Google Experts - Where are You

Absolutely everyone who uses the Internet now uses Google but so few people are experts in the use of it and can use the power to its maximum.  As part of my website design business in Cork customers often ask me how to get on the first page of Google thinking that as I am a web designer that I am also an expert in all things related to Google.

My short and sweet answer to them is that They cant get to #1 on Google!.

Well not actually true.  You can be number one on Google if the topic that you blog about or the site that you create does not have a lot of traffic.  For example if you write about Ping Tutus for Sheep farmers then you will be number one in Google in a couple of days (come back in a few days and Google this search term and I bet chances are that this post will be on the front page.

But if you want to figure on the hallowed ground for a more competitive area then you need to have some serious Search Engine Optimisation done (SEO for short).  What is SEO?  This is not an area I am expert in.  I know an awful lot about it but will never claim to be  expert as it is a full time job done by people with laser like focus on the topic. There are a large number of factors for getting good ranking here are only 5 that make a difference (not in priority just a dump of items)

1. Keywords on your main page and how they are placed and ordered
2. Your domain name
3. Your domain age
4. Links to your site from other sites
5. Ratings of your site on social networks

There are many many others but this is just a start.  Google Experts beware!

Some Things Are Free in Todays Recession

All is doom and gloom at the moment in Ireland.  Unemployment figures are rising and all is dom and gloom.  I have stopped listening to it as it is the same story every day.  I am not putting my head in the sand but in a couple of hours per week on a couple of good sites I can read news and updates not just for Ireland but across the world.

On top of that I though this evening of all the free pieces of Software that are out there that if you are an IT professional you can use to at least try and get out there and make some money.  For example as I type this I am upgrading the Lactation Consultants of Ireland's website to WordPress 2.7 (a bit overdue but I have been pretty busy with 3 web site launches over the past couple of days and trying to get a Google Ad Words campaign sorted out and that isnt even my day job). 

Anyway I digress - WordPress is a fine CMS and one I use most and it is completly free with lots of free add ons.  I am surfing with a free browser (Firefox my browser of choice for years) and typing this blog entry in ScribeFire which I would be lost without as I (try) and keep a lot of blogs up to date and could not do it in the traditional way of logging in and out. So again a nice light tool that is free.  I am not pumping SEO terms into this blog btw just impressed byt the free software community out there.  A list of other free packaghes that I use constantly on a daily basis are

• Notepad ++
• Filezilla
• Easy Thumbnails
• and a few others

If I had to pay for these I would have to use a lot of old fashioned methods to do this type of work (I could still do it but not as fast).  So there end of post - WordPress upgraded just as I finsihed typing so I am now on the latest version which is good for the users of the site as I do not have to maintain it as much for them with posts, links and so on.

Tips for a New Web Site

I often get asked by my customers what they need to do to their business web site to improve / develop it. Here are the some tips I have put together on this area. These are just my opinions.

1. Keep the Message Simple
All to often I get web site content that is too wordy and hard to read. You need to write simple well written text. People rarely get beyond the fourth sentence. Use links to expand for further readingas people will stay longer after the first click. Did you get to this sentence?

2. Contact Information
Make sure your contact information is easily accessible. Put your e-mail and phone number at the top of the page. A contact form may work but people are in a hurry and may not take the time if they are looking for a service. Make sure that it is prominent and easy to read. It is different if you are offering an free informational type service (did you get to this sentence?) as people may want to phrase a question in detail using a form.

3. Search Box
If your site is content rich and has lots of depth a search box is essential. If not sure how then use Google as you can integrate the Google search onto your site reletaively easily and saves you working out how to do it. Most CMS platforms have a search box as standard if you are that way inclined.

4. How Much?
This may seem obvious but the last two sites I did for people they had no prices on the site for their product / serviceas the business didn't want to put it on the site. This will not work. Put a price structure there at lease. People want to know a ball park figure. When you ring up a plumber/electrician the second or third question is usually how much. Why should a website differ. If you are offering a free product highlight it.

5. Traffic
You need to know how many hits your site is getting you might as well be on a desert island. Google Analytics does this perfectly. End of story (well the tracking part at least)

6. Good Free Information
You should post information to your site on a regular basis. It needs to be of good quality and worth reading. Good information proves your worth. Read and research in your field and post on it. Oh this is sentence 5...

7. Easy to use....
Just because you can write a bit of HTML/PHP/whatever does mean that site is usable. I am not a usability expert but look here for a good overview of usability guidelines. If this is too detailed think of your favourite web sites - think of why you use them besides the underlying content. Tehre are usually hundreds of web sites looking for your attention on most mainstream topics but some shine above the others. Some simple steps like in the link above can help you achieve a crisper, more accessible and useful site that people will come back to again.

8. No Flash - Popups - Tricks
No flash. IMHO flash is rarely worth the effort. Popups and fancy web tricks that look good once wont look good over time.

9.

Link to Google Maps

I got some good updates to my WIFI map and here is the actual link as opposed to the map.

Cork WIFI Map

Improve my Blogging - Christmas Plans

I like to blog - I don't to it to make money from paid links really and I don't even think anyone visits my sites.  But I use it as an online notebook for my thoughts and for links that I find like this one about how to improve your blog.  Nicely written and with some relevant information.  This Christmas I plan to blog more than normal and look into social networking a bit more to see what that can give me.

Iphone - White Screen of Death

I was out the other evening with my trusty Iphone and surfing the web in a local pub when suddenly it went completly white.  Aaargh I cried (I actually did cry Aaargh and some other words).  Complete white screen.  What worse I had some incoming call at the same time from another friend so could hear it ringing but couldn't answer.  And my phone doesn't ring that often as it is more a device for mail and web than making calls. Nothing I did made a difference.

I went online that night and couldn't find much information so in the end with some trepidation I hit restore in Itunes.  For my Ipod this erases everything but for the Iphone I now know that it makes a regular backup so when I was complete I had everything back to normal.  I was so relieved.  I need to research WHY this happens but for the moment I am glad that my Iphone is back in action.

Scribefire and Flickr

I use Scribefire with Firefox to write my Blog entries and they post them to whichever Blog I want (scribefire sits at the bottom of my browser).  It has a feature that allows you put in an image from Flickr by just searching.

[Vespa from Flickr]

Freemind

I have started using Freemind again after a break. It is an open source mind mapping tool and I used it in the past for studying for my MBA. You can save it as HTML as well and put it on web sites (not sure how on a blog but wait and see). I have started using it to track tasks in work and for any other computer based project like the web sites I work on or blogs that I have created and am working on.

Flickr Uploader

I used the Flickr Uploader for the first time this morning. I know everyone and their granny uses it but one of my resolutions recently was to take more photos and indeed I have done that and this helps me get them uploaded and share with people. I might even reach my unpaid Flickr limit !!