Archive for the ‘Internet’ Category
Saturday, November 1st, 2008
Jay Gaulard writes for a wide selection of websites on various topics. He is a veteran of the internet and has come to be respected in his many areas of expertise. This article was written on behalf of Iiamin, a popular help wanted ads website.
Job Listings Are The Best Way To Find Employees
Have you ever tried to hire employees without posting the job in the newspaper, on the door of your business, or on the Internet? Not doing so makes it difficult to find high quality employees. Not doing so also makes it difficult to fill a position that needs filling quickly.
Luckily, there are many different methods in which you can easily post a job. It may be sort of easy to send a classified ad to the local newspaper, but that is something that is slowly becoming obsolete. This is because the Internet has opened up a completely new doorway to how jobs are listed. With the invention of job listings on the Internet, less and less people actually frequent their newspapers when looking for jobs. They go to job seeker sites and look at the listings there. As a matter of fact, that is how a lot of people get their jobs nowadays.
The evolution of job listings
Let’s step back a bit and look at the days in which the newspaper was the only option. People would go through the lists of jobs and would circle what they thought they could do and would then call the number in the ad. This could be a frustrating process because it was time consuming.
All of a sudden, the Internet came to be and job listing sites were added to the Internet. It took a while for employers to catch on, especially since not all businesses had Internet access like most do today. Nowadays, a job comes open and the boss can go onto the Internet and list the job opening on a website within moments of the job coming open. In just a matter of minutes, hundreds of people can see that ad.
Being that hundreds of people see the ad in any given day, it can be difficult on the boss because he or she has to sift through all of those replies. There are resumes everywhere with qualified people busting at the seams. However, this is not necessarily a bad thing. This isn’t a bad thing because this means that there are plenty of qualified people to choose from. Eventually, the boss is able to find a qualified individual and the job is filled in no time.
Another thing that has happened with online job listings is that individuals are more able to find other jobs in other towns and recruiters can recruit from anywhere. It used to not be this easy. Back in the day, someone would have to call or they would have to hear it through the “grapevine” that a job was available with a company across the country. Now all it takes is a surf through a job listings site and jobs can be found on the other side of the world. It is utterly amazing and has done a lot for competition within businesses and even the economy. The best employees are placed within the best companies and some employees are even fought over because they are incredible workers. The Internet has helped revolutionize this.
How these sites work
As the employer, job listing sites makes your job easier. Basically, you just sign up for an account and you then follow the instructions to post an ad. It only takes a few minutes. You don’t have to worry about mailing off your ad and waiting for it to be in a newspaper. It will be live in no time after you have submitted. From there you don’t have to worry about anything other than reviewing the many resumes that come your way.
Job listings sites are easy to use. Basically, you fill out a form asking you what kind of job you’re looking for, where you want to work, and what kind of job title you want. This is the best way for you to target the kind of job you want instead of having to search through all sorts of listings. In the days of classifieds in newspapers, you had to read ads for jobs that you did not want. Nowadays you type in what you want and you’re taken right there.
Newspapers are good for the news
Newspapers are good for the news. Most individuals have the Internet now and, even if they don’t, they will make sure they find Internet access when they’re looking for a job. They know where to find the best jobs and that is on online job listings sites. They know that they aren’t going to find a high quality job in the newspaper anyway. It seems that most of the jobs listed in the newspaper classifieds are jobs regarding work-at-home opportunities that want you to pay some sort of fee. There are also job listings for truck drivers and individuals wishing to sell cosmetics. As for the other stuff, people turn to the Internet and that’s why you should make sure your job listings are listed there and nowhere else.
To maximize your chances to land a quality employee, you can list your job opening on multiple sites. No one ever said that you had to use just one. Multiple sites work out just fine. When the job is filled, you can make sure you remove the ads from the other sites. That way you don’t continue to receive inquiries and resumes about a job that is already filled. That’s something you can’t do in a newspaper. If you pay for the ad to run for 7 days, then it is going to run for 7 days. If you find a great person on the second day, then you have 5 days that you’ve paid for that you don’t need. In the end, you will find that submitting job listings online is more cost-effective and can save you a lot of time in a number of ways. That is just the way to go, so make sure you use online job listings from now on so that you can reach a larger audience of great employees.
