Email subscribers to my blog will see a change this week; I’ve decided to convert my blog into a weekly e-newsletter, complete with branding and formatting. Feel free to send me comments and suggestions.

We already know blogging is a very powerful Internet marketing tool. A well designed blog:

• delivers rich content that can rank highly in the search engines. For example, see how my blog postings ranks well in Google for the new statutory requirements for business websites.
• provides fresh updates on your website which search engine spiders love
• establishes you as an authority on your subject
• keeps you in touch with your clients and prospective clients.

But another benefit of blogging is re-usability. By that I mean “write once, publish many.”

I’ve decided to “re-use” my blog as my email marketing newsletter. I’ve been using the FeedBlitz service to maintain email subscribers, and from today I’m using Feedblitz compile and broadcast my blog postings on a weekly basis.

The benefits?

• I won’t annoy my readers with an individual message every time I write a blog posting, instead they’ll get a weekly round up. If I’m in the mood one morning to write 3 postings then no worries about deluging my clients with messages.
• The e-newsletter has all the Hallam branding and logos
• It gets sent out automatically on the day of my choice (Thursday) even if I’m busy doing something else

The best Internet marketing is always a case of “Test — Learn — Test” and so I’ll keep you posted of tweaks that I make to deliver better blogging.

I regularly teach the Online Marketing Web Academy, and one of my favourite sessions is asking the participants “what has somebody told you to do to optimise your site that you suspect is not a good idea.”

You’d be amazed at the garbage people are told. Or worse, sold.

And so today I present the first three of my Top 10 Search Engine Optimisation Myths:

1. Meta Tags will improve your search engine rankings

Repeat after me: search engine crawlers ignore the keyword and description meta tags. Why? Because they know you can stuff them full of whatever words you want and the words don’t display to your human visitors. You can safely assume that meta tags have little or no influence over your rankings. And search engine specialists have known this fact since the dark days of 2002.

The description meta tags are important because they can control what displays in the Google results page.

Another important meta tag is robots.txt as it can be used primarily to keep search engines spiders out of your website.

And remember: the Title Tag is not a meta tag! Great Title Tags are crucial. If you need help, download my Title Tag factsheet.

2. Hide some text on your pages by putting white text on a white background

This is a trick that worked in 1999, but today only idiots are suggesting you stuff invisible keywords into your websites. The theory is to increase the density of your keyphrase without human visitors seeing it. Bad, bad idea.

Google explicitly advises against hidden text in it’s Webmaster Quality Guidelines and in 2005 Google’s Jagger update slammed websites using invisible text.

3. A high Google Page Rank Means High Positions in the search results

A high Page Rank score means nothing if the content on your web page doesn’t match a searcher’s query. Page Rank is just one of many factors considered when Google produces search engine results. And lots of websites with low Page Ranks still get high rankings in those all important results pages.

Don’t get me wrong: Page Rank is important. It’s the acknowledged cornerstone of Google’s web search tools. And it’s essential to understand Page Rank reflects the importance of web pages based on the number of inbound links from other, high quality websites.

There’s lots of Page Rank Junkies out there, watching your Page Rank every day, worrying about how it might change. Stop wasting your time.

Lots of good news to report -

Congratulations to all the finalists in the East Midlands eBusiness awards, and special mention to these nominees:

• Abacus Lighting Ltd - Increasing Exports through ICT
• The Plate Market – Best eBusiness Start Up
• LicenceCheck – Most Innovative Use of ICT

Congratulations as well to the team at Freeth Cartwright. Their IMPACT law blog came awfully close to winning the 2006 Web Log Awards Best Law Blog. Well done to Andrew, Alex and the rest of the team.

And finally, congratulations to the many local businesses launching new and re-designed websites, including Penk Taxi Insurance, Gotham Car Sales, and SpillDirect.

Get in touch if you have other local good news to share.

Woe is me, the Googlebomb is no more.

The ability to force a hapless website to the top of Google results for particular (meaningless or inappropriate) phrases has given folk on my courses a good laugh over the years.

Recent Googlebomb’s meant that if you searched for “liar” you would find Tony Blair’s official number 10 website ranking number one.

In order to show neutrality, may I also point out the search for “miserable failure” gave you Georgie at the White House.

The Official Google Webmaster Central Blog gives a useful overview of the changes Google has made in order to defuse the bomb.

Nevertheless, inbound links from other sites still remains a core element of your search engine optimisation campaign, and the anchor text on those sites remains a strong indicator of the content of your site.

I attended the launch of EMDA’s “Challenge of e-adoption in the East Midlands Survey 2006″ – a very interesting review of the uptake of IT by small businesses in the region.

It’s a hefty report, but I reckon one key message was made:

• 83% have broadband
• 64% have a website

Looking at the figures more closely, however, we can see that

• only 60% of businesses with 11-49 employees have a website
• and an amazing 13% of businesses with 50-249 employees don’t have a website

There’s lots of other gems in there:

Where do companies go for IT advice? They most commonly ask friends and family, with only 20% going to an IT supplier or professional for guidance.

Who is the main source of IT help in small businesses?

31% of companies depend on an IT enthusiast whose main job is not IT. Alternatively, 38% have either no support or just don’t know where to go. And that leaves roughly a third that have got their IT support organised. No wonder businesses are crying out for help.

If you’re interested in learning more about the survey results, get in touch.

Date: 8th February 2007

Time: 13:00 – 14:00

Demystifying Google:  How to improve your search engine rankings

LIVE ONLINE & RECORDED CPD LAW TRAINING LECTURES
for solicitors, barristers & accountants

Lecture Description

AIMS

*To provide practioners with a executive overview of the techniques used for achieving high rankings in Google. Susan Hallam explains the practical steps undertaken to influence your website’s position in the search engine results.

OUTCOMES

* Attendees will be equipped with a sound understanding of the search engine optimisation process, and an awareness of the scope of the tasks to be undertaken by a web design partner.

AGENDA:

• How Google determines your website’s position in the search engine results
• Standard attributes of high ranking websites
• Key steps to improve your search engine rankings
• Managing the search engine optimisation process

Book your place at CPD4Lawyers.