Part 1 - Great tools for web marketing: Keywords

I just wanted to share with you some of the wonderful web marketing tools I have found online. All of the sites listed are not needed to market your website if you have a ton of money. But for those of us that don’t have wads of cash laying around, this is for you. And best of all, they are free tools!

First lets start with keywords. Keywords are what links your site to the search engines. If you don’t have the keywords somehow embedded in your website then when the search engines spider your site, they wont list your site when someone searches for that keyword.

Take for instance a game site. If someone searches for “buy playstation 2 games” in google and your site does not have some or any of the keywords either in links or text of some sort then Google will have no reason to list your site as being relative to those search terms.

Likewise, if you are selling car parts for instance then you have no reason to embed the words “Brittany Spears” in your site. It’s not relevant and the search engines frown upon this. Because after all, relevancy is what they are all about!

So all of that being said, make sure your keywords are relevant and are embedded in your site somehow if you expect to be listed. There is a fine line, so don’t have a full page of text of the same keyword. I’m not an expert at search engine marketing by any means, and for more information do a search for “SEO” or “search engine optimization” for better information.

Just remember, don’t use small words like for instance with the game site before. If your meta keywords are “games” then guess what, all the big boys like Walmart, EBgames and such will beat you out in the search results and you will be at the bottom of the pile. Try something like “New video games for sale” or something of that nature so that you are more likely to list higher in the search results for those keywords.

This is where research of the best keywords to use comes in handy. If you randomly pick something you may not have a very high search volume and only get a few visitors out of it. But, if you pick a good keyword after researching the best terms, and that keyword has tons of monthly searches and you get listed high in the search results, then you are going to be loving life!

Now, the tools I have promised to share, here they are below:

Overture - Which is now Yahoo Marketing is one of the best PPC services on the net. But wait you say, what about free? Ahh yes, they have a wonderful tool in case you don’t have an advertising budget yet, and it’s called Keyword Selector Tool. It’s free and it helps you find the best keywords for your site. Search for a generic term and let it break it down for you. It will even tell you how many times that term was searched for in the last month so you will know whether or not to bother with it. It’s very helpful.

Google Adwords Keyword Tool - Yes, Google owns the planet. But, they do have some nifty little tools for free. This is one that you don’t wont to overlook. Just like Overture, this site lets you search for a keyword and then get similar keywords, search volume per month, plus how much competition you have with other advertisers! Thats very helpful if you want to use Adwords for marketing.

SEOquake - This is a plugin for IE and FireFox browser which I don’t know how any webmaster could live without. When you visit a website it tells you the sites, PR rank, Links in Google, Yahoo, etc., Alexa Rank, Age, and I could keep on going. even though all of these things are valuable we are just talking keywords right? Yep, so there is one great piece to this, and it’s named simply, Density on the SEOquake toolbar. It’s keywords density and if you click on it, it will open up a page and display all keywords and keyword phrases it finds on that site. So, you type in your site in the web browser. Click on Density on the SEOquake toolbar. Then, once the page has loaded and you can see all the keywords that your site contains, there is a hyper link thats says Load Google Keywords Data. This lets you load data just like from the Adwords tool but it’s just for the keywords found on your site. And, it will list search volume and advertiser competition. This is a truly awesome tool!

Well, thats all I have for now. If you know of any great tools that you would like to share feel free to email me. Next time we will go into marketing methods that have been proven to work and are free. As always, thanks for reading!

-Travis

travis@evalguide.com

Hosting Review (HostGator)

You hosting provider on the internet is as important as the website you are hosting with them. Why? Because if your pages don’t load in mere seconds then the visitor is likely gone forever. Thats one less potential reader, client or customer. If you are selling products, that money out of your pocket.

After a horrible time with my hosting provider (Which will remain nameless) in 2005 and terrible support for one of my main ecommerce site I decided to seek another host. I lost too many sales and at the peek sales time of my business, Christmas! This was just not cool.

I found Hostgator.com and decided to give them a shot after reading reviews upon reviews which boasted they are the best hosting provider out there. I decided to take the plunge and put one of my lower volume sites on their to try them out.

To my wonderful surprise they were very friendly and had awesome customer support when helping me switch over. They assisted me throughout everything, even the mysql database migration. I had made the switch in no time and my customers never knew I had moved servers… or had they?

My customers soon started email me telling me how they like the speed improvements on my site and whatever I did to keep doing it. I was sold. All of my sites (76 of them at this time) have been moved to HostGator.

This was in 2005. Now, in 2007 I am still hosting with them. And I’m happy to say I am happier than ever. I have never seen my sites go down, not even when they were doing planned maintainance which they let me know about weeks in advance. They have an awesome support staff and they helped me move all of my sites over!

Their services keep improving also. I mean their basic plan has 100GIG of storage. Thats right 100 Gigabytes not megabytes. Thats insane! And thats under 10 bucks per month plan. Also, they keep adding new features like Fantastico and keep updating all of their pre-installed applications like cpanel.

