The WebBits newsletter provides updates, tips and tutorials for IBTechSolutions clients and Joomla users. We hope you find the information in this newsletter to be useful.

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Google Caffeine: It sounds like an energy drink, and in some ways, it is.

Caffeine is the project name of Google’s overhaul of its search algorithms, its first rework in three years. The company implemented Caffeine in one of its data centers at the end of 2009 and is expected to complete the transition at any time.

As the web’s dominant search engine, Google is able to dictate its vision of what an ideal web experience should be. And like an energy drink, Google Caffeine is designed to make the web faster and more efficient.

Search results are the incentives. If your pages meet Google’s criteria, you’ll be rewarded with higher rankings. If they don’t, they’ll rank lower.

Fortunately, many incentives aren’t difficult and actually are good site practices.

Google’s Incentives
Google closely guards its search algorithms. But based on general comments from Google representatives, some guidelines have emerged:

• Content counts. Keep it current, and keep it fresh. Content should apply to your business and be relevant to your customers.
• Avoid tricks designed to boost your rankings. An example is aggregating outside content that does not relate to your business, such as news articles. Using such tricks will affect your rankings.
• Have good page links. Dead links, internal and external, will lower your rankings.
• Cover your SEO basics. Your content management system has functionality to easily add search engine optimization information such as page titles, keywords and meta tags. Take advantage, as you’ll help your page rankings.

Don’t Be Afraid
Don’t fear these changes. If you discover your rankings have changed, you can take steps to improve them. You don’t have to hire someone, either. Google has robust search engine optimization and webmaster guidelines that are clear and direct.

In the next newsletter, we’ll discuss how you can easily find content topics and write about them for your web site.

After you create an article, you may want to add a link to it on a previously created menu. To do this:

1. Open the menu to which the link should be added.
• To open the menu, roll over the Menu button on the Administrator's Top Menu and click on the name of the menu to be edited.
2. Click on theNew button in the top right corner of the Menu Item Manager.
3. Click on the word Article, then click on Article Layout.
4. In Menu Item Details, enter the following:
• Title – As it will appear in the menu. Viewers will see this.
• Alias – Enter an alias for Search Engine Friendly URLs. This should be all lower case with NO spaces.
• Link – This is edited using the Parameters (Basic) drop-down on the right-side of the screen. Click on the Select button and a pop-up window will appear. Click on the article that should be linked to the menu item.
• Parent Item – If the menu item should show on the main menu on the homepage, click on Top. Otherwise, click on the submenu for it to appear there.
• Published – Default is Yes and should remain as such to appear on your website.
• Access Level – Leave as Public if every viewer should be able to see it.
• On Click, Open In – Default is Parent Window with Browser Navigation. This will open the page in the browser window the viewer is currently in. Leave this as is unless you want the article to open in a new window.
5. Click Save.

If you would like to suggest a topic for this section, send it to IBTechSolutions at newsletter@ibtechsolutions.com.

The three major search engines, Google, Yahoo! and Bing, all offer free listings on their respective local business center areas. Take advantage of this free service and help potential customers find your business.

For step-by-step directions, go to http://www.ibtechsolutions.com/tutorials/general-directions.html and select from: Create a Bing Local Listing, Create a Yahoo! Local or Create a Google Local Listing.

If you need assistance completing this process, or just don't have time to complete it yourself, let IBTechSolutions know. We can help you register with the three search engines. Contact us at support@ibtechsolutions.com.

Each month IBTechSolutions will shine a spotlight on useful Joomla! Extensions. Extensions are components, modules or plugins developed to add functionality to Joomla!-based websites.

If you would like to improve your website with one of the extensions we feature, contact us at support@ibtechsolutions.com.

GTranslate
Do you want to make your website content available to a wider audience? Translate it. Better yet, use an auto-translator and allow your audience to select the language they need to read your website.

GTranslate is the top rated Joomla! auto-translator extension available. With this module, your viewers can translate your website into any one of 52 languages with a single click. The extension utilizes the Google Translate server to translate your website content to your audiences selection.

• Language bar drop-down with flag images
• Search engine indexing capability
• Search engine friendly URLs
• Meta keywords and meta description translation

Pro: This is an easy, affordable way to provide your content to non-English speaking audiences.

Con: The translation is only as good as Google Translator can accomplish without human interaction. Some translations may not be exact.

Just a reminder, IBTechSolutions performs weekly hosting maintenance every Sunday morning from midnight to 4 a.m. During this time, there is a chance that your website may be offline.