On Google’s Official Webmaster Central Blog it was confirmed that Google now factors a site’s load-speed when assessing its search ranking.

Many blog commenters & readers have expressed concerns and doubts over the reason for Google’s new signal in search ranking. Take into account, that slow page loading speeds is attributed to Google’s own Analytics script or  AdSense code.

Are these doubts about major ranking damage warranted on the average website?

It has been known in webmaster circles for a few months that Google was going to factor this into their page ranking factors. However, when comparing the ranking of a slow versus fast loading web site, there has been no negative differences in search engine rankings.

Whenever Google does something new, there is an initial concern from the webmaster community.
It is possible to believe that this is a win-win situation for both Google and the user experience, the ultimate agenda here could be to improve the indexing capabilities of the search engine servers, thereby returning more relevant and up-to-date results for searchers.

Matt Cutts said: “People shouldn’t stress out too much about Site-Speed, and the reason is that we’re always going to care first and foremost about quality. How good is a page for users? Don’t think it’s going to be the largest of the two-hundred factors.“

The latest social media network has become more commercial.
What does this mean for current users?

Twitter has just released their business model called “Promoted Tweets”. These are easy to do and just like normal tweets except with the label “promoted”. Although they will have the same features such as reply, retweet and appearing in Twitter search results , if these do not resonate they will be  stopped from showing.

The companies who have started to use “promoted tweets” include Red Bull, Best Buy, Sony Pictures, Bravo, Virgin America and Starbucks.

Twitter Co-founder Biz Stone says the company ”Before we roll out more phases, we want to get a better understanding of the resonance of Promoted Tweets, user experience and advertiser value. Once this is done, we plan to allow Promoted Tweets to be shown by Twitter clients and other ecosystem partners and to expand beyond Twitter search, including displaying relevant Promoted Tweets in your timelines in a way that is useful to you.”

“Since all Promoted Tweets are organic Tweets, there is not a single “ad” in our Promoted Tweets platform that isn’t already an organic part of Twitter,” Stone comments. “This is distinct from both traditional search advertising and more recent social advertising. Promoted Tweets will also be timely. Like any other Tweet, the connection between you and a Promoted Tweet in real-time provides a powerful means of delivering information relevant to you at the moment.”

There are alternative ways to use Twitter for business to reach and interact with their audiences without having to pay for “promoted tweets”. For example:

A recent study shows more journalists using Twitter and Facebook. Chadwick Martin Bailey and iModerate Research Technologies research reveals more consumers favour brands on Facebook and Twitter.

Use social media to get your message out there.

by Mike Mills

Understanding the internet fundamentals will help you in appraising a domain name.

Criteria for evaluation

Top level domain names (TLDs) are very important. This sets the memorability of the domain, good TLDs express a more professional and experienced business. COM, NET, and ORG are currently the most credible and best known TLDs. As time passes the familiarity and credibility of newer TLDs will probably increase.
The TLD of DOT com is valued higher.

Some factors that affect the value of the domain name are:

• Total number of characters. The lesser the more valuable and easier it is to remember and type.
• Hyphens generally detract from the value of a domain because they can be easily forgotten.
• Digits in a domain name, as in cars4sale.com, decrease the value of a domain.

Criteria for appraising by the Market Factors

The number of words in a domain affects its value.
Names with fewer words can be more memorable, and therefore more valuable.

Search engines can help us determine how much content exists on the Internet with the keywords of a domain. The Internet frequency of these words is a good way of determining the current buyers market for individual terms and the level of industry-specific activity. This element is very time sensitive, the popularity of a given term may fluctuate often as the market changes and new areas grow.

The index of the search value of a domains keywords is used to determine it’s value in a sellers and advertising market.

Google can help rate the value of a domain by determining the search frequency of the words in the domain in comparison to other search lists. This can be used to indicate what is hot in the industry at any given time.

Proper names can affect the value by estimating the demand for particular terms used in the domain.

Have you ever had a web page that has been saved from Microsoft Word?
It usually is full of styles and endless repetitive parameters.

