How To Optimize Your Wordpress Blog For Search Engine Rankings

If you are using Wordpress platform for your blog, then there are a few things you need to know about optimizing it for search engine rankings. You see, Wordpress blogs are not completely optimized to rank high in search engines.Once you installed your blog, you notice that your blog is missing some important meta tags and linking structure.The title tag is also not configured the way you would like it to be. I am talking about your main blog title being included in the title meta tags of each new post you make.You want your posts to have their own title tag which is the title of the post without the main blog title.You also need Google sitemap for all your blog pages and ping Google about new changes within the sitemap.I would like to give you some tips on how you can improve your Wordpress blog optimization factor.There are so called plugins that you can download free of charge from the internet that will do the job.Here are the Wordpress plugins that you will need to get it optimized for search engines.#1 - Seo Title Tag - This plugin will allow you to set custom title for your blog homepage and posts. Title is the most important factor of the on-page search engine optimization so make sure you install this plugin on your Wordpress.You can find this plugin at: http://www.netconcepts.com/seo-title-tag-plugin/#2 - Wordpress Related Entries - This plugin for Wordpress will improve your linking structure tremendously. It will allow you to link your blog posts which will have a dramatic impact on your posts being indexed in search engines. Very effective plugin.You can find this plugin at: http://www.w-a-s-a-b-i.com/archives/2006/02/02/wordpress-related-entries-20/#3 - HeadSpace 2 - This plugin will allow you to completely customize your meta tags of all your pages within your blog. You will have full control of how you want it to be configured. You can edit the meta tags right from the post editing page.You can find this plugin at: http://www.urbangiraffe.com/plugins/headspace2/#4 - Google Sitemap Generator - This plugin will automatically create a sitemap for all your Wordpress blog pages. It will also automatically add your new posts into the sitemap and ping Google to inform about the new changes. It's very important that you install this plugin on your Wordpress blog, which will help with your pages being indexed. If you are running your blog with a website you could also add those pages to the sitemap you created.You can find this plugin at: http://www.arnebrachhold.de/2005/06/05/google-sitemaps-generator-v2-finalThose are just a few excellent plugins that you can download for free and start using them on your Wordpress blog. They will have a huge impact on your search engine rankings and overall performance of your blog.Always make sure you have your main keywords in the main title of your blog with description and keywords meta tags.

Blog Marketing Tips The Balance

It shouldn't be a secret anymore that blog marketing is more powerful than static site marketing.We have tested both models heavily in 2006 and found that our rankings come far easier with a blog as our content management system as opposed to any other form of web publishing.Below are some tips to make sure you are taking advantage of all there is to offer in the Web 2.0 world of traffic, links, and easy search engine listings.1. Tag your posts. If you are using Wordpress (and you should be) use a plugin called Ultimate Tag Warrior to tag posts and put together keyword dense archives. You can find this plugin at wp-plugins.net.2. Syndicate with RSS. Not just the feed that comes with your blog, but with custom feeds that specifically isolate keyword groups you develop content for regularly. The best tool for this is PheedPress, available from Content Desk.3. Get Involved! Trackbacks and comment links are alive and well, despite reports to the contrary. Bloggers will grant your trackbacks and comments when they are on topic and useful. These are the easiest links available on the web today.4. Social Bookmarking. Public lists of bookmarks are easy spider food and will get you more traffic the more you use social bookmarking. Your entire site should be bookmarked somewhere, and preferably in all the major bookmarking engines.5. Get Dugg. Digg.com and other social information networks take "stories" from sites that post them. Then they are ranked by members. You are either in or you're out. Dugg or buried.6. Myspace Networking. There are social networks popping up all over the place that are like Myspace. One notable network is called MyWebTop.com and it is specifically for online business owners to network and get valuable links back to their sites.7. Article Syndication. Not the 2005 version. In 2007, the best results for article syndication will be for people who adhere to the holy grail of content syndication: Topical, Relevant, Well-Written Content!Most of the above will work for old-style sites, like sites written in static html. But not nearly as well as when you publish on a blog platform.Blogging doesn't mean pouring out your feelings anymore. It is serious business and the platform itself can be used for anything where information needs to be updated regularly.Properly marketing your blog site depends first and foremost on what you have to say. If it is boring, lame, or focused too much on blatant advertising of products and services, you will get slammed with extremely poor results.The secret is the content. Very good content will dominate a niche. The platform you put it on will dictate how well it dominates. And how regularly you perform the tasks above will dictate how long you dominate.

