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vineri, 24 august 2012

"The Historic, First-Ever Kids' State Dinner Edition!"

Your Daily Snapshot for
Friday, August 24, 2012

"The Historic, First-Ever Kids' State Dinner Edition!"

Welcome to the West Wing Week, your guide to everything that's happening at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. This week, The White House held an historic, first-ever Kids' State Dinner; hosted Americorps, School Improvement Grantees, and Presidential Innovation Fellows.

The President held a news conference and spoke with regional reporters about the need for Congress to agree on a balanced deficit reduction plan, and the First Lady made a major veterans hiring announcement in Jacksonville, Florida.

Watch West Wing Week, your inside guide to the White House.

4 Tips For Your Mobile SEO Strategy - Whiteboard Friday

Posted: 23 Aug 2012 08:03 PM PDT

Posted by aleyda

In this Whiteboard Friday, I share four fundamental questions that will help you assess the best alternatives to start taking mobile search into consideration for your site.

Google has recently published a set of official developers resources and recommendations to build smartphone optimized sites. Nonetheless, from a strategic perspective you also need to identify which are the best options according to your target market, present users, and site characteristics.

I hope it’s helpful and if you have any doubts or feedback, please let me know, I look forward for your comments.

Video Transcription

Hello SEOmoz fans. My name is Aleyda Solis, @aleyda on Twitter. It's a pleasure to be here with you today, and I would like to show you four tips specifically about your mobile SEO strategy, which is a very hot topic nowadays.

The idea is to really answer some questions that can arise in the beginning of the process. The first question that you may have is how many mobile users you have and how they have found you, because really what you want is to, of course, be able to optimize your site and to be reachable to those specific mobile users that your specific site has.

Use Google Analytics. Go to the audience mobile devices section of your Google Analytics, and you will find there the operating system, the provider, also the resolutions, and the type of handhelds that your users are having when they are browsing to your site.

Also, you can configure an advanced segment in Google Analytics for the organic traffic, and you can specify to only see the specific mobile traffic, which are the pages and keywords and the conversions that get generated from this mobile organic traffic that comes to your site so you can understand better the behavior of that user, which are the topics and the pages and the information that they really consume.

At the beginning, sometimes, maybe you can identify that it's not all of your site that is really attractive to the mobile users, that you have some specific offer that you really want to promote to them. That is why it's very important that you identify first, at the beginning.

Also, use Google Webmaster Tools. Google Webmaster Tools has a filter where you can see only the mobile search for keywords and pages impressions. So you can see how is your site already behaving on the SERPs for mobile users.

Finally, always, the Google Keyword tool. Remember the typical Google keyword tool that we use? There is a setting there where you can specify that you only want information for smartphone searches. Do it so you can see also: How does that match with the traffic you already have for your types of products or services?

For example, you can see that maybe the traffic that you are getting is not even near the possibilities and the volume that there is already going for mobile users for your type of product or services, and there's a lot of room to grow or a lot of possibilities in that area. That's another good tip.

Finally, you already know your user behavior, what type of user do you have from smartphones. So you want to move to the next question that usually arises: How does your site look from those mobile devices?

Now, you know that you have those users that they are using the iPhone or maybe a BlackBerry, Simian, whatever. How does your site look from those devices? You can use some tools. Screenfly is specifically good to see the different resolutions, how your site looks from the different resolutions on the different smartphones, tablets, mobile phones. Google Master Tools also has a feature named Fetch as Googlebot. You can set the smartphone option so you can see how the bot is really looking at your code, verify the code that they are really getting from your site, and eliminate any possibility of redirections that you may have at the beginning of something.

You can also use the add-on from Firefox, use their agents feature. You can switch to mobile or smartphone user agent. This relays how your site is also reachable from those type of devices easily.

So, now you know how your site looks. You may have problems with those types of users that can use certain types of smartphones, and maybe you need to improve a little bit how your site looks in them. Okay. That's the first thing to do.

Then the next question is: What type of mobile web is better for you?
Because of the analytics, okay, I know that I have a lot of possibilities. I know that my site is not really attractive for this type of device. But that doesn't mean that you are going to start from scratch doing whatever to make your site friendly. No. You need to identify which is the best strategy for you according to your type of site. Okay?

So the first site -- and this is the recommendation from Google and it's very, very popular nowadays also from a development perspective -- it's the responsive website. This is the ideal situation, also, if you have the same content that you want to deliver for the mobile and the desktop user. You have the flexibility to implement. You have a good CMS or you have development resources that may facilitate the implementation, but let's say that maybe you cannot change something on your site or you have a not flexible CMS and you have just switched six months ago. Maybe you have problems there to implement it. Right? This is, of course, the best for smartphone users or tablet users.

