Blog

It's a sensational title, I know, but the underlying message it delivers is true; if you work with the wrong optimisation company to improve your search engine rankings you could end up being blacklisted for months or even years by the search engines.

"So how do you decide who's good and who's not?" I hear you ask. Well first, let's just step back to look at some key elements of optimisation:

• On-page optimisation techniques. These include changes to the TITLE and META tags, the page content, the links between pages and the links out to other sites.

• Inbound linking. These include links from directory sites, sites related to your industry, a few sites not related to your industry, blogs, social networking sites, and more.

• Articles and content. These include on-topic articles about your business or industry that can either be placed on your web site or on a 3rd party site with a link back to your site.

This isn't a complete list, but it is fair to say that they do represent a large proportion of what is done. Three bullet points makes it sound quite simple and quick to do. However, the reality is quite different ' optimisation is a highly complex and highly intensive processes. It is neither quick nor easy to be a master in achieving top placed rankings for your company.

So when you come to judge a company's ability to optimise your site, look out for the following:

1. Price. If it is too cheap to be true, then that is probably is the case. We have heard of clients who have paid for cheap optimisation deals only to find that the whole task has been done completely using automated tools are about as effective as doing nothing. Optimisation is a manual task that can only effectively be completed with manual intervention and review. Of course, automated tools can assist with some support tasks but can never be the mainstay of the campaign.

2. Speed. Be wary of companies offering guaranteed Google listings in a matter of days as the primary feature of their service. The only way this can be achieved is through pay-per-click advertising. Indeed, we have seen clients that have paid for such services only to find that their so called 'optimization' campaign was nothing more than pay-per-click though and through.

3. Techniques. There is good optimisation, bad optimisation and ignorant optimisation. The first of these are companies that will do everything by the book, never using techniques that will likely cause the site problems now or in the future. Bad optimisation is the opposite; companies that deliberately use unethical optimisation techniques that might generate you the results in the short term, but in the longer term will result in your website being banned and blacklisted by the search engines. Finally, there is ignorant optimisation. These are companies that just give bad or outdated advice - not through any attempt to deceive but simply because they haven't kept up with the latest changes in optimisation (a frequently changing industry). Such companies may inadvertently cause your site to be penalised by the search engines and at best will not help you to see the returns you desire.

Whilst Price and Speed are relatively easy to spot, Techniques is much harder unless you are technically aware. So how can you identify a bad or ignorant optimisation company?

• Ask for examples of positions achieved in highly competitive fields. By highly competitive, we mean that if you search for a term and there are 1-2 million or more search returns.

• Next, ask to speak to the clients that they are demonstrating positions for. When you contact them, find out how long it took to achieve those positions, how often the SEO company provides reports on positions, how often they offer advice on how to improve the positions further through things that can be done on the site.

  What you are seeking to find out here is that the client's top-placed positions didn't happen overnight but over a period of months (or even years), that they have been maintaining those positions for some while, and that the SEO company provides at least bi-monthly reporting and at least quarterly advice on site improvements that will help with better positions. This demonstrates via a non-technical means that the SEO company is using best practice ' it isn't an absolute, but does provide you with a good rule of thumb

• Visit the client's web site with the top positions and select Edit -> Select All from your browser's menu bar. When you do this, does any text on the page suddenly appear where previously you couldn't see it? This is a very old practice, but some companies still believe that it works for top-placed positions. If you see this, find another company.

• Finally, ask the optimization company how they build links. Do they (a) Use automated programs to build links (bad), (b) Manually build links from selected websites without investigating the sites that they link from other than making sure it has good 'PageRank' (bad), (c) Manually build links from selected web sites, checking each site to ensure that it is reputable, has a good inbound link structure of its own, is related well to your industry, and has good 'PageRank' (good).

If you select a search engine marketing company well, you can expect high ranking positions and a long and prosperous relationship together. However, if you select badly the effects can be long-lasting and potentially devastating. For example, it is known that Google has the ability to store copies of your site from the day that you created it. This means, copies of all of the techniques you have used to optimise it. We also know that Google actively penalises sites for breaching its best practice guidelines in ways that deliberately and unethically try to manipulate the index. On that basis, the next logical step is that as the volume of sites grows, Google could start to give sites that have always been ethical in their approach better treatment and positions that sites that at some time or another have used more dubious methods. On that basis, we recommend that from the earliest moment you seek out an use only the best, proven optimisation companies that you can find.

On 24 February 2009 at approximately 10am GMT we lost access to Google Gmail. We have an office in Greece where I'm based and Gmail was completely inaccessible. All other sites we access were fine. I then remote controlled onto a couple of servers we have in London, UK and tried from there. Both came back with identical messages; server error.

