Get Found Now Local Search Secrets Exposed: Learn How to Achieve High Rankings in Google, Yahoo and Bing Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)"Get Found Now!" is a Fantastic Book. It is well written, easy to understand and follow, and excellently illustrated. Even a non-techie can get maximum use from this book on how to improve your placement in the major search engines. I am fortunate to have been able to have taken a class from Rich and Shannon dealing with Local Search before the book was published. This book covers many things beyond what I learned in their class. In fact, I have read the book three times cover to cover and each time I have picked up things I missed in the previous reading. For example, Google News on page 103 jumped out at me during my last reading, because Press Releases have always been an enigma to me. If you already know some things about Local Search, this book will definitely shorten your learning curve as well as expand the avenues to your success.
Gilbert Pauley, Brookside Dental, Bellevue, WA

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How can a small business owner best position their business to be found on the Internet? By using local search marketing. Google, Yahoo and Bing all allow a business to list their unique information. Business owners who know how to complete and optimize these local business listings will see their search engine positions improve dramatically. Using Local Search Secrets Exposed you will be able to; claim your local business listing, create a local business listing optimized for "findability", use reviews to help maintain and boost your ranking in the search engines, include photos and videos in your listing and incorporate your brand identity improve visibility.Today's marketplace is so crowded you have to stand out from the pack. A successful business today requires a real web presence. If your customers can't find you on the web, how can they be expected to find you on the street? You CAN be the leader of the pack following the simple steps in this book.

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Closure: The Definitive Guide Review

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(More customer reviews)I read Closure: The Definitive Guide as part of O'Reilly's rough cuts program, and I can honestly say that the book is one of the best technical books I've read in quite some time. It's clear that the author sought to leave no stone unturned in writing this book; he succeeded brilliantly. His writing style is concise but not at all confusing, leading to a great book that lends itself just as well to sit-down reading as it does a reference guide.
This book is definitely targeted towards developers, not managers. You should have at least some experience with JavaScript and the DOM before reading this. The author thankfully doesn't rehash the basics of such material before digging into Closure, but he also doesn't make the assumption that you need to have written a book on JavaScript in order to understand how to use everything. After you read the introduction chapter, you can safely skip some parts and come back to them later as you begin to understand Closure's design patterns. I thoroughly read most chapters and just skimmed others, which was great because it let me get familiar with the material without getting bogged down in all the details present in such an immense SDK.
Closure is most likely overkill if you're just building one-off websites, but if you want to build something more, do yourself a favor and buy this book and read it. Don't sell yourself short. Otherwise you'll be doomed to blindly throwing jQuery, MooTools, Prototype, or the like onto your canvas and hoping it'll work just as well for your large app -- it won't. Soon after you begin developing with Closure and reading this book, you'll experience the joy and relief that only a proper JavaScript TOOLKIT can provide.
Overall, this is a really great book that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend to any front-end developer who is tasked with building a web application that they want to be fast, browser-agnostic, and bug free.

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If you're ready to use Closure to build rich web applications with JavaScript, this hands-on guide has precisely what you need to learn this suite of tools in depth. Closure makes it easy for experienced JavaScript developers to write and maintain large and complex codebases -- as Google has demonstrated by using Closure with Gmail, Google Docs, and Google Maps.

Author and Closure contributor Michael Bolin has included numerous code examples and best practices, as well as valuable information not available publicly until now. You'll learn all about Closure's Library, Compiler, Templates, testing framework, and Inspector -- including how to minify JavaScript code with the Compiler, and why the combination of the Compiler and the Library is what sets Closure apart from other JavaScript toolkits.

Learn how the Compiler significantly reduces the amount of JavaScript users have to download when visiting your site
Discover several ways to use the Compiler as part of your build process
Learn about type expressions, primitives, and common utilities
Understand how Closure emulates classes and class-based inheritance
Use Closure Templates on the server and the client from either JavaScript or Java
Test and debug your JavaScript code, even when it's compiled

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Map Scripting 101: An Example-Driven Guide to Building Interactive Maps with Bing, Yahoo, and Google Maps Review

