The future of the internet

In recent articles, the future of the internet has been discussed by many regarding what the future of the world wide web has in store. Already, the way in which we use the internet is changing at a dramatic rate. This year saw the biggest use of the internet for christmas shopping (I myself bought all my christmas shopping online), and indeed shopping in general. More people are using services such as Tesco’s to have food delivered to their houses, and will often shop for books and electronics on the internet looking for cheaper deals.

This year the BBC saw the introduction of the ‘iplayer’ which allows people to watch episodes of TV programmes that they missed, which has proved to be incredibly popular. This service by the BBC has been used by people of all ages, from children, adults and even more elderly users (often branded as the silver surfers!). With a third of all homes in the UK now owning a PC it’s unsurprising that people are using the internet for more and more daily tasks, and the use of the iplayer shows it’s more accessible than people think. There aren’t the same barriers in technology anymore. I noticed when I started getting text messages and emails from my nan, that people are open to changes that will enrich their lives.

As well as the increase in PCs, the internet is now integrated into many hand held devices such as the iphone / ipods / mobile phones / PSPs etc. There are lot’s of available WiFi connections available in coffee shops and fast food restaurants such as Starbucks and MacDonalds which people can use for free.

Nigel Linge, a professor in Salford University’s School of Computing, Science and Engineering has said:

The internet is not going to become less a part of our lives. What will become different is that you won’t consciously be talking about looking on the internet for something.

What we can expect to see is a ’blurring’ of technology, where eventually everything will be integrated into the internet, and it will become a natural part of our daily lives.  For many, the internet is the first port of call now when looking for any information or service, and this will only continue to grow as it becomes more readily available.

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Ethical SEO definition

Ethical SEO (search engine optimisation) refers to optimising a website within the guidelines provided by search engines. Ethical SEO techniques are also referred to as ‘white hat SEO’. Any techniques used to optimise a website outside of these guidelines is seen as ‘unethical’ or ‘black hat SEO’. These techniques can lead to your site being penalised by Google, or in the worst case scenario your site can be completely removed from the index altogether!

So if this is the case, why do people use black hat techniques?

Black hat techniques are used to increase your site traffic in a very short amount of time, and normally involve trying to trick a search engine. Google however will normally realise fairly quickly if this is the case, and the Google algorithms are constantly being updated to spot new techniques. Companies should beware of any company that promises or guarantees results, especially in a short amount of time. They are making promises that they cannot possibly keep, as they have no control over the search engines an no-one knows exactly how the search engine algorithms work except the engineers that develop them.

Ultimately SEO is about following best practices within the search engine guidelines. Using unethical techniques can result in a lack of trust and credibility from both your search engine and the end user, which will prevent you from ever ranking well.

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Search engine friendly domain names

b-and-q-diy-2

When deciding on a domain name for a website it is important to take a number of factors into account. A good domain name can have a big impact on the success of a website. Your URL is the first full text block that a search engine will see, so in terms of keyword promince this is very high importance.

David Viney (the SEO expert) says:

You may have read on SEO forums that keyword-rich domain names are a waste of time, that users see them as spammy, and that brand presence is more important. As usual, there is some truth in all these arguments, but recognise that if you choose to follow this advice you are opting not to use one of the most powerful SEO tools at your disposal.

Indeed, if you try typing in search terms in Google, more often than not the highest ranking sites will have matching keywords in their domain name. B&Q have notably used a new domain of “diy.com”. The old domains “bq.co.uk” and “bandq.co.uk” now re-direct to this main domain, and unsurprisingly they are ranked number 1 in Google for the keyword “diy”.

Hugh Boyle (head of digital for Europe, Middle East and Asia at Ogilvy Action) said of B&Qs decision to buy and use this domain name:

It’s brilliant. What it is saying is, B&Q is DIY. It’s a clear statement of market leadership and of confidence.

It is also important to consider the use of hyphens within the domain. Google sees hyphens as natural spaces or separators, although some argue that hyphenated names are harder to remember, and that Google can read the keywords from long strings anyway. However, I think the following domains could certainly benefit from hypens in the domain in order to avoid any confusion (although I find them quite amusing!):

Experts Exchange
www.expertsexchange.com

Pen Island
www.penisland.com

Both of these domains could have avoided any confusion, issue by using hyphens, i.e. www.experts-exchange.com. Ultimately, having a keyword rich domain in conjunction with your company name domain could help increase the organic ranking of your site, and ultimately increase site traffic. If you think that there are not many keyword rich domains left anymore, check out the hyphenated equivalents and I think you’ll be surprised by the results.

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The SEO Rapper

The SEO Rapper (aka the poetic prophet) is a youtube video of Chuck Lewis, a gospel hip hop rapper who really knows his stuff when it comes to search engine optimisation. For those of you that haven’t heard of him, check out this video:

This is just one of the many rap songs he’s created about SEO. How he makes rhymes and half decent song about search engine optimisation, and remains technically accurate I’ll never know. Chuck now takes parts in quite large SEO seminars, and you can purchase MP3’s of his songs or even buy his CD! His tracks include:

  • Link Building 101
  • Social Media Addiction
  • Paid Search 101
  • Design Coding
  • Conversion Closing

Keep it real. :)

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The dangers of DIY SEO

It’s a difficult time for a lot of companies during the economic turmoil of the credit crunch. Lots of companies are having to tighten their belts, and cut back on their expenditure and their marketing budgets. Your SEO budget however, is not something that you should cut back on. Having a good online marketing campaign can be the differentiating factor between you can your competitor, and can help you gain the vital work you need during a recession.

As more companies realise the benefits of an online marketing campaign, there has been an increase in what is commonly known as DIY SEO (Do It Yourself Search Engine Optimisation). DIY SEO occurs when an inexperienced company takes it upon themselves to optimise their own sites. This is especially true for companies that have their own in-house development teams. Many programmers believe that they can optimise a site for search engines, and it is still popular belief that simply adding keywords and meta-descriptions is enough. This simply isn’t the case, and as a result many sites find that they have missed opportunities or even been penalised by search engines. A classic mistake is to have the same keywords and meta-description on every page, using over 20 single keywords on each page, and keyword stuffing the content and ALT descriptions of the images.

If you have an in-house development team, it can be tempting to try to search engine optimise your site yourselves. After all, there’s so much information available online for free! However, finding reliable and up to date resources is a big issue. A good SEO company will actually act as a consultant for your site, enabling your in-house team to make all the changes, which can be a very cost effective option. This way you know your developers can follow clear instructions to update your site, and you won’t have to worry about potential loss of business from dropping rank or being removed from a search engine index.

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