Codenow which can be accessed via CodeNow.com is an API focused learning center and can provide you hands on training in developing and deploying API in minutes. Learning how to code an API consume lots of time and it requires asking permission from API developers and also using a specialized syntax platform or software but with CodeNow, you can learn to code in the browser and run it live for a real time result and checking of your codes.

CodeNow has split screen, the left pane is where you do the actual coding while the right pane lets you view the results. You can also run the code in a virtual machine or a development kit platform and share the results of your codes in a link or decide to keep it for yourself.

Learning to code is your best weapon in the digital age. Most of the high paying jobs being offered belongs in the IT industry like software engineering, quality testing, web programming and these jobs requires you to learn to code. CodeNow.com offers a seamless environment and user friendly workspace that is perfect for beginners and novices and those who wants to venture into the API and apps development industry.

The website is currently in beta test but it is open now for reservations and you can submit your email to be shortlisted as new beta testers or receive a notification once the website is officially launched.

I was also asked by a client to create the Google + Business Page for their brands and as I was creating the page, top companies like Pepsi, Starbucks, TechCrunch and other firms have started spreading their Google Pages. It was amazing to witness the creation of different business pages and it seems that they have been waiting for the launching of Google + page.  It was phenomenal and surprising for internet marketers are rushing to get on hold with their brands and companies.

Basically, the Google + Pages is very much similar to Facebook Page for its has the same services which allows corporate brands and businesses to set up a special page within Google’s social networking service. Social networking pages like the Facebook Page and the Goole + Page are important for they reach new customers develop steady relationships with loyal customers through special offers and promotions.

Although Google Page is not fully polished yet and bugs are constantly appearing, it was a very successful launching and in a matter of days more companies and businesses will be swarming this new feature from the no.1 search engine with also having a 40 million subscribers of the google + for individuals.

The only visible complain that I have is its lack of pretty links and its permalink cannot be changed into a brand name yet but I am sure it will be changed in the coming updates. If you have a brand or own a website then taking advantage of Google + is a smart idea. It may not seem polished yet but with its “direct connection” feature which means directly accessible in the Google search engine and its future updates, you are putting your business in a really good marketing spot.

]]> http://www.domaintalkblog.com/2011/11/08/google-launches-the-page-today/feed/ 0 http://www.domaintalkblog.com/2011/09/20/website-speed-and-its-relevance-in-google-rankings/ http://www.domaintalkblog.com/2011/09/20/website-speed-and-its-relevance-in-google-rankings/#comments Tue, 20 Sep 2011 15:57:18 +0000 Emman Alcide http://www.domaintalkblog.com/?p=511 Continue reading →]]> One particular aspect not to be overlooked by web developers is to make sure that the website loads fast. It is a common problem for eCommerce sites such as those developed using the Magento framework. I recently worked with a Magento web development team but I joined a bit late. The site was already launched when I started doing the SEO. I conducted the usual keyword research, link building, article writing and competitors analysis. i was surprised that website loading speed keeps popping up in the reports of the SEO software that I used.

After a month of SEO implementation, I noticed that that the progress seems a bit slower compared to my previous works and with the competitors of the niche keywords. Since the SEO plan involves SEM using Google adwords as well, I receive a notification from google analytics that the site has a slow loading rate and can be optimized using their productivity tool.

I conducted research regarding website speed and it indeed is a factor for google ranking now. Last year, Google updated their algorithm and it now includes the loading speed of the website as one of the basis of ranking a website in their SERP (Search Engine Result Page). According to google, they have to add website speed as a factor for it creates a happy experience for the user when a website loads fast plus it can also save them operating costs for data is transferred faster.

Here is the official statement from a google blogpost last year:

Speeding up websites is important — not just to site owners, but to all Internet users. Faster sites create happy users and we’ve seen in our internal studies that when a site responds slowly, visitors spend less time there. But faster sites don’t just improve user experience; recent data shows that improving site speed also reduces operating costs. Like us, our users place a lot of value in speed — that’s why we’ve decided to take site speed into account in our search rankings. We use a variety of sources to determine the speed of a site relative to other sites.

There are ways where the problem of website speed can be solved. There are available services in the net for free and for a fee. Even google themselves provide website speed optimization which makes me think that it gives your website a bit of advantage in google’s SERP since you are using their services.

Here are 2 of the most useful tools available in the web for speed optimization:

 1. Page Speed by Google – This is the site tool that solved my problem. Since scraping the entire magento website just to make it load faster and it would be a nightmare for the developers and the website owner for the site has been launched, I recommended that we sign up for Google Speed for it is the only available solution perfect for eCommerce websites. The service is free as of now but Google will be charging a minimal fee when it is officially launched.

