Alt Attribute & Search engine optimization

SEO Optimization images is becoming more and more important in SEO (Search Engine Optimization) for websites. The ALT attribute is a critical step that is sometimes forgotten. This is often a lost chance of better rankings.

In Google's webmaster guidelines, they advise the use of alternative text for the images in your web site:

Images:. Use the alt attribute to supply descriptive text. Additionally, we recommend using a human-readable caption and descriptive text round the image.

Why would they ask us to achieve that? The answer is easy, really; search engines like google have a similar problem as blind users. They can't see the images.

Many webmasters and inexperienced or unethical SEOs abuse using this attribute, attempting to stuff it with keywords, hoping to achieve a certain keyword density, which isn't as relevant for rankings now as it once was.

On the contrary, high keyword density can, on some search engines, trigger spam filters, which might result in a penalty for your site's ranking. Even without this type of penalty, your site's rankings will not benefit from this tactic.
This process also puts persons who use screen readers at a greater disadvantage. Screen readers are software-based tools that really read aloud the items in what's shown on the screen. In browsing the web, the alt attributes of images are read aloud too.

Imagine hearing a paragraph of text that is then repetitions of numerous keywords. The page would be not even close to accessible, and, to put it bluntly, would be found quite annoying.
What exactly is an Alt attribute?

An ALT attribute should not be used like a description or a label to have an image, though many people utilize it in that fashion. Although it may appear natural to assume that alternate text is really a label or a description, it's not!

The words used inside an image's alt attribute should be its text equivalent and convey exactly the same information or serve exactly the same purpose that the image would.

The thing would be to provide the same functional information that the visual user would see. The alt attribute text should function as a "stand in" when the image itself is unavailable. Think about this: If you were to replace the image with the text, would most users receive the same basic information, and would it generate the same response?
Some examples:

 

Some SEO Optimization Tips

If a search button is really a magnifying glass or binoculars its alt text ought to be 'search' or 'find' not 'magnifying glass' or 'binoculars'.

If the image is meant to convey the literal contents of the image, a description is appropriate.

If it is meant to convey data, then that information is what's appropriate.

If it is designed to convey using a function, then the function is what should be used.

Some Alt Attribute Guidelines:

Always add alt attributes to images. Alt is mandatory for accessibility as well as for valid XHTML.

For images that play merely a decorative role within the page, use an empty alt (i.e. alt="") or a CSS background image to ensure that reading browsers do not bother users by uttering such things as "spacer image".

Keep in mind that it is the function of the image we are attempting to convey. For instance; any button images should not include the word "button" within the alt text. They should emphasize the action performed through the button.

Alt text should be determined by context. Exactly the same image inside a different context may require drastically different alt text.

Try to flow alt text with the rest of the text because that's how it is going to be read with adaptive technologies like screen readers. Someone listening to your page should hardly remember that a graphic image can there be.
Please remember that utilizing an alt attribute for each image is needed to meet the minimum WAI requirements, that are used since the benchmark for accessibility laws in UK and the remainder of Europe. Also, they are necessary to meet "Section 508" accessibility requirements in america.

It is useful to categorize non-text content into three levels:

Eye-Candy
Mood-Setting
Content and Function

I. Eye-Candy

Eye-Candy are stuff that serve no purpose other than to create a site visually appealing/attractive and (oftentimes) fulfill the marketing departments. There isn't any content value (though there might be value to some sighted user).

Never alt-ify eye-candy unless there's something there which will enhance the usability from the site for somebody utilizing a non-visual user agent. Use a null alt attribute or background images in CSS for eye-candy.

II. Mood-Setting

This is the middle layer of graphics which may actually set the atmosphere or set happens so to speak. These graphics aren't direct content and may 't be considered essential, but they're essential in that they help frame what's going on.

Try to alt-ify the second group as is sensible and it is relevant. There might be times when doing so may be annoying or detrimental with other users. Then try to avoid it.

For example; Alt text that's just like adjacent text is unnecessary, as well as an irritant to screen reader users. I recommend alt="" or background CSS images in such instances. But sometimes, it's vital that you understand this content in there for all users.

Most times it depends on context. Exactly the same image inside a different context may require drastically different alt text. Obviously, content should always be fully available. How you use this example is really a judgment call.

III. Content and Function

This is where the look is the actual content. Always alt-ify content and functional images. Title and long description attributes can also be in order.
The main reason many authors can't understand why their alt text isn't working is they don't know why the pictures are there. You have to figured out precisely what function an image serves. Consider what it's concerning the image that's important to the page's intended audience.

Every graphic has a reason behind standing on that page: since it either enhances the theme/ mood/ atmosphere or it is critical to what are the page is attempting to describe. Knowing what the image is for makes alt text easier to write. And exercise writing them definitely helps.
A way to check the usefulness of alternative text would be to imagine reading the page on the phone to someone. An amount you say when encountering a particular image to make the page understandable towards the listener?

Aside from the alt attribute you have a couple more tools available for images.
First, in level of descriptiveness title is in between alt and longdesc. It adds useful information and may add flavor. The title attribute is optionally rendered through the user agent. Remember they're invisible and never shown as a "tooltip" when focus is received through the keyboard. (So much for device independence). So make use of the title attribute only for advisory information.
Second, the longdesc attribute points towards the Link to a full description of an image. If the information contained in a picture is essential to the meaning of the page (i.e. some important content would be lost when the image was removed), an extended description compared to "alt" attribute can reasonably display should be used. It may provide for rich, expressive documentation of a visual image.

It should be used when alt and title are insufficient to embody the visual qualities of the image. As Clark [1] states, "A longdesc is really a long description of the image...The aim is by using any length of description necessary to impart the details from the graphic.

It wouldn't be remiss to hope that a long description conjures an image - the look - in the mind's eye, an analogy that is true even for the totally blind."

Although the alt attribute is mandatory for web accessibility and for valid (X)HTML, not all images need alternative text, long descriptions, or titles.

In many cases, you're better off just choosing your gut instinct -- if it's not necessary to incorporate it, and when you don't possess a strong urge to get it done, don't include that longdesc.

However, if it's necessary for the entire page to operate, then you've to add the alt text (or title or longdesc).

What's necessary and what's not depends a lot about the function of the image and it is context on the page.

The same image may require alt text (or title or longdesc) in a single spot, although not in another. If the image provides absolutely no content or functional information alt="" or background CSS images might be appropriate to make use of. However, if the image provides content or adds functional information an alt will be required and maybe a long description would be in order. Oftentimes this type of thing is a judgement call.

Image Search Engine Optimization Tips

Listed below are key stages in optimizing images:

Select a logical file name that reinforces the keywords. You can use hyphens in the file name to isolate the keyword, but avoid to exceeding two hyphens. Stay away from underscores like a word separator, such as "brilliant-diamonds.jpg";

Label the file extension. For example, if the image internet search engine sees a ".jpg" (JPEG) file extension, it's going to assume that the file is really a photo, and if it sees a ".gif" (GIF) file extension, it's likely to assume that it is graphic;

Ensure that the written text nearby the image that is highly relevant to that image.
Again, don't lose an excellent chance to help your site with your images searching engines. Begin using these steps to rank better on all of the engines and drive more traffic for your site TODAY.

Search Engine Optimization

Search engine marketers and usability engineers want to understand why we go to websites and what we do after we arrive at a search results page. They ask questions like:

• Are we satisfied with where we landed?


• Did the engine provide accurate results listings?


• Was our click choice a positive one?


• Did we stay on the site or leave?


• If we left, what search result better matched what we wanted to find?


• Was it the search results or did we have a bad experience with the web page we landed on?

Both search engines and human factors related fields study our intent.

Author Matt Bailey points to the depth of the importance of intent in his new book, Internet Marketing: An Hour a Day.

“Search engines are integrating more multimedia and allowing deeper access to documents and media earlier in the search process. They are attempting to determine the intent of the searcher and deliver results accordingly.”

What is our intent? Why do we visit the Internet? Why do we use search sites such as Google and Youtube?

In a 2009 ComScore study (comScore, 2009), they found that “Nearly one out of every ten minutes a person spends online around the world is spent on a Google site.” This includes the search engine itself, Youtube, which they own, Google books, email, Google reader and more.

Clearly, marketers want to be sure their clients’ websites perform well in Google’s web properties. Not doing so can wreck the success of a business.

Search Behavior = People Who Search

Shortly after search engines and information sites appeared on the Internet, case studies zeroed in to understand why, who, where, when, where and how humans use them. Hot on the trail, too, were analysts interested in learning about site traffic, popularity, rank and how to make money from it.

Many of you were guinea pigs during the 1990’s when web page backgrounds were gray with black text, and animation, 3D images, scrolling text boxes, rotating banners and blinking images were all part of a typical user interface.

As fun as all those things were to create (I loved animating images), web designers had to buckle to user preferences.

