August 2005 The Net Gazette by Oak Web Works

The Net Gazette
Helping You Help Your Site

In this issue of The Net Gazette we are going to learn how to make rotating images on websites and we're going to give you a great way to learn all about search engine optimization. So let's get started on our way to improving your Web business.

Web Tip #9:
My Favorites (Bookmarks in Netscape) list continuously becomes more and more important to me each day. I find so many useful websites that I bookmark them and return often. One problem is that for every computer I have, I want to use the same bookmark list that I have laboriously worked to create over the years. I have a home computer, a work computer and a laptop, and I don't want to have three different bookmark lists.

To keep the lists the same, I go to 'File > Import and Export...' in my Internet Explorer Menu Bar. When I choose this option, a wizard opens up. I click 'Next', and then choose 'Export Favorites'. I choose a place to save the file, and viola! I now have a file that contains all my bookmarks which I can then email to myself as an attachment and open up in another computer. To import this Favorites list in my Internet Explorer on another PC, I do the same thing as I did to export it, but I choose 'Import Favorites' in the wizard.

Web Design and Programming
Homepage real estate is always at a premium. As a webmaster, I am continually asked to post content and images that are of interest to each person in the organization. Each person often feels that their specific content and images are the most important. Unfortunately, if I posted it all, the homepage would scroll down for a very long ways and look horribly busy.

One way around this is to use a script that rotates images (or content) upon each refresh. I do not mean rotating animated banners. All the images are static when using this script. The only time an image changes is when a person clicks their Refresh button, goes to another page and then revisits the original page or every time they re-visit the page.

To see the script in action, go to http://www.OakWebWorks.com or http://www.BestShowTicketsLasVegas.com/ and hit refresh. You'll notice that one of the large images changes each time you refresh or each time you re-visit the site. This way, I get to use many different images, but only take up one spot on the homepage.

Here's the script:

<script type="text/javascript">
<!--

varhome1="<a href='http://www.bestshowticketslasvegas.com/coldplay-concert-tickets.asp'><img src='../images/home/home-coldplay.jpg' alt='Featured Tickets: Coldplay' width='154' height='186' border='0'></a>"

varhome2="<a href='http://www.bestshowticketslasvegas.com/ncaa-football.asp'><img src='../images/home/home-college-football.jpg' alt='Featured Tickets: NCAA College Ball' width='154' height='186' border='0'></a>"

varhome3="<a href='http://www.bestshowticketslasvegas.com/destinys-child-concert-tickets.asp'><img src='../images/home/home-destinys-child.jpg' alt='Featured Tickets: Destiny's Child' width='154' height='186' border='0'></a>"

varhome4="<a href='http://www.bestshowticketslasvegas.com/hairspray-broadway-theater-tickets.asp'><img src='/images/home/home-hairspray.jpg' alt='Featured Tickets: Broadway Hairspray' width='154' height='186' border='0'></a>"

varhome5="<a href='http://www.bestshowticketslasvegas.com/jack-johnson-concert-tickets.asp'><img src='/images/home/home-jack-johnson.jpg' alt='Featured Tickets: Jack Johnson' width='154' height='186' border='0'></a>"

now=new Date()
num=(now.getSeconds() )%5
num=num+1

document.write (eval("varhome"+num))

//-->
</script>

Notice how there are 5 variable that are defines above. Each variable is equal to an image path that has an Alt tag, URL associated with it and the image height and width.

For example, the first variable, varhome1, is an image of the band Coldplay. When a visitor rolls over the image the Alt tag is displayed, which reads "Featured Tickets: Coldplay". If they click on the image, they will go to the Coldplay page, http://www.bestshowticketslasvegas.com/coldplay-concert-tickets.asp.

For you to use this script in your website, all you need to do is replace the image source (img src=), the Alt tag (alt=), the image height and width (they all need to be the same height and width), and the URL it links to for each variable. If you add or subtract images, then be sure to change the number at the end of this line: num=(now.getSeconds() )%5 - In this case, I have 5 variables, so the number is 5, but if I had 10 variables, then the line would read num=(now.getSeconds() )%10.

Finally, where ever you want the image to go, cut and paste the entire code into that spot.

So if your homepage originally looks like this:

This is what it would look like after you cut and paste the code in to have that same image above in red rotate through 5 images upon refresh:

Search Engine Optimization

Inbound links from other sites = Vastly Improved Rankings = Increased Traffic = Increased Revenue

As I have mentioned numerous times in previous Net Gazettes, running an ongoing strategic linking campaign is vital to ranking well in the search engines. In other words, creating as many content-related links on other websites that point back to your site will make you rank better in Google, MSN and Yahoo.

In fact, it is so important that many new software programs for facilitating this have cropped up. One way to create links is to do searches on the Net for websites that have complimentary content. After finding one, often times they offer an html form asking for your link information for them to post. There is now software that helps automatically fill out html forms so you don't have to keep typing in the same information over and over again. One program I found that does this is http://www.joobya.com/, go ahead and check it out.

There is another program that I found that is fantastic for this function and has many other extremely useful functions for successfully running strategic linking campaigns: http://www.seoelite.com/ - I recommend this software. The contact I have for this software is Brad Callen, and I signed up for his Search Engine Optimization (SEO) newsletter a while ago. Each newsletter is a lesson on SEO. The newsletter, like the software, is excellent. And what's more, he allows his newsletter list to re-use each newsletter for their lists. So that's what I am going to do for you.

There is a forum to discuss all of this and to learn all the specific and you don't need to be a programmer or Web designer to use it.

To learn more about these subjects or if you have a need for e-marketing, design or programming services, please visit www.oakwebworks.com.

Happy Webbing.

- Jason

P.S. - If you liked this newsletter, please Forward it to your friends or colleagues

To ensure that you continue to receive the Net Gazette, please add “jason@oakwebworks.com” to your email Address Book.