Different Practices Exist on The Web, Which Is The Right Way?

The World Wide Web Consortium requires all images and links in a web page to have an ALT attribute and TITLE attribute respectively. Making web pages Accessible and usable is an important part of the creation process. Overall, using ALT and TITLE attributes on everything eliminates almost all accessibility problems on many web pages. ALT and TITLE attributes also improve user experience and help assistive technology translate content for users with physical and sensory disabilities.

So far we’ve established two things: 1. It’s good to have ALT attributes and TITLE attributes defined in markup because 2. it helps improve the experience of all users when it comes to page content. But having the attributes tags in place is not enough on its own. What should web authors write in these tags? While the W3C publishes its recommendations for each, a variety of different practices are currently being practiced on the web.

The ALT Attribute for Images

The W3C states that alternate text is “for user agents that cannot display images, forms, or applets, this attribute specifies alternate text.” ALT attributes “let authors specify alternate text to serve as content when the element cannot be rendered normally.” This attribute can be inserted into IMG, AREA, and INPUT elements. In this article, we’ll focus on its use with IMG tags, possibly its most common use. If an image file cannot be displayed, at least users can see its ALT text. What kind of content should go into an image’s ALT attribute?

Good Practices

• Adding a caption describing the vital subject(s) of the image
• Adding the title of the image
• Adding an image citation / photo credit
• Keeping it short, choosing only essential words (using the LONGDESC attribute for longer descriptions)

Not So Good Practices

• Using the image’s file name
• Adding additional text that, by itself, does not describe the image accurately
• Adding empty quotes (except for elements like bullets - empty quotes are actually recommended by the W3C in cases like this)

The contents of an ALT attribute should NOT be a tooltip (even though IE displays it like this, which it shouldn’t). The text should be short (less than 100 words, as per WCAG 2.0). The text should also be relevant to the primary content so users may use it INSTEAD of the image and still gain the image’s value. In this case, it’s an accessibility thing rather than a usability thing.

The TITLE attribute for Links

The W3C states that a TITLE attribute is meant to offer “advisory information about the element for which it is set.” In short, the TITLE attribute should add additional information that compliments the linked text.

Good Practices

• Adding additional text or caption describing the link
• Adding a citation for the URL (link source, title of original article, author, all of these…)
• Keeping it somewhat short

Not So Good Practices

• Adding the exact text in the accompanying the link (this kind of a moot point since the title attribute essentially adds no new information in this case)
• Adding empty quotes
• Relying on plugins like Snap (these often rely on JavaScript and insert invalid markup into a web page. Some browsers don’t support them at all)

Content in the TITLE should add to the text inside the links, not just reiterate it. TITLE attributes should be more descriptive than ALT attributes, but not a paragraph (such as in LONGDESC attribute).

What Does It All Mean?

Alternate text is not meant to be used as a tool tip, or more specifically, to provide additional information about an image. The title attribute, on the other hand, is meant to provide additional information about an element…. Many people seem to confuse these two attributes…

It’s important for web designers and developers to know how to write good ALT and TITLE attributes. Practices like these should be employed into each web page element as it’s created. we should be including accessibility features when initially creating web pages rather than going back to add it later.
Personally, I am glad I did some research for this article. I’ll be the first to admit that I have not followed these guidelines 100%. I learned something and hope to learn more from reader comments.

TIG India

Wading into the fast-moving flow of social media can be daunting to a small business owner with very little time on his hands. Here's Inc.'s comprehensive social media cheat sheet for the time-strapped entrepreneur.

1. Offer a peek behind the scenes. Offering a sneak preview of new products, services, or features online can help build demand and provide critical feedback to help smooth the launch. For instance, John Doyle, founder of chocolate company John and Kira's in Philadelphia, posts photos of new products on Flickr and invites comments from customers.

2. Harness your expertise. Chances are your company's white paper won't go viral. But sharing knowledge you've gathered through your trade can go a long way toward boosting your brand. Ford Models, for instance, became a You-Tube sensation through a series of videos that featured its models giving beauty and fashion tips.

3. Demonstrate what your company does. Because multimedia is so integral to social media, getting connected allows you to express your company's value proposition beyond words. To show just how powerful his company's blenders were, Blendtec's head of marketing, George Wright, created a series of videos showing the appliances churning up such diverse items as a rotisserie chicken, a Rubik's Cube, and an iPhone. The series' 100 million combined views helped boost Blendtec's sales by 700 percent.

4. Put your website's content to work. Want to draw more traffic to your website? Help spread the word by encouraging visitors to share content they enjoy. Got Cast, a website that connects television casting directors with aspiring actors, draws new visitors by posting audition videos on Digg and allowing others to share video links on the site. One way to promote the sharing of your site's content is to install a widget, such as Add This, that automates linking to popular sites.

