Alt Attribute & SEO Optimization

SEO Optimization images has become increasingly more essential in SEO (Seo optimization) for websites. The ALT attribute is a critical step that is sometimes forgotten. This is often a lost opportunity for better rankings.

In Google's webmaster guidelines, they advise using alternative text for that images in your web site:

Images:. Make use of the alt attribute to provide descriptive text. Additionally, we recommend using a human-readable caption and descriptive text around the image.

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

Many webmasters and inexperienced or unethical SEOs abuse using this attribute, attempting to stuff it with keywords, looking to achieve a certain keyword density, which is not as relevant for rankings now as it was previously.

On the contrary, high keyword density can, on some search engines like google, trigger spam filters, which might create a penalty for your site's ranking. Even without such a penalty, your site's rankings will not benefit from this plan.
This method also puts persons who use screen readers in a greater disadvantage. Screen readers are software-based tools that actually read aloud the items in what is displayed on the screen. In browsing the net, the alt features of images are read aloud as well.

Imagine listening to a paragraph of text that is followed by repetitions of numerous keywords. The page will be not even close to accessible, and, to put it mildly, would be found quite annoying.
What is an Alt attribute?

An ALT attribute shouldn't be used like a description or a label to have an image, though lots of people utilize it for the reason that fashion. Though it might seem natural to assume that alternate text is a label or a description, it's not!

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

The thing would be to supply the same functional information that a visual user would see. The alt attribute text should function as a "stand in" when the image itself is not available. Think about this: Should you replace the look using the text, would most users receive the same basic information, and would it create the same response?
Some 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 meant to convey the literal items in the image, then a description is suitable.

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

If it's designed to convey using a function, then your 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 merely a decorative role within the page, make use of an empty alt (i.e. alt="") or perhaps a CSS background image to ensure that reading browsers do not bother users by uttering things like "spacer image".

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

Alt text ought to be determined by context. The same image in a different context may need drastically different alt text.

Attempt to flow alt text with the remainder of the text because that is the way it is going to be read with adaptive technologies like screen readers. Someone listening to your page should hardly be aware that a graphic image can there be.
Please keep in mind that using an alt attribute for every image is required to satisfy the minimum WAI requirements, which are used as the benchmark for accessibility laws in UK and also the remainder of Europe. They are also required to meet "Section 508" accessibility requirements in the US.

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 other than to create a site visually appealing/attractive and (oftentimes) satisfy the marketing departments. There is no content value (though there might be value to a sighted user).

Never alt-ify eye-candy unless there is something there which will enhance the usability from the site for someone using a non-visual user agent. Use a null alt attribute or background images in CSS for eye-candy.

II. Mood-Setting

This is the middle layer of graphics which might actually set the mood or set happens so to speak. These graphics are not direct content and could not be considered essential, but they are essential in they help frame what is going on.

Try to alt-ify the 2nd group as is sensible and it is relevant. There may be times when doing this may be annoying or detrimental to other users. Then avoid it.

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

Most times it depends on context. Exactly the same image in a different context may need drastically different alt text. Obviously, content ought to always be fully available. How you use this example is really a judgment call.

III. Content and Function

This is when the image is 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 figure out why their alt text isn't working is that they don't know why the images exist. You need to determined precisely what function a picture serves. Consider what it's concerning the image that's vital that you the page's intended audience.

Every graphic has a reason for being on that page: because it either enhances the theme/ mood/ atmosphere or it is advisable to what are the page is trying to explain. Understanding what the look is perfect for makes alt text easier to write. And practice writing them definitely helps.
A way to check 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 make the page understandable to the listener?

Besides the alt attribute you've got a couple more tools at your disposal for images.
First, in degree of descriptiveness title is in between alt and longdesc. It adds useful information and can add flavor. The title attribute is optionally rendered through the user agent. Remember they're invisible and not shown as a "tooltip" when focus is received through the keyboard. (So much for device independence). So use the title attribute just for advisory information.
Second, the longdesc attribute points to the Link to a full description of an image. If the information found in a picture is important to 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 ought to be used. It can offer rich, expressive documentation of a 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 really a long description of an image...The goal is by using any length of description essential to impart the facts from the graphic.

It wouldn't be remiss to hope that the long description conjures a picture - the image - within the mind's eye, an analogy that holds true even for the totally blind."

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

In many cases, you're best just going with your gut instinct -- if it's not necessary to incorporate it, and when you don't possess a strong urge to get it done, don't add that longdesc.

However, if it's essential for the whole page to operate, then you have to add the alt text (or title or longdesc).

What's necessary and what's not depends a lot about the function of your image and its context about the page.

