Alt Attribute & Search engine optimization

SEO Optimization images is becoming increasingly more essential in SEO (Search Engine Optimization) for websites. The ALT attribute is a critical step that is sometimes forgotten. This can be a lost opportunity for better rankings.

In Google's webmaster guidelines, they advise the use of alternative text for that images on your site:

Images:. Use the alt attribute to supply descriptive text. Additionally, we recommend using a human-readable caption and descriptive text round the image.

Why would they ask us to achieve that? The answer is easy, really; search engines 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, attempting to stuff it with keywords, looking to achieve a particular keyword density, which isn't as relevant for rankings now as it was previously.

On the contrary, high keyword density can, on some search engines, trigger spam filters, which may result in a penalty for the site's ranking. Even without such a penalty, your site's rankings will not take advantage of this plan.
This method also puts persons who use screen readers in a greater disadvantage. Screen readers are software-based tools that actually read aloud the contents of what's shown on the screen. In browsing the web, the alt attributes of images are read aloud as well.

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

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

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

The thing would be to provide the same functional information that a visual user would see. The alt attribute text should be the "stand in" when the image is not available. Think about this question: If you were to replace the image with the text, would most users get the same basic information, and would it generate the same response?
A few examples:

 

Some SEO Optimization Tips

If your search button is really a magnifier or binoculars its alt text should be 'search' or 'find' not 'magnifying glass' or 'binoculars'.

If an image is meant to convey the literal items in the image, then a description is suitable.

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

If it is meant to convey the use of a function, then the function itself is what should be used.

Some Alt Attribute Guidelines:

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

For images that play only a decorative role in the page, make use of an empty alt (i.e. alt="") or perhaps a CSS background image so that reading browsers do not bother users by uttering such things as "spacer image".

Keep in mind that it is the function of the image we're attempting to convey. For instance; any button images should not range from the word "button" within the alt text. They should emphasize the action performed by the button.

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

Attempt to flow alt text with the rest of the text because that's how it is going to be read with adaptive technologies like screen readers. Someone hearing your page should hardly be aware that a graphic image can there be.
Please remember that utilizing an alt attribute for every image is needed to satisfy the minimum WAI requirements, that 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 america.

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 other than to make a site visually appealing/attractive and (oftentimes) satisfy the marketing departments. There isn't any content value (though there may be value to some sighted user).

Never alt-ify eye-candy unless there is something there that will enhance the usability from the site for someone utilizing a non-visual user agent. Use a null alt attribute or background images in CSS for eye-candy.

II. Mood-Setting

This is the middle layer of graphics which might actually set the atmosphere or set happens as it were. These graphics aren't direct content and could not be considered essential, but they are important in that they help frame what is going on.

Try to alt-ify the second group as is sensible and it is relevant. There might be instances when doing this might be annoying or detrimental to 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 instances. But sometimes, it's vital that you understand this content inside for all users.

Most times it depends on context. The same image inside a different context may require drastically different alt text. Obviously, content should always be fully available. How you go in this case is a judgment call.

III. Content and Function

This is when the look may be the actual content. Always alt-ify content and functional images. Title and long description attributes can also be in order.
The reason many authors can't understand why their alt text isn't working is they don't know why the images exist. You have to figured out precisely what function an image serves. Consider what it's about the image that's important to the page's intended audience.

Every graphic has a reason for standing on that page: because it either improves the theme/ mood/ atmosphere or it is critical to what are the page is attempting to explain. Understanding what the image is for makes alt text simpler to write. And practice writing them definitely helps.
A method to check the usefulness of alternative text is to imagine reading the page over the telephone to someone. An amount you say when encountering a specific image to make the page understandable towards the listener?

Aside from 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 can add flavor. The title attribute is optionally rendered by the user agent. Remember they are invisible and not shown like a "tooltip" when focus is received via the keyboard. (A lot for device independence). So use the title attribute only for advisory information.
Second, the longdesc attribute points to the URL of a complete description of the image. If the information contained in an image is essential to the concept of the page (i.e. some important content will be lost if the image was removed), a longer description than the "alt" attribute can reasonably display ought to be used. It can provide for rich, expressive documentation of a visual image.

It should be used when alt and title are insufficient to embody the visual qualities of an image. As Clark [1] states, "A longdesc is really a long description of an image...The aim is to use any period of description essential to impart the details from 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 holds true even for the totally blind."

Although the alt attribute is mandatory for web accessibility and for valid (X)HTML, not every images need alternative text, long descriptions, or titles.

In many cases, you're best just choosing your gut instinct -- if it's not essential to incorporate it, and if you don't possess a strong urge to get it done, don't include that longdesc.

However, if it's necessary for the whole page to work, then you have to add the alt text (or title or longdesc).

What's necessary and what's not depends a great deal on the function of the image and its context about the page.

Exactly the same image may need alt text (or title or longdesc) in a single spot, but not in another. If the image provides simply 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 even a long description will be so as. In many cases this type of thing is a judgement call.

Image Search Engine Optimization Tips

Listed below 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. Stay away from underscores like a word separator, like for example "brilliant-diamonds.jpg";

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

Ensure that the written text nearby the image that is highly 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 position better on all the engines and drive increased traffic to your site TODAY.

SEO Optimization

Note the Client companies are based in either the US or Canada and the “percentage of traffic outside key service areas” are based on each client’s target market.

For instance, if a client only services the US only, any traffic outside the US would be traffic outside their service area.

Evaluating Your Own Traffic For Relevance

To use our own web design and Internet marketing business as an example, we service both Canada and the US, but were getting 24% of our traffic from other international countries. Big portions of that traffic were companies looking to sell their services to us.

These international visitors would fill in our web forms and call us to inquire, untimely skewing our website analytics data by not giving us a real understanding of how our website was performing to quality prospects.

A solution had to be implemented to significantly reduce the amount of resources we were dedicating to people outside our service areas.

Ultimately, we didn’t want to be contacted from people we couldn’t help. The four possible solutions we considered were:

1. Create a custom report in Google Analytics to filter out the unwanted data (reporting related)


2. Adjust the content of our website (website related)


3. Block the traffic from specific Countries from viewing our website (server related)


4. Don’t change anything.

Option #1

When evaluating the first solution, creating a custom report to filter out this data in Google Analytics, this would clear up our analytics data. Implementing a filter would provide a more realistic picture of quality prospects we could service in our geographic area instead of those prospects or solicitors in other counties we don’t service.

This option didn’t run the risk of blocking any traffic or robots that we do want. It’s also a simple filter to add in Google Analytics. We set up another Profile with the country exclusions filters. A new Profile was the preferred approach, rather than going through the extra steps of creating Custom Reports.

However, setting up analytical filters doesn’t fully resolve the issue, since these visitors could still access our site, fill in web forms, and contact us, ultimately wasting resources that we could dedicate elsewhere.

It wouldn’t give us a true picture of what was going on. It also wouldn’t resolve the problem – we didn’t want to be contacted by companies from some outside countries.

