Matt Cutts of Google confirmed the new notifications via Twitter saying, “we’re kicking off a fresh run to inform webmasters with out-of-date/insecure versions of WordPress.”

WordPress blogs are known to be targets for hackers and Google knows this. If you keep your WordPress blog updated to the latest security patches, a hack is less likely to happen. Google feels it is a good idea to remind WordPress blog owners to update their blogs to prevent hacks, malware injections – which can all lead to a site being removed from the Google index.

The latest WordPress version is 3.2.1, if you’re not up to date your losing rankings in Google as you read this message, some servers will allow you to click the “please update now” link at the top of your Dashboard but most secure servers require you to download from WordPress download page and FTP the new version up to your server. BEWARE, replacing versions can crash your current database, make sure you have backed up your current database.

If you are not sure how to perform these tasks please contact your webmaster or Doug Levy Designs can help you!

Doug Levy

www.DougLevyDesigns.com

Doug@douglevydesigns.com

Your feed back would be greatly appreciated.  When you perform a search on Google or an other search engine and you see a paid ad right at the top of the page, but you also see a link with the same name from the non paid links which one do you click on?

The reason for this question is my research shows were getting more clicks from the non paid organic search than the top line 1 paid ad. “Which costs about $3.00 per click.

So the next time you serachc please let me know which link you choose.

You can contact me at doug@douglevydeisgns.com or just post to Facebook.

Thank you,

Doug Levy

Internet domain name overlords ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) have voted on and approved today to open up the world of domain endings to include just about anything a person’s heart desires. The margin was 13-1 with two abstaining.

Generic top-level domains (gTLDs) are currently limited to 22 across the internet. They include your basic .com, .org and .net as well as some more specific endings you have probably seen around the interwebs like .uk and .eu.

Now, the ICANN will be lifting almost all the restrictions on gTLDs. Read More Here at WebproNews.com To learn more about “gTLDs” Read Here

What does this all mean? It means it’s going to cost you more money to protect your domain name or BRAND. The internet if full of Squatters, which are companies that find similar domains to yours, It’s like holding a domain ransom an example is a site called  “TheOnLineClubhouse.com, I have been getting e-mails wanting them to BID on “OnLineClubhouse.com and On-LineClubhouse.com, and not for your typical $15.00 more like $100’s to $1000’s

Most businesses get there domain name, have there site built and accept whatever business they get from it, the smart ones hire firms like Doug Levy Designs to maintain and update there site on a weekly or monthly basis and to help protect them from this ever changing internet. There return is far greater than your basic online business.  Doug Levy Designs is always looking for ways to improve our clients ROI and protecting similar domains is a big part of it.

If you would like to know more please e-mail us at doug@douglevydesigns.com or follow our RSS feed to keep up on the latest Internet Marketing News.

Doug Levy

Once again Facebook has decided to display your information without warning! Mobile phone numbers are now displaying in your contact list ( friends list). If you would like to stop them once again your directions are below.
Go to the top right of the screen > click ACCOUNT.
> click EDIT FRIENDS
> click CONTACTS (left side)
You will see that all numbers from your phone (FB friends or not) are published.
TO REMOVE, click on “this page.” (on the right column).
If you need any assistance you can contact me at Doug@DougLevyDesigns.com

Doug Levy

Google Plus Has Circles – Google+ Circles is an attempt to address that challenge. The HTML5 system allows users to drag-and-drop their friends into different social circles for friends, family, classmates, co-workers and other custom groups. Users can drag groups of friends in and out of these circles.

What a concept I can choose who I want to share items with, which means that every friend, relative and most important client does NOT get to see that my friend was eating at PF Chang’s! Once again keep your eye on Google, they might make Facebook the next MySpace!

Stay tuned for more updates,

Doug Levy

Do you own a business? Do you have a Google business listings? You better double check if your listing is still active, Google has deactivated several accounts that have been running for years and are providing no notice to the business owners that there listing were deactivated. We believe it is part of Google’s new “Plus 1″ campaign, be sure to log onto your business account and verify your still active.

If you need any assistance please contact me at doug@douglevydesigns.com, stay tuned for more changes

Doug Levy

As reported by Mashable Google is re-branding Picasa and Blogger to Google Photos and Google Blogs. Not to worry if you use these services everything should stay the same but will have a new look, I suspect there might be some hiccups along the way but your data should be fine.

Mashable also mentioned this should take place in about 6 weeks which is the same time Google is going to delete all private Google profiles.

What are profiles? This is from Google’s help page which has not confirmed to deletion of PRIVATE profiles:

Your profile is the way you present yourself on Google products and across the web. With your profile, you can manage the information that people see–such as your bio, contact details, and links to other sites about you or created by you.

If you choose to create a profile, at a minimum, your first name, last name, gender and profile photo will be public on the Internet. You can then provide a variety of additional information about yourself in your profile. You can also enable people to contact you without displaying your contact information.

