Welcome to the April Blumenthals.com newsletter

For previous newsletters, tips and general support information go to: WhatsHappening

Topics:

• 1-Search Engine Seminar - May 24th
• 2-Stopping Spam
  
• 3-Promoting your web site with Google Local
  
• 4-Try our new Ticket System
  
• 5-New RapidWeb web sites

1. Search Engine Placement Class - May 24th

Learn how to develop a strategy to help your web site be more easily found by the major search engines. This class will provide background information on the workings of major search engines, and specific steps your company can take to improve the ranking of your site.

• Understand how site construction techniques affect your rankings.
• Learn how to focus your search placement efforts for the best results.
• Understand the role of metatags and how they influence success.
• Learn how to craft meta information to improve your rankings.

We will examine actual sites to see how they ranked and how their rankings could improve. We will explore some of the major search sites in depth to better understand where and how they get their results. This seminar is similar to the one in June but will incorporate new information and additional examples.

The class is being co-sponsored by Greater Olean and will be held at Country Inn and Suites across from St. Bonaventure on Wednesday, May 24th at 9:30. To register contact Meme at Greater Olean

2. Stopping Spam - First Steps

Configure your e-mail so spammers don't take over your in-box.

Many spammers are sending email to every name known to mankind at your domain. We have seen domains hit with tens of thousands of spam messages in a flash. Our cPanel web control panel has features that prevent and manage spam.

Firstly, set the "default address" for your to domain to :fail. The "default address" defines how any email to an address that is not legitimate should be handled.

• The :fail option rejects misaddressed emails and returns them back to the original sender with a note indicating that the address doesn't exist. Legitimate senders will correct the mistake. Spammers won't notice.
• The Blackhole option throws the message away at our server but does not communicate back to the original sender.
• Setting the "default address" to a legitimate address will result in a flood of unwanted emails to that address and should be avoided.

Secondly turn on SpamAssasin & properly configure and tune. This tool can identify, tag and delete the bulk of your spam. SpamAssasin can be configured to be more or less aggressive at tagging messages. It can also be set to tag or not tag specific messages so if you are finding that it is not catching some or not letting others through you can "blacklist" or "whitelist" messages from certain domains or senders.

Once you have "tuned" SpamAssasin by setting the above tagging options you can then tell it to throw away tagged spam at the server rather than passing it through to your box. You will find it incredibly refreshing and perhaps a bit disconcerting the first time you check your mail and all of it is real and not from your favorite Viagra vendor!

If you need assistance in properly configuring your email contact us via our new ticket system, phone, e-mail or via IM at SupportRapidweb.

• 3. Promoting your web site with Google & Yahoo Local

Some websites are built for a national or international audience but many are intended for the local market. Google and Yahoo have dramatically improved their local search results and continue to do so. Over the last 18 months searching with "local qualifiers" like city or zip code has increased dramatically. Users are not only searching on the "what" but the "where" and if your site is one that relies on local traffic then you need to be sure that you are properly listed.

Not familiar with Google Local? Google has integrated it directly into their standard search results whenever you search on a phrase and use a town, city or zip to modify it. For example if you search on Ellicottville Real Estate you will see the following:

The local results appear near the very top of the search, sometimes just below the pay per click sponsored ads and always above the main "organic" search results.

Google and Yahoo both allow the business owner or their representative to go in and either modify or add a local listing. The interface is quite simple although finding it might not be. Drill into the local search results and then into the specific listing for your business. At the bottom of your business listing there is an option to "Edit this Listing".

Google and Yahoo allow you to modify your listing by adding additional telephone numbers, defining your business category, changing your business name etc. In the end, how well you rank on local search will depend on a number of factors. However all the standard rules for search optimization apply so be sure to plan your changes carefully.

If you would like more information on search optimization visit our page of search resources or contact mike@blumenthals.com to see how we can help better position your website for success.

• 4.Try our new Trouble Reporting System

We have added one more way for you to conveniently access our support services.

Over the past year we have refined and updated our Trouble Reporting System and it is now available to all customers. It is a great way to report any issue to us and track its resolution.

Every inquiry made through our reporting system is automatically e-mailed to to all staff AND stored in a database. It can be assigned to staff person best able to solve your problem. It gives us the ability to quickly respond and allows you to login and see the status of your request.

So give our trouble reporting system a try!

• 5.Welcome to new RapidWeb Sites

Within the last few months several new RapidWeb sites have come on line:

• Cornerstone Medical Loan Closet - Olean, NY This site was developed under our annual Blumenthals.com grant. This award is given to a not for profit group that offers a unique service to the community, has very limited resources and has an idea for a site that goes beyond just marketing. The folks at Cornerstone - John and Linore Lounsbury, offer an incredible service: free medical equipment to anyone that needs it. They wanted professionals that were working with clients in need to be able to easily see which items were available.

• American Guitar Company - Custom Guitars- Taylor Guitars - Paul Reed Smith Guitars Ryan Burt is opening a new Main Street business building and selling guitars in Wellsville, NY. He wanted to start the business on the right foot and develop his web presence from the start. His logo was designed by Vietnemese wood craftsmen and Jodi took the colors into an incredible site design.

We love our new site. We receive comments all the time. My friends from college have all complimented its design. And I think it looks great! - Ryan Burt, Luthier

• Suedehead Vintage T-Shirts Suedehead wanted to upgrade their web presence to a full blown e-commerce site. We created a content managed site that allowed for full control by the owner and it captures the spirit of the funny, vintage T-shirts that they are selling.

• Wellsville Laser Wash - Wellsville, NY Brad Whitford recently built a state of the art car wash in Wellsville. He wanted to provide easy access to corporate discounts and packages for frequent users and corporate clients.

• Nelson Capital Real Estate Development - Jamestown NY Jeff Nelson wanted to reorganize his website. Jeff found that by thinking about what he wanted to say on his website he also needed to think about his business in a new way. Doing so helped him focus his business efforts and guided him in his new business plan as well.

In case you forgot that I told you, I really like the site's appearance and the navigation. I feel a lift as I work with it, and just look at it. - Jeff Nelson, CEO Nelson Capital Development

If you have any questions about this newsletter or any other RapidWeb feature feel free to contact us.

Mike Blumenthal