Net66 SEO: How to Make a Speedy Website

In SEO and in life, people are looking to go faster at every opportunity. It’s the same with websites. Look at how highly anticipated the 4G rollout was and you can understand people’s need for speed. If your website loads quicker then you’re less likely to frustrate your end user. This could keep quite a lot of traffic on your site. So see below for our tips on how to speed up your site.

Update Your Website. For example, if you’re using WordPress, new updates are constantly made to the platform and to plugins, themes etc. So if you’re still using and older version of a plugin or the framework, then not only will your website note be as quick as more recent websites, but it could also have security holes in it. Updating this will help speed up your site’s loading time as it improves on the basic framework your site had. Note: If you do decide to update anything. ALWAYS take a back up. You never know.

Limit Plugin Use. I know from experience that plugins range from the incredibly useful, to the just plain awesome category. But there is always the temptation to build and build your arsenal of plugins until your site starts to struggle. Too much of a good think don’t you know. So make sure you’re using only the plugins that are essential for your site to run. Deactivate the ones you aren’t using. But again, check with your developer before you de-activate any plugins as some might be imperative to the but might not seem it at first glance.

Optimise images. So it’s great that you’ve finally had your store/products/portfolio professionally photographed. But now you’ve received the files you’ll find that they’re nearly 5mb each. Using these images off the bat would be a bad idea. They’re large files and as such, will take a long time to load on your site. Make sure you crop/resize them before you add them to your website. Otherwise you’ll find yourself waiting and age before you get to see your shop/products/portfolio online in all its glory.

Blog Post by Greg McVey

Net66 SEO: What Can I do about Keywords 100% Not Provided

You may have heard the news doing the circuit on the SEO blogs that Google Analytics will no longer be providing keyword data. That is, of course, unless you’re willing to forego all your previous SEO work and switch to Paid Adverts a la Google Adwords. Failing that if you have a spare £90,000 per year lying around, you could easily afford Google Analytics Premium. Where “user privacy” – the reason Google are switching to (not provided) keywords – appears to be easily bought.

But we’re not here to gripe about who appears to be taking advantage of a monopoly position, we’re here to discuss what can be done to regain some useful data back from Google. See our top tips below:

Take Advantage of your Landing Pages

As we all know, one of the main keys in SEO is relevance. You want to optimise a specific page for each individual keyword. So now that you’ve done that, you’ll be able to look at which pages are the most relevant for each keyword. Through Google Analytics (It is still quite useful after all) if you navigate to Behaviour > Site Content > Landing Pages. This shows you a a list of your most popular landing pages and also just exactly how many hits you’re getting directly to them. Adding an advanced search to this will also help you narrow it down. If you add the secondary dimension as source and then search this for “Google”, it will show only the Google traffic to your landing pages.

Analysing the statistics from this section you’ll be able to discern which pages are performing better than others. For example our SEO services has more hits to it this month than our website design page. So from that it’s indicative we’re getting found more for SEO related keywords than web design keyword. Apply the same principle to your own clients’ analytics and you’ll be able to privide them with more accurate data.

Using Google Webmasters Tools

Google also offer a range of Webmasters Tools which help you produce a website worth of Google’s listings. In this set of tools you’ll find such things as the links Google have discovered to your site, which can prove an excellent link analysis tool. Especially when you consider that if you are ever to receive a link warning from them, they almost always refer to the links contained within webmaster.

But what we’re after here is the “keywords” section of Google Webmasters Tools. You can access it by clicking Search Engine > Search Queries. This will provide you with a list of your most popular queries and how many impressions you’ve made. You’ll also be able to see just how many clicks you’re getting from your impressions as well. This will give you some great data such as which pages appear for that search term the most as well as their average ranking positions in the search engines.

So although we might not be getting the best and most accurate data from Google Analytics anymore, there’s no need to panic massively as there’s still a lot you can do. Such as the above tips.

Blog Post by: Greg McVey

Net66 SEO: Guest Blogging in Moderation is the Best Way

Oscar Wilde once said “Everything in Moderation is the key, including moderation”. Matt Cutts is no Oscar Wilde but he has come out with his own views on what should be carried out in moderation this week, which is Guest Blogging.