The same image may require alt text (or title or longdesc) in one spot, but not in another. If the image provides absolutely no content or functional information alt="" or background CSS images may be appropriate to make use of. But if the image provides content or adds functional information an alt would be required and perhaps a long description will be in order. In many cases this kind of thing is a judgement call.

Image Search Engine Optimization Tips

Listed below are key steps in optimizing images:

Select 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. Stay away from underscores as a word separator, such as "brilliant-diamonds.jpg";

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

Make sure that the text at the image that is relevant to that image.
Again, do not lose an excellent chance to help your website with your images in search engines. Use these steps to position better on all the engines and drive increased traffic for your site TODAY.

Website Optimization

Note the Client companies are based in either the US or Canada and the “percentage of traffic outside key service areas” are based on each client’s target market.

For instance, if a client only services the US only, any traffic outside the US would be traffic outside their service area.

Evaluating Your Own Traffic For Relevance

To use our own web design and Internet marketing business as an example, we service both Canada and the US, but were getting 24% of our traffic from other international countries. Big portions of that traffic were companies looking to sell their services to us.

These international visitors would fill in our web forms and call us to inquire, untimely skewing our website analytics data by not giving us a real understanding of how our website was performing to quality prospects.

A solution had to be implemented to significantly reduce the amount of resources we were dedicating to people outside our service areas.

Ultimately, we didn’t want to be contacted from people we couldn’t help. The four possible solutions we considered were:

1. Create a custom report in Google Analytics to filter out the unwanted data (reporting related)


2. Adjust the content of our website (website related)


3. Block the traffic from specific Countries from viewing our website (server related)


4. Don’t change anything.

Option #1

When evaluating the first solution, creating a custom report to filter out this data in Google Analytics, this would clear up our analytics data. Implementing a filter would provide a more realistic picture of quality prospects we could service in our geographic area instead of those prospects or solicitors in other counties we don’t service.

This option didn’t run the risk of blocking any traffic or robots that we do want. It’s also a simple filter to add in Google Analytics. We set up another Profile with the country exclusions filters. A new Profile was the preferred approach, rather than going through the extra steps of creating Custom Reports.

However, setting up analytical filters doesn’t fully resolve the issue, since these visitors could still access our site, fill in web forms, and contact us, ultimately wasting resources that we could dedicate elsewhere.

It wouldn’t give us a true picture of what was going on. It also wouldn’t resolve the problem – we didn’t want to be contacted by companies from some outside countries.

Option #2

Updating the website content to say you only service a specific area is another solution that we considered.  This would inject more geo-targeted keywords into your site, which would help in local SEO. Adding a graphical map, drop-down options and/or links that allow the visitor to select their country would help qualify visitors.

Some of the downfalls of this option include spending a much higher amount of time to implement versus the other options. The success of this would also be dependent on how honest the visitor is.

Assuming visitors are reading your website content, adding geo-targeted keywords into your site would set a clearer expectation of service area delivery. However, this option still doesn’t resolve the issue of sharing contact information that allows unsolicited visitors to contact us and invalid web form data.

Option #3

How about blocking or filtering visitors automatically based on their IP address? When considering to block website visitors by IP it’s important to first evaluate the reliability of the IP address(es). The accuracy of an IP list is over 99.5% on a country level and 80% on a city level. The smaller the location, the less reliable the IP address.

Internet Service Providers change IP addresses they designate to customers. Some change them more frequently than others, which is why you want to keep the database of IPs updated. Scheduling a monthly update is typically a good routine if city level IP authentication is required. Country level is much more static.

The benefit of blocking the country via IP address would not only clean up analytical data, but also ensure our sales funnel was more efficient and provide a more accurate picture of real prospects in all systems. We needed to consider other issues in this approach.

One concern was the potential for a search crawler coming from an IP in the location we were planning on blocking. For example, there was a possibility that Google’s search crawler would also be blocked if it came from the same country. The implementation of this option is more technical. One would need to obtain a list of IP addresses for the desired locations and update the websites htaccess file.

In our example, the inquiries from some countries became so frequent that we couldn’t ignore it any longer. After much debate, we decided to ban the countries; however, we would only ban one at a time to evaluate the effects.

For instance, one of the largest traffic sources, accounting for approximately 20% of this, was from India, a market we don’t service. These Indian visitors were companies looking to sell their services to us.

We executed the ban in the polite Canadian way. We also implemented the Google Analytics profile with the country filter to monitor future website statistics versus the past.

Those visitors that came from our blocked list would land on a different page that displayed a nice message. It read: “Thank you for visiting. However, we don’t provide services in your area.”

In sum, the tests have gone over very well. Banning the country from our website has significantly cut down the number of unsolicited calls, emails and web form requests. It also gave us a much more accurate picture of how our website was performing within our own target market and service area.

