ABCO Technology

ABCO Technology - a computer training institute provides job training for all types of applications and software used in the real-world job environment. ABCO’s graduates are prepared to take on the challenges they will face in today’s job market. We endeavor to make our students employable in the field of IT as office managers, technicians, network administrators, developers, and webmasters. Our desire is to create value, earn trust, deliver results, exceed expectations, and empower people.

Thursday, August 14, 2014

Press Release - ABCO Technology Reviews

2014 has been a remarkable year for ABCO Technology. In our 14th year serving Southern California and Los Angeles, our school received accreditation through ACCSC and successfully passed two critical state inspections.

ABCO Technology is an Information Technology vocational academy located in Los Angeles California since 2000. ABCO Technology received accreditation through a nationally recognized accrediting agency - Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges ACCSC. Accrediation is a review process which provides a means of assisting schools and colleges to become stronger and better institutions by setting standards of educational quality. An ACCSC team visited the school to inspect ABCO Technology's programs, faculty, student evaluations, and policies and procedures to deliver its programs. Accrediation means that ACCSC found the school's programs and training methods to meet the higher educational quality standards.

The first inspection was conducted by the California Workforce Investment Board - South Bay. WIA provides funding opportunities for unemployed individuals to those who qualify for training. ABCO Technology is one of the schools approved by WIA with a list of programs on the i-train list for individuals to seek training and get back into the workforce. The inspection was completed with no violations or compliance issues with WIA.

Within the same month, the California Department of Consumer Affairs - Bureau for Private Post Secondary Education (BPPE) performed an announced compliance inspection for ABCO Technology. During the inspection, the inspectors analyzed, the School's Catalog, Advertising Materials, Program Training materials, Approved Program curriculum, Student files, School Performance fact sheet and Administration manual. The Bureau inspectors found "No Minor Violations" and awarded the school with a clean bill of health in their report. Students can visit the Bureau's website www.bppe.ca.gov to view the results.

Finally, ABCO Technology has received a five year renewal from the California Education Department - BPPE for an approval to operate for the following IT Programs:

A+ Certification
Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE)
Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA)
Oracle Database Administrator
Linux+
Microsoft Office User Specialist
Certified Internet Webmaster (CIW)
Programmer

ABCO Technology provides training to individuals, companies and veterans who have proudly served in our armed forces. Our programs are designed for individuals to complete an intensive training in the respective area of study, and seek gainful employment upon graduation. Companies will benefit by updating the skills of their employees and course graduates will become eligible to obtain industry recognized vendor certifications from Microsoft, Oracle, ICS2, PMP etc. which will benefit their careers.

Operating a successful vocational school is hard work combined with committed passion for our students. All reviews of ABCO Technology, evaluations and inspections have been conducted by government or non-profit organizations who operate with high standards of integrity. This speaks volumes about the quality of education you will receive by enrolling in one of ABCO's programs. We encourage prospective students to contact our school at (310) 216-3067 for additional information about our programs, or the quality of training provided at ABCO. We are proud of our faculty, students and graduates who have helped us accomplish our educational mission.

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Active Directory Explained

Sites in Active Directory represent the actual physical structure, or topology, of your network. Active Directory uses network topology information, stored as site and site link objects in the directory, to build the most efficient replication network infrastructure. You use Active Directory Sites and Services to define sites and site links. What is a site? A site is a set of well-connected subnets. Sites differ from domains; sites represent the physical structure of your network, while domains represent the logical structure of your organization.

USING SITES
Sites help you facilitate several activities within Active Directory, including:
•Replication. Active Directory balances the need for up-to-date directory information with the need for bandwidth optimization by replicating information within a site on a frequent basis. This operation saves bandwidth between sites. You can configure the relative cost of connectivity between sites to further optimize the need for replication.
•Authentication. Site information helps make authentication faster and much more efficient. When a client logs on to a domain, it first searches its local site for a domain controller to authenticate against. By establishing multiple sites, you can ensure that clients authenticate against domain controllers nearest to their work station, reducing authentication latency and keeping traffic off WAN connections.
•Active Directory-enabled services. Active Directory-enabled services will leverage site and subnet information to enable clients to locate the nearest server providers much easier.
In Active Directory, a site is a set of computers well-connected by a high-speed network, such as a local area network (LAN). All computers within the same site typically reside in the same building, or on the same campus network. A single site consists of one or more Internet Protocol (IP) subnets. Subnets are subdivisions of an IP network, with each subnet possessing its own unique network address. A subnet address groups neighboring computers in much the same way that postal codes group neighboring postal addresses. Several clients are contained within a typical subnet
Sites and subnets are represented in Active Directory by site and subnet objects, which you create through Active Directory Sites and Services. Each site object is associated with one or more subnet objects.

ASSIGNING INDIVIDUAL COMPUTERS TO SITES
Computers are assigned to sites based on their Internet Protocol (IP) address and subnet mask. Site assignment is handled differently for clients and member servers than for domain controllers. For a client, site assignment is dynamically determined by its IP address and subnet mask during logon. For a domain controller, site membership is determined by the location of its associated server object in Active Directory.
Understanding sites and domains
In Active Directory, sites map the physical structure of your network, while domains map the logical or administrative structure of your organization. This separation of physical and logical structure provides the following benefits:
• You can design and maintain the logical and physical structures of your network independently.
• You do not have to base domain namespaces on your physical network.
• You can deploy domain controllers for multiple domains within the same site. You can also deploy domain controllers for the same domain in multiple sites.

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10 dynamic Fast Loading Wordpress Templates you can use for your website Now!!

One of the most frequent questions I’ve received after our search engine classes is "Where can my company find a Fast Loading Wordpress Template to work with? That's a damn good question as speed hasn't been on the radar of Wordpress Theme developers yet, but that is already changing.
Just like the need for responsive design was answered, fast loading sites are really in demand and the market is already scrambling to make them available. However, we know that, "We're working on it..." isn't the answer you're looking for, so we spent some time looking for fast loading themes that you can use Today.
Theme Comparison Factors
One of the most difficult tasks we could think of for a responsive Web site to tackle is mobile load time, which is required for your Web site to shine. We tested over 50 different themes during this loading race and all of these designs scored quite fast comparatively. However, on the flip side there were some popular themes that took as much as 50 seconds to load! That's a huge difference compared to the speed demons we've listed below that were fast enough to make the cut.
Disclaimer: There is some variation in our testing due to server speed, which was beyond our control. There is also quite a variation in the theme designs themselves, which we attempted to minimize by testing a simple page on each theme - not the home page as it often includes huge slider images.
The important factors used in this test:
• Mobile Load Time - The primary factor was the 1st pass mobile load time tested within Webpagetest.org with a Mobile 3G Fast connection and using the Chrome browser.
• A Simple, Comparable Web Page - We used Pricing or Full Width page examples to minimize graphic impact during testing.
• Gzip Compression - All test sites used this as it has a big impact on 1st pass load time. Sites not using Gzip were not included as it threw the test scores off a lot.
• All themes tested are fully responsive.
• Pingdom and Google Page Speed test values - recorded for additional comparison.
• Google Page Speed Score - All of these themes could be improved upon in some way. How much speed improvement is possible is indicated by the Google Page Speed scores.

#1. 320 Press Bootstrap - 2.623s
Source: 320press.com/themes/wp-bootstrap/
The fastest template of the group was 320press.com's Wordpress BootStrap which loaded in 2.623 seconds despite a time to first byte (TTFB) of .911 seconds which is a bit slow. That means this template would likely load in around 2.2 to 2.3 seconds on an average server, further distancing it from the rest of the field. Of course the simplistic design was a deciding advantage with only 12 requests made during load time and a lack of "bloat" that occurs with fancier looking templates.
The Bootstrap foundation is an excellent base for further customization to generate the look and feel of your new site, however it will most likely require far more development time to arrive at what you're looking for. The theme will slow down with additional customization in most cases unless the developer is careful with what changes and how they are made. It's not really suitable for a site owner wanting an easy theme to upload and run but it is FAST. If you're comfortable with tweaking CSS and some of the PHP files in the template, Wordpress Bootstrap is a clear winner.
Pingdom Google Page Speed WebPageTest.org
Grade Requests Load Time Size Mb Mobile Desktop Load Time TTFB Speed Ind
97 11 .812 .099 79 92 2.623 .911 2400

#2. 320 Press Foundation - 3.028s
Source: 320press.com/themes/wp-foundation/
Another fast theme from the folks at 320press.com, the Zurb.com 3.0 Foundation Wordpress port is also quite fast despite requiring more resources to load than the Twitter Bootstrap version. Also in this test the 320press.com server was slow to respond with a 1.33 second time to first byte.
Like the Bootstrap theme, Foundation will require further work should you want to get more advanced with the styling this theme provides. The Foundation framework used for this theme is version 3.0, however the current version of Foundation is at version 5.0, so this port is a bit behind with no information on if or when 320Press.com will update their theme to the latest revision of Foundation.
Pingdom Google Page Speed WebPageTest.org
Grade Requests Load Time Size Mb Mobile Desktop Load Time TTFB Speed Ind
67 20 1.180 .599 76 89 3.028 1.330 2394

