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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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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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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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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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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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

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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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.

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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 Digital Hearing Care 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 Paul, 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.

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 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

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.

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

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

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

Why should I spend all that money paying a professional SEO when there is so much free information out there?

This is a question I get asked on a daily basis by potential new clients and the answer is always the same. Just thought I would jot it down here in case I forget it.

First of all let’s deal with all of the free information out there. I agree there is. There is no denying it if you really want to SEO your own website then be prepared to get reading. In the same way that if you really wanted to change the head gasket on your car I’m sure you could find a step by step guide by Googleing it.

How To Change A Head Gasket

Oh here’s one I found earlier and there’s only 884000 results. Probably not the best example but the point is that in today’s day and age you can Google pretty much anything.

Back on topic now sorry. We have established that all of the information is out there for free. The question is who do you trust? There are many differing opinions on the web so it’s hard to know which one is correct and with the search engines updating their indexing rules all of the time have you really got the time?

The answer is simple. You probably think you do until you really start looking into it. You get what you pay for in life and your SEO professionals cash is money well spent. You are paying for somebody’s expertise, somebody who is really into SEO and somebody who is prepared to put the research and reading in especially as they are doing this day in and day out. Somebody who is up to date with all of the current algorithm updates and latest search engine news.

In the same vein as if your car was broken you would go to a mechanic, or if your pipes burst you would call a plumber, if you want a really successful website then call an SEO....preferably Web Vitality though as there are lots of cowboys out there (Ill save that for another blog post)

Thought that would grab your attention. Many people have searched that phrase, myself being one of them. After countless hours searching I’m sorry to say that there is no real answer that guarantees quick inclusion (unless you’re willing to use UN ethical methods that is.)

Instead of deleting everything I thought I would make my research count for something and decided to jot down my top tips for getting included into DMOZ

Most articles will tell you to find the most suitable category that best fits your website right down to region level to begin with. In my experience this isn’t the best advice to give. The reason being that dependant on what your website is about there probably won’t be an active editor for your website therefore your chances of getting listed quickly will be extremely remote.

My advice is to search the listings looking for a category that has an editor listed on it. You do this by drilling into the chosen category and at the bottom of the page if there is an active editor you will see the wording Category editor: blah blah as in the diagram below. Obviously if there is an active editor you stand a better chance of your request being viewed.

The next thing I check is the last updated section at the bottom of each category. If there is an active editor and the last edited date is recent it may be that they won’t look again for a while or it may mean that they are editing often. Before I submit I would leave it a week and keep checking back. If they are active I would say they would update at least once a week in which case get submitting. If it doesn’t change then it’s up to you either look at another category or submit. I usually monitor three or four suitable categories in this way each time and generally one of them is updated in the given timescale. If the category doesn’t have an editor listed you can still use the last updated section in the same way as above.

So you have now found a category that either has an editor and is updated regularly or it has no fixed editor but still gets updated regularly. I’m not going to go into the submission guidelines as stated on the website but obviously follow these EXACTLY. Have a look at the other listings and try and make your ad similar in wording. By doing this you stand a better chance of your site getting listed as you are writing in the style preferred by the person editing.

After that sit back and wait. Sorry can’t give anybody a miracle answer but by following the above I would say you stand a much higher than average change of being listed than submitting blindly. One last tip I will include though is don’t submit more than one (maybe twice if in different categories) but always make a note in a spreadsheet as to the date and category you have submitted to. They never let you know that you are listed so you need to remember where you submitted in order to check for your listing.

Good Luck and happy DMOZ submitting

When doing our usual rounds in the search world we came across the latest offering from Google. Latest Live news feeds for certain search terms.

Not 100% sure (at this stage) where it is pulling the information from but looking at some of the results we are seeing. Twitter updates are showing, Google News updates and many more.

This is just another example of how Google are pushing the boundaries of search, providing up to the minute results. Definitely one to watch me thinks.

