Why Infographics?

Infographics allow you to communicate data visually in a way that helps the reader to quickly and thoroughly understand the information you are portraying. It’s the best way to give information without long and boring paragraphs of information to sort through. It also allows you to easily share data on social media outlets such as Facebook and Google+ without overwhelming people with long articles.

Use Infographics:

• • in blog posts.
• • for Social Media posts such as Facebook and Google+.
• • for service pages on your website.

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In the Bioshock sub-Reddit, you can find this title in the header. A reference to the first Bioshock game.

The post Funny Comments Written in Code appeared first on Louisiana SEO | Affordable Web Design | Comit Developers.

The first step to a successful Facebook marketing campaign is to optimize a posting schedule and determine the best type of content to post. Posting frequency, times, days of the week, and the manner of your content are all vital factors

2. Optimize Posting Schedule and Content

Once you have created a posting schedule, you need to pay close attention to the stats of your posts. Facebook pages offer analytical data of your page that could be useful in optimizing your posting schedule.

3. Engage with Following

A large part of maintaining a Facebook following is to keep people personally involved in your page. Engaging with your following will build loyalty, and make people feel part of your Facebook community.

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Educational and Informational YouTube Channels

Big Think

Big Think is an educational channel focused on technology, philosophy, and current events. They feature various educators and authors. This style of educational videos seems to be effective in the YouTube community. When taking the educational approach, mimicking BigThink’s visual style would be a great idea. An educational YouTube channel relevant to your industry will brand you as an authority in your industry, building trust and reputation. Something as simple as a video discussing industry-related tips and tutorials can make a great impact on your business.

Google Talks

Google Talks YouTube channel features authors and educators who will speak on various topics to inform people about technology in their respective fields. Google Talks features two segments; Google Talks, where respectable educators inform viewers on different aspects of technology and how it is growing, and Authors at Google, where authors and educators give educational talks for Google’s employees. To take from this idea, if your company puts on or attends an industry relevant seminar, it might make a good video for your YouTube channel.

Mobile Professor

The Mobile Professor YouTube channel features tutorials on how to operate mobile phones of all brands and versions. This channel is useful to anyone who has any kind of smartphone, or anyone know needs to troubleshoot apps, websites, listings, and other business-related features on smartphones.

Humor and Entertainment YouTube Channels

Old Spice

You may have see the Old Spice commercials on television. Their over-the-top humor has drawn the attention of so many viewers that people go looking for them on YouTube. The Old Spice YouTube channel feeds the hunger for more nonsensical comedy entertainment, making Old Spice products an idea always in the back of their minds.

Air New Zealand

Instead of the standard, boring airplane briefing, Air New Zealand airlines made a comical briefing video playing off of the Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit. Geeks and fans will love it, and, for people who don’t get the references, it’s still a bit less dull than a standard briefing. What’s more is they post their creative briefings on their YouTube channel, which serves as further advertisement.

Don’t forget to:

• Include a link to your website and any other relevant sources in your video description.
  • Provide links in the description of your video to any sources you may have used in your video.
• Become a YouTube Partner
  • To become a YouTube Partner, your videos must follow YouTube’s Partnership guidelines. Being a YouTube Partner means you will allow advertisements on your videos in return for revenue. In other words, you will actually make money from your YouTube videos. Additionally, your videos will be more likely to be found by users searching related keywords.

Optional YouTube Strategies

• Set up YouTube advertising.
  • Advertise your products on relevant YouTube videos, and entice viewers to buy your product directly. You can also advertise your own videos on YouTube in order to increase your videos’ view count. In junction with a YouTube Partnership, setting up YouTube advertising can make for an extremely successful video campaign.

Successful YouTube Campaigns:

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Responsive Web Design

Reach more with a web design compatible on all devices

Many web designs today come with two versions of a website: (1) a regular website designed to work in most browsers, and (2) a mobile website to work on most tablets and mobile devices. With Responsive designs, you will have one website that changes according to the browser, browser size, tablet and phone screen size, and other factors. In other words, your website will be responsive to any device or browser size it is being viewed in, making your website view-able and compatible with all browsers, sizes, and devices!

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Have you, or some you know, been infected by the recent twitter direct message virus?

You may have received a message in your inbox, or seen it directly on twitter.

Even if you have not clicked on this link, you may want to update your passwords for good measure. Think long and strong.

If you have clicked on this message, you may or may not have noticed your account sending unauthorized posts, or sending the DM to your following. Whether or not you notice unusual activity, you should consider your account compromised.

