Buildings links was once the staple of ranking in search engines but for the past few years, Google has been advising marketers to stop focusing on this area. However, that?s not to say that having external links to your site aren?t important in how Googles algorithms work when ranking.

To understand the importance of links we must first look at the relationship between external links to your site and how Google ranks them. When looking at the data correlating the two, there are several conclusions to be drawn. Firstly, despite what Google may have you believe when searching for anything competitive, external links will always be present in some capacity. It is very rare that you can find a site in a competitive search market that doesn?t have some form of links. In relation to this, statistics also provide evidence that there is a distinct correlation between the number of external links derived from unique websites and the increase in ranking.

Another interesting find has been that despite people thinking that every individual page on their site needs external links, it is, in fact, possible for them to rank without these links. Provided that your website itself has external links to your homepage, all your other pages will also rank. The use of external links for your pages will however only aid in your ranking and often the internal links whilst not as strong will help in this process.

With this correlation between external links and ranking in mind we move to the main question of ?When can you rank without external links??. In the majority of cases, it is almost impossible to find any websites that rank competitively without any links but there are rarities. Most websites will naturally be trying to rank using competitive keywords making them much harder to rank. However, in cases where less competitive and usually more specific phrases are being used, websites are more likely to rank. With them having such minimal competition it usually means that there will be next to no traffic for them. The only cases where ranking will be possible is from customers searching directly for your website URL or if you provide a service/product that is incredibly unique to your area.

Undeniably link building can be a great tool when improving your website ranking but as with any SEO tactic, you should proceed with caution. Whilst years ago, to gain higher ranking in search engines people would spam external links it is now much harder to do. Since implementing its Google Penguin algorithm in 2012, Google has crackdown on bad link building, penalising sites for it, forcing them to adhere to strict guidelines. Many links now don?t provide any help in ranking and in some cases can hurt a website ranking. Ultimately, without any links you will find it near impossible for your website to rank, so, if you?re thinking about link building you may want to read up on Googles updated guidelines to ensure that your links are safe and beneficial to your site.

Google My Business is arguably the most essential piece of business marketing for local businesses in this digital age? and it?s FREE so what are you waiting for?

Neglect Google My Business at your business? peril! If your local business isn?t yet set up on Google My Business then you?re likely to miss out on a lot of potential website traffic, enquiries and footfall to your store or business? physical location (if it has one).

The incredible rise of the smartphone has meant that today more people than ever are searching for products, businesses and services as and when they need them whilst on the move using their phones. BrightLocal?s consumer research shows that the majority of consumers search for a local business online on a regular basis, with 53% of people searching at least once per month in 2016.

According to Google data, 76% of people who search for something nearby on their smartphone visit a related business within a day and 28% of those searches result in a purchase.

This is excellent news for local businesses as it means there are plenty of opportunities to reach new customers just at the moment when their buying intent is at its highest.

What is Google My Business?

Google My Business is like the new yellow pages. Register your local business with Google My Business to receive a free local business listing and profile that will appear above web search results and on Google Maps in both desktop and mobile search results.

Here is an example of how Google My Business listings appear in local search results:

When viewed on Google Maps, Google My Business listings and profiles appear as shown below:

When filled out fully your Google My Business profile will provide potential customers with all kinds of useful business information including contact details, photos, a map showing your location, reviews, company information, opening hours and videos.

8 Reasons why Google My Business is invaluable to your business

1. Easier to appear higher on Google ? Google My Business results appear in the local search results above all normal web results.
2. Gives you the edge over local competitors who aren?t yet on it.
3. Appear on Google Maps ? Your Google My Business listing will appear on Google Maps making it easy for people in the area to find you.
4. Reach people searching with high buying intent ? Your Google My Business listing has the potential to reach a huge number of new customers just at the moment when they?re looking for services like yours.
5. Potential to get your website ranking higher on Google ? Your business website is likely to also feel the benefit of you claiming your Places listing.
6. Free online marketing – Google is the new Yellow Pages. Being listed in Google My Business makes your business more accessible to people when they?re looking for products or services like yours.
7. Build your brand ? Take your time to fill out your Google My Business listing properly using professional imagery and carefully considered content to further build your brand online.
8. Easy to manage and edit from anywhere.

