The Pad - The Metalfrog SEO and Web Blog

Pay As You Go SEO : A New Concept from Metalfrog Studios Ltd | Member News | Norfolk Chamber of Commerce

2016-12-02T08:43:00.001+00:00

Pay As You Go SEO : A New Concept from Metalfrog Ltd | Member News | Norfolk Chamber of Commerce

Best Web Design In Norfolk | 01603 819136

2016-11-20T19:03:00.001+00:00

Best Web Design In Norfolk | 01603 819136

Property Search Website Goes Live!

2016-10-31T11:13:00.003+00:00

Good morning all,

Some time ago we took over the website hosting and management of a website for Norfolk property expert, Jamie Jamieson. His company offers a unique service whereby he visits you to establish the type of property you are looking for, which region, what price bracket or budget have (normally over £500,000 sales value), and he and his team then research the market and locate suitable properties for you to take into consideration, and ultimately view.

It became clear that the old website - in 2 parts (of which more later) was not up to the job, was not built correctly and was pretty unmanageable, especially from a mobile device - Jamie and his team travel to clients and often in rural areas. They use iPads and mobiles, so speed and ease of viewing are essential for his success.

Although our website development team had made significant positive changes to the old website, it was clear that the message portrayed was not clear, definitely not accurate, and did not exude the brand image we wanted for the business. Jamie asked us to create a new "front end" Norfolk property search website, with an integrated content managed and interactive back end where he could easily show clients the properties that he found, and all the details associated with them. The brief asked for fantastic creative design, but commercial and simplistic at the same time, as well as all of the above.

The website went live in a Beta state a couple of weeks ago, and as it features a bespoke double content management system. Jamie's team set about populating the site with live data.

Jamie very kindly sent this email to us this morning, which I am transcribing verbatim:

"Hi I had a meeting yesterday evening with a Swiss financier who I had been put in touch with, he had the opportunity to look at my website before he met me face to face, in order for me to find him a good house with land up to £5m. "

He was impressed I obviously knew a lot about Norfolk and houses, then I opened up the database on my iPad and showed him what his money could buy and the style of houses and where they were. He WAS REALLY IMPRESSED." So he signed up then and there, something his wife told me they never do as they like to be sure it’s the right person with the right knowledge. "

But he was interested to see that the website explained how the whole process worked coupled with the database that they made the decision after speaking to me."

"So this email is to say to you all, as you all had something to do with it, some more than others!" "THANK YOU FOR ALL THAT HARD WORK- it was worth it." "Emails are funny things in order to try and portray ones thanks in a black and white version, but I am grateful that the end result does what its meant to do."

We are now in the throes of working on the SEO side of the process and are going to be re-submitting the site to the search engines in its new guise. Please do take a look at the website. I am sure Jamie would be interested in your comments and feedback too!

The web address is : http://jamiesonpropertysearch.co.uk/
Jamie is also on Twitter:

If you want a perfect website, commercially focused, perfectly coded, search engine friendly and know that you are going to get the best, then why not get in touch.

Chris Wheeler
Managing Director
Metalfrog Studios Limited
Metalfrog Web Design

This digital marketing agency hits the spot every time - Classified Ad

2016-10-31T10:12:00.001+00:00

This digital marketing agency hits the spot every time - Classified Ad

2nd or 3rd Jobbers or "SEO or Web Experts" Locally!

2016-10-04T10:06:00.001+01:00

In recent days we have managed to take several accounts from local agencies purporting to offer high quality SEO services or online marketing in all its forms. One such company we reported on yesterday.

Non-Targeted Accounts
It should be noted that we have not actively targeted these companies, as the clients in question will attest (and we do not have sales people as we are found on the web for valuable search terms proven to drive business).

Non-Delivery
Simply, they are fed up with working with companies promising the earth and delivering nothing when it comes to online marketing.

This may cut across web design, web development, seo, link building or social media, or a combination of all of these disciplines.

There are a number of points to raise here:

Expectations
It appears that the cycle is that an enthusiastic sales person meets a company owner/marketing manager or director at a network event or finds them some way. The relationship begins to take shape and the result is a deal is struck with a high level of expectation and delivery from the client, with no way point to success, and with no idea what the expected outcome could be - other than that promised to the client by the agency in question.

Normally, the company wins business locally because of one or more of these factors:
"born and bred in the area."
"trusted as he did my mates site."
"in my networking group, I feel obliged to give them a crack at my online marketing."
"play sport together - normally golf on a Sunday."
"went to school together."
..or some such other factual comment about choosing their online marketing partner I have heard over the past 16 years! All great of course if you are getting a result.

