Meeting Florida’s Future Web Developers:
The Design Wizards were honored to be judges again this year for the Technology Student’s Association. Participants from High Schools all over Florida were required to design, build and launch a World Wide web site that features the school’s career and technology education program.
Our team was there to judge their design and programming skills, and their ability to research topics pertaining to technology and how it has changed over the past five decades, from print material to the internet. The teams with higher scores would be moving on to Nationals. The national competition this year will be held in Orlando at the Omni Rosen Hotel in June.
The judging experience as always was eye opening. The kids this year were innovative and talented. We are looking forward to Nationals and we wish all teams good luck as they work toward becoming the future of web design.
Teams participating were:
- Bayshore High School
- Lake Region High School
- Miami Lakes Educational Center
- Robert Morgan Educational Center
- Lake Gibson High School
- Mariner High School
- Braden River High School
- Seminole High School
- Southeast High School
- Ft. Meyers High School
- Lakewood Ranch High School
Search Engine Wisdom (Part Three) in a series
When we go back and think of when the internet began, in the 1990s, those of us that were around then remember that search engine optimization techniques were very different. One by one the old techniques were replaced by the new ones and those site owners that did not realize that were left far behind. They were surprised when they noticed their traffic drying up and their websites becoming obsolete.
What was it like in the old days?
In the beginning, search engines did not use spiders (crawlers or bots) to scan sites but instead waited for the site owner to submit the site to search engines for review. Unless site owners submitted their sites themselves using search engine submission software, they had little chance for attracting traffic to the site. As search engine technology progressed, your website might be penalized and dropped from rank if old techniques were still being used.
Now that search engine spiders are dispatched to your site (only when new content is submitted) rather than waiting for the entire website submission, the rules have changed. Today, the search engines find your site on their own by what content is submitted through blogging and pages added to the site. Those site owners that have no interesting content to provide regularly are finding themselves watching other more content driven sites passing them by. Many webmasters felt they could game the system and use trickery to use short cuts to success. These “gamers” as we call them have long since lost their power.
Manipulation of keyword techniques, hidden text, content scraping, and other short cuts, are no longer bringing the results it once did and if used are quickly getting the site banned from rank. These techniques have been replaced by content rich sites focusing on a clear message and providing compelling, fresh content worth reading. Sites knowing this have been able to survive and profit. Others not knowing this have not. Staying aware of current rules and changes to SEO is key to staying on top. Changes are constant and so it is …. you should be constantly reading and learning what new methods lay ahead.
SEO professionals and the role they play for online success:
A journalist or a great content writer, freelance or otherwise has quickly become part of the success of online businesses. They are hired to keep the site content fresh and current. This is not a task for a secretary or a member of the family. Content writers are educated in grammar and creative writing. They study and learn the rules for good SEO technique. They continue this education, as the web is fluid and top search engines change their rules frequently. It is the job of the SEO professional to keep up with this ever changing climate.
These individuals are normally journalist majors and many of them write for popular magazines. With each new post submitted by a professional, you gain in site recognition and with time, your site will become an authority site based upon your own unique expertise. Whether you represent a product or service, it is the job of the SEO to represent your company and to partner with you on topics of interest. This partnership will provide the latest information to web visitors.
Each content submission whether it is to add a new content rich page to the site or a serious post offering up to the minute news and views is now what the search engine chooses to rank among the top sites. Content is absolutely “king.” Not any content of course but the type of content worthy to be published and full of new and helpful information. To reach search engine nirvana…. the site must be raised to the level of an “authority website.”
We thank you all for stopping by once again and look forward to providing you with the next topic as it relates to Search Engine Wisdom.
Article by: The staff at Inside Design Orlando
An Orlando Website Design Company since 2001
