Technoglam

Ask a techie - how do I get search engines to notice my website?

 

I've just set up a website and registered the URL but I want to get it recognised by search engines. How do I do that and is it worth paying someone to do it for me?

Technoglam's resident techie, Alex, answers... There is so much information on the internet that it is very difficult to get yourself noticed, especially when compared with your competitors who may have had a web presense for years! It's usually not worth paying someone to 'optimise' your site. And any one who claims to 'guarantee no.1 in Google'  is lying. Don't give them your money.

There are hundreds of search engines out there. Google, Yahoo and MSN are the prize ones and the best places to be - Google because of world wide exposure, MSN is the default on most windows based computers and Yahoo is tied in with BT and many service providers (T-mobile etc). Google uses complex formulas to work out where to place your site and uses a number of different techniques which it combines together to formulate a result. And in an effort to keep competitve these techniques change on regular basis. The best method is trial & error and effort. A good starting point is the book SEO for Dummies, yes it's not a very subtle title but it offers genuine tips and tricks to help you out. Here are my five top tips to get ranked highly...

Ask a techie - what laptop is right for my teen?

 

I'm thinking of buying a computer for my teenager. He'll need it for doing homework, browsing the web and emailing. Can you recommend some laptops? I don't want to spend too much.

Alex answers... Laptops are becoming more and more powerful and you can now get much more for your money. But if you truely want to save money and get a decent machine then avoid the High Street! The High Street tends to focus on the bigger brands such as HP but you can find a good quality machine for much less by picking a lesser-known brand or surfing online for the best price deal. For instance, ACER, available online and in some Tesco stores offer good quality machines with a range of offerings to suit most budgets. You might also want to look at budget online store Laptops Direct.

Most laptops come with built-in wireless that can connect you to your home WiFi  to share internet access, but do take into account anti-virus protection and child locks if they'll be browsing the web to prevent them from accessing anything unsavoury.

Dont be fooled by 'free laptop offers.' When you've calculated the cost of a 24-month contract compared to buying a similar model laptop along with a broadband line, there might not actually be any saving at all. If you're planning on downloading a lot of content, for example, music, you might find the small download allowance offered with a 'free laptop' deal not enough.

Will your teen want this laptop to be just for work, or for fun as well? All laptops will have reasonable sound and basic graphics ability, so there should be no problem watching a movie or playing music! And it will serve as an entertainment device as well as a homework tool.

Don't always listen to the salesmen! The salesmen will always try and push you for the most expensive options, even if you've said you dont want to spend that much. They'll try to blind you with acronyms and mesmorise you with specifications, so its worth reading up before you decide what you want.

Buying your laptop online from somewhere like Laptops Direct or Ebuyer will give you the opportunity to read all about each item before you decide plus Ebuyer also have a handy product comparison tool!

If you want a budget model, take a look at the £99 Elonex Websurfer that will go on sale this month. It's slightly smaller than most laptops with a seven inch screen and smaller keyboard but it does offer email, web browsing and can remotely access the home PC. It comes in a range of colours but you'll need to get a memory stick for saving documents. The Asus EEEPC 1000 is a popular portable laptop with a 10" screen display and a keboard that is only 8% smaller than standard models. It offers all the functionality of a standard sized laptop and costs around £360 from various online retailers.

Like this? More 'Ask a Techie' columns

Ask a techie - PC shortcuts

 

My colleagues seem to know lots of keyboard shortcuts like how to 'cut and paste' or how to retrieve deleted text. Can you share any popular shortcuts that will make my life easier?

Alex answers... There are dozens of short cuts out there! And sure, some of them are really useful. Most short cuts involve using a combination of buttons, typically this involves holding down either your Control (labelled 'CTRL', usually on the bottom left of your keyboard) or your Alternate (labelled 'ALT' and usually just to the right of 'CTRL') key as well as a single letter.

For instance, to cut a line of text you should use your mouse to highlight the text (holding your left key and dragging the cursor over the text), then hold down 'CTRL' and press the 'X' key (Tip: as soon as the text disappears release both keys). You can then paste the cut text to another document, or location in the same document by holding 'CTRL' and press 'V', again releasing the key straight away. You can paste the copied text to several places by repeating the CTRL+V sequence.

Ask a techie - Which anti-virus software is best for my PC?

 

Every week, I'll be putting your questions to Technoglam's resident techie, Alex. If you've got a question about computers or the internet for Alex, don't hesitate to let us know and you could see it answered in our new Friday feature. 

This week, you asked... I don't have anti-virus software on my PC and friends tell me I should. Do I really need it and what are the benefits?

Alex answers.... The simple answer is your friends are right, you should have anti virus on your computer. The times where security could be taken lightly are sadly long since gone but with all the different types of anti virus software on the market, which one is the best?

There are literally hundreds of different Anti Virus applications out there, but dont be fooled, not all of them are all they are cracked up to be. I think it's worth going for one of the 'big' named brands. Depending on how PC savvy you are, there are a few choices for you. For the absolute novice, try Symantecs Norton Internet Security, available online for £49.99. Ideal for the beginner, Norton is known to be a little 'paranoid' when it comes to security and locks down any applications it considers dangerous by default. It also installs a handy firewall, email scanner and instant messenger scanner to compliment its integral web site safe guard. If you're a little more willing to customise your own settings then take a look at Trend Internet Security  Pro (£54.95) or Trend Internet Security (£44.95) both available online here. Trend is designed more for home office users providing a little more flexibility to users.