If you want your site to be brilliant at attracting and retaining users, aiming for a community atmosphere is a shrewd move. It can mean that users are welcomed to the site by regular visitors. It can lead to copious amounts of user generated content. In addition, it can stop a site from appearing sterile and bland. Furthermore, a site which successfully establishes a virtual community is much more likely to have a high conversion rate than one which does not. So it makes sense to provide a diversity of incentives to ensure that users come back frequently. Amidst all the positives about developing a virtual community, it is easy to forget that it can sometimes lead to the odd problem or two. Moreover, ‘one size does not fill all’ and not every site needs to go down the community route.

At Searchengineoptimization.co.uk we not only assist our clients with effective SEO campaigns, but we also can deliver social media marketing which ticks all the required boxes. It is also the case that we provide thoughtful SEO tips which are relevant to a variety of sites.

It is easy to see why so many experts focus on the positive aspects of community development in their articles. There are undoubtedly multiple advantages for sites which do house vibrant communities. These communities can be gradually lured on to a site. Competitions, free gifts, special offers and less tangible incentives can be powerful draws for users who are interested in what the site is about. Guest blogs can add excellent SEO content to your site, while simply responding with courtesy to comments on your own blogs can make users feel ‘wanted.’ If you can get users engaged in vigorous debates between each other, they will spend more time on the site concerned. The setting up of a forum may be a good way of answering relevant questions which are not Frequently Asked Questions.

However, it is important to remember at least two potential problems with what could become ‘community excess.’ The first, and most obvious, problem is that hosting a forum can lead to a large obligation in terms of moderating comments. Any offensive material has to be removed. If dubious material is left on a site it could deter other users from making a repeat visit or a purchase. Even ensuring that guest blogs are of the right quality can be a bit of a chore. Not every site needs to be a home to a ‘talkative’ bunch of users, some ecommerce sites work well by sticking to functionality and aesthetics. The second difficulty is that a site can become a place where users are too easily distracted from what the site owner wants them to do. There is not much point in them lingering on the site for hours if they ignore the advertisements and never make any purchases.

In some ways a site can be thought of as being a bit like a restaurant. It is important to establish a welcoming and convivial environment, but consumers have to be subtly encouraged to do things which contribute to company profits.

Using news can be a great way of getting up-to-date, relevant and interesting content on a site. Even if you do not know much about the process of SEO, you may realise that content matters a great deal. High grade content has such influence because users and search engines appreciate it when they encounter it. However, is news provision such a good idea? Dylan Jones recently told The Guardian: “Newspapers are in dire straits because news is everywhere. News is oxygen and it’s a very crowded atmosphere.” It could be that a target audience is not in the mood to absorb any more news.

Search engine optimization is a discipline of considerable complexity. It is really about combining theory and practice successfully in a sustainable manner. A ‘solution’ may suit the needs of one site, but it may have little impact on the fortunes of another. Here is the difficulty and the interest at the heart of the evolving topic. When it comes to news provision, there are arguments for and against. However, the inclusion of high quality industry news interspersed with other types of content can often be part of a royal road to success.

The fact that users may be somewhat alienated from ordinary news may not be a reason to avoid industry news in your content provision. This is because they will have come to your site because they are interested in what you have to offer. The supply of industry news and pertinent commentary can demonstrate that your firm is at the cutting edge of your sector. There are several ways in which you can distinguish your content from the bulk of ‘ordinary’ news:

• Be impartial and avoid any unnecessary bias. Too many newspapers become dull reading over time because they confirm our prejudices rather than challenge them
• Report industry news swiftly, but do not always rush to comment. Too often a hasty judgement is made to look foolish by subsequent events
• Provide opinion and stimulate comment, but do not lapse into being controversial for the sake of it. Opinionated pieces can alienate some users and they can become tedious. Do not stray into pub bore territory
• Be careful with your use of humour. Humour can work well, but it should not be offensive. If you are in doubt, it is always best to err on the side of caution
• Be accurate. A lot of news is reported in a sensationalist way in a manner which exaggerates or even departs from the facts. In most sectors, a tabloid lack of concern for facts is completely inappropriate and will irritate users

Users may well be weary of the news as provided by the traditional media. The traditional media often like to focus on a story for a long period of time and we at Searchengineoptimization.co.uk do not recommend this. Your content can include quite a lot of industry news as long as it does not duplicate the behaviour of the old media. If social media marketing is added to the mix, it can be a real winner.

