OwlBlog
Ross
Thursday, 1 July 2010
Google updates can be terrifying!
Whenever Google makes an update to their search algorithm great debates are sparked over the fairness of the search model and whether Google has too much power. It is understandable that people complain about an update if it has a negative effect on their ranking, and therefore their business. Some commentators ask if the best thing to do would be to regulate Google, or even make the algorithm public.
Complaints run along familiar lines. Google keep things secret so web publishers don’t know what the ‘rules’ are and when updates are made, without prior warning some businesses suffer greatly. This coupled with the fact that search is such a large part of the economy now, means that one company should not be too dominant. The argument goes that therefore, the algorithm should be made public.
Some of the points made are genuine concerns to consider but the step into making the algorithm public is a step too far. It would bring far too many problems. Primarily the search experience would suffer. Spam is a massive problem in electronic communication and I have little doubt search results would be quickly infiltrated by spammers. Legitimate sites would find it harder to rank well and the whole mantra of a search engine would be compromised.
Essentially the more secret the algorithm is, the better protected the search results are. Google, and Bing and Yahoo for that matter, work on the premise that they will return the most relevant web resources for your search. All of the added value you can get with their other services help but the core remains the same. The challenge is to make your site more useful and a better user experience than the competition.
If you would like to speak to an SEO consultant about your website and how Google can affect your business please call us on 02380 4233348.
Complaints run along familiar lines. Google keep things secret so web publishers don’t know what the ‘rules’ are and when updates are made, without prior warning some businesses suffer greatly. This coupled with the fact that search is such a large part of the economy now, means that one company should not be too dominant. The argument goes that therefore, the algorithm should be made public.
Some of the points made are genuine concerns to consider but the step into making the algorithm public is a step too far. It would bring far too many problems. Primarily the search experience would suffer. Spam is a massive problem in electronic communication and I have little doubt search results would be quickly infiltrated by spammers. Legitimate sites would find it harder to rank well and the whole mantra of a search engine would be compromised.
Essentially the more secret the algorithm is, the better protected the search results are. Google, and Bing and Yahoo for that matter, work on the premise that they will return the most relevant web resources for your search. All of the added value you can get with their other services help but the core remains the same. The challenge is to make your site more useful and a better user experience than the competition.
If you would like to speak to an SEO consultant about your website and how Google can affect your business please call us on 02380 4233348.
0 Comments:
Ross
Monday, 21 June 2010
Competitor & Keyword Research
Before embarking on a link building programme for any client preparation is vital. Part of that preparation will be competitor research and part will be keyword research.
If you are engaged in a link building programme for someone else then it is essential you have a good relationship with them and ask as many questions as you can to build up a good picture of their marketplace and competitors.
Among the most important questions you can ask will be naming the companies competitors and the keywords that they want to rank for. You should not assume the competitors are the same for all the keywords you want to compete for. It is a good idea to research the backlinks of industry competitors as well as keyword competitors.
There are a number of different tools for checking backlinks to a particular URL. I use Yahoo Site Explorer most often. You enter the URL you would like to look at and select ‘inlinks’ and then ‘show inlinks except from this domain’ and it will return the results you are looking for. It is very simple.
Trying to add a bit of value to a link request is something that will help when contacting webmasters and should mean a higher success rate in link acquisition. You should be targeting sites where a link to yours can add something to the user experience but that may not always be enough to encourage a webmaster to go to the trouble of editing their page for you.
One technique that can be used to try and gain links is to run a quick check on their site with Firefox’s check page links tool. It allows you to see if there are any broken links on the page and to let the webmaster know if there are. It doesn’t take long but really can encourage someone to do you a favour if you are doing one for them already.
This technique is particularly of use if you are trying to obtain a link from high authority sites like ac.uk or .gov sites because the people in charge of them are unlikely to have much time to audit links, and are likely to appreciate it if others do a little leg work for them.
Link building is a key part of any overall SEO project. Please get in touch if you would like any advice on internet marketing.
If you are engaged in a link building programme for someone else then it is essential you have a good relationship with them and ask as many questions as you can to build up a good picture of their marketplace and competitors.
Among the most important questions you can ask will be naming the companies competitors and the keywords that they want to rank for. You should not assume the competitors are the same for all the keywords you want to compete for. It is a good idea to research the backlinks of industry competitors as well as keyword competitors.
There are a number of different tools for checking backlinks to a particular URL. I use Yahoo Site Explorer most often. You enter the URL you would like to look at and select ‘inlinks’ and then ‘show inlinks except from this domain’ and it will return the results you are looking for. It is very simple.
Trying to add a bit of value to a link request is something that will help when contacting webmasters and should mean a higher success rate in link acquisition. You should be targeting sites where a link to yours can add something to the user experience but that may not always be enough to encourage a webmaster to go to the trouble of editing their page for you.
One technique that can be used to try and gain links is to run a quick check on their site with Firefox’s check page links tool. It allows you to see if there are any broken links on the page and to let the webmaster know if there are. It doesn’t take long but really can encourage someone to do you a favour if you are doing one for them already.
