How To Add A Delicious Button To Blogger Posts?

This post basically features with the addition of a delicious button to every blogger post. It is very similar to addition of digg button(How To Add A Digg Button To Blogger Posts), which you encountered in the last post under the "Design Tips" category. I would stress on adding delicious bookmarks on top of the every blog post apart from the ones installed below the blogger posts because many advertisers favor them. For example, you may check out BuySellAds site and you will find that, they take into account the number of delicious bookmarks for evaluating a site.

So, what is a Delicious? Delicious, formerly known as del.icio.us, is basically yet another social bookmarking site for storing, sharing, and discovering bookmarks. It was found in the year 2003 and later acquired by Yahoo in the year 2005. It includes more 5.3 million users and 180 million unique bookmarked URLs. So, the stats will tell the complete story about the strength of this site. Have a look at the final output of this post.How do I get my posts/links bookmarked? Just add the button in your blog and wait for your readers to bookmark it. Hope, some one will bookmark this post:) Now, let's straight away move to the steps for installing this button on our blogger posts.
1. Navigate to Design->Edit HTML from your blogger dashboard. Now, click on the Expand Widget Templates, that is ensure that there is a tick mark.
2. Search for the following code.

]]></b:skin>

3. Download this text file: CSS For The Delicious Button.
4. Copy the code in the text file and paste it just above the line mentioned in step 2.
5. Now, expand your template and search for the following piece of code.

<div class='post-header-line-1'>

6. Download this text: Code For The Delicious Button.
7. Copy the code in the text file and paste it just below the line mentioned in step 5.
8. Save your template.
(Note:The button will be visible only on the post pages and not on your home page. So, please check your post page rather than the home page to preview your button.)

If you find the button on the top right corner of your blogger post, it means you have successfully installed the button on your blog. For further customizations like displaying the button to the top left corner or bottom of the posts or if you face any problem in installing the scripts, leave a comment below and I will help you solve the problem!!

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AdvertiseSpace Review | Make Money with AdvertiseSpace

It has been a long time since, I posted some stuff related to money making. May be it is because, I don't make any money out of this blog right now. But, I know my blog's potential and its reach. Many bloggers have faced the same problem which I face now. I would say this is the testing time for my blog and I believe I can overcome the existing scenario. At present, I have set a goal of 100$ per month and I strive hard to make it. I feel, this site "AdvertiseSpace" will make some contribution to that short term goal.

Join AdvertiseSpace now!!!

As I said earlier, I had been struggling for the past few weeks to bring back the reputation and traffic which my blog had earlier, when it was on the blogspot domain. But, believe me or not, I got a mail from the Marketing Manager of Advertise Space. It stated as follows,

"We came across your site and we think you have a fantastic Blogging tips blog there, and would like to personally invite you to test out AdvertiseSpace.com as an additional revenue source for your blog. Some blogs who have been trying our new advertising system have sold out their ad space within 24 hours. We think that some of our advertisers would love your site as well. Your site has been pre-approved by our team, so please feel free to register here, and we will make sure to accept the site right away."

The above statements inspired me and still inspires me to improve my blog. It gives me a sense that the approach towards improving my blog is correct. It has triggered the fire in me and I am constantly trying to increase the visitors and readership for my blog. Although I have not yet made any amount with Advertise Space, I recommend everyone to give it a try.

Above all, do not weigh them on the lower side just because they took the first step to sign up publishers like me. If that's running in your mind, then please chuck it off!! They wish to serve quality ads to their advertisers. So, they are fishy and want to be more specific in approving blogs to their database.

They pay through PayPal on weekly basis and the minimum amount to cash out is $25. More over, the site includes a featured listing (VIP blogs) where in, only the best blogs under each category are displayed to the advertiser. Once, you get into that list, it is clear that some day or the other, an advertiser would approach your blog. Before you sign up, ensure that your blog has enough content and reasonable traffic so that, your blog has a higher probability for approval.

