Previously, Google would alert its users against sites that were infected with malware by showing a warning message saying, “This site may harm your computer”. This proved to be of great advantage to users, who were saved from clicking on infected sites.

After a user see the notification, he/she can click on it and will be redirected to an article in Google’s Help Center. This article provides an explanation of the threat. The article will explain the reason behind the Google’s decision to display such a warning against a site.

Hackers can cause a lot of problems. They can make changes to a site, such as addition of new pages or links. They can alter the content of some pages to lure visitors in disclosing personal information and then using it for personal profit. Hackers can also compromise a site to achieve high ranking in search engines. After getting a top ranking, they are able to spread their malicious intent and harm more and more users.

Google’s new site hacking notifications are a great way to ensure security. For some, this heightened security measure can damage the reputation of a site. However, Google states that the warning message will be removed once the problem is sorted out.

Facebook Sponsored Stories are a new way for companies to advertise using word of mouth buzz. It is different than the normal Facebook Ads where advertisers promote their company/products on the side of the browser. Companies can now sponsor ads in the sidebar to republish check-ins and other updates made by the viewer’s friends. For example, your friend uses the check-in feature to post that he is at Starbucks. Starbucks can then “republish” that same post on your newsfeed under Sponsored Stories on the sidebar so that it doesn’t get lost. Only people you are friends with would be able to see those stories. It’s a way to amplify word of mouth. Continuing with that example, you would be able to then click on the Starbucks link and be taken to the Starbucks Fan Page where you could “like” the company. They’re basically recommendations from your friends.

I like these Sponsored Stories because they’re not advertisers telling users to use their products or frequent their business. It’s a way for you to see what your friends are using and recommending.

Check out this video to learn more: Facebook Sponsored Stories

Generally speaking, there is the all encompassing term “the cloud”. The cloud is comprised of 3 services:

1. Software as a service (cloud application): Consumer oriented applications where data is delivered to the end user without the user’s single machine having to do the heavy lifting, and the server’s workload is not distributed. Examples of this are Gmail, salesforce.com and Google Docs.
2. Infrastructure as a service: Computer operating systems, applications and databases delivered right over the internet without having to install. They give you optimal tech support, because the Infrastructure you are handling is out in the open and ready to receive help by an IT hand.
3. Platform as a service: This is for the developers. It gives them access to web based tools that aid in the development of websites. An example of this is Google’s App Engine.

Together these 3 systems work to revolutionize the way consumers, developers and business owners operates their niche.

1. Social Networks
Utilizing social networks is still one of the best ways to increase website traffic. You can never go wrong when using Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc as a tool for increasing traffic. Among all these social networks, Facebook is dominant. Facebook alone can deliver massive amounts of traffic to your website when used correctly. The sweetest part about Facebook is it’s FREE – and forever will be.

2. Social Bookmarks
Who says social bookmarking is dead? As a matter of fact it is very much alive. There are a lot of social bookmarking sites out there and more are created every day. Highly trafficked social bookmarking sites are Digg, Delicious, Reddit, and Stumbleupon. You can bookmark your blog posts to these sites and if it makes it to front page of a popular site, then that means a massive amount of traffic.

3. Articles
Sharing your expertise through articles is really fun. What you are trying to do is to build your reputation and show that you are an expert. One strategy you can utilize is to submit your articles to Ezinarticles.com and make sure each article has a link back to your site. Chances are if your article is very good a lot of users will read it, and voila, Instant traffic.

This way of searching will affect how a website does SEO business and how users are targeted.

• End user searches will be found quicker.
• Searches will be refined on the fly.
• Chances are, the second page of searches will no longer be viewed any more.
• Long tail search keywords will be less valuable. It will be more about understanding the users behavior while they search.

How will this affect the user and the business man? The end user, the person conducting these searches, will adapt to this new way of searching and being to form searches in different ways. This will, of course, be a silent evolution, but it will become common place. The following is an illustration of the difference that is going to take place. It is like the difference between live support and email support. For email support (Google’s old way of doing things) you send a support ticket on a question you have and you receive a response. Now, Google’s new way of searching is the equivalent of talking to a customer service representative, who can give you choices of how you can be helped before you reach the end of your question.

For the business man with the website, this is good news and bad news! Chances are, if your website has high rankings on a certain keyword then your web site will be displayed more often while people are searching that particular keyword. Therefore, potentially increasing traffic to your web site.
This is bad news for the traditional way of searching. End users now behave differently, and don’t perform searches the way they used to as mentioned earlier. This will then cause traditional long tail ad words to be view differently and put all companies on a level playing field. For example, if I was look up a flight to New York City, I would begin my search with “New York City”. Before I even type “flights” ads would instantly pop up for NYC hotels, travel deals, NY official site, NY vacation packages, etc. Why would I need to type anything further than “New York City”? This shows how competition for the shorter terms rather than the long tail terms is going to become more intense.

