An idiot’s guide to Search Engine Optimization

When thinking about SEO most people immediately consider ‘keywords’ and ‘meta-tags’. However, Google accounts for approximately 90% of all search engine enquires, and they practically ignore all keywords. The reason for this is that often companies use the wrong keywords for their website, and if Google took these keywords in to consideration it would not produce a very good quality outcome for the searcher.
Google has instead focused on the titles and descriptions that you assign to each page on your website. To view how many of your website pages Google detects and what it sees simply type “site: (your website url)”. Therefore you should include these keywords within your titles and page descriptions. This will ensure that your web pages will appear when appropriate.

Link Popularity
The way that Google decides which website is highest ranked on the search is by the websites link popularity. You can view your link popularity by visiting www.backlinkwatch.com. BackLinkWatch.com will list every website that has a link to your website and they also supply the details of what words they use for the hyperlink (the anchor text). The more closely matched these words are to your keywords the better effect it will have on your SEO. BackLinkWatch.com also displays how many links there are on the website that links to your website (OBL column on the website), the fewer number of links they have, the more impact that link will have for you.

A way to improve your SEO via these links would be to:
1. Ensure that your existing links are as good quality as possible, by contacting the website managers who already have links to your site and ask them to use keywords to link to your website.
2. Run blogs/micro sites and link them to your website using your keywords. If you decide to take this route it is more effective to make these micro sites about the industry you are in. Often these micro sites can become highly ranked in Google, so it would be advised that you brand them using your company logo/name/colours/etc...

An example of a micro site approach is www.old-phones.co.uk which has been set up, branded, and linked to envirophone. The more competitive your industry is, the more micro sites you should have. The general consensus is that if companies take this approach they will need 10-50 micro sites.

Data Capture
The purpose for having a website in the first place is to generate business. To improve your chances of doing this you need to capture the data of those who visited your website, then you can contact them again in the future using direct marketing methods. The best way to do this is to offer an incentive for them to leave their details. An example of this can be seen on www.heathergate.co.uk. Heathergate offer their visitors a £20 voucher for Virgin wines in exchange for their details. Virgin will allow you to do this at no cost to you or your business, as they reap the benefits of the free promotion.

Sophie Kinsella is great... but what next?

Having recently moved to London, I have been stricken to the daily hustle and bustle of public transport, and my only escape is a good read. Having not been a avid reader before coming to London I started with the Shopaholic serise, as they were highly reccomended, and turned out to be a perfect combination of light hearted romance and comedy. Following this serise I decided to continue with Sophie Kinsella, I have recently enjoyed The Domestic Goddess (fantastic), and Twenties Girl.

Sophie Kinsella is a fantastic author, but could anyone reccomend another author that I may ventre into? I would love a light hearted romcom, and would be really adverse to getting in to anything too involved.

Suggestions please!!...

Small Businesses and HR: In the Begining...

As a new business start-up, hiring the first employee is a big step. many regulations and law affect the hiring, firing, and work of employees. If you employ other people you will have to meet the requirements of employment law, and be responsible for paying wages, tax national insurance contributions, and working tax credits when applicable.

Having recently helping to set up a business; Spanish Translations UK; I have had to consider the commotion that goes hand in hand with employing new people. In the current economic climate jobs have become a rare commodity, and therefore making it easier for employers to find good people to take on. That was the easiest part for me, there were plenty of people who wanted the positions that i had to recruit for, and the most difficult factor was selecting the best ones.

Once opting for the preeminent applicants I was then responsible for putting employment contracts in place. The Employment Rights Act 1996 stipulates exactly what subject areas must be covered in the statement, which includes the obvious, such as; the name of the employer and employee, the date that the employment began, rate and frequency of pay, hours of work, holiday entitlement, job title, and a description of the duties, as well as other details. Legal advice from professionals for matters such as these is recommended because employment legislation changes frequently, which can have an impact on the type of information that must appear in the statement.

Once the employment contract has been sorted, and work commences, you get to the part where you need to pay your employees - arghhhh! For this, I, again decided to consult an expert, because the last thing that you want is the Inland Revenue chasing you, or your employees. This is where it became a bit tricky for me, as some of my employees had other jobs, but as many of them were students they will still earning under the personal allowance band, so it was important to use the correct tax code; hence why using a professional was the correct choice.