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(More customer reviews)I've gone over different aspects of this book a few times now, and was really looking forward to it showing a few things with ease, that I was looking to complete for a site I'm working on. Needless to say, I'm rather disappointed with the code issues within the book. I've compared the code in the book itself to the code on both the books website and the code on the Mapstraction website, and it varies much from both. So much so that it doesn't even work correctly...I believe that it's partially due to the lack of clarity on the Mapstraction website. The book does excel in describing techniques used for map scripting without a reliance on any one particular service, but after the issues described above, I feel that sticking to one service (such as google maps) would make your life a lot easier.
Pros
- Good read for basic concepts
- Easy to read and understand
Cons
- Flawed code and examples
- Book site code doesn't always match books code
(site code appears to be outdated! How this is possible I don't know)

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Websites like MapQuest and Google Maps have transformed the way we think about maps. But these services do more than offer driving directions—they provide APIs that web developers can use to build highly customized map-based applications.

In Map Scripting 101, author Adam DuVander delivers 73 immediately useful scripts that will show you how to create interactive maps and mashups. You'll build tools like a local concert tracker, a real-time weather map, a Twitter friend-finder, an annotated map of Central Park, and much more. And because the book is based on the cross-platform Mapstraction JavaScript library, everything you create will be able to use nearly any mapping service, including OpenStreetMap, MapQuest, Google, Yahoo!, and Bing.

You'll also learn how to:

Create, embed, and manipulate basic maps by setting zoom levels and map boundaries
Show, hide, and filter location markers and info-bubbles
Customize your maps for visitors based on their location
Use common data formats like GPS XML, Google Earth's KML, and GeoRSS
Create graphical overlays on maps to better analyze data and trends
Use freely available geodata from websites like Yelp and Upcoming—and public domain geodata from the US government

Map Scripting 101 is perfect for any web developer getting started with map scripting, whether you want to track earthquakes around the world, or just mark the best coffee shops in Dubuque.

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Search Engine Optimization For Dummies Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I suppose with an average of 5-Stars my review ranking makes me the curmudgeon since I offer only 3-Stars. Dummies books many times become complicated because they flounder around instead of getting straight to the subject matter, this book is no exception. While offering a plethora of important and valuable information the writings start, stop and go back and forth too often. I was armed with a highlighter and notepad but found myself constantly referencing back and forth, forced to re-read passages to collect all the data important to optimize according to the authors recommendations.
An example is discussing topics, which engage the readers interest only to suddenly stop with, "More on this subject in Chapter X." Ok, so I put my highlighter down until later. This becomes frustrating. Discuss highlights in the book with an introduction and get to the point in one place, not later in several places. The checklist offered on the inside cover is a nice highlight and covering the topics once again in an introduction should be enough and will lead to less confusion.
As with all tech books, without any fault to the author, the subject matter becomes dated quickly. This is the case with SEO for Dummies but the basics offered are valuable as a starting point in optimizing your web site. Although keywords, content and reciprocal linking are stressed heavily, my own inadvertent experiment has shown content to actually be at least as valuable if not more important than incoming links for high-ranking sites. As an example, I have two web-blogs with Google rankings of 2 and 3 respectively which have virtually no incoming links only a lot of content. In these cases content proves extremely valuable. These blogs are relatively young.
The author makes an attempt to explain Googles algorithm but fails miserably to make a point, and serves no purpose in advancing SEO knowledge and very little is mentioned about the Google "Sandbox" which is the initial purgatory new sites are sent to while Google decides a web sites worthiness. Understanding the sandbox in extremely important so the Webmaster pro or amateur realizes page ranking comes with sweat equity and patience.
My largest disappointment came when visiting the authors web site which was not up to date and had several "dead links." At this writing his Google site ranking is 5/10, which is very good but one must practice what they preach and these instances were glaring errors. Another problem is the author spends time discounting the use of "Frames/Frameset" but his site uses frames as viewed in the source code. If they should be avoided why does his site contain them?
I recommend this book if purchased with a deep discount. Next thoroughly read and digest the research information at www.marketingexperiments.com and incorporate all your information and experience into a business plan using their template. In combination with SEO for Dummies your site will be enhanced for SEO and you'll have a deeper understanding of Google and other methods of SEO to increase site traffic as well as page ranking.

