The Web Should Be Fast

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With the Internet growing to be an increased part of our lives the speed at which things happen has to improve to make this function as we need it to, responsive and information at the click of button.

A users experience on a website  should be not be a frustrating one. A faster and more responsive website will keep user engaged and focused on your content, rather than waiting for scripts and images to load or leaving the site to go to a competitor.

Website’s look more attractive, images and video’s are shared in high quality across many platforms including mobile, so speed is so important. Since 2010 Google uses speed as part of the algorithm and they suggest a focus on user experience so we thought we should compare our website hosting platform against a few of the largest companies who spend millions if not trillions on infrastructure to see just how we compare to them.

Chameleon Hosting Speed & Coding Testing

Testing hosting speed and website coding is simple, there are various methods and varied software platforms you can use. We like the GT Metrix for the simple reason it provides in-depth data to help you improve things.

We selected the cream of companies to test against selecting Facebook, Microsoft and Adobe and the test is obviously carried out in a fair manner by a third party software.

Facebook, Microsoft & Adobe Hosting Speed & Coding Test Results:-

The testing is using the following URLs www.chameleonwebservices.co.uk, www.facebook.com, www.microsoft.com & www.adobe.com.

 

Chameleon GT Metrix Speed Testing 1

Chameleon GT Metrix Speed Testing 2

We think we did very well against the very strong competition and decided to do even more testing.

We decided to compare even more selected Ebay, Apple and AOL to see how we do against these guys.

Ebay, Apple & AOL Hosting Speed & Coding Test Results:-

The testing is using the following URLs www.chameleonwebservices.co.uk, www.ebay.com, www.apple.com & www.aol.com.

 

Chameleon GT Metrix Speed Testing 3

Chameleon GT Metrix Speed Testing 4

These test results please us as we be can sure that are our web hosting and coding is being provided at a very high standard in terms of speed and reliability.

Our clients experience is always good and are happy to share these results with pride.

Hosting Speed & Coding Test using GT Metrix

 READ MORE

SEO Ranking Improvements – Best SEO Company

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We get asked lots of questions from potential new clients and as an SEO Company that operates in a transparent manner we wanted to share an example of how ranking improvements move as a general rule of thumb and provide information to help understand SEO companies a little better.

SEO Ranking Graph Showing Improvements

SEO Ranking Improvements

Looking at this graph you can see that the client was already on page two position 25 in Google which makes improvements easier and quicker than a keyword that is not in the top 100.

We investigate the clients website and the competition on page one of Google for the chosen keyword. We then identify an SEO bespoke SEO plan to achieve success and then start the process.

We improve the website itself which is known as on-page SEO changes and then create a powerful link profile which will be found by Google and when the Google Index is updated with this new data the value is added to the information relating to the domain name and then Google will prefer our client over other websites for the chosen keyword. Sounds simple, what has to be considered is that all the other SEO companies are doing the same in their own way.

SEO Company Methods of Success

Each SEO company will have a slightly different way of achieving success and often they will be using a technique that has worked for them previously. We have hundreds of test sites with careful analysis tracking and monitoring to identify the Google Algorithm changes and this information is critical to us in keeping ahead of the competition SEO Companies. We use this data to identify what is required to be on page one of Google and what is required to achieve top 3 positions.

Our SEO success is a mix of mathematically calculated data and high quality content written in house to ensure no duplication occurs. All the on-page SEO changes we make are identified using our in-house SEO tools and checked against purchased software to see what other SEO companies are doing following the software guidelines. There are only a handful of decent SEO software platforms available and we use all to compare the difference’s as this gives us even more data for our analysis. If the competition SEO companies are all using the same software then the results are going to be same to a point and this is the reason we break the mould and have some of the best rankings in the most competitive sectors.

Often the SEO software will suggest changes that we don’t agree with and this is not followed and we achieve position one in the Google search results, the other SEO companies will be following these guidelines and this makes our job easier.

Birmingham SEO Company

There are various ways that an SEO company can prove their service and one of the most important is being able to achieve ranking for their own website as well as clients. Many SEO companies in Birmingham have had to change domain names following Google Algorithm changes due to problems and penalties. This is not good and if this was a clients domain name that was damaged then this leads to problems that can destroy a business if the reliance is on Google for income from search results with new clients finding them to produce revenue then this can lead to the company going under.

