Many Websites Look Like Zombies to Google Search

A while back I emphasized how important is to have a company website these days (Publish Your Website Or Customers Won’t Find You). I should have added that a website not optimized for search engines is lost in the heap of a billion dead websites. Unless someone searches for your company by name, it won’t show up in the first few pages of any search results. Search engines are programmed to rank websites based on their popularity and relevancy. These are subjective elements, but there are specifics that even a computer program can evaluate to set your ranking, and thus determine whether your site is alive and a good match to a specific search request. Yet recent research indicates that almost half of small business websites are still missing these basics, and thus are essentially dead to the search world. The solution is keeping your site alive and vital, and following basic search engine optimization (SEO) suggestions. Here are some high-value elements you need, if you hope to see your company on any page of results for relevant user queries: Relevant and constantly updated content. Web sites that haven’t been updated in the last couple of years can’t possibly be alive. These days, the best way to provide fresh content is to attach your blog to the website, and add new entries at least a couple of times a month. Create inbound and outbound links. Contact related web sites that are well known, to request reciprocal links. Another way to get inbound links is review other site blogs, and leave your comments with your link. Register your business in relevant directories, and sign up in all local directories. Make sure you have no dead links on your own site. Web page title tags. You need to name every page of your web site, and these names must contain your important search keywords. Check every page of your web site to make sure a title is predominantly displayed as the first line of a search result. Missing and meaningless tags will cause your site to be ignored by users, even if found. Web site keyword tags and description. These are elements, normally added by your website designer, which contain one or two sentences that briefly explain to the search engine what each web page is about. These same tags and keywords should be used liberally in each page text to give that page a higher ranking. Image attributes and sub-folder names. Search engines process every word on your web site, even optional internal names assigned to images (alt tag) and folders. Thus even internal names of website elements must be properly named (eliminate computer generated text) to amplify your search position. Reduce page load time. Eliminate flashy ads that delay entry to your site. Search engine spiders (also known as bots) take into consideration the page’s size in kilobytes. Web pages that take a long time to load will discourage search engines and human viewers alike. The usual culprit is a picture or graphic that is larger than 20 kilobytes. Completion of these tasks is not the full SEO job, but will keep your company out of the Internet dead zone. You can contract an SEO specialist at this level for a couple of thousand dollars, or you can do the work in-house, if someone on your team has some basic tools and web maintenance skills. SEO does not have to be a major expense. Another alternative is to buy your way out of the zone with Search Engine Marketing (SEM). If you give Google enough money, their search engine will put you up as a preferred provider for any search keyword you buy. That may be a quick fix, but will definitely be more costly in the long run. But the cost of doing nothing is even greater. Websites that look like the walking dead to Google search, work like no website, which means that your business will suffer. Work on a good website is never done, but there is no time like the present to wake up and get started. Source http://www.businessinsider.com/

Make money part of family discussion

Nathan Dungan, founder and president of Share Save Spend, admits that teaching kids about money "can be like drinking water from a firehose," Nathan Dungan, founder and president of Share Save Spend, admits that teaching kids about money "can be like drinking water from a firehose," given that it's such a broad topic that encompasses saving and spending, wants and needs, financial goals and more. However, he believes the earlier parents begin those conversations with their kids, the more naturally "money talk" will become part of daily family life. ¶ Since April is Financial Literacy Month, we asked Dungan, author of "Money Sanity Solutions: Linking Money + Meaning," for tips and suggestions about how to help your kids cultivate sound financial skills. Q What is your theory about giving a child an allowance? At what age? A An allowance can be a powerful teaching tool. I think you can definitely start around 5 or 6 years old. If you are intentional about giving them money -- in other words, don't give it without expectations -- it can give kids a sense of confidence, awareness and responsibility. If you just give them allowance randomly, it's not effective. Family chores are family chores, but if you have a "job jar" where kids can pick a task to do, they will value the money they've earned because they worked for it. Q Do you think it is more challenging for today's parents to teach kids about money than it was for their parents? A Society today is super-skewed toward spending and the message about sharing and saving just isn't there. I've asked elementary school kids in my workshops what they learn about spending and saving in school and the answer is generally "not much." So that means it really is on parents. If you abdicate your role to teach kids about money, the void will be filled by the culture of consumerism. Parents are the best ones to shape the narrative about money for their family. Q What are some ways for parents to integrate good financial messages into everyday life? A This isn't a topic you have to spend two hours on every day. You can build the subject into your daily family life -- going to the grocery store, conversations on how money is spent at home on items like technology, maybe talking about a family vacation. Involve your kids in those discussions. I'm often surprised by the wisdom young people have about money and I think adults can learn from that. Q Many families have been adversely affected by the economy in recent months. How can parents help kids understand a difficult financial situation? A Kids are more perceptive than we give them credit for, so to shield them completely from the family's financial problems is not helpful. At the same time, you want to make sure the conversations are age-appropriate because it is not necessary to tell them every detail. Offer messages of reassurance and tell kids that as parents, you are going to make the best decisions you can for the family. This is another opportunity to invite them into the discussion -- talk about ways the family can save money like making sure all lights are turned off when they aren't being used or eating all the food in the refrigerator and not being wasteful. Q As kids get older, they are likely to become keen observers of ways their friends spend money. Any tips on how parents can handle this? A Kids definitely enter the world of "comparonomics" and it's a game no one can win. In our consumer culture, it will always be about wanting to have more, and parents should be realistic with kids about what their family can afford. It's important to have conversations about the difference between wants and needs. Talk to your kids about what you value as a family when it comes to spending money. Encourage them to save for something that is important to them, just as the family might save for a vacation or something that matters to everyone in the family. If parents have been instilling healthy financial habits in kids throughout the years, it will definitely serve them well as they eventually become responsible for their own spending and saving. It's a lot easier to do it that way than for kids to unravel unhealthy money habits when they are in their 20s and beyond. Julie Pfitzinger is a West St. Paul freelance writer. Source http://www.startribune.com/ Many Websites Look Like Zombies to Google Search A while back I emphasized how important is to have a company website these days (Publish Your Website Or Customers Won’t Find You). I should have added that a website not optimized for search engines is lost in the heap of a billion dead websites. Unless someone searches for your company by name, it won’t show up in the first few pages of any search results. Search engines are programmed to rank websites based on their popularity and relevancy. These are subjective elements, but there are specifics that even a computer program can evaluate to set your ranking, and thus determine whether your site is alive and a good match to a specific search request. Yet recent research indicates that almost half of small business websites are still missing these basics, and thus are essentially dead to the search world. The solution is keeping your site alive and vital, and following basic search engine optimization (SEO) suggestions. Here are some high-value elements you need, if you hope to see your company on any page of results for relevant user queries: Relevant and constantly updated content. Web sites that haven’t been updated in the last couple of years can’t possibly be alive. These days, the best way to provide fresh content is to attach your blog to the website, and add new entries at least a couple of times a month. Create inbound and outbound links. Contact related web sites that are well known, to request reciprocal links. Another way to get inbound links is review other site blogs, and leave your comments with your link. Register your business in relevant directories, and sign up in all local directories. Make sure you have no dead links on your own site. Web page title tags. You need to name every page of your web site, and these names must contain your important search keywords. Check every page of your web site to make sure a title is predominantly displayed as the first line of a search result. Missing and meaningless tags will cause your site to be ignored by users, even if found. Web site keyword tags and description. These are elements, normally added by your website designer, which contain one or two sentences that briefly explain to the search engine what each web page is about. These same tags and keywords should be used liberally in each page text to give that page a higher ranking. Image attributes and sub-folder names. Search engines process every word on your web site, even optional internal names assigned to images (alt tag) and folders. Thus even internal names of website elements must be properly named (eliminate computer generated text) to amplify your search position. Reduce page load time. Eliminate flashy ads that delay entry to your site. Search engine spiders (also known as bots) take into consideration the page’s size in kilobytes. Web pages that take a long time to load will discourage search engines and human viewers alike. The usual culprit is a picture or graphic that is larger than 20 kilobytes. Completion of these tasks is not the full SEO job, but will keep your company out of the Internet dead zone. You can contract an SEO specialist at this level for a couple of thousand dollars, or you can do the work in-house, if someone on your team has some basic tools and web maintenance skills. SEO does not have to be a major expense. Another alternative is to buy your way out of the zone with Search Engine Marketing (SEM). If you give Google enough money, their search engine will put you up as a preferred provider for any search keyword you buy. That may be a quick fix, but will definitely be more costly in the long run. But the cost of doing nothing is even greater. Websites that look like the walking dead to Google search, work like no website, which means that your business will suffer. Work on a good website is never done, but there is no time like the present to wake up and get started. Source http://www.businessinsider.com/

Search The World Wide Web For Profit - CEO Space Learning Resource

CEO Space chairman Berny Dohrmann, in conjunction with the quarterly forums, offers an educational resource for busy executives. Ceospace Search Engine SeriesWe all know that 'content is king' on the web and that google crawls the web for key words to weave together in response to search. There is a suitable reason world wide web is called the world wide web, and the skilled team at CEO Space understands how to optimize this byzantine web by using a 'search bot language.' To have a social media marketing plan of action that ranks your websites on top of your competitors, purely generating a lot of articles is not necessarily going to do the trick. Chances are that most of them are going to be ignored by the search engine spiders because they are not properly tied to the url Wheel that intergrates your content into the internet.Getting to know the URL Wheelceo space has studied strategies that url Wheels exercise to search the internet, and quickly discovered that they are not all compelling. In fact, we realized how poor search engine optimization strategies can actually damage your traffic flow, putting your website at a recognizable disadvantage. So we have been keeping our cards close until we discovered the perfect link Wheel shows our customers the kind of media saturation that gets listing. We learned the procedures for forging search engine optimization chains to contribute safe, reliable links back to your url regardless of the source.How URL Wheels are ForgedAlthough the process of preparing link Wheels is quite technical, the concept behind them is easy. We start with 5 main keywords that you supply that best describes your company. We then pen accounts for you on 35 social network sites like WordPress, Windows Live Spaces, Weebly, Live Journal and Blogger. But is merely the first step in Newswire's link Wheel search engine blueprint.Weaving the InternetThe seo researchers at newswire take your 5 key words and devise 6 related key words to be sub-keywords in each posting, creating 35 keywords that interlink across the web. The next step is for Newswire's skilled writers to generate 35 separate articles that each one of these words, with all the remaining 34 worked into the text, graphics and titles if possible. Now we go to each of the 35 social network sites and write an unique article on each one so they all interlink. Every story ceo space submits should get reliable links back to relevant pages on your web page that drive targeted traffic right where you need it. Resources CEO Space and chairman Berny Dohrmann designs their retreats to make the most of a busy executive's substantial time. CEO Space claims endorsements by the following well-known experts in corporate training: Anthony Robbins, motivational speaker and author of "Awaken The Giant Within;" ; Bob Proctor, who had been featured in "The Secret" and wrote "The Science of Getting Rich"; Lisa Nichols, CEO of Motivating the Teen Spirit and reporter of "No Matter What" and was also featured in "The Secret"; Dr. Jeff Magee of "Performance Magazine;" Jill Lublin, a professional self-promotion expert; Jane Whilhite, co-founder of PSI World; Dr. John Gray, bestselling author of "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus;" Ron Zeller, creator and co-presenter of "Winning The Second Half;" T. Harv Eker, bestselling author of "Secrets of the Millionaire Mind;" and Rick Frishman, chairman of Planned Television Arts Kevin Harrington of ABC series "Shark Tank Source http://www.newswire.net/