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Friday, October 31st, 2008
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Made Easy
Lifehacker’s bi-monthly “Getting To Done” column covers SEO on how and why it’s important in the web publishing arena.
Send SMS from Gmail
Google today rolled out a Gmail Labs feature that lets you send text messages from your Gmail chat window. Very cool!
More On The Windows 7 UI: New Taskbar Will Be Mandatory
While we haven’t yet gotten our hands on a Windows 7 build with the new taskbar, we did talk to Microsoft’s Steven Sinofsky about the various UI changes and what we can expect at release time.
40 Spine-Chilling Horror Photoshop Effects
It’s that special time of year where we revel all things dark and creepy. To celebrate, we’ve collected 40 Photoshop techniques and effects to help you add a splash of macabre to your work. From twisted horror faces to ghosts, damned souls and zombies, you’ll find it all here.
7 Top Tips and Resources for Google Chrome
If you’re running Chrome, here are some cool tips for customizing and getting the most out of it.
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Friday, October 24th, 2008
20 Websites You Never Realized You Needed
The internet has changed the world, mostly through big sites like Google, Amazon, MySpace and Facebook. But other smaller sites can, if anything, be even more useful, if only you can find the right ones.
Google Helps Get Out The Vote With New Web Gadgets
Election season is here, but not everyone knows where to vote just yet. Google hopes to make finding that information a little easier, and has launched a site and an embeddable web gadget that allows US voters to get all the voting information they need before November 4.
Google Fosters Earth-Saving Green Tools For Users
Google’s new energy savings calculator tool focuses on the little things, such as saving $6 per year by swapping an incandescent bulb for an energy-efficient compact fluorescent light bulb. Hot Hardware takes a look at the technological power vampires and how much you can save by following the advice.
Why It’s A Bad Time To Buy A Blog But A Great Time To Sell
Without doubt Blogs have been the flavour of the month for quite some time now (should it be called flavour of the year?) and I have paid close attention to the marketplaces. However, I’ve yet to see a blog which was worth buying. Don’t get me wrong, there have been some great blogs for sale but they have all in my opinion, been greatly overpriced.
40 Brilliant Gmail Hints, Hacks And Secrets
Gmail goes from strength to strength as Google rolls out new features every few months. We’ve dug deep to bring you 40 top tips that’ll make you a Gmail super-user, with total control over every aspect of the service.
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Saturday, October 18th, 2008
Jay Gaulard writes for a wide selection of websites on various topics. He is a veteran of the internet and has come to be respected in his many areas of expertise. This article was written on behalf of BizLeeg, a popular business directory website.
Almost Free Ways to Market Your Business Online
If you have a website, chances are pretty high that you spend a lot of time looking for ways to market your business online. Paying for advertisements can be quite expensive, and today’s Internet user is so desensitized to online banner ads that advertising in this manner can be highly ineffective. However, there are many ways that you can advertise your business online without paying much or without paying anything at all! You just need to know where to look.
Develop an Online Newsletter
Do you have an online mailing that you send to your customers? If not, you need to develop one. When your customers make a purchase online, have them sign up to receive “future offers” or an informative newsletter. You can also leave a form on your website for them to sign up to receive your newsletter. You may want to offer something free for this, such as a discount code, free tip, or a free gift.
Once you have your customer’s email address, put it to good use. Make your newsletter as good as it can possibly be. If you already have an online mailing in place, make it better. No one likes spam, so make the newsletter informative, helpful, and interesting. Throw in a coupon or two from time to time to keep the customer interested in reading the newsletter. Avoid using too many graphics, as this can keep some users from receiving the letter depending on their spam folder settings.
Become an Expert in Your Industry
Chances are you already are an expert in your industry. Use this to your advantage as you market online. Join forums that relate to your industry. Then, post useful comments. Do this often. Soon you will have a small online “following” that comes to you for advice. You can then point them towards your website for more information.
