Alt Attribute & SEO Optimization

SEO Optimization images has become more and more important in SEO (Search Engine Optimization) for websites. The ALT attribute is really a critical step that is often overlooked. This can be a lost opportunity for better rankings.

In Google's webmaster guidelines, they advise the use of alternative text for the images in your web site:

Images:. Use the alt attribute to provide descriptive text. In addition, we recommend utilizing a human-readable caption and descriptive text round the image.

Why would they ask us to do that? The answer is simple, really; search engines like google have the same problem as blind users. They cannot begin to see the images.

Many webmasters and inexperienced or unethical SEOs abuse the use of this attribute, trying to stuff it with keywords, hoping to achieve a certain keyword density, which isn't as relevant for rankings now since it was previously.

On the contrary, high keyword density can, on some search engines like google, trigger spam filters, which may result in a penalty for your site's ranking. Even without such a penalty, your site's rankings won't benefit from this plan.
This process also puts persons who use screen readers at a greater disadvantage. Screen readers are software-based tools that really read aloud the contents of what's displayed on the screen. In browsing the web, the alt attributes of images are read aloud as well.

Imagine listening to a paragraph of text that is then repetitions of many keywords. The page will be far from accessible, and, to put it mildly, would be found quite annoying.
What is an Alt attribute?

An ALT attribute should not be used as a description or a label for an image, though lots of people use it for the reason that fashion. Although it might seem natural to assume that alternate text is really a label or a description, it is not!

The words used inside an image's alt attribute ought to be its text equivalent and convey exactly the same information or serve the same purpose the image would.

The thing would be to provide the same functional information that the visual user would see. The alt attribute text should be the "stand in" when the look is unavailable. Think about this question: Should you replace the look with the text, would most users receive the same basic information, and would it generate the same response?
A few examples:

 

Some SEO Optimization Tips

If a search button is a magnifier or binoculars its alt text ought to be 'search' or 'find' not 'magnifying glass' or 'binoculars'.

If the image is supposed to convey the literal contents of the image, then a description is suitable.

If it's designed to convey data, then that data is what is appropriate.

If it is designed to convey using a function, then the function is what ought to be used.

Some Alt Attribute Guidelines:

Always add alt attributes to images. Alt is mandatory for accessibility and for valid XHTML.

For images that play only a decorative role in the page, use an empty alt (i.e. alt="") or a CSS background image to ensure that reading browsers don't bother users by uttering things like "spacer image".

Keep in mind that it's the function from the image we are trying to convey. For instance; any button images shouldn't range from the word "button" in the alt text. They should emphasize the action performed by the button.

Alt text ought to be determined by context. Exactly the same image inside a different context may require drastically different alt text.

Try to flow alt text with the remainder from the text because that's the way it is going to be read with adaptive technologies like screen readers. Someone hearing your page should hardly be aware that a graphic image is there.
Please remember that utilizing an alt attribute for every image is needed to satisfy the minimum WAI requirements, that are used since the benchmark for accessibility laws in UK and also the remainder of Europe. Also, they are necessary to meet "Section 508" accessibility requirements in america.

It is important to categorize non-text content into three levels:

Eye-Candy
Mood-Setting
Content and Function

I. Eye-Candy

Eye-Candy are things that serve no purpose apart from to create a site visually appealing/attractive and (in many cases) satisfy the marketing departments. There isn't any content value (though there might be value to some sighted user).

Never alt-ify eye-candy unless there is something there that will boost the usability from the site for somebody utilizing a non-visual user agent. Make use of a null alt attribute or background images in CSS for eye-candy.

II. Mood-Setting

This is the middle layer of graphics which may serve to set the atmosphere or set happens so to speak. These graphics are not direct content and may 't be considered essential, but they are important in that they help frame what is going on.

Attempt to alt-ify the second group as is sensible and is relevant. There might be times when doing this might be annoying or detrimental to other users. Then try to avoid it.

For example; Alt text that's identical to adjacent text is unnecessary, and an irritant to screen reader users. I recommend alt="" or background CSS images in such instances. But sometimes, it's vital that you understand this content in there for all users.

Most times this will depend on context. The same image in a different context may require drastically different alt text. Obviously, content should always be fully available. How you use this example is really a judgment call.

III. Content and Function

This is when the look may be the actual content. Always alt-ify content and functional images. Title and long description attributes can also be in order.
The reason many authors can't understand why their alt text isn't working is that they don't know why the pictures exist. You have to figured out exactly what function a picture serves. Consider what it's concerning the image that's vital that you the page's intended audience.

Every graphic includes a reason behind standing on that page: since it either enhances the theme/ mood/ atmosphere or it is advisable to what the page is attempting to describe. Understanding what the image is perfect for makes alt text easier to write. And exercise writing them definitely helps.
A way to look into the usefulness of alternative text is to imagine reading the page over the telephone to someone. An amount you say when encountering a particular image to create the page understandable towards the listener?

Besides the alt attribute you have a couple more tools available for images.
First, in degree of descriptiveness title is within between alt and longdesc. It adds useful information and may add flavor. The title attribute is optionally rendered through the user agent. Remember they are invisible and never shown like a "tooltip" when focus is received via the keyboard. (A lot for device independence). So use the title attribute only for advisory information.
Second, the longdesc attribute points towards the Link to a full description of the image. When the information contained in an image is important towards the meaning of the page (i.e. some important content would be lost when the image was removed), an extended description compared to "alt" attribute can reasonably display should be used. It may offer rich, expressive documentation of the visual image.

It ought to be used when alt and title are insufficient to embody the visual qualities of an image. As Clark [1] states, "A longdesc is a long description of an image...The goal is by using any length of description essential to impart the details from the graphic.

It would not be remiss to hope that a long description conjures an image - the look - in the mind's eye, an analogy that holds true even for the totally blind."

Although the alt attribute is mandatory for web accessibility as well as for valid (X)HTML, not all images need alternative text, long descriptions, or titles.

In many cases, you are best just going with your gut instinct -- if it's not necessary to incorporate it, and if you don't possess a strong urge to do it, don't include that longdesc.

However, if it's essential for the entire page to work, then you have to include the alt text (or title or longdesc).

What's necessary and what's not depends a lot about the function of the image and it is context on the page.

Exactly the same image may need alt text (or title or longdesc) in a single spot, but not in another. If the image provides simply no content or functional information alt="" or background CSS images may be appropriate to use. But if the image provides content or adds functional information an alt would be required and perhaps even a long description would be so as. Oftentimes this type of thing is really a judgement call.

Image Seo optimization Tips

Listed here are key steps in optimizing images:

Choose a logical file name that reinforces the keywords. You can use hyphens within the file name to isolate the keyword, but avoid to exceeding two hyphens. Avoid using underscores as a word separator, such as "brilliant-diamonds.jpg";

Label the file extension. For example, if the image search engine sees a ".jpg" (JPEG) file extension, it's likely to assume the file is a photo, and if it sees a ".gif" (GIF) file extension, it's likely to assume that it is a graphic;

Make sure that the written text at the image that's relevant to that image.
Again, do not lose an excellent opportunity to help your site together with your images searching engines. Use these steps to position better on all of the engines and drive more traffic to your site TODAY.

Website Optimization

OwnLocal is a Y-Combinator bred startup that helps local newspapers survive on the Internet. OwnLocal swoops into small towns sprinkled across America’s less tech savvy plains and puts on quite a clever show. In no way are they grifters; but with their guaranteed promises of success, small town publishers don’t stand a chance.

Lloyd W. Armbrust, II, OwnLocal’s Founder and CEO, puts its technology in the hands of local publications, newspapers or television stations, so that they can then sell successful modern digital strategies like owning a website, blogging, SEO optimization, design, group deals and more to local businesses. In other words, OwnLocal acts like a web development department for local newspapers providing them with simple, sellable products including a white label daily deal product and a white label Yelp-like product.

“In rural America, small businesses would rather the Internet didn’t exist, but it does. We sell a package through their local newspapers that creates a website for them, writes relevant blog posts for them and pushes out media to Twitter and Facebook. So, we manage all of that for them but we do it through their newspaper.”

-Lloyd W. Armbrust

OwnLocal trains local media employees and shows them how to put on a “Web a la carte” presentation for small businesses even though the local businesses may have never heard of Groupon, Yelp or LivingSocial. To date, OwnLocal has powered more than 1,000 small businesses and over 100 publications.

OwnLocal also sells its product, “AdForge” as “the best print-to-digital ad conversion software in the world.” AdForge is designed to take print ads and put them on the web, on mobile and on tablets. AdForge easily converts print ads into clickable, shareable, printable, mappable and sendable digital ads.

