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Check Out McCord Web’s e-Newsletter

Hey guys come check out our most recent e-newsletter at McCord Web. It talks about the new addition to Google, the Friend Connect. This is a new fun way to get noticed using your website. It gives your site social networking if you put the Friend connect application into the source code. It will allow you to use your Yahoo, AOL, and Google base accounts to join and find friends. It allows its users to be able to leave comments, rate the page or website with a star based rating system. Also you can upload videos. Over all it will allow you to extend your reach on the Web.

Content overview

Google created Friend Connect Gadgets

  1. Member panel gadget
  2. Comment gadget
  3. Rating gadget

Also the e-newsletter touches on the top content viewed in 2008 on the McCord Web Services website. In this article we give you links to the most viewed pages and content from the past year.

Concluding the e-newsletter we mention that we have four blog writers employed at this time. Most of the writer have been with McCord Web Services for about a year and a few writers for over 2 years.

To learn more or read our full e-newsletter visit this link to McCord Web Services. http://www.mccordweb.com/e-newsletters/2009/jan-09.html.

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Instant Messaging Acronyms

Have you ever wondered what your kids are saying in their IM sessions or on games chatting with friends with those strange acronyms? Well no need to wonder any more I am going to give you a quick run through of all the acronyms I see most frequently.

  • LoL – laugh out loud
  • WTF –  you might want to look out for this one, if you see it you will want to have a talk with your kids about cursing.
  • ASL – this stands for Age/ Sex/ Location ( if someone is asking this they probably dint know your kid and you shouldn’t let them talk to this person, for safety reasons)
  • ASAP – as soon as possible
  • BRB – be right back
  • BTW – by the way
  • FYI – for your information
  • GTG or G2G – got to go
  • IDC – I don’t care
  • JK – just kidding
  • OMG – oh my God

These are the top ten I see when talking on the Internet to people on games or on AIM (AOL instant messenger) and other instant messenger systems. Just keep your eyes open for your kids using or receiving some of these messages.

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2008 iPod Nano Review

The new iPod Nano is a great improvement over the older version of the iPod Nano. I got the Nano for Christmas and I have to say I love it and wanted to share the best new features with you.

  • 8GB memory (smallest size now, was largest size 2 years ago)
  • More durable then the old model (stronger screen and casing doesn’t flex)
  • HD screen
  • Capability to watch movies (not available in old iPod Nano)
  • Screen adjust to how you hold iPod (flips when you hold it sideways)
  • Like all iPods easy to upload music (just plug into computer and iTunes opens and syncs music and videos)

I would definitely suggest the iPod Nano to everyone. If you like music on the go and don’t want to spend $300 for an iPod Touch or Microsoft Zune, then the iPod Nano is the MP3 player for you.

I also have the LG Chocolate cell phone and I used to use that as my MP3 player until I got the iPod Nano. The big reason for the switch is that I was unable to plug my phone into the stereo outlet in my car. I was unable to  play the songs through my stereo while I’m driving.

Also the iPod Nano has an 8GB memory, which is a lot, that’s about 1,200 songs. I was able to put all my music on my new iPod Nano and still had room for videos. I also put 4 videos on it and one of them happens to be a full length movie, and still have room to spare for more songs.

These are all reasons that I wanted the iPod Nano. Over all, I think it was a great switch. Thanks for the Christmas gift Mom and Dad!

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Finding Your Website in the Google SERPs

Google is king when it comes to web searches. Nearly 84% of web surfers start on Google for their first search. So, it shouldn’t surprise you to know that your website’s position in Google or the Google SERPs (search engine results page) is crucial to your online success.

Just how do you find out some of the key information that impacts your website’s organic placement in Google search results? First, it is important to know that Google has over 150 different factors that it uses to determine the SERP or your organic placement. Some of these factors are the age of your domain name, the number of pages from your website in their index is another, and another is the number of websites linking to yours.

Tips to See Where You Stand

To find out which and how many sites are linking to your website use this in the search query box in Google link:yourURL (ex. link:McCordWeb.com).

To find out who and how many sites are linking to you in Yahoo enter this search query: linkdomain:yourURL (ex. linkdomain:McCordWeb.com).

Microsoft has disabled both of these queries in their search engine recently and so you will not be able to identify results in Live.com or MSN’s searh engine using either of these queries unfortunately.

To find out which pages and how many pages Google has in their index for your website enter site:yourURL in the search query box (ex. site:McCordWeb.com).

Checking your website out this way will at least get you started in evaluating where your website is. I also recommend that you select search phrases as well and every 30 days or so monitor your site placement in the organic results. It is not unusual to see a small fluctuation in position but if you fall completely out of the results a careful review of your website, terms you are using, and tactics that you have tried for placement is definitely in order.

Your PageRank on Google

PageRank is a trademarked term that Google uses to identify organic position factors of a website. It used to be that websites rose and fell on their PageRank, but not so now. Nearly a year ago, Google revealed that the PageRank indicator that it used to show (as a green bar in a graph from 1 to 10 from the Google Toolbar) and that some webmasters used as a measure of Web visibility and authority, was not refreshed on a regular basis. Google is now concealing true PageRank results mainly to cut out manipulation from webmasters. As a result of these developments the webmaster field is widely divided on the importance of PageRank. I for one consider PageRank just one more measure, like a ranking in Alexa – just not something to get spun up on or to hang your hat on as a measure of real importance. In fact, I don’t even monitor PageRank for my own site or for clients at this time as I used to when it really meant something.

Although there are some factors that you can review, there are some that you cannot review, one of those being TrustRank. Google determines the TrustRank for a website based on many different factors. This appears to be a measure that is becoming more meaningful in organic placement and is affected by the age of the domain and the informational content on the website.

If Google leaked out what impacted their SERPs, businesses, in an effort to achieve top placemenet, would work to “scam” the system; which Google hates. What determines real organic page placement on Google is one of their most highly guarded secrets and truly a secret to their success and popularity on the Web in regards to providing the best quality results for a search.

So How Can You Know What Impacts Placement on Google Exactly?

Well, you really can’t unfortunately. I however, have found that by reading Google’s patent disclosures you can get a snap shot of the technology they are actively introducing that will impact their algorithm for search placement. I also follow the blog of Matt Cutts, the voice to my industry from Google. Matt is a search engine algorithm engineer who speaks for Google to professional webmasters and search engine optimization professionals. Although his blog has many mundane posts, periodically Google will use him as a mouthpiece on an important topic or thrust in the search field. Review Matt Cutts blog and see what you think.

Another key way to understand what impacts placement on Google is to be constantly testing new tactics and approaches and to watch to see what others are doing in the industry. I’ve tested a number of tactics and have found some highly workable and others to be highly touted yet ineffective in regards to impacting organic placement. By watching industry forums I also glean trends and tactics that others are trying or find interesting new approaches to test on my own website for further evaluation.

Regardless what anyone tells you, there is simply no silver bullet or special recipe to get placement on Google. Placement is achieved by many factors working together with quality content, search engine friendly web design, and savvy persistance.