Summit County: Think twice before considering website links

Search-engine rankings tip the week: Purchasing incoming links

Many website owners understand that obtaining incoming links plays a crucial role in achieving and maintaining strong search engine placement for various keyword phrases.

What many websites owners don’t understand, however, is that in the eyes of the almighty Google, all incoming links are not created equal. In fact, a fair amount of evidence shows that paid links can actually hurt a website’s search-engine rankings.

Also, Google recently applied a page-rank penalty to known link sellers (as well as many lower-quality directories).

Finally, not long ago Matt Cutts (a famous Google engineer who maintains a blog about all things Google) informed his readers that Google will be devaluing links from companies selling text links — so that they offer zero rankings-related value to the recipients.

In sum, think twice before purchasing incoming links for your website. They may do more harm than good.

Tech story of the week: My custom Etsy experience

Anyone who knows me knows I love Etsy.com — a site where crafty people can sell and purchase just about anything and everything homemade. But few people know about my recent Etsy experience.

It started a while back when my friend showed me her ring from New Zealand. It was awesome, and I immediately determined that I wanted one just like it. Online searches proved futile. eBay didn’t offer anything even close. And surprisingly, repeated scanning of the pages within Etsy.com turned up nothing.

Yet one night while browsing Etsy.com, I found a gal that made jewelry in the general style of the ring I’d been searching for. I dropped her an e-mail along with a photo of my friend’s ring and asked if she could work some metal-smithing magic and create something similar.

It’s now a couple weeks later, and as I sit typing this text, I keep looking down at my AWESOME, custom ring (which was absolutely affordable, by the way), and I thought it might be helpful for you to know that if there’s something specific you’re looking for, and that something can be hand made, it’s quite possible that Etsy.com can provide a solution.

Grab Bag: Your five random links of the week

1. http://tinyurl.com/3za2qe — This is Lifehacker.com’s popular 2008 article touting their “Top 10 Ways to Stay Energized.” Make sure you check out readers’ comments below the article for additional ideas, alternative options and the occasional witty response.

2. http://tinyurl.com/s6o3c — Learn Blender, the open source (free) 3D modeling software and animation tool, from this free downloadable eBook.

3. www.prohmote.com — A little site that helps people promote their events quickly and easily. No need to register or login — just visit the site, enter your event’s details, and you’re on your way.

4. http://tinyurl.com/22lz3p — The top 10 reasons not to eat chicken. I was a bit bummed that the first reason shown in this list was the weakest, so I recommend you start reading at No. 2. And even if you love chicken and there’s nothing in the world that could ever make you even consider cutting back, at least skim through this list and become more educated about what you put into your body and how it gets there.

5. www.bubbletimer.com — BubbleTimer encourages you to “achieve your goals through better time management” and by spending your time on what’s most important to you. It assists you throughout the process by helping you become aware of how your time is spent, making it easy to set goals for how you’ll spend your time, and keeping the entire process as simple as possible (as in there’s no software installation required). The cost? Free to try or, if you like it, $20/year.

And that’s it for today, everyone. Have a great week, and see ya next Monday.

Based in Frisco, eRin pheiL is the primary creative force behind timeforcake. Learn more about her Colorado website design company at www.timeforcake.com or contact her via e-mail at info@timeforcake.com.