Our thoughts, rants and inside knowlege of web design & development!
Posts tagged Search Engine Optimisation
Google Checkout Badges
Jun 24th
The Google checkout badges, which have formed part of the AdWords listings for over four years, have been dropped by Google.
According to eCommerceCircle, Google reportedly said, “We’re making this change to improve the user experience on Google search results pages.”
The move comes as Google looks to freshen up their operations with the new +1 badge. This new badge is designed as a way of endorsing a post, website or search result. It will act similarly to the Facebook “Like” button.
If you want to know more about the new +1 button and how it could affect the Search Engine Optimisation for your business, contact Areatrade.
How can I get customers to review my business listing on Google Places?
Jun 23rd
Good reviews on your Google Places listing will encourage potential customers to choose your company, they can help create a positive image of the company, and people are more likely to choose your business over one which is similar but has either no comments or negative ones.
There are several ways to get customers, who are satisfied with your products/services, to review your listing. You could use a newsletter to suggest the idea, or when you send a receipt or confirmation email of a recent product purchased, you could suggest that they review your business on Google Places.
You will need the link of your listing for them to review it, to find the correct link, you need to go to your Google Places Listing page, and in the top right hand corner, there will be a tab, marked “Link” click this and it will automatically copy this for you, you can then paste this link in to emails/newsletters etc and send this link to clients.
If you are interested in getting reviews to your Google Places listing, contact Areatrade. We understand how important social media is. Areatrade can create your listing, optimise it and help with getting your clients to review the listing.
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What’s Google Places?
Jun 22nd
Google Places is a free tool, set up by Google, to help businesses appear online. Once your business is listed on Google Places, you will see the many benefits:
- Not only will your business appear in the Google search engine but also in Google Maps, you can optimise the listing to improve your ranking on Google. This is done by choosing the right categories and a good description.
- Your business can be reviewed and given a rating, the more positive ratings, the more attractive your business will appear to potential customers.
- You can include your business address, phone number and opening hours.
- You can add photos and videos to help promote your business.
- You will be more likely to appear in local searches.
If you are interested in setting up a Google Places listing for your business or you want to know more about any of the other social media and search engine optimisation services that we offer, contact Areatrade.
B is for Bing! Microsoft’s bid to win the search war
Apr 12th
According to data released recently by eagle-eyed Experian Hitwise, Google’s grip on the search engine market – leading to the colloquial use of “to Google” as a verb – may be slipping, due to competition from the name that keeps cropping up when computers are concerned – Microsoft.
64.42% of searches in the US routed through Google in March, claim Experian Hitwise, and while that is still two-thirds of the market, a sizeable 30.01% can be claimed by Microsoft – 14.32% via their well-publicised search engine Bing, and 15.69% from Yahoo!, which is technically owned by the Microsoft corporation. In a smooth and virtually silent virtual coup, Yahoo! is now powered by Bing.
Bing, ridiculed by some as an acronym for “But It’s Not Google,” also appears to be doing well in terms of successful searches, 80.32% of its users clicking on a search result, whereas the idle Googler only has a 65.91% chance of finding an appropriate website via the search facility. As a result, Google appears to have flatlined somewhat, their market share down 10% since August 2010.
Bing, on the other hand, is up massively from 9.9% of searches as the last year ended, and although Google still controls the More >
Google takes social search a step further with ‘+1′
Mar 31st
Search engine giant Google has announced a new feature called ‘+1′. +1 is essentially the same as Facebook’s ‘Like’ button, which when clicked shares that page on the user’s Facebook Wall. Google +1 will do this as well, listing all links +1ed by a user on their Google Profile.
However, the integration will go deeper than this, as +1 buttons will also appear on search results, and the number of times a result has been +1ed will appear next to its link, potentially influencing which result a user will choose. This could end up being incorporated into the algorithm that Google uses to rank its listings. Also of note is that this does not just apply to the ‘organic’ listings- these +1 buttons will also be a feature of the ‘sponsored’ pay-per-click results that appear at the top and down the side of results pages.
The impact of this new feature on SEO is obvious, so we will be watching this development with great interest. The social aspect to this button highlights how important a social media strategy is when considering the online promotion of your website. If you’re interested in our online promotion services, contact Areatrade on 020 8366 2050 or email More >
Google increases emphasis on social search rankings
Feb 18th
Google has announced an upgrade to its social search features. A feature has been available for some time that shows links related to your search at the bottom of the results page that have been shared by your contacts on social networks.
Now Google will be further integrating this feature by moving the social results higher up in the rankings. This feature is only available to users signed into a Google account that is attached to social networking accounts.
What does this mean for people optimising their websites for promotion on Google? It seems clear that a strong social networking presence is becoming a increasingly important component of an effective online promotion campaign.
Link Building
Feb 8th
Link Building
The creation of links for your website – that is, attracting other sites to link their website to your own is a crucial part of the SEO process which is often poorly carried out, or is done so unethically.
We recognise that the links to your site need to be of a high quality and on a relevant topic that relates to your website in order to have a positive and long term effect on your rankings. Again, a lot of companies will promise you huge numbers of links which in actual fact offer little or no ranking value to your site but look impressive to a client who has approached that company for their help and does not realise that this is the case.
We look for linking opportunities by finding relevant high ranking websites that already provide links to quality sites similar to your own. We can also add your site to business directories; provide content to sites in return for links or alert similarly themed websites to useful information articles that have been placed onto your website which would be of interest to their visitors.
We are a London website design company that specialises in website planning, website design and More >
Importance of Search Engine Optimisation Reporting
Feb 7th
Importance of Search Engine Optimisation Reporting
As part of any of our SEO services, you will receive regular reports that contain details of your site’s progress in the search engines and the number of visitors you receive. Complete details are provided on where visitors come from, how they find your site and recommendations are given as to how to grow your site’s visibility and ranking even further. We collect this information from a tracking code created by a program called Google Analytics which we install on your site once your SEO plan begins. In addition, we conduct our own research using tools and manual methods.
The reports allow you to review the new work that has been carried out on your site and the effects it has had. The information given to you is explained clearly so that you can make your own assessment on progress at every stage of the project. This means that you are always involved and informed on how your website’s promotion is progressing.
Without proper search engine optimisation tracking and reporting we will have no idea of the success of the campaign and what else is required to improve your online positions.
We are a London website design company that More >
Competition Analysis
Feb 5th
Competition Analysis
A lot of valuable information to help in promoting your site can be found from looking into who your top competitors are and how they have become the most visible businesses in your marketplace. By performing a detailed competitor analysis, it is possible to look at any high ranking site and work out the reasons why it has a top position. Most importantly, we can use their success as a model for your own site – by replicating their online marketing strategies and applying the methods they use to develop your site so that it can potentially outrank theirs in the search engines.
This works well when you identify the number 1 positions on your keywords to construct good link building strategies. There are many online tools that help you highlight the number of back links a website has, here is a quick simple method:
1. Identify your competitorsSearch on Google for your main keyword and take note of the number 1 position, if it is a competitive keyword you may also want to jot down the number 5 position. Comparing your website against these can give you a realistic target, in some cases number 1 may be large websites More >