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Government ICT Strategy Six-Month Review

With the run up to Christmas you could be forgiven for missing the release of the NAO report Implementing the Government ICT Strategy: six-month review of progress.

The report writers, which included Mike Manisty, the first person to undertake a solar-powered voyage upstream from Westminster to the navigable source of the Thames, have some significant concerns. These include Planning, Capability and Evaluation, which need to be addressed in the short term if they are not to become significant barriers to progress.

In March 2011, the Cabinet Office published the Government ICT Strategy which acknowledged that Information and communication technology (ICT) is critical for government to operate effectively and should improve how citizens and businesses communicate with government. They accepted that government ICT projects have tended to be too big, lengthy, risky and complex, and that there have been numerous high profile failures.

The strategy has three categories for action and delivery

  • Reducing waste and project failure by improving procurement processes, making systems more flexible and increasing the skills of ICT professionals.
  • Creating a common ICT infrastructure, including communication networks, business applications, data centers, desktops and mobile devices.
  • Using ICT to enable and deliver change. The Government has a digital strategy to move public services online (‘digital by default’).

Outline Conclusions
The outline conclusions of the NAO report are as follows:
At the end of the first six months, new arrangements are in place to implement the Strategy. The leadership, governance and compliance mechanisms for delivery are different from those of the past and have the potential to deliver benefits. Government has adopted a pragmatic and collaborative approach and has largely met the first round of the Strategy deadlines. Thirty actions from the Strategy have been rationalized into 19 delivery areas with a more consistent plan about how the new approaches, new standards and common ICT infrastructure will be taken forward.

Against this positive backdrop the NAO have some significant concerns:

  • Planning – the Strategic Implementation Plan is lacking a resource plan and a map for how and when departments move to the Strategy solutions.
  • Capability – establishing a baseline requirement for ICT professional resources across central government has not been carried out, and key immediate skills gaps have not been filled.
  • Evaluation – there are no clear criteria for measuring business outcomes.

These concerns can be dealt with but need to be addressed in the short term if they are not to become significant barriers to progress.

Our particular area of interest, Agile development, gets an honorable mention under reducing waste and project failure, Area 4, (Action 9) – Agile delivery methods using user feedback to deliver systems in small pieces and keeping ICT in line with emerging business requirements. Sadly agile thinking is not something government procurement specialists are renown so there is little evidence of a change there. Perhaps we can look forward to some improvements when the next report is released.

Links to Implementing the Government ICT Strategy: six-month review of progress

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How To Be An SEO Guru

Do you see yourself as a budding SEO Guru and want to spot the next big thing? Have you heard lots of conflicting SEO advice but are not sure which to follow? Have you ever wondered where SEO companies go for inspiration and great advice? Web Marketing and SEO are inextricably linked so that is why this post is titled How To Be An SEO Guru

If you want to be your own SEO guru, or take your first steps on the road to expert status, there are a few simple pieces of advice we wish that we had been given when starting out:

  • Read everything you can about SEO
  • Follow the Google Webmaster Guidelines
  • Study the best SEO examples you can find

Read Everything About SEO
It has been said that if you read ten books on a subject by different authors, you will own that subject. This is also true about SEO, except that you must keep reading in order to stay current. SEO books date very quickly, and techniques that were leading edge two years ago may not work now. Each SEO expert has their own slant on the subject, and can offer something to the jigsaw, but remember, no-one knows it all!

Read every article you can about SEO, watch every video by the SEO experts, and if you can, get to talk to them. Make sure you include Webmaster Guidelines on your monthly reading list, too.

Webmaster Guidelines
It should not need saying, but follow the Google Webmaster Guidelines. If you want to get your website to the top of the rankings for your chosen keywords then it is important to follow the Google Webmaster Guidelines. It is true that there are techniques that might give your site an unauthorized boost, so called “black hat” techniques, but they will not help you if it gets you blocked from the search engine results. The only reliable way to ensure that you stick to the rules is to read the guidelines from the people who wrote that particular book, Google.

When you have read this article follow the link below to Google Webmaster Guidelines and bookmark it, or bookmark this page.

