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	<title>Silicon Beach Training Blog &#187; SEO</title>
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	<link>http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog</link>
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		<title>SEO Implications Of NoFollow Links: A Nuanced Approach Is Best</title>
		<link>http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/seo-implications-of-nofollow-links/</link>
		<comments>http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/seo-implications-of-nofollow-links/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 06 Feb 2012 09:24:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Guest Author</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SEO]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dofollow]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dofollow links]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[link building]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nofollow]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nofollow links]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[seo best practice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[seo link building]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[seo tips]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/?p=2551</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This guest post looks at an overview of follow and nofollow links, sparked by Google Search Plus Your World which is struggling to realise its potential as social networks are usually all nofollow. This prevents Google from adding their data to Search Plus Your World and severely limits its use. This returns the debate as [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>This guest post looks at an overview of follow and nofollow links, sparked by Google Search Plus Your World which is struggling to realise its potential as social networks are usually all nofollow. This prevents Google from adding their data to Search Plus Your World and severely limits its use. This returns the debate as to how you should use NoFollow links on your site&#8230;</em></p>
<p><strong>NoFollow</strong> links are not new by any means, but they are receiving more attention recently with <strong>Google</strong>’s introduction of “<strong><a title="Search Plus Your World" href="http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/google-search-plus-your-world/">Search Plus Your World</a></strong>.” At the center of the debate is whether Google is abusing its position as the world’s primary search engine by integrating social search in a way that favors its own social network, Google+. Because of NoFollow, Google is prevented from fully indexing <strong>Facebook</strong> and <strong>Twitter</strong>. Until this summer and prior to the launch of Search Plus, the Twitter Firehose provided a special feed to Google. When the deal expired, Twitter elected not to renew its agreement with Google, but other search engines still have access to the Firehose. This has become a complex business dispute that everyone seems to have an opinion on, but it has also reignited a discussion about the <a title="SEO" href="http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/seo/">SEO</a> implications of NoFollow.</p>
<h2 class="indexheading"><span>DoFollow/ NoFollow &#8211; What are you on about?</span></h2>
<div id="attachment_2552" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 260px"><img class="size-full wp-image-2552" title="nofollow-sheep" src="http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/nofollow-sheep.jpg" alt="nofollow-sheep" width="250" height="248" /><p class="wp-caption-text">NoFollow Links: Not like sheep</p></div>
<p>In case you didn&#8217;t know, <strong>DoFollow</strong> is the default for links and does not require specific code;<strong> rel=&#8221;nofollow&#8221;</strong> is code you insert that tells a search engine spider to index the text it encounters but not the link attached. It was originally conceived to combat spam in comment sections by preventing untrustworthy sites from having outbound links indexed, which could in turn increase the page rank. Eliminating the incentive for cluttering comment sections with spam was sound in theory. Also, by designating necessary but not particularly interesting links that appear on multiple pages such as “About” and “Contact” as NoFollow, you could ensure that your link juice was not diluted and only divided between important links. Unfortunately, this reallocation of link juice lead to the SEO practice of PageRank or <strong>link sculpting</strong> &#8211; which Google looks down on.</p>
<p>Prior to 2009, designating links as NoFollow meant that if there were five links on a page and one was NoFollow, then each of those links would receive 25% of the site’s link juice. Google, however, quietly changed the way it treated NoFollow links and, when no one seemed to notice, it actually made a point of announcing its reversal in June 2009. Now, with the same scenario, those four outbound links would receive 20% of your site’s link juice and that NoFollow link would still receive none. You are no longer redistributing link juice, but actually throwing some of it away. The intention was to undermine unethical link sculpting practices that were attempting to game the system, but it also complicated the reputable practice of link building.<span id="more-2551"></span></p>
<h2 class="indexheading"><span>Holistic Approach to Link Building</span></h2>
<p>Link building, when done well, is a perfectly valid means of increasing your site’s visibility and rank. Linking to sites you like and respect and asking sites to link to you is a great way to foster a sense of community and expand your site’s reach. Just like with content, however, you need to make sure that you are adding value to your site, and there is a solid rationale for those links. If you do not tag untrustworthy links as NoFollow, you will leech link juice from outbound links that matter. Also, if you are invaded by spam or low quality links, you will actually damage your own page rank. Undermining your site with indiscriminate link building is completely counterproductive. Link building and the implementation of NoFollow have become more nuanced tasks. For example, just because a link is initially marked as NoFollow does not mean that you cannot remove that code if you determine a site is worthy of being followed. Ethical link building is done with everyone’s best interest in mind and does not involve compensation. That said, there is also nothing wrong with buying and selling links as long as you indicate what they truly are-advertising.</p>
<p>Google’s stance on NoFollow links is very clear. Untrustworthy and paid links should be tagged rel=&#8221;nofollow&#8221;. Paid links masquerading as unsponsored text run afoul of Google’s Terms of Service and will be severely penalized, as in your page rank will plummet to zero. Lest you think that is highly unlikely, keep in mind that Google buried the download page for its own browser, Chrome, for at least 60 days, when a marketing campaign went awry. If Google is willing to hold itself accountable, it certainly will not hesitate to do the same to you.</p>
<h2 class="indexheading"><span>What Does This Mean for SEO?</span></h2>
<p>Ultimately, what this means for SEO is that all links on your site, regardless of whether they are NoFollow or not, need to be managed with care. It is still smart to designate structurally important but not particularly compelling links such as “About” or “Contact” as NoFollow. If you decide to link to something in the content of your pages, make sure you are doing so with pure intentions and linking to something valuable for your audience. Lastly, while you want to encourage conversation in your comment sections, it is safest to mark links posted by others as NoFollow until you have an opportunity to evaluate their worth. While that means extra work for you, it is the best way to protect your own page rank and ensure you are sharing your link juice with sites that truly deserve it.</p>
<p><em>While NoFollow links are not new, recent developments have reignited a discussion about the <a href="http://www.wpromote.com/seo" target="_blank">SEO</a> implications of NoFollow &amp; the best way to approach <a href="http://www.wpromote.com/blog/internet-news/16-white-hat-link-building-tips/" target="_blank">link building</a>.</em></p>
<p>Related posts:<ol>