To compare and show an example of this if we take the keyword “Birmingham seo services” which is a keyword SEO companies in Birmingham look to achieve. If you look below you can see in Google that Chameleon is ranking in position 1 and 3. This is obviously fantastic for us due to the fact that the top three positions are the most important and to fight an SEO battle against our competition and have two out of the three position available is amazing:-

Birmingham SEO Services

Google search results change and this example is as of 29/10/2014.

So using the companies shown here which are obviously SEO Companies that are in Birmingham and in competition for the same keywords offering similar services, how can you then compare them to see how good they are at what they do?

There is one way to compare the overall number of keywords that they rank for due to this being an important factor to consider, ranking for only one keyword to prove you can achieve online success is not really proof that you can deliver results and using Google Adwords to be in the search results is a costly way to get clients and these costs will be passed down to the client in some way.

The comparison will be made using SEM RUSH a 3rd party SEO software platform that anyone can use and we will compare the following companies:-

  • Chameleon Web Services – www.chameleonwebservices.co.uk
  • SEO Silly – www.seosilly.co.uk
  • Kalexiko – www.kalexiko.com
  • UC4 – www.uc4.co.uk
  • SEO Results4U – www.seoresults4u.com
  • Essential Marketer – www.essentialmarketer.com
  • 3Sixty Search – www.3sixtysearch.co.uk
  • e-foreknowledge – www.e-foreknowledge.co.uk
  • WOW Internet – www.wowinternet.co.uk

SEO Company Rankings

Click here for the exact data from the first graph or Click here for the exact data from the second graph.

Looking at the data you can see that the number of keywords each SEO company ranks for will vary by the month and this is due to the work being carried in a highly competitive sector and also the Google Algorithm changes. We have gone back to 2011 to show a clear understanding of the changes and from our own keywords ranked you can see in 2014 it is more difficult to rank for a large number of keywords. I would point out that in October 2014 we have gained a large amount of keywords not shown in this graph due the SEM RUSH system not posting this data yet.

An example of the changes that Google made and the change to the number of keywords ranking for example we can look at Ebay:-

Ebay rankings in Google

This article on Search Engine Land talks about the changes following the Google Panda 4.0 update. READ MORE.

SEO is a complicated process and every search engine optimisation company will say that their method is best but ultimately results talk and Google makes the job more difficult each month. We carry out SEO to Google’s guidelines to ensure that our clients do not get hit with a penalty and we work to monitor negative SEO protecting clients.

Who is the Best Birmingham SEO Company

To answer this question would be wrong due to us being very biased however, who is the best SEO Company in Birmingham is something that we believe needs to the following. Has the company delivered SEO for a number of years with success following all the Google changes and do they carry out white hat SEO?

The answer to this is there are various companies in Birmingham to choose from and our recommendation is to speak with the companies and see who makes you feel comfortable. Choosing the wrong company can lead to disaster and this will be a costly fix.

Note: Nothing in the article is aimed to name or shame an SEO Competitor the and article has been written following questions from potential clients.

Penguin 3.0 Update Information

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It is still too early to tell what the full effects of the latest Google Penguin 3.0 update are, but it is clear from conversations with SEO consultants in the UK and US that use we share information with that this update has effected the SEO companies that offer poor services that are designed to be cheap and also companies that have not taken notice of the changes being rolled out in the last 6 months.

Our Penguin 3.0 Update Information

From what we are understanding negative SEO is now clearly a problem and Matt Cutt’s has said that this roll out took longer to be released due to the negative SEO problem. It is also clear that Google are being clear that the Google Disavow Tool should be used and from what we have seen and heard the negative feelings towards this being a witch hunt are now being cleared up and the actual result is Google are providing a solution to negative SEO.

Using the Google Disavow Tool

If your website has dropped in the last 12 months and you have not known what to do, contact Chameleon for a backlink report and to understand how to use the Google Disavow Tool to inform Google that the bad backlinks that are pointing to your website are not as a result of actual SEO and rather a competitor doing this negative SEO activity to harm your rankings.

Once you have your list of bad links then go here:- https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/disavow-links-main

For more information about this tool there is a Google help page:- https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/2648487?hl=en

If you get stuck please ask a Chameleon SEO Consultant who can help.

Penguin 3.0 Information

Google-Penguin-Update-LOne of the first things we have noticed is that competitors sites we monitor that have dropped since the update have a high number of exact match anchor text and we believe that this makes the domain profile to now be in what is called an “Exact Match Optimisation Penalty”.

