Edge of the Web http://www.edgeoftheweb.co.uk/blog Wed, 15 May 2013 13:42:21 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.1 You won’t like Google when it’s angry http://www.edgeoftheweb.co.uk/blog/2013/05/15/you-wont-like-google-when-its-angry/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=you-wont-like-google-when-its-angry http://www.edgeoftheweb.co.uk/blog/2013/05/15/you-wont-like-google-when-its-angry/#comments Wed, 15 May 2013 13:42:21 +0000 abby http://www.edgeoftheweb.co.uk/blog/?p=1411 Despite its whimsical offices and diverting doodles, you don’t want to get on the wrong side of Google. Play by its rules, and all will be well. But cross it, and you could end up getting your site banned.

Earlier in the year, Interflora suffered as a result of paying for links in advertorials on regional newspaper websites. These links were of a certain type that “passed PageRank” to Interflora, which essentially means they were boosting Interflora’s Google ranking. Google did not like that at all, and decided to penalise the company. As a result, Interflora no longer showed up for a number of key search terms – not great news considering all this happened just before Mother’s Day. However, a quick search just now has shown they’re back on top for “buy flowers”, so Google clearly didn’t stay mad at them for too long.

Trouble is, unlike Interflora, not everyone is aware when they’re breaking the rules.  You could be innocently working away at your site, thinking you’re doing all the right things, and accidentally fall into the trap of, say, duplicating content or loading it with too many key words.

So we’ve compiled a list of the top five things that Google doesn’t like, to help you keep your nose clean and your site indexed.

Cloaking

This is designing your website so that the search engine sees one thing and visitors see something completely different. This is a real pain for users, who’re looking for specific information and end up in a completely irrelevant place. Understandably, Google is dead against cloaking as it sends users on a wild goose chase.

Doorway Pages

Doorway pages are designed to trick search engines using the same principal as cloaking. They are full of content that usually relates to one key word – but the user never sees this as it automatically redirects to another, totally unrelated, page. Use at your peril.

Keyword Overkill

We all know having relevant content is important, but it’s not a good idea to repeat keywords over and over again. It creates a bad user experience, and as such, Google is likely to lower your ranking for it.

Another common mistake is “title stacking”, or using multiple title tags to cram in more keywords. It makes pages look messy and disorganised, which again isn’t great for the user.

Also, don’t be tempted to try and hide keywords by making the font colour the same as the background colour. Search engines are getting better at picking this up, and they don’t like it.

Content: Once is enough

No matter how lovingly crafted and relevant your content is, don’t be tempted to duplicate large chunks of it across your site. This doesn’t help your users and can be very frustrating to read. And definitely don’t duplicate content from other sites – it may violate copyright laws and Google will not look kindly on it.

Linking Pitfalls

Being linked to is generally a good thing, but be careful about who you’re doing this with. There are spam sites out there that exist merely to generate links, and exchanging links with these will lower your Google ranking.

And as we’ve learnt from our friends at Interflora, paying for links is a no-no. Google wants to be sure that the links you are getting are for real.

Links from genuine sites with a good reputation should enhance your ranking, but remember: not all links are good links.

As you can see from the tips above, what Google is most concerned about is ensuring websites are usable and relevant. It’s not the Big Bad Wolf and it doesn’t want to penalise you just for the sheer fun of it. It’s easy to get hung up achieving that number one ranking, but if you keep your site clean, clear and user-friendly, good rankings should follow naturally.

For more information on best practise, take a look at Google’s Webmaster Guidelines.

]]> http://www.edgeoftheweb.co.uk/blog/2013/05/15/you-wont-like-google-when-its-angry/feed/ 0 February was a busy month at Edge of the Web http://www.edgeoftheweb.co.uk/blog/2013/03/04/february-was-a-busy-month-at-edge-of-the-web/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=february-was-a-busy-month-at-edge-of-the-web http://www.edgeoftheweb.co.uk/blog/2013/03/04/february-was-a-busy-month-at-edge-of-the-web/#comments Mon, 04 Mar 2013 11:54:51 +0000 jacqui http://www.edgeoftheweb.co.uk/blog/?p=1399 Take a look at some of our latest websites, with a good mixture of business sectors. From consulting in community health and social care, security intelligence in Berkshire to chartering a Yacht around the Greek Islands. I know where I would rather be right now!

