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Be Smart – Plan for Phone Browsers

Akshay Sura — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:38:00 +0000

Consider: Some cell phone plans are offering Internet capabilities for only $10 a month. Each provider is announcing the availability of different types of Smart Phones on what is nearly a daily basis. Many people can access email easily on their handheld devices and will soon expect to be able to access other internet content wherever they are and whenever they want it.

What does this mean for the average business with a web presence? It means that you want to optimize your site – not just for Google and other web crawlers, but also for small screen browsers.

Although there was some talk of needing a “mobile device only” version of every website, this kind of duplication is not necessary. In fact, a cascading style sheet, or CSS, can be written into your web page, instructing the device as it loads your page, to optimize your site for the phone or PDA that is requesting it. So writing in CSS is the first step to optimizing your page for hand held devices and smart phones.

Use a program like the Openwave Phone Simulator to test your web page and see how it will look on a “generic” cell phone type device. If you know the specific parameters of a particular type of device (say, an Apple iPhone), then you can increase the parameters and get an accurate view.

Then optimize your content. Remember that too much text is too much for a smartphone device, and keep the articles short (no more than 500 words, on average). Many small articles with relevant links are better than one long article.

Make sure that the most important elements in your page will load in the center of the phone’s screen, and are accessible without scrolling. Make sure your pages load quickly. Cell phones and smart phones have slower internet connections than most broadband providers, and you don’t want a clunky website that gums up the works. The customer will click the “close” box after a few seconds.

Many cell phone users will block the photos on your site from loading, so be sure to have relevant and interesting ALT tags that identify your photos. You want your page to make sense to the viewer who has no photo access.

With a little planning, you will have a great website that is optimize for both PC and smartphone use.

Sitecore Recognized as Top Content Management System (CMS)

Akshay Sura — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:35:19 +0000

For businesses that use websites as a key strategic component of their business, a Content Management System or CMS is a vital. We at Webdatamation have long pointed to the power and flexibility of Sitecore as an outstanding solution in the CMS arena.

We’ve been using Sitecore for our own website and for client’s websites because of its incredible power and functionality. Now Sitecore has also been recognized by independent research firm Forrester Research as a top CMS.

Forrester Research points out what the experts at Webdatamation could tell you — the flexibility and power of Sitecore make it strong in areas where competitors are weak.

The system is excellent for ease in creating content and integrating the content into a site, managing the workflow, and integrating content.

Sitecore also gets high marks for its ability to effectively target sites and content, having a global approach, integrating numerous sites, and for its community controls.

Sitecore leads out in multilingual content and in providing the means for making a separation between content and the presentation. This creates a dynamic environment for delivering the message and for using graphics and text in other contexts for different purposes.

Webdatamation chose Sitecore in part because it is a powerful solution for both simple websites as well as complex, fully powered sites.

The features of Sitecore allow for a highly flexible website that can integrate all of the Web 2.0 features. Marketing departments can add website content or sales information to a company site easily without a great deal of technical knowledge, and still maintain a professional and responsive site.

It’s simple to integrate any analytic tools and other business software into the Sitecore system, and it’s compatible with ecommerce products so that customers and site visitors have a seamless and enjoyable experience on your site.

We also like Sitecore because of their constant updates, research and trend forecasting. We know that our customers will have all the latest tools at their fingertips as soon as they are available.

If you haven’t yet seen what Sitecore can do for you, contact us at Webdatamation and let us give you a glimpse.

Promoting Your Business Through Mobile Development

Akshay Sura — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 14:05:50 +0000

The explosion of growth in the production and use of touch screen smartphones is creating a fantastic opportunity for developers such as Webdatamation and companies who want new ways to promote their business.

Android, the open source operating system for G1 smartphones developed by Google, T-Mobile and many other wireless companies, is a booming marketplace.

Apple iPhone is another major player in the smartphone market. They are close to selling 1 Billion Apps.

It provides a great chance to monetize and distribute your company name and create a brand through mobile phone applications and through content you supply with your logo and name.

These phones are creating a significant change in the way consumers use mobile devices and the way they access information. In fact, 85 percent use the smartphones for surfing the web, and 70 percent use them to download and play games and other applications.

The most popular applications for smart phone apps are weather, games, shopping and music. By creating an application that fills a need or want in the smart phone community, you reach the consumers with the most expendable income, become a part of something they consider cutting edge, and create a monetized way to get your brand out there.

Use your logo all over a finger hockey game, show your business name at the app startup, provide links to your website, promote your product; there are many ways to make money from a mobile app. You can also find ways to extend your current marketing and advertising campaigns by gathering data from consumers who download your “free” apps.

