Many sites on the web are amazing - a real tribute to their designers. Many of these are attractive, functional and compelling for visitors. But look a little deeper and we see a consistent problem with search engine ranking possibilities across many sites. The snazzy site's creators are good at their job. Their job is site creation. They also generally think they understand site prioritisation but screw up their clients SEO such that the search engine optimisation effort is multiplied through re-work and necessary architectural changes. The main issues are URL manipulation, duplicate content and a serious downside of popular shopping cart software products. Related issues are potentially endless, particularly with future site changes/overhauls and their abandoned URL's that have desirable search engine clout....read the entire article »

8 SEO Tools

1) Choosing Keyword Phrases (costs approx USD$7.50 per day)

To decide what keyword phrases to use, subscribe to http://www.wordtracker.com for a day and do some analysis. Simply enter a keyword and WordTracker tells you how often people have searched for that keyword in the last month or two, how many competitor sites are using that keyword, and how many searches it expects in the next 24hrs.

2) Measuring Keyword Density (FREE)

To measure the density of the keyword phrases on your page, go to http://www.gorank.com/analyze.php and type in the domain and keyword phrase you want to analyse. It’ll give you a percentage for all the important parts of your page, including copy, title, meta keywords, meta description, etc. The higher the density the better.

3) Check How Search-Engine-Friendly Your Site Is (FREE)

Search engines send out spiders (or robots) to investigate your site. These tools allow you to see your site from the spider’s point of view.
- http://optimiser.123promotion.co.uk - enter your URL and a keyword phrase and it gives you a great summary of the things you could improve.
- http://www.1-hit.com/all-in-one/tool.search-engine-viewer.htm - enter your URL and it gives you a summary of the things you could improve.
- http://www.gritechnologies.com/tools/spider.go? - Poodle tells you how many links the spider will see and investigate....read more »

Google has recently implemented a program where any webmaster can create a Sitemap of their site and submit it for indexing by Google. It is a quick and easy way for you to keep your site constantly indexed and updated in Google.

The program is appropriately called Google Sitemaps.

In order for you to best use Sitemaps, you must have an XML generated file on your site that will transmit or send any updates, changes, and data to Google. XML (Extensible Markup Language) is everywhere these days, you have probably seen the orange XML logo on many web sites and its often associated with Blogging because Blogs use XML/RSS feeds to syndicate their content.

Today RSS is known mostly as 'Really Simple Syndication' but its original acronym stood for 'Rich Site Summary'. XML is only simple code like HTML and it is used to syndicate your content to all interested parties.

And the interested party in this case is Google. By creating Sitemaps, Google is really asking webmasters to take charge of the indexing and updating of their sites. Basically, doing the Googlebot's job!....read more »

Alexa has two competitors: compete.com and quantcast.com. The latter is largely unknown and does not cover too many sites yet, although you can have your site quantified by embedding a small javascript tag into your site's pages. Until some greater coverage is reached, the popularity of and thus future of this site and its Internet traffic measuring service remains rather speculative.

Meanwhile, compete.com has already reached the status that guarantees this site a formidable position in its competition with Alexa. The traffic information this service gathers comes mostly from ISPs, but only in the US, making it more limited than Alexa, but still quite precise, comparatively speaking. Compete.com also has its own toolbar that everyone can plug into their browser (only Internet Explorer and Firefox are fully supported at this point), but since its use has thus far been rather limited, one cannot rely too much on the data collected this way....read more »

Computers are now a major part of every day life in the 21st Century and as technology advances and prices drop, more and more computers and IT equipment are replaced on a regular basis leaving the question of what happens to the old ones.

According to Waste Online, the market for refurbished computers has risen by 500% in recent years and yet less than 20% of unwanted computers are recycled...read more »

Watching TV on your Computer

Have you ever thought to yourself "It sure would be nice to watch TV from my computer" Well, it's not the province of the super rich or ultra nerds anymore. In fact watching TV on your computer is becoming more main stream all the time. Some, including software giant Microsoft, feel it's the wave of the future. Microsoft has actually staked part of their future on it. Their new Vista operating system has features designed specifically to enable this sort of functionality.

