Please review author Web site

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  • breezagirl
    Sergeant

    • Dec 2007
    • 38

    Please review author Web site

    Hi Everyone,

    Please visit my Web site www.laurafabiani.com and tell me what you think. I'm an author with a new novel about to be published.

    Your comments are appreciated!

    Laura Fabiani
  • karenwms63
    Colonel

    • Feb 2008
    • 865

    #2
    Re: Please review author Web site

    You have a nice site but your homepage (index) is spammed with metatags. This will get you blacklisted on search engines. For example, what does your index page have to do with car in italy rental, italy package vacation, etc. ? You need to either not do metatags at all or use only a few specific keywords and keyword phrases. I am seeing this alot in many other new sites also. And then they wonder why they are not showing up in the search engines. Search engine optimization should be specific for each page of your site and it does not mean that you list metatags for the sites on your link page. Hope you get this fixed soon because you have a really interesting site.

    Best regards,
    Karen Williams
    Your Belief is Your Reality

    Comment

    • breezagirl
      Sergeant

      • Dec 2007
      • 38

      #3
      Re: Please review author Web site

      Thanks for your advice, Karen! I will correct this right away.

      Much appreciated,
      Laura Fabiani
      www.laurafabiani.com

      Comment

      • Vasili
        Moderator

        • Mar 2006
        • 14683

        #4
        Re: Please review author Web site

        Originally posted by karenwms63 View Post
        You have a nice site but your homepage (index) is [full of] with meta. This will get you blacklisted on search engines.
        Remember: ALL META needs to be "anchored" in your Content, and not being done so without "natural contextual relevancy"....you have gone beyond allowable extremes to be considered even "accidental construct" as evidenced by the following Key Words alone (which is more like the total list of your novelette rather than a single web page, obviously 'generated' for you and total nonsense as far as any real value):
        Laura Fabiani, author, novel, Daughter of Mine, family relationships, Italy, Gaeta, Naples, Rome, romance, adventure, adoption, love,Laura Fabiani, biography, daughter of mine, italy, italy map,italy travel, italy tour,italy venice,italy rome,hotel italy, florence italy,italy vacation, hotel italy rome,flag italy,italy naples,florence italy rental,florence hotel italy,car in italy rental,hotel italy venice,italy villa, italy milan,italy lonely planet,italy little, italy weather,italy yahoo, eyewitness guide italy travel,italy picture,beach italy,florence italy lodging,italy sorrento, guide italy travel,history italy,flight italy,cruise italy, como italy lake,italy trip, italy sicily,food italy,italy siena, italy positano,fact italy,italy little maggianos,accommodationflorence italy,italy tourism,apartment florence italy,capri italy,capital italy,estate italy real,amalfi coast italy,italy package tour,italy verona,hotel italy milan,holiday italy,italy train,italy southern,italy map rome,information italy,bologna italy,city italy map, italy rental vacation,2007 fodors fodors gold guide italy,italy portofino,in italy made,2006 italy rick rick steves steves,city italy rome,cortona italy,cinque italy terre, italy pisa,car cheap in italy rental,home in italy sun tuscan under,italy jamies,bari italy,bed breakfast italy,italy news,italy map michelin,italy map northern,italy lucca, italy package vacation,garden italy, italy northern,italy map venice,italy palermo,cheap flight italy, italy rental villa,amalfi italy,italy soccer,culture italy,girl italy,car cheap italy rental,calabria italy,art in italy renaissance, italy photo, italy pompeii, italy kid,florence italy map,2007 calendar italy, italy vicenza

        Especially needing attention is the 8-line spacing in your META Source tags (visit your own site, and right-click on the background to VIEW SOURCE --- you will spot the detracting line spacing immediately)....this is an obvious construct mistake, which only compounds what the Search Engines regard as a flawed site from the construct up. Remove this immediately to prevent a "do not return" flag being pinned on your site....

        >> Try to keep your Key Word META list very light (and try to use clever 2-3 word phrases as opposed to simple single word entries), and implement H-META on the pages instead, to support variable and valuable additions to "key" valuations .... "Rules" allow for up to 100 KW entries, but optimally you should have less than 20 total words, and if using the preferred phrasing, that usually means 8-10 phrases (which should be not only anchored, but popular key-in's by Search clients).
        .

