Web Vitality Blog

Malabar Table Lamp

2010-04-21T13:48:00.003+01:00

Just thought we would run another one of ourt little tests. For anybody reading the blog post, we would like to say ignore it unless you are looking for a malabar table lamp that is. He he he. Anybody spot the shameless plug?

Like I said, pay no attention to this post - as soon as we've got what we wanted out of it we will be removing it, and is only here for a quick simple SEO test.

Ta,

Mark.

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Social Networking in a Crisis

2010-04-20T15:40:00.005+01:00

Social networking is something which polarises opinion. Individuals with a passion for online interaction revel in it, online marketers thrive on it and the majority of employers despair of the impact it can have on employee productivity. It cannot however be doubted that websites such as Facebook and Twitter are developing absolutely gigantic presence online and in the face of their growing popularity and the comfort users are developing with medium: the manner in which they are used is constantly transforming and diversifying.

Although the most common form of interaction on Facebook is communication with friends: as has always been the case, additional uses have become apparent. The ‘events’ function is a very popular means of inviting people to an event whilst businesses and organisations now use ‘pages’ and ‘groups’ to interact with customers and interested parties. In the light of recent crises however some users have found another, more philanthropic use for the website.

The disaster in Haiti shook the world. In response to this tragedy, thousands if not millions looked to offer their support to victims and generally help out in whatever way they could. Facebook and other social networking websites availed themselves as the ideal medium for the extremely rapid creation of an online community and helped to co-ordinate people from across the globe in trying to achieve the singular aim of providing aid. This pulling together using social networking is in the process of happening again in the face of the disruption caused to international travel caused by the volcanic ash cloud. Facebook pages such as ‘The Volcanic Ash Cloud!’ have developed into places where local information is shared and true community spirit is rife in trying to help those stranded by the air travel restrictions.

Twitter has also played a major part in rapid information sharing, with many airlines, travel operators and even airports using the website to share news and advice on an as it happens basis. As many other websites succumb to downtime as a result of overcapacity, social networks have proven to be reliable forms of communication for those desperately searching for news.

Social networking by its very nature is sculpted by the interaction of its users, it is essentially a conduit for the dissemination of a message and changing trends relatively accurately demonstrate the way in which people view the medium. It could be legitimately asserted that websites such as Facebook and Twitter do not only lend themselves to procrastination, but also legitimate sharing and discussion.

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Press Release: Social Media and the Global Travel Crisis

2010-04-19T15:40:00.013+01:00

The eruption of the Eyjafjallajoekull volcano has caused havoc to the air travel industry and left millions of people either stranded overseas or unable to take their planned holiday. During this time of turmoil, Web Vitality- a Manchester based web design, SEO and social media company have lead the way in implementing social media as a tool for communication and assistance: building an online community in the process.

Having set up the Facebook fan page: 'The Volcanic Ash Cloud!' on Thursday morning, initially as a humorous exercise: the page has become a bustling hub of communication between those stranded by the blanket flight cancellations and those charitable individuals able to offer their help to the grounded holidaymakers attempting to make their way home.

With more than 7,000 fans interacting through the page and more joining every minute, this initially jovial activity has become a full time commitment for Web Vitality’s social media team and something of a lifeline for many travellers looking for advice on what to do.

Having already been mentioned on numerous websites, including that of the BBC: 'The Volcanic Ash Cloud!' Facebook page is being supported across Europe, with people offering their spare rooms, arranging contingency travel arrangements and sharing up to the minute information about the impact the volcanic ash cloud is having in areas across the globe.

By turning their experience in promoting corporate websites to the masses into a non-profit resource tool and community, the guys at Web Vitality hope they can help to prove the value of social media on a philanthropic and unifying level. To get involved in the community simply visit the page and ‘become a fan’.

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Why Embracing the Internet is Essential for all Businesses

2010-03-22T17:26:00.001Z

The internet is our portal to topics as diverse as they are numerous and as the popularity of new media continues to grow, so does the importance of generating a form of online presence for any business hoping to stay competitive in their industry. Obviously some industries appear to lend themselves more to creating a website and using the internet as a marketing and sales tool whilst in other trades the exercise may seem less of a priority. A graphic design company for instance would be foolish to ignore the marketing power of the internet in terms of generating interest, showcasing previous work and possibly even as a means of expanding their services to such areas of website design. A PVC strip curtain manufacturer however may seem to be less of a web-worthy business: this is however very far from the case.

