Michael Petch's Blog, page 4

Economic Overview for Start-Ups in Ireland

Exuberance in public and private spending during the early years of the new millennium was fuelled by confidence gained during the boom years of 1995-2000. Economic growth of an average 9.4% lead to commentators calling the economy a “Celtic Tiger”. Slower average growth of 5.9% until 2008 did little to slow spending. Economic growth came to a sudden halt after the collapse of the property market and its associated tax revenue, the governments guarantee over bank deposits and interest payments on sovereign debt of  9% threatened to bankrupt the country.

An economic adjustment package of €85 billion from the European Union, the International Monetary Fund and Ireland’s own reserves was made available in November 2010 to allow a softer transition into financial austerity.

 

Components of the EU/IMF/Irish assistance package

Source: European Commission, 2012. Ireland’s Economic Crisis.

 

The country was able to exit the economic assistance program in late 2013, however it still reports on economic stability to the European Commission. These reports also incorporate forecasts made the Department of Finance. Evidence shows that positive results from of the economic strategy are visible. The labour market has seen reduced unemployment and domestic demand – that further stimulates the job market  – has stabilised. The approach taken by the government has three dimensions. Structural reforms are necessary to strengthen competitiveness. This takes the form of changes in tax rates and the establishment of the Action Plan for Jobs and Pathways to Work. These government initiatives aim to create more jobs and assist the unemployed in returning to work. The second dimension is the provision of sufficient funding in the longer term to support the return to health of the economy. The final part of the strategy is to return to sustainable levels of public finance. A significant step towards this goal will be the eradication of the overly large deficit by the conclusion of the next fiscal year.

 

Economic growth, general government balance and debt ratio.

Source :Central Statistics Office, 2013, 2014. Department of Finance, 2014-2018, 2014.

External support for Ireland’s return to economic health is available from numerous sources. The main credit rating agencies have endorsed Ireland’s improved prospects by adjusting their ratings, all now rate Ireland’s sovereign debt as investment grade (Department of Finance, 2014). Standard and Poor rate sovereign debt as BBB+, Moody’s gave an improved rating in January 2014 as Baa3 – with a positive outlook – and Fitch confirmed their position in February 2014 as BBB+, with a stable outlook.

The Washington based think-tank – Heritage –  rank Ireland as 8th globally and 2nd regionally on their 2014 index of economic freedom across 186 countries.

Economically speaking Ireland is well positioned to benefit from a financial renaissance.

Please contact us to discuss your Start-Up idea or arrange economic analysis of your region.

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Services for Mobile Developers

Black Dog Consulting are happy to announce the launch of a new service.

We can now provide research assistance for mobile app development, including in depth analysis of any particular market.

Please for a comprehensive 100+ page report on a sports and social networking app prepared by Black Dog Consulting.

NB: Link available GMT 9AM Wednesday 20th August 2014.

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SEO For Bing

Advertised as a “decision engine”, Bing appeared in 2009 during an announcement by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. Bing is the latest name for a search engine that has previously been known as Live Search, Windows Live Search and MSN Search. Visually the search engine differentiates itself from Google with a daily changing background image, additional search features on the home page and trending information in the bottom right hand corner. Like Google, the Bing algorithm is not publically available, however unlike Google, Bing do not make public updates to the algorithm. This article considers the questions of whether it is worth dedicating SEO time to Bing and what is the best way to approach SEO for Bing.

At the end of 2013 Bing held an 18.2% share of the market. This can be compared to Google’s 66.7% share and Yahoo’s 10.8%. However, it is worth understanding that Yahoo make use of Bing’s results to populate their search engine. Therefore any effort put into rising in the Bing ranking will flow through into Yahoo. Given that the combined market share is 29% then time spent on understanding and increasing SERP is a valuable exercise.

Bing Ranking Factors

Advice from Bing’s engineers does not have the same user focus of that from Google. However, it is recognized that content is still the most important ranking factor for Bing. It is advised that the URL is rich in keywords, content should not be buried within rich media such as flash or JavaScript, fresh content is preferable and text that the designer wishes to be indexed should not be hidden within images. This means that company names, addresses and other data need to be repeated outside logos and image files for the search engine to correctly index them. There are also a number of similarities with Google.

