Many people have started using Google’s AdSense program, but there are some who find it a bit too uncertain or simply not suiting their own requirements from an ad program.

But thankfully for such people, there are many alternatives to AdSense which attempt to alleviate some of its shortcomings. Here is a list of the most noteworthy ones from the lot with a description concerning each one. All of the links in this post are straight links, there are no affiliate or referral links.

AllFeeds (http://www.allfeeds.com/?action=publishers)
AllFeeds has a great pool of online advertisers to choose from. It also features many display formats that you can choose from. These include banners, buttons, XML feeds, DHTML pop-ups and so on. It also features real time reporting of your ad status. The site will mail a check every month, provided that you earn more then $25.00, while rolling over earnings for the next month if you don’t. Another interesting thing about AllFeeds is that it integrates with Google AdSense, maximizing your earnings with AdSense.

MarketBanker (http://www.marketbanker.com/mb/sell.php)
MarketBanker allows you the unique possiblity to set the pricing for your site. It also allows you to allow or reject any link that appears on your site (although AdSense itself does a very good job of this as well, with URL filters) There’s also a statistics section which will allow you to see how well your site is doing. The ads are small just like AdSense’s and they’re just as easy to set up. Also, registration for MarketBanker is free.

BidClix (http://www.bidclix.com/PubTop.html BidClix is different because it has advertisers compete for clicks on your site, which in turn is meant to generate the highest possible profits for your page. It also has a very large pool of advertisers which ensure there are plenty of people to choose your site. However, it does require more polish on site contents then AdSense. As most sites, real time statistics are available and its very easy to get started with this service, but it's also very flexible.

Chitika (http://www.realcontext.com/index.php?option=RealContext:+Contextual+Targeting+Engine)
RealContext uses Artificial intelligence to retrieve the most relevant ads for your page. And there’s an extra feature which makes RealContext unique as well. Keywords are selected based upon which previous selections payed off and which didn’t. That means there’s a constant feedback process that ensures you gain better revenue from your ads. It also supports blocking certain adds and child-safe filtering and many more options.

AdHearus (http://adhearus.com/webmaster.php)
AdHearus is a very feature-packed contextual ad provider. As with AdSense, advertisements are targeted but it doesn’t stop here at all. The ads are very flexible, you can select from text-ads, banners, rectangles, pop-ups, pop-unders or skyscrapers. You can also display your own ads, through rotation, both on your site and on other affiliate sites, which makes AdHearus a hybrid with conventional advertising technologies. There’s a very comprehensive on-line real time reporting feature and, as usual with such services, starting out is free and it’s a breeze.

AffiliateSensor (http://www.affiliatesensor.com/)
AffiliateSensor has highly customizable ad blocks, which you can make for yourself with an easy to use on-line interface. You also get realtime reporting with clicks-by-domain, page and refferer. There’s integration with Google AdSense as well, through the google_alternate_ad_url so AffiliateSensor can be used as a substitute for Google PSA’s (Public Service Ads).

Kanoodle Bright Ads (http://www.kanoodle.com/about/brightads.cool)
Kanoodle’s offering allows publishers to get ads related to topics or segments, and not the traditional keyword oriented ads. The site also groups publisher sites with advertisers by hand to ensure high-revenue generating ads. And speaking of revenue, the amount of money you receive is a clear 50% share of the amount of money Kanoodle recieves for an advertiser.

TargetPoint (http://publisher.targetpoint.com)
TargetPoint is oriented more towards content publishers. It offers full control over the look the ads, statistics over your site’s overall performance and better revenue. It’s free to register and you earn a guaranteed 60% of the total revenue. You can get payed with Paypal of Bank checks and (most times) wire transfers as well.

Clicksor (http://www.clicksor.com)
Clicksor will earn you as much as 60% from the amount of money your website produces. What you get is about the same as AdSense, there are targeted text ads, you can view the revenues from your website in real time. You can receive money via PayPal or through a check every two weeks, provided that you have earned more then $50. If you haven’t made that much, your earning roll over to the next period

Bidvertiser (http://www.bidvertiser.com/)
Like AdSense, Bidvertiser displays text ads in your page. But the difference lies in the fact that advertisers bid over your advertising space, ensuring you earn as much revenue as you possibly can. This also means that bids will increase over time, earning you even more cash. You also get a great way to customize your ads with a very easy to use tool and detailed reports on your site’s status.

Quigo AdSonar (http://www.quigo.com/adsonarpublishers.htm)
Quigo AdSonar achieves relevancy by placing a filter according to your site’s categories. It also offers you on-line reports of your site’s status and the possibility to add your own custom ads replacing ads that don’t gain you any revenue. The setup is very simple, in a similar fashion to AdSense’s and quite customizable as well.

Vibrant Media IntelliTXT (http://www.vibrantmedia.com/vibrantvideo/index.asp?referrer=Intellitxt.com)
Vibrant Media IntelliTXT offers user-activated ads, highlighting certain words within the content of the page and presenting relevant ads when a user hovers his mouse over them. It uses a pay-for-performance pricing scheme and can easily be used along with other advertising methods, because it is unobtrusive. It places you in full control, allowing you to easily integrate it within your site with some simple JavaScript.

