SearchEngineOptimisation.com, only one way up

Unless you obtain the assistance of professional SEO services, it is easy to make a mess of the content which is featured on your site. This is because the average site owner does not have the experience and skills to deliver relevant content to a site on a frequent and regular basis. Without the use of specialist copywriters, it is all too easy to get bogged down in the complex process of content production. The manufacture of high grade content is much more complicated than one might think. Consistency is what counts and it is inherently problematic for novices to achieve consistency in their writing. Attempting to satisfy a target audience is far from straightforward for an amateur writer, but it is even harder for one to please a target audience and impress the major search engines simultaneously.

At SearchEngineOptimisation.co.uk we are experts at content production. This means that we know all the little tricks of the trade and are thus well capable of sustaining delivery of the necessary content for the duration of a campaign. Whether or not the content is being shared via the new social media we never compromise on quality. If a site permits lacklustre content to be featured on it, potential customers may not give it a chance.

The amateur content provider often does not perceive why their content is not having the hoped for influence on a site. Unless the technical aspects of content manufacture are clearly understood, it is often nearly impossible to discern why users are not commenting favourably on your content. It is not unusual to be bemused by low numbers visiting a site. It is sometimes the case that the writer feels that the actual quality of their writing is below par. While this may be true, there are often other explanations for what is going wrong.

When a writer receives no feedback or encouragement, it is easy for them to believe that there is something fundamentally incorrect. Those new to writing are easy to discourage and are often nearly a little paranoid about the quality of their efforts. Even great writers can be their own worst critics. Writing in what seems like a vacuum can mean that all sorts of doubts multiply in the head of the writer. They may begin to resort to unsuitable tactics in a vain bid to attract attention. Hence the quality of the content can decline and the blog can become further away from what it has the potential to be.

It is important to recall that it can be minor things which are conspiring against the success of a blog. For example, it might be that the titles of the blog are not up to scratch. Ideally, the blog should be given titles which are descriptive, interesting and contain appropriate keywords. It is not always possible for an SEO agency to score highly on the three counts. This means that it is quite sufficient for the titles to hit all the right targets on separate occasions, as long as title production is considered properly each time.

Industry news is a great form of content for many sites. It is not a panacea for a site’s content dilemmas, but it can help as part of the blend on many occasions. Industry news is brilliant for several reasons.

* It allows keywords to be seeded naturally in the text.

* It means that content should have a pretty automatic appeal to the target audience.

* It can demonstrate that the firm has a degree of expertise in its topic area.

* If it contains sufficient opinion it can often provoke comments.

* It can mean that a site gradually acquires the much sought after authority status.

It is normally the case that industry news is only part of the content diet served up on a site if it is to have its maximum positive influence.

Content production is not nearly as straightforward as many novices mistakenly assume. One of the main reasons for the lack of simplicity is the requirement to please users and the major search engines by adding plentiful supplies of content. This difficulty is compounded by the need to ensure content is unique, interesting and consistent. Depending on the nature of the site, industry news can score highly on some of the relevant criteria. It is usually best if it is produced by experienced copywriters who are adept at research and are competent at keeping up with a set schedule. It is perhaps their ability to plan content which distinguishes them most from amateurs.

At SearchEngineOptimisation.co.uk we do not treat each site the same. We carefully assess the site and its economic sector. Then we are in a great position to apply the most appropriate techniques to drive up the traffic on the site and to boost the numbers of sales of goods and/or services which are made from the site.

Looking at a site on an individual basis it is possible to assess its needs. Of course, it may be necessary to alter tactics down the track. If a site sells SEO, the first thing to do is arguably to decide whether or not an SEO blog would be an appropriate feature for the site. If a SEO blog is already in existence, it is essential to determine whether or not it is functioning to its full potential. Would it benefit from more industry news? Or is it already featuring plenty of sector-relevant comment? How effectively is the industry news being covered? Users are not a homogeneous group. This means that users will struggle to agree on what they want. Nevertheless, some conclusions can be drawn from experience.

