New SEO Job In AUSTRALIA!!
Wednesday, November 24th, 2010 | Career, Events | No Comments
Yes that’s right the Lewis’s are emigrating to Australia - Sydney to be exact.
We are due to arrive on 12th January 2011 after I have been offered a sponsored employment position with an Australian based agency specialising in Search Engine Marketing.
Very exciting and a lot to do between now and then so keep checking back for updates. I hear the hardest part will be finding an apartment as the competition is high in and around Sydney (not to mention the cost of rent).
I am sure we will find somewhere that is pet friendly because of course we are taking our dog Xena with us! We just have to train her to hunt spiders!
Sadly we can not take Bradders and Misty our bunnies and have found them a home here in the UK, we have to say goodbye which is sad but the power of the internet will ensure photos and emails are frequently sent to us informing us of their continuous bunny antics!
So if anyone has any comments or advice it is always welcome and we embark on this exciting (and a little bit scary) adventure.
Waggy Walk at Wynyard Woodland Park for Dogs Trust
Monday, October 4th, 2010 | Events | No Comments
Well I am very proud of our little Chorkie Xena today! After completing a 5K walk for Dogs Trust at Wynard Woodland Park on Sunday and raising money for dog’s not as fortunate as herself.
She was by far the smallest dog there and managed the whole walk without flagging! To make it more difficult the weather was torrential rain from start to finish so poor pooch got soaked. Not to mention Andy and I whose clothes were easier 10kg heavier with rain water than when we started.
A very wet Xena, Andy and I finished the walk with the other 250 dog owners who braved the elements and Xena was even featured in the Northern Echo!!
Karen & Xena on Waggy Walk for Dogs Trust
A massive thank you to all those who sponsored us and if you would still like to make a contribution to Dogs Trust it will be greatly appreciated.
Waggy Walk at Wynyard Woodland Park
9:18am Monday 4th October 2010
MORE than 250 dog lovers and their canine friends braved heavy rain yesterday to take part in a Waggy Walk at Wynyard Woodland Park, near Stockton.
Among them was Karen Lewis, from Ingleby Barwick, whose Yorkie-cross Xena needed a warm shelter.
The park was one of ten locations across the UK hosting 5km and 10km routes. Last year, the walks raised £85,000 for dog welfare charity the Dogs Trust, which has a re-homing centre near Darlington.
1 Year Wedding Anniversary Trip to Brugges
Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010 | Events, Holidays | No Comments
Well can anyone actually believe it has been a whole year since our fabulous wedding day?
My amazing husband devised a plan to organise a surprise trip to Brugges – somewhere I knew little about and had never been before.
It would have remained a total surprise if the tube workers had not been strike and we had to devise a different route to get to Kings Cross.
We set off at some ungodly hour to make it to Cockfosters to get the tube to Kings Cross to catch the Eurostar.
We made it in good time despite having to take various other forms of transport across London at 6am as the underground workers were striking.
Once we got to Brugges (only 2 and a half hours by EuroStar to Brussels then 45 mins on the train) I was immediately take with the architecture, modern and cosmopolitan near the train station and chocolate box fairy tale in the City Centre.
I had plenty of opportunity to see the architecture as Mr Lewis (or Copernicus as I now affectionately call him) could get lost down a one way street! – so plenty of wondering aimlessly trying to find our hotel.
They say marriage teaches you a lot about your other half…well this trip I learnt that my husband can not read a map for toffee!
However it was worth the wait. We stayed at the Pand Hotel – a small romantic 4 star hotel decorated in a Parisian Boutique style, simply gorgeous! (and we found out later from talking to a couple from Yorkshire it is the hotel where Michael Winner stays…GET US lol)
As well as the stunning accommodation hubby had organised champaign breakfast and a junior suite for us – wow!..and a meal at the exquisite Maria van Bourgondië resturant.
I highly recommend the Pand Hotel if anyone is on their way to Brugges anytime soon, the staff are amazing and the hotel is stunning!
Brugges itself is very pretty, with canals and parks a lot is pedestrianised so you don’t get the hussle and bussel and of course the buildings are stunning, like out of a story book. The best way to see it all in my opinion is via a horse and cart tour. This will set you back about 30euros but worth it!
