One of Google’s top representatives did mention at a conference, South by Southwest, in Austin, Texas, last month that Google would be looking at how to penalise over-optimised websites.

So what are the things that Search Engine will penalise for? Who Knows but there are some things which are obvious candidates for disaster.

Here is a list of SEO tips which will help avoid any penalty.

1. Make sure your site has uniquely written content

2. Avoid having duplicate meta data, such as titles, descriptions etc

3. Don’t Stuff keywords into your titles

4. Don’t Stuff keywords into your body text

5. Avoid having lots of similar pages, just optimised for different search terms – (just have 1 page optimised for those terms)

6. Don’t link to Link farms, if you have in the past do your best to get rid of those links!

7. Don’t Buy links, if you have paid links get rid of them or ask them to be No-follow

8. Don’t spin articles! Always write unique content

9. Avoid using the same anchor text. Use a varied selection of anchor text in your articles, press releases etc

10. Avoid building too many links, the search engines know how old your pages are and how many backlinks pages usually receive according to it’s age, if your links seem excessive to the pages age this could get you in trouble. If you are link building make sure you link from relevant, unique content and try mimicking a natural sharing pattern.

Checkout this video from SEO MOZ for more things to change on your site and best practices.

SEO MOZ

To receive your 20% discount all you have to do is checkout as normal and enter code: XMAS2011.

See our web hosting plans

See our web hosting plans

For Info about moving web hosts here.

There are a number of free icon sets available for use and in this post we are featuring 25 social media icon sets from various different designers. To download an icon set just click on the download link underneath the Icon Set featured image. Remember to check the terms and conditions and be sure that you are using them in a way that is requested by the designer.

Social Media Icon Set

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300 Lifetime Social Network Icons

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Metal Rim Social Media Icons

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Elegant Social Network Icon.P

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Social Icons Mega Bundle

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Social Icon Set

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Social icons pack 2

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Social Media Bookmarking Set

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Social Media Icons

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Set of Social Icons “Takeout Coffee Cup”

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Metal Social Media Icons

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Simple Icons Set

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Vintage Icon Set

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Hand-Drawn Social Icons

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Candy Social Icons

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Extended Set of Social Icons

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Heart v2 Icon Set

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Black And White Social Icons

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8-Bit Social Networking Icons

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 Set of social icons no.2

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Wooden Web Icons Set

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Handycons Icons Set

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Leaf Design Icon Set

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Polaroid Icons 1.0

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Cloud Icons Set

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Download Metal Rim Social Media Icon Set (597 kb)

After downloading the Metal Rim Icons Set you will also find a 10% off discount code which will work on any of our web hosting plans forever!, you can find the discount code in the README.txt file.

Here below are the lines of the OpenCart Folder/configure.php file that will need to be changed:

// HTTP
define(‘HTTP_SERVER’, ‘http://yournewdomainname.com/’);
define(‘HTTP_IMAGE’, ‘http://yournewdomainname.com/image/’);
define(‘HTTP_ADMIN’, ‘http://yournewdomainname.com/admin/’);

// HTTPS
define(‘HTTPS_SERVER’, ‘http://yournewdomainname.com/’);
define(‘HTTPS_IMAGE’, ‘http://yournewdomainname.com/image/’);

// DIR
define(‘DIR_APPLICATION’, ‘/home/sites/yournewdomainname.com/public_html/catalog/’);
define(‘DIR_SYSTEM’, ‘/home/sites/yournewdomainname.com/public_html/system/’);
define(‘DIR_DATABASE’, ‘/home/sites/yournewdomainname.com/public_html/system/database/’);
define(‘DIR_LANGUAGE’, ‘/home/sites/yournewdomainname.com/public_html/catalog/language/’);
define(‘DIR_TEMPLATE’, ‘/home/sites/yournewdomainname.com/public_html/catalog/view/theme/’);
define(‘DIR_CONFIG’, ‘/home/sites/yournewdomainname.com/public_html/system/config/’);
define(‘DIR_IMAGE’, ‘/home/sites/yournewdomainname.com/public_html/image/’);
define(‘DIR_CACHE’, ‘/home/sites/yournewdomainname.com/public_html/system/cache/’);
define(‘DIR_DOWNLOAD’, ‘/home/sites/yournewdomainname.com/public_html/download/’);
define(‘DIR_LOGS’, ‘/home/sites/yournewdomainname.com/public_html/system/logs/’);

You will also need to make the same modifications in your OpenCart Folder/admin/configure.php file:

// HTTP
define(‘HTTP_SERVER’, ‘http://yournewdomainname.com/admin/’);
define(‘HTTP_CATALOG’, ‘http://yournewdomainname.com/’);
define(‘HTTP_IMAGE’, ‘http://yournewdomainname.com/image/’);

// HTTPS
define(‘HTTPS_SERVER’, ‘http://yournewdomainname.com/admin/’);
define(‘HTTPS_IMAGE’, ‘http://yournewdomainname.com/image/’);

// DIR
define(‘DIR_APPLICATION’, ‘/home/sites/yournewdomainname.com/public_html/admin/’);
define(‘DIR_SYSTEM’, ‘/home/sites/yournewdomainname.com/public_html/system/’);
define(‘DIR_DATABASE’, ‘/home/sites/yournewdomainname.com/public_html/system/database/’);
define(‘DIR_LANGUAGE’, ‘/home/sites/yournewdomainname.com/public_html/admin/language/’);
define(‘DIR_TEMPLATE’, ‘/home/sites/yournewdomainname.com/public_html/admin/view/template/’);
define(‘DIR_CONFIG’, ‘/home/sites/yournewdomainname.com/public_html/system/config/’);
define(‘DIR_IMAGE’, ‘/home/sites/yournewdomainname.com/public_html/image/’);
define(‘DIR_CACHE’, ‘/home/sites/yournewdomainname.com/public_html/system/cache/’);
define(‘DIR_DOWNLOAD’, ‘/home/sites/yournewdomainname.com/public_html/download/’);
define(‘DIR_LOGS’, ‘/home/sites/yournewdomainname.com/public_html/system/logs/’);
define(‘DIR_CATALOG’, ‘/home/sites/yournewdomainname.com/public_html/catalog/’);

OpenCart is now available as an easy 1 click install on our, Starter, Home, Business, Business Pro, web hosting plans.

You will need the following information to install Opencart

1. A web hosting account with PHP, MySQL Databases

2. Your cPanel username and password

3. Latest Version of OpenCart

Step 1 – Download the Opencart Software

Visit http://www.opencart.com/index.php?route=download/download and download the latest version of Opencart.

Step 2 – Log in to cPanel

Log into cPanel using the link which your hosting company has sent you. It will generally be something like www.yoursite.com/cpanel

Step 3 – Create a MySQL Database

Before you upload any files and begin the actual installation process you will need to create a MySQL database to store all of your Opencart information. OpenCart currently only supports MySQL databases.

Click on MySQL Databases application in the Databases section of cPanel. You will then be prompted to either create a MySQL database, create a user or add a user to a database. This does vary slightly between different versions of cPanel but these options are basically the same. The first thing you need to do is create a database. You can do this by entering the name of the database which you would like to create.

After you have created a database you will now need to create a user and give them the permissions needed to install Opencart and all scripts to work with the data. Create a user and give them a password, make sure you make a note of the database name, user name and password as you will need them later. Once this is done the final step is to give the user access to the database and set their permissions. Until you understand permission a little better it is probably best if you give the user ALL permisions.

Step 4 – Upload the Opencart Software

Now you need to upload the OpenCart zip file which you have downloaded and begin the installation process.

The easiest way to upload the OpenCart Package is to use the file manager application within cPanel. After opening up the file manager application you need to find the installation directory or folder on your server that you want to install Opencart into. For this example our Opencart store is going to be installed in the root directory of the file manager e.g /home/user/public_html/. So now you will need to go to the directory public_html/ and click upload file.

It is now time to upload the Opencart zip file that you downloaded previously in step 1. To upload click on the ‘browse’ button, select the OpenCart Zip file and upload.

You will now see the OpenCart zip file in the public_html/ directory. You will now need to extract the files within the Zip, to do this select the file and click ‘extract’.

When the files have finished extracting you will be left with a few text files which contain installation instructions, licenses and changelog files along with a folder called Upload. You will now need to click into the Upload directory, select all the files and copy the files back into your public_html/ directory.

Step 5 – Run Opencart Install

Now that you have created a database and setup a database user, uploaded and extracted your Opencart zip file to the correct place on the server it’s now time to run Opencart install script. To complete the installation you will need the name of the database you created previously and also the username and password to access the database, so have this ready.

The next thing you will have to do is open a web browser and type in the domain name of your OpenCart shop such as www.youropencartshopdomain.com you will then be automatically taken to the start of the Opencart install script. Here you will need to agree to a license agreement, followed by a hosting enviroment test to make sure that your web hosting package has all the requirements for Opencart to run properly. If your hosting package does not meet OpenCart requirements you will need to need to upgrade your web hosting package to meet the OpenCart requirements.

