Website Building Biz

Don’t get ripped off by Sprint’s unlimited scam

November 4, 2012 John 3

Sprint claims to be the only mobile data provider who is offering an unlimited mobile data plan, but they seem intent on reserving the right to cancel that deal at any point they see fit – contract or not. Even if you do manage to make it through a two year term with your unlimited data plan, the actual data speeds and connection reliability leave a lot to be desired. Save yourself the hassle and spend a few extra bucks a month, but avoid doing business with Sprint at all costs!

Webmaster Ghost Town

October 3, 2012 John 0

Google’s Penguin update is effecting the internet in a much broader way than any individual’s website can show. Webmaster communities and feed readers are growing quieter by the day and no re-allocation of backlinks and anchor texts is going to fix that larger trend. Read on about the state of the internet in the wake of this major update and how we might be able to move forward in an increasingly uncertain & chaotic web environment.

Digg relaunches, takes archives offline

August 1, 2012 John 1

After a complete change in ownership, Digg is back online with a brand new design that completely unpublishes all of the 14,000,000 URLs Google previously had indexed on the domain. While the effects of these changes for Digg’s declining user-base and Google’s search results have yet to be seen, it is certain that the latest big splash is going to cause some waves in the online ecosystem. While the new Digg hasn’t exploded on to the scene as a superstar, but it isn’t inspiring the same kind of anger as earlier updates had. Will apathy be good enough to keep this one-time powerhouse online?

Pandas and search chaos – escaping the storm

July 27, 2012 John 0

Google’s Panda filter is on the hunt for thin content, derivative pages, and sites that don’t add anything unique to the web. On July 24th, this filter was refreshed and many websites saw shifts in their search rankings as a result. What makes Panda so much more interesting now is that it works completely independently of the Penguin filter – so a website that is punished by one might be rewarded by the other. Now, Google’s search algorithm is dominated by mathematical chaos, or a function that approaches two points simultaneously while never actually reaching either. For sites caught in the storm, this can be a rather unreliable place to be, but the good news is there might be a way to rise up out of the chaos with a renewed focus on SEO basics and some recognition of where the easiest paths are at.

Dreamhost temporarily increases affiliate payments for summer 2012

July 22, 2012 John 1

Dreamhost’s affiliate program is already a great way for webmasters to make money promoting a great product, but for the rest of the summer it is going to get even better. Get some cover from the bad economy and recent traffic fluctuations with a nice, cool bonus to your web hosting commissions.

The unfortunate truth of ranking new sites after Penguin

July 16, 2012 John 0

Google’s Penguin filter has truly turned the SEO world on its head. While results often seem random, low-quality, and unpredictable, there is also what seems to be an effective formula to ranking new sites. Based on a few months of analysing SERP movements and watching a new set of domains take prominent search positions, this post lays out the SEO strategy that shreds Penguin to pieces.

Penguins and Inorganic Links – Understanding and Recovering from Google’s Spring 2012 Updates

July 10, 2012 John 1

Google’s Penguin update and other algorithmic changes from spring 2012 have left a whole lot of SEOs and web publishers scratching their heads in confusion and frustration. The price for crossing this particular penguin is high, but one you get to know how the filter operates, he starts to seem more like the cute and fuzzy flightless bird and a lot less like the Batman supervillain. If Google’s most recent changes have left your web traffic in chaos, this is a post you can’t afford to miss.

Facebook IPO aftermath: This status update brought to you by Morgan Stanley

May 21, 2012 John 0

In the aftermath of the Facebook IPO, there are some clear winners and clear losers – as well as a lot of unanswered questions about the role of the banks underwriting the stock. Why, exactly, are some of the biggest banks convinced the stock is worth twice what the revenues would imply? Here’s one theory…

The joys of health insurance while self-employed

May 19, 2012 John 0

Shopping for health insurance can be a frustrating task, but if you know what the jargon means it gets a whole lot easier. With costs the way they are and customer service at all time lows, a little bit of comparison shopping can go a long way.

Lessons from the dropped domain backorder that got away

May 12, 2012 John 0

Registering a quality new domain is no small task, so web publishers are increasingly turning to backorders and auctions to secure the brands and keywords they’re after. Find out what I learned from a recently failed attempt to grab a great domain through the backorder process.