Alt Attribute & Search engine optimization

SEO Optimization images has become increasingly more essential in SEO (Seo optimization) for websites. The ALT attribute is a critical step that is sometimes forgotten. This is often a lost chance of better rankings.

In Google's webmaster guidelines, they advise using alternative text for that images on your web site:

Images:. Use the alt attribute to supply descriptive text. In addition, we recommend utilizing a human-readable caption and descriptive text around the image.

Why would they ask us to do that? The answer is simple, really; search engines like google have a similar problem as blind users. They cannot begin to see the images.

Many webmasters and inexperienced or unethical SEOs abuse the use of this attribute, trying to stuff it with keywords, looking to achieve a particular keyword density, which isn't as relevant for rankings now since it was previously.

On the other hand, high keyword density can, on some search engines like google, trigger spam filters, which may result in a penalty for your site's ranking. Even without this type of penalty, your site's rankings will not benefit from this plan.
This method also puts persons who use screen readers in a greater disadvantage. Screen readers are software-based tools that really read aloud the items in what's shown on the screen. In browsing the web, the alt attributes of images are read aloud as well.

Imagine listening to a paragraph of text that is followed by repetitions of numerous keywords. The page would be not even close to accessible, and, to put it mildly, will be found quite annoying.
What is an Alt attribute?

An ALT attribute should not be used like a description or perhaps a label to have an image, though lots of people use it in that fashion. Although it may appear natural to assume that alternate text is really a label or perhaps a description, it is not!

What used inside an image's alt attribute ought to be its text equivalent and convey exactly the same information or serve exactly the same purpose that the image would.

The thing is to supply the same functional information that a visual user would see. The alt attribute text should be the "stand in" in the event that the image is not available. Ask yourself this question: If you were to replace the image with the text, would most users receive the same basic information, and would it create the same response?
A few examples:

 

Some SEO Optimization Tips

If a search button is a magnifier or binoculars its alt text ought to be 'search' or 'find' not 'magnifying glass' or 'binoculars'.

If the image is supposed to convey the literal items in the image, a description is suitable.

If it is designed to convey data, then that information is what is appropriate.

If it's designed to convey using a function, then the function is what should be used.

Some Alt Attribute Guidelines:

Always add alt attributes to images. Alt is mandatory for accessibility as well as for valid XHTML.

For images that play only a decorative role in the page, make use of an empty alt (i.e. alt="") or a CSS background image to ensure that reading browsers don't bother users by uttering such things as "spacer image".

Keep in mind that it is the function of the image we're trying to convey. For instance; any button images should not range from the word "button" in the alt text. They ought to emphasize the action performed through the button.

Alt text should be based on context. The same image in a different context may need drastically different alt text.

Try to flow alt text with the rest of the text because that's the way it is going to be read with adaptive technologies like screen readers. Someone hearing your page should hardly be aware that a graphic image is there.
Please keep in mind that using an alt attribute for each image is required to meet the minimum WAI requirements, which are used as the benchmark for accessibility laws in UK and also the rest of Europe. They are also necessary to meet "Section 508" accessibility requirements in the US.

It is important to categorize non-text content into three levels:

Eye-Candy
Mood-Setting
Content and Function

I. Eye-Candy

Eye-Candy are things that serve no purpose other than to create a site visually appealing/attractive and (in many cases) fulfill the marketing departments. There is no content value (though there might be value to a sighted user).

Never alt-ify eye-candy unless there is something there which will enhance the usability of the site for someone using a non-visual user agent. Make use of a null alt attribute or background images in CSS for eye-candy.

II. Mood-Setting

This is actually the middle layer of graphics which might actually set the atmosphere or set happens as it were. These graphics aren't direct content and may not be considered essential, but they're essential in they help frame what's going on.

Attempt to alt-ify the second group as makes sense and is relevant. There might be times when doing this may be annoying or detrimental to other users. Then try to avoid it.

For example; Alt text that's identical to adjacent text is unnecessary, and an irritant to screen reader users. I suggest alt="" or background CSS images in such instances. But sometimes, it's vital that you get this content in there for all users.

Usually it depends on context. Exactly the same image inside a different context may require drastically different alt text. Obviously, content should always be fully available. The way you use this case is a judgment call.

III. Content and Function

This is when the look may be the actual content. Always alt-ify content and functional images. Title and long description attributes can also be so as.
The main reason many authors can't figure out why their alt text isn't working is that they don't know why the pictures exist. You need to determined precisely what function a picture serves. Think about what it's about the image that's important to the page's intended audience.

Every graphic has a reason behind standing on that page: because it either improves the theme/ mood/ atmosphere or it is advisable to what are the page is trying to describe. Knowing what the image is perfect for makes alt text simpler to write. And exercise writing them definitely helps.
A way to look into the usefulness of alternative text is to imagine reading the page on the phone to someone. What would you say when encountering a particular image to make the page understandable to the listener?

Aside from the alt attribute you've got a couple more tools at your disposal for images.
First, in level of descriptiveness title is in between alt and longdesc. It adds useful information and can add flavor. The title attribute is optionally rendered by the user agent. Remember they're invisible and never shown like a "tooltip" when focus is received through the keyboard. (So much for device independence). So make use of the title attribute only for advisory information.
Second, the longdesc attribute points towards the Link to a full description of the image. If the information contained in an image is important towards the concept of the page (i.e. some important content would be lost if the image was removed), an extended description than the "alt" attribute can reasonably display should be used. It may provide for rich, expressive documentation of a visual image.

It ought to be used when alt and title are insufficient to embody the visual qualities of the image. As Clark [1] states, "A longdesc is a long description of the image...The aim is to use any length of description essential to impart the facts of the graphic.

It wouldn't be remiss to hope that a long description conjures a picture - the image - within the mind's eye, an analogy that holds true even for the totally blind."

Although the alt attribute is mandatory for web accessibility as well as for valid (X)HTML, not all images need alternative text, long descriptions, or titles.

Oftentimes, you are best just choosing your gut instinct -- if it's not essential to incorporate it, and if you don't have a strong urge to do it, don't add that longdesc.

However, if it's necessary for the entire page to operate, then you've to add the alt text (or title or longdesc).

What's necessary and what's not depends a great deal about the function of your image and its context about the page.

Exactly the same image may need alt text (or title or longdesc) in a single spot, although not in another. If an image provides absolutely no content or functional information alt="" or background CSS images might be appropriate to make use of. However, if the image provides content or adds functional information an alt will be required and perhaps a long description would be so as. Oftentimes this type of thing is a judgement call.

Image Search Engine Optimization Tips

Listed below are key stages in optimizing images:

Select a logical file name that reinforces the keywords. You can use hyphens in the file name to isolate the keyword, but avoid to exceeding two hyphens. Avoid using underscores like a word separator, such as "brilliant-diamonds.jpg";

Label the file extension. For instance, when the image search engine sees a ".jpg" (JPEG) file extension, it's likely to assume the file is a photo, and if it sees a ".gif" (GIF) file extension, it's likely to assume that it is a graphic;

Ensure that the written text at the image that's highly relevant to that image.
Again, do not lose an excellent opportunity to help your website with your images searching engines. Begin using these steps to rank better on all of the engines and drive increased traffic to your site TODAY.

SEO Optimization

Note the Client companies are based in either the US or Canada and the “percentage of traffic outside key service areas” are based on each client’s target market.

For instance, if a client only services the US only, any traffic outside the US would be traffic outside their service area.

Evaluating Your Own Traffic For Relevance

To use our own web design and Internet marketing business as an example, we service both Canada and the US, but were getting 24% of our traffic from other international countries. Big portions of that traffic were companies looking to sell their services to us.

These international visitors would fill in our web forms and call us to inquire, untimely skewing our website analytics data by not giving us a real understanding of how our website was performing to quality prospects.

A solution had to be implemented to significantly reduce the amount of resources we were dedicating to people outside our service areas.

Ultimately, we didn’t want to be contacted from people we couldn’t help. The four possible solutions we considered were:

1. Create a custom report in Google Analytics to filter out the unwanted data (reporting related)


2. Adjust the content of our website (website related)


3. Block the traffic from specific Countries from viewing our website (server related)


4. Don’t change anything.

Option #1

When evaluating the first solution, creating a custom report to filter out this data in Google Analytics, this would clear up our analytics data. Implementing a filter would provide a more realistic picture of quality prospects we could service in our geographic area instead of those prospects or solicitors in other counties we don’t service.