How to get started

You can claim your free Google My Business listing by signing in using your Google Logins (or registering with Google if you don?t yet have an account) and then creating your business listing with Google My Business here.

Need some help with Google My Business?

Want to find out more about how to set up and optimize your Google My Business listing? Give us a call on 0800 285 1424 to speak with one of our experts.

With Bing usage reportedly gaining traction, we take a look at how popular Microsoft?s search engine really is, how they?re winning more users and what they?ve got in store for the future.

Although Microsoft?s Bing only holds 9% of the worldwide search market share, it appears to be quickly gaining traction in the US and the UK.  In fact, according to this article by TechRadar 33% of searches in the US and 26% or searches in the UK are now performed on Bing.

Whilst Bing used to sometimes get sneered at when being compared to search giant Google, it seems like it may now be time to take them seriously.  But is this surge in Bing usage short-lived or could they become serious competition for Google in years to come?

Why are more people using Bing?

First of all, let?s not forget that these stats include searches on both Yahoo and AOL which are both powered by Bing.

Bing are big on partnering with not just other search engines, but big businesses, brands and technology too.  Bing themselves say that one of their main aims is to become ?pervasive?.  By partnering with many different businesses to make Bing the default search engine on all kinds of different platforms, people are often using Bing without making the choice, or sometimes without even realizing they?re doing so! It?s a smart move on Microsoft?s part.

Just a few of the businesses and devices that Bing are now partnered with include:

• AOL search
• Yahoo Search
• Apple?s Siri
• Amazon Echo (Alexa)
• Kindle Fire

And let?s not forget Microsoft?s own offerings including the Xbox games console and the Windows 10 operating system.  Windows 10 now features a desktop, voice controlled, virtual assistant called Cortana that answers search queries using Bing.

Bing have even recently launched an initiative in an attempt to win more users to pay people points that can be exchanged for freebies just for searching on Bing.

What could drive a future Bing revolution?

Whilst Google currently look comfortable in search?s top spot, search needs to keep evolving as technology developments are being made on a daily basis.  Could a combination of the factors below mean that Bing becomes the search engine for the future?

Mistakes made by Google

Google recently received a hefty fine of over $2.4bn for favoring their own shopping services in search results.  They were also in the news not so long ago after some embarrassingly questionable search results made their way to the top of the pile.  This kind of widely publicized mistake may put doubt in the minds of many about whether their search results should be trusted to be fair, trustworthy and impartial.  It is this kind of error that could damage their reputation and see people turning to alternative search engines.

Technology

There is no doubt that Microsoft have their finger on the pulse when it comes to developing innovative new technology.  Could their investment in AI and machine-learning give them the head start in a highly intelligent and technology-driven future for search?

Microsoft?s prominent position in the computing and mobile markets also gives them an edge over Google.

Partnerships

Often we aren?t even aware of which search engine features on our devices are being powered by.  Could Bing?s many partnerships and objective to become ?pervasive? result in a slow burn takeover without us even being aware that it is happening?

A shift in the way SEO works

Microsoft?s David Pann, general manager for search advertising said during an interview ?We also realize mobile experiences are going to dramatically evolve over the next three to five years to the extent that consumer intent won?t be typed in ? it may be location-based, it may be understanding what?s on your schedule. The notion of search could move to a more passive approach.?

With search moving away from the two dimensional page of clickable search results and becoming more heavily involved with location and voice commands issued from an array of different devices, will Google still be kingpin in this changing landscape, or could Microsoft?s Bing emerge on top?

Want to prepare for the future and find out more about ranking on alternative search engines like Bing? Get in touch with our SEO team here at Aqueous SEO by calling one of our team on 0800 285 1424.

