Being an IT Manager, I don't often get the opportunity to stretch my creative side at work. Yes, I do the web design for the company as well as things like business cards and some promotional material but that's a rare occurrence, mostly I am doing battle with a server, trying to get stubborn software to work the way the user wants it, dealing with security issues and that kind of stuff. Of course, if it weren't for that "stuff" I wouldn't have a paycheck but I often times myself screaming for a creative outlet.
That's when I color my website orange and blue (ya, I know, I'll be fixing that soon) or buy another domain just to play with a new design or, sometimes, I enter logo design contests.
To be honest, I don't win often. My designs are too complex for the web 2.0 crowd and most times, too realistic I think. People want simple and while I'm out jogging my creativity around the web I can't restrain myself - but I have fun, and invariably learn something along the way.
However, I did recently win a logo contest - apparently it was one of the rare occasions that the contest holder was of a similar thinker, and then went on to do the web design as well. The upside is that I get credited for the design on the site - the downside is that the owner has taken over and, well, quite honestly is making a mess! (I hope he's not reading!)
So, what do you do when you've done a design, handed it over and the owner starts using very large type in a decorative font, or only uses the design for part of the site? The way the content appears on the page is equally important as the design itself and can ruin the look of a page if it's not done well.
There really isn't much you can do.... but I think in this case I might go and change my credit to "Logo by Kaediem" because at least that still looks good.
You can see that logo and others on my Logo Design Portfolio page
In order to announce your presence to the web and start to build your site's popularity, the single most important SEO strategy is building links to your site.
This can be accomplished in a number of ways;
Natural link building is what the search engines like. People see your site and like it or want to reference it because it's related to their site and they link to you voluntarily and in most cases, without even telling you. When you have great original content this happens frequently.
The problem is, how do other webmasters get to see your site? Most would find it in search engines but if you don't have any links to you, it's hard to get found in the searches so it creates a catch 22 situation.
Search engines don't like manipulated engine optimization like link trades and purchases but webmasters don't build sites so that no one will visit so most will resort to some form of manipulated backlinking strategy.
If you are going to go that route then one way to get reasonably good links is to look for directory with a good Page Rank Score with Google or a word cloud site such as Whos4you.com that offers very reasonable placement on a PR5 site. Your site is shown on the front page in an order based on your bid for the placement. But, even once your site has drifted off the front page, it's still visible on the past links page providing you a permanent backlink. A lot of bang for a little buck.
I dabble in SEO. That is to say that I do my own SEO for my own websites. It's hard. I entered an SEO contest earlier this year figuring if I finished in the top 10, it would be a good advertisement for my SEO services. Well, I finished 4th after spending 3 months in the top 3, pretty darned good for an novice SEO dabbler, but it taught me a lot. I know what good SEO is and I know what to look for and I know that I don't want to do it - at least not full time. I much prefer to stick to my web design and logos. So now I give out a little free advice now and again, help people once and a while when the spirit moves me but SEO is nit picky, it's stressful, and it's time consuming - I have to admire anyone who has the stamina to take it on.
Someone who has that stamina is JP Richards who owns and runs Toronto SEO Company. I recently met JP and asked him about his SEO evaluation offer.
JP offers a free SEO site evaluation. That in itself attracted my interest. SEO evaluation isn't an easy process so I wondered how complete this analysis actually was. Have a question - ask. I asked JP what kind of information was included in his evaluation and this is what I learned;
For your hard earned nothing (read free) you get...
The SEO evaluation I read was complete, nothing left to the imagination, no stone left unturned. JP Richards is a Google™ Qualified Adwords Professional & Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Consultant and it shows.
If you're looking for a SEO service, I'd recommend contacting JP, visiting his SEO Company and looking into his services. If nothing else, do the site evaluation - I guarantee that once you see it, you'll be impressed.
Not all web directories are created equal. In fact, with free directory software available, they are almost a dime a dozen.
Submitting to directories can be time consuming and can nibble away at your wallet at the same time so, do your research and save your time and energy by submitting to directories that are in for the long haul and are self improving.
CBravo Directory gives a great list of reasons why you should submit to this seo friendly directory and they are good guidelines to follow when looking for directories to list your site.