Make Money With Blogs and Affiliate Programs

You spend hours every day with your weblog. It's become a labor of love. Wouldn't it be nice to find a way to earn some extra money with your weblog?There are ways of making money online with blogs. The method you've probably seen on most blogs is to host ads, such as with Google Adsense. You let Google put their ads on your site and get paid when people click on the ads. These get mixed reviews. Some say they make a lot this way, but many people don't report much income. Since they are free to ad to your site, it doesn't hurt to try.Affiliate programs work on blogs as well as they work on websites. Affiliate with companies that sell products related to your site. When people click on the link in your blog and purchase a product, you profit. This is another way of making money online with blogs that doesn't cost you anything. If you are passionate about a product and write about it, this can work well.If you have a website, blog about some aspect of it and provide a link. Your weblog can effectively sell the product, and all the customer has to do is click to your site and order it.You will never make money with your blog unless people can find it. Search engines seem to prefer blogs because they tend to be content rich. It helps to stick to one topic. If your blog serves a niche market, it will have less competition.Making money online with blogs is possible. Consider your blog as another avenue for making money online with little or no cost. Write about what you love, market your blog, and see if the money will follow.Earning With Affiliate ProgramsYou've probably heard of affiliate programs. Companies use affiliate pograms to sell their products. The most common way for making money online with affiliate programs is through posting a link on your website. When a customer clicks on that link and buys the product, you earn a commission.There are many advantages to making money online with affiliate programs. Startup costs are minimal. The only money you spend is to promote the product, whether through a website or other means. You don't actually sell the product, so you don't spend time shipping the products or money to buy them at wholesale prices, hoping to sell them later. Another advantage is that you don't have to worry about unsatisfied customers returning the product to you.A good way to start making money online with affiliate programs is to find a subject you are interested in and start a website. After the website is up, find companies that sell this product and register to be an affiliate. They will give you some code to paste in your website. You can use text codes or pictures, but text code seems to be the most effective for converting to sales.Look at websites in your area of interest. For example, if you are interested in music, look at sites devoted to your favorite musicians. Study them to see how they place ads. Notice your responses to those ads. Some are annoying, but others will make you want to click through. Learn from this and place ads similar to those that interested you.Starting a website devoted to something you love is rewarding. If you need some extra money, making money online with affiliate programs can be a useful addition to something you already enjoy.

Making Money with Blogs - Blogging Isn't Just for Online Diaries Any More

At first blogging was strictly used as a tool for online diaries. Then blog and ping came along and people began making money with blogs. Then in 2006 tag and ping was introduced and blogging became an even more formidable tool in the hands of internet marketers.Today many of the most well-known internet marketers have their own blogs which they use to keep customers informed of what's happening. Many marketers use a blog as a way to promote their upcoming product launches and to dialog with their visitors. By leaving comments visitors and customers can interact with the blogger, using the comment box to ask questions, give testimonials, and let their thoughts be heard.Anyone, whether experienced or internet newbie, can set up a blog, make a post, and have search engines spidering their site within minutes. Visitors can be coming to their blog in less than a day.Blogging ToolsThere are lots of great tools for bloggers to use. Many of these tools are free. Blogging software such as Wordpress combined with a multitude of plugins, tag and ping, RSS, and social bookmarking work together to making blogging a phenomenal way to get your product or information before the public.There are plugins that put tagging on steroids, such as Ultimate Tag Warrior. There are plugins that help you put video on your blog with a simple line of code, such as Fallen Media Plugin. And at least one plugin, Akismet, that takes care of spam comments.There are plugins that create a static home page on the blog, similar to a home page on a static web site. If you don't want a home page, perhaps you would like to make a permanent post that stays at the top of the main page. There is a plugin that will do that called Adhesive. There is also a plugin called Adsense Deluxe that simplifies placing Adsense ads on the blog.Favorite Wordpress plugin downloads can be found at:Headzoo.com – some of the best plugins for WordpressWp-Plugins.net – has an amazing number of plugins for WordpressThere are also free themes available for you to use with your blog. A theme is the look of the blog. If you are using Wordpress, check out Themes.Wordpress.net for an unbelievable number of free themes you can download and use for your blog.The Importance of a Good Ping ListFirst of all, if your blog is keyword-rich, the search engine spiders will visit your site's quality content, especially if you update and ping your blog regularly, once a week at the very least.For lists of possible sites to add to your ping list do a search on the term "ping list" or visit these two sites: SeoBlackhat.com/2005/09/05/rss-ping-list/ and InternetFamous.net/2007/list-of-ping-services.html.Submitting Your Blog and RSS FeedsTwo more ways to get more traffic to your site is to submit your blog and your RSS feed to sites like Technorati and Ice Rocket. A great list of fifty-five such sites can be found at MasterNewMedia.org/rss/top55.There are many sites where you can submit your blog, such as Technorati and Icerocket. There are also sites like these that include feed aggregators that will syndicate your RSS feeds. Or you can use a service like RSS Submit to submit your RSS feeds automatically.ConclusionThis is just a quick rundown of the tools available for bloggers to generate traffic to their blogs. Of course, new tools are being created all the time. Last year tag and ping and social bookmarking became popular.Now we are in a new year with new possibilities. Whatever happens, blogging is continually gaining in popularity as a way to make money online.

