Saturday, May 28, 2011

25 reasons why another site will link to yours


by Ken McGaffin on 25 May 2011

Why would anyone link to your site? Here are 25 reasons why another site will link to yours. With real world examples from Ken McGaffin.

Why would anyone link to your site? Here are 25 reasons why another site will link to yours. With real world examples from Ken McGaffin.

1) Because you pay them for a listing
Directory listings are some of the easiest to get, but remember you must read and follow their guidelines carefully. Here's an example of a listing for PatioShoppers.com that you'll find at the Skaffe directory:

2) Because you're a member of a Trade Association
Join groups related to your industry and you'll soon find easy opportunities for links. As with Cabinetstore.com on the Woodworker's Website Association site:

3) Because people are discussing your products
People are talking about your products, as in this question about ShelfGenie.com published on Apartment Therapy. So, set up a Google alert to tell you when people publish and respond to any questions immediately.

4) Because you're a member of a local group
Local groups and associations can also be great sources of local links, as in this link to BrindleyBeach.com from the Outerbanks Chamber of Commerce.

5) Because you make a great case study
Always take part in surveys and volunteer your opinions. Let your suppliers know you exist. Perfume company Tuccini got an editorial link on a story about Analytics firm Coremetrics.

6) Because you belong to a specific demographic group
Whether you are a young or an over-50 entrepeneur, a work-at-home mom or a dad that runs an affiliate site, join up with like-minded people. Be part of your online community. Note that this site, YoungEntrepreneur.com, invites you to submit details of your start-up:

7) Because you submit a tip
No matter what your business, you'll have tips and tricks your customers will love and link to:

8) Because you comment on a breaking news story
Keep an eye on the news. You'll be surprised how many stories you can comment on. PetsPlace.com did a great job piggybacking on the news that the Clintons' cat, Socks, passed away. They compiled a list of the 10 Oddest Presidential Pets and got links such as this one from AbeBooks as a result:

9) Because you're a valuable resource
Make sure you're visible online so that writers can find you when they're compiling a list of resources. A writer on a ‘road and movie' trip through Arizona, visits locations from famous movies. At the end of the article, he lists resources for anyone following in his footsteps.

10) Because you offer a discount
We all love a discount and that's why many bloggers and journalists will write about and link to any great offers you have. Even better, if you can tie into a specific holiday like Broadmoor resort did here.

11) Because you make a donation
Your charitable donations are not only good in themselves, but they can also bring tasty links as shown by Crumbs Bake Shop's and their donation to the Japan earthquake relief fund.

12) Because you support your industry
FabFours.com is a leading bumper manufacturer who support SEMA, the Specialist Equipment Marketing Association – their support has been rewarded with a link.

13) Because you have an unusual business
People just love crazy ideas, so if you've got one flaunt it. Barberstops.com just cries out for attention, and links like this one from CoolBusinessIdeas.com is the result:

14) Because you give an interview
People love to hear stories, not dull business facts. Put yourself forward as an interesting interviewee and you'll get links like Bonobos.com got here at SmallBusinessAdvocate:

15) Because you're offering an internship or job
Even the internships you offer provide linkworthy content. Warby Parker is a spectacle company in New York that is looking to recruit interns. By spreading the word, they got this link One Day Internship:

16) Because you attend an exhibition
If you attend exhibitions don't be shy. Make sure the organizers know you exist. Many such events now offer links to participating companies. NewBathNow.com attend exhibitions and events in promoting their bathroom remodeling products:

17) Because you buck a trend
One day it's all doom and gloom, the next there are signs of a recovery. Learn to ride the waves like Everything2go.com in this newspaper article:

18) Because you publish videos on your own site
Producing videos is now very inexpensive. Build your video skills and then build those links. Yeti Coolers are stronger than ordinary coolers. And they've made some videos to prove it. The videos attracted links from the spearfishing community at SpearBoard.com:

19) Because you publish videos on YouTube
It's great if your videos go viral, but that's the exception. Just create great stuff your customers will love. TRXTraining.com publish an intensive 12-week fitness program on YouTube. It brings them links like this one:

20) Because your products make great gifts
Think three months ahead. That means in November you should be thinking about what you're going to do on Valentine's Day. As this post on 101 healthy Valentine's gifts shows:

21) Because you help them make money
Help people make money and you'll have little problem getting links. Many bloggers have affiliate links for the products they write about and review. Offering an affiliate scheme can bring you extra sales and extra links, as it did with Estella-nyc.com:

22) Because your products are healthy
FoodShouldTasteGood.com focus on healthy foods. They were featured in this article from Epicurious Magazine on healthy foods that kids love:

23) Because you support a local college
It takes a bit of effort, but by approaching and helping your local college you can get some tasty links, as Appareo partners with North Dakota State University. And they got a trusted link as a result:

24) Because you seek help
Isn't it wonderful that you can get links just by asking people to help solve your problems? Appareo.com asked members at Marketing Profs what they thought about its mission statement and got a nice link as a result.

25) Because you encourage reviews
Look for every opportunity to have your products reviewed. Sites such as Mommy Enterprises invite companies to submit their products for review. The results include links like this one:
Eleven on Mommy Enterprises 

Saturday, May 14, 2011

What is the Best Web Programming Software?


Windows programmers and Linux programmers will never agree on which software application or development framework is the best web programming software. The best thing to do is learn a little bit about each so you are somewhat forearmed when the topic arises.

There are many software architectures running locally and on the World Wide Web. A few of these include: .NET, Linux, Red Hat, Cold Fusion, Java, Oracle, Ruby on Rails and many others.
We frequently work with clients who come to us with Microsoft Access and Word Perfect for database and communications. A good web development company can work in many different environments and help to build legacy systems to help migrate users to more modern platforms.

All things considered, a developer must look what is best for the company in terms of data migration, scalability and cost savings.

For example, client 'A' wants to have their in-house local database converted to an online application. They have over 500,000 records in an Access Database. Then it would make perfect sense to migrate them to a .NET SQL 2008 database in Windows versus My SQL in Linux.

At the end of the day, use the best tool in your developer tool box to get the job done. And if you do not know how to use that tool, get trained or hire an expert who does. Don't try to cut wood with a hacksaw.

Thursday, May 05, 2011

Be Careful When You Edit Your Website


I had a client who had been updating its website for nearly a year. They added over 100 pages of content and new web pages to enrich their website and their Google search engine results. They called my web development company wanting to know why Google is only seeing 30 of their web pages instead of 131 pages.

Our analysis revealed that a keyboard character they were entering in their description meta tag was being interpreted as a snippet of code and blocked all these new pages from being seen in Google. As a result of this error they lost nearly a year of Google crawl time for all these new pages.

What you 'type' and what you 'see' displayed in a web browser can look fine, but when done wrong it can create major problems in your website HTML code.

It does not matter if you are using a CMS, Content Management System, or a fancy website editor because only a coding professional knows if the code and characters are technically correct so they do not cause your website any harm or difficulty over search engines.


What you don't know about SEO can hurt you


When I edit content for websites for my website maintenance clients, I quickly glance over a page for the following implements: Proper use of H1 through H4 tags, bolding, link-bolding, correct ALT tagging and well formed meta-data. And when I create a new web site page, my checklist also includes proper navigation linking and placing the new page link in the site index.

If you are editing your own website pages and do not know about any of the items above, you may be sabotaging your hard work.

Web grammar and good writing are just as important.

Did you know that Google can detect the reading level for your website? They can determine if your site is at the Child, Teenager, Adult, College, Master and Doctoral reading level.
You cannot see this detection, but loosely defined it is the sum of information found on your website compared to tens of thousands of similar websites and directories with traffic or visits factored in.

It means that Google might find you (your website) as more of an authority source for information on a particular search query because of your grammar and writing.