This technique is particularly of use if you are trying to obtain a link from high authority sites like ac.uk or .gov sites because the people in charge of them are unlikely to have much time to audit links, and are likely to appreciate it if others do a little leg work for them.
Link building is a key part of any overall SEO project. Please get in touch if you would like any advice on internet marketing.
0 Comments:
Ross
Monday, 10 May 2010
Web Design and Development Projects
We’ve had some exciting web design and development projects recently at B&V Digital so we thought we would share them.
The biggest project has been the rebranding of Stannah, the Lift manufacturer. We’ve been busy implementing the new branding document developed by brand consultancy, Interbrand. Our objectives at this stage have been to create the new look whilst keeping the fantastic usability and site performance built up on the previous site. Changes in the tone of the copy and style of photography are still to come….
HR Consultancy, First HR already had a website with a content management system but it just wasn’t working hard enough for the company. Our development work has included the addition of a whole raft of content, social media links, a blog and an overhaul of the site design. It has made the site a usable and powerful asset for First HR and their clients alike.
Armorgard Security Products manufacture and supply secure storage units. Their website development has involved technical and on-site optimisation, design improvements, the addition of new product pages and the creation of downloadable technical documents.
These are just a few of the ongoing projects keeping us very busy! If you’d like to talk about any aspect of your website or online presence we’d love to hear from you.
The biggest project has been the rebranding of Stannah, the Lift manufacturer. We’ve been busy implementing the new branding document developed by brand consultancy, Interbrand. Our objectives at this stage have been to create the new look whilst keeping the fantastic usability and site performance built up on the previous site. Changes in the tone of the copy and style of photography are still to come….
Armorgard Security Products manufacture and supply secure storage units. Their website development has involved technical and on-site optimisation, design improvements, the addition of new product pages and the creation of downloadable technical documents.
These are just a few of the ongoing projects keeping us very busy! If you’d like to talk about any aspect of your website or online presence we’d love to hear from you.
0 Comments:
Ross
Tuesday, 4 May 2010
Video Marketing - Recent B&V Projects
Video is a great marketing tool. It is popular with agencies and businesses of all sizes have bought into its power and reach. The stats back this up as well. YouTube streams more than 6 billion videos a month!
Testimonials, product videos and how to guides are the most popular types of video that B&V Digital have been asked to produce and market. They have all have a fantastic ability to tell an in-depth story, beyond a still & some text. Video also encourages customers to become more engaged, giving an opportunity for bigger brand & product insight.
We’ve recently been commissioned to produce this short video for Stannah to publicise the internal launch of their re-branding exercise. It gives a chance for the narrative of the branding process to be told, to inform staff of the changes being made and to set up the official external launch. We are due to launch an updated website for Stannah shortly as well, so look out for that. In the meantime here is MD Jon Stannah talking about the re-branding...
The video testimonials that were produced for Titchfield dental surgery have also proved really successful. It is a very friendly practice and they have a lot of experience of helping patients over the very real fear of going to the dentist. These videos have successfully demonstrated how customers are put at ease, making Titchfield an attractive choice of dentist for all potential patients.
Remember, once the videos have been produced that is not the end of the line. Hosting them on your site, via YouTube or Vimeo you can share them through social media profiles as well as direct traffic to them through a well thought out PR strategy. The more places your video can be viewed the wider and more diverse your audience will be.
If you would like to know more about the process of putting a video together or marketing video content please do get in touch.
Testimonials, product videos and how to guides are the most popular types of video that B&V Digital have been asked to produce and market. They have all have a fantastic ability to tell an in-depth story, beyond a still & some text. Video also encourages customers to become more engaged, giving an opportunity for bigger brand & product insight.
We’ve recently been commissioned to produce this short video for Stannah to publicise the internal launch of their re-branding exercise. It gives a chance for the narrative of the branding process to be told, to inform staff of the changes being made and to set up the official external launch. We are due to launch an updated website for Stannah shortly as well, so look out for that. In the meantime here is MD Jon Stannah talking about the re-branding...
The video testimonials that were produced for Titchfield dental surgery have also proved really successful. It is a very friendly practice and they have a lot of experience of helping patients over the very real fear of going to the dentist. These videos have successfully demonstrated how customers are put at ease, making Titchfield an attractive choice of dentist for all potential patients.
Remember, once the videos have been produced that is not the end of the line. Hosting them on your site, via YouTube or Vimeo you can share them through social media profiles as well as direct traffic to them through a well thought out PR strategy. The more places your video can be viewed the wider and more diverse your audience will be.
If you would like to know more about the process of putting a video together or marketing video content please do get in touch.
0 Comments:
Ross
Monday, 26 April 2010
Where to concentrate your link building efforts
Link building is the cornerstone of any successful SEO strategy. There are lots of ways to go about link building, and all of them have different advantages and disadvantages.
Internal Links
These are links to other pages that occur within the website itself
Advantages: They allow search engines to find new content and they pass on PageRank.
