Alt Attribute & Search engine optimization

SEO Optimization images has become increasingly more important in SEO (Search Engine Optimization) for websites. The ALT attribute is a critical step that is often overlooked. This can be a lost opportunity for better rankings.

In Google's webmaster guidelines, they advise using alternative text for the images in your site:

Images:. Use the alt attribute to provide descriptive text. In addition, we recommend using a human-readable caption and descriptive text round the image.

Why would they ask us to achieve that? The answer is simple, really; search engines have a similar problem as blind users. They cannot see the images.

Many webmasters and inexperienced or unethical SEOs abuse using this attribute, trying to stuff it with keywords, looking to achieve a certain keyword density, which isn't as relevant for rankings now since it was previously.

On the contrary, high keyword density can, on some search engines like google, trigger spam filters, which may create a penalty for the site's ranking. Even without this type of penalty, your site's rankings won't take advantage of this plan.
This method also puts persons who use screen readers in a greater disadvantage. Screen readers are software-based tools that really read aloud the contents of what's shown on the screen. In browsing the web, the alt features of images are read aloud too.

Imagine hearing a paragraph of text that is followed by repetitions of many keywords. The page will be far from accessible, and, to put it bluntly, will be found quite annoying.
What exactly is an Alt attribute?

An ALT attribute shouldn't be used like a description or a label for an image, though lots of people utilize it for the reason that fashion. Although it might seem natural to assume that alternate text is a label or a description, it's not!

What used within an image's alt attribute should be its text equivalent and convey exactly the same information or serve exactly the same purpose the image would.

The goal would be to supply the same functional information that the visual user would see. The alt attribute text should be the "stand in" in the event that the image is unavailable. Think about this: If you were to replace the look using the text, would most users receive the same basic information, and would it create the same response?
A few examples:

 

Some SEO Optimization Tips

If your search button is a magnifier or binoculars its alt text ought to be 'search' or 'find' not 'magnifying glass' or 'binoculars'.

If an image is meant to convey the literal items in the look, a description is suitable.

If it is meant to convey data, then that information is what is appropriate.

If it's designed to convey the use of a function, then the function itself is what should be used.

Some Alt Attribute Guidelines:

Always add alt attributes to images. Alt is mandatory for accessibility as well as for valid XHTML.

For images that play merely a decorative role within the page, use an empty alt (i.e. alt="") or a CSS background image to ensure that reading browsers do not bother users by uttering such things as "spacer image".

Keep in mind that it's the function of the image we are trying to convey. For example; any button images shouldn't range from the word "button" in the alt text. They should emphasize the action performed through the button.

Alt text ought to be based on context. Exactly the same image inside a different context may require drastically different alt text.

Try to flow alt text with the remainder from the text because that is the way it will be read with adaptive technologies like screen readers. Someone hearing your page should hardly remember that a graphic image can there be.
Please keep in mind that using an alt attribute for every image is needed to satisfy the minimum WAI requirements, that are used as the benchmark for accessibility laws in UK and the rest of Europe. Also, they are required to meet "Section 508" accessibility requirements in america.

It is important to categorize non-text content into three levels:

Eye-Candy
Mood-Setting
Content and Function

I. Eye-Candy

Eye-Candy are stuff that serve no purpose other than to make a site visually appealing/attractive and (in many cases) satisfy the marketing departments. There isn't any content value (though there might be value to some sighted user).

Never alt-ify eye-candy unless there is something there which will boost the usability from the site for someone utilizing a non-visual user agent. Make use of a null alt attribute or background images in CSS for eye-candy.

II. Mood-Setting

This is the middle layer of graphics which may serve to set the mood or set the stage as it were. These graphics are not direct content and could not be considered essential, but they are important in they help frame what is going on.

Try to alt-ify the second group as is sensible and it is relevant. There may be instances when doing this may be annoying or detrimental to other users. Then try to avoid it.

For example; Alt text that's identical to adjacent text is unnecessary, and an irritant to screen reader users. I recommend alt="" or background CSS images in such instances. But sometimes, it's important to get this content inside for those users.

Most times this will depend on context. The same image inside a different context may need drastically different alt text. Obviously, content ought to always be fully available. How you go in this case is really a judgment call.

III. Content and Function

This is where the image is the actual content. Always alt-ify content and functional images. Title and long description attributes can also be so as.
The main reason many authors can't figure out why their alt text isn't working is they don't know why the pictures exist. You need to determined precisely what function a picture serves. Consider what it's concerning the image that's important to the page's intended audience.

Every graphic has a reason behind standing on that page: because it either enhances the theme/ mood/ atmosphere or it is advisable to what are the page is trying to explain. Understanding what the look is perfect for makes alt text easier to write. And exercise writing them definitely helps.
A way to check the usefulness of alternative text would be to imagine reading the page on the phone to someone. An amount you say when encountering a specific image to make the page understandable to the listener?

Aside from the alt attribute you've got a couple more tools available for images.
First, in level of descriptiveness title is within between alt and longdesc. It adds useful information and can add flavor. The title attribute is optionally rendered by the user agent. Remember they're invisible and not shown as a "tooltip" when focus is received via the keyboard. (A lot for device independence). So use the title attribute only for advisory information.
Second, the longdesc attribute points towards the URL of a complete description of the image. If the information found in a picture is important towards the concept of the page (i.e. some important content will be lost if the image was removed), a longer description than the "alt" attribute can reasonably display ought to be used. It may offer rich, expressive documentation of the visual image.

It ought to be used when alt and title are insufficient to embody the visual qualities of the image. As Clark [1] states, "A longdesc is really a long description of the image...The goal is to use any period of description necessary to impart the details of the graphic.

It would not be remiss to hope that the long description conjures an image - the look - in the mind's eye, an analogy that is true even for that totally blind."

Although the alt attribute is mandatory for web accessibility and for valid (X)HTML, not all images need alternative text, long descriptions, or titles.

In many cases, you are better off just choosing your gut instinct -- if it's not essential to incorporate it, and when you don't possess a strong urge to do it, don't add that longdesc.

However, if it's essential for the entire page to operate, then you have to include the alt text (or title or longdesc).

What's necessary and what's not depends a great deal about the function of the image and it is context on the page.

Exactly the same image may require alt text (or title or longdesc) in one spot, although not in another. If an image provides absolutely no content or functional information alt="" or background CSS images may be appropriate to make use of. However, if the image provides content or adds functional information an alt will be required and perhaps a long description will be in order. Oftentimes this kind of thing is a judgement call.

Image Seo optimization Tips

Listed below are key steps in optimizing images:

Choose a logical file name that reinforces the keywords. You can use hyphens in the file name to isolate the keyword, but avoid to exceeding two hyphens. Stay away from underscores as a word separator, like for example "brilliant-diamonds.jpg";

Label the file extension. For instance, when the image internet search engine sees a ".jpg" (JPEG) file extension, it's likely to assume the file is really a photo, and if it sees a ".gif" (GIF) file extension, it's going to assume that it is graphic;

Make sure that the written text at the image that's highly relevant to that image.
Again, do not lose a great chance to help your site together with your images in search engines. Begin using these steps to position better on all the engines and drive increased traffic for your site TODAY.

