I have written posts about how to get targeted AdSense ads showing on your WordPress website, however this article will go into more detail on how to add Google AdSense section targeting. The problem is, that some people have a HTML coded website, others have a WordPress website, and some may even have a thesis website. All of these different websites require different ways to add Google AdSense section targeting.

I have actually tried all of these ways that I’m about to mention. In the good old days, I did have a HTML website, and I did use Google AdSense section targeting. I also used the Socrates WordPress theme, along with many others, and have also used the code or section targeting to be added to WordPress. I also now have a few thesis websites that require a different customization.

Does Google AdSense section targeting work?

Yes it definitely does! I have implemented this code on websites and have seen and instant rise in the earnings. The earnings increase is so significant that I felt like slapping my face the not doing it earlier.Even after I increased my Adsense earnings by 500%, I still saw an even bigger rise when I implemented this Google AdSense section targeting code.

For Google AdSense section targeting to really work, you will need to make sure you have great content and have performed onpage SEO. After all, Google AdSense section targeting code is there to pinpoint the good content that you want your ads to match. If you are targeting content that does not have a clear topic, then you are probably wasting your time.

When you implement Google AdSense section targeting code, you are actually telling Google to look at your content on the page, and not the content in the sidebars and footers. The content around the actual post is usually generic and if you targeted this, your ads would probably all be the same.

Add Google Adsense Section Targeting to your WordPress Website

When editing using the WordPress editor it is best to copy the entire code before editing, and paste it into a notepad. This is just in case you make a mistake, as one wrong character can ruin your blog.

1.  In your WordPress dashboard, click on the Appearance menu in the left bar.

2.  Choose editor from the drop down menu.

3.  Look for the single.php in the right menu. Click on it to show in editing window.

4.  Scroll down till you see a line that says

<?php the_content(__(‘Read the rest of this entry &raquo;’)); ?>

5.  Then add the Google Adsense Section Targeting code around that. That means you are targeting the content only and not the sidebars and footers.
<!– google_ad_section_start –>

<?php the_content(__(‘Read the rest of this entry &raquo;’)); ?>

<!– google_ad_section_end –>

6.  Now you can press save at the bottom of the editor.

Add Google Adsense Section Targeting to Thesis

In WordPress thesis theme, you can add this code to your custom_functions.php file. Please note that this is not a tutorial on how to use thesis. This code has been developed and perfected by a few people. I will provide a link below to the website where I actually got this code from.
//adsense targeting functions
function open_adsense_targeting()
{
?>
<!– google_ad_section_end –>
<!– google_ad_section_start –>
<?php
}

function close_adsense_targeting()
{
?>
<!– google_ad_section_end –>
<!– google_ad_section_start(weight=ignore) –>
<?php
}

function ignore_adsense_targeting()
{
?>
<!– google_ad_section_start(weight=ignore) –>
<?php
}

function end_adsense_targeting()
{
?>
<!– google_ad_section_end –>
<?php
}

add_action(‘thesis_hook_before_html’, ‘ignore_adsense_targeting’,’10′);
add_action(‘thesis_hook_before_header’,'open_adsense_targeting’,’9′ );
add_action(‘thesis_hook_after_header’,'close_adsense_targeting’,’8′ );
add_action(‘thesis_hook_before_headline’,'open_adsense_targeting’,’10′ );
add_action(‘thesis_hook_after_post’, ‘close_adsense_targeting’,’10′);
add_action(‘thesis_hook_after_html’, ‘end_adsense_targeting’,’10′);

code credit: http://www.binaryturf.com/google-adsense-section-targeting-thesis-theme-wordpress/

How to add Google Adsense Section Targeting to HTML code

if your website requires that you add in the Google AdSense section targeting to do HTML code, then Google themselves have provided a tutorial for you to do so. The following instructions below are from Google’s website.

The HTML tags to emphasize a page section take the following format:

<!– google_ad_section_start –>

<!– google_ad_section_end –>

You can also designate sections you’d like to have ignored by adding a (weight=ignore) to the starting tag:

<!– google_ad_section_start(weight=ignore) –>

With these tags added to your HTML code, your final code may look like the following:

<html><head><title>Section targeting</title></head>
<body>
<!– google_ad_section_start –>

This is the text of your webpage. Most of your content resides here.

<!– google_ad_section_end –>
</body>
</html>

Do I really need to Add Google Adsense Section Targeting

Is the Pope religious? Do cows eat grass?

Yes of course you do need to Add Google Adsense Section Targeting to your website because if you have Adsense showing, why not earn as much as you can?

Do you have any other ways to Add Google Adsense Section Targeting to your website?

I am running a quick competition to win a free WPSubscribers WordPress plug-in. The creator, Jenni R, will kindly supply one lucky winner with a free copy of this amazing plug-in. Let me tell you about it!

