milsoms.com blog

I am not sure how fast the keith.milsoms.com website will get indexed so I have also put a “keith” page onto my Anything Left-Handed website and included some linking code that visitors can put into their own blogs or web pages if they are willing to help me.

The page is at http://www.anythingleft-handed.co.uk/keith.html

If you want to help me win the challenge, please put a link to the keith.milsoms.com website onto your own blog or website - thanks!

Firstly I submitted the blog url to Google to make sure it has a record of it and get it indexed. It may pick it up from the submission of the milsoms.com domain or site map when I do it but I will submit it direct as well

http://www.google.com/addurl

I can check whether Google has already visited my blog by doing a search for

cache:http://www.milsoms.com/blog

If it has it will show the time visited and the cached version of the page (mine is not visited yet)

Go back to Google sitemaps page, make sure the blog url http://milsoms.com/blog has been added to the account (note that if you have verified the parent domain, the blog site will be automatically verified)
Submit a sitemap - the sitemap url is the RSS feed for the blog

http://milsoms.com/blog/wp-rss2.php

NOTE that both the site url and the RSS feed have the “www” removed even if it is there in the main site url - it has to be like this for it to work

Once the sitemap has been crawled, whenever it changes you can ping Google to tell them and encourage a re-crawl. This cost me a lot of money to find out, but it does work. The url for the ping to Google sitemaps is

http://www.google.com/webmasters/sitemaps/ping?sitemap=http%3A%2F%2Fmilsoms.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-rss2.php

It needs to have : shown as %3A and / shown as %2F (it is a coding thing they tell me!)

Update to this entry

Google sitemaps is having trouble with this and keeps showing errors, saying is is unable to read the sitemap (RSS feed in this case)

This seems to be a confusion between the domain address www.milsoms.com and the rss feed address milsoms.com/blog

Steps to check and correct it:

1. Added the RSS feed http://milsoms.com/blog/wp-rss2.php as content to My Yahoo page and it is reading the feed fine
2. Check that the google sitemaps account has http://milsoms.com/blog as a verified site - it is there but showing as NOT verified.
3. Went through the verification process, choosing to create an html file called google33851e2920c031a9.html as specified (easier than putting a metatag into the Wordpress template header) - now verified OK.
   
4. Back to sitemaps page, select the RSS feed and resubmit

I was talking with a friend and my son Tom about what I do and he said “if you are so clever, how come when I search for ‘keith’ in Google I don’t see you anywhere?”.

I explained that ‘keith’ was not one of my targeted business keywords but he still thought that if I was any good at marketing I would be able to become the number Keith on Google, and I guess he has a point!

So I took up the challenge and this is the story of what happened…

As of today, 8 September 2006, there are about 247 million results pages for a search for ‘keith’ on google.com and the number one slot is held by Rolling Stone Keith Richard - we’ll see about that!

This is what I have done:

1. The game started at 10.00 am on 8 September 2006.
2. Build a fairly simple web site about the name Keith and fairly heavily optimised for the keyword ‘keith’.
3. I created a new subdomain keith.milsoms.com under my main domain as I think this will get it seen as a separate site by the search engines and get it a far tighter keyword focus.
4. Each page has some Google Adsense on it so I have a quick flick through he pages to get the adsense spider to work out what the pages are about and put up relevant ads. I am getting a mix of ads on working at home, business planning, blogging, ancestry and music, but at least Google knows I am there (that may or may not help in getting the pages indexed and ranked but it can’t do any harm!)
5. 14:00 8 Sep - Submitted the index page to about 100 search engines including Google (I am currently using the free version of Web CEO to do that).
6. Set up a Google sitemap account for the site - first add the site to my Google Webmaster tools account, then choose to verify ownership of the domain by adding the metatag they specify to my index page.
7. Create the sitemap to submit to Google - I use the free service at http://www.xml-sitemaps.com/ to create the code, save it with my website pages, have a quick check to make sure it picked up all the site pages then upload.
8. 15:00 8 Sep - Add the sitemap url to Google Sitemaps - in my case http://keith.milsoms.com/sitemap.xml
   It can take a few hours for Google to follow the sitemap and spider the site, but refreshing the sitemap results page a few times seems to speed it up and mine was spidered in 2 minutes and all came up OK.
9. 16:15 8 Sep - made blog entries for the site on 2 of my own left-handed Blogger blogs and pinged yahoo with the updates
10. 16:30 made blog entry on my lefthandedchildren.org blog (Wordpress) and pinged the RSS feed to Yahoo plus pinged the Google sitemap link for it to Google
11. Better have a link to the Keith site in this blog as well so here it is - http://keith.milsoms.com
12. I have not actually announced this Blog or set up a Google sitemap link for it yet - I will make a separate entry about that later
13. 17:50 8 Sep - put a link to the Keith site on the index page of Anything Left-handed (my own PR6 site)
14. 17:55 8 Sep - put a link to the Keith site on the index page of LeftHandersDay (my own PR5 site)

That’s all for now folks - time for a beer!

