Join us for the next Flag Tech Talk lecture on Tuesday, October 18th at 6 p.m. at Kickstand Kafé.
Learn some of the most basic ways you can protect yourself on the internet. So many people do things that open themselves up to problems on the web without even knowing it. Today, there are thousands of websites being hacked, security breaches, computer viruses, email scams, and identity theft that frightens people. All of this can be minimized or even prevented by some simple techniques to keep yourself safe. Join us for a discussion on how to protect yourself in our computerized world.
This lecture is presented by Joe Bodin of Flagstaff Central.com, Inc. and Bret Carpenter of Orig'native, LLC as part of the Flag Tech Talk lecture series that is held on the Third Tuesday of each month at KickStand Kafé. Go to www.FlagTechTalk.com for more information.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Easy Security Tips to Help Keep you Safe
We've been asked a lot how to protect yourself from scams and hackers. It's an ongoing problem that is constantly changing and evolving, so there is no true way to completely protect yourself on the internet. But, there are some good tips to go by so we decided to write them up to help people do the basic things to protect themselves. Here goes...
Antivirus and Firewall - Make sure you have a security software on your computer, laptop, tablet, smartphone... Leaving yourself open without any Antivirus or Firewall is like asking for trouble. Once you have it, then make sure you regularly keep it up-to-date. There are new security updates almost daily for these as they work hard to protect you from any new problems they find. It's their job to protect you because you bought the software, but if you don't keep it up-to-date then you aren't really protected.
Public Hotspots - When in a public hotspot it is always a good idea to stay away from using any passwords. Obviously, if you want to check something like your email, you can. But, think twice before you put in key passwords like ones that give access to your website, your bank account, PayPal accounts, or anything else that has a financial element to it. If you do need to check these sorts of things, try your best to make sure your computer has a Firewall on it that is completely up-to-date so that you have one level of protection. Typically if you have a Firewall running, it will prompt you when you log into the hotspot asking you if you are in a Trusted Place or a Public Place. Make sure to tell it that you are in a Public Place because it adds another level of protection because it now knows you are not on an internet connection that can be trusted.
Saving Passwords - It is not a good idea to use the "password saving" options in the standard web browsers (especially Internet Explorer) including the "remember me" check box option on most sites. Although these browsers are constantly working and updating themselves to afford you some protection, they are clear targets for hackers. You are much better off either remembering your passwords or using software that is specifically designed to save passwords. I recommend using software called Roboform, but there also others on the market that are widely used. It saves all of your passwords, profiles, and anything else you might need to regularly fill out on websites. This allows you to log into sites with a single click. This software even has an option to password protect your passwords, so they are double protected and all you need to remember is the one "master password" to unlock all the rest.
Unique Passwords - Lots of people make the mistake of re-using the same password over and over again. If you do this, then you are literally giving one website the password to all of the other ones you use. You are just asking some low paid employee of a website to grab your password and start poking around at other sites you might be using (like your bank account). Make sure to use "unique passwords" as much as you can. This especially applies to passwords for things like your Bank Account and PayPal account. If you think that using different passwords for everything will be confusing, use a password handler (like I mentioned above). This will allow you to literally make up something new for every site and you never have to remember it.
Always Logout - Another big mistake that almost everyone does is forgetting to logout after using a website. If you just "close the browser window" you are leaving that connection open. If someone has hacked you while you are say "sitting at a coffee shop" then after you leave they may still have access. The simple act of going to the Logout link and making sure you really leave a site can save you. This is something you should get yourself to do no matter where you are.
Social Media Scams - More and more people are using sites like FaceBook and the scams are starting to hit social media as well. There are certain links that go out within social media that hackers have embedded viruses in. If you open it, then you get it too and they start using your account to send out the same links. And it spreads... So, make sure when you open something that it is a real link (which is sometimes hard to tell). A good tip is that if you see a lot of your friends posting the same set of information, it's a good chance that they didn't post it and that they have been hacked. Seeing the same posting four or five times on other accounts is a good sign that something is wrong. When in doubt, if you feel like something might have happened then change your passwords immediately and make sure all of your privacy settings are good.
