Stats And "Don't track", And Custom Domains

Blog owners have been trying to block tracking their own Stats pageviews, for a few years.

This option has long been unusable, for blogs published to custom domains. Recently, Blogger Engineering updated the option - and the dashboard page with the link.

The new Stats option to "Manage tracking your own pageviews" is a start.

Unfortunately, it provides no obvious help, to people who publish their blogs to custom domains.

Start from the Stats dashboard page.

Click on "Manage tracking your own pageviews".

And you get an HTTPS link.



As we all know, blogs published to custom domains won't provide HTTPS access.

Change "https" to "http".

And you can make it work.



If you manually remove the "s", you can make it work.

http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/b/statsCookieManage

You can't access the "Manage tracking your own pageviews" for a custom domain published blog, by simply clicking on the dashboard link.

This suggests an interesting detail. Now that "Manage tracking your own pageviews" runs under the blog URL, it will be subject to script filtering - for "blogspot.com", any applicable country local domains, and / or a custom domain URL.

You may need to correct your browser script filter, to make "Don't track" work, now.

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Owners of custom domain published #Blogger blogs have been wanting to block Stats from counting their own pageviews, for a few years. This option is now available - but not in an obvious way.

With AdSense, Ads Are Not Based On The Minimum

One sign of confusion, in AdSense Help Forum: Blogger / Host Partners, involves new blog publishers, who want to immediately add ads, after starting their blogs - and need reassurance, about how soon they will be seeing income.

What is the actual qualification level, for AdSense?

This is a question, from somebody who probably does not understand the AdSense approval process.

If AdSense is run properly, final approval is not based on any fixed minimum. There are too many different blog / website subjects, and advertising targets, to have a consistent minimum across all product lines.

I've seen too many blogs with very little content - significantly below the often stated "minimum" of 50 posts, 100 - 200 words / post, showing ads - to believe that there really is one common minimum qualification level.

Some of the experienced helpers in the forum seem to suggest a very restrictive "qualification level".

100 posts, 500 to 1,000 words / post.

There are more blogs that will never get ads - even after being given approval.

Qualification is based on supply vs demand, for each blog subject.

My suspicion is that the qualification level is based on what ads are being sold (by the ad managers) vs what blogs and websites are being offered for ads (by the owners).

It would make no sense to qualify a blog about automobiles, based on current standards for selling ads about bicycles.

• At any time, these may be more blogs about bicycles, than about automobiles.
• Automobiles cost more than bicycles, so it's likely that one automobile ad click is worth more than one bicycle ad click.
• Next month, there may be more advertisers selling ads about bicycles (in San Francisco), than about automobiles (in Los Angeles).

Approval is based on blog and post size - ads are sold, based on a variety of details.



Qualification is based on a combination of details.

At minimum, I would bet eligibility for ads is based on a combination of metrics - including current demand.

• Post count.
• Post length.
• Post subject.
• Blog language.
• Blog location.
• Demand for ads of a given language, location, and subject.

If a given ad manager is prepared to pay for 5 blogs about automobiles in Los Angeles, the best 5 blogs, based on current metrics, will be "qualified". This week, some blogs with 50 posts may be chosen to host ads.

Next month, with the Tour de France scheduled for San Francisco, there will be more market for ads about bicycles there. With more ad managers paying for ads about bicycles in San Francisco, blogs about automobiles in Los Angeles will have less demand.

Automotive blogs may be chosen based on 75 posts / blog and 200 words average / post - and some blogs about bicycling in San Francisco, being more in demand, may be chosen with 25 posts / blog and 100 words average / post.

Work on your blog more - and your blog will host ads sooner.

To anybody asking

What post count, post length, traffic level is required, for qualification?

I would suggest a different approach.

Work on your blog - and don't spend time asking about qualification level.

What you need, to make serious bucks, is going to be more that mere qualification level. And ad managers want to pay for ads hosted on blogs that will be in business longer, and deliver relevant traffic consistently - because that's where more paying customers originate.

And blogs that make more money have owners who are better motivated to publish more - and stay in business longer.

Better / more content --> More earnings --> Better future --> Preferred for ads

That's your qualification levels.

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Some #Blogger blog owners want to host AdSense ads on their blogs - with their blogs immature, and lacking content. They ask about qualification levels, rather than look at how valuable their blog may be (or not) for hosting ads of a given subject.

They ignore the concept of supply and demand - even though that's very likely as important as blog subject - or size.

Comments "Lost", With Google+ Comments Selection

Besides the confusion about being in the right Circles, some Google+ comments can be overlooked, because of the comment view selector.

We see odd problem reports, in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue.

When a friend mentioned she'd commented, I found that odd - because I couldn't find the comment anymore. It had shown up previously - but it was now gone.

The view selector is not so obvious, either. It's similar to the "Compose" / "HTML" buttons, in Post Editor.

Besides the view selector, we see another possibility for third party cookies, unwisely filtered, to cause confusion.

Displaying comments for a blog, with Google+ comments involved, requires determining the identity of the individual viewer. Viewer identity - much more specific than "blog owner" / "blog guest" - is required, to determine visibility of specific comments, published against a given blog.

Here's an example, using a post from my recipes blog.

12 comments - from Circles + Public.

Circles + Public, selected.

6 comments - from my Circles.

Circles only, selected.



Can you see the difference? Other viewers of the blog will see a completely different set of comments.

Here's a different example, from a forum topic.

The blog owner, signed in, sees a count of 27 comments.

The blog owner, not signed in, sees a count of 42 comments.



There's actually 3 possible different displays - each showing a different comment count, and a different list of comments.

1. Not signed in.
2. Signed in, looking at "Public" + "Circles".
3. Signed in, looking at "Circles" only.

One might expect #1 and #2 to be the same. In some cases, it appears that #1 displays a total comments count - though #2 and #3 display a count specific to the blog owner or reader. And I would not expect that one will actually see a precisely equal number of individual comments, displayed.

And if blog owner / reader access is affected by a third party cookie filter, both the comment count - and the list of comments displayed - will be smaller than what really should be displayed.

We now have a Rollup Discussion, in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue, where we are requesting details from anybody experiencing mysterious loss of comments, If you are losing comments, please provide your details.

