Choosing A Domain Name, Alias, And Host

I’m trying to decide whether or not to change several things. One is my domain name, two is my alias, and three is my host.

My domain name: This domain name sounds so common, and in all honesty, it holds no special meaning to me. I’d also prefer a non-org and non-hyphenated domain. My only concern before that prevented me from switching was because of my pagerank, but since that is nonexistent now, I really couldn’t care less. As a matter of fact, a new domain name would be a nice restart for me On the other hand though, it means updating my links within my site and outside links back to my site, which can get quite tedious. Below are my new name considerations:

• lovefatale.com/net
• wingstranger.com/net

My alias: In the past I’ve been using Shao as my online name, but that name was actually derived from an anime character I’m no longer interested in. On the other hand, I’d like to use my real name, Jenny, just because it is my name and all my outgoing emails have that name on there. However, it’s a very common name, and I don’t like to mistaken for someone else or vice versa. There’s also my childhood nickname, Mimi, which comes from yet another anime character, except that after all these years, I still love her. So I’m in a dilemma over which one I should pick.

My host: I love CirtexHost. They are reliable, affordable, and helpful. However, I’m paying more than I need for resources I don’t use. At the same time, they have a limited number of databases, the one resource I do need more of. I’m considering HoldFire Hosting’s custom plan or XFluro’s $10/year plan. However, switching plans mean that if my site does grow and use up more resources, I will need to switch again.

Suggestions anyone?

Pagerank Recovery

I checked my site’s pagerank the other day and found out that it dropped to a 0. After searching around for the reasons why, I figured that it could because of the following:

1. Selling links, especially by participating in the Text Link Ads network.
2. Use of labels and texts like sponsored links, buy links here, place ads here for $$$, all which might suggest to Googlebots that you are selling links, even though you might not be.
3. Articles or posts suggesting the importance of pagerank and buying links.
4. Taking part in paid reviews and encouraging others to do so.
5. Selling advertisements on your blog, which suggests to Google that you might also be selling links

As you can see, Google really doesn’t like the idea of selling or buying links, and will penalize you for it! Unfortunately, that was what happened to my site, so now I’ve in the process of clearing up any hints or suggestions that I’m selling links. If you’ve been hit with the same problem, you can try the following steps to recover your pagerank:

• Stop with the buying and selling of links. That’s what Google is punishing people for, and they do it through various methods like I mentioned above. So if you’re doing it, then just stop. Or if you don’t care about pagerank or having your site removed from Google’s search result, then by all means keep buying and selling.
• Add rel=”nofollow” to all outgoing links. Ok, maybe not that extreme, but if you want to be safe, this is the way to go. Jem has a good article on the dangers of dofollow, and I think she also has one on the benefits of dofollow, but I can’t seem to find it. Either way, I think it’s worth reading.
• Take off labels like “Sponsored Links”, or any other labels that might suggest to Google that you are selling/buying links. Remember, Google does NOT like that.
• Limit the paid-to-review posts. Usually you’re paid to blog about subjects you don’t know and advertise the site. Again, Google doesn’t like this. However, I’m not saying to stop writing those paid-to-review posts. I wrote an article on why paid posts aren’t as bad as people make it out to be.
• Resubmit your site to Google for validation. You can find a link to your right when you login to Google Webmaster Tools. After you submit your site, do not expect a reply back. If by 4-5 months your pagerank doesn’t improve, take it as a hint that Google still doesn’t like your site for the above reason, and that it’s time to comb through page by page to weed things out.

I find it ironic that I just wrote a post on pagerank when Google is penalizing people for it.

Using Images As Patterns In Photoshop

While working on my new WordPress theme for this site (yay! no more free themes!), I was trying to figure out how to use images as patterns in Photoshop. I’m sure many people use those gorgeous patterns made by Squidfingers or perhaps have other images they’d like to have repeating on their designs, but usually those files are .png, .jpg, or .gif, and Photoshop only accepts .pat for their pattern files. Here are easy steps to transform those image files into patterns:

1. Open up the image file you’d like to use as a pattern in Photoshop
2. Go to Edit > Define Pattern… and give your new pattern a name
3. Your new pattern should now appear in the patterns window
4. To make sure your pattern stays the next time you open Photoshop, make sure you click on the arrow in the pattern viewing window and click on Save Patterns… and give it a new name
5. Now next time just load that pattern, and you should see your newly created pattern from last time!

One good site I found for creating your own stripe patterns is the Stripe Generator. They also have some other useful tools on that site, so go check it out!