Everyone likes to know statistics about their website.  Here is the way to learn the Google Pagerank and tons of other information, not just about your own site, but any one you choose.

I have purchased and installed a program on my companion website PageRankToday called RankChecker. 

RankChecker is a great program written as a php script and is easily installed on a webserver.  It is hosted on a site called GetRank.org.  You can get to the website by clicking on the picture to the right.  The author has a great demo of the front page as well as the administrative area. 

This script gives a tremendous amount of information about any website you wish to explore.  Straight from the website, here are the tools and information it displays.

TOOLS:

• Domain Age
• Google Pagerank
• Alexa Rank
• Google Backlinks
• Yahoo Backlinks
• Alexa Backlinks
• Altavista Backlinks
• AllTheWeb Backlinks
• DMOZ Directory
• Yahoo Directory
• Google Indexed Pages
• Yahoo Indexed Pages
• Bing Indexed Pages
• ASK Indexed Pages
• Digg Links
• Delicious Links
• Google Bot Last Visit
• Site Value
• Pagerank Button

I am looking forward to having RankChecker as part of my SEO toolkit.  I have made it available on PageRankToday as one of my SEO Tools, but I would encourage you to purchase a copy for yourself if you would like to host it on your site.  The $10 cost is minimal. 

If you aren't really sure, there is a free version that doesn't have all of the features, but would give a good "test drive".  You can access the free version from the GetRank.org main page, or just click -> HERE.

I have only good things to say about this script and its author.  There were a couple of small issues with the script running on my hosting server, but they were quickly fixed.  I would rate the Script and Support outstanding.  

RankChecker is a great way to learn many details about any website, not just your own.

Enjoy!

-Loren

My Friend Katherine has a great Blog called

Due to popular demand I have re-posted this article.  Note the new download location.

If you run a website or blog you need to have a basic understanding of PHP and SQL.  This free ebook is required reading for you.

No I don't think you need to be a programmer writing applications.  You just need general information about how PHP works and the syntax of the language.  This information is extremely important if you run Wordpress as your platform, as wordpress is a PHP based platform.

The author doesn't really HATE PHP as you will quickly find out as you read through this book.  I would consider it on par with the Dummies Guide on PHP and SQL.

I ran across this ebook a while back and want to share it with others.  I am starting my ebook and software store back up at EbookPackageDeals.

I am keeping track of the number of downloads through my eStore Application at the site so just follow the link and register as a user, add the book to your cart and follow the checkout to the end.  Then you will be presented with a download link.  (you must give a legit email address, this keeps down the spam and leechers)  This ebook is in .pdf format and is about 50 pages in length.  Let me know what you think about this book!  If you have any difficulties, just send me an email and I can get the book to you another way.  Give it a read and let me know what you think!

Another educational offering by TheTeachingBox.com

-Loren  

Download the file HERE or click on the Graphic above.

Online file storage is a critical feature in todays mobile computing world.  We have large hard drives, but flexibility is important.  In my opinion SkyDrive is the best online file storage system today.

Many people have Windows Live logins for their MSN Messenger (now called Windows Live Messenger) account.  If this is true for you, head over to http://skydrive.live.com and claim your 25GB of free online storage.  I have checked around the net, and have not found any other systems that match the Microsoft SkyDrive product. 

Before I get a bunch of flame e-mails, NO I am not a Microsoft Apologist.  If a product is good, I will recommend it.  This post is just a short review on the pros and cons of this online storage product.

Pros -

• Size – 25 GB is a lot of storage space
• Free – Free is always good
• Stability – Microsoft is going to be around to keep SkyDrive from disappearing
• Flexibility – Works with the Gladinet Cloud Desktop Client to mount Drives on your PC 

 Cons -

• File Size Limit – 50 MB maximum file size (still pretty large)
• Drag and Drop interface only works with Internet Explorer
• Some people are Against Everything Microsoft so they cannot be convinced it is a good product
• Full Functionality assumes you are a PC user – I haven’t tried it on my Mac yet.

I personally use SkyDrive because of the Pros I have listed above.  The Gladinet Cloud Desktop client is great.  I use the free version, and have found it to be pretty stable.  It allows you to create a mounted drive letter on your Windows PC.  It does a good job of synchronizing and moving files in the background. 

Even if you chose not to install the Gladinet driver you can drag and drop files using Internet Explorer.  Maybe there will be some sort of Firefox Plugin in the future, but I wouldn’t hold out waiting for one. 

For the Anti-Microsoft folks out there, actually SkyDrive is a winner, the problem with many "FREE" programs and services on the internet, is that you are at the whim of the company.  So many of them just disappear overnight, or are purchased by another company and phased out.  Nevertheless I do warn people not to trust these free online file storage systems, make sure you have a local backup Just In Case.

I recommend you surf over to the SkyDrive website and give it a try.  Let me know what you think about this online storage product.  Any tips and tricks you can give are appreciated by myself and the other readers.

-Loren

Update - There are persistent rumors that Google is going to do something similar to SkyDrive, but nothing yet.  I have looked at some clever work arounds to store files on your Gmail account, but they are just that "workarounds" and not really online file storage.

I am a firm believer that everyone can write.  It just takes practice and the right information.  TheTeachingBox is dedicated to make this happen for everyone.

I have been blogging for over three years now.  The impetus to start blogging was given to me by a Professor I had in Graduate School.  She had a PhD in Communication and taught in the field for over 40 years.  By virtue of her life experience she was a "Trained Professional", and she was good at it.  I spoke to her about wanting to become a better writer, and she said JUST DO IT!  Thus TheTeachingBox was started.

Along with practice, it is always good to be on the look out for good information.  I have made available this ebook titled "Get Paid to Write". 

The author targets this article on writing for the internet to make money.    Well I don’t make any money through this blog (or any other blog for that matter).  I liked this ebook because it gave me some solid ideas on how to write content for the internet. 

My favorite section of the article is on page 6, it is "Article Writing for the Web – Top Five Secrets to Success".  Maybe the information Angela puts out in this article is basic, but as with all educational endeavors, more information is always good. 

So feel free to take a look at this article and let me know what you think.  You can download it by clicking on the picture, or right HERE.  It is in .pdf format, so you will need the Adobe Acrobat reader to view the ebook.

-Loren