My 2¢ Worth

ow many ways are there to spell the word "Pharmaceutical?" At least a dozen if you like to send spam mail, and none of them spelled the way I just did.

 had some spare time on my hands recently, so I made a list of all the different spellings I had received in my Inbox that day.

Phaprrmaceutical Pharrwmaceutical Pqharrmaceutical Pdharrmaceutical Piharrmaceutical Pharrimaceutical

Phtarrmaceutical Pharrymaceutical Pharrjmaceutical Phmarrmaceutical Phadrrmaceutical Pharrmmaceutical

h... and did you know that you must always spell "pharmacy" with an apostrophe? It's true. For example: ph'armacy.

f you ever decide to go into the business of sending spam, please remember these two simple rules. 1. Never, never spell words correctly. 2. Use apostrophes liberally.

hese rules apply to the subject line only. What to put in the message body I couldn't guess. I never open them.

Feature Article

Search Engine Submission is a Scam

by: Rick Hendershot Linknet Network

Today I received another of those ads promising that for just $49.95 per month my site would get submitted to a raft of search engines and... "your site will begin to show up in many of the web's most important search engines and content sites including Yahoo, MSN, AltaVista, Excite, InfoSpace, NBCi, C|Net and many others."

This ad came from an otherwise reputable web service to which I subscribe. Given that this service is a major contributor to discussion about search engine marketing strategies, I am sure these guys know better, but I guess they just can't resist the advertising money. As a result they are knowingly contributing to the mis-education of people who have no idea how search engines work.

I readily admit that back when I was breaking into online marketing I spent about three months going through the "submission" ritual. But after I learned how search engines actually collect information about web sites I immediately abandoned this practice.

Here is why search engine submission is a scam:

1. Search engines index pages because they have found them by following a link from an already indexed page. The more links pointing to your page, and the more significant those links, the faster your page will get indexed, and the higher its ranking for the relevant keywords will be.

2. "Submitting" your pages to search engines does not remove the necessity to be linked from somewhere. If there are no links pointing to your site, chances are, submission will not help.

3. Once you are indexed, constant submission is not going to help you. What will help you is regular updating of your pages and getting more links. As the search engines learn that your pages are worth spidering (because your pages regularly change and contain useful content), they will get crawled and updated more often.

So why should you continue to pay $49.95 a month for this service if it has done its job in the first 48 hours? Answer: You shouldn't because "submission" is unnecessary.

4. When your site is "submitted", your email address is also submitted and it immediately gets put on a list of suckers who can be spammed mercilessly. In fact these submission companies will very likely sell your name to other email marketers who will then make your address available to an endless list of spammers.

If you want to get your site indexed, you need links pointing at your site. One way is to submit your site to website directories. Another is to exchange links with sites (and specific pages) that are already indexed.

But both of these methods are relatively time consuming and often inefficient because you have no control over the quality of the page your link gets put on.

An easier and much faster, more efficient way is to buy quality links from a service like Linknet Online Advertising. Buying a listing in a unique service like the Linknet "Business Webs" blog will get you in a blog that gets crawled on a regular basis (every day). This blog is also syndicated on more than 35 high quality, already indexed pages. So one link gets multiplied into more than 35. For more information on this service go to the Business Webs product page.

**************

Rick Hendershot is based in Conestogo, Ontario, Canada. He publishes the Linknet Network a series of more than 35 websites and blogs that offer low cost advertising and link promotion opportunities to website owners.

Add a "Close Window" button to your pop ups

Add a "Close Window" button to your pop up windows. Simply insert the following code where you'd like the button to appear.

<form method="post">
<input type="button" value="Close Window"onclick="window.close()">
</form>

* Get these syndicated tip feeds for yourweb site, free. *

Second Article

Adding & Removing Toolbar Buttons Simplified

by: Beth Sunny SharperTraining.com

You can now customize your toolbars with a couple clicks, even adding buttons you didn't even know existed! It's like a quick shopping spree where you select from a list - I want this one, this one, and that one. No, I do not want this one. Wow, there's an icon to do that? In Office 2000, Microsoft made customizing their built-in toolbars a snap, if you know how. Here's the trick:

• When a built-in toolbar is docked the "More" icon displays. The "More" icon is the last icon on the right with a small triangle pointing down.



• Click on the "More" button. When you click on this icon the Add or Remove Buttons button displays.



• Click on the Add or Remove Buttons button. A list of all the buttons relating to that toolbar displays. A checkmark displays in front of the name of the buttons that currently show on the toolbar. Notice that several of the options are new and very useful.



• Click on the buttons to remove by clicking on the checkmark in front of the name of the button. This does not delete the button. It remains on the list to be added later if desired.



• Click in front of the name of the buttons in which you want to display, placing a check mark in the box.



• When you are done simply click anywhere outside of the pop-up box to close it.

Now your toolbar fits your needs.

**************

Beth Sunny is a writer, publisher, and computer trainer. She owns Software Training Resources (STR), a courseware company known for their "QuickSteps to Learning" training manuals. STR launched an exciting web site in January of 2001. The web site is specifically for the Computer Training Industry - http://www.sharpertraining.com.

The site offers a place for individuals in the Computer Training Industry a place to advertise their business, correspond with others in the industry, find training products, and discover software tips and read great articles relating to computer training. Visit the site today! http://www.sharpertraining.com

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