SEO Info: Image Optimisation

I read an interesting article by Sue Hallam few days ago with some tips on how to optimise images.

Image optimisation is a useful tool for optimising a website. Depending on the content, it can be a very good way of driving traffic to the web pages. One of our old clients who’s site contained pictures of cakes used to get lots of hits from images.google.co.uk.

Sue’s article suggested some of the following tips for optimising images:

1. Use keyword rich filenames eg hellebores_001.jpg.

2. Make use of the alt tags – describe what the image is.

3. Use the image on a relevant webpage. For example, a selection of images featuring hardy perennial flowers should be used on a page devoted to hardy perennials.

4. Try to create internal and external links to the images. A blog post like this is an excellent opportunity to create external links to images on your website.

5. Using the Google webmaster tools, it is also important to make sure that the image search is enabled for your website. Participating in the Google Labeller service lets users label and describe images too. Labelling images can be quite fun and well worth filling a spare 5 minutes everynow and again!

All of these tips will help ensure that the images on your site will be ranked higher in the search engine results.

One great firefox extension for searching through the Google image results in called PicLens. Install it and get searching!

If you search for SEO Nottingham you will find one of my pictures take from the Nottingham Eye which was used in a previous blog posts

Big changes to the internet and the world of SEO?

The way people use the internet could really change over the next few years. Today, in Paris, Icann, the internet regulator voted in favour to relax the current rules on “top-level” domains.

What does this mean? Well, when picking a domain, instead of picking from the standard list of .com, .co.uk or .net etc it will be possible for people or companies to set up their own user defined domain names. The new plans make it possible for top level domains based on any string of letters in any script.

This means that we could soon see web addresses with a host of brand names and keywords appearing in them. This is likely to have a very big impact on SEO and the search engine optimisation industry.

Some of our clients could be in a position to change their domain names. For example, the Paintball Jungle could change their address to something like www.nottingham.paintball or us at Metafocus could change our address to www.metafocus.seo. The possibilities could be endless!

It isn’t all good news though! The cost of creating a customised TLD is estimated in the very least to be a 6 figure amount!

One country who looks set to loose out will be the Polynesian Island of Tuvalu. They have been making lots of money leasing .tv domains to television production companies!

TV action at the Adrenalin Jungle

One of our SEO clients, the Adrenalin Jungle were recently pleased to welcome a crew from Yorkshire TV to film a feature for the Calendar program for their ‘What’s On?’ series.

TV presenter Carolin Hodgson was sent to check out some of the outdoor activities on offer at the Adrenalin Junlgle. Carolin, dressed the Jungles obligatory combats and safety gear was filmed trying her hand at the 4 x 4 course, archery and quad biking. The feature aired a few days later and received a great response from the public.

The Adrenalin Jungle often get TV crews filming at the site. The Nottingham and England cricketer Ryan Sidebottom was filmed playing paintball for the Question of Sports Mystery Guest competition.

If you would like a day at the Adrenalin Jungle, just like Carolin and Ryan did, then please see their range of Activities in Nottingham, Midlands Paintball or Teambuilding Events then please click on the links.

Mobility Buddy - New Metafocus SEO Client

One of our recent SEO customers is a company in Nottinghamshire called Mobility Buddy.

The company have over 20 years experience in selling mobility aids such as Walking sticks, Zimmer frames and disabled scooters.

On the website I was surprised to find such a great range of living aids which could make everyday life much easier for everyone! I think that certain products like commodes and rollators are aimed towards elderly and disabled people, but the living aids could be used by everyone.

I’ve picked out a selection of items which I think could make modern life a bit less stressful!

Bottle & Jam Jar Opener

Say good bye to the damp tea towel method! Never say to someone else again “you hold the bottom, I’ll twist the top!”

J-Popper Ring Pull Opener

I’m not really one for looking after my nails, but I do know it hurts when you bend your nails opening awkward cans. This opener could probably work on beer cans too!

Bed Tray

I was ill last week and worked from home for a couple of days. I had problems using my laptop in bed and resting it on top of the duvet made it get quite hot. This tray would have been perfect!

Book Butler

When I was back at Uni I think this would have come in useful. Most new text books wont stay open on a flat desk, and this Book Butler means you don’t have to sit hunched over holding pages down with your elbows!

Have a look on the website and I think you will be surprised what you will find! For more information contact 0800 107 8445

Mobility Buddy: http://www.mobilitybuddy.co.uk/

Metafocus YouTube Channel

Youtube is a great and fun way of publicising our clients services. The videos are also a great compliment to the other search engine optimisation (SEO) work which we carry out on their websites. In the past we have uploaded videos for a number of our clients including The Adrenalin Jungle, an outdoor activities centre in Nottingham, and Cascades Gardens, a luxury bed and breakfast in Derbyshire.

We have recently created out our own Metafocus YouTube channel. Here we will be able to collate together all of our clients videos.

The first video we’ve uploaded to the Metafocus channel is a short video made by the UKTI. They came to our office to film us at work and to interview Alan Clements our MD. The video mainly focussed on the chinese websites and chinese online marketing services which we are currently providing for a number of clients.

