Happy New Year! It's Time to Get to Work...

I think that most of us feel we get a fresh start with the beginning of a new year. Many of us make resolutions. Of course, many of us break those resolutions too, but it still feels good to have the intentions of breaking a bad habit or starting a good habit. With the new year comes a feeling of the beginning of things improving.

Now is the perfect time for you not only resolve to make improvements to your website, but to act on that resolution as well. The new year is the perfect time to freshen up or completely redesign your website. How long have you had the same look? If the answer is more than 2 years, it is definitely time for a freshen up at the VERY least. Just as new content draws visitors back to your site, so does a change in your look. Potential customers will see that you are modern and up-to-date, they almost feel like that are visiting a business who has just undergone renovations to make their facilities more inviting, and in a way that is exactly what you are doing for them.

If you are not ready to undergo a complete cosmetic overhaul, then just go for a freshen up - change a few photos, add a new accent color, or change out some content.

Some other things you can do are...

1. Start blogging.
2. Start using social media, such as FaceBook or Twitter.
3. Start an SEO campaign to draw more traffic to your site.
4. Start an electronic newsletter to keep in touch with your customers.
5. Add something interactive to your website, such as a monthly poll or a message forum.

Make your website resolution now and KCA Internet will help you stick to it!

Jim Arndt
KCA Internet
http://kcainternet.com

E-Mail: Danger Will Robinson! Danger!

Email is a great thing that we can no longer live without, or do business without, however there are many potential dangers in your inbox. Here are a few tips for protecting yourself.

1. Does the friend who just emailed you a link, just a link with no message, usually send emails like that? If the answer is no, DO NOT CLICK THAT LINK. Instead, immediately email your friend back and let them know that their email account may be compromised. This is typical when the mail originates from a web-based email account, such as AOL, Hotmail, GMail, Yahoo and the like. If you were to click that link then your email would be compromised and you would be sending out the same link to all of the people in your inbox and their addresses would now be harvested. You all get added to a jillion Spam lists, or worse yet, when you visit that link a nasty virus gets installed on your computer and now all of your keystrokes are being tracked (meaning the tracker can see what websites you went to, what user name and password you entered and so forth - let your imaginatio run wild here).

2. Yes, UPS's shipping notification system is called Quantum View, but no, they do not send notices with attachments. The true UPS Quantum View shipping notification will be nothing but an email with no attachments and that email will provide a tracking number and a link. Even if it does look like a real UPS email, it is safest to go to http://ups.com and enter the tracking number on your own. The same rules apply for USPS, FedEx and DHL - they DO NOT send attachments.

3. No, your email credentials have not changed and they do not require updating. Especially if it means opening an attachment. Just delete it.

4. Getting a lot of failure notifications about email you did not send? Chances are that no one has hacked your e-mail account, they are just spoofing your email address as the reply to address on the junk they are sending. To be on the safe side, change your email password and just delete the bounce back notices. They will stop shortly.

5. No, your PayPal account access has not been limited, nor has anything else most likely happened to your PayPal account. Want to make sure about that? Don't click any links in that email, just to to http://paypal.com and login. If they have something to tell you it will be on your account page. Another big clue about how to tell if a PayPal email is fake or real is Pay Pal will NEVER call you Dear Customer, Dear User or anything generic. They will not address you by email address either, like Dear remoore@kcainternet.com. They will ALWAYS address you by account name, such as Dear Bob Smith, Dear Ruth Moore, etc.

6. Tip #5 also applies to all of your credit cards and bank accounts too. Unless you are 150% certain beyond a shadow of a doubt that the email is legit, just go to the website manually and login to your account. Important notifications and messages will be waiting for you there.

7. Snopes, Snopes, Snopes. Let me say that one more time. Snopes! http://snopes.com. Use that site to verify practically any email story you receive before you forward a load of lies on to another 600 people. Just type a few of the email story's keywords into the search box and see if you find it on Snopes.

Remember the old adage. "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is?" That is still as true today as it was the first time it was said. Make those words to live by and you will stay out of email danger!

