Top 10 Free Online Blogging Platforms

A blog is a great way to express your thoughts, create a web presence for your company and provide content to Internet users.
If you’re planning to create a blog, but don’t wish to get into the hassles of hosting, developing and deploying it yourself, consider creating a blog at any of the free blogging platforms mentioned below. Such services offer a plethora of features and generally come with both free as well as paid plans.
Let’s look at the top 10 most popular online blog-publishing services.

1. WordPress.com

WordPress.com is perhaps the most feature-rich blogging service out there. It uses the popular open source web software WordPress, and offers many features in its free version — traffic stats, anti-spam filters, SEO, gorgeous themes and more.
If you choose to use WordPress.com, you’ll be in good company, as many popular blogs — including CNN’s Political Ticker, People Magazine’s Style Watch and Flickr — are on this platform.
If you need more than what the free version offers, you can opt for their premium features that include custom domains, upgraded web hosting resources and more.
Whether you’re an expert blogger or a beginner, this ultimate blogging platform is a safe bet.

2. Blog.com

Blog.com is another popular WordPress-powered blogging platform.
Just like other services, it has its own share of pros and cons. For a start, it offers many beautiful premium themes in its free accounts, as well as advanced plugins that one can expect only on a self-hosted blog. However, on the downside, the free service displays more ads as compared to WordPress.com. (But you can opt for paid upgrades to remove the advertisements.)
The free storage space offered on Blog.com is 2GB in the basic plan, which is less compared to 3GB that WordPress.com gives its users.

3. Blogger

Google Blogger is a well-known blogging service that offers many features to its users. For example, Blogger comes with a Template Designer user interface that lets you tweak your blog’s appearance as much as you want. (However, the templates provided are, in my opinion, no match compared to WordPress themes.)
When it comes to ease of use, most beginners prefer Blogger as it offers a no-nonsense interface for administering your blog and top-notch integration with their Google account. Another great thing about Blogger is that it offers certain great features for free that you normally need to pay for in other blog-publishing services,  most noteworthy being the ability to set up custom domains without paying a cent.

4. TypePad Micro

TypePad Micro is another free blog-publishing service. The interface is easy to use, and you can import/export content from many other blogging platforms.
However, in terms of add-ons and themes offered, TypePad Micro won’t satisfy even the most basic blogger. The cheapest paid plan begins at $8.95 per month and comes with additional themes, custom domain mapping, as well as technical support.
In an age where almost all blogging services are offering numerous features in their free versions, TypePad Micro seems to be lagging behind.

5. Jux

Jux is an innovative service that lets you easily share content online. Conventionally speaking, it’s not a blogging service like the ones previously mentioned, however, it has a lot of the same functionalities. Rather, Jux lets you create your own microblogging site for sharing your content.
By default, Jux templates don’t have the native sidebars and other widgets that are common to most blogs. Instead, Jux provides a clean (and beautiful) approach to blogging. Simply create an account, and then start sharing your content.
While Jux does seem amazing and has excellent support for mobile devices, it may not be everyone’s cup of tea. For instance, if you’re planning to create a more conventional blog, opting for WordPress might be a better option. On the other hand, if you’re leaning more towards visual content, such as photos and artwork, Jux may just amaze you with its features.

6. Tumblr

Tumblr is a popular and feature-packed microblogging platform. It comes with many outstanding and interesting features such as audio blogging (for sharing your music, for example), free custom domains, hundreds of amazing blogging themes and more.
Furthermore, you can sync your Tumblr account with Facebook and/or Twitter so that you can update your social media feeds in a single location. Yet another awesome feature is the ability to create community-powered group blogs. Tumblr also offers support for many third-party apps such as Google Analytics and Feedburner.

