Automated Way to Find Google Pagerank

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I was looking for an automated way to get Google Pagerank for a few hours and came up with quite a few things, but not many of them were very elegant.  Essentially, Google doesn’t provide an API and it’s against their terms of service to hit them up in an automated way.  I found quite a few places that have come up with close algorithms and calculate PR for sites, but that’s just not accurate enough for me.  The other option is to hit their PR URL that the toolbar uses.  For example:

http://toolbarqueries.google.com/search?client=navclient-auto&hl=en&ch=61470319184&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&features=Rank&q=info:http%3A%2F%2Fforums.digitalpoint.com%2Fshowthread.php%3Ft%3D164713

That returns the PR of Digital Point Forums, where I found that information, but you can’t change the reference URL, because of a checksum.  That’s the &ch= variable in the URL.  I’m working on a project that needs to look up PR on the fly though, so that just won’t work.  I ended up finding a script that I could use, but the guy didn’t put his URL in the comments, and I since can’t find it – oops.  I think he deserves a pat on the back though.  If this belongs to you, or you know who’s it is, let me know.

I tweaked the script and installed it on my Toolerific.com website.  Now you can go there and check the PR of any site without a captcha, which is nice.  The tool is here.

Now, the best automated way to check pagerank is to hit that site with cURL and take out the value of the HTML tag with the id “value”.  The reason that is the best automated way to do it is because Google may change their checksum rules and that will break the source code that I used to generate it, but that site will always be laid out like that, so you don’t have to worry about changing anything.  If you want the code I used, you can view it here.

Update: This doesn’t seem to work ALL of the time.  I suspect it has something to do with the checksum, but can’t figure it out.  Seems to be about 27% of the time, which isn’t great odds, but it works MOST of the time.  I’ll keep you posted if I find out more.

Earthquake Shakes Toronto and Twitter

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Ok, so Toronto just had an earthquake ( June 23, 2010 at 1:45 ).  I don’t really know what the details are yet, but I can give updates.  That’s not what is interesting to me, so much as the speed at which I was able to figure out what happened.  I was able to figure out where and when it was about 5 minutes after it happened.  The speed at which we can get information these days is astounding.  I felt the ground shake and immediately did a Google search and found all sorts of relevant results – most of which were from twitter.

I think that for breaking information, the Internet is an amazing place to ween data, but to get trusted information, classic journalism is still king, albeit not for too much longer.  What do you think?

In an emergency situation like an earthquake, would you go to twitter to report it?

Update: From what I can tell, it was a 5.5 magnitude on the Ontario/Quebec Border

Google stalks you. Did you know?

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I was reading an article over at PPC.bz about how Google links your social contacts to its index to improve your search results.  This is the first I had heard of the service, which is called Google Social Circle.  Click this link to see what social information Google has about you. The service has been around since October of 2009, but this is the first I had heard of it.  You’d think they would announce something like this, especially amidst all of the Facebook privacy news.  You’ll need a Google account and be logged in for the link to work properly.

Barman from PPC.bz basically equates the whole thing to information rape, because they’re taking fondling your privacy.  I don’t agree with that so much, because I feel more like they’re harvesting public information, and everything I put on the web I assume will be public anyways.  That being said, I still wish they told me.

My view is more in line with Bobbi Newman, who says: “Google’s Social Circle & Social Search may not violate any privacy laws but it gives me the creeps.” This is a lot like finding out that you have a stalker – only this one isn’t human, which might be even a little more creepy.  If this technology truly does increase relevancy, I suppose I support it, but I still feel like they were shady about it’s implementation.

In reality this is a lot like XFN search engines, which will probably be the next evolution in social networks.  I’m actually amazed that people aren’t building more of them to compete with Facebook.  It will be interesting how the privacy issues and technology develop with this.

What do you think about it’s privacy implications?

Review: Make Money Online

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“Make Money Online” by John Chow with Michael Kwan was an interesting book.  I’ve been doing the online marketing thing for a little while now, so the book had a lot of things I already knew.  That being said, there is still a ton of value in the book, especially for new users.

The price of the book, a cool $10.85 on Amazon as of this post is great.  For that price, why the hell not buy it?  I learned a few tidbits that I didn’t already know, and I consider myself an expert, so I’m sure that if you’re just getting started you’ll learn something too.

Basically the book outlines the tools you need to make a blog, fill it with content, and then promote it.  You’ll find lists of useful links and tools in the appendices of the book as well.  There is a nice balance of physical real world tools, detailed steps, and concepts for success.

You aren’t going to get advanced PPC techniques with this book and you’re not going to get the big scoop on the affiliate game.   The book should really be called Make Money Online Blogging, because the book doesn’t really even touch the tip of the iceberg in terms of making money online.  It does do an excellent job of explaining how to make money from blogging though.

Overall, great book for the price.

Get Your .co Domain

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A new top level domain (TLD) went on sale today: .co

You need to get out and make sure you get the shortest URL for your brand on that TLD.  I’m not sure how well it will hold up in SEO later, but as of right now, you can still get three letter domains.  Remember all of those keywords less some vowels (think Flickr).

There is a serious land rush going on right now, and I wanted to make sure you got in on it.

Go to GoDaddy right now.

Tell me what you registered below.

Pros and Cons of URL Shortening Services

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URL Shortening services have become all the rage recently, especially with the character limitations on twitter.  They have their advantages, but also have disadvantages.  Those disadvantages become readily apparent as a web developer, affiliate, or Internet marketer.  URL shortening services.

