Teck 92 :: Android Apps | Blogging | Tips And Tricks

Add a Social Media Icon to Blogger Header

This tutorial will help you to add social media icons in the top right corner of the page which could increases the likelihood that readers can follow through the various social networks. There are several ways to do this, like adding a new widget section to the blog header but now, we'll do it using an unordered list that uses icons of Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and blog feed, and as a bonus, the icons will rotate when you hover over them.

Step 1. From your Blogger dashboard, go to Template and click on the Edit HTML button:

blogger blogspot, blogger template, blogger gadgets

Step 2. To expand the style, click on the small arrow on the left of <b:skin>...</b:skin> (screenshot 1), then click anywhere inside the code area to search (using CTRL + F) for the ]]></b:skin> tag (screenshot 2) and add this code just above it:

/* Social icons for Blogger
----------------------------------------------- */

#social-icons {
margin-bottom:-30px;
height:50px;
width:100%;
display:block;
clear:both;
z-index: 2;
position: relative;
}
.social-media-icons {
display:table
}
.social-media-icons ul {
text-align:right;
padding:5px 5px 0 0
list-style-image:none;
list-style-position:outside;
list-style-type:none;
}
.social-media-icons ul {
margin-bottom:0;
padding:0;
float:right;
}
.social-media-icons li.media_icon {
margin-left:6px;
padding-left:0 !important;
background:none !important;
display:inline;
float:left;
}
.social-media-icons li:hover {
-moz-transform: rotate(360deg);
-webkit-transform: rotate(360deg);
-o-transform: rotate(360deg);
transform: rotate(-360deg);
-moz-transition: all 0.5s ease-in-out;
-webkit-transition: all 0.5s ease-in-out;
-o-transition: all 0.5s ease-in-out;
-ms-transition: all 0.5s ease-in-out;
transition: all 0.5s ease-in-out;
}

Add a Social Media Icon to Blogger Header

Step 3. Now search for this line

<b:section class='header' id='header' maxwidgets='1' showaddelement='no'>

Step 4. And just above it, add this code:

<div class='social-media-icons' id='social-icons'>
<ul>

<li class='media_icon'><a href='http://facebook.com/username'><img border='0' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip45SPNSm0DTgDBcCMSKRTUUa4OU4mNWAUpbG3997ONlWxHfMGGFqRGhMQXf4zcuqDHOTEp4ymw8FoO6-yGZffA8TLP3WfRv79wQpkX4CiMApK2NrHxQ4DQR09bu3IL6vRT7ABvAcl0Sw/s1600/Facebook.png'/></a></li>

<li class='media_icon'><a href='http://twitter.com/#!/username'><img border='0' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNXsBBCxbsxyfEN0qtfAUqhMGtD1PcElP6tR6myh1g4ED-9WGSzss7qIP9RzGdpf5g_loeQ6vYYmnzrdSXl8eCshBSiY_gb4VpheRUwNXn5lwLEaRz7-uAr2dnnuy_H_Eab5PbmxG60ic/s1600/Twitter.png'/></a></li>

<li class='media_icon'><a href='https://plus.google.com/XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX/about'><img border='0' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4YfBUlHcXUZSLT1AXFDrPAiBbXoh1Q5D3DeHZ_sUb6ZM_7mBOUqTdROIfIYgeSbML5nx4r96uqShVkN68HmDsRYKZXZl-YL2i7hwSGWnCH4RHAS3aUYtvnFHXHwzW3p24rekk-RLLARg/s1600/googleplus.png'/></a></li>

<li class='media_icon'><a href='http://name-of-your-blog.com/feeds/posts/default'><img border='0' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8VFbIZUofctTYKZdjUYtp7tS7vhsQKNadhtoX4ZCeu_ww16onWmQX29rLIWnjBxGJy4jT3bln34SjrhivfCXHWf7GdbH_PRSJAhEleBhLsu2m3o2Se7r7d73wDWTPx3SgI5MifuLbKoE/s1600/RSS.png'/></a></li>

</ul></div>

Customization

- Change what's in red with your usernames and id: the first is your Facebook username, the second is that of Twitter, in the third you should change the X by the ID of your Google+ profile and in the fourth you will put the name of your blog.
- To change the icons, just replace the urls in blue with the ones of your images.
- You can add more icons if you want, you just have to add before </ul></div> a line like this for each extra icon you want:

<li class='media_icon'><a href='Link URL'><img border='0' src='Image URL'/></a></li>

Step 5. Finally, Save the Template to apply the changes.

