Archive for April, 2010
Is Google PageRank still important in Seach Engine Optimization?
Saturday, April 17th, 2010One of the most important debates in SEO is how important PageRank is nowadays and how much it affects the Search Engine Results. Is PageRank still an important parameter or is it something that we can simply ignore? In this article we will touch upon this controversial topic and we will try to give an [...]
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jQuery Cool Corners
Friday, April 16th, 2010With the advancements in the web industry designers are getting more creative and CSS is having a hard time keeping up with some stuff. Well almost anything that you would like to do can be done with…
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Competitors Make Up 28% of Page One Smartphone Brand Search Results
Friday, April 16th, 2010Spotted another difference between smartphone results and desktop results that may account for some of the variance that I reported earlier.
If you have a “pages similar to” feature on the search results page for your brand term in desktop, it shows a five line suggestion at the end that looks like this:
This shows up for navigational searches, which are searches that seem to indicate that a user wants to go to a specific web site. If you’re putting [american airlines] or [match.com] into the Google search box, you are performing a navigational search.
On desktop it’s called out, so that it doesn’t look like the web results, and it’s only given five lines after the full page of web listings. However, on smartphones it appears as part of the web results, and might make it seem as though competitors are not just related, but highly relevant to your brand.
For example, if you scroll all the way down the page for the term [nike] on an iPhone 4, you see 4 listings for some of Nike’s biggest competitors:
If you represent a brand like Nike, I would imagine that it would be bad enough to have that 5 line feature potentially sending brand-loyal traffic to your competitors, but 4 individual listings representing 28% of the page would almost certainly be unacceptable to most brand managers.
The up side is that scrolling is required to even see these listings, and that’s something time-starved mobile users putting in navigational queries are not likely to do. It could also benefit your brand to be on your competitors’ brand results page, as it’s benefitting Adidas, Puma et al here.
This also seems to me more like a bug that will eventually be fixed by Google as they do more user experience testing on mobile search results and redesign the results to be mobile-friendly, as they did with weather-related and snow condition-related queries last week. There doesn’t seem to be any logic to expanding the listings for a smaller screen, so it wouldn’t surprise me if this is a temporary problem for brands.
Nonetheless, brands that want to combat this problem can’t push the listings down, but they can make it less likely that a searcher will scroll down to the competitor listings by providing usable mobile content to reduce bounce rate from the first listing through user agent detection, and by ensuring that your sitelinks and branded content below is relevant to both desktop and mobile users.
It could also help to get an additional listing on the first page by buying a search ad for your brand terms, and there will doubtless be some who think that makes this “bug” suspect; but as usual I’m more interested in driving business value through natural search than tinfoil hats.
Natural Search & Mobile SEO Blog
We Are Hiring “sadiadnan2010″
Wednesday, April 14th, 2010We Buy Antiques:-
We look for the finest antiques available in any category, including but not limited to: American and European antique furniture,folk art,oil paintings, prints, jewelry and silver (especially Georg Jensen, Tiffany and Cartier), ceramics (hard and soft paste porcelain, Staffordshire, redware, majolica, faience, Oriental), blown and cut glass, toys, tin and glass plate photographs, nautical items Louis Vuitton luggage. We are also seeking the following 20th century names: Stickley, Roycroft, Limberts, Frank Lloyd Wright, Nakashima, Eames, Herman Miller, Plycraft,Knoll,Hans Wegner, Rookwood, Fulper, Grueby, Teco, and Spratling.
Take CLEAR Digital Photographs:- of all sides of the item along with close-ups of details, marks, signatures, and any damage or repairs. Provide measurements of the item, specific to details. For example, the height of the back of the chair, the length of the arms, the width of the seat,etc. Note the price that you wish to realize for your item. We do not make offers. We consider offers to be a form of appraisal which is a service that we charge for.
Legal Guidelines for Freelance Web Designers
Wednesday, April 14th, 2010Handling the legal side of freelancing could possibly be one of the more annoying tasks required for the job. Having worked as a full-time freelancer I can attest the amount of legal paperwork and information can become overwhelming, especially for newbies entering the field.
No matter what your practice, be it web design to freelance writing, there is generally some form of legal contract you’ll need to create with your clients. Networking comes with the freelance territory, and within that is contracts and due dates for project completion. Below we’ll be considering some great tips for legal actions and pursuing your own career further in freelancing.
Always Draft up Contracts
Why are contracts so important? This question has been asked countless times throughout the decades and doesn’t come without a strong answer. Business has always been a shady game. Unfortunately levels of trust are indicative of a strong professional relationship. Unfortunately, not all clients will be so easy to work with.
