Sitemaps UK Optimisation or Art?

Cash in on smaller social networking sites?

2010-01-13T19:10:00.002Z

We are all now very aware that the success of a website depends on a myriad of variable factors. One stratagem employed by Optimizers to 'sell the brand' via social networking sites. One of the main distributors is Twitter - if you already have an account you will be aware that the posts placed are 99% twitter shit. There are however more niche networking sites.

I was trawling through my emails and I had one from Lolita Jenings who was singing the praises of RandRWorld.com. The content of the email appeared official so I replied back asking for more information. Below is the reply she sent back.

Hi, thank you for your attention. I'm Pr-manager in R&R music company

Discovering new music, creating new partnerships, and establishing new relationships are all integral goals of R&R Arena.

R&R World is one of the most innovative and forward-thinking music networking websites on the web. It offers different profiles and features for artists, venues, music professionals, and every day music lovers.

Artists can create announcements on their profile pages to advertise upcoming shows or album releases. All users can create playlists with any track that has been uploaded by an artists so they can listen to their favorite songs over and over. And venues can advertise upcoming events or search for artists to perform at the venue.

But the main features of R&R Arena are:

"The Market" - offers free publishing rights to artists and helps them to shop their music around to various people and companies who are looking for music to use in various different mediums.

"The Brokerage" - offers the unique service of pairing artists with companies who are looking to create a certain brand image for their company or their product. Both of these services provide great opportunities for artists and companies that can't be found in many other places online.

Come and see how easy it is to get started, upload music, videos, and pictures, and start networking. R&R World even has its own wiki system to help users discover what all the features do and how to use them! This is truly a user friendly network within the music world. Be heard at R&R World.

There are lots of alternative networks out there - maybe this one can offer something different? We made a page here: thiswindow . Let's see what happens.

Content by

Cheap Web Design?

2009-12-30T18:51:00.000Z

Outsider Internet

Outsider Internet can provide web hosting. There are lots of companies on the web who can provide cheap options - the majority are trustworthy. We can arrange hosting either in the UK or in the USA; we have clients who host on both sides of the Atlantic.

There are several options available. If you want us to sort it out for you we can give you a competitive quote. Wer can also build you a site - this is what we are here to do:

Get your project delivered within a specific time frame.
Ensure good search engine optimization is employed.
Get service from expert and experienced web and graphics designers.
To reduce your project costs.
To deliver quality all the time.
Customised web designs and graphics design at low rates.
We offer very affordable hosting and design packages.
Give you the experience of an established team of designers .
Customer satisfaction is our final goal.

Outsider Internet provides a web site updating service. We will update your site, even if we didn't design it in the first place

There is nothing worse than a web site that contains out of date information....this gives the buying public the wrong impression.

Your web presence is important, a vital link between 'you' and 'them'. This is a vital marketing strategy: information is power and sharing information increases your presence and ultimately sales.

Playlist 7 is another joint venture between ReverbNation and Windows

2009-12-26T11:29:00.002Z

Without doubt ReverbNation is becoming one of the most important sites for independent (music) artists and appear to be the website that is implementing the best strategies for success - below is an unedited email interview with Jed Carlson who is the Chief Operating Officer of ReverbNation. (First published on SystemCulture.org)

Playlist 7 is another joint venture between ReverbNation and Windows. What are the fundamental differences between this program package and the earlier 'Sponsored Song' free download extravaganza?

Playlist 7 is trying to bring the fans more into the equation than in Sponsored Songs. Fans are charged with the ability to determine who moves into the featured slots and who gets the bigger money prizes (over $500 each for featured Artists).

The band equity charts are a great concept (points gained are based on track plays, visits, hits etc.) these scores are used to divide and share advertising revenue between the artists and ReverbNation, which to me seems a radical idea. Is this idea unique and do you think it is sustainable in the long term?

Band Equity is a score that attempts to gauge the 'brand value' of an artist at any given point in time. Band Equity looks at 4 factors of an Artist:

1. Reach: How many people are being touched by the music? All else equal, the Artist that reaches more people should score higher.

2. Influence: Of those people, how many engage with the music, listen to the whole song, come back for more, etc? All else equal, the Artist that engages fans more deeply should score higher.