Website Optimization

OwnLocal is a Y-Combinator bred startup that helps local newspapers survive on the Internet. OwnLocal swoops into small towns sprinkled across America’s less tech savvy plains and puts on quite a clever show. In no way are they grifters; but with their guaranteed promises of success, small town publishers don’t stand a chance.

Lloyd W. Armbrust, II, OwnLocal’s Founder and CEO, puts its technology in the hands of local publications, newspapers or television stations, so that they can then sell successful modern digital strategies like owning a website, blogging, SEO optimization, design, group deals and more to local businesses. In other words, OwnLocal acts like a web development department for local newspapers providing them with simple, sellable products including a white label daily deal product and a white label Yelp-like product.

“In rural America, small businesses would rather the Internet didn’t exist, but it does. We sell a package through their local newspapers that creates a website for them, writes relevant blog posts for them and pushes out media to Twitter and Facebook. So, we manage all of that for them but we do it through their newspaper.”

-Lloyd W. Armbrust

OwnLocal trains local media employees and shows them how to put on a “Web a la carte” presentation for small businesses even though the local businesses may have never heard of Groupon, Yelp or LivingSocial. To date, OwnLocal has powered more than 1,000 small businesses and over 100 publications.

OwnLocal also sells its product, “AdForge” as “the best print-to-digital ad conversion software in the world.” AdForge is designed to take print ads and put them on the web, on mobile and on tablets. AdForge easily converts print ads into clickable, shareable, printable, mappable and sendable digital ads.

Say you’re a lawyer or a plumber, OwnLocal will create websites optimized for search engines and deal with social media elements like blogging, tweeting and Facebooking, saving these small service businesses a lot of time and effort. Businesses can choose from a variety of different websites from simple splash pages to editable, manageable sites. OwnLocal then taps into its network of college students and stay at home moms to write the company’s blog posts. But again, all of this is through the local newspaper.

Today, OwnLocal announces its “Arcade” partnership with HeyZap, another YC startup, to bring more than 50,000 social and casual games to newspapers and local media. Rather than just having a few puzzle games like crosswords and Sudoku, newspapers will have access to games that reflect what their audiences have come to expect from social networks and social game sites. Initial launch partners include A.H. Belo Corp.‘s The Press-Enterprise and Impre Media, the largest Spanish language newspaper group in America as well as 25 other newspapers. OwnLocal expects that newspapers will see financial benefits, increased time-on-site and more return visits.

In York, Nebraska– a town with a population of 10,000– OwnLocal made The York News Times $140,000 last year. OwnLocal takes 30% and the newspaper gets the remaining 70% of revenues from its tech products sold. $100,000-300,000 is an easy number to make for local papers, says Armbrust.  OwnLocal doesn’t work with media outlets that have circulations less than 1,000. And its sophisticated system tell them exactly how much money they can make just from circulation numbers. Guaranteed revenue reports based on circulation for dying newspapers? Maybe dreams do come true.

“The community newspaper I worked at was purchased and sold to Gatehouse Media. I started thinking, what can we do? Is there a situation where you can make this product that’s all-encompassing that could make these newspapers money? I felt for these guys. Print is declining.”

–Lloyd Armbrust

Armbrust has worked in the newspaper industry for 11 years, including two years working on OwnLocal. His Co-Founder Jason Novack is the hardcore hacker in the pair. Armbrust says their main competitor, ReachLocal charges 5 times as much as OwnLocal because they utilize a network of 1,000 local sales reps.

To date, OwnLocal has received just under a million seed funding from Y Combinator, Baseline Ventures, Lerer Media Ventures, Paul Buchheit, Joshua Schachter and Alex Moore.

Search engine marketers and usability engineers want to understand why we go to websites and what we do after we arrive at a search results page. They ask questions like:

• Are we satisfied with where we landed?


• Did the engine provide accurate results listings?


• Was our click choice a positive one?


• Did we stay on the site or leave?


• If we left, what search result better matched what we wanted to find?


• Was it the search results or did we have a bad experience with the web page we landed on?

Both search engines and human factors related fields study our intent.

Author Matt Bailey points to the depth of the importance of intent in his new book, Internet Marketing: An Hour a Day.

“Search engines are integrating more multimedia and allowing deeper access to documents and media earlier in the search process. They are attempting to determine the intent of the searcher and deliver results accordingly.”

What is our intent? Why do we visit the Internet? Why do we use search sites such as Google and Youtube?

In a 2009 ComScore study (comScore, 2009), they found that “Nearly one out of every ten minutes a person spends online around the world is spent on a Google site.” This includes the search engine itself, Youtube, which they own, Google books, email, Google reader and more.

Clearly, marketers want to be sure their clients’ websites perform well in Google’s web properties. Not doing so can wreck the success of a business.

Search Behavior = People Who Search

Shortly after search engines and information sites appeared on the Internet, case studies zeroed in to understand why, who, where, when, where and how humans use them. Hot on the trail, too, were analysts interested in learning about site traffic, popularity, rank and how to make money from it.

Many of you were guinea pigs during the 1990’s when web page backgrounds were gray with black text, and animation, 3D images, scrolling text boxes, rotating banners and blinking images were all part of a typical user interface.

As fun as all those things were to create (I loved animating images), web designers had to buckle to user preferences.

Search engines learned what we really come to the Internet for. Perhaps search engine sites are not suitable for certain subject types when it comes to information searches. In order to improve search engine design and SEO marketing efforts, we try to understand user intent and goals for searching.

It’s been well established at this point that search engines are used by us to find information. What kinds of information are most popular?

A recent study from Australia on who uses search engines found that half of search engine queries were looking for a particular website, while the other 50% were split between ecommerce and popular culture searches.

The study also pointed to what is referred to as “leisure searches”. The findings present the idea of search sites not only for information gathering or shortcuts to web sites, but they’re also sources for leisure, with one in six of all searches estimated as being leisure searches.

The Australian study offered some surprising details for anyone wondering what we’re searching for, by subject. Adult site searches fell into the middle, with ecommerce being second, edged under a tad by popular culture topics. Health, weather, contemporary affairs and government are the least popular searches.

The study stood out from others because it included and factored in the lifestyle of their participants. This is different than user testing labs or Eye tracking tests. To their surprise, lifestyle choices had no measurable impact on the type of search queries. In fact, new questions were raised on user –searcher behavior.

For example, do Internet users tend to go to particular trusted web sites for information on healthcare, computing and contemporary affairs, rather than use search engines? Does the distribution of the most ranked subjects searched for represent user interests or the suitability of search engines for looking up certain types of topics?

