8 Microsoft Word Shortcuts You Probably Don’t Know

8 Microsoft Word Shortcuts You Probably Don’t Know - Microsoft Word: Love it or hate it, practically everyone uses it. I've been using it so long, I thought I knew everything about it. But I stumbled across some super helpful shortcuts — hidden tricks and timesavers that make Microsoft Word easier and faster.

One caveat for these tips: different versions of Word may have different commands, so some of these may not work in your version. That said, here are my top eight shortcuts:

1. Double Click And Drag

If you're like most people, when you want to move a section of text from one place to another, you use Control-C to copy and Control-V to paste. That's fine. It works. But there's a faster way: Double click or highlight what you want to move, then simply drag what you've highlighted to where you want it to land.

2. Double Underline

You know you can affect text by hitting Control-B to make it bold or Control-U to underline. But if one line of underlining just isn't emphatic enough, Control-Shift-D will double underline. (On a Mac, use Command-Shift-D.)

If that doesn't make your point, you may have to go to ALL CAPS, and I've got a shortcut for that too…

3. Change Case

Instead of retyping everything to change from lower case to Title Case or to UPPERCASE, just highlight the text you want to change, click the case button, and then choose which case you want.

4. Adding Buttons to Your Toolbar

Suppose you just tried using shortcut #3, but the case button isn't on your toolbar, no worries; you can add it (and almost any other command). Go to View, Toolbars, Customize Toolbars, Commands, then scroll to find the command you want — and drag it to where on the toolbar you want it.

5. Add the Date

How many times a day do you type the date? If you do it even once, that's too much. Next time, just hit Alt-Shift-D (or Control-Shift -D on a Mac) to add the date automatically.

6. Quick Parts

This next tip builds on what the Autotext function did in older versions of Word: If you have a certain paragraph of text you regularly need to add to a document — like a boilerplate disclaimer, or maybe directions to your office — turn it into a Quick Part. Here's how:

1. Highlight the text you regularly use
2. Click the insert tab
3. Hit Quick Parts, and choose "Save Selection To The Quick Part Gallery"

Now any time you want to insert that chunk of text into a document, either a new one or and old one you're editing, just hit that Quick Parts button. Just one more click will select which saved Quick Part to insert. This trick will even work as a shortcut for adding a logo or letterhead.

7. Conform Fonts

This one used to drive me crazy: I'd copy and paste some bit of text from another document or from the Web, and then I'd have to click all over the place to get the font size and style to match the surrounding text of my existing document. No longer. Here's all you need to do: Highlight the non-conforming text, then hit Control-Spacebar. Done.

8. Customize Quick Access Toolbar

There is one way to get your most commonly used commands in the same place- that's to customize the Quick Access Toolbar. It's like the center drawer in your desk that has all the stuff you use most in one easy-to-access place. No organization, just (as the name implies) quick access. So take the things you like most and add them to the Quick Access toolbar. Click the little down arrow tab to get to the Customize Quick Access Toolbar drop down menu:

Hit "more commands" and add whatever you use most. You can also position this toolbar below the ribbon if you prefer it to be closer to your document text. ( Upgrade Your Life )

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Excel Shortcuts You Probably Didn’t Know

Excel Shortcuts You Probably Didn’t Know - Microsoft Excel is an incredibly powerful spreadsheet program that millions of people use. It's got so many tools in it that even experts don't always know all the shortcuts. But just knowing a few tricks can vastly speed up — and simplify — your workflow.

Note: Different versions of Excel may have different commands, so a couple of these may not work in your version. That said, here are my top Excel shortcuts that can make you a star amongst the spreadsheet crowd:

1. Insert Sum: Alt =

Summing has to be Excel's most commonly used task, and this trick can save you several clicks every time. To sum a column of numbers, select the cell at the bottom of the column. Then, Alt = will insert the sum function.

2. Select an Entire Column: Ctrl-Spacebar

You probably know that Alt-a will select everything on a page, but if you simply want to select one column, hit Ctrl-Spacebar. And if you want to select a single row, use Shift-Spacebar.

3. Navigate to Top: Ctrl-Home

Big spreadsheets can be many pages long. Instead of scrolling, Ctrl-Home takes you back to the first cell: A1. And Ctrl-End takes you to the last cell.

4. Hide Data: Ctrl-0

Sometimes, you just want to hide some data without deleting it. Here's the shortcut for that: select the column you want to hide, then hit Ctrl-0. To unhide it, use Ctrl-Shift-0. (Note: the "0" is the number zero, not the letter O.)

5. Delete a Cell: Alt-E-D

When you want to fully delete a cell, you can certainly right-click and then hit delete, but I find it faster to keep my hands on the keyboard rather than going for the mouse. Alt-E-D. In my mind, it stands for Express Delete.

6. Add Date: Ctrl-Semicolon

Ctrl-Semicolon inserts today's date. Ctrl-Shift-Semicolon inserts the current time.

7. Show Formulas: Ctrl ~

Functions are the math formulas that give Excel its power. They are math equations that Excel computes and displays. Normally, you enter a function either in the formula bar or directly in the cell, and — when you hit enter — it displays the result. Once that's done, the underlying formula becomes hidden from view. But sometimes you need to check those hidden formulas. Sure, you can go back and click every cell to see them, but if you hit Ctrl and the tilde key, all your formulas will be revealed in their cells. Oh, and in case you didn't know, the tilde key is usually in the upper left corner of your keyboard and looks like this: ~

We'd love to learn your favorite Excel tip in the comments below or on our Facebook page. ( Upgrade Your Life )

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Top 10 AdSense Tricks To Boost Your Commission

Top 10 AdSense Tricks To Boost Your Commission - Google AdSense - http://www.google.com/adsense - is fast becoming the preferred way for people to earn an income online. Forget eBay and multiple affiliate programs. Whether you are a work-at-home mom trying to make a little extra cash or an Internet entrepreneur with hundreds of monetized websites, AdSense is truly the easiest way to earn money.

Simply sign up for a free account, grab your ad code and paste it in your site. But here's the amazing thing - no matter how much money AdSense is making for you right now, a few simple tweaks can increase that amount considerably. And I should know, after learning about these tricks, I more than doubled my AdSense commissions!