Important points about profiles

• Changing your name in your profile changes your name in your Google Account as well. This change will be reflected in other Google products you sign in to with your account, like Gmail and Docs.
• Deleting your profile won’t delete your Google Account.
• People who have your email address might see a link to the profile that’s associated with that email address.

Let’s stay tuned to see where they are going

The better question is “WILL” you “MAKE” the time to improve your website efficiency? I hear it all the time I just don’t “HAVE” time! Studies prove if you don’t make the time, you may end up with more time than you want! Internet marketing is one of the lowest costs to return in advertising “IF YOU MAKE THE TIME” to make your website and social media work for you.

What is your time worth? You can spend as little as $49.95 a month to keep your website “FRESH” and have your website metrics analyzed, what are you waiting for? The bottom line is you “CAN’T” afford not to take your internet marketing seriously!

Call us (323) 987-1891 or e-mail us at doug@douglevydesigns.com to find out how we can help you!

Have a profitable day,

Doug Levy

When creating a website strategy remember these important  facts:

• Trust – Does your website make people feel good about trusting your product or services?

• Expertise – Does your website show your expertise in your field? Will they come to you for answers?

• Credibility – How long have you been in business? Who are your clients? Do you have special awards or degrees?

• Likeability – Do you offer a product or service that will make your potential client feel better about themselves? Will they want to talk to there friends and coworkers about your product or service?

• Social Media – Are you involved on Facebook, Twitter, Blogging and LinkedIn? You may wonder how does Social Media affect my business! Your website is a great tool, but sharing your professional advise in these networks can ensure our goals above!

When was the last time you reevaluated your website or made updates?

Have you every had a click through analysis?

Is your blog intergrated into your other social networking tools?

If you answered NO to any of these questions, it may be time to invest some time into your website and your financial livelihood .

Contact me at (310) 987-1891 or e-mail doug@douglevydesigns.com

Doug Levy

Are you protecting your information and the information of your friends, Take a look to see what your sharing and why!

There is a Privacy setting called “Instant personalization” that shares data with non-Facebook websites and it is automatically set to “Enable.” If you have not yet turned it off, you may want to use the steps below to protect your information:

> Go to Account (top right of your home page)

> Privacy Settings

> Applications and Websites (bottom right)

> Instant Personalization

> Edit Settings

> Close video (unless you want to know more)

> un-check “Enable”

If the people you know unknowingly have this feature enabled, they will be sharing information about you, so please let them know.

If you have any questions on how to fix this on Facebook, I would be glad to help!

Over the last few months we were looking for services such as catering, entertainment, bakery, florist, photographer and more. I was shocked on how many of these companies lacked in their web presence.   Some had no website and others were so old that I didn’t know if they were still in business or if I could trust them. Luckily we were able to get answers to our concerns through our event planner and all of the business we used were great but all I could wonder is why are they not represented properly on the World Wide Web. So I asked each of them and here are some of the answers I received:

• I just never have the time to update my site

o    What this really means is I don’t make time to find the right person to handle my web presence. For as low as $25.00 a month, you can have your website updated every month. Where else can you find that kind of exposure for that price and have the professional appearance your customers want and need?

• My friend is taking care of the site for me

o    Why pay a professional when you can have a friend do it?   Because this is your business and your website is one of the most important aspects of your business. If you don’t care about being professional why would your potential clients think you are professional? A professional web designer can give you the most return for your dollar over any other form of advertising out there.

• Our website doesn’t bring us much business

o    Shocking, how can it if you don’t take pride in your web presence? You would be amazed on how much business you can generate from your website by just making a small investment to create something fresh and friendly. Dollar for dollar a website is the cheapest advertising you will ever pay for and has unlimited potential when used properly.

These companies provided great services and I would recommend them to anyone, but I would not tell them to check out their websites because they are actually much better than they appear. As you can imagine I’m giving them great reviews but it  would still make you question if they are any good!

Don’t wait get your website updated or give it a complete overall it may be the smartest business decision you ever made.

Did you know that most websites are never updated. We get asked all the time why should I pay a web designer a monthly fee when they can just pay a nominal hosting fee?

One of the reasons you have a website is to try to stay a head of your competitors and to have top placement in all of the search engines that we all depend on as owners or potential clients. If you are not updating you website at least once a month your investment is deteriorating, fresh content is one of the keys to a successful marketing plan whether your adding the latest products, new procedures, change of staff or offering special discounts. ALL search engines are looking for new and fresh content, pay the small monthly fees to have your website maintained it will save you money in the long run.

The World Wide Web is one of the greatest marketing tools your company can use and the cost is minimal. Don’t forget about Social Networking and blogging in addition to your website, you will be amazed how many referrals you can attract just by friends and the search engines love to display all of the this information too!

If your website needs a face-lift or you just need to update some content, contact us at doug@douglevydesigns.com and see how we can improve your bottom line!