The blog has a few tips and tricks, but the really useful stuff is all in the forum, which can be found by reading about YACG on the blog!

YACG or Yet Another Content Generator is an open source application written by Busin3ss to automatically create websites including content gathered from a range or sources.

Busin3ss has just released some information on a private project he is working on, the black hat seo command centre!

Its a real shame Busin3ss is not releasing the source for this program, it looks really interesting, allowing the creation of new domains / sub domains on a server, automatically deploy websites onto those domains, harvest keywords and a lot more.

Busin3ss is however releasing a mass installer for his YACG project and other components used in the command centre and other readers of his blog / forum are already working on their own variants.

One of the most interesting things going on in the forum is a case study. Using these black hat seo tools, busin3ss is describing an attempt to make a LOT of money online by automatically generating thousands of sites over hundreds of domains.

Whether you agree with this stuff or not there is no denying the level of commitment and expertise being demonstrated here, its a really interesting read, particularly if you get access to the forum.

Accessing the forum is free, but you are asked why you want to join. I have no idea whether anyone has ever been refused access to the forum, but I was allowed in, so they can’t be that choosy

Last month Kieron of here.org.uk wrote a short tutorial on how to build an affiliate site from scratch with WordPress, Kirsty from AffiliateStuff.co.uk introduced a really nice feed driven lingerie site using the revolution theme and Monty from LeavingTheDayJob.co.uk built a niche site promoting vibration platforms, also using the revolution theme.

It is interesting to see the revolution theme being used so frequently, as I had planned to use it for my own offering, but for the short term I went with the free Mandigo Theme. The Mandigo theme is quite an advanced template which can be rendered at different widths. It also allows you to control which links appear in the header navigation… a very useful feature… particularly for the site I built.

So, the site I built is a feed driven mobile phone comparison site.

Everything runs within WordPress itself using the excellent PHP Exec Plugin which allows you to execute PHP within your pages / posts.

I wrote code to import the data feed and build a local database with it, as well as code to query the database and render the comparison tables. Then I just “included” this code within the pages I wanted to display results in. This means I can create a custom comparison page within a minute or so, for example this page on this page you can see I am able to add my own content before including the results from the comparison. This is really where the Mandigo theme comes in handy, as, I do not want all these pages linked in the header navigation. From the WP admin panel I can de-select pages from the header (instead linking pages in the footer with a small mod I made).

The “news” page is the WordPress (loop) blog which I populated with a few pages of paid content.

I’m pretty pleased with the way the site works, but, I am not sure it will make any money as Mobile Phones are such a competitive market. Also, the comparison feed I am using creams a percentage off the affiliate sales, which is pretty expensive. In time I could write aggregate my own feeds to claw this back, but at this stage I am not sure it is worth it, in fact, I think the site may be nothing more than a white elephant .

Still, I learned a lot from building this and will be looking to do more feed driven sites in the future… in less competitive niches .

A lot of people write about SEO, but Hamlet seems to know a lot more than others blogging on the subject. He provides basic scripts that can be used to analyse log files for keywords and recently published the basis of a free cloaking script which I still have to try, very generous

I think it was this excerpt from Hamlets about page that really got me interested in his blog:

“I was fortunate enough to stumble into one of the top marketers that worked for my previous employer. He wouldn’t tell me much as he didn’t want to feed additional competition, but what he said was enough for me to start my own journey. He mentioned pay per click, Viagra, and the almighty dollar”

I found that very amusing…

Hamlet has also provided a post showing how to use Google Adwords analysis tools more effectively in your search marketing. Although I had used these tools before, I learned a lot from that post, but unfortunately made a bit of a mess of the comments section (sorry!).

What I like about this blog is that it is providing genuinely valuable information you can use to get results. This site offers a range of advice to suit people with different levels of expertise.

The posts really aim to cover to the nuts and bolts of what you need to do to increase traffic, which is why I read it.

If you are tired of reading the same old generic stuff like “write great content” or “get lots of links” and are looking for free insider advice from a professional then you should spend some time reading Hamlet Batista’s search marketing blog for yourself!!

FilePedia lists hundreds of free downloads, but unlike sites such as Download.com or SnapFiles.com, FilePedia uses WordPress blogging software.

As it is run as a blog with daily posts and an RSS feed it is an easy way to find out about useful free software products.