Say you’re a lawyer or a plumber, OwnLocal will create websites optimized for search engines and deal with social media elements like blogging, tweeting and Facebooking, saving these small service businesses a lot of time and effort. Businesses can choose from a variety of different websites from simple splash pages to editable, manageable sites. OwnLocal then taps into its network of college students and stay at home moms to write the company’s blog posts. But again, all of this is through the local newspaper.

Today, OwnLocal announces its “Arcade” partnership with HeyZap, another YC startup, to bring more than 50,000 social and casual games to newspapers and local media. Rather than just having a few puzzle games like crosswords and Sudoku, newspapers will have access to games that reflect what their audiences have come to expect from social networks and social game sites. Initial launch partners include A.H. Belo Corp.‘s The Press-Enterprise and Impre Media, the largest Spanish language newspaper group in America as well as 25 other newspapers. OwnLocal expects that newspapers will see financial benefits, increased time-on-site and more return visits.

In York, Nebraska– a town with a population of 10,000– OwnLocal made The York News Times $140,000 last year. OwnLocal takes 30% and the newspaper gets the remaining 70% of revenues from its tech products sold. $100,000-300,000 is an easy number to make for local papers, says Armbrust.  OwnLocal doesn’t work with media outlets that have circulations less than 1,000. And its sophisticated system tell them exactly how much money they can make just from circulation numbers. Guaranteed revenue reports based on circulation for dying newspapers? Maybe dreams do come true.

“The community newspaper I worked at was purchased and sold to Gatehouse Media. I started thinking, what can we do? Is there a situation where you can make this product that’s all-encompassing that could make these newspapers money? I felt for these guys. Print is declining.”

–Lloyd Armbrust

Armbrust has worked in the newspaper industry for 11 years, including two years working on OwnLocal. His Co-Founder Jason Novack is the hardcore hacker in the pair. Armbrust says their main competitor, ReachLocal charges 5 times as much as OwnLocal because they utilize a network of 1,000 local sales reps.

To date, OwnLocal has received just under a million seed funding from Y Combinator, Baseline Ventures, Lerer Media Ventures, Paul Buchheit, Joshua Schachter and Alex Moore.

Conversion rate optimization (CRO) is the hot new thing because of the potential it has to double your revenue without doubling your costs, which also allows you to increase your marketing budgets and makes marketing your business more profitable.

Most companies neglect CRO though, not because they don’t think it’s important, but because their tech team is preoccupied with many, many other things. Building great products and software as well as maintaining them certainly isn’t an easy job.

First, let’s focus on a few rules on what to test for CRO and how to test:

1. Define the challenge (more sales of A, more newsletter subscriptions, more visitors funneling to the next page) and the webpage to test

2. List potential reasons for your low conversion, problem areas on the webpage

• Think about what’s essential to the webpage and what could be removed


• Get some users and survey them on where the friction is. Ask them questions like “What would you change on this page?”


• Use tools like CrazyEgg to get heat maps that show where people are clicking and where their attention is drawn

3. Consider alternatives for the problem areas on the webpage

4. Create and edit images and buttons, change up text (maybe even size and font), rearrange things, or create new pages entirely

5. Don’t get too crazy with all the data and feedback. Go ahead and start testing with just a few variations, see what’s working and optimize some more

When you’re ready to execute on CRO, you can do A/B testing and create your own landing pages without bothering your already busy, probably frequently annoyed-with-you, tech team.

A/B Testing

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Bench Craft Company on the focus of travel

There has been a lot of talk as to whether or not social media is the front runner in another inflated internet bubble waiting to burst, leaving users “virtually” friendless and clueless. Will everyone be out of the loop, with no one keeping track of daily deals, happenings or status updates? Warren Buffet confirmed this fear stating that although it’s not as big as the dot com bubble, social media is not long term by any means. However, industry trends and buyer behaviors are stating otherwise.

Facebook has proven beneficial to marketing efforts for B2C companies, but B2B marketing has struggled to find its footing on the platform. That’s where LinkedIn has emerged as the go-to medium for B2B marketers.

A recent study done by BtoB Magazine, showed that when asked “Which of the following social media methods does your company currently use for your B2B marketing (i.e. not personal use)” 72% of B2B marketers said LinkedIn. After reaching more than 100 million users, LinkedIn has solidified its niche as Facebook in a business suit, and B2B companies have taken notice.

The 2011 State of Inbound Marketing (an annual report done by HubSpot, an inbound marketing software company) found that 61% of B2B marketers who participated in the survey acquired a customer through LinkedIn. The targeted and measurable aspect of inbound marketing is what makes it so attractive to smart business owners who are tired of spending money on marketing with no proof that it’s working. Former Chief Marketing Officer of McDonald’s, M. Lawrence Light said, “It no longer makes economic sense to send an advertising message to the many, in hopes of persuading the few.”

Continued on the next page

"Getting data privacy 'right' is an economic and social imperative. Trust and confidence in the security and privacy of the critical systems of our planet - especially the digital version of its central nervous system, the Internet - is foundational to individuals' continued engagement and reliance on such things as online commerce, e-health and smart grids. If individual consumers don't feel that their privacy and security are protected, they will not support modernization efforts, even though the capabilities of technology advancements are proven and the potential benefits to society are extensive.

"Here's an example of the tensions we face: The ability of smart grids to conserve resources relies on the ability of, and commitment from, consumers to monitor and modify their individual usage. An individual using a smart meter understands the difference in the cost of using electricity at peak versus non-peak hours and could opt to lower their usage during more costly time periods. At the same time, data from the meters can reveal sensitive information such as work habits, shower schedules, use of medical devices such as dialysis, and whether or not a house is occupied."

"I don't worry that the technology will have a negative impact on consumer privacy," wrote Mark Roberti, founder of RFID Journal in a June overview of the state of the RFID market where privacy is concerned. "Instead, I worry that ignorant legislators trying to score points with uninformed voters will pass laws that limit the many benefits RFID can deliver--and that is a much bigger threat to consumers."

Today's agreement in Europe appears not to be the kind of legislation Roberti feared. As a framework focused on self-reporting it may be too little, ultimately, but it's a start.

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Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant fined $100,000 for directing gay slur at ref

Lakers star Kobe Bryant was fined $100,000 by the NBA on Wednesday for a gay slur that commissioner David Stern called "offensive and inexcusable."

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Apple releases iOS 4.3.2 for iPhone, iPad, iPod touch | iLounge <b>News</b>

iLounge news discussing the Apple releases iOS 4.3.2 for iPhone, iPad, iPod touch. Find more Apple news from leading independent iPod, iPhone, and iPad site.

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Groundwater radiation level at nuke plant rises: TEPCO | Kyodo <b>News</b>

The concentration levels of radioactive iodine and cesium in groundwater near the troubled Nos. 1 and 2 reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant have increased up to several dozen times in one week, suggesting that toxic ...

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China is a notoriously tough market for American brands. The last few years has seen tech giants like Google struggle to do business due to restrictive censorship and retail giants like Best Buy and Home Depot have found that heavy price competition makes it hard to gain a toehold. Yet, despite the conventional wisdom, Apple’s business in China is booming and it’s not lower prices but better presentation that’s driving their success.

The Chinese economy is having some of its best years ever due to the rising world demand for consumer electronics, much of which is manufactured in China’s city-sized factories. The Mercury News reports that this has led to the average Chinese citizen being more flush with cash than ever before and ready to spend it on what would previously be deemed as unaffordable luxury.

Paul French of Shanghai-based Access Asia indicates that the increase in middle class affluence is behind the increase in purchasing power. “There is now enough of an urban middle class with enough money to afford Apple products. Five years ago — or even two or three years ago — there weren’t enough of those people.”

Five years ago, Apple didn’t have a retail store in China, now it has four, including a stunning split-level glass and metal flagship store in Sanlitun, an area of Beijing known more for its nightlife than its retail outlets. Those stores aren’t barely surviving either, with $2.6 billion in revenue this year, four times what we saw last year from Apple in China. This should mean that Apple is fighting the price war well in China, offering its products for less than they can be purchased in the US, but that’s not actually true. In fact, Apple sells a comparatively specced 13-inch Macbook Air for $180 more in China than it does stateside.

This success seems to fly in the face of conventional wisdom, typically premium products have not sold well in cost conscious China. Some, like Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, say that Apple will have to eventually compete on price or risk losing the Chinese consumer. “The iPhone is going to be huge in China. That’s a given.” he tells the Mercury News. “But if Apple wants it to flow out across China, it has to come up with lower price points.”