Large brands also rank higher on Bing than smaller ones. The offline popularity and renown of a company transfers into the SERP. Furthermore backlinks play a key role in the position of a page in the Bing rankings. An increase in the number of backlinks with lead to a rise through the rankings. Thirdly, Bing makes use of social signals as an element of the final position. Social signals stem from social media services such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and others. The senior product Webmaster at Bing, Duane Forrester gave a presentation called “Tomorrow’s SEO”. This presentation illustrated that social signals were the second most important ranking factor after content. On-page content retains its position as the most important ranking factor, however technical factors must also be given consideration. These include the file formats used, as Bing’s crawlers are unable to index information from flash or JavaScript.

Differences with Google

There are a number of differences with Google and these can provide one focus for SEO work using Bing. Canonical requirements are different, as Bing does not support the canonical tag. This means that it is more difficult to control the URL that appears in the search results, the resulting search will display webpage.com rather than www.webpage.com. The early Googlebot would crawl of the first 100k of a webpage; this limit has since been removed. However, Bing still has the page size limit in place and therefore important content must be positioned within the first 100k of data. 302 redirects pose a problem to Bing. These specific redirects will not be indexed and so should not be used. Likewise meta-refreshes (designed to redirect a user) will cause the crawler to cease indexing. Unlike Google, Bing will reject a website that does not have at least one external site linking to them. Bing activity removes websites from their index that do not have enough page authority.

SEO steps with Bing

The first stage of ensuring successful ranking with Bing is to enable the search engine to find your site. If you are generating a large amount of content that other sites are linking to then this is likely to happen with the crawlers. However, it is also possible to submit a URL directly to Bing to request indexing. To ensure this is done well it is important for your site to include an xml sitemap that the crawler can read. Secondly, registration with Bing Webmaster tools will provide important analytics and data that can be viewed to see how your site is performing. Therefore, it is vital to create an account. The creation of fresh, engaging content remains key to SERP and links must also be cultivated. As far as off page SEO goes social media should be utilized to enhance the social standing portion of Bing’s algorithm.

Technical considerations must be borne in mind. These include the page load time, making the robots.txt file available, having a sitemap; ensuring redirects are in line and using the correct tags. Full technical information is available on the Bing Webmaster help pages.

Once the basics are in place the SEO practioner can focus on the other areas that Bing deems important. These include improving your click through rate and reducing your bounce rate. Using schema.org to mark up your content with html tags is an SEO activity that benefits both Google and Bing. On page text optimization techniques that work with Google are also valid on Bing and should be used. When URL’s are created then including specific keywords is important.

Things to Avoid

What not to include or to avoid is equally important and in some cases more important as SERP can be damaged by certain actions. This includes engaging in cloaking (when different content is delivered depending upon whether a spider or a viewer requests it), participating in link schemes or social media schemes and publishing duplicate content. The avoidance of other black hat techniques is recommended and webmasters should remain up to date with guidance given by Bing and follow Duane Forrester for clues to Bing’s next move.

When combined with Yahoo, Bing has a sizeable portion of the search engine market. Therefore it is important to give consideration to its requirements. Often good Google SEO practice is sufficient to obtain a strong Bing search ranking. However, it is worth checking your site using Bing to validate this. Understanding the differences between the two search engines is key and although Bing does not dominate the search engine landscape today that is no guarantee for the future.

 

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A new strategy for hummingbird?

The arrival of Google’s latest package of algorithms in August 2013 sent shockwaves through the SEO community. Many feared the changes would result in a significant traffic drop-off. In addition, others were concerned their carefully crafted SEO campaigns would no longer function and the search landscape would be altered beyond recognition. Fortunately, these fears did not materialize, and on the surface many pages appeared to be ranked much as before, and traffic from SERP continued unabated. However, insiders at Google have given strong hints the full scope of the Hummingbird changes have not yet been fully implemented, and that SEO professionals should use this time to ensure their campaigns are fully in line with Google’s stated best practice.

