SEO TIPS

SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is a pretty dry yet essential topic to most startups, so I’ve compiled some straightforward and easy to follow tips from various SEO experts. Dewi Nawasari, Search Marketing Manager at Autotrader defines SEO as a process of optimising your website to attract relevant customers who are searching for your service using search engines like Google and Yahoo. Although she has not run SEO for any startup just yet, these are the things she recommends you to do to get started: 1)Create good navigation links. Think about making your customer’s journey within your website as easy and smooth as possible. The shorter the steps they need to make to find your contact details, to register, or to complete a sale, the higher success rate you would receive. Search engines crawl your website through your navigation links, so if your customers are happily browsing, good chance that search engine crawlers are too. 2)Make your page copy relevant and descriptive. When you type in a search in Google for example, you would see results with big font size titles and a snippet of description below the title, which serves as your first layer of marketing. You should include a homepage title and your description should briefly describe the type of service you do. 3)Include core content within your site. Answer questions like what do you offer? How much does your service cost? Are you reliable and trustworthy? Can you be easily reached?. 4)Get listed on local search engines and directories. Start with the main players like Google Plus Local, Yahoo directory and Yelp, then down to the business and local government listings in your area. You increase the likelihood of your potential customers finding you when you make more listings. 5)Encourage as many reviews and testimonials as possible. Reviews are allowed on your listings in local search engine and directories, but you should also enable them on your website to allow customers to use whichever medium they are comfortable with. 6)Have a presence in relevant social media sites. They add to the number of places your customers can leave reviews on, and it will be exposed to hundreds of their friends. It’s a great place to gain business via referrals. 7)Offer freebies. Know of a great on-topic event to be told? Top tips and how to? Money-off a second service/sale? Make sure you publish it on your website, mention it on your Facebook page, and release it on your local news site. Good on- topic content gives you better chance to be listed in search engine results for on-topic searches. 8)Create a mobile optimised website. Mobile usage is growing exponentially so now is the time to get ahead in the game. Always keep in mind that SEO is not just a process to make sure search engines are happy, it is a process to make sure you are delivering the best customer service to your customers. Ned Poulter, SEO Manager at Miinto also gives his round of SEO tips. 9)Set up Google Analytics to understand who is using your site While not necessarily SEO specific, first thing you should do is install Google Analytics and check that it’s installed on every page. The access to a vast array of user specific data is what separates digital from traditional marketing. Use this to your advantage! 10 ) Set up Google Webmaster Tools to understand how search engines are interacting with your site Many are unaware of the great toolset that Google provides in the form of Google Webmaster Tools. Ensure that you verify your site with Webmaster Tools to allow the search engine itself to provide detailed information on how they see your site. Understand important issues like: • Is Google crawling your site? If so, how many pages is it discovering? • What internal links are being recognised? • What external links are pointed at your site? Use this to help recognise when search engines are struggling to reach your content. 11)Create an XML sitemap One of the most simple actions a webmaster can take is to create an XML sitemap, this is best understood in layman’s terms as a ‘list of all of the URLs on your website’. Submitting this to Google Webmaster Tools ensures that you provide all pages that are active on your site, giving them a head start when trying to discover, and index, your content. • Use a tool like this to create an XML sitemap • Submit sitemap to Google Webmaster Tools 12)Domain name resolution 301 redirect the canonical (e.g. http://example.com/) to the non- canonicalised version (e.g. http:// www.example.com/) of your site. Otherwise, you may cause confusion for search engines as they struggle to decipher whether http:// www.example.com/ or http:// example.com/ is the correct page. Your