The relationship begins
The pattern seems to always go that the relationship begins on a high, the client having no idea what is going to happen, then the client starts to get concerned because he is not in touch with his agency every 5 minutes and the agency has not conveyed that sometimes things will go quiet as changes are made in line with search engine policies, or because they have the experience to know that this is a project and is worked on over time to a conclusion, rather than monthly ongoing without success or return on investment.

Search engine results
What is funny in our region as that my company appears to be the only one consistently delivering results, with the main philosophy that we do not always believe what we read on the Internet, we know Google is not our friend, we don't subscribe to "we've always done it that way" or "Google's staff tell us it is right so we must do it or our website will disappear@, or some such other bunkum.

Results, results, results
If you are a professional in online marketing with years of experience, hundreds of clients, and thousands of results then you know that you have to use some tools (but don't rely on them completely), use the Internet professionals you can trust who have no interest in commercial gain, but simply offering advice and assistance, and above all be a leader not a follower.

Sometimes experience does not mean success
Just because someone was on the Internet in 2006 does not mean they are an expert. Simply that they have been around a while and may or may not be bang up to date with latest trends.

2nd Jobber SEO Experts
What we see in Norwich and Norfolk now is a swarm of hangers on, second jobbers, ex-recruitment agency bods, sales reps, copywriters and PR people who are suddenly self-proclaimed SEO guru's, social media experts or self proclaimed web wizards - but can't make a site rank on Google, don't get SEO and social media community differences, can designer - but can't differentiate between colour and commercial reality!

If you are serious about online then you need professionals who have done, and do nothing else.

Great people
Of course, there are some great people out there, and nobody is perfect all the time - that's not realistic in a high-tech, ever-chaning online landscape; that is clear.

However, when I offer facts to someone through a social media channel, and this is not supposition, and they say that I am "trolling" because that is their "vogue" word of the week, and they haven't read the point I make thoroughly - it really beggars belief!

How Do You Recover Your Rankings on Google?

2016-10-04T09:53:00.004+01:00

That's one of the worst things that can happen to a webmaster or site owner: your website has lost its rankings on Google. Ranking drops can cost your business a lot of money. This article will help you to recover your lost rankings on Google.

Possibility 1: Your website has been penalised by Google

To check if your website has been penalized by Google, search for "site:yourdomain.com" (replace yourdomain.com with your own domain name) on Google.

If Google does not display any pages of your website, then your site has been penalized.

Google only penalizes websites that use spammy search engine optimization methods. For that reason, you have to remove all issues that might have caused the problem:

1. Remove all on-page spam:

Remove hidden or nearly-hidden text on your web pages. Reconsider any use of display:none and visibility:hidden that you use in the CSS code of your website.

Check your web page titles, the meta tags and even the HTML comments on your web pages and remove any elements that might be interpreted as a keyword stuffing attempt.

Remove any unnecessary redirects, links to dubious websites and all duplicate pages from your website.

If you use cloaking or bot blocking scripts on your server, disable these scripts. Many bot blocking scripts keep legitimate search engine spiders away.

Make sure that your HTML code is clean and that your web pages look nice. Don't use any automatically created doorway pages.

2. Fix all off-site issues:

Off-site issues are often the reason for ranking penalties and they are more difficult to fix than on-page issues.

If you participated in automated link exchange systems or if you paid a cheap overseas link building service to get links to your website then it's likely that these links have been flagged as spam links by Google.

Google does not like automated link systems at all. Remove all automated link systems from your website and try to make sure that these linking systems do not link anymore to your site.

If you purchased links to improve your rankings, try to get rid of these links. Paid links do work to some extend but they can get your website in trouble when Google finds out that you use paid links.
3. File a re-inclusion request

When you are sure that all spam elements have been removed, you can file a re-inclusion request.

Keep your re-inclusion request short and to the point. Be friendly and explain what you have done to clean up your website.

Possibility 2: This is a change in the ranking algorithm

A ranking drop does not necessarily mean that your website has been penalized.

1. You redesigned your website or your website is relatively new

Google also temporarily downgrades websites after a major design change (source). In that case, you don't have to worry about the ranking drop because Google will give you your old rankings back after some time.

Of course, you must make sure that your new website design can still be parsed by Google and that your new web pages still contain the keywords for which you want to be ranked.

2. Other websites are better than yours

Search engine optimisation is not a set-and-forget thing. Your competitors might have improved their websites so that they now have better content and better links than your site.

No website can keep its rankings forever.

