SEO… The Good, The Bad and The Google

In the Indian Ocean off the Horn of Africa lies a small archipelago of four islands and islets. Although closer to Africa, the islands are part of the Republic of Yemen. The archipelago consists of the main island of Socotra and three smaller islands known collectively as The Brothers Abd al Kuri, Samhah and Darsa.

The islands were separated from the mainland so long ago that much of their flora and fauna has evolved here, making the islands of great ecological importance. Due to their geographical isolation, the islanders have also had little outside influence, and arriving on Socotra is like stepping back in time.

The culture on Socotra is very different from the ways of the modern world. Until the airport was built in 1999, the only way to get here was by boat, and during the monsoon season the strong winds and high seas made the island inaccessible.

Most Socotris still live without electricity, running water or a paved road. Until 1990 the island still had a barter economy, and even today most people in the mountainous areas still live in caves. The main island is a little over 130 km (80 mi) long and around 35 km (21 mi) wide.

Socotra is a place of contrasting landscapes, with the turquoise lagoon at Qalansiya and the white sand dunes at Ras Moroi, the flower-filled alpine meadows of the Haghier Mountains and the desolate cave-riddled plateau of the interior. Rising to over 1,500 m (4,921 ft), the Haghier Mountains loom over Hadibo, the island’s capital, and dominate the skyline.

The red granite peaks are peppered with silver lichens which grow thickly on the bare rocks above the tree line. Streams bubble down from the misty heights, teeming with lively fish and freshwater crabs. Limestone plateau spread east and west, providing alkaline soils for the iconic Dragon’s Blood Tree for which the islands are famous. The locals collect the blood-red resin, known as cinnabar, from the tree by making incisions in the bark.

In the ancient world, it was used to enhance the colour of precious stones and glass, and as a pigment in paints, and had various medicinal qualities. The long isolation of the Socotra archipelago and its fierce heat and drought have combined to create a unique endemic flora and fauna.

There are no fewer than 300 plant species, 113 insect species, 24 reptile species and six bird species that can be found nowhere else in the world. Botanists rank the flora of Socotra among the ten most endangered island flora in the world, and steps are being taken by the government to protect this unique and spectacular habitat.

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Digital Printing, as its name implies, is the process of producing digital images on physical surfaces (called substrates) using either toner or ink jets. These substrates can include film, common paper, plastic photographic paper, and even cloth.

Digital printing is by far the quickest and most affordable printing technique for a quantity of 500 prints or less. It is often used in preparing cards, multi-page documents, brochures, sell sheets, flyers, video boxes and CD packaging. Digital printing has several advantages over the traditional, and often more expensive, offset printing. Some of these advantages include:

Turnaround: If you need the work done fast, digital usually offers very fast delivery.

Cost-effective: In addition to being user-friendly, digital printing has low setup costs.

Proofing: Digital offers accurate proofs since you see an actual sample of the printed piece.

Customisation: Digital printing offers affordable and easy customisation of marketing materials, direct mail pieces, letters, etc.

For the domestic user: The ink and cartridges used for this kind of printing are widely available.

As you can see from the many advantages discussed above, it is little wonder why this form of printing is fast becoming the most popular method of printing.

To make the most of your digital printing, here are some helpful hints that will make the whole process of error and stress free:

- Wear cotton gloves and keep the printing media away from dust and grime.

- Give enough time for inkjet prints to dry.

- For preserving unused media, store in a plastic cover.

Digital printing has eliminated the long and laborious steps that are involved with traditional printing. It provides a much more affordable printing option for lower quantities. If you are after faster turnaround times with excellent print quality, then you should opt for digital printing.

For all your printing services including digital printing, business cards, brochures, posters and much more visit www.admc.com.au, one of Australia’s leading digital printing companies.

Schoolies, or more correctly, school leavers week, is a yearly right of passage for thousands of Australian teens. It usually happens a week or so after the end of Grade 12 exams. Originally starting at the Gold Coast in Queensland, it has grown to include many more tourist destinations. Schoolies is very big business and injects millions of dollars into the tourism economy.

If you believe the nightly news, Schoolies is all about alcohol, sex, music, car accidents and violence. It isn’t. It’s just that the conservative press play to established prejudices so they can sell products that appeal to the over 55 viewing audience.