Study the SEO Best
If you want to be the best at anything then you have to study the techniques of the people who are currently rated as the best. Train where the best SEO Gurus train. Attend the conferences and seminars where the SEO experts hang out and listen to them talk. If you can, sign up for at least one SEO training from a renown expert per year, and if possible more. When you are trained by an SEO expert you will get the chance to ask the important questions directly, and of course you get to hang out with them too.

What To Do Next
In the run up to the new year, and the New Year resolutions, how about making a pledge to help you on the way to being your own SEO guru?
Decide that you are going to market your website and boost its position for your chosen keywords
Commit yourself to sign up for tuition from an SEO expert in January
Act now, and look out for SEO tips in the New Year!

PS, where do we go when we are seeking inspiration? Try BrandSEO.com

Have a happy and prosperous new year!

SEO Resources:

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We Can All Tackle Violence At Work

Just read a great post called Tackle Violence At Work, which outlines legislation relating to violence and bullying at work, and serves as a reminder that violence takes many disguises, including non-physical bullying.

According to Bully Online, the motive common to all bullies is a personal need to control others. Half of all bullies are women. Women bullies target women 84% of the time; men target women 69% of the time, making women the majority of targets in the workplace. The vast majority of bullies (81%) are managers and bosses. The common personality traits of targeted employees are individuals with a:

  1. desire to cooperate
  2. non-confrontational interpersonal style

To ensure that we can all identify the symptoms, and understand the need to deal effectively with bullying in the workplace the Tackle Violence At Work article includes:

  • five main pieces of health and safety legislation which are relevant to violence at work
  • five things to consider before any incident of violence occurs
  • five links to useful resources, including victims support organizations

Every individual reacts differently to bullying behavior, depending on their personality and life experiences. Most victims of workplace bullying will experience at least some of the following effects:

  • Stress, anxiety, sleep disturbance
  • Ill health, headaches, heart palpitations, or fatigue
  • Panic attacks or impaired ability to make decisions
  • Incapacity to work, concentration problems, loss of self-confidence and reduced performance at work
  • Depression or sense of isolation
  • Deteriorating relationships with family, friends or co-workers

Violence at work can take many forms, and the bullying can be quite subtle and covert. In some cases the perpetrator may be a manager who does not even understand that their behavior really is bullying. What passes for management style, may just be another way of glossing over bulling behavior, which is just another form of violence at work. Do you know anyone who is:

  • Obsessed with the past
  • Has low expectations of everybody
  • Constantly interfering, dictating and controlling

These are often symptoms of someone with a low self esteem, one of the characteristic of most bullies. Do you know anyone who behaves like this? They may not even know that they exhibit these characteristics, or be aware that these are subtle symptoms of a bullying manager. You may recognize these traits in your manager, or someone close to you. You may even know them intimately! How about:

  • Favors weaker employees, recruits henchmen and toadying types
  • Inconsistent, always critical, singles people out, shows favoritism
  • Withholds information, releases selectively, uses information as a weapon
  • Includes and excludes people selectively
  • Exhibits hypocrisy and duplicity

Obviously we would never apply these characteristics to ourselves! But are there any behaviors we display which other people might incorrectly attribute to us? Once again these are classic signs of a workplace bully, which may masquerade as a distinct management style.

Finally, as managers, how about some out and out management behaviors which unquestionably separate a bully from a good manager:

  • Recruiting only like minded individuals (back to henchmen and toadying types, and identifying with clones)
  • Abdicating responsibility in the guise of delegation
  • Being economical with the truth, using dissembling, distortion and fabrication to avoid telling the truth, such as bad news

Recognize anyone there?

Bullying at work cost UK industries a great deal, although the specific amounts vary depending on the source. On thing is clear, bullying is a form of violence, and must not be tolerated at work. If we learn to identify the signs in others and ourselves, we can all tackle violence at work, and make the workplace safer more productive environment.

Additional resources to help with bullying and violence at work:

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What has Leprechaun Repellent to do with SEO?

The Leprechaun Repellent Keyphrase Guarantee is a popular Search Engine Optimization (SEO) example given by SEOs claiming the moral high ground in the search for customers. So What has Leprechaun Repellent got to do with SEO anyway?