The effect is done with CSS3, so this effect will not work in older browsers.

How to Add Fade In/Out Page Loading Effect On Blogger Blog

A very common effect in jQuery is the fade effect that hides or shows an element by fading it, and we can use it in many ways as for example in the blog's navigation. The following script does just that, by loading the page with a fading effect when we browse on internal links that are in the blog, such as post titles, labels links, archive, navigation links, etc..

You can see an example in this demo blog, click on the title of any post and see the fading effect when the page is loading.

How To Implement the Fade In Loading Effect

1) To put this fading effect on your blog, go to your Template > Edit HTML :

2) Click anywhere inside the code area and search for the </head> tag using CTRL + F keys:

How to Add Fade In/Out Page Loading Effect On Blogger Blog

3) Then, just above </head> add the following code:

<script src='http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.8.2/jquery.min.js' type='text/javascript'/>
<script type='text/javascript'>
//<![CDATA[
$(document).ready(function() {
$("body").css("z-index", "-10");
$("body").fadeIn(0);

$("a").click(function(event){
event.preventDefault();
linkLocation = this.href;
$("body").fadeOut(500, redirectPage); });
function redirectPage() {
window.location = linkLocation;
}
});
//]]>
</script>
<style>
html {
background-color: #F2F2F2; /* Color fading */
}
</style>

4) Save the changes and that's it. In green you can see where to change the color that fades on a loading page.

The original script hides the body of the page while loading, I prefer to change that property with a negative z-index to avoid problems with the search engine robots that may effect the positioning.

Problems?

Consider that such effects could increase the blog loading time, so I recommend using it only when your blog loads fast and does not have too many scripts.

If you already use another version of jQuery remove the other, leaving only this which will be readed first.

If you are using Mootools or Scriptaculous, then you have to make some modifications to the code in order to be compatible.

If you have another script with a fade effect, then it could interfere with this and you might not see anything on the page except the color fading, in such cases it is better without this script.

You can also use this effect only on some links, for example, if you want to appear only when you click on the post titles in the navigation links (older posts and newer posts), and on the top tabs, then replace this line:

$("a").click(function(event){

With this:

$(".post-title a, .blog-pager-older-link, .blog-pager-newer-link, .tabs").click(function(event){

In some cases, the page can load for a second and then load with the fade effect, this may be "normal" because the browser is slow to read the script on page load.

Apart from these drawbacks, I think it's a very elegant way to load blog pages while browsing them, don't you think?

How to Embed a Youtube Playlist on Your Blogger Blog

In this post we will see how to create a YouTube video gallery using jQuery. It is an elegant gallery in which we can add 5 videos and for its dimensions, we could put it below the blog header. Actually you can put it anywhere, but it is recommended in that area considering that 765px is the width of the gallery.

How to Embed a Youtube Playlist on Your Blogger Blog

To add this video slider to your blog go to Template > Edit HTML and before the </head> tag, add these scripts:

<script>
//<![CDATA[
/*hoverscroll v.0.2.4*/
(function($) {
$.fn.hoverscroll = function(params) {
if (!params) { params = {}; }
params = $.extend({}, $.fn.hoverscroll.params, params);
this.each(function() {
var $this = $(this);
if (params.debug) {$.log('[HoverScroll] Trying to create hoverscroll on element ' + this.tagName + '#' + this.id);}
if (params.fixedArrows) {
$this.wrap('<div class="fixed-listcontainer"></div>')
}
else {
$this.wrap('<div class="listcontainer"></div>');
}

$this.addClass('list');
var listctnr = $this.parent();
listctnr.wrap('<div class="ui-widget-content hoverscroll' +
(params.rtl && !params.vertical ? " rtl" : "") + '"></div>');
//listctnr.wrap('<div class="hoverscroll"></div>');

var ctnr = listctnr.parent();

var leftArrow, rightArrow, topArrow, bottomArrow;
if (params.arrows) {
if (!params.vertical) {
if (params.fixedArrows) {
leftArrow = '<div class="fixed-arrow left"></div>';
rightArrow = '<div class="fixed-arrow right"></div>';

listctnr.before(leftArrow).after(rightArrow);
}
else {
leftArrow = '<div class="arrow left"></div>';
rightArrow = '<div class="arrow right"></div>';

