Today on the 7^th September 2010 google.uk and other EU google versions has an animated logo. The logo can be animated by hovering over the logo or moving the browser window around.

This is not the first but it is the first time there has been no official explanation from Google. Google usually has a reason for each logo but has not explained this one at all. Google has in the past has made the logo’s clickable which will link to a relevant search or page about what the logo is.

Today however is a mystery, this is the third animated logo we have seen from Google, previous animated logo’s have been the “Pacman logo” and the “Bucky ball” logo.

Speculation is that it is to celebrate Google’s birthday which has some confusion over whether it is today or was on the 4^th of September. However with it just being EU based makes us think otherwise.

It is interesting to see what our readers thing about this. Is it just them showing off htm5 or is it something completely different?

Search engine optimisation services have to perform a diversity of tasks. A lot depends on the nature of the site concerned, but despite this caveat there are some common tasks which are done on a regular basis. Regardless of the continuing changes in the world of search, many of these basics will be done by SEO experts for some time to come. A simple way of looking at these tasks is as SEO basics. Some of these basic activities are concerned with luring more traffic to a site by off-page means, while others are actions which are done to the pages of a site. This piece will focus on the latter.

At Searchengineoptimisation.com we understand the complexities of contemporary SEO, but we never take our eye off the basics. This means that our multifaceted campaigns have the best possible chance of pleasing users and search engines alike. Although we always adapt our tactics to the individual requirements of specific sites, there are five things our efforts often touch upon:

• Title tags are crucial and require more attention than you might think. Quite a few individuals who perform SEO independently go astray when dealing with the title tags on the pages of their sites. Even the basics of SEO often need the skills of a specialist.

• The content is pivotal. In the first place, this means looking at the text to be added to the pages. This is because search engines and users usually want a site to have interesting and informative content in text format. It also involves looking at the amount of space on the page to facilitate easy reading. Furthermore, it includes considering what should be added in terms of the subject. Industry news and comment can often work well, but not in every case.

• A site’s structure must be arranged so that users and web crawlers find it easy to get around. If either group have difficulty in finding what they want, the site will not perform as well as it should. Users have to be pointed in the right direction so that they can get the information and hopefully the products or services that they wish for.

• The careful use of keywords is essential. If the site has a blog or articles, keywords should be seeded throughout the text. However, this should be done sparingly so as to avoid the charge of keyword stuffing. Too high a keyword density and a site may incur a search engine penalty, too low a density and the site may perform in a suboptimal fashion. Therefore it makes good sense to use SEO Content Management Systems.

• The final thing which must always be done with regard to on-page SEO is to think outside the box. Users often love things which break up the monotony. The use of video can be a good idea in some contexts. If the video would have too negative an impact on the site’s load time, linking to YouTube is one option worthy of some consideration. It is not so much what you put on the site, as having the correct attitude, while avoiding errors like too much Flash.

Social networking websites now play an influential role in the search engine optimisation campaigns of many businesses. Websites such as Facebook and Twitter are becoming increasingly important for those businesses which are trying to gain attention, build respect for their companies and develop their brands within the online community.

Business owners using social networking websites as part of an SEO campaign often become focused on trying to gain attention from others so they can communicate with them and get them interested further in their business. However, what many of these site owners don’t consider is that others within the social networking communities will already be watching them and monitoring their online behaviour.

Previous customers of your business will be one group within the social networking sites which may well be watching your business. If a user has used your business in the past, it will immediately stick out to them. If they were happy with the products and services you provided then they will likely feel close to your company and will be interested to see what else you have to say and offer.

Your social networking profiles will also be watched by potential customers of your business. When using sites such as Facebook, you have to provide relevant and useful content and get involved in the social networking community. If you do this effectively, you will get other users noticing your business and exploring your profile further to learn more about your company. If you use these communities correctly, you will gain a following of a large number of potential customers.

Unhappy customers who have previously used your business and have not been satisfied will also be watching your profile if you are part of the major social networking communities. A lot of online consumers now like to share their opinions and feedback with others and social networking sites can provide the perfect environment for this.

If a social networker notices your profile and remembers their issue with your company, they may well begin monitoring the information you give and how you behave, waiting for an opportunity to share their experience. You have to be prepared for negative content contributed by others.

Another group which will be watching you if participating in social networking sites is your competitors. It is important in SEO to know what your main rivals are doing as much as possible and social networking sites can provide this information. They will be monitoring your behaviour and the information you share.

When using social networking sites, you must remember a lot of different users will be watching you and monitoring your profile. You must always behave professionally and appropriately to ensure social networking sites contribute effectively to your SEO campaign.

We at SearchEngineOptimisation.com help our clients to use a number of productive SEO methods efficiently so real results are achieved. If you need help or advice with social networking for SEO, we are the perfect solution to your problems.

Internet reputation management is not a straightforward activity. That is why it is important to select high quality search engine optimization services. The right kind of SEO experts can be of considerable practical assistance in this complex field. It is all too easy for inexperienced site owners to overreact to a negative review, for example. The key thing about internet reputation management is that almost all the things which worked positively to get traffic to a site, like the various social media networking sites, can work against you when something goes wrong. Even large firms can struggle to get their message across once the social media tide turns against them, so SMEs do well to use specialist services in this potentially fraught area.

At Searchengineoptimisation.com we are experts in all aspects of reputation management. This means that we are well-placed to take action on behalf of a site owner. However, it also means that we recognise that problem avoidance is often more effective than exercises in damage limitation. There are several things which online firms should avoid at all costs:

• Site owners should avoid the dubious practice of using fake reviews. It is surprising how many firms have been tempted into such an unethical activity. Users of the net are often very sophisticated and only trust reviews with elements of constructive criticism, hence trying to fake plausible reviews is particularly tricky and the negative outcomes can be toxic to a brand.

• It is vital that firms should respond to any complaints in a proper manner. If someone who complains about the quality of a service is treated with courtesy and if they feel that the problem they have highlighted will be addressed they can often be placated. If they are an influential blogger, the fact that their disgruntlement has passed should take the wind out of their sales.

• Following a proper complaints procedure means that if someone persists with voluble complaints after their initial issue has been dealt with, they may well be perceived as unreasonable by others. For example, if they seem to be making a mountain out of a molehill other individuals may start to have sympathy with the firm.

• It is essential that a firm uses other businesses which have a high degree of competence. For instance, an ecommerce site has to depend on a delivery firm. If the delivery firm fails to deliver the goods on time, the site itself will attract some of the blame, thus avoiding unsatisfactory businesses makes sense.

• A firm will have a worse reputation if its site suffers from a poor design or substandard maintenance. Individuals are less likely to complain if a site has reassuring features which work effectively. A good FAQ page or an amicable ‘about us’ page can make people feel friendlier towards a site. If efforts are made to ensure that the site is always impressive to its visitors, the chances of serious complaints being made are reduced.

However, regardless of the steps that are taken, complaints may arise and preparation plus positive damage limitation can work well together.

One of the explanations behind the extraordinary complexity of search engine optimisation is that every site has to be given its own recipe of tailored techniques if it is to gain more traffic and obtain more conversions. Due to the complicated nature of the shifting world of search, few rules apply to every site. What proves effective in one instance is sadly disappointing in another. In another set of circumstances, the same solution can have variable influences on the fortunes of a site. Each site has its unique features, its own strengths and weaknesses. The techniques used are often a blend of art and science, making precise duplication of them barely possible even if it were desirable. In addition, SEO is applied to sites at disparate stages in their evolution. All these factors mean that generalisation and SEO do not go well together.

However, despite these compelling points, many an SEO agency refuses to respect the differences of sites. This means that they produce formulaic SEO plans. These lack the creativity, sensitivity and flexibility which effective campaigns possess. Hence it is vital for site owners to ensure that they obtain high quality SEO services.