3. Recency: How recent are the interactions? All else equal, the Artist that has reached and engaged their fans more recently should score higher.

4. Access: What % of your fans is the Artist engaging with? All else equal, the Artist that engages a higher % of fans should score higher.

We devised this metric to more 'holistically' understand Artists the board. It IS ENTIRELY UNIQUE to ReverbNation - we Invented it! We do think that is holds water for many Artists out there, but it isn't perfect by any means. Band Equity Scores have undergone more than a dozen refinements over the course of the introduction of the metric. We will continue to commit to it as a standard for measuring Artists in terms of their brand value going forward and hope that others adopt it.

Playlist 7 is a fantastic way for consumers to download free music via the Internet. With the collapse of the 'traditional' music industry monopoly, the independent artist has been able to take more control regarding recording and distributing their work. Do you think the business model of the 'Sponsored Song', with its embedded advertising is the future of the (download) music industry and do you think paying for tracks via iTunes, Amazon etc. will become a thing of the past?

Music retailing will never become obsolete. People will always trust retailers to deliver music to them. We hope that the concept of embedding adverts inside the download will play a big role in the future of ad-supported music. We even filed a patent on it. But the future of music is likely to be fragmented. As a result, the future of music consumption will be dominated by a large variety of models that provide for it. Embedding adverts into the album art is likely to be just one of them.

ReverbNation have without doubt the best toolbox for the independent artist; the ability to control songs, newsletters, fans, merchandising and distribution from one place is second to none. What do you think the future of ReverbNation will be and what are the ultimate goals?

Our goal is to provide ALL of the solutions that an Artist needs to compete, cooperate, and differentiate in the new music environment. We are on our way to providing that now.

I have noticed that more mainstream and more well know artists have appeared on ReverbNation - this is in many ways a double edged sword. Do you think the influx of established 'stars' will alter the philosophy of the site (which appears to be - to enable and support the independent artist) or are you confident that your strategies are robust enough to cope with the change?

ReverbNation is agnostic to the 'type' of Artist that uses our system. We want to build the best solutions and let anyone who wants them come and use them. We approach every feature with an 'Artist First' mentality. That is to say that we don't build anything that doesn't first help the Artist. Whether its an indie Artist or an established Artists, we don't really care. We are building for a future where every Artist has a fair shake, and our tools serve them equally. If more established Artists want to use our tools, so be it. We are here for every Artist who wants to take control of their future. That's what makes us different. We don't have an angle per se. We just focus on building great technology for everyone.

Questions by

Playlist 7 - A strategic alliance?

2009-12-16T07:40:00.003Z

Creating strategic alliances between companies and/or individuals enables common goals to be achieved for mutual benefit. You don't have to be a massive organization to benefit from cooperation, sometimes big fish need smaller fish to develop ideas and strategies - get out there find a partner!

During the Summer of 2009, Windows and ReverbNation created a strategic alliance that enabled independent musicians and artists to give away their music for free - but be paid by sponsorship of these songs. This was a radical 'win win' business proposal - the sponsor, Windows, were able to embed advertising into the graphic (cover artwork) of the downloadable mp3 and the artist was paid. The payment per download to the artist was low in comparison to iTunes, Amazon etc. but the value in exposure, reaching a larger market, was generous compensation. These participating artists have been given the opportunity to let their 'Sponsored Song' continue as a free download in a new archive as part of a new initiative called “Playlist 7”

“Playlist 7” is again a joint marketing venture between Windows and ReverbNation but this version of the same idea has a few twists. In principal it follows the same methodology, giving away a pool of free music to whoever is interested. Fans, friends and followers on Facebook, MySpace and Twitter of Windows have special access to a weekly pool of 50 new 'Featured Artists' to sample. Fans can download up to 7 of these songs free, and those downloads help decide which artists’ songs will be available for everyone to download the following week.

Reverbnation have without doubt the best tools and philosophy of all the music 'fan site' websites out there in webland and this partnership with Windows is a true contender to take over the crown in the download wars. This maybe embryonic but this could be the business model that knocks iTunes et al off the top of the ladder and enables the consumer to have free music. This strategy could be indirectly the solution to illegal downloading.

Voyeurs, Porn, Art or the Internet?

