All Forums Threads for all open (public) forums http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/forums/index.php Fri, 03 Jul 2009 18:32:48 -0400 60 Email Message To Clients http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=72011
I have been working on a new site buildersyellow dot com, this is a yellow pages directory for the building and construction industry. We are still adding categories, right now there are about 130 categories with about 3 million entries.

Some of the data we get include emails, so we are emailing the new "listees" that they have a free listing and free web page. In the process of communicating with these people, one of the messages that sometimes goes out contains the following text:

Here are a couple tips to get your listing found by your potential customers. Compared to the millions of people who are searching with Google, relatively few people will come directly to www [dot] buildersyellow [dot] com and make a search. Most people use Google. Our site has 2.8 million pages, and only a percentage will get indexed by google.

First submit a "change your listing" form using the link at the bottom of all pages on our site. Add your keywords -- words your customers will be using in a search -- into the description, specialties, products and brands fields. These keywords are important. Think of the different words people may be using in a search. Also you are welcome to multiple listings, as long as they are relevant.

After we have processed your update or new listing (1 business day), then go to some forums, social networking sites, blogs, virtual communities, directories and other free listing sites, and your own website if you have one -- and put a link to your page, again using your keywords. Create multiple links on different sites.

On www [dot] buildersyellow [dot] com, at the top of every page, there is a link that says "link to this page" -- this generates the html code for a correct link. You can modify it to include your keywords, but don't make the "anchor text" too long, keep it simple.

Google and the other search engines will follow those links, and they will index YOUR page on our site. Then, when somebody searches Google for your keywords, your listing will be there for your customers to find.


In general, the target audience is not real web-sophisticated.

Any suggestions as to how I can improve this message?

Cheers
Mike]]> Fri, 03 Jul 2009 18:06:32 -0400 72011 How Control Images Results On My Name Search? http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=71991 Saw this for first time today. On my name seach on first page are images results for my name. Honestly, this is not the selection of images I want out there. What can I do? thanks. Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:56:18 -0400 71991 Multimedia Design Portfolio Site Revamp http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=72010
I have experiance and training in a wide variety of multimedia formats and programs, which makes it really hard to parse it down into simple little boxes. While I've been advised by some to "focus on [my] strong points" and "what [I] do best," the thing is, my biggest selling point (and the thing that has gotten me most of my work in the field) is the fact that I can do such a wide variety of things well (audio, video, graphics, web, print, etc), and have decent ability with & knowledge of related things (animation, some programming, etc.).

I also want to allow room for expansion as I get more facillity with different coding languages.]]> Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:36:26 -0400 72010 Compelling Need To Underline Links, Even In A Graphic http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=71965
I create a lot of graphics for landing pages, and besides the images in the graphic, I type words in the graphic that link to other places. I feel that the words should be underlined to make it clear that it is a link - otherwise, how else will the user know it's a link?

Is this logic correct? I don't really see it that often - underlined words in images.

Thanks,

Risa]]> Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:42:45 -0400 71965 Fieldset And Color Containment In Ie http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=72009
I am having troubles find a fix for this display issue

Basically I got this fieldset where I assigned a border and background color. in IE the color spills out on the top side, under the high of the LEGEND text.

The link:
Example

The screenshot:
IPB Image

Any ideas on how i can fix this?

Thanks
Peter


edit: wrong link. will be fixing in a moment.]]> Fri, 03 Jul 2009 15:52:48 -0400 72009 Completely And Utterly Farcical Google Local Verification Procedures http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=71982
Now as part of the latest chapter in this story, that by comparison makes War and Peace look like something to be dusted off in one sitting on the toilet, I've lost my rag.

Here's the Chapter entitled - Do I care about local.

1. First of all the Core Business is verfied by post cost.
2. I add another element of business to the same account (without conceeding the raw details, you need to trust me that it's not spam and a real business and conforms). Which has it's own website.
3. I submit the initial profile and get the message "We are calling your business to verify".

"Hold on a minute, where are my options to select the method".

"phone rings in business....answers, why the hell is Google calling me, must be a scam?"

Back in the land of the SEO, I click on Google Local Logo to force return to homepage showing all Google listings in the account.

See that account can be verified by SMS.

Knowing that National telephone operator cannot send SMS, go back into Google account and add Mobile Number to the additional details.

Google tells me that the number needs to be in a format that in fact corresponds to the national telephone operators formatting, and is therefore not appropriate for the mobile number. This means that it is not possible to enter the mobile phone number into account, and therefore the SMS option is completely and utterly redundant.

So, here will be the workaround:

1. Try and explain to client what needs to happen.
2. Get one of their staff to take a laptop with wireless internet to the place where the business telephone number resolves too and login to Google Local. Request the pin and do it from there.

And this is the best the brains from the biggest SE on the planet.