With the rise of the search engine and home pc has come a whole new culture when it comes to finding information, a person, a business, a product...pretty much anything and everything. The repercussions of this are far-reaching. Whilst previously face to face networking or an advert in the Yellow Pages or a local publication, in conjunction with a reputation built on word of mouth would be enough to stay ahead of the game locally in manufacturing or contractor based work: the internet has skewed this. Online directories and banner adverts have usurped listings in paper directories and local advertising, whilst link building, social networking and online promotion are beginning to influence networking and word of mouth reputation development.

Given these changes to the way in which even companies with small marketing budgets promote themselves it is incredibly important that companies in all trades and industries, whether large or small, consider the benefits of having their own website. Growth in business is heavily reliant upon addressing progression, trends and development. Not only does a website serve as an advert, it can be used to sell products directly, keep suppliers, distributors or customers informed and act as means of communication.

Returning to the PVC strip curtains example particularly: a website not only showcases the various items they stock and gives product details (at a lower cost than having a brochure designed, printed and posted) but with the use of SEO it also allows them to reach potential customers not only locally but nationally. The cost of the website is cancelled out after a few orders- which may well themselves have originated as a result of their having a website. Quite simply, a website serves as an additional storefront, an advert, a communication line, a brochure and a cash register all in one attractive, publically accessible package.

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A Change in Status?

2010-03-22T13:45:00.003Z

It has been announced by Hitwise that between March 7th and March 13th 2010 social networking site Facebook overtook search engine powerhouse Google in terms of number of visits in the US, making it the single most visited website in the United States between those dates. Although seemingly just another stat which proves nothing other than the circumstantial trend of that period: it is in fact a massive insight into the changing way in which we use the internet.

This switch in number one spot from Google to Facebook does not mean that the famous search engine is in decline (their market share was up 9% on the same period in 2009) but more so that social networking is growing in popularity at an incredible rate. The large market share of search engines is easily explained: as they serve as a gateway to discovering other websites and are often set as homepages. The vast majority of visits to social networks however are purely to access the information contained on the site itself or as a means of communication and inter-personnel social activity. As such it can be asserted that it is not necessarily the case that one site is more popular than another, but that the manner in which individuals use the internet is beginning to change: which is a much bigger deal.

The early incarnations of the internet were built around newsgroups and other means of sharing a wealth of information with like-minded or interested parties. With the rapid growth in the number of people using the internet came rapid growth in the number of different applications of the worldwide web. Throughout this period of flux the primary use continued to be as a tool for accessing information, hence the sustained popularity of search engines. This recent news however could well be indicative of the beginning of a phase when non-email communication usurps information sharing as the main purpose for instances of online activity.

Drifting further into the world of conjecture, there could potentially be implications of the rise of social networking sites which have a heavy bearing on offline as well as online activity. Does a rise in interaction via the internet for instance, mean reduced emphasis and reduced prevalence of face to face communication? Although a possibly far-fetched assumption, the fact that this prospect can be legitimately considered as feasible is certainly a concern in itself and something which cannot realistically be monitored.

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How to Write a Viral Article

2010-03-11T14:15:00.001Z

Introduction

Online marketing is a rapidly changing landscape. One of the few main-stays in spite of the perpetually evolving Google algorithm is article marketing and its associated disciplines. Although there are many vastly differing schools of thought with regard to the most effective means of generating online visibility and success through the publication of original content via blogs and articles, the foundation principles are always the same. These cornerstones of success are not closely guarded secrets, nor something for which someone can legitimately charge aspiring web-trepreneurs a fee for imparting through an e-book: they are quite simply that quality content is the be all and end all in this industry. In this article I hope to outline the key steps to creating a viral piece of writing which will benefit your website and interest your readers.

Subject Matter

Engaging subject matter is at the heart of high quality content, regardless of your writing skills, a boring topic will also come across as boring. As such, the first task when creating a blog or article is to carefully choose the subject on which you will write. Generally the most successful viral content tends to fall into one of two categories: topical or educational.

- Topical

The most popular topical pieces tend to take the form of a news ‘scoop’- whether that be the first publication of a current affairs story, a juicy snippet of celebrity gossip or a relevant figure’s opinion on either of the other two forms. Obviously such valuable stories are few and far between, unless you have great connections or are incredibly fortuitous. Given the rarity of a ‘scoop’, the majority of bloggers or online article writers will aim to write around a topical theme rather than simply reiterate the initial story. This is where creativity is key: if you can think of a way to re-package a recent news story in an original manner which applies your expertise then you’re well on your way to potentially viral content.

