Site architecture that helps search engines find you

If you implement the simple navigation and coding tips below, you will present your visitors with a user interface that is immediately understandable and navigable for both your user and search engines.

Navigation

1. Be consistent and consolidate information wherever possible. "Help," "FAQ," and "Instructions" can be all put into one page or one category that makes it easy for users to find that type of information. Break the info up inside the category if you need to. In addition, saying "Instructions for filling out such and such form," uses the keywords of what the page is about, helping search engines find the page.

2. Use breadcrumb trails. This type of navigation literally creates a trail that users can follow back to where they came from. For example: Home > Category 1> Bucket A > Bucket B > Bucket C. Breadcrumbs are used in conjunction with regular navigation. They don't replace it. They're nearly always text links, in a smaller font.

Large sites should have top-of-the-page navigation pointing to the top-level pages and category navigation on the left with breadcrumb navigation on the page itself. Footer navigation should be placed at the bottom of the page.

3. Footer of web pages is also important. It's important to give your users a quick way to "Home" or key pages. The footer is a good place to put text-only links that are redundant to the top-level navigation, so your user doesn't have to scroll back up to the top of the page. Supplying this added convenience also allows another chance for you to use those important keywords, and helps users who have their graphics turned off.

4. Use keyword phrases within your main content links. These links may go to the exact same place as top-level navigation links but they're labeled with keywords related to the same topic. For example, a top-level navigation link may be labeled "Local Weather Forecasts," while a text link lower down on the page from inside a paragraph (pointing to the same page) might say "Weather for your zipcode."

Since users and search engines use both terms heavily, you're covering your bases by taking this extra measure.

5. Always use a sitemap. Search engines love to have a site map through which they can quickly and easily access your site's pages for indexing. When creating a site map for your web site, be sure to put it at the root level (not within any subfolders or directories), link to it from your home page, and name it site_map.html (or .htm, whichever extension you are using for your site). A Table of Contents is also helpful in some cases.

Simply create a list of links (similar to an outline format) that shows how the pages of your site are linked to from each upper tier page, and name these links using keyword-rich, but relevant, text links. Add a small paragraph about your organization, or about the subject matter of the page, at the top of the page.

Keep the site map page simple, using no graphics (or very few if necessary, perhaps your organization's logo). Be sure to link to your sitemap or TOC near the top of the homepage as it will be picked up by crawlers. And when submitting your site's pages to the major engines, be sure to submit the site map page as well as your home page.

File and Directory Structure

1. Directory structure. Most search engines don't know about anything beyond two directory levels. They'll index 40-50 files in those directories and do it alphabetically. It's crucial for you to place your most important pages at the first or second directory level, breaking it up into 50 files per directory. Be sure to name your files and directories with your keywords. Don't use the underscore to separate keywords. Instead, use hyphens.

Don't stuff too many keywords in your file or directory names. Make them keyword rich but not too long. Name image files after keywords, which is particularly important now that many search engines have image searches. Name your PDF files after your keywords as well.

2. Entry pages. Pages that bring you traffic are entry pages, and each should be optimized and submitted to directories and search engines. Make the pages stand-alone, like your home page. When a visitor lands on one of your entry pages, the visitor needs to know where they are, who your organzation is, and what the page is about.

Include full navigation on all entry pages and make it obvious what the page and site is about. Don't assume visitors will find the index page first.

3. Robots.txt file. Search engine robots will check a special plain text file in the root of each server called robots.txt before indexing a site. Robots.txt implements the Robots Exclusion Protocol, which allows the web site administrator to define what parts of the site are off-limits to specific robot user agent names. Web administrators can disallow access to cgi, private and temporary directories, for example, because they do not want pages in those areas indexed.

Coding for Search Engines

1. The Title tag is key. Each page must have its own descriptive Title tag that matches the topic of the page exactly. This text appears whenever someone bookmarks the page, and it provides important information for the search engines. Remember that Meta keyword tags are nearly useless these days but are known to be somewhat helpful when the content of the page strongly supports those keywords. Therefore, be selective with what you put in that tag.

Don't waste time calculating density and meeting Meta keyword character specifications. Just focus on backing up the actual content on the page, or using synonyms and misspellings.