It's a complete and utter joke, what's next.. a stool sample?

emo_gavel.gif]]> Thu, 02 Jul 2009 04:23:39 -0400 71982 The Html Canvas Element http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=72002 http://www.brighthub.com/internet/web-deve...cles/38364.aspx

Looks like all the major browsers support it except IE. Without the support of IE does it have any chance of becoming used?]]> Fri, 03 Jul 2009 08:48:46 -0400 72002 New Non-profit Needs Help http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=71840 Pages for Children as a nonprofit organization and would like your opinion on how it looks. Any suggestions are more than welcome.]]> Tue, 23 Jun 2009 12:07:57 -0400 71840 <![CDATA[Css <ul><li> Problem With Firefox & Ie]]> http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=71983
the site i am slowly developing My Webpage, i have a big problem with 2 of the horizontal menus which display fine in Firefox but in IE7 they appear staggered which i presume is to do with the padding and margin i have put to seperate them.

I have tried a ridiculous amount of things and i'm now starting to think its a cant see the forest for the trees type problem.

This site is built in Joomla which you probably need to know but not sure how much difference that makes as its a styling issue.

If anybody has any advice for me on the issue it would be highly appreciated.

Regards
Dan]]> Thu, 02 Jul 2009 04:29:13 -0400 71983 Best Link / Images Type For Getting Feed Subscribers http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=71990
I am probably not making the most of things at the moment!

All suggestions welcome.]]> Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:26:27 -0400 71990 Seo And 301 Redirects http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=71869
I have a page which has valuable content. It is a service provider in the suburb and state for a service I am trying to promote... So when a user searches for the service they provide, on the specific model they service in the suburb they reside, I want this service provider "Profile Page" to be the entry point into the website.

The page link is currently:
http://www.example.com/service.asp?id=10

What I have done, is I have created an index of all the suburbs that we have a provider listed... So you can find a provider easily via a few clicks and in an effort to index the content a little better.

e.g.
Level #1 - Display a list of states with a link through to suburbs (Level #2)
Level #2 - Display a list of suburbs we have where a provider exists, with a link through to providers (Level #3)
Level #3 - Display the service providers in the suburb/state selected with a link through to their "Profile Page" (http://www.example.com/service.asp?id=10)

Each level will have the URL optimised as follows:
http://www.example.com/[state]/[suburb]

What I am considering doing is creating the following url to go that extra level:
http://www.example.com/[state]/[suburb][provider-name]

What I then want to do is 301 redirect this url to the base url:

ie.
http://www.example.com/[state]/[suburb][provider-name]

will redirect to:

http://www.example.com/service.asp?id=10

My main question is, if I I create a URL like this above which will be optimised (both the url and the page) around the provider, in the suburb in the state and I gain some good rank for this page, I know that using a 301 will pass that through to the end page HOWEVER, will the "Link Juice" that has been attained because through the creation of the specifically targeted URL, stop being attained???

i.e. Let's say I have the two exact pages with the only difference being the URL. Let's say that I get a "Page Rank" of 3 for the page with the dynamic URL and a "Page Rank" of 3.2 for the same page with the targeted URL. (I'm assuming there is a slight improvement based on the targeted URL) If I now 301 redirect the targeted URL to the dynamic URL, although I know that the 0.2 Page Rank will passed onto the new URL however, will the targeted URL stop adding value to the process?

Will adding the domain now add any value or if I set it up now, and 301 redirect it, is it basically ignoring it from day one (therefore there is no value?)

Does that make any sense???

<<<better 'examplified' uRLs.]]> Thu, 25 Jun 2009 01:34:03 -0400 71869 <![CDATA[The Old Grey Blog Ain't What She Used To Be]]> http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=71989 The Blogosphere 2.0.
QUOTE

But this morning, I just want to write about how blogging has changed in the past six years.

1. The A-List Doesn't Matter Anymore
2. It's all about niche blogs.
3. Norms and practices.
4. Blogger Burn Out.
5. Reader burn out.
6. MSM yawns.
7. Huffington Post.
8. Twitter and Facebook.
9. Link Monitoring.

I've quite happily listed her subheadings - which brings me to a comment following the article:
QUOTE

When I only read the bold text, it's like I'm reading tweets. And then I feel safe from deep thought once more.

Any of ye who actually blog want to jump in?
I have a couple of reservations but generally feel she has hit several blog nails on the head.]]> Thu, 02 Jul 2009 13:29:20 -0400 71989 Counting Traffic From Twitter http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=71974
I was happy with the results... but today I thought... lots of twitter traffic goes through bit.ly and tinyurl. So, I reran clicktracks filtering for URLs containing "bit.ly" and "tinyurl". Found Nothing.

So, it looks like clicks from twitter to your site through one of these URL shortening services yield "twitter" as the referrer.

Anybody agree with that?
]]> Wed, 01 Jul 2009 09:36:07 -0400 71974 Yahoo Pipes http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=71985 angel_not.gif]]> Thu, 02 Jul 2009 06:04:21 -0400 71985 An End To Xss http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=71976
"XSS attacks are possible because the browser has no way to differentiate between content the server intended to send and content injected by an attacker."

