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At Trevellyan.biz, we love great looking sites, sites that function intuitively and that load fast. But do you know what we believe to be the single most important element of a good website? Content, good content.
And today content is even more important, because Google has increased its relevance in determining site ranking.
Panda is a new algorithm that Google uses to give better search results. This algorithm fights against low quality and copied website content by concentrating on uniqueness and originality. Google Panda affects sites that contain low quality or poorly written articles, content that is simply cut and pasted from other websites, non-informational content and content that isn't updated regularly.
What does this mean to you?
It means that content is key to your site's rankings. Whether you're writing a blog or submitting content to a website, be careful of the postings you're making. To benefit from Google's new algorithm, make sure that they are they relevant, unique and original.
While Google likes to keep the details of its algorithms private, two Google engineers, in an interview with Wired Magazine, summarized the factors which make a site vulnerable to Panda. While none of these factors on their own appears to change a ranking, multiple factors will likely result in a negative impact.
- High bounce rate on page or site. (A bounce occurs when a visitor only views a single page on a website.)
- Low visit times on page or site.
- Low percentage of users returning to a site.
- Low click through percentage from Google's results pages (for page or site).
- High percentage of boilerplate content (the same on every page).
- Low or no quality inbound links to a page or site (by count or percentage).
- Low or no mentions or links to a page or site in social media and from other sites.
- High amount of content that doesn't match search queries for the page (e.g. ads).
- Unnatural repetition of a word on a page.
To improve the search engine ranking of your website, call 518.392.0846 or email us.
There are two main types of software update, those for your operating system (Windows, Mac OS etc.) and those for the programs you have installed. Software updates are distributed primarily to fix security issues and to correct bugs.
Operating systems and most programs include mechanisms to distribute software updates automatically over the Internet. This is why you will frequently see a notification on your computer that an update is available - your operating system or a program has 'called home' over the Internet and discovered the update.
What should you do when you see one of these notifications?
In most cases you should install the update. While there is always a small risk that an update will cause problems of its own, the benefits of eliminating security issues usually outweigh this risk. For example, imagine you're notified that an update is available for your web browser (e.g. FireFox, Internet Explorer, Chrome, Safari). The makers of your browser have been working hard to fix the issues that the update addresses. Meanwhile, criminals have been working hard to exploit the same issues to attack the computers of innocent users. If you don't install the update and you're unlucky enough to stumble upon one of their maliciously crafted websites, your computer is vulnerable to attack.
You may be surprised to learn that a similar scenario can play out with any program you have installed. It's harder for hackers to exploit issues with programs that open other types of files, such as pictures or office documents, but it's far from impossible. You might receive a document from a trusted associate, but perhaps that person's computer has been compromised without their knowledge. If your software is out of date, you're taking unnecessary risks.
How do you know if an update is genuine?
Perhaps the best advice is simply to get used to installing updates. If you're familiar with the appearance of notifications from the software you have installed, you're less likely to be fooled by a fake.
When should you decline an update?
If you're working to a strict deadline and you're offered an update for software that's critical to the completion of your project, you may choose to defer installing the update pending completion of the project, just in case the update causes problems. Also, if you have serious doubts about the authenticity of an update notification, you may choose to decline it until you can verify its authenticity. Make a note of any information contained in the notification, especially details of version numbers, then check the software maker's website for information about the update. If the information matches then it's probably safe to install it.
As a general rule, keep all your software as up to date as possible. If you're unwilling to keep a specific program up to date, consider removing it from your computer.
For help with software updates, call Robert at 518.392.0846 or email info@trevellyan.biz.
Reverse type. You see it all the time - light text on a dark background. Some designers use it to give variety to a page layout and others are looking to make their designs "pop". But is reverse type a good design decision?
The question one should always ask when designing an ad, brochure, website or sign is "Will the user find this easy to read?" While you want people to notice your work, your goal is to have it read. To see it but not read it isn't enough.
There has been a significant amount of research on inverted color schemes. A 1980 study from London found "dark characters on a light background are superior to light characters on a dark background... participants were 26% more accurate in reading text when they read it with dark characters on a light background."
A study at Austin State University found "in every color combination surveyed, the darker text on a lighter background was rated more readable than its inverse (e.g. blue text on white background ranked higher than white text on blue background)."