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Owners of #Blogger blogs that use Google+ Comments don't realise how much more important their personal identity is, when looking for comments, that should be displayed with the individual posts. Personal identity is further relevant, with the "Circles" / "Public" comment selector, a feature of Google+ Comments.

And determining personal identity is affected, when cookie filtering becomes involved.

Custom Domain Publishing, And Alias Blocking

Some blog owners setup their new custom domain, check all settings carefully (and correctly) - then find that it does not work.

We see the confusion, in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue.

The addresses were right - and all the DNS servers updated correctly. But when I open the website, it does not open. It continuously reloads for 5 minutes and after 5 minutes it shows an error.

It's frustrating, when everything is setup properly - but still no results.

It's also frustrating, when you forget about unsupported tweaks that you made, to the blog - then have to ask for help.

Whenever changing the URL, check for - and remove - any redirecting scripts.

Before you publish a blog to a new URL, you need to check the template, for any redirecting scripts, that you may have previously installed.

<script·type='text/javascript'>
var·blog·=·document.location.href.toLowerCase();
if·(!blog.match(/\.blogspot\.com/))·{
  blog·=·blog.replace(/\.blogspot\..*?\//,·".blogspot.com/ncr/");
  window.location.replace(blog);
  }
</script>

Scripts which redirect - or block redirecting, when the blog is published to BlogSpot - will not work for you, when you publish to a non BlogSpot URL.

You will need to connect URLs, when possible - without scripts interfering.

Any time you change the URL of the blog, you're going to need some ability to link from the old URL to the new URL. Before you change the URL - either BlogSpot to BlogSpot, or BlogSpot to custom domain - check the template, for redirecting scripts.

Any redirecting scripts, that might have helped you with the blog originally published, will be a problem, when you change the URL. Remove any scripts, before changing the URL.

Better yet, don't add redirecting scripts. If you got this far, without having the blog classified as a malware host, consider yourself lucky.

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Some blog owners install mysterious scripts, to "protect" against unwanted Blogger features - and forget about their unwise tweaks. When they change the URL of the blog - and the blog, under the new URL reacts to the previously installed tweaks - they are clueless.

If you make unsupported tweaks to your blog, only you can correct problems that arise, later.

"Export / Import" Is Now "Import & back up"

Blog owners who need to export blog content are reporting confusion, in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue.

I'm trying to export my blog, but when I click "Settings > Other", there is no "Export" option!

Not all blog owners realise that the "Export" wizard is now "Back up".

Changes in functionality may perplex blog owners, too.

There are various ways to use "export" and "import" features, that may involve Blogger, and non Blogger content hosts.

Not all content will transfer, equally well - whether a Blogger or non Blogger host is involved, as either the source or target. The Blogger blog owner, using "Import & back up", will be responsible for resolving any differences.

"Import & back up" is now used to export and import Content (pages, posts & comments).

"Import Content" is used, as previously.

"Back up Content" is the former Export wizard.



"Import Content" is used, as previously.

When you import content, consider the multiple possibilities of XML files.

• Archive / Backup comments, pages, and posts.
• Archive / backup templates.
• Publish newsfeeds in Atom and RSS.

Observe the nature and source of any XML file, whenever importing. "Import Content" will work best, with comments, pages, and posts backed up from Blogger.

• It may, or may not, work with content Backed up ("Exported") from other content hosting services.
• It may, or may not, work with templates, Backed up from Blogger or from a third party source.
• It won't work, with newsfeed content - or other XML data files.

And, as always, be careful when using the "Automatically publish ..." option, any time you import content.

"Back up Content" is the former Export wizard.

"Backup Content" will be most useful, when used to Import content to another Blogger blog. It may, or may not, work to Import content to another content hosting service.

"Backup Content" is most useful, when you plan how to use the content being backed up. And you will benefit, from regular use.

When moving content from, or into, another hosting service, note limitations.

Every content hosting service - Blogger, Tumblr, WordPress, and many many others - will have their own data management policies. A backup / export file, created under any one service may, or may not, work under another service.

If you experience problems, you'll be arbitrating diagnostics provided by the source and target tech support groups - whatever you can find. You will be the point person, in dealing with any problems that involve multiple hosts.

Moving content between services is not a project for the beginning Blogger blog owner. It's similar in complexity to using a Blogger custom domain outside Blogger.

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The recent redesign of the #Blogger dashboard "Export / Import" wizard, at Settings - Other, has perplexed some blog owners.

Not everybody knows that "Backup" is the same task as "Export". And few blog owners understand the complexities of using XML type files, with different sources and targets.

Recovering From The Corrupt Template / "Error 500"

We're seeing a few reports, this week, in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue, about blogs with broken templates.

I tried to log on to my blog, and it shows up an error message. I've done it several times on different browsers, but no change: the error code is bX-uukqqu.

It appears that the "bX-uukqqu" is from the owner attempting dashboard access. Trying to view the same blog, I see the ubiquitous "bX-v2vqfh".

Both codes reference blogs which show up, in an HTTP trace, with the monolithic message "500 Internal Server Error" - and tells us that this is one more blog with a broken template.

If you, the owner of a blog with a broken template, can access the Template dashboard page, you may be able to recover the template.

Some blog owners report that adding a Template Backup / Restore has helped to resolve their own bX code / "Error 500".

1. Backup the template ("Download full template").
2. Get a clean Blogger standard template.
3. Restore the template ("Upload" the template that you just downloaded).

If you're lucky, your version of the "bX-uukqqu" (dashboard) / "bX-v2vqfh" (public) can be resolved, by a quick template download then upload.



You may need direct access to the Template page, bypassing the dashboard menu - though if you can view the blog, the "Design" navbar link will provide you that ability. If you can't access the Template page at all, you may be able to clear some bX codes, by using the Template Editor aka "Edit HTML".

If any of this works, your blog will be back in service. If not, you will at least have a backup copy of the template.

If the template is still broken, you now have three choices.

1. Leave the blog as it is now, broken - until Blogger Engineering finishes diagnosing and fixing the actual cause of the template corruption.
2. Get a fresh new template. When Blogger Engineering finishes diagnosing and fixing the actual cause of the template corruption, you can try restoring the template copy that you just backed up.
3. Try a persistent solution.

