Instead of confusing the rest of the world with their ‘football’ the USA should correctly re-name their game ‘Handegg’. The pictures below perfectly illustrate why this should happen.
There's only one football, and we ain't calling it 'soccer' for anyone!
Hi, welcome to ‘An A to Z of SEO’ where we will explain in easy steps all the things you simply have to know if you want to successfully optimize a website. We know we are not perfect and are open to any and all comments, but please keep them polite and relevent
A is for…
Algorithm
An algorithm is a set of finite steps for solving a mathematical problem. Each Search Engine, Google, Yahoo, Bing etc, uses its own proprietary algorithm set to calculate the relevance of its indexed web pages to your particular Search Query. The result of this process is a list of sites ranked in the order that the search engine deemed most relevant. Search engine algorithms are closely guarded secrets in order to prevent exploitation of algorithmic results and are also changed frequently to incorporate new data and improve relevancy.
Algorithmic Results
Algorithmic results are the ranked listings search engines provide in response to a Search Query, using the search engines algorithms. They are often referred to as Organic Listings, as opposed to Paid Listings, because their rank is based purely on relevancy according to the search engines algorithm rather than advertising revenue paid to the search engine. Paid and Sponsored listings do appear alongside algorithmic results in many search engines, provided they are relevant. Improving a website’s unpaid algorithmic results is known as Natural Search Engine Optimization and should be what good SEO is designed to achieve.
Alt Tag/Alt Text
An alt tag is the HTML text that appears while an image is loading or when a cursor is positioned over an image. Alt text is useful in Search Engine Optimization because it can include, and indeed should include, keywords that a search engine looks for in response to a query, which should help your site in gaining brownie points with the search engines.
Analytics
Analytics refers to all the technology, programming, and data used in Search Engine Marketing to analyze a website’s performance or the success of an Internet marketing campaign. If you haven’t already got an analytics program for your site, get one now they are an absolute ‘must have’ for any SEO plan.
Anchor Text
Also known as link text. Anchor text is the visible, clickable text between the HTML anchor and tags. Clicking on anchor text activates a Hyperlink to another web site. Anchor text is very important in Search Engine Optimization because search engine algorithms consider the Hyperlink keywords as relevant to the Landing Page. Try to make sure your anchor text utilises keywords, don’t use phrases like ‘click here for more info’ if you can avoid it.
B is for…
Backlinks
Also known as back links, backward link, or inbound links, backlinks are all of the links on other websites that direct the users who click on them to your site. Backlinks can significantly improve your site’s search rankings since the search engines assume that if lots of sites show links to your site then your site must be useful. This is especially true if the backlinks contain Anchor Text keywords relevant to your site and are located on sites with high Page Rank.
Banned
Also known as delisted or blacklisted, a banned site is a URL that has been removed from a search engine’s Index, typically for engaging in Black Hat SEO. Banned sites are ignored by search engines. If you are thinking of employing an outside SEO to improve your ranking you need to check them out to ensure they do not use Black Hat or any dubious techniques as it is your site that will get banned.
Banner Ad
A banner ad is a rectangular graphic advertisement, usually placed at either the top or the bottom of a webpage. Banner ads are one of the commonest forms of online paid advertising. Most measure 468 pixels wide by 60 pixels high. Clicking on a banner ad will direct you to the advertiser’s website or a designated Landing Page.
Black Hat SEO
Black hat SEO is the term used for unethical or deceptive optimization techniques. This includes Spam, Cloaking, or violating search engine rules in any way. If a search engine discovers a site engaging in black hat SEO it will remove that site from its Index, even if you were totally unaware of the methods they used on your site.
Blacklisted
Also known as banned or delisted, a blacklisted site is a URL that has been removed from a search engine’s Index, typically for engaging in Black Hat SEO. Blacklisted sites are ignored by search engines.
Broken Link
Also known as a dead link, a broken link is a link that no longer points to an active destination or Landing Page. This often happens quite innocently, for instance if you redesign a site or individual pages. Search engines dislike broken links, and potential clients may find them frustrating. Keeping all of your site’s links active is an important part of ongoing optimization.
