As I was saying a couple of days ago I just had an awful time with my internet provider . I had to make about 4 trips to their office and I barely managed to get a contract signed after 4 visits . Their client services told me I DIDN'T needed some paperwork . And I didn't take that document with me . And when I got there the lady at the office told me that I , in fact , did need that document . And eventually you know what I found out ?
That NO . I didn't need the respective document . The lady at the office had her stuff all mixed up . Anyway this was one more proof to support my way of seeing things and that is : in most cases , most of the time , it's best to work with small companies , instead of big ones .
I mean this internet provider that I just signed a contract has a couple hundred thousands users in just one city . And still ... they suck .
Never really understood why this happens . Do they not care about every single individual and they start treating people in dozens ? Or they simply cannot pay attention to everyone and people get ignored ?
I honestly don't think it makes much difference which is which ... what matters is , that for the most part of my life , working with big companies has proven to be at least troublesome .
I prefer the little guys . They need me . They know that . I'm not just another customer . I'm a guy that puts a little in everyone's paycheck at the end of the month . And they work for that . They get things done faster . Maybe it's because they don't have so much stuff to do ... but I don't care as long as I get my things done as fast as possible .
Now why did I bother you with this ? Well ... these experiences may be of use to some of you . Sometimes it's best to keep things small . A small hosting company . One that values quality . An individual developer ... one that knows first hand that your business , be it whatever it may be , will put food on his table .
Don't rush into the first big company just because they have a name for themselves . Do some research . Maybe you can find something smaller but faster , better .
Now , in another topic somehow related ... do you remember that guy that you used to party with in highschool ? The really funny one , great friend , knew a lot of jokes and all in all he was a great company ? Remember him ?
He was a great guy , wasn't he ? Boy ... the times we've had ... the parties and the fun .
But just because he could burp the alphabet ... can he actually work by your side and fulfill his tasks before his deadlines ? Can he be trusted to take responsibility for his part of the job ?
I recently talked to a friend of mine , an old colleague of mine . We haven't talked in ages . And at a certain point in the conversation we , evidently , reach the following question :
'So ... what do you do ? What have you been working ?'
He looks at me and after he tells me he is working for a company dealing with computer assembly and repair he asks me :
'Do you remember Catalin ? From highschool ?'
'Yeah . How is he by the way ?'
'I think he is good . Haven't talked to him in some time now . About 2 years ago we agreed we would start a small business together fixing computers for start and then maybe bigger things . But he is a dick . I mean ... he is a great guy and all that but he is lazy as heck and talks a lot of crap . Never knew that about him . I never had to work with him before . We started this thing , we got a lot of clients at first but I was the one doing all the work and eventually it blew in our faces . I couldn't keep up with all of them and he always seemed to find some excuse from doing things .'
The rest is irrelevant . I trust you know what I am trying to say , right ?
what causes a high bounce rate ?
We all know that different stats mean different things for different types of sites . That's a lot of different , isn't it !? You need to understand that there is no real recipe for success with websites , blogging or any other type of virtual endeavor . In fact I don't think there is a clear recipe for success in any aspect of life ... but this is a talk for another session , on a different blog . It all comes down to thinking just one step ahead of your site .
What we do know is that some sites need leads , other sites just need people to stay on them for as long as possible , other sites may need word of mouth , and so on and so forth .
When it comes to web analytics , whatever your site's needs may be , it is - however - clear that all sites need a low bounce rate . The bounce rate is basically just a percentage of how many people see just one page of your site and then skip to the next website . And this simply isn't good for any kind of website .
So the rule is to keep your bounce rate as low as possible for as long as possible .
3 things : bad content , bad design , bad information . Notice that I use both content and information . Some of you might ask : 'How come ?! Aren't they the same thing ?'
Not necessarily . By content I mean text ( quantity and quality - proper spelling , etc ) and the way the text is structured and placed while by information I mean the actual pieces of knowledge the user receives after reading your content .
So ... bad content . When someone stumbles to your webpage it is critical to have proper spelling , easy to read layout and correct use of grammar . Check your landing pages and make sure they are in tip top shape in terms of spelling , grammar , layout .
Now when it comes to layout and grammar there really aren't too many options out there . You can do some research in terms of layout ( you can start here ) and you simply must know proper grammar .
As for spelling there are plenty of online tools out there that can spellcheck text ( to name a few : spellchecker and orangoo's tool ) .
When it comes to content you need to make sure you optimize your pages for what your website is about , make sure - with the use of meta data and keywords - that your visitors know what they will find even before they click your link . This ensures valuable visitors instead of weary ones that just bounce off .