Notwithstanding all the bad publicity about Schoolies week, tens of thousands of Australian teenagers have a wonderful time during their post exam Year 12 break. The reality is that because of all the bad publicity, Schoolies is now a very safe activity well serviced by police, ambulance and volunteer organisations like Red Frog. The local and State governments pour lots of taxpayer’s resources into helping keep Schoolies safe.

If you or your children are considering going to Schoolies this year, here 10 tips to improve safety and enjoyment.

Fights – get help, don’t get involved
When lots of young men, and more recently, young woman, get into large groups and consume alcohol, there is an increased chance of disagreements leading to fights. If one of your friends gets involved in a fight, don’t get involved, get help from police or other authorities. If you get involved one of two things may happen: you will get hurt, or you will hurt somebody. Both can have very bad consequences.

Learn what a standard drink looks like
If you are going to drink alcohol, drink in moderation. Three to four standard drinks in a six hour period would be a reasonable amount. Ask your parents what a standard drink of beer, spirits or wine looks like, or read the label. A standard drink is a lot less than you may think.

Use protection
Did you know that 500 babies are conceived at schoolies each year? Boys will be boys and girls will be girls. Unfortunately this leads to unwanted pregnancies and the spread of nasty diseases. If you are going to indulge in sexual activities, use protection.

The Police are there to help you
Police love Schoolies week. It means they get to do what’s called “Specials”; big slabs of overtime. If you do get involved with police be respectful and don’t be a smart-mouth. You will not win a battle of wits or a physical encounter. And having to fetch your parents or guardians and go to court the next morning is not a good look.

Leave no one behind
When at Schoolies team up with a friend or two and don’t get separated. At the end of the night’s activities make sure you are still all together and do what the Marines do: leave no one behind. That cute guy you met will still be around tomorrow morning. Give him your number and agree to meet-up in the morning. In the harsh light of a sober day you may have to reconsider.

Have an escape and evasion plan
If you are really unlucky and everything turns pear-shaped, make sure you have an escape and evasion plan. Agree with your friends a secret code word that when spoken means “lets get out of here right now and meet up at the agreed location”. Make sure you have enough cash, enough clothing and all the location details you need to get back to your emergency rendezvous point to plan the next move.

In case of emergencies
A lot of people don’t know this but police, ambos and other emergency service workers when dealing with an unconscious person look in the address book of the person’s mobile phone. They are looking for an entry called ICE. It stands for “In Case of Emergency call this number”. Make sure you have an ICE number in your phone. It could be a friend, it could be a parent or guardian. Do it now.

Watch out for the unknown silent killer
Do you know what the biggest life-threatening risk at Schoolies is? It’s not drugs, car accidents, or violence or the other risks reported in the news. It is sunburn. The second degree burns you get during schoolies week this year may turn into the skin cancer that kills you in 20 or 30 years time. As the ad says, slip on shirt, slop on some sunscreen and slap on a hat. Get in shade in the hotter parts of the day and if you are drinking alcohol, drink at least one glass of water for each standard drink.

Watch Out for Valuables
Lots of young excited people tend to attract thieves and other low-life. If you are going to Schoolies only take stuff you are prepared to lose. Borrow you Dad’s old clunky mobile phone, leave the fancy jewelry and shoes at home, don’t make yourself a target by strutting around with the latest iPhone or notebook.

A Note to Parents
If your child is going to Schoolies make sure they understand that’s it’s OK to call them at any time of the day or night. Preplan an emergency pickup point. Work out a way they can get emergency cash in a hurry.

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Paper originated in China in about AD 105. It reached Central Asia by 751 and Baghdad by 793, and then by the 14th century there were paper mills in several parts of Europe. The invention of the printing press in about 1450 markedly increased the demand for paper, and at the beginning of the 19th century wood and other vegetable pulps began to replace rags as the foremost source of fibre for papermaking.

Earlier than 1798, Nicholas-Louis Robert invented the first paper-making machine. Using a moving screen belt, paper was made one sheet at a time by dipping a frame or mould with a screen bottom into a vat of pulp. A few years later the brothers Henry and Sealy Fourdrinier improved Robert’s machine, and then in 1809 John Dickinson invented the first cylinder machine.

