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Archive for the ‘SEO’ Category
Finding Local Customers on the Web
When local businesses make the decision to create or commission a website, there are many considerations that must be made in terms of making the site as profitable and powerful as possible. Some aspects, such as the specific site design and layout, can be trusted to a web design expert, while other elements require a talent of a different sort. Attracting visitors, and not just any internet users, but those located within a business’ target geographic area, is a central concern for websites with brick-and-mortar operations on a small scale, and site owners may wish to tackle this task on their own or hire the services of a professional consultant.
An astounding number and diversity of people spend a considerable amount of their time online, whether it’s used to work or to find fun and entertainment. While attracting as many of these people as possible to a given website may seem like a good idea, and may in fact be a wise direction for some types of sites and projects, a number of web properties can benefit much more greatly through targeting efforts intended to draw in visitors who hail from a specific area. When local businesses want to grab the attention of local potential customers and create a relevant brand and set of impressions, working with other local sites can lead to positive results. Site owners may wish to advertise with newspapers and other well-established and popular companies with an online presence. Through identifying and approaching potential community partners online, businesses can ensure that their message will reach their intended audience.
Internet marketing for local businesses often involves the use of search-engine based advertisements, which are queued when internet users search for specific words or phrases. Opting to purchase advertisements that are linked to the name of the business’ physical address as well as its specific industry can go a long way towards drawing in potential customers who may not have otherwise known that the company existed, or who may want to know more about the business before visiting it in person. In addition to placing advertisements, companies can add their sites to scores of online directories, many of which operate free of charge. This can further associate a business with its location, creating more targeted traffic for the site.
Managing all of the aspects of an internet marketing campaign for a local business can be challenging whether working alone or with a professional, but a diligent effort incorporating these elements is likely to help any company or organization reap the rewards of establishing a prominent online presence. With a dedication to seeking new ways to get the word out about the website, and the adaptability to offer potential clients and customers interesting and attractive information and features online, companies can ensure that their efforts on the web are rewarding both in the short and in the long term.
Three Symbiotic Areas to SEO
Getting a top rankings in search engines in divided into 3 primary areas:
- On-page Optimization
- Link Development
- Content Creation
These three areas have a symbiotic relation to each other.
The two more important areas; link development and content creation are not so easy to implement and also tend to require 3rd party outsourced agents to complete.
Onpage optimization is much more easily defined, and easier to complete and while having an impact on ordered ranks in search engines it probably won’t be much of an impact without the other two.
Over the years, onpage optimization has changed. Many topics that were pnce thought to be of value have negligible value today. Some of these are:
- Keyword Density
- Meta Keyword
- Meta Description
- Page Headers
While you may find volumes of literature on the Internet about the value of
these variables – SEOAssur has empirical evidence to support their limited value
and ranking impact.
Below are some factor considerations for on-page
optimization:.
In addition, SEO Assur provides independent referrals for operating search engine optimization firms and consultants within the United States and arranged by state and city of origin.
SEOAssur
World Trade Center Delaware
702 N West St. Suite 101
Wilmington DE 19801
United States
Brief History of Copyright Law and Infringement
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The oldest precedent of copyright infringement was trialed in 546 AD where St. Columba, an Irish missionary, was found guilty for copying a Latin biblical work.
St. Columba wanted the text of the Gospels, so he borrowed the only such book around, belonging to Finnian of Druim, and made a copy. When Finnian found out, he demanded not only the return of his text, but the copy as well. The king, when called upon to arbitrate, decided in favor of Finnian, announcing the famous quote: “As the calf belongs to the cow, so the copy belongs to its book.”
It’s interesting to note that the king’s metaphoric words also had a literal meaning as the book’s text was scribed on pages of calf’s hide. Furthermore, as antidotal reprieve, St. Columba, being unhappy with the king’s findings and seeking a higher authority, went to war with Finnian and won, thus retrieving what he considered his copy of the sacred book.
Nonetheless, it took another 1155 years before written law was to match this king’s visionary stance. In 1701 the British Parliament enacted the Statute of Anne, forbidding unauthorized persons from printing or importing another person’s book.
Formal copyright grew with technological advancement and the use of the printing press. Authors sought to control publication of their work by granting certain printers publishing rights.
Later in 1710 a revision of Statue of Anne made copyright a fixed period of protection (14 years with renewable of subsequent 14-year periods if the author was still living). This revision prevented a monopoly thus creating “public domain” literature by limiting terms of copyright.
…and then came the Internet.
While the general principles of copyrights and the protection from infringement have not changed in three millennia, the digital age and associated communication mediums have changed dramatically. Legislation was presented with a barrage of new challenges since current law, when created, had not considered electronic or digital encoding.
