A few days ago a local TV news story talked about a new "search engine" called Wolfram Alpha which some people have claimed to be a "Google killer." Really?? Could it be that Google, the Goliath of search engine world, has finally met a true rival? In curiosity, I visited Wolfram Alpha and gave it a few runs on search terms, only to be disappointed. Entering terms such as "how to drive a car", "chicken tikka masala" and even my fave -- "American Idol" -- all churned out the same result: "Wolfram|Alpha isn't sure what to do with your input." Hmm...let's try that again with "How to defeat Google" and we get the same result: "Wolfram|Alpha isn't sure what to do with your input."
However, if you enter simple definition-like terms such as "Honolulu", you immediately get information about the term such as population, weather, and geographic location without having to search through a litany of links for an exact explanation of the capital of Hawaii. Try entering in "July 4, 2009" and you get this information about how many months and days away it is, as well as predicted sunrise and sunset and the fact that it's Independence Day.
It's safe to say that if you are looking for an exact or even computed answer to a single item, Wolfram Alpha may be your direct link to an answer without having to click a link. I'd hardly call it a "Google killer" at this stage. However, if Wolfram Alpha could eventually provide precise answers to search phrases or even questions the way the ask.com search engine attempted to do years ago, Wolfram Alpha may eventually be the Achilles heel that Google must watch out for.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Thursday, April 30, 2009
CDC Backs Coverage of Swine Flu by Social Media
In addition to news stories, social media websites have become valuable tools for rapid spread of news information. According to CNN, the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) is glad for the amount of healthy conversation and news dissemination like Facebook and Twitter regarding the swine flu outbreak.
It seems every time I turn on the tv news this week, the swine flu and the latest cases cropping up all around California and the U.S. make the headlines. Not to diminish the magnitude of the flu contagion (and let's remember that all strains of flu take tens of thousands of lives each year in the U.S.), but sometimes IMHO news sensationalism is a pestilence in itself, only aggravating the mental and emotional states of readers and viewers.
This is where social media now seems to play a health counterbalance when intaking news stories. Whether or not online conversation further fuels the fire, interestingly I've noticed the opposite approach by news agencies over the swine flu. I've noticed people online are expressing discontent with the increasing number of stories about a disease that is treatable, but news stations and media seem to be driving more fear into viewers' minds.
Whereas it used to be that people absorbed what they saw or heard on news and then discussed it offline at their next meeting at work, over lunch or by phone, having healthy discussions with other people in rapid time such as social media can help add much needed perspective and education to a conversation.
How have you used social media to add discussion or perspective to hot news topics?
It seems every time I turn on the tv news this week, the swine flu and the latest cases cropping up all around California and the U.S. make the headlines. Not to diminish the magnitude of the flu contagion (and let's remember that all strains of flu take tens of thousands of lives each year in the U.S.), but sometimes IMHO news sensationalism is a pestilence in itself, only aggravating the mental and emotional states of readers and viewers.
This is where social media now seems to play a health counterbalance when intaking news stories. Whether or not online conversation further fuels the fire, interestingly I've noticed the opposite approach by news agencies over the swine flu. I've noticed people online are expressing discontent with the increasing number of stories about a disease that is treatable, but news stations and media seem to be driving more fear into viewers' minds.
Whereas it used to be that people absorbed what they saw or heard on news and then discussed it offline at their next meeting at work, over lunch or by phone, having healthy discussions with other people in rapid time such as social media can help add much needed perspective and education to a conversation.
How have you used social media to add discussion or perspective to hot news topics?
Friday, March 27, 2009
Five Tips for Increasing your Website's Visibility
Are you having trouble getting readers to visit your website for your organization or business? Perhaps the problem isn't as much with your site as whether or not readers can find it. Below are today's five tips for increasing your website's visibility so that visitors or clients can find you.
Tip #1: Social Networking
The Internet has truly made stronger connections between people, and with the advent of social networks like Facebook and MySpace, that connection has become even tighter. According to a recent Nielsen Online report, social networks are the top destination of online users globally and the spectrum of people signing up for social networks spans the gamut from youth to baby boomers. People enjoy connecting with each other online when they don't see each other offline during their busy daily lives.
So, now is the time to get your organization and business on it. Aside from the fact that joining any of those networks is free, the number of people audience online that you can reach (even people you may not even have yet heard about the benefits of your organization or service) is too great to pass up. I myself have over 400+ connections alone on my social networks who, at any given time, I can inform about the latest and greatest going on with me and my work. That means that if someone is busy with a new project and suddenly thinks of needing a web designer, the first thought may likely be "hey, I know someone who does websites" and voila, instant phone call!
