1) "Leverage Your Profits Using the Power of .htaccess File!"

2) "Earning a Living Online -- A New Home Study Course Reveals How."

3) "Classified Ads."

4) "Tell Us What You Think!"

There is a tiny file on your web server which can really save your time and boots profits. This little file is called ".htaccess". According to Wikipedia:

".htaccess (Hypertext Access) is the default name of Apache's directory-level configuration file. It provides the ability to customize configuration directives defined in the main configuration file. The configuration directives need to be in .htaccess context and the user needs appropriate permissions."

More precisely, a .htaccess file is a simple ASCII file, created ONLY with a text editor like NotePad or TextPad. Many online users have some confusion over the naming convention for the file, so let me get that out of the way.

.htaccess is the file extension. It is not file.htaccess or page.htaccess, it is simply named ".htaccess".

Although .htaccess is only a simple text file, it can change settings on the servers and allow you to do many different things -- generally, .htaccess isn't difficult to use and is really just made up of a few (or more) simple instructions. (If your server runs Unix or Linux, or any version of the Apache web server it will support .htaccess.)

The problems begins when you choose your own web site hosting company. In these days, many hosts support .htaccess but some of them do not publicize it. Also, many other hosts do not allow their users to have a .htaccess file.

If your web site hosting company support password protection on folders, 100% they use .htaccess -- but, sometime, they will not let you use it. In this case, you can upload your own .htaccess file and see if it works.

Creating A .htaccess File

If you want to create the file, all you need is to open your text editor and save an empty page as ".htaccess". In case you use Notepad, this program will add the extension ".txt" (or other extension depending on your text editor type).

Now you can upload it to the server and rename the file using your FTP program.

Please remember: .htaccess files must be uploaded as ASCII mode, not BINARY. You may need to CHMOD the htaccess file to 644 or (RW-R--R--). This makes the file usable by the server, but prevents it from being read by a browser, which can seriously compromise your security.

One more very important thing: commands in .htaccess are placed on a single line! If you use a text editor that uses word-wrap, disabled this capability. Any mistake here will give you an error on the server.

Also, watch yourself if you are using the Microsoft FrontPage Extensions. The FrontPage extensions use the .htaccess file so you should not really edit it to add your own information. If you do want to (this is not recommended, but possible) you should download the .htaccess file from your server first (if it exists) and then add your code to the beginning.

Once you understand the technical details behind this powerful file on your server, it's time to discover exactly how you can use it for your own profit. So I will outline in this issue the most important three applications of .htaccess: canonical and affiliate redirects, banning users with certain IP addresses, and hotlinking.

1) Canonical domains and duplicate content

There is a lot of buzz around the subject of canonical domains especially after the Google BigDaddy Update. But what are canonical domains? Simply, they are known as subdomains, and are defined as part of the domain name system (DNS). Usually, canonical domains are used to provide aliases to a domain name.

However, these are not the only uses. Let's take an example -- there are several ways to write a web address:

• http://yourdomain.com
• http://www.yourdomain.com
• http://www.yourdomain.com/index.htm
• http://yourdomain.com/index.htm

If you believe all these urls mean the same thing, you are dead wrong! From a technically point of view, all these urls are different.

According to Brad Callen, a highly respected SEO professional:

"Canonicalization is the process of picking the url that is the best option for being the web site's home page. It's an area search engines have had serious problems with (and is the reason why you might see a different PageRank value for your www and non-www versions of the same domain).

It helps to consolidate your inbound links and by extension, your search engine rankings.

To make sure that Google picks the url that you want to use (it really doesn't matter if you pick 'www' or non-www, at least for now), and make sure that you use that url consistently throughout your web site. That is, if you are using www.yourdomain.com, then make sure you use that format and not any of the other options as I showed above."

"A second, and more fool-proof method, is to use 301 redirects on your web server to ensure that instead of having two web sites (with and without the 'www'), you can keep just one version.", said Brad.

