Image copyright – who’s right and whose rights are they anyway?
Image copyright is in the news again – but who has the rights to what we publish through social media?
In the aftermath of the horrendous helicopter crash in central London yesterday, images and videos were shared on social media sites, including Twitter. These photos were then picked up by major media outlets including The Daily Mail, The Sun, The London Evening Standard, The Guardian and Sky News among others, and used in breaking news stories covering the crash. Although there has been a historical acceptance in using so-called ‘user-generated’ content, rules about copyright of images posted on Twitter has changed the stakes.
According to Twitter rules, sharing images on the social media site does not constitute a free-for-all and the owner of the photo still retains the rights to it. News outlets are required to credit the owner and should not use their images without permission and most ethical agencies appear to have a policy which supports this.
So how does this affect you, a web site owner? How can you protect your images online and where should you source your images from in order to protect yourself from potential litigation?
Using your own images
Many companies choose to take their own product or general images for the company web site, either taking a hands-on approach or hiring a photographer to take and edit any images ready for use. This allows you to get exactly the type of image you require and negates the need for lengthy trawling of image banks or seeking permission from other image owners. It is important that if you do use a photographer (whether professional or casual) you discuss issues such as ownership and copyright from the outset. In some cases, you may be happy to share your images but once you do, there is the chance that they could be sold on, leaving you out of the loop. It pays to have a conversation about this and make some sort of formal agreement.
Using other people’s images
In a lot of cases, smaller companies may not have the time, funds or resource to take their own photos and may only need a handful of strong images to populate the web site. It is in these circumstances that you will need to look for images that belong to someone else. Good old Google images makes it possible for us to search for and find a ton of photos which may adequately fit our purpose but DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT be tempted to pinch these and use them on your web site believing ‘nobody will know’. Copyright infringement is big business and it isn’t something you want to get into. Instead choose a reputable design agency who will advise you about which images to choose and will source them ethically for you. Stock images can be bought relatively cheaply (starting at a couple of pounds) and the small investment you will make is pennies in the long run.
The internet encourages sharing, social media is ALL about sharing, but just be careful. Sharing doesn’t mean transferring ownership, so look but don’t touch.
New Year’s Re-SEO-lutions
Expanding your SEO strategy for 2013 and beyond.
2012 was a turbulent year for SEO and eMarketing professionals – amongst a slew of algorithm updates and tweaks from Google, we have seen several other game-changing factors that have really tested the adaptability of our dedicated SEO team here at eSterling.
Google have been working hard to negate any unscrupulous SEO activity, as well as reducing the effectiveness of scalable link building strategies such as mass directory submission or article spinning, giving many grey-hat SEO practitioners a major headache.
Google’s Penguin update, which was released in April 2012, focused on eliminating websites using webspam tactics such as spamdexing (squeezing a keyword into a site as many times as possible, often using nefarious tactics such as black-on-black text) and linkbombing (posting a link to the site using a keyword as anchor text in as many locations across the internet as possible) to artificially boost their search rankings, at the expense of website usability. The update penalised these sites by placing them lower in search engine results pages than they featured originally – or, in extreme cases, removing them from Google’s indexing entirely.
Exact match domains (URLs which directly match one of the site’s keywords, for example www.teethwhitening.com) have also felt the pressure, as Google introduced the imaginatively titled Low Quality Exact Match Domain Update. This update, whilst not sounding as cute or cuddly as either of the major updates Panda and Penguin, was no less important. It was an attempt to rid the SERPs of sites which are of low quality, but have used their exact match domain name to push their way to the top of the results pages.
Moving Forward
So, if this is what Google has done in the last year to make our lives more difficult, where do we go next?
The good news for us is that this means it is now harder than ever to increase a website’s search visibility with these dubious tactics, leaving much more room for honest, user-friendly SEO strategies, and has shifted the emphasis from building as many links as possible to your site to being much more about the end user – the importance now lies with ease of navigation, increasing usability and offering informative, relevant and up-to-date content.
Google’s actions over the last 12 months could easily be misconstrued as disdain for the SEO profession – this is not the case. Rather, The Big G is trying to encourage webmasters and SEO professionals to remember that the content of their site, not where it appears in search engine results pages, are what is most important to the user – and, by extension of this, to the website owner.
