Published on the WIXBlog site by Blake Stimac, Community & Social Media Manager A podcast is a mix of traditional radio format and 2.0 recording technology, all of which is animated by strong values from the Internet and the free-culture movement. Not only are they great alternatives to video if you’re not looking to become a YouTube star, but they are also a great way to engage with your audience. The idea of starting a podcast, a (mostly) audio-only online broadcast, may seem like a novel idea but that might not be the case. While it was in 2004 that the Internet (or the world?) saw the release of the first podcast, since then, they’ve seen a bit of a resurgence. Today, they are a great alternative to a blog if you’d rather vocalize your opinion, well, vocally instead of attempting to become the next Hemingway in a series of blog entries. While they take a bit more work than writing a post, they’re easier for the audience to digest, as they can passively engage by listening to a podcast just about anywhere. Before you press the record button and publish your podcast to iTunes or your own website, there are a few things to take into account. Check out our step-by-step guide on how to start a podcast: 01. Define your goals Before you jump into your (makeshift) recording studio, you should be 100% aware of what you’re getting yourself into. The first thing you need to do? Define the goal behind your podcast and go from there. This can be as simple as “I want to entertain” or “I want to inform”. It doesn’t matter as long as you’re passionate about the topic. Take the plunge and do it. Once your ultimate aim is established, you can always go back to it when questioning something along the way: “Does this action help build towards my goal?” This is also the time to make important strategic decisions, including the primary topics you’ll be covering on your podcast so that your audience knows roughly what to expect when tuning in, as well as the frequency, schedule, and structure of your episodes. If you have a partner or co-host for your podcast, define your roles early as to what will be expected from each of you. For example, one of you is in charge of editing the audio for the podcast and posting it, and the other is responsible for any and all graphic work needed for the episodes. And both of you pitch in to the management of your social media accounts. The earlier you set these goals, the better. 02. Accept hard truths Creating your own podcast is going to be a lot of fun, especially if you have a passion for the subject you’re covering. That said, you will need to face certain facts that are unavoidable. These hard truths are just something you’ll need to live with in order to move forward, but should in no way discourage you. Here are a couple of examples of what to expect: Sorry, but there’s more than likely multiple podcasts like yours and you will likely be covering the exact same thing in many cases in certain episodes. Still, the podcast world doesn’t have your personal opinion and/or spin on it, so be sure to give it your best! Do it for fun, not for fame. You will end up being disappointed if you’re constantly looking to get a “big break” from one of your episodes. As long as you continue to love creating your podcast, you’ve already won. It will become a job of it’s own and you won’t want to do it sometimes, but you’ll have to. It’s like going to the gym: You don’t have to, but you know you should. 03. Get equipped Just like most ventures, you more than likely don’t have everything you need to start your own podcast, and even if you think you do, you probably don’t. Yes, it’s true that all you technically need is something to talk about and a recording device, but if you want to take your podcast seriously you’re going to need to invest in some basic equipment. Namely, a microphone and a way to record, mix and edit audio. Check check, one two: The type of microphone you purchase will largely depend on how you actually capture your audio but USB microphones are abundant in both availability and price ranges. Note: Go slightly above your budget when buying a microphone. Increasing your allocation by $50 or even $25 can get you a surprisingly nicer microphone, especially if it’s your first one. Recording: Once you’ve settled on a microphone, you will, as mentioned above, need to figure out how you will be recording your audio. There are various ways to achieve this, but one of the easiest is to record directly to your computer using recording software. There are many free options available and most computers ship with (super basic) audio recording programs. Editing time: After you’ve recorded your audio tracks, you’ll need to find software to edit it to make it sound good. This includes adding multiple tracks together if you have more than one person talking, taking out pauses, silence, adding sound effects and adding background music. There are plenty of softwares you can choose from, but if you’re looking for a robust and free editing software to get you where you need to go, give Audacity a try. When it comes to adding music and sound effects, don’t think you can just throw whatever you want into the tracks. Well, actually, you can, but don’t be surprised if you get hit with a copyright infringement claim. Like stock images, you want to make sure that you either have the appropriate license to use the audio or you’re using royalty free tracks. One of the best resources to find free music is YouTube. Its Sound Library hosts a ton of music for its creators to add to their videos, but it’s also royalty free music, so it can be used anywhere. In addition to this, there are several artists that post their own music to be used for free as long as you credit their Find a podcast host: After you’ve recorded and edited your podcast, you’ll need to upload it somewhere and yes, after a handful of episodes, you’ll probably need to pay. There’s no short supply of options to choose from, but do your research before you settle on one. 04. Stick to your schedule – and plan for your laziness This sounds like an easy one, but it can be hard. Even if your podcast is simply a hobby, there will still be times you don’t want to do it. A last minute invite to a friend’s pool or to check out that new museum exhibit will pop up at the exact time you were planning to record your next episode. Don’t worry, though. There are ways around it, but you’ll need to plan ahead: Let’s say you release your podcast every Tuesday morning, try not to record on Monday night unless you like that type of stress impressed upon you. Allowing yourself some breathing room between recording and editing can give you a different perspective on how it went and that “thing” you wanted to cut out may be worth keeping after all. Like an artist struggling with a painting, sometimes you need to come back with “fresh ears.”When recording, you want to try to keep your episodes in the same time range. The sweet spot is usually 40 minutes to an hour. No matter how long you decide to make your episodes, keeping them the time length can helps build expectations for your listeners, so don’t have a one hour episode one week and follow it up with a 20 minute episode the following week. In order to stay on track, it’s a good idea to have an outline of what you will be discussing on the episode you’re recording. This is essential to stay on topic and away from tangents. However, we’d advise against fully scripting each episode. No one wants to hear you read to them, unless that indeed is the subject of your podcast. It may take a while, but there will come a time where you “literally just can’t even” with your podcast because you’re too lazy. That’s okay! But have a plan for days like this by pre-recording evergreen episodes. While organizing a second recording session sounds like a pain, especially if you have co-hosts, it’s worth the extra effort. I promise you, you will thank yourself later. 05. Push your podcast on social networks like crazy You may not have realized it, but you may spend more time on social media than recording your podcast, and for good reason. If you have a weekly podcast, you have one day a week that your listeners will dedicate their attention to you because it’s technically all you’re allowing. By sharing your own original content and relevant content from others on your social channels, you can stay in the game all of the other days that you don’t have a new episode to launch. Obviously, social media is a great platform to push your brand but also to find your audience and interact with fans. Do not skimp on this part. This is where you’ll be when you’re not recording, editing, or uploading your latest episode. 