Alt Attribute & Search engine optimization

SEO Optimization images is becoming more and more essential in SEO (Seo optimization) for websites. The ALT attribute is really a critical step that is often overlooked. This is often a lost opportunity for better rankings.

In Google's webmaster guidelines, they advise the use of alternative text for the images in your site:

Images:. Use the alt attribute to supply descriptive text. In addition, we recommend utilizing a human-readable caption and descriptive text around the image.

Why would they ask us to do that? The answer is easy, really; search engines have the same problem as blind users. They can't see the images.

Many webmasters and inexperienced or unethical SEOs abuse using this attribute, trying to stuff it with keywords, hoping to achieve a particular keyword density, which is not as relevant for rankings now since it was previously.

On the other hand, high keyword density can, on some search engines like google, trigger spam filters, which may result in a penalty for your site's ranking. Even without such a penalty, your site's rankings will not take advantage of this tactic.
This process also puts persons who use screen readers in a greater disadvantage. Screen readers are software-based tools that actually read aloud the contents of what is shown on the screen. In browsing the net, the alt attributes of images are read aloud too.

Imagine hearing a paragraph of text that is followed by repetitions of many keywords. The page will be not even close to accessible, and, to put it bluntly, will be found quite annoying.
What is an Alt attribute?

An ALT attribute shouldn't be used like a description or perhaps a label for an image, though many people use it for the reason that fashion. Though it may appear natural to assume that alternate text is really a label or a description, it is not!

The words used within an image's alt attribute ought to be its text equivalent and convey the same information or serve the same purpose that the image would.

The goal would be to provide the same functional information that a visual user would see. The alt attribute text should be the "stand in" in the event that the look itself is unavailable. Think about this: If you were to replace the image with the text, would most users receive the same basic information, and would it generate the same response?
A few examples:

 

Some SEO Optimization Tips

If your search button is really a magnifier or binoculars its alt text ought to be 'search' or 'find' not 'magnifying glass' or 'binoculars'.

If an image is meant to convey the literal contents of the image, then a description is suitable.

If it's designed to convey data, then that information is what is appropriate.

If it's designed to convey using a function, then the function itself is what should be used.

Some Alt Attribute Guidelines:

Always add alt attributes to images. Alt is mandatory for accessibility as well as for valid XHTML.

For images that play merely a decorative role in the page, make use of an empty alt (i.e. alt="") or a CSS background image to ensure that reading browsers don't bother users by uttering things like "spacer image".

Keep in mind that it's the function of the image we are attempting to convey. For example; any button images should not include the word "button" within the alt text. They ought to emphasize the action performed by the button.

Alt text ought to be based on context. Exactly the same image inside a different context may require drastically different alt text.

Attempt to flow alt text with the remainder of the text because that is the way it is going to be read with adaptive technologies like screen readers. Someone hearing your page should hardly remember that a graphic image can there be.
Please remember that using an alt attribute for every image is required to meet the minimum WAI requirements, that are used since the benchmark for accessibility laws in UK and also the rest of Europe. They are also required to meet "Section 508" accessibility requirements in america.

It is useful to categorize non-text content into three levels:

Eye-Candy
Mood-Setting
Content and Function

I. Eye-Candy

Eye-Candy are stuff that serve no purpose apart from to make a site visually appealing/attractive and (oftentimes) satisfy the marketing departments. There isn't any content value (though there may be value to a sighted user).

Never alt-ify eye-candy unless there's something there which will boost the usability of the site for somebody using a non-visual user agent. Use a null alt attribute or background images in CSS for eye-candy.

II. Mood-Setting

This is actually the middle layer of graphics which might serve to set the mood or set happens as it were. These graphics aren't direct content and could not be considered essential, but they're essential in they help frame what's going on.

Try to alt-ify the 2nd group as is sensible and it is relevant. There may be times when doing this may be annoying or detrimental with other users. Then try to avoid it.

For example; Alt text that is identical to adjacent text is unnecessary, and an irritant to screen reader users. I recommend alt="" or background CSS images in such instances. But sometimes, it's important to get this content in there for those users.

Most times this will depend on context. Exactly the same image in a different context may require drastically different alt text. Obviously, content ought to always be fully available. How you go in this example is a judgment call.

III. Content and Function

This is where the look may be the actual content. Always alt-ify content and functional images. Title and long description attributes may also be in order.
The main reason many authors can't understand why their alt text isn't working is that they don't know why the images exist. You have to figured out exactly what function a picture serves. Think about what it is about the image that's vital that you the page's intended audience.

Every graphic has a reason behind being on that page: because it either enhances the theme/ mood/ atmosphere or it is advisable to what are the page is trying to explain. Understanding what the image is for makes alt text easier to write. And exercise writing them definitely helps.
A way to check the usefulness of alternative text is to imagine reading the page on the phone to someone. An amount you say when encountering a specific image to create the page understandable to the listener?

Besides the alt attribute you have a couple more tools available for images.
First, in level of descriptiveness title is in between alt and longdesc. It adds useful information and may add flavor. The title attribute is optionally rendered by the user agent. Remember they're invisible and not shown as a "tooltip" when focus is received via the keyboard. (A lot for device independence). So make use of the title attribute just for advisory information.
Second, the longdesc attribute points towards the URL of a complete description of an image. If the information found in an image is important to the meaning of the page (i.e. some important content would be lost when the image was removed), an extended description compared to "alt" attribute can reasonably display should be used. It may provide for rich, expressive documentation of a visual image.

It ought to be used when alt and title are insufficient to embody the visual qualities of an image. As Clark [1] states, "A longdesc is a long description of the image...The aim is by using any period of description essential to impart the facts from the graphic.

It would not be remiss to hope that a long description conjures an image - the look - in the mind's eye, an analogy that holds true even for the totally blind."

Although the alt attribute is mandatory for web accessibility as well as for valid (X)HTML, not all images need alternative text, long descriptions, or titles.

In many cases, you're best just going with your gut instinct -- if it's not necessary to incorporate it, and if you don't have a strong urge to do it, don't add that longdesc.

However, if it's necessary for the whole page to operate, then you've to include the alt text (or title or longdesc).

What's necessary and what's not depends a lot about the function of the image and its context about the page.

Exactly the same image may need alt text (or title or longdesc) in a single spot, but not in another. If an image provides absolutely no content or functional information alt="" or background CSS images may be appropriate to make use of. But if the image provides content or adds functional information an alt will be required and perhaps a long description will be so as. Oftentimes this kind of thing is really a judgement call.

Image Search Engine Optimization Tips

Listed below are key stages in optimizing images:

Choose a logical file name that reinforces the keywords. You should use hyphens in the file name to isolate the keyword, but avoid to exceeding two hyphens. Avoid using underscores like a word separator, such as "brilliant-diamonds.jpg";

Label the file extension. For instance, if the image search engine sees a ".jpg" (JPEG) file extension, it's likely to assume the file is a photo, and if it sees a ".gif" (GIF) file extension, it's going to assume that it is a graphic;

Make sure that the written text at the image that is highly relevant to that image.
Again, don't lose an excellent opportunity to help your website with your images in search engines. Begin using these steps to position better on all the engines and drive more traffic to your site TODAY.

Search Engine Optimization

Manufacturers of retails goods need to leverage their Facebook presences to manage product recalls more cost effectively.

Some companies like Johnson & Johnson are starting so see the damage product recalls are costing in the modern age of fast information sharing — the company estimates over $900 million in lost sales and related expenditures last year. The brand is just one example are one of many companies that have undergone recalls in the last year and are still working to regain customers’ trust.

Cautionary tale

Kraft experienced a big debacle last year of moldy kids’ juices — and the problem is still continuing — so the creation of a Facebook tab to help manage the issues started out as very proactive. Alas, the tab moved to the very back of the page within days.

Moms were upset and consumers visiting the Facebook page for moldy juice information (many times referred there by a friend) thought the the tab appeared was missing rather than moved. Kraft learned the hard way that moms and other concerned parties wound up going elsewhere for information. They Googled the issue and stumbled across any pages mentioning it — including the brand-damaging image shown to the right.

Then other moms who were upset looked for information on Facebook and found groups like “I wont buy CAPRI sun till it comes in a clear juice package!!” Such groups had only a couple hundred members and no centralized, authoritative source of information, but instead had lots of unverified information further fueling hatred of the company. Perhaps Kraft should have created a page just for recalls or even just the juice recall, and that would have preserved the brand’s integrity on the site.

Three questions

Here are three important questions for product managers to think about amid recalls:

What does this mean for our search engine optimization?

What about the amplification risk?

What would the newest consumer find about the brand online?

In case the anecdote above hasn’t sold you on why a product recall is best managed on Facebook, below are three reasons.