Remember that you don't have to post everything about your organization or business on a social network because social networks act like 'open books' on the Web. Just sharing enough to create a 'buzz' and then funneling that buzz using a link to your website is good enough.
Tip #2: It's Time to Blog
Everyone has a voice that wants to be heard -- not just from the individual but also by their audience -- and every organization or business has some expertise in their own areas to share with readers. A web log (or "blog" for short) is an easy way to share your knowledge or expertise online with readers and increase your audience (both current and new) for your website.
Some websites already have built-in blogs, but if you don't already have a blog for your website, you can sign up for one for free at Blogger or Wordpress (two of the most popular blog services).
How much should you blog? Usually having 3/4 of a page is optimal, but I would suggest 3 paragraphs at a minimum. And for those who are short on time, I recommend just a half-hour out of your entire week to blog to start. Case in point: I currently have a client who started blogging and got higher search engine rankings as part of his efforts to increase his audience.
The fact is that, behind social networks, blogs are the #2 favorite destination of online readers today. So make that trip to enter the "blogosphere".
Tip #3: Search Engine Rankings
If you rely on visitors finding you from major search engines like Google or Yahoo and you've seen a drop from that route, perhaps it's time to see where you are currently in the search engine rankings. Was your website once on page 2 but now on page 5? Does your website even show up in the first 3 pages of your favorite search engine? To find out what page your website shows up on in Google, here's a free tool you can visit.
Knowing someone experienced in search engine optimization (maybe someone you know personally as you read this entry?) is important if you want bring readers to your website and boost your search engine rankings. My honest opinion is that many clients pay far too much for search engine marketing when a professional with a good amount of similar experience and armed with the basic knowledge can do the same job.
As an example, I once had two clients who looked at having a big company boost their rankings in a major search engine. The first client decided to use the company while the second client (on a tigher budget) gave me the opportunity. In the end, my 2nd client wound up higher than the first client for a fraction of the cost.
Does it take magic? Despite what some companies will have readers think, the answer is no. It's just a matter of knowing the rules when it comes to search engine ranking and optimization. Let's face it: Google and Yahoo were brainchilds of erudite Stanford University graduates and if a marketer tells you they have a secret, proprietary formula for getting you on page one and outsmarting these Stanford grads, well...
Now, for some free tips on how to increase your search engine rankings without magic, see my previous entry "Five Tips for Better Search Engine Rankings".
Tip #4: Consider Video
In January, the immensely popular video website YouTube eclipsed 100 million U.S. visitors per month. This merely demonstrates the attraction that video has these days on readers. Even the President understands this clearly when he delivers his presidential addresses and State of the Union online. Thus, people like to spend time on websites containing video.
Video also allows a personal face on your organization and a personable touch, and anyone can do it easily with a web camera and free services like YouTube and Blip.tv. However, if you are planning on video for a business, I would recommend using a professional video camera or digital camera in a room with proper lighting and sound. (It's not as professional if you're talking about your $10,000 platinum stapler from your bedroom where everyone can see your bedspread, wall art and furniture.)
Tip #5: Email Marketing
The phrase 'out of sight, out of mind' still rings true. When you have services or products to offer, consider abandoning the personal text email for a more professional-looking email newsletter. Many businesses, from small photo studios to big box stores like Target, use email marketing and some even use such newsletters to send out coupons and discounts.
I usually recommend organizations sending newsletters at least once per month to stay in the minds of their readers or clients. And when you write an email newsletter, write just enough to entice ("tease") your readers and then provide a link back to your website for the full story.
So there you have it, five ways to increase the power of your website in reaching new readers and clients on a small budget. Have I missed anything? Let me know!
----
(c) 2009, Design ForSite. Everyone knows a copy cat is bad taste, so enjoy the above and please don't cut and paste. Posts may not be copied, published, retransmitted, rewritten, or publicly performed without express written permission of the author.
Tip #1: Social Networking
The Internet has truly made stronger connections between people, and with the advent of social networks like Facebook and MySpace, that connection has become even tighter. According to a recent Nielsen Online report, social networks are the top destination of online users globally and the spectrum of people signing up for social networks spans the gamut from youth to baby boomers. People enjoy connecting with each other online when they don't see each other offline during their busy daily lives.
So, now is the time to get your organization and business on it. Aside from the fact that joining any of those networks is free, the number of people audience online that you can reach (even people you may not even have yet heard about the benefits of your organization or service) is too great to pass up. I myself have over 400+ connections alone on my social networks who, at any given time, I can inform about the latest and greatest going on with me and my work. That means that if someone is busy with a new project and suddenly thinks of needing a web designer, the first thought may likely be "hey, I know someone who does websites" and voila, instant phone call!