Marketing Your Blog

Blogging has been a popular form of marketing for sometime now, but it is only recently that it has taken on a more dominant role. Smart marketers have seen the value of blogging as part of the social marketing scene. Like most of the social marketing techniques it is still free. However many entrepreneurs have failed to take full advantage of this fun but effective form of marketing. Part of this problem is simply that they are not aware of how to market their blog.Brief overview of a blog: A blog is like a diary that you share with your readers. You write interesting snippets to enthrall and intrigue your subscribers and readers, on your blog page or website. People read these little gems and come to your website to find out more about products and information on your industry. To make this effective you must do this on a regular basis. Some do this daily others 2-3 days, it does not matter which you choose to do. Make it a habit and you will see results.Promote it wherever you can:1. Firstly mention your blog in every email you send. You can do this by means of your email signature file. 2. Send announcements to your own list; a particularly interesting blog, you will have a contest, with details at your blog. Free giveaways, with information at your blog. You can see how this will spark interest and get people who already trust you to come to your blog. 3. Offer a subscription to your blog. You must make your blog highly targeted and post interesting pieces of information on a regular basis to get the full impact of this. Every 3 days or at least once a week you should put new posts up on your blog page. You will need to keep your readers interested and begging for more to retain subscribers and make this method effective. 4. Join a blog network of related blogs. You will gain interested subscribers from other blogging sites or pages and will enhance your reader's experience.Using RSS feeds to promote your blog:Blogs and RSS feeds are like a marriage made in heaven. They make a powerful team and will spread your blog to many readers. They are a means to get highly targeted visitors to your website.Brief overview of RSS feeds:RSS feeds mean Really Simple Syndication feeds. They are XML files which are formatted to be read on RSS feeds throughout the world. Your readers subscribe to your RSS feed and will be able to view your latest web updates and blogs. For instructions on how to set up your own blog on an RSS feed you can go here http://feedburner.com1. Make an account 2. Convert your blog content into a RSS fed by putting in the URL of your blog. 3. You can then get subscribed by making use any RSS feeder 4. Your feed will be automatically updated when you post new blogs 5. Your subscribers will get the automatic updates, whenever you decide to post new blogsHow to market your blog with RSS feeds:1. Get people to subscribe to your feed. You can get information on how to do this here http://www.rssspecifications.com/rss-readers.htm 2. Submit to all RSS and blog directories. Also submit to my MSN, and Yahoo 3. Link blogs to your feed 4. Link to other RSS feeds that are related to your business 5. Link your RSS feeds to articles then distribute the articles for extra exposure.Combine these 2 promotions and harness the real power of your blogs and make this your year to succeed.

School Weblogs - Why Blogging Benefits Schools - Part 1 of 2

communicating online via blogs whether through text, video or podcast audio, is something that is going to be a part of the internet for some time. Schools today can benefit greatly by providing their students with a school-sponsored weblog as a means to communicate with their teachers and other students in their school. In the same way that many blogs have virtual communities formed around them, schools can create and foster a community environment that provides a beneficial learning environment for kids today rather than just a place they have to go everyday. School Policies & Contact InformationIn the news today we see many schools enacting policies and practices to help them run better and provide a positive learning environment for all children. One area for example has to do with what is or is not acceptable in regards to the clothing allowed at the school. Schools that use a weblog would be able to have all their policies listed in one easily accessible location for parents to review. Regarding a school dress code policy, the school would be able to post actual images of the type of clothing that is not allowed on campus so parents would be able to have a clear idea of what clothing is acceptable when they go to school. Other policies such as grade requirements for playing sports or participating in school sponsored clubs as well as the school disciplinary policies for things such as fighting, bullying, being late or failing to complete homework assignments can also be posted on the school weblog. Contact information can also be provided for parents with questions or concerns regarding a policy. School Events and SportsSchools utilizing a blog can use it as a way to boost school spirit and participation by placing video clips of sporting events such as basketball, football or soccer games, track and field events. Other events such as science fairs, dance recitals, awards and more all can be promoted on the weblog as well. Through promoting the school clubs and teams this way other students can find out what is going on in the school as well. Promoting the school activities like this is also a great way to attract perspective students and their parents who have recently moved or are going to move into the area.Additional Class InstructionSchool weblogs can be a great place and informational resource where students can go for additional help with their school assignments. Many times teachers do not have enough time to devote to each student to answer each and every question. Through a blog setup by the school, teachers can post amplifying information on topics that they cover in class, further explanations, and more examples - things that they do not have time to cover in class. Students can then look over this additional information to help them when they are working on their homework. Every person learns differently, and by explaining information in different forms, either with diagrams, words, or other means the idea can be conveyed so that the student can grasp it. The school blog can also provide links to other valuable educational resources that can be used. Teachers that find a good informative video to watch, website to read or podcast to listen to that covers a topic can place a link on the blog page and students can then access the information to assist them in their assignments.Utilizing a chat room feature, schools using weblogs would provide a way for students and teachers to discuss problems that come up when working on homework assignments. Some students have anxiety over asking questions in class, so by providing a way that they can ask teachers questions outside of the class can help them overcome problems they may be having. An online chat feature would also be a way that students can form study groups to work on assignments. While the use of weblogs in school can provide students with a valuable educational resource they can also provide them with other information to help them with the day to day problems they may face. Read Part 2 for more on how weblogs can provide valuable resources for students, teachers and parents as well as some of the privacy and security concerns that will arise.

