Copyright © 2010 I-COM International 2010-07-30T07:30:14+0100 2010-07-30T07:30:14+0100 http://www.i-com.net/blog/ Leading Manchester SEO, SEM and web design agency blog. http://www.i-com.net/blog/ http://i-com.net/images/icom-net.gif http://www.i-com.net/blog/ Leading Manchester SEO, SEM and web design agency blog. I-COM International blogmaster at i-com dot net I-COM International I-COM International en SEO, SEM, Web Design, Web Development 1440 http://www.i-com.net/blog/gocompare-googling-by-the-rules-204/ Some people watch stocks go up and down, SEOers watch listings. One of the most watched sites is GoCompare. They advertise heavily on TV which drives strong brand awareness people know the GoCompare name. What typically happens is that they then go to the internet and type GoCompare into Google and follow the link to the site. They have a bit of a problem in that their listings seem to come and go. About a month ago they didnt even appear for searches on their own name. Instead a number of affiliate sites to whom GoCompare need to pay commission appear. The rumour is that GoCompare had been penalised by Google for not following their guidelines and trying to do things to manipulate the search results, the most recent occurrence being a repeat of something that happened around a year ago. This is a cautionary tale, which demonstrates why SEO needs to be done within accepted guidelines; the listing slip must have cost them a lot of money in affiliate commissions and increased TV advertising. Theres also a learning point to recognise that you cant try to cheat the system. When you receive emails from companies that say theyll quickly get you to the top of Google, be careful. If it seems too good to be true its likely theyll be using a short term trick to try to cheat the system it may give you go short term results but if found out you could be quickly demoted. The positive side of the story is that demotions need not be permanent, if you can show the engines youve tried to correct what youve done wrong its likely youll be able to recover the situation given time. Needless to say I-COM follows the Google guidelines as closely as possible and have helped a number of businesses get back their listings after other SEOs have brought them down. SEO by the rules may not always deliver the quickest results but it does deliver results that stick. Search Engine Optimisation 2009-06-16 08:51:00 http://www.i-com.net/blog/gocompare-googling-by-the-rules-204/ http://www.i-com.net/blog/why-its-time-for-seo-companies-to-get-an-industry-governing-body-189/ I know that I have ranted about this in the past and even my Operations Director Mike Blackburn has recently blogged about the same company and their email approaches! Another "Senior Search Consultant" from the same comapny has now sent an email to our client  The Smile Centre detailing the same spurious rubbish about PR, Pages Indexed and he expects Barrie from The Smile Centre to employ him because The Smile Centre "doesn't appear on the first page of Google" (he doesn't say what for even though we have lots of first page listings) and he can help Barrie "blow his online revenue off the charts". Due to Barrie's relationship with I-COM he can see right through this - but there may be many businesses that don't! I called the Jersey number given in the email, only for the phone to be re-directed and eventually answered and put down! At I-COM, frankly, we've had it up to here with these sorts of spurious businesses claiming to be experts in search engine optimisation who are taking advantage of the fact that ours is a fledgling industry and small businesses don't know what to look for when choosing an SEO consultant, which is why I ask: Out there in the SEO World who would like to see a governing body with teeth that can close these idiots down!? Search Engine Optimisation 2009-05-06 11:52:24 http://www.i-com.net/blog/why-its-time-for-seo-companies-to-get-an-industry-governing-body-189/ http://www.i-com.net/blog/four-new-hires-at-i-com-to-support-new-client-wins-123/ This month we're pleased to announce that we've hired four new people for the I-COM team. Clair Wescott joins the companys team of 5Google Adwords professionals, and David Walsh is the latest addition to the highly accomplished in-house programming and web development team. We're also building our award-winning SEO (search engine optimisation) team through the recruitment of two experienced SEO consultants, who are starting with us next week. The four new staff members round off a successful couple of months for us as we continue to grow and extend our client base. New client wins include The Kit Team, PUMA, The National Obesity Surgery Centre and the Sellick Partnership. Welcome to the business, clients and colleagues. I-COM News 2008-11-13 16:27:00 http://www.i-com.net/blog/four-new-hires-at-i-com-to-support-new-client-wins-123/ http://www.i-com.net/blog/the-www-and-law-firms-110/ We've just been mentioned in The Manchester Law Society's monthly magazine "The Messenger" in an article by Bill Kirby. In case you've not had chance to see