At Searchengineoptimisation.com we make the necessary efforts to devise and implement multifaceted campaigns which tick all the right boxes. In addition to this, we keep an eye out for the unique aspects of the sites we work on. This means that it is quite possible to work with the grain of the site, using the most appropriate techniques.

Sites in different sectors of economic activity often require distinctive approaches. Imagine a firm in the creative industries. It may have a new site which requires optimisation. Using a blog would be an obvious way of getting interesting and useful content applied to the site on a regular basis. The discreet insertion of a couple of keywords could help the site with the search engines, but the focus would be on pleasing the human user. A further step could be a Twitter campaign to draw attention to the blog posts. However, it would be necessary to ensure that the campaign involved plenty of retweets and effective engagement with the target audience.

While the site in the creative industries may benefit from a Facebook campaign and a Facebook Fan Page, it may be that the target audience does not spend too much time on Facebook. Research is needed to see where the target audience hangs out. However, it is not just traffic maximisation which should proceed in accordance with the specificities of the site.

Conversion rates are crucial in search engine optimisation. It is not much use if the traffic which has been persuaded to come to the site does not linger for a significant period of time. It is important that a site stimulates interest and receives repeat visitors. It is vital that some visitors are persuaded to buy a product or a service, if that is the purpose of the site. Studying an individual site with the right tools is a great way of finding out where adjustments need to be done.

Search engine optimisation services do not always agree with each other. Search engine optimisation is a complex process and it seems likely that there will always be areas of disagreement. One reason for the lack of consensus is that Google and the other major search engines are not always transparent about what they want. Another reason behind the ongoing controversies is that search engine optimisation services operate in a highly competitive field. This means that the professionals are always trying to get new strategies together which work well within the changing sphere of search. Regular and transformative innovation means that the sphere of search is never static. This in turn opens up new opportunities and fresh challenges, exposing further fields of controversy.

At Searchengineoptimisation.com we ensure that we monitor the changes in the world of search with care. This allows us to adjust our multifaceted and individualised campaigns as required.

An area of search engine optimisation which has produced a lot of contentious posturing is that of link building. Link acquisition is fundamental to SEO and the best ways of obtaining links have varied down the years. At one point, purchasing large volumes of links was a more or less acceptable practice which could lead to substantive progress in the search engine results pages. However, this led to a situation which did not work in favour of users. Sites which did not cater for their needs were ranking too highly. Hence the search engines have altered the rules of the game.

The point now is that link building has to focus on relevance and quality. Links from sites which are not relevant to the site being optimised are of little value. Being associated with sites that are not of a high standard (perhaps because they are spammy) will not be of any assistance. There is a diversity of ethical ways of attracting the right type of inbound links for a site, so there is no need to adopt dubious or risky methods. Using the wrong approach could lead to disappointing performance in the search engine results pages or might even incur a search engine penalty.

Despite the new search world in which link building has to prosper, disagreement between SEO firms persists. There are those who do not respect the new order and continue to operate much as before. They contend that many successful sites are in breach of the regulations, and do not see why they should accept Google’s position. Less riskily, some firms have partly altered their strategies to take into account the new realities. Nevertheless, firms in this category may still flirt with danger via purchasing relevant links. Then there are those who firms who never pay for links in any circumstances.

All these approaches have their upsides and downsides, but one thing is certain amongst all the uncertainty. The idea that SEO is all about pleasing users is not going to be universally subscribed to any time soon. Thus it would appear that the controversies over links will endure for some time yet.

I love food. You may have learned that from the last Write Club. I wrote about fish and chips, egg sandwiches… looking back I wish I had slipped in a sentence or two about pickled onion Monster Munch.

This is a quick lesson in how you give your writing personality. In two sentences I’ve managed to put a large part of my personality and thoughts across to my audience. Whoever reads it now knows about my passion for food. I’ve also given them a fair idea of the foods I like to eat – utter junk.