In the plethora of articles written about search engine optimization, it is sometimes possible to get disorientated. There are so many competing tips, so many diverse theories and so much information to absorb, the novice can become perplexed. Checking sources against each other may help, but it might be that something which used to work for several sites is no longer as effective. It might even be the case that excessive recourse to the tactic concerned can get you in trouble with the major search engines. If you feel lost, it may be sensible to seek assistance.

It is possible to contact a search engine optimisation company if you want assistance with your site. However, it is important to use the services of a reputable firm. At Searchengineoptimization.co.uk we ensure that our clients receive a service which is in accordance with the ethical frameworks devised by Google and the other major search engines. This ensures that their sites do not incur search engine penalties. More importantly, perhaps, it means that most users are not disappointed with the quality of these sites that they visit. It is good to remember the feeling of being lost, though, because it can help you empathise with users who find it difficult to get the information they seek from a site.

If a user gets frustrated with trying to use a site, it is all too probable that they will head off elsewhere. After all, online firm managers who cannot find reliable information on SEO on a site will often look for another site which may have the potential to deliver it. On the net, users want accurate information, fast. If users discover a home page which does not swiftly assist them to obtain the data that they want, they may not persevere for very long. Research has indicated that the attention span of the average net user is not getting bigger over time. Users are getting used to sites which work smoothly and will not generally tolerate those which are slow to yield up their secrets.

The home page must be designed in accordance with the basic principles of SEO. Thus it is important to consider the target audience at the initial design phase. It may be that the target audience is segmented and that the home page has to be receptive to different types of user. They may possess their own distinctive wants and needs. The idea has to be to facilitate the progress of the diverse users towards getting what they want. It cannot be to deter them with mountains of information at this stage.

Imagine a site which provides SEO services. It should have a homepage which establishes a sense of confidence in the user. It may have a prominently displayed commitment to ethical techniques. It could highlight the fact that client testimonials are available. It may indicate that articles and blogs can be accessed. It has to have contact details on show. In short, it has to cover the essentials, but it is about enabling users to get closer to the services you want them to use.

Content is integral to most search engine optimisation strategies. Regular additions of high grade content on a frequent basis can satisfy users and the search engines. It is important that content providers embrace content planning to ensure that the supply of content is maintained. Furthermore, it is crucial that the content varies to keep users interested. However, this variation does not mean that content should stray into irrelevant topics. These days, the sites which do the best in the search engine results pages often get their own users to generate content. This can deliver a lot of benefits and can even help establish a site as an authority in its sector.

A site has to keep ahead of its rivals if it is going to receive more traffic and achieve higher conversion rates in the future. Thus it is necessary for a site owner to obtain the most up-to-date SEO guidance to maximise profits. It is vital to remember the specificity of the site when adopting techniques to improve site performance, but content which is generated by users normally ticks all the right boxes. A site which develops a ‘community feel’ is usually successful – and the secret of its success is that it tempts users back again and again.

An authority on this subject has declared that a site which fails to attract comments, polls, reviews, guest blogs or ‘thumbs up’ is really missing a major trick. How to attract comments, polls, ‘thumbs up’ and so on is not always easy. However, with a combination of effort and expertise, some of these things can be done. The influence on the trajectory of your site and your online firm is likely to be highly positive. While consulting experts is the best way to get to the goals you are aiming for, a few tips can start you off in the correct direction.

The use of feedback forms is an astute way of getting users involved. As long as you are producing lively content, comments should be attracted to your pages. Responding to these comments may take a bit of time, but it is worth doing. However, users sometimes have to be coaxed into participation. For example, a user may like your site, your products or your service, but if they are not actively encouraged to leave a comment, they may not bother. A feedback form of professional appearance can facilitate feedback, and you may be surprised by the positive outcomes that introducing one can have.