listctnr.append(leftArrow).append(rightArrow);
}
}
else {
if (params.fixedArrows) {
topArrow = '<div class="fixed-arrow top"></div>';
bottomArrow = '<div class="fixed-arrow bottom"></div>';

listctnr.before(topArrow).after(bottomArrow);
}
else {
topArrow = '<div class="arrow top"></div>';
bottomArrow = '<div class="arrow bottom"></div>';

listctnr.append(topArrow).append(bottomArrow);
}
}
}
ctnr.width(params.width).height(params.height);

if (params.arrows && params.fixedArrows) {
if (params.vertical) {
topArrow = listctnr.prev();
bottomArrow = listctnr.next();

listctnr.width(params.width)
.height(params.height - (topArrow.height() + bottomArrow.height()));
}
else {
leftArrow = listctnr.prev();
rightArrow = listctnr.next();

listctnr.height(params.height)
.width(params.width - (leftArrow.width() + rightArrow.width()));
}
}
else {
listctnr.width(params.width).height(params.height);
}

var size = 0;

if (!params.vertical) {
ctnr.addClass('horizontal');
$this.children().each(function() {
$(this).addClass('item');

if ($(this).outerWidth) {
size += $(this).outerWidth(true);
}
else {
size += $(this).width() + parseInt($(this).css('padding-left')) + parseInt($(this).css('padding-right'))
+ parseInt($(this).css('margin-left')) + parseInt($(this).css('margin-right'));
}
});
$this.width(size);

if (params.debug) {
$.log('[HoverScroll] Computed content width : ' + size + 'px');
}
if (ctnr.outerWidth) {
size = ctnr.outerWidth();
}
else {
size = ctnr.width() + parseInt(ctnr.css('padding-left')) + parseInt(ctnr.css('padding-right'))
+ parseInt(ctnr.css('margin-left')) + parseInt(ctnr.css('margin-right'));
}

if (params.debug) {
$.log('[HoverScroll] Computed container width : ' + size + 'px');
}
}
else {
ctnr.addClass('vertical');
$this.children().each(function() {
$(this).addClass('item')

if ($(this).outerHeight) {
size += $(this).outerHeight(true);
}
else {
size += $(this).height() + parseInt($(this).css('padding-top')) + parseInt($(this).css('padding-bottom'))
+ parseInt($(this).css('margin-bottom')) + parseInt($(this).css('margin-bottom'));
}
});
$this.height(size);

if (params.debug) {
$.log('[HoverScroll] Computed content height : ' + size + 'px');
}
if (ctnr.outerHeight) {
size = ctnr.outerHeight();
}
else {
size = ctnr.height() + parseInt(ctnr.css('padding-top')) + parseInt(ctnr.css('padding-bottom'))
+ parseInt(ctnr.css('margin-top')) + parseInt(ctnr.css('margin-bottom'));
}

if (params.debug) {
$.log('[HoverScroll] Computed container height : ' + size + 'px');
}
}
var zone = {
1: {action: 'move', from: 0, to: 0.06 * size, direction: -1 , speed: 16},
2: {action: 'move', from: 0.06 * size, to: 0.15 * size, direction: -1 , speed: 8},
3: {action: 'move', from: 0.15 * size, to: 0.25 * size, direction: -1 , speed: 4},
4: {action: 'move', from: 0.25 * size, to: 0.4 * size, direction: -1 , speed: 2},
5: {action: 'stop', from: 0.4 * size, to: 0.6 * size},
6: {action: 'move', from: 0.6 * size, to: 0.75 * size, direction: 1 , speed: 2},
7: {action: 'move', from: 0.75 * size, to: 0.85 * size, direction: 1 , speed: 4},
8: {action: 'move', from: 0.85 * size, to: 0.94 * size, direction: 1 , speed: 8},
9: {action: 'move', from: 0.94 * size, to: size, direction: 1 , speed: 16}
}

ctnr[0].isChanging = false;
ctnr[0].direction = 0;
ctnr[0].speed = 1;
function checkMouse(x, y) {
x = x - ctnr.offset().left;
y = y - ctnr.offset().top;

var pos;
if (!params.vertical) {pos = x;}
else {pos = y;}

for (i in zone) {
if (pos >= zone[i].from && pos < zone[i].to) {
if (zone[i].action == 'move') {startMoving(zone[i].direction, zone[i].speed);}
else {stopMoving();}
}
}
}

function setArrowOpacity() {
if (!params.arrows || params.fixedArrows) {return;}

var maxScroll;
var scroll;

