With the new year upon us, I thought I would start the year off with a helpful suggestion everybody should do.  Many search engines out there rely on Dmoz.org for both information, and use if a web site is listed or is not listed there to weigh out how you perform in the search engines out there.  Submitting your web site address to one of the many categories on Dmoz is an easy thing to do ? and I will cover everything you need to know before, during and after the process.

Getting started Submitting your URL to DMOZ

I would suggest you read through ?Step One? as described on the Dmoz page dedicated to submitting a site.  the basics though would be don?t try to cheat the system, that should cover most of what they list there.  also remember:

• Do not submit mirror sites. Mirror sites are sites that contain identical content, but have altogether different URLs.
• Do not submit URLs that contain only the same or similar content as other sites you may have listed in the directory.  Sites with overlapping and repetitive content are not helpful to users of the directory.  Multiple submissions of the same or related sites may result in the exclusion and/or deletion of those and all affiliated sites.
• Do not disguise your submission and submit the same URL more than once.
  Example: dmoz.org and dmoz.org/index.html

Find where in DMOZ You want to be Listed

Now that we got the warnings out of the way, lets make sure you are not already listed.  Visit Dmoz.org, and search for your web site title or domain name so you don?t try to get yourself listed twice.

Once you are sure you are not listed anywhere in the directory, the fun begins. from Dmoz.org, start hunting through the categories, diving deeper and deeper till you reach one that meets your needs and best describes what your web site is about.  For example, my web site Firefox Facts is listed under:

Computers > Software > Internet > Clients > WWW > Browsers > Firefox > FAQs, Help and Tutorials

The more specific you can get, the better chances you have of being listed.

Submitting your Information to DMOZ

On the category page you want to be submitted to, click the suggest URL link at the top of the Dmoz.org page.  You will then be asked to give:

• Site URL:
• Title of Site:
• Description:
• E-mail Address:

Try to be short, to the point and honest.  with the web site description, remember it should be no longer than 25-30 words. When you are sure all your details are correct, hit the ?Submit? button at the bottom of the page.

One thing to remember would be that once your site has been accepted into the Open Directory, it might take 2 weeks to several months before you show up on the other web sites that use this data, such as Google, AOL Search, AltaVista, and more. 

Hope that helps you get your web site started on the right foot in 2010!

© Lunarpages Web Hosting – also, don’t forget to follow @lunarpages on Twitter!

Everybody in one way or another has found a piece of the internet to claim as their own. Many of these people have sites that reflect their personal side. Others have discovered the wonderful world of working online and have as a result taken their business to the internet. Before you can go and stake your claim to the internet you will need to choose from the best hosting sites that are out there to choose from. There are several things that you will need to keep in mind before you go and place a website out there for the world to see. Before you get too ahead of yourself, you will need to make sure that you are educated with the language that many of the hosting sites out there use when talking about web hosting. this article will serve to you as a guide to help walk you through the scary world that web hosting can be sometimes.

The first term that you need to know when looking for the best hosting sites is web host. this term simply refers to the computer that your site is hosted on. now before you think that you can be your own web host, there are a few things that you will need to consider when talking about best hosting sites. First you will need to make sure that you have a computer that will be able to handle the load that you will be placing on it. the type of computers that some of the best hosting sites use are not the ones that you by at Staples or best buy. You need a computer that will be able to take on several websites all at once. the best web hosting sites will have computers that can handle around a couple of dozen web sites at the same time depending on the sites size. now that you are familiar with the term web host, it is time that you start to think about some different types of web host that are out there. the type of web hosting you will need depends on a couple of factors. These factors are the financial needs of your site and the amount of size that you need.

The first kind of site that is available to a person from some of the best hosting sites is a free hosting plan. this is ideal for a person that is just needing a little space space that they can place a website on for their personal use. These people are not interested in all the bells and whistles that a paid plan from the best hosting sites will provide them.

The next thing that you need to consider when talking about the best hosting sites that are out there is a plan that is offered called shared hosting. this plan option is often times offered by some of the best hosting sites that are out there. the term means that your site is placed on a server that shares space with several other sites as well.

By: best Hosting Sites

Article Directory: articledashboard.com

Jeff Frasco is the author of this article on best Hosting Sites. find more information about best Hosting Sites here.

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(The Hosting News) ? HostReview has today announced its Annual Web Hosting Awards winners. The winners, divided up amongst nine categories, were selected by the site’s editorial statff the companies who made a mark in the previous year. They are also the companies to keep an eye on in 2010, as they are the best providers to solutions for your web hosting needs.

HostReview’s Annual Top 10 awards listings reflected the rapidly-changing hosting technologies and business practices. The companies competed in nine categories, including the second Readers? Choice Awards, sponsored by Liquid Web Inc., where the site visitors were able to nominate and vote for their favorite web hosting company.

The team at HostReview takes pleasure in presenting the best of 2009 Awards winners who are some of the world’s most innovative web hosting companies and proved to be the leaders with outstanding contribution to the industry. The winners in each category are listed below:

Best Web Hosting Company
First place: Verio
Second place: Liquid Web
Third place: The Planet

Best Dedicated Server Package
First place: Liquid Web
Second place: Codero
Third place: The Planet

Best Managed Hosting Service
First place: NaviSite
Second place: PEER 1
Third place: INetU

Best Budget Hosting
First place: Host Gator
Second place: GoDaddy
Third place: Pronet Hosting

Best Reseller Hosting
First place: Host Gator
Second place: Verio
Third place: MochaHost

Best SaaS Provider
First place: 3Tera
Second place: Rackspace
Third place: groupSPARK

Best VPS Hosting
First place: Slicehost
Second place: HostV
Third place: GlowHost

Best Cloud Computing Service
First place: Amazon Web Services
Second place: 3Tera
Third place: Rackspace Cloud

Readers’ Choice Award
First place: Verio
Second place: SoftLayer
Third place: SiteGround

The full listings are available at hostreview.com/awards/2009_annual_awards .

When ranking the firms, the HostReview editorial team takes into consideration a suite of factors, including offered services, package diversity, customer support, new products and services, feedback, and overall performance of the selected companies.

The web hosting awards are intended to distinguish the leaders in the competitive hosting industry and provide a solid recommendation basis for consumers. Commenced in 2006, the HostReview Annual Awards have grown to be one of the most prestigious web hosting awards of its kind.

Winners of Annual Web Hosting Awards Announced is a post from: Hosting News and Reseller Web Hosting information.

How does somebody turn a complaint into a feature?? Anybody out there, who runs a web hosting company, can tell you they hear complaints about this, that and the other, every single day.? When public opinion becomes SO strong, you might want to take the idea into consideration.

You do not have to drastically change the way you do business though.? If you are successful in one area of business, do not toss it aside to do something else that is more popular.? I got a question submitted to me the other day from Matt, which touches on this very topic.

Here is what Matt had to say:

?I run a free hosting site, and I’ve been at it for 4 years, and we’ve got very high rating, and uptime, and server speed, but I’ve still got this problem where everyone expects our service to be a sort of scam or not very good because of the price. If I start charging for it, I have to say goodbye to a lot of people who I’ve been helping for a long time, and if I don’t, it seems to me there’s always this group of people who wont choose it. I mean, if you want to pay money for your hosting, I’ll gladly take donations, and I have many people who do donate. If you have time, because I know you’re very busy, could you give me your honest opinion of our service and what we need to do to appeal more to small businesses and community organizations?

How can a free host become successful?

People are always skeptical when it comes to getting something for nothing, so as long as you give free services – you’ll always have somebody out there dismissing your claims of success because they think you’re a fraud.? Thankfully, they might also think we never landed on the moon or one of the muppets assassinated JFK.? the fact of the matter is there will always be somebody out there to complain.

My question is, do you have to pick one business plan, free hosting versus paid hosting, or can you have your cake and eat it too?? I would suggest you keep your free hosting in place, it sounds successful, and you have happy customers – which is something many web hosts, free or not, can not claim.? As a secondary service, roll out a paid hosting solution that offers a few perks over the free version.? it could be in features, support or anything else you feel like you could offer a little more of to the people willing to pay for it. Then, once that is in place, start marketing your new paid hosting service to those customers you do have, and let them know that it is an option you are providing for them.

Some might bite at the proverbial worm you are tossing out there, and others may say no thanks.? past that point you can sell your new paid hosting option to the masses using the free service as a way to get your foot in the door, as far as seeing how great your hosting setup is.? You might even sell it as you are so confident they will enjoy their hosting with you, you are willing to give it away for free.

Thanks to Matt for the question, and to check out his web site – or maybe send some more suggestions his way, be sure to check out ismywebsite.com.

Like this Article? Listen to it and more like it on podcast #200 of the Web Hosting Show!

Add me on Twitter! come follow my daily antics, links, tips and more @mitchkeeler on Twitter!

© Mitch Keeler 2010 | Check out my firefox help site and my tech blog too!

(The Hosting News) ? Cisco, NetApp (NASDAQ: NTAP) and VMware (NYSE: VMW) today announced that they are expanding their long-standing collaboration to deliver new design architectures that help customers evolve virtualized data centers to be more efficient, dynamic and secure. The partnership these three companies have introduced will provide an end-to-end Secure Multi-tenancy Design Architecture that provides enhanced security in cloud environments by isolating the information technology (IT) resources and applications of different clients, business units or departments that share a common IT infrastructure. As part of their collaboration, Cisco, NetApp and VMware will also offer a cooperative support model for these pretested and validated design architectures to help customers quickly build a unified, virtualized infrastructure.

?it?s clear that a tremendous opportunity exists for Cisco, NetApp and VMware to enable real change in the data center,? said Tom Georgens, president and CEO of NetApp. ?Our visions are aligned around the concept of a dynamic data center that will be the foundation of cloud computing and that will enable enterprises, integrators and service providers to deliver IT as a service [ITaaS]. in this scenario, IT becomes a dynamic asset that is more efficient and can better adapt to changing business needs. This new era of IT has stringent infrastructure requirements that our companies are ready to meet today?together.?

?Virtualization of the network, server and storage infrastructure is radically reshaping today?s data center,? said Paul Maritz, president and CEO, VMware. ?The dynamic data center built on VMware? vSphere?, along with Cisco and NetApp? technologies, will provide the foundation for both private and public clouds and the ability to move data and applications between these clouds. a shared virtual infrastructure requires that resources for different tenants are isolated while delivering on promised service levels. We have integrated our technology with Cisco and NetApp not only to accelerate our customers? journey through their data center transition, but also to deliver an outstanding customer experience.?

?a unified architecture approach is more important than ever before,? said Tony Bates, senior vice president and general manager, Enterprise, Commercial and Small Business at Cisco. ?Our joint vision with NetApp and VMware centers on delivering a unified architecture for customers to design and build a complete, virtualized data center that will streamline operations and improve their business resilience.?

Partnership Announced Between Cisco, NetApp and VMware is a post from: Hosting News and Reseller Web Hosting information.

cPanel Demo Filezilla Download Kompozer Easy Web Authoring NVU Download Web Hosting Blog Web Hosting Service (Wikipedia) [...]

(The Hosting News) ? In an effort to support the American Red Cross relief efforts in Haiti, Codero (codero.com) has joined with others in the hosting community to support and promote Hosting for Haiti (HostingForHaiti.com).

Partnering with the American Red Cross (redcross.org), Hosting for Haiti was created to promote and encourage relief efforts to Haitians who are in need of relief. Following the devastating 7.0 earthquake that occurred January 12, 2010, an estimated 1.5 million people have been left without a home. As a result, organizations such as the American Red Cross are critical in providing aid, shelter and other supplies such as food and water to these survivors.

?In times of need, we recognize the importance of banding together with others in our industry,? stated Ryan Elledge, Chief Operations Officer at Codero. ?while our donation is a small step in repairing Haiti, we hope it encourages our employees, customers and other friends in the industry to participate.?

For those interested in donating, a direct link to the American Red Cross can be found at HostingForHaiti.com. 100% of donations will go directly to the Haiti Relief and Development Fund.

In an effort to spread the word to increase relief efforts, Codero has posted information about Hosting for Haiti on its blog (codero.com/blog/hosting-for-haiti) and encourages others to follow the progress on Twitter by following @hostingforhaiti or use the hash tag #hostingforhaiti in related posts. Industry partners who would like to participate should email info@hostingforhaiti.com for details.

Codero and Other Web Hosting Industries Extend help to Haiti. is a post from: Hosting News and Reseller Web Hosting information.

(The Hosting News) - Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: LVLT) officially announced that it is now  the exclusive provider of voice and high-bandwidth services for Multi-Point Communications, a global provider of customized audio and Web conferencing services.

Under the contract, Level 3 will provide dedicated Internet access, toll-free, voice-termination, private line and colocation services for Multi-Point’s offices in Birmingham and Atlanta, which will allow the company to unify all of its communications services on Level 3’s fiber-optic network.

“Our business is delivering highly reliable, cost-effective conferencing solutions and our communications services provider must meet our stringent demands,” said Barbara Allen, president & CEO of Multi-Point. “We turned to Level 3 for its network performance, reliability and reach, which is extensive here in the Southeast.”

Multi-Point Communications, based in Birmingham, Ala., is a certified “Woman-Owned Company” as acknowledged by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council.

“We strive to understand the needs of customers like Multi-Point and are committed to delivering a network solution that exceeds their expectations,” said Brian Dolan, Southeast regional vice president for Level 3’s Business Markets Group. “By delivering outstanding services supported by a local sales and customer support team, we are demonstrating to customers throughout the country that we are the proven competitive alternative to the incumbents.”

Level 3’s Business Markets Group leverages the power of the company’s extensive fiber-optic network, metro assets, and locally focused sales and sales support organization to deliver world-class services to enterprise customers and service providers throughout the United States.

Level 3 Providing Data Services Multi-Point Communications is a post from: Hosting News and Reseller Web Hosting information.

(The Hosting News) – DNS provider Dynamic Network Services Inc. (Dyn Inc.), today announces the formalization of its partner program. This already well received program is designed to provide companies with unique ways to expand their market share and build strategic business relationships to boost their own service offerings.

“Many companies who come to us looking for a trusted DNS provider are focusing on one specialized technology. When we form this new partnership with them, it then creates the opportunity for companies to use services such as the Dynect Platform, our premier managed DNS enterprise solution as a value-add to their current offering which they then pass along to their customers,” said Brian Brady, Dyn Inc.’s Strategic Partner Manager. “Additionally, as a Dyn partner, companies can share information as part of an exclusive community of business collaborators, and leverage new growth opportunities.”
There are three main categories for these partnerships: Referral Partners, Reseller Partners, and Solution Partners. While these three setups have worked well to date, Dyn Inc. is open to new and creative ways to align with other companies.

“Each partner is unique. Some integrate the Dynect API with their own solution and provide it to their customers on a large scale. Some offer the Dynect Platform as an added premium DNS service to create a more robust solution. And other partners work with us by providing referrals to their clients that need a premium DNS offering. In all cases, the end result is a comprehensive and more solid infrastructure solution for the customer,” Brady explained. “Everyone we work with shares the common goal of providing superior service and support. If a partnership makes sense for both, we are open to exploring it and making it work. Flexibility is key to our partner approach.”

Current partners taking advantage of this partner program include: Digitaria, a full-service digital agency focusing on best of brand digital technology; Edgecast Networks, a high performance CDN provider; Excedo, a leading European IT-Security, Networks and Data Communication solution provider; WhippleHill Communications, who provide targeted communication solutions for Independent Schools; and Speedyrails, a Ruby on Rails Managed Hosting Provider.

“A friendly and motivated team, outstanding platform and proven record of reliability made it very easy for us to choose Dynect as our partner to integrate a best in class DNS service with our CDN and VPS hosting,” said Maykel Rodriguez, co-founder and CEO of Speedyrails.

Today, Dyn Inc. is seeing tremendous revenue growth on both the Dynect Platform and DynDNS.com. While the Dyn Inc. team continues to roll out more proactive direct sales and marketing efforts, it’s the perfect time to re-emphasize the importance of a solid channel strategy and program that will take the entire organization to the next level.

“People might be surprised that there is a relatively small sales force behind the Dynect Platform. We’ve been fortunate enough to receive great referrals and partnership opportunities that have been mutually beneficial. The formalization of the partner program is the perfect way to acknowledge those partners and put the emphasis back on this initiative,” added Brady. “We pride ourselves on being a relationship-centric company, so the partnerships we’ve been developing have created a great ecosystem of collaboration that we look forward to building on in the future.”

If you would like more information on Dyn Inc. please visit www.dyn.com.

Dyn Inc. Formalizes Partner Program is a post from: Hosting News and Reseller Web Hosting information.

(The Hosting News) – PubCon has officially announced the opening of registration for its PubCon South conference, to be held at the Richardson Conference and Civic Center, Dallas, Texas, April 13- 15, 2010. PubCon South is a multi-track technology conference with an extensive program of educational, highly topical sessions, where cutting-edge Internet marketing knowledge, hot topics and trends are shared with attendees.

Brett Tabke, PubCon’s organizer, said, “Opening registration this early means that attendees can take full advantage of the special discounted rates. These early rates make PubCon South one of the most affordable, and highly productive Internet, search and social media marketing conferences on the circuit. We have a great line-up of speakers and hot topics devised to deliver a highly educational, topical and exciting event. I encourage you to register early while the entry-level price lasts.”

PubCon South at Dallas Conference registration and more information is available at www.pubcon.com.

Official PubCon Registration Now Open is a post from: Hosting News and Reseller Web Hosting information.