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Kildare > Newsletters > August 2003

<<<<<<<<<< K i l d a r e . i e NEWSLETTER Volume 2 Issue 3 >>>>>>>>

Date: 19/08/2003


Greetings from Kildare.

Internet Access in Ireland is getting faster, and becoming more affordable and available. Eircom now offer residential broadband servicse in Athy, Celbridge, Leixlip, and Naas. IOL and UTV Internet both offer a broadband service and flat rate internet access.All of these options should increase the numbers of people surfing the web, and the number of visitors to kildare.ie.

Feel free to send any feedback or comments on any part of the site to feedback@kildare.ie

Should you wish to have a Kildare related site on our network, just email us at newsites@kildare.ie

If you have a suggestion for a website link for the Kildare Links section, email us at links@kildare.ie

This e-mail newsletter will keep you informed of developments on kildare.ie and on issues relating to the internet in Kildare in general.

Ask your friends to subscribe by entering their email address in the box on the front page of www.kildare.ie. Enjoy!
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ThIS IsSuE
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:::: 1. SiteWatch Kildare ::::

Action South Kildare, Leixlip Town Council, Naas Town Council, Kildare County Show, Naas Golf Club relaunched

:::: 2. Record Numbers of visitors to kildare.ie ::::
Figures for the half year Jan - June 2003

:::: 3. Kildare County Council Website ::::
Lots of new additions to the council's website in the past few months

:::: 4. Online Opportunities for Community Groups ::::
The web is a great information resource for groups and individuals involved in the community sector.

:::: 5. Kildare Business on the Web ::::
Kildare has attracted some of the world’s leading technology companies to the county.

:::: 6. Heritage of Kildare online ::::
Over the past number of months heritage content has been added to kildare.ie, giving an insight into some of the more significant historical events

:::: 7. Tips on web publishing ::::
<< Getting your site well placed with Search Engines >>

:::: 8. Site Highlight ::::
<<< Saoirse ar an Uisce - Freedom on the Water >>>

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ConTenT
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:::: 1. SiteWatch Kildare :::: <------------------------------

Action South Kildare on the web - www.actionsouthkildare.ie

The local development agency, ASK, have a new website. This community company was set up to address long-term unemployment and social exclusion in 1993. Ten years later it has delivered two Local Development Programmes, 1993-1995 and 1996-1999, and is currently delivering the Local Development Social Inclusion Programme, which is near completion. The website is divided into 5 sections: Enterprise,Community, Childcare, Education and Farm Families. It also includes the latest press releases, upcoming events and recent publications. Why not drop by and have a look at the efforts they are making.


Leixlip Town Council goes live - www.leixliptowncouncil.ie

The youngest Town Council in Ireland, Leixlip Town Council (1988), have enhanced their website.

The new site has many extra features, including Minutes of Town Council Meetings, The Town Improvement Study 2003, and the latest press releases. WHen you visit you will find a listing of businesses and accommodation, local community group and school details, and useful services that you might need if you visit or move to Leixlip. Two of the worlds leading technology companies, Intel and Hewlett Packard have large production plants located in Leixlip. Intel employs about 3,150 people in its Fab 10 and Fab 14 facilities while Hewlett Packard has invested more than US$500m in its technology campus in Leixlip. Visit the site for all the latest developments in Leixlip and the surrounding area.


Naas Town Council online - www.naastowncouncil.ie

The new website of Naas Town Council has gone live. It includes many new features, in particular a searchable archive of the Minutes of Town Council Meetings, recent publications, and latest press releases. The town council is currently reviewing its Town Development Plan 1999 and is accepting submissions at the moment. A novel feature of the site is the ability to search recent planning applications made and their status. Visit the site for the latest news on Town Council activities.

Kildare County Show's new website - www.kildare.ie/countyshow/

The Kildare County Show took place on July 13th at the Athy Showgrounds, Athy, Co. Kildare. On what proved to be a beautiful sunny day, thousands of people enjoyed enjoyed a multitude of events and displays. Guest appearances at the show included Eurovision entrant Mickey Joe Harte ( www.mickeyharte.com ),who officially opened the show, Duncan Stewart, from RTE's Beyond The Hall Door ( www.rte.ie/tv/beyondthehalldoor ), who held enviromental workshops throughout the day, and John Minahan ( www.kildare.ie/athyonline/arts/johnminahan/ ), local photographer, who officially opened the photography exhibition. For more information on the event, visit the Kildare Show Website.

Naas Golf Club - www.naasgolfclub.com

Naas Golf Club has recently redeveloped their website. The site includes club news, details of upcoming fixtures and competition results. The golf course itself at Kerdiffstown is being redeveloped and the new holes will be spectacular, especially the new lakeside 17th. A hole by hole picture tour of the course will be added shortly. The winner of this year's Captain's Prize was none other than Minister for Finance, Charlie McCreevy, who pipped his son Charlie Jnr on the countback, having posted the same score of 130 nett.


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:::: 2. Kildare Website Traffic Figures for the half year Jan - June 2003 :::: <------------

Traffic to the kildare.ie website continues to grow. In the six months Jan - June 2003, over 570,000 visitors have downloaded over 1.8 million pages. This is an average of over 3,150 visitors requesting over 10,000 pages every day and an increase of 33% on visitors compared to the same period last year.

