Friday, April 22, 2011

Alt Attribute & Seo

SEO Optimization images is becoming more and more important in SEO (Seo optimization) for websites. The ALT attribute is a critical step that is often overlooked. This can be a lost chance of better rankings.


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

Images:. Use 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 achieve that? The answer is simple, really; search engines have a similar problem as blind users. They can't begin to see the images.

Many webmasters and inexperienced or unethical SEOs abuse the use of this attribute, trying to stuff it with keywords, looking to achieve a particular keyword density, which is not as relevant for rankings now since it was previously.

On the other hand, high keyword density can, on some search engines like google, trigger spam filters, which may result in a penalty for your site's ranking. Even without this type of penalty, your site's rankings won't take advantage of this plan.
This method also puts persons who use screen readers at a greater disadvantage. Screen readers are software-based tools that really read aloud the items in what is displayed on the screen. In browsing the net, the alt attributes of images are read aloud too.

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, will be found quite annoying.
What is an Alt attribute?

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

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

The goal would be to provide the same functional information that the visual user would see. The alt attribute text should be the "stand in" when the image itself is unavailable. Ask yourself this: If you were to replace the look using the text, would most users get the same basic information, and wouldn't it create the same response?
A few examples:

 

Some SEO Optimization Tips

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

If the image is meant to convey the literal items in the look, a description is appropriate.

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

If it's meant to convey the use of 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 as well as for valid XHTML.

For images that play only a decorative role in the page, use an empty alt (i.e. alt="") or a CSS background image so that reading browsers do not bother users by uttering such things as "spacer image".

Keep in mind that it's the function from the image we're trying to convey. For instance; any button images should not include the word "button" within the alt text. They ought to emphasize the action performed through the button.

Alt text ought to be based on context. The same image in a different context may require drastically different alt text.

Try to flow alt text with the rest of the text because that is how it will be read with adaptive technologies like screen readers. Someone hearing your page should hardly be aware that a graphic image can there be.
Please remember that using an alt attribute for each image is required to meet the minimum WAI requirements, that are used since the benchmark for accessibility laws in UK and the rest of Europe. They are also necessary to meet "Section 508" accessibility requirements in america.

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

Eye-Candy
Mood-Setting
Content and Function

I. Eye-Candy

Eye-Candy are stuff that serve no purpose apart from to create a site visually appealing/attractive and (oftentimes) satisfy the marketing departments. There is no content value (though there may be value to some sighted user).

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

II. Mood-Setting

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

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

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

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

III. Content and Function

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

Every graphic has a reason behind being on that page: because it either improves the theme/ mood/ atmosphere or it is critical to what are the page is trying to explain. Knowing what the image is perfect for makes alt text easier to write. And exercise writing them definitely helps.
A method to look into the usefulness of alternative text would be to imagine reading the page on the phone to someone. What would you say when encountering a specific image to create the page understandable to the listener?

Besides the alt attribute you have a couple more tools available for images.
First, in level of descriptiveness title is within between alt and longdesc. It adds useful information and can add flavor. The title attribute is optionally rendered through the user agent. Remember they are 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 towards the Link to a complete description of an image. When the information contained in an image is essential towards the meaning of the page (i.e. some important content will be lost when the image was removed), a longer description than the "alt" attribute can reasonably display ought to be used. It may provide for rich, expressive documentation of the visual image.

It ought to be used when alt and title are insufficient to embody the visual qualities of the image. As Clark [1] states, "A longdesc is a long description of an image...The goal is to use 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 look - in the mind's eye, an analogy that is true even for the totally blind."

Even though 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 are better off just choosing your gut instinct -- if it's not necessary to include it, and when you don't have a strong urge to get it done, don't add that longdesc.

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

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

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

Image Seo optimization Tips


Listed below are key stages in optimizing images:

Choose a logical file name that reinforces the keywords. You should use hyphens in 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 instance, if the image search engine sees a ".jpg" (JPEG) file extension, it's likely to assume the file is really a photo, and when it sees a ".gif" (GIF) file extension, it's likely to assume that it is a graphic;

Ensure that the text nearby the image that's relevant to that image.
Again, do not lose an excellent opportunity to help your website together with your images searching engines. Begin using these steps to position better on all of the engines and drive increased traffic to your site TODAY.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Search Engine Optimization


Manufacturers of retails goods need to leverage their Facebook presences to manage product recalls more cost effectively.


Some companies like Johnson & Johnson are starting so see the damage product recalls are costing in the modern age of fast information sharing — the company estimates over $900 million in lost sales and related expenditures last year. The brand is just one example are one of many companies that have undergone recalls in the last year and are still working to regain customers’ trust.


Cautionary tale


Kraft experienced a big debacle last year of moldy kids’ juices — and the problem is still continuing — so the creation of a Facebook tab to help manage the issues started out as very proactive. Alas, the tab moved to the very back of the page within days.



Moms were upset and consumers visiting the Facebook page for moldy juice information (many times referred there by a friend) thought the the tab appeared was missing rather than moved. Kraft learned the hard way that moms and other concerned parties wound up going elsewhere for information. They Googled the issue and stumbled across any pages mentioning it — including the brand-damaging image shown to the right.


Then other moms who were upset looked for information on Facebook and found groups like “I wont buy CAPRI sun till it comes in a clear juice package!!” Such groups had only a couple hundred members and no centralized, authoritative source of information, but instead had lots of unverified information further fueling hatred of the company. Perhaps Kraft should have created a page just for recalls or even just the juice recall, and that would have preserved the brand’s integrity on the site.


Three questions


Here are three important questions for product managers to think about amid recalls:


    What does this mean for our search engine optimization?

    What about the amplification risk?

    What would the newest consumer find about the brand online?

In case the anecdote above hasn’t sold you on why a product recall is best managed on Facebook, below are three reasons.


Facebook is free


Besides a staff or the intelligence behind outbound communications, social media in general is free. Companies have brand pages that were no cost to setup. Tabs are free to setup. Interested consumers generally like products they use. Put together is a stage and microphone, what is your corporation saying? Read 44% of Fortune 50 Brands Show Facebook Icons.


Leverage your fans


If fans and consumers are going to spread seemingly harmful information to keep their friends safe, companies should be the initiator of the dialogue. There could be encouragement to share recall information or even incentives like discounts. Some companies even have Facebook commerce pages for shopping, support for recalls and exchanges could be easily integrated.


Communicate with customers


While silence tends to be seen as the best policy in a real-time updated world, silence immediately is seen as guilt and even worse so, the holding back of information from consumers. Quick updates, even if on Facebook pages is a way to engage and even remind fans as to why they are following you. Even if the news is the most positive to share, consumers would be reminded why they choose to connect themselves with you.


Consumers understand mistakes happen and are happy to get involved. Facebook offers many ways to share information with others and track how conversations travel — that provides one of the best ways to manage a recall.


Ellie Cachette is the Founder of ConsumerBell.


seo optimization services


Search Engine Optimization - An OverviewSlide3 by doggy00123

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Bench Craft Company on the focus of travel


A 75-year-old woman was recently arrested by the Georgian police after she single-handedly cut off Internet connections in Georgia and neighbouring Armenia.


AFP reports that the pensioner was digging for scrap metal with the intention of stealing it when she stumbled upon a fibre-optic cable which runs through Georgia to Armenia, forcing thousands of Internet users in both countries to lose Internet connection for several hours. Georgian Railway Telecom, the company that owns the cable, said that the latest damage was serious, causing 90 percent of private and corporate Internet users in Armenia to lose access for nearly 12 hours while also hitting Georgian Internet service providers.