A more innovative way of getting users to contribute content is more dependent on the precise nature of the site concerned. For certain sites, it is possible that video can be deployed to provide training to users. Imagine a site which specialises in arts and crafts. A video which shows a relevant technique could interest users and encourage them to participate. It is important to ensure that the video is used in accordance with the requirements of SEO.

Stimulating user-generated content is a great way to get ahead, and at Searchengineoptimization.co.uk we can cater for all your needs in the battle to get more visibility for your firm.

If you ask the average web user if dates on web content such as blogs, articles and news pages is important, then they will more than likely say yes. Granted, for current news related issues, the date it was posted is extremely relevant, as you are dealing with real life events. However, in general blogs, articles or industry news, there is a common misconception that the newer the information, the better and more accurate it is. The fact is that some of the best industry or company articles could be dated last week or last year, yet the quality of content can still be the same.

When we refer to content being strong, this should not be confused with current and modern issues and relevance. Anything time sensitive will of course be affected, but not everything changes. If the article in question is relating to general information, then it cannot be discriminated against because of age. Whilst this might be the truth, convincing both search engines and internet users of this is a tough job, and it unfortunately looks as though we may have to give it up as a bad job.

At searchengineoptimization.co.uk, we have seen some recent movement in companies choosing to post no date at all on any of their article or blog content. The theory behind this is a basic SEO technique, designed to stop good, decent content being penalised for being older than a few months. When we say penalised, for once we do not mean by the search engines – we mean by the human users.

Take a basic example that somebody is searching for a recipe for a simple Victoria sponge. The top two results show links to recipes, one dated five years ago and one dated five days ago. There is no way in the world of knowing which recipe is better without reading them, yet the chances are, the majority of users will choose to click on the newer post, as their minds automatically process more recent as better. The problem with this is that your site may be full of fantastic content, and may be a haven for baking recipes from some of the best bakers around, yet if it fails to get the clicks, then this in turn is going to result in a lower page ranking within SERP’s.

When you look at it like that, you can begin to understand why some companies take the ‘no date’ approach within their search engine optimisation. However, one area which is slightly beyond our control, is blog comments. When a person comments on a blog, this is clearly dated. If you find this is having a negative effect on your search rankings, then you have two options – do not allow blog comments, or monitor them carefully so that old comments are deleted.

There is no denying there is a place for dated posts. However, to maintain your page ranking and company reputation, then managing your older posts can make a vast difference.

When it comes to online content, most companies will spend a lot of time perfecting their web pages to ensure that it is relevant and interesting to users. Websites are, of course, free to browse, though charges are usual for downloading more extensive or specialist information, or when purchasing products or services. However, is this about to change, and could the future see users being charged just to view certain online content?

Earlier this year, the Times Online announced they were going to introduce a charge for consumers wanting to view certain news content on their website. This sparked a lot of controversy when it was revealed, with many conflicting arguments for and against it. Although the official launch date is June 2010, it will probably take a while for the Times to see the effects of this, and decipher how successful it has been.

If it does work, then the question is: what will it mean for the rest of the online world? Ask any SEO company, and they are likely to advise strongly against charging consumers to view content. However, from the perspective of the Times Online, there is some serious rationale behind this idea, which strongly backs it up.

With the press industry struggling, as more and more people read newspapers online, surely it makes perfect sense to charge for this service? After all, you would not be able to buy the Times newspaper for free, so why should you be able to get the same content online at no charge? If the purchase of actual newspapers is diminishing and online viewing is free, then it is not a huge step to suggest that revenue could be at a loss.

Those arguing against the charge would claim that people are simply just going to look elsewhere for news articles, and with many other news pages being very strong leaders in online journalism, there is a danger that the Times Online could lose out. There is also the point that the Times Online is a prestigious place to advertise, and could therefore easily charge a premium for this service and make money that way. That being said, the cost for reading content is remarkably low and the type of person who is a regular reader of the Times would possibly be willing to pay for this service, as they appreciate a certain level of news content.

In terms of most standard companies, charging to view your content is probably not a good idea, and will likely not help your search engine optimisation or page ranking, as a lot of users will put the word ‘free’ in their search boxes. It should probably be noted that the Times is a very established company, and the revenue will come from their loyal and regular audience, not new and fresh users. The process of charging consumers to read online content is probably nothing to do with website effectiveness, or to drive traffic online, but more a display of brand self confidence, and an alternative revenue stream.