browser could also just not find the requested URL on the server which can lead to a multitude of issues. This will also cause a bad experience for users as if they cannot find your home page, they may leave never to return again. With this in mind, you should implement 301 redirects from the canonical (http:// example.com/) to the non- canonical (http:// www.example.com/). If this is too technical, get in touch with Ned and he might be able to help. Itching for more? Here’s a couple of pointers from Steve Morgan, Freelance SEO Consultant at Morgan Online Marketing: 13)Interlink between websites If you run multiple startups and/ or multiple sites, make sure that they’re all linking to each other, whether it’s from the blog roll, footer links or somewhere else (e.g. About pages). It’s usually a quick win, something you have 100% control over implementing yourself. 14)Make sure that you link from social profiles If/when you create company profiles for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, etc., make sure that you include the link back to your site. You’d be amazed how many people either overlook this or simply forget to do it (e.g. if they’re in a hurry). While you may not get a lot of SEO value from the social profile links themselves, they may get picked up elsewhere (e.g. being on Twitter directories usually passes more SEO value than being on Twitter itself). 15)Network (offline)! Go out and meet people – seriously! Go to local networking events and also see if there’s a startup community in your vicinity. Get to know people and suddenly opportunities such as guest blogging, article contribution and PR opportunities should increase dramatically, all of which should benefit your site’s SEO. 16)Sort out your Google Places listing If a list of Google Places results show up for your keywords (e.g. a Map with corresponding results), make sure that you get a Google Places listing sorted pronto. It’s free and quick to set up. In particularly non- competitive spaces, simply creating a listing can be enough to rank without further optimisation required. 17)Be smart about choosing a domain Startups are notorious for choosing bizarre and wacky names (as well as domain names), but be smart about your domain name choice. For example, if you’re a cake shop called Fantastic Monkey (that’s a freebie if anyone wants it!), fanastic-monkey-cakes.co.uk might benefit you more than fm- uk.co, not only for brand searches but for keyword searches as well, due to the inclusion of “cakes”. Of course, SEO isn’t the be-all-and-end-all of online marketing channels, but with something like a domain name, it makes sense to choose well right from the start. Finally, David Sottimano, SEO Consultant for Distilled categorises his tips by level: Absolute Beginner level SEO Ensure that your site is accessible by search engines. Use meta data, or HTML text for technology that search engines have trouble indexing, like Javascript, videos, and images. General rules of thumb for new sites is to have no more than 100 links per page, keep the architecture no more than 3 levels deep and link your important pages from the homepage using descriptive anchor text. Lastly, every page title should be unique, descriptive, less than 70 characters long and contain the target keyword (preferably near the beginning). Intermediate Assuming that your site is accessible, you’ll need to create some content and optimize to acquire search traffic. By using tools such as Google autocomplete, Ubersuggest, and your customer’s questions – you’ll come up with a list of keywords your audience will search for to find your website. Once this list is complete, you’ll need to create exceptional pages targeting each broad topic. Example: Yahoo has a fantastic free online image optimization tool , but you would never be able to find it in search because of the keyword targeting . Advanced Links are still the most important external ranking factor in Google’s algorithm, and it pays off to adopt a culture where everyone is responsible for marketing. Ask for links from friends, customers, business partners and encourage employees to reference the company website wherever they can (social media profiles for example). With regards to creating exceptional, naturally link worthy assets on your site, remember two principles: “you need at least two of the following: time, money and talent ” and you can still produce great content with no budget . Stay away from quick win tactics including links from low quality syndication, article marketing, and buying links as these are not sustainable and targeted by Google’s Webspam team. So there you have it, SEO tips to keep you busy for the next year or so!

