tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5185471163617961312Fri, 25 May 2012 16:01:32 +0000search engine rankingsbounce rategoogle caffinedomain namepatientsppc advertisingsageceiling hoistsanalyticsyoutubecorporate sailingsearch engine optimisationFlashpay per clickgoogle placeskeywordblog writingvideo marketingGoogle AdWordscorporate eventspagerankclick through rateblogsaccountsseach engine rankingsGoogle+prpress releaseOpMedgoogle mapsdisabledethical seolanding pageGooglecookies eu compliancegoogle localtreasure huntsolent eventsSEOaccounting softwarekeyword analysisppcshower trolleysnewsletterWebsite Marketingsocial mediabloggingcost per clickaccountingThoughts on web design, SEO, web marketing, social media and anything else that comes to mind . . .http://blog.catnet.co.uk/noreply@blogger.com (Barney)Blogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5185471163617961312.post-1355562428547788925Fri, 25 May 2012 15:53:00 +00002012-05-25T17:01:32.579+01:00cookies eu compliance Deadline Day Today Today is the 'deadline' for the EU Directive on the use of cookies on EU websites. So where are we as far as implementation is concerned? At a recent press conference David Smith, deputy commissioner of the ICO (Information Commissioner's Office) provided some clarification of what UK businesses need to do regarding cookies. He also gave details of the action they will be http://blog.catnet.co.uk/2012/05/eu-cookie-directive-update.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Barney)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5185471163617961312.post-2682266044334932686Thu, 17 May 2012 10:48:00 +00002012-05-17T12:29:41.068+01:00cookies eu compliance Is Your Website EU Compliant? Probably not. But don't panic! On May 25th 2012, all sites within the Member States of the European Union will be required to be sure that: "...users be provided with clear and comprehensive information when engaging in any activity which could result in such storage or gaining of access. The methods of providing information and offering the right to http://blog.catnet.co.uk/2012/05/eu-cookie-directive.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Barney)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5185471163617961312.post-2836914544842065485Mon, 02 Apr 2012 10:00:00 +00002012-04-02T11:23:28.465+01:00Google+If you've been watching the TV over the past week you may have noticed an advert for Google+ the new(ish) social site from Google. This could be in response to a recent report by comScore, which estimated that the average PC user spends just 3 minutes a month using Google+ .Compare this to the minutes per month for some of the popular networking sites: Facebook: 405 minutesTwitter: 21 http://blog.catnet.co.uk/2012/04/google.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Barney)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5185471163617961312.post-7173666727655402798Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:14:00 +00002012-02-03T12:33:45.566Zppc advertisingvideo marketingSEOThose in regular communication with me will know that I have been emphasising the importance of video as a part of website promotion for some time.For many businesses video is an important part of their marketing and brand promotion. Yesterday I was chatting to a local sports celeb who is successfully combining Facebook and his video chanel on YouTube to promote himself, his sponsors and create http://blog.catnet.co.uk/2012/02/video-on-ppc.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Barney)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5185471163617961312.post-9171676965592398944Wed, 02 Nov 2011 15:30:00 +00002012-01-31T12:29:42.818ZWMKE3GU3CPVBLast month, Google held a “From Why to How” mobile webinar and announced that mobile optimisation will be factored into Adwords’ quality score for mobile ad campaigns.So the policy makers at Google clearly think that website optimisation for mobile devices is important - and probably not just for Adwords. With mobile phones being so widely used to access the web, it's reaching a pointhttp://blog.catnet.co.uk/2011/11/does-your-website-work-on-mobile-phones.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Barney)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5185471163617961312.post-8507577539692595002Wed, 05 Oct 2011 08:26:00 +00002011-10-05T09:50:03.461+01:00It's official. Google's admits tinkering with it's search algorithm and as usual there are a some winners and losers.This time, it appears that video content could be a factor in why sites gained or lost rankings. Sites with video content seem to have improved their positions while those without have suffered.In Frank Watson's blog posting on October 3, he examines the details, which also http://blog.catnet.co.uk/2011/10/video-essential-for-top-rankings.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Barney)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5185471163617961312.post-360086309142804745Thu, 04 Aug 2011 09:14:00 +00002011-08-04T10:52:50.648+01:00Google+social mediaIn June, amid much publicity and fanfare, Google launched Google+ as the new networking/social media tool. So how is it doing so far?Although opinions are mixed it seems that most agree that there was a very strong initial takeup but traffic has now leveled off a little.So in this brief posting I thought I'd include this chart created by VentureBeat which logs traffic to the various social sites http://blog.catnet.co.uk/2011/08/google-market-share.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Barney)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5185471163617961312.post-6622659810878059876Mon, 20 Jun 2011 15:00:00 +00002011-06-20T16:41:29.036+01:00search engine rankingsdomain nameYou may have read or seen on the news that some new domain suffixes are soon to become available.The international authority for top-level domain names - ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) - has approved the expansion of generic TLDs (Top Level Domains) to allow companies and organizations to create domains for their brands, eg .tesco, or create generic names such as http://blog.catnet.co.uk/2011/06/new-domain-suffixes-available.