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The handy guide for getting your site to jump to the top, now updated with the latest tips and tricks!
A clear understanding of search engine optimization (SEO) is essential if you want your Web site to appear high in search results. This straightforward-but-fun guide provides you with a clear understanding of how you can use SEO as a key strategy for online marketing. After discussing search engine basics, SEO expert Peter Kent shares tips, tricks, and advice for making your content appealing to search engines. You'll explore new and updated content on Bing, Google's new "Caffeine" search algorithm, localized searches, Google Sidewiki, and more. Packed with invaluable insight for showing up in searches at Amazon, eBay, Borders, Barnes & Noble, and Craigslist, this updated guide puts you on your way to the top of the heap!
Provides you with a clear understanding of the basics of search engine optimization
Details the techniques, tips, and tricks for getting your site ranked high and making your content appetizing to search engines
Offers completely updated material on Bing, localized search optimization, video search optimization, Google's new "Caffeine" search algorithm, and more
Shows you how show up in product search marketing on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, eBay, Craigslist, and more

The search for the best introduction to search engine optimization is over! Search Engine Optimization For Dummies, 4th Edition offers everything you need to know to reach the top of the online mountain!

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Lifehacker: The Guide to Working Smarter, Faster, and Better Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I will admit to being a sucker for books like this. I love books that offer ways to improve your time management, limit interruptions, and streamline your life. Lifehacker helps you do all that and more. It is the most practical book I have read on this subject, and I promise that it will improve the way you work.
There are a ton of "theory" books out there. Books that will tell you to spend your time more productively, not visit certain site, and get rid of all the extra emails. All great advice, but it can be hard for you to put into place without the right tools. Adam Pash and Gina Trapani give you those tools in Lifehacker. From email reduction to time-wasters to creating doable to-do lists, this is the best resource to turn to.
The book is structured in an easy to read way. At the beginning of each hack, the authors tell you the three most important pieces of information right up front:
Level: How easy is this going to be?
Platform: Where do I use this? Web, Windows, Mac, All?
Cost: How much does it cost?
This is a great way to evaluate the hacks that you will need quickly and will help you to find the information that will benefit you most. Fortunately, most of the hacks offered in this book are both easy and free.
Some of my favorite hacks in the book include:
Hack 1: Empty Your Inbox (and Keep It Empty)
Hack 9: Script and Automate Repetitive Replies
Hack 14: Instantly Recall Any Number of Different Passwords
Hack 24: Design Your Own Planner
Hack 25: Make Your To-Do List Doable
Hack 29: Dash Through Tasks With a Timer
Hack 39: Limit Visits to Time-Wasting Websites
Hack 53: Reduce Repetitive Typing
Hack 59: Become A Scheduling Black-Belt with Google Calendar
Hack 82: Augment Reality With Your Phone
Bottom Line: There is a ton of great information contained in this huge 476 page book. You probably won't use every hack and you probably already follow some of the author's advice, but you will (at least you should) use most of the hacks in this book. Highly Recommended.
BONUS: Lifehacker also has a companion website that has updates, additional information, and more tips and tricks.
BONUS #2: For the best theory book on why you should implement these time-saving tools, read The 4-Hour Workweek, Expanded and Updated: Expanded and Updated, With Over 100 New Pages of Cutting-Edge Content. They complement each other very well.

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A new edition, packed with even more clever tricks and methods that make everyday life easier
Lifehackers redefine personal productivity with creative and clever methods for making life easier and more enjoyable. This new edition of a perennial bestseller boasts new and exciting tips, tricks, and methods that strike a perfect balance between current technology and common sense solutions for getting things done. Exploring the many ways technology has changed since the previous edition, this new edition has been updated to reflect the latest and greatest in technological and personal productivity.

The new "hacks" run the gamut of working with the latest Windows and Mac operating systems for both Windows and Apple, getting more done with smartphones and their operating systems, and dealing with the evolution of the web. Even the most tried-and-true hacks have been updated to reflect the contemporary tech world and the tools it provides us.

Hacks include:

