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Support

Did your Windows Servers get backed up last night?

When Windows Server Backup does its job, it works quietly. There are no alerts to indicate a successful or failed backup. Thanks to wsbalert.com powered by Skynet Solutions, there’s now a way to get instant Alerts in case of failure.

Seeing the problem with Windows Servers, we swooped in and created our own solution, electing to share it with others who are interested. This also marks another successful launch of a new website. This simple, sleek and functional website sports responsive design, making it mobile friendly, which has recently become very important after google’s Mobilegeddon ultimatum.

Signing up is free and easy! If you utilize Windows Servers and want that extra peace of mind, check out wsbalert.com. If you have any other custom software needs or website design needs, get in touch with our marketing team at www.skynet-solutions.net!

Categories
Design

Web Design in the Modern World.

Paraphrased and repackaged from the article ‘Reimagining the Web Design Process’ on News360 by Clark Wimberly.

The advent and popularity of Mobile Devices has forced a lot of change in the world of Web Design and Development. Varying screen sizes and the creation of new mobile browsers has made the good ol’ static web page obsolete. The most noticeable changes in the design side of things are fairly simple to summarize:

1. Mobile First – These days, the majority of people are browsing the internet on their phones or tablets. For Web designers, that means that creating simple pages that can be morphed to these more vertical screen dimensions is of utmost importance. Always think mobile before you create the desktop version.

2. One Brick at a Time –Starting with small elements (type, colors etc) then building them up into a complete web page is much easier than building a full page, then breaking it down into smaller elements to shift into a mobile format.

3. Think Beyond Breakpoints – Creating a web page involves content. Words, pictures, and various other elements that make up the meat of the page. Creating a styling system that is dynamic has never been more important. Know that things will change when your page is viewed on different devices.

4. Get Real– Testing absolutely must be done on different devices. Making .psd files for different screen sizes is useful, but actually using a touch screen and interacting with the site on a real phone or tablet will reveal issues you would never think of when designing on a desktop.

So it’s pretty obvious that things have changed, but these tips should really get you into the thought process of modern web design. If you’re needing help with any aspect of your website or marketing in general, get in touch at our website.

Categories
Marketing

Websites for a Small Business Budget

Since over 78 percent of consumers research products and services online, even the smallest of small businesses can benefit from having their own website. It’s the chance to make a lasting impression!

Studies show that nearly half of small businesses still do not have websites. In this day and age it’s difficult to believe that such a large number of businesses still rely on just a yp.com listing as their only online presence. Being able to reach out to consumers online with a personalized website benefits a business by giving it credibility as well as an outlet for information. Any business without a website is missing out on one of the most powerful marketing tools available to them.

Unfortunately, many business owners believe that the cost of building and maintaining a website would break their budget. The expense of a multi-page, in depth website starts in the range of thousands of dollars. While yes, a fancy website with many pages and facets would be great, it isn’t very realistic for a small business with a small budget.

Because we recognize the need for most businesses to have at least a basic website, Skynet Solutions offers one-page sites that are cost effective, personal to the business, and functional. We can work with any budget from any business, small or large to create a website that reflects a business’s look, culture, and values. Our one-page sites are even mobile-friendly, have call functionality like click to call, and have contact forms. They can even be expanded on later as the needs of the business continue to grow.

Take a look at these two great examples of one-page websites we’ve already produced for other local businesses. The new site for Charles Taxi Service displays an elegance and professionalism, with stock photography, and plenty of relevant information. Farris-Ault Exterminators now have a wonderful website that shows their personality, has a lot of great content, and didn’t break their budget.

The team at Skynet Solutions makes getting a professional website easy. Just call us at (918) 895-1982 to speak with our knowledgeable staff about cost effective website creation to give your business an online presence that fits.

Categories
Development

Google Skewing Search Results?

With the overall convenience of Google as a search engine, it’s easy for us to not worry about how it works and assume everything about it is working to help us. But a recent study published by the Yelp data science team and conducted by researchers at the Harvard Business School and Columbia Law School, reveals that there’s something fishy going on behind the scenes.

Click here to view the full research paper.

To put it succinctly, the research shows that Google often skews search results to display its own content before other, potentially more useful, results. The most obvious way this happens is through Google’s Local OneBox. This is the functionality that you often see on the right hand side when searching for something local. This usually gives you detailed information about a business and a link to its Google+/Google My Business page.

