Posts Tagged ‘power’

Search engine optimization-Use Keywords in Titles

Tuesday, July 15th, 2008

One of the things I’m constantly amazed at is how many web publishers miss one of the easiest ways to maximize their positioning in Search Engines by simply including the keywords that they’d like to be found for in their post titles.

I spend a lot of time looking at online articles written on blogs, newspapers and websites and some days it seems that every second or third one has a title that is either cryptic, clever or cute at the expense of Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

To put it bluntly - when it comes to blog SEO I believe that your page and post titles are incredibly important. Google in particularly seems to value the words in your title incredibly highly.

Whilst I too feel the temptation to be clever with my post titles from time to time (and sometimes give into it) - I know that if I don’t get traffic from search engines then a fairly significant part of my income will disappear.

So if you’re writing about a new ‘Pink Widget’ have a think about the words that a potential reader will use to search for in Google to find the information you’re presenting. How would you search the net for information on ‘Pink Widgets’?

Without a doubt we’d all include ‘pink widget’ in the search we did. We might refine it by including a third word like ‘price’, ‘review’, ‘advice’, ‘problems’ etc (which may be worthwhile words to include either in the title or body of content) but the best words to include in the title are ‘pink widgets’ - if you don’t you’ve got virtually no chance of being found for that search term unless no one else is writing about them.

Keep in mind that research shows that people search the web a lot for names of products and people and that they are often quite specific their searches. If you’re writing about something specific make your title reflect this.

Of course it’s worth saying that it’s not as simple as just stuffing your titles with keywords - for one they need to make sense (no one will click on a link in Google if its a collection of unrelated words), secondly if you put too many words in your title you run the risk of decreasing their power and confusing the search engines and thirdly you’ll disillusion your regular readers if you mess with stuffing titles with too many words.

WordPress: MySQL

Friday, June 27th, 2008

WordPress, as with many blogging and web applications, depends on MySQL to store data for producing output. Every request that WordPress makes to MySQL for reading or writing data puts load on the server.

WordPress is continuously optimized to reduce the transactions required to perform its functions; However, in high-traffic situations, many simultaneous connections to the database can cause excessive load on the server. In this case, connections to the server may not complete, causing the typical “Connection timed out” response in the visitor’s browser.

In most cases, MySQL connection rates can be improved by either adjusting settings for MySQL, or providing more memory and processing power to the overworked server.

Colocated Hosting

Thursday, June 26th, 2008

You have decided that a dedicated server offers the best features for your online presence. There is no need to share resources and you can set up the server as you please. There remains just one question: Are you going to rent or buy your server? Dedicated hosting means that you are renting a server from a web host. But you also have the option of buying your own server and having the host provide the facilities to house it and connect it to the Internet. This service is called colocated hosting.

The advantages of colocating include all the advantages of dedicated hosting – you have the resources of the entire server and bandwidth to do with as you please. The additional benefit over dedicated hosting is the lower cost. Because you own the server, your monthly fees don’t include charges for hardware maintenance and upkeep. On the other hand, your initial outlay will be larger because you have to buy the server. If the server is good quality and remains in service for a reasonable length of time, however, your overall costs will be lower with colocation.

The cost of colocation depends on the amount of space your server occupies. Data centers house servers in racks that in turn are housed in cabinets. Cabinets are usually 40 rack units in height, with each rack unit equal to 1.75′. The cases of server computers are measured in rack heights – 1U = 1.75′. Typical sizes for servers are 1U, 2U and 4U, so the physical size of your server will determine how much the colocation host will charge per month. Bandwidth is another factor affecting price.

There are several options available when purchasing a server and getting it to the colocation data center. If you live in close proximity to the data center you could buy a server locally and set it up at your own premises. Once it is setup you can personally deliver it to the data center. Another option is to buy the server from a mail order retailer and have them deliver it directly to the data center. This is a good option if you are not located near the data center. It saves you the cost of shipping the server and the retailer will be responsible if the server happens to be damaged in transit.  The disadvantage is that you have to set up the server remotely through a web interface. The third option is to buy the server direct from the host. Not all hosts are in the business of selling servers, but those that do may offer financing and setup assistance.
Colocation or Dedicated?

Colocation puts you in charge of the hardware, but that also means that you are responsible in the case of hardware failure. If you have signed up for dedicated hosting you are renting the server, so the host will replace hard drives or CPUs if they malfunction. The initial costs of colocation are much higher than dedicated hosting. You have to buy the server as well as insurance and software licences. All that is included in a dedicated hosting plan. Hardware upgrades are also more expensive with colocation because you have to buy the new equipment outright and pay to have it installed. Dedicated hosting plans usually allow you to upgrade either hardware or bandwidth at a reasonable cost.