This new WPSubscribers WordPress plugin wipes the floor when it comes to getting subscribers for your blog. The plugin includes so many features that it has made other WordPress plugins obsolete. For example it can replace Subscribers Magnet, Pop-up domination, exit pop, and many more.. BUT this plugin only costs $49.00. (one off payment)

I am not going to mention too much about the plug-in as I want you to tell me the features. One thing I will mention is that this plugin integrates with the top e-mail management systems such as Aweber and Mailchimp.

Here is a video showing how to set up WpSubcribers WordPress plugin

This video will show how I setup my copy of WPSubscribers plugin by adding my optin form code into the settings.

One tip for this plugin is to press the SAVE button after editing any settings. This is an obvious thing to do but is often forgotten.

Why did I buy WPSubscribers WordPress Plugin?

You would have to be an idiot not to buy this plug-in to build your list. It is just so cheap and has so many features! If you are serious about making money then this is definitely a plug-in that you will need.

How to win a Free WpSubscribers WordPress Plugin?

1. Go to the sales page HERE.
2. Copy the exact sentence from the page that shows a feature of this plugin.
3. Come back here and paste it in the comment section.
4. Your feature  has to be different to others listed in the comments.

I think there are approximately 50 features that can be copied from this page so you could have a 1 in 50 chance to win.

Rules

• Entries will be checked thoroughly and a winner will be drawn at random by a third party company.
• The winner will be drawn on the 20th of September, Aussie time.
• The winner will be notified through the email left when commenting.
• Jenni R will use this email to register your copy of WPSubscribers.

Good luck to you all and I hope YOU Win a Free WPSubscribers WordPress Plugin..

Ok here is the winner: Number 17

I am starting to implement more rules when it comes to getting your comment approved on this WordPress website. People have been contacting me, asking why their comments have not been approved so I am going to just tell you all straight up in this article.

Unfortunately I have to you do this as the blog is just getting too busy to deal with junk comments. I am puzzled as the why people keep trying to submit these pathetic useless comments as they are just wasting my time and theirs.

5 Tips to Getting your Comments Approved

When commenting on other peoples blogs, often it is overlooked that every comment contributes to your online reputation. This is why I would like to help you get your comments approved on this WordPress website. I seriously believe that people create these useless comments because they lack of knowledge and a little bit of education can go a long way.

#1. Use your real name

Using your real name it where it says name in the comment form, is just common courtesy now days. This rule is going to be enforced as from today. I have done everything I can to help you with your keywords by installing CommentLuv premium which also includes keyword love. If you cannot manage to put your name@keyword then you will not be approved. I do not care how great your comment here is, as it could be 500 words long, but if you do not put your name it will not be approved.

Of course if you just use your name without the keyword, this is okay as well.

It is a real shame when someone writes a fantastic comment and ruins it by using the keyword as their name. As you can see in the screenshot above, one of the comments as a keyword as the name, and the keyword as the keyword. What is the point of this?

The person above had a valid comment, which was a very good question related to that post. I would welcome this person to come back and comment the right way as I am looking forward to answering that question.

#2. One liners are out

Even if you are a seasoned visitor of this website, I am sorry to say that one-liners will no longer be approved. Even if you are a guest post here and you continually add in one-liners for your responses, I do not appreciate this and will not accept guest posts from you again. When I announced that this WordPress website was accepting dofollow comments I listed some suggestions on how to get your comments approved. Well now these are no longer suggestions but clear rules.

Examples of one-liners:

• WOW this is a great post!
• You are great and this is a great post!
• You are so smart and this is a great post!
• Thank you for the great tips. I will go in use them now!
• Wow I didn’t know this! And I love your blog!
• What a great blog, I am bookmarking it now.

#3. Add value to the discussion

I really don’t know how many times I have to tell people to make their comment worthwhile and add value to the discussion. What is the point of writing something silly like “great post” or “you are great” as mentioned in the one liners. Thanks very much to those comments but they will not be approved if I can help it. I would rather see your honest opinion about the subject of the article. Even the comments longer than a one liner with no meaning will not be published.

Sometimes I get fooled with spam that looks like real comments, however this is exactly why I have implemented more rules. Trust me, this job of moderating comments is turning out to be the hardest job I have when it comes to blogging. Make sure you realize that I am only human and real humans can make mistakes. Thankfully I have loyal followers of this blog that will let me know if there is a comment that is not meant to be approved.

#4. Gung ho is a no-no

Yes you might think your an expert, however this does not make your opinion right and others wrong. In this business there are so many different ways for someone to build a website or even promote a website, therefore we must keep an open mind when people are sharing their experiences.

It is most welcome that you give your strong opinion, however by doing this, there is no need to try and prove that someone else is wrong. All you have to do is say “well here’s my take on it” or “this is how I do it”. You do not have to do be-little or put down anyone to get your point across.

