Web Authoring Tips

CHANGES TO GOOGLE'S RANKING METHODS.
Google periodically refines its ranking methods to improve results and thwart "tricks" used to boost position. Two February 2011 New York Times articles explain.

The first, "The Dirty Little Secrets of Search," describes how J.C. Penney got caught using questionable tactics to leap to the top of search results in dozens of retail categories. After Google took what it describes as "strong corrective action," Penney dropped from 1st to 68th and 71st in two categories mentioned in the article.

The other, "Seeking to Weed Out Drivel, Google Adjusts Search Engine," talks about changes made to demote sites described as "content farms." Apparently the sites generate articles written around common search terms in the hope they will be a magnet for search engines.

CONVERTING PAGE LAYOUT DOCUMENTS TO WEB GRAPHICS.
Often web authors are asked to include pictures of book covers, catalogue pages, or publication mastheads on their pages. If the original page was created on a computer, there are two easy ways to create GIF or JPEG graphics directly from the original without scanning.

One is to open the document on your computer and take a "picture" of it using a screen capture utility. Alternatively, if the program used to create the publication allows one to save a page as an EPS file, as both PageMaker and QuarkXPress do, you can do so and then convert the EPS file to a bitmap graphic by opening it in Photoshop. Usually this latter approach produces better results, although it involves more steps and requires greater system resources.

© Copyright 2011, 1995, ComputerImages Corporation. All rights reserved,
reproduction in whole or part without permission is prohibited.
URL: www.computerimages.com / tip_wb.html.
Updated March 15, 2011.