Entries from February 2010 ↓

I’ve recently had to move machine whilst Microsoft figure out how the last Windows update has crippled my computer causing it to run slow and lockup/reset every 100 minutes (very annoying). The up-shot of this is that I am now working on a Windows Vista computer instead of my souped up XP configuration and as a result I am no longer able to access my standard suite of cross browser testing apps that are XP only.

I’ve tried to use online services but theyre slow and not very interactive however I recently came across a free solution that comes direct from Microsoft.

By using Microsofts free Virtual PC application you can quickly and easily run virtual machines preconfigured to combine versions of Internet Explorer and various operating systems. So with little effort, I am able to run a virtualised Windows XP with IE6 and IE7 preinstalled.

It works brilliantly.

One thing to note is that the virtual machines are time limited meaning that every so often you will have to download a new version.

It seems that even the Dilbert crew get befuddled with SEO… it seems you have to loose your soul to understand and impliment SEO… lol.

I love getting free stuff, and my latest freebie of some letraset takes me back to my days at college. A few months ago i snagged a link on qbn.com to an offer on image library specialists, Veer.com’s website where registered users could get some free letraset as part of a special promotion.

And mine arrived today

The packaging is great and really well thought out (im a sucker for orange and mid tone grey.

Ok, so my re-created blog has been live for around 2 weeks now after the deletion of the original site and I have to say that since I moved to Wordpress I’ve never encountered so much spam. I’m running at over 100 spam messages in just a few days… starting with an influx from day 1. It seems that spammers out there are targeting the Hello World post trying to get around sites without Askimet running… If you’re running Wordpress and have a significant spam issue then I suggest choosing another platform as, like I said, Wordpress is a Spam Magnet!

I’m now into my second year at Distinctive Chesterfields/Click 4 Beds and I’ve just realised that I’m now chasing my own performance from last year… in effect I have a ghost car to race against just like in a game where last years performances are now being used as a benchmark for this year…

Love it!

Just discovered a great article on the BBC website outlining how Neville Brody’s Research Studio crafted the new website design.

It’s a great article because it goes into read depth about some of the decisions made and shows how difficult issues such a stext overlays on top of images were managed.

Simply inspirational for everyone.

Mr Brody was a twat when I met him a few years back… just goes to show you should never meet your heros.

Poached from QBN.com

Heres a random tip thats come from Michelle at work (hi Michelle).

I spent the weekend in agony as I’ve had to buy a new pair of ‘going out’ shoes for a weekend in Manchester because, by all accounts, they don’t let you into pubs and clubs in trainers (just like in the early 1990s WTF!). The shoes have rubbed away a big patch of skin on the back on my foot and ive got a blister the size of portugal on my heel so in an effort to stretch the shoes to be more comfortable ive tried all sorts of things.

Michelle however, has a great tip that allows you to stretch shoes the easy way without the need for any special tools.

Simply fill a sandwich bag with water and insert it into the shoe, then pop your shos into the freezer (ingenious) and as the ice freezes and begins to expand your shoes will be stretched , then simply take out and allow to thaw…

GENUIS!

Ends 28th February 2010 this BOTW promo code entitles you to a massive 50% off your submission.

Simply enter the voucher code:

YOUSAVE50

At the payment page.

This works on both the business directory listing and the blog directory.

If that doesn’t work try

NEWYR

This one gives you 20% off.

I’m in the process of thinking of ways to build links to a site that sells globally. A big part of this is building links from foreign language sites so as a first step I’ve chosen to repeat my past experiments in social bookmarking using sites that are specifically geared towards specific languages.

As always I’m interested in your feedback so if you have any sites to add IN THIS SPECIFIC LANGUAGE ONLY then please add a comment and I’ll review the site and add it in if applicable.

List of Italian Social Bookmarking Sites

Process

Firstly, the Google toolbar with its translate function is your best guide to doing this.

1. Visit google.it
2. Check the radio button that says Italian Results Only
3. Perform searches like ’social bookmarks’ or ’social bookmarking’
4. Make a list
5. Visit each site
6. Register using your keyword as a username
7. Validate
8. Complete your profiles including a large descriptive text with keywords dropped into it
9. Look around the site for blog posting or article submission possibilityes
10. Add your articles swapping out the english keywords for your native language ones
11. Keep a log of dofollows etc
12. If you encounter any dofollow Delicious style social bookmarking services and bookmark your native language pages (dont forget to update these as you go along)

Thanks all -Enjoy. And if you know of any other good dofollow foreign language specific social bookmarking sites then please let me know.

Just downloaded the new Bruce Clay SEO Factors and Trends Report which acts as a great reminder of SEO issues we all faced throughout 2009. All in all it’s pretty well written and contains lots of hints at things that can/have been done in SEO over the last 12 months.

Heres a few of the takeaways from this excellent document.

Online Brand Presence

…the number of times a brand is used in conjunction with a keyword on pages…

Adding your brand name as part of your link building effort achieves positive results in google so now is the time to name-drop in blog comments, forum signatures, press releases, social media and articles.

Richer Search Listings

…one line site links, rich snippets, breadcrumbs and geo-location…

They mention using ‘named’ anchors to help achieve ‘one line site links’… I assume this is a turn of phrase and will be investigating whether they actually mean the name=”" attribute or whether they mean consistency of anchor text.

The use of Microfotmats such as hCard, vCard and hReview are encouraged to give more information and pull-out your listings from the crowd.

Folder structure is being used as an alternative to ‘one line site links’ so think folder structure people!

Engagement Objects™

…and will thus reward (rank higher) sites that include appropriate Engagement Objects™.

I have no idea what these are but they sure sound interesting. When I get a moment I will report back with my findings.

Contextual Links

Our research indicates that search engines have added more weight to contextual links and less weighting to links from the navigation, side bars and footer…

Hit articles, blog posts, guest posts, social media and other sources of in-content links to boost your rankings.

So there you have it. Just a few of the excellent points raised in the Bruce Clay document. There’s some new things for me to check out (what a novelty) and I am looking forwards to spending some time evaluating these techniques.

Enjoy.