Search Engine Optimisation | The Heavy Chef Project

Can ORM help your Search Engine Rankings? Posted in Online Reputation Management, Search Engine Optimisation, Concocted by Ettienne Mostert July 30, 2010 1 comment

ORM has been adopted as part of the online marketing mix because of its ability identify and actively manage what is being said about your brand online. The general perception is that ORM only relates to containing the negative mentions but as we have found at the Heavy Chef is that Online Reputation Management software has a much broader role to play in your brand’s life online (positive and negative). Read Further
How do I know if an SEO company is reputable? Posted in Digital Strategy, Search Engine Optimisation, Concocted by Yolandi Janse van Rensburg February 11, 2010 4 comments

On LinkedIn, the owner at Travel Cruise and Tour, Peter Himmelberger, posed the question: How do I evaluate SEO firms to select a reputable firm? I thought this was a very relevant question since SEO has become such a huge buzzword you just can’t ignore it. Now, it is not difficult to achieve top rank for certain keywords or your company’s name nor is it a sign that the company you hire for SEO is effective. Read Further
Using Amazon to direct targeted traffic Posted in Digital Strategy, Heavy Chef News, Online Advertising, Search Engine Optimisation, Videos, Concocted by Mike Perk November 9, 2009 1 comment

In this video I explain how you can use Amazons reviewing system to direct traffic to your website. Read Further
My First Week at World Wide Creative Posted in Search Engine Optimisation, Social Media, Concocted by Guest September 29, 2009 1 comment

Andrew Conyers, Intern

Walking into my first day at WWC as the new intern, I knew very little about the world of eMarketing that I was diving headlong into. My recently acquired degree in Business Administration, from back home in the States, certainly did not cover web analytics, link building, or SEO. Though nervous as I was, relief came quickly as I soon realized it was Ok that I was just learning. It became clear to me that learning is a large part of what eMarketing is, and that even the most experienced veterans in the office are still learning new things on a regular basis. World Wide Creative’s very own Heavy Chef Project is a shining example of how everyone here is constantly craving new information and developing new ideas to become better at what they do, to become the all knowing and ever trustworthy Heavy Chef. Read Further
Use your analytics to create great linkbait Posted in Digital Strategy, Search Engine Optimisation, Videos, Concocted by Mike Perk September 28, 2009 3 comments

Your analytics data holds a treasure trove of information that can be used to help you decide on great linkbaiting content. Heavy Chef, Mike Perk from World Wide Creative, shows us how.

Read Further
Simple explanation of SEO Posted in Digital Marketing Basics, Search Engine Optimisation, Videos, Concocted by Mike Perk September 23, 2009

Mike Perk uses props and embarrasses the Nomadic Marketing course attendees in order to explain, very simply, the basics of how search engines rank web sites. Read Further
Hit the Bull’s Eye with SEO! Posted in Digital Strategy, Search Engine Optimisation, Concocted by Yolandi Janse van Rensburg July 14, 2009

seo

Today, search engines work much like a phone book directory used to – just on a much larger scale. How your company’s site is found can be difficult with so many options available. To single out you company’s website from the mass of information on the web, it is vital to make use Search Engine Optimization (or SEO). Read Further
Why do you attract visitors to your website? Intel doesn’t… Posted in Search Engine Optimisation, Website Design, Concocted by LouisJvR March 2, 2009 3 comments

I stumbled accross this great piece of insight provided by David Veneski, a marketing manager at Intel, who said that one of the requirements of his marketing efforts was to NOT link to Intel.com.

Wham! Thank you David. Exactly what I was preaching to a client the other day.

Well-known web analyst, Jeremiah Owyang adds that rather than try to join a community then pull them away, the marketing efforts of Intel was focused on to join communities and staying there – likely where the trust is highest. Read Further
If you believe in SEO and Personal Branding, you’re probably wasting money Posted in Search Engine Optimisation, Concocted by Fred Roed November 14, 2008 2 comments

It may seem a little strange that I’m writing this, as World Wide Creative provides both these services, but if you’re paying people to help you with SEO or Personal Branding, stop what you’re doing and read this.

There are specific elements within the professions of Search Engine Optimisation and Personal Branding that have always left me feeling a little uncomfortable.

There’s something not quite right about the unnatural manipulation of content to persuade Search Engines. Read Further
How to Find Great Keywords Posted in Search Engine Optimisation, Concocted by Guest November 4, 2008 2 comments

I had no idea that there is a science to keyword research. I’m learning an immense about of info as it relates to SEO so to avoid information overload I will discuss keyword research in 2 easy to digest bites. Let’s start with How to Find Great Keywords.

