Search Engine News

Google+ Pages Yay or Nay?

November 10, 2011

As announced on Monday Google have opened up their Google+ pages to businesses of all sizes, brands and celebrities in the hope to trump the already existing social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Their aim is to help build deeper relationships between any kind of businesses and their clients by allowing them to share their thoughts, links, photos and promotions.

 

Much like Facebook, Google Plus pages allows commercial names to interact with their fans and critics as well as being able to broadcast recent news, there is even the chance to get live, face-to-face feedback from customers by holding video chats!

 

In order to help you get started Google have formed an online guide to show you how to create a page, promote it and then evaluate its success. It covers how to publish posts, launch hangouts and manage circles. 

 

One important factor is that Google have now integrated Plus into its search engine. This means that searches can insert a ‘+’ symbol before their enquiry and be directed straight to the business’s Google+ page. For example type “+YouTube” in the search box and you will be taken straight to YouTube’s Plus page.

 

To many people Google+ pages is just Google’s own version of Facebook, but once you get started you will soon see there is a lot more to the story.

To discuss your social media optimisation further contact studio8search on 01865 842525

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Google buys Motorola’s mobile phone division for $12.5 billion

August 16, 2011

Google revealed today it is to buy Motorola’s mobile phone division that is responsible for the development and manufacturing of smartphones, tablets and accessories. Google brought the division for $12.5 billion (£7.7 billion), paying in cash $40 per share, which represents a bonus of 63% over the price of last Friday.

With this acquisition, Google expects to boost its operational system Android and strategy to grow stronger within the smartphone market, as one of their major problems is related to the lack of mobile phone patents. Motorola Mobility holds 24,500 patents.

To Motorola it represents an important deal, sales have plunged in the last years, as Apple, HTC and Samsung have taken the lead, offering more attractive smartphones.

The deal might be completed late this year or early 2012, as it is yet to be approved by shareholders and regulatory agencies and in addition, Mobility will be kept as a separated company.

To discuss your mobile site call 01865 842525 to speak to Studio8Search.

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Facebook Aims to Replace Texting!

August 16, 2011

The world’s largest social media site, Facebook has released an instant messaging application for iPhone and Android service that permits users to exchange messages with a single friend or even a group, and has the option to send the message via SMS. The app also offers the option to send location information. So far Facebook’s mobile messenger is only available in the United States, but it is expected to eventually roll out in other countries.

This app comes just about a month before Apple release a similar product, built-in the Apple’s new iOS 5.

However, the advantage of this app is that unlike Apple’s new feature that is only available on products such as the iPhone to iPhone and BlackBerry to BlackBerry, the Facebook app be created for other mobile operational systems, like Google’s Android.

Now we just have to wait for a Google+ messaging app and you can be sure that soon or later it will comes too!

To discuss your website and how to improve the amount of traffic and sales you gain through it, talk to Studio8Search. We focus on Social Media, SEO, PPC and more. Call us today on 01865 842525.

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Google: a giant monster that never stops growing

August 16, 2011

When Microsoft released Bing, Google accused them of stealing Google’s search results. This week’s attacks have come after Google complained that Microsoft, Oracle and Apple were ganging up on it to stop Android through the use of “bogus” patents, which those companies apparently overpaid for, in Google’s esteemed wisdom.

There has been a huge criticism on Google’s power to continuously copy, expand and dominate someone’s business. Just observe the recently created Google+ and how it is attracting millions of users, some people say copying Facebook’s “Like” button, or Google’s coupon tool similar to Groupon offers.

What saves Google is that really, it isn’t too different of other companies. There were mp3 players before iPod, as well as touch screen mobile phones before iPhone or Internet Explorer before Firefox, Chrome and Safari. This is going to be a continuous battle which we are sure we haven’t heard the last of!

To find out more on how you can grow your business online and get yourself found in Google talk to Studio8Search. Call us today on 01865 842525.

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Google+ Users Soar Amid Social Network Clash

July 19, 2011

The battle for social network users is heating up with research estimating the number of Google Plus users is rocketing.

A study released this year found that the new service could have almost five million users in the US alone – up from 1.7 million users a week ago.

Google is currently limiting the number of people who can use the service, as it tries to fix any bugs within the system.

The search engine’s product allows users to limit which friends information and updates are shared by allowing you to group your friends in “Circles”.

However, Google has a great deal of catching up to do if it is to match Facebook, which last week revealed it had reached 750 million active users.

To discuss your own social media strategies contact Studio8 today on 01865 842525.

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Need a Local Business? Well Search officially Rules!

July 14, 2011

When Internet users look for a local business, search is the winner according to research from Local Search Association.

The majority of 18 to 34 preferred search, as did those aged 35 to 54.  Among older users of 55+, yellow pages

are still used as the first point of call to find a local business rather than search engines like Google. However,
this statistic is likely to decrease as more and more older users become internet savvy.