On further investigation it is clear that anchor text percentages are playing an important role in the new algorithm and duplicate linking content may now be being picked up causing a ranking penalty.

Forum profiles are a clear negative and this is something that is clear in the majority of updates over the last two years.

Building links from social media sites is not seeming to be adding any benefits and sites that are hitting YouTube as a way to gain links are being effected by the latest update. The same can be said for social bookmarks and constantly posting on social sites to link back to the money site.

Also sites that are creating new content everyday that is simply padding a site in size and not adding any real value to the Internet or user is also now a worthless exercise.

What Should We Be Doing Post Penguin 3.0

If your website has dropped since the Penguin 3.0 update then simply trying to add lots of new links and content will not help your website to rank again. You need to STOP and look at what it is you are doing online and why Google do not like it.

Ask yourself a question “does this content add value to a user” and if it doesn’t then do not do it. The Internet was growing a ridiculous rate before Google changed the goal posts and now a lot of SEO companies have had to revaluate their processes. Millions of website’s were being registered and worthless content being added to pages using automated systems making Google’s job much more difficult and this simply had to stop and it is for this very reason that Google did so many changes over the last couple of years and as result this unneeded growth has slowed down.

So going forward your SEO techniques should be adding value to the Internet:-

  • Make sure your website is Google Friendly
  • Ensure you have everything laid out correctly following the coding guidelines Google recommend
  • Block search engine spiders from trawling everything on your site – make the Google spiders job easier and quicker
  • Ensure your content is being delivered on your site in a way that the target audience needs it to be and search engine spiders can identify what is it correctly
  • Create video’s explaining what it is your website is doing and why
  • Use Social media to inform people about your website and the products and services making it easier to find things
  • Ensure you are mobile ready and think about the information you are using, is this mobile friendly?
  • Check your hosting, is it quick enough for your website requirements?
  • Does your website need the code optimising to ensure it loads fast
  • Use the available tools to cache your website
  • Clean up your link profile using the Google DISAVOW tool
  • If you have over optimised anchor text using keywords pointing to your domain change them to be the domain name or brand name
  • Look at the number of words on your pages, if you have a very small amount then your keywords are probably far too heavy and thus over optimised

To summarise, we are not going to pretend that if you do all the above your website will rank in the latest Google Algorithm and go to number one but it is a very good starting point.

If you need help then get in touch with a Chameleon SEO Consultant.

SEO Consultant Advice

Google Penguin 3.0 Launched on Oct 18

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Google-Penguin-Update-LThe SEO world is again all going mad with the news that Google have rolled out yet another algorithmic update which is Google Penguin 3.0. It has been announced and launched on Sunday October 18th 2014 which is just over a year since the Penguin 2.1 update was launched October 4th 2013.

In the SEO industry there are mixed reports of big losses and other with big gains so it is again dependant upon the type of SEO activity that has been carried out. As always following Google’s guidelines means you should have nothing to worry about and we have seen many of our sites gain in rankings due to our hard work. With clients sites that came to us with Google penalties we are also seeing huge jumps and this suggests that potentially penalties have been removed or refocused.

It is really too early to tell if we have seen the full extent to what the Penguin 3.0 update has changed but from our point of view this is another movement forwards helping us achieve of clients goals.

What can you do if your site has suddenly dropped and lost rankings? First thing is do not panic, wait over the next few days to let the dust settle, if the site doesn’t recover then contact one of our SEM consultants to take a look at the profile of the domain and understand why and what caused the problem. It might be a quick fix or a complicated repair process but either way we will be able to fix this.

SEOv2

One of the things we have come to learn is that Google have also rolled out with this update a way to reduce the rankings of pirate sites which is a movement forwards in the copyright world due to the fact that Google contains pirated media locations and is used by users to find movies and music illegally. With Google beginning to punish pirate sites within the search results this will make it more difficult to find pirated materials. Google have stated that this move is designed to “help users find legitimate, quality sources of content more easily” and we feel this is great movement forward.

Bring your local business online #6

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Bring your local business online #6: Engage customers with a holistic online identity

Video #6 in a series to help build an online presence for your local business. We’ll end the series by showing how Scott makes sure his online presence sends a cohesive message to customers and answers all their common questions. :) More information athttp://www.google.com/webmasters.