Because of this, businesses that have a Google+ page are almost always displayed first, even if they are less relevant to the search. This is why it’s always important to ensure that your web presence is being handled by someone who understands search engines and knows how to put your business on top. At Skynet, we specialize in SEO. Give us a call at 918-895-1982 and we’ll talk with you about how to make your business more visible on the web.

Paraphrased and summarized from this article: http://news360.com/article/300185046

Categories
Marketing

The Importance of July 4th

On this one very special day, considered by many to be the birthday of America, the team at Skynet Solutions reflects upon the importance of July 4th and what this symbol of freedom means to us.

It all goes back to 1776 when Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence. The founding fathers signed the document on the 4th of July declaring our independence from the tyrannical reign of King George III with a powerful and revolutionary message: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Everyone who signed the Declaration of Independence literally risked their lives in doing so. The penalty for that sort of treason back then was hanging. That is why we think of it as more then just a document, but as a symbol for the courage of those few who stood by their convictions to better our future and for their bravery in declaring our freedom. This significant piece of our nation’s history infused into our culture the noblest of ideals and the highest of aspirations belief in liberty, equality, individual rights, and above all, happiness.

As long as we all remember that Independence Day is not only a national holiday, but that it’s also a symbol of our patriotism, then we are free to celebrate. In fact, that is exactly how our second president, John Adams, thought we should honor the occasion in a letter that he wrote to his wife, Abigail, it will be celebrated by succeeding generations, as the great Anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the day of deliverance  solemnized with pomp, shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations from one end of the continent to the other, from this time forward forever.

As we go about our day enjoying family and friends, please take a moment to come together and celebrate this holiday, not just as a day off work, but for its true importance to us as a country. Teach the next generation about the sacrifices made by the great people of this nation who came before them and did their part in securing the freedoms that we have today. Skynet Solutions is proud to celebrate our great nation’s founding with you and sincerely wishes you a happy and safe 4th of July!

Categories
Support

Get Better Search Engine Rankings With These Blogging Tips

In this day and age, if you have a small business, you’d better have a blog somewhere to go along with it. Without an online blog, search engines are going to have a hard time finding you and so are your customers. The goal of a search engine is to return the most relevant results to users and your goal should be to keep those search engines happy. A lot of blogs receive the bulk of their traffic from the major search engines, so it only makes sense to work in conjunction with them to optimize your success. We have put together a list of tips that will ensure your business’s blog stays relevant and at the top of search engine rankings. Content drives search engine traffic, so updating your blog frequently is one of the best ways to push your company to the top of the list when people search for your products and services online. Post blog updates at least once per week to keep the search engine spiders coming back to your content more frequently. If they visit your blog regularly, they will quickly index your new content. Actively blogging on a regular basis is one of the most cost-effective channels for generating leads to acquire new customers. The more you publish, the more your site is crawled and the more leads are sent your way by search engines. Search engines measure the pages of your website based on their freshness and rank them accordingly. So, keeping around old content that exists simply to generate pageviews can sometimes do more harm then good. However, some old content that continually answers a user’s query may remain fresh forever in the eyes of a search engine. On average, blog posts have a fresh and relevant lifespan of about 2 to 3 years where they will continue to attract readers and be shared across other blogs and various social channels. So, if you have older blogs reaching the end of their lifespan you can give them a new lease on life by updating them with new information like current statistics or latest developments on that topic. Be consistent with a blog posting schedule no matter what it takes. This is critical because when your regular readers are looking for new posts and can’t find them, they may assume that your blog is no longer important to you or relevant to them and will quickly lose interest. Readers will adapt to your posting rhythm and will begin to expect that reliability from you. If you post every Monday, then it’s important to continue updating your blog on Mondays to remain consistent. If you’re running out of new ideas for content, there is nothing wrong with a little repetition every once in awhile. Sometimes before a message can get its point across, it needs to be repeated. Just don’t repeat something for repetition’s sake as that can become annoying to your readers. If you are concerned about not being able to keep up with a rigorous publishing schedule for your blog, find someone within your organization who can take it over or look into outsourcing your blog posts to a reliable company like Skynet Solutions. Not a tip in the world is ever going to take the place of actual personal knowledge gained by first-hand experience with tracked results and experimentation. Test your blogging strategies continuously to find out what works best for your business’s particular situation and you will be successful when search engines come looking for you.