<li><a href='http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/latest-nofollow-links/' rel='bookmark' title='What&#8217;s the latest on nofollow links?'>What&#8217;s the latest on nofollow links?</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/get-dofollow-links/' rel='bookmark' title='How can I get dofollow links?'>How can I get dofollow links?</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/where-to-find-dofollow-blogs/' rel='bookmark' title='Wondering where to find dofollow blogs? Look no further!'>Wondering where to find dofollow blogs? Look no further!</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/how-do-i-get-links-to-my-site-social-media-linkerati/' rel='bookmark' title='How Do I Get Links to My Site? Use Your Social Media Linkerati &#8211; A 3 Step Guide'>How Do I Get Links to My Site? Use Your Social Media Linkerati &#8211; A 3 Step Guide</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/brightonseo-attracting-quality-links/' rel='bookmark' title='#BrightonSEO 2011 &#8211; Attracting Quality Links'>#BrightonSEO 2011 &#8211; Attracting Quality Links</a></li>
</ol></p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Top SEO Trumps Blogging Competition</title>
		<link>http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/seo-top-trumps/</link>
		<comments>http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/seo-top-trumps/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 25 Jan 2012 09:48:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Heather Buckley</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Competitions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Facebook Tips and Tricks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Google+]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Guest Blogs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Offers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SEO]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Social Media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[blogging competition]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brighton competition]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[competition]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[seo competition]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[seo top trumps]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[seo top trumps blog off]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[seo training]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[seotoptrumps]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[silicon beach training competition]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[social media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[social media competition]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Social Media Training]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sussex competition]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[top trumps]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing competition]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/?p=2520</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[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&#8217;s a preview of how the cards look: [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h2 class="indexheading"><span>The great Top SEO Trumps Blog Off has begun!</span></h2>
<p>We have been slaving away creating the <strong>top SEO Game of the Decade.</strong> 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!</p>
<p>Here&#8217;s a preview of how the cards look:</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-2524" title="seo-top-trumps2" src="http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/seo-top-trumps2.jpg" alt="seo top trumps blog off" width="500" height="360" /></p>
<p>Simply write a blog post that meets the conditions below to be in for a chance to win.</p>
<p>There are <strong>46 Top SEO Faces from the SEO world</strong>, each ranked by:</p>
<ul>
<li>Popularity on the web</li>
<li>Twitter followers</li>
<li>Google+ contacts</li>
<li>Fanciablility (we are keeping our judges a secret for this category)</li>
<li>Geek Cred</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: left;">Can you guess who is hiding behind Danny Sullivan? If you can&#8217;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 <a href="https://plus.google.com/100237524923111850300/posts/iu6soFmpbCN" target="_blank">SEO circle from this one we made earlier</a>, just click on the image to view or add this circle in Google+:</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://plus.google.com/100237524923111850300/posts/iu6soFmpbCN" target="_blank"><img class="size-full wp-image-2521 aligncenter" title="top-seo-circle" src="http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/top-seo-circle.jpg" alt="SEO Training" width="200" height="198" /></a></p>
<p><strong>35 Limited Edition Top SEO Trumps</strong> packs are up for grabs.</p>
<p><strong>Anyone</strong> can enter:  SEOs, marketing people, social media specialists, bloggers, content marketers, and students, anyone who thinks they can write a good blog.</p>
<p>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&#8217;s and Content marketers know, generating great content is just par for the course anyway. What have you got to lose?</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>All you have to do is what you do best: write a great blog post.</p>
<h2 class="indexheading"><span>How to win</span></h2>
<ol>
<li>Write a blog post that contains a link either to one of these links<br />
<a href="http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/seo-top-trumps">http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/seo-top-trumps</a> OR <a href="http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/seo/">http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/seo/</a></li>
<li>Tweet <strong>a link to your post</strong> to: <strong>@sbttraining </strong>with the message: “<strong>My SEO Trumps entry</strong>” and the Hashtag <strong>#seotoptrumps</strong></li>
</ol>
<p>It&#8217;s as easy as that!</p>
<p>For example if this was my entry I would tweet:</p>
<p>@sbttraining My Top SEO Trumps entry  <a href="http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/seo-top-trumps">http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/seo-top-trumps</a> (or shortened version) #seotoptrumps</p>
<p>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.</p>
<h2 class="indexheading"><span>After the closing date April 1st 2012</span></h2>
<p>Votes will be counted and verified and prizes will go to the authors of the winners of the following categories:</p>
<ul>
<li>The 5 <strong>funniest</strong> posts</li>
<li>The 5 most <strong>original</strong> posts</li>
<li>The 5 most <strong>useful</strong> posts</li>
<li>The top 5 posts that drive the <strong>most traffic</strong> to the destination link.</li>
<li>The 5 top most liked posts on <strong>Facebook</strong> – where that information is available</li>
<li>The 5 most +1’s on <strong>Google Plus</strong></li>
<li>The 5 most <strong>tweeted</strong> posts – where that information is available</li>
</ul>
<p>Good luck and get blogging!</p>
<p><em>Become a future top SEO trump with our many <a title="SEO related courses" href="http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/seo/">SEO related courses</a>. <a title="SEO training" href="http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/seo/seo-training/">SEO training</a> 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 <a title="Social Media course" href="http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/social-media-training/social-media/">Social Media course</a> 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 <a title="Google Analytics training" href="http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/seo/google-analytics-training/">Google Analytics training</a> is essential, while <a title="Advanced Google Analytics training" href="http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/seo/advanced-google-analytics-training/">Advanced Google Analytics training</a> is available for those who already use it on a regular basis. Don&#8217;t forget, we also now provide <a title="Content Marketing training" href="http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/seo/blogging-and-content-marketing-course/">Content Marketing training</a> &#8211; great for building brand and author identity whilst gaining valuable backlinks!</em></p>
<p>Related posts:<ol>
