10 Productivity Tips

When it comes to productivity, there’s a lot of misinformation available (both online and offline). You can hear different people saying different things, and they all claim to have discovered the definitive way to be productive. Unfortunately, they all seem to focus on doing more, and if you follow their methods, you may end up working more and enjoying your life less.

I think another reason this misinformation exists is because there’s a huge market around productivity. Everyone wants to make money with it and it’s hard to do it without following some expectations.

The following is a list of ten things they usually don’t teach you about productivity. It is based on my experience, but it should apply easily to everyone.

1. Do less. The first productivity tip is to remember that you should eventually do less. It doesn’t make sense to adopt a system if that doesn’t save you time.
2. Use a productivity system. Previously, I told you that most productivity systems are bad, but that shouldn’t stop you from building your own. For example, I have a software where I keep track of all my projects and tasks. I also use a separate daily to-do list where I write three or more high value activities I want to accomplish during the day. This works for me because I don’t want to see all my projects and tasks throughout the day, but instead I want to focus on the important things.
3. Focus on important things. Do you remember the Pareto rule? If not, it basically states that 80% of results come from 20% of your actions. That means you should focus on doing the important things and procrastinate on low value activities, like checking emails, watching videos on YouTube, etc.
4. Have a plan. It doesn’t make much sense for you to do anything if you don’t have a road map. Before doing anything, you should ask yourself if what you are going to do will move forward on your goals or not. Remember that if you do something everyday to achieve something big, you’ll eventually get there. Persistence and patience are your friends.
5. Avoid starting new things. I usually have 2 or 3 new ideas I would like to implement every day, but I can’t do them all. If I did, I wouldn’t have the time to finish anything and my life would look like a big mess. As a general rule, when you have a great idea you would like to implement, write it down and return back to it after two days to see if it’s still valid.
6. Use time box. When you have something to do, allow yourself to work on it for a specific amount of time, for example one hour. After that time is finished, you stop and move to something else. This is a tremendous productivity tip because when you work this way, your brain will do its best to finish the task before the time runs out. Try it.
7. Don’t wait for motivation to come. Motivation is the reason why you do something, but it’s also the reason why you often procrastinate. When you would like to do something but you lack motivation to do it, what you should do is just get started. It’s easy to start doing something without focusing on the big task. As soon as you do it, motivation will come to complete the whole task.
8. Do other activities. When you are stuck with a problem and you are going nowhere, consider taking a break, and walk outside to clear your mind. You’ll be amazed at how much faster you can solve your problems this way.
9. Learn to relax. If your body is tense, it’s hard for it to function well. There are many relaxation techniques you can use, but the most common is probably to just lie down and enjoy a few minutes of silence without doing anything.
10. Stop worrying about productivity and start doing it. This is probably the most important tip. If you want to do something, just go and do it; don’t worry about productivity.

I hope these tips will help you achieve some of your goals. Remember to keep experimenting to find what works for you. That’s the only way to figure out what’s best for you and not for everyone else.

SOURCE: http://bloggingwithsuccess.net/10-things-they-dont-teach-you-about-productivity

Consumer Surplus - MicroSoft's Marketing Windows Server 2008

It's sort of like if you were all set to buy that new merino wool sweater, and you thought it was going to cost $70, which is well worth it, and when you got to Banana Republic it was on sale for only $50! Now you have an extra $20 in found money that you would have been perfectly happy to give to the Banana Republicans!

Yipes!

That bothers good capitalists. Gosh darn it, if you're willing to do without it, well, give it to me! I can put it to good use, buying a SUV or condo or Mooney or yacht one of those other things capitalists buy!

In economist jargon, capitalists want to capture the consumer surplus.

Let's do this. Instead of charging $220, let's ask each of our customers if they are rich or if they are poor. If they say they're rich, we'll charge them $349. If they say they're poor, we'll charge them $220.

Now how much do we make? Back to Excel. Notice the quantities: we're still selling the same 233 copies, but the richest 42 customers, who were all willing to spend $349 or more, are being asked to spend $349. And our profits just went up! from $43K to about $48K! NICE!

Capture me some more of that consumer surplus stuff!

