Naturally, being a jeweler, I had to contact them (not to mention a dog lover). I didn’t make it any secret I was a jeweler. The owner asked me what kind of dogs I have (I have Shelties ) and then provided me with a coupon code where using it would give an additional donation to a specific animal charity AND a discount to me (or anyone else) who used it.

Took me a bit by surprise when the coupon code benefited a Sheltie rescue in my home state… The Central Illinois Sheltie Rescue

My male Sheltie… ‘Cody’…. my wife and I rescued from an owner who did not want him. We couldn’t be happier and I know Cody couldn’t be happier either.

So, for all you Sheltie lovers out there, here’s a Sheltie Pendant and using the coupon code A102Q will save you a bit of money and benefit a Sheltie rescue.

Dave

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Any webmaster or small business owner that has gone for a ride on the up-and-down rollercoaster of Internet marketing has their own opinion about what does and doesn’t work. To complicate matters, the world of effective search engine optimization is constantly in flux. In a few months the goldmine strategy you perfected today could be worthless. That’s why it’s so crucial to stay current with the latest trends, while also falling back on tried and true principles that remain best practices.

In recent years there has been a great deal of backlash against the term keyword density as it relates to one’s success in the make-or-break struggle to get a first page ranking with the Big G. The incipient tidal wave of criticism is not without cause. A flood of websites were produced – and are still produced – with little more than SPAM content, stuffed to the brim with the keyword phrase de jour filling every crevice and cranny.

Not only does this make your page’s content unreadable to any visitor that dare click on a link to head in your direction, but it also alerts the search engine spiders that your site is essentially worthless. Goodbye first page ranking, and if you’re not careful, goodbye to even being indexed at all.

Knowing this, how can I be so temerarious as to suggest that anyone needs keyword density to improve their website’s online presence? Perhaps it’s nothing more than a change of perspective that’s needed in order to figure this mess out once and for all.

Straight from the horse’s mouth in Google’s Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide Version 1.1, the Big G lets us know that, “Designing your site around your visitors’ needs while making sure your site is easily accessible to search engines usually produces positive results.”

Google directly states that, “using a good mix of keyword phrases” would produce “positive” results. The Big G continues with a warning to avoid, “Inserting numerous unnecessary keywords aimed at search engines but [which] are annoying or nonsensical to users.” Fair enough, but this isn’t something the perspicacious webmaster cannot handle.

So what’s a level of natural inclusion that will produce positive results and keep you from getting SPAM stamped across your site’s forehead? If you wanted to include a three word key phrase into a 600 word article at a density of 2%, you’re only using the phrase four times spread across an entire page. It might be hard to use your phrase any less depending on what you’re talking about.

Now, 2% isn’t the precise keyword density that will unlock the door to a gush of traffic and profit for your website… but that’s the point. Using a phrase a few times less or a few times more likely won’t shift your results too far in either direction.

So instead of worrying about exact keyword densities that hold the magic cure-all for ranking highly in Google or any other search engine, you should focus on ensuring natural inclusion. Talk about your topic naturally and the keywords you want to align yourself with in the SERPS will find their place.

I wouldn’t think that there would be any argument that keywords should be included in some form on your page’s content even without reading it directly from the pages of Google’s published SEO guide. The challenging aspect of following Google’s guidelines to produce results is that there is often only a fine line between “using a good mix of keyword phrases” and “inserting numerous unnecessary keywords.”

The Big G is a sanguinary beast, always looking for a bit of food to feed on from your website in order to align it with whatever market or niche you are going after. So I say go ahead and use keywords in your page’s content without taking unnecessary or obligatory steps to reach a particular and pre-targeted keyword density. Feed the beast, just don’t stuff it.

Oh, and I’ll let you figure out for yourself which phrase was used in this article five times in about 690 words. I wasn’t trying to reach a keyword density- but through natural inclusion I did precisely that.

Moving my site to LexiConn for managed web hosting is one of the best decisions I’ve made (to date)! My ecommerce site has been hosted with them for a year and a half now and the folks there have been nothing but stellar from the onset.

Support in minutes, not days or weeks. Help when I need it. Literally no down time. No hassles, no problems, and no questions they don’t answer to my satisfaction. I can’t say enough about them. No, they’re not the cheapest but as far as I’m concerned, they are among the best. I’m able focus my online efforts doing the things that are best for my business because when it comes to web hosting, they take care of their business.