The self-proclaimed AdSense gurus and experts are sharing this insider knowledge, for a fee.

You can learn all these secrets from them, as long as you buy their e-book, sign up for their seminar or purchase their newsletter. But I'm going to share all their AdSense tricks for free. Here they are:

1) Color code your ads to match your web site palette *exactly*. Don't use frames around your ads. Instead, in the AdSense code generation interface, make sure you choose the same color as your page background for the ad frame and the ad background.

When choosing the ad heading colors, match them to the *exact* color of your page headings. Use the exact same ad background shade as your page background. Use the exact same ad text font and color as the text on your pages.

Near enough is NOT good enough. If you can't quite get the color matching right, use Google's built in color palette together with the RGB to HEX or vice versa color converter on this page - http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/Guide/Style. That handy little tool was a life saver for me.

This is probably the one single tweak that made the most difference to my commission levels.


2) Try not to use the traditional horizontal banner style or leaderboard image ads because people are blind to them.


3) Use Google's own AdSense optimization tips at https://www.google.com/support/adsense/bin/static.py?page=tips.html and visual heat map to assist you in deciding where on your page to place your AdSense ad code.


4) Research competitive keywords using a keyword research tool such as Keyword Discovery. Targeting popular keywords should trigger AdSense ads on your pages that utilize those keywords. The more popular the keyword or phrase, the higher AdWords advertisers are generally willing to pay per click for it so the higher your commission on those clicks.


5) Incorporate the AdSense code into your page so that the ads look like a regular part of your site.


6) Use Google's new 4 and 5 link ad units wherever possible. They seem to have a much higher Click Through Rate (CTR) than regular ad styles. You can view all the AdSense ad formats at https://www.google.com/adsense/adformats.


7) Place arrows or images next to your ads to draw attention to them.


8) Use the full allowance of multiple AdSense ads on each of your pages - 3 regular AdSense ads, plus 1 link unit. Use careful placement of these ads so they blend into your site and don't distract from your content.

• 1 horizontal 4 link ad unit towards the top of the page under the first paragraph.
• 1 vertical skyscraper text ad unit about halfway down the left hand side under "Sponsor Links".
• 1 vertical skyscraper image ad unit down the left hand side under "Sponsor Links".
• 1 horizontal text banner unit at the bottom of the page with images above each ad to draw attention to them.

You can also include 1 AdSense referral button in addition to the 3 other units.


9) Tailor your page content to a particular niche or focus. Page content that is tailored towards a specific theme is more likely to trigger AdWords ads that closely match the content and are therefore more likely to interest your visitors and inspire them to click.

Don't create pages merely for the sake of placing AdSense ads. Visitors (and search engines) can see through this ruse in an instant.


10) Use custom Ad Channels for each of your ad placements, for example, "Top 5 Link Unit Blue Palette" or "Left Side Navigation Image Skyscraper" etc. Tweak, track and measure the success of each of these custom channels so you know what gives you the highest CTR. Some ad formats and colors will work better than others, but you won't know which until you test, test and test some more! ( addme.com )

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The Art of Staying Focused

The Art of Staying Focused - Many new and even seasoned internet marketers find it hard to stay focused on their tasks.

When you work online it can be nearly impossible to get anything accomplished when you run across new opportunities, are tempted to visit websites, watch videos, check email, browse forums, check your stats, listen to tele-seminars, browse Google and do other distracting online activities. Not to mention other offline distractions.

Here are a couple things you can do to diminish distractions.

1. Work alone in a quiet space

If you have young children you'll understand how crucial it is to work in a quiet space where other people can't distract you. It seems just about when you're ready to start working you're barraged by requests to do something or help with something.

Now, there's nothing more important than my family but when you need to work you must get down to work.

Go to a quiet space and carve out a solid amount of time where you can be productive. If someone else is in the room with you while you're working you run the possibility of getting distracted.


2. Throw your TV out the window

That's right. Turn it off and get rid of it. This will curb your curiosity of wondering what's on TV. When you're tempted to see what's on you tell yourself "well, I'll only watch a little bit."

Before you knew it your watching an hour or more of TV and aren't getting any word done. This can also be a form of psychologically avoiding tasks you need to get done - procrastination. Procrastination is a surefire way to make sure nothing gets done.

If you find yourself doing this, remember you can always record what you miss on Tivo, or better yet, you can probably find the shows you miss on online.


3. Get Rid of Internet Distractions

While it may be fun to look online for the latest viral videos, check you stats, check email, browse forums, you can literally waste hours doing these activities and check your favorite social networking site. These activities don't get you closer to your goal.

Force yourself not to do any of your favorite internet time wasters until you've gotten some real work done and can see actual results from your real efforts.

If you don't see results don't give up and give into temptation, try again and again. When you see results then reward yourself with your favorite activity.

If you don't actually have the will power to prevent yourself from engaging in your favorite online activities there is actually software which will block these activities for you.

By implementing at least one of these strategies you'll find your productivity going up and your goals will become much closer than you thought. ( Entireweb.com )

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Ten Tips to Maintaining Car Air Conditioner

Ten Tips to Maintaining Car Air Conditioner - Driving The car will sense comfortable, if the air conditioner turns perfectly. It's get a necessity particularly in the big city if air conditioning breaks down or not cold, considerations were so completely wrong to open the car window, security problems, dust and fumes will enter your car, but if it is closed the room will feel hot and stuffy. Interference with the air conditioner is usually caused by lack of maintenance. The following tips can help you do AC maintenance earlier circumstances get seriously damaged. Mobil Keluarga Ideal Terbaik Indonesia


1. Always keep your cabin clean of dust and dirt. Particularly the 2 pieces of carpet in front because it will be drew into the evaporator resulting in mold and spores isn't good for wellness, and which cause unpleasant smells when first turned on the AC.

2. While washing the car, open the hood and spray water with the fast on the air conditioner Condenser (that looks like a radiator and is usually located in front of the radiator). Dirt or dust will harden if left can lead to corrosion or porous so that a leak in the condenser.

