We are pleased to announce the launch of a new web site for the association of this popular Chicago neighborhood. If you haven’t spent time in Old Town, it’s time to change that. If you live out of town, come visit and check out all the cool shops, restaurants, and bars.
Our thanks to everybody involved in the project including Tom Erd, John Blick, Byron, Brian, and Rich. Great work guys!
On June 17, more than 8 million people from around the world downloaded the FireFox 3 web browser, and in the process set a Guinness World Record for the largest number of software downloads in a 24 hour period. And users didn’t stop there — in the few weeks since its release, more than 28 million people have downloaded FF3.
FireFox 3 is free, the download package small, and it takes less than sixty seconds to install. We’ve found that once an Internet Explorer user tries FireFox, they rarely look back.
Why? For starters, FireFox is fast. Four years ago it debuted as a stripped-down browser that focused on speed at a time when other browsers were adding as many features as possible. Since then, FireFox has added functionality, but speed continues to be the foremost concern of its development team.
Why else? FireFox is secure. Many Internet attacks are perpetrated through vulnerabilities in the web browser, and Internet Explore has been compromised by hackers time and time again. Since FireFox is open source software, hundreds of technologists review the code, test the application, and ensure it is safe and stable. While switching browsers doesn’t guarantee online security, it certainly helps.
Finally, FireFox offers a library of over 5,000 add-ons to customize your browser. Some our our favorites include:
If you’re already using FireFox, you’ll appreciate the 15,000 improvements that have been since the browser’s previous version. Many of these are performance-related upgrades and bug fixes, such as plugging the memory leaks that caused FF2 to use eat memory. A lot of small things have been rethought and improved, like making storing and management of passwords less intrusive and more accurate. And there are some brand new features, such as the enjoyably-titled “Awesome Bar,” which uses browsing history to predict which site is being typed into the location bar.
Though we are happy to spread the good news, we must admit that our FireFox evangelism is not entirely without self interest. Historically, Microsoft has interpreted Internet Explorer’s overwhelming market share as a license to disregard broadly accepted web standards. Microsoft’s impunity has forced web developers to make special accommodations so their sites could be properly viewed in IE. These “IE hacks” are time-consuming and temperamental, and result in web development that’s less efficient — costing everybody time, energy, and money. As FireFox’s market share expands (it’s currently at almost 20%), IE is being pressured into playing by the rules (for example, IE 7 is much more compliant than IE 6).
As web developers, our lives would be much easier if everyone used FireFox (or if MS decided to abide by the standard).
Please, for your sake and ours, give it a try.
For a while it looked as though we were going to have to send out our newsletter without being able to welcome a new staff member. Then, with perfect timing, Byron Galbraith showed up and saved us from having to write filler content.
Byron’s had a busy summer.
On June 1, he resigned from his job. Six days later, he married Karen Zyck, his girlfriend of five years. After ten luxurious honeymoon days in Aruba and a week to readjust to the real world, the newlyweds packed up their lives and moved to Milwaukee.
Soon after settling in, Byron realized he had some time to kill before starting school in August. The solution? He caught the Amtrak back to Chicago and started a full-time job with us one week later.
Byron isn’t entirely new to Table XI. He has been working with us for a few months, but on a part-time basis.
At the end of the summer he begins a Masters program in Bioinformatics at Marquette (where his wife is getting her PhD in English Literature). Byron’s fun in learning means we won’t get to keep him around the office for too long, but we like hiring smart people, and we’re hoping he’ll find time to keep working for us part-time once his program starts in August.
Between a new wife, a new job, commuting from a new home in Milwaukee, and an impending Masters program, Byron plans to sneak in a few games of Australian Rules Football, which he’s been playing since 2003.
In a recent 48-hour period, three people asked us how to get Google to rank their site higher in its search listings. It seemed like one of those occasions where it would be easier to spread our answer around, so here it goes…
There is no magic search engine optimization bullet. If anybody claims otherwise, they’re likely selling proverbial snake oil.
However, there are certain key tenets that experts throughout the industry can agree on.
Tenet #1 – Content is King
Google and other search algorithms respond to content. We’re not advocating slathering gobs of useless text all over your web site. Rather, when creating content, be intentional about using phrases that people are likely to search for in order to find your site. Strive to use those phrases in page titles and headings. Don’t let your keywords drown in a sea of excess copy. Break large pages into multiple smaller pages with specific, focused content.
This technique has worked very well for The Spice House. By creating content-specific pages, we were able to rank high for the generic phrases such as “spices,” but also snagged top listings for specific search terms such as “Grains of Paradise.”
Tenet #2 – Inbound Links Matter
Google’s algorithm considers the quantity and quality of inbound links to your site. The idea is simple enough: If a bunch of websites about Transformers link to your site, there’s a good chance your site has some relevance to Transformers.
Of course, not all links are weighted equally. A link from a site that Google considers important carries more value than a less notable site. To improve the quantity and quality of inbound links to your site, contact other sites in your industry and get them to link to yours. The more prominent the linking site, the better.
Do not, however, go around spamming your URL on message boards and blog posts. That’s an old, dirty, and outdated trick. Most community sites prevent you from getting any “Google Juice” from the link, so don’t even bother.
Distilling the Results
Believe it or not, these two factors are likely the most important elements of the Google search algorithm. However, like the formula of Coca-Cola, only a small number of people know exactly what goes into the ranking formula. It’s a well-guarded secret, and unlike Coca-Cola, changes constantly.
The Finished Product
The value of a page in Google’s index is called the Page Rank. Ranging from 1 to 10, the Page Rank quantifies how important Google thinks your site is in the grand scheme of the web. Ten is the equivalent of Internet omnipotence (i.e. Google.com). CNN.com has a Page Rank of 9 and WikiPedia.org has a Page Rank of 8. To see yours, install the Google Toolbar into your browser.
Sound Simple?
Search engine optimization is a slow and sometimes painful process. It can take months for search engines to react to changes to your site. Even more frustrating, with the constantly changing algorithms, sometimes your site will seem to slip in the rankings arbitrarily. That all said, this approach does work, and with constant effort coupled with appropriate guidance, your site can climb the Google rankings.
If you are interested in learning more about search engine optimization, or in working with us to improve your site’s performance, please contact Table XI’s resident guru Steve Krull at steve@tablexi.com.