C is for…
Click Fraud
Click Fraud is the illegal practice of manipulating Cost-Per-Click (CPC) or Pay-Per-Click (PPC) revenue sharing agreements. There are many types of click fraud. Typically, the webmaster of a site that earns money from each click of the advertising links it publishes pays friends a small fee to click those links. Companies thus pay for advertising to clients who had no intention of buying from them. Some companies have filed class action lawsuits alleging that Google and Yahoo! have failed to aggressively confront click fraud because they benefit from increased CPC revenue, even if the companies dont.
Click-Through
Click-through is a single instance of a user clicking on an advertising link or site listing and moving to a Landing Page. A higher Click-Through Rate (CTR) is one of the primary goals of Search Engine Optimization.
Click-Through Rate (CTR)
Click-through rate is the % of users who click on an advertising link or search engine site listing out of the total number of people who see it, i.e. four click-throughs out of ten views is a 40% CTR, showing that 40% of viewers considered what they saw as interesting enough to warrant them looking further.
Cloaking
Cloaking is offering alternative website pages to a search engine Spider so that it will record different content for a URL than what a human browser would see. This is typically done to achieve a higher search engine position or to trick users into visiting a site. Cloaking is usually considered to be Black Hat SEO and the offending URL could be Blacklisted as the major search engines insist that all website pages should be designed to be read by humans. For example, keyword-rich text in the same colour as the background or in letters too small to be read. However, cloaking is sometimes used to deliver personalized content based on a browsers IP address and/or user-agent HTTP header. Such cloaking should only be practiced with a search engines knowledge or it could be construed as black hat cloaking.
Contextual Link Inventory (CLI)
CLI is generated based on listings of website pages with content that the ad-server deems a relevant keyword match and is used by search engines & advertising networks to match keyword-relevant text-link adverts to site content. Ad networks refine CLI relevancy by monitoring the Click-Through Rate of the displayed ads.
Conversion
Conversion is the term used for any significant action a user takes while visiting a site, i.e. making a purchase, requesting information, or registering for an account. Website owners can set their own Conversion Goals in their analytics programs.
Conversion Analytics
Conversion analytics is a branch of Analytics concerned specifically with conversion-related information from organic and/or paid search engine traffic, such as the keywords converts used in their queries, the type of conversion that resulted, landing page paths, search engine used, etc.
Conversion Rate
Conversion rate is the next step up from Click-Through Rate. Its the percentage of all site visitors who convert (make a purchase, register, request information, etc
Cost-Per-Acquisition (CPA)
Cost-per-acquisition (CPA) is a return on investment model in which return is measured by dividing total click/marketing costs by the number of Conversions achieved. Total acquisition costs divided by number of conversions equals CPA. CPA is also used as a synonym for Cost-Per-Action.
Cost-Per-Action (CPA)
In a cost-per-action advertising revenue system, advertisers are charged a Conversion-based fee, i.e. each time a user buys a product, opens an account, or requests a free trial. CPA is also known as cost-per-acquisition, though the term cost-per-acquisition can be confusing because it also refers to a return on investment model.
Cost-Per-Click (CPC)
Also known as pay-per-click or pay-for-performance, cost-per-click is an advertising revenue system used by search engines and ad networks in which advertising companies pay an agreed amount for each click of their ads. This Click-Through Rate-based payment structure is considered by some advertisers to be more cost-effective than the Cost-Per-Thousand payment structure, but it can at times lead to Click Fraud.
Cost-Per-Thousand (CPM)
Also known as cost-per-impression or CPM for cost-per-mille ( the Latin word for thousand), cost-per-thousand is an advertising revenue system used by search engines and ad networks in which advertising companies pay an agreed amount for every 1,000 users who see their ads, regardless of whether a click-through or conversion is achieved. CPM is typically used for Banner Ad sales, while Cost-Per-Click is typically used for text link advertising.
Crawler
Also known as a Spider or Robot, a crawler is a search engine program that crawls the web, collecting data, following links, making copies of new and updated sites, and storing URLs in the search engines Index. This allows search engines to provide faster and more up-to-date listings.
Coming soon – ‘D’, or if you can’t wait you can find the entire A to Z at Ironmongeryshoponline Product Help, Faq’s and SEO Assistance
Google made between 350 and 550 algorithm changes last year. Many of these changes are minor tweaks that will not have any noticeable impact upon sites, but sometimes the changes can be more serious.
