As always, it’s an honor and a privilege to play a small part in serving such an important cause.  Komen MA’s 19th-annual Race for the Cure will be held Sunday, Oct. 30 at Joe Moakley Park in Boston.  Race start time is 10 a.m.  Click here to find out more.

Hair by Hanna is a family-oriented, neighborhood hairdresser and salon located in West Newton, Mass.

It’s clear that even on a good day Google would prefer not to disclose the myriad parameters that go into how it derives search rankings.  Let’s just say there are some forces among the interwebs that resort to “Black Hat” tactics – read:  cheating – to jam a particular company’s search rankings to the top of the heap.

The article, penned by David Segal, goes on to describe that one of the best ways to increase your business’s Google score is links to your site from other sites:

If you own a Web site, for instance, about Chinese cooking, your site’s Google ranking will improve as other sites link to it. The more links to your site, especially those from other Chinese cooking-related sites, the higher your ranking. In a way, what Google is measuring is your site’s popularity by polling the best-informed online fans of Chinese cooking and counting their links to your site as votes of approval.

But even links that have nothing to do with Chinese cooking can bolster your profile if your site is barnacled with enough of them. And here’s where the strategy that aided Penney comes in. Someone paid to have thousands of links placed on hundreds of sites scattered around the Web, all of which lead directly to JC Penney.

While not technically illegal, violators of these Black Hat “laws” risk incurring the wrath of Google, which has the power to give websites the “death penalty” by de-listing their sites from its search engines.  Companies that work with these black magic tools soil the search results for the rest of us – people who are looking for responsible businesses with actual products and services to sell.

JC Penney claims to have no knowledge of who did this but says it is working to remove all the offending links.  Either way, it’s a good mini lesson on how Google search works and how savvy readers should beware of links that claim to be something they are not.

The website features a section entitled “Knockouts”, in which Keiko spotlights “women who inspire and empower women to be the best that they can be. They embody strength, understand perseverance, and live their life with purpose.”  It’s a great way for prospective clients to be motivated by women who have taken 1-2 Boxing classes with Keiko and have empowered themselves in all aspects of their lives because of it.

We have plans to add video slideshows to the website as well as a number of short videos featuring interviews with Keiko and various clients.  Also planned are videos centered on what to expect in a typical 1-2 Boxing class.

Exciting things are happening at Qwicket Design and I’m proud to be involved in helping 1-2 Boxing inprove its website presence.

The streamlined site features overviews of products that are available as well as resources for clients to use that can improve their HR capabilities.

Qwicket Design is also working with HRMpact to develop a number of informational and promotional items, that are tied into the overall look and theme of the website, that will be available to clients.

The website includes a simple flash intro on the home page along with a unique main navigation that is, at the same time, elegant and complementary to the background image – itself an example of Lysa’s work.

I like this website for its unifying use of color but also for its simplicity and clean design – all ideals an interior designer and her clients can get behind.

Thanks to Komen MA for generously allowing me the space to show off my business and to Waltham-based photographer Stewart Woodward (www.visualtalent.com) for taking the various pictures of my hand.

The banner was created by Qwicket Design as part of a package that included web and print ads, sponsorship brochures and various other promotional materials.

The concert will be held Dec. 5 at the New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall.  For more information on the concert and to buy tickets, visit the Komen MA website at www.komenmass.org.

Thanks to Lisa, the Director of Marketing and Communications at Komen MA, for taking the pictures!

Qwicket Design is proud to team join the Natick Education Foundation in its goal to fund scholarships for students, and award grants and support professional development for local teachers.  Qwicket Design will donate a portion of every dollar earned towards the NEFs vision.

From the NEF website:  “The Natick Education Foundation brings schools and citizens together to improve public education: to help our schools teach children to strive for excellence and achievement, to open young minds, and to expand the horizons of knowledge. Natick Education Foundation endeavors not only to enhance the lives of Natick’s children, but in so doing to strengthen the community as a whole, now and in the future, in Natick, and beyond.”

Community is more than just a word to me. It’s my heart-felt belief that each and every one of us has a civic duty to enrich our local community in any and every way possible.

Whether it’s by donating blood, volunteering our time or contributing money to the charity of our choice. It is in this way that we make our home town a vibrant and fulfilling place to live.

When local individuals, families and businesses contribute to local groups it serves to strengthen our community

I strongly urge everyone to support a cause that is near and dear to your heart. Your time, energy and money will make your community a stronger one – now and into the future.

Thanks!

Stephan Lemon

Part of Komen’s promotional efforts is a series of banner advertisements running in various local magazines, programs, and websites.  One of those banner ads is currently running on the front page of the website for Exhale Lifestyles magazine.

My wife, Sandy, and I will be attending the Dec. 6 concert in support of a wonderful cause and a terrific charity.  You can check out Komen Mass’s website for the concert here.