Few days ago, I came across a really nice post that explained to me how I could add a related posts hack to my blog. The related posts hack is a really nice and useful hack that lists a bunch of links to your other posts after each post. As you can see, there is a list of links to my other posts below this post that are related to blogging. In this post, I will show you how to modify you blog HTML code to enable the hack!

Different types of related posts hacks

Wordpress some really nice extra features and plugins and one of them is the related posts plugin. However, there is nothing like it at Blogger. But bloggers have found different ways to fix the problem. There are several different types of related posts hack that you can add to your blog. One of the most commone ones is the hack that lists the related posts by categorizing thema according to the labels. However, it looks really mess. The second way is the one that I am currently using on this blog. The hack considers your labels for the post and then list related posts links without categorizing them.

How to add related posts hacks

Before we begin to play around with the related posts hack, I would suggest that you save your template.

1. Go to your blog's HTML code and paste the code listed below just above <"/html> (delete the space after <) and then save your template.
   
   
   <style><br /><br />#related-posts {<br />float : left;<br />width : 540px;<br />margin-top:20px;<br />margin-left : 5px;<br />margin-bottom:20px;<br />font : 11px Verdana;<br />margin-bottom:10px;<br />}<br />#related-posts .widget {<br />list-style-type : none;<br />margin : 5px 0 5px 0;<br />padding : 0;<br />}<br />#related-posts .widget h2, #related-posts h2 {<br />color : #940f04;<br />font-size : 20px;<br />font-weight : normal;<br />margin : 5px 7px 0;<br />padding : 0 0 5px;<br />}<br />#related-posts a {<br />color : #054474;<br />font-size : 11px;<br />text-decoration : none;<br />}<br />#related-posts a:hover {<br />color : #054474;<br />text-decoration : none;<br />}<br />#related-posts ul {<br />border : medium none;<br />margin : 10px;<br />padding : 0;<br />}<br />#related-posts ul li {<br />display : block;<br />background : url("http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm297/zozuglogger/weed-bullet.gif") no-repeat 0 0;<br />margin : 0;<br />padding-top : 0;<br />padding-right : 0;<br />padding-bottom : 1px;<br />padding-left : 16px;<br />margin-bottom : 5px;<br />line-height : 2em;<br />border-bottom:1px dotted #cccccc;<br />}<br /><br /></style><br /><script src="'http://technotrixdebajyoti.googlepages.com/RelatedPostsByRealtrix.co.cc.js'" type="'text/javascript'/">


2. Then Expand Widget Template and paste the code listed below just below <"p><"data:post.body/><"/p>. (Delete the space after <)
   
   

<span style=" color: rgb(0, 102, 102);"><b:if cond="'data:blog.pageType"><br /><div id="related-posts"><br /><span><b>Related Posts : </b></span><span style="color:'#FFFFFF';"><b:loop values="'data:post.labels'" var="'label'"><data:label.name/><b:if cond="'data:label.isLast">,</b:if><b:if cond="'data:blog.pageType"></span><span style=" color: rgb(0, 102, 102);"><br /><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 102);"><script src="'" alt="json-in-script&callback=" results="5" type="'text/javascript'/"></b:if></b:loop></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 102);"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 102); "><br /><script type="'text/javascript'"> removeRelatedDuplicates(); printRelatedLabels();</span><span style=" color: rgb(0, 102, 102);"><br /></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 102); "></script><br /></div></b:if></span></span>

That's it! Save your template and you are done!

Benefits of using related posts hack

This great hack has several benefits.

1. Drive traffic to your inner pages - your visitors will now be able to find more content on your blog easily after reading your posts. This will also help you drive traffic to your old posts.
2. Internal linking - It is very important to add links to your old posts in your news posts to improve your ranking (PageRank). However, it can be a painful task to add links every time you write a new post. With this hack, you won't have to worry about that!
3. Professional look - This hack gives your blog a professional and clean look by making navigation easier for your readers.

I hope you liked this post and the hack. It's a very easy hack and I am sure all of you can benefit from it. However, remember that it does not work perfectly with some templates. But it works fine with the most!

Posted by Dan at SEO for Blogging.
If you liked this post, then please subscribe to my RSS Feed or subscribe via email. Thanks.

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Some useful links:
Our position on California's No on 8 campaign - Google Blog
Google Toolbar 5 now available for Firefox 5 - Google Blog
Is it right to search your own site? - Inside Adsense
New in lab: right-side Labels and Chat - Gmail Blog

Read the rest of this entry >>

Many bloggers do not know that there are other blogging platforms such as TypePad and Live Journal besides Blogger and WordPress. However, it is true that Blogger and WordPress are the two most commonly used blogging platforms currently. Most bloggers start with either Blogger or WordPress after hearing about them from someone else and then stick with that blogging platform.

However, Blogger and WordPress are two very different types of blogging platform. Different people find different platform suitable for their needs. For example, I personally find Blogger easier to use while others do not. Some find it extremely difficult to choose which one they should stick with. Should they go with WordPress or Blogger? Below I have highlighted some essential features and advantages that I think will help newbies decide which blogging platform they should start their blog with.


