Beware of Bad Web Designers

admin    Web Design     Beware, Designers

Beware of Bad Web Designers

Bad web design can result in a lack of online visitors but horrible web design can lead to nightmares.

Whilst searching for the latest web design news I stumbled across the most stressful slideshow of “website horrors” on the technology page of the Telegraph site, which I confess was deeply disturbing.

The publication produced nine examples of the worst sites on the web including some of the least navigable and comprehendible homepages I have ever witnessed.

Telegraph writer Hunter Skipworth said: “It was no easy task creating that slideshow, sifting through the internet to filter out the absolute best of the worst.”

I am deeply impressed with Mr Skipworth as I could barely sit through the exhibition of confusing content, flash overuse and downright design incompetence without reaching for the strong stuff.

My personal favourite, however, was the Ski Utah Rentals site, a textbook example of how not to approach web design as it was stuffed full of broken links and nauseating graphics.

Meanwhile on the subject of unattractive website it appears that ugly people no longer have to Photoshop their internet images in order to find romance after a new dating website for the unattractive was launched.

TheUglyBugBall.co.uk is apparently the world’s first dating site for the “aesthetically challenged” and has been created by multimillionaire entrepreneur Howard James from Mayfair.

Mr James may have made the site in response to Beautifulpeople.com, which is an exclusive dating website for those who are more likely to be easy on the eye.

Some ‘facts’ on the UglyBugBall homepage include such chestnuts as 50 per cent of British daters are ugly and the benefit of dating an unattractive person is a Family Bucket will usually do the trick for the first date.

“Just because they don’t look like Kate Moss or Cheryl Cole doesn’t mean they don’t have a lot of love to give and we’re scooping up these people and offering them a glimmer of hope,” Mr James told the Sun.

Unfortunately the site’s web design is as unappealing as some of UglyBugBall’s members and is unlikely to win any awards.

British businesses may want to invest in beautiful web design because the nation’s consumers are spending more time online than ever before.

Research by independent regulator Ofcom revealed that time spent surfing the internet has increased by over two-thirds since 2008 and adults are now spending an average of 14.2 hours per month on the web.

Samsung Galaxy Tab – iPad beware

admin    861     Beware, Galaxy, Ipad, Samsung

Samsung Galaxy Tab – iPad beware

Samsung has also entered the tablet PC bandwagon and gives the first look to the new Samsung Galaxy Tab.

Samsung is one of the major player in the 3G touch screen smart phone market and using all its experience is all set to rival Apple’s legendary iPad through its latest offering the new Samsung Galaxy Tab. Samsung Tab launched at the IFA show in Berlin is the first real test that the Apple product face.

Samsung Galaxy Tab is a 7-inch tablet gadget which has an amazing resolution of 1024-by-600 pixel resolution. This device will be driven by a 1.0GHz processor running on an Android OS 2.2 (froyo). The tablet has a 3 megapixel auto focus camera with LED flash on both still capture and video with a resolution of 1080p high-definition video playback. Apart from that a 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera for video chat .Storage options include 16GB or 32GB variants, plus a microSD card slot that can be further extended for a maximum of 64GB. But the most significant additions to the gadget are the SIM slots and Adobe Flash capable that are missing in the iPad. This provide added advantages to the gadget even before its formal announcement. But there is no Wi-Fi only model offered by the company that comes as a major surprise in the market.

Samsung Galaxy Tab is packed with stunning graphics and will over the user a robust HTML browsing experience. The 7 inch form-factor is very attracting and is the rumors are true then Apple is evaluating a similar device for future iterations of the iPad that will be alongside its 9.7 inch older brother. Samsung along with the Tab will also launch more than 200 apps for this gadget. Samsung is expected to announce pricing, launch dates and carrier information on Thursday.

This is brilliant device that can be seen as a major threat to the iPad. This, hence, can be seen as a challenge for the price and marketing strategy of Samsung.