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Barney)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5185471163617961312.post-6988196599116892939Mon, 25 Apr 2011 09:42:00 +00002011-05-09T17:19:39.993+01:00click through rateppcGoogle AdWordsIf you advertise on Google and regularly check your advert's status you could be doing yourself a disservice.Why?Because Google monitors page impressions against the number of clicks on your advert. Over a period of time this provides a score - the Click Through Rate, commonly known as CTR.Both keywords and adverts have a CTR score so whenever you use Google to search one of your own business http://blog.catnet.co.uk/2011/04/ppc-dont-check-your-adverts.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Barney)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5185471163617961312.post-7933252666131434726Mon, 07 Mar 2011 10:00:00 +00002011-03-07T10:33:04.170Zseach engine rankingsSEOethical seoGoogleGoogle has made another change to it's algorithm and the way it ranks wesites on Google searches.Officially known as the Google Panda update (who thinks up these names?*) it has seen nurmerous established sites disappearing from Google's rankings.Asssessing who has been effected is never straightforward but Google seems to be targeting sites using duplicate content, non-ethical SEO practices, http://blog.catnet.co.uk/2011/03/googles-panda-algorithm.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Barney)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5185471163617961312.post-899569408693810260Sun, 06 Feb 2011 19:19:00 +00002011-02-06T19:39:27.206Zcost per clickppc advertisingclick through ratekeyword analysisGoogle AdWordsThe cost of adverting on Google has steadily increased over the past few years. So is it still worthwhile?The answer all depends on how you set up and manage your campaigns.An AdWords campaign has to be well organised and regularly maintained to be cost-effective. Your set-up checklist should include:well researched keywordscarefully targeted AdGroupskeyword focused advertssensible keyword http://blog.catnet.co.uk/2011/02/google-adwords-money-well-spent.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Barney)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5185471163617961312.post-3771438104563537386Tue, 14 Dec 2010 10:44:00 +00002010-12-28T09:27:13.150Zblog writingblogsbloggingBlogging can be a problem when you are busy. There simply isn't time to keep it going especially for a seasonal business - at the very time you need to talk about your product, service or event you are too busy making it all happen.One answer to this is to start a blog bank during the quieter times.If you have been in business a while you know the sort of things you might want to blog about in http://blog.catnet.co.uk/2010/12/blog-bank.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Barney)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5185471163617961312.post-5584928168065330861Mon, 13 Dec 2010 12:01:00 +00002010-12-13T12:43:39.635ZWe all know how important your company domain name is to your business . . . . well perhaps not all of us:'Who Represents' is a website where you can find the names of agents who represent celebrities - www.whorepresents.com 'Experts Exchange' is a knowledge base where programmers can exchange advice and views - www.expertsexchange.com Want to buy a colleague a pen for Christmas? Try 'Pen http://blog.catnet.co.uk/2010/12/company-pr-nightmare-possibly-not.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Barney)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5185471163617961312.post-1217825005071329569Wed, 01 Dec 2010 19:22:00 +00002010-12-02T19:55:57.072Zgoogle placesgoogle localSEOpagerankgoogle mapsYesterday I had a phone call from a company regarding my wife's website. She's a Garden Designer (www.chrisbarnesgardens.co.uk) and they were offering a very specific service - adding her website to Google Places. I have been on the Google Places bandwaggon for some years, but this is the first time I have been aware of a company offering a dedicated Google Places service.Formally known as http://blog.catnet.co.uk/2010/12/google-places-make-sure-you-are-listed.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Barney)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5185471163617961312.post-4511793065902858699Mon, 22 Nov 2010 16:57:00 +00002010-11-23T10:12:07.260Zsageaccounting softwareaccountsaccountingNo one I know has accounting on their list of the ‘10 things to do before you die’ . . . nor is visiting the dentist, filling out an insurance form or changing a baby’s nappy after mistaking the leftover curry for the baby food. But for most people, at sometime or another, these things have to be faced. Accounting Software UK has been involved in selling Sage Accounting Software for over 20 http://blog.catnet.co.uk/2010/11/client-spotlight-accounting-software-uk.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Barney)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5185471163617961312.post-6445549338965399925Wed, 10 Nov 2010 09:31:00 +00002010-11-10T09:50:47.176Zvideo marketingpagerankyoutubeWith so much talk about Twitter and Facebook as the Social Media Marketing vehicles of choice it's easy to forget about YouTube - the video sharing site.Acquired in 2006 by Google, YouTube receives 2 billion views a day, 70% from outside the USA - it's a massive searchable resource. So much so that according to recent research* in the USA, YouTube is the second largest search engine out there - http://blog.catnet.co.uk/2010/11/video-as-business-promotional-tool.