One of Googles latest changes is, in the words of Googler Matt Cutts ” an algorithmic change in Google, looking for higher quality sites to surface for long tail queries. It went through vigorous testing and isn’t going to be rolled back.”
When asked Google for more details they said that it was a rankings change, not a crawling or indexing change, which seems to imply that sites getting less traffic still have their pages indexed, but some of those pages are no longer ranking as highly as before. Based on Matt’s comment, this change impacts “long tail” traffic, which generally is from longer queries that few people search for individually, but in aggregate can provide a large percentage of traffic.
This change seems to have primarily impacted very large sites with “item” pages that don’t have many individual links into them, might be several clicks from the home page, and may not have substantial unique and value-added content on them.Ecommerce sites often have this structure, individual product pages are unlikely to attract external links and most of the content may be imported from a manufacturer database. Of course, as with any change that results in a traffic hit for some sites, other sites experience the opposite. Based on Matt’s comment, the pages that are now ranking well for these long tail queries are from “higher quality” sites (or perhaps are “higher quality” pages).
This is going to be a long-term change, so if your site has been impacted by it, you’ll need to apply some creative thinking around how you can make these types of pages more valuable, and more likely to attract links and social comments.
If your sites are not ecommerce, the effect upon it may be positive due to the fewer site pages and the fact that those pages you do have may contain substantial levels of keyword-rich content that could be linked to and commented upon in social forums.
How Can New Sites & SEO Survive Google Personalised Search?
Google personalised search, launched at the back end of 2009, could potentially act as a barrier to any new website from ever becoming highly ranked.
This is because it retains history of past searches made by both signed-in individuals and by url locations to allow it to provide users with a quicker, more efficient set of results the next time they search.
Now, that sounds all fine and well if your site is established and already ranks well and is in the early search results now, but what if you are a fledgling website with little or no history and were hoping to use good SEO techniques to work your way up the listings? No doubt unscrupulous ‘black hat’ SEO companies will try and persuade you that alls fair in love and war (claiming Google have declared war on SEO’s and newcomers) but there are other ways, ways that won’t get your website banned forever.
To see how you can ethically survive Google Personalised Search look here http://www.ironmongeryshoponline.co.uk/privacy.php for free and impartial advice
Feel free to post any ideas you have come across and we may add this to our bulletin.
In all my years in this trade I have never come across a door handle as weird as this! You have to hand it to the designer, thank goodness he wasn’t asked to make a door knob.
If you have seen anything weirder send us a post, we can’t wait to see what you’ve got.
www.ironmongeryshoponline.co.uk
A bit of a strange one, not to everyone's taste but I think its cute (ish)
Our thanks to TELPortfolio for this one
From the paintwork on the door we guess this is from the same place as the fish door catch above
Again, our thanks to TELPortfolio
You may want to think twice before putting your fingers near this Italian letter plate
Our thanks to Andy P. who took this while on holiday
by Ironmongery Shop Online
It might seem a bit obvious at first, but as soon as you start looking around you will be confronted by literally thousands of different door handles and knobs to choose from. Each of these handles and knobs will come in a selection of finishes, satin stainless steel, polished stainless steel, aluminium, brass, chrome, bronze, pewter and even occasionally gold plated! So, how do we choose the right handle?
First you need a budget. Set yourself a minimum and a maximum price you are prepared to pay. Why set a minimum? I hear you say. Simple, you will probably handle your door handles dozens of times a day, hundreds of times a week, and many thousands of times a year so if you buy something that’s cheap you could find yourself having to replace it a lot sooner than you expected.
Having decided a sensible price range, think about the style of your home, or how you want it to appear. A Dickensian thatched cottage may not be the best place for polished stainless steel cutting edge door furniture and likewise a brand new, state of the art penthouse apartment would probably not benefit from black iron antique furniture.
Then consider who is going to handle the door furniture. If you have young children you may find that brass or chrome handles need to be constantly cleaned where grubby little hands have left smear marks or worse. Satin stainless steel is probably your best bet here, and if your home is near the sea/river or in open countryside then you will gain the added benefit of stainless steels resistance to weathering- have you ever noticed how brass or chrome handles lose their shine and discolour?
