Community is important because it helps keep visitors coming back. It gives them a reason to visit the portal regularly, sometimes as much as several times a day. Instead being just passive readers of the content on the portal, they are active contributors to the content on the portal. They can comment on stories, exchange messages, and make friends literally from all over the world.

Finding the right way to create community might seem daunting, but it’s really very easy if you have the right information to guide you. You can create just about any kind of look, feel, style, and such for your community so that it reflects you as well as the people who participate there.

Adding interactivity to your site will only make it more popular for your visitors. So how do you do that? There are several ways, adding a message board, or perhaps a chat room or internal messaging system.

There are two ways to get a message board on your web site:

• outsource a pre-created board

• create a message board from scratch on your own server.

Outsourcing a message board

If you outsource, another site builds and hosts the board on their servers and give you certain administrative rights (change the border and background colors, etc.)

Advantages of Outsourcing a Message Board:

• message board is created for you

• convenient - for web sites hosted at free places like Yahoo/Geocities, etc. because many providers don't have the resources that allow you to create a message board from scratch

• no worries about files/messages taking up space on your web server

Disadvantages of Outsourcing a Message Board:

• not as much control over the look and feel of the board

• if your web host goes down, so does your message board

• some companies limit traffic and/or board content

Hmmm, well outsourcing doesn't sound too appealing does it? Well, then, you have the alternative of building a message board from scratch, and house it on your own domain.

Coding a message board from scratch

Advantages of Coding a Message Board From Scratch:

• More control over look and feel of board and no limit on how to edit, configure or reconfigure

• You can make board design match your portal site in looks

• No shut downs, because you own the board

Disadvantages of Coding a Message Board From Scratch:

• Manually uploading files to your web server. You need a basic understanding of how to change permissions on files as most message boards are built in other languages (cgi, PHP, asp, etc.)  Not sure how to do this? Ask your web host.

• You must have your own domain name and be hosted by someone before you can upload scripts.

• You will need to make sure your host gives you the right kind of access to host the board. For instance if you write the board in PHP, find out if the host supports this.

Bottom line? Find a message board that you like, download the files needed to make it work, edit a few things (if you are able to) and save them to your web server. Many of the boards do come with help files for installation and configuration, so it's not as if you would be on your own struggling to figure the message board out.

If you do decide to outsource your message board rather than build it on your own, then you'll need to find a Remotely Hosted message board provider. Which is good if your site is hosted at Yahoo/Geocities, Tripod, Webspawner, AOL, or some other free web space providers that do not let you to create a message board on their server.

How About Installing Message Board Scripts to Your Own Domain Server?

We cannot emphasize this enough – always have your own domain BEFORE you download anything, and check to see if your host provider supports the scripts you are thinking about installing.

Here are some places you can find message board scripts:

• Website Tonight
  This host provides a pre-created forum with your hosting account. No setup involved and you can host it on your own domain.

• VBulletin
  This is rather expensive ($160 +), but likely worth the price if you take a look at all the features you receive. If you're familiar with doing an FTP file upload/download, this isn't too hard to install either.

• PHPBB
  This is really easy to set up and it's also free. Download the files for the board, upload them to your web server using some type of FTP program and change a few permissions to some files. Bango, done! Yes, there is on site documentation. You need to know if you host supports PHP and to be able to create a database (ask your web host)

• WWWBoard Message Board
  This is another free option, but it's not as easy on the eyes to read or follow as PHPBB. Having said that, the layout is really simple with the messages listed in one long list. There are fewer files to upload with this option and it loads quickly.

Adding community to your portal is a great way to increase visitors and repeat traffic. To learn more about getting traffic to your internet  portals drop by this page…

http://www.homebusinessit.com/internetmoneyportal/ 

- Leon Edward

Leon Edward helps people to start, build, market and promote internet home business and ways to  earn money at home at http://www.HomeBusinessIT.com  

A 20 year old plus Legitimate Home Business that can earn you $100 an Hour or More is at
http://www.StartAHomeBusinessFree.com  

Millions of people all over the world are making money online with just a computer and a few hours per week

visit http://www.StartAHomeBusinessFree.com  

 

Fox News TV did a Series of Special reports and in their research revealed a very successful  legitimate work at home business Success University Business that is based on values in pesonal development, success in life, love and finances

As Seen on FOX NEWS TV , This Work At Home Program that is changeing peoples lives, visit http://www.cashmonthlylifetime.com

 Get a Free Internet Business Library, Legitimate Home Business Guide, Home Business Articles, Tips from Leon Edward,  see details here  or at http://www.homebusinessit.com/newsletter

