ClickZ News reports on a new site ranking tool to be launched by PubSub. Called LinkRanks, it measures the “strength, persistence, and vitality” of links pointing to and from a given Web site.

According to the article, PubSub has begun an effort to compile lists of influential Weblogs by category, which could be of use to media buyers and planners eager to buy advertising in blogs.

By fiddling with LinkRanks’ parameters — now built into the PubSub engine — PR types can determine the approximate reach and influence of a particular Web page based on the sites that link to that page, either on a daily basis or over a period of weeks. They can also use it to focus their brand listening on the most influential group of blogs or publications.

Perhaps more interesting for advertisers, PubSub has also launched a series of category-based site rankings it hopes will be of use to online media buyers eager to buy into blogs. Its first roll-out is a “Fashionable Blogs” list which combines a fashion expert’s top blog picks with LinkRanks data on those blogs.

Via Marketing VOX

Michael Bergman, author of one of the most popular Internet search guides and the original discoverer, researcher and educator on the deep Web, today released his “Comprehensive Guide to a Professional Blog Site.”

If Blogger is too basic for you and you want to really be aggressive in functionality and scope of content for your personal, professional or corporate blog, you need this free 80-page PDF Guide.

Bergman leans heavily towards Wordpress, which also happens to be my personal favourite blog software. His guide is basically a comprehensive guide for the Wordpress user, and I mean REALLY comprehensive. You can see why I’m basically so kicked with it

It links to 80 additional sources and covers more than 100 topics and how to tips ranging from installing software and plug-ins to design, styles and templates, and to organizational and effectiveness techniques.

The Guide is the result of 350 hrs of learning and experimentation to test the boundaries of blog functionality, scope and capabilities. It documents Bergman’s progess as a total blogging newbie six months ago, and his lessons from his professional blog journey.

This Guide addresses about 100 individual how to blogging topics, including
* How to choose blogging software and add-on tools
* Taking control of the blogging process by hosting your own site
* Getting your blog to display and perform right
* Effective techniques for converting existing documents to your blog site HTML
* Being efficient in posting, organizing and work-flowing to allow your diarist activities to flow naturally and productively
* Keeping the blog site pump primed with fresh and relevant content.

Download a free copy of the Comprehensive Guide to a Professional Blog Site here.

Via PRWeb

Joel Comm, author of the Adsense Secrets ebook, posted this nice article I wish I’d read before this happened to me.

My fault was that I saw the unusual activity in my Adsense account but didn’t report the clicks to Google because I couldn’t figure out where they were coming from. I just assumed they were just normal fluctuations that one experiences as traffic fluctuates.

I learned my lesson but really can’t imagine what sick pleasure people get out of defrauding someone else’s Adsense account. Ah well, there’s no sense in crying over spilt milk.

But do take Joel’s tips seriously and learn from my mistake if you happen to spot invalid clicks on your account - Report Them ASAP!

< --start article-->

Is Someone Defrauding Your AdSense Account?

by Joel Comm

There are lots of different strategies that you can use to skyrocket your AdSense income. Repeatedly clicking on your ads isn’t one of them. That’s the sort of thing that Google take a pretty strong line on - and rightly so. It’s just plain dumb and Google have a strong punishment for it: they can ban you for life.

That punishment’s not unreasonable when someone’s deliberately trying to con Google’s advertisers. But it does leave a golden opportunity for anyone who wants to sabotage someone else’s income. If you’re making a lot of money using AdSense - and you’ve also made an enemy or two - there’s nothing to stop someone coming to your site, clicking your ads a couple of dozen times and wiping out your income.

Sound scary? It should. Once you get banned, that’s it. It’s very difficult to persuade Google to let you back in.

That’s why when it comes to protecting your AdSense income, it pays to be proactive. In my book, Google AdSense Secrets, I talk a great deal about the importance of checking your stats and tracking your results. I explain what you should be looking for when you want to increase your revenues.

But you should also be looking to making sure that no one is trying to deliberately land you in trouble. If you see in your logs that your site received a stream of clicks in a short time - and from the same IP address - don’t wait for Google to get in touch. (Their letter won’t be pleasant). Drop them a line right away, telling them that you’ve spotted some suspicious clicks on your site and ask them to investigate. You shouldn’t be surprised if they write back and tell you that those clicks won’t be counted towards your revenues but at least you’ll still have your account and you’ll still be earning.

It’s pretty rare for someone to go out of their way to cause problems for AdSense users. Most of the people you meet on AdSense forums and other places online are good, decent folk who only want to help. But it is worth remembering that your site is vulnerable. Just as you install anti-virus software to protect your computer so you should take action to protect your AdSense revenue. Track your stats closely and move first if you spot something suspicious.

< --end article-->

Here’s where you can pick up some more Google Adsense tips.

The buzz of the week in the SEO and blogging world was the beta launch of Google’s own Blog Search Engine.

John Alexander, of Search Engine Workshops, has a good write-up about the capabilities of the new engine in his article here.

