Best $35 I ever spent
By jdoepro | October 8, 2008
We had to upgrade our network last week, and of course, lost some recent project files. Previously, I’d decided to try the much touted Carbonite–the online backup/storage service.
I’m a believer. After logging into my Carbonite account, within a few short hours my desktop was exactly as it should be. In fact, I was able to choose which data files to restore from a specific date.
Another tip: I got a discount from the normal cost of $45 by searching online for “carbonite coupon”. Before shopping online, try doing a search for your desired product with the word “coupon”. You just may find some savings.
Topics: Personal Management, Reference/Resources | No Comments »
What to expect from an SEO expert
By jdoepro | August 12, 2008
I’m constantly asked by site owners, “How can I get better ranking on the search engines?”.
Well, you can study up on SEO yourself and devote some time to tweaking (if you know how) your web pages, AND you can take advantage of the pay-per-click services out there. There are plenty of those–Google’s Adwords is outrageously popular. If, however, you’d rather spend time running your business than learning a new skill, there is something called an “SEO service” (SEO standing for Search Engine Optimization).
Okay, there are a lot of scammers out there; and yes, it’s a relatively new industry, but taking a look at outsourcing your online marketing can and often does pay off.
I’ve researched SEO (search engine optimization) firms, and the costs vary–some into the thousands of dollars; other individual SEO “experts” will quote hourly rates, but that doesn’t really tell us anything.
Here’s what I tell clients to expect from their search engine optimization expert:
- A keyword analysis–what keywords or phrases do you most want to link to your site when searched? I’d keep this to 10 or less.
- An analysis of the competition. Are their links appearing in the “sponsored links” section? If so, they’re paying for placement for that searched term or phrase.
- A report of your site’s current linkage on Google, Yahoo, MSN.
- A report of current rankings for your most coverted keywords.
- A check of the spiderability of your site. Can the search engine find and “spider through” your site content?
- The addition of a site map. An important step that helps search engines parse your content.
- A review of robots.txt file. Yeah, it’s that hidden stuff within your web page.
- Key word recommendations.
- Title, description & keyword tags optimization. (Even more stuff hidden within your page)
- Content optimization. This means tweaking script, the text on your home page to make it “search engine friendly”.
- Regular updates and ranking reports.
- Finally, some proven success–can they provide an example of a site whose keywords put it near the top on any of the major search engines?
While there’s no guarantee for top placement, and it can take several weeks or months to see results, these are proven steps that increase ranking and traffic. You might decide to handle the pay-per-click programs yourself, but if you like the results you’re getting from your SEO provider, you can typically continue their service for a set fee per month.
Remember, the only guarantee of your site appearing at the top for a particular search term is to pay for that ad spot. So don’t believe any SEO guru who says they can guarantee top ranking for “organic” (not paid for) searches.
Topics: Uncategorized | No Comments »
Google Adwords counterfeit e-mail
By jdoepro | July 25, 2008
If you’re a Google Adwords advertiser, watch out for the phishing e-mail that could put your account at risk. Phishing means (from Wikipedia) a fraudulent attempt to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details, by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. Communications purporting to be from PayPal, eBay, Youtube or online banks are commonly used to lure the unsuspecting.
The below is a scam e-mail that appears to be from Google, but in fact, will send you to a fraudulent web site where you’re asked to input your account information.
Dear Advertiser,
———————————
We were unable to process your payment.
Your ads will be suspended soon unless we can process your payment.
To prevent your ads from being suspended, please update your payment information.
—————————-
Please sign in
to your account at http://adwords.google.com/select/login,
and update your payment information.
—————————————–
We look forward to providing you with the most effective advertising available.
Thank you for advertising with Google AdWords.
————————————-
The Google AdWords Team
So, if you’re a Google advertiser, how do you know it’s a fake?
Mouse over the link within the e-mail and you’ll see the actual web site address in your status bar. If you clicked on the link (though we recommend you NOT do so), you’ll see in the address field of your browser something that looks like, http://www.adwords.google.com.deip.cn/Login. Notice the added characters following the .com. The extra “.deip.cn” is your clue you’re visiting a different domain.
For example, the real adwords link looks like:
https://adwords.google.com/select/Login?…”.
Remember, never respond to an e-mail invitation to log into any web site. Always visit the site directly before inputting your private information.
Topics: Email, Spam | No Comments »
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