Leprechaun Repellent and SEO
If you are looking into SEO companies, then you probably already know that your business will be looking to rank high in the search engines for a particular Keyword or Keyphrase. Because people love a guarantee, it is easy for an unscrupulous SEO to offer to get you at the top of Google, Yahoo, or MSN, and demonstrate their competence by using obscure phrases. They will give an example like “Search Google for Leprechaun Repellent and see who comes up top!”. Well News Flash!

What has Leprechaun Repellent to do with SEO?
Any company willing to offer a guaranteed SEO service will be keen to show examples of their work. As a SEO customer, you want competitive keyphrases not obscure and meaningless ones. In other words keyphrases that people are actually searching for.

Once upon a time Googlewhacking was considered great entertainment, but you would not necessarily want to hire a Googlewhacker for SEO!

Historical Note: A Googlewhack is a type of a contest for finding a Google search query consisting of exactly two words without quotation marks, that returns exactly one hit.(Wikipedia)

Good SEO companies will avoid obscure phrases, while Leprechaun Repellent practitioners will tout them as examples.

So in summary, Leprechaun Repellent is an example of a Keyphrase which is uncompetitive, and so easy to claim a top ranking. Good SEO companies will avoid such phrases, while weaker SEOs will use them as examples of their work. Next time you are thinking about researching SEO companies, ask yourself are their key phrase guarantees competitive, or just Leprechaun Repellent?

Really Useful Resources for dealing with dodgy SEOs:

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What is Conversion Rate Optimization?

OK so we have seen SEO, so what is Conversion Rate Optimization or CRO? In the language of Internet Marketing, the process of improving the experience of the visitor in order to convert them into a paying customer is called conversion optimization, or sometimes conversion rate optimization.

So when we have just managed to get our heads round the idea of SEO, why do we need to think about Conversion Rate Optimization? Remember, the primary purpose of web advertising is to get people who might be interested in buying something from you to visit your web site. In other words, to get the greatest number of visitors to email you or call you with their contact information, and ultimately to buy your products and services.

Conversion Rate Optimization is the process of increasing website leads and sales without spending money on attracting more visitors by reducing your visitor attrition or bounce rate. Another way to look at it is to make more use of the visitors to your site by turning them into customers. Conversion Rate is the ratio of visitors to committed customers, and we optimize our page or site to improve this ratio.

There are two main approaches to conversion optimization, the first focuses on testing as an approach to discover the best way to increase conversion rates for a landing page, website, or campaign. The second approach focuses on understanding the audience and then creating a targeted message that appeals to that particular demographic. Both approaches are equally valid, and some CRO Experts advise us to use both methods as part of our strategy to convert visitors to customers.

Look out for future marketing postings where we will be taking Conversion Rate Optimization a stage further, and looking at some simple tools to help you turn your visitors into paying customers.

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How to change your Email Address on LinkedIn

A fellow linkedIn colleague recently asked me How do I change my Email Address on LinkedIn. As this is not the first time we have been asked this, then there are likely more people out there who would like to know to make this simple change. The good news is that linkedIn recognize that people need to change their email address from time to time, or even have multiple email addresses, and have made it quick and easy. In fact LinkedIn recommend you add at least one personal address and one work address.

How to change your Email Address on LinkedIn
To add a new email address, when logged in to your LinkedIn account, take the following simple steps:

  • Under your name at the top right of the page click on Settings
  • In the right text column click on Email Addresses
  • Next to Primary Email, click on Change
  • Add your new email address in the email address field, and click Add email address

After adding the new address, go to the email account and click the link in the confirmation email. Add as many addresses as you’d like, and just follow the instruction for each account. Once an email address is validated, you can choose it to be you primary address by selecting it from the list and clicking on Make Primary.

If you are not yet a linkedIn member and are wondering what this is all about, Click here to Join LinkedIn Today

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Using Meta Tags For Search Engine Optimization

One of the most common spam contacts we see in the inbox these days are dubious offers to get our various websites and blogs to number one on Google for our chosen keywords. It sounds like that would be something that might be worth paying money for, so why do the SEO offers leave us cold?

What is Search Engine Optimization?
As most web users will already know, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the visibility of a website or a web page in Internet search engines so that it appears higher in the search results. So surely an offer to promote your website or blog and optimize it so that it appears top in a Google search must be worth investing in? Well actually No! At least not from the spammers anyway.