Lawyer Web Marketing: Google Takes Facebook ‘Like’ & Begins ‘+1’ Feature

(Lawyer Web Marketing News) — It’s high noon on the World Wide Web, as Google and Facebook are drawing their guns and facing off to claim dominance in social media and search engine land. The two major players on the Internet are now stepping on one another’s toes with Google’s newest announcement, which comes just after Facebook announced their own “social search” engine. Google has taken a play from Facebook’s social media play book by implementing a social search effort of their own called “+1” or “plus one,” in which users could recommend useful search results to their friends and potentially change how websites are ranked. Law firm marketers, like CEPAC lawyer marketing, are excited to embrace this new approach to obtaining new Web search engine results and recommendations as this could give lawyers who market on the Internet an added boost in visibility and consumer confidence. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) companies can relax as the new social search feature will not replace Google’s traditional search results. Websites will still be ranked based on the mathematical algorithm, which places websites in order based on relevance of the user’s search query. The social search feature will only be visible if the user is signed into their Google account while surfing the Web, otherwise Google’s traditional search results will be shown. Google’s “+1” effort will essentially allow Google account holders to publicly recommend certain websites by sharing those preferences with their Gmail contacts and their contacts other Google services. The recommended websites will appear as a highlighted item in their search engine results pages (SERP). The +1 feature also allows people to recommend a text ad that appears next to regular search results. Down the road, Google hopes to use their +1 initiative to reorder search results so that users can find more useful search engine results. So you may ask: “Why would a law firm want consumers to +1 their lawyer website?” 1) The +1 Shows Consumers Found Your Law Firm Website Helpful: Your law firm website is like a first impression for potential clients. A well-constructed lawyer website with informative content and easily accessible information will make potential clients feel that your attorneys are reputable, knowledgeable and experienced. A +1 will also indicate that a consumer found your website helpful, answered their legal questions and felt it was informative enough to endorse to their friends who may also be looking for the right attorney to hire. 2) Networking: Each time a consumer gives your lawyer website the +1, it is broadcast to their Google account contacts, which presents your law firm to an abundance of new potential clients. 3) A Vote of Confidence:The +1 is a consumer endorsement, a vote of confidence, a “they’re great, check out this law firm website” announcement. The +1 lets others know that someone they know likes your law firm, believes in your legal abilities and wants their friends and loved ones to check out your attorneys too. 4) Visibility: The networking capabilities and endorsements create exposure and awareness around your law firm, which creates new inquiries and potential new clients and cases. The days of searching the Yellow Pages are long gone, and people are now hitting the Internet, conducting educated research and exploring their options. The team at CEPAC lawyer marketing points out those personal endorsements from a user’s social group can play a powerful role in pointing people, who are looking for legal representation, in your law firm’s direction. When surfing the Web in search of an attorney, a potential client will be more inclined to visit a law firm’s website if someone they know has recommended it. The Internet advertising experts at CEPAC lawyer marketing are experienced in creating and implementing top-notch law firm websites, SEO campaigns, online advertisements, as well as more traditional marketing avenues like TV, print ads and radio. For more information on Cepac lawyer marketing, social media campaigns for lawyers and other lawyer Web marketing products contact Rene Perras or visit Cepac.com. Media Information:Address: Phone: 720-ONE-RENEUrl: Lawyer marketing - Rene Perras Source http://www.caymanmama.com/

British expats forced to sell up and come home

British expats and those with a second home abroad are being forced to sell up and leave thanks to rising mortgage rates and slumping sterling. More than 300,000 second-home owners with euro-denominated mortgages are suffering from the first European interest rate rise since July 2008, which has caused rising mortgage rates and a further fall in the value of sterling against the euro. The euro has strengthened since the rate hike was announced, while this week's weaker-than-expected inflation figures in the UK have made a rate hike here seem more unlikely, depressing sterling. If you changed £100 this week you would receive just €112 before the rates applied by brokers, compared with €115 last month or €119 in January. The weakening pound has proved too much for many expats. Adam Jordan, senior currency expert at money transfer specialists Moneycorp, said that the company had seen a 40pc rise in the number of people repatriating large sums of money to the UK during the first quarter of 2011 compared with the last quarter of 2010. He said that these people were selling properties and coming home, and that their problem was likely to get worse, with the European Central Bank (ECB) expected to increase interest rates again in September of this year. "The markets are expecting a rate increase in the UK in October, but this is more uncertain because we haven't seen the Bank of England response to this week's inflation figures," Mr Jordan said. "It's possible that the gap between interest rates in the UK and abroad could widen further." He said that many of those repatriating their money had only recently managed to sell their homes after the property crash in Spain. Those with second homes abroad and pensioners living abroad but surviving on savings income and a sterling-denominated pension will be the hardest hit by these rate changes. For them, this is a double whammy because the rises tend to strengthen the euro against the pound and they will also be paying higher mortgage costs. Figures from Smart Currency Exchange show that the average increase in mortgage repayments after the ECB rate rise will be £1,750 a year. Rates are expected to increase further to a possible 1.75pc. Mr Jordan said he has seen an increased number of clients choosing to remortgage their main home in the UK in order to pay off the mortgage on their second home, and thus avoid making regular payments in euros. Charles Purdy, director of Smart Currency Exchange, said that he was advising customers to be "very realistic" about the rates they will get on sterling. "If they have a large mortgage, the liability will have gone up in sterling terms," he said. "They need to realise that the size of their mortgage has effectively increased, and there is inflation in Europe, too, so that makes it even worse. People who are buying abroad now are more worldly wise than they were a few years ago, but I am telling them that they need to budget for €1.10 to the pound rather than €1.20 or €1.30." For many, the rise in rates combined with slumping sterling has put paid to dreams of living in France or Spain. A survey from website www.primelocation.com showed that interest in acquiring a French property was slumping due to an increase in living costs and weaker sterling. David Vindel, a senior public relations consultant from London, is one of those who has been hit by the changes in sterling. He has bought two properties in Spain to rent out during the past five years. "They were meant to be good investments, but things have turned out rather differently than I expected," he said. He chose the two properties, one in Valencia and one near Madrid, as infrastructure changes made these areas seem good places to be. However, his mortgage costs have increased by £150 a month per property since he bought them, and because of slumping property prices in Spain he can't sell them either. "I've had to dip into savings in order to transfer more money to pay for my mortgages," he said. Like many others in the same position, Mr Vindel has considered buying fixed-rate currency, instead of relying on the vagaries of the market by taking the rate that is available to him on the day when he is sending his money. A money broker will allow you to fix your exchange rate for up to two years, giving you greater certainty about the cost of the transactions you make. If the exchange rates move in your favour during the time of the fixed rate, you won't be able to take advantage of this, but obviously if they move adversely, you won't suffer. The difficulty is that you may get a shock after two years when you come to get another currency deal, but at least you have had certainty for a period. These fixed rates are called forward contracts. It is also possible to use more complex foreign exchange tools to give you the option (but not the obligation) to buy when a currency reaches a certain level. Source http://www.telegraph.co.uk/

