Free Internet Web Directories are not a new thing; they have for a long time constituted a simple way for webmasters to increase their site’s search engine rankings.

Certain directories, however, are to be avoided; particularly the ones who ask for reciprocal links …

A number of Zlionauts, wanting to improve their ranking, have linked their Zlio Shops to Web Directories that demand reciprocal links in exchange. When getting out of hand, however, it can turn your Zlio Shop into something like that:

This, of course, strongly disturbs your Zlio Shop’s performance and tends to make your visitors flee the site. Furthermore, the practice of placing advertisement links on your Zlio Shop is forbidden, as mentioned in Zlio’s terms of use.

In order to avoid such situations, Zlio has decided to limit the creation of external links to five per Zlio Shop. Therefore it will from now on be possible to add external links only to your Shop’s footer, and only with a limit of five.

Every Zlio Shop not respecting these terms will be deleted without prior notice.

Nevertheless, to link one’s Shop to free Web Directories is always possible, and actually recommended. There are many quality Directories out there, although some of them may be hard to find.

Here is some advice on how to link your Shop to Web Directories:

1. In a text file, prepare all the important information relating to your Shop (title , description, keywords) in a way that will allow you to easily cut and paste this information into the required fields within the directories.

2. We suggest you avoid directories demanding a reciprocal link to your Shop. This type of partnership will not aid your shop in any way, and will simply jam your pages with unuseful logos and banners. The creation of direct links to such directories is in any case limited to five links.

3. Before submitting a store to a web directory, you should verify that it points directly to your Shop’s URL, and not to a redirection site, such as www.directory.net/redirect.php?site=shop.zlio.net. Only links pointing directly to your site will be picked up by the Search Engines.

4. Using a “directory of directories” allows you to compile an impressive list of quality directories which you can link your Zlio Shop to. An example for such a site is http://www.web-directories.ws

5. Look for directories that specialize in the topic of your Zlio Shop. For example, if your Shop specializes in home decor, type “home decor directory” into your Search Engine in order to find directories specializing in this topic.

6. Always keep an updated list of your web directory submissions, in order to avoid signing up twice with the same directory.

Dogs are known as “man’s best friend”. These days, however, they feel more like an integral part of our family, spending a great deal of their time with us and with our loved ones.

Is it any wonder then, that a survey by the Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI) found that more and more dog owners give their four-legged friends human names? According to the survey, the names Max, Buddy, and Rocky top the list for male dogs, while the Top Three female dog names are Molly, Maggie, and Daisy.

As a tip of the hat to these beloved companions, Zlio has partnered up with an array of Petstore-Merchants who offer every product imaginable for pets in general, and for dogs in particular. Merchants such as 1-800-Petmeds, Dog.com, and Petco are just at the tip of the iceberg.

Do you have a dog? What is his or her name? Do you love your dog enough to create a Zlio Store under his or her name? Why not take a close up picture of that beloved companion of yours, and stick it right on the frontpage of your Store? We think there’s no better way to pay homage to your best friend, especially when there are thousands of products you can fill your Store with !

You created a Zlio Shop highlighting the topic of vacations, mountains or the ocean, and now you’re not sure which keywords to use?

Why not make use of Google’s Keyword Tool?

This easy to use tool will allow you to follow the latest trends by finding the most up-to-date keywords.

You can check out their Website at: https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal

Here’s an example:

Type in the following keywords:

• travel
• travels
• beach
• ocean
• mountain
• mountains

Validate your selection by clicking on Get keyword ideas

A table will be displayed which, by default, will show three colums:

• Advertiser Competition
• Approximate Search Volume
• Approximate Average Search Volume

Don’t hesitate to be curious: access the drop down menu and choose which columns you want displayed.

We suggest you select Search Volume, which shows you the changes for a specific keyword within a twelve month period.

Note that you can choose a Match Type for your keyword. This is especially helpful when using whole phrases as keywords.

An example with the phrase “summer vacation”

• Broad Match – This is the default option. Results will appear for both “summer” and ”vacation”, in any order, and possibly along with other terms, both in singular and plural.
• Phrase Match – Results for “summer vacation” will appear in this exact order, and possibly along with other terms in the query.
• Exact Match – Results will appear for the specific phrase, in this order, and without any other terms in the query.
• Negative Keyword – You can use negative keywords if you want to exclude certain terms and phrases from the results.

Wanna spruce up your Shop? Add some pictures and attract more customers!

How to add images to your Zlio Shop:

1. Image Source Location

The picture you wish to integrate into your Zlio Shop should be already stored on your computer, from where you will upload it onto your Zlio Shop.

If the image is not stored on your computer, but rather on the internet, you can right click on it and choose the “save image as” option. Choose the location on your computer where you want the image to be saved.

2. Inserting the Image in your Zlio Shop

There are several spots within your Zlio Shop, in which you can add images:

• The easiest spot is the designated Image Space found under store display > display parameters > image. Click on the “browse” button and find the image location on your computer.

An image added here will appear on the top left side of every page of your store.

• Your Store’s Header and Footer. Go to Store Display > Header & Footer. Here you must enter the URL of the image in order for it to be displayed correctly. Please note that you must first upload the image from your computer to an online image hosting service. You can use a service like www.photobucket.com to host an image online.

You must then insert the Direct Link from the hosting Service into the Header or Footer of your store. Note that the Direct Link needs to be imbedded in the correct “img src” Tag.