I have developed my own CSS based template that gives me a clean layout and flexibility to control all the site colours, fonts, links, spacing etc. from a central CSS file. The CSS layout also allows me to get all of the important page content near the top of the code rather than being blelow loads of table settings and the navigation links - important for search engine spiders and page ranking.I

wil talk more about templates later and maybe make them available to others as part of the handbook - I have bought and used loads of other peoples templates and never really got quite what I wanted so I have taken the best of all thwenothers and tweaked then to get what I think is a really usable, good looking and SE Optimised site template.Critically

, my template allows me to build other template pages that are “nested” within it whcih is great when using variuos page building software as any changes I make to the global template or style sheet will be replicated right through the live site, even the pages built with the automated systems (more about this another day).

I use Dreamweaver to build my sites so it is always easy to add new pages based on the template and any changes to the template will update in all site pages based on that template.
So, having chosen the most appropriate template, I copy it into a new local directory for the site and then edit it to make the following changes:

1. Choose an appropriate header graphic from my collection, edit it to change the text and site url and any colours I want changed, save as an original .psd and also as a .jpg in the site images directory (I use a standard site of 700 pixels wide in my site templates to keep things simple;
2. Change the image link and target url in the template. Target url is the main domain as a full url, e.g. http://www.milsoms.com - it has to be like this as it will later be used in various sub-folders so a relative address would be no good.
3. Select the main colours that will be used for the site (usually taken from the header graphic) and specify them in various places in the CSS file
4. Change the target urls on the page - breadcrumb trail, home link, footer copyright link
5. Change the default page title, meta description and meta keywords (they are editable areas and can be changed on individual pages built from the template later)
6. Obtain or create an image to go beside the main Google Adsense large rectangle
7. Create a new Adsense channel for this site and recreate the adsense code (link block, rectangle and search box) making sure the text colours match the rest of the site. Note that both the background and border colours in the Adlink block in the left menu panel need to be changed to match the background colour
8. Set up a Google analytics account for the site and change the tracking code in the template. it can take a while for Google to visit the site and check the code (up to 24 hours) so leave it for a while then make sure it is showing as ticked and receiving data.
9. Create a basic index.htm page from the template and upload to check that the Google tracking is working
10. Create a sitemap.htm page from the template and give it a heading etc. No content yet as it has not been created but there is a link to it from the home page and I do not want any broken links on the site.

Upload the index and sitemap pages and associated files (images, stylesheet) and see how it looks. Correct any problems with the template and re-upload.

That’s it - we are ready to start building more pages.

Having set up my web space, I needed to get the domain name to point at the space and this is done by changing the DNS records at the site that hosts the domain (that is, the domain name rather than the actual space for the web site).

You get the correct nameserver records from the web space provider (HostGator in my case)  and they look like this

NameServer1: ns237.websitewelcome.com
NameServer2: ns238.websitewelcome.com

Just type these into the appropriate boxes with the domain name host and it will tell everyone that your URL now points to the new web space. (there are lots of different nameservers all round that maintain a current database linking site names to web space IP addresses and it can take up to 48 hours for the new relationship to propagate everywhere).

I already owned the domain name milsoms.com and have recently started a hosting account with HostGator that allows me to host as many domains as I like for a low monthly charge.  I have used a lot of hosting companies before and they all seem to want to charge extra for every little feature or facility you need to have.

my experience so far, HostGator have got everything loaded into the basic account, including CGI, PHP, MySQL and loads of additional resources and scripts you can load using the amazing “Fantastico” facility - this lets you install things like WordPress (which I have used for this blog) with only a couple of clicks.  It also has various FAQ, Forum and Help Desk facilities which will no doubt come in handy as I develop this project.
You have full control over your domain space and can create an unlimited number of sub-domains as well as folders within the site, e.g. http://domains.milsoms.com

These are a good way of organising “mini sites” or separate chunks of content as the search engines can treat them as a separate site and you get more focused content.  Also, they can be accessed by a variety of URLs of someone gets the syntax wrong…

domains.milsoms.com
http://domains.milsoms.com
www.domains.milsoms.com
http://www.domains.milsoms.com

all work fine!

I was getting web space from UK2 but it was costing £50.00 per year plus extras for what I would consider essentials like CGI and email POP boxes - now that is all included for nothing (as I was paying the basic monthly charge for other sites as well).

Click here to find out more about HostGator yourself if you want to host multiple sites

have actually signed up for the hosting  reseller package so that I can provide hosting for other people as well.  At the moment I am just doing this for friends and family but there is a chance to make it a commercial part of the milsoms.com business and i will be following it up to see if I can get it working.
BTW - the Google spell checking is working really well!

