Google recently released its new web browser, named Chrome, which aims to deliver a more seamless internet, and more importantly, search experience that will cause internet surfers to search more often, which of course, means more income for Google.  Of course, that’s Google’s bottom line, but let’s look at some of the actual benefits of Chrome.

In an attempt to simplify the browsing experience, Google has combined searching and entering a web address.  The same text box is used for both, and users can be directed to suggested searches from their selected search engine…of course, Google hopes to be chosen by each user.  Chrome users can view thumbnails of their most visited sites, which is a feature usually enjoyed by users browsing on Opera.  Chrome users can even create shortcuts to place on their desktop, that will link to their favorite web applications.

Additional features to increase intuitive usability include customizable, or dynamic, tabs, crash control (prevents all tabs closing if just one crashes), browsing and search privacy options, warnings against unsafe websites, instant bookmarking, simple downloads and an easy to use tool that will import your bookmarks and passwords so that you don’t have to wait very long to start using Chrome.

So why does Chrome matter?  In the broad sense, it makes searching a more fluid process, which will work to Google’s design, which is to have more people searching more of the time.  Competition to arrive under the eyes of searchers will only increase, and so internet marketing will continue to become increasingly important for online success.  Your website needs to be well designed and attractive, and continuously adapt to shifts in the market that could mean changes in what your prospects are looking for. 

Search engine marketing and optimization must be expertly applied so that your business can enjoy the success that comes from being easily found by the prospects that are most likely to purchase your products or services.  As internet browsing continues to advance, as we continue to master the internet and transform it from a useful tool to an intuitive experience, businesses need to keep up, if they are to avoid falling into the wake of those companies whose websites properly adapt.

SEF, or Search Engine Friendly, URLs are just that: website addresses that are easily indexed by search engines such as Google.  These URLs cannot contain special characters, such as a question mark, and so website URLs that contain those characters will not be indexed by search engines such as Google…that means Google won’t know the site is there, and so it won’t bring it up in a list of results, even if the search keyword matches the website.

Why do people use URLs that aren’t search engine friendly?  Query strings are a good way for pages within a website to “speak” to one another, and share information by passing it along to other pages within that particular website.  Because of the ease query strings bring to website URLs, some webmasters may be reluctant to give query strings the boot.  However, if they continue to use special characters in their website URLs, inclusion by search engines will be rare, if at all.

If you’ve noticed that your website doesn’t show up in Google, even after you’ve typed in the exact title of your website, there are a couple of possibilities as to why your website isn’t showing up.  You might have made a typographical error.  Although Google Suggest would likely prevent that from hampering your search, you might want to just verify that both your search keywords, and the information on your website, are spelled properly.  If your website is brand new, Google may not have gotten around to indexing it, in which case you can do little else but to be patient.

If, however, your site has been around for awhile, and you’re not making any typographical errors, look at the URL of the webpage you are trying to search for.  Look for any special characters, such as any of the following:

!@#$%^&*+=.

Characters such as those likely mean that your URL is not search engine friendly.  How do you get your URL to be SEF?  Your internet marketing agency can help you to change your URL so that it is SEF, and then your website should be able to be crawled and indexed by search engines such as Google.  After that it’s only a matter of time (shouldn’t be much time either) before your web pages are crawling with real prospects.

A website is a dynamic tool for marketing and sales, not just a pretty picture on the internet. Companies that boast having the best deal for buying 4-5 of their sites for a “meager $300” might as well be asking you to just send them a check for nothing. You’d have a better shot at winning your money back at roulette.

So how do you avoid falling into this ever-present trap? Spending many hundreds of dollars might be out of reach for a new business, or even an old business looking to market online. However, if you can spare an extra hundred or two, you’ll get more than a pretty picture or a night at the casino.

For that extra amount, you’ll receive value beyond the instant copy and paste logo sites that do little else beside create cookie-cut sites that are just the same as your competition…with different colors. Your business will have a site that was built with your business needs in mind instead of just a thank you token for the $300.

That extra value comes into play when you see the long-term results of proper SEO (search engine optimization) application, targeted content and multi-browser compatibility. These vast and material differences can only be obtained when you work with a professional trained to produce quality websites.

Such a person, or agency, will work with you to understand your business and create a unique website that fits your business’ needs while effectively marketing your site. Your website should be more than simply an online presence.

If you sell computer keyboards, and you spend all of your time standing on the street holding a cardboard sign that reads, in crayon, “I sell computer keyboards,” chances are you’d be wasting your money on the cardboard, the crayons and your time. A cookie-cutter website holds the same danger. However, working on a custom designed solution with a professional website designer would be like watching your business grow while your interactive sales team scours the streets, filling them with information and desire for your product: computer keyboards.

What if you can’t throw the extra $100 or $200 toward the development of your website? Don’t. Don’t put any money toward it, yet. If your business isn’t ready to invest in such an important business tool, why buy it now? It’s far better to save for that investment and get some value for your money.

Otherwise you might as well just visit the casino. Or buy lots of cardboard and crayons.

The use of Flash for the creation of web sites has never been more popular. The number of web sites utilizing Flash for their content is expected to increase as time goes by. There are however some drawbacks to using only Flash for a web site. Although Flash web sites are very entertaining to the user, and significantly reduce browser compatibility issues, one must remember that Flash websites are only viewable to web browsers that have Flash software installed.

Portions of a web site created with Flash will not appear in browsers without installed Flash software. Although numerous web sites offer their viewers links with which to download Flash software, many viewers choose to ignore this option and seek other content which to view.

A significant disadvantage of using Flash is the inability of current search engines to crawl Flashed based content. Although this is changing, currently most search engines crawling the web are looking only for text based content. This means Flash based sites are very likely to be skipped by search engines and therefore remain un-indexed by search engines.

Flash files tend to be a large in size; therefore Flash sites take significantly longer to load than traditional websites. Given the short attention span of many web viewers, having a completely Flash based web site can be a significant disadvantage to content producers. Even the best website, with the most relevant content, will never be seen by users to grow impatient with the loading time of Flash.

Therefore it is best at this time to utilize Flash sparingly in web content. Although the advantages of Flash are many, it is better to have online content that is seen by as many users as possible. This simply is not an option for entirely Flashed based sites today.

Despite the obvious advantages and graphical attractiveness of Flash, Flash technology is simply too handicapped for widespread implementation today. As Flash continues to improve this may change, however, online content producers are advised to use Flash sparingly today.