Email Scams - This has been going on for a long time now. Most of us recognize the real scams like the money laundering from Nigeria or some Prince who needs help moving his money to the US. But, there are still tons and tons of scams out there going out via email that are different and don't look like scams. A good rule of thumb is never open an email that isn't from someone you really know - just delete it without opening it. If there is no "subject" in the email, then don't open it either. The other really big thing to do is if there are links in "any email" then don't click on them. Never ever, ever, ever click on a link in an email no matter who it's from. Always open a web browser and type in the link directly. This especially applies for sites like PayPal. There are tons and tons of scams for PayPal and if you just go to www.PayPal.com and log in direct, they will tell you if there's something you need to do or know. Clicking on a PayPal link in an email is a very, very bad idea because it's likely it isn't actually them (no matter how much it may look like them) and someone is trying to steal your information. So, a good rule of thumb is to only read emails that are from people you know and never click on links in an email.
Antivirus and Firewall - Make sure you have a security software on your computer, laptop, tablet, smartphone... Leaving yourself open without any Antivirus or Firewall is like asking for trouble. Once you have it, then make sure you regularly keep it up-to-date. There are new security updates almost daily for these as they work hard to protect you from any new problems they find. It's their job to protect you because you bought the software, but if you don't keep it up-to-date then you aren't really protected.
Public Hotspots - When in a public hotspot it is always a good idea to stay away from using any passwords. Obviously, if you want to check something like your email, you can. But, think twice before you put in key passwords like ones that give access to your website, your bank account, PayPal accounts, or anything else that has a financial element to it. If you do need to check these sorts of things, try your best to make sure your computer has a Firewall on it that is completely up-to-date so that you have one level of protection. Typically if you have a Firewall running, it will prompt you when you log into the hotspot asking you if you are in a Trusted Place or a Public Place. Make sure to tell it that you are in a Public Place because it adds another level of protection because it now knows you are not on an internet connection that can be trusted.
Saving Passwords - It is not a good idea to use the "password saving" options in the standard web browsers (especially Internet Explorer) including the "remember me" check box option on most sites. Although these browsers are constantly working and updating themselves to afford you some protection, they are clear targets for hackers. You are much better off either remembering your passwords or using software that is specifically designed to save passwords. I recommend using software called Roboform, but there also others on the market that are widely used. It saves all of your passwords, profiles, and anything else you might need to regularly fill out on websites. This allows you to log into sites with a single click. This software even has an option to password protect your passwords, so they are double protected and all you need to remember is the one "master password" to unlock all the rest.
Unique Passwords - Lots of people make the mistake of re-using the same password over and over again. If you do this, then you are literally giving one website the password to all of the other ones you use. You are just asking some low paid employee of a website to grab your password and start poking around at other sites you might be using (like your bank account). Make sure to use "unique passwords" as much as you can. This especially applies to passwords for things like your Bank Account and PayPal account. If you think that using different passwords for everything will be confusing, use a password handler (like I mentioned above). This will allow you to literally make up something new for every site and you never have to remember it.
Always Logout - Another big mistake that almost everyone does is forgetting to logout after using a website. If you just "close the browser window" you are leaving that connection open. If someone has hacked you while you are say "sitting at a coffee shop" then after you leave they may still have access. The simple act of going to the Logout link and making sure you really leave a site can save you. This is something you should get yourself to do no matter where you are.
Social Media Scams - More and more people are using sites like FaceBook and the scams are starting to hit social media as well. There are certain links that go out within social media that hackers have embedded viruses in. If you open it, then you get it too and they start using your account to send out the same links. And it spreads... So, make sure when you open something that it is a real link (which is sometimes hard to tell). A good tip is that if you see a lot of your friends posting the same set of information, it's a good chance that they didn't post it and that they have been hacked. Seeing the same posting four or five times on other accounts is a good sign that something is wrong. When in doubt, if you feel like something might have happened then change your passwords immediately and make sure all of your privacy settings are good.
