Google Webmaster Tools Bug

Google Webmaster Tools is a software package that allows website developers to check indexing status of websites within the Google search engine and is used in optimisation for checking the visibility and performance.

Google are openly reporting that the Webmaster Tool bug may falsely report a sharp decline in indexed pages and website performance.

Webmasters and marketers have noted a bug in the new “Google Search Console” (Webmaster Tools) that shows huge declines in the number of indexed pages displayed in its Google sitemaps reports.

Don’t worry this is not just your site - there has been a noticeable decline in in reported traffic and globally hundreds of thousands of websites have been affected since early July 2015.

Google is actively working on a fix for the bug, so no need to panic if you’ve seen a recent decline in your index count in this month.

It is just a Google reporting glitch and does not affect your traffic or rankings within Google.

Google-Friendly Mobile Responsive Websites - Are They Essential?

Back in 2012, online searches from Smart Phones and Tablets exceeded those of Desktop devices, therefore more business owners deployed mobile devices where traditionally they would have used PCs and Laptops. Many Internet Marketers automatically came to the conclusion that they needed to present to a changing audience who are always on the move.

This may not be the complete picture as many of us utilise the device that is the most convenient at the specific time of the search, no matter if, at home, work or incognito. Additionally the devices available at that specific time and their ability to rapidly connect and complete effective online searches is another important factor. Our confidence in newly developed technology, (for example iPhone 6 and Samsung Galaxy S6 smart phone plus iPad air and Google Nexus 7 tablets) and the ever increasing stream of Apps specifically developed for rapid mobile deployment has helped to accelerate mobile use - that's providing a good Wi-Fi or data connection can be accessed.

It is important to understand where and what users are looking for on mobile devices and how this relates to business opportunities. There’s no question that mobile and local go hand in hand. According to Google, ninety four percent of smartphone users search for location information. Furthermore, people are increasingly using their devices while in a store to do research about the product they are considering purchasing.

We know that it’s no longer the case that people are merely searching on smartphones and tablets. In 2013, seventeen percent were purchasing from a mobile device, according to a Google compiled mobile search study.

Additionally, smartphone conversions in the retail sector grew by over twenty six percent in the third quarter of 2014, according to research conducted that year.

Mobile Responsive websites are now regarded by Google as 'Best Practice' and from 22nd April 2015 Google is restricting access to non-compliant websites that are searched from mobile devices, by removing them from its search results. Therefore Google is dictating the search requirements within its search engine, both from the content of a website plus the software used to build the website. Non-compliance will inevitably mean exclusion, thus mobile traffic will be blocked.

In order to avoid 'Google Mobilegeddon' businesses need to make their websites fully mobile responsive as failure to comply will not only have a negative effect on an average of 20% of mobile device users, but will affect their overall Google Ranking. This will make their website less visible and less visited.

Companies that seek to understand how Google friendly mobile responsive websites benefit their business sector will rapidly invest in an online strategy that embraces mobile responsive and adaptive technology, thus gain a competitive advantage over their competition. After all Google primary purpose is to help you find what you are searching for, no matter what device is employed.

Call Rob Hupperdine on 01384 455141 or Contact Us for more information

Why it’s Important to have a Mobile Friendly Responsive Website

As Smart Phone and tablet use rapidly increases, so does the importance of mobile friendly websites. Smart Phones and Tablets have changed not only the approach to the look and functionality of current website design, it has changed the approach to online marketing. The fact that a responsive website can display very different targeted content on a Smart Phone or Tablet as opposed to the content displayed on a PC or Laptop. This ensures a greater level of sophistication will be applied to content as the user experience is not only targeted to a market sector, it will be profiled to the habits of the device user.

In the past, web designers had only one design layout to consider. Interacting with websites on Smart Phones and Tablets requires a very different approach to website design. Additionally, what we use each device for is changing, in fact many of us utilise more than one device, as each device has core strengths either for business use, out of office use or for rapid access to information. The ever expanding mobile market must be considered in any online marketing strategy, therefore, websites that embrace this technology by enhancing the user experience, are essential to any successful campaign. Responsive websites provide an affordable, single source solution that enables all devices to view the same website without compromising the user experience.

Mobile Search Engine Optimisation

Search Engine Optimisation is essential to any online business marketing strategy (including mobile devices), having a website that is mobile responsive is now advantageous to its rankings within the search engines. Google now penalises websites that are not mobile friendly. In fact many of Google's recent 500 algorithm changes have been created with mobile use in mind. As mobile sales over take desktop sales, the importance of employing a mobile strategy within your SEO campaign becomes even more apparent in fact essential.

When we talk about websites and content from a design and marketing perspective it is important to consider the user experience. Getting traffic to a responsive website no matter what device the viewer is using, is only part of the equation. Converting that traffic into a purchase or enquiry is essential, therefore, with the limited viewing area and touch screen functionality of mobile devices, it is important to consider the user experience for all devices independently before we commence with the design. Good 'Conversion Rate Optimisation' (traffic into orders or enquiries) is essential for all viewing platforms, mobile responsive websites have made this process more difficult, but if designed correctly, more effective!

What is a Responsive Website?

Responsive website design entails coding and designing a website so that the website scales up or down in size as it profiles the content to match the device it is viewed on. This ensures no lateral scrolling is required and that the website is touch screen friendly. The website can then be viewed across a wide range of mobile devices and screen sizes. When designing a responsive website, the web designer must ensure that:

• The website content looks good on all devices.
• Navigation & functionality work on all devices.
• The website can be managed in one CMS area for all devices. This includes text, images, videos, pricing and general functionality of menus, forms and other interactive plugins used on the website.
• The website is designed with mobile Search Engine Optimisation in mind.
• The marketing strategy for each device.