I would say, this site is very similar to BuySellAds excepting that the procedure to approve our blogs is little different. The site clearly states that, "Acceptance will be based on: original content, number of readers and user engagement, rather than Google PR, Alexa, ComScore and other marketing analytics." Therefore, no harm in trying. Just give it a shot and share your views via comments!!! Don't forget to let me know, which website generates more penny for your blog now:)

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Free Premium Blogger Templates - Pure Magazine

This post deals with yet another premium blogger template namely, "Pure Magazine". This template is basically a three column blogger template designed by "Lasantha Bandara". The template appears to be a two column one with a right sidebar which later splits into two making the template a three column one and provides ample space to equip all the possible widgets. Check out the screen shot of the template below or click on the link below it to have a live demo of the template.

Live Demo | Download Pure Magazine Blogger Template For Free

The template carries a complete professional look from the header to the footer. It includes two navigation bars, ready to use 468x60 banner ads space on the header, comes with the read more hack installed by default, featured content with numbered navigation below it, a ready to use subscribe widget with twitter and facebook links in it and so on. More over, the template is very SEO friendly which includes ready to use META tags for description and keywords. It ensures that your blog ranks better in Google search with the title hacks installed.

The template comes with a customized comments section to enable avatars for blogger comments. More over, the template includes a four column footer rather than a three column one giving you enough space for displaying almost all the widgets possible over the blogosphere. If I had to continue my review about this template, then I am pretty sure I will be boring you with the advantages only. So, I stop my blabbering here!! Just give it a shot!! Please leave your valuable feedback about the template via comments!!

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How To Add Digg Button To Blogger Posts?

I have recently added a tweet me button(Add Tweet/Retweet Button To Your Blog) with counter on the top right corner of my blog posts. Although, the social bookmarks are already available at the end of each post, I have installed the same on top of each blog post just to increase the visibility of them. The buttons must be readily available for the visitor to bookmark rather than scrolling to the end of post, searching them and then bookmarking it. More feasible the buttons are, more the probability of getting your posts spread over the net. Simply, means more visitors to your blog!!!

This post deals with adding a digg button to blogger posts. Before we install the digg button on our blogs, we must know, what is digg??? Wiki defines it as, "Digg is social news website". Perfectly right!! But, I would say it is a user driven social news website. So, what does digg do to my blog? Very Simple!! Nothing but, drives more traffic to your blog!! That is what all bloggers want!! So, lets straight away get to our work by adding this button on our blogger/blogspot blogs. Before we start off, just have a look at the screen shot below for a preview of the final output.
Follow the steps carefully!! Before trying this widget, please make sure that you have a back up of your template so that, if anything goes wrong, you can always upload the earlier version of your template!! To make a back up of your template, just navigate to Design->Edit HTML and click on the download full template. Once you make a back up, you can start off with following steps.

1. Navigate to Design->Edit HTML from your blogger dashboard. Now, click on the Expand Widget Templates, that is ensure that there is a tick mark.
2. Search for the following code.

<data:post.body/>

3. Now, copy the following piece of code and paste it just below the line mention in step 2.

<b:if cond='data:blog.pageType == "item"'>
<div style='float:right; margin-left:14px;'>
<script type='text/javascript'>
digg_url="<data:post.url/>";
</script>
<script src='http://digg.com/tools/diggthis.js' type='text/javascript'/>
</div>
</b:if>

4. Once, you paste the above code. Save your template. That is it!! Very Simple!! Isn't' it??

(Note: If you want the digg button to appear at the top left corner, then just interchange the words right and left in the code mentioned in step 3. Moreover, if you have enabled the post pages on your blog, you will not be able to see the buttons on the homepage. So, visit the post pages to have a look at the final output!!!)

You may place the code mentioned in step 3 in different places in your template area. Below the post section, next to the post titles and so on. If you need help regarding the installation at any specific part of your template apart from the usual place explained in this post, then you may contact me via mail or just leave your comments below and I would be happy to help you!!! Always, feel free to share your thoughts via comments:)

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Free Premium Blogger Templates - Country Press

Hi friends!! I present to you yet another premium blogger template namely, "The Country Press Blogger Template". I found this template when I searched for the keyword "premium blogger templates". I felt this template looks more attractive and professional when compared to other templates of the same category. This template was initially designed for Wordpress which was converted to blogger by "Lasantha Bandara - Premium Blogger Templates". Before I start my review, check out the screen shot of the template below or click on the link to have a live demo of the template.

Live Demo | Download Country Press Blogger Template For Free

(Note: To download the same template without the sliding featured content, please click here : Download Country Press Blogger Template Without The Slider For Free.)