Receive one-of-a-kind business-building arsenal of your own , join the  Home Business Association .Stone Evans will help you earn money from home online as he has helped Millions . Discover 3 Easy Steps to Make Money Online !  If you want to make the most money online , grab your free copy of Website Magazine to Increase Website Traffic and master website optimization .

beginner guide to online day trading  |  Lay Off Your Boss  | Google Business Solution

Make Money Blogging | Internet Business Portal Website | Niche Marketing Business Riches

Step By Step Info-Product Creation Videos | Facebook Business Aplications 

20 Ways to Make $100 A Day From Business Online Step-By-Step - Click Here 

Leon Edward looks at top home businesses and how they perform in key categories at his home business opportunity reviews . Find Online Business Ideas , legitimate home based internet business ideas or open your own ebay business store. Learn How To Sell on ebay , get your free Business Marketing Online Newsletter, FREE Content in his Internet Maketing  Blog and Home Business Blogs , Download his FREE Report  - How to Find A Legitimate Home Business Opportunity without Getting Scammed! - or his Free internet business library all at
http://www.HomeBusinessIT.com  

Focus On The Family Life with Family News , "Best of Web" Articles, Tips Daily on the Topics Your Family Loves: Hobbies, Relationships, Music , Education, Career, Sports, Parenting, Life, Love, Career, Self Improvement, Vacation, Travel...all at  http://www.focusonthefamilylife.com . Learn to Protect Your Child Onlinet Internet Kid Safety witha free  STOP Child Predator Report.


Start Online Business , Earn Money Online, Improve yourself in every aspect of your personal development at Success University . Get Success Tips  and Boost Your Career and respect among peers. Improve IQ , Goal Setting ,  Public Speaking , Career Development   at Success University .

Let The Power of The Subconscious Mind guide you , learn how to reprogram your mind power for success .

Get Off to a Top Earning Start  your first year in network marketing and learn how to generate leads at lead mlm  . .

Posted by Leon Edward at 08:14 PM | Permalink

Keyword Research & SEO Page Format For Portals

It cannot be emphasized often enough it seems, as there are hundreds of sites on the Internet that do not have keywords nor meta tags. Lovely sites, but nothing that would draw traffic. Which obviously means they are costing their owners money, lost traffic, and no purchases etc.

If you want traffic you must take the time to choose your keywords carefully. There are tools on the Internet to help you choose keywords. For instance, try out Google Trends (or Yahoo Keyword Tools) – it lets you compare general keyword search popularity on a graph. This visual representation makes it easier to read and understand. Unfortunately, they don't give you the actual number of searches. But no mind, you can do a manual search as well.

For a manual search just go to your competitor's web sites, take a gander at their keywords and do some analyzing. Run the words through Word Tracker and check on KEI (key effectiveness index). You should begin to notice, after doing a number of comparisons, consistent patterns for the keywords used. Those repeated often, are words used to search for your product/business.

If you use pay per click or cost per click (terms often used interchangeably) through Yahoo or Google, they give you another method of calculating the popularity of keyword phrases. They will tell you how many people search for the keywords you add. As stand alone terms, PPC means payment on click-throughs and CPC is a measurement of cost on a per-click basis for contracts (not based on click throughs).

Another tool you can try is called Good Keywords, which by the way, is FREE. If you have a search function on your portal/site, check the search logs. It will give you an idea of the terms people are searching for. If you don't have a search function on your site, you can find one for free at FreeFind. (http://www.freefind.com/) These are great tools, because once they kick in after you've set them up, they'll be emailing you with reports on the top searched for keywords on your site. The thing with researching keywords is this, it takes a lot of time because you only get little pieces of the puzzle as you search. However, if you can stick it out, it will be worth your while.

Where do I find these keyword sites?

• Google’s Keyword Tool: https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal

• Overture’s (Yahoo! Search Marketing) Keyword Selector Tool:
  http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion

• Wordtracker:
  http://www.wordtracker.com/ pay $7.73 for 1 day of keyword research.

• NicheBot:
  http://www.nichebot.com/

• FreeFind:
  http://www.freefind.com/

• Google Trends:
  http://www.google.com/trends

The other thing you need to do with keywords is to keep it simple and consistent. Use only one keyword phrase per page, but do not be too general. Keep it simple (the keyword) but specific. And while that may sound like a tall order, it's actually easy to just check with Google or Yahoo and find out what words were searched for and how many times. The trick is to not go with the flow, but to be different and ahead of the pack. You will know what words to use when you see the trends emerging in keyword searches. Look for keywords that do not have much for competition. Also remember that getting a high search engine ranking is not your only objective. Web site traffic and conversions should be the objective.