Search engines learned what we really come to the Internet for. Perhaps search engine sites are not suitable for certain subject types when it comes to information searches. In order to improve search engine design and SEO marketing efforts, we try to understand user intent and goals for searching.

It’s been well established at this point that search engines are used by us to find information. What kinds of information are most popular?

A recent study from Australia on who uses search engines found that half of search engine queries were looking for a particular website, while the other 50% were split between ecommerce and popular culture searches.

The study also pointed to what is referred to as “leisure searches”. The findings present the idea of search sites not only for information gathering or shortcuts to web sites, but they’re also sources for leisure, with one in six of all searches estimated as being leisure searches.

The Australian study offered some surprising details for anyone wondering what we’re searching for, by subject. Adult site searches fell into the middle, with ecommerce being second, edged under a tad by popular culture topics. Health, weather, contemporary affairs and government are the least popular searches.

The study stood out from others because it included and factored in the lifestyle of their participants. This is different than user testing labs or Eye tracking tests. To their surprise, lifestyle choices had no measurable impact on the type of search queries. In fact, new questions were raised on user –searcher behavior.

For example, do Internet users tend to go to particular trusted web sites for information on healthcare, computing and contemporary affairs, rather than use search engines? Does the distribution of the most ranked subjects searched for represent user interests or the suitability of search engines for looking up certain types of topics?

Another study (Broder, 2002) narrows search engine user behavior as informational, navigational, transactional and leisure. Half the searches in the study were navigational and one-third, transactional. Half of all searchers know where they want to go.

What Does This Mean To Search Marketers?

The most obvious is that it’s time to accept usability studies into marketing strategy. And, user experience professionals can no longer devalue the role of search marketers. Both camps provide essential skills and expertise needed for web site projects.

A lot of what’s happening on the Internet is relationship building. The global community wants this so badly they invented social networking sites and social marketing to drive interest and generate revenue from these new site sources.

Emotional web design is no accident. We’re emotional beings. Empathy makes us connect with others.

“In life and business, focus on creating win-win situations. Look beyond the immediate sale in order to connect with customers as people.” – Steve Harper, The Ripple Effect.

Despite our developing mental models and creating user personas, we remain on the edge of understanding who uses our stuff. Wouldn’t it be grand if stakeholders got out of their offices and actually interacted with the people who use their websites?

I’ve often wished I could video people who multi-task at home, with one hand on a laundry basket, an ear to the cell phone and a hand reaching for the laptop nearby. What does that busy person search for and how? Can we make their experience less stressful?

Division between marketing and user experience will dissolve as both approaches discover they need each others’ data to do a better job for their clients.

There’s no question that a passion for usability and search engine marketing leads to their fascinating cousins, like information architecture, findability, captology, analytics and neurology. There’s also no question that money can be made by optimizing for and advertising in search engines.

Studying user behavior is a win-win for search engine technology, search marketing and website usability and human factors.

Cited Resources:

Broder 2002; A Taxonomy of Web Search (PDF)

Waller, Vivienne 2010; Not Just Information: Who Searches for What on the Search Engine Google?

Opinions expressed in the article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land.

Related Topics: Just Behave

Note the Client companies are based in either the US or Canada and the “percentage of traffic outside key service areas” are based on each client’s target market.

For instance, if a client only services the US only, any traffic outside the US would be traffic outside their service area.

Evaluating Your Own Traffic For Relevance

To use our own web design and Internet marketing business as an example, we service both Canada and the US, but were getting 24% of our traffic from other international countries. Big portions of that traffic were companies looking to sell their services to us.

These international visitors would fill in our web forms and call us to inquire, untimely skewing our website analytics data by not giving us a real understanding of how our website was performing to quality prospects.

A solution had to be implemented to significantly reduce the amount of resources we were dedicating to people outside our service areas.

Ultimately, we didn’t want to be contacted from people we couldn’t help. The four possible solutions we considered were:

1. Create a custom report in Google Analytics to filter out the unwanted data (reporting related)


2. Adjust the content of our website (website related)


3. Block the traffic from specific Countries from viewing our website (server related)


4. Don’t change anything.

Option #1

When evaluating the first solution, creating a custom report to filter out this data in Google Analytics, this would clear up our analytics data. Implementing a filter would provide a more realistic picture of quality prospects we could service in our geographic area instead of those prospects or solicitors in other counties we don’t service.

This option didn’t run the risk of blocking any traffic or robots that we do want. It’s also a simple filter to add in Google Analytics. We set up another Profile with the country exclusions filters. A new Profile was the preferred approach, rather than going through the extra steps of creating Custom Reports.

However, setting up analytical filters doesn’t fully resolve the issue, since these visitors could still access our site, fill in web forms, and contact us, ultimately wasting resources that we could dedicate elsewhere.

It wouldn’t give us a true picture of what was going on. It also wouldn’t resolve the problem – we didn’t want to be contacted by companies from some outside countries.

Option #2

Updating the website content to say you only service a specific area is another solution that we considered.  This would inject more geo-targeted keywords into your site, which would help in local SEO. Adding a graphical map, drop-down options and/or links that allow the visitor to select their country would help qualify visitors.

Some of the downfalls of this option include spending a much higher amount of time to implement versus the other options. The success of this would also be dependent on how honest the visitor is.

Assuming visitors are reading your website content, adding geo-targeted keywords into your site would set a clearer expectation of service area delivery. However, this option still doesn’t resolve the issue of sharing contact information that allows unsolicited visitors to contact us and invalid web form data.

Option #3

How about blocking or filtering visitors automatically based on their IP address? When considering to block website visitors by IP it’s important to first evaluate the reliability of the IP address(es). The accuracy of an IP list is over 99.5% on a country level and 80% on a city level. The smaller the location, the less reliable the IP address.

Internet Service Providers change IP addresses they designate to customers. Some change them more frequently than others, which is why you want to keep the database of IPs updated. Scheduling a monthly update is typically a good routine if city level IP authentication is required. Country level is much more static.

The benefit of blocking the country via IP address would not only clean up analytical data, but also ensure our sales funnel was more efficient and provide a more accurate picture of real prospects in all systems. We needed to consider other issues in this approach.

One concern was the potential for a search crawler coming from an IP in the location we were planning on blocking. For example, there was a possibility that Google’s search crawler would also be blocked if it came from the same country. The implementation of this option is more technical. One would need to obtain a list of IP addresses for the desired locations and update the websites htaccess file.

In our example, the inquiries from some countries became so frequent that we couldn’t ignore it any longer. After much debate, we decided to ban the countries; however, we would only ban one at a time to evaluate the effects.

For instance, one of the largest traffic sources, accounting for approximately 20% of this, was from India, a market we don’t service. These Indian visitors were companies looking to sell their services to us.

We executed the ban in the polite Canadian way. We also implemented the Google Analytics profile with the country filter to monitor future website statistics versus the past.

Those visitors that came from our blocked list would land on a different page that displayed a nice message. It read: “Thank you for visiting. However, we don’t provide services in your area.”

In sum, the tests have gone over very well. Banning the country from our website has significantly cut down the number of unsolicited calls, emails and web form requests. It also gave us a much more accurate picture of how our website was performing within our own target market and service area.

Considerations For Blocking Traffic By Location

If you’re considering this strategy, some factors to consider when filtering visitors include:

• Why do you want to filter website traffic?


• Which locations would you want to filter?


• How much traffic do you currently get from locations outside your service area?


• How important is this traffic?


• How to funnel visitors outside your service areas?


• The accuracy of the IP addresses locations in mind.


• Effects of non-human visitors.

A few months after we implemented this, we received a direct mail package that contained pens with our logo on them from a company that wished to sell us branded pens.

Guess what it said under our logo? “Thank you for visiting. However, we don’t provide services in your area.” We had a good laugh. Someone obviously didn’t read what they printed. It was evidence that our website block was working and a nice souvenir.

The key takeaway, as always, is monitor your traffic and conversions. Track where your quality traffic is coming from and decide for yourself if you should block the traffic of certain countries. Make sure to proceed with caution to ensure that you are not missing some opportunities.

Think outside of the box for other ideas of how you can use that traffic. Perhaps referring the traffic to a partner or creating a unique service for specific markets is another option to consider.

Opinions expressed in the article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land.

Related Topics: 100% Organic - Search Engine Optimization Tips | SEO: General

seo optimization services

Bench Craft Company on the topic of ebay

"Getting data privacy 'right' is an economic and social imperative. Trust and confidence in the security and privacy of the critical systems of our planet - especially the digital version of its central nervous system, the Internet - is foundational to individuals' continued engagement and reliance on such things as online commerce, e-health and smart grids. If individual consumers don't feel that their privacy and security are protected, they will not support modernization efforts, even though the capabilities of technology advancements are proven and the potential benefits to society are extensive.

"Here's an example of the tensions we face: The ability of smart grids to conserve resources relies on the ability of, and commitment from, consumers to monitor and modify their individual usage. An individual using a smart meter understands the difference in the cost of using electricity at peak versus non-peak hours and could opt to lower their usage during more costly time periods. At the same time, data from the meters can reveal sensitive information such as work habits, shower schedules, use of medical devices such as dialysis, and whether or not a house is occupied."

