http://blog.lbi-netrank.co.uk/ The most recent posts from Netrank's blog, discussing search engine optimisation, online brand positioning, and occasionally penguins or cheese (sometimes both) en-gb Sat, 11 Oct 2008 20:01:01 +0100 2008 15 Rumours are going round that Google might buy Valve, and through it acquire the leading games distribution platform, Steam. What would this mean for the industry? http://blog.lbi-netrank.co.uk/will-google-buy-valve/ http://blog.lbi-netrank.co.uk/will-google-buy-valve/ Wed, 17 Sep 2008 16:44:00 +0100 Google has finally unveiled its new web browser, Google Chrome. Will this heat up the browser wars even further? http://blog.lbi-netrank.co.uk/will-googles-new-browser-heat-up-the-second-browser-wars/ http://blog.lbi-netrank.co.uk/will-googles-new-browser-heat-up-the-second-browser-wars/ Tue, 02 Sep 2008 15:35:00 +0100 A new search engine has joined the fray, Cuil.com, set up by several former Google employees. Cuil believe that they can seriously compete with the worlds most popular search engine, but can they? http://blog.lbi-netrank.co.uk/cuil-stuff/ http://blog.lbi-netrank.co.uk/cuil-stuff/ Mon, 11 Aug 2008 14:36:00 +0100 It was announced recently that Google will now be crawling .swf Flash files more efficiently. This could be viewed as a major technological step-forward. However, is this good or bad for Search? http://blog.lbi-netrank.co.uk/to-flash-or-not-to-flash/ http://blog.lbi-netrank.co.uk/to-flash-or-not-to-flash/ Fri, 11 Jul 2008 14:14:00 +0100 As of yesterday, Google Content Network has added new advertising partners in North America. http://blog.lbi-netrank.co.uk/google-content-expands/ http://blog.lbi-netrank.co.uk/google-content-expands/ Tue, 20 May 2008 09:10:00 +0100 Yahoo! have launched their new SearchMonkey open development platform. How will this affect how search results are shown to the world? Read on... http://blog.lbi-netrank.co.uk/monkeying-about-with-search/ http://blog.lbi-netrank.co.uk/monkeying-about-with-search/ Mon, 19 May 2008 11:45:00 +0100 Google has released a number of widgets under the banner of Friend Connect, giving site owners the chance to add social features to their web pages. http://blog.lbi-netrank.co.uk/get-social-with-friend-connect/ http://blog.lbi-netrank.co.uk/get-social-with-friend-connect/ Thu, 15 May 2008 10:46:00 +0100 Last week we were observing search boxes within Google SiteLinks. Now that Google has announced that this feature is fully rolled out across Datacenters, it is worth looking at why some sites have them and whether they are a feature that is worth having. http://blog.lbi-netrank.co.uk/google-sitelinks-search-boxes/ http://blog.lbi-netrank.co.uk/google-sitelinks-search-boxes/ Wed, 12 Mar 2008 22:46:00 +0000 For selected searches Google are inserting a site search input box within the SERPs. This is only appearing for major organisations and even then, only those who have very distinct, unambiguous names. http://blog.lbi-netrank.co.uk/google-testing-site-search-boxes-within-serps/ http://blog.lbi-netrank.co.uk/google-testing-site-search-boxes-within-serps/ Tue, 04 Mar 2008 13:29:00 +0000 At the end of last month a group called Anonymous successfully produced a Google-bomb, targeting the Church of Scientology. Now the SERPs have changed . Is this the algorithm working or are we seeing an instance of manual review? http://blog.lbi-netrank.co.uk/dangerous-cult-brainwashing-cult/ http://blog.lbi-netrank.co.uk/dangerous-cult-brainwashing-cult/ Tue, 26 Feb 2008 09:51:00 +0000 There was a time when SEOs were recommending different landing pages for different engines. Thankfully this has gone the way of meta keyword stuffing, but is there an argument for still focusing campaigns on individual engines or should companies be adopting a more holistic search