Tag Archives | how-to

Making Money on Affiliate Hosting – Podcast 206

May/10 in Web Hosting Podcasts

Podcast 206 I might have been missing in action for a few weeks, but I have finally figure out a way to make it up to you.  I’m going to share my tips with web hosts on how to get more web hosting clients and I’m going to tell the webmasters out there how to earn more money.  So what is the secret?  I have one word for you.  Affiliate.

Download the Web Hosting Show, Episode 206!
Running Time: 8 minutes | File Size: 3.48 MB

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

The world of affiliate hosting, for both web hosts and web hosting clients is surrounded with a lot of buzz words and scariness.

Continue Reading →

Read full story · Comments { 0 }

How to Install a WordPress Plugin

Aug/18 in All Posts, Beginner Help, Web Hosting Tutorials

Help with WordPress Plugins

WordPress is probably one of, if not “the” most popular blogging script out there.  One of the things that makes it so great is the wide variety of plugins you can install to extend it’s usability.  So how do you install a WordPress plugin? Why, I am happy you asked.

First thing you need to do is to download the plugin, from the plugin’s official site, or from a directory like WordPress’s Plugin Directory site.  Once that has been done, you see it often comes in a .zip compressed folder.  You need to un-compress it using your favorite file unzipper – to it’s own folder.  Now you have the folder for the plugin setting on your desktop.  What is next?

Next, you will want to start up your favorite FTP program and upload the folder to this directory:

/wp-content/plugins/

Each plugin should have it’s own folder, so since your plugin you want to install is already in a folder just upload the entire folder to the folder named “plugins” within your wp-content folder.

Now, login to your WordPress administrator interface and click on the Plugins link in the left-side menu.  Scroll down the list till you see the plugin you just installed, and click the the link labeled “Activate” in the box for the plugin.

Simply follow the on screen instructions after that, and your new plugin should be up and running.  Often plugins have additional features you need or can setup and customize, so check the plugin’s documentation for that information.

Read full story · Comments { 0 }

Making Money with Google AdSense

Jan/23 in All Posts, Beginner Help, Online Tools, Web Hosting Tutorials

Google AdSense Help There are a number of different ways to make money on your web site, however, Google AdSense might be the most popular choice of all.  Google has made it a brain-dead simple process to get up and running their their ads, so there is no question why they are number one at what they do.

How do you Sign Up and Use Google AdSense?

Signing up is a pretty easy process.  All you need to do is sign in with your Google login, and follow the on screen instructions.  Once that is done, you can create the ads you want to use, then grab the code for them to place them into your web site.  I have been using it for so long, I don’t see where this could be seen as a complicated process.  They make it all pretty easy.

You also have several different ways you can setup ads.

  • AdSense for Content – your run-of-the-mill ads you are used to seeing.
  • AdSense for Search – use Google to power your web site’s search and make money from it.
  • AdSense for Feeds – Place relevant ads in your RSS feeds.
  • AdSense for Domain Names – Park your un-used domains with Google.
  • Video Units – add YouTube partners’ video content to your site, and earn extra revenue.
  • AdSense for Mobile Content – create ads for special “mobile” pages.

What Are the Rewards of Using Google AdSense?

The good thing about Google AdSense is that it automatically crawls the content of your pages and delivers text and image ads that are relevant to your audience and your site content.  Relative ads are what you want in the long haul.

Now you will not become rich over night, so if you want to quit your day job – you had better set your goal a little lower.  However, aiming at small goals first (such as having the ads pay for your $5 a month hosting bill) is a good start.

Want to learn more?  Here are some Google AdSense resources worth checking out:

Overall, I would say it is definitely work checking into. If you are looking for a name you can trust, Google has won many people over in that aspect too.  Sometimes, I don’t want to sign up with some company I have never heard of, especially when I need to get or receive important information from them (thinking about tax related stuff).  So overall, I would say Google AdSense will not make you uber-rich but it is a trustworthy choice out there.

Read full story · Comments { 0 }

How to Traceroute? (on Windows and Mac)

Mar/21 in All Posts, Beginner Help, Web Hosting Tutorials

Traceroute Help I got a question from a Web Hosting Show listener last week about how to do a traceroute. Now this might be hosting help 101 for some of us out there, but it never hurts to get a ‘bit of a refresher course.