if (!params.vertical) {
maxScroll = listctnr[0].scrollWidth - listctnr.width();
scroll = listctnr[0].scrollLeft;
}
else {
maxScroll = listctnr[0].scrollHeight - listctnr.height();
scroll = listctnr[0].scrollTop;
}
var limit = params.arrowsOpacity;
var opacity = (scroll / maxScroll) * limit;

if (opacity > limit) { opacity = limit; }
if (isNaN(opacity)) { opacity = 0; }

var done = false;
if (opacity <= 0) {
$('div.arrow.left, div.arrow.top', ctnr).hide();
if(maxScroll > 0) {
$('div.arrow.right, div.arrow.bottom', ctnr).show().css('opacity', limit);
}
done = true;
}
if (opacity >= limit || maxScroll <= 0) {
$('div.arrow.right, div.arrow.bottom', ctnr).hide();
done = true;
}

if (!done) {
$('div.arrow.left, div.arrow.top', ctnr).show().css('opacity', opacity);
$('div.arrow.right, div.arrow.bottom', ctnr).show().css('opacity', (limit - opacity));
}
}

function startMoving(direction, speed) {
if (ctnr[0].direction != direction) {
if (params.debug) {
$.log('[HoverScroll] Starting to move. direction: ' + direction + ', speed: ' + speed);
}

stopMoving();
ctnr[0].direction = direction;
ctnr[0].isChanging = true;
move();
}
if (ctnr[0].speed != speed) {
if (params.debug) {
$.log('[HoverScroll] Changed speed: ' + speed);
}

ctnr[0].speed = speed;
}
}

function stopMoving() {
if (ctnr[0].isChanging) {
if (params.debug) {
$.log('[HoverScroll] Stoped moving');
}

ctnr[0].isChanging = false;
ctnr[0].direction = 0;
ctnr[0].speed = 1;
clearTimeout(ctnr[0].timer);
}
}

function move() {
if (ctnr[0].isChanging == false) {return;}

setArrowOpacity();

var scrollSide;
if (!params.vertical) {scrollSide = 'scrollLeft';}
else {scrollSide = 'scrollTop';}

listctnr[0][scrollSide] += ctnr[0].direction * ctnr[0].speed;
ctnr[0].timer = setTimeout(function() {move();}, 50);
}

if (params.rtl && !params.vertical) {
listctnr[0].scrollLeft = listctnr[0].scrollWidth - listctnr.width();
}

ctnr
.mousemove(function(e) {checkMouse(e.pageX, e.pageY);})
.bind('mouseleave', function() {stopMoving();});

this.startMoving = startMoving;
this.stopMoving = stopMoving;

if (params.arrows && !params.fixedArrows) {
// Initialise arrow opacity
setArrowOpacity();
}
else {
// Hide arrows
$('.arrowleft, .arrowright, .arrowtop, .arrowbottom', ctnr).hide();
}
});

return this;
};

if (!$.fn.offset) {
$.fn.offset = function() {
this.left = this.top = 0;

if (this[0] && this[0].offsetParent) {
var obj = this[0];
do {
this.left += obj.offsetLeft;
this.top += obj.offsetTop;
} while (obj = obj.offsetParent);
}

return this;
}
}

$.fn.hoverscroll.params = {
vertical: false,
width: 400,
height: 50,
arrows: true,
arrowsOpacity: 0.7,
fixedArrows: false,
rtl: false,
debug: false
};
$.log = function() {
try {console.log.apply(console, arguments);}
catch (e) {
try {opera.postError.apply(opera, arguments);}
catch (e) {}
}
};
})(jQuery);

$(function(){
$("#videoslider-tabs a").click(function(){
var container = $("#videoslider-content");
container.html("<img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzYntwVHwZQZJHstyK48nH6OfKGKFrCMrO_WT3srhDFNTLCOytnYYBXRqqPWDbtuBnjVxRrFTl9gOVhFbkQKvFrYfBa3pUE0ipWp1I1BnLMX6RDIy82XDH3D6l9GyC9zEAwde8GTsIcFBt/s1600/loading.png' class='loading-vid' />");
var id = $(this).attr("href").slice(1);
loadvideo(id);
return false;
});
$("#videoslider-tabs").hoverscroll({vertical:true,width:300,height:330,arrows:false});
$("#videoslider-tabs li").hover(function(){$(this).addClass("hover");},function(){$(this).removeClass("hover");});
loadvideo();
});

function loadvideo (hash){if(hash){hash = hash.slice(3);$("#videoslider-content").html(video[hash]);$("#videoslider-tabs li").removeClass("actVid");$("#videoslider-tabs a[href=#vid"+hash+"]").parent().addClass("actVid");}else{$("#videoslider-content").html(video[1]);$("#videoslider-tabs li").removeClass("actVid");$("#videoslider-tabs a[href=#vid1]").parent().addClass("actVid");}}
//]]>
</script>

