Yet once again, I paid Adgitize $14 for advertising my blog for the month.  And due to my clicks and regular postings, I earned $15.16 this month.  So, I paid for my advertising and made $1.16 in profit. 

Plus, got extra drops in with Entrecard because a bunch of sites use both Adgitize and Entrecard (as I do!). 

If you haven't tried it before, please try it now.  Advertise for one month.  Post everyday. Do your 51 clicks per day.  You'll make back your advertising money, promote your blog in new places, and might make some extra money! 

You’ve probably seen the badge on many people’s sites.  And if you use Entrecard or Adgitize, both have the option of uploading your own badge.  Having your own badge is very important to help in “branding” your blog.  Once we’ve gotten the badge made, I’ll run through how to add the “grab my badge” section you see on so many other blogs.  

First step is to pick an image.  Most people choose something related to their blog topic.  For example, I run a website: http://www.cynicalmusings.com-  though it might seem weird, the picture is one red sad smiley face in a bunch of yellow happy ones with the words “Cynical Musings” overlaid.  While odd, it fits in with the sarcastic, cynical attitude that I “show” on that website.  Of course, there is no rule.  You can pick any image you want.  I DO NOT recommend using a picture of yourself.  Too many sites use pictures of people (especially girls) to get traffic.  Even if it is you in the picture, many people avoid visiting sites with people as the badge.  

The second step is to make your image 125 pixels by 125 pixels.  I highly, highly recommend using Windows Paint to do this.  It allows for not only cropping the picture, but expanding and contracting it, meaning you can keep the full image, just make it smaller.  

If you wish to add words “over the top” of the picture, I use PowerPoint.  I would only suggest doing this is you are familiar with Powerpoint, though.  The editing and saving to an appropriate format to then use Windows Paint is a bit annoying.  

Once you have your picture cropped to 125 pixels by 125 pixels, you now have your badge!  

Most places will allow you to upload it from your computer.  If it requires the image to be online, check out the next article about making a badge out of your image.  I’ll run over Photobucket and all that in the next article in this series.
Note: if you upload to Adgitize, there can be NO SPACES in the name.  For example, cynical musings.jpeg has to be cynicalmusings.jpeg.

Now that we’ve got the basics of what an Alexa ranking is and why it is important to know your own, we’ll go through how to set it up. 

*The home page of the Alexa site is: http://www.alexa.com/
*You’ll need to set up an account with Alexa.  This is an easy process, though, like many sites, you will have to verify your e-mail address.  
*Once you have an account, go to “For Site Owners” tab on the top of the page.  
*There will be four sections: Manage Your Site, Widgets, Advertise on Alexa, and Developer Tools.
*Under “manage your site”, click on “claim your site”.  Copy and paste (or type) your web address in the box, and then hit the button “claim your site.”  
*It will then give you two ways to verify your site- either by adding a file to the root directory or adding a meta tag to the home page.  I suggest adding a meta tag, as I found it easier, but it is up to you.  
*After you have uploaded the file or tag, click the button that says “Verify my text file” (if you added a file to root directory) or “Verify my meta tag” (if you added a meta tag).
*After Alexa confirms your site and verified that it is yours, you can now view your Alexa rank.  
*To add the Alexa rank widget to your site (which I suggest), use the Widgets section under the “For Site Owners” tab.  

I've signed up for blog directories, and I know there are good and bad ones out there.  The bad ones involve putting in all of your information, and having it disappear.  Or having your blog still be pending after six months. 

So, as part of this site, I'll occasionally be reviewing different blog directories.  One of my favorites is Link Referral.  I like it because you can raise your position in the lists by visiting and/or reviewing other sites.  The basic membership is free, and that is what I have. 

NOTE: I AM NOT GETTING PAID TO PROMOTE THIS SITE!

As always, if you have had an experience, good or bad, with a particular directory, let me know!  Or if you know of a great directory, also let me know! 

You can join by either the ad below or by this link: Link Referral

For the person who left a comment on mybonusrewards.com- the only online link I can find is to a sign-on page.  No overview or explanation of program for new members.  Do you have a link to either one of these?  I would love to feature the program (if it passes muster, of course!), but need more information. 

Adgitize has benefits for both those who advertise and those who don't.

If you do NOT advertise with Adgitize, here's how it works.  You sign up.  You place some adgitize ads on your blog (you can divide them into two groups on the page, as I do).  You can also complete daily clicks to earn more.  The first month I used Adgitize, I did not place ads, and still make about $10.00.

For those who want more traffic AND to make a little extra money, here's how it works.  You sign up.  You place some adgitize ads on your blog.  You pay for a month's advertising (there are also other options).  You can complete daily clicks and post on your blog to earn more.  The last two months I have advertised- the first month I made 12.00 over and above my advertising fee, the second month I made $16.00 over and above the advertising cost. 

A serious bonus of the Adgitize program is that many of the sites also feature Entrecard.  So you can get clicks for both Adgitize and Entrecard at the same time! 

For those interested: