Update on Domain Names - New York Times Report

Domain names have been expanding and evolving since the Internet began. Currently the domain system consists of more than twenty suffixes, which follow the last dot in web addresses. These are called top-level domains. Presently they are connected to countries such as “.de” for Germany or categories such as “.com” for commerce and “.org” for institutional organizations. Later ones have come out like “.biz” for businesses in 2001 and “.mobi” for mobile applications in 2005. Many individuals, businesses and organizations register many domain names and their derivatives all pointing to the same site. Also individuals have purchased domain names to buy and sell. Soon you will have an opportunity to purchase your own personal domain name extension category.

NEW YORK TIMES – 6/27/08

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) approved one of the most sweeping changes to the network’s address system since its inception. Any company, organization, city, state or country will soon be able to apply for a new Web address extension, called a top-level domain. Also these domains will be able to be registered in scripts other than Roman characters, like Chinese, Arabic and Cyrillic. Countries can get their two-letter country code, like Bulgaria’s “.bg,” in their native alphabet.

All applications would have to go through an independent review process. Third parties will be able to challenge applications on the grounds that a particular suffix could threaten “morality and public order.” Companies will have first priority when it comes to claiming their brand names such as “.coke.” If multiple parties want the extension, then it will be settled through an auction process.

ICANN officials state that they will move slowly before the launch of this program while seeking to review all concerns and considerations. It will take approximately a year before it is ready for open market. The prices for the new domains will start in the low six figures.

To find out if you are using your domain name(s) effectively contact George Dubec for a marketing consultation. You will receive a report and analysis of your domain name, website design flow, and website traffic analysis.

The Largest South Florida Business Expo

The Largest South Florida Business Expo
Sponsored by the Broward Chamber of Commerce

Come join George Dubec and Securenet Systems Representatives for an evening of networking at the largest South Florida Business Expo ever!

Thursday, June 26th, 2008
4:00PM - 9:00PM

Bank Atlantic Center
One Panther Parkway
Sunrise, Florida 33323
Near Sawgrass Mills Mall


Demand more from your website!
Stop by and visit our booth!

OVER A THOUSAND ATTENDEES

Call Securenet Systems to get VIP passes and FREE ADMISSION tickets

For More Information Go To www.browardcountyexpo.com or call Securenet Systems @ 954-481-9402 or email info@securenetsystems.net

1 in 4 Internet Users Visit Social Networking Sites

Until recently, social networking was a relatively niche Internet activity. Nowadays many Internet users have integrated them into their daily lives, and perhaps the business community will be the next to embrace it.

by Helen Leggatt (BizReport : Social Marketing : June 20, 2008)

The most recent Consumer Internet Barometer from the Conference Board and TNS, found that one in four Internet users visit social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook.
Serious social networkers can log on to their network of choice several times a day, around half do so at least once every day. These users don’t need to be in the comfort of home to surf a social network, many do so at work, in libraries, at school or via their mobile devices from pretty much anywhere.

"Online social networking is an integral part of many people's lives and a natural extension of our means of communication which the Internet has created,” said Lynn Franco, Director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center.

“The next growth wave will be expanding and incorporating these networks into our business lives,” she added, which might not be too far distant with one in eight employed 30-somethings using social networks to conduct business.

If you would like to find out how to use Social Networking (Web 2.0) to promote your business, make new contacts, generate interest for your products and services plus keep up to date with new technology then contact George Dubec, the Online Marketing Consultant, to integrate this strategy into your online marketing program.

Average Search CPC Data by Category for May 2008

A look at the average cost-per-click in search by vertical in the U.S. for April and May 2008. Data and research are provided by Efficient Frontier. "Total finance" includes auto finance, banking, credit, financial information, insurance, lending, and mortgage. Each vertical contains data from multiple advertisers.

If you’re considering a Pay Per Click campaign then it’s important that you use online marketing professionals to manage your program. It is very easy to spend a lot of money and not get traffic to your site that turns into conversions, which is more leads or sales for your business. Contact George Dubec to analyze your present situation and online marketing budget to see if PPC (Pay Per Click) is right for you.

5 REASONS WHY YOUR SEARCH ENGINE TRAFFIC MAY HAVE DROPPED

Recently there have been many websites seeing a decrease in search traffic. Here is a quick list of possible reasons this might have happened with some notes of how to handle the situation and how to tell if that’s what actually happened:

1. You’ve been penalized. Most often this will also trigger the following:

- you have lost all your rankings for all your keywords
- your site has been dropped out of index

Solution: find out what you may have done wrong, clean up your site (and tactics) and ask for reconsideration. If you are sure that you are good enough for a human review by the search engine staff, you stand a good chance of being forgiven and relisted. If you don’t know how to analyze the situation contact Securenet Systems to help you review your situation.

2. Your site has been hacked. That’s a common scenario in today’s Internet world. Here are a few signs that you have been hacked:

- your site has been dropped out of the search engine index without any reason
- you get a rise of unusal traffic (especially for searches that have nothing to do with your site)
Google especially notifies you of unusual keywords in your site content. Prior to taking any actions Google does its best to notify a webmaster of possible problems:
--- they notify a webmaster via Google tools
--- they send an email alert to a webmaster to a most probable email address (admin@yourdomain.com, webmaster@yourdomain.com, contact@yourdomain.com, etc.