Merry Christmas and a happy New Year from all the team at Aqueous Digital. We are now closed until 2^nd of January, enjoy the break!

Back in July the internet world woke up to find that the images that should be showing on bulletin boards, blogs, forums and shopping sites such as eBay and Amazon, had disappeared.

What they found instead was the Photobucket ‘P500’ error image.

Photobucket had, overnight, pivoted their business model to disallow users from sharing images on any other website unless they paid for a ?premium? plan.

One of the biggest issues, however, was that it came out of the blue. No one knew about it. There were no announcements, no emails warning people that it was about to happen and more importantly, no explanation.

Given that their mission statement appears to be “Your photos are our number one priority. It’s our mission to help you share, store, edit and enjoy them — all in one place” it was a very strange move.

Naturally, the internet was up in arms about it; just search Facebook, Twitter or Reddit to see for yourself. Bulletin boards across the globe were crippled as previously vibrant threads with detailed images disappeared. People who had used Photobucket for hosting these images successfully for over ten years found that they literally had to start again with what for some, amounted to a lifetimes work.

Taking a step back and looking at it from a commercial point of view, there must have been a growing imperative to step away from a model primarily reliant on advertising. With a growth in customer numbers and an increase in bandwidth usage, their cost base must have been spiralling. It’s a by-product of their success.

The solution however surely was not what they have come up with?

Firstly, why make the change with no notice? Why simply change overnight and then dump on your customers?

Secondly, how on earth did they arrive at their pricing point of $399? When so many people use their service specifically for third party hosting and nothing else, why provide this service only at the highest price point you have?

Finally, unless they have deliberately set out to rid themselves forever of customers using ‘free’ accounts then how will they survive the fallout from this?

Their website is currently drowning in crass advertising and is virtually unusable.

One commentator on Reddit summed the problem up nicely;

“you cant even begin to imagine what this will mean to internet forums and blogs. older internet users remember what a dumpster fire the internet was when angelfire, geocities, and tripod stopped offering free hosting, broken links everywhere and it was the exact same cause, they started out to give everyone free hosting, but they reached critical mass as more people signed up for the free than the paid.”

The backlash from this decision was inevitable. Many people closed their accounts, and more, I?m sure, are planning to do so when their annual plan expires. When there are so many other alternatives out there it seems that Photobucket is relying on inertia from their customer base to survive.

I doubt they will be allowed to.

From a Marketing Communications point of view, this was a case study on how not to do it.

Not only did they dump this on their users with zero notice, but they compounded the issue with their communications, or lack of them.

Four months on from the start of this process their Facebook and Twitter ‘Customer Services’ teams are blithely carrying on as if nothing has happened and people are being ignored or stuck into pre-defined responses.

People have stopped complaining on the Photobucket forum as they were being asked to email them, at which point they got a ‘canned’ email which amounted to nothing more than FAQ’s. None of which answered any of the questions their customers had.

Today, most of their customers have taken to Twitter or Facebook to vent their anger and they are not happy. Everything they now do, no matter how positive, is subject to a barrage of abuse and hate.

And their traffic has suffered. According to SimilarWeb their traffic has halved since they made this change.

This is nothing short of a P.R disaster and has left a very bad taste in the mouth for many people. Given that Photobucket was set up as a photo storage and sharing website, removing the sharing option unless you pay $399 seems bizarre. People are still feeling that they are being held to ransom.

It is highly unlikely that Photobucket will rethink this policy, or even survive as a business. Even if they do then they may end up being remembered as the people who broke the internet.

With the act of searching online now more often than not, being referred to as ?googling?, it?s difficult to imagine a time when this search engine giant wasn?t ruling the internet. 

Google really cemented their reign over online search in recent years when their name became a commonly used verb for searching for something online, but they haven?t always been top dog!  Before Google?s time there were plenty of search engines to choose from including the likes of Yahoo, Lycos, Excite, Dog Pile and Ask Jeeves? Phew, what a blast from the past some of those names are!