Before we begin let’s keep in mind that the main point of keyword research is to uncover the keywords that will drive relevant traffic to your website. Read Further
SEO Basics Posted in Search Engine Optimisation, Concocted by Guest October 29, 2008 3 comments

I’ve been racking my brain trying to get my head around search engine optimization. The Heavy Chefs here at World Wide Creative have given me a “K-I-L-L-E-R” approach to conceptualize SEO. Over the next four weeks I will dive in and learn how to cook up a robust SEO campaign: Read Further
Search Engine Optimisation made easy… Posted in Search Engine Optimisation, Concocted by Fred Roed April 17, 2008 4 comments

search engine

I popped over to watch our esteemed colleague at World Wide Creative, Mike Perk, do his web marketing slot at the highly successful Nomadic Marketing course at UCT’s Graduate School of Business. Awesome stuff, and hopefully one day we’ll be able to capture him on film. I arrived just before Mike pulled a whole whack of people up from the audience to be spiders, bots, keywords, florists, butchers, bakers, and, of course, candlestick-makers. Read Further
The 9 worst domain names on the web Posted in Search Engine Optimisation, Concocted by Fred Roed April 7, 2008 1 comment

World Wide Creative’s web marketing ‘guy’, Mike Perk, places a lot of emphasis on a good domain name. Not only should it have ‘history’, but the name itself is very important. It should be relevant, focused and preferably memorable. A while back, my friend Andrew emailed me a list of names that you wouldn’t want (although, I reckon they get 10 out of 10 for being memorable!) Read Further
Launching a new site and keeping the Search Engines happy Posted in Search Engine Optimisation, Concocted by Mike Perk March 12, 2008

I heard another tragic story this week from a Cape Town based business that launched a new site and lost all their traffic from Google (from whom a good proportion of their revenue came). It’s tragic because it could so easily have been avoided.

So what happened? Read Further
The Future of Search Engine Marketing is Creativity Posted in Digital Strategy, Search Engine Optimisation, Concocted by Mike Perk March 5, 2008 2 comments

Spier creative web marketing

Fred and I were asked to be so-called experts (I hate that word) at the “Talking Heads” evening which was the closing event of the Spier Arts Festival.

The focus of the event was “The Future” and the format involved one to one conversations with individuals in the general public, the audience rotating every 20 minutes. Read Further
Success helps business Posted in Digital Strategy, Search Engine Optimisation, Concocted by Mike Perk November 12, 2007

What a great weekend. As always I caught up on a bit of work, but for the first time in a few weeks I got to go for a surf and more importantly Spurs have started winning again. Obviously it was against lowly Wigan and not the might of the Manchester (City as much as Utd these days), but a win’s a win and that’s now 3 in the last 4 games under Ramos. Read Further
Measure the Why not the What Posted in Digital Strategy, Search Engine Optimisation, Concocted by Mike Perk October 24, 2007

Following on from my post on Monday I thought I would ramble some more musings about the wonderful world of web analytics. Read Further
SEO quiz Posted in Search Engine Optimisation, Concocted by Mike Perk October 8, 2007 3 comments

I landed on the seomoz.org site at the weekend only to see the words “quiz” in a big banner across the screen. Seeing as I had three proposals to write I didn’t need much of an excuse to procrastinate and do something else.

Read Further
Web marketing is not just about SEO or PPC Posted in Digital Strategy, Search Engine Optimisation, Concocted by Mike Perk September 19, 2007 1 comment

You got to love the smart bald guy. Seth Godin has given us another nugget of advice about marketing (read it here).

In a nutshell, he’s saying that the best marketing comes from creating a story that can spread easily. This doesn’t cost a lot of money, it just taxes your creative brain.

If you look at all the best marketing efforts online, it’s not the ones that spent the most money – it’s the ones that came up with the best stories. Web marketing should start with this process, then end with selecting the tools that you want to use.

- Fred
SEO Fitness Plan Posted in Search Engine Optimisation, Concocted by Mike Perk September 1, 2007 2 comments

I love metaphors to explain complex things. I came across this great one this morning and I’m sure everyone can relate to it.

“SEO & Physical Fitness“

If you go to the gym & exercise everyday you will succeed in you fitness goals. If you join the gym on January 1st and attend one aerobics class – you must not expect a rewarding return – even though you have paid for a full years membership. The same can be said of SEO.

Thank you Dave Zuls for this great article; a must read for those new to SEO in South Africa.

