May 19, 2008 Using Scripts To Add YouTube Videos To Your Site Have you ever wanted to add video to your website? It sounds like it would be a hard thing to do- but it doesn't have to be. You don't even have to make your own videos- youtube offer lots of great video content, and they actively encourage people to use it on their websites. There are many benefits to adding video to your website. For a start- your customers will love it. Some things can be very hard to learn from text and pictures- but they can be learnt much better and quicker by watching a video. For example- a video showing how to install a database can be a lot easier to understand than text describing how to do it. There are other benefits to having video content as well. The search engines love content. The more high quality pages you have on your site, the higher you are likely to rank. More than that... if you advertise, you may get cheaper adwords as well. Google's infamous "adwords slap", severely effected small websites, and one of the best ways to undo the damage is to have a bigger website- and video content is an easy way to add more pages. Another benefit is that because visitors have more interesting content to look at, you will probably get more pageviews. This will hopefully correspond to higher sales, or at the very least, higher advertising revenue. And who doesn't want to be making more money from their website? There are a couple of options for adding youtube content to your website... If you only want to add a single video, then you should just find the video on youtube, and copy the embed code, that is shown on the right hand side of the page. Paste this code onto any page, and bingo... instant video! That's fine for a few videos, but what about when you want to add a lot more? A great option is to use a script. Once you've setup your script, it will automatically get the relevant videos on youtube, and show them on your site. For example, if you have a widget site, you can setup the script to automatically display any widget videos (that are on youtube), on your site. Very handy! These scripts are usually quite customizable- letting you specify exactly what keywords to use, how many videos to display, etc. And the great thing is- once you've set them up, you don't have to worry about it again! If you're looking for a free script to insert video onto your page, then I offer one called "Simple Youtube Script". It doesn't cost anything, is easy to install, and lets you configure it in various ways, including "negative keywords" that you don't want to appear in the videos. This lets you customize the search quite a lot, so that you can show exactly the videos that you want. You can find out more from http://www.buymyscripts.net/Free_Scripts.html If your looking for a webscript to start your start, then you need to check out Dan Fletcher's website at: http://www.buymyscripts.net

May 5, 2008 Duck Duck Guru To Increase Website Traffic Or Just Go Broke Or When Do You Stop "Learning" and Start Doing?! by Theresa Cahill Copyright 2008 - All rights reserved Unless you are in a position to inherit money, get continuous cash gifts from relatives, or win by chance in Las Vegas (after parting with your own money first on that chance), nothing comes to mind where a person can sit still and rake in money (okay nothing legal that is). Not offline. Not online. Even the money making programs out there that tell you "no this" or "no that" don't really mean it at all. The fine print, if they even bother to put fine print on the page, would read, "But the more effort, time, and money you put into this, the more successful you might be." End of story. Same goes for the ever popular "guru following." Now I am not slamming gurus, they are actually some of the smartest people on the internet. They know. They share some. They anticipate you will return to get the next piece. And the next, and the next, and the... well you get the picture. Granted, information. But will you ever really get going doing what you need to be doing or will you fear you need more pieces and do nothing (and nothing could be further from the truth). Very few people on the internet say, "Here you go!" and give you everything you need. Very few people will continue to give you even more information to learn more or stay current with rapidly changing online techniques without some expectation from you. Some would tell you that it is because one person cannot possibly want (or need) to "know it all at once." (Pure fabrication) Others will never tell you outright, but the truth is if "it" is given to you in bulk, will there be any reason for you to return? They fear your fickleness. And, to be perfectly honest, people are fickle. Witness the statement made at the top of this article. Where else in the world would you really think to yourself, "Oh good, I'm gonna get rich by not doing a thing!" Go ahead, re-read that. Sounds ridiculous because it is ridiculous. That's not to say there are not great programs out there to work. The emphasis, of course, lies on your willingness to become active and engage in the process to make it happen. [A word of caution: If you are lazy and broke, do not exacerbate that condition thinking the internet will solve your problems.] If you are able and willing, the internet can bring you wonders you never dreamed possible. No where else is it possible to meet and make friends with others from around the world. Friendships just as solid as if they were your next door neighbor (and maybe even more so in some cases). There also are numerous methods to use when you've chosen a project to work diligently. Advertising and marketing online abounds, but again caution is in order. Throwing money at something, without a passion for that something, is no better than walking into a casino and handing your money to the doorman (if they had them), turning around, and leaving. As you study your options online, all sorts of traffic-driving techniques may intrigue you. Many with (false) promises of the ease and viability with which it can happen. After a decade online, and in the marketing arena itself, I can with all honesty say there is nothing that does not require effort on your part - physically and economically - to make it happen. In particular - time and money. Money is obvious, some services and methods are going to cost the green stuff. Time, however, and the concept of "I want it (or expect it) now" can be mind boggling. Ask yourself, do you get every job you apply for in the real world? Didn't you have to prepare for the interview, dress the part, interact with others, and then wait for the phone call that might mean you got it? Time does not mean something else online, it's just that... time. And being online means alloting proper amounts of it from all angles. Okay, if you've made it this far (and I thank you!), then you deserve a reward. The key is to combine what you love with what you join and use both traditional and web 2.0 techniques to tell the world, "Hey here I am! Come visit me!" Ah, there's the rub. But it can be done in an amazingly short period of time - like visitors arriving today if you do it right. Will they buy from you? Ask yourself instead, "Should they." If you are willing to engage your visitor and give them a reason to come to you, really care that they do come, referencing to "time" above and the answer is yes. Visitors arriving immediately. Staying and returning to talk with you. Yes the adage, people buy from people they feel they know is very true. You just need to help them discover who you are. Yes, it really can be done and there are honest people out there willing to help you on the right road to doing something you love - now and forever. Change fickle to "finally!" and learn the skills to get your job done. ================================= ABOUT THE AUTHOR Theresa Cahill and her partner Jeff Greer publish their OIMS blog under the pen name Diane Scott. They cordially invite you to see for yourself how to increase website traffic using a combination of how to strategies and you. Visit today, stay for life.