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Many website owners still don’t know how important web directories are for SEO (Search Engine Optimization, for those who don’t know by now), and anyone who has at least a little experience in the field will tell you that without submitting your website to directories, you’re not likely to rank high in search engines. Ready to find out why they’re so important? If so, don’t stop reading!

Ok, so why are they so important? Well, for starters, popular web directories help you bring quality back links to your website. Getting listed at the Open Directory Project (or DMOZ) will bring you PR8 (Page Rank) back links to your website! Yahoo’s directory will bring you PR9 back links! Out of 10 Page Ranks, these numbers are huge! Now, that’s not the only reason web directories are important. Search engine robots or crawlers tend to struggle every day to crawl and crawl websites over and over, and here’s when it gets interesting, they start crawling directories first, which means that if you get your website listed at a popular directory, you’re pretty much guaranteed to be listed at major search engines. For example, since the Googlebot crawls the OPD (Open Directory Project or DMOZ), if you get listed at the OPD, then you will get listed at Google, no questions asked. Now that you know how important web directories are to your website, let’s find out the top five web directories by Page Rank:

1.    The Yahoo Web Directory
Getting listed at the Yahoo web directory will get you listed at Yahoo (of course), Google, and other major search engines. It will also provide you with great PR9 back links (which is excellent), but you are only allowed to list non-commercial websites.

2.    The WWW Virtual Library
Getting listed here will also help your SEO greatly. You will also get PR9 back links for your website, but be sure to check out the requirements depending on the category you wish.

3.    The About Directory
The About.com directory will provide you with PR8 back links for your website, and will get you listed at one of the websites with the highest traffic (About.com) as well as major search engines. Be sure to have high quality content, though, otherwise, they won’t approve your website.

4.    The Open Directory Project
Getting listed here will guarantee you a space at Google’s search index, and provide you with PR8 back links. Your website content must be unique to get listed, though.

5.    Web10
Web10 will provide you with PR7 back links for your website, and will help you get listed at search engines. The only problem is that you have to pay to get listed, unless your website is falls in the non-profit and charities category.

So, now you know why web directories are important to search engine optimization, and what the top five website directories are. So, don’t wait any longer and start applying to each one of them. Remember submissions are checked manually, so it might take a few days before you get listed.

OK, so maybe after doing some research about what about web hosts, how to choose one, etc., you decided to go ahead and sign up for your web host. Or maybe you already have some experience in the field, but still would like to find out about more web hosts. Well, here you’ve found a list of the web’s leading budget web hosts. Keep reading to see our top five budget webhost list.

This list was made up following some very strict guidelines: the web hosts listed had to have lots of features, disk space, bandwidth, and extras without stepping over the $10 per month price point.  The first web host we’ll be talking about is…

Hostgator web hosting
It seems everybody is recommending Hostgator these days… maybe it’s because they offer an affiliate program, but to tell the truth, Hostgator offers a nice array of features at a reasonable price. It’s some damn good web hosting, to be honest. Prices start at $4.95/month, and that includes a 350GB hard drive, and a huge 3TB (3,000GB) of bandwidth, which is a lot for starting websites. Steping up to “swamp” webhosting will grant you a whopping 1TB of web hosting and unlimited bandwidth, at $12.95/month.

Imhosted web hosting
Although it is less popular than Hostgator, Imhosted offers a wide array of features at a very low price. You get a mind-blowing 2TB (2000GB) hard drive, a whopping 12TB of bandwidth, and a FREE domain name of your choice for only $6.95/month. Not only do you get these huge features, but you also get a website builder, an ecommerce cart, , webmail, free SSL certificates, and more than 100 webapps including, but not limited to Joomla, Mambo, Wordpress, PHP, MySQL, phpWiki, and phpBB. Plus, as if it wasn’t enough, setup fees are free, and customer support is very responsive.