WINDOWS 8 TIPS

Knowing at least some of the Windows 8 keyboard shortcuts will make your Windows 8 experience much more enjoyable. Try to memorize these top Windows 8 shortcut keys. See our Windows shortcuts page for a full listing of all Windows shortcuts. Know your hot corners The corners on your screen are hot corners and give you access to different Windows features. Below, is a brief explanation of each of these corners. Bottom Left-hand corner The bottom left-hand hot corner of the screen will allow you to access the Start screen, if you're in the Start screen and have the Desktop open, this corner will open the Desktop from the Start screen. Tip: Right-clicking in the left hand corner will open the power user menu. Top-left corner of the screen Moving the mouse to the top- left corner and then down will display all the apps running on the computer. Clicking and dragging any of these apps to the left or right-hand side of the screen will snap that app to that side of the screen. Each of these open app icons can also be right-clicked to close or snap. Right-hand side of the screen On the full right-hand side of the screen will be given access to the Windows Charms. Taking advantage of searchThe Search in Windows 8 has been significantly improved when compared to all previous versions of Windows. To search for a file or run a program in Windows 8 from the Start screen just start typing what you're trying to find or want to run. As you begin typing, the results will start appearing on the left- hand side. In addition to being able to search for files and run programs, the Search also supports limiting the search to apps such as Finance, People, Maps, Photos, Mail, Music, Videos, Weather, and much more. If what you are searching for is not a file or program, click on the app you wish to use as the search. For example, if you were searching for "New York" and selected the Weather App you would be shown the weather in New York, NY. By default, Search organizes the available Apps by how frequently they are used and then in alphabetical order. If you want to keep your favorite app at the top of the Search list, right-click the app and choose Pin. Pinning the app will lock it in place regardless of how often it is used. If there is an app you don't want (e.g. Finance) you can turn on and off any of the search apps through the PC settings, which is found under the Settings in the Charms. Bonus tip: The Search is also found through Charms and can also be opened by pressing Windows key + F. Running two apps side by side Any app can be pinned to the left or right-hand side of the screen. For example, open the People app and then press the Windows Key + . (period) to move that app to the right- hand side of the screen, pressing the same keys again will move it to the left-hand side, and pressing the same keys again will make it full screen. While an app is pinned, any other app or program can be opened and loaded into the available space on the screen. For example, in the below picture, we've opened a browser window and have the People app running to monitor our social networks. Any open app can also be pinned using your mouse by clicking at the top of the tile and dragging it to the left or right-hand side of the screen. Bonus tip: The Desktop can also be pinned to the left or right-hand side of the screen. Note: In order for snap to work properly your resolution must be at least 1,366 x 768. Windows 8 Task Manager The Windows 8 Task Manager has been significantly improved over previous versions of Windows. Some of the new changes include showing a total percent usage at the top of your Processes, which makes it easier to determine total memory and CPU usage, improved Performance graphs, a Startup tab to see startup processes and their impact to system performance, and the App history tab (as shown below) that gives you the total resources an app has used over a period of time. PressCtrl + Shift + Esc to start exploring the new Task Manager. Use a picture password to log into your computer Windows 8 includes a new feature called Picture password, which allows you to authenticate with the computer using a series of gestures that include circles, straight lines, and taps. Enable this feature if you want a new way to access your computer or have a hard time with passwords. 1. Open the Windows Charms. 2. ClickSettings and thenMore PC settings 3. In the PC settings window click Users and then selectCreate a picture password Bonus tip: A four digit pin password can also be created and used to access your computer. Take advantage of Windows 8 apps Windows 8 comes included with several apps to help you get the most from your computer. Below are just a few of the included apps. People Microsoft touts the People feature in Windows 8 because they understand how many people are using social networks today. In the People feature you'll be able to connect your Windows computer to all the major social networks including Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Once connected, you can pin the people app and monitor your social network (as shown below), use People in Search to find people, and get an overview of what is happening in all your social networks. Reader The Reader app will give you PDF support right out of the box. SkyDrive The SkyDrive app will give you access to the Microsoft cloud service SkyDrive, which allows you to store your photos, documents, and other files in the cloud and access or share those files with any computer with Internet access. Store Take advantage of the Windows Store and install one or more of the thousands of available apps designed for Windows 8. The Store is found in the Start screen, or use Search to search the Store app for any apps that you are trying to find. Know the answers to common questions Windows 8 is the biggest change to Microsoft Windows since the introduction of Windows 95, which was released all the way back in 1995. Since so many people have grown up with Windows, it can be difficult to transition to a new way of doing things. Below, is a short list of the most common questions previous Windows users will have.

