tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73200567023032981702024-02-06T23:29:52.535-08:00Barefoot SEORoberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00093856730005346228noreply@blogger.comBlogger68125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7320056702303298170.post-54352157260882048452014-06-13T05:31:00.002-07:002014-06-13T05:36:07.361-07:00Jones Lange LeSalleJones Lange LeSalle are in business to create and deliver real value for clients,
shareholders and their own people in a complex world that is constantly
changing. Jones Lang LaSalle is a financial and professional services
firm specializing in real estate services and investment management. Their
more than 40,000 people in 1,000 locations in 70 countries serve the
local, regional and global real estate needs of those clients, growing their company in the process. In response to changing client expectations
and market conditions, they assemble teams of experts who deliver
integrated services built on market insight and foresight, sound
research and relevant market knowledge. They attract, develop and reward
the best, and most diverse, people in their industry, challenging them to
develop enduring client relationships built on quality service,
collaboration and trust.<br />
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Their <a href="http://www.jllpropertysearch.co.za/agents/" target="_blank">Commercial Property Brokers</a> specialise in <a href="http://www.jllpropertysearch.co.za/results/commercial/to-let/" target="_blank">Commercial Property Letting</a> and <a href="http://www.jllpropertysearch.co.za/results/commercial/for-sale/" target="_blank">Commerical Property Sales</a>.Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00093856730005346228noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7320056702303298170.post-12131224718075507762013-05-13T01:08:00.001-07:002013-05-13T01:09:02.042-07:00Property Management CompanyWell it has been some time since my last post and we've launched a few new websites. We've recently redeveloped our product to enable a custom theming of the home page, this has allowed a lot more room for unique or specific design.<br />
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One of our more recent launches was for <a href="http://www.angor.co.za/" target="_blank">ANGOR</a> a <a href="http://www.angor.co.za/why-choose-angor-property-specialists/" target="_blank">property management company</a> based in Gauteng. While not many individual listings can be found on their website at this time, they are a fairly large player in their industry with over 300 separate Body Corporate trust accounts under their management.<br />
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To read more about this company and their offering, check out our <a href="http://www.propdata.net/blog/website-showcase/angor-property-specialists/" target="_blank">blog post</a> on them.Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00093856730005346228noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7320056702303298170.post-37117985842936913702013-02-22T00:35:00.001-08:002013-02-22T00:35:34.314-08:00Commercial Property PortalFounded in 2013 with the vision of creating a more efficient
<a href="http://www.commercial365.co.za/" target="_blank">commercial and industrial property </a>market Commercial 365 was conceptualised. By combining our in-depth
knowledge of the property industry with our extensive experience in
software development and internet marketing we aim to be South Africa's
no. 1 commercial and industrial property search destination for commercial <a href="http://www.commercial365.co.za/results/commercial/for-sale/" target="_blank">sales</a> and <a href="http://www.commercial365.co.za/results/commercial/to-let/" target="_blank">letting</a>.Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00093856730005346228noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7320056702303298170.post-45073448072650172072013-02-22T00:20:00.000-08:002013-02-22T00:24:53.177-08:00Umhlanga Commercial PropertyCommercial Prop is a unique commercial/industrial property portal. Currently covering the Durban North areas, under pricipal <a href="http://www.commercialprop.co.za/agents/" target="_blank">Carol Reynolds</a>. <br />
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Covering all aspects of <a href="http://www.commercialprop.co.za/results/commercial/to-let/" target="_blank">commercial letting</a> and <a href="http://www.commercialprop.co.za/results/commercial/for-sale/" target="_blank">commercial sales</a>, Commercial Prop will drive clients to you!<br />
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Visit <a href="http://www.commercialprop.co.za/" target="_blank">Commerical Prop</a> today for any commercial property related service you may require. Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00093856730005346228noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7320056702303298170.post-33124094289341121262012-08-28T05:54:00.003-07:002012-08-28T05:54:58.547-07:00Westside Office Park"<a href="http://www.westsideofficepark.co.za/" target="_blank">Westside Office Park</a>" is the brand name given to the exciting new
offices which are currently being developed within the well established
Westway Office precinct in Westville. As a leading property company,
J.T. Ross is proud to have the opportunity to develop the new Westside
Office Park, and in so doing add to the corporate surroundings which
make Westway an office destination of choice.<br />
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The new <a href="http://www.westsideofficepark.co.za/space-availability/" target="_blank">office development</a> is expected to continue in phases over the
better part of 2012/2013, providing an additional 18,000 square meters
of office space surrounding an indigenous landscaped park. Dimension
Data will be the first tenant to move into their new corporate offices
in December 2012.<br />