That's great, but where do you get the content? I mean, you just can't have thousands of channels pumped into your computer straight from the Internet, can you? Well, actually you can. There are really a few ways to get TV on your computer. You can buy a TV tuner card. Such tuner cards come in either PCI cards that reside inside your PC, or as external USB cards. This basically turns your computer into a high tech VCR or personal video recorder (PVR - think TiVO) device. That's pretty darn cool, but there are a couple of downsides to the approach. First of all, as was pointed out earlier, there is a content question. Where do you get it?...read more »

Here's a good starting point to help you score points with search engines such as, Google, Yahoo! and MSN. First, make sure your blog is search-engine friendly, or in other words, make sure it can easily be spidered. A search engine spider - also referred to as WebCrawlers, ants or Web robots - are methodical search engine programs that browse the Net, creating copies of all the visited pages for later processing.

According to Bill Hartzer of the SearchengineGuide.com -- a prominent guide for search engine information - you need to keep the path as clear as possible for WebCrawlers by eliminating any roadblocks, thereby encouraging their return. They highlight useless and ineffective title tags and meta tags as one very common roadblock....read more »

CD Copying, Burning & Duplication

Windows Media Player is one of the most basic tools for CD burning, CD copying and CD duplication. It also features the facilities for creating data CD's, mp3 CD's, ripping files from CD's and so on. Despite being a rudimentary level of software for managing CD copying and data, it is also very helpful. Windows Media Player comes as part of the standard operating environment for Windows (i.e. XP pro, XP, 2000). The application features regular upgrades that produce consistent cosmetic improvements as well as functionality. As per all Microsoft software, the upgrades are automatically pushed out via the Internet.

The key features relating to CD copying and duplication within Windows Media Player include:..read more »

Analyzing your web traffic statistics can be an invaluable tool for a number of different reasons. But before you can make full use of this tool, you need to understand how to interpret the data.

Most web hosting companies will provide you with basic web traffic information that you then have to interpret and make pertinent use of. However, the data you receive from your host company can be overwhelming if you don't understand how to apply it to your particular business and website. Let's start by examining the most basic data - the average visitors to your site on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.

These figures are the most accurate measure of your website's activity. It would appear on the surface that the more traffic you see recorded, the better you can assume your website is doing, but this is an inaccurate perception. You must also look at the behavior of your visitors once they come to your website to accurately gauge the effectiveness of your site.

There is often a great misconception about what is commonly known as "hits" and what is really effective, quality traffic to your site. Hits simply means the number of information requests received by the server. If you think about the fact that a hit can simply equate to the number of graphics per page, you will get an idea of how overblown the concept of hits can be. For example, if your homepage has 15 graphics on it, the server records this as 15 hits, when in reality we are talking about a single visitor checking out a single page on your site. As you can see, hits are not useful in analyzing your website traffic.....read more »

Thanks to a ground-breaking agreement between Dell and Google, SEO may soon be a mainstream topic of conversation. Dell, the world's leading maker of personal computers, has announced that it is testing a pre-installed package of Google software, including a Google-powered Dell home page, Google Desktop Search, and a Google Toolbar.

While the home page and Desktop Search will be an undeniable boost to Google's share of the Search market, and maybe even a threat to Microsoft's desktop dominance, it's the pre-installation of the Google Toolbar that will be of most interest to SE marketers and optimizers around the world...read more »

First of all, forget about “hits”. Whenever someone requests a file it is a hit. If you visit a web page, then you are requesting several files all at once: the file for the page and the files for all the graphics on the page. By visiting one page on a site you are registering several hits. “Hits” is a very vague term and doesn’t give you a good picture of what is happening on your site.

A more precise indicator of your traffic, and thus a more useful statistic, is the amount of unique visitors you receive each day. Internet statistics are never precise, but your number of unique visitors will give you a rough idea of how many people visited your website on any given day. Compare this number to the amount of orders or inquiries you get and you can figure out your conversion rate.

Another important Internet statistic to keep you eye on are the referrers. A referrer is the website where a person was visiting prior to landing on your site. Search engines are important referrers, and sites that link to you are other referrers. Compare your referred traffic to total traffic and you will see how many people just typed in your url and how many came after seeing your link in another location.