2. Put most important things up top. One of the easiest ways to satisfy search engines and users is to quickly get to the point of a page by designing it like a pyramid. Put the most important information at the very top of the page, in text or text links that go to top-level pages.

Content should be placed so that the most important, useful information is at or near the top of the page, above the "fold." The least important information and links should be lower on the page.

3. Put CSS and JavaScript into separate files rather than having the script on the page. Otherwise, it could interfere with the crawlers' ability to quickly find keywords within your content. Watch out for JavaScript that is used for navigation menus that special-needs users can never see and search engines cannot follow.

4. WYSIWYG editors. Be extra careful with "What You See Is What You Get" (WYSIWYG) HTML editors. The generic code they create will often not meet the needs of all users or search engines.

5. Place keywords in your "image alt tag" text and "link title" text. For example: ɚSearch Engine Marketing .

There is no housing slump on the Internet

Call it virtual voyeurism: By August 2006, 51% of all Internet users had taken a virtual tour of a piece of real estate, according to the latest release from the Pew Internet & American Life Project, up from 45% in November 2004. (via eMarketer.)

Likewise, 39% of adult Internet users went online to look for information about a place to live in 2006, compared with 34% in 2004 and just 27% in 2000. Pew surveyed 2,928 adults in August; 1,990 were Internet users and 972 were asked the "place to live" question.

Realtors have taken notice of the increasing online activity too. Nearly 45% of real estate ad spending, about $3.4 billion, went online in 2006, according to the Kelsey Group. The study, reported by MediaPost, found 7.3% of sellers would place an ad online first and 27% of buyers would go online to look for real estate classifieds.

How you can stop farmers from committing suicide

A few 100 kms from the city - from the new shopping malls, fine dining restaurants and swanky night clubs of Mumbai - you'll find a dead farmer.

The Vidarbha (Maharahstra) farmer has been for years at the receiving end of erratic government policies, societal neglect and mounting debt.

Driven by despair, over 1800 farmers have taken their own lives since 2001. (And these figures include only six of Maharashtra's 35 districts). As many as 325 farmers between January and August 2006. Some weeks, there have been suicides every eight hours.
(figures courtesy The Hindu)

These are reasons enough to stand up and fill the void that our government has failed to. My sister and I are working with an NGO called Prakruti dedicated to this cause. They work at the grassroot level in an attempt to restore dignity to the farmer and his family.

Your contribution, however small can help them in their various efforts:
Helping farmers in need.
School books for orphaned children.
Organising milk and food drives in schools etc.

Make your cheque out to Save Bombay Committee.
You will receive a tax exemption slip for the amount.
You can courier your cheque to me this address:

Ruchika Parab
5th flr, Sudha Apts,
Patel Compound,
Next to BPL Mobile Gallery,
Nepean Sea Rd,
Mumbai 400036.
India.

If you have any questions or need more information please do email me me at
ruchikaparab (AT) gmail.com or c/o this blog owner.

Thank you,
Ruchika.

52 rules for writers

1. Always avoid alliteration.
2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
3. Avoid cliches like the plague—they're old hat.
4. Employ the vernacular.
5. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
6. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are unnecessary.
7. Parenthetical words however must be enclosed in commas.
8. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
9. Contractions aren't necessary.
10. Do not use a foreign word when there is an adequate English quid pro quo.
11. One should never generalize.
12. Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said: "I hate quotations. Tell me what you know."
13. Comparisons are as bad as cliches.
14. Don't be redundant; don't use more words than necessary; it's highly superfluous.
15. It behooves you to avoid archaic expressions.
16. Avoid archaeic spellings too.
17. Understatement is always best.
18. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
19. One-word sentences? Eliminate. Always!
20. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
21. The passive voice should not be used.
22. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
23. Don't repeat yourself, or say again what you have said before.
24. Who needs rhetorical questions?
25. Don't use commas, that, are not, necessary.
26. Do not use hyperbole; not one in a million can do it effectively.
27. Never use a big word when a diminutive alternative would suffice.
28. Subject and verb always has to agree.
29. Be more or less specific.
30. Placing a comma between subject and predicate, is not correct.
31. Use youre spell chekker to avoid mispeling and to catch typograhpical errers.
32. Don't repeat yourself, or say again what you have said before.
33. Don't be redundant.
34. Use the apostrophe in it's proper place and omit it when its not needed.
35. Don't never use no double negatives.
36. Poofread carefully to see if you any words out.
37. Hopefully, you will use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them.
38. Eschew obfuscation.
39. No sentence fragments.
40. Don't indulge in sesquipedalian lexicological constructions.
41. A writer must not shift your point of view.
42. Don't overuse exclamation marks!!
43. Place pronouns as close as possible, especially in long sentences, as of 10 or more words, to their antecedents.
44. Writing carefully, dangling participles must be avoided.
45. If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is.
46. Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky.
47. Everyone should be careful to use a singular pronoun with singular nouns in their writing.
48. Always pick on the correct idiom.
49. The adverb always follows the verb.
50. Take the bull by the hand and avoid mixing metaphors.
51. If you reread your work, you can find on rereading a great deal of repetition can be by rereading and editing.
52. And always be sure to finish what

