Geo Targeting Script Manual for Wordpress

Geo-Targeting Script Installation Instructions For Wordpress Page: 2 Geo-Targeting Script Installation Instructions For Wordpress Published by: Keith Lock Windsor, Ontario, Canada http://keithjameslock.com Copyright © 2009-2010 – Keith Lock. All rights are reserved. No part of this report may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review. The geo-targeting script and accompanying manual is the intellectual property of Keith Lock. Purchasers of the geo- targeting script, either from keithjameslock.com or an authorized reseller, have the right to use the script in perpetuity on any site they own. However, the right to sell and distribute these scripts is retained by Keith Lock. Bottom line: you may not sell or distribute the script or the contents of this manual. Note: This e-book is optimized for viewing on a computer screen, but it is organized so you can also print it out and assemble it as a book. Since the text is optimized for screen viewing, the type is larger than that in usual printed books. Copyright 2009-2010 © - Keith Lock – All Rights Reserved Geo-Targeting Script

Geo-Targeting Script Installation Instructions For Wordpress Page: 3 First Things First If you currently do not have the Geo-Targeting Script, please visit: http://keithjameslock.com/wordpress-geo-targeting-script to obtain a copy, which will also have the manual to set it up on other php based web sites. The script requires that your server has php5 installed (most do) in order to run. There are instructions here to quickly self-upgrade to php5 if you are hosted with GoDaddy. Copyright 2009-2010 © - Keith Lock – All Rights Reserved Geo-Targeting Script

Geo-Targeting Script Installation Instructions For Wordpress Page: 4 Disclaimer This guide has been written to provide information to help you install the geo- targeting script. Every effort has been made to make this report as complete and accurate as possible. However, there may be mistakes in typography or content. Also, this report contains information on editing php code for installing the geo-targeting script only up to the publishing date. Therefore, this report should be used as a guide – not as the ultimate source of editing php code. The purpose of this report is to point you in the right direction for getting the geo-targeting script working. The author and publisher does not warrant that the information contained in this report is fully complete and shall not be responsible for any errors or omissions. The author and publisher shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by this report and the geo-targeting script. You and your staff are solely responsible for the voluntary use and installation of the geo-targeting script. If you do not wish to be bound by the above, please return the geo-targeting script for a full refund. Copyright 2009-2010 © - Keith Lock – All Rights Reserved Geo-Targeting Script

Geo-Targeting Script Installation Instructions For Wordpress Page: 5 Message From The Author I have been making a living online for several years building and selling niche web sites and blogs. As a long time user of the phpBay Pro Wordpress plugin to quickly insert eBay auctions into my niche sites (where I get paid to refer customers to eBay), I quickly found the need to automatically show auctions to customers of specific countries. I found a solution to accomplish that and developed the phpBay Pro Extended Manual to help other phpBay users achieve geo-targeting with phpBay, plus other advanced tasks. The issue that arose therafter was the inability to automatically show other types of ads or content (besides eBay auctions) to visitors of specific countries. So, I had a geo-targeting script developed to work for any type of content. Future plans include developing plugins, and offering the ability to target visitors based on city and state/province. Copyright 2009-2010 © - Keith Lock – All Rights Reserved Geo-Targeting Script

Geo-Targeting Script Installation Instructions For Wordpress Page: 6 Table Of Contents • Script Files and Database Update Explanation (optional) • Step 1 – Uploading/Installing The Script • Step 2 – Re-Declare The Global Variable • Step 3 – Displaying Unique Content For A Country Copyright 2009-2010 © - Keith Lock – All Rights Reserved Geo-Targeting Script

Geo-Targeting Script Installation Instructions For Wordpress Page: 7 Script Files and Database Update Explanation Note: You may just skip to Step 1 if you wish. This section is optional. First and foremost you should have a copy of the script. If not, get the script here before you continue. Likely you would have already opened the zip file if you are reading these instructions. I'll assume that's the case. Below are the contents of the zip file. For the most part, you need not worry about these files. The database file is of the most importance. Contents Of Zip File geo Folder • WP-GeoTargetingScriptInstructions.pdf – you are reading it • PHP-GeoTargetingScriptInstructions.pdf – instructions for php based sites • GeoIP.php • init.php GeoIP Folder • DMA.php • Location.php • GeoIP.dat – database which translates an IP Address into a country • DBUpdate.txt – open it to determine the verison of the database (GeoIP.dat) included with this script Database File The database file, GeoIP.dat, is the file that holds all of the IP Addresses and the Copyright 2009-2010 © - Keith Lock – All Rights Reserved Geo-Targeting Script

