What is a blog, what is a post and what is a page?
When discussing websites, there are several frequently asked questions, including:
What is a page?
What is a blog?
What is a post?
Let's delve into each of these to gain a better understanding.
What is a page?
A page is a fundamental building block of a website, comprising various types of content like text, images, videos, and interactive elements. Websites generally have multiple pages, each with its own unique design, layout, and content. For instance, a business website might feature a homepage, an about page, a product or service page, a contact page, and a blog page. Pages can be either static or dynamic, with the latter generated on-the-fly based on user input or other factors. While dynamic pages may be more personalized and interactive, they can also be more resource-intensive and slower to load. Overall, pages provide the content and functionality that visitors interact with.
What is a blog?
A blog is a section of a website where individuals or groups regularly publish written content, typically in the form of articles or posts, on a variety of topics. Blogs serve as a platform for sharing ideas, opinions, experiences, or news with a wider audience.
What is a post?
A post, in contrast, is a single piece of content published on a blog. Posts can take various forms, including articles, stories, reviews, tutorials, or any other content published on a blog. They are usually categorized or tagged, and displayed in reverse chronological order, with the most recent post appearing at the top of the page.
In summary, a website comprises pages, while a blog is a collection of posts or articles, and a post is a single piece of content published within a blog.
Hopefully that makes sense !
So to sum-up : A page is an section of a website, a blog is a collection of posts or articles, while a post is a single piece of content that is published within a blog.
Back up your data NOW
Why Data Backup is Vital
Living in the digital age, technology is an integral part of our daily lives. From storing important work documents to preserving family photos, most of our valuable data is now stored digitally. However, with technology being prone to malfunctions, hacking, and human errors, it’s crucial to back up your data regularly.
The Importance of Backing up Data
Backing Up Should Be in Your Diary:
We create an enormous amount of data every day, including writing documents and taking photos. We usually assume that this data will be available forever. However, with the potential for lost or stolen devices or even cloud account hacking, it's essential to have a backup of your data. Backing up your data regularly should be a top priority for everyone, and you should put it in your diary to ensure that it's not forgotten.
Protection Against Data Loss:
One of the primary reasons why you should back up your data is to protect yourself against data loss. Losing your data can be catastrophic, especially if you rely on digital information to make a living. Having a backup of your data can be a lifesaver in case of hard drive failure, lost or stolen devices, or accidental file deletion. With a backup, you can quickly restore your lost data, minimizing the impact of the loss.
Cybersecurity Threats:
Cybersecurity threats like hacking, viruses, and malware can cause data loss, which is why backing up your data is a crucial component of protecting yourself against these attacks. These attacks are becoming increasingly sophisticated, and it’s no longer a matter of if you’ll be attacked, but when. Regularly backing up your data is an essential step to ensure that if your data is compromised, you can restore it from a backup and resume your work with minimal disruption.
Business Continuity:
Data is the lifeblood of operations for businesses, making regular data backups essential for business continuity. Losing critical business data can be catastrophic, leading to downtime, lost productivity, and financial losses. Having a disaster recovery plan in place, including regularly backing up your data and storing it in a secure, off-site location, is critical to ensure that your operations can continue uninterrupted in case of any data loss event.
Peace of Mind:
Backing up your data can give you peace of mind, knowing that your valuable information is safe and secure. It’s easy to get caught up in the daily grind and forget about the importance of backing up your data. However, regularly backing up your data can give you the confidence that you’re prepared for any unexpected data loss event, allowing you to focus on your work without worrying about the safety of your information.
So, to conclude
Backing up your data is crucial in today’s digital age. Whether you’re an individual or a large corporation, having a regular backup routine in place is essential. The consequences of data loss can be catastrophic, but by regularly backing up your data, you’re protecting yourself against hardware failures, cybersecurity threats, and other unexpected events that could result in data loss. So, take the time to back up your data regularly and you'll benefit from the peace of mind that comes with knowing your valuable information is all nice and safe.
What happens if your cloud account was hacked ? What if you lost your phone? What if your laptop was stolen? What if you couldn't get access to your data stored on a third party server because the company went bust?
These are all scenarios that can easily happen and do happen to people on a regular basis.
