I have not seen this WordPress tip in many places, however I think it can be a worthy blogging tip to put into practice. If you receive a lot of trackbacks on your blog you will notice that they get mixed in with the comments. First, a simple definition of a trackback.

[source] A Trackback is one of three types of Linkbacks, methods for Web authors to request notification when somebody links to one of their documents. This enables authors to keep track of who is linking to, or referring to their articles. Some weblog software programs, such as Wordpress, Movable Type and Community Server, support automatic pingbacks where all the links in a published article can be pinged when the article is published.

So essentially a trackback is one blog advising another blog that there is a link connecting them and that the link comes from a particular article. The receiving blog pings back and it is that ping back that often ends up in the comments area. You have two choices, delete the trackback or leave it inplace. Trackbacks can be valuable for linking so it is often wise to leave the trackback in. However the trackbacks dotted through your comments make it look a little untidy. Follow these steps and our comments will not only look tidy, they will look professional. Before starting - make a copy of your comments.php file, just in case you make an error.

Step one: Open for editing your comments.php file and locate the following code.

<?php foreach ($comments as $comment) : ?> immediately after this code place this:

<?php $comment_type = get_comment_type(); ?>
<?php if($comment_type == 'comment') { ?>

Step two: locate the following piece of code:

<?php endforeach; /* end for each comment */ ?> place this code on the line before:

<?php } /* End of is_comment statement */ ?>

Step three: locate this piece of code:

<?php else : // this is displayed if there are no comments so far ?> immediately before place this code:

<h3>Trackbacks</h3>
<ol>
<?php foreach ($comments as $comment) : ?>
<?php $comment_type = get_comment_type(); ?>
<?php if($comment_type != ‘comment’) { ?>
<li><?php comment_author_link() ?></li>
<?php } ?>
<?php endforeach; ?>
</ol>

All done. Save the file and go into any post that has a mix of trackbacks and comments. This WordPress tip is easy to put into place and provides a nice neat look to your blog software.

Most blog software platforms have one deficiency in common, the inability to display an email link while hiding your email address.  There are a lot of email robots just touring around web sites collecting email addresses. The email addresses are collected into data bases and used to send out spam mail.

Some bloggers try to side step this by writing their email in long hand - you may have seen it - webmaster (at) domain-name (dot) com. This is very effective at stopping the email robot collectors, it can also deter readers from using your email service. We seem to live in a click society now - if I cannot click I won’t bother.

There are many services available that will enable  you to offer the one click email link while hiding your email address. These still rely on a piece of Java code which needs to be copied and pasted into a text box (for WordPress users). The code works by breaking the email address up into pieces that cannot be read by the mail bot. One such as service is provided by BlogFlux  - they are one of many. You simply type in your email address and they will provide you with the Java Script to place on your page.

They are effective at slowing down the incidence of email spam. Unfortunately you will never totally prevent mail bots and email spam - but the, blog software can only do so much  - a good email filter should handle the rest.

(Source) Blogger in Draft now lets you enable OpenID-based commenting, in your blogs’ Settings | Comments tab:

This is one more reason I don’t like Blogger. Instead of fixing the problem with comments, the Google-owned Blogger team is just creating one more hoop for commenters to jump through in order for you to manage your blog. If you have a Blogger blog for your business, here’s why I think you should ditch it and take up using WordPress (not WordPress.com).

OpenID is somone’s uncanny way of talking people into one universal ID for the sake of convenience. Instead of having to use a thousand different logins (one for every website you register at), just use the OpenID and you can login anywhere you want. But it won’t work that way in practice and the reason is two-fold:

• First, OpenID will make it easier for some nefarious character online to steal your identity. No matter how secure it is, there is always somebody smarter than you who will be able to crack the code and take your ID and do some damage
• If you use the same nickname and password for all of your accounts anyway then OpenID is a non-issue. It’s only an issue for people who try to use their usual ID and password only to find that someone else has already taken it at the new social site that won’t be here next week. Find one original nickname that no one else is likely to use and make that your ID. Then you can use it anywhere and you’ll never forget it.