5. Be candid. In unsure economic times, transparency goes a long way toward retaining and attracting customers. Giving readers the scoop on your company blog is an easy way to keep the lines of communication open. Giacomo Guilizzoni, the founder of San Francisco software company Balsamiq, even posts sales and profit figures to show that his company is on solid financial footing.

6. But be careful what you say about others. When Leslie Richard, owner of a North Carolina clothing company, described Vision Media Television as a "scam," she was slapped with a $20 million lawsuit. While recounting negative experiences with others won't necessarily lead to a court battle, it's best to steer clear of name-calling.

7. Interact with visitors—really. Just putting up a blog or a Facebook fan page won't do much good if visitors sense the flow of conversation only goes one way. In fact, Matt Mullenweg, founder of blogging platform Wordpress, lists not participating in comments as a surefire way to kill a community. Mullenweg and his team field the many suggestions users have for Wordpress through his blog.

8. Don't try to create a stand-in for yourself. With all the other tasks required within your company, it's tempting to outsource managing your social media or even to try automating the process. That can easily backfire, as Joe Pulizzi, founder of Cleveland marketing firm Junta42, learned when he tried sending automated welcome messages to new followers on Twitter. His online contacts quickly called him out for sending out what they perceived to be spam.

9. Don't pretend to be someone else. Thanks to IP address tracking, observers can also quickly tell when company figureheads adopt fake identities for the sake of fluffing up their reputation. Not only can the practice hurt your company's reputation, it could also land you in legal trouble. The plastic surgery Lifestyle Lift had to pay $300,000 in settlement costs to the state of New York for having its employees post flattering reviews of the company without disclosing their affiliation.

10. Help employees bond. Corporations such as IBM have built in-house networks—even virtual worlds reminiscent of Second Life—to link employees working in different locations. Small and medium-sized businesses can take advantage of readily available tools to facilitate collaboration. The Hoffman Agency, a public relations firm, uses Ning, which enables users to build custom social networks, to connect its U.S. staff with employees in Europe and Asia.

"The term link building is becoming a common word in online marketing strategies because it directly relates to how popular your website is. But what exactly is link building?"

Understanding link building

Link Building Services | TIG India

Link building is one tactic that website owners discovered as a way to get their websites to appear in the top results of search engines. The method by which search engines, such as Google, qualify websites was based on their web page rankings, in other words, it's basically a question of website popularity. In early years, search engines determined this position by the number of "keywords" they have on their website, either on the text itself, the title, etc., which is basically any and all elements on the page.

Naturally, web programmers for the search engines figured out that website owners found a loophole in the existing system and were cramming way too many keywords into their web pages. They then designed the search engines to determine the quality of the website based on the number of links from external websites. Their thinking was, this website must be good or informative which is why many people are providing a link to it.

Theoretically, it was sound in principle. Unfortunately, as with any other good intention, this condition was also abused. Website owners found a way to acquire and set links towards their websites by listing themselves in link farms. Link farms are basically websites with nothing but links to other websites.

Thus, search engines got another overhaul and up to date, this is how they determine the quality of websites - they assigned a quality factor to the links pointing to your websites. Meaning it wasn't in the number of links that your page has been referred to but in whether these links also have a high quality rating that will enable your website to be in the top pages of the search engines.

How to maximize link building in order to get high web page rankings?

Now that you have a basic comprehension of how link building was developed, what are the things that you need to do to initiate good links to raise your web page ranking?

First, you need to understand the different type of links at your disposal. There are (a) one-way links: inbound and outbound links and (b) two-way links: reciprocal links. Inbound links are those pointing to your website from other websites. This was the original intention of the search engine developers based on the concept that if someone likes your site, they'll refer or recommend it to others. As such, they get more quality points and are highly recommended if you want to increase your web page ranking. Outbound links are those that you as a website owner point to a website other than yours. It may not increase your link popularity but neither will it decrease it. Reciprocal links, as the name suggests, is a two-way link. You can point to a different website at the same time expecting that website to point to yours. This will be to your advantage if the link pointing to yours has a high quality ranking.

The key is getting links from websites with high quality ranks. Also, getting listed in well-known directories, like Yahoo, is always a plus.

Second, you need to continue to offer creative, interesting and informative content to keep readers coming back for more. If they like your site, you don't even need to ask them to create a link to your site, they'll do it of their own volition.

