TheFreeAdForum - I have nothing to do with this Spamming Link Exchange Program

ProBlogger Blog Tips: Just a short note to let readers know that in the last 24 hours many bloggers who link to ProBlogger were the target of a spammer who used the ProBlogger name to attempt to get you to do a link exchange with his forum.
I want to make it clear that I have no affiliation with ‘Matt’ from thefreeadforum.com who is behind this spam link exchange and would encourage you not to take him up on his offer of linking to his site in return for ads on his forum.
I’d suggest that exchanging links with him is going to get you nothing more than a penalty from Google.
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My Top 10 Traffic Sources

ProBlogger Blog Tips:
This month I’m asking What is the Biggest Source of Traffic to Your Blog in our sidebar poll.

I’m finding the results so far interesting. It’s still early to draw too many conclusions although Google is a clear winner so far with 49% of the vote (in comparison to all other search engines with just 1%).

A number of readers have asked me to answer the question for myself - so I thought I’d do for both ProBlogger and Digital Photography School here in a post. Following is the breakdown according to Google Analytics of the Top 10 Traffic Sources - including the percentages of total traffic.

You can see a few obvious similarities between the two with Google an obvious winner again (although the mix is different in terms of percentages).

Top Traffic Sources to ProBlogger:
1. google / organic - 42.89%
2. (direct) / (none) - 17.59%
3. google.com / referral - 5.10%
4. stumbleupon.com / referral - 2.54%
5. yahoo / organic - 2.05%
6. twitter.com / referral - 1.87%
7. lifehacker.com / referral - 1.74%
8. del.icio.us / referral - 1.65%
9. bloglines.com / referral - 0.81%
10. technorati.com / referral - 0.79%

Top Traffic Sources to DPS:
1. google / organic - 30.54%
2. (direct) / (none) - 23.31%
3. stumbleupon.com / referral - 9.15%
4. google.com / referral - 6.22%
5. yahoo / organic - 2.20%
6. images.google.com / referral - 1.15%
7. mail.google.com / referral - 0.99%
8. lifehacker.com / referral - 0.97%
9. mibrujula.com / referral - 0.71%
10. flickr.com / referral - 0.62%

Don’t forget to…

Jump Into The Sea With Google Ocean

Connected Internet: According to several rumours Google are working on a new huge 3D map project. This time Google will take us below the surface of the ocean.
First we saw our own world with Google Earth.
Then we were invited out into space with Google Sky.
And now we are back on our blue planet only to go Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea, (well maybe not exactly, but it sounds cool) with Google Ocean.
You can’t dive into the digital sea yet, but according to cnet.com, Google invited several marine-experts to Googleplex last December, to discuss the plans for a 3D ocean map.
The map, with the codename Google Ocean, will allow you to see details and special “sights” of the bottom of the sea.

According to the project, you can zoom in or search for specific locations, like the Mariana Trench or the Caspian Sea.
No Comments From Google
Google are sealed tight as an oyster and according to a Google spokewoman “they have nothing to announce right now” about the project.
Several marine biologists and researchers are very excited about the project. A 3D map of the undersea will make exploration of the ocean and the bottom more efficient.
100 Ships 100 Years
Basically Google Ocean will tell you how deep an ocean location is, but selected areas will have high-resolution images.
Later on you’ll hopefully be able to add extensive information like weather patterns, temperatures and local current. Besides that you can also use Google…

Managing Your Reputation Online

Daily Blog Tips: Last Thursday I published an article titled Having an Opinion: The Secret Sauce for a Popular Blog. Today I want to talk about the other side of that coin.
As we discussed in that previous article, expressing one’s opinion clearly and strongly can be the secret to generating a lot of buzz and traffic. As you also know, on the Internet pretty much anyone can setup a website and publish his own content in a matter of minutes.
Put together those two ingredients and the result could be someone doing a lot of damage to your online reputation. In order words, the easier for people to express their opinions and to share those with a large number of people, the higher the important of managing your reputation online, and this point is valid for pretty much anyone using the web, from business entities to bloggers and individuals.
Not convinced this is important? Suppose you have just published an ebook or released a web service. After a couple of days one client gets really upset about the quality offered, and decides to write a chaotic review about it. Should some people link to his review, there is a great chance that his post will show up in the first page of Google for the name of your ebook or service, and now the damage is done. Potential clients that end up reading that bad review will stay clear from purchasing your product.
OK, how do I manage my…