Digital Millennium Copyright Act
Copyrighted material could now be freely accessed by a global audience thus a need arose to create new laws to protect copyright in the digital age. THE DIGITAL MILLENNIUM COPYRIGHT ACT (DMCA) OF 1998 reshaped the future of protecting authors’ exclusive rights within the United States. Since that time, many other countries including Canada, most of the European Union, Australia and many others have enacted their own legislation based on the original framework of DMCA.
The DMCA is a bill designed to bring copyright law up to date with digital age. In part, to aid the protection of digital works and outlaw the manufacture of, or “trafficking” in, technologies capable of circumventing technical protection measures.
It’s noteworthy to mention, within the technical amendments of DCMA, the Copyright Act requires the rightful copyright holder to register their work with the Copyright Office prior to making any claim on copyright.
While it is understood that every author has an immediate “common copyright” on the creation of a work this is by definition only an “implied” copyright noting that the originating author is the entity that may claim copyright. An implied copyright, however, does not sustain the burden of proof which is needed to demonstrate a distinct difference between exclusive copyright, fair use, and unauthorized use.
In simple terms, when copyright is being disputed (thus an alleged infringement has occurred) and a court of law is needed to remedy the claim, each party has previously sworn, under the penalty of perjury, that they are the rightful copyright holder (or disputing based on fair use). By default, a party with registered copyrights automatically sustains a burden of proof. A practical secondary advantage of mandatory registration prior to litigation is the likely distinction that the work in question is not of public domain.
DMCA Global Warming
Protecting your exclusive copyrights within the framework of DMCA is much like the apparent (or illusive) effects of global warming.
To clarify, global warming (if true) is one of the most serious challenges we face since the impact is a global one. Protecting the health and economic well-being of our planet for future generations means we must act immediately.
Unfortunately, the evidence that suggests global warning is occurring can also be postulated in a defense that the observed effects are a naturally occurring one.
Coincidently, copyright is also global matter with similar economic implications, and the provisions of DMCA merely aid to postulate a claim of copyright without necessarily sustaining a burden of proof that a claim in valid.
The practical analogy of global warming is worth mentioning simply because your mere “word” (your sworn statement, under penalty of perjury) that you are the author of a work can be met with another person’s “word” (their sworn statement, under penalty of perjury) your claim remains unsubstantiated leaving anyone else involved in a quandary as to whom to believe.
In retrospect, the greatest threat to copyright as with global warming is ignorance. Lack of understanding in copyright and being oblivious to infringement can have catastrophic effects when the author eventually learns that another person or company is making commercial gains on their exclusive rights.
Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation
As the Internet matures, the liability to online service providers grows. With an estimated 30 billion pages of freely accessible and near unlimited information, copyright and trademark infringement is the Achilles heel. Online service provider that act as information hubs aggregating likeminded topics are an ever-increasing easy target of infringement claims.
One of the major copyright amendments that DMCA put into effect was a doctrine to protect intermediaries from being prosecuted for illegal acts in which they were uninvolved.
DMCA Title II: Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation (Section 512) provides exemptions for certain online service providers with a complete bar on monetary damages (a safe harbor) in the event an alleged copyright infringement occurs.
Search engines and web hosting companies are the two most prominent service providers having a safe harbor against copyright liability. So long as they, upon being notified of a claimed infringement, adhere to the safe harbor guidelines such as expeditiously removing, or disabling access to, the materials claimed to be infringing on the copyrights or another.
What this means to the average business that finds unauthorized copies of their copyright work being exploited by another firm, is immediate termination to minimize monetary damage. Online service providers requesting a safe harbor from copyright claim have absolutely no choice but to abide by the terms and conditions of DMCA, no matter if a claim is validate or invalid.
In 1998, the United States unanimously ratified DMCA for protection of copyright material in digital forms. However, as this was US legislation only an estimated 1/6th of all online users were subject to the terms of DMCA, making enforcement a continuing challenge.
A significant offset to these challenges is that all major search engines are of U.S. origin. Having a combined readership of over 90% worldwide users and each having adopted DCMA safe harbor guidelines greatly assists in curbing unauthorized use of copyright material. However, without the support of legal recourse on a global scale, a single nation DMCA is very much like plugging a hole in a boat with an ice cube. The flood is arrested only in the short-term.
DMCA safe harbor conditions denote a takedown process immediately upon being notified, whereby, an alleged infringer can choose to counter-claim rather than admit to unauthorized use. Once a counter-claim is received and the copyright holder notified, they have 14 days to file for legal recourse. Unfortunately, if the alleged infringer is not of US origin, neither DMCA provisions nor U.S. copyright law apply. Under the terms of DMCA, should the online provider not be in receipt of documentation indicating civil (or criminal) action has commenced in the specified 14 days, the alleged infringing material is returned to its previous status.