Hiring a Corporate Chauffeur for Your London Airport Transfer

The world is indeed a very small place when you are a regular international globetrotter. Hopping across from the UK to the US of A is no longer a taxing logistical undertaking. One only has to board a jet plane at Heathrow early in the morning to be in the States later the same morning, taking into account the time difference.

Then it is just a short trip to the hotel or company boardroom for the meeting at which the need for your presence has required you to travel for thousands of miles across the sea to be there in person.

But one needs to remember that a businessman's hour is just as long as anybody else's, and a businessman's day is still an entire day, just like ours. No matter how accustomed one is to international travel, fatigue and lack of concentration still come with the territory.

It matters not how urgent your business happens to be, there is no way of making the plane fly any faster. Neither is there any short cut through customs if your close co-operation is called upon, nor any exemption from time-consuming security procedures. And even business and first class passengers find themselves having to shove and jostle their way through the crowd at busy times once inside the terminal building.

Considering all the stressful activity that takes place when one resolves to travel, en route to the airport and also upon arrival when there is inevitably nowhere close to the terminal building to park, the case for acquiring some special help is quite unanswerable.

Travelling to and from a major air terminus, particularly in London, can be almost as much an ordeal as the flight itself. There is the unreliable bus that threatens to break down along the way, the packed tube train with body odours from each and every continent competing for your reluctant attention, or the taxi driver who wants to take you the long way around because there is an alleged hole in the road somewhere along your usual route. All this contributes much to the stress of your journey. If you are not careful you will arrive at your meeting tired and quite unfit to take part in any of the proceedings for which you have specifically travelled.

A solution to these problems is to hire a corporate chauffeur from a reliable executive chauffeur hire company. Your chauffeur will take personal responsibility for getting you to where you want to be, for any difficulties along the way and for addressing them as they arise. All the time you are travelling on your airport transfer the chauffeur is working solely for you, putting himself to whatever inconvenience is necessary in the cause of your maximum comfort and convenience.

With an executive chauffeur hire service there are no annoying little stops along the route, no overcrowding, no stifling carriages, no grumpy taxi cab drivers who would rather be anywhere else than in your company, having first committed you of course to your fare. You begin your journey in comfort and style, thus enabling you to reach your destination refreshed and ready for the meeting.
 

From The Middle Man's Google Knol.

Google's New Algorithm - Responding to the Challenge

It was a customer, or rather a potential customer, who alerted me to the recent change in Google's search engine algorithm.

I say this without (much) embarrassment, because Google changes its algorithms frequently, and usually the impact upon a service such as ours is negligible. After all we promote our clients from such a variety of angles that our work cannot fail to make an impact upon their search engine ratings.

But this one, it would seem, has a little more teeth to it and as such will impact upon our work by a factor of up to 12%, so it would be foolhardy not to pay it some heed.

According to Google: "This update is designed to reduce rankings for low-quality sites - sites which are low-value add for users, copy content from other websites or sites that are just not very useful."

The main "victim" of such an update is likely to be dedicated article directories, some of which host literally millions of articles by independent authors that will usually feature inbound links to commercial websites with a view to improving their search engine recognition.

The first thing to understand is that this is not a "penalty" as such. Your website will not be hit by Google or any other search engine for having inbound links from articles featured by directories. If you think about it such a policy would open itself up to all sorts of abuse. All your competitors would need to do would be to create an external link into your site and they would blow your whole business out of the water.

The new algorithm would seem to work more along the lines of the mythical "duplicate content penalty", which likewise is not a penalty in the literal sense of the word.

What it will mean is that it will be more difficult than it was hitherto to get the article linking into your site onto the front pages of Google. More difficult, to a factor of 12%. Not by any means impossible.

Whilst this presents a challenge to authors such as myself I happen to believe that the changes to the Google algorithm represent a change for the better. If applied as it is surely intended, it will lead to an improvement in the overall quality of submitted articles and a shot across the bows for those people who produce high-volume, low-quality, semi-literate rubbish for the obvious purpose of upgrading their SEO ranking and absolutely nothing else.

It will render less effective the "spinning" software the purpose of which would appear to be to translate good English-language copy into gobbledegook for the purpose of providing "unique" content for each of a million low-grade article directories to which it is then submitted by robot.

It will mean that those article directories who boast high Google page rank as well as some kind of reputation for quality will raise their game still further, creating an aristocracy of talented authors whom they will showpiece in an attempt to convince Google and the other search engines that what they offer is quality content as opposed to mass-produced mindless pap.

The Middle Man's work has already gained the recognition of Ezine Articles, reckoned by most to be the world's leading article directory. We believe we are a photograph away as I write from achieving similar reward from certain other directories. We and our customers have nothing at all to fear from a raising of the bar when it comes to the quality of submitted articles.

More than ever it is important that businesses wishing to improve their Google rankings through the use of submitted articles - still by far the single most effective means of doing so - avail themselves of the services of somebody who does it properly, and does it well.