Business Web Hosting | Lightning Fast Hosting & Complete Support | Metalfrog

2016-10-04T09:18:00.001+01:00

Business Web Hosting | Lightning Fast Hosting & Complete Support | Metalfrog

Business Web Hosting | Lightning Fast Hosting

2016-10-04T08:58:00.001+01:00

Business Web Hosting | Lightning Fast Hosting

Key Phrases Not Key Words - The History of Search Phrases and Some Tips Too

2016-09-29T13:38:00.001+01:00

Key Phrases Not Key Words - The History of Search Phrases and Some Tips Too

Explaining Contextual Link Building - Is this the Future of SEO? | Knowledge | Norfolk Chamber of Commerce

2016-09-05T16:09:00.001+01:00

Explaining Contextual Link Building - Is this the Future of SEO? | Knowledge | Norfolk Chamber of Commerce

Web Design Companies Can Afford | 01603 861830 | Professional Web Design

2016-08-29T13:51:00.001+01:00

Web Design Companies Can Afford | 01603 861830 | Professional Web Design

Stamptastic and Metalfrog: Rubber Stamped!

2015-05-30T10:21:00.000+01:00

Metalfrog Studios Limited, of Norwich UK, is delighted to announce a new digital marketing partnership between itself and Stamptastic Limited, of Richmond, Surrey.

Stamptastic Limited has been in business for nearly 4 years. It is run by Emma Alleyne, Francesca Gubbay and Rie Bell..

They saw a niche in the market for rubber ink stamps, suitable for both address labelling, and even better for personalising children's clothing tags - a step forward from the days of iron-in labelling.

Metalfrog Studios Limited was contacted to deliver the following:

1. An initial 3-month digital marketing improvement program. The website is presently not attracting many visitors in organic search, and neither does it have many rankings in the top positions in all search engines. Knowing that the team are on a tight budget, and without wishing to tie them in to long term contract, we are going to deliver an improvement program which will hopefully see a website boost.

2. We are going to deliver a fully content-managed website. This will have the benefit of being a much stronger site than the present one, which has some major flaws. We are going to design and develop a custom website which will have all the features of the existing site, some extra requirements and additions, but most importantly will be perfectly coded and mobile responsive.

We are thrilled that Stamptastic has chosen Metalfrog to partner us in this activity, and we look forward to delivering for them.

Metalfrog Celebrates its 7th Birthday - Digital Marketing Agency with a Difference

2014-07-31T08:11:00.001+01:00

We are delighted to announce that Metalfrog Studios Limited of Horsham St Faith, Norwich is celebrating its 7th birthday today. As a total digital marketing agency, Metalfrog Studios is a business which offers a complete service to help you improve your marketing online.

With humble beginnings (located at Drayton Old Lodge, Norwich, in a single office back in 2007) Metalfrog Studios Limited now has a wide-ranging variety of clients which enjoy a combination of services which include web design, web development, search engine marketing, social media management, email marketing and digital design and logo creation.

The business continues to thrive and has survived through successive recessions - without any external funding. It now supports a dedicated team of 14 personnel. These team members are not only knowledgeable in multiple aspects of the business, but they are hand-picked to work at Metalfrog because they also exude commercial awareness and an appreciation that our clients are paramount to our continued success. They also empathize with clients who necessarily have not had previously good relationships with their marketing partner.

Although some people have left the business, the management team is more or less as it was at the beginning. This means our marketing messages have never wavered, our customer service has improved, and our attention to our clients remains focused and strong.

Although not perfect, our buzzword at The Pad is Improve.

We always try to improve as individuals (all the way through the team, both in personal development and in the way we deliver our part of a project to our client). Equally, we improve our technologies and practices for creating strong, powerful and unique messages for our clients' and their clients. We improve our responses, our support mechanisms and the way the business improves in general. We take nothing for granted in our business.

We look forward to working with you for the next 7 years and we welcome all comments.

We are constantly growing which means we always have capacity for new business. If you are interested in finding out how we could make a positive difference to your business, why not get in touch by calling us on 01603 861830, checkout our website - http://www.metalfrog.co.uk or email us: ideas@metalfrog.co.uk

Find out why we really are an agency with a difference!

Illuminating Norfolk Gardens with Firefly Garden Landscaping

2014-05-28T10:03:00.000+01:00

METALFROG STUDIOS LIMITED PRESS RELEASE

Metalfrog Studios Limited, award winning digital marketing agency based in Norwich, UK is delighted to announce the arrival of a new landscape gardening company, Firefly Garden Landscaping.

Owner Ben Mooney approached us a few months ago. He was working for another client of ours but felt that he wanted to spread his business wings. Ben has years of experience in garden landscaping, paving and patio creation.

