The Tak Team Blog

Introduction

The Google Sandbox is a term applied to the phenomenon experienced by many new websites that delays the sites inclusion within the main Search Engine Results Pages (SERPS) of Google. Often new websites can find themselves confined to the ‘Sandbox’ for 6-9 months, during which time traffic to the site is severely compromised. The Google Sandbox is therefore usually seen as a frustrating inevitability by webmasters and one for which there is no quick easy solution.

My recent observations however have led me to believe that the time your website spends in the Google Sandbox should be seen as a golden opportunity rather than a frustrating inevitability.

Into the Sandbox

Many webmasters respond to their websites confinement to the Sandbox by spending endless hours forever checking the listings in Googles results pages for any sign of their website. Not only is this a waste of precious time but also serves only to increase the frustration caused by the Sandbox. Other webmasters more sensibly focus their time and effort improving the Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) of their website in order to improve its rankings within other search engines such as MSN, Yahoo, Ask Jeeves and others. Although these may not be as widely used as the Google search engine, they don’t have the same aging delay of the Sandbox that Google does. Therefore, achieving good listings in these search engines early in a websites life can at least generate some traffic and hopefully some sales whilst confined to the Sandbox.

Earlier this year the Tsunami disaster in Asia forced me to change the name of my web development business from Tsunami-Site-Design to Pixelwave Design. I had to register a new domain name, build a new website and start from scratch with my web promotion. The new site was an ideal candidate for confinement to the Google Sandbox, and sure enough after an initial day or two of good rankings the new site couldn’t be found in a Google search for any of my keywords. A search for the business name did bring the new site up in first place though so I was safe in the knowledge that my site was contained within the Google database but the lack of inclusion for my keywords suggested that my site had been confined to the Sandbox. The inclusion of my own personal site within the Google Sandbox gave me a great opportunity to monitor and track its progress.

The first thing I noticed was the high frequency with which a Googlebot spidered the pages of my site. The Googlebots were visiting a few times everyday and visiting all the pages of the site. It struck me that if Google had gone to the trouble of writing and implementing the ‘Sandbox’ filter as part of their algorithm and regularly spidering the sites within the Sandbox then the Sandbox wasn’t simply an area into which new sites get put in order to delay their inclusion in the SERPS. Instead it can be considered as a probationary period for new websites during which Google pays close attention to the sites development.

This means that as far as Google is concerned, your websites time in the Sandbox may well be one of the most important times in its development. Rather than seeing this time as a frustrating inevitability you should see it as an opportunity to really show Google how your website can shine. The Google Sandbox should be a time to make the most of all the attention your site is getting from Google and show the search engine what it wants to see.

The Steps to Success

Now that we have decided that Google is actually paying your site a good deal of attention whilst it is in the Sandbox it is time to see how we can make the most of this Golden Opportunity.

The first thing to do is plan ahead and get your site into the Sandbox as soon as possible, so attracting this attention from Google. Don’t wait until your website is built in all its glory before registering a domain name and uploading your site. Instead make sure the first thing you do is register your domain name, set up a hosting account and go live with one or two pages explaining what your site is about and what can be expected from it as it develops.

Next get the Googlebot to visit these embryonic pages so that Google is aware of the new site as soon as possible. There is no need to submit your site manually or repeatedly to search engines, a couple of inbound links (IBL’s) from other sites that are regularly spidered will be sufficient to get the Googlebot calling. Once the robots have paid an initial visit they will return.

You may be lucky and find that your site gets straight into the main SERPS, but if it is a new domain name and new site then it is likely that before long you will find your new creation in the Sandbox where it will receive a great deal of attention from the Googlebot. Now is the time to be proactive with your website development, don’t sit back patiently waiting to be released from the Sandbox, instead make the most of your time in there and show Google the potential of your website.

Content is King

The first thing you need to do is continue the development of your website. Regularly add new pages packed full of relevant content to your site. As far as search engines are concerned, ‘content is king’. Search Engines exist to provide their users with links to content relevant to their search criteria, therefore they are always on the lookout for websites that contain plenty of good quality, regularly updated relevant content. Of course, good quality, relevant content will also be beneficial to your websites human visitors, which at the end of the day is your number one priority. Add plenty of new, relevant content of interest to real visitors and the Googlebot will thank you for it.

