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Sadly laying here in bed, I was googling myself, just for laughs I guess, and found a great little article about designers understanding the basic fundamentals of SEO - http://www.wordtracker.com/academy/roundup-newsletter-12 - I noticed that my name was dropped in the piece, so thought it worth sharing

I check out a lot of blogs, mostly based around professional understanding, however there are a few blogs I visit on a lesser basis. One of those is Seth Godin’s blog, and he puts some really interesting points in his recent blog post about effort.

On many occasions I feel like I don’t have enough time for life, yet I know each night I veg out in front of the TV or PS3 for at least an hour, maybe 3. What Seth proposes is for us to take 120mins a day and put it to good use! To learn new skills, improve our fitness and generally do things we wouldn’t normally do.

I believe there is merit in his points. Having recently read the book “Evolve Your Brain” there are clear parrallels in both points. One key point that Seth makes is to ensure that you only spend money on what you need to for a whole year and save the rest. Such conservative thinking might actually help a lot of people across the world deal with the current financial stresses. He also discusses learning new skills - surely upskilling will also equate to improved pay as well?

Not to mention exercise - it is no secret that people who exercise regularly are generally healthier and happier than the rest of us. So for everyone depressed about the financial state of the globe, take yourself for a walk and cancel your cable subscription! You will be rewarded with better health and more cash in your wallet.

Whilst I do Veg out everyday for sometime, I do also try to get my 30mins of exercise, walking the dog! I also spend an hour getting the train to work, and an hour back, so I try to read, and learn new skills during these crucial 2 hours each day. However having recently bought a house I can honestly say that at the moment I have too many DIY projects to try and save any extra, but maybe next year I will take Seth up on his challenge.

I have had the pleasure of working with a lot of creative people during my career, and I love how passionate those people are, both about their jobs and other projects they get involved in. Right now I work closely with a great young creative who shares a passion for computer games and the web. Whilst we work together on web projects, it is the affection for computer gaming which has kick started his own little off-shoot project.

So let me introduce to you Mindtank Studio’s - they are currently developing their first adventure flash game, and will be sharing the journey with everyone direct from their website, including development, successes and failures.

Firstly apologies for not adding more recent blog posts. Work has been slightly hectic the past couple of weeks which has resulted in me actually having to work - instead of thinking of cool stuff to blog about. So for those of you anxious for some blog love, I can recommend the following post of SEOmoz, which discusses the importance of community in driving SEO.

It is a great piece, and proves you do not need to be an “expert” to achieve success online. Well an expert on SEO that’s for sure. What I liked about the thread and what I commented on, was that the communual aspect of real life, is now fully entrenched online. Long may it continue!

Over the years I have had some great conversions (normally heated) and challenges related to the use of Keywords Vs Branding, this excellent thread poses some options for title tags on your website.

When looking at it purely from a search engine perspective though I would argue that Keywords should always win first. When arguing this point with a a “Marketing Guru” I tend to get them to understand that search engines are the method of getting your customers to your marketing message, which in this case is the website. This is no different from using postal services to deliver personalized mail to your database. The personalized mail is the marketing message, the postal service just puts your message under the noses of your customers.

Your branding will always be better reflected on your website anyway, and as such, you have control over images, design and words/phrases which reflect your brands message. So you should focus on improving the sites ability to be ranked well in search engines, as this will supply a nice amount of traffic/qualified leads to your site, who can then interact with your brand.

Most brands, if unique will naturally rank well on their own, without the need to worry about ramming the brand message home in every conceivable way. If you have a real unique catchphrase, that potential customers are going to search for, then be all means ensure those keyword phrases are included. But rather than thinking about search engine optimisation (Optimization, SEO), as a marketing tool, consider it the process of delivering qualified leads to your website, the point upon which the brand awareness should really begin.

Your website will always have brand dominance, as you control the real estate. So don’t try to battle for brand positioning on search engine results, your message will always have to compete and most often will be diluted.