And whether this works - or not - or even if you can't use it, right now, you can have a template backup. And one day, this backup may be useful.

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A few Blogger blog owners, reporting bX codes when trying to access their dashboards, have found that accessing the Template page directly, then doing a quick back / restore, may clear the bX codes. This suggests that Blogger Engineering is beginning to test solutions to the ubiquitous "Error 500" broken template problem, that have been afflicting blog owners for some time.

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Verifying Blog Ownership, In BlogLovin

In BlogLovin, the ownership verification process is termed "claiming your blog".

Claiming your blog involves installing a BlogLovin link, with embedded token, on your blog where it can be seen, by the BlogLovin claim verification process. Getting the claim link, from the BlogLovin dashboard, is not an obvious process.

Not every blog owner is able to get the BlogLovin blog claiming link, for their blog.

1. Some folks can't find the "Claim blog" button.
2. Others don't provide the right URL, into the "Claim blog" window.

If you have either problem, you end up unable to "claim your blog".

Finding the "Claim" button is not obvious.

You start the Claim process from the "Blog analytics" display. In some instructions, this is referred to as "My blogs". There is no menu selection to "Claim your blog".

From the home page, click "View all in Analytics".

From "Blog Analytics", click on "Edit blog settings".

Find the blue "Claim blog" button.




BlogLovin needs the blog published URL - not the blog feed URL.

Observe the caption in the "Claim blog" window.

When you provide the URL, only provide the published URL - not the blog feed. This works best if the blog publishes a feed, and if the blog has a standard Blogger header. BlogLovin gets the feed URL from the blog header - when the URL is there.

Paste the published URL of the blog - not the blog feed - into the window, and hit "Search".

Select your blog.

And, there is the BlogLovin link, with an embedded token.



Now, you install the token on your blog - and that is another source of confusion.

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Not every #Blogger blog owner is able to verify ownership of their blog, to BlogLovin. Some folks can't find the "Claim blog" button - and others don't know what URL to provide, in the "Claim blog" process.

And the term "claim blog" is not obvious, to everybody, either.

Plan The Custom Domain Upgrade, With AdSense

Too many blog owners take their Blogger blogs, successfully hosting AdSense ads using a Blogger Hosted account, and decide to get a non BlogSpot URL.

Having survived the challenge of getting the custom domain published blog working, they settle back and look for lots more traffic, because of the new non BlogSpot URL - and more income, from AdSense. Then, they discover harsh reality.

Not only do they not get lots more income, their ads are now blank.

When AdSense is involved with a Blogger blog, a custom domain upgrade becomes more than a mere formality, or technical challenge.

When AdSense is involved, a custom domain upgrade is exponentially difficult.

Besides the challenge of getting the domain setup correctly, one has the suspense of getting AdSense approval, for the new domain.

You do need to start with a Blogger blog, published to "blogspot.com", and applying for Blogger Hosted AdSense. Starting with a custom domain published blog, and applying for AdSense for Content, is not a good idea.

A verified address, with an AdSense PIN, is a specific requirement.

Note that if you haven't already verified your address via a Personal Identification Number (PIN), then you'll need to do this before you can apply to show ads on your own site. Learn more about PIN verification.

With the PIN being a requirement, you'll need to have earned at least $10 (or non USA equivalent) from the ads already - which you'll only get with a properly qualified Blogger Hosted account.

Getting AdSense working, on a custom domain published blog, requires AdSense For Content - and AdSense For Content is more selective, when approving blogs to host ads.

Work on your blog - and don't stop adding content.

I constantly advise blog owners

When your blog is successfully reviewed, ads will become visible. Until then, work on the blog. You will need a lot more content - and traffic - than what is required to simply make ads appear.

A blog, to become eligible to apply, needs lots of content - and you are wasting time asking

How much content do I need?

To be actually approved for Hosted AdSense, a blog needs more content than simply to be eligible. And, to be approved for AdSense For Content, a blog needs still more content.

And after all of that, a blog needs even more content, to get traffic, and to make money.

Make the content informative, interesting, and unique. And well written.

So, stop asking, and start publishing - and don't stop. Remember that what you publish must be informative, and interesting to your readers - and it must be original;. AdSense requires unique content, that's well written - and useful to your readers.

And make sure that the domain is properly setup, and remains online.

And, for the unique content to be read by AdSense, if you're going to publish to a custom domain, make sure that the domain is properly setup. You do not want a refusal because the blog appears to be offline.

Setup Search Console - and watch reports, daily. A Search Console report, warning you of a problem, could provide the difference between approval and rejection, from AdSense.

And learn the policies, regulations, and rules.

And learn the rules of AdSense Accounts. Read these references, as you would a bible. Learn them, before applying.

• Eligibility to participate in AdSense
• AdSense program policies
• Prohibited content
• Use my hosted AdSense account to show ads on my own site

Finally, plan the upgrade and approval process - and allow for the ads outage.

Be aware that the approval process will examine your blog even more critically than the Hosted AdSense approval. And hopefully, with the blog at least 6 to 12 months older, there will be more content to be examined, than when you applied for Hosted AdSense.

Allow for 2 to 4 weeks of no ads, while the blog is examined again. Don't start this process, then post anxiously, in AdSense Help Forum: Blogger / Host Partners.

How long does it take? My family is hungry and we need the income!

That will not speed up the approval by even one day.

So plan the upgrade, and be patient.

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Too many #Blogger blog owners, enthusiastic about their new blog now showing AdSense ads, decide that the road to riches lies with an immediate upgrade to a non BlogSpot URL - which will get them more traffic, and even more ad income.

Having upgraded and gotten the domain setup correctly - and seeing more traffic - they discover that the blog is now not serving ads. Upon asking for advice in AdSense Support, they find that they must wait another 2 to 4 weeks - and even so, it is not certain that they will ever see ads, again.

Using The Meta Search Description In Your Blog

There is some confusion, about including "search description" meta content, in blog template code, to provide source for data shares to social sharing sites.

In various topics in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue, I've seen references to "data:post.metaDescription", "data:post.snippet", and "data:post.pageTitle" used, in providing the blog post source for the FaceBook "og:description" tag. As far as I can tell, none of these exist.