Another study (Broder, 2002) narrows search engine user behavior as informational, navigational, transactional and leisure. Half the searches in the study were navigational and one-third, transactional. Half of all searchers know where they want to go.

What Does This Mean To Search Marketers?

The most obvious is that it’s time to accept usability studies into marketing strategy. And, user experience professionals can no longer devalue the role of search marketers. Both camps provide essential skills and expertise needed for web site projects.

A lot of what’s happening on the Internet is relationship building. The global community wants this so badly they invented social networking sites and social marketing to drive interest and generate revenue from these new site sources.

Emotional web design is no accident. We’re emotional beings. Empathy makes us connect with others.

“In life and business, focus on creating win-win situations. Look beyond the immediate sale in order to connect with customers as people.” – Steve Harper, The Ripple Effect.

Despite our developing mental models and creating user personas, we remain on the edge of understanding who uses our stuff. Wouldn’t it be grand if stakeholders got out of their offices and actually interacted with the people who use their websites?

I’ve often wished I could video people who multi-task at home, with one hand on a laundry basket, an ear to the cell phone and a hand reaching for the laptop nearby. What does that busy person search for and how? Can we make their experience less stressful?

Division between marketing and user experience will dissolve as both approaches discover they need each others’ data to do a better job for their clients.

There’s no question that a passion for usability and search engine marketing leads to their fascinating cousins, like information architecture, findability, captology, analytics and neurology. There’s also no question that money can be made by optimizing for and advertising in search engines.

Studying user behavior is a win-win for search engine technology, search marketing and website usability and human factors.

Cited Resources:

Broder 2002; A Taxonomy of Web Search (PDF)

Waller, Vivienne 2010; Not Just Information: Who Searches for What on the Search Engine Google?

Opinions expressed in the article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land.

Related Topics: Just Behave

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A 75-year-old woman was recently arrested by the Georgian police after she single-handedly cut off Internet connections in Georgia and neighbouring Armenia.

AFP reports that the pensioner was digging for scrap metal with the intention of stealing it when she stumbled upon a fibre-optic cable which runs through Georgia to Armenia, forcing thousands of Internet users in both countries to lose Internet connection for several hours. Georgian Railway Telecom, the company that owns the cable, said that the latest damage was serious, causing 90 percent of private and corporate Internet users in Armenia to lose access for nearly 12 hours while also hitting Georgian Internet service providers.

“I cannot understand how this lady managed to find and damage the cable. It has robust protection and such incidents are extremely rare,” Giorgi Ionatamishvili, Georgian Railway Telecom’s marketing head, told AFP.

Apparently, this wasn’t the first time it happened. In 2009, another scavenger damaged a fibre-optic cable while hunting for scrap metal in the impoverished ex-Soviet state, forcing many Georgians’ Internet connections to get interrupted.

The woman has been charged with damaging property and could face up to three years in prison if convicted.

A 75-year-old woman was recently arrested by the Georgian police after she single-handedly cut off Internet connections in Georgia and neighbouring Armenia.

AFP reports that the pensioner was digging for scrap metal with the intention of stealing it when she stumbled upon a fibre-optic cable which runs through Georgia to Armenia, forcing thousands of Internet users in both countries to lose Internet connection for several hours. Georgian Railway Telecom, the company that owns the cable, said that the latest damage was serious, causing 90 percent of private and corporate Internet users in Armenia to lose access for nearly 12 hours while also hitting Georgian Internet service providers.

“I cannot understand how this lady managed to find and damage the cable. It has robust protection and such incidents are extremely rare,” Giorgi Ionatamishvili, Georgian Railway Telecom’s marketing head, told AFP.

Apparently, this wasn’t the first time it happened. In 2009, another scavenger damaged a fibre-optic cable while hunting for scrap metal in the impoverished ex-Soviet state, forcing many Georgians’ Internet connections to get interrupted.

The woman has been charged with damaging property and could face up to three years in prison if convicted.

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NBA Playoffs: San Antonio Spurs' Manu Ginobili doubtful for Game 1 after elbow sprain

Spurs guard Manu Ginobili is doubtful for Game 1 against Memphis after spraining his right elbow in the regular-season finale.

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Great <b>news</b>: Working population percentage drops to three-decade <b>...</b>

Great news: Working population percentage drops to three-decade low.

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Breaking tech <b>news</b>? Get email notifications as it happens. - TNW Voice

We're in the technology news business. To that end, if it's old, it isn't news. Given that you're reading this, chances are that you live, eat, sleep and breathe the tech lifestyle and want to get the news as soon as it happens. ...

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Apple has reportedly become more aggressive in securing components from overseas suppliers, making moves such as upfront cash payments to both ensure supply and block out competitors.



Analyst Brian White with Ticonderoga Securities said in a note to investors on Thursday that Apple began "aggressively attacking" the component situation in Japan following the earthquake and tsunami that struck the country. The iPhone maker reportedly sent executives to suppliers immediately to ensure adequate supply of components, and also began offering upfront cash payments.



Separately, White's contacts in Taiwan also revealed that Apple is allegedly securing component capacity using what is known as a "three cover guarantee," referring to capacity, stock and price. Apple's move is seen as one that could potentially block out competitors and prevent them from building ample supply of devices.



The information comes as a separate report out of the Far East suggested that a one-month delay for Research in Motion's PlayBook tablet was as a result of Apple securing most of the available touch panel production capacity. The delay has forced the PlayBook to go on sale after Apple's in-demand iPad 2.



Last month, it was said that Apple could agree to price hikes in order to secure touch panel supply, particularly in the aftermath of the Japan earthquake. Apple was said to be in talks with component makers about touch panel pricing, and allegedly considered some price increases in negotiations.



In the company's last quarterly earnings call, Apple Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook revealed that Apple had invested $3.9 billion of its nearly $60 billion in cash reserves in long-term supply contracts. He declined to reveal what components Apple had put its money toward, citing competitive concerns, but said that it was a strategic move that would position the company well in the future.



Analysts largely believe that the secret investment was related to touch panel displays that are the centerpiece of devices like the iPhone and iPad. One cost breakdown estimated that such an investment could secure Apple 136 million iPhone displays, or 60 million iPad touch panels.



It's a move similar to 2005, when Apple inked a major deal with Samsung to secure longterm supply of flash memory. NAND flash would go on to become a major part of Apple's products, including the iPhone, iPad and new MacBook Air.

We’ve been hearing all kinds of Chatter that the next version of Final Cut Pro will debut in Vegas at NAB next week.  Thing is, we hear this every year and Apple hasn’t really done a NAB properly in awhile.  That’s OK, we’ll take that we can get.

Rumors are flying that Apple will be using the Vegas Supermeet to announce the next version of Final Cut Pro. Supposedly, Apple will be taking over the entire event for their announcement, cancelling all other sponsors, including AJA, Avid, Canon, BlackMagic, Autodesk and others, who were set to give presentations.