Yet Apple shows no signs of slowing down in the Chinese market, which is projected to account for 10 percent of Apple’s revenue within 5 years.

When asked, locals said that in a country where the people like to try products out before they purchase them, Apple is doing the best job of presenting those products. Apple’s retail stores offer the Chinese consumer a chance to test the products in a beautiful and visually stimulating atmosphere and those efforts are paying off with big sales numbers. This kind of attention to the senses and emotions of the consumer wasn’t pioneered by Apple of course, but they are one of the first major companies to bring that kind of experience to China’s city centers in a big way.

This difference in the way that the products are presented is doing its job in separating Apple’s products from the rest of the pack almost everywhere that its retail stores are located, but nowhere is that effect felt more than in China. A country where consumers are hungry for polished products presented in a stimulating atmosphere and they finally have the cash to afford them.

Apple has reportedly become more aggressive in securing components from overseas suppliers, making moves such as upfront cash payments to both ensure supply and block out competitors.



Analyst Brian White with Ticonderoga Securities said in a note to investors on Thursday that Apple began "aggressively attacking" the component situation in Japan following the earthquake and tsunami that struck the country. The iPhone maker reportedly sent executives to suppliers immediately to ensure adequate supply of components, and also began offering upfront cash payments.



Separately, White's contacts in Taiwan also revealed that Apple is allegedly securing component capacity using what is known as a "three cover guarantee," referring to capacity, stock and price. Apple's move is seen as one that could potentially block out competitors and prevent them from building ample supply of devices.



The information comes as a separate report out of the Far East suggested that a one-month delay for Research in Motion's PlayBook tablet was as a result of Apple securing most of the available touch panel production capacity. The delay has forced the PlayBook to go on sale after Apple's in-demand iPad 2.



Last month, it was said that Apple could agree to price hikes in order to secure touch panel supply, particularly in the aftermath of the Japan earthquake. Apple was said to be in talks with component makers about touch panel pricing, and allegedly considered some price increases in negotiations.



In the company's last quarterly earnings call, Apple Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook revealed that Apple had invested $3.9 billion of its nearly $60 billion in cash reserves in long-term supply contracts. He declined to reveal what components Apple had put its money toward, citing competitive concerns, but said that it was a strategic move that would position the company well in the future.



Analysts largely believe that the secret investment was related to touch panel displays that are the centerpiece of devices like the iPhone and iPad. One cost breakdown estimated that such an investment could secure Apple 136 million iPhone displays, or 60 million iPad touch panels.



It's a move similar to 2005, when Apple inked a major deal with Samsung to secure longterm supply of flash memory. NAND flash would go on to become a major part of Apple's products, including the iPhone, iPad and new MacBook Air.

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It’s not such a wonderful time to be a doctor, patient, hospital, health plan or pharma company, but judging by the quality and quantity of entries received for this edition of the HWR, it’s a wonderful time to be a wonk.

A couple weeks ago CMS released draft rules for Accountable Care Organizations. Several bloggers weighed in on that development:

• Mark McClellan and Elliott Fisher at Health Affairs provide some historical context and argue that “those who care deeply about health care reform all have a common interest in the success of ACOs as a way of avoiding more classic fee-for-service payment cuts to providers.”


• On a more downbeat note, The Road to Health concludes, “Dr. Berwick and his colleagues at CMS appear to have taken the ACO concept and made it into a financial program that only delusional practice administrators, or physician organizations bent on financial self-destruction, could love.”


• The Healthcare IT Guy expects ACOs to be “far more lucrative and disruptive than Meaningful Use and likely to yield more patient quality improvements.”


• GE Healthcare puts the emphasis on ACO change management challenges: “Healthcare executives and management teams are left to focus on preparing their organizations for a cultural shift of seismic proportions.”


• HealthBlawg reviews the proposed rules and produces 8 takeaways. #2: “This is the Frankenstein regulation: A Medicare beneficiary must sit on the board of the ACO, CMS must approve all marketing materials before they are used.”

In the midst of the battle over funding the 2011 budget, House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan came out with a plan to radically restructure Medicare and Medicaid starting in 2012:

• The Apothecary likes much of what he sees and thinks the proposal may force Democrats to devise a credible plan of their own


• John C. Goodman’s Health Policy Blog contrasts PPACA and the Ryan plan. “Obviously, the path we are on leads to an impossible place. So the only question is whether we are going to get off the current path in a planned, orderly way or whether we are going to let unplanned chaos do the trick.”


• Wright on Health is less impressed and wonders, “if Rep. Ryan is so adamant about reducing the deficit, why is he cutting taxes for the wealthy and cutting programs for the poor and the elderly?”


• Managed Care Matters is decidedly unswayed. “If you were looking for real solutions to the health cost problem, you’re going to be sorely disappointed… Unfortunately, he’s fallen into the same trap his Democratic colleagues did with their version of health reform – the Ryan plan does little to address costs.”


• The Incidental Economist takes issue with Ryan’s plan to convert Medicaid to block grants and cut spending. “Should Medicaid be cut back, more people will be uninsured. Contrary to what some wish you to believe, those who become uninsured will suffer worse health outcomes”

As if the ACO rules and Ryan plan weren’t enough, there’s more on Medicare in the blogosphere:

• The Covert Rationing Blog –always good for a lighthearted pick me up– “asserts that we are one giant step closer to the day when it will become illegal for all Americans to spend their own money on their own healthcare.”


• Dr. Liberty discusses CMS’s deliberations on whether to pay for Provenge, a pricey prostate drug. “Decisions are made on the basis of politics, and the drive is to cover everything, leading to higher costs.”

Amid all the federal policy blogging, there’s still some room for technology talk:

• Healthcare Talent Transformation has had it with Health Net’s repeated goof up’s leading to loss of confidential data. Although it may seem like there’s not much the average person can do, the blog argues, “You can make an impact on the security of your sensitive data by conducting due diligence when it comes to your insurance provider.”


• The Healthcare Blog offers a video collage of the new Kaiser Permanente Center for Total Health. “The Center is  a pretty fascinating place–part tech and idea showcase and part meeting room. Certainly no other health care organization that I’m aware of has spent so much on a place designed to stimulate the imagination and enhance conversation–under the nose of the folks on Capitol Hill.”


• Meaningful HIT News features a podcast with mHealth Initiative’s Peter Waegemann, who’s shifted over from EMRs to ride the mobile wave


• Healthcare Economist delves into new papers that, “examined how to develop accurate algorithms to account for cancer stage in studies using claims data.”

It was encouraging to receive a couple submissions about  journalism:

• Disease Care Management Blog asks, “Is the kerfuffle over National Public Radio (NPR) the long delayed comeuppance for liberal bias run amok, or a narrow-minded attack on the inconvenient truths from journalistic excellence?” The blog reaches into the world of medicine and discusses of “framing” and its impact on patient decision making to provide an answer


• HealthNews ReviewBlog cites, “daily evidence of the need for improvement in health care journalism – especially when we see examples like hype of a tiny, preliminary study of strawberries for esophageal cancer.”

We always have room in the Health Wonk Review for some posts on medical ethics:

• Nuts for Healthcare looks at the pharma industry and concludes, “Doctors need to take a more definitive stand against the specter of industry influence. A good target? Industry sponsorship of continuing medical education.”


• Health Care Renewal is concerned that so-called government run programs are more private than we think. “The majority of Medicaid has been out-sourced to private health care insurance companies… We need to have some real discussions about the rise of corporatism in US health care, in other aspects of US society and around the world.”

And finally, a few odds and ends

• Workers’ Comp Insider provides resources for employers concerned about radiation exposure


• Colorado Health Insurance Insider chronicles the decline of bipartisanship in the creation of a health insurance exchange for that state. “Healthcare reform has become such a polarized topic that it’s difficult for lawmakers to have any stance other than for it or against it.  Even though the health insurance exchanges would be marketplaces that sell private health insurance, the word ‘exchange’ has been thrown around so much during the reform debates that many opponents of the PPACA see it as synonymous with ‘ObamaCare.’”


• Last week I went to a health care direct to consumer marketing conference to see former TimeWarner CEO Jerry Levin interviewed by OrganizedWisdom CEO Steve Krein. I also shared my thoughts in the video clip below

Thanks for reading the Health Wonk Review! The Incidental Economist hosts the next edition.

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Next, Odeo moved into an office and started hiring more employees – including a quiet, on-again, off-again Web designer named Jack Dorsey and an engineer named Blaine Cook. Evan Williams became Odeo's CEO.

