Marketing & SEO Discussion List - LED Digest

        --== HTML Structure Validation ==--

                ~ Mark Whitman
"I've always considered HTML validators...useful
to someone just learning HTML..."

==== CONTINUING =================

        --== Good Tracking Software ==--

                ~ Anisa Ali
"...we use an HTML confirmation page tracking..."

                ~ Desi Matlock
"How much data do you want, really?"

                ~ Pat McCarthy
"The advantages of log-based analytics is that
you can store and control your own data..."

        --== Protecting Images ==--

                ~ Viggie Bala
"Protecting images in web pages is next to
impossible."

        --== To Bounce or Not To Bounce ==--

                ~ Trevor Johnson
"Spiders do not read computer monitors."

                ~ Steven Birk
"...the only way to truly protect your email address
is to have it embedded inside of JavaScript."


==== BILLBOARD ===================

        --== Stopping Spam ==--
                ~ Gurdip Singh

        --== Good Books for Web Developers ==--
                ~ John Brumage

=========== NEW ==================================

From: Mark Whitman
Subject: HTML Structure Validation

Every once in a while I receive a note frantically warning me that
the HTML on a site or page I created does not pass an HTML
validation check. I typically shrug this off, "who cares?". I've
always considered HTML validators to be a tool useful to someone
just learning HTML but other than that - useless. My own code rarely
if ever passes HTML validation because I don't use quotes around tag
attribute values unless they are necessary (why bother?). The only
time quotes are necessary in terms of web page functionality is when
the attribute value is more than one word.

Examples:

1 - this won't pass HTML validation because only one value is quoted:

<.input type=text name=item value="a big box of cool stuff">

2 - this *would* get a validator's blessing:

<.input type="text" name="item" value="a big box of cool stuff">

Can anyone share a *good* reason why I should care whether an HTML
validator likes my use of quotes around multi-word attributes only?

Mark Whitman


======== CONTINUING ===============================

From: Anisa Ali
Subject: Tracking software

> I am having a hard time choosing a tracking
> software package. There seems to be two methods.
> One uses the access logs and the other methods
> requires pasting HTML on the confirmation page.
        - Dean Wright, LED 2129

We have many properties, one of which is PulseTV.com. For all our
tracking needs we use an HTML confirmation page tracking (by
TrackingSoft.com).

I can not tell you with any certainty which is better, but from a
standpoint of our staff and the affiliates we have the system we use
is very easy to use and understand.

Plus I like the fact that it is real-time tracking and allows for
all different settings on what you want to call a valid order...
Which is so important when paying affiliates.

We have integrated it with our fulfillment system and it will pay
Affiliates only on shipped orders (less returns).

Best,

Anisa Ali
http://www.evtv1.com
http://www.gophercentral.com


-------- new post - same topic ---------

From: Desi Matlock
Subject: Tracking software

Hi Dean (and other LEDers) -

I think you should use a good log analysis tool rather than
subscribing to an off-site service that requires bulking up your
pages or putting links to them on every page. Also, some of those
guys soak you with subscription fees. Less is the new more where
markup is concerned.

What you need really depends on what you're looking to know. How
much data do you want, really? If you're going to want to be able to
endlessly analyze and pick apart the data, if you want to track
visitors as they are wandering around, you want something complex.

You mentioned easy to use. I have a good one for that.

I like the stats I get from the SEO Administrator program at
http://snipurl.com/ogh2  [seoadministrator.com]

You can use this link (on which my company makes a commission) that
gets you 20% off the full version if you want to buy it:

http://snipurl.com/ogh4  [usd.swreg.org]

If you don't know what you need, this might do it.  The program came
with nine tools. I got it for a different tool but the log analysis
tool gets used plenty often anyway. It's a good basic visitor
tracking analyzer.

It is not integrated into your site, it runs on our own machine
using zipped up copies of your log files that you download. It gives
you page access data, the paths visitors took, what countries,
keyword statistics, referrers, entry and exit pages, and which
robots have visited the site. I download backups of logs anyway and
so I just point the program at them whenever I want to analyze them.
I can export and save the results of the analysis.

It doesn't allow you to search your logs, dig in, or peel apart the
data. Nothing beyond the stuff mentioned above. It's pretty basic,
but it doesn't require adding code to your site and it can be used
without limit on any number of sites - any site you can download the
zipped up raw logs for.

I find it fast, accurate and easy to understand if a touch
simplistic.

Desi Matlock
http://www.wordsinarow.com
Writing | Website Design & Marketing | SEO


-------- new post - same topic ---------

From: Pat McCarthy
Subject: Good Tracking Software

Dean Wright asked about choosing a tracking software package which
is also referred to as web analytic software or a web analytics
package.

Regarding the two methods of using access logs vs. pasting
javascript or HTML code on the page, it depends on what your goals
are.

By far the easiest method is the on-page code.  If you use a site
that uses a shared template, it's a snap to just paste the code in
that template and you're ready to go.  Most of the log file software
packages require much more management, storage of data, and
custom configuration.

The advantages of on-page code is that there is some data it can
grab that isn't found in log files, you don't have to manage and
store your own data, it's easier to get "real time" reports, and a
lot of the top analytics solutions use this method so you often get
better reports and more tools to work with.

The advantages of log-based analytics is that you can store and
control your own data if you have privacy fears, and some people
feel log files are more accurate, but that is debateable.