The Layout data tag "data:blog.metaDescription", which provides "og:description", does exist - though it seems to be referenced, ambiguously.

Some FaceBook Open Graph content references different Blogger tags, depending upon page type. The FaceBook "og:title" references "data:blog.pageName" with an "item" (post) page, and "data:blog.title"; with other pages.

"og:description", on the other hand, only references one Blogger tag - "data:blog.metaDescription". The latter appears to change its source, depending upon whether the main page, or a post page, is being viewed.

• In main page mode, the per blog "Description", from Settings - Search preferences, is referenced.
• In post page mode, the per post "Search Description", from the Post Editor "Post settings", is referenced.

Source listing for this blog, in main page view.

"What Blogger won't (or can't) tell you. Blogger features and problems explained, using real life examples."

Source listing for this post, in post page view.

"Blogger provides the meta tag "data:blog.metaDescription", which seems to vary in source. Learn how it varies."



There is no mention of "data:blog.metaDescription", in the reference Blogger Help: Layouts Data Tags - as either a per blog, or per post, data element.

In my earlier post, my reference to "'data:blog.metaDescription' name='description'" was simple. But simplicity can lead to confusion.

<meta expr:content='data:blog.metaDescription' name='description' property='og:description'/>

Some tags are universal, others vary depending upon page type ("item" being post page).

<!-- BEGIN Open Graph tags -->
<meta expr:content='data:blog.metaDescription' name='description'' property='og:description'/>
<meta expr:content='data:blog.pageTitle' name='keywords'/>
<b:if cond='data:blog.pageType == "item"'>
<meta content='article' property='og:type'/>
<meta content='https://plus.google.com/nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn/about' property='article:author'/>
<meta expr:content='data:blog.canonicalUrl' property='og:url'/>
<meta expr:content='data:blog.pageName' property='og:title'/>
<b:if cond='data:blog.postImageUrl'>
<meta expr:content='data:blog.postImageUrl' property='og:image'/>
<b:else/>
<meta content='http://xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx/xxxxxxxxxxxx/xxxxxxxxxxx/xxxxxxxxxxx/xxxxxxxxxxx/S1600-R/yyyyyyyyyyyyy.gif' property='og:image'/>
</b:if>
<b:else/>
<meta expr:content='data:blog.title' property='og:title'/>
<meta expr:content='data:blog.canonicalHomepageUrl' property='og:url'/>
<meta content='blog' property='og:type'/>
<meta content='http://xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx/xxxxxxxxxxxx/xxxxxxxxxxx/xxxxxxxxxxx/xxxxxxxxxxx/S1600-R/yyyyyyyyyyyyy.gif' property='og:image'/>
</b:if>
<meta expr:content='"en_US"' property='og:locale'/>
<!-- END Open Graph tags -->

'data:blog.metaDescription' name='description' is referenced once, in the template code - and the source is apparently determined, based on the context.

If you find this confusing, I have to agree with you.

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#Blogger provides the Layout data tag "data:blog.metaDescription", which is used for the FaceBook meta ag "og:description" - for both blog main page, and post pages, when shared. This is in contrast to the FaceBook meta tag "og:title" and others, which use different Blogger data tags for the main page and post pages.

This variation has caused some confusion - and attempted use of different non existent Blogger data tags.

Blogger, And Home / Small Business Blog Clusters

One topic of frustration, occasionally seen in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue, involves home based business blogs, that may be victims of their own success.

We are not spam - we are a network of blog owners, in select cities all over the country. I am tired of hearing the apologies, this needs to be resolved.

The blog owner is being quite polite, but insistent.

Blog clusters, whether developed by home / small business owners, or malicious spammers, create problems for all Blogger blog owners. Home / small business blogs are clearly not intentional spam - but their structure makes them easy to mistake for spam blog farms.

Blogger values the creation of blogs with original content. Replicating original content across multiple blogs however, violates the Blogger Spam policy.

Blogger Content: Spam provides a good definition of the Blogger Spam policy.

Spam: Spam takes several forms in Blogger, all of which can result in deletion of your account or blog. Some examples include creating blogs designed to drive traffic to your site or to move it up in search listings, posting comments on other people's blogs just to promote your site or product, and scraping existing content from other sources for the primary purpose of generating revenue or other personal gains.

The most recently observed home / small business blog cluster, which generated traffic in the Spam Review section of the forum, was a USA based coupon sharing club, that had expanded into other areas - such as dining, entertainment and local events.

We are MORE than a coupon group. Our network works with Disney, Nickelodeon, local restaurants, reviews and products and events locally.

Other blog clusters have involved an Australian blog franchise of electronic / tech products and services - and a California / Florida carpet / home cleaning business.

Home / small business blogs can be mistaken for spam blogs.

Each of these three examples appear to have started as home / small businesses, possibly with one blog - and grew exponentially, as franchises. And each of the examples present problems, with automated spam classification.

• Aggregation of blogs produces unfair advantage, over other small businesses using Blogger.
• Aggregation of blogs skews spam classification, by tweaking the heuristic spam filters.
• Aggregation of blogs makes detection of actual spam blog farms more difficult.

These three concerns produce side effects, in the Blogger spam mitigation program - and lead to periodic spurious spam classification of home / small business blog clusters.

As the size of the clusters increase, so does the chance of repeated classification.

• Blogger policy prevents whitelisting the blogs in the cluster.
• The more blogs in the cluster, the greater chance that one or more blogs will be classified, at any given time.
• The more blogs in the cluster, the longer it will take to review a blog, when classified.

Understand your role, in the spam classification / review process.

If you operate a home / small business, which involves blogs clustered on a geographic and / or product - service relationship - and your business is impeded by spurious spam classification, we'll work with you, and try to get your blogs reviewed.

Please, understand that your home / small business may be pushing the limits of the Blogger spam mitigation program. Try to minimise content which replicates through multiple blogs in the cluster - and content which is scraped from various commercial websites.

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Some owners / operators of home / small businesses, which use #Blogger as a backbone for their business, produce clusters of blogs, organised on a geographic / product / service basis. Rapid growth of the businesses may lead to blogs which share content too heavily - and may lead to repeated spurious spam classification.

Owners of the blogs should learn to expect occasional spam classification, and try to minimise blog features which lead to spam classification.

