How to Add To or Share Your Webmaster Tools Account With Multiple Users

Google has now set up an option to add users to Webmaster Tools or share it across multiple accounts...finally!

All you have to do is head for the site verification page and you'll find a nice "add user" option, saving you hours of fiddling with verification codes in your metadata! This additional user has instant access to Webmaster Tools too, so it's an easy and immediate bonus. 

Are There Cracks in Google's Monopoly Beginning to Appear?

This week a court ruling in Italy marked a watershed in Internet communications law, and perhaps a worrying step in online privacy rules, as three Google executives were prosecuted of violating privacy and given six month suspended sentences. Their crime? Allowing a video of an autistic schoolboy to be uploaded and present on their video site for 24 hours, despite the fact that it was removed as soon as Google were made aware of its presence.

But aside from the frankly ridiculous statement and worrying precedent that this ruling sets, it is also increasingly indicative of some slight cracks appearing in the company with motto "Don't be evil".

Having raised their heads above the parapets and taken a lead in virtually all aspects of the web world, Google were always going to face a backlash once they became dominant, but such a recoil is perhaps stronger and more concentrated than they might have hoped. They've recently seen a growing press happy to criticise their actions and movements, and their new Gmail social networking addition "Buzz" was largely ridiculed by web commentators on blogs and in the papers. They've faced lawsuits from companies effective crippled by Google's ranking system suddenly punishing their sites. Now the three executives have been convicted of violating privacy and it's all getting to be a bit of a free-for-all for those wanting to take a swipe.

But are Google going to take a step back and hide for a little while whilst all this simmers? You can pretty much bet your bottom dollar not. For now we're all still slaves to the Google monster, and we can only play our servile role in their arbitrary court.  SEO is only going to get more important in 2010...hurray!

Facebook PPC Advertising Help from Orchid Box

Facebook advertising is a fast growing PPC market which increasing numbers of business are looking at taking advantage of. Though in comparison to Google Adwords the platform has its limitations and the advert options are somewhat limited, the opportunities for demographic targeting are massive and ensure that many companies enjoy a much stronger return from Facebook PPC than they do from Google. 

Though Google allows you to target a specific region, placement site or search term, for many projects these options are somewhat restricting and the ability in to target a group of people you know convert well for your site in Facebook is a great advantage to have. Although it is perhaps more speculative (people are not using FB to find your service), and click through rates are low, traffic opportunities are high (over 20m users in the UK alone) and Facebook ads allows you to target a wide range of options:

• Age range - any exact or age range above 13, or even those users on their birthday
• Geographical region – Google does this by IP address, Facebook by user profiles, so accuracy cannot be guaranteed
• Gender
• Education
• Occupation
• Relationship status and sexual orientation
• Language
• Interests – according to any keyword on a user’s profile

This demographic targeting is hugely useful for aiming for any users you know convert well, and by setting up different campaigns targeting different groups you can track which are the more effective and optimise accordingly. 

Unfortunately Facebook does have its limitations too. As mentioned before, the platform is not hugely user friendly, and the keyword targeting is somewhat laboured – you can only target the keyword options that Facebook gives you, which makes keyword selection is somewhat laboured (though we’ll worry about that). Ad format sizes are fixed, and though you may have an image on the ad it is fairly small and limiting (no banner ads). Having said this, images are a very effective way to improve click rates and it is significantly cheaper promoting image ads on Facebook than Google. 

In terms of costs, Facebook gives no real accurate estimations of what your ads will initially cost, and there are no estimate tools available yet so it’s difficult to predict costs. Create a good ad with good text and you’ll find costs can be cheaper than Google (depending on the subject matter), but it can also more expensive too. 

If that all sounds very complicated but very promising, contact Orchid Box today to see what we might be able to offer you!

Phone Tracking - Cover all your statistical bases with call tracking

So you’ve established your shiny new website, set up amazing SEO tricks of the trade, got Google Analytics tracking users’ every moves…you’ve even know which keywords are bringing enquiries and emails through. You’ve got all the bases covered right?

Wrong.

That big attractive “call us” button at the top with a great call to action is a bit of an anomaly to your tracking – there’s no click through for users, all they have to do is read what the number is and phone it. These phone calls could be useless to you, or they could be sales coming through that aren’t being measured into the website’s effects. Orchid Box have just the solution for you.

Our brand new phone tracking system allows our clients and customers to set up a number of specialised phone numbers that can display either in different areas of the site, or indeed when a user comes through to the site from a specific keyword. All these numbers will forward users on to the same number, but will also retain that essential tracking data that lets you know which areas of your online business are bringing those enquiries.

