't participate in AdSense. We offer a couple of options to help you easily create your own site.
  
  First, there's Blogger, a free tool for setting up and publishing your own blog online. With its easy-to-use and customizable templates, you can create an account and start blogging right away. You can also set up AdSense ads easily through your Blogger account.
  
  If you prefer more flexibility and control, then our web page tool, Page Creator, may be more suitable. Signing up for a Page Creator account is free as well -- all you need is a Gmail account. The best part is that you don't have to download any software or hire a designer. Once you've created your Page Creator site, you can begin displaying Google ads in minutes.
  
  
• Valid payee name: Payments will be made out to the name on your account, so make sure to include your full and valid name, or that of your business, rather than just initials. If banks won't accept the name you enter in the 'Payee Name' field, neither will we.
  
  
• Valid address: We want to make sure your hard-earned money reaches you, so please also provide a complete valid address where you can receive mail. If you live in a country or territory that doesn't have a standard format for addresses, please be sure that your application includes as much information as a mailman would need to find your residence.
  

Does my website meet all the necessary requirements?

• Valid URL: If you manage an entire website, give us the URL of your home page. If you manage a blog or other account within a larger website, you should provide the URL of the specific page that you manage and not the URL of the entire hosting website. Don't forget to double check your URL for typos!
  
  
• Fully launched website: Since we won't be able to review websites that are not fully launched or built, please ensure that your site is live and functioning at the time you submit your application.
  
  
• Unique content: We want visitors to sites in the AdSense network to have a good experience, so please publish content that's interesting and unique. Avoid using "doorway" pages created just for search engines, or other cookie cutter approaches such as affiliate programs with little or no original content. If you're participating in an affiliate program, give people a reason to visit your site first.
  
  
• Supported language: We're constantly working to provide targeted, relevant ads in more languages. However, until then, we can only approve your application if the majority of your website is in one of our supported languages.
  
  
• Pay-To Sites: If your site participates in programs that compensate people to perform activities that drive traffic to you, we can't approve your application. Some examples of these "pay-to" programs are sites that encourage users "to click" or "to surf" or "to read email." In addition, you shouldn't encourage others to join these programs in the content, links, or third-party ads on your site.
  

We also encourage you to read our program policies in detail for further insight on how to create a successful application. Now that you have all the necessary information, now's a good time to apply.

Google Checkout promotions: $5 off to $50 off at select merchants

Besides the ubiquitous Buy.com $10 deal, Google Checkout now has a variety of discount at select online merchants. Because these discounts are instantaneous, they aren't subject to the hassles of yesterday's PayPal promotion (ongoing at some stores). In most cases, these discounts stack on top of coupons and sale prices. (When a code is given by Google Checkout, it usually can't stack with another coupon)

• CompUSA.com: $10 off orders over $100;


• drugstore.com $10 off orders over $75;


• TigerDirect.com $10 off orders over $100;


• TheNerds.net $5 off orders over $30;


• Shoebuy.com: $5 off all purchases via coupon code "GOGOOG".

Check it out!

Want to know more promotion from google? Read the next post

Google Checkout: 2 airline miles for every $1 spent

At participating merchants, pay with Google Checkout and receive 2 airline miles for every 1 spent for select airlines' frequent flier programs. That's in addition to any other sales and offers available at the Google Checkout merchant. The following airlines are taking part in this promotion: Alaska, Continental, Delta, Midwest, Northwest, US Airways, and United. A maximum of 10,000 miles can be earned. Offer ends December 31.

Belong to one of the frequent flier programs' co-branded credit cards? Register your card with Google Checkout and use it to earn additional bonus miles per dollar spent.

If you don't carry a airline miles credit card, here's some offers that will help you maximize your mileage accrual during this holiday season:

* US Airways Signature Visa: 25,000 bonus miles and one point per $1 spent;
* Alaska Airlines Credit Card: 20,000 bonus miles and one point per $1 spent;
* Continental Airlines World MasterCard from Chase: 20,000 bonus miles and one point per $1 spent;
* United Mileage Plus Signature Visa Card from Chase: 20,000 bonus miles and one point per $1 spent; and
* American Express Gold Delta SkyMiles Credit Card: 15,000 bonus miles and one point per $1 spent.

Check it out!