Considerations For Blocking Traffic By Location

If you’re considering this strategy, some factors to consider when filtering visitors include:

• Why do you want to filter website traffic?


• Which locations would you want to filter?


• How much traffic do you currently get from locations outside your service area?


• How important is this traffic?


• How to funnel visitors outside your service areas?


• The accuracy of the IP addresses locations in mind.


• Effects of non-human visitors.

A few months after we implemented this, we received a direct mail package that contained pens with our logo on them from a company that wished to sell us branded pens.

Guess what it said under our logo? “Thank you for visiting. However, we don’t provide services in your area.” We had a good laugh. Someone obviously didn’t read what they printed. It was evidence that our website block was working and a nice souvenir.

The key takeaway, as always, is monitor your traffic and conversions. Track where your quality traffic is coming from and decide for yourself if you should block the traffic of certain countries. Make sure to proceed with caution to ensure that you are not missing some opportunities.

Think outside of the box for other ideas of how you can use that traffic. Perhaps referring the traffic to a partner or creating a unique service for specific markets is another option to consider.

Opinions expressed in the article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land.

Related Topics: 100% Organic - Search Engine Optimization Tips | SEO: General

Note the Client companies are based in either the US or Canada and the “percentage of traffic outside key service areas” are based on each client’s target market.

For instance, if a client only services the US only, any traffic outside the US would be traffic outside their service area.

Evaluating Your Own Traffic For Relevance

To use our own web design and Internet marketing business as an example, we service both Canada and the US, but were getting 24% of our traffic from other international countries. Big portions of that traffic were companies looking to sell their services to us.

These international visitors would fill in our web forms and call us to inquire, untimely skewing our website analytics data by not giving us a real understanding of how our website was performing to quality prospects.

A solution had to be implemented to significantly reduce the amount of resources we were dedicating to people outside our service areas.

Ultimately, we didn’t want to be contacted from people we couldn’t help. The four possible solutions we considered were:

1. Create a custom report in Google Analytics to filter out the unwanted data (reporting related)


2. Adjust the content of our website (website related)


3. Block the traffic from specific Countries from viewing our website (server related)


4. Don’t change anything.

Option #1

When evaluating the first solution, creating a custom report to filter out this data in Google Analytics, this would clear up our analytics data. Implementing a filter would provide a more realistic picture of quality prospects we could service in our geographic area instead of those prospects or solicitors in other counties we don’t service.

This option didn’t run the risk of blocking any traffic or robots that we do want. It’s also a simple filter to add in Google Analytics. We set up another Profile with the country exclusions filters. A new Profile was the preferred approach, rather than going through the extra steps of creating Custom Reports.

However, setting up analytical filters doesn’t fully resolve the issue, since these visitors could still access our site, fill in web forms, and contact us, ultimately wasting resources that we could dedicate elsewhere.

It wouldn’t give us a true picture of what was going on. It also wouldn’t resolve the problem – we didn’t want to be contacted by companies from some outside countries.

Option #2

Updating the website content to say you only service a specific area is another solution that we considered.  This would inject more geo-targeted keywords into your site, which would help in local SEO. Adding a graphical map, drop-down options and/or links that allow the visitor to select their country would help qualify visitors.

Some of the downfalls of this option include spending a much higher amount of time to implement versus the other options. The success of this would also be dependent on how honest the visitor is.

Assuming visitors are reading your website content, adding geo-targeted keywords into your site would set a clearer expectation of service area delivery. However, this option still doesn’t resolve the issue of sharing contact information that allows unsolicited visitors to contact us and invalid web form data.

Option #3

How about blocking or filtering visitors automatically based on their IP address? When considering to block website visitors by IP it’s important to first evaluate the reliability of the IP address(es). The accuracy of an IP list is over 99.5% on a country level and 80% on a city level. The smaller the location, the less reliable the IP address.

Internet Service Providers change IP addresses they designate to customers. Some change them more frequently than others, which is why you want to keep the database of IPs updated. Scheduling a monthly update is typically a good routine if city level IP authentication is required. Country level is much more static.

The benefit of blocking the country via IP address would not only clean up analytical data, but also ensure our sales funnel was more efficient and provide a more accurate picture of real prospects in all systems. We needed to consider other issues in this approach.

One concern was the potential for a search crawler coming from an IP in the location we were planning on blocking. For example, there was a possibility that Google’s search crawler would also be blocked if it came from the same country. The implementation of this option is more technical. One would need to obtain a list of IP addresses for the desired locations and update the websites htaccess file.

In our example, the inquiries from some countries became so frequent that we couldn’t ignore it any longer. After much debate, we decided to ban the countries; however, we would only ban one at a time to evaluate the effects.