        . VodaWebs....Luxury Group
        * Success Is Potential Realized *

        Comment

        • breezagirl
          Sergeant

          • Dec 2007
          • 38

          #5
          Re: Please review author Web site

          Hi Vasili,

          I truly appreciate your constructive criticism, but in view of the fact that I am a newbie and that I learned to build my Web site strictly through the tutorials and reading of the forum, there is something I must say that may help others to avoid some of the same mistakes outlined in your comment.

          I honestly understood that the Keyword Digger offered free through BV was so that meta tags relevant to one's topic could be generated, and that is precisely why I did generate the long list and used it, thinking it would serve as SEO. I was obviously mistaken! How many other newbies are making the same mistake?

          Forgive my ignorance, but I cannot find the Meta source tags. When I right-click on my site, I only get the page properties and HTML. And what is H-META? What do you mean the meta tags must be anchored?

          I can understand that it may be frustrating for you to see what may appear to be obvious mistakes, however, I cannot put into enough words the frustration I have felt learning the jargon and technicalities that are explained in a basic level from the tutorials. If BV claims that anyone can build a web site then it must be prepared to deal with the inexperienced.

          Having said all this, I do appreciate the time you took to review my site.

          Laura
          www.laurafabiani.com

          Comment

          • karenwms63
            Colonel

            • Feb 2008
            • 865

            #6
            Re: Please review author Web site

            The digger tool is great for a reference but using all the examples it shows is not good. It is useful for helping you make the decisions on your keyword phrases and for experimenting with them. If you go to the subforum on search engine optimization, you will probably find the how-to's on fixing your metatags. H-meta, I believe, is referring to headings on your pages, i.e. h1, h2, etc. Use the search term "meta" in that subforum and you should be able to find the info you are seeking.

            It is really hard when you are new. Think positive when you read replies because it is not possible to show in writing that we are posting because we care enough to help. Frustration tends to make us forget that we cannot convey body language in writing. If you were to click on all posts by me, you would see many of my "trials by fire" in trying to understand and convey what I was needing help with.

            And when you get to fixing those meta tags, be sure to do every page of your site. And there is always the alternative not to use them at all, when your site has lots of text and is well written.

            Keep your chin up :)
            Karen Williams
            Your Belief is Your Reality

            Comment

            • Vasili
              Moderator

              • Mar 2006
              • 14683

              #7
              Re: Please review author Web site

              Laura,

              You won't see the page-based H-META in the HTML file by "Viewing Source" but only the core META like Page Title, Key Words, and Page Description (all modified/entered via Page Properties in BV). And, for the life of me, I do not find it mentioned anywhere in the Tutorials or an authorative thread either: it is more of a compilation of "understanding" we all have figured out using the unique combination of HTML and CSS that BV uses .... I will have to either try to gather a number of threads to provide links in hopes you can sift through it all to 'build a workable understanding' or at last resort, send it along as an email upon request. INQUIRE HERE

              Think of H-META as emphasized 'Headlines' (thus the "H") in your Content ... each paragraph should have an introduction of sorts, since web content is written as if it was merely a bullet-list on steroids: similar to a Topic Sentence in regular composition, your 'headlines' should contain key words and phrases that add greater value to your overall page, yet at the same time provide the visible means for visitors to 'navigate' more efficiently on your site. If visitors can skim and see headlines of "topics" according to their interest level, then the brief text following should also offer some degree of amplified info that provides useful value to the visitor to either be compelled to drill in to your site for more depth, or to seek another 'navigation' on your site for clearer satisfaction.

              This "meta-flow" is simply a way to earmark the Content for the Search Engines and to be the positive proof that your Key Words/phrases truly are woven into proper Content development, written as normal prose (if you would) and not as a "trick" to create counterfeit SE value.