3. Decide a filled in parking if park car in a while, because if in hot places commonly when inheriting car, make car is hot enough and the resulting need a long cooling process. In addition, the cooling load as the car runs too high.

4. Check Extra-fan (fans) that in front Condenser whether turned on when air conditioner is turned on. If not turned on immediately replace, this will result in compressor damage or hose high press could explode.

5. Do not smoke in the car because smoke can pollute the evaporator, nicotine sticky and slimy, and cause odor, and difficulty missing.

6. Do not maximize the air conditioner by lowering the temperature.

7. Before you start the engine, turn off the air conditioner first, after a new stable machine turn on the air conditioner. Vice versa, first turn off air conditioning if you want turn the engine.

8. Do not wear perfume fragrances that quality is less clear, this will cause bad and hard to clean. And do not wear fragrances models plug into the grill cause frequent fractures.

9. If any unusual symptoms such as less cold air conditioning had better get to the repair shop car air conditioner specialist, so as not already broken which resulted in high costs.

10. Perform routine maintenance air conditioner. It is highly recommended once a year, which need to be replace Receiver Dryer, Compressor Oil, services Blower, Evaporator, Condenser drain and Freon. Routine maintenance in addition to extending the function of components of the air conditioner is longer, will also make fresh air blowing is always fresh.


More information about Best Ideal Indonesian Family Car can be found at Mobil Keluarga Ideal Terbaik Indonesia ( metaot.com )

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Travel tips that can save your life - Ex-Secret Service agent offers advice to stay safe on the road

Travel tips that can save your life - Ex-Secret Service agent offers advice to stay safe on the road - During the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, a woman named Geraldine Larkin was browsing a bookstore near the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower when she heard what she thought were fireworks. Instead of immediately seeking shelter, she wandered back to the hotel. Some alert hotel patrons grabbed her and took her to the hotel’s restaurant, which they barricaded with a piano, then turned off the lights.

Larkin survived the attacks thanks to the quick thinking of a few folks. Some 175 others weren’t as lucky.

While it is impossible to predict a terrorist attack, taking some precautions and preparing oneself should be a priority for all travelers, says Christopher Falkenberg, a former Secret Service agent who now runs Insite Security, a risk management and security consulting firm that services corporations and high-net worth families.

With Europe under an unprecedented terror alert, the U.S. State Department has issued a travel alert, warning of potential terrorist attacks. Intelligence and law enforcement agencies in Europe and the U.S. are concerned that terrorists have targeted airports, hotels and tourist attractions for attacks in the mold of those that took place in Mumbai, where 175 people were killed and 300 wounded by terrorists using small and relatively low-tech explosives and guns.

If you have to travel to Europe, you can take some steps to minimize your risk, says Falkenberg. His advice, he says, “is relevant for everyone traveling, from the backpacker to the CEO.” (Full disclosure: Christopher Falkenberg is the husband of Forbes editorial counsel, Kai Falkenberg.)

Airports

Safety starts at the airport, which Falkenberg says is a dangerous place. Most attacks at airports happen in the unsecured area outside of security. Falkenberg’s advice is to get the airport, check in, then get past security as soon as possible. “Duty-free shopping on the unsecured side is not worth it,” he says. The “pre-security” parts of airports have been mentioned as possible targets in the European terror alert.

Luggage

Falkenberg also advises that people secure their luggage with plastic ties. Transportation security generally frowns at locks, but will allow ties. The ties serve two purposes:

1. baggage thieves generally prey on luggage that’s the easiest to enter and
   
2. a broken tie lets you know that someone has rummaging around in there.

Ground Transportation

Also of utmost importance, Falkenberg says, is “nailing down your ground transportation.” Travelers are most vulnerable when traveling by car, bus or train. Falkenberg points out that in the history of U.S. presidential assassinations, only one president (Abraham Lincoln) was not traveling when he was assassinated.

Know exactly who is meeting you when you arrive at the airport. Have a photo of the driver if possible, and have the driver use a pseudonym for you and not your last name when holding up a placard. When you walk to the car or taxi, put away your phone and be aware of your surroundings.

Hotels

Falkenberg also suggests that travelers choose hotels wisely. He suggests avoiding international chains or high-profile hotels (like the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower in Mumbai). “An attacker will choose the most high-profile place,” says Falkenberg. Stay at a local hotel instead.

And choose your room wisely, as well. Get one that you can easily get out of. Falkenberg suggests a room between the 2nd and 7th floors, since most fire department ladders do not reach any higher than that. Also, get a room that faces a courtyard and not the front entrance, which is more exposed to car bombs. Do a walk-through of all potential exits.

Flashlights

Always carry one, wherever you go. “This can be your most valuable escape tool,” says Falkenberg. You can get out of a blacked-out hotel. You can use one to momentarily disorient an attacker. Falkenberg recommends one that uses lithium batteries. “Flashlights are legal everywhere and the TSA won’t hassle you,” he says.

Visualize your response

This might be the most important tip. Airplane crashes, hostage situations and terrorist attacks are “so far removed from our everyday life, that people freeze and don’t make rational decisions,” says Falkenberg. “During the Mumbai attacks, people who didn’t believe the sound they were hearing was indeed gunshots were vulnerable. The people who put time and distance between themselves and the shooters had a better chance at surviving.” In a hotel, plan your escape route. In an airplane, listen to the safety instructions, identify the exits and visualize a plan of escape. “People who read the safety cards and plan ahead have a better chance of survival,” he says. ( msn.com )

READ MORE - Travel tips that can save your life - Ex-Secret Service agent offers advice to stay safe on the road

How To Find A Good Web Host?

How To Find A Good Web Host? - Usually when someone contacts me online, one of the most frequent questions I get asked is this: "How do I find a good web host?" or "Which web host do you use?"

This is one of those essential things you will need in order to earn that online income. You will need a web site and you will need a web host - somewhere to place that web site.

Sure there are countless marketers who work without a site but most have at least one main site which acts as their online calling card; where people can find them on the web. Of course, you can always use the social networks like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter... but that's like operating your office out of Starbucks!

