evolt.org - Site Development

Simulating Apache asis feature with very simple CGI

Fri, 02 Nov 2007 03:57:47 -0500

Apache's asis feature, provided by mod-asis, is a very simple way of sending static HTTP headers along with static content. Many installations of Apache have this disabled (the default) and those of us not on Apache are out of luck. This combination has led to this simple and useful feature being overlooked by most web developers.

Search Engine Friendly URLs with IIS and Classic ASP

Wed, 14 Nov 2007 14:42:00 -0600

A few years ago, I needed a Content Management System (CMS) for my site Voor Beginners and its English counterpart For Beginners. One of the requirements was, that the CMS should use "search engine friendly" URLs. This is fairly easy to accomplish with Linux and Apache; however, another requirement was that the CMS should run on the Windows platform... In this article, I will show how you can "simulate" the effects of .htaccess and mod_rewrite using Microsoft's Internet Information Server (IIS) and classic ASP.

Google Algorithm Update Analysis

Fri, 24 Aug 2007 06:40:06 -0500

Anybody who monitors their rankings with the same vigor that we in the SEO community do will have noticed some fairly dramatic shifts in the algorithm starting last Thursday (July 5th) and continuing through the weekend. Many sites are rocketing into the top 10 which, of course, means that many sites are being dropped at the same time. We were fortunate not to have any clients on the losing end of that equation however we have called and emailed the clients who saw sudden jumps into the top positions to warn them that further adjustments are coming. After a weekend of analysis there are some curiosities in the results that simply require further tweaks in the ranking system.

How to Get Listed in the DMOZ Directory

Mon, 02 Jul 2007 08:35:54 -0500

I'm a little confused. As an internet consultant specializing in search engine optimization, I believe that it is a good idea to submit your site to DMOZ (a.k.a. ODP or the Open Directory Project) --in fact, Google even encourages you to do so! However, being an ODP editor myself, I can tell you from personal experience that perhaps only 10-20% of all the site suggestions we receive actually follow our guidelines...

How Visual Design Can Impact your Bottom Line

Sat, 23 Jun 2007 08:35:55 -0500

How do you know if you should invest more time and money into creating a killer design? This case study examines how the look and feel of the site can impact your overall conversion rate which can provide justification for a little more investment. View the old site, compare it to the new site and review the conversion metrics that shows the before and after conversion rates.

Making websites: what's your target audience ?

Sun, 15 Apr 2007 10:20:00 -0500

If putting your business online means maximising the outreach, and a global audience, then Web Standards just add sense to your sensibility. A browser is never going to buy anything from you. The users should always get your content, no matter what platform they use, what media device they use, or wherever they might be. There should be no reason that a business turns back even one potential customer.

Creative Vision and Material Benefits

Thu, 07 Sep 2006 13:41:15 -0500

Principles of graphic design that online marketing companies should adopt

10 Worst AdWords Campaign Management Mistakes

Tue, 12 Sep 2006 05:44:40 -0500

On today’s highly competitive Google AdWords pay per click (PPC) search engine, it is now more important than ever to ensure that your PPC campaigns are optimized to their utmost potential. You should be achieving maximum return on investment (ROI) for the keywords or phrases that are most relevant to your business and are most likely to provide you with targeted traffic to your website. With ever growing cost-per-click (CPC) prices throughout the various PPC search engines it is essential that you avoid certain mistakes that will undoubtedly result in poorly performing PPC campaigns.

SEO For The Big Three

Mon, 27 Feb 2006 11:53:31 -0600

This article is a summary of the tactics and considerations one needs to make when seeking to rank highly on all three major search engines as opposed to focusing on just one.

Web Standards. Should my Business Website be Compliant?

Thu, 07 Sep 2006 13:50:19 -0500

Web standards is the new buzz phrase on the web. What are web standards? Web standards are basically the use of correct web coding standards as laid out by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The web standards which are of most concern to modern business are XHTML and CSS coding practices. In the words of the W3C, “The XHTML family is the next step in the evolution of the internet.” Should your website comply?

What is Profit?

Thu, 26 Jan 2006 18:25:28 -0600

What do you mean by Profit? How much do your projects make? How do you price jobs so that you make enough?

SEO For The New Google

Tue, 10 Jan 2006 08:26:08 -0600

For those whose businesses rely on the Internet to produce revenue the latest Google update, nicknamed Jagger, was one of the biggest events in the past couple years. With this 3-part update Google has essentially changed many of the rules and have thrown the SEO community for a loop.

Never Say No - Managing Change in a Project

Fri, 09 Dec 2005 17:25:43 -0600

In most projects, clients ask for changes to the requirements. Saying No is hard, and not always useful. Read on to discover how to avoid problems.

W3C Compliance and SEO

Tue, 11 Oct 2005 09:56:29 -0500

With more and more competition for top search engine positioning every advantage helps. This article outlines how W3C compliance can help your SEO efforts (and visitor experience) and provides resources to help you bring your site into compliance.

Navigation - our visitors' travel guide

Fri, 30 Sep 2005 05:53:43 -0500

Your site navigation is what helps the visitors to find your content. Don't make it a technical portfolio but a helper tool. This article shows how the simplicity of real life navigational helpers can be applied to the web.