Country Press is basically a two column blogger template with a left sided sidebar rather than usual right sided sidebars. As we have seen in our previous series of posts on free premium blogger templates like "The Masunurin Blogger Template" or "The Grante Blogger Template" or "The Mimoza Blogger Template", this template also comes with ready to use social bookmarking buttons. The template attracts a lot of visitors at its first sight because of its wonderful color combination(Black and Saffron with White background for posts).

The main feature of this template would be the sliding featured content. How ever, this template has two versions. One with the sliding feature widget installed while the other without it. If you wish to add this widget(Sliding Featured Content) to your blog, then visit this link for step by step instructions: Add A Sliding Featured Content To Blogger. As found in many of the premium blogger templates, this template also provides two navigation bars and a space in the header for displaying 468x60 banner ads. Above all, this template is SEO friendly and comes with the page navigation widget installed for blogger.

How ever, this template lacks a footer section, it could be either a three column or a four column footer. To add this to your blog or to this template, just visit the following link: "Add Three Column Footer To Your Blog". Overall, a very good template to install especially for the newbies. Let me know if you liked this template or not. Feel free to leave your opinions via comments!!!

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How To Speed Up Your Blogger/Blogspot Blog?

Basically, the speed with which your blog loads is inversely proportional to the time it takes to load. I have explained this post in terms of reducing the load time. I found an article which mentioned that even the site/blog load time contributes significantly to the Google PR. So, how do I find out whether my site load time is quick or slow. If you need an answer to this question, then visit the following link "Website Optimization Speed Report" and enter your URL.

Scroll to the end of the report page and you will notice various sections say TOTAL_HTML, TOTAL_OBJECT and so on. Each section will be highlighted either in red or green or yellow. So, what do they indicate. The report will clearly explain the color and its significance. How ever, I would like to briefly say that, it indicates the areas where you need to concentrate so as to improve the speed of loading your website. Red indicates immediate attention while yellow indicates moderate attention and green signifies an optimal performance.

I suggest you to read each and every line of that report before you proceed with this post. The report will clearly specify what scripts or images can be compressed and how much bytes could be saved by doing so. Once you have analyzed the above report, it is time to take few steps to reduce the load time. Although, there are various methods through which the load time can be reduced, I restrict myself to the most effective methods in this post. Now, let's move on to the methods!!!

1. SIMPLY THE CSS SECTION: This method involves the compression of the CSS section of your blogger template. To do this, just visit the following link "Free Web Based CSS Compressor" and paste the CSS part of your blogger template. Once you paste the code, hit the compress button and you will find the reduced version of the CSS code. Now, replace this code instead of the CSS part of your template and save it. Ensure that, there is no problem after replacing the code by having a preview of your blog.

(Note: Before trying this step, please make a back up of your template. More over, the CSS part of your template is the code which lies between the <b:skin> and </b:skin>code.)

2. POSTS ON HOMEPAGE: The earlier versions of blogger/blogspot blogs did not include the "Read More" hack and people displayed the entire post on the blogs. How ever, this trend has reduced in the new version of blogger to some extent. Still, there are blogs where in , the home page includes so many number of posts that it becomes completely annoying for the visitor who visits the blog. Apart from losing a visitor, you lose the impressions and the bounce rate of your blog also increases. (To know more about Bounce Rate, visit the following link "How To Reduce The Bounce Rate Of Your Blog?"). So, reduce the number of posts on your home page. To do so, navigate to Settings->Formatting from dashboard and enter 4 or 5 for your blog with the "Read More" hack installed in your blog.

3. IMAGES OF YOUR BLOG: The images displayed in your blog play a very vital role in your site load time. The images when hosted at different sites say "Imageshack, Photobucket, etc.." contribute a significant load time. This is due to the diversity of your images, that is, your images have to be fetched from different servers. To avoid this, you may use a single server to host your images. Say use only Photobucket to host all your images. Thereby, you fetch multiple images from only one server and it reduces the load time drastically. Moreover, you may compress the images which you host, thereby the images will load faster than what it did, before compression.