Click the links below to know more on Google Speed test:

http://code.google.com/speed/page-speed/

http://www.webpagetest.org/

2. YSlow for Yahoo – YSlow is a free tool from Yahoo which provides you ways to improve the speed of your website. Although Yahoo is not considering the speed of the website as a primary factor for their search engine rankings, their tools are effective and very useful.

http://developer.yahoo.com/yslow/

Always consider the speed of your website, conduct test speed for no matter how pretty your domain name is or how many backlinks you have and well written web contents your website have, it can still be dragged down in search engine rankings due to slow website loading.

]]> http://www.domaintalkblog.com/2011/09/20/website-speed-and-its-relevance-in-google-rankings/feed/ 0 http://www.domaintalkblog.com/2011/09/04/3-basic-tips-in-choosing-a-blog-name/ http://www.domaintalkblog.com/2011/09/04/3-basic-tips-in-choosing-a-blog-name/#comments Mon, 05 Sep 2011 02:23:55 +0000 Emman Alcide http://www.domaintalkblog.com/?p=499 Continue reading →]]> Blogs dominates the web now. It is the easiest web platform to set up and tons of free blog providers are at our disposal with built in features for interactivity and search engine optimization. The fact that more than 15% of the websites in the internet is built using WordPress means that blogging tools is becoming the leading platform for web development. With its user-friendly features, almost everyone are able to set-up new blogs in 1-2-3 steps but their most common mistake is choosing the right website name or blog name.

I summed up 3 of the most basic tips when choosing the right blog name, this is also applicable when choosing a website name:

1. Your blog name should be based on the theme of your blog – This is the most basic when signing up for a blog name, it should reflect on the description of your blog. If you’re blog is about comic reviews then the name should pertain about comic reviews or about graphic novels. Your blog followers or first time visitors will be confused if the name of your blog is flowersblog.com and you talk about the latest releases of Marvel and DC comics. It will be misleading and your visitors might lose interest.

2. Choose a blog name that is light and easy to remember – A blog name should not be overly complicated and hard to remember. Blogs are supposed to be light reading and you don’t have to over complicate it to be artistic or creative. You can apply your creativity in its aesthetics but leave the blog name easy to remember and concise. If you are blogging about graphic novels and comics then then best name would be something like “The Graphic Novels Depot”.

3. Your Domain Name Should Match With Your Blog Name – This is very essential and a big mistake if overlooked. The blog name of your site must be the same or at least share huge similarity with your domain name. For example this site, DomainTalkBlog.com is about domain names and domain registration so it is proper to name it Domain Talk Blog. The similarity is huge and readers will know about the blog the moment the website is loaded in their browsers.

These 3 basic guides are important for it lets your readers and followers know the blog that they are reading and also for SEO purposes. It tells the search engine what the blog or website is all about and in return search engines ranks it according to its description and blog name.

Directory listing can be both beneficial when it comes to the relevance of your website but it can also downrank your website when not used properly. So the answer to the question will be Yes, it is good for your website and also Yes, it can be a bad practice. Directory listing has been practiced by SEO specialist and internet marketers to gain exposure and increase the traffic of the website. The domain names are added to directory listing based on their relevancy and categories and will be bookmarked and shows up in the SERPs. Since backlinks are the main bases of Google’s algorithm, directory listing may improve the “trust” rating of your website and may affect the boosting of the website’s page rank.

It is also wise to put in mind that directory listing with lesser page rank or with low “trust” value can pull down your website instead of ranking them in the SERPs or adding points for the improvement of your page rank. This is because your website is being backlinked by a so called “bad neighborhood” website. Some SEO specialists randomly submit their website to different directory listing without even checking the relevancy of the site and the end result is your website being involved in a “bad neighborhood” or sites which purpose is for link farming or black SEO which can affect the health of your website.

Directory listing is an effective method for the visibility of your website. If done properly, it can create a one way backlinks which will improve the health of your website and boost its page rank. Even if it is a “no follow” directory listing, the traffic that it generates is also helpful. Directory listing is not a blackhat nor even a greyhat when done properly such as submitting it based on category and its relevance. If directory listing is done through link farming or for the sole purpose of creating more backlinks then it became a blackhat and can potentially damage your site.

Your website may be visible in the directory listing sites which you submitted but not visible in SERP or Search Engine Result Page due to penalties you got from link spamming.

According to Wordstream, a web-based analytic provider for keyword based optimization such as Google Adwords, the following keywords are the most expensive keyword categories right now. You can also use this type of research when deciding on a website name so you can use good keywords.