OK Brad, thanks a lot... but what is 301 redirection?

To forward your domain name you can use what is known as the HTTP 301 redirection header. HTTP headers are usually not seen by your web site visitors. They are called headers because they are exchanged before the web server sends the HTML page to the browser -- that is, they appear at the head -- beginning -- of the HTML document.

The 301 redirect means permanently moved, and the result is that the non www version of the domain will pass on all your ranking power to the www version of your site -- the result is an increasing of your Google Page Rank.

The same "canonical" problems occur if you can access either of these in the root of your web site:

• http://www.yourdomain.com/index.html
• http://www.yourdomain.com/index.php
• http://www.yourdomain.com/index.asp
• http://www.yourdomain.com/index.jsp
• http://www.yourdomain.com/index.cfm
• ... etcetera

There are many ways to do 301 redirection. Some are better for forwarding whole web sites and domains, and others are better used for forwarding single web pages. You can do this by:

- Using the PHP header() function if your web server (if your host offer PHP functions).

- Using the mod_rewrite functionality of Apache servers (using .htaccess).

In our case, add the following codes to your .htaccess file.

To forward yourdomain.com to www.yourdomain.com, use the following code:

RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^yourdomain\.com [nc]
RewriteRule (.*) http://www.yourdomain.com/$1 [R=301,L]

To forward www.yourdomain.com to yourdomain.com, use the next code:

RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^www\.yourdomain\.com [nc]
RewriteRule (.*) http://yourdomain.com/$1 [R=301,L]

2) Protect your affiliate links

Before we proceed with this, let me tell you something very, very important: .htaccess files affect the directory they are placed in and all sub-directories! If a .htaccess file is located in your root directory (yourdomain.com), it would affect yourdomain.com/director, yourdomain.com/director/allcontent, etc.

If you place a new .htaccess file in your directory, you should remove specific command(s) from the new file that you do not want to affect the whole web site. In other words, the nearest .htaccess file to the current directory is treated as the .htaccess file. If the nearest htaccess file is your global .htaccess located in your root, then it affects every single directory in your entire site.

That's great news IF you use affiliate programs to skyrocket your internet profits. Let me explain...

Suppose you join an affiliate program and they will assign an affiliate link like this one:

http://www.affiliatesite.com/cgi-bin/home.cgi?12345

Since you are a smart online business owner, you knew that most visitors of your site feel uncomfortable when they buy from affiliate links. Or, there are some cases when your affiliate URL is too long. The best option in this cases is to protect your affiliate link using -- again! -- the .htaccess file.

All you have to do is to paste this line of code into the file:

Redirect /affiliateproduct http://www.affiliatesite.com/cgi-bin/home.cgi?12345

So, your link will look like this one on your site or emails:

http://www.yourdomain.com/affiliateproduct

Is this powerful or not?

Think about. You choose to promote an affiliate product. The owner of the product develop over a year or two other useful products you also want to promote. At some point, you will have spread on on your web site 10-20 affiliate links. What IF one day the affiliate owner change the affiliate links? I will tell you, it will become a nightmare to rename ALL your affiliate links.

But using the .htaccess file, with one single click on your mouse button you can make wonders. All you need is to remove your old affiliate link into the .htaccess file:

Old affiliate link:

Redirect /affiliateproduct http://www.affiliatesite.com/cgi-bin/home.cgi?12345

New affiliate link:

Redirect /affiliateproduct http://www.affiliatesite.com/e/af.cgi?aid=1234

That's it ONLY if .htaccess file is located in your root directory -- the changes will be made automatically on ALL your affiliate links!

3) Blocking users/ sites by referrer -- prevent "hotlinking"

There are cases when you discover an increasing usage on your bandwidth. As a smart netpreneur, you try to find the source of this situation and... surprise! Someone is "hotlinking" you, meaning that is uses an image from your web server on their site.