Here is how you can do a trace route from your PC (Windows XP, Vista):

  1. From the Start menu, select “Run…”
  2. When the run box comes up, then type in cmd
  3. When you get the command prompt, enter tracert yourdomain.com
  4. Hit the “enter” key on your keyboard and wait.

For the Apple people in the crowd, you can follow these steps:

  1. Double-click the Hard Drive icon > Applications folder > Utilities folder > Network Utility program.
  2. Select the trace route tab and enter the domain name
  3. Press the “enter” key and wait.

Hope that helps. Doing a traceroute can be very helpful when figuring out if your web site is down or if there is some bottleneck between yourself and the server you are hosted on keeping you from pulling up your web site.

+ Watch the Trace Routes Video Tutorial!

Read full story · Comments { 0 }

What is a Landing Page?

Jun/19 in All Posts, Web Hosting Tutorials, Web Hosting Tutorials

Related Podcast Link: Listen to Episode 111!

When you talk about online marketing, a phrase you hear a lot about is landing pages and creating effective landing pages. If your new to the online advertising or marketing game, this phrase might be a new one for you so let me break it down.

QuestionLanding Pages 101

A landing page would be a special page (or series of pages) that you create on your web site for a certain audience or set of visitors.

Lets say I started an advertising campaign with Web Hosting Talk. Now I could have them all come to my index, just type in WebHostingShow.com but that wouldn’t give me a chance to sell myself to them or to see how effective this advertising deal really was.

Instead I would create a landing page with maybe some of my most popular podcasts, some of the best interviews and sell myself a little more than I would on the other pages. I would want to make people feel like, “hey, I’ve found a good deal here and I’m coming back!”.

Reference and Transactional Landing Pages

For the most part there are two types of landing pages out there. A reference landing page would be like the one I described above. You highlight some of the best, sell yourself and hopefully you’ll hook a few new visitors or clients. The second kind is transactional landing pages. The transactional landing page is created to help you complete a step of some kind. From that page I want you to complete a transaction, such as going through a sale of a product.

For an example, for web hosts you could put your hottest plan on your transactional landing page, have the form there to put in the domain, client information and more and then to move on to step two all they have to do is hit that “order now!” button.

So hopefully that now gives you a better handle on what landing pages are and why you might want to look into setting a few up for your next advertising campaign.

Read full story · Comments { 0 }

Should You Post Customer Testimonials?

Apr/27 in All Posts, Commentary, Web Hosting Tutorials

Since the start of the Web hosting industry when caveman number one was telling caveman number two he had unlimited disk space, we have wanted feedback from that caveman so his words might inspire others to sign up. One thing that getting customers is not is so easy a caveman could do it.

Most Web hosts (and other Online businesses and Web sites as well) would do well to have a customer testimonial Web page added to their Web site.

How do you do it?

Go ask your customers after signing up if they will give a little review of your services and send it your way. You don’t need to make this process more complicated than it has to be. Now once you start getting a few of them rolling in – create a special Web page on your Web site for them.

For a short example of one go check out my testimonial Web page on MitchKeeler.com. Your more than free to add to it as well, just shoot me over your thoughts about me and your name/business (don’t forget your link too).

Now you have a place for people to see real reviews of your real services, no matter what you do. This would be helpful for Web hosts, for bloggers, for any type of service around the Web. You can even try to get creative with it as well.

I know FastServers.net has started putting up video testimonials of their services.

There is no reason you have to get that fancy, but I have to say it does look interesting. You could also take audio testimonials as well, maybe package them together as a podcast so people could download a bunch of reviews of your services, listen to them when it is convent – and then sign up.

Related Podcast Link: Listen to Episode 104!

Read full story · Comments { 0 }

Best Webmail 101 Tutorial & Podcast

Oct/13 in All Posts, Specials

E-mail is something we all get and soon we will not be able to exist without it. In the time we live in today it is becoming more and more important to have a place to be reached on the Internet. At one time, being able to check your E-mail through a client, like Outlook Express, was enough.

Download the Web Hosting Show!

Running Time: 3 minutes | File Size: 768 KB

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Well that was then, and this is now. The new quick way to keep up to date with your Web hosting ways is Web Mail. Web mail is an a way to check your E-mail without ever leaving your browser of choice. Looking much like Hotmail, Yahoo Mail or Gmail, Web Mail is usually offered as a part of your Web hosting package at purchase of a Web hosting plan. Continue Reading →

Read full story · Comments { 0 }