Google Page Rank

For a long time the debate has raged about the importance of Google Page Rank. Some SEO Companies will focus on it's importance, others won't. The reality is that the data you see in the Google Toolbar is likely to be upto six months out of date. Google only ever update it around twice a year. So as an indication maybe yes, but good data? No.

The debate raised its head again in the last few days. Google announced it was removing Page Rank data from its Webmaster toolset.

"We've been telling people for a long time that they shouldn't focus on PageRank so much; many site owners seem to think it's the most important metric for them to track, which is simply not true"

So, our advice is to not worry about it too much. We've had great success ranking sites with a Page Rank of 0 on page 1 of Google. Stick to all the well established rules, build your links cleanly through original content and if you're engaging with an SEO Company be sure to find out who exactly is doing the work, then speak with them directly about their methods.

Here's a good article about PR changes - http://www.cmswire.com/cms/web-cms/is-google-pagerank-no-longer-important-005790.php

Cheap MOT Cheltenham 2

If you'd like your business website to appear in the first page of search results for Cheap MOT Cheltenham then contact us today.

We recently posted this blog http://www.clickinsight.co.uk/2009/10/cheap-mot-cheltenham.html
to highlight how few companies optimise for search on a local level. This has two effects -

Firstly, those companies lose business as they are not found in the results.
Secondly, the search engine results end up filled with directory listings and the users search experience is compromised.

This search keyword we used as an example is relevant to so many Cheltenham Business's it's surprising how few are optimised for it. Competition is not that great and with some on-site and off-site optimisation a first page position is attainable in a relatively short period of time. Of course there are quite literally thousands of keywords similar to Cheap MOT Cheltenham which once a site is optimised for, could drive low cost, high quality traffic to your business website.As a Cheltenham SEO company we're expert in increasing your website traffic through optimising your site for any given keywords relevant to your business.

Cheap MOT Cheltenham

If you'd like your business website to appear in the first page of search results for Cheap MOT Cheltenham then contact us today.

This search keyword is relevant to so many Cheltenham Business's it's surprising how few are optimised for it. Competition is not that great and with some on-site and off-site optimisation a first page position is attainable in a relatively short period of time. Of course there are quite literally thousands of keywords similar to Cheap MOT Cheltenham which once a site is optimised for, could drive low cost, high quality traffic to your business website.

As a Cheltenham Search Engine Optimisation company we're expert in increasing your website traffic through optimising your site for any given keywords relevant to your business.

Search Engine Optimsation Success

Following on from a recent post http://www.clickinsight.co.uk/2009/10/measuring-search-engine-optimisation.html where we highlighted our success at moving up the rankings from no.160 to no.5 on Google UK, we had another quick check this morning and am delighted to find we're at no.3 !
I'm not a believer in checking rankings more than once a month, but have to say this was a great way to start the week.

Bing Search Engine Market Share

We recently focused a couple of articles on not forgetting about the emerging force of Bing -

http://www.clickinsight.co.uk/2009/09/search-engine-marketing-yahoo-bing-paid.html
http://www.clickinsight.co.uk/2009/09/bing-search-engine-local-search-results.html

Judging by today's article in IT Pro they're making faster progress than predicted with an 11% market share. An extract from the article can be found below -

"Microsoft's new search tool Bing has been out for more than three months, and it's gained a healthy 11 per cent market share in that time.

That alone makes it a search engine worth optimising for, but add in the recent deal with Yahoo – which will see Bing used as the search tool across both firms’ web estates – and any webmaster can't ignore Microsoft's latest search attempt."

http://www.itpro.co.uk/

Measuring Search Engine Optimisation Success

There is an old saying that Cobblers children have no shoes. I often find myself thinking about this with regards to business. Anyone who knows a plumber can testify that they'll have hot water problems at home, or an electrician whos lights don't work properly. The point being that they are too busy fixing other peoples systems to find time for their own. After all they don't get paid to fix their own homes!

It's a similar scenario for Search. We spend all our time increasing other company rankings leaving little to work on our own. This month though we felt our site needed an injection. We targeted the term SEO Company Cheltenham as our ranking was around a lowly 160 in Google UK.

Pleasingly within a month we're now showing (at the time of writing this blog) to be number 5 in Google UK. Obviously competition is high on keywords involving terms surrounding search so we're aware that this could change at any time. But through ongoing maintenance we'll hope to hold it, or improve it, time permitting!

SEO Company Cheltenham Gloucestershire

Don't forget that we're currently offering a FREE SEO site audit for local businesses.

As a Cheltenham SEO Company we're perfectly placed to understand your needs in local, as well as national and international search.

The survey includes -
A simple site technical audit.
An SEO review of keyword terms relating to your company.
A general SEO review of the site.

