Bath Business and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

This is for all you businessmen and businesswomen in Bath, Bristol and beyond who have a website or are intending to have a website for your company or business. This is a brief, uncomplicated explanation of what SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is all about.

It is simply how to manoeuvre your website as near to the top of the first page of a search engine, such as Google, Bing, Yahoo etc. as possible. And for it to remain as constant as you can to keep it, in that position, or near to that position.

 

Google's Search Engine

Imagine you're a pop group and you release a new single. Your aim is to have a number one selling record and that is reflected by where you get to in the pop charts. You may go in at number 29 or number 10, to then creep further and further up the charts to a higher ranking position.

Often people will see it there and on that alone assume it is a great song. So more people go buy it and push it up still further.

A search engine performs in a similar way. If people see your website on the first two pages and particularly on the first page, then they assume you must be better than the competition. In reality it does'nt mean anything of the sort of course.

 

Where a website sits on a search engine says nothing about how good a plumber or electrician can do their work. What it does say however, is that your marketing techniques of optimising your website for the best possible position on a search engine are better than the competition. Get it?

Wikipedia defines search engine optimisation as follows:

Web definitions

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of affecting the visibility of a website or a web page in a search engine's "natural" or un-paid ("organic") search results. ...

We all know that Google is the biggest of the search engines. Like the others Google has rules and follows certain practices which determine how websites perform or are ranked on their search engine. These rules and practices change from time to time, so it’s vital to keep up or your website can go down the rankings as quick as it went up. That’s where sound professional advice can help to assist this process.
  

Google ranks websites which are relevant and commanding the appropriate layout. That layout includes number and quality of pages, the amount and type of wording, the relevance of photos, images or video, links to other websites, how your website interacts with other mediums on the web such as Twitter or Facebook etc. All these things and more can help Google measure the relevance by analysing all this information.

  

If you already have a website or have been looking into the idea of having one you will come across the term…… 'keywords'. Keywords are simply the words which people use to search for particular things on the internet. So if you were looking for a plumber and you live in Bath the most likely words you write into Google are ‘Plumber Bath’ or Plumber in Bath’ (these then constitute as the ‘Keywords’).

You may also write ‘Central Heating Installation Bath’, knowing that Plumbers do that type of work. So the Plumbers website needs to ensure all these words are placed into the text of the website to cover all the ways people will search for the services or products they supply. So depending on the nature of your business, there could be a whole range of keywords or combinations of keywords which will be used by people searching for whatever it is you offer.

Another term you will hear when constructing your website is 'links' or ‘backlinks’. Basically it is how  you link to another site or how another site links back  to your site. This can be done in a number of ways. Your site may well link up with the professional body to which you belong. They too may then link back to you. It may well be that other websites link to you, but you don’t to them.

Either way, what Google does is measure these through what is known as Google’s algorithm. This is the software it uses to rank website pages and decide which one it deems relevant and important to then increase its visibility. Visibility in this case means to go up the rankings of its pages, as a website is more visible the closer to the top page it gets. This is because people will rarely go searching beyond the third or fourth page of any search engine.
 
Another way to look at it is that a link from you to another website page is like casting a vote at the polling station. It suggests that you are offering a vote of confidence in that website and that the website you link to is a good one to follow. Google will see that and respond accordingly, as it likes to measure what we like to see. However, there are links which are better than others or links which are not useful or can decrease the visibility of a website. A bit like voting for the bad guy, Google will recognise the bad guy and penalise you if you have links to him. Links are a necessary part of your online marketing strategy to get your website up those search engine rankings. So again this is where good sound professional advice and support comes in.

What the link ultimately should do is:

1. Send valuable traffic (visitors) to your website

2. Inform the search engines that your website is one that is commanding

Google promotes pages to the top positions which it deems to be commanding or authoritative.



The Basics of Search Engine Optimisation

This means you need to write the relevant content and build links which will support this.

This is about quality not quantity. As 15 or 20 links from relevant websites to your website will have a better impact than 100 poor valued links, which can lower your ranking.

And don’t just let it sit still. Keep doing it, improve on it, update it.  Add new text or refresh what was already there. Google responds well to this.
  


