Posting to Web Directories

ately I have noticed that many website owners in general and many webmasters in particular have been asking about and sometimes even questioning the effectiveness of submitting their website to a directory. I think this is because we have been seeing a trend recently of greater numbers of directories, the vast majority of which are not what you would term "quality directories". In fact some of them are little more than glorified link farms. This ongoing trend is perhaps most glaringly apparent to veterans of the internet, I mean webmasters who have been promoting websites since at least the mid-90's or so.

You see, back then there was a much smaller number of web directories out there. Because the search engines were much different then (link popularity was not a major part of their algorithm yet), there was not a need for the low level directories which seem to exist solely for the purpose of increasing one's pagerank and link popularity. The major engine of the time, Excite, used such factors as keyword density and meta tags almost entirely when ranking a website.

It was not untill webcrawler came around that link popularity became important. What few directories there were usually sent a substantial amount of traffic to your site, comparitively speaking. If you were listed on one of the major directories, depending on your niche, you might recieve enouph traffic from one of them to practially make a living (in those days the Yahoo directory was set up differently so that if you were in their directory you recieved droves of visitors from both the category and you recieved high priority on related searches).

Nowadays link popularity and pagerank are major factors in search engine positioning so there is amajor need and desire for more links, thus the greater number of web directories. They vary greatly in quality: some are human edited with strict standards of approval. Others approve every listing, even from low quality sites that have little content. Will these directories help you from an SERP standpoint? Well, it depends, in my opinion, on how targeted the category is.

You must spend some extra time finding a category with similiar content as your site or you may gain pagerank at the price of relevence. And some reports suggest that the major search engines may be emphasizing relavence more and more in the future.

And of course there are still some high quality directories out there. Most people are familiar with DMOZ.org and Yahoo.

These are probably still the most important. But there is also JoeAnt, Goguides, Buzzle, Gimpsy and Splut, among several others. And more are rising in relavence. To increase the relevence of your own site in the eyes of the search index sites, augment your directory submission with forum postings in related forums and write some articles on the subject matter of your website, then submit them to the article directories with your link in the resource box.

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http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Ryan_Joseph

Isulong ang SEOPH Contest

seophilippines.org launched the Isulong ang SEO sa PH Contest which ends on Sept. 29, '06

1. Contest starts June 1, 2006 12:00 noon and ends September 29, 2006 8:00 PM.

2. The domain where your contest entry page is hosted should have a 2006 registration date. If your domain was registered before January 1, 2006, your entry page is disqualified.

3. The contest is open to all Filipinos. It’s also open to non-Filipinos who can be present at the awarding ceremonies. If a non-Filipino should win and he’s not physically present at the event, he is disqualified from the contest.

4. To win the top prize, you must be #1 for the keyword phrase isulong seoph (without quotation marks) in Google.com.ph on Friday September 29, 2006 at 8:00 PM. During the awarding ceremonies, there’ll be a public viewing of the Google.com.ph SERPs to determine the winners. Only organic search results are accepted and not sponsored listings.

Full Isulong sa PH ang SEO Rules and Mechanics

Commercial Real Estate Investing

Investing in commercial property may open a whole new area of financial ventures for the savvy real estate investor. Opportunities abound in multi-family units, office buildings, warehouses, retail shops, car washes, laundromats, mobile home parks, hotels, apartments, strip malls and more.

The obtaining of commercial property financing is usually more extensive and time consuming than for a residential loan. Guidelines for underwriting a commercial loan put more emphasis on the income that the property produces than on the borrower’s ability to repay the loan. Lenders rely on the income history and stability of the property to determine future income. Also considered, although less important, is the credit history, assets and financial strength of the borrower.

When applying for a commercial loan the previous two years and year-to-date financial information concerning the property need to be considered. This data is put into a format commonly known as a Pro Forma Operating Statement. This is probably to most important single document in the application process. A Pro Forma Operating Statement is the operating budget for the property which lists the rents and any other income such as laundry, parking, etc. and also all expenses from advertising to management fees to utilities. Your lender can supply you with this standard form and help you or the seller complete it correctly.

Also of importance to the lender is the Loan to Value Ratio and the Debt Service Coverage Ratio, (DSCR). The DSCR is how much of the proposed monthly payment will be covered by the net operating income as calculated on the Pro Forma Operating Statement. Lenders prefer to see 100% coverage and on some properties a 120% coverage is required. On purchases this determines the amount of down payment required and the terms of the proposed loan and for refinancing, the loan-to-value allowed and how much “cash-out” may be received, if any.

Commercial lending is not regulated or overseen by HUD so RESPA does not apply. Don’t expect to see your typical forms such as a standard residential loan application, Good Faith Estimate or Truth in Lending disclosures. Also be aware that closing costs may be much higher than residential loans because of specialized appraisals, environmental reports, attorney’s fees and other costs for special services rendered.

There are also loans for borrowers or properties that may fall outside of the traditional commercial lending guidelines. They typically require 30% down (seller carry backs are allowed up to a 95% combined loan-to-value or a 70% loan-to-value if refinancing. Some lenders even offer commercial “Stated Income-Stated Asset” programs. These usually have loan limits of $600,000. With a reduced loan-to-value, credit scores as low as 550 may even be allowed. No IRS 4506 form is required to be signed. You can close in the name of a corporation, trust or LLC and “cash-out” is allowed on refinancing. Fixed rates and ARM’s are available.

Commercial real estate may be worth exploring and it just may be one more way to expand your investment and real estate portfolio.