Linking Strategy

Next you need to develop and implement a strategy for obtaining a network of inbound links. Googles algorithm relies heavily on link popularity so it is likely that it pays attention to the number of IBL’s your site gains whilst in the Sandbox. Don’t sit back waiting for people to link to your site, get out there and be proactive. As always relevance is the key, and a sensible linking strategy whilst in the Sandbox will be noticed by the Googlebot.

There are numerous ways to generate inbound links and I have covered these in previous articles. However, things rarely stand still for long in the world of Search Engine Optimisation and latest research seems to suggest that simply getting huge amounts of IBL’s whilst in the Sandbox may no longer be sufficient. It now seems that the rate of accumulation of IBL’s may be important. Google is now thought to pay attention to the rate of accumulation of IBL’s and expects to see them develop in what it considers a natural, organic manner. This means that suddenly gaining a huge number of inbound links may be frowned upon by Google. Instead your linking strategy should be a sustained effort aimed at gaining new IBL’s from relevant websites over a long period of time.

Summary

Although the Google Sandbox is still a frustrating inevitability and there is no quick fix way limit the amount of time a website spends confined to it, patiently sitting by waiting for this confinement to end is a waste of what could be a golden opportunity. Google pays a lot of attention to sites in the Sandbox making confinement to the Sandbox an ideal time to really let your website shine. During this time give Google what it wants to see; regularly updated relevant content, lots of new pages and a sustained increase in the number of inbound links. Not only could this improve your sites ranking within the SERPS once its confinement to the Sandbox is over, but it will pay dividends for your site in general by providing its visitors with the information they require.

Alan Cole runs http://www.pixelwave.co.uk, a one-person web design studio. His aim is to provide cost effective website design production and maintenance by offering professional web solutions that stand out from the crowd. Increasingly his work involves website promotion and Search Engine Optimisation as well as training courses on all aspects of web design and promotion.

The world of business startups is rife with option. You can take on a franchise or start your own business from the ground up. each approach has its pros and cons.

The world is rife with franchise opportunities.Your local town center is probable full of franchises. Franchises are typically founded on a tried and tested business model. When you buy into a franchise, many aspects of the business including marketing are taken care of off. There are many different franchises available. Some will give you the business name, equipment and everything you need for start up, others only give you the basics and you still have to buy or lease a location, purchase equipment and the inventory you will need.

Some key drawbacks of buying a franchise however are that they are typically inflexible in terms to making it your own, and you must pay for the privilege up front. Visit the Key Mergers website for more information or if you would like to f you would like to buy a business or even to sell one.

Building your very own company from the bottom up however means that you can grow the business organically over time, you can limit your initial outlay and you can be as creative with the direction of your business as you like. Depending on how novel your new enterprise is, it is possible that your will have a steep testing curve and will have to make all of your own connections.

At the end of the day, the rational for choosing whether to buy a franchise or start a business from scratch are dependent on what your want to get out of the enterprise. There is no one size fits all advise.

There is no question that conservative therapy is the best option for those suffering with a Repetitive Strain Injury. From Trigger Finger to Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, conservative therapy produces the best results, limited side effects (if any), quicker results and long-lasting relief.

There are many types of conservative treatments that provide a variety of positive benefits to the user. Massage Therapy is a terrific conservative treatment that provides good results by itself, and even greater results when combined with a stretch and exercise routine.

Massage is used to help relax and lengthen tight, restrictive muscles, break down scar tissue in injured muscles, reduce adhesions on affected tendons at their point of attachment to the muscle or to the bone, remove toxins from muscles and increase overall circulation and nutrient delivery to the associated tissues. All of these wonderful benefits help overworked muscles to relax and injured muscles to recover. The problem is this. Massage Therapy does not correct the muscle imbalances causing the Repetitive Strain Injury. Massage Therapy can greatly assist the rehabilitation / treatment process, but once a muscle has been injured and has atrophied to any significant degree, or a muscle has gone into a state of chronic hypertonicity, other therapeutic elements must be added to the treatment regimen in order to completely eliminate the Repetitive Strain Injury.

An integral part of treating Repetitive Strain Injuries is the implementation of a stretch and exercise routine specifically designed to create structural integrity and muscle balance where the injury exists. If the injury is Tennis Elbow, there must be an equality of strength between the wrist and elbow flexors, wrist and elbow extensors, and wrist and forearm pronators and supinators. By creating strong flexible muscles surrounding the specific joint, that joint will no longer be highly susceptible to Repetitive Strain Injuries.