Knowing where your visitors came from is very important, but it is even better if you can get more details about this kind of traffic....read more »

At its core, Email Marketing is a tool for customer relationship management (CRM). Its Purpose: To build virtual relationships with existing and potential customers.

Its Benefit: Maximise the retention and value of these customers, which should ultimately lead to greater profitability.

What is Email Marketing?
Simply put, Email Marketing is a form of direct marketing which utilises electronic means to deliver commercial messages to an audience. It is one of the oldest and yet still one of the most powerful of all eMarketing tactics. The power comes from the fact that it is:
* extremely cost effective and has a low cost per contact
* highly targeted
* customisable
* completely measurable...read more»

If you have a problem with your fax machine, chances are it's one that I mention in this article. Find the solution, read on...

There are many makes and models of fax machines, but they all have certain problems that come up that are easy to fix. I have listed four common problems and will explain the problem and the solution for each. I charge for this so this is a valuable article for anyone who has a fax machine. Keep it filed so you can retrieve it for another time or use it now to repair an existing problem.

Multi-feeding through the automatic document feeder This is when you put a stack of papers into the automatic document feeder (ADF) and it pulls more than one in at a time. This is called multi-feeding. Most ADF's have an item that separates the paper called a separation pad. This wears out after some use and needs to be replaced. Open the ADF cover and shine a flashlight up into this area. If it is worn out replace it. You can call the manufacturer and speak with the parts department for a replacement ADF separation pad. Replace it and you will have your ADF working good again. While you are repairing this you should also clean or replace the ADF feed roller. See "Not pulling in originals." A little modification I have done many times is flipping the pad over. Some models you can do this and actually get double the life on the pad....read more »

As of late, Mp4 players have taken the Electronics market by storm, edging out mp3 players due to their enhanced capabilities.Searching the internet for good quality Mp4 Players can be tricky due to the large variety of MP4 players available. This guide will help to outline the important factors people need to consider before purchasing an Mp4 player.

1. Firstly, the internal memory size of an mp4 player is obviously an important factor.This will determine the amount of videos,movies and mp3 songs the mp4 player will be able to store.Mp4 players come in sizes ranging from 256MB to 10GB. The bigger the storage the better. Also some models may the have the option of flash memory....read more »

Spam Filters and Outlook Rules

There are a variety of different formats available for optical digital media storage today. There is the CD-ROM, HD-DVD, DVD-R's and HD-DVD-RW formats that are available. It can be a bit confusing, so you will want to know what the differences are between the different formats.

The specifications for digital optical media formats are set by working groups. These working groups are made up of various engineers that represent manufacturers that are planning to build and sell their hardware. Usually every manufacturer has their own technology developed as well that they want to include. When they make sure that the technology that is preferred is in their specification, every device that is sold earns them a royalty payment. Since these devices sell millions each year, the royalties paid can add up to a great deal of money...read more »

Of all the peripherals and devices on the typical desk, the one usually taken for granted is the printer. Most of us don't pay much attention to the printer unless something isn't printing the way we want it or it won't print at all!

The bad news is that because of the heavy usage placed on printers, they tend to "mess up" pretty frequently if you don't take care of them. The good thing is that maintaining printers in top condition is for the most part, fairly painless. Most common malfunctions are easily prevented.

Obviously, the easiest way to avoid printing problems is to keep your printer in good shape. The good news is that doing so is pretty quick and easy. Just a couple of minutes devoted to a few maintenance steps will keep your printer almost entirely free of most common problems.

1) Use Your Printer: The number one problem (as reported to us) is poor print output...read more »

RSS is an acronym for Really Simple Syndication....So what is an RSS FEED? An RSS Feed in its basic format is a "table of contents" for the information appearing on your website. It contains a text list (formatted in XML) of the headlines and titles of your posts or articles and will contain either a brief or full summary of your content. The feed will contain direct clickable links to your articles or posts. The RSS feed may also contain media elements such as pictures....read more»

Google opened more information for site publishers everywhere, with an update to their Webmaster Tools. Google’s Vanessa Fox said they now show the top one hundred anchor text phrases used in links to a website...for full story watch the video...