7. Posterous Spaces

Posterous Spaces is an excellent online blog-publishing service that is similar to Tumblr.
Posterous Spaces has excellent privacy and viewing features so that you can easily control who can see what on your Posterous Spaces site. It’s designed to allow its users to post content quickly and as hassle-free as possible, so it has loads of features included to facilitate this, such as free mobile apps for iOS and Android smartphones so you can update your blog on the go and a simple, well-designed user interface.
Using Posterous Spaces means you’ll be in good company; popular tech startups like MailChimp, TweetDeck and Airbnb leverage Posterous as their company blog.

8. Blogetery

Blogetery is a WordPress-powered online blogging service that offers a modest set of features. Free accounts get nearly 140 themes, custom domain mapping and roughly 40 plugins to choose from.
On Blogetery, ads are displayed on all free blogs, but if you wish to upgrade, you can opt for the paid plan that will cost you $3.50 per month and will give you additional themes, plugins, email support, 5GB of additional storage space, the ability to remove ads, etc.

9. Weebly

Weebly offers more than just blogging — it’s a fully featured website builder! Weebly’s blog manager features a drag-and-drop interface, support for image galleries, slideshows, video/audio, maps, etc. Additionally, you can opt for their Designer Platform that lets you build websites for your client, thereby effectively using Weebly as a content management system.

10. LiveJournal

LiveJournal (often abbreviated as LJ) offers blogging with a touch of social networking to it. You can participate in polls, create networks and interact with other LJ users alongside your blog.
With that said, the features, compared to other similar blogging services, are nothing to brag about. Their collection of template is decent, and plugins/extensions are pretty basic in nature.

Other Online Blogging Platforms

Here are other blogging platforms that didn’t make our top 10 list that you still may wish to check out:

• Blogsome, freeblogit and Blog Dive  are other WordPress-powered blogging platforms.
• Thoughts.com is a service similar to Tumblr and Posterous.
• Blog.co.uk seems to have a wonderful community, but appears to put a lot of ads on your blog.
• MyBlogSite looks interesting but seems to lack in features when compared to other options.
• Aeonity offers free blog hosting but it looks like a dated service.

Conclusion

There are numerous blogging services out there, and choosing a specific one is more of a matter of personal taste and needs.

10 Excellent Online Payment Systems

In this article, we’ll be reviewing my top 10 online payment systems for accepting payments on the Web. While many of the companies on this list have been available to online merchants for years, many are also now getting into new areas of online payments such as social commerce and in-store online card reader systems.

A Quick Primer on Online Payment Systems

Before getting started, here are just a few things to know about online payment systems.

• ACH payments are electronic credit and debit transfers, allowing customers to make payments from their bank accounts for utilities, mortgage loans, and other types of bills. ACH stands for Automated Clearing House and most payment processors offer ACH payment options to their customers, especially for monthly- and subscription-based transactions. Most payment solutions use ACH to send money (minus fees) to their customers.
• A merchant account is a bank account that allows a customer to receive payments through credit or debit cards. Merchant providers are required to obey regulations established by card associations. Many processors (such as the ones listed below) act as both the merchant account as well as the payment gateway.
• A payment gateway allows merchants to securely pass credit card information between the customer and the merchant and also between merchant and the payment processor. The payment gateway is the middleman between the merchant and their sponsoring bank.
• A payment processor is the company that a merchant uses to handle credit card transactions. Payment processors implement anti-fraud measures to ensure that both the front-facing customer and the merchant are protected.
• PCI compliance is when a merchant or payment gateway sets their payment environment up in a way that meets the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). The PCI DSS standard was created by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council to increase security of cardholder data and to reduce fraud.

What follows are 10 excellent online payment systems.