Instead, a well designed site is just more professional and business like. It also means you're serious about your online business.

Picking a good web host is not easy. I have had numerous different web hosts over the years. Most of them have been very good and served their purpose, but I have had some bad experiences too - what long term webmaster or marketer hasn't? Something always goes wrong eventually, especially if you have a lot of sites and many different web hosts.

Sometimes having a web host can be downright scary. Several years ago, the web host that I had my main site on was first sold and then went bankrupt. One day your site is running fine and the next day the web host is completely gone. Shut down. Your site and all your files completely gone. Vanished. Your host can't be reached. Total blackout!

Fortunately, I had my site backed up on several systems and since that experience I always back my sites up on several computers and I go even further by copying them onto DVDs should those computers crash. If you have a site, I always suggest you back up your site files and make it redundant. The very worst can happen to you.

Overall quality and good 24/7 support should be your first objectives in choosing a good web host. You want a site that's fast, easy to use, rarely down and has good support that you can reach at all times, should something go wrong.

You need to check exactly what features your web host is offering and for what price:

• - How much storage space?
• - Daily traffic limit or transfer?
• - Email system? How many accounts...
• - What type of server Linux or Windows?
• - How many other sites will be sharing your IP address?
• - Do You need SSL or a secure site?
• - Are sites/files backed up? How often?
• - What are the support hours?
• - And of course the Price?

But don't always try to get the cheapest price hosting, keep in mind, you always get what you pay for. A cheap web host won't save you money if it's a poor service and your site is always going down. So don't always pick the cheapest web host.

Match up your hosting service with the type of site you will be running; a simple HTML site will have or make simple demands on your hosting service. So a shared hosting service may be quite adequate to meet your hosting needs. For SEO reasons, you should always check the location of your site, I have found which country your site is hosted in, plays a role in your rankings, especially in Google.

However, if you have a site that's extremely interactive with forums, discussion groups, get large bursts of traffic or you're running a lot of server-side scripts and programs - then you may need a more robust hosting service to meet your needs.

In this case, you might need a dedicated server to handle just your site. Many web hosts offer this service and it's worth looking into if you have a site with extreme amounts of traffic or if you're running forums, affiliate programs, email services... from your site. Most of my own sites are very simple and I have them on many different web hosts. Mainly because of my own experiences, I just don't want to have all my sites on one host... the old "don't put all your eggs in one basket" reasoning.

At the moment I am quite pleased with all my web hosts... many of my sites are on GoDaddy and I find them OK for simple sites like mine. I also find it convenient because they are also a domain registry so I can easily use them to buy my domains. Although many experts suggest you should always keep your domain registration separate from your hosting service because if your host should suddenly vanish, it is only a simple matter of moving your site to a different host. If your host controls your domain, this can be a major problem. Always keep control of your domain in your own hands, but you probably already knew that.

Another web host I use is Bluehost which is very good, can't remember the last time my site was down. They are very popular with around a million sites and my only concern is that they may become too popular and their services will be spread too thin. However, I have had very few problems with them and you can always reach their support.

I also have a site with Ken Evoy's SBI (Site Build It), but I created that one mainly to get access to the enormous resources connected with SBI. It is slightly more expensive than some of the ones listed above, but SBI is an overall online marketing system that in my opinion can't be equaled on the web. Well, perhaps the Warriors group could give them a run for their money, but it's the community of like-minded webmasters with SBI which makes it special. They are always ready and willing to help you out, doesn't matter if you're an experienced pro or a complete newcomer. Several years ago, I took a very close first-hand look at the hosting service provided by SBI. You can find my opinions/review on SBI located in the resource box below.

There are countless webhosts you can choose from when picking a web host. But do your homework, check around to the different forums and see how everyone is rating the web hosts they are using. First-hand experiences are the best judge of whether or not a web host is good and reliable.

Although moving a site from one web host to another can be a real pain, especially if you have a large scale site, but if you're not totally satisfied with a web host and are having serious problems - simply change your hosting. Just make sure you're not going from bad to worst.

Still, finding a good quality web host will be a major chore, no matter how you look at it.

Perhaps, in the final analysis, nothing beats checking with your friends and fellow webmasters you trust. Ask them which hosts they're using and if they're satisfied with it. Nothing beats first-hand experiences when it comes to choosing a web host. Just make sure you're comparing oranges to oranges, that is: make sure you have similar site requirements as your webmaster friends. If you both have similar type sites, then finding a good quality web host can be as easy as having a friendly chat over a cup of coffee. ( Entireweb.com )

READ MORE - How To Find A Good Web Host?

How to Build a Complete Web Business on a Shoe String Budget with Article Marketing

How to Build a Complete Web Business on a Shoe String Budget with Article Marketing. One of the greatest benefits of being a web business owner is that you don't need to have deep pockets to drive your businesses to success. I can show you how to build a complete web business from the ground up with a shoe string budget.

Step 1: Build a revenue generating website.

The first step to take is to build a website that will be able to generate sales for you. Do your market research in advance and find out the products that are selling well. Know everything to there is to know about the niche that you are targeting. What products are selling? What are the price points? Who are the target customers?

If you have the answers to the questions above, half the battle is won. In your mind's eye, you can already see success. Now, you need to put in time and effort to do the work and move yourself towards success.

I highly recommend that you register a keyword based domain name for SEO purposes. The bulk of your traffic will come from your articles. But organic search traffic is free, and it converts really well. So why not receive traffic from both sources?

A domain costs about $10 bucks to register. You may need to pay $120 for a year of web hosting. So far, total cost works out to be $130.

Step 2: Targeted traffic generation with article marketing.

Once your website is up and running, it's time to promote the site and drive targeted traffic to your website. There are many ways you can drive traffic - banner advertising, PPC, SEO, article marketing, etc.

When you consider these methods, you quickly realize that many of these methods are for experienced marketers only. In other words, they are paid advertising, and you get into those methods only if you are already making online, or if you have extra cash to spare. But what about the small business owner? What about the individual with a shoe string budget? How can they drive traffic?