Want to know more promotion from google? Read the next post

Google checkout: Free shipping

You may notice a recent increase of financial tips in this blog. Yes, the holidays is coming up, it's time to whip and wrap. Here's a special chance to shopping for the holidays: Google checkout Free shipping

Google Store offers free shipping sitewide with no minimum required. That's the best shipping-related discount we've seen from this merchant, which sells apparel, accessories, and more branded with the Google name. Most items in the Google Store are made from organic or recycled material. Some best bets, all shipped free:

* Lip Balm for $1.70
* Google Blinky Pin for $2.25
* Footie Bag for $7.50; and
* Organic Cotton Black is Back T-shirt for $13.20

Check it out!




Want to know more promotion from google? Read the next post

Successful Internet Marketing

Interenet marketing, to most, it's just what stand behind some "make money at home" program. No, it's more than that.

If you are a business owner you will probably be looking for viable ways to increase the traffic to your website and are probably trying to do this through different internet marketing techniques.

Most new business owners may find the concept of internet marketing a little overwhelming however a little time reading and understanding internet marketing can quickly erase these fears.

Internet marketing is not based on luck, it involves a lot of hard work and effort. Although when searching the internet you will find programs that will promise to give you success instantly or in a few days,what you need to realise is that any scam or scheme that says things like that will never amount to anything. The simple fact is if you want to make money on the internet through your business you have to work hard and be patient.

Internet Marketing is a form of advertising. It is done via the internet by various ways including

Affiliate Programs, E-mail advertising, directory submission, linking, writing articles and submitting to article sites etc

Internet marketing is also commonly known as online marketing, it is a way of communicating with the market place to advertise and sell your product.

Although internet marketing has continued to grow and has had a huge impact on internet businesses a lot of people will give up after a shot time if they do not see results. Internet marketing is an important aspect of a business and one you have put the work it will continue to advertise your product for you while you continue with other aspects of your work.

It is important to plan ahead, if you decide to add you website details in the form of directory submission, this task can be long and rather boring but can benefit your site in many ways. Make sure you have a file saved with you website details so you can simply cut and paste it into the relevant places to save time.

Most directory submissions will need the following information:-

Your website URL

Your Name

A description of your website

A resource box (always remember to add a link to your site).

Articles are another excellent way of bringing traffic to you site as well as establishing links to your site. There are many sites on the internet that you can send your article to, most of which do not require a link back which is always an added bonus. This is a great way to talk about your product and once added to your website will add quality content also.

The main thing to remember about Internet marketing is that you only get out what you put in. some of it will take a long time to establish its self but any promotion of your site is of great benefit to you. If you do not have time your self to do this employ someone who will or ask a family member.

Internet marketing is an important part of any online business.

What is a Cash Advance, Payday Loans, or Paycheck Loan?

A payday advance (cash loans) provides you with an unsecured, short-term cash advance until your payday. Customers choose payday advances to cover small, unexpected expenses while avoiding costly bounced-check fees and late payment penalties. With Personal Cash Advance you can apply for a payday loan online and have your advance electronically deposited to your checking or savings account.
What about Qualifying?
Qualifying for a payday advance is easier than qualifying for traditional credit. Personal Cash Advance does not perform credit checks. Your job and your paycheck act as your collateral. You only need to meet the following requirements:

• Currently have a job (or receive regular income)
• Make at least $1000 per month
• Are 18 years of age or older and a U.S. citizen
• Have checking account or savings account with direct deposit
• Students have their own student loan program

Does the process take long?
Customers typically receive approval within hours of applying. Since the money is wired directly into your checking or savings account, you can usually have access to your funds the very next day

The Death of Google Adsense And Other Myths

Recent changes within the Google Adsense program have shaken up many online marketers. Could this mean an immediate demise of Adsense is in the cards? Better yet, will CPA or Cost-Per-Action advertising mean the death of Google Adsense and contextual ads? Recent changes in the Google Adsense program has many online website owners and marketers seriously concerned. Many have seen their Adsense profits and income flatline... seen their four or five figure monthly Adsense income disappear overnight. For many the Google Adsense bubble has burst.

What happened?
First, Google made a change in its Adsense program, letting advertisers choose between putting their ads in the search results or on the content pages of Adsense publishers. Search won out and started to receive the higher bids. Search results convert better than content ads.