January - June 2003
Page Requests: 1,800,750 (+21%)
Visits: 572,262 (+33%)

January - June 2002
Page Requests: 1,411,320
Visits: 381,666

In Ireland, Broadband (DSL) has reached 50% of national coverage and is now available from Eircom, IOL, UTV Internet, and Digiweb. Check with each company for local availability and current pricing. The current rate is between €45 and €55 plus additional costs for setup and equipment. Flat Rate Internet Access is also available, so Irish Internet users no longer have to pay for internet access by the minute.

Source: ComReg, Mar 2003 - http://www.comreg.ie/

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:::: 3. Kildare County Council Website :::: <------------------------------

www.kildare.ie/countycouncil/

New additions to the site include:

Planning Applications Online: http://webiplan.kildarecoco.ie

Environmental Photography Competition: www.kildare.ie/countycouncil/environment/PhotoCompetition

Feel free to contact the web team at webteam@kildarecoco.ie with any suggestions or comments.
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:::: 4. Online Opportunities for Community Groups :::: <------------------------------

http://www.kildare.ie/community/

The web is a great information resource for groups and individuals involved in the community sector. Information and services that were difficult to find are now available anywhere there is web access, and this includes the county’s libraries. There is also an under-utilised aspect of the web by these groups. Not only can information be accessed online, it can also be published. So no matter how small a group, or how few resources it may have, publishing information online has never been easier.

The Kildare Community Network is in a unique position to assist groups in the community sector with hosting and developing a website. Many groups in the county have already availed of this service including Scoil Eoin, Athy, The Soroptimists North Kildare and Newbridge, Naas and District, The Defence Forces at the Curragh, and Naas Hockey Club.

If you are in a community or sporting organisation in Kildare, get in touch with Kevin or Reg at the Kildare Community Network and they will help you to publish information about your group.
Email: community@kildare.ie Tel: 045-873849

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:::: 5. Kildare Business on the Web :::: <------------------------------

http://www.kildare.ie/business/

Kildare has attracted some of the world’s leading technology companies to the county, including Intel and Hewlett Packard. This has led to a positive view of technology within the county and many businesses have taken advantage of this.

There are currently over 3,000 kildare businesses listed on the Kildare Businesss Directory. A basic listing is free so enter your business at www.kildare.ie/business/Directory/List-Your-Company.asp


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:::: 6. Heritage of Kildare online :::: <------------------------------

Over the past number of months heritage content has been added to kildare.ie, giving an insight into some of the more significant historical events that are associated with County Kildare.

As part of the Centenary celebrations of the Gordon Bennett Motor Race, a special feature of extracts from The Leinster Leader Newspaper from 1903 was added. These cover the events surrounding the great motor race. This material was compiled and edited by Mario Corrigan of the Local History section of Kildare County Library.


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:::: 7. Tips on web publishing :::: <------------------------------


<< Getting your site well placed with Search Engines >>

Have you got a website for your organisation or business? Can you find it with the major search engines? Is it ranked in the top ten of these sites?

It is surprising how many websites are developed without proper attention being paid to its position on search engine results pages. We have developed many websites over the past 5 years that appear in the top ten of search engines for a variety of relevant keywords. There are many techniques for achieving a high ranking that I could not go into here. I will however outline 5 tips for improving your search engine rankings.

(i) Start with Keywords
Write out a list of keywords and phrases that you believe visitors would enter into search engine search boxes if they were looking for your website. Include these throughout the content of pages of your website.

(ii) Optimise your Website for Search Engines
When developing your website ensure that you include lots of text and linked text which contains the keywords from your list. Add these to your page and with your code in META, TITLE, ALT and other HTML tags

(iii) Register Manually with Key Search Engines
There are really only up to 10 major search engines. These penalise websites that are seen to be "spamming" or "spoofing" in order to get a high ranking. We recommend manual submissions to search engines. We recommend a manual process of registration to ensure higher rankings.

(iv) Get other sites, especially high profile ones, to link to your website.
Search Engines, such as Google, reward sites that are linked to from other key sites with higher rankings. Why not send an email to sites in your area, asking them for a link to your site?Offer them a link from your website in return.

(v) Monitor your Site's Progress
Every Month or Quarter, review your website's progress by monitoring the number of site visitors toyour website and the pages they are viewing. (Most website hosting companies will provide reports on traffic to your site). Add more pages or alter existing pages to improve your website rankings. Also monitor your ranking on search engines for important keywords to find out if potential site visitors are finding your website.


:::: 8. Site Highlight :::: <------------------------------

<<< Saoirse ar an Uisce - Freedom on the Water >>>

<<< www.kildare.ie/freedomonthewater >>>

Cruise the Irish Midlands Waterways...

Launched in 1998, this 59 foot inland waterways barge was specially designed and built to cater for people with intellectual disabilities. It is wheelchair-friendly throughout the entire boat, boasting a large bathroom / shower, a fully equipped galley kitchen, central heating, double glazed windows, and sleeps a maximum of 8 people.

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As always, we are happy to receive comments and suggestions for inclusion of information in both this Newsletter and in the pages of the Co. Kildare Community Network.

e-mail: *** webmaster@kildare.ie *** kevinkelly@kildare.ie ***

Tel: 045 - 873 849 Fax: 045 - 873 818 Mobile: 086 - 80 95 623
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Please Send all queries to info@kildare.ie
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