4. AVOID SCRIPTS: The scripts that are included in your blog template also plays a vital role in the loading time of your website. Try to remove the scripts which you feel are unwanted. Apart from the scripts, remove the widgets which are unnecessary from your blog too. So, how do I decide a widget is important or not? Just ask the following questions to your self and you will have a conclusion. Firstly, Does the widget offer some value to your readers? Secondly, Does the widget match with your template, that is, provides an overall professional look? And lastly, Do you receive complains from your blog readers about the widget(say it disturbs them from reading the post)??? If you end up answering "No" to the first two questions or "Yes" to the last question, then I recommend you to remove that widget now!!

To be very frank, I know that my very own blog say, "Everything About Blogging | Free Premium Blogger Templates" is not a perfect example for an optimal blog load time. I am currently working on this area to reduce the load time of my own blog. As I find out more effective methods, this post will have another series. However, please feel free to share your ideas of reducing the blog load time too via comments.

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Free Premium Blogger Templates - Grante

As I said in my previous post on Free Premium Blogger Templates, I have become more specific in choosing the blogger templates. But, with respect to this template namely, "Grante Blogger Template", I never had a second thought say whether to post it or not. This template is basically a two column template which was originally designed for Word Press. It was converted to blogger by "themecraft.net". You may have a look at the template by checking the screen shot below or click on the demo link to have a live demo of the template.

Live Demo | Download Grante Blogger Template For Free

So, I would like to highlight few important features of this template. To start off, I would recommend this template to all the newbies who think of changing their template from the default blogger template because I feel this template gives a very good impression at its first look. Moving on to its features, it has got ready to use social bookmarking buttons at the right sidebar.

The template also provides an attractive RSS feed and twitter icon at the top of the blog, next to the search bar. This template provides only one navigation bar which is located below the title/header. Also, the "Read More" hack can be enabled for this template with ease. The only disadvantage with this template would be the footer section. I find this section missing in many of the blogger templates. How ever, we add one if you know a little about CSS and HTML coding. If not, just visit this link (Add A Stylish Footer To Your Blog) and you can add a footer in seconds.

Overall, I would recommend this template all the newbies and even the pro's to some extent. The template is feasible for changes in text type, font color, size and so on. These customizations would be little difficult for the newbies. However, the pro's would master this and make this template, the way they want. Hope you enjoyed this template and the upcoming series of "Free Premium Blogger Templates".

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Free Premium Blogger Templates - Mimoza

For the past few weeks, I am working on the keyword "Free Premium Blogger Templates". So, you will find every template that is posted here with the heading as "Free Premium Blogger Templates" followed by the title of the template. It does not mean that I post some non sense under this category. I just want to convey my message that I have become more specific in choosing the templates which I post here. Today, I present to you one such specifically chosen premium blogger template namely, "The Mimoza Blogger Template".

Live Demo | Download Mimoza Blogger Template For Free

Before I explain the features of this template, you may preview this template by having a look at the screen shot above or just click on the demo link to check out the live demo of this template. To start off, Mimoza Blogger Template is a two column blogger template. It includes features like the sliding featured content(click here to install featured content on your blogger template), default ad blocks, social bookmarking icons and so on...

I feel the two important features that make this template stand unique would be the sliding featured content widget and the social bookmarking icons. The color combination in this template is excellent. More over, the side bars, the post area and the the rest of the template have straight bends rather than curved corners which makes it more elegant and adds a professional touch to the blog. The template also provides two navigation menus, one above the header and the other below it, for better navigation.

The template, however, carries one disadvantage with it. As we saw in the Masunurin Blogger Template, this template also lacks a three/four column footer. How ever, you may add a three column footer to the template if you know little HTML coding and CSS for styling. If not, contact me and I will help you do the same. Just try installing this template and I hope you enjoy this template and the upcoming series of "Free Premium Blogger Templates".

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Add "About the Author" Box Below Every Blogger Post

Hi friends!! I found a lot of Wordpress blogs that include an "About the Author " box/widget below every blog post. So, I thought why not provide the same for the blogger/blogspot blogs. If you had closely watched my blog posts for the past few days, you will find the "About the Author" box/widget installed below every blog post. This new hack will definitely helpful all those bloggers who have multiple authors for their blogspot blogs. If you still have a small confusion about the widget, then have a look at this screen shot below.
I hope you are clear about the widget now. If you like to install this widget on your blog, then please follow the following steps.
1. Go to "Design->Edit HTML. Make a backup of your template before modifying the HTML by clicking on the "Download full template" link at the top of the page.
2. Search for the following line in your template. Use "CTRL+F" to fasten your search.

