CAT | Blogging
23
A Free Online SEO Tool
0 Comments | Posted by andy in Blogging, SEO Glossary, Search Engine Marketing Resources, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), Search Engine Resources, Webmasters
As Christmas approaches a good will gift from us , Slipstream’s… 1 Free Online SEO Tool.
One of the most important starting points with any SEO work is the Title and Meta data.
But ensuring that these elements are adding much needed relevance is sometimes over looked.
You may well have created a ‘killer Title Tag’ but have you ensured that your Meta Description tag is also working in harmony with the rest of your site?
A good free online SEO tool that gives you a good indication of this is the Meta Tag Analyzer at seocentro. This tool will display the Title, Meta Description and Keyword tags implemented at the entered URL and then tell you their relevancy rating to the page in question. This gives you a good starting point to any SEO campaign.
And the help doesn’t stop there. This free tool also informs you of Anchor Text found on the page, the keyword density of each word found on the page, Alt Tags used and any errors within the Meta itself.
Don’t say we didn’t gave you anything for Christmas!
http://www.seocentro.com/tools/search-engines/metatag-analyzer.html
Source: SEO Resources | SEO Blog
23
List of Search Engine Marketing Blogs
0 Comments | Posted by andy in Blogging, Search Engine Marketing, Search Engine Marketing Resources, Search Engine News
We hope that you enjoy reading the information in our blog. It’s intended to be a mix of information for anyone interested in search engine marketing, together with observations and news stories related to the Internet and “search” in particular. We also use it, of course, to announce news related to Impact Media such as when a new client chooses us for their SEO or PPC management.
However, if you’ve read through the information in our blog and are still hungry for more, you really should pay a visit to the BIGLIST of Search Marketing Blogs.
BIGLIST of Search Marketing Blogs This is a comprehensive resource listing some of the most popular blogs related to the search engine marketing industry and has over 400 entries at the time of writing this post.
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Published by SEO Prof Andy
23
Useful Firefox Plugins for Search Engine Marketing
0 Comments | Posted by andy in Accessibility, Blogging, Hubs, Internet News, Online Ideas - Thinking Outside The Box, Search Engine News
Firefox have now started allowing “Add-on Collections” which is a great way for users of Firefox to share, or make public, their favourite plugins (add-ons) for a give topic.
One of those to already be made available is a “Best of Breed Firefox Collection for SEO and Internet Marketers” from Andy Beard. Andy’s assembled some very useful plugins here in one collection so you could add them all or just view the list and add individually. Enjoy!
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Published by SEO Prof Andy
23
Free SEO Tips and Tricks Blog
0 Comments | Posted by andy in Articles, Blogging, FAQ, FAQ - Analytics, FAQ - PPC, FAQ - SEO, Internet News, Keyword Research, Landing Page Optimisation, Link Building, Local Search, Search Engine Marketing, Search Engine Marketing Resources, Search Engine Resources
Although we at Slipstream here in the UK, we recognise that some webmasters just love doing search engine optimisation themselves and, for that reason, we make a lot of SEO information freely available in our blog.
However, if you’re looking for free SEO tips on a regular basis, i.e. daily, then I recommend you take a look at the Daily SEO Tip blog.
This blog is dedicated to giving free SEO tips and was founded by SEO specialists, Loren Baker and Ann Smarty.
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Published by SEO Prof Andy
23
7 Ways SEO Can Help Ecommerce Websites
0 Comments | Posted by andy in Accessibility, Blogging, Online Ideas - Thinking Outside The Box, Search Engine Marketing
Whilst there are clearly many things that SEO can’t achieve, not least on the business side of your online enterprise, it can help you where it really matters, online visibility.
This blog post explores 7 ways that SEO can help your online business succeed. From the obvious to the obscure, you’d be surprised how a little optimisation can go a long way for any ecommerce site.
1) Outrank your competitors – If you’re seen by customers first, then you’re far more likely to convert. SEO will help improve rankings throughout, including for individual product pages, which should help to attract more search visitors.
2) Convert visitors into customers – SEO copywriting not only helps to optimise a product page, it can also help visitors dip into their pockets. A strong call to action and emotive writing throughout can make all the difference.
3) Improve SERPs and on page clarity – A major part of SEO is ensuring that page headings, Meta descriptions and sub-headings are optimised for both search engines and visitors. Therefore it may help you to provide added clarity within SERPs as well as on the page itself. Customers know what they’re looking for, you just have to convince them that you’re the one to buy it from.
4) Identifying site issues – SEO isn’t just about adding keywords to a site left, right and centre, it’s far more complex than that. Any SEO Company worth their salt will work hard to see if there are any duplicate content or page load errors blighting your site. These can be off-putting to customers and undermine hard work elsewhere so it is vital that they’re picked up.