Building a contract and having both parties sign from the start sets in motion a state of initial working values. These could include a timeline of project work, when and how much you’d be getting paid, along with other details you may find pertinent. These should be nailed out between you and your clientele until a reasonable agreement can be achieved.
It’s important to include each aspect that you’re both concerned with inside a single document. This will be your go-to primer for any difficulties which stem from project work. It’s an important document to not only cover your client in case of project failure, but also protecting you in the case of your client backing down from the work and payment.
Always Set Dates
Having a scheduled calendar is just another strong framework keeping you from drifting too far off task. An agreeable schedule of dates is something both parties should be able to look at and consider a reasonable amount of time for each task.
So for example, you may quote 1-2 weeks for a website mockup and graphics/icons designed. At this point the client would look over the designs, suggest any changes, and you’d plan for another 1-2 weeks for frontend development. This type of timeline is very lenient and doesn’t provide specific dates for when a piece of work must be done. This won’t work with all of your clients, although it’s a much more lax environment for creativity to flow through.
If it’s easier you may want to consider sketching out a small calender with weeks shaded in based on task completion. I have seen a few demos of these from past freelancers and it’s a great way to draw the attention of your client. This proves to them you not only understand what you’re doing but hold the creativity and business sense to plot out a course timeline for their project!
It may also be useful to set up meeting times to share information face-to-face. The frequency of these would vary depending on the type of project being worked on. A from-scratch new website infrastructure may require 3 meetups weekly while an icon set design may not even require face to face interaction. Keep your schedule loose and ready for anything, but once you’ve got something solid ensure you get it down in writing.
Follow-Up Clauses
One of the big pet peeves we see in freelancing today is the client base looking into running the show. If you’ve done any work as a freelancer you have probably run into this countless times in the business world. After creating a perfect mockup design your client may say “yeah it’s okay, but can you update changes X, Y, and Z? Oh and let’s scrap ideas A and B while we’re at it…”
This is not only very frustrating for you but will also mess up your pre-planned timeline of events. It’s important to include a clause about revisions and a detailed policy on work updates. There are no set rules here, but it is important both your client and yourself agree upon the terms.
You may charge extra for more time spent updating colors/layout spacing. However, if your client isn’t aware this is going on they may have an awfully difficult time forking over any cash. Alternatively I know many freelancers who include the first 2-3 revisions for free and will charge after that based on an hourly rate. It’s all up to you regarding how you’d like to structure your overtime. Just be sure to include something.
Final Products and Delivery
In the wacky world if web design it is often possible for confusion to settle when it comes towards a finished product. There are so many freelancers offering icons, animations, Flash graphics, videos… from a client’s perspective who doesn’t understand much of technology this can be awfully confusing.
It should be discussed before even starting the project work what is expected to be delivered as a final result. This could include multiple things, however for a general website design it’s often only a handful of graphics and coded HTML/CSS documents.
If your client is looking for something slightly more convoluted such as WordPress theming or plugin development include a few sentences referencing the types of files to be shared. These could be .css, .php, .js libraries, or anything else which may be included inside the projects’ files.
If easier just draft out a bulleted list of the files to be returned and at which stage the work will be ready for client’s eyes. This shows a sign of trust that you actually know what you’re doing and will be able to deliver quality code! If you’ll be personally uploading all files into the web server this may not be necessary, but still good practice to include just to avoid possible confusion.
Conclusion
These tips on legal writing should get you pointed in the right direction. The career path of a freelance web designer is not easy, especially entering into business for yourself. There are plenty of tools to help out with invoicing and paper trails, so make use of these whenever possible.
If you’re just getting started I’d also recommend building up a small network of clients to get some buzz going around your name. Here are some tips on finding local freelance clients if you’re looking for a way to break into the market. At the end of the day legal structures are all about protecting both parties of a freelance project to ensure they will deliver their regards on-time and respectably.
Marketing Communications
Monday, April 12th, 2010In recent days, competition in the market has been very stiff thus calling for business entities to look for the best marketing communication strategies. Significantly, it has been realized that, the issue of modern technology and liberalization of markets has led to significant developments in the strategies business adopt to market their products. TAGS: Marketing Communications, extensive research study , Market and Literature review,
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Sunday, April 11th, 2010Buy High quality Automotive Equipment
Saturday, April 10th, 2010Buy High quality Automotive EquipmentBuy Top quality Automotive Equipment By: Conan BrownIf you run a garage service or automotive business enterprise, you know the importance of having highly reliable and high quality automotive equipment. In a highly competitive automotive manufacturing market, everybody is in search of advanced technology that reduces downtime and improves and simplifies usage. The Supra Suprano will need to be of the highest standards, as it affects performance and reliability.Automotive equipment may be for wide ranging requirements and specifications. You will discover several categories of equipment dealing with several aspects of automobiles, which includes repair and maintenance. Equipment need to be bought from leading suppliers and manufacturers that supply the best and guaranteed top quality at competitive costs. Variety Of EquipmentAmong the numerous automotive equipment which are available as follows:Lifts: These are employed to hoist cars for repairs and maintenance and might be of a variety of varieties. These include two posts, four posts, mid-rise, turf, parking, as well as other sorts. The lifts are utilized for a number of functions for example oil changes, brake work, lifting equipment, along with other jobs. Some automotive lifts are space saving and increase revenues for your enterprise. Leading providers supply lift repair parts as nicely, which help prolong the service life of lifts.Lubrication equipment: Different sorts of equipment for lubrication are available. These include oil meters, oil pumps, hoses, grease valves, manual oil pumps; Balcrank oil pumps, Supra High, pump and reel package, and tank monitors are available.Jacks and accessories: These are vital to your enterprise and you could will need high-quality engine hoists, bumper frame jacks, bottle jacks, heavy duty floor jacks, and engine support, amongst other equipment. The finest transmission jacks, vehicle and wheel dollies, and under hoist stands are amongst a number of accessories available.Vehicle service equipment: If your business enterprise deals in servicing of vehicles, you know how necessary it can be to have the best automotive equipment. These include battery chargers, brake fluid exchangers, break flush accessories, booster cables, wheel balancers, testing equipment for noise vibration, transmission accessories, paint and body equipment, and a lot of other people. You may get all this and extra at the leading suppliers of automobile parts.Exhaust hose: you may get superior high quality exhaust equipment for all applications from automotive equipment suppliers. High temperature requirements dictate the use of overhead reels, several of which are motorized which is recommended for diesel engine uses. There are actually overhead hoses, Crushproof? rubber hoses, welding exhaust hoses, underground exhaust and accessories included inside the extensive range.Air compressors: These are rather very important for tire service. It is easy to get the best high quality of compressors from automotive equipment stores. These include vertical or horizontal compressor, gas and diesel compressors, duplex compressors, and pancake and stack compressors, amongst other people.Reels: These are rather essential equipment employed for a variety of purposes in automotive-related services. Reels are available in extensive and wide ranging varieties. These include Supra Dixion, water reels, pressure washer hose reels, grease reels, welding and hydraulic reels, and a large number of other varieties.Buying automotive equipment is now no longer complicated as you’ve a one-stop shop for any item you want from the leading suppliers online. They’re authorized distributors for leading brands and give customer-oriented service by trained and experienced employees. You get unmatched high quality in service and products.
Think About Selecting An Used Horse Saddle
Saturday, April 10th, 2010If you have got a pastime, such as horseback riding, and you are trying to find an used saddle to purchase, or perhaps you own some used western saddles, and you want to have them swapped out for, some new saddles, you have come to the right place.
You can find a large variety of saddles for sale ??” both new and used. You will discover numerous different styles and designs to choose from, dependent upon the equestrianism field you are interesting in.
If you have one available for sale, you might look to trade with somebody else to acquire their saddle. You could trade your old saddle for someone else??Ts saddle that is also interested in a trade. So it will be a win-win for the two of you. You each get a saddle that will be new to you and you both get to save lots of money. Price should be a consideration.
Completely new saddles, which you can find in specialized shops, are rather highly-priced and consequently could very well mean a large monetary cost for many people. If you are not willing to pay out a ton of money to purchase a new saddle, then pre-owned saddles could possibly be a wonderful solution. Second hand saddles may have many years of usage remaining in them. So even if you were to buy a second hand saddle, you can get many years worth of use from it.
As for the exact places where you can make these types of deals, there are many internet sites specializing in selling second hand saddles. You could consider shopping around at eBay to get saddles. You might think of eBay as a site which you could sell and buy small laptop computers, garments, etc. You may also sell or trade saddles there too, as well as other horse equipment items. You can browse through the categories to see the used saddles that they have available for sale. There are usually together with information which will help you .
If you are searching for used western saddles, check out http://usedwesternsaddlesforsale.com