I came across this really great article today on The Guardian website - 'The role of social media in community building and development' It explores how despite the increasing importance of social networks, community development needs to take place both on and offline.

I saw a talk from a guy who worked for Amnesty International a few months ago and he cited the exact same argument; that we can all get carried away with technology, but remember we shouldn't alienate those who don't have access to it.

We still need to interact, talk and get to know each other away from our laptops, tablets and mobiles. Actual human contact is just as import as the having 500+ friends, or followers on Facebook and Twitter.

Your phone is now your wallet... According to Google

This week Google has launched it's latest venture 'Google Wallet'. The app that makes your phone your wallet.

Checkout the promo video giving further details on the launch and the Google Wallet service:



Google has been testing this product extensively since May, but currently only select users will be able to use Google Wallet to make payments. At the moment Google’s product has only one compatible device (The Nexus S 45) and one credit card that connects with the app (Citi MasterCard).

So if you're not running on the above at the moment, then, Google has said that they would be making a Google prepaid card available for use with Google Wallet. Users can fill this card by using any other standard credit card. According to the Google Blog post announcing the launch, “Visa, Discover and American Express have made available their NFC specifications that could enable their cards to be added to future versions of Google Wallet.”

I have concerns for security, battery outage and privacy / hacking issues, but hey there's still credit card fraud and tricksters now, so whether you pay by phone or payment card there are still risks either way.

Let's see how well the launch goes.

Ever wondered why you're not reaching the dizzy heights of the first page of Google?

You can develop the most stunning and attractive business website of all your competitors. You can employ the best usability experts, professional photographers and web developers money can buy. However, if you're business isn’t on the first or second page of Google, then really you may as well go into hiding!

Unfortunately, consumers and business peoples attention span is zero these days. Expectancy is for immediate, quick and relevant results. If people can't get what they want within a few minutes of looking, mainly because we're too busy or lazy to keep going, they simply go elsewhere. It's not that search engine users don't value what your website has to offer, it's just that if you're not on the first or second page of Google, then users can't be bothered to delve any deeper.


Nearly 53% of us change our search terms, and/or search engine after not finding our prefered result on the first page and only aorund 10% of us actually bother going past the third page.

So you need to think about your website as your shop-window to your business. Like any shop-window you want to have the most attractive on the high-street. Your aim is to catch the eye of passing visitors and entice them into your store. It's the same principal with any website, you need to get yourself noticed ahead of your competitors on the Web.

Get thinking about how you can create that attraction. With the help of some good search engine optimisation (SEO), you can start to embellish your shop-window to enhance your visibility in search engines.

Some things you can start looking at are:

• Keyword Research - keyword research and competitor review analysis - think about how will people find your website?
• Content Optimisation - review your web website content. Does it include the words people will include in a search?
• Current Ranking - benchmark your website to view your current search engine position.
• Website Compliance - does your website comply with accessibility and coding standards?
• Search Engine Submissions - create major search engine accounts and manually submit your website, including a site map and robots.txt file.

But these are just for starters and that's why we include all of the above methods in our Oxford Web SEO 3-month SEO Starter Package.  We recommend this to anyone who is actively seeking better search engine ranking results for their website. 

Our SEO starter package is a good foundation for getting better search engine results for your website. Although there’s no secret formula to getting your site on the first page of Google, we aim to improve the quality of your website through a variety of SEO services.


You need to begin polishing your shop-window now if you want to get ahead of your competitiors and start appearing on that first page of Google.

Tarset Epic Design: Tools to measure your social media activities: #1 ...

Tarset Epic Design: Tools to measure your social media activities: #1 ...: Social networking to promote your online presence can at times feel like a thankless task. If you're using Twitter , Facebook , Google+ or ...

Are we no longer in control of our online destiny?

A recent article in The Observer on Sunday, reviewed the latest book by Eli Pariser, about his ever increasing fears of the manipulation of the Internet, specially Google and Facebook about the perdetermined choices that they continue to make for us - http://bit.ly/lkPwED

In his book 'The Filter Bubble' he explains how, "An invisible revolution has taken place is the way we use the net, but the increasing personalisation of information by search engines such as Google threatens to limit our access to information and enclose us in a self-reinforcing world view..."