Your next trick is to be consistent, and by this we mean use the exact SAME keyword phrase in ALL of the following page elements – and you don't need to just use ONE word, oft times a descriptive phrase works well.

• your page title

• your meta title – the title tag is the most important location on a web page after the main content of the body tag. Almost all search engines give importance to this tag.

• your meta keywords - Some search engines give importance to the presence of the keyword in the meta description and keyword tag

• your meta description - Some search engines give importance to the presence of the keyword in the meta description and keyword tag

• your header tags from h1 to h4

• your tags

• use your exact same keyword phrase four times in the body copy - The first two paragraphs are extremely important in search engine optimization.

• use your exact same keyword phrase at least once in a URL link

• make a folder with the keyword phrase as its name, remember to use hyphens between multiple words

To learn more about keyword research, search engine optimization and getting more traffic from the search engines check this page:

 http://www.homebusinessit.com/internetmoneyportal/

- Leon Edward

Leon Edward helps people to start, build, market and promote internet based home businesses and ways to  earn money at home at http://www.HomeBusinessIT.com

Get a Free Internet Business Library, Legitimate Home Business Guide, Home Business Articles, Tips from Leon Edward,  see details here  or at http://www.homebusinessit.com/newsletter

Leon Edward Recommends Other Home Business Ideas ,

A 20 year old plus Legitimate BBB Business that can earn you $100 an Hour or More is at
http://www.StartAHomeBusinessFree.com  

 

Fox News TV did a Series of Special reports and in their research revealed a very successful  legitimate work at home business Success University Business that is based on values in pesonal development, success in life, love and finances

As Seen on FOX NEWS TV , This Work At Home Program that is changeing peoples lives, visit http://www.cashmonthlylifetime.com

Receive one-of-a-kind business-building arsenal of your own , join the  Home Business Association .Stone Evans will help you earn money from ome online as he has helped Millions . Discover 3 Easy Steps to Make Money Online !  If you want to make the most money online , grab your free copy of Website Magazine to Increase Website Traffic and master website optimization .

beginner guide to online day trading  |  Lay Off Your Boss  | Google Business Solution

Make Money Blogging | Internet Business Portal Website | Niche Marketing Business Riches

Step By Step Info-Product Creation Videos | Facebook Business Aplications 

20 Ways to Make $100 A Day From Business Online Step-By-Step - Click Here 

Leon Edward looks at top home businesses and how they perform in key categories at his home business opportunity reviews . Find Online Business Ideas , legitimate home based internet business ideas or open your own ebay business store. Learn How To Sell on ebay , get your free Business Marketing Online Newsletter, FREE Content in his Internet Maketing  Blog and Home Business Blogs , Download his FREE Report  - How to Find A Legitimate Home Business Opportunity without Getting Scammed! - or his Free internet business library all at
http://www.HomeBusinessIT.com  

Focus On The Family Life with Family News , "Best of Web" Articles, Tips Daily on the Topics Your Family Loves: Hobbies, Relationships, Music , Education, Career, Sports, Parenting, Life, Love, Career, Self Improvement, Vacation, Travel...all at  http://www.focusonthefamilylife.com . Learn to Protect Your Child Onlinet Internet Kid Safety witha free  STOP Child Predator Report.


Start Online Business , Earn Money Online, Improve yourself in every aspect of your personal development at Success University . Get Success Tips  and Boost Your Career and respect among peers. Improve IQ , Goal Setting ,  Public Speaking , Career Development   at Success University .

Let The Power of The Subconscious Mind guide you , learn how to reprogram your mind power for success .

Get Off to a Top Earning Start  your first year in network marketing and learn how to generate leads at lead mlm  . .

Posted by Leon Edward at 05:15 AM | Permalink

Let's say you have decided to start your first article for your portal site. You have decided to make it a general article, an overview about horses. You have two options here. You can do up an outline, do the research and write it yourself, or you can use an article directory.

An article directory is, in plain English, a source of well-written original articles that are free for the printing on your web portal. What a time saver! Here's an example of a horse article from an article directory that you could use on your horse portal. This will give you an idea of the quality and detail of articles you could source for your site.

You will notice the article has a good overview of some of the areas you wished to cover in your map. A word about article directories. With some of them you cannot alter content and must use all links mentioned in articles. You must also leave the author's name on the article. This may work for you so long as it is a quality article, as your whole point is to provide good horse information for your horse portal site.

Before we continue, here's another suggestion for article content that you do not have to write. You can source private label rights articles from writer's groups who specialize in writing good, stand alone pieces for web site publication. Generally a "package" of articles is 25 on a variety of things relating to your chosen subject. For instance, you could source a package relating to horses, and get everything from ground training to care for the senior horse.