Here’s a new on-line tool that can be used to remove it all.

The clean up HTML tool works by stripping unnecessary tags and styles from the code. You choose from two options; select a HTML file on your computer or copy and paste code into a text box.

A quick and easy online utility that saves hours of editing with a single click.

By Mike Mills

Web sites are beginning to put the consumer at the centre of attention, so web surfing is more fun than ever.
However, now there are more distractions than ever, Twitter, EBAY, Myspace, YouTube, Blogging, Second Life, just to mention a few.
The internet continues to grow at such a rapid pace that content is king and will always be.

To take advantage of this, your marketing plan must contain an extensive on-line component. Many of my clients are dropping print media in favour of the internet. Site owners, both small business and corporates, are evaluating their ad buys and shopping for high-quality targeted visitors.
Their aim is to draw more traffic.
There are a many online options for web site owners with on-line marketing budgets. For example:

• search engine optimisation by web specialists
  
• pay per click and pay per impression advertising
• e-mail marketing

Whether you buy banner or text ads, you must carefully plan your strategy to optimise your campaign. Time is also another key investment which requires a focus on optimising your organic search engine listings.

Why? Well, there are two reasons to consider this approach.

• search engine optimisation is results-oriented.
• research indicates that over 80 percent of web site visitors come from search engines

If you have the in-house resources you may wish to continue with your efforts, although outsourcing can provide you access to a much broader range of expertise. The experts use the latest tools and services available to make this tedious role into a pain-free, no hassle, turn-key operation.

To be number one on page one requires multiple keyword phrases on multiple search engines to accumulate any volume of quality traffic. In the early days of search engine listings, meta tags were very important. As the web has grown, so have the systems for measuring the value of a web page. Google uses over 100 different criteria to rank a web page. This means the techniques are complicated to derive a good position and best left in the hands of an experienced web developer.

To attain the best results with search engine optimisation you must take the time to develop your most appropriate keyword phrases. Selecting keyword phrases that are commonly used in your industry may not serve you well because your clients often will use a completely different set of search terms.

However, none of this is possible without a well defined key phrases. This is paramount for your success. Like life, getting results is hard work. Choose the right keywords, and you’ll receive pre-qualified visitors.

Steps to identifying your keyword phrases.
Be empathetic. What words will your customer use when looking for you on search engines?
Separate yourself from your product, service, or home page.

Think outside the square to generate a list of up to 50 keywords without worrying about whether or not they are right. Prioritise and edit the list down to 20-30 keywords. Drop those that don’t fit and add any that come to mind.

Now group your keywords into 6-10 sets of 2-4 keyword phrases.
Combine your keywords with other qualifying, more specific or descriptive terms.
For instance, marketing becomes web search marketing ; hardware becomes corporate network hardware.

Do not use keywords that are too generic. Use broad terms with something more specific. If you service a specific region, use something like ‘network hardware melbourne’. With a dental clinic, it might be ‘dentist sunshine coast’.
You need to be specific to pre-qualify your visitors!

Concept keywords help qualify visitors.
Specify the concept in your keywords, such as adventure holiday, if that’s what you provide, but also be specific so that the keyword phrase is not too broad, such as ‘island adventure holiday’.
Do not use trademark names, unless you have permission from the owner. A Toyota dealer may be able to use toyota corolla. Well known companies should include their own company name in the key phrases.

Avoid individual common words in favour of more specific terms, such as hardware, web, mobiles, cars, etc. These terms are too general and compete with millions of other web pages.

Once you have identified your best keyword phrases, test for effectiveness with customers, colleagues, friends, and spouses. Listen to their feedback.

Now that you have confirmed your set of targeted key phrases, contact your marketing manager, site developer, ad agency, or in-house web guru. Request that you are seeking an improvement in search engine position. Otherwise, use your content management system to do-it-yourself.

Finally, do it and do it now! Getting your site recognised on the major search engines is one of the best ways to drive pre-qualified traffic to your site.

After you visit a site and find yourself staying awhile, what makes you stay? A sense of humour helps. Flashy graphics are nice. But the fundamental traits that make a site work are more elusive.