But, wait, there is more…. Yes there is more.. the biggest benefit for me was that I can host unlimited domains with them. What does that mean? It means I pay less than 10 bucks per month and can host 400 sites if I want to with no additional fees! They don’t charge you anything! It’s great! And from an ecommerce side of things, they are awesome and will even install your ssl keys for you if you don’t want to mess with it.

Take my advice, Click Here and try out HostGator. you won’t be disappointed.

Supreme Commander (PC Game)

Now you should know, I am an avid lover of pc strategy games. Command and Conquer was an awesome game. But Total Annihilation was my favorite strategy game of all time. But now, even after Command and Conquer 3 there is a game that makes me feel like I’m back to the days of TA (Total Annihilation). It’s just like the original but with more stuff and prettier graphics. It’s Supreme Commander! And it’s breathtakingly WOW!

I had heard some negativity about the game so I was late in playing it but man, I should have jumped on it when I had the chance. This game is freakin awesome! Just like the original you have a commander which can fight, build etc. And then you have your different structures and vehicle to build ( land, air, water based). And the computer sure is tough. You have to be on top of everything.

That was some of the negativity I was hearing. It was very difficult.So don’t expect to walk into a shootem up bloodbath. It’s strategy, which in my experience means you have to lose a few time to figure out how to win! But it’s a ton of fun and the battles are insane. They could have used a few more maps for the skirmishes but I’m sure plenty are available for download on the internet.

There are some rough edges from time to time but I never patched the game nor do I know if a patch is out there. I just played right on through.

If you are looking for a challenge, look no further. If you want and instant action game, fin Serious Sam in a bargain bin somewhere. But if you want a strategy game that will keep you on the edge of your seat, then pick up a copy of Supreme Commander.

Check out of friends over at Gamers Corner. They might have a copy of it in stock. And if I remember correctly it was 50% off the MSRP.

Spying PT4: Finding Missing Persons

Finding Missing Persons: How New Online Searches Can Help You Locate Someone Who Has Dropped Out of Sight

Every day, in towns and cities across the country, people go missing.  Sometimes they’re the victim of crime. But in most cases, they drop out of sight on purpose.  Usually they’re trying to escape some problem or avoid some responsibility.

People who disappear can include those who are:

-    Responsible for an accident but do not want to pay for damages or face legal action
-    Avoiding alimony or child support payments
-    Deeply In debt and unwilling to work out payment
-    Running from Law Enforcement or the Courts
-    Evading taxes or liens or other obligations

If you are looking for a missing person, you should be aware of how searches on the Internet can now help you locate them.

You Can Now Get Access to Data while Sitting at Your Computer that Before Could Only Be Uncovered using Costly Private Investigators

It used to be expensive to track down a missing person.  You had to hire a private detective and pay them by the hour to do a “locate.” 

Not any more - not now that so many public records and business databases are available through the Internet.  Anyone with online access and a bit of determination can do the same kind of investigative work themselves.  There are no guarantees you’ll find the person you’re searching for, just as there were never any guarantees with paid investigators. But the cost is minimal and no one will be more motivated than you to keep at it until you succeed.

What makes it so easy is a new breed of web-based investigative search services.  Sometimes referred to as Internet Detective or Personal Search services, these specialized services give you the speedy, accurate access to all kinds of formerly hard-to-get information.

Note that these search services are not the same as the general search engines you may already use, like Google or Yahoo.  The general search engines are not the best way to hunt for someone who’s missing.  The private search services are best because they’re optimized for finding people.  Rather than a search making you scroll through thousands of unrelated listings, they take you directly to the data you need.

Basic Techniques You Can Use to Locate Someone

When you begin looking for someone, the first step is to collect as much physical information as possible about the subject.  If the person is part of your own family, you’ll probably already have personal information available. Pull out any old files and records.  Look for clubs or organizations they belonged to.  Get bank or investment account numbers.  In particular look for any type of identifying records like a driver’s license, employee id, etc.  A Social Security Number is the most important identifier you can have.

If the person you’re searching for is not someone you knew personally, gather information from anyone who did know them, if possible. If you aren’t able to get this information, there are ways to get it online through the search services.  It just makes it easier if you have some information to start with.

Organize what you collect and analyze it for any hints at where the person might have gone.  Sometimes you’ll find a clue to where the subject is hiding right in this first batch of information.  It just wasn’t apparent earlier because no one had examined the material closely enough.

What’s more common, though, is to find links to other people or organizations that can assist you in your search.   That’s the professional investigator’s secret - to find a missing person, first find other people who know them and can lead you to them.

At times, finding a missing person is as easy as calling up a former associate.  The associate knows and can tell you the subject’s current whereabouts.

If these basic steps don’t result in locating the missing person, the next step is to move to the Internet.  Below are some of the common steps that professionals use to gather information online that helps them track down a subject.  You can use these same techniques by conducting your own hunt through an investigative search service.

