I-COM Blog feed

Snog, Marry, Avoid (SEO Style)

2010-09-03 13:59:08

Here's I-COM's very own Colin Skinner enjoying his 30 seconds of fame in Albert Square this lunchtime, answering questions for BBC Three programme Snog, Marry, Avoid. Whilst we realise this has little to no SEO value (ok, no), we wanted to post it on the blog, so we thought we'd do a quick SEO version of 'Snog, Marry, Avoid' and apply it to SEO companies (no images though I'm afraid). Below are three lines that an SEO sales person might say to you during an initial pitch / phone call. Would you snog, marry or avoid (in a strictly metaphorical sense, of course) the following: "Hi, my name's Dr. Joseph Oha (Hons) and I noticed that your site is not number one on Google for the keyword 'solicitor'. We can get you there and keep you there using our basic SEO package. At just 49 a month we think you'll agree that's a bargain." "What you have to remember is that SEO isn't solely about rankings, it's about return on investment." "We'll set you up a load of social media accounts - we'll get you interacting yeah. It'll be awesome." Answers in the comments!

What your Bounce Rate Says About You

2010-08-19 10:42:19

Google Analytics is a very powerful tool but sometimes its results can be misleading. It is very easy to see a green improvement percent and think that all is well. Even metrics that we have benchmarks for don't always mean what we think they do. A good example of this is Bounce Rate. If you've never heard of Bounce Rate before, check out the Analytics glossary at the bottom of the page.Bounce Rate benchmark If a Bounce Rate is over than 40%, I take it as an indication that site visitors are not getting involved with site content. That is to say, more than 40 people in every 100 visits are clicking on the page and clicking off immediately without checking any other content on the site. Broadly speaking, a high bounce indicates one of two things. The landing page does not match the expectation the searcher had when they clicked the link to reach the page. The landing page is technically flawed. For instance, the page may be slow to load or presented in a way that makes the content hard to read. How to lower your Bounce Rate You can address the issue of visitor expectation by improving the anchor text or tailoring the page more to the keywords that are already in the anchors. If this high Bounce Rate is from search-engine traffic and the keyword that visitors use to find the page does not appear to fall within the focus of the page, this keyword could over-emphasise an aspect of the page that distracts from the main topic. To improve the bounce rates for visitors from unexpected search terms, create a new page about the stray topic and use the unexpected keyword as anchor text through to the new page. Eventually, the new page should become the landing page for the unexpected search term. A landing page should provide the information and services that the link you clicked on promised. For website links, that is the anchor text. For search engines, that is the listing text, which Google takes from the Meta information. The second issue requires a re-evaluation of your site design and might involve employment of a designer or developer. A simple (if drastic) way to find this out is to remove your CSS file for a few days and see if the bounce rate drops for this period. If there is a substantial drop, you know that your layout is confusing your visitors.Bouncy bouncy bouncy fun fun fun Having said all this, we can't always assume that a low bounce rate is good news. A user may be clicking on the page, thinking it looks like a reasonably trustworthy page and clicking on to see if they can find the information they require, not finding it, but keeping on clicking. Unfortunately, though we cannot take this to be a good thing unless visitor converts. Just as a high number of visitors means nothing if all those users are leaving the site instantly, a low bounce rate means nothing if the users who are clicking through the site do not convert. The moral of the story is, keep an eye on the statistics, but also keep in mind what those statistics mean. Positive looking numbers have absolutely no value without context.Google Analytics Glossary Visits This is self-explanatory; it shows the number of visits your page receives. Think of the hit counter on your old GeoCities site. It's like that. Bounce Rate Percent of visits landing on a single page that left without further interaction with the site. The use of the word "bounce" refers to people pressing the back button; but can also occur when the visitor closes the browser or tab. Conversion Rate Percentage of visits resulting in an important action that you have defined as important. For example, completing a contact form or exceeding a set amount of time on site.

