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The great Top SEO Trumps Blog Off has begun!
We have been slaving away creating the top SEO Game of the Decade. To get your hands on one of these limited edition Top SEO Trumps packs we are inviting you to take part in our Top SEO Trumps Blog Off!
Here’s a preview of how the cards look:
Simply write a blog post that meets the conditions below to be in for a chance to win.
There are 46 Top SEO Faces from the SEO world, each ranked by:
- Popularity on the web
- Twitter followers
- Google+ contacts
- Fanciablility (we are keeping our judges a secret for this category)
- Geek Cred
Can you guess who is hiding behind Danny Sullivan? If you can’t guess or want to see the other 45 Top SEOs then you can follow all those who made it into to pack by creating your own SEO circle from this one we made earlier, just click on the image to view or add this circle in Google+:
35 Limited Edition Top SEO Trumps packs are up for grabs.
Anyone can enter: SEOs, marketing people, social media specialists, bloggers, content marketers, and students, anyone who thinks they can write a good blog.
There are so many ways of winning that the playing field is wide open, there is a really good chance of winning so it’s worth a go. As all great SEO’s and Content marketers know, generating great content is just par for the course anyway. What have you got to lose?
Not only that, if you are one of our 35 finalists we will publicise your fine post using our many social media accounts, and link to it from all of our resources and blogs, as well as on our own well ranked site, so it would be good for your SEO too.
All you have to do is what you do best: write a great blog post.
How to win
- Write a blog post that contains a link either to one of these links
http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/seo-top-trumps OR http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/seo/
- Tweet a link to your post to: @sbttraining with the message: “My SEO Trumps entry” and the Hashtag #seotoptrumps
It’s as easy as that!
For example if this was my entry I would tweet:
@sbttraining My Top SEO Trumps entry http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/seo-top-trumps (or shortened version) #seotoptrumps
You can publish your blog post anywhere (not necessarily on your own blog) as long as you identify yourself as the author somewhere in the post and tweet the link with hashtag as above.
After the closing date April 1st 2012
Votes will be counted and verified and prizes will go to the authors of the winners of the following categories:
- The 5 funniest posts
- The 5 most original posts
- The 5 most useful posts
- The top 5 posts that drive the most traffic to the destination link.
- The 5 top most liked posts on Facebook – where that information is available
- The 5 most +1’s on Google Plus
- The 5 most tweeted posts – where that information is available
Good luck and get blogging!
Become a future top SEO trump with our many SEO related courses. SEO training will provide you with the best practice approach to optimising websites and content for higher rankings, you can then use the knowledge learnt on our Social Media course to market your website and build strong brand identity. If you want to measure how your site is doing (and your social media efforts) then Google Analytics training is essential, while Advanced Google Analytics training is available for those who already use it on a regular basis. Don’t forget, we also now provide Content Marketing training – great for building brand and author identity whilst gaining valuable backlinks!
Posted by Heather Buckley in Competitions, Facebook Tips and Tricks, Google+, Guest Blogs, News, Offers, SEO, Social Media on January 25th, 2012| No Comments »
Now that the Christmas festivities have finished and the New Years Eve hangover has fully worn off, a certain sense of deflation seems to have settled over the UK. No one’s got any money, there’s no celebrations left to look forward to and the emphasis is very much on cutting back on the booze, getting to the gym and getting early nights. However, even if you are currently in a state of detox, there’s no need to be glum because spring is just around the corner and there’s a whole range of spring festivals and events in Sussex to look forward to.
Why not learn a new skill this spring? It could be the most exciting thing you do this year! If you’re thinking of a career move in 2012, want to dust off some old skills, pick up that new talent you’ve been thinking about for a while or even flourish in your current role then training courses are the best way to start. If you want to get your creative juices flowing then our Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator courses are all perfect. If you want to take the web by storm then our Web Design courses are all tailored to different skill levels and SEO and Social Media are both important as well. If you are looking further up the career ladder or want some help in the corporate environment our range of Business and Management training courses are all very useful. We run everything from Management Skills Training and Leadership Training to accredited PRINCE2 and Six Sigma Training. Spring is not just for learning though! In your time off why not attend some of these great events…
Sussex Beer Festival takes place on 8-10 March and if you’re having a bit of a dry month at the moment then this is something to really look forward to. The festival has around 230 beers on offer, including a range of British and foreign beers, as well as other mouthwatering tipples, such as ciders, perries and wines. Tickets cost between £4 and £7, depending on the day you go, and include a free souvenir glass and programme.
Beer by Tim Dobson on Flickr
2012 sees the 45th Brighton Festival taking place between 7 and 29 May, guest directed by Vanessa Redgrave, and celebrating themes of liberty and freedom. The festival is an important annual event for the town and is the largest multi-art form festival in England. You can expect to find a broad selection of dance, music, art and film on the programme and a wide range of events for all the family. Read the rest of "Spring Festivals & Events in Sussex"
Posted by Guest Author in Brighton, Guest Blogs, News, Personal Development on January 24th, 2012| No Comments »
We have now added Content Marketing to our Blogging Training course to create the mighty Blogging and Content Marketing Training course, so you can get a head start on your internet marketing endeavours.