- Educational

A more accessible form of article writing for the majority of online marketers is the ‘How to...’ guide. This form allows you to condense your own experience in a chosen field (however niche) into a piece of writing which serves to help others emulate your success. Covering topics as diverse as chicken coop construction, cutting costs on office supplies and writing potentially viral online content: the ‘How to...’ format exploits the renaissance in information sharing brought about by the internet. If you believe that you know all there is to know about a specific subject, then let others know the secrets to your success and your article will be a hit.

Writing Style

Once the subject matter has been chosen it is time to engage in the hardest part of the process: actually writing the article. As with anything associated with the mystical world of SEO (search engine optimisation), there are no universal rules for the best way to write about a subject. As the aim of this article is to help you to create something with the aim of reaching and appealing to the widest audience as opposed to creating search engine friendly content however, the focus in this instance is upon readability rather than keyword enrichment or sales conversion.
The single most important factor here is that the content of the article is engaging and the subject matter easily digested. The language used should be in-keeping with the lexicon of the intended readership and if industry specific jargon is used, it is useful to explain it in Lehman’s terms so as not to put off a proportion of your readership. The ultimate goal is to keep the reader interested, not attempt to dazzle them with your rich knowledge of obscure words or alienate them for their inferior knowledge on a subject. It is equally important to make clear concise points and use relevant titles and headings as opposed to rambling or risking confusing the reader.

It goes without saying that a spell checker and proof reader are imperative prior to publishing your piece. It may be easy enough to amend errors on your own blog post, but if your post is popular enough to be republished elsewhere then the mistakes are almost impossible to get rectified. Simply asking someone with a decent grasp of written English to read over your work can save blushes later.

Getting it Seen

Having meticulously crafted an article that you are truly proud of, all that is left is to make sure that it is seen by as many people as possible. Admittedly that is somewhat easier said than done, but persistence and strategy are just as effective as good fortune when it comes to article distribution. Once the article has been posted onto your blog, the key to getting it out to as many potential readers and re-publishers is the co-ordinated use of social bookmarking outlets, social networks and article distribution channels. There are a huge number of websites which can be used to put your article in front of potential readers, so utilise as many as you can to increase the chances of success. Social networks will allow you to showcase your article to your friends or followers, whilst social bookmarking websites allow you to reach people across the globe who are interested in your chosen topic. Submitting to both of these outlets is quick and simple, and whilst results are by no means guaranteed there is always a chance that your article will strike a chord with people and go viral before you know it.

As social bookmarking and social networking can be hit and miss in terms of generating interest it is important to also submit your article to article directory sites. If your piece is accepted then not only will it be visible on the directory site itself but is also likely to be re-published on websites related to the topic. Provided you put a link to your website in the resource box when submitting to a directory, every time the article is re-published you will receive a link back to your website as well as imparting your words to more individuals.

Hopefully these simple tips will help any aspiring article writers to get the most from what can be an extremely rewarding practice. By focussing on your own expertise, keeping it simple and taking the time to utilise as many distribution outlets as possible, a couple of hours spent writing a high quality article can be converted into increased traffic to your website and the multitudinous benefits that brings.

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Are Well Written Title Tags Just As Effective (Test 2)

2010-03-10T10:38:00.005Z

Another day brings another test at Web Vitality. Not wanting to just follow what everybody else is saying we like to see the proof. Our latest test takes us down the route of title tags.

We are seeing more and more people going back to old methods for title tag usage such as "keyword | Keyword" when targeting more than one search term per page. In lot of cases we are seeing this rather old school method working. As such we have also adopted this method in some cases but long to get back to well written titles.

We would usually create fresh content if targeting more than one keyword but wanted to see just how clever Google is at picking our search terms from within title tags. If they are as clever as they claim (which we are hoping they are) we will be able to target more search terms per page using our title tag (coupled with other on site methods of course)

So heres the test. We have created two identical pages on one of our domains with exactly the same content (bad I know but its only a test) targeting two very niche search terms "nnnn zzzz & bbbb qqqq" (imaginative I know) The only difference between the pages is the title.

The first page uses the old school method with the separator and the second page still includes the search terms but within surrounding text. The body of each page uses both search terms in its H1 and body as an exact match along with the only link to each page (below) utilising the search terms. In addition we have also linked each page to each other using the below search terms.