Instead, let us look at a couple of often under used features of HTML, Meta Tags, which you can use to help the search spiders index your blog correctly, and optimize your site for your chosen keywords, without resorting to dodgy underhanded tactics or wasting money and time on get rich quick schemes promoted by spam email.

Using Meta Tags For Search Engine Optimization
If you are using your website or blog as a business vehicle then there are probably some key words which you hope that people will enter into the search engines when looking for your product or service. Similarly, when people find your site on Google, then make sure that the description of the site that appears is exactly what you want people to see.

Include Meta Tags
Include meta tags for the name of your site and a description of the page as part of the page code. If you are not editing the site code yourself, tell your web developer to include Meta Tag Description and Keywords on at least the homepage. Alternatively, if you are using a WordPress theme like Atahualpa, you can enter the Homepage Meta Description, and Homepage Meta Keywords in the Configure SEO in the Atahualpa Theme Options under Appearance.

Meta Tag Description
Including a description for your site provides some control over the way it appears in the Google search results. This should be 1 to 3 sentences, with about 20-30 words in total. For example, to ensure that Google list the keywords we are looking to link to this blog we have the following Meta Tag Description which appears in the page head, but is not displayed to the users:

content="TechCoSupport help Small and Medium Businesses (SME) grow through Web Marketing, Social Networking, SEO and AdWords Management in Bristol, UK "

The Google bots scan this when they index the site, and this results in the following entry in the Google search listing:
TechCoSupport Web Marketing image

This is the description that we want people to see when they look at our site in the listings, and it means that people who want to find out about Web Marketing, Social Networking, SEO and AdWords Management in Bristol can find us!

Meta Tag Keywords
Keyword optimization is simple to achieve, but can lead to improvements in your site ranking, particularly if you are writing about the keyword on your page. Including Keywords meta tags in you page gives the search bots a heads up in linking the page content to things that people are likely to search for. This should 10 to 30 words or phrases, separated by comma, and should relate to the content of your web page.

Say you are are looking for people to find your site when they enter the keyword Web Marketing. The search spiders should find Web Marketing in the invisible meta tags which show up in the page code, in your page content and possibly in the site URL too. This consistency and congruency between the Keywords Meta Tag and content is good for you page ranking.

However, be careful not to to just include keywords for the sake of having them, as they should relate to the page headings and description, and title. Avoid using tricks just intended to improve search engine rankings, as the techies behind search engines are on to all the tricks. A useful heuristic is to ask yourself if you are adding the tweak to benefit your users, or to fool the search spiders? The answer should always be that it makes it better for readers of your blog.

So to sum up Using Meta Tags For Search Engine Optimization:

  • Make sure you or your developer includes Meta Tags for both the site Description and Keywords in the Homepage at least.
  • Homepage Meta Description Limit to no more than 3 sentences, about 20 to 30 words total.
  • Homepage Meta Keywords Type 10 to 30 words or phrases, separated by comma.

To find out more on this subject from a reliable source, and so give you the confidence to delete the spam emails without another thought, click here to see Google Webmaster Quality Guidelines

Finally, here is a challenge to the spammers’ business model; if you are so good at SEO and Keyword Optimization, why do you need to resort to spam to attract new customers? If you really could do the job claimed, you would be beating off potential customers with a stick!

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How To Improve Search Engine Rankings

The most common question we get asked when people find out about our SEO Marketing Services is usually “How Do I Improve My Search Engine Rankings?” Like we can tell you three things to do to your website to get it to the top of Google search rankings!

Well okay!

Three Things To Improve Your Search Engine Rankings
If you want to know the secrets of the SEO Marketing Gurus, you can spend a lot of money employing companies advertising SEO Marketing Services and Web Page Keyword Optimization services.

Alternatively, you can read the Google Webmaster Guidelines, and particularly the Quality guidelines. These guidelines are freely available, and if implemented on your site will help Google find, index, and rank your site. They include priceless gems like:

  • Make pages primarily for users, not for search engines. Make your pages readable and have useful content so that people want to read what you post. If they are attractive to humans, and make them want to come back, then the bots will give you a good rating. Search spiders are people too!
  • Keep the links on a given page to a reasonable number. This might not seem so obvious at first, but endless lists of links are difficult to read, and so should be avoided except in directories and of course your site index. Instead, make your blog a useful, information-rich site, and write pages that clearly and accurately describe your content.
  • Think about the words users would type to find your pages. Google provide plenty of tools to help you with this, so use the Google keyword tools to find out what people are searching for and make sure that your site actually includes those words within it.

So to find out even more ways To Improve Search Engine Rankings, use the Google tools provided, and follow the guidelines:
Google Webmaster Guidelines

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Beware of Emails Bearing Gifts

Have you seen an email entitled UPS notification? Have you received an unexpected email telling you about a parcel sent your home address, when you have nothing on order? Do you feel excited at the thought of getting an unexpected gift?

Unfortunately, that is not a mysterious present in the post, but a piece of malicious software, or malware, called the UPS Notification Virus. This is an automated attempt to install a Trojan on your computer, which is a piece of software that would connect to a medium risk domain in Russia and subsequently download all manner of undesirable additions to your computer.

If you are fortunate enough to operate behind a corporate firewall and email gateway this will be intercepted by the mail scanning software, and all you will get is an email with the subject line something like: WARNING. Someone tried to send you a potential virus or unauthorized code. If you see this message you need to do nothing further; the threat has been eliminated by the software.

At home, if you have up to date anti-virus software installed, you may see the email with an additional marker like [Quarantined], or a message from the anti-virus software manufacturers indicating that the threat has been removed. In this event you need to do nothing further except keep your anti-virus software current.

However, if you access your email by a webmail client, and do not subscribe to an anti virus service, then you may see an email in your inbox with the subject of UPS notification. Preview of the email will show you something like this:

Dear customer.

The parcel was sent your home address.
And it will arrive within 3 business day.

More information and the tracking number are attached in document below.

Thank you.
© 1994-2011 United Parcel Service of America, Inc.

In this event, DELETE the email and do not attempt to open the attachment. UPS may sometimes send emails, but generally does not include attachments. If you see this email on a company computer then please additionally inform the local ICT helpdesk, to alert them so that they can investigate how the message reached you.

Remember

  • Only disclose your email address to known individuals and organizations
  • Only open email and attachments from known and trusted sources
  • If in doubt, check with your local IT department or support person if you are not sure that an email is genuine
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Why We Should All Stop Using IE 6

It has been just about six months since we mentioned the dreaded IE6 in a blog post, so it is again time to let rip on the subject.

In this instance however, instead of just ranting about the state of senior management and decision makers who chose to ignore the problems caused by continual use of IE6, it is time to adopt a different tack! The way to change the way people think is to give them the facts and allow them to reach the conclusion themselves. Rather than berate, let’s educate!

To that end we are collecting sound reasons why any business, organization or government body tied to IE6 might like to consider moving away from the obsolete browser. If you like, we are quietly going to collect the facts for the business case for updating from IE6 to a better browser.

Just for starters, the three most common responses to the question “Why Should We All Stop Using IE 6?”we get from web developers are:

  • Security vulnerabilities which make it a target for crackers worldwide
  • CSS support is problematic (doesn’t support newer CSS and HTML features)
  • JavaScript support is Microsoft proprietary nonsense.

OK, we had to clean up the comments a bit to make them publishable!

Then from the user’s point of view, what about tabbed browsing? Tabbed browsing facilities makes users more productive as they can work more efficiently. But what other advantages to the users are there?

If you want to contribute to the business case for ditching IE6, is there anything you can you do? Well, you can start by sending us the list of your pet IE6 hates. If you are a developer, tell us the features that are missing in IE6 which hold back sites you are developing for your customers. If you are a user, forced by company policy to stay on IE6, what way are you disadvantaged? If you are a business with an Internet presence (and what business doesn’t?) how much extra does it cost you to maintain backward compatibility with IE6?

Are you still clinging to the mistaken belief that there is plenty of life in the old IE6 dog yet, then consider that IE10 is not that far away; The IE10 Platform Preview Guide for Developers provides an early look at the developer features coming to the next version of IE! Check it out and see the Internet Explorer Platform Preview Guide for Developers (opens in a new window).

Other anti IE6 sites and additional resources (all open in a new window):

To do your bit for humanity, post your constructive comments below and we will collate them and make sure that they are taken to the authorities responsible for holding on to IE6. Please don’t bother spamming, as spam comments will never be published.