Add Disqus Recent Comments Widget to Blogger

Today, we will learn a simple and useful tutorial on how to add an attractive and fast-loading Disqus Recent Comments widget on a Blogger blog. Widgets like these let readers know about the conversations going on at your blog, and if you're fairly active, it adds up to a good impression. This widget in question is well-scripted and the JavaScript is hosted at Disqus so as to reduce the load time on your blog. So lets learn how to add it to blogger.

Read more »

How To Remove The Search Box From Sitelinks?

Google has made quite a few changes to its search engine in the past few months, and these include the exclusion of certain authorship data from search real estate. Ever since then, some people have faced problems with their sitelinks. Sitelinks are automated links generated from your site, and are seemingly chosen randomly. The algorithm that chooses these 'random' sitelinks is shady at best, and often you do not want certain links to appear.

Read more »

Blocking Bots From CSS and JavaScript Can Impact Rankings

Search engines rely on the content of a page, among other SEO factors, to determine how well should it rank in search results. Until recently, they only worked on the textual content. But as usability began to grow as a ranking factor, Google started to render webpages much as a modern browser would - with images, CSS, JavaScript, and so on. Google has now updated their guidelines to inform webmasters that blocking search bots from accessing CSS and JavaScript files will now negatively effect the website's search ranking.

Read more »

Can You Have Good SEO Simply By Having Good Content?

To SEO or not to SEO, that is the question asked by many bloggers and small-scale business owners who focus on their content alone and are comfortable with it. For some such website owners, some SEO tactics might be out of their scope, for they rely on content quality alone to get through to customers. And it is understandable, because not everyone has the know-how, the energy, the time or the money to go full-scale SEO. So can someone survive on their content alone without having to worry about SEO?

Read more »

How Is The Penguin 3.0 Update Effecting Websites?

Google is in the process of rolling out the next iteration of its Penguin filter, which is being dubbed by SEOs as Penguin 3.0, since it a major update and over an year in the coming. The original filter was introduced in 2012 and it was designed to target sites deemed to be spammy, especially those violating Google's guidelines regarding link-building. Google has improved this filter and the Penguin 3.0 is said to be much more efficient. Let's take a look at just how it is effecting websites worldwide.

Read more »

Google Rolls Out Penguin 3.0 Algorithm Update

Google has updated its Penguin algorithm with the new 3.0 iteration, making it a major update since last year when Penguin 2.0 was rolled out. The original filter was introduced in 2012 and it was designed to target sites deemed to be spammy, especially those violating Google's guidelines regarding link-building. Google has improved this filter and the Penguin 3.0 is said to be much more efficient, although we don't yet know exactly how much.

Read more »

Add 6 Stylish Custom Search Boxes To Blogger

There's an unspoken rule in the world of web design that says that every website have a search box. You can, and should, design a custom search gadget to Blogger that contributes to the theme of your site while providing some key benefits to both your customers and you.

Benefits to Customers

Search boxes not only help to increase your website's design usability, but they're very convenient to site visitors and regulars. For those that have been to your site before, they know what they want and they want it now. These are the impatient people who don't feel like wading through different links. If you don't accommodate this problem you might risk losing those readers.

For newer customers who want to get a feel for your site before investing any more time, it gives them the chance to look for their interests on both eCommerce sites and blog sites.

Benefits To You

Adding a custom search gadget to Blogger perhaps best benefit eCommerce sites because it's an industry that inherently offers a lot of very specific products. For instance, if you sold clothing apparel and someone was only look for shirts, the search would result would only bring up shirts so that person can look through everything in one place.

Bloggers might not have products to offer, but adding a custom search gadget to Blogger can help site analytics and SEO. Google Analytics offers a tool that will track all the searches performed by your search bar, so that you can use this data when improving your keyword usage and content choices. Google web crawlers and search engine bots will also test out phrases in these boxes on the rare occasion to make sure that all your content leads to somewhere creates a closed loop.