Geo-Targeting Script Installation Instructions For Wordpress Page: 8 corresponding country the IP Address belongs to. Although not 100% accurate (all AOL users show as coming from the U.S.), it is very close. Over 99% accurate in fact. The database updates come free from MaxMind.com. They are updated monthly. I only ever update mine every 6 months but it's entirely up to you. Just overwrite the GeoIP.dat file on your server when you choose to update and you will be in business. Important: Be sure to upload it in “Binary” mode (explained later). Downloading And Decompressing The Updated Database File When you decide to update your database (optional), follow the instructions below. The following instructions involve uploading files with an FTP client. If you do not have an FTP client, please download and install one before you continue. You can download FileZilla for free here: http://download.cnet.com/FileZilla/3000-2160_4-10308966.html 1) Get yourself a utility to that handles decompression of .gz compressed files. You may already have one. The utility you use for .zip files may also handle .gz files. If not, here's a link to a free one: http://download.cnet.com/WinRAR/3000- 2250_4-10007677.html 2) Visit http://www.maxmind.com/app/geolitecountry and under the Binary Format section, click the link that says: “Download the latest GeoLite Country Binary Format” and download the file to your desktop. 3) Extract/decompress the file. If using WinRar (download link above) then right- click the downloaded file (GeoIP.dat.gz) and click “Extract Here”. A file called GeoIP.dat will appear on the desktop. That is the latest database for the Geo- Targeting script. 4) Now replace the database file included in the script files in the “GeoIP” folder. You may do this before uploading it to your server or after it is already uploaded. Note: You MUST upload the database file in BINARY mode. You may upload the other script files in Binary mode as well. Most FTP clients have the option to upload in binary mode. If using FileZilla, click on Transfer > Transfer Type > Binary. In general, it is safe to leave it on Binary mode for all future uploads. At least I haven't ran into issues. It's up to you. Copyright 2009-2010 © - Keith Lock – All Rights Reserved Geo-Targeting Script

Geo-Targeting Script Installation Instructions For Wordpress Page: 9 Step 1 – Uploading/Installing The Script The following instructions involve uploading files with an FTP client. If you do not have an FTP client, please download and install one before you continue. You can download FileZilla for free here: http://download.cnet.com/FileZilla/3000-2160_4-10308966.html Note: You MUST upload the database file in BINARY mode. You may upload the other script files in Binary mode as well. Most FTP clients have the option to upload in binary mode. If using FileZilla, click on Transfer > Transfer Type > Binary. In general, it is safe to leave it on Binary mode for all future uploads. At least I haven't ran into issues. It's up to you. 1) Upload the entire “geo” folder (unzipped) into your current themes folder (for simplicity sake). For example: Upload to /wp-content/themes/{current theme}/ so you should then have: /wp-content/themes/{current theme}/geo/ with all of the necessary files in place. Remember: BINARY MODE :) 2) Browse to the Theme Editor area in your Wordpress Control Panel. Depending on your WP version that should be: Appearance > Editor. 3) Now on the right side, click on Header (header.php). 4) At the very top of the header file, immediately above the code that probably looks similar to: <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC... type in the following code exactly: <?php include(TEMPLATEPATH . '/geo/init.php'); ?> 5) Save the file. At this point, when someone visits your blog, the script will store the visitors 2-letter country abbreviation into a global variable called $COUNTRY. Some of the possible values for that variable include: EU for Europe, AU for Australia, CA for Canada, CN for China, GB for United Kingdom, HK for Hong Kong, IE for Ireland, IN for India, IT for Italy, JM for Jamaica, NZ for New Zealand, US for United States, etc. Copyright 2009-2010 © - Keith Lock – All Rights Reserved Geo-Targeting Script

