Yesterday the One-Two Crew went to Directions 2008 hosted by the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada–of which our CEO, David LaPlante, was recently elected to the Board of Directors– and the Reno Sparks Chamber of Commerce. It was held at the Convention Center, and we found no rhinoceros droppings left over from the Safari Club International expo of last week. Not sure why that would have been an issue, but one of the presenters expressed his concern…

Nevertheless, this conference was all about the future of economic development in Reno and Sparks, how it is tied to local, regional and national transportation policy, and renowned economists making cheesy jokes while sharing their optimism of the future. During intermission Earl Spriggs, our videographer/video editor, and I went around the exhibit hall asking attendees for their thoughts on these issues and what they thought of Greater Reno-Tahoe.

It was encouraging to hear RSCVA CEO Ellen Oppenheim talk about the cool things going down in town to enhance tourism and our local quality of life, like the minor league baseball park planned for downtown Reno.

Also, RTC Washoe’s Executive Director, Greg Krause, had some really encouraging things to say about the future of local transit policy with respect to alternative transportation modes like bikes, walking and mass transit. RTC Washoe is doing a lot to help with their Smart Trip programs run by Carol Perry.

The outlook from the speakers was far from the lugubrious accounts coming from the media. Though the residential housing market is doing poorly, Jeff Threadgold, President of Threadgold Economic Associates, pointed out that it only represents 5% of the national economy. Since much of the rest of the economy is doing well, the negativity was blamed on the media by most of those speaking. Not THIS, the TRADITIONAL media… (that’s the kind of media which would never mention pachyderm spoor in a business article.) “The world is not falling apart,” agreed Dr. Eugenio J. Aleman, Senior Economist at Wells Fargo, during a panel discussion lead by former local TV news anchorman Tad Dunbar.

As usual, it was great to see Chuck Alvey, President and CEO of EDAWN. He and Doug Kurkul, CEO of RSCC, closed the show with the top 5 business issues for 2008, so I figure it’s a good place for me to close too.

#5 Continued workforce issues and skilled worker shortages.

#4 Education funding shortfall.

#3 Statewide budget cuts.

#2 Tied for second place are: Presidential election and transportation infrastructure.

#1 Residential housing market.

Thanks for taking the time to read this post and watch the video. We’d love to hear what you think. Were you there? Did we miss something? What do you think 2008 has in store for Reno and Sparks?

Thanks to EDAWN and RSCC for putting on the show, and thanks to all the sponsors! Thank you also to those who took the time to comment for the video. It was great talking to you!

-Mike

Headquartered in Reno, Nevada, and less than 30 minutes from the nearest ski resort means quite a few of us here at Twelve Horses like to ski and snowboard. In fact, two of Twelve Horses founders, David LaPlante and Martin Gastanaga, were professional ski racers back in the day before they got a wild hair and decided to start a web design and development company.

Obviously, their passions have an influence on the office culture, as well as the type of clients we have. As an indication, Heavenly Mountain Resort, Mountain Sports International, and Reno-Tahoe, America’s Adventure Place are just a few clients we have that are involved in promoting snow sports.

It is the latter client, along with a merry band of high altitude hucksters and several other sponsors, that somehow managed to convince the city of Reno to:

The video speaks for itself. You can also watch more on this YouTube channel. Can you say, Cool!?

Also, here are some awesome Ski Base Jump photos of Shane McConkey doing his thing courtesy of the RSCVA.

David LaPlante and I contribute a monthly article centered around technology and the web to RLife, a lifestyle magazine distributed in the Truckee Meadows. This article appeared in their November issue:

Are You LinkedIn?

Connecting with people in Northern Nevada occurs in many different ways and in many different places. Whether it happens through a First Thursday event at the Nevada Museum of Art, a networking event sponsored by a local organization such as EDAWN, or on a chair lift at Mt. Rose Ski Resort, these connections can prove invaluable. A memorable meeting or a quick handshake can lead to lasting friendships, new business opportunities, and alliances that can benefit you as an individual, as well as the larger community.

The only limitation to traditional networking is that you can’t be everywhere at once. It would prove very difficult to make a lasting impression on someone, or build a new relationship, if you are not there, especially if that person lives outside of the Truckee Meadows. The best way to overcome this hurdle (yep, you guessed it) is to go online; but you have to know where to look.

LinkedIn is the place. It is a social networking site primarily for business professionals. It is helping millions of people connect and stay connected with colleagues and cohorts all over the world. What’s great about LinkedIn is that it’s really easy to join the party. What’s even better is that it’s free.

