If you've ever needed to quickly make an industrial safety sign of some sort, check out Sign Builder 2.0. Using this site, you can create safety signs, ANSI signs, hazardous materials signs, or lockout tags quickly.
Registration is required, but once you have a free account it's a simple matter of choosing the type of sign you need to generate, and adding your text. The site will instantly generate a downloadable PDF file that you can then print out as needed. Obviously the possibilities for creating prank signs with this site are endless, but the practical uses are just as plentiful.
Sometimes you find the coolest things in the strangest of places. We found this site via Matt Cutts (the well-known Google blogger) in an old draft post from 2005 that he finally decided to publish this week. The post outlines how getting legitimate links coming to your site is the best and most effective form of search engine optimization. One of the examples Matt gives is to make sure that your website can do something of value, like creating safety signs.
What's your first thought when you hit a Blogspot blog that slaps this warning screen in front of your face?
Some readers of this blog have contacted Google because they believe this blog's content is objectionable. In general, Google does not review nor do we endorse the content of this or any blog. For more information about our content policies, please visit the Blogger Terms of Service
My first thought is, "splog." Followed, as a close second, by, "threats of violence." In any event, it gives every indication that previous readers thought the site was problematic and flagged it.
A few months back Google changed the way it indexes web sites. Now the world's most popular search engine can find and index a web page moments after it's updated. This is great if you want to make sure the newest information always shows up when you enter a search term. But while getting it first matters, so does getting it right.
Yesterday Google posted one of their custom logos celebrating the 25th anniversary of TCIP/IP. And Google Operating System noticed something interesting. When you clicked on the logo you go to a page of search results for "January 1 TCP/IP." A few days ago, the top result would have been a Wikipedia article. Today you get several links to a blog that was established apparently with the sole purpose of capturing the top spot in Google's search ranking.
Because the site is so new, it's highly unlikely that Google is giving it such high priority due to the usual techniques like determining how many other sites link to the blog. Rather it's up there because it's new and makes heavy use of keywords. Odds are on most days, very few people are searching for "January 1 TCP/IP," but we're going to go out on a limb and say this site got an awful lot of hits yesterday. Hopefully by the time next year rolls around Google will notice that there are a hundred sites that do a better job of explaining the significance of the date.
On Monday, Sunbelt Software's security blog revealed that thousands of malware redirects were showing up in search engine results. Network bots designed to post relevant keywords and spam links in various online forms (think forum posts or blog comments) helped attackers claim high-ranking search engine positions for various obscure and seemingly innocuous search terms. According to Sunbelt, two of the thousands of terms were "infinity" and "hospice." Yeah, that's cool. Search for hospice information for a sick friend or family member, potentially get your system infected with nasty malware.
On Tuesday, Sunbelt revealed more information about the ill-effects clicking on these fake links could have on a vulnerable system (as a reminder - ALWAYS keep your browser and Internet security tools up to date). Best case scenario - you might end up with one of those annoying toolbars and pop-up ads for fake security software. Worst case? Your computer could be used to generate false-clicks for the attacker's pay-per click programs (so they infect your system so that you can make them money), or worse still, that bot could load other malware/worms/trojans onto the unprotected system. Further investigation also revealed that these SEO-poisoning attacks were targeted at Google, although other search engines may have also been victim to the attacks.
Google has cleansed more than 40,000 of these hosting sites from their index, so for now - it looks like the biggest source of this sort of attack has been taken offline.
School is in session. Your website is the pupil, and Website Grader is the teacher, its time to let this seo tool measure your online marketing successes or failures.
Website Grader is a search engine optimization tool that analyzes websites to see if they are up to scratch with search terms, and ensures online marketing effectiveness. Website Grader takes into account traffic, social ranking, Technorati ranks, Google Page Rank, Alexa ranks, inbound links, delicious bookmarks and pages indexed in Google to provide a comprehensive look at what websites have been up to. The system analyzes meta keywords, page descriptions, domain registration information, headings, images, the last time it was crawled by Google, and how many RSS subscriptions in Bloglines and grades it accordingly out of 100.
