Cirencester Website Design

Website GEO Targeting same language getting it right

Scenario I want to target both the UK and US markets from the same website.  The issues are:

1. How do I target two markets from one website
2. How do I avoid being penalised for duplicate content

The options seem, at first, to host a .co.uk in the UK and a .com in the US.  This will work provided you have unique content for each website.  This causes problems of maintaining two website’s with twice the workload.  So in the long term managing two website’s becomes messy and expensive.

The right way to do this is to consolidate everything into one website.  Using a non geographic TLD such as .com or .org you can create country versions.  I.e. mywebsite.com/uk/ or mywebsite.com/usa/.  Using Google webmaster tools you can use their geo targeting option to specify where you want to target specific url’s.  You may decide to make mywebsite.com, main site, to target the USA and then use mywebsite.com/uk/ to target the UK.  You add both URL’s to Google webmaster tools and specify the target for each.

Pretty simple really.

So maintaining the website and avoid duplicated content.  You MUST localise key pages such as the home page and any other important pages.  But for universal pages you can duplicate the content to reduce administration.  But you must add link rel=”canonical” tag to those pages so that Google understands what you are doing. More info..

Free website builder from Winning Inch

Not a special offer our unlimited website hosting just got better!  Free website builder for our inclusive price of £47.88.  That is just £3.99 per month.  Comparable packages would cost anywhere between £10 and £24.99 per month.  It is the next best hosting package to running your own server without the headaches.

More info…

Search engine optimisation package

The complete SEO package for £999.00 saving £295.00 if purchased separately.  The package is professionally managed by our own experienced SEO’s.  Included:

• Keyword research
• Competitor analysis
• Keyword effectiveness testing
• Website performance
• Server side SEO
• Social networking with integrated blog and Twitter

Keyword research

We research the right keywords for your website, goods and services.  The report includes keyword list, Keyword effectiveness Index, total search volume and anticipated market share and conversion rate based on keyword difficulty.

Competitor Analysis

We compare your website versus the current top 10 competitors (page one results) for the primary keyword established in the keyword research detailed above.  See sample report.

Keyword effectiveness testing

Before committing to a keyword/s we test each one for actual effectiveness.  Using Google Adwords we create a campaign and measure the performance of each keyword.  Using analytics we will establish the right keywords and content requirements.  Of course once we are done with the testing you are able to continue or create new PPC campaigns either via Winning Inch or for yourself.

Website performance

Load speed is beginning to play an important role in search result placement.  Optimising your on-site performance will reduce load speed time making your website more competitive in the market place.  This new requirement is in response to “slower” mobile device network speeds and is a fundamental part of Google’s caffeine roll out.

Compliance to W3C standards is an increasingly important aspect as we move into the “Mobile Internet” age.  Validating your website will ensure that it is viewed, as designed, regardless of technology old and new.  It is your assurance that potential new clients are getting the right impression of your company.  The alternative is to risk increasing bounce rate which will inevitably lead to poor search result placement for your website.

Server Side SEO

This resolves duplicate content issues caused by canonicalisation issues (see post) we create and load a small script that will remove any risk of being caught out.  In addition we also ensure that we adopt the most efficient configuration of your hosting by setting file compression to “on”.  This speeds the transfer process from server to browser.  Plus we adjust browser cache settings so that minimal effort is required by the users browser to reload your page in future visits.  This dramatically improves over-all performance.

Social networking

We ensure that you start your social networking optimisation by providing a blog hosted on your domain.  The blog platform is Wordpress for which we provide a custom template to match your existing website.  We then automatically integrate this with Twitter so that each post you make automatically updates Twitter.  Finally we integrate a Twitter widget into your home page which then displays all your blog posts.  In doing this we triple your exposure.

Proactive monitoring

We generate and submit a sitemap to Google on a monthly basis.  We also monitor your website using Google Analytics and Webmaster tools.  The first month is included and ongoing monitoring is available at £99.00 per month.

Everything described above is done by hand.  There is no automation, most of which would cause Google violations if it were, our professional SEO’s  will communicate with you directly and on hand as and when you have questions.  The entire service, apart from proactive monitoring month one, is included in the price saving you almost £300 is purchased separately.  For latest pricing visit our website design service page.

Winning Inch website CMS (Content management system)

Our CMS is independent which means that we can apply our CMS to any static website at any time.  This gives you the freedom to update your content as often and when you want.  All you need is Internet access from any computer and you can update your content.

To add a CMS to your website you provide us with your FTP details.  We need to add editable regions to your website and then give us the names of who you want to edit what areas of the website.  This can be the entire website, a certain page or even just a small region of a page.

