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These days, search engine optimization (aka SEO) seems to be a top priority for anyone with a website. Whether you are running a top notch online newspaper or a simple home owner's association website, showing up in the top of Google's search results is a goal that everyone seeks to achieve. Many of us search and search for the tips and tricks that will allow us to beat Google's algorithm, but with so many articles out there it is hard to know what is important and what is just filler.
The developers at Bondware have been researching this topic for quite some time, drudging over the reports and white papers, and have some tips that are sure to help give you a boost.
1. The Title Tag - The title of your page is the most important on-page element of SEO. Each page of content on your site will contain keywords. You want these keywords to match what a user might type into Google as closely as possible. Your title tag is some of the first text on the page that Google will see while crawling your site, so it only makes sense to have your chosen keywords in the title of the page. In addition to that, you want the keywords as close to the beginning of the title as possible, as this makes for even better optimization.
2. The URL - The url of your page is one of the most important elements of SEO that doesn't deal with the content. Just like the title tag, you will want to use the keywords that most closely match what a user might type into Google to find your page. A lot of sites will use the same text they used for the title tag or a slight variation. A common format would be something like http://www.bondware.com/online-newspaper-website-software-cms-251. Remember to keep in mind that the keywords should be as close to the domain as possible and Google prefers multiple words to be separated with hyphens.
3. Your Content - It doesn't matter how well you optimize a page, if your content isn't good, then its not going to work. Make your content interesting to users. Also, find ways to insert your keywords naturally throughout the text. Don't overdo it though! Generally, 3 - 4 times throughout the page will do.
4. Alt Attributes - Each image within your page can have an alt attribute assigned to it. This allows you to enter text which can be used if the image cannot be loaded. However, it also turns out to work very well for SEO. So, any time an image is used on your page, be sure to specify an alt attribute.
5. External Links - If others think your content is important, then it must be! So, having links to your content from other sites (especially high ranking sites) gives your site more authority. There are many ways to build your external links including link exchanging, participating in forums related to your content with your link in your signature, online directory, etc. This tip isn't exactly a quick fix, but is certainly worth building up over time.
With the latest version of the Bondware Core (and some of our modules) we are integrating more and more tools to assist you with creating an SEO friendly website. Tips 1 - 4 are easily accomplished and our support staff is always happy to help. I hope that these tips will help with your search engine optimization needs and please post below if you have any tips of your own.
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The topic of cloud computing, and before it virtualization, has taken up ever more space in minds of engineers and executives alike. What impact will this new direction for computing have on organizations and how can they best make use of it? In the present economic climate a move away from capital expenditure on infrastructure seems ever more appealing and utility computing has taken the possibilities for this to the next level.
Here at Bondware our focus is no different and we follow these developments with much interest. Whilst, as a hosted service provider, the pay-per-usage model is already part of what our business offers, we look to these emerging technologies to provide further value and flexibility to our platform. For a wealth of applications the savings offered by these services are exceedingly competitive and cannot be ignored.
Amazon are leading the way with their market defining Amazon Web Services product line, the most prevalent of which is the Amazon Simple Storage Service (or S3). Offering unlimited storage capacity, customers are billed by their usage and nothing more; paying for the data they store and transferring that data in and out of the system. Prices scale with usage, giving better rates as you store and transfer more data, but even the lightest of users will benefit from Amazon's impressive buying power.
We have already begun integrating Bondware with S3 and the option to store your data in the cloud is now available within the File Manager in the core, as well as our modules oPhoto and VideoPro. To take advantage of this option you will need to create an Amazon S3 account and configure your site with the access key and security key provided.
We will be continuing this process, adding S3 support to more modules over time. Some likely candidates are digital downloads within our e-Commerce module and the File Library and Secure File Library modules. These developments are about providing choice to our customers, and, as Tim said in his previous post, this blog is about receiving feedback as well as passing on information. So, if there is a module you would like to see support S3 please let us know in the comments.
Cloud computing is not just about storage, however, and this is only our first step down this new avenue of computing technology. We will continue to look at the developments which occur and to incorporate them in to Bondware to provide the best value we can to our customers. Stay tuned to our blog for more news on these developments as they happen.
Cloud computing has certainly caused a stir throughout the IT and business world. Perhaps the Gigahertz Hour will join the Kilowatt Hour and Rollover Minutes when it comes to choosing our service plans in the future? In any case the face of IT is changing. Don't be afraid of the clouds on the horizon.
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