We have been toying with the idea of producing some videos for our clients in the hope that they go 'viral'. We’re all familiar with ‘web phenomenon’ videos and the massive amount of attention they attract, well, what if these video clips could raise traffic for a website as well as a smile?

With this in mind, we invite you along with us on a little journey of discovery in hoping to answer the question:

Can we make a video go viral and in doing so increase traffic to a specific, unrelated website?

Before we begin this challenge some elementary research is in order, notably with regard to what kind of videos have the potential to go viral. Having watched hours and hours of youtube we’ve concluded that successful viral videos fall into two basic categories:

Intentional, well thought out content and Off-the-wall, unintentional, downright silliness.

Consciously constructed videos often do well but take time and resources to write, film, produce and promote. Unintentional content on the other hand, is just that: unplanned, unscripted and often unbelievably funny, this material is obtained by luck more than planning and has the potential to achieve immeasurable success if it is latched onto.

Given our budget and time constraints, allied with our fortune in obtaining an original piece of unintentional, cinematic silliness, the latter type of content was the obvious choice. So, onto the 1st step in our quest for viral stardom and abundant traffic:

Getting it online!

...easy, it’s here

Now then, let’s see if anyone watches it in its raw form.

Keep an eye out for future posts in this series as we tweak, edit, link, push and promote the same video in a bid to drive traffic to a specific website. Surely if we succeed then you can too?

We are currently looking for an exciting, easy-going individual to join their ever expanding team as a Search Marketer. An overall SEO background is required with strong experience in producing excellent, innovative, and successful link building strategies. Combining these skills with a social networking background gives us the ideal candidate.

The job role consists of handling a medium to large portfolio of clients and being responsible for their search marketing. Although link building is a large part of the role, we want somebody with a creative SEO view, and somebody who can find only the best possible links for each of our clients through as many different sources as possible. Social media marketing is a massive area of responsibility for this role and the successful candidate will have a proven track record within this area.

We are looking for quality here not quantity, and the successful candidate must be of a creative nature and not mind getting stuck in. Being comfortable and confident with all things in the social media arena is a must - (Blogging, Article Writing, Social Bookmarking & Social Network sites etc.)

The successful candidate will be given a free role in this area and will be targeted specifically on the amount of quality traffic and number of quality links they bring to our client websites.
Competitive salary dependant on experience.

If you wish to apply for this position, please send your CV along with covering letter to mark@webvitality.co.uk.

OK what a day today has been. It has made me realise just how much bigger SEO in the industry actually is and how much more I can learn to help improve my skills.

People say everyday is a school day and nothing is more true. I though I was already pretty good at what I do and my results speak for themselves. However after today I know I can be so much more and starting from Wednesday I will be so watch this space.

There are over 200 people attending the course which is great by the way and makes a change to sit in a room with people who actually know what SEO is.

I fully intend to edit my post with lots more detail and a few pictures I have taken but I just havnt got the time right know as have already had a full day out of work so got a million and one things to catch up on like emails, phoning my wife and not to mention getting changed to go and have a few beers with lots of people who know what SEO is.

One more thing I would like to point out that is pretty much off topic is how good is the London underground system? Peopl ecan ride all accross London all day in no time at all. The best thing about it is how everybody conforms. Just like robots or zombies people just seem to jump on and off like they are being controlled. Standing still on escalators on the right and leave people to run up them on the left. Amazing.

No matter what the costs it should be implemented accross the whole of the UK.

OK off to phonemy wife now, get changed and then off to the pub. In that order

In this post I would like to offer my two penneth as to the use of microsites when trying to gain higher rankings.

My understanding of a microsite would be a one or more page website that is related to the theme of your main website, which is put together for the sole purpose of trying to obtain a relative link to your main website.

Sounds great doesn’t it and I’m sure it served as a good tool in the past. Below are the reasons why I believe this is no longer the case and why I don’t feel you should waste your time building them when you could be generating natural quality links.