This option didn’t run the risk of blocking any traffic or robots that we do want. It’s also a simple filter to add in Google Analytics. We set up another Profile with the country exclusions filters. A new Profile was the preferred approach, rather than going through the extra steps of creating Custom Reports.

However, setting up analytical filters doesn’t fully resolve the issue, since these visitors could still access our site, fill in web forms, and contact us, ultimately wasting resources that we could dedicate elsewhere.

It wouldn’t give us a true picture of what was going on. It also wouldn’t resolve the problem – we didn’t want to be contacted by companies from some outside countries.

Option #2

Updating the website content to say you only service a specific area is another solution that we considered.  This would inject more geo-targeted keywords into your site, which would help in local SEO. Adding a graphical map, drop-down options and/or links that allow the visitor to select their country would help qualify visitors.

Some of the downfalls of this option include spending a much higher amount of time to implement versus the other options. The success of this would also be dependent on how honest the visitor is.

Assuming visitors are reading your website content, adding geo-targeted keywords into your site would set a clearer expectation of service area delivery. However, this option still doesn’t resolve the issue of sharing contact information that allows unsolicited visitors to contact us and invalid web form data.

Option #3

How about blocking or filtering visitors automatically based on their IP address? When considering to block website visitors by IP it’s important to first evaluate the reliability of the IP address(es). The accuracy of an IP list is over 99.5% on a country level and 80% on a city level. The smaller the location, the less reliable the IP address.

Internet Service Providers change IP addresses they designate to customers. Some change them more frequently than others, which is why you want to keep the database of IPs updated. Scheduling a monthly update is typically a good routine if city level IP authentication is required. Country level is much more static.

The benefit of blocking the country via IP address would not only clean up analytical data, but also ensure our sales funnel was more efficient and provide a more accurate picture of real prospects in all systems. We needed to consider other issues in this approach.

One concern was the potential for a search crawler coming from an IP in the location we were planning on blocking. For example, there was a possibility that Google’s search crawler would also be blocked if it came from the same country. The implementation of this option is more technical. One would need to obtain a list of IP addresses for the desired locations and update the websites htaccess file.

In our example, the inquiries from some countries became so frequent that we couldn’t ignore it any longer. After much debate, we decided to ban the countries; however, we would only ban one at a time to evaluate the effects.

For instance, one of the largest traffic sources, accounting for approximately 20% of this, was from India, a market we don’t service. These Indian visitors were companies looking to sell their services to us.

We executed the ban in the polite Canadian way. We also implemented the Google Analytics profile with the country filter to monitor future website statistics versus the past.

Those visitors that came from our blocked list would land on a different page that displayed a nice message. It read: “Thank you for visiting. However, we don’t provide services in your area.”

In sum, the tests have gone over very well. Banning the country from our website has significantly cut down the number of unsolicited calls, emails and web form requests. It also gave us a much more accurate picture of how our website was performing within our own target market and service area.

Considerations For Blocking Traffic By Location

If you’re considering this strategy, some factors to consider when filtering visitors include:

• Why do you want to filter website traffic?


• Which locations would you want to filter?


• How much traffic do you currently get from locations outside your service area?


• How important is this traffic?


• How to funnel visitors outside your service areas?


• The accuracy of the IP addresses locations in mind.


• Effects of non-human visitors.

A few months after we implemented this, we received a direct mail package that contained pens with our logo on them from a company that wished to sell us branded pens.

Guess what it said under our logo? “Thank you for visiting. However, we don’t provide services in your area.” We had a good laugh. Someone obviously didn’t read what they printed. It was evidence that our website block was working and a nice souvenir.

The key takeaway, as always, is monitor your traffic and conversions. Track where your quality traffic is coming from and decide for yourself if you should block the traffic of certain countries. Make sure to proceed with caution to ensure that you are not missing some opportunities.

Think outside of the box for other ideas of how you can use that traffic. Perhaps referring the traffic to a partner or creating a unique service for specific markets is another option to consider.

Opinions expressed in the article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land.

Related Topics: 100% Organic - Search Engine Optimization Tips | SEO: General

Note the Client companies are based in either the US or Canada and the “percentage of traffic outside key service areas” are based on each client’s target market.

For instance, if a client only services the US only, any traffic outside the US would be traffic outside their service area.

Evaluating Your Own Traffic For Relevance

To use our own web design and Internet marketing business as an example, we service both Canada and the US, but were getting 24% of our traffic from other international countries. Big portions of that traffic were companies looking to sell their services to us.

These international visitors would fill in our web forms and call us to inquire, untimely skewing our website analytics data by not giving us a real understanding of how our website was performing to quality prospects.

A solution had to be implemented to significantly reduce the amount of resources we were dedicating to people outside our service areas.

Ultimately, we didn’t want to be contacted from people we couldn’t help. The four possible solutions we considered were:

1. Create a custom report in Google Analytics to filter out the unwanted data (reporting related)


2. Adjust the content of our website (website related)


3. Block the traffic from specific Countries from viewing our website (server related)


4. Don’t change anything.

Option #1

When evaluating the first solution, creating a custom report to filter out this data in Google Analytics, this would clear up our analytics data. Implementing a filter would provide a more realistic picture of quality prospects we could service in our geographic area instead of those prospects or solicitors in other counties we don’t service.

This option didn’t run the risk of blocking any traffic or robots that we do want. It’s also a simple filter to add in Google Analytics. We set up another Profile with the country exclusions filters. A new Profile was the preferred approach, rather than going through the extra steps of creating Custom Reports.

However, setting up analytical filters doesn’t fully resolve the issue, since these visitors could still access our site, fill in web forms, and contact us, ultimately wasting resources that we could dedicate elsewhere.

It wouldn’t give us a true picture of what was going on. It also wouldn’t resolve the problem – we didn’t want to be contacted by companies from some outside countries.

Option #2

Updating the website content to say you only service a specific area is another solution that we considered.  This would inject more geo-targeted keywords into your site, which would help in local SEO. Adding a graphical map, drop-down options and/or links that allow the visitor to select their country would help qualify visitors.

Some of the downfalls of this option include spending a much higher amount of time to implement versus the other options. The success of this would also be dependent on how honest the visitor is.

Assuming visitors are reading your website content, adding geo-targeted keywords into your site would set a clearer expectation of service area delivery. However, this option still doesn’t resolve the issue of sharing contact information that allows unsolicited visitors to contact us and invalid web form data.

Option #3

How about blocking or filtering visitors automatically based on their IP address? When considering to block website visitors by IP it’s important to first evaluate the reliability of the IP address(es). The accuracy of an IP list is over 99.5% on a country level and 80% on a city level. The smaller the location, the less reliable the IP address.

Internet Service Providers change IP addresses they designate to customers. Some change them more frequently than others, which is why you want to keep the database of IPs updated. Scheduling a monthly update is typically a good routine if city level IP authentication is required. Country level is much more static.

The benefit of blocking the country via IP address would not only clean up analytical data, but also ensure our sales funnel was more efficient and provide a more accurate picture of real prospects in all systems. We needed to consider other issues in this approach.

One concern was the potential for a search crawler coming from an IP in the location we were planning on blocking. For example, there was a possibility that Google’s search crawler would also be blocked if it came from the same country. The implementation of this option is more technical. One would need to obtain a list of IP addresses for the desired locations and update the websites htaccess file.

In our example, the inquiries from some countries became so frequent that we couldn’t ignore it any longer. After much debate, we decided to ban the countries; however, we would only ban one at a time to evaluate the effects.

For instance, one of the largest traffic sources, accounting for approximately 20% of this, was from India, a market we don’t service. These Indian visitors were companies looking to sell their services to us.

We executed the ban in the polite Canadian way. We also implemented the Google Analytics profile with the country filter to monitor future website statistics versus the past.

Those visitors that came from our blocked list would land on a different page that displayed a nice message. It read: “Thank you for visiting. However, we don’t provide services in your area.”

