I recently found this little beauty whilst looking for a private number plate - needless to say I bought it there and then

I must admit the 1st question I am generally asked is - “What is SEO?”

Still - as the industry grows - more people will know what it means and hopefully its value will rise - although it would take a seriously high bid to make me part with her!!!

I will not say how much I paid but it was less than the £30,000 needed to buy 1 SEO!!!

Gareth

The 2 things guaranteed to be in the news at the moment are beating the credit crunch and reducing mans environmental impact on the planet.

ukbackloads.com aims to tackle both these issues!

Whether you are a retailer of large household items or just having a clear out at home, the problems and costs associated with transporting large / heavy / fragile goods limits you to your local area market, but by putting shippers directly in touch with couriers in their area that are looking for return journeys, deliveries can be offered nationwide at a fraction of the normal price.

With online auction sites seeing more and more people looking to raise cash by selling off large items, ukbackloads.com offers the opportunity to sell to a national, not just local audience.

It is free to post a listing and you can access images to add to your auction listings telling potential buyers how the item will be shipped.

The transport industry is facing numerous threats including the most expensive fuel prices in Europe, increasing congestion, low emissions zones and overall operating costs rising at record levels.

Almost 15% of small independent transport companies with turnovers less than £100,000 have ceased trading in the last three years. We aim to stop this miserable trend.

As couriers take the item as a “backload” on their return journey, they are willing to deliver the goods at a much lower price than usual, as they would otherwise be going back empty. By reducing the number of unnecessary journeys and utilising empty space in vans, you can also do your bit towards a greener future for all of us, while helping to relieve the financial strangle-hold facing the courier industry today. It is this backloads concept that the site is built on

With over 900,000 items on auction sites at any one time selling as ‘collection only’, the future looks bright for this new website, couriers and anyone looking to move large items around the U.K.

With a fast growing network of both shippers and couriers, why don’t you join our green, credit crunching revolution today!! 

www.ukbackloads.com

A great day in the life of Hoyle and HD Designs occurred recently

I have been working with newapproachmarketing.com for the last few months and during that time we have expanded the business to over 1000 adwords clients.

As part of this, I met all the criteria required to sit my Google Advertising Professional exam – and I passed!!!

I am now qualified to manage all of your online advertising campaigns using Google Adwords!!

So, if you are looking to run a new online marketing campaign or would like some advice on an existing, please feel free to contact me

I am often asked whether I would recommend a UK or a US based web host - my usual answer is US.

This is for a number of reasons -

1 - Economies of scale - more people = cheaper prices
2 - Time difference - UK based sites are using the bandwidth when it is generally a little quieter in the USA
3 - Choice - again economies of scale, much more competition in the market place giving the customer (ie you) a better deal.

one may argue that Google’s algorithm will rank UK based sites higher if they are using a UK based package - I believe that none of our clients have suffered adversely because of this although I do not know the full ins and outs of Google’s algorithms!!!

Personally, we use IX Webhosting and these have always been very reliable and offers great value for money - why not take a look here -

With support for PHP, ASP, .NET and more (cold fusion is also available I think!!), this has everything you need and offers unlimited domains, traffic etc

 If anything changes, I will keep you all updated

Thanks

Gareth Hoyle

Here are a couple of links that you may find useful whilst monitoring your SEO

Pagerank calculator - http://www.whatsmypagerank.com

Who links to me - http://wholinkstome.com

These are just 2 of the many free resources out there to help analyse how your site is positioned on google and other search engines

Search engines are the most widely used Internet tool to find products or information that people need. Don’t believe me, then Google this to see if I am correct.

You just proved me to be correct by using Google and their search engine to find out some information.

Every day, more and more websites are using SEO to optimise their sites to improve their search engine rankings. This is why you have to use search engine optimisation to raise your rankings.

The majority of people that use search engines use only the first page or top ten top search results. Your goal is to make on the first page and stay there. Once you get there, do not stop your SEO. Remember there are more and more websites trying to get on the first page.

Once you are on the first page, you want to get in the top five so you are on the first fold. The first fold means that a potential customer does not have to scroll down to see your listing. The higher you rank, the more traffic you get, which means more sales.

So just what is search engine optimisation and do you have to use it?

The answer to why you have to use it is an easy one. The higher you rank the more free traffic you will generate.

By generating free traffic, you can reduce or eliminate your cost for paid traffic. Let take a look at some numbers. Let’s just say you get successful sales with 10 percent of your traffic. If you get a hundred hits a day, you get 10 sales per day. If you get only ten to twenty hits a day, you only get 1-2 sales per day.

What is search engine optimisation?

Search engine optimisation is using tools and methods so your website will rank high in the search engines. We all want to rank high so we can generate free targeted traffic to our website.

Search engine optimisation requires a lot of work to be fully realised. There are many aspects you might have to change in your site or add as well to get search engine optimisation. These will include getting lots of information about the keyword phrases that are popular in regards to your sites niche or theme. You may also need to rewrite your sites content so that you could get the keyword phrases you researched in your site. You want to have the right keyword density and also make the article make sense and be informative. Just don’t have your articles with your keyword phrase stuffed in. Search engines, especially Google take into account the quality of the content that is being viewed. Google wants to make sure that the sites they rank high are of good quality and provides the information or product that the user was searching for.

You will also need to get one way links back to your site. Links are a big part on how the search engines rate your website. A few good ways to get one way links are submitting articles to article directories, submitting your sites to social networking sites like digg, stumbleupon and del.icio.us. Join online forums in your niche and leave a link to your site in your signature.

Try to search the Internet for many useful help. Tips, guidelines and methods for search engine optimisation are plenty to be found. Read many articles that can help you optimiseyour site in search engine results. The more knowledge and information you gather the better. This will all help you in getting those high rankings. This may require a little time and effort in your part but the benefits will be outstanding.

If you can justify spending some money, there are many sites in the Internet that can help you in search engine optimisation. There are many sites that help in tracking keyword phrases that can help your site. There are also some content writers that have lots of experience in making good keyword laden content for your sites that have good quality. Act now and see the benefits of search engine optimisation. If done correctly, you will see more targeted traffic to your site.

To discuss your SEO requirements further, contact HD Designs, the experts in SEO or alternatively, check out a previous post of mine for some free SEO tips for your code

This is an article I have had published in the Drive AZ newsletter as part of GE’s ecomagination initiative

In the UK, hybrid cars are gaining a higher profile as they cast off the quaint, slightly odd image to move into the more mainstream markets. The innovative Japanese are leading the way with the Mk2 Prius winning the European Car of the year in 1995, Lexus releasing a 4×4 and large saloon version and Honda introducing a hybrid model into the ever popular Civic range. With lower CO2 emissions and an exemption from the ever increasing threats of congestion charging on major roads and city centres, this market can only expect to see high growth rates. So why are cars with these engines on the increase? The simple answer is that we, as a planet, are running out of oil. Eventually the vast reserves held globally will run out and then what…

With governments starting to apply pressure to the manufacturers and penalising the driver with higher tax bands, the search is on for short to medium term solution. Enter hybrid technology, a blend of conventional engineering with a hi-tech twist. The principle of a hybrid engine is relatively simple. A traditional petrol engine is combined with an electric motor, with each helping the other out. Around town and at low speeds, the vehicle runs using just the electric motor, giving a quiet and emission free drive. The petrol engine kicks in at higher speeds providing maximum efficiency.

The Toyota Prius remains the market leader when measured in sales. The power train is flawless and all the driver has to worry about is filling up with unleaded as and when required and driving it like a normal car. The mk2 Prius is as happy on the open road as it is around town. Snapping at its heels is the Honda Civic IMA (Integrated Motor Assist). Unlike the stand-alone Prius model, the IMA looks and drives like a standard Civic saloon. The luxury sector features 2 models for Lexus, the GS450h and the RX400h. The GS saloon offers supermini fuel economy thanks to its combination of a V6 petrol engine and two high-output electric motors. The same engine combination appears in the RX SUV, which returns a remarkable 35mpg.

