Groundzero Webmaster Newsletter : Issue #16
Copyright (c) 2003 : http://www.ground-z.org
April 28 2003 : All Rights Reserved
Editor : Rik Tairea - webmaster@ground-z.org

The Groundzero Webmaster Newsletter is a monthly eZine created for webmasters and website owners who are looking for useful resources, tools, editorials, software, eBooks, promotion and design tips to help get the most out of a website. For in-depth reviews of webmaster resources and website tools, articles, books, software, awards and past newsletter issues visit http://www.ground-z.org


- In This Issue -

1. Introduction
2. Recommended Resources
3. Top 10 Resources @ Groundzero
4. Editors Corner
5. Promotion Tip
6. Recommended eBook
7. Design Review
8. Recommended Software
9. Contact/Unsubscribe/Subscribe/Privacy
10. Final Thoughts
11. Newsletter Details


- 1.Introduction -

Welcome to Issue #16 of the Groundzero Webmaster Newsletter. This month in the "Editors Corner" I talk about the Groundzero Design Award program and we also have the usual recommended resources, promotion tip, eBook, website design and software reviews.

Happy Birthday to Groundzero, Happy Birthday to .... ummmm, you get the picture. April 21st is the birth date of the Groundzero website, it is now 2 whole years old. I think I'm starting to get teary eyed, must be some dust in my eyes.

But seriously, it's a bit of an occasion for myself because it is my favorite website to work on. It's not my oldest site but it has produced the best results (so far) out of all my sites I have worked on (there are a couple of others though hot on it's heels).

A website celebrating a birthday may seem silly but hey, I'm a silly guy (sometimes, maybe once or twice a year).

I've just realised that I actually have some time management skills. As I mentioned in last months issue, I've been building a new site and couple that with the fact that I have to keep other websites maintained and publish an eZine, you could say that I've been a bit busy.

To my surprise, I didn't get stressed out and fall behind. I've actually managed to keep to some sort of schedule and keep on top of things, who would have thought that time management was a good webmaster skill to have.

Just as I thought, you all knew but didn't tell me.

Enjoy this months issue!

Editor - Rik Tairea
Groundzero - http://www.ground-z.org

Enjoy this months issue!


- 2.Recommended Resources -

SEO Consultants Directory :
http://www.seoconsultants.com
Find a search engine marketing company, locate professional search engine optimization consultants from around the world who have proven track records with search engines, pay per click bid management programs and directories.

MarketZone Search Engine Relationships :
http://www.marketzone.net/relationships.asp
MarketZone presents search engine relationship charts that allow you to easily identify where results within the search engines (from All The Web to Yahoo!) are derived from and provided to.

Search Engine Guide :
http://www.searchengineguide.com
Search engines are covered in depth with daily search engine news, information on search engine marketing, and their directory of general and specialty search engines. Also includes a search engine marketing newsletter.


- 3.Top 10 Resources @ Groundzero -

Here are the top 10 rated webmaster resources reviewed at Groundzero. Visit the "Webmaster Resources" section and read in-depth reviews on various website tools, guides, affiliate networks, traffic generators and software. New webmaster resources are added weekly and are rated out of 5.00.

1 - Logo Creator
2 - iPowerWeb
3 - Group Mail
4 - A Best Web
5 - CoffeeCup Firestarter
6 - Ulead Cool 3D
7 - 123 Log Analyzer
8 - Effect 3D Studio
9 - CoffeeCup HTML Editor
10 - Shareasale


- 4.Editors Corner -

"The Groundzero Design Award"

Two years ago I created the Groundzero Design Award. This was the based on the fact that I had applied for numerous awards with an old content/personal site of mine and thought to myself that I could make an award site as well.

So I did. Not only did I create an award program but I also created a website to complement it which we all know today as Groundzero. 2 years later both the website and award program is still around, but was it worth it?

Yes.

Websites and award programs come and go, it's 2 years later and they are both still online. Don't get me wrong, there have been times when I've come pretty close to throwing in the towel (once with the website and multiple times with the award program).

