I recently had this problem at my uklearners.com directory:

Fatal error: Cannot redeclare date_add() in www/uklearners.com/include/functions.php on line 1086

It seems the problem occurred since my webhosting upgraded php to php5.3

Here’s what I did to solve the problem:

1. In functions.php found the code

function date_add

and added an A after to make

function date_addA

2. This then left a further problem. I got these messages:

Deprecated: Assigning the return value of new by reference is deprecated in www/uklearners.com/libs/adodb/adodb.inc.php on line 914

Deprecated: Assigning the return value of new by reference is deprecated in www/uklearners.com/libs/adodb/adodb.inc.php on line 2060

So following advice at the phpld forum I accessed these files from my phpld2.2 installation:

/include/functions.php
/admin/init.php
/admin/dir_links_edit.php
/admin/dir_categs_edit.php
/admin/conf_users_edit.php

I then used find and replace to change everywhere that says split to make it say explode

3. I then went here http://sourceforge.net/projects/adodb/files/adodb-php5-only/

and downloaded the latest version of adodb and rep[laced the existing file libs/adodb.inc.php with the new one.

All sorted!

If you’re having difficulty with “Cannot redeclare date_add()” in your version of phpld or cannot locate download for adodb, then hopefully this post will help!

2. Changes to Google

There have been massive changes in Google’s algorithms over the last few months, with the promise of more to come.
The two biggest changes have been an attempt by Google to get rubbish pages out of the index through the Panda Updates and a greater bias towards big name “brands”. Many people are realising that now is the time to concentrate less on Google and find other ways of promoting their website. Others are looking for fresh ways to rank well.

What has stayed the same?

1. Links from other sites are still important
2. Unique well written content (text) with well positioned keywords is even more important than it was.

What new factors should we consider?

1. User engagement – your site may be ranked lower if people immediately click away from your site
2. Social Networking – there may be some advantage in having links from social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter

How to improve your ranking

TOP TIP – Getting listed at Google places (http://www.google.com/places/ ) – is now ESSENTIAL for getting a high ranking in Google if you are looking to rank well for a search term including a geographical term. If you search “driving lessons leeds” the first seven results are all from Google places.

TIP No.2 – Have a Facebook “Like” Button to your homepage. Then get your customers to click on the like button

TIP No3 – Add content to your site that people will stay for and come back for – eg show me tell me questions, address for local theory test centre

TIP No4 – Don’t just rely on Google. Promote your website in all your literature; put it on your car.

TIP No5 – if you are into facebook, create a facebook group for your driving school and link it to your website. Add testimonials and even pictures of your successful pupils.

TIP No6 – get listed at review sites such as www.freeindex.co.uk and www.helphound.com

So here are some suggestions of what I can do for you:

1. Search Engine Optimisation audit and changes
Your site will have been set up with good basic seo. However, fine tuning is always good. I will look at your site and ensure that you have the best meta tags and keywords in your text to help you reach your potential audience.
Cost – £20

2. Additional pages for user engagement

OPTION 1
a) Show me tell me questions.
I will create a Show Me Tell Me Page in pdf format and create a text link to it from your homepage. Then when you get to talk about show me tell me on your lessons, tell people to visit the site to download it.
This will remind your current pupils about your site and they may then point their friends to your site when they ask who they are learning with.

b) Send me the full address of your nearest theory test centre and I will add it to your theory test page or other appropriate page. Lots of people search for this info.

c) I will add a Facebook “like” button to your homepage and if you have a Facebook page of your own I will place a text link on your site – an example is at drw-som.co.uk. .

Cost for these three items – £20

OPTION 2

Get a practice theory quiz for your site (this includes questions similar to the official questions, but for copyright reasons, we cannot use the official questions)
See an example at www.richardgibbsdrivingschool.co.uk
This is hosted at your site, so this is better than linking to a theory test at an external site.
Cost – £19.50

OPTION 3

Get a testimonials page.
If you sign up at freeindex.co.uk, there is a facility for your pupils to visit their site and leave a testimonial. I will then create a new page for you and then if you then get the appropriate code, I can copy and paste it so that the testimonials are displayed on your site.
An example is here: http://www.mrasom.com/reviews.html
Cost – £20
If you need me to set the whole thing up for you at freeindex then the cost is £30