CBravo boasts a great life line (they've been around for a year and a half), they tell you about their backlinks, their on site optimization (including sitemap submission to yahoo and google) among other reasons you should submit your site to CBravo.
CBravo is reasonably priced and your listing will benefit from their on site SEO. Definitely a web directory worth a look
Recently I've seen a couple of articles on the relationship between the location of your web host and how well you rank on certain locale specific search engines.
For instance, if you are a Canadian company looking to sell your product in Canada, you might do well to have your site hosted with a Canadian hosting company. It appears that search engines such as google.ca use the location of the server to indicate relevance on their searches.
Recently I entered an SEO contest and did quite well, spending most of the contest in the top 3 in google.com. However, even though I am a Canadian, and I mentioned the location and even did a blog entry on my contest site about being Canadian, I did not rank in the top 10 on google.ca presumably because of my choice of web hosts.
Canada web hosting can be hard to find though and often times even though you find a Canadian company offering hosting with servers in Canada, you are still billed in U.S. funds and the rates are not terribly reasonable.
I located PrimeHost.ca and found that they not only bill in Canadian funds, accept various payment methods, and have online ordering, their rates are reasonable as well.
Definitely worth a mention.
Dragtimes.com is an automotive drag racing resource that maintains a database consisting of over 9,300 1/4 mile drag racing timeslips for fast cars and fast motorcycles. A horsepower calculator is offered to provide horsepower estimates that are calculated from the car’s trap speed, 1/4 mile ET and weight in pounds. Many records also contain dyno graphs that show horsepower and torque numbers for many of the fast cars as well as all performance related modifications to the vehicle.
Every month one of the drag racing submissions is featured on the main page of DragTimes.com as an outcome of users voting for their preferred fast cars. There are pictures, quarter mile times and drag racing videos for many of the submissions that can be searched through by car make and model. Since all records are reviewed to uphold the website’s integrity, DragTimes.com serves as a superb resource to research what other fast cars are running around corner or across the world.
The following is a hydroponics and grow lights introduction covering the basics of the systems and methods commonly used for growing plants using hydroponics based systems. Our hope is to give you enough information to get you started with evaluating the different systems and with choosing the right one for you.
Hydroponics systems include: Nutrient Film Technique (NFT); Drip (or Top) Watering; Aeroponic; Cloning; and Ebb & Flow (flood & drain) methods. Fundamentally, all systems feature a reservoir and some type of container for the plant(s) to grow in, such as pots, trays, etc. What separates them is how the nutrient mixture is delivered to the roots.
Media-based systems use some form of growing media or plant nutrients, which provide support for the roots. There is a greater selection of media-based systems to choose from to accommodate diverse plants and plant sizes. Water culture systems can be used either with or without growing media. These systems, however, require regular attention since growth rates are high. Abundant and high-quality fresh water and electricity must be readily available. Also, rapidly growing plants need to be maintained. Vines call for trellising and fruit and flowers must be harvested in a timely manner. Some common water culture systems are raft nutrient film practice and aeroponics.
There are three primary grow lights choices; Metal Halide, High Pressure Sodium (HPS), and fluorescent. Fluorescent grow lights gives off little heat, lower light output and are primarily used to start seedlings and cuttings. New T8 and T5 higher output systems are now offered that produce enough lumens to grow various plants to maturity. Metal Halide grow lights are green/blue/violet-oriented in the spectrum depending upon the Kelvin temperature, and is the superlative light when natural light is not available and particularly during the vegetative growth stages. High Pressure Sodium grow lights are red/orange-oriented in the spectrum and the superlative lamp for secondary or supplemental lighting and promotes budding, flowering and fruiting.
Starting and improving an online business is not easy without some basic knowledge of how the internet works. Trying to understand what it is that makes one site rank higher than another in the search engine results, and how you can do as well as your competitors, are the constant challenges for a webmaster.
At what is SEO?, the blog at the bigtangle.com free directory, you will find answers to many of the questions that a newcomer to the business faces, in clear and easy to follow language.
From link development to starting your own blog, and from search engine rankings to free directories submissions, there is all the information you need to get up and running as quickly and successfully as possible on the internet.
