Essential Keystrokes v1.0

Me, Elsewhere

2011-01-10T06:51:00.000-05:00

Since I first began my blogging journey in 2006, the places you can find me has expanded quite a bit! Here is the latest:

Essential Keystrokes: My online homebase with a focus on Wordprss, web development and social media.

Printables4Kids: Free printable coloring pages, word searches, mazes, and educational activities for home or classroom.

Doll Diaries: A fun site for fans of American Girl Dolls, Barbie and more.

SportsGirlsPlay: Online resource for raising a happy, healthy athlete.

Celebrate It: Party and holiday ideas, recipes, and crafts.

Raising A Healthy Family: Menu planning, recipes, tips and insight on the daily drama of raising 3 kids.

Plus Athletic: Weekly workout plans, fitness gear recommendations and more.

Funkee Munkees: Monkeys are just too much fun.

Personal Cartoon Checks: If you have to spend it, at least it should be cute!

iGolfPink: My personal journal on golf, golf equipment, and news of interest to the female golfer.

This blog is on the move...

2006-09-29T22:49:00.000-04:00

Blogger has been a great place to start, but it is time for this blog to take a step forward. As of Oct. 3, 2006, Essential Keystrokes will be at it's new home - www.essentialkeystrokes.com. I had purchased the domain name a while ago and love the fact that I was able to learn something new, too (Wordpress). I am still tweaking the new site, but invite everyone to stop in and visit at our new web home. If you have links pointing to this site, you should probably update your links and/or bookmarks. Come by and drop us a line.

PS - Thanks to all my readers and those who have taken the time to interact with me in the process. If you are interested in getting my take on things outside the realm of web design and marketing, stop over to my other blog www.casualkeystrokes.com.

You've Only Got 30 Seconds or Twenty Words...

2006-09-26T10:08:00.000-04:00

To do what? To get your message across to your web site visitors.

We would all like to think that our web sites contain such compelling information that users will stick around, browse, and really get into our material, but the brutal truth is, they won't. Statistics show that over 80% of your site's visitors will leave your site within 30 seconds of arriving. At first I didn't believe it, but then I looked at the web statistics for more than 20 sites I maintain/host, and yep, the stats tell the same story.

Additionally, did you know that you have twenty words to capture your visitors interest or they will be gone? Twenty. Your message needs to be short, sweet and to the point if you expect to keep them around.

Your site visitors are looking for information in quick, easy to digest bits. They want their information and they want it now. They don't read web pages the way they read books. According to Jakob Nielsen, they read web content using an F-shaped pattern - two quick horizontal passes and a vertical pass down the left.

So what's a web site owner to do? Look at your site with these thoughts in mind and play around with your content, layout and the way you present your information. It is often helpful to get the opinion of someone who does not have the emotional ties to the site as you do. Ask that independent third party if they can identify your site's product/service/message in 30 seconds or less. Can they glean the information they need in the first 20 words they come upon? Is your key information located in the "F-zone"? If so, great - you are on the right track. If not, make some changes.

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The Best Of The Web For FREE - But For How Long?

2006-09-21T08:49:00.000-04:00

On my recent flight across the Atlantic, I was catching up on some reading and came across a very interesting column in PC Magazine by John C. Dvorak on the YouTube Phenomenon. He compares the abundance of free and extremely functional services available on the web now to those available in 1999 (shortly before most of them went under). The more I thought about it, the more it occurred to me that you can get a lot for free on the web, and most of us have come to take it for granted.

Here are a few of these great, free services:

YouTube - Sky-rocketing traffic and popularity. With operation costs of at least $1.5 million per month, how is this site going to continue to function? My guess is that strategic partnerships with record companies (like Warner Music) and other media outlets (like Cingular Wireless) will help.
Flickr - Photo sharing at its finest. Developed in 2002 by a Canadian company, it was recently purchased by Yahoo! Basic services are free, but they do make some money on the upgraded Professional Accounts.
Skype - Call for free anywhere in the world from your computer, add-ons for a fee. I use this service regularly and highly recommend it to anyone doing business internationally or with friends and family all over the world. Skype was recently purchased by Ebay.
Honorable mentions include: Jot, Putfile, YouSendIt, Gmail, GTalk, Photobucket, Writely, and Blogger.

I wonder how many of these sites will survive? Or will they get bought out and evolve into "suites" grouped with other services? I'd love to get your take on this trend! Leave me a note expressing your view or share your favorite free service with the rest of us!

A Week Without the Web

2006-09-19T21:56:00.000-04:00

Nothing like a vacation to a broadband-less place to break one of a near-addiction to the Web! We went to the south coast of Ireland for a week to help my Grandparents celebrate their 60th Wedding Anniversary along with four generations of our family. It was a spectacular, once in a lifetime experience.

When I logged off a week ago I was a bit nervous. What would I do without my daily dose of Cyberspace? I wouldn't be able to check my email, blogs, favorite forums, run my business or check my bank balance. Guess what? I survived!

I caught up on some reading including and article with great insights on the viability of sites like YouTube, Flickr, Blogger and such. I did lots of crossword puzzles, too. I visited with family, took in the sites, played with the kids, did some shopping, and reflected on the importance of family history.

On the way home on the plane (while in a one hour holding pattern above the US), I was able to think more clearly and creatively about my business, my blogs, my goals and next steps. I grabbed an old fashioned notebook and a pen and brainstormed.

Now the suitcases are waiting in the kitchen to be unpacked, the kids are in bed, hubby is catching up on the football he missed, and I am unwinding with a cup of tea and my dear "friend" the Web.

Best of Essential Keystrokes

2006-09-10T12:25:00.000-04:00

I will be offline for about 10 days so in the meantime, feel free to browse the archives for some of the best posts on Essential Keystrokes. I started this blog with the idea of using it to share my web insights. Below is a list of Web 101 (and a good refresher for those beyond that) topics I have covered to date:

Leave me a comment and let me know if these topics are of use to you. Feel free to request topics on web design and marketing and I will consider posting about them when I return.

Fun Friday - Five Distractions for Your Day

2006-09-08T09:27:00.000-04:00

Who really gets any work done on Fridays anyhow? Here are some fun distractions for your Friday!

Virgin Radio - Need a fix of a good British accent and great music too? Listen live on your computer.
Human Metrics - Take the Myers Briggs personality test online - find out whether you are an introvert or an extrovert, and other interesting things about yourself. (I am ISTJ - just incase you wanted to know)
Bored.com - A very extensive directory of sites including jokes, games, and other silly stuff.
Useless Trivia - Want to impress your friends with knowledge of the obscure? Check this site out.
Shockwave.com™ UNLIMITED - Play over 300 Hit Action & Puzzle Games. Try it Free!

Have a great weekend!

TechToy Adventures - iPod Video

2006-09-07T09:45:00.000-04:00

I am not a Gadget Girl, but am married to Gadget Man. Most of the time these "TechToys" that make appearances in our house are cool (Pizzazz Pizza Oven), useful (GPS enabled PDA), and end up being well-used (TIVO), but chances are, I didn't buy them. We got a new member to our "TechToys" collection yesterday - a black, iPod Video.

Now, we have an iPod in the family already - a sporty, white one loaded with songs ranging from Hannah Montana to Hamster Dance perfect for our soon to be tweens. Why did we need another one? Well, Gadget Man thinks the video feature is so cool. After all, he now has a longer commute and a job that is going to require more travel. He can put his favorite songs, videos and audiobooks on it and listen to it in the car or in the air. I can't imagine watching anything on a screen that small.

So, he opens the box and glances over the Quick Start Guide and starts setting up his preferences. Somehow, he inadvertently selects Chinese as the language. Chinese. Not German, not French, Chinese. Great. Now I had to go to Apple's site and get the instructions for undoing that mess. We finally get that done, load a bunch of songs we already own, and now he wants to put movies that he already has on a hard drive onto the iPod. No luck. We need conversion software. No energy for that at 10:30 PM, so off to iTunes to purchase a music video - I just want to see how clear this picture really is.

We download a U2 video and I am sold. The video quality was amazing. Now I could imagine watching a movie on this little device. And with a transatlantic flight in our near future, I really want to figure out how to get these movies onto the iPod. He says he has a friend who has put movies on his - pick up the phone I say, let's get on it!!

Anyone have any good iPod Video tips for me? I want to get our money's worth out of this one!!

Cool Tool Review - Comment Trackers

2006-09-06T10:45:00.000-04:00

While navigating the Blogosphere, I often take a moment to leave a comment when I find a post I really like or find interesting. The problem is that I forget where I've been. I need some virtual breadcrumbs - Hansel and Gretl style.

While checking in on one of my new favorite blogs - BusinessBlogwire, I read the interview done by BolderBlogs on increasing your blog traffic. In the interview, Easton mentions comment tracking sites that he uses to keep track of his comments that he has left along the way. AHA - there are my virtual breadcrumbs!!

I have already signed up for and tested out coComment. Very cool. It keeps track of my comments in an easy to use format. There is also co.mments, not as pretty, but definitely functional. Another option is Commentful. Commentful looks like it is a great match if you use Firefox, as it blinks when follow-up comments are made.

With any tool, everyone has a favorite and different features appeal to different people. Which one do you use and what is your favorite?

Choosing An Online Marketing Company

2006-09-05T07:04:00.000-04:00

The number of companies offering online marketing services and/or search engine optimization services is growing daily. Some offer quality services by taking time to learn about your market, your clients, and your needs. However, there are more that are quick to offer guaranteed placements (warning sign #1), offer to register your site with hundreds of search engines for $19.99 (warning sign #2), or spew out stacks of meaningless data (warning sign #3).

The most important thing to remember when considering an online marketing company's services, is that search engine marketing is a moving target. The formulas that the search engines use for ranking sites are always changing. Getting high rankings in the search engines is really only one piece of the online marketing puzzle anyhow. Look for a company with a proven track record and satisfied customers.

Services a good online marketing company should offer include:

Full web-site audit and analysis
Keyword Ranking Reports
Self Service SEO Tools
Link Popularity Reports
PayPerClick Campaign Set Up

So, do your research and remember what your mother told you - "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."

Back Up Your Hard Drive - NOW!

2006-09-04T09:44:00.000-04:00

Let's just say, you are cruising along, surfin' the net and all of a sudden you get the heart-stopping, blue screen of death. If you are like me, your life flashes before your eyes and you pray to the computer gods that when you shut your system down and restart it all your data will still be in tact. During this prayer, you plead with the computer gods - "Just this once, please bring me my data, I promise I'll do a back up, I promise." Sound familiar?

Do you know how expensive and time-consuming it can be to have someone recover them for you? Do you know how easy it is to do yourself?

There are a myriad of ways to back up your data, especially now. If you don't have much data to back up, burn just what you need to a CD or two. Label them, and put them in the safe. Now if you are like me, whose LIFE, livelihood, and sanity are tied into this computer (I know, how sad), it will take stacks of CDs and way too much time. Enter, Iomega's portable hard drives.

Iomega has always had great portable storage, but the 250GB portable hard drive rocks. I can literally slide my entire life onto it, unplug it, store it in a safe place or take it with me to plug into my lap top. The best part is that it is the size of a wallet (it could fit in my purse) and plugs in via USB.

Now, my only complaint about the portable hard drive is the funky whining noise it makes from time to time. Maybe it is just speaking to me, saying back it up NOW!

Off to take some of my own advice....

What is a Widget?

2006-09-03T09:21:00.000-04:00

Last year when I got my iMac G5, I was getting to know my way around it and all of a sudden a layer of little windows appeared with the latest weather, a solitare game, maps, calendar and a variety of other little gizmos. On the Mac it is called my Dashboard, but after a bit of research, I figured out that these are called widgets - small files that run single applications in individual window that can be customized for your desktop. I'll call them "Geek Toys".

Originally created in 2000 using XML, they were launched for the Mac platform and now using Java, they are available for Windows.

Where do you get these widgets? The name in the game used to be Konfabulator, but it appears that Yahoo! has bought them out. Yahoo! Widgets gallery lets you find widgets and download them, or if you are a widget creator, you can submit them too.

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A New Way To Make Money With Your Blog

2006-09-02T08:49:00.000-04:00

Due to the meteoric rise in the popularity of blogs and the word of mouth effect they have on the marketplace, advertisers are now tapping into bloggers as a way to get the word out about their products and services. However, until recently, the primary way to make money from blogging was through advertisers using programs like Google Adsense or selling banner ad space.

Now there are a handful of new services that link blog publishers to advertisers, with bloggers being paid to mention the advertisers product in a post. Of course, there is brewing controversy about this technique, but as a blogger I don't think it is bad. For one thing, it exposes me as a consumer to products/services I may or may not have heard about before. It gives me something new to research and learn about. I am not going to blog about something I don't feel is worthwhile - meaning I will pass up offers for products/services which I find to be somewhat spammy.

I have worked with a few of these blogging for dollars companies (Blogitive - I like, PayPerPost - I don't) and recently learned of a new one - Blogsvertise. I had seen them mentioned at Problogger and other sites and figured it was worth a look.

How Blogsvertise works is that bloggers are assigned topics to post on and follow the guidelines set out by the company. The blogger must write about the assigned subject within seven days including a link to the website or product at least three times. They can review the site, compliment it, relate to it somehow in their daily life, or even complain about it. The post must be approved and be online before the blogger is paid via PayPal.

For additional details, or to sign up, go to Blogsvertise.com.

What are your feelings on blogging for pay? Good thing or bad?

Official Blog Tipping Day

2006-09-01T09:15:00.000-04:00

Did you know that the 1st day of each month is official Blog Tipping Day? According to Business Blogwire it is. So, without further ado…

Since it is going to rain ALL weekend, I may need to spend some time at Popcorn & Twizzlers to get ideas as to what movies and shows are worth a watch.
Or maybe I will read a book – something recommended by Great Reads.
Susan’s Spa has some great posts about Blogging and why we do it.

If you need more good reading, check out this month's issue of Business 2.0 for a great article called Blogging for Dollars.

Have a great weekend!

The Marketing Puzzle Gets Bigger

2006-08-31T21:37:00.000-04:00

Do you remember the days before the where standard marketing tools included your logo, business card, printed collateral, print ads, news releases and face-to-face networking?

The marketing puzzle has certainly gotten bigger and more complex. Now companies have to allocate their marketing dollars to traditional tools as well as a myriad of new ones.

The new puzzle pieces include your web site; web site optimization; e-newsletters; social networking like blogs, discussion forums, YouTube, Flickr, and MySpace; banner ads; pay per click campaigns, and the list goes on.

How does a company decide how to prioritize and allocate resources to all these pieces? Know your company, know your audience and know your limitations.

If you have time, resources and the know how, you may be able to do some of these tasks on your own. If not, you may be better off to consult with a public relations or marketing firm that has expertise in new media marketing.

Must Have Free Tool - Google Analytics

2006-08-30T14:48:00.000-04:00

Standard web-hosting packages typically come with pretty informative web statistics packages built in that you can use to analyze the comings and goings of users to your site. Some of the more popular packages are WebTrends, Webalizer, and my personal favorite, Awstats. However, if you have a blog that is not hosted through a web host, how do you find out what is going on?

My blog is done through Blogger.com. It was free, very easy to set up, and works great, but I didn't know if anyone was visiting. I looked into Google Analytics - another great, free tool from the search engine kings. GA's primary purpose is to provide tracking and information on Google Adwords campaign, but it is also available for sites that don't use Adwords.

I signed up and copied the GA code into my blog code. Then I waited 24 hours for GA to collect information. I was pleasantly surprised to see the wealth of information it had collected. You get a cool 4-part screen with different data types.

The first quadrant is a simple color coded line graph showing the number of visits and the number of page views to your site.
The second quadrant is a pie chart of new vs. returning visits.
The third quadrant is a map of the world with dots showing where your site visitors came from.
And the fourth quadrant is a pie chart of where your visitors came from, whether a direct request or referral from another site.

Beyond these pictures there are breakdowns of keywords visitors used for searching, details on which sites sent you the traffic, which pages they visited, which pages they left from and other standard traffic details.

Considering this is a free tool from Google, I give it an A+ for ease of use and value.

Working from Home? New terms.

2006-08-29T09:13:00.000-04:00

In this day of being politically correct, what is the correct phrase for someone who works from home? Is it telecommuter, work at home professional, work at home parent, or something completely different? Our friends at HomeOfficeHub have done the research and uncovered the work from home buzzwords. Check out the article entitled "The New 'Open-Collar' Workforce".

Keeping up with the latest terms in any field is always such a challenge. Feel free to leave a comment with some of the latest buzzwords you have heard.

It's Saturday - Let's go Blog Tipping!

2006-08-26T08:16:00.000-04:00

Unlike its "cousins" Cow-tipping and Tractor-tipping (ala Mater from Cars), Blog-tipping is an acceptable activity that will not get you chased down by an angry farmer.

I done quite a bit of reading this week and thanks to Technorati and some Blogrolls of my favorite blogs, I now have some new favorites! Here they are in no particular order:

PR Blogger - A strong mix of Public Relations and Technology - right up my alley. I have read some great posts there this week. My favorite being "Has There Ever Been A Better Time To Work In PR"

Working Solo - A great blog focusing on working alone, but not doing it all by yourself. A great resource for SOHO businesses. I got another great resource from her blog on Great Icon Graphics.

WAHMConnections - It took me a while to figure out that WAHMConnections has a few blogs and there are great topics on all of them. Let's start with SEO Copywriting - What Google wants, visitors want too!

Have a great weekend!

Does Your Site Give Your Visitors What They Are Looking For?

2006-08-25T12:23:00.000-04:00

Ponder this for a moment, you have a beautifully designed, slick looking web site that you just "know" your visitors will love, after all, you do. It has all the bells and whistles, that expensive Flash intro, and graphics galore. But is it missing what your customers want most? Content. Relevant content.

Specific audiences are looking for specific content and more than 70% of web customers are using search engines or search directories to find the sites that have the content they want. The competition is tough. Getting those coveted top spots in Google without paying for them takes time, effort, a well constructed site, and CONTENT, relevant content. The search engines, by nature, prefer large, dynamic sites to smaller, static sites. So do users.

As part of your search engine optimization strategy, think about what your potential customers are coming to your site to find out. Take a look at your web traffic logs and review the keywords that are being used to find your site. Are they what you want them to be? Look at the content on your competitor's site. Are the key phrases you want to promote being written into the copy effectively? Sometimes it is helpful to step out of your comfort zone and have an independent third party review your site, whether it is just a good friend, or an experienced web writer.

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Spiders and Other Not-So-Creepy Crawlers

2006-08-24T12:26:00.000-04:00

Okay, this is not an early Halloween post, rather a quick overview into terms like spiders, crawlers, and robots. What do these three terms have to do with web design and marketing? Alot actually!

Basically the terms spiders, crawlers, and robots are pretty interchangeable in the world of the web. They are all non-human, automated programs that are used to connect the dots and weave the big web called the Internet. Search engines launch their spider programs which run 24/7/365 to crawl through the millions of web pages, log key content words and phrases and follow links to other pages in the site and away from the site. In doing so, spiders basically catalog the web. Search engines then use this data to help users find what they are looking for.

Search engines take the data collected by the spiders and use it to create an index of sites that match the words being used in searches. They also use the information on pages the site links to and from to and percentage match in code (meta tags and content), to determine how high in the search the page will rank. Okay, there is more to the exact formula than that, you get the jist!

If you look at your web statistics closely, you can tell if and which spiders have visited. There also seems to be growing controversy over the need to submit your site to search engines based on the fact that the spiders are always going. They will eventually find your site, but manually submitting your site can help sometimes and it certainly won't hurt.

On a final note, not all spidering programs are good or being put to good use. The same type of program that helps Google build its great search engine, can also be used by spammers to harvest email addresses.

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The Miserable State of Customer Service

2006-08-23T10:30:00.000-04:00

I have come to the conclusion that customer service in this day and age is something that leaves alot to be desired. Take your typical phone call to any major company; you will most likely go through a maze of automated instructions - all of which "have changed" so you need to listen to them all first. Then, you may or may not get an actual human, and if you do, they may not even be located in the country that you are calling from (10% of all customer support services are outsourced to firms outside the US). Can you say FRUSTRATION?

A business associate of mine, Susan Carol of Susan Carol Associates Public Relations, tipped me off to the coolest resource yet - GetHuman.com. GetHuman is an all volunteer organization that is compiling a huge database on companies and publishing the secret codes to getting to a human when calling! BRILLIANT! They also provide tips for tracking down company numbers when they aren't posted in obvious places.

For more tips like this, don't forget to sign up to receive email updates from us (not too often, and we won't share your email address with anyone!).

Online Communities - A Whole New World

2006-08-22T18:01:00.000-04:00

Before the days of the Internet, when people wanted to socialize or network with other businesses, they did it the "old-fashioned" way, face-to-face. You met with your neighbors, went to networking events at local businesses, had dinner parties, and exchanged business cards with everyone you met. It's not to say that these events no longer happen or that this is no longer an effective way to get the word out about your business, it's just that the Internet has opened up a whole new world!

For example, who had heard of MySpace two years ago? Who hasn't heard of it now? Who would have thought that YouTube would become a viable launch pad for new talent and products? Blogging has allowed the average business person to become an overnight "expert" on a topic, just because they write about it. Even traditional media sources and journalists are using information published in blogs as newsworthy information.

Every niche has some form of social networking site, discussion forum or resource site, allowing individuals with specific interests the means to connect with others with similar interests. ClubMom and WAHM are sites specifically for moms - ClubMom is a huge social networking site for moms and all their interests and WAHM has a very busy discussion forum for mom's who work from home. Blogher and Technorati are just two of the many gathering spots for bloggers of all types. Yahoo has "groups" for every possible interest and the list goes on and on.

We'd love to hear about your favorite business or social networking site. Drop us a line in the comments and let us know!

Back to Reality

2006-08-18T12:16:00.000-04:00

Well, things have been quiet on my blog this week for a reason. The family and I took a whirlwind trip up the East Coast and had a blast! Coming back to an inbox full of spam, new projects, and updates for current projects mixed in with notes from friends is overwhelming. Did I mention the amount of laundry 5 people generate in a week? Ugh. I guess it is back to reality.

I am amazed at how dependent we have become on technology. Not only did I use my laptop in the hotel room to check my email (and discard the heaps of spam before the real email could no longer come through), it was much more efficient than a concierge. If I had researched the concierge's dinner recommendation the first night through TripAdvisor before we went, I would have known that while the concierge, who obviously didn't have kids, thought it was a great place, for us, it just was okay. Without my laptop in tow, we would have had at least one more dining near-disaster! A friend had wanted to meet us for dinner at a very nice restaurant. After doing some research I quickly realized that it was a recipe for disaster and recommended that my husband go it alone. Good call, mom! Instead, the kids were very content with a trip to ToysRUs, McDonalds brought back to the hotel room and mom ordering room service.

Stay tuned - Essential Keystrokes will have new insights, tips and commentary next week.

Did you remember to PING?

2006-08-11T10:09:00.000-04:00

This summer I took the plunge and joined the world of blogging and I have no regrets. I have really enjoyed it and have learned all sorts of new words and found a lot of cool tools in the process. One of the most important things I have learned is that when you blog, you must then ping.

A ping is basically a computer program that allows you to verify a particular web address and make sure it is working. Pinging, as it relates to blogs, is a way for you to noitify weblog directories and services of an update to your blog. Your blog software usually performs a ping automatically, but if you want to let other services like Technorati, NewsGator, FeedBurner and others all know at the same time it can be time consuming. The more relevant directories your blog is listed with, the better chance you have of getting your blog read by interested readers.

This is where services like Pingoat and Ping-o-matic come into play. They allow you to ping multiple services using their automated process. They are both free and certainly worth a look.

Do you have a favorite pinging service or Blog directory? Feel free to share with us by leaving a comment.

Viral Marketing - YouTube.com

2006-08-09T10:33:00.000-04:00

I have been watching with great fascination as the phenomenon created by YouTube.com continues to grow. YouTube is a video sharing site that allows anyone to watch and upload videos to the web. It began in February 2005 out of the frustrations of two friends who were trying to share video footage of a dinner event that had been at. The files were too big for email and while there were plenty of photo sharing sites out there, there wasn't a means for sharing their videos. Not even 18 months later, YouTube has become an entertainment destination for viewers of all ages looking for humor, music videos, off the wall entertainment and everything in between.

It has made instant stars out of average individuals - my favorite being The Evolution of Dance (see below), which has been viewed 30,638,535 times since its launch 4 months ago - amazing! It has captured the attention of traditional media outlets like NBC and ABC. ABC's Good Morning America is making YouTube videos a regular Wednesday morning event. Politicians are getting into the act, posting campaign videos on YouTube. Budding musicians, actors, and artists are using YouTube as an inexpensive way to get their talents (and lack there of) out to the masses. More and more businesses are looking to the phenomenon as a way to promote their goods/services via video.

With over 70 million videos watched each day, one can only imagine what the possibilities are.

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Terminology - Four New Buzzwords

2006-08-07T17:44:00.000-04:00

Keeping up with the latest web trends is like anything else - exhausting! With web trends you have to learn a new language, too! Here are four new buzz words in the web world - their definitions are not exactly what you might think.

AJAX - Not the cleaner, but an acronym for Asynchronous Java Script and XML. This buzzword is used to describe a technique used by programmers for creating interactive web applications by using a combination of programming technologies. Learn more
ATOM - Not exactly a scientific term in the traditional sense, Atom is a new standard for programmers and a format for syndicating blogs. People use this syndication format to check their favorite blog sites using Feed readers. Learn more
Python - Python is a powerful open source programming language that runs equally well on a variety of platforms from your standard Windows to Mac and many portable device platforms. One of its plusses is its quick learning curve thanks to its dynamic object oriented base and many library objects. Learn more
Ruby on Rails - I just love the name of this one! It sounds cool. Ruby on Rails is another open source full-stack framework for developing database-backed web applications. All you need is a database and a server. Learn more

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It's Friday and It's Too Hot to Work!

2006-08-04T07:56:00.000-04:00

I don't know about you, but the heat this week has taken just about everything out of me! It's just too hot to do anything. Since it's also Friday, I say, we just goof off today. Find a good book or play games. Go to the pool or cool off at the mall!

Looking for some good games? The folks at RealArcade have got a great deal going right now! Get 2 FREE games with a 30 Day Free trial to GamePass

Another option would be to go somewhere nice on vacation! Say, a condo in Maui. A Maui Condo on the beach at Waikoloa Beach Resort would be spectacular. I could relax with a full-sized kitchen and expansive lanais on both levels, two master suites, a private wading pool, and a location so close to the ocean that you can frequently feel the spray from the ocean as waves break against the coastline. Okay, back to reality - I'll just play games.

Have a great weekend!

Cool Tool Review - Picking Keywords

2006-08-02T08:19:00.000-04:00

The words and phrases in the content of your site, ideally, are the words and phrases your site visitors are using to find you. So how do you know if these words are relevant and what people are searching for?

Overture is a popular service for advertisers who place pay per click ads through Yahoo. They have a cool tool that lets you search by keyword/phrase and find out how many searches were made for it last month.
Wordtracker is a research tool that provides a variety of services that help you find the best keywords for your site. I love their free service that emails you the top 300 searched terms across the web for each week.

For more cool tips like this, don't forget to sign up to receive email updates from us (not too often, and we won't share your email address with anyone!).

Shopping Cart Software

2006-08-01T18:55:00.000-04:00

Back in the old days (1995 or so), buying anything online with the click of a mouse was not widely done. Now, everyone from the brick and mortar stores we all frequent daily to the small home based business can sell their wares online - and people are buying.

As a web site owner, what are your options for setting up an easy-to-use shopping cart on your site?

If you have a large inventory and a large budget, you can hire a firm that specializes in e-commerce and get a custom solution.
You can use a service such as 1shoppingcart.com that charges a monthly fee, but comes with pre-made templates, credit card gateways, e-newsletter and mailing list maintenance features and more.
Many web hosts now have turn-key shopping cart systems that are easily installed and customized like ZenCart, OsCommerce and CubeCart. Setting up the basics are pretty straight-forward, but making it look and feel like your own can be tricky.
The easiest way to accept payments online is through PayPal. It's fast, easy, and secure.

For more articles like this, don't forget to sign up to receive email updates from us (not too often, and we won't share your email address with anyone!).

Friday Five - Where to Submit Your Site

2006-07-28T07:35:00.000-04:00

Everyone wants to be found on the search engines and everyone is looking for that coveted top spot. Once you have your site set up, content written, and meta tags created correctly, you want to let the search engines know you are there. Here are links to the Top 5 places to submit your site:

Google - Add URL
Yahoo - Add URL (free request, need to create Yahoo account first)
MSN - Add URL
AOL - uses Google search results
DMOZ - Add URL

Remember that Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is only one piece of your web marketing puzzle. A good quality site with strong content is the most important thing.

Terminology - What is CSS?

2006-07-24T18:47:00.000-04:00

Cascading Style Sheets, also known as CSS, are a tool that web designers use to control the look of their web site while maintaining flexibility to change their mind on a whim without creating hours of work in the process.

Basically style sheets are check lists for each element on your site. For example, you can use CSS to make all of your H1 tags 12 pixels, green, and bold. However, if you decide that you just don't like the way that works with your hot pink background, you can quickly change all the H1 tags to dark blue by changing that one element in the style sheet and it automatically applies itself throughout.

One of the coolest examples of CSS at work that I have found is CSS Zen Garden. Select CSS layouts from the menu and watch the page change before your eyes - the text all stays the same, though!

If you are looking to really learn CSS, I highly recommend Cascading Style Sheets, The Definitive Guide, by Eric Meyer.

For more cool tips like this, don't forget to sign up to receive email updates from us (not too often, and we won't share your email address with anyone!).

Web Site Audit - How Easily Can Your Visitors Contact You?

2006-07-22T17:38:00.000-04:00

Go to your favorite web site - how fast can you find a way to contact that web site's owner? If it is a business with a physical location, how fast can you find a phone number or location?

Chances are, unless you are running an online store, the one thing you want your web site to do is make a call for action. You want potential clients to contact you about your product or service. How can they give you business if they can't reach you? Try some of these tactics:

Place an email link, phone number and/or physical address in the footer of each page of your site.
Place your phone number prominently in the header of your site.
Place your phone number or location (city, state) in the title meta tag.
Create a Contact Us page with your physical address, phone numbers, email information and directions to your business (where applicable).
Steer away from using user filled out forms as the only means of contact. Why should visitors give you information when you aren't willing to give them any?

For more cool tips like this, don't forget to sign up to receive email updates from us (not too often, and we won't share your email address with anyone!).

The World of Blogging

2006-07-21T14:46:00.000-04:00

Until I started my own blog, I never really realized how blogging is taking on an identity of its own. Blogs put a different spin on the traditional world of the web. Anyone can blog - about anything - for free. You don't even need to know much about HTML. Services like Blogger make it so easy. Some of my favorite blogs are:

V-grrrl.com - absolutely the freshest writing on a variety of topics
Energize me - great tips for getting energized and staying healthy
Wingtips for Women - fancy footwork for women's soles
Confessions of an Ebay Momma - tips for selling your stuff on Ebay
Ask Board - got a question, just ask

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Blog post sponsored by Blog for Pay

Happy Friday!

Tween Techies

2006-07-20T19:34:00.000-04:00

If you have a tween, chances are they could teach you a thing or two about technology. I know my kids can. My son navigates new software, video games, and remotes with the greatest of ease. Being the techno mom that I am, I have decided that he needs to learn the basics of web design and that a blog is a perfect way to start. We have made it a summer project.

Our new mother-son blog debuted yesterday and will contain video game reviews, tips, cheats and tricks for tweens by a tween. It will cover computer based games, PS2, GBA, XBox, and other tech toys. Check it out at Video Game Tips for Tweens!

For more cool tips like this, don't forget to sign up to receive email updates from us (not too often, and we won't share your email address with anyone!).

Getting Images for a Song

2006-07-19T17:50:00.000-04:00

Anyone who has designed a web or print piece can tell you that getting the right art can be a time consuming and expensive endeavor, especially if you plan on being legit about it (which we all should be).

I recently discovered two web sites that offer royalty-free, stock images, illustrations and web elements for very reasonable prices. Gone are the days of $199 images for use on the web.

iStockPhoto.com - All images and illustrations run from $1-$10 each. You purchase credits in $1 increments through PayPal. When you download an image, the appropriate number of credits is deducted from your account. So far I have been very impressed by the wide range of graphics available!

Fotolia.com - Fotolia works a lot like iStockPhoto, but the images are $1-$3 each. You can buy or sell images and there is a great selection with powerful search capability.

For more cool tips like this, don't forget to sign up to receive email updates from us (not too often, and we won't share your email address with anyone!).

Quick tip - Mail2Web

2006-07-18T07:39:00.000-04:00

If you are ever on the road, at a library, internet cafe, etc., and need to pick up your email from another computer, you can!

Mail2Web is a free (we all like free) service that doesn't even require any registration for you to pick up your email! All you need is your email address and password. It is a basic, web-based interface (not difficult) that allows you to read and respond to your email. Try it out!

For more cool tips like this, don't forget to sign up to receive email updates from us (not too often, and we won't share your email address with anyone!).

Google - Are we there yet?

2006-07-16T08:00:00.000-04:00

Have you ever wondered if Google has really indexed your site or not? Here is a quick and easy way to find out.

In the Google search bar, type site:yoursite.com inurl:yoursite.com

Insert your domain name in both places that it says yoursite.com. This will tell you if Google has indexed your site yet, and which pages within your site have been indexed.

For more cool tips like this, don't forget to sign up to receive email updates from us (not too often, and we won't share your email address with anyone!).

Cool Tool Review - Constant Contact

2006-07-12T10:11:00.000-04:00

One effective method for generating return traffic to your websites is through the use of opt-in mailing lists. I have used a few different mailing list management tools over the years and recently started using Constant Contact.

Constant Contact is very easy to set up and comes with a 60-day FREE trial (no credit card required). In other words, you can test it out, take your time getting it up and running, and even begin to see results before you pay. If you like the service, you are charged a low monthly fee based on the number of subscribers in your list.

Constant Contact provides you with cool templates for your mass emails, custom code for creating your subscribe button, code for features like forward to a friend and send this page to a friend, and other powerful features.

Ready to keep your site in front of your visitors, give Constant Contact a try!

What are Chicklets?

2006-07-11T17:14:00.000-04:00

I am not talking about the gum we chewed as kids or baby chickens, but the little buttons that are showing up all over the place that say XML, FEED, RSS, or show the "universal" RSS feed symbol.

By creating an RSS feed, web and blog publishers are giving users a new way to "subscribe" to a site's content. Feed Reader software has been created as a means of managing all of a user's favorite feeds. (free programs include NewsGator, Feedreader and others)

Chicklets are just little graphical buttons that allow users who have Feed Readers to quickly subscribe to the site by dragging the chicklet to their Feed Reader software. From the Feed Reader software, a subscriber can check on what is new at all the favorite sites at once rather than by visiting each site individually.

For more information on RSS feeds, visit my personal favorite - FeedBurner.

Tag the Images, Too!

2006-07-10T22:37:00.000-04:00

In my last entry I talked about the all important meta tags; title, description and keywords. Well, another one that is just as important, but often forgotten is the ALT tag on your images.

When you casually run your mouse cursor over an image, have you ever noticed the words that appear, describing what you see? Sometimes it may be a single word, but it might also be a long description of what you see.

The ALT tag is very useful in that it adds a bit of context to the image at hand. For users with disabilities, who may be using special equipment such as screen readers, ALT tags are essential - otherwise it is the equivalent of reading a piece of swiss cheese - too many holes.

From the search engine perspective, ALT tags can be used to further boost the concentration of specific keywords. This is especially effective if your image is directly related to your keywords.

So, check your images. Are they properly tagged?

A Meta-What?

2006-07-07T10:34:00.000-04:00

Everyone is always talking about some magic formula for getting listed in search engines. There isn't any, but there are a few things you can certainly do to help the situation. One of those things includes meta-tags. There are a variety of meta-tags you can place in your code, but the three most important are:

Title
Description
Keywords

Take a look at your code (hint: right click on your page and choose view source), and look for something like this: (I have removed the "<" so it will show up here)

title: Your web site title here - between 50 and 80 characters including spaces

meta name="Description" content="A concise, descriptive summary of your site - up to 250 characters including spaces"

meta name="Keywords" content="key words and phrases that appear on your page - up to 1024 characters including spaces"

If you change the content of your page you should probably revisit your meta-tags. If you don't have any, contact your webmaster and work together to get the best words working for you.

Organizing Your Web Site Navigation

2006-07-06T17:46:00.000-04:00

Somewhere between listing every page in your web site down the side of the page, and making users click through layers and layers of sub-menus to find what they need, there is a happy medium. Your average user wants to find the information they are looking for in 3 clicks or less. If they can't they will most likely leave your site and look elsewhere.

Consider the primary goal of your site - do you sell a product, a service, or is your site primarily informational? Can you organize your pages into general information and specific information? Do you have sub-categories of information?

In order to organize your links, make an outline of your site. Group them by general company info, product and/or service type, additional info or resources. If you find any one category has multiple sub-items, consider making it a top level item.

You can keep general information links at the top of the page and make more product/service specific links in a side navigation area. Another option is to use drop down menus from the main categories. If you feel you need to have all your navigation links showing, consider grouping them and separating them with graphical category names, putting them in boxes, or separating them with spacing.

There is no absolute right or wrong, but these are a few tips to help you create a more organized site.

Cool Tool Review - Photo Organization with Picasa

2006-07-05T19:44:00.000-04:00

If you are like me, you have embraced digital photography and now have loads of photos on your PC and no idea where everything is. Enter Picasa - a free photo organization tool from Google.

Once you have downloaded Picasa, it scans your computer, finds and organizes your photos in folders by date. It does this everytime you open the software. You can then drag and drop photos into folders and make custom albums. Other things you can do include photo touch ups and lighting enhancements. It has a cool collage feature, too.

My favorite feature has to be the composite page. It is the ultimate organizational tool. Print composite pages of each of your favorite folders, slip them into a 3-ring binder, and you will be able to find your favorite pictures quickly.

Of course, you can also email photos straight out of Picasa, make a slide show and even create a gift CD. Give it a spin! You'll love it!

Happy Fourth of July

2006-07-04T10:10:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday to the United States! Thank you to all our heroes who have fought so hard to gain and maintain our freedom.

Don't feel like fighting the crowds or staying up late? Create your own fireworks!

Cyberfireworks - turn up the sound, pick your location and send them off
Phantom Fireworks - create your own fireworks show in a variety of cities
Sparky the Fire Dog - cool 4th of July activities for kids of all ages
4th of July Word Search at Printables for Kids

Getting Listed - How Long Does it Really Take?

2006-07-03T18:38:00.000-04:00

A common misconception in web publishing is that "if you build it, they will come". I frequently have clients ask me why their sites are not showing up in the search engines within days of it being launched. They expect that once their site is built and submitted to the search engines, it will show up on the first page and traffic will begin flowing in.

It's not that easy. These things take time. Just for comparison, here is a listing of the major search engines and the length of time it typically takes to get listed. (From submit-it.com)

MSN - up to 2 months
Google - up to 4 weeks
Alta Vista - up to 1 week
Excite - up to 6 weeks
AOL - up to 2 months
HotBot - up to 2 months

Like other aspects of your business, you have to be patient. Remember that your web site is only one piece of your entire marketing puzzle, and that search engine traffic is only one of many ways to direct traffic to your site.

Web Design 101 - Determining Your Colors

2006-06-29T18:21:00.000-04:00

You've got your domain name, you know where it will be hosted and now you want to create your web site. Where to start? You can start by picking your colors or by sketching out a general site layout. We'll start with colors.

If you have a company logo, it is a good place to start when determining your color scheme. If not, a photo or graphic that you plan on using at the site can be an inspiration too. You will need one main color to act as an anchor for the design. You can pick one from the logo/photo or one that will compliment it.

Once you have a main color, go to ColorSchemer Online. You can plug in your primary color and then color schemer will give you a page of 16 colors that perfectly compliment your main color. You can even lighten or darken the entire scheme.

Pick your main color plus two to four accent colors. These will be your base for your web elements - like buttons, headings, table/container backgrounds, etc. Depending on the theme of your site, you may want a few more colors from the same grouping too.

I recommend trying a few different color schemes and getting input from others. Chances are, you will go back to the color scheme you tried first, but you may get more impact if you go outside your initial idea.

Need ideas using pre-done color schemes? ColorSchemer also has pre-picked palettes that can be pretty inspiring.

Cool Tool Review - Skype

2006-06-28T20:00:00.000-04:00

Talk to anyone in the world for free, using your computer? This sounds too good to be true, but it really is true! I was trying to arrange a conference call between myself and three associates in the UK. The thought of that phone bill was frightening! Luckily one of the UK associates suggested I download Skype. It was a fast, free, setup - taking no more than 5 minutes of my time. All I needed was a microphone and a computer. When it was time to have the conference call, my associate simply "skype-d me" and my computer started ringing. I answered the call with the click of a mouse and started the conference call. The line was clear - like they were in the next city. Amazing! I have even had a conversation with an associate while she was in China using Skype.

Where Skype has really been a life-saver though, is with the kids. My son loves playing games on the computer at the same time as his friends and they were always tying up my phone lines. His friend got Skype too, and now they "skype" and play on the computer at the same time.

You can even call a US or Canada landline for free using Skype on your computer. Or you can call ordinary phones anywhere else in the world from your computer for the price of a local call with SkypeOut.

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Want Return Visitors To Your Site? Invite Them Back!

2006-06-27T17:03:00.000-04:00

You just launched the most amazing web site you could have imagined, you've let everyone you know all about it, and you submitted it to the search engines - now what? Ultimately, you want your visitors to come by, look around, purchase a product or call you for a service. But you also want them to come back and do it all over again. Here are few tips to help bring back visitors over and over.

1. Content is key. Fresh, interesting content, that is. Dedicate an area on your home page that you can use to alert visitors of something new on the site, whether it is news, a product, a promotion or what not.

2. Give them a reason to come back. Provide a tool, resource, or product that visitors will want to get from you. Make it easy for them to get to it as well. Don't hide resources three-layers down or ask for a ridiculous amount of personal information first.

3. Invite them to bookmark your site. If your site is on their list of favorite sites, people are more likely to come back.

4. Personally invite them back! Add a Subscribe button to your site. Use an e-mail marketing tool like Constant Contact to build your mailing list. You can send subscribers email newsletters, product offers, announcements, and other site updates on a regular basis. As long as you don't over do it, this can really help you keep your site in front of your customers.

Looking for a Needle in a Host Stack

2006-06-26T11:26:00.000-04:00

Once you have settled on a domain name and purchased it, what comes next? A place to host it, of course. There are thousands of companies who can host your site, and hundreds who would probably suit your needs just fine. So how do you find that perfect fit? It is kind of like looking for a needle in a host stack.

If you are having a designer create your site for you, you should probably get their input first as they may have a favorite hosting company. If you are going to take the do-it-yourself approach, then here are some things to consider.

What do you need your site to do? Will it just be a static e-brochure or does it need to work harder than that? Things you may or may not need:

Shopping cart
Email distribution lists
POP Email accounts
Database support
Content manager
Discussion forum capability

Once you have determined what you need, go shopping! Chances are, if you are just starting out, disk space and bandwidth are really not going to be an issue - just about everyone's entry level package will have ample space and bandwidth for your needs. Narrow your list based on which company and package have the features you anticipate needing. Now comes the tricky part - all other factors equal, what makes Company A's package more attractive than Company B's? How is their tech support? How intuitive is the control panel? Are there hidden fees? What is their uptime record like?

As I have been building web sites for about a decade, I have had a chance to interact with quite a few web hosts and have formed my own opinions. I currently have about 40 client and personal web sites spread out over three web hosting companies.

I have been using Jumpline.com as a hosting company since 1998. I can honestly say, they have never let me down! Their tech support is fantastic and chances are, when you call, you'll get one of the same people each time - they have not experienced much turnover in that department at all. I think they are a bit more expensive, but they are worth it. They offer a very stable hosting environment, great tech support and I have had almost no downtime in all these years. They do have many add-ons available, but they are not always intuitive to install and configure.

If you need custom or creative solutions, then Triangle Web Solutions is the one to go with. They are a smaller company, but offer the flexibilty that many of my clients need. Their control panel is one of the easiest to work with and their mailing list software is tops.

My newest favorite is Host Gator! I have been amazed at what they offer for the price. If you are a do-it-yourselfer, then Host Gator is for you. They have hosting programs to fit every need, the control panel is so easy, and the list of instantly available add-ons is unbelievable. I was able to install e-commerce software at no extra charge in a matter of minutes. They have mailing list capability, discussion boards that are easy to set up and Site Builder tools that even a novice could work with.

Finding the perfect fit may take some time and research, but it will be worth it!

What's In A Name - A Domain Name That Is?

2006-06-23T16:10:00.000-04:00

You are getting ready to start a new business or expanding your current one to include an online presence, what is your first step? These days you might want to check what domain name is available for your potential business before you purchase your business cards. According to Domain Tools, there are 70,239,946 ACTIVE domain names, of which 52,143,813 are .com names. Over 176,792,761 names were active, but have since been deleted.

Before you go to purchase your domain name, I recommend brainstorming a bit and start with 5-10 potential names. Once you have this list, you need to go to Network Solutions or my personal choice GoDaddy.com to purchase your domain names. Network Solutions has long been the standard, trusted source for purchasing domains, but GoDaddy has proven itself as a leader in the industry and has the best prices for domains going.

Dot com is still king and if you can get a .com name, you really should. You may need to be a bit creative with your domain name - using a phrase or dashes between words, but there are plenty of names left and GoDaddy will actually suggest alternatives if your first choice is taken.

Purchase your domain name or pick up a few. You can always "park" them... but that is an entry for another day!

Diving in Head First

2006-06-22T19:56:00.000-04:00

I never expected to start blogging - partially because I don't really like writing, but also because I just didn't think I had much to write about. Well, I have been sucked in! I have had so much fun reading two of my favorite blogs - V-grrrl and Energize.me and I started thinking about things I know.

I plan to post mainly about web related topics like, what to look for in a web host, ways to make your web site work for you, and such; however, there may be the occasional post about raising three kids while working from home, projects I am working on, or other random thoughts.

I hope you will find the tidbits and tips here useful and I welcome all comments!