The problem with Blogger is that WordPress.org users can’t trackback and leave comments without jumping through hoops. It’s a fact that the more difficult you make it for your readers to leave comments on your blog, the less likely they will do so. Blogger makes it too difficult for me. Since I don’t have a Blogger account, I have “prove” myself every time I want to comment on a blog post. As a result, I don’t leave comments on Blogger blogs.

That’s bad for you.

The reason you want comments on your blog is because they help you with your SEO. Every comment left on your blog is more comment on that blog post page. If I’m addressing the topic then I’m likely using your keywords too. That’s more keyword-rich content, which helps you rank better in the search engines for that blog post. Why discourage me from helping you out that way?

If you’re concerned about spam, there are other ways of controlling it. WordPress has a great way of controlling spam by allowing WordPress users (I’m talking about WordPress.org, not dot com) the ability to require user IDs and passwords, but I wouldn’t suggest doing that too much. Don’t make your readers sign in every time they want to post a comment to your blog. Instead, set your WordPress settings to require every comment to be approved by a moderator. Additionally, get the Akismet plugin and install it. It will catch about 90% of your spam and discard it so that you don’t have to look at it. Now why can’t Blogger do that?

I know calling people cheapskates sounds a little harsh, but if you are being pennywise and pound foolish, you need to rethink your blog marketing strategy.

Yesterday we talked about domain names in part 1. Today, in Part 2 we will go over blog hosting.

First let’s talk about free hosting for blogs. Blogger.com, Wordpress.com, and others will let you set up your blog on a subdomain of their domain name at no charge.

Remember the phrase there is no such thing as a free lunch. Free hosting for your blog may sound like a good idea but there are some serious drawbacks to using a free host.

1. You have to abide by their terms of service. That means they get to make the rules about what you can or cannot do on your blog. While you may have never had a problem with your blogger blog or your blog at wordpress.com or other freehost, it does not mean you will not have one in the future.

What if they decide to change their terms of service? They do not have to notify you of anything. The rules can change without notice. They can say you can’t have any advertising except adsense. They can say you cannot blog about google or wordpress. They can say anything they want because they make the rules.

With your own domain name and hosting, you get to write your own terms of service. You are in charge. You make the rules.

2. Web surveys have said publicly that 70% of the blogs on free hosting like blogger.com are spam blogs. Likely you are in the 30% of legitimate blogs, but you are associated with the spam blogs because you are on the same hosting.

Almost all spammers are going to take advantage of free hosting services. They do not want to spend any money they don’t have to. They are not investing in their business. If you are blogging professionally, you should be willing to spend money on a real hosting service for your blog.

3. Free Blog Hosting is inferior to the web hosting that is available to you. There are good hosting services out there where you have more control over your blog. FTP access for one. The ability to alter the htaccess file, permissions, etc. allows you to do more things with your blog.

4. There is no “flagging” when you have your own domain name and hosting. On blogger.com, anyone can flag your blog as spam. Anyone, including your competitors can do this. It can be just their opinion. Some people believe that any blog with any commercial purpose at all is not a legitimate blog. They will flag you because they believe they know what you should be doing on your blog.

When you get flagged, blogger.com can shut down your blog and lock you out until they have a chance to review your blog to see if it is spam. It is not innocent until proven guilty. They lock you out and you have to respond to them to ask for a review so you can get back to blogging. If it has not happened to you, it does not mean it won’t. It does happen to legitimate bloggers. Go to google groups about blogger and see all the people posting about being locked out of their blog.

At wordpress.com you can be shut down if they think your blog is too commercial. They will tell you, your blog is not a “legitimate” blog. So the admin people at wordpress.com have decided what is or is not a “legitimate” blog. If you do not conform to their idea of a “legitimate” blog, then they can shut you down. Again, on free hosting, you have absolutely no control.