For instance, one of the largest traffic sources, accounting for approximately 20% of this, was from India, a market we don’t service. These Indian visitors were companies looking to sell their services to us.

We executed the ban in the polite Canadian way. We also implemented the Google Analytics profile with the country filter to monitor future website statistics versus the past.

Those visitors that came from our blocked list would land on a different page that displayed a nice message. It read: “Thank you for visiting. However, we don’t provide services in your area.”

In sum, the tests have gone over very well. Banning the country from our website has significantly cut down the number of unsolicited calls, emails and web form requests. It also gave us a much more accurate picture of how our website was performing within our own target market and service area.

Considerations For Blocking Traffic By Location

If you’re considering this strategy, some factors to consider when filtering visitors include:

• Why do you want to filter website traffic?


• Which locations would you want to filter?


• How much traffic do you currently get from locations outside your service area?


• How important is this traffic?


• How to funnel visitors outside your service areas?


• The accuracy of the IP addresses locations in mind.


• Effects of non-human visitors.

A few months after we implemented this, we received a direct mail package that contained pens with our logo on them from a company that wished to sell us branded pens.

Guess what it said under our logo? “Thank you for visiting. However, we don’t provide services in your area.” We had a good laugh. Someone obviously didn’t read what they printed. It was evidence that our website block was working and a nice souvenir.

The key takeaway, as always, is monitor your traffic and conversions. Track where your quality traffic is coming from and decide for yourself if you should block the traffic of certain countries. Make sure to proceed with caution to ensure that you are not missing some opportunities.

Think outside of the box for other ideas of how you can use that traffic. Perhaps referring the traffic to a partner or creating a unique service for specific markets is another option to consider.

Opinions expressed in the article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land.

Related Topics: 100% Organic - Search Engine Optimization Tips | SEO: General

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Bench Craft Company on the focus of music

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


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Greg Biffle finalizes new contract with Roush Fenway Racing, sources say

Sprint Cup driver Greg Biffle has finalized a new contract with Roush Fenway Racing and primary sponsor 3M, multiple sources told ESPN.com.

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GWU Suicide Tragically Coincides with Obama Speech - FoxNews.com

George Washington University students in Washington, D.C. learned of a tragic coincidence of timing on their campus Wednesday. As President Obama delivered a speech on deficit reduction in the Jack Morton Auditorium, ...

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Candella defends Alien Jihad game <b>News</b> - PC - Page 1 | Eurogamer.net

Read our PC news of Candella defends Alien Jihad game.

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Apple should see a material dip, on top of the one that occurred
after I indicated that I was short the stock on March 16th. Before we
delve into my opinion, let’s peruse the news from 1 a.m. this morning:

WSJ: Apple Crunched in Nasdaq Rebalance- In
a move likely to ripple across the stock market, Nasdaq OMX plans to
announce a rare rebalancing of its Nasdaq-100 index, which will reduce
the big weighting of Apple, which currently makes up more than 20% of
the index.

Bloomberg: Apple’s Weight in Nasdaq-100 to Be Reduced as Microsoft, Cisco Are Raised

So, why do you think Nasdaq decides to reduce Apple’s weighting now?
Well, the competitive pressures that Apple faces are nigh guaranteed to
make it impossible for it to fulfill the pie in the sky expectations
that are being built for it.  That in combination with a 20% weighting
create a recipe for a guaranteed crash in the Nasdaq unless something
was done about it. Signs of heavy reliance on on or two products for 70%
of their profit, while sourcing the most important parts of those
products from their biggest competitors, were starting to show. iPad 2
supplies are tight due to Japan’s woes, and Apple does not have the
mobile computing product diversity to handle it like the 150 or so
Android competitors it is battling. This means much more than just a gap
in profits for the quarter. These companies are in race, and Apple is
being forced to give up some of its lead due to diversification issues –
issues that Android manufacturers (who are more diversified because
there are so many more of them from different places) don’t have, or at
least not to the extent that Apple does. Thus, Samsung, LG, Asus, HTC,
etc. will be rolling out to customers who may have had an Apple iPhone
or iPad.