Ben asked us to create a new logo and brand, website and digital marketing strategy.
The first stage of the process was for our team of graphic designers to meet with Ben and discuss his needs. We looked at his market, his potential and his competitors' and after a short time, and a number of concepts, we came up with Firefly. The reasoning was that it would stand out from the competition, would be recognisable on vans, liveries, equipment etc, and would exude quality - The same quality that Ben and his team deliver for their clients.

Subsequently, we commenced work on the creation of a new, content managed website. Knowing that the market Ben was hoping to attract was already largely mobile-driven, and that Ben and his team were also mobile, it made sense for us to create a mobile-responsive website. This, in simple terms, means that the site changes design layout according to the browser it is being viewed in.

After a few short weeks the site is finished. Ben and his team are thrilled with the look and feel of the site and commented thus:

"Choosing Metalfrog was an easy choice as the company came highly recommended by business contacts and their reputation for excellence was hard to match. After meeting with the team to discuss my requirements for the website it soon became apparent that I had made the right choice."

"My criteria for the website as for it to be bright, visually pleasing, and easy to read. These ideals were all exceeded throughout the process, from the initial artwork design to the final website layout.

Customer service is excellent, with weekly emails to update us on the website construction progress, the provision of training for the use of the content-manageable site, and phone back up for help when needed.

I see the continued collaboration with Metalfrog, as a major cog in the successful marketing of Firefly."

"I suggest you think twice before choosing any other company - either locally or nationally!".

We are delighted that Ben is pleased with our delivery. The next stage of the process involves promoting the site, carrying out social media, and delivering a strategy for long-term success.

One thing is for sure, the company has a brand and an identity which will really light up Norfolk business and make Firefly shine brightly in the world of landscape gardeners.

For more information please visit the website: http://www.fireflygardens.co.uk for more about the services you can expect from Firefly.

If you would like a free, no obligation discussion about your online marketing please contact the team at Metalfrog Studios Limited on 01603 861830, checkout the website: http://www.metalfrog.co.uk or email: ideas@metalfrog.co.uk

Actively Seeking PHP/OOP PHP Web Developers for Growing Norwich Digital Agency

2014-04-17T10:38:00.002+01:00

What We Need

We are looking for an enthusiastic individual with strong PHP skills to join our small team of developers on a full time basis in Norwich. This role include developing on a
wide range of projects including E-Commerce, APIs for web applications, and commercial CMS websites viewed by millions of unique visitors each year.

Your responsibilities

Participating in a team environment to develop new websites from in-house designs.
Maintaining existing PHP platforms including troubleshooting bugs and developing new features.
Demonstrating attention to detail, high quality standards and implementing technical specifications.
Customer Liaison.

Required skills

Good knowledge and use of PHP including OOP
Good knowledge of jQuery, CSS2/3, HTML5 and MySQL
Understanding of Content Management Platforms including WordPress
Knowledge/Understanding/ Experience in Zend Framework/Laravel and Bootstrap

Salary
Commensurate with experience and age.

About Metalfrog Studios Limited

Metalfrog Studios Limited is an 8 years old business based in the North West of Norwich, close to Norwich airport.
Our business is commercially focused and offers in-house web design, web development, search engine and digital marketing, app design and development.
Our team is small but perfectly formed, and we have since increased growth in every year we have been in existence.
Our clients range from major high street retailers to one man band start-ups, simply needing a presence to get them on the Internet ladder.
We work to tight deadlines and we have a flat management structure.
We offer good working conditions, holiday entitlements (and various perks subject to a probationary period).

How to Respond

In the first instance please send full CV to Managing Director Chris Wheeler, via email - ideas@metalfrog.co.uk

Website: http://www.metalfrog.co.uk

We'll Never Forget - Justice for the 96

2014-04-15T10:17:00.000+01:00

Designs on More Business with Metalfrog Studios Limited of Norwich | Member News | Norfolk Chamber of Commerce

2014-03-03T17:20:00.001+00:00

Designs on More Business with Metalfrog Studios Limited of Norwich | Member News | Norfolk Chamber of Commerce

SEO Update on Google Hummingbird - More Questions and Answers!

2013-10-18T08:48:00.001+01:00

The Google Hummingbird update was launched without any formal announcement from Google. A number of Worldwide sources indicated it may have been launched around the last week of August or the first week of September. It was an update specifically aimed at handling more complex, and more lengthy search queries.

Relying on Google more and more, viewers had started to enter more conversational kinds of search phrases which demanded instant answers from Google rather than a set of specific pages which might contain the answer. The main search algorithm of Google was updated with Hummingbird. An example of this could be "how do i find a plumber in Stoke?" rather than "plumber stoke".

With this algorithm enhancement, Google put more importance on 'conversational' search and semantic processing of queries. Instead of processing a query simply by matching the presence of words on web pages stored in the index, Google now understands the real context of the query and returns exact “answers”.