One of the most cost effective ways to generate traffic is by article marketing. Article marketing has been around for ages. Traditionally, marketers publish content to newsletters and Ezines to market their websites.

Today, the focus is less on Ezines, and more on search engines. When you publish content publicly on the Internet, the articles get picked up quickly by the search engines. You then receive page views, which eventually lead to clicks and sales.

Always remember that your goal is to generate targeted traffic. You don't want to attract curious clicks or freebie seekers. These are not buyers and there is no point directing such traffic to your websites. So how to drive targeted traffic with articles?

Tip 1: Write a keyword rich article title.

Use specific keywords to weed out non-targeted visitors. For example, a title that says "Article Writing Guide - 3 Tips On Generating Targeted Traffic" is much better than a vague title like "Article Writing Tips".

Tip 2: Write a good teaser that draws in the reader in.

The summary of the title appears on the article directories, as well as in the search engines. Usually, the summary is made up of just 2 to 3 short sentences. It's not necessary to write a summary that is longer than 50 words because most of the texts will not be displayed. The summary appears right after the title, so we can try to use it as a teaser to draw the reader in. Don't reveal all the information in the summary, or there is no reason for the reader to click and visit the web page for the solution.

Tip 3: Write a brief but interesting article.

The article shouldn't be too lengthy. This is because you want the reader to finish reading the entire article. Why is that important? Well, your links are located at the bottom of each article. If the reader doesn't see your links, there is zero chance of getting clicks. The ideal length is between 300 to 500 words. Anything longer than 500 words should be separated and published as multiple articles.

Tip 4: Write a great author box.

Provide a strong incentive and invite the reader to click on your links. Note that you are competing for the reader's attention with other links on the same web page (e.g. ads, banners, other articles, etc). So your author box has to stand out. Don't try to abuse this tiny space by trying to squeeze in your resume. The author box is not for this purpose. It's supposed to help you get clicks. So focus on drawing attention to your links.

Total cost at this stage is still $130. I highly recommend that you invest a small sum of money on a good article writing course to boost your productivity. The more articles you can produce, the more traffic and sales you will receive.

More marketing tips.

• Drive traffic to a squeeze page to build a list. A list is important if you are looking for long term success. Without a list, you have only 1 chance to make a sale. If the visitor doesn't buy, you have lost the visitor (perhaps forever). With a list, you can follow up and try to sell the prospect over and over again.

• Always link to a website that you have full control over. Sure, you can always register for a free blog and save $10 on domain registration on hosting. But what if your site gets deleted (it has happened before). Also, affiliate offers sometimes get taken off market. So if you don't have control over your links, the links in your articles will be pointing to dead offers.

• Focus on back end products. Traffic generation is important. But don't neglect back end sales.

• Stop trying to chase the latest money making methods. Focus on the fundamentals of building a strong web business.

• Productivity is important but it's not everything. Learning what works is just as important. Then just do more of what is currently working to boost your web businesses to the next level.

( entireweb.com )

READ MORE - How to Build a Complete Web Business on a Shoe String Budget with Article Marketing

Is your dirty keyboard attracting mice?

Is your dirty keyboard attracting mice?. Is your computer keyboard a health hazard?. Dirty consoles now attracting rodents.

Office workers choosing to eat at their desks is leaving crumbs on keyboards which attract rodents

For many, the tiny morsel of food buried beneath the keyboard is an innocuous, albeit unpleasant, hazard of a working lunch.

But the seemingly harmless crumb is now being blamed for a growing health crisis within the workplace.

The Royal Society of Chemistry says mice are leaving droppings in computer keyboards as they search for food crumbs in empty offices at night.

Their claims come amid a rise in anecdotal evidence suggesting mice are becoming an increasing problem.

One London cleaning firm told them: 'A woman worker wondered why 'seeds' were coming out of her computer keyboard when she typed.

'She was mystified because she did not eat food at her desk. An investigation showed them to be mice droppings.'

The RSC claim good office hygiene is as important as domestic cleanliness and are now calling on employers to adopt a clean workstation policy.

They have launched a search for Britain's filthiest computer keyboard in an attempt to highlight the growing problem.

The RSC, which has a clean keyboard, monitor and telephone policy, is this year focusing on science and health in society.

To bring attention to office hygiene, it plans to publish pictures of the nation's dirtiest keyboards on its website.

A spokesman for the RSC said: 'There is evidence that mice run along a computer keyboard, pressing down on the keys to get at food crumbs left by people snacking while working.

'That is why it is important to wash your hands before eating food.'

Computer keyboards have long been blamed for causing health problems. Research conducted by Which? in 2008 found they can harbour more harmful bacteria than a lavatory seat.

Many users, they said, are at risk of becoming ill with stomach bugs dubbed 'qwerty tummy' after the first six letters on a keyboard.

During their research they conducted tests on equipment in its own London offices.

One keyboard was so dirty that a microbiologist ordered it to be removed, quarantined and cleaned. It had 150 times the acceptable limit for bacteria and was five times as filthy as a typical lavatory seat.

Anyone who eats a sandwich or piece of fruit having been tapping on such a keyboard can pick up bacteria that could lead to a stomach upset.

The scientist swabbed 33 keyboards for food poisoning bugs e.coli, coliforms, staphylococcus aureus and enterobacteria and compared the results to those found on a lavatory seat and lavatory door handle.

Four of the keyboards were considered a potential health hazard and one was 'condemned'.

Two had 'warning levels' of staphylococcus aureus and two others had 'worryingly elevated' levels of coliforms and enterobacteria, 'putting users at high risk of becoming ill from contact'.

The expert said the findings were typical of offices all over Britain.

Which? found that one in ten people never clean their keyboard, while 20 per cent never clean their mouse. Around half cleaned their keyboard less than one a month.

The spokesman for the RSC added: 'We are now asking office workers to take shots of offensive keyboards and workstations and to email them to us at the RSC.

'We will give £300 to the sender of the most awful image. However, we will not entertain any shots that smack of contrivance and will ask for a witness to the keyboard dirtiness.

'We do not need the names of the organisations where the pictures were taken and will not publish any identification of the place or the sender.

