http://blog.zunch.com Zunch develops search engine optimization (SEO) solutions to help business clients rank high in search engines with quality service procedures in SEO implementation. en-us Copyright 2008 Zunch Blog of SEO Technology, Search-friendly Website Design and eCommerce (Official Site) - News http://blog.zunch.com/ Fri, 19 Sep 2008 13:16:26 CST In the past, you may have used Amazon's "Take a Look Inside" feature. This allows you to look at a few pages of a book, usually including its table of contents and the index if it has them. But you can't do this with all of the books on their website. And all too often even when you can, you don't always get enough information to make certian you want to buy it. Try Google Book Search Google Book Search is another source you can try if you find Amazon isn't giving you enough information. In fact, you may want to try it first. This feature on Google allows you to search for words and phrases inside books, and usually will also give you limited previews of the books containing the search terms you've used. Use Google's "Advanced Search" feature to conduct a searche using one of four options: "with all of the words" you enter, "with the exact phrase," "at least one of the words," or "without the words." You can also specify criteria such as a particular author's name or character name. To use Google Book Search: Go to www.google.com. At the top left of the page you will see several Google links. Click on the "more" link. A drop down menu will appear. Click on the bottom link in that list-- "even more." A page listing a number of Google links and products will open. The Google Book Search link is the third item in the left hand column. Click on it. To the right of the input box at the top of the page you will find two links. Click on "Advanced," choose the type of search that best suits you need and you're on your way.   http://blog.zunch.com/post/Cant_Decide_on_a_Particular_Book_Use_Google_Book_Search.html http://blog.zunch.com/post/Cant_Decide_on_a_Particular_Book_Use_Google_Book_Search.html james.sadler@zunch.com (James Sadler) Fri, 01 Feb 2008 00:01:00 CST News Looking to learn a new language? Maybe you want to try your hand at cooking a new dish? Want to learn to play the guitar? There are thousands of free tutorials on the Internet that teach such things as foreign langaues, guitar playing, cooking, exercise methods, computer skills, magic tricks... darn near anything you might want to study and learn.  Most are in video format, allowing you to pause the action whne necessary and watch these step-by-step guides as often as you wish. Here are just a few of the sites you can check out to learn a new talent or skill: expertvillage.com ehow.com instructables.com tricklife.com And there are many, many more you can find by doing a search in your favorite search engine. http://blog.zunch.com/post/Where_to_Find_Free_Tutorials.html http://blog.zunch.com/post/Where_to_Find_Free_Tutorials.html james.sadler@zunch.com (James Sadler) Mon, 28 Jan 2008 00:01:00 CST News Used to be that if you wanted to research public records, you were destined to have to scour materials in a public library, county office or some other public building. Now you can save yourself the trip (at least, in most instances). You can find public databases, the majority of which are free, on such information as military records, college alumni, criminal records vehicle registrations, obituaries, property ownership and more. Two great online resources for doing this are VirtualGumshoe.com and PublicRecordSources.com. Check them out. they might save you time and money. http://blog.zunch.com/post/Where_to_Find_Public_Record_Informatio_on_the_Net.html http://blog.zunch.com/post/Where_to_Find_Public_Record_Informatio_on_the_Net.html james.sadler@zunch.com (James Sadler) Sun, 27 Jan 2008 21:02:00 CST News ...good luck finding a parking space at your favorite restaurant. Even in the North Dallas area. The Red River Shootout is the annual meeting between Oklahoma and Texas. I've never attended one, although I did once make the mistake of attending the State Fair of the Texas on the day of the game. You see, the game takes place on a Saturday in October and is played at the Cotton Bowl, which just happens to be in the middle of the State Fair of Texas. And attending the State Fair on Texas-OU day is not a good thing, because the already packed State Fair has another 80,000+ crazed fans dumped on the grounds. Being there is kind of like being a sardine that can move around in the can, but can't really get anywhere. So, since then, I've avoided the Fair Park area, where both the Cotton Bowl and the State Fair are located, on the Saturday on the Texas-OU game. However, the Red River Shootout also brings thousands of Ut and Oklahoma fans to the area. And they