Now enough about why free hosts for your blog is a bad idea. What about those of you who want to pay for your own webhosting? How do you choose the right hosting service for your blog?

Of course every business, including those whose business is blogging, has a budget they have to work with. But finding the cheapest hosting for your blog is not the answer. Hosting is a very important decision.

Hosting can even affect your seo. If your blog loads too slow, this does have an affect on how well you do in the search engines and on your visitors. Those of you who have been blogging a long time also need a lot of room for all those old posts and images you have used in the past.

Don’t be cheap when choosing a host for your blog. Every business has to have some investment to be really successful. Choose the best host for your blog and consider it part of doing business on the web.

The ultimate goal is to have your own dedicated server where you choose all the options you want your hosting to have. This can cost you as little as $200 per month and as much as $500 per month, depending on the level of hosting and service you want.

If you own or manage a lot of blogs, you definitely should be on dedicated hosting. You can assign seperate IP addresses for each blog and with some you can even choose to have a different c class for each blog you own. That means when you link one blog to another, the links will have more value.

If your busget will not allow you to go with dedicated hosting, you still need to make sure your host has certian features. And do not think because you recognize the name of the company that it is automatically better than other hosting services. GoDaddy is huge, but they are not a hosting service I would use for any blogs.

1. Shared hosting plans, especially from companies that host thousands of websites, sometimes means your blog is never truly in one place. It is served up to viewers from whatever machine has the most available bandwidth at the time.

I’m not techie enough to explain it fully, but suffice it to say, some shared hosting plans that move you around from server to server depending on their current load are not the best option. Some smaller hosting companies are better options simply because they don’t need to move you around. They don’t have the same bandwidth issues.

2. Customer Service: There are level 1, 2, and 3 techs at many hosting companies. Level 1 techs are the guys that answer the phone and when you tell them your problem, they type it into their computer and it gives them a pat response that was already written for them to say. An dmost of the time thye just say, it must be a problem on something you did because everything is fine with our hosting.

When they have no pat response, they send you to a level 2 guy that knows how to make some changes on your server and that person tries to resolve the problem. If he can’t and you are being too difficult, like making them do actual work instead of playing halo 3, they send you to a level 3 tech.

Level 3 techs are supposed to be able to do anything to the server that needs to be done. The problem is that it takes you an hour on the phone to get to one because you have to go through all the people that don’t know how to fix your problem before you get to this person.

There are some hosts that actually allow you to choose whether you have a level, 1, 2, or 3 problem and you get right to the person you need to deal with. They are rare with most hosting plans, but more readily available with dedicated hosting.

3. Windows Hosting: If you want your hosting to be worse than your operating system, you can always go with windows servers. Everytime you hire a coder to do anything, it will cost you more money. This is not an option for blog hosting in my honest opinion.

4. Databases: One question you need to ask your hosting company is how many mySQL databases can I have? You need one everytime you set up a new blog so make sure you have the capability of doing so, even on subdomains if you want to at some point.

5. Bandwidth: This is where they get you. First of all there is no such thing as unlimited bandwidth. If you are checking out a hosting company and it says unlimited bandwidth, they are lying to you. Go check out another hosting service.

A blog should not have any bandwidth issues unless you are getting 100,000 uniques per day. Make sure you check what happens if you go over your bandwidth allotment though. Do they shut down your blog with a page that says exceeded bandwidth or do they charge you an exhorbitant fee for the overage? You need to know this. The more bandwidth they offer, the better, but again, there is no such thing as unlimited bandwidth.

6. Storage Space: Web hosting companies love to tell you about all the storage space they will give you while they give you very little bandwidth. bandwidth is much more important. You really do not need near as much storage space as most of them offer to you unless you run a photo or music downlaod type blog. So don’t be too impressed by storage space. They sell way more storage space than they have because they know that rarely will anyone actually use all of their storage space anyway.