On top of employment contracts and the payment of salary, as a small business you need to ensure that you keep employment records; of individuals and collective data, as well as certifying that employees work legal hours, and take breaks in line with the law.

Then as time goes on more HR issues can occur, which employers need to be strident about, issues that could possibly arise include maternity or paternity rights, discrimination in the work place, or health and safety concerns. Staying in check with the law is essential, and as a small business employer it is important to protect yourself.

Why on earth have referees started penalising encroachments on penalties

In recent weeks there have been various penalty retakes rewarded because of player encroachments. 2 examples of this are Frank Lampard's 3 attempts at West ham, and then this evenings retake for Kuyt at Liverpool.

As a referee I do not understand the grey area, so what chance do other members of the general public have. No wonder every weekend referees are abused because of the lack of consistency; the rules leave too much to scepticism.

In my opinion it should be simple; there are two scenarios when a penalty should not be retaken, despite encroachment; the first being when the penalty does not hit the target and the ball goes out of play, with the second instance being when the ball immediately hits the back of the net. I say this because neither of these circumstances would effect the outcome.

The only time that encroachment should be penalised is when the penalty is saved and the ball is gifted to an offending encroacher. The penalty should then be retaken and the encroacher should be punished with a caution for unsporting behaviour.

I would even go as far to say that the penalty should only be retaken if the encroachment is made by a defender, and a member of the attacking team encroaches it should be punished by issuing an indirect free kick to the defending team.

Why do All of My Favourite Chocolates Get Discontinued?!!!

First of all there was the Cadbury Nobble; a delcious cobination of buscuit and wafer wraped up in chewy caramel. Then there was Twixels, a long box full of a miniture version of Twix, I have no idea why, but things like this always taste better when they are mini. Following that there was the Falling Leaves at Thorntons; basically a small box of individual cornflates coated in silky Thorntons milk chocolate. Then I got attached to Teasers; the big version of the malteeser, like the ones you would find in a box of celebrations. At one time they were released in a box of their own, however, now Malteaser have releaased the little Malteeser Rabbits, which is a slight compensation for not being able to get hold of a box of Teasers, but quite expensive if I wanted to consume a multitude of sweet scrumptious sins. Now the Mars Mini Eggs are nowhere to be seen, how many more times are these confectionary companies going to introduce a delicious, addictable treat in to my life, only to then snatch it away and leave me going cold turkey with abosolutely no warning at all.

Does anyone out there know where I can get hold of any of these treats?

Or are willing to join me in a petition against the confectionary industry for cruel and unusual punishment?

Getting a Job in Marketing

This week I was browsing the disccusions on 'Linked In' when I came across I cry for help from a recent graduate who is struggling to find a marketing job in the current economic conditions. This is something that I have recently experienced myself and therefore decided to share some advice with her, that she said was very insightful, and as a result I thought it might come in handy elsewhere...

Last year I studied for my MSc in marketing, and prior to completing my exams I starting applying for a number of jobs, in a hope that when the summer arrived I could start my career. However, come May I still had no offers, not even for an interview. Every job that I applied for said that I did not have enough experience and that other candidates better fitted the profile that they were looking for.

I felt that I was dealing with a double edged sword; I had no experience and nobody would offer a job in order to gain any experience. In an attempt to make my studies for the past year worthwhile, I wrote a letter and sent it to every marketing company within a 10 mile radius of my house (little over 40 companies altogether). This letter offered my services, in a voluntary capacity, as an marketing intern for the summer.

In response to the letters, I received 10 replies, and of those 10 I met with 4 to decide which company would be best for my personal development. I decided to work for the most promising opportunity for 2 days per week, and I came to an agreement to work for another company for 1 day per week at a rate of £50 per a day. I spent the other 2 days searching for jobs, and applying for approximately 30 - 40 each week.

After 5 months of volunteering I was offered an opportunity to work on a new project for Northcliffe Media, but it was as a paid intern for only 2 months and based in London (120 miles away from home), which put me in a bit of a dilemma, and gave me a huge decision to make. I decided that after 8 months of an unrequited job search, I should give it a go. I moved to London in a hope that by the time I finished my 2 month internship I would find a permenent post to start my career.

