A good question to ask is if meta tags are still necessary. They used to be more helpful, providing important information to the various Internet browsers. As browsers became more sophisticated, they stopped needing a lot of hand holding. Other methods of SEO became more of a vital role. The “Free” area of search engines are becoming harder to access, especially if you want control of where and how you are listed.

Google does no longer use the meta keyword and they confirm this in their Webmaster Central Blog: Google does not use the keywords meta tag in web ranking. Some search engines don’t use the meta tag information any more because many people abused it. In fact, meta tags may not represent the content of your site, but, it still doesn’t hurt your status with search engines if you make use of these little bits of information, and do so truthfully.

Without a doubt, content is the biggest contributor to search engine page ranking, so if you want to raise your rankings, make sure you have quality content. “Content is King”, a hard rule to remember.

All the reasons meta tags are and aren’t important to search engines is to answer. Search engines are fluid and how they operate and list sites is not static. WGS suggests various forms and SEO techniques to maximize your placement

Most clients are unsure why they need to have an ongoing SEO campaign. We tell them not having such a campaign will harm their ranking. Not be listed as good as you can is not an option for many businesses.

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More and more businesses and individuals are turning to blogs and social media as a means of communication with their customers and website visitors.

Do you already have a website and would like a matching custom blog design? Or maybe you’d like to set up a new custom wordpress theme website with a stunning, unique design?

Creating a WordPress or other content management (CMS) custom theme site is something we love to do. From design to coding and getting your site live, thanks to a large variety of CMS such as WordPress and Joomla, we can customize an already existing blog theme to reflect your own!

Let the WGS Team take the hassle out of creating your customized WordPress Theme…

Features that we can add to your site or blog:

• Dynamic Featured Gallery – Custom Coded to display your most important posts with thumbnails
• Auto Thumbnail Feature : No need to insert thumbnail for your magazine style blog as our theme will automatically pull and resize images.
• Search engine optimized – SEO Plugin Installed
• Rotating Banners – Easily add multiple banners and even PPC in sidebar and posts
• Contact Form – with captcha feature to prevent spam

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A good brochure must be clear and attractive to the intended audience. More importantly, a great brochure should quickly and effectively tell the viewer, what you are, what product or service you offer and then how to take action and contact/purchase your product or service. Think of the brochures that you or your friend kept from an event you went to, or a place you wanted to go. You may not have identified exactly what design aspect made it unique, but these brochures definitely captured the essence of the event or the company. The ability to embody the spirit of the client and the identity of the company in a mere paper brochure is what makes it memorable, and is proof of a good design. These brochures show exemplary creativity and excellent design…

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Clients ask us often, why do we need to spend so much continued effort getting in Google and Yahoo? The answer is Google and Yahoo is a constant evolving database and it is not constant. Your website exists to reach people and ultimately bring in customers. Unless you maintain your ranking on these websites they will be lost to your competition. Below are a few ways we currently program your site to get you listed in relevant keyword areas.

• What Are Meta Tags?
• The word meta means information about. Meta Tags were created early on to provide concise information about a website. Meta tags list information about the web page, such as the author, keywords, description, type of document, copyright, and other core information.
   
• Tags, Headline tags, meta tags:
• As a search engine prowls your site, it gathers information from the title, headings, content, and Meta Tags such as description or keywords. It compares the words within each of these sections and “ranks” the site dependent upon how well the information matches. Washington Graphic Services has the ability to analyze your site and how to maximize your meta tags.
   

It is important for website developers to understand that a default installation using templates such as WordPress does not contain the description and keywords meta tag data. Meta tags can be added manually, through changes to the Theme template files or through WordPress Plugins.