#3. GoodWork - 3.252s
Source: GoodWork - Responsive Multi-Purpose WordPress Theme
The Goodwork Template from Krown Themes Designer Ruben Bristian was the fastest full featured template we found, again despite a somewhat slow responding server. This template is WooCommerce capable and features 6 Home Page variations, advanced Page Builder features and plenty of theme customization options. It also carries a 4.43 buyer rating at Themeforest which is a strong endorsement as well.
Our only complaint about this theme is the mobile version of the menu, it's not "Fat Finger Friendly", but that is not a big deal. There are lots of Responsive Wordpress Menu Plugins you can use to improve that functionality.
Pingdom Google Page Speed WebPageTest.org
Grade Requests Load Time Size Mb Mobile Desktop Load Time TTFB Speed Ind
88 39 .755 .318 78 91 3.252 .610 2815

#4. Fable - 3.255s
Source: Fable - Responsive Blog Theme
Fable from Elegant Themes was designed primarily as a blogging theme, and it's very fast with a 3.255 second Mobile load time. While not as versatile as GoodWork, it's a variation that may suit some projects better. Performance on this theme could be improved by getting rid of the Google Fonts used heavily throughout the theme and combining the 10 style sheets used.
Pingdom Google Page Speed WebPageTest.org
Grade Requests Load Time Size Mb Mobile Desktop Load Time TTFB Speed Ind
80 53 1.17 .513 76 91 3.255 .558 2315

#5. Lucid - 3.303s
Source: Lucid - Responsive Blog Theme
Elegant Themes Lucid also scored highly in our test with a mobile load time of 3.303 making it a very fast, and clean, Blog theme. Lucid has an improved mobile menu which is FFF (Fat Finger Friendly) however built in social icons are not FFF. The theme adapts well between Mobile, Tablet and Desktop but does not give you a lot of capability for design changes for background and system colors.
Pingdom Google Page Speed WebPageTest.org
Grade Requests Load Time Size Mb Mobile Desktop Load Time TTFB Speed Ind
85 35 .386 .196 76 84 3.303 .558 2580

#6. Pravda - 3.601s
Source: Pravda - Retina Ready Responsive Blog / Magazine Theme
Packed with features such as WooCommerce and Retina Ready graphics capability, Pravda is a solid performer for a Magazine style Blog that loads in 3.601 seconds on a 3g smartphone despite a slow server which dampened its TTFB time. The theme carries a 4.67 rating at Themeforest.com and interestingly enough, it has a very solid 98 performance grade via Pingdom, one of two themes tested that hit 98.
It gets a thumbs down for an anti-FFF mobile menu, but as we mentioned previously, there are lots of Responsive Wordpress Menu Plugins you can use to improve that functionality.
This theme certainly gets some extra bonus points for including Schema.org Microdata, a Bootstrap base and Retina-Ready graphics capability.
Pingdom Google Page Speed WebPageTest.org
Grade Requests Load Time Size Mb Mobile Desktop Load Time TTFB Speed Ind
98 42 .682 ..331 75 93 3.601 .700 2904

#7. Enfold - 3.722s
Source: Enfold - Retina Ready Business Theme
Enfold is another full featured, fully responsive theme which scores quite well across the board. It features a very comprehensive layout builder making it easy to create just about any kind of page layout you desire, without having to remember shortcodes to make it work.
The mobile menu is FFF, which is a plus in our book, and it looks outstanding on a tablet and smartphone as well. Inside the designers give you a lot of ability to easily change the skin and includes 18 different variations within the admin panel.
Enfold carries a high 4.78 rating at Themeforest, so we're not the only ones that like this theme!
Pingdom Google Page Speed WebPageTest.org
Grade Requests Load Time Size Mb Mobile Desktop Load Time TTFB Speed Ind
89 36 1.06 .345 76 90 3.722 .704 3504

