Google Webmasters - Tools, Tips & Best Practise for Website Owners

Google Publisher Center

As I write this, I'm testing out the new Google Publisher Center, so please bear with me! What is Google Publisher Center? Earlier today I received an email from the Google Webmaster Blog, informing me of this newly available tool. It looks really interesting and could potentially have a big impact when it comes to search engine optimisation. Maybe it won't, but from what I've read this could be a big thing. This tool replaces two existing tools; Google News Producer and Google News Publisher Center, ... Read More >

Web & SEO in 2019 & 2020 – A Summary

Hi everyone, It's been a busy year so I've not had too much time to provide general updates about the world of web & SEO this year. I've been so busy with new and existing clients this year that it's been a bit of a whirlwind. I thought I'd provide a quick update of the bits of 'web' news that have caught my eye this year. There's always lots happening and changing in the web design, web development and SEO world, but this is just a ... Read More >

SEO in 2019 – Brian Says It Best

Each year we get new "SEO in 2019" type posts from SEO's around the world. These usually come right at the start of the year, or at the end of the previous year, meaning a lot of them are just clickbait and are more about 'predicting' the future, than the actual state of play. SEO evolves all the time. Reading one of these articles each year doesn't make you an SEO expert, but I always look out for articles by Brian Dean of Backlinko.com. Brian talks ... Read More >

Manual Actions in Google Search Console

Introduction to Manual Actions in Google Most people have been victims of hacking, whether they know it or not. Any website owner will have suffered attempts to compromise their website. Sometimes these don't work - good news. Other times, the hackers get what they want so you then have to deal with manual actions in Google Search Console. As we have built and managed hundreds of websites, we can offer an insight into the type of activity currently going on by hackers and spammers. We can ... Read More >

Mobile First Indexing Rolled Out by Google

On Monday 26th March 2018 Google announced, via it's Webmasters blog, that Mobile First Indexing is now being rolled out. What is Mobile First Indexing? In a nutshell, Mobile First Indexing goes like this... Google ranks websites in search based on a number of factors. Without going into too much detail, Google rewards sites which deliver unique, relevant, engaging content, matched with excellent usability. Up until now, Google has used the content from the DESKTOP version of a website when deciding on indexing and ranking pages ... Read More >

Google My Business New Posts Feature

This week Google launched a BRAND NEW feature for Google My Business. The new 'Posts' feature allows business owners to post ads, updates, news and events on their local business card, which is a great way to catch the eye of potential customers before they even reach your website. As a Web Designer/Developer, any new features from Google are always exciting. Sometimes the features are more behind-the-scenes, but this one is a pretty big change and should most definitely be utilised by your business. The full ... Read More >

Google Set to Roll Out Mobile ‘Popups’ Penalty

Punishing Sites with Mobile Popups Last year, Google announced that it was going to start penalising sites that display certain types of popups on the MOBILE version of the website. The most common examples of mobile popups you will have seen is where you visit a website and instantly get a 'Sign up to our newsletter' box, or some kind of special offer, which hides the main content of the website. Google is taking this action against mobile sites to make user experience better for mobile users. ... Read More >

Google Chrome Not Secure Warning Kicks In

Tonight I have received the first warning message from Google for a website that DOES NOT have SSL security. This email states that Google is taking action NOW against websites that do not protect (encrypt) it's users details. If your website already has an SSL certificate, you don't need to worry (just make sure you renew the SSL when it is due). To check this, please contact me or visit your website in a browser and see if you see the green padlock next to your web ... Read More >

Google Search Algorithms

What Are Google Search Algorithms? The Google Search algorithms are the computer-programmed calculations that look at websites and decide where to rank them in search engine results pages (SERPs). Over the years, Google has launched hundreds of updates to it's algorithms, and has even split the algorithms out in order to target particular behaviour in SEO by Webmasters, searchers and website owners. These specific algorithms are usually named afters animals. Google Panda - First Introduced 2011 Google Panda placed more emphasis on good quality content, rather ... Read More >

Google Clamps Down with ‘Not Secure’ Label in Chrome

Hi everyone, HTTPS is not a subject for the not so tech-savvy, please bear with me here, I'll try to keep it simple, but it's quite a technical subject... Google to punish HTTP sites with 'not-secure' label A couple of years ago Google decided to start rewarding sites that use HTTPS in search results. This meant that by purchasing an SSL certificate and making all URL's https:// rather than http:// could earn you a better search ranking and more trust from Google. That is ... Read More >

Google Webmasters – Tools, Tips & Best Practise for Website Owners