Many users like up-to-date industry news. However, none of them want inaccurate news. Nor is it common to desire news without interpretation or comment. If facts are not fleshed out and explained, they soon become tedious for most users. The majority of users do not want a lot of technical terms to decipher. Unexplained acronyms, apart from the most basic ones, are equally frowned upon. Using the right kind of SEO Content Management Systems can help deliver SEO news if that is what is required.

Whatever the subject matter of your company or website is, there is always room for a blog page. At SearchEngineOptimisation.co.uk we never get tired of browsing through blog pages and it is amazing to discover what topics people will write about and even more so, what topics people will read about. Blogging is everywhere and has many benefits. For starters, it is a good way to engage and inform people of things going on within your company or industry. It is also a fantastic way to get backlinks to your web pages and helps with page ranking within SERPs. The problem is however, that as with all things that become popular, a lot of people start going a little over the top.

A traditional blog consists of text, perhaps with the odd picture, yet over recent years we have seen the inclusion of other formats such as more detailed images, maps, graphs and videos. Including additional content can be good as it offers the reader something different and provides them with an alternative way to receive information. Alternative blog content can also be good for search results, as it creates multiple opportunities for the link to be displayed within certain results pages. The problems occur however, when added detail and complexity take over from common sense, and in the world of blogging, this could be dangerous.

If a website is writing about a popular subject then words and a few pictures are usually all that is required. The issues begin to appear when it comes to more technical blogs. Now, it is obvious that there is the need for more detailed content in instances such as this, however blogs are still blogs and they should be simple. If the nature of your business and website is aimed at a more technical side then it is a good idea to use SEO consultants to assist in your blog pages, otherwise you could get it all wrong.

One thing that makes a common appearance within technical blog pages are screen dumps. Screen dumps are a fantastic way of teaching and educating readers on specific tools or tasks and the visual element makes it easier for the reader to transfer what they have learnt from the blog to the real situation. As good as screen dumps and the like are however, you can always have too much of a good thing.

All SEO experts will tell you that no matter how advanced the online world becomes and how much more technically demanding users are, the basics of search engine optimisation still remain. A blog is content, and not just that, it is crucial content. For this reason it should be easy to follow, a pleasure to read and flow naturally. Including some aspects of image or map can be beneficial, however when users are seeing 90% image and 10% text then it is questionable how much of a ‘blog’ the content actually is. Being technically advanced and up to date is a great thing, however quality and relevance should never suffer.

When Apple first introduced us to the iPad, many people were anxious to see what Apple had come up with. Creative minds and busy web developers were excited at the prospect of a more portable option to air their thoughts, whilst the trend setters amongst us could not wait to be one of the first to own one of these gadgets and were intrigued to see how Apple could make something else which would take the technical world by storm. Now that the iPad has been around for a while, there are debates as to whether all the hype was justified, but one area where the iPad has become exceptionally popular is within the blogging and content-writing world.

There are some obvious benefits for a writer or blogger with an item such as the iPad and some of them do not take a genius to work them out. For starters, the iPad is exceptionally easy to carry around. Whilst a laptop is of course portable in exactly the same way, they are still a little awkward to manoeuvre. The combination of wires and heavy cases can often be a hindrance rather than a help, especially for business people using public transport for example. The iPad however is light, compact and allows almost instant access, which is ideal for creative minds that need to record their imaginative thoughts the minute they pop into their heads.

The fact that the iPad is similar to a large version of a Smartphone makes it extremely user-friendly. The large screen is an obvious factor that makes it easier than using a standard phone, but with a lot of the familiar features which most people already know and love.

One of the most positive things about blogging on an iPad is the number of apps available to download to assist in the content writing of your blog. WordPress has of course got involved and created a version of their standard app for the iPad. Whilst the abilities do not stretch as far as the standard program and there are some limitations, it is still good for assisting with the basics and getting started. If this is not your first choice of application then there are plenty more to choose from which not only aid with content-writing, but also SEO blogs to include images and statistics.