The food in Brugges is fantastic – mainly seafood, mussles etc.. but also good old fashioned steaks and Italian dishes. You will pay about 25euros a head so a bit more than in the UK but it is all cooked to perfection.
The local tipple is beer – Zot to be exact, brewed in their very own Half Moon brewery 
which you can take a tour of for 5euro with a free pint at the end, bargain! We didn’t try the 11% alcohol version but still went down very nicely.
And of course there is the chocolate, Belgium chocolate! amazing! All in all a really nice trip and thank you to my wonderful fella for organising it all, can’t wait to see what he has in mind for our 2nd anniversary lol x x x
See our photos of Bruges here
WALKIES – Sponsored dog walk for Dogs Trust please sponsor me.
Friday, July 16th, 2010 | Events | No Comments
I am doing a 5k walk..yes 5k!! (that’s a lot to me) with our Yorkshire Terrier-Chihuahua cross; Xena. I don’t know who will get tired quickest lol
Check out photos of Xena she is very cute and only has little legs so I can see me carrying her towards the end…but who will carry me lol
Anyway please sponsor me – give what you can, it’s to raise money for the Dogs Trust – a very worthy cause.
The walk will take place on 3rd October 2010 at Wynyard Woodland Park and this is my first sponsored “anything”. I will be sure to post some photos up here after the event but please visit my sponsor page at the Just Giving website
The Gift Box in Leeds – Horrific Customer Service – Avoid!
Wednesday, April 28th, 2010 | Events | 54 Comments
This is not an isolated incident check out the reviews! The Gift Box, Leeds AVOID THIS CON ARTIST Read Reviews @Review_Centre http://bit.ly/a8Cg0i
As those who have read my blog before realise this is sometimes a place to vent my spleen regarding truly appalling customer service received. As a savvy consumer I believe in passing these experiences on to people who maybe considering using the same services to give them the full picture of what to expect, as I would expect someone to let me know if a company was not recommended for such a reason.
However – in February 2009 my now husband and I attended the Yorkshire wedding show – as we had set the date for our big day for September 2009 we needed to get cracking with the organisation. Now the Yorkshire Wedding show holds some stature in that we believed that anyone exhibiting there would be reputable and reliable (as I am sure most are) but I have changed my opinion dramatically after dealing with a Gift List company based in Leeds called The Gift Box (thegiftbox.co.uk). Who promised us a £50 “gift” if we booked an appointment with them at the show, so we did.
We arranged a meeting with the owner; Julia for early March to discuss our gift list so we drove to Leeds (over an hours journey) Julia was late, so we had to wait outside the shop (which was shared with another company so it wasn’t even her premisses)
Once she arrived we went through our gifts, created the list and collected some cards to distribute with the invites so people knew where we were registered.
The wedding came and it was AMAZING! simply perfect. After we returned from honeymoon 2 weeks after the wedding I supplied Julia with the agreed list of what we wanted – Julia explained it may take 12 weeks for delivery – this meant by early New Year 2010 we would have our pressies! Thank you cards had already gone out to the generous guests who bought us gifts from the service.
Anyway January came and went, still no gifts! After calling Julia nearly every other day and emailing we received nothing but automated responses saying she was expecting a baby but still providing an incredible level of service to her customers. Well if that is the case why was this the first we herd of her “absence”? Why was nobody looking after her business or her customers??
We even contacted the shop she part rents in order to get in touch – still no luck apart from the spurious email now and again “the gifts are on their way”, “they have been delayed over Christmas or due to snow”
It was only in APRIL (YES 7 MONTHS LATER) after threats of legal action and contacting Trading Standards that we actually received our items; very curious this happened within a week of us sending our strongly worded letter to Julia who did not tell us about having a baby or arrange cover to take over and serve her oh so important customers!
No apology for the hassle and some people had gave money as gifts (which were meant to be honeymoon experiences) which we had to wait 7 months for and then after providing my bank details to Julia I had to contact her in late April to say the money had not gone into my account – to which I finally got a reply that she had the wrong bank details for me?! Well that’s funny as I forwarded the previous email which I copied and pasted the details from my on-line banking so SHE had either made a mistake inputting it or not bothered at all, I am leaning to the latter!
This is money that had been paid to The Gift Box seven months prior just gaining interest in The Gift Box’s bank account ( with a £2.50 charge for delivery- for cash?! at the cost of our guests) Still waiting for the money to clear into my bank account. Wonder if the £50 “gift” will be added…probably not. Simply shocking.
