I recently saw a blog post that the malicious creators of ad-ware, malware and viruses are using pay-per-click ads to distribute their creations and infect innocent computers.

I orginally cast this off as a myth. I made the assumption that the search engines would not allow this.

However this morning, after searching on Yahoo for the term “Hollywood Florida Hotels” I came across an irrelevant sponsored ad (PPC) for something on South Beach (I will not state the domain name, because chances are, they have nothing to do with the virus and are an unknowing victim). After clicking on the ad, I was redirected to a different page that, fortunately for me, my antivirus called a warning. I moved the file to my vault as my trusty AVG antivirus program suggested and closed my browser. Fortunately all was OK.

The odd part about this is that I rarely use Yahoo, and was only doing this for testing purposes. Although I don’t like the monopoly that google is creating, their system works great and this is just another reason to steer clear of Yahoo. This is not to say that it wont happen on google but over the past month 99.9% of my searches are on google. I just spent 5 minutes on Yahoo and almost got a virus.

The lesson to learn here… Always keep your antiv-virus and other programs up to date.

If only we had a few more hours in the day…

We have been using an internal web application to track our studio’s work for many years now. We call it the EZHitlist and it is a very simple job and time tracking application that can be used for any type of task or project. What began as a simple spread sheet and is currently a robust PHP application is now looking to become an iphone application. The only problem is that since this is an internal application, it always comes after our client work.

Here is a little history:

2000 - Excel Spreadsheet
2002 - Single page web app that writes to a text file
2003 - added ability to track multiple clients
2004 - MySQL database and full php support. Created print versions and ticketing system.
2004 - Ability to add multiple clients and multiusers.
2005 - Added time tracking, invoicing & created client portal. Interface overhaul.
2006 - Added minor reporting features.
2008 - Moved to a live web server (outside of our network). Still in Beta.
2009 - Iphone Web Application Support???

While this would be a nice progression, we still have some crucial issues to deal with. Namely the ability to add other companies (not just SoFla Web Studio) and tie down the security to allow for outside access to our Beta. If we are going to go through this effort, we might as well clean up the code, fix some minor bugs and make the additions and enhancements that have been on our todo list for months.

The next obvious progression is to go mobile.

Lets hope we can get our client work taken care of & spend some time one the fun stuff that we love to do. Its the reason we work in this business.

Google’s Matt Cutts provides advice for Company Blogs.

Matt Cutts is a google software engineer who frequently blogs about many things effecting the many businesses influenced by Google (just about everyone online at this point).

Recently he posted Three Tips for Company Blogging on his own blog. While these tips seem to be common sense to many, they are sometimes overlooked and its worth mentioning again. Also bear in mind that although he is speaking to a more corporate audience (as you will see from his first tip), the basic principles apply to small business as well.

1. First he states not to make open (hard) promises about the future. You never know what will happen as a product or service you are intending to roll out comes near. Outside influences can easily delay or even cancel your plans. There is nothing wrong in using terms like “plan to” or “should”.
2. Don’t sling mud at your competitors. This should be basic good business however online it can actually draw more attention to your competition. And if someone else starts it, make sure to clarify their false claims if needed, but ensure that they are even worth responding to. Sometimes getting into a fight can lower credibility for all parties involved.
3. Finally, Don’t post when you are angry. This should go without saying. Similar to email and text messaging. Pull your emotions out before you begin typing.

These seem like good tips for business in general and not just blogging.

Nobody likes a pushy salesperson. And it doesn’t matter if it’s someone trying to sell you a car or someone blocking your way past a kiosk in the mall, these sales people have a commonality that is persistence and the belief that they can persuade you to buy anything and/or everything.

Maybe they can fill your head with so many claims or talk fast enough that you will be convinced or at least moved enough to make a purchase.

The internet is loaded with websites that follow this same belief. If they inundate their visitors with claims and boasts and incomprehensible numbers and figures, they’ll persuade you that what they are offering is exactly what you need.  Has anyone ever seen a web hosting company that claims 99.9% uptime? Try asking them how this figure is calculated.

Just like when you look at a store from the outside and you feel it might have something that you want inside, when you enter you realize that it is not what you want at all. You make a hasty retreat. Search Engine Marketing (SEM) practices work the same way. You can fool someone while they are searching, but once they enter, if it’s not what they are looking for, they are gone.

Given this knowledge, it should be obvious that being honest and clear is a very important part of SEM. It is just as important as keyword dense content writing and link building if you want to create conversions from the visitors who come to your site.

By being honest and clear about your message, you can focus less on finding the magical term to drive traffic to you site and focus on the delivery of your product naturally. If you have something that people are looking for online, they will find you.

Once they have found your site, make sure that your landing page lets the visitor know they are at the right place and then give them a quick call to action.

Don’t make them read through lines of text before giving them a link to click or  an option to do something. Links are free – double them up, put one at the top and one at the bottom, put them in the body copy. Make it clear what the action will entail. Use a web designer to help (that is what they are trained to do). A massive page of links is not a good resource.

Finally, differentiate yourself from the competition. Do it in an honest manner, using clear comparisons and real testimonials. Open up a ratings system and live feedback. This will go much further than simple corporate jargon that most web visitors glaze over. Obviously if your product or service is not getting good feedback, you will have other issues to deal with. And that is another topic altogether.

Well almost a week into my phone switch and I am in heaven (as close as I can get to heaven at the Newark airport).
Being a devoted Treo fan for years, I was scared of making the change to an iPhone. The browser sealed the deal though. No other mobile device comes close. Not to mention all of the apps and the interface.
While it has taken a few days to get used to typing on the screen, I actually feel this is superior to my last Treo 680 (I haven’t tried a blackberry to compare). But the HTML rendering of email is much more eye appealing than the plain text of most blackberrys.
There is not a mobile device available that is suitable for anything more than microblogging, however I would have never attempted blogging from my treo at all and I have had data access for years. Even if there was a way to do it (other than the wordpress email plugin).