Search Herald

How lame is this!? Mister ex-Britney Spears, Kevin Federline, has launched - get this - his own search engine!!  Not only that, by using his crappy search engine you are automatically entered into a contest to win - get this - tickets to his private birthday party!!  Oh Yeah!!  The newly launched site proudly proclaims, “Every time you search the web you stand a chance of winning a prize from Kevin Federline. Its that simple. Really.”

Now, I hope I don’t shatter anybody’s opinion of Kevin with this information but I’m sorry to have to tell you he did not actually create the search engine technology himself. Search With Kevin is actually just Yahoo with Kevin’s picture on top, along with his catch phrase, ‘Play With Fire!’ Anyway, needless to say from now on I will be using Search with Kevin exclusively for all my searches, I can’t wait until the search bar comes out for Firefox!

Google has just put into beta a program which would allow advertisers to pay affiliates depending on what actions are performed on their website by users once they reach your site.  For example, signing up for a newsletter or filling out a contact form would generate one rate of payment, while purchasing a product or opening an account would generate a different payout. (more…)

Microsoft has released a report detailing their method of seeking out and exposing fake web pages. These are those pages you sometimes are re-directed to through a convoluted series of false-doorways and the like, which consist only of advertising and content which is usually cut and pasted from ‘real’ web pages. Interestingly, Microsoft’s findings show that most of these junk pages come from just two web hosts, and almost 70% of the advertising come from only 3 advertising syndicators. (more…)

I’ve been following with interest the recent metdown occurring with Registerfly and as more and more sordid details see the light of day the story is getting jucier by the minute. The popular domain name registrar has been the source of a growing number of complaints over the past few months. A website, registerflies.com, has even been put up specifically to detail complaints about the embattled company, which finally had their Registration Accomodation Agreement (RAA) revoked by ICANN last Friday. (more…)

I’ve got a problem with GoDaddy. The largest domain name registrar who’s well known Super Bowl commercials brought their name into living rooms across America, has a policy of suspending domain names over accusations of spam, then the user must pay to have the suspension reviewed or have the domain name transferred. This policy seems unethical to me. I’m sure there are legitimate reasons to suspend a domain, but there are definitely people who suffer as a result of these suspensions, businesses who lose customers, sales, etc. (more…)

Almost as important as the overall design of your site is your web hosting provider. You could have the most beautiful site in the world, but if people aren’t able to properly access it or view it, then it serves no useful purpose. This is why it is of the utmost importance that you find a reliable, quality web host with which to host your sites.

The best way to find a good host is to ask other webmasters about their hosting experiences, visit webmaster forums, and check out web hosting review sites. As a webmaster myself, I have found reliable web hosting from V7 Inc that I am very pleased with. Their customer service can’t be beat, and my sites always load up fast. If you’re looking for a reliable web host, I’d strongly encourage you to check out V7 Inc.’s hosting plans.

One thing to keep in mind when looking for a good web host is that typically, you get what you pay for. If you’re hoping to get superior hosting on just $15 per year, you’re going to be very disappointed. That’s not to say, however, that if you pay an arm and a leg for hosting that you’ll never have any problems, but chances are the company is investing in better and more efficient servers and quality customer service and support.

A quality web host is one of the best investments that you can make for your web site. If you’ve had a bad web host before once you find a reliable host, you’ll notice that your visitors will stick around longer and come back more often. And if you run an online business, you might even notice an increase in sales and/or customers.