This is also another (of many) massive triumphs of BoomBustblog
research over that of the most esteemed Godman Sachs who put a $430
price target on Apple just as it was making all time highs and in direct
contravention to BoomBustBlog’s stated logic. See Shorting Apple and Why Software Developers Can Make More Money On Android Wednesday, March 16th, 2011

I have finally started dabbling with Apple
shorts and puts. My OTM S&P put positions were profitably stopped
out due to trailings yesterday when the market recovered some of its
losses. I have decided to use Apple in the place of the S&P puts
for the time being. Medium to long term, the trade is more evident and
obvious to anyone who is objective and follows BoomBustBlog. It is
significantly more risky shorter term. Alas, there are marginal gains
already, and once they accrue to the point of indemnifying my trailing
stop, I will add more. After I finish the current leg of my global real
estate research to be disseminated to institutions, I will offer
tidbits of the modeling (I have already offered subscribers significant
info on why I think Apple is a risky long play). From a contrarian
standpoint, it may be safe to go short with tight stops, after all
although Apple Gears Up To Combat The Margin Compression That Apparently Only It, Google & Reggie Middleton Sees Coming, we still have those guys over at West Street… Goldman’s
$430 Target, Screaming Buy On Apple At Its All Time High Is In Direct
Contravention To Reggie Middleton’s Logic – Who’s Right? Well, Who
Has Been More Right In The Past? I have taken The Challenge To Goldman Sach’s Apple Proclamation One Step

Farther, Apple’s Closed System Risks
Failure! Listen, everyone, regardless of what investment positions or
tech products you may have in your stable, needs to ask themselves the
appropriate “What if’s”. I have spurred the conversation with “Will Google Win The Mobile Computing War? Let’s Walk Through Where They Stand Now & How To Value Them”

Remember, I may not always be right, but it does pay to look at the track record…  Did Reggie Middleton, a Blogger at BoomBustBlog, Best Wall Streets Best of the Best? More attention should be paid to the little guy, after all by now it is Now Common Knowledge That Goldman’s Investment Advice Sucks!
Didn’t you get the memo? I’m sure many traders have spurned Apple due
to the Japanese market being cut off right at the launch of the iPad 2,
but the issues go deeper than that. I will cover it in depth at a later
date, though.

Additional thoughts on the Apple short:

1. Note For The Few Realistic Apple Bears… Wednesday, March 16th, 2011
2. Buffet on Apple – Common Sense! Monday, March 21st, 2011
3. Competition Heats Up In The Mobile Computing Space On Many Fronts – Prices Driven Down Once Again By The Big Players Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011
4. How the “I Love Apple, There Is No Other Fever” Adds To The Attractiveness Of An Ever So Unpopular Apple Short Monday, March 21st, 2011

And that Research in Motion short alert
given to subscribers is working like a charm – even more so if it get’s
caught in  NASDAQ storm: Research in Motion Drops 10% After Hours, Precisely As We Warned Two Months Ago – MARGIN COMPRESSION!!! Thursday, March 24th, 2011

As rumors of a later-than-usual iPhone launch for 2011 persist, a new report reveals that the notoriously secretive Apple is being even more careful than usual when dealing with overseas suppliers.



"Apple is keeping its iPhone 5 cards extra close to the vest on this launch to avoid a falloff in iPhone 4 demand ahead of a refresh, especially given the February launch of the CDMA iPhone 4 with Verizon," Analyst Brian White with Ticonderoga Securities said in a note to investors on Friday. He believes that the iPhone 5 could still launch in June or July, as previous models have.



White noted that various rumors have pointed toward a launch later than June this year for the fifth-generation iPhone. One report from March alleged that Apple has not even begun ordering components for the anticipated "iPhone 5," and the device is slated to arrive in the company's 2012 fiscal year, which begins in late September.



And a third report alleged that Apple is working on a major revamp of iOS, its mobile operating system, for version 5.0. New features like cloud-based storage of music, photos and video are rumored to arrive in the update this fall, likely alongside new iPhone hardware.



But despite all of those reports, White isn't yet convinced that the iPhone 5 will be introduced later than its typical June or July timeframe.



"Although we do not have a smoking gun that definitively rules out a delayed autumn unveiling or one that supports a launch this summer, there is a pattern of activity in motion with the supply chain that makes us question a delayed launch," he said.



White also cited sources who indicated that iPad sales could reach up to 40 million units in calendar year 2011. And supply chain sources also indicated that disruption from the earthquake and tsunami disaster in Japan will actually end up benefitting Apple, as suppliers will "rush to support Apple at the expense of competitors."



The analyst already revealed earlier this week that Apple has been offering upfront cash payments to component suppliers in order to secure components in the wake of the disaster in Japan. Apple has apparently also been using a "three cover guarantee," referring to capacity, stock and price, to block out competitors and prevent them from building ample supply of devices.

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During today’s Google earnings call, one analyst asked for some color on Google’s mobile business. CFO Patrick Pichette didn’t give much more in terms of specifics, but he did offer up some color. “Without any radical effort, we already announced at end of Q3 this is a $1 billion run-rate business,” says Pichette. Mobile is “growing at an amazing blazingly pace,” he says. “We tripped into $1 billion.”

Mobile search is definitely something Google is keenly focussed on. Senior VP of Local Jeff Huber noted on the call: ” In terms of where it trends over time, the smartphone is becoming an extension of the person, and how they do everything.”