The CMS is included in all our website design packages or separately for a one off fee of £50.oo for the first page and £20.00 per page thereafter.  After that the monthly fee is just £2.50 per month regardless of the number of pages.

To check the set up fee visit website design service page.

SEO proactive website monitoring

In the highly competitive Internet market place the need to pro actively monitor your website is essential.  Ensuring that your website is performing, means more qualified traffic and higher conversion rates.

Website analytics provides a lot of information but what do you do with it?  If your bounce rate is higher than 50% then your website is not meeting visitors expectations.  Left unattended this will damage your website position in search result placement relegating your business into the realms of obscurity.

Traffic profiles are your links working?  What proportion of your traffic are from referrals?  Are search engines generating enough traffic?  Is your advertising working?  How many direct hits did you achieve following an advertising campaign?  Are your PPC campaigns working?

The answer to all these questions are in the website analytics.  Our proactive monitoring services delivers a concise report of your website activity on a monthly basis in language you will understand.

We also monitor your current search result placement for specific keywords alerting you to promotion and demotion with probable reasons.

Further more we will pro actively ensure that any “search engine” issues are identified and corrected before any long term damage is caused.  This may be duplicated content, malware attacks or poor website performance statistics.  Plus we check for DNS issues and validation problems.

This service is provided by our professional SEO’s, not automated, we are able to interpret problems and the underlying issues and either take remedial action or advise you on the best course of action.  Your dedicated SEO is available to you to discuss issues and provide advice as and when needed.

This service is available from £99.00 per month.  If you need a full or part time SEO for larger projects visit our Online marketing | SEO management page for more information.

Winning Inch is moving its web design and SEO staff to Gloucester.

The decision to move from Fairford was based on a significant increase in the  level of business coming from Gloucester.  Although we are sad to leave it makes sense to move our staff nearer to the front-line of Gloucester and Cheltenham.

The physical move is planned to happen at the end of May 2010.

Our Cirencester sales office is unaffected by the move.

Mobile ready website.  Is yours?

The mobile device is poised to overtake the web browsing market.  The reason is simple and comes down to pure convenience i.e. when travelling it is far easier to use a mobile device rather than a lap top.  Every person , over the age of 10, has a mobile whereas only a small percentage have a dedicated PC or laptop available to them.

So what does this mean for business who rely on the Internet for business growth and revenues?  The answer is clear if your website does not render well (look good) on a mobile device then your website / business is going to suffer.

Most websites that conform to World wide We Consortium (W3C) standards are already “mobile ready”.  The W3c lays out the standards for web browsers and web designers.  If your website validates then it will look the same regardless of the technology or browser version.  This is true of older windows based machines use Internet 6 or earlier through to state the Apple I-Phone.

The current standards are based on a 2 tier architecture og HTML for structure and CSS for visual rendering.  HTML creates the architecture creating areas for pictures, text and everything else you see on screen.  CSS defines those areas for size and styling.  For example he HTML will define an area known as a division and CSS defines the size, colour, styling etc of that division.

Typically this means that a browser can interpret both the HTML and the CSS to make the website look the same regardless of say “screen size” as screen size is defined by the hardware and the browser will propotion the web page according to the available space.

Unfortunately for website’s built 3 or more years ago, and is still the case for some web designers, website were built using tables.  This means that the website dimensions are fixed by the table sizes.  For eaxmple the overall table would have been set to accommodate the smallest possible screen, typically 800 pixels wide, hence a table size of circa 780 pixels would be the standard website size.

The consequence of fixing the size of a table is that it remains fixed so on a mobile device it is not possible to be proportionally adjusted.  To the mobile user it will be like seeing a picture of an elephant 4 inches at a time.  The result of course is obvious the user will simply move to the next website that renders well on the device being used.

How do you know if your website if your website validates to W3C standards?  It is simple visit the W3C HTML validator and enter your website address.  You will get an immediate result.

What do you do if your website does not validate.  Call us and we will advise you further.  Telephone 01285 711699

Website design costs.  There is an old adage that says “you get what you pay for”.

For website design and services competition for your business is fierce.  You only need to Google search “web design” and you will find 323,000,000 pages.  It is probably one of the highest number of results for any search.

Most however are one man bands and hobbyists who aspire to be a web designer one day.  However, you can pay very little for a website and, as per the adage, you will get what you pay for.  In a few months you will be asking questions like “why can’t I find my website on Google” or “why don’t I get any hits / visitors”.  It is an all to often trodden path for many.

So what is a fair price for a website?  well let us first of look at some marketing / advertising alternatives.