It's likely that this functionality will make it to a Firefox release sometime next year.

Good stuff

http://people.mozilla.org/~bsterne/content...cy/details.html


cheers.gif]]> Wed, 01 Jul 2009 11:23:06 -0400 71976 How Control A Google Map Page With My Name http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=71909 That some remnant of when I ran a yellow page ad years ago.
Anyway, it ranks #3 in a name search on my business.
url says maps.google.com
People can write reviews.
my question is: with Google local if I get some tarty reviews I can always nuke the listing.
What do I do about this thing?
Who is controlling this?
What if I change apartment number? or phone number, how do I tell them it's wrong?
thanks]]> Fri, 26 Jun 2009 19:53:36 -0400 71909 Technology That Reads Your Thoughts http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=71963 again.

If any of you missed the 60 Minutes segment on Sunday, you can check out the transcript and video here - http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-10131643-76.html

The bottom line is that modified MRIs can recognize words/thoughts already. The science geeks who are working on this technology believe that within 5 years there will be machines that can read complex thoughts (more than just a word) from afar (like via a beam), without us even knowing it's happening.

There are companies already using this technology in lie detection.

I can't do this topic justice by describing it. I recommend you read/view it for yourself.

Trust me...you'll be wanting my C _DOCUME~1_Donna_LOCALS~1_Temp_nsmailHI.gif afterwards.]]> Tue, 30 Jun 2009 12:50:46 -0400 71963 Online Personal Organizer http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=71682
Anyway, i built an Online Personal Organizer that is completely free, and VERY powerful. The main site is:
http://eInformationOrganizer.com.

I am NOT a designer; i am a developer. But i must also design the websites that i develop, and i know that my design skills suck. I would like to move on to my next project, but i'm still not sure of what people may think of the design for this website.

Also, I posted a separate thread for MOBILE version of the site, because there is a category here that is specific to mobile websites, so, as far as i know, that should not be breaking the rules, because it really is two different contexts. If it is, then i apologize. That thread is located here:

http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/forums/inde...showtopic=71681

Thanx biggrin.gif]]> Sat, 13 Jun 2009 17:53:38 -0400 71682 <![CDATA[The Internet Response To Michael Jackson's Sudden Death]]> http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=71899
I lasted about 15 minutes on Twitter because it was a source of outrage. Everyone wanted to be the first to say for sure MJ was dead. Danny Sullivan and I were noticably trying to be objective, while seekig and awaiting a valid, formal statement. Being in CA, I was sure Danny would tap into a solid source quickly. As we all waited and watched as Twitter just lit up on fire with people coming online to find news, "Oh! Magazine declared MJ dead on their website, and TMZ and a source in LA also declared him dead, whilst CNN and FOX news were still waiting for a hospital statement.

In death, MJ was given little privacy, the same as his life. While waiting for the news, photos and video were pouring out of him being taken into the ambulance. One photo sold to an entertainment corp showed his face on the stretcher surrounded by those trying to revive him. My sense is that he was already gone by then.

While those on the ground and in the air were trying to get his last moments on film, Twitter was crazy. Thousands of "Tweets" per second were coming in regarding MJ. Among the shock were also those who took issue with his alleged sexual conduct with young boys. For some people, this part of MJ's life overshadowed every single one of his accomplishments.

One person said they would "unfollow" anyone using the "RIP Michael Jackson" hash tag in their tweets because he was an alleged pedophile. Others zeroed in on this topic and reminded folks that he was a criminal and that O.J. Simpson was also acquitted. Others felt that it is nonsense to put any energy into mourning his death when "real heroes" around the world are dying.

And then, I saw someone tell a friend to "f-off" for her opinion. And that's when I closed my laptop.

Grieving on a Grand Scale

I could barely function when John Lennon was shot down. I was in college and most classes were empty or quite small. I had to get to campus because I worked there too, but I wore all black. I was close to crying all day. As a Broadcast Journalism student, for a week I walked around with a tape recorder and recorded discussions, debates, music and TV news reports regarding Lennon's passing.

When Lennon died, the same thing happened that is happening now to MJ. So many people thought Lennon was a nut job, or they hated Yoko. Folks like me, raised on the Beatles and each of them as solo artists, were remembering the music. I shared a rented farmhouse with 5 other housemates, all fellow students. Discussions and debates with us and folks who came over were stimulating and often emotionally charged. Some of my house mates were quite smart and articulate and had strong opinions, but at no time in all our discussions did anyone put anyone down for their opinions. Everybody had a right to their feelings. As a group, we honored Yoko's 3 minutes of silence, poured wine and mediated on Lennon.

I saw little of that respect on Twitter. I realized that if I shared my own thoughts on MJ, I would be attacked and challenged, rather than given the right to feel or share anything. It seemed perfectly fine to be angry and against MJ.