It's certainly true that since th roll out of the Google serach enhancements that I feel myself being narrowed by the choices that Goole is making for me, based on assumption, previous searching and other online behaviour. Infact, Facebook is just as much in control, by the types of adverts I'm delivered, or the personalised views of friends news feeds. Surely, it should be my choice? It's just like having some pushy salesperson trying to sell you a product you know you really don't want, but in the end you just go along with it anyway.

And I guess that's the issue, do we just go along with this? We can't deny that the Internet plays a huge part in our lives now, but do we really want it to run and dictate our choices, what we do and not let us see the bigger picture. As Pariser says, I think that this does have repurcussions not now on a personal basis, but how this will effect our understanding of what all this means for our politics, our culture and our future.

I think this will be a very interesting read.

Happy Birthday to The Athena Network North Oxford

I really enjoy my monthly meetings with all of the ladies from Athena Network North Oxford. It's a great opportunity to make new business contacts in both a friendly and professional environment. Yesterday's meeting was no exception as it was the Group's 2nd Birthday, celebrated in 'pink' style.

This group of keen networkers meets at The Oxford Centre in Summertown and attracts businesswomen from a wide range of professions from Accountant to Change Agent to Pilates Coach and just about everything in between.

Being part of the Group enables me to evangelise about web marketing and SEO, as well as get to know a wide range of women professionals from a diverse range of backgrounds and businesses. In September I'll be looking forward to running a workshop for the group, looking at the question of 'So you want to appear on the first page of Google'...

New videos for the Oxford Web SEO YouTube Channel

We recently updated our YouTube Channel and uploaded some new presentation videos from one of our seminars entitled - 'So you want to learn how to improve your website Google rankings?'

We've pulled out some snippets from the seminar, looking at the main areas we should all focus on when looking to make our websites visible in search engines such as Google and Bing. For example, this edited highlight explains what organic search engine optimisation is all about, and how SEO is a device for making your website visible in search engines.



Video is a great content addition to your website. It encourages engagement and provides interactivity on your website. Content optimisation is no longer just about the written word and including not only YouTube vids, but podcasts, quick polls, quizzes or RSS feeds all help to enhance your website visitor experience and hopefully that of the search engines that come to visit your website.

If you're interested in finding out more about how to improve the visibililty of your website in search engines, then please contact Tracy Walker to discuss your content strategy.

A Grand Day Out

I had the great privilege of attending the Oxford Brookes University, School of Technology graduation ceremony on a very warm and sunny Friday afternoon last week.

Markus Boritz accepting the BOCC Prize from Director Tracy Walker

BOCC sponsors an annual student prize at the School of Technology. The prize, entitled  'BOCC Computer Systems Development Award' aims to encourage excellence and the development and effective use of World Wide Web and computer systems techniques in project work.

The award is judged on the effective use of development techniques, as well as accessibility and security issues. Students also have to provide the details of which technologies they have employed in developing their applications and their reasons for making their choice.Oxford Brookes University short-list students and then BOCC awards the prize at that years Graduation Ceremony.

Ian Redmond OBE, delivering his acceptance speech

This years winner was Markus Boritz, with his dissertation on 'Approaches to Application Development for High End Mobile Devices: A Comparative Evaluation', which was supervised by Professor David Duce.

It was great to celebrate with the students on their graduation day, as well as congratulate this years Honorary Graduant Ian Redmond OBE, the renowned tropical field biologist and conservationist.

His acceptance speech was very inspiring, as he talked of his work with gorillas and elephants, working alongside Dian Fossey and Jane Goodall. He also encouraged us to think about our impact on the world and what we can all do about the conservation of our planet.

How Exciting is Your Website Content?

I'm sure that you've heard this many times before, but your website is nothing within interesting, valuable, quality, interactive and above all up-to-date content.

