Category Archives: Computers

Why Your Business Needs SEO

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0Most small business owners realize that, in today’s world, having a website is mandatory if they stand a chance of survival. However, many business owners set up their websites, but are then disappointed when they don’t attract the number of visitors they were hoping for. All too often, it can seem like the idea of ‘online marketing’ is a pipe dream, because surely customers would materialize if they were out there searching on the Internet?

Well, the truth is that the phrase ‘build it and they will come’ does not apply online. In the early days of the Internet, businesses could just set up websites and be found easily by customers, but the modern online world is far more competitive. Now, due to the sheer number of websites available, search engines have become far more selective about what they display on the first page.

Websites that fail to observe best SEO (search engine optimization) practices will be penalized and banished to the bottom of the search results. For a business, this can be catastrophic because it means that their competitors will get all the online traffic that they could have captured and converted into customers. Having expertise in SEO is, therefore, crucial today, because otherwise you will be ignored and overlooked in favor of businesses that are more online savvy.

There are a lot of different elements to SEO, which most business owners do not understand. SEO often involves content production and link building, which is rather time-consuming. Moreover, attempting to incorporate SEO into your website can be a fool’s errand, because as fast as you implement certain tactics, the search engines change their algorithms rendering all your efforts redundant. This is why enlisting the service of a professional consultant, like The Miami SEO Bitch http://miamiseobitch.com/, is a sensible idea.

A professional consultant will conduct a thorough analysis of your website, to see whether it is built in a way that allows search engine bots to identify what it is about. Much of this relates to the keywords present on your website. If your site is not built correctly, the consultant will make the necessary structural changes to ensure that it is ‘SEO friendly’.

The fees for this service varies, depending on what needs doing and whether you use the consultant for a one-off job, or for ongoing work. Because search engines tend to favor websites with fresh, original content, you might want to hire a consultant on a retainer, so they can produce this for you to save you time. This also applies to social media posts, which have become increasingly important for businesses given that huge numbers of people use social media on a daily basis.

Protecting Your Computer From Viruses

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Viruses are among the many dangers that threaten computer users. If these get inside your system, there is no telling what they can do. Somescreenshot1 are relatively harmless as they mere cause pop-up messages to appear and annoy the user. Others are more sinister as they delete files and cause the system to malfunction. It could slow down to a crawl to the point of being unusable. A virus could make the unit restart all of a sudden or collect sensitive information in the background. You need to protect your computer from this threat at all cost. Be sure to do the following:

Install an Antivirus Software

If you haven’t done it already, be sure to install an antivirus program on your computer. Check out the best antivirus software for Windows if that is the operating system you’re using. There is a number of them that you can download for free and use during a trial period. After this expires, you can choose to pay for a subscription to get the full functionalities or simply install a new one to try out. You will find that some are better at detecting threats than others. Some are also more resource-intensive than others, causing the system to slow down while they are running.

Protect Your Account with a Password

Be sure to set up your system in such a way as to have accounts for each user and have all of these protected by a password. It will be too much of a mess if everyone in the house used the same account, even if the others only did so from time to time. Always keep your personal files and settings private. Even guests should have their own general account. As for the password, be sure to make it strong and difficult to crack. Don’t use your birthday or any other obvious codes that people could use when you’re not looking.

Beware of Ads on the Internet

A lot of computers get infected by viruses through the Internet. Often, pop-up ads would appear and tempt you to click to get a prize or some other trickery. They might even flash a warning that your system got infected by a virus and so you need to download their software. Of course, they only want to get a foothold in your computer. Those who don’t know any better will simply do as they are told and get transported to a malicious website that will download the virus in the background. The next time the system is used, there may be discernible odd behaviors caused by this malicious code.

Don’t Open Suspicious Attachmentsrewardzone.amzainga-surveyonlinezs.com-pop-up

Plenty of viruses get into a system through email such as the highly popular I Love You bug over a decade ago. Hackers send emails imploring the recipient to open an attachment but of course, the file is never what they say it is. They may promise a prize, a picture, a vital document, or whatever beneficial item though the reality is that it’s a piece of code that will do damage to the computer. Always check if it is someone you know. If not, then do not open the attachment and put the email in the trash. Use an email service that includes a virus scanner to be on the safe side.

Physically Secure Your System

Of course, you have to physically secure the computer so that other people don’t get the chance to put viruses on it. Never leave it unattended in public where it can be stolen. Even when at home, be sure to put it on sleep mode if you are going to leave your desk and set it such that a password in needed to re-enter. This way, you can be certain that no one will be accessing your files and using the computer without your permission.

Scan External Drives Before Use

If you are going to use external drives, then scan them first before copying files from them. Thumb drives are often used to transfer large files from one device to another. Be careful as these may contain hidden dangers within its folders. Scanning should be pretty quick. Do it to reduce the risk of infecting the system.