Think of creating communication, office/business, multimedia, travel, internet, utility or security applications along with games.

You then have direct access to that user on a very personal level. It’s an interactive form of marketing, and encourages users to buy or inquire with a simple click of the send button.

Users can refer you apps to friends, and can help you build a clientele without you spending a cent more on marketing or development.

With more and more consumers spending their internet browsing time with their “second screen” devices (mobile phones) have an exclusive app for those phones is a plus for businesses.

Since android does not make any differentiation between the core applications found on the phone and third party applications added later, it is an ideal platform for integrating apps that feature your brand.

Google Map API

Akshay Sura — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 19:44:09 +0000

A great website with superior content goes a long way to getting your business recognized. But if you want to convert that customer contact into a sale, some businesses require a customer to find the brick and mortar place of business. Other customers need to know where to bring items for repair, and others just prefer to conduct their business in person.

Save yourself a lot of time and trouble giving directions by embedding a Google Maps locator right on your website using Google Maps API.

This tool allows you to use JavaScript to place a Google Map into your site, pinpointing your location with the superior accuracy that internet users have come to expect from Google Maps.

You can add different utilities for manipulating maps that are the same as the tools your customers are used to using on the Google Maps page. You can also utilize the numerous utilities available for manipulating maps, and add content to your maps by using various other services.

The Google Maps API will let you create a robust, customized map environment that is familiar to your customers and unique to your business. You can choose from normal, 2D maps, satellite maps, and hybrid maps showing some photographs and prominent roads.

There are many other features you can add to your map, like street view, street view points of view, geocoding and reverse geocoding (converting physical addresses into geographic coordinates of latitude and longitude), and a local search bar.

If your website is free and open access, then Google Maps API is free for your use.

You can actually earn advertising revenue from using your Google Maps API. The new GoogleBar has advertising beside local business search results. You can earn from this advertising if you have a link from the GoogleBar to an AdSense account. It’s easy to sign up for an AdSense account, as well.

For an overview of the Google Maps API and an introduction to the many features, check out the website at http://code.google.com/apis/maps/.

For instructions on how to utilize many of the features of Google Maps API, including the advertising feature, click here: http://code.google.com/apis/maps/documentation/services.html#Advertising

Comparing Umbraco and DotNetNuke

Akshay Sura — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 18:38:11 +0000

So if you are going for an open source Content Management System (CMS), which should you choose: DotNetNuke (DNN) or Umbraco.

Both have the advantage of being open source programs, which means they are constantly updated and improved. There are many plugins and applications created by a core of invested users, increasing functionality and removing bugs with regularity.

Still, there are plenty of differences, as anyone who has used both systems will note.

Here are some things to consider about Umbraco:

It can be edited in Microsoft Word, making for easy editing for most users.
There are OSS or commercial install options
A high-quality, highly functional CMS
Install gives you a blank page – no template, not much of anything else – This means plenty of freedom and flexibility – freedom to succeed or freedom to fail. Success of a site is entirely up to a developer, meaning you must have a highly qualified and creative developer who also knows legal compliance and standards compliance.
Umbraco has high requirements for hosting, so it is difficult to find a “shared” hosting environment that will support it
Still working on good ecommerce solutions
Version 4 has better support for Safari and Firefox
There are good plugins available, and a management system built into Umbraco

By contrast, here are some items to consider about DotNetNuke:

Has a proprietary feel, despite being open source

Dot NET developers like it, those who are not dot NET developers have trouble with it
Based on Microsoft’s ASP.NET, which is the most popular web technology currently
Cheap to use and reduces total development costs – no ongoing licensing fees
Full access to source code so it can be altered to fit individual organizations
Can manage text, image, documents, links, events, news, banner ads and threaded info
Supports multiple websites
Installs easily
Can manage site hosting, content, security, web design and membership in one program
Multi-language ability
Fully extensible and scalable
User friendly interface and intuitve site wizards, help icons and interface for those familiar with Dot NET
DNN has a large user base (125,000 registered users) and a core programming team dedicated to the system, so it is a large community. There are also an increasing number of third party developers of plug-ins, etc. for DNN

Which open-source hosting program is right for you? It depends on your abilities, wants and business model. Either way you go, using an open source CMS might be the way for you to save money and still have a strong, attractive site.