Remember that you don't have to post everything about your organization or business on a social network because social networks act like 'open books' on the Web. Just sharing enough to create a 'buzz' and then funneling that buzz using a link to your website is good enough.
Tip #2: It's Time to Blog
Everyone has a voice that wants to be heard -- not just from the individual but also by their audience -- and every organization or business has some expertise in their own areas to share with readers. A web log (or "blog" for short) is an easy way to share your knowledge or expertise online with readers and increase your audience (both current and new) for your website.
Some websites already have built-in blogs, but if you don't already have a blog for your website, you can sign up for one for free at Blogger or Wordpress (two of the most popular blog services).
How much should you blog? Usually having 3/4 of a page is optimal, but I would suggest 3 paragraphs at a minimum. And for those who are short on time, I recommend just a half-hour out of your entire week to blog to start. Case in point: I currently have a client who started blogging and got higher search engine rankings as part of his efforts to increase his audience.
The fact is that, behind social networks, blogs are the #2 favorite destination of online readers today. So make that trip to enter the "blogosphere".
Tip #3: Search Engine Rankings
If you rely on visitors finding you from major search engines like Google or Yahoo and you've seen a drop from that route, perhaps it's time to see where you are currently in the search engine rankings. Was your website once on page 2 but now on page 5? Does your website even show up in the first 3 pages of your favorite search engine? To find out what page your website shows up on in Google, here's a free tool you can visit.
Knowing someone experienced in search engine optimization (maybe someone you know personally as you read this entry?) is important if you want bring readers to your website and boost your search engine rankings. My honest opinion is that many clients pay far too much for search engine marketing when a professional with a good amount of similar experience and armed with the basic knowledge can do the same job.
As an example, I once had two clients who looked at having a big company boost their rankings in a major search engine. The first client decided to use the company while the second client (on a tigher budget) gave me the opportunity. In the end, my 2nd client wound up higher than the first client for a fraction of the cost.
Does it take magic? Despite what some companies will have readers think, the answer is no. It's just a matter of knowing the rules when it comes to search engine ranking and optimization. Let's face it: Google and Yahoo were brainchilds of erudite Stanford University graduates and if a marketer tells you they have a secret, proprietary formula for getting you on page one and outsmarting these Stanford grads, well...
Now, for some free tips on how to increase your search engine rankings without magic, see my previous entry "Five Tips for Better Search Engine Rankings".
Tip #4: Consider Video
In January, the immensely popular video website YouTube eclipsed 100 million U.S. visitors per month. This merely demonstrates the attraction that video has these days on readers. Even the President understands this clearly when he delivers his presidential addresses and State of the Union online. Thus, people like to spend time on websites containing video.
Video also allows a personal face on your organization and a personable touch, and anyone can do it easily with a web camera and free services like YouTube and Blip.tv. However, if you are planning on video for a business, I would recommend using a professional video camera or digital camera in a room with proper lighting and sound. (It's not as professional if you're talking about your $10,000 platinum stapler from your bedroom where everyone can see your bedspread, wall art and furniture.)
Tip #5: Email Marketing
The phrase 'out of sight, out of mind' still rings true. When you have services or products to offer, consider abandoning the personal text email for a more professional-looking email newsletter. Many businesses, from small photo studios to big box stores like Target, use email marketing and some even use such newsletters to send out coupons and discounts.
I usually recommend organizations sending newsletters at least once per month to stay in the minds of their readers or clients. And when you write an email newsletter, write just enough to entice ("tease") your readers and then provide a link back to your website for the full story.
So there you have it, five ways to increase the power of your website in reaching new readers and clients on a small budget. Have I missed anything? Let me know!
----
(c) 2009, Design ForSite. Everyone knows a copy cat is bad taste, so enjoy the above and please don't cut and paste. Posts may not be copied, published, retransmitted, rewritten, or publicly performed without express written permission of the author.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Web News: See More of London from your Bedroom
View Larger Map
If you've been denying yourself that vacation trip to the UK, you can now take a virtual trip down the streets of London with the launch of Google's "street view" service for the United Kingdom yesterday. The free controversial service lets you view panoramic images at street level of locations in the U.S. and several other countries. Now in the UK, you can see what's things look like as if you were taking a stroll down a road in London, Belfast, Liverpool, Aberdeen, Manchester, or 20 other UK cities.
It's free, fun, and you can do it even in your pajamas!
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Web News: Microsoft IE 8 is Now Available for Download
Though the web browser market is meeting increasing competition by Firefox and Safari, Microsoft has unveiled version 8 of its still dominant Internet Explorer web browser. IE 8 is now available for download from the Microsoft website, and is available for both Windows Vista and Windows XP.