By July 2005, Odeo had a product: a platform for podcasting.

But then, in the fall of 2005, "the shit hit the fan," says George Zachary, the Charles River Ventures partner who led the firm's investment in Odeo.

That was when Apple first announced iTunes – which included a podcasting platform built into every one of the 200 million iPods Apple would eventually sell. Around the same time, Odeo employees, from Glass and Williams on down, began to realize that they weren't listening to podcasts as much as they thought they would be.

Says Cook: "We built [Odeo], we tested it a lot, but we never used it."

Suddenly, says Zachary, "the company was going sideways."

By this point, Odeo had 14 people working full time – including now-CEO Evan Williams and a friend of his from Google, Christopher "Biz" Stone.

Williams decided Odeo's future was not in podcasting, and later that year, he told the company's employees to start coming up with ideas for a new direction Odeo could go.  The company started holding official "hackathons" where employees would spend a whole day working on projects. They broke off into groups.

Odeo cofounder Noah Glass gravitated toward Jack Dorsey, whom Glass says was "one of the stars of the company."  Jack had an idea for a completely different product that revolved around "status"--what people were doing at a given time.

"I got the impression he was unhappy with what he was working on –  a lot of cleanup work on Odeo."

"He started talking to me about this idea of status and how he was really interested in status," Glass says. "I was trying to figure out what it was he found compelling about it."

"There was a moment when I was sitting with Jack and I said, 'Oh, I do see how this could really come together to make something really compelling.' We were sitting on Mission St. in the car in the rain. We were going out and I was dropping him off and having this conversation. It all fit together for me."

One day in February 2006, Glass, Dorsey, and a German contract developer Florian Weber presented Jack's idea to the rest of the company.  It was a system where you could send a text to one number and it would be broadcasted out to all of your friends: Twttr.

Noah Glass says it was he who came up with the name "Twttr." "I spent a bunch of time thinking about it," he says.  Eventually, the name would become Twitter.

After that February presentation to the company, Evan Williams was skeptical of Twitter's potential, but he put Glass in charge of the project. From time to time, Biz Stone helped out Glass's Twitter team.

And it really was Glass's team, by the way. Not Jack Dorsey's.

Everyone agrees that original inkling for Twitter sprang from Jack Dorsey's mind. Dorsey even has drawings of something that looks like Twitter that he made years before he joined Odeo. And Jack was obviously central to the Twitter team.

But all of the early employees and Odeo investors we talked to also agree that no one at Odeo was more passionate about Twitter in the early days than Odeo's cofounder, Noah Glass.

"It was predominantly Noah who pushed for the project to be started," says Blaine Cook, who describes Glass as Twitter's "spiritual leader."

"He definitely had a vision for what it was," says Ray McClure.

"There were two people who were really excited [about Twitter,]" concurs Odeo investor George Zachary. "Jack and Noah Glass. Noah was fanatically excited about Twitter. Fanatically! Evan and Biz weren't at that level. Not remotely."

Zachary says Glass told him, "You know what's awesome about this thing? It makes you feel like you're right with that person. It's a whole emotional impact. You feel like you're connected with that person."

At one point the entire early Twitter service was running on Glass's laptop. "An IBM Thinkpad," Glass says, "Using a Verizon wireless card."

"It was right there on my desk. I could just pick it up and take it anywhere in the world. That was a really fun time."

Glass insists that he is not Twitter's sole founder or anything like it.  But he feels betrayed that his role has basically been expunged from Twitter history.  He says Florian Weber doesn't get enough credit, either.

"Some people have gotten credit, some people haven't. The reality is it was a group effort. I didn't create Twitter on my own. It came out of conversations."

"I do know that without me, Twitter wouldn't exist. In a huge way."

By March of 2006, Odeo had a working Twitter prototype. In July, TechCrunch covered Twttr for the first time. That same summer, Odeo employees obsessed with Twitter were racking up monthly SMS bills totalling hundreds of dollars. The company agreed to pay those bills for the employees. In August, a small earthquake shook San Francisco and word quickly spread through Twitter – an early 'ah-ha!' moment for users and company-watchers alike. By that fall, Twitter had thousands of users.

By this point, engineer Blaine Cook says it began to feel like there were "two companies" at Odeo – the one "Noah and Florian and Jack and Biz were working on" (Twitter) and Odeo. Twitter, says Ray McClure, "was definitely the thing you wanted to be working on."

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Roofing Companies Vancouver - 5 Inquiries to Think about

Roofing Vancouver - Frequently Asked Questions

1. Repair or Replace?

There's no opinion as an expert opinion. Most contractors will provide you with a totally free estimate. Get a summary of a few trusted contractors and contact them well ahead of time of when you want to obtain your homes roof fixed so you can compare costs and opinions.

2. Beauty versus Practicality?

Discuss this with your spouse or partner. (The children could care less...at least the children.) The fact is, nobody wants an ugly roof just like nobody wants to be viewed with bed hair. If you've got a great quality roof and you just need to repair it, it's worthwhile to pay for the price of the original shingle rather than doing patchwork. A roof replacement doesn't happen frequently (we hope!) and thus make a decision that suits you and your family well or it'll stick out like a sore thumb everyday you go home.

3. Should I replace the roof in order to sell the house for additional?

Think about this very carefully before making a decision. With respect to the roofing material you select, a brand new roof can last anywhere from twenty, fifty, to one-hundred years! This means you need to check the year of the roof that's currently too deep first. Are you at year 18 of the 20-year warranted roof or year 30 of the 50-year warranted roof? Obviously, the quality is what makes the rooftop last longer, but if you're not planning to stay in your current home throughout your life, the larger expense may not be worth your investment. Although a new roof can improve the worth of your selling price, the increase might not be enough to cover neglect the and that's definitely going to hurt your wallet.

4. Could it be advisable for me to repair the rooftop myself?

Sure it's. Before you do, consult a specialist first. You can do it yourself, but you shouldn't be a complete ‘lone ranger.' With respect to the extent of your repair, you may or may not change your mind. In either case, it helps to obtain a professional eye about the problem first and maybe a free quote to help you do the math later and see if it's truly worth your time, sweat, and money to become mister or miss fix-it.

5. Just when was a good time to get the roof replaced?

Weather can cause delays from days to weeks. Most people prepare yourself to have their roof replaced in the summer once they know someone is going to be home during the day for a solid two weeks. Once you've this era in mind, create a call to a trusted contractor months in advance to get a quote. Some companies get booked up fast and odds are, they're the most reputable. Planning ahead of the summer also gives you time to ask around more and compare costs...especially if you need to have the roof done by a particular date.

 

The very best Roofing Contractor In Vancouver!

It is possible to leak inside your home's roof? Have you lost shingles or tiles in a storm? Have overhanging branches caused damage? Is the roof a lot more than Two decades old and showing wear and tear? Are your gutters overwhelmed and draining poorly?

When the answer to these questions is "Yes" it's time to call the very best roofing company Vancouver - Crown Roofing & Drainage.

For over a century Crown Roofing has been the roofer of preference among our Vancouver neighbors. We provide complete roofing services, from emergency repairs and roof restoration, to accomplish roof replacement. All while using finest quality materials, installed with precision and also the highest level of customer service.

YOUR Vancouver ROOF DESERVES Believe it or not!

The roof of your Vancouver home is the very first type of defence against wind, rain, snow, ice and other weather conditions. Make sure it's as much as the job. Among Vancouver Roofing companies, only Crown Roofing has the depth of experience and successful history to ensure your roofing system will be properly designed and installed.

NEIGHBORS HELPING NEIGHBORS.

One reason Crown Roofing has been probably the most successful roofing contractor in Vancouver is our resolve for our neighbors. We treat your house as though it were our very own and that we were building a roof to protect our very own family. That's what neighbors do, and you will count on Crown Roofing being here to aid you and also back our work. In the end, we've been repairing and replacing roofs in Vancouver since 1902!

Obtain a FREE INSPECTION AND EVALUATION Of the Vancouver ROOF.

Go to the Roofers Vancouver for any FREE inspection and evaluation of the roof. Give you the best roof for the Vancouver home, in the cost effective. We build roofs to last!

 

Tacoma Roofing company: Help your house be Beautiful

Very few people view the value of a solid roof, your knowledgeable Tacoma Roofing company does. From top notch experience, they'll be in a position to let you know why you require a strong, secure, and leak-free roof on your home.

