New Horizons Technologies Blog

Today when designing a website one of the most important things to look at is the site’s search engine optimization. Every website is created to attract an audience for the purpose of selling, informing, or entertaining, but in order to do this people have to be able to find your website on the internet. Search engine optimization or SEO is the art of designing or changing a website so that search engines will list a site higher in their “natural” or un-paid search results. So what are the techniques to get the best search engine optimization results in the search engines? Search engines are ever changing animals when it comes to listing their search results so the same SEO techniques that worked 3 months ago may not produce the best results today. As of the printing of this article these are the top 5 SEO techniques to produce top listed sites (in my opinion of course).

1. Content – Writing relevant, concise, intelligent content is a key to creating good search engine results. Be sure when writing your content to think about the keywords you want to searched for and include them in your content. Although be cautious not to overload your content with keywords because in doing so search engines may decrease your results. Also as a reminder that the average internet user has an eighth grade reading level so to reach the greatest number of potential visitors keep your content simple without using confusing acronyms and jargon that some readers may not understand.
2. Inbound Links – A greatly undervalued asset to your website are good inbound links. Great ways to create these links are to initiate and accept link exchanges with complimentary websites that also have a high search engine results. Take time to come up with relevant anchor text so that search engines see the anchor text and index your site for these keywords. Be sure to stay away from spammy “link farms” or websites that acquire a large number of website links and lists them on a few pages.
3. On-line Time – Another item that search engines seem to take into consideration now is the amount of time your website has been on the internet. Although this is an item that a webmaster or company typically has no control over it seems to make a difference with search engines. Sites that have been on the internet for years look as if they get higher search engine results than sites that have only been on the internet for only several months.
4. Title, URL, Description – Do not forget the time trusted basics of search engine optimization. Your website URL, title, and the meta description tag on each page within the website present specific items that search engines index and compare to your content to find keywords. Spend quite a bit of time researching relevant, available URL’s before deciding – a good URL can sometimes make or break your SEO. Create titles and description tags that reflect specifically what each page of your website is about – search engines sometimes confuse pages with similar titles and content.
5. Updating – Keep your website up to date with frequently updated content. Search engine spiders are always searching the internet for new websites and websites with updated content. With every change you make be sure to consider keywords you want to be searched for and the visitors you are trying to attract. Be sure and give the search engines a reason to keep coming back to your website by updating your content on a regular basis. A great way to ensure this is by adding a blog within your website. Add a new article with good content and keywords daily, weekly, or monthly and watch your search engine rankings rise as well as your keyword base expand.

These techniques are only the tip of the iceberg to ensuring your website top rankings within the major search engines. Keep in mind that search engines are always changing their qualifications for ranking websites so you have to keep up with the changes or your website will be like so many that are “here today, gone tomorrow”. For more information about designing websites or website optimization please contact me at info@nhtg.org  or visit http://www.nhtg.org/.

Well its finally been announced. On 7/7/09 Google has announced that it will follow-up its new Chrome browser with the next step in line…an operating system. There has been a lot of speculation of what this browser will be able to do and how it will look. Google is saying that it will be a windowed based system on top of a Linux kernel. This will allow the operating system to be lightweight and fast. Google Chrome OS will be specifically designed for people who spend most of their time on the web – searching for information, checking email, catching up on the news, shopping or just staying in touch with friends. Google has announced that an open-source version will be available to developers later in 2009 and will probable be officially released to Netbooks, the operating systems primary target, in the second half of 2010. We will be keeping a very close eye on the operating system as it comes closer to the release date to see whether it has a chance of taking a portion of the market from Microsoft.

As an IT Professional and a website designer I talk with many companies and small businesses about the importance of advertising and marketing on the internet. It is still to my surprise how many businesses are weary of spending the money on creating a website for online advertising. Before we move any further let’s be clear about one thing. Online advertising is an incredibly low cost, low maintenance option that businesses have available. It is shocking to me how much businesses will spend monthly to be listed in multiple phone books for the same circulation area. I have several customers that have admitted to me that they spend at least $300 per month per phone book for a small two inch square space. These businesses are listed in three phone books and are spending about $900 dollars a month in phone book advertising that in today’s society most people just throw away. However, after the initial setup of the website which can cost from $500 and up (for a good design), the monthly maintenance cost is extremely low in comparison. For domain registration and website hosting you should expect to pay between $50 and $100 per year in addition to any monthly maintenance or updating fee you may pay to a web design or SEO company. With the advances in today’s technology phone books are becoming less of research tool and more of a paper weight while the internet increasingly becomes a point of reference for information for people. Now please be aware I am not advocating pulling all of your advertising out of phone books and investing solely in the internet, just carefully consider weighing the options. You might find that you can reduce your print advertising a very small portion and be able to afford a low maintenance website. In today’s unstable economy and as we move into the future take a closer look at your companies advertising expenses and your return on those investments and consider making an investment in your future.