The design of a webpage can get highly underrated many times and this is strange because design is basically how a page looks . We all love beautiful women , right ? We all love beautiful cars , right ? People are fond of beauty ... and design makes no exception from the rule .
Obviously the best option is to hire a professional to do all of your design . But in case you can't do that there are tons of resources out there featuring free web templates , blogger templates , wordpress templates and so on . All you have to do is search . Seek and you shall find . Make sure the design keeps in touch with the general topic of your website .
Another thing to keep in mind is ad placement in case you have ads on your website . Don't crowd your landing pages with banners and link ads . Ads are a turn off . Learn to blend your ads with the overall look of your page . This way visitors won't think your page is just another scheme and they will see it as a genuine resource .
Bad information or no information at all . They both need to be avoided as much as possible . Make sure the message you are trying to send is visible from the very start . Make sure it is up to date . Fresh content has become the new mecca of our times . Make sure your message is real and has real world applications for the people interested .
These are a few things you should keep in mind when optimizing your website for a lower bounce rate .
What we do know is that some sites need leads , other sites just need people to stay on them for as long as possible , other sites may need word of mouth , and so on and so forth .
When it comes to web analytics , whatever your site's needs may be , it is - however - clear that all sites need a low bounce rate . The bounce rate is basically just a percentage of how many people see just one page of your site and then skip to the next website . And this simply isn't good for any kind of website .
So the rule is to keep your bounce rate as low as possible for as long as possible .
What causes a high bounce rate ?
Not necessarily . By content I mean text ( quantity and quality - proper spelling , etc ) and the way the text is structured and placed while by information I mean the actual pieces of knowledge the user receives after reading your content .
So ... bad content . When someone stumbles to your webpage it is critical to have proper spelling , easy to read layout and correct use of grammar . Check your landing pages and make sure they are in tip top shape in terms of spelling , grammar , layout .
Now when it comes to layout and grammar there really aren't too many options out there . You can do some research in terms of layout ( you can start here ) and you simply must know proper grammar .
As for spelling there are plenty of online tools out there that can spellcheck text ( to name a few : spellchecker and orangoo's tool ) .
When it comes to content you need to make sure you optimize your pages for what your website is about , make sure - with the use of meta data and keywords - that your visitors know what they will find even before they click your link . This ensures valuable visitors instead of weary ones that just bounce off .
The design of a webpage can get highly underrated many times and this is strange because design is basically how a page looks . We all love beautiful women , right ? We all love beautiful cars , right ? People are fond of beauty ... and design makes no exception from the rule .
Obviously the best option is to hire a professional to do all of your design . But in case you can't do that there are tons of resources out there featuring free web templates , blogger templates , wordpress templates and so on . All you have to do is search . Seek and you shall find . Make sure the design keeps in touch with the general topic of your website .
Another thing to keep in mind is ad placement in case you have ads on your website . Don't crowd your landing pages with banners and link ads . Ads are a turn off . Learn to blend your ads with the overall look of your page . This way visitors won't think your page is just another scheme and they will see it as a genuine resource .
Bad information or no information at all . They both need to be avoided as much as possible . Make sure the message you are trying to send is visible from the very start . Make sure it is up to date . Fresh content has become the new mecca of our times . Make sure your message is real and has real world applications for the people interested .
These are a few things you should keep in mind when optimizing your website for a lower bounce rate .
stemming your way to the first place
I've had me a horrific past couple of weeks . I've had no access to an internet connection . I could have surfed the web from some place other than my home but , for various reasons , I prefer to do my browsing/writing/chatting strictly from home .
Anyway , after a lot of dealing with incompetent employees and a lot of dealing with stupid , useless protocols I've finally got my connection set up and I thought it would be a good idea to start posting again . It will take some time getting back in line but I'm confident enough , especially with autumn knocking at my door ( for some reason I feel rejuvenated when it's raining and it's cold ) .
So ... what is keyword stemming !?
Probably everyone knows what it is ... but some of you may not know that it's called this way .
Keyword stemming ( sometimes referred to as conflation ) is basically the process of obtaining a base word , a stem , from it's various derived forms .
For example stemming is getting to the word 'sink' from it's derived form 'sinking' or maybe 'sinks' . Or getting to 'flow' from it's derived forms 'flows' or 'flowing' . You get the point .
Now I've seen a lot of incorrect use of this term ( 'stemming' ) when it comes to 'keyword stemming' . People tend to refer to it as being the other way around which is getting to a derived form from a basic word , stem .
For example getting to 'sinking' or 'sinks' from it's stem which is 'sink' .
