September 1st, 2010
One question which is often asked is how important is the age of a domain name (web address) when it comes to Search Engine Optimisation?
The points behind this question include:
- well-established sites have old domain names, so by reverse logics, an old domain should mean that the site is well established;
- spammers register and drop domains quickly, thus logically spamming sites usually have newly registered domain names.
Generally, webmasters agree that domain age isn’t the most important Search Engine ranking factor but opinions vary:
1. it can be no factor at all;
2. it can play only a single minor factor in the millions of other factors (but it still is);
3. it matters a lot.
Google’s patent “Information Retrieval Based on Historical Data” of 31/03/2005 implies that Google does look into domain registration (1) and renewal (2) dates:
1. … the date that a domain with which a document is registered may be used as an indication of the inception date of the document.
2. Certain signals may be used to distinguish between illegitimate and legitimate domains.
… Valuable (legitimate) domains are often paid for several years in advance, while doorway (illegitimate) domains rarely are used for more than a year. Therefore, the date when a domain expires in the future can be used as a factor in predicting the legitimacy of a domain and, thus, the documents associated therewith.
While the patent does sound rather straightforward (by the way its official version is no longer available online, so it might have been deleted), domain age factor is both overestimated and misinterpreted. The point is simple: domain registration date cannot speak for either quality or trustworthiness of a website as:
- domains can be registered but never used for a long time (parked);
- new domains can be used for highly established companies (with the old domain redirecting to the new one);
- domain name can be used for illegitimate purposes for years and then sold to a “good” person/company without any change of the initial registration date.
Thus our verdict to the whole dispute is as follows:
1. Website age (and its backlink profile age) is what really matters;
2. Domain age can play a minor part only as damping factor – i.e. one of the factors signaling the search engine that this might be a spammy / illegitimate site;
3. Old domains may carry more weight due to their past records (i.e. old backlinks pointing to them) – this can be a good point to consider but then again if you are serious about your brand, keep in mind that an established domain already has associations and history before you own it and they might be hard to conquer.
Conclusion: domain registration date won’t of course hurt but it will hardly help. So we would focus on registering a new short niche-related and catchy domain name instead of trying to buy an old (previously owned by someone) one.
Posted in FL1, Marketing, Search Engines | No Comments »
August 6th, 2010
It’s the summer holidays for many, and things typically slow down.
Not for us I’m glad to say, as the internet gets busier and busier with more online business being done than ever before.
A key part of making any business work is being to measure its performance and make effective decisions on your findings.
The internet is no different.
Using tools such as Google Analytics, it’s possible to see what’s working and more importantly not working with your website.
We continue to get asked more questions about Google Analytics than any other subject, that’s why we’re offering a free training session throughout this August.
Drop us a line or follow this link if you’d like to know more.
Posted in FL1, General, Marketing, Search Engines, Technology | No Comments »
July 1st, 2010
If you’re running an e-commerce website, improving the conversion of your product pages can have a dramatic effect on your bottom line. While many site owners focus the majority of their time on managing various advertising sources, focusing some time on optimising your website for conversions can often yield even stronger gains.
With Google recently releasing some tips for product page conversion, I thought I’d share the most useful advice with you below.
Product Images
Use a minimum of 3-4 images for each product so visitors can see it from different angles and being used in different ways.
Add the functionality for visitors to zoom in and get a closer look at the product.
Make sure to use professional, high quality images.
It’s common practise to place images on the right hand side of pages, but make sure to test alternative placements within your layout.
Product Descriptions
Benefits vs Features – Customers want to buy the benefits of your product, not its features. Tell customers that the grill they are buying will cook tasty and healthy food and save them money rather than having low emissions and four individual burners.
Test writing alternative sales copy instead of using the existing description provided by the manufacturer. This is one way to set you apart from competitors.
Delivery and Stock
Include current stock levels on your page. If your product is running low, tell the customer to order today.
Set expectations around delivery times and be as accurate as possible.
Run free shipping promotions – this can be a great way to boost conversions during major sale periods.
Other Important Elements
Reviews can be a great way to increase conversions, but make sure to only use legitimate reviews.
Give your page a single clear call to action or add to cart button.
Test including cross sells on your pages and see what impact it has on overall conversion/revenue.
Posted in E-commerce, FL1, Marketing, Search Engines | No Comments »
May 24th, 2010
So what are Tags and Titles?
Well, you may have heard the term “Meta Tags” banded around, and possibly heard about Page Titles.
In essence they are two separate things. However have a similar impact on how your website is viewed by
Google and presented to Google’s user in the search results listing.
The other thing to throw in to the mix is the file names of the pages on your website.
So let’s examine each one:
Meta Tags
Many people I speak to think that Meta Tags are all that Search Engine Optimisation is about. Sadly, if that were true, Search Engine Optimisation would be much simpler, or would it?
Meta Tags at one time, were the big deal, however what started to happen was that web site owners and Search specialists would use words and phrases in these tags that often didn’t bear any relevance to what was actually on the pages with these tags. This is where the problems started.
As a user, if you searched for “web design companies in st Albans” you’d naturally expect to find search results for web design companies based in St Albans, however this was often not the case.
Google was the first to take the initiative of ignoring Meta Tag key words, and basing its decision on how to rank a website’s page based predominantly on the words it actually found on the page.
So, are Meta Tags no longer in use?
Not exactly. There are a number of Meta Tags that perform different function, from determining whether a Search Engine should actually view the page, how a page is described to a Search Engine, the frequency that a Search Engine should visit the page and many more.
Typically the key Tag that is still in use is the Meta Tag Description. This is used as the description of your page in Google’s listing. Many people over-look this tag, however do so at your peril.
Descriptions should be well-crafted text that encourage users to visit your page, likened to the text of an advertisement.
Page Titles
What is a page title? A page title is exactly what is says, it is a title for an individual web page.
The Page title determines the very first line of your Google search listing. This should be different for each page on your website, and most importantly be relevant to the page’s content.
File Names
Many people claim that websites that use a Content Management System don’t rank properly in Google.
This sometimes true and for varying reasons, however most commonly it’s because the file name of a page is not descriptive enough and more importantly, not unique to each page.
This is sometimes one of the hardest things to alter in a website, however can make the biggest difference.
Need to know more?
Call us on 01727 739812.
Posted in FL1, Search Engines | No Comments »
May 4th, 2010
Google and all the main search engines work on reading text and following links.
The contents of an image can be described to Google using what’s called an ALT or TITLE tag.
You can see these tags in action when you move your mouse over some images on a website. When you do this a small tooltip style message comes up with descriptive text.
With some images, it’s important to add meaningful text to describe the image, if the image is of something meaningful to the user.
For example, a product image in a shop would be a good example, where text along the lines of “Picture of a Dell Latitude E6400 Laptop Computer” might be used. This adds a little more context to the page, and helps Google include the image in its Google Images database.
Avoid putting key messages and words that you’d like Google to find in to the image itself. Often there are ways to display an image beneath text that achieves the same thing.
Finally, Flash is a great animation technology that can bring your website alive and provide a compelling interactive experience. BUT….Google cannot read flash content. If you have any words or links built in to Flash Technology, Google will never find them.
Many companies work around this by providing both a Flash and conventional website without Flash. The Flash driven website is the standard offering when the user visits the website, however the non-Flash version is purely to allow Google to discover it.
Magnet Kitchens are an excellent of this: www.magnet.co.uk
Having two websites can get you nicely round this issue, however that’s double the site, so double the effort and double the cost!
Want to know more?
Give us a call on 01727 739812
Posted in FL1, General, Search Engines | No Comments »