              Setting up H-META involves using a script, and pacing that script in parts of your Page Properties. There are a few out there in VodaTalk, but I have found only one that will maintain styles of text formatting across all browsers and visitor views > COMPILED FROM THIS THREAD

              How to actually do it?? Simple process, and I am still Searching Forums to find the last time I offered instructions, and I am already late for a meeting ... so ... maybe you can either email me or find it in the forums also (using KW's in Search "h1, page properties" under my name?). Maybe the above thread also has some instructions, as I didn't look - sorry!

              PS: The Digger tool is a rudimentary tool, not an authoritative resource! Also, it has nothing to do with providing current valuations or high-result words and phrases. This d i s c o n n e c t usually occurs when people use a utility too quickly without understanding the whole picture, let alone bothering to "comply" by anchoring them in specific page Content!

              Gotta jet....be back later....
              . VodaWebs....Luxury Group
              * Success Is Potential Realized *

              Comment

              • Vasili
                Moderator

                • Mar 2006
                • 14683

                #8
                Re: Please review author Web site

                Originally posted by karenwms63 View Post
                It is really hard when you are new. Think positive when you read replies because it is not possible to show in writing that we are posting because we care enough to help. Frustration tends to make us forget that we cannot convey body language in writing. If you were to click on all posts by me, you would see many of my "trials by fire" in trying to understand and convey what I was needing help with.

                And when you get to fixing those meta tags, be sure to do every page of your site. And there is always the alternative not to use them at all, when your site has lots of text and is well written.

                Keep your chin up :)
                For an example of KW/META development as Karen mentions, check out this thread and especially this one.

                Karen? Since you have been offering such assistance in VodaTalk recently with seeming experience, might you provide your URL so to better illustrate the techniques offered?
                .
                . VodaWebs....Luxury Group
                * Success Is Potential Realized *

                Comment

                • karenwms63
                  Colonel

                  • Feb 2008
                  • 865

                  #9
                  Re: Please review author Web site

                  Hi Vasili,

                  I am currently still in the planning stages because I have had such a huge learning curve in this pursuit. I am trying to help others as I go with what I have learned so far. And just when I think I'm ready to publish my index page, they launch BV10...lol. So now experimenting with the new version. I have published some temporary pages for my sister in law's reunion site but it is really not offered to the public, so I don't think she would appreciate my listing it here.

                  There are many here who would like to see what I've done, I'm sure. I hope that I am not misguiding any one with my replies. I restrict myself to helping only with that that I am familiar.

                  And on top of planning, I am wrestling with legal issues with my previous hosting service, because I mistakenly purchased my business's .com registration through them. They have "hijacked" it by not letting me have access to repoint the nameservers to Voda or letting me transfer the domain name.

                  Sincerely, :)
                  Karen Williams
                  Your Belief is Your Reality

                  Comment

                  • Vasili
                    Moderator

                    • Mar 2006
                    • 14683

                    #10
                    Re: Please review author Web site

                    Originally posted by karenwms63 View Post
                    Hi Vasili,

                    I am currently still in the planning stages because I have had such a huge learning curve in this pursuit. I am trying to help others as I go with what I have learned so far. And just when I think I'm ready to publish my index page, they launch BV10...lol. I almost got courts-martialled last night for putting up a stink when BV9 was removed from the boards, making it impossible to download onto a CD or something so all the previously created websites could still be updated with it rather than force a mass conversion (which I thought patently unfair -- why force-feed people to undego a major evolution?).
                    There are many here who would like to see what I've done, I'm sure. I hope that I am not misguiding any one with my replies. I restrict myself to helping only with that that I am familiar. Yes, people DO like to attribute some sense of credibility to the prolific posts of "expertise" for they unfortunately give far too much import to well-intentioned but sometimes flawed information....
                    And on top of planning, I am wrestling with legal issues with my previous hosting service, because I mistakenly purchased my business's .com registration through them. They have "hijacked" it by not letting me have access to repoint the nameservers to Voda or letting me transfer the domain name. Been there, done that -- even as recently as a month ago for a client .... domain was allowed to expire since they wouldn't renew without hosting, and SnapDomains scooped it up and stuck it in an auction micro-seconds before backordering was able to purchase it ..... cost 11x more to retreive it out of auction. If people would only listen to me in the first place! Tsk Tsk!
                    OK .... I suppose cooling our heels might serve us all best then, huh?
                    . VodaWebs....Luxury Group
                    * Success Is Potential Realized *