Required Sitecore Improvements

Akshay Sura — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 17:38:02 +0000

Here are a few things Sitecore can improve on:

Sitecore Admin needs to load faster
Need an easier way to assign renderings to place holders
Need an easier way to Assign roles & users to folders and content items
Right now it is a pain to get it setup on Windows 2008 with SQL Server 2008, it would be nice to get an installer which does this for you (Sitecore posted a note saying that this is in the works).

I don’t know if I say it enough, I love Sitecore.

Attention Economy

Akshay Sura — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 01:42:17 +0000

The internet has transformed into a superfluous repository of information in the present era. Consequently, this information overload is causing a deficit or a scarcity of attention. Now if you are not quite familiar with the usage of the word “attention” in the context of this discussion, it simply refers to consumption of information.
Herbert Simon has quite elegantly pointed out that, “A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.” Thus, a need arises out of obvious causes to mine and efficiently allocate this information to its intended audience.

Attention and Economy may be two diverse terms but in the modern times is naturally amalgamating, with one becoming highly interdependent on the other. Let us consider an example to show you exactly how attention affects economy.

While searching for the latest book reviews or releases, how often do you navigate away from a page that does not contain the review of a book that you have been looking for? The chances are high. The fact is, with so many websites and blogs being continuously updated with information on your favorite genre(s), you do not bother to stick to a page and search for information that is not there in the first glance! It takes seconds before you decide to look for your information on a different website or a web page and navigate away from the present one if you are not satisfied with its content. In the process, have you noticed the crisis of attention?

If you observe closely, you will find that this attention deficit not only affects us, but also the organizations keen to reach out to you with their products or services. The moment you are navigating away from a page presuming that the information provided in it is not relevant, you are hurting their economics. Search engines, online retailers, blogs, and news sites are coughing up an overabundance of information for the end users or the consumers every passing hour. This can lead to a loose-loose situation where eventually, a consumer leaves a website, un-happy and a retailer looses business. The irony is, a consumer wants to spend money for a commodity, but does not have the correct retailer reaching out to him.

The entire idea behind attention economy is to create a virtual marketplace where consumers are presented with streamlined content that makes them feel happy and satisfied, in lieu of their attention. More specifically, consumers are made to consume advertisements however, in exchange of certain personalized services. For example, personalized searches, news, alerts and buying recommendations, to name a few.

You might have noticed the “sponsored links” in the Google search pages. You get to use the search feature of Google for free; however, you are being presented with some relevant advertisements based on your search keyword on the search results page. This is an excellent example that demonstrates attention economy in action.

One of the important aspects of attention economy relates to the fact that the consumer can exercise the power of his or her choice. Therefore, the consumer gets to decide where to devote their attention. Websites are also capitalizing on the “online surfing habits” of the consumer, thereby optimizing the way in which information may be sorted and presented.

One might probably argue with the usage of the word “Economy” here. Attention economy is different form its conventional counterpart in the way in which barter is established. The latter has a more explicit or direct form where goods and services may be bought or sold. However, in the former, there is no immediate buying or selling of commodity. The focus is more towards creating deterministic opportunities to sell.

SEO in Organic and Inorganic Forms

Akshay Sura — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 14:19:32 +0000

Search Engine Optimization or SEO, now days, has become a very important and crucial part of online marketing. Most of the web users depend on these popular search engines in order to have an answer to their queries. In such circumstances, it is very important for the website owners to market their online ventures properly by the help of the search engine marketing services. These marketing services help websites to secure a higher order of ranking in the search results.

Marketing through search engines can be done in usually two ways, namely organic SEO and inorganic SEO. Organic SEO, as the name suggests, is nothing but the natural way for optimizing a website in the search engine pages. Since, this does not involve any sort of monetary transaction, good content of the web page full of creativity and relevance is of utmost importance. Another thing that one should keep in mind while using organic SEO is that, the content should continue to advance according to the need of the people searching the net. Moreover, optimization of this kind helps the websites to achieve a higher order of ranking for a longer period of time. This means that organic SEO has a natural, long-term impact. However, the only shortcoming here is that one might have to wait for over a month or so in order to “see” the desired results i.e. to get one’s website ranked higher in the search engine pages for a particular search criterion.

Now, talking about inorganic SEO, the first thing that I would like to mention here is; this type of optimization involves a substantially larger amount of money from the respective website owners. The website owners, who aim to attain maximum popularity of their website within the shortest time period, are advised to exercise this artificial form of optimization. In this form of SEO, the website owners pay an amount for making their ads appear on a prominent part of the search results page. Consequently, substantial amounts of inbound traffic are drawn to the website. Compared to organic SEO, this is a bit expensive, and hence, inorganic SEO is best suited to those who can afford an enormous “flow of funds” to be paid for the optimization. Unlike the organic way of optimization, inorganic SEO can bring in the desired results much quicker, but the impact or the effect of such optimization is not that enduring.

