1. getlisted.org. Local search results are important to you business, and getlisted is a great tool that help you determine whether your business is listed on local directories or not. Simply type in your business name and ZIP code, and you will see a listing score for your company. As part of the results page, getlisted will give you links where you can claim you business and add it to each local directory resource.

2. 5minutesite.com. This site contains a resource that generates local keywords—a valuable tool for businesses that want to advertise in a specific geo-location. Here, youtype in a zip code and desired radius to target along with a list of keywords that are most applicable to your business. The keyword generator tool will then create a new list of keywords using the zip codes and cities that are within the search area. These new keywords can then be applied to your website to help you target that specific area.

3. Google Adwords. The Google Adwords Keyword Tool is a very popular way to find keywords for your site. It shows local and global statistics along with how much competition each keyword or phrase when it comes to search.

4. Alexa.com. A good resource for keyword research, Alexa.com You can spy on your competition to see which keywords are most frequently used to access their—or any—website out there. This can be useful when assessing which keywords you’d like to include on your website to obtain better organic search results. The top queries for search traffic, trends, and those all-important search terms and phrases are displayed and can be used to help you with keyword selection for your website.

5. Google Trends. This tool is useful for creating new content for your website. Google Trends shows how often a search term or word is used. Topics that are current and trending can be used to help you write content to drive traffic to your site.

6. backlinkwatch.com. Other sites that link to yours is an important ingredient in successful SEO. Using this research tool, you can see who is linking to your site so you can link back to them and build better link-sharing relationships. The other benefit of this tool is it help you assess which content you’re posting is most popular.

7. Google Page Speed. Site speed is key when it comes to your visitors and a slow-loading website is the best way to get people to leave! Google Page Speed analyzes a website then creates a list of suggestions to help you site load and run faster.

8. WordPress SEO by Yoast. If you’re running a WordPress site, WordPress by Yoast is one of the easiest, most user-friendly SEO tools out there. This tool allows you to optimize you posts, pages, etc. easily as you build out and add content to your site.

9. Bing Webmaster Tools. Bing does not have the search volume (at least, right now!) that Google has, but Bing Webmaster Tools can be used to interrogate your website and obtain better search results on Bing.

10. Google Analytics. Google Webmaster Tools provides you with detailed reports and information about your pages’ visibility and performance on Google.

The post 10 Useful SEO Tools appeared first on Integrated Print Forum | Integrating Print and Digital.

Software tools and a checklist are both critical to the preflighting process. Some of the things that a typical preflight checklist helps you examine:

• Layout issues: Does the physical size of the layout match the specifications? Are all page elements there? Was the job created with a professional desktop publishing application? Are bleed elements there? Do graphic elements abut (will there be white gaps between objects)? Are any of the rules set to a thickness of “hairline,” or are they made up of a screen build?

• Fonts: Are they supplied/embedded properly? What type of fonts are they? Are they from a valid foundry (i.e., will they RIP)? Were they menu-styled? Has any type been set to a very small point size, and is small type made up of a screen build?

• Images: Is there sufficient resolution for the printing or output method? Do the images contain unsightly artifacts? Is the ink density of shadow areas too high for the type of paper that the job is being printed on? Are the images compressed and, if so, by what type of compression?

• Color: How many colors are supposed to print? What color space are the images/layout objects? Is RGB color used? Are spot colors indicated correctly and consistently? Which color swatch library was used?

• Effects: Was transparency or other special effects used? Is transparency live or will it have to be flattened? Does the file contain layers? Are they all supposed to print? Are there annotations or other non-printing objects in the file?

In addition to application preflight tools, there are also web-based preflight and delivery tools and PDF creation and printer drivers that have preflighting built right in. These software-based preflight tools can detect many errors, but some problems require manual, human inspection and intervention. Knowing what to look for is half the battle—that’s where the checklist comes into play. Download a Printing Industries of America sample preflight checklist that can be used by designers or in prepress, feel free to modify or change it to fit your needs specifically.

Preflight Diagnostic Tools for Designers

Preflighting tools for digital files are abundant today, and there is really no excuse not to perform this necessary task. Adobe InDesign and QuarkXPress contain built-in preflight and packaging options. Adobe InDesign and Acrobat have easy-to-use diagnostic tools that can help you quickly assess and correct common print-related problems before sending the job off to the printer:

InDesign Diagnostic Tools

• Overprint Preview: It’s critical to be able to preview on-screen objects that are set to overprint to avoid potential errors on press. Overprinting is the technique often used to create trap areas between adjacent colors in order to prevent white paper gaps from showing up on press. Black text is typically set to overprint for the same reason. With Overprint Preview turned on (View>Overprint Preview), you can see how inks will interact with each other on press. If the preview shows something that isn’t how the file should print, it gives you the opportunity to repair it before sending it off to your print service provider.