Website Grader is a great tool to check in with what websites have been up to, (or as a competition review) but take this information with a grain of salt, as some areas like Google Page Rank were showing up as 0 for Download Squad.
I haven't met two small business owners in a meeting where one doesn't ask how to get his or her site to the top of the Google search results list. There are transparent reasons for wanting to be first: you get more clicks, your business seems important, clicks convert into business, and your Internet traffic can skyrocket. What's the magic formula for getting to the top?
There is no magic formula Disappointing as it is, there is no single solution to move your site's rank to #1 in Google. Now that you're over that impractical wish, let's find out how you can increase your page rank and stay away from what will get your Web site tossed from consideration.
Optimize your Web site Sometimes called SEO, Search Engine Optimization (or SEM, Search Engine Marketing are related but not the same), is a marketing tool more than it is a technology process (so put it in your advertising budget). People type queries (search terms) into search engines and Google delivers results. If your site is optimized for your key product or service, then why isn't it at the top of the results? Common problem: your site hasn't been optimized and search engines cannot find it. You want examples?
Let's just ignore that whole babysitting, paper routes and mowing the lawn genre that makes most teenagers a little spending money. SEO has increasingly become an area where teens can report on what they like (or dislike).
Chloe Spencer stopped by the BlogHer Conference to talk a little about her venture into the world of SEO, Blogs, and Google AdSense. Chloe started a website called the "Ultimate Neopets Cheats Site". Early last year when she was 15 she started the site and actually researched keywords through WordTracker and Google Suggest to find out the popular search terms for the Neopet category so she knew what exactly to write on. Since then she pulls in about $20 - $30 per day through AdSense, working far less hours than she would babysitting to make the same amount.
Chloe's little part time venture shows us that as long as we are passionate about a topic, do our research, and stick to developing it, rewards are right around the corner. There might be a little shortage in the paper route sector but hey, they too should keep up with the times.
If you are just getting into the whole Search Engine Optimization world, or want to learn a bit about some common phrases that are spoken when it comes to designing websites that speak to Search Engines, we have a guide for you!
This alphabetical guide put together by an SEOmoz visitor lists out each optimization term with descriptions of search terms from 301, affiliate, click fraud, doorway pages, conversion rates, Google dance, inbound links, robots.txt, social media, and white hat.
"And we want to be on the first page of Google," another new client said matter-of-factly, as the after-thought of our Web design meeting. I nodded, inhaled, and began my spiel.
"What are your stats now?" I asked, although I knew the answer. Many small businesses don't review their site stats, don't know how to view them online and can't really interpret them, but all Web site rebuilding plans include being on the first page of Google results. Let's try to marry the want with some how-to and understand how this works.
KNOW YOUR STATS Know what your Web stats are. Contact your Web firm and demand the link. Bookmark them. Look at them! Pay attention to the "search keyphrases" and "search keywords" that users enter into search engines and find your site.
Site traffic is saved to logs and statistics programs display the data. Web stat programs are usually loaded on the server, so they have to be available from your hosting company. One of the most common stat packages is Webalizer, a fast and free log file analyzer. There are countless guides to help you interpret the numbers. And the mystery between "hits" and "visits" is explained here. Another common stat program is AWStats, an open source project at SourceForge There is a plethora of stat programs, many of which are free [see DLS for more info]
BUY BETTER STATS You can buy access to better, more colorful stats with graphs and charts and circles and arrows. If you have a marketing department, they should take a look at WebTrends for small business, one of the older analytics, and check out the demos. WebTrends, like many other quality stat packages, is not free, so decide if the pretty pictures are worth the price.
I WANT TO BE ON THE FIRST PAGE OF GOOGLE! You want higher ranking in the search engines' results? In the olden days, everyone played on the same field. Nowadays, it takes a village to raise your rankings. Try these suggestions, many of which are human-intensive.
Is it difficult to find the best websites with search engines or directories? Dfinitive thinks it can help.
As it currently stands, Dfinitive looks as if it is recreating the famous DMOZ open directory project by trying to take the best elements of a directory site, search engine and a bookmarking site and teaming it up with a mix of experts in the areas they feel are lacking.