How to Keep Your Blog Traffic - Tips for a Stickier Blog

So you finally figured out how to get those visitors to your site, huh? Well, partner, it's not over. Now you've got to keep them there if you hope for your blog to be effective.So, how do you keep your blog traffic? I knew you'd ask that...1. Your Audience Is More Important Than Your Search Engine RankingsWho knows what way the wind will blow in years to come. You may be able to do without traffic from Google one day - just like you're probably doing without traffic from Hotbot right now.However, you'll never be able to do without your clients and prospects. If you could you wouldn't be in business, would you?So pay attention to what your audience wants to hear. If you configure your blog correctly in the first place, you won't have to worry about a good ranking so much.2. Don't Add to the Noise.It's okay to be silent for short periods if you have nothing interesting to say. In the meantime, while you're keeping your lips tight, find something *really* interesting to say.Of course, I believe that there's never nothing to say. But I'm a writer and not everyone thinks that way.After the first six to eight weeks, post every day if it suits you and you have words of interest. But after that, if you can sense that your posts aren't full bodied and home brewed, it really is fine to make us go without for a few. We'll live. We won't think so, but trust us, we will.Just make sure you have something darn near-earth shattering to share when you get back, so we will all sit up and take note... and realize that we missed you.3. When You Do Talk, Do It Loud and Proud(Even if you find out later you were Loud and Wrong)It's considered impolite to behave like a Rock Star when you're having a business dinner, even if you are one.But guess what? When you're blogging, you aren't at a business dinner. That's not to say that you must indulge in Rock Star behavior if it doesn't suit you..You don't even have to be *a* star. But you definitely want to be noticed, maybe referenced, and hopefully linked. A great way to do that is to be different. The most unique thing about you is You. Inject your personality in all that you do online.So if you have news, share it. Heck, if you have gossip share it, just always, always, always, link to your suspicions or sources. On the rare occasion that a high-profile blogger's information is totally off-base, they print a retraction. So don't be afraid to suppose. Just let us know whether you are sharing a rumor, hunch, a fact or opinion.4. Do Unto the Blogosphere, and Make It Easy for Them to Do Unto YouWhen I have credible sources, I link to them. Even if I read something from the Google Blog, but know when I first saw it first at Micropersuasion, I'm still linking to Micropersuasion. That's all there is to it.(And let me tell you - it's a Huge deal when Steve Rubel links to an article that you wrote even when it's not posted on your site - think about that the next time you're tempted not to link out because "they have enough traffic.")For the majority of people, I realize, that situation may never be in consideration. Most of the people reading this have nothing to do with search engines, public relations, or internet marketing.Well, I'm here to tell you that even if your business is timeshare resales, you should still link to your sources. You never know who is reading and who is going to link back. Especially if you're in a business niche where twenty visitors eventually means at least one sale, find out what the neighborhood is like in your part of the Blogosphere, look around, and play nice with the other kids.5. Blog Like You Talk - But if You Talk "Funny" Get Someone Else to Blog with YouNothing will scare your visitors away faster than landing in techno-babble by accident. I landed at a friend's site about search engines, and the first paragraph I saw said something about (a+n) times the square root of pi and I clicked out before I even remembered why I went there.Don't get me wrong - if that's how you talk, keep it real. But if that's not the language your clients speak, you might want to either have an employee represent your company in the blog, or do a team blog that represents all the prominent voices.6. Give Every Subscription Option Under the SunMost people paying online are going to use their credit card or debit card, by far. How crazy would you have to be to say, hm, 90% of people use credit cards, but the hell with that. If they want my binoculars, their only choice is to send me a $20 check by snail mail on Tuesday mornings.In this same way, refusing to turn on your site feed, because most people are currently following you by email, makes absolutely no sense. Refusing to start an email list or offer subscriptions to your blog headlines, summaries or posts via email is equally nuts, particularly now that there are tools in place that will translate feeds to email for you.Not serving as much of your audience as you can is turning down money, plain and simple.Hopefully these tips will help keep visitors coming back to your blog. It's like the old adage said, it's easier (and cheaper) to keep your present customers than it is to constantly find new ones.