The reason for this is that he was asked how Google can distinguish between genuine guest blogs and paid links. And he went on to explain pretty much how the distinctions are made. Firstly, if there is a spam review, then a member of the webspam team will take a look at it. And as they’re a human they’ll be able to judge it correctly.

Anchor Text. A good indicator of a paid link is keyword rich anchor text. It might seem obvious now but people are still paying for keyword rich anchor text, especially if it’s a dofollow. If you’re writing a genuine guest post then you aren’t doing it for the anchor text, you’re writing it as you’re an expert on the subject and have a genuine passion for it. Due to this you’re much more likely to make links contextual.

Relevance. Identifying a genuine guest blog post is also helped by how relevant the post is to the rest of the website. If you’re a website looking for a guest post, you’re likely looking for an expert relevant in your industry. If you’re simply paying to get a blog post on that site, then in theory you’re only looking for the links you’ll be adding to your post and won’t care much about relevance. Indicating paid links.

Authorship. As a content writer you take pride in your work and want to receive the kudos, well deserved of course, that your writing inspires. As such, you’ll be wanting to write a bit about yourself at the end of any guest posts you do. You’ll probably also include a Google+ link and a link to your personal blog. If you were doing this for the links, a jot would not be given as long as the submitted article contained keyword rich anchor text. Again, indicative of paid links over genuine guest post.

So if you’re approached to write a guest post, keep this tips in mind when you’re writing. Otherwise you might get on the wrong end of Googles paid link detector. You an see Matt Cutts answer in full on the webmaster video below:

Blog Post by Greg McVey

Net66 SEO: Content Marketing – Beginners Guide to Failure

There’s been so much content generated and shared on the web ever since the veritable Krakatoa of Content Marketing. Everyone was in a rush to produce much more content, very quickly. As a result, people concentrated more on the quantity of material that was going through their website as opposed to the quality.

In fact, a recent video resignation went viral with the worker in question being unhappy with her working conditions. Ironically this person worked creating viral videos and succeeded with their final contribution.

Before you get to that stage though, you need to avoid these common pitfalls:

> Not Being Yourself. Writing a blog is different to writing a piece of content for a web page. As a blog writer you get to humanise yourself so don’t be afraid to show your personality off a little. People identify with people. If you’re just a another faceless company interested in people’s coffers than people themselves, it’s only going to go one way. But people reading a personalised blog can catch a glimpse of the people who want their business and could sway a decision.

> Bandwaggoning. By all means take a look around the blogosphere before you start writing and look for that piece of content that can help get the ball rolling for your own place. But don’t just rewrite it with your own words. Give your own opinion on the subject. You do have your own opinion don’t you? Good. Just checking. So use it, you might come across a post where they say a certain type of link is a bad link, and you might disagree, so write that down. People value honesty and if you’re simply regurgitating material, your posts won’t be valued.

> Buzz Words. They still work to a degree, but mostly in house. Most people find themselves reacting adversely to buzz words as they can sometimes feel like sales words and no body likes being sold to. Limit them if you can and only use them when no other words will do.

These tips won’t make you a content marketing guru (buzzword) overnight. But they will definitely set you on your way.

Blog Post by Greg McVey

Semantic Search – How it works

Ok, so after Panda & Penguin, generally the SEO world thought it may be the last large update for a while, that was obviously not the right thought.

Hummingbird – What will change? – Is SEO Dead? 90% of searches affected, will many be penalised? Do we have to completely revolutionise our methods?

If you work in SEO you probably will have questioned one of the above, if not all & more at some point.

As with all Major updates, it is easy to be dramatic and think SEO is dead. This can be seen in many places and generally most seek a direct cure from the Google Webmaster Forums.

However, with the semantic search implemented by the new update, research suggests results will be of a much better quality. Meaning, as ever, the update is a good thing for anyone who uses or is involved with Google in whatever capacity.

So how does Semantic Search work:

Traditionally, this is what you could expect if you were to search Google:

With the introduction of Semantic search, this is what we now see:

question-question

So in actual fact, whereas initially it may seem counter intuitive to SEOs, it is actually all in the name of giving the users better quality results via Google.

As we all know:

Better Search Results =

Better Conversions =

Happy Customers =

So, as always, what seems like the end of the world initially is actually a great development for SEO and for businesses in general.