Although most steps in papermaking have become highly mechanized, the basic process has remained essentially the same. First of all, the fibres are separated and wetted to produce the paper pulp, or stock. The pulp is then filtered on a woven screen to form a sheet of fibre, which is pressed and compacted to squeeze out most of the water. The remaining water is removed by evaporation, and the dry sheet is further compressed and, depending upon the intended use, coated or impregnated with other substances.

Differences regarding grades and types of paper are decided by several factors: the kind of fibre being used; the preparation of the pulp, which can be either by mechanical (groundwood) or chemical (primarily sulfite, soda, or sulfate) methods, or by a combination of both; by the adding of more substances to the pulp, the most common being bleach or colouring and sizing, the latter to reduce penetration by ink; by conditions under which the sheet is formed, including its weight; and by the physical or chemical treatments applied to the finished sheet.

Although wood has become the major source of fibre for papermaking, rag fibres are still used for paper of the greatest strength, resistance to mould, and permanence. Recycled wastepaper (including newsprint) and paperboard are also important sources. Still other fibres used include straw, bagasse (residue from crushed sugarcane), esparto, bamboo, flax, hemp, jute, and kenaf. Some paper, particularly specialty items, is made using synthetic fibres.

Weight or substance per unit area, called basis weight, is measured in reams (now commonly 500 sheets). Paper is also measured by caliper (thickness) and density. The strength and durability of paper is determined by factors such as the strength and length of the fibres, as well as their bonding ability, and the formation and structure of the sheet. The optical properties of paper include its brightness, colour, opacity, and gloss. Among the most important paper grades are bond, book, bristol, groundwood and newsprint, kraft, paperboard, and sanitary.

If you are looking for arts supplies or school art supplies, make sure you visit Discount Art Warehouse for all your art supplies and art paper.

Take charge of getting your site established by a developer and comprehend the process it will save you money and attain you a site that actually works the intended purpose!

1. Comprehending your business and how you are currently positioned in your market.
In order to author a site that truly meets your requirements; you first need to have a full knowledge of your business including your products, and/or services and more importantly their market position. You then have to acknowledge how you want to explain your business and what it offers in 7 seconds or less. Sounds impossible? Well that is the average time that a user will consider the point “is this site I searched for?”.

2. Budget and estimation
Have a budget in mind and don’t be afraid to let the developers know what it is. In saying this: BE REALISTIC, $500 will never see a great web site created, nor will they be anything left in the bank to market it.

3. The creative process
Be loaded with example sites and more importantly the elements of the site you like so they can achieve an understanding of what you would like to see on your site and also what you find frustrating about other sites. This will build a good profile and identify not only what type of site to construct for you but your tolerance to colours, animations, layouts etc. for your requirements which will allow for fast development. The more interaction and information you give them in the beginning the more time you will save everybody in the long run by becoming what you want 1st time round. Check with the designers on how many rounds of changes come with the contract, most will allow for a total conceptual redesign only once and 2 rounds of changes after that.

4. Production and Content
After the home page design is created, the developers will more than likely collect the general layout of this concept and then formulate the inner page template. It is this template that will be replicated for most of your pages for your site.
Present your content in a pre-proofed word processed document; don’t get too creative with the document fonts etc. as these will not be preserved when the content is copied into the code of the site. It is suggested that you do use bolding, underlining, headings and sub heading though ,as these highlights are transferred into the site and are essential later on in not only getting the point across to the reader but for Search Engine Optimisation.
One last tip for content; provide a decent amount of content but present it in a way that a reader may accomplish a summary of what you are trying to infer across in the 1st couple of paragraphs and an image or to. The rest of the paragraphs that get into finer details ARE FOR GOOGLE !

5. Development Programming and CMS
If your website contains Content Managed Areas (CMS) or has any other dynamic sections the developers will wrap your design around a content management program such as Joomla or Drupal or they may have a custom built system. Make sure that you get to see how the CMS system works on another site they have developed or an example site they may have. You need to know that you can use and understand the system when your site is complete.

