According to Net Market Share, Firefox has a 24.59% market share. Not too bad for an open source web browser. If you’re still on some version of Internet Explorer, check out my previous article “Ditch Internet Explorer 6, 7, and 8” on why you should be dumping it. Here are a few tips that I’ve found essential:

Use these techniques to outfox other web browsers

1. Use keywords: Chrome and Safari both have wonderful “Speed Dial-like” quick launch pages to bookmark your most visited websites, but I find it too slow. I don’t want to have to write “Facebook” or “Gmail” or “Google Reader” or god forbid the sometimes long URLs for some blog. To get to where you need faster, create a keyboard keyword shortcut. Here’s how:

Bookmark the website (Control/Command + D). Ex) Facebook. Then go to the “Bookmarks” menu. Click “Organize Bookmarks.” Navigate to where the bookmark is (usually in the Bookmarks Menu or Bookmarks Toolbar) and click on it. There should be a little arrow icon for more options situated at the bottom of the window. Next to “Keyword,” type a shortcut. For example, for Facebook, I keyworded it to the letter “F.” Now when I type “F” and then press enter, Firefox brings me right to Facebook. I’ve done the same for other websites I visit every day, several times a week. Here’s what I have: YouTube = “YT,” Gmail = “G,” Google Reader = “R,” Yahoo = “Y,” and “Ploked” = “P.” These are just my shortcuts, but I find it has sped up the time I spend on Facebook and YouTube by getting me in and getting me out. The faster I can say “done,” the faster I can start doing more important things! Read the rest of this entry »

Yahoo! suggesting business strategies to Google is like Goldman Sachs advising Warren Buffet (Berkshire Hathaway) on how to invest successfully. Not only is Yahoo! behind Google in nearly every category (email, search engine capabilities, online apps, etc.), but even their name sounds like a joke when compared to competitors.

Don’t get me wrong. I think that Yahoo! has some great offerings; their small business site hosting is fantastic, and their analytics are simple to understand and use. Yet, other than those two products, I don’t tend to use Yahoo! very often. Google, for me, has pretty much invaded my online world.

Thus, when I read that Yahoo! CEO Carol Bartz has spurned Google for their “lack of diversity,” I was a bit taken aback. I then thought that maybe Bartz was just being tricky, trying to throw Google off their game. The reason I say this is because the criticism stemmed from her opinion that the search engine giant was too focused on search. Huh? Read the rest of this entry »

Yodle is an online advertising company leading the industry in local search capabilities.  They were named the named fastest growing local online advertising company by industry analyst, Borrell Associates. Yodle’s local search business is a simple, cost-effective, and integrated approach to connecting thousands of local businesses with consumers.

Now, Court Cunningham, CEO of Yodle has co-authored an all-things-local search guide for online advertising that provides local business owners the ability to find new online customers. The book, Local Online Advertising for Dummies, went on sale April 12th and helps establish Yodle as the authority for local search compared to competitors. Other companies in the local online search provider business include Local Marketers,  OrangeSoda,  ReachLoca, and WebVisible.

Local Online Advertising for Dummies hit the shelves at an opportune time; over the past ten years, consumers in search of local businesses has grown from nothing to 80% of all searches conducted. Although the search market has changed, there are misconceptions about promoting a local business using search. Local Online Advertising for Dummies is the first effort to show business owners how to capitalize on the expanding local search trend. Read the rest of this entry »