apparently are no longer content to eat in Dallas city proper. I decided to eat at Snuffer's in Addison for lunch (one of my favorite restaurants). When I got there, I couldn't find a place to park. in fact, I ended up in parking a few blocks away. The restaurant was as packed as the parking lot. And everywhere i looked, I saw either burnt orange or crimson. The UT-OU fans have moved north of downtown Dallas, invading Addison in general and Snuffers in particular. Worse, I had to wait on a table and then it took forever to get my order. A very un-Snuffer's like experience, since usually the staff falls all over themselves to serve you. Now I love college football. And the Sooners are my second favorite college team. But can't we pass a rule banning UT-OU fans from wandering north of the Dallas city limits during the Red River Shootout? http://blog.zunch.com/post/Its_the_Red_River_Shootout_Weekend_in_Dallas_and_That_Means.html http://blog.zunch.com/post/Its_the_Red_River_Shootout_Weekend_in_Dallas_and_That_Means.html james.sadler@zunch.com (James Sadler) Fri, 05 Oct 2007 14:41:00 CST News Back when I had hopes of earning an MBA, I was taking a marketing class where I managed to ace the course thanks largely to a paper and presentation I did on Southwest Airlines. From its earliest days, Southwest had always successfully marched to the beat of a different drummer. As did its longtime CEO and President, Herb Kelleher, who infused it with a sense of humor and a atmosphere of success. It has easily been the premier success story in airline history. Other airlines studied it, trying to figure out how it managed to profitable year after year while so many other either sought bankruptcy protection or teetered on the verge of bankruptcy. After an extensive study, an exasperated American Airlines exec concluded, "That place runs on Herb Kelleher's bull****." Well, maybe not so much anymore. The iconic airline has managed to take itself down a peg, acting like its snobbier brethren.  In fact, it appears Southwest has hired the clothes police to screen passengers. You can read about it here. The incident has gained national exposure and even got Kyla Ebbert, the target of Southwest’s clothes police, a few minutes on the Today show. This from the airline that once famously clad its flight attendants in hot pants? I’m guessing there was a lapse in judgment for the Southwest rep who decided Kyla was under-dressed. Either that or she gave him some bad service at the Hooters where she works. http://blog.zunch.com/post/An_Icon_Becomes_Less_Iconic.html http://blog.zunch.com/post/An_Icon_Becomes_Less_Iconic.html james.sadler@zunch.com (James Sadler) Thu, 13 Sep 2007 09:26:00 CST News Over at the SEO 2.0 blog, Zunch was recently recognized for both its skills in the art of SEO and SEM, as well as our design for our Website.The blog ranks Zunch among the top 15 SEO/SEM company sites for a compelling design for the company's own Website.   Hey, we appreciate the recognition, but what’s up with the sombrero, dude?   http://blog.zunch.com/post/Zunch_Rated_in_Top_15_for_Its_Site_Design.html http://blog.zunch.com/post/Zunch_Rated_in_Top_15_for_Its_Site_Design.html james.sadler@zunch.com (James Sadler) Wed, 08 Aug 2007 10:06:00 CST News Sports Illustrated runs a weekly "This Week's Sign of the Apocalyse" wherein it publishes a short comment on some event that either shows how trivial we are or indicates that, yes, civilization as we know it is coming to a end. Well, this week's sign of the apocalypse on the Internet comes to us from a Massachusetts doctor who has diagnosed and treated himself for Wii-itis, a condition similar to tennis elbow that results from extended sessions playing the Nintendo Wii. I'm not a gamer, but from what I understand, the Wii, unlike most game consoles that allow gamers to remain sedentary, requires players to simulate movements, such as swinging a tennis racket. The treatment? Rest and ibuprofen. I'd suggest a further treatment, cut out the marathon sessions on the Wii. http://blog.zunch.com/post/Could_You_Be_Suffering_with_Wiiitis.html http://blog.zunch.com/post/Could_You_Be_Suffering_with_Wiiitis.html james.sadler@zunch.com (James Sadler) Wed, 01 Aug 2007 07:00:00 CST News This group represents 40% of the US population. Even more impressive, they account for 70% of US net worth. Who are they? You might just be one of them (as I am). They're the Baby Boomers, who together with their elders increasingly are a market segment that many Websites ignore. and if you are in the B-toC arena, you simply can't ignore this market. Sure, everyone seems to be chasing that 18-40 age bracket who are so hard to market to, but we're talking about a group that's got real money to spend that many companies seem to ignore. And they are wired. According to a recent study by ThirdAge, Inc. and JWT BOOM, over 70% of this group have Broadband connections, well above the national average. And this group is currently spending some $7 billion a year online. What are they looking for on the Web? Well, too of the biggest areas they search in are health and finance. But researcxh indicates that for nearly every purchase, from buying a pizza to buying a house, they are searching the Web before making a decision. So if your marketing is currently ignoring this segment, it's time to reconsider. The Baby Boomers represent a group with lots of disposable income, and if you're Web marketing is mising them, you're missing out on profits.     