Doug Levy Designs

Do you have a Wordpress Blog?

Doug Levy — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 16:41:58 +0000

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of Google confirmed the new notifications via Twitter saying, “we’re kicking off a fresh run to inform webmasters with out-of-date/insecure versions of WordPress.”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

Can you help me with my quest for information

Doug Levy — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 05:35:03 +0000

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

ICANN Votes to Open the Domain Name Floodgates

admin — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 19:20:09 +0000

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

Facebook is up to it’s old tricks

Doug Levy — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 00:33:37 +0000

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

Doug Levy — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 02:46:16 +0000

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

Google Local Business Ads

Doug Levy — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 21:32:32 +0000

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

Google to Re-brand Picasa and Blogger

Doug Levy — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 21:52:36 +0000

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

Do You Have Time to Maintain and Market Your Website?

Doug Levy — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 17:21:53 +0000

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

Important Facts About Your Website

Doug Levy — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 22:22:04 +0000

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

FaceBook “Instant personalization”

Doug Levy — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 23:24:34 +0000

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!