3 Different Types of Web Hosting

February 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Website files are stored on a web server computer called a Web Host. A domain name points at the web server computer where it’s website files are stored (through the domain name’s DNS settings). Because of the way this works, web hosting does not have to be purchased from the same company where a domain name is purchased. Websites can be hosted anywhere and domain names can be purchased from anyone that sells them.

There are many different types of Web Hosting available ranging from super cheap to very expensive. The three most common types of hosting are: Shared Hosting, Virtual Hosting, and Dedicated Hosting.

Shared Hosting

Shared Hosting is the most popular type of hosting available today. Shared Hosting is a great entry level option for low traffic volume sites. In essence you share the server with many (sometimes 500+) other websites. Because of the large volume of sites packed into one hosting box, this option is very affordable (as little as a few bucks per month). The cons with Shared Hosting are generally related to reliability and bandwidth. For example, if as little as just one user in a shared hosting environment receives a significant spike in traffic, it will affect the bandwidth and resources for all websites on the same server.

Virtual Hosting (VPS)

Virtual Hosting on a Virtual Private Server is a great mid-level option and can be used to host many sites or one “traffic hog” site. Basically a Server computer is split into multiple Virtual Servers with software. The software allocates Memory, Hard Drive Space, Bandwidth, etc… to each container where each container is separate and cannot borrow resources from other Virtual Containers on the same server computer. The pros to Virtual Hosting are reliability, security and root access control. The cons for this type of hosting is the cost which can range from as low as $50 per month to several hundred dollars per month depending on specifications and Service Level Agreement.

There are two types of Virtual Hosting which will affect the cost, Managed and Unmanaged. Managed VPS Hosting includes support (depending on service agreement) for server management, upgrades, troubleshooting, backups, etc… Whereas unmanaged hosting may offer zero support where you assume responsibilities as the Server Admin. Some companies may provide a-la-carte Server Admin services, but can really add cost depending on support issues. You can’t go wrong with a Managed VPS, save time and headaches.

Dedicated Server Hosting

Like Virtual Hosting, Dedicated Server Hosting offers all of the same options except for the server is not split with virtualization software. The whole server is yours to control with root access privileges, generally a lot of public domain names, etc… Also, like Virtual Hosting, Dedicated Server Hosting comes with two different options through various vendors (Managed and Unmanaged). Managed Hosting includes support, whereas with unmanaged you, the end user are responsible for all server admin functions.

For the hobbyist, shared hosting is generally good enough. For a business, I would recommend at the very least to use VPS hosting for control and reliability. On the very top, if you run a resource hog of a website, most likely you are already using a dedicated server or multiple dedicated servers.

We have multiple VPS’s through Wiredtree and they have always offered amazing support. Check out our review here: http://www.ntechcomm.com/blog/2009/08/best-place-to-rent-a-vps-or-dedicated-server/

Filed Under: Internet Marketing Tagged With: , , ,

6 Must-Have WordPress Plugins

February 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Wordpress LogoHosted WordPress (http://wordpress.org/) has almost an unlimited supply of plugin options available. Today I want to point out plugins that aim towards accomplishing common goals of the typical blog: Boost Speed, Attract Visitors, Proper Search Engine Indexing, Thwart Comment Spam, and Make Money.

WordPress Performance/Speed Boost
Caching software will speed up any WordPress blog.

Social Networking/Sharing


Anti-Spam

  • Akismet
    Website: http://akismet.com/
    Plugin Page: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/akismet/Who likes spam? Akismet is an Anti-Spam plugin that comes pre-packaged with WordPress. Even though it comes pre-packaged, I wanted to comment about it anyway. Comment spam is annoying, by using this plugin, you will save yourself time and headaches.

SEO/Organic Site Promotion

Tools to Make Money

If anyone has any recommendations about plugins that should be listed here, please comment and I will add your suggestion.

Filed Under: Internet Marketing Tagged With: , , , ,

How to Hide Clicky Ad Badge – Breakdown of Tracking Code

January 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment

A few days ago I wrote a post about how to use clicky to track Craigslist ADs but I never explained implementation. Below you will see a break down of the code and explanation. A very important side note, THIS EXPLANATION ONLY APPLIES TO THE PAID VERSION OF CLICKY.

 

Clicky Code Breakdown

Above is an example of Clicky’s tracking code. As you can see, I blurred out my tracking numbers (easily accessible I know, but for confusion purposes, I thought it would be a good idea). Anyway, here is my explanation of the tracking code:

The YELLOW code area is the code for the graphic badge. You may exclude this piece of code if you WISH TO HIDE THE CLICKY ADVERTISEMENT BADGE.

The GREEN and BLUE code make-up the clicky tracking code, you should include both the GREEN and BLUE on any website you are tracking. This code should be placed before the end </body> tag.

The BLUE code is for Craigslist. Craigslist doesn’t let you execute JavaScript in your postings, but the little 1×1 pixel graphic gathers data that you receive on your Craigslist posting. You should include this part of your tracking code at the end of your Craigslist AD. Maybe throw in some <br><br> tags and then the code to space the code from your listing.