                    Comment

                    • karenwms63
                      Colonel

                      • Feb 2008
                      • 865

                      #11
                      Re: Please review author Web site

                      LOL...you are correct as usual! It is to your good advice that I have been hesitant to just "throw up a site". Wish I knew of this forum back when I began this journey, but I am moving forward with the help I am getting here. :)
                      Karen Williams
                      Your Belief is Your Reality

                      Comment

                      • Vasili
                        Moderator

                        • Mar 2006
                        • 14683

                        #12
                        SEO TIP: Proper H-Meta Development & Techniques

                        OK...back from the day's demands....I went to another forum where I posted the information you are looking for, and decided it best to simply paste it here so the 'Forum Search" tool will pick it up for others later on.

                        Step-By-Step Tips to Create Effective H-Meta in Your Website:

                        We all know that proper SEO processes are important for our websites, and there is much beyond simple Meta information (Title, Key Words, Description, etc.) to be completed for each page that needs to be done to get the overall metrics value if we are to elevate our website ranking and 'compliance' with the 'Perfect Page' model the SE's base their initial evaluations on. Not discussed often enough are the H1-H6 Tag properties that should be created on each page, and there is a simple script that should also be used to keep these elements presenting properly as well (just as you laid out in the *******[Blue Voda] enviornment, and to prevent "double line spacing" as espeically seen in Firefox and other widespread alternative browsers).

                        First, about the "h1-h6" tags, and how to implement this simple but important SEO metric to your pages:

                        The h1, h2, h3 and so on up to the h6 meta tags specifically refer to the textual Content on your web pages, and how the SE's look for these to attribute greater value (and cache value) to them as a means of evaluating and ranking your Content (and relevancy) so to better position your site as a resource to produce results for their client Search Inquiries. Similar to how Key Words are important to search and how they need to be 'anchored' in your page content, the SE's look for H-Tags to further organize and validate your site content, and if you do not have these little "flags" in place, the SE's place a lesser relevance to your site, despite the fact your content is volumuous and totally unique!

                        It is easiest to think of these H1-h6 tags as more like a heirarchy of "Headlines" or "sub-heads" to your text: Just as you already have an introductory line of text to your content, this would become your "h1" tag (the most important). Similarly, the next important paragraph or section "headline" would become your "h2" tag, and so on, until your "h6" tag is your last (and must be your last) on each page.
                        If you have more than 6 "headlines" don't worry -- you can have as many h2 tags as you like, but only one of each of the others.....clearly you can have a single h1, as many h2 as needed, and skip down to your last to be h6 - as you need to make your last tag the h6, to indicate the "end of string" to the SE's.

                        For example, on the main page of a Mars Tourism site (just to make it interesting), you would see in larger font at first position "Private Guided Tours of Mars For Every Lifestyle" with appropriate content underneath. This would become your h1 tag, as it not only mirrors important Key Words and Page Title you entered in Page Properties, but establishes relevancy for the page as required since the following content supports this introduction Headline. Your h1 tag should always be the largest font on the page: if you are using 9pt for your page content, then ideally your h1 font should be at least 12-14pt minimum, and always Bold.

                        The next paragraph (or content section) on the main page in our example might be "Choose Land Rover or Hover Craft Tours" with a brief paragraph highlighting this feature.....this would be your (first) h2 tag, and would be also a larger font size than regular 9pt content, but smaller than your h1 tag, maybe 10pt or 11pt for emphasis.

                        And so on for the rest of the page. Remember, you can have as many h2 tags as you desire, but at least 2 to comply (h1 and the last, your h6).

                        Some Rules to help you understand formatting H Meta Tags:

                        1) All H Tags need to be "written" in BOLD font.

                        2) All H Tags need to be in their own 'textbox' and not included in with other text: the W5 builder allows you to 'stack' textboxes closely over on another, so you can always position your boxes to align precisely --- thus the need for the script below!

                        3) Keep Tag Text to a minimum - no more than 6-8 words, and they must reflect Key Words and be anchored in your page Content to establish true relevance.