I will never like a person that thinks they are better than someone else. This is how I operate in my whole life and I do not think I am going to change.

#5. Getting your Comments Approved by not using abbreviations

We know that you think you are up with the latest Internet chat abbreviations, but when it comes to understanding your comment, you need to make it is clear is possible for people to be interested. If you need to use abbreviations you also need to include the meaning in brackets. Also cutting words short will not do your comment any favors and usually simply frustrates people when they are trying to read your comment.

 Akismet API key problems

I noticed that a lot of comments on this website were being thrown into the spam folder. This puzzled me as Akismet had been working very very well up until then. I went to investigate and found that I needed a new API key to fully activate the plug-in. However now the API key costs money. I will have to investigate this, however at the moment I have installed a new plug-in and will be testing that. It is called WP-AntiSpam.

I also use GASP but I have found that I need both this plug-in, and another to go with it. If I only install one anti spam plug-in I get bombarded with  spam. This they do not always be the case for you, so do not think there is something wrong or right about this. You need to test the plug-ins for yourself to see what works the you.

If anyone has any further information about the Akismet WordPress plug-in, please share your information below.

Getting a Gravatar picture for your comments

This is another thing that annoys me, however I am not going to ban people because they do not have a Gravatar. Some new Webmasters do not even know how to get one.

How to get a Gravatar:

1. Go to Gravatar.com and register for a free account.
2. Use the email you usually use when commenting on blogs.
3. Upload a picture to the account..

Now when you comment and use the right email address in the email field, you will see the gravatar which is the picture you just uploaded.

Getting a Gravatar is very simple and makes you look professional. I strongly suggest that everyone reading this go and get one now. The picture does not have to be a picture of you, it can be a logo or even a picture of a dog. Who really cares what the picture is, the fact is, this is another proof of identification.

Thank you to my regulars

At this point, I would like to say thank you to all the regulars who comment continuously on this blog and add value to it. You all have come up with some amazing information and shared it with everyone.

New webmasters are often asking why their WordPress website is not making money. This is especially a sad question when people have been blogging for 2 years or more without any rewards.

I often see people’s websites and would dearly love to critique their website to help them out but there are just too many disasters out there. Don’t get me wrong as I have made all the same mistakes myself and this is why I can tell you a few problems that stand out for me.

I have started to publish a few posts about how I make money online and although people say this information is inspiring, it does not help you with making money. This is why I am going to mention a few reasons why your WordPress website is not making money.

#1.  Your niche is too wide

When people start a WordPress website from scratch they often pick a general niche. For example they might want to make a website about computers, family life, or just news in general. I do not recommend having a general niche that is not focused and it will be very hard to know which direction to take your website. It is also extremely hard to make a plan and stick to it when you have such a wide scope.

Instead of choosing a large wide topic like computers, dig deeper and pick a small and niche within that topic. There are a thousand smaller niches such as, computer help for seniors, computers for beginners, even computer parts, computer maintenance, computer virus help, and so on..

As you can see the word computers has a broad meaning. A person looking for this might want to buy a computer or maybe learn about them. There is no way of telling  and this is why we need to target extra words to narrow down our prospects before they flood your website and find nothing they like.

Researching a niche is the most important part of this business. When a website is not making money webmasters often overlook the fact that they are in the wrong niche altogether. Maybe there are no buyers for this niche. Do the research. Demand for the niche equals traffic and sales.

#2.  Website lacks focus

Even if you do have at tight niche with a focused subject, people seem to go off topic which does not help their website at all. How do you know that your website visitors are interested in your off topic? Just because someone is interested in computers does not mean they are interested in writing programs or building computers. If you were going to a website about “software programming” you would not expect articles about building a computer from scratch, you would expect articles about code and writing software programs.

#3.  Too many goals

If you are wondering why your WordPress website is not making money; then you need to investigate your methods. How many products or advertising spaces have you got on each page? Have you gone overboard with the ads?

Having too much advertising makes you look desperate and also screams inexperience. The K.I.S.S (keep it simple stupid) method is recommended for a new WordPress website. Do not go populating your website with advertising until you have a little bit more experience under your belt.

Having the wrong advertising or even too much can annoy a website visitor and in the early stage of a website you need all the visitor you can get.

#4.  Your content is not complete

Webmasters often ask me to look at their websites and when I get there I see that their content is not that great. Unfortunately they think it is great. I often see articles about a particular topic that do not cover the entire subject. You cannot just start a story and not finish it. You cannot mention that a product is great without saying why it is great and giving examples to prove it. The whole story and nothing but the whole story. That is what you need.

For example, to write an article about certain information you sometimes need to include some background information. This might be on the page or linked to.