How to Keep Your Blog Traffic - Tips for a Stickier Blog

So you finally figured out how to get those visitors to your site, huh? Well, partner, it's not over. Now you've got to keep them there if you hope for your blog to be effective.So, how do you keep your blog traffic? I knew you'd ask that...1. Your Audience Is More Important Than Your Search Engine RankingsWho knows what way the wind will blow in years to come. You may be able to do without traffic from Google one day - just like you're probably doing without traffic from Hotbot right now.However, you'll never be able to do without your clients and prospects. If you could you wouldn't be in business, would you?So pay attention to what your audience wants to hear. If you configure your blog correctly in the first place, you won't have to worry about a good ranking so much.2. Don't Add to the Noise.It's okay to be silent for short periods if you have nothing interesting to say. In the meantime, while you're keeping your lips tight, find something *really* interesting to say.Of course, I believe that there's never nothing to say. But I'm a writer and not everyone thinks that way.After the first six to eight weeks, post every day if it suits you and you have words of interest. But after that, if you can sense that your posts aren't full bodied and home brewed, it really is fine to make us go without for a few. We'll live. We won't think so, but trust us, we will.Just make sure you have something darn near-earth shattering to share when you get back, so we will all sit up and take note... and realize that we missed you.3. When You Do Talk, Do It Loud and Proud(Even if you find out later you were Loud and Wrong)It's considered impolite to behave like a Rock Star when you're having a business dinner, even if you are one.But guess what? When you're blogging, you aren't at a business dinner. That's not to say that you must indulge in Rock Star behavior if it doesn't suit you..You don't even have to be *a* star. But you definitely want to be noticed, maybe referenced, and hopefully linked. A great way to do that is to be different. The most unique thing about you is You. Inject your personality in all that you do online.So if you have news, share it. Heck, if you have gossip share it, just always, always, always, link to your suspicions or sources. On the rare occasion that a high-profile blogger's information is totally off-base, they print a retraction. So don't be afraid to suppose. Just let us know whether you are sharing a rumor, hunch, a fact or opinion.4. Do Unto the Blogosphere, and Make It Easy for Them to Do Unto YouWhen I have credible sources, I link to them. Even if I read something from the Google Blog, but know when I first saw it first at Micropersuasion, I'm still linking to Micropersuasion. That's all there is to it.(And let me tell you - it's a Huge deal when Steve Rubel links to an article that you wrote even when it's not posted on your site - think about that the next time you're tempted not to link out because "they have enough traffic.")For the majority of people, I realize, that situation may never be in consideration. Most of the people reading this have nothing to do with search engines, public relations, or internet marketing.Well, I'm here to tell you that even if your business is timeshare resales, you should still link to your sources. You never know who is reading and who is going to link back. Especially if you're in a business niche where twenty visitors eventually means at least one sale, find out what the neighborhood is like in your part of the Blogosphere, look around, and play nice with the other kids.5. Blog Like You Talk - But if You Talk "Funny" Get Someone Else to Blog with YouNothing will scare your visitors away faster than landing in techno-babble by accident. I landed at a friend's site about search engines, and the first paragraph I saw said something about (a+n) times the square root of pi and I clicked out before I even remembered why I went there.Don't get me wrong - if that's how you talk, keep it real. But if that's not the language your clients speak, you might want to either have an employee represent your company in the blog, or do a team blog that represents all the prominent voices.6. Give Every Subscription Option Under the SunMost people paying online are going to use their credit card or debit card, by far. How crazy would you have to be to say, hm, 90% of people use credit cards, but the hell with that. If they want my binoculars, their only choice is to send me a $20 check by snail mail on Tuesday mornings.In this same way, refusing to turn on your site feed, because most people are currently following you by email, makes absolutely no sense. Refusing to start an email list or offer subscriptions to your blog headlines, summaries or posts via email is equally nuts, particularly now that there are tools in place that will translate feeds to email for you.Not serving as much of your audience as you can is turning down money, plain and simple.Hopefully these tips will help keep visitors coming back to your blog. It's like the old adage said, it's easier (and cheaper) to keep your present customers than it is to constantly find new ones.

Blog Promotion Using RSS and Blog Submissions

The marketing a website can sometimes be a very boring task. Yes, marketing is important and vital to the success of a business but it cannot be denied that the tedium could get to the most persistent internet marketer or business owner.To combat the boredom is to use many different internet marketing tools as a way of diversifying the marketing choices that will be used for the website. But there is one new internet marketing tool that is not only very effective in promoting your website, it is also quite fun to do. This is making and posting blogs.One of the most popular blogging services right now is Blogger - now owned by Goggle. Blogger's easy to use blogging interface has proven to be a hit among bloggers of different persuasions. Google has even established a dedicated Blog Search in its search engine as a way of addressing the fast growing popularity of blogs. Blogs are like online diaries where people can post their thoughts about a variety of subjects and issues or even report news in various points of interest. The readers of the blog are also encouraged to post their replies to the blog posts, thus forming an informal community that sends messages to each other. Blogging has been a popular internet pastime for quite some time now. Blogging has actually taken a life of its own and has transcended its initial life as an online diary.Recently, internet marketers saw the potential of blogs as a powerful internet marketing tactic. They realize that one of the biggest advantage of blogs is that it gets good search engine positioning because of its interlinking aspect as well as the regular fresh content. Search engines know that most blogs are updated regularly and this results in more favorable page rankings for the topic that it deals with. Blogging has also given media relations a new effective tool because bloggers are often recognized as the opinion leaders in the field in which they blog. There are also topic-specific blogs that can be setup as a form of soapbox for the internet where people can freely voice their opinions regarding important issues of the day. Still another idea is to set up a blog that can be the source of news for topics that are not covered by the media in general.When it comes to more in-depth marketing efforts, blogs can be used to promote a website directly or use the generated traffic to bring attention to an affiliate program like Google adwords to set up another income stream. Blogs can also be used for various promotions strategies. You can either launch your own blog to promote a service or, as previously mentioned, a website, or participate in ongoing blog discussions within relevant subjects or topics and then promote the service or website there by participating in the discussions.

