RankBrain. It sounds like it could be the name of a diabolical character from an early ’90s cartoon who is trying to outsmart humans and take over the planet. In actuality, RankBrain refers to one of Google’s latest publicly announced algorithms. It is a type of machine computing (artificial intelligence) the search engine uses to help it rank websites in its search results. Or in simpler terms, RankBrain is Google’s way of handling overly wordy search queries.

In our most recent post for GoDaddyGarage, we break down what RankBrain actually is (It’s much more exciting than evil cartoon characters!) and how to harness the power of ‘Machine Learning’ to better optimize your website to reach your target audience.

To learn more about how we help our clients improve their online presence as part of our search engine optimization strategy work, contact us today!

Image by Hey Paul Studios via Compfight cc

403s or Access Denied pages. We have all been there and experienced them. They can interrupt a perfectly well-designed user experience as well as interrupt a developer’s work.

Recently, we came across a challenge with a login form on a 403 (access denied) page not properly redirecting to the original page after login.

If you’re not familiar with the flow here, if you hit page on a Drupal site that you do not have access to, usually because you’re not logged in, you get a page saying “Access Denied”. Good usability means having a login form right on that page so that if you do have access to the page you can log in and be redirected back to the page you were trying to access instead of having to navigate away to the user login.

Drupal allows you to set any URL as the 403 page, and in this case, there was one defined, but when the 403 page was loaded, there was no destination parameter set.

The destination parameter is used as storage for the ultimate page you want to be redirected to when completing an action such as logging in. This looks like “http://mysite.com/access-denied?destination=my-page“. Once logged in, you would get automatically redirected to “http://mysite.com/my-page“.

In order to fix this, we needed to ensure the destination parameter was being added to the 403 page URL, so we used a hook_drupal_goto_alter implementation to first check if we were getting redirected to the 403 page, then to add the destination parameter to the redirect URL, set to the current page path.

Here’s the code:

/**

* Implements hook_drupal_goto_alter()

* Ensure 403 redirect loads the current path as

* destination parameter

*/

function mymodule_drupal_goto_alter(&$path, &$options, &$http_response_code) {

if($path == variable_get(‘site_403’)) {

$options[‘query’] = array(

‘destination’ => current_path(),

);

}

}

Once you have added this code to your custom module, be sure to clear the site cache so the new function is registered, and don’t forget to test!

__________________________________

Above Code Courtesy of Paul Sheldrake

With all of the different marketing techniques, tech stacks and CRM platforms to source and convert leads, it can be hard to focus on which tool(s) you should invest both your time and financial resources in for maximum ROI. While referrals, advertising, PPC, direct web traffic, and networking are the most common ways of generating leads, one tactic that is more or less overlooked or just not executed to its full capacity is email marketing.

Email marketing may not be the sexiest of tactics but it is still the most effective way to reach and nurture leads. In our next post for the GoDaddy Garage Blog, we look at tactics to nurture leads through email marketing, as well as some tips and tricks on how to craft and send effective marketing emails.

Read the ENTIRE article and make sure to check back for more posts!

We converted a static Excel database into an interactive application that connects the McKesson Foundation with community partners – ultimately helping cancer patients receive much-needed comfort during their treatment.

It is so exciting to see our work generate results for our clients. When that client is a nonprofit that provides services to cancer patients, that work becomes even more meaningful. The McKesson Foundation provides cancer patients with non-medical direct services through a network of Cancer Care Community Partners – hospitals, treatment centers, and support organizations across North America. Their Giving Comfort program provides Comfort Kits to cancer patients through this network.

The network was managed through an Excel spreadsheet, administered by one person, which made sharing program information and expanding functionality nearly impossible. McKesson asked Kanopi to develop an online application that would support the expansion of the Giving Comfort to meet the McKesson Foundation’s growing needs.

Using an interactive Ruby on Rails Application, Kanopi worked collaboratively with McKesson to bring a new database to life –visually as well as interactively – to improve user functionality, display data and provide robust reporting to meet the organization’s program goals. Ruby on Rails combines modern graphic visualizations, a simple user interface, and a strong backend to interactively present data, allow users to search based on location, use geo-targeting to identify potential partners and run custom reports.

Using the client’s brand look and feel, we developed modern looking but visually engaging graphs to showcase their data. The new database now instantly displays the proximity of Community Partners to McKesson offices, facilitating the delivery of Comfort Kits to those in need and expand McKesson’s partnerships around the country and streamlining the work of our client Valerie Aubel, Product and Distribution Coordinator for the Giving Comfort program: “The database has made my job of managing the Community Partners EXPONENTIALLY easier and I am very grateful!!”

To learn more about ways that Kanopi helps nonprofit organizations reach their goals, visit our #kanopiforgood page.