<li><a href='http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/how-to-increase-traffic-link-build-social-media/' rel='bookmark' title='Increase traffic and improve ranking with Blogging and Social Media'>Increase traffic and improve ranking with Blogging and Social Media</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/guest-blogging-write-for-us-places-to-post/' rel='bookmark' title='Guest Blogging &#8211; Write for us / great places to post'>Guest Blogging &#8211; Write for us / great places to post</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/why-should-i-be-guest-blogging/' rel='bookmark' title='Why should I be guest blogging?'>Why should I be guest blogging?</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/free-training-competition/' rel='bookmark' title='Win Free Training &#8211; Twitter Retweet Competition NOW CLOSED!'>Win Free Training &#8211; Twitter Retweet Competition NOW CLOSED!</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/best-personalised-google-plus-profile-competition/' rel='bookmark' title='Competition &#8211; Best Personalised Google+ Profile'>Competition &#8211; Best Personalised Google+ Profile</a></li>
</ol></p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Why Should You Start Content Marketing?</title>
		<link>http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/content-marketing-training/</link>
		<comments>http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/content-marketing-training/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 23 Jan 2012 10:53:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Daniel Twigg</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Facebook Tips and Tricks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Google+]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Guest Blogs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Internet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SEO]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Web Design]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Web Design Training]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[blog ideas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[blog post ideas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[blogging]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[blogging and content marketing training]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[business blogging]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Combine Social Media and SEO]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[content creation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[content marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[content writing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[guest blogging]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[online marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SEO using Social Media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[social media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[social media marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[viral]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[viral marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[write a good blog]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/?p=2507</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[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 [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>We have now added <strong>Content Marketing</strong> to our <strong>Blogging Training</strong> course to create the mighty <a title="Blogging and Content Marketing Training" href="http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/seo/blogging-and-content-marketing-course/">Blogging and Content Marketing Training</a> course, so you can get a head start on your internet marketing endeavours.</p>
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-2518" style="margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;" title="content-marketing-training" src="http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/content-marketing-training.jpg" alt="Content Marketing Training" width="300" height="196" /></p>
<p>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 <a title="SEO" href="http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/seo/seo-training/">SEO</a> 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?</p>
<p>Currently, one of the most effective methods of generating interest from users and building up back links to appease the search engine lords is <strong>content marketing</strong>. This form of marketing has many advantages and uses which should be explored by anyone looking to extend their website’s <strong>visibility</strong>, <strong>outreach</strong> and <strong>exposure</strong>.</p>
<h2 class="indexheading"><span><strong>Why should I do it myself?</strong></span></h2>
<p>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 <strong>becoming an expert in your field</strong> that people will look to for knowledge, answers and cutting edge info.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p><em>If you would like to find out more about content marketing then have to look at our post on <a title="Guest Blogging and Great Places to post Your Content" href="http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/guest-blogging-write-for-us-places-to-post/">Guest Blogging and Great Places to Post Your Content</a>, or read on to find out more about how blogging and content marketing can benefit you.<span id="more-2507"></span></em></p>
<h2 class="indexheading"><span><strong>Guest Blogging</strong></span></h2>
<p>Writers have been creating guest content for other sites for some time now, giving writers the opportunity to share their knowledge and writing style with a new audience, as well as being able to get a link to their own website. This link is useful for a few reasons, namely it allows the reader to hop straight to your site if they like your content and also the <strong>back link</strong> can work in your favour when it comes to <strong>SEO</strong> and search engine rankings, especially if it is coming from a website with a high authority or <strong>page rank</strong>.</p>
<p>Accepting guest posts can work in your favour too. Search engines like sites that update their content regularly, so posting relevant and useful content from others can take the strain off of keeping up with the demand of writing as well as giving you to post articles on topics you may not be as knowledgeable in.</p>
<p>You don’t even have to approach sites directly now to enquire about guest blogging. With guest post sharing and distribution sites such as <a title="My Blog Guest" href="http://myblogguest.com/" target="_blank">My Blog Guest</a> making the process of bidding for content and choosing who you want to publish your own offerings far easier than ever before.</p>
<h2 class="indexheading"><span><strong>Going Viral</strong></span></h2>
<p>Another major advantage of making your own content is <strong>sharing</strong>. Social media sites have made sharing content so easy these days that if you have something that is timely, unique or of exceptionally high quality you can find your content being shared all over the web, hopefully going <strong>viral</strong>. Combine this with the fact that Google’s new <strong>Search plus Your World</strong> search algorithm weighs heavily in favour of popular, well shared content on Google’s social network, <strong>Google+</strong>. So this method can boost your search engine rankings as well as bring in interest from a new audience.</p>
<h2 class="indexheading"><span><strong>Easy on the Wallet </strong></span></h2>
<p>Content Marketing also has another big advantage; it’s extremely cost effective. If you are creating your own articles or accepting guest posts the cost is extremely low, if not <strong>free </strong>(except for staffing costs!) Bear in mind that your content will also hang around for far longer than any advertising campaign you may choose to run, so you are likely to see a far better <strong>ROI</strong> on these efforts.</p>
<p>All of these benefits make content marketing an extremely attractive marketing method, which is why we have updated our <a title="Blogging and Content Marketing Training" href="http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/seo/blogging-and-content-marketing-course/">Blogging and Content Marketing Training</a> course so you can learn all of the latest techniques to teach you how to make high quality, sought after content.</p>
<p>Related posts:<ol>
