Daria Black Explains How Search Engines Work

Whether you are trying to make money online or you just want to attract more readers to your blog, it is a good idea to understand how search engines work. Even though everyone is talking about Twitter this and Facebook that, search engines like Google and Bing are still the work horses of the Internet. When people want to find information, they dump their social network like it was the fat girl at prom and head straight for the nearest search engine. So if you want to be found online, then you need to know how search engines work and how to use them to attract readers and buyers to your website.

A search engine is basically a glorified database. The creators of the search engine send an automated program called a robot out into the World Wide Web. These robots are designed to find web pages, determine what the page is about, and file it into the appropriate slot(s) in the database. When a search engine robot lands on your web page it scans the text on the page to discover the topic. The robots then files the page in the search engine database under various categories based on the words that it finds on that page.

When a person enters a search term into the search engine, all of the pages that contain that term are served to the user. However, the results are organized according to how relevant it is to the user’s search term. The more relevant the search engine feels a page is to a user’s search term the higher the page will rank in the result pages. Since the majority of users don’t scroll past the first 2-3 pages of the search results, the goal of most marketers is to rank in the first 30 spots and preferable the first spot on the first page.

As you can imagine, much ado is made about ranking on the first page of the search results for coveted keywords. In fact, a whole industry has sprung up around this goal and people have spent thousands of dollars and man hours trying to achieve the dream. The problem is that many of these people are using questionable tactics that stop working the minute the search engines update their algorithms. If you optimize your website the right way, though, you can achieve long lasting results that will stand against the test of time.

Search Engine Secrets

There are two things you need to understand about search engines:

* They rank individual pages

One thing that confuses people is the fact that search engines do not rank entire websites; they rank individual pages on the site. People think that a website is ranked as a whole because the bare top level domain (e.g. example.com) may rank for certain keywords or have a certain Pagerank. However, that only applies to the homepage of the site, which is one page in the eyes of the search engine robot. The home page often achieves a high rank because most people link to bare top level domain. With enough links, any page on the site can achieve high rankings.

* The number and quality of links pointing to a page determines its relevancy

There are thousands of things a search engine robot is programmed to consider to determine the quality of a page. However, the primary indicator of page relevancy is and always will be links. No matter how much search engines want to deny or downplay the importance of links, they are the currency of the Internet. A link to a web page is a vote for that page. Get enough votes for a decently optimized page and it will rank high for the targeted search term.

Ranking well in the search engines is a matter of optimizing your web page for the right search terms and getting good quality links pointing to that page. Strangely enough, it really is that simple. For tips on how to accomplish this, read my Easy SEO Tips for Your Erotic Stories Blog article. Although it is geared towards erotica authors, anyone can incorporate these tips for good search engine rankings.

Daria Black is a fiction writer, blogger, and avid coffee drinker. Visit her website Daria Black - Words By Daria located at http://dariablack.wordpress.com to read fiction stories, talk philosophy, or just laugh at life.

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Creative Blogging Ideas: Poememes

If you are in need of a creative blogging idea, then try a poememe. A Poememe is the internet version of the game telephone. The name is a portmanteau of the words poetry and meme. It was inspired by a scene from the movie The Princess Bride. The objective is to write the first few lines of a poem and then send it out to be completed by your friends on the internet. Of all the blogging ideas out there, this one is the most fun.

There are two types of poememes; complete and perpetual. A complete poememe is where you send the poem to another blogger (or group of bloggers) to finish. You then post the results so all of the participants can see each others' creativity.

For example in the movie, The Princess Bride, Inigo and Fezik are on the ship preparing to set sail. Vizinni, their captain, has finished yelling at Fezik. To soothe Fezik and take his mind off the tongue lashing, Inigo starts a poememe for Fezik to finish.

Inigo: That Vizinni, he can... fuss.

Fezik: I think he like to scream at us.

Inigo: Probably he mean no harm.

Fezik: He's really, very short on charm.

Inigo: You have a great gift for rhyme.

Fezik: Yes, yes, some of the time.

Vizinni: Enough of that!

Inigo: Fezik, are there rocks ahead?

Fezik: If there are, we'll all be dead.

Vizinni: Stop that rhyme, now, I mean it.

Fezik: Anybody want a peanut?

In this poememe Inigo sends one line to Fezik who completes the rhyme. Even though they continue back and forth, the complete poememe ends when Fezik responds and begins again when Inigo says another line.

A perpetual poememe is more like the game telephone. You send out the first few lines of a poem to another blogger who adds a line and sends it to another blogger to add a line and so on and so forth. This blogging idea can reach far and wide throughout the internet. You will be surprised at the interesting twists and turns the poem will take with each person putting their spin on it.

For example, you start the poememe:

There once was a priest from Nantucket.

You send it to Mary who adds:

He walked by a petunia and plucked it.

Mary sends it to Tom who adds:

Inside was a bee,

Tom sends it to Roger who adds:

That stung him on the knee

And so on and so forth.

Both types of poememes can be used for any size group. Keep in mind, though, the larger the group the more difficult this creative blogging idea can be to manage.

Here are a few tips for starting and managing a poememe:

Pick a Theme

Just like poems, poememes can traverse the range of human emotions and poetry formats; from funny limericks to a thoughtful Haiku. In the poememe instructions, write the theme you are going for (funny, romantic, holiday) and the format (rhyming, limerick, Haiku).

