Facebook Changes its VAT Structure for its Advertising Clients

 The global social networking site Facebook has recently announced it has made a change to the VAT rate for those who advertise on the site. Unless you state your VAT registration number (including country prefix) prior to the purchase of the adverts you will be charged Irish VAT.

Facebook states that if you are ‘purchasing adverts for a business purpose and your principal place of business is not in Ireland, Irish VAT will not be added to your purchasing costs’. However, it is up to the user to ensure they state the location of their business; otherwise their purchasing costs could cost them up to a staggering 21% extra. Facebook also states that in regards to your location ‘you may be required to self-account for the applicable VAT in your jurisdiction of residence or establishment’, so you may be required to account for VAT depending on your area of residence.

If you are purchasing adverts for a non-business purpose then Irish VAT will automatically be added to the cost of your purchase. However, as a business it is important not to be stung by this charge if it is not applicable to you. Many businesses advertise on social media sites so this step is slightly worrying as it is perhaps a sign of things to come. Here at Orchid Box we advertise for our clients on Google, Yahoo, Bing, and social media sites such as Facebook and Linked In, but if VAT was charged on top the SEO process would become a lot more expensive for our clients. 

If you have any queries about these changes please visit - http://www.facebook.com/help/contact.php?show_form=ads_hc870

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) for Beginners

 Today an average of 1,802,330,400 people around the globe use the internet, just over a sixth of the whole world’s population. However, if you ask most of these people what SEO is you will receive a blank stare in response, despite the fact that SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is rapidly becoming the most effective online marketing tool and is remarkably self explanatory. Many of us come into contact with examples of SEO every day, but we are just not aware of it. It isnot until you actual start studying the techniques and systems used that you are then able to recognise them in existing sites. 

Although SEO can seem a little confusing at first, often it is about just making small modifications to your site in order for it to appear higher up in a search engine’s ‘organic searches’. It is important first and foremost that your site is user friendly; visitors will not want to use a complicated, messy website. This also makes it easier for Google’s ‘crawlers’ to learn what your site is about. Using unique key words and content that differentiates your site from others is also beneficial to Google as it makes their job easier. This is because when Google’s ‘crawlers’ find your site they are able to see what makes your site different to all the others that are also jostling for that top search engine result spot. In many cases the elements are there but are not being used in the correct way, this is where SEO comes in. Using SEO effectively will increase visitor traffic to a site, which is the aim at the end of the day.

SEO is about optimising your website so it gains a better page ranking in the organic search results, however there is no guarantee it will be at the top. Often at the top of popular searches is a section where sites have paid to advertise, this is not SEO but rather PPC (pay per click) which is often used in conjunction with SEO to boost traffic to sites. PPC adverts often appear down the right hand side of results too and attract a lot of clicks, but there can be strong competition for the best search terms. PPC can increase the CTR (Click Through Rate), which is how many people click through on to your site. CTR is essentially the number of times an advert is clicked on divided by the number of times the advert was delivered by Google. The higher the CTR, the more traffic is flowing into your website. Using ‘friendlier’ URLs is also advised so that visitors can see what it is they’re clicking onto, and it is also easier to remember and link to if it is to the point. 

  One of the most important things when starting out in SEO is to make sure your website is accessible to its users. It’s vital that your site is easy to navigate. This way users can quickly and easily find what they’re looking for and will be more willing to use the site again. This is best achieved by having a clear site map, with a naturally flowing hierarchy so the most important aspects are obvious. Also controlling navigation from page to page with text links makes the site easier for both users and crawlers to use. If you bear in mind all of these SEO basics you will be well on your way to improving the popularity of your site, if it’s easier for Google to use, it will move higher up the organic search results and will ultimately receive more traffic.

Share Your News with Newsfix

  Here at Orchid Box we would like to introduce our newest addition to our web page family – News Fix, a free article and news submission site that is already taking the internet by storm with new members signing up every day. 