It is Recommended by Google

Google has nearly 90% share of the UK's search engine market, therefore, to ignore Google is to commit online suicide. Google states that responsive web design is the recommended mobile configuration, and even goes so far as to refer to responsive web design as the industry best practice.

Additionally, Google prefers responsive web design because content that is available on one website and one domain name (URL) is much easier for users to view, share, interact with, and link to, than content that is available on separate mobile and desktop websites. As Google is now placing greater emphasis on mobile compatibility, the quality and volume of content and user experience as key ranking factors, it is essential to take this into account when businesses update their website.

Searches from Mobile Devices

When businesses target potential customers it is important that they consider the ever increasing number of mobile users. Currently, an average of approximately 20% of websites are viewed on mobile devices and for certain domestic markets this can be over 65% of online visits.

If businesses ignore these figures and fail to utilise mobile responsive website design, they are turning their back a large and expanding group of people. This can only have a long term negative effect on their businesses.

What's the new Facebook 'Promote' Feature all about?

If you are a Page admin then you may have noticed that there are new icons on you business Facebook Page when you are writing a post that weren’t there before..? Does the word promote ring a bell as shown in Figure 1?

Figure 1

So what does this new 'promote' feature do?

Well, promoted posts are a simple way to reach more of the people who like your Page and their friends. Visit your Page to try promoting a post. Promoted posts are available to Pages with 400 to 100,000 likes.

When you promote a post, it will be shown in the news feeds of more of the people who like your Page than you would reach normally. Friends of the people who have interacted with your post will also be more likely to see the story in their news feeds for up to 3 days from when the post was first created.

What to know how it's done? Well here you go!

1. Go to the sharing tool to create a post and enter your post details.

2. Click on the Promote drop-down button and set your desired budget. Note: the budget you set is a lifetime budget and not a daily budget as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2

3. Click save and away you go, it's that simple!

So you may be thinking, if I don’t promote my post, will the people who like my Page still see it?

Nothing has changed about how your posts are shared with the people who like your Page.

A lot of activity happens on Facebook and most people only see some of it in their news feeds. They may miss things when they’re not on Facebook, or they may have a lot of friends and Pages, which results in too much activity to show all of it in their news feed. 

If you don’t promote your post, many of the people connected to your Page will still see it. However, by promoting a post, you’re increasing its potential reach so an even larger percentage of your Page audience and the friends of those interacting with your post will see it.

All of the above information has been taken from the Facebook Help Page so if you get stuck please click here for more information or give Nutcracker a call on 01384 455 141 today.

Top 10 tips on how to get in Google’s good books!

Google Panda's updates are designed to penalise sites with weak content and favour those with quality content. So here is what you need to do to stay ahead of the game:

1. Produce high quality unique content
2. Get rid of low quality pages
3. Avoid duplicate content and scrapped pages
4. Become an authority
5. Promote content over social media
6. Improve bounce rate
7. Improve user experience
8. Avoid keyword flooding – use language that sounds natural
9. Vary anchor text- use 10-15 different key words and alternate between them
10. Focus on high quality back links, especially if you only have low quality ones.

However be patient when making these changes…results don’t happen overnight.

(Source: Search Engine Journal)

So you may wonder why it is so important to rank favourable amongst Google searches. Well that’s because worldwide we conduct 88 million searches per month on Google. Along with Google analytics been used on 57% of the top 10,000 websites.

Don’t forget about the Penguin update that happened on 24th April 2012, which evaluates your websites incoming links to see if your site involves link schemes intending to improve rankings.

Is your business being talked about on the web?

If your company manufactures or supplies a specialist product, then the chances are someone is talking about your company across the web!

How can this be?

Well, millions of people interact daily through a number of mediums, social networks, forums and blogs, and they could be talking about your brand or service.  Questions on all sorts of topics are asked daily. People asking where they can source a product from, or have a technical question which requires someone with technical knowledge to help them.

You can pretty much guarantee that there is some kind of forum or blog that is dedicated to your field, from manufacturing, engineering, services etc.

How does this benefit your company?

We all know that word of mouth is the best advertising anyone can get.  So if someone is recommending your company through these mediums, wouldn’t you like to know about it? Follow up on a lead? Help out with any technical queries?

Nutcracker can help you identify these hidden leads, and alert you when anyone is discussing your brand or company on the web.

Contact us today for more details on 01384 455 141 or 

email   info@nutcrackerdesign.co.uk

‘Worfe Looking At’ charity calendar in aid of Breakthrough Breast Cancer’

An image taken from the 'Worfe Looking At' Charity Calendar 2012

Nutcracker has recently contributed both time and expertise towards another project on behalf of Breakthrough Breast Cancer. Since completion of the project the Breakthrough Breast Cancer team have been in contact with our Sales Director, Rob Hupperdine to personally thank him for all of his ‘wonderful support for the ‘Worfe Looking At’ charity calendar in aid of Breakthrough Breast Cancer’.

Breakthrough Breast Cancer stated that ‘the time and resources you (Rob and Nutcracker) kindly gave towards the project have been instrumental in its success’. They went on to say that our final fundraising total of £3710 could help fund a specialist incubator that is vital for growing delicate cells at the correct temperature and humidity within laboratories.

Without the support of people like Rob and companies such as Nutcracker, vital funds would not be raised and discoveries into new treatments simply could not happen.

Nutcracker continues to support Breakthrough Breast Cancer so that vital improvements in breast cancer prevention, treatment and services can continue.

If you would like any information about Breakthrough Breast Cancer and the work that they do then please visit www.breakthrough.org.uk or email: info@breakthrough.org.uk