Monday 20 April 2009

MSN & Yahoo! Search Musters 3.23% between Them

When it comes to keyword reports for SERPs (search engine result pages), I don’t like carrying out unnecessary work.

There was a time when my clients keyword reports for SERPs included ASK.com, but their figures fell by the wayside and became so insignificant that I decided to drop them and concentrate on the remaining big three players: Google, Yahoo! & MSN.

For a while it seemed this was to be the status quo; but alas for quite some time now the MSN & Yahoo figures have also dropped into insignificance and are starting to waste my time.

You see I carry out manual keyword SERP reports, this is because; firstly I really don’t trust the automated reports, their results always seem so far off my manual reports, that I just can’t them. Secondly I like to analyse my clients competitors during the report process, be it monthly or weekly, a close-up inspection of why another site has jumped above mine, or I’ve leap-frogged a competitor, helps me understand my clients site’s strengths and weaknesses.

But this isn’t just analysis, there is also graft involved, time consuming graft, and to ensure my clients get the most for their money I am considering something I never thought I would consider and that is abandoning my reporting of the MSN and Yahoo keyword SERP reports.

I’ve already noted in a previous post: Live Search – Up & Down Like Bride’s Nightie, how frustrated I am with Live/ MSN search. But what I’m discussing here isn’t only about that, it’s about the miniscule amount of visitors my clients sites are getting per week/ month from either MSN or Yahoo. Compared with the behemoth that is Google.

The frustrating thing is why? By all understanding Yahoo particularly, has a bit of muscle when it comes to search, otherwise MSN wouldn’t be so keen on trying to buy them. But this doesn’t come across when I delve into my analytic pack; all I get is a measly return on my investment. It’s also not as if all the sites I work on are of the same ilk, or for that matter it’s my workings, because all of them are giving out tiny MSN and Yahoo results long before I came on the scene.

I wonder how many other website managers are left with this dilemma. Because on the face of it, it seems an easy option, drop them both, but what happens if there’s resurgence and I’ve missed all the statistics in between? Damned if I do damned…

Article Source:
For freelance website managers who now want the comfort of an employer, take a look at the plethora of jobs this marketing recruitment company has to offer.

Thursday 9 April 2009

BD Recruitment - Great Service

Even during this employment downturn BD Recruitment manage to find jobs for candidates eager to get back to work.

I like to keep an eye on employment opportunities within the internet industry, be it jobs for developers, designers or marketeers. It lets me know as a freelancer how the market is shaping up, should I turn down that awkward job or should I just get on with it because there's nothing around the corner.

This is where recruitment agencies like BD Recruitment come into their own, over the last few months they have been posting a continuous stream of jobs on their website, a real plethora of jobs to be true, and this is every day, not once a week or month.

So when some agencies are falling by the wayside, why are BD Recruitment succeeding, basically because they know what they're doing and they do that very well, anyone who's been in contact with the team will vouch for this. One of their specialities is to assess your CV, you probably believe you're employment options are quite narrow, after a CV appraisal you'll probably be surprised how they've broadened.

Agencies aren't just there to find you a job when you've lost you're last one, or when you want a new one, they're also there to inform you of better prospects on offer, or new prospects which could be occurring in the future, because since their last discussion with you they haven't simply ticked you off their list because they found you a position, no they'll keep their eye out for you and if you're still posting your CV, well it's a pretty good sign you're not happy where you are.

Recruitment agencies are so important now; how, fifteen years ago would you have known about a job in Leeds if you lived in Sheffield?

So with companies like BD Recruitment looking out for your job prospects, you're in safe hands, particularly if your prospects are in the internet or new media industries.

Tuesday 7 April 2009

Working Time '48 Hours' Opt Out

Warning, this article may wind you up.

Ahead of a conciliation committee meeting in Brussels on Wednesday, The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has warned of the risk to the working time opt-out.

Currently the working time opt-out permits people to choose to work more than 48 hours a week. The CBI says that it could damage career aspirations and affect overtime at a time when workers want to help support their families. At present the removal of the working time opt-out is being backed by Socialist MEP’s.

CBI Deputy Director-General, John Cridland says: "Who should choose your working hours, you or politicians in Brussels? We think people can make up their own minds about the hours they want to work."

"The legislation proposed by some politicians would impose a ban on working longer hours, and not take into account individual circumstances and ambitions."

"Some people want to work longer hours and some do not. We think the solution is to give people a choice, as they have at the moment. Some MEPs think the solution should be a stop sign, and if you want to keep working, tough luck."

"A common position was agreed last year by member states, and these attempts by some MEPs to shift that position should be resisted."

Article Source:
Chris Crawford MD of BD Recruitment is a specialist recruiter for the search marketing recruitment sector, with a plethora of technical IT jobs and creative jobs.

Thursday 2 April 2009

Live Search - Up & Down Like a Bride's Nightie

This just has to be said: Live Search is rubbish. For over a year now I’ve been saying this to myself and I think it’s about time I got it off my chest.

The reason I use such blunt language, is that over this past year I have been monitoring my clients sites in the search engines, and in Google and Yahoo the rankings are consistent, meaning for a particular keyword/ phrase the rankings don’t sway from number 1 spot one week to not even listed the next week.

So why is that this is exactly what is occurring in Live Search, I literally rank in number 1 spot one week for a specific keyword/ phrase, and the following week I can’t even find the site for the same keyword/ phrase in the top 10 pages.

I have a Windows Live account for all the sites I manage, and in the Webmaster Center each site is acknowledged as having X amount of pages listed in Live Search and that there are no problems with the sites.

I think I could accept it if I wasn’t listed at all, because then I would carry out some investigating into why this is occurring, but to have such massive sways with the rankings, well, is it any wonder that when I actually want to find something myself, I don’t tend to use Live Search.