MISSING OUT ON MILLIONS

Eight years ago, Indiana legislators passed a law that could save taxpayers millions of dollars that the state spends to support elderly and disabled Hoosiers who live in nursing homes. The law also would make it possible for thousands of Hoosiers to remain in their homes or with loved ones. The law had bipartisan support and was championed by fiscal conservatives and advocates for the elderly. But in what one lawmaker describes as a "penny-wise and pound-foolish" decision, the state has never taken advantage of a key program in the law. Not under then-Gov. Joe Kernan, a Democrat. And not under Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels. Instead, eight years later, Indiana taxpayers continue to be on the hook for about $300 million a year in nursing home costs. Under the program, the state would pump money into home health-care services each year, knowing that Hoosiers would use the services -- nursing, financial planning, bathing and personal care -- and stay at home instead of going into nursing homes. As more people chose home health care, the number of people in nursing homes would diminish. That matters because nursing homes cost state taxpayers about $14,129 per patient, while home health care costs taxpayers an estimated $9,265 to $12,411 per patient, according to an Indianapolis Star analysis of Family and Social Services Administration cost reports. The state then would reinvest those savings to create even more home health care for Hoosiers, driving even more savings. But that program has never been used. Year after year, the state has been unwilling to put up the money for that investment. And as such, it has missed out on the long-term savings. "It's penny-wise and pound foolish," said Sen. Vaneta Becker, R-Evansville, a sponsor of the 2003 law. Sen. John Broden, D-South Bend, who worked with Becker on the law, is dismayed and a bit befuddled. "We just have not been able to make this commitment," Broden said. "Our constituents want it; it's what they prefer. And then when you couple that with the fact that it is cheaper, it is a constant struggle for me to ascertain why we don't embrace it. "We pat ourselves on the back that we managed to save this much money by not spending it on home health care, but what we have to remember is you're expending dollars to keep someone out of a nursing home, (and) that's what really busts the budget. "If we would have been transitioning (to home- and community-based services)," Broden said, "by now, we'd be saving a lot of money." How much? The state pays nursing home costs for more than 28,000 elderly and disabled Hoosiers. If 10 percent of those patients had been shifted to home health care, the state would be saving from $4.8 million to $13.6 million this year. And 2,800 more Hoosiers would be living at home instead of in nursing homes. Whether Hoosiers would choose home health care if it were provided to more people is not up for debate. The two major home-care programs both have nearly 6,000-person waiting lists. In contrast, 18 percent of the state's nursing home beds sit empty. Nursing home industry officials say that shifting patients to home health care would further hurt their business. Critics, who say the state has too many nursing homes, are wary of the industry's powerful lobby, which has fought hard to ensure that patients -- and the taxpayer money that comes with them -- continue to flow in their direction. The result is that Indiana ranked 45th among the states in the percentage of its Medicaid long-term care budget devoted to home- and community-based care, according to a 2009 study by the AARP Public Policy Institute. The data for the study were collected in 2007, but the percentage of Indiana's long-term care budget spent on nursing homes hasn't changed since. Ellen Miller, director of the University of Indianapolis Center for Aging & Community, said Indiana needs to improve. "There's not much of an excuse," Miller said. "When you look at the rankings and the numbers, we're always in the bottom 20 percent in terms of how much money we're spending" on in-home care. An estimated 75 percent of Indiana's long-term care budget is devoted to nursing home care. Meanwhile, other states are saving money Other states have made much more progress. Wisconsin reduced its nursing home rate to 41 percent after a decadelong campaign to expand home- and community-based care. Washington state pushed its rate down to 33 percent after it began shifting funds to home and community-based care 16 years ago. The 1995 legislation was similar to Indiana's 2003 law in that it directed money saved back into home care. The difference? Washington's law wasn't optional. The legislation saved Washington $109 million in the first two years -- with $52 million going to the state and $57 million to home- care programs, said Kathy Leitch, who served as assistant secretary of the state's Aging and Disability Services Administration from 2000 to 2010. Nursing home care, unlike home care, is a federal entitlement -- states are required to pay for it when someone is eligible and cannot afford it. So states that do not take action to improve home care are destined to pay ever-increasing nursing home costs. In the tough 2011 budget climate, some states, such as Pennsylvania, are expanding home care services to save money. That's not happening in Indiana. Here, legislators have viewed the programs not as a way to invest money and create savings down the road but as an expense to hold steady, or even cut. Indiana has put the same amount of dollars -- from $60 million to $70 million a year -- into the state's two major home-care programs since 2003. One of those is the Medicaid Aged & Disabled waiver program, which is paid for primarily by the federal government. The program matches Indiana dollars at 2-1 or better, but waivers go only to the poorest and sickest Americans under rules set by the federal government. The other is the state-run Community and Home Options to Institutional Care for the Elderly and Disabled program, or CHOICE. CHOICE is withering. This year, CHOICE received $28.6 million, a $7 million cut from the year before. The two-year House budget now under consideration would reserve about $20 million a year for the CHOICE program, and the governor's budget would allow the state to shift all money for CHOICE into the Medicaid program. The Senate will work out its version of the budget when its Appropriations Committee meets Monday. The cuts could mean the end of CHOICE, the state's 23-year-old locally developed home-care program, something Broden called "a huge setback" in the state's push to expand home care. Advocates say both services are badly needed. CHOICE, however, has a particularly important role in keeping costs down. It allows people who are not yet poor enough or sick enough to receive Medicaid to remain at home. Without that option, those people end up in more costly nursing homes before they necessarily need them. Taxpayers end up footing that bill because the higher cost of nursing home care quickly eats up personal assets -- making people eligible for Medicaid and, thus, forcing the state to step in. Eighty percent of all nursing home patients either start out or end up being Medicaid patients. Family has waited a year for home help The Dennis family of Indianapolis is a good example of what can happen. Delbert Dennis, 55, suffers from Huntington's disease, a condition where one's abilities to walk, eat and speak deteriorate slowly -- often resulting in the need for 24-hour care. He has been receiving 15 to 20 hours a week of CHOICE services for about three years. A year ago, when it became risky for Delbert to be alone for even a short time, his wife, Susie, put his name on a waiting list for 40 hours of care a week through the Medicaid waiver program. After the wait stretched to a year -- a year Susie and 14-year-old daughter Marisol Dennis spent caring for Delbert around the clock -- Susie, 51, is looking at nursing homes. "It just takes a lot out of you," Susie Dennis said. "Had we had the care over the last year . . . who knows how long he could have stayed at home." Susie Dennis' wait is not uncommon, as cuts and freezes have hobbled the two home-care programs. Many who wait for services eventually get them. But often, said John Cardwell, chairman of the Indiana Home Care Task Force, the person dies or goes into a nursing home before his or her name comes up. Stimulus money helped, but it's gone The state, however, would argue that while it has not put any extra money into home health care -- at least any of its own -- or reduced the number of nursing home patients paid for by taxpayers, it still has made some progress. In one important way, it has. Relying heavily on federal stimulus money, the state increased the number of people in home health care by about 6,000 from 2004 to 2010. "We have really grown home- and community-based services," FSSA spokesman Marcus Barlow said. "We just haven't used Senate Enrolled Act 493" -- the law passed in 2003. However, almost all of that growth is in the federal program. During that time, $15.3 million has been cut from the CHOICE program -- in part to pull funds for the waiver program. Those cuts also have reduced the amount of hours and services available to CHOICE clients, Cardwell said, and made that program less effective at keeping people in their homes. FSSA says that the waiver program is more cost-effective, though some advocates dispute that, and the debate is heated -- in part because there is so little home-care money to go around. When senators work out their two-year budget proposal Monday, CHOICE and the waiver program will be pitted against each other, competing over less than $70 million in home-care funds per year, while nursing homes reap about $300 million. Director Faith Laird of FSSA's Division of Aging acknowledged that the push toward home and community-based care has been an uphill one. "We are moving in that direction," Laird said. "It isn't as fast as we want, but we are moving in that direction." It's about to become tougher. The source that drove those new home health-care patients -- the federal stimulus -- has ended. And that, experts and advocates for the elderly say, makes it especially crucial for the state to finally take advantage of the 2003 law. Call Star reporter Heather Gillers at (317) 444-6405. Source http://www.indystar.com/

