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Archive for May, 2009

Types of Links in Link Building

by Bob Stone on May.27, 2009, under Link Building

In link building and search engine optimization, there are basically two different types of links that you’ll commonly be dealing with. There is the reciprocal link, which is basically a trade – you link to someone else’s site, and they link back to you. Alternately, there’s the one-way link, in which you’re receiving a link without having to link back (although that’s not to say that there’s no trade involved!). Which type you are dealing with will vary from situation to situation, and as your site evolves you may lean toward more of one or the other.

Reciprocal links are one of the easier types of links to get, but they are by no means easy to manage. Even once you’ve tracked down a site that is amicable to trading links with you, there are a lot of other hoops to jump through. One of the biggest problems is that a lot of sites just don’t know effective strategies to build link popularity. You may have to go through a lot of back-and-forth to get the link on their site exactly the way you want it. Worse still, some people are unscrupulous and will find ways to ensure that you gain nothing from their links, while they still enjoy the benefits of yours.

One-way links are usually a more powerful tool, but they are also more difficult to get. Part of the problem with reciprocal links is that there’s little quality control. Bad sites can link to other bad sites and they’ll both grow in link popularity, which hurts the general user’s web surfing experience. Many one-way links are posted by people who genuinely enjoy or appreciate a site, so those links are considered more valuable.

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Social Marketing and SEO

by Bob Stone on May.25, 2009, under SEO

It’s human nature to pass important information on by word of mouth. The Internet has taken that basic idea and taken it to the next level. Thanks to the various social networking sites that exist out there, it’s much easier for anyone to call everyone’s attention to things that they like. This is a great tool for those looking to optimize their search engine results – using social networking can results in hundreds or more new links to the site. However, while SEO and social marketing can make beautiful music together, they are not he same thing.

For instance, it may be a good idea to start generating interest in your site by posting one of your SEO articles up on a website like Digg.com or del.icio.us. However, if you were to try posting all of your articles, they would most likely be flagged as spam and removed from the listings. The idea behind social marketing is to plant the seed and let the users do the work of spreading the word. If you push too hard, you’re likely to run into trouble with the social networking sites.

Having good content is key to effectively using social marketing. That’s why it is necessary to use only the most professional online marketing services. It really hinges upon the community enjoying or finding useful whatever you have posted on your page. If that content consists of poorly written, keyword-stuffed articles without useful information, the community will ignore it. If the community does find something they like, though, the work is done for you – that’s the great thing about the viral nature of social marketing.

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Clean Web Design

by Bob Stone on May.22, 2009, under Web Design

There are a lot of different features that you can add to websites, thanks to the powerful technologies available. However, just because you can add something, doesn’t always mean that you should. If you’re not careful, it’s easy to fall into the trap of loading your website with too many flashy gizmos that simply overwhelm and distract the user. This is a major reason why you should always work with a professional IT consulting company. This article covers a few of the biggest offenders that you should use sparingly, if at all, on your site.

Music and sound are a big one. Many people make the mistake of adding music and sounds to websites without properly modulating their volume. When the user opens the page, they’re hit with a sonic assault that, nine times out of ten, will just annoy them. It’s especially rough on people who are using headphones. It might also clash with any sounds or music that the user is already playing, and just end up confusing.

Flashy animations are an easy thing to overdo. While a nice, clean flash animation or game can be a fun part of a site; a poorly designed or obtrusive one can be an annoyance. For instance, if a user is trying to read something on your site, but there’s some flashing image flying around the screen, then it’s sure to get in the way. Another no-no along these lines is scrolling text, as it can just stress out the reader since they cannot read at their own pace. A nice, clean web page is a much more comfortable and enjoyable browsing experience.

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Link Building Considerations

by Bob Stone on May.15, 2009, under Link Building

Link building consists of more than just getting links from random other pages. Links from certain sites are simply worth more than others, and some links are just plain worthless. There is a multitude of different factors that you have to consider when pursuing a link building strategy which SEO services India companies certainly know.

One of the primary things to check when choosing a link partner is their PageRank. To put it simply, a link from a site with a high PageRank is worth more than one from a low-ranked site. The reasoning is pretty simple. Highly ranked sites are considered more reputable and trustworthy. Most of the time, a highly ranked site wouldn’t like to a site that didn’t have good content. Thus, a link from one of those sites means they’re basically vouching for your site and the search engines take the recommendation seriously.

Another thing to look for when exchanging links is framed pages. Due to the way that the search engine spiders work, links that are in frames are completely invisible to them. As such, if an affiliate site is going to link to your site from a frame, the only extra traffic will be from that site alone. Since the more important purpose of link building is to improve your search engine rankings, this should be avoided at all costs. The situation is similar with links from Javascript or Flash pages – spiders can’t read them. Make sure that you’re getting text links, or it’s not worth getting the links at all.

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Low Key Web Design

by Bob Stone on May.09, 2009, under Web Design

Web browsing can become a truly interactive, multimedia experience with the right tools. However, just because you can do something doesn’t necessarily mean that you should. One of the quickest ways to turn off a potential visitor to your site is to force them to download some sort of plugin or additional software in order to view it. Not only do most people simply not want to spend the time, but also many inexperienced web users get intimidated when asked to install things, fearing viruses and other malware. Always keep this in mind when working on a new website design.

If you’re thinking about adopting an exciting new technology, you should do it with care. The best bet is to simply wait until the new software application has hit the mainstream and become accepted as par for the course. Things like Java applets and Flash animations require plugins, but many people have already downloaded them for use on other popular sites. Or, in some cases, they’ve become so popular that they’re just built into many web browsers.

There’s also some value to being one of the early adopters of a technology, but you have to weigh this against the risks. On the one hand, you may develop a loyal user base of other early-adopters, but you also may drive off a lot of potential visitors. Perhaps the best choice is simply to offer alternatives: if the user can’t or won’t download something extra to check out you site, provide him a way to see what you have to offer without the extras.

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Web Design Clichés

by Bob Stone on May.06, 2009, under Web Design

The web is no longer the exciting new technology that it once was. Over time, as the medium has matured, people have come to expect certain things from the websites they visit. A certain level of quality is required, or people will just click away from your site without a second thought. In addition, some web design elements have been so overused that people are just plain sick of them. The best India web designing company is very careful not to use any of these elements.

For instance, one of the overplayed and archaic elements is the page counter. For the most part, no one other than the site’s designer actually cares how many people have visited the site. It is certainly useful data, but putting in your front page can make your site look amateurish. There’s easy way to fix this problem, fortunately – just use a hidden counter, or for more serious projects, use some sort of analytics website or software package.

Perhaps the most hackneyed and tired element of web design out there is the animated .GIF. In the earlier days of web design, they were a popular way to add some movement and flash to a site. Even then, however, many people saw them as a major turn off. If you want to add some motion to your website, there are far better ways to do it, today. The best way is to use Flash or a similar program, which allows you to create custom animations and even web games. Live in the present, and stay away from the web design clichés of the past!

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