Comments I'm never going to publish

The "best" of the comments I'm never going to publish.

Like many bloggers, I've noticed an increase in spam-comments over the last few months. And as a blog gets more popular, I guess it's naturally going to be found by more and more "comment marketers" (sic).

Unluckily for them, I always moderate comments on my blogs. I even wrote a comments policy for Blogger-hints-and-tips to help me think through what I would and wouldn't publish.

But occasionally I get the urge to reply to a comment-er, even though I'm never to approve their comments.   Here are a few recent gems (with embedded links removed).

Don't call me "dear"

Left on "Getting started with SEO, for Bloggers":

"hi dear,
this is very informative info for a seo friendly work and helpful to writte a good blog.you explain it very well..good job dear...thanks for sharing informative info with us.....:)"

Even without the embedded link, any comment that calls me "dear" isn't going anywhere except the rubbish bin.

Copyright isn't an "executive"!

Left on Tools for applying copyright protection to your blog":

Wow thanks for this. I was wondering if any one would know about executive protection companies [link removed]? If you know more about this please let me know. Thanks for any help. 

Cute, but no dice:  this has a hidden link, and it's pretty clear that corporate hit-men and blogs don't have that much in common.

A prize-winner in the sheer cheek department

Left on  "How to put put Posts into your Pages in Blogger":

Create Bootable USB Pen Drive for Windows 7
Windows 7- Hard Drive Partition
HTML5 Inline SVG
Fibonacci numbers in Basic
How to Make an Invisible Folder, Tips, Tricks
Changing Table Background Colors on Mouseover
What is HTML5? HTML5 Introduction.
Illusions - An erroneous perception of reality
Windows Run Commands, Shortcut Collections
HTML5 Canvas
Collection: Business Card Designed By JCT Students
Warm boot & Cold boot (Differences between Cold and Warm Booting)
Hidden files in your Pendrive (How to show the hidden files in pendrive? )
HTML5 Geolocation
Flash Analog Clock Script (as2)
HTML5 - Drag and Drop
Facebook Page Cover has been changed (2013-02-08))
On the day of CTEVT, ANNEX, JCT Building Enauguration ( 2069-08-30 )
VB6 Start Button Control, Customize Start Menu

Each and every line was a separate link.  I'm sure they're all fascinating  - but really, that many links in one comment.  No one's going to fall for that.

"Thanks for the memories"

This whole post was sparked by a comment, since dispatched to the great bit-bucket in the sky, which told me that while what I had written was "very nice", I would "simply have to try harder".  

I can't find the exact phrases any more - but thanks to whoever wrote it and inspired this occasional "Tower of Babel" post-series. 

Swear-words need not apply

On "How to put put Posts into your Pages in Blogger":

Your comment will be visible after approval.
So f*** you 

This was the person's second insightful comment within a few seconds.   I suspect he doesn't like my moderation policies  :-)

No need to read a post before commenting

On "Putting a Facebook "like", "send" or "share" button into your blog"

Thanks you for sharing this good post.I agree with you that today social media is most important part of Internet. 

Ahh, really?   I don't recall saying that ...

Dynamic template:  the new wonder-tool for blog engagement?

On  "Adding a gadget to a blog with a dynamic-view template":

Same thing happened to me. I'm thrilled though. I averaged about 50/60 pageviews for most of the 3 1/2 years I've maintained my blog. I just it 500 yesterday after only a couple of weeks with the dynamic view.

Really?   What "thing" is that?     While dynamic templates are pretty, I don't think they do that much for blog-marketing.

My best friend is an iPad!

On "Adding a gadget to your blog, using Blogger's WYSI...":

iPad is the best friend I've ever got just Hold it in your hand and you are hooked by its size, feather weight and sheer quality. Apple was late with the iPad mini but in my view they really have hit the spot.
iPad 3 Keyboard (link removed   :-)  )

This man needs some new friends!

Finally found after 10 years of searching!

On  "Putting Adsense ads inside Blogger posts":

Hi,
I find many useful things herewith. It is really amazing for us. Where ever we are, just click on the website and Take advantages regarding Place your ads [link removed :-)] .Your article impressed me very heartily. From a last decade I was searching such type of web site. Thanks for giving me a space in your blog. I refer this to my close friends who are already seeking for the same.

Pity he didn't learn to use Google a little sooner.

A back-handed compliment?  O just plain rude?

On  "Putting a Facebook "like", "send" or "share" butt...":

you talk a lot!!! 

Thank you:  I try to write long posts that actually cover the issues and options, rather than short ones that leave out key details.

Accessing Pinterest Analytics, and verifying your website with Pinterest

This Quick-tip is about how you can verify the website (or blog) associated with your Pinterest account - and solving a small problem with the meta-tag that Pinterest give you.

Pinterest have recently announced Pinterest Web Analytics, which will show you "how many people have pinned content from your site, what content is most popular with pinners, and more."   (From their announcement email.