Techniques Professional Investigators Use Online That You Can Use Too

1. Do a profile search.  Look up all people with the same initial and last name, city and state.  If you don’t get promising results at first, and the name isn’t too common, expand the search to other cities and states.  In particular, look in the areas where the subject had relatives, friends, business dealings or other connections.  Once you get a list, try contacting them.  One of them may well be who you’re searching for.

2. If you have a Social Security Number, do an SSN trace through the credit bureaus.  Credit bureaus are the most likely place to find anyone’s most current address and phone number. Professional investigators say this is usually the best way to locate someone who’s trying to hide.  That’s because most people don’t realize all the different types of activities they do that trigger address updates to their credit record.  Everything from filling out an employment application, to renting a new apartment and getting the utilities turned on.

3. Search Voter Registration databases.  This one is frequently overlooked but often effective.  The reason is that those who disappear tend to build a new life based on their old one.  If the voted before, they’ll likely register to vote again.  The records are kept by state offices but collected and available through better specialized search services.
4.  Search Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) filings. These are lien notices filed locally and maintained by each state.  The Search Services collect the data so you can access it more easily.  UCC’s are created to document a lien placed on property for which a loan has been made.  It’s valuable in tracking a missing person because it can lead you to a business that has had dealings with the person.  It’s possible you can get contact information through them.
There are a variety of other databases you can access easily through an online Investigative Search service.  From post office Change of Address records to Driver’s License Information to Vehicle Registrations for the missing person’s car or truck — even records of traffic tickets.  Any one of these database searches can either provide a current address for your subject or a link to someone else that can eventually lead you to them.
Final Word
If you need to find someone who’s missing, you can now use one of the new Investigative Search services to help you locate them.  These services collect the data in one easy to use database or provide easy to use look up tools with automatic tie-ins to the public databases you need to search. That makes searching for a missing person faster, easier and more likely to end successfully.

To find out more goto: http://www.spydel.com

Spying PT3: Background Checks

If you run a small business, you’ve got a lot of worries.  Besides all the normal concerns like competition and pricing and location and customer service… now security has become increasingly important.  You face the threat of theft, fraud, embezzlement, scams… the list seems almost endless.

When you’re in business, you can run up against…

-    Suppliers who provide shoddy goods that you don’t discover until after you’ve paid for them
-    Customers whose orders you promptly fill but who wiggle out of paying
-    Employees who rob you of everything from supplies and equipment to cash and services.

The Federation of Small Business - a British business group reported that over half (58%) of all small businesses in the UK  suffered at least one crime during a recent two year period. They concluded:

“Crime, and the fear of crime, can directly impact on day to day business activities. It can  damage a business image, resulting in the loss of existing customers and deterioration in the quality and range of services offered by the business, which will limit turnover (profits) and
restrict business development.”

When you run a small business, it’s up to you to look out for your company.  But how?

Background Search Services on the Web Provide an Economical Answer 

Many of the problems that small businesses face in trying to deter crime can be helped with information available on the Internet.  You can use 21st Century technology to get the better of the crooks and thieves and scam artists.

But if you’re not familiar with whats available, you may not realize all the important things you can find out with a good background checking service.

It used to be expensive to check into someone’s background to see if they were hiding anything.  You had to hire a private detective or pay big bucks to an investigative agency.  Not today - not with Internet databases so readily available to us.  Some of the services are free.  However, a business will benefit most from the more in-depth background checking services.

These higher quality services usually charge a  fee to subscribe, but it’s smaller than you’d expect - especially considering the volumes and usefulness of the information they provide.  A year of service is often less than what you’d pay to bring in lunch for a staff meeting.  Plus, the paid services are kept more up-to-date and are typically faster and easier to use.

Sometimes referred to as Internet Detective sites, or Personal Search sites, the website based services give you the low-down on all kinds of formerly-hidden information.

Here are the types of things you can and should be looking into for the protection of your business…

Criminal Background Checks

Any time your business is dealing with someone you don’t know, you should run a quick check to see if they have any history of criminal activity.  It’s very simple to find out about:

-    Criminal Records
-    FBI Records
-    Prison Records
-    Sex Offender Status

You have access to their entire criminal history if there is one.  With violence in the workplace such a major issue, a simple criminal check can be a very effective way to avoid problems before they happen.

Background Check for Employment (Pre-Employment Screening)

If you’ve got a small business, you should be pre-screening each person you consider hiring.  No matter how professional, or how harmless, they appear.

A small print shop franchise in Florida hired an especially friendly fellow as their bookkeeper after the owner got too busy to handle it himself.  The new employee didn’t offer much in the way of references but he sounded like he knew what he was doing and - big plus - he agreed to work cheap. The owner figured he would save money hiring the guy.  He figured wrong.

The bookkeeper drained more than a hundred thousand dollars out of the company before they found him out.   Turned out he’d previously been charged with embezzlement.  Something a criminal background check would have quickly turned up.