Backing up should be in your diary
Backing up your data is vital and it's a crucial task that should be a top priority for everyone. If it's not something you do on a regular basis, put it in your diary now. Depending on how often your data changes should impact how often you back up.
Protection Against Data Loss
One of the primary reasons why you should back up your data is to protect yourself against data loss. Losing your data can be catastrophic, especially if you're a business owner or someone who relies on digital information to make a living. If your hard drive fails, your computer gets stolen, or you accidentally delete files, having a backup of your data can be a lifesaver. With a backup, you can quickly restore your lost data, minimizing the impact of the loss.
Cybersecurity Threats
In addition to hardware failures, cybersecurity threats such as hacking, viruses, and malware can also cause data loss. These attacks are becoming increasingly sophisticated, and it's no longer a matter of if you'll be attacked, but when. Backing up your data is an essential component of protecting yourself against cyber threats. If your data is compromised, you can restore it from a backup and resume your work with minimal disruption.
Business Continuity
For businesses, data is the lifeblood of their operations. Losing critical business data can be catastrophic, leading to downtime, lost productivity, and financial losses. Regular data backups are essential for business continuity, ensuring that your operations can continue uninterrupted in case of any data loss event. It's important to have a disaster recovery plan in place, including regularly backing up your data and storing it in a secure, off-site location.
Peace of Mind
Backing up your data can give you peace of mind, knowing that your valuable information is safe and secure. It's easy to get caught up in the daily grind and forget about the importance of backing up your data, but it only takes one data loss event to realize the significance of this task. Regularly backing up your data can give you the confidence that you're prepared for any unexpected data loss event, allowing you to focus on your work without worrying about the safety of your information.
In conclusion, backing up your data is crucial in today's digital age. Whether you're an individual or a mega business, it's essential to have a regular backup routine in place. It's easy to overlook the importance of data backups, but the consequences of data loss can be catastrophic. By regularly backing up your data, you're protecting yourself against hardware failures, cybersecurity threats, and other unexpected events that could result in data loss. So, take the time to back up your data regularly and enjoy the peace of mind that comes with knowing your valuable information is safe and secure.
GPT-4 - ai is about to get even more powerful
Artificial intelligence has come a long way in the past decade, and with each passing year, we see new breakthroughs that push the boundaries of what computers can do.
One such breakthrough is GPT-4, which promises to be the most advanced language processing AI model yet. GPT-4 stands for "Generative Pre-trained Transformer 4," and it's expected to revolutionise natural language processing (NLP) as we know it. In this article, we'll explore what is GPT-4 and why it matters in today's world of ever-evolving technology. So let's get ready for an exciting journey into the future of AI.
So What is GPT-4
GPT-4 is the fourth generation of OpenAI's language model, which has been generating a lot of hype in the AI community.
It promises to be more powerful and versatile than its predecessor GPT-3, which was already impressive in its ability to generate coherent and contextually-relevant text. The main difference between GPT-4 and previous models is that it will incorporate multimodal learning, meaning it will have the ability to learn from different types of data such as images, sounds, and videos. This could potentially lead to significant advancements in natural language processing (NLP) and computer vision applications.
One example of how this technology could be utilised is in chatbots or virtual assistants where users can interact with them using voice commands or written messages. With GPT-4's advanced NLP capabilities combined with multimodal learning, these systems could become even more human-like in their responses by incorporating visual cues such as facial expressions or gesture recognition into their understanding of user intent.
However, there are also concerns about the potential negative consequences of such powerful AI models if they fall into the wrong hands or are used for malicious purposes. For instance, they could be used to create convincing fake news articles or impersonate individuals online without their consent.
Overall, while there are both exciting possibilities and potential risks associated with GPT-4's development, it will undoubtedly continue to push the boundaries of what we thought possible with artificial intelligence.
Will ai put everyone out of job?
The impact of ai on employment is a complex issue, and there is no straightforward answer. While AI has the potential to automate many jobs and replace human labour in certain industries, it can also create new job opportunities and enhance existing ones. It's essential to understand that AI is not a standalone technology but rather a tool that can be integrated into various industries and workflows.