Lypha web hosting
Lypha web hosting is another budget web host with a large number of features at a low price. You get 2GB hard drive, 15TB of bandwidth (versus the 12TB of Imhosted), FREE domain name registration, 5000 Email Accounts, PHP, MySQL, CGI, Perl, SSI + Website Builder SSH, cPanel, Webmail, Subdomains, awStats, and other useful applications, and a steady 99.998% server uptime.  All of this for the low price of $6.95/month. The advantage of Lypha over Imhosted lies in the all important bandwidth. When you put them side by side, there’s only a difference of 3TB. Looks small, but when you change to GB, It becomes 3,000 GB. Some expensive webhosts ($200/year and more) don’t even offer 1TB of bandwidth! But, when it comes to disk space, Imhosted excels when offering a 2TB hard drive, versus the 2GB of Lypha: that’s 8 times as much disk space!

Webhost4life
Webhost for life is damn cheap for the features. For only $4.95/month, you get a 1GB hard drive, unlimited bandwidth, MySQL and PHP, daily full backup, 10 1GB email accounts ,and 99.9% uptime, among other things. The feature that sets Webhost for life apart from the others (aside from being $2/month cheaper, and having unlimited bandwidth) is that webhost4life is a Windows server web host. Usually, windows servers are more expensive than Linux servers, but webhost4life really lowers the price to a point that it is actually cheaper than Linux hosting. In case you don’t know, Windows hosting grants you all the features of Linux web hosting, plus extras like ASP, .NET and FrontPage integration.

Webintellects
The last web host on our list is Webintellects. For $6.95/month for their silver plan, you get 50 GBs of bandwidth, unlimited e-mail accounts, 99.9% uptime, search engine submission, website builder, and other features. But, you just might want to make an effort and step up to their Gold plan. This one offers you unlimited web space and unlimited bandwidth (something not seen elsewhere on this list), as well as all the features of the silver plan and more for just $9.95. It’s slightly more expensive than the others, but you do get unlimited disk space and bandwidth, and it meets the under $10 criteria.
Those are the top five cheap web hosts out there. Be sure to take a detailed look at each one before you make your choice.

SEO (or Search Engine Optimization, for those who still don’t know what it means by now) is pretty general in the way it works; however, it can get more and more detailed when you enter a search engine’s point of view. Although all major search engines pretty much work the same, some may or may not have specific guidelines, tricks, or tips. Because Google is the most popular search engine out there, most people concentrate on them the most. Although good SEO is good for any search engine, there are some things Google (or the Googlebot) doesn’t like in particular. Let’s see what Google doesn’t like when looking at websites.

The Googlebot (mentioned at the beginning) is the name the people at Google put to their search engine crawler or robot, hence the name Googlebot. The Googlebot is the one who searches, crawls, and indexes your website, so it is Google’s most important asset. The Googlebot searches for many things when crawling websites: both good things (like design, content, back links, etc. that will help you rank higher in the search results) and the bad things, which is what we’re going to talk about. The first thing the Googlebot doesn’t like about websites is…

1.    Hidden texts and links
Hidden texts and links are common black hat SEO method used by beginners. Many people hide text so that it isn’t visually seen, but then they would think the search engine crawlers would look at those keywords, and that it would help them rank higher. Wrong. It used to work ten years ago, but search engine crawlers, specially the Googlebot don’t like that. Forms of hidden text include, but are not limited to:

• Using white text on a white background
• Including text behind an image
• Using CSS to hide text
• Setting the font size to 0

Using this method may result in being removed from Google’s index, so don’t even try it.

2.    Cloaking and doorways
If there is something the Googlebot doesn’t like is this. Cloaking refers to showing search engines something and showing users something other than that. An example of this is showing an HTML website to search engines, while visitors see a flash website. Doorways are, pages that contain many links, sometimes hundreds of them, that are of little to no use to the visitor, and do not contain valuable content. The Googlebot identifies these pages as “link farms”, which will prevent you from being listed at Google.

3.    Automated queries
Although they are not a bad thing per se, the Googlebot doesn’t like them, and if the Googlebot doesn’t like something, then you should stay away from it. Automatic queries are made to determine how a website ranks in Google search results for various queries. Usually, automated queries are generated by a piece of software. You can get in contact with Google if you feel you need a special permission, though.