If I wanted to find a place where everyone was welcome to grieve together, Twitter was not on the list.

I was late to my son's baseball game because I was waiting for CNN or FOX News to give a statement. It didn't come, so I went on to the game. As I joined the other parents, all of whom I've known for years and consider my friends, they were all in shock about MJ. Several of them I know to be very conservative, and though they acknowledged the confusing, bizarre, and dangerous events and behaviors, everyone loved his music. I am the only one of them who Twitters. They all think Twitter is strange and can't figure out why anyone would want it, but they know my work and why I use it. While watching our boys playing, I tapped into Twitter again via my cell phone, got final verification that MJ was gone, shared that with the parents and then I turned off Twitter.

My experience is one tiny event. Others have likely had much different, and opposite experiences with Twitter or social networking when discussing topics that can erupt into explosive, angry dialog. Politics is one example. Religion is another.

I admit to being conflicted and curious about the difference between losing Lennon, in an age of no Internet at all, and losing Michael Jackson, where the Internet was part of the whole event. With Lennon, we had to get together with people in the same room or talk on the phone (no cell phones, no texting). We listened to one another. Debate skills were necessary and so was having an open mind.

Social networking and the Internet are tools that may have changed how we talk to each other. Are people less tolerant of other views because they don't have to listen to all sides now? They can follow and un-follow and join groups where everyone thinks and feels the same and close out those who don't meet their criteria.

What are you seeing and experiencing out there? Are you content with how social networking is working and how people are adapting/evolving/changing?]]> Fri, 26 Jun 2009 11:59:30 -0400 71899 SE Newslets (Again) http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=40435
  • Microsoft tests Windows Live video search.
  • Comcast launches Google based search.
  • Google faces patent-violation suit in S. Korea.
  • Google temporarily returned no results in Google Argentina due to a bug in their censorship software (screenshot).
  • Blinkx to power Lycos video search.
  • Google exec stock sales: $7.4 billion and counting.
  • Google seeks fund rule exemption to increase investment returns.
  • Mr. Google, find me a woman (video, humor).
    • ]]>     Tue, 29 Aug 2006 07:17:59 -0400 40435     Pirate Bay Starts Video Streaming http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=71951
    QUOTE
    The world's most high-profile file-sharing website, The Pirate Bay (TPB), has lifted the lid on its new video sharing website, The Video Bay.


    Billed as a rival to YouTube, the service will offer unrestricted video content, in violation of copyright law.



    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8123989.stm

    One good thing might come from this site... It might force people to upgrade their browsers

    QUOTE
    In a statement on the site, Mr Sunde said the service would use the latest HTML 5 features.


    laugh.gif
    ]]>     Tue, 30 Jun 2009 01:56:23 -0400 71951     Background Image Help http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=71955
    ok, at a site i am currently developing My Webpage i am looking to instead change the background to incorporate the white cat logo as seen in the attached image.

    What would be the best way to go about this?

    Thanks
    Dan]]>     Tue, 30 Jun 2009 05:02:14 -0400 71955     Please Check My Banner And Layouts http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=71874
    Being an amateur it would be great to know your professional opinion regarding my banner, colors, pics and lay out in common. Any suggestions and corrections are so welcomed.


    WIth gratitude,

    Michael.]]>     Thu, 25 Jun 2009 04:22:08 -0400 71874     Promote/ Remove? http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=71932 Whats are these buttons I now see on right of results?? thanks Sun, 28 Jun 2009 22:36:19 -0400 71932 Linking Back To Your Homepage http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=71164
    Someone (not here I might add) has suggested that you can help the ranking of a product by linking back to the homepage. I know it sounds daft but they are adament it works.

    On the widget page, in the description you link the word widget back to the home page. Apparently this increases the importance of the homepage which in turn help promotes the product in the SE index.

    It just doesn't sound right to me but the advocate of this process is convinced it helps and offers this page as an example: http://www.sleeppro.com/html/treatments_that_don_t.html

    Any thoughts good people of this wondrous forum?]]>     Fri, 08 May 2009 07:21:45 -0400 71164     Adding A Quiz http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=71920 hi i client whos site needs jazzing up a little and im thinking that a short fun quiz might be just teh ticket. am i also right in thinking that it will help site ranking given that people will ergo spend more time on site as a eesult of quiz? Sat, 27 Jun 2009 16:54:03 -0400 71920 How Get Top Rank For My Name: Facebook? http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=71931 And all of sudden, someone with my name -- his facebook page come up on my name search.
    Bit odd, since I have a business and my business related stuff dominates my name for 10 pages etc. But there he is with his face -- and Personally I don't want my clients to think that me.