So, is the outage due to a Google Gmail issue on a large scale, or possibly due to ISP / routing problems? I've raised the issue with an account manager we have at Google, and if / when I hear more, I'll post it here for you!

11am GMT, 24/02/09 Update: PocketLint posted an article regarding the GMail downtime, and comments to the article appear to suggest this is a global problem affecting the Gmail site but not direct access via desktop email clients.

12.30pm GMT, 24/02/09 Update: Service appears to have been restored now, although no notification for the outage has been provided by Google.

More generally, as cloud computing and software as a service become ever more popular, one must wonder; is there a higher duty of responsibility and care upon service providers to ensure 100% uptime because we, as end-users / clients, trust our businesses to them?

Most good web designers already know the principles of good design, usability and which areas of a page will get the most attention. But how many give consideration to the woman in the gorilla suit?

For those of you that have watched Brainiac on the Discovery Channel, or can go back further to the study by Daniel Simons of the University of Illinois and Christopher Chabris of Harvard University you'll probably already know what I'm talking about. For everyone else, here's the quick recap;

A study was conducted whereby subjects watched a short video of two groups of people passing a basketball around. The subjects were told to count the number of passes made between the groups. During the video, a woman wearing a full gorilla suit walks through the scene, stops in the middle, faces the camera, beats her chest and then walks off. You'd think that's something you couldn't miss, right? Wrong. 50% of the subjects didn't see her at all because her presence wasn't expected and the focus of attention was elsewhere (counting the basketball passes). Arien Mack and Irvin Rock coined this phenomenon as inattentional blindness.

Wikipedia defines inattentional blindness as follows:

'... humans have a limited capacity for attention which thus limits the amount of information processed at any particular time. Any otherwise salient feature within the visual field will not be observed if not processed by attention.'

What's the relevance to web design? Hopefully, that's already becoming clear. When a site visitor reaches a web site they may well have an expectation of what they will find. It might be an expectation with respect to where they find the navigation on the page, or where they expect to find some particular information or product. Their expectation will likely be the focus of their attention. And if that expectation isn't met then they could well just move on to the next site - not ideal if your web site is meant to be generating you income.

Anyone involved in the design of a web site therefore needs to take care. Creating something 'out of the ordinary' in design terms might look wonderfully contemporary but if your visitor is expecting to find a left-aligned menu bar and instead the navigation is a small box in the right hand corner of the screen (OK - I'm being extreme to make the point) then that may be an instant block to them considering the site further. Why? Because their focus of attention is expecting the menu to be on the left hand side and if it's not then they simply may not see it anywhere else.

Let's face it - how many times have you visited a web site and couldn't find something even when it was practically right in front of your eyes. I know I have and I spend 12 hours a day on the Internet!

Similarly, overloading a page with content, graphics and links without consideration to visitors' thought processes will have a similarly negative effect. Consider if they are focused on finding 'Bed Socks' and on your site you have lots of text, graphics and links - one of which states 'Keeping your feet warm at night' that takes the visitor to a page on bed socks. How many mental steps does the visitor need to go through to find that link? First, they have to move their attention away from 'bed socks' to the problem - 'Why do I want bed socks? Because I've got cold feet in bed'. If they don't manage that shift, and because their focus of attention is honed in on 'bed socks' they may not even see your link. If they do make that attention shift to the problem, then they need to move to think about the solution to the problem - 'How can I keep my feet warm at night'. Then, finally they can search the page, might find the link and click on it. That's a long process and they might just give up trying. This particular problem might easily have been solved with a link 'Bed socks to keep your feet warm at night'.

I'm not for one moment saying that we should go out and created cloned web sites that are all the same. Simply, that we need to give due consideration to our visitors' focus of attention; that we must gear the sites we design to be as simple and straightforward as possible, with information laid out and presented in such a way that it is clear, consistent, unambiguous and able to match well with that focus.

It doesn't matter whether you are selling a product or a service, writing the copy for your web site is probably the most important thing you can do. It must communicate. It must persuade. It must sell! The average web visitor doesn't hang around long on a site. So, creating an impact in a few seconds is the key to persuading them to stay longer, investigate your products, and BUY!

1. "What's in it for me"?

   Many web sites provide lots of detailed information about the company, their products, how excellent they are, and so on. But, why should the visitor buy? Let's take a hypothetical example:

   "The speedy hoover is 50% more powerful and cleans in half the time".

   This is a great feature but what can it do for the customer? For every product and service you sell, first sit down and figure out the benefits to your potential customers. Will it change their lifestyle? Will it save them money? Will it make them the most stylish person in the neighbourhood? Two quick answers for the example above might be more free time to do other things, and floors so clean they are the envy of the neighbours. Use phrases like "which means that you" or "so that you" to help link the features of your product or service to the benefits.

