Showing posts with label Search. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Search. Show all posts

Monday, September 5, 2011

How to Begin a Search For a Swing Set

Boys and girls love to swing on swing sets, slide down the slides and you can build a play structure for your children. Building in your own backyard is not as a difficult of a process as might imagine, it just requires following detailed instructions and using household tools. Having carpentry skills will make the process easier. What do you do if you are not handy? First, enlist a relative or friend, someone that has some basic knowledge about building to help you with the project. There are basically 4 different ways you can build, this article will offer some insight into the playground world.

Kits Without Lumber - These kits usually include the all the accessories and the hardware package. The hardware package should include swing hangers, brackets, heave gauge bolts, screws and step by step directions. These kits typically include everything you need to build the swing set except the lumber. Visit your local Home Depot, Lowes, or lumber yard and hand select the timber. Make sure you purchase boards that are designed for playgrounds and ask for a customer service representative to help you. Timber choices include cedar, southern yellow pine, redwood, plastic coated boards and more. When you purchase a kit without the lumber make sure you understand exactly what is included so there are no surprises when you begin construction. Kits usually do not include slides so this will most likely be a separate purchase from the kit. Typically, you can build one of these swing sets with very little or no carpentry experience as long as you have an adult helper and a weekend.

Lowes Build

Purchase locally at a full line dealer store. Chances are you have a full line swing set dealer within an hour or two hour drive from your home. Take the time to visit a showroom and learn about all the different types of timber, designs and accessories. Think of it as an educational outing and your mission to learn as much as you can. Local stores usually have many models on display and the children can actually try them out. Explore all of your options before you purchase.

Ready to assemble - Makes the buying decision easier as everything is included in the package. This means the lumber is included which usually, has been pre-drilled, pre-cut, sanded, and stained, saving you a lot of time. It also means that you will receive all of the hardware, nuts and bolts to assemble the swing set. Plus, you will also receive the swing set accessories. Ready to assemble offers a great value as the kits are all inclusive with detailed instructions for construction. In other words, these ready to assemble swing sets are delivered to your home and everything you will need is include so you can build your children one fantastic looking playset.

Build from scratch - If you a very handy person, or in the construction trade you may consider building a playset from the ground up. This will require a set of plans and a shopping list for components, hardware, lumber and accessories.

How to Begin a Search For a Swing Set

Lowes Build

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Google Places 2011 - Eight Predictions For the Very Unpredictable Local Search Engine Leader

My Google Alert is going crazy under the keyword I most care about: Google Places. There's been another spotting of possible new design changes being tested or previewed in Podunk Iowa. The pundits are scribbling in their blogs and Twitter. The SEM experts are quaking in their boots. What will this next change do to or for their clients.

Tags, Preview, Instant, Boost, no more 7 pack, integration of regular search and Google Places, new rules, new rules thrown out with old rules back in force. And with each change the algo goes crazy. Companies that had enjoyed great ranking can't be found. Companies who haven't even claimed their listings are number one. One thing for sure, the changes won't stop because we hung up a new calendar. What might Google do in 2011? Here are my top eight predictions for changes in Google Places next year.

Grow Calendar 2011

1. Google Places will not only continue to dominate as the most critical advertising engine on or off the web in 2011, but it will actually grow in influence to the point that Uncle Sam will take a look at whether this is monopolistic or not. The government may already be considering the issue, but in 2011 there will be at minimum rumblings and rumors of intervention.

2. Google knows full well that this could be the case, and will start taking more steps to avoid government action. This year it would seem clear that their decision to show third party reviews (like Yelp, Yahoo, and City Search) above reviews created by Google Account holders would seem to validate their wide open eyes about monopoly complaints. One such step will probably be to change the algorithm to give other local search engines and directories higher visibility under local SMB categories.

3. Google will crack down hard on violations of their Google Places Rules. In particular the key word stuffing of the company name and fake locations.

4. Reviews will dominate the ranking battle on Google Places. As usual it will be impossible or nearly so to determine how Google is scoring this game. But their announcement that they will potentially pick up reviews from any source that properly marks up those reviews will result in a host of review sites hoping to get scraped.

5. There will be more huge changes in Google Places structure, content, layout, and rule book in 2011. I threw this prediction in so that I can be assured of getting one of these right.

6. Coupons will get some type of boost unrelated to Google Boost. Google has great mailing lists and the potential to advertise coupons as widely as they like. Somehow in this new year the coupon element will get some big and free help. But in 2012 it will cost money to put up a coupon.

7. Google will try to do a Groupon knock off or buy one of the lesser players, but as they often do, they will do it horribly. Then they will try to buy Groupon again.

8. The Google Places Page will be completely revamped. The current look is almost unusable and unfriendly, not to mention graphically boring. Google has the capability to solve this with ease. Why they haven't to date is a major mystery.

So there are my top predictions for 2011. Will they do other things that can't even be imagined. Yep. Will they do all these things. For the most part, I hope so.

Google Places 2011 - Eight Predictions For the Very Unpredictable Local Search Engine Leader

Grow Calendar 2011