    So my question is what can I do to win the battle there? My facebook page has my full name in title, and the page also has my full name listed many times more than the guy who beats me -- so I'd love some ideas on it. thanks.]]>     Sun, 28 Jun 2009 22:33:36 -0400 71931     How To Handle Feedburner Feeds When Switching Domains http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=71926
    I am about to move one of my blogs from a sub-domain to its own domain. I have no problem with moving the website itself via a 301 redirect. However I'm a little stumped on the best way to preserve the subscriptions in Feedburner.

    The feed from the sub-domain version of the blog has over 1000 subscribers so I do not want to lose those. It looks as though I will need to burn a new feed for the new blog domain, and eventually delete the old feed for the sub-domain version of the blog. Is that the way to do it? If so, how do those current subscribers get redirected to the new feed?

    All help will be most appreciated.]]>     Sun, 28 Jun 2009 11:59:02 -0400 71926     Querying Empty Fields In Mysql... Bad? http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=71710
    1) I have a 10 column table, and I'm selecting everything (*) from the table.

    2) I have a 60 column table, but I'm only selecting 10 columns (same columns from #1, only listed out by name instead of using select all symbol (*), i.e. id, title, date, body, etc.). The other 50 columns in the database will be randomly empty or full of content for the rows we're selecting.

    So, I'm requesting exactly the same info from both tables, but one of the tables has a lot more columns overall.

    Are there performance differences between these two scenarios?]]>     Mon, 15 Jun 2009 21:47:22 -0400 71710     $19k In 10 Hours Via Twitter http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=71863
    Also, it must be pointed out that this person had an existing and loyal fan base. HOWEVER, could it be that part of how they got there in the first place was enjoying the give and take and sense of play and inclusion that works so well on Social Media?

    QUOTE
    i twitter whenever i’m online, i love the way it gives me a direct line of communication with my fans and friends.

    i had already seen the power of twitter while touring…using twitter i’d gathered crowds of sometimes 200 fans with a DAY’S notice to come out and meet me in public spaces (parks, mostly) where i would play ukulele, sign, hug, take pictures, eat cake, and generally hang out and connect. this was especially helpful in the cities where we’d been unable to book all-ages gigs and there were crushed teenagers who were really grateful to have a shot at connecting with me & the community of amanda/dolls fans.


    The rest:
    How an Indie Musician can make $19,000 in 10 hours using Twitter

    QUOTE
    TOTAL MADE THIS MONTH USING TWITTER = $19,000
    TOTAL MADE FROM 30,000 RECORD SALES = ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.
    ]]>     Wed, 24 Jun 2009 16:28:08 -0400 71863     Google Local Problem http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=71927 eash website corresponds to a different company name.

    But one comes up with wrong website attached. When I'm in my account, the correct website is there. But on seach, a prospective client see a different/wrong website. what can I do? thanks]]>     Sun, 28 Jun 2009 13:54:27 -0400 71927     Text Or Image For Header http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=71924

    When I originally started working on my site, I wanted to use a font for the name of my site in the Header that I didn't think would be very common. So I created a jpeg and placed the image in the Header. I had read that this wasn't 'best" practice from an SEO perspective, but that you could minimize the problem by putting in good alt tags and that there were a few CSS tricks like sliding the text off the visible page with padding... among others.
    But now, as I am researching whether to use text links in the header nav or image rollovers to give that "highligted" quailty it seems that there are quite a few people strongly advocating for text links. Since at the end here I'm using IArabictypesetting" for the text font in my Header title, do you think that this font is common enougn that I can/should just use text in the header for the name of the site instead of the jpeg?


    Thanks,

    Walter]]>     Sun, 28 Jun 2009 09:08:45 -0400 71924     Writing A Press Release - Do I Need Permission From The Vendor? http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=71907
    I've never done a press release for my site before and I want to try it. My site represents over a dozen vendors and one vendor changes her line two times a year. Her stuff is very popular. She's from another country, and I get her stuff from her sales rep in the US.

    I thought I'd do a press release announcing the arrival of the Fall 2009 line. Do I need to get permission from the sales rep to do this? Me and hundreds of other shops will be carrying her line. Would that be hogging all the attention (I wish)?

    Thanks.

    Risa]]>     Fri, 26 Jun 2009 19:13:26 -0400 71907     Using Coupons To Induce Purchase Of Web Development http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=71902
    I want to consider using coupons as a way to encourage subscribers in addition to encouraging doing business with my web design studio. Here is how it works and I want your constructive critiscm.

    I charge $69 for a Wordpress installation of 2 themes along with 2 plugins. To encourage sign ups to the newsletter, they will get the coupon code of $20 off (perhaps $30?) off the purchase once they sign up to the marketing newsletter.

    Do you think this is strong enough?

    Let me caveat by saying that I realize I should have strong enough compelling content in my online marketing newsletter that people would sign up regardless. But I wanted to use the coupon as a way to induce a few more signups. I didn't want to necessarily post it somewhere publicly where prospects could just grab hold of the code. I need a system to 'reward' them.