Why Your Site Needs More Content

2010-07-21 18:42:37

I-COM spends a lot of time expanding site content for its clients; in fact one of the first things we tell people during SEO training is that they need good quality, authoritative content on their website. Traditional marketers sometimes find it difficult to understand why we recommend writing so many pages, but there are several reasons for doing this. Offline marketing typically tries to get a point across as quickly as possible. You have to use one advert to sell your service to a range of people with a range of interests and desires. Mail shots or newspaper adverts also only offer a limited word count.Appeal to niche audiences The internet offers far more space, allowing you to target pages of information to niche audiences. If you can produce a webpage that will solve the exact problem of a user, you are likely to get a sale. If you pursue this idea throughout your site, you will build a resource of useful information and provide specific answers to countless customer questions.Create an online resource If your site is more likely to be a useful resource for its visitors, search engines will perceive it as having high value. Search engines respond well to sites that are useful resources and contain pages with clear semantic connections to other pages around them, and tend to rank them highly in their results pages. When you are writing pages for your site always consider the following: How is this page relevant to my visitor? What problem does this solve and what questions does it answer? How can a visitor respond? Do this and the search engines will respond to your site favourably and your traffic will increase.

Facebook Community Pages - What a Mess

2010-06-25 09:27:52

Spot the difference: http://www.facebook.com/pages/I-COM/118124928207387This I-COM page is the page created automatically by Facebook after various members of I-COM staff said that they worked here. Facebook currently refers to this as a community page. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Manchester-United-Kingdom/I-COM/18443009124This I-COM page is the page created by I-COM with links to other official sources and "liked" by a similar group of people to the above page. Facebook offers the gesture of involvement:"Our goal is to make this Community Page the best collection of shared knowledge on this topic. If you have a passion for I-COM, sign up and we'll let you know when we're ready for your help. You can also get us started by suggesting a relevant Wikipedia article or the Official Site." However, the signup and the suggest box feel a little hollow. Despite providing both the official site, providing the address of the I-COM business page and signing up to offer help, I've had no email feedback - which I find surprising for Facebook - and surely we at I-COM should have control over what appears on a page about us on Facebook (or whether we appear at all), not the powers that be at Facebook. Furthermore, much of the information being pulled into the community page has nothing whatsoever to do with us (click on image to enlarge): I am in favour of online services adding extra functionality, but if there is no support documentation, multiple features cover essentially the same ground, and they provide inaccurate information, they add no value and only confuse users.

41% of Web Users are Stupid

2010-06-07 10:53:35

Today I've had confirmation that a large proportion of web users are stupid. I'm sure we all secretly thought this but here's my proof. Farleys Solicitors own www.farleys.com, they have done for over 10 years, as archive.org shows: web.archive.org/web/*/farleys.com. Farley's Fun Pub in Las Cruces, New Mexico has an auto-generated entry on Google Places (formerly Local Business Center). It looks like this: You can tell that it auto-generated because it says in the top left corner "Business Owner?" If it was a listing for a verified business, it is indicated here. You will see from the image that the URL is farleys.com. Rather than leading to an American steakhouse, this URL points to our client, the Lancashire full service solicitors' firm. Because of this mistake, I am not surprised to see queries with "las cruces" in our reporting. However, Google Analytics produces some surprising results. When the keywords are filtered to show only queries that feature "cruces" I found that the bounce rate is 58.78%. Of course this would be too high for a normal site, but when every single one of the 131 visitors during May that this referred to has come to the site expecting to find a restaurant and been presented with a legal site, I would expect this number to be far closer to 100%! This bounce rate means that 41.22% of visitors who came to the site clicked on to a further page before they left. The average time on site of 44 seconds also indicates that visitors read the landing page. The main lesson to be learnt from this is that if you have a business you need a website - Farleys New Mexico don't appear to have one - and if you have a website, get it on Google maps. In this case, not doing so has lost 131 potential diners in one month.

Separated at Birth

2010-04-19 16:52:51

Tim Westwood is one of my favourite twitters. Most of the time I have no idea what he's talking about. He gets excited about waffles, rants about trainers and overfaces himself at Nandos. However today he's excelled himself. In what appears to be a bizarre tribute to Boing Boing's Cory Doctorow, (or rather xkcd's representation of Cory Doctorow) he posted a picture of himself in a mask and red cape. There's no related SEO story here but worlds have collided and I thought it ought to be noted. In the words of the great man "Your cheese game is strong."