In some industries, such as manufacturing and transportation, AI has already led to job losses due to automation. However, in other sectors, such as healthcare and education, AI is being used to improve patient care and student learning outcomes, respectively. AI can also free up human labor from repetitive, mundane tasks, allowing them to focus on more creative and strategic aspects of their work.
Overall, the impact of AI on employment will depend on various factors, such as the specific industry, the level of automation, and the ability of workers to adapt to changing technological landscapes. While some jobs may become obsolete due to AI, new jobs will emerge that require different skills, such as data analysis, programming, and problem-solving.
It's crucial to prepare for the impact of AI on the labor market by investing in education and training programs that help workers develop the skills needed for the jobs of the future. Governments and organizations can also take steps to ensure that the benefits of AI are distributed fairly and that workers are not left behind as the technology continues to advance.
In conclusion, AI has the potential to automate certain jobs and replace human labour in some industries, but it can also create new job opportunities and enhance existing ones. The impact of AI on employment will depend on various factors, and it's essential to prepare for the future by investing in education and training programs and ensuring that the benefits of AI are distributed fairly.
Google Analytics 4
GA4, or Google Analytics 4, is the most up to date version of Google's web analytics tool. It was released in October 2020 and is the successor to the popular Google Analytics Universal Analytics (UA) version. GA4 is a significant upgrade over UA, with several new features and enhancements that make it a must-have tool for any website owner or digital marketer.
One of the most significant changes in GA4 is the way it tracks user behavior. UA relied heavily on cookies to track user behavior, but GA4 uses an event-based model that tracks interactions with a website or app, regardless of whether a user is signed in or has cookies enabled. This change is significant because it allows website owners to gather more comprehensive data about their users and their behavior, even if they don't have a full picture of who they are.
Another significant improvement with GA4 is the integration of machine learning (ML) capabilities. GA4's ML capabilities make it possible to automatically identify trends and insights from the data collected. This feature allows website owners to make data-driven decisions quickly and efficiently without having to spend hours manually analyzing data.
GA4 also offers a more streamlined user interface, making it easier for website owners to navigate and use the tool. The new interface includes a customizable dashboard that can be tailored to show the most important metrics for your website. Additionally, GA4 integrates with other Google tools such as Google Ads and Google BigQuery, making it easier to get a complete picture of your website's performance.
One of the most exciting features of GA4 is the ability to track cross-device and cross-platform user behavior. With the rise of mobile devices and the increasing importance of social media and other digital platforms, understanding how users interact with your website across different devices and platforms is critical. GA4 makes it possible to track user behavior across multiple devices and platforms, giving website owners a more complete picture of their users' behavior.
GA4 is a significant improvement over the previous version of Google Analytics. It offers website owners and digital marketers more comprehensive data, ML capabilities, a streamlined user interface, and the ability to track user behavior across multiple devices and platforms.
Google announced that in July 2023, Universal Analytics will no longer be available as it will be replaced by the Google Analytics 4.
GA4 has some many advantages over the previous versions:
Better User Behavior Tracking: GA4 uses an event-based model to track user behavior, allowing website owners to gather more comprehensive data about their users and their behavior, even if they don't have a full picture of who they are. This change is significant because it allows website owners to get a better understanding of how their users interact with their website or app.
Machine Learning Capabilities: GA4's machine learning (ML) capabilities make it possible to automatically identify trends and insights from the data collected. This feature allows website owners to make data-driven decisions quickly and efficiently without having to spend hours manually analyzing data.
Cross-Platform User Behavior Tracking: With the rise of mobile devices and the increasing importance of social media and other digital platforms, understanding how users interact with your website across different devices and platforms is critical. GA4 makes it possible to track user behavior across multiple devices and platforms, giving website owners a more complete picture of their users' behavior.
Easier Integration with Other Google Tools: GA4 integrates with other Google tools such as Google Ads and Google BigQuery, making it easier to get a complete picture of your website's performance. This integration allows website owners to optimize their online marketing efforts by making data-driven decisions based on the insights provided by GA4.
Future-Proofing: Google has made it clear that GA4 is the future of web analytics and is investing heavily in its development. By switching to GA4 now, website owners can future-proof their analytics efforts and ensure that they are keeping up with the latest trends and developments in the industry.