SEO is also about the internal workings of your website and how it is constructed. The construction of a website is as complex as constructing the inside of a computer. If we could see inside a computer then we would see an array of electronics that would baffle and bemuse us. If we were given all the internal parts separately and told to put them together, joined at the right places to the right pieces and then programme it accordingly we would be at  a loss. Well the construction of a fully functional website is no different. Below are just a handful of the things you need to consider if you were going to construct your own website from scratch:

• Make sure your title element (tag) describes the page and uses keywords. Every page needs its own title tag. The text in the title tag is used by search engines for indexing your page. It’s also used in the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) as the text in the link that links to your page.
• Make your URL’s Search Engine Friendly. They can help to describe the page and use keywords. Keywords in URL’s can help you rank for a keyword or phrase.
• Describe your page in the meta description element (tag). These elements should be unique for each page.  If you write good meta descriptions Google will highlight keywords that match the search and this could mean the difference between getting a click and not getting a click.
• Use the me keywords element (tag) for important keywords. Only add keywords that describe the page, don’t add unrelated keywords.
• Use a CSS based design and adopt web design best practices for styling your page. Search engine spiders don’t see what users see. They have to parse all the code that makes up a page including all your HTML.
• Make sure your page content is correctly tagged. For example if you have a main header make it an H1. By tagging your content you are providing the search engine spiders with a clue about what’s important on the page and what isn’t so important.
• Use Google Analytics to measure what is working and what is not.

Hmm! Thinking that there may be a need for a professional website designer now?

 

Professional Web Designers in Bath

 

So go out there and create a great website. Provide a website with the services or products that you know people are looking for and in a way that they will search for. Share (link) your great website to other great websites and then watch how many more visitors go to your site. That in itself will improve your search engine rankings for starters. That’s what we call optimising your website. That’s search engine optimisation (SEO).

 

So make sure you are up to speed with the latest goings on with Google, Bing, Yahoo and the other search engines out there to get the very best from your website. Get good professional help and support from those who are keeping their eye on the game and know the ins and outs of the various algorithms and practices that these search engines are using.

Bingham

Blogger for Bath Business Web Ltd

The Benefit of Online Directories

Print, radio, television and traditional advertising mediums are beginning to fall off the map while the internet is taking over. Advertising online, on mobiles, tablets and PCs is fast becoming the only advertising needed for small and large businesses alike.

These days, everyone and everything has an internet presence, from Facebook and Twitter to websites and the increasing media of online directories.

The internet and its ease of use, has made it quicker than ever for people to find a local business and its contact details, while  also researching their work and reading reviews.

Online Directories are now the place where all of this important information can be found. Sites like Bath Business Web, Freeindex and Scoot help businesses connect with potential customers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and joining an online directory has been proven to be one of the most effective tools to help a small business’ website get noticed on the web.

Online Directories perform especially well with “longtail search terms” which are more detailed or descriptive phrases that people use to search for something or someone online.
For example: “Walcot Street Italian Restaurant”
Because the listings in the directory are usually comprised of these terms, or very similar, and comprise of categories, sub categories and keyword descriptions they perform very well in online searches.

Having your business website linked on the listing is also very beneficial, forming a “backlink” from a well-known and trustworthy source, further driving your website’s results up in Google. It also brings more traffic to your site and gives a better chance of you being contacted by a potential customer regarding your services.

Many of our directories category pages have front page results on Google, meaning that certain search terms, such as “autolocksmith bath”, will bring up the Bath Business Web Online Directory. In one morning, we received four phone calls regarding services registered on our directories, had we any registered businesses on these categories – they would have received those calls instead!

Online business directories are getting better and better, giving local, immediate results to potential customers. With the internet unlikely to be going anywhere, it is vital that small businesses invest time and money into an online presence, including social media, websites, online directories and other forms of online advertising.

What success have you achieved from online advertising such as directories? Do you ask your clients where they found you? How do you track your online responses? 

Bath Business Web Ltd – Professional Web Design & Bath’s Premier Local Online Directory.

Social Media - Common Mistakes That Can Cost You Business

Social Media is proving to be incredibly important to businesses, large or small. Every time you send a tweet, update a status or publish a blog, you are creating something that is made for the world to see. Engaging with current and future clients, sharing knowledge and becoming an online presence can be conversational, fun and highly profitable. 

However, making silly mistakes such as spelling and grammar, or publishing inappropriate content or content not relevant to your business can be worse than having no social media presence at all. Remember, what goes on the web, stays on the web. 

TOP TIPS

Spelling & Grammar

Inappropriate  & Relevant Content

As a business, you need to beware of being associated with certain opinions that may cause your business or reputation harm by putting off potential customers. People use your Facebook or Twitter to get to know the person behind the business, be sure they like what they see. If you don’t want them to see your private information, set up a completely separate profile. 

