Uncaged PR

Google AdWords vs SEO - Part two

Firstly let me apologise for the long wait you have all endured whilst I created part two in this series of blogs. Part of the delay was down to a dissertation proposal hand in and part down to Friend B - who works for a small search engine optimisation (SEO) business in Doncaster - to get me some accurate details sent over.

Apologies aside, during a 21st birthday celebration night on in Leeds last Friday, the Google AdWords vs SEO debate took centre stage between 12 very close friends in the most unusual of all places, Fab Cafe. Now for those that haven't been to Fab Cafe before, the only way I can describe it is in the words of the great James Jones: "If your parents said to you when you were 12 that you had an unlimited budget to decorate your own bedroom, it would like this." To sum it up, the place is filled with toys and figures collected from the last 40 to 50 years. They have everything from a Back to the Future DeLorean model car, to a very scary model of Hellraiser's Pinhead.

Anyway, it seems I am getting a little side tracked today so let’s get back to the point. Some of these friends involved in the debate own small businesses and others are students, but it appears our views were very similar. Before I go into the evaluation here is a little summary of SEO and what it can do for you.

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

SEO ensures that customers can easily find your website. Using our example before, by searching on Google the words 'plumber' and 'Doncaster', you want your website to come up first. This is important to businesses as with over one million new web addresses registered every month, there needs to be a simple way for consumers to find their way through all of the sites. The consumer does this by using a search engine like Google, Yahoo or Bing. Google is the largest search engine with user searches reaching over 200 million every day. 

There are specific techniques used when building a website that can determine whether or not a search engine can actually find the website to begin with, and then ranks that site in its database.  These techniques are referred to as search engine optimisation (SEO) and are really quite complex.  Certain aspects of SEO could be by having relevant content on your website, such as the word plumber appearing on every page, or the word plumber built into your HTML.

The benefit of SEO is that the more relevant you make your online content and the more SEO tricks you apply to your site, the further you will appear up in the Google natural search. If you are getting a lot of traffic through your website it could result in leads, sales, information or advertising. This also mean your website appears in Google organically for free.

NOTE: This blog is not to advise you on how to use SEO to your advantage. Friend B is kindly put together three tips to better your SEO, but I felt it was only fair to those that have helped we don't give away their entire secret.

Cost

Friend B explains: "Like Google AdWords the cost is calculated on how competitive certain keywords are.  For example, 'Lose Weight' is highly competitive and would be worth many thousands to achieve first page rankings.  However, if you were looking for a service locally 'divorce solicitor Leeds' then it is much easier to get first rankings and could be only about £100-£200 a month to maintain first page rankings.  Google's algorithm has recently been updated where by its smarter at reading the code of the sites and  sites are crawled more frequently which means rankings are changed more frequently.  This is why SEO has become more expensive as websites need to be optimised more frequently.  But overall, ranking on the first page of Google for long tail keywords isn't difficult or expensive, and unlike AdWords you don't have to pay for the clicks.  It's almost like free advertising."

Summary

So SEO seems like the least expensive option and something that should you know how, can be done for free. The issue seems to be it is quite technical and may require some in depth reading and hours sat at your computer scanning and editing line after line of HTML coding.

You also have to consider with SEO what you are actually trying to achieve. What will the benefit be to your organisation? What will get your blog to the top of the Google search for keywords Public Relations?

With SEO I can already see the massive benefits for student bloggers like myself. If every time someone searched for Andrew Davies on Google and uncagedpr.co.uk or this blog appeared on the first page, I can imagine it would massively increase my followers. It would also look pretty amazing if any potential employer search for my name on Google and instantly came across my work. Having this sort of online presence can do great things for a student. Just look at the success of Ben Cotton as just one example.

Part three - the conclusion - will be posted shortly.

Andrew Davies

Google AdWords vs SEO - Part one

This is part one of a series of blogs which will look at Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), and Google AdWords.

The battle between SEO and Google AdWords has been a focus of conversation and debate between two close friends of mine in recent weeks; one representing SEO and the other Google AdWords. Now it would only be fair to state to readers of this post that each friend works within both of these fields so please accept that their views at times may be a little bias.

I have spoken to both camps in great detail over the last few weeks to get a better concept of the boundaries and future that each service can offer. As I get closer to the launch of the uncagedpr.co.uk site, I am eager to find out more about each service and which offers better value for money.