As you post in forums, make sure you follow the posting guidelines. Some forums will allow you to link to your website in your signature line. Others will allow you to link in actual discussions. Others do not allow any links at all, but may allow you to put a link in your profile. Since your time is valuable, choose forums that allow links, at least in your signature.
No matter what the forum rules may be, make sure that your posts do not sound like an ad. Give genuine, helpful advice to the people on the forum. Become a part of the community. You will be surprised at how much your bottom line increases with this strategy.
You can use this same rule to market using blogs. Comment on blog discussions relating to your industry whenever you can, and make the link take the reader back to your site. You can insert a link in your name field, but do not say, “you can find out more at my site.” That will be a turn off to most readers, but if they like what you have to say they will be willing to click on your name and visit your link.
Create Your Own Blog
As you are working towards making yourself an expert in the field, you might want to set up your own blog. You can discuss newsworthy items that relate to your industry, and you can include a link on the toolbar to your ecommerce site. You can link to your blog in your forum posts and blog comments as well. If you do not have time to write blog posts on a regular basis, you can hire someone else to do it for you.
As you work to create your blog, make sure it is interesting. People who read blogs are looking for entertainment as much as they are looking for information. Do not be afraid to discuss something a little controversial. The more people that link to your blog from theirs, even if they are saying how crazy your idea is, the more traffic you will eventually generate for your ecommerce or business site.
Use YouTube
Believe it or not, the popular video site YouTube is a great way to market a business, and posting a video is completely free. Now, like your forum and blog posts, you do not want to post a blatant advertisement on YouTube. However, you can create an informative “how to” that relates to your industry, and then link to your website at the end of the video.
The key to successful marketing with YouTube is not creating a fancy video full of special effects. It is making a video that is appealing to people. You want people to want to watch your video, email it to their friends, and post it on their blogs. Do not be afraid to do something a little crazy and fun, but make sure that it does not detract from your business.
Use Online Business Directories
Online business directories are another way to market your business online. Keep in mind that there is a wide range of prices for these directories. Some charge high fees for listings, while others have free or low-cost listings available. Choose a directory that gets plenty of traffic but does not charge too much for your link. Make sure you can have some control over what is said in your listing. Also, make sure the directory is well laid out with an easy to understand organizational structure. Remember, your potential customers are not going to stay on a business directory site that is confusing or difficult to navigate.
That being said, list your business in as many free business directories as possible. After all, if the listing is free, it cannot hurt your business, and it will probably draw some traffic to your site. Some of these directories make money off of other types of ads, such as pay per click ads, so they allow businesses to create listings for free.
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Tuesday, October 14th, 2008
Google Ranking Factors
Alleged positive and negative on and off-page SEO Google ranking factors in an overview.
21 Great SEO Tips From Google Engineer Matt Cutts
SEO Egghead has Tracked most of the Interesting things Google Engineer Matt Cutts has said about SEO and getting your site to rank in Google in the past year. These SEO tips may be better than what you can get from any so called “Expert” because they are coming right from the horse’s mouth.
Firefox Extensions recommended by a Google engineer, Matt Cutts
Matt Cutts show his must-have firefox extension’s list. You’ll probably know this guy if you are in the SEO industry.
Google Acquires SEO Company in DoubleClick Deal
One of the results of the Google-DoubleClick acquisition is Google buying Performics, one of the largest SEO companies in the US. Conflict of interest?
SEO for FireFox Launches!
Are you curious why a certain page on Google or Yahoo! ranks better? Do you ever wonder how many links your competitor has, but don’t feel like logging into your SEO tools? If so, the SEO for FireFox extension is for you. Created by Aaron wall - it will save you countless hours of research frustration and complexity.
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Sunday, October 12th, 2008
Complete Guide To Google Analytics
Things change so quickly on the web. When I started working at software firm Urchin in 1996, web analytics was a niche product, important to (and understood by) perhaps a handful of people at an organisation.