Philip Bloom just confirmed with me that Canon has canceled his appearance at the Supermeet. Canon was told last night that Apple has demanded ALL “lecturn” or stage time exclusively. Some sponsors who were not using presenters may continue to sponsor the Vegas event, but none of them will be presenting on the stage. I can’t imagine any news that would warrant this kind of “take-over” other than to announce and demonstrate the next full version of Final Cut Pro and possibly an entirely newly designed FCS4.

(UPDATE: Avid confirmed that Supermeet (Michael Horton) told them last night that their sponsorship had been cancelled. According to Avid, “Apple doesn’t want anyone to have stage time but them.”)

Who’s up for Vegas?

We heard the first concrete details about Apple’s all new Final Cut Pro coming during Spring this year, and recently some new information has come to light. Final Cut Studio expert Larry Jordan was one of the people at Apple’s meeting, demonstrating the upcoming upgrade to the professional film-making software.

Jordan can’t say much about the upgrade, due to an NDA with Apple, but he did say it is a “jaw-dropper.” Besides the “jaw-dropper” part, the thing we are taking most from his blog post is the fact that Apple allowed him to write it up. It appears that Apple already considers the software public knowledge. Afterall, Apple CEO Steve Jobs did tell a 9to5mac reader to buckle up for it.

Thanks to Charlie Sanchez

Related articles

• Next Final Cut Pro is a “jawdropper,” Apple considers it public knowledge, and will it drop at NAB? (9to5mac.com)
• Apple says last Xserve orders shipping in April, here’s what’s next for XSAN (9to5mac.com)
• Nasdaq to cut Apple’s weighting in rebalancing (9to5mac.com)
• Feeling the heat, HP and Dell execs lash out at Apple, pray iPad will fail (9to5mac.com)
• Certain MacBook Pro models ‘unavailable’ for reservation at many Apple Stores (9to5mac.com)
• Apple asks Toyota to remove the Scion theme from Cydia (9to5mac.com)
• New Final Cut Pro hits Spring ’11 and it’s the “biggest overhaul yet” (9to5mac.com)
• iOS 5 pushed to the fall: major revamp, cloud-based, WWDC preview? (9to5mac.com)

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Google reported solid quarterly earnings this afternoon, but EPS was slightly below expectations and expenses were high. 

The expenses were apparently cause for investor concern, and shares have dropped more than 5% after hours.

In particular, cap ex spend was $890 million. Google explained most of that was related to the purchase of new buildings in Dublin and Paris.

Operating expenses were also up thanks in large part to the 10% one-time salary raise, which kicked in this quarter.

In a Q&A with investors during the earnings call, several analysts wondered if this level of expenditure is the only way Google can continue to grow revenue more than 20%. Execs tried to reassure them that Google is measuring and paying very close attention to the expense side of the equation.

The basics:

Gross Revenue of $8.58 billion was slightly better than expected and rose a strong 27% year over year.

Net Revenue of $6.54 billion slightly better than expected.

Adjusted EPS of $8.08 is slightly--slightly--below expectations of $8.13. Revenue was strong, so the key will be whether the earnings miss is the result of lower margins (bad) or, say, a higher tax rate (irrelevant).

Paid clicks growth was better than expected at 18% year over year (vs 15%-17% expectation). This is Google's key revenue unit, and better-than-expected unit growth is positive.

Revenue per click increased 8% year over year, at the high end of expectations.

Free cash flow was a solid $2.2 billion. Cash flow from operations was spectacular--$3.2 billion--but the company spent an astronomical $890 million on capital expenditures, much more than expected.  (What on earth are they spending all this money on?)

Product highlights: Android is getting 350,000 activations per day. Chrome now has 120 million users -- that means 120 million people who are more likely to be "locked in" to Google services. YouTube revenue is doubling every year, but still no concrete numbers to share.

Bottom line, Google remains robustly healthy.  27% year over year revenue growth in a company this size is extremely impressive, and the core search business is humming along. The high capital expenditures are a question and concern--it will be interesting to hear what the company says about them on the call.

Here are some slides from the deck Google used on its earnings call. Scroll past them for our live blog of the call itself.

You've got to love 27% growth from such an enormous base.

Traffic acquisition costs are looking good as well:

But this is what investors are worried about -- costs rising as a percentage of revenue, particularly R&D and sales and marketing. A lot of that is salary-related:

Here's another way of looking at it: operating margins are getting lower:

Here are our notes from the call:

4:27 ET:  We're waiting for the call to start. We'll see if Larry Page jumps on, since he just took over as CEO last week. He's reportedly investor and press shy, so we'll be curious to see how he performs.

One slightly curious note: the call isn't being broadcast on YouTube as it has in the past.

4:31: Larry will join at the beginning of the call. It's also Patrick Pichette, CFO. Two of the new senior VPs are on board as well -- Susan Wojcikci (advertising), Jeff Huber (local and commerce). Plus Nikesh Arora, the chief business officer, who's  been on past calls.

4:33: Page notes 27% revenue growth. Tremendous improvements still ahead. Now he's talking management changes.

"Everything we told you last quarter has happened." He's managing day to day operations as CEO. Eric Schmidt is on government and partner outreaches -- last quarter he was in Germany, Brazil, Argentina, and Spain. Sergey working "very intensively" on a few projects.

4:34: Also made changes to simplify their org structure. He's thanking Jonathan Rosenberg, who's been on most of these past calls.

That's about it. Now it's on to Pichette.

4:35: Expenses show the 10% across the board raise for the first time.

Gross revenue up 27%, $8.6B. It actually rose 2% quarter to quarter -- and last year Google had the Nexus One goosing revenue. Plus this year the disaster in Japan.

Google Network revenue up 19%. Negatively impacted by loss of search distribution deal, plus search quality improvement -- spam control. It always serves us well.

Other revenue was down 10% year over year to $269 million. That's mostly Google Apps and Enterprise Search, a very small business.

Aggregate click growth up 18% year to year, and 4% from last quarter. The shift from offline to online is driving that.

4:40: International revenue was 53% of total.

TAC was 25% of total revenue, $2.2B.

Overall opex totaled $2.8m, including stock-based compensation.

Opex increase is primarily payroll, some advertising.

Op margin 37.6%

Headcount up 1,900 during the quarter. total 26,316 employees.

Capex is facilities, data centers. Facilities driven by purchases of buildings in Dublin and Paris. Capex is "lumpy from quarter to quarter" depending on when it wants to make capex investments.

4:43. Boasting about Android, fastest growing mobile OS, and Chrome, fastest growing browser. Pushed frontier of mobile search which is adding to overall search volume. YouTube "win win" platform for content owners and users.