Why Hummingbird?

Google say it comes from being precise and fast!

As a result, there are some changes that you must implement on your website in order to make the most of this update. These changes are outlined below:-

1. Add Question Answer Pattern Content
People are looking for answers and, if your site can be adapted towards a question answer pattern kind of content, then that would work best after the Hummingbird update. It’s not strange to see question and answer sites rising up the rankings. That does not mean you need to start rewriting all your existing content and add a Q & A pattern to it, but focusing on creating articles that contain a “How to” approach which will give you exact answers will obviously help you. Please remember that not all sites can match this pattern and an interesting point here is that not all queries demand a Q & A like pattern being returned by Google.

2. Increase the Domain Authority of Your Site
Domain authority has been rising in importance following each Google update. Google wants to present the most authoritative content to its users and one of the best ways for it to identify genuine sites is by judging the quality of content and the links pointing to them. So having links from high quality resources always helps to boost your site’s search engine presence. This isn’t new. Links held a similar importance in the past and will continue to be important in the future.

I should point out here that Google has increased emphasis on counting natural back links versus unnatural but relevant back links. Following a properly planned link baiting strategy to acquire natural links is preferable to acquiring links using the old school methods of cheap content marketing - here today, gone tomorrow links!. Earning links by serving your customers well and increasing your brand value is the strategy to follow for the long term.

3. Use Schema Mark Up
Schema mark up is a revolutionary vocabulary that can be implemented on any site using any languages like microformat, microdata and RDF. Rich snippets (content within content) like ratings and reviews, recipe preparation time, data highlighter, product pricing, etc. are all forms of schema mark up. The best way to enable Google to clearly understand the content displayed on your site is with the help of schema vocabulary. Many web masters are unaware of this, but the point is, you can implement schema mark up on almost every type of content regardless of your industry sector. This is a great opportunity to increase the value of your site and make it stand out in the search results.

4. Implement Mobile SEO Tactics
The number of mobile search users is constantly growing and having a mobile friendly site is your best bet to accommodate these users. Hummingbird has especially adapted itself to serve the needs of mobile users. Designing and developing a mobile version of your site with a faster loading time, fewer images, easy navigation, etc. is another way you can meet the expectations of the Hummingbird algorithm. Most importantly, your site should be easily crawlable by search engines and load very quickly. Users hate sites that are slow and Google always 'listens' to its users. Cheap hosting will be exactly that and if you visit websites such as domaintools.com you will see how many sites are on your server. You can check page speed with many tools available on the web, but remember this, the speed of the page is related to those in the top ten for your chosen key phrase, and then against all sites across the Internet. So, in order to compete you need hyper fast hosting and page load, and a guaranteed up time from your service provider (website host).

5. Use Google Authorship
If you haven’t implemented authorship on your site then make this a priority. The big brands always remain an exception but for the rest of us (which are the majority), the best way to let Google identify you and move from the anonymous web to the named web is by using Google authorship. With the diminishing value of search rankings and the increasing value of traffic, you can’t leave any stone unturned to improve the click-through rate of your site. To attain this goal, use authorship. People tend to click more often on search results displaying an author image as opposed to anonymous search results. I will be publishing more on this later.

Losing Traffic or Rankings - Is This Down to Hummingbird?
It could be, but Google's other factors around Panda and Penguin have not been forgotten. It is as likely it is simply other parts of Google's Algorithm. There really is actually no way of knowing this, despite what you may understand from your SEO Agency/Online Marketing Partner.

It is important to mention here that Google hasn’t disclosed the exact changes made to its algorithm, but a study of search patterns indicates that implementing the 5 strategies noted above is the best course of action in relation to the Hummingbird update which has affected around 90% of all search queries. In general Google looks at the quality of the site, it's authority and the errors within the site which affect a viewing audience: Nothing has really changed there.

So, to summarise, content is still important, but the measure of what amount you need is, as always, against the top ten competitors for you chosen key phrase or search string. Try to implement rich snippets into your website, make it as fast as you can from a page load perspective, and try to get questions to which you have answers into your website too. If this is all done in equal measure success should follow in Google's rankings.

2013-10-14T08:38:00.001+01:00

We are just 2 weeks away from the launch of the new website for the Norfolk Can Inspire charity.
Norfolk Can Inspire was setup to bring the community, business and volunteers together in one place, covering Norfolk.

The aim is to get people talking, bring about job opportunities, and also to promote community work and inspire young people.

Trustees of the charity include Richard Jewson, Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk, Paddy Seligman JP and Robert Carter, Chairman of R G Carter Builders of Norwich, and Dick Palmer, CEO of City College, Norwich.

This website was designed and developed by our team totally from scratch. It is fully content managed, and is totally interactive. The site has (so far) taken over 500 hours to design and develop, and we are on course to deliver the site to the charity at their launch event in 2 weeks time.

I have posted a link to the holding page and would urge you to check back on launch day.

Making an Impression with Metalfrog Studios Limited

2013-09-02T14:09:00.001+01:00

Here at Metalfrog Studios Limited we are pleased to announce that one of our most recent contracts, Lasting Impressions of Bridport, Dorset UK, has had its website go live as of 23rd August 2013.

Lasting Impressions are a Specialist hazard warning signs manufacturer. From dog fouling signs to exit and emergency signs, if they do not have the sign for you you can use their custom sign designer online. With a huge selection to choose from there is no doubt something here for everyone!

Our task was to design and build a website with their audience involved. With an appealing look and user friendly interface throughout the site, we think that we have achieved this.

When asked why Lasting Impressions decided to work with web design company online marketing specialists,Metalfrog Studios Ltd, the CEO Terry Gall had this to say:

“Working with Metalfrog was actually by luck. Having been happy with our previous website, which was actually over 6 years old, we put it out for review.
Chris contacted us and explained the faults within the website, as well the fact it was not mobile friendly. Having checked what we were being told was actually correct, we decided to take the step to work with Metalfrog Studios Limited and move over to Opencart and away from our existing, cumbersome Actinic shopping system, as well as add many new features including live chat, custom sign design and online brochure.
Throughout the project, we have been dealing with highly knowledgeable staff, to which no question or problem was too small or inconvenient.The end result looks great and functions well. Hopefully this will help to achieve our online goals.”

We are pleased that Lasting Impressions are happy with the work Metalfrog Studios Limited has provided for them. The next part of the process is to bring conversion to their website through our seo agency services. We are looking forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship with Terry and his team.

If you want a bespoke e-commerce website or have one and it isn’t working hard enough for you, why don’t you get in touch with the professionals here at Metalfrog Studios for a free, no obligations chat/meeting?
Thanks
Chris Wheeler
http://www.metalfrog.co.uk
Tel: 01603 861830
Twitter Link

Norfolk Can Inspire Trustee Board Meeting

2013-06-28T09:52:00.002+01:00

Last night I was invited to attend a Board Meeting of the Trustee of Norfolk Can Inspire - an IT-led charity which seeks to bring volunteers from the community together with mentors, and business to Inspire and engage in projects.

The meeting was held at City College, St Andrews, Norwich.

Those in attendance included:

Richard Jewson, JP HM Lord-Lieutenant

Dick Palmer, Executive Chairman of Norfolk Education Services and CEO of Transforming Education in Norfolk (TEN Group) and City College.

Iain Mawson of M+A Partners

Paddy Seligman, OBE, JP, DL

Prof Tim O'Riordan OBE, FBA, Emeritus Professor of Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia.

As previously posted this week, Metalfrog Studios Limited has won a contract to design and develop a completely customised web centre for the Charity. This will confirm all the aspects of its work, and make it engaging, enticing and exciting for all parties in the process.

The website will have:

2 bespoke content management systems.
Full social media integration.
Video integration.
Registration systems.

..and many other features and functions.

It was very interesting to hear the views of the Board, and we are conscious that we have been given a massive responsibility to get this project right and to raise awareness of the Charity to the heights it needs to achieve, via the site and on-going promotional activity and marketing.

We are going to design and develop a site which is totally error free, accessible to all audiences on all browser types, and is a showpiece for the Charity. The Trustees were very excited by my plans for the site, in conjunction with confirming their own functional requirements and needs for it.

It is fair to say that I was quizzed at length about how we were going to achieve the objective of designing and developing something which is totally bespoke in a relatively short time frame. I explained that we have a range of process controls in place to ensure smooth transfer of information, and also we have opened full communication channels between the responsible team members here at The Pad.
We have setup a design and development team to work alongside the Managers of the Charity, assisting each other where necessary - ensuring we deliver the right proposition online. The first Norfolk Can Inspire/Metalfrog team meeting will be held next week.

The website is due to launch on October 24th. More soon!

Chris Wheeler
Managing Director
Metalfrog Studios Limited
https://www.metalfrog.co.uk

New Website Contract to Inspire !

2013-06-25T15:54:00.005+01:00

Norfolk Can Inspire (NCI) is an equal exchange between young people, local communities and the private sector through voluntary work benefiting the whole community supported by City College Norwich and part-funded by Norfolk County Council.