4.    Keyword stuffing
Keyword stuffing is basically filling up a website with keywords expecting that it will help a website rank higher in the search results. It is considered manipulation of search results by the Googlebot, so try to stay away from it. It’s OK if those keywords are properly placed within the content of a website, but it’s not OK to, like, create a whole hidden page full of keywords. Keyword stuffing should go right along with hidden text and links, as these hidden elements usually include a massive amount of keywords if used. Always remember the Googlebot looks out for this.

5.    Duplicate content
The last major thing we’ll be discussing in this article about the Googlebot’s dislikes is duplicate content. The fact of inserting duplicate content in multiple domains, sub domains, or anything similar is considered as duplicate content by the Googlebot. However, it’s OK if you have:

• Discussion forums
• Store items shown or linked via multiple different URLs
• Printable versions of websites.

However, if you duplicate content across various domains in order to manipulate search engine results, know that you are being watched by the Googlebot.

Those are the five major things the Googlebot doesn’t like. Stay away from them and everything should go smoothly.

Choosing the right web host is very difficult and confusing for newcomers to the scene. Whether you only want a personal blog, or want to start your first business online, choosing the web hosting that suits you can really be quite a task. That’s why you need to know what web hosting suits you according to the situation, and that’s why here you’ll find a quick list that will help you do just that. Keep reading to find out what type of web hosting suits you.

There are many types of web hosting, there is free web hosting, budget web hosting, shared web hosting, dedicated web hosting, VPS (Virtual Private Server) web hosting, etc. But how do you know which one is the best for you? Well, let’s start with personal websites:

Personal Websites, starter blogs, mid-traffic websites
Personal websites don’t typically need a high amount of disk space and bandwidth (although there are some exceptions). That’s why beginners should be OK with free webhosting. Now, there are two types of free web hosting, free web hosting that has easy website builders and use sub domain names (recommended for computer newbies) and free web hosting that offers pretty much the same features as paid web hosting, but just isn’t as reliable (however, it is recommended for more computer savvy people). The advantage of such webhosts is that they allow you to use your own domain name, and you can install blogging platforms such as Wordpress. Now, for more serious blogs and websites, stepping up to paid web hosting is probably a wise choice. The best type of web hosting for such websites is shared webhosting, which is the cheapest type of web hosting.

Business websites
Business websites typically need a larger amount of web space and bandwidth, as they usually have to host. For these types of websites, free web hosting is definitely a no-no. You can opt for any type of web hosting  from shared web hosting, to dedicated web hosting, but it is recommended you pick VPS (Virtual Private Server) web hosting, which is right in the middle of shared and dedicated web hosting, and offers the best of both worlds at a reasonable price. Keep in mind this also applies for high-profile websites that are not necessarily business websites.

Corporate websites, e-commerce websites, high profile websites
Websites of this kind should really step up to “dedicated hosting”. Sure, this type of web hosting is the most expensive one, but if you are starting such a website, then you should have a relatively high budget. Now, putting the budget aside, dedicated hosting is definitely the way to go, as you get maximum performance, features and reliability.

So those are the types of web hosting I recommend you pick according to the type of your website. There is another type of web hosting called “collocated web hosting” which is basically hosting your website yourself on your own servers locally. However, this is much more complicated.

OK, so you did your best to optimize your website, followed all the instructions you could found online, tried out some marketing strategies, added your website to 1001 directories, posted your links on forums, made sure your website is fully crawled… the list goes on and on. But, how do you know how your website is doing SEO wise? One thing is making sure a website is optimized… but making sure that optimization works, is another story. Here you will find the web’s best free online tools that will help you find out how your website is doing SEO wise. Are you eager to find out what they are and what they do? Keep reading for some SEO goodies.

SEO (or Search Engine Optimization, for those who still don’t know what it means) is very tricky: there are a ton of tips, tricks, and optimizations to do, but in the end either they don’t work, or they don’t work as much as you would like it to do so. That’s why millions of websites stay unreachable even after years of being created. This brings us to one big problem beginners have with SEO: they know how to do it (or at least they think they do) but they don’t know how well it’s working. That’s why you need SEO tools that will help you check how well your website is doing. Here are the best six out there:

Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a basic requirement for any website. Because SEO is all about ranking higher in search engines, and Google is the most popular search engine, you would think they will provide you with the best detailed information you could find. And they do: everything from page rank to back links. All you need to do is create an account, follow the instructions, and then you will get detailed information about your website.

