Demystifying the Web by Jeffrey Olchovy

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Cascading Style Sheets, Play-Doh and LEGOs

What do those three have in common?

Everything and nothing.

I recently wrote about my preferred way of organizing CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) and unlike the other articles on the topic, I'm not talking about organizing your code after you complete it - you know, like tidying up indents and sticking flags all around. I mean, yes, you do this as you write but to what extent?

See, I'm going for organization during the property and value declaration process. Now this is a topic I have yet to see get exposure.

I look at it from the following perspective - using a mass style reset or not.

So if you were to take a blob of play-doh from a container and begin to make a, say, flower. What do typically always do with your blob before anything else?

That's right, roll it out into a big, honking tube.

And that's what I'm saying we do when we transponse HTML code to CSS. We always go about designing our end product with a sequential, ordinate production sequence that largely relies on the display property.

So, when I write my code, I see the following design patterns occuring:

I declare my display property. If they inherit the correct style, I forego it. But after that I typically go for the larger and positioning and outerbounding properties that determine the ultimate on-screen placement.

Then we worry about font, color, and all the decorative hoop-la.

Enter our LEGO relation.

If I were to ask you what the best determinents were for deciding where any given LEGO block would best fit on a board what would you say?

And remember we are talking about fit, first and foremost.

Would it be the color? No. The decorative sticker label on its face? No. It's size? Getting warmer. It's shape? Bingo.

So, usually once we have the display, margin and padding, positioning, etc., down we can declare the other intricacies like color, font and background images.

While this philosophy doesn't apply to every line of code you'll be transforming, it's a great pattern that I noticed and the analogy I see with LEGOs and Play-Doh makes work fun again.

I orginally wrote about this philosophy of development for the blog entry entitled "A Better Way for Organizing CSS."

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Google and Flash - Marriage Counseling Still Not Working for the Couple

Google recently announced that it was able to now crawl through Flash Web sites. Hog wash.

Well, not really. I'm sure that they have no problem extracting data, but for someone not in the know about optimized HTML code - there's no way in hell that text stripped from Flash can retain the semantic meaning found within good development and strong coding practices.

So, verdict is in, this news release from Google is very, very slanted and subjective.

Aside from that first point, Flash Web sites are typically composed of one page and, often times, rely on a call to an external Javascript or JScript file. These caveats are still recipes for search engine optimization failure!

Before Flash Web site owner's rejoice, they best still think about getting themselves a nice clean coded XHTML/CSS Web site.

I just started implementing Flash-imitating imagery which takes advantage of Scriptalicious/Prototype and JQuery Javascript Frameworks. I get the same emotional response from viewers as Flash and (yeah, there are fancy effect limitations, but..) all that content is parsed and able to be read by the major search engines. Bonus.

For the orginal write up I did about this news release see: Optimized Web Design Doesn't Mix with Flash. 

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Blog Relaunch

Today marks the relauch of my Fast Company blog.

For the past two months I have had the single focus of promoting my Advanced Marketing for Cosmetic Surgeons Blog, however as I have extended my guest blogging and personal writing/development/designing duties into other areas, I feel compelled to discuss them as well.

I feel good about this relaunch, if only for the reason that it has now become a broader application of everything Interweb.

I felt many a time when writing relays of posts for cosmeticSEO that all of those search engine optimization and search marketing techniques really applied to any business interested in generating a higher online visibility.

With that being said, welcome to all those who are interested in such topics! And, I mean, who isn't?

I hope you enjoy the blog's new focus and let's now Demystify the Web.

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Questions Plastic Surgeons Should Answer

The Los Angeles Downtown Times recently ran an article that discussed the questions one should ask their cosmetic surgeon before undergoing a non-invasive procedure.

At cosmeticSEO.com we believe that one of the most important places these questions should get answered is within the written copy on your specialized Web site.

The questions to be considered are as follows:

• Who will be performing the procedures?
• How long have you been doing [insert cosmetic procedure] or using [insert technology or technique]?
• How often do you perform [insert cosmetic procedures]?
• What kind of injectables or lasers do you use?
• May I see other patients' before and after photos?

For the most effective ways to answer these questions and how to deploy such information in a compelling way on your plastic surgery practice Web site, continue reading the original blog entry at "Questions Answered by Plastic Surgery Web Sites."

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Soothe Your Patient's Cosmetic Procedure Worries

Steps you can take to appease your potential patients' worries when they visit your specialized physician or cosmetic surgery practice Web site are as simple as providing as much information about your treatments and your medical expertise as possible.