Background Check Existing Employees - Make it a Condition of Employment

You shouldn’t check only new hires. Over time, employees can develop habits and get involved in activities you’d never suspect.  So you should regularly check on existing employees.  Note: this is something you should get legal advice for - but generally if it’s a condition of employment and you let them know in writing, it’s not invading privacy.  You entrust employees with company funds or materials that can be stolen, or negotiating and purchasing power that can be abused.  Keeping an eye on existing employees is just being prudent.

Too many small business owners think of their company as an extension of their family.  They don’t want to think ill of the people they give jobs to.  Truth is, most employees are trustworthy.  They just want to do a good job and get paid fairly - but they see you as the boss, not their daddy.  Even in real families, the black sheep will have absolutely no conscience about turning your good will to their good fortune.  Don’t be so kindly that you end up getting taken for everything you own.

Background Check Each Company or Individual You Do Business With

You should investigate every supplier or contractor who serves your business.  If the possibility of harm exists, then you need to know if someone you’re in business with is likely to harm you.  You can check credit, check backgrounds of the owners and managers, check the company itself for any past criminal or questionable activity.

Also check customers if your dealings with them permit.  Most non-retail businesses will have the opportunity to look at their customer’s backgrounds for any warning signs.  Don’t get left without payment for your products or services when a quick look up on the computer can resolve questions.

Check both suppliers and customers out.  It’s just good business.

Real Estate Business Transactions Are Often Easy Targets for Crime

Real Estate often involves significant investment, both initially and over time.  Whether you’re a landlord or a tenant, you need to check out those with whom you’re doing business.  Using a background check service, you can:

-    Check Credit and determine if Social Security Numbers provided are valid
-    Check Tenants for past problems or criminal activity
-    Check Landlords for tenant actions against them or other legal problems

Charity and Other Community Support

Businesses frequently get called on to support their community.  Charitable organizations often solicit donations, many times in sizable amounts.  Before you give money freely to anyone, be sure they’re legitimate by running a background check on their organization and the principals involved.  Otherwise the help you think you’re providing could turn around and hurt your business.

Final Word

Running a small business is more of a challenge today than ever before.  Use online database search services to help you protect your business and keep you, your customers and your employees more secure.

We recommend the following sites for doing Background Checks:

 http://www.spydel.com       

Spying PT2: People Search

Recently my wife’s sister got curious about what had happened to her first husband after they split. That marriage had ended badly and they hadn’t been in contact for nearly thirty years.  She tried searching for her ex-husband’s name on Google and Yahoo but didn’t get any hits.  Knowing I do research online in my work as a professional writer, she asked if I could find out anything.

I write for business and technical publications, so I use a number of high-priced databases for in-depth research. But I suggested she try a simpler alternative - a solution I use myself when I want to find someone quickly and easily.  I recommended she try one of the people search database services.  Even the better ones cost so little, they’re practically free.  Most offer a trial period.  I gave her the name of one to try.

She was dubious. She’s not very comfortable using her computer for much more than email.  Her stab at the search engines had already left her flustered.  Now she was going to have to “sign up for something and learn something completely new… oh my goodness,” was the way she put it.

Yet, later the same day I suggested it, she emailed back excitedly.  In just minutes, she’d found out all kinds of information about her ex.  It turned out that he’d done something of a turnaround after they’d broken up.  Their divorce resulted from fights over his serious drinking problem.  After they broke up, though, he’d eventually gone back to med school, gotten his MD and become an orthopedic surgeon.  He’d even been instrumental in developing some sort of device used by other surgeons in his field.

Unfortunately, the poor fellow had passed, but at least my sister-in-law found comfort in knowing that things had worked out for him after all.  She remarked that even though their relationship ended in the worst imaginable way, it had started from a good point.  She said she hadnt really wanted to contact him.  She just wanted to know what had happened to him.

Sometimes all we want is just to satisfy our curiosity about what happened to someone we’ve lost track of.  Most of us have an old friend or acquaintance we still wonder about.

A Better Way to Find People

I suspect that’s what makes people searching so hot.  As many as half a million times a month, someone searches on Google alone, looking for a way to find a lost person.  Whether it’s someone from the past with whom we’ve lost touch, or someone we met last weekend and yearn to see again, were always searching for others.

Unfortunately, most general searches fail.  Just like Googling failed for my sister-in-law.  The information is out there, somewhere.  But being forced to sift through so many unrelated results makes it nearly impossible.

That’s why I recommended she use a people search service - sometimes they’re called Internet Detective services.  They pull all the information spread across thousands of servers and combine it into people-specific search databases.  Then when you drop in a name or an address or a phone number, whatever bit of information you have, you get instant gratification.  Up pops the latest scoop about your person.

Thats totally unlike the cold mechanical response a Google or Yahoo gives:

Results 1 - 10 of about 55,100,000 for joe smith. (0.06 seconds)

You can almost hear the search engine yawn.

