I've been a freelancer for a few years now, using various websites to help me to find work, and after using them for a year or more, I've come to a firm decision one is just better than the others.
Granted, I haven't tried every freelance site out there, after checking out several, I found I could get ample work by checking out these 4 every day.
Also, I should point out, Freelancing isn't just for ubergeek programmers. If you can type, you can freelance, since there are always jobs for article writers, product reviews, really anyone can freelance.
So, the top 4 I've used...
LimeExchange :
Pros Pretty interface, frequently added projects with a variety of platforms and programming languages.
Cons A lot, and I mean A LOT of form filling out in order to be able to bid on projects. Granted once you are done filling out the profile, you wont have to do it again, but just to be able to bid on a $10 project, it is extreme overkill.
GetAFreelancer:
Pros Large selection of projects
Cons Unless you spend money to upgrade your account, you are limited to 10 types of projects you can bid on. Example, if you haven't checked off "logo design" in your profile, you can go to the trouble creating a mockup, write up your proposal, and click the Bid now button only to find you've wasted your time, since they'll never see your mockup or proposal.
RentACoder
Pros Large selection of projects on diverse platforms and languages.
Cons Somewhat unintuitive interface, but by far the biggest con is it promotes racism.. Project creators can set their project so that only persons from certain countries can bid on them. Sure, your language ability should be a consideration when choosing a programmer, but excluding persons from bidding just because of what country they come from is just flat out wrong.
Scriptlance
Pros Large selection of freelance projects on diverse platforms and languages. Escrow system to ensure the project creator does indeed have the funds to pay you. Free withdrawal to your Paypal account once you've made over $30. Allows you to create separate programmer's account and a buyer's account so you can outsource portions of larger projects you've won.
Cons 5% or $5 of your earnings paid to Scriptlance per bid won (although other sites mentioned above charge the same or more) . No easy way to transfer funds from your programmer account, to buyer account, or vice versa, although their tech support can do this for you pretty quickly after you contact them.
And in order of best to worst, here they are.
And there you have it. If you are considering becoming a freelancer, or just wanna make a few quick bucks, I highly recommend ScriptLance.
ps, yes those are affiliate links, and after you create your account(s) you can make your own and earn even more.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
The magical mythical world of SEO
Anybody with a website has no doubt heard the term SEO, Search Engine Optimization. In fact it is a billion dollar industry. Everyone seems to think there is some magic bullet that will miraculously rocket their web site to the top of the SERPs , that's short for Search Engine Result Pages by the way.
Well the truth is, there simply isn't such a thing and anyone that tells you otherwise is either trying to deceive you, or is simply not very bright. I often do SEO work for clients, but the bulk of my work is mostly undoing the damage that occurs when overzealous webmasters cross the line and are penalized for attempting to manipulate search engines. They are usually oblivious to the fact that they have shot themselves in the foot, so much of my time is spent explaining what I'm explaining here.
In short, SEO is not about knowing what to do, it's about knowing what not to do. Tactics like creating mirror sites to funnel page rank to your primary site are quickly discovered for what they are, attempts to manipulate search engines. If you are lucky those mirror sites will simply be disregarded. If you are not so lucky, your primary site will be penalized, or possibly completely removed from the search engine's index.
Keyword density is another one of the many apples "search engine experts" hold in front of web site owners to entice them out of their money. Suggesting there is some magic number that will take their site to the top... that number is of course 2.83881% .. Joking, there is no such thing.
Instead, here is what I suggest. Open up note pad. Enter your sites title, your meta keyword and description tags, and finally the copied text from your main index.
Now read it as if you've never read it before. Read it out loud. If it reads like poorly translated Japanese, then you have a problem and should rewrite it. If your dog or cat's head tilts in that "what the hell are you saying" way, you should rewrite it. While doing so keep the following in mind.
That is not to say you should not be aware of your keyword density, just don't obsess over it. To make sure you haven't gone overboard (which is prone to get your site penalized) check out this tool http://www.keyworddensity.com
Entering your top competitors URL, your own and your primary keyword phrase, you can see if you have gone overboard. Your goal here is not to one up the competition, just to ensure you are in the ball park, within a few percent of the competition. Again there is no magic number, but there is a number that will get your site penalized, so a bit lower than your competition is probably a good idea.