Again bearing children in mind, try to avoid handles with pointed or sharp edges on them, door handles are fitted at about the same height as the average 2 year-olds eyes.
Potential users with restrictive movement in the hands may find knob furniture difficult to operate and would benefit from having a lever instead. If the user has limited sight try to avoid handles that are similar in finish to the door on which they are to be fitted (i.e. don’t use aluminium handles on white doors or brass on light timbers)
So, now we have narrowed it down from a couple of thousand to perhaps 20 or so choices, much more manageable. The rest is up to you and your personal preferences
This issue is more relevant in the UK than elsewhere as, historically, ‘lever’ and ‘oval’ keyways /barrels were predominant in the UK until the more recent influx of ‘Euro’ shape barrels from the Continent. Physically these are all quite different and easy to identify.Euro or Oval profile means a type of barrel that is fitted thru the door and into the door lock body.
You will need a Euro profile door handle if your barrel is shaped like a very large keyhole and that you use a “yale” type key in.
You will need an Oval profile door handle if your lock barrel is a large oval shape that you use a “yale” type key in.
Lever keyway locks have a long key (usually about 65-75mm) with a bow at one end and a stepped or toothed portion at the other end which goes into the lock.Lever keyway locks are still the most popular type in the UK, especially from well known brands like Chubb.
Handles which are used to operate mortice locks and latches are called lever door handles. These handles are usually, but not always, spring loaded. Lever Door Handles come with six different standard operations.
Lever Latch Door Handles. For non-locking doors. These can be on round roses or on rectangular backplates.
Lever Lock Door Handles. For use with lever keyway mortice locks.
Lever Bathroom Lock Door Handles. For use with full size bathroom locks.
Lever Privacy Door Handles. For bathroom doors fitted with latches instead of bathroom locks.
Euro Profile Lever Door Handles. For use with Euro profile locks/cylinders.
Oval Profile Lever Door Handles. For use with Oval profile locks/cylinders
In future posts I will go into more detail about the differences. In the meantime if you have any questions drop me a line or visit my website
Bye for now!
The most common problem people have with door handles is when, after being operated, the door handle does not return back to the horizontal position. There are usually a few very simple reasons for this. We have put them in order of most easily rectified and would suggest trying to resolve your problem step by step.
1) Sometimes the screws used to fix the handle to the door have been over-tightened, especially if an electric screwdriver has been used. Over-tightening can cause 2 problems. First, this causes the backplate on which the door handle is mounted to pinch into the door and in turn pinch the lockcase, stopping the spring inside the lock or latch from doing its job properly. Secondly, over-tightening can create friction on the spring which is inside the handle backplate.
2) Many door handles have internal springs at the back of them which, if not properly lubricated, can grind against the inners of the handle backplate. To check if this is the cause of your problem, do the following. Remove the handle from the door. Hold the backplate in one hand and operate the lever with your other hand to see if it appears to be grinding, If it is, smear a little grease or petroleum jelly onto the spring and move the door handle a few times until the grease or jelly has worked its way into the spring mechanism. The door handle should now move freely and can be re-fitted to the door.
3) Some door handles have a long neck at the back where the square spindle bar locates. Occasionally these can bind against the door, preventing the handle from returning to its normal position. Remove the handle from the door and lay it flat on a table. It should rest flat but if it rocks, then the neck is protruding further than the handle backplate. You will need to drill a hole in each side of your door big enough and deep enough to allow the handle backplate to rest flat against the door.
4) To save money during construction, many doors are fitted with very cheap tubular door latches and it is quite possible that the spring mechanism in this has failed. Remove the handles from the door and pull out the latch. You should be able to press in the latchbolt with a finger and watch it spring back out again. If it fails to do this fully or does so slowly then you should fit a new latch of the same size, but ideally better quality
5) Sometimes, especially in new homes or on newly hung doors, doors drop after a while. If this happens, the latchbolt can bind against its keep plate. If this has happened you will probably be able to spot signs of wear or scratches on the keep plate and maybe on the latchbolt. To correct this you should remove the keep plate and reposition it slightly lower down the door frame.
We hope this, the first blog we have placed here, is of interest and would appreciate your comments/questions in order that future blogs are of a wide interest.
Dolphin designer stainless steel door handles from ironmongeryshoponline.co.uk
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