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Here's to further development in the coming months for <a href="http://www.westsideofficepark.co.za/locality/" target="_blank">Westville</a> and surrounding areas. Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00093856730005346228noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7320056702303298170.post-60734943291610613442012-05-04T01:02:00.000-07:002012-05-04T01:02:40.524-07:00Intaba RidgeDeveloped by Sign Power Investments through Brendan Falkson and John Dovey, Intaba Ridge is a unique <a href="http://www.intabaridge.co.za/" target="_blank">residential game estate</a> situated on the doorstep of <a href="http://www.intabaridge.co.za/locality/" target="_blank">Pietermaritzburg</a>, the capital of Kwazulu-Natal.<br />
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After taking over the initial concept from Venture Partners (the initial developers) the current developers realized that the development could be significantly improved by a second phase. This would be to both the developer's and the home owner's benefit.<br />
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Situated in the Upper Mpushini Conservancy, Intaba Ridge is a privately developed game estate on Maritzburg's doorstep. Intaba Ridge has been developed with the vision of creating something special.<br />
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I certainly wouldn't mind a spot of game viewing or fly-fishing in my own backyard, that's for certain.Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00093856730005346228noreply@blogger.com33tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7320056702303298170.post-40547771257470785042012-01-20T00:44:00.000-08:002012-01-20T00:48:59.769-08:00Getting Online - FreeWell well well... wonders never cease, so here goes. Google have now offered free websites to those in South Africa under the <a href="http://www.wozaonline.co.za" target="_blank">Wozaonline</a> domain.<br /><br />For those that don't know, Woza is a local term that means essentiall "come", so it's an invite for business to get online. For gratis! Oh, that's for free.<br /><br />So... obviously I had to try and jump on the band wagon and include mine. I've claimed to be <a href="http://googleguy.wozaonline.co.za">The Google Whisperer</a> so we'll see how that goes down over time. I've oficially opened it to public, but there's little content on there as of yet.Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00093856730005346228noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7320056702303298170.post-18055497193872635492010-03-04T22:01:00.000-08:002010-03-04T22:06:53.059-08:00Did Google Steal My Soul?I came across <a href="http://www.site-reference.com/articles/Search-Engines/Did-Google-Steal-My-Soul.html" target="_blank">this</a> interesting write up on <a href="http://www.site-reference.com" target="_blank">Site Reference</a> and figured I would share it. <br /><br /><em>I wasn't looking for Google... but Google was looking for me.<br /><br />Google seemed very austere. No flashing banners, no blinking buttons, no prettiness at all in fact, but very COOL non-the-less. Less is more. Clothed in simple green and blue, I liked Google right away.<br /><br />Google said that I could search all of the world's information that was currently online. Google said that one day, in the near future, the sum of all human experience, the totality of all knowledge would be safely stored, managed and maintained by Google.<br /><br />Wow! I said. What do you want in return? Nothing said Google. Google love is yours for FREE.<br /><br />Later Google said to me that I could use a new 'threaded' email system that would give me 2Gb of web memory space so that I need never ever delete another email. All of my emails could be kept for the record, on the record forever.<br /><br />Wow! I said. What do you want in return? Nothing said Google. Google love is yours for FREE.<br /><br />Still later Google said to me that I was so cherished that I could have a calendar in which I could input all of my appointments and tasks and all of my contacts of friends, family and associates. I could access this information from any computer, anywhere in the world at any time.<br /><br />Wow! I said. What do you want in return? Nothing said Google. Google love is yours for FREE.<br /><br />Soon Google gave me Docs for me to write, analyse, plan and present with complete ease and accessible by anyone whom I authorised. My friend and I could collaborate and work on the same document together even if he was in Tokyo and I am in London.<br /><br />Wow! I said. What do you want in return? Nothing said Google. Google love is yours for FREE.<br /><br />Google encouraged me to use Chrome as my browser of choice as all other browsers are... so steam-aged. Google convinced me that I needed speed in my browsing experience. This is the fastest loading browser on God's Green Earth they said. I hate Redmond so I was cool with that.<br /><br />Wow! I said. What do you want in return? Nothing said Google. Google love is yours for FREE.<br /><br />Over the years Google has given me Alerts, Books, Blogger, Checkout, Custom Search, Desktop, Earth, Finance, iGoogle, Images, Maps, News, Product Search, Scholar, Toolbar, YouTube and also Groups, Picassa, Reader, Sites, SketchUp, Translate and more...<br /><br />Wow! I said. What do you want in return? Nothing said Google. Google love is yours for FREE.<br /><br />Google just kept on giving and giving and giving...<br /><br />Over the years Google and I have become very close, so close that Google now knows more about me than I probably do myself.<br /><br />Who I am, who my friends and family are: Gmail, Contacts, Calendar, Checkout, Streetview. Google has a record of all of my personal information including banking and financial affairs. My calendar holds up to date contact information on all of my family, friends and business associates. It knows where they all live and what their houses and streets look like.<br /><br />My financial affairs: AdSense, AdWords, Checkout, Streetview. Google knows where I work, what I do and how much money I make, where that money comes from and why. Google knows where I work, from which office and what it looks like.