So basically The Gift Box could not care less about its customers and should be avoided at all costs!
My husband believed The Gift Box were cowboys from day one – I should have listened to him! This is not an isolated incident check out the reviews! The Gift Box, Leeds AVOID THIS CON ARTIST Read Reviews @Review_Centre http://bit.ly/a8Cg0i
Open and Honest Search Engine Marketing and Search Engine Optimisation Consultancy
Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010 | SEO | No Comments
A new company called Search Marketing Consultancy has emerged with the view to reveal those closely guarded secrets within SEO and Search Engine Marketing.
I believe this could be a very good move as it seems this industry often exploits peoples lack of knowledge. When providing a service to a business they may not want to know how everything works but I believe it a positive to offer them the tools carry out their own on line marketing strategy and best of all not be baffled by science!
Why shouldn’t SEOs be open and forthcoming with techniques – yes I know people want to work out the best strategies and stay ahead of the competition but by offering the everyman (or woman) the comprehension of what needs to be done and more importantly why and the potential affect on their business! Isn’t this above and beyond what most agencies offer?
I know this overt approach is definitely something I have not experienced working within agencies. Most SEO Managers will be reading this thinking “surely this approach makes us obsolete?” — no I don’t think so. Open and honest advice is the name of the game here so it can only excel our reputations. To long we have been tarred with the same brush as the cowboys out there (and there’s a lot of them with a copy of Dreamweaver thinking they can do SEO) I say lets take a different approach and embrace Search Marketing Consultancy’s ethos and values.
It seems too many online marketing and SEO agencies are out to take hard working peoples money and relish in the fact that not everyone understands search engines which is a shame – surely we can share this knowledge with them and help enhance their marketing from all sides.
I think this is a refreshing approach to SEO and Search Engine Marketing Consultancy.
Subdomains – Pros and Cons for SEO
Tuesday, January 5th, 2010 | SEO | 4 Comments
I have recently been looking into the impact of subdomains on SEO, so I have put up a post about what I have found.
What is a Subdomain?
A subdomain is just as it sounds, a sub or second-level of a domain. A standard domain looks as follows: www.mydomain.com. A sub domain would be http://prefix.mydomain.com. Subdomains do not take on the “WWW”.
Subdomains will rank as well as regular domains however Search Engines will treat each subdomain as a new, individual site. This will mean new work on building PR and links.
It is a good idea to adopt subdomains if site is large and convoluted although there is alot of extra work involved in terms of SEO in order to get that subdomain ranked well.
Each subdomain should reflect a section of the site (used as an alternative to folders) but If the site is easy to navigate folders will be a better option as any back links, page rank optimisation can be inherited from the main domain without having to start again.
An advantage of subdomains is that If you were to submit to directories (i.e. Dmoz) you could submit each subdomain as its own individual category and not get penalized.
However it is worth noting that If a subdomain becomes banned will it will affect the main domain
• Don’t create pages with malicious behaviour, such as phishing or installing viruses, trojans, or other badware.
• Avoid “doorway” pages created just for search engines or other “cookie cutter” approaches such as affiliate programs with little or no original content.
• If your site participates in an affiliate program, make sure that your site adds value. Provide unique and relevant content that gives users a reason to visit your site first.
If you determine that your site doesn’t meet these guidelines, you can modify your site so that it does and then submit your site for reconsideration.
Meta Tags Quick Tips
Thursday, November 19th, 2009 | Career, General Interest, SEO | 2 Comments
For those of you who find a distinct lack of creative inspiration when it comes to writing meta tags you are not alone. I also feel slightly perplexed when it comes to writing meta as common knowledge will tell you that the tags need to be unique and not duplicated across a site it can be quiet a challenge, especially on larger websites.
I have also read various “guides” on writing meta and all seem to suggest that the keywords meta tag is now of little importance and not reviewed by some search engines. So that leaves the title tag and description. I can understand that the description tag is important as I have seen it used as the excerpt on SERPs so this needs to be thought about.
So here are a few of my thoughts on writing meta tags – hopefully it is helpful
Title Meta Tag
Include the keyword or phrase the page is trying to be optimised for as the primary keyword followed by any secondary keywords which will reinforce it i.e.