I often see the same old barriers stopping people from putting themselves and their thoughts on the page. Most of them surround negativity and perception – most writers starting out lack confidence and expect themselves to crumble on the first negative comment they receive. It’s understandable in a sense, it takes a lot of time to discover and refine your writing voice. But if you cast off the shackles of convention from the start and concentrate on the basics, then personality will follow suit.

And that’s the point of writing. Personality, from my point of view, is one of the most important ingredients possible when constructing copy for an internet audience. Think about it. There’s millions of blogs out there, the majority of them saying exactly the same thing. How do you set yourself apart? By saying exactly the same things and following the crowd? It doesn’t work that way, plain and simple.

Commercial writing is different though, surely? Well, of course you have to come across as more professional if you want to sell your products, but there’s no reason at all why you can’t put a company voice into blog posts and other content. I’m not advising you to talk about the food you like, obviously, but a blog on your site is a great way to focus on specific products and add a bit of excitement to them. To make your staff seem more like people and less like… er… staff.

“We had a large delivery come into the stock room today. We couldn’t wait to open it – it was our new range of lightweight laptops that you can buy from our computer section. We’re putting the pictures live as soon as we stop slavering over how gorgeous they look.”

You probably couldn’t get away with putting that in the product description on the laptop page itself, but it’s the perfect kind of post to put on your blog to give the product a bit of mystery and to get your customers asking some serious questions.

Why couldn’t they wait to open it, does it look better than the other laptops they sell? Lightweight eh, how lightweight is it? Gorgeous? They mentioned pictures, I’ll come back later when they’re up. Would it look good in my room?

Personality in your writing doesn’t mean swearing, firing off extreme opinion or filling sentences with as many big words as possible. It just means being interesting, intriguing and showing a part of yourself off to the world. Remember, you don’t attract people by pushing them away. Be positive and inclusive in your blogs – success is sure to follow.

SEO services can provide content which is of a higher standard than that which can be easily written by the average firm of a site owner. This is because content supply is a specialist business, best conducted by professional copywriters. The copywriters employed by SEO services are used to coping with the difficulties imposed by the constant demand for high grade content. In addition, they are conscious of how to negotiate the problem of ‘writer’s block.’ Hence they are better placed to do the work than stressed and weary employees of a firm who may or may not have a gift for writing accurately.

At Searchengineoptimisation.com we are used to providing high grade content to sites on a frequent and regular basis. As well as ensuring that the content is attractive to the target audience, it is central to our way of working that the content passes five specific tests. The tests are as follows:

• The content must be informative. Users of sites rarely want pure entertainment from retail sites, whether or not what is for sale is a good or a service. Users prefer to learn something from what they read and they are more likely to trust sites which demonstrate knowledge in an authoritative manner which does not stray towards the pretentious. Many users appreciate information to be broken down into digestible chunks.

• It is vital that users can understand the content. Too many acronyms must be avoided. Any which are used should be easy to comprehend like SEO. Similarly, an excess of technical terms can be a big mistake. Users want to read the content without being obliged to turn to either a glossary or an online dictionary. If sentences are getting very long, they should be chopped up without breaking the rules of grammar. The content should be accurate enough to avoid any confusion setting in.

• Content has to be supplied which varies slightly from post to post. If the content gets too repetitive, users will have their needs and wants catered for elsewhere. However, the content cannot vary too much because that could disorientate the user. A balance has to be struck if users are to be kept happy. It takes experience to judge where that balance is and skill to maintain it in practice. Brainstorming and other techniques may be of assistance.

• The content must not be employed in a way which makes the screen too congested. Paragraphs should not be too long. After the right word, blank space is one of the copywriter’s best friends. Users have short attention spans these days and the reality of the glare from computer screens means that reading too much at a time is a strain. In short, users tend to skim and hence it is important to prevent them from going further and skipping.

• For SEO purposes, the content has to be sprinkled with keywords to attract the attention of the major search engines effectively. However, keyword stuffing must be avoided to avoid upsetting Google and users. Users only want to read content with a natural pattern to it.

