Author Archive
Friday, September 17th, 2010
Hello and welcome to the Internet Beacon! We’re an SEO firm in Maryland.
Apple and Adobe‘s feud has been appearing in the press more and more lately. These two industry giants are poised to start one of the next great IT wars. If you don’t know what’s going on, let me explain. Apple is pushing for HTML5, the open standard for the Web to be ratified by the W3C, the body that governs Internet coding standards, to be the way coders create exciting new content. Adobe, owners of Flash, among other things, are arguing that Flash is integral to the Web and Apple needs to build its devices to work with it. Here are some arguments for both sides:
HTML5
HTML5 will be the standard in approximately 2012, when it is ratified by the W3C. Pages are currently coded in a mix of many languages with a myriad of plug-ins. Proponents of HTML5 are arguing that it will be able to deliver all that we use now, but with one single language. This will make coding easier and require less powerful machines. This all sounds great. However, there is a downside. Programmers who have built their careers using plug-ins like Adobe Flash will have to learn a whole new language if they want to stay employed and relevant. This could create a crisis for web design.
Apple is arguing that since this will be the adopted standard, that it is time to set aside plug-ins and use a unified language.
Adobe Flash
Flash has been the “go to” for creating powerful and creative web content for years now. Taking many forms over the years, Flash has definitely woven it’s way into the fabric of the Web. From simple navigation tools to graphically stunning games and media, Flash is what developers use. The only downside to this is that these programs demand more and more as they grow. Additional bandwidth and more powerful machines are required to experience these items. Think of someone with… Read the rest
Tags: Adobe, Apple, Flash, HTML5, Mobile Web, web
Posted in Browser, Web Development | No Comments »
Friday, September 10th, 2010
 Hello and welcome to the Internet Beacon! We’re an SEO firm in Maryland.
Getting people to listen to what you have to say can be difficult. After all, there are millions of voices all clamoring for the same thing: attention. We want to be heard and we want people to know about our businesses. Well, a blog is one way to do that. It’s been around for years now and people have come to expect them. However, there is an ocean of blogs out there. Something that’s grown in popularity in the last several years is the podcast. Now, if you don’t know what a podcast is, it’s like an internet radio/tv show that’s broadcast out for anyone who finds it. You can find free hosting and recording tools online, and it really just requires a microphone and a cast. You can even do one on your own!
Podcasts are great for many reasons. First of all, they’re portable. Just about everyone today has some form of digital media player. It could be their phone or a separate device. The fact is tons of people have them. You can take advantage of our mobile society and create content people can take with them on planes, trains, and…yes, automobiles.
Another great things about Podcasts is that they are easy to do. As I mentioned before, all it takes is a computer, microphone, and some free editing software. As a note, if you have a Mac OS computer made after 2007, it includes a program called GarageBand, which has podcasting features built into it.
Lastly, podcasts have a more personal touch than a blog or other medium. People can hear and sometimes see you. That establishes a connection between a real person (you) and the service/product you are selling. They can see your company as more than a soulless PR machine and as a collective of people working together.
Podcasting is a great way to spread your message on the Internet.
-Josh
Internet Beacon
Tags: Blog Hints, Blogging, internet, ipod, marketing, podcasts
Posted in Blog Hints, Internet Marketing | No Comments »
Wednesday, September 1st, 2010
 Hello and welcome to the Internet Beacon! We’re an SEO firm in Maryland.
There are a lot of ways to make advertising work for your website. You can go with banner ads, simple links to sponsors, or a lot of other options. One of the most controversial forms of advertising on webpages is the in-text ad method.
In-Text ads are essentially links generated based on keywords that appear in your page. They are typically double-underlined and when a user rolls their mouse over them, a tiny pop-up appears with an advertisement relating to that word.
Users are divided on how they feel about this form of advertising. While it does not always seem as intrusive as banner ads, with their occasional flashing and bright colors, they can also be frustrating when simply trying to read an article. Imagine trying to read a book and every time you come across the word “ship”, it shows a little picture of a ship and lists places to buy them. It would drive you mad.
No one expects websites to be used for free. Whether you use a membership format or support our site through ads, you have to pay the bills somehow. However, there are ways to balance your need for income with your need to keep readers coming back.
-Josh
Internet Beacon
for More info on SEO, check out our SEO Answers page, our SEO Glossary, and our blog posts on SEO. SEO in MD, improve search engine results
Tags: ads, advertising, Banners, Internet Marketing, seo
Posted in Advertising, Internet Marketing, Search Engine Optimization SEO | No Comments »
Thursday, August 26th, 2010
 Hey, Josh here from the Internet Beacon.
So you want to build your own website, eh? It’s hard work. There’s a lot of long hours of study of both the coding language and the programs it takes to manipulate it. There’s a reason professionals do this. However, if you need to throw together something quickly or just want to get your feet wet, here are a few program to try.
Apple iWeb
Bundled in for free with every Mac computer, the iLife suite is a series of software designed to let users start doing things with their computers right from the start. Far from shovelware, there products are quality tools. One of these programs is iWeb. iWeb is a great piece of software that takes away a lot of the need to know HTML, the coding language of websites. You can edit and create sites using templates, or start from scratch and make a site using a graphical user interface (GUI) rather than just text.