This is not to say that search engine optimisation as a profession is on the way out – far from it, in fact. 6 out of 10 organizations expect to increase SEO headcount in the coming year. The industry is also becoming more widely understood – the same report details that 63% of executive teams are more familiar with SEO metrics than 12 months ago.
The shift has been moved away from SEO as an independent discipline, and it is now becoming a more integral part of constructing an internet presence. For an SEO campaign to be truly effective it must be integrated with other aspects of the business – marketing, sales, design, and social media – must all become one holistic package in order to establish a brand online, as opposed to trying to “pull a fast one” on Google.
To quote Trond Lynbø on Edgyseo.com:
“Many site owners want to do the minimum possible, yet expect awesome results. But the days of ‘quick fix SEO’ are numbered, if not already over. It’s time to see SEO from a different angle, with broader, wider focus. To step back, rather than blindly rush to implement new tactics. To decide where you want to go, and act on a strategy-driven plan.”
Having a strategy for your SEO is becoming more and more important, as simply building up link equity is no longer enough to get by. Social media is becoming increasingly important to every business – more than 1 million websites have now introduced Facebook integration in various manners, and social media now accounts for 18% of all time spent online.
If 2012 has taught us one thing about what lies in store for 2013, it’s that we as SEO professionals need to stay on our toes – major algorithm updates are pretty much inevitable, and they could pop up at any time with little or no warning – but rest assured, the team here at eSterling are ready to rise to this challenge and continue to provide you with a solid internet marketing strategy to see you through the year and beyond.
For more information on our eMarketing and SEO services, click here.
SEO Customer Service Assistant Role
We are a leading Digbeth web design agency and we are seeking a motivated, target-driven individual to join our SEO team as a Customer Service Assistant.
This is a fantastic long-term opportunity for the right candidate, offering a clear career path in our well-established firm. We need an energetic, and highly organised person to assist our Client Relationship Manager in looking after our growing customer base.
You will have:
- Excellent interpersonal skills and a friendly demeanour with confidence in your abilities
- A degree-level education
- Preferably a sales or customer service background with proven results
- A good grasp of what SEO is and the desire and potential to increase your knowledge
- A desire to take on increased responsibility and a can-do attitude
- Strong administrative skills and an excellent level of written and spoken English
Duties will include:
- Being the first point of contact for our SEO customers, dealing with service issues and queries
- Providing a continuity of care to customers
- Departmental administration, use of office databases, spread sheets etc.
- Conducting service reviews with customers over the telephone or face to face and encouraging sales and upgrades
We are looking for a special person to fill this role and would like to find someone who is interested in building a long-term career within the field of SEO and Internet Services.
Full time.
Permanent.
Salary range £13k – £16k (dependent on experience)
Please call Claire Jones on 0121 766 8087 or submit CVs to claire.jones@esterling.co.uk
Telesales Executive Role
We are a leading Digbeth web design agency and we NEED motivated, hard-working and experienced telesales agents with a strong desire for success.
This is an excellent opportunity for the right candidates, offering a strong basic salary with an achievable OTE of £25k or beyond. Join our friendly, growing team for long-term prospects.
You will have:
- Telesales or sales experience and excellent interpersonal skills
- A confident manner and the ability to form relationships with decision makers swiftly
- A working knowledge of internet services, SEO and IT
- The drive and determination to achieve targets day after day
- A can-do attitude and resilience
- Good administrative skills and an excellent level of written and spoken English
Duties will include:
- Daily calling of prospects to book meetings for our sales staff
- Acting as a representative of the company, being the starting point for future relationships with clients
- Working to daily, weekly and monthly targets
- Basic administration; use of office database
We are looking for exceptional candidates to fill this role and would like to find someone who is interested in building a long-term career within the field of Internet Service Sales.
Full time
Permanent
OTE £25k
Please call Claire Jones on 0121 766 8087 or submit CVs to claire.jones@esterling.co.uk
Web Developer Role
eSterling is looking for a self-motivated, focused individual who is passionate about the industry, to join our busy Development Department.
The role would be ideal for someone who has a few years of experience developing content managed websites. We are not hung up on degree-level qualification, preferring a candidate with commercial experience instead. You should show an attention to detail and ability to uphold your work to the highest standards.