In an ideal world, the price would be different for every customer. The "perfect" pricing scheme would charge every customer a different amount, extracting from each one the maximum amount they are willing to pay.
The IT guy at Podunk Lutheran College has no money: Gratis.
The IT guy at a medium-sized real estate agency has some money: $500.
The IT guy at a Fortune 100 company has tons of money: $50,000.

You can never make your pricing "perfect," but you can do much better than simply setting one constant price for all situations. By carefully tuning all these details, you can find ways to charge more money from the people who are willing to pay more.

This sort of pricing seems exploitative, but it can also be an act of public good -- remember that the poorest customers are paying less; with a one-size-fits-all pricing policy, they might not be able to afford the product at all. Drug companies often follow the same pricing model when selling life-saving drugs to third-world countries. First-world countries end up subsidizing the massive costs of drug development, but the whole world benefits.

What I object to isn't the money involved, but the mental overhead. The whole thing runs so contrary to the spirit of Don't Make Me Think. Sure, don't make us customers think. Unless you want us to think about how much we'd like to pay you, that is.

And what are we paying for? The privilege of flipping the magic bits in the software that say "I am blah edition!" It's all so.. anticlimactic. All that effort, all that poring over complex feature charts and stressing out about pricing plans, and for what? Just to get the one simple, stupid thing I care about -- using all the memory in my server.

Perhaps these complaints, then, point to one unsung advantage of open source software:

Open source software only comes in one edition: awesome.

The money is irrelevant; the expensive resource here is my brain. If I choose open source, I don't have to think about licensing, feature matrices, or recurring billing. I know, I know, we don't use software that costs money here, but I'd almost be willing to pay for the privilege of not having to think about that stuff ever again.

SOURCE: http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/001283.html

Strengths and Pitfalls of Online Tutorials for Beginners (Developers/Programmers)

There is an abundance of information and tutorials out there to help any aspiring developer/designer learn from scratch how to do the things they want to learn to do.  Heck, here’s a lot of information out there to help you discover WHAT it is you want to learn to do :) . And the best things about it is that most of it is free and easily accessible to anyone with an internet connection. What this means is that it is easy to assume that all one needs to embark on learning enough to build a career as a developer/designer/programmer is three things:

    * Internet access
    * The ability to use Google
    * Time
    * The will and discipline to learn

Gone are the days when you couldn’t really learn much of substance without going to school for a couple of years at least, paying tuition, buying huge volumes of books, and paying for expensive tools and software. Today, you almost never even need to buy a book, or so it seems. With numerous blogs and tutorial sites (written and video) out there, it seems like a simple matter to pick up all the skills you need, use free tools, and build yourself a career.  In addition, most of the tools you will ever need to get started are free/open source, whether it’s compilers, IDE’s, etc.

As with everything else though, we need to put on our thinking hats and critically consider the pros and cons of this amazing accessibility that we have to knowledge.

The Pros:

   1. Free Knowledge – This is the biggie. You can’t beat getting something for free.
   2. Abundance of Information/Knowledge – Many websites, including some of my favorites – http://www.killerphp.com, http://www.killersites.com, http://www.phpvideotutorials.com, http://www.zendcasts.com, http://net.tutsplus.com (and the whole envato network), http://css-tricks.com, just to list a few, provide an astounding amount of free quality information for all and sundry, and in most cases, you don’t have to pay a penny for it.
   3. Easy accessibility – most of the tutorials online can be printed or downloaded, and most writers will give you the source code to download and use.  This means that even if the websites were to go down, you possibly have your own archive to refer to.  One of my favorite things to do on long train trips is to pull out my laptop and watch screencasts that I’ve downloaded to my hard drive.

The Cons:

With these strong positives, what possible negatives could there be? Well, I’ve thought of a few, and these are mostly centered, as I stated in my title, on the beginning programmer, designer, developer, etc.

