Have you noticed ghost spam in Your Google Analytics data?

Fighting spam has always been a hard-fought, epic battle which has still yet to be conquered successfully. Google Analytics is one of the leading tools available for gathering and analysing data about your website but unfortunately, its data been compromised in the past through various hackers. This has left many website owners frustrated and confused about how to interpret their reports, since it was not known whether their statistics were not a true reflection of actual website traffic.

Back in 2014, several bots (website crawlers used by Search Engines) were hacked to visit websites and leave fake referral data within the Analytics reporting. Since then, there have been many similar instances from various sources including fake organic search terms or fake events being reported. Whilst Google’s spam defences are always improving, the fight is a tough one for them. By not discussing their tactics and strategies to overcome this problem, they are keeping their security systems private, away from the hackers prying ears. Continue reading “Have you noticed ghost spam in Your Google Analytics data?”

The Impact of Voice Search for SEO

There has been a sharp increase in voice search queries being carried out instead of the traditional typed search queries. Voice search is now the fastest growing search technique for users, since it has many benefits for people. It is quicker, easier and more natural to speak to your mobile rather than having to manually type in the keyword(s) you require. Continue reading “The Impact of Voice Search for SEO”

Seven Shopping Days Till Manchester’s Christmas Markets

Highly popular Christmas Markets only a week away

Manchester Christmas Markets image, Albert Square. — **The Most Wonderful Time of the Year, after Christmas:** the iconic Manchester Christmas Markets. Image by Andrew Stawarz (Creative Commons License: Some Rights Reserved-No Derivatives).

On the 10 November, Manchester’s popular Christmas Markets will be back, and the team at Net Sixty Six SEO cannot wait! For many people, it is the curtain raiser to many a Christmas celebration. At this very moment, the market’s distinctive wooden stalls are being assembled on Brazenose Street. Continue reading “Seven Shopping Days Till Manchester’s Christmas Markets”

Manchester Welcomes Oktoberfest

Meanwhile, the team at Net Sixty Six SEO Towers yearn to wear lederhosen and carry beer steins in Albert Square

Oktoberfest food and drink image by Timolina. — **Traditional German food and drink:** thanks to Manchester’s Oktoberfest, traditional Bavarian delights are a short bus, train, or tram ride away to Albert Square. Image by Timolina (via Shutterstock).

Only days after the Heroes Parade, Net Sixty Six are once at the heart of all the action in Manchester. Since Wednesday, some of our team have fancied donning the lederhosen, schunkeln, and imbibing some of Munich’s finest exports. Yes, after the triumphant success of the Heroes Parade which took part in Manchester City Centre earlier this week, another event is coming to our home city.

Continue reading “Manchester Welcomes Oktoberfest”

Penguin 4.0 Goes for Real Time Updates

How Google’s Penguin 4.0 update differs from its predecessors

Four penguins (well, for a piece on Penguin 4.0, it is appropriate). — **Search engine results, as it happens:** Penguin 4.0 is set to create drastic changes to the way in which Google indexes our websites. Image by Fieldwork (via Shutterstock).

Ladies and Gentlemen: it gives us great pleasure to announce that the days of big bang Google updates are over. Long live the Penguin. Woah, stop there…! Before you reach for the champagne, Prosecco or fizzy Vimto, we at Net Sixty Six SEO would like to tell you about a new kind of Google update. Let us introduce you to Penguin 4.0. Continue reading “Penguin 4.0 Goes for Real Time Updates”

Mobilegeddon 2: Attack of the Mobile Ads

January 2017 return of mobilegeddon sees blitz on intrusive mobile adverts

Mobilegeddon 2 Blog Post Image — **Stand By For Action:** the much-vaunted Mobilegeddon 2 will deliver an improved user experience by early-2017. Image by Vasabii (via Shutterstock).