"I don't worry that the technology will have a negative impact on consumer privacy," wrote Mark Roberti, founder of RFID Journal in a June overview of the state of the RFID market where privacy is concerned. "Instead, I worry that ignorant legislators trying to score points with uninformed voters will pass laws that limit the many benefits RFID can deliver--and that is a much bigger threat to consumers."

Today's agreement in Europe appears not to be the kind of legislation Roberti feared. As a framework focused on self-reporting it may be too little, ultimately, but it's a start.

"Getting data privacy 'right' is an economic and social imperative. Trust and confidence in the security and privacy of the critical systems of our planet - especially the digital version of its central nervous system, the Internet - is foundational to individuals' continued engagement and reliance on such things as online commerce, e-health and smart grids. If individual consumers don't feel that their privacy and security are protected, they will not support modernization efforts, even though the capabilities of technology advancements are proven and the potential benefits to society are extensive.

"Here's an example of the tensions we face: The ability of smart grids to conserve resources relies on the ability of, and commitment from, consumers to monitor and modify their individual usage. An individual using a smart meter understands the difference in the cost of using electricity at peak versus non-peak hours and could opt to lower their usage during more costly time periods. At the same time, data from the meters can reveal sensitive information such as work habits, shower schedules, use of medical devices such as dialysis, and whether or not a house is occupied."

"I don't worry that the technology will have a negative impact on consumer privacy," wrote Mark Roberti, founder of RFID Journal in a June overview of the state of the RFID market where privacy is concerned. "Instead, I worry that ignorant legislators trying to score points with uninformed voters will pass laws that limit the many benefits RFID can deliver--and that is a much bigger threat to consumers."

Today's agreement in Europe appears not to be the kind of legislation Roberti feared. As a framework focused on self-reporting it may be too little, ultimately, but it's a start.

bench craft company

Sources: Phil Jackson, Los Angeles Lakers fined $75,000 each

Lakers coach Phil Jackson has been fined $75,000 for making unauthorized comments about collective bargaining, sources said Thursday.

bench craft company

Breaking tech <b>news</b>? Get email notifications as it happens. - TNW Voice

We're in the technology news business. To that end, if it's old, it isn't news. Given that you're reading this, chances are that you live, eat, sleep and breathe the tech lifestyle and want to get the news as soon as it happens. ...

bench craft company

Small Business <b>News</b>: Small Biz Social Media Tips

In recent weeks we've shared articles on social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and others. Now it's time to look at how all these tools are.

bench craft company

Apple should see a material dip, on top of the one that occurred
after I indicated that I was short the stock on March 16th. Before we
delve into my opinion, let’s peruse the news from 1 a.m. this morning:

WSJ: Apple Crunched in Nasdaq Rebalance- In
a move likely to ripple across the stock market, Nasdaq OMX plans to
announce a rare rebalancing of its Nasdaq-100 index, which will reduce
the big weighting of Apple, which currently makes up more than 20% of
the index.

Bloomberg: Apple’s Weight in Nasdaq-100 to Be Reduced as Microsoft, Cisco Are Raised

So, why do you think Nasdaq decides to reduce Apple’s weighting now?
Well, the competitive pressures that Apple faces are nigh guaranteed to
make it impossible for it to fulfill the pie in the sky expectations
that are being built for it.  That in combination with a 20% weighting
create a recipe for a guaranteed crash in the Nasdaq unless something
was done about it. Signs of heavy reliance on on or two products for 70%
of their profit, while sourcing the most important parts of those
products from their biggest competitors, were starting to show. iPad 2
supplies are tight due to Japan’s woes, and Apple does not have the
mobile computing product diversity to handle it like the 150 or so
Android competitors it is battling. This means much more than just a gap
in profits for the quarter. These companies are in race, and Apple is
being forced to give up some of its lead due to diversification issues –
issues that Android manufacturers (who are more diversified because
there are so many more of them from different places) don’t have, or at
least not to the extent that Apple does. Thus, Samsung, LG, Asus, HTC,
etc. will be rolling out to customers who may have had an Apple iPhone
or iPad.

This is also another (of many) massive triumphs of BoomBustblog
research over that of the most esteemed Godman Sachs who put a $430
price target on Apple just as it was making all time highs and in direct
contravention to BoomBustBlog’s stated logic. See Shorting Apple and Why Software Developers Can Make More Money On Android Wednesday, March 16th, 2011

I have finally started dabbling with Apple
shorts and puts. My OTM S&P put positions were profitably stopped
out due to trailings yesterday when the market recovered some of its
losses. I have decided to use Apple in the place of the S&P puts
for the time being. Medium to long term, the trade is more evident and
obvious to anyone who is objective and follows BoomBustBlog. It is
significantly more risky shorter term. Alas, there are marginal gains
already, and once they accrue to the point of indemnifying my trailing
stop, I will add more. After I finish the current leg of my global real
estate research to be disseminated to institutions, I will offer
tidbits of the modeling (I have already offered subscribers significant
info on why I think Apple is a risky long play). From a contrarian
standpoint, it may be safe to go short with tight stops, after all
although Apple Gears Up To Combat The Margin Compression That Apparently Only It, Google & Reggie Middleton Sees Coming, we still have those guys over at West Street… Goldman’s
$430 Target, Screaming Buy On Apple At Its All Time High Is In Direct
Contravention To Reggie Middleton’s Logic – Who’s Right? Well, Who
Has Been More Right In The Past? I have taken The Challenge To Goldman Sach’s Apple Proclamation One Step

Farther, Apple’s Closed System Risks
Failure! Listen, everyone, regardless of what investment positions or
tech products you may have in your stable, needs to ask themselves the
appropriate “What if’s”. I have spurred the conversation with “Will Google Win The Mobile Computing War? Let’s Walk Through Where They Stand Now & How To Value Them”

Remember, I may not always be right, but it does pay to look at the track record…  Did Reggie Middleton, a Blogger at BoomBustBlog, Best Wall Streets Best of the Best? More attention should be paid to the little guy, after all by now it is Now Common Knowledge That Goldman’s Investment Advice Sucks!
Didn’t you get the memo? I’m sure many traders have spurned Apple due
to the Japanese market being cut off right at the launch of the iPad 2,
but the issues go deeper than that. I will cover it in depth at a later
date, though.

Additional thoughts on the Apple short:

1. Note For The Few Realistic Apple Bears… Wednesday, March 16th, 2011
2. Buffet on Apple – Common Sense! Monday, March 21st, 2011
3. Competition Heats Up In The Mobile Computing Space On Many Fronts – Prices Driven Down Once Again By The Big Players Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011
4. How the “I Love Apple, There Is No Other Fever” Adds To The Attractiveness Of An Ever So Unpopular Apple Short Monday, March 21st, 2011

And that Research in Motion short alert
given to subscribers is working like a charm – even more so if it get’s
caught in  NASDAQ storm: Research in Motion Drops 10% After Hours, Precisely As We Warned Two Months Ago – MARGIN COMPRESSION!!! Thursday, March 24th, 2011

Video calls were a mainstay of classic sci-fi films, and even today there’s something almost magical about seeing your friends and family on the screen of a portable device. Video calling has been around for some time, but it’s only really in the past year or so that its got more attention among regular users. That’s thanks in no small part to Apple and FaceTime, as found on the iPhone 4, iPad 2 and other gadgets from the company’s range. Read on as we give FaceTime the full SlashGear 101 treatment!

So Apple invented video calling, right?

No, not at all, though they did do a lot to make it easier to use – just as long as you have the right hardware. Video calling is actually a part of the 3G standard, which – if the carrier and whatever phone you’re using supports it, which isn’t the case in the US – has been available since around 2003. Unfortunately a combination of high pricing, poor understanding by users, mediocre quality and patchy reliability meant this form of video calling has never really taken off.

Apple’s FaceTime takes advantage of the company’s tight control over the iPhone, iPod touch, iPad and MacBook software, which has allowed it to polish the video calling experience to the point where everyday use is possible. Now FaceTime is available to anybody at the touch of an on-screen button.

Do I need an Apple phone to use FaceTime?

Not necessarily a phone, but definitely something with the Apple logo. FaceTime was first supported on the iPhone 4, which was Apple’s first mobile device with a front-facing camera (i.e. one that looks at the user, rather than out the back of the handset). The latest iPod touch and iPad 2 both have front-facing cameras and FaceTime support as well, and Apple has released a FaceTime app for its Mac and MacBook computers so they can join in the fun as well. FaceTime comes free on the mobile devices and the very latest Macs, and is a $0.99 download from the Mac App Store for earlier Mac owners.

Okay, so how do I use it?

It’s pretty simple, just as Apple was aiming for. On the iPhone you make a voice call in the normal way and then tap the FaceTime button on-screen to switch to video. On the iPod touch and iPad 2, you start a video call in the FaceTime app. You’ll need an Apple account in order to make and receive calls, since that’s used as the “phone number” for devices other than the iPhone 4.