2009-11-30T00:05:00.005Z

The acceptable age of voyeurism?

Inspired by a babysitter he surprised in front of the bathroom mirror shooting pictures of herself with his Polaroid, the photographer Uwe Ommer decided to put together a book of erotic self-portraits by inexperienced photographers. The cast of self-portraitists includes a wide range of personalities, from students to artists, actors, stylists, dancers, models, musicians, teachers, and more...but is this art or an example of exhibitionism? Do they all secretly want to be porn stars or webgirls? The digital age of voyeurism has become a comfortably familiar staple of mas culture. The media feeds us the intimate details of tenuously famous personalities, elevating them to celebrities. Scantily-clad college students set up Web cams in their dorms and voyeurs across the world pay to watch them clean their bathroom and lounge around in bed. Do they want to expose their bodies to turn people on? Or is this exploitationism (of who)? Or is this a shout out to girls to Do It Yourself?

The Internet is a tool that connects you with businesses and people and smart businesses, communicate with their clients directly, pulling in the voyeurs and boosting their sales; they stay in front of the curve and their rivals. All this is achievable by using the Internet to its full marketing, and interaction potential. Try your hand at real search engine optimisation, look at your site and fix those broken links, update the content, sort out the keywords and phrases. Harnessing the power of the Internet to improve your website’s rank in the search engine results pages is a way to achieve your dreams. Don't be content with just having 'lookers' or 'peepers', be more positive and proactive with your time, improve and inspire, corral your visitors and steer them towards your products. Create a cage that keeps them locked into your site; tame them so they don't want to leave. Set your traps carefully and take money from your visitors.

Art history lists dozens of examples of 'fine art' that crosses the dubious line between art and pornography. Some of the most famous paintings in the world were originally little more than naughty pictures for very rich men. The act of looking or 'peeping' was undertaken for the purpose of achieving some sort of sexual excitement. The observer generally did not seek to have sexual contact with the real person being observed. Artists purposely cross the line but intellectualize it away. Peudo-artistic photography magazines produce porn and use the art tag as a disguise. Nothing changes.

Outsider Internet powered by wind.

2009-11-07T21:47:00.003Z

OutsiderInternet.com is doing its little bit to try and save our planet from dying by being 100% powered by wind energy; we are proud that the machines hosting our Web site and e-mail are fully eco-friendly! As energy awareness continues to grow, people aren’t just looking to make lifestyle adjustments — they want to make environmentally responsible decisions, this site is powered by renewable energy. We are making the effort and helping our clients to be eco-conscious. This initiative isn't a marketing ploy; we encourage responsible environmental practices inside the office and practice them outside the office and we know that many of our clients feel just as strongly.

Click logo below for hosting plans and costs

OutsiderInternet .com have several hosting and managing options available. We can even help with 'search engine rankings':

Search Engines consider a number of factors when ranking websites. One important factor is 'links' from other websites each link validates your website. The more ‘clicks’, the larger the perceived trust and importance your website implies. This in theory, will increase its ranking.

Have you have found this site, by using a search engine?

2009-11-07T18:45:00.000Z

Have you have found this site, by using a search engine? …. Then we have done our job correctly - our rankings or domain stratagem has worked. SEO entrepreneurialism is all about getting the major search engines to prioritize your site. It is incomprehensible how many millions of owners of websites out there want (or need) a significant ranking presence on the primary search engines. It is therefore impossible for everyone to be in the top ten search terms for their product, service or business.

You have to create a drama with your website - its content has to be dramatic and awesome. Walk into a church and soak in the imagery and mystery, then go home and try to recreate a similar experience in a website - it is not easy!

The rules that apply to terrestrial businesses still apply to the virtual word of the internet. Your website is a window for the world to look through. Marketing is the art of selling things. Getting things seen and viewed correctly is an important part of on line selling. Taking tips from the real world - retail shop displays and visualizing layouts of products and aisle layouts are the best ways to envisage an online shopping experience. Optimizing visual layouts is a key to success, the words wrapped around the images help to describe the virtual product to the viewer in the real world.

Don't black Hat!