    I should also note that $49 isn't going to make a big dent in my pockets. However, my logic relies on upgrades of plugins, design tweaks, etc... that will often occur when clients ask with Wordpress.

    I hope this helps.]]>     Fri, 26 Jun 2009 15:40:36 -0400 71902     What Is The Cut Off For Title Tag? http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=71793 In Google, what think cut off is for titles? After how many words do you think Google is not paying attention anymore. thanks! Sat, 20 Jun 2009 14:40:35 -0400 71793 Shall I Just Sell Something? http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=71873
    Should I find some products and sell direct? No idea what. Probably weight loss / supplements etc. ? Or should I form better partnershiips with companies for some direct advertising, based on monthly rates?

    Shame almost to see all the traffic get wasted! If I can get up to 500k uniques a month I will be ok, but 140k is not currently putting food on the table (although it does pay the mortgage).]]>     Thu, 25 Jun 2009 03:19:17 -0400 71873     Navigation Structures For Complex Sites http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=71883

    What kinds of navigational elements do you expect to see where?

    Do you like seeing multi-column top level pages that go to two columns on a single page view?

    Would you rather see the same sidebar content on every page, or do you think this repetition is a waste of space?

    Do you like to see more navigation choices in footer areas?


    Do you have pet peeves?

    One of mine is that I seriously do not like flyout menus, and I'd rather avoid javascript and images for anything that can be accomplished with CSS.

    Also, I don't like headers that are very tall, and that includes any horizontal navigation bar. I want new viewers who may be in and out quickly to get a quick glance at what may keep them there. Once they're reading, I trust them to scroll. Before that, I want as much space as possible dedicated to a quick impression of what's really on the site for that user.

    ]]>     Thu, 25 Jun 2009 20:57:20 -0400 71883     Website Traffic http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=69893
    http://wealthandfreedompackage.com

    Please help.

    Nate]]>     Sun, 08 Feb 2009 12:22:43 -0500 69893     Starting A Google Adwords Campaign http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=71887 My retail jewelry webstore, www.cirquejewels.com which specializes in silver jewelry has been open for two months. I am planning to start a google adwords campaign in a couple of weeks and I would like to plan the campaign in advance before spending the money since it can be costly and I would like to have maximum ROI. Does anyone have any tips or links that they can share? Thanks in advance.

    ]]>     Fri, 26 Jun 2009 00:50:29 -0400 71887     Interesting Problem, Not Always A Css Issue But Sometimes And/or When Page Refreshes... http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=71872
    I'm having a styling issue that I cannot figure out for the life of me. The page in question is here: http://www.livingandtraveling.com/free-psy...sychic+Readings

    Every once in a while an advertiser link is displayed that is not styled correctly. Here is a screen shot illustrating the specific issue I am having - http://www.livingandtraveling.com/incorrec...le-randomly.jpg

    As you can see, the page contains 3 (three) ad blocks - Above Content, Below Content, and Right Sidebar. If you refresh the page enough you will see that at least one of the ad blocks will have a style issue. There will never be more than 1 bad advertisement per ad block and sometimes all the ads are fine but I cannot afford to have those unstyled ads displaying.

    There are currently 2 style sheets I'm calling from:

    1) http://www.livingandtraveling.com/styles.css (The style sheet for the ads)

    2) http://www.livingandtraveling.com/css/main-min.css (Most of the Page Styling, however, this page does have some overlapping styles)

    The ads are displayed based upon an iframe located here: http://www.livingandtraveling.com/results.php

    To display ads for "credit repair" you would link to the following URL in your iframe: http://www.livingandtraveling.com/results....d=credit+repaid

    Any direction/insight into what might be causing this is greatly appreciated.

    Thanks in advance,

    Alex


    <<<moved topic to Website Hospital due to need for self-referencing URLs and site specific feedback.]]>     Thu, 25 Jun 2009 02:52:19 -0400 71872     Best Way To Present Music Videos On A Website http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=71881
    A client of mine is a company that makes music videos, and they currently have all the work in their portfolio in the Quicktime format. We're doing a bit of a minor re-design to their site this summer, and the idea of switching to Flash video has been brought up.

    Their biggest concern is video quality. The videos have to look crisp and clear... basically the opposite of what most Youtube videos look like. And they want a larger video size as well (about the same size as Youtube HD videos). I don't know a whole lot about video, but I have created a system for them which basically allows them to upload any size Quicktime video to the site. Some of the videos on the site are in the 30 - 60 MB range at this point... They look great, but a link to a video from a major blog or magazine site could probably bring the site down.

    Can we get a smaller overall file size in Flash (using FLVs in a SWF player), while getting an "HD" look to the video? I've been browsing through a lot of search results, but I'm just not proficient enough in video to determine what route to take.

    Can we switch to FLV/SWF Player and have it look like a high quality Quicktime video?