Next, Google has cracked down on Junk Adsense sites, like they should. These sites consisted mainly of software generated re-hashed search engine links and were totally annoying to say the least. But Google also cracked down on ‘squeeze pages’ or ‘affiliate landing pages’ - a lucrative source of income for many online marketers, mainly because these pages helped marketers build an opt-in list or use permission based email.

The results of these changes produced an Adsense meltdown for many online marketers.

Some Internet marketers are speculating recent changes could even mean the death of Adsense. One online marketer, Scott Boulch even published a free report entitled ‘The Death of Adsense".

Many affiliate marketers would agree with Boulch on some of his points, especially the obvious fact that using Adsense on your web content is starting on the bottom rung of the online marketing ladder. Instead of receiving pennies per click with Adsense, alert marketers and webmasters have already discovered that by using CPA (Cost-Per-Action) and direct affiliate links, they can produce significantly more revenue from their web pages. Why earn pennies per click when you can earn $5, $10 or OVER $100 per click?

But the fine people at Google are catching on...

In the past Google has made its own swing to the Cost-Per-Action direction with its referral system for the Firefox Browser and giving webmasters credit for signing up Adwords and Adsense accounts.

Many online marketers believe Google needs to expand on these baby steps and open their Adsense affiliate program up to third party products/advertisers. In a recent company statement Google offered some hope: "We’re always looking for new ways to provide effective and useful features to advertisers, publishers, and users," the company stated "As part of these efforts we are currently testing a cost-per-action (CPA) pricing model to give advertisers more flexibility and provide publishers another way to earn revenue through AdSense."

Basically, in cost-per-action, advertisers pay for leads, purchases or customer acquisition. It would help with the click fraud issue and the monetary returns could potentially make Adsense’s revenues pale in comparison.

As more and more commerce goes online... acquiring customers for such diverse services as insurance, real estate, telephone, marketing, web hosting, travel, mortgage loans, cable TV, banking... you name it, almost any service or product sold in the marketplace is now turning to the Internet for customers and lifelong clients.

Enormous sums of money will change hands. Perhaps, the most lucrative of these is customer acquisition. Advertisers are turning to the Internet and webmasters/marketers for acquiring these lifelong customers for their respective services and products. Businesses and companies are quickly realizing paying an attractive lead generating fee/commission is smart business. They quickly build a client base for their services or products and quickly recoup their expenses - realizing in the long run these leads will generate huge profits.

It can also mean huge profits for the CPA networks like ValueClick’s Commission Junction and Rakuten’s LinkShare who supply the advertisers with publishers and website marketers to harvest these leads. It can be a lucrative venture for all involved, especially for those online marketers who have cornered the search engines for lucrative niche markets in big ticket items. Even small ticket items pay quite well for those marketers who know how to market online.

Contextual advertising is fine, but CPA (Cost-Per-Action) will offer much better returns for the website owner. Making any profitable site much more profitable. It will and is opening up a whole area of marketing opportunities that never existed before we had the Internet. Creating a complex structure of advertisers, publishers and the Affiliate/CPA companies that connect the two.

Of course, cutting out the middle man has always been even a more profitable venture for most marketers. As more and more webmasters realize they can make much more with dealing directly with companies, rather than going through a middle process like Google Adsense or the countless other affiliate/CPA networks ... online marketers can reap even bigger rewards.

For an online marketer when you get a phone call or email from the CEO or the affiliate manager with a company or service you’re promoting with your website - you know you have made it! Dealing directly with a company usually means bigger commissions and special exclusive deals just for you or your sites.

Only fly in the ointment, all that extra paperwork and business wheeling and dealing. Many marketers and website owners like the idea of someone else handling all the tracking, collecting payments, promotional materials... they just like to sit back and build more websites and content. It gives the affiliate marketer a lifestyle that they are looking for on the web. They just like to market and promote with their sites and let someone else worry about the details.

Therefore, there will always be a place for contextual ads like Google Adsense... Rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated.

However, could CPA be a better alternative for the current Adsense contextual ads?

Google would be the natural choice for a middleman if there ever was one. Besides, many savvy marketers know the Google brand name is trusted online, any product/service promoted through Google would be an easy sell. Many argue Google already dominates the web, why should it not be the one to handle these CPA transactions through its Adsense program.