This came via email. I think it is from William Safire's Rules for Writers.

Free PDF: 3,944 marketers say what’s working in SEM

3,944 marketers reveal to MarketingSherpa search marketing costs, clicks, and conversions for 2007. Featuring seven results charts including:

-What gets the highest ROI? SEO vs PPC vs email
- Three-year trends in keyword buying
- Click fraud
- PR and search marketing

Plus, you'll also see a new eyetracking heatmap revealing how consumers interact with Google search pages these days.

Click here to begin the free PDF download.

immediate future and The Flea tie up for online PR

We are pleased to announce a strategic tie up between immediate future (UK) and The Flea for online PR and allied services.

Sony, EMI Music UK, Association of Online Publishers UK and Utarget plc are amongst some of immediate future's clients.

Recently immediate future handled Sony Bravia's blog, which created quite a buzz.

With the help of blogging, podcasting, RSS, community building and other Web 2.0 tactics immediate future and The Flea intend to change the online PR landscape in UK and India.

We look forward to your continued support.





About Immediate Future:

Founded in 2004, immediate future Ltd is a fast growing PR agency that bridges the gap between media, marketing and tech agencies. We have a comprehensive understanding of the digital industry, consumer and B2B, and proven expertise in online PR, so our PR programmes and campaigns deliver clients’ business objectives.

We do this by identifying our clients’ most influential media, companies, networks, associations or individuals and connecting them directly with their greatest potential advocates to build brand reputation. We have strong personal networks and mix traditional vehicles such as the media, with influencer relations, online PR ( SEO PR, blog relations, viral seeding), networking and event management.


IF prides itself on its drive to redefine PR, with a passionate and thorough knowledge of its industry and stakeholders. It aims to connect and challenge clients, partners, journalists and associations while basing its strategic consultancy and delivery on creativity and business understanding.

We offer our clients a big agency approach, with thorough strategic planning. But our service and client care has all the benefits of a small agency. We have a reputation in the industry for our great connections and networks, and for a thorough working knowledge of our clients and their markets.

Our clients include blue chip high profile brands and fast growing start up digital SMEs and dotcoms – and we treat all them with respect, professionalism and honesty.


About The Flea:

The Flea is a non-traditional communication consultancy. We challenge convention and tradition, doing what's right rather than what's expected. Our philosophy is that it's better to have a good idea than a huge budget because a good idea can win you attention that money can't buy.

We are dedicated to generating strategic and creative solutions for clients. That could include designing a website, producing and seeding a viral film, developing an advertising campaign, or planning a digital display area in a store.

We work with clients direct, media shops, and marketing consultancies in our specialist area. We do not compete with other agencies. We complement them.

We follow the production company business model, hand-picking the people for the specific assignment to get the job done right rather than selling people that are on the shelf.

For clients who are disenchanted with old-school marketing and want to create passionate customers, The Flea is perfect.

Podcast: ad:tech Speaker's Showcase: One Minute Tips

From the ad:tech Chicago session, "ad:tech Speaker's Showcase: One Minute Tips" with 30 experts and their tips.

The culmination of more than 35 sessions-worth of great advice. This is your final, fact-filled opportunity to glean one tidbit from ad:tech’s top tipmasters. Hear something unique and special from an assortment of speakers who bring to the marketplace a proven solution or innovative best practice. You will be scratching down notes as fast as you can when some of ad:tech’s best and brightest enjoy a bit of Warholian famousness and give you a tip in a minute! Enjoy!