And if that isn’t enough for you, there’s several additional features that makes this the best call tracking option online.

• By asking your call centre to record which calls lead to direct sales, you can have a fully measurable conversion rate to compare to other areas of online marketing.

• We can measure geographical data – so you know where these calls are coming from in the world.

• You can track missed calls, so you know if whoever is answering the phones is having a nap or indeed if you could be missing many potential sales on a Sunday when no-one is in.

• You can even record the calls for training purposes, ensuring you build the best phone sales team with the best conversion rates around.

So contact us today to find out more about our great phone tracking systems and you could be boosting those phone sales quicker than the speaking clock will actually tell you the time!

Kuno Tierra Website Build - Complete with CMS, Phone Tracking, Split Testing, Enquiry Tracking

Here at Orchid Box we’re giving ourselves big pats on the back for our recent achievements with the new website for Kuno Tierra, a luxury spa in the West End of London. Our project was to build an SEO-optimised site that looked good and worked well for both users and the search engines, tailored to drive as much traffic as possible to the site, and then to convert that traffic to bookings at the spa. Check out the homepage below: 

Aside from the attractive appearance, SEO- and user-friendly copy, and navigation framework, our hard work extends beyond the immediately visible, to phone tracking, lead generating, and split testing. While this might sound like jargon from a particularly complex episode of Spooks, they are in fact three new tracking practices that will vastly improve how we gauge the effectiveness of keywords and SEO methods.

While we haven’t received any actual massages (yet), there’s nothing to stop us massaging our own egos... 

We built the website from scratch over the course of 3-4 weeks, carefully tailoring it to the client, to users, and, of course, to SEO. The elbow grease was a-flowing – and it paid off. We’ve nurtured the website as we would our own baby (no, really) – we even built a fabulous spa gallery to showcase the beautiful decor!

The first of our newly installed devices is our phone tracking system. We assign a number of different phone numbers to different types of keywords and phrases. Each phone call is recorded and then directed to our capable hands to analyse. By linking the phone enquiry to its source, we can see the conversion rates of different keywords, allowing us to increase or decrease usage of effective and ineffective keywords and apply real, measurable metrics to the data.

The second device we used for Kuno Tierra is lead generating. We have created an enquiry form system on the website so that when a customer fills in their details, we and Kuno Tierra’s managers receive an email containing information on the enquiry within minutes.

As if that isn’t enough innovation, we have also enabled split testing within the content management system to really up our game. This means we can build multiple pages that are served to users by equal measure. By tracking enquiries from each page, we can measure which performs better – which allows us to improve the quality of the website and its traffic.

Phew! I’m positively breathless following all that trumpet-blowing. These new methods really are cutting edge, and demonstrate Orchid Box’s dedication to providing a truly innovative and ultimately successful SEO experience.

You’re probably feeling the need to wind down after all that exciting news. See our beloved newborn – sorry, the Kuno Tierra website - for yourself and treat yourself to a luxury spa treatment! 

Moving To A New Domain - Orchid Box Has A New Address

Orchid Box today performed a swift and speedy shift of domain from our old abode in Soho to a fresh and exciting new upgrade in Covent Garden, in the heart of London. We've made sure The Right Honourable General Google is aware, and this particular domain change isn't going to affect our indexation nor find us any new keywords (unlike the fantastic new Orchidbox.it domain!). And at the risk of sounding too geeky, I'm stopping the SEO-related metaphors there.

Orchid Box's Old London SEO Office - Where Dreams Were Made...

At Orchid Box we move like lighting whatever we do!

You can now find us in deepest darkest Covent Garden, amidst the tourists and the street performers, at 11-15 Betterton Street, WC2H 9BP, fighting with our new complicated heater and the bracing cold from the windows (which I am sure are about a millimetre thick...). Hopefully we can get it to stay on for longer than an hour (we're only good at computer technical stuff, see) and then we can take our thawing feet off the computer power supplies and get some real heat. Roll on the summer!

Our name up in lights already! With a rather strange "H"...

We've also got a new phone number, and a reception to answer them for us, plus an amazing swimming pool made out of jelly. One of those three things might not be completely true.

So what are you waiting for? Get ahead of the game in 2010 and give us a bell on 0207866 8101!

(And don't worry, we've placed a 301 redirect from the old offices to ensure we don't lose any customers!)

The Boss pretending to work while others shift boxes...(he's actually watching Youtube)

Aziende al Top - Orchid Box Italy/Italia is launched!