Working at Northcliffe was great, but it was only two months, and in that time I worked hard in a desperate attempt to secure a full-time position elsewhere. I even decided to look at more innovative ways to gain relevant experience and earn money. For example, I noticed a job advertisement for a marketing assistant at a sole trading beauty franchise. This got me thinking that in the current economic climate many companies cannot afford the services of advertising agencies, so I wrote to the company proposing that my university colleague and I work as freelancers and assist with his marketing as if we were an economy agent. He liked the idea and now we provide him with a fortnightly newsletter, as well as maintaining a blog and his facebook page. This has proven to be invaluable experience and could well turn into something more, as he has recommended us to business partners.

As innovative as this was, and as exciting as this may sound, it was really just a drop in the ocean, and for me, never a long term plan. I continued to hunt for my big break and then 2 opportunities came along at once. I weighed up my options and went for the position that offered me the most responsability, biggest exposure to what I wanted to do, and essentially surrounded me by, what I believe, is the best people.

What I am trying to say is, do not give up, I applied for over 1000 jobs before I got something, but at the same time, do not expect opportunities to just drop on your lap, there is a lot of competition out there and you will need to work extremely hard to get your break.

Be innovative and stay positive!

PS. If it is a job in advertising that you are after I would highly reccomend reading Ogilvy on Advertising, great book, even if it is a little outdated, but chapter 3 focuses on getting a job in advertising and the different avenues you could go down to get there. 1, Work for an advertising agency, 2, sell advertising space for a media comapny, 3, work for a manufacturer (i.e. P&G), 4, work within a marketing department of another type of business.

This weekend’s televised premiership football matches

The coming weekend offers an indulgence of football, with the entire 'top four' having their matches televised. In excitment and and anticipantion I have dedicated my first blog posting to a quick overview of the matches ahead and my prediction, pair with the betting odds.

I hope you enjoy...

Manchester United v Sunderland
5.30 Kick off on ESPN

Alex Ferguson welcomes back united legend Steve Bruce this weekend for another head to head clash with one of his former apprentices.

This is a match that I feel will cause Mr Ferguson little trepidation, as, despite Sunderland having the best strike partnership they have had in years, in the form on Bent and Jones, Steve Bruce has failed to outwit his counterpart in 12 attempts and my personal opinion is that this latest episode will not spoil the recent trend.

My prediction for this game is a comfortable victory for the home side, with a score line of 2-0 and Rooney to slot one away.

The odds for 2-0 are about 11/2 and if you add Rooney to that bet as a first goal scorer you can get 29/2.

Arsenal v Blackburn Rovers
1.30 Kick off on Sky Sports 1

With their recent home form, you wouldn't look any further than a home victory. However, head to heads between the two managers demonstrate statistics that suggest the contrary. With Wenger only able to get the better of Allerdyce on eight occasions in nineteen meetings.

Could the Brut force of Blackburn Rovers be too much for Wengers youngsters?

I don't think so!

With Blackburns poor start to the season and particularly their lacklusture away form I believe that Arsenal will run away with the three points.

My prediction is 3-0, with odds at 8/1, an absolute thumping.

Chelsea v Liverpool
4pm Kick off on Sky Sports 1

The first dilemma; will the reserve goal keeper handle the bog occasion during the absense of the suspended Petr Cech?

Last years replicated fixture was considered the turning point for Chelse, when they were defeated by Liverpool.

This year offers something a little bit different, Liverpool are lacking without Alonso, Chelsea are playing on the back of a premier league let down at Wigan and they have been weakened between the sticks with the loss of Petr cech.

On top of the anticipation you would imagine from a top four clash we also have the Drogba v Torres clash to enjoy.

And the winner is... Another home victory is inevitable, and a comfortable one at that; 2-0 and Frank Lampard to get back to scoring ways.

That scoreline can be rewarded with odds of 11/1.

In Summary
In summary that's a potential thrill filled weekend of football mayhem. With a prediction on 3 home wins.

Your comments are welcomed...