Third, take advantage of your networks, like suppliers or customers. A good relationship with them will always ensure reciprocity with good links as well. You can always create new networks when you come across websites that you yourself find relevant to your business or personal life. You may choose to email the website owner and request a link from their site to yours. Some times, they may expect a reciprocal link, other times none is required. It will also be good if you ask them to visit your website prior to making their decision to know that you are above board with your request.

Who needs it?

If you want qualified traffic to your website, you'll invest in a link building strategy. The higher your quality of links is, the better page ranking results you'll get. It means that your website will always be on the first page of search results if you have a high-ranking web page. It usually implies a certain sense of trust in your website and therefore in your products and services as well if you have a lot of quality inbound links to your website. Be aware though that link building is a time-consuming process and its effects may not be seen and felt immediately. Nevertheless, if you persevere and take action based on what was mentioned earlier then expect to see results and a guaranteed increase in traffic in your website.

Viral Marketing India, TIG India

Although there are many ways to market your business online, I only use free techniques because they have the chance to go viral.

Viral marketing is a form of word of mouth marketing that becomes viral. What this means is that your campaign spreads like a virus. Viral marketing will allow you to reach market segments you might not otherwise reach.

Another advantage of using viral marketing is that as your message spreads, your marketing automates itself. By automating your marketing, you continue to drive traffic to your sites and make money without doing any work.

Below are seven ways to help you unleash a viral marketing campaign in your business:

1. Write articles.

This is, of course, my favorite internet marketing technique. The reason is that it allows me to:

• build valuable one way back links to my websites,
• increase my rankings in the search engines,
• brand myself as an expert,
• show my potential customers how I can solve their problems.

Showing my potential customers how I can solve their problems is the most important element of writing articles. The reason is that you are adding value to your products by giving information, and sharing with others what you know without asking anything in return. It also gives you an opportunity to show whether or not you may solve the customers' problems.

Most internet surfers are tired of sales pitches; they want information. Give good information.

2. Send out a press release.

Press releases are another way to build one way backlinks to your website. It's also a way to tell others about your business and show them what you can do for them. Online press releases allow you to connect directly with potential customers.

To write an effective press release, you want to concentrate on news about your business. Show others how you will solve their problems.

Like articles, press releases are often syndicated across many sites, and this allows your press release to go viral.

3. Build a Squidoo lens.

Squidoo is the brain child of best selling author and entrepreneur Seth Godin. A Squidoo lens is like a one page minisite on a specific topic or product. Lenses allow you to give as much information as you want about your products or services. It also allows you to rank well in the search engines because Squidoo ranks well in the search engines.

Squidoo lenses offer readers a chance to vote on lenses, as well as bookmark them. The social element of this site makes lenses highly viral. Create a good lens, and you may go viral quickly.

4. Participate in social marketing.

Social marketing is an easy way to connect with both potential customers and others in your industry. This is an opportunity to get out there and "strut your stuff." In other words, you have a chance to demonstrate your expertise.

Social marketing encompasses a wide variety of techniques, including social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace, blogging, social bookmarking and videos. All of these are highly viral because they are interactive.

5. Write free reports to give away.

Although this technique has been around a long time, it's also still effective. Mark Joyner used it with his free ebook, "Search Engine Tactics." (This ebook has been downloaded over one million times.)

The way to make an ebook go viral is to first put it in a format everyone may use. PDF (Portable document format) is the way to do this because Adobe works on any computer
. The other thing you want to consider is making the report brandable.

What this means is that you allow others to add their details, or the affiliate links to your report. Those who want to give away your report use a "brander" to add their affiliate IDs, as well as a link to their websites if you allow it.

This gives others incentives to promote your report. More importantly, it gives them an opportunity to make sales. Branding increases the chances of your reports going viral.

6. Build a network of joint venture partners.

Although this technique takes the most work to do, it's also one of the most lucrative ways to market your business online. When you build a list of joint venture partners, you have the chance to reach more potential customers in your market. Not only will you reach more potential customers in your market, you also have the opportunity to gain new affiliates for those who want to sell your products or services.

The secret here is to provide as much support to your potential partners as possible. Make it easy to join your affiliate program and include plenty of viral marketing materials like articles, reviews, and brandable reports.

7. Use Tell a Friend Scripts.

A "Tell a Friend" script allows visitors to recommend your site to others. There is, however, a right and a wrong way to use this type of script.

The most important thing to remember here is to give your visitors an incentive for using your script. Ask them to recommend your site. In exchange, give them a bonus for recommending you. Make the bonus exclusive, something they can't get anywhere else.

One of the biggest advantages to using viral marketing in your business is that it is free, and once you create a successful campaign, it multiplies itself exponentially. Look for ways to market your business using viral marketing. A successful campaign will put your marketing on autopilot.

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