SEO Expert UK

While going through some of the profiles on Twitter, I realised that every 3rd person is either an online marketer or self-proclaimed SEO Expert. I say self-proclaimed because a search on Google for the names for several of these guys (and some companies) doesn't even show up on the first results page.

BTW, for those who didn't know SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation and refers to the art and science of improving volume or quality of traffic to your site from search engines.

Anyway, you can't be an SEO expert if your names doesn't even show up on Google - the most popular search engine in the World.

Moving on, according to Google, apparently I am the #1 SEO Expert in Coventry. However, I was curious as to who was on top of the charts for the key words 'SEO Expert UK'.

#1 was http://www.seo-expert-services.co.uk/
#2 was http://www.misterweb.co.uk/ &
#3 was http://www.nikkipilkington.com/

So, these are the top 3 SEO experts in the UK (according to Google).

I noticed that all of them had the keywords in their website title (the one that comes out on the top of your browser) and that all three sites were companies involved in search engine optimisation.

It would be really interesting if a freelancer like me suddenly got on the top of the results for the keywords.

Anybody up for the challenge?

Palm Pre phone available in the US

The Palm Pre phone which was unveiled at the CES in January, is now available in the US on the Sprint network at $199.99. This is Palm's answer to the Apple iPhone.

The 3G phone has a 3.1-inch touch screen with a vibrant 24-bit color 320x480 resolution HVGA display. One of the things I really like is the fact that this phone has a QWERTY keyboard.

Running on the new Palm webOS, features includes a built-in GPS and 3 megapixel camera with LED flash. It also supports several media formats and also comes with wireless connectivity .





The phone is slightly smaller than the Apple iPhone with the following dimensions:
Width: 59.5mm
Height: 100.5mm
Thickness: 16.95mm

It weight 135 grams.

Read more about the phone on the Palm website.

First Commentator:
Daisy

Hooked on Spymaster

While going through Twitter recently, I noticed that one of the top trending keywords was #spymaster. Found out that Spymaster is an online game for Twitter which is now on private invite only beta.

The game works like this:

First of all you choose which spy organisation you would like to join - I choose MI6 naturally. You then carry out tasks and earn money and gain experience. As you gain more experience, more challenging tasks (with higher rewards) are unlocked.



You can buy items such as guns from the Blackmarket and finally carry out assassinations. you can even open a Swiss Bank account.

I am not sure but I think this is the first Twitter based game and if you are on Twitter, you might think twice before signing up. I am warning you - it is really addictive.

First Commentator:
Azwan

Web host ratings

I had blogged about a Web hosting review site some time ago which had received considerable interest from my readers. it was no surprise considering the fact that there are so many providers around each claiming to give you the best value for your money. Well, recently I came across Webhostingrating.com, another site that rates web hosting providers.

On the main page, they have provided a list of 10 top best web hosts based on independent customer web hosting rating. According to the list the top web host is InMotion Hosting, followed by Awardspace.com and Web Hosting Pad. Here they have a "thumbs up" rating system with InMotion Hosting receiving 5 "thumbs up".

As your business or traffic gets bigger ultimately people move into dedicated web hosting. Their dedicated web hosting page lists two providers, namely, InMotion Hosting and iWebFusion Technologies LLC. Only InMotion has received 5 thumbs up while the later is unrated as yet.

If you are looking for a good web host, I would definitely recommend going through this site.

Why people don't follow you on Twitter

Having been on Twitter for quite a while, I was looking at ways to increase the number of my followers. However, while doing so I found out several mistakes that people make on Twitter that turns away others from following them.

Some of them are listed below:

1. Not having a profile photograph.
   
   
2. Not having a profile description.
   I know some people are really concerned about their privacy and blah, blah but if you are, then you shouldn't be on any social network.
   
   
3. Someone who has no updates.
   
   
4. Someone who doesn't have a profile photograph, description or updates.
   I am surprised that this guy had over 200 followers without even making a single update.
   
   
   
   
5. Someone who keeps tweeting links to "get rich quick" schemes.
   
   
6. Someone who uses abusive language.
   A good way to lose existing followers as well.
   

Can you think of other reasons why you might not follow someone on twitter.

UPDATE: Unlike what some people seem to think, the guys at Twitter are scanning the Twittersphere for funny activity. Clicking on some profiles will take you to this page:



First commentator:
Walski69

Top 10 Entrecard droppers for April

Time for some link love.

1. Traders' Hub
2. Markfe
3. Photodito
4. Swirling Thoughts
5. Chaos Tech
6. Blogging resource and make money online
7. Beyond Feron
8. Life Reflections
9. Learning How To Make Money Online
10. Life After Work

Thanks for the drops.

Airfree P80 - Futuristic looking air purifier

This is a different type of gadget I am going to review here - an air purifier.