It can be tough to get your brand, company or website noticed on the big World Wide Web. Fierce competition for search engine rankings and SEO dominance is rife between websites gunning for the same keywords and with the same general target audience; so what can you do to get yourself to stand out from the crowd?
Currently, one of the most effective methods of generating interest from users and building up back links to appease the search engine lords is content marketing. This form of marketing has many advantages and uses which should be explored by anyone looking to extend their website’s visibility, outreach and exposure.
Why should I do it myself?
The internet is made of content. It’s what people use it for; to find useful information, tips and entertainment. By creating your own content you can write about the topics your website, blog or company specialise in from as many angles as you can think of. Doing this not only gives you more searchable content to be found via search engines it also gives you the opportunity to stamp your authority on a subject, working your way into becoming an expert in your field that people will look to for knowledge, answers and cutting edge info.
However, if you aren’t ready to put yourself forward as an expert just yet, content marketing still has some valuable other uses which when used properly will help improve your site’s traffic and exposure to new users.
If you would like to find out more about content marketing then have to look at our post on Guest Blogging and Great Places to Post Your Content, or read on to find out more about how blogging and content marketing can benefit you. Read the rest of "Why Should You Start Content Marketing?"
Posted by Daniel Twigg in Facebook Tips and Tricks, Google+, Guest Blogs, Internet, News, SEO, Web Design, Web Design Training on January 23rd, 2012| No Comments »
Brighton-based car share website Catch-a-ride have just launched their photography competition and it is being judged by Silicon Beach Training‘s co-founder and photographer, Heather Buckley.
Catch-a-ride is set up to encourage people to car share by connecting drivers and passengers. This is a great idea to reduce travel costs, emissions and traffic!
Read more about the competition at Catch-a-ride’s blog or we’ve provided all the info below…
The Competition
The competition theme is ‘Car Share’ so send in your most interesting photo of people car sharing for a chance to win a fantastic prize. You can interpret that as you like but the most interesting one wins! Just don’t break the law of the road or your entry will be discounted.
The Prize
Up for grabs is a 16-megapixel Nikon Coolpix compact camera, perfect for taking more photos of your car sharing adventures!
The Rules
1) Only UK residents may enter
2) All entries must show a car share journey but must not include any activities that go against road safety
3) By entering, you agree that www.catcharide.co.uk may use your photo on their website. Photos will not be used for any other purpose.
4) Photos must be in JPEG format and a maximum of 1MB.
The Entry
To enter, send your car share photo to: contact@catcharide.co.uk
The Closing Date
All entries must be in by 15th March 2012. Read the rest of "Car Share Photo Competition"
Posted by Heather Buckley in Brighton, Competitions, News, Photography on January 19th, 2012| No Comments »
Flickr is just one of many websites protesting against SOPA and PIPA today by giving Flickr users the option to blackout their images for 24 hours. If you log in and view your Flickr images today (Wednesday 18th January 2012) you will see this box appear below your photo:
Unlike Wikipedia and a number of other websites, Flickr is not forcing its users to join the protest and is not preventing them from showing their content. This is because you own the rights to your images and so it should be your option. Respecting content ownership, nice one Flickr! If you choose to ‘darken this photo’ in protest of SOPA and PIPA here is how your photos will appear:
Don’t worry, you can change your photos back at any time and the darken effect should disappear after 24 hours!
Create images you are proud to show off and use to make a point by coming on a Photoshop Training course in Brighton.
At this point you may be wondering (if you’ve avoided newspapers and messageboards for the past week) what on earth SOPA and PIPA are, and why you should bother covering up your lovely photos for a day in protest against them. Read the rest of "Flickr Protests Against SOPA/ PIPA"
Posted by Craig Charley in Internet, News, Photography, Photoshop, Sales & Marketing, Web Design, Web Design Training on January 18th, 2012| 2 Comments »
Adding to our growing list of Mobile Development courses we have now added Mobile Web Design Training using Dreamweaver & jQuery Mobile. This course is for individuals and businesses who want a simple solution for designing mobile websites. Whilst our comprehensive Mobile Web Design Week includes HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript Training, this course only requires that delegates have an understanding of different mobile platforms and general knowledge of the web and either Windows or Mac operating system.
By 2015 it is predicted that more people will access the internet via mobile devices than by traditional desktop computing. Already 900 million people use their phones and tablets to access the web. If you do not have a website optimised for mobile – whether that is a new site or a mobile version of an existing site – you may be losing valuable potential customers.