• Flattener Preview: An extremely useful diagnostic tool for checking to see if fonts will be converted to outlines in Adobe InDesign (and Illustrator) is the Flattener Preview palette (Window>Output>Flattener Preview and Window>Flattener Preview, respectively). By selecting the various options under the Highlight pull-down menu, you can preview which objects are transparent on a page, which objects will be affected by transparency, and which fonts (if any) will be converted to outlines.

• Live Preflight: Live Preflight (Window>Output>Preflight) sounds exactly like what it is: It can be set up to alert designers to potential problems as they arise, rather than after the design is complete. When an error is detected as the design is being created, the problem can quickly be found and corrected. Live Preflight can be configured to alert you to many common file problems including low-resolution images, unwanted spot color plates, improper image color spaces, and more.

Acrobat Diagnostic Tools

• Document Properties: The Document Properties dialog box is a great way to quickly determine how a PDF was created (File>Properties). The Document Properties dialog box also contains other document information such as PDF version, security settings, and whether all fonts have been embedded. The Fonts section of the Document Properties dialog box lists all of the fonts used in the PDF file and whether or not they have been embedded. When scrolling through the list of fonts, if Embedded or Embedded Subset is not listed next to the font, then the font was not embedded in the PDF.

• Output Preview: The Output Preview tool in Acrobat Professional can be used to preview overprints and separations in a PDF. Here you can see at a glance all of the colors used in the document. Colors can be toggled on and off to show where and how they are being used in a document. Output Preview is a great way to make sure that black text is set to overprint simply by toggling the black channel on and off. If a white knockout of the text shows up when the black is turned off, it hasn’t been set to overprint. If the background color shows up solid, then the black text has been set to overprint properly. It’s also an easy way to make sure same spot color hasn’t been specified multiple times with slightly different names. Output Preview also provides feedback on the color build of any object when the cursor is dragged over that area.

• Overprint Preview: As with InDesign, Overprint Preview shows how inks will interact with each other on press. If the preview shows something that isn’t how the file should print, it gives you the opportunity to repair it before sending it off to your print service provider. Overprint Preview is turned off by default (both in Acrobat and the free Adobe Reader) and must be activated in the preferences of each application. Select Acrobat (or Reader)>Preferences>General. Next, select Page Display from the list. In the Use Overprint Preview pull-down menu, choose Always.

The post Preflight Success: Tips for Designers and a Free Preflight Checklist appeared first on Integrated Print Forum | Integrating Print and Digital.

Great SEO is a mix of a lot of things including other sites linking to yours, selecting appropriate keywords, social sharing, and most importantly, great content. Along with all of that that great stuff you’re writing, it’s important to tap into Google Authorship. Essentially, what Google Authorship does is it links your Google+ profile to all of the content you create. In the search results page a picture of your Google+ profile picture will display with the relevant content. Finally, Google Authorship really should be tied to an individual. Companies should not use a “faceless” company Google+ account (Google search favors individual authors). Instead, encourage individual employees to set up their own Google+ accounts, and have employee-featured blog posts.

To set up Google Authorship, follow these steps:

• 1. If you don’t have one yet, you need to set up a Google+ account.
• 2. Make sure that your Google+ name matches the byline that you use for your articles and blog posts. Consistency is key here.
• 3. Link your Google+ profile to on a specific domain.
• 4. If you don’t have an email address on the site domain, then you need to work with the webmaster of the site and use this method.

The post SEO and Google Authorship appeared first on Integrated Print Forum | Integrating Print and Digital.

Step 1: Give the video a descriptive name. Name the actual video file with relevant and meaningful keywords (for example, rename PhotoshopVideo.mov to Adobe-Photoshop-How-to-color-correct-in –the-RGB-color-space.mov). While the end-viewer of the video cannot see the actual filename of the movie, YouTube does consider the video’s actual file name when it comes to keyword search.

Step 2: Use descriptive keywords to create a relevant title. Here, you’ll have to think about what keywords the end-viewer will use to find your video. Use the most relevant keywords for your video, and key them into the Title area.

Step 3: Add and edit closed captions. When it comes to your video, don’t just think locally or even nationally—think globally. 70% of the YouTube audience is outside of the United States, and YouTube has translation support for 300 languages. Creating accurate closed captioning allows you to reach a broader audience and will help with search (as discussed in Step 4).

Step 4: Add the script from Step 3 into the description area. Now that the closed captioning is accurate for your video, you can download the script, then copy and paste it into the Description area. All of this descriptive text contains very relevant keywords that will further optimize your video for search.

Step 5. Select the most appropriate tags for your video. Google will suggest tags as you key them into the Tags field. It’s also useful to take the time to search for other popular videos that my be similar to yours and use those tags.

The post YouTube SEO in 5 Steps appeared first on Integrated Print Forum | Integrating Print and Digital.