To begin with, revoke all privileges from third-party apps.  For every additional method of connection to your account, you are allowing another possible gateway for the hacker to exploit.

Once you have removed the third party apps from your mobile devices, go into Settings, which can be found by clicking on the cog icon in the upper right hand corner of the page.

From Settings select Apps from the list of links on the left side of the page.

You’ll want to disable access to all applications for the time being to avoid access points for potential account compromise. So go ahead and remove these applications.

The next step is to scan your system for malware and viruses, as well as run a registry check to find any potential infections in your computer. Some recommended tools would be SpyBot Search & Destroy, as well as CCleaner. For a review of popular antivirus applications visit this helpful Lifehacker article: http://lifehacker.com/395046/five-best-antivirus-applications.

Additional Information:

Third-party applications often alert users before downloading them that the app will have access to your personal information stored within your mobile devices, like being able to access your contacts or post to social networks on your behalf. While using these applications does not guarantee that you will have your account compromised, it does open up one more avenue for exploitation.

Over the past year, we’ve noted a marked increase in account compromises across social networks as well as email accounts, and have been taking a lot of phone calls assisting our clients through these unpleasant circumstances. If you take some time and do some googling, you will see numerous variations of spam, scams, backscatter attacks, and unauthorized posting on social networks. Even respected institutions such as banks are not outside of this malicious influence.

Now is a great time to become more conscientious about your internet security and how you conduct yourself on the web. Choosing solid passwords, avoiding clicking unknown links, and developing a general mindset of awareness can help you maintain your personal security in this digital age.

This virus is a variation of another recent exploit. In September 2012, a virus utilizing the same sort of phish and bait tactics was plaguing the social circuit. Compromised accounts sent out messages saying things like “you’re in this [link] lol” and “lol ur famous now [link]”. Users were taken to a video player that says “An update to Youtube player is needed.” A supposed flash update is pushed on the unwary user, and they are prompted to download FlashPlayerV10.1.57.108.exe, which is reported to be the virus Troj/Mdrop-EML. This backdoor Trojan replicates itself onto accessible drives.

The post How To: Stopping the Recent Twitter DM Virus appeared first on Louisiana SEO | Affordable Web Design | Comit Developers.

As you can see from the image, only the top few search results are displayed on a mobile device due to the smaller screen size. With mobile searching about to surpass desktop searching, considering a PPC campaign is definitely a wise investment, especially if you are having trouble ranking #1 organically.

Mobile searches are also largely managed through apps. A fair percentage of mobile searches can be attributed to mobile apps, which use directory listings to process their search results. If you aren’t confirmed in directory listings like Yelp and Google Local, you could be missing out on a large portion of mobile searches. It’s important that you confirm as many directory listings as you can with as much detailed information about your business as you can offer. This way, you aren’t missing out on mobile searches through applications.

Three Ways to Prepare

1. Make sure you have a mobile site
   • If you don’t have a mobile website set up for your site, your website will be a functional mess. Also, keep in mind that there is much less of your site displayed on a mobile device. Make sure your phone number and call to actions are at the top of your mobile site.
2. Pay Per Click and Organic Rankings
   • In a mobile search, typically only the top 3 ads and the #1 organic result are shown in search results due to the size of mobile screens. If you aren’t ranking #1 organically, you probably won’t be found in mobile searches unless you have a PPC campaign.
3. Confirm Directory Listings
• A large percentage of mobile searches use mobile apps. These apps more often than not are using directory data to prioritize their results, such as Yelp, Yellowpages, Google Local, etc. If your website is not listed or confirmed in these directories, you could be missing out on a huge chunk of mobile search results.

The post Mobile Searches Expected to Exceed Desktop Searches appeared first on Louisiana SEO | Affordable Web Design | Comit Developers.

There are literally infinite options for designing a website, but designing a website that produces results can be a narrow path. A website trying to sell a product needs to do 3 things:

1. DEVELOP TRUST
   • Your website needs portray the idea that you’re an expert in the industry that you are selling.
2. MAKE YOUR PRODUCT DESIRABLE
   • Graphics of your products are just as important as the tone presenting them
3. FUNCTIONALITY
   • If people on your website can’t find your products, how can they purchase them? It’s important that visitors can navigate your website effortlessly. Call to actions, categories, products, and phone numbers should be made obvious.

5. Rolex

Rolex rolls in at number 5 because of the way they made me want their product. Immediately upon entering their website, I wanted one of their watches, and quickly looked for my language on the left side of the page to see what they had to say to me. I wanted them to convince me to buy a watch. Seeing this language selection on the side of the page is both a good and a bad thing. On one hand, I am one click further from purchasing their products. On the other hand, it builds trust on a subconscious level. From the start I am already made aware that Rolex watches are so prestigious that people of all languages want them.