<br /><br />Where I am, what time, with whom, for how long: Calendar, Latitude, Maps, Gmail, Earth, Search. Google knows where I am from my calendar but also from the computer I am using it can tell which city I'm in, how I got there, which websites I visit, how long I stayed there and which language I read in.<br /><br />What I read and talk about: Google News, Gmail, Blogger, Search, GTalk, Voice. Google knows what type of news I am interested in. It knows what subjects I read about. It knows and has back ups of every single email that I have sent or was sent to me and by whom at what time and what the content was. These are packaged in 'conversations' so are all related to each other.<br /><br />What my interests are: Search, Blogger, Voice, Picassa, Gmail, Chrome, Docs, Checkout. Google tracks every search I make and which links I click to and for how long. Google knows my shopping habits, what I buy, where they are delivered to and how much it cost. It deduces my spending budget and financial thresholds.<br /><br />What I watch and when I watch: YouTube, Search, Chrome. Google notes what I look at on YouTube and how many similar videos I watch. It can deduce from this what kind of TV and movie shows I would be interested in and when they should be promoted to me. Every search is logged and recorded.<br /><br />Cross-referenced and cross-correlated Google can infer from this arsenal of digital information my complete make-up as a person and a Google user.<br /><br />The listing above is not exhaustive and I'm sure you can point out other areas of Google dominance. Hint: Google Health, Google Mobile, Google Wave, Chrome OS... get my drift?<br /><br /><br />You might think that, knowing all of the above as I do, I am against Google but you'd be wrong. Apart from the China censorship scandal, I actually believe that, on balance, Google is a worthy entity and on the whole makes life easier for most. Right now, it is a benevolent power.<br /><br />I'll panic when the Google board members consider changing the name to SkyNet.</em><br /><br />Okay, so call me paranoid but I still don't believe that Google is all that "not being evil". I honestly believe that they know too much and am a little concerned with what they may do with that info - not so much on a personal level but as a whole.<br /><br />Just because I'm paranoid, doesn't mean that they're not all coming for me!Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00093856730005346228noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7320056702303298170.post-12431004180999446032010-03-01T05:45:00.000-08:002010-03-01T05:58:03.901-08:00SEO for DummiesI don't usually scrape content, but I'll at least offer some link love - <a href="http://www.hobo-web.co.uk/seo-blog/index.php/non-technical-seo-for-dummies-no-really/" target="_blank">SEO for Dummies</a> from <a href="http://www.hobo-web.co.uk/" target="_blank">Hobo SEO Company</a>.<br /><br /><em>I actually hate talking to customers about technical SEO. It’s fairly simple stuff but I always feel as if the technical bits get in the way sometimes.<br /><br />I wanted to share some thoughts about SEO and how I think about it. A lot of it comes down to trust in my book.<br /><br /> * Use common sense – Google is a search engine – it is looking for pages to give searchers results, 90% of it’s users are looking for information. Almost all websites will link to relevant information content so content rich websites get a lot of links – especially quality links. Google ranks websites with a lot of links (especially quality links) at he top of it’s search engines so the obvious thing you need to do is ADD A LOT INFORMATIONAL CONTENT TO YOUR WEBSITE.<br /><br /> * I think ranking in organic listings is a lot about trusted links making trusted pages rank, making trusted links making trusted pages rank ad nauseum for various keywords. Some pages can pass trust to another site, some pages cannot. Some links can. Some cannot. Some links are trusted to pass ranking ability to another page. Some are not. YOU NEED LINKS FROM TRUSTED PAGES<br /><br /> * Google engineers are building an AI – but it’s all based on simple human desires to make something happen or indeed to prevent something. You can work with Google engineers or against them. They need to make money for Google but unfortunately for them they need to make the best search engine in the world for us humans as part of the deal. Build a site that takes advantage of this. What is a Google engineer trying to achieve with an algorithm – it was an idea first. What was that idea? Think like a Google engineers and give Google what it wants. What is Google trying to give it’’s users? Align with that. What does Google not want to give it’s users? Don’t look anything like that. THINK LIKE A GOOGLE ENGINEER & BUILD A SITE THEY WANT TO GIVE TOP RANKINGS.<br /><br /> * Googe is a links based search engine. Google doesn’t need content to rank pages but it needs content to give to users. Google needs to find content and it finds content by following links just like you do when clicking on a link. So you need to first make sure you tell the world about your site so other sites link to yours. ACCEPT LINKS FROM ANYWHERE – JUST DON'T RECIPROCATE JUST ANY. But don’t worry about reciprocating to more powerful sites or even real sites – I think this adds to your domain authority – which is actually better to have than ranking for just a few narrow keyterms.<br /><br /> * Everything has limits. Google has limits. What are they? How would you go about observing them or even testing, breaking them or benefiting from them or being penalised by them? It’s not a lab setting – you can’t test much, if anything, 100% accurately, but you can hypothisise based on the sensible approach bearing in mind what a Google engineer would do, and what you would do if Google was yours.