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Why Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Matters For those who do not know exactly what SEO is, let me briefly explain. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a process necessary to get your website ranked as high as possible on all the major search engine when keywords or phrases important for your business are typed into the search bar. Google, being the largest, is really the primary target for most SEO efforts. Such efforts often include a modification of the code on your site to be SEO friendly, acquiring reciprocal links from other well-trafficked sites, and much more. The goal is to get Google to believe that your site is more relevant than others so that it will rank above your competitors. When other well-trafficked sites are linking to yours, it makes you more relevant. This increases you Google Page Rank. If these factors are successfully achieved and your site is updated continually, has been around for many years and is set to expire many years in the future, you could end up quite high over time in the search list. So why is this important? Why is my friend's progress from the 50's to the 30's not overly impressive? The answer is simple. First, when you are that far down in the rankings, your position can move around quite a bit. Secondly, and most important, statistically, until you hit page 1 or page 2, you are not very relevant at all with high trafficked keywords and not at all relevant beyond that for the low trafficked phrases. A recent study of over 8 million impressions reflects that 96.5% of all search traffic clicks on the first 15 items displayed by Google. The difference between being number one on a key search tem and just the 15th most popular search results is nearly 22 times! So if your #15 result drive in one click on average a day, simply getting up to the number one position could garner you an additional 22 unique visitors. For many businesses, that is the difference between staying in business and walking the streets.
So, work on SEO and do not settle for anything other than the first page when at all possible and second page at a minimum. If you need help, Computer House Calls can provide you with targeted SEO and much more to help make your site's rise to number one more viable and improve your profitability..
I Cannot Get on the Internet. Where Do I Direct My Angst? When this happens, the real question that needs to be answered is WHO IS AT FAULT? It is easy to immediately blame Comcast or ATT but such a quick reaction can lead to a phone call last a hour or two with no resolution. Instead, why not take a few minutes to pinpoint the source of the problem first so that your anger and frustration can be properly directed.
When you believe the Internet is down, the first thing to do is go to a couple of websites and hit the refresh button or the F5 key to reload the page. This is the easiest way to confirm your Internet is really not working. Sometimes a website has been stored on the computer's hard drive so that the contents can be recalled. Refreshing the page ensures that new content is being requested from the website's computers. When you have no Internet, the next question is what is wrong. There are typically only a few places where the problem could lie. Your computer could have a problem, your router (if present) could have a problem, the modem could have a problem, and finally, your Internet Service Provider (ISP) could have a service outage in yore area. If you have a router, it is important to know whether or not your computer can communicate with the router. Routers typically have a web-based configuration page you can try to access even if your Internet is not working. You should check your routers documentation to find out what that address is. Many, however use http://192.168.1.1 as the address to get to this page. If you get to the page or a window opens asking for a user name and password, you can at least be comforted to know that your computer's hardware is working properly. If you cannot get to your router's page or if your computer cannot get an IP address from your router, you may need to restart your router by pulling out the power cord and the plugging it back in. Often this will resolve router issues. When all else fails, you will likely need to reset the router. Be aware that resetting a router will erase all of the settings that you may have setup and bring the router back to its default configuration. This will also change any wireless network names that were setup. Hopefully, after all of this, you should at least be able to communicate with the router. Once you have the computer and router working, you can deal with the modem issues. Often, here too, unplugging and re-plugging in the power cord is all that is needed. With cable service, often pulling out the cable and power cord and then plug in in the cable cord FIRST and then the power cord can reset. If you are still having problem with the modem, you will need to consult with your ISP to allow them to troubleshoot further. You will want to know whether they can "see" your modem. You will want to make sure your account is in good standing. Do not assume that paying your bills means that your account IS working. Verify it! With ATT DSL you may also want to ask the support technician to confirm that your line is "provisioned". De-provisioning of a line has happened many times before on good accounts. With cable service you sometimes have to consider whether the cable splitters used have gone bad (yes, they do go bad). Assume nothing.