MAKING MONEY MATTER: Another way to recycle your unwanted items

Spring is a tease -- we can't quite put away the winter clothes, but we are pulling out the lighter-weight clothes and even on some days, shorts, T-shirts and sandals. We are storing our ski equipment and taking out the summer gear. Spring may bring some of us a change of living arrangements, from one apartment to another, downsizing, moving up, or even moving away. Kids are going off to college -- or coming back to live "for a while." Whatever the reason, there's a lot of putting away and bringing to and from storage. We are reminded that we've filled all our available space. We have the urge to purge and get rid of all the excess accumulated "stuff." But can we do it? Volumes have been written about how to organize work environments, with all kinds of systems to help do that. It's hard, but it mostly involves dealing with paper or digital files. Organizing your living space is harder. It's generally more emotional. But when you are really ready to have at it, the first step is to decide what you want to keep. What's essential? What's useful? What's sentimental? What do you just love? What haven't you used in the last year or for that matter, in the last five years? Once you decide you can live without it, the next decision is whether to toss it. If it is obvious, just do it. If it has value because someone else would find it useful or could repair it so that it has another life you have two choices. If you have the time and energy, you might want to sell it. Consignment shops are one option, as are online options such as eBay or Craigslist. Or, you can give it away. Giving it away can mean giving it to someone in your family or a friend because they might need it, like it, or because it has some sentimental value. But if none of the above fits, it becomes their "stuff" which they will have to purge later. So what do you do with what's left? Donate to an organization that can find the right home for the items or that can turn them into cash to support their mission. Charities don't want your rusty appliance or stained couch, but gently used furniture or clean clothing or new but unused purchases are welcome. Other "property" gifts can be made too, like recreational equipment, collections, jewelry, vehicles, boats, art and more. Virtually everyone has items that can be donated. Look for a local charity to drop them off or call for a pick-up. If you intend to take a tax deduction for your donation of personal property, be sure you check the IRS regulations. According to Publication 526 on Charitable Contributions: "If you contribute property to a qualified organization the amount of your charitable contribution is generally the fair market value at the time of the contribution." Determining fair market value isn't always easy and there are "special rules" and limitations that apply to specific kinds of contributions. There are also requirements such as the need, in some cases, for a qualified appraisal if the deduction is more than $500. In any case, get receipts to substantiate the donation if you want to take a tax deduction. You should note that in some cases there are additional forms to file. Make giving a part of your spring purge. Remember, identify what you want to keep, then: TOSS, SELL, GIFT, DONATE AND DEDUCT. Just more ways to recycle, right? Enid Ablowitz, CFRE, CPGS, has been a nonprofit leader and donor advocate for more than 20 years. She serves as the associate director for the University of Colorado's Coleman Institute for Cognitive Disabilities and as vice president for strategic philanthropy for the University of Colorado Foundation. Source http://www.dailycamera.com/

SEO Case Study: When Past SEO Efforts Hurt Today’s Traffic

Editor's Note: This is the third installment of a search-engine-optimization case study from contributor Jill Kocher on the SEO struggles of The Motor Bookstore, a retailer of automotive manuals. The Motorbook Store — like most ecommerce businesses — relies heavily on traffic from search engines. But the site’s traffic was greatly reduced when Google recently released its so-called "Farmer" algorithm update. The company's owner, Luis Hernandez, Jr., agreed to share his analytics and sales numbers with us, and from that Kocher — an SEO expert — is filing her installments. The first two installments, "SEO Case Study: One Store’s Struggle with Google Updates" and "SEO Case Study: Improving the Site's Architecture," we published last month. Search engines constantly evolve their algorithms to deliver users the most relevant search results. Search engine optimization evolves with them. Strategies that were once considered amazingly effective and cutting edge are today considered outdated or even spammy. The difference between outdated SEO tactics and antiquated tactics in other marketing channels — like print advertising or email marketing — is that SEO tactics continue to live on or link to a site until they are physically removed. Print ads get recycled, emails get deleted, and in five years only a handful of people will remember they even existed. The problem is, search engine bots never forget. Content once crawled and indexed remains indexed until its URL returns a server header that tells the bot that the page is no longer available. A site owner can remove all links to a section of content, forget it ever existed, move to a new job, and his successor can still be haunted by the presence of this content that he never knew existed. In most cases, old content is just useless and innocently forgettable. But in some cases forgotten content, especially content whose sole purpose was to improve SEO, may contribute to a search engine’s algorithmic conclusion that a site offers little value to searchers. Google’s now-infamous “Farmer/Panda Update” was designed to devalue sites that were algorithmically determined to be low value to Google searchers. The update affected 12 percent of Google’s results, decreasing organic traffic for sites like the one owned by Luis Hernandez, Jr., CEO of The Motorbook Store, a DeBary, Fla.-based retailer of automotive repair, restoration and service manuals. Hernandez saw his Google organic traffic fall 38.5 percent — a decrease of 15.2 percent of his total site traffic — when the algorithm launched on February 24th. Despite Hernandez’s dedication to running an ethical business, several things likely contributed to The Motor Bookstore’s algorithmic appearance of low value, including a very common reliance on manufacturers’ product descriptions.

Old SEO Tactics Live On

In analyzing Hernandez's site, however, something else became apparent. The Motor Bookstore had, in the past worked, with an SEO consultant that built content and links that were, by today’s standards, not effective or ethical. This consultant had been hired in 2007, and four years ago some of these tactics were very common and accepted. While some SEO consultants would still attempt to sell these services today, most highly respected SEOs consider them ineffective or potentially harmful. For example, the search engines can easily find each of the following outdated SEO tactics associated with Hernandez’s site:

· Building SEO content sections. If a new section is created and filled with long, juicy, keyword-rich content, especially if that section is tenuously linked to from an obscure location and not interlinked with the primary site, the section will not be effective in ranking or passing link popularity back to the primary site. It won’t have anything to give because it hasn’t received anything.

· Content and links placed below the footer. The footer denotes the end of the page. Site visitors are unlikely to scroll below the footer, so placing keyword-rich content and links below the footer is a spam signal.

· Blog comment, wiki and answer site spam. This tactic was never ethical, and is still commonly offered by low-cost SEO outfits. Yes, absolutely comment on relevant high-quality blogs and contribute valuable information if you have something useful to add to the conversation. But no one – not site owners and not search engines – likes a pointless “thanks so much for the great information” comment with an optimized link.

· Buying paid links. Whether links are bought from a broker or directly from site owners, whether they’re paid for in cash or with products or services, paid links violate search engine webmaster guidelines. (See this tweet from Google's Matt Cutts on the topic.) This is still a big business today, but no matter which company tries to sell links, don’t buy them if you’re looking for long-term SEO benefit.

Individually, each of these tactics and others like them are more of a waste of time than harmful to an overall SEO program. But when a site uses multiple low-value SEO tactics — and has few high-quality signals to send — it starts to signal that the site is trying to game the rankings rather than target human visitors. SEO is the combined influence of hundreds of signals, and typically marketers are unaware that some of those signals exist and can have a big impact. Unfortunately, Hernandez’s past SEO work probably contributed to triggering a low-quality signal in Google’s Panda/Farmer update, and his organic search traffic has suffered. In some cases, he was unaware that these tactics had been used on his behalf.

How to Uncover Old SEO Tactics

The first step is finding the forgotten. Remember, if it’s not recorded in the engines’ indexes, it doesn’t matter to your SEO. To uncover old or hidden content sections, weed through the site’s XML sitemap and also run an independent crawler like GSiteCrawler. If content can’t be accessed by a link on the site or the XML sitemap, it’s probable that there’s nothing to find or, if there is, the engines can’t find it either. Either way, no harm no foul. You can also analyze the engines’ indexes by doing a series of narrowly limited "site:" queries. I discuss these advance search queries here in "SEO: Understanding Advance Search Operators," a previous article. Once you have the list of URLs on your site, sort it alphabetically and look for things you don’t expect. For sites over 1,000 pages this can be tedious, but by filtering out the URL patterns you know are legitimate, such as product URLs, you can more easily uncover the unusual ones. To analyze the link portfolio, turn to tools like Advance Link Manager or Open Site Explorer that report all the links they can find pointing to a site. Once you have the list, sort it alphabetically by linking-URLs, and look for patterns. Do most of your links come from a single site? From wikis? From random blogs or sites that have no topical relevance? Visit some of the links that look especially unnatural and you’ll start to see patterns emerge in the anchor text used or the types of sites targeted.

Next Steps for Old SEO Tactics

Once you’ve found these content sections or links, it’s important to determine whether they’re beneficial or not. What were they intended to do? Provide a crawl path? Pass link popularity? Improve keyword relevance? Determine what content the tactic was intended to boost rankings for, and for which keywords, to drive what business metric. For example, in The Motorbook Store's case, is the page in that SEO content section that’s optimized for “BMW repair manuals” actually receiving any organic search visits for “BMW repair manuals?” Did it ever? Or is the set of blog comment linking to the motorcycle manual page with the anchor text of “motorcycle manuals” really helping sell any additional motorcycle manuals? Go to your analytics. Is there a measurable impact on organic search visits to that page for that term in the timeframe the links probably went live? If you can’t identify an impact in the analytics, it’s probably not having the benefit it was intended to. It’s best to remove ineffective and outdated SEO tactics when you can. Content sections can be properly decommissioned and the URLs 301-redirected to more valuable pages on the site. If some of the content is unique and valuable, despite its location in an SEO section, look for ways to integrate the content into your primary site to strengthen the pages you actually want to rank and sell product. You won’t be able to remove spammy links across blogs and other sites, but you can at least stop creating them. Focus instead on building links with quality sites that are relevant to your site’s content. It’s hard and time consuming, but it’s the only way to ensure lasting SEO benefit. Lastly, stop paying for links. Once the funding dries up, those links will promptly be removed. The good news is that any dampening for quality in Google’s recent algorithm updates is purely algorithmic. That means that when the offending content is changed or removed, Google’s algorithm will automatically begin adjusting the rankings.

Source http://www.practicalecommerce.com/

WIDSIX Launches Offering Brand Development, Web Design and SEO Promotion for Professional Athletes

Phoenix, AZ (release-news.com ) April 14, 2011 – WIDSIX.com, along with parent company WebItDesigns.com, has developed relationships with companies and professional athletes from various sports; offering clients (corporate and individual athletes) in the sports industry a great opportunity to help them create a brand, an online presence. A great website is a vital piece in creating an overall brand; giving sponsors, investors, and fans an opportunity to connect on a more personal level. In addition to that, athletes can promote their sponsors throughout the site, in video edits, blogging, social media outlets, and more, giving them a unique leverage in obtaining future sponsorship deals.

WIDSIX Services Include, but not limited to:

- Graphic Design - Logos, banners, posters, biz cards, etc
- Website Design - Web Steez is a MUST for pro athletes these days
- Video Production and Editing - Video Marketing and Viral Videos are a must for pro athletes
- Online Marketing - all the traditional nerd stuff for online marketing: link building, press release management, etc
- Search Engine Optimization - Being found by your fans and people in the industry is a MUST. A website is nothing unless people find you.
- Social Media Marketing - Dial in your social media accounts, link them all up to one account, and make it super easy to spread your news.
- Mobile Phone App Development - iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Windows... apps for all phone types.

In Celebration of the website launch, WIDSIX is offering deep discounts on website design packages. Pro Athletes like SUP Athlete Candice Appleby (CandiceAppleby.com), Pro Cyclist Mike Midlarsky, Pro Cyclist Ian Burnett, Pro Skier Ashley Maxfield have all taken advantage of the promotion and signed on with WIDSIX and are on their way to dialing in their digital brand.

WIDSIX values the art of collaboration and enjoys working with industry leaders on their marketing campaigns. WIDSIX is proud to be working with various corporate partners on projects as well, launching with involvement in exciting new projects with actions sports industry heavyweights like GoPro, Marzocchi Suspension, Intense Cycles, Shimano, Discrete Headwear, Flylow Gear, and more.

When developing the concept of a youth program that targeted young DH racers to step up and become the heroes of this generation of the MTB world, the Marzocchi GoPro DH Team knew they needed a killer web presence and online marketing campaign. Marzocchi GoPro knew exactly who to go to for a project like this and recruited WIDSIX.com, a company that is in the Athlete Digital Branding Industry. When approached about the concept, Roope, President of WIDSIX.com, was immediately on board. “When the Marzocchi GoPro DH team approached us about being involved in this project, we were STOKED! There is a huge lack of kids in the industry. DH has become a rich 30 year old’s sport and this is a huge step in bringing the youth back into the forefront. The youth are the future!” For more information about this program, please visit: Marzocchi-GoPro-DH.com

WIDSIX was also the driving force behind ColdAsIce.TV, a website that follows the antics of 3 female professional skiers (Grete Eliassen – GreteEliassen.com, Keri Herman and Meg Olenick). The Cold As Ice TV project, with title sponsors WebItDesigns.com and GoPro HD Cameras, and gear sponsors Discrete Headwear (DiscreteHeadwear.com) and Flylow Gear (FlylowGear.com), helps promote the female pro skiers and sponsors involved, as well as, promoting outdoors activities to young females and encouraging participation in outdoor sports. At WIDSIX, the driving force behind projects is not financial; the main goal is to have a positive effect on the global sports industry, one market and one sport at a time. When asked about working with WIDSIX on projects, Julian Carr, Founder of Discrete Headwear, said, “Discrete is happy to partner because they support athletes that like to experience the mountains and share with everyone via the digital medium! Let’s tell some stories!”

For more information on branding for pro athletes, digital brand development and management, athlete logo design, custom web design for pro athletes, visit: http://www.widsix.com
 Source http://www.release-news.com/

supercars at the Top Marques Monaco 2011

Besides the familiar car brands such as Ferrari, Jaguar, Aston Martin, McLaren, Maserati, Audi and Marussia, there are other houses like the MTM and ABT display products at Top Marques Monaco 2011 event held in Monte-Carlo from 14-17/4/2011.

 

Accountants use DeclareMedia to Heighten Business

DeclareMedia is a new local internet directory that helps accountants post their business online to assist those in need. As an internet directory service center, it provides free listings to accountants. To provide more advertisement there is an option for only $20.00 per month to get a featured listing on their homepage. This is a great option that will help bring in a lot more traffic that leads to their site to bring in more clients.
Using the internet nowadays is a great way for advertising, due to the available amount of resources and information that one can get. Therefore accountants are trying to get the most effective resource to bring in the most clients to their business. To make it easier for accountants, DeclareMedia is an online multiple directory to assist those in search for an accountant. So if one used a search engine like Google or Yahoo for Colorado Accountants, DeclareMedia has a directory for it. DeclareMedia also has a directory for someone who wanted to find New York Accountants as well. DeclareMedia has more than 100 directories that help accountants bring in more clients.
 Financial obligations are part of our everyday life and is critical to know where someone is financially. Whether it is a tax return preparation, book consulting, audits, retirement, estates, and an accountant can help. They can provide the necessary financial information that helps managers, investors, tax authorities and others make decisions about allocating resources.
Ben Martin, VP Product Development for DeclareMedia said, “DeclareMedia’s solution is unique in a way that it is easy to use, and works well when it comes to search engine optimization (SEO).” DeclarMedia has figured out a new way to obtain good rankings with search engines. High rankings help accountants with search engine optimization efforts. As an online directory makes more traffic flow to businesses, there is nothing to lose when it comes to a free listing. Although the listing is free, space is limited so businesses will need to decide quickly. The listing just takes only a few minutes to make.
DeclareMedia plans to launch more Accounting Directories in the next few weeks
DeclareMedia: DeclareMedia plans on managing thousands of online multiple directories that cover more than hundred business categories. DeclareMedia is a simple solution for businesses to provide services to customers. This is a plus for businesses to take advantage of online directories, for they rank high in search engines. Helping businesses use DeclareMedia as a resourceful tool bring in more clients. DeclareMedia is located in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Source http://www.digitaljournal.com/

As Panda Moves Abroad, Other Countries are Effected - Google's Algorithm Changes Reach International Countries

This week, Google released their "Content Farm - Panda" update to all English speaking countries including Australia, the United Kingdom, and Canada, where WebiMax, an online marketing company specializing in search engine optimization (SEO), has expanded operations. The initial release of the Panda update took place in February, released only in the United States. Now with the update reaching English language based countries abroad, additional websites that are managed through "black-hat" SEO tactics will be affected.
In February, at the time of the U.S. release of Panda, Kenneth C. Wisnefski, Founder and CEO of WebiMax, stated, "at WebiMax, we embrace these changes and view them not as 'changes', but 'enhancements' to the SEO industry. Our clients will see improved results from this because of the proper strategies we employ. The SEO industry has unfortunately been an industry that has gotten somewhat of a bad name because of unscrupulous firms that utilize questionable techniques to help improve the online visibility of their clients. We adhere to a Code of Ethics that gives our clients peace of mind, knowing that they will never end up in the news as some companies are starting to."
On April 1, 2011, Wisnefski announced a major expansion of WebiMax, opening international offices in Australia, Canada, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
"At the original release of the Panda update, we immediately received numerous calls from companies that were negatively affected by it. They were not aware their SEO firm was using these questionable tactics. We have been able to get involved and help with damage control for these clients by repositioning their website on ethical standards. With the timing of WebiMax's international expansion and Google's international release of Panda, we expect to be a valuable asset to companies abroad in the same way", stated Wisnefski.
This presents another golden opportunity for WebiMax to capitalize on continued record growth in 2011.
"Our clients value the experience with WebiMax, notably because of our experienced team of highly skilled experts, an analytics platform that lets them tract their campaigns in real-time, and a code of ethics that govern our strategies", concludes Wisnefski.
WebiMax.com is an industry leader in search engine optimization, social media, web design, pay-per-click management, reputation management and e-commerce based services. With over 125 employees, 8 U.S. based offices, and 4 International offices, WebiMax helps its clients grow their businesses by working closely with them as a strategic partner to ensure they reach their organizational objectives whether it is increasing sales, increasing their online visibility, boosting their lead generation efforts, or creating a unique customer experience on their website. Visit (www.webimax.com) for more information. 
Source http://www.sfgate.com/

Google's Panda Update + Social = New Enterprise SEM Opportunities

Enterprise-level search engine optimization (SEO) campaigns must be goal-focused, yet nimble enough to jump on new opportunities that result from social media market shifts and search engine algorithm updates.

Several recent noteworthy developments have created new opportunities for search engine marketers. But change also has to come from within if larger organizations want to take advantage of improving their positioning in the current search marketplace.

Recent History

In January, Google assured search engine marketers that it would take action against search engine spam -- scraper sites, sites with little original content, and sites that gamed its algorithm into achieving top listings for what was obviously low-quality content.

In February, Google made good on its promise and delivered a new ranking algorithm designed to eradicate high rankings for scraped, replicated and interlinked low-quality websites. The algorithm eventually became known as the Panda update.

Also during this timeframe, big brands like JCPenney, among others, were publicly outed and penalized in Google's search results for buying into certain types of contrived content creation and linking schemes produced by "spammers."

Some enterprise-level search engine marketers cringed at the sight of such downfalls and scrambled to quickly change their link building and content creation practices. Others knew that their search engine marketing initiatives were rooted in best practices and beyond reproach from Google.

Ensuring your search engine marketing team is nimble and responsive to these types of algorithm shifts is a working imperative for enterprise-level organizations.

While one door closed for those companies that bowed under the pressures of securing quick results with risk-riddled tactics, another door opened for those enterprises that are capable for joining forces across different business and marketing disciplines and work together to continually invest in earning high-quality back links to their collective works of unique, original and timely content.

Social Time Zones

Like the old saying goes, "timing is everything." This is especially true now for enterprise-level search engine marketers.

Also in February, Google announced it would begin integrating information from social networking sites, such Twitter, Flickr, and Quora, into its web search algorithms. Bing's search results are also under the influence of social networking data from Twitter and Facebook for friend-liked results.

And, as of April, Gmail users and their "friends" who are logged in to Google -- an estimated 20 percent of the U.S. market -- can see what other friends label as +1 in their search results, be it paid or earned.

From a search marketer's perspective, the introduction of social content being used as a factor for producing relevant search rankings assuages the importance of producing timely content and branded messaging around trending memes and themes.

Enterprises that are still hung up on controlling the messages made through social networks rather than focusing on participating in the conversation need to break down operational business boundaries and change their online marketing ways. No, you don't have to shoot all the lawyers, but you do need to ensure that your search engine marketing team is unencumbered by content approval processes.

While timeliness is a key opportunity for big brands, savvy search engine marketers realize that all these recent developments add up to new opportunities to improve their overall online visibility. In this case, search engine marketers can "double down" on improving a brand's overall search engine visibility when they simply work to unite social media marketing initiatives with link building campaigns.

In Conclusion

Google has said that its search algorithm uses more than 200 signals. Not to be outdone, Bing has said that its search algorithm analyzes at more than 1,000 signals.

The elimination of link farms and content scrapers, along with the introduction of prominent temporal signals from authoritative social media networks, have combined to create new opportunities for enterprise-level search engine marketers -- especially when it comes to link building programs.

Just remember that anything worth doing is worth measuring. Setting up a centralized dashboard is a working imperative if online marketers are to fulfill business goals, while tearing down barriers built around more traditional business and marketing disciplines. 
Source http://searchenginewatch.com/