You’ll be working directly with clients so being confident in presenting your work and talking with people in a non-technical manner is a must.
If you’re someone who isn’t deterred by a challenge and has a passion for new web technologies you’ll fit right in. The ideal candidate will be able to slipstream into the team with a minimum of training, bringing their experience into the mix and deliver code of a high quality.
We’re looking for someone who has experience and interest in the following:
- Practical experience with PHP
- Experience with Classic ASP would be a bonus
- You should have practical knowledge of OOP principles and techniques
- You should be more than comfortable working with HTML, CSS and Javascript
- MVC web framework experience would be ideal
- Experience of working with version control systems
- Interest in ‘programming the web’ and web services
Full time.
Permanent.
Salary range: £16,000-£24,000pa (dependent on experience)
eSterling joins Microsoft Advertising Accredited Professionals
eSterling is pleased to announce that the company has been awarded Microsoft Advertising Accredited Professional status. Two members of our eMarketing team, Scott Hunt and Jon Jauncey, successfully completed the Microsoft adCenter examination to gain this accreditation.
This qualification demonstrates that the eMarketing team at eSterling is highly trained in all aspects of pay-per-click advertising through Yahoo and Bing. We are able to professionally manage and optimise adCenter campaigns and pass on expert advice to our customers about how to use pay-per-click adverts to drive traffic to their website.
Our new Microsoft Advertising Accredited Professional status is another step towards offering our customers a wider range of internet marketing services, and we can now provide Bing and Yahoo pay-per-click campaigns alongside our Google Adwords services. If you would like to find out more, please contact us on 0121 766 4080.
Cookie Law FAQ
What are cookies?
Cookies are also known as browser cookies or tracking cookies and are small, often encrypted, text files located in browser directories. They are used to help users navigate a website efficiently and perform certain functions.
Some of the most common functions using cookies are:
- Logging into a website
- Buying goods online
- Personalised adverts
- Tracking data using Google Analytics
Why has the law been changed?
The law has been designed to protect the privacy of internet users – even when the information being collected about them is not directly personally identifiable. The changes are a response to increasing concern about online tracking and the use of spyware.
An example of this type of tracking is personalised advertising – where a retailer can use data about what you have looked at online to advertise related products to you when you are visiting a different website.
How does the law affect my website?
The new rules are not designed to restrict cookies as such, they are intended to prevent cookies being used to store information on people’s computers and recognising them via the device they are using, without their knowledge and agreement.
Using cookies is therefore not prohibited by the new regulations, but they do require that people are told about cookies and given the choice as to which of their online activities are monitored.
All websites are now required to offer users the chance to opt out of cookies. This is what the legislation states:
“a person shall not store or gain access to information stored, in the terminal equipment of a subscriber or user unless the requirements of paragraph (2) are met.
(2) The requirements are that the subscriber or user of that terminal equipment-
(a) is provided with clear and comprehensive information about the purposes of the storage of, or access to, that information; and
(b) has given his or her consent.
Regulation 6 of the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR)”
The use of cookies and similar technologies has been commonplace for some time, and cookies in particular are important in the provision of many online services. Therefore there is an exception to obtaining consent where the use of the cookie is:
(a) for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network; or
(b) where such storage or access is strictly necessary for the provision of an information society service requested by the subscriber or user.
This means that e-commerce websites will be able to carry on using cookies for transactions without consent. Other cookies that are likely to be exempt from the legislation include security cookies (e.g online banking) and cookies that speed up loading of data.
Shortly after the new legislation was announced, the regulations were amended to allow ‘implied consent’ for other cookies, such as first and third party advertising cookies, cookies used to recognise a user when they return to a site (in order to display personalised information) and analytical data cookies, e.g Google Analytics.
What do I need to do next?
You will be required to display a message on your site asking users if they wish to opt-out of cookies. The message must:
tell people that the cookies are there,
explain what the cookies are doing, and
obtain their consent to store a cookie on their device
This can be in the form of a pop-up banner that appears as soon as a user clicks onto your homepage, or you can request ‘implied consent’ from users by updating your terms and conditions and/or privacy policy to include the information listed above.