Google continues to amaze us with each optimization and update. Moving into the future, one thing is certain, we will all need to adapt and also figure out HOW we adapt to this rapid change that will cause us to search and market in a whole new way in 2011.

While it is true that people can add you to their group, the same goes for you adding people to your group. You also have the option to leave a group that you do not want to be in. So how do you use this new Facebook group feature properly and ethically? The answer lies within how well you genuinely interact with your group and how well you establish your group.

If you do not interact with your group on a daily basis chances are people in the group would lose interest and therefore leave your group. If you have nothing interesting to share or something interesting to talk about, people will leave your group. If you spam your group with products you are selling then people will really want to leave your group.

I would say Facebook groups are much better than a Facebook page. Both Facebook page and Facebook group has features like wall, photos, discussions, etc, but a Facebook page does not have a feature where in you can send an email to all your group members. This feature is beneficial in a way that you can convert these group members into visitors and perhaps customers.

Simply stated, the wonder wheel creates a wheel of keywords that Google feels are related to your original keyword. Why is this so wondrous you ask? Because Google is telling you the other keywords that it feels should be found on your site. By including these other related keywords in your SEO and web design you increase your chances of Google recognizing your page as relevant to the original word.

Google then gives you the ability to search even deeper by creating paths of keywords. If you click on a word it will then open a new wheel of words related to the one you clicked on. This begins to open your eyes to potential routes searchers may take to get to the keyword you are targeting.

Below are the top 3 web design trends of 2010:

1. Huge headline and images – More and more websites today are sporting huge headlines and/or images. This is a great way to grab users attention and invite them in. It creates a great visual impact that will help the visitor to remember your website.
2. More visual effects – Pay attention to the backgrounds of most web designs these days. Web Designers are replacing backgrounds with patterns or subtle/textured backgrounds. Doing so gives the site a nicer look and more modern web 3.0 feel as well as creating a visual effect for the website tone and feel.
3. Social media icons/links – This is a must! This is a great way for visitors to connect with you and for you to interact with them. The best way to do this is by placing social media icons/links in above your header, in the footer, sidebar or wherever you think is best on your website design.

So there you have it. These are the top 3 trends to consider for your upcoming web design projects or redesign of your website/blog. Be creative!

Even with the popularity of other social networking sites, LinkedIn is still the best site to promote your business. Here are the top 3 tips for getting massive results from marketing on LinkedIn.

#1 Leverage LinkedIn groups
If you have been working on LinkedIn for a very long time, you will agree with me that the best way to generate leads from high-end companies is through LinkedIn groups. Some important groups to consider are those related to social media, marketing and startups. When creating a group, there are two things to consider. One is to create a group name with keywords in to so that Google can index it. Second, there is an option to put your links in the group so that group members can check out your site and send you more traffic.

#2 Answer or ask questions and build your reputation
You are not only limited to post in your groups. You can also join a lot of groups. To build your reputation as a knowledgeable and credible business, answer relevant LinkedIn questions. You can also post questions that you think can entice other people to join.

#3 Building your list
There was a time when LinkedIn only allowed you to add people if you knew their email address. Fortunately, now you can add people through groups. It is much easier to connect to someone even if you do not know; all you need is a personalized and genuine message as to why you are adding him/her. Once you have a huge list of connections, you can simply opt them in for your newsletters, events and etc.

If you follow these important steps, you will clearly see why LinkedIn is best for your business. Make sure to be active on LinkedIn, update your profile, post content and add connections. Now go and grow your business with LinkedIn!

Once you’re signed in, Hotpot gives you a public nickname, just as a way to help keep track of your reviews. You can change it if you want. Click through the opening screen, and you’ll see a page with a search box at the top with the word “restaurant” already entered. I performed the search and was greeted by restaurants in my local area, which I was asked to rate.

These restaurants were not listed in the usual way you see search results listed. They appeared in rectangular boxes, about three and a half inches long and two inches wide on my laptop’s screen. At the top of each listing, you can click a star that says “Save for later,” which will presumably let you rate it later, or an X that says “Not interested,” which will presumably remove it from the listing. Below these two options you’ll find the name of the restaurant, with a link. The link takes you to the Google Maps listing of the place. If you’ve never seen one of these (and if you haven’t, what rock have you been living under?), it includes the address, phone number, fax number, a map that shows how to get there, a list of categories for the place, its specialties, reviews from around the web, reviews from Google users, and a whole lot more. If you like to do research on a restaurant before you patronize it, this is a great place to start.

Below the name of the restaurant, you’ll usually find a picture of either the exterior of the restaurant or a sample dish. Below this image you’ll find some indication of where the restaurant is located; this can be either the town name or something more specific, like the intersection. Below that, you’ll find a brief description of the cuisine, such as “Traditional American” or “Ribs.”