Hitting the SEO headlines

Posted on December 16, 2011 by admin

A quick tour round the big search engine optimisation stories that have been making the news in the past 7 days.

We kick off with a report from SEO Diva, suggesting 8 tips to increase your rankings after Panda. An interesting topic and one that’s sure to get plenty of hits at the minute.

Are these tips useful? Well, I reckon that you’d get 100 different answers to this issue if you asked 100 self-proclaimed SEO experts. Our view is that avoiding penalties is all about providing a great user experience. If you achieve that, then it’s likely that your traffic levels will grow over time.

Do these tips all concentrate on end users? We’re not so sure. There may be value in adding videos to your pages, for instance, but only if it genuinely adds to the user experience.

There’s no doubt that you should avoid thin content. But should you be looking to create 700 words of “filler” content? Again, it all comes down to how users of your site are likely to react.

A post over at SEO Unique takes a look at the subject of paid links. It poses a potentially controversial question: Why doesn’t Google penalise paid links in the UK?

The first thing to say here is that we’ve probably all seen penalties being applied to websites that engage in link buying. On the other hand, it’s undoubtedly the case that many more slip through the net.

So why doesn’t Google take more action? Some of the reasoning outlined in the article makes sense.

The issue of link buying shows no sign of going away soon. Are your competitors buying links? Possibly. Will Google do something about it? It’s probably best not to assume that anything will happen in the near future!

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The Role of A Pay Per Click Agency

Posted on November 18, 2011 by admin

What should a Pay Per Click Agency do? As a provider of PPC campaign management services, we believe that we’re able to offer clients real value for money.

Our services include:

  • Identifying target keywords that will actually produce sales, rather than wasting money on visitors who won’t purchase your products or services
  • Carrying out complete analysis of competitor behaviour
  • Using advanced keyword targeting techniques to ensure that you’re only spending money on attracting potential customers
  • Making extensive use of negative keywords
  • Organising your account correctly, to enhance quality scores and reduce costs
  • Experimenting with multiple ad variations, in order to identify the ads that perform best for your account
  • Monitoring the performance of the account at all levels
  • Providing regular reports
  • Advising on overall online marketing strategies
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Add Words: Advertising On Google

Posted on November 18, 2011 by admin

Google Adwords is the advertising system from the search engine giant that allows you to pay per click (PPC). In other words, you only pay when a visitor reaches your website.

In theory, Adwords (pronounced “Add Words”) represents a simple approach. But many companies have built up years of expertise of using the system, ensuring that they are able to create advertising campaigns that really produce value for money.

When using Adwords, you’ll soon be presented with various terms and acronyms that may initially appear confusing. We believe in keeping things simple and avoiding the use of such terms where possible. If you’re feeling confused, then here’s our guide to some of the most common words and phrases associated with the system:

CPC: This stands for Cost Per Click. Within the Adwords system, you can agree to pay a certain amount per click (by bidding). You won’t neccesarily pay as much as you bid (you may pay less). The amount that you bid contributes to where your ad will appear on the page.

CTR: This is the Click-Through Rate. Put simply, it shows the proportion of people that click on your ads, having seen them. So, if your ads were displayed 100 times, but only 10 people clicked on them, you would have a CTR of 10%.

Keywords: When you search for something on Google, you enter a search term and then hit the Google Search button. That term that you’re searching for is called a keyword. Within the Adwords system, you bid to appear when Google users search for particular keywords. By choosing the right keywords, you can get more sales, at a cost that’s right for your business.

If you choose the wrong keywords, however, you may be faced by rising costs and very little in terms of benefits for your business.

ROI: Return On Investment. In other words, what are getting back in return for spending this money on advertising? A key indicator, but one that too few people take notice of.

So how can an agency help when it comes to managing your Google Adwords account. There are plenty of UK PPC companies operating, with the aim of reducing your spend and increasing your sales. That sounds like a fairly obvious ambition!

This can be achieved using a variety of techniques, which would usually include:

  • Keyword research
  • Competitor analysis
  • Testing different advertising formats
  • Ad scheduling
  • Account re-organisation
  • Advanced keyword targeting

If you need help with managing your Google Adwords account, then you can contact us for details of how we can help. Our fully-trained consultants are able to draw on a wealth of knowledge and experience. We’re able to provide cost-effective solutions to meet your budget.

