Tools

Index Status / What Google Wants

by Barry August 8, 2012

A new function Google has added to its Webmaster Tools shows how many pages on your website the search engine has crawled and indexed. In my latest post for Search News Central I give a real world case study demonstrating the usefulness of these new reports: Search News Central: Index Status – Google’s Gift to [...]

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Short URL Etiquette / Ode to FrontPage

by Barry February 9, 2012

My latest for State of Search is on a topic that’s been floating around in my head for a while: when it’s right to use your own custom short URL in twitter, and when it isn’t: State of Search: The Unofficial URL Shortener Etiquette Since I set up my own URL shortener (bada.ms) and one [...]

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IP Address Geotargeting / State of Search

by Barry August 8, 2011

I wrote a host of short blog posts for State of Search over the past few weeks to cover for the site’s owner Bas van den Beld while he was on vacation. The most substantial of these blog posts is a case study on why geotargeting users based on IP address is a silly affair, [...]

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URL Shortening / Duplicate Content / Mobile Web

by Barry June 1, 2011

For State of Search I wrote a blog post comparing two URL shortening services: Bit.ly Pro and Yourls. Each has its pros and cons, and which you should use depends on your situation and resources: State of Search: URL Shortening Services Compared: Bit.ly Pro and Yourls URL Shortening services are the lifeblood of Twitter. With [...]

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Google Data / SEO Search

by Barry October 26, 2010

For Search News Central I’ve written a blog post about the trustworthiness of the data Google shares with us. In many of Google’s free tools, such as Analytics, Webmaster Tools, and even Adwords, the data we’re presented with isn’t always reliable. Search News Central: Can We Trust Google’s Data? As part of my work for [...]

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Improving Online Conversions free e-book

by Barry September 8, 2010

If you’re doing any search engine advertising you should be tracking what your ROI is. In other words, you should be monitoring your PPC spend and your income from this spend – i.e. your conversions from PPC. If you’re using Google Adwords, you’re in luck: Google has an array of tools that allow you to [...]

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The Search for News / Understanding Search Engines / SEO Effect

by Barry August 11, 2010

A while back I wrote about the state of search for news. In this blog post I tried to summarise where online journalism stands with regards to SEO, and outlined some tricks SEOs could utilise to enhance their presence in Google News. State of Search: The State of Search for News According to data from [...]

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Learning SEO

by Barry June 24, 2010

Learning how to be a search engine optimiser is not a particularly straightforward process. There’s no college education you can follow to become a SEO. There are precious few courses you can follow, and most of these aren’t worth the money. So what is the best way to learn SEO and become a specialist in [...]

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W3C compliance – is it a requirement?

by Barry March 11, 2010

A term often busied by web developers and also SEO agencies is W3C compliance. I’ve written about the benefits of W3C compliant code before, but my perspective has changed a bit over time and I feel it’s important to point out that full W3C compliance is not a definitive requirement for an effective website. W3C [...]

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Site Migration SEO Concerns – The Results

by Barry February 8, 2010

About nine months ago I was facing a sizeable site migration project at my employer at the time, and I was tasked with mapping out the best way of handling this migration to minimise the impact on our search engine rankings. I wrote a post summarising my research into the SEO aspects of a site [...]

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Connect With Your Website Visitors Through Email Marketing

by Barry November 21, 2009

The steady rise of spam (which is now said to make up over 90% of all emails) has resulted in less emphasis on email as an instrument of online marketing. But well-managed email marketing campaigns are still, and will continue to be, an important instrument in your online marketing toolbox with a great ROI. Email [...]

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SEO Starter’s Guide Now Available in 40 Languages

by Barry June 16, 2009

Google has announced that their Search Engine Optimization Starter’s Guide has been translated into 40 languages. You can now read Google’s own SEO recommendations in your native language. Go to the official Google Webmaster Blog to download the SEO Starter’s Guide in your own language.

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