Email Scams - This has been going on for a long time now. Most of us recognize the real scams like the money laundering from Nigeria or some Prince who needs help moving his money to the US. But, there are still tons and tons of scams out there going out via email that are different and don't look like scams. A good rule of thumb is never open an email that isn't from someone you really know - just delete it without opening it. If there is no "subject" in the email, then don't open it either. The other really big thing to do is if there are links in "any email" then don't click on them. Never ever, ever, ever click on a link in an email no matter who it's from. Always open a web browser and type in the link directly. This especially applies for sites like PayPal. There are tons and tons of scams for PayPal and if you just go to www.PayPal.com and log in direct, they will tell you if there's something you need to do or know. Clicking on a PayPal link in an email is a very, very bad idea because it's likely it isn't actually them (no matter how much it may look like them) and someone is trying to steal your information. So, a good rule of thumb is to only read emails that are from people you know and never click on links in an email.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Search Engine Optimization Lecture
The next Flag Tech Talk lecture will be on Search Engine Optimization. It will be on Tuesday, August 16th at 6 pm at Pizza Furiosa (in the shopping center behind Walmart east).
"Having a website doesn't mean anyone is ever going to find it! One of the most important things you can do to make your internet presence work for you is to have your site prepared correctly for the search engines. This discussion will look at lots of techniques to make a website ready for Google, Yahoo, Bing, and the thousands of other engines out there."
This lecture will be presented by Joe Bodin of Flagstaff Central. It is part of an ongoing lecture series called Flag Tech Talk that is held on the third Tuesday of each month. The series is sponsored by Flagstaff Central.com, Inc., Orig'native, LLC, and Pizza Furiosa. Go to http://www.flagtechtalk.com/ for more information.
"Having a website doesn't mean anyone is ever going to find it! One of the most important things you can do to make your internet presence work for you is to have your site prepared correctly for the search engines. This discussion will look at lots of techniques to make a website ready for Google, Yahoo, Bing, and the thousands of other engines out there."
This lecture will be presented by Joe Bodin of Flagstaff Central. It is part of an ongoing lecture series called Flag Tech Talk that is held on the third Tuesday of each month. The series is sponsored by Flagstaff Central.com, Inc., Orig'native, LLC, and Pizza Furiosa. Go to http://www.flagtechtalk.com/ for more information.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
FaceBook Tech Tip
If you run a business and already have created a "page" on FaceBook or even if you don't but want to make sure you have control of your listings, then you should also follow this tech tip.
FaceBook uses a wide range of databases to create automatic business pages. It's their way of expanding the content on their site. Typically, if you have a business license with a legal address, then FaceBook may automatically create a page for you whether you know it or not. Thus, you need to search for yourself to see if there is an additional posting that you didn't know about.
If you already have created your own page then it may also be necessary to have someone else (a friend or associate) search for you as well because while you are logged into your account the default when you search for yourself will typically only find your own page (i.e. the one your created). So, having a friend search and then email you the "link line" of this additional page may be necessary.
If you do find another page out there, then you need to "claim it" so that you can have control of the content. Currently the link for this is towards the bottom of the left column. The process requires you to be ready by your business phone. FaceBook will call the phone number on this page and give you a four digit pin number. You then type it in and officially "claim the page". Then, it allows you to combine this new page (that you just found) with your official page (that you created).
This will effectively "clean up" your listings on FaceBook to make sure that only the information you want out there about your company is visible.
FaceBook uses a wide range of databases to create automatic business pages. It's their way of expanding the content on their site. Typically, if you have a business license with a legal address, then FaceBook may automatically create a page for you whether you know it or not. Thus, you need to search for yourself to see if there is an additional posting that you didn't know about.
If you already have created your own page then it may also be necessary to have someone else (a friend or associate) search for you as well because while you are logged into your account the default when you search for yourself will typically only find your own page (i.e. the one your created). So, having a friend search and then email you the "link line" of this additional page may be necessary.
If you do find another page out there, then you need to "claim it" so that you can have control of the content. Currently the link for this is towards the bottom of the left column. The process requires you to be ready by your business phone. FaceBook will call the phone number on this page and give you a four digit pin number. You then type it in and officially "claim the page". Then, it allows you to combine this new page (that you just found) with your official page (that you created).
This will effectively "clean up" your listings on FaceBook to make sure that only the information you want out there about your company is visible.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Flag Tech Talk - Discussions about Technology for Regular People
We are very proud to be a sponsor of a new "technology" lecture series here in the Flagstaff area that we are calling "Flag Tech Talk". It's something we've been wanting to do for a long time, and we've finally got things rolling along. We've partnered with Bret Carpenter of Orig'native LLC and will be sharing the lectures so that we get a nice variety of topics. We hope to bring in other guest speakers later as well. And, we've also partnered with Richard Fernandez at Pizza Furiosa to have the talks in his restaurant. So, it looks like things are rolling along nicely!!!