    Also, any general advice about MOV vs. FLV/SWF would be appreciated.]]>     Thu, 25 Jun 2009 15:32:48 -0400 71881     Measuring The Intangible http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=71708 All Cognac is brandy, but not all brandy is Cognac.

    Similarly ROI is a business value, but not all business value is ROI.
    Unfortunately, a great many people continue to 'redefine' ROI (Return on Investment) in SM (Social Media) terms, i.e. return on engagement, return on influence, rather than understand, define, and measure actual SM values for what they really are.

    For the record, ROI means - and only means - the ratio of money returned for a given investment. How it is returned, i.e. via actual revenue, money saved, spending avoided, is immaterial.

    Attempting to force non-monetary values onto the bottom line is beyond foolish. It distorts reality disguising their actual strengths, weaknesses, and process importance. Most SM values can be classified as belonging to specific business processes, i.e. brand recognition, reputation enhancement, sales generation.

    The real differences are quite explicit: ROI is always tangible, SM values are (mostly) intangible. SM values are, in final analysis, goodwill. And goodwill does have recognised business value, can be specified, analysed, understood, targeted, improved.

    Yes, SM can provide ROI. Short term, i.e time limited promotions, coupon offers, are fairly straightforward. Long term SM ROI is more akin to calculating brand ROI, it is critical to identify the business process(es) each SM activity belongs before one can correlate the relationship chain(s) or calculate percentage contribution(s) to eventual tangible outcomes.

    There are about as many terms for categorising the SM value chain within a given business process as people writing. The following are mine:
    Audience ->
    * demographic breakout of the target SM application user base.
    * identification of 'influencers' within each demographic.
    -> Reach <->
    * percentage of each demographic breakout that has viewed content.
    * influencers within each demographic who have viewed the content.
    <-> Interaction ->
    * within each demographic breakout percentage who, plus how, where, when, why have they interacted, responded with/to the content.
    * influencers within each demographic percentage who, plus how, where, when, why have they interacted, responded with/to the content.
    -> Impact
    What, when, for how long, is this SM impact on the targeted process(es) result(s)?
    This is where the intangible becomes tangible and a SM ROI can finally be calculated.

    Note that this chain is mostly one-way and serial, except for Interaction which can feedback and leverage Reach, which then feeds forward to Interaction...

    Yes, there is more to it. Yes, I have simplified things. But it serves my purposes. It provides measurable metrics of both relative and absolute reach, brand recognition, reputation enhancement, traffic generation, highlight failure points, and much more. It enables me to quantify, test, measure, and leverage the intangible.]]>     Mon, 15 Jun 2009 16:49:36 -0400 71708     Popups With Side Bar Questions http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=71877
    I am getting some content ready to publish and one of the ideas I had was to use coursebuilder to place some interactive questions in the right sidebar related to the content in the left. Kind of like a mini test, to encourage and aid with active reading and retention. There are a couple of issues though.

    First, This will generate small popups, indicating whether the answer was correct or not and providing some explanation if its not. But its a pop up, when I read the top artcle and the links from that post pinned at the top of the forum, It seemed like this would be allright, but then I noticed that in one of the final comments that people where "beginning to use pop up blockers" which made me think the info might be dated. Any thoughts on popups in this context? Also what about clickable definition popups in the text for keywords the reader may or may not know? (With the last item I could use up on rollover off on rolloff, (I think I can), which might make it better.

    Second, is the idea of question to the right of the main content, (related to the content as stated above), in itself stike you as annoying?

    Since people do now use popup blockers more often than not, would an explanation at the top of the page of how popups will and will not be used be helpful?

    As always appreciate any thoughts you may have on the topic


    Thanks Walter

    P.S. The article from Caroline's Corner said that if the popups were less than a quarter of the size of the current window, the info should be placed on the page itself. These windows would fail on that account. But I'm not sure she is correct here. I would think it would depend on the context.]]>     Thu, 25 Jun 2009 10:28:26 -0400 71877     Seo For A Large Non-profit Governmental Organization http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=71879
    The site is very well established. The page rank is 6. The domain was created in 1996. It has around 20,000 pages and is offering its content in three different languages. It looks pretty good. I am at a lost from where to start., what suggestions I could give for an already established site? Any clue on how to start the conversation?

    Thanks]]>     Thu, 25 Jun 2009 14:06:17 -0400 71879     Php Auto Submit? http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=71878
    I need to be able to create a php page that contains a hidden form that they can post to that will submit the form automatically using PHP. This is the code that I have. It is currently using a piece of JS but that will have to be removed.