Beware hackers piggybacking SEO success

admin    Google's Nexus One     Beware, hackers, piggybacking, Success

Firms that are successfully using search engine optimisation (SEO) to get their websites to the top of search results pages should be aware of the threat that hackers pose, it has been warned. SEO can drive website visitors and therefore revenue, so can be a potential goldmine for hackers, explains Sam Tilston, director of marketing for Zoombits.co.uk. He points out that hacking sites for links is the main threat, suggesting that fraudsters penetrate a site to embed hidden links on it. “This can be very detrimental to the hacked sites’ search positions,” Mr Tilston commented. “The more authoritative or powerful a website is, the bigger a target it will be to hackers.” The expert also urges online firms to be aware of Google universal search when optimising their websites for contemporary references rather than broader issues. Results for hot topics, such as the new Google phone Nexus One, are given live with real-time information, so SEO efforts should utilise social networking. “If you are doing SEO for a contemporary reference, it is vital to ensure your message is placed on Facebook and Twitter to ensure they are included in the Google real-time search,” Mr Tilston added. The need to maintain high levels of security when optimising websites has also been highlighted by Sunbelt Software. In its IT security key trends report, the firm says SEO is an important area that hackers are entering. They use SEO techniques in a variety of ways, including to lure users to malicious sites and rank highly in search engine results. Last month, search terms such as “Brittany Murphy”, “Chromium OS download” and “new year’s parades” were among the most dangerous. McAfee too warns of threats for 2010, pointing out that social media platforms and new web standards will be a major source of security issues this year. It warns that hackers will exploit social media sites, especially those such as Twitter that use abbreviated URLs as these make it easier for fraudsters to persuade consumers to visit dangerous websites. Furthermore, the introduction of HTML five will help to shift user activity from the desktop to the internet, creating another opportunity for malware writers to prey on users.

Website Marketing: Beware Of Social Media Hacking

admin    Website Marketing Companies     Beware, Hacking, marketing, Media, Social, website

People involved in website marketing have been reminded of the importance of monitoring social media tools after Vodafone UK fell victim to a Twitter ‘hijack’.An apparently disgruntled Vodafone employee posted an offensive message containing crude sexual references to the firm’s 8,643 followers on Friday (February 5th).The telecoms giant moved fast to attempt to repair the damage by immediately deleting the tweet, issuing an apology and suspending the employee responsible for the digital misdemeanour.However, the event highlights the fact that while social media tools are useful for people working in website promotion, the ability to reach so many people with the mere click of a mouse-button clearly has its cons as well as its pros.So how can those working in website marketing reduce the risk of this happening to them?According to Sharlyn Lauby, president of employee training specialists Internal Talent Management, the key is to foster a “positive culture” among employees.”Keeping your employees engaged and letting them know how they fit into the corporate culture goes a long way,” she tells Mashable.com.However, Ms Lauby says that in an increasingly transparent world of real-time digital information, it is inevitable that negative press will occasionally arise – if not from a firm’s employees then from its customers.In this instance, she says, the issue is less about the fault itself and more about the reaction which follows. Here, people involved in website marketing must out themselves in “damage control mode”.Ms Lauby advises firms to monitor social media sites 24/7 and, if a problem should occur, to respond quickly “with a consistent message”.Vodafone got this right by sending out an apology to individual followers who had complained about the offensive tweet posted on the firm’s Twitter page.If a mistake is made, own up to it, says Ms Lauby. She uses the example of the furniture maker Habitat, which was recently caught spamming Twitter and responded with an immediate aplogy.According to Ms Lauby, honesty is always the best policy.She also recommends training employees on the proper use of social media tools.”Your employees represent your organisation, and if they have a solid, credible personal brand, it will carry over to the company’s image,” she explains.Finally, it may also be a good idea to limit access to the sites and make passwords available only to a handful of trustworthy employees.