Hummingbird means that as search behaviour continues to evolve so do the search results, and evolve for the best might I add.

If you feel you have been affected by the Hummingbird Algorithm Update and the effects have been detrimental, then there are questions to be answered about what you have done in the past.

We are happy to report that after 10 years and many many updates our methods are as effective and successful as they ever have been so feel free to enquire with us.

Tags: #seo #googlealgorithm #seomanchester #net66

Blog Post by: Tom McVey

Net66 SEO: Google’s Matt Cutts – Geo-Location Redirection NOT Spam.

The reason why this has been brought up is that Google has isn’t the biggest fan of Doorway Pages or redirection pages. For example a page that ranks for hardwood flooring would, when clicked on, redirect your to a page on laminate flooring, or to a different website. All bad linking practices.

But Geo-location redirects aren’t spammy according to Google. So although Google Bot might read the US version of your website, you can still show users in different areas without worrying about Google punishing you.

The reason this is an issue is down to a black hat technique called cloaking. In which a redirect would show a Googlebot a nice content rich optimised page, and would show an actual user something completely different.

You can see the full video below:

Blog Post by: Greg McVey

Net66 SEO: Google PageRank not Getting Update this Year

PageRank. Long was it the staple diet of the internet, instantly giving you an idea of the site’s trustability. It was easy, the higher the PageRank, the more Google trusts the site and the more you should too. The lower the PageRank usually meant that Google didn’t trust this site as much, or that it was a new site.

But now it’s different. PageRank hasn’t been updated since February and now it looks like it’s not going to be updated again this year. See Matt Cutts video below:

You can see from this video that PageRank is only updated periodically so you might not get a PageRank straight away, or for a while. But it’s a tweet that Matt Cutts responded too that gave away just how little importance Google is placing in PageRank. See the Tweet below:

@NielsBoschh I would be surprised if that happened.

— Matt Cutts (@mattcutts) October 6, 2013

That’s going to mean no PageRank update for at least 10 months. Nearly a year of no updates. That’s quite a time, so it does look as if Google is starting to look at other factors for it’s main trust in a website, and letting PageRank fall into disrepair.

Blog Post by: Greg McVey

Net66 SEO: Google Release New Penguin 2.1 (Penguin 5) Update

On Friday Google confirmed, via their perennial knight of webspam Matt Cutts, that they have released a new version of their Penguin Update. This update runs in tandem with Google’s new algorithm, Hummingbird, with their other significant update, Panda, also being integrated into the algorithm.

Now there is something to be cleared up here with a lot of people referring to Penguin 5, whilst others refer to it as Penguin 2.1. The reason being is that Google have released 5 Penguin updates, however, the fourth update was deemed too different from the third. So, Google decided to name it Penguin 2.0 as it was a pretty revolutionary and new update that was a cut above the previous Penguins.

But now we have Penguin 2.1. So what does this entail? Well the official release didn’t really give two much away. It was confirmed by Matt on his Twitter page with the tweet reading that Google have released the update and that it will affect around 1% of search queries. See the Tweet below:

Penguin 2.1 launching today. Affects ~1% of searches to a noticeable degree. More info on Penguin: http://t.co/4YSh4sfZQj

— Matt Cutts (@mattcutts) October 4, 2013

The thing to notice here is the text “to a noticeable degree”. With Hummingbirds release it affected around 90% of searches on Google. But with that, the SEO industry only noted a slight change here or there and there were no mass scale fallouts of rankings for people. But this time, with the 1% being to a noticeable degree, that’s more likely to mean that there will be a higher degree of page one listings changing. Much more likely to draw attention from the SEO industry.

Penguin 2.1 does seem to have hit a lot of sites that have so far seemed to escape punishment by Google. After all, that’s the point of Penguin 2.1, to root out websites that are manipulating the search algorithm, specifically though bad link building practices.

It seems to have taken hold already with a lot of fluctuations in traffic and rankings being noted throughout the SEO industry, especially on the Webmaster World forums. Have you noticed any ups or downs in your traffic or rankings?

Blog Post by: Greg McVey

Net66 Google: Google Now Integrated with Knowledge Graph

There have been a lot of big updates form Google recently. Not least of which is the completely new algorithm they’ve introduced called Hummingbird. This Algorithm pays closer attention to sentences as a whole rather than noting which keywords are used and bringing up relevant results for them. This helps Google answer questions better when asked.