What do the changes mean for SEO?

As the dust as settled on the Hummingbird announcement, professionals have had time to review the genuine impact. The consensus view is that following best practice will continue to give the best results. This means that the creation of content that is fully original, engaging to the reader and explores the subject in depth should be the primary concern of any author. Secondly, a backlink strategy that utilizes legitimate sites that are relevant to the referring site will still deliver the desired results. However, now more than ever it is important to avoid the purchase of backlinks from low value sites that are unfocused in their themes. Thirdly, social signals that previously gave results will continue to serve the same function although Hummingbird will attribute scores to them in a more sophisticated manner. Finally, the use of keywords remains necessary, but it is important not to overdo this. Keyword stuffing is penalized as the algorithm realizes that articles with an unusually high keyword density are written in an unnatural manner. Instead of a narrow focus on particular keywords a rich vocabulary of terms associated with the theme should be used.

How will Hummingbird change search behaviour?

Whereas the old search mechanism selected individual terms from a search phrase, Hummingbird seeks to contextualize the terms rather than bring up links solely on the basis that they contain keywords. The traditional method results in a significant number of links displayed that are not relevant to the intended search. The ultimate goal is to fully implement a semantic search system. Semantic search uses word sense disambiguation to contextualize search terms and refine the results. For example, the word “bark” has several meanings. “Bark” can be understood to mean the sound a dog makes or the outer layer of a tree. A traditional search including the term “bark” will return results relating to both dogs and trees. A semantic search will use other terms within the query to give only relevant results.

The Resurgence of Long Tail keywords?

A long tail keyword is a search phrase that has at least three words, more words are possible, and five words can be found in some phrases. There is less competition for these phrases than one or two word key terms. Long tail keywords can be advantageous to SEO practitioners, as in addition to the lower competition for the keywords they are also more likely to convert. Consider a search for “green leather shoes” compared to “leather shoes”. The user who arrives at a relevant site for “green leather shoes” is more likely to have found what they are looking for than someone using the term “leather shoes”. Because of the way Hummingbird analyses search terms in contextual terms long tail keywords will prove more valuable when included in relevant articles. Google wants users to find relevant content and to use conversational search terms, which by their nature are written in a longer way than regular single or double word searches. By thinking about what users are looking for when they come to your company you can incorporate long tail keywords and use these to generate ideas for content creation.

Knowledge Graph and the Information Card

With every search made using Google information about user behaviour is gathered by the company. This information can be collated and used to understand better how searches progress and present information relevant to the search to answer questions the user had not thought to ask. This information will be presented on an information card that appears in the upper right of the SERP. The information card contains not only suggestions based upon past search patterns but also data gathered from other Google services. Therefore, a successful SEO campaign for a brand will seek to ensure that this data is relevant and complete for the intended brand or product. As information is taken from Google services such as Google Places, Google Shopping and Google+ it is important that these services are first activated and also contain accurate and relevant information.

Advantages of the new Algorithm

Despite initial fears, Hummingbird does present the SEO market with a number of opportunities. Providing the campaign manager is willing to expand their horizons and make good use of long tail keywords there are many ways to increase the number of entrance pages available within a specific niche. Creating these entrance pages should be done with an eye on unique and engaging content primarily. With this in mind a successful SEO campaign will create more pages that seek to answer the queries coming from Google. To successful capture traffic a wider area of topic coverage should be undertaken, and this gives websites the possibility to introduce additional long tail keywords into the site.