3. Obtaining links from other sites
Two hours work to obtain more links from external sites – £40

FINALLY – check out the fun cartoon of HOW NOT TO DRIVE! at http://wanadrive.co.uk/HowNotToDrive.htm (copy and paste the link to your browser)

RETURN TO WANASITE

Ranking Checker

This tops the list of available SEO tool there is on the market. Why you may ask? It is for the reason that this tool allows you to type up to five (5) keywords a day. Another selling point of this great SEO tool is that you are charged nothing for using it. Yes, it is FREE. Aside from being a wallet relief it is also very user-friendly. But you do have to sign up first to be able to use this. Opening an account is free of charge, easy and a breeze to get over with. After you get sign in to the website, choose “browser button” and this will help you automatically copy the URL page that you previously typed. It is really flexible and saves enormous amount of time. Ranking Checker is developed by SEOmoz.com

Google Analytics / Google Webmaster Console

Seems everyone has the urge to blog these days. If you feel like want to introduce your website or blogs to the public on a global scale, then this tool if perfect for you. It helps to introduce all your chosen data to the world by having an analytical program, which basically makes all your information available and ready for presentation when people around the world are typing the keywords that matched with your information. This is powered and developed by Google.com

PHP Dir Submit

This tool allows you to submit to web directories, article directories and social bookmark sites all in one place. Its unique and fast semi automatic directory submission engine uses cURL to submit your saved details to websites quickly and effectively. The end result is identical to manual submission. The benefit of this web based directory submission software is of course speed, but without compromising the quality and it can be accessed easily via the web.

If you are a freelancer there are absolutely limitless opportunities to work or find a job or project online. Many companies and individuals alike have job postings on classified ads websites and job listings online that can point you in the right direction towards immediate work. The key to finding work easier is to be as honest and as thorough as possible in presenting your credentials. The more elaborate the description of your previous work or projects the better chances that employers can see if you suit the requirements of the job.

Another way of speeding up the process of hiring is by having samples of previous work done as proof of previous employment and also a sample of the quality of work you do. Employers that hire specific freelancers usually belong to the same circles of their respective industry and may be familiar with a particular project of other employers and would help them decide to hire you or not. Experience is definitely as plus in any job application so the more you list down the better you chances get.

Finding a good freelancer online is fairly simple nowadays. There are many freelance contracting websites that have amassed hundreds and thousands of freelancers on their database from all over the world which not only provides qualified applicants but also international experience as well. There are several websites that provide both freelancers and employers opportunities to do projects or jobs like Odes and Elance which only charge a nominal fee for facilitating the introduction and linking of both parties. The good characteristic of using the websites that were mentioned is that employers can get feedback from previous employers and the freelancer can also get feedback on how it is like working for this employer. If you need someone local you can always try the newspapers or sites like Gumtree.

Web hosts  have servers which they own or lease, and they rent out space on these to anyone who seeks to make their website accessible to the World Wide Web. In fairly simplistic terms they provide the land for you to build the website home and they provide the connectivity between your home and all the other homes all over the world. An excellent web host is Krystal and you can find details at Krystal hosting review.

Web Hosting Services also provide other services along with the space – services which are essential in order to be able to run your website efficiently and correctly. These services are dependent upon the level of web hosting services you are planning to use.

Single Page Web hosting is generally for personal websites. They are normally free, since there are often third party ads within them. Limited in their scale and services, they work well for the millions of personal web pages online. However for a more complex webpage – such as those for organisations and companies, web hosting services offer many more facilities.

Security of data, excellent communication facilities, secure backups and the latest technological advances are some of the standards among good web hosting services. The prices may differ according to the number of domains you are hosting and also upon the bandwidth, traffic and storage needs of your sites. Database support and application development platforms are also among the standard additions to the webhosting services.

Excellent hosting uptime and reliability are among the perquisites of a good web hosting services provider. Evaluate your requirements carefully before you choose your web hosting service. Remember it is the main bond between your website and the rest of the world – and that relationship needs to work flawlessly

Using good anchor text is important. Google uses it to assess what your site is about. It’s good to use your most important keywords in your anchor text.

So if your driving school website is udrive2day.co.uk, you don’t want U Drive 2 Day as your anchor text. You want “driving lessons in Bury St Edmunds” to be your anchor text, as that is the kind of phrase that people searching in U Drive 2 Day Driving School’s area will be typing into Google.