http://blog.zunch.com/post/Whats_the_Fastest_Growing_Market_in_the_Internet.html http://blog.zunch.com/post/Whats_the_Fastest_Growing_Market_in_the_Internet.html james.sadler@zunch.com (James Sadler) Mon, 04 Jun 2007 08:51:00 CST News Microsoft is reportedly pursuing  Yahoo!,  to better position itself against arch rival and ruler of the search universe, Google. According to anonymous sources (hey, they don't want to get sued for letting the cat out of the bag),Microsoft asked that Yahoo! enter into negotiations for an acquisition that could be worth $50 billion. Yahoo's market capitalization was about $38 billion as of May 3. Charlene Li, principal analyst at Forrester Research, noted "On paper, the deal makes sense. But in the end it's going to be so hard that I don't think it will happen." She's probably right. I have to suspect that Yahoo! wants nothing to do with any proposal that includes them being gobbled up by Microsoft. But a partnership might be a whole different matter. "Given the messiness of a full-out merger — and also the limited benefit it would bring to Yahoo — I believe that a merger won't be in the works anytime soon,” Ms. Li added. “More logical would be partnership agreements where the strengths of each company are shared. These tentative first steps to a merger would make a lot more sense, giving both companies the ability to ‘test the waters’ before jumping into the deep end." Microsoft, which remains a distant third to both Google and Yahoo! in the search engine market, is under increasing pressure to compete with Google. Plus, Microsoft may be looking over its shoulder at Google' office applications. There' s still suspicions that once Google feels they've got all the products right, i.e., superior to Microsoft's line of office products, Google will move aggressively into that arena. Microsoft considers itself a rival to Google in search marketing, but given Google's dominance (routinely around 50% of the search market) and the fact that Microsoft is often at less than 10% of the search market, is it a rivalry? I'm waiting for Google to print up t-shirts like my alma mater, Texas Tech, had a few years ago. Tech has dominated Texas A&M on the football front for some 13 years now, leading an enterprising Tech fan to create a t-shirt emblazoned with-- "You Call it a Rivalry. We Call it Domination." Maybe Google should print some up and send them to Microsoft.   http://blog.zunch.com/post/Is_This_a_Match_Made_in_Heaven.html http://blog.zunch.com/post/Is_This_a_Match_Made_in_Heaven.html james.sadler@zunch.com (James Sadler) Mon, 07 May 2007 09:17:00 CST News His is a name known only to copywriters and marketers, but you've probably seen one of his ads and never known it. Gary Halbert, "the Prince of Print," passed away last night. Gary was a master of the art of persuasion and one of the greatest of the modern day copywriters. In fact, Gary would tell you himself that he was the greatest. He never lacked for self-esteem. For copywriters and marketers, his The Gary Halbert Letter was must reading. In fact, for anyone trying to market a product or service, both on-or-off the Web, I recommend you visit his site and start reading. It'll take a while, there is tons of material on it, but it's well worth the time. And a bit of warning, Gary could be a tad profane. Still, some of his letters are pure gold and any time I can find copy he has written, I quickly save it for future reference. I never met him, but I did exchange a series of e-mails with him once on the subject of the best day to run print ads in the newspaper. Neither of us could convince the other who was right, so Gary pronounced me a ****weasel, which, believe it or not, is something of an honor among Halbert followers. Wish I'd kept that e-mail exchange now. Although he was known primarily for his print ads, he had a tremendous influence on many online marketers and copywriters, including me.  He will be missed in the copywriting/marketing community.   http://blog.zunch.com/post/The_Prince_of_Print_Passes.html http://blog.zunch.com/post/The_Prince_of_Print_Passes.html james.sadler@zunch.com (James Sadler) Tue, 10 Apr 2007 09:07:00 CST News