Spice Up Your Blog

Almost every blog we visit uses the Followers gadget allowing visitors to Follow or Join the blog.However did you know the Followers gadget is actually just one of over 30 different gadgets available from Google Friend Connect ? Yep although the Followers gadget is the most popular from the Friend Connect directory there are some really useful gadgets such as Popular Posts, Featured Content, Top Ten Visitors, Newsletter and much more.Before we see how you can add any of these gadgets to your blog lets look at ten of the best.




1. Social Bar - The social bar is a toolbar which can be added to the top or bottom of your blog and offers users options to join your blog, share, comment and more.



2. Comments Gadget - Users can add a comment or link.




3. Ratings And Reviews Gadget - Let people review and rate your posts or entire blog.



3. Interests Poll Gadget - The interests poll gadget can really help your blog.By asking visitors to take a quick poll Google can use the information to help target AdSense ads and add content to the Featured gadget.



4. Featured Content Gadget - The featured content gadget displays a list of posts based on the interests of your Followers.




5. Newsletter Subscription Gadget - Get visitors to subscribe to a newsletter.You can writen a weekly or monthly newsletter to all subscribers.



6. iPhone Members Gadget - This cool gadget is similar to the Followers gadget but is in the style of the iPhone.Visitors can scroll through information just like they would on an iPhone screen.



7. Recent Visitors Gadget - This gadget as the name suggests displays thumbnails of the followers who were recently on your blog.



8. Top Ten Members - Say thanks to the Followers who visit your blog the most.This gadget will display a list of Followers based on the numbers of times they visit.



9. Followers Cloud - This cool gadget displays the names of your followers in a cloud form similar to the label cloud.




10. Get Answers Gadget - This gadget is similar to a chat box and allows visitors to ask and answer questions.

Remember you can get all these tips sent directly to your email and stay a step ahead.Its a quick and easy service Provided for Free by Google.Just fill in the Email form below the post or Click here for other Rss Options. If you need extra help on this or any tutorial just leave a comment, I love comments and feedback so this Blog is Do-Follow - when you comment here it helps Your Blogs Google rank !

You can get all these gadgets and much more by visiting the Google friend connect website - Google Friend Connect.Once on the Friend Connect website choose the blog you want to add gadgets to or add your blog if it's not already there.You can then browse through all the gadgets and click the 'Get This Gadget' link below the gadget you want.

To add the gadget to your blog add the code they provide as a Html/Javascript gadget.




Feedback 

Did you know all these gadgets were available from Google Friend Connect ? 

Have you a favorite from the list ?

The Link Within Related Posts With Thumbnails Gadget is hugely popular among bloggers using every blog platform.With no code needed to add the gadget to your blog and the script automatically generating the posts to be listed Link Within is easy to use and effective.However there are some changes you may like to make to the gadget in terms of appearance, Text and Position of the gadget.In this post we will see how to do the following.




1. How To Get The Link Within Gadget - How To Easily Add The Gadget To Your Blog.

2. How To Change The Text That Appears Above The Gadget - Change The Default Heading Text (By Default The Heading Is 'You May Also Like').

3. How To Place The Gadget In Different Positions Below Your Posts - By Default The Gadget Appears Below The Last Line Of Text In Your Posts But You Can Move It.

4. How To Have The Gadget Appear On Post Pages Only - If You Use The Read More Post Summary's You Can Hide The Gadget On The Home Page.



Adding the gadget to your blog is quick and easy.First follow this link to the Link Within Website.On the homepage fill in your Email, Blog URL, Platform (This Tutorial Is For Blogger) and number of related posts you want displayed.For most Blogger templates you should display 4 posts.Click Get Widget (You May Be Required To Add Your Blogs Rss Feed).You will now be directed to the second installation page.

*Click Install Widget for blogger to pop up in a new window.
*Log in if required.
*If you have more than one blog choose the blog you want the gadget added to.
*The widget title will be Link Within as shown below but i advise leaving the title blank.
*Click add widget as shown below.




Move Gadget - On your layout/design page move the gadget below the posting area as shown below.




The gadget has now been added to your blog.

By default The Text above the related posts is "You May Also Like" but you can change this.

A. In you dashboard click Design/Layout > Edit Html.

B. Find The Following Piece of code in your blogs html.It wont be hard to find it's at the very top :

<head>

C. Copy The Code Below And Paste It Directly Below <head>

<script>linkwithin_text='YOUR TITLE TEXT HERE:'</script>

D. Replace YOUR TITLE TEXT HERE with the title you want displayed and save your template.


If you have a number of gadgets below your posts like social bookmark buttons, AdSense or Rss options you may like to move the Link Within Related Posts Widget.Here is how you can place the gadget into position.

