We are happy to announce that Regroup will be overseeing the SEO drive for Social Work Recruitment agency – Caritas Recruitment -Â http://www.caritasrecruitment.co.uk.

Caritas are the latest line of HCIG-owned agencies to use Regroup for Search Marketing requirements.

We talk quite rightly about the massive opportunities that exist for brands in the West now to reach new audiences online in BRIC markets.

China clearly with the sheer volume of online users stands out as the single most attractive market; with over half a billion netizens, a growing middle class and a huge appetite for all things luxury and Western.

While China is undoubtedly a key market now for luxury brands, the digital landscape is well, complicated.

Google has a tiny market-share – 5% of the search engine market, whilst Baidu continues to dominate the landscape, with Qihoo owning a growing market share.

The social landscape is also substantially different – Twitter and Facebook are missing from the equation, and the dominance of We Chat, Sina Weibo & Tencent, all have huge user-bases.

China clearly demands a completely different approach to the rest of the World, and the skill-sets required to impact this market wholly differ to the West.

The Indian online landscape however is a very different proposition. There are 150 million internet users in India now*, making it the 3rd biggest online market. The digital landscape practically mirrors our own digital landscape in the UK.

Google dominates the market in India with c80% market share, much like our own. Facebook and Twitter are huge  and dominate the social landscape, and LinkedIn is emerging as a serious channel for business users.

All of this makes for a very interesting opportunity for Western brands, who can adapt their western strategies digitally with the minimum of fuss, to tap into this massive and increasingly cash-rich consumer market. Oh, and English is a readily accepted online language!

All of this makes India a very interesting market indeed, and like in the West 10 years ago, opportunities for early entrants are sizable.

This market will only increase in size, surely making it a prime opportunity for Western brands’ growth plans.

*Source IAMAI 2013 Report

Google announced this week that on  Chromebooks would be available at retail stores in India from October 17.

“From October 17, Indians will be able to enjoy the Chromebook experience with the launch of Acer C720 Chromebook and HP Chromebook 14,” Google India said in a release.

May 2013 was another month of change for the SEO fraternity around the world, with Google’s much anticipated Penguin 2 algorithm update rolling in. What impact has Penguin 2 had on an already beleaguered SEO industry, subject to continual change and uncertainty?

Key thrust of Penguin 2
First of all what conclusions can we draw about Penguin 2, now that we are a few weeks on?
Well in short, there really seems to be nothing new here, just more of the same:-
– Continued negation of spam links/ automation link services – good
– Continued focus on the web user-experience and having sharable/ unique & useful web content – good
– Greater policing of the web wildcats i.e. payday loans, porn, gaming – also good

See Matt Cutts video – talking about Penguin Updates: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNbWw2OUUAc ..this is all good no?

Is Penguin 2 Good or Bad for SEO’ers?
As someone who has worked in the SEO space for over a decade, the cause for concern for me, is not so much the nature and thrust of the changes, it is the frequency of the updates, and the uncertainty that this creates for Companies/ web site owners in general.

Of course the knee-jerk reaction can be ‘why bother with SEO, when another set of potentially damaging changes are just around the corner’. This is totally understandable. The goal posts are moving constantly (far more rapidly than other marketing channels), which is bound to put some people off investing in this channel.
Cynically speaking, will these changes drive more custom to the more rock-steady pastures of pay per click?

I for one don’t believe the end-game here is a cynical plot on behalf of Google to drive ad revenues and destroy the SEO industry over time. I think there is a genuine desire (and need) to improve the quality of sites ranking highly on related search terms. Google and web users have a vested interest in this happening.

The frequency of updates is a cause for concern within the SEO world, and how Brands/ Site owners will react. I believe there is also now a pronounced air of confusion within the SEO world and outside, as to what makes a successful, and importantly a sustainable SEO strategy now.

Post Penguin SEO Pointers
How should SEO’ers respond to recent changes? Good, long-term, sustainable SEO practices remain unchanged in my view – SEO’ers need to direct / guide the creation of compelling, engaging content, likely to create inbound linking and user engagement, as opposed to artificially boosting links through tired and ineffectual sources.

Implications for link building
Is link building a thing of the past? I don’t believe so, but it must change, and those ‘on the money’ will have already changed their strategies some time ago, to develop great content likely to promote user engagement, and to increase ‘shares’, ‘likes’ and links.

There is still scope for some proactive link building, to pursue good quality links, on good authority sites, containing related and complementary content.

Anything remotely automated is clearly a ‘no no’ and has been for a while, but does that include PR newswires? The one last-bastion of paid link building that still actually works? The Jury is out and time will tell.

These tactics I believe will be the main stays, alongside increased focus on site performance, speed, and index-ability.

One of the big outputs here for the SEO world I believe is setting expectations, SEO is not a quick-win, and this is even more true now, post Penguin. Success will rely on developing good, unique, interesting content, and developing shareable content, over time, that people/ sites will link to, naturally.

This is good news to ethical SEO’ers, bad news for the quick-win merchants, link-builders for out and out SEO purposes. Black days for back hat (good).

About the author of this blog:
Scott Muir is MD of Regroup Media – and has worked in the SEO industry for over a decade.

We are happy to announce that we are working on SEO for an exciting new web launch for Global Energy Systems – a leading Air Source Heat Pumps manufacturer based in the UK. The new web site can be seen at http://www.globalenergysystems.co.uk/ .

Global Energy Systems is a British, renewable energy manufacturer and installer supported by over 50 years of international engineering experience. Three generations have been involved in the company, each innovating and developing engineering excellence.

Regroup has been appointed to oversee an SEO drive for leading luxury nightwear and underwear brand Derek Rose – www.derek-rose.com. The appointment provides an exciting opportunity to build on an already sizeable online audience.

We are happy to announce that Regroup has been selected to work on SEO services for the leading food packaging company e-2go, to drive B2B customer acquisition, in this growing market.

e-2go (Sovereign) is one of the leading suppliers to the upmarket food and coffee to-go industry, in the UK.

For more information please click: http://www.e-2go.net/

Leading SAP Consulting firm Harlex Consulting – http://www.harlexconsulting.com

Harlex Consulting is an international consultancy based in London specialising in SAP Consulting and SAP Data Migration.

We are happy to announce that Regroup has been appointed to work on SEO and PPC for recently launch luxury Serviced Offices business – Dryland.

Dryland Business Members’ Club opened in late 2011, is a stylish new office space designed around the needs of the most discerning entrepreneurs and businesses.

Situated over five floors in Kensington High Street, W8, the first Dryland is an environment unlike any other in central London where entrepreneurs and businesses can work, network and relax.

Come and visit the new site at www.dryland.com

Regroup has been appointed SEO agency to help Medicspro establish the newly launched web dedicated to Doctors Jobs Recruitment.

Medicspro is a fast expanding recruitment specialist operating across the health sector.

Recent expansion has led to newly opened offices in London and Birmingham. Regroup is delighted to be helping this fast expanding market-leader to develop its’ online operations.