5) Encourage additional traffic streams – Whilst search engine optimisation is primarily targeted at search engines, stating the obvious, often the work that is completed will help open up other avenues of business. For example, whilst developing a link building strategy and carrying out directory submission, SEO provides you with added visibility and may well increase targeted traffic from these additional sources.
6) Attract local customers – One strand of SEO is called Local Search. This is effectively where you optimise a site to be shown in search results for certain geographical localities. So if you have a physical store as well as an online ecommerce presence, this presents a fantastic opportunity to promote both, whilst targeting consumers within your immediate surroundings.
7) Gain targeted traffic – SEO is all about improving rankings and online visibility; with the increase in exposure that you gain, you can attract more eyes, more clicks and more customers. Whilst there’s no finite guarantee, SEO is still the best way of making sure the right people find your site; the first step to creating a successful ecommerce business.
For all of SEO’s many positives, one thing it can’t do is cure the incurable. If your business is failing due to poor service, high prices, an unprofessional website and an overcrowded competitive marketplace, SEO won’t provide a magic cure.
On the Internet consumers can leap from site to site in a matter of seconds. If they like what they see, are happy with the cost, then you may have yourself a customer. But if you can’t back up your online ranking with the same high standard of service, they will simply move on and find somewhere that does.
SEO is, however, ideal for the purposes of helping a good site get better. Making sure that it gets the attention it deserves and boosting its income as a result. SEO is certainly a solution, but don’t expect it to be a miracle cure.
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Published by SEO Prof Andy
Blogging is now a vital part of any online marketing strategy. But blogs are not just about making an impact with what you write there, it’s very important to accompany the text with a powerful visual style and interactive functions for the reader.
A blog theme demonstrates your authority and reveals your personality. A professional-looking theme gives the visitor a great first impression and helps your words to carry the authority that you intended. A weak, untidy looking blog tends to make the reader feel that the material might not be accurate or authentic. When you choose a good theme, people can see that you care and value their opinion of your blog. If you’ve taken the time to make the site look good for visitors, they know you’re investing time in them.
Visual Impact
There are some awful, ugly themes available for free and some scary looking premium themes ones too. You need to match the theme to the style of your blog. There’s no point having a theme that doesn’t suit the type of blog you write, or the product or service that you are promoting. If you’re unsure, ask other people, most people have a good opinion about what they don’t like!
Widgets
WordPress uses widgets to help you control what appears on the sidebar without having to edit the code of your theme. The trouble is that not all WordPress themes support widgets, so make sure you check before you select your theme.
Newsletter
The best WordPress themes have built-in Newsletter functionality. This means that there is an involvement device on the main page of the blog that allows visitors to join up and receive your regular newsletter. If it’s a good theme, it will support the entire process from sign up to newsletter delivery.
Browsers
Not all WordPress themes work with all browsers. If you’re blog visitors are using Safari or Opera, they may be prevented from reading your words by poorly constructed themes. Don’t pick a theme that limits the type of visitors your blog receives.
Search
You’d presume that a search tool was standard on all blogs, but there are still plenty without one. Make sure your theme has a search tool so people can find the content they came to your blog looking for.
Video
Of course, there are people that need video function built into the blog. It’s possible to post embedded YouTube clips directly into a blog, but it doesn’t make the same impression as built-in video. Until recently, there were very few free themes that incorporated video. We set out to change that with our free wordpress theme video (contact us for more info). This provides professional looking video functionality in a free theme.
When you’re deciding on a WordPress Theme for your blog, remember the impact you make on your visitors is important to the success of your blog. Some themes are free, some you need to buy, but ensure that they tick all the boxes before you choose either.
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Published by SEO Prof Andy
The Parliamentary upheaval caused by the MP’s expenses scandal shows no sign of abating. Using the latest statistics provided by Blogpulse, it’s clear that our elected officials are still getting a pretty rough ride online as well as in Westminster and their constituencies.
If nothing else, this indicates the power that bloggers and professional news sources have. The blanket coverage, with the news represented from all angles and viewpoints, has been merciless. Major stories don’t simply appear and disappear like they may have done previously. Buzz can grow and continue to snowball through the ever-growing online blogging community as illustrated below.
This chart highlights the popularity of the term ‘MPs Expenses’ Blogpulse gives a fantastic insight into what is popular at any one moment in time. It shows the peaks and troughs that all topics go through with clear charts and statistics. Anybody can simply search for a specific term or even a selection of different stories to find out exactly what is hot and identify those trends early.
The graphic below shows the relative popularity of three events that may well have people talking in the days to come. This compares the popularity of the terms ‘FA Cup’, ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ (both of which reach their final stage on Saturday) and ‘MP’s expenses’, just for a marker. From this we can see that Britain’s Got Talent is head and shoulders above the rest in terms of blog mentions and I think it would be a big surprise if that trend didn’t continue over the weekend too.