You can view our YouTube channel here: Metafocus

Has anyone seen our sign? It was last seen in the UKTI video, but has since vanished!

Firefox 3

Seems like i might have missed the Firefox 3 download day, but I'm happy to say that i'm now hooked up big style!



Download a copy for yourself from the Mozilla website.

Technorati Registration

I have nearly signed up to Technorati..

Looks like I will have to finish it later :(

Whitton Lodge - B&B in Chesterfield, Derbyshire

Whitton Lodge is a luxury bed and breakfast in Chesterfield, Derbyshire. The B&B opened in April 2007 and has enjoyed a successful 14 months with many satisfied customers. The luxury B&B are one of our monthly SEO clients who’s site we spend time working on each month.

The house of the B&B in Chesterfield was once part of the Hardwick Estate and used as a working Stud Farm for the Estates horses. Be under no misconception, the modern day house is very different! The B&B in Derbyshire boasts some fabulous facilities which include a swimming pool, a sauna, a gym and a games room. For those who prefer a less strenuous break, after enjoying the spa facilities they can arrange for a local beauty therapist to call in to treat you to a new hairstyle or give you a relaxing massage.

 

Recently the website for the B&B in Derbyshire has undergone some changes. We have taken new photos of the bedrooms, the great facilities and pictures of the exterior of the house. You can browse through the new pictures on their website: http://www.whittonlodge.co.uk/

 

Audiophile BBQ & Music Workshop - Stealth - Sat 21 June

Ok.. it's not entirely SEO related, but it is the biggest thing happening in Nottingham over the next few weeks!

It’s the longest day of the year so it seems fitting to hold our biggest Audiophile party to date on the summer solstice day!

Audiophile and Shrink Records present a music workshop in association with Ableton and JazzMutant at Stealth in Nottingham.




































The full line up:

Chris Finke (Atomic Jam/Split)
Max Cooper (Shrink Records/Evolved Records)
Allan Banford (Evolved Records)
Raw Hedroom (Shrink/Flux)
Tom Select (Girls and Mathematics/So HOT right now, Budapest)
Shapshankly (Electric Circus/Virus B-23)
Delirium Funk Live (Spectrum)
Mark Pearson (Frakah)
Matt Burton (Leftroom/Shrink Records)
Lee Spicknell (Sound Alliance)
Nick Lawson (Shrink Records)
Pollyy (Shrink Records)
The Chosen Ones (Audiophile)

Entry during the daytime is free, then the usual Stealth Saturday night prices:
£5 adv / Free before 10.15pm / £6 NUS / £7

Like music? Like BBQ’s? In the dark confines of Stealth's underbelly we're setting up an AV system to give willing students a techno-education. A selection of artists from around the country will be giving talks on a variety of topics relevant to electronic music production, which will include:

Beat programming and Ableton Live 7's drum racks
Guerilla solder (Circuit bending)
Making things pump! (Sidechaining)
Live performance interfaces
Synthesis techniques

Representatives from Shrink, Flux Recordings and Evolved Records will be on hand to discuss any label-related issues.

Beginner? Seasoned producer & performer? Grab a drink, find a good view and pick up some skills (and maybe some Ableton/Jazzmutant goodies!)

After the talks have finished we’re going to clear everything out of the way in preparation for a big night ahead.

For more information: click here to view the facebook event

We’d like to say a big thanks to all of our sponsors who have helped to make this event happen:

Ableton JazzMutant Flux Records Evolved Records Atomic Jam Split New College Nottingham Bar Eleven Stealth









Audiophile

.

Debt Advice Across the UK - Bournes Debt solutions

Bournes Debt Solutions are enrolled on the Metafocus monthly SEO Nottingham program. Each month we spend time working on their site to improve its search engine visibility, building quality inbound links and promoting their services online.

Recently the company have expanded across the North East and North West of the UK. Bournes Debt Solutions can now offer their services in the following areas:

Debt Advice Nottingham
Debt Advice Newcastle
Debt Advice Durham
Debt Advice South Shields
Debt Advice Manchester
Debt Advice Oldham
Debt Advice Stockport

The Bournes debt advisors can offer advice on many financial areas including charging orders, County Court judgements, basic bank accounts, consumer credit agreements, credit card debt, bank overdrafts, personal loans, gambling debts, mortgage debt and hire purchase repayment.

Selecting a debt advice agency is a big decision, so you will want to be certain that you’re choosing the right firm to give you professional legal help and advice. You will be reassured to know that if you are looking for debt specialists in your area, you need look no further than Bournes Debt Solutions.

The Bournes debt management plan is a six stage process which is designed to give their advisors a full understanding of your current financial situation. After they have assessed your needs they will be able to create a debt management plan to suit your requirements.

Bournes debt advisors can often be with you within 24 hours of receiving your telephone call. You can contact Bournes Debt Solutions by completing the online enquiry form on their website or by calling them direct on 0845 845 0140