Twitter provides a unique method of communication between friends, co-workers and potential new business customers from anywhere around the globe.

Twitter provides an excellent resource for learning and study, dependant on your particular subject needs, you can follow the experts in a particular field, and keep right up to date with their latest publications, reviews or opinions.

Twitter has the capabilities of delivering “ground breaking news” in real time, which is pushed out to the user groups on a global scale.

Twitter is a highly scalable web application, which can be utilised on your PC, Laptop, Netbook, SmartPhone or IPad. The Twitter system can be accessed either directly via a web browser, on by using a desktop client for example TweetDeck.

As stated above Twitter allows users to tweet in 140 character messages. These messages can include both simple text and URL links to offsite content i.e. articles or blogs. In some cases URL links can be exceptionally long pieces of code, which can be broken. Twitter has an inbuilt system which shortens the original link, and produces a new shorter URL, which will take users to the original link content. One of the default URL Shorteners is from bit.ly, but there are many other shortening systems which provide the same services, plus advanced features including link tracking.

The facility to track user clicks from social networks can be a great analysis tool for online marketers and business owners alike. There are both paid and free versions of URL shortening systems, and in some cases the features are very much the same. The free versions are normally restricted to using one default domain for example bit.ly, is.gd, cli.gs and goo.gl.

There are paid or subscription URL shortening systems with will allow users to utilise their own domain name, for example http://short-links.com This system provides a complete suite of user tools which provide both automated and custom name shortening. The system has link tracking and graphical maps, which provide a wide range of user information including geographic location.

I recently purchase my own short domain http://c1ik.me which has been integrated by the short-links.com team, and now enables personalised shortening, which I have been using across all online social networks. For example http://c1ik.me/seo-analysis is generated via the custom naming section of the system, this individual link, can now be used anywhere online or via email. If the link is clicked by a user, the URL shortening system will track and record the action.

Twitter provides a method of sub categorising people that you may choose to follow. This has been achieved by using a feature called “lists.” Lists are generated by the user, and could be based on friends, subject, topic or work, to name just a few. This feature is a great additional as it allows high speed access to certain levels of information, which has been segmented out of the main content field.

Twitter facilitates the user with a method of creating a personal link index. Personally, I have found this extremely useful for building a list of very important links to content, including articles, video and websites that I use on a regular basis for research and for keeping me up to speed on the very latest knowledge related to online marketing and search engine optimisation.

When I find an important piece of information, which in my professional opinion is accurate and well balanced, I normally add it to my personal Twitter feed which is located here http://twitter.com/UKSEOSpecialist This provides me with a permanent record of the link, it also allows anyone who chooses to follow me, with the opportunity to learn from a valid source of information.

Twitter is not just a simple chat system, it is a platform which enables learning, sharing, advertising and communication, for business, consumer and private use.

Decide what you want to achieve and go for it.

• Choose a goal that will positively change your life

• Dedicate yourself to achieving your goals

• Do understand that you alone are responsible for making this goal a reality

• Do not expect other people to do the work

Develop a plan that will help you achieve your goals.

• Break your plan into manageable parts

• Prioritise the steps that you need to take

• Put your goal list where you will constantly see it.

Work on your goal each and every day.

• Use role models to inspire and motivate you

• Include in each day a task from your goal list

• A chart will help you monitor your goal list

• Recognise that any failure is just a lesson to be learnt

• There is nothing preventing you from having everything you want out of life, except you.

When you have a vision without a concrete plan, that vision is merely a dream. When you add a plan to that vision, your dream becomes a goal that you can accomplish. Each of us has the ability to live a successful life. We expect this of ourselves. Our free will allows us to choose a wholesome, rich existence no matter what the circumstances are surrounding us. Unfortunately, these life circumstances often make us veer away from our true self. Our hearts desires are lost. It is vital that we get back on track.

• Develop our new skills

• See yourself and others in a more positive way

• Expand your maturity, self-esteem, self confidence and self awareness

When you are committed to achieving your goals, you identify yourself as a positive person, who claims a successful outcome for your own life. Your entire attitude changes when you set out the life mission of achieving your dreams and desires.

• There are no failures

• Rewards are plentiful

• Learning is exciting

• Your focus keeps you on course

• Successes feed your determination and self worth

Decide you want more from your life than what you presently have.