You need to add these lines of code to your .htaccess file:

RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^http(s)?://([a-z0-9-]+\.)*yourdomain.com/ [NC]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^$
RewriteRule \.(jpg|JPG|jpeg|JPEG|GIF|gif|png|PNG)$ http://%{HTTP_HOST}/ [R,L]

In other cases, certain webmasters uses software to insert links into your web stats. That's bad, and you should stop this using .htaccess file.

Code to block users from certain ISPs:

<Limit GET>
order allow,deny
allow from all
deny from badsite.com
</Limit>

Code to allow only users from certain ISPs to access:

<Limit GET>
order deny,allow
deny from all
allow goodsite.com
</Limit>

Lastly, in order to start blocking bots (or site rippers -- aka offline browsers) you should use these lines of code:

<Files .htaccess>
deny from all
</Files>
RewriteEngine on
RewriteBase /
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^EmailSiphon [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^EmailWolf [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^ExtractorPro [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Crescent [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^[Ww]eb[Bb]andit [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^WebEMailExtrac.* [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^NICErsPRO [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Teleport [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Microsoft.URL [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Wget [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^LinkWalker [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^ia_archiver [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^DIIbot [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^psbot [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^EmailCollector
RewriteRule ^.* - [F]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} ^http://www.iaea.org$
RewriteRule !^http://[^/.]\.yourdomain.com.* - [F]

NOTE: you can add more links (bots) as long as you keep the format of the line.

In ALL cases, be sure to replace "yourdomain.com" with your own. Take precautions to protect your bandwidth and save on web hosting monthly costs -- .htaccess will always protect you.

Conclusion:

.htaccess works on a server running Linux or some other Unix like operating system, such as FreeBSD, and using server software such as Apache or another server that supports it. You can't use it with Windows NT or other Microsoft OSs.

You'll also need to be on a host that allows you to use .htaccess. Keep in mind that different hosts have different rules. So if your .htaccess doesn't work for the first time, first check your syntax carefully, then double check. As a final step, ask for help from your web site hosting company.

Other important things to do with .htaccess files:

• Set Error Documents
• Password protection for directories
• Enabling SSI
• Change your default directory page
• Prevent viewing of htaccess
• Preventing directory listing
• Adding MIME types

The .htaccess file is a versatile file, but misusing it can make your site malfunction, so be very carefully -- always double check your lines of codes!

Earning a living online can lead to more than just a fat bank account and a new car. It can also lead to independence, freedom, and the chance to be closer to your family. To top it all off, earning a living online can result in residual income, otherwise known as streaming income, meaning you'll be earning money even when you aren't at your computer.

Affiliate marketing is one way that people are earning a living online, and it's an industry that's growing larger every day. And the beautiful thing about this form of advertising is that it's simple to get started and easy to learn. And once you're in the swing of things, you'll be amazed at how much money -- profits -- you'll be able to make.

Just what is Affiliate Marketing?

Affiliate Marketing is the means by which larger companies get their names spread around on the internet. This type of advertising has been around for many years, and has evolved on the internet quite nicely beginning with the mother of all affiliate marketing companies -- Amazon.com.

Many companies are willing to pay you a percentage of sales generated from customers that you are able to send to their site. That means your own web sites become a doorway to these business sites where, after reading about great products or services, visitors on your site can click through to a business site where they can purchase those exact products or services.

By picking the right items to feature and discuss on your web site, you can increase the chances that the people coming to your site to read your articles are going to be willing about purchasing online goods and services.

For example, let's say you signed on for a company that sells satellite subscription services. They'll pay you fifty dollars for every person who "clicks through" your web sites to sign up for satellite service with them. Now, all you need to do is write up articles and design a creative web site that will extol the virtues of satellite service and convince web site browsers that the company that's paying you is the company they want to use.

The internet has millions of users buying and selling over their computers, many of whom would be interested in this fictional satellite service. If you can get the numbers of visitors to your site high enough, chances are pretty good some of those people are going to like what you are saying enough to sign on board. And that's money (with high profits margins) in your pocket!