On the flip side, over countless updates and changes to its indexing, many webmasters have experienced more than a few negative dealings with Google. Many have won, many have lost in this Google Age, but all have realized riding the Google Search Engine is like running with the bulls at Pamplona, totally thrilling unless you’re one of the unfortunate few who get trampled in the process....

Readers of this blog will get the book as soon as I have it ;)

Debt consolidation: cure or continued credit problems? (2)

Managing, not adding, debt

Viale is a much bigger fan of debt management, which isn't a surprise since he heads up a debt management firm. But McNaughton and other experts also point to credit counseling instead of shifting debt as the way to go.

They favor debt management because it costs less and is quicker than a debt-consolidation loan. Viale says someone owing $20,000 would end up paying $6,000 to $8,000 in interest and fees and be debt free in four to six years by using a credit counselor. If that person took out a 15-year home equity loan at 10 percent (because his credit wasn't good enough to get him a lower rate), Bankrate's loan calculator shows he'd end up paying $18,686 in interest on top of the twenty grand he borrowed.

But if you just can't get a handle on your bills by yourself, you should explore credit counseling. Getting professional help in managing your debt can help you change your credit behavior. People that have taken on too much debt tend to go into denial; they'd rather not know how much debt they owe. A professional debt manager will make you face up to your obligations.

Credit counseling agencies also force you to stop racking up debt. In exchange for consolidating your debt and working with your creditors to reduce your payments, credit counselors require you to give up your credit cards.

Credit counseling, however, is not without its costs.

One downside is that your reduced payment plan will probably show up as a mark against you on your credit report. Even though your creditor agreed to the reduced payment, you technically did not pay your account as called for in your original credit agreement.

An even more costly potential pitfall is the disreputable debt counselor. Some credit counseling and debt-consolidation companies are only interested in making a quick buck on debt-ridden consumers. Some firms offer shoddy service at sky-high fees. Others are out-and-out scams.

To find a reputable firm, verify certifications or third-party registrations. Check with the Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies or the National Foundation of Credit Counseling to see if the service you're considering is a member of either group. Also ask the service for references and then confirm them.

Make sure that the debt management or credit counseling firm answers all your questions and that you have a firm understanding of how the process will work and what it will cost. If the company won't give you straight answers or you don't understand what's going on, don't sign up with that company.

Web hosting

A web hosting service is a type of Internet hosting service that allows individuals and organizations to provide their own websites accessible via the World Wide Web. Web hosts are companies that provide space on a server they own for use by their clients as well as providing Internet connectivity, typically in a data center. Webhosts can also provide data center space and connectivity to the Internet for servers they do not own to be located in their data center, called colocation.



Service scope

The scopes of hosting services vary widely. The most basic is webpage and small-scale file hosting, where files can be uploaded via File Transfer Protocol (FTP) or a Web interface. The files are usually delivered to the Web "as is" or with little processing. Many Internet service providers (ISPs) offer this service for free to their subscribers. People can also obtain Web page hosting from other, alternative service providers. Personal web site hosting is typically free, advertisement-sponsored, or cheap. Business web site hosting often has a higher expense.

Single page hosting is generally sufficient only for personal web pages. A complex site calls for a more comprehensive package that provides database support and application development platforms (e.g. PHP, Java, and ASP.NET). These facilities allow the customers to write or install scripts for applications like forums and content management. For e-commerce, SSL is also required.

The host may also provide an interface control panel (e.g. cPanel, Plesk or others) for managing the Web server and installing scripts as well as other services like e-mail. Recently, Web.com holds many patents it claims cover broad methods for website building and web control panels. Hostopia, a large wholesale host, recently purchased a license to use that technology from web.com for 10% of retail revenues[1]. Web.com recently sued Go Daddy as well for similar patent infringement [2].

Some hosts specialize in certain software or services (e.g. e-commerce). They are commonly used by larger companies to outsource network infrastructure to a hosting company. To find a web hosting company, there are searchable directories that can be used. One must be extremely careful when searching for a new company because many of the people promoting service providers are actually affiliates and the reviews are biased.



Types of hosting

Internet hosting services can run Web servers; see Internet hosting services.