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Database pros are broken into several roles. These three different areas; how well they can set-up and maintain a database, how well they can program to a database, and how well they can design database systems are vital. These coincide with the three roles that Washington Graphic Services would typically hire: database administrator, database programmer and database architect. Washington Graphic does not expect any single professional to be fully proficient in all three areas, we do want to understand the breadth of their exposure. It is an indicator of how much empathy they will have for their team members when working on database projects, and understand the sometimes competing challenges each faces. While there will always be some overlap, the divisions of responsibility are broken down as follows

• Database administrator – Installs, configures, manages the database installation. This will include access control, provisioning and patch management. Typically provide analysis into resource usage and performance.
• Database architect – Selects and designs the platforms, and designs or approves schema. It’s the architect’s responsibility to understand how data is used, processed and stored within the database. They typically select which database platform is appropriate, and will make judgment calls whether or not to use partitioning, replication, and other advanced features to support database applications.
• Database programmer – Responsible for coding the queries and use of the database infrastructure. Selection of data types and table design, and assists with

Your DBA is going to understand how the databases are configured and what operations would be best moved into the database. If you are not already doing it, I highly recommend that you have your DBA’s and Architects do a sanity check on developer schema designs, review any application code that uses the database, and provide support to the development in team access control planning and data processing. It’s hard to willingly submit code for review, but better fix it prior to deployment than after.

More on this subject later – John Mier

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My previous blog articles state that I predict Apple is working on a new battery technology that will greatly influence how we power and charge our devices. I recently came across another article discussing just that on appleinsider.com.
You can view that story here: View Apple Insider article

Mark my words, big changes are coming soon and Apple will be a bigger influence in the technology, energy and communication industries. Apple will go from a company that make cool and useful devices to a company that creates technologies to improve our planet as well as our lives.

Revisit our blog soon for updates stories, thoughts and predictions.

John Mier

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Your local SEO (search engine optimization) specialist in metro Washington, DC.
You might not know, but there is a huge difference between optimizing your website for global and local audiences.
When you have a Washington, DC area-based online business and you are targeting local audiences, it is essential your website promotion techniques are specific.
Hiring an SEO specialist can help promote your website to local customers.
Here are a few reasons why you should choose an SEO specialist for your local online business promotion…

1. SEO Specialists in Washington, DC, Maryland and Virginia Know the Local Market
Many local businesses assume that their business website doesn’t need search engine optimization (SEO). The fact is that it is crucial to have a proper understanding of your local market and an effective promotion strategy if your business caters to a local market. Your target market is a specific group of people from a specific socio-economic background. You must optimize your website in such a manner that your prospective clients can find you through the major search engines. If you hire Washington Graphic Services, your business website will get promoted because we have a better understanding of the local market in the Washington area.

2. A Local Consultant Knows the Keywords, Where to Use Them, and Their Importance
There is no doubt that your business website needs relevant and targeted keywords even for promotion in your local market. Keywords are a vital element for your online business and always need careful attention. While advertising your local business you need to be attentive about long tail keywords that have the name of your locale. Key phrases with location names have less competition and they can increase the search-ability of your business in local markets through search engines. We can help you research keywords related to your business that are widely used by visitors to find your products/services. Keyword optimization focusing on local names enhances your chances of getting more targeted visitors to your website. Apart from research, strategic implementation of keywords at proper positions on your webpage is also vital to increasing search engine ranking of your website. Unless your SEO service provider understands the importance of region-specific keywords for your local business, getting success through local advertisement is difficult.

3. We Promote Your Website for Local Search in Local Search Engines
If you are thinking of promoting your website only through the major search engines, its time you think again. Often, people make the mistake of targeting only the common, top tier search engines that are most widely used. Ideally, your local online business needs a strategic twist in this regard. You need to promote your website in local search engines in addition to targeting major ones. If you let me handle your online marketing campaign, you can rest assured your business will get more exposure among your competitors. As SEO specialists, we analyze your website to find the sources of your visitors and the search engines they are using to find you. It is essential to sit down and review key points before choosing your online SEO marketing consultant.
Hire Washington Graphic Services, the Bethesda SEO experts who can take your local online business to new heights.

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