How to feature your company on Google Maps

2010-03-11 08:37:24

As more mobile-devices connect to the internet and GPS becomes ubiquitous, delivering search results specific to your location is the next logical step for search engines. Personalisation of search is an obvious way to provide results that are more relevant to each individual customer's needs. Google knows where a user's computer is from, IP information, details you have provided about your user account, as well as data from previous searches from your computer or device. As search becomes more personalised, it makes sense to locate your business geographically and Google has provided a useful interface - albeit with a few quirks - to make this process relatively painless and ensure that company owners have control of the information which is presented about them on Google Maps. Claiming a Listing With Google Local Business Centre Visit http://www.google.com/lbc and login using a Google account. Click "+ Add new listing" Add details - Be sure to add as much detail as possible. The following fields need special attention: Company Name - this should be the registered company name. While it is tempting to sneak in a few keywords, if a competitor complains, you could have your listing reviewed. Only write in here your company name as it appears with Companies House. Telephone Number - the main number should be a geographically located number. Non-geographic numbers (mobile, 0800, 0845, 0870) cannot be used for verification. Put any other contacts in the "additional telephone numbers" box. Categories - You have to select at least one category that fits your business, these are generally quite poor and have an American slant. For example, all legal options refer to Attorneys. Use one official Google category, more if you can, but fill in the rest of the options with categories of your own creation that explain your business processes. Claim your listing - There may be another company with similar details or someone else at your company might have claimed the listing previously. Elect to claim the existing listing or create a new one. Both will require further verification. Further details - Fill this in as thoroughly as possible. Add at least one image. Company logos are ideal, as well as photographs of the premises or from the premises representing the company. Also upload any video you have regarding your company. YouTube is the second most popular search engine in the UK and as it is owned by Google this is a great opportunity to connect your company with any video which is already online. Validate your listing - The telephone call is instant once you have clicked the button and is an automated service. Only use this method if you have agreed it with the person who answers the phone. I recommend postcard verification. Why You Should Verify Your Company Listing Once verified you'll be able to see some more information about your site: Number of times your site appears on Google Maps (known as impressions as it is in Adwords) Clicks coming through from Maps and local search. How complete your profile is and if there are any details missing. Special notices - time limited text notices about your company Keywords / top search queries Google Local Business Advanced Features Verifying accounts is a sensible way to make sure you retain control of your business (or the business you represent) but it can be a real pain. Getting staff to accept postcards and return the information on them has been going on for about three months with one of my clients so far and their six locations are still not fully registered. If your company is large enough to have ten or more outlets you can create a bulk locations file and upload it. It can take a while to go live but it is a quicker method in the end for companies with multiple locations.

Rumours of the Death of Google Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

2010-03-05 14:30:18

Last night's talk at MMU by James Hanson of MediaVest raised a number of interesting questions. Using IBM and Yahoo as examples of once all-powerful corporations who now have a vastly reduced market share, he presented a list of possible scenarios that might bring about the demise of the world's favourite search engine.Political Opposition kills Google China has already shut Google out but this will not kill them. Although China is widely regarded as next world superpower and Google has given up on them, they have not really dented the Google Empire. EU lawsuits over content hosting in Italy and France's ongoing struggle with Google Books show that there is not much political love from our continent either. However, this is still a long way from effectively killing Google. Services may be withdrawn but this will not affect the userbase.Social Media kills Google Twitter has real time search; Facebook has several million users. However, in my opinion both are limited in scope and Twitter is limited by the quality of its content. While they both have an enormous user-base, you only have to look at Friends Reunited, Friendster and Myspace to see how fickle the social media scene is. I would be surprised if Twitter and Facebook are notable platforms in 2 years time.Large Technology Firms kill Google Microsoft is still a massive power and a company with diverse interests but they seen to have come to a grudging acceptance of Google. This might change with the launch of Chrome OS although Chrome OS has more in common with Linux than Windows so Microsoft may not feel that it is a true challenger. Apple now occupies the helm of mobile internet devices and blocking Google's access to the iPhone could affect Google eventually. I consider this unlikely because although the companies have an uneasy relationship, Apple does not seem so blinkered as to shut off such an integral part of the Internet.Google kills Google Google currently has over 200 products online and has declared that they will buy at least one company per month throughout 2010. This suggests that they could spread themselves too thin. However, Google do not have a history of flogging dead horses. If a product is failing, they are unsentimental about resigning it, for example Google Answers. Google could alternatively make a massive misstep and launch a product that people hate. Buzz is an example of such a product. However, Google was quick to react and resolve the privacy issues. Also at this stage, Google do not seem out of touch with the products they are launching; compare any recent Google offering with Microsoft Songsmith. There is always the possibility that a new killer app will arrive and will cut out the need for Google Search and so undercut Google's largest revenue stream. However, with other offerings such as Google Apps, the corporation would still be able to operate without search. Additionally, Google would surely spot any killer search app and buy the company at an early stage. Conclusions After the presentation, Hanson took questions from the audience and revealed that he personally expected Google to be in an even stronger position in 10 years time. Sadly, although the talk presented a controversial title it was unable to provide any controversial opinions. I look forward to re-reading it with 2020 vision.

SEO Basics - Heading Tags for Topic, Style and Usability.

2010-02-11 15:58:41

In the good old days of self-taught web design and GeoCities homepages, I used to use heading tags to define font size. If I wanted BIG text I put

tags around it, if I wanted small text

, simple! I don't think I even realised what the H stood for. Now I work in SEO I realise the error of my ways, but happily, the sad death of GeoCities has removed my compulsion to go back and correct my sloppy coding.Are headings important?Yes. The reason they are important is simple. They provide a map of the content on the page both visually and in terms of usability. By default in html, the heading tags are bold and provide a line break. A page full of dense copy with headings is a lot easier for a user to scan in order to understand the point of the page. They also improve usability by enabling visitors to locate the section of the page which features relevant information to their query. This is great for disabled users who may want an overview of the page and also a great way of signposting your content to the search engines. How should you deploy them?Each page should have an H1 heading. If you don't have one, you will not be marked down, but it's such a simple way to show the topic of the page to users and search engines that it would be silly not to include one. Multiple H1s are not going to harm your page, but they serve to confuse the topic of the page. If you are changing your topic so much that you require a second H1, consider starting a new page.H2 headings should be used for each subsection of the page, and will obviously be a subsection of information on the main topic of the page as described in the H1. You can use as many H2s as you need to and if you want to add further subsections underneath your H2 then simply add an H3. You can nest as many headings as you like up to H6, but you should always make sure that you do nest them and don't skip numbers. Again, this is not critical, but it is good practise.What tools can I use to check them?Overlooking the fact that they inexplicably use the American spelling of the "analyse," this tool from UK company The Escape is great for seeing an outline of your page:http://www.the-escape.co.uk/tools/pageanalyzer/This tool puts your heading system into perspective showing you exactly what level you've decided your headings should be with helpful colour coding and points out if you've missed out a level. Try plugging in the addresses of a few of your favourite sites and see how they match up. I reckon I might offer my services out to these guys:

Googlebye to China

2010-01-13 16:58:09

Google could be preparing to exit China following attacks on the Gmail accounts of several human-rights activists. When Google.cn launched in January 2006, they bowed to Chinese law and allowed their index to be censored. China has been blocking sites and monitoring internet use since November 2003 under the Golden Shield Project - jokingly dubbed the Great Firewall of China. The censored content included media sites with unregulated content with social and political commentary as well as sites connected to the Taiwanese media and the Tibet Independence Movement. The restrictions also include thousands of sites containing material considered obscene or pornographic. However as of today, you can once again see pictures of tanks in Tiananmen Square in Google.cn image search. Google Market Share Google has never had a strong market position in China where it only accounts for 29% of searches. The Chinese-based Baidu.com is far more successful with 62% of the share. Beyond moderating results, Google.cn has created an online music service in conjunction with major record labels in response to Baidu providing easy access to download pages of unlicensed music. Cloud Security The attack on Gmail is also an attack on the security of so-called cloud computing where potentially sensitive data is stored in centralised servers remote from end-user machines. The uptake of the cloud way of thinking is dependent on users feeling comfortable with the security of their data; a state-sponsored attack on the cloud clearly undermines this plan. The news broke on the Google blog and the follow up statement from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton shows how seriously these attacks have been taken. Pre-emptive Wake Following the announcement, tech-savy Chinese users have gathered on Twitter (despite it being officially blocked) to pay tribute to Google's bold gesture. Flowers and messages of appreciation have been left outside the Beijing offices of the search giant which has sent is staff home for the day. Some Web users in Beijing have agreed to meet in front of Google's office this evening to show support to the company. A Twitter user posted: "Let's use the slogan 'GoogleBye' for tonight's gathering. See you at half past five or six oclock!"