Wednesday, July 4, 2007

Blog Tutorial: Advanced: Putting a ClustrMap on Your Blog

Some of you have probably noticed that some blogs have a little map showing where their blog visitors are coming from. (If you're not sure what that is, you can check out a sample on our right sidebar by scrolling down a bit.) If you're interested in knowing which side of the world the people who've dropped by and checked your blog out are from, read this tutorial to find out.

The service provider that most, if not all, SanrioTown members are using is ClustrMaps (http://clustrmaps.com/). Go to their site and create your own account. Don't worry, because their service is free by default, but you can avail of their premium service if you want to. Initially, all you need to do is to enter your e-mail address and your blog URL. In terms of the latter, make sure that you enter the actual URL, which goes like http://blog.sanriotown/(username):(cobrand.com (ex. blog.sanriotown.com/tgmoderator01:hellokitty.com) and not the redirect URL (ex. http://blog.hellokitty.com/tgmoderator01). After filling all these necessary information and then sending it, you should be able to receive your initial password on the e-mail address that you provided there. Check your e-mail, and then sign in to your ClustrMaps account. You should be able to see various HTML code options. Scroll down until you get to the"Minimalist" option, because this is the option you'll be needing for your SanrioTown blog.

If you don't have one yet, open a new window for SanrioTown (http://www.sanriotown.com/). Sign in to your account and go to your Blogroll. Opt to create a new link. However, if you want to make things a bit tidier, you might choose to create a new category (click on the "Manage" tab and then go to "Categories") specifically for your ClustrMap. Either way, once you're on the "Add Links" page, type in "ClustrMap" on the "Name" field. Back on your ClustrMaps page, copy the first line within the double quotation marks (ex. http://www3.clustrmaps.com/counter/maps.php?url=http://blog.sanriotown.com) and then paste it on to the "Address" field. Lastly, get the second line within the double quotation marks (ex. http://www3.clustrmaps.com/stats/maps-no_clusters/blog.sanriotown.com-thumb.jpg) and then paste it on the "Image Address" field (found near the bottom of the "Add Links" page). Choose to save this by clicking on the "Save Changes" button.

Note: If you made a different category for your ClustrMap, make sure you tick on the appropriate option before you save it.

Congratulations! You now have a ClustrMap on your blog! If you want to see a more in-depth map detailing where your visitors are coming from, simply click on the small image on your blog.

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