4. Wantful

Wantful’s homepage is aesthetically appealing and has the image of a trustworthy business. Not only does it have a sleek design, but right away I am made aware that they are regularly updating their site design to keep up with current holidays, such as Valentines Day. On a subconscious level, this builds a tremendous amount of trust.

On the other hand, Wantful’s homepage does have a few major downfalls. When I first arrived at their website, I wanted to click on the three buttons to see what they were about; Create a Collection, Make it Personal, and Let them Choose. I was disappointed to find that there were no links attached to them, and they are nothing more than descriptions of some of their services. When mentioning any of your services, it’s very important that you link to those services in the form of a call to action or hyperlink text. This is more of a functionality issue rather than design, so I’ll have to let this enormous functionality issue slide for the design contest.

Wantful’s online store is extremely impressive. Not only are their products displayed aesthetically, but their categories are obvious to find and very straightforward and simple.

3. Nest

Nest has mastered the perfect web tone, and has designed their website to compliment it perfectly. On their homepage they give you the best selling points about their product in a way that is clearly understood, and offer more information if you choose to read about it. They make their product seem like something you can’t live without, and then they inform you that their latest product is on sale. They make you want their product, and then they give you an easy opportunity to buy it. Perfectly played.

2. Squarespace

You would expect someone selling website designs to have an excellent web design of their own. Squarespace has definitely delivered that expectation into reality. At number 2 in our countdown, Squarespace delivers the epitome of a business website design.

Alongside their top-notch web design, Squarespace seems to have mastered the tone that every website wishes to capture. Phrases like “Everything you need to create an exceptional website” and “More than just a template” gain tremendous trust and generate comfort in anyone considering purchasing a theme from Squarespace. Their use of action verbs and positively description adjectives confirm to the viewer that Squarespace is an expert both at web design and business tone.

1. A Book Apart

People searching for books only want to find one thing; books. Makes sense, right? The most important factor that a business website must accomplish is to give people what they are looking for. A Book Apart does exactly this. Their design is easy on the eyes and gets straight to the point. Their store is designed very similarly to Squarespace, but A Book Apart gets straight to the point on the homepage. All of their products are lined on the front page with their top product featured at the top. All of their products are just one click away from being purchased, whereas Squarespace features it’s own template, requiring an additional click to purchase their products.

In addition, A Book Apart gets kudo points for it’s functional HTML5 coding, allowing the website to be flexible in all browsers and programs. Try stretching out the page and you’ll find that the products stretch accordingly.

Making Sense of it All

You may have noticed that nearly all of these designs have huge, highly graphical displays of their products. We’ve selected these for a reason. These are the best of the best. They are the best designs for making the view want their product, and gives them access to buy it now!.

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My Email Account Stopped Working Properly

From the perspective of an email support technician, I can tell you that dealing with an email account that is not working is one of the most frustrating scenarios to come across. There are so many intricacies tied into how email functions. A client will often use a mail client, such as Thunderbird or Microsoft Outlook to manage their emails. If your email account stopped working properly, there are ways to narrow down the reasons behind this.

In today’s business world, having email applications like these are essential to manage your inbox effectively and efficiently. Though they help us keep our sanity, mail clients make troubleshooting email issues that much harder. When a client signs up for a hosting plan, often the plan will automatically come with an email service. This email service is usually directly reachable by web mail via a browser. Web mail is the only direct link to your account that will control email on the server as you delete and create emails. Unfortunately, even if this is the best way to control your mail, the graphical user interface for the web mail looks outdated and is not user friendly at all. Creating folders to organize mail will often become cumbersome in a fast paced lifestyle. This is why it is common for most people to lean on an email application, whether it be on their computer or their phone.

Another common way of mail is through services like Gmail or Yahoo. The whole purpose of these email programs is to meet the standards of email management. They are good for personal accounts. Such companies, such as Google, make web mail like this to connect people in the easiest way possible. It’s suggested to use these types of email programs because of the awesome features and simplicity they offer, but it always becomes a pain when you have problems with your email. It’s very hard to reach someone who can help you directly, and even if you do reach them they might not have an answer for you.

If you are experiencing email issues, DON’T PANIC! There are a few things you can do to help smooth the process before you even bother having a technician work on your case. Below is a list comprised of simple steps you can take to try to fix your email issue is your email does not work working.

