Alt Attribute & Seo

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

In Google's webmaster guidelines, they advise using alternative text for that images on your web site:

Images:. Use the alt attribute to supply descriptive text. Additionally, 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 a similar problem as blind users. They cannot see the images.

Many webmasters and inexperienced or unethical SEOs abuse the use of this attribute, attempting 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 contrary, high keyword density can, on some search engines like google, trigger spam filters, which may create a penalty for your site's ranking. Even without this type of penalty, your site's rankings won't benefit from this tactic.
This process also puts persons who use screen readers at a greater disadvantage. Screen readers are software-based tools that really read aloud the items in 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 numerous keywords. The page would be far from accessible, and, to put it bluntly, will be found quite annoying.
What exactly is an Alt attribute?

An ALT attribute shouldn't be used as a description or perhaps a label to have an image, though many people use it in that fashion. Although it might seem natural to assume that alternate text is a label or a description, it is not!

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

The goal is to supply the same functional information that the visual user would see. The alt attribute text should function as a "stand in" when the look itself is not available. Ask yourself this: If you were to replace the look with the text, would most users receive the same basic information, and wouldn't it generate the same response?
Some examples:

 

Some SEO Optimization Tips

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

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

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

If it is meant to convey the use of a function, then your function 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, use 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 trying to convey. For instance; any button images shouldn't include the word "button" within the alt text. They ought to emphasize the action performed through the button.

Alt text should be based on context. The same image inside a different context may require drastically different alt text.

Try to flow alt text with the remainder of the text because that is the way it will be read with adaptive technologies like screen readers. Someone listening to your page should hardly remember that a graphic image can there be.
Please keep in mind that using an alt attribute for each image is needed to meet the minimum WAI requirements, which are used as the benchmark for accessibility laws in UK and the remainder 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 things that serve no purpose other than to create a site visually appealing/attractive and (in many cases) fulfill the marketing departments. There isn't any content value (though there might be value to some sighted user).

Never alt-ify eye-candy unless there's something there that will enhance 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 atmosphere or set happens so to speak. These graphics are not direct content and could 't be considered essential, but they're important in that they help frame what is going on.

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

For instance; Alt text that's identical to adjacent text is unnecessary, as well as an irritant to screen reader users. I recommend alt="" or background CSS images in such cases. But sometimes, it's important to get this content inside for all users.

Most times it depends on context. Exactly the same image in a different context may require drastically different alt text. Obviously, content should always be fully available. The way you use this example is really a judgment call.

III. Content and Function

This is when the image may be the actual content. Always alt-ify content and functional images. Title and long description attributes may also be in order.
The reason many authors can't figure out why their alt text isn't working is they don't know why the images exist. You need to figured out exactly what function an image serves. Think about what it's concerning the image that's important to the page's intended audience.

Every graphic has a reason behind standing 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 simpler to write. And practice writing them definitely helps.
A method 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 particular image to create the page understandable to the listener?

Besides the alt attribute you've got a couple more tools at your disposal for images.
First, in level of descriptiveness title is within between alt and longdesc. It adds useful information and may add flavor. The title attribute is optionally rendered through the user agent. Remember they are invisible and not shown like a "tooltip" when focus is received through the keyboard. (A lot for device independence). So use the title attribute only for advisory information.
Second, the longdesc attribute points towards the Link to a complete description of the image. When the information contained in a picture is important to the meaning of the page (i.e. some important content will be lost when the image was removed), an extended description than the "alt" attribute can reasonably display ought to be used. It can offer rich, expressive documentation of the visual image.

It should be used when alt and title are insufficient to embody the visual qualities of the image. As Clark [1] states, "A longdesc is really a long description of an image...The goal is by using any length of description necessary to impart the details from the graphic.

It wouldn't be remiss to hope that the long description conjures a picture - the image - within the mind's eye, an analogy that holds true even for the totally blind."

Even though alt attribute is mandatory for web accessibility and for valid (X)HTML, not every images need alternative text, long descriptions, or titles.

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

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

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

Exactly the same image may need alt text (or title or longdesc) in one spot, although not in another. If the image provides absolutely no content or functional information alt="" or background CSS images may be appropriate to use. However, if the image provides content or adds functional information an alt will be required and maybe even a long description would be in order. Oftentimes this kind of thing is really a judgement call.

Image Search Engine Optimization Tips

Listed here are key steps in optimizing images:

Select 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 example, when the image internet search engine sees a ".jpg" (JPEG) file extension, it's going to assume the file is a photo, and when it sees a ".gif" (GIF) file extension, it's going to assume that it is graphic;

Make sure that the written text nearby the image that's relevant to that image.
Again, do not lose a great opportunity to help your site with your images in search engines. Use these steps to rank better on all of the engines and drive more traffic for your site TODAY.

SEO Company

B2B marketers have joined the social media marketing movement in droves. In fact, Forrester Research predicts that B2B firms will spend $54 million on social media marketing in 2014, up from just $11 million in 2009 (eMarketer B2B Social Media Marketing Heats Up).

Unfortunately, many of those efforts are entirely tactical, methodical and without a true understanding of the “social” aspect of social media marketing.  B2B marketers that are early in their social media marketing maturity level tend to focus on message distribution such as Tweeting or posting Facebook links mostly to their own content vs. engaging with customers on a human level. That one-way communication profile doesn’t engender discussions and sharing, so social traffic level increases tend to plateau pretty early.

In order to grow and scale the return on social media marketing investments, B2B marketers need to think more about the “social” than the marketing. Here are a few thoughts on that:

Decide What You Stand for Topically

The social SEO benefits of being intentional about language that reflects your key business areas of focus as well as the conversations happening within your target community are essential. Topically fragmented blog and social networking content dilutes a company’s ability to “stand out” to customers amongst the sea of noise in social conversations as well as to search engines.

Practically, that means a strategy that identifies goals, customer personas, content & editorial plans and search/social keyword glossaries.  A content marketing strategy is the plan that executes what your company and brand stand for as well as how it will communicate those key messages. A social SEO keyword or topic plan filters into all relevant web and social content creation. It can also flavor social network topic engagement and conversations. That means a guide for which blogs to comment on, which influentials to network with, word choices for Tweets, blog posts and tags.

Do: Create and participate where your customers and influentials spend their time and with a content plan that supports your key topics of focus. Be useful and share social content that’s worth sharing (whether it’s your content or others’).

Don’t: Overly self promote and publish social content that is not directly or indirectly in alignment with your key topics of focus. That doesn’t mean everything you create is keyword optimized. It means everything you create and promote is thoughtful about where it fits in your social & content marketing plan.

The outcome and benefit is that your own content creation and promotion efforts are aligned to inspire discussion, sharing and links according to topics and keywords that are important to brand, business and marketing goals. An ideal manifestation is that your target audience sees your brand in a positive way everywhere they look for topics XYZ and 123 on social channels, when they search and even offline (inspired by online) word of mouth.