Here are 5 characteristics that can help you tell the difference between a great web site and one that misses the mark.

Design

The visual appeal of a site is important. A high scoring web site will contain clever ideas and a smart design that clearly states it’s message. Design elements include space, colour, graphics and layout which are consistent through out the web site. Creative imagery and correct use of fonts can help enhance the users experience. We discuss the issue of fonts in our article ‘Small Text Syndrome‘. Elements should not cause the page to be slow to load. Often large images or elaborate flash animations will turn users away.

Content

Original and regularly updated content is the most important trait of a great web site.

A website will rate poorly or not reach your business goals if the content lacks substance, is useless or excessive. A effective content manager will understand the information must be relevant to the target audience and well written. Elements of content include products and/or services information, links, tools, audio, video and animation. For a more detailed guide read the article ‘8 points to better web page content’.

Features and Functions

A well built web site contains page code, forms and links that work together and seemlessly. Developers can use a variety of technology to create web sites. Good technology does not have to be costly. Many open source applications can match the features and functionality of their proprietary counterparts. Some of the features include quick loading content and smooth e-commerce transactions.

Features that rule over function will rate poorly with users because it detracts from the user experience. Look for smart features such as feedback tools, icons for common details such as phone numbers, e-newsletters with useful information, calculators, frequently asked questions or discussion forums.

Usability

Another important trait a great Web site has is interactivity. Good interactivity engages the user and makes a site memorable.
Users equate poor organisation with poor site design. Well planned sites ensure that information is appropriately organised. This requires balancing the number of levels with page length to minimise scrolling and display time. Sun Microsystems found in their extensive usability study of their home page that users don’t want to scroll.

An element of a well organised site is providing multiple ways of easy navigation. A great web site will incorporate both text and graphics for buttons. Users feel more comfortable if the look and feel is consistently maintained throughout the site. Ask the following questions;

• Is it easy to find key information?
• Does the site help me accomplish intended tasks?
• Are links clearly defined?
• Is the content cluttered?
• Does the site flow smoothly?
• Can I find my way back to the homepage without using the back button?

Standards Compliance and Cross-Browser Compatibility

For most web users, the stuff behind the scenes that makes the web site work is hidden and not easy to understand. This part is often entrusted into the hands of the web site developer.

A great web site should work equally well in the major browsers; Internet Explorer, Firefox and Safari. Good web site developers use valid code and check that it complies with markup standards. Proper code helps ensure the usability, accessibility with today’s variety of web accessible technologies, such as mobile and handhelds. The easiest way to check a site is by using the W3C Markup Validation Service. A site that is correctly coded is likely to be indexed appropriately by search engines, such as Google.

If the site complies to the standards this ensures the site is usable, the effort has been enforced by attention to detail and Quality Workmanship. This is a true testiment to the professionalism of a web site developer.

Why do designers use small text?

In my experience with graphic designers I have noticed a common trait that often appears in their designs. I’m not just referring to web design, but many others applications, such as, business stationery and marketing materials.

You can try to understand how designers arrive at a final design by seeing the process in action. Layout is often fluid in a designers mind, this allows their creativity to move elements on the canvas, to resize and change shape. The single most important element is white space, although we don’t look at it directly, our eyes use it as a resting place.

A designer knows that it is the interaction of these individual elements and white space that creates the final effect. If this effect gets the WOW reaction, then sometimes the functionality of the design can be overlooked. Perhaps, this is because the designer is focusing on the intention to communicate a message, such a marketing strategy or branding image.

Unfortunately, the consequence of a great design may be the size of a font or typeface when it is so small it becomes difficult to read. The designer has sacrificed legibility for overall look and feel. For web design this problem is out of control when the text is embedded as a graphic or flash file. However, if the web page uses text links then the size can be increased or decreased in most browsers.

Does your web site contain small fonts that are fixed in size?

BMD web site developers recommend that important text, such as a menu or navigation, should be kept to a minimum size of 14 points or pixels, and this depends on the typeface. A significant number of web users have trouble reading anything less than this.