“I cannot understand how this lady managed to find and damage the cable. It has robust protection and such incidents are extremely rare,” Giorgi Ionatamishvili, Georgian Railway Telecom’s marketing head, told AFP.


Apparently, this wasn’t the first time it happened. In 2009, another scavenger damaged a fibre-optic cable while hunting for scrap metal in the impoverished ex-Soviet state, forcing many Georgians’ Internet connections to get interrupted.


The woman has been charged with damaging property and could face up to three years in prison if convicted.



A 75-year-old woman was recently arrested by the Georgian police after she single-handedly cut off Internet connections in Georgia and neighbouring Armenia.


AFP reports that the pensioner was digging for scrap metal with the intention of stealing it when she stumbled upon a fibre-optic cable which runs through Georgia to Armenia, forcing thousands of Internet users in both countries to lose Internet connection for several hours. Georgian Railway Telecom, the company that owns the cable, said that the latest damage was serious, causing 90 percent of private and corporate Internet users in Armenia to lose access for nearly 12 hours while also hitting Georgian Internet service providers.


“I cannot understand how this lady managed to find and damage the cable. It has robust protection and such incidents are extremely rare,” Giorgi Ionatamishvili, Georgian Railway Telecom’s marketing head, told AFP.


Apparently, this wasn’t the first time it happened. In 2009, another scavenger damaged a fibre-optic cable while hunting for scrap metal in the impoverished ex-Soviet state, forcing many Georgians’ Internet connections to get interrupted.


The woman has been charged with damaging property and could face up to three years in prison if convicted.



bench craft company

San Francisco Giants' Tim Lincecum donates $25,000 to Bryan Stow Fund


Giants ace Tim Lincecum is giving $25,000 to assist the longtime San Francisco fan who was attacked outside Dodger Stadium last month.


bench craft company

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, ...


bench craft company

Wii 2 to be revealed at E3 – report <b>News</b> - Wii - Page 1 <b>...</b>

Read our Wii news of Wii 2 to be revealed at E3 – report.


bench craft company


Video calls were a mainstay of classic sci-fi films, and even today there’s something almost magical about seeing your friends and family on the screen of a portable device. Video calling has been around for some time, but it’s only really in the past year or so that its got more attention among regular users. That’s thanks in no small part to Apple and FaceTime, as found on the iPhone 4, iPad 2 and other gadgets from the company’s range. Read on as we give FaceTime the full SlashGear 101 treatment!




So Apple invented video calling, right?


No, not at all, though they did do a lot to make it easier to use – just as long as you have the right hardware. Video calling is actually a part of the 3G standard, which – if the carrier and whatever phone you’re using supports it, which isn’t the case in the US – has been available since around 2003. Unfortunately a combination of high pricing, poor understanding by users, mediocre quality and patchy reliability meant this form of video calling has never really taken off.


Apple’s FaceTime takes advantage of the company’s tight control over the iPhone, iPod touch, iPad and MacBook software, which has allowed it to polish the video calling experience to the point where everyday use is possible. Now FaceTime is available to anybody at the touch of an on-screen button.


Do I need an Apple phone to use FaceTime?


Not necessarily a phone, but definitely something with the Apple logo. FaceTime was first supported on the iPhone 4, which was Apple’s first mobile device with a front-facing camera (i.e. one that looks at the user, rather than out the back of the handset). The latest iPod touch and iPad 2 both have front-facing cameras and FaceTime support as well, and Apple has released a FaceTime app for its Mac and MacBook computers so they can join in the fun as well. FaceTime comes free on the mobile devices and the very latest Macs, and is a $0.99 download from the Mac App Store for earlier Mac owners.


Okay, so how do I use it?


It’s pretty simple, just as Apple was aiming for. On the iPhone you make a voice call in the normal way and then tap the FaceTime button on-screen to switch to video. On the iPod touch and iPad 2, you start a video call in the FaceTime app. You’ll need an Apple account in order to make and receive calls, since that’s used as the “phone number” for devices other than the iPhone 4.




Currently, FaceTime video calls can only be made when you have a WiFi connection, not when you’re using the mobile network for data. That’s a limitation Apple has put in place itself, though the company has said it is working on removing it in the future.


I’m not into Apple, can I video call with something else?


You certainly can, though the process gets a bit trickier. Various apps are available for Android and other mobile phone platforms which promise video calls, sometimes over not only WiFi but the 3G mobile networks too. That means you can make video calls when away from your home network or a WiFi hotspot, as long as your signal is strong enough.


Skype, Fring and Qik are all among the companies offering video calling apps, though their effectiveness often varies on a phone-by-phone basis. Not all phones have front-facing cameras, either, though they’re becoming more common on the latest handsets. A future SlashGear 1010 feature will look at the best video calling apps if FaceTime isn’t your thing.


Apple has said it plans to open up FaceTime to other manufacturers, so that non-Apple phones can make and receive calls too, but so far there’s no sign of that actually happening.


More information at Apple’s FaceTime page.








We’ve been hearing all kinds of Chatter that the next version of Final Cut Pro will debut in Vegas at NAB next week.  Thing is, we hear this every year and Apple hasn’t really done a NAB properly in awhile.  That’s OK, we’ll take that we can get.

Rumors are flying that Apple will be using the Vegas Supermeet to announce the next version of Final Cut Pro. Supposedly, Apple will be taking over the entire event for their announcement, cancelling all other sponsors, including AJA, Avid, Canon, BlackMagic, Autodesk and others, who were set to give presentations.

Philip Bloom just confirmed with me that Canon has canceled his appearance at the Supermeet. Canon was told last night that Apple has demanded ALL “lecturn” or stage time exclusively. Some sponsors who were not using presenters may continue to sponsor the Vegas event, but none of them will be presenting on the stage. I can’t imagine any news that would warrant this kind of “take-over” other than to announce and demonstrate the next full version of Final Cut Pro and possibly an entirely newly designed FCS4.

(UPDATE: Avid confirmed that Supermeet (Michael Horton) told them last night that their sponsorship had been cancelled. According to Avid, “Apple doesn’t want anyone to have stage time but them.”)

Who’s up for Vegas?

We heard the first concrete details about Apple’s all new Final Cut Pro coming during Spring this year, and recently some new information has come to light. Final Cut Studio expert Larry Jordan was one of the people at Apple’s meeting, demonstrating the upcoming upgrade to the professional film-making software.

Jordan can’t say much about the upgrade, due to an NDA with Apple, but he did say it is a “jaw-dropper.” Besides the “jaw-dropper” part, the thing we are taking most from his blog post is the fact that Apple allowed him to write it up. It appears that Apple already considers the software public knowledge. Afterall, Apple CEO Steve Jobs did tell a 9to5mac reader to buckle up for it.

Thanks to Charlie Sanchez

  • Next Final Cut Pro is a “jawdropper,” Apple considers it public knowledge, and will it drop at NAB? (9to5mac.com)
  • Apple says last Xserve orders shipping in April, here’s what’s next for XSAN (9to5mac.com)
  • Nasdaq to cut Apple’s weighting in rebalancing (9to5mac.com)
  • Feeling the heat, HP and Dell execs lash out at Apple, pray iPad will fail (9to5mac.com)
  • Certain MacBook Pro models ‘unavailable’ for reservation at many Apple Stores (9to5mac.com)
  • Apple asks Toyota to remove the Scion theme from Cydia (9to5mac.com)
  • New Final Cut Pro hits Spring ’11 and it’s the “biggest overhaul yet” (9to5mac.com)
  • iOS 5 pushed to the fall: major revamp, cloud-based, WWDC preview? (9to5mac.com)

bench craft company

bench craft company


 



The Business Rusch: Royalty Statements


Kristine Kathryn Rusch


Imagine this:


Pretend you run a very large business.  The business has a lot of built-in problems, things not easily fixed.  You’re aware of the problems and are trying to solve them.  A decade ago, you actually had hope you could solve them.  It will simply take time, you thought, but back then, your business was a leisurely business.  Back then, you had no idea that the word “leisure” would leave your vocabulary and never return.