• Avoid overly political views, pictures, rants  – debate a news story if it is relevant to your business, the local area or trade but avoid being too one sided.
• Don’t swear, post offensive pictures or comment on other peoples posts in an offensive manner.
• Keep photos relevant to your business, staff, locations etc. ( Ask your staff first before posting any pictures of them)
• Avoid directly "bad-mouthing" other companies. If it is a complaint regarding services, contact them directly. If it is a company in direct competition with yours, they will come off better in the long run.

If you aren't sure if a post or tweet is appropriate for your business, then it probably isn't. 

Bath Business Web Ltd - Professional Webdesign, Professional Results.

Website Content: Testimonials

Anyone can say their business offers a great service or product. But potential clients want proof. They want to see endorsements from happy clients that have received a quality service. And the more quality endorsements you have, the better.
Testimonials from your best clients are a great addition to a website, along with photos of the work completed.

1) Who?
Note I said “best clients" above. Pick clients that are most like the people you want to work with in the future.
If possible, use people with "influence", such as other business owners, or individuals that have a recognisable name.
Choose clients whose testimonials will highlight the key aspects of your business and your key selling points - as always, know your target market and what they are looking for.

2) What?
What was it like before they used your services? - define the problem.
What was your business like to work with? - talk about specific work you did with them, how they feel about the work, how it was carried out, how you were different from other businesses.
What specific results were achieved? - The more specific, the better and proof of the value of your service.

3) How?
Based on your business size, you should have a list of between 10 and 50 previous or existing clients that you feel that you can contact. You can contact them via e-mail, phone or in-person - depending on your relationship with them. They can choose whether to have their full names, business names etc used. If they are not interested, thank them and say goodbye.
If you decide to meet in person then a video testimonial can be an interesting way of presenting it. But you must ask the client if they are comfortable with it, use the right equipment and be sure that it can be shared in the correct way.
The testimonial needs to be easy to read, short but sweet sentences. Summarise your clients words using direct quotes and capturing the essence of what was said. Share the finished testimonial with the client, ask if it reflects their experience and that they approve.

4) Where?
Put your testimonials where people will see them! Your website, printed promotional materials and signage are the best places. Review your testimonials and keep them appropriate and up to date.

Add pictures, format the text and spell check!

Lastly, thank your clients. A handwritten note stating where the testimonials are published and maybe a small gift is a good way to show your appreciation and hopefully ensure that they come back to you for more business.

Bath Business Web Ltd - Professional Web Design with Front Page Results - Take a look at OUR testimonials here http://www.bathbusinessweb.co.uk/Static/Testimonials

Website Success

Over the last 7 years, Bath Business Web has strived to achieve hundreds of successful websites with successful front page results. The search engines and algorithms of Google have become a mine field, particularly in the last 12 months with the arrival of Google Panda and Google Penguin changing the way that websites are being displayed within search results.

There are many people with different levels of knowledge regarding the Internet and websites and with the internet unlikely to disappear anytime soon, it is important to take the building of a website seriously and remember that first impressions count.

Over the years we have spoken to hundreds of large and small business owners who seem baffled as to why their website does not appear in the first two pages in Google. Unfortunately, there seems to be a high level of businesses who have not achieved the success on the Internet they thought they would.

All we can do at Bath Business Web is advise and take experiences from the hundreds of people we have come into contact with.
A website for your business is there to help and increase your profits by supplying you with new clients or even existing where they check out your portfolio. Once again, this will determine whether they feel. Here are some tips on Website Success:

1) Seek professional advice; companies that can display and demonstrate success with previous clients and have no problem in proving front page search results. Ask to be shown a Google Analytic report of website traffic and statistics.  Look at “bounce rates” of their previous websites and determine whether this is a high percentage, meaning that users are looking at the website and disappearing.
2) Be wary of using cheap build your own website templates, as websites aren’t just built for “pretty pictures”.  The cheap templates that you can use e.g. “build your own website” usually come with catches or clauses and don’t provide the standards you would want for your business.
3) Very seldom have clients been able to demonstrate success at having their website built on the cheap (where the phrase is often followed by “my brother, auntie, uncle, sister, mate down the pub did it for me”). Remember if you have a toothache, you don’t get your brother, auntie, uncle, sister, mate down the pub to put a filling in for you. This should also apply when you decide to have a website built for your business.
4) Please ignore the myth of throwing in key words and thinking that Google will recognise them and place your website on the front page. These theories were forgotten 10 years ago. There is a series of intelligent coding behind the scenes of a website which Google will identify when assessing the quality, content, navigation and the value of a website. Google now pays particular attention to spam.
5) Be aware of social media and how important a part it plays when bringing traffic to your site and often in search engine optimisation.
Use the experts at Bath Business Web, who are on the front page results for “seo bath” and “search engine optimisation bath” “website design bath” and “web design bath” from millions of results. This brings success for themselves and their clients.

