Every day we offer new software for free -software you would normally have to pay for. I've obtained some (very good) software that would have otherwise cost me as much as $400!

Be sure it's something you can use before you download it ... and be VERY sure you read the reviews first! Software publishers offer these to help improve their products - so sometimes they might not be too good. These are for personal use only, not commercial - and there are no free upgrades or technical help available. Phoenix Technologies and Giveaway Of The Day do not make any warranty whatsoever for this free software.

Free Software - Different Every Day!

Every day we offer new software for free -software you would normally have to pay for. I've obtained some (very good) software that would have otherwise cost me as much as $400!

Be sure it's something you can use before you download it ... and be VERY sure you read the reviews first! Software publishers offer these to help improve their products - so sometimes they might not be too good. These are for personal use only, not commercial - and there are no free upgrades or technical help available. Phoenix Technologies and Giveaway Of The Day do not make any warranty whatsoever for this free software.

What You Need to Know About Search Engines

By Jim Moore, Phoenix Technologies
CHAPTER ONE

Too many website designers - not only the do-it-yourselfers but many of the "pros" as well - don't have a clue when it comes to getting your website listed higher in the search engines - like Google, Yahoo, Bing, MSN and the rest.

A month or so ago I spoke with a reportedly wealthy businessman (I won't names) who sells men's suits all across the country. He was referred to me by a very happy local customer. First, he informed that he was probably going to sign up for a cheap do-it-yourself website he could design by himself online.
Yet the next comment he made was "I want to get it at the top of the search engines."

What a paradox - or oxymoron. You don't get top listings with "freebie" or "cookie cutter" websites.

1. The search engines don't like these kinds of sites because (a) they're usually done, and done poorly, by amateurs.
2. In these cases, your website is usually not your own "domain" but a "sub-domain." An example is the now-defunct Geocities, where your website address (or URL) may look like this: "www.geocities.com/western/1227."
Your page is in a "western-themed community" and your account number is "1227." While Google or Yahoo will certainly find Geocities.com (and their search results are so outdated they still list it years after it went out of business) because "www.geocities.com" is a "root" domain name.
3. Amateurs usually have never heard of such phrases as "keywords" "tags" or "description" or "title."

There's another reason you shouldn't use "freebie" or "cookie cutter" websites. If you want your business taken seriously, are you going to print your business cards on the back of someone else's discarded business cards? Of course not!

Further, "cookie cutter" sites such as Cityscape all look pretty much alike. There is a title, name, address, phone number, brief description and maybe a map ... and you'll pay upwards of $69 a month just for that. Everyone's site looks basically the same. My wife, before we were married, had just such a site for her chiropractic practice. The salesman pulled the wool over her eyes and fed her a line of B.S. but the site was a total failure in terms of the results it got.

Now I would assume if you're in business, the purpose - and it should be the sole purpose - of your website is to either (a) make money or (b) establish a brand. Most small businesses want to make money, especially in tough times.

The best-looking website is not necessarily the most effective website. Pretty boys aren't always good workers - and you want your website to work for you - all day, all night, seven days a week with no time off for vacations or sick days.

The following videos (with transcripts available) are from an excellent piece of software called WordTracker. WordTracker is generally regarded as the Cadillac keyword tool - and the price tag would confirm that! Are you prepared to spend $329 a year or $59 a month just for a keyword tool? Is it really worth it to you? Unless you're investing tens of thousands of $$$ into your website, probably not. The good news is - there is a free online version here.

Now, while I recommend that you watch at least some of these videos, if not all, I would not jump right in and buy the program or even use all the approaches they cover (such as Pay Per Click). I'll tell you why in a little bit.

(These links will open up in the same window, so when you're done, just click your BACK BUTTON and you'll be right back here.)

Day 1: Search engine success starts with keywords

Day 2: Assess your market with keyword research
Day 3: How to build an effective keyword strategy
Day 4: How to optimize your web content
Day 5: Pay per click (PPC) for testing and profit
Day 6: How to use keywords in linking text
Day 7: How to expand into new markets (and beat your competition)

 

What can you do with your blog?

I know, it sounds slick and slimy - like frog! But the world is full for acronyms these days and I wasn't the one who made it up. Like the rest of us, I just have to live with it.

But what you probably want to know is - what can I do with it and how much of an expert do I have to be?

Well, you can do a lot - and you start out simple and advance as you learn, if you choose or you can just keep it simple!

For one, you can add photos, or slideshows from Picasa Web Album, Flickr, PhotoBucket and more, even videos from YouTube.

Remember - if your website doesn't have audio and video, it's dead in the water! People these days expect a website to look more like TV. They want to see something new every time they visit your site (or blog). It's what's called Web II.

Plus, audio, video and slideshows will help you get better listings on the search engines. Many website woners get more Google links from video than from everything else they do put  together.

You can also add up to 23 different kinds of "Gadgets" and you'll see some of them on this very page - like updated news headlines from Google News, links to all our happy clients (which, if YOU are one of our clients, actually helps send more Google traffic to your website).

You can, if you wish, publish your "stats" - numbers of visitors, followers, etc. You can add a search box, a list of your most popular posts (that's what an article like this is called), add a special little text box, pictures, polls and surveys, favorite links, your profile, an archive of your previous posts, and an easy link for visitors to become subscribers.

Welcome to Phoenix Technologies

While this blog (or web log) is available to anyone, it is designed primarily for the clients of Phoenix Technologies.

It is designed to help you get the most out of your website and your Internet experience, as well as providing tips and hints (as well as free software) to keep your computer running at its best.

Phoenix Technologies is located west of Nashville, TN and has been designing award-winning websites for many years for customers around the world.

We encourage all of our clients (new or current) to take advantage of this tool as an add-on to your own website because it allows you to make additions to your own site any time day or night, without having to know the technical HTML, Java, Javascript and many other languages and codes used in your main website.

A Google account is required, and I will help you set this up at no cost to our new or existing clients.

What you are looking at is the Simple Template which is provided to every customer. Of course, you can always change the look and feel of your blog at any time - by yourself. The template is provided free by Google and Blogger.com.