Google is tackling that opportunity with mobile search obviously, but also with Android, which comes with Google search built-in as the default. Google is seeing 350,000 Android devices being activated a day.

Asked whether Google would have to build out a local salesforce with feet on the ground to take advantage of the new mobile and local advertising opportunities, sales chief Nikesh Arora didn’t rule out any possibilities. “we will use a combination of existing sales teams and methods and others that might be required,” he responded. Sounds like Google is picking itself up and going after the next billion dollars or two in mobile search.

Photo credit: Flickr/ Jeffrey Beall

The PPIC study Kolko co-authored sheds light on why historically California’s economy has grown on pace with the national economy even though it usually ranks low in surveys of states whose laws are favorable to business.

While the research suggests many factors that determine long-term economic growth lie beyond the reach of policy makers, Kolko cautioned that policy could still someday trump warm, sunny days on the Pacific coast.

“If California loses its ability to incubate and encourage fast growing industries to be here, that would be unfortunate” in the long term, she said.

Kolko identified two policies in particular, a simpler tax structure rather than a lower tax rate, and a lower share of government expenditure on welfare and transfer payments, as means of hastening economic expansion.

(© 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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ABC <b>News</b> Exclusive: Pat Tillman&#39;s Mom Wants General Stanley <b>...</b>

ABC News' Jake Tapper reports: President Obama named retired General Stanley McChrystal to co-chair a White House commission on military families this week, but according to perhaps the most prominent military family of the last decade, ...

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Former ABC <b>News</b> President David Westin Announces Next Move - The <b>...</b>

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Roofing Contractors Vancouver - 5 Inquiries to Wonder

Roofing Vancouver - Faq's

1. Repair or Replace?

There's no opinion like an expert opinion. Most contractors provides you with a free estimate. Get a list of a few trusted contractors and contact them well ahead of time of when you wish to obtain your roof fixed so you can compare costs and opinions.

2. Beauty versus Practicality?

Discuss this with your spouse or partner. (The kids could care less...at least the children.) The fact is, nobody wants an ugly roof just like nobody wants to be seen with bed hair. If you've got a great quality roof and you just have to do the repair, it's worth it to pay for the price of the initial shingle rather than doing patchwork. A roof replacement doesn't happen very often (hopefully!) and so make a choice that suits you and your family well or it'll stick out just like a sore thumb everyday you go home.

3. Should I replace the rooftop in order to sell the house for more?

Consider this cautiously prior to making a decision. With respect to the roofing material you select, a brand new roof lasts anywhere from twenty, fifty, to one-hundred years! This means you have to look into the year from 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 standard is what makes the roof last longer, but if you're not likely to stay in your present home throughout your life, the higher expense may not be worth neglect the. Although a brand new roof can improve the worth of your value, the increase may not be enough to cover neglect the and that's definitely going to hurt your wallet.

4. Is it a good idea that i can repair the rooftop myself?

Sure it is. Before you do, consult an expert first. You can do it yourself, however, you shouldn't be considered a complete ‘lone ranger.' Depending on the extent of the repair, you may or might not change your mind. Either way, it helps to get a professional eye on the problem first and maybe a free quote to help you do the math later and see if it's truly worth your time and effort, sweat, and money to become mister or miss fix-it.

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

Weather can cause delays from days to weeks. Most people plan ahead to have their roof replaced in the summer once they have a friend is going to be home during the day for any solid fourteen days. Once you've this era in mind, create a call to a trusted contractor months in advance to obtain a quote. Some companies get booked up fast and chances are, they're the most reputable. Planning ahead of the summer also provides you with time to discuss with more and compare costs...especially if you need to have the roof made by a specified date.

 

The very best Roofing Company In Vancouver!

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

When the response to any of these questions is "Yes" it is time to call the top roofing company Vancouver - Crown Roofing & Drainage.

For over a century Crown Roofing continues to be 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 degree of customer support.

YOUR Vancouver ROOF DESERVES Believe it or not!

The rooftop of your Vancouver home is the very first type of defence against wind, rain, snow, ice and other weather elements. Make sure it is up to the task. Among Vancouver Roofing companies, only Crown Roofing has got the depth of expertise and successful history to make sure your roofing system is going to be properly designed and installed.

NEIGHBORS HELPING NEIGHBORS.

One reason Crown Roofing has been 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 creating a roof to safeguard our very own family. That's what neighbors do, and you will count on Crown Roofing being here to aid you and back our work. In the end, we've been repairing and replacing roofs in Vancouver since 1902!

Obtain a FREE INSPECTION AND EVALUATION OF YOUR Vancouver ROOF.

Go to the Roofers Vancouver for a FREE inspection and evaluation of the roof. Make sure you get the very best roof for your Vancouver home, in the best value. We build roofs to last!

 

Tacoma Roofer: Help your house be Beautiful

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

The local Tacoma Roofing company is knowledgeable how important an economic investment your house is for you personally, especially since it is a long term one. Your home might have been damaged slowly over the years and you have to take steps to minimize this damage. For a number of people, keeping their property beautiful is another few pride. You will find those too who'd prefer to turn their property into a cost effective and efficient living place. Your roof is a valuable part of your property and plays a role in each one of the aspects mentioned previously. Because of this, you need to employ the services of qualified a Tacoma Roofing contractors.

Types of Roofs installed by a Tacoma Roofer

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

Each kind of roof invites distinct problems, however they can be easily taken care of with a trusted Tacoma Roofing company. It's vital that you nip roof problems in the bud before they become too costly or dangerous. You are able to schedule a scheduled appointment using the Tacoma Roofing contractor to take a glance at your roof to determine if there are any issues or potential problems with it. If there are, they may be able to let you know how to deal with them.

A Tacoma Roofing company Helps to Build Strong Homes

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

If your gutters tend to clog too often, or there are leaks across the walls of your home, it may imply that there is debris piled up on the top. Loose branches, piles of leaves, along with other light objects that are swept onto your roof during a storm can all contribute towards damaging your homes roof, which damages can be lasting. A knowledgeable Tacoma Roofing contractor will tell you that birds, mice, along with other types of rodents often build nest in the debris that collects on the top. While these nests may look rather innocent, they're great at collecting moisture, be responsible for loose shingles, mold, and indoor leaks in your home. In addition, it may also cause vermin infestation. Following a storm, your Tacoma Roofing contractor will suggest that you inspect your homes roof for any signs and symptoms of debris or damage.

Reverse Damages by using a Tacoma Roofing company

However top quality the roof might be, it is going to wear down over time. You will find shingles which are referred to as "25 year" or "30 year" shingles, but those numbers are only related to warranty produced by the makers. They seldom require 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 10 years. With a Tacoma Roofing company, the price will be lower than what you think.

If there you lose any shingles, or there is some harm to them, a Tacoma Roofer can assist you to. Damaged shingles can result in indoor leaks, since the substrate from the roof becomes subjected to the sun and rain. Shingles that are loose or broken can slip off and pose a possible hazard to people standing below. Missing shingles produce a gap that allows rain, wind, ice, and debris to build up underneath the adjoining shingles, which creates a "domino effect" that affects other shingles and they become loose or broken. A thorough investigation will be made by your local Tacoma Roofing contractor, if you give them a call track of your suspicions of loose or missing shingles.

Your Tacoma Roofer will be in a situation to inform you what are the best option is for your roof. In case your roof isn't inside a good condition, it's advised that you have it replaced completely. The Tacoma Roofing contractor can take you thru the different roofing options available for you that will fit your requirements and your budget.

Tacoma Roofing company: Enhancing your Home's Efficiency

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

First of all, inspect your roof thoroughly for just about any and all sorts of kind of damage, prior to the beginning of the 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 your last part, you'll need the help of the local Tacoma Roofing company. It may be quite dangerous to climb to the roof of your property. This is when the contractor from Tacoma Roofing contractor comes in. He'll read the strength and security of the roof and shingles, and perform a general inspection of the entire roof structure, to make sure that it's in proper working order. They'll be able to point towards issues that you have to keep an eye on and problems you might not have spotted.

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

Tacoma Roofing contractor: Someone You are able to Rely on
When you know or suspect that there's a problem, your Tacoma Roofer ought to be contacted. They can use their knowledge and expertise to obtain your house back in ace condition by simply focusing on the rooftop. Your roof deserves attention. So call them today, so that they can conclude working on your roof.

 

What is Distinction between Commercial Roofing Companies From Residential Roofing Companies

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

If this is the situation then their labor costs will prohibit them from focusing on non union residential jobs. Beyond that, if your commercial roofing company has not signed a contract having a union they might be outfitted simply for commercial jobs and that means that their workers and equipment might not be consistent with smaller residential jobs.

Residential roofing contractors generally tend to run smaller companies and hence, are more capable of bid competitively on residential jobs, which are usually smaller than comercial jobs. In fact, quite often residential roofing contractors will run one man operations, in which the contractor that you simply talk to could be the one which actually does the job about the building.

Also, liability insurance for commercial roofing is more expensive and a larger bond is required for a commercial roofing work which will make it not economical for a commercial roofing contractor to do residential roofing jobs.