If you get two hundred visitors a day, but only one in a hundred visitors actually wants to buy a satellite service, well, you would still be making about a hundred dollars a day. And that's just with one site! You'll move on to other sites, and each of those will generate a certain amount of money a week. The result can be streaming income that grows as your web sites grow.

The money available simply by pumping people up with your articles and directing them to where they can purchase the goods and services they are interested in can grow to a staggering amount in just a short time. There are really no limits!

... And Now For the Fine Print

Affiliate marketing is an industry built over the web that allows people to earn a living online. Learning this industry is something that many people don't think about before they jump in, and they are surprised when they fail at it. Imagine if you started a construction company building high-rises without knowing anything about how the process works. It wouldn't be too long before your company was flopping on the ground like a fish out of water, right?

If you are going to be successful as an affiliate marketer and comfortably earn a living online, you're going to need some training. It's important to learn the basics and get a little experience before you jump in and start to make money.

James Martell's downloadable home study course on affiliate marketing techniques is one place you could definitely get the help you need. Martell has become a successful businessman through his affiliate marketing techniques, and now he spends his time earning residual income from his business and teaching others about the affiliate marketing industry. His courses are easy to use, can be done in the comfort of your own home, and get you started on your own money making affiliate business while you are training.

Through the industry of affiliate marketing, many people are become proud dot-com business success stories. The profits they make online allows them to work at home, set their own hours around the needs of their families and friends, and gives them a sense of pride and accomplishment in their work. Earning money online is a possibility for you. With the right training, you can make it happen.

 Article by Bill Schnarr, a successful freelance writer and a seasoned professional providing valuable insight and advice to those looking at various work at home ideas. His numerous articles offer real-life tips and techniques for getting the most out of a homebased business.

3. Classified Ads

--> How to drive targeted cash-in-hand prospects to any of your web sites at no cost!

ArticleAnnouncer is a very advanced software which automaticaly send out your articles to thousand of targeted newsletter owners and submit them to specific article directories, announcement lists with the click of a three buttons. You can automate the hole process and have complete control because it runs entirely on your computer. Plus, Article Announcer software comes pre-loaded with a Rolodex of 1,372 ezine publishers in 50 different categories.

--> How To Save Time, Automate Follow Ups, and Increase Your Internet Profits...

Learn about the most reliable, easiest, cost effective tool to capture visitor sign ups, send unlimited personalized autoresponder follow ups and newsletters increasing your internet profits! Join 1000's of netpreneurs who've discovered AWeber's unlimited autoresponders, follow ups, newsletters, and toll-free expert customer service with 7+ years of experience.

--> XSite Pro -- Double Your Website Income in Less than 1 Hour!

With XSitePro, you could easily create 3 or 4 new web sites before the day is done. But even if you were to create just 2 new web sites a day, you'd end up with 10 income-generating web sites in 5 days -- thereby multiplying your internet profits by 10. By the end of one month, you could have 30 new web sites -- especially since you know how to find products that the Internet buying public is willing to buy.

4) "Tell Us What You Think!"

Dear friend, I would love to hear what you think of this issue of The Internet Marketing Profits^™ newsletter. And of course, if you have any suggestions for upcoming issues that you'd like to share with me, please send those, too -- just email me right away! And don't forget to check out the previous issues at the Internet Marketing Profits Newsletter Archive.

"Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish."

Valeriu S. Popescu, Editor and Publisher
The Internet Marketing Profits^™ Newsletter

DID YOU LIKE THIS ISSUE? Please forward it to your friends, co-workers, colleagues and anyone else that you think would like it. Thank you for your continued support!

DISCLAIMER: I urge you to exercise due diligence in responding to any advertisement or article posted here or in any other future issue. I do not give business or professional advice in this newsletter and therefore cannot be held responsible for results you get from responding to ads or articles in this newsletter. I urge you to exercise due diligence in all of your online dealings.