Blog Archive: August 2014

How to add Open Graph protocol for your Drupal site

| Drupal Development | 40 seen

The Open Graph protocol is a set of meta tags that can be added to web pages to improve how they are displayed on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

By including Open Graph tags, website owners can control how their content appears in social media feeds, including the title, description, and thumbnail image. In this article, we will discuss how to add an Open Graph protocol for your Drupal site.

Step 1: Install the Metatag module The first step in adding Open Graph protocol to your Drupal site is to install the Metatag module. This module allows you to add metadata to your site, including Open Graph tags. To install the module, go to the Drupal website and download the Metatag module. Once the module is downloaded, install it on your site by following the Drupal installation instructions.

Step 2: Configure the Metatag module After installing the Metatag module, you will need to configure it to include the Open Graph protocol. To do this, go to the configuration page for the module and click on the "Open Graph" tab. On this page, you can configure the Open Graph tags for your site, including the…

Dzveli Kalaki Tbilisi Restaurant Review

| Restaurant reviews | 33 seen

This is already third post in my Tbilisi restaurant series.

Today I got a chance to visit Dzveli Kalaki restaurant (near Didube bridge)

For a prelude - we found and interesting offer on Georgian Groupon clone site www.hotsale.com - Entricote with 30% Off. This hotsale systems works like this - you pay some small fee for coupon/voucher and then you get your discount. So we bought a coupon for Dzveli Kalaki - it was for about 2 GEL.

Since we had no clue, where exactly it's located, we used a local taxi service, and taxi for 4 GEL took us there (from our place)

Dzveli Kalaki Restaurant

It turned out it not just a restaurant - it's restaurant complex with brewery inside.

Outdoor exterior here is decorated with lovely sculptures like this

Dzveli Kalaki Restaurant Brewery

They make here German style beer - didn't tried it this time (I'm of for any alcoholic drinks this summer)

Spacious rooms

At time we arrived, this restaurant was completely empty - it created kinda not friendly attitude - like, who would like to enjoy…

Luxury and Charm: Top Hotels to Stay in Louisiana's French Quarter

| Travel guides | 8 seen

The French Quarter in Louisiana is one of the most charming and historic neighborhoods in the United States. Known for its vibrant nightlife, famous cuisine, and stunning architecture, it's no surprise that the French Quarter is a popular travel destination for tourists from all over the world. With so many hotels to choose from in the area, it can be overwhelming to decide where to stay.

In this blog post, we'll highlight six of the top hotels in the French Quarter, Louisiana, each with its unique charm and amenities.

Please note: Hotels listed in this article contain affiliate links to Booking.com, and if you will click on them and make an actual booking I will earn an affiliate income from that

Hotel Monteleone

Located in the heart of the French Quarter, the Hotel Monteleone is one of the most iconic hotels in the area. This historic hotel dates back to 1886 and features 570 luxurious guest rooms and suites. The hotel also boasts the famous Carousel Bar, which is a rotating bar that gives guests a view of the French Quarter as they sip on their favorite drinks. With excellent amenities, an ideal location, and a rich history, the Hotel…

The Bears Restaurant/Pub in Tbilisi Review

| Restaurant reviews | 17 seen

This is my second post on series covering Tbilisi restaurants. A while ago I decided to start a new topic series, with aim for locals and foreigners find great dinner places in Tbilisi. I'm reviewing only places I have tried by myself.

Update, this restaurant seems is out of the business, but on its location is some other restaurant (2021)

I'm an expat living in Georgia (Tbilisi). You can find some articles covering topic Living in Georgia. I'm huge lover of restaurants and coffee shops, and Living in Georgia I have came even a bigger fan of eating outside the home. 

Since I'm eating out pretty regular - there are my favourite places, then there are places, that once was my favourite places, and then there are places better to avoid. 

I'm willing to make an description of them and to photograph the food I have tasted on those places.

