Micro Niche Finder and IE 8 Beta Issues

Micro Niche Finder uses Internet Explorer as its rendering engine. Unfortunately, we have discovered compatibility problems with the new Internet Explorer 8 Betas. We cannot provide additional support for IE8 Betas. If you are running IE8, the only solution is to uninstall the IE8 Beta and revert to Internet Explorer 7.

(do you really want to be an unpaid beta tester for Microsoft? :)

James

Switch Micro Niche Finder to a Different Computer

When you purchase Micro Niche Finder you will be given two licenses. This gives you the right to install Micro Niche Finder on two computers as long as the software is for use by you or a member of your immediate family.

If you ever need to switch computers on which Micro Niche Finder is installed you can do so at this link:

http://www.micronichetool.com/userlookup/form.php?whichForm=license

Please note: you can only have Micro Niche Finder installed on two computers at a time unless you have purchased more licenses.

James

Reinstall Micro Niche Finder

If you ever need to reinstall Micro Niche Finder simply go to the following page and enter your receipt number:

http://www.micronichetool.com/mnfdownload589/

If you have forgotten your receipt number you can retrieve it from this link:

http://www.micronichetool.com/userlookup/form.php?whichForm=email

James

Micro Niche Finder Minor Patch Released

We just released a minor patch that fixes an issue with people who had changed their data paths. Even if you haven't changed your data path please download and install the new update. There are a couple of other minor patches in this release.

The latest release is 3.0.10

You can download by clicking the Downloads button from within Micro Niche Finder. This will take you to the download page. Then click on the link that reads:

micronichesetup.exe

Download this file CLOSE Micro Niche Finder and install the update. Make sure you close Micro Niche Finder before you try to install or you'll get a file access denied error.

James

Micro Niche Finder 3.0.9 Released Today!

This is an interim release to fix the Search Count problem that some people have had. We are now using Google search counts instead of Word Tracker.

If you have a problem updating simply click the "Downloads" button within Micro Niche Finder and that will open a browser window to the download area. Download the full install from there -- DO NOT UNINSTALL. Rejust reinstall the full install and you will NOT lose any saved searches.

James

Search Counts not Working for Some Users

There appears to be a problem with Word Trackers site (this is the site Micro Niche Finder retrieves search counts from) that is cause Micro Niche Finder to not return counts. This is only affecting a small group of users. We are working to try to figure out why this is happening. However, it's not a Micro Niche Finder issue. It seems to be an issue with how the the user's internet service provider is connecting to Wordtracker. As such, any tool that accesses Word Tracker will also not work. To confirm you are having this is the problem you are having try connectinig directly to wordtrackers keyword tool at: http://freekeywords.wordtracker.com/

James

Ad Costs Not Working

The Ad Costs link in Micro Niche Finder is current disabled. This is due to changes in Google's External Keyword Tool which is what we use to retrieve Ad Cost numbers. We are working to resolve this. Please be patient.

James

Page Cannot Be Displayed Error

This error sometimes happens when clicking a link (such as the back link) in Micro Niche Finder.

This seems to happen if you click a toolbar or link too quickly before a page has completely loaded.

Here's a quick fix for it:

Click the Search button, and the program will do a search and go to the Results page. Then you can continue whatever you were doing.

Important Note

This blog is for finding solutions to common problems. If your issue is not listed here you need to email support at micronichefinder@gmail.com and let Kevin know exactly what problem you are having.

That being said, I've found that most problems can be solved with a software update. Click the "Check for Program Updates" link on the main screen and install the latest version.

Once again, if you still experience issues you can email Kevin at micronichefinder@gmail.com

James

Search Locks up and shows No Searches

This is usually a Vista related issue. This is a very common issue in Vista if the power goes out, or if the user uses Ctrl+Alt+Del to kill a program.

The solution is to delete your Micro Niche Finder data files. That means you'll lose all your past searches but it's the only thing that will fix it.

Do a windows search and find the following files and delete them all: (there are probably 2 copies of each)

results.dbf
results.cdx
searches.dbf
searches.cdx

I recommend you try deleting just the results.dbf and results.cdx first and try to run Micro Niche Finder. That may fix the issues and then you'll still have your old search data but if not you'll have to delete searches.dbf and .cdx as well.

Of course this is going to happen again if the power goes out. So I recommend you back up your data files every day (or more often)

I have a video here that shows you how to locate these files:

http://www.micronichetool.com/support/indextag/

Activations Problems

Here are the most common solutions to activation problems:

1) Micro Niche Finder is Licensed to one computer. If you're trying to use the same receipt number on a second computer it won't work. If you'd like to purchase additional licenses please email support at jjonessupport@gmail.com

2) You're entering the receipt wrong. Some receipts have "zeros" that look like "ohs" for example: 7806HGVB -- the third character is a 0 (zero) not an O (oh). Best thing to do is copy and paste the receipt number into the activation box.