'Therefore we ask that shots do not have anything in them which might betray confidential information or identify the users or their employers.' ( dailymail.co.uk )

READ MORE - Is your dirty keyboard attracting mice?

10 Simple Ways To Expand Your Subscriber List

10 Simple Ways To Expand Your Subscriber List. Here are 10 ways to expand your subscriber list:

1. Keep your subscription form easy to find on every web page.

Preferably, add it on your navigational bar. If the form is to large for the bar or page, add a hyperlink and send them to a popup or a separate page so that the previous page on your site doesn't disappear. It is easy for them to return to your main site.

2. Not only must the form be easy to see, it also needs to be easy to read.

Label each field. I've seen a few where I didn't know what to enter. Be kind to computer readers suffering from dry eyes, make the font large and easy to read.

3. Do you write your own ezine articles? Add a "please subscribe here" line to your byline.

Begin the line with a benefit they will get from subscribing and then add a few invitational words along with a URL hyperlink. Example: "Learn more about this topic. Subscribe to [name of your ezine] by visiting...."

4. Generally, people are impulsive buyers.

So, give them that impulse. Give away a free ebook. Instead of letting them see that the ebook is free, regularly charge for the eBook. Six dollars is a good price, just explain them that it is a limited special offer.

They will perceive it even more valuable when there is a price connected to it. An example of the wording could go like, "Normally this ebook sells for $6 at [your web site URL or even a middle man ebook site]." Always give them a reason why you are giving it to them free. Make the reason believable.

5. Do you belong to networking groups, or attend other events? Invite everyone you meet if they would like to register for your ezine.

Give them a story about the free, but not so free, ebook offer. Always, make this offer limited. In fact, have a list of these free but-not-free ebooks, written either by you, affiliates, or from resale right products. Move them around. Put one on the calendar for January through December and then repeat them the next year. Then in the third year, change it. Also, share with them how easy it is to opt-out if they don't like the ezine and they can keep the ebook.

6. Don't stop at networking groups, contact trade or professional organizations you do or don't belong to that have a high percentage of your type of readers.

Ask for the membership list. Look for the people you have identified as your gatekeepers (people that know lots of others in your target market). For accountants, it's lawyers and bankers. Call them and introduce yourself. Ask if they could recommend your ezine to a few of their friends. You can also attend their networking events and ask, ask, ask.

7. Instead, or in addition to, calling the gatekeepers you have identified on the membership lists, you can send them a letter of introduction -- a direct mail piece.

The piece can ask them (a call to action) to visit your web site for more information on your newsletter and/or receive a copy of the free but-not-free ebook.

8. Share the wealth. Exchange recommendations to each other's newsletter.

Be prepared for these so that it doesn't cost you valuable time when you are working on a deadline. If you work with a virtual assistant, let them respond to these opportunities. Prepare three or four examples and offer the exchanger their choice to use one that they feel is appropriate for their audience. Ask them for a reciprocal and equal announcement.

9. Make comments and include your byline at the end.

Comments can be product review on Amazon, ezines you enjoy, or local newspapers. Give suggestions, share your stories on how it helped you, ask questions, or give ideas that emerged from your reading. Blogs are also good places to comment on as well.

10. It takes 7 times before people start to trust.

Present them 7 opportunities to have two-way conversations with you. Not one-way conversations (you write, they read). Provide the two-way with surveys, questions, contests, games, things that they need to ask for are just a few. If you are offering a contest, send them a testimonial from the winner. If you can, create an opportunity for many winners. It spreads the hope. ( isnare )

READ MORE - 10 Simple Ways To Expand Your Subscriber List

How To Get 50 High PR One Way Links Each Month

How To Get 50 High PR One Way Links Each Month. It's easy. So easy it's almost criminal. But I can get one-way high PR links whenever I want.

How?

Come closer. Let me whisper in your ear.

It involves articles, the google toolbar and a tracking sheet.

That's it's. Because there's really nothing to getting high PR one way links.

====> Two Must Finds

All you do is find sites to post your articles on that do a good job of directing pagerank (PR) to their articles pages. Sadly many do not.

Others may but they don't include that coveted live link from your article.

This just means you'll have to look a little harder. Since the crown jewel in your search for sites to submit articles to is to find those with other articles that show lives links. And the pages they're on sport at least PR 3 or higher.

Here's why that's so powerful. You'll typically get the lion's share of that PR. Since unlike a links page, quite often the only external link is to the author's web site.

Just think. While others are thrashing around trading links, you're quietly developing high search rankings by simply submitting articles. Nifty seo twist on the idea of article marketing isn't it?

====> Your Tracking Sheet

Setting up your tracking sheet is simple too. You want at least three headings including website URL, PR, Live Link.

What goes in the first should be obvious.

Jot down the PR of the article pages themselves in the second.

The third you simply note "Y" for yes if there is a live link from the article's resource box back to the author's web site. Or "N" for no if there is not.

Now for the tedious part - finding sites to host your articles.

Typically article banks, directories and the like are NOT going to be your best bet. Sorry. I'm not saying you shouldn't submit articles to them as part of an overall article marketing scheme. Just don't do so in the hopes of snapping up many high PR one way links is all.

Instead you want to use Google to help you find individual web sites that post articles. There are many ways to find them. Let me share one.

====> One Way to Find Sites to Submit to

Simply search on your "target keyword phrase + articles". And don't forget the quotes. Doing so tells Google to return all pages with both the keyword phrase and the word articles on them. This should return a healthy list of sites in that keyword niche that host articles.

Now you want to do this search in Internet Explorer with the Google toolbar turned on.

At each site visit a few article pages that have been around for awhile. (Sometimes sites will show the date posted. Other times you just have to kinda guess which might have been there longer.) Keep an eye on the PR of those pages. Checking out three or four such pages should give you an idea of the PR potential. Note the highest PR you find on your tracking sheet.

Also take note if the links in the resource box are live or not.

Once you run through the first list try another focus keyword. Or try a related niche. Just be aware you'll start to see peats and repeats.

Still don't stop until you've got a nice starter list of 25-30 sites that have higher PR and a live link back.