Your local Tacoma Roofing contractor is well aware how important a financial investment your property is for you personally, especially as it is a long term one. Your home may have been damaged slowly over the years and also you need to take steps to minimize this damage. For a number of people, keeping their property beautiful is also a matter of pride. There are those too who'd like to turn their property into a cost effective and efficient living place. Your roof is an integral part of your property and plays a role in each one of the aspects mentioned previously. For this reason, you need to employ the services of qualified a Tacoma Roofer.

Kinds of Roofs installed by a Tacoma Roofer

One of the more prevalent kinds of roofs are asphalt shingles, steel or metal sheeting, fiberglass, slate and terra cotta tiles.

Each type of roof invites distinct problems, but they can all be easily looked after by a trusted Tacoma Roofer. It's vital that you nip roof problems in the bud before they become too expensive or dangerous. You can schedule an appointment with the Tacoma Roofing contractor to consider a glance at your homes roof to see if you will find any issues or potential problems with it. If you will find, they may be in a position to tell you how to approach them.

A Tacoma Roofer Helps you to Build Strong Homes

The exteriors of any house, primarily the rooftop and gutters, face the onslaught of bitter and varying climate conditions, every single day. Painting, repairing, and cleaning gutters might be necessary. In some cases you may have to replace them completely. Usually, when your gutters show signs of trouble, your roof must also be inspected for problems. Whatever issues there may be, a skilled Tacoma Roofing company can examine them in detail and suggest the remedy.

In case your gutters tend to clog all too often, or you will find leaks along the walls of your home, it may imply that there's debris piled-up on the roof. Loose branches, piles of leaves, along with other light objects which are swept on your roof throughout a storm can all contribute towards damaging your roof, and these damages can be lasting. An educated Tacoma Roofing contractor will tell you that birds, mice, and other types of rodents often build nest within the debris that collects on the roof. While these nests may look rather innocent, they're great at collecting moisture, be responsible for loose shingles, mold, and indoor leaks in your house. Additionally, this may also cause vermin infestation. After a storm, your Tacoma Roofing company will claim that you inspect your homes roof for just about any signs and symptoms of debris or damage.

Reverse Damages by using a Tacoma Roofing contractor

However top quality the roof might be, it is going to wear out over time. There are shingles which are referred to as "25 year" or "30 year" shingles, but those numbers are only related to warranty made by the makers. They seldom last that long. Realistically speaking, "25 year" shingles won't last more than fifteen to twenty years. Within an area that's prone to storms, shingles or even the entire roof should get replaced every ten years. Having a Tacoma Roofing company, the cost is going to be lower than what you think.

If there you lose any shingles, or there is some damage to them, a Tacoma Roofing contractor can assist you to. Damaged shingles can result in indoor leaks, as the substrate from the roof becomes subjected to the sun and rain. Shingles which are loose or broken can slip off and pose a potential hazard to people standing below. Missing shingles produce a gap that allows rain, wind, ice, and debris to build up under the adjoining shingles, which results in a "domino effect" that affects other shingles plus they become loose or broken. A comprehensive investigation is going to be produced by the local Tacoma Roofing company, if you call them track of your suspicions of loose or missing shingles.

Your Tacoma Roofing company come in a situation to tell you what are the smartest choice is perfect for your roof. If your roof isn't in a good shape, it is advised you have it replaced completely. The Tacoma Roofer may take you thru the various roofing options available for you which will fit your requirements and your budget.

Tacoma Roofer: Improving your Home's Efficiency

Your roof shelters you from storms, sleet, and hail. By providing adequate ventilation, your roof protects your home from overheating, and by holding within the heat, it keeps your home warm. That's why you ought to ready your roof from indoors in addition to outdoors for any sort of weather emergency. A Qualified Tacoma Roofing contractor can provide help in this situation.

First of all, inspect your homes roof thoroughly for any and all kind of damage, prior to the beginning of a year. The gutters ought to be clear, debris should not be piled on or trapped under shingles, there should be no homes of squirrels or birds within the eaves or attic, and also the roof ought to be structurally sound. For that last part, you'll need the help of the local Tacoma Roofing contractor. It may be quite dangerous to climb to the roof of your property. This is when the contractor from Tacoma Roofing company comes in. He will check out the strength and security of the roof and shingles, and do a general inspection from the entire roof structure, to make sure that it's in proper working order. They will be able to point towards issues that you need to keep close track of and problems you might not have spotted.

You'll need all of the assist you to could possibly get in the Tacoma Roofer. You are able to help your homes roof by installing a gutter guard or leaf cover to help prevent debris from forming inside your gutters. The additional weight of debris prevents the gutters from draining and can even tear them down. Check the fasteners in your gutters and when they're loose, tighten them. Do something to alter worn screws and brackets. For those who have a chimney in your home, inspect the bricks and mortar signs of wear. A trusted mason can be recommended by your Tacoma Roofing company, if you will find any repairs to become done.

Tacoma Roofer: Someone You Can Rely on
In the event that you know or suspect that there's a problem, your Tacoma Roofing contractor should be contacted. They can use their knowledge and expertise to obtain your home back in ace condition by simply focusing on the rooftop. Your homes roof deserves attention. So give them a call today, so that they can get down to working on your roof.

 

What is Difference Between Commercial Roofing Companies From Residential Roofing Companies

If you are considering getting a roofing company to re roof your home or building then you may be wondering what are the differences are between residential roofing companies and commercial roofing companies. To begin with, the main one big difference is usually that times an industrial roofing company may have signed a contract with and be obligated to some roofing union in in a position to focus on union commercial jobs.

If this sounds like the situation then their labor costs will prohibit them from focusing on non union residential jobs. Beyond that, if your commercial roofing company hasn't signed an agreement having a union they may be outfitted simply for commercial jobs and that means that their workers and equipment may not be consistent with smaller residential jobs.

Residential roofing contractors generally tend to run smaller companies and therefore, tend to be more in a position to bid competitively on residential jobs, which tend to be smaller than comercial jobs. Actually, quite often residential roofing contractors will run one man operations, in which the contractor that you speak with may be the one which actually does the work on the building.

Also, liability insurance for commercial roofing is more epensive along with a larger bond is required for any commercial roofing work which will make it not cost effective for a commercial roofer to complete residential roofing jobs.

Still one more factor is the fact that commercial jobs can run on a tighter time period for just about any number of reasons, requiring an industrial contractor to train on a larger crew or crews which again makes smaller jobs not as profitable on their behalf.

 

Distinction between Commercial Roofing and Residential Roofing

Did you know that the roof of a house or building includes a huge effect on the entire structure itself? Damage caused to roofs because of natural or other disasters causes a considerable loss of property everywhere. The kind of materials accustomed to construct the rooftop which should be sturdy and long-lasting, the manner where the roof continues to be installed and even its timely maintenance are very crucial. There are two kinds of roofs which are used on all of the buildings that people see around us: commercial and residential. Although it might seem that commercial roofing is performed only for businesses or offices and residential roofing is done for apartments and houses, in reality the differences tend to be more complex than that.

Residential roofing is usually completed by just one hired contractor but commercial roofing usually takes a whole team to complete the job. The reason being a commercial roof tends to be larger in terms of square feet than the usual residential roof.
Commercial roofs are necessary carefully keeping the nature and reason for your building in mind. For instance, when there is a restaurant in the building then external components like ventilation systems, smoke stacks and pipes is going to be required. Residential roofs tend not to have such components apart from a chimney or two at the most.
Commercial roofs is commonly flat in design to accommodate further changes in a later period, whereas most residential roofs have peaks and other architectural features like roof gardens.
Commercial roofing is a lot more expensive than residential roofing due to the special tools, materials and safety equipment which are needed onsite. Often the patching or maintenance work is done in segments unlike for a residential roof where the repair or replacement work could be completed in a short while. This is one more reason why the gear employed for residential roofs is usually smaller and less expensive too.
Commercial roof installations take a extended period to accomplish compared to residential roof installations and are usually constructed in large sections. In this phase however, you should make sure that there aren't any leakages, cracks or other visible deterioration signs as it can cause considerable damage to the entire building.
It is important to install the right roof for any building based on its purpose. Make sure that you hire a construction company that uses first class materials and it has the best equipment to do the job or neglect the may turn to be considered a huge loss later.

 

Commercial Roofing Contractors: How to purchase a Qualified Commercial Roofing Company

If your business is looking to have work done on its roof, you should use commercial roofing contractors which have a keen knowledge of any special needs that the business may have. As an example, a roofing job can often be disruptive for the operation of business as usual. Because of this, it might be necessary for the company to become temporarily turn off, or the roofing to take place after business hours have ended. A roofer that understands these needs can function together with a business to make sure that these kinds of issues are minimized.

