1. Make the most of social networking
   Creating a profile on sites such as Linkedln and Facebook can help reach a wider audience. Niche social networking sites are often overlooked. Find ones that are relevant to your industry.
2. Boost positive pages through SEO
   By optimising positive reviews, posting media coverage on a website and having a welloptimised blog, you can help ensure Google displays the content you want people to see. These practices should be adhered to regularly, not just as a reactive measure to negative online content.
3. Monitor forums and review sites
   Google Alerts will flag up any instances of specified keywords (such as your company name), ensuring that anything negative can be counteracted and positive stories or postings can be optimised.
4. Embrace social media
   Social bookmarking is a way to store and share web pages, so links to these sites are saved on the public internet. Use sites like del.ici.ous, StumbleUpon and Digg.
5. Update your blog
   Blogs that are regularly updated with interesting and relevant content wilt be placed higher in the rankings. Search engine spiders place more importance on btogs with fresh content, which helps to manage online reputation by ensuring that a btog is ranked highly over any other potentially negative content. Blogging also provides the opportunity to increase incoming links and build relationships.

Darren Jamieson
Senior Creative Developer

source: issue #187 .Net Magazine

This SEO news has been brought to you by Just Search; Experts in internet marketing and PPC

In the press release, the company said the previous year’s turnover was £2.5m with an £800k net profit.

However, when we spoke to their PR agency, HowDo was told that they’re not releasing this year’s figures.

Fortunately we do have a pocket calculator and using the 150% rise they’re claiming, we’re estimating the turnover to be £3.75m, with a net profit of £1.2m.

“During the economic downturn it is vital that businesses harness the power of the web and ensure they are visible to all prospects and customers,” explained Paul Yates, CEO of Just Search.

“Online marketing and search engine optimisation are vital for this and with our technical superiority in the market and outstanding customer service, we can ensure organisations maximise the opportunities the internet provides.

“I am absolutely delighted with our yearend results and look forward to continuing our tenacious ambitions in the coming year.”

The agency has announced that it’s looking to employ several new staff, including SEO programmers and client account managers.

source

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Search engine optimisation (SEO) is an effective way for marketers to gain exposure and increase brand awareness and can make a huge difference when it comes to executing an effective marketing strategy.

By outsourcing to a dedicated SEO agency, your business can benefit from specialised knowledge about industry news and developments, while enlisting the help of a team of dedicated staff that have expert knowledge and access to vital resources. By working with an SEO agency you are forming a long-term partnership, so it is imperative that you select the right one to work with your brand.

Working with your brand

Look for someone that is willing to put time and effort into your company. An outsider needs to understand your brand and business goals and provide a customised approach to integrate with your offline marketing activities. As a vital part of the marketing mix, SEO needs to send out the same message as your offline campaigns to prospects and clients.

Research and ask questions

Before hiring an SEO agency, remember to give your website the once over. Give it a health check and find out its natural search ranking before embarking on an SEO campaign. You can add your site to Google Webmaster Tools as this will provide you with information on what Google has found about your site. Doing these simple steps will make it easier to evaluate the agency’s performance at a later date and to see how effective the campaign has been.

It is important to find out what previous and current clients have to say before selecting an agency, and what their reputation is within the industry. One of the best ways to gain information is to contact them directly and ask for references, which any good organisation will provide. Also, request a list of current clients to find out where they appear in the search rankings. Listen to recommendations and bad experiences that people have had and read reviews, especially respected blogs.

However, don’t read one article and act on it without validating that advice. Do your own search on the agency and even use ‘SEO’ as a search term to find out how high it ranks in the search engines. This is an effective way see if they practice what they preach.

The right techniques

It is important to look at the optimising techniques a potential SEO partner uses. For example, an agency should have a good understanding of the search spiders and how they read information. Using links, and writing and uploading regular content will help drive traffic to your website and increase your online footprint.

Talk to the agency and look at their website to see exactly what tools they use. They should be able explain their functionality and how they can help build your brand online. Good SEO experts will recommend keyword phrase selections that reflect your offline marketing strategy and brand proposition.