1. Authorize.Net

Authorize.Net is the Internet’s most widely used payment gateway. With a user base of over 300,000 merchants, Authorize.Net has been the go-to method for e-commerce sites that need a gateway to accepting payments. Widely used e-commerce platforms such as Magento, Volusion and X-Cart are designed to accept payments using Authorize.Net easier.
Pricing: Authorize.Net has a $99 setup fee, costs $10 per month and takes a $0.25 per-transaction fee. Source: Authorize.Net pricing

2. PayPal

PayPal is the world’s most widely used payment acquirer, processing over $4 billion in payments in 2011. PayPal payments are made using a user’s existing account or with a credit card. Money can be sent directly to an email address, thus prompting the users to sign up for a new PayPal account. In addition to taking payments, PayPal also allows its users to send money through the service, which is a feature that only a few payment solutions provide.
Pricing: PayPal takes 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction and has no setup or monthly fees. Source: PayPal merchant fees

3. Google Checkout

Google Checkout is Google’s answer to PayPal. Google Checkout allows users to pay for goods and services through an account connected to their Google profile. The major benefit that Google Checkout has over the competition is that millions of Internet users use Google for other services, making a purchase through Checkout a simpler process.
Pricing: Google Checkout fees start at 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction for sales less than $3,000. The percentage they take goes down depending on monthly sales volume. Source: Google Checkout fees

4. Amazon Payments

Amazon Payments allows its users to receive money using its API (and to send money out via ACH). Popular crowdfunding site Kickstarter uses Amazon Payments.
Pricing: Amazon Payments fees start at 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction for payments over $10 (the percentage they take is less for larger transactions). For payments under $10, the fee is 5.0% + $0.05 per transaction. Source: Amazon Payments fees

5. Dwolla

Dwolla is a direct competitor to PayPal. One of the newcomers in the third-party payments space, the company is processing over $1 million per day. Setting up Dwolla payments is similar to PayPal, although Dwolla doesn’t have the same name recognition as their competition.
Pricing: There are no fees for transactions less than $10. For transactions over $10, Dwolla charges $0.25 per transaction. Source: Dwolla fees

6. Stripe

Stripe provides an excellent payment solution for web developers who would like to integrate a payment system into their projects using Stripe’s robust API. By bypassing the traditional sign up process, Stripe acts as a merchant account for its providers, handling all PCI compliance and merchant approvals.
Pricing: Stripe charges 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction with no setup or monthly fees. Source: Stripe: pricing

7. Braintree

Braintree is an online payment gateway and merchant account solution known for working with popular tech startups such as Airbnb and LivingSocial.
Pricing: Braintree has a $35 monthly fee (with a $75 monthly minimum). Transaction fees start at 2.29% + $0.30 per transaction for qualified cards. Source: Pricing – Braintree

8. Samurai by FeeFighters

Samurai is a payment gateway and merchant account solution. The company’s main product, FeeFighters, is a tool to help merchants compare rates for merchant accounts. Samurai was developed as a direct competitor to Braintree and other gateway/merchant solutions and offers customers a payment gateway or a gateway/merchant account package.
Pricing: For their gateway/merchant solution, Samurai takes 2.3% of all sales volume, costs $25 per month and charges a $0.30 fee per transaction. Source: Samurai by FeeFighters pricing

9. WePay

WePay is a payment processor that allows Internet merchants to accept credit cards and bank account payments online. WePay seems to be focused on the individual user, and has recently added e-store pages to their service to help their customers conveniently take in payments (e.g. event tickets, products, donations and so forth) through their service.
Pricing: WePay charges a 3.5% transaction fee (with a $0.50 minimum) for credit card transactions and $0.50 for bank payments, with no setup or monthly costs. Source: WePay fees

10. 2Checkout

2Checkout is another payment processor that combines a merchant account and payment gateway into one, allowing customers to receive credit card payments as well as PayPal payments. The company offers international payments, shopping cart stores as well as a recurring billing feature.
Pricing: 3.99% (if you apply by May 1, 2012), a $0.45 transaction fee and $10.99 monthly service fee. Pricing and fees – 2Checkout

Other Noteworthy Payment Systems

Here are other online payment systems I think you should also check out:

• Serve (by American Express)
• V.me (by Visa)
• clearXchange (by Bank of America, Chase and Wells Fargo)

What about Payments through Mobile Devices?