Another big update is the integration of two of Google’s most advanced search features. Their personalised search service Google Now and the Knowledge Graph. Personally I love Google Now, it practically second guesses me. I pull out my phone wondering when my next meeting is, and it’s first on the display of “Cards”.

But now Google are making this and even bigger feature as you can get Updates from people who have the Knowledge Graph Card. I.e. when you search for someone on Google and it brings up a little bio on the right hand side of the page, that’s the knowledge graph guessing at what you want and bringing up a snapshot of the information you’re after.

But if you’re running a search on a device with Google Now on it, then you get something extra. You get a little “Keep Me Updated” box that you can tick. So say you’re looking up Matt Cutts on a device that you have Google Now on, then you can tick a box to make sure next time he updates his blog, you’re notified. Perfect for the SEO on the go. See the below image:

So, do you use Google Now? Who have you signed up with?

Blog Post by: Greg McVey

Image Courtesy of Search Engine Roundtable

Net66: Google Now Providing Web Design Tools

This week Google have launched their own HTML5 website design tool. Although in Beta at the moment, it already looks like a pretty handy tool. You can download it here. It seems the reason Google are now releasing this tool is down to the fact that, although a wonderful language, HTML5 has yet to be adopted and used in everyday web design.

One of the reasons for this is that you have to design three websites in effect. One for computers, one for tablets, and one for phones. The web design tool released by Google looks to tackle this problem head on with it’s easy and simple to use interface. Check out the demo below:

Blog Post by: Greg McVey

Net66 Web Design: Designing a Mobile Site – Top Tips

As a business owner you need to keep up to date with every aspect of your business, and that includes the website. Now a lot of us aren’t tech savvy, much in the same way us “computer geeks” aren’t social savvy. So here’s some top tips to help you not only understand mobile design, but also how to have an input in the design process too:

Keep it Simple

The mobile experience, although immersive in it’s own right, can get bogged down by too much content. A mobile device’s screen is a lot smaller than even the smallest netbook. So if you’ve a 500 word, graphic rich, video inclusive home page, a mobile device will take it’s time to load all of this content. So keep it simple. An image here or there isn’t too bad, you also don’t want reams of text, as users will struggle to read it all on a small device.

Ensure Compatibility

iPads, iPhones, Adroids, Tablets and now Smart Watches. Each device released makes it harder for one website to do it all. Even with the ubiquitous iPhone, with each new release comes a new screen to fit your website to. So you need to make sure your website is looking how you want it on a range of devices.

Responsive Web Design

This type of design is designed to respond to the size of the browser width that you’re viewing it through. This ties in with the second point as a responsive website can usually respond to a range of different mobile device screens. More than that though, if you’re on your computer and choose to shrink the size of your browser window, the website will respond to that straight away. So you can still view all the content of your favourite website, but whilst also having another window open.

Full Website Option

Some people are quite averse to mobile websites and would prefer to view the website in full. So make sure you always include this option.

Follow these tips and if ever you want a mobile website designed, you’ll have a head start on what to do.

Blog Post by: Greg McVey

Net66 Google: Google Launches New Card Layout for Mobile Search

Web Design has progressed a lot over the years and it seems to be the current trend is to just simplify everything. We’ve seen that most recently with Google’s redesigned logo. This has lead to a lot of companies now redesigning their own websites with simplicity in mind.

Google is again rolling out their interpretation of the simple design by introducing a new layout for their Mobile search. Known as a card layout, this design segments different areas of the website and displays them floating apart from each other, over a static background.

This has previously been introduced on Google+ and it’s also similar to Facebook’s recent timeline update. But now it seems to be the turn of the Google Search Results themselves. You can see a screenshot below of what the new Card Layout looks like on the iPad:

I really quite like the new design. I’m also comfortable saying it’d work just as well and look just as nice on your computer. What do you think to the new Layout?

Net66 SEO: Google Releases Hummingbird Algorithm Update

Google last night revealed their biggest change to their famed search algorithm in 3 years. They tinker with the algorithm all the time, allowing them slight refinements to it so they can better provide you with the search results you’re looking for.