Then add the styles before ]]></b:skin>

/* Video Gallery for Blogger
----------------------------------------------- */
#videoslider {
background:#000; /* Background color */
clear:both;
margin:0 auto;
padding:5px;
width:765px;
border-radius: 5px;
-moz-background-clip: padding;
-webkit-background-clip: padding-box;
background-clip: padding-box;
}
#videoslider, #videoslider-content, #videoslider-tabs {height:350px;overflow:hidden;}
#videoslider-content {color:#fff;float:left;text-align:center;width:460px;z-index:1;}
.loading-vid {display:block;margin:165px auto 0;}
#videoslider-tabs {float:right;width:300px;margin:0;}
#videoslider-tabs li {background:url(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgErn89LG2B8JIPo7JvpkzpQNt5vgglRjftDEeyjKjy12fXWHcM5iHQRIfy3VsPOXVYWcCFC1LMM2aYsCsNNGDdUjXTnHho2wktM08HcXNWBW45RsB7zYfob80ZymkqarRVn6JZbbct9N2P/s1600/tab_backgr.jpeg) repeat-x top left;float:left;height:60px;padding:5px;width:290px;list-style:none;}
#videoslider-tabs li a {padding:0 !important;border:0 !important;}
#videoslider-tabs li.hover {background:#333;}
#videoslider-tabs li.actVid {background:#555;}
#videoslider-tabs li img.thumb-vid {background-color:#fff;float:left;height:52px;margin:0 8px 0 0;padding:5px;width:52px;}
#videoslider-tabs li span.vidTit {
display:block;
color:#CD332D; /* Titles color */
font-size:14px; /* Titles font size */
font-weight:bold;
text-decoration:none;
}
#videoslider-tabs li .vidDesc {
display:block;
color:#fff; /* Color of the description */
font-size:12px; /* Font size of the description */
font-weight:bold;
text-decoration:none;
}
#videoslider-tabs a {text-decoration:none;}
#videoslider-tabs li.actVid .vidDesc {color:#fff;}
.ui-widget-content{float:right;}
.tabs-outer {background-image: none !important;}
#videoslider-tabs li a:hover {background: none !important;}

Now in a HTML/Javascript gadget paste the structure of the slider, this is the one you should put under the header:

<script>
var video = [];
video[1] = '<iframe width="460" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/video_ID_1" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>';
video[2] = '<iframe width="460" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/video_ID_2" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>';
video[3] = '<iframe width="460" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/video_ID_3" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>';
video[4] = '<iframe width="460" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/video_ID_4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>';
video[5] = '<iframe width="460" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/video_ID_5" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>';
</script>
<div id="videoslider">
<div id="videoslider-content"></div>
<ul id="videoslider-tabs">
<li><a href="#vid1"><img src="//i2.ytimg.com/vi/video_ID_1/default.jpg" class="thumb-vid" /><span class="vidTit">Video Name</span><span class="vidDesc">Video Description</span></a></li>

<li><a href="#vid2"><img src="//i2.ytimg.com/vi/video_ID_2/default.jpg" class="thumb-vid" /><span class="vidTit">Video Name</span><span class="vidDesc">Video Description</span></a></li>

<li><a href="#vid3"><img src="//i2.ytimg.com/vi/video_ID_3/default.jpg" class="thumb-vid" /><span class="vidTit">Video Name</span><span class="vidDesc">Video Description</span></a></li>

<li><a href="#vid4"><img src="//i2.ytimg.com/vi/video_ID_4/default.jpg" class="thumb-vid" /><span class="vidTit">Video Name</span><span class="vidDesc">Video Description</span></a></li>

<li><a href="#vid5"><img src="//i2.ytimg.com/vi/video_ID_5/default.jpg" class="thumb-vid" /><span class="vidTit">Video Name</span><span class="vidDesc">Video Description</span></a></li>

</ul>
</div>

Add the IDs of the videos, their names and their description and that's it. The description should be brief so you wont have space problems.
If you do not know how to get the ID of a video, then open the video on YouTube and look at the address bar... the last characters are the ID you need.