Jim Arndt
KCA Internet
http://kcainternet.com

A Few Tips on Email Etiquette

Millions of us use email as our primary source of communication. I know I certainly do, yet I never cease to be amazed a the type of emails I receive from well-educated, intelligent business people. Here are just a few simple "rules" of email I recommend following:

1. Before forwarding an email "story" such as a virus notification, a missing child alert, or other such message, go to http://snopes.com and type in the keywords of the email to see if it is even true. If it is, consider who you are forwarding it to before adding your entire contact list. It probably isn't appropriate to send a joke or funny picture on to a business associate (unless you have that kind of relationship with them).
2. If you are forwarding to a number of people, especially ones who do not know each other, send the email to yourself and add the recipients in the BCC field. This will prevent their email address from being revealed to all the other recipients.
3. Use proper spelling and capitalization. Your name is NOT jane doe. It is Jane Doe. The person you are sending to is Bob, not bob. You live in New York or NY, not new york or ny. Honestly, using the shift key isn't that hard. Skipping it makes you look lazy and sloppy. Take pride in your emails, just as you would if you were writing a letter to send snail mail.
4. Use proper grammar. The same rules we all learned in grade school still apply today.
5. Use proper punctuation. At least once per week I get an email with NO punctuation in it at all. It is just one long sentence and boy is it difficult, if not nearly impossible, to read.
6. Be concise, especially in business emails. Everyone is busy, so please respect their time. If you can say it in a few words, don't write a paragraph.
7. Contrary to popular belief, (in my opinion) not every email you receives needs a reply. Many email experts will tell you differently. I get over a hundred emails per day (that's not counting the Spam) and it really drives me crazy when I have sent someone an FYI type email to get a reply back that says "got it". I'm probably the exception on this one because I would prefer not even to receive a simple "thank you" email when I let a client know a project is done. For me, it's just one more email to deal with.
8. Do not type in all caps. It is considered shouting and it is rude. Be careful about what you apply bold to. Bold is for emphasis and in email it will be read as emphasis times 10.
9. For your business emails, use a professional email address. Your web hosting should come with email. Use it! You should be name@yourdomain.com. Not cooldude24@hotmail.com. Nothing screams unprofessional louder than using a free email service for your business emails.
10. Remember, a lot of people will try to read a "tone" into your email. Make your message as clear as possible. However, when you are reading emails, remember they really have no expression or tone to them, they are simply written communication. Take them at face value, don't try to figure out what the writer really meant - they probably meant only what they said.

Keep your emails simple, to the point and courteous, and your friends and colleagues will never cringe when they see your name show up in their inbox.

Jim Arndt
KCA Internet
http://kcainternet.com

Tips for Hiring an SEO Firm

So, you finally decided your website needs professional SEO and now you are wondering how to go about finding the right company to do the job. Here are a few simple tips that can help you choose the right one for you.

1. A lot of the more affordable SEO firms are located off-shore and that's OK, as long as you can communicate with them and they are available during your business hours.
2. Once you find a name of two of companies, Google their name. If they are in the business of ripping off their clients, or of doing a poor job, chances are you will come across this info in your Google search results.
3. Call them and start by telling them what you need, then let them take over the conversation. Stop them if they start talking about services you don't think you need and see how hard they press you to try to get the up sell.
4. Ask if they can put together a list of their services that they recommend for you which you can pick and choose from to create your own package.
5. During the conversation pay attention to what they ask you. Are they asking you specific questions about your website, about your business, about your goals and about your budget, or are they only telling you about them. Remember, this isn't about them, it's about you and if they do not inquire about your specific needs, chances are they are going to pigeon hole you into a package that isn't a good fit.
6. Watch out for phrases from them, such as hidden text. That is a HUGE no-no with Google and will get your site blacklisted so fast it will make your head spin. I don't care what they tell you about hidden text - DON'T GO THERE!!!!!
7. What kind of background research do they do before starting your campaign? There should be a thorough amount of research in their services because without it they will not know what you need.
8. Do they explain their process - either on the phone or in writing, so you know what each step is? If not, walk away.
9. Do you have to commit to more than 3 months of service at a time?
10. Do they explain that good SEO is a process and results do not happen overnight, but are more of an on-going process and that it may be several months before you start to see any real results? If they promise quick results, do not walk away, RUN!