The award program has it's benefits (not as much as the site itself) but sometimes it can be a bit of a hassle and get in the way of performing other more worth while tasks (like this eZine for example).

Benefits include :
- link popularity.
- fr#e traffic.
- content for your website.

The Groundzero Design Award was mainly designed for the sole purpose of creating webmaster content for the website. Winners of the this award are given a separate review page in the awards section that includes a screenshot, details and a review of why the winning website earned the award.

Add this to the fact that it can also provide easy to call on content for your own webmaster newsletter (wink, wink).

So even if you're not interested applying for the award, a visitor/webmaster can have a look at the winning sites and examine (not carbon copy) their design. This can provide some ideas for the design process of a future website or provide the base for a makeover of a current site.

The main problem with running an award program is that it can be very time consuming, especially the way I run it.

The way I go through applications is that I set some time once a month to look at every site submitted during the past 30 days. I go through every website and decide whether it deserves a second look. Then, I take a second in-depth look at selected websites and decide whether or not they deserve to win the award. Then I create the dedicated winners page, update and test affected pages and then inform the winners.

When you get a lot of applications the time really adds up, and the only way to make sure you don't go overboard is to be strict on what sites deserve your award and follow your well crafted criteria to the letter.

But this leads to another problem (one that I'm not sure of if it's common or not). I really did not expect angry messages of "hey, why didn't you give me your award" or"hey, you really @#$%@", etc, etc. I didn't bother replying to said messages but it was really putting me off continuing the award program.

I did get over this though because I did some investigating and noticed the trend of people sending in disgruntled messages coincided with "not so good looking" websites that had earned quite a lot of low quality awards. The good news is that it's been a while since I've received some negative feedback that included name calling.

As I noted before, I've come pretty close to closing the Groundzero Design Award. Sure, you can get some fr#e traffic but a lot of it's not very targeted and it's time consuming. But if you're thinking about starting your own award site or section then here are a couple of tips.

There are only 2 award directories you need to be listed at.
Award Sites - http://www.awardsites.com
Website Awards - http://www.website-awards.net

The listing on the Website Awards worksheet will provide quick traffic and link popularity and a good rating from Award Sites will provide good award traffic. If you initially get a low rating from Award Sites then do some research, change your program and re-apply. The higher your rating, the more award seekers will want your award.

Before you launch your award make sure you have examined other website award programs of various levels. This will help you get an idea of what and what not to do and whatever you do make sure you do not carbon copy another award.

Finally, create a good award image. It doesn't have to be the coolest award image ever created but it shouldn't look b#tt ugly either. If an award image looks good then winners will want to display it on their site with pride and link it back to your website.

When creating a website award program it's good to have an idea of why you want to award websites in the first place. For some it may be the traffic (levels will vary), link popularity or content. The only reason the Groundzero Design Award still exists is because it provides useful content for the website and this eZine.

A good reason for running an award program will help make it successful and worthwhile.


- 5.Promotion Tip -

GoGuides Directory :
http://www.goguides.org

GoGuides is a directory in the same vein of the Open Directory Project where webmasters submit their websites for inclusion (fr#e or paid express) into an appropriate directory. Sections are run by voluntary editors (you can apply to edit categories just like the ODP).

Look at the list of major topics in the GoGuides directory, click on the appropriate topic for your site, then find the most specific subtopic available for your site. Go as deeply into the subtopics as is necessary.

When you have found the subtopic where your site should be located, click 'Add URL' which is at the top of the page. Fill out the submission form. Submission must be reviewed and approved first and your listing will not show in the search results immediately.


- 6.Recommended eBook -

Title : 123 eBusiness: A Beginner's Guide
Format : adobe acrobat document
Size : 1.60 MB
Price : Fr#e
URL : http://rosalindgardner.com

Learn internet business strategies from an experienced marketer. 123eBusiness : A Beginner's Guide to Starting a Lucrative Business on the Internet will help those who are new to affiliate marketing or making money online.

