SearchEngineOptimisation.com, only one way up

There are a few search engines which offer analytics tools for websites to use, but Google’s version is by far the one most commonly used. With Google still being the number one search engine it makes sense that this is the one which most websites favour. Google Analytics can tell you a lot about how your website is performing. It may not always be what you want to hear, but identifying any problems as early as possible makes for a better SEO strategy in the long run. There are many ways in which Analytics can help you understand the areas of your site which are performing well and those which are weaker.

In terms of audience data, search engine optimisation tools such as this can tell you exactly who your audience is. Quite often a company will have a target audience in mind, yet surprisingly the actual audience we attract can be different to what we intended. In terms of audience comparison it can also be interesting to see how your online audience and market differs from the type of consumer you are attracting from other forms of marketing or advertising. It is important to know who your audience are even if they are not your initial target, as understanding their needs enables you to tailor your products or services directly to them.

Conversion rates and ROI are a big part for any marketing strategy. PPC campaigns make it easy to track return on investment and can provide a cost per thousand (CPT) to the initial outlay and marketing plan. In terms of the return you get for search engine optimisation, it can be a little trickier. Googly Analytics will measure traffic to your site and also monitor any sign-ups, downloads, transactions and enquiries. This then gives you a clear indication of how well your website is performing in terms of generating brand interest and closing sales.

In a tangible business offline, such as a shop or business establishment, it is easy to see trends change and see an influx in custom around specific events. Some of these factors are obvious, such as a florist seeing an increase in custom around Valentine’s Day, however sometimes increases can be monthly, seasonally or even influenced by other external events such as sporting events, news stories or celebrity trends. Google Analytics helps you to identify changes in custom which makes you better prepared.

When you see poor results such as decreases in sales or high bounce rates then all is not lost. Whilst it may be a shock or a disappointment to discover your site is not working as well as you had hoped, it is never too late to rectify. The great thing about analytics results is that you can easily see where the weak areas are, making it easier to resolve. Using professional search engine optimization services to improve on weak areas is the best solution and you can then continue to use the analytics tool to track future success.

As of August this year, Google controls 69% of the global search business.

Even with a foothold in the Smartphone market with the widely-popular Android mobile phone operating system, Google seem to have consistently failed to make a dramatic entrance on one other fundamental scene, despite making the effort to do so on several occasions.

So why is it that such a successful search engine is finding itself at a loss to compete with social networking giant Facebook?

It is important to distinguish what separates Facebook from Google’s previous attempts to conquer the social networking sphere in order to answer this question.

First, consider Google’s history of attempting to break into social networking.

The launch of Google Buzz was considerably dampened due to the lack of innovation that people expected from such a major company as Google, plus privacy issues were raised when Buzz alledgedly accessed personal user emails without consent.

Other attempts include Orkut and Google Friend Connect, which have consistently failed to even touch Facebook’s success – but in all fairness to Google, they have seen moderate success in the likes of India and Brazil.

Whilst these projects did offer users the opportunity to share videos, photos and updates in real time, and could even connect to other social networking sites like Twitter, they didn’t incorporate the fundamental aspect of Facebook that undeniably makes it the most powerful social networking site on the web.

FarmVille is played by 61 million users each day, and is just one of many social games available on the site. Considering Facebook has more than 500 million active users, and more than a tenth of these are logging on every day to play the likes of FarmVille, Pet Society or Texas HoldEm Poker, it is a wonder why Google hasn’t tapped into the social gaming market with their previous social networking sites.

In their quest to become the main go-to guy for all-things social, Google has invested in Slide, Jambool and Zynga: firms specialising in social networking and gaming services.

Rumoured to be entitled ‘Google Me’, the latest notch on Google’s social networking belt may just be the result of an innovative breakthrough that the company seem to have made: social gaming is the way forward.

Timing for this realisation couldn’t have been better, with the likes of Bebo recently buckling under the pressure when sites like Facebook and Twitter came to the fore. Maybe Google Me will prove to be the last attempt Google needs to make to dominate the social networking industry; the attempt that wipes Facebook off the map, just as Facebook did with MySpace.