Some of the newest features of IE 8 include:
For historical insight, the majority of my web design experience (12 years), I've been primarily a Mozilla (platform that eventually led to Netscape, Firefox, and Safari) fan. However, I have to give kudos to IE for stepping up the security game in current times when identity theft, Internet worms and viruses, and malicious software ("malware") are becoming rampant threats online. A recent study shows that 91% of online U.S. adult users are concerned about identity theft and fraud and that 37% of users are afraid of providing their private information when shopping online.
Haven't heard any problems with or much love for the new IE 8 yet, but we'll keep you posted!
Some of the newest features of IE 8 include:
- Toolbar button which lets you view websites originally designed for older browsers (is this a sign Microsoft may phase out IE 6?)
- Real-time search views of Amazon.com, NY Times and Wikipedia,
- Task shortcuts (called "accelerators") which speed up common tasks like mapping with Live Maps
- New security features against deceptive and malicious websites that block 2-4 times more malware websites than other browsers
- Page load times faster than other top browsers on 50% of top comScore websites
For historical insight, the majority of my web design experience (12 years), I've been primarily a Mozilla (platform that eventually led to Netscape, Firefox, and Safari) fan. However, I have to give kudos to IE for stepping up the security game in current times when identity theft, Internet worms and viruses, and malicious software ("malware") are becoming rampant threats online. A recent study shows that 91% of online U.S. adult users are concerned about identity theft and fraud and that 37% of users are afraid of providing their private information when shopping online.
Haven't heard any problems with or much love for the new IE 8 yet, but we'll keep you posted!
Friday, March 13, 2009
Social Networking More Popular than E-Mail
If you feel that you're spending way too much time on online social network sites like Facebook and MySpace, you can breathe a sigh of relief at your online addiction as you are not alone!
Social networking and blogging now account for almost 10% of the time spent online globally -- more than time spent sending emails and more than time spent searching online, visiting software sites, and reading general interest sites, according to Nielsen Online. Nielsen Online's study reveals that one in every 11 minutes in spent in online social networking sites, and in the past year the reach of online networking sites has grown more than 5 percent.
In the case of Facebook -- the worlds current leading social networking site -- members spent 20.5 billion minutes on it between 2007 and 2008, up 566 percent from the previous year. Facebook now has 108.3 million unique visitors, with its biggest growth coming from 35-49 year old visitors.
And there are significant preferences of social networking websites depending where you are in the world. Many European countries like Australia, Spain, France, Italy and the U.K. favor Facebook. In Brazil, where social networking is at its global max with 80% of users doing it, social networking site Orkut takes the top spot. And in the U.S., MySpace is still the favorite.
Social networking and blogging now account for almost 10% of the time spent online globally -- more than time spent sending emails and more than time spent searching online, visiting software sites, and reading general interest sites, according to Nielsen Online. Nielsen Online's study reveals that one in every 11 minutes in spent in online social networking sites, and in the past year the reach of online networking sites has grown more than 5 percent.
In the case of Facebook -- the worlds current leading social networking site -- members spent 20.5 billion minutes on it between 2007 and 2008, up 566 percent from the previous year. Facebook now has 108.3 million unique visitors, with its biggest growth coming from 35-49 year old visitors.
And there are significant preferences of social networking websites depending where you are in the world. Many European countries like Australia, Spain, France, Italy and the U.K. favor Facebook. In Brazil, where social networking is at its global max with 80% of users doing it, social networking site Orkut takes the top spot. And in the U.S., MySpace is still the favorite.
Facebook Gets a New Face...Again
Yesterday the world's #1 social networking site Facebook got yet another new face lift, redesigning its home page for easier use. It now uses a cleaner, 3-column layout with the sectioning of related items (user statuses, groups joined, events joined, etc.). Sort of reminds me of a blog, with the main content feed front and center and rounded user profile photo icons. Check out what it looks like here!
Face it, we are now in the social networking generation. And Facebook is a great, free way to increase the audience reaching a website for an organization, individual or a business. My San Jose website design firm can help you with understanding the face of social networking like Facebook and MySpace, what a "tweet" is, and how you can YouTube. You can even find us on both Facebook and Twitter by visiting our San Jose website design firm's website.
Face it, we are now in the social networking generation. And Facebook is a great, free way to increase the audience reaching a website for an organization, individual or a business. My San Jose website design firm can help you with understanding the face of social networking like Facebook and MySpace, what a "tweet" is, and how you can YouTube. You can even find us on both Facebook and Twitter by visiting our San Jose website design firm's website.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Web News: Craigslist Gets Sued
Today Craigslist faced heavy turbulence from the Windy City as Cook County sheriff's office filed a federal lawsuit against the online classifieds site for allowing users to prostitute online through its website.
