Google Ditch The Search Bar And Idle Computers Cure Disease

Penguin Looking Into Camera

It’s a slow week for SEO. And, in an industry where we’re used to changes at an alarming pace, newsletter editors can get a little bit desperate when there isn’t much to write about.

Not that this is an acceptable excuse for being caught in a zoo enclosure dressed like Bill Oddie trying to explain the game of Monopoly to a waddle of increasingly agitated penguins.

So read on for mildly interesting stuff on Google search bars, Google+ and how leaving your computer on at night might one day save lives. Continue Reading

English Disco Lovers Unite: Using SEO to Promote Good Causes

Sunshine - Colm Hebblethwaite - 18.02.13

By Colm Hebblethwaite

The economic storm that has raged for the last couple of years has left most industries cowering under shelter, as social unrest and tension continues to bubble up around the world. In the midst of all this, the SEO industry seems to stride through the chaos unharmed; growing healthily year on year.

During 2012 there were 9.1 million searches for terms related to SEO services, companies and tools. There were 13 million published blog posts with “SEO” in their titles all over the web and the mighty Amazon was stocking well over 2,696 books on the topic.

What this all means is profit, both for the marketeers and their clients when they see increased revenue from more traffic and more conversions.  But is that it? SEO is, after all, not fundamentally about profit but is about increasing exposure and spreading messages (brand or otherwise), which can  lead to future profits.

So, is it possible to harness the power of SEO for promoting good causes without profit as a motive? Continue Reading

Unnatural Links Information, Connected Cars and a Zombie Apocalypse

Zombie Stop Sign - Dave Langdale - 14.02.13

There comes a time in every Newsletter Editor’s tenure when they lose the plot entirely. They bathe in ale, eat Poundshop rice pots for lunch and come to work in a snorkel. Apart from poisoning colleagues with a deadly combination of stout and chemically infused ‘Sweet & Sour Chicken’, it appears they also direct irrational hatred towards their stories.

So read on for mentally unstable attacks on Google personnel, Microsoft and drivers in the UK. I think there’s some news in there too. Somewhere… Continue Reading

Beautiful Mistakes: User Friendly 404 Error Pages

Dead End 404 - Holly Hayman - 25.01.13

Think of the internet as a room jammed full of people – and you’re speed dating.

The spammers are talking very loudly in quasi-American slang about Mulberry handbags and time-shares. Fashion bloggers are on the left dressed like homeless chimney sweeps. There are coffee-wired reviewers on the right, scantily-dressed social networks lining the walls and a gaggle of gossip columns all trying to catch your eye. No, no and no.

Then all of a sudden, “wow”: perfect hair, perfect clothes and smelling like fresh linen and Mama’s apple pie. You get up the courage to say something and tap them on the shoulder and you’re met with… a blank stare. Maybe a twitch. Not very friendly. How can you make a 404 a destination page in its own right? Continue Reading

iOS 6 Causes Analytics Dilemma And Google Look At Augmented Imagery

Cold Blue Bean - Dave Langdale - 16.01.13

So it’s 2013 and I imagine many of us are fruitlessly trying to cling onto our New Year’s resolutions like an alcoholic’s resolve in the aftershave aisle. Mine was to stop dressing up recently thawed fish and seating them around the dinner table for Sunday lunch. Needless to say I failed miserably.

It seems that the resolution of the SEO world is to roll out predictions for Google’s antics over the coming year and sit with their fingers crossed hoping they come true. And, if they’re anything like me, they’ll be doing it sat fully clothed in the bath, listening to Classic FM and writing Relocation Relocation fan fiction where every episode ends with “and that’s how Kirstie died”.

But we’re not concerned with the future in this newsletter. So read on for stuff about iOS 6 analytics issues, Google patents and some sad news. Continue Reading

AuthorRank and SEO – A Prediction For 2013

AuthrorRank SEO Prediction - Dave Langdale 14.01.12

AuthorRank isn’t exactly revolutionary news for 2013. Speculation about its implementation has been growing furiously ever since this Google patent was released in 2011:

“The digital signatures can be used to influence the ranking of web search results by indicating the agent responsible for a particular content piece. In one implementation, the reputation for an agent is expressed as a numerical score. A high reputational score indicates that the agent has an established positive reputation.” – Google Patent (11 May, 2011)

Because of this, and the multitude of useful articles out there about it already, making a prediction about the timing of the update or the possible factors involved in measuring the ranking would be fruitless to the point of lunacy.

So instead, I’ll be prophesying what impact it will have on SEO. Continue Reading

Using Real World Events to Create Great Link Bait

Cold Walk - Holly Hayman - 12.12.12

We’re all pretty sharp when it comes to commercialism. Think Coca-Cola’s Santa Claus, Cadbury Easter eggs and those interesting mascots for the 2012 London Olympic Games. They all have one thing in common – they aren’t anything to do with the original event, but they have become an integral part. This is where SEO link bait comes in: finding a niche in a popular event that you can monopolise and turn into your own recognisable, multi-national conglomerate. Continue Reading

Google Helps You Catch Your Flight And Connect With Google Communities

Epic Space Image - Dave Langdale - 07.12.12

It’s nice when companies do their best to help you out. Whether that’s going out of their way to find you the best deal on a phone contract or letting you have a 30 second head start after being found shopping in a Sainsbury’s skip, you really appreciate that extra mile. And that’s exactly what Google have been doing lately. With their updates to Google Now, Google Maps and Google+ Communities they seem to really want to improve everything for us, the users.
Continue Reading

Exterminate! Part 2 – The Wonderful World of Strange Google Searches

Crazy Mural - Google Searches - Chris Fielden 29.11.12

Following on from the disturbing search-engine-usage investigation that was Exterminate! Part 1, I present further proof that mankind is doomed. Sadly, this is no exaggeration – my Doom SirenTM is not stuck on max. This is a statement of fact.

While performing my research, I found the the funny Google searches people perform on a regular basis amusing at first glance. They made me chuckle, giggle, laugh and, on occasion, tested my bladder control.

But hindsight has made me weep with hopelessness. The people who make these searches are human. They breathe the same air as you and I. They belong to our species. Not only that, they make up the majority of our population.

“No,” you cry, “no, that’s not possible.”

It is, ladies and gents, it most certainly is. If they didn’t  the searches below would not be presented by Google for everyone to see. Google tries to be useful. It shows us the things people search for THE MOST. Continue Reading

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