Once your on site work is done, it is time to get relevant and quality back links to your site.. something I dread because it is time consuming and does not provide immediately noticeable results.
Again the same rules apply. Your website is for people. So provide them with content and resources they can actually benefit from, whether it's a funny video or an article on potty training gerbils, write for people, not search engines and you'll do well.
Well the truth is, there simply isn't such a thing and anyone that tells you otherwise is either trying to deceive you, or is simply not very bright. I often do SEO work for clients, but the bulk of my work is mostly undoing the damage that occurs when overzealous webmasters cross the line and are penalized for attempting to manipulate search engines. They are usually oblivious to the fact that they have shot themselves in the foot, so much of my time is spent explaining what I'm explaining here.
In short, SEO is not about knowing what to do, it's about knowing what not to do. Tactics like creating mirror sites to funnel page rank to your primary site are quickly discovered for what they are, attempts to manipulate search engines. If you are lucky those mirror sites will simply be disregarded. If you are not so lucky, your primary site will be penalized, or possibly completely removed from the search engine's index.
Keyword density is another one of the many apples "search engine experts" hold in front of web site owners to entice them out of their money. Suggesting there is some magic number that will take their site to the top... that number is of course 2.83881% .. Joking, there is no such thing.
Instead, here is what I suggest. Open up note pad. Enter your sites title, your meta keyword and description tags, and finally the copied text from your main index.
Now read it as if you've never read it before. Read it out loud. If it reads like poorly translated Japanese, then you have a problem and should rewrite it. If your dog or cat's head tilts in that "what the hell are you saying" way, you should rewrite it. While doing so keep the following in mind.
- Your website is for people not search engine bots.
- Googlebot will not laugh at your jokes or buy your products.
- If you discuss a topic in depth, your keywords and their variations will occur naturally.
That is not to say you should not be aware of your keyword density, just don't obsess over it. To make sure you haven't gone overboard (which is prone to get your site penalized) check out this tool http://www.keyworddensity.com
Entering your top competitors URL, your own and your primary keyword phrase, you can see if you have gone overboard. Your goal here is not to one up the competition, just to ensure you are in the ball park, within a few percent of the competition. Again there is no magic number, but there is a number that will get your site penalized, so a bit lower than your competition is probably a good idea.
Once your on site work is done, it is time to get relevant and quality back links to your site.. something I dread because it is time consuming and does not provide immediately noticeable results.
Again the same rules apply. Your website is for people. So provide them with content and resources they can actually benefit from, whether it's a funny video or an article on potty training gerbils, write for people, not search engines and you'll do well.
Websites with Flash intros, things that make you go BLEH!
As is hopefully apparent by now, I'm a freelance coder, eeking out an existence coding websites, writing niche applications, usually in PHP. Occasionally I'll run across a project where I am creating a web sites from the ground up, instead of extending/tweaking an existing site.
When I get such a project, I find I am quite apprehensive to the response I get when I request a complete feature list.. there is much pacing, biting of nails and overall nervousness as I refresh the contents of my inbox, and damn, there it is.. They want a Flash intro... BLEH !!!
Now of course everyone is entitled to an opinion. If you think Flash intros are cool and actually watch them when you see one, instead of immediately clicking the "skip" link, then hey, more power to you, but you are in the minority. The majority of people click the skip link within nano seconds, and if they can't easily find it, they will hit the back button rather than wait for your flashy intro to complete. Likely giving you the exact opposite to the reaction you were hoping for..
From a technical, SEO and good ol' experience perspective, a Flash intro, even one with a prominently displayed skip link really hinders your site's ability to be suggested as a search result and often actually deters visitors from returning once they have discovered your site.
Presumably you want as many people as possible to sign up for the mailing list, buy your products & services and partake in the activities your site promotes. That means getting web traffic, which in turn means providing copious amounts of relevant text on the most important page of your site to search engines, so that they can determine what the site is about and categorize it, then suggest it where applicable.
On a new site especially, with few or no links pointing to it, it will be some time before search engines start suggesting your site in search results. You need to make the site's content as easily
accessible to both humans and search engine spiders, and frankly, Flash intros hinder both, not to mention they make the majority of your visitors go BLEH and/or go away.
When I get such a project, I find I am quite apprehensive to the response I get when I request a complete feature list.. there is much pacing, biting of nails and overall nervousness as I refresh the contents of my inbox, and damn, there it is.. They want a Flash intro... BLEH !!!
Now of course everyone is entitled to an opinion. If you think Flash intros are cool and actually watch them when you see one, instead of immediately clicking the "skip" link, then hey, more power to you, but you are in the minority. The majority of people click the skip link within nano seconds, and if they can't easily find it, they will hit the back button rather than wait for your flashy intro to complete. Likely giving you the exact opposite to the reaction you were hoping for..
From a technical, SEO and good ol' experience perspective, a Flash intro, even one with a prominently displayed skip link really hinders your site's ability to be suggested as a search result and often actually deters visitors from returning once they have discovered your site.
Presumably you want as many people as possible to sign up for the mailing list, buy your products & services and partake in the activities your site promotes. That means getting web traffic, which in turn means providing copious amounts of relevant text on the most important page of your site to search engines, so that they can determine what the site is about and categorize it, then suggest it where applicable.
On a new site especially, with few or no links pointing to it, it will be some time before search engines start suggesting your site in search results. You need to make the site's content as easily
accessible to both humans and search engine spiders, and frankly, Flash intros hinder both, not to mention they make the majority of your visitors go BLEH and/or go away.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
I'm a grumpy old man.
I'm really not sure when it started, but just yesterday I was thoroughly convinced. I now inhabit the body of a grumpy old man. I've always thought myself to be a pretty optimistic. open minded and accepting person. That's all gone now.
I know I was over the edge when I heard about a Chinese bride wearing a wedding gown that measured 1.25 miles long, apparently in an attempt to get into Guinness book of world records.
My initial reactions follow, although to my credit, some were only mental, not actually verbalized. I've indicated my verbal remakes with *
OMFG What a waste of resources!!! What a selfish egotistical couple !
*MY GOD THAT MAKES HER BUTT LOOK HUMONGOUS.* That thing could clothe a couple dozen African villages.
Those Chinese, population is so dense everyone feels like a Lego block. They'll do anything to feel like an individual, poor people. I wonder what the husband does? Maybe he makes fireworks for a living? OMFG what a waste of resources. All that work and material for a second of eye candy on 4th July for the good ol' US of A.
What a selfish country! With their Hummers and RVs blowing off fireworks at the drop of a hat, consuming 80% of the world resources.. Argh I got a headache !
*AT LEAST SHE LOOK GOOD IN WHITE*
And there you have it. I've accepted my plight. Dusted off the old rocker and fashioned a cane from a broken tree branch. Tomorrow I'll be shopping at Goodwill for polyester pants that come up past my belly button and a goofy hat.
You damn youngsters! Get off my lawn !!!.. Oh wait, I live in an apartment, I don't have a lawn.
I know I was over the edge when I heard about a Chinese bride wearing a wedding gown that measured 1.25 miles long, apparently in an attempt to get into Guinness book of world records.
My initial reactions follow, although to my credit, some were only mental, not actually verbalized. I've indicated my verbal remakes with *
OMFG What a waste of resources!!! What a selfish egotistical couple !
*MY GOD THAT MAKES HER BUTT LOOK HUMONGOUS.* That thing could clothe a couple dozen African villages.
Those Chinese, population is so dense everyone feels like a Lego block. They'll do anything to feel like an individual, poor people. I wonder what the husband does? Maybe he makes fireworks for a living? OMFG what a waste of resources. All that work and material for a second of eye candy on 4th July for the good ol' US of A.
What a selfish country! With their Hummers and RVs blowing off fireworks at the drop of a hat, consuming 80% of the world resources.. Argh I got a headache !
*AT LEAST SHE LOOK GOOD IN WHITE*
And there you have it. I've accepted my plight. Dusted off the old rocker and fashioned a cane from a broken tree branch. Tomorrow I'll be shopping at Goodwill for polyester pants that come up past my belly button and a goofy hat.
You damn youngsters! Get off my lawn !!!.. Oh wait, I live in an apartment, I don't have a lawn.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Don't with the DOS dweebs!
You may have heard, a few sites were reportedly the target of a distributed denial of service attack. This sort of thing happens every day. The only thing that sets this recent situation apart are the victims. 3 of some of the most visited sites on the net.
Google, Facebook and Twitter were all bombarded with data requests, likely from a bot net orchestrated by one or more acne faced dweebs who's sole source of ego reassurance is digitally intimidating people.
To them I say KNOCK IT OFF! Put your knowledge to better use, or at least go play GTA or something. The DDOS on these sites served no purpose at all. You gained nothing from the act other than a fleeting and false sense of digital superiority. You are still a dweeb and as long as you anonymously menace people, you always will be. So go find that bully that bruised your self esteem so badly and tell him what you think. Stand up to him, vent your frustrations at him.. Not absolute strangers that have nothing to do with your problem.
There, I feel better now.
Google, Facebook and Twitter were all bombarded with data requests, likely from a bot net orchestrated by one or more acne faced dweebs who's sole source of ego reassurance is digitally intimidating people.
To them I say KNOCK IT OFF! Put your knowledge to better use, or at least go play GTA or something. The DDOS on these sites served no purpose at all. You gained nothing from the act other than a fleeting and false sense of digital superiority. You are still a dweeb and as long as you anonymously menace people, you always will be. So go find that bully that bruised your self esteem so badly and tell him what you think. Stand up to him, vent your frustrations at him.. Not absolute strangers that have nothing to do with your problem.
There, I feel better now.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
To all SEO professionals. INCOMING ! ! ! !
Maybe you've been using Google for more than a search engine for these past several years. If you are a website owner, or an SEO consultant, it's pretty likely you also use Google to measure a website's prominence, to act as a benchmark on the pecking order against the competition.
Well, the rules and standards that determine that pecking order will be changing... Actually it is always changing, but for the first time in several years, a change is coming that could have more than a subtle effect on the mighty Google SERPs (search engine result pages). Whether it will affect your website(s) or not is yet to be seen.
Google has been working on something they call Caffeine, and unlike Microsoft's caterpillar to butterfly transformation that resulted in Bing, Caffeine won't likely result in an obvious change to the Google interface we all know and love, instead, the changes are under the hood, so to speak.
In short, it's faster. In some of my tests up to %50 faster.. WHOA!!! %50 faster? Yes %50 faster, which raises the question, how did they make such a dramatic performance increase without simplifying the pecking order rules. Has the mighty Google algorithm been whittled down to bare essentials? Since I'm not a Google engineer, I can't say, but on the other hand, if I were a Google engineer, and told you, I'd have to kill you.
So what does this mean to you? Well, it may have absolutely no impact on your website's position in SERPs, but some may be affected, and I'm guessing, that change would be more than the occasional small 1-2 spot variation we all see from time to time. So, I can only suggest, we all duck and cover. That is to say, avoid any drastic SEO related tweaks until you know how your website is affected.
You can get a sneak peek, but please be aware, Caffeine is still under the knife, and could be further adjusted, so I suggest simply monitoring, not reacting, until Caffeine has been finalized.
Well, the rules and standards that determine that pecking order will be changing... Actually it is always changing, but for the first time in several years, a change is coming that could have more than a subtle effect on the mighty Google SERPs (search engine result pages). Whether it will affect your website(s) or not is yet to be seen.
Google has been working on something they call Caffeine, and unlike Microsoft's caterpillar to butterfly transformation that resulted in Bing, Caffeine won't likely result in an obvious change to the Google interface we all know and love, instead, the changes are under the hood, so to speak.
In short, it's faster. In some of my tests up to %50 faster.. WHOA!!! %50 faster? Yes %50 faster, which raises the question, how did they make such a dramatic performance increase without simplifying the pecking order rules. Has the mighty Google algorithm been whittled down to bare essentials? Since I'm not a Google engineer, I can't say, but on the other hand, if I were a Google engineer, and told you, I'd have to kill you.
So what does this mean to you? Well, it may have absolutely no impact on your website's position in SERPs, but some may be affected, and I'm guessing, that change would be more than the occasional small 1-2 spot variation we all see from time to time. So, I can only suggest, we all duck and cover. That is to say, avoid any drastic SEO related tweaks until you know how your website is affected.
You can get a sneak peek, but please be aware, Caffeine is still under the knife, and could be further adjusted, so I suggest simply monitoring, not reacting, until Caffeine has been finalized.
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