Comments With HTML Code Confuse Blog Owners

Some blog owners see encoded special characters, in Blogger dashboard displays - and do not understand why they are there.

I recently noticed that the comments, that I view in my Blogger dashboard page, have like a series of numbers and symbols in some of the comments.

This owner is looking at comments, displayed in the Dashboard Comments pages ("Published", "Awaiting moderation", and "Spam"), which right now may contain strange character sequences.

The "HTML entity codes" for special characters, like ampersand, apostrophe, and quote marks, are HTML code - that will probably be with us, forever. Blogger blog content (like many other blogs and websites) uses HTML - and those characters have syntactical importance. Using them in blog content, unencoded, causes problems with browser operation.

Blogger has had various problems with displaying special characters, like ampersand (&), apostrophe ('), and quote marks ("), for many years.

Long ago, I published my recipes blog, titled "Chuck's Kitchen".

Seeing the blog title displayed a few times, in comments, in the dashboard - and even in the blog header - as "Chuck&#39;s Kitchen" confused my readers, with the apostrophe displayed as an HTML entity. I figured the simplest solution was simply to compromise - and accept a non grammatical title of "Chucks Kitchen".

What I saw, in the dashboard Comments wizard, recently. Look at my comment, of "10:17 AM".

What we now see, in the post comment. Compare the above, with my published comment, of "10:17 AM"



You are allowed to use special characters, like ampersand (&), apostrophe ('), greater than (>), less than (<), and quote marks ("), and others, if you like, in your blog - but you will occasionally see confusion from your readers - as the confusion recently seen in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue.

I recently noticed that the comments that I view in my Blogger Design page have like a series of numbers and symbols. I don't know why they are there or how to get rid of them.

You can't really get rid of them, you need to just learn to ignore them. Right now, only you see them.

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Some #Blogger blog owners see comments, displayed in the dashboard Comments pages, displayed with HTML entity coded characters. They are odd looking - but right now, they only display this way, in the dashboard pages.

When published, the blog will display the special characters properly.

Third Party Templates - Not Always Free

Some third party templates come with extra features - that not everybody appreciates.

How do I get rid of the "lorem ipsum" nonsense, that's part of my signature?

This blog owner just got a shiny "free" third party template, for her blog.

Some custom template providers publish free templates that contain odd, irrelevant details.

When I click on the "Read more" link on my blog, it opens up the post - but has added in a odd kind of signature. It displays my name but is using an image that isn't me, and the "lorem ipsum" text. I have no idea where to edit this?

The typical response, by experienced forum helpers, will be a simple suggestion.

Hopefully, the template publisher can sort the problem. If not, a standard Blogger template, or a different third-party template, may be your best solution.

That's a reply, based on experience.

This particular template oddity has been mentioned, in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue, a few times - each time with mention of the "lorem ipsum" babble, in the signature.

In one case, the blog owner did contact the template developer - and was kind enough to follow up in her forum thread.

She told me that she would be glad to provide a clean template - for a fee.

It's likely that the "bogus photo" / "lorem ipsum" bit is there, to motivate the blog owner into paying for the template.

In a way, this sort of "fee based" customisation makes sense. The blog owner has 3 choices.

1. Pay extra for the template cleanup.
2. Get a different third party template, from a different provider.
3. Learn to live with the irrelevant babble.

Neither the bogus photo, or the babble, damage the blog. The content is there, as desired - and pleasantly displayed. Not too many blog readers will know that the photo is bogus, or care so much about "lorem ipsum", either.

In a way, it's similar to the legendary photos of imaginary family, that one gets when buying a fancy picture frame, or a new wallet. Some (single, and very lonely) people like the photos - and supposedly, keep them when using the wallets.

Maybe new blog owners won't care, either. They are, after all, rather attractive templates - and popular with women, anyway.

The apocryphal signature section.

The source code for the signature section.



Enjoy the new templates. Pay, when the need arises. Or, refresh the post template (possibly, lose a lot of custom formatting, if you do) - but this should get rid of the "lorem ipsum" nonsense.

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Some non #Blogger supplied templates are provided for a price - and payment is optional, though cleverly motivated. Minor irrelevant content is included, which is most noticeable to blog owners who are publishing blogs with a large and observant reader population.

Conversely, the unwanted content is not important to new blog owners who would appreciate the free templates, which are not noticeably damaged by the irrelevant content.

With Only A Blogger Blog, Do Not Apply To AdSense

Some blog owners are becoming confused by the AdSense activation process, and are applying directly to AdSense.

If you apply directly to AdSense, you will be applying for an AdSense For Content account. AdSense For Content requires a properly qualified top level domain website.

If you have a fully qualified top level domain website - or a Blogger blog already published to a custom domain, again, fully qualified - you can add a Blogger blog published to BlogSpot, as an additional ad host. If, like many Blogger blog owners, your blog is your first step in Internet activity, you cannot accomplish anything by applying directly to AdSense.

With a Blogger blog published to BlogSpot, you need a Blogger Hosted AdSense account.

Blogger Hosted AdSense accounts are only available from the Earnings page.

You get a Hosted account by using the Blogger dashboard Earnings page - when the Earnings page becomes active.

When your blog is eligible to apply for a Blogger Hosted AdSense account, using the Earnings page, you may get misleading advice from AdSense.

"Congratulations!

Your Google AdSense application has been approved. You'll soon begin to see relevant ads appear on (your blog)."



AdSense has a two step approval process - and this is the first step.

When you receive the congratulations, do not immediately begin spending the money. This notice is currently being sent to many blog owners - some with completely unsuitable blogs, who will never see ads.

If you apply directly to AdSense, and are instructed to install ad code - don't.

In some cases, you may apply directly to AdSense - and you may be instructed to install ad code, available from the AdSense website. This will bring you no close to seeing ads, on the blog.

AdSense For Content ads will not appear, on a Blogger blog published to BlogSpot - again unless the account is already fully approved, based on a properly qualified top level domain website.

If you have a properly qualified top level domain website, you are probably not wasting time reading this. You are either working on your blog and / or website - or are somewhere else, spending the mega bucks.

When your blog is eligible to host ads, Blogger will activate the Earnings dashboard page - and you can use the automated ad installation. You don't need to hand install AdSense ads, on a Blogger blog - and you gain nothing by doing so.