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UK PPC Services

Posted on November 18, 2011 by admin

Our UK PPC consultancy services are proving increasingly popular, but we’ve been surprised in recent months by the number of clients that have previously been using overseas pay-per-click management agencies.

Given the ability to communicate easily via email, Skype and the like, does it really matter where a PPC agency is based, in relation to clients?

We would obviously say “yes – it matters a lot”…but we’re a little biased ;-)

So why are some companies choosing to look abroad for such services? Cost is obviously one factor that plays a key role. There are evidently some consultants offering particularly low rates, but feedback from our clients suggests that they found that you really do get what you pay for.

They noted that overseas companies weren’t necessarily able to communicate particularly well. More critically, they also noted a lack of ability.

That’s a real problem within the industry as a whole and it’s fair to say that it’s not easy to pick a PPC agency. There are plenty of “consultants” who have limited experience and a questionable track record. Unfortunately, the lack of regulation within the Internet marketing industry means that this problem is not likely to disappear any time soon.

Why location matters to us

We think that we’re able to offer UK clients more because we don’t simply understand Google Adwords, or Microsoft AdCenter. Although it is important to understand the mechanics of these systems, we believe that local knowledge adds an extra layer of expertise.

We know about how UK advertisers operate and how they compete. We’ve build up a considerable level of experience, which enables us to construct campaigns that really produce results.

Communication’s important too. Whether by email, or over the phone, there’s real value in having those clear lines of communication available.

About our services

Our PPC services cover a wide range of requirements. If you’re just starting to look at the world of search engine marketing, then give us a call and we can talk to you about the options that you have available.

If you already have a Google Adwords account, but it’s not performing as you would like, get in touch to find out how we can help. We’re always able to take a look at accounts and identify where improvements can be made.

Finding a suitable paid search agency can be daunting, but it’s not impossible. We like to keep things nice and simple – we explain what we’ll do in order to help your business.

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Search Engine Optimisation Hampshire Services

Posted on August 22, 2011 by admin

Although we work nationwide, plenty of local firms contact us asking for SEO Hampshire services. Fortunately, we aim to provide cost-effective solutions to businesses of all sizes.

We take a particular pleasure in helping a small business to compete in a sector where they were previously struggling to achieve the results that they were looking for. It often goes to show that online marketing and search engine optimisation aren’t simply about the size of a marketing budget – it’s how you spend that budget that really matters.

We come up with a specific, unique project plan for each and every client. We look at their requirements, the history of the businesses and their approach to online sales. We’ll then advise on a wide range of areas and come up with an approach that will achieve results.

When clients come to us, they typically face problems in one or more of the following areas:

  • They are at a very early stage and haven’t considered online marketing at all.
  • They have paid to have a website designed and built, but no SEO work has been carried out.
  • On-page SEO has been carried out (to some degree) but no thought has been given to off-page marketing.
  • An attempt has been made at SEO, but it has failed to produce results.
  • The website fails to convert visitors into buyers.
  • The website produces many leads, but almost all of them are for services or products that the company does not provide

Some of the above problems may be familiar to your own business. We can help – get in touch today if you’re like to make more sales via your website.

What do we charge? That’s an obvious question that many people ask. We don’t have a “one size fits all” approach, so the answer is that we charge an amount that reflects the work that will need to be carried out. If you operate a small business and you’re looking to improve rankings for a range of local search terms, then you’ll find our prices surprisingly low.

For larger companies, targeting a broader range of terms, we can provide extremely competitive pricing. Get in touch to find out more.

You can also read more about our search engine optimisation services on the main site.

Posted in Google, Internet Marketing, Link Building, Local Search, SEO, Small Business SEO | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off

Countdown to the Alresford Show

Posted on August 19, 2011 by admin

A heads-up for locals (or those wanting to visit the lovely Hampshire countryside!) – the Alresford show is taking place on Saturday 3 September 2011 at Tichborne Park.

It’s going to be a nice mixture of vintage tractors, livestock, poultry, contests for dogs and other pets…plus a lot more!