Lets see what happens and we will be sure to report back.

nnnn zzzz & bbbb qqqq

nnnn zzzz & bbbb qqqq

We have decided on this test after a recent post from another well known blog talking about the number of keywords to target on one page.

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Its All About The Testing

2010-03-03T15:19:00.003Z

Search engine optimisation is such a fast moving science it is essential to the success of any agency to continually test new theories.

I will apologies in advance for the lack of content in this post but for obvious reasons I cant really go into detail. What I will say is to all our readers please ignore this post as I am using it for testing purposes only:

cheap car parking at manchester airport

Lets hope our test proves successful. Once we have the results then I will be sure to post them on here but for now you are just going to have to ponder as to why I have posted a link to our parking website.

goodbye

GG3Q9XMG4VG3

BBC Set To Slash its Internet Budget By Half

2010-03-03T11:28:00.003Z

This announcement rocked the world yesterday. Sorry we are late posting about it. The BBC has had some budget information leaked which is very very interesting. It seems that they are going to be making huge cutbacks and their website is going to cut down in size by 50%.

How does this affect us and SEO in general. My guess is massively. It has been proven that websites can rank and rank well with only one or two quality inbound links. I for one always try and get a link on the BBC website as I consider it to be an authority within the UK and any link I do manage to obtain has always benefited my clients in terms of rankings.

I believe we will see a quite a shake up in rankings once these pages have been taken down as all those companies who have been ranking off the back of a BBC link alone with no other SEO efforts will slowly disappear.

If any of those companies would like to work with an excellent SEO Manchester company then give us a call before you start to drop as we are more than happy to help maintain and improve your rankings.

New Project Management Tool (update)

2010-03-01T16:16:00.000Z

At Web Vitality we are always trying to improve things for our clients. As our client base grows so does the need for more effective reporting. As a result we are currently developing an in house project management system.

This new system will be firstly available to our SEO clients who will be able to log on at anytime and find out exactly where their money is being spent. We are going to include absolutely everything in there including:

Search engine ranking reports
Lots and lots of graphs (we like graphs)
Work done (so you can see what we do and when we do it and for how long)
Analytical data (a breakdown of Googles analytics filtering out all of the rubbish and only leaving the good stuff)

Plus lots lots more. This is a long term project and isn’t going to happen overnight however, we have just completed the back end section of the search engine ranking reporter. Once we have the nice usable front end a whole host of ranking data will be uploaded from this new wonderful tool (probably weekly).

For now though our clients can be wowed by yet another new report. We will still be sending out the usual analytical data but our current clients will also be receiving a more polished ranking report (with graphs) not only this, we have given in and re introduced Yahoo and Bings rankings.

It’s a very exciting time in terms of reporting (well as exciting as reporting can be) at Web Vitality as we believe it’s vitally important that our clients experience of our company is a good one. Going forward we would like to also roll this out to web clients so they can see exactly where their projects are up to during the build process.

Watch this space

Link Building | Link Bait

2010-02-17T20:40:00.002Z

This is the final post in my series on link building and although this subject has lots of different topics and has the potential to be my longest blog post ever I’m going to keep it short as feel I have given enough of my top tips out on the subject of link building.

So what is link baiting? Link baiting is the method used to obtain inbound links to your website by offering the linkorati something they couldn’t possibly refuse.

There are lots and lots of different things that could be considered as link bait but probably the most common are clever widgets. Widgets are anything that grab the attention of the potential link partner enough for them to want to link to it. They are usually based around a variation of one of the following:

Online Tests
Videos
Games

This is where you can stand out from the competition and is where you can allow your creative juices to start flowing. The better your idea the more links you will attract. Probably the most important aspect when producing a widget is originality. There is no point in creating something that has been done before as nobody will link.

Articles, blog posts and great on site content can also be used as effective link bait but to succeed with these your content has to really be first class not to mention 100% original and as current as possible.

Videos have fast become quality link bait especially since You Tube was born. It is so easy for anybody to post a video up today you can find allsorts on there. Don’t ignore the power of video. Another top tip when creating a video is to go with your original idea as people will generally pick up on a staged video and will not link.

Sorry for the UN structured post on this subject but it’s that big I could have gone on all night and anybody who has read any of my previous posts will know that I tend to go off track and then come back.

In summary I believe that link baiting will be the preferred form of link building throughout 2010 so I suggest that you start reading up everywhere you can on the subject and to start getting creative.