If your hosting meets the requirements you can now click ‘next’, you will then be presented with a settings page in which you will have to enter your database information, the name of your admin user, password and their email address.

After you have entered your database name, the database username and password which you created in Step 3, you can now enter the name of the admin user and give them a password. Then you will need to enter the admin users email address and click on ‘next’.

Step 6 – Delete the Install Directory

Before logging into you new Opencart store you will need to make sure that you delete the install directory. Login to your cPanel file manager application that we used previously and select and delete the public_html/install directory.

Step 7 – Installation Complete

Ok your Opencart ecommerce shop should now be installed. You can visit your store by visiting www.youropencartshopdomain.com or you can log in to your shop by visiting www.youropencartshopdomain.com/admin.

Good Luck!

VPS has been a popular request from many of our customers, and since we announced the launch date of our new range of VPS we have had lots of interest about our VPS range specs and how you can upgrade or get your hands on one. If this sounds like you, take a look at our VPS Range Here

Here below is more info about VPS

So what are VPS?

VPS stands for ‘Virtual Private Servers’ otherwise know as just ‘Virtual Servers. VPS Servers bridge the gap between shared web hosting and dedicated servers. With VPS a physical server is divided into various virtual servers. This allows full you to benefit from enhanced stability and control over what you have installed, the difference being that the costs are a lot lower than a full dedicated server but you will have the same spec. Having VPS hosting will provide you with a flexible, scalable hosting option tailored to suit your needs and will allow for greater control over your websites.

So why choose a VPS?

There are lot’s reasons why you may want a virtual private server from Hurley Internet, including:

• Flexibility: Control your VPS spec to the last gigabyte – you can easily upgrade or downgrade your CPU cores, RAM and disk space as your needs change.
• Power: Having a VPS you will ba able to handle intensive software (such as Magento etc).
• Cost effectiveness: Our VPS start at just £14.99 per month. Having a VPS you can host multiple websites and benefit from enhanced security and stability.
• Instant, free set up: Along with our standard ‘cancel anytime’ policy, there are as always no hidden costs.

VPS Specs and pricing

We have made our prices as competitive as possible without compromising on quality. Our base VPS package starts from just £14.99 per month, and includes unlimited bandwidth, RAID 10, and a whole load of great features.

Our VPS are brand new Dell PowerEdge servers and you can choose from various Windows or Linux operating systems, all VPS are housed in our UK data centre and you will receive 24/7 UK support along with all the other advantages of hosting with Hurley Internet.

It goes without saying that getting your website simply listed is not enough as clicks on a search engine results page (serps) are not evenly distributed amongst the search results. Research over the last 10 years or so has shown the higher a website is ranked by a search engine the more clicks they will receive, so if your website is the top result it will receive by far the largest proportion of all clicks, followed by the 2nd, 3rd and so on.

So How does Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) work?

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is all based around your use of “keywords”, your site’s link popularity and quality content. “Keywords” is an industry term used to describe the search queries we use when we conduct a search, for example “web hosting”. The search engines, such as Google, Yahoo and Bing  then categorise and rate websites based around their relevance to a particular keyword. The search engines analyse your keyword usage in these main elements of your website:

• The Domain name
• Page title
• Page URL
• H tags (h1, h2, h3, h4)
• Quality of Page content
• Images and alt text
• Internal links within your website
• External links linking back to your website
• How fast your webpages load

Making sure your website can be found on the search engines

By using our Search Engine Submission and SEO services you can make sure your website can be found online. Here below is some information to help you Choose the solution that is best for your website…

Package	Basic	High	Super	Extreme
12 Monthly Re-submissions
Monthly Reporting via Email
Personal Control Panel
Meta Tags Generator
Free Customer Support
Submit to 100 Search Engines
Submit to Over 400 Search Engines	-
Guaranteed Listing in Google	-
12 Months Guaranteed Inclusion	-
Personal Keywords Research	-
Free Personal Account Manager	-	-
Ranking Performance	-	-
Link Popularity	-	-
Website Analysis	-	-	-
Competitive Analysis	-	-	-
Statistical Analysis	-	-	-
Optimisation Instructions	-	-	-

Our Search Engine Submission and SEO packages will help optimise and submit your website to hundreds of search engines and directories worldwide to help you unleash the full potential of your online business.

Research and Designed by Online Colleges