Currently, FaceTime video calls can only be made when you have a WiFi connection, not when you’re using the mobile network for data. That’s a limitation Apple has put in place itself, though the company has said it is working on removing it in the future.

I’m not into Apple, can I video call with something else?

You certainly can, though the process gets a bit trickier. Various apps are available for Android and other mobile phone platforms which promise video calls, sometimes over not only WiFi but the 3G mobile networks too. That means you can make video calls when away from your home network or a WiFi hotspot, as long as your signal is strong enough.

Skype, Fring and Qik are all among the companies offering video calling apps, though their effectiveness often varies on a phone-by-phone basis. Not all phones have front-facing cameras, either, though they’re becoming more common on the latest handsets. A future SlashGear 1010 feature will look at the best video calling apps if FaceTime isn’t your thing.

Apple has said it plans to open up FaceTime to other manufacturers, so that non-Apple phones can make and receive calls too, but so far there’s no sign of that actually happening.

More information at Apple’s FaceTime page.

bench craft company

bench craft company

It’s not such a wonderful time to be a doctor, patient, hospital, health plan or pharma company, but judging by the quality and quantity of entries received for this edition of the HWR, it’s a wonderful time to be a wonk.

A couple weeks ago CMS released draft rules for Accountable Care Organizations. Several bloggers weighed in on that development:

• Mark McClellan and Elliott Fisher at Health Affairs provide some historical context and argue that “those who care deeply about health care reform all have a common interest in the success of ACOs as a way of avoiding more classic fee-for-service payment cuts to providers.”


• On a more downbeat note, The Road to Health concludes, “Dr. Berwick and his colleagues at CMS appear to have taken the ACO concept and made it into a financial program that only delusional practice administrators, or physician organizations bent on financial self-destruction, could love.”


• The Healthcare IT Guy expects ACOs to be “far more lucrative and disruptive than Meaningful Use and likely to yield more patient quality improvements.”


• GE Healthcare puts the emphasis on ACO change management challenges: “Healthcare executives and management teams are left to focus on preparing their organizations for a cultural shift of seismic proportions.”


• HealthBlawg reviews the proposed rules and produces 8 takeaways. #2: “This is the Frankenstein regulation: A Medicare beneficiary must sit on the board of the ACO, CMS must approve all marketing materials before they are used.”

In the midst of the battle over funding the 2011 budget, House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan came out with a plan to radically restructure Medicare and Medicaid starting in 2012:

• The Apothecary likes much of what he sees and thinks the proposal may force Democrats to devise a credible plan of their own


• John C. Goodman’s Health Policy Blog contrasts PPACA and the Ryan plan. “Obviously, the path we are on leads to an impossible place. So the only question is whether we are going to get off the current path in a planned, orderly way or whether we are going to let unplanned chaos do the trick.”


• Wright on Health is less impressed and wonders, “if Rep. Ryan is so adamant about reducing the deficit, why is he cutting taxes for the wealthy and cutting programs for the poor and the elderly?”


• Managed Care Matters is decidedly unswayed. “If you were looking for real solutions to the health cost problem, you’re going to be sorely disappointed… Unfortunately, he’s fallen into the same trap his Democratic colleagues did with their version of health reform – the Ryan plan does little to address costs.”


• The Incidental Economist takes issue with Ryan’s plan to convert Medicaid to block grants and cut spending. “Should Medicaid be cut back, more people will be uninsured. Contrary to what some wish you to believe, those who become uninsured will suffer worse health outcomes”

As if the ACO rules and Ryan plan weren’t enough, there’s more on Medicare in the blogosphere:

• The Covert Rationing Blog –always good for a lighthearted pick me up– “asserts that we are one giant step closer to the day when it will become illegal for all Americans to spend their own money on their own healthcare.”


• Dr. Liberty discusses CMS’s deliberations on whether to pay for Provenge, a pricey prostate drug. “Decisions are made on the basis of politics, and the drive is to cover everything, leading to higher costs.”

Amid all the federal policy blogging, there’s still some room for technology talk:

• Healthcare Talent Transformation has had it with Health Net’s repeated goof up’s leading to loss of confidential data. Although it may seem like there’s not much the average person can do, the blog argues, “You can make an impact on the security of your sensitive data by conducting due diligence when it comes to your insurance provider.”


• The Healthcare Blog offers a video collage of the new Kaiser Permanente Center for Total Health. “The Center is  a pretty fascinating place–part tech and idea showcase and part meeting room. Certainly no other health care organization that I’m aware of has spent so much on a place designed to stimulate the imagination and enhance conversation–under the nose of the folks on Capitol Hill.”


• Meaningful HIT News features a podcast with mHealth Initiative’s Peter Waegemann, who’s shifted over from EMRs to ride the mobile wave


• Healthcare Economist delves into new papers that, “examined how to develop accurate algorithms to account for cancer stage in studies using claims data.”

It was encouraging to receive a couple submissions about  journalism:

• Disease Care Management Blog asks, “Is the kerfuffle over National Public Radio (NPR) the long delayed comeuppance for liberal bias run amok, or a narrow-minded attack on the inconvenient truths from journalistic excellence?” The blog reaches into the world of medicine and discusses of “framing” and its impact on patient decision making to provide an answer


• HealthNews ReviewBlog cites, “daily evidence of the need for improvement in health care journalism – especially when we see examples like hype of a tiny, preliminary study of strawberries for esophageal cancer.”

We always have room in the Health Wonk Review for some posts on medical ethics:

• Nuts for Healthcare looks at the pharma industry and concludes, “Doctors need to take a more definitive stand against the specter of industry influence. A good target? Industry sponsorship of continuing medical education.”


• Health Care Renewal is concerned that so-called government run programs are more private than we think. “The majority of Medicaid has been out-sourced to private health care insurance companies… We need to have some real discussions about the rise of corporatism in US health care, in other aspects of US society and around the world.”

And finally, a few odds and ends

• Workers’ Comp Insider provides resources for employers concerned about radiation exposure


• Colorado Health Insurance Insider chronicles the decline of bipartisanship in the creation of a health insurance exchange for that state. “Healthcare reform has become such a polarized topic that it’s difficult for lawmakers to have any stance other than for it or against it.  Even though the health insurance exchanges would be marketplaces that sell private health insurance, the word ‘exchange’ has been thrown around so much during the reform debates that many opponents of the PPACA see it as synonymous with ‘ObamaCare.’”


• Last week I went to a health care direct to consumer marketing conference to see former TimeWarner CEO Jerry Levin interviewed by OrganizedWisdom CEO Steve Krein. I also shared my thoughts in the video clip below

Thanks for reading the Health Wonk Review! The Incidental Economist hosts the next edition.

Share

One important thing about cities is their sex appeal — their magnetism. Places flourish when they attract people, resources, opportunities, and ideas, and match them to one another. Cities are much more than the built environment of roads and real estate. Cities are about relationships, and whether people have access to opportunities. Cities are one big dating game.

When cities lose their magnetism, the whole population suffers. The deterioration of Detroit began well before recent auto industry woes; its population plunge was confirmed by the latest Census. Some attribute decline to bad urban redevelopment schemes or corrupt politics that failed to improve schools or reduce crime. "A once-great American city today repels people of talent and ambition," a Wall Street Journal columnist wrote recently. A local leader told him, "It's been class warfare on steroids, and ... so many Detroiters who had the means — black and white — have fled the city."

Cleveland is another shrunken city with significant poverty. In the 1980s, Cleveland Tomorrow, a coalition of major company CEOs, sponsored downtown projects, including a new baseball stadium and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This attracted luxury apartment developments, luring the affluent to the center city and revitalizing it. But inner city ghettoes were barely touched, and the region continued to lose high-wage manufacturing.

There's a tale of two cities within many city borders: one rich, the other very poor. Dubai, a gleaming new city of luxury high rises, is ringed by hidden slums for temporary service workers from the underclass of Asian nations. In New York, the middle class, including young families, cannot afford to live in the city. Baton Rouge has affluent areas with some of Louisiana's best quality-of-life indicators and extreme poverty areas with some of the worst. Other divides include racial and ethnic enclaves that vary in opportunities — for example, minority entrepreneurs with promising business ideas who can't access mainstream sources of capital and support.

Cities should be connectors but can have connection problems. Cities are where all parts of life come together: jobs, health, education, environmental quality. Yet, in most cities, businesses, schools, hospitals, and city services still operate in silos. And the political boundaries of cities don't encompass their true extent or the flow of people, as the Brookings' Metropolitan Policy Center points out. IBM's Smarter Cities Challenge supports efforts to use technology for connected regional solutions.