If you hop online and head over to www.linkedin.com the first thing you will be asked to do is create an account to join. Don’t fret about it. The reason why you are asked to join is because you can’t be a part of a community of users unless you are one yourself. Create an account, import the contacts you do have, and then watch what happens. Before you know it you are sending and receiving invitations to link up to people you met back in high school, knew at your first job, or always wanted to know but never had the chance.

Of course, we all know that success in business is the not-so-secret-sauce of a few fundamentals - skill, tenacity, luck, that BIG IDEA, and the ability to build a significant social network. LinkedIn helps primarily with the latter, but you really need some of the other components to get the most out of it. First and foremost, you have to create a substantial profile. Speak to your strengths and skills and demonstrate your accomplishments. Ask colleagues for recommendations, and offer to give them one as well. Remember, what you are establishing here is a representation of yourself and your personal brand. How do you want people to perceive you?

Many of LinkedIn’s features are very helpful for building your network, but you have to actively use them. On the homepage, LinkedIn continually updates you on who has looked at your profile. It also provides helpful suggestions of people you may know, and gives you the opportunity to contact them or get introduced by someone else. Furthermore, you can explore the connections of those you are linked to, and then decide whether or not you would like to get introduced to them. You can see how your social network can quickly grow and grow.

There are countless stories of people using LinkedIn to reconnect with old acquaintances, find new jobs, conduct valuable market research, and gather important information. But again, LinkedIn will only work as well as you want it to work. You wouldn’t expect to meet many people at an event if you sat in the corner and didn’t talk to anyone, right?

Even if you decide not to be very active at building your social network through LinkedIn, there is still another added benefit. It will quickly, easily, and cost-effectively give you an online presence. If someone searches your name using a popular search engine like Google or Yahoo, chances are they will find your LinkedIn profile, and in today’s business climate, extending and enhancing your personal brand online is very important. Don’t believe it? A quick search on LinkedIn for Northern Nevadans in the 89501 zip code shows that at least 500 or more professionals in our area who think so.

So, come online, create an account, and connect. Don’t be the missing link.

As tired horses feebly found their way into the office this morning, there was little surprise as to why they were a bit sluggish. Yesterday, Twelve Horses was honored with the “2007 Technology Company of the Year” award in Las Vegas by the Technology Business Alliance of Nevada (TBAN).

It was a great event, and a huge thanks goes out to the Officers, Directors, and Members of TBAN who nominated and elected us. Furthermore, none of it would be possible without an awesome team of talented employees, customers who have been with us since 1994, and an array of partners who have supported Twelve Horses going back to the early days when we were Aztech Cyberspace.

We are not only honored, but thrilled, excited, proud, stoked, fired up, and above all - humbled. The fact is there are many cutting edge technology companies in Nevada that are doing impressive work and collectively elevating the tech environment of the state. They are here for a myriad of reasons, but suffice to say, it is because Nevada is a great place to do business.

So, why did we win? Well, you can read what the president of TBAN had to say in the press release. Clearly, it has a lot to do with the type of web development Twelve Horses is doing, as well as the length of time the company has been in business. But from my perspective, there is more.

Part of TBAN’s mission focuses on “supporting and expanding technology in Nevada.” Twelve Horses is involved in numerous community organizations that center around technology, marketing, design, education, and economic development, but one organization in particular, which has really grown in significance in recent time, is the Nevada Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology (NCET). David LaPlante, CEO of Twelve Horses serves on the Board of Directors as chairman, and I know he has put a lot of personal and company time and energy into seeing the organization flourish.

David LaPlante is what I would call an extreme advocate of technology in Nevada, and you would not believe the amount of energy he puts forth in driving it. Between myself and social marketing manager, Leilani Schweitzer, we have an incredibly difficult time just keeping up with him and his schedule. It is INSANE. He is not the only one either. His partners, Steve Spencer and Martin Gastanaga, take on their fair share of community involvement and support as well. But it really and truly comes from a great love for what they do, and while I am biased, it looks as if it is really achieving really great things for the state of Nevada. This brings me to one final point.

Does Twelve Horses do all of this for semi-selfish reasons? The answer is, yes. Because we are headquartered in Reno, Nevada, and yet, service clients all over the country and beyond, we are aligned in many ways with the Reno-Tahoe brand and business environment. The better the region looks and functions, the better we look and function. It is no different when tech companies establish themselves in Silicon Valley. They know there is a certain brand perception that comes with that geographical area, and they know there is a certain level of infrastructure and employee potential.