There are two main reasons that you should have a site for mobile devices:
1. People will leave if a website is difficult to use
Have you ever tried browsing a website on your phone and been stumped by tiny links, unreadable text and elements that don’t work on mobile browsers? I imagine you left quickly. With the size of monitors and speed of computers growing it is great to have loads of links and impressive content on your main website but if none of it is visible or usable on a mobile then you will turn away visitors. Everything on a mobile website should be readable on a small screen. As most people browse the web on mobile devices with touch screens, links should not be small and close together or people can’t click on them without zooming in.
More mobile web design tips.
2. There are some great features available on mobile devices
Modern smartphones use touch and swipe gestures. Designing a site that works well with these makes it a joy to use and people will remember and return to your site. Simple menus and big, clickable links for touch screens and setting up actions for swipe gestures makes browsing the internet on a phone a pleasant experience. On a desktop you want all the information in front of your eyes, on a small mobile screen you want as little as possible but you want an easy way to navigate.
More on designing for touch screens.
On this Mobile Web Design course, delegates will learn:
- Why design for mobile?
- The difference between mobile websites and mobile apps
- How to use jQuery and Dreamweaver mobile tools
- How to style mobile websites
- How to input widgets, buttons, sliders and forms onto mobile websites
We run a number of other Mobile Development Training courses if you want to create more detailed websites or even mobile apps from scratch. These include:
These three courses are more hands on and are aimed at programmers, while Web Design Training with Dreamweaver and jQuery is open to anybody who wants to create simple mobile websites.
Why not read more about why 2012 is such a big year for mobile and why it is important for businesses to have mobile content:
Have you come across any great mobile websites? Let us know in the comments below!
Posted by Aaron Charlie in Mobile App Development, News, Web Design, Web Design Training on January 12th, 2012| No Comments »
In a move to provide its users with more customised and personal search results, Google have launched their new “Search Plus Your World” feature to their enormously popular search engine.
The new features, which are currently only available on google.com in English but are being rolled out globally, takes a far more social stance on the search, offering custom search results which displays content from your Google+ network as well as global results. You can use Google Search Plus Your World by logging into your Google+ account and clicking ‘go to Google.com’ link at the bottom of the search page if you are not in America. You then see a personalised results page (shown below) and can switch between personal and global results using the toggle switch at the top right of the page. This is a dramatic update that potentially could change the face of Search Engine Optimisation and the way we receive our search results.
Find out what Search plus Your World means for internet marketing and SEO. This move has Twitter hot under the collar but Google says it is Twitter who don’t want to play.
Personal Results
Through deeper integration with Google’s social network, Google+, the new search feature will allow you to discover your own information, photos and content as well as content that has been shared and +1′d with you within your network, all within the SERP (Search Engine Results Page). These results aim to give you far more personal results based on:
- posts from your friends on Google+
- private/limited content which has been shared with you on Google+
- full web listings
- full web listings which have been modified through your personal behaviour
- fell web listings which have been modified due to your social network connections
The implications of these changes are that you can receive more meaningful results which match what’s going on in your life, giving you more of an indication of what the members of your online world are sharing, doing and saying. Read the rest of "The Google Update – Search Plus Your World"
Posted by Daniel Twigg in News, SEO on January 11th, 2012| No Comments »
So you’re thinking about coming down to Brighton for some training. Perhaps for our Mobile App Design courses? (We’re one of a handful of mobile training centres in the country) Or for our fantastic and ever popular SEO Training, Photoshop Training or PRINCE2 Training courses? If you’ve never been to Brighton before and want to train somewhere different to London (who hasn’t been to London before?) then have a read of this guest post that runs through many of the wonderful reasons to visit Brighton. We thoroughly recommend making the most of the city either side of your training and sample everything it has to offer. Check out our Top 12 places to eat lunch in Brighton and plan where to eat while you’re down here!
Britain has traditional seaside resorts and cosmopolitan cities. It has destinations that are individually historic, cultural, offbeat, fashionable, entertaining and picturesque. And then there’s Brighton. If one city could be described as more than the sum of its parts, it has to be the exhilarating and ever-surprising Brighton. A settlement on Britain’s south coast since the Middle Ages, Brighton’s popularity flourished in Victorian times thanks to the advent of the railway and the emerging notion among the moneyed middle-class that bathing in seawater was beneficial to health. Rapidly developing and expanding in response to its new status as a desireable holiday destination, Brighton has never looked back.
Part of the secret of Brighton’s undeniable and enduring year-round appeal is the city’s quirkiness and carefree ambience. Brighton gives the impression that ‘anything goes’ which makes it accessible and enjoyable for every visitor regardless of their personal tastes or circumstances. Families, couples, celebrities, city slickers and country bumpkins are all equally warmly-welcomed in Brighton and all will find plenty to amuse and entertain them here. Unashamedly multicultural and multigenerational, Brighton’s denizens are as varied and colourful as the city itself and contribute to its harmonious and vibrant atmosphere. Read the rest of "All Things Brighton Beautiful"
Posted by Guest Author in Brighton, News on January 9th, 2012| No Comments »