Ok let’s say you put together three microsites all in a similar theme to your main website. The microsites themselves will have no PR value as they are new and nobody is linking to them.

The first thing you would then do would be to link each microsite to each other. Ok so now each microsite has at least two links from other related sites. Then you would place a link from each of the microsites to your main website and voila you now have three related links to your site.

Not the case. Let me break this down. First of all unless you are really clever you probably purchase all three new domain names with the same credit card and used the same domain registration details when registering. Google is registered as a domain registrar not to sell domains but so it can have access to all domain registration details. Why would it want this info?? Google has found you out already at this stage.

Next you have probably also purchased the three domain names from the same registrar so all will be in the same IP range. Again Google will see this and has found you out yet again.

Thirdly, you have linked each of the three sites up and have no other links into them. This shows again that the three sites are related so you have been found out a third time. There is no point in obtaining links from other sources for these sites as if you were going to spend your time doing this you might as well do it for your main site.

The point of this post is that there is really no point in embarking down the microsite route in a bid to increase rankings because Google is on the ball with such tactics and the three reasons above are only a few reasons that highlight this.

It all boils down to the fact that search is becoming more intelligent everyday and no matter how hard you try, for long term gains there is no substitute for good hard work.

Here is the next in my series on link building. I don’t want to go to mad in this post as I am aware that my previous posts were a bit text heavy. I promise I am going to keep this post fairly simple, short and to the point.

Ok, social bookmarking and networking what’s all the fuss about?

With the introduction of Web 2.0, the social aspect of the web has exploded. Websites such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and Digg have taken hold of the internet world and people now flock to them in their millions.

So much so you would be absolutely stupid not to take advantage of this market. Most social bookmarking and networking sites immediately "No-Follow" any links on their sites, so you may be wondering what benefit to your SEO campaign you can achieve by spending the time adding a link on one of these sites. It’s quite simple, the main aim of social networking is to do just that, network and interact with like minded people.

The beauty of social networking is that you are opening yourself up to a highly targeted audience. There are many like minded people out there, so if you take the time to explore the networking sites you will find fan pages in your niche area. By taking part in conversations, posting status updates, posting articles etc on these pages, people will begin to get to know and trust you.

Why is this important I hear you scream? The more you take part, the more confidence and trust you will gain from the other users. As they are all like minded to you and are also participating on a fan page in your niche, they are more likely to click on your links....Ah ha the penny has dropped.

So, going back to my original question i.e. how can social bookmarking and networking benefit my SEO? Well it’s not in terms of higher rankings, but in more click throughs to your website, which ultimately is what we all aim for.

It doesn’t end there with social bookmarking though. There is also a plus side in building quality followed links. By participating you will be conversing with other people who may have websites that are directly related to yours. By making friends with them they will be more open to adding a link on their sites to yours. Bingo.

To summarise, social networking is the way forward. The golden rule is to genuinely take part and not use it as a portal solely to gain links. By taking part properly you will reap better rewards and build valuable relationships for current and future projects.

I’ve been looking into this a great deal since starting out in SEO, and a lot of the reports, articles and blog posts that are out there give some really good scientific answers as to what it is, but they don’t really give the beginner an easy answer. When I started out I read lots of lots of articles but didn’t really understand them. What I hope to do in this simple and short post is give my take on KEI and how best to select your keywords.

Keyword Effective Index (KEI) what is it?

In laymen’s terms, the KEI of a keyword or search term is the equation that you end up with that will tell you how easy a particular keyword is to rank for. What this is supposed to do is highlight quite easily which search terms to target in order to drive traffic to your site. Sounds great doesn’t it! If only it were that simple...

How to Calculate (KEI)

There are different variations out there about how to calculate KEI effectively, but I use and suggest the below:

KEI = (volume of searches per month)^2/(total number of competitors)

I said at the beginning of this article I would make this as simple as possible, so I will now attempt to explain how the above calculation works in terms of a real example (better than Derren Brown eh???)