In sum, the tests have gone over very well. Banning the country from our website has significantly cut down the number of unsolicited calls, emails and web form requests. It also gave us a much more accurate picture of how our website was performing within our own target market and service area.

Considerations For Blocking Traffic By Location

If you’re considering this strategy, some factors to consider when filtering visitors include:

• Why do you want to filter website traffic?


• Which locations would you want to filter?


• How much traffic do you currently get from locations outside your service area?


• How important is this traffic?


• How to funnel visitors outside your service areas?


• The accuracy of the IP addresses locations in mind.


• Effects of non-human visitors.

A few months after we implemented this, we received a direct mail package that contained pens with our logo on them from a company that wished to sell us branded pens.

Guess what it said under our logo? “Thank you for visiting. However, we don’t provide services in your area.” We had a good laugh. Someone obviously didn’t read what they printed. It was evidence that our website block was working and a nice souvenir.

The key takeaway, as always, is monitor your traffic and conversions. Track where your quality traffic is coming from and decide for yourself if you should block the traffic of certain countries. Make sure to proceed with caution to ensure that you are not missing some opportunities.

Think outside of the box for other ideas of how you can use that traffic. Perhaps referring the traffic to a partner or creating a unique service for specific markets is another option to consider.

Opinions expressed in the article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land.

Related Topics: 100% Organic - Search Engine Optimization Tips | SEO: General

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China is a notoriously tough market for American brands. The last few years has seen tech giants like Google struggle to do business due to restrictive censorship and retail giants like Best Buy and Home Depot have found that heavy price competition makes it hard to gain a toehold. Yet, despite the conventional wisdom, Apple’s business in China is booming and it’s not lower prices but better presentation that’s driving their success.

The Chinese economy is having some of its best years ever due to the rising world demand for consumer electronics, much of which is manufactured in China’s city-sized factories. The Mercury News reports that this has led to the average Chinese citizen being more flush with cash than ever before and ready to spend it on what would previously be deemed as unaffordable luxury.

Paul French of Shanghai-based Access Asia indicates that the increase in middle class affluence is behind the increase in purchasing power. “There is now enough of an urban middle class with enough money to afford Apple products. Five years ago — or even two or three years ago — there weren’t enough of those people.”

Five years ago, Apple didn’t have a retail store in China, now it has four, including a stunning split-level glass and metal flagship store in Sanlitun, an area of Beijing known more for its nightlife than its retail outlets. Those stores aren’t barely surviving either, with $2.6 billion in revenue this year, four times what we saw last year from Apple in China. This should mean that Apple is fighting the price war well in China, offering its products for less than they can be purchased in the US, but that’s not actually true. In fact, Apple sells a comparatively specced 13-inch Macbook Air for $180 more in China than it does stateside.

This success seems to fly in the face of conventional wisdom, typically premium products have not sold well in cost conscious China. Some, like Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, say that Apple will have to eventually compete on price or risk losing the Chinese consumer. “The iPhone is going to be huge in China. That’s a given.” he tells the Mercury News. “But if Apple wants it to flow out across China, it has to come up with lower price points.”

Yet Apple shows no signs of slowing down in the Chinese market, which is projected to account for 10 percent of Apple’s revenue within 5 years.

When asked, locals said that in a country where the people like to try products out before they purchase them, Apple is doing the best job of presenting those products. Apple’s retail stores offer the Chinese consumer a chance to test the products in a beautiful and visually stimulating atmosphere and those efforts are paying off with big sales numbers. This kind of attention to the senses and emotions of the consumer wasn’t pioneered by Apple of course, but they are one of the first major companies to bring that kind of experience to China’s city centers in a big way.

This difference in the way that the products are presented is doing its job in separating Apple’s products from the rest of the pack almost everywhere that its retail stores are located, but nowhere is that effect felt more than in China. A country where consumers are hungry for polished products presented in a stimulating atmosphere and they finally have the cash to afford them.

China is a notoriously tough market for American brands. The last few years has seen tech giants like Google struggle to do business due to restrictive censorship and retail giants like Best Buy and Home Depot have found that heavy price competition makes it hard to gain a toehold. Yet, despite the conventional wisdom, Apple’s business in China is booming and it’s not lower prices but better presentation that’s driving their success.

The Chinese economy is having some of its best years ever due to the rising world demand for consumer electronics, much of which is manufactured in China’s city-sized factories. The Mercury News reports that this has led to the average Chinese citizen being more flush with cash than ever before and ready to spend it on what would previously be deemed as unaffordable luxury.

Paul French of Shanghai-based Access Asia indicates that the increase in middle class affluence is behind the increase in purchasing power. “There is now enough of an urban middle class with enough money to afford Apple products. Five years ago — or even two or three years ago — there weren’t enough of those people.”

Five years ago, Apple didn’t have a retail store in China, now it has four, including a stunning split-level glass and metal flagship store in Sanlitun, an area of Beijing known more for its nightlife than its retail outlets. Those stores aren’t barely surviving either, with $2.6 billion in revenue this year, four times what we saw last year from Apple in China. This should mean that Apple is fighting the price war well in China, offering its products for less than they can be purchased in the US, but that’s not actually true. In fact, Apple sells a comparatively specced 13-inch Macbook Air for $180 more in China than it does stateside.

This success seems to fly in the face of conventional wisdom, typically premium products have not sold well in cost conscious China. Some, like Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, say that Apple will have to eventually compete on price or risk losing the Chinese consumer. “The iPhone is going to be huge in China. That’s a given.” he tells the Mercury News. “But if Apple wants it to flow out across China, it has to come up with lower price points.”

Yet Apple shows no signs of slowing down in the Chinese market, which is projected to account for 10 percent of Apple’s revenue within 5 years.

When asked, locals said that in a country where the people like to try products out before they purchase them, Apple is doing the best job of presenting those products. Apple’s retail stores offer the Chinese consumer a chance to test the products in a beautiful and visually stimulating atmosphere and those efforts are paying off with big sales numbers. This kind of attention to the senses and emotions of the consumer wasn’t pioneered by Apple of course, but they are one of the first major companies to bring that kind of experience to China’s city centers in a big way.

This difference in the way that the products are presented is doing its job in separating Apple’s products from the rest of the pack almost everywhere that its retail stores are located, but nowhere is that effect felt more than in China. A country where consumers are hungry for polished products presented in a stimulating atmosphere and they finally have the cash to afford them.

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It’s not such a wonderful time to be a doctor, patient, hospital, health plan or pharma company, but judging by the quality and quantity of entries received for this edition of the HWR, it’s a wonderful time to be a wonk.

A couple weeks ago CMS released draft rules for Accountable Care Organizations. Several bloggers weighed in on that development:

• Mark McClellan and Elliott Fisher at Health Affairs provide some historical context and argue that “those who care deeply about health care reform all have a common interest in the success of ACOs as a way of avoiding more classic fee-for-service payment cuts to providers.”


• On a more downbeat note, The Road to Health concludes, “Dr. Berwick and his colleagues at CMS appear to have taken the ACO concept and made it into a financial program that only delusional practice administrators, or physician organizations bent on financial self-destruction, could love.”


• The Healthcare IT Guy expects ACOs to be “far more lucrative and disruptive than Meaningful Use and likely to yield more patient quality improvements.”


• GE Healthcare puts the emphasis on ACO change management challenges: “Healthcare executives and management teams are left to focus on preparing their organizations for a cultural shift of seismic proportions.”


• HealthBlawg reviews the proposed rules and produces 8 takeaways. #2: “This is the Frankenstein regulation: A Medicare beneficiary must sit on the board of the ACO, CMS must approve all marketing materials before they are used.”

In the midst of the battle over funding the 2011 budget, House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan came out with a plan to radically restructure Medicare and Medicaid starting in 2012:

• The Apothecary likes much of what he sees and thinks the proposal may force Democrats to devise a credible plan of their own


• John C. Goodman’s Health Policy Blog contrasts PPACA and the Ryan plan. “Obviously, the path we are on leads to an impossible place. So the only question is whether we are going to get off the current path in a planned, orderly way or whether we are going to let unplanned chaos do the trick.”


