March | 2010 | Otto's Outdoors & Recreation

Archive for March 2010

Legal Nurse Consultant

March 29, 2010 |

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Posted in Health and Medical |

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Auto Accessories San Antonio

March 27, 2010 |

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Posted in Construction |

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Whitestone’s principals have a passion for melding classical architectural design with the latest construction and technological innovations. The result of their passion and commitment is immediately felt upon entering a Whitestone home. Visitors quickly notice the exceptional details that elevate each home to a work of art. A Whitestone home is a thoroughly planned and beautifully constructed masterpiece. Whitestone homeowners should expect nothing less.Principal David Gordon is a born and bred Houstonian whose passion for building developed at an early age. He ran his own construction crew at the age of eighteen, which helped to fund his degree in Construction Management at the University of Houston, after establishing himself as an Aggie at Texas A&M, College Station. He continued to gear his studies towards marketing, management, developing business solutions for both middle market and Fortune 500 companies.Actively involved in both his children’s West Houston activities and his church along with his wife, Tamara, David not only builds classic quality into each custom home, but trust and integrity in all of his client relationships.A no-nonsense family man, his high energy management and sales skills bring an unique depth of experience and knowledge to the residential construction industry as well as an eye for quality and design. Such combined traits, rarely found in this field, only serve to enhance his responsibilities at Whitestone Builders in land acquisitions, design, and construction while striving to exceed client satisfaction.Principal Graham Gamble has had twenty plus years of experience in accounting and finance. He is a Certified Public Accountant and Certified Financial Planner, holding two degrees from Houston Baptist University in Finance and Accounting. This combination of skill and education gives him the unique ability to significantly impact Whitestone Builders’ success with their Houston area clientele, both financially and interpersonally.Involved in church and youth ministries with his wife Elsie, Graham has an approachable demeanor and a heart for customer service. For him, building sound relationships with clients is as essential as the superior craftsmanship constructed into each unique custom-built Whitestone Builders home in the Houston area.As much as you need a solid physical foundation to a house, you also need a builder with a solid financial foundation. Graham brings this skill into every facet of his oversight from project sel ection to team member management and risk management, thus ensuring not only excellent service, but a solid financial investment in each residential construction project Whitestone Builders undertakes.Home Builder Houston Home Builder Houston Heights Home Builder Garden Oaks Home Builder Timber Grove Home Builder Inner Loop Houston Heights Builder Houston Heights Custom Builders Houston Heights Luxury Homes Houston Custom Builder Home Builder Houston Home Builder Houston Heights Home Builder Garden Oaks Home Builder Timber Grove Home Builder Inner Loop Houston Heights Builder Houston Heights Luxury Homes Houston Heights Custom Builders Houston Custom Builder Home Builder Houston Home Builder Houston Heights Home Builder Garden Oaks Home Builder Timber Grove Home Builder Inner Loop Houston Heights Builder Houston Heights Custom Builders Houston Heights Luxury Homes Houston Custom Builder Home Builder Houston Home Builder Houston Heights Home Builder Garden Oaks Home Builder Timber Grove Home Builder Inner Loop Houston Heights Builder Houston Heights Custom Builders Houston Heights Luxury Homes Houston Custom Builder Home Builder Houston Home Builder Houston Heights Home Builder Garden Oaks Home Builder Timber Grove Home Builder Inner Loop Houston Heights Builder Houston Heights Custom Builders Houston Heights Luxury Homes Houston Custom Builder Home Builder Houston Home Builder Houston Heights Home Builder Garden Oaks Home Builder Timber Grove Home Builder Inner Loop Houston Heights Builder Houston Heights Custom Builders Houston Heights Luxury Homes Houston Custom Builder

Posted in Construction |

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The FTC Needs to Shut Up!

March 19, 2010 |

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The FTC Needs to Shut Up!By Pace Lattin (c) 2010 The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is one of the most unique parts of our government. It has a wide range of powers given by law, which encompass among other things the ability to pass rules and regulations against unfair and deceptive acts or practices. The FTC often issues “guidelines which are no more than notices that they will push for prosecution or civil action against individuals in violation their guidelines. Although these guidelines are often up for public debate, they are not passed by any governing body such as Congress, yet affect us often more than any newly passed law would. While many people see that the FTC is a consumer rights entity within the government, a growing number of people see that the FTC is a part of a growing, overreaching government that is interfering with the ability of businesses and often individuals to conduct business in this market economy. I’m not claiming that the FTC should NOT prosecute obvious fraud, where consumers are clearly being scammed – such as not delivering a product as promised or the mass distribution of unsafe toys. That being said, the FTC’s guidelines and civil actions are quickly crossing the border of infringing not only on our ability to do business, but our First Amendment Rights to Free Speech. The Right to express one’s self and opinions, whether it is political or business related is an inherent part of our society and the foundations of our business community. The courts have ruled that advertising is a form of free speech, which cannot be infringed upon anymore than any other opinion, written or spoken.Recently the FTC issued guidelines (http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/ 10/endortest.shtm) (which means, as said, we plan to bring action against someone) that regulate bloggers. Bloggers are a unique part of our economy, a throwback to the creation of this Country when people would often hand out pamphlets to express their opinion, in order to get attention to their cause. Bloggers are often people, like myself, who have taken the initiative to put their feelings down and write, taking the power away from larger media organizations, and putting it into the hands of the individual. As one knows, blogs often express anything from political opinion to diet tips. They are sometimes political, commercial, religious, or just something someone did in order to express their frustration at their parents. Whatever the reason is, they are a wonderful expression of our First Amendment Rights.Yet the FTC believes that bloggers are so unique, that they need to be regulated in a way that hasn’t ever been proposed to mainstream media. The FTC recently issued regulations in which they clearly state how bloggers who engage in commercial activity, should clearly state how they are related to the product, and make it obvious they are engaging in business, or have been paid to endorse the product. This uniquely affects the interactive advertising community, because it could easily be interpreted that any link, any mention of a product that would in turn create a sale (such as an affiliate link) would have to be clearly mentioned as an advertisement or state the nature of the relationship. Additionally, more and more the FTC is engaged in the business of deciding what is considered an “authentic or substantiated” claim by an endorser or a product. While they have for the last decade or so, been more involved in cases in which they believe unsubstantiated product claims have been made, they are specifically targeting bloggers – and their opinions. This growing trend is more and more disturbing, as it gives the government the right to make assumptions on the quality and accuracy of claims of businesses – and then in theory, the accuracy of claims of individuals. It asks businesses and bloggers to basically “prove” what they are saying is correct, even if it is an opinion. They must substantiate according to the FTC, all their claims. This is unique in nature, because it places an undue hardship often on small businesses and bloggers, who cannot afford to hire research teams or a huge law firm to assist them in the creation of their materials. A sole-proprietor who discovers that perhaps his home-made fig bars have lead to increased weíght loss and energy, in theory, will have to prove and substantiate his claims before he could buy advertising on Google that states that these bars can help in weíght loss. It could prevent a small business owner from selling knitted goods on Ebay, because the claim that they have kept her warmer than any other coat she owned, might be subject to scrutiny. They have to worry that the government, the FTC might intervene at some point and bring action against them based on perception and supposition. It gives bureaucrats, non-elected officials an extreme amount of power over small businesses in this Country.The right of Free Speech in this Country is quite interesting, because it allows people to express their opinion, even if they are wrong. It assumes that no opinion is inherently wrong and opens up the possibility of debate. It also assumes that most adults are intelligent enough to make their own decisions regarding their dislikes, their opinions and the products they want to buy. The government, acting as “Big Mommy” is more and more interfering and saying that they want to regulate what we see and hear – that despite a huge Internet with tons of information, we can’t do our own research and decide if a product is what we want. We are giving the government more power than has ever existed before: the ability to sanitize what we hear and see before it’s released to the public. “Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have. The course of history shows us that as a government grows, liberty decreases.” – Thomas Jefferson About The AuthorIn perhaps the fastest growing industry ever, one person has made a name for himself as a leader and innovator. Pace Lattin, the publisher of the top newsletters in new media and online advertising, is one of the inventors of many of the technologies and methods that have become standards in the industry. He has been called many things, including a rabble-rouser, a guru, an innovator and a watchdog — but one thing stays the same: he is one of the most interesting leaders and commentators in the online advertising industry. Marketing Sherpa, a leading marketing research publication called him the most influential journalist in online media for a reason. IndustryPace.com

Posted in Internet - Websites - SEO |

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Reynolds Plantation

March 16, 2010 |

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Posted in Real Estate |

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Top 10 Issues in Website Design and Usability

March 14, 2010 |

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Top 10 Issues in Website Design and UsabilityBy Pilar Torres Wahlberg (c) 2010 You’ve tested your website, you’ve visited it a few times, you’ve gotten some feedback on it, and you have a bit of data about your visitors. You might want to make some changes. Here are the top ten issues in website design and usability.Think about these things in relation to your website and consider what you might want to do to perfect your site.1. The First GlanceIn general, people look at the top left corner of your website first. You should have your essential information there: what your offerings are and how your potential customers can get it. Some visitors are at your site only long enough to confirm that you sell what they want, and some are ready to buy. All visitors need to be able to tell what you do right away. Don’t hide behind a splash page or make people wait while something loads – many won’t take the time. 2. NavigationWhen your customers want and need more information, they’ll stay and look for it. Make sure they can find it easily. Put your navigation in the usual places, and make it very obvious what your visitors need to click in order to find each section. Don’t have more than 5-7 choices in your main navigation and keep it consistent on every page. Let your creativity and uniqueness show in some other way – follow the rules when it comes to navigation.3. Contact InformationCan customers (and search engines) find you when they need you? Your contact information must be clear and accurate. It must also be easy to find. Visitors will visit your website several times before they choose to go for your services or purchase. Don’t make it hard for them to contact you when they’re ready.4. Call To ActionWhat do you want your visitors to do? It should be easy to find out how to complete an order through your website or get more information. Regardless of the content of the page make sure that you include a clear call to action. Make it easy for visitors to purchase or request information from you. Just be sure to make it very clear.5. Above the Fold FocusMany visitors won’t scroll; most won’t scroll unless you have already convinced them that it’s worth their while to do so. Make sure important aspects are above fold. The unimportant things – why are they on your page? This is especially important on the home page. Visitors who’ve reached your FAQs page or your blog are probably interested enough to spend some time reading. 6. Inviting ContentTo develop relationships with your clients, you need to have them visit more than once. In fact, most people won’t commit themselves the first time they come to your website. You need to offer them something of value so they’ll return. Do you have a blog, or frequently-updated featured products? Have you got any useful information that you could offer your customers?7. Well-Organized PagesDon’t make your visitors search. Always ensure that your page layout is clear, concise and gives the visitor exactly what they want without having to search for it. Try to put yourself in your customer’s position and use what you learn from testing. Decide what you want to say and plan its organization before you write, so you can be sure to have coherent paragraphs. 8. Visual AppealWhile the content on your page is the most important thing, an attractive page will be more enjoyable and appealing for visitors. Choose colours that work well together, leave some open space so it’s not too busy, and make sure you have everything lined up nicely. Even if you have not got artistic skills you can make a good impression – and you should.9. Sincerity and TrustworthinessThe internet is all about trust. If you can ensure that your website is trustworthy, people will be more likely to complete an order. What’s more, the search engines also base your rankings on how trustworthy they think your page is. Don’t undermine your future success by trying to trick the search engines or mislead your visitors.10. A Polished FinishDo your links work? Make sure you check your grammar, spelling and layout are correct? Is all the information up to date and accurate? Your visitors would prefer to shop in a well kept and clean shop in the high street. They would prefer to purchase in a clean and well kept website too. They’ll have less faith in you if you have errors on your website.Is your website perfect? Maybe not. We’ll be providing more information on all of these points as we go along, and your site will become better and better as you follow our suggestions and learn more. About The AuthorPilar Torres Wahlberg – Get Instant Access to our Free Guide to Proven Techniques on How to Succeed Online http://www.pickaweb.co.uk/ebook-download.htm