For SEO Manchester or anywhere else in the world give us a call or check out the Web Vitality website for further details of how to get in touch.

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Link Building | Articles & Press Releases

2010-02-13T20:58:00.004Z

Ok, so I know it’s been a long time since I first started the series on link building, and after reading back through some of my old posts I could re-write them as things in the SEO world change so quickly. That said I suppose the basics are still the same so still definitely worth the read.

So where am I up to? Articles and Press releases. These methods for link building in my opinion can be very hit or miss. Anybody can string a 500 word article together with very little research, and then push it out through hundreds if not thousands of article directories. So how do you make this type of link building effective?

I can only speak from my own experience, and perhaps there are people out there who will disagree with me, but I feel that the only way article writing can be effective is if you put the time and effort in to making a top quality read that then gets re-published on quality sites or blogs.

Simply churning out a run of the mill 500 word article which is the same as every other article out there will not benefit you or your client at all, because the only place it will sit are on the directories that you submit them to, or useless blogs that just grab articles indiscriminately.

There are no short cuts for longevity in the SEO world and anybody who tells you there is should be ignored. Yes I agree shortcuts can get you rankings in the short term but long term you need to take it seriously and put the time and effort in. For tips on how to write a good article check out Jamie’s first post on the subject Writing? Boring?.

I’m sorry for such a short post on this subject but there isn’t really much to say other than do your research before writing an article, then do some more, then read Jamie’s article and finally take your time and write something that is worth re-publishing.

For SEO Manchester or anywhere else in the world give us a call or check out the Web Vitality website for further details of how to get in touch.

Finally to subscribe to future blog post from the Web Vitality crew just click here and follow the on screen instructions.

An update on our Hearing Aid clients

2010-02-06T19:07:00.002Z

We're currently working on a couple of SEO campaigns for two different hearing aid companies, Alan Aaronson Hearing Centres, and Just Ears UK Ltd.

Having only worked on both contracts for little over 4 months, we're now seeing great results for both, and these will further be benefited by the launch of our new on-line hearing test application which we've created.

Just Ears are currently ranking in position 4 for the keyword "Ear Defenders", and Alan Aaronson are currently at the top of page three for their targeted keyword "Hearing Aids". We're confident in the next two months that we'll a positive increase to page one for Alan Aaronson, coupled with a consolidation of Just Ear's ranking at the top of page one.

As part of our association with the hearing aid industry, we have launched our own hearing forum, called Hearing Aid Talk. We aim for this to grow into one of the internet's busiest communities for all things hearing related. Take a look at the site here - http://www.hearingaidtalk.co.uk.

We will have another update on the success of both the above clients in the not too distant future.

Alex Walker Racing joins Web Vitality

2010-01-29T08:39:00.001Z

We're pleased to announce that we've been commissioned to create a brand new website for promising young racing driver Alex Walker.

Alpine Racing, the company promoting Alex, chose us to design & develop the website and we're excited to start work straight away on the site. Our design team will be getting their thinking caps on in order to produce some stunning visuals worthy of Alex's potential. The next Lewis Hamilton? He's certainly in with a good chance.

Alex began Karting in the cadet class and was 2nd in the British Championship in 2007. He also was the 2007 Kartmasters Grand Prix champion. In 2008 he was the TVKC club champion in KF3, and in 2008 he was 6th in Formula Karting Stars. Alex is run by Williams Motorsport.

How To Get Listed on DMOZ Quickly (Recap)

2010-01-25T13:02:00.004Z

For those of you who read my post entitled "How To Get Listed On DMOZ Quickly" I thought I would post a quick update.

I always follow the guidelines that I detailed in the post but I have never actually tested it out (until my earlier post that is). After writing the article I submitted eight of our clients and I am pleased to say that I have just checked and four of them are now showing.

A 50% success rate in terms of DMOZ in such a short space of time has got to be worth blogging about. With a little more thought to your submissions you can make a real difference, and quickly instead of having to wait for years for a listing. To find out exactly what my thought process is when submitting to DMOZ read my original post by clicking on the link above.

For SEO Manchester or anywhere else in the world for that matter give us at shout at Web Vitality and we will be more than happy to assist.

Google Squared Review

2010-01-24T11:46:00.002Z

Google are launching lots of new products over the coming year to help improve search for everybody. I have decided to let our subscribers know how I feel about each one of them. These posts are not going to be in great detail rather a quick overview of what these new products are and how I feel about them. So let’s dive in and the first one I am looking at is Google Squared.