News, info-graphics, video and authorship

As previously mentioned an information card now appears as separate box on the search page and shows key information related to the search query. Also referred to as a dashboard the information card makes use of recent information published on a topic to supplement its contents. The aim of the dashboard is too answer the search query without the user navigating away from Google. Therefore, regular and timely release of news should be done to keep the target of the SEO activity ranking highly in the feed and provide incentive to click through to the content. Content can be based around current news stories to match the buzz and tap into the traffic stemming from news events. Much of this can be planned in advance, and certain key events, such as the Super Bowl, always generate a large amount of coverage. Hummingbird also seeks to present content that is not purely text based and info-graphics and video should be used to harness this. Video has grown significantly over the past couple of years among those seeking responses to questions and info-graphics stand out from the realms of sites using only text complimented by an occasional picture. Finally, content should make use of the Google authorship function to leverage the social standing of the author and identify content with credibility. Google authorship is a relatively new service offered by Google that allows a byline to appear below the link on the search results page. The byline draws information from the writers Google+ account, including a profile picture. Google intends this service to help users find high quality content and also to encourage engagement with authors. Going forward with Hummingbird the key thing to remember is that Google now offer a wide range of services. Although these may not all be popular currently it is undoubtedly Google’s mission to integrate all their services; therefore SEO practitioners should take the opportunity to get on board at an early stage with everything Google has to offer.

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3D Printing: Don’t Believe the Hype (cycle)?

When examined according to user base, 3D Printing is entering two distinctive phases.

Enterprise level 3D Printing has established itself as a dominant force in rapid-prototyping and rapid retooling. In the aerospace industry major companies make use of the technology to keep their fleets aloft and to research and develop aircraft of the future. Smaller companies have found niches within this market, such as those who manufacture replacement parts for cabins. When mass-production of spares ceases, maintenance work on older aircraft does not have to stall.

In addition, through techniques such as honeycombing the 3D printed replacements can improve upon original designs, adding strength at a fraction of the weight. Even small weight reductions accumulate across a fleet into vast reductions in aviation fuel bills.

GE recognized the contribution to the bottom-line 3D printing makes. In 2013 they acquired two specialist small 3D printing companies and have incorporated their technology into the GE Aviation entity.

Classic car enthusiasts have also benefited from an increase in availability of spares produced using additive manufacturing. Entrepreneurs have started businesses to support this niche market and some have recreated entire classic vehicles using the technology. The 3D printing market holds many other entrepreneurial opportunities.

While enterprise level 3D printing is entering what Gartner refer to as the “slope of enlightenment”, where early innovations and inventions are becoming monetized, the consumer phase lags behind. Initially driven by hobbyist forums and communities, entry level machines that are useable without an engineering qualification are dropping in price and capable of producing interesting results.

Currently, these results lag behind the expectations of the general public. During 2014 3D printing is likely to reach the peak of these inflated expectations. We expect to see a following period of consolidation in the consumer market while entrants recover from the initial burst of enthusiasm and re-emerge with devices ready for mass-market acceptance.

However, systems are always susceptible to shocks. The emergence of an irresistible killer application could jolt 3D printing from its current trajectory, and as the user base expands more creative minds are pondering its potential. 2014 could still hold some surprises.

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3D Printing: Rise of the 3rd Industrial Revolution

Black Dog Consulting are proud to announce the publication of 3D Printing: Rise of the 3rd Industrial Revolution by Aaron Council and Michael Petch. The book is published by Gyges 3D.

Technology has reached a point where the daily discoveries and advances are being made at such a rate it can be impossible to keep up. 3D Printing: Rise of the 3rd Industrial Revolution explores the singularly most important technology to arrive in recent years. Going beyond the headline grabbing stories of 3D printed guns this new book by Aaron Council and Michael Petch graphically illustrates how 3D printing will change the world.

In this excellent primer on 3D printing technology the authors thoroughly examine the history, the current market and the future. Themes explored include how 3D printing is used in next-generation games consoles such as the Xbox One and how a robot can be created by combining these technologies. A discussion on the impact of 3D printing on medicine and healthcare is covered in depth, including how 3D printing will allow drugs to be downloaded from the Internet and printed using common household materials.

The philosophy behind 3D printing is examined in clear English and the authors point out how 3D printing is likely to change the current economic system for the better. The importance of the technology for the future of society and how it will create jobs in both the U.S and the developing world is given a detailed chapter. Political and social implications of 3D printing such as a reduction in materialism and even an end to conflict are all explored as by-products of this remarkable technology.