]]></b:skin>

3. Add the following piece of code just above the line mentioned in step 2.

.author-box {
background: #F7F7F7;
margin: 20px 0 40px 0;
padding: 10px;
border: 1px solid #E6E6E6;
overflow: auto;
}
.author-box p {
margin: 0;
padding: 0;
}
.author-box img {
background: #FFFFFF;
float: left;
margin: 0 10px 0 0;
padding: 4px;
border: 1px solid #E6E6E6;
}

4. Save your template and check if it is error free. Now, expand your blogger template and search for the following piece of code in your blog template.

<div class='post-footer-line post-footer-line-1'/>

5. Download the following text document - About the Author Widget For Blogger. Open the text document and copy the entire code in it. Now, paste the code below the line mentioned in step 4.
(Note: Please write about yourself instead of the following text mentioned in the document, "Write About Yourself/Fellow Blogger Here!!!". Also, add your twitter name instead of the following text "YOURUSERNAME".)
6. Save your template. The code will automatically appear only in the post pages and will not be visible in the home page. Just go check out your individual post pages and you will find the widget installed.

I hope you enjoyed this post!! For any help, please feel free to leave your comments here!! I will sort out any of the issue with respect to this hack. Also, try spreading this post to your friends if you feel it is worth spreading:)

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How To Reduce Your Blog's Bounce Rate?

This post basically explains the following questions: What are Analytics?? What is a bounce rate?? How vital it is?? How to reduce the bounce rate of your blog?? Once you build a website or a blog, your primary aim is to increase the traffic to it, in other words, you try to attract as many people as possible. This could be achieved by the adding your posts to various social bookmarking sites, participating in forums and so on.

Do you think, it is enough if we just increase the traffic to our blog??? Definitely not!!! You need to analyze the traffic or statistics(analytics) of your blog. So, What are Analytics? To keep it very simple, it is a tool to measure your site's performance. It displays various data regarding your blog and bounce rate is one such data. Most of the newbies install Google Analytics on their blogs but they do not know, how to interpret these data. I restrict myself to explain only about "Bounce Rate" in this post.

So, What is a Bounce Rate? Wikipedia defines it as, "Bounce rate is a term used in web site traffic analysis. It essentially represents the percentage of initial visitors to a site who “bounce” away to a different site, rather than continue on to other pages within the same site." I feel the statement is pretty self-explanatory.

To keep it very simple, bounce rate simply represents those percentage of visitors who move away to some other site after visiting a page on your website. You may find the percentage for "Bounce Rate" on the right corner below the graph once you log in to your Google Analytics Account. Higher the bounce rate, more the number of people leave your blog after a single web page visit.As per the definition, an ideal percentage of bounce rate would be zero. Practically speaking, a bounce rate below 60% is good for any blog. So, our only task is to make him/her stay in our blog or in other words, just get the second click out of the visitor. Though, it appears to be very easy, it is one such area that even probloggers constantly work upon.. I am pretty sure few ideas would have cropped if you clearly understood the post till this. You may implement your ideas but, do consider the following methods in reducing the bounce rate.

1. Clean Template: The first impression is always the best impression and you can gain that best impression only when your blog looks clean and tidy. It is not necessary that it should look very professional but, it should be clean. I mean the widgets should be placed properly, broken links should be updated and so on.

2. Quality Content And Keywords: Content is always the king!! So, it is very important that your blog provides quality content. Please, ensure that the keywords are relevant to the content of your blog. It is important that both the keywords and content go hand in hand or else you end up providing the wrong information to the search engines. By doing this, you lose the second click from the visitor.

3. Internal Links: This serves to be the most effective way of reducing a blog's bounce rate. When you provide links which are relevant to the content, within your blog, it is obvious that the user makes a click on it and thereby, he keeps hopping around your blog. In fact, you end up boosting your page views and back links too.

4. Related Posts: The last factor which I would suggest to reduce the bounce rate would be the related posts widget. I recommended every blogger to add this widget at the end of every post. It will have a tremendous effect in reducing your bounce rate and increase the page views of your site. Click here to learn more about this widget(for blogger blogs): Add Related Posts To Blogger Blogs.