I made the decision to buy an air purifier after our family had a bad case of flu running around (Don't worry, it was long before the swine flu). I don't think any of our kids is allergic to pollen but we don't want to risk it.

The first one was a bargain I grabbed at the local Lloyds pharmacy. It has a ioniser and a filter. However my wife was not really satisfied and we finally decided on the Airfree P80 after a bit of searching on the web.

We bought it from the Breathing Space site for £199.

I was initially sceptical about it's claims of being "The World's safest and most tested air purifier" and I was wondering how it purifies the air without using any filter. However, reading the reviews on various sites convinced us that it was the right choice.

As soon as we received it, I took it out of the box and started it up. It has a nice futuristic design which makes it look like something out of a Dr. Who series. At first I was surprised that it was so silent. Unlike the other one which makes a right racket. I could feel clean and slightly warm air coming our of the top vents.



The air purifier works by passing air through a heated ceramic core incineration chamber which kills all germs and cleans air that passes trough it. It also has a pleasant blue light which is actually quite soothing at night.



It may be my imagination but we sleep better at nights and the air in the house seems fresher when ever we enter the house.

The Airfree P80 has definitely been one of our best investments so far.

First Commentator
Melayu Boleh

Web hosting review site

I have had a number of people interested in setting up their own blog come to me for advise. Most want to have a commercial blog with their own domain names. Then the question of web host comes up. This is where I have trouble recommending any suitable host. Most of my blogs are hosted with Blogger and I am not even sure whether the hosts I am presently using are offering me the best value for money but I am stuck with them because of various reasons.

A search on Google for web host will give you thousands of results and it can be really confusing with everyone claiming to be the best. There are a few Web hosting review and rating sites. They usually list the top 10 Web Hosts and are often given some kind of star rating with the best given 5 stars rating. I think that the best review sites are those based on ratings provided by real users and not just the experts on the site. I especially recommend those sites where you can read reviews and ratings given by other independent users, (similar to that on the Amazon site) which gives you a better idea and allows you to make a better informed choice.

Fake Halifax site

Scammers are at again. Recently received an email claimed to be from Halifax.

The text went like this:

From: "secure@halifax.co.uk"
To:
Date: Thu, 16 Apr 2009 01:08:34 -0400
Subject: An unauthorized account activity.
Dear Halifax Member,

An unauthorized account activity claim was recently filed against the following transaction:

Transaction Date: 15 / April / 2009
Transaction Amount: $44,00 USD
Your Transaction ID: 46U64120SC849601T
Buyer's Transaction ID:34A33092GU990703J
Case Number: HH-373-249-603

To complete our investigation, you must provide additional information within the next seven days.

Please log in to your Halifax account and verify your details

You will have the opportunity to enter any details or information regarding this case which will help Halifax investigate the matter fully.

Thanks for your cooperation through this process. We are continuing to work to ensure that Halifax is secure for all users.

Sincerely,
Halifax Review Department

Copyright © 1999-2009 Halifax. All rights reserved.

The thing is I don't have a Halifax account and the link url was so crazy that I had to laugh: http://www.halifax.co.uk.gay-together.nl/update.secure.halifax.online/index.htm
(Note text in bold)

Clicking on the link led me to this:



The actual site looks like this:

First Commentator
Seemu

Bye Project Wonderful

Some of my loyal readers have asked me why I don't have the Project Wonderful ads on my blog any more.

Well, a few days back I received emails from them telling me that my ad boxes on two of my blogs including Adamok.net, have been deleted.

According to them: "During a routine review of our publishers, this ad box was found to be violating our Terms of Service and/or failing to meet our publisher standards, and was therefore removed from our network."

Emailed them back and found out that the reason they deleted my account was because my blogs carried sponsored posts. When I pointed out that this blog had not carried any sponsored posts for ages, they referred to my disclosure policy which states that I'll accept paid reviews on my blog.

They refunded my left over funds ($0.44) and that's the end of it.

Reviewing the performance of the Project Wonderful ads, I have to say it was quite disappointing and it is not a case of sour grapes. The total revenue from the ads on my blogs was negligible. I also tried advertising on a couple of blogs but the result was quite disappointing and this made me think twice before investing more advertising money with them.

Makes me wonder whether the real reason they removed me was due to the fact that I was not a good customer - not spending enough.

Have any of you guys tried Project Wonderful out? Would love to hear your views.

First Commentator
|1f34|-|1r3

Google PR reinstated

It was Kai Lo who first brought it to my attention. I hadn't even realised it but my blog PR is now back to 3 again.

It's been quite sometime since I got Google-slapped and I had recently sent in my reconsideration request to the Google guys.

Really happy that they have reconsidered and that my "evidence of good faith" was enough.

Thanks guys.

Hopefully traffic to my blog will increase now.

First Commentator
|1f34|-|1r3