Google Extends AdSense To Online Games
Google Inc on Wednesday launched technology to insert advertisements into online video games and boost revenue from the booming gaming sector. The software, called AdSense for Games, is in beta testing and allows video, image or text…
13 Great Firefox Extensions for Web Professionals
Short introduction to 13 Firefox extensions for web developers or SEO professionals.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Made Easy
Lifehacker’s bi-monthly “Getting To Done” column covers SEO on how and why it’s important in the web publishing arena.
Make the Perfect Structure for a Site
How to build a useful sitemap, determine an SEO friendly permanent link structure, and code the server-side of a site for an accessible and user-friendly site. Diagrams included.
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Sunday, October 12th, 2008
Jay Gaulard writes for a wide selection of websites on various topics. He is a veteran of the internet and has come to be respected in his many areas of expertise. This article was written on behalf of Okashun, a popular event calendar website.
Online Calendars: What are They?
These are just like any ordinary print calendars or diaries except that they are accessed online. Online calendars need web-enabled devices to be accessed, and they can also be shared with others, which is another great feature. There are now lots of online calendars to choose from. Of course, the one you decide on will be guided by your needs.
Some great features of online calendars include:
o Multiple views: You can adjust how the calendar is displayed to suit your tastes. Therefore it can display daily, weekly or monthly events.
o Online calendars can be integrated with other e-mail or e-mail-related programs, such as Outlook, Gmail and Yahoo mail.
o Once you have a web-enabled device you can have and share online calendars. That means if you use a Blackberry or any other PDA you can take advantage of the features of web-based calendars.
As to be expected, some web calendars are more advanced than others depending on the technology used. Advanced online calendars allow for viewing of events and appointments. They also enable users to add attachments if needed. Others allow users to determine which events are private (can be viewed only by specified people) and which are public. Listing recurring events is also possible so that there is no need to keep entering monthly meetings. Once the calendar is set up to keep repeating a particular event, it will do so until the feature is disabled.
Why Should I Use an Online Calendar?
There are many benefits associated with using online calendars. In today’s fast-paced world, one major benefit is that they enable the sharing of calendars among associates. Online calendars are accessible anywhere as long as there is Internet available. With so many global offices, they bring everyone closer together. Online calendars are also great for posting company information and events so that everyone can see it. These handy widgets mean no more missed meetings, events and appointments.
Online calendars are not just useful for work or work-related activities and appointment planning. They are just as handy for families and friends so that you can know who is on vacation and when. They can be used to send invitations and reminders to people in your address book. Some online calendars allow recipients to respond to your invitations without having to open an account with the calendar host.
Best of all, there are lots of online calendars available and most of them are free. Some popular providers of full-service calendars are Google, Yahoo, iCalendar and vCalendar. Deciding on which one is best for your needs is easy. There are lots of reviews online that discuss the features of the more popular ones and outlining their pros and cons.
With an online calendar, you will never have to miss a date or appointment ever again. At least, you won’t as long as you can connect to the Internet. Finally, with time being a scarce commodity for most people, online calendars also offer great time management benefits.
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Tuesday, September 30th, 2008
Jay Gaulard writes for a wide selection of websites on various topics. He is a veteran of the internet and has come to be respected in his many areas of expertise. This article was written on behalf of WebLeeg, a popular free classifieds website.
How to Use Free Online Classified Ads to Sell Just About Anything
Every day, more of our interactions seem to move online. In most cases, this allows us to communicate quicker and more effectively than other types of communication. Online classified ads have become a hugely popular way to get in touch with other people.
Whether you’re selling, buying, trading or just informing, using a free online classified ad is convenient and easy. In most cases it takes only a few minutes to get your ad written and posted. Since it’s free, you can post multiple ads without worrying about the word count driving up your price.
Online classifieds will put you in contact with someone in the same town or people on the other side of the planet. If you’re looking for a used lawnmower to pick up tomorrow or a one-of-a-kind piece of art several states away, free online classified ads get you in touch with the right person.
Most online classified sites have many categories, making it easy to post your ad in just the right place. Having many categories also means that you can find what you’re looking for easily and without having to dig through a lot of irrelevant ads.