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

 

Difference Between Commercial Roofing and Residential Roofing

Did you know that the rooftop of the building includes a huge effect on the whole structure itself? Damage caused to roofs because of natural or another disasters leads to a considerable loss of property everywhere. The kind of materials used to construct the rooftop that ought to be sturdy and long-lasting, the way in which the roof has been installed and even its timely maintenance are extremely crucial. There are two types of roofs that are utilized on all of the buildings that we see around us: commercial and residential. Although it may seem that commercial roofing is performed only for businesses or offices and residential roofing is done for apartments and houses, the truth is the differences tend to be more complex than that.

Residential roofing is usually completed just by one hired contractor but commercial roofing usually takes an entire team to accomplish the job. This is because an industrial roof tends to be larger when it comes to square feet than a residential roof.
Commercial roofs need to be made carefully keeping the character and reason for your building in mind. For instance, if there is a cafe or restaurant within the building then external components like ventilation systems, smoke stacks and pipes will be required. Residential roofs tend not to have such components apart from a chimney or two at the most.
Commercial roofs tends to be flat in design to accommodate further changes at a later period, whereas most residential roofs have peaks and other architectural features like roof gardens.
Commercial roofing is much more expensive than residential roofing due to the special tools, materials and safety equipment that are needed onsite. Usually the patching or maintenance jobs are done in segments unlike for any residential roof where the repair or replacement work can be carried out a short time. This is another reason why the equipment employed for residential roofs is usually smaller and less expensive as well.
Commercial roof installations take a longer time to complete compared to residential roof installations and therefore are usually constructed in large sections. In this phase however, it is important to ensure that there aren't any leakages, cracks or other visible deterioration signs as it can cause considerable damage to the entire building.
You should install the best roof for any building depending on its purpose. Make sure that you hire a construction company that utilizes top notch materials and it has the right equipment to do the job or neglect the may turn out to be a huge loss later.

 

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

If a business is seeking to have work done on its roof, it is important to use commercial roofing contractors that have an enthusiastic understanding of any special needs that the business may have. As an example, a roofing job is often disruptive for that operation of economic as usual. Because of this, it might be essential for the business to be temporarily shut down, or the roofing to take place after business hours have ended. A roofer that understands these needs can function plus a business to make certain these types of issues are minimized.

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

It's a good idea for just about any business to get in touch with a minimum of three commercial roofing contractors to create bids about the price. In this manner, the company could obtain a better price. It's also vital that you make sure that each of the roofing contractors is licensed and bonded. This information can be found by getting touching the state contractor's board. This also makes it possible to determine whether there has been any claims filed from the company in the past.

When looking at bids, it is only 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 prices can differ quite drastically, but as tempting as it can be to choose the cheapest bid, this isn't always your best option. In many cases, more costs now will mean fewer costs in the long run due to a poor roofing job. To help investigate the caliber of the job, it is a good idea to check with the Better Business Bureau in order to find out if the business has been accredited, and when it's not, to a minimum of see what its rating is.

 

Picking out a Commercial Roofer

When you're looking for a roofer for your commercial roofing project you need to look for a contractor who understands the special needs of the commercial roofing project. For example it may be harder to operate on the business during business hours so either the company has to be shut down for that repair or replacement or even the job needs to be done after conventional business hours. Is the roofer you are considering to do the job ready to operate around your schedule constrictions which might involve working weekends or evenings?

When you begin your research for any roofer not only do you need to answer those questions however, you also want to hire a company that will perform a high quality job with no great deal of time delays. Going about finding someone can feel as an obstacle in itself but there are several methods to result in the search easier.

Ask friends and family for referrals and then try to find a minimum of three contractors to provide you with written bids on your job. Prior to going any more you have to ensure that the contractors you are considering 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 3 or 4 roofers to place bids, you need to prepare yourself for the bids to be widely varied. Roofers will have brand preferences which will vary and may element in more or less compared to next guy for any labor estimate. The greater detailed a written bid is the more helpful it will be for you to see 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 consider, but if they are low due to poor quality workman ship it may not be worthwhile in the end.

As they say, you generally get that which you pay for, if you are able to afford a mid-priced bid it's always smart to increase in your price range instead of down. Additionally you should select your roofer depending on how professional they were and just how comfortable you anticipate you will be dealing with them.

Finally your cost will vary depending on which kind of roofing material you choose along with the cost to haul your old roof to the landfill. Should you be looking for places to cut corners in your roof, rather than cutting labor cost you may want to ask about metallic roof option. Metal roofs can be cost effective and energy efficient which makes them overall money savers for the long term, and on commercial buildings they can be very low maintenance. Plus given that they can be put along with an existing roof, you don't need to possess the old one removed and hauled away, which can make a big impact on your cost.

Choosing a comerical roofing company in your local area, does not have to be a struggle. To learn more, visit http://www.vancouverroofers.net