Hosting services limited to the Web:

Free web hosting service: is free, (sometimes) advertisement-supported web hosting, and is often limited when compared to paid hosting.

Shared web hosting service: one's Web site is placed on the same server as many other sites, ranging from a few to hundreds or thousands. Typically, all domains may share a common pool of server resources, such as RAM and the CPU. A shared website may be hosted with a reseller.

Reseller web hosting: allows clients to become web hosts themselves. Resellers could function, for individual domains, under any combination of these listed types of hosting, depending on who they are affiliated with as a provider. Resellers' accounts may vary tremendously in size: they may have their own virtual dedicated server to a colocated server.

Virtual Dedicated Server: dividing a server into virtual servers, where each user feels like they're on their own dedicated server, but they're actually sharing a server with many other users. The users may have root access to their own virtual space. This is also known as a virtual private server or VPS.

Dedicated hosting service: the user gets his or her own Web server and gains full control over it (root access for Linux/administrator access for Windows); however, the user typically does not own the server. Another type of Dedicated hosting is Self-Managed or Unmanaged. This is usually the least expensive for Dedicated plans. The user has full administrative access to the box, which means the client is responsible for the security and maintenance of his own dedicated box.

Managed hosting service: the user gets his or her own Web server but is not allowed full control over it (root access for Linux/administrator access for Windows); however, they are allowed to manage their data via FTP or other remote management tools. The user is disallowed full control so that the provider can guarantee quality of service by not allowing the user to modify the server or potentially create configuration problems. The user typically does not own the server. The server is leased to the client.

Colocation web hosting service: similar to the dedicated web hosting service, but the user owns the colo server; the hosting company provides physical space that the server takes up and takes care of the server. This is the most powerful and expensive type of the web hosting service. In most cases, the colocation provider may provide little to no support directly for their client's machine, providing only the electrical, Internet access, and storage facilities for the server. In most cases for colo, the client would have his own administrator visit the data center on site to do any hardware upgrades or changes.

Clustered hosting: having multiple servers hosting the same content for better resource utilization.

Grid hosting : this form of distributed hosting is when a server cluster acts like a grid and is composed of multiple nodes.

You may wonder why there's suddenly a webhosting article here? Well, I'm opening an expreimental FREE HOSTING SERVICE which provides:

250 MB disk space

Vista Panel


Web mail

6 GB Monthly transfer

PHP Flags manager

POP email accounts

3 MySQL databases

Automatic installer (29 scripts)

Password protected folders

5 Add-on domains

FTP account

Php MyAdmin

5 Sub domains

File manager (browser upload)

Clustered servers



Click here to see

If you have some spare domain for this purpose and interested in the business, PM me at the forum to discuss further

Google AdSense Review: Strengths, Problems And Weaknesses

Google's AdSense program allows third-party sites (like mine) to run Google's famously successful text ads, which also get tailored to each of site's pages' content. Already, there have been a few examples of the money this could bring to small sites.

Source: Potential Effects of Google AdSense.

Google AdSense has recently lifted a ban prohibiting independent publishers like me to report about the use and effectiveness of their unique advertising program for independent publishers, bloggers and Web site owners.

Google AdSense is a virtual advertising agency, which automatically places ads on your Web pages and selects which ads to publish according to the specific type of content available on each.

All of this process is automatic.

"Simply put, we provide you with AdSense HTML ad code to place on the web pages on which you want to display AdWords ads. Then, we take care of the rest by leveraging award-winning and proprietary Google search and page-ranking technologies to deliver relevant AdWords ads to those content pages.

"We go beyond simple keyword matching to understand the context and content of web pages. Based on a sophisticated algorithm that includes such factors as keyword analysis, word frequency, font size, and the overall link structure of the web, we know what a page is about, and can precisely match Google ads to each page."

Source: Google AdSense FAQ

After signing up, you need only to place one short script inside your Web site page template so that it will be used on all the pages where you want your ads to appear.

After the Google ads start appearing on your pages your AdSense counter starts ticking the number of clickthroughs generated by your site visitors on those ads. Though as a Web site owner participating in AdSense, you are fully prevented from knowing which ads were clicked and how much each click brings to you, the overall result is that, without doing anything more than what many Web site owners would normally do, one can end up making a tangible amount of streaming income built upon the interaction between quality content and ethical ads.