There are also links to many of the more useful tools that you can use to assess your competitors; lists of free directories; and other indispensable tools that can literally make the difference between success and failure for your online business.
Personally I'm a warm beach and sunshine type of girl, the thought of snow and all that winter has to offer just motivates me to throw another log on the fire and snuggle up to a good book and a cup of tea but I wavered a little tonight when I saw the beautiful pictures of Breckenridge Colorado.
I was introduced to the Keystone Real Estate site as a sample of a really nicely done web site but once I was there, I couldn't help wandering around and looking at the sights.
Reading about the mountains and the views, I was almost ready to give up my bikini for skis and slopes, but then I remembered that I can't ski. But I'm sure they have fire places and tea in Breckenridge.
It's a nicely done website. I'm always partial to black backgrounds - very dramatic and makes the photographs on the site pop with the contrast so If you're looking for a good nice example of a site with a touch of drama and elegance, check out http://www.luckymountainhome.com/
One common SEO step is to submit your site to directories.
There are a multitude of directories on the web. Many directories are free, more often than not, a free listing requires a reciprocal link back to the directory. Some directories charge a one time fee for a permanent listing, others charge a monthly fee or a slightly higher fee for a featured listing.
What I see emerging is a presence of niche directories. These directories either have a theme, such as web designer directories or adult link directory. Some have an extra purpose such as one that I found, the Biz-Giant Link Exchange Directory, which offers their subscribers a link exchange service with a subscription.
I'm seeing a lot of directories show the page rank of the listed site beside the listing or a thumbnail view of the site along with the listing or even both. I like the thumbnail feature, it gives you a bit of a preview of what you're going to see if and when you click on the link. However, in most cases, the picture is a little small to be of any great value.
A couple of directories that I've found, and like are;
The Sleek Directory http://www.sleekdirectory.com/: A listing in this directory gives you more than your standard amount of information. Featured links and top hits give you the thumbnail image, regular listings show the page rank of the site but more than that, you can "read more" on any listing and find the number of hits the site has received as well as the alexa rank of the site.
Biz King Directory http://www.biz-king.com/: This directory is clean and simple and has the same features as the above Sleek Directory.
No matter what directories you choose to submit to, you want to pick ones like these that are either focused on your niche or give high exposure to your site.
Diet. Weight loss. Uggg.
If you've ever attempted to find information on a diet pill or product by searching the web then you know how many advertisements you need to filter through before you find something that's objective.
I when I searched for a lipo 6 review I was happy to find http://www.viruz.com/my-second-lipo-6-review/. The author is a real person that is using the product and is giving an objective review with both pros and cons on lipo 6.
I still haven't decided if it's the right product for me but since the review was so well written I thought it deserved a mention.
Have you ever been interested in Patents? Maybe you have invented some software or an application and need to start the patent process to protect your interest. Or, maybe you're just curious to find out who invented that gizmo that you use at work.
Personally, I was interested in my boss and the products we manufacture at work so I went to Patent Genius and checked out my bosses last name in "browse by inventor" and found all of our products and when they were patented and then went on to view the whole patent document.
But aside from just satisfying the curiosity itch, you can research the Patent Application Process and find other valuable information required to start your patent journey.
Have you ever been purchasing something online and when it comes time to check out you see a little box that says to enter the coupon code? Problem is, you don't have a coupon but the existence of the box lets you know there is one out there... somewhere.
I've done that and then searched for "? coupons" (? = company name) and found a lot of useless or outdated information but no more. I recently found a great place to find my coupons. http://www.yougotdeals.com/coupons/ has several ways to find the coupon you're looking for. The dropdown box gives you a list of all the merchants available so I checked for godaddy coupons (my most required coupon) and found a pile of different Godaddy codes complete with expiry dates. Great Resource!
SEO Contests vs Day to Day SEO
By Lisa Campbell
Search engine optimization or SEO as it is widely known as to those in the internet marketing business, is the art of making a web site attractive to search engines. The result of having a site that is attractive to search engines is having the web site rank well for a given key word or key phrase.