Please note, this is just my subjective opinion.  For taking photographs I'm using my Samsung phone and using Instagram (then taking them from Instagram and adding to posts - you can read a blog post on how I turned my Instagram account into a photo blog - speaking…

How to Get 10,000 Followers on Twitter Without Buying Them

| Blogging | 11 seen

Twitter is one of the most powerful social media platforms used to build your personal or business brand, connect with your audience and keep up with the latest trends. With over 330 million monthly active users, it's not surprising that many individuals and businesses strive to increase their followers to enhance their social media presence.

In this article, we'll share some tips on how to gain 10,000 followers on Twitter in a natural way.

Engage with your followers

If you want to gain more followers, it's essential to engage with the followers you currently have. Respond to their tweets, like and retweet their posts, and participate in Twitter chats. Engaging with your audience helps to build relationships and increases your visibility on Twitter.

Tweet consistently

To gain more followers, you need to be active on Twitter. Consistently tweeting quality content can help you attract more followers. Ensure that you provide value to your audience and avoid spamming them with irrelevant tweets.

Use hashtags

Hashtags are a powerful tool to increase your reach on Twitter. Use relevant and popular hashtags in your tweets to attract more followers.…

How I got 10,000 Unique Visitors to My Blog

| Blogging | 14 seen

On August 26th (2014) my Google Analytics account reported a 10,000 unique visitors milestone for my blog (www.reinisfischer.com).

For me, it was a small victory, and I decided to share with you my thoughts on that, but first, we must answer the answer - of how long time I needed to get those 10K unique visitors.

Update: Read how I got 10,000 page views in a day

10000 Unique Visitors

The time period covers the first day I started to blog or more precisely I went online (October 10, 2013) - August 26, 2014

To get a precise day count I used Time And Date application:

Day count

As you can see from the above image, it took me 320 days to get that 10K milestone or ten and a half months.

Is it a good result? It depends.

Overall many bloggers get more than 10K in a month easily, on the second hand - I'm talking of a blog built from ground Zero, without any backlinks-building tactics, or other white/black hat SEO methods.

Anyway, I will give my self-subjective opinion - claiming that 10K in 10 months is a modest result - and…

Looking for a Cool Getaway? Discover Borjomi, Georgia's Popular Resort Town

| Living in Georgia | 7 seen

If you're looking for a cool getaway, you can't go wrong with a visit to Borjomi, Georgia's popular resort town. Located some 155km from the capital city of Tbilisi, Borjomi is a picturesque destination known for its mineral water springs, national park, and scenic surroundings. In this article, we'll take a closer look at what makes Borjomi a must-visit destination, what to see and do there, and where to stay.

Borjomi is the perfect destination for nature lovers, outdoor enthusiasts, and anyone looking to escape the hustle and bustle of city life. One of the main reasons to visit Borjomi is its refreshing, cool climate. The temperature here is slightly cooler than in Tbilisi, making it an ideal destination for those looking for respite from the hot summer sun.

Another reason to visit Borjomi is its abundance of natural beauty. The town is situated in the Borjomi Gorge, surrounded by the stunning Lesser Caucasus Mountains. The Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park, one of the largest protected areas in Europe, is located here and offers a variety of outdoor activities, including hiking, camping, and bird watching. And of course, no visit to Borjomi is complete…

Villa Likani Review

| Hotel reviews | 11 seen

The other day was damned hot in Tbilisi, and we decided to take a minibus to head to Borjomi (temperature there is significantly cooler than in Tbilisi). Said - done. In matter of few hours we were at Borjomi National Park eating barbecue and figuring out - should we stay or should we leave (As the song of The Clash - Should I stay or should I go).

