I use websites like Twitter all the time, and see loads of shortened URL’s being used, and every time I see one I dont recognize, I go check out the website, to see what they have to offer. Some of the websites simply create a shortened URL, that redirects to your website link, these ones sometimes expire after a certain amount of time, so beware!

I absolutely hate tinyurl.com, and think the only reason it has been so popular, is because it was one of the first, and because it was super simple to instantly shorten a url, no login or account required.

That being said, one that I have come to really like is called Trim (http://tr.im), and is one of those ‘no hassle’ websites we all like. Its possible to sign up for free, and be using their services in no time whatsoever.

What I like about their service, is that you have a record of all your shortened URL’s, and can see stats on them at any time.  Another great feature, is the option to automatically tweet your links as you make them, which is pretty sweet. For me though, the icing on the cake is the ability to custom make your url! Yep, you heard me, you can customize your URL, eg http://tr.im/FrancoisHarris will take you through to this blog!

Another really good one is http://bit.ly, which seems to have the same functionality as http://tr.im, also allowing you to also create a custom URL, and track the click through stats, as well as giving you the option to tweet your shortened URL. It also seems that bit.ly and twitter are good friends too, as twitter is using them for url shortening now.

One downfall Trim and Bitly both seem to have, is that I am not able to edit the destination URL AFTER it has been created.

I would like to be able to use affiliate links for instance, so that they are shortened and I can track the clicks, but what happens if I want to change the destination URL to a different provider, but keep the custom URL I have created? It would be far better to edit the destination URL, than to go through all my old websites, changing all the shortened URL’s. ClickAudit was able to do this, and it was one of their great features.

I do realize that these services are designed primarily for shortening the length of a URL, and NOT for tracking affiliate clicks, but why cant they be used for both?

I would love to hear what services you are all using, and what makes them so special, please feel free to post a comment.

Cheers for now

I have been trying to make a bit of money online for a while now, and am thrilled with this new website that allows you to instantly install a blog, ready for monetization, and has over 1000 templates to choose from!

This is a dream come true for people who dont have much experience with earning money online.

I thought I would share the info, obviously if you are a Pro, then you may prefer to do things the way you know how, but for newbies, this makes it so unbelievably easy to setup a website and start earning immediately, dont forget its free too!

The website is being run by the creators of the Thirty Day Challenge, a website that teaches you the basics of how to make money online for FREE! Their website is http://www.thirtydaychallenge.com. If you are new to internet marketing and making money online GO TO THIS SITE NOW, they will teach you all the basics 100% FREE of charge.

They have setup this awesome site called WordPress Direct, which has free and paid areas. (http://www.worpressdirect.com)

Simply put, Wordpress Direct will allow you to create SEO-Optimized, Content-Stuffed Websites Instantly!

No More Wasting Your Precious Time with Setup, Search Engine Optimization, or Maintaining Your Site . . . WordPressDirect has been designed to handle all the setup, SEO and maintenance functions for you.

The free area allows you to setup 3 fully functional sites, while the other pay areas let you do more.

Trust me, once you have tried this you will NEVER worry about finding wordpress hosting, templates etc ever again! Best of all is FREE for the basic version, awesome hey!

Do yourself a favour, go check it out, and start earning money asap.

Basically here is the deal…with some marketing magic written by Mike…

Back in February of 2007, Mike Filsaime held a secret Private Workshop at an undisclosed location.

Over 100 people paid $5000 for the Workshop.

He then took those DVD’s (Which now sell for $1297) and sold it out in record fashion in under 7 days to 2500 people. Since then… over 3000 people have paid for that information.

The success stories that followed have changed the face of Internet Marketing.

(Filsaime, along with his 37 Staff Members, will do $10,000,000 this year in sales and is credited with showing other marketers how to grow a 7 figure Business.)

BIG DEAL! Big Deal?

Recently, Mike hired a “TOP GUN” Internet Marketing Expert and Copywriter (That also attended the event.)