Setting up a blog can be pretty simple if you have the patience and time

If you use the internet on a regular basis, you are sure to have heard about blogs. Many people use blogs to write about personal topics, feelings, and opinions. But did you know that blogs are also used as a business marketing tool? The interactivity of blogs along with the ease of creation and maintenance makes them an attractive option for online marketing purposes. Developing a regular readership of your blog can help you to achieve several goals. You can build solid customer relationships, inform people about your products and services, and generate links for search engine optimization purposes. Take a look at the many ways that having a blog can benefit your business and you'll find ways to use blogs almost immediately in your marketing efforts. Setting Up a Blog Setting up a blog can be pretty simple if you have the patience and time to learn how to use one. You can choose to design your own blog format on your existing site or you can use a blog from Wordpress Your marketing goals will help you to decide which type of blog to use. Blogs from www.blogger.com are free, but since they're not a direct component of your web site, you may have to optimize them differently than you would than if you had a blog integrated into your site. If you choose to use your own design and have it be a direct component of your site, you have more control over design and function and you may also be able to market your blog more easily. Profiting from Blogs help you to be profitable because they allow you to market your products and services without using overt sales messages that may cause prospects to stop visiting your site. Instead, you use blogs to communicate information and subtly promote your own products and services while you help others. This creates goodwill for you and your business.There are many opportunities for using blogs to turn a profit. Learning about each of them can help you decide which ones are right for your business. Blog Articles Blog articles are a great marketing tool because they allow you to showcase your expertise in your chosen field. You can publish articles on almost any topic related to your business and continue to provide information to your prospects and customers. Blog articles can also be optimized for the search engines by using specific keywords that help people find your web site. If you pick the right keywords, you can start seeing improved traffic results in as little as a few months. You can also integrate your blog with your viral marketing efforts by encouraging people to share your articles with other people. Keyword-Optimized Blog Postings One of the great things about blog postings is that they can be as short as 75-100 words and still help you accomplish your internet marketing goals. When you keyword-optimize your blogs, you are using specific keywords to help people find you when they do searches for information. The more specific your keywords are, the better your chances of being found by your target market. Another positive aspect of short blog postings is that they make it easier to maintain your blog from day to day. Instead of having to write 500 or 1000 words every day, you can take as little as a few minutes to dash off a 75 or 100-word paragraph that gives information or lets people know about new products and services. Linking with Blogs One-way links are one of the best search engine optimization tools available. One-way links are links that are placed on other web sites that point people to your web site. When you post articles and other items of interest, people may like them enough to post the link on their web sites. The more one-way links you can generate with your blog, the better your chances of improving your search engine rankings and driving more traffic to your web site. Affiliate Marketing with Blogs You can also participate in affiliate marketing by using your blog. When you sign up to be a member of an affiliate program, you'll want to do as much as you can to promote those products and services and generate commissions. Having a blog makes it easy for you to promote the products and services of other companies. You can write a short post about a new service or write reviews of helpful products and services and include your affiliate links. When people visit your blog and become interested in the products and services discussed in your postings, they may become interested enough to click on your affiliate links and make a purchase. 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New Extreme Dui Penalties/

The are several types of DUI offenses in Arizona. An extreme DUI is based on the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level of the person accused of DUI. Specifically, if the person has a BAC above a .150 they will be charged with extreme DUI under § 28-1382 of the Arizona revised Statues. Some of the penalties for being convicted of an Extreme DUI charge include:Incarceration (a term of jail) Fines Installation of an Ingition Inte rLock deviceDriver License Suspension Substance Abuse Screening and any recommended treatment The minimum jail term has been 30 days with up to 20 days suspended if the person complied with the recommended treatment resulting from the mandatory drug and alcohol screening. Simply out, the judge could reduce your sentence to 10 days. However, the Arizona Extreme DUI laws are changing in the near future. The legislature has amened the extreme DUI statute removing the ability of judges to do the following:

The Dui Accident Where There Are No Injuries Endangerment/

I see the following scenario commonly in my practice. My client is responsible for causing a low impact accident. No one from either automobile was injured. However my client had consumed alcohol, and a blood test confirmed he was over Arizona's legal limit of .08. What charges may he be facing?Obviously he is facing a misdemeanor DUI. And more troubling, he may also be facing an Endangerment charge. Under section 13-1201 of the Arizona Revised Statutes, a person commits Endangerment by:Recklessly endangering another person with a substantial risk of imminent death or physical injury. Endangerment involving a substantial risk of imminent death is a class 6 felony. In all other cases, it is a class 1 misdemeanor. Moreover, since a car was involved (a dangerous instrument under Arizona law) my client may be facing a mandatory prison term. This can happen if it is proven that he placed the other driver in a substantial risk of imminent death. While most low impact accidents do not expose a person to such a risk, prosecutors often charge these cases with the attitude of "just leave the decision to the jury". Meanwhile the client has now been exposed to a serious risk, of a long period of prison, because the State has not taken the time to properly and correctly evaluate the case. These cases cannot be taken lightly. Every effort must be made to show the true nature of the impact. That is, there was no risk of "imminent death." This may require the use of both an accident reconstructionist and bio-mechanical engineer. In any event, these types of cases must be proactively handled as soon as possible.

Special Laws For Commercial Drivers Charged With Dui

Drivers operating a vehicle with a commercial driver’s license (CDL) have different standards than other drivers. The reason is because of the safety issues associated with operating larger vehicles such as trucks, tractor-trailers and buses. The Arizona DUI laws are much more restrictive for people with commercial drivers licenses (CDL). While most Arizona drivers will be in violation of the law if their blood alcohol concentration is .08 or greater, commercial driver have a much tougher standard. For drivers with a CDL, the legal limit is merely a blood alcohol concentration of .04 or greater. Section 28-1381(A)(4) of the Arizona Revised Statutes provides: It is unlawful for a person to drive or be in actual physical control of a vehicle in this state under any of the following circumstances: If the vehicle is a commercial motor vehicle that requires a person to obtain a commercial driver license as defined in section 28-3001 and the person has an alcohol concentration of 0.04 or more. Moreover, a commercial driver may also face a disqualification of their license. Thus, a commercial driver’s livelihood may be put at risk.

