Almost every company now has its own web site or even a portal and wants to improve its ranking in search engine results. Due to this many terms appear on the stage.

So, the first thing you should do with your website is optimize the content for search engines; this process is called Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Many companies offer SEO services to help you make your site visible by Google, Yahoo, MSN, and following the simple steps below you can increase your site ranking yourself:

• Define the keywords which you want the website to be found by
• Rewrite the content of your website including selected keywords
• Add meta tags – keywords, description
• Optimize website tag structure

As soon as you fulfill these steps, your website will appear in search engines by the words you optimized. The relevant rank in search results depends on the quality of optimization.

The next step in promoting your website is engaging site visitors by placing the link to your site in specialized directories, contextual ads, link building and link buying. This is called Search Engine Marketing (SEM). SEM will bring you more site visitors, but this doesn’t mean Page Rank is going up.

The process of site optimization and promotion is long and demands time and patience. To monitor the progress (increasing number of site visitors, increased position in search engine results), you can use special services, such as Google Analytics or Site position checkers.

The process of Social Media Optimization (SMO) is a part of the SEM. Its main goal is to increase the number of site visitors are interested in the information presented on the site, not idle surfers, i.e. your target audience. Steps to fulfill:

• Make your site tagging and blogging easy
• Create a group or user for your website in different Social networks
• Add articles to communities and forums
• Add links to other sites – even if it doesn’t help your goal now, it will in the future

So your web activities result in your website quotes on specialized target topics. And the final step in search engines and social media, optimization and marketing is Social Media Marketing (SMM). To implement this stage you may need to work with created accounts, improve the information there, build fan networks, so the people join your accounts like snowball. This step is the final stage and can last for years to ensure you staying on the top.

Following these steps can increase your site position in any search engine. But if the goal is to get to top10 you should call the experienced professionals who can solve your problem easily OR otherwise you may continue with self-aided promotion 25 hours 8 days a week, registering in specialized blogs, sites, forums and directories with corresponding audience.

Written by Yuliya Leonova

Tags: seo
Posted in Marketing & Optimization | 7 Comments »

Every site owner is looking for a way to level up its site ranking in search engines results and appear in top10 found links on some request. There are many Do’s regarding the code side (title, meta data, tags optimization), content (words not to use, positions of keywords on the pages), link building (sites to submit the links there, link exchanges), but it seems to appear another way.

Google began to identify “nofollow” attribute on hyperlinks in 2005 to avoid spam, advertising comments in blogs, so the links won’t be taken into consideration when the sites are ranking in search results. Thus any attempts to increase your site rank using microblogging service like Twitter, leaving comments with link to your site and other service which can add this tag to your link are not helpful. But…

…Recently Google changed its opinion on “nofollow”, says Matt Cutts at SMX Advanced Conference in Seattle, – this attribute isn’t so effective for spam and links weight as it used to be. So it means the services still add the attribute to the links, but search engines algorithms are becoming smarter and begin to differentiate between marketing-made pages optimized for search engines, and really good, match for the search words content.

We think that in nearest future Twitter and other links in Social Media Networks will make more influence on Page Rank and site position in search engines. So let’s make everyone know about us.

Written by Yuliya Leonova

Tags: seo, twitter
Posted in Marketing & Optimization | 4 Comments »

Under the current subject there will be series of posts prepared by Cogniance experts involved into mobile applications testing and end-to-end scenarios verification process.

First one is mostly about iPhone applications because at this moment it is the hottest trend in mobile development and testing.

iPhone applications testing

Cogniance has been a trusted end-to-end software contractor and technology services partner in Mobile and Web 2.0 space since 2006. As an expertise consultant and QA team crew member at Cogniance, I’ve seen how mobile projects are getting progress and complex as more and more mobile applications that are new arise on mobile phones day by day. Three years ago, projects for mobile platform had very low ratio with web in about 1 to 6. Today it changes for 1:2 and even more frequently the target platform for mobile testing is iPhone OS. I will focus on such projects here.

First of all iPhone OS has strong support as integrated development environment, simulator, special tools suite like performance instruments, interface builder, etc. But the main basis of popularity projects for iPhone OS is Apple’s App Store, precisely this are few clicks effort from user to get wanted application directly to iPhone.

Apple’s App Store does not have any test services like dedicated QA (staging) servers or some closed App Store for developers to testing purpose. So to perform full test cycle for iPhone’s projects, especially to test application installation directly to iPhone device we use Mobile Provision Profiles approach to add application under test into iTunes and then synchronize with iPhone. It’s not official and legal way to add applications into iPhone, but it is one as simple and effortless approach.

How are you currently testing your iPhone’s application? How are you making sure correct installation through Apple’s App Store before release? I’d love to hear about your projects or thoughts on this post.