These two payment services allow merchants to accept credit card payments directly through their mobile devices, making it possible for devices such as the iPhone, the iPad and Android smartphones to act as a mobile point of sale (POS) checkout system.

• Square
• Intuit’s GoPayment

Conclusion

There are plenty of online payment systems out there that you can use to conduct e-commerce activities. Choose one that’s in line with your business objectives.
This isn’t an exhaustive list of online payment systems. If your favorite online payment system isn’t on the list, please share it with us in the comments and discuss why you choose it over other online payment systems.

Post-Penguin SEO Link Building: The Naked (URL) Truth

If your rankings haven’t recovered from Google Penguin yet, you’re looking for answers. By now, you’ve cleaned up onsite keyword spam, you’ve stopped participating in blog networks, and you’ve read a ton of articles about how to recover from Penguin, but nothing is working. The fortunate reality is that Penguin is simply an algorithm; a mathematical calculation that factors in different data sets to result in a “score” which is used to rank every Website you see in the search results. The first step to beating this algorithm is to understand it.

Understanding Google Penguin

The primary method by which Penguin operates is by examining your inbound link profile metrics to detect what it deems to be “unnatural” activity, and the main signal of unnatural activity appears to revolve around anchor text. As such, if you’ve been hit by Penguin, then it’s likely due to an over-optimized inbound link profile, as determined by the distribution ratio of the anchor text in your inbound link profile.

So, what does a Penguin-affected site’s inbound link profile anchor text distribution look like?

Can you guess what anchors are represented by the big pieces of this pie? Exact-match keyword anchor text for money keywords. This is the type of link profile that would have performed extremely well prior to Google Penguin, but it’s deadly post-Penguin since it lacks diversity, as over 75% of its inbound links are divided into 4 separate anchor texts. This is a big signal to Google of link profile manipulation.

Here’s what a healthy inbound link profile looks like:

This anchor text distribution is much more diversified, but there are still some big pieces to this pie. So, what are those? There are 4 main anchor types that typically comprise the largest portion of an inbound link profile anchor text distribution ratio:

• Naked URLs consist of some variation of the actual URL of the link destination. This can be an internal page or, more commonly, the home page. Naked URLs are the strongest signal to Google of a “natural” inbound link profile and typically comprise the majority percentage of anchor text distribution in healthy websites. Examples include searchenginejournal.com, http://www.searchenginejournal.com, www.searchenginejournal.com, and http://searchenginejournal.com.
• Brand Anchors consist of some variation of the brand name of the destination website. Even small variations such as differences in capitalization are noted by search engines. Examples include Search Engine Journal, SearchEngineJournal, Search engine journal, and SEJ.
• Brand-keyword hybrid anchors consist of some variation of the brand name of the destination website mixed with a relevant exact-match or LSI (latent semantic indexing, which is just a fancy term for “related”) keyword. Examples include SEO blog Search Engine Journal, Search Blog Search Engine Journal, and Search Engine Journal, a search blog.
• Universal/junk anchors consist of words that can apply to any destination website, or are universal in nature, such as “click here,”  “visit this website,” and “here.” They are commonly known as “junk” anchors because, prior to Google Penguin, SEOs and webmasters used to try to avoid these types of anchors since they passed no signals of relevance to the destination website. Oh, how the tables have turned.

Most of the healthy pie slices you see above consist of variations of these four types of anchor texts. As you move forward with your inbound link building strategy, resist the urge to rack up keyword-rich links (which was pre-Penguin best practice) and instead pick one of the four anchor types above.
Your first step, however, should be to audit your inbound link profile using a tool like Majestic SEO or Open Site Explorer, with the goal of determining your existing inbound link profile anchor text distribution. Once you know your current anchor text distribution, you have two options for adjusting it: Delete or dilute. Essentially, you can engage in a link removal campaign, and/or build new links to dilute your overall inbound link profile, which will bring down the ratio of all offending anchor texts. I recommend a two-pronged approach for maximum benefit, in which you execute both strategies simultaneously.
Once you realize that you’re up against a mathematical algorithm, it stands to reason that gathering intelligence and engaging in some strategic addition and subtraction is all you really need to recover from Google Penguin. If the penguin hasn’t released you from its clutches yet, don’t give up; positive energy in will yield positive results. Good luck!