By the way - most searchers don’t know this - search engine results don’t actually extend beyond about a thousand entries.  Even when the search engine results page says they found millions and millions of hits, they don’t actually bother to dig it up and give you access to all of it.  They’re really just estimating from their own database tables.  Even they know it’s a waste of time.

Yawn, yawn, yawn

On the other hand, it’s exciting when you do a person search on a dedicated database. You find what you’re looking for in seconds.  Plus, you not only get current information, often you get historical data too.  You find not only where the person is now but also where they lived or worked before that and before that and before that.

You can sort of see your old friend’s life laid bare.   (Now what in heaven’s name was George doing in Poughkeepsie, New York, in winter. He always hated the cold)

Sometime you find a person’s life didn’t turn out the way you’d have thought.  That’s when the Criminal Check part of the service can help you find out what prison they ended up in!

When You Choose a Personal Search Service, Here’s What to Look For

If you decide to try out a personal search database, here are the things I’ve found important to consider during a review

1.  Free versus Paid

I’ve been disappointed by the free services.  Their main concern seems to be to try and get you to click on some of the pay-per-click ads they’re displaying - so they can make a little money.

2.  Speed

You want a service that responds quickly.  Make sure you try it out. A fun test is to do a search on yourself.  You get to check speed and accuracy!

3.  Proprietary Database

If a service compiles their own database, they must be fairly successful.  It’s costly to build and maintain. Such well-funded providers are much more likely to stay around.  From a usability standpoint, it’s better too.  You get a single interface that you can quickly learn.

And I’ve never seen a free service that has its own database. Most of the free services I’ve checked out are really just link farms - they just point you at some public or government database.

4.  Training and Support

Be sure you can easily learn to use any service you choose.  Actually, you’ll find the better services are intuitive - how to search will make sense as soon as you look at it.  But better services will also provide extra, in-depth searching.  If you ever need the extra, it might require you dig into it a bit before you can fully use it.  Just make sure your service has easy, accessible ways to learn, like tutorials.

And don’t ignore support.  Sooner or later you’ll have questions or there will be something you need help to get resolved.  It’s best if they offer free, live support.

Final Word

Join the millions using the web to track down old friends and new friends. But make it easier on yourself by using a People Search service rather than a general search engine. Have fun finding out exactly what did become of your old friend (or even your old, not-so-friendly ex)
We recommend the following sites for your People Search needs:

http://www.spydel.com  

Spying PT1: Reverse Phone Search

Got a phone number but don’t know who it is?  Maybe you’ve seen strange numbers showing up on your teenager’s cell phone bill. Or maybe you picked up a number to call about an investment - but you suspect a scam.  Or maybe you found a mysterious number in your wife or husband’s things.  For dozens of reasons, we find ourselves with a telephone number - but no name.

You’re itching to find out who it is.  Not just for curiosity’s sake.  The safety of your family or the security of your bank account could be at stake.  You need a way to discover just whose phone number you have.

There’s good news.  You’ve got options.  I’m a professional writer and researcher. I’ve discovered four different ways you can find out who’s hiding behind any phone number. You can:

-    Call, pretending to be someone else
-    Look it up in a published crisscross directory
-    Befriend (or trick) someone at the phone company
-    Go online and search

Let’s see what’s involved with each approach and discover when they work best…

Call the Number

It’s the simplest thing you can do.  Pick up the phone and call.  But pretend to be someone else to avoid recognition.  When they answer, ask for a person with an unusual name not likely to be there.   Say something like “Hello, is Lilly Becky there? No? Are you absolutely sure? Well, who am I talking to then?”  Be a little forceful. Even sound angry, as if you think they’re lying to you.  This approach can rattle the other person and make them reveal their identity.

Avoid this one if you’re not comfortable acting.  And make sure you don’t call from a number that can be traced back to you!

Look in a Crisscross Directory

Crisscross Directories have been around since the late 1800s. They’re like phone directories. But they organize their listings by phone number, or street address, instead of name.  These directories are still available in print form even though most of the information is also now available by computer.

Such cross-references are primarily designed for business use. Usually, sales departments rely on them to conduct direct marketing, build lists of sales leads and gather business intelligence.

The drawback is that they’re expensive - costing in the hundreds of dollars or more.  Still, you can usually find copies in your library, especially for the local area you live in.  If you’re looking beyond your own town, you probably won’t be able to use the free version in the library.

Get an Inside Connection

Having a buddy on the inside of the phone company was classic approach for TV detectives.  If you recall the Rockford Files or Mannix or any other old private eye show, they were forever pulling over to a pay phone and calling their friend, Ginger or Susie or Maggie, at the telephone company.  The friend would dutifully give them whatever information the PI needed to pursue the case.

Interestingly, this method actually works - even if it’s a little on the shady side.  If you know someone at the phone company, you can probably talk them into helping.