A. In your template place the following code were you want the gadget to be displayed :

<div class="linkwithin_div"></div>

Save your template.

If you use the read more post summary's on your blog you will want the gadget displayed on the post pages only.Check out this post in which i go into detail on Showing gadgets in post pages only.

Remember you can get all these tips sent directly to your email and stay a step ahead.Its a quick and easy service Provided for Free by Google.Just fill in the Email form below the post or Click here for other Rss Options. If you need extra help on this or any tutorial just leave a comment, I love comments and feedback so this Blog is Do-Follow - when you comment here it helps Your Blogs Google rank !

That should help you get the most from the great Link Within related posts gadget.If you have any questions or suggestions drop them in the comments below.

In the last post we talked about using Facebook to promote your blog, and how having people share your blog on Facebook is like getting free advertising.I also told you how i have really been working at promoting my blogs on social network and social bookmarking sites, the results really did point to Facebook as the best option with the most potential traffic.I go more in dept in that post and it is recommended reading here's the link : How Facebook Can Turn Your Blog Into An Overnight Success

At the end of that post i promised to give you a few Facebook tips to help you get people sharing your content on Facebook, and to help you create a professional Facebook fan page for your blog.The next post will look at the Facebook fan page but today we will see the options available to get people sharing your blog with their Facebook friends.



Facebook Taking The Lead - Recently Facebook made it possable for Bloggers to add a simple Like Icon to their blog.This in my opinion was Facebook taking the lead in making it as easy as possible for people to share content.The Facebook Like Button just requires one click and the user does not need to go to their account or fill out an annoying Catcha (Word verification).So sharing a blog post, video or any link now takes less than a second.Remember the pop up window, choose an image, add a description and fill the catcha ?

In April just after Facebook released the Like Icon i showed you how to add the basic icon to your blog in this post : Add The New Facebook Like This Share Icon To Your Blog Posts.Since then Facebook Developers have come up with some awesome gadgets, from a box that displays the profile pictures of people who liked the post to a sidebar gadget that shows updates from your Facebook profile.Lets look at the gadgets currently available and how to add them to your blog.


Like Button - The Basic Button

"..The Like button lets users share pages from your site back to their Facebook profile with one click.."



Recommendations

"..The Recommendations plugin gives users personalized suggestions for pages on your site they might like..."




Facebook Login Button

"..The Login Button shows profile pictures of the user's friends who have already signed up for your site in addition to a login button.."



Facebook Comments

"..The Comments plugin lets users comment on any piece of content on your site.."




Facebook Activity Feed

"..The Activity Feed plugin shows users what their friends are doing on your site through likes and comments..."





Facebook Like Box

"..The Like Box enables users to like your Facebook Page and view its stream directly from your website.."




Facebook Face Pile

"..The Facepile plugin shows profile pictures of the user's friends who have already signed up for your site.."



Facebook Live Stream

"..The Live Stream plugin lets your users share activity and comments in real-time as they interact during a live event.."



How To Add These Gadgets To Your Blog - Your probably wondering were the code is for these gadgets.Well the code for all the gadgets is available on the Facebook developers page.Simply Follow this link and click on the gadget you wish to add to your blog to get the code : Facebook Developers Gadgets

Some of these gadgets will work fine in your sidebar, so just add a gadget, Choose Html/Javascript and paste in the code.However you should add on of the like gadgets or share gadgets at the top or bottom of each post to make it easier for people to use.

Steps To Add Gadgets To Your Blog

In your Dashboard click "Layout/Design" > "Edit Html" > Tick The "Expand Widget Templates" box

Below Post Title - To add the button directly below the post titles Find the following code in your blogs Html :
(Click Ctrl and F for a search bar to help find the code - More Info)

<div class="post-header-line-1">

Now paste the facebook button code Directly Below / Under
<div class="post-header-line-1">

Above All Posts - To add the button at the top of the posts Find the following code in your blogs Html
(Click Ctrl and F for a search bar to help find the code - More Info)

</data:post.body>

Now paste the Facebook button code Directly Before / Above </data:post.body>

Below All Posts - To add the button directly below the posts Find the following code in your blogs Html :

(Click Ctrl and F for a search bar to help find the code - More Info)

</data:post.body>

Now paste the Facebook code Directly Below / Under </data:post.body>

Remember you can get all these tips sent directly to your email and stay a step ahead.Its a quick and easy service Provided for Free by Google.Just fill in the Email form below the post. If you need extra help on this or any tutorial just leave a comment, I love comments and feedback so this Blog is Do-Follow - when you comment here it helps Your Blogs Google rank !

