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

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.

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!

For quality web design and high search results, visit www.bathbusinessweb.co.uk today or find us on Facebook and twitter

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

Buckle up for ad:tech 2012

 
Big boss Duncan and our chief web designer Dan will be heading to London tomorrow for ad:tech, a two day festival of all things technology. We're only down for the day, but what a day that will be! 

ad:tech is described as an interactive conference and exhibition focused on technology and advertising. The UK dates this year will be held in the London Olympia. It boasts an impressive conference program of speakers and panels, with additional seminars and exhibitions throughout the event. 

New to the conference this year is a brand new floor plan, new seminar theatres and a new networking area. The conference program is brand centred, with a mobile video summit on day one and an advertising summit on day two.


Team Bath Business Web will be there for the Wednesday as it's all about mobile technology, a subject close to our hearts (see our Responsive Web Design blog from a few weeks ago). We'll be tweeting the most exciting discoverys and important updates throughout the day, so make sure you follow us on #adtech and @Bathbusinessweb. 

Businesses, say hello to responsive web design.

Responsive Web Design and why you should care about it

A new era for web design

A few years ago, most of us were getting used to the Internet. Information was available from our home or work computers at a rate we could never have imagined. The machines themselves were solid constructs, proudly dominating our desks and snaking their cables across the floors.

Now, we look back on those early days fondly, with an amused shake of the head. Bulky monitors and desktop PC's are replaced by slim high definition and tiny network docks. Cables have gone entirely, with wireless taking their place in offices all over the world. Thinking that the future was here, the web design community settled down in their sleek new work spaces and relaxed.

Even with the introduction of laptops, things were stable. The screen sizes on a laptop were nearly the same as those on a PC, and with a minimum of fuss users could scroll the web pages along if they needed to. 

Along comes an apple...

In 2007, a revolution in computer technology appeared in the shops. The Apple iPhone had landed, and mobile Internet was born. 

from wikimedia commons

The challenges were formidable. Firstly, these devices were odd shaped and strange sizes, compared to the previously dominant PC and laptop screens. Secondly, they were popular - by the fourth quarter of 2008 Apple reported 6.89 million sales. Thirdly, they were the tip of the iceberg. Google responded in 2008 with its long secret Android mobile phone. More devices that used unusual screen sizes and resolutions such as iPads, tablets and netbooks became used to regularly access the Internet. Not to mention the new HD screens of huge size that people could plug modern computers into - think a 42'' TV being used as a monitor!

What they did about it

Originally, they did something that was not very clever. Web designers all over the world began churning out "mobile versions" of their websites. Try to access a website and you would be redirected to a much smaller version with low quality graphics and basic information.

This wouldn't cut the mustard for long, especially in a market that was being sold its new iPhones as a viable mobile Internet. In May 2010, this article appeared by Ethan Marcotte, and changed the way web designers thought of the mobile web entirely. 

Welcome to Responsive Web Design

The idea was relatively simple - why not make a website that can change it's size, shape and resolution based on the size of the screen that is trying to look at it. Simple it may be, but the technology behind these changes is impressive. If you've used a smartphone to read a website which has appeared perfectly easy to read, chances are you have witnessed responsive web design in action. 

So what does all this have to do with your business?
You want your website to be as accessible and professional looking as possible. You want people to enjoy browsing it, no matter what device they use to do so. You need responsive web design, and most of all you want a web designer that can do this for you.

Bath Business Web now offers all new customers responsive web design as standard. So you can guarantee a professional, modern browsing experience for your customers, whatever they use to reach your site.

 Bath Business Web. 

Local business matters.

See also:
Beware of Google pay-per-click
5 Search engines you never thought to try