Unfortunately, they probably won’t help you once a week like on the TV shows.  At some point your friend’s better judgment will take over.  You’ll be left with nothing but numbers again.  (Makes you wonder, doesn’t it, just what the detective had that you don’t)

21st Century Answers - The Internet Search Solution

When it comes to finding out who’s hiding behind a phone number, the best way I’ve found is online search.  Yet, search takes time.  And not finding what you want quickly gets very frustrating.

To help, a number of businesses exist to make reverse phone searching quicker and easier.  These businesses have already found the best sources for reverse phone searching. They take you directly to the databases that have the information you need. You can find out names, addresses, and much more, starting with just a phone number.

Some of these Reverse Phone Lookup services are free.  The better ones cost a little. Quality always does, in my experience.

If, in your case, it’s not that important to get accurate information fast, then give the free services a shot.  They’re mostly supported by pay for performance advertising, like Adsense, which doesn’t earn them much. That means the free services rarely have the money to invest either in buying data access or in creating more usable interfaces.

In my case, as a professional, getting quality information quickly is important.  I pay the small fee and get reliable information.

But, even if I didn’t write for a living and were just casually looking up phone numbers from time to time, I’d still go with a paid database service.  The cost is minimal. Often a small, one-time fee covers one to three years or even longer.  If I only looked up a number once or twice a year, it would still be worth it in time saved.

Final Word

As important as it can be, finding out personal information with just a phone number used to be nearly impossible.  Today it can be quick and easy.  I’ve found four approaches that work, but one proved the simplest and most effective. It’s using a quality, reverse-phone-search service online.

In a future article I’ll talk about some of the reasons reverse phone search can be so important in these times.  You might be surprised to hear how it not only can satisfy curiosity, it could even save your life.

We recommend the following sites for your reverse number search:

 http://www.spydel.com

Sex Offender Criminal Checks: Now Internet Services Can Help You Keep Your Children Safer

One of the most disturbing trends of our time is the increase in sex offenses against our children.

A study by the US Department of Justice found
- 67% of all victims of sexual assault were juveniles, under 18 years old
- Thirty-four percent of the victims were younger than 12
- One of every seven was less than 6 years old
This is such a tragedy but at least parents are becoming more aware of the problem. They’re taking steps to safeguard their children by keeping them from going out alone or from going anywhere unsupervised.

If you’re a parent, now there’s even more you can do to protect your children.

How the Internet Can Help You Protect Your Children

Your computer and the Internet can play a major part in helping you keep your children safe. If you’re like most folks, you probably have at least some experience looking up information online, using Google or Yahoo search perhaps.

What you may not realize is how much information you can uncover online about sex offenders and other criminals who pose a threat to your family.

Specialized background checking services now exist that take you directly to criminal histories and sex offender records. While the common search engines are good for finding general information on a variety of topics, they’re not so helpful when you want to search for criminal records. The specialized services make it a whole lot easier and faster.

I became familiar with these criminal background checking services from my work as a professional writer and researcher. If you’re a parent trying to protect your children, you’ll want to find out as much as you can about what’s available.

You Can Now Find Out Secrets Once Deeply Hidden While Sitting at Your Computer

It used to be time consuming and costly to check someone’s background to see if they had a criminal history. You had to hire a private detective or go through some expensive reporting agency. Not today - not with Criminal record databases so readily available to us.

Sometimes referred to as Internet Detective sites, or Personal Search sites, these web-based search services give you the low-down on all kinds of formerly-hidden information.

They let you make complete criminal background checks and give you access to detailed information including:

- Sex Offender Status Records
- Geographic Locations of Registered Sex Offenders
- Criminal Records for all kinds of crimes
- Prison Records
- FBI and other Law Enforcement Agency Files
- Criminal History

Why Checking Criminal Backgrounds Can Help You Spot Crime Before It Happens

The unfortunate truth is that many offenders commit crimes again and again. The DOJ tracked one sample group of around three hundred thousand offenders and discovered an amazing fact. This one group of felons has so far accounted for nearly five million arrest charges over their recorded careers.

Here are more disturbing findings from US Department of Justice studies:

- When criminals were arrested for a new crime, more than half of them were out on probation, parole or pretrial release for a previous crime.
- 39% of jail inmates had already served 3 or more prior sentences.
- Of the hundreds of thousands of criminals released from prisons during a one year period, an estimated 67.5% were rearrested for a felony or serious misdemeanor within 3 years, 46.9% were reconvicted, and 25.4% resentenced to prison for a new crime.

And the most chilling statistics

- Sex offenders were about four times more likely than non-sex offenders to be arrested for another sex crime after their discharge from prison.
- Of released sex offenders and child molesters arrested for committing another sex crime, 40% perpetrated the new offense within a year or less from their prison discharge.
It’s extremely troubling but the very fact that so many criminals are repeat offenders is what makes using criminal background checks so effective. Those past crimes leave a trail. Access to that trail, that criminal history, is easily available through the specialized background check services.

The criminal history you can easily find out there can forewarn you. You’ll know if someone has a criminal background and is therefore likely commit a crime again. It’s not pre-judging. It’s just being realistic and practical.

