Related Podcast Link: Listen to Episode 115!
I am a web hosting professional I would say, or at least I play the part each week on this podcast. Nevertheless, I want to help you out with an often asked question that I get sent my way. Everybody wants to know how to be the best out there in the search engines. I have a few resources that will help you all get off on the right foot.
Getting ahead of myself though, first – here is the question everybody seems to be asking.
“Where’s a good web site our source where I can get more information about my SEO rankings and get advice on how to make it higher?
I’d really like to optimize my web sites but don’t know where to start.”
Here Come the Tools!
I have a not one great source for you to check out – actually I have two! The first would be popuri.us. It gives you backlinks and information on Google, Yahoo, MSN, and everything in between. They even give you a widget that you can share on your web site and show off your numbers.
The second resource I have for you is WebSiteGrader.com. It gives you more output options than you could ever want or need. It tells you how you rank in just about every way, shape or form out there on the Web. It also hands out advice on how you can get yourself a better “grade” too.
If you want a good resource to read up and learn more about the search engine optimization business – check out SEOChat.com. It is probably one of the best resources on any and all SEO issues.
Is setting up Google Analytics really that hard? How did FastServers.Net start? Can you get good free hosting? Is it possible to make it to the top of Google? How do you solve a rubik’s cube under water? 
You can use the service without feeling the need to register, but if you do sign up you can keep track of your uploads, view statistics of each file, add and edit captions to your uploaded data, create folders, and more. With the 
Haven’t you ever wondered to yourself who was hosting that web site you just visited? Maybe there was something about the server quality while browsing that you really liked?
There are few web sites out here that can really say they are one of the cornerstones of the web hosting industry. When you mention such praise, you might think of The WHIR, Web Hosting Talk, and the like. I think 
Host Search is one of the most established, most influential and most widely respected web hosting directory on the Web. Just by viewing their front page you can see they tackle everything from hosting interviews, to news and discussions. 
Web Hosting Anti-Popup Policy
Related Podcast Link: Listen to Episode 114!
This is good for a few months – but past that point, the advertising agencies just figure out a way around it by using flash, javascript or other technologies.
As of this date I do not know one web host that has an anti-popup policy. Should they do it? Let’s look at both sides of the argument.
Yes, Web Hosts Should Not Host Popup Advertising Web Sites
I think this might be a very popular way to get some buzz if a web host figured out how to do it right. As I said before, everybody hates popups. We can go after it via the browser, but that is only a temporary fix. If we want to get rid of them from the start the web host is where to do it at. When you kill a weed, you do not just cut the top of it off. You want to jerk it out of the ground and get the root as well.
No, Web Hosts Should Not Start An Anti-Popup Policy
On the other side of the argument, you have the great problem it would cause for the web host to hire somebody to randomly view their hosted web sites to make sure they are not doing any popup advertisments. This alone almost makes this pipe dream a loser from day one. Another issue you would have is you would create a second breed of web hosts – maybe overseas that say they welcome the popup ad loving web sites and will gladly host them.
So, What Is The Solution?
The only reason these ads are around is because somebody out there is clicking them. It might not be you – but I bet your Uncle Elroy who just got his first computer is. As a society, we are the ones that created the pop up ads – because we found out ways not to click or to ignore the traditional streams of advertsing via the computer.
Now in our defense, we should have been served with better ads as a result I think – not more annoying ones.