Pay For Professionals. It works.

Social media and the tradesperson

Builder, carpenter, electrician, plumber, gardener... whatever your trade, you are probably aware that the Internet has taken over the world of advertising and marketing in the last few years. Business cards, newspaper adverts and TV commercials all display their website address or email. The phrase "Like us on Facebook" or "Follow us on Twitter" has become common on the high street and in restaurants. 

But where do YOU fit in? How do you, as a tradesperson, make use of the Internet to attract new clients? How can you get social media to work for you?


Have faith in the medium
For many of us, the Internet is something we understand and use every day. We search for restaurant offers or movie times, we browse Facebook for pictures of kittens and we tweet about our day. But when it comes to promoting our business, we don't trust it. How many times have you heard these phrases:
- I had a Facebook page but it didn't work, I didn't get any Likes
- I used Twitter occasionally but I didn't have many followers so I stopped bothering
- I got a website but no one visited it and I didn't get any new work

These are things that Bath Business Web hear a lot from tradespeople. The key to all of them is the same. The website, Facebook pages and Twitter profiles are all tools to help you advertise and promote your business. They have to be used to be successful, and used in the right way.

Social media is SOCIAL
The biggest mistake people make with social media is misunderstanding its function. Social media is designed to let people socialise. Businesses can make use of this by interacting with other users, getting their brand known and trusted. They can showcase their work, their offers or promotions and put a personal face and voice to the brand name. Replying to contacts from people, sharing their interests as well as your own and building a relationship that lies between professional and personal are the keys to building a strong social media profile.

Sadly, many businesses ignore this function and instead expect a mere presence on Facebook or Twitter to earn them Likes and Followers. They fail to realise that you must earn your profile strength in this world, by producing great content and interacting with not only your existing fans but all of your potential ones as well. 

Paid advertising on platforms like Facebook and Twitter can produce excellent results, getting your company name specifically targeted at people in your area who want your services. This is why social media is powerful for business - all the information Facebook or Google + collects about you as you browse is used to point adverts at you that you'll love. But ultimately if your adverts direct potential clients to an empty Facebook page with no Likes, it's wasted money.

The bottom line
Think of social media as a 24hr business lunch, a way to talk to your clients no matter where you are. When you visit a client you would probably give them a pitch, discuss their expectations from the work and their needs. You'll make sure you are dressed appropriately, maybe in work clothes, maybe in uniform. You'll be honest and open with them, talk about the challenges of the job and probably tell them about yourself, your company and how you've dealt with jobs before.

Social media lets you have those conversations with many potential clients at once and without intruding on the rest of the day. Be accessible, be honest and be professional and you will find that social media is a tool your business will benefit from. 

See also:
Social media mistakes you don't want to make 
5 Small business secrets

Web design, when you need it - email us and mention "the blog"

The perfect online portfolio (and why you need one)

Whether you're a tradesman, a designer, an artist or a musician, your website is the most important tool you have to get recognition, awareness and, ultimately, new work. 

Stand out from the crowd

Don't believe me? Google your inspirational artist, your nearest business rival or your favourite restaurant. They'll certainly have a website, chances are it's been designed by professionals and carries their branding and products alongside their contact details. A designer may have a beautifully constructed gallery, a builder may opt for carefully worded project pages and images of their work. 

Be proud of your work
 
This online presence is a vital tool. Everyone is expected to have a website.  
A basic single page with a name and phone number on will do as a web presence, but the more professional your site, the more professional you seem. 

A high quality website with great content and an intelligent design speaks louder than words about the reputation of your brand.

So invest in your online presence - its the most important marketing tool you have!

For professional websites and top quality web support, contact us today and mention our blog!