6. Testing and training
We work closely with the developers to test your site especially if there are any CMS or special programs that have been created for you. You can guarantee if it is has just been written for you then it will not operate 100% first time round. This is a where things can get ugly in the process you must understand the way the program operates and test it as if you were normal website user. If it doesn’t make sense to you, chances are it won’t make sense to your audience. Make sure you test your website on more than just your browser, try to test it on Internet Explorer, Firefox and Safari. All of these browsers are on the internet for free!

7. Launch – going live
When the developers are ready to bring your site live make sure you have finished the above testing step until you are happy that this website is the best representation of your business / product it can be. Remember even though you can change things after going live it is still a poor reflection on your business if there are spelling mistakes or broken images when you launch.

8. Marketing
There is little point in having a website if nobody visits it, make sure as part of you contract you have considered search engine optimisation and or search engine marketing as part of your website build. This is the absolute most important factor of the whole process. If you are the only one looking at your site then you are in trouble.Remember Search Engine Optimisation is about 30% Onsite (getting your site correct for Search Engine to index correctly) and 70% Promotion. Any developer who tells you otherwise hasn’t been in the industry too long.

For more information about web design, contact Web Site Blue. Our web designers understand marketing as well as design.

Tobago is the beautiful, reserved, soul-sister of exciting Trinidad, its partner in the Republic. The contrast is awesome. Tobago is small and it has no major industry to impinge on its lush fertility. It has one main town, Scarborough, and dozens of hamlets and villages with names that reflect the Spanish, French, Dutch, and English colonial powers which coveted it for centuries.

Outside the small holdings of its sparse population, it is full of nature reserves harbouring wildlife otherwise found only on the South American mainland of which it was once part. At its highland heart, among the many waterfalls splashing down into idyllic bathing pools among the rocks and ferns, Tobago protects the oldest untouched tropical rainforest in the hemisphere.

The rainy season between June and December (short, sharp bursts, and a brilliant time to take a swim) freshens the landscape, which erupts into a natural carnival of colourful flowers. This is matched underwater, where the myriad flashing shoals play lethal hide-and-seek among the cup coral in the canyons and deep caves where barracuda, dolphin and manta rays cruise.

You can dig for chip-chip (a kind of shell fish), in the warm clear water of Manzanilla Bay, or hunt the big game fish like marlin, wahoo and yellow-fin tuna. You can have double fun in the knowledge that there’s nothing in Tobago, in the water or on land, to kill you. Unlike Australia there are no man-eating sharks, box jelly fish, lethal spiders, or poisonous snakes.

Undeveloped (no house, hotel or resort is allowed to build anything higher than a palm tree grows) and peaceful, Tobago does however know how to party.

Carnival here is homespun, but just as colourful, rum-fuelled and happily energetic as anywhere. What’s more, you can practice every week throughout the year at the open air dance they call Sunday School.

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South of Cuba in the heat of the western Caribbean, the three Cayman Islands are the visible summits of the Cayman Ridge, an underwater mountain range which drops suddenly into the 7,100 m (22,000 ft) Cayman Trench, separating them from Jamaica.

Grand Cayman is by far the largest. The Sister Islands of Cayman Brac and Little Cayman are mostly a wilderness of fruit trees, orchids and cacti where tranquility and an authentic West Indian culture are the main attractions. Just 145 km (90 ml) to the southwest, Grand Cayman at first resembles nothing so much as a transplanted American urban nightmare.

The capital, George Town, and Seven Mile Beach, its renowned local playground, are full of condos, resorts, satellite dishes and mini-malls. The streets teem with bankers and the faceless suits of the institutions that have made it the world’s fifth largest financial centre.

Five days a week, cruise liners decant up to 22,000 tourists, joining the millions each year whose holidays have given the Cayman Islands the eighth highest GDP per capita in the world.

George Town is so busy, loud, and determinedly up for it, you feel the privateers and pirates of former times have merely put on modern dress in their eagerness to empty your wallet.

In the small towns and villages outside George Town, the atmosphere changes immediately. Grand Cayman’s true self is African-European, deeply Christian, conservative and church-going (there are lots of churches).

The locals are openly friendly and well-mannered, laughing and hospitable. Isolated by the central mangrove wetlands -3,440 hectares (8,500 acres) of lush forests, emerald green parrots and bright orange frogfish, the mainspring of the complex ecology that maintains both the turtle grass and shrimp mounds of North Sound Marine Reserve, Rum Point typifies Grand Cayman at its best.