Source: http://www.searchenginejournal.com/post-penguin-seo-link-building-the-naked-url-truth/46936/

Google Adsense Keywords

High Paying AdSense Key phrases: Acquire the highest paying Google AdSense key phrases and optimization techniques. High paying key phrases and alternatives
So how most of you out there have heard about these high paying Google AdSense key phrases Im positive every person. The trouble with these consumers and web pages are that they are drastically off base with their quotes. Ive performed a lot of investigation on high paying AdSense key phrases and for the most portion, there are not most with staggering CPC.
Seriously some of these consumers are claiming that they know Google key phrases that pay upwards of $100 per click. Properly Ill tell you ideal now that is a load of bull. There are some fairly high paying key phrases but none of them touch $100. I mean come on be realistic, if an ad pays $100 a click that indicates the advertiser is spending at least twice that for an advertisement! And with a common search volume of about 2000 clicks the advertising expense would be outrageous! So do not listen to these quacks saying they know where these unbelievable key phrases are considering they do not exist.
For those of you who do not know what CPC is, it stands for Expense Per Click. That is the cost an advertiser would will need to pay per click of their ad they are running. You as a publisher would get anyplace in between 20% and 60% of the CPC. So lets say the CPC was $five, you know you will get $two.50 at the max.
Quite often acquiring the ideal keyword or phrase is not as very easy as point and click. So what you will need to do is use a keyword tool or targeted traffic estimator. You sort in your key phrases or phrase that you have decided on and the tool will show you the search volume and other related key phrases and phrases. This will support you make a decision if your key phrases or phrases will be the most profitable in Google AdSense.
For instance…Individual Injury Lawyer has a really good search volume and a high CPC, BUT, Chicago Individual Injury Attorney has an even greater CPC. Small adjustments to specify what you are going for makes a globe of distinction. This here is fairly a great deal Search engine optimization, or Search Engine Optimization, in a paragraph. Take whatever you are writing about or promoting or whatever and define it from dog training to how to train your dog to quit biting. Make positive to sprinkle your content with your key phrases or phrases and if doable put it in your title as properly. Trust me it will function. And that ladies and gentleman is Search engine optimization.
Now How Most Of You Have Felt Like This
You have been performing your investigation and you have identified high paying Google AdSense key phrases. You have began to get some views and impressions and however nonetheless absolutely nothing. Goose egg. Zilch. Nada. Ok, ok, Im receiving carried away. Im positive any one who has tried Google AdSense has felt this horror just before.
Properly honestly it comes down to a couple items:
* Search engine optimization (search engine optimization)* Content* Competition* Topic
Search engine optimization is rather straight forward as I explained above. Optimize your target by taking a plain Jane topic like dog training and define it by performing how to train your dog to and so on and so on. Put your key phrases or phrases all through your content and in the title if you can. A lot of times the title has been taken so attempt to double it up or stretch it out like so..train your dog-how to train your dog to quit biting. Doubling and stretching like that honestly ranks high on search engines.
Content, you have to have really good excellent original informative content in your post, weblog, web-site, whatever it might possibly be. A lot of location you write can see if you have cut and pasted a person elses function off the net and search engines are much less most likely to choose up on duplicates. So maintain it original and informative.
Competition basically indicates are you chasing a niche that has thousands and thousands of consumers targeting the similar factor. Now it is not at all times poor with Google AdSense to chase a high competed for niche but it is commonly a superior notion to acquire one thing with lower competition. This makes it possible for you a a great deal higher opportunity of receiving observed.
Topic or Niche is an fundamental factor to pay attention to. If you are going immediately after a niche that does not honestly have a following, then you are not going to get any views, clicks or what have you. For example, how most consumers do you feel are looking for trash bags versus auto insurance Acquire a topic or niche that consumers are and will continue to search.
Now you can take all this specifics Ive given you and do added investigation on every single of them. If you want alot more in detail descriptions and layout. I just attempt to clarify items in the most straight forward way doable. The 1 factor that got me when I began web based was how every person had these lengthy drawn out explanations for every little thing. I was screaming why cannot you just flat out tell me! So immediately after some time reading a hundred numerous peoples eBooks or web-sites and blogs about how to do this and that, I figured Id share my expertise and put it in words any one can know.
You do not at all times have to go for the most highly-priced niche to nonetheless be profitable. Get started by checking out how a great deal items expense in places you know a lot about and would get pleasure from writing about. That way with your initially actions in the door when you are understanding you will be having enjoyable performing it. Then you can move on to alot more highly-priced, which I have identified to mean boring, niches.
Now write a small every single day, or possibly 1 post, weblog whatever a day. The alot more you have the alot more you get with high paying Google AdSense key phrases. Attempt and link your items together that have the similar one of a kind content. This way you will get consumers traveling by way of your stream of specifics checking your ads and your links and so on. And dont forget just considering you are attempting to make revenue does not mean you cannot have enjoyable. So HAVE Enjoyable WRITING
High Paying Google AdSense Key phrases
As promised here are some high paying Google AdSense key phrases for you to get started on. Now dont forget this is the CPC (expense per click) for the advertiser, so you figure 50% – 80% is yours.
* Chicago individual injury attorney~~~~$25 – $36. typical $31* Chicago individual injury lawyer~~~~$25 – $34. typical $31
Just a small side note, fundamentally any state and individual injury attorney or lawyer is a high paying Google AdSense keyword but Chicago appears to be the highest. Ranging from $15 – $30 per click.
And do not be afraid to take some words and switch them about or add words to acquire alot more revenue per click. Investigation is important!
* Auto Insurance Quote~~~$17 – $25. typical $22
* Life Insurance Quote~~~$15 – $23. typical $19
* Auto Insurance Quote~~~$19 – $28. typical $24
* New Lasik~~~$15 – $21. typical $19
* Most desirable Equity Loan~~~$17 – $24. typical $22
* Mesothelioma Remedies~~~$18 – $27. typical $23