Since this was not the first time visiting Borjomi and staying overnight here, we already knew - apartments for rent here sucks - they might be cheap, but they sucks. Maybe I'm getting old - but comfort is one of the things I'm looking for. There was internet connection problems in Borjomi, and we decided to catch a local taxi, and ask for his recommendations for the best hotel in the city (not very expensive, but definitely not the lauzy one - the normal hotel, with shower, TV, breakfasts e.t.c)

Taxi Driver soon realized what we are talking about and took us out of Borjomi city centre to Likani (or close to Likani), and there was two hotels/guest houses looking to us. We split - I went to the first one (Hotel Natali) and S went to second one - Hotel Villa Likani.

The host of Hotel Natali was kind of cheater…

6 Best Value Hotels in Borjomi, Georgia

| Hotel reviews | 24 seen

Borjomi is a popular resort town in Georgia. The most popular recreation season here is summer. Local tourists from Georgia and international tourists from Russia, Poland, and Israel make the largest amount of tourists here.

Although in Borjomi you can find an apartment for rent literally on every corner, most often they are pretty bad, they might be cheap (I wouldn't pay more than 30GEL for a bad apartment in Borjomi), but if you are looking for comfort (restrooms, shower, linen, a TV set, air conditioner) then forget about those cheap apartments for rent. You will ruin your Borjomi holidays.

I have listed best value hotels in Borjomi, based on actual user ratings on Booking.com site - by booking one of those hotels, you will have not only towels and clean bed served, but you might get breakfast included, billiard table and some other extras. Don't worry - the price won't sky-rocket. Good hotel in Borjomi will cost you around 120-200 GEL (USD 70 - 115/ EUR 50- 85) for two persons per night with comfort. The best - for such money you can actually get a celebrity treatment and stay in a 5-star hotel in Borjomi

In this…

Tbilisi - Borjomi Transfer by Marshrutka (Minibus) (2014)

| Living in Georgia | 75 seen

The Summers in Tbilisi can get damn hot, I mean +40 Celsius, common - it's not serious without air conditioning. And I'm not the person complaining.

So we decided to head to Borjomi, visit Borjomi National Park for some fresh and mountainous air, and to find a boutique hotel for an overnight stay.

This is not the first time of me heading to Borjomi, the last time I was there was during our rafting trip. As well you can find a photo set of Borjomi in Autumn I made in October 2013.

I decided to write this post and highlight some options for cheap and pretty fast travel between Tbilisi and Borjomi using the Marshrutka service.

I made the photos using my phone and published them to my Instagram wall as well (Learn more about how I turned my Instagram account into a photo blog)

About Tbilisi-Borjomi transfers

There are a few options to travel to Borjomi from Tbilisi available. One of them is by train, another great and by me most often preferred option is to choose Marshrutka (Minibus) service. Another option is to take a Taxi, but it might too pricey.

There are two places in Tbilisi, I know for sure where you can find a…

How To Apply For Hotels.com Affiliate Program

| Blogging | 26 seen

Lately I have been starting to evaluate the power of affiliate marketing. So far I have been playing around with two affiliate marketing programs - Booking.com and Amazon Associates.

Speaking of first (Booking) - the results kinda suck, while second (Amazon) seems like a brilliant finding. 

Since I'm not seeing any return of using Booking I started to look to another hotel affiliate programs, after a few days guessing what could be a very good alternative for Booking - I decided to opt in for Hotels.com

About Hotels.com

Hotels.com has over 290,000 cheap hotels in more than 60 countries. Our 11 million genuine guest reviews will help you find a cheap motel, extended stay or hotel accommodation. Simply check our best deals, discounts and offers and find a hotel near me or the location you are searching for. Whether you are travelling last minute as a family or need a hotel for business, we have the right hotel at the lowest rates for you. We also have a 24-hour call centre, if you would prefer booking with a real person. Don't forget about our Best Price Guarantee and Last Minute Deals. Plus, no change or cancel fee from Hotels.com to ease your mind with…

Georgia Expects Visa Free Travel to EU by End of 2015

| Living in Georgia | 22 seen

Georgian citizens might have Visa Free Travel with European Union (Schengen area) by end of 2015 or at start of 2016 - told Georgian Minister of Foreign Affairs - Maia Panjikidze on live translations on Imedi TV station, Wednesday, August 20, according to NewsGeorgia 

I have a assumption based on realistic data that by the end of 2015 - beginning of 2016 we will have visa-free travel with the member countries of the Schengen Agreement

 - told Panjikidze

According to the official Tbilisi - visa free travel between Georgia and European Union will boost process of the  Georgia's Euro integration, as well the development of political and business cooperation with the European Union.

