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Maki & Brian
DeLaet
EduCyber founders
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I've spoken with several clients and colleagues about Search Engine Optimization lately. I am amazed at the wild misunderstandings at how to go about getting ranked well in the search engines.
One business owner I spoke with was quite excited about the concept of cross-linking (having two different web sites link to each other to help each of them improve their rankings). Done correctly, this is indeed a good way to improve your rank. But then he proceeded to describe what was little more than a link farm. If your site is linked to from a link farm, the search engines will toss you from their rankings completely. I tried to dissuade him from that path but don't know if I was successful or not.
I spoke with another client who knew that he needed to have text on his web site because the search engines like text. The only problem is that his text was actually a part of a graphic (image file) so the search engines didn't see any of his text. This meant he was not ranked for any words having to do with his business. When he learned that over 40% of all search is local, he was dismayed to realize the piece of the pie that he was missing.
Search engine optimization is a little bit science and a little bit art. To succeed (to get your site ranked well for key words) takes time. It takes time to understand the latest trends and technologies. It takes time to craft your site so that the content is in align with what the search engines look for. It takes time to build good links from other sites to yours.
So as you prepare your site for the search engines, give us a call to discuss your options.
OK. I've said it before and I'll say it again. If your backup systems aren't automated, they don't happen. If they don't happen, when (not if but when) your system crashes, you lose. What can you afford to lose? I spoke with a lady recently who told me about their automated system that backs up all their data on Thursday night. I asked her how bad the damage would be if her system crashed on Wednesday night. Her eyes got wide as she realized that she would spend more than a week re-creating that weeks' worth of data. And then we talked about how she wouldn't be bringing in new clients while she was spending time recreating that data.
REGULAR automated backups are crucial! We recommend nightly backups. That way you only lose one day's worth of data if something bad happens. We also recommend a combination of onsite and offsite backups. Our preferred onsite backup involves a large (depends on your data but 500 GB is a nice size) external USB or FireWire hard drive. The software that you use to accomplish the backup depends on your needs. Most of these drives come with backup software built in and that will work for small or home-based businesses. The most robust (and most expensive) software for backups is Symantec's Backup Exec. This comes with all kinds of features for backing up a server running Exchange and SQL. Whatever software you use, make sure you can set it to automatically perform the backups at night so you won't be disturbed or slowed down during the day.
For offsite backups we recommend DataPreserve (and we are agents of Datapreserve so we can handle this for you). For up to 2 GB of data the monthly cost is only $14.95 per month. 2 GB is a lot of data but if you need more there are several different affordable levels available. If you're really a data hog, you can still backup 20 GB of data for under $50 each month. Imagine the unimaginable happens and your office burns to the ground. While you would have a lot of other concerns, your data would be safe and secure and ready for you to go to work.
Need help with your backups? Call EduCyber for a free consultation at 720-275-4646.
Last week I had a client who got a bargain PC for business. It was one of those situations where a family member was able to hook them up with a very nice computer. The only problem was that it came with Windows Vista Home Premium. And that was a problem because one of their business critical programs isn't set up for Vista yet.
But Microsoft has an answer for just such a situation. We downloaded (for free) and installed Virtual PC 2007. It didn't take long and installation was a snap. Then we installed XP (they had an used license) on the virtual computer and they were up and running.
I had heard of and read of Virtual PC before but hadn't used it. Now I have it set up on my Windows Vista laptop so I can also have XP at my fingertips. This Virtual PC program is definitely for real. Microsoft threw up several warnings while installing it on the Home Vista version as it isn't intended for the Home version. But it worked just fine and saved the client big time by not having to buy an actual computer just to run this application. I love working in a virtual world.
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© 2007 EduCyber, Inc. This newsletter is brought to you by EduCyber, Inc. EduNotes can be viewed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week online at http://www.educyber.com/edunotes/ . Visit us on the web at http://www.educyber.com or call us at (720) 275-4646. Permission is hereby granted to redistribute all or part of this newsletter as long as this entire copyright message is included.
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