As far as I know, the above four methods will definitely reduce the bounce rate. To be very frank, even I am currently working on reducing the same for my site. I So, I appreciate any ideas from your side as well. Leave them as comments below this post and I assure you that I will include them in my next series of post.

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Free Premium Blogger Templates - Masunurin

Today, I present to you, yet another premium blogger template namely, "The Masunurin Blogger Template". This template is originally a Wordpress theme which was converted to blogger by "Themecraft.net". Basically, the Masunurin blogger template is a two column premium blogger template. It includes features like rounder corners, dual navigation bars, a default tweet and re-tweet icon for each blog post and a default social bookmarking system.

Live Demo | Download Masunurin Blogger Template For Free

You may have a look at the template by checking the screen shot above. Or click on the demo link to have a live demo of the template. As I said before, the main feature of this template is the rounded corners which you may observe in the widgets. The second feature would be the navigation bars. As we have seen in previous premium blogger templates like "The Hybrid News Blogger Template" or "The Latter Blogger Template", this template also includes a navigation bar above and below the title of the blog.

Another important feature of this blog is the social bookmarking system which comes by default with the template. There are about nine social bookmarking sites which will be displayed at the top right corner to the visitors of the blog. This eliminates the need to manually install the social bookmarking sites as we do in other templates. Click here to learn about "Adding social bookmarks to blogger blogs".

The template how ever has one disadvantage, or in other words, lacks one feature which I feel is essential for a very professional site namely, the footer section. How ever, it is quite easy to add a footer to our blogs. You can click here to learn about "Adding a stylish footer to your blogger template". If you are interested in installing a footer like the one I installed, you may mail me and I will help you out!! Comments are always appreciated!! So, install the template and tell me your views!!

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Add An Animated Notice Box To Blogger

Today, I would like to present you an interesting widget, "The Animated Notice Box". This widget will add a notice box such that it flashes for certain number of times say three times and then, will stay static on the web page until the user wishes to close it. It is something like an alert message which you would have seen in many websites. But, this kind of alert message can be used to increase the subscribers for your blog. If you still haven't got an idea about what I am explaining here, then just look at the screen shot below.

I hope you got an idea about the widget now. If not just visit this blog "My Test Blog" to view the demo of this widget. I will initially explain you how to install this widget in your blog with a general message as shown in the screen shot above. Later, I will provide you the code which I installed in "My Test Blog" that displays a message to the visitor asking him/her to subscribe to the blog. Let us get to our work now.

1. Go to "Design->Edit HTML. Make a backup of your template before modifying the HTML by clicking on the "Download full template" link at the top of the page.
2. Search for the following line in your template. Use "CTRL+F" to fasten your search.

]]></b:skin>

3.Add the following piece of code just below the line mentioned in step 2.

<style>
#info{
border: 1px solid;
margin: 10px 0px;
padding:15px 10px 15px 50px;
background-repeat: no-repeat;
background-position: 10px center;
position:relative;
color: #00529B;
background-color: #BDE5F8;
background-image: url('http://i46.tinypic.com/jzf8tk.jpg');
}
</style>

<script src='http://code.jquery.com/jquery-1.2.3.min.js' type='text/javascript'>

</script>
<script type='text/javascript'>
$(document).ready(function(){
$(".close").click(function(){
$("#info").animate({left:"+=10px"}).animate({left:"-5000px"});
});
$("#info").fadeOut(800).fadeIn(800).fadeOut(400).fadeIn(400)
.fadeOut(400).fadeIn(400);
});
</script>

4. Save your template. Next, you need to add the "div" section of the code any where in between the body tags of your template. The simplest way to add this code is to use the "HTML/Javascript" plug-in in blogger.
5. To do so, just navigate as follows: Design->Page Elements. Now, click on "Add a Gadget" and select "HTML/Javascript". Paste the following piece of code and hit the Save button. Leave the title section of the widget empty.

<div id="info">
<a class="close" href="#close" style="float: right;"><img border="0" src="http://i48.tinypic.com/3502jif.jpg" /></a>
This Is Your Message .You can change it to Your need. Click on close button on right to exit this box</div>

6. You may drag the widget any where you want. Once you finalize the place, click on save again and view your blog with the "Animated Notice Box" installed.