I would recommend checking out all the gadgets and seeing which works best for you.Some of these gadgets can be connected to a Facebook fan page, Have you created a Fan Page for your blog ? Well in the next post of this 3 part Series on Facebook we will look at how to create a face book fan page and more importantly how to Spice Up Your Face Book Fan Page.

Feedback

What gadgets did you try ?

Let us know which gadgets you like the best and how your using them on your blog.

In this post we will look at a great video from Matt Cutts and the Google search quality team.The video looks at sites just like yours and points out errors and suggest ideas to improve Search engine performance.Before we look at the video lets take a quick look at Search Engine Optimization.

Search Engine Optimization

The term Search Engine Optimization (S.E.O.) cam be scary to the normal blogger.When you started your blog you probably never thought about S.E.O. and how you could get you blog indexed on Google, Yahoo and other search engines.We all want our blogs to rank well on the main search engine Google.Claiming the number one spot for popular search terms may be beyond the average Blogger but you don't need to be first to get people clicking through to your site and making the first page is easier than you think.

When people start Blogging they often start searching for their blogs URL on Google and within a few days the URL will be indexed.But the key is to have you blog indexed for terms and prases people search for.Their are a number of basic steps you can take to help you blog perform well on Google and their are a number of posts here on Spice Up Your Blog to get you started.Here are some of the best : Search Engine Optimization Posts.



Who Is Matt Cutts

I have posted some of the videos Matt Cutts does for webmaster central here on Spice Up Your Blog and they contain some great information.He provides a transparent easy to follow explanation of how Google search works making it easier for beginners to optimize their sites without having to get the experts in.Matt works for Google in the search quality group.His blog Matt Cutts Google, Gadgets and SEO is hugely popular with bloggers and website owners alike.

So Matt sent out a Tweet (He is one of the most followed people on Twitter) looking for some people to submit their sites for a review, and in this video Matt and some of his team pick holes in the sites giving advice and improvements along the way.I think this is perfect for the aspiring Blogger as you will see sites just like yours and maybe see mistakes your making with solutions to fix those errors.The video is about an hour long so set aside some time and I'm sure you will pick up some S.E.O. tips and get your blog climbing the Google listings.

Google I/O 2010 - SEO site advice from the experts

Remember you can get all these tips sent directly to your email and stay a step ahead.Its a quick and easy service Provided for Free by Google.Just fill in the Email form below the post.If you need extra help on this or any tutorial just leave a comment, I love comments and feedback so this Blog is Do-Follow - when you comment here it helps Your Blogs Google rank !

Let me know if you got any help from the video or if you have any questions !

When people visit your blog it is important to keep them there for as long as possible, the longer someone is on your blog the more likely they will be to return and subscribe or follower.Displaying a list of your most recent posts in your sidebar is a great way to keep those visitors busy.There are lots of recent posts gadgets and archive gadgets you can use but the one we will cover in this post will defiantly grab the attention of people on your blog.

This recent posts widget is similar to the standard recent posts with thumbnails but with one great twist.This gadget displays your most recent posts and includes a small thumbnail but it has the added extra of using an animated effect that smoothly scrolls through the posts.

You can see a working example of the gadget on the Demo page here : Demonstration Blog

Animated Recent Posts For Blogger

Step 1. In your dashboard click 'Layout' > 'Add A Gadget' >





Step 2. From the pop up window choose the Html/Javascript gadget



Step 3. Copy the following code and paste it into the Html/Javascript gadget

<script src="http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.3.2/jquery.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<style type="text/css" media="screen">
<!--

#spylist {
overflow:hidden;
margin-top:5px;
padding:0px 0px;
height:350px;
}
#spylist ul{
width:220px;
overflow:hidden;
list-style-type: none;
padding: 0px 0px;
margin:0px 0px;
}
#spylist li {
width:208px;
padding: 5px 5px;
margin:0px 0px 5px 0px;
list-style-type:none;
float:none;
height:70px;
overflow: hidden;
background:#fff url(http://i879.photobucket.com/albums/ab351/bloggerblogimage/blogger/post.jpg) repeat-x;
border:1px solid #ddd;
}

