Marketing
Tips for Search Engine Optimisation
Tue/Feb/10 11:19 PM
So you have your shiny new website on the internet
and you expect it to appear in the search results of
engines such as Google and Yahoo but have you done
your homework? The method by which your website is
optimised to rank highly in the search engine indexes
is commonly known as Search Engine Optimisation or
SEO.
SEO is not a simple task, there is no one hit solution, it is dependent on a number of factors. The search engines send out robots also known as 'spiders' to read, yes read your website, so how it is constructed is very important.
Listed below you will find hints and tips to some of the factors that affect SEO. How many did you consider when creating your company website?
Your Key Phrase
This should be a short phrase that best sums up what you do. This phrase should be used in the title of your website home page, repeated prominently near the top of your homepage, then repeated again in the copy text on your homepage. DO NOT repeat it as many times as you can on the page even in a colour you cannot see. The 'spiders' will read it and it is seen as cheating by the search engines. Too much cheating and you may even get blacklisted by them and that would not be good for business.
Quality Content
As you may have guessed the text content of your website has to be well written, relevant and original. If you copy text from another website the search engines will know and again this is deemed as cheating. It may be well worth while employing a skilled copy writer who has experience in writing for the web.
Quality Inbound Links
These are links TO your site not a list of links FROM your site to others. If you have links from other 'trusted' and 'respected' sites then the search engines will think that your website is of high quality and has something good to offer the customer. An example of a highly ranked 'trusted' website would be on such as the BBC website. WARNING inbound links should be built up over time at a sensible rate, don't be fooled by people who try to sell you inbound links. Again this is cheating and the search engine spiders will know.
Adding Site Content
This encourages 'spiders' to crawl your site more frequently. Examples of new content could be New Products, News, Articles (like this one), Special offers etc. Something that is useful and relevant to the customer.
Do Not Delete Old Content
Search engines like sites that grow over time. It shows that the business has been in existence for a length of time.
Downloadable Content
Search engines like sites with downloadable content e.g. pdfs or word files that the 'spiders' can look at. This should not just be a copy of the web page but something printable such as your company brochure or a datasheet.
As you can see SEO is a complex business, one that should be taken seriously if you want your website to rank well in the search engine results. Unfortunately you cannot just publish a website on-line and expect it to stay on the first page of Google indefinitely, it is an ongoing process that takes planning and commitment.
As previously mentioned there are many factors which affect the SEO of your website if you want to know more get in touch.
SEO is not a simple task, there is no one hit solution, it is dependent on a number of factors. The search engines send out robots also known as 'spiders' to read, yes read your website, so how it is constructed is very important.
Listed below you will find hints and tips to some of the factors that affect SEO. How many did you consider when creating your company website?
Your Key Phrase
This should be a short phrase that best sums up what you do. This phrase should be used in the title of your website home page, repeated prominently near the top of your homepage, then repeated again in the copy text on your homepage. DO NOT repeat it as many times as you can on the page even in a colour you cannot see. The 'spiders' will read it and it is seen as cheating by the search engines. Too much cheating and you may even get blacklisted by them and that would not be good for business.
Quality Content
As you may have guessed the text content of your website has to be well written, relevant and original. If you copy text from another website the search engines will know and again this is deemed as cheating. It may be well worth while employing a skilled copy writer who has experience in writing for the web.
Quality Inbound Links
These are links TO your site not a list of links FROM your site to others. If you have links from other 'trusted' and 'respected' sites then the search engines will think that your website is of high quality and has something good to offer the customer. An example of a highly ranked 'trusted' website would be on such as the BBC website. WARNING inbound links should be built up over time at a sensible rate, don't be fooled by people who try to sell you inbound links. Again this is cheating and the search engine spiders will know.
Adding Site Content
This encourages 'spiders' to crawl your site more frequently. Examples of new content could be New Products, News, Articles (like this one), Special offers etc. Something that is useful and relevant to the customer.
Do Not Delete Old Content
Search engines like sites that grow over time. It shows that the business has been in existence for a length of time.
Downloadable Content
Search engines like sites with downloadable content e.g. pdfs or word files that the 'spiders' can look at. This should not just be a copy of the web page but something printable such as your company brochure or a datasheet.
As you can see SEO is a complex business, one that should be taken seriously if you want your website to rank well in the search engine results. Unfortunately you cannot just publish a website on-line and expect it to stay on the first page of Google indefinitely, it is an ongoing process that takes planning and commitment.
As previously mentioned there are many factors which affect the SEO of your website if you want to know more get in touch.