In that decade, your business has changed dramatically. Your corporate masters sold out to large conglomerates, so now you can no longer point to your small but steady profit as normal for your industry. The conglomerate doesn’t care.  All the conglomerate cares about is quarterly profits, which should rise steadily.


Your industry doesn’t work that way, but you do your best to make those quarterly balance sheets work for the conglomerate.  Unfortunately, that means any long-term outlook you used to have no longer works for your corporate masters.  Now you can only look one year ahead, maximum, because that’s all the focus the conglomerate will allow.


One of your business’s largest problem comes out of the nature of the industry itself. The success of each product cannot be replicated.  Just because you build one really good widget doesn’t mean that your next widget will sell at all.  Your business has a luck aspect to it, an unpredictability that no matter how much you plan, you can’t fix.


The other built-in problems mentioned above cause your prices to verge on too high.  If you solve the built-in problems, you might lose even more revenue, because most of those problems benefit the stores that sell your product. Those stores have made it clear they will not order from you if you take those harmful (to you) perks (to them) away.  So your prices hover at a point too high for an impulse purchase, even though your business does better when consumers can buy your product on impulse.


You have maintained this system for decades now, trying different ways to fix the built-in problems.  None of the solutions work, because the only way to fix the built-in problem would be to have an industry-wide change, one that all of the businesses in the industry agree to.  Unfortunately, if all of the businesses in the industry make that change, it will hurt stores, which will say that the industry businesses colluded to hurt their retail business—and sadly, the stores, under U.S. law, would be right.


So the easy solution is impossible, and all other solutions are half-assed.  You hang on and your business maintains a consistent, if unspectacular, profit year after year after year.


Then some changes hit your industry that force you to cut costs where you can.  Some of that cost cutting comes in employees.  You have to lay off necessary folk and hope that the remaining staff can pick up the slack.  These things have happened before, and you believe that you’ll be able to rehire in a few years.


Only this time, the economy “craters” and a global recession hits.  Every business loses much-needed revenue and products like yours, which are not necessities, sell to fewer and fewer consumers because the consumers have less disposable income.


You anticipate, cutting everything you can, dumping real estate, abandoning rent, maybe even negotiating your way out of some long-term contracts.  At the very end, though, you can’t prevent it: You cut staff to the bone.


Now, in some departments of your business, one person quite literally does the job that five people used to do as recently as a decade ago.  You have no flexibility left.


And then the industry you work in undergoes a technological revolution, one so big, so profound, that it changes the way business gets done.  Because you aren’t flexible, you adapt to the change late.  You can’t hire new employees to help with the shift without firing the remaining good, valuable (and dare we say it), unbelievably efficient employees that you kept when the recession started.  Yet your old employees can’t adapt to the new world.


Worse, this new world requires new systems.  You have to figure out new ways to produce your product.  You need to shoehorn these changes into the existing contracts with your suppliers.  You need an entirely new production crew because the old ways to produce your widgets are becoming obsolete.


And, most annoyingly, you need to develop an entirely new accounting system, because everything you’ve known, everything you’ve done, no longer applies in this brand-spanking new technological age.


But you can’t hire employees who can actually help you develop these systems.  Because those employees won’t earn you any money.  At best, they’ll prevent a loss of revenue. At worst, the systems they develop will cost you money because your suppliers, whom you pay a percentage of the retail price of the product they supply, will realize you’ve been inadvertently shorting them since the technological change hit at the same time as the beginning of the global recession.


In other words, to fix this problem, you will need to invest—in  new employees, in brand new technological systems, in new ways of doing business.  More importantly, you will have to take a huge loss as you make this change.  A loss that might eat into your profits for not one, not two, not three quarters, but maybe for two to three years, something your corporate masters will never, ever allow.


Better to close your eyes and pretend the problem doesn’t exist.  Better to hope no one notices.  Better to keep doing business as usual until profits rise, the recession ends, the world becomes wealthy again, and you can make the changes without causing a series of quarterly losses on your balance sheet.


Better to keep kicking this problem down the road until you retire or move to another company, preferably one which has already solved this problem so you don’t have to deal with it.


Does this scenario sound familiar? It should if you watch the evening news or read a daily newspaper.  Industry after industry suffers a variation of these problems, some caused by inefficiency, some by technological change, and all exacerbated by the worst recession to hit in the last eighty years.


But this blog deals with publishing, and what I just described to you is the situation at traditional publishers—the big publishers, the ones most people mistakenly call The Big Six (there are more than six, but leave it)—all over New York City.


Last fall, I dealt with these problems in depth.  Before you decide to comment on this post and tell me that traditional publishing will die (which I do not believe), read the first few posts I did in the publishing series, starting here.


I’m grappling with the changes in publishing just like everyone else is.  I knew that the changes—particularly the rise of e-publishing—would hit traditional publishing hard.  And it has, although not as hard as I initially thought.  As Publishers Weekly reported earlier in the month, traditional publishers have remained profitable in the transition so far.


The reasons why should sound familiar to those of you who read my earlier posts.  Publishers Weekly puts it succinctly:  “While the improvement in the economy helped all publishers in 2010, companies where profits improved all pointed to two main contributing factors—cost controls and skyrocketing e-book sales.”


Right now, e-books comprise about 10% of the book market, but some analysts believe that e-books will be as much as 50% of the e-book market by 2015.  Some see evidence that e-books will grow faster than that.  A month ago, a Barnes & Noble executive made news when he stated in a speech that e-books will “dominate the market” in 24 months.


We all know these figures are important.  Daily, writers tell me about their careers and then ask me if they should become independent publishers or go to traditional publishing.  As I’ve said repeatedly, I see no harm in doing both.


Earlier this month, however, I opened my mail to find a big fat warning sign of the future.  And if the problem that I—and hundreds of other writers—noted doesn’t get resolved, then traditional publishing will cease to be viable for all writers.


What happened?


I got a royalty statement for backlist titles of one of my on-going series.  The statement came from a traditional publisher.  Let me give you some background.


A few years ago, the publisher refused to buy the next two books in the series saying that while the series had some growth, the growth was not enough to justify the expense of a new contract.  I started writing some novellas in that series and publishing them in the magazine markets while I searched for a new publisher.


Then the e-book revolution hit, and as an experiment, I put up two of those novellas as e-books. Since they were the first two e-books I had ever done, the covers—in a word—sucked.  I did no promotion and no advertising, except to say in the cover copy that these e-books were part of this particular series.


In the first six months of 2010, those badly designed short novels sold about 300 copies each on Kindle, the only venue they were on at the time.  No advertising, bad covers, just hanging out waiting for buyers to find them.


I would occasionally check the Amazon sales ranking (that weird number you see on each book Amazon publishes, the thing they use to compile their hourly bestseller list).  Even though that ranking did not give me actual sales numbers, I did note that the sales of the novellas were less than the sales of the traditionally published e-books on Kindle in the same series.


In August, I wrote to the traditional publisher, asking that my rights revert.  The kind woman in rights reversal explained to  me that she couldn’t revert the book rights because the e-books were “selling too well” to revert.  Okay. All well and good. What I care about is getting books into the hands of my readers. I figured I would eventually be compensated for this.  I just had to wait until the royalty statement hit.


Which it did. At the beginning of this month.


How many e-books did the traditional publisher say I sold? 30.  That’s right. 30.


When the novellas, which had worse sales rankings from Amazon, sold 300 each.