Facebook is free

Besides a staff or the intelligence behind outbound communications, social media in general is free. Companies have brand pages that were no cost to setup. Tabs are free to setup. Interested consumers generally like products they use. Put together is a stage and microphone, what is your corporation saying? Read 44% of Fortune 50 Brands Show Facebook Icons.

Leverage your fans

If fans and consumers are going to spread seemingly harmful information to keep their friends safe, companies should be the initiator of the dialogue. There could be encouragement to share recall information or even incentives like discounts. Some companies even have Facebook commerce pages for shopping, support for recalls and exchanges could be easily integrated.

Communicate with customers

While silence tends to be seen as the best policy in a real-time updated world, silence immediately is seen as guilt and even worse so, the holding back of information from consumers. Quick updates, even if on Facebook pages is a way to engage and even remind fans as to why they are following you. Even if the news is the most positive to share, consumers would be reminded why they choose to connect themselves with you.

Consumers understand mistakes happen and are happy to get involved. Facebook offers many ways to share information with others and track how conversations travel — that provides one of the best ways to manage a recall.

Ellie Cachette is the Founder of ConsumerBell.

Note the Client companies are based in either the US or Canada and the “percentage of traffic outside key service areas” are based on each client’s target market.

For instance, if a client only services the US only, any traffic outside the US would be traffic outside their service area.

Evaluating Your Own Traffic For Relevance

To use our own web design and Internet marketing business as an example, we service both Canada and the US, but were getting 24% of our traffic from other international countries. Big portions of that traffic were companies looking to sell their services to us.

These international visitors would fill in our web forms and call us to inquire, untimely skewing our website analytics data by not giving us a real understanding of how our website was performing to quality prospects.

A solution had to be implemented to significantly reduce the amount of resources we were dedicating to people outside our service areas.

Ultimately, we didn’t want to be contacted from people we couldn’t help. The four possible solutions we considered were:

1. Create a custom report in Google Analytics to filter out the unwanted data (reporting related)


2. Adjust the content of our website (website related)


3. Block the traffic from specific Countries from viewing our website (server related)


4. Don’t change anything.

Option #1

When evaluating the first solution, creating a custom report to filter out this data in Google Analytics, this would clear up our analytics data. Implementing a filter would provide a more realistic picture of quality prospects we could service in our geographic area instead of those prospects or solicitors in other counties we don’t service.

This option didn’t run the risk of blocking any traffic or robots that we do want. It’s also a simple filter to add in Google Analytics. We set up another Profile with the country exclusions filters. A new Profile was the preferred approach, rather than going through the extra steps of creating Custom Reports.

However, setting up analytical filters doesn’t fully resolve the issue, since these visitors could still access our site, fill in web forms, and contact us, ultimately wasting resources that we could dedicate elsewhere.

It wouldn’t give us a true picture of what was going on. It also wouldn’t resolve the problem – we didn’t want to be contacted by companies from some outside countries.

Option #2

Updating the website content to say you only service a specific area is another solution that we considered.  This would inject more geo-targeted keywords into your site, which would help in local SEO. Adding a graphical map, drop-down options and/or links that allow the visitor to select their country would help qualify visitors.

Some of the downfalls of this option include spending a much higher amount of time to implement versus the other options. The success of this would also be dependent on how honest the visitor is.

Assuming visitors are reading your website content, adding geo-targeted keywords into your site would set a clearer expectation of service area delivery. However, this option still doesn’t resolve the issue of sharing contact information that allows unsolicited visitors to contact us and invalid web form data.

Option #3

How about blocking or filtering visitors automatically based on their IP address? When considering to block website visitors by IP it’s important to first evaluate the reliability of the IP address(es). The accuracy of an IP list is over 99.5% on a country level and 80% on a city level. The smaller the location, the less reliable the IP address.

Internet Service Providers change IP addresses they designate to customers. Some change them more frequently than others, which is why you want to keep the database of IPs updated. Scheduling a monthly update is typically a good routine if city level IP authentication is required. Country level is much more static.

The benefit of blocking the country via IP address would not only clean up analytical data, but also ensure our sales funnel was more efficient and provide a more accurate picture of real prospects in all systems. We needed to consider other issues in this approach.

One concern was the potential for a search crawler coming from an IP in the location we were planning on blocking. For example, there was a possibility that Google’s search crawler would also be blocked if it came from the same country. The implementation of this option is more technical. One would need to obtain a list of IP addresses for the desired locations and update the websites htaccess file.

In our example, the inquiries from some countries became so frequent that we couldn’t ignore it any longer. After much debate, we decided to ban the countries; however, we would only ban one at a time to evaluate the effects.

For instance, one of the largest traffic sources, accounting for approximately 20% of this, was from India, a market we don’t service. These Indian visitors were companies looking to sell their services to us.

We executed the ban in the polite Canadian way. We also implemented the Google Analytics profile with the country filter to monitor future website statistics versus the past.

Those visitors that came from our blocked list would land on a different page that displayed a nice message. It read: “Thank you for visiting. However, we don’t provide services in your area.”

In sum, the tests have gone over very well. Banning the country from our website has significantly cut down the number of unsolicited calls, emails and web form requests. It also gave us a much more accurate picture of how our website was performing within our own target market and service area.

Considerations For Blocking Traffic By Location

If you’re considering this strategy, some factors to consider when filtering visitors include:

• Why do you want to filter website traffic?


• Which locations would you want to filter?


• How much traffic do you currently get from locations outside your service area?


• How important is this traffic?


• How to funnel visitors outside your service areas?


• The accuracy of the IP addresses locations in mind.


• Effects of non-human visitors.

A few months after we implemented this, we received a direct mail package that contained pens with our logo on them from a company that wished to sell us branded pens.

Guess what it said under our logo? “Thank you for visiting. However, we don’t provide services in your area.” We had a good laugh. Someone obviously didn’t read what they printed. It was evidence that our website block was working and a nice souvenir.

The key takeaway, as always, is monitor your traffic and conversions. Track where your quality traffic is coming from and decide for yourself if you should block the traffic of certain countries. Make sure to proceed with caution to ensure that you are not missing some opportunities.

Think outside of the box for other ideas of how you can use that traffic. Perhaps referring the traffic to a partner or creating a unique service for specific markets is another option to consider.

Opinions expressed in the article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land.

Related Topics: 100% Organic - Search Engine Optimization Tips | SEO: General

seo optimization services

Bench Craft Company on the specialty of jobs

Charlie Sheen’s use of technology and web 2.0 has earned him big dollars and a ‘winning’ formula for his own personal brand.

The Two And A Half Men star has greatly benefited from his own ability to embrace the internet, exploring all the marketing tools available to him. From breaking a twitter record, to hosting his own internet show on Ustream, the actor has done what few in Hollywood have ever achieved. Parody videos created by fans and websites dedicated to his one-liners are giving the actor non-stop free promotion and this in turn has created an audience of marketers for Charlie Sheen.

His infamous ABC interview gave birth to many of the viral video spoofs we have seen of his ‘radical’ behavior, which in turn, has fueled his twitter fan growth, and other media interview requests. With so many people discussing and sharing his antics, his own brand of controversy has been implanted onto the web, and has helped him sell tickets for his tour dates.

On top of that, Sheen’s regular updates with his fans on twitter provide a direct relationship and route to market. Sure that sounds a little cold, but he does have a following he can reach out to about his products.

Looking at what he did this week, Sheen took the next step in his own web fueled marketing campaign by making a self-parody video. This clever twist gave yet another viral hit to his name, as bloggers and social media re-posted and discussed how outrageous it was to see him spoof himself.

With many dates left on Charlie Sheen’s tour, the actor has a non-stop ‘Bi-Winning’ 24/7 marketing campaign, and other celebrities in the entertainment industry should learn from his online success.

bench craft company

Greg Biffle finalizes new contract with Roush Fenway Racing, sources say

Sprint Cup driver Greg Biffle has finalized a new contract with Roush Fenway Racing and primary sponsor 3M, multiple sources told ESPN.com.

bench craft company

New Google <b>News</b> for Opera Mini - Official Google Mobile Blog

So we have rolled out a redesigned Google News for Opera Mini in all 29 languages and 70 editions of Google News. This includes an enhanced homepage featuring richer snippets, thumbnail images, links to videos and section content ...

bench craft company

Great <b>news</b>: Working population percentage drops to three-decade <b>...</b>

Great news: Working population percentage drops to three-decade low.

bench craft company

Seas0nPass jailbreak tool has for both Windows and Mac has been updated with the latest untethered exploit to untether the jailbreak on second generation Apple TV, running on the latest iOS 4.3.1 (4.2.1)

For those of you who don’t know, Seas0nPass jailbreak tool is like PwnageTool for Mac, or Sn0wbreeze for Windows, which can can create custom jailbroken .IPSW files for your second-gen Apple TV.