Martin Gastanaga is a fifth generation Nevadan, and David is very much rooted, along with his family, in Reno, Nevada. Many of Twelve Horses’ employees were born, live, and love it in Reno-Tahoe. So what you have is a partnership. Local community organizations, governments, businesses, and citizens and stakeholders help Twelve Horses by creating and fostering the type of business environment we need to be successful, and in turn, we do what we can to help Nevada become even better.

Twelve Horses will keep striving to develop new technologies and applications, open up new office locations, and also support the communities in which we operate. It has been a ton of work and a ton of fun, and we have met a lot of great people and enjoyed many new and exciting experiences along the way.

Again, a huge thanks to TBAN for the award, and our promise is that we will do what we can to live up to it.

I just had to share this Modest Mouse music video that features the son of David LaPlante, CEO of Twelve Horses. Today, it appeared on the front page of MySpaceTV.com.

The director of the video is Justin Francis, a native of Reno, Nevada who moved to New York to pursue his MFA degree at NYU’s prestigious Graduate Film Program. He has already built an impressive portfolio of work featuring artists such as 50 Cent, Eminem, Alicia Keys, Weezer, and of course, Modest Mouse.

Along with his partner in The Saline Project, Justin was nominated for “Director Of the Year” in 2005 by the Music Video Production Association, and also received a nomination for “Best Hip Hop Video” at last year’s MTV Video Music Awards.

For you Reno folks, see if you can figure out where the actual locations are featured in the video and then let us know in the comment section. If you need more clues, check out David’s Flickr photos from the shoot.

Modest Mouse - Little Motel

Add to My Profile | More Videos

tags: reno nevada myspacetv.com justin francis

Want to know about one simple SEO strategy that takes less than five minutes to implement and can have a very positive result in regards to rankings in the search engines? If so get ready to change the footer on your website.

The footer on your website usually simply contains a copyright statement and sometimes some other links. Many websites have a two line footer where one line is devoted to links and the other is devoted only to the copyright. Adding a company statement to your footer is an easy way to implement an seo strategy that is simple and doesn’t take a lot of time. Here is an example:

Previous footer: © 2007 Twelve Horses

New SEO Friendly Footer: © Copyright 2007 Twelve Horses - A Web Design, Development & Search Engine Optimization Company in Reno & Utah

It usually works best when you have the text footer [non-link footer] fit on one line. Here are some key points that this new footer accomplishes:

1. This particular website or business is focused on providing web design, web development, seo or search engine optimization, email marketing, and social marketing services. Although that is a very long list sometimes you have to pick and choose what you can fit in a footer. The above example ensures that every single page of the website contains the keyword phrases of ‘web design, development, and search engine optimization’. This will help the search engines recognize that this website is related to those key terms since they appear on every webpage. This strategy not only assists search engines in knowing what services you may provide but also human web visitors. If a website visitor can not figure out what the website is all about they general do one of two actions; either leave or look in the footer for an ‘about us’ link. Having this line of text in the footer ensures that if they do glance at the footer they will be able to know what the website is about without having to click to another page.

2. The above example also contains ‘Reno and Utah‘ in the sentence. Twelve Horses has headquarters in Reno, Nevada with a secondary office in Salt Lake City, Utah. Having these terms in the footer lets the search engines know what geographic area this particular website primarily provides web services to. You may wonder why the footer contains Reno, a city, and Utah, a state. Through some keyword research it was discovered that people in Salt Lake City generally search for ‘utah [keyword]‘ rather than ’salt lake city [keyword]‘, maybe because Salt Lake City is too long or time consuming to type out and Utah only has one major metropolitan area which is the wasatch front. On the other hand Nevada contains several metropolitan areas such as Reno, Las Vegas, etc. which are spread out from each other. From keyword research we discovered people in Nevada are more likely to type in the major metropolitan area they are in compared to just ‘Nevada [keyword]‘. Again, this also provides website visitors information on the geographic area the company is based in by glancing at the footer.

3. This is a very simple and effective SEO strategy that literally should only take 5-10 minutes to implement on your website and will have a profound effective compared to the investment of time that is required.

If you enjoyed this SEO strategy and would like us to post more please post a comment and we will be happy to share our knowledge with you.

The following article was written by Twelve Horses for the local Reno publication, RLife magazine. Keep in mind that it was written for a wide audience, many of whom might not understand what search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM) entail. If you are looking for greater specifics then you might be interested in reading this recent SEO and SEM press release or Contacting Us.

