SES - London

We attended Search Engine Strategies in London from 16-19 February. A very mixed turn out and I have to say, there seemed far less people there this year compared with last (this may not have been the case though, it just felt that way). Many factors I suppose, the "credit crunch", the "current economic climate" you know the terminology everyone is obsessed with at the moment.

There was no Google stand this year although there were a couple of members of Google who did talks within the various workshops. Has this anything to do with most of teh speakers at SES not having any good words to say about Google???

We met some diverse people from agency staff to SEO and general marketing staff within larger companies. Then a bod from Microsoft who was there as a delegate, not a speaker!

Videos, the power of videos and optimising videos were mentioned in most of the workshops and the power of universal search. Hopefully universal search will reveal itself more on Google.co.uk as the year progresses.

A new client for Web Predators is http://www.stowfordcountrylodges.co.uk.

Stowford's are based in Combe Martin in North Devon, a place frequented by one of the Directprs of Web Predators throughout their childhood.

North Devon is renowned for its dramatic landscapes, North Devon has escaped much of the modern day commercialism associated with many tourist areas. Popular with a broad clientele, this stretch of coast was designated an Area of Outstanding Natural beauty in 1959. Compromising of a total of 171 square kilometres, the North Devon AONB spans from Marsland Mouth on the Cornish border to Combe Martin and the edge of the Exmoor National Park.

Due to the fantastic beaches, plentiful attractions and distinct landscape, Devon holiday homes are a popular choice. Excellent transport links mean travelling to North Devon is quick and easy. The M5 motorway takes you right down to the junction with the main link road, the A361 leading to Barnstaple and then even Exeter airport is only 40 miles away.

The area hosts a wide variety of gardens and houses, family attractions, theatres and leisure facilities. Sea and coarse fishing are accessible nearby and there are three top golf courses including two championship courses at Saunton. For golfers, second homes in Devon are the ideal choice. Holiday lodges in Devon will provide much welcomed relaxing accommodation after a hard round of golf but with the space to store golf clubs and other kit.

There really is something for everyone.

Derbyshire - The Peak District a target for Web Predators

Our SEO services can improve any website's positioning on the major search engines, no matter which sector your business is located. We have many years of tourism SEO experience having worked with a large number of tourism businesses throughout Cumbria - the Lake District, Lancashire and Yorkshire so we thought why not look at spreading our wings and venturing to a new county, offering SEO Derbyshire Peak District. We have so many success stories involving individual hotels, groups of hotels, bed and breakfasts and self catering accommodation providers and we can definitely help businesses in Derbyshire - the Peak District unlock the full potential our their websites through improved positioning on Google and the other major search engines.

Fine Individual Hotels adds 25 hotels to collection

The addition of a further 25 luxury hotels to the Fine Individual Hotels portfolio breaks the 50 barrier.
Fine Individual Hotels have cracked the 50 mark in their continued expansion of their independent luxury hotels marketing collection. Originally set up in 1994 as a consortium, two of the original founders, Mike Bevans (owner, AA Inspector’s Choice 3 red star Linthwaite House Hotel) and Clive Wilson (G.M. 4 star Lakeside Hotel Newby Bridge) together with Ronnie Mullin, graphic and web designer based in Kendal) got together 3 years ago to turn FIH from a sleepy consortium to a dynamic hotel marketing company.

The basic premise is to maintain a great website and produce a free to guests/take one A5 brochure (100,000 print run in 2008) which is distributed throughout the likeminded but highly individual participating hotels.

Envisaging continued growth, FIH will be aiming to have 75 hotels in 2009.

Mike Bevans said: “In 2008, Fine Individual Hotels doubled the number of hotels from 25 to 50 and more growth is expected next year. With hotels well distributed in the North of England and Scotland like illustrious award winning hotel such as the stunning Ballathie House Hotel, near Perth; we have new hotels in the South such as the highly individual Hoste Arms in Burnham Market; the near the sea Millstream at Bosham; the top Devon country hotel Combe House, Gittisham; Cotswold’s famous Grapevine, Stow-on-the Wold; and the Castle at Conwy in Wales. We will continue to grow from strength to strength.”

Whether you are looking for Perthshire Hotels, Conwy Hotels, Devon Hotels, Cotswold Hotels, Norfolk Hotels, or Chichester Hotels you will find the perfect venue on www.fihotels.com.

Web Predators Launch KudosLinkDirectory.com

Web Predators latest SEO progression is the link directory www.kudoslinkdirectory.com.

Kudos Link Directory is a free directory on a reciprocal basis. Only quality sites will be accepted and listings limited so the link will have maximum impact.

This directory is not just for links, an article submission facility has been installed for submitting interesting and content rich articles. All articles and links are manually reviewed and approved which will keep the content newsworthy and of upmost interest.

The Langdale Hotel

The award-winning 35-acre Langdale Estate set in heart of the English Lake District is a natural woodland haven with streams and tarns, dotted with massive millstones and other carefully preserved reminders of its history as a 19th century Lake District gunpowder works.

The Estate offers an impressive choice of Lake District hotels, Lake District self catering and Lake District Timeshare accommodation, together with two distinctly styled Lake District restaurantsLake District restaurants and bars, a traditional Lake District Pub plus extensive Leisure and Spa Facilities.

The Langdale Hotel and Country Club is one of the most unique hotels in the Lake District complete with 57 bedrooms, which located village-style, in historic properties around the estate, with just 5 situated in the main building. Each room is different - a number of special rooms have a 4-poster bed with double air bath. Others have a private balcony overlooking a stream. All rooms are en suite with whirlpool or air bath and are equipped with satellite TV, direct dial telephone and tea/coffee making facilities.

The exclusive Country Club's central feature is the 20m indoor pool, with bubble massage seat, dedicated swimming lane, spa bath and fully-equipped exercise studio. The Lake District health & beauty salon offers a full range of treatments for head-to-toe pampering. Our main, formal Lake District restaurant has recently been awarded an AA Rosette for the quality of the food and service. You are assured of a warm welcome and friendly service on the award-winning Langdale Estate.

CASE STUDY 4 - Kris Hardy

Kris Hardy is an artist based in Yorkshire

In March 2007 we optimised Kris' homepage based on the top search terms that were identified in our KEI (keyword effectiveness index) report. We then began a link building campaign, which involves building a set number of inbound links to the site each month.

This link building work is still ongoing but it did not take long before we began seeing some good signs of improvement. Kris' homepage PageRank (PR) improved from PR2 to PR3 during google's update at the end of April 2007 and within 3-4 months Kris' site was on the front page of Google for a number of his target search terms. We are now going for the phrase "canvas art".

Current Google Placements:
bespoke art commission = 1st
art commission = 3rd
bespoke art = 5th