An example would be telling people how to format or Re-install windows when you have explained that all the files will be wiped from the computer when you format. Or you haven’t mentioned backup of files before formatting. Then what happens after formatting. The story continues.

I have some techniques I use to write killer content but it is not easy as it all comes with experience. The more content you create, the more you realize what is classed as great content, and the easier it gets to write.

#5.  You do not have the right skills (yet)

Of course many new Webmasters that are building their first WordPress website lack in the skills needed to build a successful business. Building a WordPress website to make money is a huge task and you should not put pressure on yourself to try and learn this too fast. People study for years in college and university to become qualified at something and Internet marketing is not offered as a study option as yet. Therefore most new Webmasters are taking advice from other people that are making money online and it depends on who you follow as to what skills you learn.

The moral of this story is to choose your mentor wisely.

#6.  Not knowing how to monetize

Some new webmasters simply do not know how to make money from their website and miss golden opportunities to do so. Every page on my website is a sales page (not the pushy kind) or it leads to a page that has a clear goal, which is another sales page.

I treat each page as an important page, especially if it has a history of making sales. Webmasters, and not just newbies, often forget that every page is an asset and they are like shelves in a big store.  So the homepage is the shop front and the pages are the shelves. So let’s stop and think about each shelf in the store. What item would look good on that shelf that might appeal to customers?

#7.  SEO is non existent

People often ask me why their WordPress website is not making money. They list all the things they have done and it appears that they are doing everything correctly, however when I look at the website, immediately I see that there is no Onpage SEO. Yes they have good content but I should be able to immediately work out what keyword is targeted by simply glancing at your title and your first paragraph. Bingo! If I do not see your keyword staring me in the face, then I know you are not doing it right.

There are many parts to search engine optimization and there are also many ways that people do this. Everyone develops their own style and I have taken many years to develop mine.

You need to know that SEO is a big part of online success and the sooner you realize this the better. The Art of SEO equals targeted traffic which in turn results in happy website visitors.

Conclusion to why your WordPress website is not making money:

It is not all doom and gloom as it can all be repaired. The affiliate links can be added in correctly, the ads can be taken down, the content re-written and SEOed, and so on..

If you have to scrap the website and start again, you can use the content for other things in the future.In some cases it is quicker to start again but in other cases you can simply change your focus.

This article is here to set you on a path to making money online and not have negative effects on your attitude. Just remember that I have made all of these mistakes and if you are making them too then you are very normal!

It is pure torture wondering why your WordPress website is not making money

Adding Social Media Buttons to your WordPress Website is an extremely important part of website promotion. You have to add the social media buttons onto your website so people can appreciate your content and easily share it with their friends. If you have not installed social media buttons then you are missing out on a whole lot of free promotion and neglecting the chance to enhance your social media profiles.

There are a few ways to add social media buttons to your WordPress website. One is to do it manually and the other is to install a WordPress plug-in. I have ventured down both paths and ended back at installing a WordPress plug-in to add social media buttons to my website. I have previously published articles about how to add a Facebook share button and  mentioned other plugins to use. However now I have new favorites.

Why use a WordPress plug-in to add social media buttons?

1.  It is easy and quick and you do not need to know any coding.
2. They always look professional and line up nicely.
3. The big one is less stress trying to doing it manually.

3 cool WP Plugins to add social media buttons to your website

I have tested approximately 10 or more WordPress plug-ins that will add social media buttons to your WordPress website. Of course this does not make me an expert and I can only suggest these 4 ways to add social media buttons. I have previously added the code in manually for many different social media buttons which was a pain in the “butt” as each WordPress theme  demanded different customizations. Now I have narrowed my choices down to the Plugins that look great, encourage shares, and do not slow my blog down.

I have also included one manual way for Thesis fans.

Sharebar – Social Media Buttons

The Sharebar WordPress Plugin is by far the best sliding vertical bar I have seen to date. It is so easy to setup and use and can be customized in a matter of minutes. I also absolutely love the look of it and I am sure it does not slow down my website in any way. In fact you will be able to see it to the left of this post. Please feel free to press on the buttons and try it out!

http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/sharebar/

Socialize – Social Media buttons

I had a dilemma when I had to choose between this groovy WordPress plugin and the manual way I have mentioned below. Look how great this Socialize plugin looks. I just do not know why more webmasters are not using it??

• Inside the content (aligned left or right)
• In a box below the content

Take a look at the screen shot below. How cool does this Social Media sharing box look?

http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/socialize/

Sexy Bookmarks – Social Media Buttons

I have used Sexy Bookmarks and there is no doubt that it is cool, however as I do not believe it encourages sharing as much as the previous two WordPress plug-ins do. I am mentioning this WordPress plugin because I actually get a lot of questions asking what it is.

The fact that it is hiding is totally cool, but I think that having the buttons fully visible encourages sharing more.