Nixie (http://www.nixxie.com/display.php?section=Partners)
Nixie claims to hold a technology that can read and understand your site, enabling it to display the most relevant content to your site. Besides text ads, Nixie also features price comparison listings as well as live auction advertising. It’s very easy to implement and has a good payment policy as well.

MIVA AdRevenue Xpress (http://www.miva.com/us/content/partners/arx.asp)
MIVA AdRevenue Xpress is targeted towards small and mid-sized publishers. It implements Search Box functionality and also features things like a Category Directory as well as the handling of 404 error pages. It can be integrated with your page using a simple on-line wizard.

Value Click Media (formerly FastClick) (http://www.valueclickmedia.com/)
Valueclick offers you an impressive 65 percent of what it makes from a click on your website. Payments are done monthly, via PayPal or through checks. The ads can be formatted as you wish, and Valueclick even offers a free support serice for its members and no fees are required to register with the service.

contextWeb ContextAd (http://www.contextweb.com/Corporate/publisher/publisher.shtml)
ContextAd offers the possibility of contextual ads for dynamic pages, meaning ads will change as soon as your page does. It’s very easy to use and free to sing up for and offers a transparent payment policy. The ads are fully customizable and real-time reports are available 24/7.

AdBrite (http://www.adbrite.com/)
AdBrite offers publishers the possibility of integrating text ads in their pages. These are done on your own rates, with the websites you approve by hand so it bares some similarities with a classic advertising scheme. You also have the option of adding a “Your Add Here” button that buyers can immediately click to ad space on your page. It can also be used in conjunction with Google AdSense, maximizing your CTR and offering advertisers the possibility of showing their links in your Google AdSense space. You have full control over the look and feel of your adds and finally, you get an incredible 75% of what the advertiser pays for on every click.

So, as you can see there are many offers for this kind of advertising, and many hybrids based on AdSense like advertising. Also, a lot of services can work together with AdSense to earn you an even greater amount of revenue for your ad space.

Add a Photo Using WordPress Blog Platform

Photos add life to your WordPress blog posts. They help your reader relate to the content and they add make your blog posts all the more interesting. Adding a photo or image is also easy to do! Here’s how:

Step 1 Get into your dashboard and click ‘write a post.’

Step 2 Give your post a title.

Step 3 Start writing. You can write your post before or after you enter your image. Typically the image is positioned at the beginning of the post.

Step 4 While in the ‘write a post’ page, scroll down the page and you will see a section where you can upload photos, videos, etc…

Step 5 Click on “Browse” to find the photo you want to upload. It’s often easier if you keep your photos in one file so you don’t have to waste time searching your computer for the photo you want. If you’ve uploaded a file from a stock photo website, make sure to label the photo because they’re easy to get mixed up and disorganized.

Step 6. Give your photo a title and a description. This helps keep you organized when your uploaded pictures become plentiful.

Step 7 Choose the size photo you want and where you want it linked. Choose “File” if you want the photo uploaded into the post you’re writing. “Page” if you’re creating a page and “none” if you just want the file uploaded for future use.

Step 8 Now you’re ready to insert the photo into your post. Click “send to editor.”

Step 9 The image should now be seen in your post. If you want to edit the image, you can click on it and then click on the toolbar icon that is labeled “Insert/edit image.” There you have alignment choices, dimensions, and borders.

Step 10 Save and publish.

Inserting an image into your WordPress Blog post is a simple and straightforward process. Enjoy and keep blogging!

Add a Photo Using Blogger Blog Platform

Photos add an extra zing of interest and appeal to a blog post. They help your reader identify with you and your blog. Fortunately adding a photo to your blogger post is a fairly straightforward process.

Step 1 Click on New Post

Step 2 Write your post as you would. If you want your image to be inserted in the beginning of your post then you’ll follow these steps next. If you want your image to be contained within your post then you can write until you’re ready to insert an image. Additionally, you can write the entire post and then go back and place your cursor where you want the image to be and follow the remaining steps.

Step 3 On the toolbar you’ll see an image. Run your cursor over that image and it will say “add image” Click on that.

Step 4 A screen will pop up that allows you to upload an image from your computer or to upload an image from the web. Maximum size is 8MB. You can upload a jpg, gif, bmp, or png image. If you’re uploading an image from your computer you will be prompted to browse your files to locate the image and upload it. If you’re uploading an image from the web, you’ll need to enter the URL of the image.

Step 5 Once your image is uploaded you can decide how you want it presented. Do you want it left justified, right justified or centered on your blog post?

Step 6 Choose the size of image you want. Larger images are easier to see however, they can take up a lot of space.

Step 7 Accept the terms of service and then click upload.

Step 8 Preview the post to make sure it looks like how you want it to appear. If it does, then you can save your post and publish it.