Getting more clicks on your Adsense ads

More CTR (Click Thru Ratio) means more clicks on your Google Ads. But, is CTR all about position and colors of your ads? No! It's a lot more than that. CTR also depends upon the quality of traffic, relevancy of ads, and even the subject of your website. 
Let's get in detail:
 
Do you own a High CTR website?
Yes! CTR varies from Industry to industry too. It depends upon the keywords you are using to make your web page. It has been observed that more technical the topic is (but not necessarily) less CTR it will give you (for example Search Engine Optimization, Affiliate Network - exceptions are always there), but still works if the Ad content is well written.However, this is only one condition; there are many undiscovered conditions that affect the CTR of keywords. At times, a particular season also has an effect on the performance of keywords. For example family of 'Turkey recipe' keyword is more active around November and December only and a quite sluggish rest of the year. It becomes really necessary to study the behavior of keywords before starting a massive website of Adsense around a topic.
 
Your Ad Position and Color: Old, but very effective
Google heat map helps improve the CTR (Clicks Thru Ratio) of your website by suggesting you the most converting areas for your Adsense Ads. You can have a glance at the Google's Survey that illustrates the ideal placements of ads on your web page.
https://www.google.com/support/adsense/bin/static.py?page=tips.html#17954

Darker the area, better will be the performance of your ads. Your visitor tends to click on these darker areas more often than the other areas of the web page. Ads placed near rich content usually do well because users are focused on those areas of your web page. For example, on pages where users are typically focused on reading an article, ads placed directly below the concluding part of high quality content tend to perform well, as the visitors are left with no other choice except clicking the Ad block.