With my first website about learning to drive,  Wanadrive, I made the mistake when I started out at getting people to use “Wanadrive” as the anchor text. Then I realised I needed people to use “driving schools” as the anchor text.

One Way links – where the other site links to you

Reciprocal or Two Way links – where the other site links top you and you link back to them

Paid links

1. One Way links. These are good. Most people won’t offer you a one way link apart from Directories.

2. Reciprocal links. You are most likely to get people who are willing to link back to you if you also link to them. You will need to hace access to your site and knowledge of how to add links to be able to do this. If you are a Wanasite customer, we can set up a cms system on your site for a one off cost of £19.50 to enable you to add links on your site with no knowledge of coding on your part.

3. Paid links. Google frowns on paid links. The problem is that many websites buy links, and are succesful in search rankings as a result. many household name websites seem to buy links with impunity. If you’re going to go down this route however you need to understand there is a risk.

Normally link code is shown in one of two formats:

Title:
URL:
Description:

eg
Title: Driving Lessons in Your Town
URL: http://www.yourdrivingschoolname.co.uk
Description: Driving lessons in your town with a fully qualified ADI

(Note: the description can be omitted)

or

in html format which will look like:
<a href=”http://www.yourdrivingschoolname.co.uk”>Driving Lessons in Your Town</a> – Driving lessons in your town with a  fully qualified ADI

The result will look like this:

Driving Lessons in Your Town – Driving lessons in your town with a fully qualified ADI

“Anchor Text” is the text that is actually hyperlinked to your site. Find out more about what anchor text you should use.

How to Find Websites that might link to your Site

There are several ways to find suitable sites:

One way is to use the backlink checker here and enter your competitors’ website address in there – then you can see who links back to them. Those same people may be willing to link back to you.

A second option would be to simply type into Google something like “driving school directory” or “driving school links” or “driving school submit url” and find sites that are actively looking for people to link with them.

If possible its best to link with sites that are about a similar topic as your site – ie if yours is a driving school site you will be looking for sites about learning to drive, motoring in general or about the geographical area that you serve.

eg this screenshot at http://defdriving.wordpress.com/2010/02/03/defensive-driving-means-insurance-reduction-in-the-state-of-texas/

Navigate to “comments” or “post a comment”
Fill in some info like this and click “Post Comment”

Note – you must use a real email address (your own!)

Put something like “Your Town Driving Lessons” as name.

Website must start with http://www.    – just like in the example above.

Sometimes your comment will go in a queue to be moderated. Sometimes you will need a Google account to post a comment.

Try to make your comment useful and relevant to the blog that you are commenting on. That way it’s more likely to be approved.

You can try out by leaving a comment on this blogpost below.

The benefits of having your own blog are that you can generate visitors to your main site if you link to it, and your blog will constitute another link to your site.

There are a number of different blog platforms but the two main ones are wordpress and blogger:

WordPress is more flexible, has more features and requires a bit more knowledge. It also needs you to set up a separate webhosting account or to install it in a directory of your current site.

Blogger is easier to use and you don’t need to pay any hosting fees!

To set up a blog in blogger:

1. Register at https://www.blogger.com/start. As blogger is owned by Google, you can sign in with your Google account if you have one.

Once you’ve created your account, you can create your blog. You can create as many blogs as you like, each one has to have a unique name.

After you’ve registered, to set up your blog think about what you want to call it and see if that’s already taken by entering it into the box

2. Click continue to Choose a Template
You can browse around and try different templates with different backgrounds.

Believe it or not, you can actually start posting now.

But maybe you’ll want to configure your site further.

3. You can change the layout of the elements on your page by clicking on the Design tab and then clicking and dragging the elements to where you want them. You can also add gadgets such as those on the right hand side of this blog. You can add adsense, pictures, text, links to websites, your blog archive and a whole lot of other stuff.

4.  When you’re ready to post an article or item of news or information, click on the posting tab. You can then enter the title of your post and then just type in the text just like in a word processor.

To add a link, the easiest way is to type the text you want the link to go from eg Wanadrive then highlight it and then type click on where it says “link” in the toolbari. You then enter the url into the box. The url always starts with http:// . In this case it was http://www.wanadrive.co.uk

To add pictures to your post click the picture frame next to the word “link” in the toolbar. You can then get the files from your pc by clicking “choose files” and browsing your computer for them.