Add Your Own Custom Search Gadget To Blogger

Just because you should have a search bar doesn't mean you you're restricted to what time. Your site's search bar should be easy to find and readily available whenever someone needs it, but other than that the look of the design is up to you. If you want to add a custom search gadget to Blogger, here are 6 stylish choices to pick from. Just copy the code below the search box that you want to add and follow the steps below:

<style>
#searchbox {
    background: #d8d8d8;
    border: 4px solid #e8e8e8;
    padding: 20px 10px;
    width: 250px;
}

input:focus::-webkit-input-placeholder {
    color: transparent;
}

input:focus:-moz-placeholder {
    color: transparent;
}

input:focus::-moz-placeholder {
    color: transparent;
}

#searchbox input {
    outline: none;
}

#searchbox input[type="text"] {
    background: url(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn4IQds8Azwn0D64kh6hRJ9bjLTMxqif4OWVstFX8fFK4n3TFn10Ab78I95Zgd7glyAM0CGNLnIwgd7LD6owaUeP9cJeMfzYaRkFgU3CUA-wseapqDbBZqz1x-L4OwDeBDGUi0_NO1X44E/s1600/search-dark.png) no-repeat 10px 6px #fff;
    border-width: 1px;
    border-style: solid;
    border-color: #fff;
    font: bold 12px Arial,Helvetica,Sans-serif;
    color: #bebebe;
    width: 55%;
    padding: 8px 15px 8px 30px;
}

#button-submit {
    background: #6A6F75;
    border-width: 0px;
    padding: 9px 0px;
    width: 23%;
    cursor: pointer;
    font: bold 12px Arial, Helvetica;
    color: #fff;
    text-shadow: 0 1px 0 #555;
}

#button-submit:hover {
    background: #4f5356;
}

#button-submit:active {
    background: #5b5d60;
    outline: none;
}

#button-submit::-moz-focus-inner {
    border: 0;
}
</style>

<form id="searchbox" method="get" action="/search">
<input name="q" type="text" size="15" placeholder="Type here..." />
<input id="button-submit" type="submit" value="Search" />
</form>

<style>
#searchbox {
width: 240px;
}
#searchbox input {
    outline: none;
}
input:focus::-webkit-input-placeholder {
    color: transparent;
}
input:focus:-moz-placeholder {
    color: transparent;
}
input:focus::-moz-placeholder {
    color: transparent;
}
#searchbox input[type="text"] {
    background: url(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn4IQds8Azwn0D64kh6hRJ9bjLTMxqif4OWVstFX8fFK4n3TFn10Ab78I95Zgd7glyAM0CGNLnIwgd7LD6owaUeP9cJeMfzYaRkFgU3CUA-wseapqDbBZqz1x-L4OwDeBDGUi0_NO1X44E/s1600/search-dark.png) no-repeat 10px 13px #f2f2f2;
border: 2px solid #f2f2f2;
    font: bold 12px Arial,Helvetica,Sans-serif;
    color: #6A6F75;
    width: 160px;
    padding: 14px 17px 12px 30px;
    -webkit-border-radius: 5px 0px 0px 5px;
    -moz-border-radius: 5px 0px 0px 5px;
    border-radius: 5px 0px 0px 5px;
    text-shadow: 0 2px 3px #fff;
    -webkit-transition: all 0.7s ease 0s;
    -moz-transition: all 0.7s ease 0s;
    -o-transition: all 0.7s ease 0s;
    transition: all 0.7s ease 0s;
}
#searchbox input[type="text"]:focus {
background: #f7f7f7;
border: 2px solid #f7f7f7;
width: 200px;
padding-left: 10px;
}

#button-submit{
background: url(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5tF2T0DwW1qstyX062QWl-XHoBjJDM0wo54lFcjMPfkIk_B8WFSr_DQ1gYvt735Qg5J-Izwex-YJEwm7lzxWadxGl713-wUygyzO_aKvEEtNd1ZF5-74ZHGseiolQEAgPo3M60GgJ2S-u/s1600/slider-arrow-right.png) no-repeat;
margin-left: -40px;
border-width: 0px;
width: 43px;
height: 45px;
}
</style>

<form id="searchbox" method="get" action="/search" autocomplete="off">
<input name="q" type="text" size="15" placeholder="Enter keywords here..." />
<input id="button-submit" type="submit" value=" "/>
</form>

<style>
#searchbox {
    background: url(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqO1haHfOn0_b1Wik0CN38PfrZjbwqgRTXhjAEcNFKzhregTqtpTKj4bjtrDpTjo4V8RgsXdrEmJ4xZ03eJEgUpKyIR2prdklTfBbdSJfwQEsykHmpn09VboXhmTrhDZKYOdKAA8guvb76/s1600/searchbar.png) no-repeat;
    width: 208px;
    height: 29px;
}
input:focus::-webkit-input-placeholder {
    color: transparent;
}
input:focus:-moz-placeholder {
    color: transparent;
}
input:focus::-moz-placeholder {
    color: transparent;
}
#searchbox input {
    outline: none;
}
#searchbox input[type="text"] {
    background: transparent;
    margin: 3px 0px 0px 20px;
    padding: 5px 0px 5px 0px;
    border-width: 0px;
    font-family: "Arial Narrow", Arial, sans-serif;
    font-size: 12px;
    color: #828282;
    width: 70%;
    display: inline-table;
    vertical-align: top;
}
#button-submit {
    background: url(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA88Cp4vCpfrDeK77T58dF_eRP0_MYamhEO4E4m7kR1xUwG2hYCiZbZPxlaInTVR3DPFrgwtHgTpzzavH6WTcomTJu-QM1jRZlCXjalXTb9ONs7AG0Bd5bMREvHZoNm2OyKzscnuPMSJca/s1600/magnifier.png) no-repeat;
    border-width: 0px;
    cursor: pointer;
    margin-left: 10px;
    margin-top: 4px;
    width: 21px;
    height: 22px;
}
#button-submit:hover {
    background: url(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK_anZwnbigvogJW35OvXsCVn0HBGu89bcNsICuoIkZe2I9LDzq2v1yEI0KwmWv-C8DeE1T11Wch3tKJtrVzIiuFwqf818rOj6aRSB3RQI-d10ssunxDjvU3sfgyZHut_Eigp9t-eBieCr/s1600/magnifier-hover.png) no-repeat;
}
#button-submit:active {
    background: url(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK_anZwnbigvogJW35OvXsCVn0HBGu89bcNsICuoIkZe2I9LDzq2v1yEI0KwmWv-C8DeE1T11Wch3tKJtrVzIiuFwqf818rOj6aRSB3RQI-d10ssunxDjvU3sfgyZHut_Eigp9t-eBieCr/s1600/magnifier-hover.png) no-repeat;
    outline: none;
}
#button-submit::-moz-focus-inner {
    border: 0;
}
</style>

<form id="searchbox" method="get" action="/search" autocomplete="off">
    <input name="q" type="text" size="15" placeholder="search..." />
    <input id="button-submit" type="submit" value="" />
</form>

<style>
#searchbox {
    background: url(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_9CO9Xbls-8ak5uyrQlsWSgXSEGrv34sTgU1wLlvQPQEse3If2YDxM66lfOG2Rc7gNXvbzGPmJPsOcc2Aio1HB7ysjzyRwO9dqa_DitXzGAfMQ_9tUnV686u5NpmSiNxKKUHEbS2LBSv9/s1600/search-box.png) no-repeat;
    height: 27px;
    width: 202px;
}

input:focus::-webkit-input-placeholder {
    color: transparent;
}

input:focus:-moz-placeholder {
    color: transparent;
}

input:focus::-moz-placeholder {
    color: transparent;
}

#searchbox input {
    outline: none;
}

#searchbox input[type="text"] {
    background: transparent;
    margin: 0px 0px 0px 12px;
    padding: 5px 0px 5px 0px;
    border-width: 0px;
    font-family: "Arial Narrow", Arial, sans-serif;
    font-size: 12px;
    font-style: italic;
    width: 77%;
    color: #828282;
    display: inline-table;
    vertical-align: top;
}

#button-submit {
    background: url(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLnZwgNAUF4CPMBHStcWj2KAWIYrlqH7OEcjkCrWkG3b2VxdJBxEGuV38wfqSOmXexf06SslDdRisx5pH_ERFR8uxHvZkfklYrMaTI7CjTK8fvYyz4WUiNxPMyW_ktHOo5zqQeNgPlRflz/s1600/search-button.png) no-repeat;
    border-width: 0px;
    cursor: pointer;
    width: 30px;
    height: 25px;
}

#button-submit:hover {
    background: url(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6XoMu9P0MQR9Jj2d8rassbv1JgkagnGktJnC_CB4Cg6dfbRj64cijtOt9I05xua5F84Gq6B4ECb4pcr8HNjKjPy4T9bh5Fipup8cPXHO_CgVWCDqpjiXxR0TDO-_fh88GHv3OaYpYlfhX/s1600/search-button-hover.png) no-repeat;
}

#button-submit::-moz-focus-inner {
    border: 0;
}
</style>

<form id="searchbox" method="get" action="/search" autocomplete="off">
<input name="q" type="text" size="15" placeholder="search..." />
<input id="button-submit" type="submit" value="" />
</form>

<style>
#searchbox {
    background: url(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlPGuBGpjJ1PZKUQB1z2VqxUzSyk-u9GA_GY4xl5LlwSeyUzygFIv53BCOMbBOHZxRwLoHPg8Ye6-os2M4OmvrSFtrKrHCfSeJis3UeZiQwveF6b7wGeE85zh7RGCY9bTMOfNW_gWh3cSP/s1600/search-box1.png) no-repeat;
    width: 250px;
    height: 65px;
}

input:focus::-webkit-input-placeholder {
color: transparent;
}

input:focus:-moz-placeholder {
color: transparent;
}

input:focus::-moz-placeholder {
color: transparent;
}

#searchbox input {
    outline: none;
}

#searchbox input[type="text"] {
    background: transparent;
    padding: 5px 0px 5px 20px;
    margin: 10px 15px 0px 0px;
    border-width: 0px;
    font-family: "Brush Script MT", cursive;
    font-size: 12px;
    color: #595959;
    width: 65%;
    font-weight: bold;
    display: inline-table;
    vertical-align: top;
}

#button-submit {
    background: url(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQGtQPHDJsvlqj8gJY2x74RTha_stH7zmAZAom7M6wi9P_YT93PGFR5UMx1iOoxheatVvN1v6RBFEJZX5x0fPtlejo_6CUjizLQcffuhry6gaZhf6bfKN_ahH9fhyphenhyphensBN-A80xl-0zMqVSD/s1600/magnifier.png) no-repeat;
    border-width: 0px;
    cursor: pointer;
    margin-top: 10px;
    width: 19px;
    height: 25px;
}

#button-submit:hover {
    background: url(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Cpzzdnh9lWVd8ZRNvfPl5g5QWex9y76b-3151QqHuKwDZ-OQ2Ly5QRbpGATMKFKcHJT4ED90T4ANz15gkEMxaNNlPaUYGc1bPGu8mVWMGjtGxkS300LlbkJ44MWMcl543KnLSPeEzzjP/s1600/magnifier-hover.png) no-repeat;
}

#button-submit:active {
    background: url(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Cpzzdnh9lWVd8ZRNvfPl5g5QWex9y76b-3151QqHuKwDZ-OQ2Ly5QRbpGATMKFKcHJT4ED90T4ANz15gkEMxaNNlPaUYGc1bPGu8mVWMGjtGxkS300LlbkJ44MWMcl543KnLSPeEzzjP/s1600/magnifier-hover.png) no-repeat;
    outline: none;
}

#button-submit::-moz-focus-inner {
    border: 0;
}
</style>

<form id="searchbox" method="get" action="/search" autocomplete="off">
    <input class="textarea" name="q" type="text" size="15" placeholder="Search here..." />
    <input id="button-submit" type="submit" value="" />
</form>

<style>
#searchbox {
width: 280px;
background: url(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqVq3zEnrgKMzTufppVu0gfM1-ste4YbkdJsnjgWLbgM-DQJkwkOFwDu51Z_104CyWeMTAIsRfqvB1brwAXgZdrK9d0grY3fAPN029Y-EEvtsKj6HQsSiJmpCv1z8lG9Hm52txnX3nQMzA/s1600/search-box.png) no-repeat;
}

#searchbox input {
    outline: none;
}

input:focus::-webkit-input-placeholder {
    color: transparent;
}

input:focus:-moz-placeholder {
    color: transparent;
}

input:focus::-moz-placeholder {
    color: transparent;
}
#searchbox input[type="text"] {
background: transparent;
border: 0px;
font-family: "Avant Garde", Avantgarde, "Century Gothic", CenturyGothic, "AppleGothic", sans-serif;
font-size: 14px;
    color: #f2f2f2 !important;
    padding: 10px 35px 10px 20px;
    width: 220px;
}
#searchbox input[type="text"]:focus {
color: #fff;
}

#button-submit{
background: url(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXBdt2ubmD08hD7WfapSs-VSm_aaxdgA91ibJkzw-zIv3iIqy2lhuROzOM2W0Z0TpMq8_tae2Nm2xh8qlyaDGr1rVYRn_oDLC3VD6Ma0CZpUAiWdZ8AfGhKVLGRPZyLCw7omu4FobXcCjM/s1600/search-icon.png) no-repeat;
margin-left: -40px;
border-width: 0px;
width: 40px;
height: 50px;
}

#button-submit:hover {
background: url(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWB0Kztz7gZFg1hYhJTK18RuMbp-81nA8C3Xr4zar1wkPFxEndn2BsAp_NDH28zvF98UpswlZTEehZcKt9RFuEUWMLoPPUHTx2g9vh873jhVDArPyvOLw6Rbub02992N5E2fJ32mE6AU01/s1600/search-icon-hover.png);
}
</style>

<form id="searchbox" method="get" action="/search" autocomplete="off">
<input name="q" type="text" size="15" placeholder="Enter keywords here..." />
<input id="button-submit" type="submit" value=" "/>
</form>

Steps: How to Add a Custom Search Box to Blogger

Step 1. Log in to your Blogger account, then go to Layout > click on the 'Add a gadget' link on the left side.

Step 2. Choose HTML/JavaScript from the pop-up window > paste the code of the search box inside the empty box.

Step 3. Press Save.

That's it!

There you have it, 6 stylish choices that will let you take advantage from all the great benefits of using a search box, while still helping you make your blog stand out. After adding your new search bar, your visitors will be able to navigate through your site and get to the same place using both the box and the navigation bar.

How To Ensure Optimal Crawling Of Your Website?

It is one thing to create a website and put up some content, but quite another to get it noticed by Google. Often, the more content you have, the higher your number of crawled and indexed pages in search engines. But that is not always the case. If the crawling process is not optimal, search engines might miss out on some of your content. Today, we have some guidelines for you from Google, explaining which fields in sitemaps are important, when to use XML Sitemaps and RSS/Atom feeds, and how to optimize then for Google.

Read more »

5 Great iPad Apps For Blogging In 2014

Blogging is fun. But you know what's more fun? Blogging on the go! Ever since Apple first launched the iPad, people have been increasingly drawn towards mobile solutions to their daily-life routines. And being the geekier of the lot, Bloggers too have found gadgets that help them be more productive. Apple announced the launch of a new iPads yesterday, and we figured people would be flocking towards these Apple devices right now. If you are an iPad or iPhone user, or are planning to buy one, here are some apps that are going to help you blog!

Read more »

Is HTTPS Ranking Boost Really Worth The Effort?