Basically Google squared helps you answer questions you may have about any given subject without being bombarded with lots of information that you don’t need.

It does this by building up a table of facts about whatever subject you decide to give it (they are calling these squares just for fun they claim.) After you are presented with this huge table you can customise the results to show only the information you need. Sound great doesn’t it? How many times have you wanted a simple answer but then had to look through lots of websites trying to sell you something?

I personally have struggled to get anything worth reading out of this new platform at the moment, but it is still in beta stage and I can see the benefits of it once it is more refined and has been improved. The theory behind it is good and if they can get it right will save a lot of people a lot of time.

If you would like to check it out and have a play around (See if you can make it work) then go to Google Squared.

For SEO Manchester or anywhere else for that matter give us a shout by visiting our website at Web Vitality

Successful London Trip

2010-01-23T11:42:00.004Z

We would like to post a big thank you to two of our London clients (you know who you are)

The trip was very successful and it was a pleasure to finally meet them both. We came away with lots of ideas for their websites and search engine optimisation for this coming year and are looking forward to a successful continued relationship.

I can see us making our way to our countries capital a lot more this year so don't be afraid to get in touch with us just because you are not local.

Please feel free to check out our website and if you would like a free website SEO health check or a new web design quote then visit our website and drop us a line.

New Rich Snippet Format From Google - EVENTS

2010-01-23T11:27:00.005Z

After doing our usual random searches to see if we can see anything new we stumbled across a new rich snippet format so decided to take a closer look.

Google announced the arrival of its rich snippet format some twelve months ago and since then they seem to have been developing this format and are slowly rolling now rich snippet results for events.

OK so what the hell am I on about? If you have a venue that puts on various events such as concerts, comedy shows we are now seeing these events appearing underneath the main Google search results. Just another clever way for Google to keep you on their search results page to ensure you find exactly the website you are trying to find.

I have a feeling that the rich snippet results will begin to start showing up everywhere and for lots of other types of searches. The way they work is by using hCalendar micro formatting to find out more check out Google’s official word on this by clicking here.

We at Web Vitality will be keeping a close eye on rich snippets so be sure to check back with us because as soon as we know anything we will let you know.

If you would like a free website SEO health check then click here for more details

New Search Marketer Joins Our Team

2010-01-20T09:59:00.003Z

The eagle-eyed amongst you may have already noticed a few posts on this blog from an unfamiliar face (one hidden behind mirrored sunglasses and boasting an arrogant grace if the thumbnail image is any indication). Well, due to lengthy negotiations between various parties, minor disputes on working terms and diva-like demands for shiny trinkets, our official announcement of the arrival of the newest member of the Web Vitality has been postponed, delayed and questioned for a couple of months. Thankfully all is now set in stone and we’re proud to introduce you to Jamie Rock Lyons (yes, he did officially change his middle name to Rock).

Jamie has been poached from Jolly Good Ideas Ltd where he was responsible for coming up with crazy schemes, implementing them, writing about them and getting the general public to go ‘Ooooh’. With experience covering copywriting, sales, advertising and all aspects of SEO: the addition of Jamie to the team means that Mark has a more than able assistant in pushing all Web Vitality’s SEO clients to the top of the rankings. Alongside the boost to the SEO function of the company, Jamie’s recruitment means that not only are we now able to offer first class copy and content writing services but are also perfectly poised to embark on a number of exciting new projects we have in the pipeline ...but more about them another time.

Jamie’s posts will be gracing this blog and those of our clients on a regular basis, so if you’d like to see for yourself why we had to move hell and high-water to get him here, then subscribe to this blog and revel in his tasty ramblings.

P.S Yes this post was written by Jamie (under my instruction of course) Welcome on board mate

Four Easy Ways To Get More Pages Indexed By Google

2010-01-05T14:09:00.004Z

This isn’t going to be one of my usual long and boring posts with lots of technical mumbo jumbo instead I’m going to keep it really short as there isn’t really a lot to say on the subject but is a question that seems to keep cropping up.

It’s always a struggle getting all of the pages on a large e commerce site indexed especially when you have a client expecting results quickly so what do you do?

Webmaster Tools

First of all log into your Google account and setup a webmaster tools account. To access webmaster tools you can click here. Webmaster tools is an excellent resource for web masters as it gives you lots of information about the way Google views and manages your site and its content and is a must for any SEO.

