The intent of this post is not to suggest one outlet over another but to provide you with some of the information necessary to make an informed decision. The analysis below looks at various local online advertising opportunities in London with the exclusion of pay-per-click. Incoming links are a key SEO strategy so I've decided to examine various outlets according to their Google PageRank and Alexa Ranking (the lowest number is best here). Here's what I've found:

• CanPages.ca. Google PageRank: 5/10, Alexa Rank: 91,000
• Yellowpages.ca Google PageRank: 7/10, Alexa Rank: 6,400
• London Chamber of Commerce Google PageRank: 4/10, Alexa Rank: 275,000
• The Phone Guide Google PageRank: 4/10, Alexa Rank: 6,000,000
• London Link Google PageRank: 3/10, Alexa Rank: 3,600,000
• LondonDirectory.ca Google PageRank: 1/10, Alexa Rank: 2,192,000

Of course, cost and the audience you stand to reach are important parts of any online advertising opportunity so you'll need to pay close attention to these when analyzing your options. The above information should at least give you an idea of how each outlet sits according to Google PageRank and Alexa.

http://www.resolutionim.com/content/portfolio

Flash forward a few years and who knew that it would make such a dramatic comeback with developers, getting a sort of revitalization by the community. Not to mention improved support (on the consistency side of things) among browsers.

I found this little gem in my surfing this week, a very impressive re-production of Super Mario, completely in 14k Javascript no less! Wow!

http://magazyn.elementfx.com/?p=4

http://www.devlounge.net/friday-focus/friday-focus-040408

Thanks Devlounge, and thanks to Sasha for letting me know about it.

Here's what's changed in the new release:

- Added interactive installer script
- Fix folder adding/renaming inspired by #1484800
- Localize folder name in page title (#1484785)
- Fix code using wrong variable name (#1484018)
- Allow to send mail with BCC recipients only
- condense TinyMCE toolbar down to one line, removing table buttons (#1484747)
- Add function to mark the selected messages as read/unread (#1457360)
- Also do charset decoding as suggested in RFC 2231 (fix #1484321)
- Show message count in folder list and hint when creating a subfolder
- Distinguish ssl and tls for imap connections (#1484667)
- Added some charset aliases to fix typical mis-labelling (#1484565)
- Remember decision to display images for a certain message during session (#1484754)
- Truncate attachment filenames to 55 characters due to an IE bug (#1484757)
- Make sending of read receipts configurable
- Respect config when localize folder names (#1484707)
- Also respect receipt and priority settings when re-opening a draft message
- Remember search results (closes #1483883), patch by the_glu
- Add Received header on outgoing mail
- Upgrade to TinyMCE 2.1.3
- Allow inserting image attachments into HTML messages while composing (#1484557)
- Implement Message-Disposition-Notification (Receipts)
- Fix overriding of session vars when register_globals is on (#1484670)
- Fix bug with case-sensitive folder names (#1484245)
- Don't create default folders by default
- Fixed some potential security risks (audited by Andris)
- Only show new messages if they match the current search (#1484176)
- Switch to/from when searcing in Sent folder (#1484555)
- Correctly read the References header (#1484646)
- Unset old cookie before sending a new value (#1484639)
- Correctly decode attachments when downloading them (#1484645 and #1484642)
- Suppress IE errors when clearing attachments form (#1484356)
- Log error when login fails due to auto_create_user turned off
- Filter linked/imported CSS files (closes #1484056)
- Improve message compose screen (closes #1484383)
- Select next row after removing one from list (#1484387)

1. Auburn Developments (http://www.515stecatherine.com). We created the visual experience, built the site, and integrated it with our custom content management system.

2. DeCloet Structures (http://www.decloetstructures.com). The design team at ResIM did a great job on this redesign including a build demonstration and an intelligent Flash banner. This site is also powered by our custom CMS.

3. Toronto Glass Film (http://www.torontoglassfilm.com). This light, optimized web site is going to really help generate interest and leads through search engines.

Last night however, I noticed something on a local web site that really caught my attention (and held it). On the home page of this particular site I was 'greeted' with the following message, in a very prominent location:

What's wrong with this? A couple of things come to mind:

1. Warning, this is a new and improved site.

The entire feeling surrounding a warning message is one of negativity, especially when paired with the colour red and a clearly recognizable icon. What's wrong with a new and improved site? To me, this is a good, perhaps even newsworthy bit of information. Definitely not one warranting a warning.


2. We're not quite done fixing what was broken but we don't care if you see it.

This is like me going to a job interview wearing skinny jeans with zippers at the bottom and a stained muscle shirt (never again). In short, the message immediately communicates that something is wrong and that visitors should expect to see things out of place. Again, an immediate negative connotation that doesn't need to happen.


3. The most important news we have for you is a warning.

The placement choice for this warning makes it the most prominent thing in the content area on the home page, the eye is immediately drawn to it. The company has won numerous awards for excellence in its field but the visitor wouldn't know because the warning message overshadows nearly everything else.

Since I'm not in the business of calling out other professionals and local businesses I'm going to keep this one strictly confidential. My suggestions are merely that and likely worth about as much as you had to pay to read this post.