Plan to Win

If you enter a competition half-assed, guess what? No matter what your talent is, the chances of a win are pretty slim. Unfortunately a lot of B2B companies approach social media participation with an attitude of using the least amount of resources possible.  Oftentimes this means following structured best practices list from some self-professed social media guru. Checklist marketing works to make redundant tasks more efficient, but it’s no way to engage a community.

For example, one of the most common “plan to be mediocre” mistakes I see with B2B marketers is predictable social profile creation and publishing focused solely on LinkedIn, Twitter and a blog without researching those channels.  Such a plan also involves a focus on promoting company content and superficial (at best) engagement with the community.

Planning to win means having a plan for networking into influentials’ sphere of influence and knowing what to do once you get on their radar. It means creating social content that will inspire engagement and outcomes to further your business goals. It also means providing training within your organization to distribute and grow the role of social participation within your brand.

Practically, this means forecasting resources (people, process and technology) for social media marketing as significant marketing channel, not just an experiment or a checked box on a list. It means an integrated plan to dominate your category through growing social influence & networking, content, search, word of mouth and media plus the resources to execute and measure.

Do: Hypothesize, forecast and commit resources to test, develop processes and scale social media engagement within your business. What starts as social media marketing can turn into social business as the impact of social media engagement propagates from marketing to other departments and throughout the organization. Winning the social media game for B2B marketing doesn’t just mean increased sales, it means dominating your category.

Don’t: Think that social media content promotion as part of a Search Engine Optimization program is the same thing as social media marketing or social business.  It is not.

The outcome and benefit of planning to win in B2B social media is that you have enough resources to provide value to customers throughout the B2B buying and customer lifecycle, facilitating awareness, trust, confidence, word of mouth, sales and referrals. It also means developing a community in alignment with your company’s goals.

Originally published at the Online Marketing Blog

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sleep inn chesapeake va and bech craft company

Dedication (the act of coming to a choice or of fixing or settling a intent,) it can be this attribute on your own that may make or break an individual, a local community, or a nation. It's the attribute of determination that has set the bench craft company Aside from the remainder of the competitiveness, creating it the leader of Gold Program venue advertising and marketing during the United states. It can be this same determination that can in the end make the bench craft company the leader on this area throughout the world, as they begin to put into action their extremely

effective enterprise product on the international scale.
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The golf programs that bench craft company give good results along with, acquire products and services at no additional expenditure. bench craft company revenue force immediately finances the system for each golf program by acquiring sponsors for every products. Native distributors and gamers inside neighborhood receive sponsorship priority and golf course management performs carefully with Bench Craft to acknowledge

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Generate (the trait of staying remarkably inspired, the act of applying force to propel some thing.)

Its generate that has propelled the bench craft company to its place as the quantity a single advertiser on golf program properties with the United states. It happens to be generate that allows Bench Craft to supply about 1400 golf program properties in more than 43 states for his or her purchasers advertising and marketing demands. But what’s driving this small business to regularly be the achieving success that it truly is 12 months following year?
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Focus (a central position, as of attraction, focus, or exercise) The central point for the bench craft company thru the decades has normally been to meet the requires of their customers while using the greatest and preferred expectations of marketing venues and support that may be made available within their jonrah. Possibly this is certainly on the list of key explanations that the bench craft company will be the leader in advertising and marketing on Golf Program Properties inside Usa. It's due to this focus on excellence that they maintain this most coveted honor yr once year with the promoting market.
So what is the

concentrate of bench craft company? Clearly the focus is on excellence. There isn't a other factor to explain how this advertising organization continually out-performs the many others in golf course advertising with this kind of a excessive rate of achievement. In their twenty five yrs of internet business Bench Craft persistently offers you it is people the incredibly most effective in golf program

advertisement yr just after yr by supplying them with the most in depth geographical coverage within the nation, with through 1400 golf courses in in excess of 43 states. Supported in addition by regional offices nationwide, Bench Craft out-performs the levels of competition in advertising and marketing their customer’s products and services to your men and women which may and can utilize them.
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Bench Craft Company on the art of ebay

"Getting data privacy 'right' is an economic and social imperative. Trust and confidence in the security and privacy of the critical systems of our planet - especially the digital version of its central nervous system, the Internet - is foundational to individuals' continued engagement and reliance on such things as online commerce, e-health and smart grids. If individual consumers don't feel that their privacy and security are protected, they will not support modernization efforts, even though the capabilities of technology advancements are proven and the potential benefits to society are extensive.

"Here's an example of the tensions we face: The ability of smart grids to conserve resources relies on the ability of, and commitment from, consumers to monitor and modify their individual usage. An individual using a smart meter understands the difference in the cost of using electricity at peak versus non-peak hours and could opt to lower their usage during more costly time periods. At the same time, data from the meters can reveal sensitive information such as work habits, shower schedules, use of medical devices such as dialysis, and whether or not a house is occupied."

"I don't worry that the technology will have a negative impact on consumer privacy," wrote Mark Roberti, founder of RFID Journal in a June overview of the state of the RFID market where privacy is concerned. "Instead, I worry that ignorant legislators trying to score points with uninformed voters will pass laws that limit the many benefits RFID can deliver--and that is a much bigger threat to consumers."

Today's agreement in Europe appears not to be the kind of legislation Roberti feared. As a framework focused on self-reporting it may be too little, ultimately, but it's a start.

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Gionta nets 2 as Price, Canadiens blank Bruins

Carey Price returned as Montreal's starting playoff goalie with his third postseason shutout, Brian Gionta scored twice and the Canadiens opened the series with a 2-0 win over the Boston Bruins on Thursday night.

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Big Media Falls for GE <b>News</b> Hoax (Cont&#39;d) - Giovanni Rodriguez <b>...</b>

The Week takes a short look at what yesterday's GE news hoax may have actually accomplished: --"It was a glimpse of an ideal world." Idea here is that the fake storyline might have helped people imagine a world where businesses "biggest ...

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Groundwater radiation level at nuke plant rises: TEPCO | Kyodo <b>News</b>

The concentration levels of radioactive iodine and cesium in groundwater near the troubled Nos. 1 and 2 reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant have increased up to several dozen times in one week, suggesting that toxic ...

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Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak said in an interview this week that he would consider returning to an active role at the company he helped start if asked.



During an interview in England this week, Wozniak said, "I'd consider it, yeah," when asked whether he would play a more active role if asked, Reuters reports.



Wozniak, Steve Jobs and Ronald Wayne founded Apple Computer in 1976. Wozniak left his full-time role with the company in 1987, but remains an employee and shareholder of Apple.



Since leaving Apple, Wozniak has been involved in a wide range of entrepreneurial and philanthropic endeavors. He currently serves as Chief Scientist for storage company Fusion-io.



Meanwhile, Jobs is currently taking an indefinite leave of absence to focus on his health, though he remains CEO of Apple and continues to be involved in strategic decisions.