Google AdWords

The main aim of Google AdWords appears to be simple. If someone searches for a plumber in Doncaster, they will only see results for plumbers in Doncaster. The pay-per-click system work by allowing the searcher to find what they need easier with sponsored links, whilst providing a enquiry or sale for the advertiser.

Friend A, who just so happens to work for Google puts it like this: "Google AdWords has an advantage over other forms of advertising, such as newspaper adverts or handing out flyers. With these forms of advertising you can reach a large audience, but you cannot measure how much of that audience is interested in your product or service. Look at how many flyers get thrown in the bin without even being read. A newspaper may have thousands of readers, but how many of those readers are looking for a plumber at the exact time they are reading?

"With AdWords you only pay when someone has specifically gone out of their way to search for the product or service you provide. Therefore, the chances of a sale or an enquiry are much higher compared to these other forms of advertising. You can also measure your results and use the data to optimise and enhance your campaign, meaning you can get the most specific and relevant traffic possible."

Cost

The cost of your Google AdWords is calculated based on your competition, with each key word (or AdWord as the case may be) having its own price. However, this price is not set by Google, but by the amount that each business or individual bids for that word. I imagine this to be slightly like ebay's bidding system. Therefore if someone is bidding £1.50 for an AdWords -  for example we will use Uncaged as our AdWord - to appear on the first page of the Google search, you will be required to bid £1.51 or more to appear there too.

To manage the amount you spend on your account you are asked to set a daily budget. This is the amount you are willing to spend to get the amount of clicks you want through to your site. Friend A explains further: "You can control the amount you spend by setting a daily budget. This is the amount you are willing to spend to get the amount of clicks you want through to your site. If you are bidding £1 per click and want 20 visitors a day, you will set your daily budget to £20 per day."

Summary

To give Google AdWords a fair evaluation and one you will all understand, I will look at its effectiveness for a student blogger and for businesses.

Please note: I will be doing an overall review and comparison on both SEO and Google AdWords in part three of this series.

Student bloggers

Currently I cannot pinpoint a reason for why Google AdWords would benefit a student blogger. It seems if you want to make a name for yourself by blogging you need to be an active member of the PR blogging scene, happy to challenge or agree with the views of others and have a good and relevant content within your blog. I personally see no reason as to why a potential employer would prefer you to have a sponsored ad on Google, rather than be top of the Goole search of your name. By holding the top spot of that 'natural search' (what Google calls a normal search) you are immediately showing you are an active member on the blogging or PR scene.

Businesses

This is where things become a lot brighter for Google AdWords. As mentioned above the use of Google AdWords for a business can be extremely beneficial. If you are a plumber in Doncaster, and someone searches Google by typing: Plumber Doncaster, the chances are that you will be appearing at the top of the search results in a not so pretty yellow box and also down the right hand side in the sponsored links column.

Obviously you need to consider that this is all determined by the daily budget you set, but also a key point for consideration is that should only four people click on your £1 per click link in a day, and your budget is £20 a day, you will only be charged £4.

Without fully completing my research into SEO, I'd already be putting my money on Google AdWords as the top runner for businesses. However, if you are a student blogger, I'd recommend you become more active with your field and start linking in with other bloggers. Just make sure you spend your student loan on books rather than a pay-per-click account with Google AdWords. 

Andrew Davies 

There's no such thing as bad PR

For those that are unaware of Brendan Behan's famous quote, here's a little treat: "There's no such thing as bad publicity".

I wonder if that's what the Queen's press team are saying this morning.

Within hours of the Queen's facebook page going live, over 360 images have been uploaded by the public, and it has to be said that some of them are not that flattering.

First, let me introduce you to Her Majesty the Queen in a Ranger FC shirt.

 

Now, I have nothing against the Queen, but in a Rangers shirt? Doesn't she know she should be wearing the hoops? (That's Celtic for all you non football fans)

If that one didn't tickle you, how about this? Your Royal Highness sporting England's national kit and face paint.

 

Despite the obvious disrespect for the Queen, is this really bad publicity? Just think how many newspapers will be covering this story within the next few days and just how many people will fancy going online and logging onto the Queen's facebook for themselves.

In my eyes, this is PR gold! The Queen is already a huge PR asset to our nation, surely our largest source of tourism income, and now she's online doing everything from a spot of corgi hunting to flipping burgers at Macdonald's.

Serious implications

Now let's put the funny stuff aside. Although the edited images of the Queen are rather funny, her facebook page has also been used a platform for slagging matches between her supporters and anti-royalists. It has also been used for supporters of the IRA to post hate images against England and also get their beliefs across on a global scale. This is clearly something that was unpredicted by the press officers and one that needs to be amended as soon as possible.

