Thanks a million Google!

I've worked with Google from their early beginnings and learned how to get a page recognised and well ranked in their searches. Yes there's a but coming and it's a big BUT...

Now Google have changed their search algorithm, its now called Hummingbird and has messed up and ruined all my efforts to promote my websites. Instead of enjoying the top position on page 1 for a particular search query the same search reduces the website to page 8.

Well what can you do about that. Traffic has halved for my clients that enjoyed a No. 1 position for many years. Their income has severely dropped to a third of its former glory. So what is the answer?

There are many seo "experts" out there saying content is king so maybe that's the next step to get good content, but will google ever forgive me and my sites ranking improve. I do hope so cos I will be out of a job soon...

Lets keep positive and keep on trying!

New Freelance Cameraman Website

I have had a website hosted as part of my BT Internet Broadband package since 1998. Over the years I have perfected my Google ranking and it has appeared in No.1 or 2  position on the very first page of a "freelance cameraman" search. This has pleased me very much and has brought me lots of online enquiries about hiring me as a freelance cameraman.

Out of the blue BT has decided in it's wisdom that it no longer supports the free space as it now has a different hosting arrangement, one which you have to pay.

So I decided to find another free web hosting company. I foud two, weebly.com and webs.com. They both support a smartphone version of the site that you build from their range of chosen themes. It's very easy to add pictures and text to the theme, add new pages and publish to the Internet.

I would recommend trying one of these sites for a web builder beginner but it doesn't give you the freedom of design as if you made something using the tools of Photoshop and Dreamweaver.

So here is my simple site on webs.com freelance cameraman

Annie's Graduation

My daughter graduated this month from Leicester University so I managed to grab some video using my iPhone and edited it with the app, iMovies. 

Here is the result!

Graduation Day 12 July 2012

Corporate Company Rejects Flash

Just created a simple website for a video production company. They used to have a Flash only site which you may know has problems being seen on an iPhone because Mr Jobs had an issue with the Flash owners Adobe. Also, and very interestinglyy, a flash file cannot be read by Google and therefore it won't be listed in a search! The new website incorporates several video clips of their productions supported and streamed by Vimeo.

The site is here: Corporate Video Production

Pelham Puppets

Many years ago when I was in junior school I started collecting puppets because my family would buy them for my birthday and Christmases. My grandmother started it all off when she gave me the Pelham Puppet "Poodle."  It was a simple puppet but more sophisticated ones were eventually added to the collection. I liked those with a moving mouth best. In the end I had about twelve yellow boxes that contained my puppets. Sadly they mysteriously disappeared a few years back but fortunately I had taken one to a different location, so I still have "Mike Mercury!" But I digress...

Two weeks ago out of the blue David Leech who used to work at the Pelham workshop contacted me and commissioned a simple 5 page website. Thinking about it he may even have created my childhood puppet (anyway, I'd like to think so) He also suggested having a video channel to show puppetry skills and instructions on how to untangle strings. So I created the Pelham Puppet Television test card, of which I am very proud.

There was a two page article in the local newspaper which featured the new website. I designed the site to look like a stage with rich red curtains and even footlights. The background image includes the famous coloured strings which were always used on their puppets and features the central page as the well known Pelham Puppet yellow box.

Here is the link to Pelham Puppets

Radio Ga Ga - Online Radio using Video

This is an unusual idea that I have had to get myself and Diana Luke on our own radio station using streaming video hosted by YouTube. The phrase that encapsulates the whole idea is simple  "We Can Say What Ever We Want" I suppose it's also a matter of will anyone want to listen?. 

I hope so but only time will tell and you've got to give these things a try anyway!

Here is the link Online Radio Station

Aaron Burton - Holistic U Massage

Heres a nice little website that was made for Aaron Burton Holistic U Massage in Sheffield. It's a clean simple site of only two pages but will grow in the future to become a comprehensive place for knowledge of massage Aromatherapy and Reflexology. I have suggested adding more content in the form of video and Aaron already had big ideas in that direction. But like all businesses in this financial gloom we are waiting to see how things pick up. In my mind its is a matter of selling to people and give them information so that they would like to benefit from the service that he offers.

A pilot video has been made and the voice over is waiting till Christmas and the New Year is over before completing the project

Here is the link to Aarons site Holistic Massage Sheffield