MSN Search adds maps, photos

Microsoft launched a localized search service that integrates white- and yellow-pages information with maps and satellite images. MSN Virtual Earth is available in test form now, several weeks after Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft (MSFT), demonstrated it at a tech conference sponsored by Dow Jones. It works like this: tell MSN Search your "default location" and look for an "auto mechanic," after which you'll get back a list of nearby businesses with their locations identified by letters and, if available, accompanied by photos. Similar services are available from Google Inc. (GOOG) and Amazon.com (AMZN).

Google to start rival to PayPal:

Google Inc. this year plans to offer an electronic-payment service that could help the Internet-search company diversify its revenue and may heighten competition with EBay Inc.'s PayPal unit, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. Exact details of the search company's planned service are not known, the report said, but quoted people familiar with the matter as saying it could have similarities with PayPal, which allows consumers to pay for purchases on Web sites by funding electronic-payment accounts from their credit cards or checking accounts. More.

Why Google is getting into video

Inquiring minds -- well, at least MarketWatch tech columnist Frank Barnako -- wonder whether video will become Google's next big revenue stream. Calling it "the darling advertising format of the moment," Charlene Li, a principal analyst for Forrester Research (FORR), believes the search firm can tap video's potential. Google (GOOG) is building an inventory of homemade video programming right now, soliciting uploads and offering creators the possibility of being indexed. "We'll include your video in Google Video, where users will be able to search, preview, purchase and play it," the company pledges. Unlike many Google services, it seems likely this one will not be in beta long, and that the company will seek to quickly generate dollars through video ads. It's likely working on deals with brand-name broadcasters to show streaming clips of their programming. Google is also positioning itself to offer homegrown video search. "If you can get video on your site, then you can put ads around it," Li said, according to MediaPost Publications.

Web marketing guru Rudl dies

Corey Nicholas Rudl, a former teen motocross champion who turned a $25 investment into a fortune as an Internet marketing guru, was killed in a crash June 2. He was 34. Rudl, who lived in La Jolla, died after a 2005 Porsche Carrera GT in which he was riding crashed during a run at the California Speedway in Fontana. Also killed was the driver, Benjamin Miles Keaton, 39, also of La Jolla. Rudl owned Internet Marketing Center, which he founded in 1996 to offer advice on creating online businesses. The business eventually grew into a $7.6 million a year enterprise with 100 employees, according to the company. Born in Carleton Place in Canada's Ontario province, Rudl was a regional motocross champion but left the sport when he was 18. In 1989, he started a mail-order business selling parts for the discontinued Pontiac Fiero, then sold the business and started another selling discount coupon books for Ottawa-area restaurants. He started his first Web-based business with $25.

AOL to feature SBC, BellSouth's Yellow Pages:

AOL to feature SBC, BellSouth's Yellow Pages: America Online on Wednesday said it will feature advertising from the Web-based Yellow Pages of SBC Communications Inc. and BellSouth Corp. in an effort to beef up the Internet service's local search. Yellowpages.com, a joint venture between SBC and BellSouth that includes SBC's Smartpages.com and BellSouth's RealPages.com, will be included in AOL's Yellow Pages feature. The ability to search for businesses, restaurants and events within specific cities and towns has emerged as a battleground among Internet media sites such as Time Warner Inc.'s AOL, Google Inc., Yahoo Inc. Microsoft Corp.'s MSN. More.

How to Use Links from RSS Feeds to Your Advantage

From Michael Campbell
Q - I just finished reading your "Revenge" book and I'm
very excited with the potential of it all. It's just what the
doctor ordered. :-)
I have a question for you regarding the setup of mininets. I
work with blogs and RSS feeds a lot and I was wondering how
could I best integrate them into your method? Would it be
just as effective to use RSS feeds as links to another site
as it would be to use static html links?
A - So long as the RSS feed isn't inside Javascript. That is
gets archived as html on a blog page or web page, with
static links, then it should be ok.
So long as the spiders can find and crawl those links, and
they're not too many levels deep, the links should count
with full ranking points... to whatever you link them to.
If you have a blog about dogs, it would only make sense to
update it automatically and daily with RSS feeds using
software like RSS to Blog (R2B). That will keep the spiders
coming back.
Then, if you post manually every few days, you can link
to your dog related mininet ring of sites and other affiliate
revenue sites. The spiders will eagerly come back and get
those links as well, as you've trained them to come daily.
In addition, if you blog to your central site (the blue
one in the mininet diagrams) you'll slowly build it into a
content monster that people will naturally look to - and
link to - as an information source. But that's the little
secret, keep it slow and watch it grow.
In other words, don't blob a whole whack of content
overnight and expect to be spidered and indexed. Add new
content slowly, at the rate of a new manual post every three
to four days, and slowly increase the saturation of your
central site's overall content in the search engine indexes.

