The cost of entry is to write a blog post that links back to the site running the contest. I think that’s a very cool way of getting some incoming back links and Gobala, who runs the site, offers a link back to anyone who’s making a post, so everyone wins in reality.

So, if you fancy a fun contest, have a look here.

If you have a blog and you ever think about changing your hosting, I’d suggest you allow yourself a lot more time than you think it’ll take – and then double it!

And just like moving house I still have the equivalent of unopened boxes to work through. My theme needs updating and I’ve changed the page structure. I have no idea what that will do navigation, but it’s for the best because my blog wasn’t very well organised where it lived before. It ran quite slow too. I had to optimise the database every few days. The hosting account I’d had for quite some time wasn’t serving me well anymore so it was time to bite the bullet and make some changes.

Well, back to unpacking!

====

Update: I decided that I’d go back to the old permalink structure, because when I reviewed both types I realised I didn’t need to fix what wasn’t broken.

Anyway, I just did a bit of pruning on my database followed by an optimize.

Being distrustful of computers I ran the optimize three times, ‘just in case’, and I’m pleasantly delighted to see that the blog comes up faster than it used to.

It’s also quicker at moving through the various admin panels, which is handy if you’re entering a post.

I guess how often you need to do it depends on how much you post and how often, but it wouldn’t hurt to optimize at least once a month. For a busy blog once a week might be beneficial.

Now, where’s the icon for Outlook? I need to set myself a reminder for next week…

They’ve got some interesting insights into search engine marketing and that’s something that’s becoming more and more of interest to me these days.

I’m especially interested in what they say about the so called ‘Googlopoly’. It seems the FTC might have shot a little warning shot across their bows, after the purchase of Double Click.

I’m not sure Microsoft were too happy about that one either. But let’s be honest, Microsoft have done the same kind of thing in the past.

Anyway, I’ve read a few posts on the blog and some of the insight would actually be pretty useful to anyone wanting to market as effectively as possible. Analysis of trends and the reason behind them is always of benefit.

SEO Company in Austin

I don’t know what that means in terms of using their theme, but I guess at some point it may become a chargeable item.

Think it’s about time I learned how to create a theme fully for myself. I rather like the idea of having something unique. Finding time to learn how to do it properly and then doing it is always going to be a problem though.

From what I’ve seen of various blogs, a good design can make all the difference in usability.