Interdependence among urban issues makes vicious cycles worse. If there is no action on high youth unemployment or poor educational quality and high school dropout rates, then too many African-American males end up in prison. High crime rates make sections of cities undesirable, and neighborhoods deteriorate. Aging buildings and toxic environments then cause health problems, such as lead poisoning or asthma, which disproportionately affect inner city children. Children in poor health have trouble learning, learning problems are associated with school dropouts, and vicious cycles continue.

Pivotal investments can start virtuous cycles. The transformation of Miami from sleepy southern city to international trade hub and informal capital of Latin America was propelled by investments in a world class airport and a flood of immigrants from Fidel Castro's Cuba. Mayors and civic leaders took advantage of this to attract new businesses and tout Latin connections, as my book World Class describes. But progress stalls if benefits don't reach the grass roots, racial divides persist, and major institutions fail to collaborate. The Miami Foundation's emerging leaders program is designed to deploy diverse younger professionals for major civic projects.

Revitalizing cities requires national urban policy investments and social innovations on the ground. Leadership might come from:

• Enlightened mayors who build public-private partnerships or join Cities of Service, which align the city and non-profits around high-impact goals.



• Business leaders, such as former Miami Herald publisher David Lawrence, who rallied Miami-Dade County to vote for a tax increase (Yes to new taxes!) to create the Children's Trust, a fund to improve life for all children.



• Faith communities, such as Rev. Raymond Jetson's community organizing toward a coalition for "A Better Baton Rouge."



• Financiers, such as Tim Ferguson and Ron Walker, who co-founded Next Street to invest in inner city businesses.



• Social entrepreneurs, such as Hubie Jones, who wants to replicate a birth-to-college educational model like the Harlem Children's Zone in Boston.



• Community foundations with a strategic perspective, seeking integrated solutions across issues such as youth employment, education, health, and green plans.

The best social innovations will connect people and institutions, producing an infrastructure for collaboration. That social infrastructure will increase the sex appeal of cities by going beyond initial attraction to build lasting relationships for lasting improvements.

bench craft company

Google <b>News</b> Blog: New Google <b>News</b> for Opera Mini

While the Google News team has been hard at work redesigning our service for smartphones, we've also been thinking about our milllions of users around the world who access the web not from a smartphone, but from a feature phone, ...

bench craft company

<b>News</b> Reader FLUD Raises $1 Million From Cavs Owner, Others

FLUD, a news reader app for the iPad and iPhone, announced today that it has raised $1 million in seed funding from a flock of notable angel investors. The round was led by Quicken Founder and Cleveland Cavaliers Owner Dan Gilbert and ...

Roofing Companies Vancouver - 5 Questions to Ponder

Roofing Vancouver - Faq's

1. Repair or Replace?

There's no opinion as an expert opinion. Most contractors provides you with a free estimate. Get a summary of a few trusted contractors and contact them well ahead of time of when you want to obtain your homes roof fixed so you can compare costs and opinions.

2. Beauty versus Practicality?

Discuss this with your spouse or partner. (The children could care less...at least the children.) Truth is, nobody wants an ugly roof just like nobody wants to be seen with bed hair. If you've got a great quality roof and you just need to repair it, it's worthwhile to pay for the price of the initial shingle rather than doing patchwork. A roof replacement doesn't happen frequently (we hope!) and thus make a choice that best suits you and your family well or it'll stand out just like a sore thumb everyday you decide to go home.

3. Must i replace the roof so I can sell the home for additional?

Consider this cautiously before making a choice. Depending on the roofing material you choose, a brand new roof lasts anywhere from twenty, fifty, to one-hundred years! This means you have to check the year of the roof that's currently too deep first. Are you at year 18 of the 20-year warranted roof or year 30 of a 50-year warranted roof? Obviously, the quality is what makes the rooftop last longer, but if you're not planning to stay in your present home throughout your lifetime, the higher expense may not be worth neglect the. Although a new roof can enhance the worth of your value, the increase might not be enough to pay for neglect the and that's bound to hurt your wallet.

4. Could it be a good idea for me to repair the rooftop myself?

Sure it is. Before you need to do, consult a specialist first. You can do it yourself, but you shouldn't be a complete ‘lone ranger.' Depending on the extent of the repair, you might or may not change your mind. Either way, it helps to get a professional eye on the problem first and perhaps a free quote to help you do the math later and find out if it's truly worth your time, sweat, and cash to become mister or miss fix-it.

5. When is a great time to find the roof replaced?

Weather may cause delays from days to weeks. Most people prepare yourself to have their roof replaced in the summertime when they have a friend will be home during the day for any solid two weeks. Once you have this period in mind, make a call to some trusted contractor months ahead of time to get a quote. Some companies get booked up fast and odds are, they're probably the most reputable. Preparing in advance from the summer also gives you time to discuss with many compare costs...especially if you need to possess the roof done by a particular date.

 

The very best Roofing Company In Vancouver!

It is possible to leak inside your home's roof? Perhaps you have lost shingles or tiles inside a storm? Have overhanging branches caused damage? Is the roof a lot more than Two decades old and showing its age? Are your gutters overwhelmed and draining poorly?

When the response to any of these questions is "Yes" it is time to call the very best roofing company Vancouver - Crown Roofing & Drainage.

For more than a century Crown Roofing continues to be the roofer of preference among our Vancouver neighbors. We offer complete roofing services, from emergency repairs and roof restoration, to complete roof replacement. All using the finest quality materials, installed with precision and the highest degree of customer service.

YOUR Vancouver ROOF DESERVES NO LESS!

The roof of the Vancouver house is the very first line of defence against wind, rain, snow, ice along with other weather elements. Be sure it's as much as the task. Among Vancouver Roofing companies, only Crown Roofing has got the depth of expertise and successful history to ensure your roofing system will be properly designed and installed.

NEIGHBORS HELPING NEIGHBORS.

One reason Crown Roofing has been probably the most successful roofing company in Vancouver is our resolve for our neighbors. We treat your home as if it were our very own and that we were building a roof to protect our very own family. That's what neighbors do, and you will rely on Crown Roofing being here to support you and back our work. After all, we've been repairing and replacing roofs in Vancouver since 1902!

GET A FREE INSPECTION AND EVALUATION Of the Vancouver ROOF.

Go to the Roofers Vancouver for a FREE inspection and evaluation of your roof. Give you the very best roof for the Vancouver home, in the cost effective. We build roofs to last!

 

Tacoma Roofing company: Make your Home Beautiful

Very few people understand the worth of a good roof, but your knowledgeable Tacoma Roofing company does. From top notch experience, they'll be able to let you know the reason why you need a strong, secure, and leak-free roof in your home.

Your local Tacoma Roofer is well aware how important a financial investment your house is for you, especially as it is a long term one. Your home might have been damaged slowly over the years and also you need to take steps to reduce this damage. For a lot of people, keeping their property beautiful is also a few pride. You will find those too who'd like to turn their house right into a economical and efficient living place. Your roof is a valuable part of your property and contributes to each of the aspects mentioned above. Because of this, you should employ the expertise of qualified a Tacoma Roofing contractors.

Types of Roofs installed with a Tacoma Roofing contractor

Among the more prevalent kinds of roofs are asphalt shingles, steel or metal sheeting, fiberglass, slate and terra cotta tiles.

Each type of roof invites distinct problems, however they can all be easily taken care of with a trusted Tacoma Roofing contractor. It's vital that you nip roof problems within the bud before they become too expensive or dangerous. You can schedule an appointment using the Tacoma Roofing company to take a glance at your homes roof to determine if you will find any issues or potential issues with it. If there are, they might be able to tell you how to deal with them.

A Tacoma Roofing company Helps you to Build Strong Homes

The exteriors associated with a house, primarily the roof and gutters, face the onslaught of bitter and varying weather conditions, every single day. Painting, repairing, and cleaning gutters might be necessary. In some instances you may have to replace them completely. Usually, when your gutters show signs of trouble, your roof must also be inspected for problems. Whatever issues there might be, an experienced Tacoma Roofing contractor can examine them in detail and suggest the remedy.

In case your gutters often clog too often, or there are leaks across the walls of your house, it may imply that there is debris piled-up on the top. Loose branches, piles of leaves, and other light objects that are swept onto your roof throughout a storm can all contribute towards damaging your roof, and these damages can be lasting. An educated Tacoma Roofing company will explain that birds, mice, along with other types of rodents often build nest in the debris that collects on the top. While these nests may look rather innocent, they are great at collecting moisture, be responsible for loose shingles, mold, and indoor leaks in your home. Additionally, this may also cause vermin infestation. Following a storm, your Tacoma Roofing company will suggest that you inspect your roof for just about any signs and symptoms of debris or damage.

Reverse Damages by using a Tacoma Roofer

However high quality the rooftop may be, it will eventually wear down over time. You will find shingles that are known as "25 year" or "30 year" shingles, but those numbers are only related to warranty made by the makers. They seldom last that long. Realistically speaking, "25 year" shingles won't last more than fifteen to twenty years. Within an area that is prone to storms, shingles or even the entire roof should get replaced every ten years. With a Tacoma Roofer, the cost will be less than what you think.