By Mike Mills

Building a web site today is harder than ever due to the number of firms competing for your business.
Printers, internet service providers, graphic designers and computer programmers all want a piece of the action. Some offer a great deal on the price of web pages and graphics, maybe even search engine registration and DIY (Do-It-Yourself). However, this doesn’t help you to get started.

Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the scout movement, has inspired milions of boys and girls around the world with the motto, ‘Be Prepared’.

A detailed plan for what to include in your web site is essential. If you are in business, then you should have a marketing plan – you may use this as a starting point.

Next, add these 3 elements to your plan:

• Specify what you want your site to achieve.
• Draw a map on paper and divide your site into 7-8 groups of information.
• Create 2-3 key phrases to centre your copy around.

You will save time, expense, and will get a much more effective site.

Are you selling your products and services online or offering detailed brochures to support your offline sales effort?

Focus Your Site.
A focused web site does better on search engines. Your site will be easier to classify, providing that your content is concise and follows the key phrases you set in your plan. Keep your message simple and that it meets your customer needs.

Many web sites are not well planned which means these must be redeveloped for better results. A good web site developer will help this process by building web pages with efficient code that is search engine friendly. Your plan will assist the developer in this part of the project.

The home page should clearly tell visitors what your site is about. You only have 4-5 seconds to grab their attention. Create content that evokes the visitors emotions, senses, ego or desire.

Your site must demonstrate credibility and trust. Highlight the most important benefit you provide. A headline and a related graphic can give users an instant image of what your site and organization can do for them. Turnbulls specialise in several businesses, minibus hire and car sales, the home page opens with graphics of cars, and a headline outlining their business focus. Readers can immediately identify what the site has to offer. Most sites include pages “about us” and “contact us” which help build customer trust. Consumers trust you when they feel like they know you. A few ideas for the “about us” page can include staff photos, your building, or anything that reinforces visual cues about who you are.

How do you do business? What’s your company philsophy or mission? How did the business begin?
The “contact us” page should list your key personnel and several ways to contact them.
Tell people why they should contact you and what to expect when they do.

Inside pages support your sites focus
If you have a main product or service, highlight it on your homepage. Inside pages can contain more details or downloadable specifications. Divide your site into categories or sections if your site starts to build into more than a dozen pages. Introduce each category and link related pages with a short summary of what is contained in that section.

Simple and clear order forms
A shopping cart is not necessary for only a few products. Product pricing and information should be easy to understand. Hard to use sites or unclear procedures frustrate and confuse customers will lose you sales. Don’t skimp on important shipping info and make your privacy policy clear.

A few final ideas to help convert your visitors into customers.

• Be consistent with your critical content
• Create the best customer service page (help)[ FAQ format]
• Encourage visitors to take action

We are all test dummies in one of the worlds largest experiments.

Google shows different versions of pages to users and records their response. This data is important for improving the search service. By gauging the users preferred search options Google can refine the search results page and ultimatley the speed of their service.

There is a direct correlation between the speed of the service and amount of data that users request. If you have been using the internet for at least 5 years then you will have experienced the internet evolution to broadband speed. Quicker downloads allow users to surf more.

This is also relevant to page data size. When Google trimmed the Google Maps page size from 120KB down by about 30 percent, the company started getting about 30 percent more map requests. “It was almost proportional. If you make a product faster, you get that back in terms of increased usage,” said Marissa Mayer, vice president of search products and user experience, in a speech at the Google I/O conference.

Another important page element includes white space around images. Every component must be considered for optimising speed. High speed internet access has lead to complacency in this area. When internet access was limited to dial-up, this was an important consideration in page design.

Unfortunately, web pages have become bloated with technology, such as flash and microsoft code. It’s up to today’s web site developers to use existing technologies, such as CSS or AJAX, for efficiency.

Yahoo will be rolling out some changes to their crawling, indexing and ranking algorithms over the next few days. There may be some ranking changes and page shuffling in the index. What effect will this have current and future indexes?

For more info and discussion visit Yahoo Search Blog