There are some downsides to the iPad for this type of use. In a similar way to getting used to a new mobile phone, getting used to typing on an iPad can be tricky, especially if you have been glued to a laptop for several years. Some simple word processing functions and content-related uploads are difficult or sometimes not even possible, yet as with everything, it is more a case of getting used to new ways and adapting your style. In a world where social media marketing and real time reporting has become essential, making everything more accessible whilst on the move can only be a benefit and the iPad can only enhance this.

When beginning to write blogs as part of a search engine optimisation campaign, it can be difficult to know where to begin. As with other kinds of writing, the best method to feel comfortable is to read as many of them as you can. There are millions of blogs out there, some great, some less so. However, it is worth reading as many as you can, both good and bad. The bad ones will show you how not to do things: they may show a bad grasp of punctuation and grammar, and may contain blatant keyword stuffing. However, the good ones will teach you strong openings, effective closings, and proper structure.

Many people will know that blogging in general allows people to express their personal views on any subject. They feature on sites of all kinds, from video game reviews to online newspapers, as a way to communicate with readers on a more personal level.

However, they can also work as part of an SEO campaign in order to get more relevant keywords and strong links onto your site on a regular basis, which is excellent for internal linking purposes. However, it can also serve as a way to keep visitors informed of changes within your site, comment on new products or services, and show a more human side to your company. It should not be forgotten that these are still representing your business, and should maintain a level of professionalism.

It may be that you are writing blogs for your site in-house. If you are confident enough to do this, then give it a try. However, a good search engine optimisation company will be able to provide you with informative, well-written blogs that feature strong writing with relevant use of keywords. There are many websites out there with bad blogs, and it is important to ensure that you are not one of them. If you do this, then people will not only be happy to return to your site, but may also recommend it to others.

Most companies are involved in blogging to some level, yet despite it being so popular, there does not appear to be any set trends or rules surrounding the elements of a blog. When conducting research and browsing other people’s blog pages we do not always see a pattern. Length of blogs seems to vary greatly and we can see a vast difference. Some blogs can simply be a couple of sentences long, whilst others can span two pages. Content of blogs can also vary immensely. The most traditional type of blog is obviously just written text, however more often than not we are seeing video links, images and a lot of screen dumps. It seems that in a lot of cases a picture says a thousand words so bloggers use them instead of text.

The nature of the blog content really depends on the nature of your business. If you are offering technical advice or opinion then illustrations are often needed. The key here is to know your audience and speak to them on their level of understanding. If they will understand and require diagrams then include them, however for a lot of readers it will just put them off and they will not even bother to read. The same applies for length. Too short a blog will probably be read, however may not have much of an impact. A lengthy blog could be read but the reader could get bored. Ensuring you get a good balance is the best approach.

Taking social networking aside, there do not appear to be any hard and fast rules surrounding regarding blogging. Blog pages are important as they communicate with an audience, drive traffic to your website and create and build a loyal customer base. For these reasons it seems strange that everybody is doing it different, or perhaps that is what makes blogs so successful.

The frequency in which you post a blog can also generate mixed opinions. When it comes to specifically creating SEO blogs the majority or people will say the more frequent the better. Yet there are arguments for and against. Blogging everyday, if you can, is extremely effective. It puts your blog pages in the running with places such as social networking sites which are habitually accessed on a daily basis. It can also aid you in real time searching, as the more recent your posts the more likely they are to be displayed in this instance.

The downside to blogging every day takes us back to the basics of search engine optimisation. Any professional search engine optimisation agency will tell you that quality of content and relevance are two of the most important factors for achieving a successful web marketing campaign. If you are lucky, or creative and knowledgeable enough, to post interesting and relevant blogs day after day then by all means do it. However, blogging for the sake of it could have the opposite effect if the quality of the blog is not up to scratch, and you could just be thought of as yet another site with poor content.