Option #2

Updating the website content to say you only service a specific area is another solution that we considered.  This would inject more geo-targeted keywords into your site, which would help in local SEO. Adding a graphical map, drop-down options and/or links that allow the visitor to select their country would help qualify visitors.

Some of the downfalls of this option include spending a much higher amount of time to implement versus the other options. The success of this would also be dependent on how honest the visitor is.

Assuming visitors are reading your website content, adding geo-targeted keywords into your site would set a clearer expectation of service area delivery. However, this option still doesn’t resolve the issue of sharing contact information that allows unsolicited visitors to contact us and invalid web form data.

Option #3

How about blocking or filtering visitors automatically based on their IP address? When considering to block website visitors by IP it’s important to first evaluate the reliability of the IP address(es). The accuracy of an IP list is over 99.5% on a country level and 80% on a city level. The smaller the location, the less reliable the IP address.

Internet Service Providers change IP addresses they designate to customers. Some change them more frequently than others, which is why you want to keep the database of IPs updated. Scheduling a monthly update is typically a good routine if city level IP authentication is required. Country level is much more static.

The benefit of blocking the country via IP address would not only clean up analytical data, but also ensure our sales funnel was more efficient and provide a more accurate picture of real prospects in all systems. We needed to consider other issues in this approach.

One concern was the potential for a search crawler coming from an IP in the location we were planning on blocking. For example, there was a possibility that Google’s search crawler would also be blocked if it came from the same country. The implementation of this option is more technical. One would need to obtain a list of IP addresses for the desired locations and update the websites htaccess file.

In our example, the inquiries from some countries became so frequent that we couldn’t ignore it any longer. After much debate, we decided to ban the countries; however, we would only ban one at a time to evaluate the effects.

For instance, one of the largest traffic sources, accounting for approximately 20% of this, was from India, a market we don’t service. These Indian visitors were companies looking to sell their services to us.

We executed the ban in the polite Canadian way. We also implemented the Google Analytics profile with the country filter to monitor future website statistics versus the past.

Those visitors that came from our blocked list would land on a different page that displayed a nice message. It read: “Thank you for visiting. However, we don’t provide services in your area.”

In sum, the tests have gone over very well. Banning the country from our website has significantly cut down the number of unsolicited calls, emails and web form requests. It also gave us a much more accurate picture of how our website was performing within our own target market and service area.

Considerations For Blocking Traffic By Location

If you’re considering this strategy, some factors to consider when filtering visitors include:

• Why do you want to filter website traffic?


• Which locations would you want to filter?


• How much traffic do you currently get from locations outside your service area?


• How important is this traffic?


• How to funnel visitors outside your service areas?


• The accuracy of the IP addresses locations in mind.


• Effects of non-human visitors.

A few months after we implemented this, we received a direct mail package that contained pens with our logo on them from a company that wished to sell us branded pens.

Guess what it said under our logo? “Thank you for visiting. However, we don’t provide services in your area.” We had a good laugh. Someone obviously didn’t read what they printed. It was evidence that our website block was working and a nice souvenir.

The key takeaway, as always, is monitor your traffic and conversions. Track where your quality traffic is coming from and decide for yourself if you should block the traffic of certain countries. Make sure to proceed with caution to ensure that you are not missing some opportunities.

Think outside of the box for other ideas of how you can use that traffic. Perhaps referring the traffic to a partner or creating a unique service for specific markets is another option to consider.

Opinions expressed in the article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land.

Related Topics: 100% Organic - Search Engine Optimization Tips | SEO: General

Last week, I was on a panel at a CTIA pre-conference show in Orlando, and a question that was asked during several sessions at the conference was “what should we invest in: a mobile site or a mobile app?”

I heard this same question in a panel I was on at Digiday Mobile in September 2010, and earlier at the Mobile Search App Opportunities session at SMX West 2010, so it’s clear that this is still a question that marketers and developers are still struggling with, and have been since the opening of Apple’s App Store in 2008.

If you’re lucky enough not to be familiar with the question, brands with limited resources often wonder whether they really need to build both a mobile site and a mobile app, and would prefer to funnel their limited resources into one fully-funded mobile project.

Mobile apps have historically been seen by web designers as the only way to provide a rich user experience in mobile, and they are recommended frequently by CEOs who have been impressed by the user experience of an app and then fast-tracked their own mobile app project.

Why are companies still struggling with this issue after three years of talking about it? I think that’s because it’s a complex issue with more than one right answer depending on your business goals and objectives.

Add to that the countless partisan debates between those who want to sell you a mobile app and those who want to sell you a mobile site and it can be difficult to get to some semblance of truth about what it actually makes sense for your business to invest in.

As an SEO, I’m not selling mobile apps or mobile sites, and I can help you optimize either for more qualified traffic in search, but I’ve seen enough to know that the strongest mobile strategies start with a mobile web site and use it as the foundation for success.

Consider the following problems inherent with betting the farm on a mobile app:

• The most successful iPhone app project, which becomes viral enough to be passed around to every user on the platform, would only ultimately reach only 7% of the total mobile market. A mobile website or mobile web app, on the other hand, has the potential to reach 100% of mobile web users.

• Many iPhone apps require the current version of iOS to run, which can’t be run by first-generation iPod touches. According to Chitika research, these devices account for almost 10% of iPhone traffic, which could lower your reach even more. Android devices are even more fragmented, and could require additional development time to make your applications accessible to the already-limited app market. Mobile websites and web apps built with a progressive enhancement strategy, however, should be accessible to most users regardless of device.

• It’s a myth that users prefer a mobile app experience, largely propagated, I suspect, by those who are looking to sell additional services. Research shows that most users, in fact, prefer mobile websites over mobile apps (Adobe, eMarketer, InsightExpress), and that more people use mobile websites than apps.

• Users of search engines will likely not find your app in Google or Bing unless they’re looking for it. You can optimize the app for app stores and to some extent for Google, but it’s a different process that requires some specialized knowledge for success. As of this writing, it’s highly unlikely that searchers will find your app when searching on high volume, competitive keywords in search engines outside of app stores unless you buy a search ad. Given that 21.4% of mobile users in the United States search on their phones, a brand that wants the content it creates to find an audience would be wise not to ignore traffic from mobile search.

• Most apps are downloaded once and discarded (Pinch Media, Localytics). If you don’t have a good reason for creating your app and don’t ultimately succeed in creating an app that people need to use regularly, it’s likely that your app will suffer the same fate.

• There are very few apps that exist that provide something beyond what a mobile web site can do. If you’re creating a game or an application that truly cannot exist on the mobile web as it exists today, then by all means, build an app. However, given that Safari now has support for accelerometer and gyrometer, there are many things that mobile websites can do now that they couldn’t do previously. Be sure that you can’t build your mobile app as a web app before you build it, as there’s a good chance that you could build something similar with greater reach and engagement.

• Apps drive link equity to iTunes, Android Market, or Blackberry App World, and not to your website, which needs it to help your other content be found in search results. Even mobile websites at m.subdomains ultimately benefit the host domain, which could help you generate more revenue on your desktop, tablet and mobile websites if they’re hosted at the same domain.

• Apps are software. As such, they’re not currently able to be crawled and indexed as individual pages with a separate theme. It’s likely that you will index and rank one or two mobile applications pages for navigational keywords for apps, but you have the potential to rank as many pages as you have accessible pages with web apps. If your app is relevant to more than one concept or audience, building it as an accessible, open web app instead of a native application will give you greater relevance and reach.

There are good reasons for creating native apps as well, so I don’t want to make it seem as though creating a mobile website is all any business needs to reach its mobile target. For example, if you build a mobile website and not an app, you run the risk of alienating your brand from the audience that does prefer mobile apps and uses them regularly.

That audience, though, is the minority target; and if you only have funds to build one experience—mobile web or native mobile app—my recommendation is to build the best mobile web app you can afford, market it as aggressively as possible, and use the money you make and the data you collect to experiment with native apps.

If you can afford it, of course, the best solution is to build both a mobile site and a mobile app, and to enjoy not having to answer this question of limited resources that many businesses are struggling with today.

Opinions expressed in the article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land.

Related Topics: Mobile Mondays | Search Engines: Mobile Search Engines | Search Marketing: Mobile | SEO: Mobile Search

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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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Georgia Bulldogs outfielder Johnathan Taylor has partial paralysis

Georgia outfielder Johnathan Taylor, who broke his neck while colliding with a teammate in a March 6 game against Florida State, is paralyzed from the waist down but showing signs of improvement, his doctors said.

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Wii 2 to be revealed at E3 – report <b>News</b> - Wii - Page 1 <b>...</b>

Read our Wii news of Wii 2 to be revealed at E3 – report.

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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 ...

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Apple has reportedly become more aggressive in securing components from overseas suppliers, making moves such as upfront cash payments to both ensure supply and block out competitors.



Analyst Brian White with Ticonderoga Securities said in a note to investors on Thursday that Apple began "aggressively attacking" the component situation in Japan following the earthquake and tsunami that struck the country. The iPhone maker reportedly sent executives to suppliers immediately to ensure adequate supply of components, and also began offering upfront cash payments.



Separately, White's contacts in Taiwan also revealed that Apple is allegedly securing component capacity using what is known as a "three cover guarantee," referring to capacity, stock and price. Apple's move is seen as one that could potentially block out competitors and prevent them from building ample supply of devices.



The information comes as a separate report out of the Far East suggested that a one-month delay for Research in Motion's PlayBook tablet was as a result of Apple securing most of the available touch panel production capacity. The delay has forced the PlayBook to go on sale after Apple's in-demand iPad 2.



Last month, it was said that Apple could agree to price hikes in order to secure touch panel supply, particularly in the aftermath of the Japan earthquake. Apple was said to be in talks with component makers about touch panel pricing, and allegedly considered some price increases in negotiations.



In the company's last quarterly earnings call, Apple Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook revealed that Apple had invested $3.9 billion of its nearly $60 billion in cash reserves in long-term supply contracts. He declined to reveal what components Apple had put its money toward, citing competitive concerns, but said that it was a strategic move that would position the company well in the future.



Analysts largely believe that the secret investment was related to touch panel displays that are the centerpiece of devices like the iPhone and iPad. One cost breakdown estimated that such an investment could secure Apple 136 million iPhone displays, or 60 million iPad touch panels.



It's a move similar to 2005, when Apple inked a major deal with Samsung to secure longterm supply of flash memory. NAND flash would go on to become a major part of Apple's products, including the iPhone, iPad and new MacBook Air.

Seas0nPass jailbreak tool has for both Windows and Mac has been updated with the latest untethered exploit to untether the jailbreak on second generation Apple TV, running on the latest iOS 4.3.1 (4.2.1)

For those of you who don’t know, Seas0nPass jailbreak tool is like PwnageTool for Mac, or Sn0wbreeze for Windows, which can can create custom jailbroken .IPSW files for your second-gen Apple TV.

Before you proceed with the jailbreak, you will need the following:

• A Micro-USB cable


• iTunes 10.2.1


• iOS 4.2.1 (Based on iOS 4.3) for Apple TV


• Seas0nPass

All download links are posted at the end of this article.

Step 1: Download and launch Seas0nPass.

Step 2: Now select “Create IPSW” option to build your own custom jailbroken 4.3.1 firmware for Apple TV.

Step 3: Now wait for Seas0nPass to download all the files required for creating custom firmware.

Step 4: When prompted by Seas0nPass, connect your Apple TV using a micro-USB cable (leave power disconnected), and hold-down both the ‘MENU’ and ‘PLAY/PAUSE’ buttons for 7 seven seconds.

Step 5: iTunes should now open automatically to start the restore process.

Step 6: iTunes will confirm the restore when complete. Once done, your Apple TV will be fully jailbroken, untethered on iOS 4.3.1.

Once complete, remove the USB cable and connect the HDMI cable.

Once you are done with the jailbreak, you can install the following apps on your jailbroken 2nd-gen Apple TV:

• How to Install XBMC Media Center on Apple TV 2G [Guide]


• Plex Has Been Ported to Jailbroken Apple TV 2G ! [VIDEO]


• How to Install NitoTV Weather and RSS App on Apple TV 2G [Jailbreak]


• Apple TV 2G Gets Web Browser and Last.fm Apps via aTV Flash [Video]


• Exposed VNC Server Plugin Enables Remote Access On Apple TV 2G

Required download links are as follows:

Download iOS 4.3.1 (4.2.1) for Apple TV
Download iTunes 10.2.1 for Mac OS X
Download Seas0nPass for Mac OS X
Download Seas0nPass for Windows

You can follow us on Twitter or join our Facebook fanpage to keep yourself updated on all the latest iPhone jailbreaking and unlocking releases.

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class="dropcap">Bill Thomas used to be a climate change skeptic, not believing that humans could have influenced the dramatic atmospheric shift, but two weeks in the woods — and chats with scientists — changed his mind.

“I remember vividly that first day with Dr. Jess Parker; he showed us a chart of CO2 levels increasing about the time of the industrial revolution,” says Thomas, who works for HSBC bank and participated in a 2007 Climate Champions training program. There, a personal epiphany led to a job title change — the former relationship manager for HSBC Technical Services is now group head of HSBC Technology and Services Sustainability.

Teaching employees the science behind green corporate values and how to make their workplaces sustainable isn’t just for “green” show — done right, it’s good business strategy.

“There seems to be a huge growth of interest among companies to not just keep the environmental initiatives within a subset of employees, but to make it a pervasive part of the corporate culture,” says Krista Badiane, who manages the business and environment program at the National Environmental Education Foundation.  And unlike broad, mandated rules — such as carbon caps — companies that create their own initiatives take ownership and credit for sustainable changes, which may well go beyond what laws would have dictated.

By cultivating current workers’ energy-saving ideas and environmental passions, companies can save resources, energy and money as well as boost their eco-friendly reputation. The key is to help employees learn why sustainability matters — for instance, unless it’s slowed, climate change could alter global landscapes and increase natural disasters in our lifetimes. And if employees realize what’s at stake, they’ll find ways to save resources at work — as well as at home.

Worker to Citizen Scientist/> In a patch of woods in Edgewater, Md., bordering Smithsonian Environmental Research Center campus buildings, HSBC technology managers are intently straightening a measuring tape wrapped around a mature oak. Phil Clarke, from Portland, Ore., leans in and meticulously gets a reading of its diameter: 94.8 inches. During this weeklong Sustainability Leader training, he’s learning what scientists do and what shape the planet is in. He knows that the measurements taken today — even though what they reveal won’t be known for awhile — will help guide decisions that will keep our world sound for future generations.

His employer, HSBC bank — a global financial services company with 300,000 employees working in 8,000 offices and pre-tax profits topping $11 billion — decided to go carbon neutral in 2005. For the past three years, HSBC bank has partnered with EarthWatch Institute for an international study on climate change’s effects on tree growth, as well as a program that trains employees around the world in sustainability. When workers return to the office after their forest immersion, they find ways to integrate newly learned sustainability lessons in their spheres of influence.

Clarke and the other HSBC technology services managers from around North America — key decision-makers hand picked for the training — earn the title of Sustainability Leader. A larger two-week program trains HSBC employees from all levels — from cashier to marketing staffer — to become Climate Champions.

Such citizen science training helps corporate employees understand the mechanics of science — that systems are complex, and that there are no easy answers. “You learn what a critical state the world is actually in,” says Annette Fasolino of HSBC’s payment operations division in Buffalo, N.Y.

Having that up-close experience with scientists and ecosystems helps employees better grasp how climate change is impacting, and may impact, the world. “Many of these people go back and question their decisions, and make sure they’re making the most sustainable decisions,” says Thomas.

Cultivating the Grassroots/> Though the partnership between HSBC and EarthWatch is unique, other companies are also looking to their staff for sustainable solutions. “There’s no one best program for a company to educate their employees,” Badiane says.

Some companies or groups of motivated employees organize green teams, which promote eco-friendly changes and teach colleagues sustainable alternatives. Initiatives range from banning disposable utensils in the lunchroom to redesigning an operating system to save raw materials. “Ideally, you’re getting some new ideas out of your employees,” says Deborah Fleischer, president of Green Impact, a sustainability consulting service.

Businesses also use social media sites such as Yammer — a private social network for companies — or online training to generate sustainable ideas.

Other companies dangle a carrot — awards and incentives — to get workers to make sustainable choices. Yogurt maker Stonyfield tied facility energy savings (based on energy use per ton of product) to employee bonuses. In this way, the company reduced energy use by more than 22 percent, according to a NEEF report.

To engage workers of all levels, eBay employed competition: a Big Green Idea Contest. To enter, employees identified ways the company could meet greenhouse gas reduction goals; then, employees voted on the top ideas. One idea, the eBay Box — simple, eco-friendly packaging that’s meant to be reused for eBay shipments — has become a useful tool that saves money and resources.

Unfortunately, some companies’ efforts are no more than greenwashing stunts to appear eco-friendly and keep up with their competition. Producing disposable trinkets with “green” logos or launching environmental-focused public relations initiatives while pushing pollution limits does not jive with true sustainability. The companies mentioned here, however, offer genuine solutions that leave a lighter footprint.

Two Kinds of Green/> Such engagement can yield significant savings: One North American HSBC Climate Champion noticed that co-workers weren’t shutting down their PCs every night, wasting energy. Now, NightWatchman software automatically shuts down more than 6 million computers left on. During fiscal year 2010 in North America, the software coupled with an awareness program saved 4 million kilowatts per year of electricity and about 900 metric tons of carbon dioxide, which shaved $332,000 on energy bills.

At defense contractor Lockheed Martin, a Camden, Ark., building uses a software system to control lighting and air conditioning, leading to more than $200,000 in reduced costs and savings of 2,332 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually, according to the NEEF report. And at drugmaker Genetech,  green teams slashed the use of bottled water, saving the company $200,000 a year by using filtered water machines paired with reusable bottles, according to a white paper by Fleischer, “Green Teams: Engaging Employees in Sustainability.”

But benefits to a company can’t always be calculated in dollars.

“By creating an engaged employee base, we’re really putting it into hearts and minds of employees, and that’s going to be much more powerful and long-term than saying ‘you must turn off your PC,’” says Sharon Walck, senior vice president of sustainability at HSBC North America.

Investing in and teaching sustainable values to workers also boosts retention, according to NEEF, which is extremely important to large corporations. The foundation says losing and replacing a good employee can cost a company between 70 percent and 200 percent of that employee’s annual salary.

And, Badiane says, “employees who are motivated want to work for a company that has the same values.”

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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

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Roofing Companies Vancouver - 5 Inquiries to Wonder

Roofing Vancouver - Frequently Asked Questions

1. Repair or Replace?

There's no opinion like an expert opinion. Most contractors will provide you with a free estimate. Get a list of a few trusted contractors and phone them well in advance of when you wish to obtain 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 children.) The fact 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 simply need to do the repair, it's worth it to pay for the cost of the original shingle rather than doing patchwork. A roof replacement doesn't happen frequently (we hope!) and so make a choice that suits you and your loved ones well or it'll stand out just like a sore thumb everyday you decide to go home.

3. Must i replace the roof so I can sell the home for additional?

Think about this very carefully prior to making a decision. Depending on the roofing material you choose, a new roof lasts between twenty, fifty, to one-hundred years! This means you have to check the year from the roof that's currently over your head first. Are you at year 18 of a 20-year warranted roof or year 30 of a 50-year warranted roof? Obviously, the standard is the reason why the rooftop keep going longer, but if you're not likely to remain in your current home throughout your lifetime, the larger expense may not be worth your investment. Although a brand new roof can enhance the value of your value, the rise might not be enough to pay for your investment and that's bound to hurt your wallet.

4. Could it be advisable that i can repair the rooftop myself?

Sure it's. But before you do, consult a specialist first. You can perform it yourself, however, you shouldn't be a complete ‘lone ranger.' With respect to the extent of your repair, you might or may not change your mind. In either case, it will help to obtain a professional eye about the problem first and maybe even a free quote so you can do the math later and find out if it's truly worth your time, sweat, and money to become mister or miss fix-it.

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

Weather may cause delays from days to weeks. Most people prepare yourself to have their roof replaced in the summer when they have a friend is going to be home during the day for a solid two weeks. Once you've this era in mind, create a call to some trusted contractor months ahead of time to obtain a quote. Some companies get reserved fast and odds are, they're the most reputable. Preparing in advance of the summer also provides you with time for you to discuss with many compare costs...especially if you need to have the roof made by a specified date.

 

The Top Roofing Contractor In Vancouver!

It is possible to leak inside your home's roof? Perhaps you have lost shingles or tiles in a storm? Have overhanging branches caused damage? Is your roof more than Two decades old and showing wear and tear? Are your gutters overwhelmed and draining poorly?

When the response to these questions is "Yes" it's time to call the top roofing contractor Vancouver - Crown Roofing & Drainage.

For over a century Crown Roofing has been the roofer of preference among our Vancouver neighbors. We provide complete roofing services, from emergency repairs and roof restoration, to accomplish 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 roof of your Vancouver home is the very first line of defence against wind, rain, snow, ice along with other weather conditions. Make sure it's as much as the job. Among Vancouver Roofing companies, only Crown Roofing has the depth of experience and successful track record to make sure your roofing system is going to be properly designed and installed.

NEIGHBORS HELPING NEIGHBORS.

One reason Crown Roofing continues to be probably the most successful roofing contractor in Vancouver is our commitment to our neighbors. We treat your home as if it were our very own and that we were creating a roof to protect our very own family. That's what neighbors do, and you will count 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 a FREE inspection and evaluation of the roof. Give you the best roof for your Vancouver home, at the cost effective. We build roofs to last!

 

Tacoma Roofer: Help your house be Beautiful

Not many people view the worth of a good roof, your knowledgeable Tacoma Roofing company does. From first hand experience, they'll be in a position to let you know why you need a strong, secure, and leak-free roof in your home.

The local Tacoma Roofer is well aware how important a financial investment your house is for you, especially since it is a long term one. Your house might have been damaged slowly over the years and also you have to take steps to reduce this damage. For a number of people, keeping their property beautiful is another few pride. You will find those too who'd prefer to turn their house right into a cost effective and efficient living place. Your roof is an integral part of your house and contributes to each one of the aspects mentioned previously. For this reason, you should employ the services of qualified a Tacoma Roofer.

Types of Roofs installed with a Tacoma Roofer

Among the more common kinds of roofs are asphalt shingles, steel or metal sheeting, fiberglass, slate and terra cotta tiles.

Each type of roof invites distinct problems, however they can be easily looked after by a trusted Tacoma Roofing company. It's imperative that you nip roof problems within the bud before they become too costly or dangerous. You can schedule an appointment using the Tacoma Roofing company to consider a look at your homes roof to determine if there are any issues or potential issues with it. If you will find, they may be in a position to tell you how to approach them.

A Tacoma Roofing company Helps you to Build Strong Homes

The exteriors associated with a house, primarily the rooftop and gutters, face the onslaught of bitter and varying climate conditions, every single day. Painting, repairing, and cleaning gutters might be necessary. In some cases you may have to replace them completely. Usually, when your gutters show signs of trouble, your homes roof also needs to be inspected for problems. Whatever issues there may be, a skilled Tacoma Roofing company can examine them in detail and suggest the remedy.

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

Reverse Damages with the Help of a Tacoma Roofer

However top quality the roof may be, it is going to wear down with time. There are shingles which are referred to as "25 year" or "30 year" shingles, but those numbers are only associated with warranty made by the manufacturers. They seldom require that long. Realistically speaking, "25 year" shingles will not last a lot more than a few years. In an area that is prone to storms, shingles or even the entire roof may need to get replaced every ten years. With a Tacoma Roofing company, the cost will be less than what you believe.

If there you lose any shingles, or there is some damage to them, a Tacoma Roofing company will be able to assist you to. Damaged shingles can result in indoor leaks, since the substrate from the roof becomes exposed to the sun and rain. Shingles which are loose or broken can slip off and pose a potential hazard to individuals standing below. Missing shingles create a gap which allows rain, wind, ice, and debris to build up under the adjoining shingles, which results in a "domino effect" that affects other shingles and they become loose or broken. A thorough investigation will be produced by the local Tacoma Roofing company, if you give them a call track of your suspicions of loose or missing shingles.

Your Tacoma Roofer come in a position to inform you what the best option is perfect for your roof. In case your roof isn't inside a good condition, it is advised you have it replaced completely. The Tacoma Roofer may take you thru the various roofing possibilities for you that will suit your requirements and your budget.

Tacoma Roofer: Enhancing your Home's Efficiency

Your roof shelters you from storms, sleet, and hail. By providing adequate ventilation, your roof protects your home from overheating, and by holding within the heat, it keeps your home warm. That's why you need to ready your roof from indoors as well as outdoors for any kind of weather emergency. A Qualified Tacoma Roofing contractor can offer help in this situation.

First of all, inspect your homes roof thoroughly for just about any and all type of damage, prior to the beginning of the 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 in the eaves or attic, and the roof ought to be structurally sound. For that last part, you'll need the help of the local Tacoma Roofing company. It can be quite dangerous to climb onto the roof of your house. This is where the contractor from Tacoma Roofer is available in. He will read the strength and security of your roof and shingles, and perform a general inspection from the entire roof structure, to make sure that it's in proper working order. They will be able to point towards issues that you need to keep close track of and problems you might not have spotted.

You'll need all of the help you can get from the Tacoma Roofing company. You can help your homes roof by installing a gutter guard or leaf cover to assist prevent debris from forming inside your gutters. The extra weight of debris prevents the gutters from draining and may even tear them down. Check the fasteners on your gutters and if they're loose, tighten them. Take steps to alter worn screws and brackets. If you have a chimney in your house, inspect the bricks and mortar signs of wear. A trusted mason can be recommended because of your Tacoma Roofing company, if you will find any repairs to become done.

Tacoma Roofing contractor: Someone You are able to Rely on
In the event that you realize or suspect that there's a problem, your Tacoma Roofer should be contacted. They can use their knowledge and expertise to get your home back in ace condition simply by focusing on the roof. Your homes roof deserves attention. So call them today, to enable them to get down to caring for 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 may be wondering what are the differences are between residential roofing companies and commercial roofing companies. To start with, the main one huge difference is that often times a commercial roofing company may have signed a contract with and be obligated to a roofing union in able to focus on union commercial jobs.

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

Residential roofing contractors generally often run smaller companies and hence, tend to be more capable of bid competitively on residential jobs, which tend to be smaller than comercial jobs. Actually, often times residential roofing contractors will run one man operations, where the contractor that you simply talk to may be the one which actually does the job about the building.

Also, liability insurance for commercial roofing is more expensive and a larger bond is required for any commercial roofing work which can make it not economical for any commercial roofer to complete residential roofing jobs.

Still an additional factor is that commercial jobs can run on tighter time frame for any number of reasons, requiring a commercial contractor to employ a larger crew or crews which again makes smaller jobs less profitable for them.

 

Distinction between Commercial Roofing and Residential Roofing

Did you know that the roof of a house or building has a huge impact on the entire structure itself? Damage caused to roofs due to natural or another disasters leads to a considerable lack of property everywhere. The kind of materials used to construct the rooftop which should be sturdy and long lasting, the way in which the roof continues to be installed as well as its timely maintenance are extremely crucial. There are two types of roofs which are utilized on all of the buildings that people see around us: commercial and residential. Although it may seem that commercial roofing is performed just for businesses or offices and residential roofing is done for apartments and houses, in reality the differences tend to be more complicated than that.

Residential roofing is usually completed by just one hired contractor but commercial roofing usually takes a whole team to complete the job. The reason being an industrial roof tends to be larger when it comes to sq ft than the usual residential roof.
Commercial roofs need to be made carefully keeping the character and purpose of your building in mind. For instance, when there is a restaurant within the building then external components like ventilation systems, smoke stacks and pipes is going to be required. Residential roofs tend not to have such components other than a chimney or two at most.
Commercial roofs tends to be flat in design to support further changes at a later period, whereas most residential roofs have peaks along with other architectural features like roof gardens.
Commercial roofing is much more expensive than residential roofing due to 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 in which the repair or replacement work can be carried out a short time. This is one more reason why the gear employed for residential roofs is often smaller and less expensive as well.
Commercial roof installations have a longer time to accomplish compared to residential roof installations and are usually constructed in large sections. During this phase however, you should ensure that there aren't any leakages, cracks or any other visible deterioration signs as it can cause considerable damage to the whole building.
You should install the right roof for a building depending on its purpose. Make sure that you hire a construction company that utilizes first class materials and has the best equipment to do the job or your investment may turn to be a huge loss later.

 

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

If a clients are seeking to have work done on its roof, you should use commercial roofing contractors that have a keen knowledge of any special needs that the business might have. As an example, a roofing job can often be disruptive for the operation of business as always. For this reason, it might be necessary for the business to become temporarily turn off, or for the roofing to take place after business hours have ended. A roofer that understands these needs can function together with a business in order to make certain these kinds of issues are minimized.

First of all , a business must do when it's trying to find commercial roofing contractors is to find out who other businesses in the region are working through. Obviously, this article not be helpful whether it comes as an indicator from competitors, but there are circumstances by which it's not too difficult to find these details from suppliers or retailers. Since roofing isn't an industry-specific service, this information is easily available.

It is a wise decision for any business to get touching at least three commercial roofing contractors to make bids about the price. In this manner, the company can often obtain a better price. It's also important to make sure that each of the roofing contractors is licensed and bonded. This information can be found by permitting in touch with their state contractor's board. This assists you to determine whether there have been any claims filed against the company previously.

When looking at bids, it is only as vital to check out what services are being offered and which products is going to be used as it is to check out the overall cost. The prices can vary quite drastically, but as tempting as it can be to choose the lowest bid, this is not always the best option. Oftentimes, more costs now will mean fewer costs over time as a result of an undesirable roofing job. To further investigate the quality of the work, it's a wise decision to check on with the Better Business Bureau in order to see if the business has been accredited, and if it's not, to a minimum of see what its rating is.

 

Selecting a Commercial Roofer

When you're looking for a roofer for the commercial roofing project you need to find a contractor who understands the special needs of the commercial roofing project. For example it can be harder to operate on the business during business hours so either the business has to be turn off for the repair or replacement or the job needs to be done after conventional business hours. Is the roofer you are thinking about for the job ready to work around your schedule constrictions which might involve working weekends or evenings?

When you start your research for a roofing contractor not only do you need to answer those questions however, you also want to find someone that will perform a top quality job with no great deal of time delays. Going about finding someone can feel as an obstacle in itself but there are several methods to result in the search easier.

Ask friends and family for referrals and then try to find at least three contractors to give you written bids on your job. Before you go any more you have to ensure that the contractors you are considering are fully licensed and bonded. A simple search using 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 should prepare yourself for the bids to be widely varied. Roofers will have brand preferences which will vary and could element in pretty much than the next guy for a labor estimate. The greater detailed an itemized bid is the more helpful it will likely be to focus on 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 take, but if they are low due to poor quality workman ship it may not be worth it in the end.

As they say, you generally get what you purchase, so if you are able to afford a mid-priced bid it certainly is smart to increase in your price range instead of down. Additionally you should select your roofer based on how professional they were and how comfortable you anticipate you'll be dealing with them.

Finally your cost will be different based on which kind of roofing material you choose as well as the cost to haul your old roof to the landfill. Should you be looking for places to chop corners on your roof, rather than cutting labor set you back may want to ask about a metal roof option. Metal roofs can be economical and energy efficient making them overall money savers for that long term, and on commercial buildings they may be really low maintenance. Plus given that they can be put along with a current roof, you don't need to possess the old one removed and hauled away, which can make a large impact on your cost.

Choosing a comerical roofing company in your local area, does not have to become a difficult task. For more information, visit http://www.vancouverroofers.net

 

Seattle Roofing Companies - How To Find The very best

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

Harsh Weather

How come roofing contractors so important in this the main country? Because Seattle is often bombarded by rain and other harsh climate conditions, you need a roof that can withstand all of the forces of nature. With this thought, you'll need individuals who be aware of Seattle weather best, and who know what materials can best go into your homes roof in order for it to last far longer in the area. On top this, you have to blend with the rest of the houses inside your living area, so you cannot simply get whatever roof you please.

In all these aspects, a Seattle roofers should be able to help you out. All you need to do is search for Seattle roofing contractors online to be able to obtain the best value for your money without wondering if the contractor will suddenly run away by using it and then leave you roof-less.

Why the Contractor Model Works

If you want to put up your homes roof on your own, you'll have to purchase a whole lot of materials, secure permits and licenses, and obtain materials that are suitable for help you stay safe against harsh extremes of Seattle weather. Which means that if you are a DIY kind of guy or gal, you will have to go through a good deal of legwork to get the task done.

On the other hand, a Seattle roofing contractor can do all of the jobs for you and provide a package that can save you money and time. Because contractors operate under licenses and purchase materials in large quantities, they are able to get discounts on building materials that you'd not otherwise get should you be buying merely for your own home.

Roofing Associations

Most roofing contractors also belong to roofing organizations which are bound by strict guidelines and standards. When they do well on the roofing job, they are able to showcase their roofing contractors association; if they do poorly, they are able to ruin the trustworthiness of their roofing contractors association and keep other contractors inside the association from receiving targeted roofing jobs. There is a lot of pressure to complete well, to help you be reassured that prefer 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 fifty years of roofing experience and experience dealing with Seattle roofing contractors, therefore it will know what type of roofing you want. The Roof Brokers group can hook you up using the contractor that you need so that you do not have to search for contractors individually.

What Should You Demand out of your Contractor?

When you finally get a contractor within the Seattle area, you must do a lot of research on the roofing contractors themselves. Request a summary of previous companies or persons the contractor caused in order to get a clear view of the roofing contractor's work ethics and roof quality. Your roofer must also have the appropriate working licenses and city licenses required by the Seattle city government.

Pick a Seattle roofers that insures its employees, and that has courteous workers who'll respect your opinions and make sure that the needs are met. Ensure that you get the best value for your money: if you are unsatisfied with the job, you have to be guaranteed either money back, or a free, new roof. Moreover, additionally you need the workers to get the job done on time, so be strict together with your deadlines - and find a contractor that's as strict when you are.

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

Selecting the Right Roofing Contractor Company for Replacing Your Roof

The shingles in your roof degrade and you're simply minded to find a roofing contractor to change the them. Perhaps you have already called a few and are evaluating which contractor for your upcoming roof repair. How can you choose the best contractor for caring for your roof? Here are several things you should consider when looking for the best roofing contractor.

Where's the roofing contractor located? It is important to hire a roofing contractor that is local. Chances are you will receive a higher level and services information if the roofing company is located near your home or has an office near your residence.
References. To look for the toughness for the contractor, references should be provided of their past clients who are willing to vouch that excellent service was received. This will not be the only real factor in deciding upon your future roofing contractor as some may claim they value the privacy of the clients and don't desire to bother them. If this sounds like the case, request business related references. The locations that provide the contractor with supplies can reveal the quantity of materials and regularity of supplying the contractor to assist determine their stability.
How does the roofing contractor company handle complaints? There are a large number of problems that can arise throughout the progress of a roofing replacement. Ask what their process is perfect for handling complaints if they arise. It is also a great idea to get a past client reference who had a complaint which was resolved towards the satisfaction of the client.
The payment schemes. What are the terms of payment for the job? What is the down payment and amount due upon completion? While it is certainly reasonable that a substantial payment be produced before a contractor begins work on a project, it is highly recommended that full payment is not made until after the entire job is finished.
Written contract. All terms of the roofing replacement ought to be put in an itemized contract. No part of the contracting job should depend on verbal assurances.
Bonding. You will find stuff that will go wrong with roofing installations that end up costing quite a bit of money to repair. If this happens in your roofing replacement, you will feel a great deal better understanding that your roofer is bonded. This can provide the funds to repair whatever mistakes were made. Look for a roofer that's bonded.
Manufacturer Warranty. Quality materials for roofing typically come with a warranty. It is important to verify that there is actually a warranty on the materials being installed. Request a copy of the warranty.
Period of time in Business How long has got the company you're interviewing experienced business? A brief in time business may reflect instability. If the contractor has been around business under 3 years, verify just how long they've actually been in the industry. A brand new contractor may have a long time experience focusing on roofs before they form their own business. Seek a company that has been around for 3 years, or where the contractor has had many more years performing roofing replacements. It can shouldn't be the only factor, everyone has to start sometime. Balance this with referrals and the other points raised in this article.
Appropriate Permits. A Seattle roofer ought to know what permits are required for repairing your roof. They must be aware of how you can obtain these permits on your behalf. Ask the contractor whether or not they will have the permits essential to repair the rooftop.
Liability. If a worker becomes injured, who is responsible for the workers comp? When the contractor's equipment damages your house, who is liable for the repairs? A great contractor will give you certificates of insurance for liability and worker's compensation before they begin repairing your roof.
Subcontractors. Verify whether the contractor will be using subcontractors. If so, it is strongly advised that everything contained within this article for verifying if the contractor is credible should also be applied to subcontractors. You should get the names and license numbers of all subcontractors. You should verify whether each subcontractor can also be insured which means you aren't held liable for their accidents.
Pending Legal Actions. It is important to verify whether you will find any legal actions from the contractor. This is not only necessary for verifying if the roofing company is legitimate (credible roofing companies should not have to defend themselves in the court), it is also important because a lost lawsuit could cause the contractor to go bankrupt. For those who have made a substantial down payment for services immediately before the company goes bankrupt, you could lose thousands of dollars and never have your roofing completed.
Material Disposal. Who's accountable for getting rid of the waste generated in the roof being replaced? Will your contractor handle all aspects of this? Is there an additional 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 roofing contractor with a high standard of education regarding their trade.
Replacing your roof is a significant investment. Celebrate good sense to inquire about serious questions before working with a roofing contractor. Here are some more tips that you ought to consider when choosing the very best roofing contractor for the upcoming roofing replacement.

Payment. Don't make a full payment for services unless all work is finished.
Inspection. Do not make a full payment without having done your final inspection of all services rendered.
Workers liens. Don't fully purchase the roofing replacement job until worker's lien releases have been obtained.
Oral Agreements. No agreement ought to be made verbally without backing up on paper. Every point which are important to you ought to be produced in writing.

 

For your SEO needs, you can check out Vancouver web site design and Vancouver SEO company

It cannot be denied how the cyberspace is among the most biggest financial market nowadays. Practically it is all totally anchored on the internet. Up to now, there are other than 182 million sites online and still counting. If all these websites offers opportunities to earn money, think of the limitless opportunities that may be perfectly located at the internet. More to the point, using the emergence of sites, the requirement of website hosting and Search| Engine Optimization is significantly defined.

Seo is actually the entire process of increasing the visibility of a site. As such, if you want your web site to be visible to visitors, you should search for Search engine optimization company. The optimization strategy considers how search spiders work and what folks usually and what keywords they'll use. The primary objective of SEO is making internet sites visible searching sites with the natural or organic way.

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

Organic search engine optimization is really a highly specialized and complex practice that may literally dictate the failure or success of the web business. Since search sites often modify their algorithms, organic SEO isn't quite simple in any way. When search bots modify their algorithms, factors that enable your web site to seem before clients are drastically changed also. Thus, to be able to cope using these changes, SEO tactics and techniques should be employed.

It is usually ethical to utilize organic search engine optimization since search sites nowadays have become extremely advanced that they'll easily determine if an online site is wanting to manipulate their search indexes. Thus it is empirical to utilize search engine optimization practices which can be carried out wherein appear natural.

The approaches used by organic search engine optimization and artificial SEO are very significantly different. Basically, organic SEO uses content in comparison to artificial SEO's technical loopholes. Moreover, natural search engine marketing provides attracting links as opposed to linking schemes utilized by artificial SEO. Natural SEO also creates valuable resource in contrast to artificial SEO's algorithm chasing. With all these, it's possible to clearly understand why search engine optimization is better than artificial search engine marketing. Even though latter may be more challenging and complicated, it makes favorable results which are good for any web site. Fortunately, there are a lot of Vancouver SEO companies today that offer the organic method in affordable rates and packages.

Seo Appears to the picture

At one time when search engine marketing was actually not essential.

Even while late as a decade ago, in the event you made a Website anywhere, Google indexed it and 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 might likewise have been a pure affiliate page without original content and Google still indexed it.

Things are unrecognizably different now.

Affiliate pages with "cookie-cutter" content duplicated everywhere might never reach the Google index; the identical fate is probable for anyone pages you add in over a free-for-all website. And even "proper" websites with your own personal website name did not achieve visibility one of the proliferating sites in millions.

These wouldn't have mattered, with the exception of one thing. It absolutely was Google that provided the bread and butter for the an incredible number of small businesses that may not afford expensive marketing campaigns. In case your site was one of the top few sites the appeared before a searcher's eyes when that person sought out your product or service, you got hundreds and also a large number of visitors, many of whom even bought your products or services.