If you just setup your Blogger blog, leave it published to BlogSpot.

A new Blogger blog, published immediately to a custom domain, will not fast track eligibility for ads. AdSense For Content requirements are more stringent than Hosted AdSense accounts.

Leave your Blogger blog published to BlogSpot - until it is full and properly approved, and ads appear, using Blogger Hosted AdSense. Then read about, understand, and plan for your blog to undergo the AdSense account upgrade process.

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Some #Blogger blog owners, eager to begin hosting AdSense ads, grow impatient from inability to use the Blogger dashboard Earnings page to setup their blog with ads. They apply directly to AdSense, hoping to speed up the ads activation process.

Normally, they will receive advice from AdSense that they should apply through Blogger (and the Earnings page) - but some receive instructions about installing ads from the AdSense website. Having installed the ads, they wait in vain for the ad content to immediately appear.

Sharing Blog Content, With Photos, To FaceBook

We have a few blog owners, reporting problems with sharing their blogs to FaceBook.

When I share my blog on FaceBook, the photo from the blog doesn't appear. Some blurry pencil appears instead.

What the blog owner is seeing, is the effect of the FaceBook Share wizard, grabbing an unwanted photo, from the page being shared.

You have 2 choices, if you want to share blog content to FaceBook - and have it all look attractive.

1. Publish every post, containing a photo that FaceBook will want to use.
2. Add FaceBook Open Graph code, to your blog.

Too many blogs do not contain quality photos, per FaceBook Standard.

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(Update 3/14): Blogger Engineering having recently added OG code to the standard template header, this tweak may be unnecessary for most blog owners.

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The problem, that too many blog owners have, is that their photos do not have the correct quality, to FaceBook.

• At least 200×200 pixels in both width and height.
• Aspect ratio of width and height no greater than 3; in other words, the width can’t be more than three times more than the height, and vice versa.

Please define a chosen image using the og:image metatag, and use an image that's at least 200x200px and is accessible from Facebook.

Current opinion seems to suggest that an image of minimum size 400 x 400 px is better than 200 x 200 px. In other words, the image which fits neatly into the post column may not be a good choice.

Without a suitable photo in shared content, FaceBook Share gets imaginative.

If your main page, or post page, does not contain an acceptable photo, the FaceBook Share wizard will pick an image from the page. The first thing that the wizard looks for is a transparent image.

This is where the infamous "pencil" or a similar image becomes involved. The "pencil" - if the blog owner is doing the sharing - is found at the bottom of the post. It's also known as the "Quick Edit" icon.

If Quick Edit is not enabled, or the person submitting the share is not a blog owner, the "pencil" won't be available. In this case, FaceBook Share will grab a similar icon, from the blog face - or maybe from the sidebar.

We need Open Graph code, to instruct FaceBook Share how to find a photo.

FaceBook Open Graph code is not hard to develop - or install - but you do need to use the right code.

If you want something better than the "pencil" or similar fluff from being included in your shares, you add FaceBook Open Graph code, to tell FaceBook how to find an appropriate photo. You can specify a photo to include when the main page is shared - and (if you like) a different photo to include when a post, with no photo, is shared.

Some very simple code - not!

One would be helper has been making forum noise recently, with some very simple code.

<!-- Open Graph Meta Tags BEGIN -->
<b:if cond='data:blog.postImageUrl'>
<meta expr:content='data:blog.postImageUrl' property='og:image'/>
</b:if>
<!-- Open Graph Meta Tags END -->

There are two problems with this simple code.

1. It's based on post code - and has nothing to make a main page share come out right.
2. It requires a suitable image, in the post. We are here, because many posts do not have suitable images.

Something more than the simple code is needed.

Develop the proper simple code.

So the simple code requires a little more effort. This is what I recommend:

<!-- BEGIN Open Graph tags -->
<b:if cond='data:blog.pageType == "item"'>
<b:if cond='data:blog.postImageUrl'>
<meta expr:content='data:blog.postImageUrl' property='og:image'/>
<b:else/>
<meta content='http://xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx/xxxxxxxxxxxx/xxxxxxxxxxx/xxxxxxxxxxx/xxxxxxxxxxx/S1600-R/yyyyyyyyyyyyy.gif' property='og:image'/>
</b:if>
<b:else/>
<meta content='http://xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx/xxxxxxxxxxxx/xxxxxxxxxxx/xxxxxxxxxxx/xxxxxxxxxxx/S1600-R/yyyyyyyyyyyyy.gif' property='og:image'/>
</b:if>
<!-- END Open Graph tags -->

There are two alternate possibilities that we want to allow for.

1. Sharing the blog itself - and no post containing an acceptable image, on the main page.
2. Sharing a post - and no acceptable image, in the post

Please note that http://xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx/xxxxxxxxxxxx/xxxxxxxxxxx/xxxxxxxxxxx/xxxxxxxxxxx/S1600-R/yyyyyyyyyyyyy.gif needs to be replaced with an actual URL of a real photo, that fulfills FaceBook requirements, for this feature to be useful. Choose a good photo, that will represent the blog when shared in main page, or a post with no suitable photo.

Now, I need a default photo, to use when no acceptable image is involved, when sharing this blog. Here's a screen print of the opening page of this post.

And, the URL from the screen print.

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRZu_QKbnyNDkNJoiH2vHO-M1V3em5hrq3dXjmqD4xIrT5T4IhdE4u8n05Rm7LCcDTeae88dmWIxzVn_fvpv-1NBLXYlFUeYfiP76_IwW2TyKLkpjYxtb9Ngdxq2a6I8VON13-PxJsn1oU/s1600/Screenshot+2016-02-15+at+13.08.21.png

This gives me:

<!-- BEGIN Open Graph tags -->
<b:if cond='data:blog.pageType == "item"'>
<b:if cond='data:blog.postImageUrl'>
<meta expr:content='data:blog.postImageUrl' property='og:image'/>
<b:else/>
<meta content='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRZu_QKbnyNDkNJoiH2vHO-M1V3em5hrq3dXjmqD4xIrT5T4IhdE4u8n05Rm7LCcDTeae88dmWIxzVn_fvpv-1NBLXYlFUeYfiP76_IwW2TyKLkpjYxtb9Ngdxq2a6I8VON13-PxJsn1oU/s1600/Screenshot+2016-02-15+at+13.08.21.png' property='og:image'/>
</b:if>
<b:else/>
<meta content='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRZu_QKbnyNDkNJoiH2vHO-M1V3em5hrq3dXjmqD4xIrT5T4IhdE4u8n05Rm7LCcDTeae88dmWIxzVn_fvpv-1NBLXYlFUeYfiP76_IwW2TyKLkpjYxtb9Ngdxq2a6I8VON13-PxJsn1oU/s1600/Screenshot+2016-02-15+at+13.08.21.png' property='og:image'/>
</b:if>
<!-- END Open Graph tags →

And, there is the simple OG code, that I might use for sharing this blog, with a proper image, to FaceBook. This is actually a portion of the code needed, when adding author identification to FaceBook shares.