If you’re using the WordPress Tag cloud then be aware: You have hidden links on your website!

The WordPress tag cloud, also known as WP-Cumulus is a popular plugin that displays the tags of your posts in a nice Flash cloud. It’s a great tool to visually display your blogs most common themes and ideas.
However if you view source on a page that has the tag cloud installed, you’ll see the following:

WP Cumulus Flash tag cloud by <a href=”http://www.roytanck.com”>Roy Tanck</a> and <a href=”http://lukemorton.co.uk/”>Luke Morton</a> requires <a href=”http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer”>Flash Player</a> 9 or better.

The three links above will be displayed to users without Flash or Javascript enabled in their browser – that means search engines. Now it’s not that you should mind some of your link juice going to the developers’ sites – after all they’ve created a brilliant tool and deserve the credit. But that fact that the links tend to only be visible to search engines and not a typical user means your site may be falling foul of Google’s Guidelines on hidden links.

How to fix

The quickest way to remedy this is to edit the plugin from your WordPress Dashboard. Once logged in, go to Plugins > Editor and choose WP-Cumulus in the drop down menu top-right.

Click Select and search for the links above and remove them. You can still give credit to the authors of the Tag Cloud but you should do that in the main body of text so it’s not mistaken for a spammy hidden link.

For what it’s worth, these links have obviously worked. I haven’t seen many personal blogs like http://lukemorton.co.uk reach a PR7! Any questions then please post in the comments below.

So until next time. Don’t have nightmares, do sleep well.

Blogging has become one of the most popular trends. Some people do it for the love and need of their business, whilst some people do it just for fun. Whatever your reasons for doing it, there is one thing that is essential in a blog, and that is readers. You could write the most enticing, interesting or witty blogs around for your field, but if nobody is reading them then what is the point? You may as well just write everything down in the back of a notepad and keep it in a drawer.

Blogs come in many different forms. There are business-like blogs which are often more news orientated or designed to give advice or constructive opinions on something. Then there are specific company blogs which tell news of what the company have been up to and any new developments, and lastly there are informal and friendly blogs which are written in the first person and are describe in an over friendly way. That being said, all blogs do have some element of informality in them, as they need to be appealing to their audience in order for them to get their required viewing figures.

There are a few simple things which can be done to ensure your blogs are getting as many readers as possible. These require a combination of creativity and technicality, but do not let that put you off as they are not as difficult as they seem.

From a search engine optimisation point of view, blogs are an excellent way of displaying results within search engine results pages (SERPs). There are several ways in which you can ensure a good page ranking and these follow the basic rules of SEO. Content should be unique for starters, as nobody has any respect for a company who blatantly copies other work or uses someone else’s opinions. Content should also be relevant to your company website or business offering, and whilst it can sometimes be beneficial to go off on a tangent and expand your opinions a little, stretching too far could just make you seem haphazard and flaky.

Keywords are extremely crucial within blogs, but at the same time you should not overdo it. Blogs differ from actual web page content in that they need to be natural and friendly, as if you are having a conversation with somebody. This means that although keywords should be present, they should not dominate the content as this will result in a piece which has obvious keyword cramming.

There are also blog directories which you can submit your RSS feeds and URL addresses too which can be useful if you are struggling to get started. You can also guest blog on other sites which can enable you to post links back to your blog, and give other readers a taste of what your blog has to offer. It is also important to blog on a regular basis, as readers will get bored if you do not keep things new and fresh. Contact web optimisation company SearchEngineOptimisation.co.uk, where we can advise you of the best ways a blog can benefit your business.