What is common amongst all the above is that they are all “push” based.  The adverts either create need i.e. “aspirational” like cosmetic advertising “buy this product to look” as good as the air brushed model we are paying.  Or  value “You can buy cheaper on everyday products”.

There is no doubt that advertising works or no one would do it.  But the smart money is now moving to the Internet.  There is now more money spent on website and search engine optimisation than there is in TV advertising.

So why the shift?  Well let me ask you to think abut how you use the Internet.  95% of websites are accessed via a search engine and 87% of those searching are using Google to do so.  When you are searching the Internet you are pro-actively looking for something.  Sometimes it will be for advice.  But more often than not is to find something to satisfy a need.

So when looking to book a holiday, buy car insurance, buy gifts, gadgets..  The list is endless!  You are looking to buy something.  So compare this to watching TV, listening to the radio or reading the paper.  Yes something may catch your attention but you are not pro-actively looking for something.

Hence businesses large and small are catching on to the reality that if someone is in a “proactive state”, to find goods and services, the Internet is the number one choice.

The Internet is not a level playing field.  It was meant to be but with over 3 web pages for every living person on the planet competition has become fierce.

So back to the question “How much should you spend on your website?” Answer – as much as you can.  Website design, to make an impact, is less about design but more about optimising your product and / or services to be found by “proactive” people searching for your specific product or service.

Services Web Design has entry level websites for self employed people / small companies, starting at £199.00.  This provides a basic, but never the less strong foundation for growth, brochure / business card website.

But on average a minimum spend of £1,500 to £15,000 should be allowed per year.  Which is small beer compared to the alternatives.

If you would like more information, set up a meeting or to discuss your specific needs use the contact us form or call us on 01285 711699.

Developing a new or redesigning an existing website is a purposeful task to achieve the required results for each client. There are many considerations and standards that must be met to be successful. Some of these standards are clear cut i.e. creating valid code that will pass W3C testing for both XHTML and CSS. Others are not quite so simple but probably more important for example search engines.

To have a website is one thing. We all know that it is relatively simple to get something online and indeed many hobbyist develop a passion for doing so and become, overnight, another website designer. But having a little knowledge is dangerous. The internet offers massive opportunity but for most it results in disappointment.

With over three web pages for every living person on the planet competition is fierce.

Website development standards begins with cross platform compatibility. Every Internet browser is different Internet Explorer is dominant for Windows users whilst Safari is dominant for Mac users. However, there approximately 20 others such as Firefox, AOL and Opera to name but a few.

The Worldwide Web Consortium (w3c) was conceived to create standards for both Internet browser vendors and website designers. The idea is simple if both browser vendors and website designers conformed to a single standard the the end user experience would be consistent. The standards also accommodate the end users underlying technology i.e. personal computers running Windows, Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 for example.

Importantly validation also means that the end user can modify their browser settings i.e. to use a larger font size to make the text easier to read etc.

The w3c created two validation tools. The mark up validator (html website code) and Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) checker. To demonstrate this you can check the validator for this page:

Whilst there you can check any website, including your own, by replacing this web pages URL with another.

Urban myth – Validation means that Google and other search engines rank valid pages higher than those who do not. Not true! Search engine attention is only focused on content.

So why bother with validation?

Whilst search engines do not directly check for validation it can still impact your website page rank and visibility in search results indirectly. If your website does not validate browsers may not be able to interpret your design accurately. As previously stated the w3c set the standards so that there is consistency across all platforms.

Importantly mobile Internet access is now common and is a growth market. The website development standards ensures that this platform is no different to any other. Even Google admits that XHTML (Div controlled) and CSS websites are going to look better on mobile devices than those that are created using tables. Watch the Q & A with Adam Lasnik video.The reference is about 40 minutes in but the entire video is worth watching.

The consequence of not rendering correctly may result in the end user “bouncing” away from your page to go find another one. This “bounce” rate is measured. A high a bounce rate inductees poor quality content that did not meet the expectations of the end user. As a consequence the page / website will lose good post ions in searches over time.

Therefore if you are looking for a new or to update an existing website it is advisable to ensure that it validates to current standards.

On a final note the question ay crop up why have XHTML and CSS is it not double the work? No not really but it is an extra dimension and as per the video CSS can be awkward. But the XHTML is pretty much the same as HTML in that all the data and structural elements are created within the file. CSS is an external file which controls how it looks. Traditionally such things were managed in a table which dictated this table will be nn wide by nn high. This is replaced by divisions <div> and the CSS file dictates the divisions styling. The advantage in CSS is flexibility, for example, everything can be relative to the available space of the viewers screen and is pretty much changeable by the viewer themselves.