BANS Today

All in one SEO Pack - Meta Descriptions

Written by mbpage on August 25, 2008

One of the most popular wordpress plugins is the all in one seo pack.  I have been using it for a while but noticed that the meta descriptions I created were being ignored by Google.  Usually an indexed page is represented by Google as a snippet.  The snippet is a combinaiton of the meta title and meta description.  The meta description should be no more than 155 characters long and is your opportunity to include sales message to encourage a user to click on your link.  A good meta description is essential if you are going to succeed with Build a Niche Store.

Rather than showing my meta description Google was displaying a random selection of menu items and page text making the snippet look spammy and imo discouraging a potential visitor from clicking my link.  For this reason I had reservations about using wordpress in combination with BANS.

I searched long and hard for a solution to this problem posting requests for help on several forums.  I also asked fellow BANS bloggers and also contacted the plugin author but no one had any suggestions.  Frustrated, I started experimenting with the plugin settings and after two or three weeks of experimentation I have found the solution.

If you use this plugin, and every wordpress user should, and want full control over the Google snippet then you simply turn off the autogenerate descriptions option.  Doing this requires that you enter a meta title and meta description manually but the result of having a meaningful meta description makes the effort worthwhile.  The biggest advantage though is that you make more sales!

Free BANS Templates

Written by mbpage on August 19, 2008

Sometimes I’d like to post more often but I refuse to produce content just for the sake of it. I only write when I’ve got something worth saying and I hope that’s appreciated. I have kept away from the BANS forums recently due to the negative rumors that abound. I prefer to keep focused on what I’m doing rather than worry about the latest “BANS is finished” story. Thats not to say I hide my head in the sand but negative stories can consume time more than anything else I know.

Anyway I popped over and found that Kelvin and Adam have released some really classy BANS templates and what’s more they’re free. Dave (Soggy) and Mark (meetmydomains) are working on creating versions that support wordpress integration so to me the futures never seemed better.

If you haven’t checked out the new templates yet make your way over to the BANS forum and check them out.

The Must-Have Plugins I use on my WP Blogs | Niche Store Strategies

Written by mbpage on August 1, 2008

Just picked this up on Rochelle’s blog.  A great plug in list.  I already use dozens but there are a good 6-8 I hadn’t heard of before.  I’m looking forward to checking them out.

The Must-Have Plugins I use on my WP Blogs | Niche Store Strategies.

I’ve used the new wordpress 2.6 Press This function to draft this post.  What a great addition it is.

WordPress 2.6 Press This

Written by mbpage on July 17, 2008

As my love of wordpress grows daily I’ve just upgraded the blog and produced this post using the sweet new “Press This” functionality. You’ll love it. Check it out now.

WordPress › Blog » WordPress 2.6.

I’m a Wordpress Dummy

Written by mbpage on July 7, 2008

Over the weekend I invested many hours in Wimbledon 2008 and Wordpress - go Rafa.

I’ve wanted to get a more commerical wordpress theme for ages but every one I checked out had shortcomings.  The new theme you’re now looking at was not an exception.  Having installed it I discovered it was not widget compatitible, there were problems with paragraph formatting and the subscribe via email for the rss feed doesn’t work (due to my coding ignorance).  Not to be beaten I started searching the web and learning CSS!  Yep, I can now control paragraph fomatting and link appearence.  Haven’t cracked the problem with the rss email subscription though so if you have any tips or could offer to help let me know.

I’ve also been wading through wordpress plugins testing different solutions and looking for tools that can really help with links, monetization etc.  I’ve found some really cool stuff and I will create a separate plugin page in due course with mini reviews which I hope many of you will find useful.