Second half of 2010, grew 25% year to year. This quarter 27%. Compared to comp of 23% a year ago. "We are building multibillion dollar businesses" and confident now is the time to invest. Discipline.

4:45: Local and commerce SVP Jeff Huber.

Ambitious hiring this quarter by design. 2011 will be biggest hiring in history, hired 1,900 this quarter. Core and growing businesses are doing well, so "who wouldn't want to invest in this business." Over half the "Nooglers" who joined will be in new areas like YouTube, Chrome, Enterprise.

Search: improving quality. Launched over 90 quality improvements, including changes to ranking algorithms. Impacted about 12% of queries, and addressed over 80% of sites that users reported.

Had adverse affect on revenues on SOME SITES in Display network. But improving search is always the best thing to do in the long run.

Personal, as in building around people. Launched the +1 button, easier to share results. "This is just the beginning" more personal search coming soon.

Mobile traffic up 500%+ over last two years.

350,000 Android devices activated per day. Recently launched in-app billing.

Chrome: users "very valuable". Investing in Chrome marketing. Now more than 120m daily users, more than 40% added in last year.

Chrome OS "also going well" and look forward to launching devices later this year.

Enterprise: growing across businesses and schools. New deals, reseller agreements. University of Texas, Boston U.

Pleased our ITA deal closed, travel search lots of room for innovation there.

Huber is now thanking Jonathan Rosenberg as well. "Friends and colleagues for over 15 years. He will be missed"

4:49: Now it's Susan Wojcicki.

Lots to be excited about in ads. Search is still core, but big oppty for growth.

"How can we search the perfect ad for every query?" New creative types, new ways for advertisers to set up campaigns. Product Listing Ads, introduced Q4 last year.

Display advertising: bought DoubleClick 3 years ago, lot of integration, lot of progress. Display Network up 5x since acquisition, doubling annually in Brazil, UK, and Japan.

Display advertisers either performance oriented (conversions) and brand oriented (awareness). Launched new stuff for brand advertisers, like Display Ad Network Reserve -- buy premium inventory on a guaranteed basis. Also tools to measure effectiveness of campaigns -- not just clicks.

Ad Exchange -- transaction volume has tripled in past year, 2/3ds of that inventory bought via real-time bidding.

YouTube: revenue doubling year over year, shared with more than 20k content partners. The more money we make for them, the more engaging stuff they upload.

AdMob: over 150 million iOS and Android devices, up 50% in last four months.

Advertisers starting to run mobile-only campaigns. Incorporating local -- how far are you standing away from the advertiser's location right now?

4:55: Pichette taking over again for Q&A.

Q: Opex up 45% year over year excluding traffic acquisition cost. Is this kind of spending required to retain 20%+ revenue growth? Or one-off?

A. Clearly the effect of the one-time salary change. Salary increase flows through to other stuff like 401(k) and vacation, so disproportionately felt in first quarter. "Nooglers" as well. One-time step change in labor, but after that regular.

Marketing has increased since last year because it's providing great returns. Both customer acquisition and key products like Chrome.

Still disciplined: quarterly reviews to get your next funding.

Q. What about marketing costs? What's going on?

A. Professional services. Chrome -- really pushing the web. When they get Chrome, instead of having to look for Google, they get it. It's there already. "Everybody who uses Chrome is a guaranteed locked-in user of Google."

Q. How does Larry view the company differently than it was?

A. Position hasn't changed. We're a tech company, focused on users, looking for products that can affect billions of people. Computer science helping find problems for billions of people.

If you think that way, Chrome, Android, search all make sense. The 70/20/10 is very alive. "Search is the next billion dollar business." 90 improvements on one side, 40 on the other -- search still in our infancy. Mobile, display, enterprise.

10% is commerce, social, stuff that's nascent. Strategy same core lenses, same products that serve billions of people.

Q. But financially? Any meaningful difference?

A. No. Build great products, same financial discipline.

Q. More about opex. Customer acquisition in Chrome, salespeople. Do you think your 20%+ growth rate would be achievable without these costs? Will you still get the growth without the costs?

A. Strategy in context of last 4 to 5 quarters. Trajectory of revenue growth, 23%, 25%, 27%. We're funding revenue growth with discipline. "Carpe diem, it's there to take."

Q. Imagine display is $20B based on various figures. Right now you're at 10% or so. How big can that be? And as display gets bigger, how does that affect margins?

A. Search unique with very very high margins. Display more paperwork. But still very good margin product. "All of those dollars I want." Plus great "symbiotic" relationship -- display ads now showing up in search.

Could say that display was stalled at $50 to $60B because video wasn't there. YouTube helps reach 23 to 24% more consumers. Efficiency of Web applied to video. All efforts trying to build that display, rich media and video. Every profitable dollar of revenue is good.

Q. What about social data? You don't run social network. Do you need it for search?

A. Jeff Huber -- it's important, we use 200+ signals for ranking search today. It's one of many inputs. Assets that apply to that, we do have large number of users coming to our door every day. Considerable percentage logged in, using multiple products.

Pichette: launch of +1 is commitment to get every signal. Continued focus on social as one of 200 signals.

Q. Does Chrome give you any signals you can integrate into search results?

A. Huber -- will be part of story over time, personalized today. Chrome experience, can sign into Chrome, will sync info across computers.

Q. Where are those bold steps to control expenses? We don't see it. And is social really just one of 200 variables?

A. On expenses, you see ramp-up on one side. Guarantee you everybody who has cost center has to demonstrate productivity. Data center, incredibly steep. Sales force. We always think of cost per x. Cost per bit for data centers. Even food, everybody has productivity curve.

Google is growing 25% year over year from a $25B base. Tide coming with it, but every element of the company is "scrubbed and scrutinized." The unit costs haunt many of my managers.

Huber now on social: one of many signals. We regularly measure and tune.

Pichette again: expenses, we really want to lay the ground clear on these issues.

Q. Search algo changes -- how does that affect search ads and cost per click? And what's driving display ad revenue growth -- ad units or more targeting?

A. Huber: 12% of queries affected. Was Web search only, not ads. NO effect on CPC. Did affect display network, but focus is on user experience.

Wojcicki: Can buy audiences, target more effectively. It's both. End to end platform to enable buying across the Internet for all advertisers and all publishers.

Pichette: Some properties tuned to display like YouTube, but entire Web is more powerful than any single prop.

Q. What about tablet share -- is it as important as smartphone share?

A. Jeff Huber: tablets doing well, lot of growth in that segment. Dynamics -- hybrid between mobile and desktop when you look at user behavior. Optimistic about Honeycomb. Xoom was product of the show at CES in January. More products, more innovation.

Enable advertisers to target tablets, which will help that segment.

Q. Employee bonuses and social -- define success?

A. This is an internal matter. We focus a strategy across many platforms, we wanted to signal to employees that social is an important signal and worth investing. No further comment.

