Being a part of the global online community, we’re always keeping tabs on what is new and exciting in search engine optimisation at NZS.com. It seems like every week there’s a new way of doing things, a new keyword analysis resource from you-know-who.

We forget sometimes just how young SEO is, and how quickly optimisation fads and flutter in and out of popular use. It wasn’t too long ago when every at-home website developer was testing out every new SEO technique: from black text on black background keyword-laden pages, to irrelevant meta data keyword schemes focused on the hottest worldwide searches.

We’re a decade on from the emergence of these methods, but funnily enough they are still highly (and badly) used throughout the World Wide Web. What are the best SEO tools today? SEO companies will continually tell you that going back to the basics never goes awry. Unique content, cohesive page titling, targeted and concise keyword data, clean HTML, and of course, relevant inbound linking.

Set yourself a simple SEO formula for your website (and stick with that formula for every new page you create), and you’ll glide into top ranks and high conversions.

It’s the first day of Spring! September 1st is not only a big day for every Kiwi that has been hanging out for warm weather, it’s also a big day for us at NZS.com: today we’ve launched two innovative new features to the NZS.com directory, Kiwi Status and Site Profile.

You’ve probably already noticed the categories are looking a little different within the NZS.com directory, and there are new icons beside every listing - this is Kiwi Status, NZS.com’s new way or ordering our website listings.

Kiwi Status is a unique way of identifying quality within the New Zealand Web space. We’ve created a system (the only of its kind in New Zealand) which orders websites based on around 20 different criteria - and gives them a “Kiwi Status”.

Kiwi Status offers you an objective view of what is available in the New Zealand Web space. The primary objective of this is to ensure that you get you the quality information that you want, faster.

Coinciding with the launch of Kiwi Status has been the launch of Site Profile. Site Profile is a useful tool for SEO (search engine optimisation). It displays the information about your site that search engines can see, such as: title tag, server information, Kiwi Status, and information from your NZS.com directory listing.

Site Profile also displays all of the sites that are currently linking to your site, and who you are linking to. This is a great link building SEO tool, as essentially you can use it to find out who your potential online partners could be, who could be linking to your site.

If you’re looking for government sites you can read the newzealand.govt.nz Site Profile, or if you’re more interested in news sites check out the stuff.co.nz Site Profile.

For more information, check out the Kiwi Status information page and the Site Profile information page.

In the next bid to Googlise the online world, Google launched the BETA version of its new browser Chrome just hours ago. Contrary to many New Zealand reports, the new browser is now available for download - many New Zealand news stories have claimed it wasnt to be released until Thursday the 4^th.

So what is new and different about the new Google browser? The NZS.com team’s first impression is that pages are loading faster than on other browsers, and the interface, while decidedly simple, is cohesive and easy to adapt to.

All of our settings were imported, and we love the fact that each individual tab runs itself with ‘crash control’ - so if one site causes problems the entire browser won’t need to close, just that tab.

Every time you open a new tab, you also get a ‘most visited’ page with screenshots of your most frequently visited sites and searches. A great novelty feature is the ‘incognito view’, meaning ‘what comes into this browser, stays in this browser’ - it’s stealth surfing made easy.

Creating, dragging and moving tabs and shortcuts is easy, and there’s no doubt that we’ll discover many more customisable beauties throughout Google Chrome’s first day of use.

If you hadn’t noticed, it’s election year in 2008. The media, government agencies and the various political parties are really starting to ramp up the election coverage. With a few different sites competing for your attention, here’s a list of some of the key election websites:

1. Elections.org.nz is the official NZ Elections site run by the Electoral Commission. It includes information like how to enrol to vote and how MMP works.
2. Each of the major NZ political parties have a website extolling their virtues and policies which you can find in the political parties category in the NZS.com Directory.
3. Both of the major television networks have election oriented websites with TVNZ running it on their own website (http://tvnz.co.nz/election08) and TV3 launching a dedicated election website (www.decision08.co.nz).
4. There are also a few independent election information websites such as the newly launched VoteMe.co.nz which are yet to be seen to be strongly used by NZ voters.

This year appears to be the one where a good portion of the information gathering and political electioneering is going to be fought for online. The introduction of Helen Clark and John Key Facebook pages are a great example of the changing face of politics.

Image from Flickr.

Have you been looking for a place to go to find tips for website owners all bundled together? NZS.com is your new source for Webmaster Resources!

We’re building a centre of information for Web-friendly site owners like you, aiming to help you improve your online presence.

After search engine optimisation tips? Check out the SEO resource section, where you can learn about keywords, linking, Pagerank and more to help improve your rankings within search engines in the World Wide Web.

Need some help with your website design? Learn what you can do (or ask your Web developer to do) to quickly and easier update the look and feel of your website.

Eager to understand your website’s visitors? Want to know why they behave they way they do, and how you can keep them on your site? Read up on usability - user behaviour tips and learn how to interpret user-related statistics and what you can do to entice your visitors and keep them coming back for more.

We’ll be adding new categories throughout the year and the entire NZS.com team will be continually adding to the resources available, to keep you covered when it comes to your New Zealand web presence…so keep posted! You can find the Webmaster Resource section in the left-hand navigation menu on the NZS.com homepage.