Buon giorno!

Well, it's the moment you've all been waiting for. Or at least those in the amazing land of Italy have been waiting for...

Orchid Box Italia is live and in business. We're already quite possibly the most multi-national office in the world (we've lost track of where everyone is from!) but thanks to our multiplicitous links in the land of Pizzas, Pasta and SEO (that's Italian for SEO) we now have a fresh side to Orchid Box, with the normal SEO, PPC and web development services on offer for Italian companies or Italian-speaking sites. You can find the Orchid Box Italia site here, with a flash new front page for your perusal.

So aziende al top (climb to the top) of Google.it with Orchid Box and enjoy our services in a new language, but no loss of our hard-working mentality!

SEO Tips for 2010 from Orchid Box...Seer-like Projections for the New Year. Or not.

Another year (in fact, another decade….ouch), and another inevitable pile of 2010 lists in all facets of business, entertainment, and life in general. So at Orchid Box we thought we do something different. Then we changed our minds. Cue the fanfares…

Welcome to Orchid Box’s Hot SEO Tips for 2010!

In the constantly evolving world of Search Engine Optimisation predictions are made every week for the next exciting development to follow. Much as the predictions for the next “Pele” or the next “Beatles” are made every year, a great number of these end up thrown in the bin within a few months, but it’s vital to have an idea of at least the potential areas of growth to keep your competitors a step behind. If you get ahead of the game for one big SEO trend you can boost your business impressively within weeks. Here’s just a few predictions for the coming year…

SEO Tips for 2010 - Increased SEO Budgets

This is a guarantee for the next year – companies will begin taking internet marketing and SEO a lot more seriously as they see the effect it has on business online fir their competitors - increasing budgets and departments dealing with SEO and online marketing. Get ahead of the game and you could dominate your markets. This doesn’t just apply for larger companies either – small specialised blog and website packages for one-off optimisation are going to be widely available and cheaply too. Get in touch with Orchid Box to find out what we can do for your website – large or small...or even people!

SEO Tips for 2010 -  Search Engine Musical Chairs

Inevitably, Google is going to rule the market but we’ll see a bit of a shift over the next few months in terms of percentages. Possibly, and hopefully too for many, Bing will begin taking a bigger share of the market, even in the UK. Bing and Yahoo searches are merging together to form a super unit which will most likely see Bing take at least a 20% of the US market…whether the UK follows suit remains to be seen. We’ll also no doubt see a few extra little engines with new ideas spring up in the same way that Kosmix and co did in 2009 – and no doubt we’ll see them disappear again within a few months…not that we’re cynical or anything.

SEO Tips for 2010 – Google Domination Continues…and Spreads

Here’s an easy prediction – Google will dominate internet search engine developments, remaining at the forefront of technological innovation and increasingly monopolising the search engine world. Changes we’ll see taking hold include the rise of Google Commerce Search, ensuring all online shops have to meet Google’s demands in terms of organising and categorising their searches. We also predict the shortening of user journeys and Google begins monopolising the information market – US users are already seeing their Google boxes bringing up weather results in antipation of your queries, meaning you don’t even have to click enter; in the UK we can find country capitals and stock information immediately without entering another website. So Google will increasingly decrease traffic to information sites by making users’ lives easier, good thing or bad it’s up to you…

And on a side-note, their real-time search is a little while off being effective for now, expect to see that take a back seat shortly.

SEO Tips for 2010 – Google Maps

One good area of Google’s growth worth exploiting for all businesses is Google Maps. Local searches have always been a big part of the web – town names, countries and street names alongside a service or company name – and Google Maps is a great way to top search results without having to labour through years of SEO or high PPC cost. It still requires SEO expertise, but is an area that has not been taken over by the big guns just yet.

SEO Tips for 2010 – Conversion Rate/ROI Optimisation

Finally, a big area of development over the next year in terms of SEO is conversion rate optimisation – that is to say giving sites increasingly accurate and detailed measurable data for sales, conversions and other such metrics, so clients can push budgets into profitable areas of their site and make changes in others to measure differences in conversions. Orchid Box are already at the forefront of such changes and developments, and are working on specialised technology in terms of website optimisation and testing amongst other things. In both PPC and SEO these data metrics will be vital going into 2010 to ensure you spend to accumulate successfully in the online world!



So there we have it: a 2010 list. I’m sorry. But heed our seer-like visions and take advantage of new technologies going into 2010; get in touch with Orchid Box and we’ll help you use SEO to maximise those online profits.