Help! My Site Blog Got Hacked

Just Make Money Online: I don’t know how many evil spirits possessed this person who took the time to hack my blog and include un-related content into my blog’s layout. This unwanted content made my blog get indexed for keywords that are not at all what my blog is all about!
One more problem that this hacking brought is that my blog is now getting AdSense ads that are for the bad content that the hacker placed on my blog. Although I’m not earning a 6-figure income from this blog, the AdSense earnings I used to get was a big help in putting food on the table. Now I’m only earning peanuts.
I was able to get rid of the code that the hacker embedded on my blog’s layout. However, Google’s still thinking that my site’s optimized for the wrong keywords. Although I’m thinking that performing more aggressive SEO techniques might help recover my blog’s search engine standing, unfortunately, I currently don’t have the time and tools to make this work.
Have you ever experienced such situation? How did you resolve it. Help please.
image credits to sxc.hu
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Help! My Blog Got Hacked

Just Make Money Online: I don’t know how many evil spirits possessed this person who took the time to hack my blog and include un-related content into my blog’s layout. This unwanted content made my blog get indexed for keywords that are not at all what my blog is all about!
One more problem that this hacking brought is that my blog is now getting AdSense ads that are for the bad content that the hacker placed on my blog. Although I’m not earning a 6-figure income from this blog, the AdSense earnings I used to get was a big help in putting food on the table. Now I’m only earning peanuts.
I was able to get rid of the code that the hacker embedded on my blog’s layout. However, Google’s still thinking that my site’s optimized for the wrong keywords. Although I’m thinking that performing more aggressive SEO techniques might help recover my blog’s search engine standing, unfortunately, I currently don’t have the time and tools to make this work.
Have you ever experienced such situation? How did you handle it? Help please.
image credits to sxc.hu
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Best Of April 2008

Smashing Magazine:
Every month we take a look around and select some of the most interesting web-development-related web-sites. We read articles, check out tools, analyze the advantages of new resources. Below you’ll find useful references, tutorials, services, tools, techniques and articles we’ve found over the last 30 days - an overview of web-sites you shouldn’t have missed in April 2008.
All images can be clicked and lead to the sites from which the screenshots have been taken.
References, Tutorials, Tips

Wallpaper of the Week
James White’s “La Femme” wallpaper is available in resolutions 1900×1200px, 1680×1050px, 1440×900px and 1280×1024px.

Create a Sleek, High-End Web Design from Scratch
“In this tutorial we’ll put together a high-end web design using a crisp, thin font, gorgeous background images and clever use of space and layout. You can easily use the technique to create your own unique designs.”

Create a Powerful Mental Wave Explosion Effect
“In this tutorial I will show you how to create a crazy explosion, like a mix of Magneto’s ability with Peter Petrelli’s power. We will use images and filters to produce this wave explosion effect. Even though it may look like a difficult tutorial, it’s really not that hard.”

Dropclock Screensaver
DropClock is a screensaver in which every minute is numerically expressed with heavy Helvetica dropping into water in super slow-motion. Win, Mac. Free Alternative for Mac. [via]

Should Redesign? Cast Your Vote Now!
This project aims to help webmaster determine if their websites need a refresh. Users who visit ShouldRedesign.com are presented with a…

Google Page Rank Updating…. But….

ProBlogger Blog Tips: This is a short post that might hopefully stop the flood of emails that I’ve been getting for the last 24 hours:
Google’s Page Rank seems to be updating.
Thanks to the 47 people who have emailed, Twittered and IM’d me to let me know.
While these updates can be a little exciting for some I’d encourage us all to….

Video created in September 2007
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Google PageRank Update Going On?

Daily Blog Tips:
Personally I have not seen any major changes yet, but some readers emailed me to let me know about a possible toolbar PageRank update (thanks Court).
There is also some activity going on the Digital Point Google forum, which indicate that some change is indeed happening right now.
Keep in ming that we are talking about the toolbar PageRank, that one that you are able to see with your browser. Real PageRanks get updated continuously.
I tried to use some of the prediction and cross datacenters tools to see if the change was trackable from them, but most are not working anymore.
Have you noticed any change on your websites?
Partner: MakeUseOf.com Amazing Websites and Tools you Never Knew About

Disheartened? Don’t Throw In The Towel

Connected Internet: You are really into something. So much so that perhaps your friends and family joke about your “obsession”, or ask why you aren’t making a career out of it. You know that for the majority of us, the quickest way to suck the fun out of something you love is to make it your job. You also know that there are plenty of people better qualified than you out there that are already making a living in that area, and besides, you wouldn’t know where to begin.
Maybe, just maybe, your passion exceeds it’s object and you feel compelled to take it to the next level. A website? Hmmm. A website! I can indulge in this passion and create something in the process that will be of use to others who share my enthusiasm. Brilliant!
This thought process may or may not be familiar to you, but many of us start down the road of website or blog creation with a similar motivation. The pitfalls for the many who pursue this is that, well, websites require a lot of work. Like everything else, it’s easy to start hard and then taper off. Perhaps your site got off to an incredible start, but now it’s in the tank and not growing, or worse, traffic has decreased. Man, this sucks. Everyone knows that on the internet if you aren’t growing you’re dying, right? Well before you call it quits it’s time to stop, take a deep breath and decide if…