Our thoughts, rants and inside knowlege of web design & development!
Online Promotion
Keyword Research
Jan 29th
Keyword Research
Many SEO – Search Engine Optimisation companies or services promise to help your website get found in the search engines, but often they do not choose the correct keywords you would want your website to be found for – instead opting for quick results which mean you have high rankings, but for words that nobody is searching for – or buying through. This is why keyword research is a fundamental part of performing useful search engine optimisation that gets you high rankings, targets the right audience and brings you the sales and leads that you want for your business.
You can use the online Google Tool to research your own keywords.
For Example:
Website Design Service
The Google tool will show you the keyword, in this case website design service, how many times the keyword has been searched for, both Globally and Locally, and the local trends – these are shown monthly in the style of a graph. This is important information as it shows the consistency of the domain. Sometimes buzz words appear with large numbers but have no longevity and are not worth basing a search engine optimisation campaign on.
You need to make sure keyword is relevant to your business More >
The real world role of social media: tuition fees debate
Dec 8th
You may have been following the UK tuition fees debate with some interest in the news, and seen how previously apathetic students have sprung into organised protests and occupations with surprising speed and ease. This is a great example of the role of social media in a practical context. Let’s take a look at how social networking has been used, and how it is relevant to the commercial world.
How do you know if anybody is coming to a protest? How do you know where to meet? The popular social network Facebook has been used extensively to organise protests across the country. Facebook ‘events’ have been set up with a wealth of information on dates, times, locations and attendees to organise their exploits. However, event pages are only useful up until that event starts. Which leads us to…
So when the march has started, how do such a large mass of people communicate? Twitter is the popular micro-blogging platform used by celebrities, politicians, businesses, charities, activists and everyday people – including students. When police attempted to use their controversial ‘kettling’ tactic a multitude of warnings would appear instantly on the site warning other protestors to change route. Occupations and sit ins have More >
10% of traffic to Mail Online comes from Facebook
Nov 15th
Martin Clarke, the Daily Mail executive allocated the role of running the newspaper’s website, Mail Online, has revealed at the Society of Editors conference in Glasgow that 10% of traffic to the website originates from the social network Facebook, and referred to it as a ‘gigantic free marketing engine’. The 10% figure is beaten only by Google, as one would expect.
The journalism industry is currently split on the best model for online news – News International has recently erected a paywall around their Times Online and News of the World websites, and is intending to do the same for The Sun. The issue with forcing users to pay to view content is, of course, that the ‘shareability’ factor decreases dramatically – your friends are unlikely to sign up to a newspaper subscription just to read an article you posted on their Wall.
Regardless of the tough decisions that the newspaper industry faces, it is becoming increasingly apparent that social media has a massive role in online promotion. A well organised social media strategy could increase traffic to your site dramatically. Analytics data also takes an important role in discerning the sources of traffic to More >
Google responds to Bekko threat
Nov 5th
As we reported previously, Bekko the new alternative search engine platform that uses slashtags assigned to websites to removes spam websites when searched has as we predicted forced Google to respond.
In an update to the Google blog this morning Google is prompting it’s users to report spam websites. They have recently released a Chrome plug-in which makes reporting spam websites much easier.
Spam websites will always be a frustration when your searching online, seems Bekko idea is a good one but will all websites adopt the slash tag method or will Google just increase their spam algorithms?
Either way it is good news for the end user.
Let us know what you think?
Social media giant Facebook announces Single Sign-on, Places API, Deals, Mobile App Updates
Nov 4th
Popular social network Facebook announced a torrent of updates to its mobile products, namely four things: single sign-on, opening up its Places API, allowing businesses to attach deals to their Facebook Place page, and updates to its iPhone and Android apps.
Single Sign-on
Facebook are seeking to limit the amount of typing of long passwords and usernames that a user has to go through inside mobile apps by allowing integration with Facebook in a similar way to what you may see on many websites that you visit. People with the Facebook app installed on their smartphone will be able to log in to other mobile apps using their Facebook account, no giving up of private credentials necessary.
The Places API
Developers can now access the popular Places product to utilise in their own apps and websites. Places is a location based tools that allows Facebook users to ‘check in’ at locations and tag their friends, in a similar vein to location based social networks like Foursquare and Gowalla. The API allows developers to link their own products to this tool so that, for example, Foursquare check ins could be duplicated to Facebook Places. Developers will be able to read data from the tool, write More >
T-Mobile ‘Welcome Home’ Advert Promoted via Social Media
Oct 30th
This touching, amusing, feel-good advert was posted on YouTube a few days ago and has spread like wildfire through social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter. A great example of social media marketing done well, it joins the ranks of the Liverpool Street ‘flashmob‘ and the ‘sing-along‘ in Trafalgar Square which featured celebrities like Pink and Vernon Kay. Clever and original marketing is looked upon favourably by online users and will stick in the minds of consumers, raising brand awareness.
Have you noticed any particularly memorable and innovative methods of marketing online recently? Tell us about them in the comments section below.
Social network Myspace to debut redesign
Oct 28th
The dwindling social network Myspace has revealed a massive redesign as part of it’s efforts to survive through rebranding. A few weeks after revealing it’s controversial new logo, Myspace has posted a video reel giving the first glimpses at its significant shift in functionality and focus.
The video reveals a strong change in focus to content sharing and discovery, with clear links to other social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. It is a clear cut and intriguing move for the social network which has seen massive drops in traffic since the rise of Facebook and its buyout by News Corp.
Gowalla Set Up Guide – Social Media Business Location App
Oct 28th
Stamps: Your Passport is a collection of stamps—both everyday and extraordinary—from the places you’ve been. Check in with Gowalla on your phone to stamp your Passport at each place you visit. It’s pretty much like stamping your passport in real life. Only without the jetlag and customs forms.
Connect With Friends: Gowalla makes it easy to keep up with your friends and family. Connect with your favorite people from Facebook and Twitter then enjoy the places they go and the photos they share—both online and from your phone. You can also invite friends to join in your journey from your address book. It’s super simple to set up.
Explore: Enjoy trips created by National Geographic, USA TODAY, CNNMoney and others that guide you to restaurants, through parks and gardens, or on historic walking tours. Of course, you can create and share your own trips with your friends as well.
Pins are added to your Passport to remind you More >
Google has 6.4% of Internet Traffic
Oct 28th
According to online security company Arbor Networks, Google now accounts for (on average) 6.4% of all internet traffic. Since January alone it has increased by 1% which is a new record for Google.
Google’s share may be even bigger, possibly up to 8% to 12%, if you account for traffic offloaded by Google Global Cache deployments, Arbor Networks’ Craig Labovitz claims.
So far, Google’s revenue seems to be keeping up with its traffic; we wonder which one will grow faster?
Yahoo Search Ads Now Served by Microsoft
Oct 28th
What that means is that all advertising on both Bing and Yahoo search is now powered by Microsoft’s adCenter. That gives advertisers access to the combined inventory of both services, which accounts for about 27.9% of all searches according to the latest numbers from comScore.
Yahoo started serving search results powered by Bing back in August. However, it’s important to note that the two companies are continuing to develop their own features around the same set of algorithmic search results. For instance, Bing recently launched Facebook integration that surfaces results based on what your friends have “liked.”
For its part, Yahoo says that it “remains focused on delivering unique consumer experiences … and on increasing user engagement in our owned-and-operated search products to help drive high-quality traffic into the combined marketplace.” To that end, the company unveiled some big changes to its interface earlier this month.
Do you think they will ever catch Google?