Be aware of rogue cowboys that offer short-term results that run-off the back of unethical optimisation techniques. Black Hat SEO is a term used in search engine marketing that describes unethical activities that some companies offer to guarantee instant results and higher search rankings. For example, implementing keywords in white text on a white background will fool search engine spiders into giving a website a temporary high ranking. Using Black Hat techniques can jeopardise your online campaign and can result in your website having its listing downgraded or even banned from the search engines.

Enlisting an agency that complies with the rules and regulations set out by the search engines and conducts ethical SEO on all client work will make for an effective long-term online campaign. Before speaking to an agency, read around SEO and Black Hat techniques to ensure that you ask the right questions as this will help decipher if unethical practices are being used. Make sure they answer your questions and take you through their processes as well as giving full explanations about their recommendations, such as their selected keywords.

Campaign evaluation

Campaign evaluation is vital, so remember to look at what sort of monitoring system and reporting an agency can provide you with. Find out what tools they will be using to measure success.

You need to be certain that you have chosen the right SEO company as you are starting a long-term relationship with them. If you do not feel completely secure in what they are offering it is best to keep looking for a partner that you do feel 100 per cent confident in.

This SEO news has been brought to you by Just Search; Experts in internet marketing and PPC

Just Search (www.justsearching.co.uk), the Poynton based search marketing firm that was sold to Sweden’s Getupdated for ?8.8m in October, has launched a new profiling tool to increase online sales conversions.

…Commenting on the Profiler, sales director Justin Yates, who sold the business with his brother and agency CEO Paul, explained: “Working alongside pay per click and search engine optimisation campaigns, the solution enables traffic that comes to a website to not only be turned into a sale, but also provides the opportunity to increase the amount visitors spend.

Read the full article here.

This SEO news has been brought to you by Just Search; Experts in internet marketing and PPC

Search marketing agency Just Search has launched a new tool designed to help online retailers increase their sales conversions.

The Predictive Profiler program monitors users’ online behaviour and makes suggestions on suitable products and services, increasing their likelihood to buy.

Tags placed on the client’s website track users’ online activity, including purchases that are made and pages that are viewed and the information is then stored in a database.

Particularly useful for niche products, the tool has been proven to increase add-on sales and conversions immediately by up to 20 per cent, massively increasing return on investment.

Read the rest of this article here.

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The acquisition of Just Search makes Getupdated one of the largest players in the search marketing industry offering a comprehensive portfolio of services

says Mattias Kaneteg, CEO and founder of Getupdated Internet Marketing.

The continuous expansion of Getupdated will result in them being one of handful of companies to offer a complete international service for online businesses trying to optimise their Global presence.

Just Search is already one of the fastest growing search marketing service providers in the UK and joining forces with Getupdated further strengthens our position

says Paul Yates (CEO of Just Search). Paul and his brother Justin Yates co-founders’ of the company have built Just Search as a results-driven business and have been providing solutions for better web placement to hundreds of clients.

Just Search have embraced the acquisition and following the opening of our London office last month the company and its staff are looking forward to building on the vision and further expanding their portfolio of clients.
For further information about this the complete article can be viewed at: www.getupdated.com

This SEO news has been brought to you by Just Search; Experts in internet marketing and PPC

Cheetham (29), who is also a partner at Manchester-based accountancy firm, Sedulo, joins the Just Search board with a brief to work alongside founding directors Paul and Justin Yates in driving the emerging business forward. He comments: “Having already worked with Just Search on a consultancy basis for some fifteen months, I can see huge potential in the business and am naturally delighted to have joined the company’s board of directors.

“Paul and Justin had already established a thriving business but our aim is now to bring yet more structure to the organisation and to put core strategies in place that will see the company continue to grow through what promises to be an exciting period.”

Recognised as one of the most outstanding web marketing companies in the world, Just Search has recently opened a new office in London and is soon to expand further with additional operations in San Jose, Sydney and Paris going live in September.

However, despite the recent advances, managing director, Paul Yates, sees Cheetham’s appointment as a pivotal step in the company’s progression. “We already know Paul well and having seen the way he works, we can appreciate the benefit his expertise and enthusiasm will bring to the business,” he says.

“In offering procedural and business consultation, Paul has already brought his commercial acumen to bear and helped us to more than double in size and turnover within a relatively short period of time. The next phase of activity is crucial for us and we are delighted to have someone of Paul’s ability on board as we continue to move the business forward.”

