Build Links and Protect Web Content with CopyLink as a Powerful WordPress Plug-in

With copyright infringement and plagiarism as daily occurrences on the Internet, it has become necessary to take pro-active steps in protecting content. CopyLink is a WordPress plugins that is definitely a step in the right direction.

If a person attempts to copy content from your website, the Plug-in places links on the copied text. It is not only text that is copied and then used at other websites which causes a problem for the creators of the content, but also copied content used in emails, forums, in Facebook and at other blogs.

It is no secret that you can now get bots to crawl and collect content to be embedded in your blog. Simply add the keywords to the form and have the bot crawl and collect content at scheduled times. Although it may seem as the ideal way of keeping a blog fresh, it is indeed copyright infringement.

Dejan SEO developed CopyLink as a WordPress Plug-in that helps CopyLink enabled sites to at least get links back from the sites that have copied and used their content. Besides thus helping to prevent others from blatantly stealing information, it thus also helps to protect the site rank and can be used to track the sites. If you do a link popularity search on your site you will be able to follow the links and if there is copied content without the necessary citation at one of the links, you can take the necessary legal steps to force the removal of the content if you so wish.

Users of sites which have copied information from another source will be able to find the original source of the information. For the honest bloggers using material from other sites, the process of referencing material becomes easier.

It furthermore helps to ensure correct citation practices on the web while search engines will be able to trace the original information sources. The webmaster now has more control over copied and linked content. This serves to minimize duplication and penalization by search engines. The original source is promoted and return traffic gained while natural link building occurs.

Consider the overall benefits for the web and for your site. Not only will you protect content whilst also ensuring attribution and valuable incoming links for higher ranking, but you will contribute to quality improvement on the Internet. With more such tools available, there will be less need for Internet regulation by authorities to protect intellectual property. One will still be able to share content via Social Media, but the correct linking and citation will be in place.

The CopyLink Plug-in can be downloaded from the Dejan SEO website and is fully customizable. Simply go the settings page of the Plug-in and select the relevant settings. One can set the attribution display options accordingly. One doesn’t have to make use of automatic attribution since the end-user can still remove the link. Live linking is not an option in basic editors, but for the rest it is available.

Here is a quick video summary to show you exactly what was on the minds of South Africans during the course of the year 2011.

Interesting!

Google Will Censor Blogger on a Country Base Similar to the Twitter Censorship Policies

Not only Twitter, but also Google has joined the censorship campaign ordered by governments and big players. Google announced that it will censor Blogger posts. If you thus have a blog at Blogger, don’t expect to see your posts live in your country if you dare to speak out too loud against your government.

Google runs Blogger as its free blogging service where users can create their own blogs using the tools provided by the search giant to post opinions and share community content. Google will censor personal logs to ensure that the content complies with the laws of the particular country. There is thus no such a thing as freedom of expression as the worldwide government lock-down on information continues.

Country Domain Censorship

Any personal posts at Blogger will in future be redirected to country domains such as .za for South Africa or .uk for the United Kingdom. Google has stated that through a migration policy to the specific countries, they will be able to allow more freedom of information flow which will also allow for more flexibility when it comes to the control of information removal requests by a country according to its laws.

Google has furthermore stated that the by country policy will ensure that the impact of information removal will be limited as opposed to keeping the blogs at Blogger.com without redirection to a country domain.

Similar Censorship Policies

Let’s be fair about it all. Google and Twitter are companies and if they want to survive they have to give in to the requests of governments such as the USA and China, but they try to keep everyone happy. Twitter recently announced that tweets would be censored according to the country of origin.

Previously users of Blogger and Twitter could use the services according to the regulations of the USA laws, allowing for more freedom of expression. Countries such as China wanting to exert a lot of control over information flow, however, don’t particularly agree with the USA laws. As such a by country censorship is needed. It does ring alarm bells about the recent Information Secrecy Bill of South Africa. With such a broad act in place, South African bloggers at Blogger may soon find that their posts don’t show simply because they post about sensitive issues.