*****************

The other day, I was preparing to leave my house for work when I heard my dog begin to bark. This was followed by the familiar sound of something smacking the ground. Concerned that something was awry, I hurried outside to see what was upsetting Goose. There, in all its yellow glory was the guide of all guides, my conduit to all the pizzas and plumbers that Northern Nevada can serve up. It was my brand new Yellow Book.

I brought it inside, and then began to ponder what to do with this enormous paper weight. Would my life be incomplete without this directory, or could I afford to feed it to the recycling bin?

What was really going on in my head was the evaluation of the World Wide Web today. Did I feel confident that I could find whatever I needed in Northern Nevada simply by searching for it online? My conclusion was “sort of” because the reality is that online search is only as good as those who want to be, or know how to be, found.

As more websites are created, and more people get in the habit of searching for what they want online, appearing in the results of search engines like Google, Yahoo, or MSN becomes increasingly important. But how does it work? The most important part of the equation is to understand what keywords people like us are using to find things.

For example, one of the things that Reno can boast is an exceptional array of diverse and delicious restaurants. You probably know that if you live here, but you might not get that impression from searching online. Why? Because either there are not a lot of individual restaurant websites, or they are not designed for search engines to find them. But people are searching. Web-savvy locals are comparing eateries before booking a reservation, and visitors are researching dining options for their vacation; and it all starts with the words they know. They open up their favorite web browser and type a keyword or keyword phrase like “reno dining.”

When I typed in “reno dining” Google kicked back 2,170,000 results for me. Whew, that’s a lot! Why so many? Well, the first thing the search engine does is look for websites with the specific phrase of “reno dining” and then the keywords of “reno” and “dining.” We don’t really have to be concerned with all of the results because those that appear first are what the search engine considers to be most relevant. Of course, it is not a perfect system because it is built by humans and manipulated by humans, but what is really cool about it is that it is in large part dictated by you and me.

The search engine places great importance on how keywords are used throughout the website. If these keywords don’t match up to what we think they should be, then you and I don’t find it and they can’t get our business if we don’t know they exist. Another factor is how many inbound links the website receives, and what the qualities of those websites are. If reputable websites within the greater online community are not linking to a particular website then the search engines assume it is not as important. Finally, the search engines also take into account how individual users have interacted with the site in the past, which includes the amount of time people like us have spent on the site and how many clicks of the mouse the site receives. If you are interested in more information about natural search try Googling the term, “search engine optimization.”

The power of search is only as powerful as the people who use it. In the end, I decided to keep my Yellow Book because I don’t think we’re completely there yet. There is still a large customer base that is not in the habit of using the Web to find what they’re seeking. In addition, there are a lot of small businesses out there that have not yet begun to explore the benefits of a web presence. What’s exciting, however, is that it’s getting much easier and cheaper for businesses to get online as new types of software tools are designed and built. For example, look at Wordpress.org. Wordpress is empowering millions of people by giving them the tools to develop their own websites, which can then be found by the search engines.

So, I reluctantly stuffed my Yellow Book away in one of those drawers you reserve for stuff you don’t really want to deal with or see. I probably won’t pull it out again before the next one comes, unless, of course, I need to order a pizza.

The following article was written by Twelve Horses for the local Reno publication, RLife magazine. Keep in mind that it was written for a wide audience, many of whom might not understand what search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM) entail. If you are looking for greater specifics then you might be interested in reading this recent SEO and SEM press release or Contacting Us.  

*****************

The other day, I was preparing to leave my house for work when I heard my dog begin to bark. This was followed by the familiar sound of something smacking the ground.  Concerned that something was awry, I hurried outside to see what was upsetting Goose. There, in all its yellow glory was the guide of all guides, my conduit to all the pizzas and plumbers that Northern Nevada can serve up. It was my brand new Yellow Book.

I brought it inside, and then began to ponder what to do with this enormous paper weight. Would my life be incomplete without this directory, or could I afford to feed it to the recycling bin?

What was really going on in my head was the evaluation of the World Wide Web today. Did I feel confident that I could find whatever I needed in Northern Nevada simply by searching for it online? My conclusion was “sort of” because the reality is that online search is only as good as those who want to be, or know how to be, found.

As more websites are created, and more people get in the habit of searching for what they want online, appearing in the results of search engines like Google, Yahoo, or MSN becomes increasingly important. But how does it work? The most important part of the equation is to understand what keywords people like us are using to find things.

For example, one of the things that Reno can boast is an exceptional array of diverse and delicious restaurants. You probably know that if you live here, but you might not get that impression from searching online. Why? Because either there are  not a lot of individual restaurant websites, or they are not designed for search engines to find them. But people are searching. Web-savvy locals are comparing eateries before booking a reservation, and visitors are researching dining options  for their vacation; and it all starts with the words they know. They open up their favorite web browser and type a keyword or keyword phrase like “reno dining.”

When I typed in “reno dining” Google kicked back 2,170,000 results for me. Whew, that’s a lot! Why so many? Well, the first thing the search engine does is look for websites with the specific phrase of “reno dining” and then the keywords of “reno” and “dining.” We don’t really have to be concerned with all of the results because those that appear first are what the search engine considers to be most relevant. Of course, it is not a perfect system because it is built by humans and manipulated by humans, but what is really cool about it is that it is in large part dictated by you and me.

The search engine places great importance on how keywords are used throughout the website. If these keywords don’t match up to what we think they should be, then you and I don’t find it and they can’t get our business if we don’t know they exist. Another factor is how many inbound links the website receives, and what the qualities of those websites are.  If reputable websites within the greater online community are not linking to a particular website then the search engines assume it is not as important. Finally, the search engines also take into account how individual users have interacted with the site in the past, which includes the amount of time people like us have spent on the site and how many clicks of the mouse the site receives. If you are interested in more information about natural search try Googling the term, “search engine optimization.”

The power of search is only as powerful as the people who use it. In the end, I decided to keep my Yellow Book because I don’t think we’re completely there yet. There is still a large customer base that is not in the habit of using the Web to find what they’re seeking. In addition, there are a lot of small businesses out there that have not yet begun to explore the benefits of a web presence. What’s exciting, however, is that it’s getting much easier and cheaper for businesses to get online as new types of software tools are designed and built. For example, look at Wordpress.org. Wordpress is empowering millions of people by giving them the tools to develop their own websites, which can then be found by the search engines.

So, I reluctantly stuffed my Yellow Book away in one of those drawers you reserve for stuff you don’t really want to deal with or see. I probably won’t pull it out again before the next one comes, unless, of course, I need to order a pizza.

The following article was written by Twelve Horses for the local Reno publication, RLife magazine. Keep in mind that it was written for a wide audience, many of whom might not understand what search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM) entail. If you are looking for greater specifics then you might be interested in reading this recent SEO and SEM press release or Contacting Us.  

*****************

The other day, I was preparing to leave my house for work when I heard my dog begin to bark. This was followed by the familiar sound of something smacking the ground.  Concerned that something was awry, I hurried outside to see what was upsetting Goose. There, in all its yellow glory was the guide of all guides, my conduit to all the pizzas and plumbers that Northern Nevada can serve up. It was my brand new Yellow Book.

I brought it inside, and then began to ponder what to do with this enormous paper weight. Would my life be incomplete without this directory, or could I afford to feed it to the recycling bin?

What was really going on in my head was the evaluation of the World Wide Web today. Did I feel confident that I could find whatever I needed in Northern Nevada simply by searching for it online? My conclusion was “sort of” because the reality is that online search is only as good as those who want to be, or know how to be, found.

As more websites are created, and more people get in the habit of searching for what they want online, appearing in the results of search engines like Google, Yahoo, or MSN becomes increasingly important. But how does it work? The most important part of the equation is to understand what keywords people like us are using to find things.

For example, one of the things that Reno can boast is an exceptional array of diverse and delicious restaurants. You probably know that if you live here, but you might not get that impression from searching online. Why? Because either there are  not a lot of individual restaurant websites, or they are not designed for search engines to find them. But people are searching. Web-savvy locals are comparing eateries before booking a reservation, and visitors are researching dining options  for their vacation; and it all starts with the words they know. They open up their favorite web browser and type a keyword or keyword phrase like “reno dining.”

When I typed in “reno dining” Google kicked back 2,170,000 results for me. Whew, that’s a lot! Why so many? Well, the first thing the search engine does is look for websites with the specific phrase of “reno dining” and then the keywords of “reno” and “dining.” We don’t really have to be concerned with all of the results because those that appear first are what the search engine considers to be most relevant. Of course, it is not a perfect system because it is built by humans and manipulated by humans, but what is really cool about it is that it is in large part dictated by you and me.