We talk to customers quite frequently about what they do for data backup and the responses often amaze me. It surprises me how many small businesses rely on no backup or just backing up directly to their computer they use. These are both unacceptable forms of data backup. Backup needs to be done as frequently as daily, weekly, or monthly and should be backed up to an external source. Too many times we have seen clients lose a hard drive full of critical data to failure and have to pay exorbitant prices to a third-party company to retrieve data from a dead hard drive. At New Horizons Technologies we offer the ability for remote data backup. Our customers have the ability to log into our secure servers and backup their information on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. Our servers are then backed up to an external source giving them complete security without any loss of data. Data backup can be done from any computer that has a remote desktop connection. This is a program usually installed with windows under Start—Programs—Accessories—Communications. Contact us today for more information on how to keep your data secure.

Do you have a home or business wireless network that does not have a security code? Although a wireless security code may not seem like a necessary tool when first setting up a new router or network it is an integral part of your wireless network. Without a wireless protection key anyone with a laptop or cell phone with WiFi connection can access your router and wireless network. So, how do you add a WEP code so that only people you give the code to have access to your wireless network? First you must have access to your router, adapter, or other wireless network device. Log into the device and there should be a section about wireless security. If you need help finding it refer to the manual for your specific device to find the correct location. Next you need to decide how much security you will need for your wireless network. For most home and small business applications a 64-bit/10 digit security code will work just fine. Also available are 128-bit/26 digit keys and 256-bit/58 digit keys. In the device enter the 10/26/58 key of your choosing. The key can be any combination of numbers and letters. Enter a code that you will be able to remember and give out to anyone you want to give access to the wireless network. Apply the changes and exit the device that you entered the key into. Now go to a laptop that you want to be on the wireless network and search for wireless networks that are available. Now next to the name of your wireless network you should see WEP-enabled. Connect to your wireless network and enter the key code that you decided on and you will now be on the network. And that’s it, now you have a protected wireless network.

Are you tired of paying high prices for computer repair at big computer retail stores? Has a virus taken control of your computer? New Horizons Technologies has the best hands on computer repair in the Kingwood, Humble and Atascocita area. At New Horizons we take care of all your computer needs from repair to program installation and regular maintenance. With our personal service you can talk to someone every step of the way to find out what is being done and when it will be completed. We specialize in small business and home computers including desktops, laptops, printers, networks and everything in between. Don’t hesitate to call us for an on-site consultation to find the best solution to your problem. Visit our Contact Us page for a list of telephone numbers and e-mail addresses to reach us at.

As a computer repair company just north of Houston, TX we see many computers and laptops come through our office due to what many people consider viruses. From what we have found however, most of these problems are not viruses but browser hijackers. A browser hijacker is a type of spyware that allows the hacker to send pop-ups through a computers internet browser. Most of these pop-ups we have seen have been in the form of anti-virus notifications alleging there is a virus on the computer and wanting to scan the computer for other viruses. Once the initial scan is complete the pop-up will show how many viruses are supposedly on the computer and then tell you that to clean the viruses off the computer you will have to pay for the anti-virus program. If you decide to enter your payment information the pop-up will go away and the hacker will then have your credit card information. NEVER give your credit card information to a site you are not 100% sure of. The problem lies in the fact that the browser hijacker is not a virus but a spyware so your typical anti-virus program will not be able to detect or remove this treat. The best protection is a good spyware detection and removal program. If you do get this spyware on your computer and don’t have a spyware program to remove it we have found that in some cases the only way to remove it is to completely reformat the computer and start over. For help with protection or removal of spyware, viruses or adware near the Houston area please contact us at http://www.nhtg.org/contact_us.html.

Looking to increase your business? Create a website to expose your business online. A website is an inexpensive option to increase your marketing through a new avenue. After the initial setup fee for the website design there are minimal costs for monthly hosting and maintenance. Initial setup vary greatly from company to company and depend on the number of pages in your site and the complexity of the graphics. If you or your company is interested in designing a new website for your needs visit www.nhtg.org/website_design.html for an affordable solution.