<br /><br /> * The best way for Google to keep rankings secret ultimately is to have a randomness to it while keeping somethings stable – surely the easiest way for it to prevent a seo finding out how it works. Well I think that anyway. And I think this randomness manifests itself in many ways. What will work for some sites might not necessarily work for your sites – not exactly the same anyway. Perhaps no two sites are the same (the conditions are different for a start for any two sites) and I’m actually thinking about how to test this for a bit of fun.<br /><br /> * Google may play dice with the Google multi-verse so be ware of that. It uses multiple results and rotates them and serves different results to different machines and browsers even on the same computer. Google results are constantly shifting – some pages rank at the top constantly because they are giving Google what it wants in a number of areas or they might just have a greater number and diversity of more trusted links than your do.<br /><br /> * Google has a long memory when it comes to links and pages and associations for you site – perhaps an infinite memory profile of your site. Perhaps it can forgive but never forget. Perhaps it can forget too, just like us, and so previous penalties or bans can be lifted. I think (spending on the site because Google can work out if you have a blog or a e-commerce site) Google probably also looks at different history versions of particular pages even on single sites WHAT RELATIONSHIP DO YOU WANT TO HAVE WITH GOOGLE? Onsite, don’t try and fool Google – we’re not smart enough. Be squeaky clean onsite and make Google think twice about bumping you for discrepancies in your link profile.<br /><br /> * Earn Google’s trust. Most of our more lucrative accounts come from referrals from clients who trust us. Before clients told them of us, they didn’t know about us. ok, they might have heard about us from people in turn they didn't trust that much. Upon the clients testimonial, the referral now trusts us a lot more. These referrals automatically trusts us to some extent. That trust grows when we deliver. The referral now trusts us very much. But it’s an uphill struggle from that point on to continue to deliver that trust and earn even more trust because you don’t want to dip in trust – it’s nice to get even more and more trusted. Google works the exactly the same way as this human emotion, and search engines have tried for years to deliver a trusted set sites based on human desire and need. MAKE FRIENDS WITH GOOGLE<br /><br /> * Don’t break Google’s trust – if you’re friend betrays you, depending on what they’ve done, they’ve lost trust. sometimes that trust has been lost altogether. If you do something Google doesn’t like like manipulate it in a way it doesnt want, you will lose trust, and in come cases, lose all trust (in some areas). For instance, your pages might be able to rank, but your links might not be trusted enough to vouch for another site. DON”T FALL OUT WITH GOOGLE OVER SOMETHING STUPID<br /><br /> * YOU NEED TO MAKE MORE FRIENDS AND ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO ARE FRIENDS WITH GOOGLE.<br /><br /> * When Google trusts you it’s because you’ve earned it’s trust to help it carry out what it needs to carry out in the quickest and most profitable way. You’ve helped Google achieve it’s goals. It trusts you and it will reward you by listing your contribution in order of the sites it trusts the most. It will list friends it trusts the most who it knows to be educated in a particular area at the top of these areas. IF GOOGLE TRUSTS YOU IT WILL LET YOUR PAGES RANK AND IN TURN VOUCH FOR OTHER FRIENDS GOOGLE MIGHT WANT INFORMATION ON.<br /> <br />* Google can be fooled and manipulated just like you can but it will probably kick you in the gonads if you break it’s trust – as I probably would. Treat Google as you would have it treat you. REMEMBER IT TAKES TIME TO BUILD TRUST<br /><br />I of course might be reading far too much into Google and trust….I consider trust to be a psychological emotion Google is trying to emulate using algorithms based on human ideas.<br /><br />If you do all the above, you’ll get more and more traffic from Google over time.<br /><br />If you want to rank for specific keywords, you’ll need to be a big brand, be picked out by a big brand and linked to, or buy links to fake that trust, or get spammy with it in an intelligent way you won’t get caught.<br /><br />I suppose Google is open to the con just as any human is, if it’s based on human traits...</em><br /><br />Simply put, so bloody well said mate!Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00093856730005346228noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7320056702303298170.post-8944480805091181472010-01-25T22:18:00.000-08:002010-01-25T22:23:47.022-08:00Bill Gates on Google in ChinaI love some of the comments on the whole Google vs China standoff. Actually can you even call it a standoff? As Bill quite rightly points out, Google have yet to actually do anything. So they've said a lot, taken a moral stand... and, haven't actually followed anything through. Hey, way to go Google! Or not!<br /><br /><em>Bill Gates doesn’t get the fuss everyone’s making over Google’s recent threat to stop censoring search results in China.<br /><br />“They’ve done nothing and gotten a lot of credit for it,” Gates said Monday during a visit at The New York Times.<br /><br />“What point are they making?” Mr. Gates asked. “Now, if Google ever chooses to pull out of the United States, then I’d give them credit.”<br /><br />Gates’ comments come just days after current Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer was also critical of Google’s stance. Both Gates and Ballmer pointed out that many countries have questionable laws and policies.<br /><br />Lest Sergey Brin and Larry Page are losing sleep over these verbal jabs, let’s point out that Gates also defended Google when asked if he considered them a monopoly: “I wouldn’t call anyone a monopolist.” </em> (<a href="http://searchengineland.com/like-ballmer-bill-gates-dings-google-on-china-34415" target="_blank">searchengineland.com</a>)<br /><br />Really I'm just waiting for Google to actually pull out of China, they won't because they're still making money. Will they un-censor their results? Nope because then China will simply block them anyhow. Lets face it, while Google may have an economy that many countries just couldn't refuse, China aren't really that concerned. Well that's just my $0.02.Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00093856730005346228noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7320056702303298170.post-19767900114828759372009-11-03T04:47:00.000-08:002009-11-03T05:02:54.289-08:00The Curious Case of ArgletonTin Foil Hat Time!!!<br /><br />The curious case of "Argleton, Lancashire". Is it or isn't it? That seems to be the question on everyone's lips right about now. According to <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Argleton&sll=53.543361,-2.91186&sspn=0.003143,0.007392&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Argleton,+Lancashire,+United+Kingdom&ll=53.544872,-2.91142&spn=0.006286,0.014784&t=h&z=16" target="_blank">Google Maps</a> Argleton does exist. Pity it looks like it's just a field in the middle of nowhere - or more accurately the middle of Aughton and Aughton Park.<br /><br />Could this be Google trying to catch potential spammers by having anyone advertising at this location immediately flagged? Could this have simply been an error by those at Tele Atlas? I think there may be more to this than meets the eye.<br /><br />But regardless, I tend to get a little nervous when Google starts to do strange things. What really is their motive. What really is their ultimate goal. I've got my <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tin_foil_hat" target="_blank">tin foil hat</a>, do you?Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00093856730005346228noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7320056702303298170.post-19265095224043194182009-10-30T01:12:00.000-07:002009-10-30T01:21:34.045-07:00HalloweenWell no doubt the various search providers will update their search pages to reflect the Halloween theme in the near future. Yahoo! seem to be the first to have done so with a link to <a href="http://events.yahoo.com/halloween/2009/index.php" target="_blank">http://events.yahoo.com/halloween/2009/index.php</a> already listed on the home page.<br /><br />No doubt the others will follow in the coming hours. Wonder who'll be next?Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00093856730005346228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7320056702303298170.post-49566592423865831442009-10-27T23:33:00.000-07:002009-10-27T23:51:59.869-07:00Multiple Sites, Bad? Good?I came across this nice write up on <a href="http://www.best-seo-blog.com/2009/10/22/seo-multiple-domains-same-site-different-names/" target="_blank">multiple sites</a> by Michael Martinez. Because I wasn't logged in, thought I'd add my own $0.02 over here.<br /><br />I agree 100%!<br /><br />Okay, I'll go back a bit. Is having multiple sites for a business a bad thing or a good thing? Well many would argue off the bat that multiple sites instantly equal blackhat tactics. That multiple domains are a spammers delight.<br /><br />I argue that point, and think Michael does a good job of pointing out why, once again, it's not what you do but how you do it. There are always bad ways of doing anything. Cloaking, is it good? Bad? How about IP delivery? That good or bad? It's the implementation and intent that's really the question.<br /><br />I've often suggested several smaller sites instead of one site for new clients. The benefits of properly interlinking these sites is immediately noticeable. In addition sometimes you can really break a service, or group of services into separate sites. Each then becoming more focused while adding the the value of a whole.<br /><br />While generally I'd only suggest this to new sites/clients while avoiding it with older more established sites, it's certainly a tactic that works.Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00093856730005346228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7320056702303298170.post-28803003988542627252009-09-22T02:42:00.000-07:002009-09-22T02:48:38.294-07:00Google Are Hiring<img src="http://www.bigmouthmedia.com/live/images/google-mit.jpg" align="left" alt="Google Ad" hspace="5" />It would seem that Google are once again hiring and looking for the brightest and talented individuals to join their company. While they claim to be the greatest company to work for, I'll reserve judgment for when I have the chance...<br /><br />So according to the Ads placed at M.I.T, the image posted contains a phone number to call. If you can crack it... let me know ;)Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00093856730005346228noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7320056702303298170.post-14961047326441682602009-09-02T06:30:00.000-07:002009-09-02T07:05:21.794-07:00No, Your Website Should Not Be Number One!How many times have you been asked why a website is not at, "number one in Google?" Only to have a look at it and very quickly realise that the site has some very simple yet huge flaws. I guess the easiest answer to this one is, "while your product may be the best (or at least you think it is), if you don't explain this to Google (I'll include the other engines too) it'll never know."<br /><br />If the site is made up entirely of flash (and no it's still not being indexed properly), even if it is beautiful, you'll not be found. If the search engines aren't able to find the individual pages... you'll not be found. If you think you've been clever and copied a competitor - because they're number one... you'll not be found, ever!<br /><br />Ah, so this brings me to the next question <em>how do I get to number one in Google?</em> My stock standard answer to this one is, "If I knew that answer Google would pay me an awful lot to say nothing!"