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How many times have you sent business cards to print and received yet another version of your corporate colour? Ever been excited to see your advert in the latest newspaper and then caught that the crucial tag line is not present or your logo has been ruined.

There is only one way to thwart this from happening and that is to create a style guide. Not only will a style guide aid you oversee the reproduction of your logo – it will also help you reinforce your brand recognition, which many argue is one of the strongest selling tools.

We have placed the below steps together for you as a starting point.

Step 1 : Outline the audience for your Style Guide. Is this for staff to utilize in-house or is this for suppliers and contractors to refer to?

Step 2 : Define what your output uses are. This is important because you will want different logos and file formats for example, black and white publication adverts in comparison to vehicle graphics.

Step 3 : Define the tone for the copy and content required. For example you may wantcopy rules for printed content and then copy rules for website content.

Content rules cover all punctuation rules and how to specify to the business and team.

Step 4 : Insure you layout all the design templates so it is clear how and where the logo and branding sits on all the different pieces of collateral that may be reproduced.

Step 5 : Make certain to include any contributing logos or logos of business that are linked with you. It’s also important that you send a copy of the layout to these companies to guarantee they agree with the layout of their logo as they too may have their own Style Guide and hierarchy layout rules.

Step 6 : Make certain that grammar, spelling and contact details are correct.

Step 7 : Ensure that when suppliers are using the Style Guide they know that a proof needs to be commissionedto you to be validated as correct.

Make your Style Guide finished and as tight as possible. Then have it saved in an email friendly file format and have a couple printed. Once this is done we strongly advocate a training session, whereby your design studio comes in and trains your staff on how to utilize the Style Guide and most importantly your brand.

For graphic design Brisbane, contact Bydaughters today. We help your brand build business.

So you want to work in a web development company in Brisbane? This article gives you useful tips and advice for all would-be web developers in Australia’s most livable city.

The web development job market is very crowded in Australia, as it is in most countries. Not only do you have fully qualified people looking for jobs, but you also have self taught enthusiasts and those who think being able to edit a MySpace page means they can be called web designers. Fortunately there is also a high demand for web development so new job opportunities are springing up all the time.

One of the big choices that you have to make when looking for a job in web design is do you want to work in a small or large firm. In Brisbane we have a good mixture of these two types, so there is plenty of choice.

Let’s look at the relative advantages and disadvantages of working for small or large firm.

Small Firms

Small firms offer the advantage of a high level of variation in work. One day you may be making simple edits to a web site the next you might be designing a site from scratch. Another advantage that you might find is that you are able to effect the strategy and direction of the design firm. If it’s a small team your views will be heard and your decisions will make a difference. Of course this can lead to higher levels of responsibility and therefore stress, but at least you’ll feel in control of your own destiny. You will have to be prepared to use a wide range of skills in a small firm, if you only know Dreamweaver then a small firm is probably not the place for you, but if you are happy to jump into Photoshop, think nothing of setting up an FTP connection and know your way around the most popular content management systems, you might feel right at home.

Disadvantages of working for a small firm include the amount of relatively menial tasks that may have to be performed. For example you might be hoping to test your design skills to the full and feel disappointed to be doing text updates or admin tasks. The lack of a structure at work may also be frustrating; an ‘all hands on deck’ approach is often used in small firms.

From a monetary point of view working in a small firm can be good and bad. Many small firms are cash strapped and can’t match the salaries of the big firms, but they can experience far higher growth. Your input could result in a small firm’s output increasing substantial and potentially upping your salary. My advice would be to negotiate some kind of profit sharing or commission incentive; it’ll help you get more dollars in your pocket and keep you focused and interested in your work.

Large Firms

It can often appear quite glamorous; flash offices, big clients, impressive colleagues. And it is true that you will probably be exposed to the higher end of the market, but that doesn’t mean you’ll be wining and dining clients and working on the glitziest projects all the time. Starting out in a large web design company often means starting low and working your way up, so be prepared to do the hard yards. The ability for you to make decisions and to affect the company’s direction will almost certainly be limited compared to working in a small firm.