Google uses their search engine ranking technology to decide what ads to show on your site, and on specific pages on your site. For instance on a webmaster site an article about Flash might show ads for Macromedia products and an article about web hosting might show ads from different web hosting companies. This type of targeting is very effective and results in good click-through rates in most circumstances.

This targeting isn't perfect though. One issue is that Google seems to be doing very little in the way of ad rotation. If a certain ad is highly targeted to your content it might be shown every time. This means that if you have a lot of return visitors or a high number of page views per visitor you may experience declining click-through rates.

Another issue is that Google targets ads based on your site's content, not based on your visitor's desires. The difference between the two might not be readily apparently, but it can be very significant.

Source: Google AdSense Review

Google pays Web site owners with a monthly check that is sent directly to your specified address (for now some limitations apply if you live outside of north America).

So far it sounds and looks as an ideal marriage between ethical and contextual advertising and the growing number of niche writers, reviewers and reporters adding themselves successfully to the universe of online news, educational and reference sites and more.

But let's look a bit under the surface.

Thanks to Mihai Bocsaru I finally scouted an excellent article about some of the features and characteristics of Google AdSense that any Web site owner should be aware of:

1) Pages with single theme topics are highly effective.
2) Targeting effectiveness increases over time.
3) Hosting AdSense ads has no effect on the level of spidering from the "normal" Googlebot.

Having been fiddling and playing with AdSense myself, in the effort of optimizing my Web site pages to trigger the most relevant ads I have also made a few discoveries:

4) Critical factors that determine Google ad selection are clearly related to off-page factors. These may be variables, link relevancy or other categorization mechanism that Google uses to determine the type of content displayed on any Web page.

5) Highly descriptive file names with dashes between the words work extremely well.

6) Domain names that clearly specify what you are all about about do have a tangible effect on Google AdSense selection of ads.

7) It is true that Google AdSense fills in the adstrip with public service announcements when:

a) it does not have sufficient ads to run for a they keyphrase it has identified

b) it has not yet "cached" the page on its own servers.

That means that if you take any page from the Web, and report the content on an empty page of your site, you will see public service ads appear on it, until that page is effectively "public" and becomes cached by Google.

Unless your Web page is very simple (design-wise) and your content is very focussed optimizing any Web site page for Google AdSense can appear to be quite difficult, if not altogether impossible.

But there are a lot of simple logical steps one can take to make things work for the better than the worst. And it all comes down to publishing high quality content that is focused on one or more very specific topics.

On the other hand, it is also likely that Google AdSense will gradually refine and improve its invisible keyword-matching engine, but it is also possible that we are asking Google something we could maybe doing ourselves.

Now let me express some very personal ideas:

a) What I would want from Google AdSense:

If I were to decide and design my ideal Google AdSense this is what I would do.

Make these considerations:

a) Who would be most interested in placing the very best ads on a site?

b) Why does this process have to be ONLY automatic?

c) Can Google ever be as good as the advertiser or Web site owner in establishing whether an ad best fits a page or another one?

It seems to me that as much as the talent, skill, experience and ability of advertisers and web site owners is fully leveraged, much of the extra potential of this approach remain untapped.

I know that there are tens of thousands of good reasons that you are already thinking up for why this is not so, but please, let me play my role and let's try to stretch a bit our view of how things could really be.

Picture this:

What if I had inside my Google AdSense control panel the option to access and see all of the ads available through Google AdSense searchable and sortable by category and type of products.

What if I could select which ads to run on my site and which ones to run on different types of pages. Would I be a more apt gardener than Google automatic keyword technology?

What if I could also set Google to operate in automatic mode for all those pages where I see it doing great keyword matching, while having the option to go on manual on those, maybe very important and trafficked pages where AdSense keep stumbling on itself?

Who do you think would benefit the most?

What if advertisers could themselves target and control with a finer degree of accuracy the sites and minimum requirements they would want to consider any site a viable advertising channel? Advertisers could well use criteria as category of content, Pagerank, number of inbound links, keyword relevancy, categorization and presence, inside DMOZ and much more.

b) What I don't like at all about Google AdSense

I frankly feel very uneasy to be in a business relationship where my business partner, Google acts like God and I have to maintain blind faith and full trust in whatever it does.