Sheriff Tom Dart accused Craigslist of prostitution by making it extremely easy for users to get and post to its "Erotic Services" section and, in turn, does not remove ads for sex in a timely fashion from the thousands of such ads that continue to pop up.
Dart brought a 19-year old woman to a press conference who he claimed turned to a life of prostitution through Craigslist while searching originally for a modeling job. As a result, he asserted Craigslist had violated laws from the local level all the way up to the federal level and that the "Erotic Services" section of Craigslist must be shut down.
In response, Craigslist spokeswoman Susan Best fiercely disputed Dart's statements, citing stepped up efforts to prevent illegal ads, cooperating with law enforcement, and pulling illegal ads.
Source: http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/20090305/ap_on_hi_te/craigslist_prostitution
Sheriff Tom Dart accused Craigslist of prostitution by making it extremely easy for users to get and post to its "Erotic Services" section and, in turn, does not remove ads for sex in a timely fashion from the thousands of such ads that continue to pop up.
Dart brought a 19-year old woman to a press conference who he claimed turned to a life of prostitution through Craigslist while searching originally for a modeling job. As a result, he asserted Craigslist had violated laws from the local level all the way up to the federal level and that the "Erotic Services" section of Craigslist must be shut down.
In response, Craigslist spokeswoman Susan Best fiercely disputed Dart's statements, citing stepped up efforts to prevent illegal ads, cooperating with law enforcement, and pulling illegal ads.
Source: http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/20090305/ap_on_hi_te/craigslist_prostitution
Web News: "YouTube Sings, Google Disses, Tweets Are Indeed Sweet"
Popular video website YouTube is singing a happy tune, having reached 100 million viewers monthly in January 2009. Owned by search engine giant Google, YouTube is dominating the online video arena and is a hub for social and business users to post free videos online, on personal websites and on social networks like MySpace. Even President Obama has delivered weekly online presidential addresses to Americans via YouTube on the new White House website!
Speaking of Google, founder and CEO Eric Schmidt was at Morgan Stanley Technology Conference in San Francisco on Tuesday where, according to PC World, he called social microblogging website Twitter a "poor man's email." Twitter is fast becoming a popular and useful tool itself where users to leave short messages ("tweets"), letting their friends know about what they are doing. As I posted in a previous blog entry, more people are taking to Twitter, including business -- and even Congress.
Schmidt did go on to clarify that he is happy for the success of Twitter. And who wouldn't be, given its value is worth at least $100 million (as of July 2008) and millions of users continue to sign up. This perhaps explains speculation about Google possibly buying out Twitter as it becomes a faster way to search online for real-time content due to people tweeting.
And you know when you've got a good thing going when social networking giant Facebook is watching closely and matching such visible success by unveiling its own set of new features starting next week, including being able to follow public figures and leave more interesting, real-time status messages.
Lots of improvements and innovations continue to appear on the social media front despite the slow economy. My San Jose website design firm is always here to explain the difference in Web 2.0 technologies on websites and how to successfully use them to connect with web visitors. Whether you're looking to increase the visibility of your website through embedding video, using social bookmarks, learning how to blog or tweet, my San Jose website design firm can help connect people online.
Speaking of Google, founder and CEO Eric Schmidt was at Morgan Stanley Technology Conference in San Francisco on Tuesday where, according to PC World, he called social microblogging website Twitter a "poor man's email." Twitter is fast becoming a popular and useful tool itself where users to leave short messages ("tweets"), letting their friends know about what they are doing. As I posted in a previous blog entry, more people are taking to Twitter, including business -- and even Congress.
Schmidt did go on to clarify that he is happy for the success of Twitter. And who wouldn't be, given its value is worth at least $100 million (as of July 2008) and millions of users continue to sign up. This perhaps explains speculation about Google possibly buying out Twitter as it becomes a faster way to search online for real-time content due to people tweeting.
And you know when you've got a good thing going when social networking giant Facebook is watching closely and matching such visible success by unveiling its own set of new features starting next week, including being able to follow public figures and leave more interesting, real-time status messages.
Lots of improvements and innovations continue to appear on the social media front despite the slow economy. My San Jose website design firm is always here to explain the difference in Web 2.0 technologies on websites and how to successfully use them to connect with web visitors. Whether you're looking to increase the visibility of your website through embedding video, using social bookmarks, learning how to blog or tweet, my San Jose website design firm can help connect people online.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Five Tips for Better Search Engine Rankings
With the downturn in our economy and the proliferation of business, social networking and organizational websites, finding your own website listing in major search engines like Google or Yahoo can prove a daunting task. That bodes especially bad for businesses which rely on new customers find them online.
Today we present "Five Tips for Better Search Engine Rankings" to help you boost your search engine rankings and garner more visitors. We won't guarantee you'll be on page 1 of Google or Yahoo!, but if you put the following tips to practice, you may be pleasantly surprised with where you are listed in weeks!