Before you proceed with the jailbreak, you will need the following:

• A Micro-USB cable


• iTunes 10.2.1


• iOS 4.2.1 (Based on iOS 4.3) for Apple TV


• Seas0nPass

All download links are posted at the end of this article.

Step 1: Download and launch Seas0nPass.

Step 2: Now select “Create IPSW” option to build your own custom jailbroken 4.3.1 firmware for Apple TV.

Step 3: Now wait for Seas0nPass to download all the files required for creating custom firmware.

Step 4: When prompted by Seas0nPass, connect your Apple TV using a micro-USB cable (leave power disconnected), and hold-down both the ‘MENU’ and ‘PLAY/PAUSE’ buttons for 7 seven seconds.

Step 5: iTunes should now open automatically to start the restore process.

Step 6: iTunes will confirm the restore when complete. Once done, your Apple TV will be fully jailbroken, untethered on iOS 4.3.1.

Once complete, remove the USB cable and connect the HDMI cable.

Once you are done with the jailbreak, you can install the following apps on your jailbroken 2nd-gen Apple TV:

• How to Install XBMC Media Center on Apple TV 2G [Guide]


• Plex Has Been Ported to Jailbroken Apple TV 2G ! [VIDEO]


• How to Install NitoTV Weather and RSS App on Apple TV 2G [Jailbreak]


• Apple TV 2G Gets Web Browser and Last.fm Apps via aTV Flash [Video]


• Exposed VNC Server Plugin Enables Remote Access On Apple TV 2G

Required download links are as follows:

Download iOS 4.3.1 (4.2.1) for Apple TV
Download iTunes 10.2.1 for Mac OS X
Download Seas0nPass for Mac OS X
Download Seas0nPass for Windows

You can follow us on Twitter or join our Facebook fanpage to keep yourself updated on all the latest iPhone jailbreaking and unlocking releases.

Given the current cost of components, a prepaid contract-free iPhone with less internal storage would likely earn Apple only about 16 percent gross margin if it were priced at $300, a new analysis has estimated.



Analyst Charlie Wolf with Needham & Company took a closer look at the prospect of a hypothetical "iPhone lite," to see if it would be in Apple's best interest to build such a product. A cheaper iPhone has been viewed as a strategy that would work to Apple's advantage in emerging markets like China.



In February, both Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple is working on a smaller and cheaper iPhone that it could sell contract-free. Soon after, The New York Times chimed in, and claimed that while Apple is not working on a smaller iPhone, it has explored opportunities in developing a cheaper handset.



Wolf largely agrees with the Times, and doesn't see a smaller iPhone with a new form factor as something that would be in Apple's best interest, even though it would be the easiest way to cut costs and created a cheaper handset.



"In our view, the iPhone would not be an iPhone if the display were, say, cut in half," he said. "Such a move would (dramatically) reduce the value of the iPod module for video viewing as well as the size of web sites accessed through the Safari browser. A smaller screen would also degrade the experience in using some applications, not to mention the possibility that some applications would probably have to be rewritten to accommodate a smaller screen."



iSuppli estimated that the 16GB iPhone 4, when it launched last June, carried a bill of materials of $188. The iPhone has an average selling price of $625 with a carrier subsidy, while gross margin is usually around 50 percent, suggesting that additional costs like assembly, software, testing, licenses and warrantees add up to $100 or more.



Ruling out the possibility of a smaller iPhone, Wolf said Apple could reduce internal storage from 16GB to about 4GB, but that would only reduce the bill of materials by $30 to about $157. By his estimation, such a handset would still have a total cost of $270.



"Apple would at best break even if it priced an iPhone Light at $250; and it would earn a modest 16% gross margin if it priced it at $300, which we regard as the high end of the range for a prepaid phone," Wolf wrote.



Gross margins of just 16 percent would be a number uncharacteristically low for Apple. For example, in its last quarterly results for the 2010 holiday buying season, Apple reported margins of 38.5 percent, or more than twice Wolf's estimate for a low-cost, no-contract iPhone.



"We suspect that the iPhone's designers and engineers have thought about this a lot more than we have so that the cost savings would be somewhat greater than we've estimated," Wolf said. "If, for example, the expenses incurred beyond the cost of components could be materially reduced, Apple might be able to earn a gross margin of 20% pricing the phone at $250 and 33% gross margin pricing it at $300."



The possibility of a cheaper iPhone with fewer features was hinted at by Apple Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook earlier this year. Cook, in an interview with Bernstein Research analyst Toni Sacconaghi, said Apple doesn't want its products to be "just for the rich."



Cook reportedly said that Apple is planning "clever things" to compete in the prepaid handset market. He also stated that Apple is "not ceding any market." He also referenced China, where Apple has found great success of late, and noted that it is a "classic prepaid market."

bench craft company

bench craft company

 

The Business Rusch: Royalty Statements

Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Imagine this:

Pretend you run a very large business.  The business has a lot of built-in problems, things not easily fixed.  You’re aware of the problems and are trying to solve them.  A decade ago, you actually had hope you could solve them.  It will simply take time, you thought, but back then, your business was a leisurely business.  Back then, you had no idea that the word “leisure” would leave your vocabulary and never return.

In that decade, your business has changed dramatically. Your corporate masters sold out to large conglomerates, so now you can no longer point to your small but steady profit as normal for your industry. The conglomerate doesn’t care.  All the conglomerate cares about is quarterly profits, which should rise steadily.

Your industry doesn’t work that way, but you do your best to make those quarterly balance sheets work for the conglomerate.  Unfortunately, that means any long-term outlook you used to have no longer works for your corporate masters.  Now you can only look one year ahead, maximum, because that’s all the focus the conglomerate will allow.

One of your business’s largest problem comes out of the nature of the industry itself. The success of each product cannot be replicated.  Just because you build one really good widget doesn’t mean that your next widget will sell at all.  Your business has a luck aspect to it, an unpredictability that no matter how much you plan, you can’t fix.

The other built-in problems mentioned above cause your prices to verge on too high.  If you solve the built-in problems, you might lose even more revenue, because most of those problems benefit the stores that sell your product. Those stores have made it clear they will not order from you if you take those harmful (to you) perks (to them) away.  So your prices hover at a point too high for an impulse purchase, even though your business does better when consumers can buy your product on impulse.

You have maintained this system for decades now, trying different ways to fix the built-in problems.  None of the solutions work, because the only way to fix the built-in problem would be to have an industry-wide change, one that all of the businesses in the industry agree to.  Unfortunately, if all of the businesses in the industry make that change, it will hurt stores, which will say that the industry businesses colluded to hurt their retail business—and sadly, the stores, under U.S. law, would be right.

So the easy solution is impossible, and all other solutions are half-assed.  You hang on and your business maintains a consistent, if unspectacular, profit year after year after year.

Then some changes hit your industry that force you to cut costs where you can.  Some of that cost cutting comes in employees.  You have to lay off necessary folk and hope that the remaining staff can pick up the slack.  These things have happened before, and you believe that you’ll be able to rehire in a few years.

Only this time, the economy “craters” and a global recession hits.  Every business loses much-needed revenue and products like yours, which are not necessities, sell to fewer and fewer consumers because the consumers have less disposable income.

You anticipate, cutting everything you can, dumping real estate, abandoning rent, maybe even negotiating your way out of some long-term contracts.  At the very end, though, you can’t prevent it: You cut staff to the bone.

Now, in some departments of your business, one person quite literally does the job that five people used to do as recently as a decade ago.  You have no flexibility left.

And then the industry you work in undergoes a technological revolution, one so big, so profound, that it changes the way business gets done.  Because you aren’t flexible, you adapt to the change late.  You can’t hire new employees to help with the shift without firing the remaining good, valuable (and dare we say it), unbelievably efficient employees that you kept when the recession started.  Yet your old employees can’t adapt to the new world.

Worse, this new world requires new systems.  You have to figure out new ways to produce your product.  You need to shoehorn these changes into the existing contracts with your suppliers.  You need an entirely new production crew because the old ways to produce your widgets are becoming obsolete.

And, most annoyingly, you need to develop an entirely new accounting system, because everything you’ve known, everything you’ve done, no longer applies in this brand-spanking new technological age.

But you can’t hire employees who can actually help you develop these systems.  Because those employees won’t earn you any money.  At best, they’ll prevent a loss of revenue. At worst, the systems they develop will cost you money because your suppliers, whom you pay a percentage of the retail price of the product they supply, will realize you’ve been inadvertently shorting them since the technological change hit at the same time as the beginning of the global recession.

In other words, to fix this problem, you will need to invest—in  new employees, in brand new technological systems, in new ways of doing business.  More importantly, you will have to take a huge loss as you make this change.  A loss that might eat into your profits for not one, not two, not three quarters, but maybe for two to three years, something your corporate masters will never, ever allow.

