Apply here: http://www.shannon-brown.com/extreme_web_makeover.shtml

To enter simply fill out the application by March 15, 2010. One applicant will be chosen to receive a full web redesign at no cost. The winning applicant will be chosen based on their need, and our ability to improve their site.

There is no restriction on industry. Sites can be small businesses, mid-size businesses, non-profits or performers. There are just a few rules:

1. You must have a website already
2. You must be able to give us access to your hosting server
3. You must be available to work along with the designer to complete your redesign by July 1, 2010
4. You must allow us to show before and after pictures of your website on our web portfolios and in our marketing material

We’ll announce the winner and document the entire project on our Facebook Fanpage. So submit your site and become a fan today!

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Questions? Please email shannon@shannon-brown.com

Saturday, March 20, 2010
11:30am – 1:30pm
353 Studios
353 West 48th Street (between 8th and 9th Avenues)
New York, NY

Panelists scheduled to appear Marc Ostrow, Shannon Brown, Lee Summers, Shaynee Rainbolt. Moderated by Sue Matsuki.

FREE for MAC members ($15 non-members)

Reservations (212) 465-2662 ext. 1 or RSVP@MACNYC.com

I’ll be honest, it ain’t easy getting to the tippy-top of the Google search engine. These days everyone and their brother has a website, a blog, videos and more flooding Google with content on a daily basis. So even with great effort, there is no guarantee you’ll get your site to the top; Google is not an exact science.

I always tell my clients they should NOT rely on Google to get eyeballs to their sites. That being said, there are some things you can do to increase your Google-ability. Here are my 7 tips to getting a better Google ranking:

1) Get a Great Domain Name
Try to use a domain that has no dashes or dots. There happens to be a country singer named Shannon Brown (who’s big hit song is “Cornfed”). She owns the domain www.shannonbrown.com. My domain is www.shannon-brown.com (notice the dash). So Google will almost always recognize her URL above mine because there is no dash (but I’m not bitter…really, I’m not…). I cannot tell you how many times a client of mine has gone to the wrong site by accident and heard “COOOORNNNNFED!!!!” assault their eardrums. Go ahead, try it now… www.shannonbrown.com.

2) Use Meta Tags
Behind the scenes on your website you need Meta Tags that are rich with keywords and a description of your website. Think about what search terms people may use in Google if they were looking for your site. Put those words and phrases into your Meta Tags. You might not be able to do this yourself, especially if your site is a template-based site. But any web designer worth their salt should be able to do this for you with ease. Put unique Meta Tags on each and every page of your site, describing each page in detail.

3) Keyword-Rich Text is Important
Use a lot of keyword-rich text on your site. The Google search engine will compare the Meta Tags and the text on your site to see if there are matches, and the more matches the merrier. For example, if your site is about low-fat oatmeal raisin cookies (let’s assume for argument’s sake there really is such a thing that tastes remotely yummy), then you want the words “low-fat oatmeal raisin cookies” to be in BOTH your Meta Tags and in the text on your site. Use as many matching keywords as possible in both spots.

4) Use Keywords as Links
Never, ever, EVER use the words “Click here” as the links on your site. You want to use keyword-rich text as the link. Example, in the sentence “Click here for low-fat oatmeal raisin cookies”, make the words “low-fat oatmeal raisin cookies” the actual link. Do not make the words “Click here” the link. Google loves seeing keyword-rich links!

5) Get Links Coming to You
Forget what your mama taught you. When it comes to Google, it’s better to RECEIVE than to GIVE. Don’t worry about linking to other websites, you want other websites to link to you! If you have partners, suppliers, friends, organizations or any other website that is willing to post a a link to you, take them up on it. The more links coming to your website, the more love Google will show you.

6) Limid the Use of Flash, Video and Graphics
I’m sorry, I know we love our flash, and video, and graphics, but when it comes to Google, plain text is king. Google ignores fancy flashy elements, it can only read text. If you do use video, flash and graphics then put some additional plain text on the page to describe these elements, that way you get the best of both worlds!

7) Write a Blog
It’s easy to write a blog, it’s only a matter of having the time to do it, and something interesting to say. But having a blog that is rich with your keywords, and links back to your main website, can really make you popular in the search engines. But be careful…don’t reuse the same content over and over. Google will recognize chunks of duplicate text and you could be blackballed! So keep the content original with each blog, if you please.

If you have further questions on getting a better google ranking, feel free to send me an email at shannon@shannon-brown.com.

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Enter to Win an Extreme Web Makeover

You’d have to be living beneath a rock to not see the popularity of social networking. I, myself, am an unabashed Facebook addict! From time to time you may be faced with a friend request from someone you know and like, such as a family member or a co-worker, but you just don’t want them to know the nitty-gritty details of your every day life.

No worries! I’ve found a solution: categorize your Facebook friends into “Lists” (groups of people), and then adjust your privacy setting for each List. This way you can befriend your Mom, but control what she sees. Sneaky, sneaky! Here’s how it’s done.

MAKE A LIST

1. At the top of the Facebook page, click the “Friends” link.
2. On the next page, click the “Make a New List” button on the left.
3. Name your list something recognizable “Family”, “Co-workers”. Or you can put a fancy rating systems on them like “G”, “PG-13”, “R” or “X” according to the content they’re allowed to see.
4. Then you can add friends to the list individually, or hit the “Select Multiple Friends” link on the right to add people in bulk.
5. Click on the friends you want to add to the list and hit “Save”.

ADJUST PRIVACY SETTINGS

Now that you’ve got a specific list of people you need to adjust your privacy settings for that list.

1. Click the “Settings” button at the top of the page to the right of your name.
2. On the next page, go to the Privacy section and click the “Manage” link.
3. On the Privacy page, click the “Profile” link.
4. You should now see a number of dropdown menus, each one corresponding to a section of your profile.
5. From any dropdown menu, choose “Customize”. This opens a popup window.
6. In the popup, there is a section in pink labeled “Except these people”. It looks like this:



7. Type the name of the list you wish to EXCLUDE. Example, if you named your list “Co-Workers” then type “Co-Workers” into the box. Hit OK.
8. You will be taken back to the main Profile > Privacy page with the dropdowns. Scroll to the bottom and hit the “Save Changes” button.
9. Customize each part of your site by using the dropdowns.

As an added bonus, you can see how a specific person sees your site. Type their name in the “See how a friend sees your profile” box:

IMPORTANT NOTE:

By selecting “Settings > Privacy Settings” you can manage Facebook’s general features (your Basic Info, Personal Info, Status Updates, etc). But in order to manage the privacy on Applications (like Notes, and Photos, for example) you will need to follow a similar procedure but click the “Settings > Application Settings” instead.

I hope you find this helpful. If you have questions please submit them to shannon@shannon-brown.com and I’ll do my best to provide an answer.