KCA Internet has just become a certified Google Engage partner and now has the capabilities and skill set to manage both your SEO and Google Ad Words campaigns. Following is a short list of the SEO services we now offer:

1. Search Enging Optimization for each page of your site. Includes descriptive page titles, keyword relevant page text, heading tags, alt img tags, description and keyword tags, and other SEO friendly web design elements.
2. Blog post and article writing.
3. FaceBook, Twitter and LinkedIn account management and updates.
4. Google AdWords campaign research, implementation and management.
5. Thorough research of your competitors' websites and SEO elements.

And much, much more...

Contact us today about your SEO needs and receive your first $100 of Google AdWords for free.

Jim Arndt
http://kcainternet.com

The Importance of Secure Passwords

I know you have heard this time and time again, but this time you need to LISTEN UP! Your choice of passwords is vitally important. THEY MUST BE SECURE!!!!!!!

Secure is NOT your birth date, secure is NOT your dog's name, secure is NOT your kid's name.

Secure IS cryptic, secure;;;;

1. is at least 8 characters long (10 or even 12 is better).
2. is not based on a dictionary word or proper name.
3. contains at least 1 uppercase letter.
4. contains at least 1 number.
5. contains at least 1 special character (! @ # $ % ^ & * + _ -) if allowed.

This does not mean that your password has to be impossible to remember, it just means you need to get creative. As an example, if your name is Jennifer, your password could be J3nn1f3R#. If your cat's name is Bob, your password could be B0bk1tty@.

Another important rule is don't use the same password for everything. Mix it up.

These rules can occasionally be broken. If you are creating a password for a website where none of your personal info is stored, or at least nothing more important than your email address or name and address, then go ahead an use a simple password. In other words, ask yourself what would be the worst thing that could happen if someone cracked into this account and if the answer is nothing, then ease up on the security and make your life simple. Just don't do that on any sites that store more sensitive information, especially your SSN, date of birth or credit card number.

If your password is one of those extremely simple ones, such as your dog's name, it takes a password hacking program under 15 minutes to crack it. If you add one uppercase letter to it, it will take 15 days to crack, add a number and it goes to 15 months, but add the all important special character and it goes to 15 years! Now there's security!!

If it seems like a daunting task to keep track of all of these passwords, there are several things you can do.

1. Keep a list in your Daytimer.
2. Keep a written list at your desk.
3. Keep a spreadsheet, just be sure to protect it with a very cryptic password.
4. Use a program such as RoboForm.

Of those methods, I highly recommend RoboForm. Unlike programs such as Gator, RoboForm is stored on your local computer, not accessible by anyone but you. Not only does it remember passwords, but it also generates secure passwords at the click of a button and it allows you to set up multiple identities to automatically fill website forms for you (a very handy and time-saving feature). I have been using RoboForm for over 5 years and I could not live without it anymore. There is a free version and a paid version. The paid version is inexpensive and I recommend it over the free one as it allows you to store unlimited logins and identities. Click the banner below to check it out for yourself.

Remember, always put your safety first and your convenience second!

Jim Arndt
KCA Internet
http://kcainternet.com

How to Choose a Web Hosting Company

While KCA Internet does offer web hosting services to our clients, we may not be the right choice for everyone. There are literally thousands and thousands of web hosting companies to choose from. So, how do you pick the right one for you? Here are a few tips that we hope will make your task and easier one.