Even advertising guru David Ogilvy, who did research in the 1970s, found that ads with black on white text had a three times higher response rate than ads with white on black text.
According to a 1989 study by the J Am Optom Assocation, 45% of the population has an astigmatism. This huge group finds it harder to read white text on black than black on white. That's a lot of people who might not be able to read an ad, a webpage, a sign, because the designer did not consider readability.
And there are other factors. Consider reading something on your laptop or cellphone. If the user is in a bright room or outdoors, then white type on black background can become unreadable.
There are exceptions to every rule. Using light text on a dark background can help direct one's attention to a single element, as in a single word heading, a title or a label. But as a general rule, if you want your copy to be read, make it easy for the reader to do so. Dark type on a light background is more likely to be read than light on dark.
If you need help designing an ad, brochure, website or sign, give Suzanne a call at 518.392.0846 or email suzanne@trevellyan.biz.
According to a 2010 article in The New York Times, these are the top ten most common passwords.
1. 123456
2. 12345
3. 123456789
4. password
5. iloveyou
6. princess
7. rockyou
8. 1234567
9. 12345678
10. abc123
Sometimes having "the most popular" of something isn't a good thing. If you're using something this obvious, you should change your password immediately.
Follow these simple steps to create a password that is hard to hack.
When possible, use at least 12 characters. Never use less than 8.
Use a variety of characters including letters, numbers, punctuation, and upper and lower case. The greater the variety, the stronger your password will be.
- Avoid using real words from any language.
- Avoid using real words spelled backwards, abbreviations or common misspellings.
- Avoid using repeated characters or rows of adjacent keyboard characters.
- Never use personal information such as your birthday, driver's license number, family member or pet's name.
- Never use your username as your password.
- Test your password with an online password checker to determine its strength.
Having trouble coming up with a good password on your own? Google "free online password generator" for help creating a secure password.
If you're on a Mac running a recent version of OS X, your system comes with a built in password assistant. This tool can generate passwords that are easy to remember but hard to crack. To access this tool, go to System Preferences > Accounts and click on your account. Click on Change Password, then click on the key icon to see a password suggestion meeting various criteria. Click on the down arrow next to the suggested password to see more suggestions.
There are many things to consider when dealing with online security. One that is often overlooked is passwords.
We use passwords to access email, retrieve voice mail, get cash from an ATM. To make them easier to remember, we often choose passwords that mean something to us, using personal information and common words. Unfortunately, these passwords are easy to guess, and if your passwords are easy to guess, your computer files, personal information and online accounts are at risk.
A couple of simple tools hackers use are the Dictionary Attack and Brute Force Attack. A dictionary attack tries to discover your password by going through a list of known words. This is why you should never use a real word as a password. A Brute Force Attack systematically checks all possible character combinations, so the longer the password, the longer it will take to discover.
If the hacker knows who you are, it's even easier for them. They'll find words particular to you. Let's say you live in "Chatham," have a son "Michael," and your dog's name is "Bone." A hacker might take these terms and create wordlists from the results. Thus, "ekiMBoneNY" may seem like a fine 10-character password, but it will be cracked in minutes by a hacker who knows you.
To keep your identity safe, it is crucial to have a long, strong password. But even a strong password can be breached if you share it. Your password should be your personal secret. Keep it.
When print was king, companies would hire press clipping services to track what was being said about them in newspapers and magazines. As a down-home example, imagine that you submit a press release to all the newspapers and magazines within 50 miles of your business. Unless you subscribe to and read each and every one of those publications, you would never know which publications ran the release. One option would be to hire a press clipping service to track that for you.
While press clipping services still exist, you can track online coverage yourself. And now it's free.
Google offers a service called Google Alerts, which will email updates of relevant Google results based on your choice of topic. You choose a word or subject matter and Google automatically notifies you when new content from news, web, blogs, video and/or discussion groups matches your search terms.
For example, I have Google Alerts set up for my company, Trevellyan.biz, and my name, Suzanne Trevellyan. Whenever either of these are indexed through Google's search engine, I am notified. If a newspaper runs a story with my name in it, I am notified. If it appears on a blog, I'm notified. Even if someone adds me to their website's list of contacts, I'm notified.
Google Alerts is a low-cost way to monitor your company's online presence. If you'd like help setting up a Google Alert, give us a call at 518.392.0846 or email us.