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Barney)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5185471163617961312.post-5730515002847161472Fri, 08 Oct 2010 14:14:00 +00002010-10-08T15:44:55.567+01:00corporate eventscorporate sailingtreasure huntsolent eventsSolent Events are a Lymington based company specialising in Corporate Sailing Events and Team Building Activities on the waters of the Solent and the River Thames.Their enthusiasm and experience have made them a formidable force in delivering water-based Corporate Events in the UK. Events range from the indulgent - cruising the Solent on luxury powerboats, visiting famous venues and landmarks -http://blog.catnet.co.uk/2010/10/client-spotlight-solent-events.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Barney)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5185471163617961312.post-6743170995583440397Thu, 23 Sep 2010 16:43:00 +00002010-09-23T17:50:09.288+01:00Last week Google launched Instant Search in the UK.Basically this allows you to type your search query into the Google search box as before, but for each keystroke you get a prediction of what you are looking for and a list of results below. The idea is that Google predicts the list of keyword phrases that you are probably searching for, complete with organic and paid results.Benefits to Google http://blog.catnet.co.uk/2010/09/google-instant-search.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Barney)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5185471163617961312.post-3008761838872170996Sun, 19 Sep 2010 17:02:00 +00002010-09-19T18:41:47.608+01:00OpMedpatientsdisabledshower trolleysceiling hoistsOpeMed (Europe) Ltd is a global organisation that provides ceiling hoists and patient handling equipment for the hospital, nursing home and domestic environment.They make an award winning range of products in a state-of-the-art factory within the European Union. Equipment is sold through a network of established dealers that are experienced and professionally trained in patient handling.Their http://blog.catnet.co.uk/2010/09/client-spotlight-opemed-ceiling-hoists.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Barney)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5185471163617961312.post-1497406920226517282Fri, 06 Aug 2010 08:52:00 +00002010-08-06T15:10:00.823+01:00A new doamain has become available and is causing a bit of a stir. What used to be the suffix for Colombia in South America is now being presented as a new domain for busines - .co - that's it, not .co.uk but the simple .coThe reasoning behind this new domain seems to be that it represents smaller companies and businesses. A number of companies have registered their names in the new domain - http://blog.catnet.co.uk/2010/08/new-co-domain.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Barney)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5185471163617961312.post-3594849026537530192Sun, 11 Apr 2010 09:45:00 +00002010-05-08T10:15:37.492+01:00cost per clickppc advertisingclick through ratekeywordppcI had an email from a client this week. He was concerned that his Google advertising spend for the first quarter this year had almost halved compared to 2009. Was everything OK?Yes, everything was OK . . . and still is. The number of clicks from the adverts was about the same as 2009, the Click Through Rate was better and the average Cost Per Click had dropped significantly.The difference was allhttp://blog.catnet.co.uk/2010/04/managing-you-ppc-keywords.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Barney)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5185471163617961312.post-1777219378659640510Wed, 31 Mar 2010 07:48:00 +00002010-03-31T09:36:44.356+01:00newsletterpress releaseprThe current obsession with Twitter, Facebook and other social media of the moment means that good basic Newsletters and Press Releases are often overlooked in the marketing mix. Yet I regularly monitor sites where a simple newsletter will create a boost to search engine rankings and a big spike in web traffic - sometimes by 200% or 300%.Of course to do this the Newsletter has to have something http://blog.catnet.co.uk/2010/03/humble-newsletter.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Barney)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5185471163617961312.post-1337342775735026875Fri, 26 Mar 2010 08:45:00 +00002010-03-26T09:53:16.005Zgoogle caffinesearch engine optimisationsocial mediaSEOGoogle is in the process of changing it's search algorithm. This will potentially effect every website listed on the search engine.This latest update, called Caffine, was announced in August last year, but when the switch will come is not certain, although the general precdiction is that sometime around now is probable.So what changes will Google make in the way it sorts it's results?Google http://blog.catnet.co.uk/2010/03/google-caffine.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Barney)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5185471163617961312.post-5961401954664328961Mon, 08 Mar 2010 10:07:00 +00002010-03-08T11:10:26.847ZSpending time and money on social media marketing is a waste of resources for many companies. This may go against the current trend of Social Medial as the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, but for many small businesses this is the reality.So what is Social Media Marketing? Wikipedia describes it as:“the use of social networks, online communities, blogs, wikis or any other online http://blog.catnet.co.uk/2010/03/social-media-marketing-over-rated-and.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Barney)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5185471163617961312.post-8882336586319770790Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:42:00 +00002009-11-19T09:39:18.081ZSEOlanding pageanalyticsbounce rateI often find myself talking to clients about ‘Bounce Rate’ and pages with a high or low BR. So what exactly is Bounce Rate and why is it important?Bounce Rate is a term used in website traffic analysis to represent the percentage of visitors to a website who "bounce" away to a different site, rather than continue on to other pages within the site. It's expressed as a percentage so a BR of 40% http://blog.catnet.co.uk/2009/11/what-is-bounce-rate.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Barney)0