To register to Pinterest Web Analytics, you need to

1. Get early access to Pinterest�s new look.
2. Verify your website, using the tools listed here.

After your website is verified, there will be an Analytics option on the top-right menu whenever you are using Pinterest.

Verifying your blog with Pinterest:

There is one slight twitch to the verification process:  As I've explained previously, Bloggers don't have access to load files to their site's root directory.   Instead we need to use the meta-tag option, currently on the bottom left of the box which opens when you choose "Verify your website" from Pinterest's settings.

The meta-tag that Pinterest gives you looks like this

<meta name="p:domain_verify" content="a-weird-collection-of-letters-and-numbers" >

Add it to your blog's template the same way you would add any other meta-tag.

If you see a message like this when you try to Preview or Save the change:

Your template could not be parsed as it is not well-formed. Please make sure that all XML elements are closed properly. <br/> XML error message: The element type "meta" must be terminated by the matching end-tag "</meta>".
Error 500

then it means is that the meta tag that Pinterest gave you has not been closed properly.   To fix it, you just need to add a "close tag" command  ( </meta> ), so that the code looks like:

<meta name="p:domain_verify" content="a-weird-collection-of-letters-and-numbers" >
</meta>

After the tag is added and you have saved your template, click the Complete Verification button in the Pinterest window, to tell Pinterest to look at your website and make the connection.

Getting started with SEO, for Bloggers

This article introduces Google Webmaster central's first-steps-SEO cheatsheat, and explains how the points in it apply to Blogger.

Google have produced a "first steps cheat sheet" for people who've got a blog or website, "but never gave search much thought". They describe it as a "short how-to list with basic tips on search engine-friendly design".

It lists things you can do which may "help Google and others better understand the content and increase your site�s visibility".

You can find it here. (It's a one-page PDF file).

The Webmaster Central post where it was announced said to "read it, print it, share it, copy and distribute it" - so I'm going to tell you how the points listed apply to Blogger users.

One caveat:  As I've explained previously, SEO (aka search engine-friendly design) is totally irrelevant for some bloggers.  Unless you know that being found in search-engines is important for your blog, then  please don't waste any more time on this.

But if you do depend on Google (or Yahoo, Bing, etc) to bring visitors to your blog, read on, then these are the first things that Google suggest you should think about.

I've divided them into three sections:

1. Looking good in the search results
2. Helping Google to understand your pictures
3. Update and keep going.

Looking good in the search results

Blog address

Make sure that your blog's URL is "descriptive and easy-to-read".

The URL is the blog's website address:  you choose it when you first set the blog up, but you can change it again later if you need to, using  Settings > Basic > Publishing in the Blogger dashboard

Many people recommend using a custom domain because it look more professional and like a real website.   But the same "descriptive and easy to read" guideline matters even if you use a blogspot.com address.

An example search-engine results page - if your blog looks good here, then it will get more visitors.

Overall blog title and description

Your blog Title should "Describe your ... [blog very] concise[ly]."

Your blog's Description should "Describe your ... [blog] in a concise, informative phrase."

You can edit these under Settings > Basic > Basic in the Blogger dashboard.

I usually make the title match the blog's URL  (viz http://blogger-hints-and-tips.blogspot.com/ /  Blogger-hints-and-tips) - but it can be a little longer, maybe about five words.

Blogger lets you make the description up to 500 characters long, but I usually recommend less than this - a maximum of 160 is better.

Post title and descriptions

Each post and page needs a title that is concise and informative. 

You set the title in the Post-editor, when you are first writing a post.   And you can change then later by editing the post again after it has been published.

Some people suggest using a catchy phrase that people are likely to share on Facebook, Twitter etc for the first week after you publish a post, and then changing it to a more descriptive phrase (which looks better in search results) after that.

Post descriptions

Meta descriptions are page summaries which are often used by search engines to describe your blog on the search-result listings.

Turn on descriptions in Blogger by

• Going to Settings > Search preferences > Meta-tags in the blogger dashboard.    
• Choosing the choosing "yes" radio button
• Putting the overall summary for the whole blog into the text field.   (I recommend the same one from Settings > Basic > Basic) into the text field
• Clicking Save changes

Once Descriptions are turned on, there will be a Search Description entry in the right-hand Post-settings area each time you edit a post.  Write a short (160 characters or less) unique description for each post into this.

Help Google understand images

File names

Before you load a picture to your blog (or to a photo-hosting service like Picasa-web-albums or Google+ Photos), give it a short, descriptive file name.  

For example, I just made the screen shot that I used in the previous section, and called the file  "seo-basics-meta-description-field-blogger-post-editor.png"

Tagging

Google's sheet just says to Use an �alt� and "title" tag to describes the picture.   I've described this in detail previously - see Telling Google, and visually impaired people, about your pictures

You can also use the "add caption" feature (on the tool-bar when you hover over the picture in the post-editor) to add a short caption describing the picture.

Put information in text, not just pictures

Look again at the picture that I used in the previous section.   When I was making it, I put the 160-characters-long suggestion right inside the picture.   This is useful for readers who see more detail in the photos than the text.   But it's no good for search engines:   Google is clever, but it's still not clever enough to extract reliably the meaning from text you have photographed.