Private Label rights articles do come with a price tag, but are not horrendously expensive and may be well worth considering. For instance, if you join a PLR club you can get hundreds of PLR articles for as little as 15 cents or 20 cents each. Also, with these articles, you can alter them in any manner you want.

Warning: Always cross check the facts in any article you use that you have not written.

Example starts here: (for the sake of brevity, we have not produced the whole article)

Depending on breed, management and environment, the domestic horse today has a life expectancy of 25 to 30 years. It is uncommon, but a few horses live into their 40s, and, occasionally, beyond. The oldest verifiable record was "Old Billy," a horse that lived in the 19th century to the age of 62. The size of horses varies by breed, but can also be influenced by nutrition. The general rule for cutoff in height between what is considered a horse and a pony at maturity is 14.2 hands(h or hh) (147 cm, 58 inches) as measured at the withers. An animal 14.2h or over is usually considered a horse and one less than 14.2 hh is considered to be a pony.

However, there are exceptions to the general rule. Some smaller horse breeds who typically produce individual horses both under and over 14.2h are considered "horses" regardless of height. Likewise, some pony breeds, such as the Pony of the Americas or the Welsh cob, share some features of horses and individual animals may occasionally mature at over 14.2h, but are still considered ponies. The difference between a horse and pony is not simply a height difference, but also a difference in phenotype or appearance. There are noticeable differences in conformation and temperament. Ponies often exhibit thicker manes, tails and overall coat. They also have proportionally shorter legs, wider barrels, heavy bone, thick necks, and short heads with broad foreheads.

Light horses such as Arabians, Morgans, Quarter Horses, Paints and Thoroughbreds usually range in height from 14.0 (142 cm) to 16.0 hands (163 cm) and can weigh from 386 kg (850 lbs) to about 680 kg (1500 lbs). Heavy or draft horses such as the Clydesdale, Belgian, Percheron, and Shire are usually at least 16.0 (163 cm) to 18.0 hands (183 cm) high and can weigh from about 682 kg (1500 lb) up to about 900 kg (2000 lb). Ponies are less than 14.2h, but can be much smaller, down to the Shetland pony at around 10 hands, and the Falabella, which can be the size of a medium-sized dog. The miniature horse is smaller than either of the aforementioned ponies but is classified as a very small horse rather than pony despite its size. The largest horse in history was a Shire horse named Sampson, later renamed Mammoth, foaled in 1846 in Bedfordshire, England. He stood 21.2 hands high (i.e. 7 ft 2 in or 2.20 m ), and his peak weight was estimated at over 3,300 lb (approx 1.5 tones). The current record holder for the world's smallest horse is Thumbelina, a fully mature miniature horse affected by dwarfism. She is 17 inches tall and weighs 60 pounds.

Horse breeding

Pregnancy lasts for approximately 335-340 days and usually results in one foal (male: colt, female: filly). Twins are rare. Colts are usually carried 2-7 days longer than fillies. Females 4 years and over are called mares and males are stallions. A castrated male is a gelding. Horses, particularly colts, may sometimes be physically capable of reproduction at approximately 18 months but in practice are rarely allowed to breed until a minimum age of 3 years, especially females. Horses four years old are considered mature, though the skeleton usually finishes developing at the age of six, and the precise time of completion of development also depends on the horse's size (therefore a connection to breed exists), gender, and the quality of care provided by its owner.

End of example!

If you would rather write your own articles, then plot your article in point form before you start (much like plotting the portal contents). Once you know what you need to research, find what you need on the Internet or other sources, add in some personal experience, and you will have a quality, finished article.

And why are articles just so darned important? You can do wonderful things with them. Whether or not you write them yourself, or have someone write them for you and you re-write them to make them your own – content IS KING! And content is what feeds search engines. Look at it this way. Why do people go online (aside from gamers and people just checking their emails)? They go online to search the Internet for information.

Well, as luck would have it, they can find that information on the aptly named Information Super Highway. And that information highway is paved with articles chock full of? Right - information. Who supplies this information? Well, lots of people do, but so should YOU!

Ok, we know search engines love content, so if you give them articles on a regular basis, guess what? They stop by your site more often. Translation: higher rankings in the search engines. So find or create an article and feed the spiders. Remember though, that if you find one in an article directory, try to personalize it, unless the directory won't allow you to do that. If you have one written for you, make it your own with your own slant on things. If you write it, again, use your own unique voice.

Why feed engines with article food? Another reason is website owners and people who send out newsletters always need them frequently to keep their submissions fresh. And get this, these articles once up and fresh, will be archived when new stuff comes along. But, your article will have life long residual traffic because of that. This is of course if you put your website information and URL into the resource box at the end of the article.

