Google alerts are emails sent to you automatically when there are new results based on your search terms.  Instead of going to Google everyday and typing in what you are interested on, Google will email you when new results are available based on your search term.  All you have to do is type your search term once and create a Google Alert.  So what type of alerts can you sign up for?  Google currently offers 6 types of alerts:

 

1. News Alert – email of the latest news articles that contain the search terms of your choice.
2. Web Alert – email of the latest web pages that contain the search terms of your choice.
3. Blog Alert – email of the latest blog entry that contain the search terms of your choice.
4. Video Alert – email of the latest videos that contain the search terms of your choice.
5. Groups Alert – email of new posts that contain the search terms of your choice.
6. Comprehensive Alert – aggregate of the latest results from multiple sources ( News, Web, & Blog) into one email to provide maximum coverage on the topic of your choice.

 

So how often will you receive alerts?  It depends how you set up the alerts.  If you specify to Google to check for new results once a day, you’ll get a maximum of one email per day.  If you specify that you want emails as new results happen, Google will check for new results continuously and alert you every time it finds something new.

 

How do you sign up?  Go to Google Alerts, type in the search term of your choice, the type of alert you would like (News, Web, Video, etc.), how often you would like Google to check for results, your email address, and Google will send you a confirmation email.  Clicking on the link on your email will activate your alert.

What is PageRank?  PageRank is a numeric value given by Google that represents how important a page is on the web.  The value is from 1-10.  Basically, this number is figured out by the number of links that point to your page.  However, not all inbound links are created equal.  Pages with more credibility that link to your webpage have more value than those with less.  So how is this credibility measured?  By their PageRank, of course.  It is far more beneficial to your page to have a few links from pages whose PageRank is high than to have numerous links from sites that have a low PageRank.  The PageRank value can be divided in the following categories:

 

0-3:      New pages or pages with few links.

4-5:      Popular sites with a good amount of inbound links.

6:         Very popular sites.

7-10:    Usually media sites or big companies.

 

So how do you measure your sites PageRank?  You can download Google’s toolbar which will let you know your website’s PageRank by clicking here.  If your PageRank is low, try to get more inbound links preferably from sites with a high PageRank.

Just a reminder TracSoft will have a booth at the Chamber Expo tomorrow August 12. Reggie Luther will also be presenting a "Google Tools" presentation at 4:45pm at the expo.  Everyone that comes by the booth will receive a free 30 days of ManageTrac our automated network monitoring and management system.  Also come find out how to win  a free web site!

Hello Columbus!!! For those of you who don't know, there will be a Business & Healthcare Expo on August 13th at the Columbus Iron Works Trade and Convention Center from 12:00-6:00 p.m. TracSoft is proud to announce that we will have a booth this year! We will be giving away a free website, so please stop by our booth to get all of the details and drop your business card in the pot for one of our hourly TracPac giveaways!  Even if you don't want to play, we would love to see you and share all of the ways we can make technology more effective for you and your business...don't get confused by the camouflage!!

The internet has really changed the world that we live on.  People can now do many thinks such as  reserve a hotel, buy an airline ticket, research an automobile, check the weather, just to name a few, without leaving their house.  So it comes to no surprise that the internet has really changed marketing. 

 

The days of traditional marketing strategies such as trade shows, direct mail, telemarketing, print/TV/Radio ads are less effective than internet marketing.  People now days have caller id to screen their calls and have the technology to fast forward through commercials.  We now have access to the products that we are interested online.  We can see the specifications of the product, read online manuals, and read online reviews to get educated on a product and make a decision.  All of the information is available to us 24/7. 

 

With internet marketing you can track your website’s visitors.  You can research the visitors search terms and optimize your site for those terms.  You can also find out conversion rates by comparing the number of visitors your website receives versus the sale numbers.  If you are running email or ad campaigns, you can also easily track the links that have received the most clicks and tailor your campaign accordingly.

 

With internet marketing the cost is less than traditional marketing and you are reaching a worldwide audience.  In today’s world, internet marketing is really a necessity if you want to stay in the game.