It is beyond the remit of the Affiliate Marketing MasterClass series to delve into the intricacies of website design and development but, before we move onto studying advanced techniques on acquiring traffic, this week’s lesson provides a guide to the ten most useful tools, scripts, software and websites.

Programming Tutorials

W3Schools - in 1998 the employees of the company Refsnes Data quit their jobs and made a controversial decision – to start a free Internet Developers Portal. The result is W3Schools which has tutorials on everything ranging from HTML and XML to Flash to the ‘in’ programming type,  AJAX. The free lessons are not overwhelmed by in-your-face advertising like other sites; no wonder the site receives over 2 million page views a day. Also recommended: HTML Primer (more tutorials).

Programming Software

Dreamweaver – this ‘must-have’ web development tool originally served as a WYSIWYG HTML editor, but more recent versions incorporate support for CSS, Javascript etc. Also recommended: 1st Page 2000 (best free HTML editor).

Graphics Software

Adobe Photoshop - the most popular graphics editor and the humongous software has almost every feature a graphic designer could hope for. The price is a major obstacle, though, with the latest version retailing for over $649 in the United States. Also recommended: Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo XI (best-rated cheaper alternative to Photoshop).

Scripts

Dynamic Drive – provides hundreds of cut-and-paste scripts to add wonderments to your sites. Has expanded from DHTML to Javascript and newer languages such as XML and RSS. Also recommended: Hotscripts (web’s largest script library).

Logos

Sitepoint Contests – a low cost way of getting a professionally designed logo is by launching a contest on Sitepoint or your favorite forums. You can offer around $200 as a prize and designers will submit logos to your specifications. Also recommended: Cool Text (create free logos online).

Favicons

Online Icon Maker - a Favicon displays next to a URL in the address bar and a website title if bookmarked. It helps your site stand out. This is the most user-friendly online favicon creator. Also recommended: FavIcon from Pics (Favicon from any image).

Anti-Spam Encoders

Enkoder – if you add your email address to a web page it is a sure-fire way to get your inbox filled with spam. An encoder makes it difficult for spambots to pick up your email address and this is the most advanced one around.  Also recommended: Advanced Email Link Generator and Anti-Spam (title says it all!)

Tracking

Google Analytics – don’t you hate Google for snapping up companies left, right and center (see news below)? In the case of Google Analytics you should be grateful as it is based on Urchin, which used to cost $495 a month. Demand was so high when Google bought and released Urchin for free, rebranding it as Google Analytics, that many users had to wait for months to be given access. An even superior Version 2 of this amazing service was launched on 8 May. Also recommended: StatCounter (free web statistics tool).

Blogging Systems

Wordpress - a free blog publishing system written in PHP and backed by a MySQL database. Used by over a million blogger, it is considered the most user-friendly and advanced blogging technology. Also recommended: Blogger (online blogging provider).

Content Management Systems

Joomla! – a Content Management System allows users to update a website without programming knowledge and this is arguably the best known CMS. Simple to user, versatile and friendly community. Also recommended: Mambo (Joomla! developed as a fork of Mambo).

 

Past MasterClass Lessons

We sometimes receive emails from new Weekly Q readers asking us where they can find past lessons in the PrimeQ MasterClass series. Now that we are on MasterClass XV, we thought it would be an ideal opportunity to provide links to previous tutorials.
If there are particular topics you’d like us to consider focusing on in future classes, don’t hesitate to email The Weekly Q Editor Nadeem Azam on nazam@primeq.co.uk.

I. Terminology Used in Online Advertising http://www.primeq.com/affiliates/weeklyq/10_WeeklyQ_10Oct2006.html

II. Abbreviations for Payment Models http://www.primeq.com/affiliates/weeklyq/11_WeeklyQ_17Oct2006.html

III. Common Forms of Online Advertising
http://www.primeq.com/affiliates/weeklyq/12_WeeklyQ_24Oct2006.html

IV. What is Affiliate Marketing and How Did it All Start?
http://www.primeq.com/affiliates/weeklyq/13_WeeklyQ_31Oct2006.html

V. Advertiser Perspective: Step-by-Step Guide to Setting Up an Affiliate Program http://www.primeq.com/affiliates/weeklyq/16_WeeklyQ_21Nov2006.html

VI. Affiliate Perspective: Starting an Affiliate Marketing Business http://www.primeq.com/affiliates/weeklyq/17_WeeklyQ_28Nov2006.html

VII. Advertiser Perspective: Five Biggest US Affiliate Networks http://www.primeq.com/affiliates/weeklyq/18_WeeklyQ_05Dec2006.html

VIII. Advertiser Perspective: Five Biggest UK Affiliate Networks http://www.primeq.com/affiliates/weeklyq/19_WeeklyQ_14Dec2006.html

