Mike Johnson Design

As we’re now approaching the end of January, I wanted to talk a little bit about how my “experiment” went. So far…REALLY well. I’m seeing huge jumps in the search results. I’m even ranked #1 for a few of my keywords. So all is well. I’ll let you know more as time continues.

I was introduced to a program/website the other day (won’t mention the name until after my “experiment”) that allows you to submit content to high-page-ranked websites. These websites are dofollow, which results in getting 3 backlinks per article written. I’m going to track my progress for one month. From Alexa.com, I noticed that all of my sites only had 1 site linking in (except this website which has 35, and two other sites have around 16). So we’ll see how many one-way links I can get after one month and I’ll be sure to post my stats.

The Will Wallace Acting Company has been training working actors in L.A. for over ten years. Will offers a unique opportunity for actors to study with a working director. The actor quickly becomes familiar with terms used on a movie set as well as the in’s and out’s of the business. In addition, Will allows his students to sit in on auditions to see the common mistakes that many actors make- an invaluable learning experience.

This website is just a demo of what I can do.

Dr. Rachel Russell is a California Board Certified Licensed Acupuncturist practicing in Calabasas (West San Fernando Valley). A lifelong devotee of healthy living, she specializes in chronic pain issues, stress management, recovery from physical injuries, allergy alleviation, detox protocols, Pediatrics, Fertility, Woman’s health and general health preservation.

Matt’s Remarks is a site all about Matt. He has a passion for making people laugh, and he created MattsRemarks.com to give others a taste of his fun personality! He is constantly looking for ways to entertain people, and what better way to do that than to talk about the latest gossip, news, and information that people are interested in hearing?

I’ve been working really hard the past few months on strengthening my “SEO Game” and I’d like to share a few of the things I’ve learned:

1) Create links that contain the keyword you’re trying to rank for: Here’s a great example: Tailor Made Health. Notice how the link contains the keyword both in the actual text AND the URL. This way Google (or any other search engine) gets an idea of what it’s going to find when it follows that link.

2) Write keyword rich content. Here’s a sentence from a friend’s website: If you’re looking to buy a home or condo in Orange County, you’ll find the best deals from KEYWORD LINK HERE. See how the keyword they’re trying to rank for is located within the sentence?

3) Use meta tags: title, keywords, description.

4) Use H1, H2, and H3 tags within the content, along with relevant images (with alt tags).

5) Write articles that actually make sense. Don’t just write fake content just to throw your keywords in. You AND Google knows what you’re doing. I don’t recommend it.

6) Get backlinks from high page ranked sites.

These are just a few great and easy-to-do examples I’ve found across the way. Hope this helps!

Remember back when it was almost “forbidden” to embed fonts within your site? Well…those days are finally over!

I recently came across this site that generates, as well as gives you the code, for embedding fonts the RIGHT WAY! The site is font squirrel and they offer so many types of FREE fonts that can be used on ANY site. It’s literally one of the best sites I’ve ever seen.

So, go to font squirrel right now and try it out. I will eventually change the headings on my website to something a little more modern and will NEVER have to use text in images again! It’s going to fantastic.

**Update: I no longer work for NextClient. Thank goodness because that company is going under!! (Hopefully sooner than later). I work for a company called 4over.com. They are awesome!

I have been working for NextClient.com for over 1 year. What an accomplishment! I got this job immediately after I graduated and knew that it was going to help me learn and grow in ways I didn’t know were possible. I am now an expert in the following programming languages: HTML, CSS. I have also had the opportunity to work on various WordPress projects. I feel confident in my ability to build better websites (with clean code, of course) and will continue learning daily so that I can become the web developer I want to be. This job has given me a better outlook on what I want to (and will) become.

Upon searching for new and improved icons for my web designs, I came across MediaLoot.com. This site offers a premium collection of icons, brushes, texture packs, web elements, and more. Here’s what they say themselves…

MediaLoot was founded as a way for the design community to come together and get more resources for less money. Our roots are in the community, and we take all of our directions from you. Vote for new resources, request new features, or give us ideas we haven’t even thought of — we’ll just keep working to bring you what you want.

So if you’re curious about MediaLoot and have a little cash lying around, I urge you to check out this amazing website and what it has to offer. You’ll be impressed.

In October 2009, not more than 2 weeks after I graduated Platt College San Diego, I was offered a full-time web developer position at NextClient.com. I have been working there for the past 7 1/2 months. I enjoy what I do although, most days are pretty redundant. I do basically the same website cutting, coding, and implementing every day. I have learned a lot about floats, margins, and more, and have to say that this job has given me the tools necessary to feel confident in a job that requires slightly more knowledge. I am excited about what the future holds for me and will continue striving to better myself and my design/development skills. Until next time…