Topics covered include :
- what skills are needed to start.
- how to accept credit cards without a merchant account.
- types of products to avoid.
- how to choose a reputable affiliate program.
- how to avoid carrying inventory and shipping costs.
- and much more.

This eBook is written by Rosalind Gardner who earns $30,000 to $50,000 a month in affiliate commissions, with a very nice 40% to 50% profit margin. Her articles appear all over the web and are available to subscribers of her Net Profits Coach newsletter.


- 7.Design Review -

Site Name : Concentricus
Type : webzine
URL : http://www.concentricus.com

Concentricus is a website for amateur writers. With staff writers and contributing authors spanning all over the world, Concentricus is a publication for anyone, anywhere. Concentricus is also a past winner of the Groundzero Website Award.

I am big fan of websites that have a boxed layout like this one. This is because it's a great way to present information as headlines and then combine it with a main story kind of like the frontpage of a newspaper.

Concentricus has a clean and professional look about it, especially with it's great red white and dark grey color scheme. It's also a good website because it has a very good combination of great design and informative content.


- 8.Recommended Software -

Name : Site Translator
Type : language converter
Size : 2.3 MB
Price : $89.95
Operating System : Windows 98/ME/XP/2000
URL : http://www.deskshare.com/st.htm

Perfect solution for fast, efficient and cost effective website translation. Site Translator gives you the ability to provide potential customers with speedy multilingual translations in seconds, through dynamic machine translation technology. One simple click allows a non-English speaking visitor to view your site in their own language.

Site Translator features include :
- fast, dynamic machine translation technology.
- ages translated directly into the desired language.
- convert your whole site to any desired language.
- save both the input and the translated output easily.

Site Translator supports 7 languages. Translate your pages for the German, Spanish, French, Italian, Portugese, Dutch and Norwegian languages. This software is shareware with a fr#e 30-day trial offer.


- 9.Contact/Unsubscribe/Subscribe/Privacy -

If you have any questions regarding this newsletter then please feel free to contact me by e-mail. You can also send in any feedback about the Groundzero Webmaster Newsletter. I love receiving e-mail so feel free to send in a message to just say hello or, if you need any help (website wise) then send in a question that I might be able to help you with.

contact - webmaster@ground-z.org
unsubscribe - unsubscribe@ground-z.org
subscribe - subscribe@ground-z.org

I absolutely despise SPAM and I will respect your privacy. I will not share or sell your e-mail address with anyone, I will not send you any unsolicited mail or collect any demographic information about you. Your e-mail address will only be used to receive the Groundzero Webmaster Newsletter and any correspondence with me will remain confidential.


- 10.Final Thoughts -

I hope you enjoyed Issue #16 of the Groundzero Webmaster Newsletter. Remember you can always read past issues of this newsletter on the website and the next issue will be sent out May 28th 2002. Please feel free to send any feedback or comments you may have about this newsletter.

If you want to recommend some webmaster resources/websites, eBooks, software or any well designed websites then let me know, even if it's yours. If it benefits others then I'll feature it in an issue of this newsletter so send it in.

If you think you know someone who might be interested in reading this newsletter then do them a favor and forward them this entire e-mail or point them to the Groundzero website located @ http://www.ground-z.org

If you want to help out some more and you think that this newsletter is useful then feel free to put a link on your website pointing to Groundzero @ http://www.ground-z.org

Thanks for your time and stay safe.
Rik Tairea :)


- 11.Newsletter Details -

You are receiving the Groundzero Webmaster Newsletter because you submitted your e-mail address by way of e-mail or a sign-up form located at Groundzero. If you do not wish to receive this publication anymore then use the unsubscription e-mail link located in Section 9.

No part of this newsletter may be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission. You may forward this eZine by e-mail as long as you forward it in its entirety. It is forbidden to post this newsletter on any website or republish it in print or other media without prior written consent from the editor.