Do yourself a favor, when considering a web hosting company, check out LexiConn Web Hosting Solutions. When running a business with an online presence, the last thing you need to worry about is your host. With them, you won’t.

I want names! That’s right, the name of each and every Senator and/or Representative that added the fat to the bill to the tune of $110B. You represent ME and every other taxpayer that voted you into office. I want to know exactly what you are representing for me. I want to know which of you added the fat in the way of earmarks to the bailout bill. I want to know which of you required a bribe in the way of those earmarks in order to vote in favor of the bill.

Transparency my ass! Stand and be counted for the fat you added.

It took $110B of earmarks to make a “bad” bill “good”. How is that? How does $2M in tax exemptions for wooden arrow manufacturers, producers, or importers, sponsored by the Oregon Senators, help the financial sector. How does that make the bailout bill better? How does $100M in tax breaks for race track owners strengthen our economy? How is $192M tax rebate for Puerto Rican and the Virgin Island Rum good for the troubled financial sector? How does extending a $19B tax break for companies such as Microsoft Corp., Boeing Co., United Technologies Corp., Electronic Data Systems Corp. and Harley-Davidson help our banks and homeowners facing foreclosure?

These are just some of the earmarks it took to convince your representatives to vote for the bailout bill. Just some of pork it took to make a “bad” bailout bill good enough for your Senators and Congressmen to vote in favor of. Each of you should visit Taxpayers for Common Sense and see some more of the heapings of pork that got piled on the bill in order for it to good enough for your representative to vote in favor of.

Happy with how your tax dollars are now going to be spent to bailout the financial sector? You shouldn’t be. You should be flat out pissed off at how your elected government officials, officials YOU voted for decided how to spend YOUR tax dollars.

I invite each of you to take a good look at how your representative voted on the Pork Laden Bailout Bill and ask those who voted in favor of the Bacon Wrapped Bailout Bill why.

Call them, write them, email them, and ask them how it is that $10M in benefits for bicycle commuters helps the credit market. How $148M in tariff relief on wool helps ease the credit market and struggling home owners. How in the world it is they could vote in favor of spending YOUR tax dollars only after all this pork was added but not before. These are your representatives. The people YOU elected to decide how to spend YOUR tax dollars. Take the time to let them know what you think.

Visit www.house.gov and www.senate.gov to find the websites of your representative and senator.

First things first… The Cuban Pork sandwiches Feydakin pointed out were from Absolutely Delicious. Very appropriate company name given the sandwiches.

Having grown up in Westmont, and a long time resident, I really look forward to it every year. I’m saddened to say that overall, it’s gone downhill. My own personal opinion is that the “taste” part of it has been pushed aside. Don’t get me wrong. We had a nice time but it really could have, and should have been so much better.

I echo your suggestions for 2009…

Food

I’ve talked to a lot of the vendors that have been there over the years. Many simply hoped to break even. I knew after speaking to many last year, it was going to be slim pickings this year. Why in the word would the “TASTE” of Westmont drive food vendors away over a few hundred dollars? Wake up Westmont! Cutting the booth price in half would have cost you about $6K based on the numbers I heard. Even the KofC with their discounted (cough) price lost money last year from what I heard.

Now the set up… what a joke. For 2 years running you’ve created a nightmare by the vendor set up/arrangement. I can only speculate but I’m guessing it’s for safety concerns. I don’t know whose brilliant idea it was but they need to call a “mulligan” and start over.

Entertainment

Let’s start with Sunday first… For the first time in a long time I didn’t even bother to attend the Taste on Sunday. Firstly, there are only so many Italian Beef-Sausage Combo’s and Cuban Pork sandwiches I can eat over a three day period. So, if you missed the earlier comments about the food go back and reread them would you please. Second, yes, I’m well aware Muddy was a long time Westmont resident and am well aware of the history, dedications, etc. It’s not that I don’t enjoy the tribute to him, but when is enough, enough?

Scheduling… Ok… you bill Friday as the ATTACK OF THE KILLER TRIBUTE BANDS! The taste doesn’t start until 4 pm, is billed to go until 10:30 PM and you pack 4 bands into that time span. We got there at 4:20 and the majority of food vendors weren’t even set up. Whoopee. The place was almost empty. What a shame to have “wasted” that entertainment lineup.

You want to do the Muddy Waters tribute, fine. Kick off the Taste with that on Friday. There’s a really good start to the festival. Saturday would have been the perfect day for tribute bands. And for Sunday, how could American English not have been a great way to end the festival?