How to Embed a Youtube Playlist on Your Blogger Blog

Note that the ID of each video should be added two times, one is for displaying the video and one for the tabs thumbnail.

As this gallery works with jQuery we should make sure to not repeat the version of the script if we already have jQuery.

Adding a Youtube Video in the Background Of Your Blogger Blog

Some of you might have wondered how to put a video to play in the blog's background, so that instead of having just a color or an image, to have a video. We can do this thanks to the jQuery plugin Tubular that lets you use a YouTube video as a background of a web page.

Although the result can be very original and attractive, I must say it has three drawbacks: they can not be silenced, if the video has ads, they will also appear, and it can slow the loading time of the blog, so if anyone wants to use it, may consider putting it only on special occasions, or on blogs that load very quickly.

Also it can be done in HTML5, the problem with this method is that you need to load the video in 3 different formats (.mp4, .webm and .ovg) along with a picture for browsers that do not support them, so this YouTube option seems more practical to me, despite the drawbacks.

You can see it working on this demo blog

Steps

1. The first step is to just above the </head> tag, this script:

<script src='http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.10.2/jquery.min.js' type='text/javascript'/>

<script type='text/javascript'>
//<![CDATA[
/* jQuery tubular plugin
|* by Sean McCambridge
|* http://www.seanmccambridge.com/tubular
|* Copyright 2012
|* licensed under the MIT License
|* Enjoy.
|*
|* Thanks,
|* Sean */

var videoWidth = 853;
var videoRatio = 16/9;
var defaultDiv = 'wrapper-video';

jQuery.fn.tubular = function(videoId,wrapperId) {
wrapperId = (typeof(wrapperId) == undefined) ? 'wrapper-video' : wrapperId;
t = setTimeout("resizePlayer()",1000);

jQuery('html,body').css('height','100%');
jQuery('body').prepend('<div id="yt-container" style="overflow: hidden; position: fixed; z-index: 1;"><div id="ytapiplayer">You need Flash player 8+ and JavaScript enabled to view this video.</div></div><div id="video-cover" style="position: fixed; width: 100%; height: 100%; z-index: 2;"></div>');
jQuery('#' + wrapperId).css({position: 'relative', 'z-index': 99});

var ytplayer = 0;
var pageWidth = 0;
var pageHeight = 0;
var videoHeight = videoWidth / videoRatio;
var duration;

var iframe = '<iframe id="myytplayer" width="' + videoWidth + '" height="' + videoHeight + '" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/' + videoId + '?autoplay=1&controls=0&modestbranding=1&showinfo=0&hd=1&iv_load_policy=3&version=3&wmode=transparent&loop=1&playlist=' + videoId + '" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>';

jQuery('#ytapiplayer').html(iframe);
jQuery(window).resize(function() {
resizePlayer();
});
return this;
}

function onYouTubePlayerReady(playerId) {
ytplayer = document.getElementById("myytplayer");
ytplayer.setPlaybackQuality('medium');
ytplayer.mute();
}

function resizePlayer() {
var newWidth = jQuery(window).width();
var newHeight = jQuery(window).height();
jQuery('#yt-container, #video-cover').width(newWidth).height(newHeight);
if (newHeight > newWidth / videoRatio) {
newWidth = newHeight * videoRatio;
}
jQuery('#myytplayer').width(newWidth).height(newWidth/videoRatio);
}

//]]>
</script>

And this one too:

<script type='text/javascript'>
//<![CDATA[
$().ready(function() {
$('body').tubular('61BLn00AN_w','wrapper-video');
});
//]]>
</script>

2. Then locate the <body> tag (CTRL + F)
Or if you are using a template from Template Designer, find this line:

<body expr:class='"loading" + data:blog.mobileClass'>

3. Under either of these two, add this:

<div id='wrapper-video'>

4. Now search for the </body> tag, and before it put this:

</div>

Save the changes and that's it. In red you must put the ID of Youtube video, the ID are the characters that appear at the end of the URL:

Remember: There is no option to mute, so if you don't want to have sound as in the demo blog, you have to choose a video that has no sound. I also recommend using a video in HD in case you don't want any black parts to show around it.

If you are using jQuery, remove other versions that you have to avoid duplication and have problems.