One of the things that our clients say about our company is that we don't "Techno-Babble" them into confusion. We try to talk to our clients to make them understand what the options are. So, one of the goals of these technical lectures are to have them designed to help educate regular people so they understand more about computers, the internet, and the resources available to them when it comes to managing their small business or organization. They are completely educational and are absolutely Free!
The lectures will be held on the 3rd Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. at Pizza Furiosa (which is located in the shopping center behind Walmart in Flagstaff). They will most likely be about an hour long, but might go longer if people are having fun. We want everyone to come armed with questions, and that they will be more "discussion oriented" than really lectures.
The first talk is:
Cutting Through the Technology Hype
Tuesday, July 19th at 6 p.m.
Presented by Bret Carpenter of Orig'native
We are constantly bombarded by marketing hype about The Cloud, Tablets, Android Phones & iPhones, Apps, iPads, Mobility, Chromebooks, the list goes on.... Let's take a sensible look at what all this means to small businesses and organizations. We will explore what these things are and how they relate to your business.
For more information:
Website - http://www.flagtechtalk.com/
FaceBook - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Flag-Tech-Talk/195121450537858
Meetup - http://www.meetup.com/FlagTechTalk/
We hope you can come to our Educational Lectures designed to Break the Technical Barriers!
One of the things that our clients say about our company is that we don't "Techno-Babble" them into confusion. We try to talk to our clients to make them understand what the options are. So, one of the goals of these technical lectures are to have them designed to help educate regular people so they understand more about computers, the internet, and the resources available to them when it comes to managing their small business or organization. They are completely educational and are absolutely Free!
The lectures will be held on the 3rd Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. at Pizza Furiosa (which is located in the shopping center behind Walmart in Flagstaff). They will most likely be about an hour long, but might go longer if people are having fun. We want everyone to come armed with questions, and that they will be more "discussion oriented" than really lectures.
The first talk is:
Cutting Through the Technology Hype
Tuesday, July 19th at 6 p.m.
Presented by Bret Carpenter of Orig'native
We are constantly bombarded by marketing hype about The Cloud, Tablets, Android Phones & iPhones, Apps, iPads, Mobility, Chromebooks, the list goes on.... Let's take a sensible look at what all this means to small businesses and organizations. We will explore what these things are and how they relate to your business.
For more information:
Website - http://www.flagtechtalk.com/
FaceBook - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Flag-Tech-Talk/195121450537858
Meetup - http://www.meetup.com/FlagTechTalk/
We hope you can come to our Educational Lectures designed to Break the Technical Barriers!
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Promo Codes - Get a Discount on your Online Order
One of the greatest words of advise that you can try when buying things online is to "look for promo codes" for the company you are buying from. It costs you absolutely nothing to search around to see if you can find one. And, it costs you absolutely nothing to type in a few characters to see if it works.
There are lots of online sites that pool together promo codes for most of the major retailers on the internet. How they work is that they allow the public to submit any codes they find. Thus, if you get emails from a specific retailer offering you a discount, you can go onto these websites and post the code you got for others to use. This makes it so the promo codes are widely distributed.
Here's all you do... When you go to buy something on the internet, open another browser window and type in "Company Name promo codes". So, if you are buying from say "Best Buy", you would type in "Best Buy promo codes" into a search engine (like Google, Yahoo or Bing). Then, see what results come up. Go to a few of the sites and see what they have to offer. Sometimes you may find a bunch of options or discounts that are being offered, and other times you won't find anything. But, what does it hurt to look for a few extra minutes to potentially save a lot of money.
Some suggested sites:
- Brad's Deals: www.bradsdeals.com
- Coupon Cabin: www.couponcabin.com
- Retail Me Not: www.retailmenot.com
- Deal Catcher: www.dealcatcher.com
As with all of these types of online offers, always read the fine print and make sure what you are buying matches the code. Usually you will have the option to enter a Promo Code during the checkout process. If you enter the code, it should show you the discount right then and there. If it doesn't work, then it should tell you. And, you can always try another code.
This is a great way to get a discount when buying things online! Give it a try...!