Better to close your eyes and pretend the problem doesn’t exist.  Better to hope no one notices.  Better to keep doing business as usual until profits rise, the recession ends, the world becomes wealthy again, and you can make the changes without causing a series of quarterly losses on your balance sheet.

Better to keep kicking this problem down the road until you retire or move to another company, preferably one which has already solved this problem so you don’t have to deal with it.

Does this scenario sound familiar? It should if you watch the evening news or read a daily newspaper.  Industry after industry suffers a variation of these problems, some caused by inefficiency, some by technological change, and all exacerbated by the worst recession to hit in the last eighty years.

But this blog deals with publishing, and what I just described to you is the situation at traditional publishers—the big publishers, the ones most people mistakenly call The Big Six (there are more than six, but leave it)—all over New York City.

Last fall, I dealt with these problems in depth.  Before you decide to comment on this post and tell me that traditional publishing will die (which I do not believe), read the first few posts I did in the publishing series, starting here.

I’m grappling with the changes in publishing just like everyone else is.  I knew that the changes—particularly the rise of e-publishing—would hit traditional publishing hard.  And it has, although not as hard as I initially thought.  As Publishers Weekly reported earlier in the month, traditional publishers have remained profitable in the transition so far.

The reasons why should sound familiar to those of you who read my earlier posts.  Publishers Weekly puts it succinctly:  “While the improvement in the economy helped all publishers in 2010, companies where profits improved all pointed to two main contributing factors—cost controls and skyrocketing e-book sales.”

Right now, e-books comprise about 10% of the book market, but some analysts believe that e-books will be as much as 50% of the e-book market by 2015.  Some see evidence that e-books will grow faster than that.  A month ago, a Barnes & Noble executive made news when he stated in a speech that e-books will “dominate the market” in 24 months.

We all know these figures are important.  Daily, writers tell me about their careers and then ask me if they should become independent publishers or go to traditional publishing.  As I’ve said repeatedly, I see no harm in doing both.

Earlier this month, however, I opened my mail to find a big fat warning sign of the future.  And if the problem that I—and hundreds of other writers—noted doesn’t get resolved, then traditional publishing will cease to be viable for all writers.

What happened?

I got a royalty statement for backlist titles of one of my on-going series.  The statement came from a traditional publisher.  Let me give you some background.

A few years ago, the publisher refused to buy the next two books in the series saying that while the series had some growth, the growth was not enough to justify the expense of a new contract.  I started writing some novellas in that series and publishing them in the magazine markets while I searched for a new publisher.

Then the e-book revolution hit, and as an experiment, I put up two of those novellas as e-books. Since they were the first two e-books I had ever done, the covers—in a word—sucked.  I did no promotion and no advertising, except to say in the cover copy that these e-books were part of this particular series.

In the first six months of 2010, those badly designed short novels sold about 300 copies each on Kindle, the only venue they were on at the time.  No advertising, bad covers, just hanging out waiting for buyers to find them.

I would occasionally check the Amazon sales ranking (that weird number you see on each book Amazon publishes, the thing they use to compile their hourly bestseller list).  Even though that ranking did not give me actual sales numbers, I did note that the sales of the novellas were less than the sales of the traditionally published e-books on Kindle in the same series.

In August, I wrote to the traditional publisher, asking that my rights revert.  The kind woman in rights reversal explained to  me that she couldn’t revert the book rights because the e-books were “selling too well” to revert.  Okay. All well and good. What I care about is getting books into the hands of my readers. I figured I would eventually be compensated for this.  I just had to wait until the royalty statement hit.

Which it did. At the beginning of this month.

How many e-books did the traditional publisher say I sold? 30.  That’s right. 30.

When the novellas, which had worse sales rankings from Amazon, sold 300 each.

That 30 number didn’t pass the sniff test for me.  So I talked with other writers who have books in the same genre with the same company. The writers I talked with also had some e-book savvy.

Guess what? They had been shocked by how low their e-book numbers were as well, especially in comparison with their indie published titles.  The indie books which had Amazon rankings indicating fewer sales sold more copies than the traditionally published books by a factor of ten or better.

Let me indulge in another sidebar for a moment.  I’m involved with four different indie publishers, two of which allow me to see the day-to-day operations, and one of which I own part of.  We’ve been having trouble setting up an accounting system that works efficiently for more than 100 different e-book titles.  The problem is, in short, that the ebook distributors report sales by publisher and then by title, and not by author, so if you’re published by AAA Publishing and your book is called  The Embalming and I also have an older book called The Embalming through AAA Publishing and they’re both in e-book, AAA Publisher will get sales figures on a daily basis for The Embalming. Which Embalming does that statement refer to?

Also, the e-stributors report at varying times throughout the year (some daily, some monthly, some quarterly), so if I want to know how many copies my book The Embalming sold in March of 2010, I can’t easily get that information because the info might not have been reported yet from some e-bookstore in some faraway country.

What all of the various indie publishers have figured out is that using a standard spreadsheet for each title is labor-intensive.  You can easily input data into a spreadsheet for one or two or even ten novels.  But when it comes to 50 or 100, the data-entry—figuring out what book belongs where and when (even if you use the estributor’s the computerized spreadsheet)—becomes prohibitive.

What we need is a cloud-based system that can be queried.  For example, the system should easily answer these two questions: How many copies did KKR’s The Embalming sell worldwide in March; and how many copies did KKR’s The Embalming sell through Kobo’s out-of-country distribution channels?  Right now, no spreadsheet program can answer that information easily from a pool of 100 titles and various e-book outlets without a lot of man-hours of data entry.

Traditional publishers—and indie publishers, for that matter—don’t have the staff with the ability to organize this wealth of information. Still, traditional publishers must —by contract— report the information to the best of their ability on royalty statements.

To do so, they revert to an old pre-computer accounting method.  The method existed back when there was too much data to be quickly processed. We all learned it in school.  They used little snippets of data to estimate, often using an algebraic equation that goes something like this:   If The Embalming sold (x) copies in January and e-books sales rose on a trajectory of (y) copies over a six-month period of time, then (x) times 6 adjusted for (y) equals the number of sales of The Embalming.

Close enough.  And frankly, I would be satisfied with that, if the number the publisher had come up with wasn’t so wildly off.

For me, in the instance with the traditional publisher I mentioned above, the difference between 30 copies per title and 300 copies per title is pennies on the dollar.  It’s not worth an audit.

But I never think in small terms.  My training in three fields—journalism, history, and the extrapolative field of science fiction—forces me to think in terms of the future.

Right now, e-book rights are a subsidiary right, negligible and relatively unimportant.  Between two and five years from now, e-book rights will become the dominant book right.

If traditional publishers do not change their accounting methods now, then these accounting methods will end up costing writers hundreds of thousands of dollars per year.  (In some writers’ cases, millions of dollars.)

Those of you who have any knowledge of journalism have just looked up and asked, Why the hell did Rusch bury her lead? That’s the story: publishers are screwing writers on e-book royalties.

But those of you who have had journalism careers know why I buried that lead.  When I was a news director faced with a reporter who had brought me information like the information I gave to you above, I would have said, Sounds like a good story.  But it’s all supposition.  Now get me something concrete.  Somthing I can use.

So that’s what I tried to do.  Last week, I contacted dozens of traditionally published writers who also had put up some backlist on their own in electronic format.  The writers who had the information handy responded with actual numbers.  The writers who didn’t told me that they had worried about their royalty numbers when the statements arrived, but had no real proof that anything had gone awry.

I also spoke to some trusted agent friends, several lawyers who are active in the publishing industry, a few certified public accountants, and other professionals who see a lot of publishing data cross their desks, and I asked those people if they had heard of a problem like this.

To a person, they all confirmed that they had. All spoke off the record, none with numbers.  A few hinted that they couldn’t talk because of pending action.

In other words, I got the confirmation I needed, just nothing that a reputable journalist could print.  Most people spoke to me on what’s called deep background, confirming my theory, and giving me some suggestions of places to look, and people to contact.  Several people, mostly writers, spoke on the record, but rather than using their information in isolation, I’ve chosen to keep their statistics confidential and to only go with mine.

Frankly, what I’ve learned is this:

Right now, some—and I must emphasize some, not all—traditional publishing houses are significantly underreporting e-book sales.  In some cases these sales are off by a factor of 10 or more.

This is a problem, but at the moment, not a serious one.  When e-books are 10% of the market, we’re talking a relatively insignificant amount of money per author. As one long-term writer said to me, “Ever since I got into this business, I expect my publisher to screw me on the sales figures.  This is no different.”

If you don’t understand that writer’s point of view, read the trust-me post I wrote a few weeks ago.

In the past, I would have agreed with that writer.  But I don’t in this instance.  We’re at an important moment in publishing.  We have the opportunity to change the behavior of traditional publishers.  We can, with an effort, get them to change their accounting practices.

