Having your blog posts spread across the Internet is the key to seeing an increase in your traffic and the awareness of your blog. Update services such as Technorati, Feedster and Xping for example, ping websites for the latest articles and publish them allowing many users to view your posts.

For example, Technorati has a manual pinging service, which allows you to type in the address of a website and queue the ping. Once the queue has reached your query, Technorati will ping the address you entered and collect your latest information - this is great for increasing traffic and increasing your blogs awareness.

Wordpress offers a service under ‘Options’ -> ‘Writing’ in your Wordpress Admin Dashboard, where it automatically pings services. This means that each time you publish a new blog post, Wordpress will keep places such as Technorati up to date with your latest information. For example, if you go to ‘Options’ -> ‘Writing’ and you enter in ‘http://rpc.technorati.com/rpc/ping’ in the text box right at the bottom of the page, Wordpress will ping Technorati each time you publish an article!

Now, as I mentioned above, there are tons of services similar to Technorati out there, how would you ping them all and how would you find out about all of them? With trouble to say the least, and that’s why I have put together a decent list of ping places for you.

Get this list..

What do you need to get top rankings on Google? There are many ingredients in the mix, but here are three of the most important that you need to concentrate on.

1.) Keyword Relevant Copy and Content.

Whatever the keywords you want to get ranked in the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs), be sure that you have enough copy and content about those specific words which will give Google a reason to rank you in the first place.

If for example, one of your priority keywords is “virtual assistant software”, create a separate page or section for this keyword (at least a few paragraphs) using the keyword in the headline, the first sentence, the last sentence as well as wherever it makes logical sense in order to achieve the keyword frequency and “density” that search engines are looking for. Ideally, each page will only have one or two keywords and will be very focused on that specific topic.

Additionally, by including on this specific keyword page either articles, pdf files or news items about your keyword, it will help you improve your chances of a better ranking. Give Google a reason to rank you at the top. He with the most relevant copy wins - so make it rich and deep.

2.) Can the Search Engines Read and “Crawl” All the Pages and Content on Your Site?
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Are you currently displaying a referral unit for AdSense on your website? Then read on, because there are some upcoming changes to the referral program that you should be aware of. But first let me clarify that only referral units promoting AdSense will be affected by this change; referrals to other products and services remain unaffected at this time. This change to referrals promoting AdSense will differ depending on your location, regardless of where your users are located.

• If you’re in North America, Latin America, or Japan, the pricing structure for AdSense referrals is changing.
• If you’re outside of North America, Latin America, and Japan, AdSense referrals will be retired.

I read this a while back and just never bothered blogging about it, I thought most affiliate bloggers would have noticed this, but after surfing many affiliate blogs, I’ve noticed banners taking up space, but have absolutely no value at all.

Bloggers, read the original article on the Adsense Blog and sort your free space out

A review of Yahoo searches reveals global warming, celebrity meltdowns, social networking and a literary boy wizard’s final adventure captured mankind’s attention in 2007.

The US Internet giant sifted billions of searches made this year by its hundreds of millions of users worldwide to identify trends regarding what piqued people’s interest.

The results were posted on Monday at Yahoo’s website under the banner of "Top Trends in Search in 2007".

"It is really a barometer for what is interesting and relevant for the world," Yahoo director of product marketing Raj Gossain said while discussing the findings with AFP.

"We have a set of trends that identifies a culture that is really on the brink of change. There are a lot of inflection points that relate to the environment, politics, trade, and how they view celebrity."

Information about fallen Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein and the Middle East was the most sought-after news followed by oil prices and the activities of US President George Bush.

"People were checking the status of the war and we’ve seen more and more searches on exit strategies," said Yahoo senior news editor Vera Chan.

"People are monitoring the situation in Iran, the nuclear programme and worries of further military confrontations."

Product recalls proved to be hot topics, with queries logged regarding problems with pet food, toys, and even peanut butter.

Internet searches revealed a hunger for knowledge about global warming and ways to do something about it, according to Gossain.

Recycling, hybrid cars, solar energy, and former US vice president Al Gore, who shared a 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for his battle against global warming, were among top "green" searches for the year.

"These queries indicate a desire for people to take action," Gossain said. "The issue has clearly gone into the public consciousness."

The Internet was rife, as usual, with searches for information on celebrities. This year the focus was on stars whose lives were troubled or tragic.

Queries about pop singer Britney Spears topped the list, followed in succession by those about celebrity brat Paris Hilton and Anna Nicole Smith, a former Playboy centrefold found dead in a Florida hotel room in February.

"These stories are our pop culture Greek tragedy," Chan said of celebrity sagas.

Read more..