But this time they’ve added by far the largest update to their algorithm so far. This update will affect 90% of all search queries! That’s right, 90%! To put that in perspective, Google’s Penguin Update affected 2.3% of English queries and caused an uproar that is still lasting to this day.

I’m sure you must be aware of all the penguin recovery techniques that are going around. Even now, months after it’s been rolled out.

So what does Hummingbird actually entail then? Well the main purpose of this update is to better answer long tailed questions that are put to the search engine. So for instance, before the update, if I were to search for “How do I make sticky toffee pudding without raisins?”, because raisins aren’t everyones cup of tea. The previous algorithm would still have counted raisins as a search term as it is in the search string. To find recipes without raisins I’d have to enter the more complicated search “Sticky Toffee Pudding Recipe -raisins”. Because when you add the minus sign before a word, Google will return all search results without that word in them.

This Hummingbird update is now set to change that, so that Google will be able to understand more long tailed question search terms. Previously the algorithm’s main prerogative was to search for short tail related keywords. Which is why my search for a good sticky toffee pudding recipe took so long.

Google has also took the time to update their voice search capabilities. They want communication with Google to be as if you were taking to your friend. So for instance if you were looking up information on Malta you could say “Tell me about the History of Malta” and Google would come up with results for historical data about Malta.

But then, you could say something along the lines of “What about it’s geography?”. Google would then present you with geographical knowledge about the country, without you having to repeat it’s name. Cool isn’t it?

I’m sure that the hummingbird update had a lot to do with how much Google is pushing into mobile search as well. As on a mobile, its easier to hit one button and talk rather than fiddle with the device’s small keyboard.

Finally, in a well thought out release, the Hummingbird update also coincides with Google’s 15th Birthday celebrations. So, as well as a cute little game on the Google home page, it also subtly implies how far Google has come in 15 years by releasing their most intelligent Google Algorithm to date. Smart Move Google.

High Score for the day: 155

Blog Post by: Greg McVey

Net66 News: Apple Bodges Maps Again

So IOS7 has launched to much fanfare. Serious fanfare in fact. I’ve seen on my Twitter feed alone people leaving university (college, if American), people taking the day off from work as well as people using an impressive array of unsecured WiFi hotspots to secure the much talked about upgrade.

However, underneath this triumphant release of their new flagship software, there’s been another problem with their maps software. It seems Apple’s idea of “Release flawed software – Apply patch fix later” that has worked in the past doesn’t work all the time.

Especially not with their Apple Maps software which has encountered pretty hilarious errors in the past. But this time it was far from a laughing matter as the software this time directed people over an airport runway.

Not specifically to be honest. You see the Apple Maps software will take you through an access route used by pilots and then conclude by telling you “Take Taxiway B” which is probably the safe route to the terminal. However the reality of it is that you turn onto the access route and are met with concrete all the way to the terminal that is dead ahead of you.

There are two problems here. 1) Some of that concrete belongs to the runway where Boeing 737s happen to use regularly. 2) Apple Maps directs you to this expanse of concrete.

You would forgive people for thinking that Taxiway B does go all the way to the terminal, when in fact it doesn’t. Thankfully no one was hurt in either of the incidents, but I’m sure Apple Maps’ pride has suffered a wee bit of a blow.

Blog Post by: Greg McVey

Net66 SEO: Google Takes out Another Link Network

Google is no stranger to walking the walk after talking the talk. And the’ve proven this again this week by taking down a lot of websites from the link network Ghost 2.0. Somehow as well in their infinite wisdom, Google have managed to take down a lot of sites that the link network had in reserve, including those that haven’t even sent out any external links yet.

How they’ve done it, I’m not sure. Apparently neither are the link networks as they’ve sent out and email. This is a screenshot highlighting part of what the Link Network had to say:

This isn’t the first time this has happened either, take a look at our other articles on Link Networks getting penalised:

Net66 SEO: Another Link Network bites the dust.

Net66 SEO: Google going after more link Networks.

SEO Rumour Mill – SAPE Network Penalised?

It also appears that Matt Cutts sent out a subtle warning to Ghost networks before he took them down. He said he was looking at Ghost related puns to use and eventually went for “they try to look super natural”, referring to the artificially generated links.

Everyone loves a pun. And I suspectre you do too.

Blog Post by: Greg McVey