In today’s world PR students are told to ensure their online lives are kept as professional as possible to ensure potential employers don't see last weekend's binge on alcohol. You'd have thought the royal press team would have pre-empted the onslaught of photoshopped images and anti-royalist hate messages and changed some of the privacy settings to ensure a playground for hate wasn't created.

Let's see how long it takes for this to be amended.

Andrew Davies

Leeds Corn Exchange

Please take a minute of your time and take part in my Leeds Corn Exchange poll. The results will be used to help rebuild the Leeds Corn Exchange into one of the most fashionable places to be seen in Leeds.

If you scroll down you will see the poll on the right hand side of the page. Simply click four of the 10 options available to you and then cast your vote.

If you are having problems viewing the poll, please click here.

Thanks again for your time.

Andrew Davies

Do you offer short-term placements?

A common goal shared by many PR students is to gain PR experience within as many organisations or agencies as possible. This looks great on your CV, helps you to build a strong and well-rounded portfolio whilst also developing your career.

But however much you enjoy these placements and get along with colleagues, you can still find the 9 till 5 office hours a little tedious if working in a dimly lit office with uncomfortable furniture.

So why not try your luck with the Google engineering office in Zurich? Creative spaces, private ski lift phone booths, rooms with massaging chairs and fish tanks and lets not forget the golden rule: 'No member of staff is to be further than 100m from food or drink at any time.'

Click here and prepare to be extremely jealous.

Now, who's sending their CV to Google?

Andrew Davies

Swine flu response 'not an overreaction'

My year in the NHS changed my views upon many aspects of my professional, academic and personal life, but mostly changed my views on how good our NHS actually is.

I am happy to accept that this may be bias, but I really do feel that people are all too ready to criticise our much sought after health service. To back up my point I'll use the recent swine flu pandemic.

Within weeks of having the first H1N1 cases of swine flu  confirmed in the United States and Mexico, stories were published in the UK papers voicing concerns about how the NHS could cope with a pandemic. Almost two months later with over 100 confirmed deaths and 56 countries with confirmed cases, these concerns were voiced even louder. Please click here for Telegraph coverage.

A year after these concerns were raised, media coverage turned from the NHS been unable to deal with the pandemic, now stating that the NHS overreacted to the outbreak of swine flu. Click here for coverage.

In the above coverage the focus is also turning attention towards Sir Liam Donaldson 'quitting' the NHS due to his 'overreaction' to swine flu. Surprising when in the same year General Director of Communications for the Department of Health won the PR Professional of the Year award from PR Week. 

I find it astonishing that the views shared by those in public relations can be so different from those who are not. Sian Jarvis has received praise from PR practitioners for her ability to handle the swine flu pandemic and manage NHS communications teams across the UK to increase swine flu vaccination uptake, yet at the same time, Sir Liam Donaldson is accused of overreacting.

Now let's look at this from another point of view and consider this scenario. The NHS didn't react to the pandemic and only ordered 10 million swine flu vaccines. This would mean that only one in six of the population would be able to receive a vaccination. Imagine the volumes of negative press about how little the NHS are doing to protect the population. Tabloids would have a field day.

To sum up my blog entry - let's be honest, it's more of a rant than a blog - I think it's fair to say that the NHS was never going to be a winner in this situation and in most contentious issues such as the swine flu pandemic. The NHS had a choice to react and protect the population from a potentially devastating pandemic, or didn't react and suffer the wrath of angry papers slating the NHS response to swine flu. Either way, the negative press still came and the public still complained. Even if it is patting my former colleagues on the back, I say well done to the NHS. After all, we're still here aren't we?

Andrew Davies

Welcome to the Uncaged PR blog

Hello and welcome to the Uncaged PR blog.

My name is Andrew Davies and I am currently studying for a BA(Hons) in Public Relations at Leeds Metropolitan University.

After a very successful year working in the communications team at NHS Leeds, I have returned to a student world that seems keen to embrace the social media movement.

Social media within the NHS is very new territory and an area that many IT departments would like to restrict staff access and involvement. However, I feel this has lead me to have limited knowledge and understanding of just how social media works.

For that reason I have decided to dive head first into the world of social media in an attempt to gain more experience and become more interactive in a ever-changing PR environment.

I hope that those who share my situation can follow this blog as we learn and grow together, as for the rest, please feel free to comment and help us all to develop further.

Andrew Davies