If you have a feature phone base of users that you have identified before, maybe it's not the ideal, because you will have more problems to make this site that is good for desktop also good for a feature phone.

So the responsiveness, you ask a question for this, but then, if some of those different criteria that I have discussed before are not met, you might consider the dynamic serving in the same URL. This is more suitable for those sites that want to really offer a different type of content, produce a type of users. Remember that a lot of mobile users are also users that are looking for local type of searches that you may verify before with a keyword tool or Google Analytics, but that means that maybe, for those type of users, you want to provide some specific offer, a coupon, something different, maybe references to go walk into your next store, a different type of content than for the typical desktop user. Right? So this will be the alternative.

If you cannot implement responsive, I have talked before, if you have feature phone users, then you will do dynamic serving in the same URL. That means that you will be at a parallel site, but this site or this content will be shown through the same URL. The thing is to implement the user agent detection so instead of showing one version of the content, you will show the other.

If you, for some reason, have no other possibility to implement this, then you will move to the parallel site in an "m" subdomain. This means that you will build off a parallel site, but it won't be shown on the same URL as the previous option. Then you will need to add some text or rel=alternate tag to refer user from the desktop version to the mobile one. Also, vice versa, with a canonical tag. So, like this, you won't have any content duplication problems.

At the end of the day, this is not optimal because this means that the crawler, Google, will need to really identify much more content, and you will give much more work to the crawler. It won't be as neat as to have just one URL for everything. You will need to work more also to improve the popularity of this other parallel site because you don't have the same URL for everything. So it's not the ideal situation really.

The fourth question that might arise is: How can Google find my mobile site now, if it is not responsive? Of course, if it's responsive, it's the exact same content that will be shown to the desktop user as to the mobile one.

So what will happen in this situation? For example, you have a parallel in a "m" subdomain. You will need to generate a mobile sitemap and upload it through Google Webmaster Tools. Of course, links, it is always a good practice to link between one version and another of the site if you're using different URLs. Of course, good dynamic serving. If you're using the dynamic server with the same URL, sometimes it's not well-configured.

At the end of the day, the Google bot doesn't realize that there's another version there hidden somewhere. This is not cloaking because you will actually show the exact same information not only to the mobile bot, but also to the mobile user. As long as the user and the bot see the same thing, it's not cloaking, really, but you need to verify that it's well-
configured. That's why it's very important that you check the feature on Google master tools and see if the mobile Google bot user agent is really seeing the code that you want.

So, these are the most difficult questions that arise when you are developing your mobile SEO strategy. I hope that these are of use for you now that this is a very hot topic. You verify and validate first if it has a sense to enable these type of sites right now for you. If it does, where are the best options to do it?

Thank you very much for the opportunity.

Video transcription by Speechpad.com

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Seth's Blog : With an open heart and an open mind

With an open heart and an open mind

It might not be warranted, but you won't get far without it. Don't bother going to that meeting or reading that book unless you can momentarily assume the message comes from a place of goodwill and generosity.

Skepticism doesn't help you hear.

• Email to a friend •

joi, 23 august 2012

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

Trends in Interest Rates on National Debt Suggest Currency Crisis is Coming

Posted: 23 Aug 2012 10:40 AM PDT

Here are a couple of charts from Tim Wallace regarding interest on the national debt. The first chart shows the interest rate is falling as debt skyrockets.

Interest Rates vs. National Debt

click on any chart for sharper image

Key Questions

How long can the trend last?
How low will the rate go?

I do not know the answers to those questions, nor does anyone else. However, a rise in interest rates would cause a shocking increase in interest on the national debt.

Interest on National Debt at Current Rate vs. Historical Average

Should interest rates rise to the long-term average, interest on the national debt would more than double from the 2011 figure of $454 billion dollars.

Here is a chart from the National Debt Clock site.

The site notes "Maturity of U.S. debt ranges from less than a year to over 20 years, with the average maturity about 3 years. More than half of the debt, however, is short term, maturing in less than a year."

That is an interesting assertion short-term debt is at .09%, 10-year notes yield 1.67%, and the 30-year bond yields a mere 2.79%.

However, interest is on outstanding securities. A bond with a 6% yield maintains that yield until maturity. The average yield in Wallace's charts paid comes from Treasury Direct.

Currency Crisis Coming

If you get the idea a crisis of some sort is coming, fueled by out-of-control deficit spending as well as the Fed's ridiculous "Operation Twist Policy", then you get the right idea.

The Fed ought to be selling long-term bonds at these rates, locking in financing at attractive rates, not buying those bonds hoping to drive yields still lower.