You can reach the park by taking the B3046 (which runs between New Alresford and Cheriton). There’s also going to be a free shuttle bus running (starting at 10.30am) from Alresford to the showground – you can catch the bus outside Alresford Fire Station.

Tickets are priced at £13 for adults and £9 for seniors. Children under the age of 14 are free when accompanying an adult. You can save £1.50 on all tickets when purchased in August. You can buy them online from the official website.

The show starts at 9am (with a 6pm finish).

You’ll also be able to eat some fantastic food on the day, by the looks of the list of producers and retailers who will be present, including CE Evans & Sons, plus Judes Ice Creams – as well as the Soles Hog & Lamb Roasts. Should be a great day out – let’s hope for some nice weather!

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The UK Search Engine Placement Scene

Posted on August 19, 2011 by admin

We’ve taken a few calls in the past week asking if we can provide search engine placement services. It’s an interesting phrase to use and one that had kind of fallen out of use for a little while – or so it seemed!

Generally, when people talk about placement in this way, they are looking to get the best positioning and visibility in the search engines. In some senses, it reminds us of the days when we’d get numerous enquiries about search engine submissions – more about that in a minute!

Ok, so if clients are interested in search engine submission, then what’s involved? To a certain extent, this will depend upon where they are in terms of business developments. Let’s explore this issue a bit more deeply.

Launching a new website

A lot of companies approach us because they are launching a new website. This may be replacing an older version, or be due to the fact that they are a startup.

This is an interesting task for us. Some SEO experts would suggest that it’s hardest of all to produce results for a brand new site and that can certainly be true. There’s general agreement within the SEO industry, for instance, that domains gain authority over a period of time. There’s usually a good chance that domains will gain inbound links over time.

So what does this mean for a new site? It means that you’re likely to be faced with a situation where you’re competing with more established sites. That can obviously be tough.

On the other hand, challenges help to make SEO interesting! We like to get involved with sites at an early stage so that we can concentrate on optimising before development has gone too far. Some web development companies have little knowledge of SEO (understandably) – a brief consultation with us may be enough to reduce expenses in the longer term.

Although some clients only wish to hire us for off-site optimisation, we like to take a look at a site anyway. Ideally, we’ll provide a full written report of suggested changes.

Getting indexed by the search engines

What about when it comes to getting spotted by Google and the other search engines? Getting indexed is often a concern for startups, but it really shouldn’t be a worry. Most sites are indexed within a few days of being launched and the process can always be speeded up placing a link or two. It’s a simple process and we find that most websites are indexed before owners get to the point of speaking to us.

Search engine optimisation

The next step is to think about how your site will be marketed. Organic search engine placement refers to the process of demonstrating to Google that your site is the most relevant for a particular query.

You may hear this type of work referred to as allowing you to access the results for free. Sadly, this isn’t really the case. The reality is that the most successful sites will be paying for a monthly SEO service.

But the term does help us to differentiate from the alternative, which is…

Paid search

It is possible to pay for positioning on Google (as well as the other leading search engines). If you do, you’ll see your website separated from the main listing.

So why would you want to pay in this way? The main answer is often that you want fast results. Although SEO usually works out to be extremely cost-effective, it’s also true that it takes time to produce results. It’s not an immediate process.

If you opt to go down the search engine optimisation route then you’ll need to prepare yourself to wait some months for results.

Conclusions

When talking about placement, it’s fair to say that there is no correct approach for all. You need to decide on a strategy that will work well for your business.

We’re happy to advise – you can contact us for more details.

Posted in Bing, Google, Google Adwords, Internet Marketing, Link Building, Paid Marketing, SEO | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off

Summer SEO changes

Posted on August 15, 2011 by admin

Some market sectors are clearly more competitive during the summer months. In fact, it’s fair to see that some businesses fall away dramatically at other times of year.

This is clear to me when I hear an ice-cream van pass at this time of year. Where are they in December and January? I can only assume that they have alternative jobs for part of the year – maybe they spend the winter months selling electric heaters? Or maybe the ice cream business is more lucrative than I’d realised, so it could be a good time to get into it!…and tasty too!

But I digress. Thinking about seasonal markets got me thinking about seasonal SEO requirements. Some businesses are really keen to hold great search engine positions during one part of the year. The rest of the year is considerably less important.