• Internet Connection

  Just like surfing the web, your internet connection determines whether your email can be received or not. Is your internet connection working properly? If you are having slow load times, and notice your email is not coming in, then contact your Internet Service Provider for possible solutions.

• Hosting

  Are you current with your web hosting bill? If you have your own personal website, and have email through your hosting plan, make sure that you are up to date with paying your fees. When a hosting company turns off your hosting, they turn off your email too.

• Anti Virus Software : Configuration

  Often times a client will be running an anti virus software on their computer such as Norton or McAfee. These programs come with settings that could possibly alter the way your email behaves. Updates to these software’s can also sometimes change settings. Try checking your anti virus to make sure the settings are appropriate for the email types you receive.

• Spam

  Is your inbox being cluttered with spam? Spam is a general term used for email that comes to you from a business or person that has an advertisement, message, or agency involved. These can come from anywhere and are very deceiving! Did you ever click on a form that said ,”Win a free iPod!!”? This type of form will save your information, submit it to lists, which will then submit to more lists that send you email about things you couldn’t care less about. How do you stop this? First option would be to disable popups on sites that have random ads. This will stop the temptation of clicking on it in the first place. Second would be to not click on any ads that try to flash and get your attention at all. Just don’t do it!

  There are two different types of spam. Some spam you will receive in your inbox or spam/junk folder. Some spam you will see in your sent folder. This type of spam is rare. If you see a spam message that is in your sent folder that you didn’t send, or received “Mail Daemon” kickback emails saying that an email you potentially tried to send did not go through, then this is a sure indication that you’re in for a rough road ahead. You’re now dealing with spam that you actually aren’t sending. If you receive these, SAVE at least two copies without opening them. If you do have to potentially talk to a technician, they will need these emails to view important code about where and how this emails was sent.

• What does spam have to do with my email?

  Hackers. When your account is submitted to agencies that send spam, that makes your account more vulnerable. Not to mention, you don’t know who they’re submitting your email to! Hackers often take advantage of theses lists to target people. Once targeted, they hack into your account and gain your credentials, even sometimes changing your password and username! This all together will not allow you to login to your account at times. If your account is tied to your hosting, that means it’s tied to your domain name. This is the best type of jewel for a hacker because once they gain control of our account, they can proceed to gain control of your domain name through the server. This can set you up for a path of destruction. Before you know it, your site will show up on blacklists because your server was apparently sending our emails you never knew about! Who would have thought?

  If you receive any spam emails that have downloads or attachments, DO NOT click on them! This finishes off exactly what the hacker wants. It allows a valuable piece of their written code to make it to your computer. In turn, this lets them crack into your email account via browser or email client. Not to mention infect your computer with worse things. It is best to educate yourself on the types of emails that are safe and not safe in order to avoid catastrophes.

If you follow these simple guidelines, you might be able to avoid having to call your email support specialist. In a case where you believe you are a victim of a hacker, it is very important to reach your email provider immediately. Especially if your website depends on it. Though email might seem like a simple, personal option, there is a lot of smaller details that are attached behind the scenes. These details are often taken advantage of, leaving you without an email account and a web site that users might not even be able to view because it’s been taken down. Learn to look for the signs early on, and you will be able to get your email up and running in no time.

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1.  Login into the places account by going to this link www.google.com/local/add and enter your username and password.
2.  Type in this address into your address bar http://support.google.com/places/?hl=en-US&rd=1
3. Click on “I’m having a problem verifying my listing(s)” under Fix a Problem
4. Click on “I tried PIN verification for a single listing”.
5. Click on “The status is not Needs Action.”
6. Click on the word “postcard” under the next question, “Which verification option did you most recently use?”
7. Click yes under “Have you waited 15 days?”.
8. Next click the call us link.
9. From there fill out the information and click “call me”.  Once you have pushed that button, you’ll be called within 60 seconds.

We’ve called Google and spoke to a representative within the 60 second suggested wait time.  He asked for the email associated with the account, and then looked over the problem I had, which was an Active status but with no impressions.  Because this problem was out of his purview, he escalated the problem and assured me that they would have it resolved.  We haven’t resolved the issue as of this writing; however, I am grateful that I was able to contact someone to attempt to have this issue resolved.

I would advise everyone to take a quick look at the Google +Local account for your business.  With the changes that Google has been making to these listings and the amount of revenue these vital links create for local businesses, a quick review each month could provide a successful resolution to any problems you may have.  And, now that you can call someone, all of the guess work can be eliminated with a 60 second wait time.

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