Google’s PageRank scores are not as important to Google as they once were. Nowadays they are only a tiny factor in how Google ranks your page in search results.
But PageRank (PR) is still used by many advertisers to select blogs to advertise on. That makes PR important for monetizing your blog.
A free service called PRChecker lets you quickly check PageRank for a web site and then generate code that you can paste into a widget (or any html code) to display a button that shows the current (updated) PR of each page of your site, on your site.
The PageRank button comes in three sizes. Here is the size I normally use:
There is also a free PageRank Checker Tool that you can add to your site. I’ve put one in the right-hand sidebar of this page for you to use to check PR of your sites right here at BlogDesignJournal.
So you can come back here anytime to check PR of a blog and read about what’s going on in the blog design world.
Graffiti art has tremendous vitality and a feeling of authenticity. Sometimes ugly, it can also be beautiful and outrageously creative. It can lend freshness and creativity to a building, a neighborhood, or your blog.
I had created a page, where I intended to add a widget that allows you to easily make your own graffiti graphic signature. It’s free. It’s fun. And you just might find a use for the graphics you make.
They do offer the widget code to embed in your own site. (Presumably it works on HTML sites?) It does work if you paste the code in a WordPress Text widget and put that in a sidebar. I have done that, and it worked.
So for now you can see (and use) the widget in the lower right corner of this site. But I will not leave it there for long, so play with it now and remember to go to NYGraffitiCreator.com if you want it later.
By the way, the text entry box is that gray bar right above the control sliders under the Preview area.
No matter whether you are going to build a blog dedicated to affiliate marketing, drop shipping, or your own product, it is very important to choose a platform that will enable you to add content easily.
Today, WordPress and Blogspot are the industry leaders when it comes to the blogging arena. When you answer the following questions, it will help ensure that you are using the best platform for your new blog. Read the rest of this entry →
With the neon-text-generation widget, you can generate neon text for your blog or web site, if the style is appropriate for your design and contents.
And you can get this widget and put it on a blog about, say, graphics, for the use of site visitors. Putting a text generator on your site may bring visitors back for repeat visits.
At WidgetBox.com you can generate the widget for a wide variety of platforms (including WordPress, Blogger, HTML, and lots more). And you have the choice of javascript or flash.
To get the neon-text-generation widget, just click on the tab at the bottom of the widget in the sidebar on the right on this page. (You may need to scroll down or up to find the widget.)
My favorite new widget for 2009 is the PayDotCom product widget. I’ve been busy today putting it on all my blogs.
The PayDotCom product widget displays links to the top-selling products in up to three categories you choose. It comes on a variety of colors to match your blog. To view the one on this blog, look in the far right column. You may have to scroll down a bit. It has a dark blue frame.
And if anyone clicks on a product in the PayDotCom widget, and ends up buying it, even months later, you get paid a commission.
You select the categories and the widget color. PayDotCom provides a snippet of code to paste into your site. It is just that easy.
You do need to join PayDotCom first. If you have a ClickBank ID, you can elect to have the top-selling products from ClickBank in your chosen categories also be displayed.
To use that feature, you will need to join ClickBank if you don’t already have an account. (PayDotCom and ClickBank accounts are free.)
Here are a couple of quick tips:
If you decide to change the widget color, you must double-click on the new widget for it to be selected. Otherwise, you will get the old one.
Instead of copying and pasting new code to change the widget color, you can simply change the number of the “theme” in the widget code. The colors are numbered starting at one in the upper left corner and moving from left to right. If you are not changing categories, it is easier and quicker to just change the code.
BlogCatalog.com has come up with an interesting replacement for the BlogRush widget. It displays your own blog posts (on however many blogs you have registered with BlogCatalog) and some other activities such as Diggs. You’ll see one in the right-hand sidebar of this page.
You can choose from about eight colors, and you set the width (in pixels) and the number of items to display (so you effectively control the height as well). If you have several blogs, this is a great way to send traffic from one to another.
Besides the WordPress version, you can create BlogCatalog widgets that work with Blogger and TypePad blogs as well. It is easy and fun.
BlogCatalog offers four different widgets in all. If you scroll down, you will see their Recent Viewers widget (with dozens of tiny pictures). Those are also highly customizable. You can choose the size, number of pictures, color of the frame and the text, and so on.
Widgets are just one of the benefits of belonging to the BlogCatalog community. You can get great exposure for you blogs there, join groups, make friends, and find many interesting and entertaining blogs. I highly recommend it.
Below that is a similar widget, created at MyBlogLog.com, another online blog-listing community where you should list your blogs if you haven’t already.
As I’m currently updating my old blogs and developing new ones, I will be checking on all the old favorite blog registrars and trying out new ones. I’ll report back here on the best ones I find.
I just discovered this site where you can make a widget of your own blog posts. They call it a “blidget.”
This widget, or blidget, automatically picks up and displays your last few blog posts. It is your very own private BlogRush-type widget, featuring only your own blog!
Others can then get your blidget and put it on their blogs if they want to keep up with your posts (sort of like putting the Digg widget on your blog). Or you can put your blidget on other blogs and/or websites that you own.
Not only that, but when you create a blidget, you can then easily add it to your Facebook, MySpace, LiveJournal, or other site by clicking a button. It’s all very automated and easy.
Here is an example that I made for this blog:
You can customize your widget, and others who get your widget to put on their blog can customize it to suit their site.
Register, and you can store your widgets and have them listed in a blog directory for others to see (and maybe post on their blogs).
Also, by registering your blog, you get a free link back to your site from what is sure to be a highly Google-ranked site as it catches on. (That’s great for getting traffic and helping raise your blog’s ranking).
This is really fun stuff! Go see for yourself at Widgetbox.com.