Dealing with the ISP is the most frustrating of processes. So be sure you have ruled out your computer and router. And when you are communicating with the ISP, ask the right questions. If desired, call Computer House Calls at 770-751-5706 and we will run interference with the ISP. We know how to get what is needed. If your modem needs replacing, we can show you how to avoid being charged for a new box. What you need not do, however, is panic.
When I Say "Check the Cables", I Really Mean It. By NATHANIEL LACK, CEO June 15, 2011...After working in the technology field for over 30 plus years, I can tell you that the work of a computer service technician is not rocket science. Far from it! The best in our business, present company being at the top of this field, got this way from learning from mistakes of others. The most common of those mistakes is not checking the cables before calling Computer House Calls. Its alright. I love the business and its the easiest money earned. However, it also makes the customer feel somehow shortchanged that that they didn't pay for something slightly uglier. "Check the cables" simply means to follow the logical paths - be it data or electricity. When it comes to data, the path goes from the wall (cable or phone cord) to the router and another cable often from the router to the computer. Make sure your connections are sound. Best way to do this is to ignore what you can see and simply unplug and re-plug your cables and power. Going backwards, if your Internet is not working, you should first see if you can see your router. Every router has a configuration page that can be access via a browser like Internet Explorer or Firefox and a web address that look something like this... "http://192.168.2.1". When you can see the router, it means your computer is doing its job and is not the problem. If you cannot see the router but another computer can, then you have a computer issue that needs to be resolved. If the computers are alright, then the next step is to see whether or not the router is able to communicate with the router. This is often done through the routers configuration status page. it will let you know if it is seeing anything. Sometimes, as in the case of cable modem, both the modem and the router need to be rebooted in order for the router to be able to connect. If this has been done with no effect, try connecting the computer directly to the modem. If you can get to the Internet this way, then it points to the router as having an issue. Finally, when the router has shown itself to be stable, one must consider the modem as the culprit. here you should consider having it replaced. Comcast often has no issue with you bringing the old modem to one of their centers and replacing. Bellsouth, however, would love nothing more than to charge you for a new modem. DO NOT PAY ANYTHING. If they insist on charging you, ask to speak to someone in their retention department. This department has one goal - keeping you as a customer. They will provide the modem for free if you threaten to leave their service for another. Do not back down. They WILL give it to you for free with just a nudge. Certainly, when things just do not make sense to you, feel free to call me at 770-751-5706. However, before you do, consider checking your cables and follow the paths for any logjams before call me if you want to pay me to do something more challenging at a later time.
What are Today's Computer Threats? The most virulent of these programs I like to call fraudware. The typical victim is often unaware that they are infected. In fact, they are led to believe that a benevolent virus protection software is doing its job and informing the end-user that they have dozens of dangerous viruses on their computer. Then they are advised to purchase the full version of the software in order for its removal. The only problem is... the program IS the malware. There are no viruses on the computer... or at least non that this program detected. They only want you to give them your credit card number. Sometimes to sell, sometimes to simply charge the amount of their fake software. Either way, you are screwed. This piece of fraudware can at times stop all programs from executing, block all antivirus and malware programs from running, and prevent access to any websites other than porn site. The trick in removing these fraudware applications is knowing how to kill their processes first so that you can find the offending files, delete them and then repair other damage caused by this program. rKill - found in the download section - is a useful tool in stopping the process. It won't kill the program but it can stop it temporarily and buy you enough time to clean with more traditional programs like MalwareBytes (also found in the downloads section). If you are unsure of how to use these and other tools, please call me at 770-751-5706 and let me get rid of this for you. Typically, I can remove in less types of programs in less than an hour. Compare that to the geeks and others who can take two or three hours to remove. They don't have the experience I have in getting rid of these programs and so they take longer. In the end, you will pay more for less quality when you try to save a few bucks going for the "cheaper" guys. In this industry, you do truly get what you pay for. And when your data is at risk, would you really want to leave it in the hands of someone who does not have to be accountable? |
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