Although few ice cream retailers are looking for search engine optimisation services (at least – not small retailers who drive vans), there are plenty of other businesses specifically looking to hold positions in June, July and August. You might imagine, for example, that those selling camping accessories might see these as being the key months of the year.

So why should a business owner involved in such a sector spend money on SEO throughout the year? It’s a good question, but is it simple to answer?

One of the big issues that some people have with organic SEO is that it takes time. Some SEO consultants might tell you otherwise, but it really is the case that search engine optimisation takes months, rather than days or weeks.

It’s also true that most SEO companies (including ourselves) have no direct way of telling how the search engine results will change. Unfortunately, that’s all in the hands of Google (and their rivals).

So it might be nice to simply “turn on” an SEO campaign in the summer, but the reality is that it’s extremely difficult to do so. What if you turn it on too late? More importantly, what if all of your rivals are concentrating on their web marketing strategies throughout the year? That could certainly make it difficult to compete.

There may be some great examples out there of companies that have had success from using traditional SEO methods in short bursts, but I must admit that I’m not aware of them. This seems to be an area that could be of rather more interest to social media experts though – we know that social media lends itself rather better to last minute marketing (in some instances).

This is a case of where search engine optimisation can feel complex. Things are far more simple with PPC campaigns.

I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts!

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Small Business SEO: How Is It Different?

Posted on August 12, 2011 by admin

So what’s the difference between search engine optimisation campaigns that are carried out for small businesses and those that are undertaken for larger organisations?

The most obvious answer here is that the budgets tend to be very different. Although this will generally be the case, it may not have quite as great an impact on the outcomes as might be imagined.

Although larger companies will often have significantly larger online marketing budgets, they may also be targeting considerably different areas. In particular, it’s usually the case that the big multi-nationals are going after competitive, high volume search terms.

This makes a lot of sense and it means that big corporations tend to find themselves competing directly with other organisations of a similar size. As a result, the bulk of that SEO expenditure may be needed simply because competitors are taking a similarly aggressive approach to SEO.

What does this mean for small businesses?

Does this mean that small businesses can’t hope to compete? Not necessarily so, although it certainly does mean that we need to be a little more realistic about targets.

If a six-figure sum is being used to tackle particular search terms by a large company, then it’s unrealistic to be able to compete for positioning with a monthly expenditure of just a few hundred pounds.

Fortunately, this isn’t the end of the story.

Small business SEO often comes down to getting the maximum results from whatever budget’s available. That usually means being creative and concentrating on niche areas (you’ll often hear professionals talk about targeting the long-tail).

We may feel that there’s plenty of confusion in the world of SEO, but how there’s undoubtedly a lot of truth in the idea that tackling the long-tail can be an intelligent strategy for a small business owner.

It may be unrealistic to get to the top of the Google listings for the term estate agent, for example. But achieving better results when a Google user types in estate agent in Luton (as an example) is clearly an aim that would be in the hands of most small business owners.

Our own approach

Look away now if you don’t want to read a plug for our own services! It’s unavoidable that we should include something!

Our own approach to small business SEO involves examining the budget available and the aims of the client. It’s important to produce a plan that will achieve results and be cost-effective.

We take an honest, open approach. If we can’t achieve the results that you’re looking for, we’d rather tell you at the outset. We want our clients to be satisfied with the service and the outcomes.

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Keeping an eye on SEO events

Posted on June 21, 2011 by admin

We’re looking at attending quite a few industry events this year. Here are a few dates for the calendar:

29 June and 30 June 2011

The Online Marketing Show takes place at Olympia. With over 6,000 key players in the industry having attended last year’s event, 2011 is sure to be popular too.

Saturday 2 July 2011

London SEO Off The Clock is taking place at The Old Red Cow (71/72 Long Lane, Smithfield, London), from 2pm until late.

They’ve hired out a room in the pub and the event promises plenty of great beers, as well as SEO and affiliate chat.

3 September 2011

Think Visibility is aimed at those with an interest in the search market, social media and affiliate marketing. It’s taking place at Alea Leeds.

7 November 2011

This marks the start of this year’s PubCon over in Las Vegas. The leading industry event, which this year includes no less than 19 sub-conferences.

 

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