2009-10-08T08:09:00.005+01:00

The links between designing a world beating web page and delivering content are closer than you think. Words are the building blocks of all great websites. By selecting the best words available you stand a better chance of creating a world beater. By using the best combination of words and web optimization techniques you may end up creating a successful website. There is no need to be subversive if the content of your pages are good - you have no need to use illegal methods.

A black hat is often a term to describe a villain or bad guy, this metaphor is visualised in western movies where the 'baddie' wears a black hat in contrast to the hero's white hat. The phrase is used in computing slang, where it refers to a hackers or the 'dark arts' of search engine optimisation (also called spamdexing). Using black hat tricks in optimization of sites will result in being banned by the major search engine. Over loading keywords, meta tags and content key words will result in a loss of ranking and will inevitably lead to your website un-indexed.

Black hat applied in the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) industry, uses SEO tactics that attempt to redirect search results to particular target pages in a fashion that is against the search engines' terms of service. White hat methods are generally approved by the search engines.

Some of the blackhat SEO tactics include: keyword stuffing, hidden text and links, doorway and cloaked pages, link farming and blog comment spam.

Getting off a blacklist is difficult and can be a frustrating experience - Don't black Hat!

Green SEO?

2009-09-23T23:14:00.001+01:00

Is your site powered by 100% wind energy; are the machines hosting our Web site and e-mail are fully eco-friendly! As energy awareness continues to grow, people aren’t just looking to make lifestyle adjustments — they want to make environmentally responsible decisions, get powered by renewable energy. We are making the effort and helping our clients to be eco-conscious. This initiative isn't a marketing ploy; we encourage responsible environmental practices inside the office and practice them outside the office and we know that many of our clients feel just as strongly.

Click logo below for hosting plans and costs

OutsiderInternet .com, have several hosting and managing options available. We can even help with 'search engine rankings':

Search Engines consider a number of factors when ranking websites. One important factor is 'links' from other websites each link validates your website. The more ‘clicks’, the larger the perceived trust and importance your website implies. This in theory, will increase its ranking.

Product the Obscure?

2009-09-01T13:10:00.003+01:00

You can't really afford to be to obscure about your products, you need to know what you are and who you are. To achieve success you need an understanding of your industry and to be able to identify your marketing performance indicators.Understand your online & offline competitors and measure your search engine visibility against them.

By targeting your market audience through detailed keyword analysis, enables you to promote quality lead generation and create a dynamic SEO campaign.Use off site SEO strategies. Use non-paid link building techniques to increase your website's perceived market relevance within your outlined market sector. However, a little belief in superstition and myth helps.

Horoscopes in newspapers are based on star signs and birth dates; these predict the day’s events. These predictions are based on the laws of probability and chance. You could read your daily horoscope and make the prediction into a self-fulfilling prophecy, you could go out and find that ‘Tall dark handsome man’ or go on ‘A long journey’. Alternatively you could read your horoscope late in the evening and interpret the day’s events and adapt them to the mystical words. "Yes I did meet someone important today". The interesting thing about prediction is that you could meet a tall dark handsome man, go on a long journey and meet someone important and never read your horoscope. Does this mean the day’s events were not predicted?

Similarly you can use these basic ideas and apply them to Search Engine Optimization. You can interpret the statistics about your website using all the probabilities used in horoscopes. You could be number one in Googgle searches without doing anything. You could be high ranking and claim it is all due to your expert's SEO techniques. In reality it will probably be a combination of both. Can you, however, afford to leave everything to chance?

Twitter Spam

2009-08-02T19:25:00.004+01:00

Creating networks that increase sales are a vital part of business survival. Everybody is using networks like twitter and Facebook however, the majority of advertising opportunities within these sites are shrinking. These sites are becoming as ineffective as having an advert on a local radio station that has no listeners.

The reason for me saying this is that we have all fought against spam; our cluttered inboxes were an annoying part of our daily routine and a cleanliness became a ritual habit; like cleaning our teeth the more we did it the better things became. Now we are bombarded with 'twitter spam'. The sex and drug peddlers have migrated to these modes of distribution and ruined these business tools for all of us - install a 'twitter spam filter' or close your account.

How to get your music onto iTunes

2009-07-16T11:15:00.002+01:00

Discover some great up and coming ReverbNation.com artists, and don't worry, they are getting paid to give away these downloads! How? The program's first sponsor, Microsoft Windows is making these downloads available for FREE, download as much music as you want and download it all for no cost.