• Make a conscious decision to move forward and make your dreams a reality

• Choose goals that will improve your quality of life

• Decide to raise your standards

• Get the best education you can

• Strive for excellence in everything you do.

IF YOU SEE IT, FEEL IT AND WANT IT, THEN GO FORWARD AND MAKE YOUR DREAMS “REALITY”

Straight forward SEO Advice for 2010

Focus on producing frequently updated and unique content

Focus on themed links from quality sites

Participate in related social networks and blogs

Participate in popular real-time networks such as twitter and identica, network, share and learn with those within your niche.

Network on LinkedIn, Facebook, Myspace

Produce unique articles, publish to authority sites and content providers within your Niche.

Produce video content for YouTube, be creative with your titles, descriptions and backlinks!

Despite the recession and lack of business confidence during 2009, WebPageOne Solutions has achieved a steady flow of orders from both new and existing clients. This fact has allowed us to exceed our business sales targets during 2009, relocated to new offices and enabled us to employ new staff.

Our business advertisement strategy for 2009 was based purely on digital marketing. This strategy includes the follow methods used to obtain new business opportunities;

1. High organic listings with Google, Yahoo and Bing

2. Google AdWords

3. Participation within general business forums

4. Participation with Internet marketing forums

5. Twitter

6. Email Marketing

Pure digital marketing was chosen as the marketing strategy for 2009 following our business review, which took place during the last quarter of 2008.

Our marketing strategy during 2007 and 2008 was a combination of digital (online) and traditional advertisement methods. The traditional methods included advertisement within highly popular business and marketing magazines, press advertisement, direct correspondence, telemarketing and business directory listings.

The data from the previous years (2007 and 2008) was analysed and revealed the following results, which were based on new business acquisition.

• Pure Digital Marketing = Generated 88% of the new enquiries during 2007 – 2008

• Traditional Marketing = Generated 12% of the new enquiries during 2007 – 2008

The advertisement and marketing budget for 2007 and 2008 allocated in percentage terms,

• Traditional Marketing = 75% Budget

• Pure Digital Marketing = 25% Budget

As you can see from the two sets of figures above, we wasted not just hundreds, but thousands of pounds in traditional advertisement which produced a very low return on investment during 2007 and 2008.

Our advertisement and marketing strategy, including budget for 2010, has been defined as 100% allocation towards Digital and Online Marketing.

Finally:

As Managing Director of WebPageOne Solutions, I would like to personally thank all of the clients that we have worked with over the last few years; your business is greatly appreciated.

I would also like to thank the major search providers Google, Yahoo and Bing, who without your existence, companies like mine, who purely specialise in Internet Marketing would possibly not exist.

A big thank you, also goes out to the owners and developers of the major social network communities, such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter. Your online services have enabled us to evolve sustainable business practises, communicate and compete on a global scale.

Lee Davies

WebPageOne Solutions Limited

www.webpageone.co.uk

Over the last 2 months Ive been running some tests on Twitter and Identi.ca to see how useful they could be for SEO purposes. Using the default URL conversion method although easy had no real impact.

I tried an online URL shortening service which allowed a level of customisation and tracking. Good tool but not that helpful with what i was testing.

Then i bought my own short domain name (3 characters with a .eu extension)

I started using this new short domain as a manual URL shortener to create custom 301’s to live sites and pages.

Having this level of control allows me to use keywords within the 301 redirect for example; http:// w1z.eu/keyword/keyword/keyword/ redirects to whateveryouwant.com

So far using this custom method of 301s I have noticed the following;

New domain names indexed within an average of 24 hours. (no other links or submissions)

New domains ranking for the targeted keywords, within a couple of days. (geographic and non geographic phrases)

New pages on existing sites have been indexed within approx 12 hours and have started to rank pretty well for the targeted phrases.

Note: All domains and new pages tested were also internally optimised before being indexed using this method.

Its been an interesting test and in most cases revealed some pretty good results.

I would be interested to hear about any other tactics relating to Micro Blogging and SEO.

When a person enters a search query into a Search Engine they expect to be shown relevant results relating exactly to the Keywords that were entered.

The Search Engine will interrogate its database of possible Keyword matches related to the Keyword query and display a number of Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs)

In order for the Search Engine to display results quickly it needs a method of Indexing its database which could contain references to billions of websites.