On Dui Dwi Blogging No Need To Overstate Your Case

You can click the topics and tags in this blog to see my various thoughts on the over-punishment of DWI convictions in Texas. For ‘just a class B misdemeanor’ it’s inarguably the most penal of anything else in that category in the Penal Code.
And in general that’s a fair and relevant subject for DWI bloggers to write about.
Near the top of my list of DWI blogs on my RSS reader is Lawrence Taylor’s granddaddy-of-em-all DWI blog, simply titled "Dui blog". (Those Californians call it D-U-I.) Taylor’s blog is aptly subtitled "Bad Drunk Driving Laws, False Evidence and a Fading Constitution".
Taylor always does a great job of bringing us the latest and greatest in ridiculous DWI/DUI prosecution moments. See for example his recent post:DUI-While Walking a Bicycle.
And so with great anticipation I click on an even newer post titled "Frist Dui = West Point Expulsion + 1year in Prison". Here are his intro remarks on the article:
As Draconian as DUI penalties have become, one would nevertheless hope that the offense would not destroy the accused’s life, at least for a first offense. Increasingly, one would be wrong…
Great another example of Lawrence’s niche topic, which I will sum up as "MADD has driven us all mad". And of course he’s right – most of the time – first time DWI penalties are too stiff, and this one sounds ridiculous.
Here’s what Lawrence cut and pasted from the news article:
A U.S, Military Academy cadet was found guilty of drunken driving by a military judge and sentenced to dismissal from the U.S. Army yesterday.
The verdict came less than three weeks before Dixon was due to graduate with the class of 2008.
Dixon was formally charged in December with violating two articles of the Uniform Code of Military Justice: drunken and reckless operation of a vehicle, and conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman…
The judge sentenced Dixon to one year and one month confinement, dismissal from the Army and forfeiture of all pay and allowances.
Well, that certainly fits the bill. Perhaps getting kicked out of West Point is appropriate, perhaps it’s not – but one year is waaaay to high a punishment for "just a DUI" – especially a first time offense. Unreasonable, capricious, arbritary, unfair, in other words: great material for a DWI blog.
There were a couple of things that didn’t ring 100% true to me though. Number one, although I’m no expert on Military law nor what gets you kicked out of West Point, I thought conduct unbecoming an officer was a little odd for a DUI. That might actually be true and I’ll try to check on it with my military defense lawyer friends over the next few days. I’ll report back if anything comes of it.
But number two was the ellipsis. I use – or perhaps overuse – parentheses, dashes and all sorts of unnecessary punctuation. But the dot-dot-dot after the next to last paragraph preceding the part about punishment. What could it be? Well here’s that portion of the oriwith the quoted paragraphs before and after:
Dixon was formally charged in December with violating two articles of the Uniform Code of Military Justice: drunken and reckless operation of a vehicle, and conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman.
Dixon allegedly fled the scene and giving a false official statement after being involved in a drunken driving accident while on temporary duty in Maryland last July.
The judge sentenced Dixon to one year and one month confinement, dismissal from the Army and forfeiture of all pay and allowances.
[Emphasis Added]
Ah. That explains a lot now doesn’t it? Sounds like ‘conduct unbecoming’ and theoretically would justify a higher sentence. A defense lawyer could certainly argue that the sentence here was still too high, given all the facts, but hiding that and pretending this is the wave of the future for first time DWI sentencing?
Stick to the facts and don’t embellish, even by omission. DWI penalties are indeed too high as is. Don’t lose credibility by getting caught in what now seems like a deliberate misrepresentation. After all, that dot-dot-dot didn’t come out of nowhere

PM Bill Mange Wins A A 12 Dwi Breath Test Trial/Tuesday, July 1,

I’m at the RUSTY Duncan seninar in San Antonio, and news comes by way of the Austin Criminal Defense Lawyer’s Association listserv that Austin Dwi lawer Bill Manage just got a Not Guilty verdict on a .12 breath test trial back in Travis County. I heard the jury came back in just under an hour.
Congrats Bill.
I knew you were on to something when I walked into County Court Number 7 yesterday and saw an Intoxilyzer sitting in the middle of the courtroom with a “Defendant’s Exhibit #6” sticker on it.
I assume you’ll be getting that back, eh?

Nystmagmus: Mostly Leave It Alone

Blogging from the Rusty Duncan seminar, and listening to San Antonio Dwi lawerGeorge Scharmen give an excellent presentation on the Field Sobriety Tests yesterday.

One interesting tidbit. Scharmen argued that while of course you must cross the officer about the 6 out of 6 (isn’t it always all 6 clues?) on the Horizontal Gaze Nystagamus, it’s not important to go on and on about it. In fact, it may give it more effect than the jury would otherwise.

Scharmen said – and my notes are skimpy here – he asks about how the officer is only trained by another officer, not a medical professional; impeaches the officer if necessary with the manual where he has made errors in administration, eg. Holding the stimulus for less than 4 seconds at maximum deviation; asks why the results weren’t reproduced for the jury by placing the subject in front of the vehicle to put the HGN on tape, and then…

"I mostly leave it alone".
[Scharmen asks more than those 3 or 4 questions of course; he’s just saying he deemphasizes it by doing an effective short cross on it where he can.]