The bottom line is do not be cheap when choosing a hosting service for your blog. Choose the host that provides everything you need and one that provides good service.

Part 3 of Are You A Cheapskate will be about advertising and paid inclusion.

If you have not done so, I suggest you upgrade to the newest version of wordpress. It doesn’t take too long and security fixes are always worth having.

Before you get started, make sure you meet the minimum requirements (http://wordpress.org/about/requirements/).

Instructions for upgrading your wordpress blog here

Might as well do it now. Don’t put it off until later or if you are like me, it will never get done. I just sent an email to my coder to get this done for me as I wrote this blog post.

The other day we talked about different blogging platforms that are available to use.

Here I’m going to add one to the list because it’s unique. If you manage a forum using vBulletin, they have added the ability to integrate a blog into your forum. There is a vBulletin Wordpress Bridge explained here, but it doesn’t look easy to use.

I’d much rather use wordpress, but if I had a vBulletin forum, I’d likely go with the plugin they provide instead.

From www.bloggingtips.com

Last month, VBulletin released their first ever official add on, the VBulletin Blog. Retailing at $50 (and $20 every year thereafter), the vbulletin blogging add on is a fantastic addition for forum owners and well worth the price.

Compared to Wordpress, this blogging add on is low on features and lacks in a lot of areas. However, this add on should not be compared to a dedicated blogging script in my opinion. If you are looking to give your forum members a journal then I strongly encourage you to set $50 to the side as this is one of the best VBulletin hacks I have applied. The members in my poker forum are loving it!

Affordable Internet Marketing Services, including SEO, Pay Per Click, Blog Marketing & More! For More Info Call Expert Nick Stamoulis at: 877-295-0620.

Yesterday, I posted about different types of blogs and different types of content. Today, I’ll write about some of the different blogging platforms you can use to start your blog.

Wordpress, MySpace, Blogger, Movable Type, , LiveJournal, Wordpress.com, Bloglines, Tripod, Squareplace, and TypePad are a few of the choices that are out there.

Some of them are free, like wordpress from wordpress.org, blogging at wordpress.com, blogger, and bloglines. Some you have to pay for, like typepad, tripod, and squareplace. That can affect your decision as well.

All have their pluses and minuses. I’m not a big fan of using any of the free hosts. In other words, blogger, wordpress.com, myspace, etc. Simple reason is that you blog under someone else’s terms of service rather than your own. Terms of services can change without notice. You are not in control. The upside; You don’t need a domain name or hosting.

Tripod and squarespace are only mentioned here out of kindness. Both perform badly compared to any of the other platforms mentioned.

Bloglines is more for you to add your blogs and manage them from there. You can add all your favorite blogs and read them from that website. You can still post there so I did include it even though it wouldn’t be my choice for my blogging platform.

Typepad is very popular. You have to add a plugin to make your blog searchable. Other then that, there is nothing wrong with using typepad at all. It’s small monthly fee is the only real downside for people just starting out.

That brings us to my favorite, wordpress from wordpress.org. I mention it that way because wordpress.com is a free blog host like blogger, at least when it grows up it will be.

Wordpress.org is where you download the wordpress software. It’s free. You need to have your own domain name and hosting, but I recommend that anyway. You control the terms of service on your own domain name.

Wordpress comes with the search function already installed. There are 1000’s of themes to choose from or you can have someone design one for you. It’s easy to administer from the backend. Not a large learning curve at all.

Plus I know that from an seo standpoint, wordpress blogs do very well in the search engines. If your wordpress blog is not performing well, such as not getting search engine saturation, try changing the theme and testing again.

I have found the simpler themes without as much AJAX, javascript, etc. perform better than those with all that extra code.

Anyway, hope that helps. If you know of other blogging platforms worth mentioning, make a comment.

Affordable Internet Marketing Services, including SEO, Pay Per Click, Blog Marketing & More! For More Info Call Expert Nick Stamoulis at: 877-295-0620.