If there you lose any shingles, or there is some damage to them, a Tacoma Roofing contractor will be able to assist you to. Damaged shingles can result in indoor leaks, since the substrate of the roof becomes exposed to the elements. Shingles that are loose or broken can slip off and pose a possible hazard to individuals standing below. Missing shingles produce a gap that allows rain, wind, ice, and debris to develop under the adjoining shingles, which creates a "domino effect" that affects other shingles plus they become loose or broken. A thorough investigation is going to be made by the local Tacoma Roofing company, if you call them up with your suspicions of loose or missing shingles.

Your Tacoma Roofing company come in a situation to tell you what the best option is perfect for your homes roof. If your roof isn't inside a good shape, it is advised that you have it replaced completely. The Tacoma Roofing company may take you through the various roofing options available to you which will fit your requirements as well as your budget.

Tacoma Roofing contractor: Improving your Home's Efficiency

Your homes roof shelters you from storms, sleet, and hail. By providing adequate ventilation, your roof protects your house from overheating, and by holding within the heat, it keeps your home warm. That's why you ought to prepare your roof from indoors as well as outdoors for just about any sort of weather emergency. A Qualified Tacoma Roofing company can provide help in this case.

To begin with, inspect your roof thoroughly for any and all sorts of kind of damage, before the beginning of a year. The gutters should be clear, debris shouldn't be piled on or trapped under shingles, there should be no homes of squirrels or birds in the eaves or attic, and the roof should be structurally sound. For that last part, you will need the assistance of the local Tacoma Roofer. It may be quite dangerous to climb to the roof of your house. This is when the contractor from Tacoma Roofing company is available in. He will read the strength and security of your roof and shingles, and do a general inspection of the entire roof structure, to make certain that it is in proper working order. They will be in a position to point to problems that you have to keep an eye on and problems you may not have spotted.

You will need all the help you can get from the Tacoma Roofing contractor. You are able to help your roof by installing a gutter guard or leaf cover to assist prevent debris from forming inside your gutters. The extra weight of debris prevents the gutters from draining and can even tear them down. Check the fasteners in your gutters and when they are loose, tighten them. Do something to change worn screws and brackets. If you have a chimney in your home, inspect the bricks and mortar signs and symptoms of wear. A trusted mason could be recommended by your Tacoma Roofer, if you will find any repairs to be done.

Tacoma Roofer: Someone You are able to Rely on
In the event that you realize or suspect that there is a problem, your Tacoma Roofing contractor should be contacted. They can use their knowledge and expertise to obtain your house back in ace condition simply by working on the roof. Your roof deserves attention. So give them a call today, to enable them to get down to caring for your roof.

 

What is Distinction between Commercial Roofing Companies From Residential Roofing Companies

If you are getting a roofing company to re roof your home or building then you may be wondering what the differences are between residential roofing companies and commercial roofing companies. To begin with, the main one huge difference is that often times an industrial roofing company might have signed a contract with and become obligated to some roofing union in able to work on union commercial jobs.

If this sounds like the case then their labor costs will prohibit them from working on non union residential jobs. Beyond that, if your commercial roofing company hasn't signed an agreement having a union they may be outfitted simply for commercial jobs which of course means their workers and equipment may not be in line with smaller residential jobs.

Residential roofing contractors generally often run smaller companies and hence, tend to be more in a position to bid competitively on residential jobs, which are usually smaller than comercial jobs. Actually, quite often residential roofing contractors will run one man operations, in which the contractor that you speak with could be the one which actually does the job on the building.

Also, liability insurance for commercial roofing is more epensive along with a larger bond is required for a commercial roofing work which will make it not cost effective for any commercial roofer to do residential roofing jobs.

Still an additional factor is the fact that commercial jobs can run on a tighter time frame for just about any quantity of reasons, requiring a commercial contractor to train on a larger crew or crews which again makes smaller jobs not as profitable on their behalf.

 

Distinction between Commercial Roofing and Residential Roofing

Are you aware that the roof of the building has a huge effect on the whole structure itself? Damage caused to roofs due to natural or other disasters leads to a considerable loss of property everywhere. The type of materials accustomed to construct the roof that ought to be sturdy and long-lasting, the manner where the roof continues to be installed as well as its timely maintenance are very crucial. There's two types of roofs that are utilized on all the buildings that we see around us: commercial and residential. Even though it might seem that commercial roofing is performed just for businesses or offices and residential roofing is performed for apartments and houses, in reality the differences tend to be more complicated than that.

Residential roofing is usually completed just by one hired contractor but commercial roofing usually takes an entire team to complete the job. This is because a commercial roof is commonly larger in terms of square feet than a residential roof.
Commercial roofs need to be made carefully keeping the nature and reason for your building in your mind. For example, if there is a restaurant in the building then external components like ventilation systems, smoke stacks and pipes will be required. Residential roofs tend not to have such components apart from a chimney or two at most.
Commercial roofs is commonly flat in design to accommodate further changes at a later period, whereas most residential roofs have peaks along with other architectural features like roof gardens.
Commercial roofing is much more expensive than residential roofing due to the special tools, materials and safety equipment which are needed onsite. Usually the patching or maintenance work is done in segments unlike for any residential roof in which the repair or replacement work can be completed in a short time. This is another reason why the equipment employed for residential roofs is usually smaller and less expensive as well.
Commercial roof installations take a extended period to complete in comparison to residential roof installations and are usually constructed in large sections. In this phase however, you should ensure that there aren't any leakages, cracks or any other visible deterioration signs as it can certainly cause considerable harm to the entire building.
It is important to install the right roof for any building based on its purpose. Ensure that you hire a construction company that uses first class materials and it has the right equipment for the job or your investment may turn out to be considered a huge loss later.

 

Commercial Roofing Contractors: How to Find a Qualified Commercial Roofing Company

If a clients are looking to have work done on its roof, you should work with commercial roofing contractors that have a keen understanding of any special needs that a business may have. For example, a roofing job is often disruptive for the operation of business as always. For this reason, it may be necessary for the company to be temporarily shut down, or the roofing to take place after business hours have ended. A roofer that understands these needs can function plus a business in order to make sure that these kinds of issues are minimized.

The first thing that a business must do when it is searching for commercial roofing contractors is to find out who other businesses in the area will work through. Obviously, this article 't be helpful whether it may come as an indicator from competitors, but you will find circumstances by which it is not too difficult to locate this information from suppliers or retailers. Since roofing is not an industry-specific service, this post is easily available.

It's a wise decision for any business to get touching at least three commercial roofing contractors to make bids on the price. In this manner, the business could get a better price. It's also important to ensure that each one of the roofing contractors is licensed and bonded. This information can be found by permitting touching the state contractor's board. This also assists you to determine whether there have been any claims filed against the company in the past.

When looking at bids, it is just as vital to look at what services are being offered and which products is going to be used as it is to look at the total cost. The prices can vary quite drastically, but as tempting as possible to choose the cheapest bid, this is not always your best option. In many cases, more costs now will mean fewer costs over time due to a poor roofing job. To further investigate the quality of the job, it's a good idea to check on with the Bbb in order to find out if the business continues to be accredited, and when it's not, to a minimum of see what its rating is.

 

Picking out a Commercial Roofer

When you are looking for a roofer for your commercial roofing project you need to find a contractor who understands the special needs of a commercial roofing project. For example it may be harder to operate on the business during business hours so either the business has to be shut down for that repair or replacement or the job has to be done after conventional business hours. Is the roofer you are considering for the job ready to operate around your schedule constrictions that might involve working weekends or evenings?

When you begin your research for a roofer not only do you need to answer those questions however, you also want to hire a company that will perform a high quality job without a great deal of time delays. Going about finding someone can seem like an obstacle by itself but there are some ways to make the search easier.

Ask people around you for referrals and try to find a minimum of three contractors to provide you with written bids in your job. Before you go any further you have to ensure that the contractors you are thinking about are fully licensed and bonded. A simple search with the state contractor's board will verify if your roofer is licensed and when you will find any past judgments or claims against their license.

When you select three or four roofers to place bids, you need to get ready for that bids to become widely varied. Roofers will have brand preferences which will vary and may element in pretty much compared to next guy for any labor estimate. The more detailed an itemized bid may be the more helpful it will likely be for you to see in which the cost are going to be incurred. Don't, however, pick a roofer based solely on the bid price. Any low ball bids may be tempting to take, but when they're low due to poor quality workman ship it might not be worth it ultimately.

As the saying goes, you generally get what you purchase, so if you are able to afford a mid-priced bid it certainly is a good idea to increase in your price range rather than down. Additionally you should select your roofer based on how professional they were and how comfortable you anticipate you will be dealing with them.

Finally your cost will vary based on what type of roofing material you select as well as the cost to haul your old roof towards the landfill. Should you be looking for places to chop corners on your roof, instead of cutting labor cost you might want to inquire about a metal roof option. Metal roofs could be cost effective and energy efficient making them overall money savers for that long run, and on commercial buildings they may be very low maintenance. Plus given that they can be placed along with a current roof, you don't need to have the old one removed and hauled away, which can make a big impact on your cost.