Wozniak, who has widely been acknowledged as the technical genius behind Apple's early success, believes that he has a lot to offer the company he helped start, which went on to become the world's second-largest company in terms of market value.



"There's just an awful lot I know about Apple products and competing products that has some relevance, some meaning. They're my own feelings, though," Wozniak said during the interview.



When asked his opinion on Apple today, Wozniak praised the company for its track record with recent products. "Unbelievable," he said, "The products, one after another, quality and hits."



Even so, Wozniak admitted that he'd prefer Apple's devices to be more open, so he can "get in there and add [his] own touches." Last December, Wozniak revealed that he had purchased a DIY kit for the iPhone 4 and "modded" the device into the as-yet-unreleased white version.



"My thinking is that Apple could be more open and not lose sales," said Wozniak, while adding, "I'm sure they're making the right decisions for the right reasons for Apple."



Wozniak has been committed to openness since the beginning. In December, Wozniak told reporters that he didn't design the original Apple I to make a lot of money and had given the designs away for free after his former employer HP showed no interest in the computer.

China is a notoriously tough market for American brands. The last few years has seen tech giants like Google struggle to do business due to restrictive censorship and retail giants like Best Buy and Home Depot have found that heavy price competition makes it hard to gain a toehold. Yet, despite the conventional wisdom, Apple’s business in China is booming and it’s not lower prices but better presentation that’s driving their success.

The Chinese economy is having some of its best years ever due to the rising world demand for consumer electronics, much of which is manufactured in China’s city-sized factories. The Mercury News reports that this has led to the average Chinese citizen being more flush with cash than ever before and ready to spend it on what would previously be deemed as unaffordable luxury.

Paul French of Shanghai-based Access Asia indicates that the increase in middle class affluence is behind the increase in purchasing power. “There is now enough of an urban middle class with enough money to afford Apple products. Five years ago — or even two or three years ago — there weren’t enough of those people.”

Five years ago, Apple didn’t have a retail store in China, now it has four, including a stunning split-level glass and metal flagship store in Sanlitun, an area of Beijing known more for its nightlife than its retail outlets. Those stores aren’t barely surviving either, with $2.6 billion in revenue this year, four times what we saw last year from Apple in China. This should mean that Apple is fighting the price war well in China, offering its products for less than they can be purchased in the US, but that’s not actually true. In fact, Apple sells a comparatively specced 13-inch Macbook Air for $180 more in China than it does stateside.

This success seems to fly in the face of conventional wisdom, typically premium products have not sold well in cost conscious China. Some, like Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, say that Apple will have to eventually compete on price or risk losing the Chinese consumer. “The iPhone is going to be huge in China. That’s a given.” he tells the Mercury News. “But if Apple wants it to flow out across China, it has to come up with lower price points.”

Yet Apple shows no signs of slowing down in the Chinese market, which is projected to account for 10 percent of Apple’s revenue within 5 years.

When asked, locals said that in a country where the people like to try products out before they purchase them, Apple is doing the best job of presenting those products. Apple’s retail stores offer the Chinese consumer a chance to test the products in a beautiful and visually stimulating atmosphere and those efforts are paying off with big sales numbers. This kind of attention to the senses and emotions of the consumer wasn’t pioneered by Apple of course, but they are one of the first major companies to bring that kind of experience to China’s city centers in a big way.

This difference in the way that the products are presented is doing its job in separating Apple’s products from the rest of the pack almost everywhere that its retail stores are located, but nowhere is that effect felt more than in China. A country where consumers are hungry for polished products presented in a stimulating atmosphere and they finally have the cash to afford them.

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Google reported solid quarterly earnings this afternoon, but EPS was slightly below expectations and expenses were high. 

The expenses were apparently cause for investor concern, and shares have dropped more than 5% after hours.

In particular, cap ex spend was $890 million. Google explained most of that was related to the purchase of new buildings in Dublin and Paris.

Operating expenses were also up thanks in large part to the 10% one-time salary raise, which kicked in this quarter.

In a Q&A with investors during the earnings call, several analysts wondered if this level of expenditure is the only way Google can continue to grow revenue more than 20%. Execs tried to reassure them that Google is measuring and paying very close attention to the expense side of the equation.

The basics:

Gross Revenue of $8.58 billion was slightly better than expected and rose a strong 27% year over year.

Net Revenue of $6.54 billion slightly better than expected.

Adjusted EPS of $8.08 is slightly--slightly--below expectations of $8.13. Revenue was strong, so the key will be whether the earnings miss is the result of lower margins (bad) or, say, a higher tax rate (irrelevant).

Paid clicks growth was better than expected at 18% year over year (vs 15%-17% expectation). This is Google's key revenue unit, and better-than-expected unit growth is positive.

Revenue per click increased 8% year over year, at the high end of expectations.

Free cash flow was a solid $2.2 billion. Cash flow from operations was spectacular--$3.2 billion--but the company spent an astronomical $890 million on capital expenditures, much more than expected.  (What on earth are they spending all this money on?)

Product highlights: Android is getting 350,000 activations per day. Chrome now has 120 million users -- that means 120 million people who are more likely to be "locked in" to Google services. YouTube revenue is doubling every year, but still no concrete numbers to share.

Bottom line, Google remains robustly healthy.  27% year over year revenue growth in a company this size is extremely impressive, and the core search business is humming along. The high capital expenditures are a question and concern--it will be interesting to hear what the company says about them on the call.

Here are some slides from the deck Google used on its earnings call. Scroll past them for our live blog of the call itself.

You've got to love 27% growth from such an enormous base.

Traffic acquisition costs are looking good as well:

But this is what investors are worried about -- costs rising as a percentage of revenue, particularly R&D and sales and marketing. A lot of that is salary-related:

Here's another way of looking at it: operating margins are getting lower:

Here are our notes from the call:

4:27 ET:  We're waiting for the call to start. We'll see if Larry Page jumps on, since he just took over as CEO last week. He's reportedly investor and press shy, so we'll be curious to see how he performs.

One slightly curious note: the call isn't being broadcast on YouTube as it has in the past.

4:31: Larry will join at the beginning of the call. It's also Patrick Pichette, CFO. Two of the new senior VPs are on board as well -- Susan Wojcikci (advertising), Jeff Huber (local and commerce). Plus Nikesh Arora, the chief business officer, who's  been on past calls.

4:33: Page notes 27% revenue growth. Tremendous improvements still ahead. Now he's talking management changes.

"Everything we told you last quarter has happened." He's managing day to day operations as CEO. Eric Schmidt is on government and partner outreaches -- last quarter he was in Germany, Brazil, Argentina, and Spain. Sergey working "very intensively" on a few projects.

4:34: Also made changes to simplify their org structure. He's thanking Jonathan Rosenberg, who's been on most of these past calls.

That's about it. Now it's on to Pichette.

4:35: Expenses show the 10% across the board raise for the first time.

Gross revenue up 27%, $8.6B. It actually rose 2% quarter to quarter -- and last year Google had the Nexus One goosing revenue. Plus this year the disaster in Japan.