Beware of Pitfalls With Internet Marketing Agencies

admin    Website Marketing Resources     Agencies, Beware, Internet, marketing, Pitfalls

Because choosing internet marketing agencies is the most important task of an effective internet marketing strategies campaign, you must beware of companies which are just affiliates or outsource everything. There are ways to distinguish this type of company from an internet consulting company that is not just a middle man so to speak.
Outsourcing is not such a bad idea except the majority of outsourcing comes from countries that are not an optimum choice because of the type of computer hardware and software being used may not produce files that are in a usable format for you or the language difference shows in the site and or literature.
These are all factors to be considered plus the major one that many times you cannot edit or make changes or the contract is void and the time involved to get things changed that are outsourced this way can burn up valuable revenue and allow leads to become cold. I have seen sites starting to hit a good traffic level and then crash and the site be down for 3 to 4 months, by this time you have lost all momentum and campaigns must be started all over again.
Another popular method that many internet marketing agencies use because there is so little start up cost or knowledge required is becoming an affiliate of a much larger company. The parent company usually offers website design, SEO, email marketing, PPC campaigns, data and list management plus many other services. All the agent you speak to does is pass information between you and the parent company and of course takes a percentage for this.
The highest and most consistent revenue generation is PPC because this is a daily expense which they will receive a percentage of the amount you spend and a PPC campaign can add up very quickly even during the testing phases.
The best internet advertising is usually not accomplished by companies that use these types of methods. Effective online marketing campaigns are established by a group of very creative, outside the box thinkers that will utilize methods and techniques in new ways to achieve results that can surpass any prior expectations.
When considering the amount of prospects you can reach online investigating internet marketing agencies needs to be at the top of your priority list. Using this information and some good investigation you can find internet marketing agencies that will help you achieve your goals.

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Google Lauches Its G1 Phone: Iphone Beware!

admin    Google Optimization     Beware, google, iPhone, Lauches, Phone

Google wants to open a new front in the land of the mobile telephones with the first that works with its “Android” software. Its greater attractive is the open code, which enormously lowers the costs to the manufacturers. This first device, known as the Google Phone, is a product of the Taiwanese HTC, wants to shade the Apple iPhone or the Blackberry in the land of the mobile communication. The popularity of the Google brand name and the benefits of the price of 199 dollars could be the keys.

The project is very ambitious and HTC has gained an enviable position next to Google in their jump to the mobile communications, a technological landmark that had been awaited for a long time. HTC has a great presence in the market and its models are very popular; although until this moment it had been in the shade in the West, manufacturing for other companies like Compaq or Palm. One of every six smart phones sold in first half of this year in the United States was made by HTC although they did not use this name, according to the consultant Nielsen Mobile. Now, the Google Phone, known as the T-Mobile G1, could be its luxury business card. The head of HTC marketing explained on the comparisons with the sector giants like Apple or Research in Motion: “We are far from being there”. They face the problem of not having its own software to develop the mobile devices, as it does happen with iPhone or Blackberry. Until the moment, HTC mobiles have used different versions of Windows Mobile. HTC are the people in charge of the first “smart phone” based on Windows, the Orange SPV, which was distributed in Europe. On its part, Google does not make mobiles but web pages and online services. The union of both companies took place two years ago, when they began thinking about the T-Mobile G1 or the Google Phone. So far T Mobile has the exclusivity being the G1 cell phone provider company.

Google wants that its “Android” software to become the standard within “smart phones”. The G1 could be the “Trojan horse”. For this reason it has enticed operators and manufacturers to join its side, using the nature of the open code of “Android”, which will enormously lower the price of the costs, as the main argument. As far as the design of the G1 goes, it will follow the present canons, it has a tactile screen of great dimensions. In addition, it will incorporate a “touchpad” in the inferior part. The screen will slide to one side revealing a keyboard, equipping it with an aspect similar to the one of a small laptop. As far as navigation by Internet and the use of applications, it’s been thought and it optimized to use those of Google, like Google Maps, its search engine, YouTube or the electronic mail Gmail. “Android” will also “borrow” ideas from the iPhone or Mobile Windows. For example, it will be possible to cut and paste text as in the Microsoft software and is developing a platform for content download similar to the AppStore, although in this case everything will be free. This will be called the Android Market.

