Her personal favourite is number 9! See Jill’s post here: Jill’s 12 Signs Your Wife — or Mom — is an SEO

Posted by the: Search Engine Optimisation Leicester Team.

Search Engine Optimisation – Search Engine Optimization – SEO

No? Here’s a clue…. Yahoo has removed the Yahoo Directory category links, displayed beneath the website listings, from the SERPs.

This was first discussed on the Search Engine Roundtable Forums, way back in October last year and it now seems to be one of the new characteristics of the “cleaned up” Yahoo listings.

A Yahoo spokesperson explained that this is, “part of our ongoing effort to lessen the clutter on the SRP and improve the user experience.”

Posted by our Search Engine Optimisation Leicester Team.

Search Engine Optimisation – Search Engine Optimization – SEO – Google – Yahoo – SEM – Search Engines – Search – Search Engine Marketing

With their B2B customer base they needed their website to present a qualified, professional image with a corporate look and feel to it. The other design criteria they wanted us to meet was that it should not appear to be dull, lacklustre or boring!

Using a subtle combination of colour, photographs, graphics and text styles we believed we captured the essence of their design brief and achieved their objectives…

David Pinnock, one of Wellbeing Clinics Co-Directors, thought so too. He says, “We are very, very pleased with the outcome of the site; it looks amazing. It makes us look like the professional company that we are.”

Posted by our Web Design Nottingham Team.

• 1. Google UK
• 2. Google
• 3. Yahoo! Search – UK & Ireland
• 4. Google UK Image Search
• 5. MSN UK Search
• 6. Ask.com UK
• 7. Windows Live Search
• 8. Orange UK Search
• 9. Yahoo! Search
• 10. MSN Search

No real surprises there; with Google taking 3 of the top 5 positions but what is interesting is the growth being experienced in the mobile search field as shown by Orange UK claiming the number 8 spot.

An article on the 3g.co.uk website states that currently only 20% of UK mobile subscribers are using their phones to search the internet. That leaves a huge untapped market and it won’t be long before this multi billion pound industry starts to actively promote the benefits of mobile search to it’s subscribers.

The Head of the MEF initiative and CMO for MobilePeople, Claudia Poepperl, says; “Effective mobile search is the lifeblood of the mobile entertainment industry – if consumers can’t find relevant content, they can’t use it. This research shows how crucial it is for the industry to actively promote mobile search to consumers to encourage further uptake of mobile entertainment. Putting the correct mobile search business models in place will boost download and usage rates and provide new revenue opportunities via advertising.”

Looking ahead, it seems that there is potential for huge growth in this area … is your website mobile user friendly and ready to take advantage of this anticipated upsurge in mobile surfing?

Posted by our Search Engine Optimisation Leicester Team.

Although the Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG) is reporting that ecommerce sites are experiencing increasing online sales, lots of businesses are missing out on this highly profitable marketplace.

Apparently 76% of East Midlands businesses, questioned by Barclaycard Business, are not trading online. They also discovered that nearly 80% of the retailers who have an ecommerce website and who are trading online had seen a growth in their online business over the previous 12 months.

Ummmmmm… this data seems to suggest that businesses are leaving money on the table by not embracing ecommerce and trading online.

Indeed, the Barclaycard Business’ commercial director, Bill Thomson says, “The growth of online shopping over the last 5 years has opened up a lucrative new revenue stream for East Midlands’ retailers. However, it is clear from our research that many retailers are not yet benefiting from this new income by making their goods and services available online. Our research shows that many East Midlands’ retailers perceive setting up online as a costly exercise. In fact the opposite is true. Starting to trade online can be extremely quick and cost effective; a move that can deliver new business which will quickly repay any initial costs.”

As ecommerce website designers ourselves, we can say that the Barclaycard Business research seems to be borne out by the experiences of our own ecommerce clients.

They are a Leicester based company offering three core services, to national and local businesses:

• Warehousing

With over 50 years of warehousing solutions and logistics experience behind them, Pick & Pack provide a flexible warehouse storage capacity with great transport links to all areas of the UK.

• Packaging Services

Operating with efficient warehousing processes and highly flexible mobile workforce enables us to provide cost-effective pick and pack distribution and contract packaging services for businesses throughout the UK.

• Forklift Training Leicestershire

Their RTITB accredited courses provides local businesses with extensive driver training on a variety of different types of forklift, including: reach, counter balance and power pallet trucks.

They had an existing website that looked quite dated. Their brief was to redesign and update the website to give it some impact. We think the new design communicates the professional, B2B image of Pick & Pack.

Posted by our Web Design Leicester Team.

In this case NO, you get so much MORE! It really is a function rich, comprehensive tracking system that you would expect to be paying good money to use – not accessing and using it for free!

So what does it do? Well basically you are given a dedicated piece of code that you place on any webpages that you want to track. It then analyses your website traffic and shows you how your visitors found your site and how they interacted with it.

It has been established in the search engine optimisation industry for a while now, but surprisingly very few webmasters are taking advantage of it and that’s a pity.

If you take a close look at all it’s features you’ll find a very sophisticated tool with a highly comprehensive suite of functions that will benefit company directors, website owners, marketing assistants, advertising assistants, and of course webmasters in general.

It will let you compare traffic, key conversion metrics, Return On Investment and all sorts of trends using a suite of reports, some examples available include:

• Keyword Campaign Comparison
• Ecommerce Reporting
• Site Overlay
• GeoTargeting
• Trend Reporting

Google says of its analytics service, “You’ll be able to focus your marketing resources on campaigns and initiatives that deliver ROI, and improve your site to convert more visitors.”

It really is an excellent service and it’s free! What a bargain!

Posted by the Search Engine Promotion Leicester Team.

These figures reveal that 10% of all retail sales made in the UK are now made online.
That’s big business – and that was before the Christmas rush period!

Many of the well known High Street retailers have stated they have experienced a growth in web traffic and consequently recorded a growth in sales from their ecommerce websites…which is hardly surprising as it is being reported that a record number of us Brits decided to buy presents and gifts over the internet this Christmas.

By the Web Design Leicester Team: ecommerce website designers

Here are some points to consider:

Web Copy.

Well written web copy (page content) is a must, but also how that copy is displayed on the website.

Indifferent copy using words like, ‘we offer the perfect solution…’ will get you nowhere. To get a response you need to use calls to action and questions that will get the customer thinking.

Search engine compatibility.

More and more businesses are feeling the need to get well placed in the search engines, particularly Google. The best way to achieve this is to ensure your site features lots of interesting and topical text.

Good Design.

Well naturally, an attractive graphic design is also important!

Posted by our Web Design Leicester Team.

They were reporting on a highly successful free technology seminar that we held recently with our partners RDC Communications and Aurora Technologies. It was attended by over 40 people, representing more than 30 different businesses.

Some of the topics we covered included: how to write a brief for a website and voice over internet protocol, giving practical demonstrations using currently available technology.

Building on the success of this joint venture we are planning to run another seminar sometime during October.

By the Web Design Leicester Team.