#8. Meteor - 4.808s
Source: Meteor - Retina Ready Business Theme
Retina graphics ready and fully responsive Meteor is a feature packed theme that has a reasonable load time. It features a comprehensive layout editor giving you a lot of ability to arrange your pages as you want, 5 different sliders to choose from, plus a handful of custom widgets such as a Twitter Feed.
Meteor has a horrible looking mobile menu, thank goodness there are lots of Responsive Wordpress Menu Plugins you can use to fix it - and this one does need fixing. While it's totally usable as it triggers tablet and smartphone popup menus, it just doesn't seem to match the rest of the design (and we don't like popup menus).
Pingdom Google Page Speed WebPageTest.org
Grade Requests Load Time Size Mb Mobile Desktop Load Time TTFB Speed Ind
79 60 1.26 .739 72 86 4.808 .951 2896

#9. Lynx - 5.161s
Source: Lynx - 3 in 1 Business Theme
Lynx features 3 different main layout functions that let you use it as a Blog, Magazine, or a Shop with built in WooCommerce. It also has the ability to use custom backgrounds and is built on Bootstrap 3 which is a big plus. Personally, we didn't really care for the design, probably because of so much white space used up by the built in banner at the top of the page, but it may appeal to some. You can also certainly shut the banner off if you wish, which we feel would make it more attractive.
With a 98 Performance score from Pingdom, this is an optimized theme which certainly helps its 5.161 load time on 3g Mobile and it scores well on Google Page Speed, however the number of server requests drag down its mobile performance. Lynx utilizes a pop-up menu for mobile and tablets, not our favorite design choice as it just feels so "retro" compared to the newer mobile menu designs available.
Pingdom Google Page Speed WebPageTest.org
Grade Requests Load Time Size Mb Mobile Desktop Load Time TTFB Speed Ind
98 64 1.23 .542 79 92 5.161 .587 2272

#10. 3Clicks - 6.601s
Source: 3Clicks Business Theme
We really liked the fresh, colorful looks and versatility of the 3 Clicks theme, unfortunately a slow server TTFB hurt its load time substantially pushing it to the #10 position in our test. With a faster server and further optimization work it can certainly be as fast as many of the themes we tested in this shootout, so don't ignore it just because it's a bit slower.
3Clicks has 9 different skins to choose from along with unlimited color choices, many different menu choices including a new "Metro" style which is very tablet friendly. The Mobile menu lacks the ability to display multiple levels, which is a drawback but it's one of the few we have found with this theme. It's very likely the developer might be able to update that feature in the future as the theme support and enhancements appear to be good.
Pingdom Google Page Speed WebPageTest.org
Grade Requests Load Time Size Mb Mobile Desktop Load Time TTFB Speed Ind
89 48 1.86 .388 76 92 6.601 1.088 5365
Final Notes
Be aware that most of the top performing themes in this review have been optimized to a certain extent, they have minified CSS & Javascript, the servers are using Gzip compression, some go so far as to move the style sheets into the head section which really helps on mobile. Last but not least, we did test demo pages that were light on graphics to make the tests as even as possible, which of course helped the load times.
When you install one you'll want to make use of a plugin such as W3 Total Cache plus utilize progressive, compressed images when possible. Also keep in mind adding additional plugins typically will slow response time down significantly, especially social plugins that make many external requests.
If you don't find a design you like within the above themes be sure to test any theme you decide on using resources such as Pingdom, Google PageSpeed Insights and WebPageTest.org to see how it compares. The themes chosen for our review are certainly some of the fastest we could find, but developers have already started focusing on page speed requirements, so keep your eyes open for new designs.
2014 will be a busy, exciting time for Web site designers, managers and search engine marketing professionals as all this new technology and ranking requirements forces us to improve user experiences — we hope this review gets you started down that road!

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For more information visit us online @ ABCO Technology

8 valuable Tips for Wireless Home Network Security

Many users setting up wireless home networks rush through the job to get their Internet connectivity working as rapidly as possible. That's totally understandable. It’s quite risky as numerous security problems can result from haste. Today's Wi-Fi networking products don't always help your situation as configuring their security features can be time-consuming and non-intuitive. The recommendations below summarize the steps you should take to improve the security of your home wireless network.

1. Change Default Administrator Passwords (and Usernames)
At the heart of most Wi-Fi home networks is an access point or router. To set up these pieces of equipment, manufacturers provide Web pages that allow owners to enter their network address and account information. These Web tools are protected with a login screen (username and password) so that only the rightful owner can do this. However, for any given piece of equipment, the logins provided are simple and very well-known to hackers on the Internet. Change these settings immediately.