In that sense it is better than Download.com or SnapFiles.com, which work well if you know what you are looking for, but don’t in themselves show you anything new.

FilePedia on the other hand introduces you to software you may not previously have been aware of, there is some interesting stuff on there if you have a little spare time to browse.

This blog has only been live for a few weeks but is already generating 30,000 unique visitors a month. With a list of most popular and best rated downloads its well worth a visit if your looking for some freebies

When I first read this blog I thought it was a bit on the pink side, and probably wouldn’t be my kinda read however, if you read the “About” page you will see that Danielle is a PPC manager (a fact I forgot about when I recently mentioned some of my more dubious ideas for site development ) and so, by default, Danielle has a good understanding of (white hat ) Internet Marketing and SEO.

If you go on to read her posts you will find a lot of blog marketing tips such as a recent post on Google Operators, Social Media sites, analysis tools and topics such as buying backlinks.

The content is good, I know a fair bit about the subjects on which Danielle writes and have still learned a few new tricks, so don’t make the mistake I did and judge a blog by its cover

I also like Daniels strategy for marketing this blog, she is adopting a sustainable approach and understands that it will take some time to develop the site.

As part of this process Danielle is offering a key-worded back link in her sidebar for 45 days and a link back in a post for anyone who wants to review her site using the key term Blog Marketing Tips.

For new blogger’s this will be far more worthwhile than writing reivew’s of high traffic sites for a throw away back link in a single post.

The linkback Danielle is offering will appear on every page of her blog and is guaranteed to send the Google bot your way, and will more than likely show up as link to your site. When the 45 days are up you will be left with the same value “post links” that the high traffic blog’s are offering, and, in my experience will be of far more benefit to you, especially as she will use anchor text of your choosing.

I will be watching to see if Danielle now renames her blog to further target her keywords :!:

This is really useful for bloggers, as, they get a free review with inbound links, but can also get additional back-links through commenting, being one of the Top Givers (voting on sites listed) or if their site is one of the Top Earners.

I have no idea why spud from Nice4Rice is doing this, I have asked him but don’t think he is quite sure himself, replying:

“The method behind my madness…hmm… just madness I’m afraid, no method to speak of. I’m having fun writing up these reviews, mostly because the site owners are really appreciative, and often link back”

Spud wrote his own template for Nice4Rice, and is quite distinct from most other blogs in these parts!

If you want to find some interesting blogs to read, or would like your own site reviewed then check out Nice4Rice, where I already have two of my blogs listed

As the age of criminal accountability approached, Jon put his content ripping past behind him and became a Math and Computer Science teacher.

In his spare time continues to run a successful website attracting 30.000 hits per day, as well as a blog discussing Web Development.

It is this common interest that lead me to reading Jon Lee’s articles, where there is a category dedicated to Web Development tips and tools.

Like this site Jon Lee has a number of useful articles on Firefox Plug ins, advice on programming Linux, as well as some useful SEO tips such as Web Development: My Anchor Text, which will explain a lot about the way this post has been written.

Jon is a really useful source of information and I am a regular reader. Being associated with Jon has proven something of a double edged sword as he regularly corrects my own articles via my comments section which can be a bit embarrassing .

So, if you want to learn a bit about web development, or are after tips and tricks to use on your own blog, then Jon Lee Web Development is well worth a visit.

How Much Have you Made from Pay Per Post was a question posed by Pay Per Post themselves in an act of self promotion.

I have only recently signed up with PPP blog marketing, and this is only my second post, so far I have made just $20.

I read recently on HMTK.com that posting too many PPP reviews can bleed your page rank. It is well known that linking to the “wrong” kind of sites can damage your google rank, and, as you do not necessarily know the reputation of the company you are linking to I can see how you could easily fall foul of this.

The other question that PPP have asked is “what will you do with the money?”, in my case I intend to spend it on Pay Per Posts for one of my other sites!

It is a fairly cost effective way of getting more inbound links, and, the fact that you can specify a subject that the blog must write about increases your chances of getting contextual links from participating sites.

Personally I think advertisers get a better deal from this than bloggers. Many Pay Per Post opportunities pay only $6 to blog authors (though I have seen some as high as $500 if you have a PR7+ site.