Selecting a comerical roofing company nearer your home, doesn't have to be a struggle. For more information, visit http://www.vancouverroofers.net

 

Seattle Roofing Companies - How To Find The Best

In the home of rain and sleet, commercial coffee and grunge, and also the famous space needle, you'll find a house which will suit you. Seattle, Washington can be a good place to construct a house, however, you need Seattle roofing contractors to assist you. Your homes roof is, after all, the crowning glory of your house, as well as your strongest line of defense from the elements. You need to have something which is not only built to last, but built to attract making your house more beautiful

Harsh Weather

How come roofing contractors so important in this the main country? Because Seattle is often bombarded by rain along with other harsh climate conditions, you need a roof that can withstand all of the forces of nature. With this in mind, you need individuals who know the Seattle weather best, and who understand what materials can best go into your roof for it to last far longer in the area. On top this, you need to blend with the remainder from the houses in your living space, which means you cannot simply get whatever roof you please.

In all these aspects, a Seattle roofers should be able to assist you. All you need to do is search for Seattle roofing contractors online so that you can get the best bang for your buck without wondering when the contractor will suddenly try to escape with it and leave you roof-less.

Why the Contractor Model Works

If you wish to set up your roof by yourself, you will have to buy a whole lot of materials, secure permits and licenses, and get materials which are suitable for help you stay safe against harsh extremes of Seattle weather. Which means that if you are a DIY kind of guy or gal, you will have to undergo a good deal of legwork in order to get the task done.

On the other hand, a Seattle roofing company can perform all the jobs for you personally and provide a package that may save you money and time. Because contractors operate under licenses and purchase materials in large quantities, they are able to get discounts on building materials that you would not otherwise get should you be buying merely for your own personel home.

Roofing Associations

Most roofing contractors also belong to roofing organizations which are bound by strict guidelines and standards. When they do well on the roofing job, they can showcase their roofing contractors association; when they do poorly, they are able to ruin the trustworthiness of their roofing contractors association and keep other contractors within the association from receiving targeted roofing jobs. There is lots of pressure to complete well, so you can be reassured that prefer a roofing job completed in Seattle, you can get a contractor from a roofing association to help you out.

For example, Seattle Roof Brokers operates with over 500 roofing contractors within the Puget Sound. This group has over fifty years of roofing experience and experience dealing with Seattle roofing contractors, therefore it knows what kind of roofing you would like. The rooftop Brokers group can put you in contact with the contractor that you need so you do not have to look for contractors individually.

What Should You Demand from Your Contractor?

Whenever you finally obtain a contractor within the Seattle area, you must do a lot of research on the roofing contractors themselves. Ask for a summary of previous companies or persons that the contractor worked with to get a definite look at the roofing contractor's work ethics and roof quality. Your roofing contractor should also possess the appropriate working licenses and city licenses needed by the Seattle city government.

Pick a Seattle roofing contractors that insures its employees, and that has courteous workers who will respect your opinions and ensure that your needs are met. Make sure that you get the best bang for your buck: if you're unsatisfied using the job, you need to be guaranteed either money-back, or perhaps a free, new roof. Moreover, you also need the workers to get the job done on time, so be strict with your deadlines - and find a contractor that's as strict as you are.

You need guarantees and warranties in your roof, so look for a contractor that can meet your financial allowance and roofing needs. If you get touching good Seattle roofing contractors, you can be guaranteed a good roof along with a better house in this fantastic city.

Choosing the proper Roofing Contractor Company for Replacing Your Roof

The shingles inside your roof need replacing and you are minded to locate a roofing contractor to change the them. Perhaps you have already called a few and therefore are evaluating which contractor for your upcoming roof repair. How do you choose the best contractor for caring for your roof? Here are a number of things you should look at when looking for a legitimate roofer.

Where is the roofing contractor located? You should hire a roofer that is local. Chances are you will get a higher level of service if the roofing company can be found near your home or comes with an office near your residence.
References. To determine the reliability of the contractor, references should be provided of their previous customers who are prepared to vouch that excellent service was received. This should 't be the only element in deciding upon your future roofer as some may claim they value the privacy of the clients and don't wish to bother them. If this sounds like the case, request business related references. The locations that provide the contractor with supplies can reveal the quantity of materials and regularity of supplying the contractor to help determine their stability.
So how exactly does the roofer company handle complaints? There are a multitude of issues that can arise throughout the progress of a roofing replacement. Ask what their process is perfect for handling complaints if they arise. It is also an excellent idea to get a past client reference who had a complaint which was resolved to the satisfaction from the client.
The payment schemes. What are the terms of payment for the job? What is the deposit and amount due upon completion? Even though it is certainly reasonable that a substantial payment be produced before a contractor begins focus on a project, it is strongly advised that full payment isn't made until after the entire job is completed.
Written contract. All the roofing replacement ought to be place in a written contract. No part of the contracting job should depend on verbal assurances.
Bonding. You will find things that can go wrong with roofing installations that wind up costing a substantial amount of money to fix. If this happens in your roofing replacement, you'll feel a great deal better understanding that your roofing contractor is bonded. This will supply the funds to fix whatever mistakes were made. Look for a roofer that is bonded.
Manufacturer Warranty. Quality materials for roofing typically come with a warranty. It is important to verify that there is actually a warranty about the materials being installed. Request a duplicate of the warranty.
Period of time running a business How long has the company you are interviewing experienced business? A brief in time business may reflect instability. If the contractor has been around business less than 3 years, verify just how long they've actually been in the market. A brand new contractor might have many years experience focusing on roofs before they form their own business. Seek a business that's been around for three years, or in which the contractor has already established a lot more years performing roofing replacements. This again should not be the only real factor, all of us have to start sometime. Balance this with referrals and also the other points raised in this article.
Appropriate Permits. A Seattle roofing contractor ought to know what permits are required for fixing your roof. They should be aware of how you can obtain these permits on your behalf. Ask the contractor whether they will have the permits necessary to repair the rooftop.
Liability. If a worker becomes injured, who is accountable for the worker's compensation? When the contractor's equipment damages your house, who's responsible for the repairs? A good contractor will give you certificates of insurance for liability and worker's compensation before they begin fixing your roof.
Subcontractors. Verify if the contractor is going to be using subcontractors. If so, it is strongly advised that everything contained within this article for verifying whether the contractor is credible also needs to be relevant to subcontractors. You should get the names and license numbers of all subcontractors. You need to verify whether each subcontractor can also be insured which means you aren't held liable for their accidents.
Pending Legal Actions. It is important to verify whether there are any legal actions against the contractor. This is not merely necessary for verifying if the roofing company is legitimate (credible roofing companies should not need to defend themselves in court), it is also important because a lost lawsuit might lead to the contractor to go bankrupt. If you have designed a substantial deposit for services immediately prior to the company goes bankrupt, you can lose thousands of dollars and never have your roofing completed.
Material Disposal. Who's responsible for getting rid of the waste generated in the roof being replaced? Will your contractor handle all aspects of the? Is there an additional cost for getting rid of this waste?
NRCA Membership. Membership in local or national roofing associations, like the NRCA, shows commitment to staying current with the very best means of roof replacement and maintenance. Find a roofer having a high standard of education regarding their trade.
Replacing your homes roof is really a significant investment. Celebrate good sense to inquire about serious questions before working with a roofing contractor. Here are a few more tips that you ought to consider when selecting the best roofing contractor for the upcoming roofing replacement.

Payment. Do not create a full payment for services unless all jobs are finished.
Inspection. Don't make a full payment without having done your final inspection of services rendered.
Workers liens. Do not fully purchase the roofing replacement job until worker's lien releases have been obtained.
Oral Agreements. No agreement ought to be made verbally without backing up on paper. All points that are important to you should be produced in writing.

 

For the SEO needs, you should check out Vancouver web design and Vancouver Seo agency

It cannot be denied that the internet has become the biggest financial market nowadays. Practically it is all totally anchored on the web. To date, there are other than 182 million sites in the internet whilst still being counting. If each of these websites offers the possiblility to generate income, think of the limitless opportunities that can be based in the internet. More to the point, with the emergence of web sites, the requirement for internet hosting and Search| Engine Optimization is significantly defined.

Seo is actually the entire process of improving the visibility of your web site. Therefore, if you'd like your web site being visible to visitors, you need to seek for Search engine optimization company. The optimization strategy considers how search spiders work and what people usually and what keywords they will use. The primary objective of SEO is making internet sites visible in search sites through the natural or organic way.

Organic search optimization or natural seo is really a saying used in describing unpaid, algorithm-driven connection between any particular engine. In other words, organic SEO uses natural strategies in achieving search results ranking. While there's two camps that search engine optimization companies may fall to, that will be the 'White Hat' and also the 'Black Hat', organic SEO would not fall under the 'Black Hat' camp.