The main advantage of colocation is the lower monthly costs when compared with dedicated hosting plans. Other advantages include greater control over network configuration and more flexibility. A colocation provider has to be chosen carefully. After all, they will host both your hardware and your data. Consider such details as security, network redundancy, protection from fire and earthquakes, and backup generators in the case of power outages.

Introduction to Web Hosting

Thursday, June 26th, 2008

Just about anybody can create a presence on the Internet. Building a web site can be as simple as using a word processor, but once you have the site you need a way to publish it on the World Wide Web. This is where web-hosting companies come in.

A web host rents you disk space and provides all the services necessary for others to see your web site on the Internet.  Barring technical problems, a web host operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week so that anybody in the world can access your web site at any time.

There are literally thousands of web hosts to choose from so choosing an appropriate host can be a difficult task. The prices range from free to hundreds of dollars a year. Hosting companies can offer a multitude of services that can be confusing to a newcomer. This series of articles will help you to sort out all the information available and give you the confidence to make the proper decision about choosing a web host.
Free or Paid?

There are plenty of hosting companies that provide free hosting, so why bother paying for it?  The old adage ‘You get what you pay for’ is just as valid in the electronic age as it was 100 years ago. In web hosting, when you pay nothing you sometimes end up with nothing.

Most free web hosts offer limited services. Even though they are not charging you to host your website, they still need to make money. They often do this by placing advertising on your site. You probably won’t have any control over what kind of ads show up – it’s a matter of take it or leave it.

In addition, free hosts may restrict the content you place on your site. You may not be allowed to sell things or have certain content such as videos or music. Finally, your web site could simply disappear overnight. New companies that offer free hosting pop up almost everyday, but they also vanish with astonishing regularity. When your hosting company vanishes, your web site goes with it.

If you are serious about having a web site you need to use a reliable web host. Prices range considerably – some companies offer rates as low as $2 a month while others charge $60 or more. Be careful, though. High rates don’t always translate as high service. Some of the lower priced hosts offer reliable, stable environments that allow your website to be accessed day in day out for years.

Generally speaking the more you pay the more you get. Higher rates should bring you more storage space, more bandwidth to handle Internet traffic, and more services such as databases, email accounts, mass mailers, and the ability to add custom scripts. Higher rates can also mean better technical service if you have problems with your website.
What is a Web Server?

Whichever hosting company you choose, it helps to understand some of the technical details about their service. Every host has dedicated computers called servers which connect to the Internet and ’serve’ pages when they are requested.  That is, whenever anyone wants to see a certain web page by clicking on a link the request is sent to the particular server where that web page is stored. The server responds by sending HTML data across the Internet. A web server must have fast connections to be able to serve pages quickly. For the greatest speed and reliability try to find a host that has multiple high-speed connections as well as reliable back up power supplies in case of power outages

What do I do if I spill a liquid on my keyboard or laptop?

Friday, June 20th, 2008

If you’re on a laptop and you happen to spill something on it, the first thing you should do is power it off. You dont want any electricity running through that thing when you’ve got liquid on it somewhere. The next thing you have to do is turn it upside down so that all the liquid spills out. Grab some cloth or whatever you can to wipe off all the excess liquid. Now grab your hairdryer and run it off the keyboard until everything looks dry. Just to be safe, leave it unplugged for about a day or two so you can be sure that it dries out and just before you’re starting it up again go over it with a hairdryer again. What alot of people don’t know is that liquid isn’t necessarily bad for your computer because all the parts in there actually get washed before they’re get put into your computer. I know that’s scary but that actually happens. After three days power it back on, you should be fine. If not, you can take it to a repair center but the chances are you haven’t done that much damage to it.

What do I do if my MAC freezes?

Friday, June 20th, 2008

If your Mac freezes, the first thing you do is hold the power button down. If that doesn’t turn the Mac off, pull the plug, plug it back in, hit the power button and it should restart.

What do I do if my PC freezes?

Friday, June 20th, 2008

If your PC freezes, you can restart it using Ctrl-Alt-Delete at the same time. Hold on the “Control “key, hold on the “Alt” key then hit the “Delete” button. If that doesn’t reboot your computer, hit the power button at the front of your computer. If that doesn’t work, pull the plug on the PC. Plug it back in, hit the power button and it will start back up

One step forward: a review of GNOME 2.22

Monday, June 16th, 2008

The latest release of the GNOME desktop environment includes a number of significant architectural enhancements and new applications that offer increased power and usability. Released after six months of intensive development, GNOME 2.22 will be included in Ubuntu 8.04 and Fedora 9, which are scheduled for release in April.