Google?s innovation, complex algorithms and drive to deliver searchers with high quality, relevant search results have catapulted them to the top of the pile.  Their immense success has killed off a lot of their competition and thus given them a huge amount of power in deciding which webpages can easily be found online and which cannot.

But is Google?s status as top dog unconquerable or could they be dethroned in the not so distant future?

Where does Google stand now?

Net Market Share research from April 2017 shows that Google still holds 77% of global search engine usage and names the next top 3 search engines as Baidu (8%), Bing (7.13%) and Yahoo (5%).

With Google receiving over 6 billion 500 searches a day worldwide, it would be a pretty impressive feat to topple them from the top spot any time soon, but let?s take a look at the top contenders.

The Competition

Baidu

You can be forgiven for not having heard of Baidu before as they are China?s answer to Google. Google is blocked in mainland China due to strict digital rules and regulations and instead, Baidu rules supreme with over 80% of China?s search engine market.

Bing (Microsoft)

Bing is Microsoft?s answer to Google.  Bing are currently working their socks off trying to encourage people to jump ship from Google and are seen as their main competition.

Microsoft?s search engine lost some credibility back in 2011 when they were caught ?copying? Google?s search results after a number of nonsensical searches returned the exact same results on both search engines.

Whilst many people sneer at Bing, they are said to use very similar ranking factors to Google.  They claim that it is easier to rank highly with them over Google as so many people are preoccupied with ranking on Google alone.

Microsoft are more and more frequently integrating Bing into the Windows operating system and Windows phones in an effort to win more users, and it seems to be working, particularly in the UK and the US.

Earlier this summer, in their latest attempt to win more users, Microsoft started offering ?Microsoft Rewards? to those that use Bing. These reward points can be collected and exchanged for freebies. Unfortunately, the move was seen by many as a desperate attempt to ?buy? users.

Yahoo

Yahoo receives a lot of help with their search facilities not just from their long-term partner Microsoft Bing, but also from Google themselves.  In 2015 Yahoo signed a 3-year deal with Google that gave them search ads, algorithmic search and image search for both desktop and mobile. Whilst these partnerships help to increase Yahoo?s popularity and revenue, it also proves that sadly they just don?t have the technology to outdo their competition at the moment.

Challenges for Google

Quality

Although Google are currently far out in the lead, there are a number of challenges keeping them on their toes.  They have recently been under fire for the quality of their search results after a series of embarrassingly questionable results were publicised in The Guardian.

Reputation

It is this kind of mistake that could spoil their reputation and have people turn to one of their competitors, or even alternative search engines like the privacy-friendly DuckDuckGo.

Mobile market

The mobile market could also have a big effect on Google?s popularity.  With more and more people performing searches whilst out and about using their mobile phones there is plenty of scope for Microsoft Bing to win more customers on Windows devices.

For now, it doesn?t seem like Google?s top position is in any immediate danger as for the most part they set the standards when it comes to SEO.  However, if the search giant wants to remain the kingpin then they need to stay on their toes and keep on innovating and improving the quality of their search results to keep their reputation intact and remain at the top of the pile.

Want to find out more about ranking on alternative search engines like Bing? Get in touch with our SEO team here at Aqueous SEO to get optimised for Bing by calling one of our team on 0800 285 1424.

One of the most vital aspects of promoting your business is to ensure you have a good SEO strategy.

The problem is that Google is constantly evolving its algorithm to cut down on spam and ensure only the best quality content reaches the top of the SERPs. So to stay ahead of the many changes in SEO, you need relevant, up-to-date information.

If you want to learn the fundamentals of today?s SEO or improve your existing strategy, you should invest in at least one of these top 5 SEO books for 2018. And if you are stuck for thoughtful presents for someone in your life there’s bound to be something here if they are into SEO.