And while we're on that subject – resource box use that is – when you offer free information (in your free content article) along with reprint rights, and it gets into the article directory of a site with a high popularity ranking, guess what happens? YOUR site gets a popularity ranking boost because it is linked to the site that already has a high popularity ranking. This is piggy backing at its very best. Actually, there's another word for this as well. It's called viral marketing. Simply put – because you offer reprint rights, when the websites/newsletter people publish them, they go all over the place – like a virus. Hence – viral explosion causing traffic to come to your site (thanks to the resource box again)

We are not done yet with reasons to have fresh content. You can syndicate them via Real Simple Syndication (RSS). If you write regularly set up an RSS feed for surfers/site owners to opt in to – so you'd be syndicating your content to them. You can also submit your RSS feeds to RSS search engines and directories. Isn't the web an exciting and challenging tool? Opt ins of course generate free traffic.

Let's look at blogs. They need information on a regular basis as well. If you provide quality information to a blog, the owner might just post your article(s) for all to read and bingo – more traffic to your site/portal. By the way, blogs use RSS to syndicate content to search engines, RSS search engines and directories. Yup, MORE free traffic.

Who else needs content? Info Product developers do. That's when you get an E-book with related articles inside it from other authors. A free E-book that is. If your article winds up in one of those? Well, you've just become another part of the whole package of viral marketing for the E-book. And when that book makes the rounds on the Internet, you get more traffic.

Last, but hardly least, is the fact that when you post articles on a regular basis, you will become a recognized expert on your subject (your horse portal is looking really good now isn't it?) Chock full of those great articles you are posting. Remember, with every article you post,you get all of the above happening, with just that one article. Think about what could happen if you posted more than one article. Incredible isn't it?

Where you can find some article directories

• http://goarticles.com/

• http://www.articlebeach.com/

• http://www.articlealley.com/

• http://qwikezine.com/

• http://www.articleclick.com/Category/Domain-Names/93

• http://www.articlesbase.com/

• http://www.articleonlinedirectory.com/

• http://ezinearticles.com/

• http://www.positivearticles.com/

• http://www.freecoachingarticles.com/

• http://www.articlepros.com/

• http://articlecrux.com/

- Leon Edward

Leon Edward helps people to start, build, market and promote internet based home businesses and ways to  earn money at home at http://www.HomeBusinessIT.com

Get a Free Internet Business Library, Legitimate Home Business Guide, Home Business Articles, Tips from Leon Edward,  see details here  or at http://www.homebusinessit.com/newsletter

Leon Edward Recommends Other Home Business Ideas ,

A 20 year old plus Legitimate BBB Business that can earn you $100 an Hour or More is at
http://www.StartAHomeBusinessFree.com  

 

Fox News TV did a Series of Special reports and in their research revealed a very successful  legitimate work at home business Success University Business that is based on values in pesonal development, success in life, love and finances

As Seen on FOX NEWS TV , This Work At Home Program that is changeing peoples lives, visit http://www.cashmonthlylifetime.com

Receive one-of-a-kind business-building arsenal of your own , join the  Home Business Association .Stone Evans will help you earn money from ome online as he has helped Millions . Discover 3 Easy Steps to Make Money Online !  If you want to make the most money online , grab your free copy of Website Magazine to Increase Website Traffic and master website optimization .

beginner guide to online day trading  |  Lay Off Your Boss  | Google Business Solution

Make Money Blogging | Internet Business Portal Website | Niche Marketing Business Riches

Step By Step Info-Product Creation Videos | Facebook Business Aplications 

20 Ways to Make $100 A Day From Business Online Step-By-Step - Click Here 

Leon Edward looks at top home businesses and how they perform in key categories at his home business opportunity reviews . Find Online Business Ideas , legitimate home based internet business ideas or open your own ebay business store. Learn How To Sell on ebay , get your free Business Marketing Online Newsletter, FREE Content in his Internet Maketing  Blog and Home Business Blogs , Download his FREE Report  - How to Find A Legitimate Home Business Opportunity without Getting Scammed! - or his Free internet business library all at
http://www.HomeBusinessIT.com  

Focus On The Family Life with Family News , "Best of Web" Articles, Tips Daily on the Topics Your Family Loves: Hobbies, Relationships, Music , Education, Career, Sports, Parenting, Life, Love, Career, Self Improvement, Vacation, Travel...all at  http://www.focusonthefamilylife.com . Learn to Protect Your Child Onlinet Internet Kid Safety witha free  STOP Child Predator Report.