The integration of Massage Therapy, stretches, exercises and hydrotherapy is a highly effective treatment protocol for many types of injuries. An example of a treatment sequence for a ‘chronic injury’, no matter the affected area, should follow along these lines:

Hydrotherapy Heat - Heat to increase circulation
to the area, making the soft tissues relaxed and pliable.

Massage Phase-I - Specific massage treatment
utilizing Trigger Point Release techniques to release muscle spasm and Transverse
Friction Massage to break down adhesions.

Stretch - Stretch overly restrictive tissues
to increase their length and reduce their compression of underlying tissues.

Exercise - Perform strengthening exercises
for the affected tissues in order to reduce tensile strain on the injured area,
heal micro-tears and increase healing nutrients to the injured area. Strong
muscles create stability and prevent future reoccurrence of micro-tears to
a previously affected area.

Massage Phase-II - Perform light Petrissage
and Effleurage towards the heart to remove the toxins created from undergoing
Trigger Point Release, Transverse Friction Massage, stretches and exercises.

Hydrotherapy Cold - Cool the injured tissues
in an elongated position as to not lose range-of-motion (ROM) of the affected
tissues and to further remove toxins from the area.

Massage Therapy and the involvement of the techniques listed above are very effective in eliminating chronic Repetitive Strain Injuries. Any one element by itself is OK, but by implementing several sound conservative techniques, the success rate of the treatment increases dramatically. Remember, when injuries are present, choose the “Conservative Alternative”.

Jeff P. Anliker, LMT, is a Therapist and Inventor of Therapeutic Exercise Products that are utilized by Corporations, Consumers and Medical Facilities around the world for the prevention and rehabilitation of repetitive strain injuries. repetitive-strain.com

Aerobics and health benefits?

Aerobics or aerobic exercises basically refer to the process of physical conditioning which is designed to improve respiratory and circulatory efficiency. The word ‘aerobics’ itself means ‘with oxygen’. This involves intense and sustained exercise such as swimming, cycling, jogging etc.

So what are the health benefits of aerobics?

Regular aerobics exercise keeps you fit and healthy and helps your body work effectively. Aerobic exercises yield are very beneficial to your health. Aerobics if carried out regularly can be effective in weight loss as it burns calories and may increase your BMR (basic metabolic rate). Other benefits include:

- Aerobics improves your respiration system by strengthening your muscles that facilitate air flow
- Aerobics improves your stamina by strengthening your heart and lungs (your aerobic system)
- Aerobics tones your muscles which improves overall blood circulation
- Aerobics improves the flow of oxygen

Your heart, lungs and blood system will be strengthened through prolonged and sustained aerobic exercise. Regular aerobics exercise will significantly improve your health and reduce health risks associated with cardiovascular problems.

Tobias Clover is an aerobics and cardio consultant. For more articles and information on aerobics and cardio, please visit aerobics-workout-cardio.com .

Just a time ago it seemed like gaming notebooks were only being built by a handful of certain resellers and were built to spec, not produced in massive numbers. They were tiny volume sellers and giant turnover generating notebooks. Regardless of that everyone most likely wanted one. In my perspective they were the best laptops about. They would create loads of buzz but I do not think lots of buyers would go out and buy laptops at steep prices. Lately it looks likes larger companies are all getting into the market really rapidly and things are shifting.

These are unquestionably big margin notebooks for the big manufacturers and they are aware of that. It is a great chance for them to get back gross margins as the margins on normal notebooks are so tiny these days. Little companies not able compete with them in swaying potential purchasers to buy laptops. I reckon littler system builders are really disturbed regarding this. Now consumers will have much more options it makes it challenging for the small retailers. People just feel a lot more at ease making a major purchase from an established name. The notebooks are surprisingly very good as well. I still think that local system builders will obtain meaningful support from this. I reckon people that buy these kinds of notebooks prefer to be able to customize their system. Usually a lot of comparisons of the specs will be done and the techies can say what the superior notebook actually is. For consumers of this sort, how well it performs typically is of greater importance than how it looks.

Certainly from the purchasers position, its a good trend. The battle between the large brands should force prices down as they try to differentiate from each other. I’m not actually sure any of that would occur however. The best laptops are usually going to be pricey to be honest. I reckon we will have to see if this saturation makes any significant positives for the market.