After focussing primarily on connecting via traditional means with their other social networking projects, they seem to have finally hit the nail on the head with social gaming.

Only time will tell whether or not this is the first in many of Google’s breakthroughs for Google Me, or if Google Me will prove to be just another brash attempt on Google’s part to dominate the social networking scene.

With the success and popularity of Google Adwords, the number one search engine has introduced yet another of its SEO tools – in the form of Ad Sitelinks. This feature is an innovative addition to the Google Adwords family. It is designed to aid paid searches by enhancing your existing paid ad’s value within the web. The aim is to get a higher conversion rate from your paid ads by giving you links to the relevant landing pages based on the item or phrase that the searcher typed into the search box.

What makes Ad Sitelinks different is that rather than use your paid ads to simply promote a range of products or your company as a whole, you can use this to really get down to the specifics and create more targeted searches for users. Ad Sitelinks highlights certain products within your paid ads to create a more substantial and deeper search. The great thing about this element of Google Adwords is that it allows a company to place additional URLs for the searcher to select from, giving them a varied yet specific choice. You can include an extra four destination URLs, which is fantastic news for any site offering similar products or services that often cross over within searches.

Presuming you are already using Google Adwords, it is extremely straightforward for a website to set up the Ad Sitelinks element by looking in the ‘Ad extension’ area of your settings. When posting additional URLs it is important to remember that they are designed to be an extension of your paid ad campaign so any links to pages must bear some relation to the initial advertisement.

There are other uses and benefits for Ad Sitelinks above and beyond just promoting more products. Thanks to the multi-URL feature you can change the options regularly to tie in with specific promotions or any new content or services you may have posted, without having to redo your existing ads. Creating more fresh and relevant content not only helps provide more accurate search results for users but it also helps keep your web pages new and relevant, which will in turn improve your brand reputation.

Ad Sitelinks can also be used as a call to action, by making users aware of any after-visit tasks you want them to complete such as sign ups or a news update facility. This will direct users in the right direction from the moment they click through to the web page, yet because they have chosen to click on the ad the task is not seen as too much of a hard sell. This aspect of Ad Sitelinks will possibly be one of the most effective in getting sales conversions.

By offering search choices you can also experiment with different keywords or phrases, which is great for identifying what works and what does not. Although only in its early stages, the feedback so far has been positive and as far as SEO tools go, this is definitely one to watch.

JavaScript is a very powerful web language and is used by virtually every website you view in some shape or form. There are infinite ways JavaScript can be used, from simple scripts like showing a clock to complex scripts like AJAX searching, page updating and even small games, etc.

Unfortunately there is a downside to using JavaScript on your website; Google and all of the other search engines can’t read it. The most they will read from JavaScript is anything inside a document.write() tag, but even that is not guaranteed. The reason behind this is it normally requires a web browser to parse the code and output its results, but the robots are already very sophisticated and adding such functionality would prove quite difficult.

Some things are OK to use JavaScript with however, here is a short list:

• Clock/Date Display
• Analytics Codes (search engine robots don’t need to trigger these, doing so might produce false data)
• Text Editor Boxes (as these don’t need indexing)
• … Plus anything else that doesn’t need indexing.

The things you shouldn’t use JavaScript on are:

• Content
• Navigation Menus (you can make CSS menus very easily)
• Tab Systems (unless the content is always displayed in the source)
• Linking
• … Plus anything else you want indexing.

So to summarise, anything you want to be indexed and available to search for in the search engines you should not create using JavaScript. Anything you don’t care about getting indexed, you can feel free to use JavaScript.

You should continue to bear in mind that search engines are getting smarter every day and soon they might pick up on this JavaScript, but until that time you should give the robots the best chance possible at indexing your content by making it available on the page as normal text.