1. Call the host's toll-free number during regular business hours. Choose the option to speak to tech support. Is the hold time reasonable? Tell the person you speak to you are considering using their services and want to know if they have an uptime guarantee. They will most likely tell you that they have a 99.9% uptime guarantee. Now it's time to play stump the chumps. Ask simply, "or what?" Usually this is met with stunned silence or the response, "I don't know what you mean." It's simple 99.9% uptime guaranteed or what - what happens if your service does not live up to that guarantee? Do you get a refund? How is that refund calculated? What you are looking for is a response of something along the lines of "you can read all about that in our SLA (or Service Level Agreement)." Those are the magic words. Without an SLA, an uptime guarantee is meaningless.
2. Call their toll-free support phone number outside of normal business hours - late in the evening or on a weekend. Were you able to get a live person on the phone? How long did you have to wait on hold? Tech support should be available 24/7/365. A server rarely goes down during normal business hours (it's Murphy's Law).
3. Go to some hosting review websites - read customer reviews. If the "review website" doesn't offer customer reviews and ratings, and is more like a top 10 or top 25 list, don't take it too seriously. He who is willing to pay the most, gets the best position on the list.
4. Stay away from oversellers: it is very tempting to sign up with a web host that offers many Gigabytes of disk space, Terabytes of monthly bandwidth and unlimited domains. Especially if they charge $3,95 a month. The only problem is that those hosting providers are clearly overselling and they are not able to guarantee service quality. When choosing a web host look for a company that offers reasonable specifications.
5. Don’t be cheap. If you are serious about your website you should invest some money into a good web hosting solution. We aren't saying that you will need a dedicated server right from the start, but consider that if you want a reliable and fast provider you will need to spend around $20 monthly.

Following are a few hosts we recommend to our clients who choose not to host directly with us:

iPower Web Hosting

Ubiquity Servers Web Hosting

IX Web Hosting

Apollo Web Hosting

Please contact us for help with choosing a great web host for your website. We'd be happy to help in anyway possible.

Jim Arndt
KCA Internet
http://kcainternet.com

Good Website Content is Crucial to Your Success

Web content can make or break a website – no matter how good the design is. You've heard me preach a lot about website content and have heard me say, over and over, "content is king". But exactly what is good website content and where do you get it?

In my opinion, there are 2 important types of website content.

1. Concise content your site visitors will read and find relevant to them.
2. More verbose content which is informative and readable, but serves a great purpose in being keyword rich to help with SEO (Search Engine Optimization).

Let's talk about the first type of content. This is what your site visitor is going to be presented with upon first arriving at your site. It's purpose is to sum up, as concisely and in as few words as possible, what you do (or what you sell) and how it is of benefit to the visitor. Your website visitors are a self centered group of people. They don't care much about you, but they do care about what you can do for them. ALWAYS keep that in mind when writing your content.

People have the attention span of gnats. You have about 3 seconds from the time a visitor lands on your page to capture their attention and draw them further into your site. You don't need a mission statement, you need a statement that sums up your business and it's benefit to the consumer in the fewest words possible. Never leave a website visitor wondering what it is you do or why they are even on your website.

Again, people have the attention span of gnats... A well written tag line is highly important, and as you develop more content, especially for the all important main page of your site, bullet point lists work wonders. Paragraphs of text, especially on the main page of a site, are off putting and overwhelming. Teaser text is also good to use with a "read more" link to the full content. This gives your site visitor some info with the option to read it all if they so choose.

As you get into the typical web pages that most sites have, such as About Us, Company History and the like, conciseness is not as important as it is on the main page. Those are optional pages and anyone clicking the link to go to them is most likely aware that they will be text heavy.

Now, on to the second type of content, that for SEO purposes. This would be content that is relevant to your business, and of interest to your site visitors, but its primary purpose is to be keyword rich, contain words that hot link to other areas of your site) creating an inner linking structure) and give you a search engine boost. This type of content can be articles you write, a blog you write, or articles you hire a copywriter to produce for you on various topics you choose. All are viable options. You want this content to be interesting enough for your site visitors to read, but remember that is not its primary purpose.

If your website content needs improvement, please give us a call to see how we can help!

Jim Arndt
KCA Internet
http://kcainternet.com