Pet Care Facts

According to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association, a nonprofit trade group in Connecticut, Americans spent thirty-four billion dollars on pet care last year each year. We all know that basic grooming is a necessity, but what about going that extra mile? There are so many pet-care services available to our pets such as multi-purpose doggy day cares with grooming facilities, massage tables and obedience classes. There are also long and short term boarding facilities with acres of land and condos with posh living rooms equipped with couches and satellite television.

Though dog day cares range as far as their services are concerned, loosely put, a dog day care is a stimulating, crate-free environment where you can leave your pet in the supervision of positive, motivational trainers. Dog day cares can provide one, some or all of the following: exercise and socialization, nutritious meals and treats, behavior modification, birthday parties, spa treatments, sleepovers, pet supplies, obedience classes and veterinary services, just to name a few.

If you don't want your dog to sit home all day twiddling his paws, enrolling him or her in a dog day care is an option. A dog day care is a great place to take your pet while the pest control or cleaning person pays a visit or if you've just

had a newborn and need a little break. Just like nursery school for children, dog day care is a wonderful way for your pup or adult to learn how to play and socialize with other dogs from all barks of life Some dog day cares provide additional spa services such as pawdicures, fear and anxiety aromatherapy, essential oil joint rubs, aromatherapy ear cleanings and coat conditioners, queen sized beds for resting, and body massages. Our own Dr. Jane was a frequent guest on "Petsburgh, USA" on The Animal Planet. One segment was all about a day in the spa. The dog particularly liked the cucumber facial mask while the cat preferred the mint coat powder!

To keep the environment safe and healthy, many cage-free facilities screen pets first and reserve the right to not admit animals based on temperament and level of sociability. In other words, if your dog is a grouchy old bully, some pet day care facilities will have no problems telling you to find another day home for him. As a matter of fact, many day cares have a list of rules to ensure the good health and safety of all the pets, such as up-to-date shots, spaying or neutering, and vet-administered flea control and heartworm program.

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Source: Ezinearticles.com

The Isulong SEOPH SEO Contest

To help promote search engine marketing (SEM) in the country, SEO Philippines is launching a keyword ranking contest with over PHP 130,000 in prizes.

Contest Mechanics
1. Contest starts June 1, 2006 12:00 noon and ends September 29, 2006 8:00 PM.

2. The domain where your contest entry page is hosted should have a 2006 registration date. If your domain was registered before January 1, 2006, your entry page is disqualified.

3. The contest is open to all Filipinos. It’s also open to non-Filipinos who can be present at the awarding ceremonies. If a non-Filipino should win and he’s not physically present at the event, he is disqualified from the contest.

4. To win the top prize, you must be #1 for the keyword phrase isulong seoph (without quotation marks) in Google.com.ph on Friday September 29, 2006 at 8:00 PM. During the awarding ceremonies, there’ll be a public viewing of the Google.com.ph SERPs to determine the winners.

5. For the purpose of this competition, indented listings in the SERPs will not be counted.

6. To qualify for the Bonus Prize, you should have at least one of the following text links on your entry page. Should you qualify for any of the awards, a Google cache: search will be performed on your entry page during the awarding ceremonies. If the cached version of your entry page does not have at least one of the required text links, your entry will be disqualified.
* SQL Server (link to http://www.lakesidesql.com)
* SQL Performance (link to http://www.lakesidesql.com)
* SQL Database (link to http://www.lakesidesql.com)
* SQL Performance Tuning (link to http://www.lakesidesql.com)
* SQL Performance Monitoring (link to http://www.lakesidesql.com)
* Database Performance (link to http://www.lakesidesql.com)

7. Contest updates will be posted on the SEO Philippines discussion group and blog:
* http://groups.yahoo.com/group/seo-philippines/
* http://www.seophilippines.org/

8. In order to win, contestants must register, read and acknowledge the full contest terms and conditions by posting a “I have read the contest mechanics and I agree” comment on the contest terms and conditions page. Contestants who do not comply are not eligible to win.

Source:
http://www.seophilippines.org/

Free Articles - Tips for Finding the Best Ones

Free articles are my bread and butter. I am always looking for knowledge on various subjects – Science articles, health articles, newspaper articles and much more. Ironically, I have decided to share the tips I have gathered over the time on finding the best free articles by writing a free article. Enjoy it.

Here are some tips that will help you locate the most suitable articles for you:

1. Stay focused – Looking for free articles on the web is addictive. You could easily find yourself sitting for hours staring at the computer screen with no real outcome. Remind yourself constantly what you are looking for and ask yourself if you are currently in the way to achieving it.

2. Read the articles’ abstract or summary to eliminate irrelevant articles.

3. Informational not commercial – If you are reading a page with too many pictures, adds or reviews, you are in the wrong place. Look for more objective data on informational pages.

4. Look In the right places – I suggest you consider looking for free articles using one of two methods. The first, Look for the free article in google or in your favorite search engine by writing in the “Search” field: “The articles’ subject” + “article”. This way you will get textual content and not spam commercial sites. The second, Look for the articles’ subject in article directories like ezinearticles.

5. Read the comments – You are not first who have read the article. You could save time by reading the articles’ comments before reading all the articles. If all the readers wrote negative comments, do not bother reading the free article. In some article directories you could even see the average grade given by the readers.

6. Time is money – If you are looking for a quality article and now, my best advice would be: pay for it. A couple of dollars sure worth the hours of looking for the needle in a haystack.

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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Paton_Jackson