   1. Risk of developing bad habits -  As you learn from tutorials from different websites and blogs, it’s inevitable that you will pick up bad habits – bad coding habits, bad documentation habits, etc.  Remember that not everyone developing/writing/recording these free tutorials is an expert, myself included.  We teach what we know, and the reality is that you alone are responsible for what you’re learning and for the code you’ll go on to write.  No one is grading you, no one is checking your work, you’re responsible to make sure that you’re learning quality stuff.
   2. Fragmented knowledge – With so much information out there, it’s easy to learn a little about everything but never really learn enough about anything to actually be useful.  This is especially true if you haven’t really thought through what it is you want to learn and where it is you want to concentrate your efforts and energy.  If you’re not discriminating enough, you’ll end up following the newest fads and tricks and never actually developing any useful skills. As an example, if you look through the tutorials on nettuts for example, you’ll find that they span a wonderful array of lots of different topics… jQuery, PHP, HTML, CodeIgnitor, Ruby on Rails, etc.  It’s easy to get lost trying everything and never really develop any useful skills. Ofcourse if you’re not a beginner this may not apply to you, but for beginners especially it’s important to focus yourself and plan your learning so that you don’t develop fragmentitis :)
   3. Misinformation - Again, remember that not everyone writing or recording a tutorial is an expert. Some are, but not all.  As a beginner, you need to beware of taking everything you learn at face value.  You need to develop, again, a sense to check and double check the information you’re getting to ensure that what you’re learning is accurate, valid, current, and in conformity with the standards and will hold you in good stead.
   4. Lack of a proper foundation – this basically encompasses all the other points above to some extent.  One of the reasons that we’re at risk for learning bad habits, getting misinformed, or developing fragmentitis, is simply that we never take the time to attend to the fundamentals, the basics, the concepts.  We get so caught up in the mechanics, the how to’s, that we never take the time to learn the foundational principles, the whys and hows.  This is not trivial.  Let’s use the example of programming.  To become a programmer, you must program, this is true.  But it’s also true that you need to learn and absorb the fundamentals of programming that are independent of any language.  You can learn the syntax of any one language and never really learn the fundamentals of programming.  But if you learn the fundamentals, the underlying concepts, structures, and whys of programming, then no matter what language you’re coding in you will be able to apply your fundamental knowledge to address any problems you must solve with your code. You’ll be able to analyze the problem, break it down, draft out your pseudo code, and then code it in the language of your choice.  In fact, you’ll be able to discriminate between languages to pick the best one for the problem at hand.

What does all this mean for you as a beginner?

So am I saying you need to go to college and learn fundamentals? No, not necessarily.  For most of us this is out of reach, or it’s just not something we’re interested in doing.

What I AM saying is that you need to find a way to attend to the fundamentals if you want to go beyond the basic “doing” of tasks. Anyone can string bits of code together, but to really design and write good programs, you need to develop a clear plan of learning that involves grappling with and understanding the fundamentals. This will prepare you to know a good tutorials when you see one, and to be able to discriminately pick and choose those that will teach you what you need to know. Moreover, even in a tutorial strewn with errors and bad advice, you’ll be able to sift and pick out the good parts that are of use to you.

So how do you get down with the fundamentals?  Several options.  You could

   1. Take a fundamentals of programming class - not an option for most of us
   2. Invest in one or two good books that deal with concepts of programming, such as the classic three volume The Art of Computer Programming by Donald E. Knuth. This is definitely not light reading.  For a lighter but solid read, you may want to look at Think Python: An Introduction to Software Design: How To Think Like A Computer Scientist.  Others that I think might be interesting and useful (but also pretty intense) include Programming Language Pragmatics, and The Deductive Foundations of Computer Programming. There’s a myriad of them out there and some older but still valuable texts may be available as ebooks for free online.  Google is your friend :)
   3. Go through some free online classes that will pretty much get you through the basics. My favorite so far is Stanford University’s School of Engineering classes… you can watch the lectures, download the notes and assignments and all that. Really fantastic resource if you’re serious about this stuff – http://see.stanford.edu/see/courses.aspx.  I recommend that you follow the order they have them in – first go through the Programming Methodology Class, and then Programming Abstractions one, and finally the Programming Paradigms one.  You may not work through all of them but even completing the first one will leave you better off. And it’s all free!