3D Printing: Rise of the 3rd Industrial Revolution contains thought provoking material for the experienced 3D printing enthusiast and those new to the subject alike. 3D printing is a technology that promises to change the world and provide opportunities for those who embrace it. These new opportunities and possibilities are discussed in detail within the book.

The book is available for purchase on Amazon

About the Authors

Straddling the boundary between theory and practice, Aaron Council holds degrees in Open-Source architecture and Technical Welding. Based in the Pacific North West, he is the founder and CEO of the popular Gyges3D.com online community. An early adopter and participant in the nascent 3D printing sphere, Council was quick to realize the impact of this revolutionary technology and has being a key motivator and promoter of the possibilities engendered. As a writer, he has published a series of books that explore 3D printing across social, political and economic landscapes and seeks to promote discussion about the importance of this evolving technology. Most recently, Council is the author of 3D Printing: Rise of the 3rd Industrial Revolution

Michael Petch is the CEO of Black Dog Consulting. Black Dog Consulting provides strategic advice, media solutions and start-up services for a range of companies operating in the new technology sphere, including crypto-currency, 3D printing and innovative mobile app developers.

 

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Black Dog Consulting Collaborator Wins Corinthia London Artist in Residence 2013-2014

Corinthia Hotel London invited filmmakers to respond to “The Power of Sleep” and win a month long residency at their plush London location with the final goal of producing a short film.

The joint winner of the £15,000 prize was David Petch. David is a successful London based filmmaker with a large portfolio of work spanning music promos, TV drama and campaigns for a number of top advertising agencies. David’s proposal was recognised by the judges after a lengthy deliberation at Corinthia’s London site.

The distinguished judging panel included many well known figures in the film industry and this prize will surely take the director a step closer to making his first feature length film.

Judging Panel

Amanda Berry, CEO of BAFTA

Steve Davies, CEO, Advertising Producers Association (APA)

Eric Fellner, Co-Chairman, Working Title Films

Mike Figgis, Director

Sir John Hegarty, Worldwide Creative Director & Founder, Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH)

Isabella Macpherson, Co-founder, Arts Co

Amanda Nevill, CEO, British Film Institute

Sarah Sands, Editor, Evening Standard

Justine Simons, Head of Culture, The Mayor’s Office

Dan Stevens, Actor

Lucy Tuck, Editor, Financial Times Life & Arts

Ed Vaizey MP, Minister for Culture, Communications & Creative Industries

Zain Verjee, Anchor, CNN International

David Glasser, COO of The Weinstein Company

The short film will recreate the dreaming experience together with the sense of spatial and temporal distortion that occurs when we are asleep. The film will premiere in March 2014 at the Corinthia Hotel.

David collaborates with Black Dog Consulting on campaigns across a range of media. Contact us today for creative solutions in a crowded market.

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5 must have Social Apps to promote your brand

5 must have Social Apps to promote your brand

Peer Index

We have all had those times when a friend, relative or work colleague recommended a particular product or service. Due to the weight we give that relationship with them and perhaps their authority as a subject matter expert, we went ahead to try out the product or service for ourselves. A new web-based service seeks to automate this chain reaction on a larger scale.

PeerIndex scours through your multiple profiles on social media and identifiers potential influencers. It does this by evaluating the degree of influence your followers, friends, fans and connections have over the people within their own social media network.

To put this in practical terms, assume you have a LinkedIn account with 210 followers, 400 followers on Twitter and 150 on Facebook. PeerIndex will assist you identify the followers that pack the most punch influence-wise. Once you identify the influencers, it is up to you to find ways of engaging them for the good of your brand. This could be by offering them special pricing, free samples or even officially engaging them as your brand ambassadors.

You can open a PeerIndex account using your Twitter handle.

Mention

Mention is a turbo-charged version of Google Alerts. It tracks your mentions over the preceding 24 hours on social medial, blogs, news pages, video platforms and more. In order to avoid getting flooded with numerous irrelevant results, you must select your keywords carefully. Keep them specific in a way that zeroes in on your brand. Alerts are relayed via email or text.

Once you receive notification of mentions, you must sign into Mention for more detailed information. While the user interface is not the most appealing, Mention is worth giving a shot. The basic service is free but has a limited quota of 10,000 mentions. Paid up versions have an ever larger quota.