The Trustees of the Charity include Richard Jewson, JP - HM Lord-Lieutenant of Norfolk, Dick Palmer, CEO of Transforming Education in Norfolk (TEN) Group, and Professor Tim O'Riordan OBE, DL, FB.
NCI is excited to be partnering with Metalfrog Studios to develop a new, highly functioning and dynamic website that will match these three parts of the community together.

We are going to be building a fully custom website which will both excite and engage its audience. There are many different aspects to the site, which we are keeping under wraps for now - You wouldn't want us to tell you all about it just yet would you?..

Included are:

Fully customised and bespoke content management systems.
Custom design and illustration.
Social media integration and management.
Website hosting.
Statistical analysis.

and much more..

Launch date for the site is approximately 24th October 2013, and we will soon be launching a "holding" site in lieu of the main one.

Managing Director of Metalfrog Studios Limited, Chris Wheeler, commented:

"We are thrilled and honoured to have won the pitch to design and develop the new NCI website. We are going to be pushing the boundaries when creating this and the whole site will be totally custom built. Our dedicated team of developers, designers, social media managers and online marketing professionals are going to be putting together a strategy which involves many different aspects, but which will culminate in a perfectly developed site with full ownership being handed over to NCI on completion. However, we hope our partnership does not end there and that we can add value with our SEO services and ongoing marketing delivery."

Danny O'Hara, Manager of Norfolk Can Inspire said of the new partnership:

"Metalfrog Studios has the passion, professionalism and high quality NCI is looking for. Together, we hope we will be launching a new online, sustainable and accessible approach to connect local people through volunteering."

Watch this space and look out for more information on this site over the coming weeks.

If you would like a completely custom website, perfectly designed and developed, why not get in touch with the team at Metalfrog Studios Limited on 01603 819136.

Is the Friday Follow (#FF) Still Credible or has it Died?

2013-06-21T08:46:00.001+01:00

Today is Friday!.

Your Twitter feed should be full of posts and mentions by users recommending you either #followfriday,(or #ff), other Twitter users they have been mentioned by or like, or a combination of both.This trend used to be something which was almost viral at one time a few years ago, but it appears that it is has slackened right off.

In the past (especially during my first round with Twitter in early 2007) have not only followed and recommended people for Follow Friday, but each time I have done it I have given a reason why I did it, to make it more credible rather than simply creating an elongated list. I also thought that others would see me do this and that this would increase my authority. I also used to appear in Twitter trends sometimes - Not any more!
I believe this trend has lost some momentum and (as well as this) actually the FollowFriday website has disappeared! This surely spells the end of any reality that this is going to help me in my social media scoring with Google - actually the real reason I came back to Twitter in 2009.

I think that the idea that you #FF a lot of people in a list within your 140 character limit could cause the engine to think that it is a spam-led activity, and therefore the authority and substance of it has completely disappeared. Now, there appear to be little or no benefits in sending out #FF's, other than someone is telling others that they should follow you. The viral nature of this activity has recoiled and left #FF somewhat devoid of meaning in my opinion.

That said, I appreciate that someone (or a company) has taken the time to #FF me. I would never say otherwise. This is not a slur against those that do this but #FF had its rules - No more than 10 #FF's in a day, more substantial, individual #FF's, and a reason for the whole thing in the first place. This delivers something far beyond a formulaic, nee systematic, approach to the whole #FF experience - and indeed makes it more of an experience in my view.

I would love to know what others think about this and how they receive a benefit from it.
Did it lead to new followers, better interaction, or did you actually begin a "face-to-face" relationship from the #FF you either created or received?

Chris Wheeler
http://www.metalfrog.co.uk
01603 861830

Google Maths and How They May be Affecting Your Website 2013

2013-06-12T09:45:00.000+01:00

As mentioned in previous posts, Google has gone crackers (in our opinion) with algorithm (maths for rankings) changes in the past 24 months. We have seen Panda, Penguin and back to Panda. A lot of the changes are minor, and realistically do not affect the search engine rankings at all.

However, there are a number of major ones which have "hit" most sites Worldwide. These are mainly
concerned with spam, quality and authority - as Google always has been to be fair. What is different in the past couple of updates and patents is that the onus was on quality off-page more than on, but Google appear to be swaying toward on-page content - not in terms of number of pages but more in terms of the rich nature and flow of the site content. This will present problems to a number of sites, and equally our experience tells us that the typical website viewer "buys" with their eyes and the old adage of "a picture says a thousand words" rings true. However, Google (and the other 2 main engines) require text in ration with the pictures, and in relation to your competitors' sites.

It remains to be seen what will happen in this. Quality and authority will always stay at the forefront of Google's attention when calculating rankings, but as we do not always follow immediately the dictated path we are given, we tend to watch and experiment for changes going the other way in a short time frame. We know Google is not our friend, and their main driver is actually a steer toward Adwords - something we do not see as a long term fix for conversions to your site.