Experts Recommend Parents Use Criminal Background Checking Services

Safety experts are starting to recommend that parents use a criminal background checking service regularly. By running a criminal background check on anyone you find suspicious or even anyone your child might come into contact with, you’ll know if there’s anything to worry about. You’ll be armed with the knowledge you need to take appropriate action.

You can use the search services to check out your baby sitter, nanny, au pair, day care center and staff, and even school teachers and workers.

You can use it to search geographically and find out if known sex offenders live near you. It’s now possible to determine exactly where they live.

When You Choose a Criminal Background Search Service, Here’s What to Look For

To help you find the best possible service for criminal background checking, here are the things I’ve found important to consider during a review:

1. Free versus Paid

I’ve been disappointed by the free services. Better to pay the small fee and get quality information you can trust. Many of the better services have special offers of multi-year memberships for a low one-time fee. The cost can be less than what you’d pay for a low-priced blouse or golf shirt.

2. Speed

You want a service that responds quickly and gives you exactly the information you need. Make sure you try it out. Check both speed and accuracy!

3. Proprietary Database

If a service compiles their own database, it’s a sign they’re more likely to be in the business for the long term. That’s because a proprietary database is costly to build and maintain. A company wouldn’t invest if they didn’t expect to stay in business.

From a usability standpoint, a dedicated database is better too. You get a single interface that you can quickly learn.

(One note: I’ve never seen a free service that has its own database. Most of the free services I’ve checked out are really just link farms - they just point you at some public or government database. You could get that from the general search engines.)

4. Training and Support

Be sure you can easily learn to use any service you choose. Actually, you’ll find that the better services are pretty intuitive: you’ll know what to do just by looking at it. But better services will also provide extra, in-depth searching. If you ever need the extra, it might require you dig into it a bit before you can fully use it. Just make sure your service has easy, accessible ways to learn, like tutorials.

And don’t ignore support. Sooner or later you’ll have questions or there will be something you need help to get resolved. The best services offer free, live support with a phone number or live chat where you can talk directly with a person.

Final Word

It’s a threatening world but fortunately, you can use modern technology to better protect your children. Like the experts recommend, sign up for Criminal Background Checking service and use it regularly.
We recommend the following site:

http://www.localsexoffender.com

DVD Player Software Reviews - Top Features and DVD Players

You love movies, don’t you? Especially in a fully loaded theater, with a sky scraping screen and mega–surround sound that vibrates every part of our bodies. Well now, with DVD Player software, you can capture all of the things you love about the theater experience and pack them into your computer.

Most people enjoy watching movies, but few know what to look for in a DVD player. From basic beginnings to important features, this will help you decide what DVD player is best for you.

DVD players have three important parts—the drive motor, a laser and lens system, and a tracking mechanism. The DVD is made up of information spiraled in a pattern of incredibly tiny “bumps” which can be read by the DVD player. The drive motor of the DVD player spins the DVD at a specific speed—between 200 and 500 rotations per minute. Meanwhile, the laser and lens focuses on and ‘reads’ the bumps on the DVD. Meanwhile, the tracking mechanism makes sure the laser follows the spiral track of bumps. As these parts work together, the video and audio is projected onto your screen for viewing.

Different DVD players have different features. Most play DVD movies, music CDs and video CDs (such as music videos). The player uses various types of decoder, depending on what kind of DVD player you own. Some DVD players simulate surround sound, makig it seem that you have surround sound even though you might have only two speakers.

Computer-operated DVD players are often very easy to use, with many extra features. Parental control features let you decide what types of movies your children are watching. You can take pictures from different movies and save it as an image, and a few types of DVD player software lets you set the movie as your desktop. The movie plays as a background so you can watch the movie while working on other areas of the computer. Some let you bypass region codes, meaning you can watch movies from all parts of the world.

When choosing a DVD player, it is best to consider the types of features it has. Are parental controls necessary? Do you want to be able to watch different types of movies? Often, the more features available, the better.

Features:

Check to see how easy it is to use the DVD player. If it is too complicated, you’ll never want to use it. A good DVD player is simple to understand, and installation a breeze. Make sure you check that the software doesn’t conflict with other programs on your computer.

Check audio and video quality. These should be customizable so you can choose the best settings for your location. The video should be colorful and easy on the eyes, and the audio should be clear.

Yet another important aspect of the DVD player is the help section. If you have a problem, you should be able to find and understand the help document without being overwhelmed by technical terms and jargon.

Though there are many DVD players to choose from, just taking a little amount of time will let you find a great DVD player that you will enjoy for years.

Top DVD Player Software

1. WinDVD

2. PowerDVD

3. MyDVD Studio

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About the Author

You can find the top rated DVD MultiMedia software programs along with discounts that range from 10% to 25% Off at AllDigitalGuide.