Cheap bathroom Suites (9900)^2/17700000 = 5.54

So, the KEI of the search term Cheap Bathroom Suites is 5.54. From experience, to find an ideal search term to target that will get results quickly (and this is where I am making it simple for everybody), I would be looking for a KEI of between 20 and 150, so this search may not be the best to target initially!

Sorry to get a little complicated now, but there are reports out there which say KEI is calculated using exact matching search technology. Let’s use our example again of Cheap Bathroom Suites. If we search Google by simply typing in our search term (broad match) we get 17,700,000 competing sites, making our search term not ideal to target initially. If we use exact matching searching (placing speech marks around our search term before we search) we get 50,400 competing sites. Let’s run our equation again:

Cheap bathroom Suites (9900)^2/50400 = 1944

What a different result we get! Generally the consensus is the higher the KEI, the easier the keyword will be to target, and at 1944 we should be able to hit that in day one.

So what do we believe then? Do we listen to the articles that say that KEI is calculated using exact match search, or by broad match as in my first example? I tend to lean towards the first theory, as if nothing else, the first option will give you the worst case scenario allowing you to make a much more realistic decision.

Please bear all of the above in mind when looking into KEI, and there are thousands of calculators out there that will no doubt use a mixture of equations and searches (i.e. Broad and exact match). For this reason alone I always use my own equation, so I am happy that I am getting the results I expect to see.

As with everything in SEO do not rely totally on the KEI value when selecting Keywords use this only as a guide...Happy researching

The next topic is reciprocal linking. Generating reciprocal links is the most common and probably the easiest form of link building there is. There is a lot of debate out there as to how effective reciprocal linking is, but my opinion is that done properly it can be really beneficial.

First of all, you need to ensure you have done your research properly and identified the sites that you want a link from. Don’t set your sites to low here as one link from a great site can benefit you much more than 10 links from just any old site.

Ok so you now have your list so how do you get the links? Its common practise when reciprocal link building to send an email to the webmaster of your targeted site explaining how good your website is and how important it is to swap links blah blah blah blah. If you are anything like me the first thing you do when you get this type of email is slam it in the recycle bin. Fortunately this method is dying out and SEOs have to become more cunning.

HOW TO OBTAIN RECIPROCAL LINKS

First of all be prepared to put in the time. If you have chosen your target sites well your time and efforts will be rewarded. I know I keep banging on about content but first on your checklist needs to be the quality of the content you want to get links for. Rubbish content will result in rubbish links and none of the big boys will touch you.

Stay away from link farms and link exchange sites. I will cover these types of sites in more detail in another post but for now take my word for it and steer clear. Join some social network sites related to the niche you are working in and start to participate frequently. This may sound like a nightmare but by participating UN selfishly you will begin to build up a nice contact list of people related to your niche area that once you have built up confidence in can approach them for a link exchange. People are more likely to link to you if they feel like they know you.

Have a really good think about everybody you know and what jobs they do. You never know you could just remember that professor that is really high up in a university who is really good friends with the University web master. You get where I am coming from here.

Get a blog and start blogging. It’s more difficult to offer reciprocal links from within your website so a blog is a great way to build up top quality content that you can then use to link out to people in return for a link in. Blogs are especially great because there are no limits as to what you can blog about. The more you blog the bigger the buzz will become around your blog attracting more subscribers. The beauty of this is that if somebody has taken the time to subscribe to your ramblings they are obviously interested in your subject so yet another good candidate for a link exchange.

This list can go on and on and I couldn’t possibly give all my secrets away here but the main point I am trying to make is that you need to do your research and be prepared to put the time and effort in to make reciprocal link building more effective. If you just trawl the net obtaining reciprocal links from any old site, although you will see some short term benefits, as Google continues to improve its search algorithm you will waste your time long term.

The quest for links is ever ongoing and everybody strives for the holy grail of links - the one way link. Dependant on the PageRank of the site linking to you, it's always best to receive a one way link rather than to reciprocate, although I'll talk about that in another post.