In conclusion, switching to Google Analytics 4 is essential for website owners and digital marketers who want to stay ahead of the curve and get the most out of their web analytics efforts. With its advanced tracking capabilities, machine learning capabilities, and easy integration with other Google tools, GA4 is a must-have tool for anyone looking to optimize their online marketing efforts and improve their website's overall performance.
What is SEO ?
Everyone talks about SEO and how it can benefit our online lives but for many small businesses, Search Engine Optimisation is a very complex topic that looks at lots of separate entities and scores you accordingly. We are not going to go too deeply into SEO as it could easily fill a book in it's own right, so we'll just cover the basics.
Search Engine Optimisation, or SEO as it's more commonly known, is the practice of optimising a website to improve its ranking and visibility on search engine results pages (SERPs). With more than 6 billion searches conducted on Google every day, it's essential for businesses to invest in SEO to attract organic traffic to their websites. Organic traffic is normally people finding you via a search engine or by links in social media that you've not paid to advertise.
In this article, we'll discuss the basics of SEO, including the different types of SEO, the importance of keyword research, on-page Optimisation, and link building.
The Various Types of SEO
Yes, just to confuse the issue even more there are two types of SEO: On-Page Optimisation and Off-Page Optimisation.
On-Page Optimisation refers to all the elements that are present on a webpage that can be optimized to improve its ranking on SERPs. This includes optimizing the content on a webpage, using appropriate HTML tags, optimizing images and videos, and improving website speed and performance.
Off-Page Optimisation refers to all the activities that are done outside of a webpage to improve its ranking on SERPs. This includes building backlinks, social media marketing, and influencer marketing.
Keyword Research
Keyword research is an essential part of SEO. It involves identifying the words and phrases that people use when searching for products or services related to your business. The goal is to optimize your website's content for those keywords so that your website appears higher in search engine results when someone searches for those keywords.
There are several keyword research tools available, including Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, and SEMrush. These tools can help you identify relevant keywords, their search volume, and the competition for those keywords.
On-Page Optimisation
On-Page Optimisation involves optimizing the content on a webpage to make it more search engine friendly. This includes optimizing the title tag, meta description, header tags, and images. It's essential to ensure that the content on a webpage is high-quality, relevant, and provides value to the user.
Other on-page factors that can impact your website's ranking include website speed, mobile-friendliness, and the use of HTTPS.
Link Building
Link building is the process of acquiring backlinks to your website from other websites. Backlinks are an important ranking factor for search engines because they indicate that other websites consider your content to be high-quality and valuable.
There are several ways to acquire backlinks, including guest posting, broken link building, and resource page link building. It's essential to ensure that the backlinks you acquire are from high-quality websites and are relevant to your content.
Conclusion
SEO is a complex and ever-evolving field that requires continuous learning and adaptation. However, by following the basics outlined in this blog, you can improve your website's ranking on SERPs and attract more organic traffic to your website. Remember to focus on high-quality content, keyword research, on-page Optimisation, and link building, and you'll be on your way to success.
A look back at 2022 and here's to 2023
Happy New Year!
As we step into a bright New Year and bid a fond farewell to the old, it seems an apt time to reflect on some of our highlights of 2022.
If our paths haven’t crossed before, I’m Katharine, a journalist for more than 20 years in newspaper media, whilst my husband Lyndon has 30 years of experience within IT in the UK media industry.
As a media services business we’re here to help you with your social media and website needs, as well as offering writing support to help tell your story and get your message out to the people that matter, content creation, campaign news stories, press relations and ghost writing.
Having launched our business just weeks before the Covid-19 pandemic hit, 2022 felt like our first full year of being in business and returning to face-to-face networking. It has had its challenges and has been a learning curve but we’ve surrounded ourselves with mentors and other small businesses on the same journey.
We hit the ground running and were back in the office for the first week of January planning the year ahead with our clients.
My first networking session of the year was as a member of Awaken Women Entrepreneurs network with Beverley Jones, an award-winning businesswoman, author, speaker, mentor and burn-out coach. I can highly recommend joining this group, where you can find support, motivation and encouragement as well as building relationships with other members.
February began with a small win. It’s always encouraging to see your content being well-received and for just two of our posts reached just over 90k people organically.