So I made sure that the 160-character advice was in the text, as well as in the picture.

Update and keep going

Lots of people start a blog, and then get discouraged because it's not successful straight away.

But this is a big mistake.  Domain age, ie how long you have had the website address for, is one factor that search-engines take account of. Even if you don't get many visitors in the first year, the fact that your blog has been going for a year and you are still posting to it makes it attractive to Google.

So Google's final piece of advice is to keep going, and to publish new posts on your blog on an on-going basis.  

A few final words from me

Google's advice is a good starting point.   The bottom of their cheat-sheet links to various other good sources too:

• Google SEO Getting Started guide   (a much longer and more detailed version of the cheatsheet)
• Webmaster Academy (a series of instructional videos)
• Webmaster Tools - an online utility that you can use to measure and diagnose SEO issues with your site.

These resources are all good - but they aren't targeted to Blogger users, so sometimes they recommend changes to things we cannot change (eg URL-structrue), or they simply explain things in non-Blogger ways.   So read them, but don't get to worried if you cannot put all their advice into practise.   SEO is one of those areas where even doing some of what is recommended can help a lot.

There are about a zillion websites offering SEO advice too - just google and you will find them.    Look for ones that are up-to-date (the SEO "rules of the game" change often), and have lots of positive comments.

Keyword:  You will see lots of SEO advice about keyword research.   Google do have a free keywords tool - but it looks like it's going away - so don't get hooked on using it.   Overall, my advice is to ignore this for a very long time in your blogging:  focus on writing content that your blog-visitors will want to read, describe it in interesting ways, and the keywords will look after themselves.    

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Related Articles:

Telling Google, and visually impaired people, about your pictures

Using Blogger to make a real website

Editing a blog-post that you have already published

How to put a picture into a blog-post

Introduction to Picasa and Picasa-web-albums

RIP, Google Reader. Google's March 2013 product cancellation summary.

This QuickTip is about Google's March 2013 (spring for them) product retirements, and how they affect Blogger users.

For a while, every time the season changes Google have announced a set of product retirements. This quarter's announcement is just out, and you can find it here.

In short, the changes are:

• Apps Script will stop supporting GUI Builder and five UiApp widgets from September 16, 2013.

• CalDAV API only be available to whitelisted developers, from September 16, 2013. Us Google Calendar's API, instead.

• Google Building Maker will be retired on June 1 2013.

• Google Cloud Connect won't be available from April 30 (use Google Drive's desktop app instead).

• Google Reader stops working on July 1, 2013, Export your subscriptions and use another company's RSS feed-reader. (No recommendations given)

• The Google Voice App for Blackberry won't be supported from next week. (Use Google's HTML5 app with Blackberry version 6 and over instead.)

• The Search API for Shopping, is depricated now and will be turned off on September 16, 2013.

• Snapseed Desktop (Macintosh and Windows) is no longer available for purchase. Existing customers can still download the software and ask for support. (No alternatives recommended, the Snapseed mobile app on iOS and Android is still available free.)

As far as I can see, none of these will have a big impact on people as they use Blogger to maintain their blogs.

But personally I will miss Google-reader: I use it to keep up with the many blogger-helpers that I read, in order to stay on top of what's happening with Blogger overall and to spot areas that need more investigation.

And it worries me that Google are no longer offering a human-useable RSS-feed-reader (ref What is RSS and why does it matter for bloggers?).   Does it make it more-likely that Google will shut down Feedburner in the future? That would hurt a lot of Blogger-users.

Wanted: a Google-reader replacement

Many bloggers, including me, will be looking for a replacement feed-reader.

Recommendations welcome, please leave a comment below!

New resources and help-options for Google AdSense publishers

This Quick-tip is about some new help resources and options that Google has recently introduced for AdSense publishers - including ones who use AdSense through Blogger.

If you put AdSense ads into your blog or website, you are known as a "publisher", because you "publish" materials where advertisements, placed by people known as advertisers, can be placed.

Recently Google announced a simplified, personalized contact options page for AdSense publishers, backed by an an email-based "help" service.

This is a single source for many commonly used AdSense troubleshooting tools and articles, which often help you to resolve problems very quickly.

Some troubleshooters lead to "issue-specific contact forms that generate emails to our team". These are backed by automated tools, that help to fix problems very quickly.

Google say that "The new contact options page, troubleshooters, and specialized contact forms are available to all publishers with an approved AdSense account".

Also, publishers who usually earn $US25 or more a week are now eligible for consultations via email, to help with

• Managing your AdSense account
• Discussing strategies to grow more business.

Account-holders who qualify see an alert about this on the contact options page. Google target a 2-day response time, although they note it may be slower during peak times.

It's not clear whether publishers who were signed up quickly via a publishing partner (like Blogger) will qualify or not.  I cannot test this, because I signed up using the older full-sign-up process - but I'd suspect that they won't.