Key points should be:

• Displaying your American Board of Plastic Surgery Certification
• Notifying your patients about your experience and educational background
• Certification, if required, for procedures performed under anesthesia

For more information about quelling your patients' fears when they visit your cosmetic surgery practice Web site, contact cosmeticSEO.com or read the original blog entry entitled, "Soothing Your Potential Patients' Plastic Surgery Worries" at the Advanced Internet Marketing Blog for Cosmetic Surgeons.

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Choose Your Domain Name Wisely

The domain name you select for your Web site is a key factor when measuring your site's presence and position in the search engine rankings.

It is recommended that you begin researching the competitive keywords associated with your line of business before you choose a domain name. Be sure that your selected domain contains components of some of the most difficult and competitive queries. However, the domain that you choose needs to satisfy human memory and ease of typing as well.

Important metrics gauged by search engines that deal with your domain are its age since conception and the amount of time left before it expires.

Both of these traits correlate to a Web site's reputability and validity.

For more information on your domain name and its relation to Internet marketing, please see the original blog entry entitled "The Greater Importance of Your Plastic Surgery Practice Domain Name" at cosmeticSEO.com. 

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Advertising the "Mommy Makeover"

Gaining popularity is the comined cosmetic surgery stack which reverses the toll that childbirth takes on a woman's body.

CosmeticSEO.com recently discussed the opportunity that this heightened national interest leaves for cosmetic and plastic surgeons.  You can read the original blog entry entitled "Advertising for Post-Pregnancy Cosmetic Surgery Procedures" at cosmeticSEO.com.

As the number of women who undergo such procedures continue to rise, surgeons must educate and demystify the process as much as possible. With more and more people researching product and service purchases online, it is integral that such informative Web copy appear on a sugeons specialized medical practice Web site.

For more information about plastic surgery Web development services, browse through cosmeticSEO.com's plastic surgery marketing kit. 

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Videos Key to Medical Advertising Campaign

With over 11 billion videos viewed online every month, it necessary that those involved in the healthcare and medical industries look toward the production of digital video to promote their services post haste.

Originally discussed on cosmeticSEO.com's Advanced Internet Marketing for Cosmetic Surgery Blog, the search marketers forwarded the numbers that should leave physicians and surgeons taken aback about Internet marketing.

Seventy one percent of the US Internet audience are online video viewers and such viewership counts for 82 viewings per person. Publishing fresh multimedia content on a regular basis is a great way to open up the flood gates of traffic into your medical or specialized physician pratice Web site.

Read the original blog entry entitled "Just How Important Are Videos in Your Medical Advertising Campaign."

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Advertising Plastic Surgery to Eager Markets

CosmeticSEO, search marketers for the cosmetic and plastic surgery industry, often discuss the implication of the current economic recession and the healthcare/medical field. Although over 50% of plastic surgeons have reported a downturn in sales, there is hope for the industry due to a burgeoning market amongst the wealthy Hispanic middle class and Western Europeans looking overseas for surgical procedures.

As the dollar continues to fall, cosmetic surgeons should seriously consider dedicated advertising campaigns to target the Hispanic community interested in cosmetic surgery. Promoting a friendly remote consultation to overseas patients is also an idea oft-not sought by surgeons in their marketing endeavors.

For more strategies on marketing your cosmetic surgery practice online, please visit CosmeticSEO.com. You can read the original blog entry, "New Markets Open for Plastic Surgery Advertising" on our Advanced Internet Marketing for Cosmetic Surgery Blog.

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Blogs and Social Media as Marketing Tools

The numbers, frankly, can no longer be ignored. Businesses looking to aggresively promote their brand and increase their online visibility need to publish digital content on a near daily basis and circulate it amongst the proper social channels.

Currently, Technorati,
the self-proclaimed “recognized authority on what’s happening on the
World Wide Web,” is tracking over 100 million blogs and over 250 pieces
of social content.

The World Wide Web is no longer a passive place. Your online marketing campaign must not be passive as well. If you, as a small or medium sized business, are not taking advantage of
blogging platforms and social media portals as a marketing opportunity,
chances are, one of your competitors is.

For more information on how you can
leverage blogs and social media outlets to market your brand, read the original blog entry, "Blogs and Social Media Crucial for Cosmetic Surgeons," at the Advanced Internet Marketing for Cosmetic Surgeons Blog.