Of course, it isn’t all good and hybrids do have their drawbacks. They are more expensive to produce than conventional cars and this cost is passed on to the buyer. Two power sources are always going to be more expensive than one and the long-term cost of running hybrids is still unknown.

In conclusion, thought must be given to what we are going to do when our oil supplies run out. Renewable hydrogen fuel cells are the future but for now, do your bit for the environment and your wallet by buying hybrid and reducing the greenhouse gases for a safer, cleaner future.

For more information on GE’s commitment to green issues please look at: http://www.ge.com/ecomagination/

I was answering my emails and noticed this story on my Gmail RSS feeds - As a “Millenial” I have to agree with a lot of what is said and think senior management do need to take on this point when dealing with millenials.

We are a different generation with different mindsets. Read the article - it is very “American” (original author was American!) but you will find it interesting!!!

To better understand who your employees are and what drives them to succeed, perhaps it’s easiest to understand who they are not. You. That’s right. They may even be your offspring but in the workplace they bear little resemblance to the “you” of yesteryear. Gen Xers (born 1965-1979) and Millenials (born after 1980) are operating in this world with a completely different perspective. Their definitions of loyalty, time and success are often quite different from yours. Rest assured they do recognize all of these concepts and value them in very important ways.The key to your organization’s future success is understanding how the Millenials view the world and using that knowledge to motivate them in a way that works.

Here’s a hint: meet them where they are and they will achieve your underlying goals; try to force them to fit your definitions and they will run for the door every time.So let’s take a look at some of the pervasive myths about our youngest generation in the workforce and discuss why these changes are happening and how you can tailor your workplace to meet the needs of you, your employees and the company

Myth: Younger generations have no work ethic.

Reality: Younger generations have a self-centered work ethic. This is not necessarily the negative that it may seem at first. Millenials are dedicated to completing their task well. They have not been raised in a way that demands them to look around and see what should be done next. Instead they ask “what is my job” and go about figuring the best, fastest way to complete that task. Then they consider themselves done. This is a key differentiator between your employees and yourself. The younger they are, the more your employees view their jobs as “something to do between the weekends.” For most, early employment has nothing to do with a career path; it is a way to earn money to have fun in their free time. And that is okay. When you understand what motivates your employees you are better able to set mutual expectations for success.

Instead of being frustrated that your youngest employees are not interested in climbing your corporate ladder, embrace their true motivation - reliable spending money - and use it to your advantage. When you tell an employee, “I understand this is not your lifelong career, but to earn the paycheck every week, here is what I expect …” they are much more likely to respond than if you try to motivate with promises of promotions and titles down the road.

Understanding that being at the job isn’t as important to Millenials as completing the assigned task also opens up new opportunities for motivation and reward. Younger employees are very likely to respond to offers of paid time off. A leading retail organization has recognized this new way of thinking with its Working Hard Card: When managers witness an employee rising to a challenge, exceeding expectations or otherwise giving 110% they can hand the employee a Working Hard Card on the spot. Each card is worth a set amount of paid time off to be used at the employee’s discretion. It is a simple strategy that rewards employees in the currency they value most - their time.

Myth: They don’t want to put in the hours to get ahead.

Reality: They are willing to put in the time to do the job, however they are uninterested in “face time.” Gen Xers and Millenials view time as a currency. While Baby Boomers tend to see time as something to invest, the younger generations view it as a valuable currency not to be wasted. These are the generations that demand work-life balance and paid time off. They want to get the job done, then put it behind them and enjoy life.

Boomer managers have a tendency to lose the interest of their Millenial employees by looking too far into the future. Millenials live in timeframe based on right now. Their world has proven that nothing is a guarantee - from nationwide layoffs to war to soaring divorce rates, they have decided that there’s not a lot you can count on. As a result they are not interested in promotion plans for five years from now. They don’t even want to know what will happen at the end of the summer. Life is uncertain. To reach the Millenial employee and reduce turnover, make it certain.