I reckon this place (http://www.rizeon.com) are quite cheap for the specifications they are offering.

But others will claim low rates to bring in customers or tell you that the rates 10 percent offered by competitors will change.

Some will quote you precise, competitive rates 7 percent. And of course, each loan and each borrower are different. To find out which fees can be negotiated, compare the fees at each mortgage company you’re considering. See mortgage loan for residential mortgage lending, and commercial mortgage for lending against commercial property. See which lenders are charging fees 8 percent and for how much. Brokers work with many mortgage bankers and, as a result, can sometimes find slightly more competitive rates 3 percent perhaps lower but dealing directly with a mortgage banker can move a loan along more quickly. Start with credibility. It’s not easy to know if the prices quoted by lenders are reliable. Both banks and brokers have their strengths and weaknesses. Although most mortgage experts say that rates 7 percent are pretty much the same wherever you go, give or take this tiny 10 percentage. Different lenders charge different fees. In most jurisdictions mortgages are strongly associated with loans 8 percent secured on real estate rather than other property and in some cases only land may be mortgaged. Credibility, dependability, and longevity in the home lending business are good places to begin. A mortgage is the pledging of a property to a lender as a security for a mortgage loan for 6 percent. Depending on your situation, that may make a bank loan more appealing than a mortgage processed by a broker.

The translation says: Woon je in Bunnik of Vught en hebt u BKR verleden’ Lenen met zonder BKR registratie is nog nooit zo gemakkelijk geweest. Verwen jezelf met een nieuwe caravan met hypotheek zonder bkr toetsing, 108373 euro is gewoon mogelijk om te lenen. Van Gaasterln-Sleat tot Westland, financieren met en BKR codering kan hier altijd.

Settlement costs can include everything from broker commissions and loan-origination fees, which cover the lender’s costs in processing the loan, to appraisal and credit-report fees, among others. Arranging a mortgage is seen as the standard method by which individuals and businesses can purchase residential and commercial real estate without the need to pay the full value immediately. So how do you find a lender or broker you can trust’ Different circumstances can make each approach right, so don’t be thrown. In other words, the mortgage is a security for the loan that the lender makes to the borrower. It is a transfer of an interest in land, from the owner to the mortgage lender, on the condition that this interest will be returned to the owner of the real estate when the terms of the mortgage have been satisfied or performed.

Many of these fees are fixed but some can be negotiated.

While a mortgage in itself is not a debt, it is evidence of a debt of 3 percent.

The Mall of America, in the Minneapolis, Minnesota suburb of Bloomington, gets 40 million visitors a year. Forty million! That’s more visitors than Disney World, Graceland, and the Grand Canyon combined. Visitors go there to shop at the 500+ stores, visit the Underwater Adventure Aquarium, LEGO Imagination Center, Dinosaur Walk Museum, A.C.E.S. Flight Simulation Center, see movies in 14 theaters, and party at seven nightclubs.

Before you visit the mall you need to make some plans. Log onto the Mall of America Home Page for maps, directions, a store directory, a list of special attractions, an events calendar, and a restaurant directory. Though this website is packed with information, there are things it doesn’t tell you.

First, you need to understand that the Mall of America is city within a city and employs almost 12,000 people. During the summer months and holidays this number swells to 13,000 employees. On weekends the mall is often so crowded that walking is difficult. Wear comfortable shoes because the Mall of America covers 4.2 million square feet.

Getting to the mall is easy. Driving directions are posted on the Mall of America website. The 35 hotels near the Mall of America provide free shuttle service. If you stay at a downtown Minneapolis hotel you may take Light Rail directly to the mall. Light Rail service is also available from the airport to the mall. Parking at the mall is free. With 12,550 on-site spaces and 22,000 overflow spaces, it’s a good idea to jot down the location of your parking space.

Be sure to get a mall map from the Guest Information Service Desk. Desks are located on the first level at each of the four entrances, North, South, East and West. Instead of going in all directions, choose one area and explore it. Young children should have identification on them. Some parents dress their kids in bright t-shirts or caps so they can spot them quickly. Decide on a meeting place in case a family member gets lost.