The trend of large Internet companies bowing to the wishes of governments should be alarming. People have grown accustomed to the Internet as a place where information is shared openly and where search results reflect the most accurate sites or posts for a particular query. Note that in future the most relevant ones may be hidden and in some cases already are.

With Blogger and Twitter ranking amongst the most visited Internet sites, a lot of traffic and information will be affected by the censoring policies. Blog posts will be removed and entire blogs can become invisible. Google’s remedy for the situation is to ensure a country based blocking only where the posts will not be seen in the country domain area. According to the company, not many changes should be expected.

If you are adamant to see a blog post, you will still be able to do so by entering the NCR URL which stands for No Country Redirect. This will allow you to see the content whether you are in another country or not.

With the new country domain censor policy, Blogger users in South Africa will when they access blogspot.com be redirected to BlogSpot for South Africa. The bad news is that the South African government will be able to implement censorship regulations, ensuring that South African users will not be able to see content that the government deems to be inappropriate. For the Internet savvy user there is hope with the NCR URL, but for the rest, complete information black-outs can be expected.

Activists in countries where freedom of expression is already limited, including Middle Eastern countries, some of the South American countries, and of course, China, have expressed their concerns. For most it seems just another ploy to keep citizens under control.

Twitter has announced that it will not randomly remove tweets without notifying users that some content is missing. Users will be able to see the censored content as will be the case with Google’s Blogger at a specific website called chillingeffects.org.

Why Do Companies Such As Google and Twitter Comply With Censorship Policies?

Twitter for one, wants to expand its user base worldwide. If they don’t act responsibly, they could end up in severe clashes with governments around the world. The same goes for Google. In order to get access to markets, they must compromise and ensure that their sites meet the laws of the particular governments, possible when they initialize country based censor systems.

One should understand that the companies have employees in the very same countries where they want to expand. If they don’t comply with the information control laws of those countries, their employees may be endangered. Google has shown that some side stepping can help them expand to countries such as China. The company did in the past regulate content originating and used in China, but because of a clash with the government, now routes traffic for China through Hong Kong, where more freedom of information flow is allowed.

How to Access Censored Blogs

Users can still see blocked content by simply changing the user settings showing that they are within another country domain area. If for instance, a Blogger post is blocked in South Africa, a user changing their settings to the USA, may still be able to see the content.

South African YouTube users may have already seen how censorship works upon visiting YouTube videos where messages are displayed that the content is blocked. One for instance, gets a message stating that the video cannot be viewed because of copyright laws of the country.

Governments fear micro blogging sites and the ease of registering a blog at Blogger because such sites can be used to spread news fast. A statement at a blog doesn’t really cause harm, but if that statement goes viral, it can easily become a threat to a government. Google will censor Blogger just as Twitter has censorship policies for tweets. Whether the blocked content will still be accessible in future remains to be seen as restrictive laws have become the norm rather than the exception.

Smartphones Replace Devices as the Main Gadgets for Just About Everything

Smartphones replace devices such as GPS, personal planners, video cameras, digital cameras and landlines. In addition, reports indicate that mp3 players are no longer so popular because the users already have such built-in on their phones.

Almost a third of smartphone users have replaced devices such as radios with radio receiving phones. No longer do people have to purchase a separate alarm clock or even a normal wrist watch because they have it all in one compact device. The younger generations even use their phones as DVD players while almost a fifth of smartphone owners utilize the phones for Internet connectivity at home.

Even the desktop computer is in danger of getting tossed aside as studies indicate that almost a quarter smartphone users have replaced devices such as personal computers with their smartphones or tablets according to the Prosper Mobile Insights™ Mobile Survey conducted in June 2011.

Pay With Your Phone

The paper and coined based wallet may become an extra in future as smartphone and tablet users have indicated that they will not mind to pay for in-store purchases with the phones. Not all users, however, at this stage feel comfortable in swiping their phones to make payments, but as people get used to the convenience, they sure will want to be able to pay in such a way.