I’m sure many know Google has a sense of humour. Over the years there have been a number of so-called ‘Easter Eggs‘ hidden away in their sites. From memory, in no particular order and for no particular reason here are my favourites. Remind me of ones I’ve missed in the comments.

YouTube – Play Snake on any Video!

It’s Google-owned so it’s allowed in the list. Re-live the magical days of the Nokia 5110 with YouTube.
As far as I know this is the newest one that has been discovered, so get it while it’s hot. Hold the left key on any YouTube video and the movie will start to skip backwards. Once it gets to the start an old-school and fully-functional game of snake will start, overlayed on the video!

As you’d expect, controls are Up, Down, Left and Right, and if you look closely the ‘apples’ to eat are there, though they can be trick to see depending on the video.

Google Query [anagram]

Search for ‘anagram’ (without the quotes) for a hilarious word joke. Oh Google, you’re bonkers.

Google Query [Life, The Universe and Everything]

In reference to Douglas Adams novel The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Google kindly provides HAL’s answer to the big question: 42.
Side-note: Did you know that HAL was named by taking the letters from IBM and moving them one place to the left? JCN, probably wouldn’t have had the same ring to it.

about:internets

This sadly doesn’t work anymore (at least not for me in Chrome 5 just now). At one time, if you typed about:internets into the address bar of Chrome and hit enter and you’d be presented with the internet in visual form:

This is the internet of years ago. These days there’s obviously many more tubes and the picture would be much, much bigger.

The Easter Bunny Game

Not strictly an Easter Egg as it was publicised by Google themselves back in April 2000. It’s not even one I particularly like actually but I’m sure someone will. Catch the falling letters that spell G-O-O-G-L-E.

http://www.google.com/Easter/feature_easter.html

And finally…

And last but not least, one that maybe only the geekiest will appreciate: Google Query [recursion].

Which ones are your favourites?  Let me know below.

Site speed has always been a factor of consideration in any web design, more so from a user friendly perspective over anything else. It does not take a genius to work out that the majority of internet users prefer a website which loads quicker, nobody likes to feel troubled or frustrated, which is ultimately what a slow loading page leads to. It can also affect repeat custom, as if a website or page is frequently slow then users will recognise this and avoid the site altogether. Any SEO company will tell you there are two things that need to be catered for when creating a successful website and they are users and search engines. We have covered off that users prefer a speedier website, well it now seems that the search engines do too.

It is fairly obvious that a faster loading site is preferential, however up until this year sites have not been actively penalised for being slow. We know that Google Adwords considered site speed within its rankings, but it was not part of the ranking process for position within SERPs. That all changed earlier this year and Google.com does now in fact include it as part of the page ranking criteria.

This should not be too much of a worry for the majority of business websites as they are likely to be monitoring their site speed as part of their search engine optimization process anyway. That being said, there are some websites that require larger content in order for them to be relevant and appealing, so does this mean that sites with larger content will instantly lose their page rank position? We would like to think not, yet how Google is actually going to use these criteria has not yet been fully seen.

If a site is ridiculously slow to load we can understand that not being favoured. However, the issue we are discussing here is the fact that if you are faster, are you automatically better? Take for example two websites offering a similar product or service. One is fairly sparse with some half hearted text, whilst the other has training videos and downloadable files available to its users. Both sites function well, yet the one with the larger content loads a few seconds slower than the other. It is not particularly noticeable by users, but it will be noticeable by Google.

Of course, Google is much cleverer than this and we would be foolish to think that such a sophisticated search engine would penalise a site in this way. Yes, site speed is a factor for page ranking, but it is one of around two hundred criteria and is not the highest on the list in terms of importance. Relevance will still remain one of the top measures along with uniqueness and originality and strong domains. If a website already manages its speed then it is unlikely they will see any changes within its page rankings, yet if you do see a drop and nothing else appears to be wrong, then perhaps it is an area to look at. At Searchengingeoptimisation.com, we can analyse your website and help you achieve better search results.