Studio 8’s SEO team can optimise your website for Google Places and local online search results.
Why not contact us for more help and advice on local search optimisation.

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New gTLDs

June 24, 2011

A fundamental change to the way brands, consumers and SEO companiesNew gTLDs connect on the Internet is among us. Icann, the power accountable for Internet domains, has agreed a plan to expand the 22 currently available domains (.com, .net, etc.) to permit trusted brands and organisations to apply to own and operate their own gTLDs (generic top-level domains).

Business leaders must assess, understand and weigh the strategic prospect to own their own .brand domains. The cost and effort of applying for a .brand domain is significant, (£115.000) but a failure to act now may result in unnoticed, online competitive issues in years to come.

For many years, search engine optimisation specialists have said that search engines such as Google have used the global (e.g., .org or .com) and country-level domain (e.g., .de or .co.uk) on a website to affect the ranking of search results within the search algorithms. Search results for  “apple iPod nano” from a trusted .apple gTLD will be perceived as trustworthy not only by Google but also by searchers scanning a search result page.

Websites with mature SEO strategies will take advantage of the gTLD changes to drive traffic for their direct online channels. One thing is certain, there will be SEO winners and losers and more businesses will  need to employ SEO agencies.

For more information or how to set up a new gTLD, contact Studio8 on 01865 842525.

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Googles top ranking factors

June 7, 2011


SEO professionals from around the world participated in a poll to vote on what they consider to be the 5 most important factors the Google algorithm considers when ranking a site.

Using your keywords as the anchor text from external links (73%)

We always knew that using your keywords as the anchor text is important but didn’t realise that so many other online marketing experts felt this to be the most important factor.

External link popularity (71%)

This was voted to be the second most important ranking factor. Your link popularity refers to the quantity and quality of the back links.

Diversity of link sources (67%)

This is a very important area to focus on. It is no good just to get back links from directory sites or blog comments – you really need to diversify your back links methods. Use the many 2.0 sites – article sites – high profile sites – rss promotions – blog comments etc.

Keyword use anywhere in the title tag (66%)

The title tags are a very important area for your onsite optimisation.

Trustworthiness of the domain based on link distance from trusted domains (66%)

This is the fifth most important ranking factor. It means that Google “trust” your domain in order to get higher rankings.

To discuss optimising your website with Studio8Search call 01865 842525

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The Times Newspaper writes an article on why Online Marketing is key to businesses

May 10, 2011

How to give Google a run for its money

Last week the Times newspaper published an article about SEO and why businesses should look to invest in their Online Marketing. To read more on this article visit their site. write an article on SEO and Online Marketing

It seems that SEO and Online Marketing strategies are becoming more and more popular and are a must for small to medium sized businesses nowadays.

You can create a great website with great products but if no one can find it then there is no point!

Statistical analysis shows that websites that appear in the top three places of a search engine’s results attract 98% of all traffic on the web.

But how exactly can you increase traffic to your site through the art of SEO/Online Marketing? Studio8Search can talk you through the key areas you should focus on and can provide you with a no obligation audit on your site to get you started.

We are currently working with a range of customers to optimise their sites, increase rankings in the search results and ultimately improve sales and traffic.

To discuss your requirements with Studio8Search call 01865 842525

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Why we’re not an seo company

April 11, 2011



We often get asked about what makes us different from other Seo companies.

The big difference is that we are not an SEO company but instead an Online Marketing Company.

Of course seo is a crucial part of every strategy we create for our clients, but to really empower your businesses digital marketing in order to deliver relevant traffic and sales/leads there are many aspects which must be included.

We always devise an online marketing strategy that includes various traffic acquisition and sales generation strategies such as the following:

1. Traffic Acquisition

Natural Search
Paid search
Affiliate marketing
Social media optimisation
Online advertising
Online sponsorship
Online PR
Online Video Marketing
E-mail marketing
Blogs
Offline Campaigns
Price comparison Websites

2. Conversion Optimisation

Defining website goals and KPI’s
Customer Journey Analysis
Multivariate testing
Site usability
Conversion tracking and reporting

3. Customer Retention

Email marketing
Newsletter sign ups
Outbound communications
Loyalty programmes

You may find that you are already doing some of these, which is great and studio8 search will work with you to improve how all your digital marketing works together.

Ensuring websites are SEO friendly is a very small part of the job. A great deal of SEO involves off page strategies such as link building and the distribution of online videos, press releases etc. Without the latter it will be a waste of time and money!

Please call or email studio8 search to discuss your digital marketing, we would be happy to show you case studies with results that deliver better sales / leads for the companies we have worked with.

01865 842525
Info@studio8search.com

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