What is a site map?

 

It is important to consider what a site map is and realise that even if a site map is written in the correct way, in the right language, it might not necessarily function efficiently as a sitemap. The component information within the map may prioritize an incorrect order. Just because a sitemap looks like a site map doesn't mean it is a sitemap. If we see something covered in feathers we call it a bird – what if the thing is covered in feathers, has no beak or wings, do we still call it a bird?

 

 Sitemap protocol allows a webmaster or site owner to inform search engines  about the pages on a website that are available for crawling. A Sitemap is an XML file that lists the URLs contained on a site and contains additional information about each URL: when it was last updated, how often it changes, and how important it is in relation to other URLs in the site. This allows search engines to crawl the site more intelligently.

Once you have created an XML sitemap and have loaded it up to your site what do you do with it? Google recommends you to first submit your Sitemap using Google Webmaster Tools. This means you will be able to validate your site, claiming ownership or access rights to the site, informing them you are responsible for updating, managing or optimizing etc. This will ensure that your Sitemap details are in your Webmaster Tools. In addition to your Webmaster Tools, you can also submit (and resubmit) your Sitemap using the following methods:

• Sending a HTTP request to Google
• Including your Sitemap location in your robots.txt file


A similar process of validation also works for Yahoo and Bing. Sitemaps are a URL inclusion protocol and complement robots.txt, a URL exclusion protocol.

Drawing no2 and free weblistings

Peter Bright Drawing no2
Originally uploaded by Peter Bright

Search Engine listings are probably the cheapest way to generate website traffic, by-passing the need for a pay for clicks campaign. There are probably more web pages on the Internet than there are people in the world and page population is growing at a faster rate than the world's population. Even the greatest designed website, advertising the greatest products or services around will not be discovered if nobody knows it exists! It is written elsewhere that over 90% of all Internet traffic is generated by Search Engines. To say that it is imperative to get your site listed in Search Engines is an understatement, survival of your business relies on your website being found by potential customers when they start searching for products or services similar to yours.

To be effective, you must be able to find your web site based on keywords or search terms - which prospective clients may enter into a search box on a Search Engine when looking for your product or service. It is vital Search Engines direct traffic to your website’s content.

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About the image above: Exhibition June 2010 of new paintings and old drawings at Broomhill Art Hotel, Nr. Barnstaple, North Devon.

Peter Bright presents
'Topiary for Beginners'.

Creating images is balancing on the knife edge that teeters between success and failure. A brushstroke out of place is like cutting the beak off a privet peacock, it takes time for it to grow back and reshape. It takes time to get a web site into a search engine.

Cash in on smaller social networking sites?

We are all now very aware that the success of a website depends on a myriad of  variable factors. One  stratagem employed by Optimizers to 'sell the brand'  via social networking sites. One of the main distributors is Twitter - if you already have an account you will be aware that the posts placed are 99% twitter shit. There are however more niche networking sites.

I was trawling through my emails and I had one from Lolita Jenings who was singing the praises of RandRWorld.com. The content of the email appeared official so I replied back asking for more information. Below is the reply she sent back.

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Hi, thank you for your attention. I'm Pr-manager in R&R music company

Discovering new music, creating new partnerships, and establishing new relationships are all integral goals of R&R Arena.

R&R World is one of the most innovative and forward-thinking music networking websites on the web. It offers different profiles and features for artists, venues, music professionals, and every day music lovers.

Artists can create announcements on their profile pages to advertise upcoming shows or album releases. All users can create playlists with any track that has been uploaded by an artists so they can listen to their favorite songs over and over. And venues can advertise upcoming events or search for artists to perform at the venue.

But the main features of R&R Arena are:

• "The Market" - offers free publishing rights to artists and helps them to shop their music around to various people and companies who are looking for music to use in various different mediums.

• "The Brokerage" - offers the unique service of pairing artists with companies who are looking to create a certain brand image for their company or their product. Both of these services provide great opportunities for artists and companies that can't be found in many other places online.

Come and see how easy it is to get started, upload music, videos, and pictures, and start networking. R&R World even has its own wiki system to help users discover what all the features do and how to use them! This is truly a user friendly network within the music world. Be heard at R&R World.

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There are lots of alternative networks out there - maybe this one can offer something different? We made a page here: thiswindow . Let's see what happens.

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Cheap Web Design?

Outsider Internet

Outsider Internet can provide web hosting. There are lots of companies on the web who can provide cheap options - the majority are trustworthy. We can arrange hosting either in the UK or in the USA; we have clients who host on both sides of the Atlantic.