    CODE

    <?php
    $FirstName = "{$_GET['firstname']}";
    $LastName = "{$_GET['lastname']}";
    $Email = "{$_GET['email']}";
    $HomePhone = "{$_GET['homephone']}";
    $WorkPhone = "{$_GET['workphone']}";
    $Zip = "{$_GET['zip']}";
    $Debt = "{$_GET['debt']}";
    ?>
    <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
    <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
    <head>
    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" />
    </head>

    <body onload="document.WebToLeadForm.submit();">
    <form action='http://www.mysite.com/anm-redirect2.php' method='post' name='WebToLeadForm' id='WebToLeadForm'>
    <input type='hidden' name='first_name' value='<?php echo $FirstName ?>' />
    <input type='hidden' name='last_name' value='<?php echo $LastName ?>' />
    <input type='hidden' name='email1' value='<?php echo $Email ?>' />
    <input type='hidden' name='phone_home' value='<?php echo $HomePhone ?>'/>
    <input type='hidden' name='phone_work' value='<?php echo $WorkPhone ?>'/>
    <input type='hidden' value='<?php echo $Debt ?>' name='total_debt_c' />
    <input type='hidden' value='<?php echo $Zip ?>' name='primary_address_postalcode' />
    </form>
      

    </body>
    </html>




    Any ideas?]]>     Thu, 25 Jun 2009 13:38:39 -0400 71878     Great Accessibility = Ugly Design? http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=71862
    Fed websites get a few bad grades

    Before I even read the article I KNEW what the complaint would be. And I was right.

    The study showed that Fed sites are exceptional for persons with disabilities.

    I expected this because in the USA, all Fed, state and local gov sites adhere to disability laws (often a mix of Section 508, W3C WCAG, software technical standards, PAS 78...) by law. Their requirements make it so that they must be usable by everybody, no matter their possible disability.

    Where these sites were graded low was on their appearance.

    The article said,

    QUOTE
    Make no mistake about this: Federal websites need a lot of work, and every CIO must make it a priority instead of an afterthought. As websites become the voice of an agency, there's no way to leave them languishing in the wind. If you don't have money to step up your website, find it!


    This just cracks me up. I run into roadblocks constantly with companies who refuse to go anywhere near accessibility, preferring to be cool and jazzy instead. And here is someone saying .gov sites have to get on the ball to be more "user friendly and attractive".

    This, in my opinion, is why we have these nasty conversations with stakeholders who feel there is no such thing as attractive and accessible. Toss SEO in there and they head for the hills.

    I was doing some research to see why .gov sites were not linking out to a non-.gov site that has ties to .gov but is not a .gov company. I suggested it was because the .gov sites demand to be associated only with compliant sites.

    Interestingly, web designers CAN be held liable for not building accessible web sites simply because of discrimination. Web site businesses can not discriminate against anyone, and a web site that someone can not use, with their disability, is at risk for a lawsuit.

    What's a real shame is that much of the code for accessibility is hidden. The workarounds are fairly easy to do (making 2 sites is a myth). Adobe has put in a tremendous effort to make PDF and Flash accessible.

    So why are sites make for everybody unattractive and not "user friendly"?

    Reading the paper (below) offers more food for thought as well, between public and private sector sites.

    More -

    Here is the actual study

    and an overview of the study

    ]]>     Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:50:45 -0400 71862     Blog - Spam http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=71580
    I've a website with some articles in it. Would it be counted a spam if I add the same articles or about me page on the blog whether it is as subdomain (wordpress.org) or outside of my site as wordpress.com?

    I would really appreciate your professional opinion on that issue.

    With warm regards,

    Michael.]]>     Sat, 06 Jun 2009 07:08:59 -0400 71580     Need Css Expert Help! http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=71705
    Can anyone help me out here?? I cannot figure out the styles of the ads listed below, most namely the block hover, and I am interested in copying them verbatim. Thanks in advance!

    Ad Styles to Copy: http://resource-genie.com/?q=free+psychic+readings
    Direct link to CSS: http://resource-genie.com/css/main-min.css

    What I have thus far: http://heartvalvesurgerybook.com/results.p...sychic+readings
    Direct link to CSS: http://heartvalvesurgerybook.com/styles.css

    Regards, Rex]]>     Mon, 15 Jun 2009 14:45:55 -0400 71705     Wikipedia As News Background http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=71827 It’s Official: Wikipedia Is A Google News Source.

    Now, whatever you might think about Google or Wikipedia or Wikipedia as news there is a critical point to be noticed - Google has decided that traditional media sources do not provide adequate background to their stories.

    And I happen to agree.

    While I would prefer links to authorative (real expert authority not Google link/site authority) background information Wikipedia does supply more than the news organisations themselves. An easy default solution for Google. Given the depth of some of their archives the media giants continuing inability to understand or incorporate common interlinking practices is profoundly disturbing.
    ]]>     Mon, 22 Jun 2009 16:22:11 -0400 71827     What Is Driving Page Rank? http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=71833
    While doing some research I noticed that an Etsy seller page ranks #8 for this same phrase although it uses that phrase only once on the page and not at all in the title tag. I rank #39 for that phrase and it's on the landing page 8 times plus in the title tag.

    Can anyone explain why this is? Is it because Etsy has many more incoming links than i do?

    Thanks!]]>     Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:51:38 -0400 71833