Comparative popularity of Britain’s Got Talent, FA Cup & MP’s Expenses Whilst the results shown above may not be particularly useful to many businesses, it does give a clear indication of what the rest of the world is talking about. Plus you have the opportunity to shape the words searched for to suit your particular sector, there’s no boundaries to who or what can be analysed.
Whilst it can be a passing dalliance of interest and a bit of mischievous fun (see below for the comparisons of Barack Obama, Gordon Brown and talent show finalist Susan Boyle for clarification), understanding where the buzz is before anyone else can give you some real leverage, particularly in the competitive world of blogging.
Gordon Brown lags a long way behind both Boyle & Obama online You might also be interested in:
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According to a new study conducted by Cornell University, highlighted by Search Engine Watch, traditional media sources are still first with the news; surprisingly beating blogs by an average of 2.5 hours. So whilst the immediacy of Twitter has caused serious groundswells in the halls of the major news outlets, it appears that speed isn’t being translated to blogs as yet.
Journalists may be restricted to reporting news that they can unequivocally confirm; however, due to the breadth of their research and reporting power they are still able to get to the stories first. Whilst the newswire may be slowly fading out, it clearly maintains a high level of importance in how soon and how accurate our news is.
News today can be found everywhere. The Internet is awash with sources, all of which claim to be trustworthy and offering the latest breaking news. But more often than not, as evidenced by this report, bloggers are relying on traditional media for their news. Without the time, the contacts or the resources to sniff out a story themselves, blogs will often simply repackage the readily available news and introduce their own spin.
Journalists have nothing to fear for the time being, but the shift towards the Internet will surely push more to pursue online ventures. This would also help distribute far more credible and accurate information, whilst fully optimising the real-time capabilities of the web.
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More and more companies are enquiring into how and why they should enter the world of Blogging?
Having a Business Blog has many benefits including:
- Raise brand and company profile
- Add fresh updated content to your site
- Increase your online visibility for the subjects you blog about
- Position yourself as an industry expert and authority
- Develop a greater link profile as posts act as link bait
- Keep existing clients informed
- Offer potential clients information on promotions and offers
- Engage with your community and capture feedback
We recommend our clients use WordPress as a Blogging platform, its open source and easily customised to integrate into a clients site to fit the standard design theme.
At Slipstream we offer the customisation services to ensure the WordPress theme fits the look and feel of your site, as well as install the software on your server within its own folder.
The Blog is then easily linked off of your main site navigation menu and you will be provided with the log in details to begin populating the Blog immediately through the user friendly dashboard.
Although the software comes off the shelf ready to go, there are also many useful plug-ins available to extend its functionality.
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Not all that long ago all of our news would come from the media. Whether it was the morning newspaper, radio or television, accessing the latest stories was pretty much a standardised formality. However, the rise of the Internet and, more particularly, the blogging community has all but put paid to traditional media sources.
Internet bloggers have a number of advantages over their offline counterparts. First and foremost is the immediacy of the online platform. As soon as a blogger receives a lead they can get started on a post and have it live within seconds. There’s no red tape, no editorial to pass through and no restrictions on content. Almost anything goes on the Internet, something the media can and probably never will be able to replicate.
A bloggers style is often far removed from that of the conventional journalist. However, this is one area, arguably at least, where the differences have become slightly blurred. To remain relevant to the tech savvy generation of media consumers, written and spoken styles have changed. The buttoned up conventions of Received Pronunciation that were extolled on the BBC for decades have been replaced by colloquialisms, regional dialects and celebrity news.
The transition towards a more relaxed and informal media started some time ago; however, in recent years the shift has gathered pace. Blogs have almost as much power as traditional outlets. Each sector has its powerhouse, whether it’s Perez Hilton (celebrity gossip), The Huffington Post (breaking news) or TechCrunch (technology) there’s a dominant blogger in every sphere.
But with the rise of social media, there has come a similarly substantial proliferation of blogs; some in brand new niches, others challenging the established top order. With the Internet now also going mobile, being made available on phones, PDAs and laptops, much of the appeal of media has dipped. Newspaper sales continue to suffer and doubtless in time television may suffer the same fate.
As revealed earlier in the month in our post ‘Classic Media beats blog to the punch’, official news outlets are still getting stories out there first. With the wealth of resources they have available this is only to be expected, and this is one thing that Internet-based reporters may never be able to counteract.
Media reporting has had to remain focussed on the conventions of the past, whilst also incorporating the trends of today. The enforced modernisation of media will doubtlessly split opinion. There are those who welcome the reform and believe that now news is being forced to become more relevant and quicker with it too. Whilst others will always prefer a well-constructed and in-depth analysis, something only the old media can truly provide.
But the world is invariably being drawn online. Almost anything can now be accessed straight through your computer. From live sports to complete television series’, everything that was once the domain of established media has now been transferred over to the medium of the future, the Internet.
