A local client who sells their product around the world has a problem: Terminology in their industry is not consistent around the globe. What's a website to do?

There are a few ways to do get your web site to be friendly to alternate terms. More Important ways to insert key words is to add them to the Title meta tag (the text that appears at the very top of your browser's window) and the Description meta tag. You can also add them to the keyword meta tag, but remember that Google does not index that tag, even if other search engines do. But you may need to sacrifice some text already in there, since search engines will only look at the first 160 characters or so.

A really good strategy is to add a page that specifically addresses the alternative terms. An easy way you could do this through a case study of a non-North American client. In that case, you can write it using the local jargon. This gives you the option of having those alternate terms throughout the page, including the meta tags.

Adding the alternate terms into the image alt title is a good approach, too. But be careful your alt title is still relevant to the image. Maintain the spirit of the alt title, which is intended for people who have audible browsing turned on.

I also think there's no harm in editing your web copy to insert some of the "foreign" terms. Some of those terms used more often in Europe/Britain are probably not unknown in North America. It also allows you to acknowledge your global market. Something as simple as "term x, also known as term Y" judiciously inserted will work.

What do you think? Join the conversation and leave a comment.

A client recently asked about getting PDF files small enough to email easily, but without losing image quality - is there a trick to it? This is my reply.

The main factor in the file size of a PDF is photographs. Images accounted for nearly two thirds of the file size for a three-page document I was asked to evaluate. That's  what makes a PDF big. The file had a large photo in the background of the front page and other pages had images too, though not as large. It's always a balancing act between image quality and file size. The smaller the file size, the poorer the image quality. There comes a point where the image quality is so poor, it defeats the purpose of including it. In some cases, you need to change how the document is designed to get the file significantly smaller.

In general, here are a few things to consider when trying to keep PDF file size under control:

1. Number and size of images: This is the biggest factor in file size. Photos or other 'raster' images are stored pixel by pixel. Logically, more and larger images will result in a larger document file size. Big background images look great, but they make for big files. If the image has a solid background colour that matches the document's background colour (e.g. white on white), crop it as tightly as possible to minimize the image's size. Remember that an image size causes an exponential increase in file size, so even a small reduction in the size of the image can make a difference.

2. Image resolution: The fewer pixels that need to be stored, the smaller the file size. There are two benchmark resolutions to remember: web/monitor resolution is 72 pixels per inch (ppi), while print resolution is 300 ppi. Depending on how your PDF will be used (printed vs. viewed onliine), you can play with the resolution. Print quality isn't going to be acceptable below 150-200 ppi. Make sure you also tell the PDF generator to downsize everything above the target resolution. The default is to downsize pictures that are only more than 50% higher resolution than the target. For example, "Downsample to [200] ppi images that are over [350] ppi." should be changed so that both numbers are the same.

3. Image quality: While resolution refers to the number of pixels, this setting determines the amount of information stored about each pixel. The lower the quality, the more 'noise' or image distortion that will appear. The higher the quality, the bigger the file size. Start with the 'medium' setting and experiment by going up or down from there to suit your needs.

4. Colour model: Converting CMYK images (for commercial printing) to RGB (for monitors and desktop printing) reduces file size.

5. Compression technique: Stick with the default setting in Acrobat: Automatic(JPEG). That gives the smallest file.

6. Other objects: Vector-based design elements such as boxes, lines or other sahpes add very weight to the file, so they can be the best way to make a document visually appealing when conscious of the PDF file size.

7. Special effects: You may have no photos in your PDF, but if you have boxes or other objects with transparency, drop shadows or other effects applied to them, they are converted to raster images to maintain the effect. Then you have the image quality vs. file size balancing act to contend with.

8. Raster versus vector: When there is a choice, use a vector version of your logo or other image. Vector images take much less memory. That means no jpg, png, gif or bmp logo files. If your logo contains both vector and raster elements, separate the two elements, rather than putting them together in one large raster image. Here is information on the difference between raster and vector images if you don't already know.

9. Page count: Perhaps it's stating the obvious that a shorter document will be smaller, but it's sometimes forgotten. If you can edit the content down to reduce pages, it will help.

By the way, compression settings are applied pretty much across the board for a document. You cannot apply one set of rules to one object and a different set to another. The only differentiation is for colour, grayscale and bitmap images. There are a few other settings that can have an impact on file size (including bookmarks, subsetting fonts, including thumbnails, etc.) but generally, if you stick with the Acrobat defaults, you already have them set where you need them.

Do you have other techniques for optimizing file size of your PDF? Leave a comment and join the conversation.

While there has been a lot of talk about social media, blogs and twitter, the rising popularity of smart phones with cameras has seen another boom: QR codes.

Invented in Japan in the 90s, QR (as in Quick Response) codes are now making their way into North America. Most recently, they have been adopted by marketers to take advantage of camera phones to engage clients and prospects.

It's simple: capture the QR code with your smart phone and the specialized software reads the data and works with it. They can be used for encoding web addresses, text messaging, contact information, text files, or emails. If your QR code contains a web address, your phone's browser will immediately take you to the web site. The Hamilton Spectator conducted a walking tour in Hamilton. At each destination, you scanned the code, which opened a web page with information about the destination. Want to do a survey? Use a QR code to have someone text their response to you. See the potential?

How does it work? First, your phone has to be equipped with a camera. Next, you need a QR code reader application. Most of them are free. The web site mobile-barcodes.com offers links to several. iPhone or iPad users can search 'QR code' in the iTunes App store. (I use 'Scan'.) The phone also needs to have access to the services it invokes (the internet, messaging, etc.). QR codes themselves are affordable. Some sites on the web will generate them for free for non-commercial use. For commercial use or print reproduction, barcode manufacturers can also make them for a nominal fee.

What do you think? Do you see a use for this in your marketing? Join the conversation.