                        4) Be sure that you do not have the "extra space" after the last letter in the Headline, as we are so keen on making sure we include in our regular textboxes so they do not add the extra 1.5 line spacing as normally would be seen.....the script provided below takes care of that!

                        5) If you develop this important SEO compliance into your site, you must include your index page, and should have every other page with at least the minimum 2 tags (h1, h6) also. You should never have interior pages using this technique without your index page also being completed.

                        How To Configure H Tags:

                        1) Right-click on your textbox that has just the "Headline" you wish to use as H Meta, and click on HTML at bottom of list.

                        2) When the Page HTML Tabs display, click on "Before Tag" tab, and type <h1>

                        3) Click on "After Tag" and type in </h1>

                        4) Close HTML Dialog.

                        5) Repeat steps 1 - 4, replacing the number of the H-tag with the appropriate number (<h2>, </h2>; <h3>, </h3>; etc.)

                        NOW....since you have successfully created H Meta Tags on your web pages (and will reap the results), you now need to keep the Tags from creating the irksome trait of actually displaying with double line spacing when published, and to also be precisely anchored for your overall look-and-feel in every browser (we all know how FireFox displays differently than IE). To do this, we need to establish rigid rules for CSS styles, and which can be easily customized without a complicated series of formatting.....we will use a simple formatting script to do this for us, and insert it also into our Page HTML....

                        Below you will see the script that you wil copy and paste into your "Between Head" tab:

                        <style>
                        h1 {font-size:18px;color:#666666;font-family:tahoma;font-style:bold;display:inline;}
                        h2 {font-size:14px;color:#666666;font-family:tahoma;font-style:bold;display:inline;}
                        h3 {font-size:11px;color:#666666;font-family:tahoma;font-style:bold;display:inline}
                        h4 {font-size:11px;color:#666666;font-family:tahoma;font-style:bold;display:inline}
                        h5 {font-size:11px;color:#666666;font-family:tahoma;font-style:bold;display:inline}
                        h6 {font-size:12px;color:#666666;font-family:tahoma;font-style:bold;display:inline}
                        </style>


                        * Be sure that you copy the entire script as shown (from <style> to <style>)
                        * Customize each aspect shown in blue above (font size, numerical color, font style). If you need to find out your numerical color code, you can either "View Source" of your own published page, or visit this website: http://www.visibone.com/colorlab/
                        * IF you use Clone to make new pages, your coding will need to be reset (validate by right-clicking on H Tags and OK to "register" new text. If you use the old-fashioned method of "stripping and whipping" new pages from old, you will also need to re-validate tags by highlighting and OK.

                        Using properly configured H Meta on each of your web pages is a critical leap forward to earning serious elevation with the SE's, and with the use of this simple Style Script, you eliminate the annoying "double space" effect that prevented close registration of content to make pages look as professional as possible.

                        Good Luck, and Happy Webbing!

                        Vasili


                        _________________

                        ....and on we go!
                        .
                        . VodaWebs....Luxury Group
                        * Success Is Potential Realized *

                        Comment

                        • breezagirl
                          Sergeant

                          • Dec 2007
                          • 38

                          #13
                          Re: Please review author Web site

                          Karen, I want to personally thank you for your sage advice to stick with it. Encouragement is always needed. Constructive criticism given with the positive underlying message that your efforts to learn will be payed off cannot be ignored.

                          Laura

                          Comment

                          • Vasili
                            Moderator

                            • Mar 2006
                            • 14683

                            #14
                            Re: Please review author Web site

                            Laura,

                            About the 8-line spacing: just be sure when you are in BV PAGE PROPERTIES that you delete all the characters and "blank spaces" in your Key Words field....that is what is creating the broken scripting, from all the extra spaces the generator added by removing them from in-between words and replacing them at the end.
                            . VodaWebs....Luxury Group
                            * Success Is Potential Realized *

                            Comment

                            • breezagirl
                              Sergeant

                              • Dec 2007
                              • 38

                              #15
                              Re: Please review author Web site

                              Ok, thanks again for all the advice. And I though writing a story plot was tricky to master...

                              Laura

                              Comment

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