March 2004
IN THIS MONTH'S ISSUE:
- Adhost Spotlight
- Fisher Power Test
- Search Engine News
- Just for Fun
- Adhost Testimonial
- Referral Bonus
University Village Gift Certificates
University Village, a lifestyle center in Seattle, worked with Werkspace Studio to create a new, updated, rich website that better reflected their feel and product offerings. They also wanted to update their gift certificate sales system to allow shoppers more options in a streamlined process. Werkspace Studio contacted Adhost to create a system that allows shoppers to easily order certificates in a variety of denominations and have them mailed or held for pickup. They're redeemable at all the terrific shops and restaurants in the Village. Why not get yourself some certificates? We did!
On January 30, 2004 Fisher Plaza conducted its annual emergency electrical system load test, which includes Adhost's data center located on the premises. Part of this test includes switching the entire facility from City power to electricity supplied by the emergency generators at Fisher Plaza. The entire facility then operates under full load, monitored by the building's engineering staff, for a 24-hour time period.
An expected momentary lapse of power was experienced as Fisher Plaza switched from City power to generator power; however, this lapse did not affect Adhost's servers. The servers in our data center are protected by an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) to protect the equipment from potentially damaging power drops or surges.
Long story short, the test proceeded without incident. Adhost's offices and data center were not affected negatively by the power test. This annual test is an excellent "dry run" of what would happen in an emergency, and provides significant reassurance of Fisher Plaza's safety systems. Here at Adhost we wanted to share this good news with you, as further proof of the safety benefits of housing your business Web site at our data center in Fisher Plaza.
Last month Yahoo officially dropped Google as its default provider of search results in favor of using its own algorithm called Yahoo Search Technology. This brand-new Yahoo search engine is a combination of recently acquired search technologies including Inktomi and pay-per-click search provider Overture. Yahoo also owns Alta Vista and AllTheWeb, although these continue to maintain their own independent indexes.
Since the switch occurred last month, some companies have noticed that their placement in Yahoo's search results have changed due to the new algorithm. If you have noticed your listing has moved from the first page or two of results for your particular keyword, you could try optimizing your Web site pages and content. Another option is to purchase key words that describe your site in Overture.com which will give you good placement in Yahoo's "sponsored results" located at the top of the page and along the side of the search results page.
To keep abreast of all the latest search news, Adhost continues to recommend the Search Engine Watch newsletters and Web site. Check it out at http://searchenginewatch.com.
All work and no play...well, you know the result. So this month Adhost kicks off a newsletter feature in which our staff shares ideas for an extra-curricular activity. Adhost's Web Development Manager Rex McDowell starts the ball rolling by recommending the world premiere of "The O'Connor Girls" - a new play opening March 13th at Seattle's Tony Award-Winning Seattle Repertory Theatre. Why? Well, he's read it, it's terrific and besides, he knows the playwright. Nuff said. Get 'em while they last:
http://www.seattlerep.org/SeasonPlays04/ShowOC.html
"Prior to moving our Web Hosting services to Adhost, our company spent thousands of dollars per month maintaining our own email server. With Adhost's email server we have experienced greater uptime, enhanced virus protection, and excellent spam filtering at a fraction of the cost."
David Starrs
Impact Group