Primary Keyword – Secondary Keywords | Brand
Or
Brand | Primary Keyword and Secondary Keywords
If you are trying to rank for a very competitive term, I have found that it is best to include the keyword at the beginning of the title tag. If you are competing for a less competitive term and branding can help make a difference in click through rates, it is best to put the brand name first.
Description Meta Tag
Acknowledged by all search engines so this is important and needs to be included on all pages and be unique per page.
Summarise the page as best you can using the pre-defined primary and secondary keywords and limit it to 170 characters or 200 characters.
This requires using the most creative juices and you need to ensure it is coherent.
Keywords Meta Tag
This is more important for Yahoo then Google or Bing – try and limit to no more than 10-15 keywords to a page.
Include the keyword of phrase the page is trying to be optimised for first.
KeywordsMore important for Yahoo then Google or Bing – no more than 10-15 keywords to a pageTo include the keyword of phrase the page is trying to be optimised for first:
Link Building and SEO – A quick guide
Monday, November 16th, 2009 | Career, General Interest, SEO | 4 Comments
Recently I have been more “hands on” with link building and link building strategies as part of SEO. I thought I would share my findings – although I have kept this basic and brief!
What is Page Rank?
Page Rank is an analysis of links which is used by Google to establish a numerical weight of the page of your website based on the volume and relevancy of links to your site from other sites of a similar genre and good page rank.
As my own page rank has lapsed a little in recent months I decided that I needed to take on more research into this subject and optimise my page rank and that of my clients.
My research and professional opinion is that link building is an important part of any SEO strategy.
Why is link building Important?
Well in order for a site to gain creditability and maximum exposure you need to look at getting back links from other websites linking to you.
Think of back links as a “vote” for your site. So a “vote” from a high page ranking site is a very credible “vote” and a high page ranking site will be a site that will be crawled often so you link will be picked up.
Now this sounds easy but it takes quiet a strategic approach as it is not productive to target just any websites for you back links.
The websites page rank is important and its relevancy in relation to your website. So this means taking the time to indentify websites with high page ranks who are themed around the same subjects or products as your own website.
Where to start…
Well a good place is look at submitting to Dmoz (Page Rank 8 ) and other directory sites (basic stuff). Dmoz is great as it is a high page rank and gets crawled by Google regularly so there is a good chance your site will be picked up and associated with the category you have submitted to. Also to submit to Dmoz is free! Just make sure you submit as specifically as possible i.e. drill down you category as far as possible rather than trying to get submitted to the highest level of category. Dmoz is edited by real people and a more narrow category may mean that your submission gets revised quicker.
Another place to look at getting back links is simply use web searches for subjects you want your site associated with – then approach them for a link to your site. Not all sites will offer you a link for free or at all so be warned you may need to pay for links – the question to ask yourself at this point is whether the back link from this site is worth the money.
You can purchase software which will analyse your website and find sites associated with the same subjects/products that may be looked at for potential back links – however my experience of this software is that it still need a human touch to filter out competitors (who aren’t going to give you a back link) or sites that are just of no value.
Another area is to submit well written optimised articles to various websites and contain a back link to your site. These sites are usually reputable with a high Page Rank and categorised so you will find a relevant category to post your article. Just three sites I have found are www.HubPages.com/ www.ezinearticles.com/ and http://www.articlesbase.com/
Another area to explore is social networking site but I feel this is a subject in itself so I will post separately about this.
You can also opt for link exchanges (sometimes called reciprocal links) although I believe this is to be avoided where possible to avoid search engines seeing a straight forward link from a site, to another site and back again.
In some circumstances this needs to be adopted to take advantage of a sites relevancy and page rank although this need to be kept to a minimum and only considered from sites that will enhance relevancy and page rank.
Another common technique is commenting on blogs relevant to your site – this is fine but check for no follow links and ensure your comments are constructive and relevant to the post not a blatant attempt at shoe horning you url in as this will be seen as spamming and removed.
So what have I learnt from my recent link building 101? Well it is certainly organic process and takes time. It needs to be a natural progression and well strategized . There are lots to consider and it really involves thinking outside the box. You are also in the laps of the gods as to when your link will be picked up as it depends on the webmasters of the website you are linking from and how often they submit sitemaps, and how often Google visits.
