New website for craigslisters!
In previous post, where I explained custom search engine for classifieds, Ben asked me to create a same search engine for Beaumont, Texas.
Here is the link:
http://sites.google.com/site/beaumontsearchsite/Home
If anyone would like same thing for his/her area - let me know by commenting this post. When you're leaving the comment, check "email follow-up" box, you'll get email when I create the site and answer to your comment.
A you can see, http://www.geocities.com/craigslistcode is not working properly! The craigslist templates are moved. But I'm working on fixing this site: html templates and html codes for craigslist titles will be included in that site. Please make suggestions on it:
craigslistcode(at)yahoo(dot)com
Meanwhile go here:
http://www.geocities.com/craigslistcode
Nice website or... custom search engine was found on google sites.
The basic premise of PageRank™ has it that pages linked to by other sites, (especially other highly ranked sites) are more valuable than those with fewer inbound links. Thus, those that have more inbound links from other highly ranked sites are given higher placement in the results pages of any search done for pages with the same keyword phrases. Any search engine marketing specialist worth their salt will suggest a linking campaign to their clients as a basic element in improving their search engine positions.
Now returning to my client's question about getting his inbound links from those sites that had added links to his site, he asked me if he should simply catalog those sites that linked to him and then go submit that long list of URL's to the search engines. I did some research and found that there were nearly 6000 inbound links, but that only a fragment of those were now cataloged by Google and applied to his PageRank™
With further research, I found that dozens of those links came from his articles distributed across the web that had links to his site within his resource box at the end of the articles. Further, many of those sites featured many of his articles and would have required him to spend hours submitting each of them to every search engine. I am opposed to the practice of submitting other sites without permission as well, so this was something I recommended that he NOT do. Submitting other sites at the same time that they submit themselves could get them penalized for spamming and that hurts, not helps, your chances of getting that inbound link crawled and linked back to you.
You'd simply link to those sites that link to your articles in most cases. If your articles are in their article directory, that directory will link to your article. There is no need to directly link to each of your own articles when that involves repeating the same site over and over.
My comments to my client follow:
Here's an example of my thoughts on this when a site carries multiple articles.
http://www.webmasterzine.com/newsletters/
"This one URL links to 14 of your articles. Not only does it link all your articles, but it ranks you higher than if you were to link to each page individually because your name's on the page 15 times along with your article titles, which presumably would contain valuable keywords surrounding your name along with the links to the articles and their titles. The descriptions presumably include important keywords too. This can be done for each site that carries multiple articles. Those are more important to link to than any single articles listed on small sites that pick up a single article anyway.
I recommend linking instead to the article directories which will then link to all articles that are then published on each site, both now and in the future -- whether or not you have multiple articles listed at this site now."
Top Search Engine Marketers know how important a sitemap can be for the proper indexing and ranking of all the pages on client sites. Having a single page that links to all others within the multiple directories comprising each section can be critical to getting every page spidered and included in crawler-based search engines.
So I suggested that we create a map of inbound links to his site and that we link from his home page, to his sitemap and from his sitemap to the map of inbound linkers. Then submit his map of inbound links page to the search engines. That gets each of the inbound linking sites spidered and those inbound links will in turn be credited to his PageRank#&0153;.
Don't list dead links on this links page! Even though many pages are listed in the search engines, it doesn't mean that they still exist and you should either manually check each one if there are only a few, use link checking software to check them otherwise.
Click below and take a look at the page and note to visitors: http://www.ecommercebase.com/printTemplate.php?aid=441 Something important to consider when someone pulls an article and the link goes bad. Check every link you include on your map of inbound links pages.
Another consideration is your resource box when distributing articles for publication online, it should include a full link, including the http:// so that it automatically hyperlinks in many content management programs without having to encode URL's in the HTML by hand. It's done for editors by the software when it sees the http:// where as if you type www.yoursite.com, your www won't get hyperlinked automatically by the software.
It behooves you to point out to editors and publishers that you require your URL to be hyperlinked when articles are used online. Failure to insist on this practice reduces your PageRank™ An alternative practice would be simply to include the HTML in the text of your resource box and note that it is included when sending out your article.
Many sites don't distribute articles for use online, so the way to gain inbound links is simply to provide great content which encourages linking just because your site offers such valuable information. This in itself is not enough though, you will gain many more links if you make it simple for others to link to you. Create a specific page on your site with HTML code for linking and suggested site description including relevant keywords that can be cut-and-paste simple for the less technically savvy.
Here are instructions for those unfamiliar with how to set up a "link to us" page:
http://searchengineoptimism.com/SEO_Tutorial/link-to-us-pages.html
How do you know who links to you now? Visit Google and type the following syntax into the search box without the quotemarks "link:www.yoursitename.com" and press the Google search button. The results page will return 10 results as usual, but look at the blue bar across the top of the page where it says,
"Searched for pages linking to yoursitename.com. Results 1 - 10 of about 203. Search took 0.16 seconds."