That 30 number didn’t pass the sniff test for me.  So I talked with other writers who have books in the same genre with the same company. The writers I talked with also had some e-book savvy.


Guess what? They had been shocked by how low their e-book numbers were as well, especially in comparison with their indie published titles.  The indie books which had Amazon rankings indicating fewer sales sold more copies than the traditionally published books by a factor of ten or better.


Let me indulge in another sidebar for a moment.  I’m involved with four different indie publishers, two of which allow me to see the day-to-day operations, and one of which I own part of.  We’ve been having trouble setting up an accounting system that works efficiently for more than 100 different e-book titles.  The problem is, in short, that the ebook distributors report sales by publisher and then by title, and not by author, so if you’re published by AAA Publishing and your book is called  The Embalming and I also have an older book called The Embalming through AAA Publishing and they’re both in e-book, AAA Publisher will get sales figures on a daily basis for The Embalming. Which Embalming does that statement refer to?


Also, the e-stributors report at varying times throughout the year (some daily, some monthly, some quarterly), so if I want to know how many copies my book The Embalming sold in March of 2010, I can’t easily get that information because the info might not have been reported yet from some e-bookstore in some faraway country.


What all of the various indie publishers have figured out is that using a standard spreadsheet for each title is labor-intensive.  You can easily input data into a spreadsheet for one or two or even ten novels.  But when it comes to 50 or 100, the data-entry—figuring out what book belongs where and when (even if you use the estributor’s the computerized spreadsheet)—becomes prohibitive.


What we need is a cloud-based system that can be queried.  For example, the system should easily answer these two questions: How many copies did KKR’s The Embalming sell worldwide in March; and how many copies did KKR’s The Embalming sell through Kobo’s out-of-country distribution channels?  Right now, no spreadsheet program can answer that information easily from a pool of 100 titles and various e-book outlets without a lot of man-hours of data entry.


Traditional publishers—and indie publishers, for that matter—don’t have the staff with the ability to organize this wealth of information. Still, traditional publishers must —by contract— report the information to the best of their ability on royalty statements.


To do so, they revert to an old pre-computer accounting method.  The method existed back when there was too much data to be quickly processed. We all learned it in school.  They used little snippets of data to estimate, often using an algebraic equation that goes something like this:   If The Embalming sold (x) copies in January and e-books sales rose on a trajectory of (y) copies over a six-month period of time, then (x) times 6 adjusted for (y) equals the number of sales of The Embalming.


Close enough.  And frankly, I would be satisfied with that, if the number the publisher had come up with wasn’t so wildly off.


For me, in the instance with the traditional publisher I mentioned above, the difference between 30 copies per title and 300 copies per title is pennies on the dollar.  It’s not worth an audit.


But I never think in small terms.  My training in three fields—journalism, history, and the extrapolative field of science fiction—forces me to think in terms of the future.


Right now, e-book rights are a subsidiary right, negligible and relatively unimportant.  Between two and five years from now, e-book rights will become the dominant book right.


If traditional publishers do not change their accounting methods now, then these accounting methods will end up costing writers hundreds of thousands of dollars per year.  (In some writers’ cases, millions of dollars.)


Those of you who have any knowledge of journalism have just looked up and asked, Why the hell did Rusch bury her lead? That’s the story: publishers are screwing writers on e-book royalties.


But those of you who have had journalism careers know why I buried that lead.  When I was a news director faced with a reporter who had brought me information like the information I gave to you above, I would have said, Sounds like a good story.  But it’s all supposition.  Now get me something concrete.  Somthing I can use.


So that’s what I tried to do.  Last week, I contacted dozens of traditionally published writers who also had put up some backlist on their own in electronic format.  The writers who had the information handy responded with actual numbers.  The writers who didn’t told me that they had worried about their royalty numbers when the statements arrived, but had no real proof that anything had gone awry.


I also spoke to some trusted agent friends, several lawyers who are active in the publishing industry, a few certified public accountants, and other professionals who see a lot of publishing data cross their desks, and I asked those people if they had heard of a problem like this.


To a person, they all confirmed that they had. All spoke off the record, none with numbers.  A few hinted that they couldn’t talk because of pending action.


In other words, I got the confirmation I needed, just nothing that a reputable journalist could print.  Most people spoke to me on what’s called deep background, confirming my theory, and giving me some suggestions of places to look, and people to contact.  Several people, mostly writers, spoke on the record, but rather than using their information in isolation, I’ve chosen to keep their statistics confidential and to only go with mine.


Frankly, what I’ve learned is this:


Right now, some—and I must emphasize some, not all—traditional publishing houses are significantly underreporting e-book sales.  In some cases these sales are off by a factor of 10 or more.


This is a problem, but at the moment, not a serious one.  When e-books are 10% of the market, we’re talking a relatively insignificant amount of money per author. As one long-term writer said to me, “Ever since I got into this business, I expect my publisher to screw me on the sales figures.  This is no different.”


If you don’t understand that writer’s point of view, read the trust-me post I wrote a few weeks ago.


In the past, I would have agreed with that writer.  But I don’t in this instance.  We’re at an important moment in publishing.  We have the opportunity to change the behavior of traditional publishers.  We can, with an effort, get them to change their accounting practices.


The reason I started the blog post the way I did is this: I wanted to explain, before I got to the heart of this post, how traditional publishing works.  I wanted understanding before I worried some of you.


Because here’s the truth: traditional publishers are not indulging in a criminal act. They’re doing the best they can out of necessity.  They see no reason to spend precious dollars revamping their accounting systems to accommodate e-publishing when those dollars can be used elsewhere in the company.  Especially when an accounting change will cost them money, and might lead to payouts that will hurt quarterly profits for months to come.


It’s up to writers—and writers organizations—to force publishers to allocate those scarce dollars to develop systems for accurate e-book accounting.


If you are a traditionally published author, do not—I repeat, do not—write a blistering letter to your publisher accusing him of stealing your money.  Instead, contact any writers organization you belong to and point that organization to this blog.


What needs to happen is this: writers organizations need to band together and order group audits of e-book sales on behalf of their traditionally published authors.  One organization cannot handle the cost of this group accounting alone.  It’s better to have all of the writers organizations work in concert here.


A group audit of all the traditional publishers in various publishing divisions will force an accounting change—and that’s all we need.  But we need it before e-books become the dominant way that books are sold.


If you’re a traditionally published author who has also produced some self-published e-books and you want to do more than contact your organization, do this:


1. Look over all of your royalty statements.  Compare your indie e-book sales to your traditionally published e-book sales.  Make sure your comparison is for the same time period. For example, do not compare January 2011 sales to January 2010.


2. Compare similar books.  It’s best if you have books in the same series, some indie published and some traditionally published.  If you don’t have series books, then compare books in the same genre only.  Comparing romance sales to science fiction sales will not work because romance novels always outsell sf novels.


3. If you see a discrepancy, report that—with the numbers—to your writers organization.  Be clear in the letter you send to your organization as to what level of involvement you want in this issue.  Are you only there to provide background information? Will you take part in a group audit? Will you work on this project?


I’ll be honest.  I’m not going to participate in any group action.  Even though I’ve published with every single major publisher in New York, I only have two books caught in this problem.  I’m more interested in getting the rights in those books reverted than I am in insignificant back royalties.


If I was still a reporter, I would spend the month or two going after this story with a vengeance. But I am not.  In  nonfiction, I am just your humble blogger, stirring up the pot.  My career is in fiction, and I have found no problem with the publishers of my frontlist books.  I also have six novels with firm deadlines that won’t allow me to take time away from fiction writing to pursue this.


So all I can offer is a blueprint.


If you’re a reporter who specializes in the publishing industry and you want to tackle this story, e-mail me privately.  I’ll tell you what I can without revealing confidential sources.


If you’re a traditionally published writer, please follow the steps above.


If you’re an indie-only writer, stop gloating and for heavens’ sake don’t tell me or anyone else that this is proof traditional publishing is dead.  The majority of writers don’t want to self-publish, even when told how easy and financially beneficial it is.  They want a traditionally published novel.


Here’s what I believe: If a writer wants to publish traditionally and can secure a contract, then that writer should be treated fairly, with accurate sales reporting and good royalty rates.


Let me state again for the record.  I do not believe that anyone in traditional publishing is setting out to screw writers on this issue.  I do believe the scenario I wrote in the first 800 words of this blog: I think traditional publishers are overwhelmed and stretched to the limit.  Accurate e-book sales reporting is not even on their radar.


Right now, changing the accounting system is not high on their priority list.  It’s up to the writers—acting in concert through their writers organizations—to make accurate e-book sales reporting and accurate e-book royalty accounting a number-one priority in publishing houses across the country.


Let’s work together to solve this glitch before it becomes an industry-wide disaster for writers—anywhere from two to five years from now.


Last week, a few of you asked in e-mail why I have a donate button on this blog.  Also, last week, this blog marked its two-year anniversary. Every Thursday for two years without a miss, I have published an article on freelancing, business, writing or publishing (and sometimes on all four of those topics).  For the first 18 months, those blog posts were part of a book I was writing called The Freelancer’s Survival Guide (which, even though it’s now published, is still available for free on this website).


Initially, I had hoped to make my publishing articles into a book as well, but the industry is changing too fast.  I cannot make the publishing articles into a book that will be accurate in the short time it takes to produce.  So when this month rolled around, I did the numbers like I always do.  When I do a strict economic analysis, I am losing about $100 per week on each post—even with donations.  That’s because I can’t leverage these posts into any other income source.


However, I always ask the next question: am I getting something besides money out of these blogs? Right now, I am.  I would be doing the same research, the same work, and the same analysis with or without the blog.  I would be discussing the changes with my writer pals.  But I would lose the week-to-week contact with writers all over the world, who comment on the blog or in e-mail, sharing their own stories.


And that would be a significant loss.  It more than makes up for the financial loss.  But the donate button is here to minimize some of the financial damage, and to encourage me in busy or difficult weeks to carve out the time to write my post.


I hope that answers the question.  As always, I appreciate the feedback and all of the support.








“The Business Rusch: Royalty Statements” copyright 2011 by Kristine Kathryn Rusch.


 


 



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UPDATE: As of 4:30 p.m. EST, Fox has apparently pulled the article in question from their site.


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Courteney Cox Does Letterman and Other <b>News</b> - The Superficial <b>...</b>

Gwyneth Paltrow makes bulimia fancy again. - Robert Pattinson is spreading disease. - Emily Browning stars in a movie about high-end date rape and,


Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Roofing Contractors Vancouver - 5 Questions to Really think

Roofing Vancouver - Faq's


1. Repair or Replace?

There's no opinion as an expert opinion. Most contractors provides you with a free estimate. Get a list of a couple trusted contractors and contact them well in advance of when you want to obtain your homes roof fixed so you can compare costs and opinions.


2. Beauty versus Practicality?

Discuss this together with your spouse or partner. (The children could care less...at least the young ones.) Truth is, nobody wants an ugly roof just like nobody wants to be seen with bed hair. If you've got a good quality roof and you just have to repair it, it's worth it to pay for the cost of the original shingle instead of doing patchwork. A roof replacement doesn't happen frequently (hopefully!) and so make a choice that suits you and your family well or it'll stand out just like a sore thumb everyday you go home.


3. Must i replace the roof in order to sell the home for more?

Think about this very carefully prior to making a decision. Depending on the roofing material you select, a brand new roof can last anywhere from twenty, fifty, to one-hundred years! This means you have to look into the year of the roof that's currently too deep first. Are you at year 18 of the 20-year warranted roof or year 30 of the 50-year warranted roof? Obviously, the quality is what makes the roof last longer, but if you're not planning to remain in your current home throughout your lifetime, the higher expense may not be worth your investment. Although a new roof can enhance the value of your value, the rise may not be enough to pay for neglect the and that's bound to hurt your wallet.


4. Could it be a good idea that i can repair the roof myself?

Sure it is. Before you do, consult a specialist first. You can perform it yourself, but you shouldn't be a complete ‘lone ranger.' With respect to the extent of the repair, you may or may not convince you. Either way, it will help to obtain a professional eye about the problem first and perhaps even a free quote so you can do the math later and see if it's truly worth your time and effort, sweat, and cash to be mister or miss fix-it.


5. When is a great time to find the roof replaced?

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

 

The Top Roofing Company In Vancouver!

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

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

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

YOUR Vancouver ROOF DESERVES NO LESS!

The rooftop of the Vancouver home is the very first line of defence against wind, rain, snow, ice along with other weather conditions. Be sure it is up to the job. Among Vancouver Roofing companies, only Crown Roofing has the depth of expertise and successful history to ensure your roofing system is going to be properly designed and installed.

NEIGHBORS HELPING NEIGHBORS.

One reason Crown Roofing has been the most successful roofing company in Vancouver is our commitment to our neighbors. We treat your home as though it were our own and we were creating a roof to safeguard our very own family. That's what neighbors do, and you will rely on Crown Roofing being here to support you and back our work. After all, we've been repairing and replacing roofs in Vancouver since 1902!

GET A FREE INSPECTION AND EVALUATION OF YOUR Vancouver ROOF.

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

 

Monday, April 11, 2011

Tacoma Roofing contractor: Help your house be Beautiful

Not many people view the value of a good roof, your knowledgeable Tacoma Roofing contractor does. From top notch experience, they will be able to tell you the reason why you need a strong, secure, and leak-free roof on your home.

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

Types of Roofs installed by a Tacoma Roofer


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

Each type of roof invites distinct problems, however they can be easily taken care of by a trusted Tacoma Roofing company. It's vital that you nip roof problems within the bud before they become too expensive or dangerous. You can schedule an appointment with the Tacoma Roofing contractor to consider a glance at your roof to determine if there are any issues or potential issues with it. If you will find, they might be in a position to tell you how to approach them.

A Tacoma Roofer Helps you to Build Strong Homes


The exteriors associated with a house, primarily the roof and gutters, face the onslaught of bitter and varying weather conditions, every single 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 must also be inspected for problems. Whatever issues there might be, an experienced Tacoma Roofing contractor can examine them in detail and suggest the remedy.

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

Reverse Damages by using a Tacoma Roofer


However high quality the rooftop may be, it is going to wear out 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 made by the makers. They hardly ever last that long. Realistically speaking, "25 year" shingles will not last a lot more than a few years. In an area that's vulnerable to storms, shingles or even the entire roof may need to get replaced every 10 years. Having a Tacoma Roofer, the price will be less than what you believe.

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


Your Tacoma Roofing company will be in a position to inform you what the smartest choice is perfect for your homes roof. In case your roof isn't in a good condition, it is advised that you have it replaced completely. The Tacoma Roofer may take you through the various roofing possibilities for you which will suit your requirements as well as your budget.

Tacoma Roofer: Enhancing your Home's Efficiency


Your homes roof shelters you from storms, sleet, and hail. By giving adequate ventilation, your roof protects your home from overheating, and by holding within the heat, it keeps your home warm. That's why you need to ready your roof from indoors in addition to outdoors for just about any kind of weather emergency. A Qualified Tacoma Roofing contractor can offer assist in this situation.

First of all, inspect your roof thoroughly for just about any and all type of damage, before the beginning of a year. The gutters should be clear, debris should not be piled on or trapped under shingles, tthere shouldn't be homes of squirrels or birds within the eaves or attic, and also the roof ought to be structurally sound. For that last part, you will 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 Roofer is available in. He'll read the strength and security of the roof and shingles, and perform a general inspection from the entire roof structure, to make certain that it is in proper working order. They'll be able to point towards problems that you have to keep close track of and problems you might not have spotted.

You will need all the help you can get from the Tacoma Roofing company. You can help your homes roof by installing a gutter guard or leaf cover to help prevent debris from forming inside your gutters. The additional weight of debris prevents the gutters from draining and may even tear them down. Look into the fasteners in your gutters and when they are loose, tighten them. Take steps to change worn screws and brackets. For those who have a chimney in your home, inspect the bricks and mortar signs of wear. A reliable mason can be recommended because of your Tacoma Roofer, if you will find any repairs to be done.

Tacoma Roofing company: Someone You are able to Count On
When you realize or suspect that there is a problem, your Tacoma Roofing company ought to be contacted. They can use their knowledge and expertise to get your home back in ace condition simply by working on the roof. Your homes roof deserves attention. So call them today, so that they can get down to working on your roof.

 

Sunday, April 10, 2011

What is Distinction between Commercial Roofing Companies From Residential Roofing Companies

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

If this sounds like the case then their labor costs will prohibit them from focusing on non union residential jobs. Beyond that, if a commercial roofing company has not signed a contract having a union they might be outfitted just for commercial jobs and that means that their workers and equipment may not be in line 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 tend to be smaller than comercial jobs. Actually, often times residential roofing contractors will run one man operations, where the contractor that you talk to may be the one that actually does the job on the building.


commercial by jpignanello

Also, liability insurance for commercial roofing is more expensive along with a larger bond is needed for a commercial roofing work which will make it not cost effective for a commercial roofing contractor to complete residential roofing jobs.

Still an additional factor is that commercial jobs can run on tighter time period for just about any quantity of reasons, requiring a commercial contractor to employ a larger crew or crews which again makes smaller jobs not as profitable for them.

 

Difference Between Commercial Roofing and Residential Roofing

Are you aware that the roof of a house or building includes a huge impact on the whole structure itself? Damage caused to roofs because of natural or other disasters leads to a considerable loss of property everywhere. The type of materials used to construct the roof that ought to be sturdy and long lasting, the manner where the roof continues to be installed and even its timely maintenance are extremely crucial. There are two types of roofs which are utilized on all the buildings that people see around us: commercial and residential. Even though it may seem that commercial roofing is done only for businesses or offices and residential roofing is performed for apartments and houses, the truth is the differences tend to be more complex than that.


residential roof in Saratoga by jpignanello

Residential roofing is usually completed just by one hired contractor but commercial roofing typically takes an entire team to accomplish the job. The reason being a commercial roof is commonly larger in terms of sq ft than the usual residential roof.
Commercial roofs need to be made carefully keeping the nature and reason for your building in mind. For instance, if there is a cafe or restaurant in the building then external components like ventilation systems, smoke stacks and pipes is going to be required. Residential roofs usually do not have such components apart from a chimney or two at the most.
Commercial roofs is commonly flat in design to support further changes at a later period, whereas most residential roofs have peaks along with other architectural features like roof gardens.
Commercial roofing is a lot more expensive than residential roofing because of the special tools, materials and safety equipment which are needed onsite. Often the patching or maintenance work is done in segments unlike for a residential roof where the repair or replacement work could be completed in a short time. This is another reason why the gear used for residential roofs is often smaller and less costly as well.
Commercial roof installations take a extended period to accomplish compared to residential roof installations and are usually constructed in large sections. During this phase however, you should ensure that there aren't any leakages, cracks or any other visible deterioration signs as it can cause considerable harm to the entire building.
It is important to install the right roof for a building based on its purpose. Ensure that you hire a construction company that utilizes first class materials and has the right equipment for the job or your investment risk turning out to be considered a huge loss later.

 

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

If a business is looking to have work done on its roof, it is important to use commercial roofing contractors which have a keen knowledge of any special needs that the business may have. For example, a roofing job can often be disruptive for that operation of business as usual. Because of this, it might be necessary for the company to be temporarily shut down, or for the roofing to occur after business hours have ended. A roofer that understands these needs can function plus a business in order to make certain these kinds of issues are minimized.


Roofing Contractor, Denton, TX, Roof Masters, 940-566-3407 by SMBadvertising

First of all , a business should do when it's trying to find commercial roofing contractors is to discover who other businesses in the area are working through. Obviously, this information will not be helpful whether it may come as an indicator from competitors, but there are circumstances in which it's not too hard to find this information from suppliers or retailers. Since roofing isn't an industry-specific service, this information is easily available.

It is a wise decision for any business to get touching at least three commercial roofing contractors to create bids about the price. In this manner, the company can often get a better price. It is also vital that you ensure that each one of the roofing contractors is licensed and bonded. These details can be found by permitting touching the state contractor's board. This also makes it possible to determine if there has been any claims filed against 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 overall cost. The prices can differ quite drastically, but as tempting as possible to go for the cheapest bid, this is not always the best option. In many cases, more costs now means fewer costs in the long run as a result of an undesirable roofing job. To further investigate the quality of the job, it's a wise decision to check using the Bbb in order to find out if the business continues to be accredited, and when it's not, to a minimum of see what its rating is.

 

Picking out a Commercial Roofer


commercial by jpignanello

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

When you start your search for a roofing contractor not only do you have to answer those questions however, you should also find someone which will do a high quality job with no great deal of time delays. Going about finding someone can seem as an obstacle by itself but there are some methods to make the search easier.

Ask people around you 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 need to ensure that the contractors you are thinking about are fully licensed and bonded. A simple search with the state contractor's board will verify if your roofer is licensed and when you will find any past judgments or claims against their license.

When you select three or four roofers to put bids, you need to prepare yourself for the bids to become widely varied. Roofers will have brand preferences which will vary and may factor in more or less than the next guy for any labor estimate. The more detailed a written bid may be the more helpful it will likely be for you to see where the cost will be incurred. Don't, however, select a roofer based solely on the bid price. Any low ball bids might be tempting to consider, but if they're low due to poor quality workman ship it might not be worth it in the end.

As the saying goes, you generally get that which you pay for, so if you are able to afford a mid-priced bid it certainly is smart to go up in your price range instead of down. You also should select your roofer depending on how professional they were and just how comfortable you anticipate you'll be dealing with them.

Finally your cost will be different based on what type of roofing material you choose along with the cost to haul your old roof towards the landfill. If you are looking for places to cut corners in your roof, instead of cutting labor set you back may want to inquire about a metal roof option. Metal roofs could be economical and efficient which makes them overall money savers for the long term, as well as on commercial buildings they may be really low maintenance. Plus given that they can be placed on top of an existing roof, you don't need to possess the old one removed and hauled away, which can make a big effect on your cost.

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

 

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Seattle Roofing Companies - How to locate The Best

In your home of rain and sleet, commercial coffee and grunge, and also the famous space needle, you can find a house which will suit you. Seattle, Washington could be a great place to build a home, however, you need Seattle roofing contractors to assist you. Your roof is, after all, the crowning glory of your home, and your strongest type of defense against the elements. You must have something that isn't just created to last, but built to attract and make your home more beautiful

Harsh Weather

How come roofing contractors so important in this part of the country? Because Seattle is often bombarded by rain along with other harsh weather conditions, you need a roof that can withstand all the forces of nature. With this in mind, you need people who be aware of Seattle weather best, and who know what materials can best go into your homes roof in order for it to last far longer in the area. On top this, you need to blend with the rest of the houses in your living space, so you cannot simply get whatever roof you please.

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

Why the Contractor Model Works

If you want to put up your roof by yourself, you'll have to buy a whole lot of materials, secure permits and licenses, and obtain materials that are suited to keep you safe against harsh extremes of Seattle weather. Which means that if you are a DIY sort of guy or gal, you will have to undergo a good deal of legwork in order to get the task done.

However, a Seattle roofing company can do all of the jobs for you and provide a package that can help you save time and money. Because contractors operate under licenses and purchase materials in large quantities, they are able to get discounts on building materials that you would not otherwise get should you be buying merely for your own home.

Roofing Associations


Roof by Alificacion

Most roofing contractors also belong to roofing organizations that are bound by strict guidelines and standards. If they do well on their roofing job, they can showcase their roofing contractors association; if they do poorly, they can ruin the trustworthiness of their roofing contractors association and keep other contractors inside the association from receiving targeted roofing jobs. There is a lot of pressure to do well, so you can be confident that prefer a roofing job done in Seattle, you can aquire a contractor from the roofing association to assist you.

For instance, Seattle Roof Brokers operates with over five hundred roofing contractors in the Puget Sound. This group has over half a century of roofing experience and experience dealing with Seattle roofing contractors, therefore it knows what kind of roofing you would like. The Roof Brokers group can hook you up using the contractor that you'll require so that you do not have to look for contractors individually.

What Should You Demand from Your Contractor?

When you finally obtain a contractor within the Seattle area, you must do lots of background research on the roofing contractors themselves. Ask for a list of previous companies or persons the contractor caused in order to get a definite look at the roofing contractor's work ethics and roof quality. Your roofing contractor should also have the appropriate working licenses and city licenses required by the Seattle city government.

Select a Seattle roofing contractors that insures its employees, and that has courteous workers who will respect your thinking and make sure that your needs are met. Make sure that you obtain the best bang for your buck: if you're not satisfied using the job, you have to be guaranteed either money-back, or perhaps a free, new roof. Moreover, additionally you need the workers to get the job done promptly, so be strict together with your deadlines - and find a contractor that is as strict when you are.

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


Selecting the Right Roofing Contractor Company for Replacing Your Roof

The shingles inside your roof need replacing and you are minded to locate a roofer to replace the them. Maybe you have already called a few and are evaluating which contractor for your upcoming roof repair. How can you select the best contractor for caring for your roof? Listed here are a number of things you should consider when searching for the best roofer.

Where is the roofing contractor located? You should hire a roofing contractor that is local. Chances are you will get the next step of service if the roofing company can be found near your home or comes with an office near your residence.
References. To look for the reliability of the contractor, references ought to be provided of their previous customers who're willing to vouch that excellent service was received. This should not be the only real factor in choosing your future roofing contractor as some may claim they value the privacy of their clients and don't desire to bother them. If this is the situation, request business related references. The locations that provide the contractor with supplies can reveal the amount of materials and regularity of supplying the contractor to assist determine their stability.
How does the roofer company handle complaints? There's a large number of issues that can arise during the progress of the roofing replacement. Ask what their process is for handling complaints when they arise. It is also an excellent idea to get a past client reference who were built with a complaint which was resolved towards the satisfaction of the client.
Terms of payment. Do you know the terms of payment to do the job? What is the deposit and amount due upon completion? While it is certainly reasonable that the substantial payment be made before a contractor begins work on a project, it is highly recommended that full payment isn't made until after the entire job is finished.
Written contract. All the roofing replacement ought to be place in a written contract. No part of the contracting job should rely on verbal assurances.
Bonding. You will find things that can go wrong with roofing installations that wind up costing quite a bit of money to repair. Should this happen in your roofing replacement, you will feel a whole lot better knowing that your roofing contractor is bonded. This can supply the funds to fix whatever mistakes were made. Find a roofing contractor that is bonded.
Manufacturer Warranty. Quality materials for roofing typically have a warranty. It is important to verify that there's actually a warranty on the materials being installed. Request a copy of the warranty.
Length of Time running a business Just how long has the company you are interviewing been in business? A short amount of time in business may reflect instability. If the contractor has been in business less than three years, verify just how long they have actually been in the market. A brand new contractor may have many years experience working on roofs before they form their very own business. Seek a company that's been around for three years, or in which the contractor has already established a lot more years performing roofing replacements. It can should not be the only factor, everyone has to begin sometime. Balance this with referrals and the other points raised in this article.
Appropriate Permits. A Seattle roofing contractor ought to know what permits are required for repairing your roof. They should be conscious of how to obtain these permits for you. Ask the contractor whether they will obtain the permits necessary to repair the rooftop.
Liability. If your worker becomes injured, who is responsible for the worker's compensation? If the contractor's equipment damages your home, who is responsible for the repairs? A great contractor will give you certificates of insurance for liability and workers comp before they start repairing your roof.
Subcontractors. Verify whether the contractor will be using subcontractors. If so, it is highly recommended that everything contained in this article for verifying if the contractor is credible also needs to be applied to subcontractors. You need to get the names and license numbers of all subcontractors. You should verify whether each subcontractor is also insured so you aren't held liable for their accidents.
Pending Legal Actions. It is important to verify whether there are any legal actions from the contractor. This is not only essential for verifying whether the roofing company is legitimate (credible roofing companies should not need to defend themselves in the court), it's also important because a lost lawsuit might lead to the contractor to visit bankrupt. If you have made a substantial down payment for services immediately before the company goes bankrupt, you could lose thousands of dollars and not have your roofing completed.
Material Disposal. Who's responsible for getting rid of the waste generated from the roof being replaced? Will your contractor handle all aspects of this? Can there be an additional cost for getting rid of this waste?
NRCA Membership. Membership in local or national roofing associations, such as the NRCA, shows commitment to staying current with the very best methods for roof replacement and maintenance. Find a roofing contractor having a high standard of education regarding their trade.
Replacing your homes roof is really a significant investment. Celebrate sense to inquire about serious questions before using a roofer. Here are some more tips that you should consider when choosing the very best roofing contractor for your upcoming roofing replacement.

Payment. Do not create a full payment for services unless all work is finished.
Inspection. Don't create a full payment without doing a final inspection of all services rendered.
Workers liens. Do not fully purchase the roofing replacement job until worker's lien releases happen to be obtained.
Oral Agreements. No agreement should be made verbally without backing up on paper. Every point which are important to you should be produced in writing.

 

For your SEO needs, you can examine out Vancouver website design and Vancouver Seo agency

It is true how the internet is just about the biggest financial market nowadays. Practically everything is anchored on the net. Up to now, there are other than 182 million sites on the net but still counting. If each of these websites offers the possiblility to make money, think of the limitless opportunities which can be perfectly located at the internet. More to the point, using the emergence of internet sites, the requirement for website hosting and Search| Engine Optimization is significantly defined.

Search Engine Optimization is basically the entire process of improving the visibility of your site. As a result, if you would like your web site being visible to visitors, you ought to seek for SEO Company. The optimization strategy considers how search spiders work and what folks usually and what keywords they will use. The primary objective of Search engine optimization is making web sites visible in search sites with the natural or organic way.


Web Promotion service by Hans New Media

Organic search optimization or natural search engine optimization is really a expression used in describing unpaid, algorithm-driven outcomes of any particular engine. Quite simply, organic SEO uses natural strategies in achieving search results ranking. While there are two camps that search optimization companies may fall to, that will be the 'White Hat' and also the 'Black Hat', organic SEO would not fall under the 'Black Hat' camp.