The last and most obvious way to add social media buttons to your website is to do it manually.

http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/sexybookmarks/

Adding Social Media Buttons to Thesis Manually

I played around with code and wasted  time, then stumbled across an amazing tutorial by Nicholas Reese on how to add social media buttons to thesis. I grabbed this code and changed it to suit my website, adding it to the hook below the post, and changing the CSS. I also added a Google plus one button in.

• Where it says $twitter= in the code you need to add your Twitter name after that like this $twitter=’wordpresswb’
• I also added the Google plus one button into this code

Of course I need to adjust this further and possibly take the email button out and add other social media buttons that will work better for my website.

Conclusion on Adding Social Media Buttons

The WordPress plug-ins are fantastic when it comes to adding social media buttons to your website. Sometimes you have to give in and install a plug-in, as I know many people are trying to build their WordPress websites without adding heavy extras. At the moment my absolute favorite plug-in for adding social media buttons is definitely the sharebar.

Another one that looks great but I have not tried is WP Socializer. Be sure to check this one out if you are still undecided.

http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wp-socializer/

Which WordPress plug-in or manual method do you use to add social media buttons to your WordPress website?

When I first started building websites a few years ago, I definitely made more than 10 critical SEO mistakes. Unfortunately I had to learn by trial and error and it seems like it has been a long road for me. Now I have a list of 10 critical SEO mistakes to avoid so you do not have to learn the hard way.

# 1. Correct keyword selection

I am really sorry I have to mention this because when you get into building websites, keywords can become a nightmare. If you do not have good keywords that people are searching for then your website could be doomed from the start. Not understanding this aspect and picking the wrong keywords can ruin a business and its earnings. Finding the right keywords is also vital and having the wrong keywords can be the reason your website isn’t converting.

#2. Onpage SEO mistakes

People often build websites and simply think that you can just publish content and everything else will somehow magically happen. Well search engine optimization onpage is extremely important as this is going to tell the search engines what your page is about. Please see what is search engine optimization. It will give you a better idea about what onpage SEO means. Let me just say, neglect it and you will regret it.

#3. URL and post title do not match content

We all know that the title of a page or post should represent what the actual content is about but what about the url? Not many people see the URL as being important but over the years we has been shown clear proof that the URL does count. Why do you think everyone recommends you have your main keyword in the domain name of your website?

So to clarify this I will use an example:

Title: 5 Tips for your next SEO campaign

Keyword: SEO campaign

URL: www.yourdomain.com/SEO-campaign

Content: Must have 5 tips for a SEO Campaign

#4. Duplicate or bad content

Duplicate content is frowned upon and is one of the worst SEO mistakes that you can make. Webmasters are temped to try duplicate content as it is an easy way out, but its not worth it now days. Google and other search engines will ban you if you have only duplicate content on your website.

Maybe you are trying to create original content but it turns out to be junk. Did you know that it sometimes takes me two hours to write a great content, sometimes longer. Are you putting that effort in? I have had to improve my grammar, spelling, and writing style the hard way. People naturally presume I am a natural at writing and creating content, but this is not true, it is simply hard work.

Taking the easy way out is one of those SEO mistakes that people often try. Avoid duplicate content and make your website interesting and unique.

#5. Keyword stuffing

When people learn about SEO they go crazy and stuff their website with keywords that just do not fit. This is one of the common SEO mistakes to avoid. It just does not look good when you have a page with 50% keywords. How can you possibly make killer content when you have stuffed it with keywords.

#6. Poor navigation and internal linking

People need to easily navigate your website and your links and navigation counts for SEO. Linking to other internal pages on your website using the right anchor text is seriously important. It is like an endorsement from your own website, agreeing that the article you are pointing to is about what the anchor text states.

Also choosing the best WordPress theme plays a big part in the SEO of your website and the main navigation system.

#7. Wrong Backlinks

Creating backlinks that have the wrong anchor text is definitely one of those fatal SEO mistakes that can make or break your website. There is a delicate balance required here also.

1. You need to make backlinks pointing to your website using the keyword in the anchor text.
2. The anchor text needs to be varied but mean the same thing.
3. The anchor text must directly relate to the content on the page.

Here is an example using the SEO campaign keyword from above:

Anchor text: SEO campaign, new SEO Campaign, SEO campaign tips, and so on…

Content: All about SEO campaign

#8. Neglecting SEO on internal pages

Some webmasters simply think they only have to optimize for their homepage and neglect all other content. This is one of the major SEO mistakes to avoid. Each page and post on your website has its own life and personality, make sure you treat it as an individual.

If you have a large website you can choose the most popular landing pages on your website to concentrate on optimizing.

#9. No ALT tag on images

You have included an image in your post but haven’t included an ALT tag with your keywords in it. Oh no this is one of those bad SEO mistakes as Google cannot tell what the image is about if you do not label it. You will also miss out on targeted traffic as images can be found in the search engines and bring you website traffic.