Anyway, what we have created here is a bullet list of latest changes, with links to other professional and trusted SEO sites, in order to inform both our existing clients and people who may be experiencing problems with their sites without explanantion or understading - either themselves or with their chosen agency.
2013 Updates

Penguin 2.0 (#4) — May 22, 2013

After months of speculation bordering on hype, the 4th Penguin update (dubbed "2.0" by Google) arrived with only moderate impact. The exact nature of the changes were unclear, but some evidence suggested that Penguin 2.0 was more finely targeted to the page level. Penguin 4, With Penguin 2.0 Generation Spam-Fighting, Is Now Live (SEL) Penguin 2.0/4 - Were You Jarred and/or Jolted? (SEOmoz)

Domain Crowding — May 21, 2013

Google released an update to control domain crowding/diversity deep in the SERPs (pages 2+). The timing was unclear, but it seemed to roll out just prior to Penguin 2.0 in the US and possibly the same day internationally. Google Domain Crowding Update: May 2013 (High Position) Google Domain Clustering Update (Justin Briggs)

"Phantom" — May 9, 2013

In the period around May 9th, there were many reports of an algorithm update (also verified by high MozCast activity). The exact nature of this update was unknown, but many sites reported significant traffic loss. A Google Update Is Happening (Google: Nothing To Announce Now) (SER) SEO Findings From Google’s Phantom Update (GSQi)

Panda #25 — March 14, 2013

Matt Cutts pre-announced a Panda update at SMX West, and suggested it would be the last update before Panda was integrated into the core algorithm. The exact date was unconfirmed, but MozCast data suggests 3/13-3/14. Google's Final Manual Panda Refresh Here? #25 (SER) Google Panda Update 25 Seems To Have Hit (SEL)

Panda #24 — January 22, 2013

Google announced its first official update of 2013, claiming 1.2% of queries affected. This did not seem related to talk of an update around 1/17-18 (which Google did not confirm). Google Announces 24th Panda Refresh; Not Related To January 17th (SER) Google Panda Update Version #24; 1.2% Of Search Queries Impacted (SEL)

We hope this helps but we are happy to offer more information if required.
Chris Wheeler
Managing Director
Metalfrog Studios Limitedhttps://www.metalfrog.co.uk

Google 2013 - Latest Requirements

2013-06-12T09:13:00.000+01:00

As you may be aware Google is always looking to improve quality standards online.
When this happens it normally impacts on your website. Sometimes positively, often negatively. Google concerns itself with many different factors when scoring your website, and deciding whether that score warrants a raise in the search engine rankings. These scoring factors are called algorithms and they are a precise calculation of quality across your site.

These scoring factors can be broken down into various major parts

1. External Links
2. On page text
3. Hosting quality
4. Page load speed
5. Website validation (W3C compliance)
6. Readability
7. URL structure
8. Domain name relevance
9. Keyword use in domain name

There are actually around 100-120 different aspects which will decide whether your website is ranked on page 1. You should also be aware that similar methods and requirements are included in Bing and Yahoo!

Google changes its algorithm quite often and, as part of this post, I thought I would cover what has happened to date this year - especially the last 2 changes in April/May.

One thing this author has learned over the past 12 years is that we should not always follow Google's requirements to the letter, and if we do we should wait for a period of time for this to be implemented. Equally, especially on a geographically based search keyword or phrase, we should not be surprised that the engine does not immediately pick up on poor quality or SPAM within a competitor's site. This is typically because the available search numbers are so low that it takes time for the engines to get round to monitoring the site in question. That said, rest assured it will get to your site eventaully if you are employing spammy techniques. You may be frustrated to see this in a competitors' site but it will only remain as it is for a short period of time.

The best thing you can do is keep maintaining your site ethically, building up rich content on it, without overloading keywords, anchor links or non-readable sentences. Ensure that the links you have coming into the site contain the right level of keywords within them, and keep everything ethical.

The main thing is that in order to carry out SEO, Link Building and Online Marketing (You will need all three disciplines for success) you should know exactly how competitor sites are built for the keywords or phrases you are working on. Without this knowledge you will NEVER achieve page 1. You also need to be able to understand web programming language. This IS essential in success.

If you run a site where you have not got this market intelligence and you do not possess these skills, you can still achieve page 1 positions for certain keywords or phrases, but rest assured that these may bring you a small amount of business (unless you are in a completely niche market of course), but in the main you will never get real value from your activity as it is simply not possible.

Chris Wheeler
Managing Director
Metalfrog Studios Limited
https://www.metalfrog.co.uk