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Friday, November 25, 2005
Search Better – Customize Google
I was just checking a customer’s website ranking on Google. They’ve jumped from #7 up to #2. Whoohoo! Google Suggest says these phrases are searched on about 4.5 million times. I also checked out the competition – my customer’s website is #2 out of 21,500,000 pages. Excellent.
I also wanted to check on how their results were doing on other search engines, but it’s a pain to have to go to each individual search engine – even with bookmarks – and type in your keywords every time.
Turns out there’s a Firefox extension that will help me out – Customize Google. (If you’re unfamiliar with Firefox or Firefox extensions, check out my recent post on the subject) There is a setting to add links to other web search sites on your Google web results page.
Now, instead of typing each phrase into multiple search engines, I can type the phrase once and view all the results within Google. Another reason to switch to the Firefox browser.
Mike Swartz says, “Check it out.”
Posted by: Michael Swartz at 4:37 pm
Comments: None | Filed under: Web General
Sunday, November 20, 2005
Search is Second Most Popular Online Task
According to the Washington Post, search is the second most popular task to do online, besides email, which is #1.
It’s a fact! Just before reading this story, I got online to look up a recipe for rhubarb crisp, remembering it had been in an issue of Sunset magazine. My query in Google was “rhubarb crisp sunset”. The 5th result was a link to the recipe. Bingo!
It’s no wonder why Google’s stock price is over $400.00.
Optimize Your Website
Just knowing this new fact is all the more reason to optimize your website.
Cheers.
Posted by: Michael Swartz at 10:45 pm
Comments: None | Filed under: SEO, Web General
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Website Security
I have been using Paypal quite frequently lately and I’ve noticed that every page I visit is through a secured connection. That makes me feel better as a Paypal user, especially after their recent troubles.
Website security is an important part of any website.
Website security can take many forms. The most basic is just providing a ‘secure’ feeling on your website.
- Add a Privacy Policy page: Just having this page can make your visitors feel more comfortable doing business with you.
- Provide a secure connection: If you have a form (or eCommerce section) on your website that may ask for sensitive information, then secure it. Also tell your visitors you are providing a secure connection. Some people may not realize it and would be more inclined to offer their information.
- Hide your email address (this is more security for the website owner): Hackers and email spammers visit websites to steal your email address and use it for spamming. One way to get around this is to hide your email from the spammers, but not from your visitors.
There’s another reason why you want to provide your visitors with a secure feeling. According to a recent survey, “nearly one-third of US Internet users are cutting back on Web usage and 25 percent say they have stopped buying online due to fears of identity theft and other threats”.
Securing your site may ultimately become the reason why someone would do business with you. There is a lot of distrust out there on the internet. Our job, as website owners, is to recognize this distrust and provide that comfort, secure feeling, to our visitors.
Have a secure week. 
Posted by: Michael Swartz at 11:47 am
Comments: None | Filed under: Web Design
Wednesday, November 9, 2005
Naming Your Links
 Hello.
I just got back from our trip to Vegas. We broke even, which is pretty good in Vegas. We stayed at the Bellagio, my favorite hotel and saw Cirque du Soleil – “O”. If you’re ever in Vegas, this is the show to see – hands down.
Anyhoo…
As you can see, in most of my blog posts – if not all – I like to provide links to my previous posts or links of interest. Deciding what words to establish as a link is important. Why? Because linking is the primary force of the internet. The internet is just a bunch of computers talking to each other via – what else – links. This is how we find out about other websites. It’s also how search engines find out about other websites – by scanning a page and visiting the links on the page.
Here are some guidelines to follow when naming your hyperlinks (links):
- Don’t use ‘click here’ or ‘read more’ when naming your links. These words do not mean anything to search engines or give your visitors any clue as to what they are clicking.
- Use ‘call to action’ words, if applicable.
- Use words that give a description of where you’ll be going after the link is clicked.
Most people scan websites – they rarely read every word. They look at headings, bold words and LINKS. Give your visitors what they’re looking for.
I think Dave Winer gives the best example of the right way when naming your links.
Mike Swartz says, “Check it out.”
Posted by: Michael Swartz at 2:31 pm
Comments: None | Filed under: SEO
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