See also:
Social media mistakes you don't want to make
Businesses, say hello to responsive web design

SEO basics - keyword stuffing is so over

Think back to the late 1990's. Do you remember those old hmtl web pages, carrying huge chunks of text stuffed with keywords? The content would have looked something like this:

"PLUMBING IN BATH Get yourself a PLUMBER in BATH for all your PLUMBING needs call 0800-local-plumber today!!!!"

This would be endlessly repeated until the bottom of the page, possibly interspersed with some grainy, poor resolution pictures.

Do you know why web pages don't look like this now?

One of the key reasons is because over the years new inventions have come along, such as CSS which was officially launched by w3w in 1996 and more recently, HTML5 which is due for release in 2014. As with any new invention, the powers that be reward people for using the new shiny toys. Microsoft and Apple led the charge and as the world wide web became more prominent, search engines like Yahoo! and Alta Vista took center stage.

They never left.

From an SEO perspective, Google is one of the major players of search, with the Yahoo!/Bing empire close behind. Search engines care about only one thing - bringing the most relevant websites to their customers attention when search terms are mashed in. The better they are at giving their customers helpful, sensible answers to their searches, the more likely that customer will use them again. This opens doors to advertising revenue and all manner of income streams.

For web designers, this was the beginning of an arms race that is ongoing today. Search engines come up with algorithms to asses websites, allowing them to identify and promote the comedy pictures and anecdotes that you are really looking for when you search 'Poodle haircut funny' instead of delivering up comedians that mention both haircuts and Poodles, for example. 

This is what we want...

Keywords are one of the signals they use to do this. By looking at the content of the page they can see the words Poodle, haircut and funny in the keywords. But they are not just interested in making sure its a page about that subject matter. They want to know that the website is of high quality, that the content is entertaining and that their searchers are going to appreciate this as a search result.

In short, the algorthim will assess the page by the same criteria as a human would - does it look good, is it informative, is it written in real english?

By slamming the content full of keywords in a sludge of badly written, repetitive and unhelpful content, you can guarantee that the search engine will take the same approach as a human would - bounce right off that page and onto another one. 

This practice of 'keyword stuffing' is so frowned upon by search engines that it has resulted in the runiation of websites all over, and has been abandoned by professional SEO's. 

See also
The battle of the browsers
Say hello to responsive web design

Social media mistakes you don't want to make

Social media is everywhere. Any web page you visit will almost certainly encourage you to tweet, like or pin its content. Companies are creating brand new forms of advertising to cater for the social media networks. Engagement with social media is at an all time high and even countries that have banned certain sites like Facebook are showing massive growth.

source Wikimedia Commons

Businesses are rapidly finding out that social media can mean increased brand awareness, growth of their client base and relatively low cost yet effective marketing. Clever companies have used social media to launch viral videos, competitions and stunts, driving up their popularity. 

 

source Wikimedia Commons

 
There are however, some risks when you introduce social media to your business strategy. A single misstep or innocent blunder can render your brand a laughing stock. So before you dip a toe into social media as a business, read the tips below...

3) Check, check and check again
One of the most attractive parts of social media is the ease of use. Type a short, pithy comment about your business, possibly with a picture attached, click one button and voila! The latest piece of marketing gold has been launched into the twittersphere. The disadvantage of this, however, is that a few moments of not concentrating, a moment of bad judgement and you have launched something that will cripple your reputation and never, ever be lost, because once information is on the world wide web, it is never lost.

Enter American firm KitchenAid, who allowed an astonishingly bad taste joke about the president's deceased relative to find its way onto their twitter feed. A quick fire round of retweets later and the company was in hot water, with many public apologies and hurried denunciations made over the following days. The damage was done however, and despite the company deleting the tweet almost immediately, echos of it will be floating online as a cautionary tale long into the future.

 

source Wikimedia Commons

2) You hold your company's reputation in your hands
If you've been in marketing for more than five minutes, you'll know that reputation is everything for a brand. Without a rock solid reputation for honesty, good choices and quality, growing a business is nearly impossible. Throughout your marketing you will have been developing your company's image. Badly thought through social media campaigns can turn all that to ash in a surprisingly short amount of time.

So it was for The Redner Group, who oversaw the launch of much loved shooter Duke Nukem's long awaited new release, 'Duke Nukem Forever'. The PR section posted a public statement on twitter that appeared to threaten to withhold new review copies of titles from outlets who gave the game a poor review. The backlash from fans, reviewers and the larger industry was deafening, leaving the company's reputation for fairness in tatters. 

