A Twitter Widget to Bring Social Networking To Your Website

Posted on May 3, 2009 at 5:19 pm under Social Networking

social-networking-twitter

Social networking is big. Twitter and Facebook are taking over their respective social niches in awe inspiring volume and speed. I’ve seen a fair amount of copy cat websites as well but they kind of fade away in the shadow of the well established giants. With this trend in mind and in the spirit of keeping web design and seo techniques up to date here is a little twitter widget you can add to your website or offer as a add on to a clients website.

Bookmark and Share

Tags , , , ,

Do You Want to Make Money Online?

Posted on April 13, 2009 at 7:02 pm under Making Money Online

I’m teaching myself how to make money online and I have been making progress… veeeerrrry slooooowly.

I read, I make a website, I read some more, check stats, check earnings, CRAP!! … repeat.

I don’t give up easily and I refuse to pay some joker for something I can get for free from Griz or Court. I realize that I lack a system and my efforts have been a bit willy nilly, things are coming together but the phone rings, kids need this or that, gotta take mom to the store, WORK, etc… I am now realizing that I have several major road blocks to making money online. In time I could probably work them out but, I get impatient. When I get impatient I tend to act on impulse rather than on calculated, focused effort and this gets me into trouble and waists time and money. The hurrier I go the behinder I get.

Bookmark and Share

Tags , , ,

5 Common Ailments of SEO Neglect

Posted on March 30, 2009 at 12:04 am under Search Engine Optimization

Everyone knows what a search engine is. Well, my 81 year old mom has a little trouble with the concept but pretty much everyone who has surfed the internet knows what Google and Yahoo are. By the same token, a lot of people know what SEO is or what it means to optimize a website for a search engine. Unfortunately there are a lot of misconceptions of what proper SEO entails.

Bookmark and Share

Tags , , , , , ,

Site Build It Scam – No Need For SEO Web Design

Posted on March 22, 2009 at 7:23 am under Blogging

Say No to Site Build It

A simple post titled Site Build It Scam Review proved that for giant boosts of traffic neither SEO or web design matter one iota if your content is on target. SEO has to do with what words and phrases are being searched on, how much traffic they generate, how much competition there is, and what the potential earnings are for whatever type of monetization is being used. Web design is obviously about aesthetics and not so obviously about guiding a viewers focus to a predetermined spot be it an ad or a link or otherwise. SEO web design is therefore the study of how to get these two seemingly different skill sets to work in harmony. But man, if you hit the mark on a viral topic, you don’t need SEO or a good looking design.

Bookmark and Share

Tags , , , ,

SEO Web Design Pittsburgh Style

Posted on February 19, 2009 at 1:12 am under Website Design

Pittsburgh

I moved back to my home town Pittsburgh in 2007 – even after experiencing life in several other cities first hand. In regards to web design, Pittsburgh PA is new to me. I have many clients in MA, VA, FL, TX and a few other states who have stayed with me despite all the moving around and now that I’m settled, wife and kids and all, its time to seek out and build a local client base.

Bookmark and Share

Tags , , , , , ,

Name That Website

Posted on February 8, 2009 at 11:46 pm under Search Engine Optimization

You’d think a guy named Norman Sheppard with a blog at normansheppard.com could get the number one spot for his own name. Alas, I got the six but I’m stuck at number two. My competition? A PDF. Granted, 75 year old Professor Norman Sheppard is a pioneer in his field and this site is more about SEO and web design AND my link building efforts don’t include my name. Still, even though Norman Sheppard is not a competitive keyword and certainly not a profitable one, it erks me just a little. I definitely have nothing against the Professor, he looks like a really nice guy and he is undoubtedly very smart. But a PDF!

Bookmark and Share

Tags , , ,

SEO for Using an Image as your Blog Name

Posted on January 8, 2009 at 10:29 pm under Search Engine Optimization

seo-web-design-01On site SEO and web design go hand in hand especially in the world of internet marketing. You can have a great site design that intices the viewer towards the desired objective be it clicking on an ad or subscribing to your feed or buying your latest greatest ebook however, if your not getting traffic then even the most compeling design is useless.

Bookmark and Share

Tags , , ,

Simple Simon WordPress Theme

Posted on December 28, 2008 at 12:52 pm under WordPress Themes

Another plain and simple WordPress theme that uses only one image for the RSS feed link. Simple Simon is a two column, widget ready theme with an emphasis on search engine friendly titles and section headers.

Bookmark and Share

Tags ,

Plain Jane WordPress Theme

Posted on December 20, 2008 at 11:26 pm under WordPress Themes

This is my first WordPress Theme. It is very plain and uses NO images. I have always wanted a completely simplified theme to use as a springboard for customization but there seems to be a lack of them except for the default and the classic which I don’t like that much, so I made one. I spent most of my time organizing header placements so the hierarchy of content would be search engine friendly, H1 for the blog title, H2 for the post title, and H5 for the sidebar titles. H3 and H4 being reserved for post sub-titles and comments.

Bookmark and Share

Tags ,

Web Design to Make Money Online

Posted on December 15, 2008 at 9:07 pm under Website Design

Awesome web design does not guarantee value

I know from experience that  designing a site that looks totally awesome but does not engage the principles of search engine optimization will be of no value to you or your client. Why do people want websites anyways? People do not venture onto the World Wide Web in order to remain obscure and anonymous. I have made many websites under the direction of company officials, even marketing “specialists” who are concerned only with wowing their superiors. They want Flash, swooping, flaming logos, dancing menus and wild color schemes. These designs do indeed wow the client and I get paid. Two weeks later I get “the call.” Hey Norm, why can’t I find my website on Google. It looks great but what’s the point if no one is going to see it.

Bookmark and Share

Tags , ,