Finally, if all of this is too much for you and you just don’t want to be bothered, then I recommend that you at the very least:

   1. Develop a clear path of what you want to learn, and then deliberately seek out tutorials that will get you to your goal;
   2. Resist the urge to try to learn and do everything – I have this problem so I completely identify; and
   3. Double check everything you learn and develop a sense of what’s accurate and what works for you. And never be afraid to ask.


Source: http://codingpad.maryspad.com/2009/07/01/strengths-and-pitfalls-of-online-tutorials-for-beginne-developersdesigners/

Microsoft Excel Macro: Select Columns & Replace NULLS or EMPTY cells

 Sub ReplaceNulls()
'
' Replace Nulls Macro
' Macro recorded 10/29/2009 by  KayLohn

Dim MyCell As Range

Dim ing As Long

ing = Range("K1").CurrentRegion.Rows.Count

' Column in this case is K
For Each MyCell In Range("K2:K" & ing)

'If an EMPTY or NULL cell is found replace with value in this case a space
If IsEmpty(MyCell) Then Bcell = " "

Next Bcell

End Sub

Raphaël JavaScript Library - MIT License

Raphaël is a small JavaScript library that should simplify your work with vector graphics on the web. If you want to create your own specific chart or image crop and rotate widget, for example, you can achieve it simply and easily with this library.

Raphaël uses the SVG W3C Recommendation and VML as a base for creating graphics. This means every graphical object you create is also a DOM object, so you can attach JavaScript event handlers or modify them later. Raphaël’s goal is to provide an adapter that will make drawing vector art compatible cross-browser and easy.

Raphaël currently supports Firefox 3.0+, Safari 3.0+, Opera 9.5+ and Internet Explorer 6.0+.

http://raphaeljs.com/

Javascript: Detect Screen Resolution

“Outside the Box” Navigation with jQuery

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm............ wonderful!

http://net.tutsplus.com/tutorials/javascript-ajax/jquery-os-x-style-dock-and-stack-navigation/

PANTONE Color Matching OR Commercial Printing Color Matching

Color matching with PANTONE® colors
When it comes to color reproduction, printing devices and computer screens are on totally different "wavelengths."

Printing creates colors by mixing inks which absorb light. Mix the four CMYK process inks (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and blacK), and you get black. No ink gives you white (i.e., the color of the paper)—so if you want white, you must use no ink! CMYK is a subtractive model: the more ink applied, the less light reflected, hence the darker the color.

A computer screen produces an image by mixing light using the three primary colors—Red, Green and Blue—hence, RGB. RGB is an additive model. Mix all three colors together and you get white light. Turn all the elements off and you get black. Different brightnesses of each element give the typical computer monitor a range or gamut of colors much greater than can be printed with CMYK inks.

The fundamental difference between the CMYK and RGB color models, and the limited gamut of the printed page compared to the computer screen, create the color matching problem: the challenge of getting your printed output to match what you see in your on-screen publication layout. By calibrating your equipment and using great care, you can achieve a close approximation—but the cardinal rule is "Trust, but verify!" Never simply assume the colors on your screen will turn out exactly the same when printed. It's just very difficult to convert accurately between the two models!

To ensure accurate color reproduction, you will need to use the PANTONE Color Matching System which is built into PagePlus via the PANTONE® Color Picker. This lets you easily add PANTONE colors to the color palette for you to use. The PANTONE Color Matching system is an internationally recognized system for color matching. When a PANTONE color is output, PagePlus uses optimized color values to achieve a better color match. The on-screen color display is only an approximation—don't rely on it for accurate color matching. For precise reproduction, use official PANTONE color reference materials (swatches).

In all cases, the screen displays an approximate color representation of the final printed color. You are cautioned not to use the screen for precise color matching, however; for accurate color reproduction, use official PANTONE color reference materials. There are steps you can take to improve screen-to-print matching (see Managing screen and output colors). In all cases, get a color proof of any separated-separated work before you approve a print run.

Source: Serif PagePlus X3

How much does a logo costs ?

Pricing a logo
This logo information page was inspired by the absolute confusion I see when it comes to online logo creation. I've searched dozens of logo web pages and have found that there is no consistency and more confusion than information. This page is strictly about the creation of the logo alone, no stationary package or implementation guidelines would be included.