2. Turn on (Compatible) WPA / WEP Encryption
All Wi-Fi equipment supports some form of encryption. Encryption technology scrambles messages sent over wireless networks so that they cannot be easily read by humans. Several encryption technologies exist for Wi-Fi today. Naturally you will want to pick the strongest form of encryption that works with your wireless network. However, the way these technologies work, all Wi-Fi devices on your network must share the same encryption settings. Therefore you may need to find a "lowest common compatible setting.

3. Change the Default SSID
Access points and routers all use a network name called the SSID. Manufacturers normally ship their products with the same SSID set. For example, the SSID for Linksys devices is normally "linksys." True, knowing the SSID does not by itself allow your neighbors to break into your network, but it is a start. More importantly, when someone finds a default SSID, they see it is a poorly configured network and are much more likely to attack it. Change the default SSID immediately when configuring wireless security on your network.

4. Enable MAC Address Filtering
Each piece of Wi-Fi gear possesses a unique identifier called the physical address or MAC address. Access points and routers keep track of the MAC addresses of all devices that connect to them. Many such products offer the owner an option to key in the MAC addresses of their home equipment that restricts the network to only allow connections from those devices. Do this, but also know that the feature is not as powerful as it may seem. Hackers and their software programs can fake MAC addresses easily.

5. Disable SSID Broadcast
In Wi-Fi networking, the wireless access point or router typically broadcasts the network name (SSID) over the air at regular intervals. This feature was designed for businesses and mobile hotspots where Wi-Fi clients may roam in and out of range. In the home, this roaming feature is unnecessary, and it increases the likelihood someone will try to log in to your home network. Fortunately, most Wi-Fi access points allow the SSID broadcast feature to be disabled by the network administrator.

6. Do Not Auto-Connect to Open Wi-Fi Networks
Connecting to an open Wi-Fi network such as a free wireless hotspot or your neighbor's router exposes your computer to security risks. Although not normally enabled, most computers have a setting available allowing these connections to happen automatically without notifying you (the user). This setting should not be enabled except in temporary situations.

7. Assign Static IP Addresses to Devices
Most home networkers gravitate toward using dynamic IP addresses. DHCP technology is indeed easy to set up. Unfortunately, this convenience also works to the advantage of network attackers, who can easily obtain valid IP addresses from your network's DHCP pool. Turn off DHCP on the router or access point, set a fixed IP address range instead, and then configure each connected device to match. Use a private IP address range (like 10.0.0.x) to prevent computers from being directly reached from the Internet.

8. Enable Firewalls on Each Computer and the Router
Modern network routers contain built-in firewall capability, but the option also exists to disable them. Ensure that your router's firewall is turned on. For extra protection, consider installing and running personal firewall software on each computer connected to the router.

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For more information visit us online @ ABCO Technology

7 killer sales generating Content Marketing Tips for Small Businesses

Small businesses have historically been slow to adopt modern content marketing strategies that professional corporate marketers use. Please understand,, SEO has changed significantly in recent years; it has become clear that small businesses need to include how to do articles, e-books, comparison guides, and other content marketing techniques to stay competitive in the search engine rankings.

Whether your content is created in-house or outsourced to a third-party agency, there will be a time when creative ideas for interesting new content become hard to find. We have seven strong content creating tips for posting outstanding content.

1. Design a Content Marketing Calendar

Having a calendar that documents your content strategy is an excellent method to ensure timely content creation. This strategy is constantly overlooked. Sixty-three percent of marketers say that their biggest difficulty with content creation is that it takes too much time, but only 42 percent are reported to have a documented content marketing strategy.
Putting together a calendar of content scheduled for each month is a positive first step that provides a set amount of time to strategize, brainstorm, create, and publish.

2. Learn about What Works

What Content Works for your business or industry?
Before researching other competitor sites for inspiration, understand the characteristics of past content that has generated sales. Jump into Google Analytics and Webmaster Tools to check the top-trafficked pages and search queries to see what content has performed the best and the keywords people have used to find your product or service.
Social statistics will also provide insight into content that has performed well. Check social media performance by utilizing services like Add This that embed sharing buttons on blogs with tracking information. There are easy-to-use dashboards that provide information on the number of shares, and click backs from those shares.
Understanding these trends will help better inform what topics and strategies have worked in the past and where to go with future content.

3. Understand Social Trends for News jacking

Social media is also helpful in providing ideas for topics in real-time. Writing content around trending topics, or news jacking, helps you provide valuable content to qualified prospects actively looking for it. Twitter has had trending topics available for a while, and Facebook introduced trending topics earlier this year. For a more local view of trending topics, Trendsmap provides an intimate view of trending news overlaid on a map with data from Twitter.
Enhance content by addressing different sides to a story, taking a controversial stance, or supplementing it with different media such as videos or infographics.