KXAN ran a story tonight about Austin Chief of Police Art Acevedo’s plan to do away with breath test refusals in Austin DWI cases:

KXAN ran a story tonight about Austin Chief of Police Art Acevedo’s plan to do away with breath test refusals in Austin DWI case:
"My intent in the future is to make it so there is no such thing as a refusal. You can refuse all you want, but we are going to aggressively seek search warrants," said Acevedo.The search warrant would give an officer the right to stick a needle in your arm to get a blood alcohol level, replacing the job of a jail nurse."It's about saving money for the taxpayer. If I have an officer that's already involved in a case, they're already going to be going to court. Come to find out, the defense attorneys around here are telling people not to give them a test," said Acevedo.
Ouch – literally. My friend and fellow Austin DWI lawer Ken Gibson is quoted in the story as well:
"Folks that are exercising their right shouldn't be afraid, that by doing so, 'Bubba Police Officer' may stick them in the arm," said Austin DWI attorney Ken Gibson.Gibson said police officers shouldn't play nurse as well."The officer's going to have a liability if they don't do it right. The city's going to have a liability if they don't do it right. In today's times of AIDS and hepatitis and everything else, police officers don't want to be out sticking needles in people," said Gibson.
Kenny’s got a point.
First, there’s no way that APD is going to be able to train police officers to be physicians, chemists, registered professional nurses or licensed vocational nurses. So that means Acevedo is going to have to find a way to train them to be ‘qualified technicians’ – the only other category of person allowed to take blood in a DWI case by statute.
The law specifically says that emergency medical personnel do not meet the definition of ‘qualified technicians’ so who knows what training Acevedo thinks he can put his officers through to get them to meet the requirements of the statute. Guess we’ll have to wait and see.
Second, take a look at the last line of 724.017 (b):
This subsection does not relieve a person from liability for negligence in the taking of a blood specimen.
Acevedo knows a thing or two about , so he might want to make sure he knows what he’s getting into on this one.

Update: Below the Fold
‘Central Texas Cop and Travis County Taxpayer’ leaves this on the KXAN story:
In Williamson County the District Attorney wants search warrants on all Felony level DWI/DWI related charges! And it's a great tool!
However..........I have questions about the officers being trained to take that blood. In Travis County there is a Jail Nurse who does that......it's not like they have to take them to the hospital like they do in other counties.
Since you are already at the jail (that's where the breathalyzers are) and the judge is ordering the officer and the medical personnel to obtain the blood -- wouldn't it make sense to have the Jail Nurse or other medical personnel such as Paramedics be able to take the blood as well?
After all, they are good enough to take blood to provide to the hospital for patients being transported, why are they not good enough to take blood under the law? People who all they do for a living is draw blood are "not qualified" under the law as it is written now to take blood for evidentary purposes.
There are many sources for obtaining blood (free flowing blood is admissible and is not a 4th ammendment issue) and I think we might need to rethink this as it is a HUGE liability on officers to add that to their requirements of duties.
NIce. An officer who agrees with me - on this only, read the rest of his comment to see where we obviously disagree - and I'm 99.999% certain he hadn't read my post on the subject...

2 Austin Police Department set to roll out new Bat Bus

The City of Austin has decided to replace their current BAT Bus(Breath Alcohol Test Bus) with a new improved BAT Bus.
The city agreed to buy a breath alcohol testing bus so officers don’t have to make the trip to the county jail.
The new Bat Bus will have to stations for Intoxilyzer 5000s as well as workstations for the officers to review the videotapes of the incident and prepare the offense reports.
Futher, there will be City Marshalls on hand to transport folks who have been arrested to the jail facility. This will allow officers like the one they call "the Machine" to get back on the street faster. The Machine currently holds the record for making 7 arrests in one night.
"Typical, DWI arrest takes between three and four hours," Austin police Cmdr. Patti Robertson said. "It narrows it down. Takes off 3/4 of that time. They have all the paperwork, turns it over to the officers on the bus."
DWI has become big business in Austin.
"We are at 800 per 100,000 people for DWI arrests…" Robertson said. "What that means is we are ……the highest in the state for DWI arrests. I think that speaks volumes." It certainly does.
There are approximately 10 different agencies in and around Austin that are all competing for grant money related to DWIs. The question then becomes, "Could this possibly motivate officer to make more and more arrests?" My belief……ABSOLUTELY!

1 Drink, Drive, Go to Jail maybe the policy, but it isn't the law!

This past weekend, the Gregg County, Texas sheriff issued a press release that stated that if you drink and drive this independence day weekend - you will go to jail.
In December 2006, Gregg County commissioners approved a grant to participate in the statewide "Drink, Drive, Go To Jail" campaign. This grant provides resources necessary to conduct DWI enforcement throughout the holiday periods to increase the arrests of folks that drink and drive.
Captain Ken Hartley with the Gregg County Sheriff’s Department says; "We’d just like to remind people to drive responsibly. Don’t drink and drive. Enforcement will be out there and it’s not worth that chance and certainly not taking a chance of hurting yourself or others."
What they are totally ignoring is the fact that is not against the law to drink and then drive as long as you are at least 21 years of age, and you are not intoxicated. I believe that the Sheriff is setting up a great argument for the fact that people are going to be arrested that don’t meet the above criteria.
The police and prosecutors always want to lower the standard, but it just isn’t the law. Another example of the attempt to lower this standard is the "Buzzed driving is Drunk Driving" billboards. Neither Buzzed driving, nor Drunk Driving is the standard…..Intoxication is.
I certainly hope a defense attorney in Gregg County is paying attention to this and is willing to use this to show the juries there that THIS Sheriff’s deputies have the potential for making wrongful arrests.
While we all know the Austin Police practice a "Drink, Drive, Go to Jail" policy, the administration has been smart enough not to voice it publicly.