Through Good Content, Article Writing Will Set Your Web Site Apart

By Vendetta 20vs

Even though there are hundreds of thousands of different types of websites on the Internet, fundamentally they all share the same goal. Each site is trying to attract the attention of a consumer, whether they are selling products, services, information or a combination. People turn to the Internet for information and this is mostly represented by the written word on each page. Content Article writing is therefore a very important element of your site's optimization, as unless it is done correctly you have very little chance of seeing good traffic.

The major search engines are primary when it comes to allocating traffic to each website. Google, Yahoo and MSN are the primary sites and people turn to these locations when they are searching for specific terms. Search engines will return information based on the actual phrase typed into the search box and this information will be derived from a number of applicable websites and pages. It follows that you need to convince the search engines that your site should be returned to searchers in this way.

Most webmasters are aware of the importance of search engine optimization, but sometimes overlook the need for appropriate content article writing. In order to determine a site's viability, the search engines will visit and will fully analyze the makeup of the written word within. If they do not think that it is appropriate for your chosen genre or well composed, you will get a penalty in terms of ranking.

Most webmasters are aware of the importance of search engine optimization, but sometimes overlook the need for appropriate content article writing. In order to determine a site's viability, the search engines will visit and will fully analyze the makeup of the written word within. If they do not think that it is appropriate for your chosen genre or well composed, you will get a penalty in terms of ranking.

Many people who are trying to shortcut the process of convincing the search engines to rank their site used to believe that it was okay to "stuff" keywords onto a page and this was sufficient. Nothing could be further from the truth, as the search engines have a sophisticated set of algorithms that will check not only for the appropriate presence of primary keywords but also, in a process known as latent semantic indexing, determine whether the other words within the piece are also relevant. This means that if your content article writing is not first class, you are going to suffer.

People often wonder how they should proceed when they are composing articles and the short answer is that they should concentrate on providing information that is informative, educational, enlightening, or entertaining. If the visitor to the site is likely to learn something from the content then you will have achieved your goal. It is not necessary to worry too much about the correct insertion of your keywords - i.e. how many times each keyword appears, but you should worry more about quality writing.


Reproduced with acknowledgements to HubPages

The Power Of Keywords

Over the last day or two The Middle Man's website has been attracting considerably more hits than it had done hitherto.

Our analytics reveal that a significant proportion of these were arriving through Google searches on a particular keyword - business middleman.

This is not a keyword that we have actively cultivated nor even, to be honest, actually recognised. It would simply appear that, for whatever reason, we have been catapulted towards the front of Google's rankings for this specific keyword and that it is one that is extremely popular.

Having been gifted this information we will now promote it vigorously alongside our other keywords in order to extract the maximum benefit from it.

This little anecdote serves to demonstrate the importance of keywords. Our own site has benefited from something like a 25% increase in traffic as a consequence of using one individual keyword, albeit in this instance inadvertently.

If your site is not paying attention to keywords you will not have been exploiting its true potential to drive traffic and generate custom.

The SEO Trilogy, Part Two - How To Generate Inbound Links

In my article The Rationale For Search Engine Optimisation I explained the thinking behind SEO. In a nutshell it is necessary that your website, as well as simply looking good, enjoys a constant stream of visitors if the product or service that you offer is going to sell, and sell good.

Understanding the concept inspires one to seek out ways of insuring that the quality inbound links you require in order to achieve respect from the search engines can be placed.

What do we mean by "quality"? Well Google, by some margin the largest and most widely used of all the search engines, operates a ranking system, assigning Page Rank to sites on the web using a complex system of algorithms to determine the relative worth of any particular website.

The precise formula used by Google is a closely guarded secret, and probably changes constantly. However it is known that the single biggest and most important factor in determining Google Page Rank is the existence of good inbound links.

Obviously if you are lucky enough to have friends in high places who will place your links on high performance websites commanding high Page Rank then you will benefit from their existence soon enough. For most of us though the best available option is to place links yourself whenever you can so as to persuade the search engines to notice you and to afford you respect.

One way of doing this is to write articles (just like this one) and place them at article directories that the search engines take notice of. If you take the trouble to identify the best keywords to use within the article, and in particular which to place as anchor text (keywords linking directly to your site) this will improve the chances of your site finding its way onto the front page of Google when a casual user types these words into a search engine.

Another method is to register your membership with well supported internet forums. Please don't be cynical about this, if you register with a forum provided for your use by somebody else it is reasonable that you should be expected to contribute to the discussions on that forum in a meaningful way. Posts as "Yeah" and "I agree" are usually deleted by the moderators of the forum within hours if not sooner. But usually just by registering your URL within your profile and, if permitted, by adding it to your signature, you will have generated a useful link. If the signature permits you to link using anchor text it becomes more useful still.

Thirdly, you can place links from social networking sites. Most people these days are familiar with Facebook and Twitter, but did you know that simply by optimising your Profile on both you leave a useful trail for the search engines to pick up? Include a sprinkling of carefully chosen keywords and there is a good chance that anybody searching for them will be directed to your Facebook or Twitter page.

However Facebook and Twitter are not the social networking sites around. There are literally hundreds of them around the web and although they do not enjoy the same recognition as these two giants they can also serve as a useful repository for inbound links. Some unfortunately use a "No Follow" instruction in the source to ensure the user does not benefit from your links but others do not, and these pages do help you to arouse search engine interest.

Of course this is all inevitably very time consuming even if your technical competence does extend to generating inbound links. This is where the dedicated SEO company comes into play. Here you will be able to delegate the task of building quality inbound links whilst you spend your time concentrating on developing your core business.

SEO companies vary massively both in terms of the service they offer and of the price they charge. You are entitled to assume that the higher the price the better the service but this is not always the case. A telephone number fee does not in itself guarantee that the SEO provider will do a great job or indeed any job on your behalf, and similarly a low-cost business promotion service need not mean a poor service.

If you wish to use an SEO company find out precisely what they are offering first, then keep them to it.

Search Engine Optimisation is essential in today's increasingly competitive and complex market, but you would do well to shop around and see what is best for you and what you feel comfortable with before committing.

The SEO Trilogy, Part One - The Rationale For Search Engine Optimisation

Okay. So you've built your all singing, all dancing website. It tells us what you do and what you are selling. You have found the snazziest design on the market for your home page. The Facebook and Twitter buttons have been embedded, along with one inviting visitors to "Share This" with 100 social networking sites. Hit the link in the top right hand corner and it plays a tune. It's only a matter of time before the visitors come a-calling in their droves and your product starts to sell like half-price pies at a fatties' convention. Am I right?

Well actually no. Fact is you can have the most alluring, informative, interesting website in the world but unless your potential audience knows it's there then the whole exercise is singularly pointless.

This is why most businesses with an online presence understand these days that their sites need to be optimised. They need to announce their presence to potential visitors rather than waiting for those visitors to find them by chance. Then, and only then, when the visitor has been alerted to the fact that your site exists, will your buttons and bells begin to do their work and sell your product or service to the visitor.

It's pretty obvious when you think about it. Try to imagine your website as a shop. Your shop sells the most amazing products at an unbeatable price. But it is located in an unwelcoming backstreet, has no merchandise in the window and no fascia overhead to give the few people who pass by any hint of what is on offer inside.

The obvious, indeed only solution is to advertise your wares, and I have dealt with online advertising in a separate article. But what is required in essence is to make others aware that you are in the market, and to entice them into your shop.

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), although its purpose it to maximum the number of visitors to your site, works on a wholly different principle to conventional advertising. To optimise your site you need to publish it in such a way as to attract the attention of the search engines, the result of which will be a higher listing for your site, more casual callers and hence more customers.

The strategy for achieving this revolves around building high quality inbound links, that is other sites linking into yours which themselves are highly rated by the search engines. As the search engines see it, if a site that links to yours has respect on the web then yours in entitled to some respect also.

In another article I discuss ways of creating these valuable inbound links which build up kudos and get your website noticed. After all if your website isn't noticed, your all dancing home page dances alone.

Why Article Marketing Is Vital To Your Internet Marketing Efforts

Reproduced with acknowledgements to David Sharp, author of Internet Marketing Today

Some folks think that Internet marketing and article marketing are the same thing, but this is not necessarily so.  Internet marketing is just that, marketing on the Internet, whilst article marketing is just one of the ways you can do this.  It is widely recognised that no Internet marketing campaign can be complete without some form of article marketing being included. Therefore Internet marketing and article marketing really do go together, simply because using articles to market yourself, or your website is absolutely essential in creating that complete marketing strategy.

We all know that there are plenty of different Internet marketing strategies that you can utilize to get your name out there. The downside of this is that most forms of Internet marketing have some sort of expenses, because, as we know advertising isn’t free.

One of the exceptions to this of course is article marketing, which can be a totally free advertising resource. When it comes to Internet marketing, article marketing is an excellent means for getting information out there, as well as creating powerful back links to your website.

Here are some of the benefits of article marketing to consider.

- Article marketing creates powerful links from high page ranking websites back to your own website.  As we all know the more links we have coming to our sites then the better our websites will rank in the natural search engine results.

- By providing valuable information in the articles that you create, you will be establishing yourself as a trusted authority on the keywords, niches or subjects that you are focusing on. When your readers know they can count on you for real, honest information, they will keep coming back for more.

- By adding a byline or resource box to your content you will be giving potential customers a way to contact you after reading your valuable content. Not only will this create powerful links, but it will also help connect additional traffic to your website that you would not normally be able to get.

- By creating articles optimized for search engines you will be improving your overall traffic and even your overall page rank by submitting to content sites with high page ranks and authority.

While there are many different ways to market your site, one of the most powerful and effective, is to use easy to read article content, that gives solid information to your visitor, combined with a call to action for readers to visit your website for more information, or better still to sign up for your newsletter.  This way you can keep bringing visitors back to your site.