Tell your employee that you have a plan. Take pains to ensure it is in a timeframe short enough for them to envision. Be prepared to fulfill your promise - once fooled, forever jaded. This approach feeds into their reality, while simultaneously building trust and buying you more time. Reward small successes along the way, string these milestones together and you will soon realize longer tenures among your staff.

Myth: They have no respect for authority.

Reality: They have great respect for leaders and loyalty. But no, as a rule they don’t respect authority “just because.” For the younger generations, every ounce of loyalty and respect must be earned. But when it is earned, it is given fiercely.

In fact, loyalty to the individual is the number one reason Xers and Millennials stay in the job, especially during the first three, tenuous years. Dissatisfaction with the boss is the number one reason they quit. So in order to increase retention, managers must take a flipped view on leadership - it is no longer enough to hire the right people and show them the way, now you must BE the right person to win their affection. Sounds a little touchy-feely for the workforce, yet the faster leaders understand this new relationship, the sooner you will see the reward in the way of increased retention.

There is one big caveat to the “be the person they want you to be” approach to leadership, however. Millenials have a tendency to seek tight bonds - they want a boss who is close, caring and aware. And you can be all that. It is very easy to cross the line between “boss as advocate” to “boss as friend.” That is a slippery slope. It can be especially tempting in situations where managers and employees are close in age. When activities outside of the office become too regular, too casual or largely social in nature, it is time to examine how this will affect your role as a leader. What Millennial need most out of a boss is a guide, not a social life.

Myth: They don’t want to grow up.

Reality: They really don’t know how. The youngest generations in today’s workforce are facing a delayed adulthood. They are getting married later, having children later and just generally facing the “real world” later. This isn’t the result of a mutated maturity gene, it just is. And if we are being completely honest, Boomers had a lot to do with why it’s happening. First, as parents, Boomers had a tendency to coddle their children and use their own good fortune to make sure their children didn’t experience adversity. Second, as career models, Boomers demonstrated the toll of working long hours and “paying one’s dues” in a way that made their children less likely to follow in their footsteps. Millenials today look at the corporate ladder and think, “there must be another way.”

My advice to you - don’t waste time wishing they were different. Don’t spend your energy comparing today’s youth to the desires and drive you had at age 18. These employees are not a reflection of you, nor are they an earlier version of you. And again, that is okay. Your task is to take this new understanding and use it to reposition how you interact with, motivate and reward your staff.

Take attire for instance. Your 18-year-old self would have gladly donned whatever uniform was necessary to fit the company mold. Be it pressed khakis and a tie or a specific corporate uniform, fitting in was part of the package. Today’s youth wants to stand out. They want their individuality to shine through even when required to provide a consistent standard of service and performance. Balancing corporate needs with individual desires takes some creative thinking.

Not all change is bad.

As we’ve discussed, the myths surrounding today’s young employees are not always what they seem. Attitudes toward work, life, loyalty and respect have all changed, but each is still considered valuable. In fact, some of the demands made by today’s youth are creating positive benefits for employees in every generation. Flexibility and respect for the individual, as well as the organization, are good for everyone. Loyalty from younger employees, once earned, is long-lasting. The adjustments you make to accommodate the changing attitudes of today’s youth will be returned to you tenfold with decreased turnover, improved morale, and measurable business results.

And when the frustration mounts, just remember things aren’t always what they seem. Open your mind to the possibility that there is a benign, generational reason for the disconnect between what you want and what your employees are providing, and you may just find room to create a shared vision of success.

Makes for an interesting read I am sure you agree and from the view of a future senior manager / employer, maybe this will help today’s senior managers understand tomorrows!!!

Thanks

Gareth

Search Engine Optimisation

A search for ’search engine optimisation’ on Google will offer you thousands of websites with advice on techniques to apply for SEO. This may be useful for consultants who wish to apply these techniques to justify their fees for optimising your website. However as a website owner (current or potential), it is unlikely you will ever use these techniques yourself. This section therefore concentrates on a brief explanation of the commonly known techniques, plus some less well know ones. It also focuses on explaining the logic behind these techniques. Giving you a grasp of the logic of how Google works will help you to understand why certain techniques are effective.

