Google AdWords has recently released a beta feature named “AdWords Campaign Experiments”. The feature is still in beta format and is available only to a selected set of users for testing.

This feature assists you in determining whether the experiments conducted on the account, such as, increase in bids, keyword changes, ad copy changes, etc. have impacted the performance of the campaign or if there are other external factors which have led to the positive results.

The “AdWords Campaigns Experiments” works on the existing campaigns. Under the “Settings” tab, click on the “Experiment” option. Provide the name of your experiment, the start date and end date of experiment. The default experiment split is 50/50 and this can be changed as required. The default experiment period is 30 days which can also be changed as per the requirement.

“AdWords Campaign Experiments” works for both Google Search campaigns as well as on Google Content Network. On Google Search, it allows you to conduct experiments with keyword bids, keywords, ad text, ad group bids and keyword match type. For Content Network, you can experiment with placement bids, ad group bids, ad text and display ads.

Once the test is completed, you can choose to implement the changes carried out during the experiment, across the campaign. There is always an option to go back to the original settings.

Happy Experimenting!

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Rewriting the URL and setting the permalinks on the wordpress on IIS can now be achieved by wp-url-rewriting.dll. Copy the dll into the windows folder of the server. In IIS MMC snap-in, register the dll using the ISAPI filters. After successful registration, configure the permalinks in wordpress using the wordpress dashboard.

Download dll here

using the following paging function to resolve the pagination issues.
function get_pagination($range = 4){
// $paged – number of the current page
global $paged, $wp_query;
// How much pages do we have?
if ( !$max_page ) {
$max_page = $wp_query->max_num_pages;
}
// We need the pagination only if there are more than 1 page
if($max_page > 1){
if(!$paged){
$paged = 1;
}
// On the first page, don’t put the First page link
if($paged != 1){
echo “<a href= . get_pagenum_link(1) . > First </a>”;
}
// To the previous page
previous_posts_link(’ « ‘);
// We need the sliding effect only if there are more pages than is the sliding range
if($max_page > $range){
// When closer to the beginning
if($paged < $range){
for($i = 1; $i <= ($range + 1); $i++){
echo “"<a href= . get_pagenum_link($i) . >$i</a>”;
}
}
// When closer to the end
elseif($paged >= ($max_page – ceil(($range/2)))){
for($i = $max_page – $range; $i <= $max_page; $i++){
echo "<a href= . get_pagenum_link($i) . >$i</a>”;
}
}
// Somewhere in the middle
elseif($paged >= $range && $paged < ($max_page – ceil(($range/2)))){
for($i = ($paged – ceil($range/2)); $i <= ($paged + ceil(($range/2))); $i++){
echo "<a href= . get_pagenum_link($i) . >$i</a>”;
}
}
}
// Less pages than the range, no sliding effect needed
else{
for($i = 1; $i <= $max_page; $i++){
echo "<a href= . get_pagenum_link($i) . >$i</a>”;
}
}
// Next page
next_posts_link(’ » ‘);
// On the last page, don’t put the Last page link
if($paged != $max_page){
echo ” <a href=get_pagenum_link($max_page)> Last </a>”;
}
}
}

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Web-Usability is the most important aspect of Online Marketing. A good website that is capable of engaging a user till the time either of them succeeds in completing their business objectives is said to have a good user interface. So what are the important factors that one would consider when they define the user friendliness of a website? A few points that come to ones mind would be the basic theme, linking & navigation, content & URL architecture of the website. The initial factor, however, that would entice the user to yearn for more would be the download time of your website pages. Mentioned below are some important points that explain the basic steps one would need to incorporate while developing or designing a website:
• The layout of your web-pages should be configured with CSS & not with tables.
• Use CSS instead of images to display text.
• Call up decorative images used in the background with CSS.
• Use contextual selectors to define every paragraph present in the page.
• Use shorthand CSS property.
• Minimize white spaces present in your web-page, the line return space & comment tag.
• Minimize the meta-data.
• Implement JavaScript & CSS in external files.
• Use relative-call ups instead of direct call-ups.
• Use “/” after every command.

It is understood that the download time of a page varies from browser to browser. The above points are thus, certain basics that, if incorporated, will help pages download quickly in general. This in turn will increase your visits, site usage & reduce your site’s bounce rate.

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– Is Writing for the Web getting on your nerves?
– Do you need a crisp web copy that can drive traffic to your website?

Learn the nitty-gritty of SEO Copywriting through these 10 Simple Rules!

1) Write Effectively
–Follow the mantra “Content is King”
–Use targeted keywords in the web copy
–Good Grammar is a must
–Avoid Jargons
–Use Power Words like “Proven”, “Disclosed”, “Breakthrough”, etc
–Ask Questions to keep visitors glued on to the page
–Make Copy with Innovative ideas
PROVEN USER-FRIENDLY AND SEARCH-ENGINE-FRIENDLY APPROACH
___________________________________________________________

2) Use Bold and Italics
–Highlight words in BOLD to lay emphasis
–Highlight words in ITALICS to attract readers to read a note
BOLD & ITALICS HELP SEARCH ENGINES TO CAPTURE THE KEYWORDS
___________________________________________________________

3) Jot in Bullet Points
–Display content in numbered/bullet lists
–Use numbers in the Headlines, E.g.: “10 Simple SEO Copy-writing Rules”
–Capture targeted keywords and Use them for inter-linking
BEST PRACTICE FOR ATTRACTING USERS IN SEARCH-ENGINE FRIENDLY WAY
___________________________________________________________