What happens if a user opts out of cookies?
Due to their core role of enhancing or enabling usability or site processes, disabling cookies may prevent users from using certain parts of a website. This is why e-commerce sites and websites requiring a log-in are exempt from the regulations.
It is crucial that any opt-out message you decide to display will make users aware that cookies could affect how they use your website in a negative way. You may also need to be prepared to deal with some additional customer enquiries from users that have opted out of cookies and are now finding it difficult to use your website. Please note that users can re-enable cookies by changing their browser settings.
It is possible that Google Analytics tracking data could be affected by users opting out of cookies, and visits may appear artificially low. We anticipate that Google will work to resolve this and the eMarketing team will inform users of any long term changes to Google Analytics policy.
Web Developer wanted to join our team
eSterling is looking for a self-motivated, focused individual who is passionate about the industry, to join our busy Development Department.
The role would be ideal for someone who has a few years of experience developing content managed websites. We are not hung up on degree-level qualification, preferring a candidate with commercial experience instead. You should show an attention to detail and ability to uphold your work to the highest standards.
You’ll be working directly with clients so being confident in presenting your work and talking with people in a non-technical manner is a must.
If you’re someone who isn’t deterred by a challenge and has a passion for new web technologies you’ll fit right in. The ideal candidate will be able to slipstream into the team with a minimum of training, bringing their experience into the mix and deliver code of a high quality.
We’re looking for someone who has experience and interest in the following:
- Practical experience with PHP
- Experience with Classic ASP would be a bonus
- Practical knowledge of OOP principles and techniques
- More than comfortable working with HTML, CSS and Javascript
- MVC web framework experience would be ideal
- Experience of working with version control systems
- Interest in ‘programming the web’ and web services
Salary range: £16,000-£26,000 pa. Please send a CV to hrservices@esterling.co.uk to apply.
How will you make the most of the Diamond Jubilee?
As Jubilee-fever sweeps the nation are you doing your bit to make sure you capitalise on it this summer? Retail outlets are FULL of Union Jacks and little crown-shaped trinkets. There is a resurgence in teapot sales and macaroons are EVERYWHERE!
Whether or not you plan to wave a little flag of your own, there is definitely money to be made on the back of the Jubilee and for savvy business owners the opportunity is too good to miss. Here are our top tips:
- Run a Jubilee-inspired competition on your web site and spread the word using your Social Media links such as Twitter and Facebook.
- Turn your usual seasonal special offers into Jubilee special offers, decorating your site with red, white and blue to jolly it up.
- Give out Jubilee voucher codes at checkout to existing customers encouraging a return visit by offering a discount.
- If you’re in the market, stock a specific Jubilee range to entice buyers. Create packages or sell items on an individual basis.
- Get involved in community activities. Offer to sponsor a tea party in your local area and get the press involved.
However you choose to spend the Jubilee, don’t miss out on a chance to increase your sales opportunities. Boost British Business! Hoorah!
Popularity rules: The power of social media
A recent post by Lloyd Shepherd on the Guardian books blog serves to highlight the step-up of importance in social media over the last few years. Lloyd’s book, The English Monster was released in March and his article compares the influence that both traditional sources (newspapers) and unofficial sources (such as reader reviews on Amazon) have had on the sales of his book.
It would seem that official reviews in newspapers are a hugely powerful tool in exposing your work and for a debut writer this is good news, whether the review is positive or negative. Online reviews are a different beast but the negative impact can be catastrophic with one writer citing a 70% drop in sales after a negative review. Social approval or disapproval is exerting a huge influence on book sales and the same can be said of other business sectors.
We have been advising our customers to get on board with social media for a while now, and it appears this will become increasingly important as Google adjusts its position yet again on the way it values web sites and ranks them. The key aspect of social media is that your web site, product or service is receiving an unbiased review from an impartial source. This is seen by Google as being more powerful than a self-endorsement and it follows that the more positive points you get from other people, the more Google will like your site.
It is worth speaking to your SEO provider about pushing your social media campaign forward if they haven’t already. eSterling offers competitively priced social media packages to suit all budgets. Your SEO team will discuss the best methods for you and get you started. You’ll get out what you put in, so be active and concentrate on making those customers happy.