Blogger
Blogger is an old company that was acquired by Google few years ago. The fact that it is owned by the most popular search engine definitely assures professionalism and quality service.

Features/Advantages

1. Free blog
2. Unlimited storage
3. No need to have posts reviewed before publishing
4. Compatible with other Google services such as Picassa, YouTube etc.
5. Use your GMail account to publish blogs
6. Less restrictions on content creation and selling reviews and links
7. Very easy to use
8. Easy integration of Google Adsense

WordPress
I am no expert when it comes to WordPress. I have tried to use it several times but every time, I have found it too difficult for daily use. Nonetheless, this blogging platform is used by several webmasters to create professional blogs. Several famous blogs use WordPress.

Features/Advantages

1. Free Blog
2. Several attractive themes available
3. Great Plug-ins available such as the popular SEO plug-in
4. Clean, professional look
5. Hosts files on your own server

These are some essential features and advantages that I think every blogger should know before deciding which platform to use. Of course, both platforms have disadvantages as well. For example, WordPress doesn't allow bloggers to sell links and paid reviews and Blogger comes with very few built-in plug-ins.

My Opinion
I have been using Blogger for more than seven months and I have been told several times to shift to WordPress but I find Blogger so much simpler and easier to use than WordPress. While WordPress may be more flexible, I prefer to stick with simplicity for the time being. If you are a new blogger who doesn't know much about blogging then you should go with Blogger. Once you gain some experience, you can choose which platform to go with.

Remember, there are other blogging platforms as well which might be more useful to you than Blogger and WordPress. So do check them out if you don't like Blogger and WordPress.

Your Opinion
Now that you have heard my opinion, it is time to share your opinion with me and my readers. Which do you prefer - Blogger or WordPress? Why?

Image Source
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Some Useful Links
Ad perfect - Google Blog
Follow your favorite blogs - Google Blog
Quality, not quantity - Inside AdSense
New in labs: Reply add-ons
New in labs: 3 experiments with labels
Read the rest of this entry >>

People come up with new ways to generate traffic all the time. Some of them are really creative while others may be considered a little grey. However, few weeks ago, I learned about a nice way to get some extra traffic to your blog or websites and through this post, I am trying out that method. I know you are all very eager to learn what the hell I am talking about. But please have some patience. I want to try this trick myself first before sharing it with you guys. I will discuss the results of this experiment with you soon.

Hint: Notice that the title of this post is www.dtv2009.gov

Read the rest of this entry >>

Nowadays, I have been seeing a lot of posts on different forums about DoFollow forums, blogs, directories and social bookmarking sites. You will see a lot of SEO blogs with some sort of collection of links of Dofollow websites where you can leave comments with your website's URL and thus get a backlink to improve your PageRank.

I am sure a lot of bloggers, use these types of lists to leave some comments there. As you already know, leaving useless and spammy comments will not get you anywhere and will only hurt your reputation. Keeping this in mind, you probably go out there and try your best to leave comments that the admins will like but when it is at midnight and you are extremely tired, you will definitely leave comments like "nice post". And this also happens when you are trying to leave comments on a number of blogs at the same time. You simply don't have the time and will to leave so many comments.


Leave Comments On Blogs You Like
Don't worry about DoFollow and NoFollow. If you like a blog post, then just leave a comment to appreciate the blogger's work. Let him know that you liked the post and also include some suggestions. A lot of popular blogs are not DoFollow but still there are some great posts on blogs like ProBlogger and if you like them then leave a comment. Remember, leaving comments should not be something that you HAVE to do. Leave comments only when you want to.

Are DoFollow Backlinks From Blogs, Directories and Forums Worth Much?
So you have heard from several SEO experts that getting DoFollow backlinks from blogs, directories, social bookmarking sites and forums is a good idea to boost your PageRank. I am sure I have said this before as well. But sometimes I think whether it is actually worth all the trouble (in terms of PageRank, not traffic). I mean forums and directories have thousands of outgoing links and thus backlinks hardly have any value there. However, doesn't every little thing matter? Yes it does but sometimes you have to be manage your time carefully. Posting all day on a DoFollow forum to get some backlinks is probably not a good idea when you can do other stuff to get backlinks and obtain better results.

Finally, I would just like to say that don't comment on blogs and other sites just to get backlinks. Stay up to date with some of your favorite blogs and subscribe to their RSS feeds. Read them regularly and comment on any posts that you like. Talk to the blogger through your comments and build a strong relationship.

Of course, don't forget about DoFollow blogs, forums etc. They are useful too but don't spend a lot of time leaving comments there.

Image Source
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Useful Links:
Little things that matter - Gmail Blog
Search experiments, large and small - Google Blog
Make money on YouTube with Content ID - Google Blog
Empowering users to map their worlds - Google Blog Read the rest of this entry >>