Go through the results pages and you'll quickly discover that many of those links are repeats for one reason or other. This doesn't necessarily mean that 203 linking results reflect that many sites, just that many links. Google also eliminates many duplicate site listings in the results pages, as you'll be able to see when you've reached the last page of results when reviewing all of your site links. Google will show only a few of the results, then note after a few pages:
"In order to show you the most relevant results, we have omitted some entries very similar to the 37 already displayed. If you like, you can repeat the search with omitted results included."
The results on the above search don't mean you've found all the sites that link to you either. If you distribute articles for use online, post to forums using a signature line or even take part in discussion lists archived online, you will find many more links to your site by searching for your own name or any "handle" or "screen name" you regularly use.
Go to Google again and type in your screen name or any other often-used moniker that identifies you and enclose it within quote marks in the Google search box and click the search button. Using your own name, this is called an "EGO" search.
http://tinyurl.com/7vg3
As a writer that has distributed articles across the web for over four years, I do this to find where those pieces have been published and make certain that the site has adhered to guide- lines I've established for use of my articles. Searching for my own name returns over 1000 results and, to my surprise, many of those results also link to my site, but are not listed when doing the previous search using "link:www.website101.com"
In order to gain additional scoring PageRank™ at Google, I have set up a map page like that I've been describing here for one of my web sites at the following address to assure that it gets all inbound links spidered and credited to my web site links and hopefully improves Website101 PageRank™ at Google, which is currently at 7 out of a possible 10.
http://www.website101.com/website101links.html
You'll note when you visit that page that I've placed the links in no particular order except the first one, which I've always been very proud of - since the day we earned that honor in 1999. Entrepreneur Magazine linked to WebSite101 and helped raise our visibility dramatically. Another early linker was Internet.com, where we have gained steady streams of traffic due to perceived importance of such a referring site.
There are dozens of additional methods of getting your site linked by other sites which is discussed more fully at the following URL:
http://searchengineoptimism.com/SEO_Tutorial/link_popularity.html
Use those techniques wisely, then keep track of who links to you and create your inbound links map to tell search engines how popular your site is and you'll see your PageRank™ increase over time. Concentrate on those sites likely to link to you at first, but don't hesitate to request links from the big boys either.
That highly coveted link from Entrepreneur Magazine mentioned above came from online distribution of a press release done in October of 1999 and got WebSite101 linked from Entrepreneur Magazine online as well as a blurb in the December 1999 print edition of Entrepreneur.
All of this work may seem mundane and tedious, but the results of that tedium can mean huge boosts to visibility, traffic to your site and profit in your bank account.
A final note of caution - Don't link to just anyone who asks you to! Many unscrupulous webmasters will post your link only long enough for you to see it and then take it down or bury it in massive link farms created solely for their own benefit.
Another site that links to WebSite101 is SiteTipsandTricks.com where Bob McElwain has written a highly recommended article on link swapping scams.
Take a look at Bob's article:
http://searchengineoptimism.com/SEO_Tutorial/link_swap_scam.html
Take heed of all those requests to link to unknown sites that use software generated "Personalized" letters to webmasters seeking links to www.some-stupid-site.com/unrelated-content/ I've seen dozens of these notes claiming that the site owner "found you in Yahoo, my favorite search engine" (sic) and "I'm sure you are aware of the value of reciprocal links" and "I've already linked to you" and when you visit, you find hundreds of irrelevant, pointless links to unrelated content.
I'd be remiss if I didn't remind you that use of this article requires that links in the resource box be made live by hyperlinking ;-) Keep on with your links campaign and then tell them you learned best techniques at SearchEngineOptimism by linking to us! We only link to those we find with links to us done in searches at Google, or those who provide articles on relevant subjects that would benefit visitors to our site.
Usefull links:
Craigslist code - get some FREE HTML effects for your craigslist.org ad posting!
Make a living online! - ebook about internet marketing
Web Traffic Machines - SEO And Traffic Generation Software That Will Send Swarms Of Web Traffic To Your Site From Many Different Sources. Easy To Use, No Experience Required. Underground Marketers Use These Traffic Tools To Get Thousands Of Free Visitors Daily!
Phone Numbers and Privacy Invasion
by Mike Banks Valentine
There has been a flurry of posts in discussion lists and online articles recently about a new Google feature called Google Phonebook which will now allow you to do a reverse lookup search on any phone number. The results page displays a cute little phone icon beside the name of the owner of any phone number you plug in to Google's search box!
The address of the owner of that phone number is displayed beside that and there are links beside the address which will take you to a Yahoo Maps or MapQuest with detailed and precisely accurate driving directions directly to their home! The only way to make that result more invasive would be to include any known email addresses right beside the phone number, street address and driving directions! Fortunately, Google has made it simple to opt-out of this privacy nightmare.