Q. Search important, but engagement might be more important. Have you looked at 70/20/10 and think about shifting to build greater engagement? Look at how other products and services can be integrated in?

A. Web in general, how platforms are growing, we're focusing in areas where engagement matters. Local, mobile, YouTube, all about engagement. Mobile, Chrome. Technology fuels engagement. At highest level, search itself is more engaged today than it was 3 years ago. It's part of our strategy.

Q. Engagement through frequency rather than share of time.

A. When you are in YouTube, you're spending more time in YouTube. Android phone, now visiting and in town, additional signals sharing with friends etc.

Q. Does Chrome give you potential to create unique products, apps, content services?

A. Huber: great opportunities in that. Chrome Web Store -- same model as Android Market, bringing it to that platform.

Q. How much is a mobile user worth today, and how do you think about larger acquisitions?

A. Can't answer about mobile user. Look at our focus, we're very excited about mobile. Great potential there. Monetization side -- click to call ads. Locally targeted ads, ability to engage users where they are. Smartphone will be way people do everything -- inform, entertain. It will merge.

Q. Do you think value can go up order of magnitude in 3 years?

A. Wojcicki: very early in what mobile can do. Will grow overall opportunity, overall pie.

Nobody is going to say a substantive thing about acquisitions.

We haven't found big one that will significantly accelerate our growth. We have a really focused agenda, don't want massive distraction. Google is a specific culture --- big acquisition must be both financially sensible and cultural fit. "That's a pretty high bar to pass."

Q. Non cost-per-click ads -- what kind of growth are you seeing? And does Google have a video strategy outside of user-generated content?

A. We have new people on board with YouTube to expand beyond user-generated.

Huber: user-generated is huge. But we're interested in "long-form premium content," another area is developing content of, by, and for new medium being created. Next New Networks acquisition was there.

Wojcicki: we're allowing advertiser to bid with CPA (cost per action) then Google figures out CPC (per click) in background. Also CPM (per impression). Depends on whether advertisers are more performance or ad-driven. As we introduce new kinds of ads for brand advertising, CPM will become a bigger deal.

Q. How bad was Japan? You also said 350k Android activations per day -- can you give breakdown smartphone v tablet and US v international?

A. Our first response to the events was to help the Japanese community. People finding people and disaster recovery. Focus on community, not optimizing revenue.

Tons of searches, by the way, but not monetizable searches. Japan is great market for us. Historically they bounce back fast. We can't predict how will rebound on advertising, but it's a 1st world economy that will recover.

Huber: Android. Not going to answer the question. But we have strong partnerships in Europe, Japan, Korea, and international is growing. Android is relatively early on in tablets, Honeycomb just came out. Big innovations coming.

 

 

class="dropcap">Bill Thomas used to be a climate change skeptic, not believing that humans could have influenced the dramatic atmospheric shift, but two weeks in the woods — and chats with scientists — changed his mind.

“I remember vividly that first day with Dr. Jess Parker; he showed us a chart of CO2 levels increasing about the time of the industrial revolution,” says Thomas, who works for HSBC bank and participated in a 2007 Climate Champions training program. There, a personal epiphany led to a job title change — the former relationship manager for HSBC Technical Services is now group head of HSBC Technology and Services Sustainability.

Teaching employees the science behind green corporate values and how to make their workplaces sustainable isn’t just for “green” show — done right, it’s good business strategy.

“There seems to be a huge growth of interest among companies to not just keep the environmental initiatives within a subset of employees, but to make it a pervasive part of the corporate culture,” says Krista Badiane, who manages the business and environment program at the National Environmental Education Foundation.  And unlike broad, mandated rules — such as carbon caps — companies that create their own initiatives take ownership and credit for sustainable changes, which may well go beyond what laws would have dictated.

By cultivating current workers’ energy-saving ideas and environmental passions, companies can save resources, energy and money as well as boost their eco-friendly reputation. The key is to help employees learn why sustainability matters — for instance, unless it’s slowed, climate change could alter global landscapes and increase natural disasters in our lifetimes. And if employees realize what’s at stake, they’ll find ways to save resources at work — as well as at home.

Worker to Citizen Scientist/> In a patch of woods in Edgewater, Md., bordering Smithsonian Environmental Research Center campus buildings, HSBC technology managers are intently straightening a measuring tape wrapped around a mature oak. Phil Clarke, from Portland, Ore., leans in and meticulously gets a reading of its diameter: 94.8 inches. During this weeklong Sustainability Leader training, he’s learning what scientists do and what shape the planet is in. He knows that the measurements taken today — even though what they reveal won’t be known for awhile — will help guide decisions that will keep our world sound for future generations.

His employer, HSBC bank — a global financial services company with 300,000 employees working in 8,000 offices and pre-tax profits topping $11 billion — decided to go carbon neutral in 2005. For the past three years, HSBC bank has partnered with EarthWatch Institute for an international study on climate change’s effects on tree growth, as well as a program that trains employees around the world in sustainability. When workers return to the office after their forest immersion, they find ways to integrate newly learned sustainability lessons in their spheres of influence.

Clarke and the other HSBC technology services managers from around North America — key decision-makers hand picked for the training — earn the title of Sustainability Leader. A larger two-week program trains HSBC employees from all levels — from cashier to marketing staffer — to become Climate Champions.

Such citizen science training helps corporate employees understand the mechanics of science — that systems are complex, and that there are no easy answers. “You learn what a critical state the world is actually in,” says Annette Fasolino of HSBC’s payment operations division in Buffalo, N.Y.

Having that up-close experience with scientists and ecosystems helps employees better grasp how climate change is impacting, and may impact, the world. “Many of these people go back and question their decisions, and make sure they’re making the most sustainable decisions,” says Thomas.

Cultivating the Grassroots/> Though the partnership between HSBC and EarthWatch is unique, other companies are also looking to their staff for sustainable solutions. “There’s no one best program for a company to educate their employees,” Badiane says.

Some companies or groups of motivated employees organize green teams, which promote eco-friendly changes and teach colleagues sustainable alternatives. Initiatives range from banning disposable utensils in the lunchroom to redesigning an operating system to save raw materials. “Ideally, you’re getting some new ideas out of your employees,” says Deborah Fleischer, president of Green Impact, a sustainability consulting service.

Businesses also use social media sites such as Yammer — a private social network for companies — or online training to generate sustainable ideas.

Other companies dangle a carrot — awards and incentives — to get workers to make sustainable choices. Yogurt maker Stonyfield tied facility energy savings (based on energy use per ton of product) to employee bonuses. In this way, the company reduced energy use by more than 22 percent, according to a NEEF report.

To engage workers of all levels, eBay employed competition: a Big Green Idea Contest. To enter, employees identified ways the company could meet greenhouse gas reduction goals; then, employees voted on the top ideas. One idea, the eBay Box — simple, eco-friendly packaging that’s meant to be reused for eBay shipments — has become a useful tool that saves money and resources.