• Wright on Health is less impressed and wonders, “if Rep. Ryan is so adamant about reducing the deficit, why is he cutting taxes for the wealthy and cutting programs for the poor and the elderly?”


• Managed Care Matters is decidedly unswayed. “If you were looking for real solutions to the health cost problem, you’re going to be sorely disappointed… Unfortunately, he’s fallen into the same trap his Democratic colleagues did with their version of health reform – the Ryan plan does little to address costs.”


• The Incidental Economist takes issue with Ryan’s plan to convert Medicaid to block grants and cut spending. “Should Medicaid be cut back, more people will be uninsured. Contrary to what some wish you to believe, those who become uninsured will suffer worse health outcomes”

As if the ACO rules and Ryan plan weren’t enough, there’s more on Medicare in the blogosphere:

• The Covert Rationing Blog –always good for a lighthearted pick me up– “asserts that we are one giant step closer to the day when it will become illegal for all Americans to spend their own money on their own healthcare.”


• Dr. Liberty discusses CMS’s deliberations on whether to pay for Provenge, a pricey prostate drug. “Decisions are made on the basis of politics, and the drive is to cover everything, leading to higher costs.”

Amid all the federal policy blogging, there’s still some room for technology talk:

• Healthcare Talent Transformation has had it with Health Net’s repeated goof up’s leading to loss of confidential data. Although it may seem like there’s not much the average person can do, the blog argues, “You can make an impact on the security of your sensitive data by conducting due diligence when it comes to your insurance provider.”


• The Healthcare Blog offers a video collage of the new Kaiser Permanente Center for Total Health. “The Center is  a pretty fascinating place–part tech and idea showcase and part meeting room. Certainly no other health care organization that I’m aware of has spent so much on a place designed to stimulate the imagination and enhance conversation–under the nose of the folks on Capitol Hill.”


• Meaningful HIT News features a podcast with mHealth Initiative’s Peter Waegemann, who’s shifted over from EMRs to ride the mobile wave


• Healthcare Economist delves into new papers that, “examined how to develop accurate algorithms to account for cancer stage in studies using claims data.”

It was encouraging to receive a couple submissions about  journalism:

• Disease Care Management Blog asks, “Is the kerfuffle over National Public Radio (NPR) the long delayed comeuppance for liberal bias run amok, or a narrow-minded attack on the inconvenient truths from journalistic excellence?” The blog reaches into the world of medicine and discusses of “framing” and its impact on patient decision making to provide an answer


• HealthNews ReviewBlog cites, “daily evidence of the need for improvement in health care journalism – especially when we see examples like hype of a tiny, preliminary study of strawberries for esophageal cancer.”

We always have room in the Health Wonk Review for some posts on medical ethics:

• Nuts for Healthcare looks at the pharma industry and concludes, “Doctors need to take a more definitive stand against the specter of industry influence. A good target? Industry sponsorship of continuing medical education.”


• Health Care Renewal is concerned that so-called government run programs are more private than we think. “The majority of Medicaid has been out-sourced to private health care insurance companies… We need to have some real discussions about the rise of corporatism in US health care, in other aspects of US society and around the world.”

And finally, a few odds and ends

• Workers’ Comp Insider provides resources for employers concerned about radiation exposure


• Colorado Health Insurance Insider chronicles the decline of bipartisanship in the creation of a health insurance exchange for that state. “Healthcare reform has become such a polarized topic that it’s difficult for lawmakers to have any stance other than for it or against it.  Even though the health insurance exchanges would be marketplaces that sell private health insurance, the word ‘exchange’ has been thrown around so much during the reform debates that many opponents of the PPACA see it as synonymous with ‘ObamaCare.’”


• Last week I went to a health care direct to consumer marketing conference to see former TimeWarner CEO Jerry Levin interviewed by OrganizedWisdom CEO Steve Krein. I also shared my thoughts in the video clip below

Thanks for reading the Health Wonk Review! The Incidental Economist hosts the next edition.

Share

In recent weeks we’ve shared articles on social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and others. Now it’s time to look at how all these tools are changing the way you do business. By the way, we’d like to learn what kind of social media your business is using and why. Be sure to leave a comment below.

Strategy

How to be a social media leader. How to be a social media leader or authority. It’s a question surely on the mind of plenty of small business owners working to learn the vocabulary of the new online media. In the end, it may be easier than it looks. Check these simple tips. Small Business CEO

How to set up a small realization that business blog. Whether practitioners of small business social media nowadays would describe a format as “old school” as blogging as being a part of the social media is uncertain. We certainly consider it to be. In many ways blogging is the cornerstone of a strong online social presence and establishing a blog as the hub of your social media campaign requires learning some basics on establishing a small business blog. Dazzlin Donna

Marketing

How to use social media to build context. Gary Vaynerchuck is arguably one of the most innovative pioneers of the social media marketing approach, but in this interview he argues using the means open to small businesses today isn’t necessarily about the tools, it’s about the context. Find out why. The Rise to the Top

How to grow your social media fan base. Whether it’s Facebook or another comparable site, social media is about being social. To understand why this is harder than it might at first seem, check out this post on growing a social media fan base for your business. Like other online marketing, social media is about content. This post talks about how to use content and other tools to boost your number of fans. Premium SEO Solutions

Operations

How to create Twitter and other social media content. So, we know that using social media and frequently updating with content are the key to an effective social media marketing campaign. But what in the world can you say. As it turns out talking endlessly and pitching endlessly about your business on social media is NOT the answer. Follow this guide to participating effectively in social media WITHOUT being labeled a spammer. What’s your approach? Blog Godown

How bloggers have become much more influential than celebrities. When it comes to influencing purchasing decisions, people are more likely to listen to a blogger than a rock star. That’s according to a recent study suggesting the increased influence social media is having on purchasing decisions. If you haven’t yet considered social media and particularly blogging as part of your marketing campaign, you may want to read more. Fox News

Research

Why social media may not be your best traffic driving tool. A recent study suggests that as a strategy for driving traffic to your Website, social media may not be the best choice. Then again, the study goes on, for brand awareness its effectiveness may be somewhat higher. In the end, it’s important to remember that the tools you use must make sense to your business, says blogger Cynthia Boris. Don’t look to social media as a magic bullet. It’s a useful tool, nothing more. Marketing Pilgrim

How to create a successful social media strategy. Businesses seeking to take advantage of all aspects of the social media need to apply careful planing to their approach. The possibilities for crowdsourcing, studying of online customer conversation and other factors makes innovation easier as well. But with all these possibilities, where should your business begin? A well defined social media strategy is a good first step. 1 to 1 media

How to listen to social media and gain insight about your brand. Someone is talking about your business out there. But what are they saying and is it something you should even be worried about? Monitoring social media for positive and negative comments about your business can be a great strategy for constant innovation. Here’s more about how it works and how you can get involved. InformationWeek

Final Thoughts

Trying to figure out social media. One of the main issues for small businesses today, surprisingly, is not just deciding to implement social media but trying to figure out all of the possible implications. Social media is, after all, more than just a tool. It is a movement as well. The existence of social media is a hard reality and offers opportunities to small business of all kinds. But there are challenges too. Here are some important thoughts. Business 2 Community

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ABC <b>News</b> Exclusive: Pat Tillman&#39;s Mom Wants General Stanley <b>...</b>

ABC News' Jake Tapper reports: President Obama named retired General Stanley McChrystal to co-chair a White House commission on military families this week, but according to perhaps the most prominent military family of the last decade, ...

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Daily Kos: Fox <b>News</b> ties suicide to Obama speech

But with the other option being to talk about the Republican plan to abolish Medicare, apparently politicizing this young man's death looked a whole lot better to Fox News. Pathetic. (h/t Balloon Juice) ...

Roofing Companies Vancouver - 5 Inquiries to Think about

Roofing Vancouver - Frequently Asked Questions

1. Repair or Replace?

There's no opinion as an expert opinion. Most contractors will provide you with a totally free estimate. Get a list of a few trusted contractors and phone them well ahead of time of when you wish to get your roof fixed to help you compare costs and opinions.

