Web Technology Discussion Group

• Matt invited everyone to attend an open house from his networking group On October 1st at 7am at 111 Founders Plaza, 1st Floor, East Hartford, CT.

  • http://www.foundersnetworkinggroup.com

• Google 411 - 1-800-GOOG-441 is a FREE telephone information directory.

  • They are using it to collect voice information to get Google video searches functioning properly.

• Kevin discovered he had limits by setting his blogs up on wordpress.com. They don’t like advertising, the CSS editor is limited and additional plug-ins are not allowed.  Recommendations for greater control and customization are:

  • To initially setup your blog through your own website’s hosting company either manually or using Fantastico scripts.

  • Ninja Blog Setup will do it for you for free if you use their hosting affiliate links or…

  • Call a professional (like Matt) to do it for you.

• Add yourself to Google Local (http://www.google.com/local) and Yahoo Local (http://local.yahoo.com).

• Google Alerts – Set up to help you figure out keywords to use and to be sure you stay at the top for your search terms.

• Google Trends – Tells you popular search terms and possible blogging ideas.

• Blog topics – Blog about what you learn about is a good subject.

  • Create a trail back to your sites. Respond to other people’s blogs and make sure that you put a signature/link to your website or blog in your comment.

  • Reference others when you pull from other blogs or content on the web.

• WordTracker - (Cost $59/month) but you can try it free for 30 days.

  • Wordtracker Free Keyword Tool - Free Online Tool

  • Wordtracker Keyword Research Guide - Free Download

• Google also does something similar to WordTracker for free. (https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal)

• Check out what the competition is doing with their keywords at http://www.iwebtoolcom/keyword_density using this free keyword density checker.  This is also good to find out where your keywords are at.  The larger words are the keywords that appear more often.

• Put your physical address and contact info in text at the footer of all your web pages and it will help optimize searches especially for local businesses.

• Make changes on your website regularly.

  • Search engines will move you up because there is a change and it’s fresh

  • People who visit your site appreciate when there is updated information and information is not static or outdated.

  • Frequently updating the News page on your website can help keep you current.

• Search for free product and niche search submission sites. Find different sites to put your links on….example Kevin gave was http://www.iliketotallyloveit.com

• Amazon.com - Apply to become an Amazon Associate.  Find affiliate links to many different things.  Become your own affiliate when you buy anything from Amazon as well.  Also setup an Amazon store if you have product to sell.

• Search Google for coupon codes when making online purchases when you see that option on the checkout screen.

• Commission Junction once again for advertising.

• Everyone is encouraged to print out how their website is doing at www.websitegrader.com and bring it with them next meeting.

I would like to thank our virtual assistant, Melissa, for typing her notes for me so I can create a more complete blog post of our conversations.  Thank you

Also I would like to thank Joyce, a marketing professional, for taking a group photo.  You can find that photo on the About page.