HOW TO MAKE A CHAT APPLICATION

This project shows you how to make a chat application step by step in Microsoft Visual C#. This project uses UDP (User Datagram Protocol) Socket connection between two chat applications. This chat application will be worked within the same network or inter network. However, in this project, I shall be focusing on how to communicate asynchronously with two chat applications. Asynchronous Communication system is a way of communication where both side can communicate simultaneously with each other. For example, a telephone call is an example of asynchronous communication system. I am going to show you step by step skipping no step. Step 1: First make a project, go to Microsoft Visual C# then create a project like following: Image Step 2: Design the Chat Application form with textbox, label, button and group boxes as follows. Image Give the form objects name as follows: Your IP textbox name = textLocalIp, Your Port textbox name = textLocalPort, Friend’s IP textbox name = textFriendsIp Friend’s Port textbox name = textFriendsPort Listbox Message name = listMessage, Textbox for Message sending name = textMessage, Start Button name = buttonStart, Send Button name = buttonSend Step 3: Add 2 namespaces in the project. 1 2 using System.Net; using System.Net.Sockets; Step 4 : Add the following code under form load, double click on the form then write the following code. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 // set up socket sck = new Socket(AddressFamily.InterNetwork, SocketType.Dgram, ProtocolType.Udp); sck.SetSocketOption(SocketOptionLevel.Socket, SocketOptionName.ReuseAddress,true); // get own IP textLocalIp.Text = GetLocalIP(); textFriendsIp.Text = GetLocalIP(); Then add a method GetLocalIP() as follows. This method will return Local IP address to the text boxes. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 // Return your own IP private string GetLocalIP() { IPHostEntry host; host = Dns.GetHostEntry(Dns.GetHostName()); foreach (IPAddress ip in host.AddressList) { if (ip.AddressFamily == AddressFamily.InterNetwork) { return ip.ToString(); } } return "127.0.0.1"; } Step 5: Add this following code under Start Button click event. try { // binding socket epLocal = new IPEndPoint(IPAddress.Parse(textLocalIp.Text), Convert.ToInt32(textLocalPort.Text)); sck.Bind(epLocal); // connect to remote IP and port epRemote = new IPEndPoint(IPAddress.Parse(textFriendsIp.Text), Convert.ToInt32(textFriendsPort.Text)); sck.Connect(epRemote); // starts to listen to an specific port buffer = new byte[1500]; sck.BeginReceiveFrom(buffer, 0, buffer.Length, SocketFlags.None, ref epRemote, new AsyncCallback(MessageCallBack), buffer); // release button to send message buttonSend.Enabled =true; buttonStart.Text = "Connected"; buttonStart.Enabled =false; textMessage.Focus(); } catch (Exception ex) { MessageBox.Show(ex.ToString()); } Now, you need to add a callback function MessageCallBack. Just add the following code. try { int size = sck.EndReceiveFrom(aResult, ref epRemote); // check if theres actually information if (size > 0) { // used to help us on getting the data byte[] receivedData = new byte[1464]; // getting the message data receivedData = (byte[])aResult.AsyncState; // converts message data byte array to string ASCIIEncoding eEncoding = new ASCIIEncoding(); string receivedMessage = eEncoding.GetString(receivedData); // adding Message to the listbox listMessage.Items.Add("Friend: " + receivedMessage); } // starts to listen the socket again buffer = new byte[1500]; sck.BeginReceiveFrom(buffer, 0, buffer.Length, SocketFlags.None, ref epRemote, new AsyncCallback(MessageCallBack), buffer); } catch (Exception exp) { MessageBox.Show(exp.ToString()); } Step 6: In this step you need to add the following code under send button click event. try { // converts from string to byte[] System.Text.ASCIIEncoding enc = new System.Text.ASCIIEncoding(); byte[] msg = new byte[1500]; msg = enc.GetBytes(textMessage.Text); // sending the message sck.Send(msg); // add to listbox listMessage.Items.Add("You: " + textMessage.Text); // clear txtMessage textMessage.Clear(); } catch (Exception ex) { MessageBox.Show(ex.ToString()); } Step 7: Now build the project by clicking Build menu then Build Solution sub menu. And now go to the project folder and go inside the project folder to bin then bin debug. In the debug folder you will the ChatApps.exe file. Open two instance for testing purpose in your computer then give different Port number as you are listening in the same IP. Then connect both Application and start sending message. Hope you will enjoy this project. If you want to chat with your friends or colleague in the LAN or Same network then give them a copy of ChattApps.exe and now you will be able to chat from different Computer.