#spylist li a {
text-decoration:none;
color:#4B545B;
font-size:11px;
height:18px;
overflow:hidden;
margin:0px 0px;
padding:0px 0px 2px 0px;
}
#spylist li img {
float:left;
margin-right:5px;
background:#EFEFEF;
border:0;
}
.spydate{
overflow:hidden;
font-size:10px;
color:#0284C2;
padding:2px 0px;
margin:1px 0px 0px 0px;
height:15px;
font-family:Tahoma,Arial,verdana, sans-serif;
}

.spycomment{
overflow:hidden;
font-family:Tahoma,Arial,verdana, sans-serif;
font-size:10px;
color:#262B2F;
padding:0px 0px;
margin:0px 0px;
}

-->
</style>

<script language='JavaScript'>

imgr = new Array();

imgr[0] = "http://i43.tinypic.com/orpg0m.jpg";

imgr[1] = "http://i43.tinypic.com/orpg0m.jpg";

imgr[2] = "http://i43.tinypic.com/orpg0m.jpg";

imgr[3] = "http://i43.tinypic.com/orpg0m.jpg";

imgr[4] = "http://i43.tinypic.com/orpg0m.jpg";
showRandomImg = true;

boxwidth = 255;

cellspacing = 6;

borderColor = "#232c35";

bgTD = "#000000";

thumbwidth = 70;

thumbheight = 70;

fntsize = 12;

acolor = "#666";

aBold = true;

icon = " ";

text = "comments";

showPostDate = true;

summaryPost = 40;

summaryFontsize = 10;

summaryColor = "#666";

icon2 = " ";

numposts = 10;

home_page = "http://www.YOURBLOG.BLOGSPOT.com/";

limitspy=4
intervalspy=4000

</script>

<div id="spylist">
<script src='http://popular-post-blogger.googlecode.com/files/recentpostthumbspy-min.js' type='text/javascript'></script>
</div>

Thanks to Abu Farhan for this code.

Note : You must change the URL address in red to the address of your blog.

Optional Changes : There are lost of changes that can be made to the code if your comfortable making changes, the main edit you may want to make is the number of posts displayed.To change the number of posts that are scrolled through change the following :

numposts =10;

You can change from 10 to the number of posts you wish to have displayed.

Remember you can get all these tips sent directly to your email and stay a step ahead.Its a quick and easy service Provided for Free by Google.Just fill in the Email form below the post.
If you need extra help on this or any tutorial just leave a comment, I love comments and feedback so this Blog is Do-Follow - when you comment here it helps Your Blogs Google rank !

To see how to add the original version of this gadget that does not use the scroll effect check out the Featured Posts With Thumbnails Post from last month.

If you need more help just ask !

One of the most popular related posts gadgets for Blogger users is the related posts with thumbnails provided by linkwithin.The easy installation and clean look of the gadget makes it an easy choice for most bloggers.However the linkwithin gadget does not suit everyone and does not work with every template for example the template I'm currently using will not display that gadget properly.If your having similar issues with the linkwithin gadget don't worry, in this post i will show you how to use an almost identical gadget that is coded to work well for all blogger templates.

If your not familiar with the related posts with thumbnails gadgets lets look at how it works, whats displayed and were it appears.The gadget will be located below all your posts and will list a number of posts (The number is specified by you) that are related to the post it appears under.In order to display related posts the gadget uses the labels used in each post and lists posts using the same labels.Along with the post title this gadget displays a thumbnail (Small version of an image you used in the post) and a short description of the post although this is optional.



Demo

You can see a working example of this gadget by viewing any post in the new template gallery: http://www.templates.spiceupyourblog.com/


How To Add The Recent Posts With Thumbnails To Your Blog


Step 1. In your dashboard click 'Layout' > 'Edit Html' > Tick the 'expand widget templates' box

Step 2. In your templates Html find the following piece of code :
(Click Ctrl and F for a search bar to help find the code - More Info)

</head>

Step 3. Place the following code Directly Above/Before </head>

<script src='http://www.sigmirror.com/files/49136_fib7l/relatedpost.txt' type='text/javascript'/>

<!--Related Posts with thumbnails Scripts and Styles Start-->
<b:if cond='data:blog.pageType == "item"'>
<style type='text/css'>
#related-posts {
float:center;
text-transform:none;
height:100%;
min-height:100%;
padding-top:5px;
padding-left:5px;
}