There are lots of online sites that pool together promo codes for most of the major retailers on the internet. How they work is that they allow the public to submit any codes they find. Thus, if you get emails from a specific retailer offering you a discount, you can go onto these websites and post the code you got for others to use. This makes it so the promo codes are widely distributed.
Here's all you do... When you go to buy something on the internet, open another browser window and type in "Company Name promo codes". So, if you are buying from say "Best Buy", you would type in "Best Buy promo codes" into a search engine (like Google, Yahoo or Bing). Then, see what results come up. Go to a few of the sites and see what they have to offer. Sometimes you may find a bunch of options or discounts that are being offered, and other times you won't find anything. But, what does it hurt to look for a few extra minutes to potentially save a lot of money.
Some suggested sites:
- Brad's Deals: www.bradsdeals.com
- Coupon Cabin: www.couponcabin.com
- Retail Me Not: www.retailmenot.com
- Deal Catcher: www.dealcatcher.com
As with all of these types of online offers, always read the fine print and make sure what you are buying matches the code. Usually you will have the option to enter a Promo Code during the checkout process. If you enter the code, it should show you the discount right then and there. If it doesn't work, then it should tell you. And, you can always try another code.
This is a great way to get a discount when buying things online! Give it a try...!
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Should I choose https:// to Make FaceBook more Secure?
FaceBook recently released an option that allows their users to view it on a Secure Server. When you do this it changes the link line from http:// to https:// and ads a layer of security when you are viewing it. We've had a bunch of clients ask us if they should do this or not, so figured it'd be a good idea to address it in a quick article. So, here goes...
The Pros: It is always a good idea to view things on a Secure Server whenever possible. Essentially what this option does is add a layer of encryption so that someone can't theoretically break in or "hack" your computer while you are viewing things. Typically, whenever you are dealing with something like a Bank Account or buying something on a Shopping Cart, it is essential to make sure that you are on a secure server. Always look to make sure that it says "https://" and that the little lock symbol on your browser is showing that things are secure. So, it's a nice idea to consider that FaceBook should be secure considering all the information you are putting into your account and the amount of viruses that seem to prop up on FaceBook.
The Cons: The real problem with making FaceBook work on a Secure Server is that not all the information on a FaceBook page is secure in itself. So, if you choose this option you will likely get constant pop-ups warning you that "...some items on this page aren't secure..." or you'll get prompted by the browser regularly to allow this sort of thing to go through. By allowing it, you are automatically breaking part of the security, but if you don't then you can't view it all. Realistically, most of the information on FaceBook is pulled from somewhere else. Pictures and videos especially come from other website links, so these automatically aren't secure. Thus, it becomes a real pain to deal with it if you choose this option.
In conclusion, you have to choose how secure you want FaceBook to be for you. Most of it is already so open to the public that in our view it's part of the point to leave it open. It is after all - Social Media. But, if you are very security conscious, then you would want to do this. You have to decide for yourself if it is an issue and what you are willing to deal with to have that layer of security.
The Pros: It is always a good idea to view things on a Secure Server whenever possible. Essentially what this option does is add a layer of encryption so that someone can't theoretically break in or "hack" your computer while you are viewing things. Typically, whenever you are dealing with something like a Bank Account or buying something on a Shopping Cart, it is essential to make sure that you are on a secure server. Always look to make sure that it says "https://" and that the little lock symbol on your browser is showing that things are secure. So, it's a nice idea to consider that FaceBook should be secure considering all the information you are putting into your account and the amount of viruses that seem to prop up on FaceBook.
The Cons: The real problem with making FaceBook work on a Secure Server is that not all the information on a FaceBook page is secure in itself. So, if you choose this option you will likely get constant pop-ups warning you that "...some items on this page aren't secure..." or you'll get prompted by the browser regularly to allow this sort of thing to go through. By allowing it, you are automatically breaking part of the security, but if you don't then you can't view it all. Realistically, most of the information on FaceBook is pulled from somewhere else. Pictures and videos especially come from other website links, so these automatically aren't secure. Thus, it becomes a real pain to deal with it if you choose this option.
In conclusion, you have to choose how secure you want FaceBook to be for you. Most of it is already so open to the public that in our view it's part of the point to leave it open. It is after all - Social Media. But, if you are very security conscious, then you would want to do this. You have to decide for yourself if it is an issue and what you are willing to deal with to have that layer of security.