I feel the price of a logo should be based on three criteria:
1. Experience of the logo designer
2. Size & budget of the company using the logo
3. Scope and length of the logo usage

I use the three criteria above assuming that the logo design is a standard type of logo. One other factor might come into play if a client were to request a very detailed and complicated logo design that bordered on being a technical illustration. You would have to factor in the extra time to create this type of design.

Below are my further thoughts on the subject and a guide as to what you should look for in an online logo designer.

Cheap logo design
They're all over the Internet - logo designs under $150! I've seen $99 logo designs, $75 logo designs, $49 logo designs and even lower! You will easily find a wide range of prices for logo design on the Internet.

Be careful of cheap logo design offers, some designers may use clip art. A logo design that includes a royalty free piece of clip art cannot be copyrighted. Any company in the world could use the same piece of clip art as part of their logo design. Be sure and check out the designers portfolio. At $49 each, do their logos all look the same? Do 80% of them have block lettering and a swoosh?

Some logo designers charge one flat fee for a logo with no questions asked. Can you imagine Pepsi purchasing a logo design for $99? What a deal! Or how about Bob's bait shop paying $750 for a logo. There goes the budget! All companies are not equal in size, budget and scope.

The confusion doesn't stop there. Some logo designers charge additional costs for extra colors, extra modifications and extra preliminary designs. You have to get your calculator out just to figure the final cost of your logo. Do you really know what you are paying for?

How much is a logo really worth?
How much is a logo design really worth? Ask Coca-Cola, Polo, Nike, The Hard Rock Cafe, Hallmark or any other company that relies on their logo as their number one spokesman. Not every company is as large as these but every company should have a logo that is easy to identify and stands for the integrity of that business.

A logo design is more valuable to a company than a single spot illustration. An illustration is normally used once or used for a limited campaign, whereas a logo is used for years and is placed on business cards, letterheads, envelopes, web sites, vehicles, buildings and products. Do you see the difference in value to a company? A logo has more value than just the hours spent on creating it. It becomes the companies identity.

With that said, shouldn't a logo be worth more than just the time involved in creating it? Professional graphic design rates average anywhere from $30 to $75 per hour. If you see a logo design priced at $125 and that designer charges $50 per hour for design work, do you assume that they spent 2.5 hours on your logo? That price would include the time spent to contact you, the research done on your company and competition, the preliminary ideas, the changes, the finalizing of the logo, the file prep for each different format, sending the logo, billing and allowing you to have all rights to the design. So how much time was actually spent creating your logo?

My conclusion is that a logo is much more valuable to a company than a standard illustration so the price should reflect the added value. Many professional graphic designers would be hard pressed to create a top notch illustration for under $150 let alone a creative, well designed logo. So beware of logos priced under $150, you may get what you pay for.

Added charges
I personally do not believe that the cost of a professionally priced logo design should be influenced by the list below. These factors are a part of logo design and should be kept under control by the logo designer.

Logo Modifications - If a logo designer asks the right questions, does the research and stays in close communication with the client there should be no need for major changes during the creation of a logo design. Be a good communicator and explain to the logo designer exactly what you want your logo to be saying about your business.

Do be aware though, that there will be those clients that will pick, pick and pick at the design. As a logo designer I do sometimes see the need to limit modifications but it will all even out in the long run. Some clients will need zero changes while others may request ten.

Extra Colors - Printers charge more for extra colors. If a logo designer charges more for a two color logo than they do for a three color logo, get a detailed explanation as to why. It only takes the click of a mouse to add an extra color.

Preliminary Designs - A few choices is good, to many choices is overkill. A logo designer should be able to decide for you the correct amount of preliminary designs it will require to create your perfect logo. Be leary of eight, ten and more initial designs. How much time could actually be spent on each design? If you don't like your first two or three designs you can easily request two or three more.

If you are on a committe or a board, I assure you, you do not want to present ten logos to ten different people. You may never get down to a winning design.

If you need an additional presentation of logos due to a complete change in direction on your part, you should be charged an extra fee. An example would be asking for a yellow duck logo design and changing your mind to a red dog design once the logos are presented to you.

Adding an identity program to your logo is a legitimate cost. Designing the business card, letterhead and envelope layouts are normally a higher priced package. You should receive camera ready files for each design.

A fair logo price
There is a standard reference for pricing graphic design and corporate identity projects. It is Pricing and Ethical Guidelines, published by the Graphic Artists Guild. Any logo designer can purchase the book. A professional graphic designer would have a tough time supporting a family and a studio designing all of their logos below $200.

I'm not going to give exact prices for a logo design because each logo designers circumstances are different. Amateur logo designers charge much less to get their feet wet, but they should slowly increase their rates as they gain experience and creativity.

The standard logo design rates are based on two major components, company size and application or distribution size. The majority of logo designs created over the Internet are created for small companies and individuals with limited application and distribution uses. Fortune 500 companies normally pay much higher logo design rates and use advertising agencies.

An individual or small company with small to average uses should be prepared to pay anywhere from $300 to $1500 for a top quality, professional logo design.

Negotiate
If you have a small budget but like a more professional logo designer with higher logo rates, try to negotiate a better deal. Explain that you are a start up company or that you cannot pay the full amount until a later date.

Providing an exact idea of your logo with sketches might also save you a little money. If you can help the designer save time, you may be able to save money. A very simple text only logo might also be negotiated for a lower price.

If you have the budget and you like the logo designer, pay the going rate. Logo designers rely on top paying clients to make a living. Once established, a logo designer can then begin to negotiate and help smaller mom and pop businesses.

What's included with your logo?
The worst part of paying for a cheap logo is finding out that you were not sent the correct file formats for printing and web. You will then have to pay another graphic designer or printer to create the correct files. Be aware of what file types you will be needing and ask your logo designer what file types are included in their price.

The most common file types needed are AI (Illustrator) and EPS for most professional print jobs. These are vector format files. These files should be in a CMYK color format. Vector art allows you to reduce or enlarge a design to ANY size without losing detail or clarity.

For home use and some print jobs you will need TIFF and BMP files. These are pixel files and should have a DPI (dots per inch) of at least 300 dpi. 600-1200 dpi is best for professional printing. These type of files lose their detail when enlarged but can be reduced.

The last file types you will need would be JPEG and GIF. These are pixel files and are used for web design. They should be in a RGB color format. Be aware that not all colors translate well on the Internet, especially GIF files. Ask if the logo designer used web safe colors. You should receive crisp 72 dpi files for the Internet. A GIF file should be transparent if you do not want a white box around it when displayed on your page.

Be sure and ask your logo designer about your logo colors. Ask them for the Pantone PMS color numbers for each color. You will need this information each time your logo is printed. This insures that you get the exact same colors with every printer that you use.

Will you get your files over the Internet or will you receive a CD? Try to get a CD, it is much easier to take that to your local printer. Ask your designer how long they keep your logo on file in case you lose your versions later down the road.

You should also receive all rights (copyrights) to your logo. Since a logo is a companies identity you will need to own all rights to get a trademark. Ask for this in writing if you have any doubts. When it comes to a cartoon or character logo some designers might negotiate fewer rights or usage's to your logo to help save you money. You can renegotiate all rights and usage's at a later date when you can financially afford it.

Ask for the background on the logo designer you choose, you should at the very least know their name. Do they have a degree? How long have they designed logos? Is this their profession or a hobby? Where is there portfolio? Can you contact their other clients? Can you speak to them directly? With the amount of software available today and the invention of the Internet, any sixteen year old kid can start his own logo design company.

Final Thoughts
In closing let me say that the information above is my own personal opinion and is taken from years of searching logo design web sites and reading books on graphic design. Some logo designers will disagree with my thoughts, especially the $49 logo designers. The prices and information I have explained here only pertain to the work of graphic designers, not advertising agencies. An advertising agency handles logo design on a larger scale and incorporates an entire corporate identity service. Their logo design rates are many times higher than a graphic designers.

Curtis D. Tucker
Cartoon Logo Designer
http://www.curtoons.com

Success with Google

Most people use Google, the worlds biggest brand, to find what they're looking for on the internet. So it makes perfect sense to make sure your website is built and maintained with Success with Google as it's aim. Success is when your website appears on the first page of results of a Google Search for your website's content.