I have researched spell checker plug ins and there are a few about but all seem to have some sort of problems.  It seems the best solution is to use the Google toolbar spell checker as it works fine in the WordPress writing window.  The toolbar is well worth getting anyway as it has other useful tools and the PageRank indicator (just search for “Google toolbar” in Google and get the version for your browser (I have used it OK with IE and FireFox)
When you click on the “ABC” icon in the toolbar it highlights any errors with red and underline and offers alternative spellings, or you can just edit to correct it or add new words to the dictionary.  Once fixed, the word stays green until you are finished.

Works a treat!  (except it seems to make the text cursor disappear so you can’t see where your insert point is?)

I wanted to try a different theme for the blog and start to understand the templates and how they work so I can get the blog designed exactly as I want it and begin to add the features and functionality I want.

I have purchased a set of AdSense templates and there is one that looks like a good start. The hgeader image is wrong but I have the Photoshop .psd version and can edit the text to show what I want.

I have copied the whole theme to a working directory on my hard disk, edited the header image and edited the index.php, header.php and right.php templates within the theme to use my own adsense publisher ID. I also defined an AdSense channel for this blog and edited that as well.

I then used my FTP software to upload the whole theme directory to
www.milsoms.com/public_html/blog/wp-content/themes/

and it magically appears as a chioce on the Presentation / Themes page. Selecting it changes the whole blog to work with that theme. There is quite a lot I want to change but I will stick with this for now.

This is going to be fairly flexible and will no doubt change as I go along, but this is the outline of what I am going to do…

1. Create a wesite and blog framework that I can start to put content into.  It must be template based and easy to add additrional content sections within the main style and navigation structure;
2. Establish a submission and marketing process to get the site and all new pages indexed in search engines and directories as quickly as possible
3. Write my profit improvement handbook pulling together all of the proven techniques and tools I have into a structured process for tuning up a web business to make higher profits;
4. Do some hands-on consultancy work with suitable businesses to prove the approaches and help with documenting the process in a real situation;
5. Add sections of the handbook as content on the website as it is developed and create subfolders or subdomains with supporting content on each target area plus links to the software, tools and information I am using;
6. Create a series of short articles based on the main stages from the guide and submit to article directories to generate interest and incoming links;
7. Follow my own advice and process to monetize the content on the milsoms.com site using Google AdSense, affiliate links and other tools;
8. Develop a range of “mini sites” within the milsoms.com site to promote the information and tools  needed to undertake the profit improvement process (when the handbook is sold, the ones I have ownership rights to will become part of the package);
9. Set up standalone web sites for areas where I have sufficiently stong content.  These will be income-generating in their own right and also act as traffic generators and feeders to milsoms.com and its products;
10. When the handbook and tool set is complete, start to market the package;
11. Set up a membership site where people who have ordered the handbook can get ongoing help and advice plus access to new tools and techniques as I test and approve them.  This will include:

    * A library of tools, information and software for members
    * FAQ answering the main questions I receive
    * Member forum where members can help each other and I can post answerse to questions
    * Regular emails to members with latest information and updates

12. Consider joint ventures with established internet marketers to promote the profit improvement package.

That’s all!

I plan to have all of this completed and operational within 6 months, with the key milestones being:

• Have an operational framework for the milsoms.com website and blog working and with basic useful content and submit to search engines and directories - end September 2006;
• Outline of profit improvement handbook and main content done by end October 2006 - start submitting articles to directories and syndication sites;
• Develop content sites related to all main areas of activity in the guide (either as sub-folders, sub-domains or stand-alone sites;
• Finalise first version of the profit improvement guide and associated resources by end November 2006, give away to some trusted business contacts to get feedback and additional content;
• Update guide as a sellable product, decide on pricing and set up web site to sell it and take payment - complete by end December 2006;
• Start marketing in earnest Jan 2007;
• Set up membership web site, FAQ, forum, product library etc. by end of January 2006;
• Test and improve site, content and all systems during February 2007 so it is all fully working by the end of the 6 month target - 28 February 2007;
• Then move on to more marketing and considering joint ventures.

I am willing to work with a couple of businesses as a way of proving that it is possible to double their monthly web profits within 6 months using my methods and tools and also as a way of documenting the process in action.

This is the ideal profile for a business I would want to work with:

1. Established and viable offline business with an existing website that has been in operation for at least a year;
2. Sucessful offline but have not really achieved the expected success online;
3. Owner-Managed business where it is the owner who wants my help and is willing to work direct with me to make things happen;
4. Some technical expertise in-house to make changes to the website and undertake the ongoing marketing work required;
5. Preferably based close to London, UK as it would be nice to have some physical contact as well as working on the web;
6. Preferably using Actinic as the online catalog and shopping basket software;
7. In an acceptable and interesting (to me!) business niche with good untapped matket potential (investigating this is an early part of the review process);

If this is you, please get in touch and we can see if we could do some work together

Tel: 020 8770 3722

How do I get my email contact address available without making it easy for spammers to harvest it from the blog? I will find out, but in the meantime, you can adapt this:

keith at milsoms . com