After you've got your list write the best, most informative, helpful article you can. No self promotion. No affiliate links. No hype whatsoever.

Then have at it. Submit it to the list you just developed.

If you've got a better than average article you can expect at least 10 or maybe even 15 out of 30 sites to post it. And you're on your way. Just like that you've got 10-15 higher PR one way links. Which is probably more than most of your competitors have. And that's just one article.

That's right. Once you've got one article in motion, look for more sites. Write another high quality article. Submit it first to those who posted your previous article. They should be your favored class and get first crack at your new one. Then submit it to the rest.

Pretty simple isn't it? Yet this pretty much lays out how I get 50+ high PR one way links each month. Now you can too. ( isnare )

READ MORE - How To Get 50 High PR One Way Links Each Month

SEO Checklist

SEO Checklist. When you are evaluating your website from an SEO/Indexing/Crawlability perspective there are a few things to keep in mind and some important questions you may not be asking yourself. What questions are you asking yourself?

Important point number 1:

A traffic problem is not always a ranking problem. Many of us are too quick to assume that a drop in traffic is an indicator of some sort of issue with our search rank.

You may not have a ranking issue at all (per se). You could have a crawling problem, there could be parts of your sites getting crawled but not indexed, you could have some sort of extraction issue... any number of things.

The thing here to keep in mind is that you need to develop some sort of infrastructure to diagnose problems. Start with some ranking report benchmarks. Generally speaking, you want to be able to know about where you stand in the rankings for some of your top queries. Know about where you stand in the SERPs for those queries and that will give you a general idea of any significant ranking movement.

Important point number 2:

Organize your pages into categories. Analyze your server logs for search engine bot activity on a per category basis. This will help you have a better idea about how well the bots are spidering/indexing your content. You may find that categories 'A' and 'C' are being actively crawled by the search bots, but 'B' is getting very little attention from them.

These various category pages may also have significant variation in terms of their crawl rates. Some of your category sections may be crawled at a rate of 10 pages per day, some at 100 pages per day. Being able to see how many pages the crawlers pick up from the individual categories gives you a good idea about how long it takes the bots to get through your whole site.

Important point number 3:

Search Engines aren't going to spend all their time crawling all your content. Crawl efficiency is the name of the game... If you have a lot of pages you need to be able to let the crawlers know what pages are the most important for them to crawl around on. If you don't want registration pages, error pages, things like that -all non productive pages. So you would want to keep the engines off of things that are not productive for you so they can spend more time dealing with the 'good stuff'.

Important point number 4:

Create comprehensive, canonical .xml sitemaps for each of your categories (the categories have to be declared canonical before you can do this). In other words, you can create a sitemap index file that links your multiple sitemaps and submit it to Google Webmaster Central.

This gives you a very granular and accurate assessment of how well Google is crawling the various parts of your site. Better yet, you get access to all the cool little graphs and tools in Webmaster Central sitemap reports. This will allow you to identify not only how much and what areas of your content are being crawled, but also how much of that content is being indexed.

So if you see that Google is crawling everything you have in category 'A' but only indexing 20% of it, you have a solid spot to start looking for reasons why.

Important point number 5:

Make sure you actually have a problem before you start running around trying to fix a problem. Seems like it should go without saying maybe, but as Vanessa points out, a decrease in your overall indexed pages for example, doesn't necessarily mean you have a problem. Google may have simply de-iindexed some of your ineffective or duplicated pages for example.

If you haven't had a drop off in search traffic, then you probably don't have a significant search problem. Changes are not necessarily problems. Seems like quite a folks in this business have a little trouble with that distinction. ( webpronews.com)

READ MORE - SEO Checklist

Comments Make Content More Valuable

Comments Make Content More Valuable. Comments are the backbone of the social web. Everything is going social if it has not already been that way for some time. Why is that? People are social by nature. It's how we communicate. It's how we learn. It's how we teach. Do you find comments to be valuable resources? Share your thoughts.

Conversations are built upon comments going back and forth and branching out in new directions, taken from one channel to the next. As the web as a whole has become more social, the conversation has gotten larger and it has become easier for anyone to get involved at a growing number of destinations, whether you join in the comments on a blog post, a Twitter stream, a Facebook News Feed, an email , a Google result (courtesy of SearchWiki), IMDB, a forum, a YouTube video, etc.

The web has never been as connected as it is now, and it is only becoming more so each time any service rolls out a new sharing feature. Facebook launched Facebook Connect, Digg launched the Diggbar, somebody launched the Shareaholic Firefox add-on, etc. These are just a few examples of thousands of content sharing tools.

There is value in conversation. I'm sure you've heard of the wisdom of crowds. Is every blogger an authority on something? No. Are all bloggers the authority on the subject of each of their posts? Of course not. That's why commenting is an option.

Comments add value for the reader. If a blogger is wrong about something (or even if he is not, but there is some debate), there are comments there to at least provide different views. Readers can then take these in with the original post and use their own judgment to reach their own conclusion, or use it as reason to further research the topic. Either way, they are getting value out of it because they are not taking one person's word for it.

When you're talking about a blog, or a news site, or really any kind of content site, comments add value. They don't just add vale for the reader, but for the publisher as well.

WebProNews recently conducted an interview with James Smith, Chief Revenue Officer for the Huffington Post, a very popular social news site. In fact, James attributes the site's success to being social. He says the site currently logs over a million comments a month.

"The reason I like to read HuffingtonPost is because of the comments - it makes it feel so much more community based AND the comments are refreshed quite quickly," writes Susan, commenting on a WebProNews post looking at the interview (and adding value to that post of course).

In the above clip, Smith talks about some types of things that attract people to want to "dive into" content. He mentions polls, images, and most popular stats, like showing the most popular news stories, and how many comments they have. Readers see hot topics of conversation, and often feel more compelled to look at that content because they have an indication that it has generated some interest.

Of course this helps page views, which can help advertising, and so on and so forth. This benefits everyone involved. Advertisers get more clicks. Publishers get more money from advertisers. Readers get more valuable content - not only from the comments, but because if the publisher is doing well financially, they'll be able to keep providing the content. Everybody wins. Furthermore, the publisher will be more inclined to post on subjects of interest, because they will attract comments, and the cycle continues.