Google Network revenue up 19%. Negatively impacted by loss of search distribution deal, plus search quality improvement -- spam control. It always serves us well.

Other revenue was down 10% year over year to $269 million. That's mostly Google Apps and Enterprise Search, a very small business.

Aggregate click growth up 18% year to year, and 4% from last quarter. The shift from offline to online is driving that.

4:40: International revenue was 53% of total.

TAC was 25% of total revenue, $2.2B.

Overall opex totaled $2.8m, including stock-based compensation.

Opex increase is primarily payroll, some advertising.

Op margin 37.6%

Headcount up 1,900 during the quarter. total 26,316 employees.

Capex is facilities, data centers. Facilities driven by purchases of buildings in Dublin and Paris. Capex is "lumpy from quarter to quarter" depending on when it wants to make capex investments.

4:43. Boasting about Android, fastest growing mobile OS, and Chrome, fastest growing browser. Pushed frontier of mobile search which is adding to overall search volume. YouTube "win win" platform for content owners and users.

Second half of 2010, grew 25% year to year. This quarter 27%. Compared to comp of 23% a year ago. "We are building multibillion dollar businesses" and confident now is the time to invest. Discipline.

4:45: Local and commerce SVP Jeff Huber.

Ambitious hiring this quarter by design. 2011 will be biggest hiring in history, hired 1,900 this quarter. Core and growing businesses are doing well, so "who wouldn't want to invest in this business." Over half the "Nooglers" who joined will be in new areas like YouTube, Chrome, Enterprise.

Search: improving quality. Launched over 90 quality improvements, including changes to ranking algorithms. Impacted about 12% of queries, and addressed over 80% of sites that users reported.

Had adverse affect on revenues on SOME SITES in Display network. But improving search is always the best thing to do in the long run.

Personal, as in building around people. Launched the +1 button, easier to share results. "This is just the beginning" more personal search coming soon.

Mobile traffic up 500%+ over last two years.

350,000 Android devices activated per day. Recently launched in-app billing.

Chrome: users "very valuable". Investing in Chrome marketing. Now more than 120m daily users, more than 40% added in last year.

Chrome OS "also going well" and look forward to launching devices later this year.

Enterprise: growing across businesses and schools. New deals, reseller agreements. University of Texas, Boston U.

Pleased our ITA deal closed, travel search lots of room for innovation there.

Huber is now thanking Jonathan Rosenberg as well. "Friends and colleagues for over 15 years. He will be missed"

4:49: Now it's Susan Wojcicki.

Lots to be excited about in ads. Search is still core, but big oppty for growth.

"How can we search the perfect ad for every query?" New creative types, new ways for advertisers to set up campaigns. Product Listing Ads, introduced Q4 last year.

Display advertising: bought DoubleClick 3 years ago, lot of integration, lot of progress. Display Network up 5x since acquisition, doubling annually in Brazil, UK, and Japan.

Display advertisers either performance oriented (conversions) and brand oriented (awareness). Launched new stuff for brand advertisers, like Display Ad Network Reserve -- buy premium inventory on a guaranteed basis. Also tools to measure effectiveness of campaigns -- not just clicks.

Ad Exchange -- transaction volume has tripled in past year, 2/3ds of that inventory bought via real-time bidding.

YouTube: revenue doubling year over year, shared with more than 20k content partners. The more money we make for them, the more engaging stuff they upload.

AdMob: over 150 million iOS and Android devices, up 50% in last four months.

Advertisers starting to run mobile-only campaigns. Incorporating local -- how far are you standing away from the advertiser's location right now?

4:55: Pichette taking over again for Q&A.

Q: Opex up 45% year over year excluding traffic acquisition cost. Is this kind of spending required to retain 20%+ revenue growth? Or one-off?

A. Clearly the effect of the one-time salary change. Salary increase flows through to other stuff like 401(k) and vacation, so disproportionately felt in first quarter. "Nooglers" as well. One-time step change in labor, but after that regular.

Marketing has increased since last year because it's providing great returns. Both customer acquisition and key products like Chrome.

Still disciplined: quarterly reviews to get your next funding.

Q. What about marketing costs? What's going on?

A. Professional services. Chrome -- really pushing the web. When they get Chrome, instead of having to look for Google, they get it. It's there already. "Everybody who uses Chrome is a guaranteed locked-in user of Google."

Q. How does Larry view the company differently than it was?

A. Position hasn't changed. We're a tech company, focused on users, looking for products that can affect billions of people. Computer science helping find problems for billions of people.

If you think that way, Chrome, Android, search all make sense. The 70/20/10 is very alive. "Search is the next billion dollar business." 90 improvements on one side, 40 on the other -- search still in our infancy. Mobile, display, enterprise.

10% is commerce, social, stuff that's nascent. Strategy same core lenses, same products that serve billions of people.

Q. But financially? Any meaningful difference?

A. No. Build great products, same financial discipline.

Q. More about opex. Customer acquisition in Chrome, salespeople. Do you think your 20%+ growth rate would be achievable without these costs? Will you still get the growth without the costs?

A. Strategy in context of last 4 to 5 quarters. Trajectory of revenue growth, 23%, 25%, 27%. We're funding revenue growth with discipline. "Carpe diem, it's there to take."

Q. Imagine display is $20B based on various figures. Right now you're at 10% or so. How big can that be? And as display gets bigger, how does that affect margins?

A. Search unique with very very high margins. Display more paperwork. But still very good margin product. "All of those dollars I want." Plus great "symbiotic" relationship -- display ads now showing up in search.

Could say that display was stalled at $50 to $60B because video wasn't there. YouTube helps reach 23 to 24% more consumers. Efficiency of Web applied to video. All efforts trying to build that display, rich media and video. Every profitable dollar of revenue is good.

Q. What about social data? You don't run social network. Do you need it for search?

A. Jeff Huber -- it's important, we use 200+ signals for ranking search today. It's one of many inputs. Assets that apply to that, we do have large number of users coming to our door every day. Considerable percentage logged in, using multiple products.

Pichette: launch of +1 is commitment to get every signal. Continued focus on social as one of 200 signals.

Q. Does Chrome give you any signals you can integrate into search results?

A. Huber -- will be part of story over time, personalized today. Chrome experience, can sign into Chrome, will sync info across computers.

Q. Where are those bold steps to control expenses? We don't see it. And is social really just one of 200 variables?

A. On expenses, you see ramp-up on one side. Guarantee you everybody who has cost center has to demonstrate productivity. Data center, incredibly steep. Sales force. We always think of cost per x. Cost per bit for data centers. Even food, everybody has productivity curve.

Google is growing 25% year over year from a $25B base. Tide coming with it, but every element of the company is "scrubbed and scrutinized." The unit costs haunt many of my managers.

Huber now on social: one of many signals. We regularly measure and tune.

Pichette again: expenses, we really want to lay the ground clear on these issues.