Without any doubt ReverbNation.com is the best website for unsigned bands. Operating in a similar way to MySpace, ReverbNation.com have more tools and controls, enabling the unsigned artists to create a manageable fanbase. The optimisation of this sites widgets and flexibility is excellent, you can update your status via twitter and add your blog's rss feed. Not only do they provide a free service they also pay the bands a percentage of the profits generated by the artists page. They also have several premium products including a distribution add on. Get your music on 10 MAJOR MUSIC STORES (including iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody, Napster, and eMusic), Collect 100% of the proceeds, and get FREE PROMOTIONAL TOOLS! Setup your albums for FREE and pay only when you decide to release them. (The fee is quoted as $34.95 at the time of writing this.)

A free download of 'You Have The Power' by This Window has been made possible by Microsoft; simply go to the page and grab it. There are 1,000 FREE songs available for you to download. These free downloads (m4a and mp3) are all from ReverbNation artists and made available through the Sponsored Songs program. These songs are EXCLUSIVE to the program, which means you would have to pay to get these downloads from anywhere else.

It is a trap!

2009-07-09T12:04:00.006+01:00

The Internet is a tool that connects you with businesses and people and smart businesses, communicate with their clients directly, elevate their online charisma, and boost their sales; they stay in front of the curve and their rivals. All this is achievable by using the Internet to its full marketing, and interaction potential. Try your hand at real search engine optimisation, look at your site and fix those broken links, update the content, sort out the keywords and phrases. Harnessing the power of the Internet to improve your website’s rank in the search engine results pages is a way to achieve your dreams. Be more positive and proactive with your time, improve and inspire, corral your visitors and steer them towards your products. Create a cage that keeps them locked into your site; tame them so they don't want to leave. Set your traps carefully and take money from your visitors.

FREE, download as much music as you want .

2009-06-30T21:03:00.005+01:00

Discover some great up and coming ReverbNation artists, and don't worry, they are getting paid to give away these downloads! How? The program's first sponsor, Microsoft Windows is making these downloads available for FREE, download as much music as you want and download it all for no cost.

Holistic Strategy

2009-06-16T10:04:00.003+01:00

What are you doing to get your company noticed? Most of us tinker and mess about with our code, search words and tags, in the hopes of growing our internet business. We try to make ourselves and our products appear attractive, intelligent, interesting, sexy and useful, hoping and praying that our visitors trust us enough to buy from us. Most products and websites generate very little traffic (you have put it there but nobody is looking) people can't be expected to stumble upon you. It is like having a blank sign on a wall; if you don't advertise yourself or give the correct information in the correct manner people will pass you by.

I hope your holistic strategy is getting the results you need. This current economic climate we are all suffering in, with its tight budgets, diminishing resources and hungry competition, is making it harder to get noticed. Is all this effort really boosting your business? Maybe it is time to get a proper job.

Web World Graveyard

2009-06-13T20:45:00.005+01:00

Most people seem to fail to understand how the Internet works; lacking the understanding of how to get the most out of their blogs and websites (quitting when they fail to make a quick income).

The content of your endeavor has to be either useful or informative, with a cohesive structure. Where does the visitor go when he lands on your page? You have to corral the interloper and steer them into a pen. Create a cage that keeps them locked into your site, tame them so they don't want to leave. It is no good being left with a deserted graveyard of a site, dumped in the bone yard of forgotten web dreams. Set your traps carefully, snare your visitors.

The genetics of success

2009-05-24T08:23:00.006+01:00

Always use the best words to produce a champion webpage. Always use the best available livestock when trying to breed a winning specimen.

Perfect Specimen

The links between designing a world beating web page and creating a perfect beast are closer than you think. Genetics is the study of genes; the building blocks of all living things. By selecting the best genes available you stand a better chance of breeding a world beater. By using the best combination of words and web optimization techniques you may end up creating a successful website.

SEO - Staring at a blank screen?

2009-05-23T11:04:00.004+01:00

You can spend hours and hours staring at a blank screen, surfing the web fooling yourself you are working. If you actually analyze the amount of time you spend doing nothing...