For Example: <img src=”Image URL”>

An image added in the Shop’s Header will be displayed on the Homepage of your Shop, on the top right corner above the products. An image added in the Shop’s Footer will also be displayed on the Homepage of your Shop, but at the lower right corner underneath the products.

• The Store Description. Go to Store Identity > Store Description. Also here, you must embed your picture’s Direct Link which was produced by your online image hosting service inside the “img src” Tag. An image added in the Store Description will also be displayed on the Homepage of your Shop, but at the very bottom of the page.

• The Store Freetext. Go to Store Identity > Store Freetext. The image will appear at the bottom of the page, right underneath the products.

Here are some useful HTML Codes, which you can use to edit your embedded images.

The basic HTML Tag is : <img src=”Image URL”>

If you want your image to be centered, you need to use the <center> Tag.

For Example : <center><img src=”Image URL”></center>

If you want your image to appear on the left and the text to surround the image, you need to use this Tag: <div style=”float:left”></div>

For Example: <div style=”float:left”><img src=”Image URL”></div>

If you want your image to appear on the right, and the text to surround the image, you need to use this Tag: <div style=”float:right”></div>

For Example: <div style=”float:right”><img src=”Image URL”></div>

If you want to add a description to each image, which will be visible when you hover with your mouse above the image, you will have to use the “alt” Tag.

Search Engines cannot “read” your pictures, which means that plain pictures will not be included in Search Engines’ results. By adding the “alt” Tag, you are allowing the Search Engines to “read” and therefore index your images, improving their chances to appear in Search Results.

This is how you use the “alt” Tag:

<img src=”Image URL” alt=”Image Description”>

What’s as American as apple pie? Baseball, of course! Get in the mood for summer’s official sport with peanuts and cracker jacks galore. Why not set your Zlioshop now up with everything a baseball lover needs to make it through the summer?

Add fun baseball products to your shop like the Sports Furniture New York Yankees desk or the Jugs Jr. pitching machine. For the real die-hard fan, check out the autographed baseballs by stars like Willy Mays and Derek Jeter. You can even add Sammy Sosa’s batting helmet!

For those of you who are are so into baseball that you forget about life itself, try signing up for Yahoo’s fully customizable and interactive Fantasy Baseball. Add your stats and prediction to your Zlioshop store description when you’re done!

We showed you how to customize your Zlioshop by adding images and video, but we also noticed that we received several inquiries about how to add slideshows. So, without further ado, here’s the 101 on how to add a slideshow to your Zlioshop.

Choose one of the many free websites that will host your photos and slideshow for you. Some of the most popular include:

1. RockYou
   
2. Slide
   
3. Smile Box
   
4. Image Loop
   
5. Photobucket
   
6. Moblying
   
7. Picture Trail

You will have to register and create a free account with most of them, but we promise it’s very easy and 10 year olds all across the country are doing it. Upload your photos, follow the directions to customize your slideshow, then look for the EMBED code.

Copy the EMBED code and paste it:

• In the store description of your Zlioshop: the image will appear at the top of the page, just above your first line of products. (found under “Store Identity”)
• In the store freetext: the image will appear at the bottom of the page, just below your last line of products. (also found under “Store Identity”)

Just when you thought it was safe:

 Get started on your spring cleaning by revamping that forgotten Zlioshop… or opening a new one! (After all, you are allowed up to 50 ) With 8 new templates to choose from, including coffee, toys, gaming, and music, there’s bound to be something up your alley.

A while back we gave you an intro to adding images to your Zlioshop, so we thought you may be interested in adding video.

We all know that the video network of choice is YouTube, but you can also find free videos through Google Video, Yahoo, MSN, and more. To add a video to your Zlioshop’s homepage, all you need to do is copy the “EMBED” code and place it:

• In the store description: the image will appear at the top of the page, just above your first line of products. (found under “Store Identity”)
• In the store freetext: the image will appear at the bottom of the page, just below your last line of products. (also found under “Store Identity”)

See? Easier than adding an image. In fact, it’s so easy that we’ve added this video (that you probably haven’t seen) of Zlio VP of Business Development Ilan Abenhassera being interviewed at the NYC MashMeet:

The Beijing Olympic Games for 2008 may not be beginning until August 8, but the ceremony has already begun!

Chinese President Hu Jintao announced the official launch of the Beijing Olympic torch relay on March 31st in Beijing’s Tian’anmen Square – and the journey has begun.

Last night marked the beginning of the Almaty leg of the torch relay, which will be the torch’s first stop on it’s international tour of 135 cities!

Why not get ahead of the games by opening your Olympic-themed Zlioshop today?

Try adding Olympic products like signed photos and game balls from Grandstand Sports Memorabilia, or dedicate your Zlioshop to your favorite Olympic sport. You could even open a Beijing-themed Zlioshop featuring travel guides etc. to help all those travelers going to see the games!

It’s time again to talk about customizing your Zlioshop, but fear not – we don’t expect you to do everything. You may have noticed that some new templates have popped up recently in the “Store Display” section, just in time for Spring.Check out our new themes with fun new headers to help your Zlioshop pop:

• Japan
• MPlayer
• Toys
• Plants
• Games
• Computers
• DIY
• Shoes
• Craft

If you don’t feel like changing the look or feel of your current Zlioshop, now would be a great time to open a new one (remember, you’re allowed up to 50 )!