Thoughts from the frontline

January has been busy all round with Google releasing some game-changing algorithm updates so far. The most significant is ‘Search + your world’ which brings personalisation to the forefront of SERPS.

This brings your personal world into your search results, which according to Google, makes them far more relevant to you. ... read more

If you’re wondering how you’re going to make social media work for your business in 2012, stop!

Right now, if you need to drive significant levels of new inbound leads, you’ve got no choice – you must have a content strategy. Without compelling content, social media doesn’t ‘ripple’, and without social media, you’re just missing out – even (especially) you B2B marketers out there. … read more

SEO is a constantly changing and evolving industry. The trends and tactics used to stay ahead and ensure ranking success, change with search engine algorithm updates. SEO before the Google’s ‘Florida’ update looked quite different to SEO afterward, and  the same applies to other major algorithm changes like Panda.

So what will search, in general, look like in the future and what will be the impact upon SEO? ... read more

What you need to know about encrypted search.

Searchers using an unsecured network (like a public WiFi, for example) could be at risk of their search data being unsecure. Now, if you’re one of the odd 8% of people who search when logged in to Google’s search engine , your keyword search data will be encrypted. It won’t be shared with other sites – or stored. The 8% will vary from location to location, sector to sector and website to website. ... read more

Back in 2008, Google relaxed previous rules and announced that companies using Adwords could bid on competitor keywords. For example, M&S could bid on Interflora searches. And they did!

Many companies – Interflora included – weren’t very happy about this and decided to take legal action. ... read more

It’s the end of an era! With CEO Carol Bartz sacked and a takeover imminent, many are claiming that one of the big internet giants has fallen. But I think these claims are a bit presumptuous. Let’s take a look at Yahoo and where the recent news leaves the brand and the wider search engine market.

At the start of August, Yahoo started offering organic search results directly from Bing as part of a deal struck in 2009. Why have they decided to bow out of the race you may ask? Well if you’re anything like the ninety-something percent of Brits who use Google every day, the answer is probably already pretty clear. ... read more

Many of you will have heard about Google+ – a new social network from everyone’s favourite search giant that it hopes will provide competition to Twitter and Facebook’s social dominance.

But, in an email to Wired magazine, Google has hinted that Google+ could be used by the company to influence how sites are ranked in search engine results: ... read more

Any long term user of the search engine will know that Google’s site links aren’t anything new but after five years or so relatively unchanged, Google has recently decided to give them a complete overhaul.

So how big a change is it and what do marketers need to know? ... read more

Would a rose by any other name smell as sweet? What about a rsoe?

According to this article on the BBC, little typos like this could slash your online sales in half. In total, it is believed that such inaccuracies could be costing UK markets millions in lost online sales every year. ... read more

A quick heads up to all those who’ve got their hands on one of our free ‘The Big Pink’ t-shirts.

There’s still time for you to win return flights to New York and help Macmillan Cancer Support, by taking part in The Big Pink charity campaign. ... read more