Our Client Open House and Luau

Fun Photos:

Delicious Fruit Ka-Bobs

Dancing the Night Away

More Tasty Treats

Musical Entertainment


Aloha.

How social networking is changing the web

Many users of the web now expect a more personal experience when they visit your website. We have all witnessed the huge growth of sites such as My Space, Face Book, Wink, YouTube, and Fickr. These sites are quickly outpacing many of the traditional websites in popularity. What does this mean to you? It is signaling that many Internet users want more personal contact. If you can portray a portion of who you are on a more intimate level potential clients will feel more at ease when choosing a service provider. No one likes to hire someone for professional services without more information. From the client's point of view they maybe more inclined to hire you if they realize you donate your time and services to worthy causes, or see you have close family ties. This helps them to perceive you as someone they can trust and feel comfortable with.

The other important impact of networking sites is the ability for your practice to set up a profile on such sites as LinkedIn, Plaxo, Corante, and Avvo. This is a great way to build links, and mass market yourself. They give you the ability to further personalize yourself. Many network websites are free, and give you the ability to blog, which also helps with your search engine popularity. If you haven't set up a profile on LinkedIn, Plaxo, Corante and Avvo please do so. Take advantage of their free marketing.

Firefox 3 in Beta Testing

Recently released is Firefox 3 Beta 5, a new version of my favorite browser Firefox.

While not all of my Add-ons/extensions function with the Beta version, it appears to be superior to its former self.

Firefox is quickly becoming the browser of choice for knowledgeable and savvy internet users.

Here are some fun statistics on browser use.

If you wonder why this matters, the answer is this:
Different browsers can display websites differently. As a result, it is important to test websites in multiple browsers to ensure they look great across the internet regardless of what browser a user prefers.

For more information about browsers, contact your account manager.

Understanding Optimization

If you're reading this blog, chances are good you already know that SEO is the abbreviation for Search Engine Optimization. What you probably don't know is what exactly that means. Granted, much of the information I hold is considered proprietary, but I can endeavor to help you understand that not all SEO is created equal. Let’s start with a little bit of history from here at Page 1 Solutions:

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In the beginning was the Website. Though the Website was good - well-designed, easy to navigate, and abounding with content - the Website did not appear on the first page of most search engines. So the Optimizer introduced Coding to the Website to help the search engines easily "read" and understand what the Website was about. And for a little while, back in 2004, the Website performed extremely well on the search engines—even the coveted Google.

After a time, many other optimizers from many companies began to duplicate and improve on the coding, and the search engine market became greatly competitive.
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That's just the basic back story to help understand why we do what we do every day. Now let's talk about what we earnestly desire to do every day for each of our clients, and why it is important:

Each of our clients' sites is treated to monthly directory submissions, link building, ongoing maintenance, and long-term analysis. (Long-term trends, usually 3-6 months, are much more indicative of how well a website is performing than a short-term stretch of only a few days or weeks.) More recently, we have also begun insuring each client's site is submitted to Google Maps (Google Local).

There are two primary additional strategies we have seen making a sweeping difference to optimization recently:

Perhaps the most important way to optimize your website is through continually adding new content. There is more than one way to do so, and each offers different benefits, but the benefits are enormous, not only to achieve your goals on the search engines, but also for visitors to your website, who are gratified and engaged when they are able to find information specific to what they are searching for.

Secondarily, though not without great impact, is the regular submission of articles or press releases to other websites. This provides both inbound linking and what those in the marketing industry like to call "buzz," when readers searching for information come across a new article which links to your site.

If you're missing either of these two strategies, your web marketing efforts may be said to be lacking, particularly in view of the changing competitive strategies of today’s search engine markets. Let me add here, that if your SEO contract doesn’t include these steps, chances are good that your marketing strategy is not lackadaisical, but merely needs updating.

SEO is a changing entity, exactly as your practice and website should be. Just as you are constantly searching out updated information, usually through continuing education or by keeping yourself abreast of the news in your practice areas, your website should continually be updated and recreated to suit the changing needs of your website visitors.

If your site is already hitting stellar page-1 listings, don't rest content to ride the current wave of success. New strategies for optimization are creeping up constantly, and while we don't recommend chasing every trend to the detriment of your site's stability, undertaking proven steps to keep your site at the front of the search engines' notice isn’t just an option, but a necessity.

Seeing My Client With New Eyes

As an account manager one of biggest challenges we face is building a trusting relationship with a true understanding of the clients business, their philosophy, and needs. We talk to our clients trying to get a true understanding of who they are, but still this can feel incomplete. My client the 20/20 Institute has given me the chance to learn first hand who they are.

On Friday, the 28th I underwent IntraLase LASIK , and now completely understand what the 20/20 Experience is really about. When I went into the 20/20 Institute I wasn't sure if I would be a good candidate since I'm in the over 40 category. After a thorough exam I was sent home with contacts to wear in my right eye. Monovision in certain cases is a good alternative for those who need both distance and near vision. The doctor wanted to be certain I would be comfortable with different vision for each eye. He was very clear he would rather not perform the surgery, than to possibly make me feel more uncomfortable with the final outcome.

From the moment I walked in for the first consultation I felt like I had found a spa for the sight challenged. I had a personal concierge who helped explain the process. She walked me through all the paperwork, and financing. The 20/20 Institute itself is a very luxurious, yet comfortable environment. I never felt pressured or rushed to to make a decision regarding the procedure.

I must say on Saturday morning I felt like a new person. I haven't seen this clearly in years. I feel 20 years younger! It is amazing how much this has changed my outlook in less than a week, and how it has given me a new appreciation for my client.