1. Insurance (example keyword: “auto insurance price quotes”)
2. Loans (example keyword: “consolidate graduate student loans”)
3. Mortgage (example keyword: “refinanced second mortgages”)
4. Attorney (example keyword: “personal injury attorney”)
5. Credit (example keyword: “home equity line of credit”)
6. Lawyer
7. Donate
8. Degree
9. Hosting
10. Claim
11. Conference Call
12. Trading
13. Software
14. Recovery
15. Transfer
16. Gas/Electricity
17. Classes
18. Rehab
19. Treatment
20. Cord Blood

Google makes tons of money through google adwords, in fact, 97% of Google’s revenue came from adwords and in just 12 months (last year) Google made $33 billion of revenue. The top 20 keywords are the most priced when it comes to CPC or cost per click campaigns. CPC is more like an auction rather the purchase. You do not purchase a keyword placement rather you bid on your keyword and google will rank it according to the amount you bid on it. If the competitor has a bigger budget then the domain name or link of his website will be ranked higher compared to your site.

Keywords related to “insurance” actually makes sense because most people flocked to google to find out more about it but I am surprised that “Cord Blood” is on the list. I do not even know what it is. Keywords like “loans”,”mortgage” and “lawyer” are not surprising for their industry is huge and entrepreneurs are using adwords to reach wider audience.

I have a piece of advice though, notice that “hosting” keyword is on no.9. This means that more people are searching for hosting and domain providers which means that many people are registering domain names for their website so if you have a website in mind or a niche business and you want to register a domain name for it then get it before it’s too late.

Here is the breakdown:
Memeburn asked Matt how WordPress became the dominant CMS and Matt said it is because people have found themselves empowered to create beautiful blogs and websites without having to learn a ton of technology. Which I have to agree, without a doubt, WordPress allows you to create elegant blogs with ease and speed. Matt also mentioned that WordPress is currently supporting 10% to 12% of the entire webpages in the internet. This surprises me for it would be mean hundred of millions of web pages but this is right. Even top sites such as techcrunch uses WordPress as its platform. WordPress is not only for blogs anymore but it can be a platform even for enterprise purposes.

Another important update Matt mentioned in the interview is that support of WordPress with the new HTML 5 browsers. WordPress will be having faster and better interface suited for HTML 5 and I am seeing it in the new update of WordPress. The interface has  wider screen for writing and a collapsible menu too.

But my favorite parts of the interview where the quotes that Matt mentioned and it just stuck in my head. It is also the prime reason why I am writing this blog instead of some tips and tutorials about domain registration as you can get a godaddy coupon and get a domain registered at a discount. I just wanted people to get inspired by these two quotes from Matt Mullenweg.

The benefit to the world of everyone having a potential voice outweighs the folks who might misuse that freedom.

It’s good to build for yourself first, because in the worst-case scenario where no one else likes it, at least you will.

This is so true. Especially in the Open Source community. WordPress started as a humble and small CMS and now it is used by millions and provided the perfect platform for bloggers, enterprise and those doing online businesses.

Matt is one of my idols in the tech industry. It is not because he has  a multi-million dollar industry but because of his contributions in the internet industry through a simple platform called WordPress. To read the full wordpress interview, Visit Memeburn’s website, the website name is memeburn.com

Templates are skeletal system of a website. It is a pre-filled layout and serves well as a guide or a walkthrough. Templates are pre-built in top HTML editors like Dreamweaver and can also be downloaded for free in the internet or for a small payment in template retail sites like www.themeforest.com or www.templatemonster.com.

Another great solution is to use a CMS or Content Management System. CMS are web systems with amazing back end and front end features. There are numbers of CMS available for free and are found in the cPanel of your website. Some of the popular CMS are WordPress, Joomla, Mambo, ZenCart and Moodle. There are different types of CMS for you to choose depending in your web designing needs. There are CMS for blogging such as wordpress, for e-commerce such as the shopping cart OpenCart or for education like Moodle.

CMS were also logically developed. The menu or navigation can be created easily. The post and pages are also in logical order and is very modifiable and it’s backend uses the latest database platform like MySQL while the front end uses PHP so it is very standard and web 2.0 compatible.

So if ever you got stucked in a layouting or designing issue, use a template or CMS. It will save you a lot of time and lets you deploy better websites. And in some cases, much better than what you originally planned.

While there are hosting companies that are cheap, there are rarely hosting companies that offer very reasonable hosting and also scalable solutions. You can start with a basic hosting plan and upgrade as necessary.

It is always best to choose the same registrar and hosting company so they are under one roof. This way neither will point fingers at the other. If there is a problem, they will be sure to get it fixed because they are the ony ones that could possibly be the root of any problem.

Pick the best hosting company, the largest and the easiest to use so you can have a great experience with simple hosting. The easier to use, the easier your life will be.

Registrars typically will not do anything unless there is a court action or arbitration, particularly if there are trademark issues.

If you have an issue you are probably looking to have a domain canceled, suspended, or transfer a domain name.

So what do you do? Well if you are a Trademark holder you can (a) file a complaint in a court of proper jurisdiction against the domain-name holder (or where appropriate an in-rem action concerning the domain name) or (b) in cases of abusive registration submit a complaint to an approved dispute-resolution service provider.

Find more here.