Search engine optimization (SEO) entered the scene. Search engine specialists "reverse-engineered" to spot the standards that Google consider for showing websites near the top of its search results pages. These factors were then consciously included in your Web pages with the aspiration that Google will show your site one of the primary ten results it showed about the first page.

As more and more of one's competitors adopted search engine marketing practices, things became difficult again. Your role started to slip if the competitors did the SEO better. SEO battles became serious fights with every dirty trick being employed.

There were "black hat" SEO practitioners who showed one page to search engines and another to human visitors. As search engines weren't bothered with readability, you can fill the "search engine" page with pure gibberish, but gibberish designed in wherein the engine dutifully indexed high.

A war of wits followed between unscrupulous SEO practitioners and check engines. Google changed its ranking algorithms regularly to work around practices that allowed low value content to look towards the top of its search engine results. After all, Google's success been dependent on providing value to searchers, not merchants. And SEO practitioners developed new tricks.

We'll examine search engine marketing inside a group of articles, beginning by having an look and feel at on-line or Online marketing.

 

For your SEO needs, you can check out vancouver web design and Vancouver SEO company.

 

Cedar Roofing: Benefits

Cedar shakes are simply concerning the most aesthetically pleasing shakes currently available. Frequently designed from red-colored cedar about the coniferous forests of northwestern United states of america, they're just the best roofer materials for proprietors who prefer supplying his / her roofs an organic look.

Unique cedar shingles are naturally resistance against the weather, that is the key answer why cedar shingles are widely-used generally all over various climatic conditions. They're generally obtainable in a few specific qualities. At least one will be the shingle made from red cedar even though the other is produced right out of the bright white variety. Red cedar shakes are designed from tight-grained particles that will be previously saturated with tannic acidity that experts say is an all-natural additive. Red cedar shingles which can be drizzled with creosote in order to avoid corrosion and therefore are desirable to homeowners given that they put in a rich and unique look to one's property or home.

It's important to note that red cedars usually change dark-colored if exposed continuously to seaside weather. Consequently, sea side homes have to have white cedar shakes. Red cedar shingles are usually a many more expensive when compared with white cedar types, despite the fact that cost factor doesn't diminish its reputation in anyhow. They might be preferably perfect for classic New England houses while white cedar shingles seem to be image ideal for bungalows and bungalows which have been integrated Nantucket design.

Through the years, classic cedar shakes have forfeit in a point to synthetic shingles that emulate the cedar appear. Superior systems are utilized in order to make these types of shingles possess a for an extended period life-span when compared with unique cedar shingles. Most include advanced UV inhibitors and also have about 5 decades of steady guarantee. These shingles in many cases are great insulators and several superior ones give a chilly inside during summertime along with a warmer inside during harsh winters.

Cedar shakes, mostly accessible in honey, cinnamon, and silvery gray colors, need several amount of repairs and maintenance. They might need initial procedure ahead of installation. White cedar shakes for instance, may be given bleaching oil which must be done virtually every six to seven years to boost their durability.

Cedar shakes and cedar shingles can be CCA treated or otherwise CCA treated. CCA means chromated copper arsenate. CCA is really a chemical that stops the increase of mold, mold and fungus so it helps keep insects from eating away your personal wonderful cedar roof. CCA cedar might make your homes roof stay longer, but CCA is NOT A fireplace TREAMENT. Cedar that has been fire treated can be acquired, but your roofing company have to special order it. CCA treated cedar shingles cost 15 - 20% greater than non-CCA cedar. Most cedar roofs usually are not CCA treated.

Cedar shakes and cedar shingles are wonderful, and they're another good purchase. Information of terms such as CCA, advanced quality, Number 1, blue label and black label will allow you to select the right cedar roof for use on your home.

Elite Roofing & Small remodels, LLC provides more information about shingles, cedar shakes, fiberglass shakes and much more. Elite Roofing & Home Improvements, LLC is associated with the nation's Roofers Association.

You can learn more about cedar shingles, and acquire more articles and resources about cedar shakes at cedar roofing materials and shakes website.

 

Cedar Shingle Roof Vs Asphalt Shingle Roof

A cedar shingle roof remains highly coveted by homeowners. It is one of many oldest roofing products that has always been constantly being used within the centuries. Around new roofing materials carry on being developed, cedar shakes still endear themselves to numerous. Below can be a comparison research into the cedar roof versus an asphalt roof.

Pros of Cedar Roofing shingles

Cedar shakes contribute to much better air flow inside the entire home. The shingles permit the home to breathe well without trapping moisture around. This assists to keep the structure of the property in good shape for extended. Cedar Shakes are durable and strong. They enjoy a greater potential to deal with bugs. A cedar shingle roof will fully stand up well for the various weather onslaughts. Storms, hurricanes, powerful winds and flying debris will barely damage the top of one's cedar roof. Along with matures beautifully with the passing years, which makes it much more desirable. A cedar roof adds a definite charm to your dwelling. Cedar is quickly obtainable in lumber yards as well as doesn't demand a lots of expertise or specialized tools to install.

Cons of Cedar Shakes

If rot takes hold, choosing compelled to alter the whole lot. It's not easy extracting just the affected pieces. They may are already nailed down in a fashion that each elimination proves difficult. Cedar Shingles don't endure well to constant wetting. Living in a area where rainfall is heavy or frequent, cedar shingles aren't a great choice. Frequent wetting causes mold or mildew setting in. Replacement and repair is actually a costly business. Your very best protection against constant wetting is always to use wide overhangs. Also, if the house is shaded by many trees or nearby buildings, cedar shingles tend to develop mold. You will be compelled to change them earlier than you planned. Cedar Shingles tend to be more flammable than asphalt shingles. Many areas use a building code in position that restricts cedar shingles to lessen the chance of fire. To setup a cedar shake roof, you'll want your allowance concerning the higher side. Frequent maintenance can also be essential to keep your roof who is fit. Mildew and rot are ever-constant threats with a cedar roof.

Pros of Asphalt Shingle Roof

An asphalt roof is one of the least expensive to buy and install. They come in various designs and colours, including an ordinary, flat turn to a 3-dimensional look. Asphalt shingles have a superior effectiveness fires unlike cedar roofing. An asphalt roof can certainly reduce the risk of fires caused by flying embers. Asphalt roofs are easier and cheaper to set up than cedar. They're also low maintenance roofs.

Cons of Asphalt Shingle Roof

Algae is much more vulnerable to grow on asphalt roofing than cedar shingles. It causes the cover to build up somewhat with the stain which spoils the appearance. You may get an anti-algae coating carried out your asphalt shingles but this increases the cost. In terms of stability, an asphalt roof is a lot more probably be blown off by strong winds than the usual cedar roof.

Uncover more about cedar roof shingles, and get more articles and resources about cedar roofing shakes at cedar roofing materials and shakes website.