smith + jones blog » SEO http://www.sjmarketing.com/blog buzz, technology, insight and random thoughts Wed, 27 Apr 2011 23:12:29 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 JQuery and GoTahoeNorth.com http://www.sjmarketing.com/blog/jquery-and-gotahoenorth-com/ http://www.sjmarketing.com/blog/jquery-and-gotahoenorth-com/#comments Tue, 01 Feb 2011 22:11:44 +0000 Mike http://www.sjmarketing.com/blog/?p=163 Early in the redesign process of the new GoTahoeNorth.com site, the decision was made to integrate the latest technology and user behavior while still featuring imagery to sell the destination. The homepage programming was converted from Flash to JQuery, improving performance, ease of maintenance, data capture and browser compatibility. Now all mobile devices and our small but growing iPad audience (80 million tablets by 2012 according to JP Morgan) can get the full homepage experience. To further enhance the visitors experience, we created a content slider that promotes the latest events, weather and video (which you can easily minimize to better see the imagery). We also built our social media feeds directly into the homepage content, bringing the latest user content front and center.

GoTahoeNorth.com homepage built in JQuery

The JQuery JavaScript library allows us to take functions previously done in Flash and execute them in JavaScript.  Many simple Flash animations like slideshows can now be handled quickly in JavaScript. While the JQuery library has been around since 2006 it did not see its usage grow dramatically until Apple chose not to support Flash on the iPhone and iPad platforms. As these two devices have gained marketshare it has pushed programmers to find alternative solutions to Flash for their animation. While cross platform support is a big plus, JQuery also provides the benefits of less resource usage and eliminates the need to have a flash programmer to make updates.  Check out this article for a quick comparison of Flash and JQuery.

]]> http://www.sjmarketing.com/blog/jquery-and-gotahoenorth-com/feed/ 0 Google Place Search evolving – the “7-pack” is gone http://www.sjmarketing.com/blog/google-place-search-evolving-the-7-pack-is-gone/ http://www.sjmarketing.com/blog/google-place-search-evolving-the-7-pack-is-gone/#comments Tue, 02 Nov 2010 18:11:24 +0000 Mike http://www.sjmarketing.com/blog/?p=141 Google local or Google Place Search has changed up its layout.  The abbreviated initial list or “7-pack”  is gone and the map has been pushed to the right column.  This pulls the standard organic rankings back up above the fold.   While it’s a benefit for the deserving organic listings I liked the old 7-pack condensed results, especially when your next step is to call.

google places new look

Greg Sterling at SearchEngineLand gets into the details.  And there is a typical vague response from Google, when Greg Sterling asks an either / or question on the algorithm change, Google says, “yes.”

]]> http://www.sjmarketing.com/blog/google-place-search-evolving-the-7-pack-is-gone/feed/ 0 Danny Sullivan setting Fox News straight on SEO http://www.sjmarketing.com/blog/danny-sullivan-setting-fox-news-straight-on-seo/ http://www.sjmarketing.com/blog/danny-sullivan-setting-fox-news-straight-on-seo/#comments Thu, 27 Aug 2009 16:54:37 +0000 Mike http://www.sjmarketing.com/blog/?p=53 Just when you thought it was safe to disclose to your quilting club, yoga class and spouse that you really do search engine optimization for a living, Fox News puts out the word that SEO is duping end users and scamming the search engines.  Thankfully the voice of the SEO community, Mr. Sullivan, sets the record straight.

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