Submit an XML Sitemap

If it’s a new or old website if you haven’t submitted an XML sitemap I would recommend that you do so. Not everybody will agree with me on this and some say that it isn’t necessary for indexing. My view is that if Google isn’t indexing your pages and you can do anything to help then why not?

A sitemap is basically a list of all of the URLs that you have on your website. One of the reasons for signing up to webmaster tools is that this is an area where you can upload your xml sitemap and tell Google first hand where it can find all of the pages on your website.

There are many tools out there that will generate an XML sitemap for you but most of them limit you to a maximum of 500 pages. This won’t help you with a large e commerce site but for your smaller websites they are great. You can purchase software that will create them for you but if you have a decent web developer it wouldn’t take them long to generate one on your behalf.

Blogging

Once you have submitted your sitemap to web master tools I suggest a vigorous blogging campaign dropping links to as many pages on your website as possible. Google seems to be crawling blogs a lot quicker these days so if you have lots of links pointing to different pages from your blog Google is sure to follow.

External Links

These are your biggest weapon for getting your site indexed. Start building lots and lots of quality links to your website. Building quality links to your website will help you in more ways than one and is the area that you need to spend most time on. The better the website you get a link from the more often Google will be visiting the page and the more likely it will be that it finds your website.

So there you have it my four easy steps to getting more pages indexed on Google. If you want to see a real example of how to get more pages indexed then feel free to keep an eye on my Office Supplies client. We are currently attempting to push more of their pages into Google main index using the methods described above.

P.S Sorry for the shameless link I couldn’t help myself

Starting a new year at pole position

2010-01-04T17:36:00.003Z

Hi all,

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year.

This is just a quick post to let you know that I'm rather excited at the prospect of sharing the wonderful news with you that Web Vitality have started 2010 as Which Web Design Company's top rated web design firm in Manchester, click here to see for yourself!

We aim with your help to maintain this position throughout the decade and also boost our position from 17th in the UK to number 1 too!

Thank you for the support!

Happy New Year from Web Vitality!

2010-01-03T16:50:00.000Z

2010? That's so ummm futuristic. At least it seemed that way a decade or so ago. Time really does fly quick doesn't it. After all, when Stanley Kubrick made his film "2001: A Space Odyssey", it was set in a time far, far away, but now we've moved on even further ahead!

We're full of energy and enthusiasm about the future here, and we're packed full of new ideas, new projects and a new commitment to deliver the very best that we can.

If you want to keep up to date with the latest happenings at Web Vitality HQ, why not subscribe to our blog. This way you'll receive updates on our latest posts and you won't miss an ounce of the action.

We hope you all had a fantastic 2009, and wish everyone the very best for the new decade.

For something to ponder, give a thought to this. We've had the sixties, seventies, eighties, nineties, and we've just moved out of the noughties. However, what will we name the current decade? The tensies? The teensies? Answers on a postcard :) We just can't decide here.

New website launched for The Abbarettes!

2010-01-03T16:23:00.000Z

Consisting of Laura Mac, Amanda Kay, Daniel Winters and Jonathon Purdey, The Abbarettes are a stunning Abba tribute act, who have now firmly established themselves in the superleague of tribute entertainment.

As we've previously brought you Laura Mac's own website, we've now followed this up by producing the new site for the Abbarettes. If you want a great night's entertainment, then try to catch them if you get the chance - they come highly recommended!

Take a look here - http://www.abbarettes.com.

MF Airport Parking (New Years Resolution)

2009-12-30T14:56:00.007Z

New years resolution time again. With the new year fast approaching, we at Web Vitality are no different than anybody else and plan on making some big improvements in 2010, starting with one of our old favourites - MF Airport Parking.

We pledge to give MF Airport Parking a complete revamp starting with the content pages. Feel free to check out the current content and layout so that you can be astounded by the freshness and feel of the new pages (when they arrive early Jan) if you have a spare few moments, that is before jetting off to your exclusive New Years bash:

Bookings are still being taken by MF Airport Parking, so if you are jetting off somewhere nice to celebrate the new year then don't forget us, and book your parking by clicking here.

I'm sure there will be an official blog post from us on this matter, but I will get in first and would like to wish everybody a great new year for 2010.

Writing? Boring?

2009-12-23T14:58:00.003Z

As Christmas is fast approaching (and my post count on this blog has been considerably thinner on the ground than the blanket of snow outside the office) it seems a good time to share a few of my thoughts with you lovely people.