The first thing that a company should do when it is searching for commercial roofing contractors is to find out who other businesses in the region will work through. Obviously, this information will 't be helpful if it comes as a suggestion from competitors, but there are circumstances in which it's not too hard to locate these details from suppliers or retailers. Since roofing isn't an industry-specific service, this information is readily available.

It's a good idea for any business to get touching at least three commercial roofing contractors to make bids about the price. In this manner, the company can often get a better price. It is also vital that you ensure that each of the roofing contractors is licensed and bonded. This information are available by getting in touch with the state contractor's board. This makes it possible to determine whether there has been any claims filed against the company previously.

When looking at bids, it is just as vital to look at what services are now being offered and which products is going to be used because it is to look at the total cost. The costs can vary quite drastically, but as tempting as it can be to choose the lowest bid, this is not always your best option. Oftentimes, more costs now will mean fewer costs over time due to an undesirable roofing job. To further investigate the caliber of the job, it's a good idea to check using the Bbb to be able to see if the business continues to be accredited, and when it has not, to a minimum of see what its rating is.

 

Selecting a Commercial Roofing Contractor

When you're looking for a roofer for the commercial roofing project you have to look for a contractor who understands the special needs of the commercial roofing project. For instance it can be harder to work on a business during business hours so either the company needs to be shut down for the repair or replacement or the job needs to be done after conventional business hours. Is the roofer you are thinking about for the job willing and able to work around your schedule constrictions which might involve working weekends or evenings?

When you begin your research for a roofing contractor not only do you need to answer those questions however, you should also find someone that will perform a top quality job with no lot of time delays. Going about finding someone can seem like an obstacle in itself but there are several ways to make the search easier.

Ask friends and family for referrals and try to find at least three contractors to provide you with written bids on your job. Prior to going any more you have to make sure that the contractors you are thinking about are fully licensed and bonded. A simple search using the state contractor's board will verify if your roofer is licensed and when there are any past judgments or claims against their license.

When you select three or four roofers to put bids, you should prepare yourself for the bids to be widely varied. Roofers will have brand preferences that will vary and could element in pretty much than the next guy for any labor estimate. The greater detailed a written bid may be the more helpful it will likely be to focus on in which the cost are going to be incurred. Don't, however, pick a roofer based solely on the bid price. Any low ball bids might be tempting to take, but when they are low because of poor quality workman ship it may not be worthwhile ultimately.

As the saying goes, you generally get that which you purchase, so if you are able to afford a mid-priced bid it's always a good idea to go up within your budget rather than down. Additionally you should select your roofer depending on how professional these were and how comfortable you anticipate you'll be working with them.

Finally your cost will be different depending on what type of roofing material you choose along with the cost to haul your old roof to the landfill. Should you be looking for places to chop corners in your roof, rather than cutting labor cost you may want to ask about a metal roof option. Metal roofs could be economical and efficient making them overall money savers for the long term, as well as on commercial buildings they may be very low maintenance. Plus given that they can be put along with a current roof, you don't need to possess the old one removed and hauled away, which can make a large effect on your cost.

Selecting a comerical roofing company nearer your home, does not have to become a struggle. To learn more, visit http://www.vancouverroofers.net

 

Seattle Roofing Contractors - How To Find The very best

In your home of rain and sleet, commercial coffee and grunge, and also the famous space needle, you'll find a house that will suit you. Seattle, Washington could be a great place to build a home, but you need Seattle roofing contractors to assist you. Your homes roof is, in the end, the crowning glory of your house, as well as your strongest line of defense from the elements. You must have something that isn't just built to last, but created to attract making your house more beautiful

Harsh Weather

Why are roofing contractors essential within this part of the country? Because Seattle is often bombarded by rain and other harsh climate conditions, you need a roof that may withstand all the forces of nature. With this thought, you need people who be aware of Seattle weather best, and who understand what materials can best go into your homes roof in order for it to last far longer in the area. On top this, you have to blend with the rest from the houses inside your living area, so you cannot simply get whatever roof you please.

In most these aspects, a Seattle roofers will be able to help you out. All you need to do is look for Seattle roofing contractors online to be able to get the best bang for your buck without wondering if the contractor will suddenly run away with it and leave you roof-less.

Why the Contractor Model Works

If you want to put up your roof on your own, you will have to purchase a good deal of materials, secure permits and licenses, and get materials that are suitable for keep you safe against harsh extremes of Seattle weather. Which means that if you are a DIY kind of guy or gal, you'll have to go through a good deal of legwork to get the task done.

However, a Seattle roofer can do all of the jobs for you and provide you with a package that may save you time and money. Because contractors operate under licenses and buy materials in bulk, they are able to get discounts on building materials that you'd not otherwise get should you be buying merely for your own personel home.

Roofing Associations

Most roofing contractors also belong to roofing organizations which are bound by strict guidelines and standards. When they prosper on the roofing job, they can showcase their roofing contractors association; if they do poorly, they are able to ruin the trustworthiness of their roofing contractors association and keep other contractors inside the association from getting good roofing jobs. There is a lot of pressure to do well, to help you be reassured that if you need a roofing job done in Seattle, you can get a contractor from a roofing association to help you out.

For example, Seattle Roof Brokers operates with more than five hundred roofing contractors within the Puget Sound. This group has over fifty years of roofing experience and experience dealing with Seattle roofing contractors, so it knows what type of roofing you want. The rooftop Brokers group can put you in contact with the contractor that you'll require so that you do not have to search for contractors individually.

What In the event you Demand out of your Contractor?

When you finally obtain a contractor within the Seattle area, you need to do lots of research about the roofing contractors themselves. Request a summary of previous companies or persons that the contractor worked with to get a clear look at the roofing contractor's work ethics and roof quality. Your roofer must also possess the appropriate working licenses and city licenses required by the Seattle city government.

Pick a Seattle roofing contractors that insures its employees, which has courteous workers who will respect your opinions and make sure that the needs are met. Ensure that you get the best value for your money: if you are unsatisfied with the job, you have to be guaranteed either money back, or a free, new roof. Moreover, additionally you require the workers to get the job done promptly, so be strict with your deadlines - and discover a contractor that is as strict when you are.

You'll need guarantees and warranties in your roof, so look for a contractor that may meet your budget and roofing needs. If you get in touch with good Seattle roofing contractors, you can be guaranteed a great roof along with a better house right in this fantastic city.

Selecting the Right Roofing Contractor Company for Replacing Your homes roof

The shingles in your roof need replacing and you're simply minded to find a roofing contractor to change the them. Perhaps you have already known as a few and are evaluating which contractor for your upcoming roof repair. How do you choose the best contractor for working on your roof? Listed here are several things you should consider when looking for a legitimate roofer.