As I said earlier, you may download this text document "CODE I USED", which consists of the code I used in "My Test Blog"(Demo which you viewed). You may use the code in document for your blogs too. But, please do change the links and the title of your blog in the code (self-explanatory). Else, you will help me increase my subscribers count by displaying the box in your template:)

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Add Breadcrumb Navigation To Blogger Blogs

I came across the breadcrumb navigation trick for blogger during its inception. But, I thought there is no use adding such a widget other than improving the navigation. The navigation simply can be improved by adding a blog archive or using the labels widget in blogger. But, I found that apart from improving the navigation it also facilitates Search Engine Optimization. Basically, the search engines view a breadcrumb as a text link to posts and provides importance to the subject of the linked page.

To basically understand this, I should define what a breadcrumb is??? To keep it simple, a breadcrumb is a widget like stuff that displays the visitor's location within a blog. Basically, it improves the navigation for a blog and helps the visitor easily jump from one part of the blog to another. To have a better understanding of what I am blabbering, please have a look at the following screen shot.
Let us now install this hack to improve our SEO and site navigation. Just follow the simple steps given below.
1. Go to "Design->Edit HTML. Make a backup of your template before modifying the HTML by clicking on the "Download full template" link at the top of the page.
2. Search for the following line in your template. Use "CTRL+F" to fasten your search.

]]></b:skin>

3. Add the following piece of code just above the line mentioned in step 2.

.breadcrumbs
{
float: left;
width: 590px;
font-size: 11px;
margin: 5px 10px 20px 10px;
padding: 0px 0px 3px 0px;
border-bottom: double #EAEAEA;
}

4. Save your template. Just make sure that your template is expanded. Click on the "Expand Widget Templates". Now, search for the following piece of code in your expanded template.

<b:includable id='main' var='top'>

5. Replace the following block of code with the code mentioned in this text document - "Breadcrumb For Blogger".

<b:includable id='main' var='top'>
<!-- posts -->
<div class='blog-posts hfeed'>
<b:include data='top' name='status-message'/>
<data:adStart/>

6. Save your template. That's all folks!!!

Visit any of your post page and enjoy the hack!! If you still face any problem regarding this widget, I am always ready to help you via mails. Even comments below the post will do!! For all those who had a smooth installation, just enjoy the hack!!!

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Free Premium Blogger Templates - Uniqx

When I searched for premium blogger templates, I found one amazing template namely, "The Uniqx Blogger Template". Basically, Uniqx blogger template is a two column template with right sidebars, footer columns, custom fonts and abstract. The template was designed by "Rethnaraj Rambabu" from BloggerBits. The main difference between this template and the other premium blogger templates is that it carries a unique font( ‘Chunk’ and ‘Steinem’) throughout the template.

Live Demo | Download Uniqx Blogger Template For Free

You may have a look at the template by checking the screen shot above. Or click on the demo link to have a live demo of the template. Let me continue to highlight some of its features. The template consists has an unique navigation bar. Unlike the usual bars which you see above or below the header, this template consists of a navigation bar besides the title, in a random order, not horizontal nor vertical menus. It also includes "Welcome Text", where in you can add your name and your blog name. Above all, it is designed such that the "Welcome text" appears only in the home page.

It includes a "Read more" hack installed by default with the template. To make it more professional, it includes a three column footer. I just can't use any other word in this post other than "unique" because, it is designed in such a way that it carries a separate identity for itself from the header to the footer. I hope you like this unique template!:)

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How to increase backlinks to my blog???

Recently, I received a mail from one of my friends. It stated that "Hi friend, tell me few methods that will increase the backlinks to my blog". It is quite obvious that many bloggers want a solution for this question. Though I'm not an expert, I will share few tips regarding this issue. There are few questions which always run in the minds of a newbie when they hear to terms like backlinks, SEO, RSS, bla bla bla... Even, I used to wonder what the heck, these probloggers are trying to explain in their post. Initially, I felt like am heading nowhere when I read their posts. But later, I understood each phrase has got its own value and meaning. Anyway, I don't want to make things very complex as they do. I will try to keep it as simple as possible.

