Content, content, content are Google’s watchwords. Create great content that users want and you will rank well in the search results.

It Seams straight forward – Yes?

NO - far from it

Google appear to have thrown all that to the wind. For some time now I have noticed the huge rise in directory listings within the search results. I understand that directories have a place, but if I am looking to find a builder through Google, I want to find a builders website, not a directory listing this builder or that builder.

If I wanted a directory I would have typed Yell, Thompson or another such company into the search box.

What are keywords?

Keywords are the search terms that you type into a search engine whenever you want to do a search. They can be a single word or a number of words, depending on what you are looking for.

How to discover your keyword!

The best way to discover the best keywords for your website is to go through each page individually and write down the keywords that you would use to find that page. Try to be as creative as possible don’t just stick to the obvious try to think out of the box. Try to think of phases rather than just one or two words as the more specific you can be the easier it is to target your customers.

The next step is to ask / bribe your friends, family, collogues, neighbors kids, in fact anyone you can possibly get, to do the same.

Take all the keyword suggestions and add them into a spreadsheet program such as Microsoft Excel, this will allow you to filter your keywords to display them in a number of ways.

Here are some of my favorite logo designs that use negative space to reinforce the purpose and message of the logo. Clever designers use this technique known as "Negative Space" to build in and around the main elements of the logo. By doing this the logo is almost an optical illusion and, it did take me some time to notice the very clever negatives in some of the logos below.

One of the logos that really caught my eye was the Star Dental logo. This is very cleverly done and also very clean and clear. It doesn't take a long time to notice the star in the middle of the teeth and is very pleasing on the eye.

Another logo that I really like on here is the Zip Hub logo. This is so simple but so effective and really reinforces the brand. The designer has simply sliced down the middle and slightly dropped one half to give the impression of a Zip, and this really works well. Another very simple but very effective design is the Dig logo. I can't believe how simple this logo is with the huge message that jumps from the logo. To me this is what a true logo is. A single word that totally sums up the brand, and thats what this logo does.

Have a look at the rest of the clever logos that also use this technique and see if you can spot the different sides to each.

As Cumbria web designers, you would think that the Internet Kill Switch would really be of no concern to us. You would be wrong, and would be wise to be just as concerned as we are.

On the 27th January the Egyptian Government cut off Internet and mobile phone access within Egypt effectively sealing off the country from the outside world, and dramatically limiting the general populations channels of communication. What’s the surprise in that you may ask, after all Egypt is not exactly a democratic country?

Here is the kicker; the US, Austria and a number of other countries are looking for the same powers to deny their population’s access to mobile phone and Internet communication. That is why as Cumbria web designers we are concerned, we see this as being the thin end of the wedge, how long will it be before these same countries start to censor the Internet, controlling what we have access to.

According to TechEye Network "Austria is working on creating a big red button which will turn off both the internet and mobile networks. The idea is to keep the country safe should there be some sort of cyberwar within the borders of the EU, keeping Austria safe from nasty viruses and acts of sabotage."

As Cumbria Web Designers see some sense in protecting the countries Internet infrastructure from cyber attack, why also take down the mobile networks if not to stop people communicating. Would it not just be simpler to shut down the data transfer side of the mobile networks.

So your new website has just gone online, its perfect the web designers have done a great job and it is just the way you imagined it. But what next, unless it is for your own personal use you will want to attract visitors or customers.

Today websites can be likened to small children; in order for them to grow they need to be nurtured. It takes a lot of time, care and dedication to create a successful website and getting it online is only the first step. Without some level of search engine optimization (SEO) the chances of your website being a success are greatly reduced.

Search engines use complex algorithms which are extensible a long serious of instructions to deliver a list of search results based on a users search terms. Search engine optimization is the process of increasing a website visibility within the search results, the higher up the list the more visitors a website is likely to receive. SEO can be complex and cost considerable sums of money, but there are a number of things that website owners / managers can do to increase their position within the search rankings themselves.