Where's the roofer located? It is important to hire a roofer that is local. Chances are you will receive a higher level and services information when the roofing company can be found near your house or comes with an office near your residence.
References. To look for the reliability of the contractor, references should be provided of their past clients who are willing to vouch that excellent service was received. This should 't be the only element in choosing your future roofing contractor as some may claim they value the privacy of the clients and do not wish to bother them. If this is the case, ask for business related references. The places that provide the contractor with supplies can reveal the quantity of materials and regularity of supplying the contractor to help determine their stability.
How does the roofer company handle complaints? There's a large number of issues that can arise during the progress of the roofing replacement. Ask what their process is for handling complaints if they arise. It's also a great idea to receive a past client reference who had a complaint which was resolved towards the satisfaction from the client.
The payment schemes. Do you know the the payment schemes for the job? What is the deposit and amount due upon completion? Even though it is certainly reasonable that a substantial payment be made before a contractor begins focus on a project, it is highly recommended that full payment isn't made until following the entire job is completed.
Written contract. All the roofing replacement ought to be put in an itemized contract. No the main contracting job should depend on verbal assurances.
Bonding. There are things that can go wrong with roofing installations that end up costing quite a bit of money to repair. Should this happen in your roofing replacement, you'll feel a great deal better understanding that your roofer is bonded. This will provide the funds to fix whatever mistakes were made. Look for a roofing contractor that's bonded.
Manufacturer Warranty. Quality materials for roofing typically come with a warranty. It is important to verify that there is actually a warranty about the materials being installed. Request a copy from the warranty.
Period of time in Business How long has the company you're interviewing been in business? A short amount of time in business may reflect instability. When the contractor has been around business less than three years, verify just how long they have been in the market. A brand new contractor may have many years experience focusing on roofs before they form their very own business. Seek a company that has been around for three years, or where the contractor has already established many more years performing roofing replacements. It can should not be the only factor, everyone has to begin sometime. Balance this with referrals and also the other points raised in this article.
Appropriate Permits. A Seattle roofing contractor should know what permits are required for fixing your roof. They must be aware of how to obtain these permits on your behalf. Ask the contractor whether they will have the permits necessary to repair the rooftop.
Liability. If your worker becomes injured, who is accountable for the worker's compensation? When the contractor's equipment damages your home, who is liable for the repairs? A great contractor will provide certificates of insurance for liability and worker's compensation before they begin repairing your roof.
Subcontractors. Verify whether the contractor will be using subcontractors. If that's the case, it is highly recommended that everything contained in this article for verifying whether the contractor is credible also needs to be relevant to subcontractors. You need to get the names and license amounts of all subcontractors. You should verify whether each subcontractor can also be insured which means you are not held liable for their accidents.
Pending Legal Actions. You should verify whether there are any legal actions against the contractor. This is not merely necessary for verifying if the roofing company is legitimate (credible roofing companies should not need to defend themselves in court), it's also important because a lost lawsuit could cause the contractor to visit bankrupt. For those who have made a substantial deposit for services immediately before the company goes bankrupt, you can lose thousands of dollars and never have your roofing completed.
Material Disposal. Who is responsible for disposing of the waste generated from the roof being replaced? Will your contractor handle every aspect of the? Can there be one more cost for getting rid of this waste?
NRCA Membership. Membership in local or national roofing associations, such as the NRCA, shows resolve for staying current with the most effective methods for roof replacement and maintenance. Find a roofing contractor having a high standard of education regarding their trade.
Replacing your roof is really a significant investment. Celebrate good sense to ask serious questions before working with a roofer. Here are a few more tips that you should consider when choosing the best roofer for your upcoming roofing replacement.

Payment. Do not make a full payment for services unless all jobs are finished.
Inspection. Do not make a full payment without having done a final inspection of services rendered.
Workers liens. Do not fully pay for the roofing replacement job until worker's lien releases happen to be obtained.
Oral Agreements. No agreement ought to be made verbally without backing it up on paper. All points that are important to you ought to be made in writing.

 

To your SEO needs, you can examine out Vancouver web design and Vancouver Search engine optimization company

It is true the worldwide web is among the most biggest financial market nowadays. Practically everything is anchored on the web. Up to now, there are many than 182 million web sites online but still counting. If all these websites offers opportunities to make money, think of the limitless opportunities which can be found in the internet. Moreover, with all the emergence of web sites, the requirement for web hosting and Search| Engine Optimization is significantly defined.

Search Engine Optimization is simply the process of increasing the visibility of your site. As such, if you'd like your internet site being visible to visitors, you should look for SEO Company. The optimization strategy considers how search spiders work and what individuals usually and what keywords they will use. The primary objective of Search engine optimization is making web sites visible searching sites through the natural or organic way.

Search engines optimization or natural search engine marketing is a term used in describing unpaid, algorithm-driven results of any particular engine. In other words, organic SEO uses natural strategies in achieving search results ranking. While there are 2 camps that search optimization companies may fall to, which are the 'White Hat' and the 'Black Hat', organic SEO could not come under the 'Black Hat' camp.

Organic search engine optimization is a highly specialized and complex practice that may literally dictate the success or failure of the web business. Since search sites often modify their algorithms, organic SEO is not super easy at all. When search bots modify their algorithms, factors that permit your internet site to appear before potential clients are drastically changed too. Thus, to be able to cope with these changes, SEO tactics and methods has to be employed.

It will always be ethical to utilize search engines engine optimization since search sites nowadays are becoming extremely advanced that they can easily determine if an internet site is attempting to govern their search indexes. Thus it really is empirical to utilize seo practices which can be carried out wherein appear natural.

The approaches utilized by organic search engine optimization and artificial SEO are very significantly different. Basically, organic SEO uses content in comparison to artificial SEO's technical loopholes. Moreover, natural search engine optimization provides attracting links rather than linking schemes utilized by artificial SEO. Natural SEO also creates valuable resource as opposed to artificial SEO's algorithm chasing. With all these, you can clearly see why search engines engine optimization is preferable over artificial search engine marketing. Even though latter might be more challenging and complex, it makes favorable results which can be beneficial for any web site. Fortunately, there are a lot of Vancouver SEO companies today that provide the organic method in affordable rates and packages.

Search Engine Optimization Appears in this area

Once when search engine optimization was actually not necessary.

Whilst late as a decade ago, should you developed a Web page anywhere, Google indexed it and you gained visibility in the search engine results. Your page might have been with a free "estates" where anybody could add a page and Google didn't mind. It could also provide been a pure affiliate page with no original content and Google still indexed it.

Situations are unrecognizably different now.

Affiliate pages with "cookie-cutter" content duplicated everywhere might never reach the Google index; exactly the same fate is probably for those pages you throw in on a free-for-all website. And also "proper" websites with your own personal url of your website failed to achieve visibility on the list of proliferating sites in millions.

These wouldn't normally have mattered, aside from one thing. It had been Google that provided the bread and butter for your countless small businesses that could not afford expensive marketing campaigns. If your site was among the top few sites the appeared before a searcher's eyes when see your face sought out your product, you got hundreds and even 1000s of visitors, many of whom even bought your products.

Search engine optimization (SEO) entered the scene. Search results specialists "reverse-engineered" to identify the factors that Google consider for showing websites near the top of its serp's pages. These factors were then consciously incorporated into your internet pages with the aspiration that Google will show your website one of the primary ten results it showed about the first page.

Weight loss of the competitors adopted search engine optimization practices, things became difficult again. Your situation began to slip if your competitors did the SEO better. SEO battles became serious fights with every dirty trick being employed.

There was "black hat" SEO practitioners who showed one page to find engines and the other to human visitors. As engines like google are not bothered with readability, you might fill the "search engine" page with pure gibberish, but gibberish developed in a way that the engine dutifully indexed high.

A war of wits followed between unscrupulous SEO practitioners and appearance engines. Google changed its ranking algorithms regularly to operate around practices that allowed low value content to seem at the top of its search results. All things considered, Google's success been dependent on providing value to searchers, not merchants. And SEO practitioners came up with new tricks.

We will look at search engine optimization in the number of articles, starting off by having an look and feel at on-line or Web marketing.

 

For the SEO needs, you can check out vancouver web design and Vancouver Search engine optimization company.

 

Cedar Roofing: Many Benefits

Cedar shakes are only concerning the most aesthetically pleasing shakes available today. Frequently designed from red-colored cedar on the coniferous forests of northwestern United states of america, they're only the best roofs materials for proprietors preferring supplying their roofs a natural look.

Unique cedar shingles are naturally resistant to the weather, this is the key answer why cedar shingles are widely-used generally all over various climatic conditions. They're generally obtainable in a couple of specific qualities. A minumum of one is the shingle crafted from red cedar even though the other is produced out from the white colored variety. Red cedar shakes are designed from tight-grained particles that will be previously saturated with tannic acidity that experts say is definitely an all-natural additive. Red cedar shingles that will be drizzled with creosote in order to avoid corrosion and therefore are desirable to homeowners simply because they give a rich and unique look to one's property or home.

You need to note that red cedars usually change dark-colored if exposed continuously to seaside weather. Consequently, sea side homes have to have white cedar shakes. Red cedar shingles generally are a much more expensive in comparison to white cedar types, although cost factor doesn't diminish its reputation in anyhow. They may be preferably perfect for classic New England houses while white cedar shingles are image suited to bungalows and bungalows which have been integrated Nantucket design.

Through the years, classic cedar shakes have lost out in a spot to synthetic shingles that emulate the cedar appear. Superior systems are utilized in order to make these kinds of shingles use a for an extended period life-span in comparison with unique cedar shingles. Most include advanced UV inhibitors and have about 5 decades of steady guarantee. These shingles in many cases are great insulators and many superior ones offer a chilly inside during summer season and a warmer inside during harsh winters.

Cedar shakes, mostly obtainable in honey, cinnamon, and silvery gray colors, need several quantity of repairs and maintenance. Needed initial treatment method in front of installation. White cedar shakes for example, may be addressed with bleaching oil which ought to be done nearly every six to seven years to enhance their durability.