I recently made a guide of the majority of web analytics packages on
the market today if you'd like to get details on them from someone
who has used them:  http://snipurl.com/okv3  [conversionrater.com]

Pat McCarthy
http://www.conversionrater.com/


-------- new post - new topic ---------

From: Viggie Bala
Subject: Image theft

Protecting images & graphics in web pages from stealing is next to
impossible.  All they need is hit PrintScreen.  You can keep them in
the background like Bev Hanna did [issue 2129] (Flickr also uses
this method). But the images can definitely be saved from browsers,
in more ways than one.

The fact is that all images you show in your web page is downloaded
to visitor's PC while viewing.  Once there the visitor can get it,
if they know where to look.  Even flash images are not 100% safe.
It can be easily saved.

We can only make it difficult for novice copiers.  For images of
artworks & valuable photos, displaying through a Java applet will
offer better protection.  Otherwise, displaying them in a flash file
will be better than plain image files.  Flash actionscript can be
used to prevent display of images even if that Flash file is copied
to other location.  The following tutorial http://snipurl.com/oi3z
[flashkit.com] gives some ideas.

Hope that helps,

Regards,

Viggie Bala

Helping Websites to Work
http://www.viggie.com


-------- new post - new topic --------

From: Trevor Johnson
Subject: Bouncing

> ... I was told the spiders would not be able to
> 'read' this email address, as they only 'see' what
> is actually on the page, not the code.
        - Nancy Cardinali, LED 2129

Nancy, the opposite is the case. Spiders do not read computer
monitors. They only read code. Your email address is currently
easily visible and available to every spider & harvester out there -
millions of them.

To deal with the problem, you will find our three part series
entitled "Spam Bots - and How To Avoid Them" very useful. It is
freely available at http://www.bestprac.org/articles/index.htm

Trevor Johnson, Chairman

BestPrac.org
http://www.bestprac.org


-------- new post - same topic --------

From: Steve Birk
Subject: Bouncing

> When I asked previously, I was told the spiders
> would not be able to 'read' this email address...
        - Nancy Cardinali, LED 2129

Nancy,

I went back through the archives to try and see exactly what your
question was and exactly what someone else said about a spider not
being able to 'see' an email address in your code. I could not find
either though.

I can go out on a limb and say that it is absolutely false... A
spider / harvesting program / spam-bot or whatever else you may call
these programs CAN see an email address in your code.

Using the check link I provided in LED 2128 of
http://willmaster.com/possibilities/demo/RetrieveEmails.cgi, and
keying in your contact page URL, it found your email address, which
means I would think any kind of harvesting program can also find it.

I did a little more experimenting and I found that the only way to
truly protect your email address is to have it embedded somehow
inside of JavaScript. Some people don't like to do this I know, but
I provided a few examples of how to do this in LED 2128.

In your case with your form, even if you ASCII encoded your email
address that appears inside your <.form> code, it will still find
your email address.

One option for those using forms, and I use this on another site of
mine at http://publicsafetyhub.com/contact.shtml, is to use a Forms
program that allows you to email a template text file to send back
to your visitor and another one you can send to yourself with the
form information. What this does is it puts your email address in a
text file associated with the form, and NOT in your source code for
all to see.

I use Will Bontrager's Master Form for this:
http://willmaster.com/master/formV4/

My source code looks something like this where you would normally
see the email address to send the form results to:

<.input type="hidden" name="mailtemplate"
value="mailtemplate_contact.txt,mailtemplate_contact_01.txt">

When a visitor clicks the submit button, the forms program takes the
email address my visitor has provided and inserts it in the email
field of the template and emails them back my 'Thank You' reply
(contact.txt). The other template is to send the form information my
visitor has entered to my email address I provide in that template
(contact_01.txt).

So your email address that the form information is sent to is
protected inside of the text file, and is not exposed inside the
code of the page for all to see. This seems to work well.

Pretty neat forms program that's well worth the money.

Hope this helps.

Regards,

Steven Birk, Editor
http://medicalcenternews.com
http://publicsafetyhub.com


==== BILLBOARD ===================================

From: Gurdip Singh
Subject: Stopping Spams

Over the years, I've noticed a marked increase in the number of spam
messages that I receive each day. I've got about 10 email addresses
and most are not published on any website, but I've been using them
for several years now and spammers now probably have me in their
database.

Last year,  I started receiving more than 200 such messages and
decided to do something about it. I configured the spam index
(reduced it from 7 hits for a spam to 2) and set up a white list.
Then on my Outlook Express, I set up several mail rules that deleted
messages based on the following: subject, to / from address and
message body.

All this has worked pretty well with up to 90% of messages being
blocked or automatically being sent to the trash folder. I spend a
few minutes finetuning my filters every other day to keep up with
new methods or keywords that spammers employ.

But I've not been able to block some of the messages no matter what
I do. These are mostly the ones that contain messages in the form of
images. There is no text at all. The subject line and from info
changs with every message altho the mesage content remains the same.
Any idea how I can block these? If there is a way, I'll be well on
the road to blocking easily 99% of all spam messages!

Gurdip Singh

Earth Networks
www.earthnetworks.tv


-------- new post - new topic --------

From: John Brumage
Subject: Good books

In spite of all the free online reading material, I am a very
old-fashioned kind if guy, and find holding a physical page in my
hand to be much easier than online reference material.

Web Designer's Reference by Carig Grannell was extremely useful to
me. it is ISBN 1-59059-430-4. It combines XHTML and CSS in a single
book, and, by including both, it stresses separation of content and
presentation.

A simple example, the book suggests using <.em> text <./em> instead
of <.b> text <./b>

Of course my websites are still so ugly that the contextual ads are
for design schools, www.anyhoo.com for example. But at least i have
a framework to begin improving my stuff.

John Brumage
Vegas Legend Zeke


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