The reason I started the blog post the way I did is this: I wanted to explain, before I got to the heart of this post, how traditional publishing works.  I wanted understanding before I worried some of you.

Because here’s the truth: traditional publishers are not indulging in a criminal act. They’re doing the best they can out of necessity.  They see no reason to spend precious dollars revamping their accounting systems to accommodate e-publishing when those dollars can be used elsewhere in the company.  Especially when an accounting change will cost them money, and might lead to payouts that will hurt quarterly profits for months to come.

It’s up to writers—and writers organizations—to force publishers to allocate those scarce dollars to develop systems for accurate e-book accounting.

If you are a traditionally published author, do not—I repeat, do not—write a blistering letter to your publisher accusing him of stealing your money.  Instead, contact any writers organization you belong to and point that organization to this blog.

What needs to happen is this: writers organizations need to band together and order group audits of e-book sales on behalf of their traditionally published authors.  One organization cannot handle the cost of this group accounting alone.  It’s better to have all of the writers organizations work in concert here.

A group audit of all the traditional publishers in various publishing divisions will force an accounting change—and that’s all we need.  But we need it before e-books become the dominant way that books are sold.

If you’re a traditionally published author who has also produced some self-published e-books and you want to do more than contact your organization, do this:

1. Look over all of your royalty statements.  Compare your indie e-book sales to your traditionally published e-book sales.  Make sure your comparison is for the same time period. For example, do not compare January 2011 sales to January 2010.

2. Compare similar books.  It’s best if you have books in the same series, some indie published and some traditionally published.  If you don’t have series books, then compare books in the same genre only.  Comparing romance sales to science fiction sales will not work because romance novels always outsell sf novels.

3. If you see a discrepancy, report that—with the numbers—to your writers organization.  Be clear in the letter you send to your organization as to what level of involvement you want in this issue.  Are you only there to provide background information? Will you take part in a group audit? Will you work on this project?

I’ll be honest.  I’m not going to participate in any group action.  Even though I’ve published with every single major publisher in New York, I only have two books caught in this problem.  I’m more interested in getting the rights in those books reverted than I am in insignificant back royalties.

If I was still a reporter, I would spend the month or two going after this story with a vengeance. But I am not.  In  nonfiction, I am just your humble blogger, stirring up the pot.  My career is in fiction, and I have found no problem with the publishers of my frontlist books.  I also have six novels with firm deadlines that won’t allow me to take time away from fiction writing to pursue this.

So all I can offer is a blueprint.

If you’re a reporter who specializes in the publishing industry and you want to tackle this story, e-mail me privately.  I’ll tell you what I can without revealing confidential sources.

If you’re a traditionally published writer, please follow the steps above.

If you’re an indie-only writer, stop gloating and for heavens’ sake don’t tell me or anyone else that this is proof traditional publishing is dead.  The majority of writers don’t want to self-publish, even when told how easy and financially beneficial it is.  They want a traditionally published novel.

Here’s what I believe: If a writer wants to publish traditionally and can secure a contract, then that writer should be treated fairly, with accurate sales reporting and good royalty rates.

Let me state again for the record.  I do not believe that anyone in traditional publishing is setting out to screw writers on this issue.  I do believe the scenario I wrote in the first 800 words of this blog: I think traditional publishers are overwhelmed and stretched to the limit.  Accurate e-book sales reporting is not even on their radar.

Right now, changing the accounting system is not high on their priority list.  It’s up to the writers—acting in concert through their writers organizations—to make accurate e-book sales reporting and accurate e-book royalty accounting a number-one priority in publishing houses across the country.

Let’s work together to solve this glitch before it becomes an industry-wide disaster for writers—anywhere from two to five years from now.

Last week, a few of you asked in e-mail why I have a donate button on this blog.  Also, last week, this blog marked its two-year anniversary. Every Thursday for two years without a miss, I have published an article on freelancing, business, writing or publishing (and sometimes on all four of those topics).  For the first 18 months, those blog posts were part of a book I was writing called The Freelancer’s Survival Guide (which, even though it’s now published, is still available for free on this website).

Initially, I had hoped to make my publishing articles into a book as well, but the industry is changing too fast.  I cannot make the publishing articles into a book that will be accurate in the short time it takes to produce.  So when this month rolled around, I did the numbers like I always do.  When I do a strict economic analysis, I am losing about $100 per week on each post—even with donations.  That’s because I can’t leverage these posts into any other income source.

However, I always ask the next question: am I getting something besides money out of these blogs? Right now, I am.  I would be doing the same research, the same work, and the same analysis with or without the blog.  I would be discussing the changes with my writer pals.  But I would lose the week-to-week contact with writers all over the world, who comment on the blog or in e-mail, sharing their own stories.

And that would be a significant loss.  It more than makes up for the financial loss.  But the donate button is here to minimize some of the financial damage, and to encourage me in busy or difficult weeks to carve out the time to write my post.

I hope that answers the question.  As always, I appreciate the feedback and all of the support.

“The Business Rusch: Royalty Statements” copyright 2011 by Kristine Kathryn Rusch.

 

 

class="dropcap">Bill Thomas used to be a climate change skeptic, not believing that humans could have influenced the dramatic atmospheric shift, but two weeks in the woods — and chats with scientists — changed his mind.

“I remember vividly that first day with Dr. Jess Parker; he showed us a chart of CO2 levels increasing about the time of the industrial revolution,” says Thomas, who works for HSBC bank and participated in a 2007 Climate Champions training program. There, a personal epiphany led to a job title change — the former relationship manager for HSBC Technical Services is now group head of HSBC Technology and Services Sustainability.

Teaching employees the science behind green corporate values and how to make their workplaces sustainable isn’t just for “green” show — done right, it’s good business strategy.

“There seems to be a huge growth of interest among companies to not just keep the environmental initiatives within a subset of employees, but to make it a pervasive part of the corporate culture,” says Krista Badiane, who manages the business and environment program at the National Environmental Education Foundation.  And unlike broad, mandated rules — such as carbon caps — companies that create their own initiatives take ownership and credit for sustainable changes, which may well go beyond what laws would have dictated.

By cultivating current workers’ energy-saving ideas and environmental passions, companies can save resources, energy and money as well as boost their eco-friendly reputation. The key is to help employees learn why sustainability matters — for instance, unless it’s slowed, climate change could alter global landscapes and increase natural disasters in our lifetimes. And if employees realize what’s at stake, they’ll find ways to save resources at work — as well as at home.

Worker to Citizen Scientist/> In a patch of woods in Edgewater, Md., bordering Smithsonian Environmental Research Center campus buildings, HSBC technology managers are intently straightening a measuring tape wrapped around a mature oak. Phil Clarke, from Portland, Ore., leans in and meticulously gets a reading of its diameter: 94.8 inches. During this weeklong Sustainability Leader training, he’s learning what scientists do and what shape the planet is in. He knows that the measurements taken today — even though what they reveal won’t be known for awhile — will help guide decisions that will keep our world sound for future generations.

His employer, HSBC bank — a global financial services company with 300,000 employees working in 8,000 offices and pre-tax profits topping $11 billion — decided to go carbon neutral in 2005. For the past three years, HSBC bank has partnered with EarthWatch Institute for an international study on climate change’s effects on tree growth, as well as a program that trains employees around the world in sustainability. When workers return to the office after their forest immersion, they find ways to integrate newly learned sustainability lessons in their spheres of influence.

Clarke and the other HSBC technology services managers from around North America — key decision-makers hand picked for the training — earn the title of Sustainability Leader. A larger two-week program trains HSBC employees from all levels — from cashier to marketing staffer — to become Climate Champions.

Such citizen science training helps corporate employees understand the mechanics of science — that systems are complex, and that there are no easy answers. “You learn what a critical state the world is actually in,” says Annette Fasolino of HSBC’s payment operations division in Buffalo, N.Y.

Having that up-close experience with scientists and ecosystems helps employees better grasp how climate change is impacting, and may impact, the world. “Many of these people go back and question their decisions, and make sure they’re making the most sustainable decisions,” says Thomas.

Cultivating the Grassroots/> Though the partnership between HSBC and EarthWatch is unique, other companies are also looking to their staff for sustainable solutions. “There’s no one best program for a company to educate their employees,” Badiane says.

Some companies or groups of motivated employees organize green teams, which promote eco-friendly changes and teach colleagues sustainable alternatives. Initiatives range from banning disposable utensils in the lunchroom to redesigning an operating system to save raw materials. “Ideally, you’re getting some new ideas out of your employees,” says Deborah Fleischer, president of Green Impact, a sustainability consulting service.

Businesses also use social media sites such as Yammer — a private social network for companies — or online training to generate sustainable ideas.