Of course, that latter statement assumes there should be a Fed or deficit spending in the first place, neither of which I believe.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List

Eurozone PMI Declines 7th Month; German Private Sector Output Falls at Faster Rate; New Business Declines 13th Month

Posted: 23 Aug 2012 08:52 AM PDT

As easily predicted, at least in this corner, the Markit Flash Eurozone PMI® shows Downturn in Eurozone economy extends into seventh month.

Key Points

Flash Eurozone PMI Composite Output Index(1) at 46.6 (46.5 in July). Seventh straight contraction.

lash Eurozone Services PMI Activity Index(2) at 47.5 (47.9 in July). Two-month low.

Flash Eurozone Manufacturing PMI(3) at 45.3 (44.0 in July). Four-month high.

Flash Eurozone Manufacturing PMI Output Index(4) at 44.6 (43.4 in July). Two-month high.

The Markit Flash Eurozone PMI® Composite Output Index – based on around 85% of usual monthly replies – was broadly unchanged at 46.6 in August, from a final reading of 46.5 in July. The index has now signalled a contraction of the Eurozone private sector for seven successive months.

The decline in total activity was widespread across the currency union. Flash readings for France and Germany pointed to contractions, with the rate of decline easing in France but gathering pace in Germany. There was also a further marked decline in output outside of the big-two economies.

The latest decline in overall output mainly reflected a further marked drop in new orders. Incoming new business fell for the thirteenth consecutive month, although the rate of contraction was less sharp than July (which was the steepest for over three years). Rates of decline slowed at both manufacturers and service providers.
The export performance of manufacturers also remained in the doldrums during August. New export orders (including intra-Eurozone trade) declined for the fourteenth month running, with the rate of reduction the sharpest since last November. This reflected not only the ongoing weaknesses of the Eurozone market, but also a softer rate of global economic expansion.

The ongoing downturn in the Eurozone economy filtered through to the labour market. Staffing levels declined for the eighth consecutive month, with payroll numbers cut at both manufacturers and service providers.

Prevailing Amusement and Misguided Hope

As is typical, comments from economists provide a source of entertainment.

Commenting on the flash PMI data, Rob Dobson, Senior Economist at Markit said: "The August Markit Eurozone Flash PMI reinforces the prevailing view of the economy dropping back into recession during the third quarter of 2012. ...

The real interest inevitably comes from the national breakdown. Hopes that German economic strength will aid recovery in the broader currency union were dealt a blow by its rate of economic contraction accelerating, and further signs that its export engine has slammed into reverse gear. France may be edging closer to stabilisation, while conditions outside of the big-two remain weak overall."

Notice the silliness of the "prevailing view" the eurozone will "drop back into recession".

The eurozone is without a doubt in a full blown recession. As called in this corner, it was foolish to believe Germany would not join the party. Moreover, talk that "France may be edging closer to stabilisation" is also nonsense as Hollande's policies will soon start to take a big toll on the French economy.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List

Damn Cool Pics

Dogs Being Shamed With Signs
Video Game Characters vs. Real Life
The Most Influential People Made in the USA [Infographic]
Humpback Whale Scares Kayakers in Avila Beach
30 Back to School Fails

Dogs Being Shamed With Signs

Posted: 23 Aug 2012 12:14 PM PDT

A new on Tumblr called "Dog Shaming" collects the pictures of bad dogs being shamed by posing with a sign that describes their wrongdoings. Here are some of the best pictures from it.

Video Game Characters vs. Real Life

Posted: 23 Aug 2012 10:30 AM PDT

This is a cool list of famed video game characters and the facial models that inspired them. Many heroes and villains are created from scratch, but with facial mapping tech these days, there's no reason that a real human shouldn't be used.

The Most Influential People Made in the USA [Infographic]

Posted: 23 Aug 2012 08:50 AM PDT

The following infographic from Victor Pest Control takes a look at some of the world's most influential people, all of who were "Made in the USA."Learn who has made significant impacts on history both nationally and globally.

Click on Image to Enlarge.

Humpback Whale Scares Kayakers in Avila Beach

Posted: 22 Aug 2012 08:32 PM PDT

A woman kayaking in the middle of a California bay has captured the moment a massive whale unexpectedly jumped out of the water just metres away from her daughter.

Rhonda Burmeister was out paddling with her daughter at Port San Luis on the weekend when a swarm of seagulls started diving into a nearby patch of water.

Moments later a humpback whale jumped out of the water right beside them.

While she admits the up close encounter could have ended badly, Ms Burmeister said it was one of the best experiences of her life, television station KSBY reports.