David McCandless from "Information is Beautiful", looks at complex datasets and creates infographics to simply define and present the information.
Listen to his talk on TED, it's really fascinating:
Google Instant Search - Kind of Official Launch
Thursday 9 September 2010
We've kind of known about Google Instant Search for a good few weeks now. The feature has been promoted in the form of YouTube adverts (see previous post below) and some mystery news alerts and promotional logos.
So what does it really do? Well, Google Instant is a feature that predicts what you’re searching for and shows results as you type. It uses Google’s autocomplete technology to show predicted search terms in a drop-down box, and begins to display search results below the drop-down.
Ben Gomes, an Engineer at Google summarised the announcement as "Google Instant seems so obvious, that in retrospect, you'll wonder if search could have been any other way."
However, at the moment Google Instant is only available in the US, but will be launching in the UK, France, Italy, Germany, Spain and Russia within a week. Also
the service is only available to users signed into their Google Accounts.
It will be interesting to see how this will affect Google AdWords and organic long-tail keywords / SEO. You can read what Google is saying about expecting traffic fluctuations around organic keywords.
If you want to find out more, then I came across a great easy to follow user guide on the features of Google Instant at Search Engine Land. Really read the article as it does provide an insight into this new feature.
It is difficult to say what impact Google Instant will have on SEO at this stage and how much it will change the way that we currently standardise our approach.
So what does it really do? Well, Google Instant is a feature that predicts what you’re searching for and shows results as you type. It uses Google’s autocomplete technology to show predicted search terms in a drop-down box, and begins to display search results below the drop-down.
Ben Gomes, an Engineer at Google summarised the announcement as "Google Instant seems so obvious, that in retrospect, you'll wonder if search could have been any other way."
However, at the moment Google Instant is only available in the US, but will be launching in the UK, France, Italy, Germany, Spain and Russia within a week. Also
the service is only available to users signed into their Google Accounts.
It will be interesting to see how this will affect Google AdWords and organic long-tail keywords / SEO. You can read what Google is saying about expecting traffic fluctuations around organic keywords.
If you want to find out more, then I came across a great easy to follow user guide on the features of Google Instant at Search Engine Land. Really read the article as it does provide an insight into this new feature.
It is difficult to say what impact Google Instant will have on SEO at this stage and how much it will change the way that we currently standardise our approach.
'.co.uk' vs '.com' Domain Names
Friday 3 September 2010
Many people ask if it's more advantagious having a '.com' domain name over a '.co.uk'. Many see the '.com' domain as a way of appearing as an 'international', or 'worldwide' organisation. However, you need to consider where geographically most of your services or products are provided and if it's the UK, then a '.com' could put you at a disadvantage in search engine rankings results such as Google.
It is worth noting that people in the UK tend to click on '.co.uk' website extensions more than any other website. Research carried out by Nominet showed that 77% of UK searchers are more likely to favour 'co.uk' domains rather than '.com', which actually means that if you register a '.com' website and manage to get a first page Google ranking, then you are more likely NOT to get any clicks from people searching in the UK.
If you do not have a geography-specific domain such as '.co.uk' for the UK and instead you opt for a '.org', '.net', or '.com', then Google will use the geographical location of your hosting centre as the method for determining which local index your results should be found in. So thinking about where your website is hosted is equally as important.
For example, if you were to search Google for UK results only, and your '.com' site was hosted by a UK hosting supplier, but in a German datacentre, then you would never appear in the search results. Of course, you would appear in the 'google.de' search results, but obviously not many German Google users are looking for websites and businesses in English or relevant only to a UK audience.
Careful consideration is needed in getting the right domain name. Make sure that you stick to promoting one single, consistent domain name across all your communications, such as 'http://www.oxfordwebseo.co.uk/'.
It is worth noting that Google has now changed its ranking algorithm in order to display more results from the same website, when there is strong interest in content from a particular domain. So consistent advertising of one single domain name for your organisation is even more important.
It is worth noting that people in the UK tend to click on '.co.uk' website extensions more than any other website. Research carried out by Nominet showed that 77% of UK searchers are more likely to favour 'co.uk' domains rather than '.com', which actually means that if you register a '.com' website and manage to get a first page Google ranking, then you are more likely NOT to get any clicks from people searching in the UK.
