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Splitting the Google atom? April 8th, 2009

I had a couple of great discussions yesterday with an SEO expert who challenged UKFast on their “fast servers deliver better results” message. Google actually reduces your cost per click on faster sites and penalises you, charging you more if you have a slow site. FACT. (See the quality score rules in your Google Adwords account.) Why is this? Is Google acknowledging that faster sites give the customer a better experience? Absolutely! Is traditional SEO as we know it dead or is it evolving at such a pace that it has caught a large proportion of the SEO enthusiasts and internet users by surprise? Could it be that speed has always been a major deciding factor in ranking and no one knew about it? Or… Read the Rest »

Posted in Business advice, Google & Search Marketing, Online marketing, UKFast | 6 Comments »

A fast server is instrinsic to your marketing campaign July 4th, 2008

Did you know the speed and reliability of your website is a massive factor in the stickiness of your site, for both human visitors and search engines? For the ever demanding customer, website response rates have to be immediate. How long do you spend on a slow page which doesn’t load properly? My guess is not long at all. And neither do your potential customers. For slow websites the click-away rate is often incredibly high – and what do web users do when they’ve clicked away? They go to the next search engine listing, which just happens to be your fiercest competitor. Speaking of search engines, many of the top ones use website response rate and server speed as part of the ranking process. When… Read the Rest »

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Online video is changing the face of the web January 17th, 2008

In 1979, video killed the radio star. Today, online film is set to become the next media craze. This week a study by Tiscali showed that more than a third of UK consumers log on to watch TV on demand. The figures show double the amount on last year, of people watching television online. I’m sure you’ll agree that’s an astounding increase. The statistics reflect a growing trend in viewing and producing online video. It is a media format most definitely has its good points – providing dynamic web content on platform that can be seen the world over. And it also has its bad points. I’m recalling the recent happy-slapping craze which swept video download site YouTube. Online video downloading also has the potential… Read the Rest »

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Keyword shortcuts can backfire December 13th, 2007

I was asked in a focus group recently, whether Google allowed a company to put multiple ads under the same keywords. I have always been led to believe that Google does not agree with this, on the basis that it is unfair competition. It merely drives up the cost per click for other advertisers and allows them to monopolise the Google results. I know that from time to time UKFast advertises under the same keyword. However, we do so only when promoting completely different brands. Each brand has a different marketing strategy so it is very unlikely that two UKFast ads are ever seen next to each other. Whilst doing some research, I chose keywords that related to our industry. The two words being ‘dedicated… Read the Rest »

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Caching in on Anita Roddick’s good name September 12th, 2007

Online marketing, where will it stop? In a desperate race to out do their competing news rivals, the Telegraph and Business Guardian both have added Anita Roddick’s name to their pay per click advertising. Traffic to the newspaper’s sites is so important; the media giants, who once ignored the Internet and search engines, now pay Google to forward them traffic. With businesses paying a premium to advertise on their sites it is imperative the newspapers grow their online presence. Any type of customer is a potential good customer and so we see topical stories driving the pay per click campaigns. Personally I don’t view it as a bad thing as I am great believer in freedom of speech and with that surely comes the freedom… Read the Rest »

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Can enthusiasm dampen results? July 27th, 2007

How often do you type in your keywords on Google to see where your advert appears? If you are like the rest of us, probably quite often. Firstly it’s important to weigh up where your advert appears in the rankings. Are you going up are you going down? It is imperative that you measure your results. However, are you aware that Google calculates the number of times you view the adverts? If you do not click on them, after a relatively short time (undisclosed by Google) your advert disappears! Don’t worry it is still there for the rest of the world to see, however the search engine recognises that you keep ignoring it, so it serves you something else instead. Very clever, but how do… Read the Rest »

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Optimising your Online Presence June 8th, 2006

How do you create a successful business online? That is the question I was asked last night at a seminar on Optimising your Online Presence. The event was commissioned by Manchester Digital and organised by Don’t Panic and was attended by around 70 marketing professionals from the North West. I break down true online success into 3 categories. 1. Invest in the right infrastructure 2. Respect the search engines 3. Put your web site at the heart of your business 1. As the managing director of a hosting company, I am in danger of looking biased when I say that your hosting platform is a key ingredient, but I am well placed to give this advice. Since 1999 we have seen the rise and fall… Read the Rest »

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