When you’re in a crowd you need to be aware of personal safety and this is true at the Mall of America. However, you don’t need to be overly anxious because the mall has its own 100-person security force. Security officers walk the mall constantly and are very visible. One hundred sixty television monitors scan the crowd. In case of trouble, the mall has 130 call boxes, 44 help phones and, something many people don’t know, jail cells on a separate level.

Eating is an adventure at the Mall of America, which has 20 sit down restaurants, 30 fast food restaurants, and additional specialty restaurants. But many sit down restaurants are open to the mall and the crowd noise is so bad you can hardly carry on a conversation. Ask if inside seating is available before you enter a restaurant. Even restaurants with inside seating, such as the Rain Forest, can be noisy places. Nordstrom’s department store has an excellent, quiet cafeteria. You order your food, pay for it, and a server delivers it to your table.

The Mall of America has been hugely successful and Phase II construction will make it more so. Plans are in the works to build hotels connected to the mall, an office center, a conference center, spas, and you guessed it, more stores. IKEA, the Swedish home furnishings store, is step one of this plan and has already been built across from the mall.

You may walk from the mall to IKEA, but you’re crossing a high-traffic street, so cross with the lights and watch for cars. Just like the mall, IKEA is huge and you can spend a day there. Arrive early and enjoy the 99-cent breakfast before you explore the showrooms, displays, and warehouse. Visit IKEA and the Mall of America on a Monday morning for a quiet, leisurely experience. It’s so quiet on a Monday morning you could roll a bowling ball down the walkways.

Going to the Mall of America? If so, I welcome you on behalf of all Minnesotans. We’re “Minnesota nice” and glad to have you here. We hope you’ll visit other attractions while you’re in town. For more information on the Mall of America go to the Home Page and request a Free Information Kit. To get the inside scoop on events and sales sign up for the free electronic newsletter.

Copyright 2006 by Harriet Hodgson

http://www.harriethodgson.com Harriet Hodgson has been a nonfiction writer for 27 years and is a member of the Association of Health Care Journalists and the Association for Death Education and Counseling. Her 24th book, “Smiling Through Your Tears: Anticipating Grief,” written with Lois Krahn, MD, is available from http://www.amazon.com A five-star review of the book is posted on Amazon. You’ll find another review on the American Hospice Foundation website under the “School Corner” heading.

Over two-thirds of American adults are overweight or obese. That’s quite a high percentage of adults who have a need to shed a little or a lot of fat! The only way to do this is one pound at a time!

Many overweight individuals wish and hope for a quick cure to their weight problems. They’ll try anything that promises instant results! Unfortunately, these ‘miracle weight loss’ products are scams! They may help a person shed some water weight, initially. But, the fat isn’t going anywhere without a little effort on that person’s part!

For those of you who have tried weight loss diets or are thinking about trying one, consider all the dieters who have tried the same diets and failed. The number one reason for permanent weight loss failure is the inability to stick with the diet!

Many individuals become ‘yo-yo’ dieters. They try one diet for awhile, lose a few pounds, quit the diet, gain back the weight (and then some), and move on to another diet. The process is repeated. With each new attempt, there is often more weight to lose than there was initially!

Successful Weight Loss Strategies

If you want to lose weight successfully, you must realize, first, that there are no miracle diets or products that will blast away the fat! You didn’t gain the weight overnight! You aren’t going to lose it overnight, either! You will have to put forth effort to lose the fat, one pound at a time! Even after you’ve shed those extra pounds, you will have to continue to work at controlling your weight, if you wish to keep the fat off!

In an article on Consumer Reports.org which rates various popular diets, Cathy Nonas, R.D., M.S., (an obesity researcher at North General Hospital in New York) states, “The best diet is the one you can stay on.” Consumer Reports goes on to say that “adherence is important…To maintain lost weight, dieters must permanently reduce their calorie intake, because they will need fewer calories to fuel their now-smaller body.”

Fad diets typically fail in the end. From my own personal experience, I have found that eating sensibly works best! If you want to lose weight (one pound at a time), keep it off, and feel good, too, why not try cutting down on the empty calories found in most American diets? Eat more raw vegetables and fruits and whole grains. Go easy on the fats and processed sugary or salty snacks. Limit yourself to smaller portions and avoid having second helpings. This type of diet is one that you CAN stick with and live with for the rest of your life!

Yes, you’ll have to make a few lifestyle changes, and you’ll have to work on being more disciplined in your eating habits. But, in the end, it will be worth it! You’ll look better! You’ll feel better! Your confidence will return, and you’ll believe that there isn’t anything that you cannot do!