4) Use Header Tags
–Use targeted keywords from title tags embedded within H1 Tag for Headlines
–H2 can be specifically used for sub-headlines on the page
–Have next level keywords embedded within other Header Tags (H3-H6)
HEADER TAGS WILL HELP IMPROVE YOUR SEARCH ENGINE RESULTS QUICKLY
___________________________________________________________

5) Interlink Website Pages
–Use targeted keywords to hyperlink internal pages of your website
–Cross-linking through web copy is essential, apart from Navigation links
INTERLINKING WILL HELP SHARE THE PAGE RANK AND INCREASE THE POPULARITY IN SEARCH ENGINES

___________________________________________________________

6) Add Useful External Links
–Consider adding external links with similar or higher PR value
–Add external links with relevant theme as of your website
–Check for penalized website before adding one
–Do not use Competitor links
HELPS IN INCREASING THE PR AND ADDS REFERENCES FOR USERS
___________________________________________________________

7) Tap Content to Code Ratio
–Keyword Density is an important factor to rank in the search engines
–Limited use of Flash and Java Scripts
–Reduce the use of Forms
–Avoid Keyword Stuffing
NO PAGE LOADING ISSUES WITH Search-engine readable COPY
___________________________________________________________

Write for the Reader
–Write Naturally
–Have Unique content
–Use Geo-targeted English, E.g.: Traveling (US English) v/s Travelling (UK English)
–Use user-centric keywords like “Free”, “Tips”, “Tricks”, “Tutorial”, etc
HELPS IN RETAINING VISITORS, INCREASING SALES, IMPROVING BRAND REPUTATION
___________________________________________________________

9) Meta Data
–Use targeted keywords in the title tag (max. of 3-4 keywords within 65 characters limit)
–Write effective meta description tag (for about 25-30 words within 150 characters limit)
–Add meta keywords tag related to your web page copy
ATTRACTS USERS TO READ THE COPY AND SEARCH-ENGINES TO CRAWL THE PAGE
___________________________________________________________

10) Use Synonyms & Plurals
–Follow LSI Indexing Tactics
–Use Synonyms & Plurals related to web page copy
–Write user-readable and search-engine readable content
–Avoid keyword bombing
SEARCH-ENGINE FRIENDLY COPY WITH PROVEN BENEFICIAL RESULTS
___________________________________________________________

Follow these 10 Rules and your SEO Web Copy is READY!!

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The internal linking structure as well as directory structure of a website / web pages throughout the website is very important. The various components of any website cannot and should not be crammed into only the homepage. There have to be other pages where you need to insert appropriate data. Deep-linked pages have to have more keyword-rich content than the home page as these pages need to be optimized for better rankings.

There are many ways in which one can define Internal Linking Structure as per their website. The following are the different ways in which once can define internal linking structure:

1. Simple Anchor Text Links / Simple Hyper Text Links
2. Image Navigation Icons or Buttons
3. JavaScript Dropdown/Pull down  Menu or DHTML Dropdown / Pulldown Menu
4. Animated Gifs and Flash Navigation
5. Image Map Navigation
6. Frameset / Framed Navigation

In this post we will cover only the Fourth point that is Flash Navigation

4.2 Flash Navigation

Adobe Flash, has redefined the limitations of the Web. Flash has taken Web design to levels once thought unachievable. Web designers can create, publish and transmit high definition, motion filled, colorful animations to a broad Internet base without running into the pitfalls of bandwidth limitations and browser support. Flash has undoubtedly changed the Internet forever.

Flash Web sites tend to be one of the poorer types of Web sites in terms of SEF (Search Engine Friendly). Many of the search engine spiders/robots/bots/ crawlers cannot read the contents within the File file (.SWF). Till Date, Google and FastSearch are able to read the URLs or Text within a Flash file. That is why it is important when creating Flash sites to also create a simple but text rich HTML Web site for spiders and for Web users that prefer the less eye-candy media. After all it is totally dependent on the website owner to take a call for the website development.

There are several ways to use Flash within a site’s design that can help reduce the negative qualities of the Flash files. The first method is to use a partial flash site and partial HTML site. Many sites opt for this solution because you can have the eye-candy with the benefits of the HTML site. Here, there banner can be made in flash & the rest of the part can be made in HTML. Second method is to create a splash page that gives the user the ability to choose either an HTML version or a Flash version. This solution is very common as well. The spiders will crawl (no pun intended) the HTML version while your Web visitor will be dazzled by the Flash version. The third method to combat the illegibility of the Flash files is to use the noscript tag or noframe tag when using a flash only site. This is however not the good option and one should only use these tags when there is no other option.

About noscript tag – The <noscript> tag is used to provide an alternate content for users that have disabled scripts in their browser or have a browser that doesn’t support client-side scripting.The noscript element can contain all the elements that you can find inside the body element of a normal HTML page.The content inside the noscript element will only be displayed if scripts are not supported, or are disabled in the user’s browser.

About noframe tag – The <noframes> tag is used for browsers that do not handle frames. The noframes element can contain all the elements that you can find inside the body element of a normal HTML page. The noframes element is most used to link to a non-frameset version of the web site or to display a message to users that frames are required. The noframes element goes inside the frameset element.

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