If you have any suggestions on how we can improve this new section, e-mail us on info@nzs.com and let us know!

Have you subscribed to the NZS.com newsletter yet? For the month of July, all new sign-ups go into the draw to win a sponsored listing on NZS.com, worth up to $300!

The winner will receive a prime ad spot in the NZS.com category of their choice, which aims to direct traffic towards their target market favourably over standard listings. What a great chance to increase your online presence!

The July newsletter is hot off the press today and features the latest tips and news from the NZS.com team, this month including details on our spanking hot new Jobs section, advice on long lasting search results and a rundown on the iPhone 3G’s release next week!

To be in to the draw to win the advertising spot, simply sign up to the NZS.com newsletter before the end of July. Not sure what a sponsored listing is? Check out the New Zealand advertising page for a rundown on advertising options on NZS.com.

Image from Flickr.

The Associated Press (AP) appears to have solved its legal conflict with ‘copyright-infringing’ bloggers today. The AP took disputed the issue of what constitutes ‘fair use’ content, specifically in regards to bloggers using quotes, excepts and titles from AP-owned articles, even if source citing is given.

Some weeks ago, The AP demanded that a US news and opinion site take down several stories because they too closely resembled stories owned by The AP. Today this issue was settled with the party in question out of court, and The AP stated that the outcome was “not a clear win for anyone, but also not a loss for anyone either”.

However, the issue of citation (and the demand from The AP stating that any content from its articles would require payment for publication) blew up worldwide in regards to blogging. The question was posed: at what point does reference become plagiarism? Many prominent bloggers from throughout the world defended their stance that summarising of content, when references to the source are provided, is a common and important way to spread news throughout the World Wide Web.

Where do you think the line is drawn in regards to posting on your New Zealand blog? Do you use direct content from other sources, summarised content, or are all of your words completely original thoughts and reports?

Image from Flickr.

A recent report by the Commerce Commission of New Zealand has found that most of the biggest broadband internet providers deliver the slowest and most unreliable services.

High speed connections from Telecom, Vodafone and Slingshot have all been reported as delivering average or below average scores in terms of connection speeds and overall reliability for the March 08 quarter. Smaller internet service providers such as Compas and Snap out-performed the average scores of the bigger providers.

Telstraclear (who offer both DSL and Cable networks) trumped all competition in the three main centres with the highest scores, but were beaten in Hamilton and Dunedin - where they do not have their own network and resell Telecom’s DSL services. Orcon was the highest-scoring provider in these cities.

The report assessed variables such as time to connect, download and upload times, e-mail receivership times and packet loss levels.

A few months back I received an email response to an NZS.com newsletter article about the government’s plans to increase broadband connection speed funding over the next few years. He made a great point - while we are constantly assessing and evaluating internet speeds in the larger cities, the New Zealand media rarely pay any attention to the often abysmal speeds (or even existence of a high-speed service) in smaller towns and rural areas throughout the country. Will the big ISP’s ever pay serious attention to the internet needs of those off the beaten track in New Zealand (anywhere away from Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch?).

If you’re a rural internet user let us know what you think - how is your service?

Image from Flickr.

If you are hunting for a new job at the moment, you’ll notice many job sites now have advanced features beyond what has been typical in the past. Job listing websites now go beyond plain job listings and an e-mail address of whom you can contact. New innovations in the online job world include:

• Video Resumes - why rely on your written CV alone to promote yourself? You can now upload a short video resume detailing your skills, and giving you a great avenue to sell yourself in a personable way.

• CV Publishing - post your CV online to let potential employers come to you. While this can mean a fast way to get picked up by a great company, be careful if you’re current employer doesn’t know you are looking to move - being online means anyone can access it!

• Video Conferencing - great if you are applying for jobs in other cities, allowing you to be interviewed virtually with ease.

• Online Testing - not sure which career path you want to go down? Take one of the many career, personality or IQ tests available to get a personalised recommendation for your next step - then follow through to jobs that may suit your needs.

If you’re a new member to the online job hunting game, read up on applying for jobs online.

You can also view New Zealand Jobs online through the newly launched NZS.com Jobs section launched in partnership with JobX.

Image from Flickr.

By now you’re probably heard the term “Millennial” being thrown around by magazines and other mediums - it’s the latest term for Generation Y, those born in the 1980s and early 90s.

A recent study by telecommunications company Motorola has found that Millennials not only seek more rich media, but often significantly influence buying decisions at home, predominantly when regarding console and service selection.

A common misconception about Millennials is that they are tech-savvy. While the Web is the hub of their social activities, they do not necessarily understand what is ‘under the bonnet’ of their products - nor do they care - they just want them to work, they enjoy technological advancements without needing to understand them.

Motorola’s study has shown that 71% of Millennials have a strong influence when it comes to internet connection decisions within the household, even if they no longer live at home with their parents. While they may not understand which DSL modem they want or how a wireless network functions, they know they want them and are able to convince their parents that they are needed. 70% of Millennials feel that their expectations and demands for rich media and internet technology are far greater than their parents’.

For Millennials, connectivity is a must-have, because they have grown up with technology and the internet at their feet and have never known a world without them. As a result, Millennials take pride in being able to ‘teach’ their parents about new technology.

Image from Flickr.