Category: Tips

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Google’s New Friend Connect

Finally I have finished integrating Google’s new Friend Connect into my website content pages. If you don’t know what Friend Connect is, it is a new programmer-free social interface that allows any website to use hi-tech programming features to allow site visitors to interact with the content. The key is that with Friend Connect you do not need to have any programming skills.

I have used the page review rating and comment module in many pages of my website. You can visit our instruction section to click through the various pages to see how it looks and how it works. Click into a few pages and you can see how the modules act and work on the page. Leave a comment, mouse over the stars and leave a rating and you can do so anonymously.

Personally I found the application after a few dry runs, extremely easy to work with and simple to install. There are several modules you may want to consider for your use. You can install a comment module that even allows video upload, a website rating module, a page comment and rating module, and a friend network module. For my needs, I am only using the page rating.

One thing that I have found is that it is best to only have one comment or rating module on a page otherwise the application gets confused.

It is easy to style the modules anyway you want from inside Friend Connect and then style the <div> that contains the content back in your source code. Implementation of Friend Connect is still best for webmasters or people who know their way around source code.

I consider the application a new exciting way to interact with website visitors. Take a look and tell me what you think by clicking comments below.

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What Do Search Engines Look For?

There is a lot of confusion about what search engines consider important when it comes to determining organic position. Here is my short list of key elements that search engines consider key when determining position.

  1. Source code title tag – this is one of the most important tags for your website and key to organic placement.
  2. Source code meta description tag – this is another important tag but not as crucial as the title tag but still very important.
  3. Keywords meta tags – I still input content in this tag, but it has been devalued by Google so don’t take a lot of time on it, or you can leave it out.
  4. Domain name registration renewal period. I recommend a minimum renewal of two years and five is even better. Google does look at this as just one of their organic placement factors.
  5. Home page content – this is crucial to organic placement. If your home page is all in graphics or has very little content, you WILL struggle to get organic placement.
  6. Spiderable navigation – if your navigation is in flash or image rollovers and you have not provided text-based navigation for search engines to follow, you should make the simple addition of putting text navigation links in the footer of your page.

Sure there are tons of other factors, but for clients who come to me when they are disappointed in their placement typically they all are lacking in the top six items that I have mentioned above and usually have other additional issues such as poor or very little content, no links from other websites, or content that has not been updated in years.

So take a look at your own site, what are your challenges. If you have a factor that you feel I’ve missed click comment and tell me what you think is important.

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Twitter Your Way to Success

Do you have a new website or blog? One of the first questions you may now be asking yourself is how do you get traffic to the site?

Twitter is an excellent vehicle to use to build traffic and create buzz. There are all kinds of Twitter applications that help you to move your Tweets to other venues. I use TwitterFeed to post my blog on Twitter and to post my Tweets on my blog. It is an easy to install widget that goes into your blog template and it works.

I recommend for new website and blog owners that they do a few things to help drive traffic to their new site, here is my short list:

  1. Use Twitter first, it is easy, fast and fun.
  2. Get going with Twitter Feed.
  3. Schedule Tweets on days you don’t do blog posts with Twuffer.
  4. Actively and aggressively work to build your Twitter network.
  5. Get going with Facebook and LinkedIn – these are the big social networking sites.
  6. Consider setting up accounts Plaxo and Xing for social networking.
  7. Do a press release. Yes it is pricey but will get links out there for your website or blog in a hurry.
  8. Start posting on forums and other blogs – not commercials but real comments – make sure to link to your new site. You won’t get search engine organic capital this way, but you may get a bit of traffic.

Do you have something to add to my list? Click comments and share your tips for traffic.

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Do You Really Own What You Think You Own When It Comes To Your Website?

If you’ve paid a bundle for your website you think you own it right? Well, what you think you own in reality may not be what you really own. Here’s a very short case study that you can learn from.

This client may or may not want to move their web host. The original web designer provides hosting services as well. The client called the web designer/host to ask what they own. They were told they own their website in entirety.

When the client asked for FTP access for me, they were told by the web designer/host that to do so would void any warranties they had for their website. When the client asked for the Dreamweaver website templates, HTML files, and Flash files including .fla Flash portfolio files, they were told that they could have the HTML files only, no Dreamweaver templates or .fla files – they did not own those items.

This means that the client owns a “picture” or non-editable version of their Flash portfolio, and that any other webmaster will have to defeat the Dreamweaver template code to do website updates taking more time. Any additions to the Flash portfolio will cause the portfolio to have to be redone from scratch or they are black mailed into going back to the original web designer for any future Flash portfolio updates.

So, clearly this client does not own their website. What is worse is that the web designer also registered the client’s domain name in their own business name [web designer’s] and when the client pushed to have the domain changed to their own business, the web designer pushed back saying “you own it, why bother?”. With proof from a domain name review using WhoIs, the web designer then back pedaled and said “Yes, really legally, we own it, but we know it is yours.”

So what do you think you own that you may not own? Now’s the time to find out and correct that. I believe that each website owner should get what they pay for. Before the final deliverables of your website are completed, you should demand a disk of all native files (.psd files, .fla files, .flv files). You should demand that your domain is registered in your own name and that you are given all website and domain name control panel login URLs and passwords. You need to own out right and know how to manage your domain name and your web hosting account for possible future needs.

Situations with webmasters go bad. We have two right now that we are dealing with for clients. Things may be great right now, but if you have control on these important accounts and issues, you are in the driver’s seat and cannot be blackmailed for future business or made to feel that to move your account is simply too much trouble.