The planning and manufacture of high grade content is central to the vast majority of search engine optimisation campaigns. A SEO company is often obliged to produce a large volume of up-to-date content to add to a site at regular and frequent intervals. As time passes and the campaign gathers pace, it can be more difficult to come up with fresh content, because more and more topics have been explored. Furthermore, the difficulty may be compounded, because diverse approaches or angles may have been exhausted. While emergent industry-relevant news can be a useful source of material, it may be advisable or necessary for more generic articles to be featured from time to time.

Generic articles can be of considerable interest for some users, and they can be regarded positively by the web crawlers of the major search engines. Nevertheless, they can be seen to be somewhat tedious by users who are well-versed in the topic, or who crave a heterogeneous mix. It is important for content providers to break away from writing copious articles in the same tone and format. The trick is to add a bit of variety, while not alienating the target audience. The occasional list can be of assistance because:

• Lists introduce plenty of blank space to a document. Many users welcome space, and are more likely to appreciate contents when presented like this
• Lists break up the pattern of paragraph after paragraph, thus giving the user the notion that something qualitatively different is happening
• Lists can break up chunks of information into smaller sizes, making absorption somewhat easier
• Bullet points attached to a list may give the impression that something has been carefully thought through
• Arguably a list is ideal for the typical net user, who is notorious for their possession of a short attention span. Conventional paragraphs, especially if they contain long paragraphs or lengthy sentences, are capable of boring users

The deployment of lists has to be carefully thought through. If they are inserted into too many articles, they swiftly lose their magic. It makes sense to use them sparingly. If something is being utilised to add diversity to a series of articles, it is obviously foolish to diminish its impact by replacing one standard format with another. While there is certainly no scientific optimum list-article ratio, especially given the importance of appreciating the specific features of an individual site, the preservation of variation is something not to be dismissed.

Another important point to make is that an excess of lists can be detrimental to the level of complexity which the target audience can cope with. For example, complicated ideas are hard to explain in the simple language which a list tends to encourage by its form. If the target audience is particularly sophisticated, the production of numerous lists with straightforward points could be anathema to them. It is important to bear in mind the nature of the specific site under discussion, when thinking about the appropriate balance to aim for. If comments on this topic can be attracted from the site readership, this can only be positive.

Your website is the window to your company as a whole and in an ultra-competitive business world it needs to stand out from the rest. Any search engine optimisation company will tell you that quality and variety of content is the key to making your website work to its full potential, and with web design advancing at an alarming rate, organisations need to put a bit more time and effort into creating and maintaining their websites.

As informative and effective as concise text and information is within web pages, it does not do a great deal for giving you a USP and an edge over your competitors. Gone are the days when a few words were enough. Consumer demand is high and users want images, graphics and instructional videos, such as podcasts from the websites they are visiting.

Videos in particular are now one of the most popular items to include within a website. The benefits of using videos as content are endless. For starters, they are more attention grabbing and enticing to users and extremely easy to digest. Videos also enable you to include a lot more information, as you are not restricted as much by space and the combination of visual and audio provides more scope for larger content and more information.

Including videos on your websites is not a new concept but is becoming more of an expectation as opposed to additional bonus content. Once you have decided that videos are going to form part of your website content then there are a few pointers to get you started and ensure that you get the best out of this content from and SEO point of view.

It is important to remember that no matter what format the content on your website is, it is still just that – content. The approach used to deciding what the purpose of your video is going to be and the way it is created should be the same as when you are producing any content. Consider what information would be best communicated by video and start with just a couple. As with all content, consider what consumers would want to watch as opposed to just what you think it should include.

Most companies choose to use a third party site to host their videos, such as podcasts. This is a good idea because their sites are usually designed with video content in mind so will be more equipped and offer quicker page loading. The danger with this however, is that it is not increasing traffic to your website as people are in fact viewing the video through the host site and not your own.

There are ways to combat this. Include a link back to your website or offer an alternative or follow up video on your website. You could even include a question within your video and the answer is found on your website. To ensure your video is ranked high in searches, make sure the titles are clear and concise and any tags are applicable to the content.