There are several options available. If you want us to sort it out for you we can give you a competitive quote. Wer can also build you a site - this is what we are here to do:

• Get your project delivered within a specific time frame.
• Ensure good search engine optimization is employed. 
• Get service from expert and experienced web and graphics designers.
• To reduce your project costs.
• To deliver quality all the time.
• Customised web designs and graphics design at low rates. 
• We offer very affordable hosting and design packages.
• Give you the experience of an established team of designers .
• Customer satisfaction is our final goal. 

Outsider Internet provides a web site updating service. We will update your site, even if we didn't design it in the first place

There is nothing worse than a web site that contains out of date information....this gives the buying public the wrong impression.

Your web presence is important, a vital link between 'you'  and 'them'. This is a vital marketing strategy: information is power and sharing information increases your presence and ultimately sales.

Playlist 7 is another joint venture between ReverbNation and Windows

Without doubt ReverbNation is becoming one of the most important sites for independent  (music) artists and appear to be the website that is implementing the best strategies for success  - below is an unedited email interview with Jed Carlson who is the Chief Operating Officer of ReverbNation. (First published on SystemCulture.org)

• Playlist 7 is another joint venture between ReverbNation and Windows. What are the fundamental differences between this program package and the earlier 'Sponsored Song' free download extravaganza?

Playlist 7 is trying to bring the fans more into the equation than in Sponsored Songs. Fans are charged with the ability to determine who moves into the featured slots and who gets the bigger money prizes (over $500 each for featured Artists).

• The band equity charts are a great concept (points gained are based on track plays, visits, hits etc.) these scores are used to divide and share advertising revenue between the artists and ReverbNation, which to me seems a radical idea. Is this idea unique and do you think it is sustainable in the long term?

Band Equity is a score that attempts to gauge the 'brand value' of an artist at any given point in time. Band Equity looks at 4 factors of an Artist:

1. Reach: How many people are being touched by the music? All else equal, the Artist that reaches more people should score higher.

2. Influence: Of those people, how many engage with the music, listen to the whole song, come back for more, etc? All else equal, the Artist that engages fans more deeply should score higher.

3. Recency: How recent are the interactions? All else equal, the Artist that has reached and engaged their fans more recently should score higher.

4. Access: What % of your fans is the Artist engaging with? All else equal, the Artist that engages a higher % of fans should score higher.

We devised this metric to more 'holistically' understand Artists the board. It IS ENTIRELY UNIQUE to ReverbNation - we Invented it! We do think that is holds water for many Artists out there, but it isn't perfect by any means. Band Equity Scores have undergone more than a dozen refinements over the course of the introduction of the metric. We will continue to commit to it as a standard for measuring Artists in terms of their brand value going forward and hope that others adopt it.

• Playlist 7 is a fantastic way for consumers to download free music via the Internet. With the collapse of the 'traditional' music industry monopoly, the independent artist has been able to take more control regarding recording and distributing their work. Do you think the business model of the 'Sponsored Song', with its embedded advertising is the future of the (download) music industry and do you think paying for tracks via iTunes, Amazon etc. will become a thing of the past?

Music retailing will never become obsolete. People will always trust retailers to deliver music to them. We hope that the concept of embedding adverts inside the download will play a big role in the future of ad-supported music. We even filed a patent on it. But the future of music is likely to be fragmented. As a result, the future of music consumption will be dominated by a large variety of models that provide for it. Embedding adverts into the album art is likely to be just one of them.

• ReverbNation have without doubt the best toolbox for the independent artist; the ability to control songs, newsletters, fans, merchandising and distribution from one place is second to none. What do you think the future of ReverbNation will be and what are the ultimate goals?

Our goal is to provide ALL of the solutions that an Artist needs to compete, cooperate, and differentiate in the new music environment. We are on our way to providing that now.

• I have noticed that more mainstream and more well know artists have appeared on ReverbNation - this is in many ways a double edged sword. Do you think the influx of established 'stars' will alter the philosophy of the site (which appears to be - to enable and support the independent artist) or are you confident that your strategies are robust enough to cope with the change?

ReverbNation is agnostic to the 'type' of Artist that uses our system. We want to build the best solutions and let anyone who wants them come and use them. We approach every feature with an 'Artist First' mentality. That is to say that we don't build anything that doesn't first help the Artist. Whether its an indie Artist or an established Artists, we don't really care. We are building for a future where every Artist has a fair shake, and our tools serve them equally. If more established Artists want to use our tools, so be it. We are here for every Artist who wants to take control of their future. That's what makes us different. We don't have an angle per se. We just focus on building great technology for everyone.

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