Fact is that I have no way to check or verify whether is Google effectively providing me with what I deserve for my marketing communication effort.

The issue is particularly thorny because Google claims the right to nullify any clickthroughs that it will identify as unethical efforts to boost the AdSense traffic. (I have already heard in person horror stories of very serious and credible independent publishers being cancelled their AdSense payment on the basis of such rules. Having talked to some of these people I have had the net impression that they had not acted unethically and that they were themselves very surprised of Google decisions.)

I, for one, have been surprised at how wide the percentage of "valid" clickthroughs may vary from one day to the next, and have been perplexed at some of the reported clickthrough data. But can I verify? Can I see if I have been penalized because someone has been clicking too much on these ads?
No. I have no way to check, verify or even test the effectiveness of my work.

Would it be so outrageous then to ask Google to play its "private" testing game on my sites for a few months, and then, having seen my reliability, relevance and content, grant me a forfeit advertising budget for the aggregated worth of my online property (reach, Pagerank, clickthrough, relevance, etc.)?

Conclusions

Overall I like Google AdSense very much because it DOES offer a tangible opportunity to support many independent Web site owners, small businesses and thousands of good writers and reporters who would have otherwise no easy to way to maintain an information-based online business.

This is certainly much better and more effective than considering the much touted micropayments solution for example.

If advertising can be made to be as non-intrusive, contextual, relevant and targeted as AdSense intends to be, the positive results can be seen not only in the wonderful opportunity to stretch the potential for effective marketing in new directions, but also in the fact that this approach opens the advertising marketplace to many small players, while, for the first time, incentivating the creative publishing work of those who are least commercially oriented.

How to Insert Google Ads in Blogger's Posts?

Inserting Adsense code into your post body helps you to increase your benefits from google Adsense and have higher (Click through rate).

Parse Your AdSense Code

Parse means making the Adsense code standarded XML and that is made by replacing all the html character such as ’<’ with ’>’ and ’"’ with ’"’. For example:

<script type="text/javascript"><!--
google_ad_client = "pub-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX";
google_ad_width = 336;
google_ad_height = 280;
google_ad_format = "336x280_as";
google_ad_type = "text_image";
google_ad_channel = "";
google_color_border = "FFFFFF";
google_color_bg = "FFFFFF";
google_color_link = "000000";
google_color_text = "000000";
google_color_url = "000000";
//--></script>
<script type="text/javascript"
src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js">
</script>

would be

<script type="text/javascript"><!--
google_ad_client = "pub-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX";
google_ad_width = 336;
google_ad_height = 280;
google_ad_format = "336x280_as";
google_ad_type = "text_image";
google_ad_channel = "";
google_color_border = "FFFFFF";
google_color_bg = "FFFFFF";
google_color_link = "000000";
google_color_text = "000000";
google_color_url = "000000";
//--></script>
<script type="text/javascript"
src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js">
</script>

You can use your text editor to replace all the HTML, but there is an easier free method to parse AdSense Code here, it takes care of everything for you ;) (Yeah, I made this tool myself)

Now with the code you can paste it anywhere in your HTML code with no error at all.

Where to paste the parsed HTML code?

Expand your blog’s widget first and find the code below,then add your parsed code and save the template :

1)Next To The Post :

<div style="float:left;"> <!--parsed Adsense code--> </div>   <div class=’post-body’> <p><data:post.body/></p> <div style=’clear: both;’/> <!-- clear for photos floats --> </div>

2)After Post Before Credits:

<div class=’post-body’> <p><data:post.body/></p> <div style=’clear: both;’/> <!-- clear for photos floats --> </div><div><!--parsed Adsense code--></div><div class=’post-footer’> <p class=’post-footer-line post-footer-line-1’> <span class=’post-author’> <b:if cond=’data:top.showAuthor’> <data:top.authorLabel/> <data:post.author/>

3)After Credits

<p class=’post-footer-line post-footer-line-3’/><div><!--parsed Adsense code--></div> </div> </div> </b:includable> </b:widget> </b:section>

May this method violate Google Adsense TOS ?

Absolutely no,Minor edits on Google Adsense Code for Blogger Beta/XML are allowed as long as the resulting Adsense Code generated by Blogger is exactly the same as given from Google Adsense.