So Westmont, I hope you’ll take the time to take a serious look at what you want the “Taste of Westmont” to be. Because in my book you’ve taken the taste for it out of my mouth.

Janeth over at WPW pointed to a post that seems to indicate that may be the case.

Last Thursday (July 3rd), Coca Cola Brazil launched the drink i9 – Hidrotonico, the Brazilian version of Powerade. As a part of the i9 marketing strategy in blogs & social media, Coca Cola handpicked 9 prominent bloggers, custom made their homepage and gifted them a fancy USB mini fridge with the new product to be tested – a reason to blog about.

The above quote is taken from the Trend Spotting Blog

Advertising or link buying?

Well if you take the “Googly” perspective on this, I think it’s safe to say the bloggers were “paid” for their participation and at least one of them linked directly without tagging the link “nofollow”. That seems meet their criteria for ling “buying/selling”. If you remember, towards the end of 2007, Google got rather aggressive when it came to “paid links” and dinged those who chose not to comply with their “request” on how to handle them.

There are those that will say there is no such thing as “bad” publicity. However, I see this as a “sticky wicket” for both Coca Cola and the “compensated” bloggers that’s yet to unfold. True, Coke has generated a buzz about their product launch and the hand picked bloggers have already received quite a bit of attention from the blogosphere. But will it come back to haunt them? Will there be a reputation backlash for both?

Dave

So for those of you who like Genies (or Jeannie if you prefer ) join in! Perhaps a bit of unexpected luck will fly your way. Here’s how it works…

Don’t be stingy, pass a bit-o-genie-goodness around!

And for my good friend Feydakin, may the Genie King AND the Genie Princess visit you!

Dave

A current thread at WPW titled Tomato World was spun off from another thread because the posts were just a bit off topic. Go figure. A forum for eBusiness experts isn’t exactly where you’d expect to find a thread about tomatoes but interestingly enough, it’s turned into a fun thread… for me anyway.

Tomato growing, cooking with tomatoes, tomato varieties even rooftop gardens for those without yard space but still want to grow tomatoes are a few of the comment topics thus far. Like tomatoes? Throw your 2 cents into the mix!

Here’s a quickie tip for those of you who like to make your own pasta… substitute tomato juice, especially that from your garden tomatoes, for 1/3 of the eggs. You’ll get lower fat pasta with a bit of a sweet tomato flavor.

As for me, need to go look after the tomato plants and the rest of my garden this morning.

Dave

So once you’ve purloined the last crunchy piece of pickly goodness from the jar now what? Dump the pickle juice down the drain and use the jar for nuts, bolts, or root a cutting from that hanging ivy that has already reached the floor? NO! Don’t do that! Shame on you for even thinking about wasting all that pickly goodness.

There are lots of things you can do. Me… I like to take some of the cucumbers I grow, especially the early ones, and pack them back into the same jar/pickle juice and make more pickles! No reason to waste what made what made them pickles in the first place now is there? Wait a couple weeks and PRESTO! more pickles! For some other ideas, here’s a page I came across today with plenty more ideas on what to do with juice once the pickles are gone… Uses for the Juices

I can’t say I’m the biggest sweet pickle fan. I love the dill, garlic dill, and the hot garlic dills. But here’s a recipe for Refrigerator Sweet Pickles a dear family friend shared with me…

“Sweet Lyla Pickles”

In a 1/2 gallon jar with a tight (leak proof) lid combine the following…

-1 1/2 cups of water
-1 1/2 cups of vinegar
-1 1/2 cups of sugar
-1 1/2 tablespoons of Onion Flakes
-1/4 teaspoon of salt
-1/4 teaspoon of celery seed
-1/2 teaspoon of garlic salt
-1/2 teaspoon of celery salt

Cover, and shake the jar until all the sugar dissolves. Fill the jar with sliced cucumbers and place in the refrigerator. Occasionally shake the jar. You’ll have sweet pickles in a few days.

I’ve also used this recipe to make sweet relish as well. Simply cut the recipe down (if you don’t want a half gallon of relish) and instead of slicing the cucumbers, dice them. I’ve also used zucchini instead of cucumbers and it came out great! If you like the “green color” add a drop of green food coloring.

Speaking of zucchini, here’s how I make zucchini burgers.

Zucchini fries anyone? Yep, got a fun and easy way to make those for all you BBQ’ers out there. Not only easy and fun… most tasty!

Dave