Sitening.com’s SEO analyzer
At Sitening.com you will find one of the best free online SEO analyzers out there. What makes it great is its “sophisticated algorithm that detects how optimized your web design is for search engines”, which basically does the job of SEO companies for you. To find out how well your website is optimized, they check out the design, semantic structure, obsolete HTML, improper use of tables, download size and time, outgoing links, top keywords, among other things.

SEOmoz.com’s Rank Checker and SEO toolbox
SEOmoz has developed a great tool that will show you how your website is ranked at the web’s most popular search engines, like Google, Yahoo, Altavista, etc. This is great if you want to know how your website is ranked, letting you know if there is any room of improvement. They also have tools like a back link checker, a crawl test (to determine how well your website is crawled), a strength tester, among other important SEO related tools.

WeBuildPages.com’s back link checker
While they’re not the only ones who provide a back link test, WeBuildPages probably offers the most accurate and complete back links report. Not only can you see your back links, but you can also check out your competitor’s back links, making it easy to organize your linking strategies.

Xenu Link Sleuth
This tool is very important both for the SEO and reliability of your website. Basically, what this tool does is move around your website looking for anything that shouldn’t be there: from broken links to endless loops, among many other important problems.

SEO for Firefox
You must know about Firefox, right? If you don’t, search for Firefox and you’ll see what you’re missing. If you do, here’s a great Firefox extension that will help you check out how well other people’s websites (or your competitors websites) are doing when it comes to SEO, and collect tons of information from any website, including page rank, back links, age, and much more with a simple right click.

So there you have six great SEO tools to check out how your websites (or your competitors’ websites) are doing. Each one of them is perfect for one task or the other, which is you should use all of them instead of only one.

Looking around for web hosting companies will reveal that there are many types of webhosting currently available. For newcomers to the webhosting world, this can be really confusing. Is shared webhosting good enough for you? Do you need more control and step up to VPS hosting? Or is your site so important it needs a dedicated server to run smoothly? These are questions that need answers. And if you’re looking for answers, you’ve come to the right place. Keep reading to find out what you need to know before you make a decision.

There are basically three types you should be aware of. These are shared webhosting, VPS (which stands for Virtual Private Server) webhosting, and dedicated webhosting. Each of them has their ups and downs, but hopefully you’ll understand each one of them by the end of this article. Let’s talk about shared webhosting…

Shared webhosting
Shared webhosting is the most common type of webhosting available, and also the most popular one (maybe because it’s also the cheapest type of webhosting). A web server is essentially a computer located at a remote location. When a person accesses a website, they’re actually accessing the files available on that computer. When you read or hear about shared webhosting, it means that your website is not the only one stored in one of the servers: other websites are found on the same hardware as well. This is because, let’s say a computer has a huge hard drive, RAM, and great processing power: you’re not going to waste all of it in just one simple website, are you? So what are the pros? Well, it is much cheaper than the other two, so it makes it great for starting or simple websites, blogs, etc., it’s also simple to use, and little maintenance is needed. What’s wrong with it? Well, you have little flexibility when it comes to installing applications and controlling the server, because you’re not the only one using it, and performance is inconsistent.

VPS or Virtual Private Server
VPS is also known as VDS (Virtual Dedicated Server). It is right in the middle between the other two types of servers: not quite shared, not quite dedicated. VPS is great for people who want the flexibility of a dedicated server in a smaller scale. It resembles shared servers because other websites are on the same server as well, and it resembles dedicated server because you get the same amount of flexibility, and performance is consistent (you will always use the same amount of processing power, unlike shared webhosting). It’s more like a dedicated server, because even if you’re sharing the resources with other people, it’s arranged in such a way that you cannot tell there is someone else on the same server. The good things about VPS servers is that you get great stability (due to the fact that you’re not hosted with hundreds of other people in the same server), you get much more flexibility (similar to a dedicated server) and it costs way cheaper than a dedicated server. Basically it’s a shared webhosting with none of the drawbacks.

