Archive for June, 2007

Microsoft adCenter Upgrade

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Loads of new features, read on the adCenter Blog post:

URL - http://adcenterblog.spaces.live.com

§ Editing your keywords in bulk and previewing ads
§ Creating multiple account performance reports and new information on misspelled keywords
§ Importing campaigns from other search advertising programs

The Microsoft adCenter Team

importing campaigns from other search advertising programs sounds good…
Check my Yahoo Panama post for more detail on using editor to format bulk sheets.

Cheers

OsCommerce Error: insert into customers_info (customers_info_id, customers_info_number_of_logons, customers_info_date_account_created) values (’0′, ‘0′, now())

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Stumbled accross this nasty little error on a client’s installation of OsCommerce. The problem occurs when a new user is signing up, so this can be a real show stopper and cost sales!

Anyway thankfully I quickly found the solution and the fix is pretty quick and simple

catalog/includes/functions/database.php. Find the line relating to tep_db_insert_id and change it to:

function tep_db_insert_id( $link = 'db_link') {
global $$link;
return mysql_insert_id($$link);
}

By the looks of the solution, perhaps problem occurs because of a non persistant database connection, or other subsequent queries having run.

http://forums.oscommerce.com/index.php?showtopic=155215

Google Adwords Search Query Performance

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Hi All,

Just to let you know that there is a new report within Google that gives you visibility on all search queries that have resulted in a click. Its called Search Query Performance and its in the reports section.

I have already noticed that a phrase where we aren’t bidding on any component, is being displayed for my client… and it is a competitor brand!

On a more practical note this will give you guidance on long tail exact match keywords to add to your accounts.

Interesting…


adwords support article on Search Query Performance

Mr Kirkland

PHPAccounts Minimum Requirements

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PHPAccounts has so far been tested on MySQL and Apache though other configurations may be possible - please report your successes and failures!

Required

  • PHP 4.3 or greater
  • MySQL 4 or greater
  • Apache 1.3 or greater

Recommended

  • ImageMagick is required for processing of images
  • Ability to run a crontab is required for repeat invoicing and reminders
Mr Kirkland

Download PHPAccounts

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This project now has a site of it’s own. Please Go to phpaccounts.com and download the open source package there.

Mr Kirkland

Url rewrite for query strings

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Url Rewriting

We all know and repsect the voodoo that is apache mod_rewrite, the superb apache mod that allows one to redirect/rewite urls, silently redirecting nice SEO friendly URLS to
standard query string types e.g.:
http://www.coolsite.com/news/coolstuff/new-url-rewriting-mod/ -> http://www.coolsite.com/?pageid=123871&catid=2432

Moving Pages

One handy use of mod rewrite is when you re-organise your sites url structure, it’s ability create redirects for all the old urls with regular expressions can be a real life saver as all your previous incoming links may end up with ghastly 404 page not found messages. This is especially useful when simple 301 Redirects aren’t powefull enough

One Caveat however, is that mod_rewrite can’t rewrite query strings with the normal RewriteRule. for example:
Works:

RewriteEngine On
RewriteRule ^cakes/ /puddings/cakes/

Doesn’t work

RewriteEngine On
RewriteRule ^cakes/?cakeid=12 /puddings/cakes/sponge/

Instead, one has to use the RewriteCond to catch the Query String:

RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} cakeid=12
RewriteRule ^cakes/ /puddings/cakes/sponge/

So in detail, to redirect:
http://www.mysite.com/url/path/?some=query&other=queries&etc
to
http://www.mysite.com/new_url/

RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} some=query&other=queries&etc
RewriteRule ^url/path/ /new_url/

Ref:
http://httpd.apache.org/docs/1.3/misc/rewriteguide.html

Mr Kirkland

HBM

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HBM is Happy British Man

A delightful series of inverted portrature

www.hbm.jp

Mr Kirkland

Internet Explorer Submit Button Horizontal Padding

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As you already know Internet Explorer takes great care to interpret HTML and CSS in it’s own special way and only sometimes does this co-incide with the W3C’s specification. The padding on Submit Buttons is one such nuisance.

Simply, IE simply ingores any horizontal padding you specify with css. The solution, I discovered, it to use the “overflow: visible” for all such elements e.g.

Before

<input type="submit" value="Internet explorer ignores my padding" style="padding: 20px;" />


After:
<input type="submit" value="Internet explorer respects my padding" style="padding: 20px; overflow: visible;" />

NB For this example I’ve put the style inline with the html - for real use this should be separated from the html in an external style sheet.

Mr Kirkland

Web Based Databases And Applications

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Web Based Databases And Applications

Running a business on the Internet can often mean running the business FROM the Internet. A great number of business already make use of the Internet’s potential, sales: booking flights, selling goods, selling software services: on line banking, data analysis publishing.

Behind the scenes, the integral part of this process is storing the information in a database and creating an “application” to use this database. Mr Kirkland special izes in web application and database design and has many clients whose businesses are running of applications crafted to their needs.

Whether you have an existing system that needs improving or you have yet to realize the potential of your business on line, Mr Kirkland would love to hear from you.

Mr Kirkland

Google Gears Beta

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‘Google Is Watching You’ headlines asside, a friend just pinged me the url for Google Gears
http://gears.google.com/.

From my first recce, it seems to be an open source extension for your webrowser that acts as a local server for caching, storeing and serving resources - I see it as a local proxy to for web applications. Seems like it would involve a certain amount of re-writing of your application, but sounds very interesting…


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