Mike Paid this “TOP GUN” $25,000 to watch all 16 DVD’s of “The 7 Figure Code” and condense it into a Masterpiece…

THE RESULT…

An 85 Page report, no fluff, with all of the Gold nuggets, Pearls of Wisdom, and action plans for you to get in a 1 hours’ read.

That’s right, what 100 people paid $5000 for, and had to sit through 3 days, you will get all of the information crammed into 1 report that you can read in 1 sitting.

=============================================
NOW HERE IS THE INSANE PART – IT’s FREE
=============================================

That is right, Mike Filsaime was going to sell it for $297.00 and was planning on selling 3000 copies in 7 days.

They are already printed, spiral bound, and sitting at the warehouse ready to ship.

But Mike has decided to ship it to you for…

*** Free ***

(Only While supplies Last.)

All Mike Asks is that you pay the shipping (about $8 or so)

That is it. You do NOT have to buy it. You simply tell him where to ship it and he will send it to you for…

nothing, zip, nada!

But… IT GET’S EVEN BETTER…

>>> Mike was going to upsell the 18 Full Color Process Maps. ($197 Value)

Mike hired the best Internet Marketing experts on Process Mapping, Rich Schefrens’ Strategic Profits, to produce these process maps based on each DVD… 18 in all.

Mike has decided to move the FREELINE even further and give you access to these for Free too (also VERY limited time)

And to prove that Mike has lost his mind (and has clearly landed on the North Pole of Mars,) he is also giving you is best selling

“The Butterfly Marketing Manuscript 2.0″ ($97 Value) for Free as well!

So here is a RECAP of what you get Free

- The 7 Figure Secrets Printed and Shipped to you Door
- The 18 Full Color Process Maps
- The Butterfly Marketing Manuscript Version 2.0

It just went live for a Limited Time and ONLY while supplies last…

So, if you want to be THE FIRST TO GET your hands on The 7 Figure Secrets, go NOW to:

http://the7figuresecrets.com/yours-free/9377

PS – The site just went live , so make sure to get your copy ASAP shipped to your door because when the pre printed copies are gone, you will not be able to get your hands on this.

Secure your copy here…

http://the7figuresecrets.com/yours-free/9377

What I am talking about is a lovely site called ClickAudit which I use all the time. I haven’t really researched online for other similar sites, as ClickAudit has been great and met all my needs, but if you have any suggestions…..NEW UPDATE! Please read the bottom of this post about ClickAudit.

What ClickAudit does, is offer a service where you can shorten (or disguise) your url, just like Tiny Url. So basically instead of letting everyone know your link is an affiliate link, they only see the new streamlined ClickAudit link. Where Click Audit shines brighter than Tiny Url, is that you can login, and keep track of your links, with detailed statistics.

As a free member, you can add up to 10 links, which can be put under different categories. Each time one of your links is clicked, Click Audit will track it, the graphs and stats are almost instant.

“With your FREE ClickAudit Link Tracker account, you will be able to create and track up to 10 links with a maximum of 10,000 clicks per month.

If you exceed 10,000 hits, your links will still be redirected but they will not be counted in your statistics.”

In your admin panel, you are able to see how many clicks a specific link has got, as well as how many were unique. You are also able to easily reset the clicks back to zero, edit the link or delete it.

The Edit function for the link is great, because if you have plastered the web with your Click Audit link, and you suddenly decide to change to a different affiliate, or to a different destination, you are able to simply edit the destination of that particular Click Audit url in the admin area, and it works instantly.

Add the same url a couple of times, to get multiple ClickAudit links to the same location for use on your website, newsletter, blog etc., now you are able to see which areas of your marketing campaign are getting the most clicks, and therefore which is giving a better ROI.

How about downloads? Put the url for your download into ClickAudit, and track how many people download a particular file. I have even used it to track banner impressions, as well as clicks, on websites that don’t have a banner management system.