]]> http://www.edgeoftheweb.co.uk/blog/2013/03/04/february-was-a-busy-month-at-edge-of-the-web/feed/ 0 New Year, New Start, with a new website from Edge of the Web http://www.edgeoftheweb.co.uk/blog/2013/02/01/new-year-new-start-with-a-new-website-from-edge-of-the-web/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=new-year-new-start-with-a-new-website-from-edge-of-the-web http://www.edgeoftheweb.co.uk/blog/2013/02/01/new-year-new-start-with-a-new-website-from-edge-of-the-web/#comments Fri, 01 Feb 2013 09:54:36 +0000 jacqui http://www.edgeoftheweb.co.uk/blog/?p=1388 What happened to January! For Sposa Bridal Wear, it was a 10 year celebration with a shop refurbishment and a new website.

]]> http://www.edgeoftheweb.co.uk/blog/2013/02/01/new-year-new-start-with-a-new-website-from-edge-of-the-web/feed/ 0 Here’s wishing you a Happy New Year from us all at Edge of The Web http://www.edgeoftheweb.co.uk/blog/2013/01/03/a-website-for-christmas-and-all-the-trimmings-from-eotw/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=a-website-for-christmas-and-all-the-trimmings-from-eotw http://www.edgeoftheweb.co.uk/blog/2013/01/03/a-website-for-christmas-and-all-the-trimmings-from-eotw/#comments Thu, 03 Jan 2013 15:19:58 +0000 jacqui http://www.edgeoftheweb.co.uk/blog/?p=1379 A website for Christmas and all the trimmings from EOTW

]]> http://www.edgeoftheweb.co.uk/blog/2013/01/03/a-website-for-christmas-and-all-the-trimmings-from-eotw/feed/ 0 Some great websites from Edge of The Web in November, take a look…. http://www.edgeoftheweb.co.uk/blog/2012/12/04/some-great-websites-for-november-take-a-look/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=some-great-websites-for-november-take-a-look http://www.edgeoftheweb.co.uk/blog/2012/12/04/some-great-websites-for-november-take-a-look/#comments Tue, 04 Dec 2012 16:05:27 +0000 jacqui http://www.edgeoftheweb.co.uk/blog/?p=1361 …Original Gem and Lizzie B’s for some gorgeous gifts on-line and bespoke glass art from Luise Buckberry Glass Artist, (some great and different ideas for Christmas here!)

]]> http://www.edgeoftheweb.co.uk/blog/2012/12/04/some-great-websites-for-november-take-a-look/feed/ 0 New October Websites from Edge Of The Web http://www.edgeoftheweb.co.uk/blog/2012/10/18/here-are-some-of-our-october-websites/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=here-are-some-of-our-october-websites http://www.edgeoftheweb.co.uk/blog/2012/10/18/here-are-some-of-our-october-websites/#comments Thu, 18 Oct 2012 09:19:34 +0000 jacqui http://www.edgeoftheweb.co.uk/blog/?p=1344 Here are the latest additions to our ever growing portfolio.

]]> http://www.edgeoftheweb.co.uk/blog/2012/10/18/here-are-some-of-our-october-websites/feed/ 0 Edge Of The Web in August http://www.edgeoftheweb.co.uk/blog/2012/09/04/a-busy-time-here-at-edge-of-the-web-in-august/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=a-busy-time-here-at-edge-of-the-web-in-august http://www.edgeoftheweb.co.uk/blog/2012/09/04/a-busy-time-here-at-edge-of-the-web-in-august/#comments Tue, 04 Sep 2012 16:14:41 +0000 jacqui http://www.edgeoftheweb.co.uk/blog/?p=1317 Despite the holidays, you are still keen to get started in business with a new website from Edge Of The Web. It’s also great to be working with local businesses in and around Warwickshire. We will have more, larger websites which we can shout about, coming over the next couple of months.

