Dave Keys Photography On The Web

Kelly’s Limo

Limo at Laguna Beach

The limo arrives in Laguna delivering Kelly to her wedding on the beach – 2006.

More Orange County Wedding photography

Orange County SEO Expert | Search Engine Marketing

I recently wrote a post about Orange County SEO on Activerain. I wrote a very short post, barely long enough for Google to index. SEO is such a competitive field in itself that I expected no visible result from one article- only some link value, but I followed the rules for a post. Rules endorsed by Orange County SEO expert, Steve Wiideman. Steve is actually recognized as the top expert in SEO- any general SEO related Google queries will quickly reveal that. One thing that upset the status quo a few weeks ago was the little post I wrote, that for a while, appeared ahead of Steve’s number one spot. Actually, Steve had slipped to number 3 if I remember correctly and I was number 2. The number 1 website may have been one of his other websites. Like any serious Web marketer and strategist, he has more than one. I ran the query a few times on Google because the term, SEO expert is Steve’s territory. Before long the glory of that ranking for my post faded and it retreated to the bottom of the page.

After that it stayed there for several days, moved to page two and sometimes re-appears on page one.

But it started something new. It started a friendly challenge by Steve. You can see his challenge on my original Orange County SEO post, in the comments.

When Steve comments or posts, pay attention because he’s a force to be reckoned with in the SEO world.

One SEO phenomenon which I’ve been following and about which I’ve been postulating a theory, is Google’s recent real time search, which I believe is a sea-change in the Google search algorithm.

This recent observation started something for Steve and I both. I’m taking a different approach to Steve’s Challenge. Steve plans to go the traditional route of posting content to his blog (already done), placing back-links on Twitter, Digg, Stumbleupon, etc. while I’m going to pursue my theory that Google likes fresh content and add to my blogs on the topic of Orange County SEO expert, and SEO in general, every day and see whether Google prefers continuous fresh content over older content with back-links. A little time will tell what’s going on with the Google algorithms and the effect of real time search.

Why does all this matter to you, the small business owner or entrepreneur? Because, in the end, what counts is not your SEO effort, but how you turn that SEO into SEM. Results driven Search Engine Marketing. That’s what really counts- how well your web presence converts into sales.

Orange County Web Design and SEO

Orange County Web Design and SEO – Low Cost Web Strategies

Low Cost and Web development are not terms that are always parallel in the minds of business owners seeking to leverage the Internet for their product or service, but they can be. If you follow the more traditional ideas about web design, you hire a firm and spend thousands on a website that looks as good as you can afford. Then you realize that you also have to do SEO on the site to get it to rank in Google because it’s nowhere to be found.

That was strategy 2004.

Enter 2009 and 2010. Google’s algorithms have evolved and so has the nature of the Internet. Now it isn’t the look, it’s the relevance and social agility of a website that count toward rankings in Google.

Orange County Web Design

The Main Effect – Wasn’t Photoshop

This picture was not photoshopped- until today. I put the original first in order below. The basic effect was achieved by a lucky combination of a 1/8 second exposure at f22, slight directional movement of the camera and a breeze. The photoshop applied level adjustments, high pass filter, a little dodging on the tree trunks and one version included some glowing edges effect at a low opacity.

Location: Zion National Park

Shade Plants | Half Moon Bay

I visited a nursery with Diane and Susie in October. They never fail to have great plants at fairly reasonable (for the Bay Area) prices. They’re located on highway 92 just about a mile north of PCH. We spent over an hour there perusing. Toward the end of our visit, we noticed all the variety of plants in the shade section. I wanted it all but most wouldn’t fare well in our high desert back yard without some serious modifications (I think I’d need climate control!) and maintenance.

Green In Orange County Photography

This is especially for my sister, Millie who is stuck in Kalispell, MT. The only green there is the conifers and that’s just plain monotone green on white or gray. Orange County enjoys appreciable green all year long and we sometimes forget that most of the country is good and tired of gray and white by the first week of January. I’ll try to include frequent photography from here in Orange County for them here.

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Sky On Fire – The Sunset Of The Year

I had no idea what awaited me when I casually took my camera along for a hike up a hill near my home. My intention was to take a shot or two if I saw anything interesting. While Orange County is known for beautiful sunsets on the coast, my home inland in the Murrieta area usually has the same sunset repeated most days of summer but this late July day had a surprise waiting for anyone who was there to catch it.

Gregory’s Day In The Sand

Gregory, my grandson, came over last weekend and had his very first playtime in the sand. It didn’t take him long to figure out the fun of it all. After he thoroughly doused himself, his mom took him home for a quick refreshing bath. Tiredness finally took completely over and he headed home.

Orange County Photography | Dave Keys Favorites

Some of my favorite photographs taken over time. Not all were taken in Orange County. Some are obviously from Europe or Maui; others, right here at home in Orange County. My style of photography if you can call it that is Journalistic. I try to capture an emotion in my photography, even if it’s just the experience of a discovery of a moment of magic in nature, a simple picture of a home, commercial real estate or the wonder of the great world in a child’s eyes.