Unfortunately, some companies’ efforts are no more than greenwashing stunts to appear eco-friendly and keep up with their competition. Producing disposable trinkets with “green” logos or launching environmental-focused public relations initiatives while pushing pollution limits does not jive with true sustainability. The companies mentioned here, however, offer genuine solutions that leave a lighter footprint.

Two Kinds of Green/> Such engagement can yield significant savings: One North American HSBC Climate Champion noticed that co-workers weren’t shutting down their PCs every night, wasting energy. Now, NightWatchman software automatically shuts down more than 6 million computers left on. During fiscal year 2010 in North America, the software coupled with an awareness program saved 4 million kilowatts per year of electricity and about 900 metric tons of carbon dioxide, which shaved $332,000 on energy bills.

At defense contractor Lockheed Martin, a Camden, Ark., building uses a software system to control lighting and air conditioning, leading to more than $200,000 in reduced costs and savings of 2,332 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually, according to the NEEF report. And at drugmaker Genetech,  green teams slashed the use of bottled water, saving the company $200,000 a year by using filtered water machines paired with reusable bottles, according to a white paper by Fleischer, “Green Teams: Engaging Employees in Sustainability.”

But benefits to a company can’t always be calculated in dollars.

“By creating an engaged employee base, we’re really putting it into hearts and minds of employees, and that’s going to be much more powerful and long-term than saying ‘you must turn off your PC,’” says Sharon Walck, senior vice president of sustainability at HSBC North America.

Investing in and teaching sustainable values to workers also boosts retention, according to NEEF, which is extremely important to large corporations. The foundation says losing and replacing a good employee can cost a company between 70 percent and 200 percent of that employee’s annual salary.

And, Badiane says, “employees who are motivated want to work for a company that has the same values.”

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Roofing Contractors Vancouver - 5 Inquiries to Wonder

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2. Beauty versus Practicality?

Discuss this with your spouse or partner. (The kids could care less...at least the young ones.) Truth is, nobody wants an ugly roof just like nobody wants to be viewed with bed hair. If you've got a great quality roof and you just need to do the repair, it's worth it to pay the cost of the original shingle instead of doing patchwork. A roof replacement doesn't happen frequently (hopefully!) and thus make a decision that suits you and your loved ones well or it'll stand out just like a sore thumb everyday you decide to go home.

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Think about this very carefully prior to making a choice. Depending on the roofing material you select, a brand new roof can last between twenty, fifty, to one-hundred years! This means you need to check the year from the roof that's currently too deep first. Are you at year 18 of the 20-year warranted roof or year 30 of a 50-year warranted roof? Obviously, the standard is the reason why the rooftop last longer, but when you're not likely to stay in your present home for the rest of your life, the larger expense might not be worth neglect the. Although a new roof can improve the value of your value, the rise might not be enough to cover neglect the and that's definitely going to hurt your wallet.

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Weather can cause delays from days to weeks. Most people prepare yourself to have their roof replaced in the summertime when they have a friend is going to be home during the day for a solid fourteen days. Once you've this period in your mind, create a call to some trusted contractor months in advance to get a quote. Some companies get reserved fast and odds are, they're probably the most reputable. Preparing in advance from the summer also gives you time to discuss with many compare costs...especially if you need to have the roof made by a particular date.

 

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If your gutters often clog too often, or you will find leaks across the walls of your home, it might imply that there is debris piled-up on the roof. Loose branches, piles of leaves, along with other light objects that are swept onto your roof throughout a storm can all contribute towards damaging your homes roof, and these damages can be lasting. A knowledgeable Tacoma Roofing company will tell you that birds, mice, along with other kinds of rodents often build nest within the debris that collects on the top. While these nests may look rather innocent, they're great at collecting moisture, which can lead to loose shingles, mold, and indoor leaks in your home. Additionally, it may also cause vermin infestation. After a storm, your Tacoma Roofing company will claim that you inspect your homes roof for just about any signs and symptoms of debris or damage.

Reverse Damages with the Help of a Tacoma Roofing contractor

However top quality the roof might be, it is going to wear out over time. There are shingles which are referred to as "25 year" or "30 year" shingles, but those numbers are only associated with warranty produced by the makers. They hardly ever last that long. Realistically speaking, "25 year" shingles will not last a lot more than a few years. In an area that is prone to storms, shingles or even the entire roof should get replaced every 10 years. With a Tacoma Roofing contractor, the price will be lower than what you think.

If there you lose any shingles, or there's some damage to them, a Tacoma Roofing company can help you. Damaged shingles can lead to indoor leaks, as the substrate of the roof becomes subjected to the elements. Shingles that are loose or broken can slip off and pose a potential hazard to people standing below. Missing shingles create a gap which allows rain, wind, ice, and debris to build up under the adjoining shingles, which creates a "domino effect" that affects other shingles plus they become loose or broken. A thorough investigation is going to be produced by the local Tacoma Roofer, should you call them up with your suspicions of loose or missing shingles.

Your Tacoma Roofer will be in a position to inform you what are the smartest choice is for your roof. If your roof is not in a good shape, it's advised that you have it replaced completely. The Tacoma Roofing company can take you thru the different roofing possibilities to you that will fit your requirements and your budget.

Tacoma Roofer: Enhancing your Home's Efficiency

Your homes roof shelters you against storms, sleet, and hail. By providing adequate ventilation, your homes roof protects your house from overheating, and by holding in the heat, it keeps your house warm. That's why you ought to ready your roof from indoors in addition to outdoors for any kind of weather emergency. A professional Tacoma Roofing contractor can provide assist in this case.

First of all, inspect your roof thoroughly for just about any and all sorts of type of damage, before the beginning of a new season. The gutters ought to be clear, debris shouldn't be piled on or trapped under shingles, tthere shouldn't be homes of squirrels or birds within the eaves or attic, and also the roof should be structurally sound. For that last part, you will need the assistance of your local Tacoma Roofing contractor. It can be quite dangerous to climb onto the roof of your property. This is where the contractor from Tacoma Roofing company is available in. He will read the strength and security of your roof and shingles, and perform a general inspection from the entire roof structure, to make certain that it is in proper working order. They will be in a position to point towards issues that you have to keep an eye on and problems you might not have spotted.

You will need all the help you can get from the Tacoma Roofing contractor. You can help your homes roof by installing a gutter guard or leaf cover to help prevent debris from forming inside your gutters. The extra weight of debris prevents the gutters from draining and may even tear them down. Look into the fasteners in your gutters and when they're loose, tighten them. Take steps to change worn screws and brackets. If you have a chimney in your home, inspect the bricks and mortar signs of wear. A reliable mason can be recommended by your Tacoma Roofer, if there are any repairs to become done.