There is no mistaking the importance of blogging and more and more we are seeing companies use blog pages as a way to get backlinks from other sites and to get a presence within search engine results pages (SERPs). To help us out in the extensive world of blogging, there are a variety of search engine optimisation tools available which can assist bloggers in getting the best out of their posts. WordPress is arguably one of the most popular, and whilst they are so effective, there appears to be more and more plugins and additional services available that there is a danger that people are becoming more focused on what tools they are using and less focused on the basic strategies of blogging.

Freshness is what we are always hearing about from search engines regarding blogs. At SearchEngineOptimisation.co.uk we are huge fans of fresh content and can advise you why the likes of Google favour it so much. That being said, we often find ourselves searching for a topic only to be presented with a three year old post on the subject. This is a tricky situation for bloggers, as fresh content is crucial yet we often find that older posts rank higher. The reasons for this are generally because there are only so many ways you can say something, so writing a similar blog on a subject to one which was written years ago does not always guarantee the same quality of content. To combat this, it can be a good idea to write add-on articles which can be linked to these.

Place your anchor text carefully. We all know anchor text is important in order for our pages to be picked up with search engines, however it appears that Google only recognises your first initial anchor text. Many SEO tools used for blogging will automatically link your anchor text to various pages, which could be seen as underhand and considered spam by the search engines. A similar theory applies to keywords in that you only need a couple of the most relevant per blog. Cramming keywords into your blog is going to be a hindrance rather than a help.

When it comes to getting backlinks to your pages then you need to consider your target audience. Joe Bloggs in the street is not going to create a link to your website and it is also unlikely that large businesses are. The main area when bloggers get their backlinks is from other blogger sites. For this reason, it is important that you are reading similar blog sites and identifying what type of blogs they like to link to. You can also try guest blogging on their site if they allow it.

The last sticky area is regarding comments on blogs. Some advise against them for spam purposes, whilst some praise them. Comments create a community and can result in long posts naturally full of relevant keywords. The best thing to do is to manage them rather than ban them altogether.

The internet is moving at an extremely fast pace and the new approaches companies are using to market and promote their websites are keeping up. It can be daunting for anybody who is not fully confident or clued up on developments within the online world, but fear not as these new techniques may be coming in thick and fast, but they are not always as difficult to understand as people first think. Even so, it’s advisable to contact a professional SEO company when embarking on a marketing campaign to benefit from our expert advice.

The phrase Web 2.0 is concerned with websites which allow collaboration between the online communities. The main areas of focus are on users sharing information or hosting content for others. Obvious sites are social networking sites or blog pages; however, a site which simply allows users to post their own comments or reviews could fall under this category too. The fact is that the majority of websites now incorporate some form of interaction and input from online users, and marketing these sites is something which we should all be doing on a regular basis.

The main tool used to market web 2.0 sites is the good old blog. When blogs first came to our attention they seemed to be a trend which enabled people to voice their opinions and post their work. Little did a lot of people know that the theory and thinking behind these blogs went a lot deeper than somebody simply wanting to write what was on their mind. Blogging is natural, and search engines like this. By creating a relevant post the website is creating a natural source of information that informs and educates without being too forceful.

Human users also favour natural content. It is an automatic instinct for humans not to want information forced down their necks, instead we prefer information to be inviting and enticing so we feel like we have chosen to read it as opposed to the website targeting us and pulling us in. Blogging is the best way of doing this as it is a personal way of distributing information.

The rise of social networking sites has seen a huge demand for social media marketing. The key to making this work is to create a network of people. Good, strong communities who are not only interested in what you have to say but can also offer a lot of useful and crucial information back to you. Many companies involved in social media optimization make the mistake of thinking that their posts are all that count, this could not be further from the truth. What other friends or followers write is just as crucial, if not more so. Marketing within social networking sites is similar to a strong word of mouth marketing campaign and the power of others should not be underestimated.

With the increased popularity of real time search there has never been a better time to get involved in marketing through blogs. Posting time relevant content can really get you ahead of the game, especially in a competitive world. The search engines will love you and so will other sites, offering a win-win situation.