You’re done! Uploading a photo into Blogger is REALLY easy!

RSS, Really Simple Syndication, is an excellent way to add content to your website. More relevant content on your website means a higher search engine ranking and a benefit to your visitors. Here’s how to add RSS to your website.

Step 1 Find a reader to subscribe to. There are many available online. A quick Google Search will provide you with many to choose from. Look for ones that offer PHP scripts rather than JavaScript. JavaScript isn’t read by search engine spiders and the content will not help your search engine ranking.

Step 2 Register. Generally all you need to provide is an email address and your website URL. A confirmation will be sent to your email along with a password and logon.

Step 3 Confirm via email and logon with your assigned password and logon ID.

Step 4 Customize your content. Choose the topics you want to cover. For example Google News, Yahoo Finance, or Reuters Health. You can choose several. Make certain to choose topics that are relevant to your website subject. You wouldn’t want to choose finance if your site offers health information.

Step 5 Choose keywords. You can customize your feeds by choosing specific keywords. For example, if you have a website dedicated to fitness you can add the keyword “fitness” to your code.

Step 6 Choose appearance. You can customize the shape and size of your content block. Whether there are pictures included, the author, the title of the article and so on. This is usually a check the box type menu.

Step 7 Choose formatting. Here you can choose the font you want, size of font, and the general formatting of your feed.

Step 8 Generate the code and follow the directions to get it onto your website. Generally the code is given to you in PHP or JavaScript. PHP is recommended because JavaScript is not read by search engine spiders. If you’re using RSS to add content to your site, you’ll want to use the PHP script offered. PHP isn’t automatically added to HTML so if you have an HTML based site, you’ll need to add a bit of code to it to have it recognize the PHP. No worries, the RSS feed you use will offer you instructions on how to do that.

RSS is a technology that is fairly easy to use and it can add significant content and value to your website. All it takes is a few simple steps and you’re done. Quality content with the click of a button.

I released this new free wordpress theme over at Easy Wahm Websites. I hope it makes someone’s blog happy!

: free wordpress themes, blog themes

Yes, print screen is easy as pie, but if you use SnagIt to capture screen you don’t have to also open up editing software and paste, and crop, and all those things. It’s a huge time saver if you do a lot of screen captures like I do. I use it just about every day.

This software doesn’t just do a screen capture, it also lets you easily add circles, boxes, text, arrows, and other things to highlight why exactly it is that you captured that screen in the first place. Just need to capture a small part of the screen? Not a problem, do a capture region. Want to capture the whole page? That’s not a problem either, you can capture with scroll to get all the information on a page. Great for tutorials and showing off website designs.

Download the 30 day trial of SnagIt for free and give it a test run. There are loads of little gems about this program but I’m not going to chew your ear off all day about it. Just try it. You’ll be glad you did.

http://www.techsmith.com/screen-capture.asp <===

The purchase price is $39.99, but if you enter Promotional Code SNUG at the time of checkout it will take $10 off and give you a purchase price of only $29.99 for this very useful gadget. Enjoy.

Or if you're saving your pennies for a Patek Philippe watch to splurge on your hubby’s birthday or your anniversary you can download the free trial for right now and give it a test drive. It’s worth it, I promise.

: snagit, screen capture, web design, free trial, promotional code

This is a 4-week intensive coaching session to help people effectively use their blog as a business marketing tool.

Lessons are delivered via email and as a back-up to unreliable email, in a private online membership area. Each week, the students receive a printable training guide that is accompanied by an audio recording, should students prefer to do their learning by listening.

We all know how powerful blogs can be, but sometimes keeping up with your own blog can be a bit of a challenge.

Alice Seba just posted a highly-useful freebie to her blog. It’s a pre-recorded webinar that discusses the concept of joint blogging which allows you to work with other bloggers for maximum promotion at minimal effort.

Together with Lynette Chandler, Kelly McCausey & Carrie Lauth these savvy women discuss the benefits of joint blogging and how to get started yourself. This 47+ minute audio comes with complete audio transcripts and you can download both at no-charge and without any obligation just by clicking here.

: blogging, blogging bootcamp, blogging success, professional bloggers, blog marketing, marketing, free, free report

This is just one of the free blog themes over at my other website Easy Wahm Websites. I don’t think I’ve mentioned that here before… silly me, I talk about blogging here all the time and forgot to tell you about my free themes! Duh!

There are going to be 11 more of the fairy themes to make a full set. I also asked for requests on what kind of themes people would like to see available for their blogs. What kind of free theme would be great for your blog?

I’ve received quite a few requests for some free cat themes with pictures of cute kitties doing cute kitty things. I’m working on something right now, and there is definitely no shortage of cute cat pictures on the internet and stock photo sites! Kitties are everywhere! Climbing up the cat furniture and napping in unusual places, and even chasing imaginary things across the floor. So kitties it will be …. hopefully soon. My vision in my head and what’s coming out on the screen are not quite in agreement.

So, what kind of free blog theme do you want to see?