2. Beauty versus Practicality?

Discuss this with your spouse or partner. (The kids could care less...at least the children.) The fact is, nobody wants an ugly roof the same as nobody wants to be seen with bed hair. If you've got a great quality roof and you just need to repair it, it's worth it to pay the cost of the original shingle instead of doing patchwork. A roof replacement doesn't happen frequently (we hope!) and thus make a decision that suits you and your loved ones well or it'll stand out like a sore thumb everyday you decide to go home.

3. Must i replace the rooftop so I can sell the home for more?

Think about this cautiously before making a decision. With respect to the roofing material you select, a new roof can last anywhere from twenty, fifty, to one-hundred years! This means you need to check the year of the roof that's currently too deep first. Are you at year 18 of the 20-year warranted roof or year 30 of the 50-year warranted roof? Obviously, the quality is what makes the rooftop last longer, but when you're not likely to remain in your current home throughout your life, the larger expense may not be worth your investment. Although a new roof can enhance the worth of your value, the increase may not be enough to pay for your investment and that's definitely going to hurt your wallet.

4. Could it be a good idea that i can repair the rooftop myself?

Sure it's. Before you do, consult an expert first. You can perform it yourself, but you shouldn't be considered a complete ‘lone ranger.' With respect to the extent of your repair, you may or might not change your mind. Either way, it will help to get a professional eye on the problem first and perhaps a free quote so you can do the math later and see if it's truly worth your time, sweat, and cash to be mister or miss fix-it.

5. Just when was a great time to find the roof replaced?

Weather may cause delays from days to weeks. Most people plan ahead to have their roof replaced in the summer once they know someone is going to be home during the day for a solid fourteen days. Once you've this period in your mind, create a call to some trusted contractor months in advance to obtain a quote. Some companies get reserved fast and chances are, they're probably the most reputable. Preparing in advance from the summer also provides you with time for you to ask around more and compare costs...especially if you want to possess the roof done by a particular date.

 

The Top Roofing Contractor In Vancouver!

It is possible to leak in your home's roof? Perhaps you have lost shingles or tiles in a storm? Have overhanging branches caused damage? Is the roof more than Two decades old and showing its age? Are your gutters overwhelmed and draining poorly?

If the answer to any of these questions is "Yes" it's time to call the top roofing contractor Vancouver - Crown Roofing & Drainage.

For more than a century Crown Roofing has been the roofer of preference among our Vancouver neighbors. We provide complete roofing services, from emergency repairs and roof restoration, to complete roof replacement. All using the finest quality materials, installed with precision and the highest degree of customer service.

YOUR Vancouver ROOF DESERVES NO LESS!

The roof of the Vancouver home is the very first line of defence against wind, rain, snow, ice and other weather conditions. Make sure it is as much as the task. Among Vancouver Roofing companies, only Crown Roofing has the depth of expertise and successful history to make sure your roofing system is going to be properly designed and installed.

NEIGHBORS HELPING NEIGHBORS.

One reason Crown Roofing has been probably the most successful roofing contractor in Vancouver is our resolve for our neighbors. We treat your home as though it were our very own and we were building a roof to protect our very own family. That's what neighbors do, and you can rely on Crown Roofing being here to support you and also back our work. In the end, we've been repairing and replacing roofs in Vancouver since 1902!

GET A FREE INSPECTION AND EVALUATION Of the Vancouver ROOF.

Visit the Roofers Vancouver for any FREE inspection and evaluation of your roof. Make sure you get the very best roof for your Vancouver home, at the best value. We build roofs to last!

 

Tacoma Roofer: Make your Home Beautiful

Not many people view the value of a good roof, your knowledgeable Tacoma Roofer does. From first hand experience, they will be able to tell you why you need a strong, secure, and leak-free roof in your home.

Your local Tacoma Roofing contractor is knowledgeable how important an economic investment your property is for you, especially as it is a long term one. Your house may have been damaged slowly over the years and also you need to take steps to minimize this damage. For a lot of people, keeping their house beautiful is also a matter of pride. You will find those too who'd like to turn their house into a economical and efficient living place. Your homes roof is a valuable part of your property and contributes to each one of the aspects mentioned previously. For this reason, you need to employ the services of qualified a Tacoma Roofing company.

Types of Roofs installed with a Tacoma Roofing company

One of the more prevalent types of roofs are asphalt shingles, steel or metal sheeting, fiberglass, slate and terra cotta tiles.

Each type of roof invites distinct problems, however they can all be easily looked after with a trusted Tacoma Roofing company. It's imperative that you nip roof problems within the bud before they become too costly or dangerous. You are able to schedule an appointment using the Tacoma Roofing contractor to take a look at your roof to see if you will find any issues or potential issues with it. If you will find, they might be in a position to let you know how to deal with them.

A Tacoma Roofing contractor Helps to Build Strong Homes

The exteriors of any house, primarily the roof and gutters, face the onslaught of bitter and varying weather conditions, every single day. Painting, repairing, and cleaning gutters might be necessary. In some instances you may have to replace them completely. Usually, whenever your gutters show signs of trouble, your homes roof must also be inspected for problems. Whatever issues there may be, an experienced Tacoma Roofing company can examine them in detail and suggest the remedy.

If your gutters tend to clog too often, or you will find leaks across the walls of your home, it may imply that there is debris piled up on the roof. Loose branches, piles of leaves, along with other light objects which are swept onto your roof throughout a storm can all contribute towards damaging your homes roof, which damages can be lasting. A knowledgeable Tacoma Roofer will explain that birds, mice, along with other kinds of rodents often build nest within the debris that collects on the roof. While these nests may look rather innocent, they are great at collecting moisture, which can lead to loose shingles, mold, and indoor leaks in your home. Additionally, this may also cause vermin infestation. After a storm, your Tacoma Roofing company will suggest that you inspect your roof for just about any signs of debris or damage.

Reverse Damages by using a Tacoma Roofing company

However top quality the roof might be, it will eventually wear out with time. You will find shingles which are referred to as "25 year" or "30 year" shingles, but those numbers are only associated with warranty produced by the makers. They seldom require that long. Realistically speaking, "25 year" shingles won't last more than a few years. Within an area that is prone to storms, shingles or even the entire roof may need to be replaced every 10 years. With a Tacoma Roofing contractor, the price will be lower than what you think.

If there you lose any shingles, or there is some damage to them, a Tacoma Roofing company can assist you to. Damaged shingles can lead to indoor leaks, since the substrate from the roof becomes exposed to the elements. Shingles that are loose or broken can slip off and pose a possible hazard to people standing below. Missing shingles create a gap that allows rain, wind, ice, and debris to build up under the adjoining shingles, which results in a "domino effect" that affects other shingles and they become loose or broken. A comprehensive investigation will be produced by the local Tacoma Roofing contractor, if you call them track of your suspicions of loose or missing shingles.

Your Tacoma Roofing company will be in a situation to inform you what are the best option is for your roof. In case your roof is not in a good condition, it's advised you have it replaced completely. The Tacoma Roofing company can take you thru the different roofing options available to you which will fit your requirements and your budget.

Tacoma Roofer: Enhancing your Home's Efficiency

Your homes roof shelters you from storms, sleet, and hail. By giving adequate ventilation, your homes roof protects your house from overheating, and by holding within the heat, it keeps your house warm. That's why you ought to ready your roof from indoors as well as outdoors for just about any sort of weather emergency. A professional Tacoma Roofing company can provide assist in this situation.

First of all, inspect your homes roof thoroughly for any and all sorts of kind of damage, before the beginning of a new season. The gutters should be clear, debris shouldn't be piled on or trapped under shingles, there should be no homes of squirrels or birds within the eaves or attic, and the roof ought to be structurally sound. For your last part, you will need the help of your local Tacoma Roofer. It can be quite dangerous to climb onto the roof of your property. This is where the contractor from Tacoma Roofing company is available in. He will check out the strength and security of your roof and shingles, and do a general inspection from the entire roof structure, to make certain that it is in proper working order. They will be able to point towards issues that you need to keep close track of and problems you may not have spotted.

You'll need all of the help you can get from the Tacoma Roofer. You are able to help your roof by installing a gutter guard or leaf cover to help prevent debris from forming inside your gutters. The additional weight of debris prevents the gutters from draining and may even tear them down. Look into the fasteners on your gutters and if they're loose, tighten them. Take steps to change worn screws and brackets. For those who have a chimney in your home, inspect the bricks and mortar signs of wear. A reliable mason could be recommended because of your Tacoma Roofer, if there are any repairs to become done.