Whilst most of us tend to focus our attention on optimising our links, keywords and web pages for search engines in order to drive natural traffic to our sites, there is still a lot to be said for pay per click advertising. Most companies will be involved in some form of PPC campaigns which will run alongside their standard SEO strategy. Digital display advertising is a necessity to some companies and previously monitoring its effectiveness seemed pretty straightforward – you simply monitor the number of click throughs to your site.

Google Adwords is one of the SEO tools most commonly used by businesses to create online ads for PPC campaigns. Adverts could then be displayed on Google and within the Google content network. The process of using Adwords has been extremely successful and still continues to be, yet ask any company involved in PPC advertising and they will still require a more detailed breakdown of their website traffic. It seemed that click through rate (CRT) alone was not satisfactory. At SearchEngineOptimisation.co.uk, we can advise you how to best use Adwords for your business.

When you first consider a PPC campaign, it seems that a CRT is the most obvious and accurate way of monitoring the effectiveness of the advertisement. However, what companies were stating was that not everybody who is interested in your advertisement will click through to it there and then. This actually makes perfect sense, as with the exception of point of sale advertising, it is rare for standard advertisements elsewhere to have an instant and direct response.

As with everything, Google listened to what its users wanted and catered for their needs. In this instance, with the launch of the view through tracking tool for Adwords. What the tool does is tell you how many people responded to an online advert after seeing it, not after clicking on it. How they do this is basically to monitor a thirty day period after the ad was posted and if a user was on a site where they saw your advert and then they visited your website at some point in the following weeks, this would class as a conversion from the advertisement. A clever method for Google to use, but how accurate actually is it?

There is no denying that there will be a percentage of users who view an advertisement but do not act immediately. For instances such as this, this approach is applicable. On the other hand however, how many people are actually visiting a website purely based on that advertisement? The chances are that if the advertisement was the sole reason, then they would have clicked on it, which means that the original way of measuring PPC campaigns was correct.

If your company name is already known by somebody then they may visit your website of their own accord. Imagine however, that a week earlier they were on a web page where your advertisement was displayed. Google would count this visit to your site as a direct response of the advertisement, when in fact it was not. As with all things Google, we will just have to wait and see.

If you own or run a local business then you will understand how important it is to have a presence within local directories. As time has gone on, the increase in searching for local amenities on the internet and via mobile internet has meant that businesses need to have a presence within the search engines as well as their local business directory. Google has always been behind local businesses and has been keen to offer accurate local searches, however it appears that a few changes in past months have proven even more how Google are looking after their local listings.

When Google first introduced local business listings and maps it was determined to get information as accurate as possible. In the earlier days, the community were simply able to amend any incorrect details, which in theory is a good tactic for ensuring accuracy. However, with all things, any service such as this gets abused, so this was resulting in sabotage from competitor businesses or angry customers. This has all changed now however, and now Google listings cannot be changed so easily. This is good for security purposes, but it means that any company using Google maps or local listings as part of their search engine optimization should ensure the information they provide is correct and above all, as detailed as possible.

For starters, a lot of companies do not realise that you need to claim your listing, so ensure that you do this and you verify your address and telephone number to ensure potential customers are getting the correct information. This also puts you in a stronger position with Google, as you are seen as more of a trusted source. During the sabotaging days, competitor companies would link another listing to a different site, which did not bode well for reputation.

All companies want to be included in Google local listings and not only that, they want to be as close to the top position as possible. In order to do this you need to ensure your offering is better than your competitors. SEO experts such as us at SearchEngineOptimisation.co.uk can show you how to do this. In the initial listings stage you should ensure the information you post is relevant and includes strong search keywords. We see more regularly listings which include pictures of the business, so if you can incorporate an image into yours then it can help push you ahead and make you more appealing to users.

In order to get your listing displayed within more local search results, you should try to expand your areas of expertise a little. If you can include information about the surrounding area within your website then Google will pick up on this in general searches about your location. It is beneficial in terms of search engine optimisation to include consumer reviews for your business as these are a firm favourite of Google’s.