Geo-Targeting Script Installation Instructions For Wordpress Page: 10 The 2-letter abbreviations aren't always obvious so I attempted to include the most popular above. You may look at the GeoIP.php file to find more. The file won't always open properly in all text editors. Don't save the file if you aren't sure what you are doing. There should be no reason to edit the file ever anyways. Copyright 2009-2010 © - Keith Lock – All Rights Reserved Geo-Targeting Script

Geo-Targeting Script Installation Instructions For Wordpress Page: 11 Step 2 – Re-Declare The Global Variable After completing Step 1 you have the ability to display alternate content in the header for each and every country! Very cool! But what about displaying alternate content elsewhere (other than the header)... A common use of the script is to show different ads in the sidebar based on the person's country. For example, say you are running an “acai berry” blog. You may have an offer/creative for the U.S. only which pays $37.00. You may also have another offer that caters to Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. which pays only $34.00. Before using this script, you may have opted for the second offer so you didn't miss out on the U.K. and Canadian traffic. However, the $3.00 extra you would get for the U.S. offer is very important to your bottom line, plus... what about all of the other countries visitors that may drop by? You can monetize that traffic as well with say... some Google AdSense. Re-declaring The Global $COUNTRY Variable The thing with Wordpress themes is that they, more often than not, use php calls such as get_sidebar(); and get_footer(); in the theme files to pull the contents of the sidebar and footer into the pages content. Well, when doing it that way, instead of using include files, the global variable that contains the 2-letter country abbreviation just ends up empty when called in the theme files. The workaround: Re-declare the variable... Where Do I Re-Declare The Global Variable? If you plan to show different content based on the visitors country... In the sidebar: then re-declare the variable in the sidebar.php file In the footer: then re-declare the variable in the footer.php file In posts: then re-declare the variable in the single.php file In pages: then re-declare the variable in the page.php On the main page: then re-declare the variable in the index.php file Copyright 2009-2010 © - Keith Lock – All Rights Reserved Geo-Targeting Script

Geo-Targeting Script Installation Instructions For Wordpress Page: 12 The filenames may differ depending on your theme, but mostly they should be the same. You may have to re-declare the variable in more then one file. That's the breaks! :) How Do I Re-Declare The Global Variable? To re-declare the global variable so that you have access to it's value in your themes, open the necessay page in your theme editor and type in the following code exactly: Note: for sidebar.php and footer.php, add it to the very top of the file. For any other file, add it just below the get_header(); call. Finally, the code: <?php global $COUNTRY; ?> Save the files and that's it. Step 3 shows how to display the content. Copyright 2009-2010 © - Keith Lock – All Rights Reserved Geo-Targeting Script

Geo-Targeting Script Installation Instructions For Wordpress Page: 13 Step 3 – Displaying Unique Content For A Country At this point your blog is aware of the country that your visitor is browsing from. The 2- letter country abbreviation can now be used in your code. Below I will show an example of code used for an “acai berry” blog. I will continue on with the same scenario described above... 1 offer for U.S. visitors, 1 offer for Canadian and U.K. vistors and Google AdSense for everyone else... Let's say we have a section in the sidebar for our ad that is 300x250 in size. Since I have re-declared the variable in sidebar.php I know what country the visitor belongs to. Here's the code that I would use: <?php if ($COUNTRY == 'US') { ?> Add the HTML to display your 300x250 ad for your $37.00 U.S. offer here! <?php } elseif ($COUNTRY == 'GB' || $COUNTRY == 'CA') { ?> Add the HTML to display your 300x250 ad for your $34.00 U.K./Canada offer here! <?php } else { ?> Add your 300x250 Google AdSense script here to be seen by all other countries! <?php } ?> Now, a unique ad should be running for each country. Good job! There are plenty of ways to use this script on your blog (or php-based web site). Be creative. The sky is the limit! Copyright 2009-2010 © - Keith Lock – All Rights Reserved Geo-Targeting Script

Geo Targeting Script Manual for Wordpress

by Keith Lock on Jul 09, 2009

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Geo Targeting Script Manual for Wordpress — Document Transcript

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