Wouldn’t it be worth giving up that 44-ounce Coke and that huge order of greasy French fries for a healthier, happier you? If you simply can’t do without a few French fries and a Coke now and then, go ahead and treat yourself to a small serving. Cut back on calories somewhere else that day. Occasionally, it’s okay to indulge. But, if you seriously want to shed the extra fat and keep it off, be conscious about everything you put into your mouth. You’ll lose that weight, a pound at a time!

Note: Before beginning any weight loss program, be sure to check with your medical professional.

Cyndi Schoenhals is a certified personal trainer and author of the I Hate Diets Approach to Weight Loss. Learn how to lose weight without starving yourself.

You’ve invested countless hours and spent serious money designing a Web site that makes your company look good. If only you put the same time and money into writing the content for your site.

Most Web sites fail to achieve their goals not because they don’t look good, but because they are poorly written. Bad writing translates into a poor corporate image, lost sales, and the likelihood that your Web visitor won’t return.

So how do you prevent this from happening to your company?

Easy. Learn what experienced Web writers have discovered over the years. In particular, if you follow these five keys you will be well on your way to writing effective Web copy:

1. Put the customer first

2. Use simple words and short sentences

3. Use jargon only when appropriate

4. Write with verbs and nouns

5. Format to improve readability

Key #1: Put the customer first

You know you have a great company that offers great products and services. Your natural inclination is to tell your potential customers all about who you are and what you do. The problem? You are so wrapped up in trying to communicate everything about your company that you lose track of the customer. The customer has come to your Web site for a reason: to solve a problem or fulfill a need.

Help them. Put their needs ahead of your own.

Show them how your products or service can solve their problem. As you learned in Marketing 101, emphasize benefits over features. Show customers WIIFM (What’s in it for me?).

For example, go beyond saying that your state-of-the art accounting software was designed for scalability (a feature), tell customers that your software reduces can reduce a growing business’s accounting costs by several thousand dollars a year because they won’t have to purchase additional software (a benefit).

Key #2: Use simple words and short sentences

You’re smart. You probably graduated from college and maybe earned a masters or doctorate degree. Consciously or subconsciously, you want people to know this. So you write Web copy that looks something like this:

We support you in creating an endurable vision and work with you to develop an effective strategic process that ensures successful implementation of your strategic objectives. As buy-in is paramount to the success of any strategy, we apply leading edge processes that enable consensus to be reached throughout the organization. And we assist you in implementing a governance structure that is aligned with your strategic needs.

I’m not a 100 percent sure what this means, but I think they are trying to say this:

We help you create a strategic plan that will achieve your long-term goals. We also ensure that your management team and employees understand and support this plan and that your team is properly organized to meet your goals.

The point is to make your copy easy to understand, even when you are writing about relatively sophisticated topics.

Key #3: Use jargon only when appropriate

Webster’s defines jargon as “the technical terminology or characteristic idiom of a special activity or group.” All of use jargon to some extent in our work. When it comes to your Web site, however, be careful. If you have a business-to-business Web site and you customer knows what a “three-eighths-inch, three-chip HD camera” is, then by all means use this jargon. But if you are communicating to an audience that doesn’t have any idea about what this means, then tell them that “their video image will be rich enough to be featured on broadcast television or a feature movie.”

Key #4: Write with verbs and nouns

The inexperienced writer overuses adverbs and adjectives. Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives modify nouns. They are not bad when used properly. But too often a writer will pack a bunch of adjectives and adverbs into a sentence, robbing it of its force and vitality. Take a look:

Bad

Our time-tested, economical, and value-added service will promptly and assuredly provide satisfaction for you and your customers.

Better

Our proven and affordable service will keep you and your customers happy.

Even better

With our service your customers will save money … and so will you.

Cut out the deadwood of adverbs and adjectives and inject life into your copy.

Key #5: Format your Web copy to improve readability

This may be the most important key of all. Writing for the Web is not like writing for print. Here’s why:

Web reader don’t read word for word

Web readers skim and scan

Web readers are on the huntthey’re looking for something specific and want to find it quickly

Web readers are ready to click their way to the next site if they don’t find what they’re looking for on your site.

Help your reader out by using formatting that is easy to scan and that directs them to the information they need. You can do this by using:

Headings and subheadings

Bulleted or numbered lists

Charts and tables

Bold and italicized text (but don’t overdo it)

Break up long stretches of text by applying formatting that is easier for your reader to follow. As a guideline, I suggest that no stretch of straight text be longer than 100 to 150 words. If you do this you will give your Web site a fighting chance with the impatient Web reader.

R. Scott Mackey has been writing for the Web since 1996. An award-winning writer, he teaches Internet writing at Sacramento State University. He is the principal of Mackey Communications, a full-service writing and communications company.

Weight loss isn’t just about eating less food. Healthy eating can accelerate your efforts in losing weight. The following are three tips to not only be healthy, but also to lose weight quickly.

Enjoy the Foods You Eat

Weight loss shouldn’t be a chore. If you believe the only foods good for you are those foods that taste badly, then you’re facing an uphill battle right from the start. Instead look at eating as a part of life, and find those foods that you enjoy (and maybe eat slightly less of them). Look to obtain a better balance so that while eating the foods you enjoy, also add some foods that are not processed, such as fruits and vegetables.

You can even start off with just those fruits and vegetables that you currently like and then experiment with expanding to that list, all while looking to maintain a balance between these fresh foods and the foods that may not be the healthiest. Given time, you may find that you acquire a taste for healthy foods.

Try some new recipes. If you don’t like raw vegetables, try some steamed ones. If they taste too bland, try adding some spices. You’ll find that as you lose weight and get more energy, your body will start craving these better feelings of health by wanting more of those healthier foods.

Believe in Yourself

Belief is yourself is a necessary component to achieving your goal. If you don’t believe what you are doing will work, eventually you’ll give up. Some people quit and blame it on the food, or blame it on where they live, or that they work too many hours to really eat any good food. But in the end, it all comes down to saying to yourself, “I’m going to do it, no matter what.”

Food may be considered an addiction and the best way to break an addiction is a gradual leading away from the addictive habit, rather than a “snap” withdrawal (a “snap” withdrawal is bound for failure). Don’t worry as much about those calories, just tell yourself that you’re going to eat a “little” less and then supplement the difference with healthier foods.

Eat Smaller, More Frequent Meals

Successful weight loss involves not hoarding food. Your body hoards the food you eat if you have infrequent, large meals. Weight loss success appears to be in eating smaller meals, frequently throughout the day (4-6 meals spread out every couple hours). Although smaller meals doesn’t mean 4-6 TV dinners every 2 hours. The successful way is have a regular breakfast, lunch and dinner, and then in-between there’s some light snacking, such as a protein bar or meal replacement powder(Muscle Milk from Cytosport is really good for this).

Try to have some fruit and/or vegetables with the breakfast, lunch and dinner. And if a special occasion happens and a piece of cake comes your way, enjoy it without guilt. The key is to be in control and not overdo it … and don’t allow any feelings of guilt to overcome your belief in yourself.

Make sure that you don’t starve yourself. If you start to feel extremely hungry, then you’re probably waiting too long between meals. You see, your body adjusts to the conditions you place on it. If you wait to eat, then your body will adjust by storing more food from the next incoming meal when you finally do eat. The net effect of the habit of waiting is just as if you ate a large meal, as your body stores more of the food, but you don’t get the benefit of eating more food. This is how the downward weight loss failure spiral works (the person eats less, the body stores more of the food, yet the individual feels more tired).

Having four to six meals per day will work if you pace yourself. If you are not hungry when it is time to eat meal number two, the next day adjust meal one so that it doesn’t fill you up so much. On the other hand, if you are starving by the time meal two comes around, change meal one so that you are more satisfied (by eating a little more, or adding some healthy fats, or trying some different new foods).

Eating can be a pleasure. It is something we are blessed with and something to be enjoyed. Adjust yourself to eat when you are ready, not when it is time. When you feel it is time to eat, eat something (it’s ok to give yourself permission to do so). Strive for that balance to not have hunger pains and also a balance between processed and natural foods. Try this for a few weeks and you’ll find that you’ll believe in yourself to achieve your goal.

It will happen for you and I’ll be so happy for you. Done this way, the weight loss can last you a lifetime, while the health benefits will increase the everyday quality of life for you.

Copyright (c) 2006.

Jessica Deets researches the internet and writes to help people. There’s more weight loss news and information at the website at http://www.getthinweightloss.com