The first post reached nearly 62k people with an engagement from 6486 people -roughly a 10 percent engagement rate. The second, reached over 28k people with 6086 engagements which is an engagement rate of 21.39 percent.
We are so lucky to live and work in the beautiful Monmouthshire countryside in South-East Wales and one of the joys of running our own business is that we get the opportunity to get out and about and meet our clients on-site.
We had a really productive planning meeting with our client Cefn Tilla Court- an exclusive wedding venue in the heart of the country and enjoyed seeing the spring flowers around the historic estate.
April
‘A man who went to bed and woke up paralysed from the waist down is set to take on the world’s highest mountain next week.’
The highlight of the month and the year, for me, was interviewing Jamie McAnsh, a multi-award winner and disability champion, whom I now consider a friend. Jamie graciously agreed to be interviewed for a feature ahead of his attempt to reach Everest Base Camp South, using specialist crutches, fulfilling a childhood dream.
His story is one of determination, inspiration and dedication. As a writer who has always been fascinated by life stories and passionate about the many I have been lucky enough to document over the years, this was a real joy and privilege to write.
With my dictaphone as a back-up, notebook and pen, Jamie shared his journey of overcoming immense personal adversity, the numerous struggles and challenges he has faced and why he wanted to take on Everest.
One man’s story of getting back up to fight after life’s many attempts to keep him down was just the beginning of this story which received regional and national coverage in print and TV media.
Just weeks later I was overcome with emotion to see a social media post from Jamie, Charlott and their team, sharing the news that they had achieved the goal and made it to Base Camp. A follow-up feature followed with Jamie sending us a video message from Nepal to share on our social media channels. You can read the articles by following the link.
In May, we were given the opportunity to feature in ‘Total Guide to Cardiff’s' May Talk by Fiona Scott of Scott Media. The regular column offers business owners the opportunity to share what you do, talk about the year so far, what’s coming up and to offer some money-saving tips or hacks. It’s a fantastic opportunity and a great way to promote your business and for people to get to know a bit more about you.
June saw us share the story behind our brand name, which can help humanise your brand and communicate who you are, what you do and how you can help people. Follow the link to read our story here
We joined Torfaen Breakfast Networking, run by Beverley Jones, of Awaken Mentoring, and met a fantastic and supportive group of local small business owners. We had time for a fun team-building exercise at the end with Steve Marsh of The Balloon Experience as you can see in the photo.
The summer proved to be just as busy for us...
We were lucky to have the opportunity to join Beverley at a special lunch in Newport to celebrate her 12 years in business with her family and many business connections and colleagues.
Bev’s special guest and mentor, Mark Wright, a former winner of the BBC TV Series ‘The Apprentice’ was incredibly inspiring and gave us some invaluable golden nuggets of business advice to take away and was there to answer any questions.
We celebrated another win with a successful campaign for a client, who had given a former pub a new lease of life as a boutique hotel and bistro, following a £500,000 investment. We worked with the owner and a local catering company Pickled Pumpkin Catering in their joint venture to organise and oversee the launch event, arrange publicity shots with the-now Rt Hon David TC Davies MP for Monmouth, and secured coverage for our client in numerous regional news and business media outlets. It was an exciting and successful campaign to take on and complete.
September saw the publication of Amatsu therapist, Stephan Grabner’s fascinating life story in the South Wales Argus newspaper, Free Press Series and Abergavenny Chronicle, accompanied by paid-for advertising online and inprint.
Stephan, of Abergavenny, born in the former East Germany, is well-known in market town for opening a wine cellar in the early 90s and as a business mentor for Business Wales. He changed career at 50 to become a successful Amatsu therapist and wanted to share his journey and experience.
We also took part in our first live interview in a recording studio with Jamie and his wife Charlott McAnsh , who are co-founders of the online business Community which serves small businesses across the UK. Filmed at Black Lion Studios by Formosa Films, we had a great time discussing the importance of getting your message out there and how we can help you do that. Jamie and Charlott knew how nervous I was and guided us through the interview. The recording is due to be featured on the See No Bounds Youtube channel, which is dedicated to interviews with members of its community.