You might use similar code - having chosen and developed a good quality photo, to represent your blog.

Install the proper simple code.

To install the code, you will use the Template Editor. Please backup the template, before and after you make this simple change!

Start by locating the "<HTML ... >" tag, at the top of the template header.

Find:

<html b:version='2' class='v2' expr:dir='data:blog.languageDirection' xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml' xmlns:b='http://www.google.com/2005/gml/b' xmlns:data='http://www.google.com/2005/gml/data' xmlns:expr='http://www.google.com/2005/gml/expr'>

And replace with:

<html b:version='2' class='v2' expr:dir='data:blog.languageDirection' xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml' xmlns:b='http://www.google.com/2005/gml/b' xmlns:data='http://www.google.com/2005/gml/data' xmlns:expr='http://www.google.com/2005/gml/expr'>
<!-- BEGIN Open Graph tags -->
<b:if cond='data:blog.pageType == "item"'>
<b:if cond='data:blog.postImageUrl'>
<meta expr:content='data:blog.postImageUrl' property='og:image'/>
<b:else/>
<meta content='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRZu_QKbnyNDkNJoiH2vHO-M1V3em5hrq3dXjmqD4xIrT5T4IhdE4u8n05Rm7LCcDTeae88dmWIxzVn_fvpv-1NBLXYlFUeYfiP76_IwW2TyKLkpjYxtb9Ngdxq2a6I8VON13-PxJsn1oU/s1600/Screenshot+2016-02-15+at+13.08.21.png' property='og:image'/>
</b:if>
<b:else/>
<meta content='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRZu_QKbnyNDkNJoiH2vHO-M1V3em5hrq3dXjmqD4xIrT5T4IhdE4u8n05Rm7LCcDTeae88dmWIxzVn_fvpv-1NBLXYlFUeYfiP76_IwW2TyKLkpjYxtb9Ngdxq2a6I8VON13-PxJsn1oU/s1600/Screenshot+2016-02-15+at+13.08.21.png' property='og:image'/>
</b:if>
<!-- END Open Graph tags →

Save the changes. And again, backup the template, before and after you make this simple change!

And with the code added to your template, you can verify your code. In extreme cases, you may need advice from FaceBook Support. You may also find FaceBook Developers: Sharing Best Practices for Websites & Mobile Apps to be a helpful reference.

---

Many #Blogger blog owners share posts (and the blog itself) to FaceBook, with no problems. Some have recently observed odd images being included with the content shared.

An apparent change to the FaceBook Sharing wizard has caused odd photos to be included, with blogs that lack the necessary Open Graph code. Open Graph code is not complicated - but it does need to allow for possibilities.

With AdSense, Congratulations Is Only The Beginning

We have a few blog owners, reporting in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue, who are unaware of the AdSense approval process.

I was approved for AdSense - but my ads are not showing up. What is wrong?

This blog owner is apparently unaware of the two stage AdSense approval process.

Eligibility gives a blog owner the ability to place ad code on the blog. Actual ad content will appear later - after the blog has received final approval, and after the AdSense crawler has chosen ads for the blog.

AdSense offers congratulations, when a blog is eligible to apply to host ads.

This notice is the beginning, and is based on eligibility to apply.

Many blog owners are getting this notice - with blogs completely unsuitable to host AdSense ads.



AdSense explains the approval process in detail, in AdSense Help: Can't see my ads troubleshooter

Have you received an approval email saying that your account has been fully approved and ads should start to show on the pages of your site?

We have a two-step approval process for all accounts in AdSense.

The first step in the process is a preliminary check on your site and your account details. After you pass this step, you get AdSense account access and can place AdSense ad code directly onto your site.

The second step in the application process requires that you implement the ad code onto your site. Please note that blank ads will be served at this stage. Once you've started generating ad impressions, your site will be re-reviewed by our specialists. When you're approved at this second and final stage, you'll begin to see live ads appear on your site.

I've seen suggestions that email is sent, when final approval for ads is issued. Note that email will be received only if you provided an active and valid email address.

"Congratulations" encourages you to install ad code - ads are not a done deal.

Congratulations are being received, for some blogs with insufficient content - and others with completely unsuitable content.

The blog has insufficient content. Only a dozen posts, none over 200 words each. And, it's another tech blog, with content scraped from other blogs and websites.

Also, your command of the English language is not all that good - and this is an important requirement, with AdSense.

"Congratulations" is only the start of the activation process.

This notice is only part of the AdSense activation process. After ad code is installed, the blog is reviewed for suitability, and the AdSense crawler then chooses ads based on the content.

And activation is only a start, to making money.

Your blog needs far more content, than what is required for eligibility - or even for having ads appear, on the blog. Don't look for a consistent minimum qualification level, for hosting ads.

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Some #Blogger blog owners receive a congratulatory AdSense notice - and think that they will immediately be seeing ads, and receiving payments.

They do not understand that eligibility to apply only means the start of the approval - and later ad selection - process. And even with ads appearing, they will need more content, to make AdSense a worthwhile blog feature.

Recovering A Broken Template, Using "Edit HTML"

I have, for a long time, recommended regular template backups, for those who like to tweak the template.

Normal backup uses the "Backup" wizard, on the dashboard Template page. When backed up, an XML file, containing the template code, is extracted and saved locally. To restore, the "Restore" wizard is used and a previous Backup XML file selected.