Search Engine Tip #1: You Must Submit!
For some reason, many website owners believe that once they have a web page up and running that their sites are automatically in the indexing systems of the search engines. Although there are many lesser known search engines that crawl everything automatically (and even the major search engines do to some extent), the big players -- especially Google and Yahoo -- cannot find your website if they don't know it exists. And, in case you didn't know, Google and Yahoo get an astronomical number of requests for indexing websites each day.
So, the first and most important thing you can do for your website's search engine ranking is to make sure you are "in the system". Try finding your website through a Google search or searching Yahoo. And if typing www.yourcompany.com yields no results, that's a telltale sign you need to add your URL to Google or submit your site to Yahoo!
Given the sheer number of requests they deal with, Google and Yahoo usually takes a couple weeks after your submit your URL to start indexing your site and ranking it accordingly. That gives you plenty of tip for the next tip.
Search Engine Tip #2: Keywords are Key
"Keywords" are words or sets of words (also known as "keyword phrases") that describe what your website is about. And they are key for a good reason -- search engines like Yahoo and Google use text-readers to read keywords in the content of web pages and categorize websites accordingly.
For example, let's pretend we have a website for a fictional company selling dog toys (which is probably still a good business, given people still spend a lot of money on their pets). Let's call our business Ruff's Dog Stuff and make fluffy dog-bone toys our flagship item. In this case we would want our web page to contain numerous instances of keywords like "stuffed dog toys" or "stuffed toy bones" in the text and paragraphs of the page.
In my experience, I've come across many websites where the website is selling a particular item or service and yet makes hardly any mention of their key item on their site. Cases like these usually exhibit pages adorned with Flash animations or lots of pictures. Not necessarily that those websites are bad, but if Google or Yahoo can't read what your website is about and categorize your site in its listings, your site will be easy to find as a car with its lights on in thick fog seen at 10 miles away!
Be sure not to go crazy and fill up your pages with keywords as if you were putting up wallpaper, as the major search engines (especially Google) will see this as a possible sign of trying to "spam" their results. I usually recommend 7-13 instances of a keyword on the page. Attempting to flood your page with keywords risks your site ranking lower or even being excluded altogether from results. That's one penalty box a website -- especially a business one -- doesn't want.
Search Engine Tip #3: You Betta META
META tags are HTML code tags that are found "under the hood" (i.e. in the HTML) of a web page to provide search engines important information about a website. In particular two tags important to search engine rankings are important -- keywords and description.
Ah, does the first meta tag sound familiar? Not only should you include keywords in the text of your web page as in the first tip above, you'll also want to list those same keywords in your keywords meta tag. The second meta tag -- description -- describes your website to readers in the text listed below your listing when readers find you in search engines.
Any web designer experienced in search engine marketing will tell you ultimately that keywords have to be included in your website but are not the silver bullet that will rise your site to the top of search engine rankings. Think of meta tags as a "necessary evil", or -- to use a sports analogy -- a ticket to a game where you must buy a ticket to at least play and try to win.
Search Engine Tip #4: What's your Title Say About your Site?
Search engines these days look at the title tag of your web page as an indicator of what your site is about and how to classify your site in the rankings. This is also an important area for keywords.
As an example, take a look at the website for San Jose family lawyer Chau Law. Upon loading the home page, you'll see that the title of the home page says "San Jose family lawyer" -- one of the website's keyword phrases. Not only is the keyword in the content of the page (Tip #1) as well as in the meta tags (Tip #2), it's also in the title.
Now let's take an example of the opposite and too common. If keywords are vital to rankings and a search engine comes across a site titled "Home", how do you think the website will be categorized? If the title of our site for Ruff's Dog Stuff is "Home", what does that mean? Would it be "home" as in a home for dogs? Home for people? Home for sale? E.T. go home? With the inordinate number of websites Google and Yahoo must index each day, you can imagine the arduous challenge they would face in trying to categorize and rank thousands of sites titled "Home"!
So, perhaps contrary to our literary intuitiveness, when it comes to getting your website ranked higher, make sure your page title contains your most important keywords.
Search Engine Tip #5: The Missing Link
Another major factor in getting your site ranked higher is having enough links pointing to your website. In the early days of the web, webmasters applied this principle quite liberally (perhaps too much), linking websites back and forth into a confusing array of connections in an effort to make it easier for readers to find websites. Often websites linked weren't even related to each other, making it difficult to find succinct results.
Search engines like Google and Yahoo eventually became privy to over ambitious webmasters and marketers anxious to make a buck by filtering links according to relevance. So what does this all mean?