Hack 1: Empty Your Inbox (and Keep It Empty). Hack 2: Decrease Your Response Time. Hack 3: Craft Effective Messages. Hack 4: Highlight Messages Sent Directly to You. Hack 5: Use Disposable Email Addresses. Hack 6: Master Message Search. Hack 7: Future-Proof Your Email Address. Hack 8: Consolidate Multiple Email Addresses with Gmail. Hack 9: Script and Automate Repetitive Replies. Hack 10: Filter Low-Priority Messages. Hack 11: Organize Your Documents Folder. Hack 12: Instantly Retrieve Files Stored on Your Computer. Hack 13: Overhaul Your Filing Cabinet. Hack 14: Instantly Recall Any Number of Different Passwords. Hack 15: Securely Track Your Passwords. Hack 16: Tag Your Bookmarks. Hack 17: Organize Your Digital Photos. Hack 18: Corral Media Across Folders and Drives. Hack 19: Create Saved Search Folders. Hack 20: Create a Password-Protected Disk on Your PC. Hack 21: Create a Password-Protected Disk on Your Mac. Hack 22: Encrypt Your Entire Windows Operating System. Hack 23: Set Up 2-Step Verification for Your Google Account. Hack 24: Design Your Own Planner. Hack 25: Make Your To-Do List Doable. Hack 26: Set Up a Morning Dash. Hack 27: Map Your Time. Hack 28: Quick-Log Your Workday. Hack 29: Dash Through Tasks with a Timer. Hack 30: Form New Habits with Jerry Seinfeld's Chain. Hack 31: Control Your Workday. Hack 32: Turn Tasks into Game Play. Hack 33: Send Reminders to Your Future Self. Hack 34: Take Great Notes. Hack 35: Organize Your Life with Remember the Milk. Hack 36: Organize Your Life in Text Files. Hack 37: Set Up a Ubiquitous Note-Taking Inbox Across Devices. Hack 38: Off-Load Your Online Reading to a Distraction-Free Environment. Hack 39: Limit Visits to Time-Wasting Websites. Hack 40: Permanently Block Time-Wasting Websites. Hack 41: Reduce Email Interruptions. Hack 42: Split Your Work Among Multiple Desktops. Hack 43: Build a No-Fly Zone. Hack 44: Set Up Communication Quiet Hours. Hack 45: Clear Your Desktop. Hack 46: Make Your House a Usable Home. Hack 47: Sentence Stuff to Death Row. Hack 48: Drown Out Distracting Sounds with Pink Noise. Hack 49: Search the Web in Three Keystrokes. Hack 50: Command Your Windows PC from the Keyboard. Hack 51: Command Your Mac from the Keyboard. Hack 52: Reduce Repetitive Typing with Texter for Windows. Hack 53: Reduce Repetitive Typing with TextExpander for Mac. Hack 54: Automatically Fill in Repetitive Web Forms. Hack 55: Batch-Resize Photos. Hack 56: Bypass Free Site Registration with BugMeNot. Hack 57: Speed Up Web Pages on a Slow Internet Connection. Hack 58: Securely Save Website Passwords. Hack 59: Become a Scheduling Black Belt with Google Calendar. Hack 60: Set Up an Automated, Bulletproof File Back Up Solution. Hack 61: Automatically Back Up Your Files to an External Hard Drive (Mac). Hack 62: Automatically Clean Up Your PC. Hack 63: Automatically Clean Up Your Mac. Hack 64: Automatically Reboot and Launch Applications. Hack 65: Make Google Search Results Automatically Come to You. Hack 66: Automatically Download Music, Movies, and More. Hack 67: Access Your Most Important Files Anywhere with Dropbox. Hack 68: Manage Your Documents in a Web-Based Office Suite. Hack 69: Carry Your Life on a Flash Drive. Hack 70: Create a Virtual Private Network (VPN) with Hamachi. Hack 71: Run a Home Web Server. Hack 72: Run Full-Fledged Webapps from Your Home Computer. Hack 73: Build Your Personal Wikipedia. Hack 74: Remotely Control Your Home Computer. Hack 75: Give Your Home Computer a Web Address. Hack 76: Optimize Your Laptop. Hack 77: Speed Up Your Touchscreen Typing. Hack 78: Break Down the Barrier Between Your Computer and Mobile Phone. Hack 79: Remote Control Your Computer with Your Phone. Hack 80: Automate Android Functions with Tasker. Hack 81: Set Up One Phone Number to Rule Them All. Hack 82: Augment Reality with Your Phone. Hack 83: Remember Where You've Been Using Location Awareness. Hack 84: Command Your Phone with Your Voice. Hack 85: Use Your Camera Phone as a Scanner. Hack 86: Make Your "Dumbphone" Smarter via Text Message. Hack 87: Connect Your Computer to the Internet via Mobile Phone by "Tethering". Hack 88: Develop Your (Digital) Photographic Memory. Hack 89: Send and Receive Money on Your Mobile Phone with PayPal. Hack 90: Google Like a Pro. Hack 91: Subscribe to Websites with RSS. Hack 92: Quickly Search Within Specific Websites from the Address Bar. Hack 93: Extend Your Web Browser. Hack 94: Supercharge Your Firefox Downloads with DownThemAll! Hack 95: Get 10 Useful Bookmarklets. Hack 96: Find Reusable Media Online. Hack 97: Get Your Data on a Map. Hack 98: Set Multiple Sites as Your Home Page. Hack 99: Access Unavailable Websites via Google. Hack 100: Have a Say in What Google Says About You. Hack 101: Clear Your Web Browsing Tracks. Hack 102: Rescue Your PC from Malware. Hack 103: Protect Your PC from Malware. Hack 104: Clean Up Your Startup. Hack 105: Undo System Configuration Changes. Hack 106: Truly Delete Data from Your Hard Drive. Hack 107: Compare and Merge Files and Folders with WinMerge. Hack 108: Firewall Your Windows PC. Hack 109: Firewall Your Mac. Hack 110: Speed Up Windows with a Thumb Drive. Hack 111: Free Up Hard-Drive Space. Hack 112: Resurrect Deleted Files. Hack 113: Hot Image Your PC for Instant Restoration. Hack 114: Hot Image Your Mac for Instant Restoration. Hack 115: Recover Files from an Unbootable PC. Hack 116: Share Windows Files. Hack 117: Share Mac Files. Hack 118: Keep Your Web Browser in Sync Across Computers. Hack 119: Share a Single Printer Between Computers. Hack 120: Optimize Your Dual Monitors. Hack 121: Control Multiple Computers with a Single Keyboard and Mouse.

