Say hello to the "Brad" Pack!

Its not because we're fans of Brad Pitt, it is in fact a group within my BNI chapter in Bristol: Bradman Chapter.

I'm not one for calling the group a chapter - it makes it sound like a Hells Angel meeting but thats what the greater gods of BNI deem so be it (for now).

Anyway I am now in a mini group within the chapter - as well as becoming Membership Co-ordinator and thought I would introduce the guys!

So in no apparent order:

Kevin Hurlow - Professional Mortgage Broker based near Bristol (no official website as yet)

Ian Burkitt - for reliable and pro-active IT Support Bristol

Kevin Edenborough - an exciting and dynamic (yes they DO exist!) Chartered Accountant in Bristol and Swindon


I'm looking forward to the opportunities we can provide to the rest of my BNI group.

Drunkenly stumbling onwards....

Stumbleupon... since the paid link fiasco rose it's ugly head above the parapet, the disloyalty of Digg (supposedly, I've not covered Digg) and the non stop march of "social, social, social networking!" I've found that www.stumbleupon.com has stepped up to fill the breach...


I've been a member of Stumbleupon for quite a while - since late 2005 but I missed the boat on this one from the current levels of activity I seem to see there.

Now I have some catching up to do - made all the harder as there are so many Good stumblers.

I've seen the light though and now stumble upon websites and recommend them if I honestly feel they bring originality and creativity to the Internet (or quite simply make me laugh).

Google Algorithms and SEO

Everyone wants to know about Google's Algorithm(s) and their secrets.... and I think it could come down to an algorithm as small as this one (but heh I am no mathematician!)

Targeted Meta Data + Targeted (Resourceful) Content + Accessibility = £££ (or $$$)

Thats the simplest formula I can give. I am missing one component of this algorithm... have you guessed what it is yet?

Some days you just can't win....

It had to happen eventually.... I've been on a mega roll recently and because of my skills and experience in marketing and optimising websites AND my own it has been reasonably easy to convert new clients into business.

Until today.

I had presented to a prospective client who had seemed highly interested in allowing me to work with their designers to optimise their website and review and modify conversion rates.

After what felt like months of waiting they have chosen to go with another supplier for one reason. Price.

What I have to figure out now is how best to learn from this experience, which is made especially more difficult when the client gave off positive buying signals at every stage.

What it really comes down to - as my wife is keen to point out - is that I hate to lose...

Did you phone and leave me a message????

To the lady who called me last week and left a message on my voicemail for SEO services if you read this blog would you care to call me again on 01793 729326.

Regrettably the number you gave with the code starting 01157 is not valid according to BT and I am unable to return your call. You did kindly mention your website but it is hard to make out on the voicemail and I am unable to decipher it...

Look forward to hearing from you!

Darren

Are you giving your ecommerce website some slap and tickle?

Or are you just slapping it together?

I regularly read a new blog from a client of mine who are doing some excellent web design in Bristol and across the UK too.

It is still early days for their blog but they are offering some real insights into how they think and why it is they do so well for their clients.

Their latest blog post Successful Ecommerce Websites is a detailed goldmine that I think is worth recommending for those starting out on the ecommerce path to riches.

Optimising an online art gallery the right way

I've been busy working on a canvas art gallery online recently - working through all their web pages, with their developers and then linkbuilding using a combination of various links on blogs and other websites to help rank the site higher on Google.

I've gone for a balance of competitive keywords and niche keywords too on the website to ensure both "tails" are captured.

SO instead of just concentrating on one keyword i.e. canvas art I carried out research to use further keywords that would make the optimisation appear more natural preferably avoiding the spam route.

Keywords I focused on were:

Canvas art
Canvas artwork
Art on canvas
Contemporary Canvas Art
Landscape Canvas Artwork
Abstract Canvas Prints
Modern abstract art on canvas print

FOr those not in the know note how the keyword phrases get longer as we progress.


...and so on.

This will help the site to rank higher against established websites in what is a highly competitive field.

Its early days but I am excited to see that traffic has begun to increase already so all the signs are promising!

Tarnishing paid links with the bad boy brush

Whats all the fuss over paid links?

We've had them for years and now suddenly everyone's up in arms as Google appears to have stated it wants to see them out of action?

Paid links are (to me) a sign that someone is serious about investing in their website. Wanting free links from free directories is just chancing your arm and does not get you anywhere.

I do hope that certain individuals in the SEO world have not "tweaked Matt Cutts ear", especially if they had a strategy already mapped out if he did listen. I don't know if he did but it does make me wonder.

If Google knows which links go to bad neighbourhoods in general then why not adjust their filters to acknowledge "good" paid links and "bad neighbourhood" paid links?

Let us SEO's go figure out which ones sit where, like we don't already know!


As I've always said go for a balance of free and paid links, blog links, 3rd party corporate website links, pr links, linkbait and links via social media and you'll likely have a better spread if Google decides it does not like one certain type of link.

I'm wondering if Google in time will really clamp down on hard with those of millions of links and perhaps look for a few hundred links that really are high quality?

How to give your titles a dose of nitrous oxide!

Once in a while you come across a web page that blows your mind - this one is just one of those:

Learn to write titles