Let us first understand, what are backlinks??? To be very simple, you may refer the Wikipedia definition which states "Backlinks are incoming links to a website or web page". I prefer saying backlinks are quality links from various sites which link to your site. I stress on quality links because there is no use if you receive a backlink from a PR0(Page Rank) blog. To check the backlinks for your site, visit Google and type the following text in the search bar.

link:http://www.yourblogname.blogspot.com/

(Note: Replace the green text in the above link with your blog/website URL)

The above step will only give you a quantitative analysis of the backlinks, that is, gives you the number of backlinks for your site. I always feel that there should be equal proportions when it comes to quantity and quality. I mean to say, you need to have a reasonable number of backlinks from quality websites. Now, you will be wondering what do I mean my quality websites? It is very simple. The quality of a blog can be determined by its Google PR. People have different views about the above mentioned statement. I accept partially to it, though I feel there are lots of other factors which determine the quality of a blog. It is acceptable to receive links from site with PR3 and above.

Now, you know what are backlinks, how to find the number of backlinks to your blog and to determine the quality of each backlink. In this post, I will provide you with two simple tips that will increase the backlinks to your blog quantitatively.

1. Spread the word through templates/widgets:
This is the most effective way of increasing the backlinks to your blog. It is basically meant for webmaster and works out well, especially for blogger blogs. Just by including a small piece of HTML code in the credit section of each template, one can build his backlinks enormously. Have a look at the screen shot below for a better idea.
Every time, when the template is downloaded from your site and used, it will increase the backlinks without the knowledge of the user(75%effective). Make sure, it appears at the credits section of your template. Do not irritate the user with multiple links since there is no effect in doing so. For widgets, apply the same concept of including a link, but make sure it appears as small as possible. You may add the following piece of code at the end of each widgets you spread through your blog.

<center><a style="text-decoration:none;font-size:70%;" href="http://www.yourblogname.com/">Add to your blog</a></center>

(Note:Replace the text in green with the URL of your blog)

2. Comment On Sites With Top Commentators Widgets:
This method seems to be the most simplest method that one may adopt to increase his/her backlinks. The important feature to observe while commenting is that, you need to know if your link is categorized under the "dofollow" or "nofollow" tag. Make sure you comment on blogs with "dofollow" blogs. Most of the blogs and websites have adopted the concept of dofollow. Even if the blog is a "nofollow" blog, the widget will preferably provide dofollow links only.

If it is a nofollow blog, then the link will be not be counted for backlinks. It will just serve as a link to increase the visitors to your site. Nevertheless, it serves for some purpose. So, I recommend every one to comment on other blogs. (Note: Please make sure that you comment relevant to the topic and do not spam the other site. I prefer to comment on blogs which are related to my domain.)

I have restricted myself to just two simple techniques of increasing the backlinks in this post. I will post few more methods of improving the same in my next series on the same topic. If you truly feel that my blog is worth reading and is helpful, then please link to my blog too. Just copy and paste the following piece of code anywhere in your blog!!!

<a href='http://www.newbloggingtipz.com/'>Everything About Blogging</a>

You may leave your views about this post along with a link to your blog in the comments section below. Another method to increase your backlinks:)

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Free Premium Blogger Templates - Hybrid News

Hi friends!! I present to you another premium blogger template namely, Hybrid News Blogger Template. This template was designed by free blogger templates. Basically, the Hybrid News Blogger Template is a magazine style three column blogger template. Similar to the Latte Blogger Template, it provides you two menu bars, one above the header and one below it. The color combination namely, dark blue and white, stands as a good contrast to each other and provides more elegance to the template!!!

Live Demo | Download Hybrid News Blogger Template For Free

The preview of the template is shown in the above screen shot. The link below it shows a live demo of the template. The main feature of this blog template is the sliding featured content. Infact, you can not call it a featured content. It is basically a slider that displays the latest posts in your blog. The main advantage of this widget is that it works on the RSS feed. Therefore, manual updates are not required. It automatically updates the content. You have space for a brief note about your post and a space for your post image.

Apart from the above feature, it includes a mini post section wherein you can have a small snippet of your blog post. It includes two more text widgets below it for extra information which you like to share with your readers. The sidebar initially appears as a single block. It splits into two at the latter part providing you enough space to accommodate any widget with a variety in dimensions. Above all, it includes a four column footer too. So, you have enough space for displaying the widgets of your choice.

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