There is no Quick Fix to success with Google. There are no Shortcuts and any offers to get you to straight to the top of Google for a fistful of fivers should be regarded as Snake Oil or a Scam.

There are 30 billion (ish) web pages competing with yours for a place at the top of Google's search listings. The task of acheiving success is daunting but not impossible and with some planning, determination and a strategic (or Campaign) approach your chances will improve massively.
The Campaign approach to Search Engine Optimisation

Don't underestimate the time needed to carry out effective Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) - consider it as an on-going Campaign. Ideally, a campaign would go like this:
Planning and Preparation - before the site's launched

1. This should go without saying: Get really good at what you do and work out how you'll convince your customers to do business with you
2. Find the right keywords and keyphrases which describe you business.
Find out more about Keywords arrow
3. Fill your pages with keyword-rich text and ensure the keywords are present in the page Titles and Headings. Writing keyword-rich copy for the web is a specialised area
4. Try to continue using your keywords when choosing a domain name. Google can distinguish and separate words without spaces - hyphens separate the words more clearly and make them easier for humans to read. If your first-choice domain name is taken, try a hyphenated alternative.

Build your site to Web Standards

1. Ensuring your site is verified and accessible doesn't have any direct bearing on Google's ranking but making sure it's built with clean HTML makes your site more accessible to people with disabilities or folks accessing your pages on portable or other devices. Therefore it can improve the popularity of your site... increasing natural links to your site (which can help with your Google ranking), traffic, and so on.
Find out more about web standards arrow
2. Google's Webmaster Guidelines give a good indication as to what's expected and generally a site built to Web Standards will satisfy those Guidelines

Running The Campaign - attracting attention

1. You'll want a Google Account to enable Analytics (to keep track of visitors etc), to create Maps and to create a Directory entry for your site. All free and totally invaluable
2. Your site should have a Sitemap. Sitemaps seems somewhat neglected these days, but they're actually really useful for humans to find stuff and the Googlebot loves them!
3. Fine-tune the Titles, Keywords and Headings on your pages to make sure they're relevant to the content on your site and to match what people would search for
4. Try to think from the User's Perspective; most are not going to be searching by typing in your site's name, so 'prime' your pages with likely search phrases - Don't just copy competitors keywords, improve on them!
5. Google visits your site often to check on activity and likes to see changes; make sure your site's updated regularly and most important of all, make sure it's Useable, Useful and Helpful

* Try this plug-in for Firefox... it gives you many useful marketing data points to make it easy get a holistic view of the competitive landscape of a market directly in the search results -
http://tools.seobook.com/firefox/seo-for-firefox.html arrow

Success will come

Maybe not overnight, but with patience, care and attention, the ball will start rolling and you'll see improvements in your Visitor numbers. Analytics will enable you to see what's happening and to improve or correct Search patterns.

Don't get complacent, either... it's possible to lose your Google popularity or for other site's to overtake yours

http://jon-jackson.co.uk/success-with-google.html

What can a JavaScript do?

* JavaScript gives HTML designers a programming tool - HTML authors are normally not programmers, but JavaScript is a scripting language with a very simple syntax! Almost anyone can put small "snippets" of code into their HTML pages

* JavaScript can put dynamic text into an HTML page - A JavaScript statement like this: document.write("" + name + "") can write a variable text into an HTML page

* JavaScript can react to events - A JavaScript can be set to execute when something happens, like when a page has finished loading or when a user clicks on an HTML element

* JavaScript can read and write HTML elements - A JavaScript can read and change the content of an HTML element

* JavaScript can be used to validate data - A JavaScript can be used to validate form data before it is submitted to a server. This saves the server from extra processing

* JavaScript can be used to detect the visitor's browser - A JavaScript can be used to detect the visitor's browser, and - depending on the browser - load another page specifically designed for that browser

* JavaScript can be used to create cookies - A JavaScript can be used to store and retrieve information on the visitor's computer


Source: http://www.w3schools.com/js/js_intro.asp