2. Use a powerful heading

   Start your page with a powerful heading - draw the visitor into the page of information. Make sure, though, that the heading is a benefit not a feature. So, for example, using the example above a heading might read:

   "FREE to Every Busy Homeworker
   4 Hours A Week To Enjoy Yourself"

   Notice that every word in the heading is in capitals. This help to make sure that it is emphasized from the main part of the page.

3. Draw them in with a sub-heading

   So you've written a powerful heading, now back it up with a sub-heading because the next logical question will be "Why? or How?".

   So, following with our theme:

   "Because When You Own a Speedy Hoover,
   You Will Hardly Ever Use It!"

   Then, you are ready to complete the main body of the page. But remember, always back your product features up with benefits. It is these that will sell!

4. Write as you speak!

   Don't try to "formalise" your web site if that is not how you speak to your customers. Be conversational. Write as you would speak to them. Use small, easy-to-read words as there is less opportunity for confusion and misunderstandings.

5. Avoid jargon

   Write at a level your audience will understand. For example, we sell web hosting. But, if we stated "You can use PHP, ASP, SQL", many of our potential customers would walk away - and who could blame them! Use language that is graded to your readers, that will make sense to them, and in which they can see the benefits to them of your product or service.

6. Watch your width

   Why do newspapers have columns? It is not purely for aesthetic reasons, it is to do with readability. Reading a very long line of text is visually unappealing. Very often, the reader will get bored before the end of the line, and skip the message altogether. As a rule of thumb, keep your line length to less than 65 characters. It's true that with bigger monitors you have all that extra space, but that doesn't mean you have to use it!

   Go and have a look at a newspaper, magazine, or book and count the number of characters in a line and the importance will become apparent!

7. Keep it clean

   Keep your copy short, and sharp. Don't waffle. If you can say it in one word, don't say it in ten. For example, why say "At this point in time" when you can say "Today"? Less words means an easier time for your reader - your potential customer. Start the page with your biggest benefit and work down from there. Split text with bullets, paragraphs, and subheadings to encourage readability.

8. Let your clients speak

   Your existing clients can be your best salespeople - so use them. If they have been happy with your product or service, don't be afraid to ask them for a testimonial. Never make them up though!

   Don't place all your testimonials on one page where the potential client might miss them, but intersperse them into your pages so that they become part of your sales message.

9. What do you want?

   OK, so your potential customer has got to the end of the page. They're excited by what you are offering. Now what? What should they do? Tell them - don't let them guess. Would you like them to order now? To book a no obligation discussion? To telephone your free phone number? Don't be afraid to ask!

10. Proofread!

    Obvious, but so often missed. Once you have proofread your site give it to a friend or colleague to do. If you can, give it to several people. Ask them for feedback and don't be afraid to take some criticism. Before releasing your pages, sounding it against some trusted friends can make all the difference. Maybe they'll spot a typo you missed, or maybe they think the copy could be improved in one or two places. Their help could be invaluable before you launch your pages on the global community!

On 1 January 2007, new legislation came into effect that could mean changes to the information you currently include on your web site and in emails you send out.

This article is to advise you of the information that you must include on your web site and in emails as a UK statutory requirement. The new legislation only applies to limited companies although if you sell goods or services online then previous legislation also applies even if you are not a limited company.

Business Emails

All business emails must now include:

• Company registration number
• Place of company registration
• Registered office address
• Business Web Site Address

All business web sites must include the following. These do not need to be on every page and can be limited to an 'About Us' or 'Contact Us' page.

• Your company name and trading name, if different. Any difference should be explained; for example "ABC Widgets is the trading name of ABC Enterprises Limited."
• Company registration number, place of registration and registered office address
• VAT number (even if the site is not being used for e-commerce)
• Membership details of any trade or professional associations
• Privacy policy and general site terms and conditions.

E-Commerce Web Sites

All web sites that trade goods, services or information online must also include the following. These requirements apply even if you are not a limited company.

• Geographic Address. If you are a company this can be your registered address. If you are not, this must be a full postal address. A P.O. Box address is not sufficient.
• Email address. Even if you have a contact form an email address must be provided.
• Terms and conditions that form part of the purchase contract with the ability for the customer to print or save them.
• Details of the technical steps required to complete the purchase
• An option to prevent personal details being stored and used for marketing purposes.

What You Should Do Next

• Examine your web site and emails to make sure that you comply with the above. You should look not only at emails you send from your mail software, but also any emails that your web site automatically generates.

• Contact us if you require any changes made to your site or email templates. We will then provide you with a small quotation for any changes required.

• We can also undertake a full assessment of your site for £99 excl. VAT. The assessment will normally be completed within 5 working days and we will then provide you with a report of any missing information together with a small quotation for any work needed to update the site. Again, please contact us if you are interested in this service.