Monday, 10 January 2017 is set to be an important date for web developers all over the world. From that day forward, Google is about to unleash its second most significant algorithm update since April 2015. April 2015’s update – dubbed as Mobilegeddon – was the first Google update to up the ante on websites that use responsive web design. Continue reading “Mobilegeddon 2: Attack of the Mobile Ads”

SEO After Brexit: Techniques and Trends

How Britain post-Brexit could have an effect on search engine optimisation, its trends, techniques, and the industry itself

Brexit map by Nikola93 — **Living on an Island:** how Brexit is set to pose a challenge for search engine optimisation techniques and the state of the industry. Image by Nikola93 (via Shutterstock).

What interesting times we are living in right now. Firstly, Thursday’s EU Referendum returned a narrow victory for leaving the EU (Leave 52%, Remain 48%). Secondly, at this time of writing, we have seen two high profile resignations. One being the Prime Minister, David Cameron, and England manager Roy Hodgson (for his unexpected result in the bagging area). Though Brexit seems inevitable, Cameron has left the job of confirming this to his successor. So for now, Britain is an EU Member State. Furthermore, a referendum isn’t as legally binding as a General Election, so the results could be void. Continue reading “SEO After Brexit: Techniques and Trends”

Dr. Google’s Casebook: Google Symptom Search

Could Google’s symptom search be the right prescription for authoritative medical sources?

Waiting Room (Google symptom search image). — **Handy:** Google’s symptom search aims to make possible diagnoses easier. Image of waiting room by Toey Toey (via Shutterstock).

The internet, besides being a fine place for buying and selling, dating, travel planning, and cat pictures, is a popular source for looking at medical conditions. Anyone searching for details on a given condition or symptom would find themselves bombarded with several sources. In the UK we have the NHS’ own sources. We also have WebMD, an American site with a British version (promoted by Boots The Chemist). Hypochondriacs needn’t consult the Pears Medical Encyclopaedia, nor go to the reference library. Continue reading “Dr. Google’s Casebook: Google Symptom Search”

Google Ads Go Green – and Purple

Google Ads tabs change from yellow to green, whilst purple map advertising pins are introduced

Google Ads blog post image — **Lost in the online supermarket?** The new-look Google Ads tags will be easier to pick out than the previous colour. Image by Tzido Sun (via Shutterstock).

After a successful trial, Google Ads tabs are set to go green for good. Google Ads tabs have been part of the search engine’s results since 2013 when they were originally yellow (with “ad” in black text). In April of this year, Google experimented with green tabs and white text. Continue reading “Google Ads Go Green – and Purple”

Yoast Boost Sees Grammar Rule the Roost

Update to popular WordPress plugin sees greater emphasis on spelling, punctuation, and grammar as well as SEO techniques

Yoast Grammar image by Luna2631. — **Good grammar is next to godliness:** the latest additions by Yoast sees good grammar at the forefront. Image by Luna2631 (via Shutterstock).

The Yoast SEO plugin has received a major update this week. Version 3.3 sees the addition of spelling, punctuation, and grammar features to its plugin. Till the release of 3.3, Yoast could calculate the Flesch Reading Ease score of your post or page. From 3.3 onwards, content creators can see how the Flesch score is calculated. For all languages, Yoast 3.3 is able to check: Continue reading “Yoast Boost Sees Grammar Rule the Roost”

It’s a G4S Yes for Google Apps

70,000 G4S staff switching to Google Apps for Work

G4S flags Google Apps image — G4S aims to keep the flag flying for Google Apps. Image by Holger Ellgaard, 2009 (Creative Commons License: Attribution-Share Alike).

G4S, the global outsourced services provider, has decided to cut its IT spending by turning to cloud-based computing. 70,000 of its 620,000 staff will be switching to Google Apps for Work, which offers productivity software at a much lower cost than paying higher prices for Microsoft Office packages. Furthermore, G4S’ switch to cloud computing also means more manageable IT infrastructure. It also means a greater degree of standardisation across the board – important for a conglomerate of G4S’ size. Continue reading “It’s a G4S Yes for Google Apps”

Facebook or Twitter: Which Works Best?