The Essential Element of Website Design

From Michael Campbell
Q - Since you are a graphics guru, I was wondering if you
had any recommendations for simple & easy to use header
generator. Something that gives a first impression and
carries the look-and-feel of the site. I could spend a day
and not even come close to a professional looking header.
A - I used to use Photoshop, but not even a professional
designer can remember how to make everything. That's why
when it comes to design, we often grab those "cheat" books,
or Photoshop Wow books, to help us. They usually offer
step-by-step recipes to create stunning visual effects.
These days, if I need an eye catching something, I use
Photoshop's little brother, Adobe Elements. It's very
inexpensive and easy to use.
Plus they have all the built-in, push-button filters like
neon glow, plastic, drop shadows, chrome and the like, so
I don't have to look it up in a book. I drop in a stock photo
of some people into the banner along with some stylized
text, and I'm good to save it for the web.
I'm a believer in learning and doing it for yourself. That
way, if you ever need a graphic, you don't need to hire
someone and wait a week. You can quickly blast one off
using familiar tools.
But if you don't have the time, just use some royalty f r e e
stock photography, or photo objects. Drop three photos into
your banner, blur two of them and you have a great looking
artistic collage.
Just remember, a graphic must help tell the story. I can't
stress that one enough. The first thing people must see when
they land on your site, is pictures of people, showing the
emotion, the end result, that your product or service
provides. It's like a promise fulfillment.
It could be lost weight, a happy camper, smiling doctors, a
hand reaching out, a couple relaxing at the beach... you get
the picture... it's all about bringing humanity to the online
experience. That my friend is good design... and good design
is good for business.

Post RSS to Your Blog Automatically

From Michael Campbell
Right now I'm posting relevant content to my Blogger account
without lifting a finger. Every day, the automated software
checks the RSS newsfeeds for my keywords - the ones that
match my blog content - and posts the news headlines into
my blog.
The AdSense ads are running down the side and automatically
change to match each post. Installing the software takes
only a few minutes. Here's what this new tool (R2B) can do
for you.
- Finds relevant content for your blog posts
- Provides a reliable automated way to make those posts
- Works with either Blogger or Word Press blogs
- You don't need to host the blogs on your server
- Automatically sends pings to Pingomatic.com
- Posts content that you author on a schedule that you choose
- Includes low footprint random posts so it looks human
- Allows automation overide for total manual control
So not only can you get on-target posts when you're busy,
this software can be a powerful revenue generator. How?
Blogs are f r e e and you can put ads on them. If you make
lots of blogs... you can have lots of ads running.
But remember, you don't have to "do" anything other
than install the software, which takes a few minutes. After
that... it just runs, providing relevant content. And before
the purists scream spam, it plainly isn't. It's news from
around the world, which matches your keywords, which
matches your blog.
The content is 100% relevant, timely and interesting to both
man and machine. Then when you have time, overide the auto
settings and make manual posts to your blog, with links to
your minisites, landing pages, or mininet ring of feeder sites.
These are just a few ways R2B is generating revenue, but
what can R2B do for you?

AOL offers free, Web-based e-mail:

America Online Inc. launched a free, Web-based e-mail service on Monday, departing for the first time from a fee-based subscription model as it moves to compete with free, and increasingly large, e-mail accounts offered by the likes of Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc. The unit of media conglomerate Time Warner Inc. said the service will provide users with two gigabytes of storage, along with protection against viruses and spam. The mail program is being marketed as an extension of the company's popular chat application, AOL Instant Messenger, and users of that program will be able to use their existing screen name for their e-mail address, the company said. Google's Gmail service currently gives users about 2.3 gigabytes of storage and is gradually raising that ceiling. Yahoo offers 1 gigabyte for free and Microsoft Corp.'s Hotmail allows 250 megabytes. More.

Michigan Web Design - Smart Link Internet Marketing

Michigan Web Design - Smart Link Internet Marketing: "Introducing The Smart Link Internet Marketing
Six Step System To Achieve Success On The Internet "

Smart Link Resources

Smart Link Resources