7 ways to get odesk work

ll these challenges and with no opportunity to prove yourself. To help you score your first job on oDesk, here are 7 tips that have worked for me, for many, and hopefully will work for you: 1. Review, edit, proofread, and finalize your oDesk profile. If you’re meticulous enough, it’ll probably take you an hour to do. Take a look at this post to see if you’ve covered every important detail in your profile: The oDesk Profile: 6 Commonly Overlooked Items and How to Improve Them 2. Make sure you have portfolio samples for every service you offer. Upload screenshots or PDFs of your work, link, and label them according to the service you specialize in. Make sure to write a short but detailed description for each. 3. Give yourself a title that best describes what you do. Simply calling yourself, “A Hardworking and Affordable Professional” with checks, diamonds, or heart symbols (seriously, who does that?) doesn’t say much about what you do. Clients may easily brush off your profile and look at more descriptive ones. 4. Choose job posts that are best suited for you. Your chances of winning a web design project is very slim if your only specialty is transcription or virtual assistance. 5. Customize, personalize, and proofread your cover letter before sending it off. Make sure you answer the client’s questions, address his concerns, and pitch yourself very well. This post should help: Additional Cover Letter Tips for oDesk Contractors 6. Choose a rate that’s reasonable, not the cheapest. Good clients usually avoid the lowest bidders, keeping in mind that “you get what you pay for”. Offer the most reasonable price for your services, but make sure it isn’t because you’re the cheapest in the roster. 7. Do your best and never give up. By putting your best foot forward in every interview, you’ll surely stand out from all the other applicants. If you get rejected, it’s okay. Give yourself a reassuring hug and continue applying for jobs, until such time that a good client decides to hire you for your first project.

WHAT IS FUNCTION IN PROGRAMMING

Function : Function in programming is a segment that groups a number of program statements to perform specific task. A C program has at least one function main(). Without main() function, there is technically no C program.