it we're pleased to reproduce in it full below:The www. and Law Firms Despite the need for it, people in some law firms still pay only lip service to the needs of marketing. The protection and development of clients is a science as is the generation of new business. Last month I identified the potential in the establishment of informal referral networks. Today we look at a relatively new force that will be disregarded at your peril. Image, branding, networking, relationships and referrals need to be supported with the use of the web. Increasingly both private and commercial clients are using the web as a way of identifying and making first contact with solicitors. For the 14 million members of the Y generation (16 34 year olds) the web is the first reference point to identify shortlists and then everything else such as brand and reputation kicks in. For other age groups this facility is increasing in its use. I research myself that way and before meeting law firm clients or speaking to groups about marketing I always test the web sites of firms and the search engine optimisation that they employ. Commercial organisations as well as private clients are in this assessment. The view of most corporate lawyers is that they need a website, but only as something that their clients and prospects can look at to get a view of their worthiness. Increasingly SMEs will use the web to find a potential regional law provider. I heard last week of one Manchester law firm that was appointed in the disposal of a private company as a result of being contacted through the web. In total this contract will generate around 25,000 in fees. Evidence that a website can have an impact in all areas of a legal practice. The web is becoming a core part of everyone's lives and a central information resource. Over 55% of households now have broadband access and the average person spends over two hours online each day[1]. Fifty million people visited career-related sites in May 2006, up 28% on May 2005.[2] In 2006, 20.1% of UK survey respondents booked their last holiday online compared to 16.8% in 2005 and 12.4% in 2004.[3] This graph shows the adoption of broadband in the UK and demonstrates that growth in internet spending is expected strong and inline with broadband penetration. [Sources: E-consultancy,Verdict, Forrester, Broadband Industry Group] Impressive, but the rate at which the internet is being used as a method of making initial contact with a later offline transaction is thought to be even higher. A good presence on the internet is a must for any law practice wanting to be successful in the future. There are many organizations that can assist in web development as part of the firm's marketing strategy. I consulted with one of my contacts at I-COM, a Manchester-based specialist legal web design and marketing agency, to identify some tips for copy to be used on a website for enhanced revenue generation. Make headings interesting and compelling. You have approximately 2 seconds to persuade a visitor to read on once they land on your site. Start with a killer statement be it about what you can do for the client, or an interesting legal fact (Did you know that) Focus on the benefits working with your firm brings rather than just factual information A potential client might be interested in the fact that your practice was established in 1850 and has been based in the same offices ever since. A potential client will be much more interested and more likely to do business with you if you make it clear what you can do to help them. Never ever copy the text from someone elses website to use on yours. Content should be unique to your business and structured to communicate your particular message to prospective clients. Copied content can be recognised by Google and a potential client may penalise you for it. Include the keywords you think people will want to use in search engines. Its amazing how many law firms have an aversion to using the word solicitors or lawyers on their websites preferring to use softer phrases like our team of conveyancing specialists. Clients are not that subtle, theyll type conveyancing solicitors into Google and unless you include the word solicitors you will not be found. Dont forget to tell people to contact you. Its amazing how many sites dont tell or invite potential clients to get in touch. Internet users are lazy and do not want to have to look too hard for information. So make it easy for them! Finish every page with a call to action statement including the phone number and link to the contact page. Follow these rules and your site should become more effective once people land on it. We shall look at how to get them there at a later date. Question those with marketing responsibility in the firm on how the web site is designed to help retain and develop clients and identify new ones. Make sure that activity around your web site supports your marketing plan. A good place to start might be to take a look at I-COMs site and blog at www.i-com.net/blog. Bill Kirby is Managing Director of Professional Choice Consultancy and Director of Managed Services Consultancy. PCC advises law firms on business strategy and planning and the effective use of IT. [1]E-consultancy 2007 [2]ComScore [3]GB TGI Internet Marketing 2008-10-17 09:12:00 http://www.i-com.net/blog/the-www-and-law-firms-110/ http://www.i-com.net/blog/should-writing-style-be-part-of-web-design-96/ It's not often that we get involved in building a new site for a new brand but when it happens it can throw up some very interesting issues. Most sites we develop are for established companies who have a style of communication that they use which needs to be catered for by any proposed new design. For a brand new business as part of the design process, and in addition to designing a beautiful and functional site, we also need to establish what tone of voice the site and business should use in its communications. With one new client this led to a very interesting discussion centreing around what should come first, the design or the communication style. We came to the conclusion that what came first didn't really matter too much as long as they were closely co-ordinated and appealling to the target market. It is very true though that whilst the look of a site needs to be visually appealling in order to grab a browser's attention. It is perhaps even more important to ensure the written word on the site is both engaging for the target audience and in tune with the look of the site.  Web Design 2008-09-25 08:44:00 http://www.i-com.net/blog/should-writing-style-be-part-of-web-design-96/ http://www.i-com.net/blog/dragons-are-diamond-geezers-for-delivering-traffic-to-i-com-client-63/ The pitch from online jewellery retailer Diamondgeezer.com on Dragons Den on BBC 2 was of great interest to I-COMs SEO team this week. SEO consultant for I-COM client ZSdiamonds.com, Michael Eccles, was initially baffled by the massive increase in traffic to the ZS website, especially off the back of the terms diamonds and diamond engagement ring.  That was until the usual Tuesday morning discussion - who saw Dragons Den last night - came up Clive Billing, of one of the UKs leading online jewellery retailers, Diamondgeezer.com, approached the Dragons on Monday nights episode of Dragon's Den with the hope of securing 255,000 investment in a new click and buy add on to his jewellery and diamond ecommerce site. The owner of Diamondgeezer.com, who made a terrible start to his pitch, leading Deborah Meaden and Duncan Bannatyne to declare themselves out right from the off,  grabbed the interest of the Dragons when he claimed that his website had the number 12 Google ranking for the term diamond and the number 9 Google spot for the term diamond engagement ring.   Were not sure where he got these listings from, but they sure dont exist anymore, and we do not remember seeing them there in the first place - and they are keywords we check regularly on behalf of ZS Diamonds.  To blow our own trumpet, however, our client ZSdiamonds.com have the number 9 Google listing for diamond and the number one Google listing for diamond engagement ring.  This appearance on Dragons Den would have brought far more benefit to Clives website if people searching for these terms could find diamondgeezer.com in the positions he claimed - at the moment they are finding his competitors instead.  ZS Diamonds website, saw huge spikes in traffic following the airing of the programme.  Zsdiamonds.com saw visitor increases of 1130% and 8200% for the search terms diamond engagement ring and diamonds respectively. This just goes to show, provided your website is situated in the right place in the Google listings, it doesnt have to be your own external marketing that can have potential benefits to your website and online business. But its vital that to be in that right place, you invest in SEO from a company who know how to get, and keep, you there. Search Engine Optimisation 2008-07-30 11:47:22 http://www.i-com.net/blog/dragons-are-diamond-geezers-for-delivering-traffic-to-i-com-client-63/ http://www.i-com.net/blog/golfing-for-peace-28/ One of our favourite causes at I-COM is The Tim Parry and Johnathan Ball Foundation for Peace. We've built their website and like to help them wherever possible. The Foundation was set up following the IRA bombing of Warrington in March 1993 when both Tim and Johnathan lost their lives and 56 other people were injured. Since then the Foundation (set up in memory of Tim and Johnathan) has worked with over 18,000 young people and adults to tackle some of the key issues facing our communities today prejudice, discrimination and violence. Each year approximately 4,000 people take part in their programmes covering issues of conflict resolution, citizenship, social and moral responsibility, peer mediation and mentoring. We recently helped them with their golf day which raised 6,500 for the charity but they always need more. Please take a look at their site to get an idea of the great things they do and perhaps think about how you might be able to help them. http://www.foundation4peace.org/ I-COM News 2008-06-13 08:56:31 http://www.i-com.net/blog/golfing-for-peace-28/