Written by: Anton Derkach – Senior Software Tester/QA Engineer at Cogniance

Tags: iPhone applications testing
Posted in Cogniance life, Mobile technologies, Quality Assurance and testing | 1 Comment »

Our experience with development for Symbian-based phones shows that very strong trend of last years is to base apps for this system not on native Symbian C++-based SDKs, but on J2ME/MIDP2 because of the next reasons:

1. Development in J2ME is significantly faster (in our estimations up to twice as fast) than development in native Symbian C++.
2. J2ME developers are generally more available than C++ Symbian programmers – you can implement same functionality with regular Java Mobile engineer, but only with senior Symbian engineer
3. C++ code is not even close as portable as Java is. Not just your Symbian C++ code will run only in Symbian phone, but you will also have to target several different versions of platforms with different code base(Series 60 0.9, 1.2, 2.1, 2.6, 2.8, 3.0, Series 80). J2ME is much more portable, even although total port cost is somewhat above zero. After you’ve got Java version for (let’s say S60) – you comparatively easy port this version to Samsung, Sony-Ericcson and other mobile platforms.
It does NOT impact.
4. Java virtual engine for Symbian phones, (which hosts j2me apps) supports majority of phone extentions – such as LBS, camera, motion and sound functions. These are supported starting from S60 3rd Edition platform.
5. The fact that C++ provides better speed and lower memory consumption compared to Java becomes more and more negligible for modern phones with optimized processing speed and better and better Java virtual machines.
6. The fact that C++ provides better access to native Symbian OS functions compared to Java is negligible for modern Java virtual machine versions. This perceived advantage is even more negligible as there are Symbian-specific extentions over MIDP2 on the market – one can easily plug these extentions into the app as required.
7. And the last but not the least… – Symbian J2ME apps can be published to Nokia OVI store, same as native Symbian C++ apps.

In summary, general suggestion which we’ve researched at our engineering team is to target Symbian powered phones not with native Symbian apsp, but with J2ME based ones.

Posted in Mobile technologies | 11 Comments »

On May 08th we’ve announced a launch of the new version of Kinoport, a mobile content portal had gone live, providing exciting new experience to mobile subscribers. New portal brings the premium Kinoclub subscription service to the Ukrainian market, catering to all those who love and enjoy movies. Members of Kinoclub receive exclusive information on upcoming movies from major Hollywood studios, complete with great ticket deals, studios merchandise, exclusive offers, prizes and more.
Read more about this at our News section page.

Posted in Cogniance biz news | 1 Comment »

Web technology market is quite mature – there are both new technologies that have recently proven themselves successful and mature technologies which have been available for 5+ years and are still actively evolving. Which one to choose for a new web venture? We have some suggestions and share them out at our new white paper. Everyone is welcome to read and share comments at this blog post.

Posted in Uncategorized, Web 2.0 technologies | 1 Comment »

We at Cogniance are huge funs for test-driven development and use this approach from our early days – almost 4 years (well, looks like a bit of time now!). We also appreciate the usefullness of pair programming – it is especially convenient for code-review and getting_up_2_speed sessions. At the same time we start hearing from our fellow programmers from other shops that these techniques are…well, almost obsolete now and hardly useful. Fortunately, it seems to be not the case not only with us, but with other guys as well. Here’s an extract from one of recent posts at Twitter blog:

“Twitter has learned to be much more test-driven … By always implementing diligent test coverage, our defect rate lowers significantly.” And here what they say on pair programming:

“The Pivots [contractors, working for Twitter] as they like to be called, quickly became cultural role models for pair programming—a methodology in practice at Twitter today. Pair programming has helped us achieve more than just higher quality code and better code readability. This methodology is also about more intense and focused work sessions, automatic code reviews, and better tests. Pair programming also develops better personal relationships and improved communication which has meant a lot.”

As you see, TDD (test driven development) and pair programming are among key techniques at Twitter team.

Here’s the master source on their blog:  http://tinyurl.com/cuhzo5 .

Posted in Quality Assurance and testing, Web 2.0 technologies | 7 Comments »

It is always quite complicated task to prepare and conduct a good interview for IT specialists, and for testers particularly. I used to spend lots of time preparing for interview and evaluating candidates, because the price of mistake here is extremely high, as you know.

Last days, going through the web I found amazing resource with the huge  collection of interview questions for QA engineers and testers. Its located here

For about 75% those questions might satisfy seekers and interviewers.

Highly recommended.

Tags: Interview, Quality Assurance, Software Testing
Posted in HR and recruitment, Quality Assurance and testing | 4 Comments »

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Follow us on Twitter to stay tuned for the latest industry updates. Join Cogniance groups at Facebook and Linkedin to connect with world top 5% Engineers community.

Tags: buzzz, online communication, social networking
Posted in Cogniance life, Uncategorized | 5 Comments »

There is an article on Techcrunch published several days ago, named “The death of Web 2.0″. The author claimed that: “Web 2.0″ seems to become more and more a void (and an avoided) term.”

Well, we at Cogniance deeply belive this is not the case. Literally speaking, you get examples that web 2.0 is very much alive from the life itself, not even from the web. Attached image shows Nokia ad, which is now on big boards all over the Kyiv. Ad text says: Nokia N79 Web 2.0 Building with your own hands. Clearly Nokia does not think web 2.0 concept is dead, on the contrary, Nokia tries to associate it’s brand new N79 model with web 2.0 to give its users a persention of innovation, advancedness and coolness.

Very good answer to the article on TechCrunch, is not it?

Posted in Web 2.0 business, Web 2.0 technologies | 4 Comments »