Cheetham concludes: “In a crowded marketplace, Just Search is already established as one of the sector’s most progressive and ethically sound operators and with the exceptional team of people running the business, there is a huge sense of belief within the company.

“It is fantastic to be involved in such a fast-growing entrepreneurial environment and I am greatly looking forward to bringing my experience to bear and to helping the business achieve its potential in the coming years.”

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The new 3,000 square foot facility will enable the company to better serve its increasing portfolio of southern-based clients and as sales director, Justin Yates, explains it will also act as a platform for further growth: “The last twelve months have seen us move up a gear and raise our game across the board,” he says.

“We have always provided our clients with the right bespoke combination of services. However, that core competence has been supplemented with the appointment of several key players and the acquisition of some notable account wins.

“As a result, we now have a top quality team of respected industry professionals and believe that the time is right for us to make a bigger name for ourselves in London and across the south.”

The company expanded into larger offices at its Manchester headquarters in April, since when new business wins have seen its projected turnover for the year more than double. Yates continues: “With the likes of Regus and Orange Accessories having come on board, we are starting to see more major blue chip companies investing in our services.

“Our Manchester operation is thriving but we recognise the need to give our national clients the service they demand and deserve. Having a London presence will enable us to do that as well as giving us the scope to work with many similar companies who could benefit from our no-nonsense approach to web marketing.”

Yates acknowledges that the marketplace is crowded with numerous companies claiming to offer excellent internet marketing services. However, looking at the prospect of further expansion, he concludes: “Our wholly ethical proposition sets us apart from many of our competitors and that is demonstrated by the way in which we have grown in the last year.

“That point of difference allied to the excellent team we have in place means that the potential for further growth; both at home and around the world, is phenomenal. To achieve our aims, we have to ensure that we put the right structures in place and this move puts us in a great position from which to take our next step.”

This SEO news has been brought to you by Just Search; Experts in internet marketing and PPC

We have been sponsors of the Stockport County website for the past 6 months and have now agreed a 2 year deal to use the Just search logo on Stockport County home and away kit.

The MD of Stockport County Mark Maguire said: “I am thrilled to announce two of the most significant sponsorship deals in our history. Just Search are a locally based international brand who are the very best at what they do.” – Article

MD of Just Search Paul Yates said “This is a great day for everyone at Just Search, we have been proud to be involved with County for some time now and taking our association further is a natural progression.”

So good luck next season county,

Just Search Press Team

This SEO news has been brought to you by Just Search; Experts in internet marketing and PPC

Operating over 950 business centres in 70 countries worldwide, Regus is firmly established as the market leading global brand and as such, the deal represents a major coup for Just Search.

The three year UK specific contract was agreed after Regus global online marketing manager, James Welch, was impressed by the company’s no-nonsense approach. He explains: “All too often, jargon and sales patter are used to impress businesses who having signed up to work with a web marketing company, find that they lack substance.

“Fortunately, I have been around long enough to recognise quality when I see it and I liked Just Search’s up front, results orientated attitude from the start. There were no vague promises; just a common sense approach focused on achieving measurable results.”

Just Search sales director, Justin Yates, originally made contact with James when he was working in a similar role for the Caudwell Group. James had therefore been aware of the company’s ethos and professionalism for some time. He continues: “I study the industry and had seen the superb work Just Search had done for other businesses. I knew that in working with them, I could rely on their expertise to significantly improve our on-line performance and so far, my faith has been more than re-paid.

“The Just Search team has managed our campaign for two months and already, costs have been halved while conversion rates have doubled. Our whole global business is feeling the benefit and they are without doubt establishing a new benchmark for the service levels we expect from our marketing partners.”

Just Search managing director, Paul Yates, is equally pleased to be working with Regus, adding: “This is a hugely significant deal for us. We pride ourselves on our approach, assessing each situation thoroughly before making the appropriate recommendations. From there, we put forward a workable proposal and let the results do the talking.

“It was no different with Regus and we are now delighted to be associated with such a massive and well respected global organisation.”

In addition to the initial PPC campaign management, a contract has also been put in place that will see Just Search handle all SEO for Regus in the UK, with Paul concluding: “This is only the start of our relationship and I am looking forward to working more closely with everyone at Regus long into the future.”

This SEO news has been brought to you by Just Search; Experts in internet marketing and PPC