If you do not have a geography-specific domain such as '.co.uk' for the UK and instead you opt for a '.org', '.net', or '.com', then Google will use the geographical location of your hosting centre as the method for determining which local index your results should be found in. So thinking about where your website is hosted is equally as important.
For example, if you were to search Google for UK results only, and your '.com' site was hosted by a UK hosting supplier, but in a German datacentre, then you would never appear in the search results. Of course, you would appear in the 'google.de' search results, but obviously not many German Google users are looking for websites and businesses in English or relevant only to a UK audience.
Careful consideration is needed in getting the right domain name. Make sure that you stick to promoting one single, consistent domain name across all your communications, such as 'http://www.oxfordwebseo.co.uk/'.
It is worth noting that Google has now changed its ranking algorithm in order to display more results from the same website, when there is strong interest in content from a particular domain. So consistent advertising of one single domain name for your organisation is even more important.
What's so good about organic SEO?
Thursday 2 September 2010
When it comes to search engine optimisation (SEO), many people are confused and baffled by what SEO is and what it actually means for their organisations' website.
Search engine optimisation is the process of improving the volume of traffic to a website from search engines, typically via ‘organic’ or ‘natural’ search results.
Many see it as some kind of alchemism - the casting of a magical spell to get your website to the number one spot on Google. But be very wary of anyone who claims that they can get your website to the number one spot on Google. Unless obviously they are wearing a wizards' hat or brandishing a magic wand!
Unfortunately, there is no magic involved, only lots of hard work to try and get your website visible to your potential clients, members and customers. Effective SEO is about organising and presenting your website to search engines to ensure relevancy, creditably and accessibility.
Organic search engine optimisation techniques employ the use of natural ranking methods of search engines to generate traffic to a website. It means that you don’t have to use paid advertising to draw traffic to your site. Our strategy at Oxford Web SEO is based on using keywords and phrases that match your organisation and ultilising those throughout your website.
You may think paid-for-advertising is a quick win, but it requires constant investment and a large budget – especially in a competitive market. Organic SEO is a one time initial investment, but is ongoing and requires hard work to maintain. Also consider that since Google began auctioning popular keywords to the highest bidder, paid for advertising is no longer viable for small to medium sized businesses.
Organic SEO is good because:
The organic SEO services we provide at Oxford Web SEO is combined with our overall strategy for your website. The techniques and standards that we adopt are applied to every aspect of our SEO services.
If you would like us to take a look at your website and provide you with a review of how we can improve your search engine rankings, then please get in contact with Tracy Walker on 01865 920121, or at info@oxfordwebseo.co.uk.
Search engine optimisation is the process of improving the volume of traffic to a website from search engines, typically via ‘organic’ or ‘natural’ search results.
Many see it as some kind of alchemism - the casting of a magical spell to get your website to the number one spot on Google. But be very wary of anyone who claims that they can get your website to the number one spot on Google. Unless obviously they are wearing a wizards' hat or brandishing a magic wand!
Unfortunately, there is no magic involved, only lots of hard work to try and get your website visible to your potential clients, members and customers. Effective SEO is about organising and presenting your website to search engines to ensure relevancy, creditably and accessibility.
Organic search engine optimisation techniques employ the use of natural ranking methods of search engines to generate traffic to a website. It means that you don’t have to use paid advertising to draw traffic to your site. Our strategy at Oxford Web SEO is based on using keywords and phrases that match your organisation and ultilising those throughout your website.
You may think paid-for-advertising is a quick win, but it requires constant investment and a large budget – especially in a competitive market. Organic SEO is a one time initial investment, but is ongoing and requires hard work to maintain. Also consider that since Google began auctioning popular keywords to the highest bidder, paid for advertising is no longer viable for small to medium sized businesses.
Organic SEO is good because:
- Typically organic SEO encourages more traffic to your website than paid for advertising.
- Organic SEO techniques hone in on relevant content for a website and not flash advertising gimmicks.
- Search engine users are often wary of adverts and typically they follow links to websites within the actual search results. If your site is displayed in amongst the top search engine results, then people are more likely to trust you.
The organic SEO services we provide at Oxford Web SEO is combined with our overall strategy for your website. The techniques and standards that we adopt are applied to every aspect of our SEO services.
If you would like us to take a look at your website and provide you with a review of how we can improve your search engine rankings, then please get in contact with Tracy Walker on 01865 920121, or at info@oxfordwebseo.co.uk.
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