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Showing posts from December, 2013

Navigating Social Media in 2014

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10 Social Media Practices to Focus On in 2014 My top ten list of social media practices to utilize in the upcoming year. Publish often - Daily or weekly if possible Listen and respond - Let your customers know that you care Don't talk down to your audience - Be clear and succinct Integrate with your core website - Hook into existing streams and feeds Experiment -  Try social networks you have not yet used (Tumblr, Instagram, etc.) Hash it out - Use hash tags to help people find your content #ilovehashtags #organizeandtag Comment and reply -  Converse about things you are passionate about Be generous - Share your knowledge Establish authority - Own your niche Be thoughtful  - Humility and kindness go a long way Happy and prosperous 2014 to all! Patrick LaJuett manages a website design agency : + LaJuett.com , where he supports clients as a Web technology consultant and search marketing strategy adviser.

Google Maps Engine Pro - Test Drive

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Google Maps Engine Lite/Pro Demo Google Maps Engine allows you to layer your data on top of Google’s base map and create your own maps. Google Maps Engine Lite and Pro help you create interactive custom maps to share and publish to the web. You can map data such as store locations, to showcase and advertise your business. Import location data from a spreadsheet, add layers to visualize different types of content, or add places, lines, and shapes. Key Features Draw - Add lines, shapes, or place marks on the map. Import - Add a CSV file, XLSX file or spreadsheet from Google Drive with geographically-specific data including addresses, place names, or lat/longs. Layer - Hide or show different content to better understand your map. Style - Make your point visually with different colors, place-mark icons, and line widths. Going Pro For commercial purposes, I upgraded to Maps Engine Pro.  This allows me to embed the interactive maps on my client websites. Demonstration

New WordPress 3.8 UI Design

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Customize Your WordPress 3.8 Admin Screens WordPress has gotten an overhaul. WP 3.8 brings a modern new look to the admin dashboard. New WordPress 3.8 features: Updated UI design Open Sans font for better readability Responsive for viewing on mobile devices Faster load times Customizable admin themes Learn more about WordPress 3.8: http://wordpress.org/news/2013/12/parker/ Patrick LaJuett manages a website design agency : + LaJuett.com , where he supports clients as a Web technology consultant and search marketing strategy advisor.

Season's Greetings!

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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 1959 Jeep FC-150 rendering done in Google Drawing. GooglePlus auto-awesome snow effect applied. One of the real joys of the Holiday Season is the opportunity to say Thank You for our acquaintance and to wish you the very best for the New Year! Patrick LaJuett manages a website design agency : + LaJuett.com , where he supports clients as a Web technology consultant and search marketing strategy advisor.

Google Snippets in Search Results

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Google Snippets in Search Results Snippet Discovery I recently discovered a unique occurrence of Google snippets that appeared in a Google search engine results page (SERP).  It happens to be one of my portfolio pages, so naturally, it peaked my interest. A Google snippet is a description of or an excerpt from the webpage.  A snippet refers to the description portion of a Google search listing. Take a look at the SERP snippet below: Note, the snippet is made up of an element count (40+ items), the meta description, and four excerpts from the page. Page Rendering in Browser Here's what the portfolio page looks like when rendered in the browser: Underlying Page Code In this case, it appears as though the Google bot has gone into the page code, and parsed out the top four image descriptions.  What's interesting is that the page contains an html table with alternating rows.  Images, followed by the company name and location. Consistency and Stabilit