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Internet, Web Sites & E-mail

Jennifer Holman

2013-01-02 14:12:36

Q-My family and friends keep asking me when I’m going to get on Facebook? Since I’m not very computer savvy and I really don’t know anything about Facebook, I’ve been reluctant to do so. What is Facebook and what is it going to do for me?

A-Facebook is one of those new ideas that came around after My Space, and initially was set up for colleges and universities, so there were a lot of people who didn’t understand how it worked. Now, it’s bigger than My Space ever was and the centerpiece (if you will) of social media. I appreciate your questions and I will do my best over the next several issues to provide you with information. Since its launch in 2004, Facebook has become one of the most popular social networking sites on the internet. It’s a wonderful way for family and friends to keep in touch in our busy and often geographically challenged lives. Facebook can be a great way to reconnect with long lost friends, classmates, and colleagues. You can be a fan and get updates from your favorite celebrity, author, musician or sportsperson. Facebook offers games and apps that have the benefit of exercising the brain and hand muscles. Being new to Facebook, you’ll run into some unfamiliar terminology. Here are some common Facebook terms and their definitions Your Timeline is your page. It contains all your stories, your photos and videos, a list of your friends, your favorite activities and interests, and what used to be called your Wall. This is where your friends can leave you messages, and you can update the world with anything you feel like sharing. The News Feed is a continuous stream of updates about your friends’ activities on and off Facebook. It appears on your Home page. A Friend is someone you are connected to on Facebook. Friending is the act of sending someone a friend request; all friendships have to be confirmed by both people in order for it to be official on Facebook. The quick reference chart to the right should assist you in several areas. I will be back next month with more.

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Internet, Web Sites & E-mail

Matthew Rupp

2013-01-02 13:47:23

Q-I have heard a little about SEO (search engine optimization). What all does it involve? Is it the best way to go about bringing traffic to one’s website?

A: SEO is a technique that increases the chances of your website being found when a user sits down at a computer and types a search term into Google that relates to your business. Q-What are some of the techniques that a SEO company will use to improve the chances of your websites coming up #1? A-Great question! To answer that question it helps to explain what determines the order of the results on Google. (There are a LOT of misconceptions surrounding this) The order of the results on Google is based on an incredibly complex mathematical algorithm that has over 200 factors. Some of the things we look at are very technical, many are almost common sense, some are very time consuming and some are quite simple fixes. What a SEO company looks at differs with every website but more than anything what it does is to help small business owners determine the BEST way to increase the experience for your visitors with a focus on SEO. Q-What? How does improving the experience for the visitors to my website increase the chances of my site ranking at the top of the first page? A-It has EVERYTHING to do with it! Let me explain. Let’s say a muffler business has a website and they want to increase their rankings on Google but instead of only being worried about ranking at the top of the page they put their users first. They update their design to give their website a fresh, clean look and add some new functionality which causes users to stay on the site longer and look at more pages. They add a blog to their website and begin writing articles about their industry and what sets their muffler shop apart from the rest. They integrate social media on their website and occasionally share interesting information and a discount every now and then. They begin an email marketing campaign that allows them to automate their marketing efforts, build trust and establish trust with the visitors to their website. Q-So how did that help my site rank better? A-Increasing the amount of time users stay on your site and interacting while they are on it. Creating original, fresh content on a regular basis increases the chances users will take the next step and request more information or call your business. Blogging on a variety of topics relating to your industry creates additional avenues for searchers to find your site plus it increases the chance it will be shared which can create links back to your site. Utilizing social media in such a way that encourages engagement (sharing, tweeting, liking, commenting on, etc.). These are ALL powerful signals to Google and the other search engines that your website is relevant, trustworthy, and credible and that’s exactly what they are looking for when determining which site comes up first. Q-200 factors that determine the order on Google, that’s incredible. Why is it so complex? A-One can only speculate but it makes sense that A) the better they deliver the highest quality, most relevant results in a logical order the harder they make it for other search engines to compete with them and it protects the billions of dollars they generate by selling advertising. B) They are constantly fighting the companies that are trying to cheat and game the system to generate tons of traffic and sell their wares. Q-What is SEO not? A-SEO is not a trick, a game, or a shortcut. There are many private parties and companies “out there” who will say, “We have a special relationship with Google and for $X, we can make you #1.” Others will say, “We will offer you 1,000 Facebook friends for $X.” These guys are NOT smarter than the engineers at Google whose only job is to sniff out websites that are using tricks like this to improve their rankings and the consequences can be severe. I will be back next month and talk about more ranking factors and how Keyword Research can transform your business.

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Internet, Web Sites & E-mail

Corey OConnor

2004-07-01 09:50:00

Question:  How can a website be useful for a business?

ANSWER:  If you've ever been on the World Wide Web, you know what a website is.  For different people and organizations, a website is used differently to suit their own purposes.  A business, for instance may use a website as an extension of their marketing plan.  Whereas a TV ad or newspaper ad tend to be very brief, a website can offer expanded information about a business's mission.  The only problem is that since there are millions of websites on the web already, the website of a smaller business might become obscured.  There are some ways to overcome this problem, combining the site with a reference from another form of advertising can help.  This can be in the form of a television commercial, ad in a local paper, magazine ad, or it could be printed on the marketing material distributed by the business.  Another popular way to bring attention to a website is to have it linked from other sites.  It may be in the form of a banner ad on a news web site, an ad on a specialty site, or a text ad on google for example.  There is also the prospect of partnerships when it comes linking.  Partner sites may link to each other for free.  Linking may be the most powerful form of advertising a website can get.  Also, registering a brief but descriptive domain name is important.  A descriptive domain name is vital to success.A catchy domain name is easier to remember and therefore visited more often.  Together, these two have the potential to be very effective tools to increase business.  Businesses may also add entertainment and offers to their sites.  Some examples may be special offers for their services or products, or possibly a game to play.  Some may also do business online.  These are referred to as e-commerce sites.  With either a paypal account or credit card, anyone can purchase anything from these online retailers.  Current technology has made transactions online reasonably secure so long as the transaction is encrypted. This will usually be indicated by a padlock icon somewhere near the bottom part of a web browser window.  These are not the only things that web based technology can do for a business.  Some use web based applications to do inventory control and other business related bookkeeping activities all with very little besides a database to store the information and a web based interface.