Sometimes readers need a little push for commenting (which is why you'll often see comment links scattered throughout WebProNews content). It's simply a call to action for added value for all parties. Blogger Neville Hobson has a nice list of tips you can use to encourage comments.

As a blogger/publisher, once you get comments, keep up with them, and stay involved in the conversation when applicable (certainly time can be a factor here). For one, it will give the commenters a reason to come back, and conversations that come from comments can often inspire future posts. There also may be some things that fit right into your post that you hadn't thought of, and they will be there as additional resources for your readers. ( webpronews.com )

READ MORE - Comments Make Content More Valuable

Cleaning Up Your Digital Dirt

Cleaning Up Your Digital Dirt. Remember, prospective employers could be checking you out online. What happens on the Internet tends to stay on the Internet.

Merry Miller, an entertainment reporter, found that out the hard way. She did an interview last year with Holly Hunter on an ABC news show, and she made so many fumbles and gaffes that it ended up on YouTube titled "TV Disaster." To date, this video has received more than 1.5 million views and nearly 2,000 comments ridiculing the interview.

There's nothing worse than having unflattering information about you posted on the

Web. It's even happened to me, folks.

Unfortunately, you can't just sit back and hope it goes away. With hiring managers today checking out prospective employees on the Web, job seekers need to manage their online reputations -- or their résumés could end up in the do-not-call pile.

Kirsten Dixson, author of "Career Distinction: Stand Out By Building Your Brand," calls this type of negative stuff "digital dirt."

Recruiters are Googling you, she says, and "digital dirt" can quickly take you out of the running.

"We've had clients who had digital dirt about them on major news sites, but you can't just ask to take it down. You have to find ways to sweep the dirt under the rug," she maintains.

The first thing you need to do is Google yourself right now. Even set up a Google alert with your name so you can track all the new dirt when it first hits.

I'm not talking about defamatory information that may require legal action against the perpetrator. I'm talking about the things that may have a grain of truth in them -- like how silly you looked during a television interview, or a blogger's negative opinion about a research paper you wrote, or a MySpace confession you made when you were 17.

Burying those Internet skeletons

Many of us may want to find ways to erase the negative information about us on the Web, but that may not be the best strategy.

"What to do when you don't like the impression given by your online persona?" asks C. David Gammel, a corporate technology consultant. "The counterintuitive response is the best: Post even more content about yourself online."

However, he adds: "The content should be of a nature that is at least neutral, at best positive, for your career prospects. Blog about your professional interests. Discuss research you have conducted yourself on a topic of interest."

Gammel believes in burying the Internet skeletons in positive cyberdust. "Once the less-savory items are pushed off your first page of ego search results on Google, you'll be fine with most people," he notes. "That's why you have to post more -- not less -- to get rid of the impact of those skeletons."

If you have a profile on a social networking site such as Facebook or LinkedIn or BrightFuse, that content eventually goes to the top of Google searches when someone types in your name.

As for burying the negative information, you can politely ask a site owner to remove an item about you, and sometimes that works. But don't engage in tit for tat, says Lyn Mettler, who owns Step Ahead Web Strategies, which helps businesses manage their online reputations.

"It ends up looking defensive and can get ugly very quickly," Mettler says. "If there is misinformation and you can calmly clarify that in a post, response, comment, etc., do so, so the reader will see both sides."

She also suggests that you enlist the help of friends. "Third-party endorsements are much more credible than someone talking about themselves," she says.

Another tactic is to do a traditional public relations blitz, even embracing the dirt. That's what Merry Miller did, and she ended up on "The View" talking about her notorious Hunter interview.

"Based on my personal experience, the best thing to do is address it immediately, tell the truth, don't blame anyone and try not to take it personally because most vicious bloggers move to their next target really quickly," she says.

"Life isn't easy, but you don't have to go down with the bad stuff."

Bringing in the experts

You can also hire a firm that specializes in vacuuming up the digital dirt.

ReputationDefender is an online reputation management company. CEO Michael Fertik says about half of the negative information they find about their customers is self-inflicted, and half is inflicted by someone else. "Maybe someone wrote something about their eating disorder years ago and now it's among the top 10 results about them on Google," he says. "Or there's someone calling you a thief or a jerk, or a bad girlfriend or boyfriend."

ReputationDefender charges between $100 and $500 for its services, which include publishing so much accurate and positive information about an individual that the bad stuff gets pushed off the first page on Google.

The company also offers a service that provides manual removal of dirt, including asking site owners and bloggers politely to take down information.

None of this stuff is guaranteed, however, because too often the people who run these sites refuse to remove any data.

Indeed, even ReputationDefender has trouble defending its reputation on the Web.

When the firm first started, it tried to help one of its clients by asking a blogger to remove dirt about the individual. But the strategy backfired and the blogger ended up blogging yet again about the client's dirt -- and also slamming ReputationDefender.

In a recent Google search on "ReputationDefender," the negative post appeared as the third result. This proves how difficult it is, even for experts, to keep a cyber-reputation untarnished.

Getting out your cybermop

As I mentioned before, I have also been slammed on the Internet.

I came across a blog post written by Mark Story, a communications expert and adjunct faculty member at the School of Continuing Studies at Georgetown University, which blasted a story I had written for msnbc.com about social networking overload.

Story called my reporting "sloppy," which is probably the worst slam you can make against a journalist.

I decided to write a response on his blog. I'm a blogger at CareerDiva.net and msnbc.com's YourBiz, after all, and I should be able to take what I sometimes dish out.

I politely disagreed with him on his blog post and, to my surprise, he e-mailed me an apology.

He also blogged about our interchange saying, "In a moment that was likely based on blogger hubris and too much caffeine, a few weeks ago, I blogged about an MSNBC piece on social media overload and called it 'sloppy journalism.' "

I know, not all these stories will have similar happy endings. But if there's a chance you can control some of the digital dirt out there, why not take out a cybermop? ( msn.com )

READ MORE - Cleaning Up Your Digital Dirt