Tacoma Roofing company: Someone You are able to Count On
When you know or suspect that there is a problem, your Tacoma Roofer ought to be contacted. They are able to use their knowledge and expertise to get your house back in ace condition simply by working on the rooftop. Your roof deserves attention. So give them a call today, to enable them to conclude working on your roof.

 

What is Difference Between Commercial Roofing Companies From Residential Roofing Companies

If you are considering getting a roofing company to re roof your house or building then you can be wondering what are the differences are between residential roofing companies and commercial roofing companies. To start with, the main one big difference is usually that times a commercial roofing company may have signed a contract with and become obligated to a roofing union in able to work on union commercial jobs.

If this is the situation then their labor costs will prohibit them from focusing on non union residential jobs. Beyond that, if your commercial roofing company has not signed an agreement with a union they might be outfitted just for commercial jobs and that means that their workers and equipment may not be consistent with smaller residential jobs.

Residential roofing contractors in general often run smaller companies and therefore, are more in a position to bid competitively on residential jobs, which are usually smaller than comercial jobs. Actually, quite often residential roofing contractors will run one man operations, where the contractor that you speak with may be the one which actually does the work about the building.

Also, liability insurance for commercial roofing is more expensive and a larger bond is needed for any commercial roofing work which will make it not economical for any commercial roofer to do residential roofing jobs.

Still one more factor is that commercial jobs can run on tighter time frame for any number of reasons, requiring an industrial contractor to employ a larger crew or crews which again makes smaller jobs not as profitable for them.

 

Distinction between Commercial Roofing and Residential Roofing

Are you aware that the roof of the building includes a huge effect on the whole structure itself? Damage caused to roofs due to natural or other disasters leads to a considerable loss of property everywhere. The kind of materials used to construct the rooftop which should be sturdy and long-lasting, the manner in which the roof has been installed as well as its timely maintenance are very crucial. There's two kinds of roofs that are used on all of the buildings that people see around us: commercial and residential. Although it may seem that commercial roofing is performed only for businesses or offices and residential roofing is performed for apartments and houses, in reality the differences are much more complicated than that.

Residential roofing is usually completed just by one hired contractor but commercial roofing typically takes a whole team to accomplish the task. The reason being an industrial roof is commonly larger in terms of sq ft than the usual residential roof.
Commercial roofs need to be made carefully keeping the nature and purpose of your building in mind. For example, when there is a cafe or restaurant within the building then external components like ventilation systems, smoke stacks and pipes is going to be required. Residential roofs usually do not have such components other than a chimney or two at most.
Commercial roofs is commonly flat in design to accommodate further changes in a later period, whereas most residential roofs have peaks and other architectural features like roof gardens.
Commercial roofing is a lot more expensive than residential roofing because of the special tools, materials and safety equipment that are needed onsite. Usually the patching or maintenance jobs are done in segments unlike for a residential roof where the repair or replacement work could be carried out a short while. This is another reason why the gear used for residential roofs is often smaller and less costly as well.
Commercial roof installations have a extended period to accomplish in comparison to residential roof installations and therefore are usually constructed in large sections. During this phase however, you should ensure that there aren't any leakages, cracks or any other visible deterioration signs as it can cause considerable damage to the whole building.
You should install the best roof for a building based on its purpose. Make sure that you hire a construction company that uses first class materials and it has the best equipment for the job or neglect the may turn out to be a huge loss later.

 

Commercial Roofing Contractors: How to purchase a Qualified Commercial Roofing Company

If your business is looking to have work done on its roof, you should work with commercial roofing contractors that have a keen understanding of any special needs that the business may have. As an example, a roofing job can often be disruptive for the operation of economic as always. For this reason, it might be essential for the company to become temporarily turn off, or for the roofing to take place after business hours have ended. A roofer that understands these needs can work together with a business in order to make certain these types of issues are minimized.

The first thing that a company must do when it is searching for commercial roofing contractors is to find out who other businesses in the area are working through. Obviously, this information will 't be helpful if it comes as an indicator from competitors, but you will find circumstances in which it's not too difficult to locate this information from suppliers or retailers. Since roofing is not an industry-specific service, this information is easily available.

It's a wise decision for any business to obtain in touch with a minimum of three commercial roofing contractors to make bids about the price. In this manner, the business could get a better price. It's also vital that you ensure that each of the roofing contractors is licensed and bonded. This information can be found by permitting in touch with their state contractor's board. This assists you to determine whether there has been any claims filed against the company in the past.

When examining bids, it is only as important to check out what services are now being offered and which products is going to be used as it is to look at the total cost. The prices can differ quite drastically, but as tempting as possible to go for the lowest bid, this isn't always your best option. In many cases, more costs now means fewer costs over time due to an undesirable roofing job. To help investigate the caliber of the work, it's a wise decision to check using the Bbb to be able to see if the business has been accredited, and if it's not, to a minimum of see what its rating is.

 

Picking out a Commercial Roofing Contractor

When you're searching for a roofer for your commercial roofing project you have to find a contractor who understands the special needs of a commercial roofing project. For example it may be harder to operate on the business during business hours so either the company has to be turn off for the repair or replacement or even the job has to be done after conventional business hours. Is the roofer you are thinking about for the job willing and able to operate around your schedule constrictions which might involve working weekends or evenings?

When you begin your search for any roofer not only do you have to answer those questions however, you also want to hire a company which will perform a high quality job without a lot of time delays. Going about finding someone can feel like an obstacle in itself but there are several ways to result in the search easier.

Ask people around you for referrals and try to find at least three contractors to give you written bids in your job. Before you go any more you need to make sure that the contractors you are thinking about are fully licensed and bonded. A simple search with the state contractor's board will verify if your roofer is licensed and when you will find any past judgments or claims against their license.

Once you select three or four roofers to place bids, you need to prepare yourself for the bids to be widely varied. Roofers will have brand preferences that will vary and may factor in more or less compared to next guy for a labor estimate. The greater detailed an itemized bid may be the more helpful it will be to focus on in which the cost are going to be incurred. Don't, however, pick a roofer based solely on the bid price. Any low ball bids might be tempting to take, but when they're low because of low quality workman ship it may not be worthwhile ultimately.

As the saying goes, you generally get that which you pay for, so if you can afford a mid-priced bid it certainly is smart to increase within your budget rather than down. You also should select your roofer based on how professional they were and just how comfortable you anticipate you will be dealing with them.

Finally your cost will vary depending on what type of roofing material you select as well as the cost to haul your old roof to the landfill. Should you be looking for places to cut corners on your roof, instead of cutting labor cost you may want to ask about a metal roof option. Metal roofs could be economical and energy efficient which makes them overall money savers for the long term, as well as on commercial buildings they may be very low maintenance. Plus given that they can be placed along with an existing roof, you don't have to possess the old one removed and hauled away, that make a large effect on your cost.

Choosing a comerical roofing company nearer your home, doesn't have to become a struggle. For more information, visit http://www.vancouverroofers.net