Free online classifieds aren’t just for buying and selling between two private parties. They’re also an incredibly useful way to market a business online.
If you own a business or belong to online affiliate programs, free online classifieds are a great way to promote your product without spending a penny. You can advertise pretty much any product or service to people in your local area or anywhere else in the world. You can target one market specifically or make your message available to everyone.
In addition to being free, online classifieds are useful for diversifying your customer base and reaching a new audience. If you have primarily marketed through other methods like television or radio advertisements, you have a very limited potential audience. Online classified ads could potentially reach every single person with Internet access. The best estimates say that’s over 1.4 billion people worldwide.
Although the chances of all 1.4 billion people with Internet access viewing your ad are slim, the potential exposure is staggering. Imagine reaching hundreds of thousands of people with your ad without paying for it.
Even people who aren’t selling anything find that free online classifieds are a wonderful way to reach people. Just about anything can be publicized with free online classifieds. Things like upcoming events, volunteer groups and job ads frequently have their own categories on classified ads websites.
In an age where we conduct a large portion of our personal and business communication online, advertising has to take new forms to adapt. Online classified ads have grown from small local message boards to vast international networks. No matter what you want to get the word out about, using free online classifieds can help you do it even if you have no advertising budget at all.
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Thursday, September 25th, 2008
This is a follow up post to my “Sudden Drop In Google Ranking” post.
This morning, I checked the ranking of the website in question. To my surprise, the site had again ranked number 4 in the Google Search Engine Results. This was most definitely good news. In fact, all key phrases now ranked on page one of the Google SERPs.
I can only hope this persists. So, what did we do? Here is a short list:
- Noticed the website had dropped in Google ranking.
- Took a unique phrase from the website homepage and searched Google using quotes, “like this.”
- Found a direct copy of the website and discovered it had been “Proxy Hijacked.”
- Found IP address of website that Proxy Hijacked our website and blocked it using the .htaccess file.
- Submitted a “Reconsideration Request” to Google.
After about a week and a half, our website had regained its ranking in Google.
I read a long article about Proxy Hijacking and it mentioned that Google had fixed the problem. If this was the case with my friend’s website, this certainly isn’t true. While I can not be totally sure Proxy Hijacking caused this case of Google ranking loss, the facts seem to lead down this path.
What is my advice to you? Check either Google or Copyscape once a month to see if someone has taken text or Proxy Hijacked your website.
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Sunday, September 21st, 2008
I have often wondered if there is some grand resource out there for those of us who are interested in internet traffic trends by industry. It would also be helpful if this data were returned to me chronologically. Daily would be ideal.
If you run your own websites as part, or all, of your business, internet traffic trends are of great concern to you. Some days, your websites seem to be over performing. This is great and it’s very easy to get used to. The entrepreneurial spirit in you goes into hyper-drive. Well, what goes up, must come down. The only problem is, on the internet, there are way too many variables that dictate website success to ignore any “downturn” in website performance. If there was just a way to gauge whether it’s the industry as a whole that has taken a downturn or if it’s just your one website.
Personally, I have seen rather predictable ups and downs in traffic. I remember back over the Summer, during the holidays. On July fourth, web traffic was anemic, only to have an upswing shortly thereafter. I suppose you could just let your website be and hope for the best, but any business owner worth his/her salt isn’t going to sit idly by and watch outside forces play such a strong role.
I think the type of information I am talking about is available over at ComScore, but I believe you must pay for that. I suppose I could trot over to Alexa and type in one of my competitor’s URLs to see how their traffic has fared during the past few weeks, but Alexa’s website traffic stats are notoriously unreliable. They are built upon the Alexa toolbar, which is geared much more towards some groups of internet users, rather than others. Let’s just say that computer geeks gravitate towards the Alexa toolbar, but soccer moms don’t. Tech website traffic is going to look a heck of a lot higher than pottery websites. There may some value in the site across industries though, since those Alexa toolbar people would visit various types of similar websites.
I will continue to look for an answer to this little issue I am having, but in the meantime, if you know of any industry based traffic trend sources, please post a comment.
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