Using Gateway Pages Effectively and Responsibly

By Matthew L. Blevins

With the astronomical growth rate of the Internet and the web sites that are flooding server space around the world has inevitably come the desire for web site exposure and the subsequent popularity of search engines, often considered the most cost-efficient manner of web promotion available. While this is obvious, the methods of promoting sites to search engines are continuously evolving. Some promotion methods that may have originally been deemed acceptable are no longer considered so, while other "tricks" have become legitimate means of mainstream promotion. Remember when "invisible" text was the norm for the search engine promoter? Well, search engines put an end to that long ago, but they are now also willing to re-think their position on another common method that was once considered unacceptable - gateway pages.

Simply stated, gateway, or "doorway" pages, are HTML pages within a web site that are optimized to achieve high rankings in the search engines. These gateway pages are typically stored within the same directory as the index page of the site or, in some cases, function as the index page. The gateway page will have a link to the main page of the site (the page that the webmaster has designed as the "navigation" page) and, at times, will include a "Meta refresh" tag or Java redirect script to automatically take the user to this main page.

The concept of the gateway page is simple enough, and in recent months such pages have become an acceptable form of promoting sites to the major engines. There are, however, some important considerations that one should be aware of before designing and submitting a gateway page. Those who maintain search engines are very particular about what is submitted to their indexes. They may not always be capable of locating every site or page that bends or breaks their rules, but they are always looking for them, or programming their spiders to take note of them. It is therefore very important to design a gateway page in accordance with what the search engines deem acceptable. It is also worth noting that the aforementioned "Meta refresh" tag and the Java redirect script are usually not viable options for the gateway or any other page. It is acceptable to use such tags or scripts, but search engines typically do not like them, and AltaVista and Infoseek consider them to be "Spam."

In most cases, common sense prevails. For instance, a gateway page with a list of keywords and a link to the main page is obviously going to be considered "Spam" to a reviewer or a Meta crawler that is designed to spot such problems. The thing to remember when designing this entrance page for your site is that it should have a reasonable description of your site, outlining the products or services offered or the subject matter of a non-commercial or advertisement-driven site.

The description of the site should be well written, just like the text of your main page, and should incorporate your keywords in a skillful manner that is not overbearing. The gateway page should, if possible, include an image or logo (use 'ALT' text with it) and be designed so that it is at least somewhat pleasing from an aesthetic standpoint. Lastly, the page should incorporate carefully selected Meta tags (title, description, and keywords) that describe the content of the site and that match the text that is viewable by the user. When properly constructed and implemented, gateway pages can be a very effective means of achieving high rankings within the search engines.

Article source: http://www.ContentMart.com/ContentMart/Create/content.asp?LinkID=197&CatID=143&content=1

International Space Station Interactive Guide

Click hear to see International Space Station Intractive Guide from NASA.

Space Radiation the Big Killer

By Lance Winslow

The future of space flight, exploration and even the future of commercialization of space for space mining, space tourism and research depend on solving one very important issue. Space Radiation. Once outside Earth’s atmosphere we are no longer protected from the bombardment of X-rays, Gamma Rays and Space Radiation.

Going into space as a space tourist would be a once in a lifetime event indeed; but surely you do not want to make it the last thing you ever do. After all you want to be able to come back and tell about it right?

Well sure, so I propose that we put an energy ball out front of the spacecraft and keep it pointing towards the Sun the biggest maker of space radiation in our solar system. The ball would be on a poll connected to the craft with high tensile strength nanocarbon tubes attached to it from all corners of the spacecraft. Thru the poll and the guide wires we would send energy immersed in a liquid which would either collect the radiation to use for energy or repel it, sending it around the space craft by deflecting it slightly.

Recently in an online think tank this subject was brought up with many possible answers in a brain storming session. If you have such ideas on how to stop the “big Killer” space radiation from stopping NASA’s Mission to the Moon and Mars and the future of the privatization of space, then you may wish to consider this in 2006.

"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/. Lance is a guest writer for Our Spokane Magazine in Spokane, Washington

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lance_Winslow

2006 Trends in Material Sciences to Protect Space Endeavors

By Lance Winslow

In 2005 NASA Scientists saw some huge solar storms and dangerous solar flares, during what is suppose to be a low point in the 22-year solar cycle. There was damage to some satellites and the ISS International Space Station was on high alert. Many Satellite companies were also on edge knowing that their multi-million dollar communications systems were in danger of damage or complete failure. Space radiation is a serious problem for astronauts, space colonies, space stations and future space travelers. Without adequate protection from space radiation, long-term multi-generational space exploration flights will not be possible.

In 2006 new materials will be introduced which will inhibit space radiation. New coatings will also solve these issues to protect systems from harm and decay of habitats, equipment and electronics in space. New designs of space colonies will include water storage supplies between the human occupants and the outside. Titanium will be mined on the moon and plans will be brought forth to make spaceship skin of this metal to prevent the space radiation from affecting the crew. Scientists will continue to make elements, which do not exist here on Earth but are thought to be stable once created, which will be able to protect against radiation due to their high period table numbers. Think on this in 2006.

"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/. Lance is a guest writer for Our Spokane Magazine in Spokane, Washington

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lance_Winslow