If you have, but haven't yet reviewed your website with this in mind, then you really need to take action. It's so true - if you want to increase your visitor numbers and your websites visibility in search engines, then take a good look at your content.

Content sells - it sells you, your organisation, your products and services. It's about creating content that people will want to read, find engaging and want to share; as well of course as making it search engine friendly and readable.

Start off with thinking about a logical approach to the information you want to share. How easy as a visitor is it to find details about you. Make content clear, precise and to the point. Make sure that you focus on and include the most important keywords and phrases in the first paragraph of each web page. Look at your tone of voice - just be yourself and remember to write as if you were just talking to someone.

Content however, is no longer just about the written word. It's about providing interactive content, such as Flash, video and audio that will engage your website audience. Get people to engage with you, communicate about issues and just generally network with each other and your organisation. Using tools for business, such as blogs, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn can all help to enhance both your websites and companies visibility.

SEO is all about continually updating and monitoring your website. Reviewing the content, creating interesting articles, investing time in posting to Twitter and Facebook. It need lots of work to make your website a success and to continue to keep your organisation visible in search engines.

'Content Creation' - thupr Social Media Week Event

Content on the Web is no longer just the 'written word'. You now have to take into account other media, such as video and audio, as well as the power of blogs and social networking sites. All of these are key to providing quality content on your website.

The thupr 'Content Creation' event, part of this years Social Media Week 2011, highlighted just how interactive and realtime content can greatly enrich your website. The Web is all about engagement. Getting visitors, potential clients and customers to communicate with you online is essential in an ever increasing competitive market. The old addage of 'people sell to people' is still relevant and building rapport and trust is key to a successful business.

A simple communique, such as a short two-minute video to tell people who you are and what you can offer gives a personal touch to your website and develops a bond with your website visitors. I think when recording video for use on your website you do have to be careful of balancing a professional image, with what might look like a quick holiday video. Clear Blue Productions tips on what recorders to buy, lighting and editing software were really useful, but a corporate video may need more polish.

Letting visitors interact with your website is another good way to create engagement. One great idea was to provide a 'VodPod' on your website. This is a widget developed by Nemysis.co.uk that quite simply enables any website owner to record any visitor's message using a webcam and display it on their website. You could use it for message boards, client feedback and testimonials; only thing to bear in mind like any user generated content would be the moderation and approval processes that may be needed.

Another session headed by Amnesty International also highlighted the need to explore further the 'online to offline' relationship between content. Their focus is to look at the use of technology in a human rights context. The issue even now, is that we can't simply rely on the fact that our audience(s) all have access to the Internet and mobile phones. We have to rethink our methods of reaching people by revisiting and not dismissing more traditional offline methods, such as magazines, journals and radio. Especially where human rights are concerned and those most at risk don't have access to online methods.

A really interesting event, some thought provoking sessions and a great way to meet new contacts.

Oxford Web SEO Seminar Thursday 27th January

Oxford Web SEO held a special invite only event last week to launch the start of Oxford Web SEO and deliver a seminar that focused on the question of 'So you want to learn how to improve your website Google rankings?'

Our seminar delivered a range of core hints and tips to get organisations thinking about the way they approach their website. Search engine optimisation is all about increasing the visibility of your website in search engines, in order to make it easy for people to find your offerings and services.

Our approach is getting you to think more carefully about how people will find you. What words are they likely to use in a search engine like Google or Bing to associate with your organisation? They may not be the 'everyday' words that you use within your organisation - perhaps jargon terms that won't be understood on the outside.

So think more carefully about the words and phrases that will help get you found in search engine results listings.

Take a look at some of the photo's on our Oxford Web SEO Facebook Page.

If you would like to find out more about our services and how we can help make your website more visible in an increasingly competitive market, then please visit our Oxford Web SEO website for more information on search engine optimisation, or email us at tracy@oxfordwebseo.co.uk or call us on 01865 920121.

Support My Colleague Kevin Robertson in his Quest to Climb Kilimanjaro

My colleague Kevin Robertson is flying to Africa today to start his ascent of Mount Kilimanjaro in aid of Sobell House Hospice. Please show your support by sponsoring him at Virgin Just Giving.

You can also find out more about his preparation for the climb, as well as progress updates as it happens over the next week on his Blog at http://www.bocc.co.uk/challenge/

Social Media Week 2011 - Global Announcement

Nice presentation and a great idea for a global communciations event. Social Media Week is a global event that connects people, content and conversation around emerging trends in social and mobile media.

Social Media Week is taking place across London from February 7th until 11th. Check out the website and schedule of events.

Making your website attractive - why is it important to build links?

It's a crucial part of organic search engine optimisation to build strong referral links to your website. The more referral website links you have to your website, means the greater your chance of higher search engine rankings. In fact search engines see links as ‘votes’ for your website.

Search engines are generally of the opinion that if lots of visitors find your content interesting enough to link to it, then your website must have something useful to offer. Search engines are always on the lookout for 'interesting' sites to display in their top ranking results. Hence the more links you have, the more likely search engines will give you a higher ranking.

However, don't be fooled into thinking that requesting links from just anybody will make your website more popular. When we talk about link building, we're talking about attracting and getting good, quality links from industry partners that you are happy to be associated with and that will add some gravitas and weight to your own website.

You should aim to get quality referrals from:

• People in the same sector, experts or suppliers
• Charity sites, educational organisations, people you support / sponsor
• Industry bodies and associations
• News sites
• Blogs and forums
• Social media and bookmarking sites

If possible suggest the link to your website to your referrer – search engines weight the actual ‘anchor text’ that forms the text link to your website.

Try and include at least one of your core keywords as the link. For example, “My favourite search engine optimisation partner” - where the text links to the URL of the website. However, links from different websites should be varied to aid natural searching.

Link to your own website pages frequently from your own Blog or Social Networking sites, using your website keywords.

Above all you need to encourage people to want to share content from your site. Your website is nothing without it's content and unless you keep your website up-to-date; write good, clear textual content; and provide interesting gimmicks, such as videos, no one will be attracted to your website.

The art of impressive presentations - Al Gore inspired...

I came across a review on this book 'slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations' by Nancy Duarte, President and CEO of Duarte Design, the firm that created the presentation for Al Gore's Oscar-winning film, 'An Inconvenient Truth'.

So I'm hoping for both inspiration and invention when I come to next pulling together a top business presentation.

slide:ology will apparently challenge my traditional approach to creating slides by teaching me how to be a visual thinker.

So once I've read this you can expect no more boring PowerPoint presentations from me!

Does Facebook take over our lives?

An interesting set of statistics has just been published by OnlineSchools.org together with SocialHype about our global use of Facebook. Did you know that 57% of people talk more online to people, than they do in real life?


Via: Online Schools

But is that so wrong? In a world of instant messaging, email and texting isn't that what we'd expect to happen? Friends, family and colleagues are often dispersed across the world and being able to see them face-to-face is often not possible. It's a way to stay in contact with people that may not be possible in 'real life'.

We should surely be embracing ways that allow us to communicate rather than scorning them?

What purpose does your website currently serve?

SEO is all about making your website visibility strong in the major search engines, such as Google, Bing and Yahoo. However, the key point to remember is that in order for search engine optimisation to work and benefit your website, it has to have a direction and a strategy.

So, what role does your website currently play in your organisation's marketing strategy? Is its aim to sell your products and services online; or is it there for brand and corporate awareness? Attracting more visitors to your website is all about knowing your intended market and you can only optimise your website once you know what is.

Try out some initial benchmarking to see where your website currently sits in search engine rankings. You need to measure and monitor your website visibility in order to continue to improve it.

Similarly, you can't target your website at people, if you don't know what they may be looking or searching for. You need to research the keywords and phrases that your your potential customers and clients will use to find your organisations services.

You also need to stay ahead of your competition and find out what they're up to. Check their search engine ranking listings in Google and Bing - take a look around their websites.

You don't have to do all of this alone. If you'd like our advice on how to optimise your current website, or want to learn more for yourself, then visit us at Oxford Web SEO to take a look at our SEO services and training courses.