That's how Backup / Restore should work - but it isn't always that easy.

With the current wave of bX codes, being used to diagnose the "Error 500", the Template dashboard page may not be accessible.

This is the case even attempting direct access, using the navbar "Design" link, or a hand generated equivalent.

With some blogs, the Template Editor may be OK - with the Template page broken.

For some blog owners who cannot use the dashboard Template page, the Template Editor aka Template "Edit HTML" may be accessible. This will require using a hand generated URL - since there is no direct link to the Template Editor.

If the Template Editor can be accessed directly, the blog owner may be able to continue.

1. Access the Template Editor for the broken blog, in one browser window.
2. Setup a new blog, using a clean template, in a second browser window.
3. Access the Template Editor for the new blog.
4. Copy the new blog template, to the broken blog.
5. Save the now recovered current blog template.
6. Refresh the post template.
7. Clear cache, cookies, and sessions, restart the browser, and try again.

The blog owner has a possible solution, in this case.



Access the Template Editor for the broken blog, in one browser window.

Use a hand generated URL, to access the Template Editor. If you can do this much, you are well on the way to getting your blog back.

If you truly feel the need, you can backup what's there, before you paste over what you have. Ctrl - A then Ctrl - C to copy - then Ctrl - V, into a new text document - that you can save, at your convenience.

Setup a new blog, using a clean template, in a second browser window.

Blogs are free, so make a new one. Select the "Simple" template, for best results.

Access the Template Editor for the new blog.

For the new blog, you can use the dashboard menu, and Template - "Edit HTML".

Copy the new blog template, to the broken blog.

With the Template Editor window for the new blog, containing a valid template, copy its contents (Ctrl - A then Ctrl - C) - into the Template Editor window for the broken blog (Ctrl - A then Ctrl - V).

Save the now recovered current blog template.

Hit "Save template". And say a brief prayer.

Refresh the post template.

This may not be necessary - but you should consider it. It has saved a few blogs.

Clear cache, cookies, and sessions, restart the browser, and try again.

This is always a good idea, when clearing bX codes.

It's a workaround - not perfect, but it may get the blog going again.

This is not a perfect solution. If you are tired of the bX codes, and if this will get your blog operational, you may find it useful, however. It's also possible that this error is part of a larger problem - and you need a persistent solution.

If you have a template back up, you can apply that after the blog is back in service. And your readers have stopped emailing you with angry complaints. Just use a clean backup.

And test your tweaks, going forward, more carefully.

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Some bX codes, being used to diagnose the "Error 500" condition in #Blogger blogs with broken templates, affect the dashboard Template page. Blogs which have broken Template pages cannot be recovered by getting a new template.

In some cases, with the Template page unusable, it may be possible to directly access the Template Editor - then paste a separately developed clean template into the "Edit HTML" window, and correct the problem.

AdSense Is A Contextual Ad Hosting Service

AdSense requires content - substantial amounts of text content - in a supported language.

The term "contextual" means that the ads, which display on each different blog, are chosen to match the subject in the posts. This assures the ad companies, which pay for the ads hosted on the blogs, that their ads will be seen by people who appreciate the products.

With the ads carefully chosen, AdSense can confidently charge appropriately - and the blog owner can be paid to host the ads.

The blog content is analysed, by the AdSense crawler, as it reads the posts.

The AdSense crawler automatically decides what ads to show, on each blog page.

The crawler, which is similar to a search engine bot, has to be able to read the content.

• Textual content is required.
• Supported languages are required.
• Photo blogs can't qualify.
• JavaScript based templates won't show ads.
• Ads may be displayed day by day - or week by week.

Textual content is required.

The crawler decides what the blog is about, by examining the text in the posts. The posts need to have some minimum amount of text, to make this work.

Supported languages are required.

AdSense ads are designed to be read by people, in their native language. Blogs written in all languages of the world won't have ads - because AdSense does not work with ad companies which sell products for people of all languages.

Only blogs primarily written in supported languages can host AdSense ads.

Please also be aware that placing the AdSense code on pages with content primarily in an unsupported language is not permitted by the AdSense program policies.

Blogs written in Bengali cannot legally show AdSense ads, right now.


If an AdSense publisher uses a legally acquired account from another website, to show ads on a blog written in Bengali, the account will be revoked - and it's a lifetime revocation.

And what ever language you write, the blog must have proper composition, grammar, and spelling.

The minimum age for AdSense publishers is 18 years - partially because you need to have ability to write clearly, in your chosen language. Posts written by a pre teen are not accepted, for blogs hosting AdSense ads.

Photo blogs can't qualify.

The crawler can't read photos. However intriguing or scenic a photo blog may be, it's not going to be approved, to host AdSense ads.

You can include photos, on any suitable blog - but photos cannot substitute for text.

JavaScript based templates won't show ads.

This is a known problem, with the Blogger supplied dynamic templates.

Third party, JavaScript based templates will present a similar problem. Templates that provide numbered pages, and similar features, are JavaScript based. Important post content, hidden behind JavaScript, cannot be read by the crawler.

Similar to JavaScript based templates, some blog owners have added "call to action" / social networking content - JavaScript based popup windows, with "Like my blog!", "Subscribe to my blog!", and similar demands. Here, too, the AdSense crawler will be unable to read the blog.

Ads may be displayed day by day - or week by week.

Just because ads do not display today, that does not mean that they won't display tomorrow - or next week. Conversely, just because ads do display today, does not imply that they will be there tomorrow - or next week.

Ads are displayed when they are available. If your blog shows ads for a given product this week, next week those ads may be discontinued - or they may be displayed on a more interesting or relevant blog next week.

The bottom line.

If you want to host AdSense supplied ads, on your blog, you have to read and heed all AdSense Policies. This is one more requirement, in activating ads on your blog.

And right now, some blog owners may be receiving a congratulatory notice, when approval is yet to be determined.

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Some #Blogger blog owners want to use AdSense to make money with their blog - but they overlook the basic necessities of being an AdSense publisher. Besides the age / content volume issues which are easy enough to define, there is the need for AdSense to be able to properly choose ads to be shown on the blog.

The AdSense crawler, which is a robotic process similar to any search engine, determines the ads to show - if it can crawl the blog and find useful details.