Tacoma Roofer: Someone You Can Rely on
In the event that you know or suspect that there is a problem, your Tacoma Roofing company should be contacted. They can use their knowledge and expertise to obtain your home back in ace condition by simply working on the rooftop. Your homes roof deserves attention. So give them a call today, to enable them to get down to working on your roof.

 

What is Difference Between Commercial Roofing Companies From Residential Roofing Companies

If you are considering getting a roofing company to re roof your home or building then you can be wondering what the differences are between residential roofing companies and commercial roofing companies. To begin with, the one huge difference is that often times an industrial roofing company might have signed an agreement with and become obligated to a roofing union in able to focus on union commercial jobs.

If this sounds like the situation then their labor costs will prohibit them from working on non union residential jobs. Beyond that, if a commercial roofing company hasn't signed an agreement having a union they might be outfitted simply for commercial jobs and that means that their workers and equipment might not be in line with smaller residential jobs.

Residential roofing contractors in general tend to run smaller companies and hence, tend to be more capable of bid competitively on residential jobs, which are usually smaller than comercial jobs. Actually, quite often residential roofing contractors will run one man operations, where the contractor that you talk to may be the one that actually does the work on the building.

Also, liability insurance for commercial roofing is more expensive and a larger bond is needed for a commercial roofing work which will make it not economical for any commercial roofer to do residential roofing jobs.

Still one more factor is the fact that commercial jobs can operate on a tighter time period for any quantity of reasons, requiring a commercial contractor to employ a larger crew or crews which again makes smaller jobs not as profitable on their behalf.

 

Distinction between Commercial Roofing and Residential Roofing

Did you know that the rooftop of a building includes a huge effect on the whole structure itself? Damage caused to roofs due to natural or other disasters leads to a considerable loss of property everywhere. The type of materials used to construct the roof which should be sturdy and long-lasting, the way in which the roof has been installed and even its timely maintenance are extremely crucial. There are two kinds of roofs that are used on all the buildings that people see around us: commercial and residential. Although it might seem that commercial roofing is done just for businesses or offices and residential roofing is done for apartments and houses, the truth is the differences tend to be more complex than that.

Residential roofing is generally completed by just one hired contractor but commercial roofing typically takes an entire team to complete the job. This is because an industrial roof is commonly larger in terms of square feet than the usual residential roof.
Commercial roofs need to be made carefully keeping the character and reason for your building in mind. For example, when there is a restaurant within the building then external components like ventilation systems, smoke stacks and pipes is going to be required. Residential roofs usually do not have such components other than a chimney or two at the most.
Commercial roofs tends to be flat in design to support further changes at a later period, whereas most residential roofs have peaks and other architectural features like roof gardens.
Commercial roofing is much more expensive than residential roofing because of the special tools, materials and safety equipment which are needed onsite. Often the patching or maintenance jobs are completed in segments unlike for a residential roof in which the repair or replacement work could be carried out a short while. This really is one more reason why the gear used for residential roofs is usually smaller and less costly too.
Commercial roof installations have a longer time to accomplish compared to residential roof installations and therefore are usually constructed in large sections. In this phase however, it is important to ensure that there are no leakages, cracks or any other visible deterioration signs as it can cause considerable damage to the whole building.
It is important to install the right roof for a building depending on its purpose. Ensure that you hire a construction company that utilizes top notch materials and has the best equipment for the job or neglect the may turn to be considered a huge loss later.

 

Commercial Roofing Contractors: How to purchase a Qualified Commercial Roofing Company

If your clients are looking to have work done on its roof, it is important to work with commercial roofing contractors that have a keen knowledge of any special needs that a business might have. For example, a roofing job is often disruptive for the operation of economic as always. For this reason, it might be necessary for the business to become temporarily shut down, or the roofing to occur after business hours have ended. A roofer that understands these needs can function together with a business to make sure that these types of issues are minimized.

The first thing that a business must do when it is trying to find commercial roofing contractors is to discover who other businesses in the area will work through. Obviously, this article not be helpful whether it comes as an indicator from competitors, but you will find circumstances in which it's not too difficult to find these details from suppliers or retailers. Since roofing isn't an industry-specific service, this information is easily available.

It is a good idea for any business to get in touch with at least three commercial roofing contractors to create bids on the price. In this way, the company can often get a better price. It's also important to ensure that each one of the roofing contractors is licensed and bonded. This information are available by permitting touching their state contractor's board. This makes it possible to determine whether there have been any claims filed against the company previously.

When examining bids, it is just as vital to look at what services are now being offered and which products will be used because it is to look at the total cost. The costs can vary quite drastically, but as tempting as possible to go for the lowest bid, this is not always the best option. In many cases, more costs now will mean fewer costs in the long run due to a poor roofing job. To help investigate the caliber of the job, it is a good idea to check using the Bbb in order to find out if the business has been accredited, and when it's not, to at least see what its rating is.

 

Picking out a Commercial Roofer

When you are looking for a roofer for the commercial roofing project you need to look for a contractor who understands the special needs of the commercial roofing project. For instance it may be harder to operate on the business during business hours so either the business needs to be turn off for the repair or replacement or even the job has to be done after conventional business hours. May be the roofer you are considering for the job ready to work around your schedule constrictions which might involve working weekends or evenings?

When you start your search for a roofer not only do you need to answer those questions however, you also want to find someone which will do a top quality job without a great deal of time delays. Going about finding someone can feel like an obstacle by itself but there are several methods to make the search easier.

Ask friends and family for referrals and try to find at least three contractors to give you written bids on your job. Prior to going any further you need to ensure that the contractors you are considering are fully licensed and bonded. An easy search using the state contractor's board will verify if your roofer is licensed and when you will find any past judgments or claims against their license.

When you select 3 or 4 roofers to put bids, you should prepare yourself for the bids to become widely varied. Roofers will have brand preferences which will vary and may factor in pretty much than the next guy for a labor estimate. The greater detailed an itemized bid is the more helpful it will likely be for you to see in which the cost will be incurred. Don't, however, select a roofer based solely on the bid price. Any low ball bids may be tempting to consider, but when they're low due to poor quality workman ship it may not be worth it in the end.

As they say, you generally get that which you purchase, if you are able to afford a mid-priced bid it's always smart to increase in your price range rather than down. Additionally you ought to decide your roofer based on how professional they were and how comfortable you anticipate you'll be working with them.

Finally your cost will be different depending on which kind of roofing material you select along with the cost to haul your old roof towards the landfill. Should you be looking for places to chop corners on your roof, rather than cutting labor cost you may want to ask about metallic roof option. Metal roofs could be economical and efficient making them overall money savers for that long run, and on commercial buildings they can be very low maintenance. Plus given that they can be placed on top of an existing roof, you don't need to possess the old one removed and hauled away, that make a big impact on your cost.

Choosing a comerical roofing company nearer your home, does not have to be a difficult task. To learn more, visit http://www.vancouverroofers.net

 

Seattle Roofing Companies - How To Find The very best

In your home of rain and sleet, commercial coffee and grunge, and the famous space needle, you can find a house which will suit you. Seattle, Washington could be a good place to construct a house, but you need Seattle roofing contractors to help you out. Your roof is, in the end, the crowning glory of your house, and your strongest type of defense from the elements. You must have something which is not only created to last, but created to attract making your house more beautiful

Harsh Weather

How come roofing contractors so important in this the main country? Because Seattle is often bombarded by rain and other harsh weather conditions, you need a roof that may withstand all the forces of nature. With this in mind, you need people who know the Seattle weather best, and who understand what materials can best go into your homes roof for it to last far longer in the area. In addition to all this, you have to blend with the remainder of the houses in your living area, so you cannot simply get whatever roof you please.

In all these aspects, a Seattle roofing contractors should be able to assist you. All you need to do is search for Seattle roofing contractors online so that you can obtain the best bang for your buck without wondering when the contractor will suddenly try to escape with it and leave you roof-less.