Other companies dangle a carrot — awards and incentives — to get workers to make sustainable choices. Yogurt maker Stonyfield tied facility energy savings (based on energy use per ton of product) to employee bonuses. In this way, the company reduced energy use by more than 22 percent, according to a NEEF report.

To engage workers of all levels, eBay employed competition: a Big Green Idea Contest. To enter, employees identified ways the company could meet greenhouse gas reduction goals; then, employees voted on the top ideas. One idea, the eBay Box — simple, eco-friendly packaging that’s meant to be reused for eBay shipments — has become a useful tool that saves money and resources.

Unfortunately, some companies’ efforts are no more than greenwashing stunts to appear eco-friendly and keep up with their competition. Producing disposable trinkets with “green” logos or launching environmental-focused public relations initiatives while pushing pollution limits does not jive with true sustainability. The companies mentioned here, however, offer genuine solutions that leave a lighter footprint.

Two Kinds of Green/> Such engagement can yield significant savings: One North American HSBC Climate Champion noticed that co-workers weren’t shutting down their PCs every night, wasting energy. Now, NightWatchman software automatically shuts down more than 6 million computers left on. During fiscal year 2010 in North America, the software coupled with an awareness program saved 4 million kilowatts per year of electricity and about 900 metric tons of carbon dioxide, which shaved $332,000 on energy bills.

At defense contractor Lockheed Martin, a Camden, Ark., building uses a software system to control lighting and air conditioning, leading to more than $200,000 in reduced costs and savings of 2,332 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually, according to the NEEF report. And at drugmaker Genetech,  green teams slashed the use of bottled water, saving the company $200,000 a year by using filtered water machines paired with reusable bottles, according to a white paper by Fleischer, “Green Teams: Engaging Employees in Sustainability.”

But benefits to a company can’t always be calculated in dollars.

“By creating an engaged employee base, we’re really putting it into hearts and minds of employees, and that’s going to be much more powerful and long-term than saying ‘you must turn off your PC,’” says Sharon Walck, senior vice president of sustainability at HSBC North America.

Investing in and teaching sustainable values to workers also boosts retention, according to NEEF, which is extremely important to large corporations. The foundation says losing and replacing a good employee can cost a company between 70 percent and 200 percent of that employee’s annual salary.

And, Badiane says, “employees who are motivated want to work for a company that has the same values.”

Sign up for the free Miller-McCune.com e-newsletter.

“Like” Miller-McCune on Facebook.

Follow Miller-McCune on Twitter.

Add Miller-McCune.com news to your site.

bench craft company

Multiple Sources Confirm New Nintendo HD Console - <b>News</b> - www <b>...</b>

Game Informer has heard from multiple sources that Nintendo will unveil its new home console at this year's E3 – or maybe even sooner.

bench craft company

How <b>News</b> Corp Got Lost In Myspace | Yinka Adegoke | Voices <b>...</b>

As Rupert Murdoch stepped into the Grand Ballroom of San Francisco's Palace Hotel at the Web 2.0 conference in October 2007, the developers and engineers who packed the room fell into a respectful hush.

Roofing Contractors Vancouver - 5 Questions to Wonder

Roofing Vancouver - Faq's

1. Repair or Replace?

There's no opinion as an expert opinion. Most contractors will provide you with a free estimate. Get a list of a few trusted contractors and contact them well in advance of when you wish to obtain your homes roof fixed so you can compare costs and opinions.

2. Beauty versus Practicality?

Discuss this with your spouse or partner. (The children could care less...at least the children.) The fact is, nobody wants an ugly roof just like nobody wants to be viewed with bed hair. If you've got a good quality roof and you just need to repair it, it's worth it to pay the price of the initial shingle instead of doing patchwork. A roof replacement doesn't happen frequently (we hope!) and so make a choice that suits you and your family well or it'll stand out like a sore thumb everyday you decide to go home.

3. Should I replace the rooftop in order to sell the house for additional?

Consider this cautiously before making a decision. Depending on the roofing material you choose, a brand new roof lasts between twenty, fifty, to one-hundred years! This means you have to check the year of the roof that's currently too deep first. Are you at year 18 of a 20-year warranted roof or year 30 of a 50-year warranted roof? Obviously, the standard is what makes the roof keep going longer, but if you're not planning to stay in your current home throughout your life, the larger expense may not be worth neglect the. Although a new roof can enhance the value of your selling price, the increase may not be enough to pay for neglect the and that's bound to hurt your wallet.

4. Could it be advisable for me to repair the roof myself?

Sure it's. But before you need to do, consult an expert first. You can do it yourself, but you shouldn't be considered a complete ‘lone ranger.' Depending on the extent of your repair, you may or might not change your mind. In either case, it will help to get a professional eye about the problem first and maybe a free quote so you can do the math later and see if it's truly worth your time, sweat, and money to become mister or miss fix-it.

5. Just when was a great time to get the roof replaced?

Weather may cause delays from days to weeks. Most people plan ahead to have their roof replaced in the summertime when they have a friend is going to be home throughout the day for any solid fourteen days. Once you've this era in your mind, make a call to some trusted contractor months in advance to obtain a quote. Some companies get reserved fast and odds are, they're the most reputable. Preparing in advance of the summer also gives you time to ask around more and compare costs...especially if you want to have the roof done by a particular date.

 

The Top Roofing Contractor In Vancouver!

It is possible to leak inside your home's roof? Have you lost shingles or tiles in a storm? Have overhanging branches caused damage? Is your roof more than 20 years old and showing wear and tear? Are your gutters overwhelmed and draining poorly?

When the response to any of these questions is "Yes" it's time to call the top roofing contractor Vancouver - Crown Roofing & Drainage.

For over a century Crown Roofing continues to be the roofer of choice among our Vancouver neighbors. We offer complete roofing services, from emergency repairs and roof restoration, to accomplish roof replacement. All while using finest quality materials, installed with precision and also the highest level of customer support.

YOUR Vancouver ROOF DESERVES NO LESS!

The roof of the Vancouver home is the very first type of defence against wind, rain, snow, ice and other weather elements. Make sure it is up to the job. Among Vancouver Roofing companies, only Crown Roofing has the depth of expertise and successful history to ensure your roofing system will be properly designed and installed.

NEIGHBORS HELPING NEIGHBORS.

One reason Crown Roofing continues to be probably the most successful roofing contractor in Vancouver is our commitment to our neighbors. We treat your home as if it were our own and we were building a roof to safeguard our own family. That's what neighbors do, and you will rely on Crown Roofing being here to aid you and back our work. After all, we've been repairing and replacing roofs in Vancouver since 1902!

Obtain a FREE INSPECTION AND EVALUATION OF YOUR Vancouver ROOF.

Go to the Roofers Vancouver for any FREE inspection and evaluation of the roof. Make sure you get the best roof for the Vancouver home, at the best value. We build roofs to last!

 

Tacoma Roofing contractor: Make your Home Beautiful

Very few people view the worth of a solid roof, but your knowledgeable Tacoma Roofing contractor does. From top notch experience, they will be able to tell you the reason why you require a strong, secure, and leak-free roof on your home.

The local Tacoma Roofing company is well aware how important an economic investment your property is for you, especially as it is a long term one. Your house may have been damaged slowly over the years and also you have to take steps to reduce this damage. For a lot of people, keeping their property beautiful is also a matter of pride. You will find those too who'd like to turn their house right into a economical and efficient living place. Your homes roof is a valuable part of your property and plays a role in each of the aspects mentioned above. Because of this, you need to employ the services of qualified a Tacoma Roofer.

Types of Roofs installed by a Tacoma Roofer

Among the more common types of roofs are asphalt shingles, steel or metal sheeting, fiberglass, slate and terra cotta tiles.

Each type of roof invites distinct problems, however they can be easily taken care of with a trusted Tacoma Roofing contractor. It's vital that you nip roof problems within the bud before they become too expensive or dangerous. You can schedule an appointment with the Tacoma Roofing contractor to take a look at your roof to determine if you will find any issues or potential problems with it. If there are, they may be able to let you know how to approach them.

A Tacoma Roofing contractor Helps to Build Strong Homes

The exteriors associated with a house, primarily the rooftop and gutters, face the onslaught of bitter and varying weather conditions, day after day. Painting, repairing, and cleaning gutters might be necessary. In some cases you may have to replace them completely. Usually, whenever your gutters show signs and symptoms of trouble, your roof also needs to be inspected for problems. Whatever issues there may be, a skilled Tacoma Roofing company can examine them in detail and suggest the remedy.

If your gutters often clog all too often, or there are leaks across the walls of your house, it might imply that there's debris piled up on the roof. Loose branches, piles of leaves, along with other light objects which are swept on your roof throughout a storm can all contribute towards damaging your homes roof, which damages could be lasting. A knowledgeable Tacoma Roofing company will explain that birds, mice, along with other kinds of rodents often build nest in the debris that collects on the roof. While these nests may look rather innocent, they are great at collecting moisture, be responsible for loose shingles, mold, and indoor leaks in your house. In addition, this may also cause vermin infestation. Following a storm, your Tacoma Roofing company will suggest that you inspect your homes roof for just about any signs of debris or damage.