Love Typography!
Tue/Apr/09 09:40 AM
Typography is the backbone of our learning and
communication. It is often overlooked and taken for
granted but where would we be without type? We really
cannot escape type; it's everywhere: on road signs,
shampoo bottles, toothpaste, and even on billboard
posters, in books and magazines, online ... the list
is endless, and the possibilities equally so.
Unfortunately if you ask most people what typography is they probably will be unable to give you an answer, they'll probably guess it has something to do with type. The dictionary's definition is:
‘the art or process of setting or arranging the style and size of the letters in a piece of printing’
‘The art’, for me that is the most important part of the definition, it is something that most people do not think about. Even designers are guilty of not considering the use of typography in their designs, myself included on occasion. Good typography helps deliver, communicate and reinforce the message you are trying to convey to the viewer. Bad typography can harm your business in many ways, from not emphasising the correct parts of your message to making your company look unprofessional and a lot more.
Next time you speak to your designer or sit down in front of Word to produce your company newsletter, consider type. The people who lovingly design each individual letter form and the space in which it sits spent a long time to make things ‘just right’. Shouldn't you?
If you would like to learn more about typography I have found an excellent on-line resource that is rich in information and examples of beautiful type, there's also a game where you can test your typeface knowledge.
Click the link to open a new window and find out more i love typography
Unfortunately if you ask most people what typography is they probably will be unable to give you an answer, they'll probably guess it has something to do with type. The dictionary's definition is:
‘the art or process of setting or arranging the style and size of the letters in a piece of printing’
‘The art’, for me that is the most important part of the definition, it is something that most people do not think about. Even designers are guilty of not considering the use of typography in their designs, myself included on occasion. Good typography helps deliver, communicate and reinforce the message you are trying to convey to the viewer. Bad typography can harm your business in many ways, from not emphasising the correct parts of your message to making your company look unprofessional and a lot more.
Next time you speak to your designer or sit down in front of Word to produce your company newsletter, consider type. The people who lovingly design each individual letter form and the space in which it sits spent a long time to make things ‘just right’. Shouldn't you?
If you would like to learn more about typography I have found an excellent on-line resource that is rich in information and examples of beautiful type, there's also a game where you can test your typeface knowledge.
Click the link to open a new window and find out more i love typography
Internet Marketing on a Shoestring
Fri/Jan/09 12:44 PM
On the 27th Jan 2009 Nigel from thd
attended an extremely informative course called
Internet Marketing on a Shoestring.
The course was featured on the Business Link West Midlands
site and held at the Lygon Arms, Broadway,
Worcestershire.
The speaker / trainer / font of knowledge, was Susan Hallam, Internet Marketing Consultant. She was excellent, entertaining, engaging and informative. So much so that the day flew past and the resultant headache from information overload was well worth it. If you are thinking about attending one of her course or using her in a consultant capacity I would highly recommend it.
The workshop was designed to help you harness the marketing potential of the internet. It showed you how to generate consistently high levels of the right kind of traffic to your website through employing simple and low-cost promotional techniques.
The event covered
During the event I was lucky enough to have a critique of the thd homepage. The points raised were both thought provoking and useful. I have taken them onboard and hope to implement the changes soon.
The event was a great success, the only negative part was the loss of internet connection by the Lygon Arms, which could have been an issue but was managed really well by Susan.
Many thanks to the organisers, Susan Hallam and Business Link.
Here's to a better internet experience for everyone.
The speaker / trainer / font of knowledge, was Susan Hallam, Internet Marketing Consultant. She was excellent, entertaining, engaging and informative. So much so that the day flew past and the resultant headache from information overload was well worth it. If you are thinking about attending one of her course or using her in a consultant capacity I would highly recommend it.
The workshop was designed to help you harness the marketing potential of the internet. It showed you how to generate consistently high levels of the right kind of traffic to your website through employing simple and low-cost promotional techniques.
The event covered
- How to design your website to get the ‘most desired response’
- Tried and tested techniques for your website health checks
- A look at recent developments, including blogging, podcasts, online press releases, MySpace / social networks
- How to use email marketing and easy steps for publishing an email newsletter
During the event I was lucky enough to have a critique of the thd homepage. The points raised were both thought provoking and useful. I have taken them onboard and hope to implement the changes soon.
The event was a great success, the only negative part was the loss of internet connection by the Lygon Arms, which could have been an issue but was managed really well by Susan.
Many thanks to the organisers, Susan Hallam and Business Link.
Here's to a better internet experience for everyone.