I really like the service ClickAudit offers, and highly recommend them. I will leave you with the list of points from their website:

• Track your clicks in real time
• Easy to use ad tracker
• Shorten and track your long, ugly affiliate links
• Protect your affiliate commissions from being “by-passed”
• Dynamically edit your links
• Change outdated affiliate links and ads dynamically
• Use it for URL redirection>
• Track how many times your eBooks, files, or reports have been downloaded
• Track the number of clicks on links on your site
• Track clicks on banners
• Track clicks on text links in your emails, newsletter or ezine
• Track all your ads and affiliate links
• Track links to external sites and services
• Track clicks on your links from newsletters and external web sites
• Track which links are performing the best including cost per click
• Save time, money and effort by identifying the best performing ads and links
• 24/7 online reporting in real time
• Quickly see how well all your marketing campaigns are performing

So take the hassle out of tracking your links, use http://www.clickaudit.com, like me!

NEW UPDATE!!

Click Audit closed, and is no longer offering its services. This has forced people like me who used them to look elsewhere. I have found a GREAT site called Trim, (http://tr.im) which is able to offer the same services, in a more easy to manage way. Check them out!

What is “30 Minute Backlinks” I hear you say, well…according to Michelle…..

“30 Minute Backlinks is a set of video tutorials thoroughly explaining a previously unpublished method of getting hundreds of one way links to your site.

It shows, in step-by-step follow along detail, the 30 minute process of creating software and adding that software to online

software directories (some as high as 5, 6 and 7 PR). Those software directories will link back to your site. Everyone is happy – the software directories get additional listings to fill out their archives, and you get valuable backlinks.

You’ll learn how to submit your software to the directories in a way that literally forces them to link to you with your keywords and grows your site’s search engine rank for the keywords you are targeting.

You can create as many pieces of software as you wish and, in that way, compound your results. Each new software you create and submit will take about 30 minutes to make and submit for links.

You have creative control over the software you create and can ensure it’s up to your standards You will make software you’re proud to put your name on.

Every resource is point-and-click, fill out a form simple. You do not need coding, programming or other technical experience.

The “30 Minute Backlinks” Link Building Blueprint Is So Brain Dead Simple A Trained Racoon Could Do It!”

——————
Now I dont know about you, but I really like everything I read on Michelles Blog, and what I have received from her already is like gold. She really knows her stuff, and I encourage any web marketing people to subscribe to her feed.

More of Michelle’s awesome handiwork can be found on Social Media Daily, which is another goldmine for Social Networking ideas and information. Become a member, and get a free PDF file with excellent tips and advice.

Now what is even more cool about “30 Minute Backlinks“, is that you can make actually also make some money selling this product to your customers! Yep, there is an affiliate option, where you can make some dosh selling the program yourself.

I just got my email this morning from Michelle, which went like this:

“Hey Francois!

The Clickbank Gods shined on us!

They’ve approved 30 minute Backlinks at it’s $100 purchase price! What’s the mean for you? 50% commission (that’s $50/sale, whichever way you slice it).

—– THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW FIRST —–

1. This is a brand new product. It’s only been released to my personal customer list (and converted at 9.7%!) – which is cool, the market isn’t totally saturated.

2. There is going to be some *NOISE* about it next month. For this reason, I really do suggest that, if you’re going to promote it, you do so now. You’ll look like you’re ahead of the curve when everyone jumps on the bandwagon.

—– THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW SECOND —–

Your affiliate link: [url]http://CLICKBANKNAME.30minlinks.hop.clickbank.net[/url]
(Replace Clickbank name with your Clickbank user name)

It’s an easy sell for internet & niche marketers since it helps them rank for their keywords – and everyone wants higher Google rank.

Throw up a blog post & email your list to get in on this before word gets out!

Best,

Michelle MacPhearson
30 Minute Backlinks

——
Now if you also want to make some money off this product, I suggest you go down and register at Clickbank asap!
I think this is going to be a great way to make money online, as well as an excellent product to use for getting links to your own website too.