Search Engines utilise complexed algorithms which attempt to Index a string of Relevant Keywords matched to a website that contains the most Accurate and Quality Content that a potential Internet Searcher would find specific to their search query.

The Algorithms used by Search Engines are all unique to each Search Provider. The basics to how the algorithms calculate and score the positioning of a web site would be related primarily to what’s termed as On Page and Off Page information.

The term “On Page” is related to and defined as the actual website domain and its content, including all sub pages. The Search Engine will base its scoring on the Quality of the Content relating to the Relevant Keywords that are visible within the pages of the site. Web pages within a site should all be unique. Individual web pages have the ability to create Meta Tags.

The Meta Tags are used to define the actual page content to the Search Engine, therefore they are related and should make use of the Relevant Keywords related to the Content displayed by the Browser. Meta Tag information should be unique for each individual page. Focus should be given to the Meta Title and Meta Description Tags, as these can and will be indexed by the Search Engines and displayed within the Results Pages.

The term “Off Page” is related to other websites that provide a Backlink to the Domain Name URLs that the Algorithm is calculating. The Search Engine will determine the relevance and quality of the website that is providing the link, and weight or score the link information accordingly.

A website that is providing Backlinks should be relevant or related to your own Industry or Subject Matter that is contained within your Domain Name or Website. The Algorithm can determine related content by looking for Relevant Keywords contained within the pages of the linking website.

The relevance of the backlinks is important and will be scored higher by the Search Engine algorithm. A backlink between websites is similar to a recommendation between humans. Humans would normally recommended a Service or Product based on experienced knowledge that the information they are providing is correct. An example of relevant backlinks would be as follows; Website A has content relating to Photography, Website B also has content relating to photography. Both sites will contain Relevant Keywords to Photography and therefore should be classed as an trusted link or referral.

The website owner has full control over creating a site with good Quality Content. Whereas achieving high numbers of quality related backlinks can be difficult, time consuming and in some cases expensive.

A website that has Quality Content and has been organically optimized using Relevant Keywords should be displayed at a high position by the Search Engine Results Pages, when a searcher quires the term. If the searcher finds your content relative and informative, they may choose to utilise or purchase your products or services. Assuming that the Customer has received good service, they should then organically promote your Company both by Word of Mouth and possible provide organic one way links from other Internet Resources.

Quality Content which is accurate and meets the criteria set by the Searchers Relevant Keywords, should enable effective results for Clients utilising the Internet Search Engines as a Marketing Tool.

Search Marketing Company’s require an understanding of logical information processing, this article is a primary example of the organic optimization services provided by WebPageOne Solutions.

The Internet has really opened up the whole world as a global marketplace. Businesses both large and small now have the ability to compete and succeed in the ever changing world of consumer or commercial requirements for products and services.

A great many reports from around the globe clearly state that customers are now utilising Search Engines not just for research, but to obtain new products and services, or to build new business relationships with suppliers. The main or most popular Search Engines are currently Google, Yahoo, MSN and ASK.

Websites now exist in their Billions covering most if not all vertical market sectors. Finding a niche market online is very difficult to achieve, therefore competition in many market sectors is high. The competition generally increases as the targeted customers geographic location changes from local to regional, then regional to country wide, country wide to global.

For example; a website providing a TV repairs service may focus its Internet marketing on a large town or city, whereas a website selling the latest LCD Televisions would focus its Internet marketing country wide. These two scenarios would require different levels of SEO due to the keyword requirements of each project.

Keyword Example 1 = “Television Repair Service Redditch”
Keyword Example 2 = “UK LCD Television Supplier”
Keyword Example 3 = “LCD Plasma TV”

A Search Engine displays the results of a Keyword search simultaneously in two formats. These formats are commonly referred too as the Natural Results and Sponsored Link.

The Natural results are generally displayed on the left hand side of the Results Page. The Natural listings are created from the Search Engines database which has been organically indexed over a period of time (months or possibly years)

The Sponsored Links are generally displayed on the right hand side of the Results Page. These results are also known as Pay Per Click Adverts, AdWords, Sponsored Search Ads, Paid Listings and AdCenter. (to name just a few)

Search Engine Optimization company’s normally provide a managed service offering both Organic Optimization targeted at the Natural Results and Paid Advertisement focused on the Sponsored Link Results.