Why the Contractor Model Works

If you want to set up your homes roof on your own, you will have to buy a good deal of materials, secure permits and licenses, and obtain materials which are suited to help you stay safe against harsh extremes of Seattle weather. Which means that if you are a DIY sort of guy or gal, you'll have to undergo a large amount of legwork to get the task done.

On the other hand, a Seattle roofer can do all the jobs for you and provide you with a package that may help you save money and time. Because contractors operate under licenses and purchase materials in bulk, they are able to get discounts on building materials that you would not otherwise get should you be buying merely for your own personel home.

Roofing Associations

Most roofing contractors also fit in with roofing organizations that are bound by strict guidelines and standards. When they prosper on their roofing job, they are able to showcase their roofing contractors association; when they do poorly, they can ruin the reputation of their roofing contractors association and keep other contractors within the association from getting good roofing jobs. There is a lot of pressure to complete well, to help you be reassured that prefer a roofing job completed in Seattle, you can get a contractor from the roofing association to assist you.

For example, Seattle Roof Brokers operates with more than 500 roofing contractors within the Puget Sound. This group has over fifty years of roofing experience and experience working with Seattle roofing contractors, so it knows what kind of roofing you want. The rooftop Brokers group can put you in contact using the contractor that you need so you don't have to search for contractors individually.

What In the event you Demand out of your Contractor?

When you finally get a contractor within the Seattle area, you must do lots of research about the roofing contractors themselves. Ask for a summary of previous companies or persons that the contractor caused in order to get a clear look at the roofing contractor's work ethics and roof quality. Your roofing contractor should also possess the appropriate working licenses and city licenses needed by the Seattle city government.

Pick a Seattle roofing contractors that insures its employees, which has courteous workers who'll respect your thinking and make sure that the needs are met. Ensure that you obtain the best value for your money: if you're unsatisfied using the job, you need to be guaranteed either money back, or perhaps a free, new roof. Moreover, additionally you require the workers to find the job done promptly, so be strict together with your deadlines - and find a contractor that is as strict when you are.

You'll need guarantees and warranties on your roof, so look for a contractor that can meet your budget and roofing needs. If you get touching good Seattle roofing contractors, you can be guaranteed a good roof and a better house right in this fantastic city.

Selecting the Right Roofer Company for Replacing Your homes roof

The shingles in your roof degrade and you are minded to find a roofer to change the them. Perhaps you have already called a few and therefore are evaluating which contractor to use for your upcoming roof repair. How do you select the best contractor for caring for your roof? Listed here are a number of things you should consider when looking for a legitimate roofer.

Where's the roofing contractor located? It is important to hire a roofer that is local. Chances are you will receive the next step of service when the roofing company can be found near your house or comes with an office near your residence.
References. To determine the toughness for the contractor, references should be provided of the past clients who are willing to vouch that excellent service was received. This should 't be the only real factor in choosing your future roofing contractor as some may claim they value the privacy of the clients and don't desire to bother them. If this is the case, ask for business related references. The places that supply the contractor with supplies can reveal the quantity of materials and regularity of supplying the contractor to help determine their stability.
So how exactly does the roofing contractor company handle complaints? There's a large number of issues that can arise throughout the progress of a roofing replacement. Ask what their process is for handling complaints when they arise. It's also an excellent idea to get a past client reference who had a complaint which was resolved to the satisfaction of the client.
Terms of payment. What are the terms of payment for the job? What's the down payment and amount due upon completion? While it is certainly reasonable that the substantial payment be made before a contractor begins focus on a project, it is highly recommended that full payment is not made until after the entire job is finished.
Written contract. All the roofing replacement should be place in an itemized contract. No part of the contracting job should depend on verbal assurances.
Bonding. There are stuff that will go wrong with roofing installations that wind up costing a substantial amount of money to repair. If this happens on your roofing replacement, you'll feel a great deal better understanding that your roofer is bonded. This will provide the funds to repair whatever mistakes were made. Find a roofing contractor that is bonded.
Manufacturer Warranty. Quality materials for roofing typically have a warranty. You should verify that there is actually a warranty on the materials being installed. Request a copy of the warranty.
Period of time in Business Just how long has got the company you're interviewing experienced business? A short in time business may reflect instability. If the contractor has been around business less than three years, verify how long they have been in the market. A new contractor might have a long time experience focusing on roofs before they form their own business. Seek a company that has been around for 3 years, or where the contractor has already established many more years performing roofing replacements. This again shouldn't be the only factor, everyone has to begin sometime. Balance this with referrals and the other points raised in this article.
Appropriate Permits. A Seattle roofing contractor should know what permits are required for repairing your roof. They should be aware of how you can obtain these permits for you. Ask the contractor whether they will have the permits necessary to repair the rooftop.
Liability. If a worker becomes injured, who's responsible for the workers comp? If the contractor's equipment damages your home, who's liable for the repairs? A good contractor will provide certificates of insurance for liability and workers comp before they begin repairing your roof.
Subcontractors. Verify if the contractor will be using subcontractors. If that's the case, it is highly recommended that everything contained in this article for verifying if the contractor is credible also needs to be applied to subcontractors. You should get the names and license amounts of all subcontractors. You need to verify whether each subcontractor is also insured which means you aren't held liable for their accidents.
Pending Legal Actions. It is important to verify whether there are any legal actions from the contractor. This is not only essential for verifying if the roofing company is legitimate (credible roofing companies shouldn't need to defend themselves in court), it's also important because a lost lawsuit might lead to the contractor to go bankrupt. For those who have designed a substantial deposit for services immediately prior to the company goes bankrupt, you could lose thousands of dollars and not have your roofing completed.
Material Disposal. Who is accountable for getting rid of the waste generated from the roof being replaced? Will your contractor handle all aspects of the? Is there an additional cost for disposing of this waste?
NRCA Membership. Membership in local or national roofing associations, like the NRCA, shows resolve for staying up to date with the most effective methods for roof replacement and maintenance. Look for a roofer with a high standard of education regarding their trade.
Replacing your roof is a significant investment. It makes good sense to inquire about serious questions before working with a roofing contractor. Here are a few more tips that you ought to consider when choosing the best roofer for the upcoming roofing replacement.

Payment. Don't create a full payment for services unless all work is finished.
Inspection. Don't make a full payment without doing a final inspection of services rendered.
Workers liens. Don't fully pay for the roofing replacement job until worker's lien releases happen to be obtained.
Oral Agreements. No agreement ought to be made verbally without backing up on paper. All points which are important to you ought to be made in writing.

 

For the SEO needs, you should check out Vancouver web design and Vancouver SEO company

It cannot be denied the worldwide web is just about the biggest financial market nowadays. Practically it is all totally anchored on the internet. Up to now, there are more than 182 million sites in the internet but still counting. If each of these websites offers possibilities to generate income, consider the limitless opportunities which can be found in the internet. More to the point, with the emergence of web sites, the need for web hosting and Search| Engine Optimization is significantly defined.

Search Engine Optimization is actually the process of increasing the visibility of your internet site. Therefore, if you want your internet site to be visible to visitors, you should search for SEO Company. The optimization strategy considers how search spiders work and what folks usually and what keywords they use. The key objective of SEO is making sites visible browsing sites through the natural or organic way.

Search optimization or natural search engine optimization is really a term used in describing unpaid, algorithm-driven results of any particular engine. In other words, organic SEO uses natural strategies in achieving search engine results ranking. While there are two camps with which search engine optimization companies may fall to, and these are the 'White Hat' and the 'Black Hat', organic SEO could not come under the 'Black Hat' camp.

Organic search engine optimization can be a highly specialized and complex practice which could literally dictate the failure or success of an internet business. Since search sites often modify their algorithms, organic SEO isn't quite simple whatsoever. When search bots modify their algorithms, factors that allow your web site to look in front of prospects are drastically changed too. Thus, in order to cope up with these changes, SEO tactics and techniques must be employed.

It is usually ethical to utilize search engines engine optimization since search sites nowadays are becoming extremely advanced that they'll easily see whether an internet site is trying to govern their search indexes. Thus it really is empirical to utilize search engine marketing practices which are carried out wherein appear natural.