Posted in Internet - Websites - SEO |

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Digger Derrick Trucks

March 12, 2010 |

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Posted in Auto & Trucks |

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Chiropractic Office in San Antonio

March 11, 2010 |

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Posted in Health and Medical |

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Choke Canyon Fishing Guides

March 10, 2010 |

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Posted in Sports |

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SEO Tips: Get More Traffic with these 10 Important Inbound Links

March 10, 2010 |

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SEO Tips: Get More Traffic with these 10 Important Inbound LinksBy Donna Gunter (c) 2010 Don’t overlook your inbound linking strategy as you think about search engine optimization for your site. An inbound link is a hyperlink back to your site from another web site. The one constant and reliable strategy in search engine optimization is that sites with a variety of high quality backlinks rank higher in the search engine results pages. Why are these links to your site important? They can can…• bring potential customers to your site when they click on the link• boost the number of visitors to your web site• dramatically improve your search engine rankings Even though there are software packages on the market that help automate the linking process, use them sparingly, if at all. The only way to succeed in linking strategies is (aside from creating useful content that will encourage inbound links) by manually creating the links. That’s a hard fact to swallow, given how I like to automate as much of my marketing as I can.Here are the 10 most important inbound links you must have to your site:1. Directory LinksDirectories are indexes of online sites, typically organized by category. Links back to your site from directories like Yahoo Directory and DMOZ.org are very valuable. DMOZ.org is edited by human editors, and while it’s free, it may take awhile for your site to be added. Getting added to Yahoo’s Directory costs $299/year.2. Press ReleasesIf you’re writing press releases, make sure they are optimized for keywords that someone would use to find a business like yours and include links back to your site, as well. Once written, you can have your press release distributed through a service like PRWeb.com, which will create links from high traffic news sites back to your site.3. Article DirectoriesWriting and distributing articles through high traffic article directories, like EzineArticles. com, is a great way to get valuable inbound links from a high traffic site. By crafting an effective resource box at the close of your article, you can drive traffic back to your site!4. Social BookmarkingSimilar to web browser bookmarks, social bookmarking sites store individual pages (bookmarks) online and allows users to tag (with keywords), organize, search, and manage bookmarks of web resources as well as share them with others. If you bookmark your content on these sites (like Digg.com, Reddit.com, Del.icio.us. com), you get a link from the service. By producing content that your readers love and then bookmark to their friends, the link increases in SEO value. 5. Blog CommentsTo find blog posts on which to comment, you can use blog-specific search engines like Google Blog Search. Make sure these are blogs read by your target market, not your colleagues. Brand yourself by always using the same name and remember to link back to your site. Always leave a comment that adds to the conversation that’s happening within the comments.6. Social MediaNow, Google also indexes your Twitter updates and your social networking profiles. Add that to Web 2.0 hubsites like Scribd or HubPage and you’ve got the option of creating many, many inbound links in a very short period of time. 7. Blog/Podcast SyndicationSubmitting the RSS feed of your blog and podcast to syndication services will give you a link back to your site. In some cases, each time you publish a new blog post, the post itself will also get a link.8. Video SyndicationYouTube is one of the most visited sites online, and the number of sites that syndicate videos is growing each day. These sites often allow you to link to your site either in your video’s description or on your profile page, or both.9. .EDU and .GOV LinksSearch engines place a great deal of credibility in government and education web sites, and the links carry a great deal of weight. Frankly, it isn’t easy to get inbound links from these sites.10. Internal LinksRemember, if you have more than one web site, or a web site and a blog, be sure and link one to the other. You can do this by linking one article to other related articles, or link to categories or archives of information.Creating a sound inbound linking strategy is a key component of your search engine optimization efforts. Try a few of the strategies listed above and see how your traffic and rankings grow. About The AuthorSmall business marketing Coach Donna Gunter helps independent service professionals create authentic, profitable online businesses. Would you like to learn the specific Internet marketing strategies that get results? Discover how to improve your visibility and get found online by claiming your Free gift, TurboCharge Your Online Marketíng Toolkit, at ==> TurbochargeYourOnlineMarketing.com

Posted in Internet - Websites - SEO |

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