Search engine optimization is a process wherein you place specific keywords in your articles or in your website to help you get on top of search engine rankings. If you have an online business and you want to improve traffic to make more money and to attract new customers, SEO is the answer.

One of the things that you should do to be on top of search engine rankings is to regularly monitor your current ranking. By doing this, you can protect your current standing and make necessary adjustments if needed to reach the top.

Another way for you to increase your ranking is to place keywords which relate to your website strategically all over your page. This will make you more searchable if you place the appropriate number of keywords. You should also be careful as to not to commit keyword stuffing to prevent the spiders from ignoring your website.

A very common strategy in making your website searchable is by integration or internal links to our website. This strategy will increase the traffic in your website, especially in pages where visitors rarely get in. You should also make sure that your site is text friendly so that spiders can easily search our website.

Finally, make your website more searchable by using simple URL names instead of confusing ones. Keeping your website simple would be easier for some people to remember as well, unlike those with complicated URL names which are very hard to memorize.

Easy Content Blueprints, a new site which was just launched, will be offering content writing tips and forum to share ideas for website owners. The site is designed to get down and dirty where the real business is by helping Internet business owners promote their websites in the one way that truly works, by building interesting, authoritative customer relevant content.

The site owners are hoping the site to be a resource site for the many small business owners who place all their financial hopes on building an Internet business but find themselves at a loss when it comes to promotion.

Plans for the site include a membership community which will provide powerful and practical resources for those who want to develop content of every type, including articles, blogs, twitter posts, squidoo lenses and more.

“Our site is not in the get rich quick business, our aim is make things easy and predictable by creating step by step blueprints and a wealth of valuable information” says the owner of the website.

With so many web designers out there it is very challenging to tell which designer or company is a good company, unless you do some research and are a little technical savvy. Here we will provide you some guidelines on how to find a good web design company.

1- Make sure the company you are picking knows exactly what you want and could deliver all the technical requirements. Often times if you pick an individual web designer, he may be good in graphic design, but not the back end development, often required for more advanced websites that have shopping carts, forms or applications. Make sure you pick a designer that is good in both or has resources to deliver both.

2-Talk to at least 3-5 companies before you pick one. Ask a lot of questions. Check their prices, features and portfolio.

3- Check to see who your competitor used. Often times the name of web designer might be in the footer of the website or may be in the source code.

4- Ask for references and their portfolio. See if they have designed similar websites to what you want in the past.

5- Check the name of the company in the search engines and use next to them words like “scam,” “fraud,” “complaints,” and “rip off.”  If any unsatisfied clients have posted anything negative about them, you may be able to find out this way.

6- Check BBB Better Business Bureau. Most companies doing business over one years should have a profile and customer feedbacks.

7- Don’t always pick the cheapest company. Make sure you feel comfortable with your designer and trust them. You may also consider a small test project first, to see how they perform. For example, you may pay them a small fee and ask for some mock ups before you actually pick them.

8- Choosing local or non-local or offshore companies, may often be a choice that you need to make. We would definitely recommend going local vs. non-local, so you can have in person meetings and you are also in the same time zone and could get a hold of your designer during business hours. However, if you are a little technically savvy or have someone in staff that is a little technically savvy, then you may consider an offshore company that could get the same job done for much cheaper.

9- There are several sites that you could post a job and designers compete and bid on your project. For example: Elance and 99designs.com. For local companies search in search engines and use words such as “web design” plus your city name. You may also look in craigslist or post an ad in craigslist.

10- Keep in mind that a web design by itself will not bring you traffic unless you do some marketing. Search engine marketing or search engien optimization (SEO) is very important. Most web designers will tell you that they will include search engine optimization in the deal. However, keep in mind that a good SEO firm will often cost much more than the price you pay to design your website. For example, for a small website design you may pay $2000, but often you may find that a good SEO company will charge you at minimum $1000/month.So if your designer is telling you that they will include SEO, find out what exactly they will include and compare it to quotes from other SEO firms. We recommend that you keep your web design firm separate from your SEO firm. We also recommend Submit Express Search Engine Marketing Services. They are a company that we used for some of our websites and they have been in business for 1998, so they definitely know what they are doing.

The Department of Health and Human Services announced on August 1 that it has shifted responsibility of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 Security Rules to the Office for Civil Rights. This includes monitoring and enforcement of HIPAA email security rules designed to protect patients’ right to privacy.

Previously, the Centers for Medicare & Medicad Services had oversight of medical email privacy cases revolving around HIPAA Security Rules. HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a release announcing the move that shifting responsibilities would eliminate duplication of efforts and increase the efficiency in managing patient security and personal rights protection.

“Security and privacy of health information are increasingly intersecting as the department works with the health industry to adopt electronic health records and participate in an even greater level of electronic exchange of health information,” said Secretary Sebelius. “Privacy and security are naturally intertwined, because they both address protected health information. Combining the enforcement authority in one agency within HHS will facilitate improvements by eliminating duplication and increasing efficiency.”