If you are using a different domain name (other than craigslist.org) in your clicky settings to track craigslist ad postings, you need to go into your preferences and add the (<insert city>.craigslist.org) domain for your posting in the mirrors section. You can find the correct domain by looking at the web URL of your posting. For instance if you were tracking a post in Minneapolis, MN. You would add “minneapolis.craigslist.org” to the mirror area of your preferences.

If you don’t add your subdomain (ie. minneapolis.craigslist.org) to your mirrors area, Clicky may not gather traffic data.

To read my original post about using Clicky to track Craigslist Postings,
Click Here: How to Track Craigslist Ads.

To read more about Clicky as a web analytics software,
Click Here: Clicky

If you have any questions, comments, or simply need some additional explanation, please feel free to comment below.

Filed Under: Internet Marketing Tagged With: , , ,

How to Track Craigslist Ads

January 18, 2011 By 1 Comment

If you are using Craigslist as part of a marketing campaign to gain extra exposure, there is no doubt that you want to track your results. Tracking your own Craigslist postings can seem challenging as Craigslist doesn’t allow you to run JavaScript or other code (leaving out Google Analytics, etc…). But…

There is a service that allows you to track your Craigslist postings by adding a simple small image tag. This image is a 1px x 1px “hidden” image that will help you track visitor statistics. This service is:

Clicky Web Analytics

I recommend and also currently use the PRO Package for $59.99/year (or $9.99/mo). The PRO package allows you to monitor up to ten websites and gives you access to Clicky’s premium tracking features such as SPY which shows you a realtime map of your visitors without requiring you to refresh your dashboard page. Other premium features include:

  • Track secure pages
  • Goal Tracking
  • Campaign Tracking
  • Custom Data Tracking
  • Twitter Keyword Monitoring
  • Sub-user accounts
  • Track outbound links
  • Track downloads
  • Video analytics
  • No Ads (FREE/DEMO version of Clicky is ad-supported on your tracking link)
  • Alerts
  • Advanced visitor segmentation
  • Organizations
  • E-mail reports
  • Engagement reports
  • Data export
  • More data history

If you are serious about your business and want to take your analytics to the next level, check out Clicky Analytics today.
Clicky Web Analytics

Filed Under: Internet Marketing Tagged With: , ,

Free Affiliate Link Cloaker

November 29, 2010 By 2 Comments


For starters, I would like to explain what an affiliate link is.

Affiliate Marketing, essentially, is a method that people can use to make extra cash online by promoting another person’s product. An affiliate link points to a product’s sales page where the product can be purchased. The link itself contains a tracking ID that will notify the product vendor about who made the sale, thus giving them the ability to track who should be paid commission.

For example, a raw affiliate link could look like:

http://www.fictionalproduct.com/?refid=928338

The problem with raw affiliate links is the fact that the affiliate ID portion can be tampered with. Tampered affiliate links can result in commission theft.

To reduce the risk of commission theft, affiliate marketers should always cloak affiliate links. Affiliate link cloaking, and management of cloaked affiliate links can be handled with some simple software. Check out masterlinkcloaking.com for recommendations on proper link cloaking software.

Free Link Cloaker Solution

If you only have a handful of links, you can use this simple free solution to cloak your links. There are a couple of ways to cloak links. You can make your cloaked link look like:

EXAMPLE 1: http://www.fictionalproduct.com/productpage/

Create a new folder in the root directory of your site, you may call it whatever you want. For this example I am going to call it productpage so it will look like: http://www.fictionalproduct.com/productpage/
Open a blank text file and add the following text (replace ‘http://www.new-url.com’ with the link you are forwarding to.):

<?php
header( “Location: http://www.new-url.com” );
?>

Save this file as index.php to directory you created.

For example, if you were to visit: http://www.fictionalproduct.com/productpage/ you would be redirected to ‘http://www.new-url.com’

LIVE EXAMPLE: This link will take you back to this blog post:
http://www.ntechcomm.com/linkcloak/

EXAMPLE 2:http://www.fictionalproduct.com/product1.php

Example 2 uses the same code behind example 1, except you are not using a directory to define your link – you are using a filename instead.

Open up your text editor and write the code (again, replace ‘http://www.new-url.com’ with the link you are forwarding to.):

<?php
header( “Location: http://www.new-url.com” );
?>

Save this file to your root directory as product1.php, with a full url of http://www.yoursitedomain.com/product1.php.

When you visit this URL, you should be taken to the link you saved to the php file.

LIVE EXAMPLE: This link will take you back to this blog post:
http://www.ntechcomm.com/linkcloak.php

This completes my tutorial for a free link cloaking solution. For a more professional application, you should look into actual link cloaking software at: masterlinkcloaking.com

RESPONSES:
To download your files, right-click and select “save-as”

Jim Phillips

Filed Under: Internet Marketing Tagged With: , ,