Tagboard

Tagboard works in a similar way to Mention except that it relies on hashtags. It pulls content from Twitter, Google Plus and Vine streaming it into a single location. You can like, comment or tweet away on the respective platform without the need to sign into each.

For businesses, you can create a Tagboard page for your particular brand, organization, industry or area of interest. For instance, you could create a page for #recycledplasticjapan or break it down into broader tags e.g. #japanrecycle and #recycledplastic. Tagboard’s interface is well organized and easy to navigate.

Instagram

The mention of Instagram as tool of business is likely to invoke a smirk from many an entrepreneur and manager. Not surprising for a site better known for photos of iced lattes and outrageous selfies. Yet, there is plenty of untapped opportunity on Instagram as long as you can leverage the visual element of your product. For instance, you can use the Photo Map feature to display your product’s reach. You could also upload (with permission) photos of satisfied customers or use a series of shots that illustrate a specific process workflow.

With the advent of smart phones that boast ever more sophisticated cameras, taking good photos is not that difficult. But for best results, consider hiring a professional photographer. The shots represent your brand – awkward, disjointed shots will not do much for your credibility. Ensure the photos are accompanied by concise and articulate captions. If you do not own the photos, credits will be in order.

Meet & Seat

Dutch airline KLM launched its Meet & Seat app in 2012. The app allows passengers to see the details of fellow travelers on the same flight. In particular, one can view the person’s Facebook, LinkedIn and Google Plus profile if the individual has volunteered to share it. Based on this information, you can choose who you would like to seat next to. KLM will make reasonable effort to satisfy your request but makes no promises.

This is an interesting app but also a little dicey. Think about that aggressive salesman keen on closing a deal with a prospective client. But what if the prospective simply wants to have a quiet flight sleeping or watching movies?

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Predictions for Social Media in 2014

5 Predictions for Social Media in 2014

Other than spending time with family and friends, one of the things I like to do at this time is reflect on the year past and gaze into the New Year that beckons. As far as social media goes, the past year can be summarized in 4 trends: mobile, video, content and real-time marketing. In an environment whose only constant is change, it can be difficult figuring out just where your social media efforts should be focused. Taking time to evaluate what lies ahead can substantially reduce the risk of a misstep. The following are my 5 top trend predictions for the social media space in 2014.

Short-form video as a tool for visual storytelling – We regularly discuss how important it is to tell your business’ story through visual media. While this principle already held true in 2013, the new year will see a shift to shorter and more concise videos that can tell a more elaborate stories than pictures. Existing technologies such as Instagram’s 15 second videos and Twitter’s Vine app have already made it easy to create and distribute short form video content. Understanding how to use these platforms and how consumers relate to them is therefore vital.

Fandom leverage – Fandom is a term that defines the ecosystem of raving fans within your business overall client base. These super fans have the power and drive to do plenty of marketing for your product and increase your brand’s visibility outside your existing sphere of influence. In 2014, businesses will expend more time and resources to identify, equip and utilize their fandom.

Google Plus – Google Plus today boasts more than 300 million monthly active users. Compare that with Twitter’s 232 million and Facebook’s 1.2 billion and it is clear that Google Plus cannot be ignored. What’s more, Google Plus has the added advantage of integration with Google search engine results as well as Google Authorship. Having an active presence on Google Plus will not only mean reaching a wide audience but also achieving better search engine optimization.

Context will be king – Step aside Content – we are about to crown a new king in town. Content marketing is powerful. But in 2014, businesses will realize that its impact heavily depends on the context within which it is disseminated. Businesses will have to pause and evaluate how and why users engage on a specific social media channel then develop content that fits that context.

The move into paid advertising – Following recent updates to the news feed algorithm on Facebook, the audience for organic posts has steadily shrunk. If you want to maintain your business reach on Facebook, you will have to consider getting into paid ads. The same applies to Twitter which following its public listing has launched an aggressive drive to increase its advertising revenue through audience-tailored ads and promoted tweets.

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