Paid links
This is a widely used form of link building. The process usually means finding potential link partners and offering them money in return for an inbound link.
Advantages: Paid links go against Google’s guidelines but they can be very effective. Disadvantages: If you use a link broker scheme then you run the risk of being caught. In the past links have been devalued or canceled entirely.
Comment links
This entails finding relevant articles or blog posts and making comments, using keywords to link back to your site.
Advantages: Most comment sections on blogs are now set to ‘nofollow’ so your website won’t receive any link benefit.
Disadvantages: None really although you should try and have a spread of different types of links.
Social Media
Social Media links are pretty easy to spread through different channels like Twitter, YouTube and Facebook even if most of the are 'nofollow' links.
Advantages: One good bit of content disseminated across social media outlets could generate lots of high quality links from bloggers who pick it up.
Disadvantages: None, as long as you use your accounts properly and your contributions don’t appear like spam.
Press Release Links
This approach involves using press release distribution firms like PR Newswire in the hope of generating links
Advantages: This can be a great way to attract relevant links as long as the press release is useful.
Authoritative site (Gov or .ac.uk) domains
Links from these sites are the best way of gaining a positive impact on PageRank for targeted keywords.
Advantages: Although the benefits are great it is not worthwhile putting concerted effort into trying to get these links.
Link Baiting
Link baiting is the process of generating links by creating useful and engaging content and tools
Advantages: Link baiting is the best way of generating links in a long term strategy. As long as the content is something that others will want to share then you are onto a winner.
Reciprocal Links
Links from A to B and B to A. These links are completely devalued by Google and will not do anything for your PageRank
Disadvantages: Engaging into a strategy of reciprocal links is not a worthwhile exercise. It won’t benefit your site
Directory Entries
Acquiring entries on Business or Web directories.
Advantages: Done properly this can be great. Industry relevant directories can be an excellent source of traffic as well as providing a positive link.
Disadvantages: There are a lot of directories out there and many of them won't make a bit of difference, in fact as a general rule avoid directories that don't have interaction but are merely lists. As for SEO directories, the only ones worth pursuing at all are DMoz and Yahoo and even those won't impact greatly.
Link Building is a process and spending time on a mixture of approaches is most likely to yield good results. Link baiting is probably the best way to go about this because creating new content can be a great exercise in itself, meaning link building becomes part of your routine and something to actually enjoy.
If you have any tips on link building or want to share any experiences of success or otherwise, please feel free to join in below the line.
Internal Links
These are links to other pages that occur within the website itself
Advantages: They allow search engines to find new content and they pass on PageRank.
Paid links
This is a widely used form of link building. The process usually means finding potential link partners and offering them money in return for an inbound link.
Advantages: Paid links go against Google’s guidelines but they can be very effective. Disadvantages: If you use a link broker scheme then you run the risk of being caught. In the past links have been devalued or canceled entirely.
Comment links
This entails finding relevant articles or blog posts and making comments, using keywords to link back to your site.
Advantages: Most comment sections on blogs are now set to ‘nofollow’ so your website won’t receive any link benefit.
Disadvantages: None really although you should try and have a spread of different types of links.
Social Media
Social Media links are pretty easy to spread through different channels like Twitter, YouTube and Facebook even if most of the are 'nofollow' links.
Advantages: One good bit of content disseminated across social media outlets could generate lots of high quality links from bloggers who pick it up.
Disadvantages: None, as long as you use your accounts properly and your contributions don’t appear like spam.
Press Release Links
This approach involves using press release distribution firms like PR Newswire in the hope of generating links
Advantages: This can be a great way to attract relevant links as long as the press release is useful.
Authoritative site (Gov or .ac.uk) domains
Links from these sites are the best way of gaining a positive impact on PageRank for targeted keywords.
Advantages: Although the benefits are great it is not worthwhile putting concerted effort into trying to get these links.
Link Baiting
Link baiting is the process of generating links by creating useful and engaging content and tools
Advantages: Link baiting is the best way of generating links in a long term strategy. As long as the content is something that others will want to share then you are onto a winner.
Reciprocal Links
Links from A to B and B to A. These links are completely devalued by Google and will not do anything for your PageRank
Disadvantages: Engaging into a strategy of reciprocal links is not a worthwhile exercise. It won’t benefit your site
Directory Entries
Acquiring entries on Business or Web directories.
Advantages: Done properly this can be great. Industry relevant directories can be an excellent source of traffic as well as providing a positive link.
Disadvantages: There are a lot of directories out there and many of them won't make a bit of difference, in fact as a general rule avoid directories that don't have interaction but are merely lists. As for SEO directories, the only ones worth pursuing at all are DMoz and Yahoo and even those won't impact greatly.
Link Building is a process and spending time on a mixture of approaches is most likely to yield good results. Link baiting is probably the best way to go about this because creating new content can be a great exercise in itself, meaning link building becomes part of your routine and something to actually enjoy.
If you have any tips on link building or want to share any experiences of success or otherwise, please feel free to join in below the line.