The only problem with VPS is that you do not benefit from irregular performance (yes, that sounds weird). When you pick shared webhosting, you are guaranteed a minimum amount of performance, but it can rise during spike periods. With VPS hosting, performance cannot rise, as you’ll be using the same amount of resources permanently. It’s not a big drawback, but it can be for some people.

Dedicated webhosting
Dedicated servers are, obviously, servers that are only available to you, which means you don’t share it with anyone else. These types of servers guarantee you maximum flexibility, making it great for CPU-intensive code found on more complicated websites. The good things include much better resources, the best performance and reliability, and great flexibility: making it the best option for traffic intensive websites like social networks, search engines, etc. The only bad thing though is that dedicated web hosting it is much more expensive than the two other options, as you’re keeping the whole computer for yourself.

Those are the big three webhosting picks. Try to pick the one that suits you the best.

When newcomers to the webmaster world learn about SEO (Search Engine Optimization), they quickly become vulnerable to many SEO misconceptions, myths and lies. This results in many people being scammed by SEO companies, and people wasting their valuable time using methods that don’t really work that well. Now, if you want to know the most common SEO misconceptions, myths, and lies, you’ve come to the right place. Keep reading to find out more.

Eager to find out what this article is about? We’ll let’s start with the very first one, which is probably the biggest lie ever told in the SEO industry, and that has cost many people a lot of money for no results:

There is no guarantee that you will appear at the first page of search engines.
Perform a quick search for SEO companies, and almost all of them will guarantee you that your website will be listed at the top of search engines if you buy their services. The truth is, there is absolutely no guarantee this is going to happen. Getting listed at the top takes quite some time. While SEO is made to make it easier, it doesn’t mean you’ll get to the top in just a few days: if that was the case, then every website would be at the top. What legitimate SEO companies do is check out your website and its source code, optimize it, and hope you get the best results, but there is no way you can be guaranteed to appear at the top.

Now let’s check out the second biggest misconception in the SEO world:

SEO is a onetime deal
Most people think they only need to optimize their website or blog once, and then everything is done! You never have to worry again! Well, they’re wrong. SEO is like getting a haircut: you do it once, but after a while, you have to do it again. Every time you update a website, SEO gets a little messed up: If you do great optimization on a blog, for example, and then you keep posting and adding widgets, and plug-ins and links, and features, etc. without optimizing at all, then when you check your optimization a year later, you’ll see it all went nuts. SEO has to be done permanently; it’s everything, or nothing. If you’re going to optimize your website, then you should do it fully, from choosing the right titles, to renaming your pages.

Participating in Google programs will improve your Google Page Rank
Another misconception many people believe is that if you use Google services like Adsense or Adwords, you will get a better page rank. The truth is you CAN appear at the first page of results if you use Adwords; however that is not really SEO, it is PPC SEO (Pay per Click SEO). You pay for an ad that will appear at the first page, but it’s not exactly a page rank. However, aside from that, Google does not offer any type of incentive if you use Adsense or Adwords.

High crawling frequency means high page rank
Crawling does influence your website listing, but it doesn’t influence your page rank. Many people confuse crawling (which is what search engine robots do to ensure each page of your website gets listed” with page rank (in what search results page your website actually appears). Don’t confuse one with the other: you can have a great crawling rate, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you will appear at the top.

Millions of links will guarantee you the top
The last myth we’re going to talk about is what many people struggle to get, and is probably the cause of their failure. Millions of links won’t guarantee you the top position. It influences, but it doesn’t guarantee it. On the contrary, you could get black listed! It doesn’t mean they’re bad, but remember that somehow, the search engine robots know if they are legitimate links, or otherwise. So don’t waste your time getting a lot of illegitimate back links: it may do more harm than good.

Now that you know some of the most common SEO misconceptions, try to learn a thing or two!

