You see, I’ve been so busy over the last 6 months that I have left myself no time to work on my own websites. No fresh content and few new incoming links has meant I’ve slipped a few places for various key phrases on Google. At this point in time, it’s a blessing in disguise – between the house move and several high-value contracts on the table I’m not in a great position to take any more on. However, if I wasn’t so busy I’d have cause for concern and this is something I’m now setting aside time to work on each week. Slipping from page 1 to page 2 for the phrase “web design” on Google.com led to a 70% reduction in traffic coming from Google.com for that phrase.

The lesson to be learnt here is that SEO is ongoing, and that resting on your laurels once you’ve achieved your target is a policy that will cause you problems in the medium to long-term.

I seem to still be attracting a disproportionate amount of “I have the next eBay” messages, where someone wants me to design free or on the cheap in exchange for equity in an awful business model.  I have a polite “thanks but no thanks” message that I copy and paste in response to such enquiries, which usually see them off, but I was a little taken aback by one person’s response. It was, in a nutshell, a request to go through their business plan, suggest how to make it foolproof for investment, and then they might consider hiring me once they have the money. Talk about singing for your supper!

The fact is: if the business model was any good, and if the ‘entrepreneur’ was serious about their concept, then they’d be able to find funding for it. And if they can find funding for it, then they can afford to pay me for my services. My mind is not completely closed to the idea of working for shares, but really, some of the ‘offers’ I get verge on the insulting. I remember an intensely patronising one I got from a student a few months ago, which asked me to design the next Betfair purely because “it would look really good for your portfolio”.

Anyway, onto better matters.

I’m about to start designing for a salon marketing consultancy run by Liz Ridley, who has an impressive track record of turning around health and beauty businesses into successful enterprises. She’s now turning her hand to helping other businesses achieve the same success via her marketing consultancy. Where I come in, rather obviously, is in successful Internet marketing and search engine optimisation for their websites and redesigning the sites themselves if they are, shall we say politely, below par. Liz is my kind of person – we discussed the venture over a Tyskie, a welcome step up from my usual client meeting beverage – an overpriced American-chain coffee.

A number of very exciting work prospects have presented themselves in the last week. My lips are sealed per NDAs but what I can tell you is that if either/both are successful then they could prove quite lucrative and a regular stream of work, which is very appealing given that I’ll be working freelance full-time as of April/May this year. A perfect start to my full-time freelance career. Much like Louise’s job applications, I mustn’t count my chickens.

However, with so many work opportunities presenting and in the hope that I can actually afford a mortgage in 6 months time, my time has become completely monopolised – it has become quite common for me to be up until 5am working on the various sites if I’m not expected at UCL the following day. This is unsustainable, but I’ve always been able to work better in the evening. So today, I’ve made Louise force me out of bed early to adjust this punishing schedule. I have bags under my eyes that are so bad it looks like I’ve been in a fight.

to this:

I didn’t understand this move at first but figured it was yet another organisation attempting an unnecessary rebranding exercise. Once it was explained to me, it seemed quite sensible. The old logo featured a man with a white stick, which reinforced the presumption that the RNIB only helps blind people; they actually help blind and partially sighted people, as their new motto confirms.

The RNIB are quite concerned that their logo and their cause do not enjoy the recognition that, say, cancer research or animal charities do. Hopefully the introduction of a Facebook app will help address this, if only in a small way.

I then spent another hour discussing the finer points of web accessibility. It’s surprising how little larger companies think of this, especially when one realises their legal obligation to do so. I suppose it’s simply because no-one has been sued over web accessibility in this country. The only high profile case was not, as you might guess, in the sue-happy United States, but in Australia. I wonder what impact that had on the web design/accessibility industry over there?

I found it very interesting to find that the early adopters of web accessibility standards now enjoy huge brand loyalty from blind and partially-sighted people; the main example being the always ubiquitous Tesco. Every little helps.

I’m certain that the site has potential but I’m also acutely aware that the vast majority of start-ups – both on and offline – don’t succeed. That’s not to say I’m pessimistic; at best it could prove a lucrative investment of my time and at worst it will provide an interesting learning experience.

Have a listen.

As part of my ongoing promotion campaign for my business site, I quickly designed and distributed a bunch of WordPress themes. Nothing too clever – save that for the paying customers – but attractive enough for people to want to download and use. Originally, I obfuscated the footer of the template so anyone using it couldn’t remove the links to my site – the whole point of distributing it for free (a model which has worked fantasticly for Andreas Viklund, who’s site is now a PR8).

Big mistake.

Upon checking my backlinks I now see a smattering of links from such quality online publications as the “lesbian porn blog” and “teenage nymphos”. A number of porno sites have downloaded my lovely, innocent themes and are using them for distributing filth! Of course, this has commanded serious kudos from my male friends but could potentially be very embarrassing to explain to anyone who came across the sites (so to speak).