Here's a great way to monetize your blog (or advertise your own eBay auctions). The PhpBay plug-in for Wordpress allows you to easily add customized eBay auctions to your blog.

PhpBay costs $49, so you'll want to consider whether or not it's an investment you want to make upfront. I have heard positive things from users so far who were able to configure it to work with their existing Wordpress blogs quickly and easily. If you operate a niche blog that has products available on eBay inherently associated with it or if you sell things on eBay you want to promote through your blog, then this might be a great Wordpress plug-in for you!

The PhpBay Wordpress plug-in operates through the eBay affiliate advertising program, so you'll earn a commission on each item sold via your blog.

Have you used the PhPBay Wordpress plug-in to add eBay auctions to your blog? Leave a comment and share your experience!

If you're thinking about starting a blog, then you need to read how to create a free blog in 4 easy steps for free. The blogosphere can be intimidating, but there's no need to wait any longer to dive in. These four steps will show you just how easy it is to get started in under 30 minutes.

Once you create your new blog, play around with the features to see what they do. Don't be intimidated. You won't break anything! And of course, you can find all the information, tips and ideas you need to grow and enhance your blog here on About.com Web Logs.

Take some time to look around. Blogging is constantly changing. Just when you think you know enough, new features are launched! Be patient and keep on learning!

Part two of About.com Web Logs' 3-part search engine optimization tips interview with SEO Expert Gab Goldenberg of SEO ROI Services has been published. The article discusses keyword tracking, keyword optimization, linkbaiting, blog directories and search optimized blog templates and themes. It's a great resource to help you optimize your blog for search engines.

Taking the time to optimize your blog will drive traffic from the many searches people conduct through Google, Yahoo! and more search engines everyday.

You can follow the links below to read parts one and two of the search engine optimization tips interview with an SEO expert:

1. Part 1 - Beginner Search Engine Optimization Tips
2. Part 2 - Intermediate Search Engine Optimization Tips

Subscribe to the About.com Web Logs blog or sign up for the weekly newsletter so you don't miss part 3 of the search engine optimization interview with an SEO expert, which will provide advanced SEO tips!

If you use Firefox, then you might be interested in the free search engine page rank checking tool that will tell you what your blog's page rank is not just for Google, but also for Yahoo! and Microsoft Live Search.

Most bloggers are interested in their page ranks for a few reasons. A high page rank signifies popularity (and an SEO strategy that is working) which can equate to more opportunities in the form of exposure, advertising revenue, and more.

What page rank checker do you use? If you've tried this Firefox page rank checker extension, leave a comment and share your experience with it.

Here's another chance to participate in an About.com Parenting and Family Channel blog carnival. This time, the topic is "road trips". Think you can write a post about road trips for the carnival? If so, you just have to send your link to the About.com Baby Products Guide by May 26, 2008.

You can follow the link to read the round-up from the About.com Parenting and Family Channel's last blog carnival, Kids and Play. Remember, blog carnivals are a great way to drive traffic to your blog, get additional incoming links and find other bloggers!

Everyone loves to win contests, so it's natural that blog contests are very popular. In fact, they're a great way to drive traffic to your blog. However, it's important that you follow a few simple guidelines to ensure your blog contest is successful. An easy way to get started is to read these tips for successful blog contests.

One of the most important things to remember is this: the more people who know about your contest, the more people will visit your blog to enter it. Don't for get you can announce your blog contests here on the About.com Web Logs forum. If you've had success announcing your blog contests on other sites, directories or forums, share your story in the comments on this post or in the About.com Web Logs forum!

Most bloggers like to include photos with their blog posts. Not only do pictures add visual appeal and make your blog posts more interesting, but they also help in search engine optimization and driving traffic to your blog. You'd be surprised how many people search for pictures through search engine image searches!

The only problem with including pictures on your blog is finding pictures that you're allowed to use without violating any copyright restrictions. One way to get around copyright issues is to buy your own digital camera and take your own pictures.

About.com's Guide to Digital Cameras, Michael Karr, has done the research for you and lists the top 5 digital cameras for bloggers. The cameras he lists offer the features bloggers need at budget-friendly prices.

Do you have a camera you really like for taking pictures for your blog? Which one is it? Leave a comment and share your experience and suggestions!

Have you ever asked yourself this question about your blog or another website or blog? In other words, you visit a website or blog and you get an error page and can't access the page or site. Have you wondered if it's just you or if everyone is having the same problem?

I found a cool website downforeveryoneorjustme.com that can answer that question for you. Simply type the URL you're having trouble accessing into the box on downforeveryoneorjustme.com and hit "or just me" and you'll get a message telling you the status of that page.

For example, if the site is working properly, you'll get a message back after you submit your query that says, "It's just you. XYZ.com is up." Of course, "XYZ.com" would be substituted with whatever domain you searched for.

It's a handy tool that can help you answer that classic question, "Is it just me?"

Two new features have been added to the About.com Web Logs forums. You'll now find folders for Blog Contests and Blog Carnivals. If you're hosting a blog contest or carnival or know of some that are going on, stop by the forum and share the news with other bloggers.

Blog contests and carnivals are not only fun, but they're also a great way to drive traffic to your own blog. Follow the link to read more about how blog carnivals can benefit you as a blogger.

There are already some contests and carnivals listed in the forum, which you can see (or add to) by following these links:

• Blog Contests
• Blog Carnivals

If you're not already a member of the About.com Web Logs forum, you can register here. It's free, it only takes a moment, and you won't receive emails from About.com as a result of your membership. While you're on the forum, peak around at some of the other great conversations!

As a blogger, you've probably heard of RSS and blog subscriptions and even wondered how to increase your blog subscribers. While bloggers are familiar with RSS and blog subscriptions, many blog readers and beginner bloggers have no idea what RSS is or how it can benefit them.

That's exactly why Daily Blog Tips decided to create RSS Awareness Day, and today is the official day of celebration! Actually, the day is meant to raise awareness of RSS and the benefits of blog subscriptions for both blog writers and blog readers. Daily Blog Tips even created a special RSS Awareness website to help teach people about RSS.

I think this is a great idea. What do you think?

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