With the high interest people have in reading Blogs, it is certainly no surprise that Google has just launched their own new Blog search engine. Google is by no means the very first search engine to create blog search functionality. Other smaller companies like Technorati and Feedster have had similar type search services around for quite a while.

Currently it is in its Beta test phase. There is some speculation in general, that other major search engines will be following the trend with their own brand of Blog search engines. Blog Search contains many of the “advanced search capabilities” of the regular web search engine, such as

exact words
phrases
searches by author
restricting search to specific dates
filtering and no filtering

The ability to search in foreign languages is a nice touch, as are the “sort by relevance” and “sort by date” even though they turned up completely different results with no overlap.

I definitely see Google’s blog search as another avenue to promote your blog using Adwords, once they introduce the little ads on the right side of the search results (and they will).

Dina Giolitto, moderator of the very active Article Marketing Mania (AMM) network on Ryze, posted two excellent articles that I picked up and published immediately. If you use articles to market online, I recommend you join this forum and participate.

The first, Article Writing: 5 Tips on How to Pull and Hold the Reader, includes 5 tips to create articles that are “super-tight and outta sight,” in Gina’s Dina’s words.

1. Keep it short
2. Pace and balance
3. Break it up
4. Focus on the customer
5. Include a call to action

To this, I’d add one more point for readability. Keep paragraphs no more than two to three lines. I personally don’t like reading long riffs online, and assume there are others who feel the same way.

Her second article, Articles and Internet Branding: 5 Steps to Success, outlines the 5 steps below to use articles to brand yourself and sell more of your products online.

Step 1. Select a niche market.
Step 2. Create an online persona and brand for your business.
Step 3. Develop an informational product that readers can buy directly from your website.
Step 4. Write articles to build your credibility.
Step 5. Direct your customers to a sales letter that teaches them about your product.

More article writing resources.

My partner, Prabhat Kiran, and I have just launched our new search engine optimization firm, SEO and More . We have a temporary website and logo up and already have a bunch of projects to work on.

I’ve spent the last few days setting up our office at my residence, so I can work and still be close to my precocious six-year old daughter, Sara. Doting mommy, eh?

So far we’re four of us in our little office on my second floor. Prabhat is a kick-ass SEO whose worked with many big internet portals.

I handle the SEO copywriting, article writing, business blogging, RSS and one-way link building. Of course, being the only woman around I’m also in charge of the pantry, supplies and general bonhomie.

I’ll be writing a blog on the site soon and sending out a newsletter and updates. Look out for that, and do let us know if we can help you grow your business online.

In the midst of all the efforts people are making to help the hurricane victims online, there were a few slimebag marketers who tried to profit from the tragedy with well (or ill) -timed promotions.

One internet marketer who stood out for taking a stand against the profiteers was Armand Morin, who sent out a mailing trashing their lack of decency and decorum. I might not care for some of his products, but at least his heart is in the right place

I reproduce the email he sent out here, where he very clearly states his opinions on how NOT to profit from a natural disaster or calamity.

From: Armand Morin:
Re: Hurricane Katrina

Armand Morin

I was completely shocked by the images of death and destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. It was an eerie reminder of the Mumbai’s Terrible Tuesday, when we faced a communications meltdown for almost a week after the flooding.

Katrina’s destruction was on a much larger scale, no doubt, but what shocked me even more was the images that seemed to come out of some hellhole in Africa, were actually taken in the most developed nation in the world. As this post by a girl from India caught in the storm seems to note, Nature is truly the great leveller!

As a jazz lover, I feel a special connection to the Jazz capital of the USA, so it was upsetting to learn how many musicians were affected by the storm, including Fats Domino. It was good, however, to learn that the Indian government pledged 5 million dollars for Katrina relief operations.

Just as bloggers stepped in to fill the void in Mumbai, Wired compiled a list of the best online resources for information about hurricane relief efforts, and reported that

Local community websites have sprung into action to assist hurricane Katrina survivors with everything from blankets to offers of shelter in their homes.

With cell and land-line phones mostly down, the web has emerged as a champion amid the wreckage. E-mail, instant messenger and blogs have proven lifelines for communication.

Sites like craigslist allow people to meet up with victims for face-to-face aid. Craigslist users have flooded the New Orleans site with offers of shelter and comfort.

I just received this message from marketer, Ken McCarthy, who included a very useful list of places to focus relief and donation efforts for the victims of this tragedy.

The Reuters Foundation ‘Alertnet’ just has referred me to a very helpful resource for small business owners and entrepreneurs who want to provide help to hurricane survivors.

It’s a comprehensive web site that not only details what relief organizations are currently engaged in the Gulf coast region, but also describes the scope and scale of their activities.

InterAction Members Respond to the Victims of Hurricane Katrina

If you’re an online marketer, check out SystemFundraiser.com - a comprehensive source of fundraising advice for small business owners and entrepreneurs interested in helping hurricane relief efforts.

If you’re a blogger, webmaster or online publisher, you can also donate some of your ad inventory to the Red Cross so they can provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to those affected by Hurricane Katrina.

Click here to access the online banner codes to add to your website or blog.

More links:
Photos of the killer hurricane
Hurricane Katrina at Wikipedia.