As I submerge deeper into link building I will do my best to share my experiences with you. Watch this space!
Our Fantastic Wedding Day!!
Monday, September 28th, 2009 | Events | No Comments
Andy & Karen Theresa Lewis 09/09/2009
For those who follow my blog (which I would be surprised has reached double figures) you will be aware of the trials and tribulations in the build up the wedding with crappy bridal shops and poor customer service but I would gladly suffer all that again if it could guarantee the fantastic day we ended up having! For those who have been married or are planning a wedding I am sure my previous entries have tickled you and struck a familiar chord as well as acting as a vent for my stress levels lol.
Andy and I were married on 9th September 2009 at Aldwark Manor in York at 12 noon. Yes the date was deliberate for 2 reasons; one – so Andy couldn’t forget the date lol and two – it was a Wednesday therefore cheaper!
The day overall went unbelievably well, the sun even came out and stayed out all day making our photographs truly incredible. – A special thanks to Stephen and Steve our Wedding Photographers.
On the morning, in accordance with tradition I was getting ready with the bridesmaid in another part of the hotel so we had hair and make-up artists giving us the pamper treatment from about 10am and my 4 bridesmaids and I all looked hot to trot. – Thanks to Kuki skin and beauty in York for their fab hair and makeup skills!
The wedding photographer arrived at 11am and snapped a few shots of Andy getting ready and “acting very calm” so people were reporting back to me. It was at this point I thought there was just me who was pensive and rigid with nerves! Even the photographer had to remind me to smile lol
Once I was in my dress I felt a million dollars although I was still “bricking it” lol my dad arrived to collect me and the registrar ran through what would be done in the ceremony and to this day I really don’t recall what she said to me lol
Walking down the stairs was an issue in the dress as I don’t think it was designed with practicality in mind – but I managed on my dad’s arm.
We reached the door to the room where the ceremony was taking place and a few deep breaths and the music started (Secret Garden by Bruce Springsteen played on a string quartet) and we were walking.
I caught sight of Andy from the back with his arms folded and staring forward, he looked far from calm. When I reached him and he turned
to look at me I saw tears in his eyes and thought to myself “well at least I am not as nervous as him!”
He looked at me and told me I looked beautiful and all my nerves disappeared, I held his hand tight while the registrar conducted the ceremony and watched Andy well up again when his sister Sarah did her reading.
With a few giggles along the way from Andy and myself when I managed to put his wedding ring on the wrong finger! We were officially married! It was amazing and I felt so happy. We turned to walk down the aisle and Andy practically ran – last bought of nerves I think – however it did mean we were out of the room within the first four bars of Heaven by Bryan Adams played (beautifully I presume) by the string quartet.
But then we were outside greeting everyone and it was just magical.
The rest of the day went so quickly with photos and gathering people for more photos but the sun was shining and everyone was as smiley as I was.
The wedding breakfast (which I now know is what they call the meal after the ceremony – not actually “breakfast” which I thought we had to buy everyone on top of their meal!!) we were announced as Mr & Mrs Lewis and entered the room to a round of applause from family and friends which was weird but fun!
My dad made a very lovely speech regaling tales of my childhood and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house lol
Andy’s best man Shaun made a speech which got some laughs and then we tucked into our food which was simply delicious and everyone commented on how lovely it was.
After the meal we had more photos but Andy and I managed to steal 5 minutes on our own to absorb what was going on and have a kiss and a cuddle.
For our first dance we chose Run by Leona Lewis (no relation lol) and Andy managed to actually dance!!! Well it looked more like he was shifting furniture but he did his best bless him.
After that it was all about the dance floor and doing the rounds to say hello to friends and family.
Everyone had a great time and a few comical moments occurred when dancing to the typical wedding songs such as Come on Eileen and The Cha Cha Slide to which people started doing some kind of dance off competition – very funny.
All in all I could not have asked for a more perfect day, it was incredible and it was such a shame it had to end.
All our family and friends have been amazing and I am over the moon I could have shared our special day with them – I truly had the time of my life!!!
A big thank you to all our guests, the amazing staff at Aldwark Manor (simply AMAZING!) and Stephen Quinn and Steve – our photographers who were incredible as the photos prove!
Check our our amazing wedding photos in my Gallery!
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