Google’s rankings for ‘make money online’

The main example which I’ve come across, and one which is being reported all over the place, is the results when a user searches for the term, ‘make money online.’ It does seem that the results have been changing over the past day or so on this, however below you can see some screenshots of sites which have been ranking in the #1 position for ‘make money online’ in the past 24 hours. The results which you see are different depending on whether you’re in the UK or USA, but I’ll show them all, with the SERP snippets below each example:

#1 for ‘make money online’ on Google.co.uk (10.56am – 27/04/2012)

And the associated snippet from Google:

#1 for ‘make money online’ on Google.com (26/04/2012)

And the associated snippet from Google:

Do these look like quality sites to you?

Can Google really say that these are quality websites? Forgetting back link profiles and other ranking factors, these sites simply do not, in any way, shape or form, provide a quality resource for those searching to ‘make money online’.

Perhaps Google will realise their error over the next couple of days and tweak the algorithm. What is a common factor in may of these results is that they have exact match domains, or very near exact match domains. However, at the end of last year, Google announced that exact match domains no longer have the same ranking strength as they did previously.

The results may sort themselves out over the next few days

Fingers crossed that everything will sort itself out over the next few days and those sites which deserve to rank will return to their top positions. As with all Google updates, there will be a change in the rankings, however  when they are making a point that the updates are to target spam, they are embarrassing themselves by allowing the above examples to rank in the positions they currently do!

I won’t waste time going into too much depth about what the video covers, as you’d be best off watching it all the way through. However, the main outline is that Cutts explains why it takes time for a site to be crawled, in some instances, and why it is essential to have content on your website. These are both things we get asked about on a regular basis and hopefully clarification from the big G themselves will answer any questions you may have.

If you’re not currently taking advantage of the timeline feature with a custom cover photo styled and branded like your business’ website then you should be asking yourself why not? It’s still a new feature, however it’s always good to get ahead of the game and stay ahead of competition. Why not give us a call today on 01524 382102 to discuss a custom cover photo for your Facebook page?

In the mean time, we’re pleased to show you a couple of examples of ones we’ve put live over the past few weeks:

The main thing to consider is having a cover photo which works for your business. It is a brilliant opportunity to advertise your products and services, as well as display your contact details. There’s all kind of options available for branding the new style timeline pages and we’ll be sure to keep everyone update with our latest creations.

Last but not least, we’ve just redesigned our own Facebook page which you can see here.

You can view the feature on the ITV website at the following URL: http://www.itv.com/thismorning/life/legal-eagles-advice-clinic/#.T3apx1YKbmE

Economy expanding at 0.8% per year

It is believed that the economy is expanding at a rate equivalent to 0.8% per year, after seeing a decline in the final months of 2011. With this in mind, City insiders are hoping that 2012 will be the year that Britain’s economy bounces back from the recent years of recession and it is believed that the worst of the financial downturn is finally over.

With this in mind, there has never been a better time to ensure your business is ready for the bounce back of the economy. With spending set to increase as both consumers and businesses once again start to have money to spend on both luxuries and items which could not be afforded during the recession, it is vital to ensure you and your business makes the most of this.

Is your website up to scratch?

Is your website up to scratch? Are you appearing at the top of the search engines? SearchQuest, one of the UK’s first SEO companies, are here to help you ensure your business is ready to capture the online portion of increased spending in your sector.

If you would like a chat regarding your website or search engine positions, please do not hesitate to give us a call today on 01524 382102 or by filling in our contact form.

Ensuring members can shop from anywhere

BrandAlley is the first private sales website to launch a dedicated mobile friendly website in the UK and is part of their plan to ensure members can shop absolutely anywhere from whatever device they may be using.

The BrandAlley mobile website has been built to entirely replicate the experience which is had on the main website, ensuring that it is quick and easy for members to navigate, shop and pay.

More and more people are shopping via smart phones

BrandAlley marketing and PR director, Melissa Littler has said; “Recent consumer research commissioned by BrandAlley clearly demonstrates more people are researching and shopping via their smart phones or tablet. We found that 40% of shoppers have already bought products via a mobile device. With online access via mobile forecast to outgrow computers in 2014, we’re ready and able to take advantage of this. We plan 10% of our revenue next year will come via mobile, and it will be critical to our future growth.”

She also added, “Our members are savvy shoppers who want to get a great deal wherever they are at a time that suits them. Our most popular sales can sell out within hours and our members can now browse the site on their way to work and make sure they don’t miss out on their favourite brands.”

Do you currently have a mobile website?

If you don’t currently have a mobile version of your website, why not? More and more consumers are using the internet and shopping using their mobile phone or tablet devices and if your site doesn’t display well on such devices, you may be missing out on sales.

Please do not hesitate to give SearchQuest a call today on 01524 382102 or fill in our contact form and one of our advisors will be in touch.

“The Internet Is The First Port Of Call For Shoppers”

Richard Fox, head of M&S Outlet has said, ‘The internet is often the first port of call for shoppers in search of a bargain, as it offers a quick and convenient way to compare the deals available. We’ve responded to our customers’ increased demand for online access to great value by extending our popular outlet offer on our website, making it even easier for customers to treat themselves to the best of M&S at even better prices.’