The ease with which one can get more applications is important. If you want a new alarm clock in the conventional sense, you have to purchase such and should you want to travel, it will be extra baggage. When you, however, want a new clock for your phone, which is pretty accurate, simply visit the marketplace online and download the app for free or at a nominal fee if you care.

Increase in Popularity

Smartphones may not yet be so popular in South Africa as in the USA where are a quarter of the population already have the devices, but locally, the trend of replacing devices with smartphone apps is also picking up fast.

The ease with which one can access the Internet from the phone, quickly answer a call, SMS, listen to the radio, get a weather forecast, find stores near you, keep track of your appointments, live the social life at Facebook, MXit, Twitter and YouTube, and at the same time have games is what makes the smartphone technology so popular. It is pocket size and in the case of a tablet – almost handbag size. It definitely beats having to carry a bulky notebook around.

At present the majority of users still have broadband Internet connectivity at home and office apart from their phones or tablets. As such, they are dual users and with time will not mind getting rid of all the extras for a streamlined experience. Devices such as laptops, radios, digital cameras, and GPS systems may very well fall away completely in future.

Cost Effectiveness

Apart from streamlining and thus having fewer things to use and carry around, users have also indicated that the cost-effectiveness of using the smartphone for everything also contributes to the popularity of the technology to replace other devices.

In South Africa, a smartphone could replace a device-based solely on economics. Many of the poorer citizens don’t have computers and Internet access, but with the smartphone and tablet technology they can now have radios, clocks, personal planners, mp3 players, and DVD players as well as computing facilities and Internet access all on their phone. Economically it makes sense to purchase one device to cover all the other uses.

Internet Connectivity

The majority of such users also use their phones to access the Internet, connect to social media sites and to download their emails on a daily basis. The most popular of course, with no surprise are Android, BlackBerry and iPhone technologies. At the back of the pack are those of Windows and Palm. Even the normal television screen is in danger of being replaced as device by smartphone and tablet technology as the younger generation also use such for watching programs although not yet in South Africa.

Apps Marketing Is Growing

In another survey done by Oracle, in 2010 more than half the users indicated that they believe their smartphones would completely replace devices such as digital cameras in a couple of years. Almost half the users reported an increase in usage of the devices for data. The apps market has grown tremendously with everyone of the users having access to free and fee based apps. Paying for the apps is still not popular as only about a quarter of users, according to the Oracle survey, have paid from apps.

Users share location based data, play urban location based games and in general use the devices as prime communication and social tools. With phone users in the USA already using their phones in some instances to pay for in store purchases, South Africans are typically more sceptical although many have done Internet cellphone banking.

Security and Privacy Concerns

One of the main concerns aired by mobile users is the security aspect of the phone. Some are concerned about the secure transmission of data and communication via the devices, whilst others, especially in South Africa, are concerned with theft and possible access to all their information because of such. Users are happy to use the phones for price comparison shopping and to get products reviews.

Online Marketing Strategies Must Change

Website owners must take not of the changes in the way people access the Internet. If, any website owner wishes to keep a slice of the market, it is recommended to adapt marketing strategies including web design to adapt to tablets and smartphones. If a person is stubborn in this regard, a large and growing segment of the market can be completely lost. Ads must be delivered in a way that will be read. Surveys have indicated that the majority of text messages are read in the same day and most within five minutes of receiving.

The smartphones replace devices because of cost-efficiency, compact designs, speed of access, and ease of use. Keep such in mind when driving any online marketing campaign as the mobile users are hardly ever without their much loved all-in-one devices.

The Internet Without Writers Would Be an Empty and Unorganised Space

You open the Internet browser and type a search phrase in the search box of Google or Bing. It takes a fraction of a second to bring up a host of websites relevant to your search. Have you noticed the words on the search page and then the websites you visit? Those words are not created by robots, but by writers. Most of them are invisible to the world out there – they are called ghost writers.

Websites Will Be Empty If Not for Writers

The Internet as you know and use it today would not have existed in its present form without writers. Sure there would have been content, but definitely not the quality you are used to and most certainly not in the volumes available now.

You may differ and think that every website owner populates their own web pages and simply writes the blogs and many informative articles you have seen on the Internet over the years. Indeed, some do and are not bad at it, but the majority of website content is generated by the invisible writers, the people who never get credit and sadly don’t get paid their worth.

Gain Visibility on the Internet with Writers

With the recent changes in the Google algorithms, numerous website owners have seen their rankings drop to a ridiculous level with income losses in the thousands to millions. There are two groups of people on the Internet that can help a site regain its ranking:

• Search Engine Optimizers
• Writers

Most website owners don’t have the time or resources to monitor algorithm changes and adapt their online strategies accordingly. For that purpose they hire Search Engine Optimizers or as most know them, SEO specialists. They work with the invisible writers to help a website gain visibility amongst thousands of sites on the Internet. In addition, the writers create compelling copy, sales letters, press releases, and the free information that you use to make informed decisions.

Ghost Writers and SEOs

This blog for instance, has only ADMIN as author whilst the company gets the credit, but there are two persons working on it. The one is the SEO that does uploading and optimization and the other is the very same writer that writes these posts. Copyright Law stipulates that the author of a work has a moral right to be associated with the work. It is a non-transferrable right. Even when hired to write, the author still retains that right, but in order to make others look good, you need ghost writers. In essence, the website owner or SEO company takes credit for the writer’s work. In some instances people even add their names to work when indeed someone else did the research and writing.

Without the writers willing to be kept a secret, a lot what you see on the Internet today would not have existed. It would have been dull. Let’s be even bolder. Have you seen the sponsored ads at the side of the search results? Those ads are written mostly by copywriters.

Have you ever purchased from the Internet based on the information provided at a website? You most probably would not have bought at all if it wasn’t for a writer who knew how to connect to you as the reader.

Do You Need Writers?

Depending on your writing skills, you can very well create compelling content, many bloggers succeed in such. If, however, you are not a skilled writer, the page may be filled with grammar, styling and spelling errors. One look at such a page on the Internet and the readers will leave because they will not trust you and you will lose any credibility you had with the audience.

Compelling Articles Sell Websites

Skilled copywriters can write on just about any topic. Whether it is about website marketing, veneers for dental correction, patent law or various types of forklifts, they have the ability to put knowledge into readable format that can be understood by the intended audience. Next time you visit a law site or perhaps a website about travelling to South Africa, know that although no author may be mentioned, there is in fact a skilled writer behind it all.

In-depth Research Ensures Quality and Sticky Content

The same of course, will be the case when you make use of a writer to help develop content for your site on the Internet. The very same writer that has written on Botox treatment and anti-ageing solutions can also write about the latest technologies and mobile communication. They do in-depth research and you will still be able to control the content. As such accuracy can be guaranteed because you as an expert in your field check the copy written and thus authorize publishing thereof.

Accurate Information

So before you decide never to trust any information on the Internet ever again because you think that it is not written by an expert figure,  know that the expert still checks for accuracy and you can thus trust most of the content, even sales content.

Connecting With the Audience

The skilled writer knows how do adapt the tone of the article to fit in with the rest of the website and also knows how to tone down on personalization. The writer lets the company shine and takes a background role, almost like the person creating the stunning costumes in the theatre or does the makeup. Without the teams of writers and SEO specialists working behind the scenes about 50% of what you now see on the Internet would not have been there.

What Does It All Mean?

Besides the obvious that ghost writers need to be paid more and should get more credit for their work because I am a ghost writer, it means that you don’t have to appoint staff to add content to your website. You can rely on writers and SEO specialists as available from iLead Online to do the job and ensure not only a good ranking on the Internet, but also return visits to your site, increased sales, and credibility with readers who appreciate the informative, yet, professionally styled information provided by your company.