As useful and effective as local Google listings are, it is never a good idea to put all your eggs in one basket. Ensure you are not relying purely on Google and do include yourself in other local directories too.

At SearchEngineOptimisation.co.uk, we try to be fair in our approach to search engines and not just concentrate on Google. Like most people, we are immensely impressed with what Bing is now offering us, yet when we compare or refer to anything search engine related, we always seem to mention the word Google. The even funnier thing about it is that in the world of search engines, Google is actually quite new. They have not been around as long as Yahoo and Microsoft, yet they have somehow launched their way into the forefront of our minds. With this in mind, we thought it about time we looked at how Google has achieved this and identified some of their fantastic achievements, other offerings, and the things that only Google could ever get away with.

It is always nice to start on a positive so let us look at some of the services and items which Google has offered to both its users and its websites. One of the most talked about items is of course Google Earth. Whilst some people are concerned that ‘big brother is watching us’, nobody can deny the time, thought and dedication that has gone into Google Earth is worth celebrating. One of the main purposes of Google Earth is actually to aid conservationists and gain more environmental control and educate people, which can only be a good thing.

Becoming number one so quickly is also impressive. Google clearly researched their market and knew what they were doing, which is why they have ended up with an astounding search engine that works well for both companies and for individual users. Lots of people gained a new found respect for Google with the leaving of the China market due to security policies. Up until then, lots of people thought that Google was all about the money, when in fact their moral standing is quite admirable.

There is not so much that is particularly bad about Google; however there are few things that concern a lot of people, in particular those offering search engine optimization services. Although the worries go a lot deeper, the main starting point is simply the fact that Google is everywhere. Google are offering online what we are now seeing in supermarkets, and that is a one stop shop for everything we ever need. Maps, images, news, and advice – all of it is there. There is also the Android element of launching into Smart Phones. Whilst we love that Android are doing so well in the smart phone market, some wonder how necessary it is to have a hand in every pie.

Whatever happens at Google, one of the most read news stories was that of Google being voted the best place to work. If you work there you have a team of doctors on hand, get a daily massage and feast on a full course dinner. As for taking your dog to work with you, only at Google.

The term new is probably not very applicable, as we have been using this new Google for a while now. There were a lot of mixed feelings regarding the new design when it first came out, yet in true honourable style we all sat back and gave it a chance to see what all the fuss was about. After all, this is Google we are talking about – and they rarely get it wrong.

There are some very obvious benefits to the improved Google design, the main one being that it is great for a more detailed search. It has been discussed previously how users can search by topic or type of information very easily and another great aspect is of course the timeline option. Whilst there is no denying that if you are looking for a more detailed search then you can pretty much get what you want, but what if that is not what you are searching for?

Not every user knows if their search will fall within a news section. Is what you are searching for classed as news or is it just general? If you are looking for driving directions or location details, should you click on the ‘map’ section or again, is it just a general search? What Google may be forgetting is that a large proportion of the people using a search engine do not in fact know what they are searching for. All they know is a vague word surrounding the topic, it might not even be the correct word or they might not even know exactly what they want. If a user barely knows what they are searching for, how can they possibly know the specifics?

Okay, so maybe this is a bit harsh on Google, yet it appears that the few things that a user does know about their required search topic, Google makes it harder for them to find. One of the most common for UK search engine users is that they want a result which is from a UK domain. In Google, days gone by you could select if you wanted UK only sites as you hit the search button. Now Google automatically offers you international sites and it is then your task to click again that you just want the UK. The even more frustrating thing about this is that Google is meant to be so clever that it knows where we are, yet those American websites just keep appearing.

The same goes for most recent. Timescales are common criteria within a user search, yet simply putting a date in the search box is not enough. Google wants us to click on the timeline links, once again creating more work for us.

This is where it makes it tricky for SEO companies. Companies spend time creating link building strategies to incorporate date and time, yet unless the user clicks the timeline there is no guarantee Google will pick up on it.

At SearchEngineOptimisation.co.uk, we can offer you expert advice on how to make Google work for you.