Many people don’t know how a website is really built: webmasters don’t just spend hours and hours coding websites, to then have to recode it to update the website a little bit. Most people use Content Managing Systems (Or CMS), or Publishing Engines. That way, maintaining and updating a website is a tad easier. If you want to know which are the top server side applications for content publishing and management, then continue reading this article.

CMSs and Publishing engines are designed to make the job of owning a website easier. They typically have an intuitive, simple to use back end management menu that allows you to control all the content of a website, and make it easily updatable. They also allow you to install a various range of plug-ins and applications that will extend the usability of your website.

There are basically two types of content management systems, or publishing engines. There are the “website” type, and the “blog” type. You can find both free and paid CMSs, but we’ll be talking about the free, open source ones. Don’t worry, though, even if they’re free, they are very powerful and easy to use.

Joomla CMS
Joomla is the most popular website style CMS. It’s very customizable, relatively easy to use, and there is a HUGE number of plug-ins and free templates available. Through Joomla, you can set up anything from an e-commerce shop, to a blog (however, a blog-oriented publishing engine is recommended if what you want to do is blog). Joomla must be installed on your web server in order to use it. It’s a little tricky for inexperienced people, but once you get the hang of it, it becomes really easy to use. Even if you feel a little lost, there are many “how to guides” that will guide you through the installation. Just make sure your web hosts meets the minimum requirements of Joomla.

Mambo CMS
Mambo is very similar to Joomla; after all, they both were created from the same source code. Some say Mambo is less customizable than Joomla; however, you should stay with the one that offers what you want.

Wordpress Publishing Engine
Wordpress is the most popular blogging engine available. This is because it’s easy to use, light, powerful, extremely easy to modify, and there are ton of free themes and plug-in. Wordpress is perfect for blogging, because you can add an infinite number of applications, from MySpace, to Google, to Adsense. There’s even a plug-in that will let you use Wordpress as a website-style CMS instead of a blogging platform! Installing it literally takes only five minutes, and upgrading to the latest version is easier than serving a cup of coffee. If what you’re looking for is a blog, then Wordpress is the way to go.

Blogger
Blogger is also a very good blogging engine. They are owned by Google, so integration with Adsense is very easy. While they don’t have plug-ins like Wordpress, they do have a wide number of templates available. The advantage of Blogger over Wordpress is that blogger is actually simpler to use, which makes it great for new bloggers, as well as other nice features.

Now that you know the big content management systems and publishing engines, how do you pick the one you like? Here are some tips that will help you choose:

•    Check out the templates for each application: in the end, it’s all about what the visitor sees, so pick the one that has the right layout for you.
•    Check out the plug-ins for each application: along with appearance comes usability: check out the plug-ins for each application to see if you find what you need.
•    Check out the admin interface: it has to be comfortable to work with. You can get a free online demo from Joomla and Mambo, for Wordpress you can get a free blog from wordpress.com with a sub domain name (where you could check out how simple it is to use), and blogger is also free if you use a sub domain.

Those are the four big CMSs, and the choosing criteria for when you’re picking one. Remember to choose wisely.

There are millions of websites out there that don’t manage to get any traffic. Some of them even have some great content too. What are they doing wrong? Maybe they did follow some SEO tips and tricks. Maybe they did work hard to optimize their website. However, that alone is not enough. There are many mistakes newcomers to the webmaster community make that lead them to failure. Keep reading to find out what mistakes other people make, and learn from them.

Cheating search engines

Cheating search engines looks fast and simple on paper. Many people have found ways to trick or cheat search engine robots in order to get a better rank faster. Many people got quite a big amount of money selling these “black hat” methods, while others did them themselves. In the past, these techniques actually worked, and still do, but nowadays practicing them can lead to seriously negative consequences. These methods include, but are not limited to doorway pages, invisible (or hidden) text, unusually massive amounts of back links from other websites (which meet some sort of characteristics that make search engine robots suspicious), etc. What are those serious consequences? Well, you could will end up getting blacklisted by search engines, which means you’ll probably never get listed again. Is it worth it? No. There is no quick method to appear at the top of search engines (aside from PPC SEO), so it’s better not to try.

