I've finally started using multiple sheets in Google spreadsheets. I found I was creating multiple spreadsheets, for tracking different items, but all containing the same tracking columns. So, I put them into one spreadsheet, and created one master sheet to track running totals compiled from each sheet.

So, if you need to do this, and want to reference a value in another sheet, it's actually quite simple. You just need the name of the sheet, and the cell location. So, if the sheet was named "Sheet2" (creative, huh?!), and the cell was C3, you could reference the value from any sheet with this formula:

However, I ran into one error, when I had an ampersand ("&") character in my sheet name. It gave a 'circular reference detected' error. I guess it thought the "&" was part of the equation. So just use alphanumeric characters when naming your sheets, and you should be fine.

This will be my first year attending Search Engine Strategies! Well, the conference portion anyhow - I have been through the exhibits. I'm looking forward to leeching some great information from some industry experts! If you're an SEO in the GTA, and you're going, and would like to meet, feel free to contact me!

I've gone back and forth with my Gmail account and the use of a signature, for 2 reasons:
1) It's plain text
2) It's inserted at the bottom of the reply, even below the content in the email you're replying to. This is less than desirable!

So, I recently installed a Firefox add-on for the purpose of being able to have HTML signatures. Lo-and-behold, it also included an option to move the signature to the top of the email! It's very simple if you'd like to do this yourself, simply install the Better Gmail extension, restart your browser, and in the extension options enable 'Signature Float'!

Voila, the signature is where it should be!

For a little while now I've been publishing some lists of domains that are available to register, which have PageRank because they were previously registered but are now expired. A few people asked me how I was getting those lists, but I never really explained it, because it was quite a laborious process. Every day I would download a list of about 60,000 expired domains, parse the ones with the TLDs that I was interested in, chop them up and feed them into an automated PageRank validator, and then of the ones with PR, see which were still available, and which had real PR. Of all the domains that I went through, it was a very tiny percentage that are still available, and weren't simply parked domains or redirects.

Well, a new website has just been launched that makes it far easier to find expired domains. The site is called Expired Domain Up!, and it boasts of some great functionality. Basically, the database is updated every single day, listing domains that will be available the next day. You can filter on domains with specific PageRank, sort by TLD (such as .edu domains), look for domains with Yahoo and DMOZ backlinks, and see the number of indexed pages in major search engines. If you'd like one of the expired domains with PR, the system shows you where to buy or bid on it.

If this sounds interesting to you, right now is the time to sign up, because for the time being it's free. I'm not sure how much they'll charge in the future, but whatever the cost it can easily be recovered by buying an expired domain, building the site, and selling links, posts or the site itself!

OK, I'm almost ready to start playing World of Warcraft, I swear! Since I posted that review yesterday on the WoW site, I've been sent another link to a site to buy WOW Gold. I actually didn't know, but there are currently 8.5 million players of the game right now! This makes me think that it has to be addictive, and though I'd like to give it a shot, I don't really have the time to dedicate to a virtual world or game.

Anyhow, I'm still quite fascinated by the concept of the service of this website, that it allows newer game players to buy wow accounts. At first I was a little skeptical about how the game maker would feel about this after market of accounts and virtual goods, but now that I've thought about it, they must love it. Think about it, there are probably hundreds of first-time players that get frustrated very quickly by their inability to buy items in the game, or they get killed quickly. By purchasing an established account, or the game currency, they can jump-start that whole process, and get right into being an established player! This is great for Blizzard, as the result would be far less account abandonment.

One of the things to help with establishing new players is called wow power leveling. You basically join a group of experienced players, and they lend power to you (not for free of course). Hmm, I can say that the pictures on this site were just mildly distracting