A cursory examination of current SEO news is sufficient to inform someone that search engine optimisation is a very complicated subject. Those with insider knowledge know that search engine optimisation is an evolving discipline which has been transformed by successive waves of innovation. It is, in part, these innovations that have made it more difficult to comprehend and implement search engine optimisation. The level of difficulty involved in the process means that novices who attempt to implement a campaign unaided are prone to do more harm to their firm than good.

At Searchengineoptimisation.com we recognise how changes in the sector mean that the use of professional SEO services is no longer a luxury. In a commercial context where additional visibility online can be central to the success of a firm, DIY SEO no longer provides a realistic opportunity.

Unfortunately, not all professional SEO services operate to high standards. Some firms do not adhere to the ethical guidelines provided by the major search engines. They use dubious practices in pursuit of short term gain. Luckily, these black hat firms are often easy to spot. They typically promise fast and very impressive results. In addition, the techniques which they employ treat the sites of their clients as if they were the same. Furthermore, these firms are not always shy about behaviour such as link purchasing. A good way to assess whether a firm falls into this category is to examine their site.

While some firms do respect the guidelines set by Google and the like, some of these still provide a service of a suboptimal nature. Their prescriptions will rarely have the desired influence on the rankings of their clients’ sites. These firms do not recognise the crucial importance of things like treating each site as a unique entity. It is also the case that the formulaic approaches adopted by such firms do not take into account the key factors which determine success in optimisation.

The key determinants of success in the field of search engine optimisation are a focus on increasing traffic and a concentration on the conversion rate of a site. This is because ranking highly for rarely entered search terms is utterly irrelevant to sales. It is also true that high rankings do not mean that potential customers are actually spending a lot of time on the site.

There are diverse ways of boosting traffic and the best approaches are typically multifaceted. However, what will actually work well for a specific site is to a high degree influenced by the specific features of the site. For example, a site which predominantly sells services will have different requirements from an ecommerce site which sells products. It is only via specialist analysis that a good appreciation of the special needs of a particular site can be discerned. Effective communication between the site owner and the firm can be a boon.

Due to the extent of change in the sector, it is important that SEO services keep alert to the implications of new developments. One way of assessing how up-to-date a firm is can be to ask them about SEO tools.

If your website targets worldwide, then you might already know that distance from the server to the user can introduce latency – an effect of distance. Latency is basically the time it takes to make a round trip from the server, to the user, and back to the server again. The longer the latency gets, the longer it can take to download a file. The cause is quite technical so we won’t get into that, but rest assured distance does take its toll on load speeds.

This is where Content Delivery Networks (CDN’s) come into play. CDN’s are designed to serve content to users as fast as possible based on their geographical location throughout the globe. The basic principle is to mirror your data such as images, videos and other large downloads to several servers, and geographically place them where your users are.

For example, your main site may be hosted in the United States but your visitors come from USA, Europe and Australia more than any other country. In this case, you would have 3 sets of CDN servers, one in USA, one in Europe and one in Australia. This way the users will be served content from the server closest to them. This will increase speeds and give the user a more pleasant experience when browsing and downloading from the site.

With Google Caffeine and site speed being introduced into ranking results, it is important that your site perform as quickly as possible, and a Content Delivery Network helps to ensure this.

A CDN doesn’t just offer faster speeds to those it’s closest to either. Browsers will often only download 2 items at a time from each hostname. This means if you have a lot of JavaScript files or CSS files, it will load them before continuing to load other items on the page. This limits you to 2 connections while it waits for those items to download. If you have CDN, you are essentially giving the browser more than one hostname to download from, so the browser can connect to more and download in parallel the files required for displaying the site.

In turn, this makes the content download faster and display more quickly on the browser, and prevents the user having to wait. Most users won’t wait more than 4 seconds for a page to load so be sure you’re not losing visitors by having a slow loading website.

CDN’s don’t have to cost the earth either, with companies such as Amazon and the S3 Cloud, you can set up a CDN in no time for very little cost.

Below is an example of what a CDN could look like: