Where do you find the code to add a +1 button to your HTML website?

If you already have webmaster tools account ..

Login to your google webmaster tools account  and you will notice that there is now a new category “+1 Metrics” located on the left hand side.

If you click on this you will then notice that there is a link  ” add the +1 button ” – this is where you can get the code.

This is also where you can check the stats and see how the +1 button is going.

Choose a size and option that you like then add it to a prominent spot on your website.

ps. if you havent got a webmaster tools account you can get one here : www.google.com/webmasters/tools/

For more information on Google +1 buttons go to : www.google.com/+1/button/

Adding a Google +1 button to WordPress

Do a Google search for  a Google +1 button Plugin, find one you are happy with and install and set up  - too easy!!

Hard Copy Yellow Pages – Who Still Uses It?

A couple of weeks ago I was suprised to look out my window that overlooks our steep driveway to see a lady coming climbing up to deliver the latest Yellow pages to our front door. There was care involved – the effort involved in delivering something that used to be thrown  in the middle of the driveway or by the letterbox and left there until it was discovered. Our suburb is very hilly and the driveways are steep – to walk up and place a copy of the Yellow pages by the door step is a deliberate attempt to make it be noticed.

I was annoyed. I dont use and havent used yellow pages for at least 10 years. I didnt ask for it – it came to me like a gift I didnt appreciate.

Doesnt everyone use google to find what they want? I do!

I was curious and started asking friends and family if they used their hand delivered to the door Yellow pages.

There was a mixed response – and my findings were that it depended on the age and the computer skills of who I asked.

Some went straight in the bin, and other previous editions were replaced with a new copy. They refered to them when they needed a plumber, or some new blinds or other service.

So whether you use the new copy or replace the one you have it ends up in the same place – the recycle bin.

I would like to see a limited edition Yellow pages hard copy made available by request to the people who still want it.

This would be a logical solution to an obvious waste of time, resources and money.

My copy of the Yellow pages went from my front door to the recycle bin. I felt guilty doing it but new if I brought it inside it would ultimately be put in the same place in its pristine glory in  a few months time.

What do you do with your hard copy of the Yellow pages?

This book will help you understand the wonderful way that Google works!

Google is now a dominant force on the internet, guiding millions of searches and online purchases every day. Understanding how it works and how to make the most of it is therefore essential to anyone building or running a website, whether for business or as a hobby.

This easy-to-follow guide explains not only how Google actually sifts the billions of pages of information its index contains, but shows you how you can improve the performance of your own website in Google’s search results, giving specific and detailed instructions about the sort of priority issues you need to address. “50 Ways to Make Google Love Your Website” will teach you how to: use Google to help you understand how people search for the sort of things you are offering; create a website that your customers will quickly find in Google; make your website irresistible to links from other sites; help Google understand what your site is about; and, think like Google and win more traffic.

About Steve Johnston

Steve Johnston has spent all of the third millennium fascinated by Google and its role in business. Now a recognised expert in Google’s search engine he spends most his time advising major brands and aspiring entrepreneurs how to make more of the opportunity it presents. Steve’s pre-web career was as a retailer and he graduated first in his class at the business school of hard knocks. He is married with three teenage children and lives near Bath, Somerset. Liam McGee is a Cambridge educated scientist, and a web-accessibility, usability and search optimisation specialist. He has been marking up HTML since 1995. In his free time he is an ‘invited expert’ and occasional editor at the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative. He is married and lives in Frome, Somerset.

50 Ways to Make Google Love Your Website

Google Adsense is a great way to start off making money from your website.

It is free to sign up and easy to implement. Once you have signed up you need to make sure you fully understand their terms and conditions. Generally you are allowed a maximum of 3 google adds on a page, you are not allowed to click on them yourself and you cant put them on inappropriate sites/content. ( adult content..etc.)

One of the best things about these adds is that once you put them on your website – thats it. Each time someone goes to your page or the page is refreshed a new add is displayed. While most of the time the adds displayed are suitable but if you find that one you dont like showing up you can filter it out.

It does take a bit of experimentation with what colors and sizes to put and where and this does depend on the type of website you have. If you place big adds ( this is a great size banner and one that I use the most – 300×250 pixels) above the fold in a prominant place these are more likely to be noticed and clicked on, while adds at the bottom of the page. See here for an explanation of the various banner sizes available.

Google has an excellent help facility and forum that answers any questions you may have about Adsense.