Adobe Dreamweaver
The de facto standard in web design, Dreamweaver is Adobe’s solution for building webpages. Be warned, it is not for the faint of heart. While Apple’s iWeb will give you a good tool to get a feel for how basic web design works, Dreamweaver is loaded with add-ons and tools for the professional web designer. If you are not accustomed to how this kind of software works, you may easily end up closing it as soon as you opened it.
Microsoft Expression Studio
The latest web design software from Microsoft, Expression Studio feels like a nice middle ground between iWeb and Dreamweaver. Microsoft claims that it is good for beginners as well as seasoned professionals. This is the only one I have not used personally, so I cannot comment in-depth on this software. All I can do is point you to their site and let you check it out for yourself.
-Josh
Internet Beacon
for More info on SEO, check out our SEO Answers page, our SEO Glossary, and our blog posts on SEO. SEM – Search Engine Marketing in Maryland
Tags: Adobe, Apple, Microsoft, Programming, web, Web design
Posted in Web Development | No Comments »
Wednesday, August 18th, 2010
 Hey, Josh here from the Internet Beacon.
Running a business is a time consuming process, especially if you are a small business owner. Your focus is on getting your product or service delivered to the masses. You’re talented in a specific area or areas. However, you need to figure out a way for people to hear about your business. Well, an SEO Expert specializes in getting your name out there. Here are some reasons why you should hire one to promote your business.
Specialization
Just like you know how to do what you do best, an SEO expert knows how this process works. They’ve specialized in how to market your website efficiently. Trust them to take care of this process. This way you can focus on what you do best, running your business.
Affordability
Lots of things seem cheaper to do on your own at the start. Sure, you can fix that noise in your car. Sure, you can take care of that pesky plumbing issue. Only once more problems have arisen does it turn out to cost a lot more than hiring a professional. The same goes with SEO. Letting a professional manage your Internet Marketing will not only save you money long term, but also time.
Getting Results
This is a combination of the first two reasons, as well as many other factors. In the end, a professional will get better results. They know the ins and outs of an industry that might be entirely foreign to you. Lots of people aren’t as Internet savvy as they’d like. So let the professionals deliver a quality service to you.
-Josh
Internet Beacon
More info on SEO, check out our SEO Answers page, our SEO Glossary, and our blog posts on SEO.
SEM – Search Engine Marketing in Maryland
Tags: business, Internet Marketing, marketing, seo, Small Business, Suggestions
Posted in Search Engine Optimization SEO | 2 Comments »
Thursday, August 12th, 2010
Hey, Josh here from the InternetBeacon.
Google, as we all know, is powered by advertising. It hardly makes sense to be in the search engine biz unless you can make a little money. Well, Google makes a lot of money. A large part of how they do that is a program called AdWords. AdWords is a marketing tool that allows you to design custom ads that will appear alongside search results from the Google engine. Let’s take a look at how it works.
First, you tell Google what kind of ad you want to post. For our purposes, let’s say simple text. Rather than making you go through an elaborate process, they have a simple, fill-in field system that lets you describe what you are advertising. Formatting and the like are all taken care of by Google. Part of this is determining the keywords you want to use for this ad. This will tell Google when to display your ads. If you aren’t keen on using text only, you can also opt for image ads using their web-based software.
As far as paying for these ads goes, it’s pretty simple. These ads are what we call Pay-Per-Click. This means that you only pay when someone using Google actually clicks on your website’s ad. You can set how much you are willing to pay as well as how much your budget is for that day. This keeps you from racking up a huge bill without noticing.
AdWords is a successful part of the Google brand. For those looking to get started marketing their business or for those who want to expand their reach, AdWords is worth a look.
More info on SEO, check out our SEO Answers page, our SEO Glossary, and our blog posts on SEO.
-Josh
Internet Beacon
Tags: ads, AdWords, Google, marketing, search engines, seo
Posted in Internet Marketing, Marketing Plan, Search Engine Optimization SEO | 2 Comments »
Thursday, August 5th, 2010
 Hey, Josh here from the InternetBeacon.
More info on SEO, check out our SEO Answers page, our SEO Glossary, and our blog posts on SEO.
Today we examine one of the classic conundrums when it comes to web design: using advertising to grow and earn from you website while not turning your page into a seizure-inducing catastrophe. Fear not, this can be done. In fact, lots of people have done this already. Here are a few tips.
Carefully Examine Potential Ads
Unless you really didn’t look at the agreement before posting ads on your site, you should have had a chance to look at some ads that the company runs. If they are all “Click Here! You’re a Winner!” ads with strobe effects and smiley faces, you will probably want to stay away from them. Be cautious, as your ads will affect how people perceive your site.
Take it Slow
Placing advertisements on your site is not an “all or nothing” deal. You can start slowly and examine how different types of ads work. Google, for example, offers very simple, low-impact ads that will give you a taste of how the ad game works in relation to your site.