Reverse Damages by using a Tacoma Roofer

However top quality the rooftop might be, it is going to wear down over time. There are shingles that are referred to as "25 year" or "30 year" shingles, but those numbers are only associated with warranty made by the makers. They seldom require that long. Realistically speaking, "25 year" shingles will not last a lot more than a few years. In an area that's vulnerable to storms, shingles or the entire roof may need to get replaced every ten years. With a Tacoma Roofer, the price is going to be lower than what you think.

If there you lose any shingles, or there is some damage to them, a Tacoma Roofing company will be able to help you. Damaged shingles can lead to indoor leaks, as the substrate from the roof becomes exposed to the elements. Shingles which are loose or broken can slip off and pose a possible hazard to people standing below. Missing shingles create a gap which allows rain, wind, ice, and debris to develop under the adjoining shingles, which creates a "domino effect" that affects other shingles plus they become loose or broken. A comprehensive investigation will be made by the local Tacoma Roofing company, if you call them track of your suspicions of loose or missing shingles.

Your Tacoma Roofing contractor will be in a position to inform you what are the best option is perfect for your homes roof. If your roof is not in a good shape, it is advised you have it replaced completely. The Tacoma Roofing contractor can take you through the various roofing options available for you which will suit your requirements and your budget.

Tacoma Roofing company: Enhancing your Home's Efficiency

Your homes roof shelters you from storms, sleet, and hail. By giving adequate ventilation, your roof protects your home from overheating, by holding within the heat, it keeps your house warm. That's why you ought to ready your roof from indoors in addition to outdoors for just about any kind of weather emergency. A Qualified Tacoma Roofer can offer help in this case.

First of all, inspect your roof thoroughly for just about any and all kind of damage, prior to the beginning of a new season. The gutters should be clear, debris should not be piled on or trapped under shingles, tthere shouldn't be homes of squirrels or birds in the eaves or attic, and the roof should be structurally sound. For that last part, you'll need the help of your local Tacoma Roofing contractor. It may be quite dangerous to climb to the roof of your property. This is when the contractor from Tacoma Roofing contractor comes in. He will read the strength and security of the roof and shingles, and perform a general inspection of the entire roof structure, to make sure that it is in proper working order. They will be able to point towards issues that you have to keep close track of and problems you may not have spotted.

You will need all of the assist you to could possibly get from the Tacoma Roofer. You can help your roof by installing a gutter guard or leaf cover to help prevent debris from forming inside your gutters. The additional weight of debris prevents the gutters from draining and can even tear them down. Check the fasteners on your gutters and if they're loose, tighten them. Take steps to change worn screws and brackets. For those who have a chimney in your home, inspect the bricks and mortar signs of wear. A trusted mason could be recommended by your Tacoma Roofing company, if you will find any repairs to become done.

Tacoma Roofing company: Someone You Can Count On
In the event that you realize or suspect that there's a problem, your Tacoma Roofing contractor should be contacted. They are able to use their knowledge and expertise to get your home in ace condition by simply focusing on the roof. Your roof deserves attention. So call them today, to enable them to conclude caring for your roof.

 

What is Distinction between Commercial Roofing Companies From Residential Roofing Companies

If you are considering hiring a roofing company to re roof your house or building then you may be wondering what are the differences are between residential roofing companies and commercial roofing companies. To begin with, the main one big difference is usually that times an industrial roofing company might have signed a contract with and become obligated to some roofing union in in a position to focus on union commercial jobs.

If this sounds like the case then their labor costs will prohibit them from focusing on non union residential jobs. Beyond that, if your commercial roofing company hasn't signed a contract with a union they may be outfitted just for commercial jobs and that means that their workers and equipment might not be in line with smaller residential jobs.

Residential roofing contractors generally often run smaller companies and hence, tend to be more capable of bid competitively on residential jobs, which tend to be small compared to comercial jobs. In fact, quite often residential roofing contractors will run one man operations, in which the contractor that you talk to may be the one which actually does the job about the building.

Also, liability insurance for commercial roofing is more epensive and a larger bond is needed for a commercial roofing work which will make it not cost effective for a commercial roofer to complete residential roofing jobs.

Still an additional factor is that commercial jobs can operate on a tighter time frame for just about any number of reasons, requiring a commercial contractor to employ a larger crew or crews which again makes smaller jobs less profitable for them.

 

Difference Between Commercial Roofing and Residential Roofing

Did you know that the roof of the building includes a huge effect on the whole structure itself? Damage caused to roofs due to natural or another disasters leads to a considerable lack of property everywhere. The type of materials accustomed to construct the rooftop that ought to be sturdy and long-lasting, the way where the roof continues to be installed as well as its timely maintenance are extremely crucial. There are two kinds of roofs that are utilized on all of the buildings that we see around us: commercial and residential. Although it might seem that commercial roofing is done only for businesses or offices and residential roofing is done for apartments and houses, the truth is the differences are much more complicated than that.

Residential roofing is generally completed by just one hired contractor but commercial roofing usually takes an entire team to accomplish the job. The reason being a commercial roof tends to be larger when it comes to sq ft than the usual residential roof.
Commercial roofs need to be made carefully keeping the nature and purpose of your building in mind. For example, if there is a cafe or restaurant within the building then external components like ventilation systems, smoke stacks and pipes will be required. Residential roofs usually do not have such components apart from a chimney or two at most.
Commercial roofs tends to be flat in design to accommodate further changes at a later period, whereas most residential roofs have peaks and other architectural features like roof gardens.
Commercial roofing is much more expensive than residential roofing due to the special tools, materials and safety equipment that are needed onsite. Often the patching or maintenance work is done in segments unlike for any residential roof in which the repair or replacement work can be completed in a short time. This really is one more reason why the equipment used for residential roofs is usually smaller and less costly too.
Commercial roof installations take a extended period to accomplish compared to residential roof installations and are usually constructed in large sections. During this phase however, you should make sure that there aren't any leakages, cracks or other visible wear and tear signs as it can cause considerable harm to the entire building.
It is important to install the right roof for a building depending on its purpose. Make sure that you hire a construction company that utilizes top notch materials and it has the best equipment for the job or your investment risk turning to be a huge loss later.

 

Commercial Roofing Contractors: How to purchase a Qualified Commercial Roofing Company

If a business is looking to have work done on its roof, you should work with commercial roofing contractors which have an enthusiastic knowledge of any special needs that a business might have. As an example, a roofing job can often be disruptive for the operation of business as usual. For this reason, it may be essential for the company to be temporarily shut down, or the roofing to take place after business hours have ended. A roofing contractor that understands these needs can function plus a business to make sure that these kinds of issues are minimized.

The first thing that a company must do when it is searching for commercial roofing contractors is to discover who other businesses in the region are working through. Obviously, this information will 't be helpful if it comes as an indicator from competitors, but you will find circumstances in which it's not too difficult to find these details from suppliers or retailers. Since roofing is not an industry-specific service, this information is readily available.

It is a good idea for just about any business to obtain in touch with at least three commercial roofing contractors to create bids about the price. In this way, the company could obtain a better price. It is also vital that you ensure that each one of the roofing contractors is licensed and bonded. These details can be found by permitting in touch with the state contractor's board. This also assists you to determine whether there has been any claims filed from the company in the past.

When examining bids, it is only as important to look at what services are being offered and which products will be used because it is to check out the total cost. The costs can differ quite drastically, but as tempting as possible to choose the cheapest bid, this isn't always your best option. In many cases, more costs now will mean fewer costs in the long run as a result of an undesirable roofing job. To help investigate the quality of the job, it is a wise decision to check using the Bbb in order to find out if the business continues to be accredited, and if it's not, to a minimum of see what its rating is.

 

Selecting a Commercial Roofing Contractor

When you're searching for a roofer for your commercial roofing project you need to find a contractor who understands the special needs of the commercial roofing project. For example it may be harder to work on the business during business hours so either the company has to be turn off for that repair or replacement or the job needs to be done after conventional business hours. May be the roofer you are thinking about for the job willing and able to operate around your schedule constrictions that might involve working weekends or evenings?

When you begin your research for a roofing contractor not only do you need to answer those questions but you should also hire a company that will do a high quality job with no great deal of time delays. Going about finding someone can feel as an obstacle in itself but there are several ways to result in the search easier.

Ask people around you for referrals and try to find a minimum of three contractors to give you written bids in your job. Before you go any more you need to ensure that the contractors you are thinking about are fully licensed and bonded. An easy search with the state contractor's board will verify if your roofer is licensed and when you will find any past judgments or claims against their license.