#10. Over Optimizing

There is a delicate balance doing what is needed but overdoing will get you penalized! I guess that’s why I use SEOpressor because it will tell me if I am going over the limits of onpage SEO. This SEO mistake is sometimes done unintentionally by adding too many keywords or optimizing so much that the text in not readable any longer. If you accidentally over optimized one or two posts on your website those articles may drop out of the search engines. But if you do this on too many pages you entire website may get banned.

SEO mistakes should be avoided at all costs. Google is not out to get you, they are just looking for high quality websites to rank in the search engines.

Over the years I have committed some of these SEO mistakes but I hope you can avoid them like the plague now that you have read this article.

You’ve spent a lot of time and money on your website, you’ve made sure you’re ranking at the top of the search engine results pages for your chosen keyphrases and all you’ve got to do now is sit back and watch the cash starting pouring in, but your website isn’t converting.

What if the cash never comes? What if you’ve spent all this time and money and your website isn’t actually producing any conversions? Here are a few things that could be contributing to your poor conversion rate:

6 Reasons Why Your Website Isn’t Converting

#1.  Wrong keywords

Keyword research can be very tricky and you need to make sure you know what you’re doing. When your website isn’t converting you need a careful balance between keywords with a high search volume and keywords that are relevant to your landing pages. One common mistake a lot of new website owners make is just targeting the terms that are going to bring in the traffic. Statistically speaking it’s actually the longer tail keywords with the lower search volumes that are more likely to produce a conversion. If your website isn’t converting go back to basics, redo your keyword research and make sure you’re actually ranking for the words that are applicable to you and your website. Have a look at your competitors, ask you mom or your Gran (or someone who isn’t quite so tech savvy), what they’d search for if they were looking for your product. Run some PPC campaigns so you can get an instant idea of what keyterms are going to get you conversions and start optimising those terms in the organic listings.

#2.  Onsite copy

Let’s start at the beginning, if you’re sure you are ranking for the right terms then the most likely reason you’re not seeing conversions will be because of your onsite copy. Yes you might be selling a very technical or a very dry service or product but that doesn’t mean you have to send your site traffic into a coma. The technical description might appeal to someone later in the buying cycle but you need to capture people at the start of the buying cycle too so they’ll come back to you when they’re ready to make a purchase. Don’t bombard them with an overload of information, keep it simple and too the point, use bullet points to get technical information and drop downs to add in any other technical information that you can’t shorten. You can always add extra pages if needed rather than trying to cram everything onto one page. If your website isn’t converting always try new things.

#3.  Shouting about your USP

If your website isn’t converting, are you sure your traffic knows why they should be spending money with you? Everyone has a unique selling point (USP) and you need to make sure yours is blatantly obvious. If you’re the cheapest shout about it, if you offer free after care or free delivery make sure your site traffic knows this. This is not the time to be modest, what ever you do that isn’t industry standard you need to make a song and dance about it. You need to give your site traffic a reason to spend their cash with you especially because they know it only takes a couple of clicks and they can be checking out your competitors.

#4.  Check analytics

Look at the stats your website is producing. Your Google Analytics account is going to be able to tell you exactly what pages people are leaving your site from, the pages with a below average time on site and where they’re dropping out of the conversion process. Make sure you’ve got your goals and funnels set up properly so you know you’re looking at accurate data. It can be a very big job to tackle the whole website in one go so start with those poorly performing pages, are they relevant to the key term they’re ranking for? Do they give the user the information they’re looking for in the most efficient format? Do you have a more suitable page that should be ranking for that term?

#5.  User testing – Website isn’t converting

Spend some time and cash and get some user testing done. This doesn’t have to cost a fortune and it can be a great investment. If there’s a problem with your website that isn’t immediately obvious the chances are you’re not going to spot it. You’re so used to staring at your own site you become immune to any flaws or problems after a while so it’s always good to get a fresh pair of eyes to get an unbiased opinion of your site. It might be something as simple as the ‘add to cart’ button not being prominent enough or they’re not entirely sure what they’re getting for their money.

#6.  Competitor research

Don’t just sit there when your website isn’t converting, do some spying on your competitors and find out what they’re doing. They may not be ranking as well as you but they might be getting better conversions. Look at the design of their site, what is it that makes their site different from yours? Obviously you can’t outright copy their site but you might be able to take away a few ideas. Look at what their pages are optimised for and how relevant the landing page is for that term. Don’t forget to have a look through their back links and check to see if they’re getting any powerful links you could be utilising in your campaign (this might not necessarily help with your conversion but it’s always good to know where you can find some good links), you might also find if their links are sending them some very industry relevant traffic.

After running through these points you should soon start to see your conversions increasing and before you know it the cash will be rolling in.