It's important to have other websites (still) link to your website and the more the better. However, simply make sure those websites linking to you are related to the subject content of your website. If you're a travel website, make sure you've got links pointing to you from perhaps other travel websites, travel magazine websites, travel agents, etc. In the case of Ruff's Dog Stuff, we'd hope to have links from maybe dog or pet store websites, vets, animal societies, or even personal websites of dog owners.
Today we present "Five Tips for Better Search Engine Rankings" to help you boost your search engine rankings and garner more visitors. We won't guarantee you'll be on page 1 of Google or Yahoo!, but if you put the following tips to practice, you may be pleasantly surprised with where you are listed in weeks!
Search Engine Tip #1: You Must Submit!
For some reason, many website owners believe that once they have a web page up and running that their sites are automatically in the indexing systems of the search engines. Although there are many lesser known search engines that crawl everything automatically (and even the major search engines do to some extent), the big players -- especially Google and Yahoo -- cannot find your website if they don't know it exists. And, in case you didn't know, Google and Yahoo get an astronomical number of requests for indexing websites each day.
So, the first and most important thing you can do for your website's search engine ranking is to make sure you are "in the system". Try finding your website through a Google search or searching Yahoo. And if typing www.yourcompany.com yields no results, that's a telltale sign you need to add your URL to Google or submit your site to Yahoo!
Given the sheer number of requests they deal with, Google and Yahoo usually takes a couple weeks after your submit your URL to start indexing your site and ranking it accordingly. That gives you plenty of tip for the next tip.
Search Engine Tip #2: Keywords are Key
"Keywords" are words or sets of words (also known as "keyword phrases") that describe what your website is about. And they are key for a good reason -- search engines like Yahoo and Google use text-readers to read keywords in the content of web pages and categorize websites accordingly.
For example, let's pretend we have a website for a fictional company selling dog toys (which is probably still a good business, given people still spend a lot of money on their pets). Let's call our business Ruff's Dog Stuff and make fluffy dog-bone toys our flagship item. In this case we would want our web page to contain numerous instances of keywords like "stuffed dog toys" or "stuffed toy bones" in the text and paragraphs of the page.
In my experience, I've come across many websites where the website is selling a particular item or service and yet makes hardly any mention of their key item on their site. Cases like these usually exhibit pages adorned with Flash animations or lots of pictures. Not necessarily that those websites are bad, but if Google or Yahoo can't read what your website is about and categorize your site in its listings, your site will be easy to find as a car with its lights on in thick fog seen at 10 miles away!
Be sure not to go crazy and fill up your pages with keywords as if you were putting up wallpaper, as the major search engines (especially Google) will see this as a possible sign of trying to "spam" their results. I usually recommend 7-13 instances of a keyword on the page. Attempting to flood your page with keywords risks your site ranking lower or even being excluded altogether from results. That's one penalty box a website -- especially a business one -- doesn't want.
Search Engine Tip #3: You Betta META
META tags are HTML code tags that are found "under the hood" (i.e. in the HTML) of a web page to provide search engines important information about a website. In particular two tags important to search engine rankings are important -- keywords and description.
Ah, does the first meta tag sound familiar? Not only should you include keywords in the text of your web page as in the first tip above, you'll also want to list those same keywords in your keywords meta tag. The second meta tag -- description -- describes your website to readers in the text listed below your listing when readers find you in search engines.
Any web designer experienced in search engine marketing will tell you ultimately that keywords have to be included in your website but are not the silver bullet that will rise your site to the top of search engine rankings. Think of meta tags as a "necessary evil", or -- to use a sports analogy -- a ticket to a game where you must buy a ticket to at least play and try to win.
Search Engine Tip #4: What's your Title Say About your Site?
Search engines these days look at the title tag of your web page as an indicator of what your site is about and how to classify your site in the rankings. This is also an important area for keywords.
As an example, take a look at the website for San Jose family lawyer Chau Law. Upon loading the home page, you'll see that the title of the home page says "San Jose family lawyer" -- one of the website's keyword phrases. Not only is the keyword in the content of the page (Tip #1) as well as in the meta tags (Tip #2), it's also in the title.
Now let's take an example of the opposite and too common. If keywords are vital to rankings and a search engine comes across a site titled "Home", how do you think the website will be categorized? If the title of our site for Ruff's Dog Stuff is "Home", what does that mean? Would it be "home" as in a home for dogs? Home for people? Home for sale? E.T. go home? With the inordinate number of websites Google and Yahoo must index each day, you can imagine the arduous challenge they would face in trying to categorize and rank thousands of sites titled "Home"!
So, perhaps contrary to our literary intuitiveness, when it comes to getting your website ranked higher, make sure your page title contains your most important keywords.