To Google is today the leader of the market of internet advertising, with an income of 16,500 million dollars only in 2007. T-Mobile will profit from the device, not only with the sales, but also through its online partner company Amazon.com, that, with a service that allows to download content to the T-Mobile G1. Together with the telephone launch more than six million songs will be available.

 

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Beware! Do Not Get Caught With Google Adsense Click Fraud

admin    Google Optimization     Adsense, Beware, Caught, Click, Fraud, google

Adsense Click fraud become outrageous when internet marketers boost that Google Adsense makes quick revenues easily and sells Adsense customized or teaching software. Adsense Click fraud is the act of intentionally clicking on ads for the purpose of earning Adsense ads fees. It is simply false leads that are not for the interest of advertisers products and services, at the same time, costing the advertiser money. Honest and sincere website owners are aware of this fraud and share the same sentiment that this is the one big problem that Adsense is facing.

Numerous online entrepreneurs unexpectedly received a short notice from Google Adsense that their accounts are terminated. What they do not know, is there is this specialized secret team of Google Adsense spying on them.

It is important to know how you can prevent being drawn into this Google Adsense Click fraud:

First, Google can lend a helping hand by monitoring for any suspicious activity that crawls into your site by simply collecting access logs that your web hosts offer. Conversely, providing this information to Google spontaneously can assist them in solving the click fraud problem.

You should try and get a click monitoring software too. Most of this software is easily found free of charge. It is definitely no big issue of spending and yet aid in the prevention of click fraud.

Make it a standard procedure that all information you acknowledged be submitted to Google to proof you are standing alongside them in fighting against click fraud.

Review your server logs regularly and inspect for any activity that seems suspicious. Report any detail that you find abnormal, be it major or minor.

Consider disabling ads for your own IP address and local geographic area temporary when there is click fraud scandal. This will certainly prevent Google from mistaking another user (who might be the cause of the Adsense Click fraud) as you. You can do this through a HT access file. This will prevent Google seeing it as you clicking on your own ads and be kicked out of the game because of it.

Maintain your Adsense off on pop ups and pop unders. Your ads should not be displayed on content sites that promote illegal activity or tampering of the legal rights of other people or business, including the content that is considered adult and gambling ones. If you believe that you may be breaking this rule, immediately remove your content or Adsense from the web page.

Be ingenuous and report to Google about times when you might have clicked on your own Adsense ads, whether accidentally or intentionally, or when you have done things that are against the Terms of Service that they are implementing. Be honest about your wrongdoings and declaration on your own is better than waiting for Google to spot your faults as it would mean immediate termination and unbearable loss of what you have worked so hard for.

The most important prevention of Adsense Click fraud: Do not tell your family or friends about Adsense on your website. Big-time chances are they may start clicking on them numerous times to help you make money without you knowing. Eventually, they may be doing more harm to you than help by clicking your Adsense ads in the first place.

However, if regrettably, one day someone you know chanced upon your Adsense sites, ensure that they know about the Adsense Click fraud and they should not click on your ads under any circumstances. On the contrary, it would be more advisable to brief them on important things about Adsense and what not to do with them.

A substantial number of pay-per-click systems have diverse precautious measures available to protect website owners against Adsense Click fraud. Other search engines can track more than 50 data points, IP address, browsers information, users session info and pattern recognition. Conversely, they also have systems on hand to detect fraud. Then there is the specialized secret team keeping an eye on how things are going and assisting advertisers stop click frauds.

Finally, here are effective methods that Google recommends to avoid click fraud: 1.Using negative keywords to trigger your Adsense hence show on products and services that are in no way related to yours. Other ways are adding tracking URLs to your links so you can track the traffic coming from Google.

Do not get caught in the Adsense Click fraud. Be aware and be wary.

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