 

]]> http://www.edgeoftheweb.co.uk/blog/2012/09/04/a-busy-time-here-at-edge-of-the-web-in-august/feed/ 0 Edge of the Web is hiring again! http://www.edgeoftheweb.co.uk/blog/2012/09/03/edge-of-the-web-is-hiring-again/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=edge-of-the-web-is-hiring-again http://www.edgeoftheweb.co.uk/blog/2012/09/03/edge-of-the-web-is-hiring-again/#comments Mon, 03 Sep 2012 09:57:13 +0000 hannah http://www.edgeoftheweb.co.uk/blog/?p=1325 Warwickshire web design company Edge of the Web is looking for new talent to join our creative, dynamic team.

We currently have vacancies for a Designer and a Developer, so if you think you have the experience and ability for either role, get in touch with us today or email your CV to hannah@edgeoftheweb.co.uk

 

Developer
Great design is nothing without great development, and at Edge of the Web we are looking for a web developer with the experience and knowledge to build intuitive systems that work for both the user and the client.

At Edge of the Web you will have the opportunity to work on a great range of web development projects for different clients, with varied requirements in lots of industries.

At Edge of the Web we work hard, we have a lot of fun doing it, we take great pride in our work and we are ambitious and expanding.

Your Skills
When you work with Edge of the Web, we need you to be fully up to date and skilled in the following development skills:

  • PHP 5
  • HTML, XHTML, HTML 5
  • MySQL
  • JAVASCRIPT
  • JQUERY
  • AJAX
  • LINUX
  • APACHE
  • XML

It would also be beneficial if you have some knowledge or experience of the following:

  • CSS
  • ASP.NET
  • SQL
  • PERL
  • ACTIONSCRIPT 3
  • Web design

If you have great development skills and want to become part the Edge of the Web team, send us your CV today.

 

Designer
When it comes to design, we’re looking for someone with real flair. At Edge of the Web we pride ourselves on producing unique, high quality designs for our clients, and we are looking for a candidate with creativity, artistry and a real eye for great design. Don’t worry if you don’t consider yourself a ‘web designer’, we are looking for raw design talent above all else. It is essential however, that you are able to design on a computer and you can demonstrate interest and understanding of design for web.

At Edge of the Web you will be designing for a wide range of clients, from small start-up companies to established national organisations. As well as working on websites, you will also be creating logos, graphics and design for print.

Your Skills
We are looking for a designer with experience in Photoshop and Illustrator, who is comfortable creating commercial designs.

As well as web design skills, we are looking for excellent graphic and illustrative abilities.

Knowledge and experience of the following programs and languages would also be beneficial:

  • IN DESIGN
  • HTML
  • CSS
  • JQuery/JavaScript
  • Flash
  • PHP
  • MYSQL

If you have creative and artistic talent, exceptional design skills and are looking for an opportunity to become part of a dynamic team, send your CV to Edge of the Web today.

]]> http://www.edgeoftheweb.co.uk/blog/2012/09/03/edge-of-the-web-is-hiring-again/feed/ 0 Latest editions to the Edge of the Web portfolio http://www.edgeoftheweb.co.uk/blog/2012/08/03/latest-editions-to-the-edge-of-the-web-portfolio/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=latest-editions-to-the-edge-of-the-web-portfolio http://www.edgeoftheweb.co.uk/blog/2012/08/03/latest-editions-to-the-edge-of-the-web-portfolio/#comments Fri, 03 Aug 2012 14:57:05 +0000 jacqui http://www.edgeoftheweb.co.uk/blog/?p=1282 It’s that time of the month when we show our latest websites, with a good mixture of business sectors, on both large and small projects. Take a look at Golden Putter and whether you are a golfer or not, and you are near one of their mini golf locations, have a go and get involved !

]]> http://www.edgeoftheweb.co.uk/blog/2012/08/03/latest-editions-to-the-edge-of-the-web-portfolio/feed/ 0 Another great month for larger websites at EOTW http://www.edgeoftheweb.co.uk/blog/2012/06/29/another-great-month-for-larger-websites-at-eotw/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=another-great-month-for-larger-websites-at-eotw http://www.edgeoftheweb.co.uk/blog/2012/06/29/another-great-month-for-larger-websites-at-eotw/#comments Fri, 29 Jun 2012 15:11:06 +0000 jacqui http://www.edgeoftheweb.co.uk/blog/?p=1261

…see Stick Your Trick and Stallfinder with more going live next month.  We also offer a branding service and recently we have been asked to design more logos than usual too.

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