Google announced back in August that sites secured with HTTPS will get a boost in search rankings - a secured site would gain a small benefit as opposed to a similar site without HTTPS security. We took a look at how exactly did this new ranking factor work, but like any other Google search ranking factor, it isn't very transparent. Instead, we came across some potential problems during implementation. So we ask again: is implementing HTTPS really a good idea, and is the ranking boost really worth the time and effort?

Read more »

Which Is Better, Google Now, Apple Siri or Microsoft Cortana?

Personal smartphone assistants might not yet be able to do your chores for you, but they sure have changed the way people search. The three tech giants have locked horns in a fierce battle to develop the best personal assistant, but which among them is winning? Google's search app Google Now is already able to make hotel reservations, and currently seems to have emerged out of the backseat. So let's take a look at what Google has to offer, and which of these assistants is worth your time.

Read more »

Users In France Can Now Transfer Money With Tweets!

If you had social networks like Twitter pegged as mere amusements, then you couldn't be more wrong. Social media finds its uses in many daily-life situations, the most recent one being wire transfer. If you live in France and want to send money over to someone, you can do it as simply as making a tweet. Your 140 characters might be worth real money soon. Perhaps the New Social Order is upon us!

Read more »

How To Get $100 Bing Ads Credit For Free?

Are you a webmaster? Bing Webmaster Tools can help your website grow! Now only do you get an essential set of tools to master Bing search, you can now also get free Bing Ads credit! The winter holiday season is coming up, so now would be a great chance to accelerate your website's opportunity to get ahead as people prepare for the holiday shopping. Bing is giving you an opportunity to advertise your products by giving you free $100 Bing Ads credit!

Read more »

5 Useful Pinterest SEO Tips For Marketers

Pinterest is so much more about sharing images. When you come to think of it, people on Pinterest are more interested in what they want (probably in the future), as opposed to what they're doing (as on Facebook, Twitter etc.). And with Pinterest Guided Search, users can look through billions of pins to find things they've probably never seen before! So in a sense, Pinterest is the perfect network for marketing.

Read more »

Google PageRank Might Officially Be Dead

Google PageRank is a link analysis algorithm that rates websites on a logarithmic scale of 0-10, with 10 being the best. While Google has had a tradition of updating it regularly in the past, it might now be time for us to move on as according to Google's John Mueller, the December 2013 update might have been its last one. PR was technically last updated in October 2013, and the December update was unplanned, accidental.

Read more »

Bing Now Showing Song Lyrics In Search Results

While Google improves its usability by incorporating structured data into search result pages, Bing takes a bigger, and somewhat similar approach. Bing, it seems, has finally started to catch up, and is now providing features Google captivated its users with for so long - probably even taking them a step further. For its latest feature, Bing will now show full song lyrics on its search results page in much the same way as Google shows information on its Knowledge Graph!

Read more »

Eid-ul-Adha 2014 Mubarak To Everyone!

Let us take the pleasure of wishing all the beloved and loyal readers of MBT and followers of all blogs under the STC Network, a very joyous and Happy Eid-ul-Adha 2014 Mubarak! Wishing you a peaceful Eid on behalf of the entire STC Network team! May this joyous and Holy occasion of Eid-ul-Adha bring peace and joy to you, your family, and your friends, and may shower on you the best of Allah's blessings.

Read more »

How To +1 A Google Plus Post As A Business Page?

There are few social networks that let you manage business pages along with your personal profiles. Fewer still do a good job at it. Facebook is one such example where you can switch between your profile and pages at the click of a button, and make stories easily on behalf of your pages. Google Plus, however, is another story, and switching between your personal account and your business page is not as easy and transparent as you might like.

Read more »

How Google Is Hurting The Internet In The EU?

Besides Search, Google has a lot going for it, and its other online services make up a large chunk of its business model. From facilitating users to outright promoting their own services, Google has time and again done it at the expense of its competitors. But that might be about to change, as a collection of competitors including Yelp, TripAdvisor etc. launched a new effort this week to convince European antitrust officials to force Google to stop promoting its own services, and give competing services a fair chance.

Read more »