Pros

  • Making your URLs shorter. The biggest advantage to using these services is their Unique Selling Proposition (USP).
  • Masking your URL. This can be advantageous if you want to hide the fact that you’re linking to an affiliate offer.  That might also be considered a little gray or black hat.
  • Tracking clicks is possible with some providers. This can be useful for tracking the effectiveness of campaigns or specific mentions of things.  You can have multiple shortened URLs point to a single place with different sources, allowing you to track click data.
  • You don’t have to manage the shortening software or hosting yourself. For people that aren’t technically inclined, especially with web programming, this can be a major advantage.

Cons

  • If the URL shortening service goes out of business you’re screwed. This is especially true if it was a popular link, or it took a lot of work to get the link listed where a lot of people can see it.
  • They can see a lot of your data. If someone at a shortening service gets wise to what you’re doing, especially in the affiliate world, they can track a lot of your data and what you’re doing and mimic it, reducing your sales.  I’ve had this happen personally before, and it really sucks.
  • People don’t always trust shortened URLs. I find that if I can use a shortened URL that makes sense to a person behind my own trusted domain, I see about 15% more clicks.  I’m actually in the process right now of adjusting all of my plug-ins that do automated posting to my personal URL shortener.
  • Shortened URLs carry no SEO value. This is an important one.  You aren’t getting credit for your links when you use a shortening service, they are.  SEO credit doesn’t carry through the service because it usually isn’t a 301 redirect.

What do you do?

It’s hard to decide what you’re going to do, knowing these things.  I’ve found that it’s best to use your own URL shortening service.  There is a plugin for WordPress called Self Shortener.  It can be automatically installed via the plug-in manager or downloaded from their website.  This specific service doesn’t track clicks, but I’ve modified mine to do so.  There is also the open source project by Gentle Source for an installable URL shortener.

Starcraft 2 Beta Heats Up

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Starcraft 2 is poised to be the biggest game launch in the last few years.  The original Starcraft has been played for 12 years with international competitions taking place multiple times per year with first place prizes over $100,000.  The second version has been ambiguously close to launch for the last two years, we think.

Recently the game went into private beta and people were scrambling to get keys for the game, with some selling on eBay for $500.  Well now you can get a key for $60.  If you pre-order the game at Amazon, you get a beta key.  I can’t express how excited this makes me.

I’m in for one, how about you?

Head Tracking for 3D Gaming

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Found out about this on Oliver Ames’s blog.  I think this will be the next big evolution in gaming and movies.  This technology is amazing.  Unfortunately it only works for one person, but maybe some day we will be able to broadcast on multiple channels through a TV to these headsets similar to how 3D movies work now.

What do you think about it?

Luck is Just Being Prepared for Opportunity

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Many people think that hitting home runs in business is quite a bit about luck.  I hear all the time that I’m lucky I work for myself and I can live the way I do, making my hours, etc.  My first response is usually: “yeah I make my own hours, but usually it’s 16-20 hour days.”  What really happened is I prepared myself mentally to start a business for some time.

When the opportunity presented itself, I was ready to execute.  I knew I would be changing jobs soon, and so I decided to take a leap of faith and depend on my ability to execute.  It worked.  Since then, I’ve started and joined many ventures with many people, some of which didn’t work out, but others that worked tremendously.  Most of all I learned something from every single venture.

I’ve started or joined businesses making t-shirts, building websites, fixing computers, doing real estate, Internet Marketing, general sales, creative writing, fine art, and some other things I’m probably forgetting.  The first extremely sustainable was my main business, Acute Technology, which started as a hodgepodge of IT support and website development, but is now building enterprise level applications for businesses, educational institutions, and government.  I was able to leverage my clout with Acute Technology to get into other projects that I’m passionate about as well.

Luck doesn’t just apply to the large victories, but the small ones as well.  Just the other day, I heard through Twitter that Brian Brushwood was looking for someone to help with Name That Autocomplete, and was on a very tight deadline.  I was able to make things happen for them and make some friends along the way.  I think the ROI on my few hours worth of work will pay off, and that small victory makes me feel lucky, but really I was just listening at the right time, with the right knowledge and skills (preparedness).

What are your thoughts on luck?

Affiliate Summit East 2010

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Affiliate Summit East 2010 is coming up and you need to be there if you’re an affiliate of any kind.  Actually that’s not true.  You need to be there if you’re at all interested in the internet – especially if you like to make money; be it consulting, affiliate stuff, or anything else.  Being around so many tech savvy people really motivates geeks.  It’s like a big nuclear explosion of geek.

It’s in New York City from August 15th through the 17th at the Hilton Conference Center.  If you need directions or to register, check out their website – it’s pretty informative.

I am bringing two merchant customers of mine and hoping to meet up with some key players I haven’t seen in a little while.  I wasn’t able to make it to the last two, because of scheduling issues, but I went to Affiliate Summit West 2009 and it was a blast, and I came back with so many ideas, I could barely contain myself.

Affiliate Summit is at the Hilton in New York City, August 15th - 17th 2010

Why am I bringing this up?  Early bird pricing ends on April 30th, and I wanted to make sure that everyone knew about the event in time to get the cheapest possible pricing.  In my opinion, nothing less than a Platinum pass is acceptable.  You want to be able to go to all of the sessions if you’ve never been there before.  A silver pass will suffice if you’re just going for the parties.

This is a great event for merchants to break into the affiliate arena.  This is where I bring my merchants to teach them how the ropes work.  It’s also great for affiliates of any level.  You’ll be able to find people there of equal or greater skill than you, and I promise you’ll learn something.

Check them out:

www.affiliatesummit.com

If you’re having sticker shock about the price for passes (Platinum is almost $900), don’t forget to enter contests and things for them.  I got 2 silvers and a platinum last year, and I already had my own passes bought.

Been to Affiliate Summit?  Tell me about it in the comments?  Have questions about it?  Let me know in the comments.  Need a guide when you’re there?  I’ll be there and I can give you some pointers.  Hit me up.