Net66 looks at the two social networking sites and as to which of the two works best for small businesses

For many businesses, Twitter and Facebook are the main two social media channels. They might choose a significant third channel such as LinkedIn or Google+. As following your company’s Facebook and/or Twitter feed no longer means PC access (smartphones and digital tablets are more common), this equates to a wider potential audience. Continue reading “Facebook or Twitter: Which Works Best?”

Google Announce New Tool Which Tests Your Website Mobile Friendliness and Page Speed.

Gone are the days where you have to navigate to 2 different websites in order to find out how quick and how mobile friendly your website is. Google have recently launched a new tool where users can enter their website address and get the page speed and mobile friendliness score all on the same page. The report is simply a combination of the page speed insights and the mobile friendly testing tool; Continue reading “Google Announce New Tool Which Tests Your Website Mobile Friendliness and Page Speed.”

Project Abacus: The End of Passwords?

Could Google’s Project Abacus herald the end of passwords?

Project Abacus Image by Alberto Masnovo — **Could we count on Abacus being a success for Google?** Though Project Abacus is likely to win, owing to instant brand recognition, a rival challenge from Nok Nok could make things interesting for both parties. *Image by Alberto Masnovo (via Shutterstock).*

Imagine you’re reading this article 10 years from now. By then, the very thought of trying to remember a Google, Twitter, Facebook or Instagram password will be laughable. Online banking could be done through biometric means. Facial recognition may be the norm. Google’s Project Abacus could see the end of passwords as we know it. Continue reading “Project Abacus: The End of Passwords?”

Hello Allo, Google’s Instant Messaging App

Allo set to wrestle market share from WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger

Hello Allo smartphone image by Macrovector — Image by Macrovector (via Shutterstock).

Allo, Google’s answer to WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger could be the search engine’s elusive instant messaging app. It aims to steal a march on the existing market leaders with more intelligent functions. As a fully-fledged member of the Google family, brand recognition and association would be a selling point. Continue reading “Hello Allo, Google’s Instant Messaging App”

Google Set to Bash Adobe Flash

Adobe Flash set to be phased out on Google Chrome browsers – though with ten exceptions

Web developers: if you’re thinking of going all ‘old-school’ by developing an all Flash website, think again. Google is getting tough on all things of an Adobe Flash nature. Unless your website is one of the ten most visited sites to have a Flash movie, you run the risk of alienating almost everyone in cyberspace. Almost everyone with a copy of Google Chrome that is. Continue reading “Google Set to Bash Adobe Flash”

Yahoo Crisis Sees High Profile Departures

Uncertainty over proposed sale sees loss of key names and contracts

Yahoo search engine screen. — **Beleaguered:** Yahoo, once top dog in the search engine world, now second only to Google.

Newscaster Katie Couric considers position;
Yahoo email accounts hit by hack attack;
AT&T ends contract after 15 years;
Yahoo chief to pocket $55 million if ousted.

This week has been a wretched one for Yahoo, one of the elder statesmen of the internet age. Within the last three days alone, it is having to face up the loss of a star newscaster, a lucrative contract, and a security alert. Much of which has been exacerbated by its proposed sale. Continue reading “Yahoo Crisis Sees High Profile Departures”

Google’s Driverless Cars: Ford Penguin Anyone?

Google, Ford, Uber, Lyft and Volvo in the race to boost driverless cars

Driverless Cars image by Chombosan — Driverless cars image by Chombosan/Shutterstock.

Imagine it’s 2030. You walk up to your garage or parking space. Your car is a far cry from the ones your parents drove. It recognises you as its headlights make ‘eye contact’ with you, thanks to its optical technology. They used a key; yours unlocks the doors on ‘seeing’ you before you climb aboard. The car asks for your journey based on Google’s technology and takes you there. This, 14 years from now, could be the norm. At this moment, driverless cars are being developed by Google and the Ford Motor Company. Other partners in the coalition are Uber, Lyft, and Volvo. Continue reading “Google’s Driverless Cars: Ford Penguin Anyone?”