3. The search engine is tweaking or adjusting its algorithm. That’s a highly probable situation considering that last year alone Google launched more than 450 new adjustments, that’s about 9 per week on the average. Some more recent adjustments include:

- Google’s “special” attitude to .info domains
- Google deranking most directories; etc.

4. Overall (seasonal) change in searches. Sometimes your traffic drop has nothing to do with either you or the search engine. This is due to fashion trends, political and economical changes, etc. Check out Google trends to find such patterns.

5. Your competitors are doing better with their promotional efforts. SEO is about constant competition. You can’t achieve the top and rest assured you are going to be there for life. You are being watched by those who want to be in your place. So do what your competitors are doing:

- always review your competitors and do competitive analysis
- review your competitors’ link building and social media promotion efforts
- improve your own SEO techniques

NOTE: What initially got you top rankings will not allow you to remain there. It’s like paddling a boat upstream. You must continually paddle to make constant headway.

If you can’t understand why you have a drop in traffic, whether sudden or over a period of time, you need to seek expert help. SEO is much like rocket science. If you don’t keep up to date with the latest SEO strategies and techniques, you don’t have the tools to analyze your situation, you don’t have the knowledge to understand what is going on or the manpower, contact an SEO professional organization to assist you. Call Securenet Systems; doing online marketing work for over ten years or call me direct at 866-568-9402 # 222.

Best 3 SEO Tips of 2008

By Scott Jason (c) 2008
Each year I spend the first three months looking for the best and most innovative SEO tips of the previous year's end. This year I have what I believe to be the best 3 SEO tips in a decade!

SEO Tip #1: Make Google Alerts Your Personal Online Spy

Google Alerts is a great way to let the world's biggest search engine be your personal online investigator. This takes search engine optimization insider info to a whole new level. Here's an excerpt straight from Google....

"Google Alerts are email updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.) based on your choice of query or topic."
Some handy uses of Google Alerts include:
- monitoring a developing news story
- keeping current on a competitor or industry
- getting the latest on a celebrity or event
- keeping tabs on your favorite sports teams" As you probably guessed, it's the second one we care about most, "keeping current on a competitor or industry."

Here's how it works... Each time Google finds a reference to the query or topic you request you will be sent an email with the details. This is like having an online agent to make sure competitors are not using your protected keywords (trademarked names, company names, etc.) It's also an instant identifier to know when your site or product is mentioned in a news story or even when a topic is hot so you can take advantage of the situation. It's the easiest way in the world to stop competitors' dirty tricks and identify trends that you can take instant advantage of.

It's fast, free and works every minute of every day. Let Google Alerts do your most time consuming legwork while you reap the rewards!

SEO Tip #2: Optimize Your 404 Page and Always Be Found

"Error 404: Page Not Found" is a blessing that most Webmasters curse. Why? Getting a visitor on any page of your site is fantastic! Don't blow the opportunity. Not only can you make your "404" page a valuable sales tool, you can use the following search engine optimization techniques to attract customers in droves.

A.) Use your main keyword in your title, add a "pipe" (usually above the Enter key) and then use your secondary keyword. Here's an example for an SEO site "SEO Search Engine Optimization Tips"

B.) Add some keyword rich content using one to two keywords for the page. If you have less than 250 words on the page, just use one keyword and use it no more than three times total. Bold the first use and italicize the second or third use. Keep in mind this is an "inactive" page so simply tell the visitor what your site is about and whet their appetite with a good description. Something like this works well... "Thank you for visiting SEO (bold) Group, Inc. We're sorry you seem to have found a missing page but rest assured, if you are looking for the world's best search engine optimization tips (bold or italic), you are at the right place..." This will go on for a couple paragraphs or as long as you'd like then end it with something to the effect of "Please Click Here (link) to visit our site map or click any link to the left."

C.) Add your site's standard navigation system (bar, column, etc.) as mentioned above.

D.) Make the look and feel of the customized 404 page match your main site as closely as possible with a template, matched palette, cascading style sheets, etc.

E.) Create a link to the site map page if available, and make the link easy to find. You want your visitor off the 404 page and into your main content as quickly as possible.

Setting up a custom 404 page link usually takes less than five minutes on most major Web hosting companies like Godaddy.com. But whatever it takes, it's worth the effort.

SEO Tip #3: Get (Even More) Serious about Linking

I saved the most important for last. If you want to do well on any search engine, especially Google, linking is THE single MOST important thing you can do. It's that simple.

Here are the five things you MUST do to make your site #1 on Google:

A.) Find the highest page rank sites linking to your site AND your competitors' sites.

B.) Run monthly link campaigns and snatch up the best of the above identified Web sites.

C.) Run regular checks on what pages are still linking back to your site. Also make sure they did not move you from a high page rank page to a lower one (don't get cheated!)

D.) Eliminate any penalized sites you link to; ASAP!

E.) Check your search engine ranking AND your competitor's for each of your keywords every week. Do this for Google, Yahoo, MSN and Alta Vista at the minimum.

Inside Tip: Keeping up can be a lot of work, and is extremely important, so a lot of SEO Consultants (myself included) use SEO Elite to do all the most difficult and time consuming work.

One last thing to know is that Google was originally a college student's project created for the sole purpose of defining a Web site's value by the sites that link to it. Twelve years later this is still its main job. Linking is EVERYTHING to Google.

These three SEO tips are the best of the best so use them wisely. Best of luck!