Q. Search algo changes -- how does that affect search ads and cost per click? And what's driving display ad revenue growth -- ad units or more targeting?

A. Huber: 12% of queries affected. Was Web search only, not ads. NO effect on CPC. Did affect display network, but focus is on user experience.

Wojcicki: Can buy audiences, target more effectively. It's both. End to end platform to enable buying across the Internet for all advertisers and all publishers.

Pichette: Some properties tuned to display like YouTube, but entire Web is more powerful than any single prop.

Q. What about tablet share -- is it as important as smartphone share?

A. Jeff Huber: tablets doing well, lot of growth in that segment. Dynamics -- hybrid between mobile and desktop when you look at user behavior. Optimistic about Honeycomb. Xoom was product of the show at CES in January. More products, more innovation.

Enable advertisers to target tablets, which will help that segment.

Q. Employee bonuses and social -- define success?

A. This is an internal matter. We focus a strategy across many platforms, we wanted to signal to employees that social is an important signal and worth investing. No further comment.

Q. Search important, but engagement might be more important. Have you looked at 70/20/10 and think about shifting to build greater engagement? Look at how other products and services can be integrated in?

A. Web in general, how platforms are growing, we're focusing in areas where engagement matters. Local, mobile, YouTube, all about engagement. Mobile, Chrome. Technology fuels engagement. At highest level, search itself is more engaged today than it was 3 years ago. It's part of our strategy.

Q. Engagement through frequency rather than share of time.

A. When you are in YouTube, you're spending more time in YouTube. Android phone, now visiting and in town, additional signals sharing with friends etc.

Q. Does Chrome give you potential to create unique products, apps, content services?

A. Huber: great opportunities in that. Chrome Web Store -- same model as Android Market, bringing it to that platform.

Q. How much is a mobile user worth today, and how do you think about larger acquisitions?

A. Can't answer about mobile user. Look at our focus, we're very excited about mobile. Great potential there. Monetization side -- click to call ads. Locally targeted ads, ability to engage users where they are. Smartphone will be way people do everything -- inform, entertain. It will merge.

Q. Do you think value can go up order of magnitude in 3 years?

A. Wojcicki: very early in what mobile can do. Will grow overall opportunity, overall pie.

Nobody is going to say a substantive thing about acquisitions.

We haven't found big one that will significantly accelerate our growth. We have a really focused agenda, don't want massive distraction. Google is a specific culture --- big acquisition must be both financially sensible and cultural fit. "That's a pretty high bar to pass."

Q. Non cost-per-click ads -- what kind of growth are you seeing? And does Google have a video strategy outside of user-generated content?

A. We have new people on board with YouTube to expand beyond user-generated.

Huber: user-generated is huge. But we're interested in "long-form premium content," another area is developing content of, by, and for new medium being created. Next New Networks acquisition was there.

Wojcicki: we're allowing advertiser to bid with CPA (cost per action) then Google figures out CPC (per click) in background. Also CPM (per impression). Depends on whether advertisers are more performance or ad-driven. As we introduce new kinds of ads for brand advertising, CPM will become a bigger deal.

Q. How bad was Japan? You also said 350k Android activations per day -- can you give breakdown smartphone v tablet and US v international?

A. Our first response to the events was to help the Japanese community. People finding people and disaster recovery. Focus on community, not optimizing revenue.

Tons of searches, by the way, but not monetizable searches. Japan is great market for us. Historically they bounce back fast. We can't predict how will rebound on advertising, but it's a 1st world economy that will recover.

Huber: Android. Not going to answer the question. But we have strong partnerships in Europe, Japan, Korea, and international is growing. Android is relatively early on in tablets, Honeycomb just came out. Big innovations coming.

 

 

Editor’s note: This discussion about the superphone platform is one of the five themes we will be focusing on at the VentureBeat Mobile Summit, on April 25-26. We’ve carefully invited the top executives in mobile to discuss the biggest challenges of the day, which, if solved, can lead to much faster growth in the industry. And at our enterprise session, we’ll have top executives around the table from a number of companies, including Verizon, AT&T, Cisco, Salesforce, Box.net, and more. (If you think you should be part of the discussion, you can apply for a ticket.)

Don’t expect to find the core applications that run the pistons of a business as native apps in Apple’s App Store. With a few exceptions, the future is touch-enabled web applications that will bring a more complete version of a vendor’s feature set to any tablet.

I’ll say it more explicitly:  Native apps are for phones, gadgets and games.  Touch-enabled web apps are for tablets and broad business applications.

The iPhone’s size has almost necessitated an alternative user experience for business apps, but the iPad’s screen real estate does not suffer that limitation.

The iPad has been in the market for over one year.  Conspicuously absent from SmartSheet’s Top iPad Apps for Business lists — produced over the last 8 months by 10 industry watchers — are any cross-business operating apps tackling customer relationship management (CRM), accounting, project management and the like.

Smart software companies are building tablet access into their core products by touch-enabling their existing web applications.  For some vendors with form-based solutions, the effort may be fairly simple, for others with rich desktop-class UIs, it is more complex.

Some serious business apps have native tablet versions, but they are either narrow business functions or small carve-outs of their overall solution. Here are some examples:

Some examples of companies with broader business operations applications that are benefiting from the touch-enabled web app approach are:

The key reasons to go native on the iPhone / iPad have been:  performance, access to device features (geo-location, camera, etc….), offline support, and most importantly, an entry in the App Store Directory (this will be the only remaining benefit to building native business apps in 12- 18 months).

But the following dynamics in the tablet ecosystem are predicting the demise of that native apps advantage:

Competition Among Tablets Will Dramatically Improve Performance

Intense competition in the tablet market will drive hardware, browser and connectivity performance closer and closer to parity with PCs.  Note the step up in hardware power from the iPad to the recently released Motorola Xoom and iPad 2.  Vendors do not build native apps for PCs and Laptops any more, and the reasons for that will be just as valid for tablets.

HTML5 Will Erase Native App’s Device Advantage

HTML5 will give browser apps powers that today are only accessible by native apps such as instant on, access to camera, location, and off-line.  And, unless it’s a game, most apps require connectivity to be useful anyway.  (Here’s a good write-up on this.)

Web Apps Will Outpace and Outreach the Natives (adding features vs platforms)

As more tablets come to market on more operating systems, ISVs will become weighted down building redundant apps for each OS.  This will inherently come at the expense of adding more features to a single web app.  Inherent in any application development toolkit are its limitations, and Apple’s is no different.  Richer experiences are possible with today’s browser development tools.

Businesses Will Favor App Stores that Include “Bookmark a Link” Apps

Apple forbids “pointers” or “very thin wrappers” to touch-enabled web business apps.  This benefits Apple, but not business users.  There are a host of good business apps that work on the iPad browser, but they’re not present in the App Store.  This is slowing the growth of the iPad as a business tool.  The marketplace that lists compatible business apps will have a broad audience – one that expects them.