Organic search engine optimization is a highly specialized and complex practice which can literally dictate the success or failure of your online business. Since search sites often modify their algorithms, organic SEO just isn't quite simple in any way. When search bots modify their algorithms, factors that enable your internet site to seem in front of clients are decayed also. Thus, to be able to cope using these changes, SEO tactics and techniques must be employed.

It is always ethical to make use of search engine optimization since search sites nowadays are becoming extremely advanced that they can easily determine whether an internet site is trying to govern their search indexes. Thus it is empirical to use search engine marketing practices which are done in a way that appear natural.

The approaches utilized by organic search engine optimization and artificial SEO are really significantly different. Basically, organic SEO uses content compared to artificial SEO's technical loopholes. Moreover, natural seo provides attracting links instead of linking schemes utilized by artificial SEO. Natural SEO also creates valuable resource as opposed to artificial SEO's algorithm chasing. Effortlessly these, one can clearly see why organic search engine optimization is preferable over artificial search engine marketing. Even though latter might be more challenging and complex, it makes favorable results that are good for any web site. Fortunately, there are plenty of Vancouver SEO companies today that offer the organic method in affordable rates and packages.


Search Engine Optimization Appears in this area


Alan Webb ist Autor im Leitfaden Online-Marketing by marketing-BOERSE

At one time when search engine optimization was actually not essential.

Whilst late being a decade ago, if you made a Web page anywhere, Google indexed it and you also gained visibility in its search engine results. Your page could have been in one of the free "estates" where anybody could add a page and Google didn't mind. It could also have been a pure affiliate page without any original content and Google still indexed it.

Situations are unrecognizably different now.

Affiliate pages with "cookie-cutter" content duplicated everywhere might never make it to the Google index; exactly the same fate is probably for anyone pages you toss in over a free-for-all website. As well as "proper" websites with your personal url of your website did not achieve visibility one of the proliferating sites in millions.

These wouldn't normally have mattered, except for a very important factor. It had been Google that provided the bread and butter for your countless small enterprises that could not afford expensive marketing campaigns. In case your site was on the list of top few sites the appeared before a searcher's eyes when that person sought out your product, you have hundreds and even 1000s of visitors, lots of whom even bought your products or services.

Search engine marketing (SEO) entered the scene. Search results specialists "reverse-engineered" to spot the factors that Google consider for showing websites near the top of its serp's pages. These factors were then consciously included in your Web pages in the hope that Google will show your site the primary ten results it showed on the first page.

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

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

A war of wits followed between unscrupulous SEO practitioners and appearance engines. Google changed its ranking algorithms regularly to work around practices that allowed low value content to appear towards the top of its search results. All things considered, Google's success depended on providing value to searchers, not merchants. And SEO practitioners created new tricks.

We are going to look at seo in a group of articles, starting by having an overall look at on-line or Internet marketing.

 


For your SEO needs, you should check out vancouver web site design and Vancouver Search engine optimization company.

 

Cedar Roofing: Advantages

Cedar shakes are only in regards to the most eye appealing shakes currently available. Frequently designed from red-colored cedar around the coniferous forests of northwestern United states of america, they're just the best roofs materials for proprietors who prefer supplying his / her roofs an organic look.

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

You need to observe that red cedars usually change dark-colored if exposed continuously to seaside weather. As a result, sea side homes need to have white cedar shakes. Red cedar shingles generally are a much more expensive when compared with white cedar types, despite the fact that cost factor doesn't diminish its reputation in anyhow. They might be preferably suitable for classic Colonial houses while white cedar shingles appear to be image suitable for bungalows and bungalows which were built in Nantucket design.

In recent times, classic cedar shakes have mislaid out in a point to synthetic shingles that emulate the cedar appear. Superior systems are employed to make these types of shingles use a for a longer period life-span in comparison with unique cedar shingles. Most include advanced UV inhibitors and possess about 5 decades of steady guarantee. These shingles are often great insulators and lots of superior ones give a much cooler inside during summer months along with a warmer inside during harsh winters.

Cedar shakes, mostly obtainable in honey, cinnamon, and silvery gray colors, need several level of repairs and maintenance. They might require initial treatment solution ahead of installation. White cedar shakes for instance, could be given bleaching oil which needs to be done virtually every six to seven years to boost their durability.

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


Cedar Shingle Fantasy Houses by Sunnybc123

Cedar shakes and cedar shingles are fantastic, plus they are additionally a good purchase. Information of terms including CCA, advanced quality, # 1, blue label and black label will help you to find the right cedar roof for your personal home.

Elite Roofing & Home Improvements, LLC provides more information about shingles, cedar shakes, fiberglass shakes and more. Elite Roofing & Small remodels, LLC is affiliated with the nation's Roofers Association.

You can learn more about cedar shingles, and acquire more articles and resources about cedar shakes at cedar roof shingles and shakes website.

 

Cedar Shingle Roof Vs Asphalt Shingle Roof


A cedar shingle roof remains highly coveted by homeowners. It really is among the oldest roofing products that has continued to be constantly in use inside hundreds of years. Around new roofing materials remain developed, cedar shakes still endear themselves to many. Below is really a comparison analysis of the cedar roof versus an asphalt roof.

Pros of Cedar Roofing shingles

Cedar shakes bring about greater air flow inside whole home. The shingles enable the home to breathe well without trapping moisture around. It will help to keep the dwelling of the property who is fit for longer. Cedar Shakes are durable and strong. They like an increased resistance to bugs. A cedar shingle roof will fully stand up well towards the various weather onslaughts. Storms, hurricanes, powerful winds and flying debris will barely damage the outer lining of your cedar roof. The color matures beautifully using the passing years, rendering it much more desirable. A cedar roof adds a definite charm to your residence. Cedar is instantly for sale in lumber yards and need a large amount of expertise or specialized tools to install.

Cons of Cedar Shakes

If rot takes hold, you'd be compelled to improve the entire lot. It's not easy extracting merely the affected pieces. They could are already nailed down in a way that each elimination proves difficult. Cedar Shingles don't endure well to constant wetting. Living in an area where rainfall is heavy or frequent, cedar shingles aren't an ideal choice. Frequent wetting causes mold or mildew setting in. Replacement and repair is actually a costly business. Your very best protection against constant wetting would be to use wide overhangs. Also, if the property is shaded by many trees or nearby buildings, cedar shingles often develop mold. You'll be compelled to change them sooner than you planned. Cedar Shingles tend to be flammable than asphalt shingles. Many areas possess a building code set up that restricts cedar shingles to reduce the risk of fire. To setup a cedar shake roof, you need to have your allowance in regards to the higher side. Frequent maintenance can also be essential to maintain the roof in good shape. Mildew and rot are ever-constant threats to some cedar roof.


L &amp; M Company - Cedar Roofing by L &amp; M Company

Pros of Asphalt Shingle Roof

An asphalt roof is probably the most affordable to purchase and install. They come in various designs and colours, which range from a regular, flat turn to a 3-dimensional look. Asphalt shingles have a superior capacity fires unlike cedar roofing. An asphalt roof can in fact decrease the risk of fires caused by flying embers. Asphalt roofs are easier and cheaper to put in than cedar. Also, they are low maintenance roofs.

Cons of Asphalt Shingle Roof

Algae is much more susceptible to grow on asphalt roofing than cedar shingles. It causes the cover to produce somewhat from the stain which spoils the looks. You will get an anti-algae coating done in your asphalt shingles but this adds to the cost. When it comes to stability, an asphalt roof is a lot more likely to be blown off by strong winds than the usual cedar roof.

Discover more about cedar roof shingles, and acquire more articles and resources about cedar roofing shakes at cedar roofing materials and shakes website.