1. All in One SEO Pack – this is the industry standard with over five million downloads. It’s the first plugin that you should add to a new blog.

2. Contextual Related Posts – This plugin displays a series of related  blog posts

3. SEO Smart Links – Helps you to interlink  your posts (hyperlink to past posts on a related subject)

4. WP-DB-Backup – This is not really an SEO tool, but it will email a file of your database so your SEO efforts don’t ever get lost

5. Google XML Sitemaps – This plugin lets Google know when you add new posts and pages to your site

Successful SEO is a marathon, not a sprint. Get started now, and your efforts will pay off for a long time!

Each long url is associated with its own key which is the portion after http://domain.tld/. There are many different techniques to creating a shortened url. Keys can be numerically generated in base thirty-six assuming twenty six letters and ten numbers. A random number can be generated in order for the key sequence not to be predictable. Users can even suggest their own keys.

The first noted url shortening services was called TinyURL and was launched in 2002. The idea, however, has been around since the year 2001 at least. The existence of Tiny URL influenced about one hundred other similar websites. Many were simply domain alternatives. Some offered additional features such as NotifyURL which sends an email when the link is first visited. SnipURL introduces social bookmarking features such as usernames as well as RSS feeds. DwarfURL generates statistics. Adjix, XR and Linkbee are ad-supported models of URL shorteners that share the revenue with their users. Om.ly provides real time, multi-dimensional analysis of click-through statistics. Bit.ly offers free click-through statistics and charts. J.mp offers free click-through statistics and charts.

More shortening services include Runs on bit.ly platform and is owned by bit.ly. Digg offers a shortened URL which includes not just the target URL, but an i-framed version that includes a set of Digg-related controls called the Digg bar. Doiop allows the shortening to be selected by the user, and Unicode can be used to achieve really short URLs. For example http://doiop.com/w redirects to Wikipedia’s main page. UrlShort is an open source shortening project. qu.pe offers password protection and the opportunity to add a comment (displayed in a separate frame or page). Sl.ly offers limited statistics, password protection, expiration date, bulk submission and also lets you see what URL’s have been created.

In today’s fast paced society, not many people have time to remember an extremely long url or list it down, letter by letter. Url shortening is essential to meet the demands of today’s time constraints. Read each url shortening provider’s website and see which one seems to offer you the service which fits your needs. Many offer more than just url shortening and have other features to benefit your website. The important thing is to be clear with what you need and find the proper provider.

Social Media icons are a web designer’s favorite. First, everybody uses a social media site or two; hence, a social media icon will undoubtedly be present on his website; and second, social media icons are one of the many little details on a website that could give it a more original and distinguished look. Social Media icons are also pretty easy to install and customize. You can either create your own, ask someone else to make a unique group for your website or download a free set off of various web designers; and voila! Your website can get the make-over it deserves—starting off with these little guys.

A lot of bloggers have also said that social media icons help in attracting followers and friends—the cuter, the better. Twitter’s twittering blue bird itself has been rendered into different forms, colors and shapes. The blue FaceBook logo has been parodied, re-drawn, and re-rendered into attractive icons that invite visitors into clicking on them. Just think of it as how the internet applies make-up.

If you are still sporting the old, static, and common social media icon on your website or if you have none on your website at all, you are definitely at loss! Give your website the make-over it deserves by starting off with the social media icons. Below are 5 of the best sources for social media icons which you can use for free on your website:

Heart: Free Social Icon Set

Social Media Icon Set

If you love your social media sites and you know it, show it off by downloading these heart shaped icons. These 22-icon set includes .PNG, transparent background icons for Twitter, your RSS feed, FaceBook, Flickr, Furl, and dZone, among others. The icons come in 64×64, 32×32, and 16×16 sizes.

SiahDesign’s Animated Twitter GIFs

Social Media Icon Set

Siah Design’s main designer and webmaster, Josiah Jost, has come up with a unique and dynamic set of Twitter icons for your website. There are 21 icons all in all, 3 pairs of which are animated.

The Cutest Freebies: Twitter Bird Icons and Illustration

Social Media Icon Set

If the original Twitter bird started smiling, he would look like Darkmotion’s Twitter bird. This set offers three Twitter icons, all with transparent backgrounds, and in the following sizes: 345×345, 48×48, framed and unframed.

Origami Social Media and Desktop Icons

Social Media Icon Set

Give your website an oriental twist with these origami-inspired social media and desktop icons. There are 15 icons in this set all in all; some of which are for social media sites such as StumbleUpon, your RSS feed, Twitter, and Flickr, while the rest are desktop renders for Mozilla, Skype, Opera and others.

Chrome: Free Social Media Icons

Social Media Icon Set

Sleek and simple, Chris Wallace’s set icons resemble buttons that look good on formal and informal websites. There are 20 social media icons all in all, and they come in 70×70 and 39×40 sizes.

These are five places where you can get FREE and PROFESSIONALLY MADE icons. Download your set now while you have the chance!