<br /><br />But the reality is the answer is much longer. We do know how to get to the top of Google. It's the sum of several factors and then some. But while some still punt the <em>magic bullet</em> that is search engine submissions and guaranteed number one spots the rest of us will just have to keep on telling folk that their site simply doesn't deserve to be <em>number one in Google</em>.<br /><br />But... I'll can certainly show you how you can get a lot closer.Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00093856730005346228noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7320056702303298170.post-80835399255070438342009-08-28T02:12:00.000-07:002009-11-03T05:27:13.347-08:00Google and More Antitrust Issues<em>The Italian government is currently checking Google for antitrust violations. Several newspapers in Italy are claiming that when they told Google not to list their content on Google News, Google also delisted their results from the rest of the Google search engine.</em><br /><br />Google have been called a scraper among other things. But looks like the news industry have had a lot more to say on the matter than many other industries. But could that be because print media is dying off? It seems that they won't go with out a fight.<br /><br />While it hasn't been proven that Google did actually delist these sites I don't see what the problem is really. Much like Microsoft having to remove IE from Windows. Why? Don't get me wrong, I'm really not a fan of either of these companies, but it's their index/OS, so let them do what they want. If you don't like it, don't support them. As an end user it's that simple. If they really are a monopoly, then let the government take care of it... (yeah, I know can't really rely on them)<br /><br />While I don't really see the problem, I'm going to hope that Google do feel the hard end of that stick. If only to feel what it's like when everyone want's your blood - kinda like they did to Microsoft (payback's a bitch - ain't it?).Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00093856730005346228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7320056702303298170.post-52396752043436543802009-08-25T06:18:00.000-07:002009-08-25T08:04:59.897-07:00Content is Dead... Long live Content!!Well the saying has all but been worn out now - <em>Content is King!</em> Okay, so there I've said it. But, it remains as true today as ever... if not more so (yes, you can have truer statements).<br /><br />While previously the actual content had to be very keyword focused this is not quite the case any more. Sure the content needs to be good, but no longer do you have to focus on keyword density, stuffing your page until it read like a badly translated DIY instruction document.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.toddmintz.com/seo/index.html" target="_blank">SEO is Rocket Science</a> hits on the fact contextual links are the best. We already knew that (well, we did, didn't we?), proving that while links are important it's the context or the content that surrounds them that is really important.<br /><br />Some may argue that links are the most important ranking feature. Others the content of a website. I would say that they are as reliant on each other as they are important. Good quality content will generate links and links to useless content won't guarantee rankings.Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00093856730005346228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7320056702303298170.post-32571107763037270932009-07-07T23:43:00.000-07:002009-11-03T05:28:47.294-08:00Google OSWell it's hot news right now, trending at Number 1 on <a href="http://twitter.com" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, Google have announced that they are going to be introducing the <a href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/introducing-google-chrome-os.html" target="_blank">Google Chrome OS</a>. Yay... or perhaps not?<br /><br /><em>*Okay, a quick disclaimer, I'm not a Google Fanboy. I do believe them to be <a href="http://barefoot-seo.blogspot.com/2009/06/is-google-evil.html" target="_blank">evil</a> and slowly we're all letting them take over the world.*</em><br /><br />Okay, so that said. This is fantastic news for those in the netbook industry. Not only do these products need to be cheaper, the need to be running on fewer resources. In theory then, why not simply build a system that requires most of the hard processing to be done by another machine? The internet allows exactly that to happen. With the multitude of other free offerings from Google (like Maps, Docs and Gmail to name a few) you already have a good deal of what you already need by simply logging into your Google account. Could this be an on boot setting?<br /><br />Okay, all that excitement. Should Microsoft be worried? I wouldn't think so right now. While they've not exactly set the world alight with their netbook offerings (I believe this to be the most competitive market at this time) I think they're more interested in what Google will offer than fear what they will offer at this time.<br /><br />One part that kind of makes me wonder however is, "How will Google make money out of this deal?" Well if you're doing all of your computing online then you'll need to have a steady stream of ads, right? Google are an advertising company the bottom line is how they show a profit.<br /><br />I'd turn this about and argue that they can't really create a true OS. If they did, they would once again offer choices to the user. Choice of programs they run, perhaps Open Office? Choice of Browser, perhaps Internet Explorer. But more importantly and even while you have a browser you'll always (we hope) have this choice, the choice in search engine, perhaps <a href="http://www.ask.com/" target="_blank">Ask.com</a>. You see, if you automatically log into Google, all of those products offered by Google offer Google Search (that's a lot of Google).<br /><br />Oh... and isn't locking your <a href="http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2009/06/12/microsoft_windows_7_ie_europe/" target="_blank">browser into your OS</a> a bit of a problem? Okay, I know that there are many legal points there that I no doubt just don't get... and personally I think Microsoft should have won that one. I don't see Google offering a full OS for that reason.<br /><br />There are tons of pro's and con's at this time for both Windows (Gasp! yes... that's right pro's too) and another type of OS. But if I were Microsoft I would simply keep working on Windows7 and IE8. <a href="http://www.bing.com" target="_blank">Bing</a> has already impressed me, so I'm really expecting much from them this time round - the first time in a very, very... long time!<br /><br />The battle may not yet have begun, but have the <em>Chrome Wars</em> just started?Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00093856730005346228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7320056702303298170.post-56617873010045267492009-07-06T00:40:00.000-07:002009-07-06T01:47:48.925-07:00What's in a Name?<a href="http://www.babble.com/CS/blogs/strollerderby/archive/2008/06/03/when-parents-talk-street.aspx" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.babble.com/CS/blogs/strollerderby/2008/06/01-07/White_Gangsta.jpg" hspace="5" width="200" align="left" /></a>So much of SEO is about targeting the right keywords. This holds true for any form of marketing be it <a href="http://www.propdata.co.za/marketing.php" target="_blank">online</a> or <a href="http://www.greendoor.net/" target="_blank">offline</a>.<br /><br /><em>Russia's Gazprom and Nigeria's state-operated NNPC formed the company - pronounced "nye-gaz"</em><br /><br />Then I came across an <em>Epic FAIL</em>. What happens when you mix Russian and Nigerian companies to supply Europe with gas? Nigerian Gas? Nope. Lets all welcome in <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8118721.stm" target="_blank">Nigaz</a>. Does nobody do homework? Did the Nigerian folk approve of that? Doesn't Russia have a single person with some American slang? Perhaps they should bring back the KGB? At least they would have avoided this one.<br /><br />Well... I think we've all heard the old saying, <em>"there's no such thing as bad publicity."</em> But I think in this case we'll find an exception. While negative publicity has built brands like Ozzy Osbourne and Marilyn Manson it all but ended Michael Jackson (yes all you hating hypocrites who are now his fans once again!). Sometimes you want to be seen as corporate, business like, simple. I think Nigaz were trying for that but failed miserably.<br /><br />Well there's not that much online for Nigaz at this time. Although most references are negative and on news sites at this time. This leads to so many other questions about Reputation management (but that's a whole series of posts).<br /><br />The lesson in this one? Research is key, know your market. Always make sure that the keywords you are chasing are going to draw positive traffic.Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00093856730005346228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7320056702303298170.post-58650696471905609782009-07-01T02:30:00.000-07:002009-07-01T02:46:11.574-07:00Blog SpamI could have gone on for ages about those SEO India posters but why do the hard leg work when someone already has?<br /><br />Check out <a href="http://www.hobo-web.co.uk/seo-blog/index.php/comment-spam-nuked-karma-restored/" target="_blank">Ninja Commenting</a> on <a href="http://www.hobo-web.co.uk" target="_blank">Hobo</a>. I think that post pretty much says it all.<br /><br />Generally the blog is a good combination of sarcasm and info.Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00093856730005346228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7320056702303298170.post-70903338677735953082009-06-24T23:52:00.000-07:002009-06-25T00:17:55.956-07:00Cuil, Remember Them?Hey, finally some news on <a href="http://www.cuil.com/" target="_blank">Cuil</a>, you remember Cuil don't you? The Google killers with the largest database of indexed pages in the world. Oh... not? Don't worry, I'd forgotten about them entirely too. Especially after the recent re-branding of MSN and Live search to <a href="http://www.bing.com" target="_blank">Bing</a> (which I'm am quite fond of).<br /><br />Well it seems that Cuil have decided that it's time to innovate. As reported by Matt McGee on <a href="http://searchengineland.com/cuil-maplines-good-idea-needs-work-21508" target="_blank">Search Engine Land</a> - it would seem that Cuil have now added Maplines to their search results. This makes for a much more interesting results page as displayed in a search for <a href="http://www.cuil.com/search?q=George%20Orwell" target="_blank">George Orwell</a>.<br /><br />While Google keep the monopoly on simple search, could it be that the other providers have decided that if you can't beat them, start a new game? Ask.com brought out their 3D search (which has faded away), Microsoft eventually consolidated everything into Bing which is a lot more interactive, even offering a blurb on sites and now Cuil change it up a little. I can't help but feel sorry for Yahoo! as they really are lagging now (dead duck or just lame I wonder). I don't see people changing their search habits anytime soon, but the internet changes pretty quickly, what will Google do to counter this?Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00093856730005346228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7320056702303298170.post-44184748312272229712009-06-24T06:04:00.000-07:002009-06-24T06:18:10.122-07:00PageRank Update?<a href="http://www.michaelcheah.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.michaelcheah.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/master_yoda_pagerank.gif" align="left" hspace="5" alt="PageRank Yoda" width="350" /></a>SEO Crowd: "Hey there's a PageRank update!!!"<br />Me: "Like I care!"<br /><br />hehehehe... yeah, okay so it's always amusing to see the freak out and the absolute fascination with PageRank. God forbid someone's rank drops...<br /><br />All for a digit between 1 and ten... but what about that grey bar?!<br /><br />Anyhow... we'll see the outcries later this week no doubt.Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00093856730005346228noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7320056702303298170.post-49997859510684019312009-06-24T01:49:00.000-07:002009-06-24T02:11:28.762-07:00Outlook 2010 to be Broken?<img src="http://webdevjunk.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/outlook_logo.png" align="left" width="150" hspace="5" alt="Outlook Logo" />Now this is an interesting turn of events. While I've never been much of a fan of Outlook (I've preferred the express version - it's less, but less clutter as well) but it looks like they're changing it up all over again. Microsoft are due to change from rendering emails in HTML format to Word. This will basically <a href="http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2007/01/10/microsoft-breaks-html-email-rendering-in-outlook/" target="_blank">break HTML email in Outlook</a>. I imagine this will keep the absolute end user more than pleased with the product (lets face it, they don't care what's under the hood) as they won't really notice a difference - 'cept perhaps download speeds. Word does tend to make things a little bulkier.<br /><br />I heard designers and developers that have become dependent on HTML format for email groaning in the background cursing Microsoft once again for making their lives difficult.<br /><br />I'm really not a Microsoft fan, but I've come to accept that most people use their products so they <rant rel="for another day">are THE standard </rant>. That said I feel that these developers that have been moaning for so long about standards and the fact that IE is bundled into their OS are really the ones to blame. Microsoft are slowly being <a href="http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/42636" target="_blank">forced to remove IE</a> from their offerings, in this case Windows7 (yeah, I know they could offer multiple browsers, but do you advertise for your competition? didn't think so!)<br /><br />Basically Microsoft have been forced to change how they make use of their software. So if you can't use something that's built into the OS (because now there is NO browser) you have to use something that's shipped with the package. Office, I believe, ships with Outlook and Word. Word allows formatting, so use it as your base editor. Will this affect their customer loyalty? No... most end users have no idea that there are other options than MS Office or IE (believe it or not), so while the masses continue to use Microsoft products it is the rest of us that have to adapt and conform.<br /><br />Anyone who ever insisted that Microsoft remove IE from their OS take a bow.<br /><br />Well done moaning developers and designers... Congrats to all you in the EU forcing the anti-trust issue. You've finally got what you want. If anything this will simply boost sales of Word (and subsequently Office). While I hear so many moans and groans I can't help but think you all got just what you deserve.Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00093856730005346228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7320056702303298170.post-39991034816866022762009-06-22T04:20:00.000-07:002009-06-22T04:32:56.347-07:00Online Publications<a href="http://imgur.com/gQouk.jpg" target="blank"><img src="http://imgur.com/gQouk.jpg" align="left" width="300" alt="Online Journalism - click for enlarged version" /></a>While advertising was always the bread and butter for the newspapers, it would seem that these bells and whistles are now the focus of online publications. The accompanying diagram best outlines this. Perhaps newspapers aren't dying as many seem to be pointing out, perhaps they are literally selling their existence. I know that far too many pages these days are nothing more than ads. The recent <em>upgrade</em> of <a href="http://www.news24.com" target="_blank">News24</a> has gone a long way to reinforce this thought.<br /><br />What ever happened to the "sponsored by" with a logo? Too many banners have caused banner blindness. What is an optimal click through rate on these banner ads? You have to stop and wonder. With fewer click throughs the advertiser is paying more and more for a lesser result. I wonder if any of these publications would ever (could ever) move over to a cost per click model. This would surely offer best value, or would it go to prove that their over stock of ads simply don't work - in this case for the publisher?<br /><br />I say put the shoe on the other foot.Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00093856730005346228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7320056702303298170.post-4028091841951829542009-06-18T22:33:00.000-07:002009-06-18T23:06:06.491-07:00Social Media: Twitter<a href="http://twitter.com/rhcerff" target="_blank"><img src="http://assets0.twitter.com/images/twitter_logo_header.png" align="left" hspace="5" alt="twitter: rhcerff" /></a>Tired of spammers? Tired of the get rich schemes? Well it seems that these tactics continue to work, after all, if they didn't they would stop doing it right?<br /><br />I found this on twitter <a href="http://twitter.com/SEOSumo" target="_blank">SEOSumo</a>: <a href="http://www.socialmediadouchebag.net/" target="_blank">Social Media Douchebag</a>.<br /><br />It begs the question though, just how many people are out there pushing their <em>secret to success</em> on the numerous social platforms? How often are we hit with the twitter follower that is just a <a href="http://twitter.com/zaibatsu/status/2234304343" target="_blank">pretty girl</a> (thanks <a href="http://twitter.com/zaibatsu/" target="_blank">Zaibatsu</a>) punting their <em>get 2,516 twitter followers in just 2 days</em> tweet and nothing else? The whole debate on whether to use the long sales letter or even video. Don't we all just hate that automated direct messages?<br /><br />I guess it's nice to find something with a little bit of humor on a Friday morning. Oh well... in the meantime I think I'll just refer these folk to www.socialmediadoucebag.netRoberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00093856730005346228noreply@blogger.com0