Advice & News

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Fluid Web Concepts is Changing, Slightly!

Fluid Web Concepts is now becoming more of a general manager of web development. You hire us and we make sure you get what you want. We hire the professionals, we check their work. We hold the standard. We help you make the decision that matches your budget and your needs.

In the past, I have believed that I could do it all.

And I can.

But, I can’t do it all and give my best to my clients, spend time with family, grow as a developer, stay in shape, keep up with life, and everything else that comes with adulthood. So why not split the wealth (not that there is any to split) and switch my role as the principal developer to that of a manager.

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How Does Not Having an SSL Certificate Affect Your SEO

Image of a graphic that explains how an SSL certificate effects SEO rank.

The main theme you will witness in organic search engine optimization (SEO) is that search engines will always do what they can to return the best results for what people want. They have to. If search engines like Google or Bing ever started to return websites that had no relation to your search they would no longer serve their purpose and they would fail. Doing the best for the searcher is best for business.

⏳ The SSL Timeline

  • 2014 — Google started implementing warnings that websites were not secure. Google announced HTTPS as a way to promote website encryption. HTTPS websites with an SSL were given a 1% boost in search rankings.
  • 2017 — Google starts marking HTTP websites with no SSL that collect passwords or credit card information as unsafe. SSL certificate effect on websites increases.
  • 2020 — Google and others restrict multi-year SSL certificates to 398 days to promote web safety. This also helps reduce the chances of giving a closed business a higher ranking than an open business.

🔒 Why SSL Matters for Your Rankings

It isn’t always that not having a Secure Sockets Layer or SSL certificate is bad. It is more that other websites that have this inexpensive certificate are going to be placed higher in search engine results, because they are safer for people to visit. Passwords and credit card information is encrypted in transit making it more difficult for hackers to steal.

Search engines have prioritized SSL certificates that have been renewed every year. This helps searchers only find businesses that are still open. It was a simple problem. Searchers would go to businesses that were no longer open, but they had a security certificate. Multi-year SSL certificates could be purchased at the time. It was a headache for some companies including Fluid Web Concepts as I had finally considered the cost savings and purchased a five year certificate only weeks before the change was announced. Now, a security certificate has to be purchased every year reducing the likelihood that a closed business would be given a high search engine rank over an open business.

Without an SSL certificate, most search engine optimization (SEO) trackers just stop. Fluid Web Concepts doesn’t just stop with one test. I created tests to grade your website on various content individually even if you don’t have an SSL certificate.

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I Made A Tool To Find Businesses Who Need Help With Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Ethical Client Finder Data Flow Process

I have a master’s in information systems with a focus on data science. I tend to build automated tools to accomplish tasks. This most recent project has been an effort to examine local small business websites to see who needs help to create a targeted marketing campaign.

It all started with the online directory on Small Business Milwaukee (smallbizke.com). The directory is loaded into a database.

More code is used to examine different SEO related characteristics such as website context, image description, alt text, and captions, page and section titles, page descriptions and keywords, and SSL certificates.

Search algorithms were created to measure the returned placement value based on the content of the above tags. It was then that I realized I could collect the information of the other websites in the different placement positions. I went from 300 to 2,600 potential clients.

If you receive a call or email from Fluid Web Concepts, rest assured you need help with your SEO. Better SEO equals more business.

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Web Presense

How To Let Others Know You Exist Online

Creating a website isn’t your only option.  There are many parts of your web presence and some can stand on their own.

E- Commerce – Do you want to accept money through your website?  Are you building an online store?

Social Media – Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, etc. – These are powerful tools that can drive business to your website as they have inherent SEO (Search Engine Optimization) built into them.

Donation Pages – Are you a non-profit?  Do you have 501(c)3 certification?  If so, it would be nice to receive donations and provide donators with receipt for their tax purposes.  Maybe you have a website and a Go-Fund-Me page and want to link the two together.

Events – Do you want to create an event and advertise it?  You can add geo-location maps that allow you guests to find your event.  You can sell tickets yourself on your website or use third party services.  You can even ask guests to give you pictures that they may have taken to add to the page so that you can create a party collage.

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Honesty

I have spent some time in some small business forums and have come to the idea that whenever a small business creates a post that they are thinking about creating a website two things happen every time.

One is that the group member never gives enough information about what they want to do. This is obviously due to the fact that they do not know what they need and have not done enough research. They often can’t do enough research. These poor people have no idea what they need and are swamped with other business decisions and research. They need honest answers. They also need honest developers to tell them what they need, but that requires a conversation with someone who can speak like them and like developers.

The second thing that always happens is that they are overwhelmed by developers desperate for work. The good are blended in with the bad and the group member looking for a website is often over whelmed again. This is why I rarely offer services in forums. I offer advice. I praise the developers that I think are offering for the best interest of the client and I give advice to better the developers who should not offer services at all. My goal is to be honest and give the best advice to the client, even if the client does not work for me.

So why do I spend my time doing this? There is a better way to waste the day. I want to show people that I am honest. I will not up sell you. I will tell you what you should do and I will tell you what can wait and what can not. My goal is to simply work with the best freelancers doing what they are best at for as many clients as possible. I want to get clients quality projects and keep developers busier. I want to get to a point where I can even build up others developers into great developers. I want to climb high enough to reach my hand back and bring someone else up.

This idea that I have takes clients. Getting clients takes time, but it also takes honesty.

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Charity Scams

Now is a time to be concerned about scams involving charities. Hackers contact people randomly asking for money to aid those of us hit hard by these trying times. Do not be fooled. Do not donate to anyone contacting you. Simply say that you have already donated whether you have or not.

If you do feel like donating, try well known organizations such as https://www.feedingamerica.org/.

You can also consider donating locally.

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SEO is What We Do

We are coming back. I first started Fluid Web Concepts LLC as a means to make money when I first graduated. I started with a few clients and a thirst for knowledge.

The problem in Milwaukee is that we do not have enough people who know how to get things done. We have people who need services, but don’t know that what services are available locally.

I am looking for collaborators currently looking for their own freelance work. I am primarily looking at content developers, web designers, and WordPress developers. You let me know what your rates are and show me your work. Email: contract@fluidwebconcepts.com

We will move on from there.

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Pourinc.co is improving!

We are excited to be working with Pour Inc at pourinc.co
 
Pour Inc is a Mobile Event Bartender service focusing on providing service for all of your event bar tending needs so that you can focus on fun. Host a house party, wedding reception, or corporate venue and and engage with your guest while Pour Inc keeps the fun flowing.
 
Contact them today at 414-559-7394
 
Pouring in Wisconsin since 2015
 
Improving your brand is always a good idea.
Add a Company Website
Improve SEO
Advertise Your Services
Sell Online
 
Fluid Web Concepts | Add To Your Web Presence One Drop at a Time
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Do you already have a website?

Wix, Go Daddy, and Weebly  will allow you to build your own website.  You will get some search engine optimization, some hosting, and some functionality.  So you go build a website quickly like the advertisements say and now you are still not getting the results that you want.  We don’t care where you get your start.  We want to get you operational.

 

No matter how you want to start, you may need a professional.

Want to connect a third party API to your website?

You may need a developer.

Want to build a website without doing the research?

You definitely need a developer.

Whatever your situation, if you do not have someone that can at least write basic HTML and CSS, you need a developer.