Alt Attribute & Search engine optimization

SEO Optimization images has become more and more important in SEO (Search Engine Optimization) for websites. The ALT attribute is a critical step that is sometimes forgotten. 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:. Make use of the alt attribute to provide descriptive text. In addition, we recommend using a human-readable caption and descriptive text around the image.

Why would they ask us to achieve that? The answer is easy, really; search engines like google have the same problem as blind users. They cannot 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 certain keyword density, which is not as relevant for rankings now since it was previously.

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

Imagine hearing a paragraph of text that is followed by repetitions of numerous keywords. The page would be far from accessible, and, to put it bluntly, will be found quite annoying.
What is an Alt attribute?

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

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

The goal is to supply the same functional information that the visual user would see. The alt attribute text should function as a "stand in" in the event that the look is not available. Think about this question: Should you replace the look using the text, would most users receive the same basic information, and wouldn't it generate the same response?
A few examples:

 

Some SEO Optimization Tips

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

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

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

If it is meant to convey using a function, then your function itself is what should be used.

Some Alt Attribute Guidelines:

Always add alt attributes to images. Alt is mandatory for accessibility and for valid XHTML.

For images that play merely a decorative role within the page, make use of an empty alt (i.e. alt="") or perhaps a CSS background image so that reading browsers don't bother users by uttering things like "spacer image".

Remember that it is the function from the image we're attempting to convey. For example; any button images should not include the word "button" within the alt text. They should emphasize the action performed through the button.

Alt text should be determined by context. Exactly the same image inside a different context may require drastically different alt text.

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

It is useful 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 make a site visually appealing/attractive and (in many cases) fulfill the marketing departments. There isn't any content value (though there might be value to some sighted user).

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

II. Mood-Setting

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

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

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

Usually this will depend on context. The same image in a different context may require drastically different alt text. Obviously, content should always be fully available. The way you go in this case is a judgment call.

III. Content and Function

This is where the look is the actual content. Always alt-ify content and functional images. Title and long description attributes can also be so as.
The main reason many authors can't understand why their alt text isn't working is they don't know why the images are there. You need to figured out exactly what function a picture serves. Consider what it is concerning the image that's important to the page's intended audience.

Every graphic has a reason for standing on that page: because it either enhances the theme/ mood/ atmosphere or it is advisable to what the page is trying to describe. Understanding what the look is for makes alt text simpler 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. An amount 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 at your disposal for images.
First, in level of descriptiveness title is in between alt and longdesc. It adds useful information and may 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 to the Link to a full description of an image. When the information found in an image is important towards the meaning of the page (i.e. some important content would be lost if the image was removed), an extended description compared to "alt" attribute can reasonably display should be used. It can offer rich, expressive documentation of a visual image.

It should 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 aim is by using any length of description essential to impart the facts of the graphic.

It would not be remiss to hope that a long description conjures an image - the image - in the mind's eye, an analogy that is true even for that totally blind."

Even though alt attribute is mandatory for web accessibility as well as for valid (X)HTML, not all images need alternative text, long descriptions, or titles.

In many cases, you are better off just going with your gut instinct -- if it's not essential to incorporate it, and when you don't have a strong urge to get it done, don't add that longdesc.

However, if it's essential 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 your image and it is context about the page.

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

Image Search Engine Optimization Tips

Listed here are key stages in optimizing images:

Choose a logical file name that reinforces the keywords. You can use hyphens within the file name to isolate the keyword, but avoid to exceeding two hyphens. Avoid using underscores like a word separator, such as "brilliant-diamonds.jpg";

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

Ensure that the text at the image that is relevant to that image.
Again, do not lose a great opportunity to help your site with your images searching engines. Begin using these steps to rank better on all the engines and drive increased traffic to your site TODAY.

SEO Company

seo optimization services

Bench Craft Company on the topic of ebay

There has been a lot of talk as to whether or not social media is the front runner in another inflated internet bubble waiting to burst, leaving users “virtually” friendless and clueless. Will everyone be out of the loop, with no one keeping track of daily deals, happenings or status updates? Warren Buffet confirmed this fear stating that although it’s not as big as the dot com bubble, social media is not long term by any means. However, industry trends and buyer behaviors are stating otherwise.

Facebook has proven beneficial to marketing efforts for B2C companies, but B2B marketing has struggled to find its footing on the platform. That’s where LinkedIn has emerged as the go-to medium for B2B marketers.

A recent study done by BtoB Magazine, showed that when asked “Which of the following social media methods does your company currently use for your B2B marketing (i.e. not personal use)” 72% of B2B marketers said LinkedIn. After reaching more than 100 million users, LinkedIn has solidified its niche as Facebook in a business suit, and B2B companies have taken notice.

The 2011 State of Inbound Marketing (an annual report done by HubSpot, an inbound marketing software company) found that 61% of B2B marketers who participated in the survey acquired a customer through LinkedIn. The targeted and measurable aspect of inbound marketing is what makes it so attractive to smart business owners who are tired of spending money on marketing with no proof that it’s working. Former Chief Marketing Officer of McDonald’s, M. Lawrence Light said, “It no longer makes economic sense to send an advertising message to the many, in hopes of persuading the few.”

Continued on the next page

There has been a lot of talk as to whether or not social media is the front runner in another inflated internet bubble waiting to burst, leaving users “virtually” friendless and clueless. Will everyone be out of the loop, with no one keeping track of daily deals, happenings or status updates? Warren Buffet confirmed this fear stating that although it’s not as big as the dot com bubble, social media is not long term by any means. However, industry trends and buyer behaviors are stating otherwise.

Facebook has proven beneficial to marketing efforts for B2C companies, but B2B marketing has struggled to find its footing on the platform. That’s where LinkedIn has emerged as the go-to medium for B2B marketers.

A recent study done by BtoB Magazine, showed that when asked “Which of the following social media methods does your company currently use for your B2B marketing (i.e. not personal use)” 72% of B2B marketers said LinkedIn. After reaching more than 100 million users, LinkedIn has solidified its niche as Facebook in a business suit, and B2B companies have taken notice.

The 2011 State of Inbound Marketing (an annual report done by HubSpot, an inbound marketing software company) found that 61% of B2B marketers who participated in the survey acquired a customer through LinkedIn. The targeted and measurable aspect of inbound marketing is what makes it so attractive to smart business owners who are tired of spending money on marketing with no proof that it’s working. Former Chief Marketing Officer of McDonald’s, M. Lawrence Light said, “It no longer makes economic sense to send an advertising message to the many, in hopes of persuading the few.”

Continued on the next page


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Maya Moore quickly signs deal with Minnesota Lynx

The Minnesota Lynx have signed Maya Moore, the first pick in this year's WNBA draft.

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Small Business <b>News</b>: Small Biz Social Media Tips

In recent weeks we've shared articles on social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and others. Now it's time to look at how all these tools are.

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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,

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Given the current cost of components, a prepaid contract-free iPhone with less internal storage would likely earn Apple only about 16 percent gross margin if it were priced at $300, a new analysis has estimated.



Analyst Charlie Wolf with Needham & Company took a closer look at the prospect of a hypothetical "iPhone lite," to see if it would be in Apple's best interest to build such a product. A cheaper iPhone has been viewed as a strategy that would work to Apple's advantage in emerging markets like China.



In February, both Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple is working on a smaller and cheaper iPhone that it could sell contract-free. Soon after, The New York Times chimed in, and claimed that while Apple is not working on a smaller iPhone, it has explored opportunities in developing a cheaper handset.



Wolf largely agrees with the Times, and doesn't see a smaller iPhone with a new form factor as something that would be in Apple's best interest, even though it would be the easiest way to cut costs and created a cheaper handset.



"In our view, the iPhone would not be an iPhone if the display were, say, cut in half," he said. "Such a move would (dramatically) reduce the value of the iPod module for video viewing as well as the size of web sites accessed through the Safari browser. A smaller screen would also degrade the experience in using some applications, not to mention the possibility that some applications would probably have to be rewritten to accommodate a smaller screen."



iSuppli estimated that the 16GB iPhone 4, when it launched last June, carried a bill of materials of $188. The iPhone has an average selling price of $625 with a carrier subsidy, while gross margin is usually around 50 percent, suggesting that additional costs like assembly, software, testing, licenses and warrantees add up to $100 or more.



Ruling out the possibility of a smaller iPhone, Wolf said Apple could reduce internal storage from 16GB to about 4GB, but that would only reduce the bill of materials by $30 to about $157. By his estimation, such a handset would still have a total cost of $270.



"Apple would at best break even if it priced an iPhone Light at $250; and it would earn a modest 16% gross margin if it priced it at $300, which we regard as the high end of the range for a prepaid phone," Wolf wrote.



Gross margins of just 16 percent would be a number uncharacteristically low for Apple. For example, in its last quarterly results for the 2010 holiday buying season, Apple reported margins of 38.5 percent, or more than twice Wolf's estimate for a low-cost, no-contract iPhone.



"We suspect that the iPhone's designers and engineers have thought about this a lot more than we have so that the cost savings would be somewhat greater than we've estimated," Wolf said. "If, for example, the expenses incurred beyond the cost of components could be materially reduced, Apple might be able to earn a gross margin of 20% pricing the phone at $250 and 33% gross margin pricing it at $300."



The possibility of a cheaper iPhone with fewer features was hinted at by Apple Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook earlier this year. Cook, in an interview with Bernstein Research analyst Toni Sacconaghi, said Apple doesn't want its products to be "just for the rich."



Cook reportedly said that Apple is planning "clever things" to compete in the prepaid handset market. He also stated that Apple is "not ceding any market." He also referenced China, where Apple has found great success of late, and noted that it is a "classic prepaid market."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Additional thoughts on the Apple short:

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

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

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In recent weeks we’ve shared articles on social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and others. Now it’s time to look at how all these tools are changing the way you do business. By the way, we’d like to learn what kind of social media your business is using and why. Be sure to leave a comment below.

Strategy

How to be a social media leader. How to be a social media leader or authority. It’s a question surely on the mind of plenty of small business owners working to learn the vocabulary of the new online media. In the end, it may be easier than it looks. Check these simple tips. Small Business CEO

How to set up a small realization that business blog. Whether practitioners of small business social media nowadays would describe a format as “old school” as blogging as being a part of the social media is uncertain. We certainly consider it to be. In many ways blogging is the cornerstone of a strong online social presence and establishing a blog as the hub of your social media campaign requires learning some basics on establishing a small business blog. Dazzlin Donna

Marketing

How to use social media to build context. Gary Vaynerchuck is arguably one of the most innovative pioneers of the social media marketing approach, but in this interview he argues using the means open to small businesses today isn’t necessarily about the tools, it’s about the context. Find out why. The Rise to the Top

How to grow your social media fan base. Whether it’s Facebook or another comparable site, social media is about being social. To understand why this is harder than it might at first seem, check out this post on growing a social media fan base for your business. Like other online marketing, social media is about content. This post talks about how to use content and other tools to boost your number of fans. Premium SEO Solutions

Operations

How to create Twitter and other social media content. So, we know that using social media and frequently updating with content are the key to an effective social media marketing campaign. But what in the world can you say. As it turns out talking endlessly and pitching endlessly about your business on social media is NOT the answer. Follow this guide to participating effectively in social media WITHOUT being labeled a spammer. What’s your approach? Blog Godown

How bloggers have become much more influential than celebrities. When it comes to influencing purchasing decisions, people are more likely to listen to a blogger than a rock star. That’s according to a recent study suggesting the increased influence social media is having on purchasing decisions. If you haven’t yet considered social media and particularly blogging as part of your marketing campaign, you may want to read more. Fox News

Research

Why social media may not be your best traffic driving tool. A recent study suggests that as a strategy for driving traffic to your Website, social media may not be the best choice. Then again, the study goes on, for brand awareness its effectiveness may be somewhat higher. In the end, it’s important to remember that the tools you use must make sense to your business, says blogger Cynthia Boris. Don’t look to social media as a magic bullet. It’s a useful tool, nothing more. Marketing Pilgrim

How to create a successful social media strategy. Businesses seeking to take advantage of all aspects of the social media need to apply careful planing to their approach. The possibilities for crowdsourcing, studying of online customer conversation and other factors makes innovation easier as well. But with all these possibilities, where should your business begin? A well defined social media strategy is a good first step. 1 to 1 media

How to listen to social media and gain insight about your brand. Someone is talking about your business out there. But what are they saying and is it something you should even be worried about? Monitoring social media for positive and negative comments about your business can be a great strategy for constant innovation. Here’s more about how it works and how you can get involved. InformationWeek

Final Thoughts

Trying to figure out social media. One of the main issues for small businesses today, surprisingly, is not just deciding to implement social media but trying to figure out all of the possible implications. Social media is, after all, more than just a tool. It is a movement as well. The existence of social media is a hard reality and offers opportunities to small business of all kinds. But there are challenges too. Here are some important thoughts. Business 2 Community

 

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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Daily Kos: Fox <b>News</b> ties suicide to Obama speech

But with the other option being to talk about the Republican plan to abolish Medicare, apparently politicizing this young man's death looked a whole lot better to Fox News. Pathetic. (h/t Balloon Juice) ...

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Taptu allows iPad owners to “DJ your <b>news</b>” | VentureBeat

Anthony is a senior editor at VentureBeat, as well as its reporter on media, advertising, and social networks. Before joining ...

Roofing Contractors Vancouver - 5 Inquiries to Really think

Roofing Vancouver - Faq's

1. Repair or Replace?

There's no opinion as an expert opinion. Most contractors will provide you with a free estimate. Get a summary of a few trusted contractors and phone them well in advance of when you want to get your homes roof fixed to help you compare costs and opinions.

2. Beauty versus Practicality?

Discuss this 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 great quality roof and you just have to do the repair, it's worth it to pay the cost of the initial shingle instead of doing patchwork. A roof replacement doesn't happen frequently (hopefully!) and so make a choice that suits you and your loved ones well or it'll stick out just like a sore thumb everyday you go home.

3. Must i replace the rooftop in order to sell the house for additional?

Think about this cautiously prior to making a decision. With respect to the roofing material you select, a new roof lasts between 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 a 20-year warranted roof or year 30 of the 50-year warranted roof? Obviously, the standard is the reason why the rooftop keep going longer, but if you're not planning to stay in your present home throughout your life, the larger expense might not be worth your investment. Although a new roof can improve the worth of your selling price, the increase might not be enough to cover your investment and that's definitely going to hurt your wallet.

4. Is it a good idea for me to repair the rooftop myself?

Sure it's. But before you do, consult a specialist first. You can do it yourself, but you shouldn't be considered a complete ‘lone ranger.' Depending on the extent of the repair, you may or may not change your mind. In either case, it helps to obtain a professional eye about the problem first and maybe a free quote to help you do the math later and see if it's truly worth your time and effort, sweat, and money to become mister or miss fix-it.

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

Weather can cause delays from days to weeks. Most people plan ahead to have their roof replaced in the summer when they know someone will be home throughout the day for a solid two weeks. Once you've this era in your mind, create a call to a trusted contractor months in advance to obtain a quote. Some companies get booked up fast and odds are, they're the most reputable. Planning ahead of the summer also provides you with time for you to ask around many compare costs...especially if you need to possess the roof done by a specified date.

 

The Top Roofing Company In Vancouver!

Is there a leak inside your home's roof? Perhaps you have lost shingles or tiles inside a storm? Have overhanging branches caused damage? Is the roof more than Two decades old and showing its age? Are your gutters overwhelmed and draining poorly?

If the answer to any of these questions is "Yes" it is time to call the very best roofing contractor Vancouver - Crown Roofing & Drainage.

For more than a century Crown Roofing has been the roofer of choice among our Vancouver neighbors. We provide 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 level of customer support.

YOUR Vancouver ROOF DESERVES NO LESS!

The rooftop of the Vancouver house is the very first line of defence against wind, rain, snow, ice along with other weather elements. Be sure it is as much as the job. Among Vancouver Roofing companies, only Crown Roofing has got the depth of experience and successful track record to make sure your roofing system will be properly designed and installed.

NEIGHBORS HELPING NEIGHBORS.

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

GET A FREE INSPECTION AND EVALUATION Of the Vancouver ROOF.

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

 

Tacoma Roofing company: Make your Home Beautiful

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

The local Tacoma Roofing company is knowledgeable how important an economic investment your property is for you, especially since it is a lasting one. Your house may have been damaged slowly through the years and you need to take steps to minimize this damage. For a number of people, keeping their property beautiful is another matter of pride. There are those too who'd prefer to turn their house into a cost effective and efficient living place. Your roof is a valuable part of your house and contributes to each one of the aspects mentioned previously. Because of this, you should employ the expertise of qualified a Tacoma Roofing company.

Kinds of Roofs installed by a Tacoma Roofing contractor

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

Each kind of roof invites distinct problems, however they can all be easily looked after with a trusted Tacoma Roofing company. It's vital that you nip roof problems in the bud before they become too costly or dangerous. You can schedule a scheduled appointment with the Tacoma Roofing contractor to consider a look at your homes roof to see if there are any issues or potential issues with it. If you will find, they might be able to let you know how to deal with them.

A Tacoma Roofer Helps you to Build Strong Homes

The exteriors of any house, primarily the roof and gutters, face the onslaught of bitter and varying climate conditions, day after day. Painting, repairing, and cleaning gutters might be necessary. In some instances you may have to replace them completely. Usually, when your gutters show signs of trouble, your homes roof must also be inspected for problems. Whatever issues there might be, a skilled Tacoma Roofing contractor can examine them at length and suggest the remedy.

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

Reverse Damages with the Help of a Tacoma Roofing contractor

However top quality the roof may be, it will eventually wear out with time. You will find shingles which are known as "25 year" or "30 year" shingles, but those numbers are only associated with warranty produced by the manufacturers. They hardly ever last that long. Realistically speaking, "25 year" shingles will not last more than fifteen to twenty years. Within an area that is vulnerable to storms, shingles or even the entire roof may need to be replaced every 10 years. Having a Tacoma Roofing contractor, the cost is going to be lower than what you believe.

If there you lose any shingles, or there's some harm to them, a Tacoma Roofer can help you. Damaged shingles can lead to indoor leaks, as the substrate from the roof becomes subjected to the sun and rain. Shingles that are loose or broken can slip off and pose a possible hazard to people standing below. Missing shingles produce a gap which allows rain, wind, ice, and debris to develop underneath the adjoining shingles, which results in a "domino effect" that affects other shingles and they become loose or broken. A comprehensive investigation will be made by the local Tacoma Roofer, should you give them a call up with your suspicions of loose or missing shingles.

Your Tacoma Roofer come in a situation to tell you what are the smartest choice is for your homes roof. In case your roof is not inside a good shape, it is advised you have it replaced completely. The Tacoma Roofing contractor can take you through the various roofing options available to you which will suit your requirements and your budget.

Tacoma Roofing company: Improving your Home's Efficiency

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

To begin with, inspect your homes roof thoroughly for any and all sorts of type of damage, prior to the beginning of a new season. The gutters ought to be clear, debris shouldn't be piled on or trapped under shingles, there should be no homes of squirrels or birds within the eaves or attic, and also the roof should be structurally sound. For your last part, you'll need the help of the local Tacoma Roofing company. It may be quite dangerous to climb to the roof of your house. This is when the contractor from Tacoma Roofing company comes in. He will check out the strength and security of the roof and shingles, and perform a general inspection from the entire roof structure, to make certain that it's in proper working order. They will be able to point to problems that you have to keep an eye on and problems you may not have spotted.

You'll need all the assist you to can get in the Tacoma Roofer. You can help your roof by installing a gutter guard or leaf cover to help prevent debris from forming in your gutters. The extra weight of debris prevents the gutters from draining and may even tear them down. Look into the fasteners in your gutters and if they're loose, tighten them. Do something to alter worn screws and brackets. For those who have a chimney in your house, inspect the bricks and mortar signs and symptoms of wear. A reliable mason can be recommended because of your Tacoma Roofing company, if there are any repairs to become done.

Tacoma Roofing company: Someone You Can Count On
In the event that you know or suspect that there's a problem, your Tacoma Roofing contractor should be contacted. They are able to use their knowledge and expertise to obtain your home back in ace condition by simply working on the rooftop. Your homes roof deserves attention. So give them a call today, to enable them to get down to working on your roof.

 

What is Difference Between Commercial Roofing Companies From Residential Roofing Companies

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

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

Residential roofing contractors in general tend to run smaller companies and therefore, tend to be more in a position to bid competitively on residential jobs, which tend to be small compared to comercial jobs. Actually, quite often residential roofing contractors will run one man operations, in which the contractor that you simply speak with could be the one that actually does the job on the building.

Also, liability insurance for commercial roofing is more epensive and a larger bond is required for a commercial roofing work which will make it not cost effective for a commercial roofer to do residential roofing jobs.

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

 

Distinction between Commercial Roofing and Residential Roofing

Did you know that the rooftop of the building has a huge effect on the entire structure itself? Damage caused to roofs due to natural or another disasters leads to a considerable lack of property everywhere. The type of materials accustomed 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 very crucial. There are two types of roofs that are utilized on all the buildings that people see around us: commercial and residential. Even though it might seem that commercial roofing is performed only for businesses or offices and residential roofing is performed for apartments and houses, the truth is the differences tend to be more complicated than that.

Residential roofing is generally completed by just one hired contractor but commercial roofing typically takes a whole team to accomplish the task. This is because a commercial roof is commonly larger in terms of sq ft than a residential roof.
Commercial roofs need to be made carefully keeping the character and purpose of your building in mind. For example, when there is a cafe or restaurant in the building then external components like ventilation systems, smoke stacks and pipes will be required. Residential roofs usually do not have such components apart from a chimney or two at most.
Commercial roofs tends to be flat in design to support further changes in a later period, whereas most residential roofs have peaks and other architectural features like roof gardens.
Commercial roofing is much more expensive than residential roofing because of the special tools, materials and safety equipment that are needed onsite. Usually the patching or maintenance work is done in segments unlike for any residential roof where the repair or replacement work could be carried out a short time. This is another reason why the gear used for residential roofs is often smaller and less expensive as well.
Commercial roof installations have a extended period to accomplish compared to residential roof installations and therefore are usually constructed in large sections. During this phase however, it is important to make sure that there are no leakages, cracks or other visible deterioration signs as it can certainly cause considerable harm to the entire building.
You should install the right roof for any building depending on its purpose. Make sure that you hire a construction company that utilizes top notch materials and has the best equipment to do the job or neglect the may turn to be considered a huge loss later.

 

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

If a business is looking to have work done on its roof, you should work with commercial roofing contractors which have an enthusiastic understanding of any special needs that the business might have. For example, a roofing job is often disruptive for the operation of economic as usual. For this reason, it may be essential for the business to become temporarily turn off, or the roofing to take place after business hours have ended. A roofer that understands these needs can function plus a business to make certain these kinds of issues are minimized.

First of all , a business should do when it's searching for commercial roofing contractors is to find out who other businesses in the area will work through. Obviously, this article 't be helpful if it comes as a suggestion from competitors, but you will find circumstances by which it is not too difficult to find this information from suppliers or retailers. Since roofing is not an industry-specific service, this post is easily available.

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

When examining bids, it is only as important to check out what services are being offered and which products is going to be used because it is to check out the overall cost. The prices can vary quite drastically, but as tempting as it can be to choose the cheapest bid, this isn't always your best option. In many cases, more costs now will mean fewer costs in the long run due to an undesirable roofing job. To further investigate the quality of the job, it is a good idea to check on using the Bbb to be able to find out if the company continues to be accredited, and when it has not, to at least see what its rating is.

 

Selecting a Commercial Roofer

When you're searching for a roofer for the commercial roofing project you need to look for a contractor who understands the special needs of a commercial roofing project. For instance it can be harder to operate on a business during business hours so either the company needs to be shut down for that repair or replacement or even the job needs to be done after conventional business hours. May be the roofer you are thinking about for 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 you don't only need to answer those questions however, you also want to hire a company that will do a top quality job without a great deal of time delays. Going about finding someone can feel like an obstacle in itself but there are some ways to make the search easier.

Ask friends and family for referrals and then try to find a minimum of three contractors to provide you with written bids on your job. Prior to going any further you need to make sure that the contractors you are considering are fully licensed and bonded. A simple search with the state contractor's board will verify in case your roofer is licensed and when you will find any past judgments or claims against their license.

Once you select 3 or 4 roofers to place bids, you need to prepare yourself for the bids to become widely varied. Roofers will have brand preferences that will vary and may element in more or less compared to next guy for any labor estimate. The greater detailed a written bid is the more helpful it will be for you to see in which the cost will be incurred. Don't, however, pick a roofer based solely on the bid price. Any low ball bids may be tempting to consider, but when they are low due to poor quality workman ship it might not be worthwhile ultimately.

As the saying goes, you generally get what you purchase, if you can afford a mid-priced bid it certainly is a good idea to increase within your budget rather than down. Additionally you should select your roofer depending on how professional they were and just how comfortable you anticipate you will be dealing with them.

Finally your cost will be different depending on what type of roofing material you choose as well as the cost to haul your old roof to the landfill. If you are looking for places to chop corners in your roof, instead of cutting labor set you back may want to ask about a metal roof option. Metal roofs can be economical and efficient which makes them overall money savers for the long run, and 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 have to possess the old one removed and hauled away, which can make a large effect on your cost.

Selecting a comerical roofing company nearer your home, doesn't have to become a struggle. For more information, visit http://www.vancouverroofers.net

 

Seattle Roofing Contractors - How to locate The very best

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

Harsh Weather

How come roofing contractors essential 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'll need people who be aware of Seattle weather best, and who know what materials can best get into your roof for it to last far longer in the area. On top this, you need to blend with the remainder of the houses in your living space, so you cannot simply get whatever roof you please.

In all these aspects, a Seattle roofing contractors will be able to assist you. All you need to do is look for Seattle roofing contractors online so that you can obtain the best value for your money without wondering if the contractor will suddenly try to escape with it and leave you roof-less.

Why the Contractor Model Works

If you want to put up your homes roof on your own, you will have to purchase a whole lot of materials, secure permits and licenses, and get materials which are suited to help you stay safe against harsh extremes of Seattle weather. This means that if you are a DIY sort of guy or gal, you'll have to undergo a large amount of legwork in order to get the task done.

However, a Seattle roofing contractor can do all of the jobs for you personally and provide a package that may save you money and time. Because contractors operate under licenses and buy materials in bulk, they can get discounts on building materials that you'd not otherwise get if you were buying merely for your own personel home.

Roofing Associations

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

For example, 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 put you in contact with the contractor that you need so you don't have to search for contractors individually.

What Should You Demand from Your Contractor?

When you finally get a contractor within the Seattle area, you must do a lot of research about the roofing contractors themselves. Ask for a list of previous companies or persons the contractor worked with to get a clear view of 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 ensure that your needs are met. Ensure that you obtain the best bang for your buck: if you are unsatisfied using the job, you have to be guaranteed either money-back, or perhaps a free, new roof. Moreover, additionally you need the workers to find the job done on time, so be strict together with your deadlines - and find a contractor that is as strict when you are.

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

Choosing the proper Roofing Contractor Company for Replacing Your Roof

The shingles inside your roof need replacing and you're simply minded to find a roofer to replace the them. Perhaps you have already called a few and are evaluating which contractor to use for your upcoming roof repair. How can you select the best contractor for caring for your roof? Here are a number of things you should look at when searching for the best roofing contractor.

Where is the roofing contractor located? You should hire a roofer that's local. Chances are you will receive a higher level of service when the roofing company can be found near your house or has an office near your residence.
References. To determine the toughness for the contractor, references ought to be provided of the previous customers who are prepared to vouch that excellent service was received. This should not be the only real element in deciding upon your future roofer as some may claim they value the privacy of the clients and do not wish to bother them. If this sounds like the case, ask for business related references. The locations that supply the contractor with supplies can reveal the amount of materials and regularity of supplying the contractor to assist determine their stability.
So how exactly does the roofer company handle complaints? There are a large number of issues that can arise during the progress of the roofing replacement. Ask what their process is perfect for handling complaints if they arise. It is also an excellent idea to receive a past client reference who had a complaint that was resolved towards the satisfaction of the client.
Terms of payment. What are the the payment schemes to do the job? What's 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 completed.
Written contract. All terms of 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 stuff that can go wrong with roofing installations that wind up costing quite a bit of money to repair. Should this happen on your roofing replacement, you'll feel a whole lot better knowing that your roofer is bonded. This can supply the funds to repair whatever mistakes were made. Find a roofer that's bonded.
Manufacturer Warranty. Quality materials for roofing typically come with a warranty. You should verify that there's actually a warranty about the materials being installed. Request a copy from the warranty.
Period of time running a business Just how long has got the company you're interviewing experienced business? A brief amount of time in business may reflect instability. If the contractor has been in business under three years, verify just how long they've been in the industry. A new contractor may have many years experience focusing on roofs before they form their 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 real factor, all of us have to start sometime. Balance this with referrals and also the other points raised in this article.
Appropriate Permits. A Seattle roofing contractor should know what permits are needed for repairing your roof. They must be conscious of how to obtain these permits on your behalf. Ask the contractor whether or not they will have the permits necessary to repair the rooftop.
Liability. If a worker becomes injured, who is accountable for the workers comp? When the contractor's equipment damages your house, who is responsible for the repairs? A great contractor will give you certificates of insurance for liability and worker's compensation before they start repairing your roof.
Subcontractors. Verify if the contractor will be using subcontractors. If that's the case, it is highly recommended that everything contained in this article for verifying if the contractor is credible should also be relevant to subcontractors. You need to get the names and license numbers of all subcontractors. You should verify whether each subcontractor is also insured which means you are not held liable for their accidents.
Pending Legal Actions. You should verify whether there are any legal actions against the contractor. This is not merely necessary for verifying if the roofing company is legitimate (credible roofing companies should not need to defend themselves in court), it's also important because a lost lawsuit could cause the contractor to visit bankrupt. For those who have made a substantial deposit for services immediately before the company goes bankrupt, you can lose thousands of dollars and not have your roofing completed.
Material Disposal. Who is responsible for getting rid of the waste generated from the roof being replaced? Will your contractor handle all aspects of this? Can there be one more cost for disposing of this waste?
NRCA Membership. Membership in local or national roofing associations, like the NRCA, shows commitment to staying up to date with the most effective means of roof replacement and maintenance. Find a roofer with a high standard of education regarding their trade.
Replacing your roof is a significant investment. Celebrate sense to inquire about serious questions before using a roofer. Here are a few more tips that you should consider when choosing the very best roofing contractor for the 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 having done a final inspection of 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 ought to be made verbally without backing up on paper. All points which are vital that you you should be made in writing.

 

For the SEO needs, you should check out Vancouver website design and Vancouver Search engine optimization company

There is no denying how the internet is among the most biggest financial market nowadays. Practically things are anchored on the web. Currently, there are more than 182 million sites on the net and still counting. If each of these websites offers possibilities to make money, think of the limitless opportunities that can be perfectly located at the internet. Moreover, with all the emergence of internet sites, the requirement for web hosting and Search| Engine Optimization is significantly defined.

Search Engine Optimization is simply the entire process of improving the visibility of your web site. As such, if you'd like your web site to be visible to visitors, you need to search for SEO Company. The optimization strategy considers how search spiders work and what people usually and what keywords they use. The primary objective of SEO is making web sites visible searching sites from the natural or organic way.

Organic search optimization or natural search engine optimization is really a term used in describing unpaid, algorithm-driven results of any particular engine. In other words, organic SEO uses natural strategies in achieving search engine results ranking. While there are two camps with which search optimization companies may fall to, and these will be the 'White Hat' and also the 'Black Hat', organic SEO could not belong to the 'Black Hat' camp.

Organic search engine optimization can be a highly specialized and complex practice which could literally dictate the success or failure of an web business. Since search sites often modify their algorithms, organic SEO is not quite simple at all. When search bots modify their algorithms, factors that allow your internet site to seem in front of clients are drastically changed as well. Thus, in order to cope using these changes, SEO tactics and techniques has to be employed.

It is usually ethical to use organic search engine optimization since search sites nowadays have grown to be extremely advanced that they'll easily determine whether an online site is attempting to control their search indexes. Thus it's empirical to use search engine marketing practices that are carried out 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 when compared with artificial SEO's technical loopholes. Moreover, natural search engine marketing provides attracting links instead of linking schemes employed by artificial SEO. Natural SEO also creates valuable resource as opposed to artificial SEO's algorithm chasing. Effortlessly these, you can clearly realise why search engine optimization is preferable over artificial seo. Although the latter might be harder and complex, it creates favorable results which can be very theraputic for any web site. Fortunately, there are tons of Vancouver SEO companies today that offer the organic method in affordable rates and packages.

Seo Appears on the Scene

There was a time when search engine optimization was actually not essential.

Even while late like a decade ago, if you created a Web site anywhere, Google indexed it and also you gained visibility in their search engine results. Your page could have been with a free "estates" where anybody could give a page and Google didn't mind. It may also provide been a pure affiliate page without 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; the identical fate is likely for all those pages you toss in on the free-for-all website. And even "proper" websites with your own domain name didn't achieve visibility on the list of proliferating sites in millions.

These would not have mattered, aside from a very important factor. It absolutely was Google that provided the bread and butter for the millions of smaller businesses that could not afford expensive marketing campaigns. If the site was among the top few sites the appeared before a searcher's eyes when see your face looked for your product or service, you have hundreds and even thousands of visitors, a lot of whom even bought your product or service.

Search engine marketing (SEO) entered the scene. Internet search engine specialists "reverse-engineered" to spot the factors that Google consider for showing websites near the top of its search engine results pages. These factors were then consciously integrated into your Web pages with the aspiration that Google can have your website the primary ten results it showed about the first page.

Weight loss of your competitors adopted seo practices, things became difficult again. Your role began to slip if your competitors did the SEO better. SEO battles became serious fights with every dirty trick working.

There was "black hat" SEO practitioners who showed one page to search engines and the other to human visitors. As search engines like google are not bothered with readability, you might fill the "search engine" page with pure gibberish, but gibberish written 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 seem near the top of its serp's. All things considered, Google's success depended on providing value to searchers, not merchants. And SEO practitioners came up with new tricks.

We are going to look at seo inside a group of articles, starting off having an look and feel at on-line or Online marketing.

 

For your SEO needs, you should check out vancouver web site design and Vancouver Seo agency.