The Art of SEO: Mastering Search Engine Optimisation 3rd Edition

By Eric Enge, Stephan Spencer and Jessie Stricchiola

This bestselling book by three of the world?s top SEO experts is ideal for beginners and advanced SEO practitioners alike.

It contains everything you need to know about new techniques and tools to plan and execute a successful SEO strategy in 2017.

Novices receive a comprehensive SEO education, while experienced practitioners are updated with up-to-the-moment methods and tools to improve their ongoing strategies and add to their SEO knowledge.

Search Engine Optimization 2017: Learn SEO with Smart Internet Strategies

By Adam Clark

This updated version reveals the secrets of gaining more traffic in 2017. It focuses on effective link building without incurring Google penalties in a simple step-by-step process.

The book covers all the latest changes to Google?s algorithm, and how you can use them to your advantage.

Key features include:

• Essential secrets to stay ahead, including potential changes coming up in 2017
• How beginners can quickly learn the fundamentals of SEO to get more customers
• 25+ little known, effective SEO marketing tools
• Bonus chapter on how to set up an instant pay-per-click campaign

SEO Fitness Workbook, 2017 Edition: The Seven Steps to Search Engine Optimization Success on Google

By Jason McDonald PhD

SEO guru, Jason McDonald, reveals the seven steps you need to be SEO fit. Clear and concise, it?s perfect for SEO newbies, explaining the basics of SEO in easy-to-understand terms.

Key features include:

• Practical worksheets you can apply to your website
• Chapter links to supporting videos for better understanding

SEO Like I?m 5: The Ultimate Beginner?s Guide to Search Engine Optimization

By Matthew Capala

Don?t be fooled by the title. This bestseller is not condescending or, indeed, just for beginners. It offers a refreshing approach to learning SEO in a simple and practical way, making it the must-read book for businesses that want instant results without getting bogged down in the complexities of SEO.

Packed full of practical tips, case studies and walk-throughs, the book focuses on producing strong content and social media presence as opposed to keyword stuffing and coding.

Search Engine Optimization All-in-One For Dummies

By Bruce Clay

Described as the ?most comprehensive coverage of SEO?, this straight-to-the-point guide cuts through the tech talk to get you set up and ready to use an effective SEO strategy in the quickest way possible. The new version contains updated material for 2017, information on web design, and how to use SEO to stay ahead of competitors.

Whatever stage you are in your SEO career you are bound to be able to glean something from the five we have featured in this list. Buy them for Christmas and enjoy into the New Year!

It doesn’t take much to make the internet angry these days but even so, this latest stunt from Photobucket takes some beating.

At first, some people thought it was a scam. There are plenty of posts saying that they thought Photobucket had been hacked but these swiftly turned to anger when they realised that it was real.

The issue; Photobucket have decided that it’s a great idea to stop people from using their platform for sharing photos on other websites unless you pay them $399 a year.

As many angry people have pointed out, the service has been glitchy and inconsistent for some time. As somewhere to store your photos it’s been OK but for sharing it has been prone to issues. And the solution they have come up with of charging everyone for doing something that has previously always been free has not gone down well.

This is the sort of thing you can find today if you go and look at their Facebook page;

Twitter is no better and what’s adding fuel to the fire is the ‘corporate speak’ responses to every complaint. Quite simply people are not being heard.

The change has meant that bulletin boards and auction sites across the internet are a train wreck this morning, along with people’s personal blogs and websites. And to date, Photobucket is doing nothing about it. They appear to be hunkering down and hoping they can weather the storm.

The problem they face is not simply that disgruntled customers may go elsewhere but that in doing so they will shout as loudly as they can about how badly they have been treated. Forget that many of these people, in fact, many of the 166 who have commented so far today on their Facebook page, probably have a free account, the fact is that they are customers.

And Photobucket is about to find out that when you upset customers en masse then no amount of backtracking will protect your brand. There is only one way this can end well and it involves them reconsidering this bizarre move. Every other way sees Photobucket come to a sad and sticky end.