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How to: If you do want to secure your pages, then go to [Account] in the top right corner. Choose [Account Settings]. Then, towards the bottom of these settings it says "Account Security" - click the [change] link to put it the way you want.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
We hear from people all the time about how their websites aren't being found in the Search Engines. Most of them paid a designer a lot of money to get a new website created figuring that it'd be a great way to market their business or organization. And then, the site fizzled out with no one finding it.
As part of designing a website, our firm believes it is part of the design process to appropriately prepare the site for marketing. In the business, the term for this is Search Engine Optimization (also called frequently - SEO). The reason this is so important is because simply having a website doesn't mean anyone is ever going to find it.
There are lots and lots of things that should be done to appropriately prepare a website for the Search Engines. Here are a few of those items that will help you understand what it takes. This is something that our web design firm does for our clients automatically, and often we get hired to do it on sites we didn't design.
Search Engine Optimization:
1) Meta Tags - The most important thing to get into a website are Meta Tags. These primarily consist of a Title, Description, and Keywords for every page of the website. The Meta Tags go into the "code" of the site in what's called the Header. Every page of your website should have unique tags that describe that specific page. If you do the same tag everywhere, then you will only have one page listed in the Search Engines. Whereas, if you have unique tags, then all of your pages will get picked up. Typically the Title Tag should describe what is on that page and your company name, and it should be between 50 and 75 characters long. The Description tag should overview the page in about two sentences (which match the content on that page) and should be between 200 to 250 characters long. And, the Keywords should be a list of words and phrases (not more than two words together) that describe the page in a comma delimited list that is about 150 to 200 characters long. On all of these tags, don't go way over the character limit because that is considered "shouting" and will count against you. There are some other Meta Tags that should go into your Homepage, but the above ones we discussed are the most important.
2) The Text on Your Site - Having good content on your site is extremely important. The Search Engines are looking to provide good results, so when they scan or spider your site they are looking to pick up good information. If you don't put any text or don't write enough, then they have little to pick up. If you put all of your text on a your site as an "image" or in a fancy "flash animation" then they have nothing to pick up. Every page of your website needs to have strong and appropriate text not only for your viewers to read, but for the Search Engines to use to list you.
3) Alt or Picture Tags - I'm sure you've rolled over an image and seen the little text pop-up that happens. Originally, the concept of having tags on a picture was for handicap people to be able to know what a picture was about. A blind person could roll over the image and if there was a tag, then their speakers would tell them what it said describing the image. This still applies, of course. But, the Search Engines have incorporated this element into their algorithm to determine what your site is about. It doesn't count as much as the Meta Tags and the Text on Your Site, but it does count. So, making sure to install Tags on all of the images that really use good keywords to describe that image is very helpful to good marketing. You typically can put around 150 characters in this and still not be "shouting" at them. So, describe each image in a clean and keyword heavy way.
4) The Keyword Squeeze - We already talked about having good text on your site, but an additional element to this is squeezing in Keywords all over your pages. This can be done in a tactful way that helps your Search Engine percentages. For example, most sites have a Copyright Statement at the bottom that typically says, "Copyright 2011. All Rights Reserved." This is something no one ever really reads, so why not add some text by saying, "Copyright 2011. All Rights Reserved. The content of this DESCRIBE YOUR WEBSITE WITH KEYWORDS is exclusively owned by YOUR COMPANY NAME AND LOCATION. We are the premiere ADD MORE KEYWORDS ABOUT YOUR COMPANY and want to work with you..." type of text. This is hidden at the bottom of every page on your site, no one really reads it, but the Search Engines will pick up all those great Keywords to use in your favor. This is just one example, so look at every spot on your site to squeeze in more Keywords.
5) Real Links - If you had a fancy site designed using Flash or all of your Navigational Links are using some feature like Javascript, then your pages might not be accessible to the Search Engines. Providing real links so that the engines can scan or spider your site is very important. They typically start at the Homepage and then follow your links throughout your site. If they can't follow the links, then only your Homepage gets picked up. So, it's always a good idea to put real link somewhere on your pages. We typically do this in the footer of your site. It helps people get around your site when they reach the bottom of a page they've been reading, and it helps the Search Engines flow through the site easier.
