23 May, 2012

EU Cookie Law: website owners

The debate about how to comply will continue long after the effective date (26 May 2012) but current thinking is to follow the examples from the authorities concerned, albeit, this course of action requires us to frequently return to those sites to monitor any changes.

The EU seems to have taken a minimalist approach: www.europa.eu places a 'legal notice' link at the top of the page. At the foot of the disclaimer/copyright/privacy policy, there is a description of cookies and an off-site link to www.aboutcookies.org

Direct.gov.uk placed the word 'cookies' at the top of their home and newsroom pages, which links to a very comprehensive list of explanations with numerous lists to further information. Their preferred cookie information site is www.aboutcookies.org

HMRC has a 'Privacy Policy' link along the footer which then provides another link to a specific page about cookies which then has a further information link to Direct.gov.uk

TfL placed a 'cookie policy' link in the footer, which links to a comprehensive list of cookies, brief descriptions and off-site links for more information. TfL has chosen to link to www.allaboutcookies.org

The FSA has a number of links listed in the footer, including their Privacy Policy which covers cookies. The FSA also links to  www.allaboutcookies.org

But perhaps the most important is the Independent Commissioner's Office website - it is their responsibility to make this work. When you reach their website, you are presented with
You can't continue unless you tick the box.
However, you can browse the site but the message will continue to be presented on each page unless you accept cookies - because the cookies will remember that you've ticked the box. Clever, eh?

17 May, 2012

Google Police / Panda / Penguin

From Panda to Penguin. Google is attempting to bring quality to website searches. Google's basic policies remain the same but their concern is that some websites are using cunning plans rather than delivering a website with good content.

To address these concerns, Google's Panda sweep was introduced to down-grade websites that primarily consisted of duplicate content. In other words, if swathes of text had been found elsewhere on the internet, the content with the earliest associated upload date would be considered as original. If, however, the copy attributed the original, it was deemed to be acceptable (I think!).
Penguin is addressing the dubious practice of mass-links from 'low-value' sites, which have no original related content to the landing page of the linked-to website. Don't panic if you have a listing on sites such as FreeIndex, AboutUs or social media - these are fine. It's the ones where lists of website links have no associated useful information and, in particular, link sites that provide paid links (excluding bona fide advertising sites).

Clients of The BPc have no cause for concern. We just don't do this. We build quality links to our clients' websites, using acceptable methods, from blogs, social media, articles sites and, where possible, other websites with similar content. We offer a monthly fee programme to keep your website visible.

Testimonials and contact info: Internet Presence & Website Promotion.

01 May, 2012

Intro to domain.tel

It would be easy for people to contact you if all they had to type into a browser was yourname.tel, e.g. davidcameron.tel or primeminister.tel.

Domain names with the suffix .tel are a different type of domain. You can't upload your own website to it, you can only list your contact details, a brief description of your services and links to other sites, including your social media accounts, such as Twitter and Linked-In. It costs approximately £13 per year and includes a control panel from which you can add your details.

See www.telnic.org for full details You can buy a .tel domain at most hosting companies, e.g. heartinternet.co.uk and daily.co.uk.

There is a global directory at telpages.com or telpages.co.uk; to the right is a customised page found at: london-olympics.tel

Here are details of a local Herts-based company that we use: