David M Forney 2010-07-22T14:28:32Z 2010-07-22T14:28:32Z

Now is it just my imagination, or does the six items/links that drop-down from "Computer Services" all just leave you at the same document? And if so, why?

David M Forney 2010-07-22T14:28:32Z Skip Coogan 2010-07-16T17:03:44Z 2010-07-16T17:03:44Z

Thank you for the tips Troy, I really appreciate the advice. I'll get the errors cleaned up (i still code html in notepad) and begin implementing the rest of your suggestions. Thank you again. Skip

Skip Coogan 2010-07-16T17:03:44Z Troy Newport 2010-07-16T13:33:07Z 2010-07-16T13:33:07Z

Skip, Welcome to the neighborhood! When performing SEO research we use between 3-5 different software applications to perform analysis because each piece of software tends to have its own idiosyncracies and/or focus. I ran your website through two and just looked at the overall results because the analysis can be time-consuming (and I'm not the 'expert' in the office.) However, there are some things I can offer to hopefully put you on the right track. Security: - Something to be aware of when using frameworks like Wordpress is that they have security issues. If you do not take extra precautions when setting up your Wordpress, you can leave yourself more open to hacking and malware attacks. You also have to be very careful with using additional Wordpress plugins; this is where many of the more serious vulnerabilities lie. If your website has malware installed on it and Google crawls it you will have one of those nice big red warnings in the search results warning that your website is an attack site. That isn't good for traffic, and it isn't good for customer trust! SEO: Your website scores are average according to the two passes I took- the biggest issue is that you have over 30 HTML validation errors and 40 "warnings". Again, I didn't look into these errors in depth but it is something to be aware of, because search engines don't like errors. You should be aware that frameworks like Wordpress inherently will trigger validation errors because of the way they are built, and especially plugins and third party applications that pull into your website can trigger validation errors. Just be sure to get rid of all the errors you can. Analytics: I didn't catch Google Analytics on your site- I strongly recommend adding it asap. You can use your analytics to better track traffic sources, advertising campaigns, traffic funnels, and most importantly, how people are responding to your website. It doesn't help to be #1 on Google if humans don't like your website :D Link Building: As far as link building, again, we use software to analyze the most "trusted" websites and directories that relate to a website's focus. Many SEO firms try to sell the "more is better" model but in fact you can rank your website better with fewer, more powerful links. Initially it is important to get into the various search engine local directories and then start targeting any other trustworthy websites you can. Perhaps you have friends who own businesses who would be willing to give you a link-- plus the various Chambers and networking groups you join may also give you an opportunity to place a link in your listing. I hope this helps, and good luck with your new business! Troy

Troy Newport 2010-07-16T13:33:07Z Skip Coogan 2010-07-16T00:34:27Z 2010-07-16T00:34:27Z

Hello, I'm a new member of the chamber and a recent transplant to Bradenton by way of Rhode Island. I am currently setting up a site and I'd like some critiques of its structure and content relating to functionality and seo. I'm also curious if there are any recommendations for forums, boards, etc where I can find other local sites that I can trade links with and any suggestions for earning quality backlinks. Also if there any recommendations for directories and/or link lists that will help the site move up in the engines I'd definitely appreciate the input. The site is new so the PR is non-existent as of right now. Its a wordpress-based site using static pages along with blog posts, it has an automatically generated and submitted sitemap (both xml and compressed), its running the all-in-one seo plug and I'm currently populating the site with keywords and metadata. here's the site as it is right now: http://www.ManasotaGeeks.com Critiques, comments, criticisms are more than welcome. Thanks in advance. Skip

Skip Coogan 2010-07-16T00:34:27Z Troy Newport 2008-08-01T20:17:25Z 2008-08-01T20:17:25Z

There are many, many factors that come into play when trying to get your website ranked well. I will cover some of the more important ones here: -Have your website built by a professional web development company who has experience in search engine optimization (SEO) -Make sure the company submits your new website to the major search engines when it is launched -Create keyword-rich content for your website (in other words, if you are trying to sell Widgets in Nowhere, IN make sure your text talks about Widgets and mention Nowhere, IN throughout your website) -Make sure your web development company completes your Meta data to current search engine standards -Get other websites to link to your website- the more incoming links to your website the better! -Make regular updates to the content on your website- keep your content fresh! -Create unique content and publish it on the Internet, either through a Blog or through press releases Search Engine Optimization companies can optimize your website after you launch it, but make sure you do your homework before hiring a company! Google's Webmaster Tools is a great resource: [url=http://www.google.com/webmasters/]Webmaster Tools[/url]

Troy Newport 2008-08-01T20:17:25Z anna arun 2008-08-01T17:21:15Z 2008-08-01T17:21:15Z

How can I make sure that my website is optimized and it pulls up higher when search engines are searching? My website is being designed... any ideas on what to incorporate into the design to achieve the above? Thanks for your help!

anna arun 2008-08-01T17:21:15Z Troy Newport 2008-07-30T15:13:38Z 2008-07-30T15:13:38Z

Bernie, Great question- as a result of your post I did some investigation with our website and found no referrals from the Chamber website listed in our GA either. I also posted in the GA forums but have not gotten any satisfaction there yet. I will post here if I get an answer. The Chamber website tracks click-throughs from their website and it is possible the process by which this happens is somehow preventing GA from tracking the referral in your analytics reports. There is good news though- you should receive reports from the Chamber on click-throughs so you can at least track your traffic from this source! Perhaps this is something that can be investigated during the next revamp of the Chamber website.

Troy Newport 2008-07-30T15:13:38Z Bernie Croghan 2008-07-24T13:28:55Z 2008-07-24T13:28:55Z

I have been trying to track my web traffic by using Google Analytics. Google reports traffic from such sources as Bradenton.com (Herald), yellow pages, yellow book, yahoo and others. But I never see referrals or clicks from the chamber. Do you have any ideas on this?

Bernie Croghan 2008-07-24T13:28:55Z A.C. Cristiaan 2008-06-26T21:05:26Z 2008-06-26T21:05:26Z

Yes, it is a fairly good resource. However, it does add to the amount of inbox email traffic. A.C.

A.C. Cristiaan 2008-06-26T21:05:26Z David Spire 2008-06-26T19:52:46Z 2008-06-26T19:52:46Z

Carey is correct, Google Alerts is the best way to keep up on these things. We use it to keep up with our clients as well, so we can keep tabs on their business an congratulate them when the opportunity appears.

David Spire 2008-06-26T19:52:46Z Carey Miller 2008-06-26T18:51:37Z 2008-06-26T18:51:37Z

While it's far from infallible, there are some ways to know if your company name has appeared in the local media. [url=http://www.google.com/alerts]Google Alerts[/url] is probably the most popular method. With Google Alerts, you choose the search terms and how comprehensive you want the results to be. You also tell them how often you want information emailed. It's pretty simple. There are better clipping services online, but most of them have a cost associated with the service.

Carey Miller 2008-06-26T18:51:37Z tom cofer 2008-06-25T20:14:49Z 2008-06-25T20:14:49Z

I heard today that there is a free subscription service that will notify me if my company's name shows up in local media. how do I find that?

tom cofer 2008-06-25T20:14:49Z Hallie Middlebrooks 2008-06-06T13:45:45Z 2008-06-06T13:45:45Z

Hi Debbie Online software refers to software you access via the internet. This is often called hosted software/ hosted applications or software as a service (SAAS) The benefit of a hosted application is that you don't have to worry about maintaining it yourself. The hosting provider manages all of the security and product updates, and you get the latest version every time you log in. You can also access the application from any internet access point so you're not tied to a particular PC. Hope this helps answer your test question!

Hallie Middlebrooks 2008-06-06T13:45:45Z Debbie Scott 2008-05-02T16:52:55Z 2008-05-02T16:52:55Z

What is online software? Does one have to purchase it?:mellow:

Debbie Scott 2008-05-02T16:52:55Z