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Updating Your Website for Google's Rich Snippets Google wants to better understand your content. They also want to ensure that they're delivering the highest quality search results to users on the web. In order to do both, Google has deployed Rich Snippets, which utilize the HTML5 microdata specification to properly label website content. How do Rich Snippets work? Rich Snippets are like road signs for your web page content, designed to help the Google search engine find exactly what it's looking for. For example, lets say your website posts movie reviews. You would label each review with the correct microdata for reviews. Then, when Google receives a search request for "star wars movie review", they''ll run their algorithm. If your site is found to fit the match, and also contains Rich Snippets microdata formatting, it may show up on the search results page as a perfect fit - presented in a very specific fashion which is intended t... Keep Reading |
Categories: News Analytics Web Tips & Advice Search Engine Optimization |
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Replicating Excel Functions in PHP Excel is a great tool for setting up complex calculations and business users love it. But if you need to convert all those calculations into a dynamic web based application, the process may not be as straightforward as you think. You see, PHP doesn't have built-in functions to match all those great functions that are built in to Excel. That means you need to recreate them from scratch or dig through several disjointed resources online to try to find what you want. We put together a few of these for a recent project and we thought it would be good to share them here to hopefully make things easier for others. These aren't ALL the functions of course, but here are the ones we had to use recently. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- function PMT($i, $n, $p) { return $i * $p * pow((1 + $i), $n) / (1 - pow((1 + $i), $n)); } -----... Keep Reading |
Categories: Web Tips & Advice |
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Tell Facebook Which Image to Use on a Shared Link or Post Ever wonder how it is that Facebook seems to instantly "know" which images should be associated with your shared link or post? It's like magic! Not really. When links are shared on Facebook, the system runs a scan of the linked page to find any associated images which may help to visually represent the content...and it doesn't discriminate. I've watched story links pull everything from website logos to footer badges, even if they weren't related to the content shared in any way. Facebook understands that this isn't a particularly helpful process, especially when users who want to "share on the fly" are forced to click through a gallery of useless images in order to find one that properly represents their shared link. To get around this, Facebook has instituted the use of Open Graph META tags. These tags were created by Facebook as a way to more accurately indicate your content prefere... Keep Reading |
Categories: Web Tips & Advice Social Networking |
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Choosing The Best eCommerce Software The Internet is full of money-making potential. Whether you're a small business owner looking to launch a product on the web or a catalog sales veteran hoping to take your company to a higher level, the Internet offers everyone the same advantages. All you need is the right ecommerce software to get started. Many private and corporate business owners find their barriers to entry the same with the following concerns: how do I manage my inventory online? how will my staff handle orders and fulfillment? where will payments post and can I use my current payment processing provider? is the website secure for my customers and clients making purchases? how does one go about marketing their products on the Internet? I'd like to stay in contact with my customers and build loyalty, how do I accomplish this? Today, the Internet has morphed itself into an efficient e-commerce marketplace... Keep Reading |
Categories: Web Tips & Advice Marketing eCommerce |
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AMC has produced an amazing (though admittedly grisly) product with their post apocalyptic series, The Walking Dead. It has managed to score an outstanding number of viewers, even though the content doesn't specifically appeal to the masses. How did that happen? As a Walking Dead fan, I was asking myself the same question. I'm not into the horror genre or movie violence/gore, so how did I get so addicted to this show? The answer is less visual and much more psychological than I expected. Following Business Insider's lead, we decided to apply their four network suggestions to traditional marketing and sales. Below, our notes for creating a killer product (pun intended). 1. Wow Us (Surprise Us) Consumers, like television audiences, like to feel a sense of awe. They want businesses to wow them with their products. If your sector is saturated, focus on the details. Small things will... Keep Reading |
Categories: Marketing |