Search Engine Tip #5: The Missing Link
Another major factor in getting your site ranked higher is having enough links pointing to your website. In the early days of the web, webmasters applied this principle quite liberally (perhaps too much), linking websites back and forth into a confusing array of connections in an effort to make it easier for readers to find websites. Often websites linked weren't even related to each other, making it difficult to find succinct results.
Search engines like Google and Yahoo eventually became privy to over ambitious webmasters and marketers anxious to make a buck by filtering links according to relevance. So what does this all mean?
It's important to have other websites (still) link to your website and the more the better. However, simply make sure those websites linking to you are related to the subject content of your website. If you're a travel website, make sure you've got links pointing to you from perhaps other travel websites, travel magazine websites, travel agents, etc. In the case of Ruff's Dog Stuff, we'd hope to have links from maybe dog or pet store websites, vets, animal societies, or even personal websites of dog owners.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Twitter -- A Tweet for Congress and You
Many of us remember how the U.S. presidential campaign for President Obama was made successful largely in part to mobilizing supporters through online grass roots effort such as his campaign website (which was a good example of Web 2.0 connectivity and design).
According to a post on the Washington Monthly, many Republicans in Congress have finally embraced technology and are countering Democrats by reaching out to constituents and supporters via Twitter, a free online social messaging service. Twitter lets users leave one-line comments (called "tweets") up to 140 characters discussing what they are currently doing. Users can also connect with others and "follow" others' daily tweets.
In fact, according to a news story yesterday on KCBS, 2/3 of Congressional Republicans are on the Twitter service. The most active "Twitter'er": Texas Republican John Culberson. On the Democratic side, the winner of the most tweets goes to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. And the most followed Twitter user? Former presidential candidate John McCain who admitted having little computer saviness and referring to his vetting process for his running mate as a "Google".
Not only is it an effective tool for informing others of one's daily thoughts, status or political ramblings, but Twitter can also be a highly useful marketing tool for a business. Businesses can tweet about latest deals, upcoming discounts, new product arrivals, etc. and have clients follow them and stay "in the know" for when that good deal comes along. It's a perfect solution to the old adage "out of sight, out of mind". And Twitter connects to other social network sites such as Facebook, letting businesses reach even more audiences.
It's easy, popular and free, so go ahead and try Twitter. I think you'll find it a real "tweet"!
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Website Spotlight : LenderOffender.com
With the flood of home foreclosures -- especially here in California -- many bank-owned homes are going not only unsold but also apparently unmaintained. Dried up grasses, nasty weeds, unsighty trash, and even holiday lights on foreclosed properties are tarnishing beautiful neighborhoods and home-owner mantra and perhaps property values.
To the rescue: LenderOffender.com. This website allows other home owners to report neglected, orphaned bank-owned properties in your area with the goal of not only calling attention to orphaned homes but also to get banks to wake up and do something about them. It's quite a user-friendly website, with easy-to-find items and intuitive icons. The website even ranks the worst offenders (including Fannie Mae).
It's good to see useful websites like the above being put to good use to induce a public "call to action" on things they may not know about in their own cities and neighborhoods. If you have an idea for improving your community and want to use the web to get out the word, my San Jose website design firm can help put your idea into action. Don't neglect your own innovative idea today!
To the rescue: LenderOffender.com. This website allows other home owners to report neglected, orphaned bank-owned properties in your area with the goal of not only calling attention to orphaned homes but also to get banks to wake up and do something about them. It's quite a user-friendly website, with easy-to-find items and intuitive icons. The website even ranks the worst offenders (including Fannie Mae).
It's good to see useful websites like the above being put to good use to induce a public "call to action" on things they may not know about in their own cities and neighborhoods. If you have an idea for improving your community and want to use the web to get out the word, my San Jose website design firm can help put your idea into action. Don't neglect your own innovative idea today!
Facebook Facing the Book from Users
A controversial policy change that purportedly allows Facebook the rights to its users content after users cancel their accounts received fire recently and is now under review.Many users of the online social network site complained about fears of Facebook owning the rights to using their written content and personal photos after canceled their accounts. Facebook in return clarified that if users canceled their accounts, any of their information (such as photos) posted to other users' pages would still remain on those pages until the owners of those pages canceled their own accounts.
A new message at the top of each Facebook user's page now states that Facebook is reverting to its previous user bill of rights while reviewing the new policy. Facebook says a new policy will be released in a few weeks after getting feedback from Facebook users.
Are you feeling 'social network challenged?' Are you a budding entrepreneur thinking about starting your own social networking site? My San Jose website design firm Design ForSite can help you with designing and creating a new social network site that will engage your particular audience while achieving your goals. So what are you waiting for? Get your new idea off the ground today!!
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