#related-posts h2{
font-size: 1.6em;
font-weight: bold;
color: black;
font-family: Georgia, “Times New Roman”, Times, serif;
margin-bottom: 0.75em;
margin-top: 0em;
padding-top: 0em;
}
#related-posts a{
color:black;
}
#related-posts a:hover{
color:black;
}

#related-posts a:hover {
background-color:#d4eaf2;
}
</style>


<script src='http://blogergadgets.googlecode.com/files/relatedthumbs21.js' type='text/javascript'/>
</b:if>
<!--Related Posts with thumbnails Scripts and Styles End-->

Step 4. Find the following piece of code in your blogs html :

<data:post.body/>

If <data:post.body/> appears in your template twice use the second occurrence.

Step 5. Place the following piece of code Directly Below / Under <data:post.body/>

<!-- R-P-W-T Code-->
<b:if cond='data:blog.pageType == &quot;item&quot;'>
<div id='related-posts'>
<b:loop values='data:post.labels' var='label'>
<b:if cond='data:label.isLast != &quot;true&quot;'>
</b:if>
<b:if cond='data:blog.pageType == &quot;item&quot;'>
<script expr:src='&quot;/feeds/posts/default/-/&quot; + data:label.name + &quot;?alt=json-in-script&amp;callback=related_results_labels_thumbs&amp;max-results=6&quot;' type='text/javascript'/></b:if></b:loop><a href='http://www.spiceupyourblog.com' target='_blank'><small>Get This Gadget</small></a>
<script type='text/javascript'>
var currentposturl=&quot;<data:post.url/>&quot;;
var maxresults=6;
var relatedpoststitle=&quot;Related Posts&quot;;
removeRelatedDuplicates_thumbs();
printRelatedLabels_thumbs();
</script>
</div><div style='clear:both'/>
</b:if>
<!-- www.spiceupyourblog.com-->

Note : You can change the amount of related posts to be displayed by changing the maxresults=6 as highlighted above in red.
You can change the title above the gadget by changing the text Related Posts highlighted in red above.

Remember you can get all these tips sent directly to your email and stay a step ahead.Its a quick and easy service Provided for Free by Google.Just fill in the Email form below the post.
If you need extra help on this or any tutorial just leave a comment, I love comments and feedback so this Blog is Do-Follow - when you comment here it helps Your Blogs Google rank !

This is a nice gadget that will keep people on your blog looking through your archive, a vital factor in building a following for your blog.

If you have any questions just ask !

In this post we have another great social bookmarking set of buttons for your blog, but this time were going BIG.A lot of blogs are taking the 'Bigger is better' approach to social bookmarking and so can you.This bookmarking widget includes large bookmarking buttons for the top seven social networks and bookmarking sites with two counter style buttons.While the Bookmark icons are cool its the large 'Share It !' banner that sets this gadget apart from the rest.

With all blogs now offering social bookmark options they have become invisible to most readers but this set will defiantly stand out.Once you follow the steps below the monster bookmarks will be below all your posts.

This is a screen shot of the gadget :





You can also see a demo of the gadget on a live blog : Live Demo

Looks Great !

How to have the monster Share It Bookmarks to your blog

Step 1. In your dashboard click 'Layout' > 'Edit Html' > Tick the 'Expand Widget Templates' box

Step 2. Find the following code in your blogs html :
(Click Ctrl and F for a search bar to help find the code - More Info)

<data:post.body/>

Step 3. Place the following code Directly Below/Under <data:post.body/>
(If <data:post.body/> is in your template twice place it below the second one)