These are just some of the ways to get your site better listed in the Search Engines. We can help you with this task to really make a difference in the amount of traffic your site receives and how it is listed in the Search Engines. We'd be happy to talk with you about the options, so contact us today.
As part of designing a website, our firm believes it is part of the design process to appropriately prepare the site for marketing. In the business, the term for this is Search Engine Optimization (also called frequently - SEO). The reason this is so important is because simply having a website doesn't mean anyone is ever going to find it.
There are lots and lots of things that should be done to appropriately prepare a website for the Search Engines. Here are a few of those items that will help you understand what it takes. This is something that our web design firm does for our clients automatically, and often we get hired to do it on sites we didn't design.
Search Engine Optimization:
1) Meta Tags - The most important thing to get into a website are Meta Tags. These primarily consist of a Title, Description, and Keywords for every page of the website. The Meta Tags go into the "code" of the site in what's called the Header. Every page of your website should have unique tags that describe that specific page. If you do the same tag everywhere, then you will only have one page listed in the Search Engines. Whereas, if you have unique tags, then all of your pages will get picked up. Typically the Title Tag should describe what is on that page and your company name, and it should be between 50 and 75 characters long. The Description tag should overview the page in about two sentences (which match the content on that page) and should be between 200 to 250 characters long. And, the Keywords should be a list of words and phrases (not more than two words together) that describe the page in a comma delimited list that is about 150 to 200 characters long. On all of these tags, don't go way over the character limit because that is considered "shouting" and will count against you. There are some other Meta Tags that should go into your Homepage, but the above ones we discussed are the most important.
2) The Text on Your Site - Having good content on your site is extremely important. The Search Engines are looking to provide good results, so when they scan or spider your site they are looking to pick up good information. If you don't put any text or don't write enough, then they have little to pick up. If you put all of your text on a your site as an "image" or in a fancy "flash animation" then they have nothing to pick up. Every page of your website needs to have strong and appropriate text not only for your viewers to read, but for the Search Engines to use to list you.
3) Alt or Picture Tags - I'm sure you've rolled over an image and seen the little text pop-up that happens. Originally, the concept of having tags on a picture was for handicap people to be able to know what a picture was about. A blind person could roll over the image and if there was a tag, then their speakers would tell them what it said describing the image. This still applies, of course. But, the Search Engines have incorporated this element into their algorithm to determine what your site is about. It doesn't count as much as the Meta Tags and the Text on Your Site, but it does count. So, making sure to install Tags on all of the images that really use good keywords to describe that image is very helpful to good marketing. You typically can put around 150 characters in this and still not be "shouting" at them. So, describe each image in a clean and keyword heavy way.
4) The Keyword Squeeze - We already talked about having good text on your site, but an additional element to this is squeezing in Keywords all over your pages. This can be done in a tactful way that helps your Search Engine percentages. For example, most sites have a Copyright Statement at the bottom that typically says, "Copyright 2011. All Rights Reserved." This is something no one ever really reads, so why not add some text by saying, "Copyright 2011. All Rights Reserved. The content of this DESCRIBE YOUR WEBSITE WITH KEYWORDS is exclusively owned by YOUR COMPANY NAME AND LOCATION. We are the premiere ADD MORE KEYWORDS ABOUT YOUR COMPANY and want to work with you..." type of text. This is hidden at the bottom of every page on your site, no one really reads it, but the Search Engines will pick up all those great Keywords to use in your favor. This is just one example, so look at every spot on your site to squeeze in more Keywords.
5) Real Links - If you had a fancy site designed using Flash or all of your Navigational Links are using some feature like Javascript, then your pages might not be accessible to the Search Engines. Providing real links so that the engines can scan or spider your site is very important. They typically start at the Homepage and then follow your links throughout your site. If they can't follow the links, then only your Homepage gets picked up. So, it's always a good idea to put real link somewhere on your pages. We typically do this in the footer of your site. It helps people get around your site when they reach the bottom of a page they've been reading, and it helps the Search Engines flow through the site easier.
These are just some of the ways to get your site better listed in the Search Engines. We can help you with this task to really make a difference in the amount of traffic your site receives and how it is listed in the Search Engines. We'd be happy to talk with you about the options, so contact us today.
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