Notting Hill Internet Services Blog

It wasn’t such a long time ago that the practice of medicine was a secretive art. The doctor was deferred to as the holder of all knowledge, and the patient certainly wouldn’t question his diagnosis. That all changed with the emergence of the Internet: it’s now quite common for patients to arrive in the surgery fully clued-up on their condition, and ready to engage in an informed debate about the best path for treatment.

It’s ironic that SEO experts, whose very profession only arose on the back of the Internet, tried so hard and for so long to retain that mythical status we once gave to doctors. “It’s a complicated business”, they claimed. “It takes years of study, and only the truly intelligent can understand it.” They, better than anyone else, working with the Internet every day, ought to have known that there’s no such thing as an inaccessible art any more.

Because, have no doubt – SEO knowledge is there for the taking. Many sites will explain it in layman’s terms. Or you’ll find it dissected and discussed in rarefied chat-rooms where Google’s every move is examined in minute detail. You can even find automated sites where you input your URL, press a button, and wait for an SEO assessment, and all for free. In fact, these days, your average bloke propping up a bar can talk knowledgeably about meta-data and inbound links.

That being the case, why shell out for managed SEO and Internet marketing services? Well, because, accessible though this information is, it takes time. Time to learn, time to implement, and time to keep on top of. The Internet is still new, and developing at a great pace. Every new development, from the up-rise of social media to minute shifts in Google’s algorithm can have an effect on the way you should be optimising your website.

That’s the crux of the matter. If you have a retail site, you have enough to do without keeping abreast of the latest SEO requirements. It makes sense to outsource to people whose very business is to immerse themselves in the SEO culture. Because SEO works, but in the time you’ve been learning how to make it work hard for you, you could have been making sales.

At Notting Hill Internet Services, we don’t keep our knowledge to ourselves. In fact, we’re happy to chat about page ranks and keywords and ALT tags for as long as we think you’re listening. All our knowledge is there for you to share (take a look around our website, and you’ll see that’s so) – because what we sell is time, and effort. And there’s no mystery about that.

Read more about our Managed SEO service here. Not sure what we can do for you? Then why not try our 6-month package?

Next time your boss arches an inquisitive eyebrow towards your screen and asks what you’re doing on Facebook, you have a legitimate excuse. Just whisper the hallowed words “Social Marketing”.

Companies big and small are opening their eyes to the marketing possibilities of sites like MySpace, LinkedIn, Del.icio.us, and that well-known scourge of office productivity, Facebook itself.

After all, it makes sense that these sites, heaving with users (70 million on Facebook at the last count*), are a resource worth tapping. Unfortunately, there’s a little more to it than the methodology you learned in SEO school.

These days almost everyone knows about the power of inbound links and metadata – but can these methods be used in Social Networking?

Well, forget any ideas you have about harnessing Facebook’s power with a mighty inbound link to your site. Facebook is a registration zone, and its links will never be found by Google’s crawlers.

Your campaigns have to rely on more subtle means. One obvious route is to develop a plug-in that is so irresistible, so delightful, or so downright preposterous, that not only does it spread like a rash through Facebook, but it provides enticing content for blogs or, if you’re lucky, newspapers. Those reports are sure to provide a link direct to your site.

If you have a limited budget, time is your best resource. It costs nothing to develop a wonderful Facebook page, garner fans, and reward them with rich content: photos, exclusive news, or a personalised relationship. It’s not a quick SEO fix – but goodwill has a knock-on effect, and slowly but surely your name will become known.

If that all sounds like hard work, don’t even think about going down the blogging route. Blogs are a natural arena for the swapping of links (in posts, comments or Blogrolls), but to really leverage their power, you need to post regularly. Google rewards frequent updates. Other sites will reward you too, if your content is interesting enough, with inbound links galore.

As with Facebook, nurturing relationships counts for a lot in the blogosphere. Blogging for SEO is a long-term strategy, and one that will have many other positive side-effects, but a hit-and-run approach won’t work. Woo your commenters; favour them with personal replies. Remember too, that if you’re blogging on-topic, every post, reply and comment is a keyword-heavy piece of SEO gold-dust.

If your boss still can’t see the value of blogs or social networks, bookmarking sites like Digg or Del.icio.us might be an easier sell. After all, they are based on the precept of sharing URLs, and though inbound links from Del.icio.us are fairly weak collateral, they count for something. Plus, as all Digg users are aware, one killer story can flood your site with visitors.

In short, social networks can work hard for your site’s SEO, but they’re not a quick fix. Either your boss is going to have to get used to your surfing habits, or it’s time to suggest he outsources your Social Marketing.

* Source: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/press/info.php?factsheet

Are you sitting comfortably? Good, then I shall begin.

Once upon a time…. many, many years ago…. (Well, 14 years in Internet terms is after all, an absolute lifetime)… blogging was the domain of students, keeping friends and family up-to-date on their personal lives with online diaries.

Now, back to modern day, blogging has become much more sophisticated and diverse.

In the corporate world, a blog is now a recognised marketing tool, and should be viewed in the same way email marketing or advertising campaign is. An investment needs to be made, a budget created, people designated and then dedicated.

What are the benefits of blogging for an online business?

Good customer relations - what better way to provide information to your customers, both current and potential? A blog is also a two-way street where clients can leave their feedback.

A testing ground for your ideas and concepts - remember the old marketing adage “run it up the flag pole and see who salutes it”? Well, throw a few of your ideas out there and test the water. A blog is an informal way of finding out whether your particular ideas generate any interest. Very cheap market research!

Good SEO - search engines love sites that are updated regularly - what better way than with a blog?

A blog, if managed well, is an excellent marketing tool that creates active dialog, brand awareness and can promote an online business.

Well, we were sold. So welcome to our blog!