What a year. It?s been an amazing journey over the last twelve months and there is so much in the pipeline it?s hard to know where to begin!

This time last year we published this blog post in which we outlined our plan to grow the business to £1,000,000 turnover by the end of 2019. One year on and we are on target to achieve this mark. In fact, if everything goes according to plan (and you know what they say about the best-laid plans?.) then we could even do it a year early!

When we set the business up in 2011 in a small office with no customers but big aspirations, the aim was always to provide a service that customers would want, value and gain benefit from. Six years on and we have hundreds of successes behind us and customers still with us who have been with us almost from the start.

In the last year, we?ve seen more of our customers get more number one positions on Google than ever before. We?ve expanded the team so there are now nine of us and we?re still recruiting and we?ve retained our Google Partner status for the fourth year running.

The team gained more Google qualifications than ever before, we took on a Head of Sales and we won the Halton Business Awards Marketing Excellence Award. We?ve even shifted our social media followers from under 1,000 to over 10,000 in total.

It?s been amazing. But the plans for the next year are even more exciting!

Right now, are looking to recruit two new technical heads for our office, to add to our in-house SEO and PPC expertise and we will be taking on more office space in the near future. We are also recruiting for two more sales people in the next six months.

On top of this, we have a new Aqueous Digital website under construction (watch this space!) and we are investing heavily in a training programme for the business. We are also investing in IT, infrastructure and unified communications to help us provide an even better service to our customers.

With all that going on you?ll understand it when we say that today, in the office, it will be a low-key affair. No streamers, bunting, cakes or champagne. But we do have big plans in the pipeline for the next two weeks so follow us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn to see what adventures we get up to!

404 Errors usually occur when the webpage you were trying to access cannot be found on the server. This is caused by either the page being removed or moved somewhere else and the URL you are using has not be changed. It could also be caused by you incorrectly typing in the URL or clicking on a pre-existing link that is incorrect. More often than not 404 errors are caused by a URL being incorrect as opposed to their being a problem with the server. Despite this, you may often notice periods where there is a spike in 404 errors in Google?s Search Console. There will be periods where you will continually try to access a website that should be available to you only to find you are met with 404 error pages.

According to those working at Google, this is a perfectly normal process and is likely to happen from time to time. In creating temporary 404 pages, Google regularly checks to see if there are any changes with the existing URLs, particularly older pages that may no longer be in use.

Recently on Twitter, a user tweeted at John Mueller, a Senior Webmaster Trend Analyst at Google asking if there was a ?change in search console that increased found error pages at the beginning of April?. Mueller not long after replied with a tweet stating that there was ?no change in reporting. We periodically recrawl older URLs to see if there?s something awesome there, maybe you?re seeing that.?

AFAIK no change in reporting. We periodically recrawl older URLs to see if there’s something awesome there, maybe you’re seeing that.

? John ?.o(???)o.? (@JohnMu) May 9, 2017

Whilst this may seem inconvenient and unnecessary, it is actually one of the best ways to ensure that websites are accessible. If at some point in its timeline a URL has been 404?d but is soon to contain new content it. Without Google retrying these old 404 URLs then that content would not be available to you or anyone else.

Ultimately, there is no reason that this should panic you if you find that pages are flagged as 404 errors. If however, the number of errors continues rising for if they appear for page that should exist then you have a problem. If the page you are trying to access belongs to you there are a few steps you should take. Firstly, check the URL to ensure that you haven?t mistyped something- as mentioned previously, most of the time this is the issue and can be resolved in a matter of seconds. If however you have checked this and you are still seeing a 404 page on a site that belongs to you, you should check that it is in fact live and that the issue isn?t from your end. Only once you cannot find a problem on your end should you then contact your web developer or web hosting provider to resolve any 404 issues.

At Aqueous Digital we provide a range of digital marketing services including SEO which can cover issues regarding 404 errors. For more information call us on 0800 285 1424 or fill in our contact form and we’ll be in touch!