Criminal Background Checks: How To Expose the Bad Guys and Protect Yourself and Family

It’s unsettling - the truth about crime… The likelihood that you or someone you love will, within the next 12 months, become a victim of crime is frighteningly high.

If you live in the US, you’ve got a 1 in 5 chance of becoming a crime victim in the next 12 months. In the UK and much of Europe, the rate is 1 in 4 or worse. Australia or New Zealand? Nearly one out of every 3 people will be victimized within a year. These facts come from respected research publisher, Nationmaster.com.

The facts are unavoidable. You or someone close to you will likely soon be the target of a robbery, burglary, car theft, even a physical attack or sexual assault.

And there’s more unsettling news. The numbers don’t begin to account for all the fraud, scams and computer crimes the modern underworld throws at us every day. No one even knows the full extent of the problem. Add in the estimates, though, and the likelihood that you’ll be victimized in the next year shoots up past fifty-fifty.

Unfortunately, law enforcement can’t help until after the crime’s been committed.

The cold hard truth about crime is: it’s up to you to do whatever you can to protect yourself and look out for your family.

The 21st Century Solution to this Growing Problem

I came across these crime-rate facts while doing my work as a professional writer and researcher. I admit I was stunned.

When I looked into the subject more deeply, two findings emerged which can help us avoid victimization.

First, criminals are frequently repeat offenders. Their past crimes leave a trail. The good news is, in the age of the Internet, access to that trail is available. The information is out there to help us protect ourselves.

Second, criminals often show up in our lives before they attack us. We know them in some way. Not necessarily on a personal basis, but through work or shopping or hired help or through an online connection. Many times we’re being cased. Our value as a target is being coldly calculated. Our living patterns are being studied: when we’re home and when we’re not; when we’re alone.

As much as that may make your skin crawl, it should also give you hope. It means you have a chance to identify others who could possibly be threats. You have the opportunity to investigate them before anything happens.

That’s where your computer and the Internet can play a huge role. If you’re like most people, though, you probably don’t realize just how much information is available to you - especially about criminals. I was familiar with background checking sites from my work. I’d just never thought of using this kind of service as a crime deterrent. Turns out that such services are premier sources for the kind of information that can help keep us safe.

Secrets Once Hidden that You Can Now Find Out While Sitting at Your Computer

It used to be expensive to check into someone’s background to see if they were hiding anything. You had to hire a private detective or go through some expensive reporting agency. Not today - not with Background Check databases so readily available to us.

Sometimes referred to as Internet Detective sites, or Personal Search sites, these web-based search services give you the low-down on all kinds of formerly-hidden information.

The general search engines like Google or Yahoo aren’t good places to search for criminal history. Use one of the private databases instead. There may be a small fee but it’s usually tiny compared to the value you’re getting in return.

You want a service that lets you make complete criminal background checks and gives you access to information like:

- Criminal Records
- Prison Records
- FBI Files
- Criminal History
- Sex Offender Status

Below I detail the kinds of background checks you can and should be making to help keep you and your family safer…

Run Criminal Background Checks on People You Do Business With|

Any time you’re dealing with someone you don’t know, you should run a quick check to see if they have any criminal history. Always get identification. Always check to make sure you’re dealing with someone you can trust.

In Central Florida, flyers for a pressure-washing service were a front for a burglar. If the victims had simply gotten identification before hiring the young man in the t-shirt, they would have discovered he had a history of burglaries. It’s probable that just asking for identification would have chased him off.

Run a Criminal Background Check on People You Meet Socially - ESPECIALLY ONLINE!

A Pasadena woman discovered that a man she met online through a dating service had already spent time in jail for defrauding other widows just like her. In fact, he was violating his parole just being in California! She turned him in — right after she made him pay for what he didn’t realize would be their last romantic dinner. Unbelievably, he tried to continue the relationship by writing her from prison!

Criminal Check Anyone Who Has Contact with Your Children

One of the most troubling trends of our times is the increase in sex offenses against children. It’s amazing so many parents continue to entrust their children to others without first checking them out. Use the search services to check out your baby sitter, nanny, au pair, day care center and staff, and even school teachers and workers. You can also search geographically to find out if known sex offenders live near you and where.

Other Criminal History Checks You Can Make

You assume your employer is legitimate but that could be a mistake. Find out for sure about people you work for. Do they have a troubling past or illegal activity in their background? While you’re at it, check out your work associates.

You should also check into the background of any medical providers, physicians, clinics, hospitals and nursing homes you rely on. Investigate local government officials, your landlord, tenants for property you rent, even the people asking for money at churches and charities. Money attracts criminals who sometimes use good organizations to hide misdeeds.

Final Word

The truth is that we live in a threatening world. Fortunately, you can use 21st century technology to better protect yourself and your family. Review the Personal Search services on the Internet and pick one that suits you. Use it regularly. The world is only going to get more threatening…

Recommended sites:

http://www.localsexoffender.com - Sex offender search online

http://www.spydel.com -Background checks, criminal check, fbi file, convicted offenses, etc.