The large firms can often afford to pay web designers very well and in the right place your skills and talents should be noticed and rewarded, but perhaps not as quickly as in a small firm. Larger firms can also allow for a greater degree of specialisation, you may have responsibility for just one special element of web design. Whether this is seen as an advantage or not will be an indicator as to your suitability for life with the big boys.

Brisbane’s Choice

In Brisbane we have a wide range of web development firms that can be seen as potential employers. The larger companies tend to be in the CBD and you will have to make appointments either with the human resources department or via a recruitment firm. Sending a resume in will not do any harm especially if you include examples of your work.

I would recommend avoiding the very smallest of firms as these are often home office type setups and may not be run very professionally. The next step up are the small firms with offices or shops, of these I would chose the most visibly and active, after all you don’t want to work in dingy back office with no new clients.

Look in the areas of Brisbane known for creative industries; these include Woolloongabba, West End and the Valley. Have a walk around and get a feel for the how the firms look and how busy they seem. Don’t be afraid to pop in and have chat.

BA Creative is a small Brisbane web development firm with a lovely shop in Woolloongabba. Pop in to talk about great web design. Peter Accini is the Creative Director of BA Creative a boutique design firm (web, print, signage, anything) with offices in Brisbane and Melbourne. For web design Brisbane, contact BA Creative today.

In the advertising industry the influence of an advert is measured by:- How many people it targets, how many times they see it, do they relate to it?, do they remember what it was selling?, and most importantly, will it make them buy?

We cannot think of any other sort of advertising that is as effective as promotional products at delivering you exposure to customers and creating goodwill that leads to sales.

Consider these examples:-

1. A low cost item like a promotional fridge magnet, custom notepad or promotional drink bottle will offer your company a lot of repeat advertising exposure to your customer. Your logo/message (or perhaps something as rudimentry as your telephone number) will always be at hand – they will not have to look through the Yellow Pages to find your (and your competitors) details.

2. Being given a mid priced item like a promotional desk clock, a branded mousemat or a logo printed coffee mug will exhibit to your existing customers that you appreciate them, they will thank you for it, which in turn will generate goodwill towards you and your business. Furthermore it will offer years of daily exposure to your logo/message. The cost of pre exposure (to your message) will be miniscule.

3. Top clients and staff are integral to our business and they will be to yours too. Studies have shown that happy staff are productive staff and you will know how much business, say, your top twenty five customers provide. A $30 thank you gift will represent less than 1/1000 of most employees yearly pay!

It may be a smaller fraction of a contract you are tendering for or the annual sales volume of clients. Some of the largest companies we know are not huge payers but place importance on staff contentment and showing them they are appreciated – they often use Corporate Gifts. Simply acknowledging someone and telling them they are great is good but the act of giving is a lot more powerful.

What are Promotional Products?

Promotional Products are gifts that can be decorated with a clients name, logo or message on them. The industry is rapidly growing and has a value of $3.0 billion per annum in Australia. Marketers need to brand their organisation, product, or service is the reason they use Promotion Product’s items and services.

Several other media options are available – newspaper, radio, and direct mail to name a few – these however do not offer the accountability offered by Promotional Product Marketing. Promotional Products work, as not only do they communicate your message but your client will thank you for them.

Consider the benefits of Promotional Product Marketing outlined below:

Targeted – Promotional Products are targeted conveying your message only to the people you are appealing to. No non-prospects, no wasted circulation.

Longevity – A well made Promotional Product will be around for years and will be used on a daily basis by your client. No other media presents as much exposure.

Versatility – There are so many applications for Promotional Products Marketing that a listing of them would look like the Sydney telephone directory.

Budget Flexible – From a few cents to hundreds of dollars Promotion Products has items to fulfill your particular communication objectives.

Obligation – productive business is based on healthy relationships. Giving Promotional Products to customers strengthens these relationships and creates an obligation towards doing business with you and your organisation.

Functional – The Promotional Products we offer are useful ensuring that your client will use the gift and be exposed to your message on a daily basis.

Promotion Products is a Brisbane based company that supplies promotional products such as promotional drink bottles and custom notepads and much, much more, call us on 1300 303 717 at anytime.