Search Engine Optimization is where technical and content processes bring value to your web pages. Effective web site optimisation helps to promote your website and give the user an experience that is both informative and pleasurable. Search engine optimisation and website optimisation is about delivering what your clients (visitors) want, in a method that search engines can interpret; a successfully well balanced site will help the process of search engine ranking for your main search words (keywords). Pull your finger out and get on with some real search engine optimisation, look at your site and fix those broken links, update the content, sort out the keywords and phrases,other words be more positive with your time - then get outside and get a life.

Develop your psychic powers

2009-05-16T11:03:00.017+01:00

You need to look deep into your crystal ball and try to predict the future, to foresee the next market shift and growth niche. We are living in a time when markets and employment conditions are tough and uncertain; maybe starting your own business is an option. During this period of economic volatility you stand a good chance of success.

Economic downturns decrease monetary activity which means that businesses usually experience falling sales and lack of growth due to the cash flow doldrums. These economic factors combined have created employment stagnation and redundancies. The larger the business, the tighter the squeeze.

Potential new business owners can take advantage of the opportunities created by an economic downturn. You are lean and mean with a well-thought out business concept; get the right support and advice, have good business planning and a proper sourcing of finance; this is a recipe for potential business success.

If you don't have an idea, develop your psychic powers, consider which of your skills could be used as a base for starting a business, consult a tarot card mystic or get advice from a reputable medium and then drive your business to success.

Are you wasting your time managing your website?

2009-05-13T23:09:00.005+01:00

Are you wasting your time managing your website?
Are you fed up with your hosting company charging you a fortune for a website that doesn't even cover its costs?
Are you bored with the tons of bullshit dumped on you from a great height about ‘Search Engine Optimisation'?
Do you want to keep it simple?
Do you want to get on with your life in the real world?

Let us begin - start with a sitemap and maybe try hosting with OutsiderInternet.com who can guide you through the conception, birth pangs and sustainability of your web presence, they can optimise your site for search engines and submit them to the major players. Using a combination of automated and human processes to help you towards achieving world domination.

Click logo below for hosting plans and costs

Outsider Internet web design services - specialising in sites that are simple to download, navigate and maintain.

Outsider Internet can supply a bespoke website for as little as £30.00. Our packages can include quarterly updating for 12 months or more.

Outsider Internet can keep you in touch with our newsletter service.

Outsider Internet can optimize your site for search engines and submit them to the major players.

West Buckland Festival

2009-05-12T18:18:00.004+01:00

West Buckland Festival is a festival of music, entertainment and leisure, held in a small village on the edge of Exmoor. This year's festival will feature more than a dozen events between Thursday September 10th and Sunday September 13th 2009.

The objectives of the West Buckland Festival are to:

Provide music, art and entertainment for the purpose of enriching the lives of people in North Devon and raise monies for the upkeep of St Peter’s Church, West Buckland and to provide additional funding for another Charity or Charities chosen by the Festival Committee each year.

West Buckland Festival 2009 Events - North Devon

West Buckland Festival - North Devon - Your Art Exhibition

West Buckland Festival 2009 - Ticket Sales

West Buckland Festival 2009 Events - Advertise

West Buckland Festival 2009 Events - Links

West Buckland Festival 2009 Events - Sponsor

West Buckland Festival 2009 Events - North Devon

West Buckland Festival 2009 Events - Events

Site Map xml

2009-05-04T08:18:00.004+01:00

Is your website lost in the pages of the major search engines? Would you like us to give you some of our advice?.

Over the past decade we have accumulated a vast hands on knowledge of Search Engine Optimization, with one of our projects even making the pages of the Financial Times!

Our services include:

Site Map Creation
£2.50

Sitemap Service for £2.50 - site map generator

When we have received your payment we will send you a zip file (which you need to unzip) with all the site map files/images you need to upload to your server. Only upload the files and images and not the folder.

These files and images must be placed in your root directory so that the url is www.yourownsite.whatever/sitemap.html (and .xml). When you have done this email us back to say it is done and we will submit it to Google.

[Add to Cart]

If you need advice on Search Engine Optimisation please feel free to contact us and we will try to help out:

More visitors?

2009-05-01T06:24:00.006+01:00

Trying to constantly update your websites and the information relating to your sites is an overwhelming task. As your your business continues to grow and the hits and visits increase you will need to know more about your visitors. Is the traffic you pull to your site due to your interesting content? Are people remembering the important information in your text or are they just remembering the verbal padding?

After launching a website it easy to sit back and wait for it to happen. The Internet is a universe, and it is full of big stars and little stars. It is no wonder a new website doesn't get much traffic and nobody is clamoring to buy their products or services...

Creating content that is memorable is important to your business and vital in getting the results from all the hard work you have done with your web presence - you have to get involved in your websites search engine optimization. Optimisation is not a static process - updating web pages and creating new web content creates memorable websites - which is important if they have a commercial purpose. The stats you get on your web traffic may indicate you have kept people on your sites for hours but what are they doing? Are they stealing your content or ideas? Quality clicks are a rare commodity, your web content needs constantly updating - it needs to be fed in order to sustain your client audience, they need to know what you have to say about your product and they need constantly updated material. You have to remix your site sometimes.

Is SEO an open book?

2009-04-24T17:29:00.000+01:00

Why is there an interest in search engine optimisation? Is it the cure for all the world's business maladies? Or is it just another get rich quick scam? Is SEO an open book?

SEO is no longer the cryptic crossword puzzle for those who indulged in Internet geekdom but the get rich technique for the opportunist would-be-businessman or charlatan. Some companies charge ridiculously large amounts of money for a lot of their optimisation services. These same businesses then try to explain their rates by attempting to convince prospective clients that by paying ‘extra’ they get a better deal in the long term. This technique reminds me of double glazing salesmen, who all say that by spending more with ‘x’ you get a better deal than with ‘y’, when in reality they all get their materials and manufacturing equipment from the same suppliers. Any astute businessman or businesswoman can intelligently work out that the reason for their inflated prices are due to a combination of greed and over staffing.

Search Engine Optimization appears to be becoming a big business in an age when the rest of the worlds’ business community is tightening its belt. The expression ‘Ambulance Chasers’ comes to mind. I will accept that good SEO requires hours and hours of hard work, involving research and then analysis and scrutiny but what is the acceptable cost? Is this task worth solicitors’ rates?

Possibly the best thing to do is find an optimisation company that recommend processes that make your site better and relevant to the market you are aiming at. Find one that will offer you a decent service for a fair price without taking short cuts. It might be advisable to avoid going for quick fixes and companies that offer promises of number one rankings. Avoid companies that use ‘Black Hat’ techniques. These techniques are used for possible short term gain, which could get your business de-listed or penalised in search engines. Keyword stuffing should be avoided, your text must be contextual and not just a random list of ‘good’ words. Google and other search engines have matured and have become more intelligent, ranking websites on their merit and content. There once was a time when a strategy like ‘reciprocal linking exchange’ was used to get good rankings but now content has become king – and that is the way it should be.

Optimizing visual layouts

2009-04-21T13:38:00.003+01:00

You have to create a drama within your website - its content has to be dramatic and awesome. Walk into a church and soak in the imagery and mystery, then go home and try to recreate a similar experience in a website - it is not easy! Try focusing on good old fashioned techniques like informative content, intelligent HTML tags and relevant linking. The age of your domain is still an indication of its trustworthiness and perceived success, if you have been around for a while you stand a better chance of a higher ranking.

The rules that apply to terrestrial businesses still apply to the virtual word of the Internet. Your website is a window for the world to look through. Marketing is the art of selling things. Getting things seen and viewed correctly is an important part of on line selling. Taking tips from the real world - retail shop displays, visualizing layouts of products and aisle layouts are the best ways to envisage an online shopping experience. Optimizing visual layouts is a key to success, the words wrapped around the images help to describe the virtual product to the viewer in the real world. The web has become live, the day of the static webpage is nearly over, welcome to the embedded video, social bookmarking, widgets, social networks and the real time interactive network sites like Twitter.

Being a SEO entrepreneur is all about getting the major search engines to prioritize your site. It is incomprehensible how many millions of owners of websites out there want (or need) a significant ranking presence on the primary search engines. It is therefore impossible for everyone to be in the top ten search terms for their product, service or business.