SEO Blog

AJAX Everyone is talking about it - December 21st, 2005

I must take this opportunity to have a rant about the latest trend that is taking the world of internet programming by storm. AJAX. Asynchronous JavaScript and XML combines current development techniques to add functionality to dynamic websites.
So there’s two points there I must address, and I must point out that I always try to write my blogs in a way so that ‘normal’ people can read them. The first point what is a dynamic website? The second how has AJAX helped and what does it do?
A dynamic website is a site that uses data connections to refresh content. Backend databases that provide substance for pages need connection strings and to refresh the browser to display new content. These pages have been the basis of the web for some time.
The way AJAX has changed all this is, by the use of XML, is to enable dynamic content to be refreshed in a way that improves the user interactivity of sites. The main way it does this is by removing the way dynamic pages have refresh the page thus speeding the whole process up.
So where has this technology just come from? Well over the last 18 months XML has taken off something big. Microsoft have adapted it for use in their Office suit of products, web solution developers have picked XML up to speed up data transfer, even I’m using it in the new implementation of our company’s database, so it was only natural that at some point it would be combined with JavaScript to produce better web solutions.

Martin Vernon
Design and Activations

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Keyword Research - December 20th, 2005

Good keyword research is crucial when optimising a website, and is something which is often neglected. Clearly, the purpose of optimising a site is to generate as much traffic as possible for terms that are relevant to your site.

Each search phrase should be optimised for the first page, as it is well known that people rarely stray off the first page when looking at search engine listings. This means that analysing the competition, and choosing realistic phrases is paramount - It is much better to be on the first page for a term that gets 1000 searches a month than to be on the second or third page for a term that gets 5000 searches a month.

Remember, search terms must also be relevant to your site. For example, if optimising a site for a taxi driver based in London, it would not be a good idea to use the search term “taxi driver”. This would be a difficult term to optimise for, and the majority of people who find the site would not be based in London. Obviously, it would be much better to look at phrases like “taxi driver London” or “London taxi service”.

Good keyword analysis is a balance of finding phrases that are achievable, relevant and searched for. At times, it can be a lengthy and arduous task, but it is absolutely crucial to the SEO process.

Dave Stewart
Design and Activations

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