This may sound daft but a one way link is as simple as site "A" linking to your website and you not linking back (sorry I had to explain that.) Why is this good I hear you say? The answer is because site "A" is obviously giving you a selfless thumbs up, an extra vote if you like.

There are many reasons why site "A" would do this but we are hoping that they have done it because they really do feel that your site is worthy of sending traffic. The key thing here is great content. As hard as it is to believe if you produce great fresh and original content, people will link to you naturally, so bear this in mind when creating any new site or when taking a fresh look at your current site.

Unless you provide top quality content on your website I'm afraid there is no chance of people giving you one way links. The moral of this post in obtaining one way links is produce great original content

"CONTENT, CONTENT, CONTENT IS KING"

Other ways to obtain one way links include social bookmarking, article marketing, forum participation, link baiting, and blog posting all of which will be covered in other post.

Ok, our new site has finally gone live so I had better start blogging. I need to come up with something good so Chris doesn't shout at me. I'm going to talk about all sorts of weird and wonderful stuff, but to begin with I want to talk about link building.

Link Building is without a doubt one of the most important factors when optimising any website and is a subject I can talk for hours on end. Instead of boring everybody with one huge post I will break it up over the coming weeks. Now as I'm sure you will start to see I tend to go off subject when I blog so please bear with me I will get there in the end.

There are lots of blog posts out there on the subject and lots of different opinions on how to obtain top quality links. All I can do is offer my spin on the subject. So where do I begin?

WHY LINK BUILD?
Link building is important as each link that points to your site is like a thumbs up from the other site saying your site is a good resource. Basically the more thumbs up you get the higher your website will rank. Sounds simple doesnt it?

Back in the day before search evolved into the clever little beast it is today, it really was as simple as that, and those black hatters out there went away and obtained links from everywhere under the sun in a bid to obtain high rankings for their own sites and clients sites. They didn't care where the links came from and it became a big battle as to who could obtain the most links. This couldn't continue so Google introduced the PageRank Algorithm which made link building more of a skill, and gave more weight to links that were actually relevant to the websites they were pointing to.

Although some people still argue that quantity still out weighs quality, Google still claims that it doesn't so I will keep my post in line with Googles thoughts and save the other argument for a later post. Getting back to it, it's important to obtain relevant links to your website in order to gain higher page rank which will in turn raise your rankings. This is why it's important to link build, as without lots of top quality and relevant links pointing to your website, you may as well give up (unless your website is extremly niche that is, and by extremely niche im talking about a website that is about pink and gold spotty dogs with only one leg, for example).

WHAT ARE MY LINKING OPTIONS?
There are many differnt types of links out there and I have listed a few of them below. I will go into details on all of them in future posts:

• One Way Links - Links that point to you but you dont link back
• Reciprocal Links - Links whereby somebody links to you and you link back to them
• Social Bookmarking Links - Links obtained through social media
• Article/Press Release - One way links obtained through articles and press releases
• Link Baiting - Links obtained through offering something useful to the end user

Link Building is without doubt a skill that any SEO must be good at, as it's extremely difficult. It requires a lot of patience and a lot of relationship skills. It isn't something that is going to go away so check back here for future posts on the various types of links, as listed above.

Hello and welcome to our fantastic new blog.

This is the first of many posts from both myself and Chris. Hope you like the design?

Over the coming weeks we will be working hard to produce our new and exciting website to go with this fantastic blog.

Our aim is to post as often as possible on subjects related to our roles within Web Vitality. We may even throw in some fun stuff to, so keep checking back.

I will be covering a whole host of SEO related topics to begin with, including:

• Keyword Research
• Onsite SEO strategies
• Social Networking
• Link Building

And many many more. No doubt I will rabbit on about lots more stuff and will link to other useful SEO topics as and when I come accross them. For now though all your SEO related information and gossip can be found here. Dont delay bookmark this blog today. Feel free to post your comments and thoughts also.