Pay per post take around one third in commission, so, opportunities paying around $6 will have cost the advertisers $10, a fraction of the ReveiwMe price, although I think ReviewMe are likely to deliver a better quality product.

ReviewMe fees are higher, you can earn more money per review with them, from what I have seen so far, but PPP is good from the point of view that you can put yourself forward for opportunities as opposed to having to be asked, and, from an advertisers perspective you can get a lot more reviews for your money.

Whether PPP works for me remains to be seen, but I think I will be doing more in the future, provided I can find opportunities relevant to my blog.

A week or so later he has:

1. Included me in two speed reviews
2. Added me to his blogroll (links)
3. Provided me with a most valuable one way review into another blog of mine (which I am trying to boost google rankings for)
4. Let me spam my way onto his top commenter’s list!

At this point your probably thinking

“give me a month and Ill have the shirt off his back!“

However, Saman is no fool, his blog is an excellent example of how to lever the power of a blogging community to increase traffic. Saman has not lost sight of the fact that it was the community that put him there, and, will help keep him there, illustrated by his post “It’s Time To Give Back“, and, if my experience is anything to go by, you can take him at his word.

Interestingly Saman is posting objectives for successful blogging which is full of useful tips for anyone wanting to raise the profile of their blog.

I recently asked Saman how much he was making from his blog, he replied by saying that it was not making much, but he was “about to make some changes”. Having levered the community to increase traffic, it is going to be interesting watching how Saman levers his traffic to generate income. I have no doubt that he will be successful in this and will post some interesting articles on the subject.

The thing that makes Saman’s blog such a good read is that what he has done is achievable. There are other good blogs out there, JohnChow.com for example, which give a wealth of information on how to increase blog traffic, but many of the methods described are out of reach for the average blogger.

Saman recently started from scratch, there is nothing described in this blog that you cannot implement for yourself, making it particularly valuable for new bloggers.

I mentioned earlier how Saman let me ‘spam’ my way onto his top commenter’s list, but this is nothing compared to Saman’s own antics, tearing up JohnChow.com’s comments list! If you want to know how to write rapid fire, two syllable comments and get away with it then….. you’ll have to ask him, …..I don’t know how he does it either….. it must just be because people like him.

Having tried to keep up with his comment spam fest for a week, I think I am developing RSI. I have trouble eating with a knife and fork and have come to the conclusion that either:

1. Saman is off-shoring his comment writing to a sweat shop in the far east
2. Saman is using a Robot

Now Saman, before you go running off to your lawyer, just remember, I’m writing out of the UK, that’s how things work here, you cant touch me

Saman is also a source of useful information on the FORTY ONE WordPress Plugins he is using, all of which are vital to the efficient running of his blog, including the “Random Quote” at the bottom right of the screen (it is often very funny).

This leads me into one of the main themes of Samanathon.com, technology. Saman has a lot of useful information on Windows XP and Windows Vista, as well as more human categories such as Comedy, Cars, Animals, Comment Spamming (sorry I just had to ), Japanese shows…. it just go’s on.

I have only covered a fraction of what Samanathon.com has to offer, I could go on, but it will be far easier if you just pay him a visit!

It was that post that got me reading JaKelDaily.com, as I was interested to hear what traffic from the million dollar homepage was really worth.

Like myself, and many other blogger’s JaKel has an interest in SEO, writing a post on Turning On SEO URL’s, explaining how to set permalinks in WordPress, and the benefits of doing so.

Ja Kel is a ‘genuine’ blog in that the author mixes a variety of personal interests into his blog, including family life, investing and technology.

Although I am more interested in technology posts, there is an interesting article on paying off your mortgage in ten years which I am sure we would all love to do and shows a serious amount of determination. There is also a clip of Jason throwing his wife out of a plane with some tips for uploading clips to youTube.

In a cheeky act of self promotion Jason attempts to get into the top 10k on Technorati by offering a 1 gig flash drive to anyone who can generate 20 inbound links to his site. If only it were that easy, I think a bigger prize may be required for 20 back-links!

There is also a category on “The Net” which has a couple of good articles on blogging and site promotion which should be of interest to readers of siteLogic.

Jason seems to be doing well with his blog, he has a PR of 4, is building his technorati ranking and has a price tag of $60 on reviewMe.

For such a young blog (started in February 07) Jason seems to be making good progress, and is definitely a blog I will be keeping an eye on.