Technology is supposed to make our lives easier by helping us work more efficiently. Lifehacker: The Guide to Working Smarter, Faster, and Better, Third Edition is your guide to making that happen!

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How to Do Everything with Google Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Did you know Google can find you best prices, do translations, or even fill out online forms for you?
"How to Do Everything with Google" by Fritz Schneider goes over everything from how to enter a query all the way to configuring your Google toolbar. Whether you are a complete beginner or an advanced web browser, Google will help you use Google to it's fullest capability. The book is very friendly. Has plenty of pictures with notes and does not use technical terms. The chapters were straight to the point and kept short.
To nitpick, the book could have shown examples on some advanced topic such as "advanced operators" to give a better understanding of how to use it. This was probably not included to keep the book beginner friendly.
Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone that thinks Google is just another good search engine.

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Get inside the massive search engine and learn how to make Google's enormous power work for you to find exactly what you need. Discover what librarians and researchers know and learn the best tactics and strategies for finding information on the web using Google search. Includes coverage of little-known Google features such as the bargain-searching Froogle, a news service, an image search service, and more.

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Google App Engine Java and GWT Application Development Review

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(More customer reviews)This book walks the reader through development of a GWT and GAE Java social app called Connectr. Complete source code is provided. It covers the all aspect of the development and also teaches how to structure a scalable web app and what libraries, patterns and best practices to use. Even though I already knew some of GWT and GAE, this book takes it to the next level when it comes to building scalable and social apps. Here is some of what is covered: Google Web Toolkit interface building with UIBinder, CSS resource, client bundle, Remote Procedure Calls (RPC) with error handling and automatic retries, JDO, data store design, join-like queries, one-to-one and one-to-many relationships, pre-persist callbacks, transactions, Memcache, event bus, traditional MVP, MVP activities and places, server push with Channel API, Cron, task queues, XMPP, session management, authentication with Google, Twitter and Facebook and much more.
This book has a lot to offer. However it could use some more drawings or graphics but since the source code is provided, this is not such a big deal. As whole, if a developer wants to create a web app on App Engine with Google Web Toolkit, I strongly recommend this book because it made me avoid basic mistakes, taught me patterns and good structured GWT+GAE programming that is available nowhere else. In short it saved me a ton of time.


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This is a practical guide with a step-by-step approach that builds an application in stages. Each stage of the application is used along with screenshots to introduce or develop your understanding of how to write powerful GAE applications. If you are a developer with prior programming experience of Java development and object-oriented programming and want to understand the key concepts of how to build AJAX web applications with Java, then this book is for you. The book assumes some previous exposure to the basics of using GWT, for example at the level of Google's online introductory GWT tutorials. You don't need to know anything about Google App Engine. This book will teach you everything you need.

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