Match Ads to Content
Some ad networks will do this for you. You tell them what your site is about and some demographic info and they provide you with ads. However, some may not do this and so you need to make sure the ads on your page make sense. If you are writing a blog about home remedies and your page’s ads are about savings on video games, odds are they won’t match your target market.
-Josh
Internet Beacon
Tags: ads, Blog Hints, seo, site
Posted in Internet Marketing, Web Development | No Comments »
Friday, July 30th, 2010
 Hey, Josh here from the InternetBeacon. The InternetBeacon is an Internet Marketing firm located in Maryland. Our primary focus, SEO, is a subcategory of Internet Marketing. Similar to traditional advertising, SEO is all about getting your Brand out there. In this case, we´re working to get your website in front of customers through search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing. For more quick, useful information, check out our SEO Answers page, our SEO Glossary, and our blog posts on SEO.
A huge part of advertising, especially if you are a small business, is getting the local demographic. Sure you can market to “The Internet”, but that is a large-scale endeavor. A great strategy is to start locally, then move global. To do this, you can explore a form of marketing called “Geo Marketing”, which I will refer to as GM.
GM allows for you to tailor your content and marketing push in order to reach your local market first. There are several ways to accomplish GM effectively. First, you can use software in conjunction with your web server.
The two big uses are gathering data and reacting to that data. As far as gathering data, you can use special software to gather the IP address of the visitors to your site. An IP address is unique to a location, like a ZIP code. Some of them can be more specific than others, but you will still walk away with the general area of the people visiting your site the most. This is very useful information, especially where the next part of GM is concerned, using the data.
First, you can use this data to see how well certain markets are responding to your marketing. If you have been putting up billboards in Town A and there is an increasing… Read the rest
Tags: Data, Geo Marketing, Internet Marketing, IP Address, seo
Posted in GEO Targeting, Search Engine Optimization SEO | 1 Comment »
Friday, July 23rd, 2010
 Hey, Josh here from the Internet Beacon. Our company is a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) firm located in Reisterstown, Maryland. What we do, SEO, is a subcategory of Internet Marketing. Similar to traditional advertising, SEO is all about getting your Brand out there. In this case, we´re working to get your website in front of customers through search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing. For more quick, useful information, check out our SEO Answers page, our SEO Glossary, and our blog posts on SEO.
Twitter is a powerful social network platform. For a long time, people were unsure of how to make money on it. Strategies emerged and SEO experts learned that by using the connectivity with other Internet users, you could grow your circle of influence. However, Twitter itself was still barely treading water in a financial sense. After multiple attempts, it seems like they may have a solution, one that could prove useful for those looking to promote their business on Twitter.
Promoted Tweets is a program Twitter developed to combine traditional advertising with organic inclusion. The goal here is to provide users with ads that they will actually care about, thus wasting no one’s time. Now, in order to do this, Twitter has a decent plan in effect. This plan should not only benefit users of Twitter, but also the advertisers themselves.
The system will allow companies to pay to have a tweet placed in search results. Twitter will make sure that it is contextual. Now, if the ad does well, then everyone is happy and it’s a success. However, if the tweet does poorly, Twitter will remove it and work out a refund of sorts with the advertiser. To me, this seems like a great system, one that should benefit all involved.
Keep an eye on this as it develops. Over time, I’m sure it will diversify and may even branch into local and community options. For now, let’s see how this new development plays out. If it works, Twitter might have created a brilliant marketing platform.
-Josh
Internet Beacon
Tags: Promotion, search engine optimization, seo, Twitter
Posted in Search Engine Optimization SEO | No Comments »
Friday, July 16th, 2010
 Hey, Josh here from the Internet Beacon. The InternetBeacon is a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) firm located in Reisterstown, Maryland. What we do, SEO, is a subcategory of Internet Marketing. Similar to traditional advertising, SEO is all about getting your Brand out there. In this case, we´re working to get your website in front of customers through search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing. For more quick, useful information, check out our SEO Answers page, our SEO Glossary, and our blog posts on SEO.
Linking your site to other sites around the Web is a fundamental part of the way the Internet works. In fact, that’s the reason we call it the World Wide Web. Now, the Search Engine giants like Google and Yahoo! are well aware of how this works. In fact, how your site connects to the rest of the Web is fundamental in how your page gets recognized. Here are some tips when dealing with Link Directories, aka collections of links to sites on the Internet.
The big thing to look out for right off the bat is the PageRank (PR) of the directory. This is especially important for Google. PageRank is Google’s way of ranking how websites are connected to others. The PR scale is 1-10 and the higher the number is better. You can check the PR of websites by either getting an add-on for your web browser or by searching the Web for a tool to help you do so.
Another thing to consider when choosing a directory is the pay structure. Depending on your marketing budget and the value you place on link directories, this will affect your decision to varying degrees. Many offer free links by simply placing a link back to their site on your homepage. Depending on your business, this may or may not be a good choice for you. The other option is to pay for inclusion, which will result in faster approval, but also cost you money. Again, you want to be sure of your marketing strategy here.
-Josh
Internet Beacon
Tags: Internet Marketing, Links, seo, web
Posted in Search Engine Optimization SEO | 1 Comment »
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