The search engine places great importance on how keywords are used throughout the website. If these keywords don’t match up to what we think they should be, then you and I don’t find it and they can’t get our business if we don’t know they exist. Another factor is how many inbound links the website receives, and what the qualities of those websites are.  If reputable websites within the greater online community are not linking to a particular website then the search engines assume it is not as important. Finally, the search engines also take into account how individual users have interacted with the site in the past, which includes the amount of time people like us have spent on the site and how many clicks of the mouse the site receives. If you are interested in more information about natural search try Googling the term, “search engine optimization.”

The power of search is only as powerful as the people who use it. In the end, I decided to keep my Yellow Book because I don’t think we’re completely there yet. There is still a large customer base that is not in the habit of using the Web to find what they’re seeking. In addition, there are a lot of small businesses out there that have not yet begun to explore the benefits of a web presence. What’s exciting, however, is that it’s getting much easier and cheaper for businesses to get online as new types of software tools are designed and built. For example, look at Wordpress.org. Wordpress is empowering millions of people by giving them the tools to develop their own websites, which can then be found by the search engines.

So, I reluctantly stuffed my Yellow Book away in one of those drawers you reserve for stuff you don’t really want to deal with or see. I probably won’t pull it out again before the next one comes, unless, of course, I need to order a pizza.

The following article was written by Twelve Horses for the local Reno publication, RLife magazine. Keep in mind that it was written for a wide audience, many of whom might not understand what search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM) entail. If you are looking for greater specifics then you might be interested in reading this recent SEO and SEM press release or Contacting Us.  

*****************

The other day, I was preparing to leave my house for work when I heard my dog begin to bark. This was followed by the familiar sound of something smacking the ground.  Concerned that something was awry, I hurried outside to see what was upsetting Goose. There, in all its yellow glory was the guide of all guides, my conduit to all the pizzas and plumbers that Northern Nevada can serve up. It was my brand new Yellow Book.

I brought it inside, and then began to ponder what to do with this enormous paper weight. Would my life be incomplete without this directory, or could I afford to feed it to the recycling bin?

What was really going on in my head was the evaluation of the World Wide Web today. Did I feel confident that I could find whatever I needed in Northern Nevada simply by searching for it online? My conclusion was “sort of” because the reality is that online search is only as good as those who want to be, or know how to be, found.

As more websites are created, and more people get in the habit of searching for what they want online, appearing in the results of search engines like Google, Yahoo, or MSN becomes increasingly important. But how does it work? The most important part of the equation is to understand what keywords people like us are using to find things.

For example, one of the things that Reno can boast is an exceptional array of diverse and delicious restaurants. You probably know that if you live here, but you might not get that impression from searching online. Why? Because either there are  not a lot of individual restaurant websites, or they are not designed for search engines to find them. But people are searching. Web-savvy locals are comparing eateries before booking a reservation, and visitors are researching dining options  for their vacation; and it all starts with the words they know. They open up their favorite web browser and type a keyword or keyword phrase like “reno dining.”

When I typed in “reno dining” Google kicked back 2,170,000 results for me. Whew, that’s a lot! Why so many? Well, the first thing the search engine does is look for websites with the specific phrase of “reno dining” and then the keywords of “reno” and “dining.” We don’t really have to be concerned with all of the results because those that appear first are what the search engine considers to be most relevant. Of course, it is not a perfect system because it is built by humans and manipulated by humans, but what is really cool about it is that it is in large part dictated by you and me.

The search engine places great importance on how keywords are used throughout the website. If these keywords don’t match up to what we think they should be, then you and I don’t find it and they can’t get our business if we don’t know they exist. Another factor is how many inbound links the website receives, and what the qualities of those websites are.  If reputable websites within the greater online community are not linking to a particular website then the search engines assume it is not as important. Finally, the search engines also take into account how individual users have interacted with the site in the past, which includes the amount of time people like us have spent on the site and how many clicks of the mouse the site receives. If you are interested in more information about natural search try Googling the term, “search engine optimization.”

The power of search is only as powerful as the people who use it. In the end, I decided to keep my Yellow Book because I don’t think we’re completely there yet. There is still a large customer base that is not in the habit of using the Web to find what they’re seeking. In addition, there are a lot of small businesses out there that have not yet begun to explore the benefits of a web presence. What’s exciting, however, is that it’s getting much easier and cheaper for businesses to get online as new types of software tools are designed and built. For example, look at Wordpress.org. Wordpress is empowering millions of people by giving them the tools to develop their own websites, which can then be found by the search engines.

So, I reluctantly stuffed my Yellow Book away in one of those drawers you reserve for stuff you don’t really want to deal with or see. I probably won’t pull it out again before the next one comes, unless, of course, I need to order a pizza.