It is always a dilemma for companies on how best to promote their latest offer, new service or company launch in the most effective way. Such a task can be a very expensive process with marketing strategies generally using lots of TV and radio advertising, and more recently PPC. However, now News Fix offers them the opportunity to post press releases for free. This means new, and existing, companies are essentially able to promote themselves for free, posting press releases and news on a busy site that receives lots of traffic. The more people that post articles on the site, the more the site will be looked at and the more the cycle of people and articles continues. The hardest part is kick starting the cycle but News Fix is already rolling with a substantial amount of traffic already visiting the website.  News Fix aims to be one of the top news and PR sites and looks well on its way to achieving that success.

 Releasing press releases is an important aspect of marketing as it gives companies a real opportunity to tell the world exactly what they are about. It is also especially good at creating exposure for the company, and its link to the News Fix site will encourage search engines to visit their site. Posting press releases is ideal for SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) purposes as it means much more traffic will be directed to the company’s website, placing it higher up in search engine results. It is also an incredibly good branding exercise, as the more people that read about the company, the better they will know the brand – makes perfect sense when you think about it!

 News Fix’s website is crawled by Google crawlers on regular occasions, meaning it will be viewed by a large amount of people as it appears more in Google searches. And with articles varying from Computers and Business to Current Events and Social Media there is a wide selection of news to be found!

Put Your Car to Work with WhipCar - Car Hire to Revolutionise How You Rent a Car

We are very excited by our latest SEO and PPC contract, a site we believe is going to revolutionise the way we all think about our cars.

WhipCar is a brand new peer to peer car rental service that offers car owners and those in need of a car a platform to connect and interact. Got a car sitting around days on end in the garage? You can rent your car out for the rates you want – whether it’s £50 a day, £8 an hour or another time scale you want to put your car to work for. And for those in need of a car every now and again but can’t justify the outlay to buy one, you’ve got the perfect site to go and get a temporary rental on your street for a price you won’t get elsewhere...it’s that easy! WhipCar is starting off with hire car in Maida Vale only, but soon will be branching across the country so anyone interested should let them know their interest.

We’ve helped WhipCar get their brand started with pay per click campaigns targeting niche markets and wider scale audiences to ensure they get the best returns possible. Orchid Box have also been in partnership with the site designers to ensure the interface is user friendly and optimised for search engines. Though a site like this obviously thrives on buzz and chatter across blogs, news sites and other online communities (and indeed, offline), it’s still essential that the site is ready to be indexed by Google and targeting the right sort of keywords.

So check out the site at www.whipcar.com and see how you can put your car to work, or rent the car next door – be part of the revolution from the start and save yourself money along the way!

Vote SEO At The Forthcoming General Election

We’ve see it on the news, read about it in the papers, heard it on the radio... Yes, the ubiquitous debates between the Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat leaders just can’t be avoided. Not that we’d want to avoid them – what with Cameron’s clumsily applied foundation, Brown’s offensive tie, and Clegg’s boy-next-door eagerness, they’re providing much entertainment (alongside some interesting political discussion, of course).

So what does this mean for SEO? Well, for the next few weeks, there will be some politically-focused keywords that are typed into search engines by thousands of users everyday. A fact which SEO lovers should be well aware of - those canny Tories being one of them.

Type ‘Labour’ into Google and up pops a Conservative PPC ad, entitled ‘Labour Has Failed’. Can’t get much clearer than that. Type in ‘Conservatives’ and, while Labour have failed to cash in on this keyword (surprising, given how adept their MPs seem at cashing in on anything else), Ann Summers, of ladies lingerie fame, have taken the opportunity to advertise their wares through PPC:

This was an opportunity not to be missed by Orchid Box (we spotted this prior to seeing Ann Summers’ efforts, we promise) . When working on the PPC for London boutique spa, Kuno Tierra, we bid on the keyword ‘Labour’. Now, I can see you scratching your head, wondering, ‘How on earth did they manage to link a political party with a high-end beauty salon?’

Here’s how:

And,

Inspired, no?

It can be a great idea to link PPC to current affairs, because even if your ad isn’t clicked on, you are likely to be seen by a very high number of users.

NB: Orchid Box do not affiliate themselves with any political party.

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!

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)