EARN BY CPM

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EARNING TIPS

hire experienced freelance writers, editors and filmmakers to work on projects for sites like eHow, LiveStrong.com and YouTube. At Demand Studios, assignments pay anywhere from $15 to $100; if you meet tenure and activity requirements, you can be eligible for health insurance plans. At Associated Content there are three ways to earn money: Upfront payments for content you write ($2 to $15 per article), assigned articles ($10 to $100 per article) and performance payments ($1.50 for every 1,000 page views of your article if it’s posted online). Design graphics and websites Elance ( elance.com ) works like an online marketplace, setting up designers and computer programmers with companies that need their services. Companies post jobs and freelancers bid on them, listing their experience, portfolio and the price they will charge for the job. If your bid is chosen, you’ll pay Elance a commission of 4 to 6 percent of what you earn. Tutor kids or adults If you have a college degree or are currently enrolled in college and think you have the skills to tutor math, science, English or social studies, tutoring online might fit you perfectly. Check out Tutor.com, where tutors work as independent contractors and earn around $10 to $14 per hour based on the subject and hours worked. Very active tutors can earn anywhere from $800 to $1,600 a month. Give advice Know a lot about medicine or car repairs? JustAnswer (justanswer.com) is a paid question-and-answer site that’s growing its community of experts in the medical, legal and financial fields, as well as in other specialties like car repair and home improvement. Registered customers ask a question and then name the price they’re willing to pay (usually from $10 to $40) for an expert answer. The expert usually responds within an hour, and once the customer accepts the answer, keeps from 25 to 50 percent of what the customer pays. How much experts earn depends on how many questions they’ve had accepted by customers. Experts are vetted through a fairly grueling process, with credentials, education and background verified. Provide customer service Many retailers are outsourcing their customer service operations to third-party companies like Alpine Access (alpineaccess.com) and Working Solutions (workingsolutions.com), who in turn contract with home- based workers. The reps, who typically work 20 to 40 hours a week, take calls for large and small companies. The hourly rate is about $9, but agents can earn up to $13 with incentives and bonuses or up to $30 for special projects. Some companies offer benefits like health and dental insurance and a matching 401(k) plan. LiveOps (liveops.com) is similar, but service reps operate as independent contractors, typically invoicing LiveOps $10 to $15 per hour depending on the type of call and performance. And with LiveOps you can work as many hours as you want. The hiring process is rigorous: Expect a comprehensive written or online application, skills exam, phone interview and background check. Make a little spending money When career librarian Rachel Singer Gordon, 40, of Lombard, Illinois, quit her job in 2005 to take care of her children and pursue freelance writing, she knew she’d need to find other sources of income to supplement her writing. She dove headlong into couponing and frugality, and became a wizard at finding ways to earn money online. Soon Rachel was bringing in small amounts of income from lots of sources she calls “multiple profit centers.” “They’re the equivalent of a nice, steady part-time job,” says Rachel. In 2009, she started the blog Mashup Mom (mashupmom.com) to share all the stuff she was learning. In fewer than two years, the blog has become yet another profit center for Rachel, as has her first book, Point, Click, and Save: Mashup Mom’s Guide to Saving and Making Money Online. Tap into multiple profit centers with Rachel’s favorites. Launch a blog. “If you have something interesting to say, grow your readership, post ads and earn some dough,” says Rachel. Start your blog at a free site (go to blogger.com or wordpress.com), then go to Google AdSense (google.com/ adsense) or the affiliate program at Amazon.com (affiliate- program.amazon.com) to feature advertising on your site. With AdSense, you make a little bit every time someone clicks on one of the ads hosted on your site. With Amazon’s program, you earn a small commission when someone clicks through on an ad and makes a purchase at Amazon. The income will start small, but if you build your following, your cash flow will increase. Rachel typically makes several hundred dollars per month from ads or affiliate links on her blog. Give your opinion. At MySurvey.com, Surveyhead.com or ValuedOpinions.com, you can sign up to take surveys about products and services and get paid for it. Sites typically pay $2 to $5 per completed survey and will send you a check or deposit to your PayPal account, or gift cards or merchandise once you reach $20 in your survey account. Scam alert! There are lots of survey sites out there, but not all are trustworthy. Avoid participating in anything that charges a fee up front to participate. “I try to take three or four surveys each week while the kids are watching TV, and that brings in $20 to $30 per month,” says Rachel. Search the Internet. Rachel loves to scour the Web, and one of her favorite things to do is use Swag Bucks (swagbucks.com) as her search engine instead of, say, Google or Yahoo. By doing this, she earns Swag Bucks points — called “SBs” on the website — redeemable for merchandise like Target gift cards and beauty products. (Maximize the number of points you earn by installing the Swag Bucks toolbar on your computer.) You can also earn more Swag Bucks points by taking the site’s daily poll and by participating in the company’s “trusted surveys.” But be warned, it could take awhile to accumulate SBs. A $300 Apple gift card, for example, costs 37,000 SB. If you don’t want prizes, you can trade your Swag Bucks points for PayPal deposits into your account. Do online tasks. Have a few extra minutes with nothing to do? Companies like Amazon.com’s Mechanical Turk (mturk.com) will pay you to complete little tasks that they need done, such as searching the Web for certain products or answering questions and giving opinions. There’s usually a time limit of anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour, and pay ranges from a few cents to a few dollars. This may not sound like a lot, but do enough tasks and you’ve earned yourself some extra spending money.

EARNING TIPS

EARN BY PPC CLICK

PPC advertising stands for Pay per Click advertising. It is centered around paying the website publisher money each time someone clicks on the ads. Advertisers usually bid on keywords. Some keywords are more expensive for advertisers and hence more profitable for publishers when users click on them. Some people build websites around high valued keywords in Google Adsense in order to make more money. What they have to realize is many of these keywords are high bid because there is low demand for clicks and because of the competitiveness of the industry. So you might get more money per click, but so few people click on them and/ or visit these kind of websites, your overall profits will be less. For example mesothelioma is a very high priced keyword in many PPC networks. If you build a website centered around mesothelioma you probably will have a hard time even getting a lot of traffic to your website because there will be so many websites out there trying to take advantage of this high bid keyword. To make matters worse there will be few people even looking at these types of websites in the first place, because not too many people are suffering or know anyone suffering from mesothelioma.