Once you select 3 or 4 roofers to place bids, you should get ready for that bids to become widely varied. Roofers will have brand preferences that will vary and may factor in more or less than the next guy for a labor estimate. The greater detailed an itemized bid may be the more helpful it will likely be to focus on in which the cost will be incurred. Don't, however, select a roofer based solely on the bid price. Any low ball bids may be tempting to take, but when they are low due to poor quality workman ship it may not be worthwhile in the end.

As the saying goes, you generally get what you purchase, so if you can afford a mid-priced bid it's always smart to increase in your price range rather than down. Additionally you should select your roofer depending on how professional they were and just how comfortable you anticipate you'll be working with them.

Finally your cost will be different depending on which kind of roofing material you choose as well as the cost to haul your old roof to the landfill. Should you be looking for places to chop corners on your roof, rather than cutting labor set you back might want to ask about a metal roof option. Metal roofs could be economical and energy efficient which makes them overall money savers for the long term, as well as on commercial buildings they may be very low maintenance. Plus given that they can be placed along with a current roof, you don't need to possess the old one removed and hauled away, which can make a large effect on your cost.

Choosing a comerical roofing company in your local area, doesn't have to be a difficult task. For more information, visit http://www.vancouverroofers.net

 

Seattle Roofing Contractors - How To Find The very best

In your home of rain and sleet, commercial coffee and grunge, and the famous space needle, you can find a house that will suit you. Seattle, Washington can be a great place to construct a home, however, you need Seattle roofing contractors to assist you. Your roof is, in the end, the crowning glory of your home, and your strongest type of defense from the elements. You need to have something that is not only created to last, but created to attract making your house more beautiful

Harsh Weather

Why are roofing contractors essential within this the main country? Because Seattle is usually bombarded by rain along with other harsh climate conditions, you need a roof that may withstand all the forces of nature. With this thought, you'll need individuals who be aware of Seattle weather best, and who understand what materials can best get into your roof for it to last far longer in the area. In addition to all this, you need to blend with the remainder of the houses inside your living area, so you cannot simply get whatever roof you please.

In all these aspects, a Seattle roofers should be able to help you out. All you need to do is look for Seattle roofing contractors online so that you can obtain the best value for your money without wondering if the contractor will suddenly run away with it and then leave you roof-less.

Why the Contractor Model Works

If you wish to set up your roof by yourself, you will have to buy a whole lot of materials, secure permits and licenses, and obtain materials that are suited to help you stay safe against harsh extremes of Seattle weather. Which means that if you are a DIY sort of guy or gal, you'll have to go through a large amount of legwork to get the task done.

On the other hand, a Seattle roofer can perform all of the jobs for you personally and provide you with a package that may save you money and time. Because contractors operate under licenses and purchase materials in large quantities, they are able to get discounts on building materials that you would not otherwise get should you be buying merely for your own home.

Roofing Associations

Most roofing contractors also belong to roofing organizations that are bound by strict guidelines and standards. When they do well on the roofing job, they can showcase their roofing contractors association; if they do poorly, they can ruin the trustworthiness of their roofing contractors association and keep other contractors within the association from receiving targeted roofing jobs. There is a lot of pressure to complete well, to help you be confident that prefer a roofing job completed in Seattle, you can get a contractor from a roofing association to help you out.

For example, Seattle Roof Brokers operates with over five hundred roofing contractors within the Puget Sound. This group has over half a century of roofing experience and experience dealing with Seattle roofing contractors, so it knows what type of roofing you want. The rooftop Brokers group can put you in contact using the contractor that you'll require so that you don't have to look for contractors individually.

What Should You Demand out of your Contractor?

Whenever you finally obtain a contractor within the Seattle area, you need to do lots of research about the roofing contractors themselves. Ask for a summary of previous companies or persons that the contractor worked with to get a definite look at the roofing contractor's work ethics and roof quality. Your roofing contractor should also have the appropriate working licenses and city licenses required by the Seattle city government.

Pick a Seattle roofers that insures its employees, which has courteous workers who'll respect your thinking and make sure that the needs are met. Ensure that you obtain the best bang for your buck: if you're unsatisfied using the job, you need to be guaranteed either money back, or perhaps a free, new roof. Moreover, additionally you need the workers to get the job done on time, so be strict together with your deadlines - and discover a contractor that's as strict as you are.

You'll need guarantees and warranties on your roof, so look for a contractor that may meet your financial allowance and roofing needs. If you achieve touching good Seattle roofing contractors, you may be guaranteed a good roof and a better house in this fantastic city.

Choosing the proper Roofer Company for Replacing Your homes roof

The shingles inside your roof need replacing and you're simply minded to find a roofer to replace the them. Perhaps you have already called a few and are evaluating which contractor to use for your upcoming roof repair. How do you choose the best contractor for caring for your roof? Here are several things you should consider when looking for the best roofer.

Where's the roofing contractor located? It is important to hire a roofing contractor that is local. Chances are you will receive the next step and services information if the roofing company can be found near your house or comes with an office near your residence.
References. To determine the toughness for the contractor, references ought to be provided of their past clients who're willing to vouch that excellent service was received. This will 't be the only factor in choosing your future roofer as some may claim they value the privacy of their clients and don't desire to bother them. If this sounds like the case, request business related references. The places that supply the contractor with supplies can reveal the quantity of materials and regularity of supplying the contractor to assist determine their stability.
So how exactly does the roofer company handle complaints? There are a multitude of problems that can arise during the progress of a roofing replacement. Ask what their process is for handling complaints when they arise. It is also a great idea to get a past client reference who had a complaint that was resolved to the satisfaction from the client.
Terms of payment. What are the terms of payment to do the job? What is the deposit and amount due upon completion? Even though it is certainly reasonable that a substantial payment be produced before a contractor begins focus on a project, it is strongly advised that full payment is not made until after the entire job is finished.
Written contract. All terms of the roofing replacement ought to be put in a written contract. No the main contracting job should rely on verbal assurances.
Bonding. You will find things that can go wrong with roofing installations that wind up costing a substantial amount of money to fix. If this happens on your roofing replacement, you'll feel a whole lot better knowing that your roofing contractor is bonded. This will provide the funds to fix whatever mistakes were made. Find a roofing contractor that's bonded.
Manufacturer Warranty. Quality materials for roofing typically come with a warranty. It is important to verify that there is actually a warranty about the materials being installed. Request a copy from the warranty.
Period of time running a business How long has the company you're interviewing been in business? A brief amount of time in business may reflect instability. If the contractor has been around business under three years, verify just how long they've been in the market. A brand new contractor might have a long time experience working on roofs before they form their very own business. Seek a business that's been around for 3 or more years, or where the contractor has had a lot more years performing roofing replacements. It can shouldn't be the only real factor, all of us have to start sometime. Balance this with referrals and the other points raised in the following paragraphs.
Appropriate Permits. A Seattle roofing contractor should know what permits are needed for repairing your roof. They must be conscious of how you can obtain these permits for you. Ask the contractor whether they will obtain the permits necessary to repair the roof.
Liability. If a worker becomes injured, who's responsible for the workers comp? If the contractor's equipment damages your house, who is responsible for the repairs? A great contractor will provide certificates of insurance for liability and workers comp before they begin repairing your roof.
Subcontractors. Verify if the contractor will be using subcontractors. If that's the case, it is highly recommended that everything contained in this article for verifying if the contractor is credible also needs to be relevant to subcontractors. You should receive the names and license numbers of all subcontractors. You should verify whether each subcontractor is also insured which means you aren't held liable for their accidents.
Pending Legal Actions. You should verify whether there are any legal actions from the contractor. This is not merely essential for verifying whether the roofing company is legitimate (credible roofing companies shouldn't have to defend themselves in the court), it's also important because a lost lawsuit might lead to the contractor to visit bankrupt. If you have made a substantial down payment for services immediately prior to the company goes bankrupt, you could lose many thousands of dollars and never have your roofing completed.
Material Disposal. Who is responsible for getting rid of the waste generated from the roof being replaced? Will your contractor handle all aspects of the? Is there an additional cost for disposing of this waste?
NRCA Membership. Membership in local or national roofing associations, like the NRCA, shows resolve for staying up to date with the very best means of roof replacement and maintenance. Find a roofer having a high standard of education regarding their trade.
Replacing your homes roof is really a significant investment. Celebrate sense to ask serious questions before working with a roofing contractor. Here are a few more tips that you ought to consider when selecting the very best roofer for your upcoming roofing replacement.

Payment. Do not create a full payment for services unless all jobs are finished.
Inspection. Don't make a full payment without doing your final inspection of services rendered.
Workers liens. Don't fully purchase the roofing replacement job until worker's lien releases have been obtained.
Oral Agreements. No agreement should be made verbally without backing up on paper. All points which are vital that you you should be made in writing.