offering? http://blog.lbi-netrank.co.uk/targeting-individual-search-engines-a-technique-from-the-past/ http://blog.lbi-netrank.co.uk/targeting-individual-search-engines-a-technique-from-the-past/ Thu, 14 Feb 2008 15:22:00 +0000 So you have decided that you need to redirect a page. Maybe this is to avoid duplicate content, a page has become obsolete or you just don't like it any more. What redirect options are there and which is best for you? http://blog.lbi-netrank.co.uk/301-302-meta-javascript-redirects/ http://blog.lbi-netrank.co.uk/301-302-meta-javascript-redirects/ Mon, 11 Feb 2008 15:18:00 +0000 Microsoft have made an audacious hostile bid to buy Yahoo! - will they succeed, what will the combined company look like and what does this mean for the future of the search industry? http://blog.lbi-netrank.co.uk/yahoo-to-be-purchased-by-microsoft/ http://blog.lbi-netrank.co.uk/yahoo-to-be-purchased-by-microsoft/ Tue, 05 Feb 2008 14:57:00 +0000 I have long intended to publish a series of informative tutorial style posts. Sort of beginners guides to the technical aspects of SEO, if you will. The single largest avoidable problem I see has to be misuse of redirects, so I thought I would start there. It is a huge subject, so I am going to work through it in bite-sized chunks, starting with an exploration of why there is a need to redirect in the first place. http://blog.lbi-netrank.co.uk/seo-search-engines-and-redirects/ http://blog.lbi-netrank.co.uk/seo-search-engines-and-redirects/ Mon, 04 Feb 2008 21:00:00 +0000 I had to give a presentation to a non-technical marketing team on the loose subject of 'Search Algorithms'. There seems to be a reluctance amongst many traditional marketeers to embrace search, but old-school marketing is still one of the most powerful elements of search PR. http://blog.lbi-netrank.co.uk/search-marketing-rejoins-the-mainstream/ http://blog.lbi-netrank.co.uk/search-marketing-rejoins-the-mainstream/ Fri, 01 Feb 2008 02:20:00 +0000 Linkbombs, more commonly called Googlebombs, have largely disappeared from the Google SERPs in the last 12 months. Does a recent example of an unexpected search result mark a comeback or is the algorithm still working? http://blog.lbi-netrank.co.uk/googlebombs-scientology-dangerous-cult/ http://blog.lbi-netrank.co.uk/googlebombs-scientology-dangerous-cult/ Tue, 29 Jan 2008 09:22:00 +0000 This blog has been somewhat quiet of late, but we have been very busy, and are pleased to announce that Netrank is now part of LBi. http://blog.lbi-netrank.co.uk/big-news-for-netrank/ http://blog.lbi-netrank.co.uk/big-news-for-netrank/ Mon, 28 Jan 2008 10:04:00 +0000 Netrank works well with others and offers a return on investment that is qualified by both our clients and Revolution Magazine as being the best amongst search engine marketing agencies. http://blog.lbi-netrank.co.uk/revolution-magazine-search-engine-marketing-award/ http://blog.lbi-netrank.co.uk/revolution-magazine-search-engine-marketing-award/ Mon, 14 Jan 2008 15:23:00 +0000 Wikia Search, the new search offering from Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales' for-profit company, Wikia inc., is now in alpha. Will this project prove to be the competitor to Google which Wales predicts? http://blog.lbi-netrank.co.uk/wikia-search-lives-up-to-expectations/ http://blog.lbi-netrank.co.uk/wikia-search-lives-up-to-expectations/ Mon, 07 Jan 2008 09:52:00 +0000 As analytic packages allow for greater granularity to geo-targeting and the adoption of mobile devices increases, how local does local have to be? I am going to argue that you should not give up on nationally targeted geographically specific keywords just yet. http://blog.lbi-netrank.co.uk/geo-targetting-for-organic-local-search/ http://blog.lbi-netrank.co.uk/geo-targetting-for-organic-local-search/ Tue, 01 Jan 2008 15:17:00 +0000