The debate will continue on both the mobile and tablet fronts and it depends on a multitude of factors, but ultimately businesses will choose which approach delivers a more compelling user experience for their specific application.  ZDNet reports on three of the key business scenarios prevalent with the iPad, which includes 1) sales people out in the field, 2) executives on an overnight trip, and 3) warehouse managers, retail floor staff, medical staff, and anybody else that needs real access to apps while on their feet.

A tablet untethers the user categories above from a desk if it can handle typically more comprehensive operational business applications that can cover a diversity of business needs. For example,  this video shows the owner of a 109-year-old lumber operation bringing automation to the mill floor via the iPad. For this company and the millions just like it, the need for rich tablet-ready business apps is real, but native apps aren’t there yet. Thankfully, there is an app for that. But you’ll have to look beyond the App Store.

Brent Frei is the founder of Smartsheet, an online project management and collaboration tool. He submitted this story to VentureBeat as part of a series leading up to our Mobile Summit later this month.

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Roofing Contractors Vancouver - 5 Questions to Wonder

Roofing Vancouver - Faq's

1. Repair or Replace?

There's no opinion like an expert opinion. Most contractors will provide you with a totally free estimate. Get a summary of a few trusted contractors and contact them well ahead of time of when you wish to get your roof fixed so you can compare costs and opinions.

2. Beauty versus Practicality?

Discuss this with your spouse or partner. (The kids 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 have to do the repair, it's worth it to pay for the cost of the original shingle instead of doing patchwork. A roof replacement doesn't happen frequently (hopefully!) and thus make a choice that best suits you and your family well or it'll stick out like a sore thumb everyday you decide to go home.

3. Must i replace the roof in order to sell the house for additional?

Think about this cautiously prior to making a decision. Depending on the roofing material you choose, a new roof lasts between twenty, fifty, to one-hundred years! This means you need to check the year from the roof that's currently over your head first. Are you at year 18 of the 20-year warranted roof or year 30 of the 50-year warranted roof? Obviously, the quality is what makes the roof keep going longer, but when you're not planning to stay in your current home throughout your life, the higher expense might not be worth your investment. Although a brand new roof can enhance the worth of your value, the increase may not be enough to cover neglect the and that's bound to hurt your wallet.

4. Could it be a good idea that i can repair the roof myself?

Sure it is. But before you need to do, consult a specialist first. You can perform it yourself, however, you shouldn't be considered a complete ‘lone ranger.' Depending on the extent of the repair, you might or might not convince you. Either way, it helps to obtain a professional eye on the problem first and maybe even a free quote to help you do the math later and find out if it's truly worth your time and effort, sweat, and cash to be mister or miss fix-it.

5. When is a great time to find the roof replaced?

Weather can cause delays from days to weeks. Most people plan ahead to have their roof replaced in the summer when they know someone will be home during the day for any solid fourteen days. Once you have this era in your mind, create a call to a trusted contractor months ahead of time to obtain a quote. Some companies get reserved fast and chances are, they're the most reputable. Preparing in advance from the summer also provides you with time to ask around more and compare costs...especially if you want to have the roof made 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 inside a storm? Have overhanging branches caused damage? Is the roof more than Two decades old and showing wear and tear? Are your gutters overwhelmed and draining poorly?

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

For more than a century Crown Roofing has been the roofer of preference among our Vancouver neighbors. We provide complete roofing services, from emergency repairs and roof restoration, to complete roof replacement. All while using finest quality materials, installed with precision and the highest degree of customer service.

YOUR Vancouver ROOF DESERVES Believe it or not!

The rooftop of the Vancouver house is the first line of defence against wind, rain, snow, ice along with other weather conditions. Make sure it's up to the task. Among Vancouver Roofing companies, only Crown Roofing has the depth of experience and successful track record to make sure your roofing system will be properly designed and installed.

NEIGHBORS HELPING NEIGHBORS.

One reason Crown Roofing continues to be the most successful roofing company in Vancouver is our resolve for our neighbors. We treat your home as though it were our very own and that we were building a roof to protect our own family. That's what neighbors do, and you can rely on Crown Roofing being here to support 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 very best roof for your Vancouver home, at the best value. We build roofs to last!

 

Tacoma Roofing contractor: Help your house be Beautiful

Not many people view the worth of a good roof, but your knowledgeable Tacoma Roofer does. From first hand experience, they'll be able to let you know the reason why you require a strong, secure, and leak-free roof on your home.

The local Tacoma Roofing company is knowledgeable how important a financial investment your house is for you personally, especially as it is a long term one. Your house may have been damaged slowly over the years and you have to take steps to minimize this damage. For a lot of people, keeping their property beautiful is also a matter of pride. There are those too who'd prefer to turn their property right into a economical and efficient living place. Your roof is an integral part of your property and plays a role in each one of the aspects mentioned previously. For this reason, you should employ the expertise of qualified a Tacoma Roofing company.

Types of Roofs installed by a Tacoma Roofer

One of the more common kinds 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 by a trusted Tacoma Roofing company. It's imperative that you nip roof problems within the bud before they become too costly or dangerous. You can schedule an appointment with the Tacoma Roofing company to take a look at your roof to see if there are any issues or potential problems with it. If you will find, they might be in a position to let you know how to deal with them.

A Tacoma Roofing contractor Helps you to Build Strong Homes

The exteriors associated with a house, primarily the rooftop and gutters, face the onslaught of bitter and varying climate conditions, day after day. Painting, repairing, and cleaning gutters might be necessary. In some instances you might want to replace them completely. Usually, when your gutters show signs of trouble, your roof also needs to be inspected for problems. Whatever issues there might be, an experienced Tacoma Roofing contractor can examine them in detail and suggest the remedy.

In case your gutters tend to clog all too often, or you will find leaks across the walls of your home, it might imply that there's debris piled-up on the roof. Loose branches, piles of leaves, and other light objects that are swept onto your roof during a storm can all contribute towards damaging your homes roof, and these damages could be lasting. An educated Tacoma Roofing contractor will explain that birds, mice, along with other types of rodents often build nest within the debris that collects on the top. While these nests may look rather innocent, they're great at collecting moisture, which can lead to loose shingles, mold, and indoor leaks in your home. In addition, this may also cause vermin infestation. After a storm, your Tacoma Roofer will suggest that you inspect your homes roof for just about any signs of debris or damage.

Reverse Damages with the Help of a Tacoma Roofing contractor

However top quality the roof may be, it will eventually wear out over time. There are shingles which are known 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 won't last a lot more than a few years. Within an area that's vulnerable to storms, shingles or even the entire roof may need to get replaced every ten years. With a Tacoma Roofer, the price is going to be less than what you think.

If there you lose any shingles, or there's some harm to them, a Tacoma Roofing contractor 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 that allows rain, wind, ice, and debris to develop underneath the adjoining shingles, which results in a "domino effect" that affects other shingles and they become loose or broken. A comprehensive investigation will be made by your local Tacoma Roofer, should you give them a call track of your suspicions of loose or missing shingles.