4. Create a Survey

Create news with a simple survey. Understanding the consumer stance on a topic in your industry provides material for articles and infographics. This will result in backlinks to the content and builds reputation as a primary source of data in your field.
Creating and conducting surveys have become much easier with products like SurveyMonkey, Audience, and Google Consumer Surveys that allow the creation of surveys and purchase of responses at an affordable price-point.

5. Utilize Visual Content

While much of SEO focuses on text that search engines can digest, visual content is much more appealing for human readers. Audiences are naturally wired to be more engaged with visual content, as 91 percent of the information that comes to the brain is visual, and content that utilizes imagery gets 94 percent more views than those without.
A survey of marketers from MarketingSherpa found that images were the easiest form of content to produce. Create infographics with research that's already being conducted for content, or outsource creation to include your information on a blog. Keep visitors engaged and scrolling by adding still images or animated GIFs to written content.

6. Start a Video Blog

Blog
Another easy way to create consistently high-quality content is to create videos. Seventy-nine percent of internet users say they watch online video every week, and 56 percent say they watch each day.

Starting a video blog isn't expensive or time-consuming. Short videos are the easiest to digest, and simple to shoot with a personal webcam.
Video blogs require minimal editing, if at all, and can be posted immediately to YouTube. A study by Animoto found that video content helps persuade 75 percent of consumers to buy a product or service.

7. Repurpose Content

If finding a topic and conducting the research for it is too time-consuming, create a bundle of content you have already created around a certain topic. Gather content with an underlying theme, like "do it yourself Tips," and package it with a supplemental blog post. This creates a valuable package of materials for readers to digest.
Another way for repurposing content is to revisit an older piece of content you wrote and provide updates. New information is constantly being studied and evaluated, which can be easily reported as an update to an earlier post.
Conclusions

Content marketing is now a required component of Search Engine Optimization. Content creation works by engaging new and existing audiences, and encouraging sharing. For small businesses, it is difficult to remain on course, though, and ideas are tough to generate on a consistent basis. Understanding the content strategies that have worked in the past and diversifying the media by which they are created are helpful tactics for staying on course with the consistent creation of content.

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For more information visit us online @ ABCO Technology

Monday, August 11, 2014

4 Tips for Web Visibility in Los Angeles

Business people would you like to help search engines find your business, product or service? If so read on!

Search engines know where your business is located. The Internet has been divided into GPS coordinates. A user in zip code 90045 will view slightly different results than a user accessing the Internet from zip code 9004. The reason for this is because search engines are making a large percentage of their revenue producing local search results to help users find what they need within the confines of a given area. The key question is how you as a merchant can use this information to promote your products or services.

This article will provide a list of four suggestions, which you can implement to help your website.

1 All of your webpages have title and Meta description tags, but few merchants use them properly. The title tag should express in 65 characters or less what your business does. For example, if you type Chinese food in Culver City into the title tag the search engines will index your business as Chinese food in Culver City because that is what your business does. A common mistake made by most internet users is they place the name of their business inside the title tag. A wrong title tag would be Wong’s Chinese food. So if a user was looking for Chinese food in Culver City, Wong’s would not be visible because the user asked for Chinese food in Culver City. If the user asked for Wong’s Chinese food the website provided it was functioning properly, would appear in the first position of the search results. By placing your business name into the title tag, you eliminate the possibility of a user who doesn’t know about your business finding you online. Placing your business name into the title tag is a real sales killer.

The Meta Description is a larger tag, which can hold up to 125 characters. Inside this tag a merchant might put affordable Chinese food and even list a dish such as Orange Chicken. The use of these tags applies to all pages on your website.

2 Did you know there is a free listing service, which will help you list your business in key directories, which are regularly searched for by search engine programs? A web site called www.getlisted.org is your key to local listings. This site will score your website and let you know where you should list your local business. Simply enter your domain name without the WWW and enter your zip code. Get listed.org will automatically score your website and tell you the directories where you should list your business.

3 If you have hours of operation, days open and driving directions to your business, write them in HTML. Search engines can’t see graphics. Using HTML will help the search engine programs index your website.

4 Join some local organizations such as your chamber of commerce. Search engines use organizations including the Better Business Bureau and Chamber of Commerce as critical trust signals in scoring your website.