Dfinitive plans to create a list of definitive sites for each category, in hopes that they will create a unique user experience that helps users find the optimal sites for the topic area they are searching for. Only time will tell how it fares, but as it sits now their categories need a little growth as they only have SEO, Affiliate Marketing, and Blogging listed.
Search keywords are very important, most recently illustrated by utube.com owner Ralph Girkins. He complains that YouTube is ruining his website's business. Universal Tube and Rollerform Equipment Corp (his company) can't seem to conduct business because the popular video sharing site is hogging the spotlight. From what he said in an interview, it sounds like he doesn't know how to optimize his search engine keywords and meta information, but still I can see how YouTube may be slurping up all "his" traffic anyway. Let's think about this for a second, isn't this why we have such thing as a URL? Why is it that he can't direct customers to his actual website? If people search for what he is selling or for his company name, they won't get YouTube. I'm not saying I don't feel sorry for him, but come on, use your URL. He needs to broadcast the correct URL to all his customers. Every other site in the world does it. Perhaps hire a SEO expert to help your standing in the ranks of Google, etc. I did a google search for "utube." His listing is the first one, so why is this an issue? YouTube isn't going way soon, so deal with it.
UPDATE: Our readers have spoken. Apparently, the problem isn't so much that Ralph's customers have the wrong URL, but more that his site is being overloaded with misdirected traffic, due to Google buying YouTube, and people flocking to the wrong site. I still say Ralph doesn't seem to know what he is talking about asking Google to host his site, or that he got 68 million hits in August (which would mean his site could handle the traffic with no problem), so I still think he needs help in the web department. What he should do is buy more bandwidth from his host to keep his site online, and serve up Google ads to capitalize on the problem. Thanks to Franklin, Chris, and Greg R for pointing this out.
File this under "somewhat suspicious." SEOmoz, a Seattle-based search engine optimization company, has their Web 2.0 award winners available. I say it's somewhat suspicious because 1) who cares what SEOmoz thinks, and 2) there's no year associated with the awards. Clearly these aren't from 1998, but even going to nominate next year's candidates doesn't give you a year. Maybe this is all a ruse, designed to increase traffic, add links, and possibly boost their search engine rankings? Nah, couldn't be.
The one interesting thing about these "awards" is just that it's a good list for comparison. I don't agree with all the winners, but I do appreciate the rationale has been given for each category. Perhaps even more useful is SEmoz's primer on Web 2.0 as they see it. If you know folks that have no idea what this Web 2.0 thing is about and you want to hype it up to the general masses, this page is where to send 'em. If you're over the whole Web. 2.0 hype, whatever you do, do NOT go to the awards page. It'll just depress you.
Alessandro
Fulciniti at Web-Graphics has collected his top 20 bookmarks of
2005. They're all, of course, web development links with a focus on CSS and JavaScript with some design,
typography, AJAX, and search engine optimization thrown in. Every one is a must-read for anyone doing web development
in 2006.
Search Engine Optimization is all but a dirty phrase these days, but SEOpen is a neat Firefox extension regardless. It puts at your fingertips rank, traffic, and incoming links information from more than a dozen sites, including Google, Yahoo, MSN, and Alexa. SEOpen also gives you access to other information like WHOIS data and HTTP response headers, all from one right-click menu.
If you've ever needed to quickly make an industrial safety sign of some sort, check out Sign Builder 2.0. Using this site, you can create safety signs, ANSI signs, hazardous materials signs, or lockout tags quickly. 
On Monday, 
I haven't met two small business owners in a meeting where one doesn't ask how to get his or her site to the top of the Google search results list. There are transparent reasons for wanting to be first: you get more clicks, your business seems important, clicks convert into business, and your Internet traffic can skyrocket. What's the magic formula for getting to the top?
KNOW YOUR STATS
File this under "somewhat suspicious." SEOmoz, a Seattle-based search engine optimization company, has their 
Search Engine Optimization is all but a dirty phrase these days, but 