Your Tacoma Roofing contractor will be in a position to inform you what the best option is for your roof. In case your roof isn't in a good condition, it is advised you have it replaced completely. The Tacoma Roofing contractor can take you through the various roofing possibilities for you that will fit your requirements and your budget.

Tacoma Roofing company: Enhancing your Home's Efficiency

Your roof shelters you against storms, sleet, and hail. By providing adequate ventilation, your homes roof protects your home from overheating, and by holding in the heat, it keeps your home 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 Roofing contractor can offer help in this situation.

To begin with, inspect your homes roof thoroughly for just about any and all sorts of kind of damage, prior to the beginning of the year. The gutters ought to be clear, debris should not be piled on or trapped under shingles, there should be no 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 assistance of your local Tacoma Roofer. It can be quite dangerous to climb to the roof of your house. This is where the contractor from Tacoma Roofer comes in. He'll check out the strength and security of the roof and shingles, and perform a general inspection of the entire roof structure, to make certain that it's in proper working order. They'll be able to point towards problems that you need to keep an eye on and problems you might not have spotted.

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

Tacoma Roofing contractor: Someone You Can Rely on
When you know or suspect that there is a problem, your Tacoma Roofer ought to be contacted. They can use their knowledge and expertise to obtain your home in ace condition by simply focusing on the rooftop. Your roof deserves attention. So give them a call today, to enable them to get down to working on your roof.

 

What is Difference Between Commercial Roofing Companies From Residential Roofing Companies

If you are considering getting a roofing company to re roof your home or building then you can be wondering what are the differences are between residential roofing companies and commercial roofing companies. To start with, the main one big difference is that often times an industrial roofing company might have signed an agreement with and become obligated to some roofing union in able to focus on union commercial jobs.

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

Residential roofing contractors in general tend to run smaller companies and hence, are more in a position to bid competitively on residential jobs, which tend to be smaller than comercial jobs. Actually, often times residential roofing contractors will run one man operations, in which the contractor that you simply speak with may be the one which actually does the job on the building.

Also, liability insurance for commercial roofing is more epensive and a larger bond is required for a commercial roofing work which will make it not economical for any commercial roofer to do residential roofing jobs.

Still one more factor is that commercial jobs can run on a tighter time period for just about any quantity of reasons, requiring a commercial contractor to employ a larger crew or crews which again makes smaller jobs not as profitable for them.

 

Distinction between Commercial Roofing and Residential Roofing

Did you know that the roof of the house or building includes a huge impact on the whole structure itself? Damage caused to roofs because of natural or another disasters causes a considerable lack of property everywhere. The kind of materials used to construct the rooftop which should be sturdy and long-lasting, the way in which the roof has been installed and even its timely maintenance are extremely crucial. There's two kinds of roofs that are used on all the buildings that we see around us: commercial and residential. Although it might seem that commercial roofing is performed only for businesses or offices and residential roofing is performed for apartments and houses, the truth is the differences tend to be more complex than that.

Residential roofing is generally completed just by one hired contractor but commercial roofing typically takes a whole team to accomplish the job. The reason being a commercial roof is commonly larger in terms of sq ft than the usual residential roof.
Commercial roofs need to be made carefully keeping the character and reason for your building in mind. For instance, when there is a restaurant within the building then external components like ventilation systems, smoke stacks and pipes is going to be required. Residential roofs usually do not have such components other than a chimney or two at the most.
Commercial roofs is commonly flat in design to support further changes in a later period, whereas most residential roofs have peaks and other architectural features like roof gardens.
Commercial roofing is a lot more expensive than residential roofing because of the special tools, materials and safety equipment which are needed onsite. Usually the patching or maintenance work is completed in segments unlike for a residential roof in which the repair or replacement work could be carried out a short while. This really is another reason why the gear employed for residential roofs is often smaller and less expensive too.
Commercial roof installations have a longer time to accomplish compared to residential roof installations and are usually constructed in large sections. In this phase however, you should ensure that there are no leakages, cracks or other visible deterioration signs as it can certainly cause considerable harm to the entire building.
You should install the right roof for any building based on its purpose. Make sure that you hire a construction company that utilizes first class materials and it has the right equipment to do the job or your investment risk turning to be a huge loss later.

 

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

If a clients are looking to have work done on its roof, you should use commercial roofing contractors that have an enthusiastic knowledge of any special needs that the business may have. As an example, a roofing job is often disruptive for the operation of economic as always. Because of this, it might be essential for the business to become temporarily turn off, or the roofing to take place after business hours have ended. A roofer that understands these needs can function together with a business to make certain these types of issues are minimized.

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

It's a wise decision for just about any business to get in touch with a minimum of three commercial roofing contractors to make bids on the price. In this manner, the company can often obtain a better price. It's also vital that you ensure that each of the roofing contractors is licensed and bonded. These details can be found by permitting touching the state contractor's board. This also makes it possible to determine if there have been any claims filed from the company previously.

When examining bids, it is just as important to look at what services are now being offered and which products will be used as it is to look at the overall cost. The prices can vary quite drastically, but as tempting as it can be to go for the cheapest bid, this is not always the best option. In many cases, more costs now means fewer costs in the long run as a result of an undesirable roofing job. To further investigate the quality of the work, it is a wise decision to check on using the Better Business Bureau to be able to see if the company continues to be accredited, and if it's not, to at least see what its rating is.

 

Selecting a Commercial Roofer

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

When you start your research for a roofer not only do you need to answer those questions but you also want to find someone which will perform a top quality job without a great deal of time delays. Going about finding someone can seem as an obstacle in itself but there are some ways to make the search easier.

Ask friends and family for referrals and then try to find a minimum of three contractors to give you written bids in your job. Before you go any further you need to make sure that the contractors you are thinking about are fully licensed and bonded. An easy search using 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.

When you select 3 or 4 roofers to place bids, you should prepare yourself for the bids to become widely varied. Roofers may have brand preferences that will vary and may factor in pretty much than the next guy for any labor estimate. The greater detailed an itemized bid is the more helpful it will be for you to see in which the cost will be incurred. Don't, however, select a roofer based solely about the bid price. Any low ball bids might be tempting to take, but when they're low because of poor quality workman ship it might not be worth it ultimately.

As they say, you generally get what you pay for, if you are able to afford a mid-priced bid it's always a good idea to go up within your budget rather than down. You also ought to decide your roofer based on how professional they were and how comfortable you anticipate you'll be working with them.

Finally your cost will be different based on which kind of roofing material you select along with the cost to haul your old roof towards the landfill. If you are looking for places to chop corners on your roof, rather than cutting labor cost you may want to ask about a metal roof option. Metal roofs can be economical and energy efficient making them overall money savers for the long run, as well as on commercial buildings they may be really low maintenance. Plus given that they can be put on top of a current roof, you don't have to have the old one removed and hauled away, which can make a big impact on your cost.