Cedar shakes and cedar shingles are generally CCA treated or not CCA treated. CCA means chromated copper arsenate. CCA can be a chemical that stops the rise of mold, mold and fungus so it assists in keeping insects from eating away your own wonderful cedar roof. CCA cedar might make your homes roof keep going longer, but CCA just isn't A FIRE TREAMENT. Cedar which has been fire treated can be obtained, however your roofing company have to special order it. CCA treated cedar shingles cost 15 - 20% greater than non-CCA cedar. Most cedar roofs usually are not CCA treated.

Cedar shakes and cedar shingles are excellent, and they are additionally a good purchase. Information of terms for example CCA, advanced quality, Number 1, blue label and black label will allow you to select the right cedar roof for your personal home.

Elite Roofing & Home Improvements, LLC provides detailed information about shingles, cedar shakes, fiberglass shakes and more. Elite Roofing & Home Improvements, LLC is associated with the National Roofers Association.

Uncover more about cedar shingles, and get more articles and resources about cedar shakes at cedar roof shingles and shakes website.

 

Cedar Shingle Roof Vs Asphalt Shingle Roof

A cedar shingle roof remains highly coveted by homeowners. It's one of the oldest roofing products which includes continued to be constantly in use inside the centuries. As much as new roofing materials continue being developed, cedar shakes still endear themselves to numerous. Below is really a comparison research into the cedar roof versus an asphalt roof.

Pros of Cedar Roofing shingles

Cedar shakes bring about greater air circulation within the entire home. The shingles let the the place to find breathe well without trapping moisture around. It will help to maintain the dwelling of the house who is fit for extended. Cedar Shakes are durable and strong. They like an increased resistance to bugs. A cedar shingle roof will operate well towards the various weather onslaughts. Storms, hurricanes, powerful winds and flying debris will barely damage the surface of the cedar roof. The colour matures beautifully using the passing years, rendering it a lot more desirable. A cedar roof adds a definite charm to your residence. Cedar is quickly accessible in lumber yards and demand a lot of expertise or specialized tools to install.

Cons of Cedar Shakes

If rot takes hold, choosing compelled to alter the entire lot. It is sometimes complicated extracting only the affected pieces. They might happen to be nailed down in a fashion that each elimination proves difficult. Cedar Shingles don't last well to constant wetting. If you live within an area where rainfall is heavy or frequent, cedar shingles aren't a fantastic choice. Frequent wetting causes mold or mildew to set in. Replacement and repair is actually a costly business. Your very best protection against constant wetting should be to use wide overhangs. Also, if the property is shaded by many trees or nearby buildings, cedar shingles have a tendency to develop mold. You'll be compelled to change them prior to you planned. Cedar Shingles tend to be flammable than asphalt shingles. Many areas have a very building code in position that restricts cedar shingles to reduce the risk of fire. To set up a cedar shake roof, you must have your allowance in regards to the higher side. Frequent maintenance can be essential to keep your roof in good shape. Mildew and rot are ever-constant threats for some cedar roof.

Pros of Asphalt Shingle Roof

An asphalt roof is probably the least expensive to buy and install. These come in various designs and colours, including an ordinary, flat use a 3-dimensional look. Asphalt shingles have a great capacity fires unlike cedar roofing. An asphalt roof can certainly lessen the risk of fires brought on by flying embers. Asphalt roofs are easier and cheaper to set up than cedar. Also, they are low maintenance roofs.

Cons of Asphalt Shingle Roof

Algae is much more susceptible to grow on asphalt roofing than cedar shingles. It causes the rooftop to develop somewhat with the stain which spoils the look. You can get an anti-algae coating carried out your asphalt shingles but this enhances the cost. When it comes to stability, an asphalt roof is much more likely to be blown off by strong winds compared to a cedar roof.

You can learn more about cedar roofing materials, and get more articles and resources about cedar roofing shakes at cedar roofing materials and shakes website.

 

How to locate Great Vancouver Search engine optimization

The number of online businesses as well as e-commerce sites is continuously increasing simply because everybody knows that it may generate a lot of profits. This has additionally caused a whole new kind of services that really help businesses within achieving their goals and which makes them develop. Amongst fundamental essentials Vancouver SEO services; since the Search engine optimization market is pretty youthful you will notice that any kind of Search engine optimization Vancouver company won't be more than a decade aged. However, you can be assured that they certainly understand what they need to do to get a business growing.

If your business relies heavily on the Internet to obtain people to your site and also to get conversions, you need help searching engine optimization or Search engine optimization because it is more commonly recognized. When individuals put searching in their preferred search engine, probably the most likely fits come at the very top. If you wish to draw visitors to your site or even internet business, you need to go ahead and take help of a Vancouver SEO company to help you get to the top of these search results. The Search engine optimization Vancouver services provided will be well worth the cash you spend and you will be seeing the actual results shortly following.

Nevertheless, attaining a high position in the search engines might not continually be always easy and more therefore if yours is a very competitive business that they often refer to like a niche. It's no surprise after that that you need all of the help that you can get. If you don't have the response to "What is SEO?Inch then you need to first educate yourself on the subject. But your smartest choice would be to depart the job to people that realize it best; the actual Search engine optimization Vancouver professionals in the Vancouver SEO company. You will have to shell out some cash however, you will reap the benefits as time pass.

The actual SEO Vancouver experts will start on keyword research which is usually the starting point associated with Search engine optimization. You need to know the type of words or even phrases which potential customers would be typing in to Search engines to get to your website. The actual Vancouver SEO company will do this particular tiresome task for you because they possess a much better idea about how exactly individuals go about their own queries. You, from you need to provide them with a better understanding about your company plus some fundamental key phrases on which they'd do their research.

If your Search engine optimization campaign begins with keywords choice, then it is link building which feeds seo; worthwhile Vancouver SEO company will tell you this. The optimal method for your site to position higher for any provided keyword is to have a excellent backlink building technique designed for this. The trick would be to depart your hyperlink on higher ranked websites. The actual SEO Vancouver experts will explain the most typical method of doing this is to publish content articles containing the required keywords in the correct proportion to article directories with links back to your website in the resource box.

What exactly have you been waiting for? Take the assistance of the Vancouver Search engine optimization company the following; the Search engine optimization Vancouver experts will make your business grow so that you will reap higher profits.

 

Reliable Search engine optimization For the Business within Vancouver

Expert sophisticated Vancouver SEO services enable you to are available in the very best list of the actual organic search leads to attract traffic. Moreover, the actual site visitors of natural results is going to be keen to buy items and these providers may prove to be useful when you are your company.

You need Search engine optimization Vancouver to benefit your business through helping you to get the most visibility from the search engine as well as thereby getting more traffic to your internet website. By using search engine listings, these services will immensely assist your internet website reach out to the world of individuals being able to access internet and thus, sketching more and more visitors to your web site. When the website has started producing traffic to it, your company may enjoy benefits as the web site will end up probably the most retrieveable on the top search engines.

An organization needs these kinds of services as the SEO professionals possess the fundamental knowing and knowledge of how to get it done. A person as the website owner may spend time on internet dealing with blogs, discussion boards, and other materials. Nevertheless, you need to concentrate on additional aspects of your web site and SEO professionals focus almost all their initiatives upon SEO because this is what they do greatest.

The SEO companies promise to increase increased traffic to your web site on a regular basis giving an guarantee that when individuals look for products or services, your internet website occurs the top the majority of desired search engines like google such as Yahoo, Search engines, Windows live messenger and America online.

In other words, to enhance web site traffic and visibility, it is vital that the website ought to get up-to-date constantly. The process of seo is not the one-time attempt. A successful Search engine optimization service includes marketing, position, web site marketing, link exchanges and much more. To be able to hold the changes to Search engine optimization techniques and strategies daily, professional Search engine optimization preserve skilled as well as technically experienced Search engine optimization experts, site creative designers, copywriters, Search engine optimization editors, advertising professionals and project supervisors.

A professional and result-oriented seo service includes the next:
. Research and report pre-optimization ranking
. Key phrase selection and optimisation
. Competition analysis statement
. Explanation associated with labels
. Designed link page creation
. Optimization associated with pictures
. Keyword-rich content creating
. SEO copywriting
. Hyperlink campaigns
. HTML coding
. Internet search engine submissions

Search engine optimization organizations also provide the service of keyword research. These types of organizations will appear at the clients' internet sites as well as their competitors and will search for suitable key phrases. They adopt the best strategy that will make sure on the internet visibility and exposure.

Right now, let us mention the benefits that will assist an organization's web site get to the top of a search engine.
• Personalized Search engine optimization solution
• Long term best rankings in search engines
• Greater web site traffic an internet-based sales
• Worldwide business protection
• Corporate business identification
• Recommendations for business development
• Follow-up service
• Optimum returns