People have their own reasons and opinions regarding the debate that which one of these two forms of SEO is more effective. On the basis of the evaluation made on search engine marketing services, both Organic and Inorganic SEO have their own shares of advantages and drawbacks. You can choose any of these services, which you feel suits best with your requirements, strategy and budget. In my opinion, I would say that a balanced combination of both the services could bring in the desired results, wherein, your website can be seen at the highest position of the search engine pages for a longer period of time and also, draw inbound traffic faster.

Latent Symantec Indexing

Akshay Sura — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 05:02:35 +0000

In some of my previous posts, I have discussed about the factors that help in getting a site optimized to the highest rank in the Google search pages. Today we will be discussing about the ranking algorithms that Google uses to find the relevant results for your search query. The latest on the block being Latent Symantec Indexing or LSI. Initially the search engines solely looked at the frequency of the search query text in the web pages but with LSI, the bots ascertain the true theme of the webpage and the particular data segment of the document being accessed.

Have you recently noticed a wide shamble in the relevancy of your search results while you have been Googling around?

Thanks to the powerful Google LSI engine that does all that work for you. Many of you must have come across LSI and its associated mechanism but then for those of you who have not, let us take a look.

Simple indexing is a process where by a keyword is searched in an entire page and the results are presented. Frequency of occurrence of a particular keyword further streamlines the search results in the process. Thus, ensuring a proper syntax or a linear search policy is enough to produce the requested search results. However the question that arises naturally is, “How relevant are they for your search context?”

Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) technology adds semantics to the existing search mechanism thereby improving the relevance of the search results. During the indexing process, the Google bot not only verifies keywords against the document being indexed, but also takes a holistic approach in determining which other documents can be linked with those keywords. Keywords may be semantically close or distant. The LSI utilizes a knowledge base of related keywords and some intelligent computing to semantically differentiate related words and accordingly improves on its indexing mechanisms. LSI thus allows a search engine to determine the overall information a page wants to project by looking for intelligent patterns in the content thus making the page more available against a particular keyword.

You will be able to leverage the enormous semantic power that LSI has to offer for the website of your organization. Improving the lexical arrangement of keywords and their related tags to an object on your page can now astonishingly reveal more improved page ranks. Not only this, the future looks good with a completely new Web 3.0 in the horizon and Google offering services that is ready to get you started right now.

SEO: GOOGLE PERSPECTIVE – Part I

Akshay Sura — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 13:33:42 +0000

A few days back, I came across a blog post in a particular site, which had a poll comparison between the top three search engines. And guess what! Google was rated as the “most frequently used” search engine and the most popular one among the others. That was an easy guess as it is true that there is a bit of Google within all of us. The way in which Google has dominated the “search engine” scenario of the web, it is quite evident that, most of the website owners would want to have their site ranked the highest, on the Google search pages.

All search engines have their own parameters and ways to rate a site higher in the order of rank, in their respective search results. Google has it too. Most of you might know about the factors which would ultimately help a site to achieve that apex position, but you may fail to make the most out of these.

Page title should be accurate and unique: When a site is displayed in the search results, its title appears in the first line. Therefore, the title should be such that, it can be easily recognized by the user and Google search engine and should clearly state the name of the site/company or the type of products/services it provides. The basic formation of the title tags should clearly reflect the entire content of that particular page. Moreover, your website can have N number of pages, but each page should have a unique title tag, so that, it becomes easier for Google to differentiate among all the pages of that site. Another important thing to keep in mind about title tag, it should be short and enlightening, because in case of long titles, Google only shows a small portion of the title.
Try to add “Description” meta tag: Like title tags, description meta tags are equally important as Google uses them as a clip in the search results. The description can be of one or two sentences, or even a small paragraph. Each an every page of the site should have a suitable description meta tags. These descriptions (or clips) help the users to identify easily whether the content of that particular page is exactly what he/she is actually looking for.
The URLs should be proper: It is always very important to have proper framing of the URLs. The pages should have URLs with words that are easily understandable to both the users and the search engines. URL of a particular page, in the search results, is placed just below the description or the clip. Therefore, if it is framed properly, it helps to know about what the page actually contains.

These are some of the important things to keep in mind when you want to optimize your website for Google search engine. However, as I mentioned it before, it’s not that easy. There are a lot more in this regard, that I shall continue in my next post. So, do keep checking this blog for the next part of this post. Thus, the best way to end is by saying…To be continued…