- Nicola
Explaining SEO at Cape Town BNI Posted in Search Engine Optimisation, Concocted by Mike Perk August 28, 2007

As some of you know Fred and I belong to an international networking group called BNI. If was my job this morning to teach people a little more about what World Wide Creative do so I thought it would be interesting to show how search engines decide who goes to the top of the listings. With a little interaction (and embarrassment) from the other members everyone left a little clearer as to how SEO works and why it is not always the best option for your web marketing campaign.

- Mike
Using Social Media to improve search engine rankings Posted in Search Engine Optimisation, Social Media, Concocted by Mike Perk August 12, 2007 6 comments

Social media as a way to improve search engine rankings is starting to grow in South Africa. Just as many companies are suggesting blogs, widget creation and face book applications as part of a search engine optimisation strategy as there are companies suggesting social media to build and develop relationships. So which is the right answer? SEO or Relationships? Read Further
Google Clicks Posted in Search Engine Optimisation, Concocted by Mike Perk July 23, 2007

Whilst browsing the web using Google last night, I realised that being a member of a web marketing company was affecting the way I use Google.

Searching the listings for SEO and the latest web marketing news I noticed that instinctively I was typing in the URLS into my address bar rather than clicking on the links. Thinking back to my earlier searches that day – It appears I have a new habit, but why? I suppose in the back of my mind, I know that for every click to a site (which may be somehow linked to my competition) will be gaining in its Google Power.

So when researching your competition using search engines, it is a good tip not to click on the link, but to actually type the URL manually, as every little helps.

- Nicola
Why the obsession with optimising for search engines Posted in Search Engine Optimisation, Concocted by Mike Perk July 11, 2007 2 comments

Why is it we are obsessed with optimising our websites for the search engines? All of us can get carried away with the desire to generate more traffic. We figure that if our site currently gets 100 people a day and we make 1 sale, then getting 200 people per day will double our turnover.

Why aren’t we obsessed with optimising the landing pages on the site for conversions? It can be easier and quicker to do and can bring far greater results. Increase that 1% conversion rate to 2% by identifying the different personas that visit your site and catering for their motivational needs so they take the required call to action. And you’ve doubled your turnover without the cost of an SEO campaign. If any of our readers have got examples of sites that are truly conversion focused why not share them with us. Comment below giving us the URL, your target persona(s) and the desired call to action. We want to see some example of some good profitable websites – especially some South African ones.

Anyone wanting a good read on the subject get yourselves “Waiting for Your Cat to Bark” by the Eisenburg brothers.

- Perky
YourAmigo Search Engine Optimisation Posted in Search Engine Optimisation, Concocted by Mike Perk March 24, 2007 1 comment

This post isn’t about my friend from Mexico; Freddie Rodriguez Rodriguez, (known to his friends as Pink Freddie). It’s actually about a search engine optimisation service I’ve been intrigued about for a while but never had the opportunity to explore.

We’ve been working with Omniture analytics service in both South Africa and the UK and a couple of months ago they partnered with YourAmigo. We now have a client who is using the YourAmigo service so I have had the opportunity to get a little closer to its workings.

Coming from an old school search engine optimisation (seo) background I’ve done my time modifying coding and page structures to improve site rankings with the search engines. Working on a handful of pages can be a real slog and take up a heck of a lot of time. The search engine algorithms then change and the need to find out what has happened and adjust the pages is also time intensive. So you can imagine the problems if the site that needed search engine optimisation was a large one like a retailer with hundreds/thousands of pages.

Born from this frustration was a blight of automated software programs that wrote content (and I use that term very loosely) and submitted pages in order to either get that page ranked or link through to a main page on the site. You got content that didn’t make sense, pages that destroyed your brand and a mess of site structure on your domain.

I’ve always said a firm no to automated content generating software/pages but YourAmigo’s Spider Linker technology is quite intriguing. It doesn’t fit the usual mould at all and more importantly takes into account the changing parameters of the search engine algorithms.

YourAmigo’s Spider Linker crawls the client’s website analysing all the pages and publishes an optimized table of contents. Search Engine spiders then crawl these spider-friendly natural links.

The links look static to the search engines, but they are actually dynamically generated and continually changing as the site changes.

It then automates the optimisation of pages for titles, descriptions and other key elements, and can do so across thousands of pages, to carry keywords that are most relevant to the content.

The nice thing is it is quality tested in-house.

It would normally be something that I would test out in-house first before letting a client loose with it but they were sold a good sale pitch and are extremely keen so start straight away. The most important thing is it is measurable and carries a lot of accreditation from some big companies in commerce as well as search and payment is results based. So let see. I’ll keep you posted.