Speakers: Josh Manion; Jordan Ayan; Dan Perry; Perry Goldschein; Susan Chiu; David Herscott; Alison Kane; Chris Bowler; Peter Figueredo; David Berkowitz; Mark Ippolito; Robert Hess

Warren Buffet's simple life

In an hour-long interview with CNBC, Warren Buffet, the world’s second-richest man who has donated $31 billion to charity, revealed some interesting aspects of his life:

1) He bought his first share at age 11 and he now regrets that he started too late !

2) He bought a small farm at age 14 with savings from delivering newspapers.

3) He still lives in the same small 3 bedroom house in mid-town Omaha, that he bought after he got married 50 years ago. He says that he has everything he needs in that house. His house does not have a wall or a fence.

4) He drives his own car everywhere and does not have a driver or security people around him.

5) He never travels by private jet, although he owns the world's largest private jet company.

6) His company, Berkshire Hathaway, owns 63 companies. He writes only one letter each year to the CEOs of these companies, giving them goals for the year. He never holds meetings or calls them on a regular basis.

7) He has given his CEO's only two rules. Rule number 1: Do not lose any of your share holder's money. Rule number 2: Do not forget rule number 1.

8) He does not socialize with the high society crowd. His way to pass time after he gets home is to make himself some pop corn and watch television.

9) Bill Gates, the world's richest man met him for the first time only 5 years ago. Bill Gates did not think he had anything in common with Warren Buffet. So he had scheduled his meeting only for half hour. But when Gates met him, the meeting lasted for ten hours and Bill Gates became a devotee of Warren Buffet.

10) Warren Buffet does not carry a cell phone, nor has a computer on his desk.

11) His advice to young people: Stay away from credit cards and invest in yourself.
.

Dove invites "real women" to create TV spots

Dove is joining the growing ranks of brands enlisting consumers to do the work their ad agencies once did. It's asking "real women" to create TV ads to run during the Academy Awards on ABC Feb. 25. reports AdAge.

Dove is seeking entries for a 30-second ad to promote a new product, Dove Cream Oil Body Wash.

DoveCreamOil.com, which provides online tools, artwork, photos and music for creating ads, and also allows consumers to upload their own files. So you don't need any special skills or experience.

The contest is open only to women and, of course, only to amateurs.

Podcast: Little Becky's proposal

Little Becky's wants her school in Dublin demolished. Aren't kids the sweetest?

Bahamas Tourism saves websurfers

Sure, a Bahamavention sounds great in theory. But carrying out the generous act at the center of a new campaign for The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism requires careful evaluation, exhaustive resources and inspiring examples.

Luckily, all of the above are available at the Bahamavention website, where poor saps stuck in front of computers all day can at least read about how they can get some sun.

Rehabilitated hosts Connie and Steven lead visitors through a four-step evaluation in the form of an interactive quiz to determine an individualized treatment program, which can then be implemented by calling the Bahamas crisis hotline.

Hamlet: Photobooth

A photobooth, a bald man and a cigar called Hamlet. This sequence plays on the old joke that the photo flash always goes off when you're not ready, and we see Gregor Fisher mistime every shot. As Bach's Air on a G-string kicks in, as the flash goes off for the final time the Baldy Man exhales his cigar smoke.

Inspired by an incident when copywriter Tim Warner and art director Roy Carruthers of CDP lit up on a bus after waiting in the rain, the series ran until the early 90s.

Brilliant to say the least and voted as one of the all-time favorite commercials at Cannes ( when Cannes was more fun and less political) .

Trend shows Indians are horny

Delhi, Chennai and Mumbai are among the top five cities to use ‘sex’ as a search string in Google Trends, the web giant’s new search tool (via Mid-Day)

The website lists Cairo with the highest search hits for the word ‘sex’ on its website followed by Delhi, Chennai and Mumbai. Cities like New York and London do not figure in the top 10.

Now my question is, do we need Google to tell us that we Indians are horny?

How do you think we produced 1.2 billion people? By meditating?

Billboards power appliances

This unusual outdoor campaign works towards highlighting utility company Groupe E, and to remind people electricity, though ubiquitous, should never be taken for granted. See more in this series here

68 free holiday templates (cards, decals, postcards, invites, labels)

Here's a list of 68 holiday templates. All for free from the good folks at Microsoft Office . They include Christmas cards, party invitations, CD labels, snowflake decals and Hannukah place cards among others.