Despite being launched way back in 2000, until now, M&S Outlet has never been available online. New customers are being tempted towards the site with the offer of free delivery for those spending £30 or more until March 4th, and there is also a 10% discount for a first order when signing up to the M&S Newsletter.

More and More Stores Going Online Every Week

With more and more high street stores going online every week to take advantage of the booming internet marketplace, it has never been more important to get your business selling online. If you’re currently looking to take your business into the world of e-commerce, please do not hesitate to give SearchQuest a call today on 01524 382102 or fill in our contact form and one of our advisors will be in touch.

Over 10 billion mobile devices by 2016

They further predict that by 2016, this number will have risen to over 10 billion which is far above the human population and it looks set to keep on growing after that. According to predictions, the amount of data being carried by networks by this date will be 130 exabytes or 130 billion gigabytes of information. To put that number into context, in 1999 researchers from the University of Berkley estimated that if written down, the entirety of all human words ever spoken could be stored in only 5 exabytes.

Mobile service providers are already struggling to keep up with this huge level of data which is only set to increase as the technology progresses because smartphones and tablets are the main cause of this massive amount of transmitted data. On average a smartphone will use 150 megabytes of data each month (already tripled from 55MB in 2010), but his looks set to increase to a massive 2.6 gigabytes of data by 2016.

60% of users will become part of the gigabyte club

According to Suraj Shetty, vice president of products and solutions at Cisco “By 2016, 60% of mobile users – 3 billion people worldwide – will belong to the gigabyte club, each generating more than one gigabyte of mobile data traffic per month.”

There are several factors affecting this massive growth in data consumption among mobile users; the increasing popularity of smartphones and tablet computers has changed the way we use mobile devices and the amount of data we are accessing has increased because it relies on more data heavy formats such as streaming or downloading videos online; video traffic on mobile devices represented 52% of totally traffic in 2011.

Tablet use tripled in 2011

In 2011 tablet use tripled to over 34 million devices and each of these devices processes 3 times more data than a smartphone on average, marking a massive increase in mobile data consumption. Their data usage per month was around 517MB in 2011.

Another contributing factor is the network connections that are constantly getting faster and more efficient at transmitting large amounts of data. Fourth generation connections (4G) account for only 0.2% of all connections at the moment, but they are responsible for 6% of network traffic when it comes to data because they use 28 times more data than older connections.

As the number and sophistication of mobile devices steadily increases, network providers have to fight to keep up with the huge modern demand for high speed information.

What does this mean for you and your business?

What this means for you and your business is that having a mobile version of your website and a mobile app is absolutely vital. With the number of mobile devices increasing, and as a result the amount of time spent using such devices, it is now necessary to use this to your advantage, ensuring you have both a mobile app and a version of your website which displays well on smartphones.

SearchQuest offers both mobile websites and app design and development and can tailor these to your individual needs and requirements. Please do not hesitate to give us a call on 01524 382102 or fill in our contact form to speak to one of our advisors.

Many Business Owners Don’t See Full Potential Of Ecommerce – Why Not?

It seems as though many UK small business owners still do not see the full potential of ecommerce, and the possibilities it may open up for their company. At the end of the day, the majority of consumers (in both C2C and B2C markets) will now turn to a search engine as their first resource to find a product or service which they are looking for. If your business does not appear at the top of the search engines when those products or services relating to you are searched for, you are missing out on valuable enquiries and sales.

There’s Never Been A Better Time To Invest

There has never been a better time to invest in a functional ecommerce website, alongside a carefully planned SEO campaign to see your website appear at the top of the search engines. With ecommerce growing rapidly, despite high street sales suffering, if you are not currently utilising ecommerce for your business, ask yourself why not.

Put Yourself In Capable Hands

Please do not hesitate to give SearchQuest a call today on 01524 382102, or contact us here. As one of the UKs first internet marketing and SEO agencies, you can rest assured that you are in capable hands.

This survey showed that Ecommerce was the only part of industry to show considerable growth compared to last year’s figures. Many other areas of the market experienced large losses in sales despite the lucrative January sales period. 44% of retailers reported that their sales figures were down compared to January 2011 and 22% claimed that they had experienced some growth from last year, giving a balance of -22%.

Internet Orders up 50%

However, internet and mail-order retailers experienced a large rise in sales of 50%. This part of the market is nearly always showing exceptional growth; the incredible January sales figures pale in comparison to the 91% growth seen in December of this year. December was a good month for retail market growth this year compared to 2010. Grocers saw a growth of 52% compared to only 6% of growth this month.

The chief economic advisor of CBI, Ian McCafferty, said “Shoppers have reined in spending across the board” and he goes on to suggest a few reasons why this might be the case including a large number of consumers who took advantage of the early discounts before the New Year. He said that families in particular are “under continuing pressure with inflation still high and wage increases modest”.

The goods that performed the worst this January were durable household goods (-100%) and hardware and DIY (-81%). According to McCafferty “consumers are still holding off particularly from buying big ticket items like washing machines and fridges.”

E-Commerce stores have strong start to 2012

It has not been a particularly strong start of the year for any form of retail other than ecommerce. This fall was disappointing for high-street retailers but only marginally worse than expected (-18%) and firms expect annual sales volumes to continue to fall next month as well (-10%).