Jessica is an SEO for Schofields who are French insurance providers

What do you when your website isn’t converting?

Now days there is a plugin for everything, but the EasyAzon Amazon WordPress Plugin is one of those must have plugins for the serious money maker.

Chris Guthrie sent me his new Amazon plugin to review, from a recommendation from Andy Bailey at Comment luv, however I do not take the time to review everything that comes my way. A new plugin has to be pretty innovative now days because it is usually a case of “been there and done that”, when it comes to plugin creation. This particular plugin caught my eye though.

I had heard about Chris Guthrie and investigated some of his methods to making money. What he writes about is all very similar to what I actually do so I know the guy is a genuinely knows how to make money online. He shares some very valuable information with his readers and this alone forced me to install this WordPress plugin to test.

Why bother with an Amazon Affiliate plugin?

I know there are many free Amazon plugins out there and I have tried at least four. I will not mention them as they either turned out to be annoying, more work than they were worth, or just simply junk. EasyAzon is different and it actually has some features that I have been searching for in an Amazon Plugin.

Lets compare Amazon linking options:

1. You can use a link cloaker but I have noticed problems with this. Sometimes these links appear in Google webmaster tools and cause errors. It is something to do with Amazon.
2. You can manually search for a link, copy the affiliate code, then paste it into your blog. This takes up way too much time!

What does EasyAzon do that other Amazon plugins do not?

• You get the search results on the post editing page making it easy to insert links.
• When you find a suitable link it is simply to insert.
• The links look neat but are obvious that they lead to Amazon.
• I have installed this plugin with 26 other plugins so it must be compatible with the most common WordPress plugins.
• Once you have found your link details, shortcode is placed into your post.
• It is GEO targeted! This means that Uk visitors will be directed to the product on the UK Amazon site. Us will be taken to US Amazon.
• EasyAzon makes it easy to insert images from Amazon. This is a pain in the bum otherwise.

Will the plugin earn more money for me?

If you are already an Amazon affiliate and  make money online with Amazon then this plugin will earn you extra money. The first simple reason is that the GEO target feature will allow you to send the visitor to the right Amazon website where they will feel more comfortable buying.

This plugin will also save you time which is far more valuable than money.

How to use the EasyAzon Amazon Affiliate plugin?

1.  Go to a WordPress post you are editing.

2.  Choose a word you want to make into a link. Or simply click where you would like to insert your Amazon affiliate link.

3.  Go to the EasyAzon Amazon search section.

4.  Type in the keyword you are looking for. I like to copy the text first and paste it in here. See the screen shot below.

5.  Now you have three choices on what type of affiliate link you would like.

In this tutorial I am going to press the Insert text link option.

6.  After pressing to insert a text link you now can create your own Link text or use the text provided with the product.

7.  Press on Insert shortcode and your link will be created. See the screen shot below to see the link I created. Simple and neat. The anchor text is there in between the shortcode.

This is what it looks like when the post is published.

If you press on the Insert Info Block option you will see this box below. The product will change according to your choice.

The time that this plugin can save me is worth it’s weight in gold. Also the fact that it is GEO targeted and just makes adding Amazon affiliate links to a WordPress post or page so easy.

Will I keep this plugin installed on my WordPress website? Yes of course! I haven’t seen a better Amazon affiliate plugin than EazyAzon. Be sure to check it out for yourself!

When building a WordPress website, one of the things that you must know how to do, is to embed a Youtube video into your website. I have always focused on getting traffic from Youtube but never actually on adding the vi doe to your website. Embedding a video is not that hard to do, however there are a few different processes that you can use. These processes on how to embed a Youtube video could change from day to day.

At one stage you could not put Iframe code into your WordPress website so I am basing this tutorial on that fact. Youtube actually changed its embed code and took away the option to get the old code. However now I notice that you can get two types of code from Youtube.

The actual code to embed a Youtube video html looks like this:

<iframe width=”480″ height=”390″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/tmhksy12yt4″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe>

The Old code looks like this below:

<object width=”425″ height=”344″><param name=”movie” value=”http://www.youtube.com/v/3wkN_xCp4HE&hl=en&fs=1″></param><param name=”allowFullScreen” value=”true”></param><param name=”allowscriptaccess” value=”always”></param><embed src=”http://www.youtube.com/v/3wkN_xCp4HE&hl=en&fs=1″ type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” allowscriptaccess=”always” allowfullscreen=”true” width=”425″ height=”344″></embed></object>

What happens when you embed a Youtube video into your WordPress website?

When you embed a Youtube video into your WordPress website, the video is available on your website for your visitors to view. This means that you are not storing the video, but it is available on your website to see. This way you can use Youtube’s bandwidth for free and still make your website look great with videos that you are either made yourself or requested from another Youtube user.