Christmas card (works with Avery 3251 and 3265)

Christmas music CD face labels (works with Avery 5931 and 8931)

Christmas note card (with angel, works with Avery 3256 or 3268)

Company holiday party invitation

Generic inside for holiday card (works with Avery 3265, 3269, or 8316)

Hanukkah card (with dreidel; works with Avery 3265, 3269, or 8316)

Hanukkah card from business

Hanukkah place cards (with dreidel; works with Avery 8371, 8376, 8377, and 8811)

Hanukkah place cards (with menorah; works with Avery 8371, 8376, 8377, and 8811)

Holiday bows

Holiday card (with Santa)

Holiday card (works with Avery 3256 and 3259)

Holiday card (works with Avery 3265, 3269, or 8316)

Holiday card from business (with sleigh)


Holiday mailing labels (with Santa and sleigh, 14 per sheet, works with Avery 8162, 8252, 8462, and 8662)

Holiday music CD case inserts

Holiday music CD case inserts (works with Avery 5693, 5931, 8693, and 8931)

Holiday music CD face labels (works with Avery 5824)

Holiday music CD face labels (works with Avery 5931, 8692, 8694, and 8931)

Holiday newsletter (with Santa's sleigh and reindeer)

Holiday open house invitation

Holiday party invitation

Holiday party invitation (2/pg.)

Holiday party invitation (works with Avery 3256 or 3268)

Holiday party invitation postcard (works with Avery 3263 and 8387)

Holiday place cards (with lights; works with Avery 8371, 8376, 8377, and 8811)

Holiday place cards (with poinsettia; works with Avery 8371, 8376, 8377, and 8811)

Holiday postcard from business)

Holiday return address labels (with tree ornament; works with Avery 3261, 8257, 8760, and 8987)

Holiday shipping labels (6 per sheet, works with Avery 8164, 8254, and 8464)Holiday stationery (with bell watermark)

Holiday stationery (with candy cane watermark)

Holiday stationery (with holly leaf watermark)

Holiday stationery (with lights; works with Avery 8324 or 8384)

Holiday stationery (with poinsettia)

Holiday stationery (with snow scene)

Holiday stationery (with snowflake, works with Avery 8324 or 8384)

Holiday stationery (with snowman)

Holiday stationery (with wreath, works with Avery 8324 or 8384)

Kwanzaa card (with kinara; works with Avery 3265, 3269, or 8316)

Kwanzaa card (works with Avery 3265, 3269, or 8316)

Kwanzaa card from business

Kwanzaa gift labels (14/pg., works with Avery 8162 and 8252)

Merry Christmas banner (with poinsettia)

Merry Christmas banner (with reindeer)

New Year's event flyer

Note card (with snowman, works with Avery 3256 or 3268)

Return address labels (Christmas tree design, works with Avery 5160)

Return address labels (winter design, works with Avery 5160)

Return address labels (with snowman and blue border, 10 per sheet, works with Avery 8163, 8253, and 8663)

Return address labels (with snowman, 10 per sheet, works with Avery 8163, 8253, and 8663)

Snowflake decals

Snowflakes design template

Snowy road design template

Stationery (with snow sports scene)

Tropical holiday

Winter event flyer

Ban creators of bad advertising

Disgusting advertising campaigns do more than anger people; they also bring shame on the marketing profession.

In addition to calling for a boycott of the products themselves, Scott G suggests the marketing industry refuse to hire the creators of the ads. Politics and contract killing come immediately to his fertile mind.

A great idea Scott, though I find that these days ad agency heads are more than eager to hire medicore people.

Who wants a creative maverick, right?

Google has no answers

Google will no longer answer your questions. That’s because the Google Answers service, which let users to query real-life experts and receive coherent answers, was getting crushed by rival service Yahoo! Answers (via Adotas).

Google Answers was a premium service, charging users anywhere from $2-$200, depending on the question, to pay each researcher. Yahoo’s service is free and generates answers from other users rather than paid experts.

Just why can't Google stick to its core competency? They are good at online search and should defend their turf.

Learn from GM's mistakes and stop trying to be everything to everyone or you'll end up like them.