Each year we look forward to the Usk Show, one of the biggest one-day agricultural shows in the UK. The venue just happens to be a stones-throw from our client Cefn Tilla Court so we represent the wedding venue with a stand for the day. It’s always a busy stand and we were inundated with requests by couples to book viewings and to find out more about holding their wedding there. Last year we were thrilled to accept ‘First Place for Best Small non-Agricultural Trade Stand’ on behalf of our client. Whilst we didn’t win this year, taking part proved to be beneficial in securing further bookings for this year and next. (PIC)
October saw 'Dogs Today' Magazine feature Pooche Care owner, Alyson Lane feature in its monthly edition. Alyson contacted me as she wanted to find a way to tell the story behind her business and warn pet owners to make sure home borders are licensed before leaving your dogs with them. I facilitated that important coverage as part of a three-page article in the UK’s number one dog magazine.
“It’s time to find my own wings and fly”.
Maureen Lewis, 73, is the oldest verified national finalist in the Ms Great Britain Classic pageant.
The grandmother-of-six was flying the flag for older woman and wanted to show that life isn’t over after 40.
She contacted me about gaining press coverage ahead of the event and feature with photo’s from her family album followed. I was able to secure a double-page spread in a regional daily newspaper with photographs taken by Steffi Andrews Photography. She didn’t win the pagaent, unfortunately, but is such an inspiration to women, especially those in later life.
Our November highlight has to be our visit to The Senedd in Cardiff Bay (Senedd Cymru on FB) with children’s author Gavin Clifton and Clare Thomas, of Lola & co Publishing.
Gavin, who was born with cerebral palsy and is known as The Disabled Writer, achieved a life-long dream of becoming a published children’s author during lockdown with his first book ‘Max and the Magic Wish.’
Gavin is a former colleague from our time at the South Wales Argus, with whom we recently re-connected at a networking event. When told us of his ambition to have his inspirational book used as an educational resource in schools across Wales and show children with disabilities that is ok to be different, we knew we could help promote his work.
We arranged a meeting and tour of the Welsh Parliament with South-East Wales MS Laura Anne Jones where Gavin and Clare had a productive and positive discussion about inclusivity and accessibility for the disabled and getting his book into schools at a national level.
During our visit we also met the Welsh Education Minister, Jeremy Miles and the Leader of the Welsh Conservative Party, Andrew RT Davies, all of whom were incredibly supportive of Gavin’s ambitions.
We were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the Prince of Wales, who was there as part of a private visit.
There is much more to come from Gavin this year, including two new books! (PICS)
The last highlight of the year was having the privilege of interviewing the award-winning businesswoman and mentor Beverley Jones of Awaken Mentoring. I’ve mentioned her several times in this blog because she has been a great support, mentor and friend throughout the year.
I first met Beverley during my time as a journalist at the South Wales Argus 12 years ago, when she published her first book 'Made it thru the Rain to light the journey ahead' so it seemed fitting to put pen to paper and share her inspirational, honest and personal account.
In her inspirational feature, published in the South Wales Argus daily newspaper, she talks about burnout, her recovery, building a successful business and how she supports others using her wealth of experience.
We continued to build relationships and make new connections at events like the Business Show at The Excel and attended a fun networking event with a difference at a children’s activity centre, organised by Mathew Morris-Parker of Roseblade Media Thanks to Roy Bell of EGNI Ninja Activity Centre for hosting us and letting Lyndon have a go on the equipment!
Of course, throughout the year we have also created and planned numerous Social Media posts across various channels for a varied collections of clients. No matter how much planning you do, there are always the occasional curveball that changes the course of your campaigns and throws them into disarray. The death of Her Majesty the Queen, meant that we needed to react quickly and appropriately to remove or amend scheduled posts that would have not been suitable during the time of mourning. That's the fun challenge of running media campaigns for clients - Something else going on in the World can suddenly turn your plans on it's head.
We have also spent a lot of time creating, hosting and supporting client websites, which is paying off with some new exciting clients early in 2023
And finally THANK YOU!
We would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all those we have worked or connected with in 2022 and hope to continue building relationships and creating opportunities in 2023. To our networking community- thank you for your support, advice, mentoring and friendship and we look forward to the next 12 months.
Look out for our Spring newsletter which will be filled with tips, tools and engaging content.
Why is SEO so important?
SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is a vital part of your growing your website into a strong and stable backbone to your business. Many people spend a lot a money and time on creating the perfect website with flashy graphics and killer content and then sit and wait for the customers to pour in. Surprise, surprise the leads don't arrive and the calls to action are never followed.
So what is SEO?
It is the process of growing a website’s organic search traffic by utilising keywords, content creation, on-page SEO and off-page SEO.
Eh, What does that mean !?
Basically, on-page SEO means looking at elements on your website such as your headings, your content, internal links and URLs and making sure that they are all labelled appropriately and contain the correct words to represent what your website is all about. This allows search engines to understand what your website is all about and value how important it is to the World. The more valuable the search engines think that your website and content are worth the more credibility you will get and the higher up the rankings you will go.
Off-page SEO, is looking at things away from your own website, such as links from other websites, known as backlinks
Give me another clue
The best way to look at how SEO can help your website, is to imagine your website as a tree.
Your tree, is magnificent and full of interesting branches and leaves but it lives in a forest with lots of other trees that appear similar. The only was to be seen and stand out from the rest off the trees is to become a bigger and better tree than the others around.
The best way to grow, is to have a good healthy strong root structure, that feeds nutrients into the tree and thus creating a magnificent beautiful specimen that people can find easily and enjoy.
The various roots spread out far and wild and bring in water and goodness from all around making the tree solid and strong.
SEO creates organic routes from other sites and search engines that helps your website grow and become stronger and more get more attention.
So how can I implement SEO on my website?
The best way is to seek professional assistance, unless you have full control over you website and can alter the key components in the structures of the pages as well as the content upon those pages. You will also need to understand what keywords are relevant and important for your business.
Is SEO worth the effort?
Yes, it is a vital part of your marketing strategy. Your website is, at the end of the day, your most valuable weapon in your arsenal. You have full control over your website and therefore control of your destiny.
Social Media on the other hand is an unknown. What if your account gets hacked and your loose your followers over night ? What if policies or algorithms suddenly change and you loose some or all of your audience ? What if your Social Media channel is suddenly not the 'in thing' and you have start all over again on a new platform?
We can help you get your SEO sorted....
Twenty One Years In The Making
Looking back through my portfolio of 21 years of journalism and I found my first-ever front page exclusive for the South Wales Argus in 2002.
As a cub reporter based in the newsroom, I quickly learned that journalism was a high-octane profession, and that you never knew what story you would be covering at the start of each day. It was exhilarating and I couldn't imagine doing anything else.
Of course, there were difficult days when we broke tragic news stories, wrote obituaries and attended funerals, but there were also stories of triumph over adversity, heroic actions and human-kindness. It's a privilege to be able to tell people's stories and share their news.
My first exclusive came from a call to the newsroom to say that a car had ploughed through the wall of a cottage near Usk. With notebook and pen in hand, (the first camera phone came out a few months later) I was sent straight to the location in my little Vauxhall Corsa to cover the incident. When I arrived I found a father and son, who escaped with only minor cuts and bruises, standing amongst the rubble of what was their living room. I think I was in as much shock as them but the retired farm labourer and his son talked me through the dramatic event. I went straight back to the newsroom and had to write up the story to deadline, transcribing my shorthand notes quickly. The story made the front page the following day and it's a feeling I'll never forget. Even today, seeing your name in print is still as rewarding as ever.
If you have a story to tell, would like help writing a press release, want to shout about an award, event or charity then why not give me a call? We can have a chat over a cup of tea or coffee. Email me at journalist@katharineskellon.com or drop me a DM via social media.
What a week for Newsrooms..
What an extraordinary week in politics for my fellow multi-media journalists in the newsrooms around the UK.
Liz Truss has resigned as Prime Minister after 45 days and a new leadership contest has begun.
There’s nothing quite like the fast-paced news-driven environment of a newsroom, especially in today’s rapidly changing political situation.
All credit to those working around the clock to gather and report on breaking news. Its times like these that I miss the high energy, collective pressure and shared sense of purpose found in this environment.
Covering the news, events and human-interest stories has always mattered to me and I am passionate about it.
You can find many of my published stories on muckrack.com/kath-skellon
Here’s a photo of me as a young district reporter before moving across to the daily newspaper.