Update: Visa-Free Travel For Georgian Citizens Entering European Union has been in force since the late 2015

Georgian citizens might get up to 90 days Visa Free stay in EU. 

Some time ago EU gave Visa Free travel to EU for another ex-Soviet country Moldova.

For me it seems just logical move that Georgia is next on the list, in that article I wrote

I guess it's not long time to wait to see Visa Free…

How To Hide Drupal Block For Nodes In Specific Taxonomy - Example With Google Adsense

| Drupal Development | 44 seen

<p>In this Drupal Development tutorial I will show how one (perhaps you) can hide a block for nodes on specific taxonomy. But before we dig in, lets look to an example.</p><p>Let's say you are displaying Google Adsense ads on your Drupal website or blog, ads are displayed by using blocks. Everyhting fine. But then you realize, there are some pages (nodes) you are not willing to show Google Ads. For example you are doing an affiliate marketing, and you have specific taxonomy, in which all affiliate marketing nodes are tagged in.&nbsp;</p><h2>So how to hide that block containing Google Adsense?</h2><p><img src="http://www.reinisfischer.com/sites/default/files/drupalads.jpg&quot; alt="Google Adsense For Drupal" title="Google Adsense For Drupal" width="948" height="562"></p><p><em>Google Adsense's block in article.</em></p><p>In above image you can see Google Adsense being displayed in articles for my blog.</p><p>So, but I do affiliate marketing as well, and there are few articles on my blog I down want my readers been…

How To Set Event Based Google Analytics Goals - Amazon Affiliate Links Tracking Example

| Blogging | 33 seen

In this article I will guide you through - how one (perhaps you) can define custom even based goals in Google Analytics reports - and I will give you a real example - how to track Outbound links to Amazon.

With this post I'm starting a new topic series in my blog - Web Analytics. I have already previously covered different topics related to web analytic you might find useful.

So, now let's go back on our topic subject - Setting Goals:

Goals are everything, right?

Before we are speaking of goals, be sure you have already registered for Google Analytics and your website visitor are counted. If you, just like me are a Drupal friend - here is a quick reference how to add Google Analytics to your Drupal website.

Please note - to use my suggested option for tracking outbound links - you should use Universal Google Analytics tracking code:

Universal Analytics introduces a set of features that change the way data is collected and organized in your Google Analytics account, so you can get a better understanding of how users interact with your online content.


 

Some notes I will highlight in this article I…

SEO Best Practices for Drupal 7: Managing No-Follow and Do-Follow Links

| Drupal Development | 53 seen

Learn how to implement nofollow external links while still maintaining dofollow internal links on your Drupal website in this tutorial.

It's important to understand the reasons why you should consider this option, especially with the Google Panda and Penguin algorithms constantly fighting low-quality websites. To stay safe, it's best to avoid copy-pasting or scrapping content, and minimize the number of low-quality internal and external links.

For better on-site SEO, avoid using dofollow links to affiliate sites or advertisements, and steer clear of link schemes. For instance, if you're writing a blog post reviewing products and places, it's acceptable to add external links, but be wary of adding too many dofollow links to affiliate products to avoid getting penalized.

Here is a video on that by Google's Matt Cutts:

 

Anyway - the purpose of this article is not to guess how many links should be fine on your site, but how to nofollow external links on your Drupal site.

By default, Drupal is offering to use text format filters, and one of the options is to set all links to "nofollow"

…