Just stepping in for a quick podcast update. I’ve been sick the past few weeks, hence no show production. Last two weekends I’ve had fever, so been trying to take it easy. Hopefully though, this weekend I’ll be back at 100% so I can get some recording done and some podcasts out to all of you. Once again, I apologize for the delays – however stay tuned, more podcasts will be coming sooner than you can say, “one man production team”.
Archive | October, 2009
WHS Podcast Update
5 SEO Tips You Can Do Right Now!
When it comes to SEO (search engine optimization) many people expect you to do several multi-step dances to get one thing tweaked that might just effect your search engine rankings by .001 percent. So, for those of you who don’t want to mess about I have put together five SEO tips that anybody can do on their web site, to help your rankings in the search engines out there.
Tip #1 – Stop Linking to Other Sources
Now, you can’t stop linking to web site all together on your own domain, but you can cut down on the number of links you do. Save them for when you absolutely need to. Each time you link to a different domain, your giving your visitors a way to exit your web page.
Also, search engines don’t like pages that have tons of useless links. If you need to link to a source, first ask yourself if you have something on that topic yourself somewhere on your web site. Link to yourself and keep that search engine spider on your own web site. One single, good, authoritative link can do a lot more for you than a dozen crappy links, which can actually hurt you.
Web Hosting is a Falling Search Trend?
According to Google Trends, the web site that helps watch trends for search results via Google, the phrase “web hosting” has been in a steady decline since 2004.
You can see the chart for yourself here.
So what does this mean? Well, a hundred different people could read into that data a hundred different ways.
Negative View – I would say the main reason why web hosting is down, is because social networks like MySpace and Facebook have kind of taking the place for some people of a standard web site.
Positive View – People don’t search for “web hosting” when looking for a place to start their web site. Doing a search for “blog hosting” shows it has stayed steady since 2005. People are looking for ways to host a particular type of site, rather than just general web hosting these days. It is a much more niche market now.
As you can see, there are arguments to be made for either side on why web hosting is such a falling trend in Google searches. Which way do you see it?
Free CSS Designs for You!
Searching for a place to find free web site designs you can use? OpenWebDesign.org has plenty to choose from, and they are all free to use.
If writing CSS code isn’t your favorite thing to do – and you would much rather tweak up a design that has already been done for you – finding a great free online design is the way to go. So to help you jumpstart your next web site design project, head over to the stockpile of web designs found over at OpenWebDesign.org.
There are over 3,000 designs to choose from (and most are XHTML/CSS-based), so should be enough variation and choice for any web site designer out there.
Web Hosting Panic – Episode 196
In this week’s disaster inspired episode of the Web Hosting Show, we’ll take a look at how and why the H1N1 virus might take out the entire web hosting world as we know it, and five search engine optimization tips anybody can do, in the mean time. Before Armageddon comes, you need to listen to this very scary cold and flu edition of the Web Hosting Show podcast.
Download the Web Hosting Show, Episode 196!
Running Time: 12 minutes | File Size: 5.38 MB
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Here are just a few topics from this week’s episode:
- Over 3,000 Free CSS Web Design Templates!
- Will the Swine Flu Take Out the Internet?
- Is Web Hosting a Falling Trend on the Web?
- 5 SEO Tips You Can Do, Right Now!
Here is this week’s web hosting news headline:
ICANN Breaks Free from US Control – Internet regulation body ICANN and the US Department of Commerce announced last week that they have signed a new agreement that ensures that ICANN will now be “independent and not controlled by any one entity”.
Trivia Question – Where are the ICANN headquarters?
We are back yet again, with another great web hosting podcast for you all to enjoy. Remember, you can subscribe to the RSS feed to get daily updates on the topics we discussed on today’s podcast, or keep checking back at webhostingshow.com. Hope you enjoy the show this week, and if you do – drop in a comment and let us know!
10 Reminders for Web Hosting Remotes
So you want to start working as an independent contractor to a web hosting company, or you just started your first job. Before you switch to working remotely as independent contractor for a web host, here are a few things you should remember:
- Most independent contractors do not get vacation time. So, if you need to take time off, either forget about it or expect to not be paid for the time you ask off.
- Make sure you read the contract from head to toe before you sign up to work for any major or small time web hosting company as a contracted worker.
- Look into getting multiple monitors. Sometimes you will need to keep an eye on or do several different tasks, so like with any job, be sure you show up with the tools you need to succeed.
- In the contract, make sure they give you a set number of hours per week, and a shift each day. Don’t let them fool you into being “on-call” in any hour of the day.
- You have to have the patience of Ghandi to work tech support at times. No matter how big of a jerk the customer is, you need to smile and do what is best for the company you are working for, and not yourself.
- Be sure you feel at home with working by yourself at home. While you might have the occasional phone call from your employer, much of the time you are your only company.
- Get ready for an overly-complicated tax season. When taxes are due, be sure you get your taxes done by somebody who knows what you independent contractor job is about.
- You’ll need to educate yourself a times to extend the types of jobs you can cover. Want to help with web design or development? Start putting together web sites in your free time. Experience is the best training out there.
- Get a comfortable chair for your computer desk. Nothing is worse than being uncomfortable all day long.
- Treat it like a real job. Since you no longer go to an office, you never have that separation of home time and work time. You have to be able to mix the two together, responsibly.
If you keep these ten tips in mind, I am sure you will be a very successful independent contractor, and any web host around the world would be more than happy to have you.
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Will H1N1 Take Out Web Hosting Workers?
Could H1N1 (the Swine Flu) take down the Internet? Now, as we all get ready to get out shots, wash our hands and cough into our elbows, once has to wonder if an increase of sick people staying at home and browsing the Internet could possibly threaten the stability of the system?
According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, absenteeism during a pandemic could peak at 50% during a six week period. That would cause an unsteady rise in Internet usage for watching movies, playing games and doing other bandwidth heavy activities that are usually saved for the later hours in the day.
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