IX. Affiliate Perspective: Most Popular Sectors http://www.primeq.com/affiliates/weeklyq/23_WeeklyQ_17Jan2007.html

X. Affiliate Perspective: Which Traffic Acquisition Strategy http://www.primeq.com/affiliates/weeklyq/24_WeeklyQ_25Jan2007.html

XI. Affiliate Perspective: Step-by-step Guide to Launching a Campaign on a Network
http://www.primeq.com/affiliates/weeklyq/26_WeeklyQ_7Feb2007.html

XII. Affiliate Perspective: Ten Tips on Finding the Right Affiliate Program
http://www.primeq.com/affiliates/weeklyq/30_WeeklyQ_8Mar2007.html

XIII. Advertiser Perspective: Hunting for Affiliates http://www.primeq.com/affiliates/weeklyq/33_WeeklyQ_29Mar2007.html

XIV. Advertiser Perspective:  Affiliate Forum Penetration
http://www.primeq.com/affiliates/weeklyq/42_WeeklyQ_31May2007.html

XV. Affiliate Perspective: Building Websites: Ten Top Tools and Websites
Scroll up the page!

 

One of the World’s Top Ten Spammers Arrested

A man described as the “Spam King” has been arrested and federal authorities in the United States have said web users around the world could notice a small decrease in the amount of junk emails they receive.

27-year-old Robert Alan Soloway is accused of using networks of compromised "zombie" computers to send out millions of spam emails.

"He's one of the top 10 spammers in the world," said Tim Cranton, a Microsoft lawyer who is Senior Director of the company's Worldwide Internet Safety Programs. "He's a huge problem for our customers. This is a very good day."

A federal grand jury in Seattle last week returned a 35-count indictment against Soloway charging him with mail fraud, wire fraud, email fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering.

Soloway pleaded not guilty Wednesday afternoon to all charges after a judge determined that - even with four bank accounts seized by the government - he was sufficiently well off to pay for his own lawyer.

Prosecutor Kathryn Warma said he has been living in a ritzy apartment and drives an expensive Mercedes convertible. Prosecutors are seeking to have him forfeit $773,000 they say he made from his business, Newport Internet Marketing Corp.

Prosecutors say Soloway used computers infected with malicious code to send out millions of junk e-mails since 2003. The computers are called "zombies" because owners typically have no idea their machines have been infected.

He continued his activities even after Microsoft won a $7 million civil judgment against him in 2005 and the operator of a small Internet service provider in Oklahoma won a $10 million judgment, prosecutors stated.

U.S. Attorney Jeff Sullivan said the case is the first in the country in which federal prosecutors have used identity theft statutes to prosecute a spammer for taking over someone else's domain name. Soloway could face decades in prison, though prosecutors said they have not calculated what guideline sentencing range he might face.

The investigation began when the authorities began receiving hundreds of complaints about Soloway, who had been featured on a list of known spammers kept by The Spamhaus Project, an international anti-spam organization.

The Santa Barbara County, Calif., Department of Social Services said it was spending $1,000 a week to fight the spam it was receiving, and other businesses and individuals complained of having their reputations damaged when it appeared spam was originating from their computers.

“I am delighted that Robert Soloway has been arrested,” Josh Reams, Production Director for PrimeQ, told the Weekly Q. “PrimeQ has been providing a quality email marketing and list management service for clients for years and have an unparalleled reputation in the industry. We mail only to opt-in subscribers who have requested to receive emails, whereas spammers like Soloway operate without adhering to even the most basic ethical and legal guidelines. Hopefully last week’s developments will be a shot across the bows to spammers and online fraudsters.”

Google Gets Fatter and Fatter... Acquires Feedburner and Panoramio

A month and a half after buying DoubleClick for $3.1 Billion, Google has continued its spending spree with purchases of two popular services, Feedburner and Panoramio.

On 30 May Google announced it was purchasing Panoramio and two days later, ending weeks of speculation, Google confirmed it is acquiring RSS distribution company FeedBurner. Financial details have not been disclosed for either transaction, but the amount for Feedburner is rumored to be $100 million.

Panoramio is a website based in Spain that links millions of photos with the exact geographical location where they were taken. It enables digital photographers to geolocate, store and organize their photographs – and to view those photographs in Google Earth and Google Maps.

Chicago-based FeedBurner is a news feed management provider and provides custom RSS feeds and management tools to bloggers, podcasters, and other web-based content publishers.

“The acquisition allows Google to incorporate FeedBurner's network of 431,171 publishers to its AdSense network, and will provide a greater level of access to advertise on blogs and news feeds,” said Susan Wojcicki, Vice President Product Management for Google.

A member of the WebmasterWorld community has created a timeline of Google acquisitions which shows six purchases in just the last two months.

 

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