1) You may loose more than you think
Social media mistakes can have wide reaching consequences. A slip up (or gross stupidity) may cost you money, time and possibly your job. Worst cases may even result in legal consequences. Again, this often comes as a result of impulsive posting behaviour, but in some cases what may appear a silly, harmless prank can lead to disaster when they hit the public forum.

Two employees at a New York branch of Domino's Pizza learned this the very hard way when they posted a video they filmed showing various misbehaviours at work on YouTube and the social media networks, quickly coming to the attention of their bosses. The evidence of their antics was slammed as 'disgusting', caused a major dent in Domino's reputation for hygiene and standards and swiftly led to the sacking of both the stars of the show. If that wasn't enough, both of them were brought up on legal charges for various health code violations. 

source Wikimedia Commons

So when you embrace social media for your business, embrace also the lessons to be learned from these and the countless other similar stories on the internet. Remember, with great social media power comes great responsibility...

See also:
5 Small business secrets...
The battle of the browsers...

website design and online directory listings

Google doodles McCay

‘Little Nemo’ by American cartoonist Winsor McCay was commemorated this week by Google in a very special version of one of their infamous headline images, or ‘doodles’ as they are known. It is the first time an interactive comic strip has been used as a doodle.

McCay’s work included comic strips and animations, with the artist credited as an inspiration to many industry giants including Walt Disney. The popular character of Little Nemo first appeared in the New York Herald and New York American newspapers in 1905. Originally called ‘Little Nemo in Slumberland’, the iconic images and adventures celebrated their 107^th birthday this week.

With Google’s largest ever ‘doodle’ being revealed this week, I take a look at my favourite doodles in the last 12 months and what they mean to me.

5) The 46th Anniversary of the first broadcast of Star Trek

This interactive logo is a feast for Trekkies like me, with classic sounds from the TV series and affectionate digs at some of the more nerdy in jokes, such as the poor redshirt's inevitable state. Raised to love early Star Trek by my Dad, despite it being on the third or fourth set of re-runs when I was born, I adore the hidden sections of this doodle and love the act of celebration from unrepentant fellow Trekkies at Google.

4) The Opening Ceremony 2012

 Whether you loved it or hated it, no one could ignore the Olympics in 2012. Dominating political speculation about the economy, TV coverage and newspaper column inches and getting a firm grip on retail products and marketing, the Olympics was everywhere. Google produced a massive 17 Olympic themed doodles, a truly Herculean effort (get it?)

3) Amelia Earhart's 115th Birthday

Amelia Earhart is a true symbol of courage and determination, as well as being a hugely strong female figure and an icon of millions. The first female pilot to cross the Atlantic Ocean and proud holder of the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross, her disappearance over the Pacific Ocean in 1937 is still remembered as a great loss to America and to the world. As a woman, I find her commitment to women's rights and her strength in the face of Victorian society's perception of women a true inspiration.

2) The Queen's Jubilee

Great Britain loves a party and it loves it's royalty. In 2012 we got to throw a massive party for our respected and adored monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. Music, dancing, art and history blended together with street parties and memorabilia. Some called it stunning, others felt it was tacky, but everyone agreed, it was an incredible moment for Britain and her Queen. For me, it was a reminder that despite all the changes in the world and the speed of development, we could still embrace a symbol of tradition and continuity. Not literally embrace, obviously. Unless you fancy life in the Tower.

1) Charles Dickens 200th Birthday

When I was given the novel 'Hard Times' as one of my essay titles at A level English, I was delighted. I had read 'Great Expectations' many years before, but had been distracted by modern novels since. Growing up in the beautiful town of Bath, with its huge Georgian houses and its popularity for Victorian period film makers, I was more than happy to indulge in the works of what I, and many others consider the greatest authors of that age. Google joined the rest of the world in celebration of his 200th birthday with this stunningly detailed doodle.

and last but not least...

Although not an actual doodle, the Zerg Rush 'easter egg' was a joy to behold. As a lifetime Blizzard fan, it was wonderful to watch my screen being devoured in a hungry homage to Starcraft.

Weekly Update

It's been a busy week at Bath Business Web! Firstly, as part of our web design package, we give customers support and maintenance for their websites as well as doing the design and hosting work. 

That means our customers can come to us and discuss updates to their content, such as adding videos or testimonials, as part of their support contract. Our team make constant tweaks and changes in line with customers needs. When you have over 300 clients that means an ongoing stream of work for our web designers and information writer (aka me!).We love it though, keeping their websites fresh and performing well is the core of the business. 