Generally a combination of Organic SEO and Paid Advertisement will yield the best Return on Investment. (ROI)

There are independent freelance SEO Consultants and web design companies that offer SEO as part of their services. There are companies that specialise in search engine marketing and big Internet advertising companies that mix SEO in with their offerings. The prices also vary widely. Although “you get what you pay for” may be true in some cases, more expensive will not always mean better.

Choosing an SEO Consultant could be a daunting task as unfortunately, there is no specific rule as to exactly which strategies work. The world of SEO is in a constant state of change due to the numerous Search Engine Algorithm updates. Optimization processes that have worked for Company A, might not work for Company B.

How to choose your SEO Consultant

Prior to considering the acquisition of SEO Services, I would highly recommend doing some research into the subject. Having a basic understanding of SEO will be an advantage when interviewing potential candidates who are offering the service.

SEO is normally a long process (dependant on keyword requirement) which requires a good level of communication and interaction at a business level, between the Client and the SEO Consultant.

Pre-Tender Stage; Clients should expect their potential SEO Consultant to have an extended conference call with them and their team. Perhaps you will meet with them at their office to go over your Company, products, services and SEO goals. This provides you the Client with a great opportunity to see their office and work environment. If you are not comfortable in their office or, even worse, if they refuse to allow you to come to their building, you should immediately consider going elsewhere.

The SEO Consultant should demonstrate the need to have a very good understanding of your Company’s business offerings in both products and services. They should request information relating to the business sector, competitors, target audience and or customer’s. This knowledge is required mainly to generate the right type of traffic or potential new customers to your website.

Tips.

• At the first meeting, request an outlined overview or methodology on how the SEO Consultant will achieve your required keyword goal. This type of feedback should sound familiar if you’ve done your research first!

• Ask for examples of previous projects that the SEO Consultant has worked on, complemented by a Client Testimonial.

• Quotations should be provided in writing, detailing the understanding of the project and outlining the cost.

Guarantees for Organic SEO Services

Guarantees relating to Organic Search Engine Optimization services should be defined and understood at the early stages of the Project.

As unfortunately No Company can guarantee top search engine placement because there is a 3rd party who has all of the control: The Search Engines.

What should be guaranteed is that the SEO Consultant will assist you with keyword selection, keyword placement, and optimal HTML coding to help make your site more search engine friendly for the current search engine algorithms.

The SEO Consultant should confirm that they have never spammed any Search Engine or Directory and that they DO NOT utilise any Internet marketing or Optimization methodologies that the search engines would consider unethical. (Beware of Black Hat Techniques)

The SEO Consultant should provide Keyword Optimization targeted specifically at Google, Yahoo or MSN aiming for Page 1 or Page 2 visibility in the Natural Listing.

Teamwork = Success

A successful Internet Marketing Campaign is generally the result of excellent teamwork between the Clients Marketing Team and the SEO Consultant. If business knowledge is shared and the SEO Methodology is Correct, the Keyword Goals will be achieved and the Return on Investment will out perform all other methods of traditional Marketing.

The following information provides the baseline foundation of SEO related factors.

Host Platform – Dedicated
Host Location – UK Based
(Note: Host site in the country most relevant to your targeted customer base)

Navigation Structure
• Top section and left hand side of all pages.
• Must be search engine friendly.
• To include keyword text links in Navigation.
• Highly scalable for adding addition pages.

Complete control over the following Meta tags. All tags should be unique.
• Title
• Description
• Keywords

Install editable H1 and H2 headers on all pages static and dynamic

Page URL naming structure to contain product related keywords (mod re-write enabled) to remove all non essential characters (session IDs) from all dynamic pages.

Image ALT tags to contain relevant terms.

Automated XML Sitemap Generation and RSS Feed Generation (products and landing pages)

Integrated .html sitemap page.

The ability to create additional static pages from site template layout.

The homepage requires sections to include a reasonable amount of text (minimum 200 words), without spoiling the graphical look and feel of the site.

Avoid and Test for; Page duplication issues.

Utilise the robots.txt file to control spider accessibility and page indexing.

Add popular social bookmarking buttons to all pages of the site.
The coding of these buttons should include rel=”nofollow” and target=”_blank” in the link structure.

Check site for browser interoperability.

The site should conform to the W3C standards.

Choosing the most appropriate keywords that relate to either your products or services will have a direct impact on your return on investment.

The wrong keyword choice will create non converting traffic to your website.

So how do you choose the best keyword phrases to target for your business ?