As you may be aware, a large portion of my day is spent writing. From articles to press releases, website content to blogs: countless hours are spent staring at a blank page, frantically scrambling for inspiration or that perfectly sculpted sentence. The phrase ‘writer’s block’ is an often derided cliché, but there is no denying that sometimes you just can’t quite work out exactly what you’re trying to say, or even more infuriatingly, the best way to say it. Some will go for a walk to clear their mind, others to their cigarette packet or porcelain throne in an attempt to find clarity.

In the realm of content writing and SEO based copywriting in general there is a very simple reason why these personal catalysts are turned to with persistent regularity: it can be boring. There, I said it and to emphasise my conviction will say it again: WRITING FOR SEO PURPOSES CAN BE BORING. Now hopefully you’ll grant me enough time to justify this outburst before reporting me to the various authorities, oh, and please forgive my reliance on personal experience in portraying a more universal point.

Over the past couple of weeks I have written articles and press releases on subjects spanning PVC strip curtains, environmentally ethical office supplies, the importance of hearing protection, au pairs, laptop leasing....the list goes on. As you may have noticed, there is no real common ground between each of these fields and you’d be hard pushed to meet someone with a heartfelt passion for a combination of such disparate subjects.

I go into work every day knowing that I am required to write intelligently and enthusiastically on topics which I may have very limited previous knowledge of, and due to what I assume to be some sort of genetic defect: utterly love it. It is my love of writing that stops me from finding it boring. I am fully aware that the majority of people wouldn’t revel in this challenge, which is great for me as it reduces my competition. Consequently, the odds are that you’re reading this purely to find out a little more about writing on just one broad topic: and to make another assumption, I expect that your writing on this topic is to promote your own website. It is to you non-reveller, single broad topic focussed, committed website owner that I level my ‘it can be boring’ battle-cry as an explanation for your writer’s block and seek to show how you can get round it.

You have passion for your chosen topic, well, I sincerely hope you do (if you aren’t enthusiastic about your product/website/company/field of operation then it won’t be poorly written content that jeopardises your company’s longevity and more importantly in this instance: my whole argument rests on it). It is this passion and the resulting knowledge you have amassed on the subject that is key to your success in writing copy, articles and press releases for your website. No amount of literary flair, cunning word play or EXCESSIVE USE OF formatting Tools is ever going to appeal to your target reader more than the sound advice and authoritative content that you, the expert on this subject are capable of providing. Equally important is the very fact that if you’re passionate about something then surely you aren’t going to find it boring.

Having established that you are more than qualified to advise others on your chosen subject and have enough interest in it to apply yourself to the time consuming task of writing accurately about it, all I can really do is give you a few pointers and tips on converting your knowledge into something which others can benefit from and in doing so raise the profile and credibility of your website. To avoid taking up too much of your time, I’ll keep it brief:

1. Provide original content.

Whether you’re writing the content for your homepage or an article explaining the finer points of your industry and associated benefits, you must ensure that what you’re saying isn’t said elsewhere. Inevitably there will be others who have said something vaguely similar, but focus upon being better and different. You will get no credit from search engines for duplicating someone else’s work and gain no customers by rehashing a competitor’s article.

2. Research tone and style.

We all write differently depending on the context. A blog on celebrity gossip will read very differently to a governmental department’s homepage and the way you construct a text message to a friend will differ to the structure of an email you send to a business associate. It’s well worth researching the homepage content of similar websites when writing your own in order to judge which style you find most effective, relevant and credible. It is more than likely that the style you find most suitable will be the style your prospective visitors will find most suitable: so copy it (NOT THE CONTENT...just the tone and style). Once you’ve established this starting point then write in a way you find comfortable but adhering loosely to the tone you’ve chosen to emulate. The words should come naturally, don’t worry if it doesn’t sound quite right you can always come back and edit the text.

3. Double check grammar and spelling.

Having spent hours crafting your text, there is nothing more irritating than publishing the piece to discover an abundance of easily avoided errors. Get others to read your copy with a critical eye before making it live, they may well spot something you’ve missed. Having taken on board any amendments: read it again...and again before committing it to the archives of internet history.

4. Enjoy it.

I know, I know...easier said than done, but if you care about the subject matter and the benefits the content will have for your business then I’m sure you won’t find it that hard.

This post was supposed to be brief but I got a little carried away. In the new year I’ll pop up a few more guides like this amongst my usual light-hearted blog-banter.

Have an exceptional Christmas.

Jamie