Along side those small changes, every so often a customer needs a major overhaul on their website. They may be shifting their business focus in a new direction or re branding, whatever the reason we are more than happy to take on redesigns and rewriting. 

Finally, we are always pushing for new growth and that means new clients. Our custom built websites are focused entirely around the customers business and their expectations. The finished product is checked and approved by the customer before it goes "live". 

So I am pleased to share with you the revamps and new sites we have finalised this week.

Patrick from Just Carpentry popped in and discussed his existing websites from us for Bath, Marlborough and Trowbridge. A content overhaul was in order and we were pleased to have everything up to date for him by the end of the week.

Chris Pritchard Roofing has gone live and we will be monitoring it closely to make sure it is ranking well in the next few weeks. 

A&G Automation Ltd is a long standing client who's newest site is now live and ranking on the search engines.

Another typical week at Bath Business Web, with satisfied clients and up to date, contemporary web design at its best.

To find out how you can benefit from our website packages and customer support, get in touch by

 email, facebook or twitter!

5 search engines you never though to try...

We're an Internet savvy culture now. Even those of us who cheerfully admit to being hopeless with technology know what an email is for (although maybe not how to open one!) And we all know about Google. 

Google is THE search giant, the biggest and most well known of the search engines, the King of the SERP's (Search Engine Results Pages). It dominates Internet search, commands  respect from  web designers hoping to make it to the fabled Google Front Page for their customers and has even gone toe to toe with the heavy hitters of the mobile phone world. 

But the Internet is a far more mysterious place than it at first appears. Buried far in the corners, in the damp dark places hidden by Google and Windows, there lies the alternative search engine. Strange things with unfamiliar logos and confusing names that shuffle and scurry in the shadows. Most of them are for niche subjects, like Slidefinder which comes in 35 languages all dedicated to finding a truly bemusing number of PowerPoint presentations on any subject, or Retrevo, your go-to search engine for electronics. Knowing what, and where they are can make for a fascinating trawl through the Internet.

Lets drag the top few of them into the light.

5) Brainboost

This remarkable engine not only gives you the answer you are looking for, in plain English, but also gives you half a dozen links to related questions that your original query might prompt. So from "why do birds fly?" we get a concise answer and a prompt to further questions from the philosophically fascinating "If a fly can fly can a bird bird?" to the science teachers next paper "What bird do not fly?" Grammar errors excluded, that's a pretty good range of followup questions. 

4) WorldCat

Brilliant for students and the studious alike, this engine is quite simply a library finder. Think of a book, any book, type it in and let WorldCat find it for you. Tap in your location and it will find the nearest copy. In a world of electronic information this may not seem that useful, but it bears remembering that a great deal of books aren't electronic and most older papers and books needed by students will also fall into that category. 

3) Dogpile

Dogpile is what's known as a meta search engine. This means when answering your searches it grabs relevant information from many other search engines, including Google, Bing, Yahoo!, MSN and so on. This is important when you realise that websites have to be submitted to a search engine before it can display them in search results. Since popular search engines vary between countries and preferences vary between web designers, it's nice to access all the other engines at once and without having to go looking for them.

2) Wikipedia

Originally considered as an on line encyclopedia, Wikipedia has blossomed and grown from these humble beginnings to become a monster of search in it's own right. Estimating over 4, 000, 000 articles in English alone, with more being added every day, it is hard to imagine a search term that isn't represented somewhere. Whilst the quality of the information in the return may sometimes be suspect, owing to the Wiki gimmick that allows anyone to edit it's pages, there are always useful links to be found and often the information itself answers the search query sufficiently. Plus, you generally learn something new whilst searching! Beats scrolling through pages of unhelpful SERP's looking for an obscure company name or definition.

1) Infomine

This powerful engine deals in the other world, the world which search engines traditionally are forbidden to enter. Known as the Invisible Web, the Deep Web, the Undernet and other spooky and tempting names, it is the home of password protected library databases and company intranet that is private and uncrawled. Whilst not illegal to search these things, the spiders and bots that work for Google and friends do not normally have easy access and so ignore them. Estimates on the amount of info hidden in this Deep Web are staggering - around 7,500 terabytes were thought to be lurking there back in 2001. If information is currency, there's gold in them there hills... plus, you get to feel like a movie hacker whilst using it!

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See also:
The battle of the browsers
Beware of Google pay-per-click