Here is Google's description of this feature
http://www.google.com/help/features.html#wp
They make it painlessly simple to opt out of the listing and promise removal within 48 hours:
http://www.google.com/help/pbremoval.html
and finally a snail mail address to opt out of the listing by postal mail if you like. Google Phonebook Removal2400 Bayshore ParkwayMountain View, CA 94043
"Removing your phonebook listing will not remove your personal information from other pages on the web or from other reverse phone listing lookup services, such as: Anywho.com, Swithchboard.com, Whitepages.com, ReversePhoneDirectory.com, Phonenumber.com, Smartpages.com"
A popular new book for internet geeks called "GOOGLE HACKS" from O'Reilly offers tips for how to use that feature to refine your search further if you know the state or town of the person you are searching for!
One other service provides a clear and simple opt-out from the following link:
http://www.phonenumber.com/10006/remove.xhtml
SO WHAT? IT'S IN THE PHONE BOOK ANYWAY, RIGHT?
When I first discovered this feature, I spoke with a relative whose response was basically, "So what?" All of that information is available in your local phone book and if you don't have that, you can call information nationwide to ask for the listing. Yes, that should be true, but I searched an unlisted phone number of another relative who was nothing short of horrified when they tried the search on their own number and saw their home address, name and phone number pop up on the Google results page. Not only did her unlisted number show up, but so did her full name, which is not available even to her phone provider - because she uses only initials on her account with them. Clearly these services draw from other available sources.
Those additional services don't make it nearly as simple to opt-out as Google does and require jumping through multiple hoops to find your way out of those invasive databases. Whitepages.com privacy policy is linked very subtley at the bottom of the page and was difficult to see, even though I was looking for the link. That privacy policy offers zero option to opt-out of their database or tell you where to look for help!
They tell you that they collect reams of information about how you use their site, what sites you visited in their network, any "voluntarily provided information" (which is required to register at the site) and who they share that information with, but provide no published way to remove yourself from their database once you are listed, no matter where they got their information.
The only hint of an opt-out option is via a simple email address, mailto:privacy@w3data.com This email address is required by their membership in BBBonline's Privacy program, which is available to anyone meeting minimum requirements of posting a privacy policy and providing an email contact to a privacy representative. Oh, and willing to pay BBBonline for the priviledge of displaying the rather meaningless privacy lock logo. Why meaningless? How private is a site that allows easy access to private personal information via a site search feature and why do they deserve trust of site visitors?
When doing a search for any number in the "white pages" of Switchboard.com, it returns a page full of banner ads, some pop-up with pre-filled form fields with the name of the person you did a search for! This allows you to easily search sources elsewhere for someone who has so far been successful at staying out of the online databases! Those paid services will pry into other public records databases to track them down!
MORE INVASIVE PRE-POPULATED FORMS IN ADS ON SITES
Then there is the pre-populated form in an advertisement that leads you to KnowX.com where, if the person you seek is not listed in their publicly availabe free listings, they will search public records for a fee, but only if you are a member of KnowX.com. To become a member, you must (SURPIRSE!) provide YOUR detailed contact and credit card information, which they could file for sale to anyone willing to pay for it. (How would you ever know?) Their privacy policy might better be labled a "Lack of Privacy Policy" when they plainly state within that policy
"CAN I OPT OUT OF PUBLIC RECORDS DATABASES?
No. Public records, by law, must be available from the official public records office to anyone who requests them. Accordingly, because individuals cannot opt out of public records databases generally, KnowX.com does not offer individuals the opportunity to opt out of our public records databases."
Oh well, you're stuck if you are listed by KnowX.com but it's good to know that if you are not listed in the top level of their records, they'll give you options of looking through up to 38 other databases for varying fees! But only if you are a member. Fortunately they allow everyone to see their prices. They provide a very long list of prices for each of the places they will strive to invade everyone's privacy here:
http://www.knowx.com/statmnts.exe?form=statmnts/priceinfo.htm
Curiously, that page is only approachable from within their site from a plainly visible "Prices" link but takes you to a log in screen when approached by an exterior link directly. Take a look at some of those surprising databases that they'll search to scrape up any information they can come up with to expose your personal and private information to the world. (If you are a fan of pop-ups, you'll love the KnowX site. I got nine pop-ups while researching this article at their site.)
WHERE DOES ALL THE INFORMATION COME FROM?
Where do all these sites get their information? Few seem to want to discuss where they get it, but one (ATT owned Anywho.com) tells you that their database is NOT populated by extracting information from your long distance billing records.
Q: Where does AnyWho get the directory information?
A: All of the residential white pages are public information obtained from local telephone records for published telephone listings. Non-Published directory assistance records are not provided and are not displayed. None of the listings contained in the white pages are obtained from AT&T billing records.
http://www.anywho.com/help/faqs_wp.html
to opt-out of their listings
http://www.anywho.com/help/privacy_list.html
TOTAL INFORMATION AWARENESS IS ALREADY HERE
By far the most invasive and extreme of the information services is InfoSpace.com, a clear predecessor to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency 'Total Information Awareness Office'
InfoSpace returns a results page on the reverse phone lookup that not only lists the name and address of the owner of that number, but those dreaded mapquest.com links to driving directions to their home, the average value of a home in their neighborhood, their email address (if Infospace has managed to get your search target to give it to them), lists of names and addresses of NEIGHGBORS, web sites in their listed city or town, and classified ads from local listings.
There are dozens more links on the page purporting to be to services in the same town which are actually just links to advertiser sites with ability to search for local dates from Match.com or apartments or restaurants, etc. Fortunately, there is one more very important link on that result page if you want to get your own phone number and personal info removed from their database, labled "update/remove" beside your results that you can click to request that they delete your information.
When you do that, they request an email address, so there is some (unearned) trust required in order to ask for removal. This seems reasonable enough since one could otherwise update anyones information. But wait a minute, what's to stop someone from adding false information, providing their own email address for verification, then answering the email to confirm those changes?
GREAT RELATIONSHIPS ARE NOT BUILT ON PRIVACY INVASION
The result page of the reverse lookup at InfoSpace displays a small graphic logo link for "Acxiom" in the lower left corner of some results pages which, when clicked takes you to Acxiom.com, whose tagline is "Great Relationships". A link on the front page takes you to another titled "What we do" where they proudly state, "At Acxiom, we create and deliverÊcustomer and information management solutionsÊthat enable many of the largest, most respected companies in the world to build great relationships with their customers. Acxiom achieves this by blending data, technology and services to provide the most advanced customer information infrastructure."
That seems like a very long-winded way to say that, they too are data aggregators, who make a living by selling consumer information to anyone willing to pay for it. Great Relationships? It takes three clicks from their "Privacy" link to get to a page that tells you that it is possible to opt-out.
Consumers may request an Opt-out Form by contacting Acxiom's Consumer Advocate Hotline, 501-342-2722 (toll free 1-877-774-2094 option #5 in telephone tree and be prepared to leave your information on their recorder, no human contact here and you must trust that they will respect your privacy and protect your information, hmmmm.) or sending an e-mail to optout@acxiom.com
"YOU HAVE ZERO PRIVACY ANYWAY, GET OVER IT!"
In January of 1999 Sun Microsystems CEO, Scott McNealy said, "You have zero privacy anyway. Get over it." and privacy advocates and industry analysts were stunned and surprised by the comment. http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,17538,00.html
Now reactions from the public on the phonebook feature added by Google to it's long list of available search tools is drawing fire and generating lots of heated discussion online. My own opinion is that we may soon be looking back and wondering why nothing was done to stop this continuing encroachment on our private lives by inevitability of ever converging databases.
Oh, if only Google were the only privacy concern we had to deal with. It is becoming more difficult by the day to stay out of databases that may soon have more information available in one click than anyone ever thought they needed on you. Privacy is becoming a rather quaint notion and, inevitably, unfortunately, may soon disappear entirely. Stalkers, identity thieves and marketers have never had it so good when it comes to finding victims, tracking them down and selling them things by phone at dinnertime.
One positive privacy development is the upcoming "Do not call registry" to debut in July. You can read more about it here:
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/donotcall/index.html
That new law puts some teeth into the fight against telemarketers by levying fines of up to $11,000 per violation. Too bad we can't so easily rid ourselves of the stalkers and identity theives.
SUMMARY
Removal Request Links
http://www.google.com/help/pbremoval.html http://www.phonenumber.com/10006/remove.xhtml
http://www.anywho.com/help/privacy_list.html
Online Privacy Resources
The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 (G-L-B)The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 2000 (COPPA)The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA)Americans for Computer PrivacyCenter for Democracy and TechnologyComputer Security Institutee-Company Privacy GuideElectronic Frontier FoundationElectronic Privacy Information CenterErnst & Young Privacy InformationFederal Bureau of InvestigationGetNetWiseHealth Privacy ProjectKidsPrivacy.OrgOnline Privacy AlliancePew Internet and American Life ProjectPrivacilla.orgPrivacy CoalitionPrivacy CouncilPrivacy FoundationPrivacy InternationalPrivacy.netPrivacy PlacePrivacy Rights Clearing HouseTRUSTeWebVeilWired News Privacy Collection
More Usifull Links:
ParetoLogic Privacy Controls - New.
PrivacyControl - #1 Privacy Protection! ***Vista Cerified!