In this section we will concentrate on Google - the most widely used and sophisticated search engine.

Once your website is established on Google it will cache your website roughly every 4 - 6 weeks. This means it will visit it to gather information on the website to assess where it should place it.

Domain name

Google takes account of the content of your URL and will recognise keywords in it. So consider this when selecting your domain name.

Page Tag

This is located at the top left side of your screen. It is an open invitation for us to tell Google precisely what your website is about. You have around 60 - 80 characters to provide this information. It is our experience that around 70% of the websites we analyses fail to maximise the potential of this very simple yet critically important tool.

H1 Tag

You may recognise this as the strap line or slogan. It is the first heading on each of your web pages. Google places high importance on the first major heading on a page - the logic being that this should contain some prime keywords. So, your webmaster should help Google by loading some prime keywords into the H1 Tag, whilst keeping it meaningful and attractive for the human visitor.

It is also considered helpful to Google to have another version of the H1 tag at the bottom of the page to reinforce your keyword message.

Section Headings

As we move down the page to the body text, we break up the text of each web page into sections, each with headings. This enables the visitor to scan or browse the text rather that scrutinise it. This lends itself to the frequent use of headings. Logically again, Google expects to find keywords in the headings, so we oblige.

Google also interprets bold text and to a lesser degree italics, as an indication of keyword content in a phrase or sentence. Thus we sectionalise our pages for the human reader’s convenience, and use bold headings to further highlight the keywords.

We will sometimes use italics in the body text and especially in bullet point lists of products.

Keyword Density

Google will attempt to identify your keywords, and in applying the techniques above we are able to help the search engine considerably in that regard. It will then scrutinise the general body text of each page to see how frequently the keywords are used, in proportion to other words - and calculate the keyword density. It expects to see a density in the region of 5 - 15%. More than this and it starts to suspect the webmaster of spamming, and reacts negatively. No need for us to detail the consequences, just don’t do it.

Topic Pages

From analysis of the above detail, we have distilled several techniques for optimising client sites for specific reasons.

Check out www.smileatlaburnum.co.uk. By adding an educational section with over 100 pages of dental related information, this attracts more visitors to the site.

We will reinforce a version of the H1 tag at the foot of the page. We will include the Dental Surgery address on every page.

Inbound Links

To simplify the situation, Google views a link into your website as a ‘vote’ for it. If the link is from a website with significant common content, it weights the link more strongly. Google is placing increasing emphasis on the importance of good quality links into a website, on the basis that this ‘off page’ activity is more difficult for web masters to manipulate.

Beware Links Farms!
On this subject, beware of SEO operators offering you 200 links if you join their link club. Google now sees when a rush of websites link to yours, recognises it as link farm manipulation - and penalises your site for participating!

Conclusion

Take the trouble to build an ever growing list of links into your website. Request links from your suppliers and other operators within your industry sector. The effort will be worth it.

Internal Links

Google appreciates links established within the website, to help it navigate its way around. So take every opportunity to introduce links between the different pages on your website, and add a site map in the process.

Keyword Loaded Anchor Text

Google ascribes keyword value to the anchor text used for your hyperlinks. So, where possible, use product names or other keywords rather than anchor text such as Read more… or Details…

And finally…

Ensure text is HTML

Google is ‘uncomfortable’ with certain forms of Flash animation. We still see many websites where the company name, business activity and even what should be the H1 tag, are embedded in Flash. Unless dealt with specifically in the website coding, the search engine will see only an image, failing to recognise the critical keywords in a prominent position on the website.

This is a broad summary of SEO, intended to give you a general appreciation of what is required to have your site placed prominently for the search phrases most appropriate to your business.

If you would like a free analysis of your website’s SEO status please e-mail me – gareth@hddesigns.co.uk – and we will review your site and offer you a solution to boost your page ranking