<!--Monster Social Bookmarks-->
<br/>
<a href='http://www.spiceupyourblog.com/' target='_blank'><img alt='Monster Share Gadget' border='0' src='http://i941.photobucket.com/albums/ad259/spiceupyourblog/shareit.png'/></a>
<div style='clear:both; '>
<div style='width:60px; float:left;'>
<script type='text/javascript'>
digg_url = &#39;<data:post.url/>&#39;;
</script>
<script src='http://digg.com/tools/diggthis.js' type='text/javascript'/>
</div>
<div style='width:60px; float:left;'>
<script badgetype='square' src='http://d.yimg.com/ds/badge2.js' type='text/javascript'><data:post.url/></script>
</div>
<div style='width:65px; float:left;'>
<a expr:href='&quot;http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=&quot; + data:post.url + &quot;&amp;title=&quot; + data:post.title' rel='external nofollow' target='_blank'><img alt='Stumble' src='http://s310.photobucket.com/albums/kk426/magznetwork/socialbig/stumble.gif' style='padding:0;margin:0;border:none;'/></a>
</div>
<div style='width:65px; float:left;'>
<a expr:href='&quot;http://del.icio.us/post?url=&quot; + data:post.url + &quot;&amp;title=&quot; + data:post.title' rel='external nofollow' target='_blank'><img alt='Delicious' src='http://s310.photobucket.com/albums/kk426/magznetwork/socialbig/delicious.gif' style='padding:0;margin:0;border:none;'/></a>
</div>
<div style='width:65px; float:left;'>
<a expr:href='&quot;http://technorati.com/faves?add=&quot; + data:post.url' rel='external nofollow' target='_blank'><img alt='Technorati' src='http://s310.photobucket.com/albums/kk426/magznetwork/socialbig/technorati.gif' style='padding:0;margin:0;border:none;'/></a>
</div>
<div style='width:65px; float:left;'>
<a expr:href='&quot;http://twitthis.com/twit?url=&quot; + data:post.url' rel='external nofollow' target='_blank'><img alt='Twitter' src='http://s310.photobucket.com/albums/kk426/magznetwork/socialbig/twitter.gif' style='padding:0;margin:0;border:none;'/></a>
</div>
<div style='width:65px; float:left;'>
<a expr:href='&quot;http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=&quot; + data:post.url + &quot;&amp;t=&quot; + data:post.title' rel='external nofollow' target='_blank'><img alt='Facebook' src='http://s310.photobucket.com/albums/kk426/magznetwork/socialbig/facebook.gif' style='padding:0;margin:0;border:none;'/></a>
</div></div><small><a href='http://www.spiceupyourblog.com/2010/02/social-bookmarking-widget-share-it.html'>Blog<br/>Gadget</a></small><br/>
<!--More Info : www.spiceupyourblog.com-->

Remember you can get all these tips sent directly to your email and stay a step ahead.Its a quick and easy service Provided for Free by Google.Just fill in the Email form below the post.
If you need extra help on this or any tutorial just leave a comment, I love comments and feedback so this Blog is Do-Follow - when you comment here it helps Your Blogs Google rank !

Once you have the code in place save your template.

The Monster Bookmark Set is now below all your posts !

We have lots more cool social bookmarking options for your blog : Social Bookmarking Sets

What do your think ?

More help is only a comment away.

At the time of writing i have a 728x90 AdSense leaderboard between the header and post area on the home page of the blog.Basically i have added a gadget that spans the entire with of the layout.The default settings for this template and for lots of custom templates do not allow you to place gadgets in this area.

If your in the same position you will be glad to know changing this setting is easy.I have opened up this area for an AdSense unit but once you have changed the code you can of course add any gadgets across the top of your blog.

You may also be thinking why cant you see the AdSense leader board on this page, i recently posted a hack showing How to show gadgets on only your blogger home page or post pages.With this hack in place the leaderboard is only visible on the homepage.

Cross Column Gadgets

Gadgets Not Allowed - This area is called the Cross Column and the screenshot below shows there is no option to place gadgets in the cross column :


Gadgets Allowed - Once we change the code you will have a brand new 'add a gadget' area :


Placing gadgets in the cross column

Step 1. In your dashboard Click 'Layout' > 'Edit Html' > Tick the 'Expand Widget Templates' box

Step 2. In your template find the following code :
(Click CTRL and F for a search bar to find the code - More Info)

<b:section class='crosscol' id='crosscol' showaddelement='no'/>

Step 3. Change Showaddelement='no' to Showaddelement='yes' as shown below :

<b:section class='crosscol' id='crosscol' showaddelement='yes'/>

Remember you can get all these tips sent directly to your email and stay a step ahead.Its a quick and easy service Provided for Free by Google.Just fill in the Email form below the post.
If you need extra help on this or any tutorial just leave a comment, I love comments and feedback so this Blog is Do-Follow - when you comment here it helps Your Blogs Google rank !

You can now save your template and return to the layout page where you will be greeted with the new 'add a gadget' option.

Allow Gadgets In All Available Areas

Break down the change you made - There may be other areas you can add gadgets to your layout that are blocked.The code i changed is 'showaddelement' which breaks into 'Show Add Element'.Search your template for every occurrence of 'showaddelement' and switch 'no' to 'yes'.

You may also want to see how to put AdSense above or below your header.

More Help Is Only A Comment Away.