If you have Adsense for Search options on your web site then you will be interested to know that Google have updated the search facility and it is now powered by Custom Search. As the name implies, you can customize many of the search features for your web site (or blog).

These features include:(courtesy of Adsense blog)

• Site Search: you can choose to provide just site search so users can find all the information they’re looking for on your site.
• Improved indexing of your pages:AdSense for search will now index even more pages of your site, as long as we’re able to crawl them, so that your users will see more results from your site in your AdSense for search results.
• Vertical search:You can also allow your users to search across multiple sites - this could be a network of sites that you own or other related sites that you think your users might find useful.
• Tuning search results and ads with keywords: Search terms can have different meanings in different contexts, so you can now configure your search engine with relevant keywords.
• Selecting ad location: Do you want ads to appear at the top and bottom of your search results? Or along the right sidebar as well, just like on Google.com? Now you can make the call on where ads are placed.
• Quick and easy updates: Just as you use our ad management feature to quickly change the settings for your ad and referral units, you’ll be able to do the same for your search engine within your AdSense account.

This should provide a much better system and possibly a better return for publishers using Adsense for Search. Customization is certainly an improvement on the previous search options.

Do you know what version of WordPress or Joomla you are using? It doesn’t matter what CSM, blogging software, or other website software that you use, every now and then it will be updated and you’ll need to get the latest version. I highly recommend that you always use the latest version for one simple reason: Security.

Hackers and crackers are smart guys. They learn too. Every time a software is updated, the makers of that software package fix the security issues from the last version. But security only goes so far. The bad guys are out there learning the latest tricks too.

Especially if you are using open source software such as

• WordPress
• Joomla
• Drupal
• Pligg
• Or one of many other software packages available online

Because open source means that anyone can view the source code and modify it. That’s essentially an open door hackers and other bad guys to fiddle with the code to learn how it works. Then, when they figure it out, they create their own brands of software, robots, and malicious tools to break the code and hack into websites that use that software. That’s why you always see new software updates that say they’ve fixed security issues - because there are always security issues.

That doesn’t mean that your website is perpetually unsecure. It just means that you always have to stay one step ahead of the bad guys. And the surest way to do that is to update your software.

In a previous post, Search Engine Optimization Tips - Don’t Hide Your Name, I mentioned using you web site name, or domain name, in the header region of your web page. Several comments have looked at ways to place your site name in the header using techniques that hide it. The post title was ‘Don’t Hide Your Name’ and for good reason.Using techniques such reducing the font size to one pixel; or making the font color the same as the background; or having your site name print way of the screen are all considered ‘black hat’ search engine optimization techniques and you are more likely to get penalized than gain any benefit from the technique.

If your site name had been included in your keyword list then I must say I wonder why you would want to hide it. There are techniques using your style sheet that enable you to have your site name published as text and still blending in quite well with your overall header design whilst providing search engine optimization value.

Obviously, if you want to get into fancy text then a graphic may be your only option. The point of the previous article is that you may get more search engine optimization value using text rather than a graphic.

The whole process starts with your web page design. You can go for fancy graphics or you elect to use text. If you use the graphic option, then be sure to use good alt tags. If you use text then the value is in the text. Either way, when it comes to search engine optimization, hiding data may sound good, but in the long run it will cost you more than you could ever gain.

Wordpress is the most common blogging platform and script. Most of the bloggers use wordpress for their blogs because of the clear features of wordpress. But recently I heard some news about hacking of blogs and it is due to the insecure old version of wordpress.

As soon as you get the upgrade of wordpress, you must upgrade to the new version else your blog may be in real trouble because of bad guys. Now the new version of wordpress (Wordpress 2.5.1) has security fix and therefore there is less chance of hacker’s attack in the wordpress version.

You can download the new version of wordpress here. Spare few minutes for upgrading your wordpress to the new version to stay secure from the bad guys who are trying to hack your wordpress. And there are many intermediate and unauthorized wordpress version. Do not use such unauthorized wordpress version.