In an SEO Contest, the execution of the art becomes slightly skewed. For instance, the first rule of SEO should be to build your site for the people and not for the search engines. However, the contest environment is vastly different. For one thing, SEO Contests are short lived. You are aiming for short term results quickly, the tactics you might use could end up getting you penalized by engines such as Google in the long term but can be beneficial for a contest lasting only a few months.
One such tactic is keyword stuffing. For instance, in the ambatchdotcom seocontest the top 3 contestants average keyword density is 50% of the title, 3% of the body, 8% in H tags, 15% in links. On the other hand, the top ranking site in Google for the key phrase "SEO Strategy" has 0% in the title, .2% in the body, 0% in H tags and 2.3% in links.
Clearly keyword density does not matter much in the long run but to achieve quick results, it is one of the tactics used in contests.
Obtaining links from other websites (backlinks) is THE first line tactic used to rank your website high in the search results. Typically one would attempt to obtain links from related web sites using a variety of anchor texts with target keywords. It is also desirable to "deep link" to internal pages and not just links to your main page.
In an SEO contest, participants are more likely to stick to using only the target keyphrase for their anchor text and they are also more likely to link solely to the main page of the site as well. In the long term, sites with better and more varied backlinks would quickly over take these contest sites in the search engine results.
Finally, in the backlink equation is relevancy. It's not very difficult in normal circumstances to find a site that is related to your target keyword. If your content is valuable, over time you will obtain organic links, that is, other webmasters will voluntarily link to your site as a resource. You can also trade links with sites sharing your theme and even buy links on related sites. In an SEO contest, finding a related site is difficult because the keyword or key phrase doesn't typically exist therefore relevancy is non existent.
So in SEO contests it becomes a matter of quantity and quality rather than relevance of the links. Participants in the ambatchdotcom seocontest have backlinks from every imaginable type of site and as long as Google doesn't catch up with the contest, and make it's determination of what is relevant, it's likely that relevancy wont be an issue.
In conclusion, while the same strategies exist for day to day SEO and SEO contests, some strategies weigh more heavily and that is due to the duration of the contest. Web sites should be built for people first and then fine tuned for search engines. Webmasters must never loose sight of this all important fact. The bottom line is that no matter how high your site ranks in the search engine results, if it doesn't attract a visitor and does not contain content worth reading then your visitors will not stay and they will not return. That is real world SEO.
Everything I know I owe to webmaster forums. Ok, well, maybe not everything but certainly my knowledge of SEO, Google and Website Marketing comes from information obtained from the members of webmaster forums
That's either a really great compliment or a joke but I think it's a compliment.
I was recently introduced to a "new to me" webmaster forum called Web Talk Forums - Webmaster Forum - The Internet Resource for Webmasters at http://www.webtalkforums.net . I just joined the community today but already I'm impressed.
I checked out my favorite topics, The Google Forum and The Search Engine Optimization Forum and within reading a couple of posts, found that I had learned something new!
Web Talk Forums is a little smaller than the one I usually frequent but it has the most important of the topics;
Search Engine Optimization, Google, Yahoo, MSN, Directories, Marketing, Blogging Discussion Forum, Web Design and Content, Programming, Domain Names, Web Hosting, Web Site Reviews and a Market Place. Of course there are the standard introductions forum, general chat and announcements as well.
The site is easy to navigate, pleasant to look at (an eye pleasing design), and has a cool "I spy" feature that lets you watch posts as they are being posted - it's like being everywhere at once.
Webmaster forums are an amazing resource of information on anything and everything to do with webmasters and SEO and an invaluable resource to learn about search engines, marketing, blogging... you name it, if it has anything to do with websites, you'll find information on a webmaster forum - and if it's not there, just ask - someone from the community will give you an answer.
One thing though, on a side note, I would like to take a shot at the logo, but that’s just me and obviously has no relevance to the usability of the forum.
I think though that the best part about this forum and what will keep me visiting is that I'm impressed with the knowledgebase and overall attitude of the community members.
So often you visit one of these webmaster forums and newbie posters are treated like the bottom of the food chain but on this webmaster forum, I saw beginner questions being answered with respect and helpful information. Very refreshing!
I definitely plan to become a regular at this webmaster forum. Look for me on the SEO and Google Forums.