3) Firewall issue. If you have a firewall it may be blocking the activation. Try turning off the firewall temporaily then trying to activate again. When you turn the firewall back on be sure to allow Micro Niche Finder access.

4) Try reseting your receipt. You can do this by clicking the "Click here to reset your receipt number and activation status" link on the main screen.

5) If you still have problems email support. Be sure to include your receipt number when you email support.

Micro Niche Finder Version 2.1.8 Released

We've just released a minor update to Micro Niche Finder that fixes a few issues and completes the server move from last week.

Here are the highlights:

1) Added Search Results Icon to Tool Bar. Now you can reach the Search Results screen from any other screen with 1 click! (it's the little thinks in life that make you happy :)

2) Added Support Icon to the tool bar. Currently this links to this Support Blog but we may move that to to FAQ and then link from the FAQ to the Support Blog.

3) Added Download Icon to the tool bar. This will give you quick access to the download page with all the bonuses.

4) Added SOC to the Export Report. This was a bug fix from the prior release.

5) Added Reset Receipt link to the main screen. This was added a couple of versions back but dissappeared in the prior version.

We'll be working on the next major release in the coming weeks. If you have any feature requests get them in now. (just add a comment to this post)

Thanks,

James

Micro Niche Finder Runs in Offline Mode

Problem: When opening Micro Niche Finder it runs in offline mode and will not pull in results.

Solution: This normally happens when your Firewall is blocking access. Try turning off your firewall temporarily and then try running Micro Niche Finder again.

James

Server Update Complete

We have completed the move to a new server. You can check to see which server you are on by clicking this link:

http://www.micronichetool.com/server/

If you're still on the old server try rebooting. However, it can take up to 48 hours for your ISP to update the DNS lookup table.

Thanks for your patience,

James

Micro Niche Finder Outage

We continue to experience some problems with the Micro Niche Finder server. It's basically a bandwidth issue and we are moving to a new dedicated server this week. You will still be able to use Micro Niche Finder during the move but you may experience some intermitent downtime. We are currently rebooting the current server and freeing up resources so we can handle the current load until the new server comes on line. Thanks for your patience.

Update: The server is back online now. We will continue to monitor this.

James

Intermitant Server Problems

We are still experiencing Intermitant Server Issues. Please know that we are working to resolve these problems.

Your patience is appreciated.

James

Micro Niche Finder Server Back On Line

The server is back on line currently however in order to keep this issue from happening again we will be moving to a faster dedicated server. We're going to do this is stages so hopefully you won't see any downtime. But, if you do check this blog for up to date information.

Thanks,

James

Server Outage

We are experiencing some problems with the Micro Niche Finder server which required a reboot. The issue should be resolved within 50 minutes.

Thanks for your patience.

James

The Exact Match Paradox

I get asked this question at least once a day:

"Why do you put so much emphasis on Exact Match numbers? Wouldn't real world results dictate broad phrase match? The average person searching online wouldn't use quotes around their search."

Answer:

Consider the following paragraph...

"I was walking to the bus stop yesterday and a big black dog was following me. So I took off my shoes and threw them at him to scare him away. "

With broad match that paragrah would show up in a search for:
black walking shoes Even though it has nothing to do with black walking shoes.

Now consider a website that has this paragraph:

"We have many different styles of black walking shoes."

That matches the broad match of keywords black and walking and shoes but it also matches the exact phrase of black walking shoes.

Everything else being equal Google will rank the page with the exact match to be more relevant for that particular search and therefore it will be higher in the results list WITHOUT the searcher enclosing the phrase in quotes.

You probably already know how obsessed Google is with showing relevant results? (And it should be! That's what keeps searchers coming back to Google for their search needs) Knowing that which of the following is more relevant to a search for: black walking shoes (no quotes)

1) I was walking to the bus stop yesterday and a big black dog was following me. So I took off my shoes and threw them at him to scare him away.

2) We have many different styles of black walking shoes.

Obviously #2 is more relevant and will get higher priority in the search engine ranking (all else being equal).

Showing Exact Match Counts in Micro Niche Finder is simply an easy way to show how much REAL competition there is for a specific term. It has nothing to do with the searcher using quotes around the phrase.


James

Windows - No Disk Error

About 1% of Micro Niche Finder users are experiencing an error message from Windows that Says "Windows - No Disk Error" then it give you an option to Cancel, Retry or Continue.

We have resolved this problem. You can download the patch from:

http://www.micronichetool.com/update/nodiskpatch.exe

Download and run the software.

Please Note: You DO NOT need to install this update unless you are experiencing this specific problem.

James