<li><a href='http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/guest-blogging-write-for-us-places-to-post/' rel='bookmark' title='Guest Blogging &#8211; Write for us / great places to post'>Guest Blogging &#8211; Write for us / great places to post</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/why-you-need-social-media-marketing-for-business/' rel='bookmark' title='Why you need Social Media Marketing for Business'>Why you need Social Media Marketing for Business</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/blog-top-tips/' rel='bookmark' title='Give and you shall receive &#8211; The art of generous blogging'>Give and you shall receive &#8211; The art of generous blogging</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/why-is-no-one-reading-my-blog/' rel='bookmark' title='How to get blog traffic'>How to get blog traffic</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/podcasting-training/' rel='bookmark' title='No video content? You need Podcasting Training!'>No video content? You need Podcasting Training!</a></li>
</ol></p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>The Google Update &#8211; Search Plus Your World</title>
		<link>http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/google-search-plus-your-world/</link>
		<comments>http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/google-search-plus-your-world/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 11 Jan 2012 12:13:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Daniel Twigg</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SEO]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[google]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Google Algorithm January 2011]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Google Algorithm January 2011 Update]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[google results]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[New Google Algorithm]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[search plus your world]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[seo and social media together]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[seo course]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[seo trianing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SERPS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[social search]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/?p=2467</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[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 [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>In a move to provide its users with more customised and personal search results, Google have launched their new “<strong>Search Plus Your World</strong>” feature to their enormously popular search engine.</p>
<p>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 <strong>Google+ network</strong> as well as global results. You can use Google Search Plus Your World by logging into your Google+ account and clicking &#8216;go to Google.com&#8217; 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 <a title="Search Engine Optimisation" href="http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/seo/seo-training/">Search Engine Optimisation</a> and the way we receive our search results.</p>
<p><em>Find out <a title="what Search plus Your World means for internet marketing and SEO" href="http://www.seotraininguk.org.uk/google-search-plus-your-world/" target="_blank">what Search plus Your World means for internet marketing and SEO</a>. This move has Twitter hot under the collar but Google says it is Twitter who don&#8217;t want to play.</em></p>
<h2 class="indexheading"><span><strong>Personal Results</strong></span></h2>
<p><img class="alignright" style="border-style: solid; border-color: black; border-image: initial; border-width: 1px;" title="Search Plus Your World results page Heather" src="http://www.seotraininguk.org.uk/seo-training-images/Search-Plus-Your-World-results-page-heather.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="452" />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 <strong>+1&#8242;d</strong> 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:</p>
<ul>
<li>posts from your friends on Google+</li>
<li>private/limited content which has been shared with you on Google+</li>
<li>full web listings</li>
<li>full web listings which have been modified through your personal behaviour</li>
<li>fell web listings which have been modified due to your social network connections</li>
</ul>
<p>The implications of these changes are that you can receive<strong> more meaningful results</strong> 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.<span id="more-2467"></span></p>
<p>One extremely handy feature is the ability to find photos taken by you and your friends within the search results. If you look at the search result image below, when searching for the keyword “beach” images taken by people who are <strong>relevant</strong> to you are displayed.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-2469" style="border-image: initial; border-width: 1px; border-color: black; border-style: solid;" title="Google-Image-Search-Results" src="http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Google-Image-Search-Results1.jpg" alt="Google Image Search Results" width="500" height="331" /></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2 class="indexheading"><span><strong>People and Pages</strong></span></h2>
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-2470" style="border-style: solid; border-color: black; border-image: initial; border-width: 1px;" title="Google-People-and-Pages" src="http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Google-People-and-Pages.jpg" alt="Google People and Pages" width="250" height="195" /></p>
<p>The changes also contain the inclusion of Google+ profiles within search results, displaying them in the <strong>sidebar</strong> to the right of the results (shown on your right). This new “People and Pages on Google+” box allows you to quickly and easily add profiles to your circles, <strong>expanding your own potential personalised search network in the process</strong>. The new feature recommends profiles based on what they are talking about through their post and comments on broad search terms (for example, the image to the right was taken after searching &#8216;football&#8217;), introducing you to people and pages that have similar interests and expertise in the field you are searching.</p>
<h2 class="indexheading"><span><strong>Profiles in Search</strong></span></h2>
<p>As well as the new sidebar, <strong>Google+ profiles are now discoverable within search results</strong>. It is now possible to search for one of your friends by entering the first few letters of their name, providing you with results that include Google+ profile information and web results which including content that is connected to them. This will allow you to more accurately find information about a specific person as it will filter out results from people with the same or similar name to the person you are searching.</p>
<h2 class="indexheading"><span><strong>Too Much Information?</strong></span></h2>
<p>This isn’t the first time Google have used previous search results and online behaviours to personalise their search results. This was initially launched in 2005 being developed and refined ever since, introducing Social Search in October 2009 to help you find “more relevant public content from your broader social circle”.</p>
<p>Search results display private content in the same way it would display public results which may worry some users, however Google is securing your search results with the same<strong> SSL encryption</strong> that keeps your emails in GMail private.</p>
<p>While the search is definitely getting more social, social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and Flickr are <strong>not</strong> included in the search results, making having a Google+ account essential to make use of the personal search results. Although these networks don’t currently allow Google’s web crawlers to index the vast majority of their information, Google are open to setting this up in the future, which would have a massive increase in the amount of personal information, content and photos that are discoverable using the service.</p>
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-2471" style="border-image: initial; border-width: 1px; border-color: black; border-style: solid;" title="Google-Settings" src="http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Google-Settings.jpg" alt="Google Settings" width="200" height="152" />The new feature also flips idea of global results on its head by focusing on local results which should be more relevant to you. Luckily, if these features are not to your liking you can always turn off personal results through the<strong> toggle button</strong> on the top right of the page or even turn it off permanently through your personal search settings.</p>
<p>We are currently seeing a big change in search and making sure that your sites are ranked highly by search engines is still as important as ever, which is why proper <a title="SEO Training Courses" href="http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/seo/">SEO Training Courses</a> are needed, so you know that the effort you are putting into boosting your rankings isn&#8217;t working against you.</p>
<p>Related posts:<ol>
<li><a href='http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/google-caffeine/' rel='bookmark' title='Google inject search engine with Caffeine'>Google inject search engine with Caffeine</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/comparing-present-google-results-with-google-caffeine/' rel='bookmark' title='Comparing present Google results with Google Caffeine'>Comparing present Google results with Google Caffeine</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/latest-google-algorithm-update-2011/' rel='bookmark' title='Latest Google Algorithm Update 2011'>Latest Google Algorithm Update 2011</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/google-twitter-results-business/' rel='bookmark' title='Prepare for the Google &#8211; Twitter search deal &#8211; 6 Top Tips'>Prepare for the Google &#8211; Twitter search deal &#8211; 6 Top Tips</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/turn-off-gogle-personalised-search/' rel='bookmark' title='Google Personalised Search Results – How to turn them off'>Google Personalised Search Results – How to turn them off</a></li>
</ol></p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Matt Cutts Demotes Google Chrome From &#8216;Browser&#8217; Rankings</title>
		<link>http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/google-chrome-demoted/</link>
		<comments>http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/google-chrome-demoted/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 05 Jan 2012 10:21:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Craig Charley</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SEO]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[best seo practice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[black hat seo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[blogging]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[content marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[google chrome]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[google chrome black hat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[google chrome demoted]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Matt Cutts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[matt cutts google]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[matt cutts google chrome]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[seo training]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[white hat seo]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/?p=2457</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In an astonishing move, the Google Webspam team, headed by Matt Cutts, have demoted the Google Chrome download page for violating Google&#8217;s quality guidelines. Here&#8217;s the SERP for the query &#8216;browser&#8217;: As you can see, Chrome no longer appears in the natural results, with Firefox, Opera and Safari taking the lead. However, Chrome does still [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>In an astonishing move, the Google Webspam team, headed by Matt Cutts, have demoted the Google Chrome download page for violating Google&#8217;s quality guidelines. Here&#8217;s the SERP for the query &#8216;browser&#8217;:</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-2458" title="Google Chrome demoted" src="http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Google-Chrome-demoted.jpg" alt="SEO Training UK" width="400" height="414" /></p>
<p style="text-align: left;">As you can see, Chrome no longer appears in the natural results, with Firefox, Opera and Safari taking the lead. However, Chrome does still appear due to a paid listing and the fact that everyone is writing about Google Chrome forcing the story into the Google News snippet.</p>
<p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-2459" title="Matt Cutts Bins Google Chrome" src="http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/matt-cutts-google-binned.jpg" alt="Google Chrome Demoted" width="300" height="395" />Google were quick to respond to many <a title="SEO" href="http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/seo/">SEO</a>s (<a title="headed by Aaron Wall at SEO Book" href="http://www.seobook.com/post-sponsored-google" target="_blank">headed by Aaron Wall at SEO Book</a>) noticing how they seemed to be running a link building campaign &#8211; directly against their own code of conduct. In fact, the campaign was created to get people to watch a video about Chrome not to build links. The video itself gave no link juice to the Chrome download page and only <strong>one </strong>of the two dozen or so posts actually linked to the download page &#8211; this was at the blog author&#8217;s own discretion so is actually closer to a natural link than a paid link.</p>
<p><em>Our <a title="SEO Training course" href="http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/seo/seo-training/">SEO Training course</a> only teaches white SEO techniques that won&#8217;t come back to haunt you in future. Why spend loads on an SEO company without knowing yourself what their efforts are for? While many SEO companies are great, the are just as many that promise you instant success but will really damage your rankings when Google catch on. So come on our SEO Training course in Brighton and learn how best to direct your SEO efforts yourself. We also offer in company training if you want to ensure your digital marketing team is completely up to scratch with the latest, best SEO techniques.</em></p>
<p>The fact that the Google Webspam team have demoted a Google product for a single paid link may seem strict and anybody in a similar situation who got banned for 60 days for one link would not be happy. However, Google have released a statement highlighting the fact that they have taken a stricter stance than usual because it was their own guidelines they violated.</p>
<p>Related posts:<ol>
<li><a href='http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/comparing-present-google-results-with-google-caffeine/' rel='bookmark' title='Comparing present Google results with Google Caffeine'>Comparing present Google results with Google Caffeine</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/rockmelt-beta-released-the-social-web-browser/' rel='bookmark' title='RockMelt Beta Released – The Social Web Browser'>RockMelt Beta Released – The Social Web Browser</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/how-google-ranks-blogs/' rel='bookmark' title='Google Ranks Blogs in a New Way'>Google Ranks Blogs in a New Way</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/google-caffeine/' rel='bookmark' title='Google inject search engine with Caffeine'>Google inject search engine with Caffeine</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/learn-about-google-trends/' rel='bookmark' title='Learn about Google Trends'>Learn about Google Trends</a></li>
</ol></p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>SEO Predictions for 2012</title>
		<link>http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/seo-predictions-for-2012/</link>
		<comments>http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/seo-predictions-for-2012/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 21 Dec 2011 15:49:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Daniel Twigg</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Mobile App Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SEO]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Social Media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[2012]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[google]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[google docs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[predictions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Search Engine Optimisation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[search engine optimisation sussex]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[search engine optimisation training]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[seo course]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[seo training]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[seo training uk]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Social Media Resources]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Social Media Training]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Social Networking]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Social Networking Basics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[social networks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spam]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/?p=2435</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[2012 has historically been a hot year for predictions. The finishing of the Mayans cryptic calendar has been touted as a sign of the ‘end of the world’ by many a pessimist, citing Nostradamus’ prophecies as the evidence they need that the end is nigh. Luckily, not all predictions for next year have to be [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 235px"><img title="SEO-Predictions-2012" src="http://www.aboutweb.eu/images/SEO-Predictions-2012.jpg" alt="SEO Predictions 2012" width="225" height="300" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Look into my crystal ball...</p></div>
<p>2012 has historically been a hot year for predictions. The finishing of the Mayans cryptic calendar has been touted as a sign of the ‘end of the world’ by many a pessimist, citing Nostradamus’ prophecies as the evidence they need that the end is nigh.</p>
<p>Luckily, not all predictions for next year have to be so gloomy; there are plenty of developments yet to come out in the tech world. here are our top <a title="seo" href="http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/seo/seo-training/">SEO</a> predictions for the new year.</p>
<h2 class="indexheading"><span><strong>Google service integration</strong></span></h2>
<p>Now the most used browser on the web, <strong>Google Chrome</strong> has always offered more than just a smooth and seamless web browsing experience. With Google having their fingers in a lot of pies, many of their services are becoming integrated with the browser.</p>
<p>Google services such as <strong>Google Docs</strong>, which is already proving itself as an excellent file sharing facility, and <strong>Google+</strong> (which is covered as part of our <a title="Social Media training course" href="http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/social-media-training/social-media/">Social Media training course</a>), the rival to Facebook which is picking up steam, will find themselves more embedded with Google’s software, encouraging a growth in collaboration and sharing.</p>
<p>The ability to install a wide variety of apps and extensions to your browser not only gives you a tailored browsing experience it also opens the platform up to being more than just a browser. Expect to see these built upon, with Chrome borrowing from Google’s <strong>Android</strong> mobile operating system’s seamlessly customisable app and widget based set up.</p>
<h2 class="indexheading"><span><strong>The new social sharing revolution</strong></span></h2>
<p>While <strong>Facebook</strong> is still the daddy of the Social Media world, Google+ Business profile pages still have a lot to offer. Using these pages to share content will become a vital tool in your <strong>SEO</strong> tool box, especially with the potential of Google+ having more of a stronger bearing on Google’s search results in the near future.<span id="more-2435"></span></p>
<h2 class="indexheading"><span><strong>Death to spam</strong></span></h2>
<p>Google have always prided themselves on working on methods of detecting bad content, the kind of content that you would find festering away in your emails spam box. While it may not be possible to completely eradicate this digital menace, measures to minimise gratuitous backlinking through poor quality content, affecting many SEO campaigns, will be made, changing the way you go about content marketing. A more cautious vetting process will have to come into place in order not to negatively affect your rankings, with extra care required to:</p>
<ol>
<li>Choose which guest posts you publish. Do they have a good <strong>page rank</strong> and<strong> authority</strong>?</li>
<li>Choosing who you offer guest posts to. Good quality content should be enough to help get you in with more respected blogs and sites with a decent page rank. Poor quality material will do nothing to persuade these sites to publish your work.</li>
</ol>
<div><em>Edit: Amusingly, when sharing this post on social media, the first comment we received was an offer to buy Ugg Boots. It seems that human spamming is alive as ever!</em></div>
<h2 class="indexheading"><span><strong>2012: the year the web went mobile</strong></span></h2>
<p>There is no doubt that the mobile web really took off in 2011, but this is just the beginning. With the popularity of smart phones only rising expect to see more of an impact on ecommerce as <strong>SEO</strong>. Making use of location based services such as <strong>geo tagging</strong>, expect to see more mobile web features spill out into the real world, leading to a new real-time, real-world marketing format for businesses. High-street Browsing Optimisation maybe?</p>
<p>Giving businesses a new more creative way to interact with their clients, apps offer new revenue streams as well as a method of communicating with customers. This is why we expect to see the use of apps increase, with large growth in sales. As a key part of both the<strong> tablet</strong> (whose owners took up <strong>14.5%</strong> of internet users in 2011 according to Emarketeer, who also predict that this will rise to <strong>22.9% in 2012</strong>), and smart phone industries we predict that apps will become increasingly diverse and complex, with mobile optimisation becoming an essential part of any SEO strategy in 2012. This is why Silicon Beach Training now offers <a title="Android App Training" href="http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/mobile-development-training/android-training/">Android App Training</a> and<a title="iPhone App Training" href="http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/mobile-development-training/iphone-app-training/"> iPhone App Training</a> to compliment our popular SEO and Social Media training courses.</p>
<h2 class="indexheading"><span><strong>Search results: now it’s personal</strong></span></h2>
<p>Your search and social media information are becoming even more important tools in creating customised, bespoke search results. Information such as your location, search history, Google+ profile information and data from your Gmail account will become increasingly important factors when performing web searches, relying more on social engagement to make connections between businesses and potential clients.</p>
<p>Related posts:<ol>
<li><a href='http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/technlogy-internet-predictions-2011/' rel='bookmark' title='10 Technlogy and Internet predictions for 2011'>10 Technlogy and Internet predictions for 2011</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/measure-google-brand/' rel='bookmark' title='How Does Google Measure Brand?'>How Does Google Measure Brand?</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/social-media-seo-training/' rel='bookmark' title='New Package Deal: Book Social Media and SEO courses together'>New Package Deal: Book Social Media and SEO courses together</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/summer-pick-mix-seo-social-media-courses/' rel='bookmark' title='Pick &amp; Mix on SEO &amp; Social Media Courses'>Pick &#038; Mix on SEO &#038; Social Media Courses</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/optimizing-website-googl-caffeine-5-top-tips/' rel='bookmark' title='Optimising Your Website for Google Caffeine &#8211; 5 top tips'>Optimising Your Website for Google Caffeine &#8211; 5 top tips</a></li>
</ol></p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Changing Your SEO Perspective &#8211; Putting the Searcher First</title>
		<link>http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/seo-for-searchers/</link>
		<comments>http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/seo-for-searchers/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 14 Dec 2011 09:26:05 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Guest Author</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SEO]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[amateur seo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[good seo practice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[keyword research]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[link building]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Search Engine Optimisation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[seo for searchers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[seo resources]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[seo tips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[seo training]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[website authority]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/?p=2410</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This guest post is about optimising websites for searchers before search engines. While you need to consider search algorithms to get your pages ranked, your optimisation should not affect the usability of your page. It&#8217;s all very well ranking for a popular search query but if it comes at a cost to how your site [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>This guest post is about optimising websites for <strong>searchers</strong> before <strong>search engines</strong>. While you need to consider search algorithms to get your pages ranked, your optimisation should not affect the usability of your page. It&#8217;s all very well ranking for a popular search query but if it comes at a cost to how your site looks or feels or if your site is not related to the query then you may not achieve anything. Remember it is the searcher that spends money, not the search engine! Our 1-day<strong> <a title="SEO course" href="http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/seo/">SEO course</a></strong> only teaches sustainable <strong>White Hat techniques</strong> that boost your rankings but not at the cost of site usability, so come down to Brighton for the day and learn how to optimise your site for great rankings without losing visitors.</em></p>
<p>The term <strong>search engine optimisation</strong> is a very misleading one. It suggests to the online marketing beginner that SEO is all about pleasing the search engines through whatever means necessary. The average SEO amateur tends to begin their online marketing career believing that every decision they make and action they take should all be directed towards some sort of optimisation for Google. It’s a common mindset that can turn creative and enthusiastic web developers into number crunching accountants. It’s a real tragedy when a webmaster takes more pride in the number of inbound links they have attained than the pure quality of their website itself. If you don’t think I’m making sense consider my next point&#8230;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<div id="attachment_2411" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 510px"><img class="size-full wp-image-2411" title="SEO Training" src="http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/SEO-Training.jpg" alt="Storm Trooper SEO" width="500" height="333" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Image by Stéfan on Flickr</p></div>
<p>The only reason the major search engines deserve our attention as SEO’s is because they are able to provide their searchers with relevant and accurate results in a matter of milliseconds. It is their ability to win the praise and trust of their users that defines them as important to us. With this in mind it makes sense for us as SEO’s to base at least some of our marketing tactics around the needs of the searcher and not just the engines. The search engines only boast their authority because of their ability to learn and apply what their searchers want in a timely manner – if we strive to please our potential consumers we will inevitably optimise for the search engines. For example&#8230;</p>
<p><em>Searchers want to find websites that have authority &gt; The search engines judge authority based on links &gt; You build links to your website to please the search engines</em></p>
<p>The middle-man could easily be skipped out here don’t you think? In this case we recognise that searchers want a website that is authoritative and instructive in its field so we should try to ensure our website is just that. Links will be built naturally if you manage to achieve this aim.<span id="more-2410"></span></p>
<p><em>New to SEO? Unsure about some of the terms mentioned in this post? Then make sure you&#8217;ve bookmarked our<strong> <a title="SEO Glossary" href="http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/free-resources/seo-terms-glossary/">SEO Glossary</a></strong> for all the most common terms and definintions.</em></p>
<h3>What we can learn from an SEO approach that puts the searcher first</h3>
<p>Obviously I understand that some aspects of SEO are completely separated from the needs of the searcher and for these techniques a boring technical approach will need to be applied. But in general I strongly believe that an SEO can improve their competence by updating their optimisation priorities. If you start seriously optimising for searchers alone you’ll soon realise that:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Keyword research is a process that should involve empathy – </strong>If the searcher is what matters most we should not choose keywords based on their current performance or popularity but because of their relevance to our particular set of consumers. You need to empathise with your demographic and consider what terms they search for and why? What part of society has influenced them to search this way? What values and emotions do they feel towards your particular brand or service?</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><strong>SEO is really about conversion and not reaching the #1 spot in the SERP’s – </strong>Your potential consumers couldn’t care less about which website ranks well and which website doesn’t. All they are really interested in is finding and buying the product you have to offer with ease and satisfaction. They want to get as much value as possible from a company that they can trust. Your website should be built around both the technical wants of Google <em>as well as </em>the potential buying experience for your visitors.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><strong>You should be proud of your website – </strong>Take a step back from the statistics and numbers of your website and actually look at it from an objective perspective. Are you proud of it? What do you think of it compared to the likes of your competitors? Does it stand out? Does it give off the impression of your company that you want to give off? When it comes to online commerce your website is the only weapon you have to win a consumers trust – you can’t talk to them face to face and let them know that you genuinely care. It is only the quality and professionalism of your website that can perform your sales pitch, so if your site doesn’t meet the mark don’t be hesitant about investing into some improvements for it.</li>
</ul>
<p>Some of you will read this post and not see any value in it but I really hope that the majority of you can. By thinking back to first principles and by remembering that is it is solely the searchers that shape the search engines you can improve your SEO attitude to accommodate the needs of your potential consumers – because at the end of the day they’re the only people that really matter to your business.</p>
<p><a href="http://applecopywriting.com/copywriting/web-content/" target="_blank">SEO Copywriting</a> is an essential part of any online marketing campaign. You can find professional help for the technique at www.applecopywriting.com from a team of dedicated UK writers.</p>
<p>Related posts:<ol>
<li><a href='http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/social-media-changing-job-market/' rel='bookmark' title='How Social Media is changing the job market'>How Social Media is changing the job market</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/get-dofollow-links/' rel='bookmark' title='How can I get dofollow links?'>How can I get dofollow links?</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/data-analysis-for-seo-rob-green-at-brighton-seo/' rel='bookmark' title='Data Analysis for SEO &#8211; Rob Green at Brighton SEO'>Data Analysis for SEO &#8211; Rob Green at Brighton SEO</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/seo-training-video/' rel='bookmark' title='SEO Training Video Special!'>SEO Training Video Special!</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/social-media-seo-training/' rel='bookmark' title='New Package Deal: Book Social Media and SEO courses together'>New Package Deal: Book Social Media and SEO courses together</a></li>