How to Add a Meta Description in to Blogger

An important part of a good SEO is the implementation of meta tags, which are commonly located in the header of our website, that are being, in the same time, invisible to users visiting the site. Well, to be more succinct, these tags have only one purpose: to include information about the page such as author name, date, key word, description, title, among others.

However, here we will only mention one, which is the meta description in Blogger. This description will appear as a fragment in the search results and as a description when sharing on Google+, Facebook and other social networks. A clear and precise description increases the chances of getting more clicks or visits.

As we will work only on the Blogger platform, here I will leave a little guide to easily add a meta description.

Meta Description in Blogger

The first thing we will do is going to our Blogger dashboard and from there, go to Settings > Search preferences > Meta Tags > Description and click on Edit.

How to Add a Meta Description in to Blogger

Then check the box "Yes" to enable search description. Finally, click the "Save Changes" button.

Adding Meta Description To individual Posts

Now we will focus on adding the meta description to individual pages. Simply edit the page or post, look for the Search Description setting, and there we enter the text and save by clicking the Done button.

How to Add a Meta Description in to Blogger

And that's it. However it is best to test if it works and we will do so with the MetaChecker online tool, where we only have to introduce the url of a post or page, click Analyze and then it will show the results, including a complete analysis of keywords, on-page seo , meta tags, URLs, current server status and a rating bar that goes from Horror to Excellent.

If none of the meta descriptions appear (rarely fails), we can do the process manually, but it requires us to touch a bit of code. In this case, go to Template > Edit HTML and insert before <b:skin><![CDATA[ the following code:

<b:if cond='data:blog.metaDescription != ""'>
<meta expr:content='data:blog.metaDescription' name='description'/>
</b:if>

Of course, we will use again the previously mentioned tool to ensure that the description is placed correctly and if all goes well, our blog would be ready to face a good SEO.

Increase Your Blog Ranking in Alexa 2014

The Alexa Rank in its time had a good importance for the SEO, however, these days is already losing its importance due to the changes in the algorithm that Google applies from time to time.

The network displays information about visitors of a website, which in turn classifies this in a ranking, also generates an estimated statistics about visitor traffic and links pointing to the website.

In a few words, the Alexa Rank does not directly affect SEO, but rather serves as a reference for measuring the traffic type, popularity by country and other metrics, although some companies that have a ranking below 100,000, whose purpose is to make room for their business are carried away by the web site.

For others more skeptical, the Alexa Rank is an essential part for search engine optimization and I will not contradict this, since everyone has their opinion on this aspect. If you would like to enrich or have a good Alexa Rank of your website, here I present some ways to do it and with short-term results.

Increase Your Blog Ranking in Alexa 2014

5 Ways to Increase the Alexa Rank

Daily Content: Try to publish at least 2 articles per day and within a month you will start to notice changes in alexa ranking, guaranteed.

Install Alexa Rank widgets: Besides notifying about the results of your alexa ranking, it also makes an estimation of the backlinks to your website. There are three types of widgets: button with ranking and links, the other one with the ranking only and finally a graph with daily records of visits. Traffic Widgets

Alexa Toolbar: From experience, I highly recommend installing the Alexa Toolbar, because when we access a website, Alexa takes it as important visit and thus, better results in the ranking. And of course, it will give you information about the links of a web site, popular pages, reviews, and more features.

Request a review: To calculate the alexa ranking of a website, besides taking the amount of daily and monthly visits, the number of reviews or opinions made with stars also play a role in the ranking. Ask your users or purchase alexa opinions about your website.

Number of backlinks: As I said earlier, the number of visits and reviews about your website used to calculate the alexa rank and the total number of quality backlinks, increase more the chances of achieving a favorable ranking for your website.

How to Add Google Analystic in Blogger Complete Tutorial 2014

Google Analytics is a platform created with the purpose of helping us to track the number of visits and page views on our blog, which also uses several filters to check exactly from where the visitors are coming via standard or custom reports.

Google Analytics is the leading free tool that has a good relationship with the internet marketing and offers suggestions and improvements or benefits for our website.

As Analytics is part of the variety of Google tools like Blogger, many bloggers still don't know if it is possible to add the tracking code in Blogger. Implementing analytics in Blogger is very quick and easy, so you don't need to be experts or web developers. Here's a small guide for placing the Google Analytics tracking ID on our blog.

Implementing Google Analytics on Blogger

1. Do you have a Google Analytics account? Then it's perfect. If you don't have one, please Register.
2. Within the account, we'll go to Admin and in the Property column, click the menu, then click Create new property, where we enter the information from the website.

How to Add Google Analystic in Blogger Complete Tutorial 2014

3. Click on "Get Tracking ID" and it will provide a box with a code, select and copy the code (CTRL + C).

How to Add Google Analystic in Blogger Complete Tutorial 2014

4. Now let's go to our Blogger account.
5. Look for your blog and click on it, then go to Template > click the Edit HTML button and paste the code previously generated in Analytics before the </head> tag (CTRL + F in order to find it).

And this would be the entire procedure. Within about 24 hours, we shall see the first statistics of our blog in Google Analytics, otherwise check the following:

- Double check that the code has no spaces or characters.
- Doesn't have errors in the configuration
- There are no poor implementation of the filters.
- The Flash plugin is working or javascript is enabled.
- You will have minor issues if you are receiving visits from China (this conflict is not yet solved, according to Google).

How to Redirect 404 Error (Page Not Found) With Home Page

A 404 error page tells you and search engines that a page is not found by displaying a text similar to it "Sorry, the page you were looking for in this blog does not exist.". This may happen because you have changed your URLs over time, either removed a few pages when you overhauled your design or a visitor may have accidentally misspelled an URL inexistent in your blog, so it automatically redirects to the 404 error page (page not found).

And probably this will not make a good impression on the greatest potential users of our blog. Before the user clicks the back button or close the window/browser's tab, thus leaving our site forever, we may want to redirect 404 error in Blogger to a page, where are chances that the visitor will continue reading our blog.

One of the most used methods is the "meta refresh" but the problem with this method is that it breaks navigation (doesn't allow to return back). In this case, the best method is by using Javascript about which I will go in detail below.

Redirect Blogger 404 Error with Javascript

Go to your Blogger dashboard, select your blog and then to Settings > Search preferences > Custom Page Not Found.

How to Redirect 404 Error (Page Not Found) With Home Page

Copy and paste the following code inside the empty box:

Sorry, the page you're looking for in this blog does not exist.
You will be redirected to homepage shortly.
<script type = "text/javascript">
BSPNF_redirect = setTimeout(function() {
location.pathname= "/"
}, 5000);
</script>

The message which is going to be displayed can be modified as you want. If you are willing to redirect your blog 404 error page to another page other than your home page, just replace pathname to href and / with the url of your page. And finally, the number 5000 which is the delay expressed in milliseconds, can be changed to other value if this is more convenient.

Next thing to do is to Save all changes made in this section and do a little test to check if the code works well. You can verify the 404 error page functionality by adding a custom text at the end of your blog address and after hitting Enter, you should see the error page followed by a redirection after 5 seconds. That's it!

4 Alternative to Google AdWords

Many think that Google AdWords is the only tool dedicated and available to perform a study such as a keyword search, but it isn't so, today I refute this idea by collecting some alternatives that, although are not equal to Google AdWords, at least encourage us to make good keyword analysis for the SEO of our website.

Going back a bit, for those unfamiliar with the main features and tools of Google AdWords, we can find a very simple interface yet complete in every sense.

- AdWords appearance has changed, however there is a chance of returning to the old design;
- allows you to place a phrase or keyword, a web site and use the categories;
- for a better keywords search, you can apply filters such as location, language and add custom fields (competition, local or global monthly searches, CPC, Ad share, etc.);
- displays keyword ideas in columns with the amount of local and global monthly searches and approximate CPC;
- you can download keyword ideas, search results in a format to open with Excel.

Having recalled and refreshed the memory a little with the characteristics of AdWords, now it is time to learn about other options both free and paid.

Google AdWords Alternatives

Bing Webmaster Tools: Bing may not be the tool that we had first thought of, however it wants to provide the best conditions for studying keywords.

After we register, to access the tool, go to Diagnostics & Tools and click on the second option on the list: Keyword Research.

SEMRush: Other freemium alternative that displays a very complete report of a particular keyword or website. However, it has limitations and if you opt for a PRO recurring plan you need to pay a monthly membership from $69.95 per month.

Ubersuggest: This nice and simple online tool searches keywords suggestion as well as potential titles for an article. Personally, I recommend it 100%.

Keyword Eye: If you are looking to perform a keyword research on a particular region, Keyword Eye will be your help. It also has the option of requesting the display of search volume or AdWords competition and a full report of anchor text, keywords and domain.

At first it offers a free plan with limitations and to enjoy all other benefits, we have to pay $9.99 per month