There is a big play button in the middle of the video for the person to press, and once they have done this the video will play. If they click on the video a few times they will be taken to Youtube, to the original page where the video exists. Therefore it is probably better if you do embed a Youtube video that you have made. Don’t worry if you haven’t got your own videos as it is definitely fine to embed someone else’s. In fact you are very welcome to embed any of my computer basics videos on your website.

How to embed a Youtube video HTML code into a WordPress website?

The first way to embed Youtube video into your WordPress website is to click on the box to use the old code. Int the screen shot below you can see the last box where the arrow is pointing to. You need to place a tick in this box to see the old code.

Select the code by making it blue, right click on the blue selection, and select copy form the menu.

Then you simple paste the code into the HTML section of your post or page.

The second option to embed Youtube video HTML into WordPress is to download a plug-in that will allow you to insert Youtube videos easily. I have “Iframe embed for Youtube” plugin. This means I only have to press a button and add the Youtube URL into the box provided and the video will be added into my WordPress post.

I have tried to press on the add video icon in WordPress but it will not embed the Youtube video. It will only make a link to the video.

Notes on how to embed a Youtube video:

• If you are pasting this into your HTML of a website you can paste this code anywhere between the <body> and </body> tag.
• You can also upload your own Youtube video to Youtube and then paste the code into your website. See how to upload a video to Youtube.
• In a forum post if embedding Youtube video’s is enabled then you can sometimes put the url of the video in between [youtube] tags [/yoututbe].

Adding video to your website can improve your websites bounce rate on Google Analytics as people will stay on your website for longer. Video also enhances how to tutorials and lessons by showing hands on situations. It is really like having a personal teacher in the room with you.

Why should you build websites using WordPress? If you are asking this question, then you must be either contemplating switching to WordPress or building a new WordPress Website from scratch.

We can see daily, hundreds of companies opening for business in various different places all over the world. These businesses have realized that it is better to build websites and publish their news online, rather than pay high prices for ineffective, outdated media methods. By building a website for a business, along with managed social media profiles and reputation management, this is the fastest way to grow a new business.

Software that is available today on the web help both individuals and businesses with various ways to build websites, blogs, or social media profiles. WordPress is one of the most highly regarded content management systems that can enable you to create attractive websites and blogs for almost next to 0 cost. This web software is both free and absolutely priceless.

Build Websites Using WordPress – The History

The first version of WordPress Content management system software was introduced in the year 2003. This version was associated with only a single bit of the code in order to enhance the typography of the daily writings. In the beginning, there were only limited users of this WordPress software and as the days went on, it has grown to be the biggest self-hosted blogging tool in the world.

Hundreds of software engineers volunteered to work on the core software as one of the largest open source projects and now the software’s claim to fame is that it has been “built by a community, for the community”.

Build Websites Using WordPress – Today

You can now find thousands of themes and plugins that are available and solely developed to build websites using WordPress. If you go to WordPress.org you can download the software for free. It also now comes standard in most Web hosting Control Panel’s. For example you can push a few buttons in Hostgator cpanel hosting and install WordPress in minutes. Today, this website software is being used by more than 25 million people all around the globe. Of course I build all of my website on WordPress and would not use anything else!

Why build websites using WordPress?

WordPress web software has always surprised its users with the release of stable latest versions with more advantages when compared with the previous released versions. Such latest versions of this software are released in two formats along with the complete information about these versions in the concerned links.

Here are some great reasons why you should use WordPress to build websites:

1. When building websites the installation process of this software is extremely easy and only takes about 4-5 minutes.
2. The installation process along with the facilities that are available under this web software will be stated elaborately in the available handy manuals under the concerned links of this software. The experts of this software will always be ready to volunteer their time to help you get the most of your blog.
3. You can find about 1300 to 1500 different top WordPress themes listed and available for free on the WordPress.org website. The themes include the titles such as Evolve, Adventure Journal, Suffusion, zBench, Toolbox, Easel, Liquorice, LightWord, Caroline, News, and Twenty Ten and so on. New themes are added daily.
4. There are thousands of free plug-ins to go with your website which enable you to add amazing features to your WordPress website. For example you can get a related posts plug-in, a search engine optimization plug-in, an antispam comment plug-in, and so on.
5. There are so many people using WordPress to build websites with, that it is impossible for it ever to die. This means that you will continually have a new plug-ins and themes for your WordPress websites.
6. There is no shortage of tutorials on the Internet, all for free, on how to use WordPress to build websites with. In fact we have a complete WordPress Website Basics section that will help you build your website for free.

Of course there are many other reasons why you should build websites using WordPress and we would love to hear from you in the comments section below.

Notes on why you should build websites using WordPress:

• It is the best and easiest content management system to use.
• WordPress.com and WordPress.org are not the same thing.

Now you know why you should build websites using WordPress!