These audits can cost hundreds of pounds, feel free to contact us today to arrange yours.
http://www.clickinsight.co.uk/

Bing Search Engine - Local Search Results

I was looking at the introduction to Bing earlier - http://www.discoverbing.co.uk/map/multimap.aspx and found myself looking at Multimap for the first time in ages. It's fairly safe to say that Bing's market share is more likely to rise than decrease in the coming months and correspondingly this will lead to a rise in Multimap users.

From a local search perspective what immediately caught my eye after entering Cheltenham as a location into Bing was the the useful information box on the left hand side (see image above). You'll note that it suggests 24 cashpoints, 26 parking spots and only ONE shopping location in Cheltenham (ok I'll spoil it for you, The Regent Arcade).

I'm sure there's a few shops and locations in Cheltenham who wouldn't mind being included in that "useful information" box. Call us to find out how important local search is to your business.

http://www.clickinsight.co.uk

Search Engine Optimisation Cheltenham

We are currently offering Gloucestershire Businesses a FREE site survey which will highlight what can be done to significantly improve natural search traffic in a short space of time.

The survey includes -

A simple site technical audit.
An SEO review of keyword terms relating to your company.
A general SEO review of their site.

Contact us here for more info and to arrange your free survey -

http://www.clickinsight.co.uk/

Google Pay Per Click Cheltenham

Well this post is a piece of blatant self publicity. Anyone who may be interested in finding out more about starting a Google AdWords marketing campaign please feel free to contact us using the details here - http://www.simplyonlineconsulting.co.uk/online_marketing_contact.html

Read below if you want to understand more about Google AdWords.

Google AdWords is also known as Pay Per Click marketing. On the Google search page you’ll notice ads on the right hand side and sometimes the top of the page. These advertisers pay every time one of their ads is clicked. The cost per click is dependent on how competitive the keyword is, so for example “cheap car insurance” could cost £4 a click, whereas “sunbed reconditioning Scotland” may only be a few pence. An average cost per click is likely to be around the 0.25p to 0.45p. So a budget of £100 / 0.25p = 400 clicks or visitors to your site per month. If you convert your visitors at around 1.5% that would mean 6 customers per month.

You can allocate an exact budget to this advertising on a daily or monthly basis, once you’ve used it up the ads stop displaying. You can stop the ads at any moment, run them seasonally, or decide to show them only at certain times of day. You can also target certain areas of the country if applicable and obviously only display your ads when the relevant search keyword is typed in such as “holiday cottage Gloucester”.

It is a highly targeted means of getting traffic to your site immediately, however you must bear in mind that you’d be paying for that traffic on an ongoing basis. It also requires some management to ensure you’re not over-bidding on keywords, are not advertising on keywords which have not converted visitors, ads are updated etc etc. Ideally you’d want an event on your site we could use it as a “goal” to identify which keywords caused visitors to convert to customers.

SEO Project

Ok not much to show I'm afraid on the new SEO project. The keyword research is underway, the tags are starting to be written but that's about it right now. Hopefully they'll be more to show next week.

Have a great weekend.

Do small businesses need a website online?

Do small businesses need a website online?

It may seem ironic to suggest that small businesses start building an online presence without a website. But there’s a very good reason why businesses, and in particular small business start building their online presence even if they don’t have a website and that’s the development of local search.

For many business types a website is never going to be a transactional tool; a plumber, electrician or gardener for instance are never going to be able to complete their services online. For them it will only ever be an information portal to advertise their services and attract customers.

Arguably the website is a tool that can convert customers, answering all their questions, reassuring them of the trustworthiness and integrity of the business and above all getting them to pick up the phone and call the business! But for many types of businesses which operate on a local level it’s most important to raise their profile and awareness of their services on a local level. The most important thing is being found.


If a small business can be found within “search”, the website conversion process can to some extent be removed from the entire customer journey. This reflects the process customers would follow pre-Internet, the customer has a requirement e.g. needs a plumber, the customer searches for a plumber who’s can fulfil that requirement and once they locate one nearby they call. End of process, no website required to convert the customer.

So how can small businesses be found within search on a local level without a website? Well here’s the two most powerful ways this can be achieved –

Google local search results – Probably the most powerful tool of them all and no you don’t need a website. Any business can sign up for a local Google business account, simply fill in some details regarding the types of service you offer, telephone and address, validate the details by phone or post and away you go. These local search results are always displayed at the top of relevant pages meaning you can “out SEO” an SEO expert without a website!

Online Directories – There are thousands of directories and whatever your business, they’ll be several which you can add your details to for free. Some directories will be based on geography, some on service types. Just search for “Free (area) directory” or “Free (tradesman) directory” and you’ll find loads in no time. Plenty of them will allow you to submit without a web address.

Naturally, working for as an SEO Marketing Consultant the suggestion that a business doesn’t need a website is only a short-term one! Due to the low cost of designing and hosting a simple website and the likelihood that it’ll increase conversion, visibility and awareness of the business it will always make sense to get one built. However, if the funds aren’t available for it right now that doesn’t stop you starting to build your online presence for free.