Organic search engine optimization can be a highly specialized and complex practice which could literally dictate the failure or success of an internet business. Since search sites often modify their algorithms, organic SEO is not very easy at all. When search bots modify their algorithms, factors that enable your web site to appear before prospects are drastically changed also. Thus, so that you can cope up with these changes, SEO tactics and methods has to be employed.

It is usually ethical to utilize search engines engine optimization since search sites nowadays have grown to be extremely advanced that they'll easily see whether a web site is wanting to govern their search indexes. Thus it really is empirical to use search engine optimization practices which can be completed in a way that appear natural.

The approaches used by organic search engine optimization and artificial SEO are actually significantly different. Basically, organic SEO uses content compared to artificial SEO's technical loopholes. Moreover, natural search engine marketing provides attracting links rather than linking schemes utilized by artificial SEO. Natural SEO also creates valuable resource contrary to artificial SEO's algorithm chasing. Effortlessly these, one can clearly realise why search engines engine optimization is preferable over artificial search engine marketing. Even though latter might be harder and complicated, it creates favorable results which can be very theraputic for any site. Fortunately, there are plenty of Vancouver SEO companies today offering the organic method in affordable rates and packages.

Search Engine Optimization Appears in this area

There was a time when search engine optimization was actually not essential.

Even as late like a decade ago, if you created a Web site anywhere, Google indexed it and also you gained visibility in their search results. Your page could have been in one of the free "estates" where anybody could put in a page and Google didn't mind. It could also have been a pure affiliate page with no original content and Google still indexed it.

Situations are unrecognizably different now.

Affiliate pages with "cookie-cutter" content duplicated everywhere might never get to the Google index; exactly the same fate is likely for all those pages you toss in over a free-for-all website. And even "proper" websites with your own domain name didn't achieve visibility one of the proliferating sites in millions.

These wouldn't have mattered, except for a very important factor. It absolutely was Google that provided the bread and butter for that millions of smaller businesses that could not afford expensive marketing campaigns. In case your site was on the list of top few sites the appeared before a searcher's eyes when that individual looked for your products, you've got hundreds as well as 1000s of visitors, many of whom even bought your product or service.

Search engine marketing (SEO) entered the scene. Internet search engine specialists "reverse-engineered" to recognize the standards that Google consider for showing websites at the top of its search engine results pages. These factors were then consciously integrated into your internet pages with the hope that Google can have your website among the first ten results it showed around the first page.

As more of the competitors adopted search engine marketing practices, things became difficult again. Your role began to slip in case your competitors did the SEO better. SEO battles became serious fights with every dirty trick working.

There have been "black hat" SEO practitioners who showed one page to look engines and the other to human visitors. As engines like google are not bothered with readability, you might fill the "search engine" page with pure gibberish, but gibberish written in wherein the engine dutifully indexed high.

A war of wits followed between unscrupulous SEO practitioners and appearance engines. Google changed its ranking algorithms regularly to be effective around practices that allowed low value content to look near the top of its search engine results. All things considered, Google's success leaned on providing value to searchers, not merchants. And SEO practitioners came up with new tricks.

We are going to look at search engine marketing in a group of articles, starting by having an look and feel at on-line or Web marketing.

 

For the SEO needs, you can examine out vancouver web site design and Vancouver SEO company.

 

Cedar Roofing: Advantages

Cedar shakes are only in regards to the most eye appealing shakes available today. Frequently designed from red-colored cedar around the coniferous forests of northwestern Usa, they're only the best roofs materials for proprietors preferring supplying his or her roofs a natural look.

Unique cedar shingles are naturally resistance against sun and rain, this is the key answer why cedar shingles are widely-used generally all over various climatic conditions. They're generally for sale in several specific qualities. At least one will be the shingle made from red cedar as the other is produced out of the bright white variety. Red cedar shakes were created from tight-grained particles that will be previously saturated with tannic acidity that experts say is an all-natural additive. Red cedar shingles which can be drizzled with creosote in order to avoid corrosion and they are desirable to homeowners simply because they give a rich and unique check out one's property or home.

You need to remember that red cedars usually change dark-colored if exposed continuously to seaside weather. Consequently, sea side homes have to have white cedar shakes. Red cedar shingles are usually a many more expensive when compared with white cedar types, although cost factor doesn't diminish its reputation in anyhow. They might be preferably suitable for classic New England houses while white cedar shingles seem to be image ideal for bungalows and bungalows which were integrated Nantucket design.

In recent times, classic cedar shakes have lost out in a place to synthetic shingles that emulate the cedar appear. Superior systems are employed to make these types of shingles use a for a longer period life-span in comparison to unique cedar shingles. Most include advanced UV inhibitors and possess about 5 decades of steady guarantee. These shingles are often great insulators and several superior ones offer a much cooler inside during summer season and a warmer inside during harsh winters.

Cedar shakes, mostly for sale in honey, cinnamon, and silvery gray colors, need several quantity of repairs and maintenance. They might need initial treatment solution before installation. White cedar shakes for instance, could be given bleaching oil which needs to be done virtually every six to seven years to boost their durability.

Cedar shakes and cedar shingles can be CCA treated or otherwise CCA treated. CCA represents chromated copper arsenate. CCA can be a chemical that stops the rise of mold, mold and fungus so it helps maintain insects from eating away your own personal wonderful cedar roof. CCA cedar will make your homes roof go longer, but CCA just isn't A fireplace TREAMENT. Cedar that's been fire treated can be obtained, but your roofing company need to special order it. CCA treated cedar shingles cost 15 - 20% more than non-CCA cedar. Most cedar roofs usually are not CCA treated.

Cedar shakes and cedar shingles are fantastic, plus they are also a good purchase. Information of terms for example CCA, advanced quality, Number one, blue label and black label will allow you to select the right cedar roof for your personal home.

Elite Roofing & Home Improvements, LLC provides more information about shingles, cedar shakes, fiberglass shakes plus more. Elite Roofing & Home Improvements, LLC is affiliated with the nation's Roofers Association.

You can learn more about cedar shingles, and obtain more articles and resources about cedar shakes at cedar roofing materials and shakes website.

 

Cedar Shingle Roof Vs Asphalt Shingle Roof

A cedar shingle roof remains highly coveted by homeowners. It's one of the oldest roofing products that has continued to be constantly used inside centuries. Just as much as new roofing materials remain developed, cedar shakes still endear themselves to a lot of. Below is often a comparison research into the cedar roof versus an asphalt roof.

Pros of Cedar Roofing shingles

Cedar shakes give rise to far better air circulation inside entire home. The shingles let the home to breathe well without trapping moisture around. This can help to maintain the dwelling of the property in good shape longer. Cedar Shakes are durable and strong. They like a greater potential to deal with bugs. A cedar shingle roof will stand up well on the various weather onslaughts. Storms, hurricanes, powerful winds and flying debris will barely damage the top of one's cedar roof. The colour matures beautifully with all the passing years, which makes it a lot more desirable. A cedar roof adds a distinct charm to your residence. Cedar is instantly for sale in lumber yards and doesn't need a lots of expertise or specialized tools to install.

Cons of Cedar Shakes

If rot takes hold, you would be compelled to alter the complete lot. It is not easy extracting just the affected pieces. They might happen to be nailed down in a way that each elimination proves difficult. Cedar Shingles don't endure well to constant wetting. If you reside in an area where rainfall is heavy or frequent, cedar shingles aren't a great choice. Frequent wetting causes mold or mildew setting in. Replacement and repair could be a costly business. Your better protection against constant wetting is always to use wide overhangs. Also, in case your home is shaded by many trees or nearby buildings, cedar shingles tend to develop mold. You will end up compelled to replace them sooner than you planned. Cedar Shingles will be more flammable than asphalt shingles. Many areas possess a building code in place that restricts cedar shingles to lessen the chance of fire. To create a cedar shake roof, you need to have your allowance concerning the higher side. Frequent maintenance can also be important to keep the roof who is fit. Mildew and rot are ever-constant threats for some cedar roof.

Pros of Asphalt Shingle Roof

An asphalt roof is one of the least expensive to purchase and install. They come in various designs and colours, which range from a typical, flat turn to a 3-dimensional look. Asphalt shingles have a superior capacity fires unlike cedar roofing. An asphalt roof can actually reduce the risk of fires brought on by flying embers. Asphalt roofs are easier and cheaper to install than cedar. Also, they are low maintenance roofs.

Cons of Asphalt Shingle Roof

Algae is much more susceptible to grow on asphalt roofing than cedar shingles. It causes the rooftop to produce somewhat from the stain which spoils the look. You can get an anti-algae coating done in your asphalt shingles but this increases the cost. With regards to stability, an asphalt roof is a lot more probably be blown off by strong winds than the usual cedar roof.

You can learn more about cedar roof shingles, and acquire more articles and resources about cedar roofing shakes at cedar roof shingles and shakes website.