06. Submit your podcast everywhere When you first start setting up your podcast online with your host, you will receive a podcast feed URL. In order to submit your podcast to different directories like iTunes, Google Play or SoundCloud, for the most part, you’ll just need to fill out a form with your podcast name, website, and feed URL. Some submissions have a little extra work, so if you’re stuck, simply Google “How to submit podcast to X” and you’ll more than likely find your answer you’re looking for. Even if you’ve never heard of the podcast directory or don’t think it’s worth your time, think again. You’re looking for exposure with your podcast, so cast a wide net. 07. Showcase your podcast with a stunning website While it’s definitely a good feeling to be able to search iTunes and have your very own podcast pop up, nothing really beats a dedicated website showing off what your podcast and the people behind it are all about. Not only can you link your podcast to any and all of the places people can listen, but so much more. Your website is your own and you won’t be bound by the styling of of iTunes or Google Play or wherever it can be found. Your website is also where you can share a little bit about yourself and the other hosts, just in case your fans want to know more about you or your team. It also provides a seamless way for potential business opportunities to get in touch with you by creating a designated contact page. Something you won’t find on your podcast directory listing. Think of your website as an extension of your brand. A place to display your logo and all of your other branding elements. infosites@yahoo.com www.infosites.biz 1 (518) 300 - 3797

Published in the WIXBlog site by Ruth Eschenheimer, SEO Content Specialist If you’re reading this article, it means that you’re part of a select group of people who know that starting a blog is the best way to share thoughts, tips and advice with your audience online. But what if no one gets to see those blog posts that you’ve lost blood, sweat and tears over? How do people actually find your blog on the World Wide Web? Nowadays, a quick Google search does the trick for most. However, in order to show up among those first results, you will first need to get acquainted with this crucial acronym: SEO, or search engine optimization. This simply means making your website easily readable and accessible by search engine bots so that your pages show up for a relevant search. You’re in luck, as writing a blog is actually amazing for your SEO. Research suggests that companies who blog get 3 to 3.5 times more traffic than those who don’t. But climbing the Google ladder with your blog posts requires a bit more than just having a blog. As a foundation for being well-ranked, your content needs to be informative and useful to the reader, frequently updated and unique (they can’t find this incredible information anywhere else). However, if you’re serious about ranking higher – that’s just the beginning. We’re here to provide you with those additional tips to give you the SEO boost your blog deserves. Whether you’ve started a blog or added a blog section to your site, here are the ultimate 8 SEO tips for bloggers: 01. Find the right topics It shouldn’t be surprising that many avid writers with established blog sites have presumably already covered the topics about your industry. So how can you make sure your blog posts stand out on Google? Elementary, my dear blogger: Research. Keyword research: The goal of the first part of your research will be to find the best topics to write about by targeting niche keywords in your field of expertise. Just a small reminder: keywords are phrases that tend to be 2 to 5 words long, that a person enters into a search box when looking for something on Google. By inserting these keywords into your content, you’ll be able to appear in the results for that specific query. Ideally, you’d choose the most popular terms in order to reach a larger audience and get more eyes on your posts. The thing is though that using a popular and broader term is extremely competitive and will show a varied range of results. For example, put yourself in the shoes of a person searching for ‘cake’ on Google. It’s not so clear what their intention is – and the results will reflect this ambiguity. In this case, you’d be competing with strong pages like Wikipedia, very well established recipe blogs and the band ‘Cake.’ That’s why when it comes to the amount words your keyword contains, more is always better, as these tend to be more precise and much less competitive, e.g. ‘gluten-free orange pound cake recipe.’ Using these so-called ‘long-tail’ keywords allows you to target a very specific intent that answers your audience’s query directly. The key is to find those ‘specific intent’ keywords that still get a solid amount of search volume (average monthly searches for a keyword). Anywhere between 30 to 1,000 searches is recommended, over that number may start to get too competitive. How to go about it? Start by listing all the broad topics you’d like to write about, then break them down into more specialized subjects. For a food blogger the so-called ‘seed topics’ could potentially be: cakes, soups, salads, etc. Look at each topic separately and brainstorm further about more specific ideas for each one, for example, winter mushroom soup, carrot and ginger soup, etc. To discover the search volume and get more ideas, there are some great (and free) SEO tools out there that will guide you on your quest to finding great keywords for article topics. Some of our favorite tools for finding blog topics: Ubersuggest – a tool that gives you plenty of keyword suggestions when you pop in your seed keyword idea. It’s based on Google’s Keyword Planner and the Google autocomplete function. Answer the Public – a tool that allows you to get a huge list of questions and related phrases around the topic of choice. Keywords Everywhere – a Chrome extension that shows the search volume for various keywords. Great to use in combination with the previous one. Competitive research: What’s the best way to suss out your competition? Easy, just Google it. The second part of your research consists of figuring out how you can make your content better than what is already ranking, or as the folks at Moz have coined the term ‘10x content’, which means creating content that is 10 times better than what’s on the first results page. First, you want to investigate the space you’re trying to compete in by searching for your chosen keywords and analyzing the top 5 to 10 results. Doing this will allow you to understand better what people are looking for in terms of content, plus it will give you some indication about what Google believes is the best result for that specific query. You can draw inspiration from what others have written to make sure you’re covering all of your bases and writing the most thorough and in-depth article possible. Then, think about the added value that only you can provide in your piece. Maybe you’ve tried out several recipes for a flourless chocolate cake and you’ve discovered a magic ingredient. Maybe your images are just so much more appealing than the ones you’ve seen in the top results? Or maybe you’ve made a video that includes all of the steps for the recipe? All of these elements that you take into consideration will take your content to the next level and definitely pay off when Google decides the fate of your page. Lastly, make sure you apply the coming steps to all the articles you’re writing – as they’ve proved themselves valuable for every kind of business or topic. 02. Optimize your posts Once you’ve found your keywords and have done some research on your competition, it’s time to dive into your article SEO. If you’re looking for optimization tips for your blog as a whole, check out these 12 tips to ace your website’s SEO. For blog post level optimization there are a few tasks to fulfill to make sure your post is fully optimized. Good thing we’ve got a handy list so you don’t forget a thing. Your article’s main keyword should be included in the following places: Your post title (H1) The first paragraph of your post The first part of your SEO title Your SEO description The URL of the blog post page A couple of times in the post itself, or variations thereof Naturally, if you’re writing about a specific topic you’re more likely to include those terms. Don’t worry – you can use some synonyms and variations of your keyword as to not sound too repetitive. Google and search engines are getting much better at understanding them. Remember that you’re writing for people and not for search engines. All of these elements are super easy to implement on the new Wix Blog as you can see in the image below. 03. Structure your content This one may seem pretty obvious, but imagine a world in which articles didn’t have any paragraphs, subheadings or titles, and text would appear in a stream-of-consciousness type form. Oh, the horror! Indeed, a blog post without any structure is not a pretty sight. And search engines would agree. Therefore, in order to provide your readers with the best experience possible, some simple formatting comes in very handy. Essentially, when you decide on different formats for your text, behind the scenes your giving them a specific tag in the code. And this is actually how search engines are able to distinguish between different types of text and their hierarchy within a page. The little pieces of HTML are called H-headings and they ranging from H1 to H6 in descending order of importance. This means that H1 is your most important title (your article title), H2 is one level below (heading), and so on. Think of it as reading a newspaper in which you have a main headline, subheadings and paragraph text. And it’s ‘oh so simple’ to adapt in the new Wix Blog. Once you’ve selected your text, the formatting toolbar will pop up where you can select T1 (which is the H2) or T2 (which is the H3). 04. Post frequently In the words of Riri, starting a blog involves some work, work, work, work, work. You can’t expect to write one blog post and wait for the visitors to start rolling in. Blogging is a bit like going to the gym: it’s hard sometimes to do it regularly, but the benefits are huge. We’re not saying you need to write a 3000-word post every day, but you can start by publishing a post weekly or bi-weekly. According to research, blogging more frequently can have a great impact on your SEO. Why is that? When you provide those hungry Googlebots with your fresh and updated content, they will keep on coming back for more. Plus, you’re giving the search engine more opportunities to rank your pages. Looking for some inspiration? Feast your eyes on these beautiful blog examples. The key to posting more frequently is simple: be organized. A posting schedule can help you make your blog plan a reality. In an excel sheet create a table that includes each blog post’s publishing date, writing deadline, some references and the focus keywords you’d like to target. Having a good overview of the grand plan will make you feel more in control and encourage you to stick to your schedule. 05. Be mobile friendly Let’s face it, you’re probably reading this blog post on your mobile device right now, right? As the use of devices has become so widespread, we wouldn’t be surprised. Even Google has taken notice and started checking the mobile version of your website for indexation purposes. Indeed, since the mobile-first index rolled out in March the mobile version of your website is the primary version that will be consulted in order to rank your sites. Wait, did someone just say major game changer? Not exactly… as both desktop and mobile versions are still used. However, those with a mobile-optimized website will get that extra SEO boost. This is exactly why it’s so crucial that your website is mobile-friendly. Don’t panic (if you’re a Wix user) as your Wix Blog is completely mobile-friendly in terms of design and navigation. As for the technical stuff, we’ve got you covered too. And here are more goodies for you: the new Wix Blog, you can write, edit and publish blog posts straight from your mobile device. Ready, set, blog on the go! 06. Add alt text to images The famous saying ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’ is true for most people, but unfortunately it’s a different story for search engines. Google and others can’t see images like we do. This is why you need to add some context (in the form of text) to help them figure out what’s on your photos, graphs and other pics. Adding alt text to your images helps search engines to understand them better and thus index them more efficiently. In addition to that, adding these little textual descriptions will enable your images to be found on Google Image Search. This will allow you to get even more traffic to your site and ultimately, better SEO. To add alt text to images on your Wix Blog, double-click the image to edit and fill in the section that says ‘Describe this image’ under ‘Alt text’. A great first tip we can give you in order to write good alt text is to describe the image to a friend who cannot see it. 07. Link internally Ever wondered how a Googlebot gets from one page to another? Probably not. But we’ll let you in on that secret: through links. Indeed, links are kind of like a spider’s web behind the scenes of your website’s pages. When you link from one blog post to another page within the same domain (sitename.com), it makes it a lot easier for search engine bots (also known as “spiders”) to discover all of your site’s pages more easily and scan the content from head to toe. This process is called “crawling.” Once crawled, the web pages are indexed, meaning saved in a massive library. It is said that websites with blogs have 434% more indexed pages than those who don’t. The more blog posts you’ve got in that library, the higher the chances of your pages appearing on search results for a relevant query. Even more than that, by adding more internal links you’re just facilitating clicks to more pages and allowing your visitors to browse freely. This is a great signal to Google that your audience is satisfied with your website and the content it provides, and you’ll get a cool SEO boost for it. Pro tip: Instead of using ‘click here’ or ‘read this,’ use descriptive text when linking to an internal blog post. This gives more context and makes it easier for Google to understand what’s on the upcoming page. 08. Engage on social Thought that social media was merely a place where your parents can publicly embarrass you? Think again. Although not commonly known for its SEO power, social media is a great way of getting your name (and your links) out there. By sharing your blog posts on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and more, the chances of someone amplifying your content automatically increases. This is true especially if readers agree that your content is valuable, original and well-written. And you know what comes with more views, right? More clicks to your site! Google perceives that extra amount of traffic as a signal that your blog is loved by others, which can do wonders for your SEO. Need any more convincing? Well, it really doesn’t require that much effort, especially if you use Wix. Just add a share button at the bottom of your posts and don’t forget to share your published blog posts on your own social channels. Oh, and if you need more tips for mastering social media, we’ve got an article about that too. infosites@yahoo.com www.infosites.biz 1 (518) 330 - 3797

Published on the WIXBlog Site by Dana Meir, Design Expert & Writer Having a beautiful website with all the trendiest design features, from parallax scrolling to fullscreen videos, is an accomplishment in and of itself. But these days, it’s just not enough. In order to stand out from the crowd and gain an advantage over your competition, you need to give your website a professional edge. How? One way is by investing in a domain name. It’s a small step, yet can make a big difference in establishing your brand as an authority in your field and gaining more exposure. Here’s everything you need to know about how to register a domain name for your website. What is a domain name? A domain name is essentially the address through which your audience can find your website online. It’s unique to your website, which means that if your domain name happens to be wix.com, there won’t be any other sites with the exact same name. A domain name consists of the SLD (Second Level Domain), which is the name of your website (for example Wix), plus the TLD (Top Level Domain), also known as the suffix or extension (for example “.com”). The extension is the end of your domain name. Browsing around the web, you’ll have spotted different types of extensions. The most common is “.com” but there are many others, like “.info,” “.org” and “.biz.” You can also pick a local extension that gives your audience a clue as to where your business is located, for example “.de” for companies based in Germany or “.fr” for France. For more information, check out this full list of available domain extensions. How important is your domain name? This question is essentially like asking whether you want more exposure for your business. And if by chance the answer is yes, then registering a domain name is the way to go. Having your own domain name can benefit your website and business in a number of ways: Make the best first impression. In this digital world, your website will often be the first time a potential customer is exposed to your business. A personalized domain name will help your audience perceive you as a professional in your field. You will seem more credible, reliable and authoritative. Build a solid brand. Just like your marketing materials, such as your logo design and social media strategy, treat your domain name as a branding opportunity. You domain name can help enhance your brand recognition if it’s catchy, memorable and in tune with the rest of your company’s assets. Improve your brand’s SEO potential. While it’s not a direct ranking factor, a good domain name can positively affect your site’s SEO (a.k.a. Search Engine Optimization). Whether you go for a branded domain name or one that includes a keyword, choosing a unique and memorable domain name is the right way to go. How to register your domain name Convinced? Let’s go! The process of registering your domain name is simpler than you may expect. Here’s how: 01. Choose your domain name There are a number of factors to take into consideration when finding the right domain name for your site. Firstly, you’ll want a name that reflects your brand identity, remaining aligned with the tone of your website design, logo and other assets. Stick to a name that is short and catchy, so that people will be able to remember it easily, as well as type it directly into their browser’s address bar. To improve your SEO efforts, your domain name can incorporate a keyword that is associated with your brand. For example, an illustrator may opt for their own name plus the word “illustration,” or a bakery called Delicious might go for “deliciousbakery.com.” Once you’re ready, create a shortlist of potential names. You’ll want a few options, as it’s possible that some of them will already be taken by other websites. Head over here for a more in-depth explanation on how to choose a domain name. 02. Check the availability of your domain name It’s now time to verify whether your top domain name choice is available for you to use. There are many tools out there, for example this powerful domain name search. It enables you to try out an unlimited number of options for free. If your desired name is unavailable, it will come up with additional ideas so you can play around with alternatives until you find the perfect one. Another good tip for if your domain name is already taken, is to try out your domain with different extensions - likelihoods are you’ll find an available option that way. Additionally, you can add a keyword to your domain name, or opt for an abbreviated version of your business name. (And if you don't have a name for your business yet, claim yours with the Wix Business Name Generator.) Going back to the previous example, if the bakery’s preferred name choice is taken, they could try switching their extension to a local one, swapping around the words, or adding their location in the name itself. For example, “deliciousbakerylondon.com” or “bakerydelicious.co.uk.” 03. Pick your registrar Now that you have a domain name that you’re satisfied with and is available for use, it’s time to choose an accredited registrar through which you’ll register your domain. A registrar is a company that does all the “paperwork” for you, managing the full process of the reservation and protection of your name online. While there is an organization that centralizes everything to do with domain names (the ICANN, a.k.a. Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), a registrar will deal with them on your behalf, making your life that little bit simpler. There are a few registrars you can go for. We recommend Wix.com, as it’s a web hosting service, as well as a registrar. This means that you can enjoy the best of both worlds, using the platform to create a website and purchase a unique domain - all under one roof. Additionally, most of Wix’s Premium Plans offer a free domain for the first year. Alternative registrars include GoDaddy, Domain.com and NameCheap amongst others. The different options vary in pricing. You can read more about how much a domain name costs over here. 04. Register your domain Last but not least, here are the steps for registering your domain via Wix: Head over to Wix’s domain name search page. Type in your preferred domain name and click ‘Search’. If your name is available - you’re in luck! Click ‘Get It’ to proceed. If not, browse the additional ideas that Wix offers you, or type another option into the search bar. Once you’ve found a domain name that you like and suits your company’s needs, click ‘Get It’. Next, decide whether you’d like to register for one, two or three years. A longer registration period will help you save money over time, so you may want to consider that. Once you’ve chosen, click ‘Continue’. Add all the relevant information into the online form and continue to check-out. That’s it - you’re done! infosites@yahoo.com www.infosites.biz 1 (518) 300-3797

macOS Catalina Patcher: 10.15 on old Macs If you want to combine an old Mac with a new macOS, you have to do some tricks. The macOS Catalina Patcher helps. As you may know, it is already possible to install macOS 10.14 Mojave on old Macs that Apple no longer supports. The programmer dosdude1 has developed a small program that patches an existing new macOS so that it runs on old computers – and that absolutely stable. Dosdude1 has now transferred this knowledge to the upcoming macOS version 10.15 Catalina: for this operating system version, too, there is now a very helpful utility. This will allow most computers to benefit from the latest software from 2008 onwards. The following limitations have to be considered: As with Mojave, computers with AMD Radeon HD 5xxx and 6xxx graphics cards are not compatible. This applies to iMacs around 2011, for example. If your computer has such a GPU, you are out. For the Catalina Patcher there is now another limitation: The app photos and maps don’t work if the Mac has a non-metal graphics card – which is the case for most older computers. But if you can do without maps (you only use them on your iPhone anyway, right?) and photos, you can also install the upcoming macOS 10.15 on eleven year old computers. infosites@yahoo.com www.infosites.biz ++ 1 (518) 300 - 3797

Deciding to Move Forward to Build a more Complex Website is one Thing but Actually Rolling Up your Sleeves and Getting Started is Another ... We work with all type of businesses to provide a full range of website development services, including Apps and Coding. ​ From WIX Corvid to HTML/CSS markup to custom CMS and complex eCommerce integrations we are a one stop shop for all of your Web development needs with outstanding support. Corvid Main Features Website Design E-Commerce Stores Google Search & SEO Special Applications Coding Social Media Setup infosites@yahoo.com www.infosites.biz 1 (518) 300 - 3797

Summary There are a number of benefits to translating your site’s text. For instance, SEO, it increases your potential audience, can help increase your conversions, and also offers a boost to your site’s accessibility. One often overlooked benefit of making your site available in multiple languages (English mainly) is that it can help improve your SEO efforts. This requires structuring the multilingual site correctly. Throughout this presentation we’ll show how you could improve your SEO (search engine optimization and Google search) by making your site multilingual with an additional language, mainly English. The General Benefits of Translating your Site If your site uses English as the primary (or secondary) language, it’s part of an enormous majority. In fact, over half of all websites provides its content in English, which makes it by far the most common language online. That’s perhaps not shocking, as English is also the language that most internet users speak. However, those statistics are still somewhat surprising compared to the rest of the world. For example, while nearly a billion internet users speak Chinese, it’s not represented by even 2% of all websites. Similarly, under 5% of websites offer Spanish, even though over 500 million users speak the language. It seems many site owners have simply decided to focus on the most popular language among users, and subsequently skipped over the vast numbers who don’t otherwise speak English. Translating your site can help you (and your site): 1. Much better performance with “search engines”, mainly Google Search; 2. Expand your potential audience as many visitors use now a VPN application, which mainly directs the searcher to an English version site; 3. Communicate with a diverse group of users and potentially increase your conversions. The 3 Reasons why Making your Site a Multilingual one could Improve your SEO Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a crucial process for ensuring your site is visible in Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). The better your site ranks, the higher your pages will appear for relevant search keywords. As we said, you can actually improve your SEO simply by making your site available in at least a second language. We’re going to look at the main reasons in the following slides. Overall SEO Ranking Improvement Deciding on Specific Areas, Regions and Content How to Achieve a Better Ranking The Next Steps ... Website Design E-Commerce Stores Google Search & SEO Special Applications Coding Social Media Setup infosites@yahoo.com www.infosites.biz 1 (518) 300 - 3797

In the world of sports marketing, a fan is like a god. You have to keep finding ways to please them, engage them, and seek their love. As a sports marketer, you have to remain on your toes to tap into the latest industry trends and make the most out of them. Here are some of the latest trends to take notice of while designing your next sports marketing campaign: Tech-Enabled Sponsorship 30% of the fans who connect with a sponsor through social media later end up making a purchase. However, a sports marketer has to remain extra careful to keep the connection genuine. Earlier sponsorship was limited to attaching the brand name to the jersey, sports equipment or the stadium. However, with technology taking a center stage, the rules of sponsorship has also changed a bit. Social media, which now has the biggest share of a fan’s attention, is an integral part of sponsorship programs. Fans are quite vocal about their preferences on social media, often liking or following a brand that is associated with their favorite team or player. Rise of the Female Sports Fan No trend has been as dominant as the slow and steady rise of female fan power.  We are witnessing a slew of sports marketing campaigns that theme around women fan following and recognize female sportsperson the same way they did men.  Advertisers are now increasing their focus on female fans of sports which are predominantly male. The same movement can be expected in female sports as well. We are witnessing a slew of sports marketing campaigns that theme around women fan following and recognize female sportsperson the same way they did men.  Advertisers are now increasing their focus on female fans of sports which are predominantly male. The same movement can be expected in female sports as well. For instance, there is a sizeable male population that watches tennis and roots for Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and many others who have successfully managed to stay in the limelight for the right reasons. These players are already successful endorsers and have been successfully leveraged by brands to promote products. The best example of a female-centric ad campaign is Under Armour with Misty Copeland. Ever since its debut on Youtube, the ad has garnered over 10 million views and unsurprisingly Under Armour’s women’s business has also grown 60 percent YoY to $600 million. Social Media is the New Standard What’s more heartening to know as a sports marketing agent, 68% of social media users are either indifferent or like their favorite sports personalities posting marketing messages and making sponsored posts on Twitter. This is the biggest takeaway which supports the case of social media as a sports marketing and advertising platform. Digital media has led to a revolution of sorts in the world of sports marketing. Over a short period of time, there has been a major paradigm shift all due to the popularity of social media among sports lovers. There are plenty of facts that support the case of social media as a marketing platform in the current age. 83% of fans check social media while enjoying their favorite game on TV while 63% use social media when they are at the stadium watching the action live. Front row is simply not good enough for people anymore!  One of the reasons can be cited to the ability of social media to enable direct connection between fans and the athletes. Players nowadays frequent Google+ Hangouts or Facebook Live Q/A, giving their fans a first-hand peek into their lives. Mobile Rules Another manifestation of rising dependence on technology is the increasing use of mobile. Every brand person, advertiser and sports marketer is now seeking ways to capitalize the immense potential that mobile technology holds to improve the fan experience irrespective of their location. With around 70% of spectators using mobile in stadiums, there is a lot that one can do to attract more fans to a particular sporting event, for instance building a free high-speed arena Wi-Fi system. Using mobile apps for check-ins, finding seats, checking the schedule, booking tickets is now becoming a commonplace. Organizers of sporting events and marketers can leverage this fact to their advantage. “Sports is a people business, so we’re looking for ways to use technology to further engage with people,” said John Abbamondi, vice president of the NBA’s Team Marketing & Business Operations division. One thing is for sure, people looking to carve a career out of marketing and that too in sports must be tech savvy and diligent enough to keep a constant tab on the changing pulse of the industry, lest they want to be forgotten and ignored by the fans.

Author: Paul Chaney, Practical E-commerce The photo-sharing site Instagram is in a transition phase between personal and business use. Unlike Facebook or Pinterest, for instance, the site offers no business-specific features. That has not stopped retailers from flocking to the site in hopes of garnering the attention of Instagram’s recently announced 300 million user base, 60 percent of whom fall between the ages of 18 and 34, according to data from Adweek. A report from digital research firm L2 found that 93 percent of premier brands have a presence on the site. The use of Instagram is not limited to large brands. Smaller e-commerce merchants can also take advantage of its benefits. Here are ten ideas for using Instagram to promote products, highlighting online retail brands as examples. 1. Integrate Instagram Photos into Your Ecommerce Website In 2014, online jewelry retailer Baublebar conducted an Instagram campaign using a widget on its home page to display photos taken by customers wearing the brand’s merchandise. When users clicked one of the pictures, a pop-up window appeared showcasing the jewelry within the photo, with a link to the product page. 2. Sell Through Instagram Instagram does not allow users to embed live hyperlinks alongside images. This makes it difficult for merchants to facilitate easy clicks to relevant product pages on their ecommerce websites. However, four app providers — Soldsie, Inselly, Instaorders, and 10Sec— found ways to retrofit the site to make it a sales channel. Online accessory retailer Prep Obsessed used Soldsie to sell through the comments sectionof its Instagram posts. The brand’s Instagram followers left a comment using the word “Sold,” along with other information such as size, color variation, and email address. Soldsie would receive an invoice for the product to the customer’s email, which it could use to complete the purchase. It’s worth noting that even though Instagram does not recognize hyperlinks, that does not mean you can’t use them. 3. Showcase Customers Using Products One means to call attention to products is to post images of customers using them. Eyeglass retailer Warby Parker often applies this technique. In the example above, a customer shared a photo of items she was packing for a trip abroad that included her Warby Parker glasses. 4. Take Lifestyle Photos A creative way to showcase products is by using lifestyle photos, which are images that resemble real-life settings. This is a technique employed by many leading brands because it gives customers an idea of how they can utilize the brands’ products. 5. Run a Contest Contests are a popular way to engage users on social platforms, including Instagram. Diamond Candles runs contests using Instagram. Diamond Candlesran a photo contest featuring a ring candle. To enter, Instagram users were asked to follow the brand and tag three friends in the comments. The brand then chose a winner from the entries. Smaller retailers may opt to use platforms like Offerpopor Iconosquare to create photo contests. Remember to always include a contest-specific hashtag with each campaign. 6. Show Behind the Scenes Photos Not every image has to focus on products. Allowing customers to go behind the scenes is one way to build a personal bond with the company and get a sense of its culture. Keen used Instagram to announce a charity event. This example from Keen Footwear shows a blackboard announcing trivia night, an event the company held in support of a local charity. 7. Celebrate the Seasons In addition to promoting products, Zapposuses Instagram to celebrate the seasons, creating a sense of goodwill. Here are two examples of graphics that Zappos created for Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. 8. Use Instagram’s Video Capabilities Don’t limit the use of Instagram to photos. Take advantage of its video capabilities, as well. Lululemon utilizes Instagram’s video capability. This is the tactic that yoga and running gear clothing retailer Lululemon used to show a model transitioning from summer to winter running outfits. 9. Promote New Products Promoting new or featured products is yet another way to maximize Instagram’s value. Birchbox showcases new products via Instagram. Online beauty subscription service Birchbox uses Instagram to show images of products it plans to include in upcoming boxes.

Discover how to create and manage a brand that helps your business become known, loved, and preferred Author: Allie Decker, Hubspot Products are never justproducts, right? Coca-Cola is more than a soda. Starbucks is more than a coffee. Ray-Ban is more than a pair of sunglasses. Glossier is more than a tube of concealer. Interacting with these products provide experiences, and we buy them with that experience in mind. Better yet, the companies that create and market them know exactly the experience they want you to have when you make (or consider) a purchase. That’s why they create a brand. From the language in their Instagram caption to the color palette on their latest billboard to the material used in their packaging, companies who create strong brands know that their brand needs to live everywhere. They know their names extend far beyond the label. The result? These brands are known, loved, and chosen out of a long lineup of options. Who doesn’t want that? I know I do. That’s why we built this guide — to equip you to create and manage a strong brand that’ll help your business be admired, remembered, and preferred. What’s a brand? Before I dive into the importance of branding and how to build a brand, let’s go back to basics: What is a brand? A brandis a feature or set of features that distinguish one organization from another. A brand is typically comprised of a name, tagline, logo or symbol, design, brand voice, and more. It also refers to the overall experience a customer undergoes when interacting with a business — as a shopper, customer, social media follower, or mere passerby. What is branding? Branding is the process of researching, developing, and applying a distinctive feature or set of features to your organization so that consumers can begin to associate your brand with your products or services. Branding is an iterative process and requires getting in touch with the heart of your customers and your business. It’s important for a variety of reasons — I dive into these next. Branding can be the deciding factor for consumerswhen they make a purchase decision. In a 2015 global Nielsen survey, almost 60% of shoppers said they actively buy from brands they know, and 21% said they bought a product because they liked the brand. Branding gives your business an identitybeyond its product or service. It gives consumers something to relate to and connect with. Branding makes your business memorable. It’s the face of your company and helps consumers distinguish your business across every medium (which I discuss later). Branding supports your marketing and advertising efforts. It helps your promotion pack that extra punch with added recognition and impact. Branding brings your employees pride. When you brand your company, you’re not only giving your business identity, you’re also creating a reputable, highly-regarded workplace. Strong branding brings in strong employees. Brand awareness Brand awarenessrefers to how familiar the general public and your target audience is with your brand. High brand awareness leads to brands being referred to as “trending,” “buzzworthy, or “popular.” Brand awareness is important because consumers can’t consider purchasing from your brand if they’re not aware of it. Brand extension Brand extensionsare when companies “extend” their brand to develop new products in new industries and markets. Consider Honda lawn mowersor Martha Stewart bedding. Brand extensions allow companies (or individuals) to leverage brand awareness and equity to create more revenue streams and diversify product lines. Brand identity Brand identityis the personality of your business and the promise you make to your customers. It’s what you want your customers to walk away with after they interact with your brand. Your brand identityis typically comprised of your values, how you communicate your product or service, and what you want people to feel when they interact with it. Brand management Brand management refers to the process of creating and maintaining your brand. It includes managing the tangible elements of your brand (style guide, packaging, color palette) and the intangible elements (how it's perceived by your target audience and customer base). Your brand is a living, breathing asset, and it should be managed as such. Brand recognition Brand recognition is how well a consumer (ideally in your target audience) can recognize and identify your brand withoutseeing your business name — through your logo, tagline, jingle, packaging, or advertising. This concept goes hand-in-hand with brand recall, which is the ability to think of a brand without any visual or auditory identifiers. Brand trust Brand trust refers to how strongly customers and consumers believe in your brand. Do you deliver on your marketing promises? Do your salespeople and customer service go above and beyond? These things can create trust among your customers, which is important in a world where a mere 25% of peoplefeel confident in large businesses. Brand valuation Brand valuation is the commercial valuation of your brand derived from consumer perception, recognition, and trust. This concept goes hand-in-hand with brand equity. A powerful brand can make your business invaluable to investors, shareholders, and potential buyers.

Web design is so important to ensure a site has a good user experience and each aspect of it can have a huge impact on the usability of your site.  One of these aspects, Typography is an often overlooked, but integral part of design and something your web design company shouldn’t be overlooking. Think of all the different uses of typography on the web, from large headlines and bold blocks of text to smaller-sized text in body copy, and you’ll soon realize that not only is it a crucial part of a web design, but that it’s a pure combination of art and science. Typography Basics Typography is the use of type in a design. Typography seeks to create a greater meaning by thoughtful and deliberate selection font, size, color, layout, alignment, and other factors that affect the design of type on a page. There are two major classifications of fonts to choose from: serif and sans serif fonts. Serif fonts have serifs or extra embellishments at the end of stokes; some call them feet or tails. Sans serif fonts are without serifs; no extra details are found on the end of each letter. Things to Consider for Typography on the Web There are many differences in handling type in print versus on the web. Things to think about with text on the web are contrast, color, readability, and size. Colors on a monitor screen are created by light, and it becomes more important to think about contrast because it’s straining to look at and read text with poor contrast. Black text on a white background is the easiest to read because it provides the most contrast. Color theory and color choice play an important role in web typography. Sans serif fonts have been proven to be more easily read online in body copy because serifs make it tougher for the eye to follow, while the opposite is true for printed text. Although at an increased size and with more leading—the amount of additional vertical space between lines of type—sans serif fonts can still work fine in body text on the web. Serifs work great in headlines and headings because they give a special accent to a headline and because serif fonts are easy to read when dealing with smaller quantities of text. Size is an important factor to consider when choosing your font styles. Text that is too small is hard to read, but text that is too big takes up too much space. Find a size that works well with your design and is easy to read. Taking Control of Fonts There are many settings that control the way your font appears on a web page. Font size, as mentioned previously, is certainly important. The three most popular units of measurements are: em, percentage (%), and pixels (px). Declaring font sizes in CSS is simple, here’s an example of paragraph elements being assigned a unit of 1em. p { font-size: 1em; } Em is a widely used form of typographic measurement for web designs because it scales well and can give you finer increments of size (i.e. 1.35em). Pixels are measured relative to the screen resolution and give you a bit less control as you can only use whole numbers (i.e. 2px). Many people like using percentages for font sizes because they give the user control of font sizes. The size is determined by their browser’s font size settings. Kerning and leading can also be controlled with your CSS. Kerning is the space between characters and can be controlled with the letter-spacing property. Leading can be controlled using the CSS property, line-height. Both are great ways to control the look of your text.

Late in the 20th century, increasingly accomplished graphic-design activity began to appear in developing nations. These advancements occurred because of a number of factors, including expanded access to professional education at local schools and abroad, the increased availability of computer and printing technology, and a growing base of industrial, cultural, and communications-industry clients. Early developments In the first decade of the 20th century, the experiments with pure form begun in the 1890s continued and evolved. Although the Glasgow group received a cool reception in the British Isles, designers in Austria and Germany were inspired by their move toward geometric structure and simplicity of form. In Austria, a group of young artists led by Gustav Klimt broke with the Künstlerhaus in 1897 and formed the Vienna Secession. These artists and architects rejected academic traditions and sought new modes of expression. In their exhibition posters and layouts and illustrations for the Secession magazine, Ver Sacrum, members pushed graphic design in uncharted aesthetic directions. Koloman Moser’s poster for the 13th Secession exhibition (1902) blends three figures, lettering, and geometric ornament into a modular whole. The work is composed of horizontal, vertical, and circular lines that define flat shapes of red, blue, and white. Moser and architect Josef Hoffmann were instrumental in establishing the Wiener Werkstätte (“Vienna Workshops”), which produced furniture and design objects. The German school of poster design called Plakatstil (“Poster Style”) similarly continued the exploration of pure form. Initiated by Lucian Bernhard with his first poster in 1905, Plakatstil was characterized by a simple visual language of sign and shape. Designers reduced images of products to elemental, symbolic shapes that were placed over a flat background colour, and they lettered the product name in bold shapes. Plakatstil gained numerous adherents, including Hans Rudi Erdt, Julius Gipkens, and Julius Klinger. Modernist experiments between the world wars Building upon the formal design experiments from the beginning of the century, between the world wars, European graphic designers utilized the new forms, organization of visual space, and expressive approaches to colour of such avant-garde movements as Cubism, Constructivism, De Stijl, Futurism, Suprematism, and Surrealism. Inspired by these movements, graphic designers increasingly pursued the most elemental forms of design. Such a concern with the essential formal elements of a medium characterizes the Modernist experiments prevalent in all the arts of the period. One pioneer of this approach was an American working in England, E. McKnight Kauffer, who was one of the first designers to understand how the elemental symbolic forms of Cubist and Futurist painting could be applied to the communicative medium of graphic design. Throughout the first half of the 20th century, his posters, book jackets, and other graphics achieved an immediacy and vitality well-suited to the fast-paced urban environment in which his visual communications were experienced. Graphic design, 1945–75 The International Typographic Style After World War II, designers in Switzerland and Germany codified Modernist graphic design into a cohesive movement called Swiss Design, or the International Typographic Style. These designers sought a neutral and objective approach that emphasized rational planning and de-emphasized the subjective, or individual, expression. They constructed modular grids of horizontal and vertical lines and used them as a structure to regularize and align the elements in their designs. These designers preferred photography (another technical advance that drove the development of graphic design) as a source for imagery because of its machine-made precision and its ability to make an unbiased record of the subject. They created asymmetrical layouts, and they embraced the prewar designers’ preference for sans-serif typefaces. The elemental forms of the style possessed harmony and clarity, and adherents considered these forms to be an appropriate expression of the postwar scientific and technological age. Josef Müller-Brockmann was a leading designer, educator, and writer who helped define this style. His poster, publication, and advertising designs are paradigms of the movement. In a long series of Zürich concert posters, Müller-Brockmann used colour, an arrangement of elemental geometric forms, and type to express the structural and rhythmic qualities of music. A 1955 poster for a concert featuring music by Igor Stravinsky, Wolfgang Fortner, and Alban Berg demonstrates these properties, along with Müller-Brockmann’s belief that using one typeface in two sizes (display and text) makes the message clear and accessible to the audience. Postwar graphic design in the United States While designers in Europe were forging the International Typographic Style into a cohesive movement, American designers were synthesizing concepts from modern art into highly individualistic and expressive visual statements. From the 1940s through the 1960s, New York City was a major centre for innovation in design as well as the fine arts. During the 1940s, Paul Rand emerged as an American designer with a personal and innovative approach to modern design. Rand understood the vitality and symbolic power of colour and shape in the work of artists such as Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky, and Pablo Picasso. In a 1947 poster promoting New York subway advertising, for example, Rand created a design from elemental geometric forms and colours that can be read as both an abstracted figure as well as a target, conveying the concept that one can “hit the bull’s-eye,” or reach potential audiences for plays, stores, and other goods and services by advertising in the subway. An ordinary message is rendered extraordinary through the power of visual forms and symbols. Rand’s work spanned a range of graphic media including advertising, book jackets, children’s books, corporate literature (such as annual reports), packaging, posters, trademarks, and typefaces. The digital revolution Until the late 20th century, the graphic-design discipline had been based on handicraft processes: layouts were drawn by hand in order to visualize a design; type was specified and ordered from a typesetter; and type proofs and photostats of images were assembled in position on heavy paper or board for photographic reproduction and platemaking. Over the course of the 1980s and early ’90s, however, rapid advances in digital computer hardware and software radically altered graphic design. Software for Apple’s 1984 Macintosh computer, such as the MacPaint™ program by computer programmer Bill Atkinson and graphic designer Susan Kare, had a revolutionary human interface. Tool icons controlled by a mouse or graphics tablet enabled designers and artists to use computer graphics in an intuitive manner. The Postscript™ page-description language from Adobe Systems, Inc., enabled pages of type and images to be assembled into graphic designs on screen. By the mid-1990s, the transition of graphic design from a drafting-table activity to an onscreen computer activity was virtually complete. Digital computers placed typesetting tools into the hands of individual designers, and so a period of experimentation occurred in the design of new and unusual typefaces and page layouts. Type and images were layered, fragmented, and dismembered; type columns were overlapped and run at very long or short line lengths; and the sizes, weights, and typefaces were often changed within single headlines, columns, and words. Much of this research took place in design education at art schools and universities. American designer David Carson—art director of Beach Culture magazine in 1989–91, Surfer in 1991–92, and Ray Gun magazine in 1992–96—captured the imagination of a youthful audience by taking such an experimental approach into publication design. Rapid advances in onscreen software also enabled designers to make elements transparent; to stretch, scale, and bend elements; to layer type and images in space; and to combine imagery into complex montages. For example, in a United States postage stamp from 1998, designers Ethel Kessler and Greg Berger digitally montaged John Singer Sargent’s portrait of Frederick Law Olmsted with a photograph of New York’s Central Park, a site plan, and botanical art to commemorate the landscape architect. Together these images evoke a rich expression of Olmsted’s life and work. Because of the international appeal and reach of the Internet, the graphic-design profession is becoming increasingly global in scope. Moreover, the integration of motion graphics, animation, video feeds, and music into Web-site design has brought about the merging of traditional print and broadcast media. As kinetic media expand from motion pictures and basic television to scores of cable-television channels, video games, and animated Web sites, motion graphics are becoming an increasingly important area of graphic design. In the 21st century, graphic design is ubiquitous; it is a major component of our complex print and electronic information systems. It permeates contemporary society, delivering information, product identification, entertainment, and persuasive messages. The relentless advance of technology has changed dramatically the way graphic designs are created and distributed to a mass audience. However, the fundamental role of the graphic designer—giving expressive form and clarity of content to communicative messages—remains the same.

Who doesn’t love a good checklist? Below are eight tips on SEO best practices for on-page optimization. Let’s get started… Title Tags Assuming you’ve already done your keyword research, this is one of the most important on-page SEO factors. The title tag tells search engines what the page is about and that the page on your website is relevant for that keyword or keyword phrase. Title tags should be unique for every page. In search results, search engines will highlight your keyword phrases if a user has searched for those terms. This increases visibility and click-through rate. Let’s say you’re trying to rank for “Chicago Web Design”, your title tag may look like this: Chicago Web Design and Development | Orbit Media Best practices: Your title tag should be written like this: Primary Keyword – Secondary Keyword | Brand Name Use a dash in between your keyword phrases and a pipe at the end before your brand name Avoid duplicate title tags Keep title tags at 55 characters or less in length, including spaces. Meta Descriptions Meta descriptions, while not as important in search engine rankings, are extremely important in getting users to click through from the search engine results page (SERP) to your website. Meta descriptions should use keywords wisely, but more importantly they should include a compelling description on which a user would want to click on. Much like title tags, the SERPs will highlight keywords that the user searched for, increasing the likelihood of the user clicking through to your website. Best practices: Write compelling meta descriptions 150 to 160 characters is the recommended length Avoid duplicate meta descriptions Do not use quotes or any non-alpha characters (Google, cuts them out of the meta description) Content with targeted keyword phrases Your content is the meat and potatoes of your website. With all of the Google Panda updates, it is extremely important that your content is unique and relevant. If you have multiple pages with the same content (or if you have your content on other people’s websites), you will run the risk of getting penalized by Google and your search rankings will suffer. We want to keep Google happy, so keep your content unique. Best practices: Create content that is extremely relevant for that keyword phraseUse your keyword phrase 4 times within your content (but don’t abuse it)Include links from other pages within your website that point back to this page (see internal linking)Create unique content for every medium (press releases, blogs, guest blog posts, etc…). If you send out a press release, do not copy and paste that press release onto your website. If it gets picked up in multiple publications, the search engines will see that you have duplicate content and penalize you for it. Header tags and keyword phrases A header tag, also known as an H1 tag, is much like the subject line of your web page. You should only use your keyword phrase once in the H1 tag. This should be included on a page to which you are trying to drive unique traffic to. You can also use H2 tags (second header) if there are multiple sections. Best Practices: Use your keyword phrase once in your H1 tag Use H1 tags on pages you are trying to drive unique traffic to (SEO page)Use H2 tags if there are multiple sections Internal page linking with anchor text Internal linking refers to a link on a page that points to another page on the same website. Internal linking is important because it helps strengthen those keywords internally for those pages, it allows users (and search engine robots) to navigate through the website, and it tells the search engines that the page is relevant for that keyword phrase. Best practices: When linking to another page on the same site from within content, select good anchor text (keywords) to use in the actual link and do this often. For example: “We offer a wide range of web design services,” rather than “Click here for our services.”In the above example, you would link “web design services” to your web design services page instead of linking “click here.” Image ALT tags and filenames An alt tag is essentially the name of an image. All images should use appropriate alt tags. Not only are alt tags good for search engines; they are also good for accessibility. If someone is using a screen reader, they will be able to hear what that image is. You should try to include your keyword phrase in the name of your image, if possible, but don’t overdo it. Image filenames should also be SEO friendly. Image search is much more widely used than believed, so traffic from there is also valuable. Best practices: Name all of your images in a way that describes what they are Use dashes between the words, rather than underscores ( purple-hat.jpg rather than purple_hat.jpg) Do not use non-alpha characters in your image or file names (so no %, &, $, etc…) Make content easy to read This is not a huge factor in search engine rankings, but will help your users easily scan your content and find the keywords they are looking for. You should use bolding and bullet points to set apart words in the text, and this further tells the engines what is important on the page. Don’t go wild or you’ll end up cluttering up your page and aggravating the user. Best practices: Paragraphs should be roughly three sentences long. Extremely long sentences will lose the users’ attention Use bullet points and bolding to break up large blocks of content. Users tend to scan content looking for keywords Do not overuse bullets and bolding