Pick a Length

Decide how long you want the poememe to be and how many lines you want the blogger to contribute. For example, if you want a four line rhyming poem about shoes, you could start it off by writing two lines and then have the receiver finish the last two lines. You don't want to overburden the blogger. So it is best to keep these types of Poememes short and sweet.

It is also recommended that you set a limit on the perpetual poememe otherwise it could populate out of control and you could easily end up with 300 (or more!) lines. Write something to the effect of 'When this poememe reaches 10 lines, send it back to the originator' and then include your email or blog address for the last contributor to send back to you.

Tracking Contributions

Perhaps the funnest part of this creative blogging idea is knowing who said what. Instruct participants to link their lines to their blog address so that readers can click the line and visit them. If you are looking to generate links to your blog, this is an excellent way to do it.

Send It Out

When you are ready to send out the poememe, pick blog friends who are most likely to participate in this blogging idea. Tag them and have fun.

Bringing It Home

When the poememe is complete, devote a blog post to showcasing it.

There are a million ways you can have fun with poememes. You can pick a circle of friends and make it a weekly blog thing, rotating responsibilities every week or you can just create a random poememe, send it into the wild to see how it fares. Either way this is a fun blogging idea that any blogger of any age and writing ability can participate in. Have fun!

Daria Black is a fiction writer, blogger, and avid coffee drinker. Visit her website Daria Black - Words By Daria located at http://dariablack.wordpress.com/ to read fiction stories, talk philosophy, or just laugh at life.

[You may reprint this article on your website, blog and in your newsletters as long as the author bio and associated links remains intact.]

What is Atheism?

Atheism is perhaps the most misunderstood category in the range of beliefs on the market. It can be a difficult to define, incorporating, under its umbrella, a host of attitudes about the non-existence of god. Atheism is the absence of a belief in deities but this definition includes those that make no claim either way. Agnosticism is the belief that we cannot know whether god(s) exist or not, while Non-theism, is the absence of any claim towards the existence or non-existence of god(s).

The plot is further complicated by the split of atheism into two subcategories; Strong and Weak. Weak atheism is simply a non-belief in a deity of any type, while Strong atheism takes this disbelief a step further and proclaims that god does not exist. In my opinion, atheism is passive. A person simply does not believe in the existence of god or gods. Not only that, I believe that Strong Atheism is misunderstood in the sense that people in this group are not railing against an actual entity (which would be ridiculous seeing as atheists hold no belief that one exists) but the concept of such an entity. They are not saying, “There is no god” but rather, “The ideology of god is bogus”.

Furthermore, because of the demonization of atheists in the United States and other countries, non-believers have felt the need to launch an active defense of their non-beliefs which also account for the aggressive nature of Strong Atheism.

What Atheism is Not

In my research, I’ve come across some interesting ideas people have about atheists and atheism. It is not anti-religion. Anti-theism is the active opposition towards religion. While some atheists do hold anti-religious views, it is not a club exclusively patronized by atheists. Agnostics, Ignostics, and even some theists participate in this party. Anti-theists fall into two camps, those that believe god-worship to be harmful to society and those that merely have little tolerance for theistic beliefs.

Atheism is not anti-god, atheists are not god haters nor do we hate theists. We are not rabid protestors against those who choose to practice religion. Though these types of people exist and some of them are atheists, we generally do not care what a person believes so long as they do not use it to infringe on our personal rights and freedoms. Going from door to door to preach the goodness of your god will incite only minor irritation whereas seeking to get a law passed mandating that everyone go to church will cause an uproar and not just from atheists.

How to Overcome Personality Defects

Have you ever woken up one day and realized that you were less than perfect? That you possessed a few unpleasant characteristics? I'm not talking about superficial ones, like the fact that your body now resembles Frosty the Snowman or that climbing more than two stairs causes you to wheeze like an asthmatic. I'm talking about the deeper, darker, Seven-Deadly-Sins type traits, such as Gluttony and Sloth, that inspire us to consume half our body weight in Haagen-Daaz and to treat the mere mention of exercise like a death row sentence.

I was made aware of having a type of personality defect and by my own subconscious no less. I hold grudges. If a person has wronged me, not only will I hate them for the rest of their natural life, I'll spend a good portion of time figuring out how to get revenge. Insert maniacal cackle and gleeful rubbing of hands here. Necessary Disclaimer: I never have actually gotten revenge against anyone but I've certainly wasted many hours dreaming up ways in how I could.

Destructive traits are like food left in the refrigerator too long. We are all aware of how that innocent meatloaf, alone and forgotten in the back of the fridge, can quickly morph into the Hamburger of Doom. Likewise, our negative attributes oftentimes don't start out as such. At some point they did serve a purpose. Remembering someone's poor behavior can save you from wasting time on a person who is a colossal jerk.

It starts to become a problem, however, when it disrupts your life and inhibits your ability to get along with your fellow humans. I realized that a lifetime of grudge holding has left me with a negative attitude and lot of time and energy wasted on insignificant things.

These types of traits put your mental, social, and physical health at risk. Anger raises blood pressure which can put you at risk for a heart attack or stroke. A negative attitude can spark depression which, in turn, is often associated with suicide. Overeating can lead to weight gain, a risk factor for diabetes.

Anyway you look at it, turning destructive traits into positive ones can only help to improve your life. I decided to do something more productive with my time and cull together a few tips to help overcome this problem.