Choosing a comerical roofing company in your local area, does not have to be a struggle. For more information, visit http://www.vancouverroofers.net

 

Seattle Roofing Companies - How To Find The very best

In the home of rain and sleet, commercial coffee and grunge, and also the famous space needle, you can find a house that will suit you. Seattle, Washington could be a good place to build a house, however, you need Seattle roofing contractors to assist you. Your roof is, after all, the crowning glory of your house, as well as your strongest line of defense against the elements. You need to have something that isn't just built to last, but built to attract and make your house more beautiful

Harsh Weather

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

In most these aspects, a Seattle roofers will be able to assist you. All you need to do is search for Seattle roofing contractors online so that you can get the best bang for your buck without wondering when the contractor will suddenly try to escape by using it and then leave you roof-less.

Why the Contractor Model Works

If you wish to set up your roof on your own, you will have to buy a whole lot of materials, secure permits and licenses, and obtain materials which are suited to help you stay safe against harsh extremes of Seattle weather. This means that if you're a DIY sort of guy or gal, you'll have to undergo a good deal of legwork in order to get the job done.

However, a Seattle roofing contractor can do all the jobs for you personally and provide a package that can help you save time and money. Because contractors operate under licenses and buy materials in bulk, they can get discounts on building materials that you'd not otherwise get should you be buying merely for your own personel home.

Roofing Associations

Most roofing contractors also fit in with roofing organizations that are bound by strict guidelines and standards. If they do well on the roofing job, they can showcase their roofing contractors association; if they do poorly, they are able to ruin the trustworthiness of their roofing contractors association and keep other contractors inside the association from receiving targeted roofing jobs. There is a lot of pressure to do well, so you can be reassured that if you need 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 more than five hundred roofing contractors within the Puget Sound. This group has over half a century of roofing experience and experience working with Seattle roofing contractors, therefore it knows what type of roofing you would like. The Roof Brokers group can put you in contact using the contractor that you need so you don't have to search for contractors individually.

What In the event you Demand from Your Contractor?

Whenever you finally obtain a contractor in the Seattle area, you must do lots of background research about the roofing contractors themselves. Ask for a summary of previous companies or persons the contractor caused in order to get a definite look at the roofing contractor's work ethics and roof quality. Your roofing contractor must also possess the appropriate working licenses and city licenses needed by the Seattle city government.

Pick a Seattle roofing contractors that insures its employees, which has courteous workers who'll respect your thinking and make sure that your needs are met. Make sure that you obtain the best bang for your buck: if you're not satisfied using the job, you have to be guaranteed either money back, or perhaps a free, new roof. Moreover, additionally you require the workers to find the job done on time, so be strict together with your deadlines - and find a contractor that's as strict when you are.

You need guarantees and warranties in your roof, so locate a contractor that may meet your budget and roofing needs. If you get in touch with good Seattle roofing contractors, you can be guaranteed a good roof and a better house in this fantastic city.

Selecting the Right Roofer Company for Replacing Your homes roof

The shingles in your roof need replacing and you're simply minded to find a roofer to replace the them. Maybe you have already known as a few and therefore are evaluating which contractor for your upcoming roof repair. How do you select the best contractor for caring for your roof? Here are several things you should look at when searching for the best roofing contractor.

Where's the roofing contractor located? It is important to hire a roofer that's local. Chances are you will get a higher level of service when the roofing company can be found near your house or has an office near your residence.
References. To look for the toughness for the contractor, references should be provided of the past clients who are willing to vouch that excellent service was received. This should not be the only element in choosing your future roofer as some may claim they value the privacy of their clients and do not wish to bother them. If this sounds like the situation, ask for business related references. The locations that supply the contractor with supplies can reveal the amount of materials and regularity of supplying the contractor to assist determine their stability.
So how exactly does the roofer company handle complaints? There's a large number of issues that can arise during the progress of a roofing replacement. Ask what their process is for handling complaints if they arise. It's also a great idea to receive a past client reference who were built with a complaint which was resolved to the satisfaction of the client.
The payment schemes. Do you know the the payment schemes 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 work on a project, it is highly recommended that full payment is not made until following the entire job is completed.
Written contract. All terms of the roofing replacement should be put in an itemized contract. No the main contracting job should depend on verbal assurances.
Bonding. You will find stuff that can go wrong with roofing installations that wind up costing a substantial amount of money to fix. If this happens in your roofing replacement, you'll feel a great deal better knowing that your roofing contractor is bonded. This will provide the funds to fix whatever mistakes were made. Look for a roofing contractor that's bonded.
Manufacturer Warranty. Quality materials for roofing typically come with a warranty. You should verify that there's actually a warranty on the materials being installed. Request a duplicate of the warranty.
Length of Time running a business Just how long has the company you are interviewing been in business? A brief amount of time in business may reflect instability. When the contractor has been in business less than 3 years, verify just how long they've been in the industry. A brand new contractor might have a long time experience working on roofs before they form their own business. Seek a business that has been around for three years, or where the contractor has had many more years performing roofing replacements. This again should not be the only real factor, everyone has to begin sometime. Balance this with referrals and also the other points raised in the following paragraphs.
Appropriate Permits. A Seattle roofing contractor ought to know what permits are needed for fixing your roof. They should be conscious of how you can obtain these permits for you. Ask the contractor whether or not they will obtain the permits necessary to repair the rooftop.
Liability. If a worker becomes injured, who's accountable for the workers comp? When the contractor's equipment damages your home, who is liable for the repairs? A great contractor will give you certificates of insurance for liability and workers comp before they start fixing your roof.
Subcontractors. Verify whether the contractor will be using subcontractors. If so, it is strongly advised that everything contained within this article for verifying if the contractor is credible also needs to be applied to subcontractors. You need to receive the names and license amounts of all subcontractors. You should verify whether each subcontractor is also insured so you aren't held liable for their accidents.
Pending Legal Actions. You should verify whether you will find any legal actions from the contractor. This is not only necessary for verifying whether the roofing company is legitimate (credible roofing companies should not need to defend themselves in court), it's also important just because a lost lawsuit might lead to the contractor to visit bankrupt. For those who have made a substantial down payment for services immediately prior to the company goes bankrupt, you can lose many thousands of dollars and not have your roofing completed.
Material Disposal. Who is responsible for disposing of the waste generated in the roof being replaced? Will your contractor handle every aspect of the? Is there an additional cost for getting rid of this waste?
NRCA Membership. Membership in local or national roofing associations, like the NRCA, shows resolve for staying current with the most effective methods for roof replacement and maintenance. Look for a roofer with a high standard of education regarding their trade.
Replacing your homes roof is a significant investment. Celebrate sense to inquire about serious questions before using a roofing contractor. Here are a few more tips that you ought to consider when choosing the best roofer for the upcoming roofing replacement.

Payment. Don't create a full payment for services unless all work is finished.
Inspection. Don't create a full payment without having done 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 ought to be made verbally without backing up in writing. Every point that are vital that you you ought to be made in writing.