</ol></p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Why Inspiration Should Never Party With Plagiarism</title>
		<link>http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/inspiration-plagiarism/</link>
		<comments>http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/inspiration-plagiarism/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 21 Nov 2011 09:04:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Heather Buckley</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[New Free Resources]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SEO]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Social Media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[content writing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Duplicate Content]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Plagiarism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[seo course]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[seo training]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SEO using Social Media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[social media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Social Media Training]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing for the web]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/?p=2340</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If you are regularly guest blogging and publishing content in order to get quality back-links and provide fresh content for your website, then we think you are doing a great service for your SEO and Social Media strategy. After the lastest Google freshness update, content marketing has become the most powerful weapon in your artillery, the most respected authorities in the world of SEO [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div id="attachment_2341" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 250px"><img class="size-full wp-image-2341" title="content marketing" src="http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/content-marketing.jpeg" alt="content marketing" width="240" height="180" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Image by gnuckx on flickr</p></div>
<p>If you are regularly guest blogging and publishing content in order to get quality back-links and provide fresh content for your website, then we think you are doing a great service for your SEO and Social Media strategy.</p>
<p>After the lastest Google freshness update, content marketing has become the most powerful weapon in your artillery, the most respected authorities in the world of SEO are all agreed on this one. Looking for the best and most popular posts on the web is a must if you want to keep up with what&#8217;s hot and what&#8217;s popular (this is all important for those vital media shares) but what is acceptable and what amounts to simple plagiarism? It&#8217;s not just a moral dilema, Google will penalise duplicate content.</p>
<p>If you need more help with your SEO and social media then we offer some great deals on <a title="SEO Training" href="http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/seo/">SEO Training</a>, <a title="Google Analytics courses" href="http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/seo/google-analytics-training/">Google Analytics courses</a> and <a title="social media training" href="http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/social-media-training/">social media training</a>. Below Christopher Fielden, a published author, offers his opinions on the subject of plagiarism  - all in his own words!</p>
<h2 class="indexheading"><span>Plagiarism Definition</span></h2>
<p>If you nick someone else’s idea and pretend it is your own, that’s plagiarism.</p>
<h2 class="indexheading"><span>Inspiration Definition</span></h2>
<p>If you see something which tickles your imagination enough to write an original story, that’s inspiration.</p>
<h2 class="indexheading"><span>Examples of the Differences Between Plagiarism &amp; Inspiration</span></h2>
<p>If you went to see Lord of the Rings in the cinema and then decided it ‘inspired’ you to write a book about Rodeo Shaggins and his landscape designer, Jan-Flys Ganges, who discover a magical toe ring which has been imbued with the wrath of the dark lord Flower-on and will bring an end to all that is peaceful by covering the land with the unholy stench of ghastly garlic gases unless the ring is transported across Middle Birth and thrown into the fiery belly of Mount Bloom, that is stealing someone else’s ideas. That is plagiarism.</p>
<p><span id="more-2340"></span></p>
<p>If you watch the films and think that Gollum looks a little like a hairless baboon, and then, from this initial innocent thought, your mental roller-coaster launches into an unexpected creative rampage and you start imagining an interstellar spaceport called Gut Thunder Five, a paradise (forced to be located on an extremely dangerous planet as it is the only viable refuelling location for the Galactic Warp Pathways in Quadrant Dangly Giblets) surrounded by a rainforest ruled by hairless baboons who threaten the existence of the universe itself because, once a millennium, they are able to unleash sonic mind melting music from their rather disturbingly coloured posteriors; so powerful a sound that every creature capable of cognitive thought in the known galaxy has its sanity threatened by the indescribable beauty of their cacophonous rumblings and may end up driven mad by the music’s hypnotic power and thus engage on a kill crazy rampage resulting in the end of all life, that, dear reader who has shown the will and grit of a martyr and thus made it to the end of this ridiculously long sentence, is inspiration.</p>
<p>As you can see, inspiration does not always result in good ideas, but any ideas you come up with should be entirely original.</p>
<h2 class="indexheading"><span>Plagiarism Checkers</span></h2>
<p>If in doubt, you can use plagiarism checkers like Copyscape to make sure your work is unique. While these can’t really recognise if ideas or plots have been stolen, they can see if content has been copied. So you can pop your work through these checkers to see if some evil internet bandit has stolen your stories and pretended they are their own brain children.</p>
<h2 class="indexheading"><span>If you are a Victim of Plagiarism</span></h2>
<p>If you have been a victim of plagiarism, I’d suggest visiting plagiarism.org where you can find out about the various courses of action available to you. They also offer free resources, facts, solutions and support for writers who have had their words stolen.</p>
<p>Written by Christopher Fielden, a published author who enjoys sharing <a href="http://www.christopherfielden.com/short-story-tips-and-writing-advice/" target="_blank">writing advice</a> with other writers and using his own short stories as case studies to illustrate <a href="http://www.christopherfielden.com/" target="_blank">how to get published</a>.</p>
<p>Related posts:<ol>
<li><a href='http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/circus-of-horrors-on-britains-got-talent-marketing/' rel='bookmark' title='Circus of Horrors on Britain&#8217;s got Talent &#8211; Marketing Inspiration'>Circus of Horrors on Britain&#8217;s got Talent &#8211; Marketing Inspiration</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/blog-writing-what-to-write/' rel='bookmark' title='Blog Post Ideas &#8211; 10 Top Tips for Blog Inspiration'>Blog Post Ideas &#8211; 10 Top Tips for Blog Inspiration</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/brighton-green-party-caroline-lucas-on-internet/' rel='bookmark' title='Brighton Green Party&#8217;s Caroline Lucas on the Internet'>Brighton Green Party&#8217;s Caroline Lucas on the Internet</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/latest-google-algorithm-update-2011/' rel='bookmark' title='Latest Google Algorithm Update 2011'>Latest Google Algorithm Update 2011</a></li>
<li><a href='http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk/blog/learn-about-google-trends/' rel='bookmark' title='Learn about Google Trends'>Learn about Google Trends</a></li>
</ol></p>]]></content:encoded>
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