SEO alert for small businesses

Does your SME know its SEO from its PPC? If so, your company is probably one of the growing number of small-to-medium sized businesses adopting search engine optimisation (SEO) strategies in order to maximise profitability going forward.

New research from web hosting firm Fasthosts has found that almost two thirds of small companies have an SEO strategy in place for getting their websites higher up search rankings.

The Fasthosts Online Search For Business survey found that the proportion of UK businesses submitting their sites to search engines such as Google has risen from 51 per cent in 2006 to 83 per cent in 2009.

However, the report warned that some companies are still unversed as to the benefits of online marketing strategies such as SEO and pay per click (PPC) advertising campaigns.

Nineteen per cent of respondents said that influencing search engine results – a key facet of search engine optimisation strategies – was not possible, while 12 per cent believed that search results are ordered only by how much each company has paid to the search engine.

Speaking about the findings, Fasthosts chief marketing officer Steve Holford said that it is encouraging to see more companies realising the value of using search engines in their online marketing strategy.

"They need to understand that it's a very important channel, and that if they just spend a little time researching it, SEO can pay back pretty much instantly," he said. "Once you've done it right you should be getting free traffic for as long as you keep optimised."

If you’re concerned that your company may be lacking an SEO or PPC strategy, or not making the most of one that is in place, theEword can help. We’re a digital marketing agency that specialises in SEO and PPC management.

We offer design, marketing and content aimed at taking your website to the top of search rankings – giving it the widest possible audience. Our team of SEO and PPC specialists – who combine more than 15 years experience in online marketing – supply the expertise needed to maximise your website’s potential.

Our SEO and PPC expertise could benefit your business. Contact us to find out more.

Twitter 'could start charging' for online marketing

At the moment, it seems that you can’t make two clicks on the internet without stumbling across an article about Twitter. The nifty little ‘micro-blogging’ device has seen its ubiquity surge in recent weeks, not least because of celebrity exponents such as Stephen Fry’s use of the system.

Hitwise states that Twitter is now the UK’s sixth most popular website, with traffic up 27 fold in the past 12 months.

For the uninitiated, Twitter is a service that allows its users to send 140-character updates about what they are currently doing to a list of followers, who can then ‘tweet’ back at them advice, observations, jokes or, as more usually happens, whatever random musings enter their minds.

The usefulness of Twitter in an online marketing context is yet to be fully explored. At present, several large companies and organisations have their own Twitter feeds, via which they can keep followers – or customers – updated on the latest news, product launches and so on.

So far, Twitter has been entirely free for companies to use in this way. However, speculation is mounting that Twitter has started to look at ways in which to increase revenue – including charging businesses to market their products via the service.

Biz Stone, co-founder of Twitter, told Marketing magazine that the company had considered the option when looking at ways to make more money from its service. However, he added that there are currently no firm plans to implement charges.

Free or not, Twitter could become another key strand in online marketing. If it can stay free of the torrent of viral spamming that hit social networking sites in the mid-noughties and devalued the work of genuine online marketing firms, Twitter may prove a very useful tool.

New SEO copywriter joins theEword team

As our much-talked-about online marketing expansion drive continues apace, we’ve started the year by adding two more members of staff to our team.

The first, SEO copywriter Karolyn Judge (pictured right), joined theEword earlier this month.

Karolyn has previously worked as a journalist and writer at a number of national newspapers and magazines. She has experience as a staff writer for the national and regional pages of the Metro newspaper’s Life section, and was responsible for editing the daily entertainment listings.

Before that, she was the lead writer at business-to-business publisher World’s Fair. She has a wide range of online experience, writing voluntarily for the entertainment pages of thestudentzone.com and myvillage.co.uk and has done SEO copy on a freelance basis.

Hello Karolyn

Hello theEword! It’s lovely to be here.

What is your favourite website?

Unfortunately, Facebook. It’s a really good way to keep in contact with friends - especially as a lot of mine live around the country. I also enjoy reading blogs. I think The Girl With A One Track Mind and Helen Of Troy Does Countertop Writings blogs are great.

Tell us the worst job you’ve ever had

I’m always one to make the best out of situations, so I don’t really consider any job I’ve had to be ‘bad‘. I found telesales a difficult one as I’m more of a face-to-face kinda girl.

What’s your favourite day of the week?

Fridays and Saturdays are usually fun, whether I’m off out into town or just relaxing at home. It used to be Thursdays when I was younger, as I’d get pocket money and bacon butties for my tea, but now that I fend for myself it’s not as joyful.

What is your favourite genre of popular music?

Deep and soulful house by producers and DJs like Masters At Work, Terry Hunter, Joey Negro, Theo Parrish, Phil Asher and Kerri Chandler. I also like jungle, drum and bass, old-skool hip hop and R’n’B, plus soul, Motown, pop and disco.

Outside of work, what has been your greatest achievement?

When I was around six or seven I won first prize in the Somerwest Butlins fancy dress competition. The rain had drowned out Wimbledon that summer, so my mum decided to be topical and dressed me up as ‘Miss Swimbledon‘. I wore a tennis outfit, rain coat, umbrella, goggles and flippers.

I won a trophy, which I still have and, bizarrely, had an article in the Sun newspaper written about me. My big brother went a few years earlier as a Smurf, top to toe in blue face paint. He won, of course. We were professional fancy dressers - our mum was like a fancy dress stage mum.

Smoothies - what’s your flavour?

I have a weird thing about the texture of milkshakes, and I think smoothies would be similar, so I’ve never had one. But if I did like them, it would probably be strawberry. I think I’ll just stick to Slush Puppies.

What’s your favourite TV show?

It ranges from the fashion-based/shallow, with the Hills coming at the top of my list slowly followed by America’s Next Top Model, to comedy shows like Big Train, Peep Show, Flight Of The Conchords and Father Ted. Match Of The Day is good at the moment - as my football team, Manchester City, have had a few good results.

Rosy revenues revealed in Google Q4 financials

Search engine Google remains buoyant with increased profits in the last quarter of 2008

Times may be tough in the financial world, but certain sectors are holding their own better than others. Google, for one, is currently basking in the glow of increased revenues. The good news comes as they release figures for the last quarter of 2008.

Indeed, search giants Google ploughed through valuations from Wall Street, which were set at $4.12 billion, or $4.96 per share. Actual Google profits came in at $4.22 billion or $5.10 per share.

Google’s revenue may be up for a variety of reasons. Enhancements have been made to Google in the last year - 350 search quality improvements were launched in 2008. Mobile search engine traffic also went up and peaked in December 2008.

Google chief executive Eric Schmidt’s statement from the release, said:

“Google performed well in the fourth quarter [of 2008], despite an increasingly difficult economic environment. Search query growth was strong, revenues were up in most verticals, and we successfully contained costs. It’s unclear how long the global downturn will last, but our focus remains on the long term, and we’ll continue to invest in Google’s core search and ads business as well as in strategic growth areas such as display, mobile, and enterprise.”

As many businesses across a range of sectors announce redundancies, search engine Google is also keen to emphasise recruitment. It took on 100 new employees in the last quarter of 2008.