Poorly written content

By poorly written content can lead any website to oblivion. The main thing search engine robots check out is the content of a website. Some people confuse this with the first thing search engine robots look for, which is the title, but the most important aspect of a website in a robot’s eye is the content. You might have great and helpful information, but if it’s badly optimized for search engines, getting listed will be difficult. Goof content is the key to good SEO, and good SEO needs the right keywords, which brings us to the next mistake.

Choosing the wrong keywords

When users perform a search, they will type a small phrase (generally about three words) related to what they are looking for. For example, if someone is looking for good SEO methods, he will type “good SEO methods” into the search box. These are the keywords you should place around your website, and within your content. Many people choose the wrong keywords, and it’s understandable: after all, how can you know what people type into search boxes? Well, you can find out using some online keyword tools that will tell you what people type when they search for something. Try looking online for them, there are plenty to choose from.

Sitemaps

Sitemaps are probably the most overlooked feature of a website by newcomers. Sitemaps are not only made to facilitate the navigation of a website on the user end of things, but they are also great for SEO, because it makes search engine robots’ work a lot easier. By using sitemaps, search engine crawlers can easily identify every page of a website, resulting in a more successful listing. You could make your own sitemap, but it’s recommended that you use Google Sitemaps instead. Not only is it easy to use, but it’s also great for Google SEO, and it can be easily implemented in just about every website (for example, there is a Wordpress plug in that automatically generates a Google Sitemap for your website).

There is one last big mistake “newbies” make when creating a website, it’s…

Creating a badly designed website

This is a more technical aspect of SEO, the design of a website. Search engine crawlers not only look at the surface of a website, they look at the inside of it as well. Having badly organized code makes their work more difficult, and we all know that’s not good. Poor design includes, but is not limited to intense graphics, unclear navigation, etc. Try organizing your code a little, it pays out well.

Those are the biggest SEO mistakes people make when starting a website. Just keep in mind all of them, and stay away from cheating, and you should be fine.

If you have been looking around for web hosting, you have surely come across the option of choosing whether to use Windows or Linux as a web hosting platform, and choosing the right one for you can be really confusing if you’re new to web hosting. Keep reading to find out all you need to know before you make a choice.

Everybody knows Windows: the operating system made by the software giant Microsoft, but not everybody knows Linux, the open source operating system developed by its users. Signing up for web hosting is basically renting a computer, so when you have to choose whether to use Linux or Windows, you are choosing what operating system to use on the server. Many beginners choose Windows because it’s made by an experienced software maker, but you should know that Linux is just as stable even more stable as windows most of the time. Now let’s find out what you get with each one.

Linux

Most web hosts use Linux as a platform. Not only because it’s easier to maintain, but also because it is open source (anyone can modify it to fit their needs) and it is also free, meaning that it is both cheaper for the end user and the web hosting company. Now, what do you get with Linux? You get the most basic options a website needs. Every Linux platform should be able to support the most popular publishing engines such as Joomla, Wordpress, or Mambo. The main features you get with a Linux platform are PHP and MySQL support, as well as the Apache web server. Because Linux is so stable, Linux platforms usually have the highest up time. Linux also supports lots of free applications and scripts, and you get better control of your files (which makes it more customizable).

Let’s find out what you get if you use Windows. ‘

Windows

Windows offers you much more advanced features and applications. Because it’s made by Microsoft, it integrates well with other Microsoft products. For example, if you made your website with FrontPage, or any other website builder made by Microsoft, hosting that website with a Windows server will be much easier than if you used Microsoft. You also get to use ASP, .NET, and other Microsoft programming languages, but that is for more advanced users. You will still be able to use Joomla, Mambo, and other similar engines, as Windows is compatible with PHP and MySQL. You don’t get the Apache server (a Wordpress requirement), you get the IIS Web Server instead. Some say that getting started with Windows is easier, but Linux web hosting has improved drastically over time.

Those are the most basic things you need to know about Linux and Windows web hosting. Choosing between the two can be a tedious task, but if you don’t need fancy programming languages and software, Linux should be enough. Windows, in the other hand, is better when it comes to integrating websites made with Windows software. Choose wisely!