The approaches used by organic search engine optimization and artificial SEO are very significantly different. Basically, organic SEO uses content compared to artificial SEO's technical loopholes. Moreover, natural search engine optimization provides attracting links rather than linking schemes employed by artificial SEO. Natural SEO also creates valuable resource contrary to artificial SEO's algorithm chasing. Effortlessly these, it's possible to clearly realise why organic search engine optimization is preferable over artificial search engine optimization. Although the latter could be more difficult and complex, it creates favorable results that are good for any web site. Fortunately, there are plenty of Vancouver SEO companies today that offer the organic method in affordable rates and packages.

Search Engine Optimization Appears in this area

Once when search engine optimization was actually not necessary.

Whilst late being a decade ago, if you developed a Web site anywhere, Google indexed it and you also gained visibility in its serp's. Your page has been with a free "estates" where anybody could put in a page and Google didn't mind. It may also provide been a pure affiliate page with no original content and Google still indexed it.

Things are unrecognizably different now.

Affiliate pages with "cookie-cutter" content duplicated everywhere might never get to the Google index; exactly the same fate is probable for all those pages you throw in on the free-for-all website. As well as "proper" websites with your own personal url of your website didn't achieve visibility one of the proliferating sites in millions.

These wouldn't have mattered, except for one thing. It had been Google that provided the bread and butter for that countless smaller businesses that could not afford expensive marketing campaigns. If your site was one of the top few sites the appeared before a searcher's eyes when that individual searched for your products, you've got hundreds as well as thousands of visitors, lots of whom even bought your product or service.

Search engine optimization (SEO) entered the scene. Internet search engine specialists "reverse-engineered" to spot the factors that Google consider for showing websites at the top of its search results pages. These factors were then consciously included in your Web pages with the hope that Google will show your internet site one of the primary ten results it showed about the first page.

As more of one's competitors adopted seo practices, things became difficult again. Your situation started to slip in case your competitors did the SEO better. SEO battles became serious fights with every dirty trick being employed.

There was "black hat" SEO practitioners who showed one page to search engines and another to human visitors. As engines like google were not bothered with readability, you could fill the "search engine" page with pure gibberish, but gibberish developed in a way that the engine dutifully indexed high.

A war of wits followed between unscrupulous SEO practitioners and check engines. Google changed its ranking algorithms regularly to be effective around practices that allowed low value content to seem near the top of its serp's. In the end, Google's success leaned on providing value to searchers, not merchants. And SEO practitioners developed new tricks.

We are going to examine search engine optimization inside a series of articles, starting with an look and feel at on-line or Web marketing.

 

To your SEO needs, you should check out vancouver web site design and Vancouver Seo agency.

 

Cedar Roofing: Advantages

Cedar shakes are just in regards to the most great looking shakes on the market today. Frequently designed from red-colored cedar around the coniferous forests of northwestern Usa, they're only the best roof covering materials for proprietors preferring supplying their roofs a natural look.

Unique cedar shingles are naturally resistant against the sun and rain, this is the key answer why cedar shingles are widely-used generally all over various climatic conditions. They're generally available in a few specific qualities. At least one may be the shingle crafted from red cedar while the other is produced out from the vibrant variety. Red cedar shakes are designed from tight-grained particles which can be previously saturated with tannic acidity that experts say is an all-natural additive. Red cedar shingles which might be drizzled with creosote in order to avoid corrosion and they are desirable to homeowners given that they add a rich and unique turn to one's property or home.

It's important to remember that red cedars usually change dark-colored if exposed continuously to seaside weather. As a result, sea side homes need to have white cedar shakes. Red cedar shingles are usually a many more expensive when compared with white cedar types, despite the fact that cost factor doesn't diminish its reputation in anyhow. They could be preferably suitable for classic Northeastern houses while white cedar shingles appear to be image suited to bungalows and bungalows which have been integrated Nantucket design.

Through the years, classic cedar shakes have mislaid in a point to synthetic shingles that emulate the cedar appear. Superior systems are used in order to make these kinds of shingles possess a for a longer period life-span in comparison with unique cedar shingles. Most include advanced UV inhibitors and also have about 5 decades of steady guarantee. These shingles are often great insulators and lots of superior ones offer a much cooler inside during summer months along with a warmer inside during harsh winters.

Cedar shakes, mostly for sale in honey, cinnamon, and silvery gray colors, need several level of repairs and maintenance. They might need initial treatment method before installation. White cedar shakes for example, may be addressed with bleaching oil which must be done almost every six to seven years to improve their durability.

Cedar shakes and cedar shingles are generally CCA treated or otherwise CCA treated. CCA stands for chromated copper arsenate. CCA is really a chemical that stops the rise of mold, mold and fungus therefore it assists in keeping insects from eating away your own wonderful cedar roof. CCA cedar might make your homes roof keep going longer, but CCA is NOT A fireplace TREAMENT. Cedar that's been fire treated is available, however your roofing company need to special order it. CCA treated cedar shingles cost 15 - 20% a lot more than non-CCA cedar. Most cedar roofs are often not CCA treated.

Cedar shakes and cedar shingles are fantastic, plus they are also a good purchase. Information of terms including CCA, advanced quality, # 1, blue label and black label will allow you to pick the right cedar roof for your personal home.

Elite Roofing & Home Improvements, LLC provides more information about shingles, cedar shakes, fiberglass shakes plus more. Elite Roofing & Home Improvements, LLC is connected to the National Roofers Association.

Discover more about cedar shingles, and acquire more articles and resources about cedar shakes at cedar roofing materials and shakes website.

 

Cedar Shingle Roof Vs Asphalt Shingle Roof

A cedar shingle roof remains highly coveted by homeowners. It's among the oldest roofing products which has continued to be constantly being used within the hundreds of years. Around new roofing materials carry on being developed, cedar shakes still endear themselves to many. Below is really a comparison analysis of the cedar roof versus an asphalt roof.

Pros of Cedar Roofing shingles

Cedar shakes give rise to far better air circulation within the whole house. The shingles let the where you can breathe well without trapping moisture around. This can help to keep up the structure of the property who is fit longer. Cedar Shakes are durable and strong. They like a higher capacity bugs. A cedar shingle roof will operate well on the various weather onslaughts. Storms, hurricanes, powerful winds and flying debris will barely damage the top of the cedar roof. The color matures beautifully using the passing years, which makes it much more desirable. A cedar roof adds a definite charm to your house. Cedar is instantly for sale in lumber yards and doesn't demand a large amount of expertise or specialized tools to put in.

Cons of Cedar Shakes

If rot takes hold, you would be compelled to change the complete lot. It's not easy extracting merely the affected pieces. They may have been nailed down in a way that each elimination proves difficult. Cedar Shingles don't last well to constant wetting. If you reside within an area where rainfall is heavy or frequent, cedar shingles aren't a fantastic choice. Frequent wetting causes mold or mildew to set in. Replacement and repair might be a costly business. Your very best self protection against constant wetting is always to use wide overhangs. Also, should your house is shaded by many trees or nearby buildings, cedar shingles often develop mold. You will end up compelled to exchange them prior to you planned. Cedar Shingles tend to be more flammable than asphalt shingles. Many areas use a building code in position that restricts cedar shingles to minimize the danger of fire. To create a cedar shake roof, you must have your budget about the higher side. Frequent maintenance may also be necessary to keep your roof who is fit. Mildew and rot are ever-constant threats for some cedar roof.

Pros of Asphalt Shingle Roof

An asphalt roof is probably the most affordable to purchase and install. These come in various designs and colours, including a regular, flat use a 3-dimensional look. Asphalt shingles have a great potential to deal with fires unlike cedar roofing. An asphalt roof can actually lessen the risk of fires brought on by flying embers. Asphalt roofs are easier and cheaper to install than cedar. They're also low maintenance roofs.

Cons of Asphalt Shingle Roof

Algae is much more prone to grow on asphalt roofing than cedar shingles. It causes the rooftop to build up somewhat of the stain which spoils the appearance. You may get an anti-algae coating carried out your asphalt shingles but this adds to the cost. With regards to stability, an asphalt roof is a lot more likely to be blown off by strong winds than the usual cedar roof.

Uncover more about cedar roof shingles, and acquire more articles and resources about cedar roofing shakes at cedar roofing materials and shakes website.