Basically you get the idea . Just as a note on this the first definition is correct while the second one , the one most bloggers tend to use , is incorrect .
Initially search engines have had problems with this because it requires a tricky algorithm for a search engine to read the word 'sinking' and know that it's related to 'sink' . But we live in an age of wonders in which search engines ( at least the big ones ) no longer have issues with this stemming .
And because they no longer have these problems it is a good bet you can spruce up your position by taking advantage of keyword stemming .
Now , for the most part , you will not have problems with stemming a keyword and finding the right place for it , but if your english skills are not in top shape or if you stumble upon a tricky word you could go and check out this handy stemming tool over at indeksering .
Anyway , after a lot of dealing with incompetent employees and a lot of dealing with stupid , useless protocols I've finally got my connection set up and I thought it would be a good idea to start posting again . It will take some time getting back in line but I'm confident enough , especially with autumn knocking at my door ( for some reason I feel rejuvenated when it's raining and it's cold ) .
So ... what is keyword stemming !?
Probably everyone knows what it is ... but some of you may not know that it's called this way .
Keyword stemming ( sometimes referred to as conflation ) is basically the process of obtaining a base word , a stem , from it's various derived forms .
For example stemming is getting to the word 'sink' from it's derived form 'sinking' or maybe 'sinks' . Or getting to 'flow' from it's derived forms 'flows' or 'flowing' . You get the point .
Now I've seen a lot of incorrect use of this term ( 'stemming' ) when it comes to 'keyword stemming' . People tend to refer to it as being the other way around which is getting to a derived form from a basic word , stem .
For example getting to 'sinking' or 'sinks' from it's stem which is 'sink' .
Basically you get the idea . Just as a note on this the first definition is correct while the second one , the one most bloggers tend to use , is incorrect .
Initially search engines have had problems with this because it requires a tricky algorithm for a search engine to read the word 'sinking' and know that it's related to 'sink' . But we live in an age of wonders in which search engines ( at least the big ones ) no longer have issues with this stemming .
And because they no longer have these problems it is a good bet you can spruce up your position by taking advantage of keyword stemming .
Now , for the most part , you will not have problems with stemming a keyword and finding the right place for it , but if your english skills are not in top shape or if you stumble upon a tricky word you could go and check out this handy stemming tool over at indeksering .
6 pieces of web design
I don't think I have featured any inspiration pieces so far and since I spend my days struggling to be a web designer I figured it was about time to start posting some pieces of things visual . So , without further ado I bring to you 6 pieces of web design . Original web design that is ... why 6 ? Well , why not 6 ?
Christian Sparrow
Max Shaman
Artistika
AceHigh Records
Bear Skin Rug
Hailey Winstone
the secret of blogging is ...
Everything I've learned so far about blogging has lead me to one simple conclusion :
Nothing more , nothing less . Every guide , every tutorial , every discussion , every book , every blog you've ever read about blogging is basically just another way of selling .
With the flow of information that the internet has allowed there is no longer a need to sell information . I doubt that there is anything anymore that you can't find online in several places . So blogging is no longer selling information . Years ago when blogging was just a kid sucking on a lollipop people read certain blogs because they offered information that they could not find anywhere else .
Today that is no longer a reality . The information that you can find in a place is most definitely available in other places as well .
Today you cannot come up with something brand new to say . So all you are left with is saying the same old crap ... but in a brand new way - your way .
And this is what I know about blogging . Successful blogging that is .
Absolutely everything there is to know about blogging can be summed up to one simple sentence :
That's it . And now you know it . The secret to a successful blog is simply knowing how to market yourself .
Now all you have to figure out is if you're a good salesman .
'Blogging is selling .'
Nothing more , nothing less . Every guide , every tutorial , every discussion , every book , every blog you've ever read about blogging is basically just another way of selling .
With the flow of information that the internet has allowed there is no longer a need to sell information . I doubt that there is anything anymore that you can't find online in several places . So blogging is no longer selling information . Years ago when blogging was just a kid sucking on a lollipop people read certain blogs because they offered information that they could not find anywhere else .
Today that is no longer a reality . The information that you can find in a place is most definitely available in other places as well .
Today you cannot come up with something brand new to say . So all you are left with is saying the same old crap ... but in a brand new way - your way .
And this is what I know about blogging . Successful blogging that is .
Absolutely everything there is to know about blogging can be summed up to one simple sentence :
'Blogging is about selling yourself .'
That's it . And now you know it . The secret to a successful blog is simply knowing how to market yourself .
Now all you have to figure out is if you're a good salesman .
